Career Talk: Use your calendar to get a raise

October means we are in the homestretch of 2013.  You've worked hard all year and employee reviews are on the horizon.  Now is the time to start preparing for your 2014 goals.

Depending on what you are reaching for; whether it is a higher salary, a different position, a more flexible schedule or anything else, follow these tips are you are well on your way.

You can become a top member of your team by changing one simple thing.  Don't just follow-up, follow through.  There is a big difference between the two and if you can master follow through, relentless follow through, you will immediately start writing your own paychecks.

Follow up means to pursue.  Follow through means you will see the task through to the end.  See a task to the end and you will become one of your organization's most valuable employees.

I work for a homebuilder.  I oversee a team of about 20, plus more than 100 trade partners and suppliers and nearly 100 homes under construction.  If you've built a new home before you know how emotional it can be.  You are living in your current home, working, raising a family and oh yeah....also building another home. We can't tell our buyers exactly when the home will be ready for move-in and they are trying to plan their lives.  Will they be in the new house for Thanksgiving?  Christmas?  Next, add three months straight of rain and now a government shutdown, which has halted loans closing.  Now imagine all that and multiply by 100 because each of our 100 buyers what to know what is happening NOW.

Seeing a task to the end means calls, emails and more calls and emails.  Calling once to follow up isn't good enough. "I called her but she hasn't called back" doesn't cut it for top performers.  Call today, call again tomorrow and call again the next day until you get the job done.  I have a really great team but my top performing superstars all have the same mindset, follow through.  Relentless follow through.  Your Outlook calendar or your cell phone calendar is the key to making this happen.  Make yourself a reminder to follow up and make another step towards getting the task done.  

If you call on Tuesday, make a reminder to call again on Thursday.  Then, depending on what happens Thursday, decide what to do next.  After the call, send an email.  The key is to keep the conversation moving.  There is no way you can remember to do all of your follow through without some sort of reminder system.  I love my iphone calendar.  I have my default reminder to happen 15 minutes before my event.  No matter what the day brings, I can get back on track with my reminder popping up.

Take this approach with each of your tasks and you will be one of your team's most valuable members and it's those most valuable members that get the raise, get the promotion, and get to control their own destiny.