Okay, over the last few posts we have discussed the importance of: Understanding the Requirements of Your Organization and Understanding the Requirements of Your Clients. Today we are going to chat about one of the more difficult steps for becoming the star employee: Figuring Out What Yet Needs to be Done and Doing It.
Why is this step so particularly difficult? Because it requires that you have fully mastered the first two (2) steps we have discussed – that is your organization and client’s requirements/needs. Therefore, it is very unlikely you will be able to succeed and move on until you have fully realized the importance of the first two steps.
Realistically speaking, your supervisor, her supervisor, the vice-president and the CEO of whatever organization you are working for; be it a boutique firm or a large multinational holding company, cannot reasonably be expected to know every unmet need and go about solving them. There is just too much to know about. But it is a HUGE opportunity for you to rack up some serious street cred.
It’s like trying to participate in a healthy Twitter debate without utilizing Tweetdeck, HootSuite or some similar sorting software to organize the vast data flow.
The nifty thing about being able to master this step is that it will immediately impart value to your personal reputation and can help ensure job-security. But there is a warning to boot, just announcing these “needs” without offering a solution to fixing them is akin to being the playground tattle-tale or spotlight hog.
- Don’t point out inequalities at the office and expect them to be solved
- Don’t point out things you believe to be unfair and not take the first step toward making them more fair
- Don’t point out client dissatisfaction without a plan to make them immediately satisfied
- Don’t be Kanye West at the most recent VMA ceremony (forward to the 0:40 mark)
However, actually solving some of these needs will the key to your success.
According to The Journal of Healthcare Management, some of the most common unmet organizational needs are: client dissatisfaction, inefficient processes, lack of innovation or creative thinking, poor communication or a focus on unprofitable actions (2003).
These hold equally true in the many fields of allied communication (PR/ADV/MKT).
Think about it from another perspective, had Grand Moff Tarkin imparted his construction teams with a sense of responsibility and subordinates with enough trust to do the job 
correctly, the likelihood of a small, individual X-Wing fighter penetrating the Death Star’s defensive lasers would have been strikingly low. They could have easily closed or defended the small (2 meter) exhaust port from proton torpedoes, encrypted the super weapon’s schematics and used good judgment throughout the construction process, thus ensuring a devastating rebel defeat.
Figuring out What Yet Needs to Be Done and Doing It
1) Take an inventory of what is going on around you in the workplace. Some of the things that need to be done might be right in your area of expertise.
2) Look at others in other department and other seniority levels. It will never hurt you to complete your tasks and then ask your supervisor, “Hey is there anything I can do that would make your day easier?” Even if they say no, your willingness to lend a hand will go a long way.
3) Go back to your client’s needs. Is there anything that hasn’t been tried which you think might add immediate value?
One of the best examples of this strategy is actually an urban legend. But it’s an urban legend that this organization has profited from. Perhaps you are familiar with the story, the one about Nordstrom and the snow tires? You can read about it here.
What is the point? Well, if it were a true story (which is isn’t), the clerk had solved a very unmet need and, instead of moving it up the chain-of-command, took care of it. Why was the clerk able to do this so simply? Perhaps it’s because of the way this organization trusts it’s staff to discover what needs to be done and then take care of it. They have carte blanche to meet what yet needs to be done and the trust to take care of it. Not all organizations impart this much trust in their employees, but in certain industries they probably should.
Now this part IS true. And it is directly from the Nordstrom Employee Handbook. A handbook, which at one time, had only 75-words little words in it.
Nordstrom Rules:
Rule #1: Use good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.
The same should apply to you.
TTFN,
PDXSX
Tags: career, death star, kanye, tips & tricks, value
September 23, 2009 at 8:28 pm |
[...] Part 1 – Understanding the Requirements of Your Organization Part 2 – Understanding the Requirements of Your Clients Part 3 – Figuring out What Yet Needs to Be Done and Doing It [...]