How to Reward Employees When Your Budget Is Tight

7 low-cost ways to make sure your employees are happy, healthy workers

Happy employees are more productive employees. The power of that happiness was made clear by a Sears, Roebuck and Co. survey of 800 stores that showed when employee attitudes improved by 5 percent, customer satisfaction rose 1.3 percent and revenue grew 0.5 percent. In a tight economy, many business owners believe they don't have the means to make their employees happy because they can't increase their salaries. While all of us want and appreciate salary increases, money is not the only, or even the best, motivator. According to several studies, as long as we are paid competitively, or even close to competitively, the money issue is not the deciding factor in whether we remain at a job and how enthusiastically and competently we do that job.

According to a "National Study of the Changing Workforce" conducted by the Families and Work Institute of New York City, the factor that ranked highest for the surveyed employees when it came to choosing their jobs was "open communication." People want to know what is happening in the organizations they work for! In the same survey, salary ranked 16th. Gerald Graham, a professor of management at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, evaluated 65 potential incentives in a study of 1,500 employees. The winning incentive was "personalized, instant recognition from managers"; second was a letter of praise for good performance.

As Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a management consultant based in Cambridge, Massachusetts put it, "Compensation is a right; recognition is a gift." And therein lies the power of recognition: Everyone loves gifts.

Here are some tips for rewarding employees even on a tight budget :

Personally thank an employee for a specific job well-done . Specify what was good about it and why you appreciate it, which tells the employee you do pay attention. For example, say: "Thank you, Jim, for organizing that project so well. You made it very clear what should happen, when and why."

Put that specific praise in a letter or thank-you note. When you take the time to write something down, you clearly value it. This makes the praise even more meaningful. When appropriate, copy the employee's manager on your praise letter. Sharing the praise with management lets the employee know you support his or her success at your company.

Provide as much information as possible about the company. Share as much as you can about how the company is doing, where it's making money, where it's losing money, how its products are doing in the marketplace, what new initiatives are being considered and why, and how the employee can best contribute to these efforts.

At every opportunity, include your employees in the decisions you make. In many cases, your employees understand a side of an issue that you may not. If you need to create a more efficient delivery system, ask your delivery men and women how they would improve the current system. If you want to improve work flow for support staff, discuss with your secretaries and clerical workers how to best keep the work flowing. Use their ideas, and give them credit for them.

Give employees the opportunity to learn as many new skills as they are able to. Most people like to learn, to grow, and to improve their marketability, and the more skills you enable your employees to learn, the more they will value their position with you. Cross-train whenever possible so employees know each other's jobs. An added benefit is that employees who understand the realities of one another's positions are more willing to cooperate and feel more like members of the same team.

Celebrate successes. Celebrate an employee's successful completion of a project, a salesperson's landing a big client, your company's improved sales figures, your organization's successful year-end. After a particularly tense week, bring donuts and coffee and gather everyone together to applaud a hard-working team. Provide balloons and noisemakers for a rousing chorus of cheers for the completion of a difficult project. Buy a plastic crown at a party store to place on the head of an employee who mastered a difficult skill or finished a course of study. Mark the successes of your staff and celebrate them. Don't be afraid to be goofy in your celebration; it's a refreshing change from hard work.

Provide free time and flexibility. Set aside an hour here and there for employees who have delivered an extra level of work. Make it clear that the free time is a reward for a specific accomplishment, such as finishing a challenging project or delivering month-end reports early. Alternatively, you can reward all your employees together, for example, by letting them leave an hour early to miss rush-hour traffic on a day of expected heavy traffic. Give extra time for lunch to an employee or team who has worked through lunch to deliver something to a client. Allow time off for personal or family responsibilities.
Admittedly, these rewards are not entirely free. They require time and energy to implement, sometimes a few dollars for donuts or a plastic crown. However, your investment will be rewarded by happier, more dedicated employees who make it their job to make you and your company more successful. It's a classic win-win situation.

Check ur stress

Check this out.
Rather amazing , actually.
The pictures attached are used to test the level of stress a person can handle. One teacher said, "I felt like they were all moving...but slowly. Kind of like, they were breathing." The slower the pictures move, the better your ability of handling stress. Alleged criminals that were tested see them spinning around madly; however, senior citizens and kids see them standing still. FYI ... None of these images are animated - they are perfectly static!

Think and Then Act

by Sandy Karn

Think and then act!  That is good advice, yet some of us fail
to give adequate thought to what we are about to do and others
among us may get stuck in our thoughts and fail to get around
to acting.  

D´s and I´s tend to move quickly to action without taking time
to adequately think about what they are about to do. D´s are
focused on the end results. They know exactly what they want
and they realize that the only way to get those results is to
take action to make it happen. They prefer to act now and to
deal with the consequences later.   

