The price of greatness

Every day when you wake up, you have a choice.

You continue to have choices throughout the day.

Thankfully, most of us don’t live in totalitarian states, we don’t live in repressive regimes, we have the weight and responsibility of free will hanging over our shoulders. Every action, every interaction, is a conscious undertaking.

Being in HR does not absolve you of this responsibility. Yes, responsibility.

YOU. ARE. RESPONSIBLE.

If you don’t have the fight within you to make things different;

If you don’t believe that you can change the working lives of your colleagues for the better;

If you don’t have the guts and determination to lose but then stand up again;

If you yearn more for recognition than success;

If you search for deeper meaning in work yet offer no light to guide the way;

If your inactivity is driven by a desire for permission your proactivity hampered by your lack of courage;

If you seek value in acceptance and shun value in difference;

Then get out of the profession.

There are a million people out there who would gladly put themselves in your place. If you’re not up to it. Get out.

Every morning when you wake up, you have a choice.

Let’s not become self determined victims, scared of taking responsibility for our own destiny.

Nobody asked you to do this job, nobody asks you to stay in it. Will anyone miss you when you’re gone?

Those that have nothing to add, have nothing to add. And nothing will come of nothing.

So speak again.

The world according to HR

1) Our policy will change your behaviour

2) Training adds value……it just does.

3) If it doesn’t work, change the form.

4) Our influence is driven by our self importance.

5) You don’t need money, you need thanks.

6) Pretty pictures make you want to work for us.

7) The less we spend, the more we get back.

8) Managers are the biggest inhibitor of good management.

9) Your commitment is shown by your willingness to accept the staus quo. Until we say so.

10) Do as we say, not as we….write position papers, hold conferences and generally fail to act.

This post was slightly preempted by the wonderful Michael Carty. You can read his work here.

You can’t buy motivation…?

Your business has had a fantastic year…despite the economic environment, you have money to spend. You’re lucky…you’re in an organization that wants to give something back to the employees. You’re unlucky…no-one can agree how. That sucks. But you’re the HRD, you’re strategic, you’re commercial……

So which way do you go big shot? Come on….

1) The Facilities Director is arguing that we can improve the canteen facilities, subsidise lunch time food and introduce more healthy and nutritious options. Thus boosting morale.

2) The Finance Director is arguing that we should pay a one off bonus to all employees to thank them for their contribution. And increase their commitment.

3) The Operations Director wants to set up a recognition scheme, to share with front line staff, where great performance can be rewarded with vouchers and reinforced.

4) The Sales Director believes that a commission based scheme will drive performance of the field sales force and our bottom line.

5) The Communications Director believes that a big, free, Christmas party will bring people together, get them to talk, and make connections.

Motivation can’t be bought? Of course it can. Everything has a cost. Everything has a price. Theories are just that….they’re theories…but theories don’t get you anywhere.

So this is real.

So this is true.

So what do you do?

Process this….

It won’t come as a surprise to people who know me that I’m not keen on unnecessary process. I understand that there is a minimal need for it, but I can’t accept the need for process to drive practice. That for me is alien and wrong.

I had a particularly problematic conversation with Tesco Bank this weekend (Yeah…..I know….) when I was subject to two immortal lines,

“The problem is that you’ve been a customer with us for a long time”

“We can’t override the system”

I do have much left to die inside, but that is pretty much going to clean it up.

But it also really resonates in a “shoot me now” kind of a way.

How many times in the last month have you or your teams uttered:

“It would set a precedent”

“It isn’t as simple as that”

“I can’t do that”

“The system doesn’t work like that”

“The policy is….”

“You need to complete this form”

“Have a look at the process/policy”

“We can’t make an exception”

And how would it feel if you’d said:

“We completely see the need to make an exception here”

“Let us work out how to make this possible”

“Of course”

“We can work around this”

“I understand your specific needs”

“Let me sort out the paperwork for you”

“What is it you’d like to achieve and how can I help you?”

“You’re the most important person to us”

Then ask yourself two questions:

Which feels better to the person asking the question?

Which feels better to the person answering the question?

And as a supplementary:

Why do we make this so hard?