Stop Being a Commodity, Be A Monopoly

You should be proud that you are unique and different. If you are not unique, the world will miss the value you would have brought. Be a monopoly.

A business or an employee is either a commodity or a monopoly. You can’t be in between the two. When you are like everyone, you become a commodity, but when you differentiate yourself, you become a monopoly. The best companies and employees have figured out how to avoid being commodities by becoming monopolies through the creation of unique value.

Don’t try to be a brand, just focus on being a monopoly. Focus on creating something that is so unique that it’s hard for anyone to copy. That will set you apart as a commodity. I decided years back that I don’t want to be like every. I want to be unique. I want the value I create to have my DNA stamped on it.

It's very important that companies and individuals do all they can to escape being a commodity. I always make sure that I bypass what everyone is doing and create value for my employer and clients that is unique and useful. Here are some reasons why you should avoid being a commodity:

1. When you are a commodity, you are like everyone

2. When you are a commodity, you are value is like everyone

3. When you are a commodity, you get paid like everyone

4. When you are a commodity, negotiation is based on price

5. When you are a commodity, you do what you are told

6. When you are a commodity, you are competing

7. When you are a commodity, you are easily replaceable.

8. When you are a commodity, you are treated as a function.

9. When you are a commodity, you lack influence.

10. When you are a commodity, you work longer and harder for less reward, satisfaction, and opportunity.

Steve Jobs named anyone who acts like a commodity bozo. It's a disservice to humanity for people to remain a commodity. You are created differently and you should stand different. Monopoly means you provide something, a form of value, to people that they can’t get anywhere else.

When Tim Cook joined Apple, he didn’t act like just any other employee. He became a monopoly. He changed the way Apple handle its supply chain. Another organization noticed what he was doing and wanted to hire him, so the Board asked Steve Jobs to elevate him to COO so that they won’t lose him. They not only increased his pay but also his stock options. He never asked for it.

If you have to ask your employer for a raise or promotion, you are not a monopoly but a commodity. I worked with people who I never had to ask for a raise before they did that. You should labor to become a monopoly always. If they fail to value you someone else will value you. Only commodities fight over what they can easily get if they become a monopoly.

Being a monopoly separates you as a leader. You become the person who people go to when they need the kind of value that you create. However, you should know that becoming a monopoly doesn’t happen overnight. That I believe is the reason why only very few people become a monopoly. It is the pinnacle a business and an employee need to get to.

It's tough trying to be a monopoly. It requires doing something for ten years consistently. It must permeate and change your mindset. You have to focus exclusively on it. I got into debt while focusing to bring out my uniqueness. I nearly gave up but I made a commitment to myself that I want to live full and die empty. Was it worth it? It really is.

I decided that I will work with university graduates to become a monopoly so that they can avoid the trap of waiting for vacancies to exist before seeking a job. I develop the Value Giver Way concept for them to be trained to position themselves as monopolies before a prospective employer. You will never become satisfied and fulfilled until you become a monopoly.

I also developed the Value Giver Strategy as a system companies need to develop to transform their new hires into monopolies. Monopolies have unique capabilities, so they engage in unique capability collaborations where new forms of value are created that are unique to the organization. Only employees who are monopolies make and sustain the organization they work for to be a monopoly.

When an organization is a monopoly, it brings a unique capability into the marketplace. It experiences the following collaborations within it:

1. Collaboration among teams with unique capabilities

2. Bring its unique capability to collaborate with its competitors

3. Sell its unique capability to other competitors

Three Key Ways To Be a Monopoly

1. Differentiation: You have to be different and highly differentiated. If people can get what you offer anywhere there is no need to work with you or do business with you. And if they will do that, they will pay you the least. You should always bring to the table what no one can. I learned from Steve Jobs how to differentiate yourself. Be a master, the best in the world in one or two fields, and then have shallow knowledge in multiple fields. Then combine that different knowledge and you will have something different.

2. Transformation: The value you create should be transformational rather than transactional. That is to say, monopolies don’t focus on the money, they focus on helping their clients become better and bigger. They operate in the resulting economy. That is to say, they are continually creating results for their clients and transforming challenges for their clients into opportunities for advancement and progress.

3. Experience: The value they create targets the emotions of their clients. That makes it all about the experience. The way people feel is important. They will remember how you make them feel more than what you create for them. Everything is about perception. Perception is a feeling. Feeling last longer in people. Create value that focuses on people’s feelings and you will be a monopoly.

I work with organizations to help their employees become monopolies. The marketplaces and workplaces are crowded right now. You should not be like everyone. You should not just produce the same value as anyone. Tap into the uniqueness of your people and create new forms of value so you can be perceived as a monopoly.

We are organizing a Game-Changing Value Creator Coaching program. You can be part and should be part. It is for you. If you want to attain freedom and find fulfillment at work, then become a value creator.

Be part of the Game-Changer Value Creation Coaching program. You will go through the mindset required to create and the tools you need to always create value in the workplace. Are you ready for a fundamental change- a breakthrough in the way you approach your work? If you are, then you are ready for the Value Giver Coach Program. Please call +2348101671745.

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