
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 - 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
People buy from you, offer help, and grant rewards based on trust.... Read More
It happened again. I ran into an old friend while registering for... Read More
At this time of tight budgets, the mantra of business is "Return... Read More
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate... Read More
One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)... Read More
ISO 9001 2000, Getting startedBefore starting the ISO 9001 2000 route to... Read More
There ought to be a sign posted on every closed office and... Read More
For you to get where you want to go, there are four... Read More
Perhaps the most common theme I've heard in working with business owners... Read More
It's all very well having a flashy (and expensive) advertising campaign, backed... Read More
This article relates to the Career Opportunity competency, commonly evaluated in employee... Read More
It is getting harder to run a business for a profit. We... Read More
A recent report entitled "How Google Grows?and Grows?and Grows" stated that the... Read More
Shaky FoundationsWhilst over 60% of businesses will be looking to implement some... Read More
Creativity measurement is often required in order to benchmark existing competencies, monitor... Read More
Eventually, your business is going to need to have some software development.... Read More
The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every... Read More
One of the hardest things I had discovered running my company was... Read More
Times of cost cutting and downsizing has dramatically impacted the way employees... Read More
The following information is based upon over 500 interviews with senior executives... Read More
As Albert Einstein said:-"The significant problems we face today, cannot be solved... Read More
My mechanic has me trained. When I take my car in for... Read More
Is your online business disaster-proof? Online businesses face a unique set of... Read More
Statistics consistently reinforce that the biggest challenge in today's contact center environment... Read More
When problem solving, you may recognize that you were working on a... Read More
It has been well documented that employees' productivity and job quality increase... Read More
Remember Papa John's commercial on TV with the slogan "Better Ingredients, Better... Read More
Budgets! There I've said it. For some the most hated and feared... Read More
Use this check list to assess your communication skills.Focus* Do you pay... Read More
Many work environments now are open plan, with only a few senior... Read More
The study of Behavioral extension involves investigating the source of an actual... Read More
I heard this back a few years ago. The boss yelled, "Get... Read More
All maintenance activities of the workforce must be documented, this includes breakdown... Read More
A few weeks ago, after consultations with others in an association I... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation... Read More
Howard Dean's tenure as chairman of the Democratic National Committee will be... Read More
I've met and worked with many people in all sectors of the... Read More
Outsourcing is the delegation of a business process to an external service... Read More
All small to mid-sized company owners want to know where their dollar... Read More
You open your computer, the flashing button says, "We have a new... Read More
This article was originally called "Do You Need a Business Plan?"The title... Read More
If you have the entrepreneurial spirit (which clearly you have!), you probably... Read More
What's everyone's favorite topic around the water cooler? Bad bosses! You know,... Read More
Not long ago, weeding through DBA applicants with a tech interview was... Read More
The litany of headaches related to the implementation and on-going care-and-feeding of... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation... Read More
In these days of takeovers and mergers, of downsizings and lean management,... Read More
1. Sell more back end products to your existing customer base. You... Read More
Attitudes are more important than facts. Dr. Karl Menninger Attitudes are... Read More
Businesses miss on growth opportunities and even close their doors every day,... Read More
There is a pervasive belief that time pressure stimulates creativity. This is... Read More
JUGGLING DEMANDS: All leaders constantly juggle a multifarious array of demands from... Read More
This article relates to the Manager/Supervisor competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction... Read More
If you're not satfied with the results of your management training programs,... Read More
Question: ERPs seem like a good idea, so why is return on... Read More
Did you know there are 5 types of communication that... Read More
Did you know that business executives spend about half their time sitting... Read More
PREPARING EMPLOYEES FOR THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL INTERVIEWS: Remind employees to give some... Read More
Your use of voice mail tells others a lot about you. Here's... Read More
Today's successful organizations are the ones which carry on open and honest... Read More
Insanity in the Sign & Graphics IndustryEinstein's DefinitionAlbert Einstein once said "The... Read More
There are different reactions that individuals experience during time of change. Understanding... Read More
Time To Market (TTM) is a vital concept that every executive understands.... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation... Read More
Each year many people create a list of resolutions designed to help... Read More
For good reason, practically every endeavor in life is rated. I've seen... Read More
In these days of restricted head count and tight budgets, the question... Read More
It's great to be multi-skilled?be able to type your own correspondence, do... Read More
The Critical Success Factors Focusing on the things that... Read More
1. Trust no one. Not your superiors and not your employees. Especially... Read More
Bringing an HR consultant into your organisation can often be the only... Read More
This article relates to the human resource functions competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More
Virtually any type of organizational change involves role transitions of some type.... Read More
What is the no. 1 asset in your business beside yourself? It's... Read More
Being able to communicate effectively with others requires people skills, and here's... Read More
About a year ago, I had an opportunity to have dinner with... Read More
Bar Charts and the Information ChallengeWhether one is an unknown entrepreneur or... Read More
People talk to me about making personal and professional changes in their... Read More
Employers pay a high price for absenteeism, often more than they may... Read More
One of the first questions we ask a prospect or new client... Read More
"Become the Squeaky Wheel", a new book just published, explains that getting... Read More
This article begins with a tip of the hat to a scholarly... Read More
ACCOUNTABILITY: Delegation is not complete unless subordinates are held accountable for their... Read More
So you did such a good job in 2003 at bringing in... Read More
You can't build a reputation on what you are "going" to do.... Read More
Being a leader isn't easy. Every one looks to you to make... Read More
Which documents must I keep for ISO 9001?In addition to the legislative... Read More
How can I "know who knows" None of us can personally know... Read More
These factors where determined by interviews with and books from very successful... Read More
The time will come when you'll need to interview someone to join... Read More
The Leader's Fallacy lives! We subscribe to the Fallacy when we believe... Read More
Using Employee Opinions Effectively When Designing HR ProgramsEmployee opinion is one of... Read More
As a business owner, time is of the essence. Running a business... Read More
What value is there in leadership or team-building retreats? Just consider the... Read More
Business Management Business Management |