Salt your J.O.B.
Recently I was faced with the dreaded need for home repair. In my case it was a need to replace my aging and failing water heater and replace a leaky clogged shower faucet. These repairs were way more than I felt comfortable or competent to complete. And thus, I knew I needed a professional to tackle these tasks.
Before I hit Google with a search for plumbers, I reached out to my alignments (or family of choice) to ask for referrals. As the handful of referrals started coming through, there were a couple of plumbers that earned multiple referrals from several different people.
After sifting through the referrals, inviting a few to bid the work, I selected a person. You may notice that I selected a person and not a company. A person that represented the company from an alignment that referred him.
Randall showed up on time and ready to work. In quick order Randall had replaced the water heater and completed the light demo work so he could replace the shower faucet. While Randall was completing his work, I noticed periodically that he would take pictures and then stop, really admire his work and then start on his next task.
When Randall was completed with his work, I stopped Randall and asked him about my observations. Randall smiled looked at me, back at his work on the shower faucet and then back to me. He explained with a smile on his face that the work that he did was super important.
Randall shared in his previous life that he was about numbers, stats and KPIs. However, now, his work was about fixing people’s homes. He explained that he feels the satisfaction of getting peoples homes back in order and he can go home, sleep well knowing there will be no issues with his work. That when his job is done, it is done in excellence. There was a beaming glow on Randall’s face when he turned back to look at the shower faucet he just installed.
I was impressed by Randall’s connection to the “why” of his work, the “how” he found to do it. And ultimately the “what” he did to put things in motion.
Randall is an example of adding Salt to your JOB. Based on my recently published book, The SUPERFANTASTIC Principles, Randall covered the four principles with his work. Here is how you can apply the SUPERFANTASTIC Principles to your in order to find satisfaction and success:
Find Balance
o Identify what work / job gives you the satisfaction of positively impacting you and others.
o Understand that the choices you make will impact your results. Focus on the positive outcomes and that is the result you will find.
Add Flavor
o Share the joy of “why” you do “what” you do. People will know if you have no joy in your work. And that is your choice.
o “How” you go about your work is your calling card. You can choose a plain calling card or add all the vibrant colors to your calling card. Understand that your work represents you and the company you represent overall.
Provide Value
o Put a little extra in the work you do, and it will provide greater results than the minimum and the extra you put in.
o Compound interest starts accumulating when you continue to reinvest in the excellence of your work.
Preserve Relationship
o Connect with the people around you so that the next referral is for you and not the company you represent.
o Be there, be present with the ones you are connecting. Remove distractions as much as possible. The person you are with at the moment is the most important person in the world.
Salting your JOB is more than simply finishing your work. It extends to identifying what is the best in the moment, investigating how you will make the most of what you can do and then initiating in excellence all your tasks. If you can look back and your work makes you smile, then you are salting your JOB.
Gary Gregory is the author of Living Beyond Purpose and The SUPERFANTASTIC Principles. Visit The Gary Gregory for more inspiration.