Entrepreneurship

Look at famous entrepreneurs, Google search them - Steve Jobs, Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal, our own AVM, Karumuthu Thyagarajan Chettiar, AMM and many others - they can be inspiring and look extraordinary, they may seem overwhelming, they are icons.  Let us not forget they started out just like you and me.

Can we learn from these great entrepreneurs? Of course we can.  

Research indicates that great entrepreneurs may not have great qualifications but they have certain traits that led them to success. They are role models for entrepreneurs and we can learn from their successes and failures.

These successful entrepreneurs are always LOOKING OUT, KEEPING their EYES OPEN for the next possible opportunity.

The theme of my session was keeping our eyes open.

 

The six I’s:

1.       Ideas

2.       Information

3.       Instinct

4.       Initiative

 

5.       Inspiration

6.       Institutionalisation

If you would like to get a copy of the presentation do email me drpalan@smrhub.com

Appraisals

It's been a business practice for 50 years or more. It's likely here to stay forever. And, every organization's business performance relies on it. Yet, only a meager few have figured out how to garner real value from it. And for those few, their business results cause others to sit up and pay attention:

• In 71.6 percent of organizations, 75 percent or more of all Key Performance Indicators were achieved.
• In 57.8 percent of organizations, revenue increased by 1-20 percent or more.
• In 44.5 percent of organizations, engagement increased by 1- 20 percent or more.
• In 28.2 percent of organizations, voluntary turnover decreased by 1 percent or more.

We're talking about performance management. It's time to seriously reconsider traditional approaches and reinvent it to align more closely with how the few implement it. Performance management has evolved appraising past performance to developing future potential. Join this webcast to learn about their secrets.

Visit

http://www.talentmgt.com/events/174-the-new-approach-to-managing-performance-from-appraising-past-performance-to-developing-future-potential?utm_source=webinar_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tmwb

Leadership Pipeline

From Training Industry Blog

Freeing Your Leader Within

Building the readiness of any leadership pipeline can find powerful challenges in a no-normal world. Let’s face it, in an era of totally disconnected events, it is often a matter of opinion as to whether human skills development even pays bottom-line dividends, and many training delivery methods are no longer affordable or effective.
Sometimes it’s as if we’re attempting to implant not just their competency – but their commitment as well. The 21^st century demands the highest quality of leadership. However, filling our pipelines with ready candidates is more difficult than ever.
Let’s take a look then at a few simple truths that might help guarantee, or at least diagnose the viability of your leadership pipeline:
Finding a higher calling – if moving into management is all about money, power or perks your pipeline will leak at the junctures of downturn, acquisition, and even growth. You cannot buy commitment; it only elevates your zero-base.
Following the Law of 29 – it takes a multi-touch approach to allow for habit formation and affirmation. Becoming a leader, a first-class noticer of others, is not a once and done proposition.
Using the Rule of 3 – look for patterns of behavior or achievement. Three is the minimum number of data points it takes to establish or discard a pattern. Don’t jump at the first flash of a candidate’s promise. But, when it’s obvious to everyone but you that a candidate lacks potential, examine your own motives.
Measuring it will change it – publishing of metrics against which candidates will be measured defines the arena. We used to believe that if you can measure it you can change it – we’ve since learned that simply measuring will impact outcomes. Don’t leave your people wondering what the critical success factors of selection criteria will be.
Inspire, or at the very least, unsettle – you can’t create motivation, but sometimes you can be a catalyst to help another get started, a catalyst for movement. Short-term, extrinsic motivation can help overcome inertia. Longer term, intrinsic motives must take over or momentum dies.
Equipping, not just educating – as you develop your leadership pipeline don’t settle for simple knowledge transfer. Action learning and real-time coaching is what moves from vision to results.
These few simple truths can strengthen your leadership pipeline ten-fold while giving you the courage to free your leader within.

