Fraternity-Testvériség, 1959 (37. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1959-01-01 / 1. szám
FRATERNITY 5 HOW TO GIVE YOURSELF A RAISE By A. DONALD BRICE Vice President, Advertising, Dictaphone Corporation John D. Rockefeller was a tough boss, but he knew how to spot the “comers” in his organization. One day he saw an office boy stretched out in a chair, feet propped on the desk. John D. watched him for a few minutes, but the youngster didn’t make a move. His eyes were shut and he paid no attention to his visitor. The financier was about to give him a note to the cashier with instructions to pay the boy off, but something in the young man’s manner made him hesitate. “Just what are you doing?” boomed Rockefeller, bending over the desk. “I’m thinking!” said the youth. “There’s a problem been bothering me, and I’m trying to figure it out.” Rockefeller scribbled something on a pad and handed it to the boy. “Take this to the cashier’s office”, he said gruffly, walking away. The note was short and to the point. It read: “Give this man a one-dollar raise.” In today’s business and industry world, the ones who “make it” are the employees who treat their work as a personal challenge. They make suggestions, look for new ways to improve on their job. They keep up with the times and they make an effort to express their views frequently and well. Andrew Carnegie, the great railroad tycoon, impressed this forcefully on one of his employees. The man had come to ask for a five-dollar increase. “I’m not going to give you a raise”, Carnegie said. “You’re going to give it to yourself.” In effect,, he was telling him: “Be worth more — and you’ll get more.” A man adds extra value to his services by solving a problem or helping change an outmoded practice — he gives himself a raise. And he’ll have earned it, too. Your worth can increase as you learn more about your job. Or by expanding your general knowledge. An informed employee is an asset to his company. Doing some reading, both in and outside your vocational interests, puts you away out in front. A living example is Don Power, president of General Telephone Corporation — he was named to the post because he studied his field. Power had made himself an expert on utilities legislation. When the presidency was vacated, he was plucked from a lesser job and put into the top spot — because he seemed to know more about the field than anyone else around. There’s a man who was thinking.
