QUANTUM Human Resource Consulting

2011 -2012 : Models of Change

2011-07-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Models of Change

It is not the strongest of the species that survive,
Nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
--------Charles Darwin

The voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new horizons but in seeing with new eyes.
---------Marcel Proust

Reinvention, learning organizations, audacious goals, revolution, quantum change, total quality management, breakthrough thinking, horizontal organization, stretch goals, Lean Six Sigma- you can probably attach a prominent scholar’s name to each of these well-recognized change initiatives that at one time or another were the darlings of change management professionals. All displayed some success. Some demonstrated more results than others.

Two keys to success are important for all change efforts:
1.You need to have a plan. The plan must translate the concepts into concrete steps so that employees can implement them.

2.You need to carry out the plan-all of it. Carrying out the plan requires getting everyone involved who has a stake in the change.

So you must plan the work and work the plan.

Theories, Strategies and Models: When people are trained only in techniques, without understanding the theory behind them, they have difficulty applying them to anything beyond a specific situation. The variables that contribute to change management are too complex to remember a few techniques that apply to any change situation. Therefore, it is important to learn more about the theories, models, and strategies that drive your efforts.

Ethical Considerations: One of the trends shaping the workplace learning and performance profession cited in the ASTD Competency Study is a “ higher ethical bar.” Organizational leaders are paying more attention to organizational ethics, including the behaviors required when implementing a change effort. Accepting the responsibility- whether from the perspective of a leader, change agent, or even external consultant- to act in the best interest of the organization and its workforce is so fundamental that we may not even think about it.

Organizational codes of ethics and professional codes of conduct provide framework to help you determine what is important to consider. You may have your own code of ethics, but it is important to note that ethical statements are not meant to be an individual statement but rather a collective declaration. If your organization professes a code of ethics, revist it before begining an organizational change initiative. Remind all leaders and change agents involved what the organization stands for.

Overview of the CHANGE Model:- The CHANGE Model consists of six steps. Each step requires completing distinct and specific tasks, yet as in all models there is also overlap among the steps. Change is rarely as nice, neat, and linear a process as is presented in this model. Of course, change is led by people and is conducted by people; and people must ultimately change for an organization to change. It is this aspect of “people” that makes change not only exciting but also unpredictable.

The CHANGE Model provides a process that can be used to facilitate an organization through a change effort. Change comes in many formats : developmental change, transformational change and opportunistic change. Change may be large or small. The CHANGE Model is generic and may be used with any type of change intervention including structural, process, cultural, mergers and acquisitions, growth, downsizing, cost cutting, and others. Each step present tools and techniques that will help you hone your skills as a change agent or change leader.

The CHANGE Model consists of six steps:-
1.Challenge the current state
2.Harmonize and align leadership
3.Activate Commitment
4.Nurture and formalize a design
5.Guide Implementation
6.Evaluate and institutionalize the change

2010: What will be the Patterns and their Implications ?

2010-12-05T06:12:00.000-08:00

Diminishing Fear : Unravel all your mixed messages

Fear somehow touches almost every aspect of our lives. It is woven invisibly into the fabric of our existence and often sets into motion a chain of reactions and circumstances.

As leaders we need to ensure that fear does not consume our workplaces and degrade the performance of our people. The key to reducing fear at work is direct and clear communication that eliminates mixed messages- the catalytic driver of fear.

Communicative people are less fearful and more secure because they know where they stand. They are less afraid to ask the awkward questions and less intimidated to have difficult conversations. They know that meta-messages live inside of every communication, and they strive to create clarity and understanding.

For example, if you seek new business, you may fail to keep your team in the loop. As time passes, you leave your team without a leader. Soon your people feel disconnected from your activities. Worst-case scenarios seem to be whispered, and one-on-one side conversations echo the halls.

As a result, fear starts to dominate your team. It shows up as people start distrusting your leadership capability, turning to other leaders outside the team for advice and information, creating concentric circles of communication with others, and building mountains out of molehills.

Our sense of security and well being are profoundly affected by how well we are kept in the vital loop, how well our leaders interpret and integrate the dynamics and complexities of workplace life for us.

Tips for leaders:

How can you as a leader build an environment where people feel safe? Mixed messages cause employees to retreat into fear. For example, when you say you care about keeping people in the loop, yet fail to do so, you send meta-messages. When you talk with employees and give directives, but do not ask questions to clarify understanding, you set the context for mixed messages. Inevitably employees will think one thing while you say something else, and confusion will result.
Mixed messages create a metaphorical moat. We don’t know which side of the river we are standing on, and without the security of knowing where we stand, we can’t do our best.

Instead of allowing mixed-messages and worst-case scenarios to take over, set the context for inclusion:

1.Don’t be afraid to stand up for your people.

2.Keep an open mind even if you disagree with what is being said.

3.Respond rather than react.

4.Accept responsibility for the impact of the way you are communicating.

5.Don’t be a people pleaser.

Action : Turn down fear and turn up clarity.

2010: What will be the Patterns and their Implications ?

2010-11-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

CEO as a Strategist : Become the Guardian of all trade-offs

Great Strategies are causes, and the Chief Executives has to lead the cause and be the Chief Strategist.

The notion of empowerment of pushing down and getting many people involved, is important, but empowerment and involvement don’t apply to the ultimate act of choice. Strong leaders make choices and define the trade-offs.

The leader has to be the guardian of trade-offs. Thousands of ideas pour in every day : from employees with suggestions, from customers asking for things, from suppliers trying to sell things. There’s all this input, and 99 percent of it is inconsistent with the strategy.

A leader also ensures that everyone understands the strategy. Strategy is not some mystical vision that only the people at the top understand. That notion violates the primary purpose of a strategy- to inform each of the thousands of things that get done every day, and to ensure that those things are all aligned in the same direction.

If people don’t know how their company is different-how it creates value compared to its rivals-then how can they possibly make all of the myriad choices they have to make? Salesmen need to know the strategy; otherwise, they won’t know who to call on. Engineers must understand it, or they won’t know what to build.

The best CEOs are teachers of strategy. They go to employees, suppliers, and customers and say, “ This is what we stand for, “ until everyone gets it. In great companies, strategy becomes a cause. Strategy is about being different.

Executing Strategy:

The myriad activities that go into creating, producing, selling and delivering a product or service are the basic units of competitive advantage. Operational effectiveness means performing these activities better-faster, or with fewer inputs and defects- than rivals.

Companies can reap enormous advantages from operational effectiveness, as firms demonstrated with total quality management. But best practices are easily emulated. As competitors adopt them, the productivity frontier- the maximum value a company can deliver at a given cost, given the best available technology, skills, and management techniques-shifts outward, lowering costs and improving value at the same time. Such competition produces absolute improvement in operational effectiveness, but relative improvement for no one. And the more benchmarking the companies do, the more competitive convergence you have-the more indistinguishable companies are from one another.

Strategic positioning achieves sustainable competitive advantage by preserving what is distinctive about a company. It means performing different activities from rivals, or performing similar activities in different ways.

Three key principals underlie strategic positioning :

1.Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different
set of activities.

2.Strategy requires you to make trade-offs-to choose what not to do.

3.Strategy involves creating the right “fit”.

People need guidance about how to deepen a strategic position rather than broaden or compromise it; and how to extend the company’s uniqueness while strengthening the fit among its activities. Deciding which target group of customers and needs to serve requires discipline, the ability to set limits, and forthright communication. Strategy and leadership are inextricably linked.

2010: What will be the Patterns and their Implications ?

2010-10-01T10:53:00.001-07:00

Unleashing the Power of Human Capital

The Key to Invention lives within the power of our imaginings. No one person develops anything completely on his or her own; however, a great leader stands out in front pointing to an impossible goal and helps motivate and guide others to make that goal a reality.

As leader your job is to ask questions no one else will ask, look into places no one else will look, and point the way that no one else can see. You have to Break OUT.

Most people are locked up in a prison of our own making. Most of us don’t know that we’re in this prison because it consists of the boundaries and limitations we choose to place on ourselves and our lives. These choices, conscious or not, impact everything that we do ( and don’t do)- how we think, behave, act and react.

Through experience we gain knowledge. This knowledge becomes so much part of our thinking that it grows to be “natural” or “automatic” behavior. “Civilization advances by extending the number of operations we can perform without thinking about them,” said Alfred North Whitehead.

Our experiences teach us that certain things are true and natural. So, we come to expect them. These thoughts are called premature cognitive commitments ( PCCs). We know what we know based on past experience, and it affects our current behavior. PCCs help us live out our daily lives automatically, without starting from scratch every day. Naturally, by basing our actions on past experiences, we limit ourselves to only what we have done before. This is where the prison comes in. Our prison of past experience limits us as to what we “think” we can do.

