Understanding How Business Operates

Companies are formed to increased shareholder value. Learn how technology fits into a company's operating philosophy and long term plan

If you work for a company, it hired you for only one reason... it thinks it can make more money with you than without you or with someone else. Your job is to prove that you are more valuable than your salary. If you can prove that you are much more valuable, then you should warrant a raise and maybe a promotion.

The question is how do you prove that you are much more valuable. First, you need to learn how you will be evaluated. What criteria does your boss and boss' manager use? What you think is important, may not be what they want. So, ask!

Next, you should be learning what your company does, how does it operate, what is it strategic vision, where does it want to go in the future, who are the main competitors, what are the advantages and disadvantages of your products, who are the customers and what are their needs. This is a lot to learn, but with this understanding you can better position your efforts to possibly dramatically improve a product, a process or a service.

For more information, the following books are recommended: