22 ways you can show your value in today's cutthroat world 22 manieren om je waarde te bewijzen in een harde zakenwereld.

Transcription

1 Het leek mij aardig om eens wat wegen uit onze samenleving naast die van Jezus te leggen. Als jullie er nog tijd voor hebben kijk eens welke regels iets te maken hebben met de zaligsprekingen, hetzij dat ze die bevestigen of juist haaks er op staan. Ik heb ze heel simpel en bondig vertaald. Tot donderdag avond. Hans van Seventer 22 ways you can show your value in today's cutthroat world 22 manieren om je waarde te bewijzen in een harde zakenwereld. Blaine Loomer The best way to keep your job in today s economy is to be so valuable to your employers that they simply can t do without you, says Loomer, author of the new book Corporate Bullsh*t: A Survival Guide 1) Be a part of the bottom line. If you want to be valuable to your company, then you need to contribute to its bottom line. In other words, you need to help it make money. Je moet het bedrijf geld opleveren 2) Avoid your workplace troublemakers. Mijdt de ruziemakers en de roddelaars Often there are no greater timewasters in the workplace than your fellow colleagues. There are the colleagues who love to gossip and spread rumors. The best way to deal with these kinds of colleagues is to avoid them like the plague, says Loomer. Keep an eye on them, but keep your distance. They will only waste your time, frustrate you, and cause you problems. 3) Remember that time is money. The most valuable commodity you have is your own time. Spend it wisely. For example, don t invest eight hours in putting together a presentation when you can deliver the same results with only an hour s prep time. Management wants the content of your message, not a bunch of fluff and pretty artwork. Tijd is geld 4) Don t be afraid to abandon ship. Be flexible when it comes to your career path, even if it means changing careers midstream. Verlaat een zinkend schip op tijd. Some of the most successful people I know are following a much different career path now than they set out to in the beginning, notes Loomer. Be prepared for change and stay ahead of the curve. Flexibility in your career may take you a long way, especially in tough economic times. 5) Don t be tempted by a shiny new title. This line of thinking doesn t make sense to me at all, says Loomer. If you are going to take on more responsibility, put in more time and add more value to the company, there should be something substantial in it for you. Take time to fully evaluate any promotion. Doing more work for the same pay (or less) seems like a demotion not a promotion to me. Laat je niet inpalmen door titels, een vergroting van jouw verantwoordelijkheden moet samen gaan met een verhoging van je beloning. 6) Recognize deal or no deal situations. Don t be afraid to walk away from deals that just can t seem to come together. Wees niet bang om in onderhandelingen een duidelijke grens te stellen. Most people don t negotiate well because they really want what the other person has and they don t want to risk losing it,

2 7) Constantly add value. Companies are in the business of making money. To a certain extent, we all have to pull the company line and help keep the revenue machine running. Make sure that you continually add value to the company. Zorg er voor altijd waarde toe te voegen. Zie 1 Find ways to improve yourself and your processes, says Loomer. All employees are expendable, and if it makes financial sense to the company, you will be replaced or eliminated altogether. 8) Sing your own praises, but not too loudly. As a general rule, your work won t speak for itself. You must speak for yourself. Zorg dat je gezien en gewaardeerd wordt, dus slim jezelf promoten. A bit of modest bragging will not only help you come promotion time, but it will also help discredit any attacks levied against you, 9) Get smart. Too many people don t understand the basics about the operation of their companies. Learn the organizational chart and reporting structures. Study and understand your company s financials. Weet wat er speelt in je organisatie. 10) Be a confident innovator. When you pitch your ideas to management, be prepared to defend your views. Also, be prepared to receive criticism. Straal zelfvertrouwen uit, ook als je een nieuw idee lanceert, 11) Nix the naysayers. Some people cannot or will not get on board. Don t spend an inordinate amount of time trying to convince them to join in, says Loomer. Give them an opportunity to correct their negative attitudes, but if they persist, remove them from the group or project. Negeer de nee- zeggers of de ja- maaaaar zeggers. 12) Don t ask for more than you deserve. American corporations seem to have become the land of entitlement where people expect to be highly compensated before they have provided one penny of value to the company. Vraag niet om meer loon dan je waard bent Throughout your career, evaluate what value you bring to your company, advises Loomer. Ask for fair compensation, but don t price yourself out of the market. Employment is a two- way street, so make sure you are giving something for what you get. 13) Keep an eye on your e- trail. Not only do we need to make sure we cover ourselves from a legal perspective, but we also need to cover our butts day- to- day. The best way to do this nowadays is to save all e- mail and electronic data that is available to you. Bewaar all e- mails om je zelf in te dekken. 14) Don t be afraid to say no. That is, if you re doing such a great job your company can t afford to get rid of you anyway. If you don t set limits, you will find yourself working on a perpetual treadmill. Wees niet bang om nee te zeggen 15) Trust your intuition. Good intuition in the business world can be your guardian angel. If it feels like someone is up to no good, she probably is. Vertrouw op je intuitie. 16) Get a life. Zorg er voor dat je een leven hebt naast je werk. Try not to take your job home with you, says Loomer. This not only makes things more stressful for you but it also puts undue pressure on those around you. 17) Know which rung on the ladder is right for you. Do you want to be responsible for the success or failure of your company? If so, move up the ladder. Do you want to go home at five every day and forget about work until the next morning? Then moving up the

