HOW TO BECOME INDISPENSABLE

Three years ago I read this poem and it stuck with me as a great reminder how each of us are a dispensable asset. The poem is by Saxon N. White Kissinger and is called, There is No Indispensable Man;

"Sometime when you're feeling important;
Sometime when your ego's in bloom
Sometime when you take it for granted
You're the best qualified in the room,

Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul;

Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that's remaining
Is a measure of how you will be missed.

You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop and you'll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.

The moral of this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There's no indispensable man."

This poem lead me to believe that no matter who you were, what you did, no matter how talented you were, or how hard you worked, you were replaceable, a dispensable asset.

This is true. There will always be someone coming up right behind you ready to take your position on your team, in your job, in your market, or in just about anything else.

But I have learned that this is thought process, a perspective without a full spectrum of understanding. Our dispensability is a truth in life we all must accept because eventually no one cares how good you are or what you've brought to the table.

We see it all the time in sports. Look at what the Green Bay Packers did to Brett Farve after all he had been to that organization and that community. Look at what the Philadelphia Eagles did to the heart and soul of their franchise over the past 10 years, Brian Dawkins.

As the world changes around us, we are continual victims of change and upgrade. It may not be fair, but it is true.....

....Unless you can make yourself indispensable.

I came across this sentence in a book, "But the truth is that the only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable."

I was a little confused by the paradox, so I continued to read on;"In other words, if you are able to continually empower others and help them develop so that they become capable of taking over your job, you will become so valuable to the organization that you become indispensable."

At this point I am thinking to myself, "This is telling me to help develop others enough so that they could take my job?? How does that work out?"

But as I began to apply this principle, I began to understand. That by doing this, by empowering others, by giving yourself to others, by developing others, by basically showing others that you care more about their well-being than even your own own, you will eventually become so important to your organization you could be considered indispensable.

!!!HOLD THAT THOUGHT!!!!!

Before I make this sound too easy, you need to know something.....

....Becoming indispensable does not mean that you will not get kicked out of your job. There are many teams and organizations out there who would rather control you than develop you. Be prepared that if you start to look like you are becoming indispensable you may strike fear in the hearts of your team or organization, and they may get rid of you.

Maybe now it is easier to see why most people will choose to become dispensable rather than making the choice to do the ladder. The product or indispensability does not really seem like something that is so great to sign up for. Let see...If I become indispensable I may, A) Train and develop someone to be so good that they take my job, and/or, B) I may get fired or kicked off my team.

This is when you must be able to see a little bit farther down the road than everyone else. Most people are blinded by the "what can I get right now," who can get more, who has more status, who is the most popular. They are very occupied and live their life based on what others think about them. This "drive" or "fear" of lack of crap accumulation puts blinders on them and they keep just smashing their heads into this great wall of "success."

There are a few reasons why people choose dispensability over indispensability:

1) It is the path of least resistance: And if you know anything about the 80/20 principle, you know that this is dominated by 80% of the people around you anywhere you go in anything they do.

2) It is safe: Not many people want to put their own job in jeopardy. No one wants to to be persecuted for trying to make others around them better right??

2) Lack of Self-Worth: Many people do not believe that they have that much to offer or what they have to offer is anything special or good.

4) They're Happy Being Part of the Crowd: Most people settle for just doing their job and being a part of the crowd. They don't ever take a stand, try to change anything, and have no passion for helping develop other people. As long as they have a spot or a job, they don't want to do anything to ruffle the feathers.

So what's so great about becoming indispensable?

1) You are in the purest form, A Leader: All great leaders are indispensable. Because when you have decided to develop others and become a change agent, you create passionate, and loyal followers. And if you go, your loyal followers are not sitting around making a pro's and con's list rather to go with you or not. They just say, "lets go."

2) You Own the Greatest Assets: That asset is your relationships. The greatest asset that you can acquire is not skills or material gain, the greatest asset you can acquire is people who are loyal to you, people who believe in you, and people that will do anything for you. You can only acquire that through giving yourself to someone else, by showing them that they come first.

3) You Live Your Life without Fear: Churchill said, "Courage, is the first of all human qualities, because it is the quality which guarantees all the others." When you are able to understand and apply the paradox of dispensability ("But the truth is that the only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable."), you have the capacity live on a different level. You live your life without fear because while everyone else if fighting for status, promotions, and trying to convince people to like them, you could care less about any of those things. All you care about is getting better at who you are everyday, and helping others to do the same. I always say, "The absolute greatest day of your life is the day you do not care what anyone thinks about you."


I was watching a show on the NBA channel about New Orleans Hornets rookie point guard, Darin Collison. As a first round draft pick he wants to be out on the floor. Unfortunately for him, he's behind one of the best players in the league, Chris Paul. But though he has had to wait his turn, he has been blessed to have not just a bigger than life superstar, but a humble leader like Paul in front of him. He explained how Paul has taken him under his wing and showed him how to do things and how to handle himself on and off the court. Chris Paul has become a developer of this young talent. In his interview, Collison simply put it, "That's why he is who he is." This rookie looked at Chris Paul's greatness not because of his super talent, but because of his willingness to give to him. Chris Paul may get traded or kicked off of his team one day. But because Paul has decided to become bigger than a NBA superstar. Because he's decided to be a humble leader, an empowerer, a developer of others. No matter what happens, if he continues to lead and develop others, Chris Paul will always be indispensable.

Who can you choose to start your path to indispensability? Start today.