Keeping an eye on Sales - Association of Independent Corrugated ...

Are You Indispensable at Work?
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assumptions in order to breed new
unfettered thinking.
Years of experience in <strong>an</strong> industry
c<strong>an</strong> be a detriment to assumption
assaulting. “It’s always been done
that way” or “we tried that (new
approach) <strong>an</strong>d it didn’t work” are
often blocks to freely asking such
questions as “I wonder if we...” or
“what would <strong>an</strong> entirely different
way of h<strong>an</strong>dling this situation look
like?”
Experience c<strong>an</strong> infect us with biases
that blind us to new possibilities.
Press your reset button, both on a
mental <strong>an</strong>d emotional level, allow
the questions to start flowing. And
remember: innovation begins where
assumptions end.
3. You Have a Passion for the End
Customer.
Steve Jobs designs products that rock
people’s world. How? By getting vast
teams of specialists to collaborate
<strong>an</strong>d underst<strong>an</strong>d that second-best
efforts will be unacceptable. He’s not
going to settle for <strong>an</strong>ything less th<strong>an</strong>
awesome.
You <strong>an</strong>d I also create “products” for
a living. That event you’re pl<strong>an</strong>ning
for Orl<strong>an</strong>do is a product. The new
cost-reduction initiative you’re
contributing is a product. Even
that email memo you sent out five
minutes ago is a product. Everything
you create is your product - <strong>an</strong>d
every product has a customer.
Like the iPod, the iPhone <strong>an</strong>d the
iPad, the best products are those that
<strong>an</strong>ticipate the customer’s need <strong>an</strong>d
offer a superior solution.
To turn your products into icons
of your indispensability, strive
to acquire empathy for the end
customer <strong>an</strong>d force yourself to
listen deeply to what that customer
w<strong>an</strong>ts to accomplish. Step outside
Have you heard?
the bubble of your culture, interact
with more people, <strong>an</strong>d allow yourself
to become fascinated with what
they say. This will give you a sense
of what the outside world thinks,
feels, <strong>an</strong>d perceives about your
org<strong>an</strong>ization, as opposed to what
people inside assume.
4. You Think Ahead of the Curve.
Ever try walking around in the dark
without a flashlight? It’s <strong>an</strong> unsettling
feeling <strong>an</strong>d c<strong>an</strong> often lead to bumps
<strong>an</strong>d bruises if you walk straight
into something you couldn’t see. In
today’s hypercompetitive world, you
need your own version of a flashlight.
Things happen fast when you
aren’t paying attention. With your
flashlight in h<strong>an</strong>d, however, you will
find things do not happen quite so
suddenly. By developing the ability
to track emerging trends, <strong>an</strong>d to
assess <strong>an</strong>d interpret the ch<strong>an</strong>ges as
RSM1000
continued on page 17
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