The 20-60-20 Rule

When I was reading David Bach's "Start Late and Finish Rich" book (I can't resist, I love his books!), something called the 20-60-20 Rule was brought up in the section that promotes you to ask for a raise.  The 20-60-20 Rule divides employees in a company into three categories of performance.

20% of Employees are Weak Performers
These people have no clue.  They always seem to come into work late, with personal issues always seeming to get in the way of productivity.  Employees like this usually need to be supervised.  They do the bare minimum and "punch the clock" every day.

60% are Average Performers
These people are hard workers and have the best intentions when coming into work.  When the boss is away, they might be slacking off but usually do what they are supposed to do.

20% are Star Performers
These people come to work on time (probably arriving early and staying late) and do their jobs well.  They understand what results are required of them and have the necessary skills to deliver.  They are always honest and respect coworkers, clients and customers.  You will be able to find these employees working, even when their boss is away.

Everyone should have an idea on which category they fall into.  If you don't like the category that you fall into, you should decide to change a few things on how you are branding yourself at work.  I personally find this extremely important because branding is the image or perspective that your boss has of you.  Your image (if it's a good one) is the reason that you will have the opportunity get raises, promotions, time off, more benefits... the list goes on.  I will be featuring future posts on how you can "brand yourself" at work.  The same way a marketing company advertises or uses "branding" to promote a product, you should be doing the same to promote yourself.