Have you ever built anything with your hands? I recently began refinishing a bar, table and chairs that I acquired from several different people, that will become the components of my man cave. As I progressed through the tasks that would create my future space of peace and relaxation, I realized they were very similar to the components and steps I used to start and run businesses.
The old furniture represents those diamonds in the rough that other companies didn't appreciate, but that with a little time, expense and training, would became the most important human capital elements of my future companies.
People represent the greatest asset any company ever captures. It is this human capital that develops the ideas, processes, relationships, goods and services that present customer value propositions. Advent of the COVID virus really brought this idea to the forefront of society as companies balance the need to care for their employees and present goods and services to their customers. Moreover, as employees transitioned to a teleworking posture, company leaders needed to have faith in their employees' ability to continue the critical tasks that delivered value to their customers.
Would they or would they not continue to work as hard from home as they did from the office? More importantly, could companies launch the requisite technology that would allow their employees to collaborate in the same way they did when they were physically co-located? For the most part, yes. Companies employed new virtual technology to that allowed employees to communicate with their peers much like they did before. And yes, those employees who were go-getters at the office, remained go-getters outside the office. But over time, will this new reality be sustainable as companies decide whether or not to continue massive telework operations? That is yet to be seen.
The assumption is that extraverts are excelling in the COVID environment as their social interaction is extremely limited, while their virtual interaction is amplified; thereby, allowing them to excel in their duties. In strict contrast then, introverts are experiencing increased anxiety as they attempt to manage an empty home office, where the only interaction they may receive is from an unappreciative dog who'd rather sleep than spend time with you (not implying that is happening to me... :), but...:(.
Coming full circle then, what are the furniture components that create a solid piece of work? A solid base (foot, knee, leg). A supportive pedestal. And a pleasing top. Similarly, the elements of a business require the same care in elemental selection. A solid company base means having the requisite human capital, the right structure, the right environment and the right benefits that allow you to acquire a team of employees that don't require exhaustive supervision, but work as hard outside the office as they do inside the office. Having a supportive pedestal is akin to having the communications flow between employees and top management that enables leaders to understand and respond to the needs of their people. And a pleasing top means creating an environment in which employees believe that management cares for them, and has their best interests at heart.
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