The Definition of Work

Not all work is created equal, that’s obvious. Some people think work is looking “busy”, or turning up and sitting in a chair. Some people’s “work” has to be fixed, re-done, and some people’s work is highly valuable.

The word “work” has gotten confused. So let’s clarify what we mean by the word “work.”

An activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result.

But we don’t want any result. We want valuable results. So I’ve coined the term Vwork which means Valuable work.

The flip side is Xwork work is eXtra Work that is not valuable. Xwork is any time-wasting activity that produces no result and adds no value to your organization (or life).

Dwork is Destructive work. It is the complete opposite of Vwork. It has negative value. It ruins, harms and tears down what you’ve built.

With these new words, we now know exactly the kind of results we want in our new recruits, franchisees, business partners, husbands, wives and all other relationships…

The Three Types of People

There are only 3 types of people you can hire. There’s only 3 types of people who are in your existing team. The type of work a person produces determines the type of person they are. When you understand these types and how to spot them, hiring the right person is easy.

The 3 types of people are:

. Vwork™ People

. Xwork™ People

. Dwork™ People

Let’s define each.

Vwork People

Vwork is Valuable work. Completed work which adds value to your organisation (or life).

A Vwork Person creates a high ratio of valuable work. These are the people you want. Theses are the people who are a joy to work with, who take responsibility, who get things done, who care.

Xwork People

An Xwork Person creates extra work. These decrease efficiency, profits and lower organisational output. These waste your time, waste your money and drain profits.

Dwork People

Dwork People intentionally create Dwork results. They want the business and those around them to fail. A Dwork person undoes, un-builds, tears down Vwork results. They also tear down Vwork People, read on.

Understanding

If you are a Vwork Person (you most probably are if you are reading this), Xwork people create anything from mild annoyance to complete rage because they are constantly making your job harder.

But Dwork people are something else entirely. Often you can’t see the Dwork results until it’s too late. The damage has been done. For a Vwork person like yourself, the actions of a Dwork Person are very hard to understand — their destructive methods make no sense at all. Who in their right mind deliberately destroys value?

If you have ever been ripped off, sued or lost valuable clients, you know just how crazy a Dwork person can be, and the amount of destruction they can create.

But it is possible to identify all three of these personalities before you hire them. YES.

Tips on identifying Vwork People

The following is slanted towards hiring, but completely applies to people in your existing staff. The qualities you look for in hiring are exactly what should be in your existing team.

Making decisions based on résumés, dress, looks, and how a person conducts themselves in an interview is a bit like playing Russian Roulette. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t…and when you lose it’s bad!

Hiring decisions are often made on a whim. Candidates often lie or make promises to get the job.

It’s surprising that such an important aspect of business is so often left to chance. But when you consider the enormous amount of false information there is about hiring, it’s no surprise that the average business owner believes that hiring is more “luck” than science.

I can tell you from experience, there this an exact process to hire top producers. People who want to work and who produce valuable work (Vwork).

Forget about reading résumés. Forget about conducting hundreds of time-wasting interviews.

Here are three key things you need to look for when hiring the ideal candidate:

. Willingness

. Vwork™ Results

. Know-how

Willingness

The key question is: “Do they demonstrate a strong willingness to contribute to the team?”

There are lots of ways you can test for willingness. The simple ones are things like:

. Did they turn up on time for the interview?

. How willing are they to prove they fit your requirements?

. Are they willing to do something right now? (Yep — that’s right, here’s a job I need you to do right now?)

If they don’t have the willingness, don’t go any further.

The one attribute you cannot enforce is a willingness to work. As an employer, you are “buying” willingness when you hire.

If you have to enforce it, it’s called slavery and who wants a bunch of slaves working for them? That’s way too much work for you. So skip ’em if they ain’t willing.

Vwork Results

The key question is: “Can they provide proof of prior productivity?”

This is very simple. If you are buying a car, you want the car to work. If you get a new phone you want the phone to work. If you hire a new team member, you want the team member to work.

If they can’t provide any proof of Vwork results, then it’s “hasta la vista, baby.”

Know-how

Know-how is more than knowledge. Know-how is practical knowledge or skill that can be applied or used.

A résumé may give you some insight, but anyone can make themselves look good on paper. If you are hiring for a specialized role that a person cannot easily learn, then the best way to test for know-how is get them to do some work as part of the hiring process. Give them a task and see if they can do it. Put them on the spot. This is not only a test of willingness, it is also a test of know-how.

But know-how is the least important of these three things.

Which would you prefer?

1. A willing Vwork person who needs a little training.

2. An unwilling, “qualified” person who knows everything!

This simple flowchart gives you some crucial points to consider when hiring. There’s much more to know and that’s what I cover in the Vwork Hiring System. Contact me to find out more.

 Download free copy of Flowchart

Until next time, may your people be willing and their work valuable.