This was a phrase I hear for the first time the other day from a man named Eben Pagan. A well-respected internet marketer and very successful businessman. The phrase refers to the difference in psychology that you need to make when going from an employee to a business owner. See, many people are trying to extract everything they can out of their job, their relationships, the places they shop, and the world. The mentality of “what do I get out of it?” is commonplace.
Everyone sees the world through a certain lens, life is this way, not that way. But with the dramatic changes happening in the world, I do not believe that people with the mentality of value extraction, of “what do I get out of it?” will survive! The best example I can think of is in the business world. We have all heard the statistics, 99% of new businesses fail. Of course there are several reasons this is true, but the biggest reason is this mentality.
“What does this have to do with anything?” you say? Well it has to do with everything. People are being laid off, the economy is in some real trouble, if you are working, your job is more than likely at stake. If you own a business, you will fail if you do not embrace this mentality of value creation. Harsh words, but they need to be said.
How then, do we create value? How do I make myself more valuable in these times so I am not laid off or so I do not lose my business? Really what needs to happen is a shift in mentality. Seeing the world through the value creation lens will open your eyes and it will all be clear.
What people in the value extraction lens are not seeing is that you can create value, literally out of nothing. A simple example is computers, what in the world are computers made of? Well circuit boards… and where do those circuit boards come from? Sand! Something so silly on the ground can be used in so many different ways. The way you create value is to use your mind. And I know that sounds corny but here are some real world examples of what I have seen in the past.
- When you make a large purchase, some companies will send you a hand written note thanking you. They took time out of their day to write you a note. It hopefully shows you care.
- When I order office supplies from an online business they sometimes send me a tin of cookies! I don’t even care about the ink and paper anymore I just want those cookies!
- I just received a holiday card from another local office supply store giving me a $25 gift card, nice!
Well that’s all fine and dandy, unless you are not in business for yourself. The way you create value in a job is to be more helpful. Examples could include finishing projects without being told, working overtime when not asked, find new clients for the business, the list is really endless. Just think of how you can make yourself more valuable to yourself and others, then you will be seeing the value creation I am talking about.
Have a fantastic day!
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