One of my favourite terms is Passion. It's an often misused word especially in the leadership context. Leadership is most effective when a leader works for his/her cause with passion. Now, is 'Passion' visible all the time? I don't think so. So how does Passion get rewarded if the passionate person does not tie visibility to it as well? A passionate person is satisfied when his or her goal is accomplished and may not even be aware if his passionate work has been visible, got rewards or awards and if they captured the headlines.
No prizes for guessing this one. How many of us know one Muhammed Yunus of Grameen Bank as compared to King Khan? One is passion without visibility and one is with visibility.
Read on this Vijay Govindarajan's blog:
http://www.vijaygovindarajan.com/2009/10/pandit_ravi_shankar_at_spauldi.htm
Monday, November 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Cattle Class ...
Afaik, we have evolved from being considered belonging to a herd and belonging to labor class to 'cattle class'.
I learnt it the hard way when I became a manager first time last decade. Being a manager (or for that matter being a first time minister) is also a punishment because every word you say anywhere, even those that you tell silently to yourself, will be scrutinized. And needs to be explained!
Now, read this:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/tharoor-meets-sonia-over-his-cattle-class-remark/101920-37.html
No wonder, some top managers, always stage manage every activity, every word , even their thinking! Thats life :-)
I learnt it the hard way when I became a manager first time last decade. Being a manager (or for that matter being a first time minister) is also a punishment because every word you say anywhere, even those that you tell silently to yourself, will be scrutinized. And needs to be explained!
Now, read this:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/tharoor-meets-sonia-over-his-cattle-class-remark/101920-37.html
No wonder, some top managers, always stage manage every activity, every word , even their thinking! Thats life :-)
Friday, August 14, 2009
Anna Daatha Sukhi Bhava
Okay, with all the festivals around and with the associated spirit behind them , it's time to type here some of my principles.
One of my former colleagues who was in senior management lost his job 5 months ago as his entire division was wiped off. He had an almost perfect resume and the necessary skills but the next job was evading him. He would call me almost every second day and tell me how his finances were and how he has to repay mortgages etc. However not once did he bad mouth his company or his boss at all during the whole period.
Yesterday he called to tell me that he has indeed got a very good job, after 5 months of despondency, in a multi national company. I really felt very happy for him especially knowing how much he had struggled with factors that were not under his control and how his family (wife, kids, old parents) had put up with the turmoil.
So, I asked him yesterday about his one trait 'why didn't you bad mouth your boss/company'?. I was his former manager too at one point in time.
He emphasized to me what are my core values as well.
- No boss is so political that he/she targets only you.
- Politics is nothing but a collection of individual agendas
- When you put yourself in your manager's shoes then you will know or internalize his/her own agenda. And you will get a bigger perspective.
- Sometimes factors are so uncontrollable that nobody can do anything to it.
- Boss/manager is not a super hero!
In ancient scriptures there is a popular saying 'Anna Daatha Sukhi Bhava'. Let the person who gives me my bread live well (loose translation). Why don't we extend this . Make Boss = Anna Daatha?
One of my former colleagues who was in senior management lost his job 5 months ago as his entire division was wiped off. He had an almost perfect resume and the necessary skills but the next job was evading him. He would call me almost every second day and tell me how his finances were and how he has to repay mortgages etc. However not once did he bad mouth his company or his boss at all during the whole period.
Yesterday he called to tell me that he has indeed got a very good job, after 5 months of despondency, in a multi national company. I really felt very happy for him especially knowing how much he had struggled with factors that were not under his control and how his family (wife, kids, old parents) had put up with the turmoil.
So, I asked him yesterday about his one trait 'why didn't you bad mouth your boss/company'?. I was his former manager too at one point in time.
He emphasized to me what are my core values as well.
- No boss is so political that he/she targets only you.
- Politics is nothing but a collection of individual agendas
- When you put yourself in your manager's shoes then you will know or internalize his/her own agenda. And you will get a bigger perspective.
- Sometimes factors are so uncontrollable that nobody can do anything to it.
- Boss/manager is not a super hero!
In ancient scriptures there is a popular saying 'Anna Daatha Sukhi Bhava'. Let the person who gives me my bread live well (loose translation). Why don't we extend this . Make Boss = Anna Daatha?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Time for some stress busting.....
Time for some stress busting.....
I saw some funny OOO messages. Here they are.
Source: http://daveduarte.co.za/best-out-of-office-automatic-replies/2008/06/09/
I saw some funny OOO messages. Here they are.
Source: http://daveduarte.co.za/best-out-of-office-automatic-replies/2008/06/09/
1. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. I may be a little moody so be prepared.
2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.
3. Sorry to have missed you, but I am at the doctor’s having my brain removed so I can be promoted to our management team.
4. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from vacation on 4/18. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
5. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first 10 words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.
6. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again.
( The beauty of this is that when you return, you can see how many in-duh-viduals did this over and over.)
7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system.
You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.8. Hi, I’m thinking about what you’ve just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.
9. I’ve run away to join a different circus.
10. I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as ” Sharon ” instead of “Steve”.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Women and Support structure at work place
What makes some companies succeed very well with women employees? I'm not talking about only-women companies here although I really admire them. In my opinion, women employees primarily need the following infrastructure.
1. Management must proactively listen to women employees
Most women, especially from Asia, have a dual role to play at home and work with completely different set of privileges.
While at work the women are expected to be assertive, make witty comments, talk sports and business and perhaps join the boys' network they have a completely different role at home. They essentially are not the primary decision makers at home. How many women buy cars or decide on an apartment all by themselves? A womean at home is always consensus person. She does take very judicious decisions after consulting other stake holders. So, primarily women make decisions after getting every one's opinion but they do make that known as a group decision. You know what I mean?
