The difference between managing human capital poorly and extremely well can be as high as 500% per person productivity and extremely high morale. People are about four times as capable as commonly expected, but very few managers know this. I concur that proper planning is a must, but treating people like they really are your most important resource and causing them to become self-directed is far more important than proper planning because self-directed people will correct any planning deficiencies on their own in order to succeed.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of managers use some form of the traditional top-down command and control approach to managing people. At its worst it totally demotivates and demoralizes employees, but even at its best it fails completely to cause employees to unleash their full potential.

To understand how to move from the bottom to the top of this spectrum of performance, I invite you to read these Leadership Articles starting with the article “Leadership, Good or Bad”.

Best regards, Ben