         

About the Author

Don Brown

Don Brown is the developer of ‘The Leader’s Daily’ and co-author of “Bring Out the Best in Every Employee” (2012 McGraw-Hill), “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – in Sales” (2011 McGraw-Hill) and “Situational Service® - Customer Care for the Practitioner.”
Don has spent 30 years ‘helping people with people’ for the likes of Anheuser-Busch, Ford Motor Company, United Airlines, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Jaguar Cars, SYKES, and Hilton Hotels. You can email him at don@donbrown.org.

Mindfulness for Productivity

Have you heard this one? Probably not, because it's unimaginable. Why would mindfulness and productivity be hanging out? After all, mindfulness is about being in the present moment, living consciously and joyfully, paying attention on purpose. Productivity is about efficiency, continuous improvement, increasing output, doing more with less. At first glance, these two appear to be polar opposites. But look again. Mindfulness and productivity have one striking thing in common: They are focused on where and how time is spent. Consider this formula: Organizational productivity = output (value created)/Input (resources consumed) In the knowledge economy the key resource is leadership time. So we can simplify the formula even more: Productivity = value/time By this definition there are two primary ways of increasing productivity: 1) Increase the value created and/or 2) Decrease the time required to create that value. In 1693, William Penn said "Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." If he were to witness today's corporate environment, he might observe that, despite staggering progress elsewhere, our relationship with time has not changed in the last 320 years. Case in point: We recently asked 12 executives of a large corporation two questions: Visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/renee-cullinan/mindfulness_b_5976864.html for full article Visit leworldtour.com to attend Learning Extravaganza in KL and increase your productivity

Performance Management Mindset

Great article from Talent Management http://talentmgt.com/articles/6633-changing-the-performance-management-mindset#.U_igMdL7Swo.twitter

Be capable not just competent

I am grappling with a hard choice. Should I make it to the Singapore Conference organized by the Institute of Adult Education. As I was browsing through their 2012 Conference blog, I found an interesting post. Vocational education and training focuses too much on meeting required roles and tasks and too little on developing the individual. And that is a big problem, says Professor Leesa Wheelahan. It is a big problem because many students don't end up in jobs that they train for. It is a big problem because in liberal economies like Australia and Singapore, vocational education and training is often treated like a lesser cousin to higher education. It is a big problem because by focusing on rote learning and following formulae, students are not empowered to go beyond what they are "qualified" to do. In other words, a plumber will be a plumber will be a plumber forevermore. If someone wants to be a plumber, then it's all fine and good, but what if he wants something else? How has he been equipped to do so? All these questions are extremely relevant to Singapore. Just think about our ITE system. Can you imagine an ITE graduate managing an NUS grad? Now ask yourself, why not? Prof Wheelahan's passionate argument is to move away from competency-based training and into capability training. Focus on using skills as a lens to view the world, not just on applying said skills. Teach math, she says, not just formulae. This, she argues, would help not just graduating students, but adult learners, in their transitions from one job to another, from an occupation to the next. Strong words, bold vision. Now, how do we do it?

