We Say "It's All About The People"!!

It's A Great Quote, But What Would "The People" Say?

I have learned one "Sure Truth" in business; No matter what business we are in, it's always about people. I have heard very intelligent, savvy business leaders actually say that it's really more about delivery and innovation than it is about people. Last time I checked, it was “the people” who developed that innovation, created the equipment, and produced, inspected, packaged, and delivered the product or service to the customer. The people we employ, the people we call customers/clients, the people who are our vendors or suppliers and yes, even us owners all live and breathe; we are not human doings but human beings! As people we each have our own have emotions, personalities, fears, skills, strengths, weaknesses, triumphs and failures; it's what makes us human. However, many times the leaders of companies only see employees as human doings.

Many owners believe it's really only about people, both the employees and customers, if they are in a "Service Business". Really, what company is NOT in the business of servicing their customers and their employees making the difference? It doesn't matter if a company makes widgets, sells insurance, farms the land, trades futures, cleans offices, delivers the mail or constructs buildings we all have one thing in common; we need people to get it done and we all serve the people we are doing it for. "Every transaction involves interaction, and every interaction is a transaction". Here's how the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines that very statement:

• 1 a : something transacted; especially : an exchange or transfer of goods, services, or funds <electronic transactions> b plural : the often published record of the meeting of a society or association
• 2 a : an act, process, or instance of transacting b : a communicative action or activity involving two parties or things that reciprocally affect or influence each other

Your employees interact with your customers directly or indirectly every day. This is a good place to talk about the "Words" we use in a transaction, not just the process of a transaction of “Goods and Services”. Given definition 2b “a communicative action or activity involving two parties or things that reciprocally affect or influence each other”.?The "Words" spoken to another person in any transaction has the power to "build up" or "tear down". We have the power to speak life or death into another. What you can either be hurtful or helpful, to edify or crucify. Because of its power, "words" carry a significant responsibility upon the person using them, especially when in a leadership role.

In life and in business, the person who has authority over others will have a direct impact on the success or failure of others as a whole. If you truly call yourself a "Leader", the truth of that statement becomes fact or fiction by what those people have to say about you. More so, I believe without a shred of doubt that a company's success is driven by the ability of self-described leaders to motivate people by their WORDS more than their actions!?

We so often hear the phase, "it’s not what you say but what you do" that defines who you are. That statement may absolutely describe the content of your character, but it’s your words that can do more damage than what you do. You can have great character and integrity, yet still have a well-meaning but misguided mindset of what it means to "motivate someone". Somehow these people believe that using negative statements, and using even worse "Words", will motivate people to do better. Not only does this have the opposite effect, but depending on your words, you may destroy a person's confidence and their work becomes a reflection of the same. How can anyone expect someone they manage to excel in their position when you just told them they don't measure up? It is the still the most baffling phenomena I encounter every day in over 35 years in business.

I have seen so many people come into our company for a job interview that have had all their trust and confidence so shaken that their spirits were broken. I can see something it in their eyes, they no longer believed in themselves. It becomes a real problem to motivate good people into becoming great employees when they can't see it or believe it for themselves. In our company we rarely give up on someone we hire for a position, we hire based on character and integrity more than we do on skill set, although necessary. It is rare to find these people come along and become more successful than they ever dreamed of. But I have had more than a few people come to us with their confidence shaken who just needed a reminders of "who they are" because of who I saw; not what some previous employer said they were.?

I have actually heard from candidates we interviewed, cowardly employers let them go by shutting off their cell phones and having a courier deliver their personal belongings to their homes with no explanation whatsoever. Yet these same people went on to thrive in our companies because they are spiritually lifted up on a daily basis. We have a "Team" atmosphere in every company and new employees (actually ALL employees) are encouraged to constantly ask questions and ask for help; don't try to do it on your own. Now, that does something to a person not easily, or quickly measured. However slowly those people regain their TRUST first and then their confidence!

What is it that we have done; we used "Words" and actions to change the direction of someone’s path. A path that may have been on a downward spiral because another used that same power of "Words" to destroy instead of giving life! In our companies, if someone consistently disrupts the team by engaging in gossip, backbiting, or other types of destructive behavior using "Words" to destroy rather than build, they will have a sure ticket out the door. It was the only way to be fired immediately, everything else can be corrected but character.

What did the people have to say in the companies I've owned about the statement "It's All About People"? They wouldn't just say we do make it about them, they would say we live and breathe it. Not just in management, from top to bottom......we are "God Centered" and spiritually aware of the need to edify everyone that works here. And it is contagious, when people start to see and believe it they become it. They now become the very people that "Make It All About People", passing along what they experienced to others.

It's a humbling experience to have others say, "You really do make it about us here". We had incredibly loyal employees with virtually no turnover in all my former companies. But it starts with the people who lead; it's a corporate culture not a "talking point". If we owners are "Loyal" to our employees first, it comes back around. My partner & I did not take that lightly; it was part of our "Mission Statement". It was also gratifying to hear the same message from customers, suppliers, sub-contractors and others. They would say we treated them all with respect, dignity and honor; we honored our commitment to them with excellence. If we failed, and because we are human we will, no one had to point out the mistake or lack of quality; we were always proactive. And if we missed it, we quickly rectified the problem and took responsibility for any lapse in judgement to make sure we always "Made It About The People".

What do your people say about you and your company; both the employees and people outside your organization? If it’s not what you would like it to be, then change what you SAY not just what you do. Despite what others believe, words are equally as important as action; people need affirmation and peace of mind. Success is in the eye of the beholder; I view improving the quality of everyone's life as the most successful and rewarding thing we can do with our lives! Money.....well the world measures success by the bottom line, I have done better than most, but my focus has never been on money. Profit is the by-product of doing "what's right not what's best". "WORDS" I say often, but not often enough; make a difference………today is a good day to start!