A New Way of Thinking

Over the weekend, our very own Yiannis Lagos presented at TEDxAbuDhabi.

As the event centered around various topics ranging from science and business to the arts and global issues, Yiannis’ broke down the 5 myths of the modern workforce:

Myth #1: Business efficiency has increased over time.

Reality: It depends on how you define efficiency. We produce more with fewer people, but studies show that the average ROA has dropped to a quarter of what it was in 1965.

Myth #2: Your most important employee is the CEO.

Reality: The best CEOs create companies that can run without them. Everyone is a CEO in her own department or team and important contributions are made by all.

Myth #3: Invest only in high-potential employees.

Reality: When companies focus primarily on a small elite, they miss a great opportunity to tap into and maximize the most valuable asset of their business. Knowledge.

Myth #4: Young people are ready to lead.

Reality: Having grown up in an era of where technology is growing at an exponential rate, their biggest challenge is that they cannot handle difficult situations with people. They still need help to develop in this area. Furthermore, our workplaces are not prepared to have them lead.

Myth #5: Money can buy effort.

Reality: Money can motivate individuals for basic, non-cognitive tasks, but for things that require complex thinking and creative interactions, money has actually been proven to have the opposite effect on performance (see Daniel Pink’s TED Talk for more).

Yiannis presented data around each of these myths and made a logical case in presenting the findings. As quoted in The National Publication:

“‘People take many of the myths for granted,’ said Doris Hazzan, a senior analyst with Jones Lang LaSalle in Dubai. ‘But Mr Lagos had stats to prove otherwise’, she said.“

He closed the presentation with, “We are human and we often use conventional wisdom when it comes to managing our people, but this conventional wisdom does not really work.“

Clearly, a new approach is needed!

By Ryder Fyrwald

Ryder is the director of strategic partnerships for Humantelligence. Prior to that he was a co-founder of the Kairos Society and served as global head of operations. Ryder holds a B.A. in business from the University of Southern California. When he's not working Ryder is an avid skier and hockey player.