May 23, 2025 • 30 mins
In this straight-talking and highly practical episode, Andrew Reed delivers a REALITY check on one of the most emotionally loaded topics in professional life: getting a raise, a promotion, or even an ownership stake. Speaking from DEEP experience as founder of Multi-View Inc. and many other companies, Andrew shares a framework for earning more — not through entitlement or longevity, but through the contribution of VALUE.
You’ll hear why MVI Talents set their own pay, why most compensation systems actually teach, and why job security comes from making yourself indispensable. From economic truth to strategic communication, this episode will challenge and empower anyone ready to take ownership of their career path — and their life!
Chapter Markers
(00:00) – Intro & The Realities of Wanting MORE
(03:19) – Don’t Wait to Be Paid More — Do More First
(04:22) – Tenure Doesn’t Justify a Raise
(06:50) – ROI: Are You Worth the Investment?
(07:16) – Advancement Happens in Your Free Time
(09:52) – You Set Your Own Pay
(11:07) – Link Your Value to Profit or Savings
(13:29) – Compensation as a Teaching Tool
(15:14) – How to Make Yourself Indispensable
(17:41) – The Customer Writes Every Paycheck
(18:31) – Come with a Plan, Not a Demand
(19:15) – Use Risk Reversal to Your Advantage
(21:34) – Learn to Sell — Internally and Externally
(25:00) – Want to Get Wealthy? Think Equity.
(27:55) – Owners Think Big Picture: Be a Leader
Song: Twisted World - andrew reed & the liberation
Album: As a Bird of the Air… (Trilogy I Album 1)
Social Media Links
Official Website: www.AndrewReedMusic.com
Facebook: @andrewreedandtheliberation
X: @AndrewReedMusic
Instagram: @AndrewReedMusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Lx7DnbB5qyt7uwV8yeHwE
Youtube Channel: @andrewreedtheliberation
MVI Phone #: (828) 698-5885
Click here to view the episode transcript.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
What are you willing to throw your life away on? With
Andrew Reid and the liberation.It's a serious question, one
worth pondering. Am I living thelife I want, an intelligent
life, or something else? How canI have a better experience of
life?
These are some of the questionsexplored in this series of
(00:34):
messages without the brag andthe advertisement, getting
beyond even human institutionsand society into the wilderness,
nature, the reality of how lifeactually operates on this
planet. These messages rangefrom intimate recordings from
the awakened forest to concerts,national conferences, and
(00:56):
broadcasts on a wide array ofphilosophical topics.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, good morning, and it's another brilliant day
in the Awakened Forest at thecabin, which I'm so grateful for
having been preserved. And ifI'm a little hoarse, it's just I
had a few big events right in arow, and it's amazing that
sometimes even when you'replaying late or you're in an
(01:27):
utterly weary straight, whichthe road normally does to you,
that sometimes you don't thinkyou have anything to give, and
your performances arespectacular because you're
reaching from your very core,from your true authentic self
with all the veneer reallywashed away, and and that's
(01:49):
where you sing the best, yougive the best messages, and all
that. Now this particularmessage has to do with the
principles behind raises andpromotions. And we'll talk a lot
about money, the meaning ofmoney in subsequent messages, as
well as the six levels of value.Both of those are very
(02:12):
important.
But this one has application tomost anybody. Why? Because we
all want more. And that's notentirely true whenever you say
we all want more, but it'srelative. But most human beings,
I would say at least 80% of thepopulation, perceives that they
need more, especially in termsof money.
(02:34):
And it's such a great messagefor an individual as well as a
company or corporation becauseif you can manage expectations
of the people that work withyou, or for you, however you
want to language it, it saves alot of hassle because sometimes
people come in very ignorantlydemanding more money when it's
(02:57):
an economic question or demand.And there's only so much to go
around in all that. So it's awise thing to help manage
people's expectations. So let'sget into it. To get a pay
increase, normally, have to bedoing more than you're already
(03:18):
being paid to do.
A lot of people think, well, I'mI'm not doing very much because
I'm not being paid very much.No. That's not the way it works.
If you want more, then go aheadand put more wood in the stove.
Don't be like the baby or thechild mind that says, I'll do
more if I get paid more.
(03:39):
But, unfortunately, 80% of thepopulation that calibrates below
200, that's the way they look atit rather than saying, no, I'll
give more and then I'll berewarded for that. Just on a
personal level, I never look ata clock, never have. It doesn't
matter how much I'm being paid.I always put forth my very, very
(04:02):
best, whether it's minimum wage,whether I'm working as a
volunteer or for free orwhatever, because I'm living my
best life, and I'm gonna throwmy life away on that. And, of
course, that is a key to successas was discussed in episode six.
Longevity is not a good reasonfor pay increases. Just because
(04:26):
someone's hung around the blockor in the organization or
whatever for a long time doesn'tmean they merit more
compensation. The question is,are they adding value? Can they
sell? Can they increase revenue?
Can they decrease expenses?Those are really the valid
reasons. So whether you've beenwith the organization twenty
(04:47):
seven years, that doesn't reallycount. It doesn't really matter.
What are you doing now in thezen of today?
Again, there's not thisunlimited pot of money.
Approximately fifty percent ofall new businesses fail in the
first five years. Then the nexttwenty five percent of those
fail in the next twenty fiveyears, just leaving only twenty
(05:09):
five percent of businesses evenlasting ten years. I'm always
amazed. I hear MultiView were upon thirty years.
