People are still the key to success
By Jack Keough -- Industrial Distribution, 11/1/1999
You can't pick up a newspaper or magazine these days without coming across an article that deals with technology. Technology, the articles exclaim, will lead to higher productivity gains, more profits and better inventory control. All of this may be true, but in this age of technological innovation, one important facet is often overlooked: People.It doesn't matter if you have the best software, the best hardware or the latest productivity tools; you're not going to increase profitability unless you understand that people are your most critical asset.
Southwest Airlines, a regional air carrier that is one of the most successful transportation companies in the world, credits much of its success to realizing the importance of people. Anyone who has flown Southwest knows right away that their employees seem to like their work and are proud of their company. And that translates into increased productivity leading to increased profits.
Herb Kelleher, chairman, CEO and president of Southwest, recently talked about his company in an interview in the Wall Street Journal. When asked about the reasons for his success Kelleher responded: "You have to recognize that people are still the most important factor. How you treat them determines how they treat people on the outside. We have people going around the company all the time doing other peoples' jobs. We just want them to understand what everyone else's problems are."
That's pretty good advice from a CEO who has achieved success from his "people are first" philosophy.
In today's era of full employment, it is essential that you establish a good working environment and challenge your employees to achieve a higher degree of success. In some cases that might mean you simply conduct monthly management meetings so you can get employees' perspectives as to what's happening within the company. Employees want to be recognized for the work they do, yet all too often managers don't take the time to offer them feedback by conducting performance reviews -- and upper management only lets employees know when they make a mistake, not when they do something right.
Treating employees with respect and encouraging them to work with you as a team isn't giving up control of management responsibility. It just makes good business sense.
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