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Regardless of what you’ve been told, there is one truism for people who must earn a living. You can expect your employer to demand more from you. The reason is simple. The customer is the true boss. The marketplace, with more choices to spend their money, demands far more these days from organizations supplying products and services.

Clients and customers want much better quality, at lower prices, than ever before. They expect top-notch service as well or they will take their business to your competitors. Studies reveal that as much as 70% of customers go somewhere else due to poor service.

Speed is also essential because modern society has gotten used to instant everything! An organization that emphasizes a speed-driven culture, while delivering good quality, has a distinct advantage in the marketplace. The faster products move, the faster they improve. The faster things improve, the more the organization learns! The only way your organization can even hope to compete and win is to employ high performance people.

In times past, the most common solution to problems was just to hire more people and/or spend more money. Organizations, however, can no longer afford that approach. Instead of simply throwing more people at problems, many of the more successful organizations now throw fewer. They understand they must do more – faster and better – with less. This recipe calls for highly committed people.

There is no room now for half-hearted effort. People who seemed to keep their jobs merely because they could just show up and do the minimum are going the way of the dinosaur!

In today’s world, career success belongs to those dedicated to performance excellence. Success comes to those who work from the heart, who invest themselves passionately in their jobs, and who recommit quickly when change reshapes their work environment.

To be blunt, if anyone finds they cannot recommit rapidly when the organization must make changes, they should probably go somewhere else where the culture fits their approach. You must not waste your energy resisting change or sitting on the fence. You must buy in, or execute your exit strategy, because that is best for both you and your organization!

This is not the same as asking that you be blindly loyal to the organization. That would likely strike you as rather hypocritical anyhow. We have all seen that the world puts hard limits on how loyal an organization can be in return. Some leaders, however, seem to recognize the importance of two-way loyalty.

According to some surveys, as much as a third of employees leave, or plan to leave, an organization for a new job due to feeling disrespected, being bored, needing to feel valued, or to seek a new challenge.

Enlightened organizations who genuinely care about their people and listen intently to their people’s improvement suggestions will develop a more loyal employee base. It is not surprising that employees who trust and respect the organizational leadership often feel more empowered and motivated to do their best – they become a highly committed workforce.

Organizations with a highly committed workforce generally outperform their competitors. However, the worker must get something in return, with both tangible and intangible benefits. Urging you to have high job commitment will serve your best interests, and benefit your organization.

There is little argument that highly committed people with strong, sustained results are compensated more than those who are not committed. In addition, strong job commitment makes work far more satisfying. It is therapeutic, as it is an excellent antidote for stress and a good cure for the pain of change. It also is empowering, bringing out your very best potential, and making you a more valuable person. However, even more than that it makes life more interesting and satisfying.

Bottom line: Commitment is a gift you should give yourself, your family, your friends, and your organization. It can become contagious! Being committed will make your life, and those who surround your life, much more rewarding.