I hate that title because it is a contradiction in terms – linking people so closely to something that sounds like a book or file of papers.  Perhaps I’d be happier if it said, “they are central to our success”, or better still, “to our development”.

It’s often said that people are the critical part of a business, but how often is that ‘value’ really played out?

Type ‘People are central to our business’ into Google and you’ll get just under 50 million results.  On the front page we see some major corporations, but how many companies actually live this phrase I wonder? Exactly what does it mean?

Of course, businesses need people just in order to operate, but we are really considering how people can add value and help the business towards success. This could be a v.e.r.y.  l.o.n.g. article, but let’s stick to the idea of developing engagement and skill through coaching.

In conversation with a leading educationalist recently, she was telling me how the value of coaching lies in its bespoke nature and its continuance.  Compare this with training courses and it a bit like the old story of employee benefits: the long term value of an appreciative working culture compared to the short term one of a raised salary.

Investing in your people can mean many things and often involves direct financial resource (paying for it!) as well as indirect resources (cost of time out for example). Offering people the chance to learn and develop means that you are giving them special consideration and this is a powerful motivator. Think how good this can be over a period of time….Think how quickly it could be forgotten after a training course.  (And then compare the relative returns on investment!) Imagine the opportunity to deal with challenges when they occur and have someone there to help you think through them? Compare it with a course…..now which ‘tool’ was I shown for dealing with this problem?

This is just food for thought…. what do you think?  Read More