NOW BOND-DON-RAJ TALKS

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is not just for leaders anymore. Top companies are beginning to understand that sustaining peak performance requires a firm-wide commitment to developing leaders that is tightly aligned to organizational objectives — a commitment much easier to understand than to achieve. Organizations must find ways to cascade leadership from senior management to men and women at all levels and to create 100 million new leaders throughout our society.
Though leadership is largely defined as “working with and through others to achieve objectives”, it sometimes seems there are as many approaches to leadership development as there are leadership developers. One increasingly popular tool for developing leaders is executive coaching. To ascertain what works better, leadership development programs in eight major corporations were reviewed. Although all eight companies had the same overarching goals — to determine the desired behaviors for leaders in their organizations and to help leaders increase their effectiveness by better aligning actual practices with these desired behaviors — they used different leadership development methodologies: offsite training versus onsite coaching, short duration versus long duration, internal coaches versus external coaches, and traditional classroom-based training versus on-the-job interaction.
 
Stereotyping is short-hand decision making on whether you like someone and determines how you much effort you put into the conversation. Your hair colour, clothes, age, ethnicity and other features that don’t change during a conversation, all add up to give an overall impression, which may be good or may be bad. The way you look speaks volumes - it's a communication skill in itself. So, start conveying a favourable message by getting your image right.
 
Eye to Eye Contact

We look less at people who make us uncomfortable. Conversely, when we are truly engaged in a conversation, we make loads of eye contact, making both parties feel interested and interesting. So, lift your gaze and make eye contact if you want your conversational partner to feel understood.

Okay, I don’t mean intense starting – that’s just plain scary – fix your gaze on the bridge of the nose and drop your gaze every now and again. If you’re talking in a group, remember to include everyone in the conversation by scanning round and making eye contact with everyone
 
Mirror and Match

Next time you’re out at a restaurant or bar, take a look round and see how people sit when they’re in deep, intimate, conversation. Chances are they are sitting in very similar positions – almost as if one were a mirror image of the other, matching posture and position.

To test your rapport building skills, strike up a conversation with a friend or foe, and see if you can mirror and then lead their movements. Take some time to mirror their body language – if they’ve got crossed legs, make sure your legs are crossed too. If they are bouncing their leg, maybe tap a pencil in time. Above all, be subtle – it’s a delicate dance and no-one likes a partner who stomps over their party shoes.

After some time, do a mini assessment. Maybe scratch your nose – if they follow by touching their face in response, you know you’ve hit the mirroring jackpot. If not, don’t worry, just take some more time to build a deeper rapport.
 
England lost its place from the World Cup and one of
the reasons is that they lost their star Wayne Rooney
because the dynamic striker was �red carded.�

There is, they say, a scorpion found in South America
which when angered, becomes so furious that it stings
itself with its own poison and dies. This is a fitting
climax to anger, because anger is, indeed SELF poison.

I was reading a column in one of the dailies and it is
quoted that Wayne Rooney is guilty of losing his cool
quite too often. The paper also quotes that he seems
to be also attending counseling skills on �anger
management.�

For time immemorial, from the times of the first
recorded wisdom, we�ve all been advised to control
our emotions.

How many of us are guilty of SELF poisoning ourselves
with �anger?�

The ancient Greek philosopher, Pythagoras quotes,
�Anger begins in folly and ends in repentance.�
Is this what the LTTE is doing by being apologetic
about the assassination of our former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi?

Modern psychology would add that, while anger often
is openly and vehemently expressed, the repentance
which follows usually repressed and festers in various
forms of self-guilt and subconscious.

The back lash of our anger usually whips against our
own feverish flesh and leaves scars which the future
may never heal and which regret may never hide.
As John Webster said, �There is not in nature a
thing
that makes a man so deformed, so beastly as does
intemperate anger.�

A little story to illustrate this point �
(Anonymous).