PCCs exist within individuals and groups. Why do companies go out of business? Why don’t they just switch from one thing to another? They don’t because the prison of what they have always traps them. The “Break –OUT” idea to switch from what they have always done to something new isn’t perceived as a “realistic” option. So, despite all their efforts, they go out of business- they fall victim to their premature cognitive commitments.

But some organizations do Break-OUT of their PCC prisons. It is said that change happens when you either “feel the heat or see the light.”

How You can Break-OUT

Here are some do’s and don’ts:

1.Don’t Rely on Benchmarking
2.Forget about them- know yourself
3.Turn down the volume to pump up
4.Map from “A” to Break OUT
5.Use high-octane 80/20 fuel

We encourage you to think big. BreakOUT is risky. It takes courage and an open mind. In mapping BreakOUT, it is easy to get stuck in incremental change- taking baby steps toward your goals instead of reaching for the stars.

Don’t limit yourself. You can change transformationally and unleash the power of people-setting then free to soar to new heights.

2010: What will be the patterns and their implications ?

2010-09-01T02:40:00.000-07:00

Self Leadership : Few People Manage their lives and Careers well

The Failure Rate of Executives points in the same direction: Each executive is picked for proven competence and has been highly successful in previous jobs. This suggests that either their jobs have become undoable (systems failure) or they have lost the ability to self manage.

All of us, even those of us with modest talents, must learn to manage ourselves, develop ourselves, and place ourselves where we can make the greatest contribution. Great achievers always manage themselves. But they are rare exceptions, so unusual both in their talents and accomplishments as to be considered extraordinary.

Now we all must stay mentally alert and engaged during a long working life, which means knowing how and when to change the work we do.

I invite you to ask seven questions :

1.What are my Strengths?

Most people think they know their strengths. They are usually wrong. Often people know what they are not good at. Yet, a person can perform only from strength. You can’t build performance on weaknesses, let alone on something you can’t do. You need to know your strengths to know where you belong. It is also essential to remedy your bad habits- things you do or fail to do that inhibit your effectiveness and performance. Comparing your exceptions with your results indicates what not to do.

In areas where you have no talent or skill, you should not take on work, jobs, and assignments. It takes far more energy and work to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence.

2.How do I best perform ?

Few people know how they get things done. Indeed, most of us do not even know that different people work and perform differently. Too many people work in ways that are not their ways- and that almost guarantees nonperformance. For Knowledge workers, How do I Perform ? May be a more important question that What are my Strengths ?

3.What are My Values ?

This is not a question of ethics. With respect to ethics, the rules are the same
for everybody, and the test is simply to ask yourself, “What kind of person
do I want to see in the mirror ? “ But ethics are only part of a value system.
To work where the value system is unacceptable or incompatible with your own condemns you both to frustration and nonperformance. To be effective, your values must be compatible with the organization’s values. Your strengths and the way that you perform rarely conflict; however, there may be a conflict between your values and your strengths. What you do well may not fit with your value system. In that case, the work may not appear to be worth devoting your life to. Values should be the ultimate test.

4.Where Do I Belong ?

Some people know early where they belong, but most people do not know where they belong until they are well past their mid-twenties. By that time, however, they should know the answers to the three questions: What are my
Strengths? How do I perform ? what are my values? And then they should decide where they belong. If you have learned that you don’t perform well in a big organization, you should not work in one. Knowing where you belong enables you to say to an offer or assignment, “ Yes, I will do that.” Knowing where you belong transforms you into an out-standing performer.

5.What should I Contribute?

Today you may have to ask, what should my contribution be? To answer this question, you must address three elements: What does the situation require ?
Given my strengths, performance style, and values, how can I make the greatest contribution to what needs to be done? What results have to be achieved to make a difference? Since it is rarely fruitful to look too far ahead, ask, ”How can I achieve results that will make a difference within 18 months?” The results should be hard to achieve- they should require ”stretching”, but be within reach. The results should be meaningful, visible, and measurable. From this will come a course of action: what to do, where and how to start, and what goals and deadlines to set.

6.Am I responsible for relationships ?

Managing yourself requires taking responsibility for relationships. This has two parts. First, you have to know the strengths, performance modes, and values of your co-workers and boss. Second, you need to communicate effectively. Most conflicts arise from not knowing what other people are doing and how they are making, and what results they expect. They have never asked or been told.

7.What will I do next ?

Today managing yourself often leads to a second career. You may start one in a different line of work, or develop a parallel career on the side. Few people manage the second half of their lives well. Most just “retire early on the job.” But men and women who see a long working-life expectancy as an opportunity both for themselves and for society will become leaders. Since you can expect to experience setbacks, having a second interest is vital.

Managing yourself well, demands that you think and behave like a CEO.

2010: What will be the Patterns and their Implications ?

2010-08-01T02:16:00.000-07:00

It’s what makes you unique and gives you advantage : Strategy

Strategy is not aspiration, action, deals, importance, vision, mission, learning, values, change, agility, growth, price, best practices, operations, acquisitions, or structure.

Strategy is what makes you unique, gives you a distinct competitive advantage, provides direction, builds brand reputation, sets the right goals, add superior performance, defines a market position and creates a unique value proposition. In formulating strategy, you have to choose what to do (and what not to do), what customers to serve, and what needs to meet at what price. Strategy often requires a different value chain with reinforcing structure and sustaining systems.

Barriers to strategy include capital markets with the prevailing emphasis on shareholder value, growth goals, development deals, wrong goals, wrong performance metrics, and cost accounting. Develop strategy to establish a unique market position and gain a competitive advantage.

Strategic growth is about becoming more distinctive, expanding geography, hiring the right people, and heading in the right direction.

2010: What will be the patterns and their implications ?

2010-07-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Do you have the Courage to Ask ? Ask, “ What needs to be done?”

Peter Drucker onced Remarked, “ The leader of the past knew how to tell; the leader of the future will know how to ask.”

Why is asking so important ? Today all leaders manage knowledge workers. It is hard to tell people what to do and how to do it when they already know more than we do! Today, we need to ask, “ What needs to be done?” listen, and learn from everyone.

Leaders who ask co-workers for suggestions, listen to them, learn from them, and consistently follow-up, are seen as more effective. Similarly, customer satisfaction goes up when service reps ask, listen, learn, and follow-up. When people ask us for input, listen to us, learn from us, and follow-up, our relationship with them improves. If this is so obvious, why don’t we do it ?

As a rule, leaders don’t ask ! One reason is an inflated ego. When I ask leaders to rate themselves relative to their peers, about 85 percent of them rank themselves in the top 20 percent ! And the performance of the company has little to do with their assessment.

When we succeed, we tend to attribute good results to our own motivation and ability and attribute poor results to environmental factors bad luck, or random chance.

When we over-rate our own performance and knowledge, we easily justify not asking others for their input.

However, the main reason why we don’t ask is fear. I once asked a VP of Customer Satisfaction, “ Should your employees be asking their key customers for feedback- and then listening, learning, and following-up to ensure service keeps getting better?”

“Of Course!” he exclaimed.

“If you believe in asking so much, why don’t you do it?” I inquired.

“ Because I am afraid of the answers, “ he ruefully admitted.

We don’t ask because, deep down inside, we are afraid of the answers.

My Suggestions:

As a leader, start asking key co-workers for their ideas on what needs to be done. Thank them for their input, listen to them, learn as much as you can, incorporate the ideas that make the most sense and follow-up.

As a Coach, encourage the people that you are coaching to ask, listen and learn from everyone around them. Be a great role model, then ask the people you coach to learn in the same way.

Improving interpersonal relationships doesn’t have to take a lot of your time. It does require having the courage to ask for people’s opinions and the discipline to follow-up and do something about what you learn. Who do you need to ask, “ What needs to be done?” When are you going to start asking?

2010: What will be the Patterns and their Implications ?

2010-06-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

Crisis Leadership : Seven Strategies of Strength

A Crisis is an extreme event that may threaten your very existence. At the very least, it causes substantial injuries, deaths and financial costs, as well as serious damage to your brand or reputation. Yet, those individuals and organizations that have successfully weathered major crises have learned the major lessons that crises have to teach, and they have emerged even stronger and better than they were before.

