Can A Business Still Be Profitable When People Skills Are Absent?

In our current world of rapid and amazing technological advances, many entrepreneurs have managed to dramatically limit the need for staff in highly profitable operations of all kinds.

It is therefore tempting and believable to imagine that with every passing day, the need for people skills is diminishing. In fact most entrepreneurs are convinced that one no longer requires people skills to run a highly profitable enterprise. After all technology can do it all for you.

This is both an unfortunate and inaccurate view that can cause a great deal of trouble.

While it is true that technology has resulted in much leaner staffed enterprises, the truth of the matter is that businesses still need people. They need people to run the technology and more importantly to make important decisions that will impact on the company and its products and services for years to come.

Although the numbers have drastically been reduced, the role of workers and staff in companies has dramatically risen in importance. The fact that you have fewer people running a multi-million dollar operation means that human checks and balances are virtually non-existent. So in effect you will need more reliable and dedicated staff members. There is no way you can achieve this without actively promoting people skills in your organization.

It is actually scary that much more power has been put in the hands of fewer people. Meaning that disillusioned and unmotivated workers can cause great damage to any enterprise if they choose to throw a monkey wrench in the works.

While a business may at first seem to be hugely successful and profitable, even without the active promotion and nurturing of people skills, this is definitely not a situation that can be sustained for long.

The correct long-term approach would be to actively nurture people skills in the top echelons of the business and to promote active staff participation in the management and operations of the business. Nurturing highly motivated workers who will actively contribute creative ideas for improvement in the enterprise is an investment that will pay big for years to come for any management team that makes the effort.

Copyright © 2005 Chuck Yorke - All Rights Reserved

Chuck Yorke is an organizational development and performance improvement specialist, trainer, consultant and speaker. His specialty is helping companies improve by tapping into the creative ideas of their workers. He is also co-author, along with Norman Bodek, of All You Gotta Do Is Ask, a book that explains how to promote large numbers of ideas from employees. Chuck may be reached at ChuckYorke@yahoo.com

http://www.peoplekaizen.com/

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Palestinians survey a kindergarten destroyed after an Israeli air strike in Gaza January 8, 2009. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)AP - The U.N. Security Council called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, but an intense bombardment of missiles from Israeli jets and helicopters early Friday and a barrage of Hamas rockets indicated there may be no quick end to the fighting.



Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock) votes to recommend the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the House during an Illinois House Impeachment Committee hearing Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, in Springfield, Ill. The committee voted unanimously to recommend impeachment putting the matter before the full house.  (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.



Pay Equity pioneer Lily Ledbetter addresses the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008 file photo. Democrats are ushering in what they believe will be a new labor-friendly era in Washington with House votes on two bills aimed at helping women fight pay discrimination in the workplace. The House was to vote on the bills Friday Jan. 9, 2009, and they could reach Barack Obama's desk soon after he enters the White House.  One of the bills, the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, is a response to a 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it more difficult to sue over past pay discrimination.  (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, FILE)AP - Democrats are ushering in what they believe will be a new labor-friendly era in Washington with House votes on two bills aimed at helping women fight pay discrimination in the workplace.



A sign instructs job seekers at the California Employment Development Department in Sunnyvale, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. The country lost nearly 2 million jobs through November and more bad news is expected this week when the government releases data on weekly jobless claims and December unemployment. No matter how bad those numbers are, and economists expect at least another 500,000 jobs were lost last month, the pain is stretching into 2009.  (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.



In this Monday, Dec. 29, 2008 file image provided by Greenpeace, coal ash slurry left behind in a containment pond near the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant is shown  in Harriman, Tenn., after the dyke at left broke Dec. 22, 2008. Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated. (AP Photo/Greeenpeace, Wade Payne)AP - Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the federal government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has left unregulated.



In this Dec. 5, 2006 file photo, Leon Panetta, then a member of the Iraq Study Group, walks into a Washington hotel.    (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)AP - President-elect Barack Obama is completing his national security team by announcing his unusual choices for CIA director and a national intelligence director who may face tough Senate confirmation questioning over how he confronted the Indonesian military when civilian massacres were occurring in East Timor.



