The Word Café Podcast with Amax
My unique message to the world is the power behind the words of our mouths. We have made light of it but cannot escape the fruits thereof. For me, words are the unit of creation, the building block on which our existence evolves. This podcast is for everyone who wants to better their living by using words and applying themselves wisely. I will be using the storytelling style fused with imaginative nuances to transport the listener to that place, where possibilities are not luxuries but everyday experiences; movie in voice.
This podcast will emphasize the power of routine, and what you repeatedly do, you most likely build capacity and expertise for what you repeatedly do. My podcast will help the listener learn how to practice success because the same amount of time you use in complaining is the same you can use to plant, build, prune, etc. I intend to draw the listener's attention to the power of their words.
The Word Café Podcast with Amax
S4 Ep. 233 The Heart of Organizations: How HR Drives Success
The beating heart of any successful organization isn't its strategies, products, or market position—it's the human element that powers everything else. Through the lens of over a decade in organizational development, I explore how Human Resources functions as the circulatory system of companies, pumping life-giving energy throughout every department and process.
Traditional views of HR focus on administrative functions: hiring, firing, policy implementation. But this surface-level understanding misses the profound connection between HR practices and organizational vitality. When you see a thriving company, look at their HR approach. When you encounter a toxic workplace, examine how they manage their people. This correlation is no coincidence—it's causal.
Organizations aren't merely profit-generating entities; they're architecturally designed as platforms for self-actualization. We join specific companies because, consciously or unconsciously, we seek environments where our potential can flourish. Through performance management, compensation structures, and development opportunities, HR creates the conditions for this personal expansion. The question becomes: are you leveraging your organization as the growth platform it's meant to be?
The concept of human capital transforms how we understand workplace dynamics. Your value isn't primarily in your qualifications or certifications, but in your ability to deploy your knowledge to solve problems. Many professionals mistakenly believe impressive resumes automatically translate to organizational value, but recruiters consistently report the gap between credentials and performance. The truth is stark: paper qualifications matter far less than demonstrated problem-solving capabilities.
Beyond metrics and analytics lies the relational foundation of effective HR. While data provides valuable insights, the most profound organizational truths often emerge through human connection and conversation. This explains why HR isn't an exact science—it's a living, evolving discipline that must account for the complexity of human behavior and interpersonal dynamics.
Whether you're leading an HR department, running a business, or seeking to maximize your value as an employee, understanding these principles will transform how you approach organizational life. Connect with me to continue this conversation and discover how to create environments where both people and organizations can reach their highest potential.
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Mm-hmm, how are you? You thought I forgot about it. I didn't. I told you I was always going to do it. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good everything. How are you? We'll always ask this question. Ah, it is not rhetoric, no, no, it isn't. But it means a lot to me. Majorly, the reason why, one of the reasons why we do this, is because you're there listening. I'm good.
Speaker 1:So, welcome to the World Cafe live show, the World Cafe podcast, the World Cafe universe with Amax. How are you doing? I will always ask it. Yes, I'm good myself when I am, on this part of the earth, on this geography. We started having some rains, so the weather is slightly, you know, becoming cooler and our aces are working again. For your information, yes, before you'll be wondering, you turn on your aces like what's happening? It's not, but it's better now, or it's getting better, and I know you're good where you are. Yes, super excited Coming back into this space, ah, it's lovely. Okay, what are we going to be doing today? I always ask myself that question what exactly am I going to be doing today on the show? What am I going to talk about? Uh, so, before I come on, I try to play this in my head, yes, days before, for your information, and I try to put down my thoughts, structure them in a way that I, you know, talk and all of that. So what are we going to be doing today?
Speaker 1:If you've been following me, you hear me once or twice, couple of times, talk about human resources For your information. That's my field. Yes, I was trained, brought up, in that sphere. My first job, job, job, whereas I was, I would think I was employed as an assistant organizational analyst, you know, and before I got that, even back in school, I've been working within that space. I think I've said this before. The organization I was working with on campus, nyfes, to be precise, nigerian Fellowship of Evangelical Students. I was the general secretary and it exposed me to a lot.
