It's all about the people

The importance of people was the key topic this week, and I found it very compelling. There was so much data behind the idea that the quality of people in an organization is often more important to its success than the products or services that the business offers.

In one of the readings there was a quote that basically said, an excellent idea in the hands of a mediocre team will flounder and fail but a mediocre idea in the hands of an excellent team is much, much more likely to succeed. I think that’s why VC's so often are just as much if not more interested in the person behind the venture as the venture itself.

This principle was supported by the jetBlue case we studied which highlighted the high level of importance jetBlue places on the management of human resources. I don’t think that jetBlue would be anywhere near as successful as they are if they didn't strive to have and keep the very best people available.

Looking into the future, these are lessons that I have to remember. I have always placed a very high value on people, but for me it was more intuitive than anything. Here we have many examples of why the people in a company is so important. I definitely will come back to these articles and cases in the future to glean and relearn what was taught.

As for my $100 Challenge, I had another small victory. The company that I was referred to and referenced last week has agreed to sit down with me via Skype to talk about the goals of their email communications. This isn’t quite an agreement to compensate me for consulting services, but it is more of an interview for both of us to see if I can really help them in the areas where they are struggling. So, while by consulting business is still without a customer, I’m very optimistic that this one will work out. As long as they are looking for the kind of help that I can provide.