I'm always amazed that atMultiView, we're at, like,
thirty years of quantificationlike no one else, no other
benchmarking company does, Andwe're still around, although
(05:30):
we've had to adapt through theyears. But again, asking for
money is an economic request,and the ultimate determinant of
the reply comes down to therealities of the economics of
the organization. Does that notmake sense? And let's face it,
most leaders, managers areliterally sweating it out to
(05:53):
make the next payroll. And, youknow, they're living we're
living in this competitiveworld, and that's the way it is.
So it is it's an economic ask.And so the question is, are the
funds there? Okay. Just becausea person's working hard or,
quote, working hard or spendinga lot of time at a task or their
(06:17):
job or whatever, doesn't meanthey're providing value for the
organizations. It may mean theyjust lack the intelligence.
They may lack the competence orthe energy or whatever to do the
job. And so if people arestruggling with routine tasks
even, you know, but it's takinga long time, too much the
manager who's responsible forthose allocation of assets has
(06:39):
to look at that person and say,Is this person great ROI? That
is return on investment. Do Ineed to remove this person from
the organization? Do I need torepurpose them?
Do I need to train them to do abetter job? Those are the
serious questions. Wheneversomeone is really taking too
long in the perception of themanager to accomplish the job,
(07:03):
whatever it is. So working hardisn't enough to merit a raise or
extra pay. Most of yourprofessional advancement will
come from your leisure time.
That is your nonpaid time.Nobody paid me to knock out my
different degrees. Okay? I mean,I did it on weekends. I I did it
(07:28):
with a screaming wife number oneover me as I was knocking out my
CPA and all this stuff because Iwas not spending enough time
with her and all that becausethere has to be some sacrifice
or has to be some devotion towhatever you're doing.
Again, what are you throwingyour life away on? And I was
(07:48):
going to become a CPA, that wasit, and knock out, you know, the
different degrees and all that.But you're not gonna get great
again at anything working aforty hour week. It's just not
possible to become great. And Idon't care how smart you
perceive you are or how giftedyou think you are.
Even masters of any instrumenthave spent tremendous time, time
(08:11):
that no one's paying you for. Sothat's the way it is. And I know
that's you know, alarming tosome people, but it's gonna come
from your own time, your ownself will, your determination.
Another point is that the matureemployee should inquire about
(08:32):
the overall state of thebusiness organization. As I
alluded to earlier, mostmanagers, most business owners,
CEOs are sweating it out monthby month.
And they're always looking outor keeping a sharp eye for those
people that are reallycontributing to the business,
that are really adding value,that are increasing revenue,
(08:52):
decreasing expenses, adding evento the sustainability of the
organization. And so to inquire,how are we doing as a business?
What are our downfalls? Whereare there opportunities? Here's
how I can play or increase thevalue or decrease the
frustrations.
(09:13):
And really pointing that out isa very mature thing for an
individual to do, of someone ofhigh mind, high consciousness,
rather than having your littleneedy hands out there and
saying, hey, give me more nuts.Each person in an organization
ultimately sets his or her ownpay based on the value they
provide. As you enter ourheadquarters building, going up
(09:37):
to the top level of theorganization, there's this sign,
again, that each person in theorganization, you, that is,
ultimately sets his or her ownpay based on the value they
provide. Yes. What am I saying?
Is that each of us sets our ownpay in this world, in this just
(09:57):
world that rewards inputs withoutputs. That is just the way it
is. The equation is alwaysmathematically sound and
balances. So don't look atyourself as a victim or being
held back by the big bad manageror being a speck being pushed
around by the big bad world.You're responsible for your
(10:19):
life.
You have to be accountable foryour life and every result in
it. Put it this way, you're inthe driver's seat of your
experience of life and where youare. So if you don't like it, if
you're depressed, great. Ifyou're broke, good. If you don't
have enough money or whatever,good.
That is exactly the way thisworld's work. And through that
(10:42):
pain, through that discomfort,through that desire, you'll find
motivation or the energy toadvance, to learn the skills
that you need to. Okay. As we'reseeking raises and promotions,
if you can directly link yourcontributions to increase
profitability or decrease costs,the easier it is for you to be
(11:05):
compensated for your efforts.You know?
So make it outrageously easy forthose in a position to make
those system changes, that isthose pay changes to say, ah,
you added a hundred thousanddollars here. Okay. Let's give
you ten or twenty thousanddollars of that. Oh, you've
decreased the expenses here by ahundred thousand dollars. Okay.
(11:27):
Let's give you 10 or $20,000 ofthat. Most people will actually
be quite generous in rewardingthings, but if it's not clear of
how you're producing value, howyou're creating this, if you
can't trace it back to it, itmakes it more difficult. With
organizations, we also suggestthat you keep base salaries and
(11:51):
hourly amounts low. That is, wealways call them measly wages or
measly salaries. And we placelarge emphasis on performance or
results.
So thus, again, keep your basesalary and hourly amounts low
and put the bulk of a person'spay coming from performance and
(12:13):
results. This is healthy. Thisis the way the natural world
works like I'm sitting in rightnow. If mama bird doesn't go out
and get the worm, baby birdsdon't get fed. That's just the
way it is.
And this has worked so well. Itake a look at Apple, National
Healthcare, Fastenal, Procterand Gamble's, PAL Sudden
Service, MBI, of course, allthese world class organizations
(12:37):
realize that strength comes fromstruggle. Just like a muscle
being exercised, and if youdon't use it, it atrophies. If
you do use it, it gets stronger.And pay systems that are based
on merit build much morecompetent and capable human
beings.
