First and foremost I'd like to say not everyone can be the perfect employee, nor should we expect every employee to seek the bar let alone try and jump over it. Many employees are focused on life outside the office even though their life inside it offers the livelihood they enjoy outside. Did that make sense?

Read "A Message for Garcia" (written by Elbert Hubbard in 1899) and ask yourself if you are like Rowan, a steadfast employee who trusts leadership and moves swiftly forward or the "other" type of employee who has to engage a workgroup to see if the message is really necessary and if Garcia really deserves said message.

I understand that in today's economy trust is not the easiest thing to find, although if you find yourself in a situation where you love what you do and you love the organization then you'd better, at the very least, be looking for the bar. Why? Imagine the amount of extremely qualified and hungry workers out in the market today who would do anything for your position. Moreover, think of the stress this type of economy puts on employers who genuinely NEED to do more with less. You can make the decision to leave at 5:00pm and do just enough or you can truly help your organization by giving more. I understand this is simple math, but you have to remember if the company doesn't make it through these tough times where does that leave you?