Unfortunately, most executives are prepared at best for limited crises, mainly fires and natural disasters. A few organizations may even be prepared for direct threats to their core business, such as food contamination or product tampering, but even this situation is not common. Furthermore, those businesses that do prepare for such crises are doing so mainly in their primary industries, as in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

In the book , why some companies Emerge Stronger and Better from a Crisis, Ian Mitroff presents seven essential challenges that all organizations need to face and overcome if they are to survive today’s threats. In meeting and overcoming these challenges, successful crisis leaders have learned, even if they have not completely mastered , seven essential lessons. Learning these lessons can help you to anticipate, plan for, and survive the crises that are an evitable part of life and business.

Seven Essential Lessons:

1.Right Heart.
2.Right Thinking.
3.Right Soul.
4.Right Social and Political Skills.
5.Right Technical Skills.
6.Right Integration.
7.Right Transfer.

Crisis leadership is not just good for business-the economic bottom line-it is also good for the existential, emotional, and spiritual bottom line. No person, business, organization, institution, or society can survive for long without crisis leadership.

2010: What will be the Patterns and their Implications ?

2010-05-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Bring Strategy to Life: Shift people’s mental model

Why is implementing strategy so difficult? How can leaders implement a new strategy more quickly and effectively? What does it take to make the strategy stick?

Strategy is about altering the future—putting the organization on a new trajectory. Why do so few strategic initiatives deliver? Excessive attention is focused on strategic decisions: What markets, investment, products, services, and business model? While initiating a strategy is based on such decisions of senior managers, the success of strategy depends on the daily actions of many people. So, the key to effective execution is having people internalize strategy as a new mental model of the business and then to change their daily thinking and actions, making decisions about priorities, consistent with the strategic direction.

Success depends on strategy taking on a life of its own with many people. Until strategy is enacted, it is just an idea. How can we enable people to internalize sensible ideas, stop taking old actions, and start taking new actions.

Six Elements of the Game :
1. The Game
2. Playing Field
3. Winning and keeping scores
4. Rules
5. Playbook
6. Players

When using the framework and language of The Game, people internalize what needs to be done to succeed with the new strategy, new ways of doing business, the new model. How decisions are made, and how the implementation of the new strategy will benefit all.

To realize its full potential, any strategy must take on a life of its own with all players. Contrasting the old strategy (old game) with the New Game enables people to internalize the shift. The new game requires an emerging environment, a new definition of winning and keeping score, new rules, new ways of doing business, new ways to succeed, and new opportunities.

2010: What will be the Patterns and their Implications ?

2010-04-04T21:47:00.000-07:00

Who will Lead Now ? Prepare to set up

CEO jobs are dramatically hard. Background, experience, education, and talent may not prepare you for the never-ending-on-public-display-globally-pressured-quaterly-earnings-report work that comes with leadership at the top.

About 40 percent of CEOs fail within 18 months. These odds, plus demands placed on leaders, have caused a downturn in senior executives who want the top position ( from 50 to 35 percent in the last four years). Moreover, CEO turnover is at a five-year high.

Who will lead companies in the future ? this question has caused a leadership succession and development frenzy. Boards are more anxious about finding executive talent whenever they can.

In his book, Searching for a Corporate Savior, Rakesh Khurana, professor at Harvard University, suggests that looking outside for a CEO successor is part of a growing “ irrational quest for charismatic Chief executives” ( selection of outside CEO’s has gone from 6 to 50 percent in recent years). Fearing boards may be focusing on the qualities of presence, personality, and media appeal rather than character and competence, he gives seven guidelines for finding successors; abandon hope for a corporate savior; translate company strategy into operational terms; identify skills required for key activities (activity/competency mapping); assess internal candidates; test and choose from a short-list; and calibrate goals, milestones, and compensation to drivers to success. Khurana favors internal development of candidates, but acknowledges that developing home grown talent is not the only course.

After reviewing 276 companies that have good track records at developing home-grown talent, The Corporate Leadership Counsel defined seven Hallmarks of leadership Success:

1.)A Culture of Development.
2.)Enforcing Development.
3.)Recruiting Senior Executives.
4.)The Power of Meritocracy.
5.)Full Business exposure for rising executives.
6.)A Focus on leadership skills in successor identification.
7.)Succession Management.

Companies that are great at developing future leaders invest much time in cultivating a candidate pool. As managers gain the requisite training, coaching, on-the-job experience, they join an internal pool of high-potential candidates. But what separates the good processes from great ones is an emphasis on self-development.

All this leads me to conclude: Work harder on developing internal talent. You can improve your odds beyond 50-50 by doing the hard, but rewarding, work of developing more leaders internally. While I believe companies must regularly look outside for talent, having an effective process for developing leaders ensures that you will have great candidates when the time comes to add or replace executive talent.

2010: What will be the Patterns and their Implications ?

2010-03-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

Small Remedies Reap Big Rewards: Fix your Broken Windows

What prompted me to write this article was my recent very bad experience with a Health Insurance Company of repute in India, giving me excuses for their lack of customer back-up service and incompetence. And as a Customer, I am supposed to BUY that ?

When is a DIRTY bathroom a broken window? This question could determine your success or failure. Answer that question correctly-and use that answer as a beacon-and your business could dominate its competition indefinitely. Ignore the answer, and you will soon condemn your business to failure.

The “broken windows” theory was first put forth by criminologists James Q. Wilson
And George L. Kelling, concentrating on petty criminal acts like graffiti, purse snatching, or jay walking, and how they can lead to bigger crimes such as murder. Something as small as a broken window sends a signal to those who pass by every day. That means more serious infractions – theft, defacement, violent crime- might be condoned in this area.

If a window in a building is broken and left un-repaired, all other windows will soon be broken because people perceive that the owner of this building and community around it don’t care if this window is broken: They have given up; anarchy reigns here. Do as you will, because nobody cares.

Broken Windows in Business:

That same theory applies to the world of business. If the restroom is out of toilet paper, it signals that management isn’t paying attention to the needs of its people. Perceptions are a vital part of every business, and if a retailer, service provider, or company sends signals that its approach is lackadaisical, its methods halfhearted, and its execution indifferent, the business could suffer severe- and in some cases, irreparable- losses.

When broken windows are ignored, fatal consequences can result. Small things
make a huge difference. We all bear some responsibility to stand up for what we want and have every right to expect from a company to which we give our hard-earned money.

In a Capitalist Society, we assume that a company will do its best to fulfill the desires of its customers. If the company sees sales slipping but doesn’t have data from consumers as to what made them decrease their spending, the company will not know what to fix. Still, businesses that don’t notice and repair their broken windows should not simply be forgiven because their consumers don’t make a fuss. Leaders are responsible to tend their own house- and the time to repair broken windows is the minute they occur.

Prevent Broken Windows: Broken Windows are everywhere, except at the best businesses. I invite you take the Broken Windows for Business Pledge. It’s a serious statement outlining the tenets of the broken windows for business theory:

I hereby pledge that:
•I will pay attention to every detail.
•I will correct any broken windows I find in my business, and I will do so
immediately, with no hesitation.
•I will screen, hire, train and supervise my people to notice and correct broken
windows as soon as possible.
•I will treat each customer like the only customer my business has. I will be on
constant vigil for signs of Broken Windows Hubris and never assume my business is
invulnerable.
•I will mystery shop my own business to discover broken windows.
•I will make sure every customer who encounters my business is met with courtesy,
efficiency and a smile.
•I will exceed customer expectations.
•I will make a positive first impression and assume that every impression is a first
impression.
•I will make sure that my online and telephone customer service reps solve a
customer’s problem perfectly the first time.
•I will be obsessive and compulsive when it comes to my business.

If you live up to the promises in the pledge and make them second nature, you will discover your business- and your life-running more smoothly than ever before. You will never look at a broken window-or an unbroken one-the same way again.

2010: What will be the Patterns and their implications ?

2010-02-01T23:01:00.000-08:00

Beyond Business As Usual : Do you have the Guts to Brand the Culture ?

Gutsy Leaders reject the mercenary notion that their employees are nothing more than human resources, akin to capital, fuel, oil, or machine tools that can be allocated or discarded at will. Instead, they see their people as individuals with unique gifts and talents, eager to realize their potential. Gutsy leaders aren’t afraid of being criticized or even mocked by their competitors. With bravery and vision, they dismantle fear-based management and replace it with heart, soul, discipline, loyalty, humor-and long-term profits.

Here are three ways that gutsy leaders blow the doors off business as usual:

1.Gutsy leaders brand their culture: A branded culture separates an organization from its competition. It attracts the “right” talent – people who are drawn to the culture as well as to the work. Since it establishes its own reputation, recruitment is easier because potential hires know more about the company than just what it produces. Companies with branded cultures-employers of choice –aren’t filled with merely “satisfied ”employees. Their employees are enthusiastic about the company. Are merely satisfied employees likely to go beyond what’s required to serve customers? Are they likely to strive to drive down costs without compromising quality, service or safety? Are they likely to be great ambassadors for your company and brand? The objective here is to create a culture that motivates people to become fully engaged in growing the business.

