^{Value of the Person®
Monthly Reminder}

As competition has accelerated and the global economy has become a reality, the general direction taken by most organizations in our world has been to trim the fat, downsize, cut corners, and become lean and mean in preparation for economic battle.  On the surface, the strategy may seem to be a good one.  Too often, however, the methods used to achieve these results have been cancerous.  The very people needed to make the organization successful have become alienated; bitterness and confrontation have taken root and spread in a malignant, out-of-control manner; and the net result to the organization is that it becomes filled with anger, frustration, and accusation.  The emphasis falls on mean rather than lean.

When that happens, absenteeism, a drop of productivity, and a lowering of quality follow.  If the downward spiral isn't reversed, an organization will soon find itself so lean and so mean that it no longer is in business.  It becomes a casualty.

The forward-looking organization that truly succeeds in the next century will be one that identifies today its constant need to trim and pare and shape its business, but at the same time, is willing to change its corporate culture so that the people are both valued and empowered through the building of strong internal relationships.

It is no longer adequate for corporations to deal solely with the economic issues of the pocketbook.  Priority must also be given to the non-economic issues of the heart.  The blending of the two needs will truly produce a world-class cadre of people ready to take on the challenge of a competitive national and global economy.

How does a manager or executive address the non-economic issues of the heart?  By developing a style of working with people that builds relationships.  And how do you build relationships in the marketplace? By getting close enough to people to bestow value upon them - - to truly affirm, appreciate, and recognize them.  This style of living and leading results in reconciliation, not confrontation.  There is no advantage in confrontation - - either in personal life or in work life.  Confrontation demeans, destroys, and diminishes.

Reconciliation results in growth, dignity, and mutual benefit to both parties.  It only makes sense that in the stress and pressure of the business world today, greater progress can be made if a business has the atmosphere of reconciliation where all parties work together for the mutual benefit of all.

On the surface,achieving reconciliation may seem easy.  In reality, it is perhaps the most difficult job any person ever faces.  Reconciliation requires change, perseverance, vulnerability, and a shift from being me-oriented to being other-directed.  Reconciliation is aconstant challenge. It's tough work!

Does reconciliation truly make a difference? Yes!  It produces by-products that may well exceed your greatest hopes.

Excerpted from Theory R Management, by Wayne T. Alderson & Nancy A. McDonnell