Never Lose Your Job Become A More Valuable Player pdf

Never Lose Your Job Become A More Valuable Player
And IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE DEVELOP MVPs TODAY
by Jim Rohrer
© 2011 The Loyalty Partners, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
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Table of Contents
Forward
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Acknowledgments
Jim Rohrer Speaks Why You Should Listen

Sample of: Improve Your Bottom Line Develop Mvps Today
FOREWORD
Never Lose Your Job Become a More Valuable Player is a bi-book; that is, you get
two books in one. Its format, which addresses employers under one cover and employees
under the other, is my attempt to get both to exchange points of view. I believe
exchanging perspectives is the most powerful way under the sun to facilitate progress in
anything. To make significant progress, we must change our frame of reference.
If you have a job and are valuable enough to your employer, you can probably be
secure in your employment. This half of the book will give you some real-life ways to
become The other half of the book is directed to employers, suggesting to them some
simple ways they can develop the MVPs (More Valuable Players) who will improve the
profitability of their business. If I can help even in a small way to reduce layoffs and
improve some businesses’ viability, it’s worth the effort.
I believe the economic crisis we’ve been enduring since late in 2008 has brought us to
a crossroads. Businesses need to be more creative than ever to succeed. They need to
rethink much of what they At the same time, employees are experiencing unprecedented
numbers of job losses. Those who are employed are asking themselves, The most
valuable asset any business has is its people. You and your fellow workers largely
determine the success of the business you’re in, yet you may not be feeling so valuable in
these turbulent times.
Your boss wants top performing employees, yet he or she may not have taken the time
to understand what you and your fellow workers most seek in your job, beyond your
paycheck. We know that, like air, a paycheck is necessary for life, but once you have it,
there are many other factors which affect how you feel about your job.
As an employee, you can virtually insure your own job security if you become
valuable enough to the long term success of the company. If you could walk in your
bosses’ shoes, and he or she could walk in yours, you would greatly increase your
probability of getting what’s really important to each of you.
We all live in our own frames of reference. Our personal perspectives largely define
how we see the world. It’s no surprise that our astronauts come back from outer space

changed individuals. They see the world in a way that’s impossible to see while their feet
are on the ground. Anyone who has travelled abroad learns that the world does not
revolve around the USA. Unfortunately, most Americans assume it does.
I was about to graduate from Air Force Officer Training School, as a Second
Lieutenant, otherwise known as a My last stop was a visit with a tough, old Sergeant.
Among our instructors, he gave us the very best training we received during the entire
course.
Sarge pointed out that today we were trainees, but tomorrow we’d be junior officers,
and, as was the tradition, if we passed, he’d be saluting us! He further pointed out that the
salute was out of respect for the gold bars we wore, not necessarily for the wearer. He
further explained that non-commissioned officers like himself, who earned their rank by
experience, actually ran the Air Force. They largely determined the success or failure of
each day’s mission.
The old sergeant went on to tell us that our individual effectiveness as officers would
be determined by our ability to work with those who had the experience. If we insisted on
believing and acting as if we knew everything, we would fail. We’d never earn the
respect of those whom we outranked. If, on the other hand, we were able to respect the
experience represented by those who had been there and actually done the work, we’d
become successful leaders. Our careers and the Air Force would benefit from that
leadership.
On graduation day, as we filed past the reviewing stand, there was the old Sergeant
saluting every one of us. I never forgot his message and his salute. I’ve tried to earn that
salute by honoring the lesson he taught me.
In the second half of this book, I hope to influence your boss so he’ll listen more
keenly to you and your ideas. I’m hoping your boss will stop and consider what’s
important to you and your fellow workers. By the same token, I want you to think about
what it’s like to be responsible for the livelihoods of many who count on the success of
the business to provide the jobs so necessary to survive in today’s job-shrinking
economic times.
Trying harder won’t improve results nearly as much as exchanging perspectives with

your boss. Truly, you have to walk in each other’s shoes to understand how working for
mutual goals can insure that the company will not only survive but thrive. In turn, you’ll
have a much better chance of staying employed.
The current economy may have you scared to death. If you’re like many Americans,
you couldn’t survive long without your monthly paycheck. I know exactly how you feel.
I once had a job that was critical to my financial well-being. But I also knew I was
overpaid for the job I’d been given! Due to a complicated set of circumstances, the job
responsibilities had been lessened after the pay level was set. In other words, I was being
paid more than my contributions were worth to the organization. It gets worse.
Because of this fear, I became less aggressive about doing the job. For the first time in
my career, I was timid and unwilling to give the tasks at hand all I had. I’m not saying I
didn’t work hard and put in the time, but I just didn’t give it the benefit of my many years
of experience. I could have performed better, but fear of losing the job caused me to
underperform. As soon as the first opportunity for a downsizing occurred, I was part of
the downsizing. I feel particularly bad about the result of my less than stellar
performance, because others who worked for me were also downsized.
Every job, whether it’s sweeping the floor or being the CEO, has two levels of
compensation appropriate for that job. The first is whatever the company would have to
pay to get someone else to perform the job at a satisfactory level. The second level is the
economic worth the organization gets from outstanding performance by the jobholder.
Let’s say you’re driving a truck and servicing the company’s customers. If you’re
making the expected number of service calls and successfully completing the calls, your
pay should be at the level the company would have to pay to replace you. If, on the other
hand, you’re not only making your expected calls, but you’re also creating a positive
experience in the minds of your customers; you’re going above what’s expected. By
creating a favorable view of your company, you’ve actually raised your value to the
company. Your employer might decide to raise your pay, either by some merit pay based
on the performance plan, or just by recognizing you with a base increase. In either case,
you need to continue to perform at that current level or higher.
If you’re following this example, you may say, Isn’t there a pay benefit for longevity

on the job? In our current competitive environment, the answer is no, unless that extra
experience translates into performance that helps your company compete more
successfully.
One only has to look at the American automotive companies whose pay practices,
from the plant floor to the boardroom, were not supported by the same level of economic
value to the companies. Companies who overpay their employees will not be able to stay
in business. There’s no doubt the one significant factor in the millions of lost jobs is that,
as in the case of me in the job I lost, the pay was greater than the benefit received by the
company.
If you want job security, you should strive to be underpaid, not overpaid!
This book was written to help you gain practical ways to increase your value to your
employer. If you become a MVP, you’ll have greater job security, and you may even
have the boss tap you for a tougher, higher-paying job.
I hope you’re excited to read my ideas about how you can become a MVP. If your
employer gave you this book, it says he or she is looking for a new level of partnership
with you. One which will benefit you and make the company better able to sail through
this tough economy and whatever competitive challenges it may face in the future.
Be sure to read the employer side of this book as well. This is meant to be a
partnership between employee and employer.
CHAPTER ONE
I’m sure you’ve heard someone say You may not like hearing that, but it's true that
what's running through your mind has a lot to do with how you’ll perform. Your attitude
can be either a limiting or a positive factor; however, attitude adjustment is not a simple
matter.
We’re all familiar with the idea of the glass half full or half empty. It’s true that we all
see things in different ways. I know I’m a person who always anticipates achieving a
positive goal or focuses on an upcoming pleasant experience.
My wife Nancy is quite different. She has a tendency to look for ways to avoid
unpleasant events. If I were to propose purchasing a new car, I’d have a difficult time
getting her excited about the shiny new vehicle because she’d see the cost more clearly

