individual value

Performance and Reputation

“Value” is the New Corporate Currency

Posted on by Ed Evarts

The head-spinning advances in technology, endless bottom-line financial pressures, and growing networks of global economies described earlier demand a need for superior performance and sustainable efficiencies. Organizations aspire to motivate their employees to be better, more productive, and more engaged. Leaders seek ways to create a common language behind which organizational goals and activities can align. What can replace the void that is being created by the slow demise of performance management systems? What is the new corporate currency?

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Satisfactory Margin and Value

Satisfactory Margin and Value

Posted on by Ed Evarts

“Value is when the outcome of a situation exceeds the cost incurred by a satisfactory margin.”

But what is a ” satisfactory margin”?

Margin is the difference between the amount of cost incurred and the benefit derived. Not all margins, however, are created equal. In order to experience value, the margin must also be satisfactory. For example, a manufacturer produces an item that costs him $10.00 and sells the same item for $12.00. So this item has a 20% margin (($12.00 – $10.00) / $10.00). This manufacturer may be very happy with this margin. But for another manufacturer, and for a variety of reasons, this margin may be woefully deficient.

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When Exceeds Expectations Is No Longer Enough

When “Exceeds Expectations” Is No Longer Enough

Posted on by Ed Evarts

In today’s “get-it-done-yesterday” business environments, tenure is shortening and relationships are becoming shallower. It’s no longer enough when an employee exceeds expectations. Herminia Ibarra, the Cora Chaired Professor of Leadership and Professor of Organizational Behavior at Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD), reflected on this topic in a recent Wall Street Journal article. “With competition fierce and the business climate changing rapidly, companies are telling their leaders that it’s no longer enough to deliver results in their individual departments, or over the short-term.”

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Human Capital

When “Family” Turns into Human Capital

Posted on by Ed Evarts

Every once in a while, you will hear CEOs of organizations declare “At Acme Products, we are like a family!” I am not exactly sure what a CEO means when she describes her company as a family.

Perhaps there was a time when organizations were familial. Your grandparents may reminisce about the “good old days” when employees were treated like family. In the not-too-distant past, family-like environments naturally flourished since tenures were longer and relationships were deeper. Doing your job well nearly guaranteed of lifetime employment. However, organizations today are not like a family, regardless of what your well-intentioned CEO tells you.

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Are You Invisible or Undervalued in Your Organization?

Raise Your Visibility & Value: Are You Invisible or Undervalued in Your Organization?

Posted on by Ed Evarts

It is important to recognize that visibility and value are deeply symbiotic in your organization and industry. You already know that professional risks exist for busy business professionals who are invisible or undervalued in their organization. You do not want to be visible without providing value, and it is hard to demonstrate the value that you provide if you are invisible.

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What Is Raise Your Visibility & Value All About?

Raise Your Visibility & Value: What Is Raise Your Visibility & Value All About?

Posted on by Ed Evarts

Research tells us that how we define something dictates the activities we subscribe to it. There is a famous example from the turn of the 19th century that illustrates this point. In an effort to change how the public perceived his company, the president of a railroad company declared, “We are not a train company – we are a transportation company!” Suddenly, by viewing his organization as a provider of transportation and not just an owner of trains, he created new customer perspectives and business opportunities.

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How Do You Know If Your Organization Has a Performance Management System?

Raise Your Visibility & Value: How Do You Know If Your Organization Has a Performance Management System?

Posted on by Ed Evarts

How do you know if your organization has a performance management system? I think you know, as your body is already starting to shudder. Once a year, your boss is thrust into the dreaded “performance management cycle” and required to complete numerous performance appraisals. As he rushes to complete his appraisals en masse the Sunday night before the appraisals are due, his ratings are influenced by the rankings and bell-curve pre-established by your organization. Upon the completion of an exhausting approval process, he finally schedules a meeting with you. Following the meeting, you rush back to your cubicle, call your significant other and exclaim, “I got a 3.5 on collaboration!”

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The Often Ineffective Performance Appraisal

Raise Your Visibility & Value: Is the Performance Appraisal Ineffective for Employed Business Professionals?

Posted on by Ed Evarts

History will not be kind to the performance appraisal. After decades of lackluster experiences, stale formats, and non-existent correlations between assessment and achievement, most savvy business leaders and modern management experts would tell you that the performance appraisal is a well-intended yet failed exercise in behavior modification.

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