Our Most Important Assets?

“Employees are our most important assets.” - is an oft repeated statement across the corporate world.

I am not able to really relate with the statement above and often wonder what it means!

The person/s who is/are making this statement – are they employees too?

If they are why would they say “our employees”? Wouldn’t they rather say something akin to “Each one of us is important here. What can we do to achieve our own, and support each other in fulfilling their, dreams?”

If they are not, who are they and what rules/expectations govern their behaviour/universe?

When we say something is our most important asset, who is the focus on? Isn’t the focus still on us? It is our need and the “asset” is important because it satisfies/fulfills our needs. Think of owning your favourite car or your dream home.

The dictionary definitions of asset are (refer dictionary.com)

• “a useful and desirable thing or quality.”
• “a single item of ownership having exchange value.”

Do such definitions apply to human beings? Would friends think of each other as “assets”? What about family members? Would someone say that my family member is my greatest “asset”?

The only “asset” (and I use this word for want of knowledge of a better word) in an organization which has free choice is an employee. An employee chooses whether s/he belongs in a group and to what extent s/he would want to contribute in that group.

When one recognizes this for ourselves and for the people we work with, do we create a space where we give teeth to the statement “Each one of us is important here. I have a choice and I recognize your freedom to exercise your choice too.”

That’s a statement I can relate with!

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Sourav