If You Want More good things, in business or in life; give more first. Here's the reason I say that…
The other day I was having a phone conversation where the concept of "give more first" was front and center. It was with someone very close to me Ok…my oldest son) Shhh, don't tell him I told you, okay. He was complaining that his job had gotten boring and his bosses weren't giving him work that was challenging.
Mind you this is his dream job and one he worked very hard to get. I also want to tell you that he is MORE than capable of handling the more challenging (and fun) work.
After talking for a while and asking some pretty pointed questions, I got to the heart of the matter.
Because in his mind the jobs he was being given were tedious, even monotonous; he did them grudgingly. He'd even gotten a little slow about getting his work done and had been talked to about it.
Ah…here came my teaching moment. Love it when this happens 🙂
Give more first is an age-old concept. I told him that to be trusted with more (the more challenging, fun assignments) he was going to have to prove to his bosses that he could ace the assignments he'd already been given. Those were the skills they'd hired him for.
He'd have to prove to them by not only doing his (boring)work and finishing it under the deadline, but by doing the other stuff in addition. He needed to do it well and finish that on time, too.
Luckily, my boy is one smart cookie and got what I was saying almost immediately. Yeah, him!!
It's like the story of the talents in the Bible. You remember the one. Here's the Reader's Digest version…
Three servants, master is going on a business trip and gives each of the some money (talents) to take care of for him and he'd see what they'd done with them when he got back. The first two servants rocked. They invested the talents, made a profit and the master was doing a happy dance. They both were given even more of the master's property to take care of.
The third guy hid his; buried it, in fact. He only did enough to keep his job and get by so the master wouldn't be mad if he took a chance and lost the talent. He did just enough…
You know what happened. The master got miffed that the servant wasn't living up to his capabilities and the trust he'd placed in him and POOF!! Out the door he went.
Like I said, my son got it. When he went back to work he'd already made plans to finish up the project he'd been working on and ask for the extra, fun projects that were coming available. He knew that to have more, he'd have to give more…first. He realized he had to give first and do a stellar job what he's been entrusted with before he could move on the the more challenging and interesting work he really wanted to do.
Heck, if his excitement keeps up (like I know it will), he may even get a raise out of it…cha-ching!!
What situations in your business have you been in where you had to give (sometimes a lot) before you could reap the rewards? Please share in the comment section below. I'd love to hear. Until then…
To Your Giving Success,
Sonrisas (smiles),
Beth 🙂
