Critical Thinking and Humanism in Business

If you have a job, your job is to solve a problem. Solving problems effectively requires critical thinking skills.

All business are in the business of solving customers problems. People are hired to work for the company to help the company better solve these problems and to solve the problems that prevent the staff from solving the customer’s problems.

Eventually companies get big enough where they need to hire HR professionals to solve the problems that come with having people on payroll. Like how to pay people efficiently and make sure they get the benefits the company provides and to correct paychecks that have errors. HR also has to ensure that all paperwork is in compliance and that people are legally allowed to work for the company to preemptively ensure that legal problems aren’t created through ignorance of the law. Eventually companies get big enough that they also need to hire HR professionals dedicated to dealing with the problems of employee relations, which is a fancy way of saying, interpersonal problems that can cause legal liability for the company if not dealt with properly.

Since every aspect of a business is related to solving a problem, learning how to solve problems is an essential skill for any job. This is why critical thinking is so important.

A humanistic approach to business is a way of understanding the interrelated nature of the problems we are solving and the people for who and with whom we are working. We are never simply solving one problem. All the problems of the company are related. We don’t want to fix one problem and create another problem if we can avoid it.

Humanistic business management is a holistic way of viewing the business of business. Critical thinking is central to this approach because it is impossible to weigh all the various elements at play unless you know how to think clearly.

Critical thinking is useful precisely because it requires the challenging of assumptions. The question why – why are we doing things this way? What exactly are we trying to accomplish? What else and who else is impacted by this decision? By asking these questions we can see the big picture and how our piece of the puzzle relates to everything else that is going on within the company.

It is mind expanding. Like viewing the complexity of the cosmos within the inter-dependent web of employees that is your company.  I find this connected and yet holistic viewpoint inspiring and motivating.  And while it make seem like a lot to take in, by taking the time to think about how things work together, you actually are able to gain a clarity that helps focus on the problems that really matter.

Critical Thinking and Humanism in Business. It’s a powerful combination.

Stop Blessing Me!!!

I’m not a scrooge, but ... please don’t bless me through your voice mail message.  Why religious expression in the workplace does more harm than good.

I’m a Humanist and I’m all for freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of religion. But that freedom has limits when it imposes itself on others. This is especially true when you are in the workplace. Unless you work for an explicitly religious organization – don’t tell people to have a blessed day.  Here’s why.

Contrary to popular belief, we non-believers aren't offended by religious speech.  I certainly am not. But I do get annoyed by it when it is forced on me in a business setting. Generating intentional and avoidable annoyance is not polite. And is that really the impression you want to have on your customers?  Unless of course, you  don’t care about keeping your customers – in which case, you have other problems.

For the record, I am not offended by someone telling me to have a blessed day in their voice mail message. What I am worried about is how this employee will treat me if they found out I'm not religious like they are. This worry is especially acute if the employee is a public employee working for the government who has the power to deny me services based on my non-adherence to said public employee’s personal religious beliefs.  And yes, that would be illegal and yes, it happens anyway. I doubt that people who leave these sorts of voice mail messages mean any harm, but lots of religious people are scared of people who don’t believe as they do, so while they wouldn't intentionally discriminate, their fear might cause them to. It’s a real concern. And keep in mind. This isn't me inflicting my non-belief on them. It’s them forcing me to either go along with their religious belief or be exposed as a non-believer. It’s a very uncomfortable position to be in – especially when the stakes may be high.

Aside from the fear that I will be actively and openly discriminated against by the employee who “harmlessly” wishes me a blessed day, I also have to actively translate this peculiar bit of religious speak into secular speak so that I can understand what they are saying.  Do they mean for me to have a good day? Or are they making some sort of political statement under the guise of telling me to have a good day?  I have no idea.  But the attempt to figure that out is exhausting. And it’s pointless because I can’t really know for sure.  So, while I would like to think - this person means well, I can't always be sure.

“Have a blessed day” is an obviously overt religious expression and the secular expression to "have a nice day" is so ubiquitous that to choose the blessed option is rather obnoxious and that makes me wonder why this particular person felt it was important to use that particular phrase in such an overt and inescapable way. And all this is way too much thinking to think for a simple phone call message and so I become super annoyed that the person who just attempted to bless me put me through all that extra annoying unnecessary thinking and I no longer really want to do business with them at all – unless I absolutely have to.

If you want me to have a nice day - say so. Don't annoy me by making me do extra unnecessary thinking and worrying. It isn't very nice, it isn't very Christian, it isn't very professional and it certainly isn't very humanistic. Religion is your personal business. Don’t make it mine.

Your Customer Matters

 A lesson in humanistic customer service.

A door to door salesman came to my door smoking a cigarette - when I complained - he said - oh, you don't smoke. I said no. He apologized for being so rude and stepped back from me but didn't put out his cigarette and continued to smoke while attempting to talk to me about his product - which had something to do with construction. I wasn’t paying attention because the smoke was still bothering me. I made an excuse and went back inside my house.

I don't want to critique his sales technique but .... Obviously, his sense of how his behavior was impacting other people was lacking. He was aware of it, but didn’t care enough about what impact he was truly having and how it was negatively impacting his ability to make a sale to change his behavior.

And this matters. It is not enough to be aware of other people and how your behavior is impacting them if you don’t use that knowledge to improve how you interact with them.

Sales are a very social and interactive activity.  You have to talk to and deal with other people. F you want them to buy from you, you have to listen to them, understand their needs, and help them feel comfortable enough and secure around you to want to do business with you.

Customers matter. Without them you have no business. If you aren’t willing to pay attention to them as individuals and you aren’t willing to accommodate their basic needs, like the need to breathe air, you aren’t going to get their business.  And yes, I realize I have no right to ask this man to not smoke. But this wasn’t just about him. It was also about me, his potential customer. We both matter.  And since he showed me through his actions that I didn’t matter, I didn’t bother to listen to his sales pitch, whatever it was.

Basic courtesies like understanding you shouldn’t be imposing your worst habits on others without their permission is basic. Your customers matter. Treat them like they do and adjust your behavior accordingly.

Compassionate Customer Service

File this under Humanistic Business Management

When you apply Humanism to business, one of the first areas affected is that of customer service. The best way to improve your customer service is to recognize that your customers are real live human beings. When selling and marketing to people, the number one thing you can do to improve your sales is to treat them as the real human beings they are and not just as another target. Treat the other person as you would want to be treated if you were on the other side of the transaction.

All things being equal, the real person who really connects gets the business. After all, who would you rather work with? Someone who barely notices you except that you exist and might be able to spend money on them, or the person who is real and who treats you as real?  Yeah – you want to give your business to the person you connect with on a human level and who is ethical, honest, compassionate and responsible.

What better way to brand yourself and your company in a competitive market than to truly be the best most ethical person you can be. This is not something you can fake by the way. You either are a good person, or you are a bit or a lot slimey. Your customers expect you to be a good ethical person. So be who they want and need you to be.