“Is it time to consider moving the discussion beyond retooling, effectiveness/efficiency initiatives and financial profit to the meaning that touches those that contribute to and those who benefit from the wellbeing of the Big 3?”

As noted in my post Cultural Beliefs, this is the last question I posed in a dialogue about what was going on in the North American auto sector in late 2008.

Independent of sector we find people interested in this conversation as a means to get to the things that really matter. In my opinion, the time for problem solving alone and business re- engineering is ending as they have delivered their fruits.

Who contributes and who benefits from being associated with one of the Big 3 is a matter of perspective; one could consider that employees have been on both sides of the spectrum, also suppliers, and the suppliers geographical communities. All of them, including management of the companies have likely participated in, or are being impacted by, some iteration of the effectiveness/efficiency & re-engineering dialogue and process. They are also human beings who get up in the morning and bring with them to work the only thing they have to spend, time with the meaning they convey to it. The discussion around the survival and prosperity of an organization such as the named ones should include how those human beings perceive the realization of their lives associated with those organizations. It is a discussion about how we contribute to our mutual way of being, to our sense of destiny, which at some point in time and down the road can be related to processes, procedures and tools, and perhaps financial profits, etc.

One could think of the new dialogue in terms of what is in it for me and what it is in it for you; what is in it for both of us along these lines whether you are management, employee or a supplier:

  • Importance of what I do: we all need to feel our contribution is identified, contextualized, supported and valued
  • Allow my inner good person to shine: we have a need to grow our internal and external image of being a good human being
  • Recognize my relevancy: we need to feel we are relevant to the live and achievements of the organization we belong
  • Support my goals: we require a sense of goal achievement resulting from our effort and the effort of the organization we work with

A dialogue mindful of the meaning of what is in it for everyone is poised to provide the context for building of the infrastructure (governance, policies, procedures and tools, among other things) that will result in prosperity in more sense than financial.

Are we ready to move beyond process and profits…to include the human factor in the way we do business?