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We vs Them - relationships in business

“We” vs “Them” – relationships in business

Somewhere, sometime, I read an article that referred to “creating a stronger we” by “identifying a them”.  We seem to do it in all levels of our lives, both business and personal.
In its extreme form it can become dangerous!
In business, sport or life in general, when building teams or a strong culture, us and them scenarios form a significant part of a winning strategy.
Obvious stuff.
However, in a world where we have opened the traditional barriers and borders via social networking, new networks are being forged every day.   People belong to multiple groups and are aligning themselves in a different way.  
The traditional concept of brand and group loyalty is changing as a result. 
While loyalty levels to the groups might vary, most of us have a strong desire to belong.  The global village offers unbelievable opportunities for building powerful networks, regular contact with people from all over the world and continual learning.  
If you read Dr Robert Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion, the one that pertains is Social Proof.   We feel more comfortable doing something that other people are doing or have done before.
Recently, my husband and I were travelling overseas and eating daily in restaurants.   After a few days, I realised that we were selecting our restaurants by how full they were.   We assumed that fuller (the restaurants, not our stomachs) meant better…
Unsettled staff and clients were always vulnerable to moving on, social networking has now opened up the happiest of people to constant new opportunities.   FOMO (Fear of missing out) encourages companies and individuals to make quite significant changes, just in case.
How do we create stability in an ever changing and open business landscape?
·       We need to create an environment where our employees feel fully engaged, part of a great, culturally strong team;
·       We need to have a strong brand position and service delivery that attracts, and retains, clients who want to feel part of a winning solution
Adding winning strategies; an understanding our competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and excellent, relevant products and solutions create the right situation for harmonious decision making and alleviating cognitive dissonance.




Links, References and Notes

Accsys provides people management solutions ie Payroll, Human Resources (HR), Time and Attendance as well as Access Control/Visitor Management.
The company develops, implements, trains and services our solutions.  We provide readers, turnstiles, booms and CCTV.
We run both on premise and in the cloud, as well as mobile options for ESS.  Recruitment, online education and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) are part of our offering, too
Note 1 – Admiration Groups – This is a term I use for people whose position or lifestyle is perceived to be desirable and therefore to be copied by those who admire them.
Note 2 – Cognitive dissonance - https://www.google.co.za/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjl7MKdl7rQAhXpA8AKHTu4ALsQFggjMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCognitive_dissonance&usg=AFQjCNE_zWQ_U6i4qo03k4H16BPAh5phGw&bvm=bv.139250283,d.d24
http://www.accsys.co.za/accsys-peopleplace-talent-management
email:      tschroenn@accsys.co.za
twitter:   @TerylSchroenn

Note:   Thank you for reading Teryl@Work.   Should you wish to use any of the material, please acknowledge this blog as the source.
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