Where do people fit into the business model? This may seem like an absurd question….
We have learned that business success depends on having the right mix of the four p’s – price, product, place and promotion.
Now that knowledge management is the key to 21st century business success, the fifth p – people – becomes critical.
HR is positioned to be a strategic director; one tasked with helping the rest of the organization weave people into management information systems.
What if ______________ (your organization) operate like:
- a symphony orchestra playing to a packed audience, enthralled by the gloriously harmonious,
- inspirational music
- or a choir, their voices rising to a magnificent crescendo in the finale of the Hallelujah Chorus
- or a rock group passionately and outrageously overwhelming thousands of their adoring fans
- or a top football team, thrashing their opposition mercilessly, scoring goals almost at will.
Those bullets and the points below are from Peter Nicholls of Work Leisure. Now, pick one of the group types above, or make up your own, then look below and further visualize that each person:
- is committed to working to achieve a clear, mutually-agreed, group goal
- joined the group for their own unique reasons and emotional goals
- loves what they do and what the group is doing
- feels they thrive and come alive while part of the group
- becomes outcome-oriented while participating
- enjoys what they are doing – even at rehearsals, training and practices
- feels a sense of personal accountability for the group’s outcomes
- often achieves the feeling of being in a state of flow during their work/performance
- (may even) find their participation heightens their self esteem, self confidence, self awareness and self belief
Now do you feel frustrated or encouraged? The point of this Collaborative-Action blog and what we do at Abrige Corp., is to help you take baby steps – make small shifts – toward improvement. HR can be a catalyst. I personally will guide you. It is my mission to improve the work lives of millions- one division, one company, at a time.
There are many analogies we can draw from, to visualize how we would like our organizations to be, to feel, for those working in it.
… And then there is that “business” side. Are thoughts of work what caused your frustration (if you felt it)?
I’m not going to start talking about misguided business leaders (I can if you wish and feel free to comment).
For this point I’d like you to give some thought, as deep as you’d like to go, about what you can do. Is it simply business itself that disrupts this visual and puts us back to a reality that is so much different (and, therefore, there is nothing you can do)? I place no judgment. I will say – if there is any spark that something can be done, then let that spark grow (because there is always something that can be done!). What are the drivers of dissatisfaction in your organization? Or is it that people are satisfied, but not motivated? If you were to come up with a few reasons this visual is not mirrored by your organization, what would they be? Better yet, what small shifts might you help your organization make to get closer to the visual of rewarding work that rewards the organization as it expects?
I encourage you to comment. Please do not include any company names or real names in your comments. If you’d like to send me such details, please use the private ASK Lori section or contact me at lori@abrige.com.