And so the compensation systemis thus an extension of your
(12:58):
teaching systems because allcompensation systems teach.
Right? I mean you look at thepaycheck and go, wow, that
worked out. I think I'll do moreof that. That didn't work out.
I think I'll do less of that.And thus, there it is. Again, we
live in a world or universe evenof incentives and disincentives.
(13:18):
And so for an organization, ifwe want to get results, provide
the incentive. If we don't wantsomething to happen, provide the
disincentive.
And it's almost as easy as that.Compensation is such a huge
aspect of multi view becauseit's such a spiritual topic and
(13:40):
is not limited to the financialdomain, even though that's what
we're talking about here. Allorganizations have to consider
this. But basically, we wantpeople to bet on themselves and
bet on the organization. That'sthe whole purpose of emphasizing
performance results basedcompensation rather than this
(14:02):
diaper of a high salary.
And people that say, well, Igotta have this much of a
salary, or I gotta have thismuch of an hourly rate, really
don't understand that. Thatthey're being almost subsidized
to a certain extent. And thatit's not a healthy situation in
(14:22):
the long term for the companynor their own personal growth.
Next point. Organizations don'tdo annual raises, period.
Yes. We have these, again,measly, meager salaries, hourly
amounts, but yet people maketons of money, I mean, of
(14:42):
thousands of dollars. And whenyou do this and you give people
opportunities to really exploretheir potentials in all this,
you find that you don't have todo annual raises anymore. Why?
What's the point?
I mean, what's another 5%increase gonna do when people
are already doing so well? Soyou don't have to think about
(15:05):
COLA. That is cost of livingadjustments and all that. Next
point. Just make it easy for amanager to promote you.
And this is done, again, justsimply by providing value or
providing relief for themanager, where they can't
imagine operating without you,that you've made yourself
(15:27):
indispensable, not throughwithholding codes like some IT
people do. Again, remember, Iused to run a programming
operation and all that and somesmart guys would retain their
codes because they can't fire mebecause I have all the codes.
Well, we've got systems thatbreak that. But just make it
easy for the manager to see thatyou're adding value. And this is
(15:48):
done almost immediately.
It's done through personalinitiative. It's by being just
smart enough to see what needsto be done and doing it without
anybody asking. It's like atArista, although you're
hemorrhaging clients, this is acompensation company, right and
left, and I single handedlystopped it just by calling up
(16:09):
our clients and asking them whattheir frustrations were, they
perceived that there's somethingthat could actually help them,
and boom, turned around. Nobodyasked me to do that. So it's
having some level of confidencein yourself, belief, and being
able to have the intelligence towork out what people's problems
(16:29):
are.
And the thing is any smartperson with a little bit of
pluck, as they say in England,can see what stresses out the
leader. What are they sweatingit out on? What's consuming
their weekends, their time?Okay. There is your clues of
where you can make yourcontributions felt, and this
(16:52):
idea of it being felt is verypowerful.
Not all people in anorganization are paid the same.
The people that contribute moreget paid more, and that's the
way it is, this idea of thismeritocracy, even though some
people try to demonize it. No.There's no two human beings with
(17:13):
the same intelligence. There'sno two human beings with the
same capabilities or anythinglike that.
Why should they be paid thesame? That doesn't go anywhere
near what reality is or the waythe world operates. Next point,
the client or customer willwrite every paycheck you will
ever receive, and they willdischarge you if you displeased
(17:36):
them. Get this. So the boss,really, of all organizations is
not the CEO.
It's not the board of directors.It's not anyone in the typical
hierarchy. Rather, the top ofthe org chart, the real boss is
who? The consumer. Right?
In healthcare, it's patients andfamilies, it's those that you
(17:59):
make sales to, it's all this.And just realizing that that's
the whole goal of organization,helps you focus on the right
things to create this value.Okay. If you're going to ask for
a raise or for a promotion, bestyou schedule something with your
leader or pick a very opportunetime, but come in with a plan.
(18:23):
So many people come in with thisneedy mindset and, oh, I need
more money, and and you canapproach that all kinds of
different ways.
But if you come in having putsome intelligence, some thought
into something and saying,here's what I could do here.
This is what I perceive theissue is, and this is how the
(18:43):
system would work. Well, thatsaves the manager a great deal
of time because if you just comein and demand more money, well,
suddenly, you put all thisburden on them, and it takes a
lot of energy to work out compsystems. Why? You're dealing
with a very emotional thing.
There's all kinds ofimplications. There's precedent
(19:04):
that is established. All kindsof things. So come in with a
proposal. And normally peoplewill listen with that.
Now with this said, I'll saythis, come in even with some
risk reversal. So rather thandemanding immediate money or
raise or increase or whatever,saying, hey. You don't even have
(19:26):
to pay me now. Let's start outwith proof of concept that we
implement what I put in myproposal with your
modifications, of course,leader, and let's see how it
goes and then pay me. Well, thatincreases your likelihood of
acceptance exponentially.
It's called risk reversal, andit works in so many different
(19:51):
situations. I think we also haveto dispel the notion that you
have these greedy employers orowners or whatever that just
want to take all the chips andput them in their little bag.
That's not usually the way itworks. The good leader, the good
CEO, the good business owner,they want to put as much money
(20:12):
as they can into the pockets oftheir true partners, their true
employees, people they workwith, their associates. And
that's the good leader.
