If a company wants its brand to stand out from the competition, differentiating it from its competitors is the place to start. Subaru has done this more successfully than most. Its customers give new meaning to brand loyalty. Many are passionate or downright fanatical in their allegiance.
It's the same with anyone who has a job. Differentiation makes the difference if you want to be known as your company's most valuable employee.
Getting there is quite simple: figure out what creates value – what sets you apart from others? Here are thoughts about personal differentiation:
- Always be ready. Brand yourself as someone who comes through in the crunch. Be ready to step in.
- Make sense. Whether it's in a meeting or in any situation, making sense is essential. That's not easy. Before saying anything, ask yourself: How would this sound if someone else said it? Making sense makes a difference.
- Never wing it. Winging it is all it takes to go down in flames. … To wing it is to blow it by saying things we don't mean, are incorrect and don't make sense.
- Come up with solutions. "I'll work on that" are the magic words.
- See situations as they are. The new sales manager arrives and starts a sales training program he had used elsewhere. It creates negative blowback and flops, all because he failed to take the time to understand and engage the sales team. … The picture in your head always needs to match what's going on in the real world.
- Share everything you know. Even though teams are in, there are still too many "hoarders" in business, those who blatantly play it close to the vest. … Be known as one who welcomes opportunities to share their knowledge and experience.
- Write it to get it right. Most business writing is horrible, whether emails, proposals, letters, or memos. Good writing gets attention.
- Repurpose yourself. It's quite simple. If others see you today the way you were two, five or more years ago, you're expendable. Have you learned new skills that help you perform more efficiently? Have you taken on new tasks?
- Develop a niche. Creating personal value is key and one of the best ways to do it is becoming a specialist in a particular area.
- Make presenting a priority. Good presenters are in short supply in every company. Those who do a good job attract the right attention and get opportunities that help move them forward.
- Help them get what they need or want. Every job – from top to bottom – has one implicit objective that is never found on a job description. It's recognizing that every action throughout the day has immense value; it helps someone get what they need or want.
- Keep your antenna up. Many say that what they want most on the job is to be left alone so they can get their work done. ... While this is understandable, those who are most valued behave differently; they keep their antenna up. They sense what's happening, catch the nuances, recognize problems, and use this data to rise above the noise and stay focused on their goals.
"People want you to be ordinary," wrote Robert Crais in "The Last Detective." They want us to be like them. If that's true, then there are enormous opportunities for the few who strive to be their company's most valued employee. •
John Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales strategy consultant and business writer. Contact him at
jgraham@grahamcomm.com.