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the best future available to us is a future where you contribute your true self and your best work. Are you up for that?
Do not internalize the industrial model. You are not one of the myriad of interchangeable pieces, but a unique human being, and if you’ve got something to say, say it, and think well of yourself while you’re learning to say it better. —David Mamet
The indispensable employee brings humanity and connection and art to her organization. She is the key player, the one who’s difficult to live without, the person you can build something around.
The Internet has raised the bar because it’s so easy for word to spread about great stuff. There’s more junk than ever before, more lousy writing, more pointless products. But this abundance of trash is overwhelmed by the market’s ability to distribute news about the great stuff.
Almost no one puts in the work to create or invent.
The only way to get what you’re worth is to stand out, to exert emotional labor, to be seen as indispensable, and to produce interactions that organizations and people care deeply about.
new kind of work is important, and trained themselves to do it.
When we try to drill and practice someone into subservient obedience, we’re stamping out the artist that lives within.
most schools don’t like great teachers.
If you want a job where you get to do more than follow instructions, don’t be surprised if you get asked to do things they never taught you in school.
Be remarkable Be generous Create art Make judgment calls Connect people and ideas . . . and we have no choice but to reward you.
the competitive advantage the marketplace demands is someone more human, connected, and mature. Someone with passion and energy, capable of seeing things as they are and negotiating multiple priorities as she makes useful decisions without angst.
Or, just maybe, would you be more successful if you were more artistic, motivated, aware, and genuine?
When work becomes personal, your customers and coworkers are more connected and happier. And that creates even more value.
When your organization becomes more human, more remarkable, faster on its feet, and more likely to connect directly with customers, it becomes indispensable.
They produce more than you pay them to, because you are paying them with something worth more than money. They do more than they’re paid to, on their own, because they value quality for its own sake, and they want to do good work. They need to do good work.
Then something fascinating happened. Kevin Kelly first wrote about this ten years ago: it turns out that GM saves $1.5 million a year by letting the robot arms think for themselves! The more GM enables the swarm of dumb machines to make decisions, bid against each other, network, and interact, the better they work.
WE TRAIN THE FACTORY WORKERS OF TOMORROW. OUR GRADUATES ARE VERY GOOD AT FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS. AND WE TEACH THE POWER OF CONSUMPTION AS AN AID FOR SOCIAL APPROVAL.
“We teach people to take initiative and become remarkable artists, to question the status quo, and to interact with transparency. And our graduates understand that consumption is not the answer to social problems.”
What They Should Teach in School Only two things: 1. Solve interesting problems 2. Lead
Organizing around the average, then, is too expensive. Organizing around average means that the organization has exchanged the high productivity of exceptional performance for the ease and security of an endless parade of average performers.
Depth of knowledge combined with good judgment is worth a lot.
The Art of Possibility.
Your restaurant has four waiters, and tough times require you to lay someone off. Three of the waiters work hard. The other one is good, but is also a master at solving problems. He can placate an angry customer, finesse the balky computer system, and mollify the chef when he’s had too much to drink.
“In many cases, the individual Marine will be the most conspicuous symbol of American foreign policy and will potentially influence not only the immediate tactical situation, but the operational and strategic levels as well.”
Emotional labor is available to all of us, but is rarely exploited as a competitive advantage. We spend our time and energy trying to perfect our craft, but we don’t focus on the skills and interactions that will allow us to stand out and become indispensable to our organization.
Fearless doesn’t really mean “without fear.” What it means in practice is, “unafraid of things that one shouldn’t be afraid of.”
You want something remarkable, nonlinear, game changing, and artistic.
His art was the engagement with each person, a chance to change her outlook or brighten his day. Not everyone can do this, and many who can, choose not to. David refused to wait for instructions. He led with his art.
If you’ve got experience in doing the things that make you a linchpin, a résumé hides that fact. A résumé gives the employer everything she needs to reject you. Once you send me your résumé, I can say, “Oh, they’re missing this or they’re missing that,” and boom, you’re out.
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Great jobs, world-class jobs, jobs people kill for—those jobs don’t get filled by people e-mailing in résumés.
The only way to prove (as opposed to assert) that you are an indispensable linchpin—someone worth recruiting, moving to the top of the pile, and hiring—is to show, not tell. Projects are the new résumés.
Find a company that doesn’t use a computer to scan résumés, a company that hires people, not paper.
You are not your résumé. You are your work.
If the game is designed for you to lose, don’t play that game. Play a different one.
There’s a certain sort of indispensable team member who always finds a yes.
It’s easy to find a way to spend your entire day doing busywork. Trivial work doesn’t require leaning. The challenge is to replace those tasks with rule-breaking activities instead.
Consider the customer service troubleshooter, the dervish who walks into any situation and makes it better. Her posture is forward; she’s looking for opportunities. She wants to mix it up. She looks for trouble; trouble gives her a chance to delight.
If he waits for a job to be good enough to deserve his best shot, it’s unlikely that he’ll ever have that job.
Challenge and responsibility 2. Flexibility 3. A stable work environment 4. Money 5. Professional development 6. Peer recognition 7. Stimulating colleagues and bosses 8. Exciting job content 9. Organizational culture 10. Location and community
If you need to conceal your true nature to get in the door, understand that you’ll probably have to conceal your true nature to keep that job.
Emotional labor is difficult and easy to avoid. But when we avoid it, we don’t do much worth seeking out.
smile, of connecting to a human, of taking initiative, of being surprising, of being creative, of putting on a show—these are things that we do for free all our lives.
When you develop the habit of contributing this gift, your coworkers become more open, your boss becomes more flexible, and your customers become more loyal.
Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.