Like, I've got it set up wheremost MultiView people will end
up being millionaires. Somealready have done so so well.
But those that really aren'tkicking in, that aren't putting
(20:35):
in the time, adding the value,whatever, no. No way would I do
that. I would not disrespect thehardworking by giving unearned
money to these people.
You actually damage people byoverpaying people because they
feel entitled to it after awhile and whatever. And and and
(20:55):
plus, in their own psyche, theyrealize that they really weren't
behind the victories and theincrease of value that they can
point to other people in theorganization that really put
out, that put in the weekends,that traveled to clients that
spent, you know, their lives onthe road or whatever building a
company. So you actually damagepeople by overpaying people.
(21:19):
Okay. To merit an increase orpromotion, there's one thing
that you can do that will helpyou out incredibly, and that's
to learn to sell, to learn tosell.
All of life is transactional,right? And the ability to
(21:39):
communicate value, orpredictability, is a great
thing. So all I know is that Ialways am looking for the great
salesperson because topsalespeople just can't be
denied. If they're bringing inthe money, you you can't live
without these people. Right?
(22:00):
And it's why salespeople or topsalespeople are the highest paid
people in the world, sometimeseven more than the CEO. I don't
mind at all if my salespeoplemake more than me. Big deal
because the whole business, thewhole ministry of MBI is going
forward. But normally, topsalesman need not just the
(22:23):
squishy relationship talents,which are incredible because
we're all of our destinies aretied to our relationship powers.
And, of course, you wanna hitchyour wagon to a winner, but top
salespeople have deep, deepindustry product and service
knowledge.
(22:43):
I'm a great salesperson. Why?Because I know our materials up
and down. And any question froma client, whether it be in
music, whether it be in ourhealth care consulting or our
general organizationalconsulting, well, I can answer
that question right there. Idon't have to say, well, let me
get a hold of Billy Bob overhere because he knows that.
(23:05):
Although you should do thatbecause you never want to claim
that you know something when youdon't. You never want to BS a
client. Because if you wannalose trust from someone, you
start to exaggerate. In myestimation, all exaggeration is
a form of a lie. So in the MBIworld, we we don't lie.
(23:29):
We don't exaggerate. The truthis the truth. We say what we
mean. We mean what we say. Butthis deep product and service
knowledge helps us out.
And and in my view, there's noway or path to being a great
salesperson unless you reallyknow it, and you know it almost
better than anyone else, thatyou can explain how your
(23:52):
customer service works and yoursystem seven or your proprietary
training system for customerdelight. The things that MBI
does, we've mastered. Mastered.Again, it's the reason we can go
four and a half years without asingle phone call not being
answered a particular way withinthree rings by a competent
person. Few organizations caneven get their minds around that
(24:14):
because they think that servicefailures and complaints happen
every day.
Well, we go months and monthsand months without a single
violation of that. And if aservice failure complaint is not
communicated to me, the head,you're fired. It's it merits
termination or it's a terminalevent. Because if I don't know
(24:39):
what the issues are with theorganization as the leader in a
position to make the structuraland system solution changes,
that blinds me. And theenterprise cannot improve
without those structuralchanges, so they cannot be
hidden.
(25:00):
Okay. Equity. Equity is one ofyour paths to your greatest
wealth. Some of my biggestmoves, you know, where you end
up with the the huge checks, themultimillion dollar deals and
all that, are gonna come fromequity stakes. So let's talk
about that since we're talkingabout raises and promotions.
Let's go ahead and go all theway. Most owners are a bit
(25:23):
scarred as they usually know intheir bones the extreme personal
sacrifice that it took to buildthe business. The all nighters,
the working almost everyweekend, the hundred hour work
weeks, the sleeping on cots likewe used to do in cost report
season. Yeah, we know that, andso that equity is pretty hard to
(25:48):
let go of unless someone is areal trooper providing this
value, good with clients, allthat. So getting an equity stake
is something that you shouldstrive for, and most
organizations will give this ifyou are valuable enough.
And there's always, in allorganizations, there's ups and
(26:11):
downs. It's not always up. Butan equity partner has to pay the
price for this status. Okay, itjust shouldn't be given to
somebody. Because, again, mostpeople have not even paid a
fraction of the price to meritan equity stake.
(26:32):
You know, when you've had tolend your own money back to the
business, especially when youcan't make payroll during tough
times? How many of your kids'games or events have you missed
because you're on the roadmaking payroll for other people?
How many of these people thatwant equity stakes has suffered
breakdowns, physical hardshipsbecause of the demands of the
(26:55):
job or the vision? So to be anowner stake is a big deal to
have equity. Ownership equalsaccountability, as owners have
to own every result withoutblaming others or making excuses
for the lack of performance ifit's not achieved, right?
(27:18):
Yeah. The equity person has tobe of such a value that the
organization almost can'tfunction without you. And of
course, if a person is going toget an equity stake or an
ownership stake, one must thinklike an owner. That is, be able
to see the big picture, not justthe myopic view about your
(27:42):
little position, your littledepartment, your little area,
your little service line. Butreally take the entire
organization and look from thismature view.
All owners know that growth isnecessary, that you can't stay
on the same level forever, thatwe have to adapt, that this
(28:05):
world that we live in is verycompetitive and is changing all
the time. And so we need growth,we need money to fund new
initiatives. We need money inthe bank so we can retool if a
competitor outmodels us or if adisaster happens or whatever.