Dr. Jim Goodnight, co-founder and CEO of SAS Institute, the world leader in intelligence-software services, believes that the more you help employees focus on their work, the more amazing results they achieve for the organization.

Goodnight has built the largest private software company in the world, with 9,000 employees, offices in 53 countries, and revenues of more than $1Billion. The turnover at SAS has never exceeded 5 percent. The company estimates that it
saves between $60 million and $80 million annually by avoiding the costly headache of recruiting, training and assimilating new hires.

2.Gutsy leaders create a sense of ownership: Ownership recognizes that the organization’s experts are the people closet to the point of action, and trusts them to operate with the organization’s best interests in mind. The more people know about your business, the more they will care. Morale and productivity suffer. How can we expect people to think for themselves and build a profitable enterprise if they have no idea what goes into creating the bottom line?

If you want your people to think and act like owners, you must share financial information and explain what the numbers mean and how the information can be applied. Employees must know how economic value is created, how revenues and expenses translate into profit, how they create financial security for themselves and the organization, and what investors contribute and want in return.

3.Gutsy leaders lead with love: What does it take to be gutsy leader?What does it take to be gutsy leader? You have to be gutsy enough to stand up to those who stand in your way. You have to be big enough to admit your mistakes. You have to be vulnerable and say, “I don’t know.” You have to care enough to lead with love and trust rather than power and fear. You have to be humble enough to surround yourself with people smarter and more capable than you-and then have the faith to get out of their way. You have to be open and flexible enough to adjust to circumstances. You have to do what’s right, even when it’s not politically correct. You have to blow the doors off business-as –usual!

Ask yourself “If I were going to be brave today, what would I change if I walk beyond my fear of making a mistake, being rejected, looking foolish or being alone ?”

Action : Be Brave in making change.

2010: What will be the patterns and their implications ?

2010-01-01T02:27:00.000-08:00

Executive Coaching Success: Pressing the Right Keys

Companies and employees are relying less on skills-based training and trainers for career development and more on formal or informal coaching relationships. But the growth of executive coaching has generated some tough questions about its effectiveness and applicability and the ethics around the approach. Who can best benefit from a coach? When should a coach be used or avoided? What should a company look for in a coach? What should the coach-client relationship look like? Properly designed and implemented coaching can have a significant positive impact on an organization' s leadership capability. However, as with any developmental tool, there are keys to assuring a return on the time and money invested.

Five Keys to Effective Coaching
1. Coaching is focused on the right players:The best opportunity to achieve payback on a coaching investment lies with high-potential or high-professional employees, managers and executives. Helping these "game changers" at critical junctures in their careers usually has a quick and sustained payoff. Coaching challenges - whether tweaking an employee who's already a top performer or assuring that a high-potential employee achieves his or her potential - are different based on the employee's career level, but the objectives are similar.

2. Coaching is applied in the right situations:Coaching is not a panacea for all development needs. There are a limited number of opportunities where experience has shown that coaching can make the biggest difference. They tend to be areas where specific improvement goals and clear benefits can be identified and are not broad finishing-school kinds of challenges.

a) Transitions:Starting a new position with a company, moving to a new role or taking on new responsibilities are critical junctures in a career. Providing a coach to design and facilitate a transaction process can have substantial benefits. These are stressful times, when previous weaknesses become highlighted or overused strengths come to bear. An effective coach can help ensure a smooth transition for the employee and his or her new stakeholders, create confidence by building quick wins and create effective feedback so learning gets locked in.

b)Preventing derailment:Even high-potential employees fail, most often due to overuse or overdependence on one strength. Coaching can help prevent derailment by helping employees identify potential failure modes and by developing specific preventive and contingent action plans.

c)Address a specific problem:This is the more typical coaching situation. We've all seen it - an otherwise promising employee lacks a specific skill or exhibits behaviors that impact his or her relationships with others. These can be derailers, but they are more often opportunities to coach good performers with a blind spot into well-rounded, great performers.

There are specific situations where coaching should not be used.

a) Unethical or illegal behavior is the issue, and the coach is really meant to be a detective or a buffer between the employee and others.

b) When the target employee is not a high potential or a seasoned pro. Instead, there's a long-term performance problem that should be immediately confronted by the employee's manager.

c) When HR has decided the employee needs a coach, without the buy-in of the employee and the employee's manager.

d) When the coach is expected to create a case to terminate the employee.

e) When the employee has psychological problems that should be addressed by a medical professional, or at least a coach with clinical experience. A good coach should be able to quickly identify warning signs and make a referral. Coaching is not therapy and should not be an intervention to go after deep psychological issues.

3. The right coach is used:
Not every consultant or HR professional is cut out to be a coach. An effective coach doesn't need to be a board certified psychologist, but the skill set is unique. Here's a short list of critical coaching competencies.

a) Business acumen:Coaches need to be good businesspeople first. They must be able to understand the market challenges and business priorities their clients face. They need to be able to understand and use executive language.

b) Expert facilitation:Effective coaches are often top-notch facilitators. They understand group processes and process consulting and can guide individuals and teams through effective questioning, analysis, planning and decision-making processes. They can read individual and group dynamics quickly and respond appropriately.

c)Credibility:The best coaches have had business or other experience that can allow them to maintain a perspective. They build credibility quickly by showing that they have "been there, done that." Credibility does not come from a bag of tricks. Beware of a coach with a one-size-fits- all technique or instrument he or she applies in any situation.

d)Interpersonal savvy:Being able to relate to all kinds of people, build rapport and relationships easily, listen, use tact and diplomacy, and diffuse high-tension situations are all hallmarks of an effective coach.

4.Coaching is integrated:Coaching should not be designed and implemented outside of the company's strategy, culture and existing business processes.

The business case for coaching should develop from the company's strategy. The need is best identified from a review of talent, driven by the strategic needs of the business. Coaching should not be a one-off tool. It should be applied where it can best improve a strategic capability of the organization. For example, if business growth depends on developing new products for new markets, look for coaching opportunities with high-potential leaders and their backups in mission-critical new product development, business development or marketing roles.

5.The proper coaching relationship is established:
The coach's client is the employee being coached and not their manager or a human resources executive who may be paying the coach's tab. This is not the typical consultant-client relationship with the economic buyer, so it needs to be managed differently. Once the coaching relationship is established, all feedback and communication should go to the coached employee. Any communication with the manager should come from the client after discussion and agreement with the coach. To do otherwise would breech this special agreement and would jeopardize the coach-client relationship.

The one exception to this would be a case where the coach uncovers unethical or illegal behavior on the part of the employee. The coach is obligated in these situations to terminate the relationship and inform the manager.

5 ways to Tap into the Power of Skills and Competency Management

2009-12-01T01:20:00.000-08:00

Its up to HR to not only devise the systems but also educate employees about the benefits of using them for self-appraisal, career development, and other processes.

How to get a handle on the knowledge and skills of your employees ?

a.)Identify key skills and competencies through surveys, interviews, focus groups and analysis. Every organization has unique needs and identifying the skills and competencies that drive success can boost performance and profits. The process of identifying the traits that lead to success falls somewhere between art and science. However, certain methods, such as interviews, surveys and focus groups can help turn attention in the right direction.

b.)Build a Management System that can track employee performance. Using a checklist, spreadsheet or specialized software application, an organization can track where employees are and where they ought to be. It’s also possible to share this information with employees, so that they can prepare for new assignments or better positions within the organization.

c.)Integrate skills and competency inventories with other HR systems, including recruiting, training and succession planning. A list of key skills can define the questions that a recruiter asks an applicant in a job interview or the types of courses an organization introduces through its training and development program. A desktop portal can provide an employee with a list of skills needed for a particular position, note the skills that he or she currently possesses, and serve as an easy way to sign up for a course.

d.)Keep in mind that skills or competency tracking isn’t a one-time solution; it’s an outgoing process. It’s essential to tweak systems and update the list of required skills periodically. This can also lead to changes in the types of courses an organization offers and the kinds of individuals an enterprise recruits.

e.)Don’t expect immediate miracles. Filling skill and competence gaps takes time, effort, and cultural adjustment. It’s up to HR to not only devise the systems but also educate employees about the benefits of using them for self-appraisal, career development and other processes.