Speaker 1:Come together to form this should I say, foundation for me when it comes to human resources, and I love it. I love it. Yes, I do. I even wrote a book yes, you've heard me talk about it once or twice my HR Notebook. Yep, my human resources experience, and all of that. A small book, but loaded, you know, and this is how I see HR.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you, I'll begin with this now. This is how I see human resources management. Not in the graphs, not in the charts, not in the pie charts, not in the statistics. All of that. They are good in themselves, but I see it from this perspective the human within the process or behind the process. That's what hr is for me. So that is what I'm going to be talking about today and I'll flip-flop within organization and people, my perspective and how I view it.
Speaker 1:But I want us to begin from this point of view, definition. You know we're good at defining things. The minute you define something, in my opinion you've brought a limitation around that Limitation in the sense that it brings maybe a better understanding perspective and somehow it also limits you from thinking further If you see definition from that perspective. So I'm going to do some reading. Yes, as usual. My son saw me the other day. He was looking at one of the episodes and he said ah, daddy, you always carry your phone and all of that. You've got a new phone, so you're showing it off or something. And I just like these kids and I laughed. So I'm going to do some reading, then we'll begin the conversation from there.
Speaker 1:You know, in legal terms, human resources, you know when you look at it. What is human resources? What is it exactly? It refers to the group within a company or organization that manages employees. So you heard that right. You know that's the job of human resources. They handle tax, like hiring, firing and managing company policies. It essentially encompasses the workforce and the strategies for managing people within an organization. Well, this is definitions that are out there and all of that, but let's continue. You hear my thoughts as we go on. So hr management encompasses the recruiting, hiring, compensation and benefits, training and development, performance management, employee relations and policy implementations and all of that. So when you look at the word workforce, you know this is it refers to the collective, a group of people who work for a particular entity, whether it is a business, government or nonprofit organization. Resources in a broader sense, human resources can be seen as a type of resource along land and capital. You remember factors of production. When you talk about factors of production, yeah, capital, land and all of that. So human resources could be, I mean, put along that line. That is a crucial form for organizations operations. So, basically, the way we look at human resources, in my opinion, the traditional way, you you know it's like this entity or this department or this unit that manages, like we just defined, employees, people, human beings in an organization.
Speaker 1:So the other day I was having this conversation with my wife and she asked a very crucial question. Something happened. My wife is a businesswoman, I mean, she loves it. So I was trying to explain to her how I perceive human resources. I see human resources as the table. The table, the word human resources is hr correct.
Speaker 1:Yes, when you spell the word heart, h-e-a-r-t, broadly speaking, two things jump out of those. I mean that word h and r heart. So your heart? What does your heart do to your body? Biologically speaking, it helps the flow of blood. The heart is responsible for oxygen circulating the body, oxygenated blood carried from the heart to all the cells. Then deoxygenated blood pulls out. Don't worry, am I confusing you? Don't worry, am I confusing you? Don't worry, my background is in biochemistry, for your information. So I understand most of these things. But my passion is human resources. Yes, so that's what the heart does. So human resources, or human resources management, hrm as we want to call it, some organizations will call it HCM, human capital management is basically the heart of the organization. It pumps the blood. So everything that goes on in an organization is a function of the HR. If you see an organization that is doing so well, I mean the HR is functioning perfectly well. If you see an organization that is not doing so well toxicity and all of that check the HR. So it is beyond, like I said, the graphs and all that.
Speaker 1:So ask yourself this fundamental question what is the purpose of an organization? Why do we have organizations? Why do organizations even exist? Because, broadly speaking, when you look at the society, I mean the world. The world is driven by services. Services are offshoots of organizations. Yep, checking in, check the world, checking the society. Who drives the society? The organization. So who drives the organization? The people.
Speaker 1:So this is how I view organizations. I mean, I have defined this over and over again organizations. I was having this conversation also with a, a friend of mine, and she was trying to pick my brain on how do you see organization, an organization dr Itare is her name and we're talking and I said I see organizations the way they are designed. The architecture of an organization is designed in such a way that it creates a platform for self-actualization. That's how I view organizations. They are designed as platforms for self-actualization. So what do I mean by that? You hear people say I want to work with this organization, I want to work with that organization, I want to work with this, you know entity or corporation. So why do you want to Broad to broadly speaking, you see people say things like because of the pay, or I just like the organization.
