I think I finally get it
When I founded Peopletree Group in 1997, it was with someone that had all the heart (@Peter Riches) when I was only concerned with the "head". Peter was a great business partner, and a genuinely wonderful human being. He sadly passed away last year, which got me to thinking about why I've been doing the same thing for the last 25 years.
When I first met Peter I told him I didn't want to work with people I didn't like, or do things that wouldn't last. I've been very fortunate to have limited the first, and had decade long relationships with some excellent clients that have embedded what we do very deeply into their organizations. The idea of doing things that last really resonates with me, but the reality is that "things" don't last, systems last, and ecosystems can last even longer.
An ecosystem is a collection of interacting organisms that try to find a balance where each participant in that system has a net positive gain. Any organism experiencing a net "loss" usually goes extinct, which has a knock on effect for every other organism that depended on it being there. Every now and then an "invasive" species enters the system and takes advantage of it, it takes a lot more than it gives. This inevitably disrupts the ecosystem and sometimes it's resilient enough to survive, other times it is destroyed and replaced.
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It's not much of a stretch to think of organizations as people ecosystems. To build a sustainable people ecosystem everyone in it should feel that they are better off for being there. That doesn't mean everyone gets an equal benefit, but everyone feels that they get an equitable benefit, certainly to point of wanting to stay.
Although Peopletree has always been a data-driven company, the purpose has always been to use that data to make help our clients make their organizations better people ecosystems. We, I, haven't always been clear enough about articulating that, and so sometimes projects have become focused on collecting data, driving data compliance, analyzing data and producing data visualizations. As a company, we will become more clear about why we do what we do, and how it can create better people ecosystems for the people we work with.
I hope to bring more of Peter's legacy to the way we do business, and I believe that the next two generations of leaders that are currently in the business, as well as our clients, will see the benefits of combining the head stuff and the heart stuff.
?? On a quest to help managers manage effectively. With over a decade of experience across 21 African Countries - I specialize in nurturing the vital human element, which forms the heartbeat of every company.
2 年This really brought it all home for me. Thank you for everything.
HR Director at Tsebo Solutions Group
2 年Reminds me of the story of the wolves being introduced into the ecosystem. I still believe Peopletree Group being way ahead of the curve
Freelance copy and translation services
2 年Nice update from your side, oooold friend. Will bug you in private to pick brain about some of the stories I'm currently researching. All the best with that important heart/head quest of yours.
Director at Flow Communications
2 年Yes, yes, yes! Martin I look back at 18 years of web dev work and can count on my hand the number of websites that have "survived" over 10 years. (I often wonder how architects feel when their buildings get knocked down for the next big thing.) So "things" do pass and we always need to keep focused on the bigger picture.
Learning Consultant at Investec
2 年My dad was many things, but first and foremost, he was all heart. Thank you for this homage to him Martin. He would have been deeply moved. As are we!