Leader's cocktail

Author: Liu Lan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: What is "human-centric"? I discovered a "80/80 rule": At least 80% of companies mention or even emphasize the slogan of "human-centric" in their corporate culture or value statements; however, at least 80% of them fail to truly implement it. This is because they, specifically their CEOs, cannot correctly answer two questions: Why should we be human-centric? How can we achieve being human-centric? A common misconception is that being human-centric is a matter of course. In reality, not all businesses, at all times, need to be human-centric. The mission of a business is to create and meet consumer needs, and what should be human-centric is the factor that plays a key role in fulfilling this mission. If people are not a critical factor, then there is no need to be human-centric. For example, manufacturing in the first half of the 20th century did not need to be human-centric, at least not Ford Motor Company. Mr. Ford calculated that the production of the Model T required over 8,000 processes: "We found that 670 processes could be completed by people without legs, 2,673 by people with one leg, and 2 by people without hands." Ford Company prioritized standardized processes, and people were not important. Times have changed, and an increasing number of businesses are adopting a human-centric approach. One reason is the "service revolution": On one hand, the service industry, where people directly meet consumer needs, is growing stronger; on the other hand, whether it's traditional manufacturing or emerging information industries, businesses are increasingly interacting closely with consumers in a market characterized by diverse demands and fierce competition—in other words, all businesses are "servitizing." P37-38