I often come upon a situation that is a real wake-up call for people. When I am preparing a resume, especially for managers and executives, we need to impress potential employers by highlighting the achievements that were produced. That boils down to showing percentage increases in sales, profits, productivity, market share and so on. Yet many people haven’t bothered to save their numbers, particularly when they are trying to remember past year’s accomplishments.

Bill is a manufacturing executive with an impressive track record spanning over 15 years. Although he knows that he made dramatic improvements in safety and productivity, he cannot quantify his results. How powerful would it be to show “Slashed safety incidents 89% while reducing cycle times 47% through the introduction of safety awareness and lean manufacturing programs”? Unfortunately, Bill can only say he significantly produced improvements. Not quite the same level of credibility and impact is it?

So the moral of this story is to create a file that demonstrates your positive impact on the business. Start it today and one day, you will be glad you did.