Our Income Is Our Report Card

When we engage in the economy, either as a business owner or an employee, we are engaging in a “Value Exchange” – an exchange of value. “I’ll pay you this if you give me that”. The amount of money we receive in exchange for what we bring to the table could be interpreted as our “Value Report Card“.

This is in no way a reflection of “human worth” or a statement of character in any way. There are certainly other forms of reward for us; for instance those that work in the volunteer or non-profit worlds. But what I am talking about is simply a financial measurement of our effectiveness in the market for delivering what others value; and also, it is a measurement of to what extent the market values what we deliver (assuming we effectively delivered it).

In business, we offer a product or service to our industry, market or customer base; in exchange, we receive an amount of monetary value based on the “value” to the customer. And that value may shift and change depending on circumstances. The amount you may pay for that bottle of water today could be vastly inflated tomorrow as you stand in the middle of the Gobi desert.

Many times, the amount of remuneration and it’s balance in society seems wildly off. For instance, sports and entertainment stars earn tens of millions while teachers, nurses and first-responders earn only very modest wages. But again, this IS a reflection of what we as a society value most – even if we don’t want to admit it. The numbers always tell a story of ourselves, and do not lie.

As an employee, we receive a paycheck from an employer; that paycheck is a reflection of the value of that role and production therein of that role in the context of the business owners overall value delivery to his or her market.

“Productivity = creating value and delivering it to people. All other busywork is unproductive fluff and should be minimized“

~ Steve Pavlina

An entry-level worker provides a certain level of service to a business, that level of value is reflected by their paycheck). But if that worker wants to make more money, he or she needs to increase their value-output, they need to become more valuable to the enterprise. If they were to spend a year reading, studying and being mentored by others, they could be promoted to a manager position. In that position they would be more valuable to their employer because they had influence over a larger segment of the company and in a position to increase the company’s overall success. By bringing more value, they in turn, receive more value in compensation.

All employees want to make more money. However, most never look at their level of pay, their report card, from the value-exchange perspective.

So if you want to become an “A-Student”, you will have to study, you will have to invest in yourself first, and the value exchange will respond accordingly.

Instead of saying, “I need to make more money” or “They need to pay me more money”, say to yourself, “I need to provide more value” or “How can I provide more value?”. The world always responds in-kind to the value you invest into it! When you do, you will start to like the report card you receive.