3 ladder is not for you. But the really important thing is that you do your job to the best of your ability and you are happy doing it. Ken u zelve... 18) Shut up and listen. If you don t know what you don t know, then seek out some experienced advice Leer te luisteren 19) Learn the difference between e- communication and real communication. Leer her verschil tussen e- mailen en werkelijk met iemand omgaan. Not only are texts and e- mails inefficient and sometimes carried to ridiculous extremes, they are also costing us our personal relationships, says Loomer. I want employees who will interact with people and solve problems. If you can t interact with people directly, you have no value. 20) Add sales to your skill set. When it comes to You Inc., there is only one person on the sales team: you! Zorg er voor dat je de beste verkoper van ideeën bent. Be ready to defend your views and have answers for the tough questions, asserts Loomer. And remember, everybody has a right to their own opinions, so don t get defensive if someone disagrees with you just support your ideas with solid research and your own enthusiasm, and they ll be singing a different tune in no time. 21) If it isn t broken, don t fix it. The only reason to change something is to make it better than it was previously, he says. The goal is improvement. Put a time limit on your own goals so that you don t chase a bad idea longer than you should. Wanneer iets werkt, verander het niet. 21) Say no to working vacations. When you take your vacation, take your vacation! Remove yourself from the job completely. Don t offer to check e- mail and voic while you are away. I have made this mistake and I can tell you if you do it, you might as well have stayed at work, says Loomer. Zeg nee tegen werkvacanties of bedrijfsweekenden. Conclusion: If you go through your workdays just trying not to get fired, then you are probably headed for trouble, says Loomer. Instead, push those negative thoughts out of your mind. Focus on the work you do and how you add value to your company. Infuse positivity and a can- do attitude to those on your team. Work smarter than your competition and you can get ahead every time.

4 How To Get Ahead On The Job No matter where you are on the corporate chain of command, it s all about getting ahead. To do so, it never hurts to evaluate your career strategies from time to time, particularly as they relate to workplace rules and ethics. If you follow these tips, you ll be able to fulfill your goals and stay on good terms with your fellow workers, even as you run them into the ground. You spend at least a third of your life working. You might as well make those hours pleasant and enriching for you. 1. Leverage Your Language Ken het bedrijfsjargon of het universitair jargon. In the workplace, jargon is your best friend. Clarity of expression is a no- no. Pick up as many clichés and buzzwords as you possibly can: I m leveraging our data to make this a winning strategy. Or, I just interfaced with Dick, I think we have enough DNA to really make this project work. Turn nouns into verbs: Don, someday I m going to transition you into the CEO s chair! Try to mix in tech talk: Bill, can we go offline with this? Or, if you really don t feel like working on a project, say, Don and I are looking at this on a macro level I m just not sure we have enough bandwidth to nail this. If you need to stall, just keep telling your boss, This is a real work in progress. Faking a sense of urgency helps: Bob, this is mission- critical! Motivational quotes are also useful: There are no problems, just opportunities. 2. Lying Is Not Always A Bad Thing Een leugentje mag om bij de baas in een goed daglicht te blijven. Agree with everything your boss says, even if deep down you completely disagree with him and often have vivid fantasies of inflicting physical harm upon him. Conversely, tell your underlings that their ideas are no good, even if they actually are, in which case you should repurpose the ideas as your own. 3. Look Out For Yourself Kijk vooral goed uit voor jezelf, het is iedereen voor zichzelf in de wereld Frequently say, Bottom line, I m a real team player! even though you would never be caught dead hanging out with most of your office mates unless you were getting paid for it. Let s face it: Most people are really annoying. 4. Learn To Delegate Leer om te delegeren. Make sure to pass all jobs, no matter how unpleasant, to your underlings. (E- mail is an excellent way of delegating it cuts down on having to listen to whining.) However, when it comes time for public recognition for a successful project, make sure that you re the one on the podium. 5. Kiss But Don t Tell Sexuele relaties moet je heel discreet aanpakken. Sexual harassment is taboo, unless the person you are harassing is really, really good looking. If your harassment pays off, be courteous and discreet close the door to your office, as it were. Bragging about your conquest is tasteless, but if you absolutely have to, make sure to crow only to inferiors, not to your boss or other higher- ups. 6. Time Is Money Creative rounding off of hours is essential. As most journalists know, arriving at the office at 10:30 is much more efficient than showing up at 9. Start lunch at 11:30, and get back to your desk, ready for action, by 2. Expedite the 5 p.m. exit to 4:15. Another time- management tool is to broaden your definition of work. For example, categorize leaving the office at 3 to have cocktails with colleagues as a team- building exercise. Tijd is geld.

