Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Predictions – Our Take & the Employee Development Connection
The world’s wealthiest man, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, gave a rare glimpse into his predictions for the future at an Amazon conference in Las Vegas last week. Among the predictions, he offered valuable insight for business leaders on where to focus now, and how the results will bring success for years to come. His perspective indicates the importance of investing into employee development now and being confident that it will pay dividends over time. With Performance Scoring’s Performance Management Platform those long-term benefits are experienced, but our clients also see an immediate return from the increase in productivity they experience. Bezos has not made similar remarks very often, so a deeper look is necessary to make some important connections.
The Next 10 Years
Record unemployment levels show the economy is strong, but the market is volatile and causes uncertainty about the future. Regarding this, Bezos said, “I do get asked, quite frequently ‘What’s [going to] change in the next 10 years?’ I rarely get asked, and it’s probably more important — and I encourage you to think about this — is the question what’s not going to change?” Too often the focus is on predicting change and finding the next big thing, and Bezos acknowledges that this neglects a focus on what we have known worked in the past and continues to work today. “You can work on those things with the confidence to know that all the energy you put into them today is still going to pay dividends in the years to come,” he continued. A simple statement, but very powerful when contextualized with a society focused on innovation and the future. These two worlds collide when innovation manifests itself in tools that strengthen those things that we are confident won’t change.
Human Element & Tech Innovations
From a business perspective, what can we be confident won’t change? It is reasonable to say that innovation in technology will continue to reshape traditional landscapes, but also the fact that people matter will remain fundamental. Employees will always drive business, they may be greatly aided by technology, but human input is always present to some degree. The presence of human input is tied to the human performance of that input (job responsibilities), and leadership will always look to maximize said human performance, bringing us to the focus on employee development. Managers will always manage and try to develop their teams, and Performance Scoring innovating the tool which improve that. Performance management platforms engage employees and provide feedback to help them grow. Performance Scoring looks at growth, based on the Factors (objective performance measurables), that drive success in unique organizational roles. As stated earlier, change will always be a constant, and as change occurs Performance Scoring and it’s performance management application reflects this in its customizations. Case studies demonstrate the immediate impact to bottom line growth derived from improved employee performance. Beyond that though, an investment into employee development now will pay dividends for years to come, alluded Bezos.