The Story
In the 1940s before the invention of the barcode, there was a problem with people switching the sticker price tags of items in retail stores. These half-thieves would pull the price sticker off of a something like a Hershey bar and place it over top of something more expensive. The result? A whole lot of toasters being sold for a nickel and a huge loss for the store.
Along came a a new employee–an undergraduate college student named Sally. Sally had a photographic memory and memorized the prices of all of the items in the store. Then, when someone would pull the switch-a-roo, she’d quickly alert them the item was mismarked, request full payment for the item, and save the store a whole boatload of money.
Sally was paid four times more than the rest of the cashiers, which was undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for the store as it saved plenty of money from Sally’s useful skill. The management was grieved when Sally moved away for law school.
What Sally did was take advantage of her capabilities. She capitalized on being better than anyone else at her job. Sally was a linchpin.
How To Be Paid Four Times More
So you want to be like Sally? Here are my tips.
- Use your skills. If you’re a great communicator, don’t settle for cranking out spreadsheets. If you have an analytical mind, make sure you doing projects where you can identify problems and come up with solutions. You have to do what you have a skill set for.
2. Forget your weaknesses. What I didn’t tell you was that Sally was a horrible writer. Luckily she didn’t try to be an author or copy editor. She just used what was in her bag of tricks. Forget about getting better at X, Y or Z just because someone else can do it better than you. Find something you can do better than anyone else, and focus all of your attention on that.
- Find an employer that appreciates your talents. Most people don’t get to do their best work every day. Tell your employer what you are good at. Fight to do those things. If they don’t let you, find a new employer.
What are you doing to set yourself apart from you peers? Are you using your skills and doing your best work every day?
Photo provided by Sylvar.