Change? Why?

A gracious hello -

In the absence of major trauma, people don’t change their essential personalities. We are who we have nearly always been. Some days, I think organizations' essential personalities don't change, either -- even when they need to.

If my work has taught me anything, though, it is that no one -- absolutely no one -- is unidimensional. Each of us is a mixed bag of strengths and weaknesses, any of which can be enhanced or suppressed in particular environments.

Most corporate cultures seem to be designed to constrain and contain behavior rather than develop the very best elements of a person's nature. Systems, processes, and cultural values that play to employee strengths strike me as more productive than those that try to do nothing more than maintain a status quo.

It makes sense to study your employees and partners as individuals, not as productivity units or cells in a spreadsheet. When you examine their strengths and consider how they can be developed and applied, you'll begin to think differently about your business. You will see how it's possible to concoct a potent brew of characteristics that can make your business more productive.

Knowing everyone's strengths, and commiting to their development, allows you to determine how best to balance the mix so you bring out only the most positive, productive behaviors. When you do that, you'll be doing something rare, wonderful, and ultimately profitable: changing your organization's essential nature for the better.