Tuesday Tips

If you work in Marketing, what’s your job?

To do lots of marketing activities?

No.

It’s to generate new leads for your company.

And if you work in HR, what’s your job?

To do lots of HR activities?

No.

It’s to ensure your company has the right number of the right people, doing the right things, in the right way.

A Lawyer? Your job isn’t law. It’s to keep your customers out of jail.

An Accountant? Your job isn’t accountancy. It’s to help your customers grow, while minimising cost and risk.

A Personal Trainer? Your job isn’t to train personally. It’s to help your customers look and feel better about themselves.

In other words, your job is all about the AFTERs – what improvement do you cause AFTER you’ve done your work?

Obvious, yes.

But how often do you focus on your AFTERs?

I’ve worked with Leadership Teams in pharmaceutical companies, asked them to describe their job in a sentence. And not one of them mentioned the word ‘patients’.

I’ve worked with Leadership Teams in financial planning companies, asked them the same question. And had responses like ‘providing financial solutions’, not ‘enhancing our customers’ lives’.

Your job isn’t to do great stuff. It’s to cause great stuff.

Such that others are better off AFTER you’ve done it.

If I asked you what your job was, what would you say?

If I reviewed your communications, would they focus on what you’ve done? Or why people were better-off AFTERwards?

We all want to add value. That means that, AFTER working with us, people are in a better place than they are now.

Is that what you focus on all the time?

Action Point

Change how you describe yourself to others, by focusing on the AFTERs they’re left with.

More importantly, change how you describe yourself to yourself. After all, I’d rather cause stuff than do stuff – wouldn’t you?