3 Elements of Human Capital

01.20.2011

3 Elements of Human Capital

 

Meet Jim.  

Jim joined ABC Corporation 10 years ago, and has worked his way up through each and every existing rank at ABC Corp. in that short amount of time.  

Jim lives, breaths, and dreams about ABC's future growth.  Industry conferences ask Jim to come speak to audiences of 500 or more because of how passionate he carries himself, related to the mission of ABC. 

Because of Jim's hands-on experience, he knows ABC's product.  Well.  Jim understands more than simply WHAT ABC makes, but also intimately knows HOW they make it. (Including a real understanding of the thresholds interwoven in ABC's equipment).  

But that's not all... In the past 4 years, Jim's passion and understanding of ABC's business has placed him roles where he has been involved in discovering the WHY behind ABC's HOW and WHAT.  

And that's it.  He's caught the real purpose behind ABC's business.  Using this purpose... this WHY... Jim brings new, different, and "out-of-the-box" ideas to ABC's executive team frequently.  He challenges the norms with diplomacy and tact.  He has developed an ingrown "WHY" radar, seeking opportunities to connect any staff member's performance or situation to that very reason ABC exists. 

Jim gets it.  

You would hire Jim.

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Our world has changed DRASTICALLY in recent years.  The days of "dropping off an application" or "sending a Monster.com resume in and hoping" are absolutely over.  Real human capital is not found in the cattle coral...

It's found standing in your shoes.

"WHY" oriented companies are winning in the new economy.  

Think of your local shoe store... what is their WHY?  Now think of TomsShoes.com ... can you peg THEIR WHY?

Is it any coincidence that purpose driven companies, churches, and organizations seem to attract the best talent?  

It is my contention that the talent they attract is by design.

Here are the 3 key elements all WHY driven organizations look for when hiring a "Jim."

3 Key Elements of Human Capital:

1.  Knowledge: skills, intellect, expertise, technical ability, procedural competency.

Do you understand how to do your job?  Have you shown the ability to do this job in your previous work experience?  Have you demonstrated the ability to learn, well? 

Knowledge can be learned, but NEVER neglected.  Hiring somebody on that either has no knowledge or cannot gain & retain knowledge is like hiring a rodeo clown (motivated and honest) to perform open heart surgery on your growth strategy.  Good luck.

Companies want people who either know their business, or can learn it quickly.  Their goal is to have "Unconsciously Competent" team members... who could do "this" in their sleep.

2.  Character: passion, ethic, motivation, personhood, inner driving force, integrity.

Who are you when nobody is looking?  What's your character worth to you?  What motivates you to get out of bed every morning?  WHY are you here, on earth?  What is your life purpose?

Without character, shady business happens.  The loss of character leads to dishonesty, cheating, disloyalty, and poor retention.  Trust is a key quality required by WHY focused organizations... and it cannot exist in the absence of character.

Companies want strong communication, intrinsic motivation, and a real "heartbeat" that results from a character filled team.  Be that person, BEFORE you're asked to be.

3.  Creativity: ideas, flexible, innovative, imaginative, whole minded (left and right brain).

Are you a rule follower?  An order taker?  ... or an innovator!  Are you willing to invest a bit of risk to suggest improvement to the system in which you work?  Think outside of the box, and CREATE.  

Fast-Followers are to Creative-Innovation as Junk Food is to a 7 Course Gourmet Meal.  Busch League!

Companies want team members who not only "do" what is asked of them... but that really want to improve the organization.  Bring ideas, be willing to take risks, and challenge the norms!

I challenge you to consider these 3 areas in all that you do, and become the most valuable Human Capital your company (ministry/organization) has ever employed.

P.S:  I DARE you to prepare genuine responses in these 3 areas for your next job interview.

Become indispensable.