But a healthy company is alwayslooking for growth. And whether
(28:29):
it's, you know, gross revenue,increases in EBITDA, net
revenue, number of clients, andin all these situations, some
type of dollar value can beattributed in the value
calculation.
And the last point here is thatowners or people with equity
stakes must be leaders. Yes,there's this leadership
(28:53):
responsibility aspect if you arean owner or shareholder, and
that you need to live theculture, you need to be
inspirational, we need to beable to get people moving
towards the common cause in thecommon direction. So yes, the
job of motivation, ofinspiration, of really the
(29:16):
ultimate leadership quality,which is what? Success. However
it's defined.
Because that is the job ofleadership, success, the
accomplishment of the mission orvision. So there we go, there's
some practical advice on how toget a raise, get promoted, and
(29:42):
even get equity stakes in anorganization.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Thank you for listening. If you need anything
further, just go to MBI.life.
What are you willing to throw your life away on? With
Andrew Reid and the liberation.It's a serious question, one
worth pondering. Am I living thelife I want, an intelligent
life, or something else? How canI have a better experience of
life?
These are some of the questionsexplored in this series of
(00:34):
messages without the brag andthe advertisement, getting
beyond even human institutionsand society into the wilderness,
nature, the reality of how lifeactually operates on this
planet. These messages rangefrom intimate recordings from
the awakened forest to concerts,national conferences, and
(00:56):
broadcasts on a wide array ofphilosophical topics.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, good morning, and it's another brilliant day
in the Awakened Forest at thecabin, which I'm so grateful for
having been preserved. And ifI'm a little hoarse, it's just I
had a few big events right in arow, and it's amazing that
sometimes even when you'replaying late or you're in an
(01:27):
utterly weary straight, whichthe road normally does to you,
that sometimes you don't thinkyou have anything to give, and
your performances arespectacular because you're
reaching from your very core,from your true authentic self
with all the veneer reallywashed away, and and that's
(01:49):
where you sing the best, yougive the best messages, and all
that. Now this particularmessage has to do with the
principles behind raises andpromotions. And we'll talk a lot
about money, the meaning ofmoney in subsequent messages, as
well as the six levels of value.Both of those are very
(02:12):
important.
But this one has application tomost anybody. Why? Because we
all want more. And that's notentirely true whenever you say
we all want more, but it'srelative. But most human beings,
I would say at least 80% of thepopulation, perceives that they
need more, especially in termsof money.
(02:34):
And it's such a great messagefor an individual as well as a
company or corporation becauseif you can manage expectations
of the people that work withyou, or for you, however you
want to language it, it saves alot of hassle because sometimes
people come in very ignorantlydemanding more money when it's
(02:57):
an economic question or demand.And there's only so much to go
around in all that. So it's awise thing to help manage
people's expectations. So let'sget into it. To get a pay
increase, normally, have to bedoing more than you're already
(03:18):
being paid to do.
A lot of people think, well, I'mI'm not doing very much because
I'm not being paid very much.No. That's not the way it works.
If you want more, then go aheadand put more wood in the stove.
Don't be like the baby or thechild mind that says, I'll do
more if I get paid more.
(03:39):
But, unfortunately, 80% of thepopulation that calibrates below
200, that's the way they look atit rather than saying, no, I'll
give more and then I'll berewarded for that. Just on a
personal level, I never look ata clock, never have. It doesn't
matter how much I'm being paid.I always put forth my very, very
(04:02):
best, whether it's minimum wage,whether I'm working as a
volunteer or for free orwhatever, because I'm living my
best life, and I'm gonna throwmy life away on that. And, of
course, that is a key to successas was discussed in episode six.
Longevity is not a good reasonfor pay increases. Just because
(04:26):
someone's hung around the blockor in the organization or
whatever for a long time doesn'tmean they merit more
compensation. The question is,are they adding value? Can they
sell? Can they increase revenue?
Can they decrease expenses?Those are really the valid
reasons. So whether you've beenwith the organization twenty
(04:47):
seven years, that doesn't reallycount. It doesn't really matter.
What are you doing now in thezen of today?
Again, there's not thisunlimited pot of money.
Approximately fifty percent ofall new businesses fail in the
first five years. Then the nexttwenty five percent of those
fail in the next twenty fiveyears, just leaving only twenty
(05:09):
five percent of businesses evenlasting ten years. I'm always
amazed. I hear MultiView were upon thirty years.
I'm always amazed that atMultiView, we're at, like,
thirty years of quantificationlike no one else, no other
benchmarking company does, Andwe're still around, although
(05:30):
we've had to adapt through theyears. But again, asking for
money is an economic request,and the ultimate determinant of
the reply comes down to therealities of the economics of
the organization. Does that notmake sense? And let's face it,
most leaders, managers areliterally sweating it out to
(05:53):
make the next payroll. And, youknow, they're living we're
living in this competitiveworld, and that's the way it is.
So it is it's an economic ask.And so the question is, are the
funds there? Okay. Just becausea person's working hard or,
quote, working hard or spendinga lot of time at a task or their
(06:17):
job or whatever, doesn't meanthey're providing value for the
organizations. It may mean theyjust lack the intelligence.
They may lack the competence orthe energy or whatever to do the
job. And so if people arestruggling with routine tasks
even, you know, but it's takinga long time, too much the
manager who's responsible forthose allocation of assets has
(06:39):
to look at that person and say,Is this person great ROI? That
is return on investment. Do Ineed to remove this person from
the organization? Do I need torepurpose them?
