Work Advice From Yesterday's Message

I added this as an addendum to my teaching yesterday on Christ-like Achievement. I'm posting it here like I promised. These are pieces of advice that I've picked up over the years that inform my work ethic. I'm going to expand some thoughts and citations below:

Work Advice:

1. People that know How will always work for people that know Why. [Benjamin Rainey, Sr.] This has motivated me to be a learner. I want to understand not just how, but why.
   
2. Work hard and learn the jobs that others in your office do in addition to your own. Make yourself so valuable you make it impossible for you boss to pick you for the lay-off. [Benjamin Rainey, Sr. ] I have never faced a lay-off, but I have always put this into practice. I've just always figured it's better to know how to do everyone's job because I can: a. help them as a kindness, b. fill in when they're out of work.
   
3. Arrive ten minutes before your boss, leave ten minutes after your boss. [Rev. Troy Jones] In some work environments, it is difficult for a boss to quantify whether his workers are with him. This advice helps communicate, I'm willing to work for the overall goal. It will make a difference in the respect that your supervisor gives you. By the way, don't just sit around watching to see if your boss has left yet, be productive during that twenty minutes.
   
4. Respect people's time; don't be late. When you are late you're stealing time, and breaking one of the Ten Commandments, "Thou shalt not steal." [Dr. Robert Rhoden] Dr. Rhoden shared this out of his own experience of being habitually late. He was confronted by a boss over this issue and he made a change. I've always believed and taught the rule, "To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is unacceptable."
   
5. Don't open your paycheck in front of your boss. [Ben Rainey special] This is a little rule that I live by. It is rude and foolish to present yourself who is only interested in the money. Scripture is clear that a workman deserves his wages, but maybe we can learn from the business guru Kenny Rogers, "Never count your money when you're sitting at the table. There'll be time enough for counting when the [boss is gone]." In most cases your boss has nothing to do with writing the checks anyway. If there is a problem go to the appropriate person.
   
6. Contribute to your company's bottom line, before they have to make cuts. [From Fortune Magazine] This advice reflects the teachings of Jesus -- faithful with little can be entrusted with much.

What work advice could you share? Leave a comment.

--Ben