In this Dec. 1, 2008 file photo, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, second left, speaks as Vice President-elect Joe Biden, left, President-elect Barack Obama; and Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton, far right, listen at a news conference in Chicago.  (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)AP - Just minutes after George W. Bush took the oath of office eight years ago, he signed papers formally nominating 13 Cabinet-level officials. Several hours later, the Senate, meeting in a special Saturday session, confirmed seven Cabinet secretaries, including the heads of the key posts at State, Treasury and Defense.



US President-elect Barack Obama speaks on the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Obama proposed tax cuts and a green energy push to avert economic disaster, but drew a skeptical reaction in Congress to aspects of his huge stimulus package.(AFP/Mandel Ngan)AP - Lawmakers are under orders to finish action on President-elect Barack Obama's nearly $800 billion economic recovery plan by mid-February. But already it is plain that a set of serious fissures need to be bridged if the bill is to be completed within five weeks.



Freida Pinto backstage with the best picture award for 'Slumdog Millionaire' at the 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards on Thursday Jan. 8, 2009 in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)AP - The critics have spoken, and "Slumdog Millionaire" is their final answer.



Florida coach Urban Meyer is doused during the fourth quarter of the BCS Championship NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Miami, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Florida defeated Oklahoma 24-14. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)AP - The game defied expectations. Tim Tebow fulfilled them. He rescued No. 1 Florida, running through and throwing over No. 2 Oklahoma for a 24-14 victory Thursday night that gave the Gators their second BCS championship in three years.



Jaclyn Holt (R) fills out an application form at a job fair organized by the New Hampshire Employment Security agency in Salem, New Hampshire December 17, 2008. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)Reuters - U.S. employers probably cut the most jobs in at least 34 years last month as the global economic crisis gathered pace and moves by policy makers took time to filter through to struggling companies.



An Israeli soldier covers his ears after firing a mortar mounted on an armoured personal carrier (APC) towards Gaza from its position outside the northern Gaza Strip January 9, 2009. (Yannis Behrakis/Reuters)Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip, ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.



Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

A man works near a pressure gauge at a district heating plant in Skopje January 8, 2009. (Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters)Reuters - Europe sought a swift restoration of gas supplies on Friday after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a pricing dispute with Kiev.



People taking the Long Island Foreclosure Tour arrive at a foreclosed home for sale in New Hyde Park, New York in this May 17, 2008 file photo. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.



Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gestures as he announces former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris as his choice to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois December 30, 2008. (Frank Polich/Reuters)Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.



Timothy Geithner (R), pictured in Chicago, November 24, 2008. (Jeff Haynes/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is urgently overhauling the $700 billion financial rescue package to broaden its scope beyond Wall Street, The Washington Post reported on Friday.



Usama al-Kini, Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan, is pictured in this undated FBI Most Wanted photograph. Al-Kini, also known as Fahid Mohammed Ally Msalam, and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on January 8, 2009, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership. Operations chief al-Kini was thought responsible for attacks, including the bombing of a Marriott hotel in Islamabad that killed 55 people in September, and an unsuccessful attempt to kill former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was later assassinated in a separate attack, the official said. (FBI/Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan and a top aide are believed to be dead, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Thursday, in what appeared to be the latest results of a campaign targeting the militant group's leadership.



An Israeli army tank takes position on a hill at the border between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip on January 8, 2009. Israel was under intense pressure Friday to end its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip after the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the war rose past 760.(AFP/David Buimovitch)AFP - Israel carried out new deadly air raids on the Gaza Strip on Friday as the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire to end the two-week-old conflict in the Palestinian enclave.



A man carries firewood in the suburbs of Sofia, Bulgaria. European states deprived of Russian gas amid freezing weather were Friday hoping for a resumption of deliveries after the European Union claimed a breakthrough in the crisis between Moscow and Kiev.(AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)AFP - European states deprived of Russian gas amid freezing weather were Friday hoping for a resumption of deliveries after the European Union claimed a breakthrough in the crisis between Moscow and Kiev.




How to Create Trust

People buy from you, offer help, and grant rewards based on trust.... Read More

How to Dodge Distribution Difficulties

It happened again. I ran into an old friend while registering for... Read More

Biometrics and ?Return On Investment?