Skills Gaps

The following article from Talent Management.com and sponsored by SABA outlines the soft skills gap issue. Survey: Soft Skills make up the Biggest Competency Gap Ninety two percent of senior executives in the U.S. acknowledge there is a serious gap in workforce skills, according to the “State of the Economy and Employment” survey from Adecco Staffing US. Yet for all the traditional talk about a skills gap in technical and computer skills, 44 percent of respondents cited soft skills — such as communication, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration — as the area with the biggest gap. In fact, only 22 percent cited a lack of technical skills as the culprit for the U.S. skills gap — with leadership (14 percent) and computer skills (12 percent) following behind. When it does come to the gap in computer skills, Gen X executives — more than any other generation surveyed — are most likely to believe this is the skill that most seriously affects the U.S. workforce. As for business implications related to the U.S. gap in skills, the survey found that the majority (64 percent) of senior executives who believe there is a skills gap feel the greatest threat to U.S. businesses is investment going to companies abroad instead of staying in U.S. — 34 percent believe the U.S. gap in skills poses a threat to businesses research and development capabilities. Other findings include: U.S education system needs to better prepare future generation of workers. According to the survey, more than half (59 percent) of respondents do not believe colleges and universities in the U.S. offer curriculums that adequately prepare students for today's workforce. Apprentice/training programs could be a solution. Among those respondents who said there is a skills gap in the U.S. workforce, 89 percent believe corporate apprenticeships or training programs could help alleviate the problem. Yet 42 percent said the greatest barrier to creating in-house training programs is the cost of development. Manufacturing suffering most from skills gap. Of those who believe there is a skills gap in the U.S, 30 percent said it most affects the manufacturing industry. Other industries cited included technology (21 percent) and professional and business services (19 percent). Interestingly, as dire as the need is for skilled workers in the U.S., senior executives did not feel the skills gap poses a direct threat to the U.S. economy; only 13 percent cited it as a major concern. Instead, federal spending (24 percent), global competition (22 percent) and high unemployment (20 percent) were called out as what they feel are the greatest threats to the U.S. economy.

Don Kirkpatrick passes away

Don Kirkpartick This morning I heard news from Jim Kirkpatrick and Wendy Kirkpatrick, the son and daughter in law of legendary Don Kirkpatrick that Don has passed away at the age of 90. Truly a legend in the HRD Evaluation field. More importantly a fine man, a great human being. I had known Don for a long time if I remember it right in 1983. As a young kid I had chanced to see a brochure of his programme in my mentor and Malaysian HR Guru, the late Sam Abishegam's office. I wrote to him an air mail letter inviting him to Malaysia. Next thing I knew, he and his wife Fern were here in Malaysia. We worked with some great companies: Mobil, Genting and so on. He was very much an American and I remember he espoused Republican values and he was so fond of the late Ronald Reagan. Even though I disagreed with many of his views, he grew fond of me. It was a joy talking to him and Fern. As a young graduate, he allowed me the trust to bring him here. I had no car; yet, he did not mind the hot Datsun taxi rides even though he was a legend used to very high class standards. We did not do much work but kept in touch. We brought him for Asia HRD Congress on a couple of occasions and did a little bit of work with Brunei Shell and other organisations but given his age, I was nervous to fly him all over the world. Again, while I did not attend very many of his workshops I continued to exchange ideas and he was a 'giver'- he believed knowledge belonged to the world. He was a religious person committed to moral principles. He made me feel good. Years later I had a wonderful opportunity to meet him more often. Based on his recommendation, we had his son Jim Kirkpatrick work for us in SMR USA. During the lst few years we exchanged the occasional Christmas and New Year greeting. A wonderful man who valued friendship more than money; one who made everyone comfortable and good. And a professional who contributed his four level Evaluation framework freely to the world. May his soul rest in peace.

Developing a Competency Framework

Developing a Competency Framework Linking Company Objectives and Personal Performance What gets measured gets done. Visit http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_91.htm for full article You're probably familiar with the phrase ‘what gets measured gets done.' Defining and measuring effectiveness – especially the performance of workers – is a critical part of your job as a manager. The question is: How do you define the skills, behaviors, and attitudes that workers need to perform their roles effectively? How do you know they're qualified for the job? In other words, how do you know what to measure? Some people think formal education is a reliable measure. Others believe more in on-the-job training, and years of experience. Still others might argue that personal characteristics hold the key to effective work behavior. All of these are important, but none seems sufficient to describe an ideal set of behaviors and traits needed for any particular role. Nor do they guarantee that individuals will perform to the standards and levels required by the organization. A more complete way of approaching this is to link individual performance to the goals of the business. To do this, many companies use ‘competencies.' These are the integrated knowledge, skills, judgment, and attributes that people need to perform a job effectively. By having a defined set of competencies for each role in your business, it shows workers the kind of behaviors the organization values, and which it requires to help achieve its objectives. Not only can your team members work more effectively and achieve their potential, but there are many business benefits to be had from linking personal performance with corporate goals and values. Defining which competencies are necessary for success in your organization can help you do the following: •Ensure that your people demonstrate sufficient expertise. •Recruit and select new staff more effectively. •Evaluate performance more effectively. •Identify skill and competency gaps more efficiently. •Provide more customized training and professional development. •Plan sufficiently for succession. •Make change management processes work more efficiently. How can you define the set of practices needed for effective performance? You can do this by adding a competency framework to your talent management program. By collecting and combining competency information, you can create a standardized approach to performance that's clear and accessible to everyone in the company. The framework outlines specifically what people need to do to be effective in their roles, and it clearly establishes how their roles relate to organizational goals and success. This article outlines the steps you need to take to develop a competency framework in your organization.

