Creative Solutions for Business & Education

Friday, 19 June 2009

False Economy

'Our biggest asset is Our people.'

So boasts many a company. But how much do they really engage with that statement. Is it just another trite cliche, there to impress those on the outside?

One of the best indicators for how much a company really thinks about its people and how much it values them is how much it actually invests in them, demonstrated clearly by size of the budget assigned to continue their development, even when times are tough.

I have friends in a number of large, 'innovative', 'people-focussed' organisations whose first axed budget was for training and development. All too often I'm told, 'Stuart, there is no training budget this year. It's been cut in the current economic climate.'

To me that really says, 'As a company we don't really value our people.'

We talk much about investing in people, supporting our staff, being people-focussed when in fact we're anything but!

The most valuable commodities when times are hard are creative and innovative ideas which can only come from our people, not our products. Those creative ideas not only help a company survive and save money in the hard times, they are the gateway to future expansion and success. As one business author wrote, 'Those companies with a survival mentality will die.'

It is those companies that really invest in their people who will reap the rewards, survive and thrive.

Perhaps some of our companies would benefit more from a cut in management during hard times so that the money they save can be invested in those who can change fortunes.

And perhaps then they would actually believe that their biggest asset is their people.

Labels: business rhetoric, change, company assets, corporate business, creativity, human resources, innovation, personal development, recession, say what you mean, training budget

Saturday, 14 February 2009

How Can We Affect Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence in Others?

It is always worth considering what impact we can and do have on the self-esteem and self-confidence of other. If these qualities in us are affected by external input from our parents, peers etc (i.e., others) then we too can have significant impact on the self-esteem and self-confidence in others.

Let’s consider as an example, the boss who wants to add some stretch to the expectations of his staff in order that they can develop and grow in their roles. How can he help them to grow and develop and achieve these goals? I would argue that one way is to reinforce their self-esteem and develop their self-confidence. These promote not only independent thinking and working, but also the security to approach others for assistance if and when needed. But what happens if this boss

Sets targets, and then continually reviews them and re-sets them as they are met?
Sets targets that are simply not achievable?
Introduces so much stretch in the objectives that they push the individual beyond their elastic limit?
Continually focuses on targets that are not being met and ignores those that have been achieved or exceeded?
Provides criticism and objective advice without praise and reward?

These scenarios are all too common in business today; many through pressures to perform in difficult or changing economic climates; many through personal drive or feelings of the need to achieve or survive; many through ignorance. Whatever the reason, the end result is the same; underachievement, low morale, suspicion and loss of best staff (either voluntarily or through ill-health).

When the pinch comes the focus can be turned so strongly onto the objective that we neglect the means of achieving that objective, our staff. Survey after survey shows that the best results, greatest growth and greatest stability arise where people feel valued, rewarded and are given the freedom to try, in other words, where people have a feeling of worth (self-esteem) and the confidence to make a significant and recognised contribution (self-confidence). It’s also interesting that in many cases, reward constitutes little more than acknowledgement and being thanked. It does not necessarily have to be a salary increase or monetary award.

The problem is that in many cases, praise, thanks and acknowledgement have been consigned to the annals of history. The positive side to this is that where there is a cultural change from a praise vacuum to one of acknowledgement, the change in atmosphere, attitude and motivation can be remarkably rapid and greater than could be expected.

So, if encouraging others costs nothing, apart from a bit of pride, self-discipline and effort, but reaps such great rewards, what are the barriers to us starting, now?

Pride?
Time?
Image?
Effort?
Expectations?
Office structure?
... other reasons?

If survival, growth and development are priorities in our businesses then none of these barriers is too great to overcome. Most are personal anyway. And if it is a case of reorganisation or redundancy, then there can be little argument against the case.

The benefits of building self-esteem and self-confidence in others and ourselves are that we are laying the foundations for greater things; creativity and innovation.

More of that next time ...

Labels: barriers to self-confidence self-esteem, building confidence in others, business skills, creativity, encouragement, innovation, management skills, objectives, rewards, self confidence, self esteem, setting goals

Thursday, 18 September 2008

Innovation: Courage to Create Success

Sometimes the first ingredient we need for innovation is courage; courage to go with our convictions, even in the face of opposition.

3M is a global company with a reputation for creativity and innovation, but anyone who has worked in almost any ‘creative and innovative organisation’ will tell you that reputation and actual practice are often poles apart. Sure, they like to take the credit for their public successes but what they don’t publicise so freely is just how much perseverance, tenacity and sheer dogged single-mindedness the individual champions of the case have to be in order to make their individual success a company success.

I was reminded recently of the account of Richard Drew, an iconic figure within 3M culture and the person responsible for not one, but two truly innovative products that put 3M well and truly on the map, both as an organisation and later as an innovative company.

Drew joined 3M with a less than glowing background of being a college dropout who played banjo in dance bands at night whilst studying engineering through a correspondence course. He had an entry level job as a lab technician. One of Drew’s tasks was to take batches of 3M’s Wetodry sandpaper to a nearby St Paul automotive body shop. At the time (1921) two tone colours were all the rage for cars, and on one of Drew’s visits a painter was cursing and swearing because he had just ruined a paint job. There was at that time no way of ensuring a good line between the colours except through the use of glues and paper etc.

Drew saw the problem and decided to come up with a solution.

Now it would be great to say that he was supported by the company for his efforts, but he wasn’t. 3M was a sandpaper manufacturer not a tape manufacturer so Drew had to ‘go underground’ to do his work, experimenting with all sorts of oils and resins to produce a superior adhesive. He was told to stop on at least one occasion and agreed until the attraction of his own little project became too great and he started again. When he had come up with a good prototype, he needed to manufacture the finished article for which he needed a specific piece of machinery. He was refused. So he used his initiative and used a series of $99 sign-offs (he was allowed to authorise payments up to $100) which slipped ‘under the company radar’ to buy the machine.

In 1925, Richard Drew successfully produced the world’s first masking tape with a pressure sensitive adhesive backing … and the rest, as they say, is history. Well it would be if Drew hadn’t come up a few years later with another invention of the first see through adhesive packaging tape, Scotch Tape, again after persevering against the odds.

Of course today, the name of Richard Drew is synonymous with the innovative spirit of the company, but at the time he was making it big for the company through his determination and conviction to succeed, it was a battle; a battle which involved stepping around the rules, lying low, persevering against the odds.

Innovation is often a rough path which is only seen and appreciated by the end-results of products or processes, not during the actual process of arriving (except by those who are driving it).

So the next time we are looking for innovation in our business, we need to remember that it is often a long and winding road, and a road that will require a lot of sweat and toil along the way, not only with the project at hand but with all the devil’s advocates and ‘jobworths’ who tell us that it won’t work. This is why we need to lok at adopting a creative and innovative culture which understands the processes, pitfalls and obstacles and which helps, not hinders the process which is the lifeblood of company survival and expansion.