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I’m not one of the biggest Jack Welch fans in the world.  Maybe it’s because I don’t have an MBA.  But I tend to believe his patented Six Sigma approach (in and of itself a respectable philosophy or approach) has been warped, perverted and distorted to little more than a buzzword in many business cultures.  It’s not his fault, but it’s what I know about him.  Sorry Jack. 

 

I did however, read an interesting article penned by Jack and Suzy this week in BusinessWeek (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_28/b4139000705635.htm).  And if citing BusinessWeek in a blog makes me mainstream, so be it, I guess.

 

Jack and Suzy suggest, in essence, that the old model of employer/employee relationship has been fractured by the impersonal and lightning-quick nature of the massive layoffs that have engulfed the business world in the past year or two.  They suggest that many of those laid off have decided never to toil for “The Man” again, choosing to forgo the uncertainty, lack of security and the whims of numbers-driven management for the uncertainty of more entrepreneurial ventures.  They suggest that more and more talented professionals would rather control their own destinies, and reap greater tangible and intangible benefits, as they strike out to ply their skills on their own.

 

In other words, many of this nation’s most talented professionals are questioning the value of working for larger companies.  Could it be that they no longer believe the company is looking out for their interests?  What could ever cause this to be?

 

I’d go so far as to suggest that this issue goes deeper than the layoffs, and has been coming for at least five years.

 

It couldn’t be the knee-jerk reaction, so popular with the accounting-driven cultures, that “cutting heads” is the first and best way to cut costs, implying that people are liabilities on the balance sheet?

 

It couldn’t be the perversion of the term “getting lean” to mean forcing remaining employees to work unrealistically harder, longer, faster and with fewer resources, only to be held accountable for more and rewarded for less?

 

It couldn’t possibly be the impersonal or even inhumane nature of the hiring, review and/ or firing process we’ve come to, more lawyer-driven than ever before?

 

It just couldn’t be the growing perception, fueled by a few highly-visible and highly arrogant bad apples, that the top executives in American business are short sighted and self centered, to a point that even the company comes second as key strategic decisions are made?  Could it?

 

I’m perfectly aware that this blog tends to be read by executives.  I’m not berating you.  I’m extolling you to get ahead of the next big management trend.  That’s right.  If you respect Jack (and Suzy) Welch, or have some common sense, you know that it’s going to be harder to bring in good talent soon.  You know that it’s time to review your policies and interactions with the people who get it done for your business every day.  Many of you may already be treating your people well.  But if you even think you might be misunderstood, it might just be time to review the way your company goes about dealing with its employees. 

 

In my humble opinion, the rules about interacting with clients, prospects and vendors apply just as much with the people we work with every day.  You know, Golden Rule stuff. It’s not that hard to give people an honest goal, a peek into what, exactly, the company is about and striving for, and a feeling that whatever that person might do every day, it’s important to that goal.  One can be honest, transparent and communicative without conceding a strategic advantage to his or her competitor.  In fact, I’d argue it creates an advantage.  If you want people to run through walls for you, give them a good reason, other than fear.