than the enjoyment factor. If, on the other hand, I pointed out that our current vehicle is
old and we’re facing future high maintenance costs, she’d be inclined to want to avoid
those costs and favor the purchase.
Neither of these views is correct or incorrect, they’re just different. Some of us hear a
set of facts and automatically try to validate these facts in our mind. Others of us
immediately try to invalidate the facts in our mind. One of us hears their inner voice
saying Others hear
The point here is to encourage the realization we can’t always just turn on a positive
attitude when faced with a set of facts. While such an attitude is universally sought, we
have to work hard to train our minds to be open to process facts in a positive manner, one
which moves us forward rather than being a burden to success. Let’s look at the four key
ingredients of a positive attitude: confidence, adaptability, innovation and personal
growth.
CONFIDENCE EQUALS PREPARATION PLUS BELIEF TIMES PASSION
Just like the classic children’s book, The Little Engine That Could, knowing you have
it in yourself to do something makes it much more possible to accomplish. This thing
called confidence is important. Oh, you might say that just believing doesn't make it
happen. You’re right, of course, but if you actually prepare for whatever you’re trying to
do, and then give it everything you have, it's much more likely to come true.
When I was a twelve year old boy, I played on a little league baseball team. I was a
pretty good ballplayer because my dad had spent many, many hours teaching me to hit,
throw and catch a baseball. We had a rock in the front bushes that we’d pull out and use
as an imaginary first base. Since I wasn’t a fast runner and didn’t have a very strong
throwing arm, we decided I’d be a first baseman. We spent many hours with Dad
throwing me the ball so I had to reach for it and stretch to keep my foot on that rock.
In addition to working on fielding, we’d go up to the schoolyard, and he’d pitch
dozens of balls to me to improve my hitting. He knew hitting was about timing and
timing required that you swing early. Most kids swing late, but Dad taught me to swing
early and hard. That lesson enabled me to hit the ball most of the time. It was this
preparation that made it possible for me to make the baseball team.

In those days there weren't enough teams to accommodate every kid who wanted to
play. You had to be good enough to get picked for the team. I’m sure that without the
hard work and preparation with my Dad, I wouldn’t have made the team.
About half way through the season, I had a bad streak with my hitting. I was striking
out a lot. I hated to strike out, so I stopped swinging and hoped to get a walk. It wasn't
that hard to do because many pitchers didn't have good control. They could throw hard,
but they might not get the ball over the plate. I got to the place where I was walking once
or twice a game, but getting called out on strikes the other times. When that happened, I
blamed it on a bad call by the umpire. This was my way of avoiding swing-and-miss
strikeouts.
One week right before we were to play a good team with the best pitcher in the league,
my mother announced we wouldn't be going to the game that week. “What do you
mean,” I asked? “Of course, we have to go to the game.”
“No,” Mom said, “your Dad and I decided since you’re afraid to swing and Westfall is
pitching in this one, it doesn’t make sense to even go. He won’t walk you and you won’t
swing, so what’s the point?”
I was horrified. I couldn’t believe we’d just not show up. What would my coach and
teammates think? This was a big game and not going was like giving up and being a bad
teammate. I begged them to change their mind, but there was no budging their decision. I
thought about the whole thing of not swinging, and realized it was what would be called
at the time, a “sissy way” out of my batting slump. I mentioned to Dad that maybe we
should take some extra time practicing hitting at school. Then I’d be better prepared to
face Westfall.
“No, it's too late for that,” he said. “You’ve made up your mind you can’t hit, so let's
just forget the whole thing.”
I couldn't sleep at night; I was totally filled with the thoughts of what my teammates
would say about my not coming to face Westfall. They’d say I was “chicken.” I guess in
a way, I was. Anyway, it was an awful week. The game was on Thursday, and on that
morning, I made one more attempt to get the decision changed. I told my parents I’d
swing at any pitch over the plate. I promised there would be no walks. They listened to

me and they softened their stance a little. Dad said he’d think about it at work, and if he
changed his mind, he’d call in time for us to go to the game.
I had an awful day because I was convinced we weren’t going to the game. I kept
asking Mom if Dad had called. He hadn't, and the reality that I was too “chicken” to face
Westfall hung over me all day. The game was to start at four o'clock. About 3:15, the call
came. Mom put me on the phone. Dad said he’d allow me to play if I kept my promise to
swing at strikes. I promised and hurried to get my uniform on and head out to the ball
park.
When we got there, I noticed my Dad was just pulling up, but I hardly acknowledged
him. I was still plenty upset by what had happened that week. I saw Westfall warming up
on the sideline, but didn't allow myself to watch how hard he threw. Since I batted third, I
knew I’d be facing him in the first inning. I can still remember standing in the on-deck
circle. I wasn't thinking about striking out. I wasn't thinking about how hard Westfall was
pitching.
My only thought was that he’d throw strikes, and I’d be swinging. If I struck out; so
what! I wouldn’t go down without a swing.
I stepped into the batter’s box without looking around to see if my Dad was watching.
I heard him say, “Come on Jimmy, you can' do it.” The first pitch was way over my head.
I didn't swing because it was so far up, I couldn't have hit it if I wanted to. The next pitch
looked like a strike. I swung as hard and fast as I could. I hit it in fact, I hit it hard. As I
looked up, I saw it clear the right center field fence. Actually, I wasn't all that surprised. I
thought I’d be able to make contact somehow. It wasn't until later, it actually sunk in that
I’d hit a home run off Westfall.
I can't remember hitting too many home runs in my baseball career. I wasn’t a great
power hitter, but I did manage to hit the ball somewhere most of the time. I know now
what the reasons were: we prepared by practicing and because I swung. I’ve never
forgotten the old idea that “You can’t get a hit if you don’t swing.”
My parents added the element of passion. They got my attention and taught me to
always try my very best. They let me know they could live with me striking out, but not
with me not trying. I got that message. What does my boyhood story have to do with you

becoming a MVP at work? Like the lessons I learned, your boss will have little patience
for those who don't “take a swing,” even when the odds of “getting a hit” are a long shot.
AN EXERCISE FOR DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE
First, think carefully about the task ahead. Break it down and try to figure out how you
can prepare yourself for what's to come. If it's a conversation with a customer, think
about what that customer is likely to want. Figure out how you can make the desired
result happen, or at least how you can come close to making it happen.
Next, think carefully about what's at stake. What will happen to the organization when
you succeed? Don't think about “striking out.” Focus on the desired outcome with your
entire mind. Think about how much you’ll enjoy telling your boss about the great
outcome. Focus on how proud you’ll be to have done your part. Then, think about the
other person, the customer or whomever you had to work with to accomplish the goal.
Think about how much they’ll appreciate your effort.
Confidence is one of those things that grows with each success. Every time you
accomplish something important, you become that much more certain you’re a valuable
person with unusual skills. Of course, there’ll be times when you’re not 100 percent
successful, but like my baseball experience; you’ll have more confidence than if you
failed to take a swing.
YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADAPT
Isaac Asimov, the author of over 500 books, wrote
The only constant is change.
He certainly was correct. I can remember before there was TV; I can remember my
first plane ride, my first computer and my first very large cell phone. Today, I tweet!
Today’s college students entirely missed Johnny Carson, the OJ Trial, dress codes
anywhere, the Beatles, and many other iconic people and events that are part of my
history.
Change comes upon us daily. For this reason, adaptability
must be on everyone’s list of required attitudes to become
a MVP at anything.
Have you ever been frustrated with someone who won’t change their approach or

