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?
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?
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 :-)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)