Don’t try to count your money before you have created value.
Think of the coolest, most impactful-to-your-life companies that have started up over the past 20 years. You surely thought of Google. Apple had to be in there and so did Amazon.com. If you manage B2B customer relationships, Salesforce.com comes to mind. For B2C businesses, Yelp rolls off the tongue pretty easily. For connecting, you probably think of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Now think about older companies that have launched new products or services that have been disruptive. Think of your favorite local businesses that are crushing it. Think of the new stuff you’re hearing about that isn’t yet mainstream in transportation, energy and biotech.
None of these companies or products were or will be profitable on day one. Some of them didn’t make any revenue at all in the beginning. But the people behind them knew they were creating value for their market and that was their priority. Monetizing it was an afterthought because these people know one important thing:
If you create value, there will be a payoff.
This principle is never untrue. However, there are plenty of examples of companies that will not launch a product until they have a profitable revenue stream lined up. This is where truly great potential is squandered, because sometimes value that could be created never comes to fruition – all because monetization was the priority instead of value creation.
This principle scales all the way down to you. If you create value for your company, there will be a payoff: fulfillment in your career and plenty of money down the road. The problem out there is that there are way too many people asking “how much more will I get paid if I {value creation topic here}?” Will I get paid more if I take this training? If I go outside my job description to improve something? Solve a problem without being asked to?
Some people ask these questions out loud to their managers, e.g. “If I take this extra training you are offering me, will I get a raise?” But most of us simply rationalize it in our head when we decide to pass on opportunities to create value because:
- It’s not our job
- We already work too hard
- Our peers aren’t doing it, so it’s not fair to us to have to do it
- It would be giving away our labor for free
This thinking is just as flawed as it is rampant. To be a disruptive force, you have to be the person who is creating value where no one else is. Those opportunities where your peers are slacking off are not unfair to you, they are your ticket to a huge payoff down the road. Likewise, extra training or assignments are themselves compensation to you. They give you the tools and vehicles to create value; expecting guaranteed payment upon completion of training or in advance of taking on an assignment makes no sense.
If you want to be a disrupter at your company remember one mantra: value now, money later.
Excellent article. Too often people aren’t willing to put in the hard work without guarantees or payment up front. Call it reaping what you sow or karma, no value no payoff.
being self sacrificing for the good of the company makes one invaluable
Not to be argumentative, but if i have a $100,000 problem, I need a $100,000 + solution. Doesn’t good planning involve an honest assessment of the potential pay-off for “adding value.” I mean, I can voluntarily drive to the coast and shoot seagulls out of the sky, but I can’t expect the fishermen to pay up for the ammunition, plus room, board, and retirement. I have to work all that out with them first.
That all depends on whether you point the rifle at the fisherman after shooting the gulls, demand payment, and ask whether they “value their lives,” Regrettus.
Wow — this exchange is right out of an episode of “Mad Men.” Don’t you dudes understand that society has moved on, even if you haven’t? Add value with your hard work and ideas, not with cultural dominance, duress, and coercion tactics.
Rolph, I say to you:
“You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em. . . . Never count your money at the table.”
What Kenny was trying to say there is simple: (1) when you stare down at a deuce-seven off-suit, you cannot expect to get paid, (2) if people see how focused you are on your bottom line, you become a fat target for lay-offs.
So are you saying you think altruistic people always be among the most profitable? Not that I agree with Ayn Rand, but I think she would challenge this.
Value creation ≠ altruism.
Got it.