You know, for being such a dominating force in the world of business, Corporate America really doesn’t have a clue about the stuff that REALLY makes business successful - you know, the people part of it?
If you think communication and presentation, management, human resources, sales and marketing, project and time management, customer service, administration, accounting and finance and purchasing are soft-skills, then you really don’t have any idea of why you are not the best in your market do you? Imagine telling the Human Resources director that they have no real technical expertise because HR is a soft-skill. Imagine telling the VP of Customer Service that her entire department is an unnecessary soft-skill. The same goes for accounting, finance and purchasing.
There are some training companies that would have you believe that sales, finance and management are soft-skills.
If it’s a skill you need to perform your job, it’s a technical or a performance skill. If it’s something that makes you a better person, it’s a soft-skill. It's that clear. There is no gray area here.
Let me illustrate: two job candidates sit in your office with exactly the same technical skill-set. Who do you choose? You choose the candidate with the better soft-skills (friendliness, confidence, optimism, etc.).
It’s exactly the same way your customers choose to do business with a particular sales person, or why some companies offer better service, or why some companies have better management. Given that the product is equal, the choice comes down to which personality you would prefer to work with. Your choice is based on a soft-skill.
If you want to improve the corporate culture of your organization, you can not do it without addressing attitudes and soft-skills.
The Attitudes and soft-skills of your organization are the difference between mediocrity and greatness. Oh, and by the way, greatness is a soft-skill.
No comments:
Post a Comment