For years I have followed Seth Godin’s musings, ideas and presentations, a remarkable collection of original thoughts, metaphors, instruction, and repackaging of the complicated into the simple, shared with enormous generosity.
This post that came out this morning, his productivity pyramid, is such a simple idea, bits of which most of us have considered in one way or another, but it takes a deeply inventive mind to articulate it in such a simple way.
I think it was Michelangelo who said something like “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”, may have been Mark Twain, perhaps you can correct me, but irrespective, simplicity is really hard, and this is really simple.
I just added the visual.
Thanks Seth.
I do believe there is great merit in this thinking. In fact, it is clear that you, Seth and I are singing from the same hymnbook. Of course, I am using different terms but the notion is consistent and very real. In my case I directly connect “productivity” to “expertise”. If an organisation can consistently move people towards optimum expertise, then they WILL be productive and will give life to the holy grail of The Utilisation Paradox – http://www.skillspeak.com.au/2010/08/the-utilisation-paradox/ To simultaneously “pay your people more”, “charge your customers less”, “increase your profit” is surely the simplest formula for success. It transforms an organisation from competing on “price” to competing on “quality” and this ensures a bullet-proof operation. Your people will never leave you, your clients will be forever loyal and happy to pay for “right first time expert service” and your profits will grow. The clients pay more per hour for your experts but will be billed fewer hours and reap benefits sooner.
This is so simple, I often despair that the marketplace is so slow to embrace its compelling logic. Perhaps the deep thinkers such as yourself and Seth will help lead a new reality in how service organisations should be managed. Of course, you know that my Skillspeak Talent Management tool delivers this capability and much more. Yours in productivity and greatly increased profit.
Len,
Change of the type you are seeking always comes slowly, those in charge often have little motivation to charge, as they owe their current position to being able to work the status quo better than others, so why rock the apple cart, just when you get to push it.
I am also immensely flattered to be put in a cohort that includes a “guru”, of the standing of Seth Godin.