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BLACKBERRY CIVIL WORKS Blackberry Pie: A Savoury Slice February 2005 Volume 3, Number 7 |
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Spotlight: Adding new people to your enterprise is always a challenge. Determining whether someone will fit into
the current culture is one of the most important decisions made through the
business day. Human personalities can be
measured in five dimensions: openness to experience, conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeableness, and natural reactions (how calm or sensitive to
stress a person is). These dimensions
determine how we respond in various situations and be especially indicative
of a person’s compatability. Where a
person falls on the scale of these five dimensions is not an indication of
negative or positive attributes. What
is deamed a desirable attribute by one enterprise can be seen by another as
highly undesirable. Looking at your
enterprise in terms of these five dimensions is the necessary first step. From
the perspective of the enterprise, how important is each dimension? The nature of the enterprise’s endeavours
will to some degree dictate your answers as will the style of relating you
foster. By honestly assessing your
current stakeholds, you can see the type of people your enterprise attracts. You can also assess any recent departures
in terms of the five dimensions to learn if these people are no longer
stakeholders because they did not the enterprises profile. The
outcome from this analysis should be a objective understanding of who are the
people that comprise your enterprise.
While the intention is be objective, what you learn may, subjectively,
be unsettling. It is possible that
the enterprise is atracting stakeholders who do not advance the enterprise
towards its goal. In this case, the
analysis gives you the opportunity to investigate what can be done
differently to attract the stakeholders you are wanting. Whether or not you have the stakeholders
you desire, you now have a definintion of the enterprise’s ideal stakeholder
and therefore, a way to filter those people from the masses. Armed
with your enterprise profile, it is time to play matchmaker. A long term relationship is the outcome
you desire because the return on investing in people takes some time to
mature. Studies show that desparity
in financial costs between new and established stakeholders is
significant. For this reason alone,
being cautiaus in selecting new stakeholders is important. The human costs are more difficult to
quantify and even more significant.
Attracting and retaining stakeholders that are good matches with the
enterprise is definitely worth the effort. Recognising that—over the long term—both the individual and the enterprise must benefit through establishing the relationship helps ground any decisions. If you cannot envision a person being a part of your enterprise for a significanat length of time, you should question forming any relationship. Any perceved short term gains can quickly be reversed when a relationship is not founded on a steady base. Look beyond the first blush and be honest about the viability of the relationship. Starting a relationship with a stakeholder is easy compared with the the effort required to end that relationship, especially if it ends badly. |
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Facts & Figures: It was a month for the record books! Not only was February unusually dry in Victoria (38.1 versus the average of 107.8 milimetres), almost all that rain fell on two days. On average, only 31% of daylight hours have measurable sunshine during the month while this year, the figure was almost 80% with temperatures on average, two degrees below normal. |
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Links: In developing ecological awareness, the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle) provide a great tool. The actions available to reduce what we consume and recycle the waste from our consumption are fairly well laid out. When it comes to reusing that which we no longer have a use for, the options are not as abundant. What do you do with something that is still useful, but no longer suitable? The Freecycle Network™, www.freecycle.org, is a grassroots movement dedicated to finding a home for the stuff you no longer want. With groups established in most communities across the continent, you just post an email in your local group letting the members know what you have to give away. As simple as that your old junk becomes someone’s new treasure. |
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Every morning I awoke wondering if tody would be the day that the clouds returned. As the days stretched into weeks, my disbelief continued to grow. What is usually a mostly grey month passed with barely a cloud seen. The collective memory of many life-time West Coasters did not contain a record of a similar event. Patterns help me get through life. That day follows night and spring follows winter is only true because the cycle repeats itself until I believe that it will happen unerringly. That on occation, such as is the case this month, the pattern is broken also helps me live my life. I am reminded that the patterns only exist in my mind and that I must be ready for the unexpected. |
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© 2005 Blackberry Civil Works |
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