What are the Reality Papers?
A question: Should a person have experience of a situation or of an environment to be qualified to comment on said situation or environment?
Perhaps you think this is an easy question and that the answer is an obvious yes! You would, however, be wrong. As I progress through these papers and argue my points, you may assume that I have been there and done that. This is not entirely true. Yes, several points, perhaps many, are the result of personal observation. Others have been extrapolated from experience, logic and the empathy required to understand my fellow human beings.
Never assume that to understand something that the view has to be from the top down. Looking up, for example as an employee on the receiving end of some particularly nasty bad business practices, will also qualify the individual to give comment and have an opinion.
These papers will discuss my own observations from personal experience and from my own intuitive understanding of people and their interactions. These series of papers are by no means a guide to ensure business success. They will, however, have an impact, both positive and negative, on every business, no matter the size.
Many of the points raised these papers may seem extremely obvious to experienced business people. But think on the one-man shows that has expanded until they employ a significant work force. All the owners and managers of these businesses have for experience is what they have learned for themselves over the years of actually doing business.
They will certainly have developed some bad business habits and unrealistic expectations of those they employ. Most likely, it would never occur to them to take human nature into account in their employer-employee relations or their business-client relations. The efficient and productive work environment depends on these relations more than anything else, like it or not. That’s reality.
Feedback is, or course, always welcome. It is only through interaction with our colleagues that we can appreciate the different perspectives on any subject. Please leave your comments and follow Reality Papers on Facebook and Twitter.
Should you wish to subscribe to Reality Papers or become a contributor yourself, just send a message using the contact form on this page and it will be processed as quickly as possible. Note that, although the articles are written in English, we will be translating them all to Dutch shortly. Feel free to comment in the language you feel most comfortable with.
Thank you for your time.