Seriously?
What Baffles Us
In a world where shareholders and investors constantly push for more value, we are baffled by how many companies still see human performance in archaic terms. Humans are expendable resources and should be able to perform like machines regardless of the constraints or realities of the complex world.
In a world where customers are relentless with their expectations of service, where a lone disgruntled customer can ruin a company’s reputation, we are baffled by how companies ignore how contagious a leader's mindset is.
Today fatigue is at an all-time high, and employees are leaving the workforce to get the space and support they need to thrive. We are baffled that many leaders still see any support to strengthen the Personal Readiness of their talent so they can perform consistently with high quality when it matters most, as a nice to have instead of a strategic must.
As most companies, executives, and HR leaders are spread thin, they are often in the quick fix and box-ticking mode. Without an understanding of what is actually happening inside the brain and body during periods of high load, intensity, travel, and uncertainty, they too often look for the easiest feel-good solution. They confuse a bit of namaste, wellness perks, and forced time off as a real solution for multi-faceted fatigue, poor brain performance, and a low-performance mindset.
We are baffled that while no leader would drive a car with two flat tires, they ignore all the signs that their key talent is exhausted, overwhelmed, fragile, in pain, brain fogged, and under-equipped with the tools to get better. Simply put, our data shows that their talent is driving on two flat tires.
We are baffled that while the world gets more chaotic and the problems that companies face get more complex, the Personal Readiness of leaders and key talent is lower than ever. This means they will be irritated more quickly, be less creative and curious, double down on their bias, and lack the capacity to go the extra mile for the best solution. This gap is crippling innovation.
In most companies today, leaders have extreme jobs. The workload is high, the challenges are constant, the complexity is insane, and the margins for success are tight. All predictions say that it won't get easier any time soon. Unlike every other human performance environment (the arts, sports, military, etc.), the business world still fails to provide state-of-the-art Sustainable Human Performance support. Instead, they leave their impact to chance.
Albert Einstein once said, "insanity is trying to solve a problem with the same thinking that caused the problem." We are baffled by the insane way that so many companies leave Personal Readiness, impact, and, ultimately, Sustainable Human Performance to chance.