Who Do You Work for?
Monday, February 7, 2011 6:32How often are you asked the question, “Who do you work for?” Or, when people ask (as we often do in Pakistan), “What do you do?” how do you respond? By telling them the name of the company you are presently with, right? Well, the truth of the matter is that you really only work for yourself (and your family).
It is a fallacy to say “I work for so and so or X, Y and Z”. What we actually do is sell our time and expertise for a commensurate compensation, Period. The famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson is quoted to have said: “Everyone lives by selling something.”
There are two reasons why you need to be reminded of this fact:
Firstly, you will often hear colleagues who have been with the firm a long time say that they have “given their life to this company”. The fact is they were paid just like everyone else did. If not, they would have left. Correct?
Secondly, when you remember that you are basically working for yourself, you will always put in your best effort to do a first-class job. The quality of your work, attention to detail and deadlines, and burning desire to be the best at what you do, will take you to the pinnacle of success.
Remember that you exercise the choice to stay or go. Do so for the right reasons.