The Checklist for Modern Enterprise Learning

2009-11-01T02:38:00.000-08:00

Today's corporate learning organizations are facing a barrage of challenges from every direction. On the one hand, the current business climate is forcing budget reductions, organizational consolidations and shifting program priorities. On the other, social and informal learning technologies are causing us to rethink investments and program deliveries.

If 2009 has a silver lining, it is that training executives in companies of all shapes and sizes are being forced to re-examine priorities, reduce waste and inefficiencies, capitalize on cost-efficient learning approaches and reorganize for greater business alignment.

In recent research around modern corporate learning, we found distinct commonalities among training organizations that achieve significant business impact. These characteristics are compiled into the short list below, called the Modern Enterprise Learning Index. Use this informal checklist to determine if your training organization is still operating in the past - or if it is ready to meet modern challenges and requirements:
a) Business and needs analysis.
b) Content development efficiency.
c) Scalable capacity.
d) Adaptability to multiple audiences.
e) Versatility with tools and technologies.
f) Business alignment and measurement.
g) Integration with talent management.
h) Timeliness and speed.
i) Focus on specific performance targets.
j) Globalization and localization.
k) Knowledge sharing.
l) Fostering of a learning culture.

Periodically benchmark your organization with others in your industry segment, as well as with organizations at large. Only with such comparisons can you determine how your organization really stacks up. Our research found that companies with rapidly changing products and services are more "modernized, " likely because they have had experience in building adaptable training programs over many years. The most successful training organizations operate as if their businesses are changing all the time, even if they are not. These organizations constantly re-evaluate and recalibrate their practices and programs.

1. Build learning environments, not learning programs:High-performing training organizations create end-to-end learning environments, not just training programs. For example, consider IT major solution provider sales leadership program. The initiative includes managerial coaching, a sales and product training portal and a series of formal training programs. The results have been stellar: The company increased sales productivity by more than 100 percent and reduced turnover by a significant margin.

2. "Formalize" informal learning:Three types of informal learning are now being adopted: social learning, which refers to all collaborative experiences including social networking, communities of practice and blogs; on-demand learning, which consists of learner-led activities such as e-learning and self-study using books, reference materials, videos and podcasts; and embedded learning, which refers to the use of content and systems such as job aids, which help employees solve problems and learn on the job. Organizations told us they were struggling with the idea of building informal strategies into program design, but we now know it's critical for success.

3. Rethink instructional design processes:While the concepts and principles of instructional design remain the same, the skills need to be put to new use - such as the building of information architectures, audience analysis, social learning and on-demand learning. Most designers are eager to take advantage of the new world of learning. You can leverage these skills at little to no additional cost.

4. Adopt new, cost-efficient technologies: With the proliferation of new tools for online collaboration - including messaging, mobile phones, Web portals and Twitter - it is easier than ever for employees to engage with each other. We found organizations such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the U.S. Army, British Telecom, Symantec, Qualcomm, Sun Microsystems and many others are opening up their training content in a knowledge-sharing format. We call this "we-learning" - enabling employees to publish what they know and understand for the benefit of peers and co-workers. This kind of learning can be extremely effective and capitalizes on the knowledge assets you already have. Furthermore, information can be disseminated rapidly, far faster than developing traditional designed courses.

Don't miss out on the opportunity offered by the current financial situation. By modernizing your organization, you can increase the power and the impact of learning within your company.

Performance Management System

2009-10-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

Managing Human Resource has been a challenge from the time immemorial as the legends and stories from our epics and literature tell us. We are presenting here a quaint tale from the stories of Akbar and Birbal to illustrate an ubiquitous HR concept.
Today all organizations big or small, new or seasoned are working rigorously on Performance Management System as the strong leverage tool for achieving the business results and in this regard every employees focus is going through a paradigm shift to Key Results Areas ( KRAs) and this is becoming an integral part of the performance evaluating process.

However only a very few are aware that the Man who conceived this idea and brought lots of laurels to this concept to the larger world, is some one from India !

Akbar the Great, the well known Mughal Emperor needs no introduction to any student of history.

One fine day Akbar summoned all his ministers to his chambers for a crucial meeting.

“I would like each of you to spell out your Key Results Areas for the year with specific period objectives on how the results are going to be achieved, “ he declared to the august assembly.

That set the entire team of ministers who decorated his cabinet to think and ponder. They knew that when Akbar demands there is no option but to deliver. Soon each of them made out their KRAs spelling out elaborate plans of action.

The only soul just not showing any excitement was Birbal. He seemed the least interested in the exercise that had set the mid night lamps to burn all over the palace. Birbal was a special decoration to Akbars Court and it was well known how the entire kingdom had benefited out of his wit and wisdom. However Birbals lackadaisical attitude to the new plans of Akbar did not amuse the emperor.

The place was idyllic, the time the morning hours, when Akbar was on a lazy ride with his pride of possession ”the black horse” that he met Birbal and enquired about his KRAs. Birbal did not have even the faintest idea of what he was going to deliver but not to be out done in this new exercise and as if suddenly he declared “I have finalized my KRA for the year !” He looked at the black horse near him and said, “ I will make this horse fly.”

Akbar could not resist the temptation to laugh it off but knowing Birbal he controlled himself and said, “ If that’s what you intent to deliver it’s perfectly Ok with me.”

Days passed into weeks and weeks into months and much to the concern and worry of the other ministers there was no sign of the black horse flying. The ministers knew that Akbar was quite serious about the new system that he had introduced and that he would just not spare anyone for non-performance.
One fine day when it was almost the end of the year the ministers met Birbal and enquired, “ You seem to be blissfully unaware that the year is coming to close shortly and your promise of the making the emperors horse to fly just does not seem to take off.” The chorus of their common concern could not be missed out in their comments.

Birbal was his usual unperturbed self. “ Look my dear friends, between now and the year end quite a few things could happen which makes me feel least worried” he said with his usual gay abandon. He further went on to explain in his own style the secrets of his confidence “ As I see things , I am not too worried. You see there are quite a few probabilities in my favor. Well, to just spell it out: before the year ends I could die all too suddenly! Or may be the black horse could contact some disease and die ! Or our emperor who is not getting any younger by the day could pass off peacefully! And even if nothing like any of these happens there is another possibility. He stopped for a while and staring straight at the other ministers and came out with the punch line “ Who knows ! By the end of the year that black horse may actually fly !!!”

The ministers were shocked and frozen to silence. Knowing Birbal they did not venture into an argument with him and left him alone with his theorem of probabilities.

History is not clear which of the probability worked in favor of Birbal. Anyway that should hardly matter to us. The very thought of such risky probabilities immediately brings to light the need to look into our own lot and start thinking.

Can we be as lucky as Birbal to shoot off the cuff ‘ a phantom like promise’ and rest be assured that something from somewhere will somehow save us at the end of the day ? Have we made some commitments to deliver, which like the flying horse seem to be almost impossible to meet ? What will happen if we survive in the organization till the fateful day (appraisal meeting) and have to face the immediate superior to discuss results ? What will happen if our boss is not going to be leaving the organization as we suspected and is definitely going to confront us at the end of the day? Will some of our KRAs turn out to become so obsolete that it would make no business sense by the end of the year and our achieving or not achieving will go unnoticed? And finally can horses really fly at a future date ? A host of such thoughts crop up in our mind and cause that uncomfortable churns in our stomach.

The basic fear that grips us could be strong possibilities of some impossible promises which we would have made meant to impress and not implement. Some of us would almost feel like leaving the story here and rushing to our desk to quickly check and review in case we too have by the slip of our pen inked in the “ Birbal like KRAs”

A wise man said “ Honesty to admittance of mistakes pay rich dividends especially when we show this quality not when our chips are down but when there is scope to make amends.” How true! It will not be a bad idea at all to get across the table of our boss right away and admit to those Birbal Brand of bad promises and substitute it with those ‘ Smart ‘ Ones that can seldom fail as long we are willing to sweat it out to succeed !

A Leader of Ethics: Set a High Example

2009-09-01T02:49:00.000-07:00

One Executive recently asked me, “How can I worry about ethics when our company is fighting for its very existence in a hostile market ?”

I responded: “ You don’t have to put ethics on the shelf while doing battle.
Without ethics, even if you win you still lose.”

Every time we say or do something unethical, we chip away at the foundations of our moral character and reputation. To make a difference we must set examples of high ethics.

The prime purpose of businesses is to make profit. But when profits become the only measure of success, we lose sight of our shared values. When unethical business practices create unfair situations that go beyond a healthy competitive environment, we are in deep trouble. In a competitive market, doing business often involves beating out the other guy, getting the best of the deal, turning $1 million into $5 million. In this adversarial climate, clear definitions of ethics can be difficult. How do you know when an action is a brilliant tactic or unscrupulous double-dealing? One way is to ask yourself if this action might harm an individual or business.