Speaker 1:But if you look at that indepthly, the reason why you want to work with or for that organization is because you want to self-actualize. You want to realize your dreams. Say, okay, I'm an engineer, for example. I'm an engineer, I'm a petroleum engineer, I'm a subsea engineer. So you want to work with an energy firm. You know that is into oil and gas and even maybe green energy or something. And so why do you want to? You want to self-actualize Because the minute you get into the organization, what happens automatically to you as an individual? You begin to see yourself growing. So you now see where the HR comes into play Performance, management, policy, interpretation and formulation. What else? Compensation and benefits, you are appreciated and all of that. What else? Training? So you see now all of this what I call it, departments within the unit help you self-actualize. Broadly speaking, that's what an organization is all about and that is the place of human resources.
Speaker 1:So the word capital, like I defined, we looked at it a while ago. When you say capital, what is a capital or what is capital, a lot of us will see it as value. You know, in business, when you say I need capital, capital, what you're talking about is you need money, yeah, you need liquid, you need cash to drive the business. Fine, but the entity, the organization, sees the employee or the people as capital. So what do you mean? Is that how organizations value or see high employees? Yes, you're a capital. And there's one thing about capital when you invest capital, it appreciates. When you don't invest in capital, what happens? It depreciates. So that's why organizations that are winning invest in their human capital. So that's why organizations that are winning invest in their human capital. So when they invest in their human capital, logically speaking, there is this return on the investment.
Speaker 1:So the push you as an individual who is working for this organization.
Speaker 1:You don't just see yourself in isolation. No, you see yourself within the framework of that organization. So if your life, your values and everything that aligns with the organization is increasing, technically, the organization is also increasing. So you see that. So now, what do you do with capital. In another sense, you deploy it. You deploy capital so majorly why you are employed in any organization.
Speaker 1:Maybe because of your skill sets Okay fine. Maybe because of your some of us would think because of our qualification Okay fine. But do you know what happens? Some of us, we think because of our qualification Okay fine. But do you know what happens when you cannot deploy your capital or the value within your capital? It's all about time the organization does not need you anymore. You see, so some people will think, because I studied XYZ in school, I have a lot of value. No, it's your ability to deploy what you studied, your discipline in solving problems. That is what brings your value or makes your value apparent.
Speaker 1:You know, very conspicuous, very seen and tangible, so that those who are seen in terms of performance and appreciation begin to evaluate you and give you those high-sounding, superfluous whatever, and you're given those positions and all of that. So you must understand this it is beyond your paper qualification, it is beyond your paper qualification, it is beyond your certifications, but it cannot go beyond the capital that has improved. Then you deploy it. Did I lose you there? So this is the big mistake people are making. So I read a report recently on LinkedIn. A recruiter was complaining about, um, some young people in nigeria, about 2000, she said, cvs, she put up an ad out there and 2000 or over 2000 cvs she received wonderful, amazing, well-written, articulated and all of that. And when she brought them on board to do the job, she was discouraged, very discouraged. So what happened? She went elsewhere and a lot of conversations began to you know, know, brew around what she wrote and all of that. So basically, you come to see that it is beyond your paper qualifications.
Speaker 1:Organizations are not crazy maybe they used to be, but as we speak in this generation, they're not crazy about your paper qualification. They are only looking for that capital. How can you deploy that capital, that energy, in solving problems? It is in solving the problems that your value becomes apparent. So a lot of us in this generation think is not, I don't need it, I have it already. No, it is in the deployment or the deploying. How do you deploy yourself?
Speaker 1:The organization is a platform, the architecture designed so that when you sit on it it gives you the opportunity to self-actualize, so you discover your potential more or less. Ah, I can do this, I can do that. You've been given the opportunity, You've been trained. So again, I repeat myself, human resources is beyond the graphs. Yes, I understand when you want to carry out some decisions and all that, the statistics, you need to go get your data, put them together, the demography and all of that. Yes, I did a lot of that as an organizational analyst. You want to make certain business decisions and all of that.
