Will be offline for a week....
Am joining a new organization as a HR Manager from the 3rd of January
Have a great and rewarding 2006 !
Dec 28, 2005
The new religion is...
...Talentism and the prophet is Jeff Hunter.
Put your hands together for the new messiah !
I'm an early convert !
Put your hands together for the new messiah !
I'm an early convert !
Dec 27, 2005
The Indian auto industry
Roland Berger Partner at Munich and automotive expert Dr. Thomas Sedran tells global auto majors not to ignore the Indian auto market.
European carmakers and suppliers would be wise to keep at least one eye pinned on India. They should also keep in mind that India's automotive market is not a cookie-cutter mold of China's car sector. The structure of India's auto industry is unique when compared to other developed economies.
Unlike in China where a joint venture is required for domestic production, India's auto foreign direct investment policy allows global OEMs to have 100 percent ownership, which has created a healthy industry from the start.
India potentially is the next red-hot market. OEMs that have their finger on the local pulse and manage to globally integrate their Indian operations have good chances of seeing a profitable and sustainable operation develop.
European carmakers and suppliers would be wise to keep at least one eye pinned on India. They should also keep in mind that India's automotive market is not a cookie-cutter mold of China's car sector. The structure of India's auto industry is unique when compared to other developed economies.
Unlike in China where a joint venture is required for domestic production, India's auto foreign direct investment policy allows global OEMs to have 100 percent ownership, which has created a healthy industry from the start.
India potentially is the next red-hot market. OEMs that have their finger on the local pulse and manage to globally integrate their Indian operations have good chances of seeing a profitable and sustainable operation develop.
An Arjuna Awardee and a Management Consultant
Believe it or not that's Roopa Unnikrishnan for you, an Arjuna Awardee for Shooting in 1999 and is employed with one of the US's most upcoming management consulting organizations.
Wow !
Wow !
On Knowledge worker productivity
KM thought leader Tom Davenport has a conversation on Knowledge worker productivity and wonders why most organizations don't do much about it. The reasons are almost the same:
1. It’s hard.
2. It takes a fair amount of up-front investment.
3. Knowledge workers, like Greta Garbo, like to be left alone.
So, as the reporter asks Tom, if companies are not putting their money where Drucker advised them to, was Drucker wrong?
Not really.
There are a lot of areas where organizations have not listened to Drucker (via Blogspotting) and that doesn't mean that the ideas are not great. It is just that Drucker showed the "aspired reality" for organizations.
Organizations on the other hand focus on the day to day operations, and listen more to the quarterly diktats of Wall Street and shreholders than focussing on the aspirations that leaders like Drucker showed.
Actual reality wins most of the time over aspired reality. Specially when the rewards of the actual reality are clearer than the transition and pain to change into the aspired reality.
1. It’s hard.
2. It takes a fair amount of up-front investment.
3. Knowledge workers, like Greta Garbo, like to be left alone.
So, as the reporter asks Tom, if companies are not putting their money where Drucker advised them to, was Drucker wrong?
Not really.
There are a lot of areas where organizations have not listened to Drucker (via Blogspotting) and that doesn't mean that the ideas are not great. It is just that Drucker showed the "aspired reality" for organizations.
Organizations on the other hand focus on the day to day operations, and listen more to the quarterly diktats of Wall Street and shreholders than focussing on the aspirations that leaders like Drucker showed.
Actual reality wins most of the time over aspired reality. Specially when the rewards of the actual reality are clearer than the transition and pain to change into the aspired reality.
Dec 26, 2005
The Indian Craigslist?
Came across this free classified site recently. The craigslist clone? Do Indian newspapers have to start worrying now?
Actually Criagslist has Indian cities like Bangalore and Mumbai listed, but only if the net penetration reaches a critical mass and cost of access keeps falling, and Indic fonts catch on, only then will newspapers have to start worrying in India.
Check this item too.
Actually Criagslist has Indian cities like Bangalore and Mumbai listed, but only if the net penetration reaches a critical mass and cost of access keeps falling, and Indic fonts catch on, only then will newspapers have to start worrying in India.
Check this item too.
Who you gonna blame now?
Attrition is endemic to the BPO industry, whether its entry level or top level.
"It's the natural conclusion as opportunities are lot more with people exercising their options," says Wipro Spectramind ex HR head S Varadarajan.
"It's the natural conclusion as opportunities are lot more with people exercising their options," says Wipro Spectramind ex HR head S Varadarajan.
JIT hiring?
Now that is a new piece of jargon.
The process may be very efficient, but I have grave doubts if it is half as effective as traditional hiring methods. Sure, there exist lots of space in the traditional processes to cut time and slack, but decisions on pay fitment and reference checks will take the time as they do at present. If one rushes through them then it might be dangerous!
The process may be very efficient, but I have grave doubts if it is half as effective as traditional hiring methods. Sure, there exist lots of space in the traditional processes to cut time and slack, but decisions on pay fitment and reference checks will take the time as they do at present. If one rushes through them then it might be dangerous!
Campus Recruitment
How do IT and other majors hire from campus and why.
As more and more companies start going to campuses we'll see a lot more activity moving from technical & MBA campuses to plain vanilla degree campuses also.
I am also fairly certain that there will emerge a different kind of 'headhunting firm' that focusses on campus recruitment and advises organizations on building relationships and branding themselves on campuses.
As more and more companies start going to campuses we'll see a lot more activity moving from technical & MBA campuses to plain vanilla degree campuses also.
I am also fairly certain that there will emerge a different kind of 'headhunting firm' that focusses on campus recruitment and advises organizations on building relationships and branding themselves on campuses.
Job Search during the holidays
Microsoft's blogger Jenna tells us why the festive holidays are the best time to go job hunting!
Companies are still hiring and a lot of candidates are not looking, so it is easy to stand out and be noticed. It is also easy to sneak away from your present employer for that all-day interview; the boss will just assume are headed out to buy another office party gift.
Companies are still hiring and a lot of candidates are not looking, so it is easy to stand out and be noticed. It is also easy to sneak away from your present employer for that all-day interview; the boss will just assume are headed out to buy another office party gift.
What are strong brands?
Those that are powerful enough to apparently switch off our ability to reason completely !
[Research quoted on strategy consulting firm Roland Berger's site]
[Research quoted on strategy consulting firm Roland Berger's site]
Indian IT companies developing other revenue streams?
This news item on Wipro delivering cross-cultural training for its clients caught my eye. As the article says this is probably a drop in Wipro's ocean of revenues, but these could help in HR folks taking themselves more seriously and business folks looking at them with new respect. Let's face it, you can be a brilliant support partner, but still never be seen as a "line function".
Even Infosys has a small HR consulting team that does hard core Change management and HR interventions for their clients. Again, its not a big group, hardly around 10 consultants but is always a great area for the hundreds of HR professionals employed by Infosys to aspire for.
In fact, the old economy industries like Eicher were first to experiment with setting up a HR consulting outfit with in-house talent and turning it into a full fledged profit centre. The Lalbhai group also tried it but that experiment turned out to be a big flop.
Even Infosys has a small HR consulting team that does hard core Change management and HR interventions for their clients. Again, its not a big group, hardly around 10 consultants but is always a great area for the hundreds of HR professionals employed by Infosys to aspire for.
In fact, the old economy industries like Eicher were first to experiment with setting up a HR consulting outfit with in-house talent and turning it into a full fledged profit centre. The Lalbhai group also tried it but that experiment turned out to be a big flop.
McKinsey preferred on Indian B Schools
According to this article McKinsey is the preferred number one on Indian B Schools followed by BCG, Accenture, HSBC and HLL.
It's been a big fall for FMCG powerhouse which was the most aggressive recruiter of B School grads till a couple of years back. Of course, "Mac" was always a to-die-for firm, but the number of people it picked was never too much. As another article quotes a BCG consultant as saying that the constant flow of correspondence between students and the firm as a sign of greater student maturity. This means that student perception — shaped by the experiences of seniors and corporate interactions on campus — are playing a wider role in placement choices than ever before.
As a friend remarked "People join consulting for the glory, and of course the money is good too. Where else can you be fresh out of B School and strut your stuff in front of Boards and CXOs?" If that is really the case, HLL and other FMCG companies need to address this need of B Schools or else, just graduate to the next level of B Schools where they would still be number one recruiters.
Earlier post on the McKinsey mystique.
It's been a big fall for FMCG powerhouse which was the most aggressive recruiter of B School grads till a couple of years back. Of course, "Mac" was always a to-die-for firm, but the number of people it picked was never too much. As another article quotes a BCG consultant as saying that the constant flow of correspondence between students and the firm as a sign of greater student maturity. This means that student perception — shaped by the experiences of seniors and corporate interactions on campus — are playing a wider role in placement choices than ever before.
As a friend remarked "People join consulting for the glory, and of course the money is good too. Where else can you be fresh out of B School and strut your stuff in front of Boards and CXOs?" If that is really the case, HLL and other FMCG companies need to address this need of B Schools or else, just graduate to the next level of B Schools where they would still be number one recruiters.
Earlier post on the McKinsey mystique.
Remembering the Tsunami
On the anniversary of the Tsunami that struck various parts of Asia I thought I'd point to my ex-boss' Rick's blog in which he describes his personal experience surviving the Tsunami in Phuket last year.
Dec 24, 2005
On overpaid CEOs - The Indian story
Rob makes the case that maybe some CEOs might deserve their pay packages. But most certainly don't.
In India CEO pay hasn't become so much of an issue, because promoter CEOs are still the norm and unlisted subsidiaries of MNCs don't have to declare CEO salaries. Therefore they end up getting compared to California salaries and seem a pittance.
But salaries in India have started to touch the Rs. 5 crore bracket, and there are a lot more people in the Rs 1 crore - 3 crore bracket. We'll probably see many more CEOs and Functional heads at this level as there will certainly be a shortage of leadership talent with the plethora of new organizations setting up shop in India.
In India CEO pay hasn't become so much of an issue, because promoter CEOs are still the norm and unlisted subsidiaries of MNCs don't have to declare CEO salaries. Therefore they end up getting compared to California salaries and seem a pittance.
But salaries in India have started to touch the Rs. 5 crore bracket, and there are a lot more people in the Rs 1 crore - 3 crore bracket. We'll probably see many more CEOs and Functional heads at this level as there will certainly be a shortage of leadership talent with the plethora of new organizations setting up shop in India.
The Indibloggies nominations are open!
So what are you waiting for?
Here's a step by step tutorial on how to nominate a blog.
Let the best blogs win !
Here's a step by step tutorial on how to nominate a blog.
Let the best blogs win !
Dec 23, 2005
HR Lessons from Harsha Bhogle
Was going through Prem's blog on cricket and found some really insightful quotes by cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle which contains some brilliant HR management wisdom.
In India’s thriving, achievement-driven private sector they love him [Chappell].
At the same time, a lot of the older managers, facing change and uncertainty in their own lives, sympathised with Ganguly and thought he deserved another opportunity. That is the other face of India where, as my cousin told me, zor ka jhatka dheere se dena chahiye. They believed that we need to respect the past and nurture those that have been successful.
When change comes knocking, there will always be one or two who will feel the heat. Either they adapt or they get looked over. In this case Ganguly is having to adapt and he can if he looks at this positively. If he scores runs, he will look Chappell in the eye and I think he will discover that this divide is not as big as it seems.
Some really good change management nuggets there, IMHO. Sure, change is not always easy, and sometimes, not always does it equal development and/or growth. When two strong egos collide with different ideas about change only one idea stands tall.
Ideally, two great ideas should combine together to produce one awe-inspiring idea, but to do that one person should play the role of a facilitator. In this case, neither the BCCI or the media act as one.
In India’s thriving, achievement-driven private sector they love him [Chappell].
At the same time, a lot of the older managers, facing change and uncertainty in their own lives, sympathised with Ganguly and thought he deserved another opportunity. That is the other face of India where, as my cousin told me, zor ka jhatka dheere se dena chahiye. They believed that we need to respect the past and nurture those that have been successful.
When change comes knocking, there will always be one or two who will feel the heat. Either they adapt or they get looked over. In this case Ganguly is having to adapt and he can if he looks at this positively. If he scores runs, he will look Chappell in the eye and I think he will discover that this divide is not as big as it seems.
Some really good change management nuggets there, IMHO. Sure, change is not always easy, and sometimes, not always does it equal development and/or growth. When two strong egos collide with different ideas about change only one idea stands tall.
Ideally, two great ideas should combine together to produce one awe-inspiring idea, but to do that one person should play the role of a facilitator. In this case, neither the BCCI or the media act as one.
The Recruiting Blog Awards are out !
And the category winners are here !
Some thought's: Microsoft recruiting sweeps the awards....oh OK, I am being hyperbolic like MSM. But Gretchen's Job blog has won in two categories: best job seeker blog as well as best group blog. Gretchen and her colleagues have done awesome work for promoting the MS brand and Technical Recruiting of Microsoft. Job seekers love the suggestion kitty and the common sense advice she purrs once in a while ! But am surprised that Heather didn't win in any category. As the Marketing and Finance Recruiting Program Manager for MS, Heather has turned into the Recruiting industry's poster girl. Could the reason be that Finance and Marketing folks do not vote on blog awards?
The best HR Technology blog goes to Cheesman's Online Recruiting Blog and I'm not really surprised. Joel rocks when explaining search engine optimization and online job posting strategies for the recruiting industry. His blog is definitely a must read for me!
Another non-surprise was Shally's blog on ERE Cybersleuthing , which won in the best Recruiting Research blog category. Shally is again an industry thought leader and knows people all around the world in recruiting. He earlier worked for Google and now is with Microsoft's recruiting group. So he definitely is on top of the game all the time!
What was surprising was that the Google Blog won the best Corporate Recruiting blog category. Pray, someone explain that logic to me. Sure, its a corporate blog, but it's not focussed on recruiting (except for an occasional post like this).
Some thought's: Microsoft recruiting sweeps the awards....oh OK, I am being hyperbolic like MSM. But Gretchen's Job blog has won in two categories: best job seeker blog as well as best group blog. Gretchen and her colleagues have done awesome work for promoting the MS brand and Technical Recruiting of Microsoft. Job seekers love the suggestion kitty and the common sense advice she purrs once in a while ! But am surprised that Heather didn't win in any category. As the Marketing and Finance Recruiting Program Manager for MS, Heather has turned into the Recruiting industry's poster girl. Could the reason be that Finance and Marketing folks do not vote on blog awards?
The best HR Technology blog goes to Cheesman's Online Recruiting Blog and I'm not really surprised. Joel rocks when explaining search engine optimization and online job posting strategies for the recruiting industry. His blog is definitely a must read for me!
Another non-surprise was Shally's blog on ERE Cybersleuthing , which won in the best Recruiting Research blog category. Shally is again an industry thought leader and knows people all around the world in recruiting. He earlier worked for Google and now is with Microsoft's recruiting group. So he definitely is on top of the game all the time!
What was surprising was that the Google Blog won the best Corporate Recruiting blog category. Pray, someone explain that logic to me. Sure, its a corporate blog, but it's not focussed on recruiting (except for an occasional post like this).
Dec 22, 2005
Rakesh Khurana muses on rankings
Harvard top thinker Rakesh Khurana blogs about rankings. At the time of the year when all and sundry are trying to rank virtually all the things over the year, its a timely post!
Rankings are also attractive because they are simplistic and they convey a sense of order. By virtue of quantification, rankings promise comparability and standardization which are partially achieved by forcing those being ranked to be more judicious in standardizing their own internal processes. The rankings in outlets like U.S. News and World Report and BusinessWeek forced schools to standardize their measures and adopt particular definitions of particular data. Consequently, most schools now share a common definition of starting salary, acceptance rate, and employment, thereby allowing for common metrics which transcend institutional differences.
Yet, rankings provide the illusion of scientific rigor vis-à-vis a process that actually calls for careful judgment and nuanced interpretation. It is one thing to give Wharton, Tuck, or Columbia a rating as a top business school; this leaves some room for interpretation. However, to say that Wharton is number one, Columbia number 3 and Tuck number 2 indicates a level of precision that just cannot be achieved, except on the cover of a newsmagazine and then in the minds of students.
Hmm, that makes me think of Indian B-School rankings !
Rankings are also attractive because they are simplistic and they convey a sense of order. By virtue of quantification, rankings promise comparability and standardization which are partially achieved by forcing those being ranked to be more judicious in standardizing their own internal processes. The rankings in outlets like U.S. News and World Report and BusinessWeek forced schools to standardize their measures and adopt particular definitions of particular data. Consequently, most schools now share a common definition of starting salary, acceptance rate, and employment, thereby allowing for common metrics which transcend institutional differences.
Yet, rankings provide the illusion of scientific rigor vis-à-vis a process that actually calls for careful judgment and nuanced interpretation. It is one thing to give Wharton, Tuck, or Columbia a rating as a top business school; this leaves some room for interpretation. However, to say that Wharton is number one, Columbia number 3 and Tuck number 2 indicates a level of precision that just cannot be achieved, except on the cover of a newsmagazine and then in the minds of students.
Hmm, that makes me think of Indian B-School rankings !
Dec 21, 2005
The Search
What do most adults spend their most productive work-lives searching for and seldom succeed in finding?
Terrence has the answer.
Have you found your answer yet?
Terrence has the answer.
Have you found your answer yet?
Dec 20, 2005
India as a thought leader in Recruiting?
Well, Dr. John Sullivan certainly thinks so in his 2005 annual roundup called "Who's ahead of the curve?"
Yes, I know, it's a country. But you had better watch these fast-growing Indian firms because they have plans to open facilities and recruit all over the world. Using a kind of reverse engineering, firms are planning on opening R&D facilities where the talent currently resides (in North America, Asia,
and Europe). They are incredibly aggressive because they don't have to unlearn all of the old-fashioned recruiting traditions that restrict most thinking.
Dec 19, 2005
Free markets and Diminishing customer service
Two posts in the Indian blogosphere that threaten to degenerate into a Free Markets vs Others debate made me think. One was this post by Dilip D'Souza and this one by Charu.
As I commented on Charu's blog, the actual reason for this is that the talent for customer service is right now quite limited and is being eyed from outsourcing companies in addition to internal companies. Needless to say, Indian companies have to settle for the second best talent with low backend resources.
The other factor is that the leadership of these sectors are still mired in the 'customer is not king' mindset.
And this is not restricted to India. Bad customer service happens here too! And read this too
As I commented on Charu's blog, the actual reason for this is that the talent for customer service is right now quite limited and is being eyed from outsourcing companies in addition to internal companies. Needless to say, Indian companies have to settle for the second best talent with low backend resources.
The other factor is that the leadership of these sectors are still mired in the 'customer is not king' mindset.
And this is not restricted to India. Bad customer service happens here too! And read this too
20 dumbest business practices
Tom Peters blogged this recently:
I'll give you my 11 starting propositions, scribbled out so far: Men as CEOs of consumer goods companies! CFOs promoted to CEO. Mergers of Decrepit Monsters! Strategic plans in excess of three pages. Big offices for bosses. Focus groups. Hiring lots of MBAs. HR boss not a member of the Board of Directors. CIO not a member of the Board of Directors. Corporate staffs in excess of 50 people. Anything other than Unbridled Enthusiasm at the top of the hiring or promoting criteria list for any + every job. More later.
Do I dare to add 9 to the great TP's list...I'll give it a shot:
12. Spending too much time in meetings
13. Not learning from mistakes
14. More blame-game than introspection
15. Killing weird ideas.
16. Not listening to customers.
17. Relying too much on market research.
18. Jumping onto any b(r)andwagon without too much study.
19. Merging for the heck of it!
P.S. Loved TP's takes on "HR Boss not being a member of the board" and the one on "unbridled enthusiasm"!
I'll give you my 11 starting propositions, scribbled out so far: Men as CEOs of consumer goods companies! CFOs promoted to CEO. Mergers of Decrepit Monsters! Strategic plans in excess of three pages. Big offices for bosses. Focus groups. Hiring lots of MBAs. HR boss not a member of the Board of Directors. CIO not a member of the Board of Directors. Corporate staffs in excess of 50 people. Anything other than Unbridled Enthusiasm at the top of the hiring or promoting criteria list for any + every job. More later.
Do I dare to add 9 to the great TP's list...I'll give it a shot:
12. Spending too much time in meetings
13. Not learning from mistakes
14. More blame-game than introspection
15. Killing weird ideas.
16. Not listening to customers.
17. Relying too much on market research.
18. Jumping onto any b(r)andwagon without too much study.
19. Merging for the heck of it!
P.S. Loved TP's takes on "HR Boss not being a member of the board" and the one on "unbridled enthusiasm"!
Diversity in the Indian workplace
We have a long way to go !
Only six per cent of the total number of employees working in medium and large scale industries constitute women, with 18 percent in medium and 4 percent in large companies, a CII study said.
The study quoted that ''the attrition rate of women in larger companies was higher and in managerial positions the ratio of women dwindled further.'' Mrs [Anu] Aga, while attributing the work-environment as a major deterrent for women looking for higher managerial positions said, ''Gender bias in recruitment, gender inequality and sexual harassment at work place are the major issues affecting women as is evident from the study which quoted that 25 per cent women faced gender bias on jobs.'' She further added that according to the study, 56 per cent of the companies that were surveyed did not have any formal policies in place to counter sexual harassment besides women ''not willing to speak openly about their experiences.''
Self-belief or Delusion
In Leadership Now Don quotes an interesting research.
The tragedy is that it is true, and people routinely pat themselves on the back for whatever goes right and blame external factors for what goes wrong.
In fact, forget individuals, even organizations do the same. Attribution theory is seldom right.
The tragedy is that it is true, and people routinely pat themselves on the back for whatever goes right and blame external factors for what goes wrong.
In fact, forget individuals, even organizations do the same. Attribution theory is seldom right.
The HR Conference
Remember I posted about MBAs in HR earlier?
The secret is out. If you would like to participate in crafting the future of HR then go here.
The secret is out. If you would like to participate in crafting the future of HR then go here.
Dec 16, 2005
MBAs and ethics
Rashmi posts about ethics of MBAs specifically about the news that Vivek Prakash of Samsung India Electronics had duped his company of Rs. 18 crore (that's around US $ 4 million!).
The brouhaha is about the fact that Vivek is a graduate of one of India's premier MBA institutes, IIM Bangalore.
My view is that it's all right for B Schools and organizations to 'teach/preach' ethics but the ingrained values of ethics are inculcated by family, and reinforced by the culture of the organization and if people "walk the talk" there.
There is no way as MBAs or as Indians we can ensure corruption and unethical practices do not take place other than not participating in it and strongly denouncing it whenever it takes place. There are Indian organizations where ethics are paramount to tasks. Once an employee sees that unethical behavior is not tolerated no matter how good/bad you are at your job, the incentive to indulge in corrupt practices goes down significantly. On the other hand, there are other organizations that turn a blind eye to corrupt practices with a view that "this is the cost of doing business in this country". Unless the cultures of these organizations change to total non-tolerance of these behaviors, we would have more cases like Vivek's.
One of the toughest first jobs I had to do in my HR generalist role is to fire two people for incorrect medical bills. The protests were that "everyone does it", "it takes place in every organization", "these are good performers, can't we let them off with a warning?"
Unless an organization takes these questions by the horns, ethics will continue to be a word in corporate booklets...and an MBA from a fine institute is no guarantee of a great moral character.
The brouhaha is about the fact that Vivek is a graduate of one of India's premier MBA institutes, IIM Bangalore.
My view is that it's all right for B Schools and organizations to 'teach/preach' ethics but the ingrained values of ethics are inculcated by family, and reinforced by the culture of the organization and if people "walk the talk" there.
There is no way as MBAs or as Indians we can ensure corruption and unethical practices do not take place other than not participating in it and strongly denouncing it whenever it takes place. There are Indian organizations where ethics are paramount to tasks. Once an employee sees that unethical behavior is not tolerated no matter how good/bad you are at your job, the incentive to indulge in corrupt practices goes down significantly. On the other hand, there are other organizations that turn a blind eye to corrupt practices with a view that "this is the cost of doing business in this country". Unless the cultures of these organizations change to total non-tolerance of these behaviors, we would have more cases like Vivek's.
One of the toughest first jobs I had to do in my HR generalist role is to fire two people for incorrect medical bills. The protests were that "everyone does it", "it takes place in every organization", "these are good performers, can't we let them off with a warning?"
Unless an organization takes these questions by the horns, ethics will continue to be a word in corporate booklets...and an MBA from a fine institute is no guarantee of a great moral character.
How a recruiter looks at your resume
Well not just ANY recruiter, but a darn good one....so listen, you folks !
To anticipate some of the concerns that recruiters could have about your background, address them in the resume and have a sound byte about them if you are asked.
To anticipate some of the concerns that recruiters could have about your background, address them in the resume and have a sound byte about them if you are asked.
Dec 15, 2005
Microsoft vs Google
Sure Google has got its place in the sun compared to Microsoft in 2005, but as Joel tells us microsoft's 2006 counteroffensive on google is taking shape.
The idea?