No one ever said that being ethical is easy. We live in a world with more ethical gray areas. Circumstances pull at us every day, urging us to take the easy way out, to twist something just a little, or to close our eyes for a second. Acts of omission can be just as unethical as acts of commission. Saying and doing nothing can be just as unethical as the committed act. The distinction between what is legal and what is unethical has become blurred.

Human Values: Business problems are ultimately human problems and so human values must be applied to their solutions. These human values and solutions come from you and me.

The Good news is that profit motive and social responsibility can coexist and prosper when we operate with high ethical standards and compassion. The stronger our ethical behavior, the better leaders we become.

Harry J.Gray, former Chairman of United Technologies, said, “ How we perform as individuals determines how we perform as nation.”

Situational Ethics: Each of us makes daily decisions about our ethical behavior in various situations; thus we live with situational ethics. Since we are not perfect, we rarely operate consistently at the highest ethical level. Instead, the best we can do is to try to develop the wisdom and judgment to get as close to perfection as possible. For example, absolute honesty means never lie. That sounds like a good idea. But all of us have told “white lies” to keep from hurting someone’s feelings. We use our experience (wisdom and judgment) and our conscience (moral character and integrity) to tell us how far we stray from absolute honesty. If something is ethically or morally repugnant on a personal scale, it is equally repugnant in our jobs and professions. In both areas, the leader sets the standards, tries to live by them, and communicates the same expectation to others.

Shared Values: We need to work together for our common interests, hopes, and values, more than ever before. We must examine our personal standard of conduct – our ethics- and have the courage to turn the spotlight on our actions, habits and examples. Our differences are part of our great strength, but out of this diverse mixture must come a shared system of ethical values. You make a difference as a leader when you set an example of high ethics.

Big Vision

2009-08-04T06:31:00.000-07:00

To create a BIG-VISION team or enterprise, apply the below mentioned four Keys.

1. Define Growth in Qualitative, not just Quantitative Terms:-

The focus of many leaders is to grow big, fast, by expanding revenue, offices, and headcount. These “growth companies” don’t have to be sustainable, viable, or ethical. But qualitative growth is about leveraging strengths to achieve an edge.

2. To Live large, you have to have a Big Vision:-

When the numbers fail, the economy tanks, or you have a losing season, your big vision inspires you to persevere. It’s your guiding light. The lack of guiding vision is why many companies experience high turnover, and why others sputter and fail at the first setback. The vision makes enduring challenges worthwhile. It distinguishes you, providing you connect vision with action.

3. Right relationship is a big-vision craft:-

Beyond “delighting your customers”, “ retaining human capital” or “winning the war for talent”, right relationship stems from wisdom or mastery practices, and becomes a pathway for qualitative growth, competitive distinction, employee morale, and customer loyalty. You seek to improve relationships with key constituencies, and create a sense of greater meaning that helps retain and motivate people.

4. If you want to live from the source, you can’t let the well run dry:-

Inspiration is fuel; burnout is the depletion of fuel. Many people are dissatisfied with their work, distrustful of rhetoric, and looking for greater purpose, meaning, and contribution. Meaning can’t be bestowed upon you- you have to create it. Big –Vision leader’s help their people see that the way they do their work, and the actual work they do, can be done masterfully.

'WOW ‘- WELCOME TO OUR WORLD

2009-07-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

Induction Programme plays a very important role in the successful absorption of individual in any organization. This is perhaps the reason why many organizations invest significant time and energy in this process.

And a wholesome induction in my view and from my experience of having Designed, Planned and Implemented 11 Induction Programmes for 367 New Inductees from various centers at C-DAC, Pune, would consist of the following essential elements.

This is what I call a WOW EFFECT- Welcome to our World

Induction Programme
Now you have the employee you wanted. He has come and joined you. This is the time for you to consummate the alliance, to build the real relationship. Induction is the time to set out expectations and to capture critical potential indicators.

Good Induction Programme
A good induction programme is about communication. Treat the new recruit with respect and as a mature and responsible individual. Welcome him and make sure that he is comfortable. Introduce him to all relevant people individually.

Undersell the Organization
During the induction programme, its imperative to manage the inductees expectations. Undersell the organization and the presentations as professional and business like as possible. The expectations you set here will come back to haunt you later.

Lay down Organizations Expectations
Time for you to lay down organizations expectations in terms of performance, professionalism and other values you want to espouse.

Clarity on Organizations Values and Policies
Walk the inductee through every policy and rules manual, this will help him know the organization better and will not feel lost once he goes to work.

Lay down the Performance Management System
Clearly enunciate your Performance Management System. It is very critical for an employee to know what is expected out of him and what the performance parameters are.

Overall Development
Also invest in Soft Skill programmes ( preferably in-house). It gives an inductee the focus on organization’s way of doing things i.e Communication and Team Building.

Buddy Programme
Design a Buddy or Mentoring Programme ( both are different approaches) to help assimilate the new inductee into your organization smoothly.

Strategic Approach
If we look at Induction Programme from a Strategic Perspective as opposed to a Procedural Objective, we would agree on the following:
· It is the first impression that the EMPLOYEE will get of the organization.
· It is the first opportunity for the ORGANIZATION to make a clear undiluted Communication.
· Induction Programme is CRITICAL to an employee identifying with the organization.
· An effective induction will facilitate HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY.
· And Achievement of the above shall automatically ensure higher/ lower EMPLOYEE
RETENTION with the organization.

Elements for Designing a Wholesome Induction Programme

Profile of the Inductee
The typical profile of an inductee would be

Comes from a different sized organization.

Orientation to a different culture.

Different Value System.

Different Quality Processes.

Concern if his experience and learning would be utilized.

Concern on his career progression.

Need for Information.

Objective of the Induction Programme
Familiarize the Inductee to the Organization, Team.

Educate the Inductee to Environment, Values, Vision, Mission, Quality Processes and Culture.

Integrate the inductee to the organization.

Provide comfort and manage his anxieties.

Provide information on all policies and procedures.

Provide information on performance culture and Expectation Management.

Strategic People Objectives of the Organization
Induction helps in the Retention Strategy (3 years or 30 years), manages anxiety, manages expectations, educates on processes, values and ethos, ensures seamless integration with the Organizations culture and environment.

Induction Module
Company Information- Corporate Presentation, Unit/ Branch Information.

Vision Statements- Our Commitment to Growth.

Mission Statements- How did we arrive at the Mission Statement, the reason behind it.

Exemplify and explain. Helps in IDENTIFYING with the same.

Values- what are our values and how do we fearlessly stand up for the same.

Policies and Procedures- HR Policies, Admin Policies etc have a presentation. Induction manual is generally not read nor understood by upto 70-80% of the Inductees.

Processes- What is quality to us ? what are basic quality concepts? What are he various project management tools inductees would require to use, work flow.

Performance Management System- How it works and what are the KPA’s, what is the career progression opportunities and what does it take to achieve.

Environment and Cultural Sensitization.

Team Introduction- Personal introduction to all relevant people in the team.

Sources of Information- Internet and Intranet, key people etc. Internet and e-mail policies.

Buddy Programme- Identify and Allocate a Buddy/Mentor to the inductee to facilitate smooth integration.

Soft Skills- Identify 2/3 soft skills critical to the business and do workshops to create experiential learning opportunity.

Feedback and Measure
We have through the Induction Programme laid down the organization’s expectations and the way of life to the Inductees, time to capture his assimilation ( through Quiz). To measure the efficacy of Induction, his feedback on how it could be better or what else he needed to know or be explained. This can be done through Quizzes, Structured Feedback forms, Informal Interviews, tracking him over a period of time.

Controlling and Improving
Inputs thus received should documented and used to make improvements in the programme, to the extent feasible.

The Talent Ten: How to find and keep Talent

2009-06-01T02:36:00.000-07:00

Everything we do and the way we do it will be reinvented in the next few years, and those who reap the benefits will be Talent Masters.

Talent: I love that word. The key people and leaders are the heart and spirit of any organization, and yet most firms don’t even know how many talented people they are losing.

Here are 10 ideas to vault Talent from soaring rhetoric to strategic reality:

1. Be obsessed with the pursuit of talent:
Turn your company into a talent machine. Think talent, love talent and know where to find it. To win the great War for Talent, put it at the top of your agenda, and keep it there. Time counts. Obsession counts. Have a real people person become a Connoisseur of Talent. The pursuit of talent is either an obsession or you’re not serious.