Talent Management

Jac Fitz-enz , founder of the Human Capital Source says the data explosion is teaching us a new vocabulary. Gigabytes, Terabytes and now to Zettabyes. At this rate, the world’s database will double by around January 2015. In any transformative event, there are many pitfalls as well as opportunities. What opportunities do you see in talent management and development? True innovation is not about bigger, faster versions of the old vehicle. When there was a perceived need to speed transportation, people didn’t try to breed faster horses. Think about the effects of the great inventions. Every one of them changed the way people thought, lived and worked, and each required new methodologies that in turn spawned new supporting businesses. So what does the data deluge and e-management mean to talent development? It means an opportunity and a demand for new learning and personal growth methods. Human development in the 21st century must spring from an understanding of how our cultural bases are changing. Social networking is more than electronic gadgets. It is a sign that the younger generations think, act, believe, perceive, desire, appreciate and communicate differently than the retiring baby boomers and even Gen X. He says he believes the answer lies in expanding the view of life. Clearly, marketing and advertising are looking for new messaging models. They need to not only reach prospective buyers through new media, but also need new messages that resonate with the new generation. The Theory X management model that says people are only motivated by money and must be closely supervised was proven wrong by Fred Herzberg in the 1960s. It has taken 50 years for management to understand it. The good news is that more companies are recognizing that treating people as functional human beings pays off. Clearly, people can work effectively at home without line-of-sight supervision. How do you develop managers and professionals to operate in that world? It will take more than a new training program. To read the full article visit: http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/is-big-data-really-about-data/?interstitial=ch022714 For more details on Talent Management solutions email arasu@smrhrgroup.com

How do you measure the competency of a founder? Great article: http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131024075342-42592294-can-founders-let-go-what-love-s-got-to-do-with-leadership?trk=tod-home-art-list-large_0

Budget Comments Kuala Lumpur, 25th October 2013 I like and love the strategic thrust on Inculcating Excellence in Human Capital in this year's Malaysian budget. Thank You Mr. Prime Minister. While there are some who would have preferred greater development expenditure and lower operating expenditure, some would even prefer a lower % deficit of the GDP, I think the budget has focussed on a key priority area: Human Capital, to improve the long term well being of the nation and our competitiveness. There are no short cuts to success. Education receives 21% of the budget. The commitment to implementing the Education blueprint and improving standards of English and upholding the importance of the National Language, emphasis on Entrepreneur development, supporting employers on the Minimum Wage Policy, the setting up for a private retirement scheme are positive initiatives. RM 400 million from the Human Resources Development Fund for employers for training, 330 million for Skills Training, Tax benefits for Flexible work arrangements, RM 100 million training allocation for the Indian community and 20 million for rural programmes are welcome at this point of time in the global economy.

