Forget about oil… What’s your company policy on people?
“Human resources” are resources.
Invest wisely, don’t waste ‘em, treat them with respect, and use them to their fullest—but don’t use ‘em up.
Like every other resource.
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
P.S. Thanks, Brett—your comment on Thursday’s Ambition post (among so many wonderful comments) really made me think.
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13 December 2008, 10:34 am
@Kelly
Seems the proper Corporate Thoughtspeak parlance at work is to omit the “Human” part and just say “resources”
So instead of saying “We need more PEOPLE for this job”, the managers say “We need more RESOURCES…”.
What a wonderful impersonal way to refer to your staff, eh? (Now I feel I rank right up there with lumber, coal and petroleum!)
Actually, there’s a good analogy there.
If your staff is like a forest, you can slash-and-burn and clear-cut all the trees, and get a quick return on your harvest. But this isn’t sustainable, and you’ll eventually run out of trees and be left with nothing.
Or you can nurture your forest. Selectively cutting, and planting new seeds, and implement proper succession planning. So that you have a sustainable tree-farm, and you can continue to harvest your resources indefinitely.
Oooh…life is like a forest. Isnt’ that DEEP?
Friar’s last blog post…Christmas Bears
13 December 2008, 10:49 am
Friar,
I think that’s what I was trying to say, lol. Let’s not say all of life—business is like a forest. Can we keep it going? Some are dark and scary, some let in the light and have happy bird-music within them…
& treat people at least as well (?) as any other resource—and for goodness’ sake, don’t call them “resources”! I’m hopeful, Friar, at least for the wider world of Factories. I think there’s a groundswell of change a’coming.
Regards,
Kelly
13 December 2008, 11:12 am
@Kelly
Or is the groundswell all the businesses closing down and out-sourcing to China?
(I’m not being cynical…I’m scared!) I’m seeing this happen all the time, including the region where I live!) Two other major Factories have shut down within the last 6 months.
Friar’s last blog post…Christmas Bears
13 December 2008, 11:21 am
Friar,
LOL, but not at you, exactly. When I was a young filly looking at colleges I thought I should find one where I could learn Chinese. You could see that need coming back in 1986, and yeah, it’s only worse now.
I guess you might have to consider SK or (gasp!) the U.S., unless you can learn Mandarin in a hurry…
Time to get that letter off to the big cheese. You and your genius-in-arms Brett need to be making things happen, not waiting for them to happen to you. As we all do!
Think Big, dear. No, I really do see big changes, waiting in the wings. We have to make it happen, but I tell you, the rumblings are under your green-waxed skis if you feel for them.
Until later,
Kelly
13 December 2008, 11:45 am
@Kelly
SASKATCHEWAN!!! (Nooooooooooo!)
I think that province peaked in 1912. It’s been in slow decline ever since.
I’ve driven through it a few times. There are places you literally scan the horizon, and count the trees you see on ONE hand.
What’s the advantage of living in Saskatchewan? It takes three days to watch your dog run away from home (Bada-Bing!)
What’s the only thing separating you form Oklahoma…? ..a barbed-wire fence. (Insert rimshot here)
Okay..I’m done.
(But if you want to see what it’s like…watch the Canadian sitcom “Corner Gas”, which is pretty hilarious!)
Friar’s last blog post…Christmas Bears
13 December 2008, 11:54 am
I think I heard something from Brett about two new nukes facilities there. It’ll give you a few new things to count as you drive through.
“Three days to watch your dog run away from home”—LOL!
Plenty of room for the dog, though…
And just think. The four ladies who live there will think you are a CATCH. (ba-dum-dum)
13 December 2008, 12:31 pm
Hey, I “heard” my name!
I did see something else again about two new nukes in SK, so it might come – of course, that’s 10-15 years off, and not quick enough for the old Friar and I.
There are other opportunities, however – Friar, I’m still thinking over here… and will have something to send up to the CEO as a proposal.
They need to save money, and we can help them do it – for a “small” fee of course
Brett Legree’s last blog post…fail to succeed – report card, week 4.
13 December 2008, 12:43 pm
Brett,
It depends on whether you want to be a staffer, when they’re finished, or a shaper, now. You two really see the future from where you sit, and sometimes it’s time for that kind of thinking. I’m just sayin’…
I want to see two of my favorite human resources maximized!
Until later,
Kelly
13 December 2008, 12:44 pm
@Brett
I’m going to start putting down my ideas on Powerpoint slides this week at work .
(And heck..it WOULD be “work-related”, so I don’t have to feel guilty).
Brett and the Friar Save the Company.
That’s a best-selling book, I think.
Friar’s last blog post…Christmas Bears
13 December 2008, 12:47 pm
@Kelly
It will take them a good 5-10 years to just get through the Environmental Assessment, before they can even put a shovel in the ground to to even START thinking about building a new reactor.
And I suspect…being a Nuke-Ley-Yar Enjineers somewhere else will be more of the same. 15 years from now, I hope I’m either retired or doing something totally different that I enjoy.
Dr. Friar’s series of kids books, maybe.
Friar’s last blog post…Christmas Bears
13 December 2008, 12:47 pm
@Kelly,
Oh, I know what you mean – in terms of being shapers, we have to come at it from a different angle – our little idea, for instance. Neither of us would be directly involved in contract negotiations or design, for instance.
But yes, you are right.
@Friar,
Do it
and we’ll get Spock to come on Thursday for a mind-meld. We can see what we’ve come up with then.
Brett Legree’s last blog post…fail to succeed – report card, week 4.
13 December 2008, 12:50 pm
Or a Kevin Smith movie…
14 December 2008, 6:48 pm
I’d like to bring a thought to the table:
When you are an entrepreneur in a small business, you are your most precious resource.
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post…Drive-by-Shooting Sundays: Writer Dad
14 December 2008, 8:47 pm
James,
An excellent point. So let’s see…
Invest in yourself—books, classes, a good chair for your office—you “deserve” it as much as someone who works for you;
Don’t waste your energy;
Treat yourself with the same respect you’d treat an employee—no working 24/7, no forgetting to eat lunch or enjoy family and friends, etc.;
Work your a** off when it’s work time—but don’t get used up—remember to recharge the batteries.
Still works, yes?
Until later,
Kelly
14 December 2008, 9:17 pm
Oh definitely. I wanted to point out solopreneurs specifically because everyone seized on companies and multiple employee situations.
Solopreneurs frequently are their only employee.
James Chartrand – Men with Pens’s last blog post…Drive-by-Shooting Sundays: Writer Dad
14 December 2008, 9:33 pm
James,
True, true. And frequently treat themselves as badly as any large company might and use excuses like “no pain, no gain,” “if the boss doesn’t, who will?” and such.
Worse, like the cook who serves himself or herself the burnt icky cookies, when small businesses begin to grow they still treat themselves like second class citizens to their new staff—unlivable paychecks, unlivable hours, no social life. Treat yourself as well as you might an employee, or burnout is yours one day. (Don’t I know it!)
I was thinking of Brett’s Factory situation when I wrote this (I actually chopped it out of a comment I was writing to him), but when I rephrased it for this Tip, I did try to phrase it so it applied more generally to all of our human resources, even ourselves. Glad you made me back it up!
Later,
Kelly