Very simple, really. When the enemy wants to attack your strength, you attack the enemy's strength. As Joel reports:
The Wall Street Journal has jumped on a recent comment by Gates. Here's how it went:
"We'll actually go to users and say instead of us keeping all that ad revenue, we'll actually share some of it back with the user," said Mr. Gates, according to a transcript supplied by Microsoft. "The user essentially will get paid, either money or free content or software things that they wouldn't get if they didn't use that search engine."Microsoft is in an interesting position of not counting on ad revenue to pay the bills. Google, on the other hand, relies almost exclusively on ad revenue to keep the lights on.
Sun-Tzu would be proud ! :D
The idea?
Very simple, really. When the enemy wants to attack your strength, you attack the enemy's strength. As Joel reports:
The Wall Street Journal has jumped on a recent comment by Gates. Here's how it went:
"We'll actually go to users and say instead of us keeping all that ad revenue, we'll actually share some of it back with the user," said Mr. Gates, according to a transcript supplied by Microsoft. "The user essentially will get paid, either money or free content or software things that they wouldn't get if they didn't use that search engine."Microsoft is in an interesting position of not counting on ad revenue to pay the bills. Google, on the other hand, relies almost exclusively on ad revenue to keep the lights on.
Sun-Tzu would be proud ! :D
India, Innovation and Thinking
The CII-BCG study on Indian Innovation says:
According to the report released today in Mumbai, nearly 83 per cent of the Indian executives surveyed said innovation was among their top three priorities for their companies compared with 66 per cent globally.
That sounds good. Intentions are great and therefore results should be great too, right?
That's where this quote from the same article must make us pause and think:
Earlier in the day, Bolko Von Oetinger, director (strategy group), BCG said that to be innovative, it was important to unlearn and forget what one already knew.
The focus of the study was the manufacturing sector, where innovation can easily be thought of by senior management as "R&D". But what is this elusive thing called "unlearning" that Mr. Bolko talks about?
Forgetting is never easy. In fact, it does not make sense to forget most things. Ever tried jumping into a swimming pool at the deep end and forgetting to swim? Not possible. Information can be forgotten. But not what is truly learnt. When one learns one internalises it in four steps. (for more details, here's my post on 'learning to drive' ;-) Forgetting 'unconscious competence' is very very difficult.
The reason why it is difficult is because we learn about things while being oblivious to the process of learning it. And the issue becomes more complicated (heck, not just more complicated, unbelievably complex!) when you ask an organization to unlearn. That's because, believe it or not, organizations have memories too. Our learnings as individuals are wired and codified by neurons and other stuff in our brains whereas organizational memories are codified by processes and systems. Remember the young management trainee who walks into the purchase department and questions, "hey, why three copies of the invoice?" and is answered with "You won't understand. Even I don't know, but that's the way it's always been here. There must be a reason, however"
The reason is because of memories. Unlearning for an organization is painful too. That's because the codified processes are guarded by managers who've got where they are by following them. Want them to innovate? Show them something that will work better. That's the challenge for innovation consultants as Dave Pollard says.
The other big issue in my opinion is because we have never been taught to think! Or to learn, for that matter!
Yes, you heard that right. You learnt maths, physics, hindi, chemistry etc at school. But did you learn to think? Or how to learn? Mostly not.
Let's take the example of a small school next to where I live in Hyderabad. It's called St. Paul's Grammar School and is a small place with around 100-150 students. It's not one of the expensive schools. Nor it an experimentative school. In fact, I think it's like the the majority of the schools students in India go to. The 'classrooms' if they can be called that are poky small rooms where the light is of the sun seeping in and not brightened by any other factor. On many occasions I have seen the teachers administering corporal punishment very casually. In fact, today when I was walking on my terrace I saw one of the teachers with a wooden foot-ruler proceeding to beat a bunch of 7-8 students (who couldn't have been more than 6 years old!) and then sitting casually at her table.
The school also has various sayings written on the walls.
The one that made me shudder was "PUNISHMENT BRINGS WISDOM" !
Will the products of such schools take India on the path of Innovation? I, for one, am not hopeful of much.
According to the report released today in Mumbai, nearly 83 per cent of the Indian executives surveyed said innovation was among their top three priorities for their companies compared with 66 per cent globally.
That sounds good. Intentions are great and therefore results should be great too, right?
That's where this quote from the same article must make us pause and think:
Earlier in the day, Bolko Von Oetinger, director (strategy group), BCG said that to be innovative, it was important to unlearn and forget what one already knew.
The focus of the study was the manufacturing sector, where innovation can easily be thought of by senior management as "R&D". But what is this elusive thing called "unlearning" that Mr. Bolko talks about?
Forgetting is never easy. In fact, it does not make sense to forget most things. Ever tried jumping into a swimming pool at the deep end and forgetting to swim? Not possible. Information can be forgotten. But not what is truly learnt. When one learns one internalises it in four steps. (for more details, here's my post on 'learning to drive' ;-) Forgetting 'unconscious competence' is very very difficult.
The reason why it is difficult is because we learn about things while being oblivious to the process of learning it. And the issue becomes more complicated (heck, not just more complicated, unbelievably complex!) when you ask an organization to unlearn. That's because, believe it or not, organizations have memories too. Our learnings as individuals are wired and codified by neurons and other stuff in our brains whereas organizational memories are codified by processes and systems. Remember the young management trainee who walks into the purchase department and questions, "hey, why three copies of the invoice?" and is answered with "You won't understand. Even I don't know, but that's the way it's always been here. There must be a reason, however"
The reason is because of memories. Unlearning for an organization is painful too. That's because the codified processes are guarded by managers who've got where they are by following them. Want them to innovate? Show them something that will work better. That's the challenge for innovation consultants as Dave Pollard says.
The other big issue in my opinion is because we have never been taught to think! Or to learn, for that matter!
Yes, you heard that right. You learnt maths, physics, hindi, chemistry etc at school. But did you learn to think? Or how to learn? Mostly not.
Let's take the example of a small school next to where I live in Hyderabad. It's called St. Paul's Grammar School and is a small place with around 100-150 students. It's not one of the expensive schools. Nor it an experimentative school. In fact, I think it's like the the majority of the schools students in India go to. The 'classrooms' if they can be called that are poky small rooms where the light is of the sun seeping in and not brightened by any other factor. On many occasions I have seen the teachers administering corporal punishment very casually. In fact, today when I was walking on my terrace I saw one of the teachers with a wooden foot-ruler proceeding to beat a bunch of 7-8 students (who couldn't have been more than 6 years old!) and then sitting casually at her table.
The school also has various sayings written on the walls.
The one that made me shudder was "PUNISHMENT BRINGS WISDOM" !
Will the products of such schools take India on the path of Innovation? I, for one, am not hopeful of much.
On the Recruiting.com awards: Thanks JayDee
Going through the feed reader I stopped (thank goodness that I wasn;'t drinking coffee, I would have spilt it all over my keyboard ;-)) !) when I read this post by JayDee of Recruiting.com. And then there was a personal email from him apologising all over again.
And as I wrote back to him, the fact that my blog feeds are on the left column of Recruiting.com is honor enough for me.
Update: And apart from the awards that Jobster is providing, now Starbucks and Kennedy Info have also joined in the bandwagon !
And as I wrote back to him, the fact that my blog feeds are on the left column of Recruiting.com is honor enough for me.
Update: And apart from the awards that Jobster is providing, now Starbucks and Kennedy Info have also joined in the bandwagon !
Dec 14, 2005
Why advertise when you can recruit?
Mick James believes that Consultants should stay away from TV and Consumer advertising and better spend that money on recruiting better consultants. As he notes in the Consulting Times:
That’s the branding that the consultancy does, not with clients, but with recruits. The right recruits – whetheryou’re acquiring a top partner with a bulging contact book, or poaching an entire team with a roster of happy clients – will bring the business in faster than any amount of advertising.
That’s the branding that the consultancy does, not with clients, but with recruits. The right recruits – whetheryou’re acquiring a top partner with a bulging contact book, or poaching an entire team with a roster of happy clients – will bring the business in faster than any amount of advertising.
Employee Engagement...part 2
Sairee points to a Deloitte study that says Why Acquisition and Retention Strategies Don’t Work
She also has an impish (her words, not mine!) thought:
I am wondering that in this day of dating by the dozen or speed dating as they say, what is a good deal for employees and employers? :D
Freelancing!
She also has an impish (her words, not mine!) thought:
I am wondering that in this day of dating by the dozen or speed dating as they say, what is a good deal for employees and employers? :D
Freelancing!
Attn: Gmail users
(got the idea from Joel's post)
If you're a Gmail user, I invite you to add my blog to your Web clips. To do so, simply:
If you're a Gmail user, I invite you to add my blog to your Web clips. To do so, simply:
- Log in to your Gmail account.
- Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page.
- Open the Web Clips tab.
- Enter http://gauteg.blogspot.com in the field under Search by topic or URL.
- Click Search.
- Once Gmail locates the feed, click Add so you can view it in Web Clips.
Where are the specialists?
Remember I posted earlier on the Thinkers 50 ?
I realized that the list is almost completely comprised of Strategy and Organizational gurus...
No Tom Davenport there, no Dave Ulrich and no Bala Balachandran.
I wonder why that is?
Is it because strategy gurus are considered more "guru" than others? Why exclude the specialists? Surely they have much more on-the-ground impact than the strategy guys. I personally have been impacted more in the "how-to" of my job by people like Ulrich and Davenport than Porter or Peters.
I realized that the list is almost completely comprised of Strategy and Organizational gurus...
No Tom Davenport there, no Dave Ulrich and no Bala Balachandran.
I wonder why that is?
Is it because strategy gurus are considered more "guru" than others? Why exclude the specialists? Surely they have much more on-the-ground impact than the strategy guys. I personally have been impacted more in the "how-to" of my job by people like Ulrich and Davenport than Porter or Peters.
Your job landed here?
Rob the Businesspundit reviews Chad Fowler's book called My Job Went to India (And All I Got Was This Lousy Book).
The scary part of the review (for me personally) is this quote that Rob picks from the book:
When my wife and I moved to Bangalore, I was expecting to find likeminded technologists with a passion for learning. I was expecting a vibrant after-work life of user group meetings and deep, philosophical discussions on software development methodologies and techniques. I was expecting to find India’s Silicon Valley bursting at its seams with an overlow of artsians, enthusiastic in the pursuit of the great craft of software development.
What I found were a whole lot of people who were picking up a paycheck and a few incredibly passionate craftspeople.
Just like back home.
The scary part of the review (for me personally) is this quote that Rob picks from the book:
When my wife and I moved to Bangalore, I was expecting to find likeminded technologists with a passion for learning. I was expecting a vibrant after-work life of user group meetings and deep, philosophical discussions on software development methodologies and techniques. I was expecting to find India’s Silicon Valley bursting at its seams with an overlow of artsians, enthusiastic in the pursuit of the great craft of software development.
What I found were a whole lot of people who were picking up a paycheck and a few incredibly passionate craftspeople.
Just like back home.
Why would a CEO blog?
Ok, not many CEOs blog.
But here's one who does, and who also answers the question. Jason, would you still blog when Jobster has gone public ?
Update: Here's a list of CEOs who blog (by Bill Ives).
But here's one who does, and who also answers the question. Jason, would you still blog when Jobster has gone public ?
Update: Here's a list of CEOs who blog (by Bill Ives).
The Ladders that turn upside down
You know job boards? Well, the place you place your CV for free and companies pay them money to search their databases?
TheLadders is a job board that turns the traditional job board model on its head. As the place for $100,000 jobs they charge the job seekers $150 to access the jobs, and the companies access the database for free.
How's that for innovation and challenging the status quo?
Here's the Business 2.0 article on them.
TheLadders is a job board that turns the traditional job board model on its head. As the place for $100,000 jobs they charge the job seekers $150 to access the jobs, and the companies access the database for free.
How's that for innovation and challenging the status quo?
Here's the Business 2.0 article on them.
Where do you want to be in 5 years?
Truth be told, you can't ever escape that question totally, unless, of course, you stick to your company like a leech and never let go.
Heather has some gyan to negotiate that question :-)
Heather has some gyan to negotiate that question :-)
Google Foundation gives grant to PlanetRoad
from the GoogleBlog:
Isn't that amazing ? Using popular culture to change the status quo is an effective method, and this is just doing that at a different level!
Recently, the Google Foundation awarded PlanetRead a grant to increase the number of SLS programs available, and Google is also supporting PlanetRead with free advertising through the Google Grants program and content hosting on Google Video.
