Find factcheck, summary, image, and meaning of quote- If you want raises, If you want raises, raise your standards.
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Meaning
Stop focusing on the reward and start focusing on the work. The raise is a symptom, not the cause. The cause is your own personal standard of performance.
Explanation
The world doesn’t pay you for what you want; it pays you for the value you create. And value is a direct output of your standards. When you raise your standards, for your work ethic, for your skills, for the problems you’re willing to solve, you become a different asset. You become undeniable. A promotion or a raise then isn’t something you beg for; it’s the market correcting itself to your new value. It’s the system catching up to who you’ve become. It’s a lagging indicator of your growth.
Summary
| Category | Career (15) |
|---|---|
| Topics | growth (32), standards (2) |
| Style | pithy (5) |
| Mood | general (7) |
Origin & Factcheck
| Author | Dale Carnegie (162) |
|---|---|
| Book | How to Get Ahead in the World Today (4) |
About the Author
Dale Carnegie, an American writer received worldwide recognition for his influential books on relationship, leadership, and public speaking. Among his timeless classics, the Dale Carnegie book list includes How to Win Friends and Influence People is the most influential which inspires millions even today.
Official Website
Quotation Source:
| If you want raises, raise your standards |
| Publication Year/Date: Unknown (mid-20th-century compilation) ISBN/Unique Identifier: Unknown Last edition. Number of pages: Common reprints ~192–240 pages (varies by printing) |
| Chapter 21 Standards that Stand Out, Unverified – Edition 1965, page range ~169–176 |
Context
Carnegie was writing this in a post-war America where opportunity was everywhere, but so was competition. This quote sits at the heart of that philosophy. It’s not a passive hope, it’s an active strategy. He was telling people that the key to getting ahead was already in their hands.
Usage Examples
For the frustrated employee: Instead of drafting that “I deserve a raise email”, draft a plan. “Here are three new skills I will master this quarter. Here’s a process I will improve that will save the company 10 hours a week.” You’re not asking, you’re demonstrating a new standard.
For the struggling entrepreneur: Stop chasing every dollar. Raise your standard on who your ideal client is. Raise your standard on the quality of your product. The right money will follow the right work. I’ve seen it happen every single time.
To whom it appeals?
| Audience | creatives (14), professionals (125), sales teams (4), students (397), tradespeople (1) |
|---|---|
This quote can be used in following contexts: sales training,career coaching,performance planning,portfolio reviews,skill bootcamps
Common Questions
Question: What if I raise my standards but my boss doesn’t notice?
Answer: Then you’ve still won. You now have a higher personal benchmark, which makes you more valuable everywhere, not just at that one job. But more often than not, that level of performance becomes its own marketing.
Question: Isn’t this just blaming the employee for not getting a raise?
Answer: It’s not about blame, it’s about agency. It shifts your focus from what you can’t control (your boss’s decision) to what you can control (your own growth and output). It’s empowering, not victim-blaming.
Question: How do you actually raise your standards?
Answer: It starts with a simple audit. Where are you cutting corners? What good enough result are you accepting? Pick one area, like the depth of your research, the polish on your presentations, or your response time to emails, and commit to a new, uncompromising level of quality in that single area. Just one. Master that, and the mindset will spread.