People are problems

There is no doubt about it, in almost any situation, the majority of problems are caused by the ‘human element’, even if we’re reluctant to acknowledge it. Whilst technologies that change the role of humans, or replace them all together, are being developed every day, people are still a significant factor in most things so solid management is key. What we’ve seen over the past few days with the Microsoft/ Crowdstrike IT failure is that the tech wasn’t the issue, it was the people behind it that caused the error.

Most failures take out the ‘human element’ and focus the blame on external factors…it was a recession, the interest rates were too high, a supplier went bust, inflation caused our costs too rise too high…it’s all bullshit excuses that ignore mismanagement. It’s not all negative though, people can also be your competitive advantage. Seek out exceptional people, the ones that put the business before themselves, who get the plan and make things happen. Our successes have came from strong management and great people.

Reviewing past performance with blunt honesty is important to Leanne and I. It’s the only way to pin point the true cause of problems, so they can be rooted out, or minimised in the future. As the leaders in our businesses, many of the issues trace back to us; a decision we made, someone we hired, we were too slow to make a change, and we take personal responsibility for it, and we also expect our people to do the same. We’re vigilant of people that put themselves before the business, making themselves appear to be required or necessary. Some people are experts at self-preservation, they can appear essential, however really they’re not. Reviewing failures can be painful, especially when you’re the one responsible, however burying your head or blaming external factors only leads to bigger problems.

We have high expectations of ourselves, and for our people, and the same is true of the reverse, they have high expectations of us, and themselves. Our businesses are fast-paced and often the stakes are high, so we need our top team to perform at their best. We need to trust, when the stakes are highest, each of our people will win their own battles, everyone needs to deliver for the benefit of the whole.

This isn’t just true in the business world, it’s the same with family and friends. You’ll undoubtedly have people that only ever come to you with problems or drama, blaming circumstance for all their issues. I love problems, and I ALWAYS expect to overcome them, it’s in these moments where lessons are learned and growth happens. I actively look for these lessons, never excuses. That’s the beauty of fucking things up…you learn huge lessons that makes you better equipped for the future.

I’m currently training to get my helicopter pilot licence, and the stats behind failures in the flight game are pretty stark…99% of all accidents are caused by human error, the hardware and technology almost never fails, it’s a human problem. It’s incredible that even in something as heavily regulated as aviation, it’s still people that cause the problems.

I hate the blame game, it shows a total lack of self-respect. The Covid pandemic has been a well-used excuse for a while now, as too has the interest rates hike, however every business around the world had to operate under the same conditions and some thrived whilst others failed. For me, the main difference is solid management and the ability to pivot quickly. Blaming the business environment is lazy, and lacks accountability. Look at those businesses that have been around for generations, they’ve been through it all, yet found a way to survive.

Solid management and complete accountability is the way forward in my opinion. Businesses are going to employ people, and people are going to cause problems, however being able to minimise these, or identify them faster and make changes could be the difference between a temporary failure, or a fatal one. PEOPLE ARE THE PROBLEM, and most successful businesses understand this.