(SLS stands for Same Language Subtitling and is explained by Dr. Brij Kothari, President, PlanetRead )
More than 500 million people in India have access to TV and 40 percent of these viewers have low literacy skills and are poor. Through PlanetRead’s approach, over 200 million early-literates in India are getting weekly reading practice from Same Language Subtitling (SLS) using TV. The cost of SLS? Every
U.S. dollar covers regular reading for 10,000 people – for a year. I hit upon this idea in 1996 through a most ordinary personal experience. While taking a break from dissertation writing at Cornell University, I was watching a Spanish film with friends to improve my Spanish. The Spanish movie had English
subtitles, and I remember commenting that I wished it came with Spanish subtitles, if only to help us grasp the Spanish dialogue better. I then thought, ‘And if they just put Hindi subtitles on Bollywood songs in Hindi, India would become literate.’ That idea became an obsession. It was so
simple, intuitively obvious, and scalable in its potential to help hundreds of millions of people read -- not just in India, but globally. So you can see how it works, we’ve uploaded some folk songs using SLS into Google Video. And we've uploaded other
examples there as well.
Isn't that amazing ? Using popular culture to change the status quo is an effective method, and this is just doing that at a different level!
The Coming Talent Crunch
Hmm, wonder what we will do by 2010.
Looking at the short term measures adopted by government and industry, it'd be a good guess to say that our IT companies will be much more globalized companies, hiring talent from all over the world from developed nations like UK, USA, Canada, to our contemporaries in this journey, like Brazil, China and Russia, and maybe also Ghana, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc.
Hey wait, is that such a bad thing?
Looking at the short term measures adopted by government and industry, it'd be a good guess to say that our IT companies will be much more globalized companies, hiring talent from all over the world from developed nations like UK, USA, Canada, to our contemporaries in this journey, like Brazil, China and Russia, and maybe also Ghana, Pakistan, Vietnam, etc.
Hey wait, is that such a bad thing?
Dec 8, 2005
I'm not an expert, just a blogger !
Just because I blog about a lot of stuff relating to HR, Recruitment, Management, Innovation it does NOT make me an expert.
And now I am thankful for that fact.
So like Tom says, I hope I also remain "half-naive" about a whole lot of stuff....the important thing is to have conversations about ideas, and have wonderful people like you out there force me to re-look and examine my assumptions and biases.
Thankfully I am not an expert !
P.S. Here is the link to the New Yorker article and the best quote:
And now I am thankful for that fact.
So like Tom says, I hope I also remain "half-naive" about a whole lot of stuff....the important thing is to have conversations about ideas, and have wonderful people like you out there force me to re-look and examine my assumptions and biases.
Thankfully I am not an expert !
P.S. Here is the link to the New Yorker article and the best quote:
The experts’ trouble in Tetlock’s study is exactly the trouble that all human beings have: we fall in love with our hunches, and we really, really hate to be wrong.
Employee Engagement or Motivation?
DD has posted a bit on Employee Engagement and I thought I would pitch in too. He touches a bit about branding but I think I would talk about it in a different perspective.
To be frank, I find the word "engagement" a confusing word. It's one of those 'mould-to-suit-yourself' kind of word. If I have to think about engagement more thoroughly it would be great to view it through Herzberg's lens.
1. Hygiene factors: These are the factors that first determine whether or not I take a job. Usually refered to as the basic requirements, these are dependent on the context of the industry and location. If all other organizations in the city offer commuting services, and you don't, it's tough to expect that people will join you, or even after joining be happy about it. So, admit it, step one in employee engagement starts outside the organization!
2. Motivators: Once you have the hygiene factors in place, doesn't mean that people are going to be all happy and mushy about your organization. It merely means that they are NOT going to be unhappy. That's an important distinction. To motivate people, organization has to offer things that are above and beyond hygiene conditions. These motivators could be tacit, explicit, tangible or intangible.
But, and this is a BIG but, the thing to remember is, factors move from the Motivator bucket to the Hygiene bucket faster than you can realise. Remember the time ESOPs were offered initially as a reward mechanism? They were a huge motivator then, but as more and more organizations started offering ESOPs they quickly moved to the hygiene bucket for certain classes of jobs.
The SECOND BIG thing to remember is that motivation is an individual issue. One person might be motivated to work by working on research issues, while another might be motivated by working on large initiatives with an enterprise impact. If you switch their jobs, all things remaining same, they would be disengaged and de-motivated.
Sure internal communications does play a role, but it can only do so much. The actual work of making employees engaged lies in the hands of their managers.
So to find out if you as a manager have engaged employees try agreeing or disagreeing to these questions:
- I know what is important to my individual employees.
- I have plans for each employee to meet their career goals
- I know their respective strengths and weaknesses and can coach them to amplify their strengths.
- I can show them a career path that links to their goals in my organization.
- I have developmental plans to help them close the gaps in their skills.
If you can answer these questions with a “yes”, then there is a good chance that you will have engaged employees.
Anything else is a bonus !
Dec 7, 2005
A relook at MBA in HR?
Someone asked me if the traditional way of teaching Human Resource Management needed to be looked at. In the last 6.5 years that I recieved my MBA in HR, I've also thought about it quite often so this is what I wrote in my email to him:
My thoughts about HR education are as follows:
My thoughts about HR education are as follows:
- 90% of what we are taught is not necessary to be taught.
- Knowledge is not what matters, but skills are....and therefore if MBA colleges and academia focus on building skills (based on filtering people for attitudes - that's another issue - what are the desired attitude levels of HR people?)
- Skill building focusses a huge focus on practice...industry would need to work with academia to blend in more practice areas.
- Competencies would need to be taught more on practice areas than functional areas, a model could be Dave Ulrich's model of HR Champions in which he views four kinds of HR roles.
- Change Agent
- Business Partner
- Employee Champion
- Administrative expert
- Some competencies would evolve through industry specialisation...HR in a BPO industry is different from HR in a sales driven organization.
- Of course, there would be core 'subjects' like Organizational Behavior, Labour Laws of the relevant country, Marketing, Finance, IT and Operations.
- New practice areas like HR Outsourcing, Human Capital Accounting would also need to be offered as electives.
Dec 6, 2005
News from the Recruiting and Work blogosphere
Recruiting.com launches the first Recruiting Blog Awards, sponsored by Jobster. Hop over there and nominate your favorite recruiting blogs so that the blogger may get a chance to visit Las Vegas.
On a different note Barry of Wurk.net requested if he could show the latest posts on this blog on their homepage, and even offered to make an icon for me. Thanks, Barry !
SuccessFactors is highlighted today in an article in the San Jose Business Journal and the focus is on employee engagement.
The Revolutionary Amy gives some advice to organizations to be honest with their recruiting firm. Two people you shouldn't lie to, your lawyer and your recruiter !
The AsiaPac Headhunter gives some advice to job seekers on how to break through to the $ 100 K club. Some more follow up advice coming soon. But even if you don't, do not fret. As worthwhile points out money sometimes magnifies your problems.
On a different note Barry of Wurk.net requested if he could show the latest posts on this blog on their homepage, and even offered to make an icon for me. Thanks, Barry !
SuccessFactors is highlighted today in an article in the San Jose Business Journal and the focus is on employee engagement.
The Revolutionary Amy gives some advice to organizations to be honest with their recruiting firm. Two people you shouldn't lie to, your lawyer and your recruiter !
The AsiaPac Headhunter gives some advice to job seekers on how to break through to the $ 100 K club. Some more follow up advice coming soon. But even if you don't, do not fret. As worthwhile points out money sometimes magnifies your problems.
Dec 2, 2005
The biggest gurus of Management
With the passing away of Peter Drucker, a new top thinker takes centrestage and he is Michael Porter ! The Monitor consultant and HBS prof of strategy has been voted as the top business thinker of the world.
The real surprise of the list however is Bill Gates, who has leapt 18 places of the last ranking two years ago to number 2! CK Prahalad makes the Indian community proud as he leap frogs on the back of his bottom of the pyramid theory to land at number three, displacing Tom Peters (considered by many to be Drucker's antithesis and yet his natural successor) to number 4. The great thing is that another Indian born guru, Ram Charan who wasn't even ranked the last time comes in at the mid point of 24. Another Indian born strategist Vijay Govindarajan is in the list at number 30. Rakesh Khurana also comes in to the list at number 33 (he has a blog too).
Henry Mintzberg's book Managers not MBAs makes him come at number 8. But he's not just about that. The kind of thinking he's done in strategic management and organizational structures is pathbreaking, hence to label him as "Promotes Managers not MBAs" only is very misleading !
I however was disappointed to see someone like organizational cultures is terribly important for today's organizations, specially the innovative ones.
Naomi Klien however seems an anachronism in the list of people who largely further commercial interests, but is a testimony to the fact that many in the business community are listening to her views.
Scott Adams beats the likes of Gary Hamel (number 14), to come in at number 12 !
The reason for the fluctuations so much is that many biz gurus haven't come up with new ideas and have stagnated or fallen in the rankings, case in point: Hamel's last book was released in 2000.
The real surprise of the list however is Bill Gates, who has leapt 18 places of the last ranking two years ago to number 2! CK Prahalad makes the Indian community proud as he leap frogs on the back of his bottom of the pyramid theory to land at number three, displacing Tom Peters (considered by many to be Drucker's antithesis and yet his natural successor) to number 4. The great thing is that another Indian born guru, Ram Charan who wasn't even ranked the last time comes in at the mid point of 24. Another Indian born strategist Vijay Govindarajan is in the list at number 30. Rakesh Khurana also comes in to the list at number 33 (he has a blog too).
Henry Mintzberg's book Managers not MBAs makes him come at number 8. But he's not just about that. The kind of thinking he's done in strategic management and organizational structures is pathbreaking, hence to label him as "Promotes Managers not MBAs" only is very misleading !
I however was disappointed to see someone like organizational cultures is terribly important for today's organizations, specially the innovative ones.
Naomi Klien however seems an anachronism in the list of people who largely further commercial interests, but is a testimony to the fact that many in the business community are listening to her views.
Scott Adams beats the likes of Gary Hamel (number 14), to come in at number 12 !
The reason for the fluctuations so much is that many biz gurus haven't come up with new ideas and have stagnated or fallen in the rankings, case in point: Hamel's last book was released in 2000.
The return of Mediocre But Arrogant Abbey
I've never managed to figure this one out, but amongst the most visited posts of this blog is this post by Abhijit announcing that M-B-A will have a sequel in which the protagonist Abbey's life in the corporate world would be chronicled. He doesn't give out any dates for the book, warning readers that he took 7 years to write the first book ;-) What he doesn't mention is that he joined a MNC food company in Delhi as head of HR for India, so he's going to be very busy too !
Dec 1, 2005
On the jury
I'm terribly excited to be part of an awesome group of Indian bloggers, the Jury of the IndiBloggies. It's an honor to be rubbing (virtual) shoulders with so many of them and a matter of pleasure and responsibility to nominate the best blogs from the Indian blogosphere for IndiBloggies 2005.
Google recruitment - speed?
Interesting article on how Google is raiding rivals for top talent.
Some excerpts:
I do know that Google is trying to replicate the same process in India also. It's salaries are abnormally higher by the standards of the cities where it operates. An applicant at the entry level goes through 6/7 rounds of interviews whereas a mid-level manager might go through 12/13 rounds of interviews over a time frame of 2 months ! These kinds of time-lines are unheard of in India and it would be interesting to see if they can maintain that momentum.
Some excerpts:
To accomplish its current pace of hiring about 10 new employees a day, Google has assembled a formidable hiring machine. Its recruitment department includes as many as 300 freelance recruiters who are helping it to identify who's who in software engineering, according to three people involved in the
effort.
Google's typical hiring process is regarded as one of the industry's most grueling and extensive. Candidates are often subjected to weeks of interviews, with hiring decisions often made by large committees of executives.
To compete against its larger rivals, Google beefed up its recruiting effort, retaining veterans like Shally Steckerl (Shally is now with Microsoft ;-)- Gautam), a contract recruiter who runs a consulting firm called JobMachine, and Eric Jaquith, a freelance recruiter who runs Recruiting Choices. Both began working as in-house consultants for Google in September 2004, when the company had more than 80 full-time and contract recruiters in-house, says Jaquith.
Jim Stroud, a contract recruiter involved in the effort between December 2004 and June, says he unearthed several hundred names of female engineers. He estimates that fewer than 10 of those were hired during his tenure. Google's job-interview process is "like a Senate committee hearing," says Stroud. "You
have to get approved by 14 people at least before you get hired."
