Every Problem, Every Issue Is A Human Problem & Human Problems Are Major Opportunities

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge

As you know from both our training and from this blog, we believe that problems normally fall into just three general categories. They are either:

1. Political in nature.
2. Technical in nature.
3. Financial in nature.

But when you really boil it all down, it almost always comes down to something political -- which is the human element -- this is not good nor bad but it is a reality that we must all understand to perform at our best while anticipating, mitigating or sidestepping potentially messy, costly or dangerous situations.

Further, it our contention that once you recognize these politics (which is the human element) and all that it brings, you are greatly positioned to uncover major opportunities and subsequently monetize them.

This affects everything from creativity, innovation, employment engage,  talent acquisition, develop, deployment and management and so on.

From this, it was with great interest that I came across this little gem by Mark Suster which on the surface appears to be about Founder and Management Infighting but actually is about office politics and organizational power and more specifically the human element. 



The Perils of Founder Fighting Posted on January 4, 2014 by Mark Suster

Yesterday I wrote a post about “the politics of startups” in which I asserted that all companies have politics, which in its purest sense is just about understanding human psychology.

...

I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. Of course it makes no sense to have great people management and a crappy product. But I would posit that in order to sustainably build great products in an intensely competitive industry with skills shortages – people management is one of the most critical soft skills organizations need.

...
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it’s why I believe executive coaches are so important for startups who have the financial resources to afford them.

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