Motivate Employees by Giving Them
the Tools they Need to Succeed

What better way to motivate your employees than by giving them a step-by-step plan to stand out, get noticed, and advance quickly in their jobs? That's exactly what you're doing when you put the tools and models from Joel's book, Getting Ahead, to work for you and your team.  Download them, share them, and use them.  You'll be surprised at how quickly you start to see an increase in production and employee motivation when you incorporate the concepts of perception, visibility, and influence into your work environment.

Getting Ahead Tools and Models:

• Three-Step Promotion Plan
• Seven Ways to Gain Visibility
• The PVI Model
• How to Track Value to the Organization
• Five Ways to Be Influential

For You

Download the reference tools and post them near your desk as a daily reminder. You'll find that the path to Getting Ahead is easier—and quicker—than you think. You'll gain a competitive edge by improving how others perceive you and you'll start building better business relationships as you apply the principles contained in these attractive, easy-to-read reminders.

For Your Team

Share the key concepts from Getting Ahead with others on your team to increase employee motivation. E-mail or print out these useful reference tools so your team members can benefit by learning to improve perception, increase visibility, and exert influence—and by learning how to ask for a promotion in the manner that will lead to career advancement. Remember, employees who fully leverage the PVI model become more valuable to the company as they strengthen their business relationships, increase their level of production, and enhance the company's bottom-line performance with their overall contributions.

For Your Colleagues

Who else do you know who could benefit from the tools and models in Getting Ahead?  Share them with your boss, co-workers, friends, and contacts at other companies.  You'll build better business relationships by looking out for the interests of others and giving them the tools they need to advance in their careers.

Three-Step Promotion Plan

Self-promotion is essential if you want to advance in your career.  If you want to get ahead, you need to make sure others are aware of the value you bring to the organization.  This benefits the company as well because your talents and skills will be more fully utilized to the benefit of the organization.  When you follow the steps in the three-step promotion plan, you will also establish better business relationships by promoting others while promoting yourself. Here are the three steps in the three-step promotion plan:

1. Self-promotion
   You need to promote yourself so that others will be aware of what you do and how you positively impact the organization's bottom line.
2. Promote others
   Promote yourself by promoting others.  When you go out of your way to praise and acknowledge others, they can't help but notice you.
3. Others promote you
   Getting other people to say good things about you has more impact than saying them yourself.  This is a powerful way to increase your visibility and perceived value.

Seven Ways to Gain Visibility

Employees will learn seven strategies for getting noticed at work so that when they are ready to ask for a promotion, they will stand out above the competition.  Here are the seven ways to gain visibility.

• Seek out projects
• Leverage your manager
• Gain face time with top executives
• Find cross-departmental opportunities
• Become involved outside your job
• Speak up and share
• Become known and recognized

The PVI Model

By increasing perception, visibility, and influence, employees will be building business relationships with others in the organization and will become more valuable team members.  After implementing the PVI model, you will:

• Stand out
• Get noticed
• Be respected
• Get ahead
• Advance quickly
• Influence others
• Be in demand
• Being recognized as a go-to leader

How to Track Value to the Organization

For employees who are looking for tips on asking for a promotion at work, this tool will be invaluable.  It provides an easy way for them to show how valuable they are to the organization as well as making it easy for them to see the areas where they need to improve.  The chart provided in the model has room for you to track the following:

1. Internal Feedback
   Record the positive comments that colleagues have made about you or your work.
2. Successes
   Keep track of projects that have been successful.  Look at the entire project and break it down into its successful components.
3. Outcomes
   Make note of the positive results that occurred due to your actions.
4. Bottom Line Results
   Detail the measurable results that underscore the financial impact your accomplishments had on the company.
5. External/Client Feedback
   Write down the comments you've received from key clients when you've accomplished something positive for them.
6. Relationships
   Explain how you have enhanced your relationships with other business units.
7. Responsibilities
   List the responsibilities you have fulfilled for your position, the department, or the company.

Five Ways to Be Influential

Since influence is the key to effective leadership, the fifth tool outlines five ways team members can exert more influence within the organization.  The five ways to be more influential are as follows:

1. Solid reputation
   Establish a reputation as someone who is credible, respected, and trustworthy.
2. Enhanced skill set
   Become known as someone who is competent and accomplished. Be the authority people turn to when they have a question something related your area of expertise.
3. Executive presence 
   Exhibit the traits of a powerful, confident, assertive leader.
4. Superior likability 
   Be personable, charismatic, and optimistic.  Use encouragement and positive feedback to motivate employees and team members to put their best effort into their work.
5. Power to persuade
   Develop the ability to convince others to support your ideas and projects.

Order Copies of Getting Ahead for Your Team

The tools and models are incomplete without the book. If you haven't already done so, order a copy for each member of your team now.