ideasarehere

Funny how a seemingly simple phrase can be interpreted in various ways. In his best-selling book, Michael E. Gerber wrote “The business model should be such that the employees needed possess the lowest possible level of skill necessary to fulfill the functions for which each is intended.”

In Linchpin, his latest book, Seth Godin now concludes that this kind of thinking will not be the one to create a sustainable business, because cheap labor produces cheap results, which leads to fighting over price, creating a race to the bottom instead of the top.

My take on this is a little different, because M. E. Gerber came out with his phrase in the context of systems. So I think what he really means is to create a system that does not require excellent people to run properly. To design a system that is (continually being) so refined that it allows more freedom for the employees, that they can focus on doing what’s important and don’t get stuck in the paperwork or whatever keeps them busy. Despite its name, business is not about keeping your employees busy but keep them working, creating more value.

I also believe that as an entrepreneur you have a social responsibility. Everybody has a right to work (and to get paid for it), regardless of their intellectual capabilities. And it’s quite unsocial to expect everybody to give you (and your products) a chance when you don’t give everybody a chance to be part of it. And this will only work when it’s not necessary to be you to do your job. That’s why systems are created. The key to scale and replicate the business. The only difference is that your system can grow a lot quicker with an excellent person in charge.