Bottom feeding is the race to go lower. Bottom feeders want to keep costs as low as possible, while cutting corners. Cutting corners just enough to get by.
This is when you cap employee’s salary ranges at your organization.
When you cut your support staff a member.
When you close the store an hour early.
When you bargain with your vendors for a lower price.
When you send your production to cheaper labor.
When you compromise on the quality of the product to ease manufacturing.
When you choose a slightly cheaper raw material.
When you put in 90% of the effort.
Bottom feeders make up the majority of products and services we encounter. It’s logical to be a bottom feeder. You minimize the amount of energy. You maximize profits by cutting corners.
The top feeders are the local shops offering authentic product.
The coffee shop owner that works 70 hour weeks, but cares deeply about where the coffee comes from and how it’s prepared.
The no-frills bakery serving up new pastries and flavors weekly.
The company selling a product that deeply cares about its users.
The organization with a mission to make the world a better place.
The employee who treats the company as if (s)he were an owner.
Top feeders are the creme de la creme. They are often not the most flashy. They often aren’t the most profitable. But they put in the most important part of the work, the emotional work into the product.
It’s the top feeders that the world craves. They have integrity in the product. They care for the consumer. It’s a human making every decision for the company and not a bunch of shareholders.
They carry the passion. They carry the story.
What they’re really delivering is trust.
This post was originally written for www.marcuswong.ninja where I write about anything that helps me kick ass in life.