Many years ago, I made a huge mistake, with one my teammates who reported to me.
I never saw the value he brought to both the team and our enterprise.
The “didn’t see” part came as a result of not looking . . . not because of an absence of value.
Truth be told . . . he was extremely valuable!
So one day he put in his notice . . . and two weeks later, he was gone.
And so was his value!
That’s when I realized that I let someone bring their value someplace else.
I wonder if we all could be a tad guilty of undervaluing the valuable relationships we have in our lives?
The people who report to us
Those we report to
The best supporting actors and actresses who help us look like stars with our clients
Our clients
Our mentors
Our family
Our friends
Our significant other
Valuing the valuable in the present is free . . .
Valuing the valuable in hindsight . . . comes with the high price of regret!
Peace!
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Hmm, guilty as charged. Have “taken them for granted” a few times and paid the price. Was to “busy working” when should have understood their needs.
You and me both Patrick!
Thank you for taking the time to contribute!
Great post Paul. I certainly hold my arm high in the air and admit to undervaluing people in most of these categories over my life time. As I matured as a person, and as a business professional, thankfully it was less and less of an occurrence. As a sales rep, it is so easy to start thinking of inside sales teams as “your personal assistants’. Or a manager as a sounding board for every little thing that goes wrong during the day. It is way too easy to assume that our friends and family will be there tomorrow so I will “work on those relationships another day”.
One time, I was undervalued by an organization that I worked for to the point that I was let go. My customers saw the value, and they certainly let the new management team and sales rep hear about it. Long story short, I received a phone call from my previous employer “exploring the possibility” of me coming back. The customers knew my value, I knew my value, but the company had to hear it from everyone else. It should have been plain as day to management that I was contributing on a daily basis. As you may expect, I politely declined and decided to move forward, rather than backwards!
Atta boy Tim . . . I like the way you handled that!
Thanks for taking the time to share that!
Always a pleasure Paul! Thanks for the opportunity to share.
I have a different perspective. I always deliver above and beyond what I agree to do. I provide added value. The first time, I expected the client to notice and I was surprised that I needed to explain.
Since then, I’ve learned that I need to be explicit about the value I bring and specifically the added value.
It’s often the added value that turns a good service into outstanding and creates the repeat business.
So it’s important to value everyone and that starts by valuing ourselves too, remembering that others may not be looking for it. We may need to show it and dare to shine.
I couldn’t agree more Jude . . . Thank you so much for sharing that.
Needless to say . . . I really value your input 🙂
Have a great day!
Love this!
Thank you Jules!
Paul you have no idea how timely this post is for me! But I’m not too worried, I have faith that things will work out the way they’re supposed to… 😀
In the meantime, your post has put Ms. Mitchell’s voice in my head:
“Don’t it always seem to goThat you don’t know what you’ve got ‘Til it’s gone…”
I’ve learned to COMPLETELY value the valuable in my life – comes from having been on the undervalued end far too many times. And even more importantly, I’ve learned it’s critical to let them KNOW I value them – at fairly regular intervals!
So in case I haven’t mentioned it lately, your tips, counsel and efforts are highly valued by me! 😀
Virtually yours,
Anne-Marie
You made my day Anne-Marie . . . Thank you!
Studies have been done that people value appreciation & recognition so much that they’ll stay in a job making less if they feel appreciated!
I’ve been that guy Craig 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!