~ by Alan W
Human beings cannot be replicated. Human beings are more important than technology. Treating people well is fundamental to how we do business. Treat your employees, clients and vendors as you would want to be treated, treat each other like family, and treat yourself to a good day’s work and a good night’s sleep.
Talk about things like trust when you look for people to join your team. Look at trust, not just performance as reasons to judge whether you should let someone on your team because you are ACTUALLY letting them in on your DREAM. Often businesses only want to see employee performance, where they have worked before and their accolades. They never consider trust.
Performance = how good are you at your job.
Trust = your character.
Rather have a medium performer with high trust on your team. A high performer with low trust is toxic and can leave long term damage to your business.
Surrounding yourself with the right people only half solves the people equation. YOUR job is to make them feel important. What defines a great leader? The ability to engage every single person in the company and make them feel indispensable. Be equally generous towards your employees and partners. Always show your appreciation and make everybody feel they’re essential for the well-being of your business. If your employees feel empowered, the business will yield higher results as well.
Build your business around these people. Remember, people are productive, the traditional ways of work are not. Processes, methods, domineering supervision, absence of trust, checking-in, red tape, hierarchies, silo’s. THIS is what's counterproductive. Not the people doing the work itself. People are productive. Challenge these old destructive corporate ways and continue to reinvent how we do business. Matrix structures, lean ways of work, human-centric mindsets, creative freedom, there are so many new ways to approach business in a way that creates a positive impact on people and society at large.
There is SO much to consider in building your business and the people element sits at the core. The people within your business are at the forefront of the experience you create for your customers and clients - almost like a pay it forward chain, good experiences exude throughout your business in the most impactful way to the outside world.
Make your employee’s lives better by making your customers’ lives better.
Make you customers’ lives better by making your employees’ lives better.
Trying to separate the two will only end in tears.
Work with Alan W
“Solving niche challenges founders face”.
Illustrator: Lisa Williams (Instagram: @artist_llw)