How commercial is your approach?

Or are you just being kind?

We often hear about how important it is to understand our values when thinking about our career. It actually took me a while to work out what was important to me.

I think back to the time I was working for a chain jewellery store, straight out of finishing that super useful Bachelor of Applied Science 🙄 . I was in their management development program and then worked my way up to store manager.

During this time I learnt about:

• Product margins, and which products would drive the most profits (leather watch straps in you were wondering).

• How to select products that would sell the best in each store location. I became a homewares buyer there for a while.

• How to roster staff and manage the costs of staff, within a budget.

• How to drive revenue.

• How to manage people, and create a team that works together and supports each other, and

• How to deal with conflict, particularly when customers decide to scream at you the day before Christmas. Some first-hand resilience building right there.

And lots more.

But I wanted to learn more about organisations managing people and so I started studying human resources and looking for ways to gain some relevant experience while studying.

Over a couple of years, I secured my first “HR” job, and it was a good one. It set me up to do lots more across my career, and what did I learn?

I learnt that along with the facilities and/or buildings that organisations need to run their business, people are one of the most expensive parts of running a business, and that often organisations don’t always manage their people very well. And that I wish they would, because they could be way more successful. More performance. More revenue. More profit.

That commercial retail experience has not been wasted.

It’s meant that across my career I have always thought about how the work I’m doing makes financial and business sense.

It’s meant that when I haven’t had a budget, I have either built a strong business case to get one, or been creative with how I deliver work.

It’s meant when I work with clients at The Culture Ministry I’m thinking about the impact the work will make, and how it saves them money, or makes them money. Of course I want people to be treated well, and fairly, but to work in making culture better, I think you also must be commercial in your approach, or there is no jobs for anyone.

Lisa xx