Imagine that your boss has asked you for something. That “something” is the product. If you give her the product, she will be satisfied.

But “boss satisfaction” is a goal as unworthy as “customer satisfaction.” You don’t want customers who are merely satisfied—you want customers who succeed wildly because of your efforts, so they rave to all of their friends and family about you and your company.

Same thing with the boss. Satisfying him or her is a mediocre response to the challenge of your job. The boss is not likely to go home and say, “Wow, guess what happened today, honey: Steve did what he was supposed to do! Again!”

Instead, when you get a task, see that as the product, and immediately start thinking about how to deliver the result at a higher level. That’s the “product of the product.”

Say that your manager asks you for a file folder. That’s fine, but she doesn’t really need a file folder. She needs what the file folder will produce for her. Suppose she needs it to prepare for a meeting with a client. Wouldn’t it be helpful if, instead of just throwing the file in front of her, you attached a note that said, “FYI, I looked in LinkedIn to find out more about this client and thought you might want to know that this year is the 25th anniversary of their business. And by the way, remember that the last time you talked to him, his daughter was headed off to college.”

THAT’s the product of the product. Don’t just give what is requested. Anticipate what is really needed and deliver on that. That’s what an “A” player does, while a “C” player just delivers the file folder.

See the difference?

So from now on, deliver not just the product, but the product OF the product, and you will be a superstar.