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Remember That Money Is a Measure of Your Service |
I remember it as if it happened last week, though it has been more than thirty years since I was in the audience at a network marketing rally in Las Vegas. One of the company leaders, a well-dressed, attractive woman, walked to the podium to speak. Her opening remark, something that was to become almost like a mantra for me, was, “Money is a measure of your service. If you want more money, provide more service.”
That phrase has served me well ever since her words first echoed across the crowded hotel ballroom. It’s a simple concept, right? Why, then, do so many people complain that they do not earn enough money? Why do so many people in the workplace feel that they should be paid more simply because they show up each day for work? We have come to expect cost of living increases in our salary each year, whether or not we’ve actually done anything to warrant a raise.
As a matter of fact, if you cannot see how you have directly contributed to your company’s bottom line, you may want to start looking for work somewhere else. Just getting by in business is no longer acceptable. Companies are ferreting out unproductive employees and replacing them with people who are engaged in their work and want to do a good job.
If you want to earn more money, simply find ways to render more service to your employer. In our society people are paid based on three things: the demand for what they do, the skills and education required to perform the work, and how easily they can be replaced.
People who are at the lower end of the pay scale are typically paid minimum wage or slightly more because their job does not require a lot of training, there is not a big demand for their limited skills, and they are easily replaced.
On the other hand, people at the top of the pay scale earn many times what those at the bottom earn because their job requires a lot of training and knowledge, there is a high demand for their skills, and they are difficult to replace.
If you want to earn more money, find ways to become more valuable to your employer. Doing so may require you to go back to school or in some other way to increase your value to the company. Acquiring specialized knowledge will raise your level of expertise and make you more difficult to replace.
Another way you can become of greater value to your company, and as a result earn more money, is to find ways to add more value to the organization.
A number of years ago my friend Wayne Nicholson was employed by a college to manage an adult-learning program for disabled people. Being of an entrepreneurial mind-set, and seeing an unmet need for these people to learn how to live independently, he created an Independent Living program and proposed it to the college. Being a pretty smart guy, he designed it in such a way that it would be inexpensive for the college to implement. Wayne proposed that, in lieu of a pay raise, he would receive a percentage of the added revenue to the school.
As it turned out, the program was an enormous success and Wayne received a significant increase in his income. By removing any financial risk on the part of the college he was able to get his proposal accepted and, as a result, earned more money both for himself and for the school.
Many larger companies have instituted what has become known as an “Intrapreneur” program. This is a program in which an individual working in the organization “takes direct responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk taking and innovation,” as The American Heritage Dictionary defines it. The term is attributed to management consultant Gifford Pinchot, author of the book Intrapreneuring in Action.
If, like me, you’ve always leaned toward entrepreneurial endeavors, Intrapreneurship may be one way you can grow your income while remaining with your present company.
• What are some ways in which you can become more valuable to your employer?
• Is there a way, within your area of responsibility, that you can save the company money? Many companies offer financial and other rewards for cost-cutting ideas they implement.