Speaker 1:But again, do you know what it's? Beyond that? There's a place for relationship, there's a place for talking. So, beyond the data, beyond the figures, beyond the data, beyond the figures, humans tend to do better in an atmosphere of relationship. Yep, relationship Mm-hmm. So it is not an exact science, it isn't. Ah, if we have the data right, no, it's not that. Some people beyond the data, when you sit with them and talk with them, you'd be amazed what you're going to find out. You know.
Speaker 1:Yes, somebody may say do we have all the time to do that? That's why we're called an organization. It's an organism, it's a life. It's a life, it's an entity of its own. So it grows. So each cycle of growth, it sheds, it improves. So it's not you don't have it done in one day, but rather you grow, you grow. Look at our world Everybody is involved in one, with one form of organization or the other, be it a small business, be it a corporation, be it even in the market. Yes, it's an organization, it's an organism, it's a life. So not until you understand this, I will call it basic principles of human resources management. You would see it as the way the Americans call it hire and fire, hire and fire, hire and fire.
Speaker 1:I hear people say sometimes this is not a charity organization. So you think charity organizations are what? Non-profit, what you don't need so much specialization. You're wrong. It is far more expensive to run a charity organization, if you understand what I mean. I understand we're here to make profit.
Speaker 1:But have you looked at profit through the eyes of prosperity? Yes, it's not just profit, prosperity, because when we keep promoting profit and profit and profit. So all you're after now is the end justifying the means. So the end, that's not the truth. The end does not justify the means, or shouldn't, because we can do anything and get away with it. That's what you're saying. But when you look at it from the eyes of prosperity, every organization rises as far as her employees rise. Every nation rises as far as her organizations. You see, look at it very well Prospering nations. You come to see the organizations within that nation Very robust, they are growing. So when you break it down, you come to see those people that drive the process. So that's what I came to do on the show today.
Speaker 1:You're a business person. Listen when I mean you're a business person, get it right. We are all in one form of business or the other. Commercial, non-profit profit. It's a business. Yes, it's business.
Speaker 1:Like Jesus said, I must go after about my father's word business. So he had to form an organization. How did he do that? He brought 12 people together. He brought 12 people together and what did he do? Spend time with them, teaching them. They were a capital. He sent them out. What happened? He built in them potential, or or rather, he recognized that potential and built on that potential, and when they sent them out, the potential turned into kinetic energy and they came back with a lot of profit. So you see, we're all in one form of business or the other.
Speaker 1:Aha, that's what I came to do on the show today. So be careful the way you deal. You notice that some of us employees I mean when we get employed and we work with organizations. We don't see ourselves as part of the organization. We see ourselves. All I came here to do is to get paid and get home. Some of us defraud the organization, some of us do all sorts, but do you know what you're doing? You're not killing the organization. You think you are. You're only killing yourself. That's it. You don't see yourself as an extension, you don't see yourself as part of the organization. So what happens? Gradually, you are killing even. You think the organization is dino. You're killing yourself.
Speaker 1:So this is what I came to do on the show today to share with you what and how I see human resources management. Fantastic area, yes, fantastic, amazing area. Any day, any time, I will always do this, alright, guys? Well, I've learnt a lot working in this area quietly, and I have built capacity, by God's grace, and I felt to come on this episode to share this, to do this so that you would learn. I'm available if you want to reach out for us to talk some more. Yes, like privately, indently. Look at what you're doing in that regard, we're very much available. All right, guys, you know how we do it on the show. This is the space where we come in to lean on one another's experience to forge a positive path.
Speaker 1:Go ahead, we're available on all uh social media platforms. Yes, tiktok now. Twitter, now called x. Facebook. Yes, instagram, youtube, go ahead, have you subscribed to our channel, please do? We have, please do? We have a lot of amazing content for your delight. Go ahead, hit that button, the notification, so when we have new episodes you'll be the first to get it and listen to. All right, then I have to go now, but you know how I say it all the time on the show my name is Amakri. Amakri isuboye till I come your way again. I am your neighborhood word trader. I believe in the power of words. Why? Because it is the unit of creation.