Allan Brown, Google's director of recognition and human-resources systems, disputes that the company is bidding too aggressively for talent. He estimates that Google wins only about half of its hiring showdowns with Yahoo. He says
Yahoo also engages in bidding wars, and that Google would consider doubling a restricted stock offer only if there was a strong argument for doing so. Eustace adds that Google sometimes offers compensation of up to about 15 percent more
than other tech companies, but generally stays within the same range as its rivals.
I do know that Google is trying to replicate the same process in India also. It's salaries are abnormally higher by the standards of the cities where it operates. An applicant at the entry level goes through 6/7 rounds of interviews whereas a mid-level manager might go through 12/13 rounds of interviews over a time frame of 2 months ! These kinds of time-lines are unheard of in India and it would be interesting to see if they can maintain that momentum.
India's most privatised workforce - 344 million strong
Dr. Madhukar Shukla takes a look at the 344 million workforce in India who contribute to:
- 60% of Net Domestic Product
- 68% of income
- 60% of savings
- 31% of agricultural exports
- 41% of manufactured exports
Nov 29, 2005
KM gurus start blogging
This is for all the people who visit this blog for KM related posts (and I admit those are becoming fewer and fewer)
Tom Davenport, Larry Prusak and Don Cohen have started blogging here. Some really high quality post, including one that resonated with me.
What’s the Deal with KM and HR?
Tom Davenport, Larry Prusak and Don Cohen have started blogging here. Some really high quality post, including one that resonated with me.
What’s the Deal with KM and HR?
KM gurus start blogging
This is for all the people who visit this blog for KM related posts (and I admit those are becoming fewer and fewer)
Tom Davenport, Larry Prusak and Don Cohen have started blogging here. Some really high quality post, including one that resonated with me.
What’s the Deal with KM and HR?
Tom Davenport, Larry Prusak and Don Cohen have started blogging here. Some really high quality post, including one that resonated with me.
What’s the Deal with KM and HR?
Nov 28, 2005
I'm not unemployed, I'm a Consultant
That was a T shirt I saw an OD Consultant wear.
Some times however, jokes can turn true, and can be funny and sad at the same time ! Scott Adams talks about a wannabe consultant's perfect job.
Some times however, jokes can turn true, and can be funny and sad at the same time ! Scott Adams talks about a wannabe consultant's perfect job.
What NOT to do in a resume
My last week was primarily involved in screening about 150 resumes that we recieved as part of an employee referral drive.
Some thoughts:
I learnt a lot in the process too.
Some thoughts:
- When you give your contact email in a resume, please don't provide email ids like casinogirl@example.com or kooldude_kartik@example.com. An email is also a way to get your personality across, and ids like these do not potray a very professional image. If necessary make a mail id specifically for organizations to get in touch with you, but do not call it jobsforsreeni@example.com ;-)) ! A name with a number (in case you don't get a mail id with your exact name) would do very well.
- It is not necessary to have a "hobbies" section in a resume. For fresh graduates however, it can be an important way to get your skills and abilities across. However, and I can't stress this enough, "hanging out" and "watching movies" do not classify as hobbies, not even if you are applying for the job of a movie critic. A hobby should be given on a resume if it adds to your overall employability (and that holds true for all the words you put into your resume!)
- If you change your mobile number, please update the resume with the details. Provide at least one contact number where any message can be left to be passed on to you.
I learnt a lot in the process too.
- Sometimes resumes that read great are not so great on the phone.
- Sometimes information on the resume is not enough to prepare you to getting a good candidate.
- It's tough to say no to an overqualified candidate even if he/she is willing to take a cut and work just because she/he has been unemployed for a while.
Open Space and other LSIP
The Slacker Manager says how pleased he was with an Open Space retreat. I think he got the reason for it right. It works because it lets the participants set their own agenda. And it lets them set their own time boundaries and levels of engagement. That's the essence of making Open Space work. Of course, one might get the feeling that why do you need a facilitator for this retreat, but a facilitator for Open Space is a true facilitator, not a trainer with a fancy name :-)
I haven't been lucky enough to get invited to an Open Space intervention (except this one, which I sadly could not make it to!)(typically it's great for issues that impact people across silos)
Another great Large Scale Interactive Process that I have some working knowledge of is the Appreciative Inquiry which is also a great intervention if you want to energise people by helping them focus on the positives of the context.
I haven't been lucky enough to get invited to an Open Space intervention (except this one, which I sadly could not make it to!)(typically it's great for issues that impact people across silos)
Another great Large Scale Interactive Process that I have some working knowledge of is the Appreciative Inquiry which is also a great intervention if you want to energise people by helping them focus on the positives of the context.
Nov 25, 2005
The best consulting firms to work for...
according to Consulting Magazine are (alphabetically):
Bain & Company
Booz Allen Hamilton
Boston Consulting Group
DiamondCluster International
Kurt Salmon Associates
McKinsey & Company
Mercer Management Consulting
Mercer Oliver Wyman
Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath
Sapient Corporation
Hmm, not too many of the IT firms that try to pass off as consulting firms, eh? However, the survey is very US specific...so which are the best consulting firms to work for in India?
Bain & Company
Booz Allen Hamilton
Boston Consulting Group
DiamondCluster International
Kurt Salmon Associates
McKinsey & Company
Mercer Management Consulting
Mercer Oliver Wyman
Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath
Sapient Corporation
Hmm, not too many of the IT firms that try to pass off as consulting firms, eh? However, the survey is very US specific...so which are the best consulting firms to work for in India?
Nov 24, 2005
My wordpress blog
I finally gave in and have opened a wordpress blog. I'm going to use that to link to whatever blog posts I find outstanding on the blogosphere and will primarily use this blog to post my opinions.
You could call my wordpress blog my linkblog.
You could call my wordpress blog my linkblog.
Nov 23, 2005
Book Review: They Just Don't Get it
First, the disclaimer: I got a mail from Leslie Yerkes' assistant, Stephen, asking me if I would be interested in reviewing a book on Change and Communication. I said that I would, and that's how a copy of They Just Don't Get It! came into my hands.
The book is written in the newly popular style of "business fable" (with lots of pictures) and would last a fast reader less than 30 minutes.
The premise of the book is simple: Sometimes when you are trying to influence people with your views, and they don't seem to get it, maybe the problem is not with them, maybe the issue is with you.
Positioned A-type personalities, who have little time with theory Leslie Yerkes and Randy Martin make a story of an advertising executive who learns to loosen up and get her team's inputs into ideas to make it a richer idea.
No rocket science here, just one concept that's focussed on here.
People who are a little more conceptual and theoretical (like me) would be disappointed, but I guess business executives these days seem to prefer books like these.
The book is written in the newly popular style of "business fable" (with lots of pictures) and would last a fast reader less than 30 minutes.
The premise of the book is simple: Sometimes when you are trying to influence people with your views, and they don't seem to get it, maybe the problem is not with them, maybe the issue is with you.
Positioned A-type personalities, who have little time with theory Leslie Yerkes and Randy Martin make a story of an advertising executive who learns to loosen up and get her team's inputs into ideas to make it a richer idea.
No rocket science here, just one concept that's focussed on here.
People who are a little more conceptual and theoretical (like me) would be disappointed, but I guess business executives these days seem to prefer books like these.
Nov 16, 2005
We, the media?
Some group called Bacons, which describes itself as a media intelligence services group has sent me a 3 page survey on why and how I blog.
Does this mean that they recognize me a 'media' ? And they want to (ahem!) understand me?
This bit about "please fill up this survey, I am a big media intelligence service" sounds a bit too extractive. Sure you are. So what?
I notice they have a blog too. Sorry, but I can't have a conversation with a blog like that!
Does this mean that they recognize me a 'media' ? And they want to (ahem!) understand me?
This bit about "please fill up this survey, I am a big media intelligence service" sounds a bit too extractive. Sure you are. So what?
I notice they have a blog too. Sorry, but I can't have a conversation with a blog like that!
MIT prof analyzes employee referral
I got this by email from someone called Paul Denning, Director of Media Relations at MIT (weird, I don't even know someone at MIT!)
MIT Sloan Assistant Professor of Management Emilio J. Castilla, who specializes in strategic human resource management says:
" The challenge for managers is to use these programs to not only broaden the pool of job applicants, but to continue reaping benefits by keeping people recruited via referrals over time. "When you hire someone who is referred, you are bringing part of the worker's social network into your company," said Castilla. "Employers often forget that when a worker is hired using a referral program, that employee becomes linked and even dependent upon other workers in the organization." Well-managed referral programs can increase productivity and reduce turnover, he said. "When your best employees refer some of their friends, they in turn do some of the screening for you. But while these social connections help companies find applicants and provide difficult-to-obtain and more reliable information on them, what happens if the person doing the referring leaves?
According to our research, the new employee may leave or become less productive if the company does not work to retain the mentor and the other way around. This important social process is often overlooked by managers."
The answer to that question is what users of the Jobster, Linkedin and Doostang services would also have to answer. The research can be found here. Registration required.
MIT Sloan Assistant Professor of Management Emilio J. Castilla, who specializes in strategic human resource management says:
" The challenge for managers is to use these programs to not only broaden the pool of job applicants, but to continue reaping benefits by keeping people recruited via referrals over time. "When you hire someone who is referred, you are bringing part of the worker's social network into your company," said Castilla. "Employers often forget that when a worker is hired using a referral program, that employee becomes linked and even dependent upon other workers in the organization." Well-managed referral programs can increase productivity and reduce turnover, he said. "When your best employees refer some of their friends, they in turn do some of the screening for you. But while these social connections help companies find applicants and provide difficult-to-obtain and more reliable information on them, what happens if the person doing the referring leaves?
According to our research, the new employee may leave or become less productive if the company does not work to retain the mentor and the other way around. This important social process is often overlooked by managers."
The answer to that question is what users of the Jobster, Linkedin and Doostang services would also have to answer. The research can be found here. Registration required.
Workplace democracy ?
Terry emailed me that workplace democracy is not possible, because there are some rights you give up when you enter the workplace.
And I ended up talking about Semco again.
Semco claims to have implemented workplace democracy.
a Brazilian company that "has no receptionists, secretaries, standard hierarchies, dress codes, or executive perks...a company that lets you set your work hours and even your salary...where the standard policy is no policy."
Some other points
1. A manager gets interviewed by the team that he would manage.
2. Organizational structures don't exist.
I've often wondered why despite its success, the model was never replicated. Correction: I found an Amazon review where the reviwer claims:
I was assigned to work in Ivory Coast in West Africa. I decided to experiment his model in Africa to see whether his method works. Result. It really works! I delegated all the power to decision making to the staffs who is closest to the environment. Thus, the problem of alignment was easily solved. Not only the organization start working effectively without my hard efforts, but also the motivation of all the staffs skyrocketed. Even some of the staffs who could not read and write, decided to go to school to learn read and write (it is a history in Africa). These staffs also became a proactive staffs by talking on behalf of the language of the organization. The key message of Semler is to freeing everybody from the traditional management by rigid control associated with extrinsic reward system to self control with self ethical value associated with intrinsic reward. In this way he succeeded to skyrocket the motivation of staffs and let them work to search the right direction.
You can find my review of the book here.
And I ended up talking about Semco again.
Semco claims to have implemented workplace democracy.
a Brazilian company that "has no receptionists, secretaries, standard hierarchies, dress codes, or executive perks...a company that lets you set your work hours and even your salary...where the standard policy is no policy."
Some other points
1. A manager gets interviewed by the team that he would manage.
2. Organizational structures don't exist.
I've often wondered why despite its success, the model was never replicated. Correction: I found an Amazon review where the reviwer claims:
I was assigned to work in Ivory Coast in West Africa. I decided to experiment his model in Africa to see whether his method works. Result. It really works! I delegated all the power to decision making to the staffs who is closest to the environment. Thus, the problem of alignment was easily solved. Not only the organization start working effectively without my hard efforts, but also the motivation of all the staffs skyrocketed. Even some of the staffs who could not read and write, decided to go to school to learn read and write (it is a history in Africa). These staffs also became a proactive staffs by talking on behalf of the language of the organization. The key message of Semler is to freeing everybody from the traditional management by rigid control associated with extrinsic reward system to self control with self ethical value associated with intrinsic reward. In this way he succeeded to skyrocket the motivation of staffs and let them work to search the right direction.
You can find my review of the book here.
The China vs India wage gap
According to the FT
Multinational companies establishing low-cost operations in Asia face higher wage costs in China than in India, according to a study of more than 600 companies in the two countries.
Some senior managers and professionals in China earn more than double the rates paid to Indian managers, the study, by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, concluded. However, it said increased demand for highly skilled Indian workers was threatening to mop up much of the available local supply and force up pay rates.
