Our Companies' Natural resources

We all agree that we need to take care of and protect our natural resources. If we don't, they'll dry up, the planet will be damaged, and our survival will be threatened.

Why don't we do the same with our companies' natural resources, our people?

Company resources - people - are wasted daily, and it's done in numerous ways. Maybe you have a loose culture where anyone can put anyone to work on anything. Sounds crazy, but it happens all the time, and it actually feels exciting - the electricity of people running about, deadlines looming, etc. But, it's not only wasteful, it's detrimental to progress.

That's one of the reasons companies are cutting back on employees, benefits and perks - they're frequently wasted and often hurt the company. Why? A number of reasons.

Sometimes, we can't handle the responsibility. Sometimes, we not only hand off the project, we also hand off the ownership to someone who thinks he or she is helping out and certainly has no ownership. Sometimes, we mistake quantity (number of people on a project) with quality (of ideas, performance, etc.).

When a parent drives her kids and someone else's children to a soccer match, she is responsible for all the kids - she can't be careless; their lives are in her hands. When we put people to work or utilize other resources of our companies, we are responsible for them in the same way.


Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
http://www.labov.com/