I’ve written previously concerning why people and organizations struggle to change. When we miss opportunities to do so — we fail to unlock an enormous amount of potential.
There is an enduring theme that must be acknowledged (and added) to that conversation. Organizations are made up of human beings. As human beings, we often struggle to let go of old product frameworks and notions concerning our customers. When organizations face persistent people problems such as low engagement, depleted morale or rising turnover — they also struggle to make progress — and there is a clear reason why this is the case. It’s often not about recognizing a shift.
Let me elaborate.
If there is a single, worrisome story that I observe it is the following:
Company finds great thing. Company begins to rest on its laurels concerning great thing. Company neglects great thing. Company eventually loses great thing. Company begins to decline.
Sadly we are not talking about customers or products — this story is about people. (Please know that I do not view people as “things”.)
Lamenting declining people-centric metrics will not solve people-centric problems. Identifying sub-groups of contributors in the gravest danger of jumping ship — is not the answer. Quantifying the high cost of turnover, is not the answer. (See a great discussion addressing employee engagement here.)
The answer lies in action.
HENRY KOTULA 