Contribution means: What can I and no one else do which, if done really well, would make a real difference? Making a difference must be our goal. It is the essence of being effective in our work. In general, for producers of ideas, information, or concepts, one can be effective only if he has learned to do one thing very well; that is if he has specialized. It's reality that few can acheive excellence in more than one area. Contribution means relating your specific area to the whole. Even the expert in a narrowly defined field must learn enough of the needs, directions, limitations, and perception of others to enable them to use his own work.

Contribution usually depends upon others. Find out:

What contribution do I need from others to make my contribution effective?

When do I need this?

How do I need this, and in what form?

Individual self-development depends on the focus on contribution. Focus on contribution asks the questions:

What knowledge and skill do I have to acquire to make the contribution I should be making?

What strengths do I have to put to work?

What standards do I have to set myself?

All one can and should measure is performance. An appraisal starts out with the major contributions expected from a man in his past and present positions and a record of his performance against these goals. Then it asks four questions:

1. What has the person done well?

2. What, therefore, are they likely to be able to do well?

3. What do they have to learn or to acquire to be able to get full benefit from their strength?

4. If I had a son or daughter, would I be willing to have them work under this person? If yes or no, why?

To get strength, one has to put up with weaknesses. To be more than useful requires a person who is conceited enough to believe that their world really needs them to achieve what they are after. Be concerned with weaknesses only when they limit the full development of one's strength. Make productive what you can do. Most executives know what they can't do. Be careful not to waste time complaining about the things you can't do anything about. Effective people are also concerned about limitations but focus on on the many things that can be done and are worth while doing.

The assertion that somebody else will not let me do anything should always be suspected as a cover-up for inertia. Even where the situation sets limitations — and everyone lives and works within rather stringent limitations — there are usually important, meaningful, and pertinent things that can be done. The effective executive looks for them. If he starts out with the question, "What can I do?" he is almost certain to find that he can actually do much more than he has time and resources for.

All in all, the executive tries to be himself; he does not pretend to be someone else. He looks at his own performance and at his own results and tries to discern a pattern. "What are the things that I seem to be able to do with relative ease, while they come rather hard to other people?" Temperament is an important factor in accomplishment. An adult usually knows quite well his own temperament. To be effective he builds on what he knows he can do and does it the way he has found out he works best.