Dollarizing is calculating, in dollars and
cents, what you are worth to your customer, the hiring
organization. If you can increase sales by $600,000, you are worth
some of the profit on the $600,000. If you can reduce scrap and
waste by $95,000, you are worth some of the $95,000. If you can
reduce bank load interest by 0.5 percent, you are worth some of
that interest savings. The more dollarized value the hiring comany
sees in you, the higher the probability you will be hired.
Jobs exist to create
value. The purpose of a job is to directly or indirectly get and
keep customers. This is true for profit and nonprofit
organizations. Value is created by increasing revenues, reducing
costs, and innovating new products and services. If the job does
not create value it will ultimately disapper. If the cost for the
job exceeds the economic value the job creates, the job will either
be eliminated or replaces with a less expensive alternative. If the
job is known to create value but the person in the job is
inadequate, then - of the job and the person - only the job will
survive. The cost of a job includes recruitment, compensation,
benefits, training, office space, tools, samples, mistakes, and
supervision. You must create more value than your cost.
Most organizations
have a sense of what a job costs; that means they generally know
what they have to pay and understand the actual costs - which
include benefits, training, and such - are considerably higher than
the base compensation. Some organizations have a general idea of
the economic value they expect from their investment in the job,
but are never sure they will get that return. Consequently, the
hiring people are always trying to evaluate each job candidate's
potential to create value. To help the hiring people choose you,
you must dollarize yourself. You must qualify for the organization
the economic value you can potentially deliver.
Because the purpose
of every job is to create value, you must, in pre-interview
homework, determine how the job in question creates value for your
target organization. For example, a salesperson creates value by
generating sales revenue. A purchasing agent creates value by
acquiring quality components at true net lower costs. A
construction project manager creates value by ensuring that the
building is finished on time, avoiding cost overruns. A maintenance
person creates value by keeping the machinery running, eliminating
costly downtime. The hotel housekeeper creates value by making the
hostel room so comfortable that the customer returns. In these
examples, the sales candidate's value is some function of the
$2,000,000 in revenues she claims she will deliver. The prospective
purchasing agent will show how he can save the company $1,000,000
by buying gaskets that reduce warraty claims. The project manager
will demonstrate to his future employer that his computer-based
scheduling skills will save $5,000,000 in possible penalties. The
maintenance person will show that every hour of downtime avoided is
worth $87,000 to the hiring company. And the hotal housekeeper will
show that superbly cleaned hotel rooms create a loyal customer who
will return three more nights at $150 a night.
Every job can be
dollarized. Every job has value. You must carefully consider how
the job you want creates value. In you interviews ask questions and
answer questions in such a way that your dollarized value become
evident.
To illustrate...
Candidate for Chief Technology Officer: What
financial problems are you present systems causing?
Interviewer: It appears that we have problems
with on-time deliveries and ensuring adequate inventories.
Candidate: How much customer dissatisfaction
and lost sales is the lack of proper inventory costing you?
Interviewer: We're not sure, but it is
significant.
Candidate: Would it be reasonable to assume
that properly designed and managed systems could save the company
several million dollars over the next twenty-four months?
Interviewer: Yes.
Candidate: Based on experience, an initiative
to tie your systems together will eliminate the problem and
recapture five million dollars in lost sales. I can make this
happen for you. Would you like to give it a try?
The CTO candidate dollarized his value, and asked for the order.
You must do the same.