Annual salaries of Indian project managers averaged $10,039 (€8,600, £5,780) compared with $23,409 in China. The pay of Chinese financial analysts, at $13,194, also outstripped Indian salaries of $8,408 for the same job.
The question that companies need to ask themselves is, which country does what kind of work better? Apart from that, the cost of doing business (setup time taken, government bureaucracy, infrastruture bottlenecks) will become important. That, and not wages alone, will determine the kind of work coming into the countries.
As the outsourcing juggernaut climbs higher, the organizations who can do higher value/level of jobs becomes critical.
Multinational companies establishing low-cost operations in Asia face higher wage costs in China than in India, according to a study of more than 600 companies in the two countries.
Some senior managers and professionals in China earn more than double the rates paid to Indian managers, the study, by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, concluded. However, it said increased demand for highly skilled Indian workers was threatening to mop up much of the available local supply and force up pay rates.
Annual salaries of Indian project managers averaged $10,039 (€8,600, £5,780) compared with $23,409 in China. The pay of Chinese financial analysts, at $13,194, also outstripped Indian salaries of $8,408 for the same job.
The question that companies need to ask themselves is, which country does what kind of work better? Apart from that, the cost of doing business (setup time taken, government bureaucracy, infrastruture bottlenecks) will become important. That, and not wages alone, will determine the kind of work coming into the countries.
As the outsourcing juggernaut climbs higher, the organizations who can do higher value/level of jobs becomes critical.
Indian workers looking at jumping jobs
From the Financial Express:
Of course, it's a little skewed group to do a poll on. Presumably individuals who visit Monster's website are already inclined to look at other jobs, right? What interests me is, what are the other 49% who visit Monster's website are looking for. Any guesses? Jobs for friends and family?
According to a survey by Monster India, an online recruitment agency, 51% of employees may well be thinking of greener pastures even as they continue with their jobs. With growing options in the job market and a booming economy, more and more people in stable jobs were looking for options outside their organisation.
Of the 20,133 respondents, 51% said they were exploring newer career options. The survey was part of Monster Meter, an ongoing series of online polls to gauge users’ opinion on a variety of topics relating to career and the workplace.
Of course, it's a little skewed group to do a poll on. Presumably individuals who visit Monster's website are already inclined to look at other jobs, right? What interests me is, what are the other 49% who visit Monster's website are looking for. Any guesses? Jobs for friends and family?
Nov 15, 2005
Terrence wonders
Terrence Seamon wonders if he can make a business of:
I wish he is successful, because I see myself treading that path in the not so far future. Do you have a word of advice or encouragement for him, hop on and let him know.
Coaching to Build Successful Leaders, Teams, and Organizations
I wish he is successful, because I see myself treading that path in the not so far future. Do you have a word of advice or encouragement for him, hop on and let him know.
XLRI's Ensemble fest
For people who might be going to jampot (I sadly, am not :()
Look up details at XLRI Ensemble site.
The highlights this year -
- theme of bottom of pyramid (that promises to be an interesting one!)
- Reliance strategy case study on telemedicine in rural India (another case I would love to get to know about!)
- O&M Marketing Case where teams would interact live with creative team from O&M in their offices across India (wow, the exposure the students get these days!)
- Tata Steel Social Business Plan contest (B-schools turning more and more social these days!)
- HLL and Sapphire present the HR Simulation
and ITC Pharaohs - the flagship game where Ixthus, the Adventurer takes on the desert storms to build a pyramid for the Pharaoh! (now that did not make any sense to me!)
Look up details at XLRI Ensemble site.
The highlights this year -
- theme of bottom of pyramid (that promises to be an interesting one!)
- Reliance strategy case study on telemedicine in rural India (another case I would love to get to know about!)
- O&M Marketing Case where teams would interact live with creative team from O&M in their offices across India (wow, the exposure the students get these days!)
- Tata Steel Social Business Plan contest (B-schools turning more and more social these days!)
- HLL and Sapphire present the HR Simulation
and ITC Pharaohs - the flagship game where Ixthus, the Adventurer takes on the desert storms to build a pyramid for the Pharaoh! (now that did not make any sense to me!)
Two way street
Young Britons flock east to answer India’s call centre crisis
and in a different news story
In UK, more Indians are getting the good jobs.
Quid pro quo?
and in a different news story
In UK, more Indians are getting the good jobs.
Quid pro quo?
Remember your worst review?
Max of SuccessFactors mailed me that they are running a contest at www.worstreview.com where they are looking for people’s worst performance review stories (and rewarding them with prizes).
Sounds like what SimplyHired did with SimplyFired. Go ahead, I am sure there are enough stories you can share !
Getting a reward to share a bad story ? Therapy and a prize, what could be better than that??
Sounds like what SimplyHired did with SimplyFired. Go ahead, I am sure there are enough stories you can share !
Getting a reward to share a bad story ? Therapy and a prize, what could be better than that??
Global Innovation Networks
The BusinessInnovation2005 blog posts an interview of Navi Radjou of Forrester Research where he states
US firms now generate $160 billion in revenue from overseas markets. But the 3 billion consumers in India, Brazil, and China have different needs than the 300 million US consumers. So US firms are forced to tap a global ecosystem of partners to design, build, and sell products and services that cater to the unique needs of emerging market consumers.
and
Forward-thinking CEOs have begun to map internal and external resources to the four value-delivery services in the Innovation Networks model: Inventor, Transformer, Financier, and Broker.
I agree with that view. With Indian pharma companies now moving to R&D to deliver new molecules, there exists a big possibility of drugs that are cheaper because the cost of researching and developing them is so low.
On a related thought, I have believed that there exist a certain kind of innovation that the context of society favors in a certain age. In most of the 20th century the focus was on new inventions. In the 80s and 90s the focus was on incremental process innovation. In the 90s we also saw the rise of business model innovation.
Is it already the time for a new innovation model? I had the fortune of listening to a webcast (ah the wonders of technology) to John Seely Brown more than a year ago. In it JSB talks about the digital culture and the way it changes the way we learn. Is it the time of Remix-Innovation?
US firms now generate $160 billion in revenue from overseas markets. But the 3 billion consumers in India, Brazil, and China have different needs than the 300 million US consumers. So US firms are forced to tap a global ecosystem of partners to design, build, and sell products and services that cater to the unique needs of emerging market consumers.
and
Forward-thinking CEOs have begun to map internal and external resources to the four value-delivery services in the Innovation Networks model: Inventor, Transformer, Financier, and Broker.
I agree with that view. With Indian pharma companies now moving to R&D to deliver new molecules, there exists a big possibility of drugs that are cheaper because the cost of researching and developing them is so low.
On a related thought, I have believed that there exist a certain kind of innovation that the context of society favors in a certain age. In most of the 20th century the focus was on new inventions. In the 80s and 90s the focus was on incremental process innovation. In the 90s we also saw the rise of business model innovation.
Is it already the time for a new innovation model? I had the fortune of listening to a webcast (ah the wonders of technology) to John Seely Brown more than a year ago. In it JSB talks about the digital culture and the way it changes the way we learn. Is it the time of Remix-Innovation?
Google's Innovation culture
At the innoblog, Natalie blogs about a Business Week article titled Managing Google's Idea Factory.
Even if 50% of the things listed are true, then Google seems well on its way to being unbeatable for a long time !
Even if 50% of the things listed are true, then Google seems well on its way to being unbeatable for a long time !
Saket thinks I deserve an award...
...even though I disagree. Thanks for the honor, Saket a.k.a. Vulturo !
Head hunting explodes in India
Business-Today had an interesting article on the growth of high level headhunting in India and put out this table. It apparently puts out the biggest placements in India Inc. over the last year. But as some friends from the headhunting industry told me...there seems to be a lot of people that got missed out !
(note Rs. 1 crore = $ 227,000 approx)
The Top Placements
Big-ticket mandates have now become commonplace in India Inc. Here's a sample:
Who: S. Surya
For Whom: Infineon Technologies
By Whom: Russell Reynolds
For How Much*: Rs 3 crore
Who: Siddharth Pai
For Whom: Technology Partners Intl
By Whom: Hunt Partners
For How Much*: Rs 1.6 crore
Who: Dinesh Chandiok
For Whom: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprise
By Whom: Stanton Chase
For How Much*: Rs 1.5 crore
Who: Neelam Dhawan
For Whom: Microsoft
By Whom: Egon Zehnder
For How Much*: Rs 1.5 crore
Who: Padma Ravichander
For Whom: Perot Systems
By Whom: Stanton Chase
For How Much*: Rs 1.3 crore
*Indicates annual salary package Source: Industry estimates
Interesting fact to note that two of these are ladies and both are ex-HP employees !
Note that these are people based in India so Indians hired by firms to be stationed in US or other countries are not covered.
(note Rs. 1 crore = $ 227,000 approx)
The Top Placements
Big-ticket mandates have now become commonplace in India Inc. Here's a sample:
Who: S. Surya
For Whom: Infineon Technologies
By Whom: Russell Reynolds
For How Much*: Rs 3 crore
Who: Siddharth Pai
For Whom: Technology Partners Intl
By Whom: Hunt Partners
For How Much*: Rs 1.6 crore
Who: Dinesh Chandiok
For Whom: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprise
By Whom: Stanton Chase
For How Much*: Rs 1.5 crore
Who: Neelam Dhawan
For Whom: Microsoft
By Whom: Egon Zehnder
For How Much*: Rs 1.5 crore
Who: Padma Ravichander
For Whom: Perot Systems
By Whom: Stanton Chase
For How Much*: Rs 1.3 crore
*Indicates annual salary package Source: Industry estimates
Interesting fact to note that two of these are ladies and both are ex-HP employees !
Note that these are people based in India so Indians hired by firms to be stationed in US or other countries are not covered.
Revisiting Performance Reviews
Yesterday I wrote about Performance Reviews and raised some questions.
Ram left a comment and raised the point about alignment. I couldn't agree more. He raises the point that to a lot of people performance review=salary change, hence the inherent discomfort (from both sides)
One of the grouses that many managers and employees have about the normal curve distribution of employees is that it seems to be unfair. One first glance they seem to be right. Why should we force-fit employees into a normal curve. Surely sometimes it's possible that a manager can have a majority of employees in the high performance part of the curve, right?
Wrong, dear manager. The normal curve is a 'natural statistic' and therefore impossible to repudiate. Nature arranges itself in the normal curve.
So what does it mean when your employees have all overachieved their goals?
Simple, you've been an ineffective manager and set too easy goals.
The successfactors blog raises the point that if the process is difficult it breeds distaste from us towards the process. I agree, so what can you do as a manager to make it easy to review performance?
Take a look at the goals that you set your team and see if they are too tough, too easy or just right. Setting 'just right' goals is a key competency for managers, and the sooner new managers learn it the better!
Start keeping a weekly log of key performance incidents for each of your direct reports. That way you don't have to rack your brains about what happened the whole year and you won't fall prey to the recency effect.
Ram left a comment and raised the point about alignment. I couldn't agree more. He raises the point that to a lot of people performance review=salary change, hence the inherent discomfort (from both sides)
One of the grouses that many managers and employees have about the normal curve distribution of employees is that it seems to be unfair. One first glance they seem to be right. Why should we force-fit employees into a normal curve. Surely sometimes it's possible that a manager can have a majority of employees in the high performance part of the curve, right?
Wrong, dear manager. The normal curve is a 'natural statistic' and therefore impossible to repudiate. Nature arranges itself in the normal curve.
So what does it mean when your employees have all overachieved their goals?
Simple, you've been an ineffective manager and set too easy goals.
The successfactors blog raises the point that if the process is difficult it breeds distaste from us towards the process. I agree, so what can you do as a manager to make it easy to review performance?
Take a look at the goals that you set your team and see if they are too tough, too easy or just right. Setting 'just right' goals is a key competency for managers, and the sooner new managers learn it the better!
Start keeping a weekly log of key performance incidents for each of your direct reports. That way you don't have to rack your brains about what happened the whole year and you won't fall prey to the recency effect.
The tyranny of "but"
How often have you come up with an idea and gone to your boss/mentor/senior to hear them say "It's a good idea, but..."
This is what I call the "tyranny of But", where a seemingly well-meaning sentence actually kills an idea or innovation !
Effective managers who help people realize their potential try to minimize the usage of "but" with "and"
So the conversation could go something like this...
You: I've got a great proposal for increasing the monthly output of our widgets by 40% . Here's what we could do.
Manager: It's a great idea, and here's what I can do with you to look at scenarios you haven't forecasted.
Too many times, managers think their job is to agree or disagree with employee's ideas. Once they become champions of the ideas they can only make it better.
How many ideas have you as a manager got from your team? And how many have you killed?
This is what I call the "tyranny of But", where a seemingly well-meaning sentence actually kills an idea or innovation !