At this time of tight budgets, the mantra of business is "Return... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - The 4th C: Cumulative Money Problems

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate... Read More

Focus and Shoot

One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)... Read More

ISO 9001 2000, Getting Started on The Route To Registration

ISO 9001 2000, Getting startedBefore starting the ISO 9001 2000 route to... Read More

Warning! Meeting In Progress; May Be Hazardous To Your Career

There ought to be a sign posted on every closed office and... Read More

The Importance of Business Goals

For you to get where you want to go, there are four... Read More

One Simple Idea to Grow Your Business

Perhaps the most common theme I've heard in working with business owners... Read More

Improving Your Inter-Company Communications At No Cost

It's all very well having a flashy (and expensive) advertising campaign, backed... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Providing Career Opportunity

This article relates to the Career Opportunity competency, commonly evaluated in employee... Read More

How To Get 10% More Work Out Of Your Employees

It is getting harder to run a business for a profit. We... Read More

The 5 Obsessions of a Passionate Employee

A recent report entitled "How Google Grows?and Grows?and Grows" stated that the... Read More

Making Change Work

Shaky FoundationsWhilst over 60% of businesses will be looking to implement some... Read More

Measuring Creativity, DIY style

Creativity measurement is often required in order to benchmark existing competencies, monitor... Read More

How Your Business Can Pick A Software Developer

Eventually, your business is going to need to have some software development.... Read More

The Retailers Calendar

The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every... Read More

Drafting an Employee Manual Sample Outline

One of the hardest things I had discovered running my company was... Read More

Questions To Ask Employees You Want To Retain

Times of cost cutting and downsizing has dramatically impacted the way employees... Read More

So, You Want to be in Management? Five Essential Factors that Will Determine Your Chances

The following information is based upon over 500 interviews with senior executives... Read More

Solve Problems Permanently - Ask WHY

As Albert Einstein said:-"The significant problems we face today, cannot be solved... Read More

Train Me -- But Follow Through

My mechanic has me trained. When I take my car in for... Read More

Online Business Peace of Mind

Is your online business disaster-proof? Online businesses face a unique set of... Read More

Training and ROI (Return On Investment)

Statistics consistently reinforce that the biggest challenge in today's contact center environment... Read More

Problem Solving

When problem solving, you may recognize that you were working on a... Read More

What Every Manager Should Know About How to Enhance the Motivational Climate of the Workplace

It has been well documented that employees' productivity and job quality increase... Read More

Bolster Credibility with Investors--Avoid These Phrases in Your Business Plan

Remember Papa John's commercial on TV with the slogan "Better Ingredients, Better... Read More

Budgets!

Budgets! There I've said it. For some the most hated and feared... Read More

Check Your Communication Skills

Use this check list to assess your communication skills.Focus* Do you pay... Read More

11 Strategies on How to Work in An Open Plan Environment

Many work environments now are open plan, with only a few senior... Read More

Behavioral Extensions and Its Implications at Workplaces

The study of Behavioral extension involves investigating the source of an actual... Read More

Lawyers With 2 Hands And Everything Else

I heard this back a few years ago. The boss yelled, "Get... Read More

How To Decrease Downtime and Increase Productivity

All maintenance activities of the workforce must be documented, this includes breakdown... Read More

The Dog That Didnt Bark

A few weeks ago, after consultations with others in an association I... Read More

Business Innovation ? Ignoring Content

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation... Read More

The Leaders Fallacy May Be Howard Deans Undoing

Howard Dean's tenure as chairman of the Democratic National Committee will be... Read More

Downsizing in Organisations - The Real Truth

I've met and worked with many people in all sectors of the... Read More

Small Business Outsourcing: An Introduction

Outsourcing is the delegation of a business process to an external service... Read More

5 Surefire Ways to Bring Your Business Objectives Full Circle with Technology

All small to mid-sized company owners want to know where their dollar... Read More

A Fast and Simple Way to Update Your Business

You open your computer, the flashing button says, "We have a new... Read More

Why You Need a Business Plan

This article was originally called "Do You Need a Business Plan?"The title... Read More

Learning To Let Go

If you have the entrepreneurial spirit (which clearly you have!), you probably... Read More

Toxic Bosses

What's everyone's favorite topic around the water cooler? Bad bosses! You know,... Read More

Get Down With OCP: Evaluating DBA Job Applicants in an OCP World

Not long ago, weeding through DBA applicants with a tech interview was... Read More

Five Days to More Effective Inventory Management

The litany of headaches related to the implementation and on-going care-and-feeding of... Read More

Innovation Management: Radical Innovation

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation... Read More

When Change Is In the Wind...Heads Up!

In these days of takeovers and mergers, of downsizings and lean management,... Read More