The Informational Interview

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informational interview, Marci Alboher, Networking, Steve Wilson

The informational interview is a method of finding out details about a job or a project from someone who is qualified to talk about it. Steve Wilson describes what it is all about.
Marci Alboher writes in the New York Times about “Mastering the Informational Interview”.

This is yet another facet of networking. There is so much to be gained if the informational interview is well planned and structured.

I made a comment to the effect that it is tempting to rush out and do an informational interview with almost anybody. That would be a big mistake. The secret, I believe, is to first identify a list of people who are qualified to help you. From this list, you need to prune names until you zone in on a few key individuals who probably will give you the best value.

There is no substitute for preparation. The kind of questions you ask sets the tone for the meeting. You ask incisive questions, you will get the best answers. If you ask dumb questions, you are wasting your time and theirs!

Business Can’t Succeed In a Failing Society

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developing economies, PWC, Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr

The Economic Times carries an interesting interview with Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr, who has been with PriceWaterhouseCoopers for the last 34 years and been CEO since 2002.

Mr. DiPiazza spoke of the challenges faced by organizations in developing countries as they seek to be more global. For firms like his, the fast growing developing economies like India and China represent a high growth segment as compared to the developed countries.

Says Mr. DiPiazza “The developed world is slowing down. But the developing world is accelerating. So there is movement of capital, movement of business. It is clear and irreversible”.

What Mr. DiPiazza had to say about inclusive growth was very telling. He said :” Business cannot succeed in a society that fails. When we say sustainable it means business is not going to live for a year but decades. Responsible businesses have to be committed, not just around the environment but education and health. Its not about charity. It’s about building businesses that get strategic advantage by making sustainable communities. ”

He concluded by saying that responsible companies around the world support regulation and compliance, voluntary and imposed, to take business to a more responsible level, otherwise societies will not succeed.

One naturally wishes to see what PWC itself does. Have a look at their section on Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Right Language

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A Step A Day, advice, David Maister, language

 I have always admired David Maister, one of the world’s leading authories on the management of professional service firms. He has written  best-selling books like “Managing the Professional Service Firm” (1993) , “True Professionalism” (1997) and “The Trusted Advisor” (2000).

David says that competence in giving advice does not end with having the right attitude, it calls for using the right language as well. Keeping the listener in mind is a basic principle because recipients of your message understand it in a way which is unique to them.

Telling them ” You have got to do ABC” -even if that is correct – is very likely to evoke emotional resistance. People don’t like to be told that something must be done, even if it is really in their own interests. Try telling a smoker ” You must stop smoking” and see his reaction!

It’s usually better to say something like this: “Let’s go through the options together.  Here are some  we have discussed. Can you think of anything else we may have missed out?  Let’s go through the advantages and disadvantages of each option.  Based on these, doesn’t it look like option ABC would seem to be the best choice? Can you think of a better solution?”

If the listener does not want to follow option ABC, at least the conversation is still alive. If you had said “You have got to do ABC” and he said ” I won’t” you have lost the chance to convince him and made him defensive.

Using the right language makes a huge difference in reaching out to the listener.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, asking questions rather than making statements is another useful way of starting a conversation to resolve problems.

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ISB in Top 20

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Business School rankings, Financial Times, Indian School of Business

For the first time, a business school in India features in the list of Top 20 business schools in the world. The list released by the Financial Times has the Indian School of Business at Hyderabad at Rank 20 amongst business schools in the world.

The top 10 in the listing:-

1. University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School
2. London Business School
3. Columbia Business School
4. Stanford University GSB
5. Harvard Business School
6. INSEAD
7. MIT Sloan
8. IE Business School
9. Universty of Chicago GSB
10. University of Cambridge, Judge

The FT ranking is calculated on the basis of 20 criteria covering specifics like career progress of graduates, diversity of the MBA experience, international mobility of alumni, ideas generation and research, etc.

Dean Rammohan Rao of ISB said, “This is a landmark event for the ISB. It sums up our single-minded goal to be recognised as a global centre of excellence in business education. This ranking is an important milestone in our journey to be an internationally top-ranked research-driven, and independent management institution that grooms leaders for the world.”

Indians become major online shoppers

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credit cards, online shopping

Drawn by the facility offered by the web and the diversity of products available on it, Indian netizens have emerged as the third biggest credit card users globally for online purchasing, says an article in the Times of India.

According to a global online survey conducted by leading research firm Nielsen, more than 85 per cent of internet users in the world are purchasing goods or services online, while credit card has emerged as the most famous payment method for such purchases.

As many as 84 per cent of online shoppers from India said they have used credit cards for such transactions, next only to 91 per cent in Turkey and 86 per cent in Ireland.

India shared the third position with the UAE, which also has 84 per cent of online buyers using a credit card.

“Shopping on the Internet with the ease of a credit card is especially appealing to consumers in emerging markets who simply cannot find or buy items they want in their retail trade. The Internet has opened up a whole new world of shopping for these consumers,” Nielsen’s US Customized Research Vice-President Bruce Paul said.

The survey found that credit cards are by far the most common method of payment for online purchases with 60 per cent of global online consumers having used their credit card for a recent online purchase. Among the various credit cards, more than half or about 53 per cent used a Visa card.

Globally, more than half of Internet users have made at least one purchase online in the past month.

Most popular purchased items over internet are books (41 per cent purchased in the past three months), followed by articles like clothing/accessories/shoes (36 per cent), videos / DVDs / games and airline tickets constituted about 24 per cent.

Behaviours : Key To Coaching

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A Step A Day, behaviour modification, Executive Coaching

” It’s amazing” said Krishna, a manager I was coaching. ” This guy Rahul in my team has changed so much! I am surprised I didn’t notice many strengths in him before”. We were having a coaching review. Based on my suggestion, Krishna had consciously used more praise (when warranted of course) with Rahul.