attitude because they just can’t drop the old way of thinking? We may have unpleasant
names for these folks, like “fuddy-duddies” or “old school” or just plain “out of touch.”
When there’s a lack of adaptability by someone, it becomes a significant barrier to
success. In too many companies, “back to the basics” means doing the same unsuccessful
things again, but trying harder. Trying harder doesn’t work when you have the wrong
frame of reference. We must change our frame of reference or the way we see things,
before we can demonstrate adaptability.
I’m proposing that you adapt to new circumstances by embracing new ideas, new
approaches and new ways of thinking about things. Change is inevitable. Without it, you
stagnate.
Otherwise, you should accept the fact that differences require different approaches.
I’ve never fully understood the old saying “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
Since I lack “cat-skinning” experience or interest, I can’t validate that, but it sounds right.
My adaptability story happened many years ago. I had just been made the Regional
Personnel Manager of a group of retail stores in Detroit. The stores were not doing well.
In fact, their profitability ranking was among the worst in the entire company. When I
arrived, I was told the stores had too many people, and they were too highly paid. In
addition, the pay levels, numbers, and general poor performance had us last in
productivity and profit. The good news was there was a plan. It included a massive
layoff. Surely this would be the answer.
Every facet of the plan had been developed to the smallest detail. This had clearly
been in the works a long time. The company had never experienced layoffs, but it had
been explained that Detroit understands layoffs. That’s the way the car companies do it,
and everyone understands this method of cost reduction. Just follow the union procedure,
even though these were not union stores. Everyone will understand and accept the
process.
I remember thinking that letting go of the youngest, the lowest paid, and often the ones
highest in individual productivity, while keeping the high seniority, higher paid, often
less productive individuals seemed wrong. But I was the new guy and so, I didn’t
challenge the “well developed plan.”

The day before the layoff was to occur; we got a call from the new company president.
I remember it like it was yesterday. He got all our staff on the speaker phone and the
conversation went something like this:
Fellas, I just was informed about the layoff plan. I apologize for calling at the very last
moment. I can’t approve this plan. First, we have never done layoffs. I think it rips the
company fabric. I know you’re a new team and you feel badly about the poor profit
performance of the Detroit Group, and you want to change that. I’m sure you will. The
folks who you would let go are not the reason the group is doing so poorly. The reason is
actually years and years of poor decision making by the leaders in Detroit. We should not
take away employee jobs because we’ve failed. Again, I’m sorry for the last minute call,
but I want you to come up with a new plan. I’m sure your new plan will take longer and
that’s okay. Let’s do the right thing. Let me know about the new plan as soon as you have
one. Have a good day.
You could have heard a pin drop in the room.
It took some time to develop the alternative plan. Before any new plan was even
possible, the group had to understand the change that had happened and to accept that,
they had to deal with that change. At first, there was a lot of complaining and general
wailing about the president, who just didn’t understand that “Detroit is different.” No one
even began to think about a new plan until it became clear that the old culture was being
called into question by the new president. This culture dictated how we thought about our
people.
For many years, the Detroit stores believed Detroit was, indeed, different because of
the highly unionize environment. Conventional wisdom said, the way to stay non-union,
was to do things and act as the unions would dictate. In other words, follow the rules
union operations had in place.
The heart of this mentality was, “Seniority is the most important element in a person’s
status.” What they produced was not important, or in many cases, not even noted or
tracked. The new president was telling Detroit its people were much more than their
collective seniority. He felt that laying them off was dehumanizing and unfair. Detroit
believed as long as the union rules defined the lay-off, it was okay. This distinct

difference was at the heart of the need for a new strategy.
The new strategy was to count on the employees to deliver the turnaround by
achieving greater results. If each could somehow improve their individual productivity,
even a little bit, it would raise the total performance of all the stores. The new way of
thinking about people and what they could contribute didn’t come easily. The old
thinking was deeply entrenched. New job standards had to be defined and written for all
jobs. The new standards had to be communicated to everyone.
Some people had a hard time understanding that the change would protect those who
produced at or above the standard of their job. That was like speaking an entirely new
language. Some managers couldn’t implement the new plan. They had to be replaced
with those who understood and believed in the new way. Some employees couldn’t adapt
to the new way of thinking either. Many of them didn’t even try. They submitted their
resignations or retired. Most welcomed and accepted the new ideas. Slowly, productivity
began to rise, based on the improved individual results of many of the employees.
The economy was very bad, especially in Detroit. Layoffs were common at many
companies in the area. Managers talked about the layoffs and announced there would be
no layoffs here. We just have to make our numbers, and then we’ll be okay. Training and
support were stepped up. Those who tried hard, but just needed a little more help,
received that necessary assistance to improve their performance.
This transformation was not a quick one, as the president had forecast. It took about
two years before the stores’ performances were approaching satisfactory levels. Once the
change started to happen, it came more swiftly. After another two years, the stores were
among the most profitable in the entire company. They were now setting standards
instead of bringing up the rear. The focus on results was a source of pride among all the
employees.
The point here is that the ability to change and adapt to a new set of circumstances
caused the success. Without that change of heart and focus, the same dismal results
would have surely followed. The other point is, change wouldn’t have been made without
the intervention of an outside force, in this case the new president.
Current tough economic conditions will undoubtedly mean dealing with change. Your

ability to recognize the need for change and to adapt and embrace it will go a long way
toward making you a MVP. One who delivers winning results.
GET THAT INNOVATIVE SPIRIT
YOU CAN LEARN FROM MOMS THEY’RE INNOVATIVE!
It has been said, the ability of America to be successful for well over 200 years is a
testimony to the innovative spirit of our people. We’re in a desperate fight to retain our
leadership in the worlds of business and science. Despite the cynics who honestly believe
our run as world leader is coming to an end, I don’t believe that. We’ve faced many
uncertain times in our past, and we have always come up with new ways of being
successful. The key to this is in our freedom.
The biggest threat to our innovative spirit is the idea that a few subject matter experts
know better what to do to improve, than those who are in the trenches. Already, the
“trench-people” are rebelling. The innovation formula is simple. If you focus on getting
the success you want, you’ll see more options to take you there. Focus on doing what
you’ve always done, and the success you so desperately want will be difficult to achieve.
I love to tell a story about innovation where the heroine in the story is my mom. She
had a wonderful, God-given talent of being able to create beautiful oil-base paintings.
Although she was largely self-taught, she enjoyed a great reputation in her town as
someone whose wonderful paintings brought great enjoyment. She was a gifted artist
who was happiest when she was working with her paints.
The only problem she had was her full-sized paintings took a long time to produce. To
adequately compensate her for her time, they had to be priced at a level considered to be
somewhat expensive. Many of those who had the opportunity to visit the art gallery
where her works were on display, found the purchase price limited their ability to buy her
works. This was distressing to her because she wanted her talent to be the source of
enjoyment for many others.
Focusing on her main objective, she developed a very innovative strategy. She came to
understand that pictures of the home in which someone grew up were a source of great
warm feelings, invoking wonderful memories of the past and perhaps of those no longer
alive. She reasoned that if someone could provide a snapshot of their home, she could do

