The sophistication of our modern commercial world has come at a price. In many businesses, the workforce has become commoditised. People have become widgets and have lost sight of what they are working for and why.
Lucy Windsor is a Partner in The Performance Business and has spent the last fifteen years as a communications specialist and executive coach. Having spent her earlier career in IT, she specialises in working with high potential technical clients in IT and Engineering sectors.
Lucy is one of very few consultants who has had the privilege of being on the receiving end of thousands of meetings: stakeholder negotiations, performance management reviews, coaching calls, sales pitches and customer service conversations. This unique insight has given her an understanding, at a visceral level, of what makes people perform.
She is on a mission to help every Chief Executive and HR professional who is looking to unlock the secret to exceptional performance. Lucy says “I set out to write a book that would be a quick and interesting read for intelligent, busy professionals. I wanted to offer real, practical no-nonsense ideas that produce results from day 1. I think I have achieved that.”
Lucy’s passion comes as a result of first-hand experience of ‘widgeting’ a term she uses throughout the book and the consequences, sometimes disastrous, that can result.
Lucy’s life experiences have given her a unique and rather privileged insight into the human condition along with the motivation and courage to set about writing the book.
The early part of her career, from the 80s through to 2000, Lucy worked in IT systems integration and latterly the fledgling internet industry. During that time, she became acutely aware that some people were able to connect with ease, where others, often equally or more skilled, found it difficult in certain situations and were prone to being misunderstood or overlooked.
She realised too that there were several gaps in her own ability to communicate at times. In fact, she was mortified when during one particular phone conversation, her client said “If I ask for cake, I just want cake. I don’t want the cherry on the top.” Lucy was determined to understand what she was doing wrong and what she could do about it. The answer to this particular riddle is elegantly highlighted in one of the stories in the book.
Over the years, as Lucy realised the impact of the changes she was making personally, she made a decision to share what she knows with as many people as she can. She believes small shifts in focus and understanding creates the foundation to resolve even the most thorny issues in the workplace.
In People Aren’t Widgets, Lucy sets about creating a customer centric organisation that is truly open to public scrutiny, whilst at the same time being mindful of matters of risk and financial stability.
She explores how to create a loyal following and reduce workplace stress, accepting today at the same time as planning for tomorrow.
Creating an appetite to learn and absorb information that gets under the skin, beyond the scope of intellectual understanding.
Making cultural change a desire, rather than a threat. Embracing personal growth, understanding the importance as well as the limitations of identity.
Creating real brand confidence and loyalty.
Building a fluid and sustainable business ethically and increasing organisational self-esteem.
How to reduce costs and increase the speed and efficiency of doing business.
Lucy believes with a passion that the small changes create a far reaching ripple effect and that the changes she advocates in the book not only cause a shift at work, but also positively impact families and society as a whole.
People Aren’t Widgets brings a fresh, new perspective intended to inspire a very different conversation in the IT and Engineering workplace.
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