What does this have to do with human resources and businesses?
The other day, I moved into a new home. The area is extremely quiet and very clean. I heard that the residents here are civilized and polite. Then, one morning, my neighbor suddenly came over and told me I had to close the emergency exit on the rooftop. She also said I was not allowed to grow plants there. The previous owner's trees had been dropping leaves onto her roof. She demanded that I cut those trees down immediately. It seemed strange—this was my rooftop, so what did it matter to her whether I planted trees or not? I went downstairs and told the repair workers that the neighbor was complaining too much. When I repeated her demands, everyone said the old woman was too difficult and that people should be free to plant whatever they wanted.
Yet that afternoon, I suddenly remembered another troublesome matter involving the fallen leaves at my old house, so I immediately asked a worker to install some nets to keep the leaves from falling outside. About ten years ago, when I was living in my old house, my neighbors also had trees growing thickly like that. There were so many trees that when shedding season came, all their leaves fell onto my roof. On top of that, leaves blew in from the main road. Since the leaves were on the roof, I paid no attention to them. But one day, during an extremely heavy downpour, my mother and younger brother were lying upstairs watching a movie when the roof suddenly collapsed with a tremendous crash. For some reason, there was an enormous amount of water up there. It was as though you were lying down when the house collapsed and then an entire container of water poured onto your head. It turned out that the leaves had accumulated over time and blocked the drain in the gutter, preventing the rainwater from draining away and causing it to pool there. Once the load became too great, the weight of the water naturally caused the roof to collapse. Fortunately, my mother and younger brother were unharmed. But electrical devices in the house, such as the laptop and television, were swept away by the water. From then on, I periodically hired someone to clear the leaves from the roof and paid particular attention to them when the rainy season arrived.
Thinking back, there are many minor complications or things that do not seem quite right but have not yet caused any harm, so people usually ignore them, don’t they? Yet those “not quite right” things gradually accumulate or simply remain there, waiting for the right conditions to cause tremendous damage. I find this is also true of the relationships around me. There may be minor friction between 2 people, but if they casually brush it aside without resolving it thoroughly, then when “the time, place, and people are all aligned,” or in a situation where “small winds gather into a storm,” that relationship will simply end. At that point, they will go from strangers to acquaintances and then back to strangers again…
The same is true in businesses. There may be small issues that the whole company considers insignificant, so no one addresses them. One employee sees that another is not working well, but ignores it. Over the years, good employees may think, “If those poor employees can get away with it, why shouldn’t I?” and good employees become poor ones too. That is not to mention small production errors that, if overlooked, may eventually bring down an entire production line. A mistake in a report that is left uncorrected can accumulate over several years; when it finally has to be fixed, it will cost the entire company a great deal of time, effort, and money. On the employee side, dissatisfaction may build up silently for a long time, until one day the employee suddenly submits a resignation.
I am also very afraid of this phenomenon of “fallen leaves waiting for the rainy season.” So whenever I begin any kind of relationship, whether with friends or colleagues, I make it very clear that I expect both sides to give each other feedback immediately whenever something comes up, rather than waiting until many mistakes have accumulated before correcting them. That is exhausting! And, of course, I also have to periodically clear away the “fallen leaves” lying in wait within my relationships. This is easy to say, but people are very hesitant at first—who would dare give such direct feedback? Still, I believe that with sincerity and a desire to improve, we will eventually receive input that helps our relationships become better and more enduring. And whenever you or I want to offer feedback, remember to use the positive feedback method. Otherwise, after giving feedback, we may “part ways” even faster than if we had done nothing at all!
Contact Quest Now for Consultation on Competency Measurement Solutions!
- Hotline: 1900.6135 (press 2)
- Website: www.vienquest.com
- Fanpage: www.facebook.com/vienquest
#vienquest #vien_quest #doluongnhansu #do_luong_nhan_su #doluongnangluc #do_luong_nang_luc #ruiroketsuc #rui_ro_kiet_suc