Every organization has jobs that are necessary but at the same time are thankless and tedious. I was the queen of thankless and tedious jobs. If there was a division that no one wanted I said bring it on, if there was a division that was performing poorly and no one wanted to touch I said bring it on.  I would gladly take on what no one else wanted because that was my way of trying to ensure that I would not lose my job.

I was the major wage earner and I had to be sure that I was never out of work or I could lose the roof over my head. What I didn't realize at that time was that what I was doing was making myself "untouchable" as Thomas L. Friedman the columnist for The New York Times described in his column last year (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/opinion/21friedman.html).  Mr. Friedman talks about the importance of making yourself the best you can be everything you do.

What I did when I took on these thankless and tedious jobs was to do the best I could do and create successful outcomes. Again it was my fear of being unemployed that moved me to be the best I could be and take on the tasks that no one else wanted. And I not only secured my position but I was rewarded by being promoted up the corporate ladder, eventually to Vice President.

In The Business of Me we talk about how to make yourself untouchable and look for the jobs in your organization that no one else wants to do as a way of making yourself untouchable so if layoffs come along hopefully you won’t be on the list of those to go. Read Mr. Friedman’s column and realize how important it is to become “untouchable” in everything that you do.