Create value – master key to success

The value you bring to the marketplace will define the rewards you get. The compensation for your services will be in direct proportion to the quality of your work and the complexity of the problems you solve for others. The question to always ask is: What value am I bringing to the marketplace? What problems am I solving? How many people am I helping to get what they want? To create value, you first must understand the needs of the marketplace. You need to understand what people are struggling with, what is keeping executives awake at night, and what problems businesses are struggling with so that you can develop your solutions to address those challenges.

Try not to be a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value – Albert Einstein

The needs for your services are enormous and it’s your job to identify the people in need of the solutions you provide. Let creating value for others be top of mind for you every single day. As long as you continue to help others get what they want, they will ensure you get what you want. This is law! Take the focus off yourself and put it onto helping others, providing solutions to problems, and resolving business challenges, and you will be rewarded greatly. 

I read a book many years ago about the concept of brain reserve. A particular business brought together a number of great minds to brainstorm business solutions. Their job on a daily basis was to sit in a room all day and dream of creative solutions to resolve challenging business problems. The solutions they provided were helping businesses make more money and they were rewarded greatly for their services. Are you a solution to someone’s problem or are you part of the problem? What business problems are you solving and what value are you creating for your employer or bringing to the marketplace? You should not expect to be rewarded if you are not creating value for others. The key to designing the life you want and imagine is encapsulated in the value you bring to the marketplace and the difficulty of the problems you solve. There is no such thing as a free lunch. 

Focus on creating value and the rewards will follow!

Focus on creating value and the rest will take care of itself. Years ago, I decided to commit myself to helping organizations and individuals achieve results. My peers were always talking about competition and how difficult it was to get clients. I told them that the best way to continue to have business was to focus on the needs of the client and provide value. I recalled how a new bank had been opening in town and that I happened to know some of the shareholders. I suggested to them that when the doors of the bank opened for business for the first time, they should give the first twenty customers who opened an account a gift as a token of appreciation. Because of all the preparation taking place and all the things that needed to get done for the next day, I knew my suggestion might not get implemented. So I decided to get the twenty gifts myself. I parceled the gifts overnight and took them to the bank the next day. The managing director was so impressed by this that he called for the person who had initiated the idea. Long story short, that gesture from me started a long-term relationship with this bank. I was given the privilege of training all the leaders of the bank in managing service excellence, and of training the entire staff in customer service. As the bank expanded to other countries, so did my engagement with it and my rewards. My relationship with this bank continued for many years. As they acquired more businesses, including a hotel, a resort beach, an insurance company, a grain processing plant, and others, I was on hand to support them with their learning and development requirements. I also provided consulting services to them. Out of one gesture, I made lots of money providing value to the organization. 
​
Start with creating value and watch your profits grow. What ideas do you have to create value for your clients or customers? What value do you bring to the marketplace? What value are you bringing to your employer? And to make it more personal, what value are you bringing to the relationship? First you give and then you will receive. You don’t sit in front of your fireplace and demand heat. First you put in the wood, and then you get the heat. This is the law of nature or the universe and it works all the time. Great opportunities in life don’t come by chance but rather through the creation of value. Creating value should not be an afterthought. It should be your primary focus in designing the life you want. Wealth creation begins with creating value for the customer – period.