Competency & Talent Management A strong succession planning program is one that identifies and fosters the next generation of leaders through mentoring, training and stretch assignments, so they are ready to take the helm when the time comes. Research supports sound succession planning. A study some years ago from consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton concluded that "over their entire tenures, CEOs appointed from the inside tend to outperform outsiders" when it comes to returns to shareholders. Yet many organizations struggle to take their succession planning programs beyond a static list of names slotted for a few top spots. Every organisation should have a roadmap that offers organisations a framework and advice on how to create a robust succession planning program that aligns talent management with the vision of the company, ensures employees have development opportunities to hone their leadership skills, and guarantees that the organization has a leadership plan in place for success in the future. As companies begin to develop a succession planning process, they should consider these fundamental issues: High Potential programmes, internal development, Diversity issues and Leadership support. Companies make many mistakes when it comes to succession planning. Organisations use the past to plan for the future, miss getting the Board support, not making succession part of the culture and allowing wrong people to make succession decisions. A succession planning program compiles the skills, abilities and goals of each employee, compares them to the needs of current and future roles, and tracks employee progress toward being ready to fill those roles. A roadmap can be structured into three phases to help you implement the planning and execution of you succession planning program - "Plan," "Do" and "Review" of succession planning. As companies expand beyond 200 to 300 employees, it becomes challenging to oversee talent management and succession planning efforts on paper. You cannot effectively track the career development progress of hundreds of employees using spread sheets and sticky notes. While there are many enterprise applications for succession planning, you need to equip your team with the models and tools.

Competency - Developments

Visit http://sabhlokcity.com/2012/10/mou-between-australia-and-india-on-competency-standards-for-vocational-training/ to view this inetersting development

AUSTRALIA has used its skills training expertise to improve relations with India, agreeing to help the country work on its target of training 500 million people by 2022.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Australia's industry skills council, SkillsDMC, and its Indian counterpart, which will see the emerging economic powerhouse learn how to boost its workforce's skills.
SkillsDMC will help its Indian counterpart with the creation of competency standards and processes for affiliation of training partners.
Mr McDonald said the relationship would be based on an information exchange, so India did not make the same mistakes Australia had previously. The support was about training people to meet India's needs.

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Competency Management for Organisations

Many years ago I wrote a book Competency Management: a practitioner’s guide. I have reviewed hundreds of articles and books and let me assure you it has been an overwhelming experience. The lack of clarity in thinking and insufficiency in understanding the concepts has resulted in many flawed approaches. Basically we can start with a simple question: Are you competent in what you do? You better be if you do not want to be out of your job. Whatever the term may mean, we all have a feel for the word – it simply means a person is able to do the job. This is purely from a workplace viewpoint. The English dictionary describes the word “competence” as suitable, sufficient or fit.

January 2013 Post

Workplace predictions for 2013 A thought provoking article in the Talent Management magazine lists out what’s in store for business leaders in 2013. Halley Bock, the author says the organizations that are more adept at embracing these changes and leveraging them to build stronger relationships with their talent will be better positioned for success in the long term. The prediction is that this year will see the adoption of non-traditional approaches to communicate with and engage talent. Firstly, the annual performance review will become history as conversations about specific, real-time performance issues occur on a much more frequent, as-needed basis. These ad hoc conversations can provide the instantaneous feedback employees crave and dramatically improve overall communication. Secondly, organisations will realise that money is no longer the king. An increasing number of employees will seek non monetary incentives such as increased vacation time, pursuit of personal interests and continued education. Thirdly, social media policies will mature and eliminate the ambiguity that may exist allowing some gray areas to exist. Fourth, succession planning becomes a higher priority as attrition becomes a serious issue for top management. Fifth, organisations will value workplace versatility. While organisations have always valued specialisation, employees who have the competency to wear multiple hats will be greatly preferred. Additionally, millennials entering the workforce are actively seeking career opportunities that offer broad experiences not narrow ones. For more details http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/five-workplace-predictions-for-2013/2

