Is anyone indispensable? Most people think they are but in reality they are not. Larry Myler’s new book, Indispensable by Monday, teaches readers how to make sure they are indispensable and their employer knows it.
In the beginning of the book, Mr. Myler talks about profit loss statements, balance sheets and other financial statements. He feels that if you don’t understand these basic forms, you can’t be indispensable. He takes a look at the positive characteristics to a great employee. Readers will also learn how he/she can help his/her company through money saving techniques and strategies.
He believes that employees should want to and attempt to increase the company’s bottom line. He goes on to talk about how employees should look at the way the company spends money and how to cut some of those costs by either striking up a deal with a vendor or making sure that receivables are net 10 days instead of net 30 days.
Mr. Myler educates the reader so that he/she can recommend to his/her boss money saving ideas like opening a sweep account which enables you to put more cash in your higher paid bank account then the one with no interest.
For the employer, Mr. Myler suggests giving incentives to employees who don’t use all their sick time or refrain from accidents. He also suggests reserving pay raises to top performers only.
Dwelling over mistakes costs the company money, he says in the book. Make a sincere apology and move on. For employees, he says that you should spend more time on what needs to be done and less on nonessential things.
One of the things I found particularly interesting is when Mr. Myler quotes a study done in 2005 that says that 2.9 hours out of a typical 8-hour day is unproductive.
As for being unproductive, Mr. Myler also thinks that email is a distraction and should only be checked in the morning and in the afternoon.
In addition to the ones above, these are just a few of the many tips offered by Mr. Myler throughout the book:
• Take pride in producing high quality work.
• Don’t go on auto pilot because you won’t help your company.
• Read the Wall Street Journal to increase your financial vocabulary.
• Make sure you know what’s happening locally.
• Be as creative as possible.
• Get discounts from suppliers and vendors.
• When you go on vacation, make sure to bring business cards because you never know who you will meet.
• Enforce penalties for late payments and increase time on collections.
• Make sure to have longer payment terms with suppliers and vendors.
What many employees forget, Mr. Myler reminds them in Indispensible by Monday, including:
• Leave personal stuff at home don’t bring to the job.
• Make sure you look good every day.
• Be as visible as possible.
• Leave your ego behind.
• Finally, remain loyal and let your loyalty be known.
Indispensable by Monday offers practical tips for employees and it is a worthwhile read. As an employer of a boutique public relations firm, I found it intriguing. I know that if an employee did all the things that Mr. Myler noted in the book, I would certainly take care of him/her and make sure he/she is happy to stick around as long as possible. Thankfully, I have several staff members who use many of these tactics. I really appreciate that in them and try to do everything I can to make their journey a pleasant one.
Article first published as on Blogcritics.org.
