Managing change in your organisation is a real challenge - lets talk about it, develop ideas, and rant and rave. Let's remember that change in people's business lives affects their real lives too.

Friday 8 December 2006

Big business - talking about the importance of people

Well, well, well. On today's BBC 'Working Lunch' programme (I do not spend all day watching television, honest), Ben Verwaayen CEO of BT spoke about the importance of people in this FTSE 100 company - watch the video. Mr Verwaayen was excellent, and tied BT's business strategies into the 100000 people globally who have to deliver them. He clearly has a grip on what makes companies tick, and the need to get BT's people behind him. What amazed me, was that it is rare that you hear a big-company CEO talking like this (and the interviewer's preamble outlines Mr Verwaayen's credentials from a people point of view).

Excellent interview if you're interested in change in the real world!

1 comment:

learn-skills.org said...

I think when you get down to it people go into business to benefit people and to create a sustainable enterprise for themselves and the staff, suppliers and customers they employ.

Every organisation is only as good as its worst employee, and a staff focus for an organisation is essential. Staff turnover is a huge cost to bear for organisation and more and more consumers are looking at what organisations are doing for them and their economy/environment.

The last few weeks of pending dome with respect to the banking sector shows how any overdependence on bank balance could prove disastrous.

I believe that by investing in people (staff, suppliers and customers) you will trully build a sustainable enterprise and your invoice will carry more weigh that a €100 note written on a bank.

Staff may be costly but if trained and developed in line with the business, their ROI will be substantial.