There was a young boy who lost his temper very often.
One day he asked his father what should he do to
control this.
The father went straight to the attic and brought with
him a pound of nails and a hammer.
He gave them to his son and told him, �every time
you
feel like getting angry take a nail and go and hammer
it on the gate.�
The boy listened to his father and every time he would
get angry he would go and hammer a nail into the gate.
In a few days the gate was full of nails, but his
anger still remained. He went back to his father once
again and told him that the gate has been filled with
the nails he had hammered whenever he got angry. The
father asked him begin removing the nails this time
whenever he got angry.
The boy listened to his father once again and did so.
In a few days all the nails from the gate were
removed, and the boys anger was gone. He ran to his
father and told him about this good feeling he had
inherited because of the exercise.
The father led the boy to the gate and expressed his
happiness, however showed him the scars that were left
by hammering the nail and then removing them out.
The father summed up, �Every time we get angry on
someone we leave as many scars.�

Coming back, anger hurts the one who possesses it even
more than the one on whom anger is directed. And
this is nothing but SELF poison. But let us not
overlook the certainty that our anger also hurts
others. And, in hurting others, we might make them
turn hostile and in turn aim their anger against us.

The psychological �need to conquer� is as false as
it
is ineffective. It is much safer to reconcile an enemy
that to conquer. A reconciled enemy may not be an
enemy any longer, but a conquered enemy remains an
enemy still, and is all the more vindictive.
You can assign most of your duties to the others but
only you can forgive your enemies.
So even if you can�t love your enemies, do not hate
them. Being adversaries, they exercise your initiative
and develop your strength. Being provocateurs, they
challenge your discipline to keep cool.

And by keeping cool, you keep control�control over
others� control over circumstances..

That is the condition worthy of your continuing
efforts. It is the QUIET MIND.

Are you hearing this �Wayne� because you are
tipped to
lead your country some day.

Hope you will get to listen to this some time before
it is too late, because an angry leader is a poor
leader.

In his time Bjorn Borg was called �ice berg� but
many
do not know that when he was a kid he broke a racket
after losing a match, and his mother promptly packed
his tennis kit and told him to give up his tennis. It
took a lot of pleading apology and coaxing that
changed his mothers thinking on letting him continue
with his tennis career, but not before the mother
asked Borg to promise to her that he will never ever
lose his cool on and off the court. No wonder he
became a legend. No wonder his clashes with John
McEnroe were legendary too as they were
�temperamentally� poles apart and more often than
not
Borg emerged victorious.


Do preserve yourself & others while evolving continuously...
 
Stop for a moment…. and imagine how you would feel as an employee under this situation:

You have been working for ACME for ten years now. You do the same thing everyday. You’re tied at the desk pounding a decrepit keyboard; half the keys don’t work. When you’re not nursing carpal tunnel syndrome, you’re sipping stale coffee at the greasy counter. Worse, you don’t really know anyone that you work with. Socializing involves a casual hello… with the doorman’s Doberman.

One day you receive a memo stating that the dress code had been changed. Everyone must wear long pants with closed shoes. There is no explanation, and since you usually wear a skirt with strappy sandals, you assume that it had something to do with you.

Would this sit well with you? Would it have been better that you and your colleagues were consulted first?

Now think about this scenario.

You’ve conducted time-motion studies at the factory for about eight months now. Since day one you toyed with ideas to optimize work-flow efficiency. A simple modification will cut costs 30% and increase output 20%. A brilliant idea worthy of an 80% raise!

You finally befriend the manager and broach your great idea. He points at the suggestion box. He adds that the supervisor browses suggestions once a week. So you whip up a nicely structured essay and plunk it into the box. Three months later, no one acts upon your ideas. No one has raised the issue. You retreat to your cubicle and sulk at the dancing-baby screen saver.

What’s the problem?

Employees naturally expect that managers consider personal feedback as decisions are made involving work environment. After all, they are the frontliners and have a better feel of the immediate situation.

In order to motivate employees and supercharge performance, companies can implement “participative-style management” :

1. Never reprimand someone for their input- no matter how misguided. Look into the positive intention behind the suggestions. You will build confidence and motivation by acknowledging opinions. 3M is world renowned for paying cash prizes for crazy ideas. The idea for the Post-It came from rank and file. It catapulted the company to the Fortune 500.