Effective managers who help people realize their potential try to minimize the usage of "but" with "and"
So the conversation could go something like this...
You: I've got a great proposal for increasing the monthly output of our widgets by 40% . Here's what we could do.
Manager: It's a great idea, and here's what I can do with you to look at scenarios you haven't forecasted.
Too many times, managers think their job is to agree or disagree with employee's ideas. Once they become champions of the ideas they can only make it better.
How many ideas have you as a manager got from your team? And how many have you killed?
Nov 14, 2005
The role of performance management
Talking to someone on performance appraisal/review/management (whatever you choose to call it) made it clear that there are multi-faceted uses for the process.
1. It helps to review an organization/group/team or individual's performance
2. It helps to reinforce behavioral and cultural norms
3. It helps to plan and ready your workforce for the future business direction
4. It helps to develop your team
If it serves so many functions why is it often such a de-energising and negative process?
1. It helps to review an organization/group/team or individual's performance
2. It helps to reinforce behavioral and cultural norms
3. It helps to plan and ready your workforce for the future business direction
4. It helps to develop your team
If it serves so many functions why is it often such a de-energising and negative process?
The passing of an era
Peter Drucker passed away yesterday.
Arguably the person who had the maximum impact on management and business in the last 100 years, Peter Drucker was a person who had the visionary's thought and the simplicity to go along with it. Dr. Shukla pointed out to this brilliant piece of writing in which he writes about the seven experiences that shaped his attitude to life and work. I think all of us should embrace these philosophies to make our life meaningful in some way!
I had no idea what I would become, except that I knew by that time that I was unlikely to be a success exporting cotton textiles. But I resolved that whatever my life's work would be, Verdi's words would be my lodestar. I resolved that if I ever reached an advanced age, I would not give up but would keep on. In the meantime I would strive for perfection, even though, as I well knew, it would surely always elude me.
I have done many things that I hope the gods will not notice, but I have always known that one has to strive for perfection even if only the gods notice.
Gradually, I developed a system. I still adhere to it. Every three or four years I pick a new subject. It may be Japanese art; it may be economics. Three years of study are by no means enough to master a subject, but they are enough to understand it. So for more than 60 years I have kept on studying one subject at a time. That not only has given me a substantial fund of knowledge. It has also forced me to be open to new disciplines and new approaches and new methods--for every one of the subjects I have studied makes different assumptions and employs a different methodology.
I have set aside two weeks every summer in which to review my work during the preceding year, beginning with the things I did well but could or should have done better, down to the things I did poorly and the things I should have done but did not do. I decide what my priorities should be in my consulting work, in my writing, and in my teaching. I have never once truly lived up to the plan I make each August, but it has forced me to live up to Verdi's injunction to strive for perfection, even though "it has always eluded me" and still does.
Since then, when I have a new assignment, I ask myself the question, "What do I need to do, now that I have a new assignment, to be effective?" Every time, it is something different. Discovering what it is requires concentration on the things that are crucial to the new challenge, the new job, the new task.
To know one's strengths, to know how to improve them, and to know what one cannot do--they are the keys to continuous learning.
First, one has to ask oneself what one wants to be remembered for. Second, that should change. It should change both with one's own maturity and with changes in the world. Finally, one thing worth being remembered for is the difference one makes in the lives of people.
Technorati
Arguably the person who had the maximum impact on management and business in the last 100 years, Peter Drucker was a person who had the visionary's thought and the simplicity to go along with it. Dr. Shukla pointed out to this brilliant piece of writing in which he writes about the seven experiences that shaped his attitude to life and work. I think all of us should embrace these philosophies to make our life meaningful in some way!
I had no idea what I would become, except that I knew by that time that I was unlikely to be a success exporting cotton textiles. But I resolved that whatever my life's work would be, Verdi's words would be my lodestar. I resolved that if I ever reached an advanced age, I would not give up but would keep on. In the meantime I would strive for perfection, even though, as I well knew, it would surely always elude me.
I have done many things that I hope the gods will not notice, but I have always known that one has to strive for perfection even if only the gods notice.
Gradually, I developed a system. I still adhere to it. Every three or four years I pick a new subject. It may be Japanese art; it may be economics. Three years of study are by no means enough to master a subject, but they are enough to understand it. So for more than 60 years I have kept on studying one subject at a time. That not only has given me a substantial fund of knowledge. It has also forced me to be open to new disciplines and new approaches and new methods--for every one of the subjects I have studied makes different assumptions and employs a different methodology.
I have set aside two weeks every summer in which to review my work during the preceding year, beginning with the things I did well but could or should have done better, down to the things I did poorly and the things I should have done but did not do. I decide what my priorities should be in my consulting work, in my writing, and in my teaching. I have never once truly lived up to the plan I make each August, but it has forced me to live up to Verdi's injunction to strive for perfection, even though "it has always eluded me" and still does.
Since then, when I have a new assignment, I ask myself the question, "What do I need to do, now that I have a new assignment, to be effective?" Every time, it is something different. Discovering what it is requires concentration on the things that are crucial to the new challenge, the new job, the new task.
To know one's strengths, to know how to improve them, and to know what one cannot do--they are the keys to continuous learning.
First, one has to ask oneself what one wants to be remembered for. Second, that should change. It should change both with one's own maturity and with changes in the world. Finally, one thing worth being remembered for is the difference one makes in the lives of people.
Technorati
Nov 11, 2005
Mobile Blogging
One of my first blogger pals, Veer has started a blog focussing on the Mobile/Cellular phone industry in India. Go check his blog Mobile Pundit if India's telecom industry is of interest to you.
On a different note, I got a mail from a Dr. Nimish Shrivastava of eMbience who said they are coming up with a mobile blogging product on Tata indicom as a limited launch in India next month. He requested me if he could include my blog in the launch, and I told him to go ahead.
So "Gautam Ghosh on Management" might soon be coming to your Tata Indicom phone !
On a different note, I got a mail from a Dr. Nimish Shrivastava of eMbience who said they are coming up with a mobile blogging product on Tata indicom as a limited launch in India next month. He requested me if he could include my blog in the launch, and I told him to go ahead.
So "Gautam Ghosh on Management" might soon be coming to your Tata Indicom phone !
Business Innovation
Remember I posted about the Business Innovation blog?
The blog has been updated to state that:
This weblog is a companion to this year's FORTUNE Innovation Forum to be held November 30-December 1 in New York City.
And they've been kind enough to add me to their blogroll in the company of giants like Tom Peters, Clayton Christensen, John Hagel, John Seely Brown, Dave Pollard and Seth Godin !
Phew ! I am stunned and overwhelmed ! I shall try to live upto their high standards (but if I am not able, please don't kill me :-)
The blog has been updated to state that:
This weblog is a companion to this year's FORTUNE Innovation Forum to be held November 30-December 1 in New York City.
And they've been kind enough to add me to their blogroll in the company of giants like Tom Peters, Clayton Christensen, John Hagel, John Seely Brown, Dave Pollard and Seth Godin !
Phew ! I am stunned and overwhelmed ! I shall try to live upto their high standards (but if I am not able, please don't kill me :-)
Egon Zehnder focus on India
EZ's Indian consultants focus on India in a special series to commemorate 10 years of their presence in India.
Sonny Iqbal, Egon Zehnder International, New Delhi writes about how the War for talent picks up pace in India’s retail industry.
Namrita Shahani Jhangiani, Egon Zehnder International, Mumbai says that India’s evolving pharma sector needs outsiders.
Sonny Iqbal, Egon Zehnder International, New Delhi writes about how the War for talent picks up pace in India’s retail industry.
Namrita Shahani Jhangiani, Egon Zehnder International, Mumbai says that India’s evolving pharma sector needs outsiders.
China faces talent gap
From the The McKinsey Quarterly. (Search on title to retrieve article. Subscription required.)
Looks like India is not the only country with a booming economy and a talent gap
Chinese firms will require 75,000 global leaders to implement their international expansion plans in the next 15 years. There are currently only 3,000-5,000 such leaders in China, claim the authors. It is also hard for foreign firms to recruit middle managers from Chinese companies due to their limited knowledge of English, lack of communication skills and poor cultural fit. In the war for talent multinationals often poach players from each other, note the authors. Middle managers are more plentiful in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, but can often only be lured to mainland China with “local plus,” bonus packages.
To address this potential problem, China needs to improve the quality of its university graduates, claim the authors. This can be achieved by improving English instruction and designing university courses that meet industry’s needs. China must also try to stem the current brain drain by ensuring that those who leave to study abroad return home, as many of these graduates could work for multinationals. However, this will be a long-term effort, warn the authors. In the immediate future, companies will have to invest more on training programs to develop talent internally, they conclude.
Looks like India is not the only country with a booming economy and a talent gap
Chinese firms will require 75,000 global leaders to implement their international expansion plans in the next 15 years. There are currently only 3,000-5,000 such leaders in China, claim the authors. It is also hard for foreign firms to recruit middle managers from Chinese companies due to their limited knowledge of English, lack of communication skills and poor cultural fit. In the war for talent multinationals often poach players from each other, note the authors. Middle managers are more plentiful in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, but can often only be lured to mainland China with “local plus,” bonus packages.
To address this potential problem, China needs to improve the quality of its university graduates, claim the authors. This can be achieved by improving English instruction and designing university courses that meet industry’s needs. China must also try to stem the current brain drain by ensuring that those who leave to study abroad return home, as many of these graduates could work for multinationals. However, this will be a long-term effort, warn the authors. In the immediate future, companies will have to invest more on training programs to develop talent internally, they conclude.
Best companies to work for in India
It's list time yet again !
Business Today, Mercer and TNS have come with the list of the top 10 companies to work for in India. And Infosys tops the list yet again. (One feels like Infosys has become the IIMA equivalent in such cases :-) followed by Sasken. What was interesting was to see GE's divested company Genpact (earlier, Gecis) also making it to the top 10 amidst many upheavals it has seen over the last year.
As BT commented there are a majority of firms from the IT and ITES sectors. What was impressive was a public sector company NTPC making it to the list again. It goes to show that being a good employer does not mean only certain things like special allowances or a high pay packet or an MNC brand.
As the team behind the study says:
One company has elevated recruitment to a fine art, and its hr team does not treat hiring as a number crunching exercise. The description of the technology-driven hr processes at another of our winners speaks of its fast and efficient service delivery. The detailed career management system showcased by another winner highlights the degree of autonomy that the company provides its employees to chart their own career in multiple streams through a role/skill-based, performance-factored and business-driven interactive software. Another one of our winners has received strong endorsement of its employer brand from its internal and external labour market. Its employees perceive it as a quality employer, search firms are keen to have the company as client, alumni speak warmly about it, and new hires feel proud to be part of the company.
Now looking forward to the rankings of BusinessWorld and CNBC. :-))
Business Today, Mercer and TNS have come with the list of the top 10 companies to work for in India. And Infosys tops the list yet again. (One feels like Infosys has become the IIMA equivalent in such cases :-) followed by Sasken. What was interesting was to see GE's divested company Genpact (earlier, Gecis) also making it to the top 10 amidst many upheavals it has seen over the last year.
As BT commented there are a majority of firms from the IT and ITES sectors. What was impressive was a public sector company NTPC making it to the list again. It goes to show that being a good employer does not mean only certain things like special allowances or a high pay packet or an MNC brand.
As the team behind the study says:
One company has elevated recruitment to a fine art, and its hr team does not treat hiring as a number crunching exercise. The description of the technology-driven hr processes at another of our winners speaks of its fast and efficient service delivery. The detailed career management system showcased by another winner highlights the degree of autonomy that the company provides its employees to chart their own career in multiple streams through a role/skill-based, performance-factored and business-driven interactive software. Another one of our winners has received strong endorsement of its employer brand from its internal and external labour market. Its employees perceive it as a quality employer, search firms are keen to have the company as client, alumni speak warmly about it, and new hires feel proud to be part of the company.
Now looking forward to the rankings of BusinessWorld and CNBC. :-))
The death of management?
Time magazine speculates that maybe decisions taken by individuals might have a better chance of success if some kind of market decides on it. Wisdom of the crowds again?
Together, you are buyers and sellers of your company's future. Through your trades, you determine what is going to happen and then decide how your company should respond. With employees in the trading pits betting on the future, who needs the manager in the corner office?
