Ways to distinguish yourself #172 – Manage costs associated with your contribution

By Rajesh Setty on Sun 04 Feb 2007, 12:19 AM – Leave Comment

Most often, we want to be congratulated for our contributions. Depending on the nature, size and frequency of contributions, we may expect different things – a raise, a pat on the back, a promotion or simply some sort of recognition. What gets conveniently overlooked is that cost that we bring along with the contribution.

Whether you want them or not, there are costs associated with your contribution. Let me take a simple example. If you are a sales person in a company, the costs that you are bringing in will include but not limited to:

In the above example, if you add up all these things, you will notice that the time to “really” celebrate is not when you close that first deal but when you close “that” deal that is profitable to the company after factoring all your costs into consideration.

I picked one example but you can pretty much apply this to any profession. Whatever be your profession, remember that your contributions come with a cost. If the costs outweigh the contributions you are making, you are a liability not an asset.

Now, please don’t take this to an extreme. I urge that you celebrate small victories. On a lighter note, please remember that your celebrations for those small victories are also a cost that someone has to bear.

Related Articles:

• Ways to distinguish yourself #191 – Add an extra “Thank You”
• “25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself” released at ChangeThis.com
• 25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself in Spanish – Translated by Carlos Padilla
• Ways to distinguish yourself #183 – Increase your capacity to increase capacity of others

Posted in the Distinguish yourself, Main Page category.

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