The same behaviour is shown at wrk. The woman employee codes, tests, documents and suggests feature changes or product changes. However it is unusual for a woman employee to stand up and say 'Ahem! I did it!' and instead she will say 'Congrats team! We did it!' even though she has contributed 80% to it.
So, good management should have the infrastructure to check out the contributions of women employees. I hear the men saying 'why the hell should we ask?'. Yes, you need to ask - if not you will lose valuable women employees who do great work and instead you will be hiring male employees for twice the price!
2. Create learning opportunities for women to understand business and finance.
In the usual world, women tend to be right brained and usually we don't find women talking near the water cooler about certain stocks going down, the national budget implications, the car specifications or P&L details.
In order for women to gel with the 'boys' it is essential that they learn all the above aspects. And if management can create that learning infrastructure, they have a win-win situation!
We all know women are relationship oriented and are hard working and loyal to the company and are paid less (lets face it!).
Companies can do well to create women friendly infrastructure which is way beyond providing child care facilities and flexi time issues.
HR and Top Management - Time for us to be innovative and feel the pulse!
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/A_woman_in_Bangalore_can_compete_with_the_world__Obama-nid-58990.html
1. Management must proactively listen to women employees
Most women, especially from Asia, have a dual role to play at home and work with completely different set of privileges.
While at work the women are expected to be assertive, make witty comments, talk sports and business and perhaps join the boys' network they have a completely different role at home. They essentially are not the primary decision makers at home. How many women buy cars or decide on an apartment all by themselves? A womean at home is always consensus person. She does take very judicious decisions after consulting other stake holders. So, primarily women make decisions after getting every one's opinion but they do make that known as a group decision. You know what I mean?
The same behaviour is shown at wrk. The woman employee codes, tests, documents and suggests feature changes or product changes. However it is unusual for a woman employee to stand up and say 'Ahem! I did it!' and instead she will say 'Congrats team! We did it!' even though she has contributed 80% to it.
So, good management should have the infrastructure to check out the contributions of women employees. I hear the men saying 'why the hell should we ask?'. Yes, you need to ask - if not you will lose valuable women employees who do great work and instead you will be hiring male employees for twice the price!
2. Create learning opportunities for women to understand business and finance.
In the usual world, women tend to be right brained and usually we don't find women talking near the water cooler about certain stocks going down, the national budget implications, the car specifications or P&L details.
In order for women to gel with the 'boys' it is essential that they learn all the above aspects. And if management can create that learning infrastructure, they have a win-win situation!
We all know women are relationship oriented and are hard working and loyal to the company and are paid less (lets face it!).
Companies can do well to create women friendly infrastructure which is way beyond providing child care facilities and flexi time issues.
HR and Top Management - Time for us to be innovative and feel the pulse!
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/A_woman_in_Bangalore_can_compete_with_the_world__Obama-nid-58990.html
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Do you want a salary raise?
Simple Quiz:
Do you want a salary raise?
Do you 'feel' that you are being paid lower than what you deserve or being paid lower than what your peers are paid?
Are you feeling cheated and let down by your manager who has not 'recommended' a good hike for you?
If the answer is 'Yes' to any of these, then you are like what I was ten years ago.
When I went to my manager (who eventually is my mentor now) complaining about my salary rise this is what he said: 'Go check out your price in the market'. Many years later, I learnt the same from the pricing class when my professor stressed on how prices are determined by the market.
You are a product. Now determine:
1. What is your value within your company or your team? Essentially your value = value of the alternative available plus or minus the differentiating features.
So, lets take an example. I'm a project lead and I 'feel' I'm doing a great job and I must be getting 20% raise. What alternatives does your employer have? Can you be dispensed off with in which case your value is negative and the employer is losing money by employing you. Or are other in the market being paid more for the same work? If yes, what are your differentiators and what value would you give for those? If your salary is 5 lakh rupees and your peers in the market are getting 6 lakhs, you must be sure you are providing more than 1 lakh of value than your peers in order to claim.
So, on a positive note, work on how you can increase value and then by all means ask for a raise. If you are already providing more value (working and getting better results) to the company then please list down your rationale in objective terms and approach your management.
Now the game changes to how eager your management is to retain you. If not you know you are providing a great value and the market will grab you.
Please send your comments. They are posted here only after moderation.
Do you want a salary raise?
Do you 'feel' that you are being paid lower than what you deserve or being paid lower than what your peers are paid?
Are you feeling cheated and let down by your manager who has not 'recommended' a good hike for you?
If the answer is 'Yes' to any of these, then you are like what I was ten years ago.
When I went to my manager (who eventually is my mentor now) complaining about my salary rise this is what he said: 'Go check out your price in the market'. Many years later, I learnt the same from the pricing class when my professor stressed on how prices are determined by the market.
You are a product. Now determine:
1. What is your value within your company or your team? Essentially your value = value of the alternative available plus or minus the differentiating features.
So, lets take an example. I'm a project lead and I 'feel' I'm doing a great job and I must be getting 20% raise. What alternatives does your employer have? Can you be dispensed off with in which case your value is negative and the employer is losing money by employing you. Or are other in the market being paid more for the same work? If yes, what are your differentiators and what value would you give for those? If your salary is 5 lakh rupees and your peers in the market are getting 6 lakhs, you must be sure you are providing more than 1 lakh of value than your peers in order to claim.
So, on a positive note, work on how you can increase value and then by all means ask for a raise. If you are already providing more value (working and getting better results) to the company then please list down your rationale in objective terms and approach your management.
Now the game changes to how eager your management is to retain you. If not you know you are providing a great value and the market will grab you.
Please send your comments. They are posted here only after moderation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)