People Are People, Not Human Resources

Oswald, CEO of BLR®, offered his thoughts on leadership and people in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter.

Elvis—only his first name is necessary—is still the second best-selling artist of all time (only behind The Beatles), and he’s been dead for more than 35 years! Somehow we elevate these people to godlike status, but they’re very human.

When I read the letter that recently fired Groupon CEO Andrew Mason sent to employees, I was reminded that people are people. The letter was genuine, surprisingly humorous, and above all honest. It showed Mason to be a self-effacing, caring, and “real” person. It was refreshing. At a time when we tend to idolize big company executives, here’s a guy who’s “keeping it real,” and I can’t help but believe the employees at Groupon are going to miss their leader.

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I received an e-mail the other day from a friend and business owner. He has done quite well for himself and has long been an absentee owner of the business. My friend has a capable executive who leads the business, and she had shared with him all the things she and the other managers had done for the employees on National Employee Appreciation Day.

They cooked breakfast, handed out lottery tickets, and had a prize drawing, among other things. In total, there were more than a dozen different things management had done to show its appreciation for the employees, including handwritten notes and publicly recognizing each individual in front of his or her peers.

By all accounts, the employees loved it—I’ve seen the e-mails that poured in at day’s end. It was just another reminder that people are people and want to be recognized for their contributions. There was nothing fancy about what the managers did, but a lot of thought and caring went into it.

A colleague sent me this link the other day. Take a minute to view the video, and then tell me you’re not moved by what you just saw. Here is a young man of high-school age who had enough awareness and compassion to provide another person with an opportunity he will remember for a lifetime.

Consider that the young man was in the midst of a competition and on the losing end of it, and it becomes even more remarkable. Add to it that it was done in front of his teammates and hundreds of fans, and you have to just shake your head. That’s an impressive young man. Want to put someone on a pedestal, how about him? People are just people.

What’s my point? I don’t know. How about that what really matters in life is being yourself and caring about others? You don’t have to be famous to have a positive impact on other people’s lives. You don’t have to be a big-time executive or a movie star to make an impression on people. Taking the time to show others that you care about them as individuals—that they matter—is a really important skill and one every manager must learn.

It’s easy to get caught up in our day-to-day activities and forget that in the end, it’s really about the people. In our company, the single largest expense we have is people. It pays for us to remember that. They are the engine that drives the business, and if we are to be successful, we need them to know how important they are. People are people. They are not human resources. They are not just employees. They are individuals who have come together to pursue a shared mission and specific goals. We need to make sure we treat them with care and respect.