The secret to getting ahead
is easier than you think, especially in these times. Want to take a moment and
guess the answer? Okay, I’ll count to three…
One… Two… Three…
What I find most impressive
in people at work is what too many people lack. It’s not about education,
although it helps. It’s not about experience. Yes, that helps too. What’s most
impressive is having a strong work ethic.
Don’t be surprised. It isn’t
about rocket science. It’s about coming to work on time, doing the right thing,
getting along with others, doing your fair share and then some! This is what helps get
those hungry for a raise or promotion, or both, ahead of those waiting for
things to happen. I remember a time when you had to have certain skills,
education, even friends in the right places to ensure you were taken care of by
your company. And those still help, yes. But what manager’s look for most of
all is a strong work ethic.
I’ve seen people with years
of sales experience, product knowledge, education, and even friends in the
right place; fail in this very important area. They simply don’t appreciate their career choice, and don’t do anything about
it. They become complacent and remain in a job they find dismal because they
lack a desire to try something else. The result is a failure to come to work on
time, refusing to participate in team-building efforts; back-stabbing
co-workers who actually enjoy coming to work (imagine that!).
My latest novel, ‘Who’s
Minding the Store,’ is a comedy touching base in this area as my main
character, Derrick Payton, struggles with ways to improve employee morale and
team spirit. He’s got a week to improve store sales or the company will shut
down his store. Sound familiar? Too many of us have experienced this in recent
years.
I’ve learned from experience,
and watching how others do it. If you stick to basics like…
·
Come to work on
time!
·
Do your job right
the first time!
·
Help others when
help is needed!
·
Be the go-to
person that gets the job done!
…You will stand tall above
others. As I describe in my book, I’ve had people back-stab me and eventually I
overcame this obstacle by proving everything they said about me to be false. I
accomplished this by doing my job the best I could. I did those basic things
everyone expects, but seldom gets, with little effort, too. After all, how hard
is it to arrive for work on time, do your job right, help others, and be
reliable? When people who wanted to see me crash and burn did everything they
could to destroy my reputation and sandbag my work, I simply pushed forward,
kept my complaints to myself, and demonstrated consistency in my performance.
Eventually people would say, “You’ve got this guy all wrong!”
And that ended that, and got
me recognition. But I didn’t learn this right away. Took me a while, and I pass
this information to others I see struggling at work. They don’t like working
alongside people who don’t want to do anything other than write text messages
and such (go figure!).
My character Derrick Payton
comes up with a good plan that inspires his employees to help improve store
sales (no, I’m not telling you what. You’ll have to read the book to learn
that). And everyone has fun along the way. But there are still the Wicked Witches of the West he has to
deal with, and they leave no stone unturned as they do all that is humanly
possible to derail him. The strategy Derrick comes up with is real enough. It
helped me, but don’t get the wrong idea. This book isn’t about me. It’s about
all of us! That’s right. I make this claim because all of us have worked retail
at some point. In fact, I’ll go so far as to lay claim that everyone will find
at least one scenario in my book they will relate with. And while you’re
reading ‘Who’s Minding the Store,’ I bet you’ll be smiling.
I’m not trying to be too
forthright. I’m merely reflecting on the memories I have when I worked in a
big-box home improvement store with a great bunch of people. And I’m sure when
you have similar reflections, you’ll be smiling too.
Who’s Minding the Store can be ordered through your local bookstore,
amazon.com, direct from my website at www.LuceroBooks.com
Keep on reading, and I’ll
keep on writing!
David
Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WhosMindingTheStore?ref=hl
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