You Spoke No One Listened

This is a great piece by Marshall Goldsmith and Kelly Goldsmith One of the great causes of corporate dysfunction is the glaring gap between “I say” and “they do.” It’s a huge mistake to assume that just because people understand, then they will do. A few years ago, I saw a doctor for back problems. After running a few tests, the doctor sat me down and quickly rattled off 10 different exercises that I was supposed to do regularly. He assumed that once he had made the correct diagnosis and told me what to do, his job was done. Knowing about communication, I realized there was no way that I was going to remember what he said, much less do it. But he had checked the box on his to-do list. Time for the next patient! Like this doctor, leaders all too often believe that their organizations operate with strict down-the-chain-of-command efficiency. In a perfect world, every command is not only obeyed but obeyed precisely and promptly, almost as if it were a fait accompli. The manager never has to follow up — because he said it — it was done. I dealt with this head-on with a client, a CEO of a major high-tech firm. He was 54 years old with a degree from MIT. He was also — like most of my clients — extremely action-oriented and impatient. Surveys indicated that his employees felt they didn’t understand the company’s mission and overall direction. “I don’t get it,” he groaned. “I clearly articulated the mission and direction in our team meeting. I’ve summarized it in a memo, which was immediately distributed. See, here’s the memo! What more do they want?” I thought he was kidding, that he had a very refined sense of irony. Making people understand the company’s mission doesn’t happen by fiat. It also doesn’t happen overnight. Surely this smart CEO understood how difficult it was to communicate even a simple message. But by the pained expression on his face, I could see he was serious and (if only in this one area of management) clueless. “Let’s review,” I said. “How was this memo distributed?” “By email,” he replied. “It went to everyone.” “Okay. How many people actually read the memo?” “I’m not sure,” he said. “Of those who read the email, how many do you think understood the message?” He thought for a second and said, “I don’t know.” “Of those who understood it, how many actually believed it was serious - not just PR hype?” He shook his head. “Of this dwindling group of believers, how many remembered it?” Another sorry head shake. “That’s a lot of unknowns for something you regard as vital to your company’s existence,” I said. “But that’s not the worst part. Once you eliminate all those people — and it’s quite possible there aren’t many people left — how many people do you think will change their behavior based upon the memo? How many will begin living and breathing the company’s mission because of your memo?” The CEO just grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. I tried to revive his spirits by pointing out that the deeper issue was his mistaken belief about communication, not this memo. “The only thing you’re guilty of,” I said, “was that you checked the box. You thought your job was done when you articulated the mission and wrote the memo, just one more item on your to-do list. You moved on. Mentally, you smiled and said, ‘Next!’ ” Like most extremely busy leaders, this CEO wanted to believe that after he communicated direction, people heard him, understood him, believed him, and then executed. I can understand why executives persist in thinking this way. We all want to believe that our comments have great meaning. We usually assume that the people around us are smart, and they can understand what we’re saying and see the value of our remarks. We’re often busy and overcommitted. We all wish we could just move on to the next item on our list. The good news for every manager, including my CEO friend, is that this false belief has a simple cure. It’s called “follow-up.” After communicating, follow up to make sure that people really understand, talk with them to get a read of their buy-in, and involve them to make sure that they’re committed to execution. Follow-up may take a little time, but it’s less than the time wasted on miscommunication. Originally published in bnet Dr. Marshall Goldsmith was recognized as the #1 leadership thinker in the world and the #7 business thinker in the world at the Thinkers 50 ceremony sponsored by the Harvard Business Review. He is the million-selling author or editor of 31 books, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – a WSJ #1 business book and winner of the Harold Longman Award for Business Book of the Year. His books have been translated into 28 languages and become bestsellers in eight countries.

Competency Management

Given the fact that as an organisation we do so much Human Capital work in the area of Competency Management, I thought it fit to share our experiences via this blog. While there is so much confusion between the varying meanings of the word Competency, there is at least one common theme: we want competent people i.e. people who perform either to superior standards or to the required standards. Performance is a key objective. As an author stated competencies are behaviours that include the knowledge, skills, and attributes required for successful performance.

Boyatzis emphasised the underlying characteristics of a person, such as traits, habits, motives, social roles, and self-image, as well as the environment around them, enable a person to deliver superior performance in a given job, role, or situation.

Let us over the next few weeks talk about how we can implement Competency Management in our organisations.