The doses of praise resulted in strong improvements in Rahul’s performance. He showed much greater initiative than before, he was much quicker in his actions, and consciously making attempts to learn a new skill he had hitherto stayed far away from.

As I told Krishna when we were chatting later, a central theme we use is that behaviour is a function of its consequences. The consequences of what we do go a long way in promoting or maintaining a behaviour. If the consequences are positive, more often then not, we strain to repeat the behaviour. If the consequences are negative, more often than not, we do our best to avoid that behaviour. I am sure in your own work, you would have come across many examples.

Positive reinforcement takes place when a desired behaviour is rewarded with a pleasant and satisfying experience. Krishna praised Rahul’s efforts to improve and improve he did. Negative reinforcement, by the way, does not mean a punishment. It just means removing a negative consequence of a behaviour. For example, when Rahul showed more initiative in learning a new skill, Krishna stopped pestering him to learn it.

Knowing these fundamentals about behaviour and using this knowledge in managing their teams helps managers like Krishna become more effective.

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Posture Perfect

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Executive Health, postures

I decided to research a bit about postures when an executive friend recently confided in me about the excruciating back pain he was getting daily. The reasons were not far to find. Very limited exercise, slouching in his executive chair and at meetings for most of the day, more time watching TV or catching a movie later on with a poor sitting posture.

Posture is about the way we stand, the way we sit. Just how important is your posture? The differences between good posture and poor posture are graphically illustrated in the Washington Post. Without realizing it, we are causing unnecessary harm to our body through poor postures.

In an age when we spend huge amounts of time in sedentary work, posture can help or hinder our overall health.

The Cleaveland Clinic has useful information on the right postures while standing, driving, sitting etc. These are relatively small things but somehow we tend to overlook them until the problem becomes too much to bear.

I hope this post will help my groaning friend.

Fabulous Bowling by Ishant Sharma

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Indian cricket, Ishant Sharma

The India-Australia Test series is over. All of us have some special memories of the series. Mine- like I am sure it would be for many fans the world over- would be the spell young Ishant Sharma bowled to the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting at Perth.

Statistics can be misleading. He got only 6 wickets in the 3 Tests that he played in Australia recently. There can be no doubt that he was the bowler who seemed most likely to get a wicket at any time.

This spell of hostile fast bowling brings cheer to Indian fans. Mark Nicholas writes in the Telegraph .

“It was the relentlessness that both caught the eye and raised the brow. The sheer clarity of what was taking place will not be forgotten. If Sharma does not go on and on from here, there will be questions asked. The man is a born assassin. The scorecard will inform us that I Sharma took one second-innings wicket in India’s famous 2008 win over Australia at the WACA ground in Fortress Perth. But figures do not tell us everything. An aggressive approach, a braced front leg, a high arm and a strong and well-positioned wrist all combined with mighty heart and mind to breach the opposing captain.”

Adam Gilchrist called Sharma a “lethal” bowler. Very high praise indeed from the great Aussie wicket keeper who has seen many great fast men in his playing career.

Let’s hope too much praise so early in his career does not affect the 19 year old. He has got talent which should be nurtured. In the last Test at Adelaide he reached speeds of 147 km.p .h.

I see in him a clear winner.

 

 

What Leaders Do

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A Step A Day, Jack Welch, leadership

Possibly no subject in management literature has been as much written about as leadership. What makes leaders excel ? What differentiates great leaders from others? These questions continue to fascinate students of management and business.

Many business leaders have shared their thoughts on what makes leaders succeesful.

Here is what the legendary Jack Welch, former Chairman & CEO of GE had to say about “What Leaders Do” in his book “Winning” .

1. Leaders relentlessly upgrade their team, using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach and build self-confidence
2. Leaders make sure people not only see the vision, they live and breathe it
3. Leaders get into everyone’s skin exuding positive energy and optimism
4. Leaders establish trust with candor, transparency and credit
5. Leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions and gut calls
6. Leaders probe and push with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, making sure their questions are answered with action
7. Leaders inspire risk taking and learning by setting the example
8. Leaders celebrate.

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Hiring Winners

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A Step A Day, hiring winners, selection tips

Jack Welch earned a legendary reputation for the way he led GE as Chairman and CEO for 20 years from 1981 to 2001.

He laid great emphasis on picking “winners” and in his book “Winning” lays down what he looks for in hiring best talent.

As a base level requirement, Welch believes that candidates should have :

• Integrity: People with integrity are described as those who tell the truth and keep their word.
• Intelligence goes beyond education . They should be smart with intellectual curiosity.
• Maturity is not related to age. It means respecting others emotions. Being confident without being arrogant.

Welch writes of the 4-E framework which he used extensively in GE. He looks for these in candidates:

• Energy: Positive energy to achieve. To thrive on action and relish change. They work hard and play hard.
• Ability to energize others: To inspire their teams. To spread their enthusiasm and energy to others. To have strong persuasion skills.
• Edge: The courage to make tough decisions. Making a tough call without waiting endlessly for all the information.
• Execute: The ability to get the job done. Knowing how to put decisions to action and overcome obstacles to get things done.

In addition to the 4-Es, is 1-P, which stands for Passion. Welch describes this as ” heartfelt, deep and authentic excitement about work”. People with passion love to learn and grow . They get a big kick when people around them do the same.

Many times while hiring talent, managers are satisfied when candidates have job knowledge. They forget that while knowledge is undoubtedly important, it alone does not guarantee success. Essential is the ability to use that knowledge profitably – through  effective execution skills and the right attitude.

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