Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

If you want to get ahead at work, you need to understand what your employer really wants. Your employer is in business to become successful and make money. For-profit businesses want to make money for themselves, governments want to make money for development and programs, and non-profits want to make money for the benefit of others. This is the guiding principle behind every decision made in business.

It’s All About the Money

A successful construction contractor, once told me a story I’ll never forget.

I was busy gathering my tools at the end of the day, getting ready to go home. The owner of the company approached me clutching two handfuls of screws, scrap wire, and other construction materials. “Why were all these laying around? They were going to be thrown out!” he said.
“It’s nothing,” I replied. “There can’t be more than two dollars worth of material there. We’re too busy to stop and pick up scraps. They’re just crumbs.”
The owner look at me with a scowl. “Yes, but they’re MY crumbs.”

This story might be dismissed as just another example of a cheap boss, if it weren’t so commonplace. Let me put it to you this way; pretend you have $100,000 and ask me to invest it for you. Imagine I intentionally waste $1000 of it by being careless with your money. Would you be upset? Of course you would! Just because you still have $99,000 doesn’t mean you like people throwing your money away; neither does your employer or company you work for.
Businesses is extremely competitive. Owners operate on razor-thin profit margins - there is no room for error or waste. If you want to gain respect, and acknowledgment from your employer, you need to pay attention to little things that make a difference.

Champion Your Employer’s Success

When you champion your employer’s success, you become a workplace superhero. Take an interest in what matters most to them and you will gain their respect and confidence. Ask them questions like this:

• How are we doing?
• What kind of margins does the business need to be successful? Are we meeting those targets?
• What can I do to make the company more money and become more successful?
• Where can I be more efficient or more productive. How can I improve and make YOU more successful?

When you ask questions like this, you’re sending a clear message that you are engaged in your work and you care about their success. Employers look for people like this and, more importantly, promote people like this. Get excited about it - make a personal goal to become as knowledgeable about the business as the owner. Not everyone has entrepreneurial spirit but everyone, including you, wants success for themselves. Show interest in another’s success and it will always be given back to you.