because excellence is about balance

Structure & People

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Written by Peter Razenberg

"Organise around business functions, not people. Build systems within each business function. Let systems run the business and people run the systems. People come and go but the systems remain constant" , Michael Gerber, E-Myth Revisited

The topics ‘Structure’ and ‘People’ are the third paired opposite forces defined in the RPM business model. Where the topic ‘Structure’ represents specific business functions and systems (i.e. location, facilities, ICT systems, logistics), the topic ‘People’ represents the human factor (i.e. engagement, motivation, skills, experience, availability, development). The two opposite business perspectives are equally important, where too much emphasis on ‘Structure’ alone and too little on ‘People’ will lead to a state of; “we have ‘best in class’ business functions and systems but at an unpractical location, difficult to use systems and with de-motivated employees”, where as too much emphasis on the topic ‘People’ and too little on ‘Structure’ will lead to a state of; “We are leaning on individual knowledge and experience while missing out on higher efficiency and risking business continuity when people decide to leave”.