The Only Five Problems That Exist in Companies, and the One Solution to Them All

POLLSTER: What's the biggest problem facing your business today?

RESPONSE: People don't want to come into the office anymore. They can't balance work and home, let alone work FROM home. They don't communicate with each other and end up in silos. People are job-hoppers, have no loyalty to this company, and turnover is expensive. People aren't innovating any new ideas and they're level of productivity is at an all-time low. People are afraid of AI, but yet unwilling to learn, grow, and adapt.

POLLSTER: I'm sorry, can you narrow that down to one?

RESPONSE: Yeah..."People."

I started noticing something similar with the companies that I work with.

I'll say, "So, tell me about what's going on and what prompted you to reach out to me."

And they'll say things like:

• No one wants to come into the office anymore
• "Artificial Intelligence...aaaaaahhhh!!!"
• Communication stinks - the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
• High churn rate, ZERO loyalty 
• We've plateaued in our growth and feel "stuck"
• We're merging and it's chaos
• Our CEO is retiring and it's chaos
• This whole supply chain fiasco...chaos 
• A big, scary competitor is moving into our area
• The list goes on and on...

But in reality, any business problem can fit into one of these five buckets:

1. People (e.g. retention, leadership)
2. Purpose (e.g. corporate responsibility, contribution)
3. Profit (e.g. sales, competition, innovating new products)
4. Planet (e.g. carbon footprint, remediation)
5. Process (e.g. onboarding, compliance, SOPs)

Now, if PROBLEMS can be categorized, then what about SOLUTIONS?

Of course. I promised that I would give you one, single solution and here it is...

INFLUENCE

If you want to be able to move mountains, you must be able to move people.

Any proposed solution to any problem is useless if people can't be persuaded to implement it. Training and development is useless if people can't be convinced to adopt and USE their new skill. Mission statements, policies and procedures, and wellness programs are all a waste of time and space if everyone ignores them. Heck, we can't get ANYTHING done unless we influence ourselves to put down that game of solitaire and focus.

But influence can't be your objective. When influence is your goal, manipulation and persuasion take over. However, if connecting is your goal, then true influence is the result.

 So, if the solution is influence, then the strategy is human connection.

If you want to be able to move people, then you must be able to move hearts as well as minds.

People don't do things for reasons. They do things for people.

Companies whose cultures are centered around human connection experience fewer problems in all five categories. Human connection is like the oil that makes the whole machine run smoother.