Worth Their Weight in Gold

In class we talked about multiplying our worth. This brought a lot of questions, worth to who, how does one measure worth? Does the worth remain, or have to be replenished constantly; and lastly, what do I value that I would want to multiply.

I think that one of the things that I value the most is communication and initiative. I value communication in any relationship. In a personal relationship, communication can be used to give and to receive in emotional, physical, mental and spiritual needs. In a professional aspect, communication is important because it communicates goals and important information (like operating hours, and tasks that need completing).

I also think that initiative is important because with people that only follow, I think in a previous class we called these people “yes men”, they never grow, they are trained to do their job, much like a parrot is trained to speak. The people that I hire must be people who have a culture of learning and doing. If they do not have this culture, training will be exponentially greater to train them.

I once read a quote by the CEO of Cinnabon that skill can always be trained, but attitudes can’t. I see this evident in two employees that I work with. One has been employed at our company for less than two months. I have come to rely, trust and value this co-worker’s opinion, and actions. She has become a key team member both in skill and in culture. The other has been employed at different locations for three years, however, this employee needs constant management and guidance in many small and self-implied tasks. I dread having this person on my team because I know that I must use my skill and attention  focusing on him and not on the team.

With these two skills, the other skills will come, and the worth of a person can truly be multiplied.