2. Never rush employees to come up with flawless decisions. Provide them with appropriate tools and resources. Empower them to delegate responsibilities so they can focus on action planning.

3. Respect decisions once they have been made. Once you’ve authorized a committee to reach decisions, let the decision stand. Exercising veto powers to flex the ego will destroy motivation. Override staff decisions only if doing so will cause irreparable damage.

4. Impose clear standards of expectation. Inform empowered committees the core issues and what is desired.

5. Reward group members who strive to make informed decisions based on all available information. They will rise as future managers who will nurture organizational growth.

Occasionally, employees feel that too much involvement can spell disaster. Their mindset is that managers should decide, and employees simply follow. Some complain that taking on ad-hoc managerial roles breaches the scope of their job description!

Enlighten the employee. Remember that the objective is to make the employee feel that his opinion is valuable AND have him relish the pleasure of executing his ideas. Ultimately he gains confidence as he discovers how capable he is of making his own decisions. Your firm ultimately benefits as new talent is cultivated for the future pool of managers.
 
CHANAKYA

application of Principles and Strategies of Chanakya as discussed in his 3rd Century BC treatise, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, in Today’s Corporate World)



A strong foundation is the key to any successful business. Your vision, your commitment, your purpose - all from the basis for an organisation. They are the all-important pillars, the most essential part of any building.





In his ground-breaking Arthashastra, Chanakya lists seven pillars for an organisation.



“The king, the minister, the country, the fortified city, the treasury, the army and the ally are the constituent elements of the state” (6.1.1)





Let us now take a closer look at each of them:



THE KING (The leader)


All great orgaisaitons have great leaders. The leader is the visionary, the captain, the man who guides the organisation. In today’s corporate world we call him the Director, CEO, etc. Without him we will loose direction.



THE MINISTER (The manager)


The manager is the person who runs the show - the second-in-command of an organisation. He is also the person whom you can depend upon in the absence of the leader. He is the man who is always in action. An extra ordinary leader and an efficient manager together bring into existence a remarkable organisation.



THE COUNTRY (Your market)


No business can exist without its market capitalisation. It is the area of your operation. The place from where you get your revenue and cash flow. You basically dominate this territory and would like to keep your monopoly in this segment.



THE FORTIFID CITY (Head office)


You need a control tower - a place from where all planning and strategies are made. It’s from here that your central administrative work is done. It’s the nucleus and the center of any organisation.



THE TREASURY


Finance is an extremely important resource. It is the backbone of any business. A strong and well-managed treasury is at the heart of any organisation. Your treasury is also your financial hub.



THE ARMY (Your team)


When we go to war, we need a well-equipped and trained army. The army consists of your team members. Those who are ready to fight for the organisation. The salesmen, the accountant, the driver, the peon - all of them add to your team.



THE ALLY (friend / consultant)


In life you should have a friend who is just like you. Being, in the same boat, he can identify with you and stay close. He is the one whom you can depend upon when problems arise. After all, a friend in need is a friend in deed.





Look at these seven pillars. Only when these are built into firm and strong sections can the organisation shoulder any responsibility and face all challenges.



And while building them, do not forget to imbibe that vital ingredient called values, speaking about which, in his book ‘Build to last’, Jim Collins has said, “Values are the roots from where an organisation continuously gets its supply as well as grounding – build on them!”
 
A reception desk in a sort of office building.

Receptionist: Yes, sir?

Man: I'd like to have an argument please.

Receptionist: Certainly, sir, have you been here before...?

Man: No, this is my first time.

Receptionist: I see. Do you want to have the full argument, or were you thinking of taking a course?

Man: Well, what would be the cost?

Receptionist: Yes, it's one pound for a five-minute argument, but only eight pounds for a course of ten.

Man: Well, I think it's probably best of I start with the one and see how it goes from there. OK?

