What Business Are You In?
by Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Published on this site: April 19th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
"What business are you in?" This is common question
heard from local chambers to networking events throughout
the country. Standard replies include manufacturing, production,
retail, sales or professional services.
However, even though most companies' successes are the result
of their employees' efforts, employees are not considered
part of the business. The focus is the outcomes of their efforts
and not the individuals producing those very same outcomes.
In the Spring of 2001, Jack Welch, now retired CEO and President
of General Electric (GE) stated that GE was "in the people
development business." By focusing on developing the
potential of each employee, Welsh believed the outcome was
a stronger, more creative and higher performing company.
If you wish for your company to become a "people development
business," the following suggestions may assist you.
- Spend more time in people development. Welch spent 75%
of his time developing his people while most executives
spend 25% or less time.
- Walk the talk. Employees often hear executives talking
the talk, but these very same executives fail to apply this
talk to their daily behavior.
- Hire better. Look for employees who are better than you.
If progress is your objective, why would you hire someone
less intelligent and with less potential?
- Create a culture that supports your employees. The entire
organization needs to understand the expectations and feel
comfortable in communicating new ideas to management.
- Trim the non-performers with care. Without a fair evaluation
process that is uniformly practiced, non-performers are
detrimental to the organization and the other performing
employees. Termination should be handled with care and support.
- Ensure alignment of goals. If everyone within the company
identifies the same top 3 organizational goals, then you
understand the value of your people in helping you secure
your vision through these goals or as the often heard phrase
in today's business world "Everyone is rowing in the
same direction.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith is President of ADVANCED SYSTEMS,
The Process Specialist, located near Chicago, IL. She partners
with her clients to connect the 3P's of Passion, Purpose and
Performance to affect sustainable change in 4 key areas: financials,
leadership, relationships and growth and innovation within
a variety of industries from education to manufacturing. Leanne
can be reached at
219.759.5601 or [email protected]
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