If you don’t understand people, you don’t understand business.  ~Simon Sinek

I recently needed to find a new vet for my dog.  I decided to try a vet who opened an office down the street from my home a few years ago.  I was so impressed with his patience and bedside manner I actually thought about asking if he’d be willing to be my doctor as well.  As I thought about that, I wondered if most vets go into veterinary medicine not only because they enjoy science but also because they love animals.  Then I thought about some of the medical doctors I’ve encountered, and wondered if more of them go into medicine because they enjoy science but not necessarily because they love people.

Then there are the people who go into business.  I think most of them go into business because they enjoy business, not because they love (or even enjoy) people.  There are lots of people in business who believe they understand business, but Simon Sinek suggests that if they don’t understand people then they really don’t understand business.

There’s that old phrase we’ve all heard at some time or another: “it’s just business.”  Hmm…maybe it’s not “just business,” maybe the truth is: “it’s always about people.”

I know that I frustrate clients sometimes when they ask me to describe my process for strategic planning.  I always start with “it depends.”  It depends upon the leadership, their personalities and work styles.  I’ve learned, the hard way, that if I try to force a specific formula for strategic planning onto an organization’s leadership and it doesn’t fit with who they are, the process is painful and the plan goes nowhere.  I have to first understand the people who will be leading the strategic effort.

I’ve watched leaders who have a very commanding, analytical, logic-driven approach try to create change in their organization by instating policies.  Unfortunately, the employees they are trying to lead are highly relational-driven, people-focused, and empathetic.   The policies fall on deaf ears.  The forward-moving change the leader was hoping for actually becomes three steps backwards.  The leader believes they understand business, but they clearly don’t understand people.

Back to doctors, I recently had the privilege, and I really do mean privilege, of being cared for by a doctor who truly understands people.  While I wouldn’t want to wish ill health on any of my friends, I do hope that someday I will have the opportunity to provide this doctor with numerous referrals.

Understanding people really is understanding business.