People at Work & Play

In 2003, Goldman Sachs identified some companies as being truly “GloCos” (Global Companies). In 2006, they found that these had significantly outperformed others in meeting today’s challenges.

The criteria that characterized these companies included:
· Focusing on globalization as being critical to the company’s future
· To have a global brand
· To be seen as a local firm
· To demonstrate flexibility
· To use technology to advance business
· To have employee friendly workplace practices
· To have a strategy for major developing countries
· To have meaningful social engagement at the local level.

Most business leaders would agree with Tim Koogle, former CEO of Yahoo and now the Vice Chairman who said “There probably is no business today that you can start that can afford not to be global”

The long weekend gave me an opportunity to read an interesting book with an interesting title. “Why Employees Don’t Do What They Are Supposed To Do…and What To Do About It!” is by Ferdinand F.Fournies.

Fournies, a Professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Business, explains in extremely lucid language the main reasons why employees fail and why their performance is not upto the mark. Each reason is well illustrated by an explanation of the problem followed by a “preventive solution”.

“Managing employees effectively” writes Fournies ” is no longer a luxury if you can spare the time. It may be worth your life”. Technological advances, as wonderful as they are, have increased the potential and magnitude of errors an employee can make by merely hitting a wrong key. A $ 16 dividend cheque can become a $ 160 cheque and so on.

Here are some of the 16 reasons described in the book:

1. They don’t know why they should do it
2. They don’t know how to do it
3. They don’t know what they are supposed to do
4. They think your way will not work
5. They think their way is better

A definition of management which is quite different from the usual definitions: “Management is doing those things necessary to deny people who work for you the unpleasant opportunity of failing”!

Best wishes to all on the joyous occasion of Diwali-The Festival of Lights!

To those who do not much about this important Indian festival, I would suggest you visit a site about Diwali of the Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India. This site is full of information about Diwali, its significance, the many traditions associated with the festival and how it is celebrated in various parts of our country.

Most people have a break of 3-4 days for the festival. Here is an opportunity for all to relax, refresh themselves and spend quality time with family and friends.

I would like to share information on a website which I have found to be of considerable interest and value. Carter MacNamara, co-founder of Authenticity Consulting, LLC has extremely useful material on a wide variety of management subjects, many of them relating to people.

I commend his Free Management Library which has a wealth of information on different aspects of management. The subjects are arranged in a manner which gives you access to more resources and information should you wish to go into greater depth.

Thank you, Dr. MacNamara, for making a fund of knowledge so easily available for those who wish to better themselves.

Invariably, many of us wish we had more time in a day. But to what end?

I asked participants in recent programs what they would do had they more time. Here are the more common responses:

1. Spend time with family
2. Spend time with friends/socialize
3. Sleep
4. Pursue interest/hobby
5. Work out
6. Social work in the community
7. Travel to new places

Knowing what we would do with the “extra time” can motivate us to manage ourselves- and consequently our time more effectively. As is often said, you may not have the time to do what you would like to do. You simply have to make time to do what you want to do.

Onboarding is a key process in Human Capital management. Many times employees hired at great expense after investing huge amounts of time in the hiring process are pretty much left to fend for themselves once they join an organization. Their onboarding is left to chance or the personal interest displayed by the new employee’s supervisor.

I would urge all managers to view the onboarding process as a crucial step in employee retention. An article by David Lee highlights the importance of onboarding and speaks of the Four Deadliest Onboarding Mistakes companies make. Read this to make sure you avoid making these mistakes.

One of my favourite sites is that of the Centre for Creative Leadership. Recently read an interesting report titled ” Leadership Development:Past, Present & Future”. In this is quoted a study by The Conference Board on “Developing Business Leaders for 2010” (Barrett & Beeson,
2002).

Four essential roles have been identified as being crucial for meeting the business challenges of the future. They are: master strategist, change manager, relationship/network builder and talent developer.

The most important derailers in the future include hesitancy to take necessary business risks; personal arrogance and insensitivity; controlling leadership style; and reluctance to tackle difficult people issues.

Changes in the context in which leadership is practiced will bring certain competencies even
more to the forefront. These changes are globalization, the increasing use of technology and public scrutiny of the character and integrity of leaders.

An executive complained to me recently of how overwhelmed he was with the number of emails in his mailbox. He said he spent an inordinate amount of time going through the mails. I reminded him that he should not allow email which could enhance his productivity- to become a major time waster!.

I suggested that he spends some time visiting the section on email under About.com. It has a lot of informative tips, useful for beginner and seasoned user alike.

Managerial effectiveness stems from a possession and application of specific skills. Many today have grown to managerial jobs without the benefit of inputs in these critical skills. Quite often their technical competence carries them up the organization - to a stage when they realize that technical proficiency alone does not enable them to manage multi-dimensional skills - now critical to their success.

To succeed, the present day manager needs to be strong in:

• Managerial effectiveness
• Individual effectiveness
• Team effectiveness

I am encouraged by the positive response to our “Critical Managerial Skills” workshop whenever it is offered - as it addresses this need. Organisations need to and for the most part are making investments in developing future leaders.

Human behaviour continues to fascinate me. A young lady recently told me how she had stood up to her immediate superior’s boss. She spoke disparagingly of her senior male colleagues who she felt kept quiet and didn’t raise any issues.

Perspective is defined as one’s “point of view”, “the choice of a context for opinions, beliefs and experiences”. At 23, well-educated, confident, with no immediate family responsibilities and wanting to go ahead in life, her perspective was refreshingly different. If the boss’s boss upset her, she could find another job in…a maximum of 24 hours.

She didn’t realize that her senior male collagues felt the same as her about their boss. They seemed less “daring” as they had more responsibilities! Not only at work but at home. They had wives and kids. All had taken huge loans, were heavily dependent on big compensation increases to lead the lifestyle they had got accustomed to. This made them more subservient than they themselves would like to admit.

It all depends on your “point of view”. When we drive in my city of Bangalore, the pedestrian is a nuisance crossing the road at whim. When we are pedestrians, drivers are arrogance personified as they hustle us off the roads. For the guy who is promoted, the system is one of “true meritocracy” in which performance counts. For the guy who is not promoted, the same system reeks of favouritism and partiality.

Abraham Maslow said: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail”. Al Neuharth , founder of USA Today wrote “The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective”. Such is life.