Gerald Weinberg’s first books were written on computer programming. He then went on to write or coauthor 50 more books on the process of computer programming. He is quoted as saying, “No matter what the problem is, it’s always a people problem.” I didn’t know of Gerald Weinberg, but I’ve heard variations on this quote countless of times throughout my career!
When I was just out of college, I would hear our thought leaders and consultants of the day say the exact same thing about my employer, Ameritech (a former regional bell company that is now AT&T). And I couldn’t help it, I would get defensive. What do you mean it’s a people problem!?! And I’d point to some outdated system or an industry obstacle that was a much bigger problem than “us people”.
And still, as the company navigated through major rebranding and positioning in the marketplace, the top focus of the Chairman and CEO was on people. The creation of the Ameritech Institute and leadership development programs that were established focused on every level of management, not just senior leadership. As a founding member of The Institute’s core team, I have vivid memories of Dick Notebaert talking about the only way forward was with stronger managers. He was passionate about investing in the people of the frontline of the company.
And now I get it. The quote has taken on a life of its own because there’s so much truth (and opportunity) in it. It always comes back to people. It doesn’t matter if you are a start-up with your first employees or a mature, established enterprise with a large workforce, people are the center of business success. And how you manage the complexities that your team brings to the table is essential for attaining that success.
Verne Harnish shares an example in Scaling Up (originally published as Rockefeller Habits) that illustrates how quickly people bring complexity -- through no fault of our own. In a start-up company when it’s just you and your “right-hand” person, there are simply two channels of communication. And anyone in a relationship knows that 1 to 1 communication can be hard enough to keep clear and manage on its own. Then when growth calls for adding a third person, the degree of complexity triples from 2 to 6, and then quadruples to 24 when you add a fourth, you can see how the lines and management of communication can quickly become more complicated or obscured.
How many times have you heard, “Let’s just throw some resources at it” when a project runs into difficulty or needs to get done now? It sounds simple, let’s hire a temp or bring in an independent contractor for this project, or even transfer someone from another department to help. Even when it’s absolutely the right answer to the challenge. Its never quite as simple as “throw some resources at it”. Who’s going to train them?
Who’s responsible for what NOW? Access to the right information? Make sure they know our “company-way”? When you have a clear People Plan navigating these moves is easier.
What successful businesses understand, is just like you have an Annual Sales Plan, Marketing Plan or Strategic Plan, a People Plan is essential to help manage growth. Deciding to develop a People Plan helps you keep focus, creates a framework to move your team forward, helps you avoid the pitfalls of scaling up and sets you up for success. The Plan provides transparency on who is doing what work and the impact of scaling work. Most importantly, it helps you prioritize the strategic thinking around your team so that when a problem inevitably arises (and it always does) you are more prepared to make faster, more confident decisions.
Most leaders truly do want to develop a team with their people aligned with their work. And yet, we overlook problems with that alignment, (duplication of effort, missed responsibilities, finger pointing, miscommunication, etc.), because we’re so busy reacting to the day-to-day work that needs to completed.
A telling example is illustrated below. In a hierarchical depiction of your organization, you believe functions and tasks are aligned with your team members.
A typical service-based business
At a more magnified view, you can see the need for deeper functional alignment to ensure all activity is thoroughly accounted for and aligned.
What’s really happening!
While this illustration is just a simple example, it not only gives you insight into who’s doing what work, it also provides you a tool to have deeper conversations with your team on direct and indirect impacts of work. Benefits of People Plan include:
Enables you to act quickly when something does change or goes wrong (whether its’s external and out of your control or internally caused)
See and anticipate gaps and pressure points
Have confidence to make the best next hire
Increases transparency into who is doing what work for better accountability
Reduces miscommunication
Create succession planning and bench strength
Having a People Plan starts with a conscious decision and is and ever-evolving process. Good intentions are not enough. As we all know, day to day pressures can be overwhelming. Creating a plan gives you the structure to make and keep your people a priority.