a miniature oil painting of it. Mom packaged each with an easel and small, but handsome
frame. She was able to do them relatively quickly so the price she had to charge was
moderate, allowing virtually everyone to own one of her house paintings.
She laughed about her new career as a “house painter.” Some artists might have poked
fun at the endeavor, but Mom was in the business of using her talent to bring joy to
others. She marveled at the numbers of orders she got, especially around Christmas or
other gift-giving times. The brilliance of the idea was not just in the painting, but in the
way she met her goal of bringing joy to more people with her paintings. So it is with all
of us. Being more innovative means spending a bit more time thinking hard about our
goal. As you focus on the goal, you’ll see more options on how to achieve it.
A Formula for Innovation:
First, write down your goal in very certain terms. Get very specific. I want to do this
specific thing in a specific time frame. Don’t compromise on the goal, but you must
define it. Mom’s goal was to allow a specific number of people to experience the joy of
owning one of her paintings.
Next, you need to propose on paper how you might achieve your goal. For instance, if
mom’s goal was to affect fifty people positively by the end of a year, it became obvious;
the size of the paintings had to be reduced. She used pencil and paper to figure out the
right size.
You get the idea. I’m sure the innovation at Apple comes from their ability to
miniaturize technology. This has made it possible to apply their success to additional
applications. First, listening to music, and then applying it to a very cool phone, a
notebook, and ultimately, the iPad.
Innovation can be characterized as looking for different ways to get to your goal and
not giving up. I’ll add one more idea. Innovative people don’t always succeed on the first
try. If the culture where you work only rewards success and punishes failure, innovation
will not come nearly as fast. Those who try and fail are much better off than those who
never try. Every failure is the knowledge of one more way that didn’t work, This means,
when you try, you’re closer to succeeding.
PERSONAL GROWTH

My Father taught me you can never stop growing. He encouraged me to read books. I
can still hear his words:
Someone who refuses to read is no better than someone who can’t read.
Until Alzheimer’s disease took away his mental capability at age 90, he remained
committed to the idea that learning was a neverending, lifetime endeavor. In his later
years, he often criticized his contemporaries because they had become hardened to many
ideas made years earlier, when the circumstances were much different. He’d laugh and
say, “Things change, but my friend’s opinions never do.”
The internet gives us easy access to expertise on almost any subject. Of course, you
might have to sort out opposing opinions, but the fact-finding tasks we accomplished
years ago at the local library are much easier with the gifts of technology. The
proliferation of information makes it unforgivable to be uninformed on virtually any
subject of interest to you.
My father was an author who pounded out his stories and articles on an IBM
typewriter. Before anyone in the family had a computer, we came upon a great offer for
some advanced word processors. We purchased four of them. One was for my Dad, one
for me and one each for my two sons, both of whom were in highs chool. Although they
were almost a computer, the instruction manual―which had been translated into
English―left much to the imagination. Reading it brought many laughs, much
frustration, and few answers about the various functions of the equipment.
My sons and I became somewhat satisfied to use only the simplest functions, which
we had figured out by trial and error. My Father, on the other hand, was intrigued with
the contraption. He was determined to uncover every single feature. He budgeted a
certain amount of time each week to uncovering new and unknown secrets. As he
explored the device, he documented his findings very carefully. Within a few months he
had written an entire user guide in easy-to-follow steps. He forwarded the new
information on loose leaf pages, which each of us could print and use to add to our
growing mastery of the machines.
PC’s had not come to my business in any significant way, and my sons were now in
college where they were required to produce term-papers and other documents. The skills

we had acquired because of my dad’s hard work and persistence gave us an advantage
over others who were not yet connected. This advantage had been produced by a man in
his late seventies who was determined to pursue this latest technology.
When he turned eighty, we gave him his first computer. He loved it, of course, and
mastered it immediately. Each new advance in computer technology was gobbled up by
Dad. It wasn’t long before he became bored with dial-up. I think he was the first in the
senior living facility to have high speed Internet service. At eighty-eight, he published a
very funny article called, My Computer Doesn’t Love Me Anymore, which encouraged
fellow seniors to persevere with their computer learning.
The first sign we had that something was wrong with his mental processes was when
he began to call my sister or me to remind him how to perform some function with his
computer. Right up until the Alzheimer’s progressed to the visible stage, he read
constantly, wrote every day and grasped facets about the world around him others his age
never saw. It never occurred to him his experience had supplied him with all the right
answers. He was always open to the idea that new realities required new understandings.
What does this story tell us?
My father made personal growth a habit; so can you.
I believe personal growth is a time-management exercise. You have to make time to
become more informed on subjects that are important to you or your work. Each week
you’ll be able to identify one or two key subjects that confront you at work. Consider
these subjects carefully. Reject the idea you already know the approach or answer you’ll
need. Set aside a little time to research the topic you’re facing. Go online to get ideas
from other experts on the subject. Read conflicting ideas and trust your own intellect and
judgment to give you the best path.
If you get a better idea, that’s a good thing, of course. You’ll be able to document and
support the new approach, paralleling the experience someone else has had, as well as the
reason you feel your selected approach matches their experience. Your preparation will
be recognized, and it will be hard to disagree with your supported position. If, on the
other hand, your previously held position is supported by others who have successfully
used your idea, you’ll be rewarded with more confidence you’re pursuing the best path.

Even in the unlikely event your approach is not completely successful, you’ll look and
feel better for having taken the time to give it your best shot.
Can you image a top lawyer going into court without first looking at similar cases?
They certainly look carefully over all the evidence and forecast the points the opposing
counsel will likely make. Then, they’ll prepare strong arguments to counter those
expected by their opponents. After this type of preparation, they will either go into the
courtroom with confidence or they might realize they didn’t have a strong case. Either
way, they will be able to best represent their client with the knowledge that preparation
had provided them.
Why then would any salesperson give a canned presentation rather than one prepared
after specifically designing it for the prospect they will be facing? Why would any
operations decision be made without considering both the advantage hoped for and the
possible downside of the decision? It happens every day, but MVPs like Peyton Manning
don’t fail to prepare. He’s considered the best quarterback in the National Football
League, both for his physical skills and mental strategy skills. No other quarterback can
match his “audible skills” and instinctive ability to call the right play.
SUMMARY
As this chapter on attitude concludes, consider how important attitude is to your
becoming a MVP at work. Confidence isn’t enough, but when you work at also being
adaptable, innovative, committed to personal growth, and prepared, you’ll dramatically
improve your results. Make no mistake; employers everywhere are worried about the
results of their organization. If you can be counted on to deliver positive results, your
value to the organization will rise, as will your job security.
William J. Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, said, “There are no menial jobs,
only menial attitudes.” That means whatever your job; you’ll do it better if you consider
your attitude as an important part of what you contribute to your job.

