“A wise person works to learn and not to earn but average people work to earn and not to learn”
There is no security in job security in today’s world because with what is happening all over the world, you can’t be sure that the company or organization you work for will still be in existence next month or next year.
- People come to work sometimes to discover there is no work because the gates are closed or the company is bankrupt.
- People come to work sometimes only to discover their company has been bought over (ACQUISITION) or merged with another (MERGERS) and they have been downsized as the victim of mergers and acquisitions.
The world has become a global village and the internet is the village square. So, the world and the marketplace have become more competitive because people can now apply for your job all over the world. The global crisis has even made things worse, when you go for interview, like I have seen when I interview people, it is not strange to see people with foreign degrees and certificates coming for the same job interview.
They are young, energetic, vibrant, exposed and qualified yet looking for job instead of creating one and they are the one you have to contend with at your “old age” by reason of spending more years than necessary in school due to incessant strikes and man-made delays in our country especially.
In today’s world, being 30-35years is the new old, and having at least a Masters degree is the new first degree because settling for just B.SC is an error and a limitation.
With these new realities, it is vital for anyone who is willing to make a difference and be impactful and valuable to do so by increasing their value in the marketplace.
There are five major factors to increasing your value in the marketplace, and you need to have all in place concurrently to be very valuable in today’s marketplace.
- CHARACTER: To be valuable and continue to increase your value in today’s marketplace, you need character and integrity. The revelations of the years have shown that people of character and integrity are very scarce even at the highest level of corporate governance.
From corporate executives, to political leaders, to sports icon, to spiritual leaders etc., the list is endless of men and women who have been disgraced out of their positions of honour, and forced to resign due to character flaws and integrity problem.
If it is not moral integrity issue, it will be financial integrity issue, ethical issues or otherwise.
Genuine people with upright character and flawless integrity are very scarce in today’s world. So, being a person of character and integrity is a great asset and leverage in today’s marketplace and today’s world in general, and I can tell you that from experience.
Seven years ago, my life hit a rock and I experienced the highest level of betrayal you can ever imagine, yet I received a mandate to keep quiet and not spread it or defend myself. For years till date, I have watched my name and reputation dragged into the mud. I see, hear, and read all manner of stuff being said about me in the conventional and new media as people give comments and opinion about what they know nothing about.
I have been severally advised and sometimes tempted myself to speak, spread things and release evidence to show people the true picture, but I have always been constrained never to fight back dirty because of my offspring.
If you are a virgin and everyone believes you are a slot, do you expose your nakedness to prove them wrong? Of course not!
In the last seven years, one thing has become more clear and real to me; the truth has been exposing and revealing itself with time. I look around to see what I have lost with all the mudslinging and character assassination and I found none. This is because integrity has kept things going and growing all around me and I am so grateful I kept quiet.
Build your character and integrity to keep living above board because it will spread and increase your value over time. Who you are when no one is looking is more important than who you are when everyone is looking because your secret sins and the skeletons in your cupboard will be exposed for all to see with time if you don’t deal with it.
Build your character and not your reputation. If you have character and integrity no matter the damage people do to your reputation, your character will give you victory.
“SINS AND CHARACTER FLAWS WILL TAKE YOU FARTHER THAN YOU WANT TO GO, KEEPS YOU LONGER THAN YOU ARE WILLING TO STAY AND COST YOU MORE THAN YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY.”
Build your character and increase your value.
- COMPETENCE: Character without competence is incomplete because it will limit how far you can go in the marketplace. Even though character is needed in the marketplace, you must remember it’s a “MARKETPLACE” and not a charity. Results matter a lot too, and that is why competence is a key factor to increasing your value.
“Commit things to faithful men who will now be able to teach and raise others.”
Faithfulness and character comes before ability and competence but it is still incomplete and inadequate without it.
Competent people are dwindling fast in today’s world due to emerging trends and current realities, some of which we have already examined. People want something for nothing; they want the easy way out, get rich quick schemes, short cuts, fast tracks, drive through and microwave mentality results.
Competence takes hard work, and the lazy man’s approach to life of today’s majority makes competence valuable.
Have you noticed how incompetent and unemployable today’s graduates are, and how you have to spend loads of money training and retraining them in finishing schools and competence training?
- They can’t speak good English.
- They can’t write letters without mistake.
- They can’t take or use initiative.
- They can’t manage things on their own.
- They have to be told what to do and shown how to do it.
- They have to be micromanaged.
- They have high and big dreams, but small minds.
- They want big salaries with little or no inputs.
- They can’t meet targets and produce results.
- They are too unserious in major aspects of life.
- They major on minor and minor on major.
- They have short attention span and less fruitful hours.
The list of woes is endless, and any employer will do anything to keep and encourage competent staff when they find one.
Is it not amazing that head hunting has become a norm in today’s corporate world? And while some are submitting CVs from place to place, those already in good positions and not looking for jobs find themselves being invited and offered other jobs because their competence and track records of producing results is speaking for them.
You increase your competence when you give personal development and skill development; a premium position in your life and you subscribe to continuous learning.
If you do all you can without caring who gets the credit, you will be busy doing all kinds of things that needs to be done and increasing your competence over different areas instead of playing corporate politics. Before long you will be noticed and get the credit you deserve.
Remember, if you do more than you are being paid to do, it’s only a matter of time before you start being paid more than you worked for.
Read the conclusion in the next edition! See you at the top!