In case you’ve been living in a cave or just arrived from another planet, the global job market here on earth has undergone a transformation unlike any we’ve ever seen.
There are very few jobs for life anymore. There are no guaranteed company-paid health benefits, sick days, or vacation days. Job security is a real challenge these days – causing more and more stress and anxiety on individuals and families. That said, there IS one strategy that virtually guarantees job security and advancement (to the extent any job can be guaranteed security and advancement these days).
I call this strategy THE LAW OF INDISPENSABILITY.
The goal of this strategy is to position yourself as indispensable by “always providing more in value than you are paid.” This is worth repeating: THE LAW OF INDISPENSABILITY says that you become indispensable to an employer when you consistently provide more in results than you are paid to deliver.
In a recent address to a group of high school seniors, they were shocked when I described this law. Joe asked, “Why in the world would I ever produce more than I am paid to produce? My father taught me that I should produce a dollar’s worth of work for every dollar I am paid.”
Well, this ain’t your father’s workplace any more. In fact, it ain’t my father’s workplace – where he worked for General Electric 40+years and was provided 100% paid health benefits, vacation and sick time, and for every dollar he saved in a GE savings program, GE would match that with 50 cents (up to a certain amount).
So why would Joe give MORE than a dollars’ worth of work for a dollar in pay? Well, because it’s the best investment he can make in his future. When raises, promotions, and bonuses are dished out – the ones who adhere to THE LAW OF INDISPENSABILITY will be rewarded. When it comes time for demotions and downsizing – those who ignore THE LAW OF INDISPENSABILITY will wish they hadn’t.
And here’s one last tip someone told me many years ago that I adhere to every single day of my life… never go to bed as stupid as you woke up. Don’t wait for company paid training – train yourself, invest in yourself, and invest in your future.
Remember – the greatest strategy for attaining job security & career advancement is to always give more to the marketplace – to your employer – than you are paid. And this requires constant and never-ending professional development.
