Create Your Own Value Chain

Now it ‚ s time to complete a position chart and position value chain for your target organization (exercise 5-1). This exercise may have been difficult to fill out completely when you did it in the last chapter for your profit chart and profit value chains. The same holds true when working on position measures and chains. Don ‚ t expect to be able to fill out everything on the first try.

Exercise 5.1: Your position measures and financial value chain.

Directions: Complete the following steps for this exercise. If you prefer not to write in this book, go to the companion Website (www.astd.org/astd / publications ) to download a PowerPoint file for this exercise.

1. Fill in the names of as many measures as you can for the four audience levels that you identified in exercise 2-1 in which you defined your audience. Don ‚ t worry if you have them exactly right. Treat this as a brainstorming exercise or a rough draft that you can use as an aid for later research into more complete lists of measures.

2. Use some of your measures to complete a financial value chain. Take this chain to some of your co-workers or customers for their insights on this or other value chains.

3. Make sure to take note of research you need to complete or questions that you would like to ask your boss or a mentor. Add these to the questions you had for research into profit measures. Chapter 7 will give you hints on how to unearth more business intelligence about your organization or your target organization.

Step 3: Identify Financial Imperatives

 

The most important part of this exercise is to start defining what you do know. Then examine the rest of what you need, and take the opportunity to make more notes for your research, networking, and financial exploration.

Important ‚  

If you need a little incentive to do this exercise again for position, here ‚ s a special tip: Doing this kind of work can really distinguish you from your competition during a job interview. Very few interviewees have the ability to demonstrate their value in financial terms and even fewer are able to show their potential new manager how he or she can explain his or her value in the same way. For those readers who aren ‚ t looking for a job, isn ‚ t it true that some people just seem to get lucky and get offers without even knowing they were being considered ? As the old saying goes, luck favors the prepared. If you are a consultant, translate ‚“job interview ‚½ into ‚“consulting sales call. ‚½