Those who buy a drill, it is said, are not interested in a drill. They are in need of a hole. Given this perspective, what is the purpose of your business? If you really drill into this question (pun intended) don’t you eventually identify profit as the reason for the existence of the business? Without profit the business can do nothing else. No good works, no support for the employees and their families, the business can’t even replace the carpeting when it is worn out. Profit makes everything else possible.
If the purpose of our collective toil is profit, how do we identify the most powerful point of leverage leading to that end? May I suggest the humble entry-level worker as the best candidate?
In manufacturing and most other verticals, more value is added to your output by the hands of the everyday worker than any other process in your system. No matter what you make, from appliances to zeppelins, most of your profit is likely derived from the work of the lowest paid workers in your facility. Those hands touch everything that matters to your customers.
At TalentTeam we wanted to honor these guardians of our business success. We hired a local street artist, Aelias Lorenzo, to paint one of our walls in recognition of this humble but enormously valuable part of our businesses. We told Aelias we respect these workers, we are grateful for them, and we recognize our debt to them. We gave him a wall, 20 feet long and 10 feet tall, to do his artistic magic, then we left him to share his talent. His answer was a sweeping tribute, employees carefully nurturing large and healthy plants. Literally growing your business, adding to its life, and creating a prosperous future for all of us.
As we count our blessings, let us remember those who contribute the most to our good fortune. They make our goods, service our customers, keep our ledgers, ship our products, and grease the wheels of commerce for all of us. Here’s to the lowest paid people in the building, and the contribution they make to all of our families.
See more about Aelias Lorenzo here. The wall he painted for us is in our West Valley office, 2993 south 5600 west. We welcome your visit; you can see his beautiful work and feel the warm sentiment his art brings to our business.
Those obsessed with etymology and such may find the origin of the drill-and-hole allegory interesting. A good exploration is set forth here.
Steve Pluim is the president of TalentTeam, a Salt Lake City based staffing and recruiting firm.
Steve can be reached by email at [email protected]
Connect with Steve on LinkedIn
Samantha
Wow, this post is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing it! Aelias did an incredible job with the wall, and I think it’s a wonderful tribute to the most valuable employees any company could have. It’s a great reminder for managers to cultivate a work environment that values and supports employees, which can ultimately lead to a more satisfied, productive, and dedicated team.
Steve Pluim
Thank you for the kind words Samantha. Mountain America is a good example of an employer in our community who does exactly those things. We are grateful to have your organization in our community!