HOW TO DATE BEYONCE: A GUIDE TO BECOMING IRREPLACEABLE

As I was driving along on an epic road trip last week, the song “Irreplaceable” by Beyonce came on. Now I don’t jam to Beyonce that much, but as I was listening to the song, I realized that Beyonce was telling me a secret about how to never lose my job AND how to date her at the same time! Who knew Beyonce, besides being an excellent vocalist, also has some great career and relationship advice?

What was her advice, you ask?

Well, the song is about her strained relationship with her boyfriend, and while she is kicking him out of her house, she says,

“I can have another you by tomorrow
So don’t you ever for a second get to thinkin
You’re irreplaceable.”

I don’t think Beyonce was planning on using this verse to expound upon a fundamental law of economics (scarcity), but that is what I got out of it. If you want to have a job forever, or if you are a business that wants to stay open forever, then you should become irreplaceable.

You should know that “irreplaceable” does not mean “better than everyone else.” My first teaching assignment was at a 7-12 middle/high school in Mississippi. Because of my math and science background, I taught a wide variety of classes and I was the Head Coach for Cross Country and the Head Coach for Track and Field. Oh yeah, I was also in charge of Student Government, Campus Ministry, and I was the Dean of Discipline. Where else was a school going to find a person who taught Algebra I, Geometry, Calculus, Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Religion, and could also serve as Head Coach for Track and Cross-Country, and would be the Dean of Students, all wrapped up into one? Nowhere! I was irreplaceable, and not because I was the best at any one of these things, but because I was complex and I was serving many different needs.

“Don’t you ever for a second get to thinkin’ you’re irreplaceable”. This is great advice for any person as well as any business. I have stopped shopping at Walmart because I'm tired of long lines, angry employees, and crazy parking lots. Sure, I have to pay more now that I go to Meijer, but I'm willing to pay the extra $0.19 to avoid the intense feelings of anger and rage that are destined to occur when I enter Walmart. To me, Walmart is replaceable.

There are many ways to become “irreplaceable”. Here’s some suggestions.

1. Offer something no one else offers. What? You are in charge of a school that has students who graduate AND they are productive citizens in the world?! You have become irreplaceable.

2. Complete a skill at a level that no one else can complete it. Think Ussain Bolt. If I need someone to run to my grocery store that is 100m away, and I want them to be back in less than 9.60 seconds, Mr. Bolt is the only person in the world who has proven he can complete the job. If I want access to every book ever written and I want to buy any of these titles and have it delivered at my doorstep in three days, Amazon is the only place I can go.

3. Do what you say you are going to do, no matter the cost. I don’t think I can underestimate the value of this. If you say you are going to deliver me a pizza in 15 minutes, and you actually do it, time and time again, you have become irreplaceable. One of the most abundant character traits is the inability to follow through, so do what you say you are going to do, without any excuses, and you are becoming irreplaceable. The person who runs my websites and helps with tech issues for me, Matthew Komar, is irreplaceable, not because he knows how to maintain websites (a dime-a-dozen), but because he follows through, day in and day out. And he NEVER acts like I’m supposed to tell him what to do. Try getting that with go-daddy.com. He’s irreplaceable.

4. Develop many different skill sets. Tim Ferris says “Be too complex to categorize”. This is great advice, because as soon as you can be categorized, you can be replaced. Can you sum up what you do at your job in one sentence? If so, you are replaceable. This is the route I prefer to take because I have so many different interests. I get bored with the same thing over and over again, and while some people would refer to this as “uncertain”, I call it being irreplaceable.

This all boils down to scarcity. If what you do is abundantly available, it has less value, but if what you do is unique and irreplaceable, then it has more value. If you want to reach your peak performance, listen to Beyonce and “Don’t you ever for a second get to thinkin’ you’re irreplaceable.”

Do you have any more ideas to become "irreplaceable"? Leave a comment and let me know. I'm sure there are more than four ways!