Using The Human Component Of Your Business Strategy To Keep Your Growth On Track

Blog post by Deb Dietz

​One of my colleagues, Jennifer J. Fondrevay, is the organizational transformation guru companies work with to keep their growth strategies on track. And, while data is increasingly used to develop and guide business strategy and inform decision making, Jennifer helps ensure the human component of a company’s plan, such as culture, productivity, and retention remains a cornerstone of success during times of change rather than an inhibitor.

Let’s look at your growth plan. Most likely you’re accommodating for external changes and their impact on your business. External changes like what’s happening in your industry, your competition, changes with technology, changes with the economy. But what about internal changes?
Are you in the midst of a reorganization, consolidation, restructuring or a merger or acquisition? Or, are you anticipating changes like this for your business? If so, are you planning now to mitigate disruption in the future? Because changes like this can cause massive disruption. Imagine the impact on your team. The feelings of loss and uncertainty. Trying to get a handle on what to expect as their roles change. Are they safe in this new world of uncertainty? This is the kind of fear that keeps them up at night.

Leaders navigating through this sea of change have to proactively manage the transition stages. How will your people respond? How must you improve communications with colleagues who are experiencing workplace stress? Are your people prepared to assess the requirements for success in a new role? Will they be able to pivot to achieve these new goals? What can you do now to help them be successful?

​Yes, data and analysis are important in any growth plan. But sometimes you need to rely on your gut instinct, and cultivate the human point of view as part of the decision-making process. Human beings may not have the computing power of software programs, algorithms, or robots, but intuition (or inner wisdom) should never be underestimated, especially in business.

To learn more about how to cultivate the human point of view in this era of data-driven decision-making, I invite you to learn more about Jennifer and her work as an organizational transformation guru. She’s published her book, so visit her website at https://www.jenniferjfondrevay.com.