There can be little doubt that the winds of change are sweeping through the field of people management. While traditional HR is increasingly being outsourced, there is a simultaneous drive for ‘Strategic HR’ that is a clear indication of the recognition that people are truly the most important asset, and the need to make better use of them. After all, tougher competition calls for continuous improvement, which in turn requires change and change cannot be delivered without people.

Clearly then the demand is for greater people effectiveness. That is why I am so excited about what I am offering, because I truly believe it offers the solution to greater effectiveness, at the personal level and hence – as an inevitable consequence – at the organisational level. If you really want to understand what I am talking about please just click here to download my paper, "Lighting the Fuse."

To get the best of people it is essential to provide an environment in which they are allowed to give their best; one in which they can begin to fulfil their own potential and in which they feel happy, not least because they know they are contributing.

“Lighting the Fuse” illustrates how you can begin to do achieve this. It shows:

• The extent to which human ability is wasted in most organisations.
• How some organisations – and not necessarily commercial ones – have far outperformed others in their field.
• How the principles used by such organisations can be translated into a practical means to eliminate such waste and to make people – and their workplaces – more effective.

In doing so it offers a framework for the new tools required for the management toolbox. Historic HR/People Management tools have proved largely incapable of driving sustained personal effectiveness. There may be many reasons for this, but I would argue that perhaps the most fundamental one is that they all fail to recognise that personal motivation comes from within, and thus, with the best will in the world, cannot be compelled – least of all in a world where personal rights have become sacrosanct.

Despite this, few new tools have been added to the management toolbox and companies persist in using dubious old ones; partly because they see no alternative and, even more regrettably, partly because “if XYZ uses it, it must be good.” Here, at last, is a new approach that is entirely logical and that offers a basis for removing the uncertainty from people management and making it a practical and valuable contributor to organisational performance.

Your Take

Obviously you don’t have to take my word for it! But please read “Lighting the Fuse” and then let me know what you think. Just as there is no such thing as bad publicity, there is no such thing as negative feedback and I look forward to your comments. Hopefully you will agree it is the El Dorado of organisational effectiveness!