2. Look for greatness and hire only the best:
If you are a genuine Connoisseur of Talent, you won’t settle for anything less than the best. You will leave a job open- and, indeed, stress out some others in the process- before you will fill a slot with a mediocrity. Great talent pools are not kind to those who can’t pass the muster. So, do your Great Talent Pool a favor: Stress them out a little bit, but don’t surround them with
mediocrities chosen to “fill the chair”.

3. Hold people to serious performance standards:
Some people perform better than other people, and talent likes hanging out with talent. Talented people love to be pressed. They love to play against the best. They feed off the energy and vitality and spirit and spunk of their colleagues. To be sure, all of this puts extreme pressure on everybody to have a reason for being. One will either display distinction or become road kill.

4.It’s a sellers market: Top talent, in any field, are expensive, perhaps costing 10 times an average person in their function. Top-performing companies pay what it takes to acquire other top performers and prevent them from leaving. Do I think pay is the answer in the Great War of Talent ? No. I believe that the sine qua non is opportunity, the chance to shine, quickly. And if one is given a great opportunity and responds with vigor, then one should be rewarded. When I hear bosses complain of “ high turnover”, I suggest: pay your people more!

5.Youth : Grovel before the young: In the end, the Internet will change everything. And who will be leading this parade? Twenty-something’s. This is a young person’s crusade. I am curious, but I cannot be naïve! When you’re under 25, you don’t know what you don’t know. It’s the Age of Intellectual Capital. It’s the Age of Curiosity Rewarded. (Rather than Compliance Rewarded.) We need people who…from the get-go…will talk back! Who are determined to get ahead….fast.)

6. Diversity: Mess Rules : Creatively and great leaps forward come from mess, meaning all kinds of people providing all kinds of ideas that crazily bounce against one another and cause a lot of chaos- and occasionally cause a great idea to emerge, which changes the world. Creativity comes from unlikely juxtapositions. The best way to maximize difference is to mix ages, cultures, and disciplines.

7. Women: Born to Lead: Many professional women are waiting to be called into action. This isn’t about political correctness or Affirmative Action. It’s about talent-talent whose distinguishing scars and marks match the new needs of the new economy. Women focus more on relationships and are less rank-conscious. Women are more self-determined and trust-sensitive. They are more focused on empowerment, intuition, emotional sensitivity, empathy, and patience; they have a penchant for planning, networking, negotiating and co-operating.

8.Weird: The cracked Ones. Let in the light! Go to lunch with the same old folks, and you’ll hear the same old stuff. Surround yourself with weird employees, customers, suppliers and competitors. Hang with weird; you will be energized. In the new economy, we desperately need those non-conformists, dissenters and rebels. Weird, quirky talent rules.

9. Opportunity: Make it an adventure: Create a cause, imbue people with a sense of passion, instill in them a sense of adventure. To win the War of Talent, there must be Battles Worth Fighting. The opportunity to be part of an adventure matters from the get-go. Great talent springs from and is attracted to the chance to pursue great adventures. To create a talent-obsessed enterprise, create a culture of adventure.

10. Leading Genius: We are all unique: Who understands talent? Your kid’s third-grade teacher. Teachers are in the talent business. They understand that each of the six billion people God put on this earth is a totally unique human being who is engaged in a totally unique learning and growth trajectory. Talent is a “one-at-a-time thing.”

Your career is certifies by the Talent that you spotted before somebody else, and then nurtured to the point that they performed brilliantly and made a giant contribution to the enterprise.
Sure, cool leaders have cool visions. And those visions can inspire the masses. But mentoring leadership or talent development leadership is perhaps even more important.

In the War of Talent, only those who put talent at the top of their agendas are likely to survive.

M & A : What's your DNA ?

2009-05-01T03:27:00.000-07:00

Globalization has thrown open opportunities aplenty amidst increased market competition. Companies have realized the importance of remaining competitive in ensuring survival and growth; have resorted to measures, such as restructuring, alliances, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions. Mergers and Acquisitions have become a common strategic practice and a tool to achieve faster growth and market leadership position.

As Feros, Lewis puts it: “ Mergers are People”. Hence, HR Strategy in any merger or acquisition process has to be an integral part of the business strategy. The business strategy in a pre-merger may be to look for a strategic fit in a partner. But to ensure that the strategic fit delivers results, in post merger, the people support gained through an effective HR strategy is essential.

The twin drivers- globalization and technology, operating simultaneously have ushered in the new Economy in more recent times. Organizations have been responding to such changes in the environment by organic growth or by acquiring/ merging organizations into their fold.

There are organizations that want to shape the future. They shape the rules of the game rather than being ruled by rules of the game. These companies learn to anticipate the possible directions that the future may take and begin to blaze the new path without hesitation. The leaders of these companies encourage their people to challenge conventional thinking and to create continuous renewal and progress. Renewal challenges the company to stretch and grow. For most of the companies, continuous renewal is more than a catchphrase; it is their culture. There are irreversible changes in forces that are driving these changes. We could call these the new economic drivers. There are three kinds of drivers with varying amplitude and time horizons, which will dictate the future of economy and the future of business.
They are :
a.) Short-term drivers.
b.) Medium-term drivers
c.) Long –term drivers

Will Culture make the difference ?
Generating a single wave of change is possible but the effects are seldom long-lasting or self-sustaining. When continuous renewal or performance is expected, and if the organizations have not created the right ambience for such an attempt, people become “smart dumps”. People have to be willing to accept the risk of change to create a self-sustaining cycle of improvement and an ongoing sense of renewal. That is possible only if employees know that individual and collective success can only continue if they embrace change as an opportunity rather than reacting to it in a crisis mode.

With today’s volatility in business, organizations should respond by placing one foot in the present and the other in the future- responding to today’s customer needs while preparing for tomorrow’s by striving to find the future first. Those who really succeed constantly adapt to the changing environment, managing the dimensions of competition, keeping pace with the design and technology marvels, applying scenario-planning technique, than casually talking about ‘aligning parts of the organizations’.

Cultural Assessment Tool
For any merger or acquisition to be successful, structures, leadership, culture and strategy are going to be critical. You can examine the firm at any level and the DNA remains the same, though functionality and character will change. The culture of a company gives it character and uniqueness that could be closet to biological DNA. Culture refers to the collection of values, beliefs, behaviors, customers and attitudes that characterize an organization. Each organization has a unique culture and hence, a unique DNA map. For assessing the cultural character of an organization, the organization could be guided by 14 discrete characteristics viz: governance structure, leadership roles/influence, power, how change is viewed, the basis of planning, the primary mode of problem solving, how control is exerted, communication styles/purpose, marketing focus, performance management, vision/values, how people are perceived, success definitions and guiding principles/assumptions.

Develop a Merger Competency Model
Companies have yet to learn the lessons from others. Up to three quarters of these deals destroy value that has been the objective of many mergers and acquisitions. Why ? Organizations that are high performers and who pursue their transactions as part of a disciplined and ongoing programme, link their transactions to clear strategic goals, and are organized for fast decision making and effective implementation. Most of the companies that have been failing in their M & A efforts have treated M & A , as occasional and major events.

A Merger competency Model that defines the merger leadership characteristics is important for professional success. The motivation is to develop a Merger Competency Model that would radically improve the ability of organizations to assess the environment, create structures, develop strategies and formulate policies that would attract , retain and develop leaders; thus retain the merger capability.

A merger competency model has been arrived at after considering the strategic objective and the key business drivers:
· Globalization
· Technology

The pointers are based on the experiences and the literature review for the components of developmental model, which has to be nurtured by the core team of the merged entity. The components identified are universally accepted dimensions
· Structure
· Strategy
· Leader’s Belief.
· Leader’s Approach
· Communication
· Process- Speed of Decision Making and Integration
· Handling People at Outplacement

Tips to Recession-Proof: Global Marketing

2009-04-01T03:07:00.000-07:00

How do you keep your sales strong in a sluggish economy? Nowadays, marketing seems to be a matter of building a better mousetrap and offering it to customers at a lower price and hoping they have a mice! But there are always things you can do that will keep you posting higher sales and profits regardless of the economic climate.
This is recession proof global marketing: Instead of waiting for the recession to end, you need to take aggressive measures now to insure that you will come out of it stronger than before. Companies that do well during an economic crisis are proactive, not reactive. They seek out new opportunities and respond quickly to changes in the marketplace. Here are some tips to use in your global marketing efforts:

I. Offer Something that will provoke a Heartfelt “It’s about Time!”
If you are hearing the same complaint over and over wherever you go- and you’ll hear complaints aplenty during a recession-then it’s time you listened. See if you create a product or service to solve a problem, satisfy a need or add value. These innovations extend product life cycle, expand the market place and open consumer’s imaginations. In a high-pressure marketing climate, you will need to improve your existing product or get creative and come out with a new one.

