Have you every traveled to Montreal or gone into the ethnic sections of some of our bigger cities? What was the problem that you encountered? The chances are you encountered conversations, which you could not comprehend what was going on. For all you know they could be saying adverse things about you or your organization and you would not have a clue as to what they were saying. This is equally true regarding our workplaces.
Actively listen to your organization and it is likely you might hear some of the following comments regarding HR’s role in the organization. Finance says we can’t read financial statements. I have actually asked HR professionals what they do with the financial statements for the department and the usual answer is either they file them away or they make sure the numbers add up correctly. Marketing complains that HR does not understand how to sell. Management says we don’t understand the needs of the shareholders or what the organizational strategic initiatives are. In each case the root cause is that HR does not speak the language of business.
The key to the TLS Continuum is that the organization must be on the same page. It means that as members of cross-functional teams we need to be speaking each other’s business. It requires that we understand those spreadsheets. It requires us to understand what is behind the numbers. It requires us to understand what marketing is selling. Last but not least we need to understand what the shareholders are demanding from our organization management.
Bottom line is that it does not matter what department we are part of in our everyday roles within the organization. What does matter is that every part of the organization is talking the same message. What matters is that every part of the organization is aligned ,with the organizational customers and the corporate culture. In turn each segment must ensure that each is aligned with the corporate strategic initiatives.
As we continue the implementation of the TLS Continuum as outlined in this series of posts, we must take responsibility for seeing that in seeing the problem, feeling the problem and creating the new corporate normal each and every segment of the organization and the process understands the value of the language. We need to take responsibility to see that our organizations are not comprised of a series of little Havana’s or China Towns. No one benefits from leaving a segment of the organization out of the picture. We can’t and will not operate efficiently if we do not understand what the others are doing.
What is the value of language? The language of business is the crux of the success we achieve. The language of business is the basis of a common roadmap to continuous improvement. The language of business is the basis for our message to the marketplace. The TLS Continuum is the driving force to bring about the required changes within the organization. The TLS Continuum process is the foundation for allowing the organization to excel. We only do that if we are on the same page language wise. The marketplace demands it but so do our human capital assets.
Stop for a moment and determine if you really are speaking a common language within your organization. If not, why not? Email me at dan@dbaiconsulting.com and let me know if you are on the same page with the rest of the organization.