Investing in people v Market Share
One of my colleagues recently had a very interesting debate with a CEO about people and how time consuming people issues were. My colleagues replied suggesting that unless you invest in people then businesseses will not have the right culture to suceed. The CEO replied saying that success is driven by growing market share and profitability.
Perhaps both are correct. Any business can grow if it has the right people to drive it, but equally there needs to be a market present for it to grow in. At the moment in a number of sectors there is uncertainty, whether it is caused by BREXIT, Oil Prices or simply lack of demand. However, if you do not keep investing in your people through these periods then the business will not be able to adapt and evolve.
Investment does not necessarily mean big 'away days' but rather it can be more subjective through building a business culture as well giving people sufficient opportunity to develop. If people come to work focused then businesses will grow, if not then they flounder.
Every business is also unique in how it operates, but if you can get the balance right between all of the above then arguably you are creating the right platform for success.