Indispensable By Monday

Separates fact from fiction for what makes an employee indispensable

When trying to move ahead or even just keep a job, there are actions that would be of great advantage to any employee and there are strategies that are just plain stupid. Interestingly enough, the stupid strategies are used twice as frequently in corporate America. Indispensable By Monday goes beyond conventional wisdom to reveal and impart the skills and behaviors that any employee at any level of any organization can implement to bring substantial dollars to the company.

Author Larry Myler and organizational performance consulting firm VitalSmarts asked 1,800 corporate leaders to identify the bottom-line behaviors that would make employees essential to their organizations. Now, Myler distills what he learned for every employee and employer. Indispensable By Monday outlines the profit-producing behaviors that distinguish workers who add value from those who don't, such as reducing company costs, increasing income, improving key processes, bringing back lost customers and more.

Foreword Joseph Grenny xi

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Part 1 Help Your Company, Help Yourself 1

What’s in It for You? 3

What Does Indispensability Look Like? 4

Employed? Keep the Job You Have. . . . Unemployed? Get the Job You Want 6

1,800 Business Leaders Can’t Be Wrong: What Your Boss Wants You to Do 9

Do You Bring in More Than You Cost? 12

All Dollars are Not Created Equal: How to Find the Most Valuable Ones 18

The Résumé That Speaks Volumes: Capture Your Contributions 19

Death of the Suggestion Box: May It Rest in Pieces 22

Part 2 Pull Money out of Thin Air 29

Creating Unexpected Profit is Always Your Best Strategy 31

Profit Source 1: Yes, There are Still Costs to Be Cut 31

Profit Source 2: Ansoff Revisited—How to Harvest More Money from Customers 47

Profit Source 3: Refunds and Rebates—Get ’Em While They’re Hot 54

Profit Source 4: Improve Every Process and Earn by Every Improvement 57

Profit Source 5: Catch Costly Mistakes Quickly, Before They Get Out the Door 64

Profit Source 6: If Mistakes Do Get Out the Door, Recover Lost Customers 68

Profit Source 7: Print Money at Work by Doing Your Own Job Better 73

Profit Source 8: How I Spent My Summer Vacation— Finding $500,000 in New Zealand 82

Profit Source 9: Supply Your Suppliers with Profit— Let Them Supply Discounts in Return 88

Profit Source 10: Become Indispensable to Customers by Giving Them Money 90

Profit Source 11: Improve Company Cash Flow and Become a Hero 92

Profit Source 12: Give Your Company an Unexpected Competitive Advantage 100

Profit Source 13: Should You Work More for Less Money or Work Less for More? 114

Profit Source 14: Soft Skill, Solid Results 130

Part 3 Making It All Work . . . Starting Monday Morning 133

Problem Solving: Generate Only the Highest Value Solutions 135

The New and Improved Performance Appraisal 139

If You’re in Sales, Outsell Everyone Else 141

If You’re a Leader, Lead Toward Increased Profits 145

Everything You Need to Know about Accounting—and It’s Not Much 152

About the Author 161

Notes 163

Index 165

Larry Myler is the CEO of More or Less, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in profit enhancement through employee engagement. Previously, Larry was president of VitalSmarts, serving from 1992 to 2001. Myler, who holds an MBA (international emphasis), is a serial entrepreneur with six startups under his belt. Over the course of his thirty-year career, he has helped others improve their businesses by consulting and training for leadership teams and employees in the areas of interpersonal communication, profit enhancement, organizational efficiency, survey research, and more. Past clients include companies such as AT&T, Shell Oil, Lockheed Martin, and Ford Motor Company. Here's the big secret: You become indispensable at your company when you improve profits. Simple enough, right? Amazingly, many employees and prospective employees miss this hidden-in-plain-sight point. The ones who don't miss this point, who understand how to incorporate profit-making, value-adding behaviors into everything they do—they're the indispensable few. Now which are you?

Indispensable by Monday lays out how you, whether you're the CEO or the mail clerk, can produce more money for your organization and increase success for yourself. Based on an exhaustive survey of 1,800 business leaders by author Larry Myler and organizational training company VitalSmarts, this helpful guide provides the exact skills and behaviors most employers look for in their employees, but too often don't find.

Immediately start adding financial value at work by learning the skills to:

• Cut costs and increase revenues using innovative methods

• Improve any process and increase efficiencies

• Enhance cash flow and create a competitive advantage for your employer

• Quantify your value with a Personal P&L Statement, no matter your role

• Find the "most valuable" dollars that drop straight to the bottom line

• Become a superstar both on your resume and in your next performance review

The basic goal of business is profit. Indispensable by Monday empowers you to embrace this goal as your own. If you've got a job, you'll find out how to improve and advance in it. If you're searching for a job, you'll get the tools you need to beat the competition. No matter what you do or where you do it, Indispensable by Monday offers you the surest way to make your value tangible and your success lasting.

"So many people believe hard work speaks for itself. Unfortunately, it's just a necessary, but not sufficient condition for becoming indispensable to your organization. Myler provides practical, easy-to-use advice on how to get the credit you deserve for the value you bring to an organization."—Dr. Karie Willyerd Vice President & Chief Learning Officer, Sun Microsystems, and coauthor of The 2020 Workplace

"If you want to change who you are, you must change what you do. Get the job and keep the job you deserve! Read this book on Friday so that you will be indispensable by Monday!"—Mike Murray former VP of HR, Microsoft

"As a small business owner, I was able to improve profitability by a large percentage simply by using a few of the concepts in this very valuable book." —John G. Tinsley President/CEO, Centurion Security and Investigations

"Very few business books are this direct and to the point. Use just one or two of its techniques and become a financial hero at work. It's that simple." —Senator Margaret Dayton, Utah State Senate

"I have used the ideas in this book to find over $26,000 in unexpected profit for my employer! I'm working on another $45,000 right now. The total of $71,000 will repeat year after year. That's the same profit the company would make from over $1 million in normal sales—every year! My boss loves me, and I'm loving my job security." —Ben Clore, Facilities Manager