Great people are critical to a great business. In a tight employment market, employers must concentrate on recruiting and retaining the right people.
Some time ago I heard a piece of wisdom that I have never forgotten: “How your life will look in five years’ time will depend on what you learn and who you meet.”
As I thought about this I realised how much our lives are affected by the people we meet, who we have as mentors or models in our lives, and what we learn from them.
In business, a widely accepted view is that people are the most important part of any business. I would add to that: yes, people are critical to business but great people are critical to great business.
I was pleased to hear to business leader say recently that culture is more important than strategy in business. So one of the keys to success in life and business is to be surrounded by great people.
This is one of the great challenges of business: how to attract and retain great people.
Each chief executive I work with would say that one of their most pressing issues is around this question how to find and retain great people.
Businesses that solve this are businesses that succeed. In an economy where there is plenty of choice around employment, the onus is really on business owners to find points of difference to attract and retain great people.
I wish I knew all the answers to this burning question but I do know that it is vital to find out what motivates and drives people in order to attract and retain them. Generally attitude is more important than skills, although of course specific skills in some areas are critical. We can teach skills but it is much harder to change attitudes!
I also feel that a key component in how people choose their employment is around the calibre of leadership in business. People want to know that the business owner/leader is going in a direction that has a future and that he or she cares about the people who are sharing the journey.
Outside business, in our lives, equally we attract people of calibre if we are of caliber. Like attracts like.
So please be careful who you choose as mentors/leaders and role models, as you in turn as an entrepreneur will be judged by your followers!!!
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