Value Your People or Be Disrupted
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Value Your People or Be Disrupted

The regular world of business as one had known is no longer in play. Given the rapid changes that have resulted from financial, economic and natural crises coupled with technology adoption and usage the global business environment has undergone significant changes. Disruption has become a norm and businesses, within industries, struggle to identify the way forward and adapt.

Change, trust, engagement, value and sustainability are now key management jargon bandied about in every organization as they grapple with the new business landscape.

Given the numerous crises’ trust and value have emerged to be of key importance to businesses. The technological advancements and adoption has brought the global community closer, with regards to sharing of information, resulting in the word-of-mouth reference being a key driver of trust. As the online communities refer organizations, within themselves, the need to show a tangible social value benefit has led many an organization to evaluate their business purpose and re-align their strategies with a clearly communicated, tangible, social value benefit.

This has spawned increasing entrepreneurship that are capitalizing on operating their businesses based on a clearly defined social benefit through which they are able to show financial value and sustainability to their community. This process is the disruption as we know it where the old established business models are being broken.  The likes of Uber, Airbnb, Alibaba, have already gone on to become the global organizations of today.

Are these modern day success stories all developed from meticulous business planning and a pre-mediated effort at changing the game?

‘Invention is the mother of necessity’—Thorstein Veblen

People brought about these innovations by identifying the social benefit such opportunities provided. They capitalized on the social benefit and built their business models around its purpose. The net result was attracting investment, going commercial and growing. And it wasn’t easy! 

In 2010 Uber launched in San Francisco, providing full size luxury cars for hire, “UberBlacks”, as they were then known. But they were also marketing themselves as a ride sharing Company to ease the pain of being unable to locate a cab on the streets of San Francisco.

Airbnb started because its founders couldn’t afford to pay rent and led to the biggest accommodation service provider.

Alibaba’s Jack Ma’s story is the classic rags to riches type. The purpose of Alibabe, in Jack Ma’s words—“Our focus is on helping small and medium-size companies make money “.

So what is it that established corporates are missing?

Is it vision?

Is it resources?

Is it people?

Purpose

Established organizations, whether we like it or not, have always only had one purpose—economic benefit to its shareholders. That very purpose has been questioned, shaken and cast aside given the crisis’s that industries have had to weather.

Today organizations have to have purpose which clearly delivers a tangible social benefit. It needs to engage its entire eco-system-- employees, customers, vendors, partners—in other words the people connected with the business and technology.  By putting people and technology at its center and looking at the business through the lens of delivering social benefit through technology, organizations can obtain profitability and sustainability. Just that this route will not hit quarterly profit numbers simply because trust does take time in developing.

The people behind the success stories of Uber, Airbnb, Alibaba were ordinary folks who identified social benefits in the processes of solving their problem and realized the opportunity that exists. The purpose they had in developing their businesses made them achieve the success they have today.

Focus on people and value them

For corporates, in this dynamic scenario, the stability that would come from focusing on its people—their ideas, their strengths and their advocacy—will provide a stronger purpose clearly linked to social benefit.  It will ensure sustainability. No longer can the theory of shareholder dollar value maximisation drive business growth.

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Joy Abdullah is a strategy and brand marketing executive with substantial experience in designing brand experience, leading and implementing a broad range of corporate growth and realignment initiatives, across industries in Asia.
He writes on leadership & culture, ethical brand marketing, strategic brand management, employee-brand relationship and sustainable business strategies. 
Click here for his articles.  Connect with Joy on:
1. Linked In 
2. Twitter @JoyAbdullah.

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Saket srivastava

director at Epicast power equipments

6y

You said it. Perhaps we are victims of our own myopia and do not recognise the value of silent sacrifices made by the most simple looking people. Mothers are often the best example and father and ........ It is part of grooming that educates people to recognise , appreciate and gratitude to such people adding value to our lives.

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Joy Abdullah

Marketing & Content Strategy Consultant | I help professional service business owners with marketing strategies that create consistent growth by building relationships which grow communities |Founder- Humanizing Business

6y

Thanks Subi . The two industry examples you gave are classic examples. Healthcare & education are two key primary requirements of society and in the recent year we have seen how polarised tech and policy developments in these industries has become. Just coming out of the higher education industry this is what I observed in the past year: 1. There are very good and knowledgeable people, within institutions, who are willing to create a new way forward. 2. But the yesteryear hierarchial leadership tends to get intimidated by these people and change and in turn create resistance using their position power. Resulting in the good people quitely moving out and doing their own thing. In the long run these institutions are now absolutely clueless on how to adapt, change their business model and give the education society needs at a cost/price society can afford. If only the work #culture was supportive and having the will to chart a new course I personally believe that the specific skills required in managing business in the coming years can be imparted. Else we can see in the foreseeable future that the classic 4 years undergrad degree and 2 years masters will soon be relegated to history. A nice to have but not necessary.

Subi Nanthivarman

Writer, Observer and Muser

6y

Joy Abdullah, very interesting article. Makes sense that business that solve social issues will succeed with the help of technology. In the Healthcare industry, anything that make prevention, diagnosis and cure much more affordable will take off. The reason why generics are popular is the affordability issue. But they never put in the investment to discover. It makes sense that these big companies get some return before they lose patent. How soon should patent protection wear off is the million $$ question. Education is in the same boat with the advent of e-learning. How long prestigious university have the attraction to the young people and to employers is the question.

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