Your Corporate Strategy: It Just Doesn’t Matter? Part 27b
This section
is especially directed to the HR organization led by the typical financial
type…….. The typical CFO type usually believes they are right and ONLY their
financial results are relevant and count and have the data to prove it.
The major obstacle to financial education is it can only educate and
train accounting principles and quantifiable knowns. However, as stated numerous times, being
unaware and neither knowing of the problems nor what to look for and measure
means the problem doesn't exist and therefore a solution never contemplated let
alone found.
How often we hear praise
regarding a leader who worked their way to the top. Why are these same values not required of or
sought for the leaders at the very top…especially the CEO, COO or CFO? How unfortunate for all concerned!
The recent example of GM ignition fiasco illustrates how an extreme focus on $.90 in costs can wreck havoc on a reputation. As Stephen Pascoff, Esq., writes for ELI, “Is My Life Worth a Buck”, “…it appears that GM looked at costs primarily from the perspective of direct out-of-pocket expenditures. For organizations committed to quality ……this is a myopic, dangerous business view. But cost control as a primary business driver makes sense [only] as long as the full range of critical metrics is considered. The true cost of …….aberrant workplace cultures is the resulting damage caused to brand reputation and trust when the public or an organization’s own team members suffer injury.”
The recent example of GM ignition fiasco illustrates how an extreme focus on $.90 in costs can wreck havoc on a reputation. As Stephen Pascoff, Esq., writes for ELI, “Is My Life Worth a Buck”, “…it appears that GM looked at costs primarily from the perspective of direct out-of-pocket expenditures. For organizations committed to quality ……this is a myopic, dangerous business view. But cost control as a primary business driver makes sense [only] as long as the full range of critical metrics is considered. The true cost of …….aberrant workplace cultures is the resulting damage caused to brand reputation and trust when the public or an organization’s own team members suffer injury.”
At this point, the cost is
13 lives and many injuries. Any guess
what the financial impact will be in the future? How will this effect customer loyalty and
trust ? Mega-dollar-settlements will soon
be forthcoming. All this for saving an
estimated $.90 on the price of a car????? As of this writing it ate up all $1.2Billion
1st quarter 2014 profits for GM.
Fixing the recalled cars hasn’t yet started and the more time the dirty
laundry is aired the more it will cost.
Steven is addressing the aberrant
workplace culture fostered by a financial only focus. There are sizeable unknown costs, soft and
hard, when people policies fail to recognize the value of the company’s own
employees or public consumer, your customer.
If you don’t understand what a financial focus does to a people culture,
talk to your people…. They are already talking to
each other via any means at their disposal when you don’t ask, don’t listen
and/or don’t do anything about it.
Next: How to Misdirect a People
Strategy! Part C
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