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How Do You "Add Value"?

Understanding How You Contribute to the Bottom Line

How do you contribute to the bottom line?

You were hired to achieve results. These results must contribute to the bottom line. If they don't - directly or indirectly - then how can your company justify paying you?

Just because you've been with an organization for a long time, or you don't make mistakes, this doesn't necessarily mean that you're adding real value. To add value, you need to make a significant positive impact on your organization's success, and, for most companies, this success translates to profitability.

Some organizations, especially in the not-for-profit sector and in government, measure success in other ways. Success may include things like helping people or improving the environment. Here, to add value and prove your worth, you must focus on the way your organization measures achievement.

Why Is Value Important?

Life at work can be unstable, so thinking about the value you add is perhaps one of the most important things you can do. Experience is important, as are loyalty, dedication, and a strong work ethic; but none of these alone is enough to ensure that you continue to be employed in the future: after all, you can work long and hard at counting paperclips - but unless counting paperclips somehow adds to your organization's bottom line, all of that effort is likely to go unnoticed.

So, keeping your job is a key reason why you should be concerned about adding value. Particularly now, organizations need to be lean and efficient, so make sure that what you're doing creates value. And if it doesn't, figure out what you can do to contribute more directly to your organization's success, and do this urgently!

When you assess your job in terms of adding value, you also gain a better appreciation of your real priorities, meaning that you spend as much time as possible on daily activities that contribute directly to the bottom line. With this valuable knowledge, you can set goals and prioritize with much greater efficiency.