CHAPTER TWO
YOUR PERSONAL CHARACTER
TRAITS DEFINE WHO YOU ARE

Before a newborn ever leaves the hospital, there are those who see a likeness to one or
both of the parents. It’s clear that physical appearance characteristics do follow family
lines. Your DNA partially defines you. It’s less clear, but also scientifically proven, we
have personality traits that are inherited. The difference is that personality traits are called
tendencies by most psychologists. That is, who we are in terms of character traits is not
preordained at birth. Our training, the environment in which we process events around us,
and our own will power, primarily determine which character traits are most dominant in
our lives.
Every Boy Scout has memorized the Scout Oath that says a Scout is Trustworthy,
Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean,
and Reverent. This early programming has stood the test of time, and most of us would
sign our children up for these traits today if we could. But here comes that environment
thing that catches the attention of young people and re-prioritizes which traits are most
important. Often, they pursue those traits that result in increased positive attention or
admiration by those who are most important to them. In view of that reasoning, I suppose
we all re-prioritize to some degree.
Let’s look carefully at the traits most universally sought by employers; hardworking,
honesty, dependability, and loyalty.
HARDWORKING
Business has had a fixation with productivity since the Industrial Revolution. If you
can increase the productivity of your assets, profit has to increase, unless, of course, some
cost is out of control. As it relates to the people in the trenches, getting more production
from the same number of manpower hours equals increased productivity. It’s no wonder
your boss tries to come up with ways to increase the productivity of each and every
department in the company.
There are three ways to increase productivity:
1. You can place less emphasis on the quality of the various tasks, allowing workers to
produce a greater quantity of the product.
2. There can be new or better ways of doing the job, in which case it may be done just
as well, but at a faster rate.

3. The company can describe the output goals to the workers and let them improvise.
They’ll see the value to both the company and themselves to produce more and/or to
provide a higher quality of work.
My experience is, after both of the first two strategies have been tried with no further
gains, the last will still yield positive results. We all have it in us to increase our output if
we’re committed to improvement. Whatever the endeavor, we can all do just a little bit
better. We can be a better spouse, better parent, better friend and yes, a better worker.
The defining ingredient is the desire to be―to do― better.
So, if your boss lets it be known he or she is all about hardworking employees, know
that you have it in you to become one of those. A funny thing about us humans is, until
we really want to “run the race and win,” we all look like “slow runners.”
Throughout my career I used the story about the donkey and carrot. I’m not sure who
gets credit for authoring it, but it illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of many
incentive plans currently found in the workplace. You’ve seen the familiar picture of the
donkey pulling the cart with a carrot dangling in front of him. The donkey's motivation to
pull is obviously to reach and take a bite of the carrot. For this incentive to work, the load
has to be light enough for him to pull. In addition, the carrot has to be desirable enough
and the donkey has to be hungry enough to want to take a bite of that carrot.
However, if he doesn’t eventually have his bite of carrot, he’s going to recognize it's a
"con game" and he’ll stop pulling. The only problem is, when you give the donkey a big
enough bite of the carrot, he’s no longer going to be hungry. Consequently, his
motivation to pull is dramatically reduced. At this point, the only way you can get him to
pull is to lighten the load, shorten the stick, and sweeten the carrot.
The problem is, in the business world, we have a “load” that is fairly well dictated by
market conditions. If you lighten it too much, or give the donkey too big a bite of the
carrot (analogous to a part of the profit generated by the free enterprise system), the
operation no longer remains profitable. You ultimately end up out of business.
Today’s fringe benefits are tomorrow's expectations. So what do you do? The
conventional answer is to change the donkey to a thoroughbred and make him want to
run.

Please don’t think we’re comparing workers to animals (although we’ve all had a boss
somewhere who only seemed to know the words “pull harder”). The ability and character
of American workers is what has made us the most successful country in the world. If we
love our work, understand the importance we bring to the company, and respect the goals
and aspirations of the company, we’ll never have to be told to “pull harder.”
If the boss is intent on finding “hard-working” folks, what does that really mean? I
don’t think it means being the first one there in the morning and the last to leave. It
doesn’t means putting in lots of unpaid overtime or extra hours. Well, what the heck
does it mean then?
How about this? Being hardworking means knowing what’s vitally important about
your job and making sure that’s where you put most of your effort and time. Add finding
a way not to just “do your best,” but getting it done.
One of the hardest working companies I’ve ever worked with was a start-up in Silicon
Valley selling and supplying DSL service when there were few suppliers. It was certainly
on the edge of an emerging age where fast Internet service would be available to virtually
everyone. I was recruited to the company along with other key players. When I met the
key staff, I could see everyone had one goal. That was to bring whatever their skill set
was to the company so it could grow and prosper. These key individuals recruited others
to fill the many needs the company had.
We all brought in the very best and brightest among our contacts. Soon we had
assembled a team that was, by any measure, impressive. I remember thinking the
assembled team resembled the United Nations. There were people who were originally
from several different countries. It was the most ethnically diverse group I’d ever
experienced.
Soon I began to see something I’d not previously experienced; the hard working
nature of the workforce. These employees worked hard at their tasks. They worked
together with little interdepartmental friction. They all cared about not letting another
department or individual down. Everyone wanted the piece for which they were
responsible to be first rate, and they’d work until it was. There was no “buck passing.”
And I never heard ,“That’s not my job.”

There were no excuses; just results. Staff meetings were short, on target and focused
on the results that were needed that week. There was a concern for long-term objectives,
but making this week’s goal was most important.
I admit we were treated better than any workforce I’d been a part of. An excellent
lunch was brought in each day: the increase in my waist size reflected it! I could see my
weight climbing by the week. The area where our programmers worked had pool tables
and ping pong tables for use during break times. Each work area had stocked
refrigerators, so you’d never be thirsty or hungry. Pay was good, but certainly not out of
step with other companies in our market. Everyone had stock options that could only be
cashed in after the company became public and demonstrated its viability over some
period of time.
The Chief Executive set the tone for the company with her personal standards, honest
regard for the employees, and determination to succeed. She was probably the best
executive for whom I’ve ever worked.
Her example had all the important elements which, if any were missing, could have
corrupted the environment. But what was it that made the employees work so well
together and produce such exceptional results?
Let’s go back to the donkey story. The employees of this company were all
“thoroughbreds,” and they all loved to “run.” That is, they were proud to be part of this
young and upcoming company. They had great pride in their own ability to produce
superior results. In addition to the workers and managers assembled, there were two
organizational skills that contributed to the hardworking attitudes of the employees.
The first was a focus on one goal. Since fast internet speed was a brand new product, it
was clear the winners would be those companies who were first to the market with a
dependable product. Everyone knew for us to be successful we had to have a product that
worked every time. Whether you were developing the product or supporting it, the focus
on results was clear. No one department could insure the success by themselves, but we
understood the shared accountability for success. So, in this example, a hardworking
ethic was driven by the notion that what I do counts, and someone else is relying on me
to do my part well.

The other element in organizations that defines whether the climate is right for
hardworking individuals is the elimination of distractions. This was a new organization
and there wasn’t any “We have always done it this way.” Your situation, working for a
more mature organization, may contain many such distractions. You have to deal with
them because they’re real, but the more you can stay focused on what’s important to
moving your department or the organization forward, the better you’ll do.
Being that person who everyone characterizes as hardworking will dramatically
improve your stature in your organization and move you ever closer to being a MVP.
TO SUMMARIZE THE HARDWORKING PRINCIPLE, THERE ARE FOUR
REQUIREMENTS:
1. You have to like the work. Thoroughbreds like to run, therefore they run fast. If you
hate your job, you should consider a change as soon as one becomes practical. Trust me;
an opportunity will pop up sometime if you seek it.
2. You must believe in what you’re doing. Even a floorsweeper can love making a
place clean, while the CEO may hate wha the or she has to do to succeed. If you don’t
believe in what you’re doing, you’re in the wrong job.
3. You must figure out what you do that’s truly important to the success of your
department or company. Focus on getting that particular thing done and done well. It
must be your singular, number one priority
4. Lastly, to whatever amount you can, you must filter out distractions. Don’t spend
time on unimportant things. Conserve your energy, applying it to things that matter.
HONESTY
You might be thinking, how obvious. I’m not talking about not taking home the
company supplies, although refraining from doing so is a good idea. I’m talking about
honesty on a much deeper level. I’m talking about being honest with yourself and
standing up for what you know to be right.
My personal experience happened when I was a relatively junior person in a large
firm. I was asked to present a huge project to the CEO. I knew if it was approved, I’d be
promoted to the biggest role I’d ever experienced in my career. I also knew that if I
followed the “normal script” in the presentation, I wouldn’t set the right goals for the

project. I feared it would fail or certainly never achieve its full potential.
The company had been in a cost-cutting mode for several years. If this particular
project was accepted as a cost cutting project, it would never succeed. But cost-cutting
was virtually all the company listened to at that time. Those with the best cost-cutting
ideas were promoted, and everyone else was left behind. To make it worse, I was in the
operations department, known to be the leaders of the cost-cutters. Our consistent
approach was always “less is best.”
As I prepared for the presentation, my boss wanted lots of detail and practice runs.
Themes like getting the best possible people and insuring we had sufficient training and
enough resources were not what he wanted to hear in the presentation. However, I knew
these elements were necessary. As we continued to practice and rehearse, he continued to
enforce the cost-cutting script.
I remember the advice my wife gave me. “If they can’t see what you’re recommending
is correct, they shouldn’t be in charge.” Well, she may have been right, but they were in
charge, and she didn’t understand the culture of the company. My boss was so insistent
about sticking to the script, he made me promise I’d read the presentation.
I couldn’t see how that would work. The presentation was very detailed and would
take a few hours to complete. I couldn’t see myself reading to the Chairman for hours,
but I agreed to the reading demand. There was one deviation agreed upon. If he asked
questions, I was allowed to go off the script and answer.
The night before the presentation I hardly slept at all. I knew I had a great project and
well thought out details. It would work and provide a huge advantage to the company it
had previously lacked. But, what would this long reading thing feel like? I knew my
career was hanging in the balance. I wasn’t sure the chairman even knew who I was, but
he would know tomorrow. If he hated the ideas or the way I advanced them, I probably
would need to look for another job. If I failed to do what my boss had instructed, I
definitely would need a new job.
To make the scene even more stressful, when I arrived, there was a lunch served in the
Chairman’s dining area. He was there, along with four of his staff members, plus my boss
and his boss. I remember I ate little, as I was sure I’d become ill if I did. Finally, we sat

around a big conference table and each person had their own book with my script and all
the associated numbers bound into it. They all laughed and promised not to look at the
numbers in the back of the book until I completed the presentation.
My boss introduced me and told everyone how hard I’d been studying this idea, and
that he was sure I got it right. Then, with all eyes on me, the reading began. I read the
script as promised for about four or five minutes then the Chairman stopped me. “Wait a
minute, Jim. Cut to the chase and tell me what it is you’re recommending and why,” he
instructed.
I told him what the goal of the project was, and as to the why, I said, “For about what
we’re spending today, we can dramatically improve the service we provide and our
ability to serve the customers.”
There, it’s out. It’s not a cost-cutting idea, but an improvement one. Soon, I’ll know if
I’m fired, I thought.
“That’s interesting,” he said. “Tell me more.”
Step by step, I went through the goals and the process to accomplish those goals. I
could see he was fascinated because he immediately began asking probing questions that
said, “Tell me more.” I could see he caught the vision and wanted to make sure it was
something that could actually be accomplished, not just some over-zealous “pipe dream.”
From there, the day got better and better. Others asked the same types of “tell me
more” questions. We had the details all worked out, so the answers were easy. Not only
did the project get approved, but it had the Chairman’s complete support. He wanted to
be “in the loop” as each phase was completed. The meeting lasted four hours and went
from the most stressful to the most triumphant day I’d ever experienced.
There’s no way to tell how the meeting would have gone had I presented the project in
the manner I thought the officers were expecting. It’s clear that by presenting it honestly,
I got unprecedented support I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. In this case, the honest
approach, supported with facts and solid plans for success, was the right formula. I
presented it “off-script,” not the way my boss had wanted me to do in reading it. Yet, I
was totally, “on-script.”
Since the concept of honesty is such an important one, here are some honesty rules

that should serve you well:
1. Don’t talk negatively about others in your organization. This is an extension of
honesty in that you’ll be giving your honest support to others on your team. If you
honestly support them, it would be dishonest to tell others about their shortcomings.
People are clever enough to understand if you’re negative about someone else, you might
be less than supportive of them as well.
2. Don’t complain about the boss or the processes you’re to follow. While it’s
certainly honest to champion change, it’s dishonest to openly disrespect those in authority
and the processes they’ve established. The honest route to change is to go to the person
who is capable of making the change you’re seeking and present your case for change
openly, with data to support your idea. Of course, timing is everything. Pick a time when
you think the boss is open to change.
3. Don’t cut corners to achieve success. Cutting corners is really another way of
saying cheating. While it may seem everyone cheats just a little, cutting corners will not
bring about true and lasting success. Think about all the companies who re-designed
accounting rules and who are no longer in business. MVPs always win within the rules.
4. Give your honest opinion when it’s sought. Being honest can sometimes be
confused with being blunt and brutally frank. Clarity is different from bluntness. You can
be clear about your ideas without making someone else wrong.
Here’s an example: “When we began this process, it probably was the right one, but
things have changed and perhaps we should change the process to adapt to the new
circumstances.” This is much more likely to get consideration for change than if you
were to say, “This way of doing it is stupid. I never have thought it was the right
approach.” Honesty is the best policy, but perhaps not brutally honest.
5. If you see colleagues struggling to succeed, offer your support. Suggest change if
they’re open to it. If they lose (i.e., fail), you and the company lose as well. If you can
help them succeed, that’s a win for everyone. Honest support is certainly a virtue.
6. Be willing to focus on the bigger win. Being a winner means focusing on the team
winning. One of the most famous MVPs, Michael Jordan, scored forty points or more per
night early in his career, but the team regularly lost. Later, he changed his play to become