Do I need to train them to do abetter job? Those are the
serious questions. Wheneversomeone is really taking too
long in the perception of themanager to accomplish the job,
(07:03):
whatever it is. So working hardisn't enough to merit a raise or
extra pay. Most of yourprofessional advancement will
come from your leisure time.
That is your nonpaid time.Nobody paid me to knock out my
different degrees. Okay? I mean,I did it on weekends. I I did it
(07:28):
with a screaming wife number oneover me as I was knocking out my
CPA and all this stuff because Iwas not spending enough time
with her and all that becausethere has to be some sacrifice
or has to be some devotion towhatever you're doing.
Again, what are you throwingyour life away on? And I was
(07:48):
going to become a CPA, that wasit, and knock out, you know, the
different degrees and all that.But you're not gonna get great
again at anything working aforty hour week. It's just not
possible to become great. And Idon't care how smart you
perceive you are or how giftedyou think you are.
Even masters of any instrumenthave spent tremendous time, time
(08:11):
that no one's paying you for. Sothat's the way it is. And I know
that's you know, alarming tosome people, but it's gonna come
from your own time, your ownself will, your determination.
Another point is that the matureemployee should inquire about
(08:32):
the overall state of thebusiness organization. As I
alluded to earlier, mostmanagers, most business owners,
CEOs are sweating it out monthby month.
And they're always looking outor keeping a sharp eye for those
people that are reallycontributing to the business,
that are really adding value,that are increasing revenue,
(08:52):
decreasing expenses, adding evento the sustainability of the
organization. And so to inquire,how are we doing as a business?
What are our downfalls? Whereare there opportunities? Here's
how I can play or increase thevalue or decrease the
frustrations.
(09:13):
And really pointing that out isa very mature thing for an
individual to do, of someone ofhigh mind, high consciousness,
rather than having your littleneedy hands out there and
saying, hey, give me more nuts.Each person in an organization
ultimately sets his or her ownpay based on the value they
provide. As you enter ourheadquarters building, going up
(09:37):
to the top level of theorganization, there's this sign,
again, that each person in theorganization, you, that is,
ultimately sets his or her ownpay based on the value they
provide. Yes. What am I saying?
Is that each of us sets our ownpay in this world, in this just
(09:57):
world that rewards inputs withoutputs. That is just the way it
is. The equation is alwaysmathematically sound and
balances. So don't look atyourself as a victim or being
held back by the big bad manageror being a speck being pushed
around by the big bad world.You're responsible for your
(10:19):
life.
You have to be accountable foryour life and every result in
it. Put it this way, you're inthe driver's seat of your
experience of life and where youare. So if you don't like it, if
you're depressed, great. Ifyou're broke, good. If you don't
have enough money or whatever,good.
That is exactly the way thisworld's work. And through that
(10:42):
pain, through that discomfort,through that desire, you'll find
motivation or the energy toadvance, to learn the skills
that you need to. Okay. As we'reseeking raises and promotions,
if you can directly link yourcontributions to increase
profitability or decrease costs,the easier it is for you to be
(11:05):
compensated for your efforts.You know?
So make it outrageously easy forthose in a position to make
those system changes, that isthose pay changes to say, ah,
you added a hundred thousanddollars here. Okay. Let's give
you ten or twenty thousanddollars of that. Oh, you've
decreased the expenses here by ahundred thousand dollars. Okay.
(11:27):
Let's give you 10 or $20,000 ofthat. Most people will actually
be quite generous in rewardingthings, but if it's not clear of
how you're producing value, howyou're creating this, if you
can't trace it back to it, itmakes it more difficult. With
organizations, we also suggestthat you keep base salaries and
(11:51):
hourly amounts low. That is, wealways call them measly wages or
measly salaries. And we placelarge emphasis on performance or
results.
So thus, again, keep your basesalary and hourly amounts low
and put the bulk of a person'spay coming from performance and
(12:13):
results. This is healthy. Thisis the way the natural world
works like I'm sitting in rightnow. If mama bird doesn't go out
and get the worm, baby birdsdon't get fed. That's just the
way it is.
And this has worked so well. Itake a look at Apple, National
Healthcare, Fastenal, Procterand Gamble's, PAL Sudden
Service, MBI, of course, allthese world class organizations
(12:37):
realize that strength comes fromstruggle. Just like a muscle
being exercised, and if youdon't use it, it atrophies. If
you do use it, it gets stronger.And pay systems that are based
on merit build much morecompetent and capable human
beings.
And so the compensation systemis thus an extension of your
(12:58):
teaching systems because allcompensation systems teach.
Right? I mean you look at thepaycheck and go, wow, that
worked out. I think I'll do moreof that. That didn't work out.
I think I'll do less of that.And thus, there it is. Again, we
live in a world or universe evenof incentives and disincentives.
(13:18):
And so for an organization, ifwe want to get results, provide
the incentive. If we don't wantsomething to happen, provide the
disincentive.
And it's almost as easy as that.Compensation is such a huge
aspect of multi view becauseit's such a spiritual topic and
(13:40):
is not limited to the financialdomain, even though that's what
we're talking about here. Allorganizations have to consider
this. But basically, we wantpeople to bet on themselves and
bet on the organization. That'sthe whole purpose of emphasizing
performance results basedcompensation rather than this
(14:02):
diaper of a high salary.
