Work-Life Balance is something that is often discussed, but do we understand what it means? Some people say it means your work should only be from 9-5 Monday – Friday alternatively there are those who say business should not take the agency from employees instead allowing them to complete their hours as and when they see fit. This is a prime example of perception and these perceptions shape how we see the world around us and how we interact and engage with others.
When we discuss the “goal” of business, we hit the same perception-laden dichotomy: is business there to make money for its owners/shareholders or is the purpose to serve communities with the best products/services they can? There can be little doubt in both cases that both views are out there and we do not want to propose that one is right or wrong. Today, we want you to see and appreciate that our views and perceptions are not the only ones.
When we look at our businesses and how we measure success or failure, it is easy to be consumed with “We have to be successful” business is an ongoing journey, however and as such, that means that things must be able to change. Change means evolution, and with that, the challenge comes into view. Unlike nature, our companies must be evolved (mostly) from within. This evolution is controlled by the perceptions of our people, their experiences, life lessons and training. So how can or should we go about tracking that progress along our evolutionary journey? Business runs on process and our progress is driven by those processes, so we have to track them. This is why we call them KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). KPIs are intended to remove the perception from our monitoring of the process; they are intended to be clinical and precise. However, they are implemented by people, people who are ruled by their perceptions. They are presented to people, people who are ruled by their perceptions. They are used to measure people’s performance, people who are ruled by perceptions.
Together, this means that within our organisations, we must be laser-focused on perceptions, our own and others. Culture is an attempt to standardise perception, so when we talk about Corporate Culture, we mean “What is the standardised set of behaviour and norms that we expect?” those are, of course, shaped by our perceptions coming into the shaping exercise and remember, culture too evolves over time.
Next week we will talk about how our perceptions should be channelled to lead us, our lives and our businesses forward.
In the meantime, let us know your thoughts and experiences. Join the conversation.