Receptionist: Fine. I'll see who's free at the moment... Mr. Du-Bakey's free, but he's a little bit concilliatory... Yes, try Mr. Barnard -- Room 12.

Man: Thank you.

[...] The man knocks on the door.

Mr Vibrating:(from within) Come in.

The man enters the room. Mr Vibrating is sitting at a desk.

Man: Is this the right room for an argument?

Mr Vibrating: I've told you once.

Man: No you haven't.

Mr Vibrating: Yes I have.

Man: When?

Mr Vibrating: Just now!

Man: No you didn't.

Mr Vibrating: Yes I did!

Man: Didn't.

Mr Vibrating: Did.

Man: Didn't.

Mr Vibrating: I'm telling you I did!

Man: You did not!

Mr Vibrating: I'm sorry, is this a five minute argument, or the full half-hour?

Man: Oh, just a five minute one.

Mr Vibrating: Fine. (makes a note of it; the man sits down) Thank you. Anyway I did.

Man: You most certainly did not.

Mr Vibrating: Now, let's get one thing quite clear... I most definitely told you!

Man: You did not.

Mr Vibrating: Yes I did.

Man: You did not.

Mr Vibrating: Yes I did.

Man: Didn't.

Mr Vibrating: Yes I did.

Man: Didn't.

Mr Vibrating: Yes I did!!

Man: Look this isn't an argument.

Mr Vibrating: Yes it is.

Man: No it isn't, it's just contradiction.

Mr Vibrating: No it isn't.

Man: Yes it is.

Mr Vibrating: It is not.

Man: It is. You just contradicted me.

Mr Vibrating: No I didn't.

Man: Ooh, you did!

Mr Vibrating: No, no, no, no, no.

Man: You did, just then.

Mr Vibrating: No, nonsense!

Man: Oh, look this is futile.

Mr Vibrating: No it isn't.

Man: I came here for a good argument.

Mr Vibrating: No you didn't, you came here for an argument.

Man: Well, an argument's not the same as contradiction.

Mr Vibrating: It can be.

Man: No it can't. An argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a definite proposition.

Mr Vibrating: No it isn't.

Man: Yes it is. It isn't just contradiction.

Mr Vibrating: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.

Man: But it isn't just saying "No it isn't".

Mr Vibrating: Yes it is.

Man: No it isn't, an argument is an intellectual process... contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says.

Mr Vibrating: No it isn't.

Man: Yes it is.

Mr Vibrating: Not at all.

Man: Now look!

Mr Vibrating:(pressing the bell on his desk) Thank you, good morning.

Man: What?

Mr Vibrating: That's it. Good morning.

Man: But I was just getting interested.

Mr Vibrating: Sorry the five minutes is up.

Man: That was never five minutes just now!

Mr Vibrating: I'm afraid it was.

Man: No it wasn't.

Mr Vibrating: I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to argue any more.

Man: What!?

Mr Vibrating: If you want me to go on arguing, you'll have to pay for another five minutes.

Man: But that was never five minutes just now... oh come on! (Vibrating looks round as though man was not there) This is ridiculous.

Mr Vibrating: I'm very sorry, but I told you I'm not allowed to argue unless you've paid.

Man: Oh. All right. (pays) There you are.

Mr Vibrating: Thank you.

Man: Well?

Mr Vibrating: Well what?

Man: That was never five minutes just now.

Mr Vibrating: I told you I'm not allowed to argue unless you've paid.

Man: I've just paid.

Mr Vibrating: No you didn't.

Man: I did! I did! I did!

Mr Vibrating: No you didn't.

Man: Look I don't want to argue about that.

Mr Vibrating: Well I'm very sorry but you didn't pay.

Man: Aha! Well if I didn't pay, why are you arguing... got you!

Mr Vibrating: No you haven't.

Man: Yes I have... if you're arguing I must have paid.

Mr Vibrating: Not necessarily. I could be arguing in my spare time.

Man: I've had enough of this.

Mr Vibrating: No you haven't.
 