And people that say, well, Igotta have this much of a
salary, or I gotta have thismuch of an hourly rate, really
don't understand that. Thatthey're being almost subsidized
to a certain extent. And thatit's not a healthy situation in
(14:22):
the long term for the companynor their own personal growth.
Next point. Organizations don'tdo annual raises, period.
Yes. We have these, again,measly, meager salaries, hourly
amounts, but yet people maketons of money, I mean, of
(14:42):
thousands of dollars. And whenyou do this and you give people
opportunities to really exploretheir potentials in all this,
you find that you don't have todo annual raises anymore. Why?
What's the point?
I mean, what's another 5%increase gonna do when people
are already doing so well? Soyou don't have to think about
(15:05):
COLA. That is cost of livingadjustments and all that. Next
point. Just make it easy for amanager to promote you.
And this is done, again, justsimply by providing value or
providing relief for themanager, where they can't
imagine operating without you,that you've made yourself
(15:27):
indispensable, not throughwithholding codes like some IT
people do. Again, remember, Iused to run a programming
operation and all that and somesmart guys would retain their
codes because they can't fire mebecause I have all the codes.
Well, we've got systems thatbreak that. But just make it
easy for the manager to see thatyou're adding value. And this is
(15:48):
done almost immediately.
It's done through personalinitiative. It's by being just
smart enough to see what needsto be done and doing it without
anybody asking. It's like atArista, although you're
hemorrhaging clients, this is acompensation company, right and
left, and I single handedlystopped it just by calling up
(16:09):
our clients and asking them whattheir frustrations were, they
perceived that there's somethingthat could actually help them,
and boom, turned around. Nobodyasked me to do that. So it's
having some level of confidencein yourself, belief, and being
able to have the intelligence towork out what people's problems
(16:29):
are.
And the thing is any smartperson with a little bit of
pluck, as they say in England,can see what stresses out the
leader. What are they sweatingit out on? What's consuming
their weekends, their time?Okay. There is your clues of
where you can make yourcontributions felt, and this
(16:52):
idea of it being felt is verypowerful.
Not all people in anorganization are paid the same.
The people that contribute moreget paid more, and that's the
way it is, this idea of thismeritocracy, even though some
people try to demonize it. No.There's no two human beings with
(17:13):
the same intelligence. There'sno two human beings with the
same capabilities or anythinglike that.
Why should they be paid thesame? That doesn't go anywhere
near what reality is or the waythe world operates. Next point,
the client or customer willwrite every paycheck you will
ever receive, and they willdischarge you if you displeased
(17:36):
them. Get this. So the boss,really, of all organizations is
not the CEO.
It's not the board of directors.It's not anyone in the typical
hierarchy. Rather, the top ofthe org chart, the real boss is
who? The consumer. Right?
In healthcare, it's patients andfamilies, it's those that you
(17:59):
make sales to, it's all this.And just realizing that that's
the whole goal of organization,helps you focus on the right
things to create this value.Okay. If you're going to ask for
a raise or for a promotion, bestyou schedule something with your
leader or pick a very opportunetime, but come in with a plan.
(18:23):
So many people come in with thisneedy mindset and, oh, I need
more money, and and you canapproach that all kinds of
different ways.
But if you come in having putsome intelligence, some thought
into something and saying,here's what I could do here.
This is what I perceive theissue is, and this is how the
(18:43):
system would work. Well, thatsaves the manager a great deal
of time because if you just comein and demand more money, well,
suddenly, you put all thisburden on them, and it takes a
lot of energy to work out compsystems. Why? You're dealing
with a very emotional thing.
There's all kinds ofimplications. There's precedent
(19:04):
that is established. All kindsof things. So come in with a
proposal. And normally peoplewill listen with that.
Now with this said, I'll saythis, come in even with some
risk reversal. So rather thandemanding immediate money or
raise or increase or whatever,saying, hey. You don't even have
(19:26):
to pay me now. Let's start outwith proof of concept that we
implement what I put in myproposal with your
modifications, of course,leader, and let's see how it
goes and then pay me. Well, thatincreases your likelihood of
acceptance exponentially.
It's called risk reversal, andit works in so many different
(19:51):
situations. I think we also haveto dispel the notion that you
have these greedy employers orowners or whatever that just
want to take all the chips andput them in their little bag.
That's not usually the way itworks. The good leader, the good
CEO, the good business owner,they want to put as much money
(20:12):
as they can into the pockets oftheir true partners, their true
employees, people they workwith, their associates. And
that's the good leader.
Like, I've got it set up wheremost MultiView people will end
up being millionaires. Somealready have done so so well.
But those that really aren'tkicking in, that aren't putting
(20:35):
in the time, adding the value,whatever, no. No way would I do
that. I would not disrespect thehardworking by giving unearned
money to these people.
You actually damage people byoverpaying people because they
feel entitled to it after awhile and whatever. And and and
(20:55):
plus, in their own psyche, theyrealize that they really weren't
behind the victories and theincrease of value that they can
point to other people in theorganization that really put
out, that put in the weekends,that traveled to clients that
spent, you know, their lives onthe road or whatever building a
company. So you actually damagepeople by overpaying people.
(21:19):
Okay. To merit an increase orpromotion, there's one thing
that you can do that will helpyou out incredibly, and that's
to learn to sell, to learn tosell.
