In today’s dynamic professional landscape, the ability to deliver and demonstrate value is paramount, whether you’re an employee driving internal success or a contractor/business owner serving clients directly. While the contexts differ, the core principles of identifying, focusing on, and showcasing value remain strikingly similar. Let’s explore these two lenses.

Identifying the True North: What Value is Truly Needed?

Regardless of your role, the journey to delivering value begins with a crucial first step: understanding what’s actually needed. It’s easy to jump into solutions, but the most impactful professionals, employees and contractors alike, start by deeply interrogating the problem.

This often means asking insightful questions, even employing techniques like the 5 Whys to peel back layers and get to the root of an issue. Why is this work being requested? What problem are we trying to solve? What does success truly look like? Sometimes, the initial request isn’t the actual value required, and it’s your responsibility to dig deeper to align on the true objective.

However, there’s a delicate balance. As an employee, your company’s strategic direction may dictate a particular path, even if you see a potentially more valuable alternative. Similarly, a client might have a specific vision that you, as a contractor, need to respect. In these situations, while you can offer your insights and expertise, it’s essential to recognize that the ultimate decision isn’t yours to make. Accept the agreed-upon direction, work the plan, but always keep an eye on opportunities to derive the most value within those parameters. Self-awareness is key here; sometimes, our own understanding or framing of the problem is the issue, not the request itself.

Focusing on What Matters: Ruthless Prioritization and Controlled Execution

Once the true value is identified, the next critical phase involves disciplined focus and controlled execution. This is where Project Management 101 comes into play.

Managing Change Consciously:

Both employees and contractors must master change management. Work will inevitably shift, and that’s perfectly normal, often for very good reasons. The key is to ensure everyone understands when the work is changing and to document those shifts clearly. Change Requests (CRs) aren’t roadblocks; they’re vital tools for keeping everyone aligned on the evolving scope. As an employee, this might involve influencing stakeholders and ensuring project plans are updated. As a contractor, robust change control is even more critical. Allowing scope creep without proper documentation and agreement can lead to significant billing and collection issues down the line, directly impacting your bottom line.

Ruthless Definition of Done:

Beyond managing changes, it’s crucial to be ruthless about the definition of done and getting work completed. The law of diminishing returns is a powerful concept here. Perfection is rarely the goal, nor should it be. Focus on delivering the agreed-upon value, then move on. For employees, this means understanding when a task has met its objective and isn’t benefiting from further tweaks. For contractors, clarity on deliverables and acceptance criteria is paramount to avoid endless revisions and ensure timely payment for the value delivered.

Marketing Your Wins: The Uncomfortable But Essential Step

This is often the most overlooked, and for many, the most uncomfortable, part of the value delivery equation: marketing and demonstrating your success. Yet, without it, even the most significant contributions can go unnoticed.

For Employees:

Consistently delivering value without celebrating your wins is a disservice to yourself. It’s vital to trumpet your successes upwards within your organization and across other teams. While you may quietly and consistently deliver more value than others, if you don’t communicate it, you risk being overlooked. The leader who is constantly in the limelight for “heroically” solving problems (even if they caused them in the first place) often receives more recognition than the quiet achiever. Learn to tell your story and quantify your impact. This isn’t about bragging; it’s about ensuring your contributions are recognized and valued.

For Contractors/Business Owners:

Marketing your wins is directly tied to your livelihood and future opportunities. You must actively market the value you’ve delivered to secure more work, both with existing clients and new ones. Build compelling case studies, share your successes on your website and social media, and actively encourage your satisfied clients to become your advocates. Referrals and testimonials are gold. It might feel uncomfortable to “brag,” but this is a non-negotiable aspect of growing your business.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re navigating the complexities of a corporate environment or building your own business, the principles of delivering and demonstrating value are fundamental to your success. By deeply understanding needs, executing with focus and control, and effectively showcasing your contributions, you’ll not only achieve your goals but also build a reputation for consistent, impactful value creation.

What’s Next

In a professional world that often prioritizes rapid output, the true measure of success lies in the sustained delivery of meaningful value. Both as an employee and as a business owner, your ability to consistently identify, focus on, and articulate the value you provide is a profound catalyst for progress, helping your entire organization “Succeed Sooner.”

Don’t just deliver work; deliver impact. Actively seek to understand the underlying need and ensure every effort contributes to a measurable outcome. Be value-driven. Fractional CIO services are a unique solution to this value challenge. Rather than compromising between high cost high value talent and more approachable and less experienced talent, you can leverage the same senior leadership on a fractional basis and focus on the value while building the experience and knowledge of your own internal team.

Is your organization fostering a culture where value delivery is clearly defined, executed efficiently, and effectively communicated, especially in how you approach your strategic initiatives and customer relationships? If you’re looking for a strategic partner who brings a value-centric, results-driven mindset to your technology challenges, let’s connect with Succeed Sooner Consulting.