more of a team player, scoring fewer points personally. The team became one of the
greatest championship teams ever. Former President Harry Truman said, “It doesn’t
matter who gets credit, as long as the team wins.” Team winning is critical.
Honesty is being able to look in the mirror and liking the person you see. When you
smile, that “person” will smile back knowing you really like “each other.”
DEPENDABILITY
Anyone who has ever participated in team sports knows about dependability.
Members of the team know who they can always count on. It often has little to do with
athletic ability; instead it has to do with a deep commitment to not let a fellow team
member down. How many times have you seen a less than complete effort at work turn
into a team failure?
I’m sure you’ve heard someone say “you can always depend on [his or her name].”
Have you ever stopped to understand why that individual generates such confidence? To
examine this trait, let’s look at some dependable American icons.
McDonald’s is not known for serving gourmet meals, but they’re known for being
dependable. You know what you’re going to get at McDonald’s. It will be the same Big
Mac every time. It will have the same taste and be served hot and juicy. The fries will
also be hot and the portions will always be the same. When Ray Croc began to expand
from his first McDonald’s, he decided that standardization was essential. With that
decision, he put in place one of the most dependable food products in history. Franchisees
around the world are given the McDonald’s manuals that set the standards of
dependability.
With McDonald’s, it’s the standards that insure the consistent product delivery. One of
McDonald’s biggest suppliers, Coca cola, has also prospered by delivering consistency
for almost eighty years. You and I know precisely what our coke will taste like because
the secret formula is solidly in place in the manufacturing process.
Thus, one of the secrets of dependability is consistent performance. But what would
happen if McDonald’s began promising “the best meal in town”? They would still have
the same consistent quality, but the meal would fall far short of the standard they were
promising of the best meal in town. Soon people would become dissatisfied with their

performance. Their reputation for dependability would be diminished. Now you can see
the promise is equally as important as the delivery.
To develop a reputation for dependability, you cannot overpromise as the “best meal
in town” example does. The old adage “under promise and over-deliver” is a sure
formula for becoming known as a dependable businessman or woman.
My favorite dependability story takes a bit of description to set up, but I think the
example is worth a little extra preamble.
I was in charge of a large inbound call center network taking telephone sales calls for
the famous Sears Catalog. This was a huge network with centers in ten cities linked
together with an inbound call system. The network employed thousands of part-time
employees who took great pride in their jobs as “Catalog Consultants.”
We had a small headquarters staff who oversaw the network. As you might expect,
there were always issues and problems to deal with. The headquarters staff―lean in
numbers―didn’t have the expertise to tell the center employees what to do about the
problems and difficulties that arose. Like McDonald’s, we needed standardization in the
way orders were taken so that customer deliveries would always be as expected.
We at headquarters decided we couldn’t provide answers to all the problems, so we
decided to count on the enthusiasm and expertise in the centers to solve the day-to-day
challenges. Each center had its own problem-solving network of consultants; they were
called focus groups. These groups took seriously the task of insuring the best customer
experience by applying their problem-solving expertise.
Again and again, they proved to have innovative solutions, so we continued to let
them handle the problems and the solutions. Here’s one example of the types of things
that happened daily and weekly:
I received a call from our merchandise manager who headed home fashion
merchandising for the Catalog division. He told me a huge collection of mismeasured
blinds were building up in our distribution centers. The problem occurred because our
people were unsure if the appropriate measurement was on the inside or outside
dimension of the window. To this day, I honestly can’t remember which it was.
We relayed this problem to the centers and asked them to come up with an innovative

way to get the proper training to their thousands of part-time people. Imagine the
challenge communicating with a thousand or so people in each of ten locations about this
one particular subject. Understand― many details like this came at us every day.
I happened to be visiting our center in Greensboro, N.C., during this time. As I
approached the center that morning, I was aware something unusual was going on as the
employees were entering the center building. Each person was being required to measure
a front window for a blind. If they got the wrong answer, they couldn’t get in until the
proper procedure was explained, and they completed the correct measurement. When
they got it right, they were given a candy bar and admitted to the building with great
fanfare. Within in two days all the mismeasured orders ceased. The merchandise manager
was astonished at the turnaround.
The point of this story: the centers developed a reputation for dependable solutions to
all types of operational problems. They were unbelievable, and none of us at headquarters
in Chicago would have been able to achieve the same results for such a wide variety of
situations. In this case, dependability came from relying on a group of people, not a
standardization of the system or process.
What made it work was the determination of each focus group in each location to
deliver the needed results. Their determination came from their dedication to delivering
outstanding service to their customers.
If we break down the word dependable into its two parts, we can see how it occurs.
Depend, the first part, means a person is certain others can depend on him or her. Like the
call centers, you must become determined that others will be able to depend on you. The
second half of the word, able, meaning proficient or adept, refers to the ability to create
successful processes, like the ones McDonald’s and Coke have developed.
Putting it all together: People on whom we can “depend” are “able” to create well
thought-out processes.
You want to be a MVP? You want to become that “go to” person whom everyone can
depend upon to come through? You can do it by deciding you’ll deliver using the right
process and by making it a habit to under-promise and over-deliver.
LOYALTY

It’s indisputable that loyalty is earned and is solely built on trust. Loyalty can’t exist
unless the recipient is worthy of the loyalty. Loyalty is a “gut level” thing, not always
completely rational. You’re probably loyal to your home town or the state where you
grew up. You’re perhaps loyal to your school. This relationship exists because these
connections bring back positive, heartwarming thoughts. If those fond remembrances
aren’t there, the loyalty isn’t either. If you’ve ever had a dog, you undoubtedly loved that
dog. Chances are it was loyal to you, and you returned the favor. The dog trusted you to
feed and take care of it, and you did just that. It gave you its unconditional affection. This
relationship of mutual trust caused the loyalty to build.
In a similar fashion, loyalty to a company or a boss has to be a “gut level” connection
based on a relationship where mutual trust exists. I love the word reciprocity, which
means to respond to a positive action with another positive action.
You might make the point the organization must take the first step for loyalty to build.
I heartily agree with you. An organization must earn the loyalty of its people. On the
other hand, in this age of “what’s in it for me,” you must be proactive in giving the
organization the benefit of a doubt. Let me tell you a story about a department in a
company that earned the loyalty of its workers. I think it makes a great point.
This was a unionized service department in a major city. Unfortunately, it had earned
a reputation for very poor service. Customers couldn’t get prompt or timely service.
When a technician arrived, he often didn’t have the necessary part on the truck to solve
the problem. Multiple trips to customers were often necessary before the service order
could be successfully closed. Competitors targeted the poor service in their advertising.
The employees in this department didn’t earn this reputation alone. Management had
long ago stopped talking to their people. They talked to the union as if they had forgotten
the service workers actually worked for the company, not the union. The relationship was
adversarial at best, because the managers just relied on rules and union contract language
to run the business. When you walked into the unit, you could feel the uncomfortable
atmosphere immediately.
The service issues were so bad that they were affecting the sales of new merchandise.
Management’s plan was to bring all the employees into a rented theater for a meeting.

