Good Employee Ch 11 - Once One Takes The Step

Chapter 11

Once One Takes the Step (the road back is tougher than the road forward)

If you have made it this far and recognize yourself in any of the preceding chapters you have taken the step to becoming unemployed. I will not mislead you. The road back to being a good employee is going to be much tougher than the road to being fired. But there is still hope. This very short chapter, in a sense, is the most important in this book because, since you made it this far, you still have time to turn it around and if you do turn it around, you will be rewarded with a much happier work life. The real kicker here is it is all up to you and it starts with changing the way you operate and move and perform within the work environment your company has designed for you. It starts with making your purpose in fulfilling your responsibilities on the job, the same for which you were hired in the first place. And it starts with going all the way back to your interview with your current manager and the contract you made with him – Remember? Start your next work shift with the goal, “I will be a person who behaves the way you require me to in exchange for a certain amount of money you have agreed to pay.”

Here’s how you work your way back to being an excellent employee. Starting with your next shift, clock in on time and every minute of every day of every week of every month of every year do only those things that will unify the team and earn your manager’s trust. Minute by minute, step by step, your manager will eventually notice the difference and begin to trust you again. And when you’ve finally re-earned his trust, keep doing those trustworthy things for as long as you work for him and for the rest of your life. Minute by minute; good decisions; trustworthy actions; minute by minute.

Now here are the most important bullet points so far:

• Be on time – be where you are supposed to be, when you are supposed to be there, and leave when you are supposed to leave.

• Take care of your customer whether your customer is the traditional purchaser of the product or service you provide or your customer is another department in your company, a coworker, or your boss

• Take care of each other. Make sure, through your actions and your dependability, that your teammates know you are there to help them and to help make their work experience a relaxing, in control environment.

• Smile, be polite, no whining, no trash talking, no criticism

• Demonstrate to your boss that you are willing and able to function under the authority his job position implies.

• Follow the rules and treat others as you would be treated – even if you think they do not deserve it.

• If you can’t do any of this…leave