Importance of Customer Information
With today’s point-of-purchase (POP) technologies and powerful information storage, retrieval and analysis tools, gathering customer information has never been easier. By themselves POP technologies provide valuable marketing information from a product and location perspective. That is, sellers know how much of something is sold and where it is sold. But the real power for marketers exists when POP technologies are combined with methods of customer identification, such as customer loyalty cards or website login information. This combination provides the marketer with the potential for detailed understanding of customers in terms of demographics, purchase behavior and product preferences. Armed with this information marketers have the opportunity to customize marketing activities to individual customers. This so called mass-customization strategy is already widely used by retailers. It is a common feature in grocery stores where customers receive individually tailored promotional coupons and on certain e-commerce websites where characteristics of the site, such as product recommendations, are unique to an identified visitor.

But retailers are not the only ones who recognize the value of customer information. Product manufacturers also see this information as crucial to the success of their products. They realize the key to successful products rests with having a deep understanding of wants, needs, habits and anything else they can learn about their customers. They want to know as much about the final user of their products as the retailer since this information is a key component in developing new products, designing promotional campaigns, setting price levels and many other marketing decisions.
 
Information is Power
In the past, consumer products companies learned about customers through traditional marketing research studies, such as surveys and focus groups. Certainly information gained from traditional research techniques is valuable but this form of research relies more on sampling small groups of customers than on trying to gather information on a large portion of the customer base. With POP technologies consumer products firms have the potential to learn much more about a larger group of customers than can be offered via traditional research methods.

Clearly since many parties have a keen interest in acquiring customer information it stands to reason that the possessor of this information will be a very important player in the value chain. Unfortunately for P&G and other consumer products providers, the customer information they desperately seek is most likely in the hands of others. With the likes of Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot and other super-retailers owning customer POP information, major consumer products firms are struggling to get a firm grasp on their final users. At best consumer products firms can purchase, for a large sum, some of this information from retailers or from market research firms who specialize in arranging information gathering deals with retailers. Bottom line, for consumer products firms acquiring customer information is a privilege and not a right.

But consumer products firms are not the only ones who see the need to capture more customer information. Any company relying on others to distribute its products or services faces a similar problem. For instance, entertainment companies face it with cable and satellite companies, and industrial products manufacturers face it with industrial distributors. The common thread is that the product or service supplier is not in control of final user information. And without this information suppliers are at a disadvantage in marketing to their customers. They may also face significant hurdles in negotiating with distributors since the holder of information may possess leverage when it comes to bargaining.
 
IBM’s brand is the leading name in many well known areas including high-end enterprise computers, software applications, business consulting services, and maybe soon, vending machines. Vending machines? Well it seems IBM is indeed moving in this direction. On June 2, 2004 IBM was awarded a patent titled “Automated Vending” that has as much to do with how eBay works as it does with how snacks are distributed. In fact, it may not be much of a stretch to suggest that IBM and eBay may one day be in direct competition in helping people get rid of stuff they no longer want. On the other hand, these two giants could also end up forming a formidable partnership that could help strengthen eBay’s dominant position in the consumer-to-consumer market.

According to patent 6,748,296, IBM’s vending machine “can accept an item, from a member of the public, as content into an empty compartment and identify the item accepted.” It appears that someone can go to this vending machine, deposit some kind of product they want to sell, and the vending machine will then make the product available for purchase. In fact, the patent suggests the range of potential products is huge and even includes selling laptop computers through vending machines.

Since this is IBM, the patent obviously has a major technology component. This is a network connected machine that scans incoming products (products with barcodes would seem to work well), assigns a value (i.e., price) based on some criteria, associates the product with the person depositing it (e.g., must be a member), and then places the item in a slot where it becomes available for purchase. Additionally, with a networked vending machine, it is conceivable information about the contents of the machine will be available via the Internet. So people can search for items, see descriptions and possibly images, and, of course, place orders from the comfort of their computer. For those buying over the Internet the application suggests the buyer “can be instructed on how and where to go to retrieve the item.”
 