They played the competitor’s advertisement, which mocked the poor service.
Then management issued a challenge to all the employees:
If we’re to get rid of the reputation of being the worst service department in the city,
we’ll need your help. You’re on the front line and probably know better than we do what
needs to change for us to improve. We’re asking for your help, and we promise to listen
to your ideas and suggestions. We’ll implement as many of them as possible, but you
have to tell us how to fix our reputation and replace it with great customer service.
A dedicated phone line was set up for the suggestions. It was manned by a junior
manager who had built a relationship of trust with many of the workers. The first day no
calls came in. The second day one call was received. Then over the next few weeks,
many suggestions came in. Some were small things, but many pointed out big
problems― problems like a poorly maintained fleet of trucks, inadequate training, poor
in-stock of popular parts, and-over scheduling of daily routes. Just about every caller
mentioned the fact that long time customers had to wait for a technician to be dispatched.
To their credit, the managers started working hard to correct the problems. They
scheduled lots of overtime to clear up the backlog of work causing the delays customers
were experiencing. Finally, they were able to promise next day service to customers
who could hardly believe what they were experiencing. Over time, the trucks got fixed,
training was dramatically increased, and the parts inventory was measured daily. The
results became a source of pride. Of course, the manager/employee relationships
improved noticeably. Service technicians’ daily completed calls increased. Even the
appearance of the technicians was noticeably better. And, yes, the profitability of the unit
more than doubled. This eliminated any need for layoffs that had become routine in this
unit.
I know this seems like a “They lived happily ever after” story, but it happened just this
way. The power of loyalty kicked in. The service workers moved their loyalty to their
customers. The managers became loyal to the needs of their workers and, in time, began
to feel loyalty returned to them.
Now, let’s say you want to give your employer some loyalty, and you believe they
deserve it. How do you begin? If loyalty is to exist, effective two-way communication is

required. So, the first step is to initiate an active communication plan in earnest. Listen
carefully to the communication coming from your company leaders. Internalize it. If you
have questions, ask them. Make sure you understand their message clearly. Give
feedback to show you understand and accept the communication and the action it
requires. If there are barriers to moving forward, bring them into the open in a spirit of
facilitating progress, not resisting change.
Think back to that word reciprocity: responding to a positive action with another
positive action. It really works that way, and when you’re loyal to your company, it
shows. I doubt there was ever a MVP who wasn’t loyal to his team or organization.
CHAPTER THREE
YOUR SKILLS DEFINE WHAT
YOU’LL BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH
We’ve been talking about who you are and what you stand for. Now we’ll move into a
discussion of the skills you possess. A person who has a great attitude as well as other
positive traits will still be unable to get their job done without a toolbox of pertinent
skills.
I’m not the best at accomplishing household projects. I admit that a lack of desire to
excel in this area has something to do with it. Even when I try hard, I often don’t do very
well. The task usually takes much longer than I thought it would. Sometimes it has to be
done over, and minor injuries such as bruised knuckles and cut fingers are fairly
common. I know the reason. I lack the proper tools. Okay, it may have something to do
with skills, but I’m sticking with the lack of tools story. While this is probably not the
best example of improper tools, it’s funny and still relevant to my point.
Perhaps the use of computers better illustrates the importance of having the right tools.
Without them, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish most of the routine tasks required in
almost any business today. The more complex business processes certainly require
computers and knowledgeable people to operate them. Without some computer skills, a
person is limited in their ability to function in many of today’s jobs.
The good news is there are many opportunities to learn the computer skills needed.
One of my core values, which my father taught me, is education should never stop. I can

hear his voice saying, “A person who fails to read is no better than one who can’t read.”
Most good colleges emphasize teaching students how to ask the right questions and how
to find the answers, rather than just teaching them to memorize a bunch of facts.
It seems there are two necessary qualifications for one to maintain a life-long pursuit
of education. First, a person must have an inquisitive mind. That is, an unquenchable
thirst for information; a desire to keep learning how things work and why. Secondly, to
be able to understand tomorrow what I don’t understand today, takes the willingness to
apply effort to “find out.”
Some form of honest appraisal of our skills, and the willingness to do something to
improve them are essential to this discussion. With this fundamental description of skills,
let’s focus on the four most experts choose as the most important: communication,
problem solving, negotiating, and personal organizational skills.
COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS
We don’t have to be great orators or writers, but we do need to have the language
skills to present ideas clearly. We also need to avoid distractions caused by a poor outline
of ideas or grammatical errors. If you’ve ever called a technical support person who is
located in another country, you may have experienced some unique communication
problems. You’re both speaking English, but you probably had a difficult time
understanding the support person because of his or her accent. It’s the same language, but
communication can be strained. Even when the problem is solved, it probably took longer
than it should have because of the communications difficulty.
You may have had a conversation with someone who likes to speak in very technical
terms. Their intended meaning can easily be lost because you didn’t share the same
vocabulary. Different generations also have their own versions of everyday language,
leading to communication problems.
My communication story is an interesting one about a company which was trying to
bring about dramatic change in the way business was done. The folks in the headquarters
were responsible for communicating the change they sought to field staffs. They resided
in an office complex where the primary responsibility was to define and present ideas to
the field organization. In turn, the field organization was supposed to understand and

implement the ideas. The field personnel were not in an office environment. Their days
were devoted to dealing with customers. Since they were in a reactive situation, there was
little time to think, plan or contemplate.
In this particular case, the directives being sent by headquarters personnel were
dramatically different from the way things had been done in the past. Part of the message
was intended to give field staff a greater ability to make customer decisions on their own.
Previously, there had been a highly regulated set of processes to be followed. Now, the
field employees were being given much more autonomy. At the same time, they were
going to be held to a higher standard of customer satisfaction. There would be several
more measurements, and the results would affect the pay of the field workers.
The headquarters employees sent out bulletins and other communications to explain
the new approach. Despite a barrage of documents, the change in the field was not
happening. There was little evidence the message was heard, let alone understood.
Conference calls were set up with district managers, yet the message seemed not to be
getting to the workers in the field. This was not simply a trial. The new strategy needed to
be implemented and needed to succeed. However, the new customer satisfaction
measurements were not showing any improvement. Field units seemed to not understand
they were expected to change processes and procedures as needed, to make the scores go
up. Perhaps because there were two changes being made at the same time, the
communication was more difficult than expected.
First, they were communicating a more intense focus on customer satisfaction,
complete with a pay-for-performance element. Secondly, there was a new management
style being implemented, giving field units more freedom to initiate change on their own.
Finally, a new communications strategy was developed. The services of a professional
artist were procured, and a weekly comic series was developed in which field personnel
were the stars. They were depicted changing their procedures to improve the service to
their customers.
Each week the artist was given snapshots of personnel in local units who were making
the changes sought. The series was a big hit and was posted all over the local units.
Employees began to ask their managers how they could make these types of changes and

perhaps be the subject of a future episode of the cartoon series.
The improvement in satisfaction scores followed, as did an increase in business. None
of these improvements would have occurred without the successful communication
between the headquarters personnel and the field units. In this case, the communication
vehicle had to be changed from company memos to something more attention getting.
The effectiveness of communication depends on not only communication styles and
skills, but on the communication vehicle as well. If your ideas are not getting through to
your boss or to whomever you intend them, you’ll want to consider such things as timing
and the method used to convey the message. Certainly, pay attention to the content of the
message, as well. Let’s review these common communication barriers: