ADD VALUE
I define value as being anything that increases the effectiveness of a decision, activity or meeting. Effectiveness refers to the quality of your results. Therefore, a value-added is something that increases the quality of the other person's results. The first step toward adding value to another person or group is to clearly identify what priorities they are trying to achieve. This is crucial. The better you know what their priorities are, the greater your chances are of being able to add real value to them. Once you know these priorities, search for how these results are achieved. What process does the individual or group use to achieve these results? By understanding their process, you can then look for ways to improve it. Of course, communicating your suggestions with respect and candor is very important so that the other person may actually listen to your ideas. Once you know what they are trying to achieve and how they are trying to achieve it, you have virtually an unlimited number of ways to add value. You could search for ways to increase profits, decrease costs, reduce delivery time, lessen frustration and stress, or make meetings more productive. You could create a Question Of The Month program. Identify one area of the process and turn it into a specific, value-added question. For example, if you are running a retail store, you might ask, "What are three practical things we can do to increase sales between 2 and 5 PM Monday through Thursday?" Ask fifty people for their answers. Collate the answers into a two-page report, add your suggestions as to what are the best ideas and include some thoughts on how to implement these ideas. Give this report to your top decision-maker, gather their feedback and take steps to implement the one or two best ideas. Constantly look for ways to enhance the quality of results with regard to the other person's priorities. Everyday ask yourself, "How can I add value in terms of increasing their desired results?" By doing this, you will spend more and more of your time in activities that move you into the upper echelons of being a top performer.
ENHANCE CLIENT RESULTS
Of course, all of the value-added activities in the world don't mean anything unless your client's results are actually improving. Your client might be a subordinate, a peer, a supervisor, a consumer, a department head in another function or a family member. Identify which client you are focusing on and benchmark their current results. Look for ways to add value and implement them. Then after a reasonable amount of time take another look at their results. Have they improved? If so, in what way have they improved? Look at what you have done to try to improve results. Ask yourself, "What worked and what did not work? What have I learned? How can I apply what I've learned to increase the quality of their results?"
Essentially, I am talking about influential leadership in this issue. That is, your ability to influence others to achieve better results regardless of your title, authority, job description or income level. It all comes down to strengthening technical competence, building relationships, adding value and enhancing client results.
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