Humanity in Business
Business is about much more than profits and losses; it’s about people.
Most of the time when we think about a business we think about the products or services, sales, advertising, office building or stock price. Or, if we are thinking about our own business, we think about the projects that we are working on, the processes that we follow, and the systems we use. We also think about getting paid! These things are all important, but they are just one dimension of a business.
We can call this the “It-dimension”. It is a good term for these items because “it” is impersonal. These elements of business all exist beyond people. It is what makes a business feel like a machine--what dehumanizes business. But it’s also what allows a business to operate and scale. The it-dimension is technical, functional, and structural. It’s what people in a business spend the vast majority of their time focusing on, talking about, considering, creating, etc. It has become the most important part of many people’s waking hours (and sometimes also the stuff of their dreams!).
Businesses, of course, are also made up of people. We may reach a time when a business can exist without people, with robots and AIs coming up with a great startup concept and then executing on it. But that is not today. Now, a business only exists because people create those products and services, work together on projects, build processes and everything else that’s done for the business.
Each of those human lives that are doing things for the business is precious. Each second that is spent by each person on that business is precious. For too long we have treated others and often ourselves as slaves to the business, literally or figuratively. The business is not more important than any human. And is only one aspect of life.
That’s why people talk so much about work-life balance. They recognize that work has taken over much of their lives and so they want to figure out how to get it back in balance. But these are not either/or options--to either work or to live. So work must be better integrated with life.
For this reason, we should add a lens for each person in the business. We can call this the “I”-dimension. The I-dimension describes the experience for each individual in a business. Each person brings their own beliefs, values, purpose, culture, personality, psychology, and much, much more to the business. Each day, that person behaves in certain ways, makes decisions or takes actions, says things and does things. Some of those things might lead others to perceive that person differently from how they perceive themselves. They might be tired or stressed. Their dog may have passed away. They may be introverted or shy. But someone else might see them as arrogant or aloof.
How complicated people are! And now recognize that a business consists of many, many of these individuals, all trying to work together and maintain the network of commitments that allows a business to run. So we need to include a third dimension, we can call “We”. The We-dimension describes the relational aspects of a business. How people work together. How they communicate and coordinate. How they deal with conflicts. Whether they trust each other and have solidarity.
Given how complicated each person is, it’s mind-boggling to think about how an organization with dozens, hundreds or thousands of people works. That’s why so many of them don’t work so well! And also why it’s easier to either think of people as just another resource to be used and for many people to think of their jobs as just a way to pay the bills so that life can be lived elsewhere.
Through this three-dimensional lens, you can start a journey toward a more human way of doing business. Recognizing that each person is as important as the revenues may seem obvious but is easily forgotten. Knowing that people’s relationships impact their work isn’t surprising but is rarely attended to.
Seeing the three dimensions as equal parts of a whole, like this yin-yang-yong symbol may be helpful.
Each of the parts is connected to the other and isn’t static. Sometimes there may be less attention paid to one or another. But, over time, if the three dimensions are not equally considered and attended to, the business will not function effectively, individuals will suffer and the relationships between people will be fraught--the whole thing will fall apart, or at least struggle.
The three-dimensional lens also provides an insightful means of looking into challenges or breakdowns in a business. When something goes wrong in one dimension, the others are typically impacted. For example, if I show up to work tired, the project I’m tasked with won’t get done with high quality. My teammates then feel angry, stressed, or let down. They are suffering and our relationship suffers. They don’t trust me in the same way. Will anyone say anything about this?
Once you begin to see your work and your business in these three dimensions, you have the ability to go about them in a more effective and constructive way. Your level of consciousness can increase and you can act with a greater amount of perspective. You can be more powerful in your approach and empathetic in your understanding. And you can create the kind of business that is aligned with your highest purpose.