All of life is transactional,right? And the ability to
(21:39):
communicate value, orpredictability, is a great
thing. So all I know is that Ialways am looking for the great
salesperson because topsalespeople just can't be
denied. If they're bringing inthe money, you you can't live
without these people. Right?
(22:00):
And it's why salespeople or topsalespeople are the highest paid
people in the world, sometimeseven more than the CEO. I don't
mind at all if my salespeoplemake more than me. Big deal
because the whole business, thewhole ministry of MBI is going
forward. But normally, topsalesman need not just the
(22:23):
squishy relationship talents,which are incredible because
we're all of our destinies aretied to our relationship powers.
And, of course, you wanna hitchyour wagon to a winner, but top
salespeople have deep, deepindustry product and service
knowledge.
(22:43):
I'm a great salesperson. Why?Because I know our materials up
and down. And any question froma client, whether it be in
music, whether it be in ourhealth care consulting or our
general organizationalconsulting, well, I can answer
that question right there. Idon't have to say, well, let me
get a hold of Billy Bob overhere because he knows that.
(23:05):
Although you should do thatbecause you never want to claim
that you know something when youdon't. You never want to BS a
client. Because if you wannalose trust from someone, you
start to exaggerate. In myestimation, all exaggeration is
a form of a lie. So in the MBIworld, we we don't lie.
(23:29):
We don't exaggerate. The truthis the truth. We say what we
mean. We mean what we say. Butthis deep product and service
knowledge helps us out.
And and in my view, there's noway or path to being a great
salesperson unless you reallyknow it, and you know it almost
better than anyone else, thatyou can explain how your
(23:52):
customer service works and yoursystem seven or your proprietary
training system for customerdelight. The things that MBI
does, we've mastered. Mastered.Again, it's the reason we can go
four and a half years without asingle phone call not being
answered a particular way withinthree rings by a competent
person. Few organizations caneven get their minds around that
(24:14):
because they think that servicefailures and complaints happen
every day.
Well, we go months and monthsand months without a single
violation of that. And if aservice failure complaint is not
communicated to me, the head,you're fired. It's it merits
termination or it's a terminalevent. Because if I don't know
(24:39):
what the issues are with theorganization as the leader in a
position to make the structuraland system solution changes,
that blinds me. And theenterprise cannot improve
without those structuralchanges, so they cannot be
hidden.
(25:00):
Okay. Equity. Equity is one ofyour paths to your greatest
wealth. Some of my biggestmoves, you know, where you end
up with the the huge checks, themultimillion dollar deals and
all that, are gonna come fromequity stakes. So let's talk
about that since we're talkingabout raises and promotions.
Let's go ahead and go all theway. Most owners are a bit
(25:23):
scarred as they usually know intheir bones the extreme personal
sacrifice that it took to buildthe business. The all nighters,
the working almost everyweekend, the hundred hour work
weeks, the sleeping on cots likewe used to do in cost report
season. Yeah, we know that, andso that equity is pretty hard to
(25:48):
let go of unless someone is areal trooper providing this
value, good with clients, allthat. So getting an equity stake
is something that you shouldstrive for, and most
organizations will give this ifyou are valuable enough.
And there's always, in allorganizations, there's ups and
(26:11):
downs. It's not always up. Butan equity partner has to pay the
price for this status. Okay, itjust shouldn't be given to
somebody. Because, again, mostpeople have not even paid a
fraction of the price to meritan equity stake.
(26:32):
You know, when you've had tolend your own money back to the
business, especially when youcan't make payroll during tough
times? How many of your kids'games or events have you missed
because you're on the roadmaking payroll for other people?
How many of these people thatwant equity stakes has suffered
breakdowns, physical hardshipsbecause of the demands of the
(26:55):
job or the vision? So to be anowner stake is a big deal to
have equity. Ownership equalsaccountability, as owners have
to own every result withoutblaming others or making excuses
for the lack of performance ifit's not achieved, right?
(27:18):
Yeah. The equity person has tobe of such a value that the
organization almost can'tfunction without you. And of
course, if a person is going toget an equity stake or an
ownership stake, one must thinklike an owner. That is, be able
to see the big picture, not justthe myopic view about your
(27:42):
little position, your littledepartment, your little area,
your little service line. Butreally take the entire
organization and look from thismature view.
All owners know that growth isnecessary, that you can't stay
on the same level forever, thatwe have to adapt, that this
(28:05):
world that we live in is verycompetitive and is changing all
the time. And so we need growth,we need money to fund new
initiatives. We need money inthe bank so we can retool if a
competitor outmodels us or if adisaster happens or whatever.
But a healthy company is alwayslooking for growth. And whether
(28:29):
it's, you know, gross revenue,increases in EBITDA, net
revenue, number of clients, andin all these situations, some
type of dollar value can beattributed in the value
calculation.
And the last point here is thatowners or people with equity
stakes must be leaders. Yes,there's this leadership
(28:53):
responsibility aspect if you arean owner or shareholder, and
that you need to live theculture, you need to be
inspirational, we need to beable to get people moving
towards the common cause in thecommon direction. So yes, the
job of motivation, ofinspiration, of really the
(29:16):
ultimate leadership quality,which is what? Success. However
it's defined.
Because that is the job ofleadership, success, the
accomplishment of the mission orvision. So there we go, there's
some practical advice on how toget a raise, get promoted, and
(29:42):
even get equity stakes in anorganization.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Thank you for listening. If you need anything
further, just go to MBI.life.
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