There seem to be a huge number of bosses out there who either take all the credit for themselves, or who think you have no life outside work, or who give out too many tasks with impossible and constantly changing deadlines. There are stories about bosses who are pathological liars, or control freaks, or someone who has the IQ of an eraser. The boss also seems to be having the spine of a jellyfish — someone who would never stand up for you.
 
Last edited:
Jack Welch write about ‘boss haters’ in his book ‘Winning’. These are the people who are cynical about authority and ‘constantly exude low-level negativity towards “the system”... their bosses feel it and return the favour.”

‘Winning’ is replete with advice for people at all rungs of the corporate ladder. For people just starting their careers, a very important tip from Welch:

“I would describe the wy woek-life balance as an old fashioned chit system. People with great performance accumulate chits, which can be traded with flexibility. The more chits you have, the greater your opportunity to work where and how you want.”

In short, no one is ‘entitled’ to anything – you have to earn the trust and respect of your boss, just as he/ she has to earn yours. Far too many young people joining the workforce today aren’t really recognizing this fundamental principle.

Also, if you keep hopping from job to job – because today the environment allows that – you never really accumulate enough of those chits.
 
'A rewarding career in hospitality and culinary arts' reads the headline of an ad for a hotel management institute. One of many hundreds which have sprung up all over India.

You would think, yes, there is a huge demand for hotel management professionals. And chefs in particular, looking at the rise of speciality restaurants and their exotic offerings. At truly exotic prices!
 
wow raj......2 gud n sincere efforts reflected....as m new in MP..as in 1 week old....it vl take 4 me 2 go through all da artilcles bt da 1s i read where really impressive.......

gr8 goin Boss.... u doin a real nice job in here.....really really v impressed..!!!!

deya
 
7 surprises

As a newly minted CEO, you may think you finally have the power to set strategy, the authority to make things happen, and full access to the finer points of your business. But if you expect the job to be as simple as that, you're in for an awakening. Even though you bear full responsibility for your company's well-being, you are a few steps removed from many of the factors that drive results. You have more power than anybody else in the corporation, but you need to use it with extreme caution. In their workshops for new CEOs, held at Harvard Business School in Boston, the authors have discovered that nothing--not even running a large business within the company--fully prepares a person to be the chief executive.

The seven most common surprises are:

You can't run the company.

Giving orders is very costly.

It is hard to know what is really going on.

You are always sending a message.

You are not the boss.

Pleasing shareholders is not the goal.

You are still only human.

These surprises carry some important and subtle lessons. First, you must learn to manage organizational context rather than focus on daily operations. Second, you must recognize that your position does not confer the right to lead, nor does it guarantee the loyalty of the organization. Finally, you must remember that you are subject to a host of limitations, even though others might treat you as omnipotent. How well and how quickly you understand, accept, and confront the seven surprises will have a lot to do with your success or failure as a CEO.
 
Hey Raj,
U have been impressive............... the topics that u have come up in ur post are just amazing................. Mind blowing.......... keep ur idias floating
 
Although companies devote considerable time and money to managing their sales forces, few focus much thought on how the structure of the sales force needs to change over the life cycle of a product or a business. However, the organization and goals of a sales operation have to evolve as businesses start up, grow, mature, and decline if a company wants to keep winning the race for customers. Specifically, firms must consider and alter four factors over time: the differing roles that internal salespeople and external selling partners should play, the size of the sales force, its degree of specialization, and how salespeople apportion their efforts among different customers, products, and activities. These variables are critical because they determine how quickly sales forces respond to market opportunities, influence sales reps' performance, and affect companies' revenues, costs, and profitability. In this article, the authors use time-series data and cases to explain how, at each stage, firms can best tackle the relevant issues and get the most out of their sales forces. During start-up, smart companies focus on how big their sales staff should be and on whether they can depend on selling partners. In the growth phase, they concentrate on getting the sales force's degree of specialization and size right. When businesses hit maturity, companies should better allocate existing resources and hire more general-purpose salespeople. Finally, as organizations go into decline, wise sales leaders reduce sales force size and use partners to keep the business afloat for as long as possible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top