When times get tough, organisations often look for ways to cut costs. It’s standard practise. We all “know” that you can only raise profits by increasing turnover or cutting costs. If you’re hovering just above break-even, cut costs by 1% and you can increase profits by 10%.Done carefully, it can be successful, but cutting costs is demotivating; it creates fear and resentment that remain in the culture and cuts in the wrong place lose sales.
But there’s another way. As they don’t appear on the profit & loss reports, and are rarely mentioned on a balance sheet, businesses often forget all about their most valuable asset – the people.
It’s like your computer. If it’s had no attention for a couple of years, what happens? It was fast but now it’s slow. If you give it to an expert to sort out the hardware and software, and to clear out all the bits and bobs it’s picked up along the way that are slowing it down, suddenly it’s performing again.
Believe it or not, it’s the same with people. But the answer isn’t just skills-based training focussed in the traditional way, nor is it about flogging people harder. It’s about releasing their capacity for more intelligent solutions. The new productivity is in how we know ourselves, the structure and impact of our communication, and the internal arts of building excellence in skill development. Responding afresh, feeling renewed and able to regenerate.
In the past some of you have had success with other methodologies. Benchmarking and business process re-engineering have saved companies lots of money and time; enabled them to become the best in their market.
It’s the same with people. And right now it’s about capacity, productivity, imagination, energy, resilience, time, cost, creativity and regeneration – people.
So, if you work in sales it’s more about relationship and conversation rates – not more numbers. If you work in systems it’s about having them speaking to one another so orders can be fulfilled and money collected. If you work in management it’s about care: allowing your people to be capable of creation. If you work in service it’s about a one-stop ownership and the lifetime value of future sales in your hands. If you work on the telephone it’s about fun; energy creates results. And, if you work in strategy it’s about giving the company something to shout about for the next ten years.
That 1% increase in productivity can bring about a 10% increase in profits too.
If you want to know how, please contact me on 07887 513369 or email joseph3@zeteticmind.com
Best wishes
Joseph
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