Leadership & Business

Understanding Human Nature

In all our wisdom about management, and all our methods, sometimes we forget the simple truths, like the truth about human nature. Of course, understanding human nature is the subject of many books throughout history, so I doubt I can add something new.

What I can do is give you some straight talk about human nature and tell you why I think leaders and managers who understand it are better off than those who don’t.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines human nature as the sum of qualities and traits shared by all humans. Princeton University’s WorldNet defines human nature as the psychological attributes of humankind that are assumed to be shared by all human beings.

There are many, many people and events in our world that we try to influence, improve or control. For example, we have our children, our spouses, our employees, our companies, our business processes, our laws, etc.

The question is, when deciding on how to approach influencing, improving or controlling, do we recognize the need to be consistent with human nature? That is, do we take into account how people will react, what they care about and what motivates them – or do we drive toward our goals despite human nature?

Why BLOG?

I’ll be the first to admit that there’s no shortage of opinions about how to run a company, or make an organization “excellent.” However, what often seems lacking is a certain candor and experiential assessment of what works and what doesn’t work.

It’s the blending of so many proven tools and methods that make a company great. But there’s something more than conventional wisdom and common practice that sets one organization apart from another, or one person apart from another for that matter.

While business systems and methods of excellence are necessary, I like to look beyond canned programs to dissect success from a purely practical perspective. So does every consultant and trainer at my company, Breakthrough Management Group (BMG), which helps clients in many different industry sectors become self-sufficient in the various components of performance excellence.

I’d like to think this is why BMG has grown so fast over the past five years, because customers and clients recognize that we’re not just giving them the specific knowledge of Six Sigma or Lean or Inventive Problem Solving. We also help them think through and work through their specific realities and issues of implementation.

I started this Blog site to find expression for my own gut-level views of organizational excellence. I warmly invite you to read my thoughts and write me with yours. ...Dave