What if every single product you produced was made from a single machine. Would you take care of that machine, making sure it ran well?
Now, what if you found out that your machine ran at 98 percent efficiency, producing a high performance culture? That’s pretty good, but remember that this machine produces EVERYTHING you make. There is likely value in even 2 percent improvement.
But what if your machine ran at 32 percent efficiency? Now, there is very little doubt that your machine needs a lot of work and attention. In fact, you would probably realize it’s time to do some formal strategic planning and that you need to think completely differently about how your machine runs. You’d want to look into the mechanics of your machine so you can start working on that strategic plan.
It turns out that there is indeed a machine that touches everything in your business; it’s called your People Machine. The People Machine sells your product, makes your product, and provides customer service. The People Machine even manages itself and helps to set its own direction. It’s an incredibly powerful machine that is incredibly important to your success.
How efficient is your People Machine?
In the United States, Gallup measured employee engagement at 32 percent. This means that 68 percent of employees are either disengaged or outright toxic at work. That should be completely unacceptable. Even if your company has twice the engagement levels of the average company, is 64 percent efficiency really acceptable?
So how can you improve your People Machine? You need a mechanic for your business. You need a team of strategic planning consultants armed with a little love and elbow grease to oil up your machine with some serious formal strategic planning.
