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|In: Leadership|Last Updated:

Maybe they were just tired.

In the past, when I’ve mentioned evolutionary theory in this space, I’ve received mail challenging my misguided acceptance of natural selection written in the quantities and tones usually reserved for criticisms of OS/2. But my recent column promoting the value of evolutionary concepts in everyday business thinking provoked no protest (see Survival Guide, Sept. 2, page 51).

Time to try again, I guess.

One of the less-well understood subtleties of Darwinian theory is that fitness is like Einsteinian velocity: It’s relative. Nature selects those organisms that best fit their particular circumstances, not those that are best in any absolute sense.

Popular culture seems to prefer absolutism these days. Nonetheless, Darwinian relativism is a valuable thought process to apply to business situations. Take, for example, the popular notion of “best practices.” If the adoption of best practices is an important part of your operational plan it’s time to ask yourself, are you a business fundamentalist? In other words, do you really think there is such a thing as a practice that’s best in all circumstances? Or are you a Darwinian, understanding that the best you can find are practices that are optimal for your particular situation?

Not that best practices is a worthless idea. Some areas of business are pretty much the same across a wide variety of circumstances. Accounts payable is an area in which best practices really are “best” — there just isn’t that much difference from one company to another.

Except, of course, that even with something as prosaic as the process of paying vendors for goods and services you will find enormous differences if you peel the onion at all. That’s why the grocery industry was an early adopter of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), while IT services (for example) lags: Supermarket chains process huge numbers of purchase transactions while making their profits on turns, so shaving even a few cents from transaction costs pays off. For IT services, with its higher margins and low transaction volume, EDI makes little sense.

None of which is to say you have nothing to learn from other companies. In fact, you can learn a lot. Think of it as the business equivalent of gene splicing — you can benefit from some other company’s evolutionary history without having to go through the pain of inventing a successful practice yourself. But be Darwinian, and make sure someone else’s best practice fits your business circumstances.

Genetic engineering isn’t, after all, always such a great idea.

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|In: Industry Commentary|Last Updated:

“Nostalgia,” Sam Goldwin once said, “ain’t what it used to be.”

Recently I’ve become nostalgic for the raft of articles we saw during the late, lamented “IT Labor Shortage,” listing proven techniques managers could use to gain employee loyalty. That was just a few years back. Why don’t we see articles like that anymore? Ah, I miss the good old days.

It might seem that creating a great work environment isn’t your top priority these days. With the economy in its current shape, your average IT staff member isn’t going anywhere, even if working conditions are something less than ideal. Supply will probably exceed demand for quite awhile.

If it seems that way to you, you’re absolutely right. Your top priority isn’t creating a great work environment — it’s delivering the information technology your company needs, as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Everything else is a means to an end.

Luckily enough, creating a great work environment is one of the most important means, because it doesn’t just help you retain your best employees (the ones who can find another job tomorrow, even in the current economy) but helps you get the maximum contribution from them.

Luckier yet, creating a great work environment doesn’t cost you anything, because it isn’t about parties and t-shirts. Luckiest of all, what it is about is focusing everyone on accomplishing something important — getting the job done. Most people most of the time want a sense of accomplishment from their time at the office, so if you can help them get one, they’ll work harder, work smarter, and spend a greater portion of their work day working on what’s most important.

Don’t believe me? Listen to what employees gripe about. Listen carefully and you’ll find most of their complaints are about company-imposed distractions — too many meetings, bad policies and procedures, and all the flaming bureaucratic hoops they often must jump through in order to get down to business.

Want to create a great job environment? Cut down on meetings, thin your Policies and Procedures Manual to the bare essentials, and get rid of the flaming hoops. Focus everyone on accomplishing important goals, and eliminate whatever barriers to their accomplishment you can.

Finally, thank employees for their hard work and achievements. Why? It makes them feel appreciated. More significantly, it underscores that what they achieved really was important.

And, it’s basic good manners.

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