Activate Human Capital
A New Attitude
by
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The People-Focused Principles of Management I recommend are:
1. Give people a purpose
2. Communicate widely
3. Accommodate/manage change
4. Create a culture of worth
5. Create a culture of hope
6. Reward performance
7. Create a vision of participation in determining the future of the company
8. Express gratitude
Properly done, managing according to people-focused principles will improve all business relationships, and in so doing improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability.
The format of this book is to define people-focused management in terms of the values that motivate people to want to do the work that is given them (and more than that, actually— to initiate work because they see how it will contribute to the business purpose). I will introduce a principle, link it to a component of human fulfillment, explain what I know about it based on research and experience, and then discuss what it looks like in the workplace.
A word here about why some of you will not act on this: you will be afraid. Fear is a powerful human motivator, and the enemy of change. What if people don’t respect you, or see you as weak if you are kind? What if they take advantage of you and your boss blames you? What if employees get too full of themselves, and make unreasonable demands?
I will show in the following chapters that research and experience do not support the theory that negative results will occur from following my principles, at least not to the degree managers fear. In fact, the reverse is true: employees who feel valued, respected and encouraged seem determined to work harder to please the manager whom they now see as an ally rather than an opponent. All this is to say, you don’t have to take my word for anything. People-focused management has been done, is being done, and will be done increasingly more often as more business leaders comprehend the potential in that form of leadership.
Reading this book doesn’t imply you are managing poorly. A gifted honors teacher was constantly pointing out to students that anything that has ever been done, from building an airplane to writing a sonnet, could be done even better. The idea that you can do something more effectively is not an indictment of your current practices. I am speaking to everyone from the lowest common denominator on up. You may already be almost at optimum business practice, and a small tweak is all you need. Please bear that in mind as you read ahead.
Throughout this book you will read references to persons and situations. Some of them are identified by name. Many are not. In some cases, the individuals interviewed requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation created by their criticism of their own managers. In all cases, named persons have either been interviewed personally or described in published material found in the public domain. All data utilized in the text was found in published material, except as it appears within a quote attributed to an identified source.
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About the Book
Over the last half century, college textbooks on management have taught the importance of valuing the human assets of a business, and they have also focused on how to effectively and appropriately manage those assets. And yet, we look around and rarely see it practiced.
In Activate Human Capital, author Richard N. Morrison outlines the eight People-Focused Principles of Management, and he explains them in terms of the values that motivate people to want to do the work given to them. And even more, he shows how these values will actually get employees to initiate their work because they will see how it contributes to the overall purpose of the business. Each principle—such as giving people a purpose, communicating widely, accommodating change, creating a culture of worth and hope, and rewarding performance, to name a few—is linked to a component of human fulfillment, and then through research, personal experience, and shared stories, Morrison discusses how to activate each principle and demonstrates what it should look like in the workplace.
Eight simple principles can help enhance all business relationships and improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability—if only managers are willing to change. People-focused management has been done, is being done, and will be done increasingly more often as more business leaders comprehend the potential in this empowering form of leadership. When employees feel valued, respected, encouraged, and fulfilled, they will work harder and be more invested in their work—and in the success of the business.
About the Author
Richard N. Morrison is a businessman, lawyer, and Episcopal priest, and all of these roles heightened his lifelong interest in management and its challenges. He graduated first of his class in the College of Business at Northern Arizona University, after which he served as an officer in the US Navy as a fighter pilot, administrative department head, and personnel, legal, and public affairs officer. Later receiving his law degree with honors from the University of Houston, he went on to practice law for thirty-nine years encountering business, governance, employment, and human-resources issues. Richard also enjoys teaching, and he shares his extensive business experience in business and resource management courses at various universities in Arizona.