|
It’s the People, Stupid!
With acknowledgement to one
of Louisiana’s most famous or infamous Ragin Cajuns, James Carville elected a president and attained international acclaim with the simple observation – “It’s the Economy, Stupid!” I do not believe anyone will be elected to national office based upon my simple observations in this article but perhaps a few business owners and organizational leaders will start to make better decisions. Hopefully, after honest reflection on the simple ideas that follow, leaders will review their past choices and influence their future decisions by realizing that this world, our organizations, our families, and our cultures are about PEOPLE not numbers! Ideally in the future they’ll consider their customers, employees, personnel and communication systems, and all living, breathing human beings as well as their financial statements in advance of making decisions. Hopefully they’ll unseat or impeach the incumbents in their system (employees and consultants) that are under the mistaken impression that It’s the Numbers, Stupid! If they do, I bet Manes will become as well know in their world as Carville is in the political world. Consider these definitions (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary): People – n. …HUMAN BEINGS, PERSONS… Number – n. a sum of units : TOTAL … Number – vb COUNT, ENUMERATE Culture - 5 a: the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, behavior that depends upon man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations I sit in amazement as educated and well-intentioned
leaders, managers, and consultants (all people themselves) commit to
changing an organizational culture and then begin the process by looking at
numbers! We’re now in recovery from an economic collapse of dot.coms or dot.bombs! The best and the brightest – the supposed future of our world convinced many investors and leaders that the Internet, technology, PCs, e-commerce, and e-mail were the future. These THINGS would make our world better and would make us rich. These folks were wrong – educated and well-intentioned but wrong. The flaw in their thinking was that they confused technology with people, relationships and communications. They thought technology was more important than the person. These folks were well-educated and well-intentioned ______________ (choose a term – geniuses, technology professionals, nerds, egg heads, opportunist, etc.) Today, our recovery is being driven in the short term and threatened in the long term by a group of similarly well-intentioned and educated __________________ (choose a term – consultants, accountants, CPAs, MBAs, bean-counters, opportunists, etc.). They are making the same mistake as their predecessors. They are mistaking NUMBERS with PEOPLE - relationships and communications. Efficiency (doing thing right) is good; effectiveness is great (doing the right thing). BEAN COUNTERS HAVE GREAT VALUE IF YOU, YOUR CUSTOMERS, AND YOUR STAKEHOLDERS ARE BEANS. BEAN COUNTERS HAVE DIMINISHED VALUE IF THE ONLY LINK TO CUSTOMERS AND BEANS IS IN THE EATING. I’m a sales guy and entrepreneur. I believe “nothing
happens until something is sold.” I believe everyone must sell their
products and services (get someone to pay something for what they do). The
reality is that many eggheads and bean counters are resentful of the sales
guys and gals. They think sales people are children of a lesser God. Don’t believe me? Read this excerpt in Managing in the Next Society - Peter Drucker: “One of the biggest mistakes I have made during my career was coining the term profit center, around 1945. The truth is that inside the business, there are only cost centers. The only profit center is a customer whose check hasn’t bounced.” People can be wonderful – courageous, caring, compassionate, creative, generous, loving, wise, etc. People can be evil – hateful, racist, cheap, rude, obnoxious, ignorant, stupid, etc. The one absolute is that people will be people. You can count on this. Prepare and act accordingly. Today businesses are talking about managing change. I personally believe that Visionary companies should be past the stage of managing change. I believe the future belongs to those that can architect change. Peter Drucker correctly states, ”the best way to predict the future is to create it!” As always people will be the key to the future. I’m starting to ramble so I’ll begin my final approach on this subject: GM spends billions on technology, MBAs, and robots yet occasionally a $60,000 Corvette will leave the factory with a rattle because some employee on the assembly line became disgruntled and tossed pennies in the door of the car before welding it closed. A recent federal government study (NIH) indicated that about 95,000 people die in hospitals every year because of medical errors. This is people being people – making mistakes. I heard a physician attempt to explain this away by saying this wasn’t a medical error it was a system problem. Doctor, people design, build, and operate systems. It’s the People, Stupid. Independent Agents and Community Banks continue to survive and prosper in spite of the fact that most consultants have for years predicted their demise. Why? It’s the People, Stupid! Independent Agents and Community Bankers know their customers. Most eggheads and many bean counters believe that future systems will disintermediate the sales person. In response, I’ll quote President George Bush, “bring ‘em on!” If someone really knows, values, and serves a customer they ain’t gonna be disintermediated by a machine. The technology can and will be a tool to facilitate profitable delivery but technology will never be the relationship or the person. Guns don’t kill people; people do. Cigarettes don’t cause cancer; people smoking does. Regardless of our location, age, culture, or economic circumstances, I’m right on the following, we enter the world to the waiting hands and hearts of a person. When we leave the world, our greatest fear is dying alone (without someone holding us close.) I’d bet no one has ever asked to hold their mouse, their laptop, BMW keys, or a spreadsheet as they closed their eyes for the last time. Why? It’s the People, Stupid! Do you and your organization need to change? Probably yes! Why? Because the world is changing. Why is the world changing? Because people and needs change. If your organization is intimate and interdependent with your customer you’ve wasted your time reading this article. You’re ready and probably architecting the future. If your organization has moved it’s finger from the pulse of the customer and put it on the financial records, computer program, or organization chart of your company you need help. Hopefully you haven’t waited too long. Look externally – not internally. If your organizational culture is not right for the future – your customers, it must change. To change the culture you must change the individuals. IF YOUR EMPLOYEES / STAKEHOLDERS ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE CUSTOMERS YOU SERVE THEY MUST CHANGE OR BE REPLACED. If they are unable to adapt offer them a learning experience. If they are unwilling to change offer them motivations so they’ll change themselves (you can’t change them). If they can’t or won’t adapt to the future, replace them. Warning: If you replace employees make certain the new ones have the positive skills, cultural compatibility, attitudes, and behavior that made the exiting employees successful in the past. Make sure they are flexible enough to develop the new skills / attitudes needed in the future. As you begin the process, consider the following: Who or what can make or break your company most
easily / quickly? (If you or your consultants don’t ask this question,
you’re inviting trouble.) Who is your customer? Consider - if individuals age, economics, personality and values, lifestyle, life stage, and life condition. If businesses, consider corporate culture, values, revenue, # of employees, their customers, their industry, Vision / Mission, etc. What does the customer need or want? To feel important and have expectations met. What product or service will meet or exceed these
expectations? Have it or build it. One last quote from Dr. Drucker: “Business has only two functions Marketing and Innovation.” I believe this is because Marketing is about people,
needs, solutions, relationships, communications, etc. Innovation is merely
the recognition that people, their needs, and circumstances change.
Innovation anticipates and reacts to these changes. “Thank you. I’ve always believed in numbers, in the equations and logic and the need to reason. My quest has taken me from the physical, to the metaphysical, to the delusional, and back. But after a full lifetime of such pursuit I ask what truly is life? Who decides reason? I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life. It is only in the mysterious equation of love that logic or reason can be found. I’m only here tonight because of you. Your are the reason I am. You are all my reasons. Thank you.” © Square One Consulting (September 2001) |