I don’t know of an organization that doesn’t put tremendous effort into attracting talent, developing talent and retaining talent. Another question is, is the organization doing it right?
Do talents flock to such an organization or do talents flee from such an organization?
But the problem, in my opinion, lies elsewhere. In statistics. Do you know such an organization where the share of talent in the total population would be 50%? Maybe I exaggerated – 30%. Even 20%. There isn’t one. There has never been one and I don’t think there will be one. Even the best organizations in terms of people management, Top Employers, reflect a normal distribution, or Gauss curve. Plus or minus 10% are just talents. 80% are generally very good, reliable, efficient employees. Personally, I would say that they are the “salt of the soil” in the organization. The remaining plus or minus 10% are difficult workers. It is not possible for a particular organization to attract radically more talent than its competitors. For example, 20%, let alone a higher share. It is not possible for even the best organization to keep its talents. Sooner or later, for various reasons, some of the talent will leave. He will leave for personal reasons, because the husband, wife got a better job in another city or country. Because another company will pay much more, and while the talent in question may value the culture of the current company to the skies, the fact that one has a loan to pay back, or wants to help one’s growing children become independent, or health issues in the family require considerable financial resources – then such talent will leave for a higher salary. Perhaps with regret, but he will leave. I’m not talking about situations at the fault of the organization itself. What about the fact that a talented person is in the so-called “talent pool. talent pool, that you invest in it, offer lucrative training programs and provide exclusive mentoring when there has been no chance of promotion for years, or worse, changes in the organization will cause the talent to move on to another supervisor because the previous one’s attitude dismantled his enthusiasm and loyalty. As we know, people come to the company. They are leaving because of the bosses. Apparently, up to 90%.
Is there a remedy for this? It is. I am very persuaded by the motto of one very well-known global company. It reads: “We get above-average results from average people who are offered jobs with above-average processes.” The results of this company, regardless of periods of boom and prosperity and, crises and recessions, confirm the validity of this approach. This organization has always had a positive financial result at the end of the year and has always had a positive cash flow. For 50 years of its existence. Why? Because it relies on the system. On method.
I like to look to antiquity for business inspiration. My attention was once drawn to the cases of two great leaders from antiquity, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. I drew up some comparison. I invite you to explore it further. In my opinion, from this comparison we will learn why the system will always win over heroism (talent).
Without question, Alexander the Great was one of the greatest strategic and military talents.
He did not lose any battle. He was a battle genius. He often took risks. But he never counted. His commanders and soldiers could not imagine defeat under his leadership. Alexander built his victory march on his talent. He did not create standards, learning systems, improvement. Alexander improvised, took risks. And he was winning. Case in point: the battle at the Hydaspes River, during which a chief nearly died in an attack on elephants. Alexander conquered the entire world of that time expressly. Without defeat. So he didn’t feel what failure was. And he didn’t learn from his mistakes. Alexander’s skills and talent died with him.
Gaius Julius Caesar proved at an early age that he could be an underdog. He lost the statue of Cornelia, extremely valuable. And it was only through connections that he did not face punishment. On the one hand, he was able to break up a group of pirates, only to allow himself to be captured shortly thereafter. When he was a governor of Spain, he got into skirmishes with previously unconquered mountain tribes. In the process, he made schoolboy mistakes and failed. Caesar learned to learn and appreciate the standard and system: serva ordinem et ordo servabit te (Latin) – keep order, and order will keep you. Caesar learned and standardized. After each battle and campaign, he practiced reflection, analysis with his commanders. He introduced standards, practiced standards until they fell, perfected them. Caesar conquered Gaul, which was not easy. He tried with Britain, but lost. He learned a lesson. In the end, he defeated the Romans themselves, led by another genius, Pompey the Great.
Lean and Scrum put the focus on the system. Therefore, both methods have unprecedented results
There is a saying in the Lean world that the heroic path doesn’t work. The systems work. Problem-solving system. A system in the form of Manager’s Standardized Work. Hoshin Kanri – a system for defining and executing an organization’s strategy. A system of team development – or so-called… 7 Kata of Highly Effective Teams. Similarly, in Scrum. It is the system of accountabilities, the system of managing three artifacts, the system of managing five Scrum events that produce an above-average effect. As Scrum co-creator Jeff Sutherland writes, Scrum is a way to get twice as much work done in half the time allotted. There is only one condition. Do not tinker with proven systems. They have proven themselves over decades in hundreds, thousands of companies where they have been used, not tinkered with or disarmed. The biggest enemy of a good proven system is the exuberant egos of smug pseudo-experts.
So, it makes sense to hire talent. Talents are worth developing. It is worth doing everything to keep talent in the organization. But above all, it is worth implementing and seriously using proven systems.
Besides, everyone will admit that they would rather deal with a professional than an amateur – however talented. The common denominator of every professional is to act systemically and methodically.
Caesar’s motto still applies: serva ordinem et ordo servabit te. Keep the method (system), and the method (system) will keep you.
