We introduced the 3 Pillars of Success (People, Process and Technology) several weeks ago, to ultimately discuss each one in detail, and in my opinion, the People Pillar is the most important pillar.
With fantastic people in your organization, you can overcome just about anything. Whether it is a lack of standard/repeatable processes or poor technology, great people always find a way to overcome. Granted, lacking in the other areas and expecting your people to overcome is not ideal, but more often than not, your people do overcome for deficiencies in other areas. However, the reverse does not hold true where great technology or process will make up for unqualified people, it just doesn’t work that way.
Ad Ops is a great example of People overcoming technology or process challenges to get the job done. Just take a look at your organization. Many organizations today are using out of date technology or inefficient processes, yet your people still get the job done. The most prominent technology within Ad Ops is MS-Excel. Excel is so widely used because the processes and technology that Ad Ops personnel need are not available within their organization, thus organizations “make do” with Excel, rather than invest in the best tools and processes available to help their people.
Assuming everyone is in agreement that the People Pillar is the most important pillar of your organization; it begs the question “Are you investing in your people”? Hopefully the answer is yes, but far too often what should be a booming “yes” is more of a meek “well, we are just too busy to deal with this right now”. It’s not a conscious decision to NOT invest, but it is a lack of decision because it never seems like the right time to take proactive steps.
If that is the case, then shame on you. Your people matter and when they walk out the door every evening, that is your most valuable asset heading home. It doesn’t take much to get them a refresher training course, develop basic on-boarding materials for new hires, invest in new technology to save them time (alright, sometimes new technology is expensive) or do any number of things to make their lives easier.
Does your team have the right mix of skills to be effective? Do junior folks see a clear career ladder within ad ops? Do senior folks feel challenged? Are your people cross trained to be able to help one another? All of these are questions that deserve a resounding “YES”, but far too often are ignored which is why it is critically important for organizations to proactively invest in their people. They need not be expensive or time consuming, but as the saying goes, “Tiny Hinges Swing Big Doors”, so get started in investing in your People today!
How important are people to your organization? When things are crazy, and absolultely, positively have to get done, do you rely on your fancy technology or your fantastic people? With fantastic people in your organization, you can overcome just about anything. Whether it is a lack of standard/repeatable processes or poor technology, great people always find a way to overcome.