How Do I Get Ahead?

How do I get ahead?

A question I have been asked and have asked myself and one that I am sure most of you have pondered at one time.  Do what your boss tells you to do and please him or her....that is what most people believe is the way to a promotion and getting ahead.

Of course winning over your boss is important, but your goal should always be to want to do your very best at whatever task is in front of you and how to help others around you.  Ultimately, your success will come on the shoulders and whisperings of your co-workers and the people you associate with daily.

It does not matter what your title or position is, you can always improve and improve those around you.

If you approach each day with the attitude of just pleasing your direct boss or supervisor or full filling what is asked of you then you will probably get along OK.  However, if you take it one step further and concentrate more on pleasing all those around you and think of ways to better what you do, then you will eventually succeed and grow.

I can say that I have had employees that I know chat a little too much or put off doing their work. Yet when I sit near them or enter the room, all of a sudden they pick up a phone or look busy...they don't get it.  It's not what you do when I am next to you.  It is what you do when I am not within ear shot...don't do it just to please me, do it because you are here and want to do the very best you can.

My first job was washing dishes back in 1976 with Newport Creamery as a teenager.  I worked hard and took pride in being able to keep up in the busy times of the day and thought of ways that I can be more efficient.  Not because the boss was watching, but because I liked the challenge.

My next job was stocking shelves for a shoe company downstairs from the creamery.  I was the fastest stock boy and I earned the trust of my boss more and more each day.  I eventually tried my hand at sales and worked my way up to become the youngest manager in that retail chain.  At 21, I revamped their stocking and inventory system and brought in new sales, cutsomers, and developed our team mentality. We had fun, learned together, and in the end, doubled the store's profit.

Next, I ran dispatch for Honeywell, a branch that installed and maintained the upkeep of the heating and air conditioning in hospitals and schools in the Northeast.  I again revamped their inventory system and how they planned all their preventive maintenance of all contracts.  I made friends for life and bonded with people throughout the business and the Northeast.

Then came Arpin.  David Arpin hired me in 1985 as the Northeast dispatcher and through the years I have helped grow Arpin from an 8 million dollar company to an over 185 million dollar company.  Of course I was a spoke in the wheel amongst many spokes, but I worked hard and tried to think of ways to do things different, better, and during every step of the way, I knew that it was those around me that made me successful. I figured out that if I can keep finding ways to help not only do what I do today in a better way, but to also help think of ways to help those around me grow, then I will get to the top with their help.

As I said it does not matter what your job is...washing dishes, stocking shelves, managing, dispatching, household mover, packer, teacher, construction worker...just do your best and want to learn and do more.

In reaching for the top, what then is "the top"?  I guess it is different for everyone, but for me it was and is being able to bring my children up and enjoy every stage of their lives. To be able to offer them all that I did not have in order to give the a head start in life.  Yeah, money and promotions are important, but that is not what drove me...never did and never will.

"The Top" is the reward you get when you look back and know that you worked hard, grew and learned and maybe made a difference is someone else's life.

People, helping others, the challenge, knowing that you made a difference...that is what motivates me and I
believe that is what ultimately will help you get ahead...