Welcome to my first blog post from Boerne, TX where it’s cold, windy, and snow is in the air. In other words, the weather is as dolorous as our economic forecast. I want to create a forum to discuss the value people bring to organizations in these challenging times. We have a 10+% unemployment rate: real people are the casualties of expense cuts. Understandably, struggling businesses are cutting expenses as part of a fragile balancing act. Accountants focus on the book value of balance sheets and income statements with an eye to balancing revenue and expense. Finance managers work themselves into a Vulcan mind-meld to maximize shareholder value. Laid-off workers are dazed by the impersonal dismissal of their life’s work and personal contributions to the bottom line wondering, “did I ever matter to this organization?”
I know someone reading my blog might say “it’s not personal, it’s business.” It is personal. People are the organization. Without people, an organization is a mere shell filled with widgets. People talk with customers and resolve issues. People create, innovate and implement new ideas, products, and/or processes within organizations. How do we “balance the books” and keep the “heart” in organizations? What are your solutions?
