13. A job is often an economic black box

A lot of people, especially staffers, don't know exactly how they create value. In other words, they don't know nor comprehend the process by which they actually create economic value.

All they know is that they get a paycheck once every two weeks, and that's their only indication that they are actually producing value.

I guess this is why Ram Charan, a highly respected advisor to CEOs, wrote the book What the CEO wants you to know. Charan understands that today, EVERYBODY, from the receptionnist to the C-level executive, is in business for himself / herself.

In the BMW Workshop - Professional Version, we teach people how to evaluate their position in the business cycle of a company.

There are only three critical activities: marketing, sales and production.

Any person who occupies a position OUTSIDE of these three critical areas, is a prime target for outsourcing or outright elimination from the payroll.