Our customers come first! Do they really? Customers are not the most valuable asset of a company. The employees of an organization are the most important asset, which includes the owners. In a recent blog, I mentioned that the business body has 3 main components: People, Process & Infrastructure. It starts with People. How important is the People component? Without People, nothing happens! With the wrong people, bad things happen. With the right people, good things happen. It’s as simple as that.
Without employees, customers don’t get served. Without players to field a team, spectators won’t show to watch a game. Businesses need People. Even if you’re the only employee in your business, you represent the People component of the business body. However, the right people make a difference. Jim Collins says in his book, Good to Great, that you need the right people in the right seats. So how do you determine if you have the right people?
The 3 A’s of People
I define the right people by looking at the 3 A’s: Aptitude, Attitude, and Altitude. Aptitude addresses the person’s skills, talents, and experience level. It is their ability to perform tasks based on their education, training, and past experiences. Aptitude is usually reflected by your intelligence quotient (IQ). Attitude addresses the person’s motives and values. It is usually reflected by what Daniel Goleman defines as your emotional intelligence (EI or EQ). Gino Wickman refers to the right people in his book, Traction, as “the ones who share your company’s core values.” Altitude addresses the person’s outlook in life, their beliefs, and capacity to see a grander purpose. A person’s Altitude is what sets leaders and high performers apart from the rest.
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” – Zig Ziglar
Each of these 3 A’s have a correlation. When you have a strong Aptitude, it helps with your Attitude, which helps define your Altitude. The success of your organization weighs heavily on these 3 A’s since it is the bedrock of your foundation – People.
When you’re missing Aptitude, your organization experiences a lot of mistakes or slow performance. When you’re missing Attitude, there is constant drama or personal issues in your organization leading to friction which slows performance. When you’re missing Altitude, your organization is stuck and cannot reach the next level, potentially impacting retention of your talent or hampering your efforts to attract the right talent.
Skills + Values + Purpose = Winning!
Imagine you were strong in all 3 A’s of the People component present in your organization across all levels. What would performance look like when everyone is skilled in what they’re assigned to do, they share the same core values as you, and they believe they serve a higher purpose through your organization?
You would have a winning team! Your business body would have a strong head on its shoulders. You’re covered in the People component. Look at Southwest Airlines as an example company with a strong People component.
Strong in Your 3 A’s?
How does your company stack up in the 3 A’s? Is everyone trained up and skilled in their roles? Do they function as a team with the right attitude? Do they believe in your core purpose for the business? Do you have a core purpose for the business?
As the leader of your company, the People component starts with you! The character of the business is formed through the character of the business owner(s) and the leadership team. You must be intentional in defining the 3 A’s your company needs and exemplifying it through your actions.
Take the Organizational Checkup to gauge the health of your company! For more information on creating a healthy business lifestyle, read about the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).
Be on the lookout for deeper dives on the 3 A’s of People in future blogs. My next blog will be about the second component of People, Process and Infrastructure –Process. Even good people fail with bad processes!
To Your Business Health!