Unique Value Proposition

It's the 4th installment of the the Employee Purpose Perspective (EPP)...and today we will focus on Creating Unique Value.

What have we learned so far:
Collaborate don't compete
Develop purposeful intent
Create personal relevance

We've discovered the power of collective effort, we have brought purpose to each task and we have personally invested in our work. Now that our intent is genuine we need to create value for those we have asked to take the journey with us.

Work becomes a monotonous grind because we allow it to. When Monday morning comes we hit the snooze button and wish we were training for the x-games. We put on the same shirt, get our usual cup of coffee, listen to the (bad) news on the way to the office, sit at our cubicle and think about 5pm on Friday. Boooring!

The unfortunate thing is that we think in distinct absolutes. It's our 'safe' worklife by day and a super hero existence by night. The work hard/play hard myth we visited a few weeks back. Our fear is that if we take that which we love, and make it part of our work, we will grow to hate it. Work might suck but we can escape to music, literature, or the movie house to level us off. The alarm clock rings, we forget what the movie was about, and head into traffic.

...then we snap. We get to a point of asking ourselves what good the countless work hours have done for the world around us. Another day, another week, another year....now what. We are tempted to quit our job and head for Alaska to work on a fishing boat.

What Are You Running From?

You have to be honest with yourself. YOU allow your day to be boring, YOU allow your job to be a drag, YOU wait to be told what to do and waddle off to do it with your tail between your legs.

You don't have to quit your job, you don't have to picket headquarters, you don't have to take peyote on a mountain top. All you need to do is accept every day as an opportunity to do something totally unique. The number one determinant of what makes you great to everyone around you is what you can do that no one else can. You possess it, you are simply afraid to use it.

What Are You Running To....

Stop hiding from what you dislike and set goals that involve your positive intent. Move forward, don't hide away. Take what you uniquely have and bring it to each and every day with divine passion. This is how you create value for your company, your customers and for yourself.

You are a person not a number, You are a creator not a commodity....now go prove it!

Create VALUE:
Be Yourself
Step Out on the Ledge
Find The Door

Last Night...
You dazzled your friends with your ideas for organizational improvement over dinner. Today you sit in the conference room silent. What happened?

Assess what you love, take the energy behind it, and make it part of your work day.

If you are an awesome story teller, build a presentation that tells a story for your clients. If you are an incredible athlete, use your competitive drive to motivate your clients.

You don't have to live a double existence. Working hard only to blow off steam does not create synergy....you need synergy to find a grander purpose.

You have the Conch...
Why do you try to out commoditize your competitors?

You have to bring meaning...a solution to a problem with a unique value. Something only you can create. A piece of YOU in the product or service that meets a need.

Don't be afraid to make a pitch with a bit of uncertainty to it. Uncertainty is an affect of treading in foreign waters. You need to find new frontiers to create irreplaceable value.

YOU know what?
Pretend you know something they don't because you do. That thing which you can bring to a job, company, or partnership that no one else can.

I can show you the box scores but teams need contributions beyond statistics.

Did the Yankees win the game that Derek Jeter jumped into the stands for a fly ball? We don't remember the statistical outcome, we remember the extraordinary effort! If you are able to extend yourself beyond the spreadsheet you bring a new element to the job. If you write a few more lines into the job description you have expanded the possibility of achievement without being asked to.

Don't wait to be asked, make it happen. Assume your opinion is valued and assert yourself. Create something every day. Focus on capabilities, do not let limitations restrain you.

There is no one in the world like YOU! That is why YOU are irreplaceable.

Go Prove It!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave