Giving vs. Receiving
Service. What does the word “service” mean? Yes, it can be sued to describe a positive or negative experience in a restaurant or store; that’s one example. More and more though I’m seeing talk turn to “being of service”. Of making a contribution. Rest assured, the days of having a job whereby you simply turn up are either gone already or are severely numbered. It might have been tolerated in the old world where money seemingly grew on trees; won’t fly in the new world. Nope, we need to ask ourselves; “How can I be of service?” What do I have to offer that both fulfills me and is of value to someone else?
Value is the key word here because if we want to be paid for our work, it has to have value. Our time alone doesn’t fly in this new world. With people out of work, there’s an oversupply of time. Your most precious resource now (apart from your health and your relationships) is the value you bring to the table.
Something for you to think about:
What value do I bring to the table?
What got me thinking about this topic was the realization recently that in the past, to have an online presence was confined to having a website. You could either learn to build one or have someone build it for you.
Now, with the explosion of social media; it’s not just the building; that’s the easy part. It’s the managing; it’s the connecting all of the dots. It’s making sure you’re up to date with the tools people are using to connect with you or find you or your products and services. That’s when I realized the opportunity for a job that simply didn’t exist a year or two back; that of the Social Media Guru. The person who can come in; set you up on whatever networks you need to be set up on; link them all to the extent they can be linked, and then come n once a month or so to make sure everything is still working, that you are utilizing the latest add on’s and widgets; all the stuff that would be a full time job for most of us that frankly need to be spending our time elsewhere.
Amazing really that this job didn’t exist a few years back (except in the minds perhaps of some very forward thinking individuals), to the point whereby I see this role being so important as we move towards a time when I presence on social networks may be more important than our company website.
Did I mention I’m still looking for such a guru?
Drop me a line if that’s you, and of course I’d love your comments on any other areas whereby you see an opportunity to contribute value that breaks out of the traditional mold.
