Human centricity in business: There are two sides to it
--
“A business is simply an idea to make other people’s lives better” — Richard Branson
Human centricity is more than just designing user-friendly products. It is about putting people at the center of everything we do: Our organizations as well as our products.
So, there are two sides to the coin: people-centric organizations and user-centric products and services.
People-centric organizations
I believe sustainable improvements always start with ourselves i.e. our organizations and at the heart of these: Our people. Therefore, we should be putting long term benefits over short term wins and invest in our people and culture even if the ROI for this may take a little longer. As Simon Sinek puts it: “Exceptional organizations prioritize the well-being of their people and, in return, their people give everything they’ve got to protect and advance the well-being of one another and the organization”.
So what does this mean? I think there are many implications of this for businesses such as: Finding out what people need to feel safe and valued. Considering the effects on people in all decisions. Encouraging independent thinking. Using proper communication to build trust e.g.by providing real feedback opportunities, really listening, and saying things that need to be said with care and respect.
User-centric products
Everything we build should address the users’ real needs or as Ash Maurya puts it: “Life is too short to build something nobody wants”.
This is nothing new. In recent years there has been a surge of new mindsets, processes, and methods including lean startup, customer development, scaling lean, user-centered design, design thinking, etc. that all focus on building stuff that is great for people. I believe the mindset is the key to success.
