Bill Snyder, Kansas State's legendary football coach, is famous for his 16 goals for success. His players recite the line: "...to common goals & being successful. Individually, if we accomplish these goals, the entire team will be successful."

Throughout the year, we will discuss these 16 goals and how to apply them to the Vermillion Group's common goals in 2013. We welcome you along for this journey...

#2: UNSELFISHNESS is demonstrated through a consistent effort over time.

Most everyone has heard some rendition of Aesop's fable, "The Hare and the Tortoise." The moral of the story teaches: 'Slow but steady wins the race.'

The same principle can be used to illustrate the second of Snyder's goals - unselfishness.

Some may argue that the soldier or policeman who react quickly to save a life, sometimes risking their own well-being in the process, is the perfect example of "unselfishness." yes, I would agree that it may be an unselfish act; however, I feel this type of event is more accurately described as being brave or heroic. The difference between the two allows us to relate unselfishness to less altruistic activities; that difference is consistency.

Just as we discussed commitment being the first of these 16 goals, being unselfish requires an element of time to be considered alongside the action. Being unselfish in business urges one to 'be the tortoise' and avoid hare-brained activities that will end up getting you nowhere fast.

To be unselfish in business, you must perform your assigned duties and responsibilities with tortoise-like conviction and commitment. You need to ask yourself, "What is best for the business?" and bring that mentality to your list of daily priorities. Can your manager assign you a task like Ron Popeil cooks a chicken? (..."set it" on your desk and "forget it" because they know it will get done.)

Being unselfish in business means you must maintain a reliable relationship with your customers, whether they are internal (coworkers) or external customers. A relationship built on reliability and trust is especially key to successful sales professionals. Can your people count on you? Do they believe that you are stepping up to bat for them each and every day?

An unselfish businessman or businesswoman acts with the highest level of integrity, even when no one will ever find out what they're working on. We're not talking about a light switch that you can just flip on when necessary... when 'people are watching you.'

A mother is unselfish. You do not raise a child in one day. You must wake up and do the little things consistently, unwaveringly, if you want to instill the right values and lessons in them. You can't let a dog run wild for years and then decide to train it in a weekend. You must make an impression on them from early on and correct unwanted behavior through reward and encouragement.

There are no tricks - and your job is the same way. By doing the unremarkable things that people rely on you to do - reaching your metrics, hitting your plan, achieving short-term goals through effort, making the little adjustments and staying focused - you will achieve remarkable results. A business who has all of their employees focused on achieving a common goal and working unselfishly can accomplish the remarkable.

First comes the commitment, then comes the opportunity to go all-in and work unselfishly. Be the tortoise...


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Comment by Recruiting Animal on January 31, 2013 at 1:48pm

Doing what you are hired to do is not unselfish.

You're making a separate argument. You're saying that someone who is considerate of others generally will be able to perform her business duties with more regularity because of her personal disposition.

And if you advise people to be unselfish because it's good for their careers then you're not really advising them to be unselfish. You're telling them to be diligent to achieve personal goals.

Comment by Todd Wilson on January 31, 2013 at 2:10pm

This was admittedly a very tricky article to write & relate to a recruitment office. The point we were attempting to make is, without everyone focusing on their personal objectives, the office as a whole cannot hope to achieve our collective goals. Being available to bounce ideas off of each other is a key proponent to our business.

The goal of this article is to get people thinking and talking and I appreciate the perspective.

Comment by Recruiting Animal on January 31, 2013 at 2:22pm

If you're dealing with someone's career and you just seem concerned about making the placement whether it's good for the candidate or not, you're going to turn her off.

Likewise, if you seem to be more concerned about having the client hire the candidate than having them hire the right candidate, it could be bad for business.

In these cases, unselfishness and good business tend to coincide. However, I suspect that the hungry recruiter who is driven by a self-centred desire for success is going to be more successful than the nice guy. He is just going to have to rein it in to treat his candidates and clients in a way that suits them.

Comment by Recruiting Animal on January 31, 2013 at 2:25pm

If you want to come on the Recruiting Animal Show and discuss this I'm hungry for recruiters who want 2B guests - but at the same time I'll unselfishly warn you that it isn't for everybody. Read this first to see if it's 4U - http://OccupyRecruiting.com

Comment by Todd Wilson on January 31, 2013 at 2:56pm

I do agree with your follow up remarks. We are not familiar with the show, but appreciate the invitation. Thanks Animal!

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