CEO of More or Less Inc., employee training expert Larry Myler, author of the practical, career building book Indispensable By Monday: Learn the Profit-Producing Behaviors that will Help Your Company and Yourself, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about his book. Larry describes the importance of generating profit for a company as critical in any economy, but especially in these difficult economic times.
Thanks to Larry Myler for his time and for his insightful and informative responses. They are greatly appreciated.
What was the background to writing this book Indispensable By Monday: Learn the Profit-Producing Behaviors that will Help Your Company and Yourself?
Larry Myler: With all the financial carnage in the workplace, I wanted to contribute something substantive that would help individuals and companies get back on solid ground. After extensively researching what had already been written on the topics of getting and keeping a job, increasing one's chances of being promoted, adding real financial value and becoming indispensable, it was clear that nobody had ever gone beyond the political, non-value-added advice that's so prevalent. So, with my sights set on value creation and bottom-line benefits, I jumped into the project.
In the book, you suggest that an employee must add more value than others. How do you go beyond the conventional wisdom and homilies usually offered to employees?
Larry Myler: Dress well, eat lunch at your desk, look busy all the time and volunteer for everything. The list goes on, but none of these strategies will increase workers’ financial contributions to their organizations. Here's a two-step approach that will have fellow employees (or other job candidates) eating your dust: 1) Learn how to reduce expenses and increase revenues (there are many ways to do both in every company); 2) Document your profit proposals so that you get the credit, and so that your personal brand and marketability can skyrocket.
Is helping the company improve its profits the surest way to become an indispensable part of the organization?
Larry Myler: All things being equal, yes. Assuming one is already getting to work on time, dressing appropriately, getting along with co-workers and performing on par, the one thing that changes everything is the ability to increase company profits. Indispensable by Monday was written for those who are already meeting a minimum standard of professionalism. Anyone who comes to work naked needs a different kind of help.
Why do so many employees overlook the obvious idea of generating more profit?
Larry Myler: Two words: JOB DESCRIPTION. We automatically think that if we do everything in our job descriptions we will be fine; and of course, that makes perfect sense to intelligent people. Management often leaves this crucial profit responsibility out of formal job descriptions, so if employees should happen to think about the company's fiscal health they would logically conclude that, "It's not my job. People above my pay grade worry about that."
It is ironic that, while relinquishing the responsibility for profit to the top of the organization, workers at all levels of the org chart become completely oblivious to the many profit opportunities all around them—opportunities that will never be seen from the top.
Larry Myler (photo left)
Can an employee cut costs when others in the organization say that everything has been pared to the bone?
Larry Myler: I know we should try to not use the words never and always, but whenever my company is hired to find needed profits for clients, we are always told that all efficiencies have been found; and yet, this is never the case. It is shocking to see how easy it is to produce cost reductions and revenue enhancements once people know what to look for.
As an example, my consulting firm conducts a session known as the 90-minute Profit Jumpstart, during which we routinely discover and document hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in profit. 90 minutes! During an extended lunch we can actually pull money out of thin air, and we do it by tapping into the resident knowledge of employees at all levels of the organization. This process always works, and it has never failed.
Can an employee boost revenues even in a difficult economy when others say no one is buying and everyone is cutting their purchasing budgets?
Larry Myler: Economies cycle and market forces are always changing. If a company's value proposition to its customers remains the same, even though economic and market conditions change, it usually follows that customers will make different buying decisions. There is a specific chapter in the book that deals with this very issue.
Even today, are there easy dollars to be had that have an immediate impact directly on the bottom line?
Larry Myler: Absolutely! Here's a quick one. Read the chapter on process improvement and you'll find 33 ways to streamline your company's established processes. When you take even one unnecessary step out of a recurring process, you will save the company money and you will make your own job easier.
Is innovative thinking a critical skill for the indispensable employee?
Larry Myler: Better thinking is always good, but when it comes to adding profit, 99 per cent of the workforce find it difficult if not impossible to add indispensable financial value without help. Thus, the need for book. The good news is that after reading and applying the concepts in the book, most employees will continue to propose and implement creative and innovative profit ideas of their own—long into the future. Innovation is a lot easier with the right skills, knowledge and tools.
How can positive results be quantified to show up in a performance review?
Larry Myler: We have created a free online tool, aptly named the Profit Proposal Generator (PPG), which enables even those with no accounting knowledge whatsoever to create a report showing the monetary impact of any profit idea. You don't have to be a financial genius to look like one, if you use the PPG. The process is pretty simple: Read the book, use the PPG, and become indispensable.
Taking several PPG reports into your next performance appraisal is the best way to get a raise, bonus and/or promotion, because you can document the exact amount of profit you created for the company before you ever ask for a small part of it to come back to you. Contrast that with the normal experience of being subject to the oft-times selective memory of a manager who would sooner postpone (or even disregard altogether) the rewards you have justly earned.
Is it possible for an employee to become truly indispensable if they follow the recommendations made in the book?
Larry Myler: It's happening every day. I recently presented a 90-Minute Profit Jumpstart to a division of 300 employees, during which we uncovered over $5 million in hidden profits. Just yesterday I heard from a small business owner who bought a copy of the book for each of his 6 managers. He reported finding tens of thousands of dollars before they got to page 35!
One man, who had been looking for work for two years without getting even one interview, modified his resume as instructed in the book to show his past profit contributions. Three days after sending out the new resume, he had an interview scheduled with a great prospect. So, here's my invitation to all who embark on this profit quest: Let me know when you have your first success. You can reach me at lmyler@bymonday.com
What is next for Larry Myler?
Larry Myler: I'm working on a book that teaches leaders what to do if an employee ever does show up to work naked.
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My book review of Indispensable By Monday: Learn the Profit-Producing Behaviors that will Help Your Company and Yourself by Larry Myler.
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