In the United States, a popular former president, John F. Kennedy, once famously told the American people in a campaign speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
These were the words of a democrat, in a time when the democrat party was a very different party when it came to fiscal policy. In those days, the democrat party still had "social justice" leanings. But it also had fiscally conservative views. Back then they touted themselves as the "working man's party."
That's a far cry from the socialist views the party now holds. And even the voter base was very different. Democrats wanted to provide welfare programs for the needy. But, unlike today, the voters in the democrat party did not want to be needy. They wanted to work for what they got.
While the famous quote had nothing to do with money or personal financial responsibility when the words were spoken before the people, the words can be changed a bit to make them more about personal financial responsibility now, and the underlying message of what those words meant still fit in the context in which they were meant then.
It was all about making a contribution, and being active in the success of the nation. A country is only as good as its people. And a country cannot be successful if the people are not active participants in some way toward that goal.
Divided we fall. United we stand.
Over the years, having worked for many employers, there often is a common complaint. "I don't get paid enough." And sometimes that is true. Not all employers have the best interests of their employees at heart.
But at the same time, not all employees have the best interests of their employers at heart either. And that matters. In fact, it matters a lot.
When I was a production leadman at Coca-Cola Enterprises where we bottled the delicious Coca-Cola, among other beverages everyone enjoys, down time was a costly thing. But very few employees understood what the cost really was. Moreover, they rarely considered what the cost was to them.
"It's only five minutes, man," they would say. "Doesn't affect my paycheck," was a typical follow-up argument if management were to stress the importance of getting the production line restarted as quickly as possible.
But five minutes is an enormous amount of time when you think about production value lost in that amount of time.
Consider that on the can line we produced about 1,800 cans per minute. That equates to 75 cases of product. So five minutes worth of down time means that the company produces 375 cases less than it would have.
And often times the down time was much more than just five minutes. But regardless of how much down time there actually was, or how many cases of product were lost because of it, the underlying point is that any cases produced are absolutely also the product, that when sold, were the source of an employee's paycheck.
Less product to sell means less revenue for the company means less money to pay the workers.
All workers want more money. That's just the nature of people. The problem is often that the workers don't understand that what they contribute to the success a company determines ultimately what that company can afford to offer in return for it.
Having the attitude that "it's only five minutes," or "it's not my money, so who cares?" does not serve the company well. And in return, will not serve the worker well either.
Let's do that little change-up on John F. Kennedy's words that I talked about earlier. "Ask not what your company can do for you. Ask what you can do for your company."
Like any country, the success of a company is as much a product of what the employees contribute to the success of the company as anything is. If the employees don't care, then the company cannot succeed. And if the company does not succeed, neither will the employees.
When you look at your paycheck, the question should not always be "why is it not enough?" The question should be "what did I do to contribute to making myself worth more to them?" The question should be, "what did I do to make the company better so that I am more valuable to the company?"
And you have to be honest about this question with yourself. Most people unfortunately are not. Most people lack the ability to self-evaluate, thinking that they simply deserve something.
When a manager sits down with you to discuss your performance, how do you use it? How do you perceive it?
Most people take it the wrong way. Most people take a backwards approach to the process of evaluation. "Pay me more and maybe I will work harder. Pay me more and maybe I will be faster. Pay me more and maybe I will be better. Pay me more and maybe I will be more productive."
The problem that people fail to understand is that again, what you contribute is a product of what you receive. If you, and all of the other workers around you have the same mindset then the challenge for the company to give you more becomes more difficult to oblige.
Let's change up all of the above statements as well.
If you work harder the company will produce more and we will have more money to pay you. If you work faster then we will have more product to sell to pay you more from the revenues that additional product generates. Work better and we will make less mistakes and have less consumer issues to deal with, and product recalls, and less time reworking product, producing more and having more to pay you.
Your paycheck does not come out of thin air. It comes out of what you produce that the company can sell. And when the company produces, it can pay you more out of what more it sells.
I asked earlier about how one uses an evaluation. The honest worker uses it as a guide to become better, to contribute more, and to better himself so that he can earn more money. The dishonest worker considers it to be an insult and just another example of how much the company does not appreciate what he does.
I can tell you that in my own personal experience, being able to self-evaluate, and being honest with myself, and understanding the importance of my contribution to the success of any company I worked for directly contributed my own success. And it also contributed to me making more money.
"Ask not what my company can do for me. Ask what I can do to make that company better, more profitable, and more successful, and they will reward me for doing so."
In other words, don't just ask for more money. Earn it. And if you are not making what you feel you are worth, be honest with yourself first before deciding the boss is just being cheap.
I believe the ideal relation should be a win-win for employees and the company. But as you say, many people don't think about what they can do for the company. But there are also companies that don't think about the well-being of their employees.