An Opportunity, Not a Fairy Tale
Once upon a time an ambitious person went into a great store with a reputation for excellent quality merchandise.
He /she said to the owner, "I would like to work for you. I will work very hard and do a great job. However I would like to have the following:
- For everything I sell I want to keep 25% commission.
- I will get others to sell for you too, and I want to be paid a commission on everything they do ... forever, say 5% or 8%. All this without taking anything away from them. They must still get their 25% commission on what they sell too.
- Once I do whatever it takes to qualify, I want you to automatically double my commission ... and pay me some equivalent to corporate profit sharing. This must be done based on my qualifications and not on the length of time I have worked here, or my age, or previous experience or education or other people's opinion of me.
- I want to work my own hours and have no quotas, so that sometimes I can work a lot and sometimes take off for a day or two ... or even a week or two!
- When I do well, I want ample recognition and bonus incentives ... not meaningless little things, but worthwhile gifts like paid vacations abroad!
- I want to be able to promote myself into management entirely through my own efforts, surpassing even you if I'm good enough.
"This is what I would like. Can your company offer me these things?"
The store owner was amused, saying "No, I can't even give you one of those and I daresay you'll not find that kind of opportunity anywhere!"
