“The motherlode of wealth runs not through the executive corridors but through the vocational landscape of frontline employees.” I know I quoted this, from “Firms of Endearment: How World Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose” by Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth and David Wolfe, in my last piece.  The truth that underpins the words, however, is so powerful that I believe they are worth repeating, and cannot be stated too often! It should be at the forefront of every business leader’s, if not every businessperson’s, mind.

Why?

What is the key driver of the success of your business? Pause and take some time to think about the answer to that question. When you have done so write down your answer in as few words as possible. Then, and only then, read on.

Energy, food, fuel – the costs of all the basic essentials of life are increasing dramatically and rapidly. No wonder there is concern about inflation and widespread talk of a “cost of living crisis.” For all but the highest earners and the wealthy, life is increasingly becoming a question of what to do in order to survive.

This puts pressure on employers. After all, if you want to safeguard your operations, you need to ensure that you have the full attention, capacity and capability of your employees. In such circumstances this is hardly likely. Yet, while the news is full of stories of people who are struggling from payday to payday, there are never any reports of employers who are doing anything about it.  

There can be little doubt that the world is in crisis. The number of issues humanity is facing seems to increase daily. Soaring inflation and a cost of living crisis, climate change, the war in Ukraine and the threat of global food shortages, millions of displaced people, increasing political polarisation are only some of the challenges we face. And all are largely unprecedented. And one thing is certain – we cannot meet them with historic solutions. As Albert Einstein said, “You cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that created it!”  

Many of these problems are the result of issues that have troubled me for years. However, as someone who always looks to solve problems rather than criticising or complaining about things, I have always sought to answers. And as matters have increased my concerns, and made me anxious about the overall trend, my efforts have multiplied. This has led me to make more effort to develop and share my solutions, culminating in my latest book, “Searching For Better.”

Unless you’ve been out of the UK for the past week or so, you will undoubtedly be aware that P&O Ferries has been in the headlines. This followed their firing of 800 employees and immediately replacing them with agency staff. Now, it is hardly unheard of to announce a redundancy programme of that sort of number of employees, but it is pretty unusual when that number represents 46% of your entire workforce! Yet even that wasn’t what created the backlash of this announcement.

No, what really created the storm is the way the whole affair was handled, because:

1. The employees (a number with over 30 years’ service) were notified via a short (three-minute) video-link and expected to immediately evacuate their vessels and go home with security guards on hand to escort them off;
2. Their agency replacements were waiting on shore to board immediately after they had disembarked.  

Not since I saw the redundancy of an entire division of employees who were all in the top ten percent of performers, have I witnessed anything like it. Headlines are referring to it as an extreme example of the ugly side of capitalism. But it isn’t. It is just a further revelation of asinine management and the complete lack of understanding of the value of people and the consequence of treating employees exclusively as costs.

A quick attempt to model the numbers gives a quick idea of the thinking behind the decision.

“In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin may have been correct about the inevitably of death and taxes, but they are not the only certainty in life. You can definitely add change to the list.

Describing change and the pace of change and the increased complexity it creates as a critical factor of modern life is rather a cliché. It is so much a factor of life that, as long ago as 2010, managing it was cited as the biggest concern for C-Suite executives. (IBM: Capitalizing on Complexity. Insights from the Global Chief Executive Study)  Yet it seems odd how little the need for adaptability follows from such discussion. Or, even worse, how little adaptability is recognised as being a people management issue.  

“Our people are our greatest asset” How often have your heard that statement from an organisational leader? I bet you have and more than once! Perhaps you’ve even said it yourself.

Yet, how much do you believe it?

No doubt everyone who says it means it sincerely. But how much scepticism does it garner?  Especially amongst the employees concerned? The fact is that it is a dangerous statement to make because, unless you actually account for, manage and treat your people as assets, calling them assets simply makes you a hypocrite!

It doesn’t matter how nicely you treat your people, or how considerate you are to your employees, you ultimately account for, manage and treat them as costs. Of course that’s not your fault. It is traditional accounting convention. But, like it or not, that unavoidably makes you a hypocrite. But that’s not it’s only short-coming.

Every good executive and any well-run organisation has a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP). For the last half century or more – ever since computers became an integral part of doing business, and perhaps even before that – a plan for meeting and recovering from disaster has been deemed an essential part of  good organisational governance. The Coronavirus pandemic provides a glaring example of why you need one. Unfortunately, it also provides a good example of poor Disaster Recovery Planning.

“Motivation is the reason that people develop talent in the first place.” That line from Adam Grant’s book “Give and Take” really made me stop and think! Imagine the talent, and its impact, if everyone was motivated – especially in business! Yet somehow we don’t do enough to realise this.  

Several years ago the “war for talent” was a major management topic. Now you seldom, if ever, hear it mentioned. Instead the big themes of today seem to be “big data” and “artificial intelligence.” No doubt these are important and denote significant changes to the way businesses and organisations operate, but you risk failing to reap their full benefit if you neglect talent.

As a business leader you invest a fair proportion of your time in your organisation’s brand – consciously and unconsciously. Your efforts are conscious when setting strategy and corporate culture objectives but mostly unconscious when overseeing daily operations. Needless to say, this can have a diluting effect on your brand building.

Why?