The corporate structure continues to change in that companies are continuing to increase in size through mergers and acquisitions. As this progress goes forward it seems that we have lost sight of some of the basic elements that make companies successful to begin with. Most of us in the corporate world find ourselves in situations where time is critical to meet pace with ever changing demands. The pitfall here is that we tend to loose sight of some of the necessary elements that insure success. As I mentioned in a previous article some of us still manage our workforce using the “flog them until they drop" philosophy. The problem here is that this approach typically leads to a workforce that is stressed beyond belief and pushed to the point that they just don’t care anymore. What I see typically are people who feel like they have been disenfranchised by their employers and will tend to gravitate towards the path of least resistance typically to the detriment of the employer.



The problem as I see it is that these same exact people given the opportunity to excel will do so if provided the opportunity. This is something that should not be taken lightly in that it affects the overall productivity of the workforce. The question then becomes what to do about it. The answer is often not that hard, but as with any problem that exist the first step is to recognize it. Often the cure amounts to no more than giving the employees the feeling that they are involved in the process and important to the outcome. The lack of interest typically displayed in corporate America today comes from the sense that the employee doesn’t feel like they are involved.

The cure for this is making the effort as managers to insure that the employees do feel a sense of importance. I would encourage each and every one of you to give the employees a sense of involvement by making the effort to let each one of them know that the success of the company depends on it. The truly amazing benefit of this is that your life as a manager will get easier and more importantly the bottom line will reflect it.

Warren Friton