Leverage Your Resources

Knowing Your Value:  What are you “working with?”

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where you are in a position to leverage your resources to accomplish some goal if you aren’t aware of the resources or assets that are at your disposal.

So, knowing your value is of acute significance to everyone. It’s so much more than the title of Miki Brzezinski’s bestselling new book.  Not knowing your value is, in my opinion, the number one obstacle to achieving whatever it is that you want in life.  What each of us wants is varied, dependent on many factors. For many, it is similar to the situation in Ms. Brzezinski’s book –  equitable salary or something else of equitable value commensurate with what you offer.  It could be something else, such as the experience of doing what you’ve always dreamed of doing.  Or, it could simply be getting the courage to walk through a real or figurative door into a new experience.

It all starts with your having the confidence to ask the question, make the call, or walk through the door. All of it is made much easier when you understand the value of what you bring to the table.

Back in the day when I had a standing weekly appointment with my hairdresser I’d often hear the phrase, “Show me what you’re working with.” I won’t comment on the context of the saying, but the sentiment is right on.  If we’re too reticent to demonstrate “what we’re working with,” or if we’re not quite sure that what we’re working with is up to par, then whatever it is that we think we have is our secret and will remain so until we share it.  If you want your value to be recognized, you have to first recognize it, identify it by name or description, and show others that whatever it is that you’re “working with” brings value to their game.

Accomplishing this is more easily said than done. One place to begin is by reading Internet marketing coach Donna Gunther’s article that provides pointers in recognizing your expertise.  Another tool that will prove invaluable in helping you discover what you have that can be leveraged is  Tom Rath’s Strengths Finder 2.0.  And when you’re ready for longer term planning, a great resource that helps set the stage for strategic thinking about your future is Peter Schwartz’s The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World.  Schwartz writings offer paths to strategic insights for yourself and your company.