5 7. Embrace Technology Make sure to send an e- mail from home late at night, very early in the morning, or any time on a weekend or a holiday. Your superiors will be impressed. Make sure to remind everybody what time it is: Dick, it s getting close to midnight. I m going to sign off. Keep me in the loop. I ll be looking for your e- mail when I wake up. 8. What s In A Name? Remember: Everybody in corporate life is named either Bill, Bob, Dick or Don. Even the women.

6 Marc and Angel Hack Life Practical Tips for Productive LivinAngel Chernoff 10 Ways to Gain Fame for Being a Good Person nshare103 Do your little bit of good where you are; it s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. Desmond Tutu What do you want to be known for? Lift others up. Treat people with respect. Be positive. Be true to your values. Do your best. Do things that bring you in contact with your passions. Take care of yourself, your family, and your friends. Be the person that makes others feel special. Be known for your kindness and honesty. This is how you gain admiration and fame for being a good person 1. Care about people. Wees zorgzaam voor de mensen om je heen People don t care about how much you know, until they know how much you care. The best part of life is not just surviving, but thriving with passion, compassion, humor, generosity, and kindness, and using these tools to improve the lives of those around you. Smile, and help others smile too. If you don t have the power or strength to write someone s happiness, then try to help them remove their sadness instead. And don t let the numbers overwhelm you. You can t help everyone at once. Focus on assisting one person at a time, and always start with the person closest to you. If you can lie down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone s day just a little better, you re doing it right. 2) Help people help themselves. Wees altijd bereid een ander te helpen. Whenever possible help people by teaching them to help themselves. Put the tools in their hands, show them how to use them, step back, and be there when they trip. Love them when they fall. Repeat. One of the best investments you can make in yourself is to take a genuine interest in other people. The more you help others, the more they will want to help you. Love and kindness begets love and kindness. (Read The Mastery of Love.) 3) Live by the truth. Leef in de waarheid. The most important thing you can do for others is to live by your truth and be who you truly are. If you trade in your reality for a role, you are doing everyone a disservice. The bottom line is that there can t be any deep connection between you and anyone else until there s a deep connection within, to your truth. All of life s goodness transpires on the inside first. Once you are true on the inside, reflect it on the outside. Be honest and do what you know is right. 4) Let your passions ignite your ability to thrive and inspire others. Laat je gestimuleerd worden door je enthousiasme en inspireer anderen met je enthousiasme. When you stop doing things you are passionate about, you stop living and you start merely existing. (Marc and I discuss this in more detail in the Passion and Goals chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)

7 5) Be a force for positivity and encouragement. Sta bekend om je positieve en bemoedigende houding. Elevate your inside game. A negative attitude is below your horizon Our way of thinking creates good or bad outcomes. It makes a big difference in your life and the lives around you when you stay positive. So be fanatically positive and militantly optimistic. 6) Over- deliver on your promises to yourself and others. Geef altijd meer dan je kan. Make a real difference in the world by pushing boundaries. Test, prod, and poke until something positive gives. You can do this by saying yes to more than just what you re comfortable with. Learn to stretch yourself. 7) Have the guts to communicate clearly, from the heart. Speek frank en vrij, helder maar denk wel even na voor e reageert. Communication is what connects us. Start communicating clearly. Don t try to read other people s minds, and don t make other people try to read yours. Speak up so people can understand you. Most people have a very low tolerance for dealing with people they can t understand. Mystery does not fuel strong relationships and likeability. And before you say something, always check in with yourself for a second to see if it s really what you believe. You have to communicate honestly, straight from your heart and that takes guts. 8) Express your sincere appreciation to those who have earned it. Wees nooit karig met lof. No matter how sure you are of someone s appreciation and admiration, it s always nice to be reminded of it. So if you appreciate someone today, tell them. Just because they are reliable and there when you need them, doesn t mean you should fail to give thanks and appreciation on a regular basis. To value someone too lightly is to risk missing the depth of their goodness before they re gone. (Read The Last Lecture.) 9) Apologize when you know you should. Vraag om vergeving als dat nodig is. Erken je fouten royaal en snel. Take personal responsibility for your wrong doings. If you know, for instance, that your actions or words have hurt someone, you must immediately admit your faults and face the reality of your actions. An apology is the super glue of lasting relationships. It can repair just about anything. Never ruin a relationship or your reputation with an excuse, instead of simply apologizing. 10) Take care of the one in the mirror. Stimuleer anderen door je eigen uitstraling van tevredenheid en positiviteit. If you want to be known for awakening happiness in the world around you, start by living a life that makes you happy, and then radiate your happiness outward. Truly, the greatest power you have in this world is the power of your own self- transformation. It starts with the one in the mirror. Be the very best version of YOU, and the right people will be drawn to you.