EXCERPT

How much of what we know about people today is really true? In the view of Steven R. Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, "The way we see the problem is the problem." So, to paraphrase a little, The way we see the people problem is the problem.

We took what Henry Ford taught us about production lines and what Frederick Taylors stopwatches and clipboards did for work layout and standardization, and thought that people, too, were standardized and interchangeable, and satisfied when their work output was optimized. But then came the Hawthorne Effect, which opened our eyes to how workers related to work.

We used to believe that three hots and a cot (for those not into this slang, that means three meals a day and a place to stay) was all that people wanted. And then Maslow came along to tell us about how people had different levels of needs.

We assumed that nobody really liked to work, so that organizations had to build in some structure that made work either necessary or at least bearable. And then McGregor challenged that idea, and argued that its not the work, but the assumptions about work, that was the problem.

Too, we thought that if something satisfied people, then more of the same would really turn them on. But Herzberg taught us the difference between Satisfiers and Motivators.

The rest of this book will suggest some ways to look at the people around you that may be a tad different from the way you have been looking at them. Well consider how people may differ from day to day, and what that might mean to you. Well examine the advantages of listening to what others are saying, and how what you hear might work to your advantage. Well look at more of Maslow, and add Lewin, Herzberg, and Mayo, MacGregor and the Johari Window. And well present some ideas that dont even have anybodys name associated with them, but which may provide some further insight into how people act within organizations.