Dear High Achiever:
EMPLOYER OR EMPLOYEE MENTALITY? Which do you have? Which is best for your career? Which will boost your lifetime earnings?
If you are an employee of any organization I encourage acquiring an Employer Mentality, muy pronto!
And guess what: Even if you’re a business owner reading this, I hope you’re right minded. But just in case, you better double check to be certain some old mental meltdown hasn’t occurred.
Here are 10 reasons why, whatever your job title is, the Employer Mentality is where you want to be:
1. Massive Success vs. moderate success
2. 1st Place vs. 2nd place (which is, as our pal Jeffrey Gitomer points out, 1st Loser)
3. Promotion vs. passed over
4. Pro-Active vs. reactive
5. Difference Maker vs. average employee
6. Team Leader vs. team member
7. Self-Confident vs. timid
8. Inner-Directed vs. outer-directed
9. Self-Disciplined vs. non-committal
10. Earned vs. entitled
In case you haven’t heard –
There is no longer such a thing as “Job Security.” Personally, I never wanted to have a job. I learned somewhere that J.O.B. stands for Just Over Broke, and that isn’t a place I ever wanted to reside. So, like the many entrepreneurs in our FYI/TGIM readership, as the President of Empowerment Group International, I know my clients are the ones who cut my check.
But in my other you-could-call-it-employee role as Chief Inspiration Officer of SelfGrowth.com, our Founder and President, David Riklan, signs my check. On “payday” it’s clear that I work for a corporation. But I maintain the same work ethic and high-level of self-discipline that I have in my speaking and consulting business. By developing new business and servicing our existing clients, the sales team and I make the deposit in the account that all the paychecks are written from.
If you’re an employee, so do you! You and I have a major responsibility and are accountable to our own high-standards and to our company, our associates and our clients.
Still I constantly hear people with an employee mentality whining about how much money they’re NOT making and moaning that the company should pay them more. I even hear sales people say they should be compensated for their time.
Give me a break! My response to the employee mentality whiners is always the same:
Any administrative activity, proposal writing or servicing of accounts is part of the gig.
Sell more and you’ll be compensated more.
It’s amazing how little top producers complain. They don’t. They share the Employer Mentality side of the Top 10 Qualities list. They realize they are their own boss and take responsibility in providing value or finding ways to provide more value, hence, making them more attractive and valuable.
I started selling pots and pans door-to-door when I was 18 years old and realized right then, my income was based solely on my ability to generate revenue. That career choice proved, over time, to be a true blessing.
In the beginning of my sales career, I really struggled. The level of self-discipline required to be successful in sales was a challenge, the uncertainty of sales and making money was anxiety producing, the level of sales skills needed to be successful took time to learn.
But it taught me a valuable lesson and helped me embrace the Employer Mentality.
I was my own boss and the only person responsible for putting food on the table, was me.
If I didn’t master real selling skills, this opportunity to earn unlimited income would become a J.O.B. and I would be… Just Over Broke.
Now, if you are employed by a company and think you’re NOT in sales –
For starters, Think Again. Everyone sells something and we prove it to any doubters in the Best Year Ever Program. But those details are for another time.
Let’s take that “not in sales” as a given and allow the argument to be, “I don’t have the salesperson’s chance to prove myself. I’ve been working for this company for 10 years and the pay stinks.”
My response here comes in two parts.
First: Why are you still there? Could you have left? So … duh!
And second: Whose pay stinks? How much money does upper-management and leadership make? (I’ll assume much more than you’re currently making, whiner.) So the company does pay more, just not to you.
FYI ACTION IDEA: For non-sales employees, find a way to provide more value to the company and they will pay you more. If you gained new skills, took initiative, and set a goal to reach the leadership level, you would be making the “big bucks” too!
You don’t have to be “in” sales to be your own boss … be self-directed … take personal responsibility for the mindset you bring to your vocation everyday. When you embrace an Employer Mentality you think solution, you think desired outcome and how a process or situation can be improved.
You don’t have to be a stockholder. Someone else may have thought up and got going the organization that “employs” you. You don’t have to be a boss of anyone. But when you’re on the job, it’s YOUR BUSINESS as well. How you conduct your business is a reflection on you, your company and ultimately how your clients perceive you and your value.
You must tell yourself – and believe – It’s ALL MY BUSINESS. Whether your business card indicates whether your employer or employee, you must have an Employer Mentality all the time.
FYI ACTION IDEA: Think like an owner … an employer … an entrepreneur. Take proprietary interest in your job and the outcomes at your company. Don’t wait to have it given to you. Realize that, at the end of the day, just like everyone in the organization, from the executive suite to the broom closet, your customers are the folks that cut your paycheck.
PERSONAL PAYOFF: The real human benefit to the Be Your Own Boss /Employer Mentality mindset is: Your self-esteem and self-confidence will increase.
And you can take that to the bank anywhere!
Go Out and Make This Your Best Year Ever!
Eric Taylor is the Chief Inspiration Officer of SelfGrowth.com and founder of New Jersey based Empowerment Group International. He delivers more than 100 energized and interactive keynotes, workshops and seminars each year to corporations, associations and tradeshows. He is the author of the Energy Passport, Co-creator of the Best Year Ever! Success System and Co-author of The Complete Sales Training Encyclopedia. To get complete details about Eric’s background, his products and services, visit Eric Taylor’s Blog and review Eric Taylor’s Profile.