Life Lessons - Steve Jobs Commencement Speech to Stanford U in 2005

Career Acceleration: 4 Essential Elements (pt4: the 4-eye'd employee)

The following is based on a presentation made to the UBCO (University of British Columbia Okanagan) female business students affiliated with the Sauder School of Business on January 28, 2011. (Presenters: Meryle Corbett, CMA,FCMA CFO of Kelowna Flightcraft Group of Companies; and Paulette Rennie, President of ValleyFirst Credit Union)

What strategies will make YOU successful in business? A group of C-suite executives agreed that the key to a rising business career includes four main characteristics. They are described below in our series, "The 4-eyed employee" :

So what are we talking about? The first "eye" or "I" attribute is the underlying foundation for business success:

INTELLIGENCE

The second "eye" or "I" attribute is the secret to longevity in your career:

INTEGRITY

The third "eye" or "I" attribute is the driver of where and how far you go:

INITIATIVE

The fourth "eye" or "I" attribute is the attribute that will accelerate your accomplishments:

INTUITION

This is the magic ingredient that makes careers soar!  Even though you can be intelligent, of the highest integrity and a great worker with lots of initiative, sometimes it's a combination of luck, timing and "street smarts" that will make your career take off.

a) Read body language and get to know your customer / boss / client

One great style assessment tool is the DISC model:  Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance.    Are you task-oriented, needing a high level of control over your world?  Are you a relationship-based consensus builder?  Are you an analyzer preferring routine activity?  are you most comfortable with rules and regulations and heavy structure?    Do you have problems relating to peers because their style is different than yours?  Do you have problems with team members  or subordinates "clashing"?

The DISC assessment tool enables individuals to view their leadership and business style in a comparative way to others, and offers solutions to help them leverage their own styles to work most effectively with others.  Learning how to read your audience can enable higher levels of success.  

b) Use your right-brain creative side as well as your left-brain logic. 

Career Acceleration: 4 Essential Elements (pt 3, the 4-eye'd employee)

The following is based on a presentation made to the UBCO (University of British Columbia Okanagan) female business students affiliated with the Sauder School of Business on January 28, 2011. (Presenters: Meryle Corbett, CMA,FCMA CFO of Kelowna Flightcraft Group of Companies; and Paulette Rennie, President of ValleyFirst Credit Union)

What strategies will make YOU successful in business? A group of C-suite executives agreed that the key to a rising business career includes four main characteristics. They are described below in our series, "The 4-eyed employee" :

So what are we talking about? The first "eye" or "I" attribute is the underlying foundation for business success:
INTELLIGENCE
The second "eye" or "I" attribute is the key to career longevity:
INTEGRITY
The third "eye" or "I" attribute is the secret to how far your career will rise:
INITIATIVE
1) Stand out from the pack:  Produce  at least 10% more than your competitors
You need to position yourself above the crowd in order to accelerate your career.  This means getting noticed by management for producing results superior to your competitors.
     - quantity of work is higher - find scalable improvements, efficiencies that save time
     - quality of work is superior - what makes a boss notice you and your work?
     - deliver more than is expected - anticipate what your boss will ask or need
If you can find a way to be seen as "above the crowd", you are on your way to winning promotions and moving up the career ladder.

2) "Results" are more valued by management than just "Effort"
Think about it:  if one employee puts in 50% more effort but delivers the same results as the average employee, he/she is inefficient compared to the others.  In fact, this inefficiency is probably even costing the company overtime.  RESULTS are what count in the long run and what get you noticed in the workplace.  

Cartoon video: Money does not motivate most of us!

Twice in my career I have left employment for reasons other than money.    This video explains it......

Pay me more, please: Effort vs. Results

Over the years, many employees have expressed unhappiness when they receive an "average" pay increase.

My first question to them is, "Why should you receive a higher increase than the rest of the group?"

The answer?    ... "Because I have worked harder than anybody else".

The dilemma here is this: just because an employee works harder, does not mean he/she creates better results.  In fact, an employee who stays late often, plugs in more hours (but does not complete any more volume of work or add improvement to the business) might be actually more INEFFICIENT.

How does an employer look at compensation?