If you are working hard and hoping to get noticed, you will be up for a major disappointment.
It’s not your manager’s fault, nor the organization’s flaw.
The reason is that we fail to understand something essential — a company exists to make money!
Stop, reread it, and let it sink in: a company exists to make money.
Before you start objecting to this line of thought, think about why you, or at least most of you, work.
Money.
Isn’t this the hard truth?
If the salary is not good enough, you will not be happy.
We got to put the food on the table first. Everything else, work satisfaction, work-life balance, fancy office, foosball, great colleagues, even delicious meals, is secondary.
We fail to understand that it’s the same for your company. How do you expect to get paid if the company doesn’t make money?
If you want to get noticed, the path is straightforward—align your work with your company’s goals.
Sounds logical. Right?
The question is, how do you do it?
In Austin Kleon’s words—author of ShowYourWork—the work doesn’t speak for itself.
You may be doing a great job, but if you cannot show it, you can’t complain.
If your role involves numbers, such as sales, it’s easier.
For the rest of us, here are a few suggestions:
- Start thinking about how your work, directly or indirectly, contributes to the bottom line. You will need to learn how to look at the big picture, not just your work.
- Translate the impact of your work into numbers.
- Finally, create a slide deck and show your work!
Ask for help if you don’t know how to do it!
Work doesn’t speak for itself. You need to speak for it