If the answer is, "It's People, Stupid," what's the question?
What is the one most important Critical Success Factor for an organization to achieve success?
Much has been written about business management from
Management to Strategy; most focused on creating or adding value. Technology is seen, all too often, as a
panacea; put technology in place, outsource your people and value will
increase. Operations has become a study
in efficiency and automation. Marketing
is a numbers-heuristic. Accounting is
about precision while Finance is about maximizing shareholder value. And so on.
Each professes to ‘have the answer,' but what is the question?
Early in my career (early 1970's) my mentor said, multiple
times, "regardless of what the client tells you, it's always a people
problem." Thirty-four years of
consulting interventions later, I finally believe him. To wit:
If only the people had done their jobs ... but, for some reason, they
didn't. This was in the early 1970's,
but it holds true today. *+Yet, one
defining difference between that era and today is that, at least then,
employees were valued, not a commodity to be re-engineered, right-sized,
laid-off, fired or outsourced.+ *
How did we get to the place where we think the answer is _something
or anything else than this_? My
contention is that it's driven by our need to find a ‘quick solution,' an
expediency of sorts or to sweep it under the rug. We, as managers, don't like problems of any
sort. But people problems are more
puzzling and distressing. "Make this people thingy go away; they're too hard to
figure out and to manage. Give me a
solution, ‘cause I have another problem to fix (or another windmill to joust)."
But, management du'jour doesn't cut it anymore. The latest fad or business book doesn't do
it. Ropes courses won't fix your
problems, nor will fish markets. People, armed with knowledge and encouraged
to meet or exceed expectations, treated with respect will do it for you.
Two fundamental precepts:
pull-off. Just a thought, though. And, maybe one worth some additional reading.
If you think it's a bunch of B/S, go back to your Blackberry
or laptop, treat your people without respect, downsize them or outsource them,
and, then, see what you've got.
But if you feel that perhaps the two fundamental precepts above ‘resonate' with
you, let's collective explore how to proceed.
If your question, then, is:
The formula then is: *People,
armed with knowledge and encouraged to meet or exceed expectations, treated
with respect will do it for you*.
Comments are welcome.
What is the one most important Critical Success Factor for an organization to achieve success?
Much has been written about business management from
Management to Strategy; most focused on creating or adding value. Technology is seen, all too often, as a
panacea; put technology in place, outsource your people and value will
increase. Operations has become a study
in efficiency and automation. Marketing
is a numbers-heuristic. Accounting is
about precision while Finance is about maximizing shareholder value. And so on.
Each professes to ‘have the answer,' but what is the question?
Early in my career (early 1970's) my mentor said, multiple
times, "regardless of what the client tells you, it's always a people
problem." Thirty-four years of
consulting interventions later, I finally believe him. To wit:
- If the
machinery in the plant was constantly down for maintenance, he said it was
the people responsible who were the problem, not the equipment; - If
profits were declining, he would say it wasn't the market;
it was the people of the organization and in Sales and Marketing who
didn't read the market
correctly, or at all; or - If the
newest technological whiz-bang wasn't meeting its expectation; it was the
people who over promised results, under installed, or didn't train
adequately.
If only the people had done their jobs ... but, for some reason, they
didn't. This was in the early 1970's,
but it holds true today. *+Yet, one
defining difference between that era and today is that, at least then,
employees were valued, not a commodity to be re-engineered, right-sized,
laid-off, fired or outsourced.+ *
How did we get to the place where we think the answer is _something
or anything else than this_? My
contention is that it's driven by our need to find a ‘quick solution,' an
expediency of sorts or to sweep it under the rug. We, as managers, don't like problems of any
sort. But people problems are more
puzzling and distressing. "Make this people thingy go away; they're too hard to
figure out and to manage. Give me a
solution, ‘cause I have another problem to fix (or another windmill to joust)."
But, management du'jour doesn't cut it anymore. The latest fad or business book doesn't do
it. Ropes courses won't fix your
problems, nor will fish markets. People, armed with knowledge and encouraged
to meet or exceed expectations, treated with respect will do it for you.
Two fundamental precepts:
- Your
people are the only asset you have; and - Treat
them as you would like to be treated.
pull-off. Just a thought, though. And, maybe one worth some additional reading.
If you think it's a bunch of B/S, go back to your Blackberry
or laptop, treat your people without respect, downsize them or outsource them,
and, then, see what you've got.
But if you feel that perhaps the two fundamental precepts above ‘resonate' with
you, let's collective explore how to proceed.
If your question, then, is:
- How do
I raise shareholder value? - How do
I increase sales and margins? - How do
I increase market share? - How do
I keep up with changing technology? - How do
I _____________________________________ (fill-in-the-blank based on your
current needs or experiences).
The formula then is: *People,
armed with knowledge and encouraged to meet or exceed expectations, treated
with respect will do it for you*.
Comments are welcome.
