[Gary] Peeples Helping People, LLC

More people of influence should be like Baltimore Raven Ray Rice

Here's B'more Ravens RB Ray Rice sharing some words of advice on my facebook today. He wrote it, he clearly spent some time on it, and he obviously is passionate about it.

And I'm certain there will be some number people, in Baltimore and DC, who will take this seriously and plan ahead this weekend -- specifically because of this message.

This is pretty powerful and important. Be safe this weekend ya'll.

This is a brave dude

 

Who else wants a raise? Here's how:

1. Don't ask for a raise.

2. Make a list of your given responsibilities [those given to you by your company].

3. Decide today to start kicking those responsibilities asses; commence ass-kicking.

4. Make a list of your personal career goals. Where do you want to be next year? 3 years? 5 years? What are you focused on at those times?

5. Make a list of your current company's goals. What is important to them? At what are they trying to be the best? 

6. Make a list of focus areas [that align with #5]; this list could be: (a) things that no one is currently focused on that could achieve company goals or (b) [if most reasonable things are focused on] look at how they are being approached, and list new ways to approach. 

7. Begin to spend some time learning, creating strategies, and focusing on one or more of these things. 

8. Start working harder, period. Get out of your comfort zone. Nothing hard was ever easy.

9. Do the things no one else wants to do.

10. Find something to be the go-to person for; be "the expert".

11. Start networking outside of your company. Build relationships in your field and your general areas of interest.

12. Bring outside resources into your company: for meetings & presentations. Many agencies and consultants would love to present capabilities for free.

13. Continue to focus on being productive and producing meaningful results for you and your company.

There you go. It's not that complicated: be the best you, that you can be. That's all you can do. 

Notice $ was never really a part of this post. I didn't close with "now ask for money". That is because, if you do those things, and be the best you, that you can be, the money will find you. 

"But I did all those things and my company doesn't care!"

Networking will naturally solve this problem. Maybe when you find something new, and your company realizes it can't let you go, you will get what you wish for. If not, you just simply found something new.

Also, if they don't care about hard-working, productive employees, then it's time to go anyway.

Maybe it comes in the form of a promotion, maybe in the form of new opportunity outside of the company, maybe in the form of a raise. Who knows. I assure you though, irreplaceability [made up word] is pretty valuable to any company, and hard-working productive employees are attractive candidates. And that is what I'm suggesting here. 

The Org Chart: Why You're Doing It Wrong

The Traditional Org Chart

You know the org chart: Owner/CEO at the top, C-suite in the next row, Leaders in the next, then Managers, then Employees, and so on. Everybody working to please the one above them.

Most people would agree that "the Employees" are the most important part of the company, right? They make it go; they interact with the customers and users; they are on the "front lines".

What's interesting is:

The employees — on the front lines — are at the bottom of most traditional org charts.

Now, when you ask most business owners: "What is TRULY the most important person to any business or service?" — they would say the Customer, right? Usually.

So take the same org chart concept from above; where you would put the Customer?

It would stand to reason that you would place them below the Employees. After all, they have the daily interaction; the CEO certainly doesn't interact directly with the Customers. Usually.

So, that's even more interesting:

The customer is metaphorically at the very bottom of the company food chain.

But what if you flipped the whole thing upside-down?

The Upside-Down Org Chart

What if you put the Customer at the top, the CEO at the bottom, and created a new "top-down" hierarchy of importance?

Something like:

The Upside-Down Org Chart

1. Customers

2. People that interact with Customers

3. Managers of people that interact with Customers

4. Managers of Managers

5. Leaders of Managers

6. Owners & Leaders of Leaders

In this case, the Customer is who everyone reports to. And now, Employees work for Customers, Managers work for Employees, Leaders work for Managers, and so on until you get to the Owner, who is now working for everyone.

So, maybe we've been doing the org chart wrong all-along; and it has been misleading the idea of what's important and who you are working for.

Imagine an organization where everyone is working to please the person above them — but it's an upside-down org chart. Could be interesting.

What do you think?