NOTE: This is a book excerpt with minor edits from Mandatory Greatness: The 12 Laws Of Driving Exceptional Performanceby J.T. O'Donnell and Dale Dauten.
You and your team are a commodity product until you prove otherwise.
Along with his son, Darrell, and daughter-in-law, Teena, Jim Potts owns a pair of stores in Arkansas called Lewis and Clark Outfitters. They sell hiking and camping gear in their retail stores and also have a line of products they sell through Sam’s Club stores. Theirs is not a big, national success story - not yet - but a good one. Over the past two years their sales have quadrupled.
How’d they do it? When they opened the first store, the senior Potts didn’t have much product expertise to offer customers: “I didn’t understand the technical specs on the bikes or anything else in the store - so I decided to focus my attention on the one product I did understand: socks.” He called the company that makes SmartWool socks and told them that he intended to become their number one store. They told him that he’d do well to sell a thousand pair a year. His quixotic response: “I can sell that many in a week.”
His record is 1320 pairs in one weekend.
How did he do it? He made a challenge of getting every customer who came in the store to try on a pair. He called the folks at SmartWool and said, “What percent of people who try on your socks buy them?” They didn’t know. So, he told them it was 89 percent and asked for help with the cost of the unpurchased pairs (which the store gives to employees).
Eventually, Potts, sock expert, went directly to the factory and said, “Make me a better sock.” They said, “Fine, but we need a million-dollar order.” And that’s when he persuaded the folks at Sam’s Club to carry his new brand, OmniWool, and that became the first of several of Potts’ products they carry.
Potts always had a big dream, but it started with one little item of clothing, a seemingly ordinary one, that he decided was not going to be a commodity. He wasn’t about to be one, either.
About that story Yvonne concluded, “Not just every entrepreneur, but every employee in every company needs an and – ‘He’s a great employee AND, oh boy, does he know socks.’ We may belittle specialists for ‘knowing more and more about less and less,’ but when we need help, that’s exactly the guy we turn to.”
What I understood was that being competent was essential, but only that; it was merely a job requirement. I now understood that I didn’t need to be different in everything, didn’t need to change everything; all I needed was my “and,” and then I needed to help everyone who worked for me find theirs.
Mandatory Greatness is presented as a conversation between a high-powered business coach, Yvonne Wolfe (described as having “skirts of steel”), and a young manager who won a day of her coaching in a charity raffle. She observes him in his work, then offers a stark and startling analysis of him and his approach to his job: By imitating other managers he is making himself “a commodity product” destined for “inadvertent mediocrity.” She then teaches him to remake himself into a highly-valued teammate and a true leader using The 12 Laws of Driving Exceptional Performance.
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Everyone has heard of New Year's resolutions. You know, those promises we make to ourselves about things we'll do better in the year ahead. Sometimes these resolutions work, while other times we end up with gym memberships we never use! But have you ever heard of a career resolution? It's actually the same thing as a New Year's resolution, only career-focused.
However, with something as important as a career, you don't want to break these resolutions. That's why it's important to keep these goals manageable.
Here are four simple career resolutions that are easy to stick to and achieve.
Be Self-Aware Of Where You Stand In Your Career
BigstockBeing honest and self-aware of where you are in your career is the most important step in making strong career resolutions. If your career is going nowhere and you're unhappy, then it may be time to consider a career change, which will take you down a different path entirely.
But if you're happy and in good standing with your career, it's a lot easier to set goals for the year and build out a long-term career plan.
Find A Way To Grow Your Career
BigstockCareer growth is a very broad spectrum that means something different to everyone. It could be something as simple as improving on a weakness or building on a strength. It could also be learning a new skill or taking on additional responsibilities at work.
On a larger level, it could be seeking a promotion or moving into a leadership role.
Whatever the goal is, make sure it includes growing professionally. The worst thing you can do is stay the same! If you're not growing your career, you're dying—and becoming a lot less valuable to your employer. There are always ways to upskill!
Better Serve Your Professional Network
With current colleagues, former colleagues, and other professional acquaintances, you've probably built a solid professional network through the years. A strong professional network can come in handy if you lose your job or are looking to make a career change. However, you shouldn't just rely on your network when you're in need!
It's important to find ways to offer value to your network. This could include checking in with members of your network from time to time. Exchange messages on LinkedIn to see how they're doing or share relevant content of interest. If you can help someone in your network going through a career challenge, you should!
Maintaining a strong professional network is like an investment. If you want it to pay off, you have to put some time into it and be consistent.
Take Care Of Yourself
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Working on your career is hard work! It's okay to be selfish sometimes. Whether you're working to grow your career or looking for a new job, it's important to find balance.
Your family and health always come first, so make sure your career goals don't interfere with that. If you want to set aside time during the week to work on your career that's fine, but don't miss important family events or milestones.
Don't let your career goals get in the way of your health goals. Go to the gym, take a walk, or go for a jog. Balance is key to maintaining healthy career and life goals. Sometimes you just need to adjust that balance as you go.
Need help sticking to your career resolutions?
Become a member to learn how to UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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