II. Great Sportsmanship Pays Off :

Be always on the “outs” with your competitors. This doesn’t mean being hostile or underhanded-it means out-servicing, out-performing and out-lasting them. Be a clean but keen competitor.

III. Make Yourself Available:

Be here, there and everywhere- that’s what gets and keeps the business. Attend the dinners and socials, show up for the sales meetings, participate in community affairs, return phone calls and emails, send noteworthy clippings, volunteer for charitable efforts. Keep yourself exposed during the slump and when the economy picks up your customers and suppliers will think of you first.

IV. Keep in Touch:

Don’t let your communication fall off when business is slow- if anything, step them up. If you’ve been communicating once a month with key contacts, increase it to once a week. Keeping at your business operations when nothing’s happening shows your character and commitment. We always remember the friends who stand by us when the going gets tough and business relationships work the same way. If you keep letting your customers and suppliers know how valuable they are to you during tough economic times, you’ll reap the rewards when things improve.

V. Dare To Be Different:

Cut loose and do something wild. Show some energy! Look alive! Put a sense of fun into your global marketing efforts. Send eye-catching subject lines in your emails that add spice to routine communications. Phone your customers once in a while so they can hear your voice and know they’re dealing with a human being.
Goodwill and good humour keep us all going, especially in a poor economy-so don’t be afraid to get a bit wacky. It will capture your customer’s attention and set you apart from the crowd.

Recession-proof global marketing means making your own opportunities and laying the groundwork for your own future prosperity. It all boils down to being ten times as persistent and creative as usual and taking charge to shape your own global marketplace. So don’t be cowed by grim economic reports. Be bolder than ever. You’ll not only survive- you’ll flourish!

Team Work, Leadership and Knowledge Management

2009-03-13T03:15:00.000-07:00

During the 20th century organizations became increasingly aware of the power of the effective combination of leadership, teamwork and knowledge management. Although a lot of research has been conducted about these elements, very few organizations really get it right so that teams and the individuals within teams perform at their optimum levels. This article will primarily explore effective leadership and teamwork and will use analogies from Africa to explain these organizational elements.

The quest to find what makes the magic of great leaders has been unceasing and will no doubt continue for many years to come. The debate around the genetic versus the environmental production of leaders and leadership has by no means come to an end.

There can be few experiences more gratifying for one interested in organizational growth and development than to watch a team come together and begin to weave its magical web of success into everything the team does. I suppose it is possible for this to happen by accident but generally this success is the result of a desire of all the participants to work together to achieve a clear and common goal. It often includes an infusion of ideas and energy from interested stakeholders. It certainly involves a great deal of networking and sharing between the important stakeholders and indeed amongst the team members themselves.

In the African bush the Lion’s entire survival is predicated on his capacity to work as a member of a team. Without teamwork Lions have very little chance of survival. This applies particularly to the male Lion that has less than 50% chance of survival at birth. If he can survive to adulthood, the moment he becomes a threat to the dominant male in the group he will either be killed by the dominant male. On his own out in the wilderness he has less than 50% chance of survival. Often he will team up with another young Lion that has been expelled from his group. Together they will work out a “modus operandi” that will ensure their survival up to the day they decide to find a group to challenge for the leadership and thereby gain a brand-new ready-made family. Only the fittest and toughest male Lions survive the exigencies of life and are able to play their role as a dominant male in the group. This process also ensures that the gene pool is constantly reenergized and revitalized with genes from only the best males. How do we make sure in our teams that our selection process is such that we take only the very best for the team?

The other thing that the Lion teaches us is the importance of role clarity within the team, not only for the individual concerned, but also clarity about the roles of other members of the team by all team members. Without this clarity, fleet-footed and nimble young male Lions and Lionesses will attempt to pull down a Buffalo Bull and the lazy heavily-muscled male Lion may even attempt the impossible- to kill an Impala.

Another wild animal that has a great deal to teach us about the power of teamwork and in particular how important multi-skilling is in a team is the Wild Dog. The Wild Dogs hunt in packs and kill by attrition.

All the herding animals Like Buffalo, Duiker, Zebra, Wildebeest and Elephant have a great deal to teach us about the power of synergy and the , as yet untapped, resource of intuition. Great teams have these in abundance. When you watch great teams working there is a great deal of overt communication but there is also substantial subliminal and intuitive communication between the members of the team. This is not something that can easily be taught and certainly not something that happens quickly. It is a faculty that develops over time and requires focus and hard work to achieve and inculcate into each member of the team and the team as a whole.

Of all the animals, the Eagle epitomizes the best type of vision that great leaders bring to the organization. They are able to see both the big picture and each element of that big picture with great clarity and perspective.

One of the major misconceptions about leadership is that it is about the leader. If one examines the behavior and activities of the great leaders that have succeeded beyond all dreams and against all possible odds, it is clear that leadership is much more about followership. The simple fact of the matter is that without followers, leaders have no role. Great leaders therefore understand this dynamic fundamentally and have learnt to tap in, to be part of, and live, actively and energetically, amongst those who follow them.

Knowledge management has a number of characteristics; it is data organized into an understandable and clear framework, information that can be applied and knowledge that has been shaped by experience/life. Wisdom is when knowledge has been tested and shaped by experience and by the success and failures in the University of Life.

We know that the world’s best businesses have learnt that the route not only to survival but to growth and development in the new era economy will certainly include learning faster than the competition. Excellent teams are characterized by a culture of trust, openness and sharing, and a shared common vision. The important thing to remember here is that one cannot just focus on teamwork or leadership or knowledge management. The model that one builds for the business should be one that takes all three of these into account and builds an interconnected and synergistic plan. It must ensure that the three components are also part of every activity engaged in by business and in particularly training and development activities.

A Leader’s Weaponry- Strategy

2009-02-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

The shoe that fits one person, pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases,” observed Carl Jung in Modern Man in Search of a Soul. Jung wasn’t thinking about strategic management when he wrote that passage. But he could have been.

Managing a multi-business organization means managing the relationship between executives in the central office and those who run the business units or divisions. And strategy gurus notwithstanding, there is no one best way to do that. Rather, the best way always depends on the nature and needs of the businesses in an organizations portfolio, on the styles of the people working in the organization, on the company’s strategy and goals. Leaders need to know this and to act and plan accordingly. At many corporates, leaders are involved in all important strategy decisions; they only leave the operating decisions to branch mangers. And these organizations flourish. At other corporates, strategic issues are determined by managers in close touch with their markets. Leaders concentrate only on the operating ratios and financial controls. These corporations thrive.

Some leaders seek to shape the future with high-stake bets. The press loves to hype such life-shaping strategy because of their potential to create enormous wealth, but the sober reality is that most leaders lack the industry position, assets or appetite for taking risks which is necessary to make such strategies work.

In the area of business, risk-averse leaders hedge their bets by making a number of smaller investments. In pursuit of growth opportunities in emerging markets, for example, many companies are forging limited operational or distribution alliances. But it is often difficult to determine if such limited investments truly reserve the right to play in these countries or just reserve the right to lose. Alternatively, some executives favour investments in flexibility that allow their companies to adapt quickly as markets evolve. But the costs of establishing such flexibility can be high. Moreover, taking a wait-and –watch strategy or postponing large investments until the future becomes clear can create a window of opportunity for others.

Making systematically sound strategic decisions under uncertainty requires a different approach, one that avoids this dangerous binary view. It is rare that leaders know absolutely nothing of strategic importance, even in the most uncertain environments. Infact, leaders usually can identify a range of potential outcomes or even a discrete set of scenarios. This simple insight is extremely powerful because determining which strategy is best and what process should be used to develop it, depends vitally on the level of uncertainty a company faces.

Developing International Managers

2009-01-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

As they say, every dark cloud has a silver lining. The twin drivers – globalization and technology , operating simultaneously have ushered in the new Economy into India in more recent times.

In studying the growth and diversity of international companies and the way in which they manage their global operations, what emerges is that there is a growing need for managers with international experience and ability. Such managers need to possess such competencies if they are to operate successfully for the benefit of their companies in international arena.

Organizations should use this slowdown to train future global leaders who are competent enough to think globally, appreciate cultural diversity, are technologically savvy, can build partnerships and alliances and share leadership.