That scenario isn't as farfetched as you might think. It's called a prediction market, based on the notion that a marketplace is a better organizer of insight and predictor of the future than individuals are. Once confined to research universities, the idea of markets working within companies has started to seep out into some of the nation's largest corporations. Companies from Microsoft to Eli Lilly and Hewlett-Packard are bringing the market inside, with workers trading futures contracts on such "commodities" as sales, product success and supplier behavior. The concept: a work force contains vast amounts of untapped, useful information that a market can unlock. "Markets are likely to revolutionize corporate forecasting and decision making," says Robin Hanson, an economist at George Mason University, in Virginia, who has researched and developed markets. "Strategic decisions, such as mergers, product introductions, regional expansions and changing CEOs, could be effectively delegated to people far down the corporate hierarchy, people not selected by or even known to top management."
Together, you are buyers and sellers of your company's future. Through your trades, you determine what is going to happen and then decide how your company should respond. With employees in the trading pits betting on the future, who needs the manager in the corner office?
That scenario isn't as farfetched as you might think. It's called a prediction market, based on the notion that a marketplace is a better organizer of insight and predictor of the future than individuals are. Once confined to research universities, the idea of markets working within companies has started to seep out into some of the nation's largest corporations. Companies from Microsoft to Eli Lilly and Hewlett-Packard are bringing the market inside, with workers trading futures contracts on such "commodities" as sales, product success and supplier behavior. The concept: a work force contains vast amounts of untapped, useful information that a market can unlock. "Markets are likely to revolutionize corporate forecasting and decision making," says Robin Hanson, an economist at George Mason University, in Virginia, who has researched and developed markets. "Strategic decisions, such as mergers, product introductions, regional expansions and changing CEOs, could be effectively delegated to people far down the corporate hierarchy, people not selected by or even known to top management."
Boston Consulting Group's Co-Chairman on HR and Leadership
In a recent interview to Business Today BCG's Co-Chairman says:
HR has always been a support function. I would rather say that there are businesses in which it has a strategic role as well. Your ability to manage people, maybe, is what distinguishes you from the competition. Let us take a hypothetical example: a company acquires raw material, designs a product, assembles it and delivers it to the client. You can outsource every one of these functions to a greater or lesser degree. So what is a company? A company comprises a group of people which has a creative insight about how it can use all these resources that are available in the world to solve a particular customer's needs in a creative way. That is the only part you cannot outsource and that function has to be one that the company is superb at. Crucially, that function has to do with attracting the right people and getting them to work in a collaborative way. Yet, you also have to manage this network that you have formed for the work you are not doing in-house anymore. As a result, people become the real assets. So, a company must have a strategy for attracting the right people and retaining them; it is very easy for them to go across the street and do the same thing for someone else. Creating an atmosphere in which they say: 'I'd rather be here than anywhere else,' becomes essential and takes a lot of skill to create. That's where the human resource function takes on a strategic dimension.
And
Leaders are traditionally thought to be strong people who set the direction and policies of the organisations they lead. It's a top-down model. But this may not work in a knowledge society. Today's leaders have to create organisations in which all levels of the hierarchy have to contribute to the tailoring and adaption of a common vision. This obviously can't come from a single brain.
Nothing new in these thoughts, but feels good to hear the BCG honcho say the obvious :-)
HR has always been a support function. I would rather say that there are businesses in which it has a strategic role as well. Your ability to manage people, maybe, is what distinguishes you from the competition. Let us take a hypothetical example: a company acquires raw material, designs a product, assembles it and delivers it to the client. You can outsource every one of these functions to a greater or lesser degree. So what is a company? A company comprises a group of people which has a creative insight about how it can use all these resources that are available in the world to solve a particular customer's needs in a creative way. That is the only part you cannot outsource and that function has to be one that the company is superb at. Crucially, that function has to do with attracting the right people and getting them to work in a collaborative way. Yet, you also have to manage this network that you have formed for the work you are not doing in-house anymore. As a result, people become the real assets. So, a company must have a strategy for attracting the right people and retaining them; it is very easy for them to go across the street and do the same thing for someone else. Creating an atmosphere in which they say: 'I'd rather be here than anywhere else,' becomes essential and takes a lot of skill to create. That's where the human resource function takes on a strategic dimension.
And
Leaders are traditionally thought to be strong people who set the direction and policies of the organisations they lead. It's a top-down model. But this may not work in a knowledge society. Today's leaders have to create organisations in which all levels of the hierarchy have to contribute to the tailoring and adaption of a common vision. This obviously can't come from a single brain.
Nothing new in these thoughts, but feels good to hear the BCG honcho say the obvious :-)
Am back
Sorry, but I've been busy professionally (with an employee perception study underway at work) and otherwise (An HR magazine wanted me to do a case analysis for their Jan issue) so haven't found the time to blog. But am going to make amends for that :-)
Oct 27, 2005
Two recruiting blogs added ..
...to my blogroll. Blue Sky Resumes blog is for the candidate who's looking for a job. Highly recommended by Gretchen ! Some great pointers on how to differentiate your resume from the crowd.
Hiring Revolution seems a blog with very high quality posts. Both for candidates as well as recruiters within organizations.
Hiring Revolution seems a blog with very high quality posts. Both for candidates as well as recruiters within organizations.
KM and OD - follow up
Piers looked at my earlier post on OD and KM and says:
I agree entirely. Good OD initiatives are focussed on unlocking the value that each of us as individuals gets into an organizational setting.
Jack Vinson and Terrence take the dialogue forward. In fact, the perfect sync between KM and OD will emerge if Knowledge Management systems emerge out of Organizational diagnosis.
The diagnosis must also go deeper into issues:
Why are people not sharing knowledge?
Is it an infrastructure issue or a will issue?
Are they engaged with the larger organizational ramifications? Do they care?
What drives groups in the organizations? Does a KM solution make sense?
Very often, the KM solution has to 'make sense' to the organization. It should be the OD folks in the KM implementation team who need to bring their insight to the table. KM's goal should not be tool implementation but final benefits of the intitiative - higher productivity and more creativity and innovation.
But aren't the insights KM bring to OD just as valuable? If you focus on the organisation and process too much, then don't you squeeze the creativity out of your people, and with that, your ability to adapt?
I agree entirely. Good OD initiatives are focussed on unlocking the value that each of us as individuals gets into an organizational setting.
Jack Vinson and Terrence take the dialogue forward. In fact, the perfect sync between KM and OD will emerge if Knowledge Management systems emerge out of Organizational diagnosis.
The diagnosis must also go deeper into issues:
Why are people not sharing knowledge?
Is it an infrastructure issue or a will issue?
Are they engaged with the larger organizational ramifications? Do they care?
What drives groups in the organizations? Does a KM solution make sense?
Very often, the KM solution has to 'make sense' to the organization. It should be the OD folks in the KM implementation team who need to bring their insight to the table. KM's goal should not be tool implementation but final benefits of the intitiative - higher productivity and more creativity and innovation.
Speed in making a job offer
I have been talking to a friend of mine who works as a Compensation and Benefit manager in a big bank in the middle east. He wants to return to India due to personal reasons. So before he came to India he sent me his resume and asked me to look out for HR job openings for him.
I knew his interest lay in consulting and C&B and forwarded to some friends (in HR depts as well as headhunters) asking them to look at it.
Now, when he lands in India he has an interview call from a BPO operation of a huge financial services company. He goes through 3 rounds with various people from the HR group and they keep changing their mind. First they tell him that he's being considered for a C&B manager position. Then they ask him "How do you feel about being a HR generalist?" and in his interview with the Recruitment head asks "Why don't you join my team?"
Please note, no formal offer yet, and more rounds of interview scheduled.
Another organization calls him up one day, the recruitment head takes a telephonic interview, since the organization is in another city. Then the conversation ends with "Can you fly to our city tomorrow, we want to close it fast!" The day after next he meets them in the morning and by the afternoon he walks out of the office with an offer to join them as number 2 in recruitment.
My friend is bowled over by the speed of the second organization, and their professionalism, and the key to that impression is the respect the organization had for his time and their willingness to take a decision , fast!
For whatever reasons, recruitment processes in the first organization were long winded and making him meet a lot of people. The impression that my friend told me about them was "This behavior makes me think - are they unprofessional, or are they dis-empowered or both? And do I want to part of such an organization? I think not"
What are the messages that your recruitment processes give out to potential employees?
I knew his interest lay in consulting and C&B and forwarded to some friends (in HR depts as well as headhunters) asking them to look at it.
Now, when he lands in India he has an interview call from a BPO operation of a huge financial services company. He goes through 3 rounds with various people from the HR group and they keep changing their mind. First they tell him that he's being considered for a C&B manager position. Then they ask him "How do you feel about being a HR generalist?" and in his interview with the Recruitment head asks "Why don't you join my team?"
Please note, no formal offer yet, and more rounds of interview scheduled.
Another organization calls him up one day, the recruitment head takes a telephonic interview, since the organization is in another city. Then the conversation ends with "Can you fly to our city tomorrow, we want to close it fast!" The day after next he meets them in the morning and by the afternoon he walks out of the office with an offer to join them as number 2 in recruitment.
My friend is bowled over by the speed of the second organization, and their professionalism, and the key to that impression is the respect the organization had for his time and their willingness to take a decision , fast!
For whatever reasons, recruitment processes in the first organization were long winded and making him meet a lot of people. The impression that my friend told me about them was "This behavior makes me think - are they unprofessional, or are they dis-empowered or both? And do I want to part of such an organization? I think not"
What are the messages that your recruitment processes give out to potential employees?
Oct 26, 2005
More from Branson
A few bloggers like Anita and Rob have been meeting Richard Branson and blogging about it. This post by Anita is a great insight into one of the most extraordinary entrepreneurs.
The refusal to be held by conventional thinking. Now here's an innovator in the true sense of the word.
That's the thing that should be taught in today's education system ! Not merely rote learning, but learning how to learn and unlearn !
He describes his hodgepodge of 200 or 300 companies as a jigsaw, and says that he refuses to be held by conventional thinking about sticking to your knitting. Rather, he remains fluid in his thinking and does not rule out anything: "The more diffuse the company becomes, the more frequently I am asked about my vision for Virgin. I tend either to avoid this question or to answer it at great length, safe in the knowledge that I will give a different version the next time I'm asked. My vision for Virgin has never been rigid and changes constantly, like the company itself."
The refusal to be held by conventional thinking. Now here's an innovator in the true sense of the word.
That's the thing that should be taught in today's education system ! Not merely rote learning, but learning how to learn and unlearn !
Oct 25, 2005
Innovation blogs and some thoughts
Came across two interesting blogs focussed on innovation. Both are updated on my blogroll.
Broken Bulbs is focussed on Innovation around Taiwan, Korea, HK and China, and is maintained by Gordon Graham.
Innoblog is a group blog run by folks who seem to be intellectual disciples of Clayton Christensen.
On the same vein, Srikanth wonders what the heck is innovation consulting? Dave Pollard has some views (which I blogged earlier) on why innovation consultants have a tough time. Even the cph127 blog questions if Gary Hamel's innovation consulting firm has anything new to offer. I don't think so.
Hunting talent at the mall and multiplex
This weekend we went to Prasad's the mall-cum-multiplex in Hyderabad to watch a Hindi movie. But what popped my eyes was to see a stall set up by Adecco People -One blaring out notices like
"Come apply to us for a chance to work with our Fortune 500 clients in their BPOs"
and,
"Refer a friends CV and carry home a cool gift"
Before the movie started I was forced to see an ad by Ma Foi (how effective is this kind of advertising anyway?)
That really brought home the point that how difficult it is becoming for organizations to hire people even at the entry stage. Once upon a time recruiters had more CVs than they needed and very few clients. Now the demand clearly is pulling ahead of supply. Or, let's qualify that. Quality supply. This is leading to salaries rising and active poaching in the BPO industry. even if existing players have a no-poach arrangement (a practice that I think is very inefficient) new players are constantly coming in and to cut through the clutter differentiating themselves on salary.
The thought being:
These people don't look at it as a long term career, they are here to make a fast buck and therefore lets give them the inducement of more cash and they'll come.
I think the real differentiator in this market would be an organization that actually offers a career and helps them to develop for further roles. Cunselling and organizational support given by employers can ensure that loyalty to the organization is not an outdated concept.
The bottomline being, so long as organizations treat people as 'resources' that's the mindset that the people have towards the organizations.
Oct 24, 2005
Some serious cash !
Heh !
You'd be crazy to pay me this much...but if you are...
Apparently this calculation is based on the AOL-Weblogs deal. Wow ! Sure, I guess the calculation is in good fun, but even then...it seems mind b(l)oggling to see that number !
You'd be crazy to pay me this much...but if you are...
My blog is worth $53,631.30.
How much is your blog worth?
Apparently this calculation is based on the AOL-Weblogs deal. Wow ! Sure, I guess the calculation is in good fun, but even then...it seems mind b(l)oggling to see that number !
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