“The pain of blocked budding is greater than the pain of blossoming.”
Sir Ken Robinson.

We will remember 2009 as a year that saw the powerhouses of Wall Street on their knees, and one which exposed more than ever the interconnected dependence of the global economies.  

After the avalanche of bad economic and financial news, where free-falling stock market prices served as the visual reminders of how bad things were getting, the close of summer seems to have brought a much appreciated lull (at least for the time being) in the turbulent economic reports that permeated the first half of 2009. News of recovery is cautiously and slowly trickling through. In contrast, the cloud of uncertainty that quickly spread its shadow over the human aspect of the crisis continues.

During a recent conference in Amsterdam, where the creative industry gathered to discuss ways to weather this storm, Sir Ken Robinson, an expert on creativity and education, described the situation as a human resource crisis taking place parallel to the much publicised financial and economic crisis; a crisis that has already been going on for some time, originating with education systems world-wide that systematically educate our children out of their creativity. Robinson also observes that we are in the middle of nothing less than a revolution – a technological revolution that is profoundly changing the face of the earth and a digital culture that is re-organising human relations on par with 20th century industrial revolution. Therefore, we need to fundamentally rethink our system of human resources and despite the technological nature of this ‘revolution’

Robinson’s advice is to make more of the people inside organisations.
One of the consequences resulting from the financial and economic crisis is the space now available to re-evaluate the working principles of the economy in all its aspects, including labour relations. Not long ago maximising stakeholders’ profit was the central driving force around which most companies and businesses were configured.

'Dollars without morals'

Today however this ‘matter-of-fact’ concept has come under fire, especially when cutting costs and keeping profit numbers high has meant firing employees whilst paying out bonuses to the management who nonetheless delivered the dividends that satisfy stakeholders. Ethics has even hit Wall Street, where ‘dollars without morals’, to put it crudely, has been the tune to which everyone danced.
So, what, if any value do employees have within organisations? Can we view the existence of an organisation and that of its employees separately? And do employees who spend a significant amount of their lifetime working only do it as a means to earn money, or is there something more to working and having jobs besides the financial remuneration? How would the above considerations alter the way we look at ‘human resources management’ or ‘human capital investment’ to use the economic jargon?  These are some of the key questions that policy makers and HR departments need to address today.

Releasing talent

Introducing his new book ‘The Element’, Sir Robinson asserts the natural capacity of humans is immense, but most people are not able to utilise their capacity and talents because they do not get the opportunity to find out what that is. This is chiefly because the education system is organised in such a way that most children are channelled to go to certain ‘useful’ studies/professions and their creativity is often lost in the process. Thus, in this fashion, the education system is depriving children of the opportunity to discover what they love doing. Instead, it is creating discontent citizens who are doing things they do not enjoy or truly believe are worth their lifetime. Robinson believes that people who have found their ‘element’ are fulfilled and happy; because ‘doing the things one loves means life configures around you in an organic way’.

Providing  the right conditions for growth

Applying this thinking to organisations in today’s modern economy, Sir Robinson states leaders and managers can learn a fundamental lesson from farmers if they want to get the most out of their employees: ‘‘A farmer knows he cannot control nature, the only thing he can do is provide the right conditions of fertile ground for plants to grow. Leaders could do the same in their organisations; employees who have the right environment to work will flourish and in the process so will the organisation’’

Making more of the people you have

The basic message is that companies need to make more of the people inside their organisations.  Doing this will require imagination and innovative thinking. It means providing an environment and opportunities so that employees are not confined to their function description, but are able to use and develop their talent and capacity. Sometimes this might actually mean letting go of talented people so that they can pursue what they really are passionate about. Because at times doing what you are good in is not equivalent to doing what you love, although if you love what you do, you are more likely to excel in it. Having motivated and enthusiastic employees means they will no longer count the days until the next Friday, but their professional work will become an integral part of who they are and their personal life.  Content employees see the survival and fate of the organisation intimately intertwined with theirs. They will therefore look for creative and innovative solutions especially vital in times of crisis. 

Thinking differently about what you have

So what does innovation and creativity mean for HR? During the same conference, Lavav of Systemic Inventive Thinking presented a succinct insight on common ‘understanding’ of innovation. He pointed out that  “whatever you need to innovate, you already have, you just need to change the way you have to think about it- i.e. think inside the box, take stock of what you have and think differently about it.”
Innovation is not ‘out there’ to be discovered; a difficult process of coming up with new ideas.  In fact according to Lavac, thinking out of the box is paramount to escaping from dealing with the difficulty of existing mental modes and functional fixedness. Instead, creative solutions come from challenging the things we think are obvious and take for granted. This will require getting rid of our existing ‘mental furniture’.  That is when originality emerges.

It is therefore appropriate that 2009 has been designated the 'European year for Innovation and Creativity'.  This initiative offers the right platform to also re-think labour relations and regulations. Success should not only be measured in terms of positive financial reporting, but also on how happy and satisfied employees are.

Happiness is the wish of everyone – so why not start in the place where most people spend much of their time — the workplace!!

Kookie Habtegaber, economic consultant and freelance journalist.