B4B companies are H4H companies too

(Reading time - 3 minutes. If you liked the B4B idea, you will like this too)

"Leaders always spoke of putting people first, then treated them like cogs in a machine."

Sounds familiar?

As a leader or as a follower, are you privy to excel sheets that circulate time to time? Or have you come across emails, copied to a few, which more or less say this:

"I want you to remove 10% of your staff by end of this month. Go figure."

"How many people can you remove from your business without disrupting growth?"

"Our P&L is hit this quarter. We need to flatten the organisation. No excuses. Just get the job done."

Jack Welch called it 20-70-10 principle. Where the last 10% had to be pruned. Some call it normal distribution curve that automatically spring cleans poor performers every year. Sooner, that rule was extended to give 'hair cut' to dying businesses which simply wanted to jettison people.

Even worse is when a company is not transparent about its restructuring plan and yet shouts for humanity in their mission statement. Hypocrisy at its best.

Haven't we seen it all?

Well, you can call this as the corporate world behaviour. I simply call it 'being selfish'. Let me explain why in a moment.

Why companies adopt 'cog mentality'?

In the industrial era, companies spend huge amount of time and resources to hire people. They wanted them to build products in a hurry, find and go to market, sell and service their customers and finally renew deals. In most cases, customers did not have a choice as they had to pick between company A or B.

Often times, stake holders in the customer environment needed a justification to buy from a reputed brand so that they don't get fired. There was a saying. "If you buy from IBM or Accenture you don't get fired". This approach worked for decades. Not out of choice but out of desperation.

Now, this equation is flipped on its head. Traditional companies, that have industrial era models, are stuck with their products and services. Customers are not interested in buying widgets anymore. They are in the market to buy outcomes and experiences.

For example, in the tech industry, both hardware and software revenues are plummeting. No takers. It's decimation.

When this happened, the big companies were caught unawares. Completely found out.

So what do you think they are they doing? Thinking deep? Nope. The usual approach.

They are just jettisoning businesses (assets) or sending people home. In droves.

Leaders are dropping people when they find them not so useful. People who were once called a talent have now become a resource. Dispensable. The ones that can be paid off and let go the same day.

Heard this from one of the leaders from a reputed MNC in a M&A situation. "Everyman to himself. Just take care of yourself. Don't trust anyone".

This is like our brain telling the body to drop the left toe as it is not so useful in our daily lives.

Fortunately, nature has not designed its system and rules based on short term capitalistic thinking. It is far more generous and accommodative in allowing people to fix their inefficiencies, even regenerate and live their best lives.

Leaders, in most of the companies today, don't operate with a mental model that people are fundamentally good.

This is purely inhuman.

What does this approach do to people?

Makes them actively get dis-engaged at work.

Of late, we have yet another symptom that is plaguing the corporate world - employee dis-engagement.

Over 68% of the people are not engaged at work. Yet again this is just a symptom of how we have gone wrong in designing organisations that are supposed to allow people excel and get the best work from everyone involved.

Instead, people at work don't get an opportunity to do what they do best each day, don't have someone who encourages their development and don't believe that their opinions count. The three fundamental factors that drive human performance.

The principles of organisation design in many companies are not in line with what will drive customer success and how can we best align talent to achieve this.

On the contrary, it is designed based on just one principle - what will deliver maximum share holder value - profits, executive bonuses, earnings per share and market cap.

Baring few exceptions, don't you think this is the predominant model followed?

Wouldn't you agree?

What is Human for Human (H4H) principle?

It's simple. How can we humans, in a business context, come together based on trust, organise ourselves optimally, deliver our best work (in line with our potential and interest) to achieve customer success?

Is it not that simple? Did I say anything so complicated?

Yet, why is this so difficult to achieve?

Then again why do we see bankers play foul all the time, CEOs land millions in golden parachute while their companies fail, leaders let go people while their own capabilities are questionable and finally, why is under writing customer success so alien?

These days companies are investing 20% to 50% of their revenues in selling to customers. Why so?

If we trusted our customers and built something that they deeply cared for and wanted, don't you think we could have helped our customers buy than sell?

Have we lost faith and trust in humanity? Are we operating on the principles of selfish gains at someone's expense?

What does it take for us to operate from a place of trust and deep empathy for all the stake holders (share holders, customers, employees, partners) involved?

Why this approach is no longer sustainable?

Finally, the short term profit driven ‘use and throw’ resource model has been completely found out. Thanks to both the social era led by digital disruption and the customers who have taken charge.

The leaders in the corporate world have to change their mental model, thinking and behaviour big time. This time there is no hiding or running away.

You can no longer bull doze your strategic intent forward in just one way. Nokia tried hard. It succumbed to Apple. Now Dell & EMC are trying hard. Time will tell.

Going forward, companies have no choice but to work backwards from what the customer wants. Customer era has finally arrived. They are no longer the entity at the end of the value chain. They are bang in the center of your business model.

To add to this misery, companies have to grapple with talent shortage. Both skills change, new ways of working (freelance, contracting) and idea economy is placing a premium on talent. Era of hire, orient, deploy, appraise, promote, fire (when not needed) is truly over.

You have to inspire to hire good talent.

Companies, in the social era, have no choice but to build a business that stands for their customer success (outcomes and experiences) and design internally to attract top talent and stand behind for people success.

So what should leaders do in the social era?

Follow a simple and straight forward principle.

"Leading with your heart can make your business successful"

What does this truly mean?

1  Build a Business for other Businesses to be successful (a B4B company)

2  Develop people to stand for people to achieve that objective (a H4H company)

Both these principles operate from a place of trust, empathy and connection. Without these ingredients your business is bound to loose steam and might even sign its own obituary sooner than later.

But if you get this right, you probably have a chance. A chance to build something unique, differentiated, loved and even be revered like great brands such as Apple, Wells Fargo, South West, Singapore Airlines and Nike.

So let’s wake up. Let’s build a business for business. Cement it with principle of human for humans. That to me sounds like a solid model to pursue a sustainable triple bottom line – people, profit and planet.

Would you agree?

Follow through articles on B4B idea

1) B2B is dead. B4B is born. [5 Minutes read. Plenty of examples and inquiry].

2) Why B4B Selling is the way to go? [3 minute read. Challenges B2B seller's thinking]

3) Are you a B2B or B4B company? [4 minutes read. Many examples to illustrate the point]

About Agility Nexus

Agility Nexus is a Sales and Business Consulting and Coaching company serving business leaders in Technology Industry to accelerate revenue generation. We consult, coach, train and solve problems at the intersection of marketing and sales. We blend various strategies including Emotional Intelligence to help sellers better connect, engage with customers and offer great customer experience.

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