In the Raise Your Visibility & Value model, “Value is when the outcome of a situation exceeds the cost incurred by a satisfactory margin.”
In our last post we addressed the meaning of “outcome of a situation.” Today, let’s discuss “cost.”
When you read or hear the word “cost,” you typically think about money. However, costs are more than just money. As a busy business professional in a fast-moving workplace, you manage several assets that become costs when you use them. When it comes to understanding value, these assets are time, energy, and money.
- Time – Your time is valuable. You do not have enough time in your day to accomplish all that you want to accomplish, so how you invest your time is very important. Feeling as though your time is well-spent enhances the potential for value. Feeling as though an activity is a waste of your time indicates an absence of value – the cost of the outcome was greater than the benefit.
- Energy – As a human being, you only have so much energy to expend. Feeling as though the energy you invest is well spent enhances the likelihood for value. Feeling as though you don’t have the energy for an activity or that your investment “drains your energy” indicates that the cost of an outcome is or was greater than its benefit.
- Money – While there are other types of financial assets in the world, when you think about costs, you probably think in a monetary context. If you are going to invest your hard-earned money in something, you will always want to receive a benefit that exceeds the cost. This is also true when you are spending someone else’s money, such as your organization’s money.
These three assets – time, energy, and money – are interdependent. For example, you could have all the time and energy in the world, yet you are unable to invest in a desired outcome, as you do not have the money. Or, you may have the energy and money to invest in your outcome, yet you have little time to make it happen.
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Ed’s new book, Raise Your Visibility & Value: Uncover the Lost Art of Connecting on the Job is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Please check it out and share the word!
