History, Work and People
Since the human race discovered how to replicate processes and their outcome, a lot has changed. We were able to increase productivity with huge factors. But what does this mean for people? We replaced craftsmanship by working on assembly lines, and we developed all kinds of methods to produce more in less time at lower cost. Since early industrialization, a lot has changed. And now, of course, information technology offers us new possibilities. Robotics give us the opportunity to replace people on the assembly line by machines. And all sorts of new products and services are invented that require new kinds of work and knowledge.
But still, organizations are having a hard time adjusting to the new circumstances. Especially the way we manage our organizations and the way we control the working processes don’t change as fast as the world around us. This means that we apply old methods to new circumstances. Looking at history you can see that often that is how we learn, but this time, it’s a little more painful, because we are managing people too much as if they are just a means to an end. We even didn’t blink when we invented the name Human Resource, which, in my humble opinion, is an offensive term.
People make the difference
By concentrating on metrics and process optimization, we lost sight of the human potential. It’s time to change that. You can have the greatest processes and tools and the best metrics and control mechanisms, but it’s people that can and will make the difference.
In this week’s video, I talk about the value of People in organizations. I also name five topics that should have your special attention. It’s time we stop treating people as production factors and start treating them for what they are: Human Beings.
Thanks for watching this week’s video!
Be Smart and see you on the next one.