I´s tend to move quickly to get other people involved as much
as possible. If there are people available, they tend to get
them involved even if they are not quite sure what to do or
what the results may be.   

High C´s and S´s tend to get caught up in thinking. C´s like
to look at the big picture. They try to anticipate all the
possible consequences of their actions. They also want to be
sure that they have the necessary data and that they are not
overlooking anything that may affect the outcome.   

S´s tend to spend a lot of time on preparation. They like to
have a detailed plan of action, with all necessary materials
and resources right at hand. They also think about all the
things that could possibly go wrong.   

Whenever you undertake something significant, I encourage you
to call upon all four of these tendencies within you. Take
time
to gather all the relevant data that is available, develop a
solid plan, and think through the consequences of your actions
for everyone concerned. Then take decisive action, involving
others whenever appropriate.  

Your goal:

To take time to think about any significant undertaking and
then to take decisive action to obtain your desired results. 

The result:

You will avoid disastrous results and missed opportunities.
You
will make steady progress toward obtaining the results you
truly desire. 

Your assignment:

The next time you are about to undertake something
significant,
take time before you begin to develop a reasonably detailed
plan, line up the necessary equipment and resources, and
consider the probable consequences for yourself and others.
Then take decisive action to implement your plan, involving
others whenever possible in ways that are meaningful and
appropriate for them. 

Wishing You the Very Best!

Sandy Karn

Training...Training...Training...May Be..., Can Be..., Or 'is' The Solution !!!

by NP Chandrashekhar, CHA, MHCIMA

 

One idea leads to various ideas. Normally, leading ideas are given importance and the idea that led to new ideas is not recognized or given importance. Training leads to various new ideas in the minds of employees. An electrical spark can burn the entire building, similarly training can trigger the mind to generate enormous amount of ideas that are stored in a person. Training may change a person in terms of attitude, behavior, efficiency and effectiveness, generation of ideas, creativity and innovation. Training is a tool to transform a person to suit the needs of the business where one is working. All those who join an organization are not aware of the policies, practices, procedures, standards and other requirement of the business although they may have experience elsewhere in a different set-up and situations. In hotels the training is of paramount importance in order achieve the uniform practices and to achieve the set standards of service.

The need for training has to start from analyzing the requirement of the training needs based on the established standards of service. Training of the junior staff, middle-management and senior-management are not the same. One has to identify the training needs at different levels of the organization. Once this is done, one can formulate the training program for each level. Choosing of the trainer has to be done cautiously depending on the needs and the talent required for training. Correct methodology has to be identified and adopted for each levels of training. Hence, it is important to understand the training cycle.

Training cycle consists of the following components:

1. Assessment of the need
2. Identify training objectives
3. Establish training criteria
4. Selection of trainees
5. Pretest trainees – if required
6. Choose training methods
7. Implement training
8. Evaluation of training program

The need for training starts when there is discrepancy between the desired out-come of the results as against what really happens. Many a time these discrepancies are not mentioned by the guest themselves but identified by the managers. Examples of these are room cleanliness, time taken for check-in and check-out, time taken for room service etc. When there are too many complaints one will come to know of the need for training. Based on these discrepancies, training objectives have to be established. These objectives have to be clearly defined, such as aiming at improving services or aiming at increasing effectiveness or aiming at improving productivity or aiming at reduction of costs or aiming at changing the standards of service etc.

Training criteria are the benchmark set to measure the effectiveness by the hospitality managers. Next step would be to select the trainees by doing the pre-test if required. Trainees can be current employees or newly recruited employees who will benefit from the training. Testing the knowledge, skills and ability of the employee before the training begins one can evaluate the effectiveness of the training program after. Next step would be to choose the right methodology to implement the training process.

Once the training is over, evaluation of the training program has to be done to know the effectiveness of the training. Most managers seldom do the evaluation of the training program. One has to verify what was being done and what change has taken place due to training and its effectiveness in terms of job satisfaction, guest satisfaction, cost reduction etc. depending on the training objective.

Employee turnover is very high in the hospitality industry due to various reasons. When the personnel leave the organization, new recruitment is done. The newly recruited staff may not have adequate experience or familiar with the policies, practices and procedures of the new organization. Especially when bench mark jobs become vacant, it affects the standard of services to the guests to a great extent. Training of the staff becomes very important before actually they start servicing the guests.

The needs of the business are changing everyday due to life style and technology. In order to be in the industry, one has to be aware of the changes that are taking place in the market. To service the changing need of the guest calls for training of personnel as well. The need for training becomes important due to various reasons, such as, changes in life style of the guests, to adopt to new technology, new recruitment, Promotions, Changes in standards of service, to improve productivity and effectiveness, to reduce costs, to improve sales and so on and so forth.

Training is an important aspect of career development. It gives an employee motivation and a sense of belonging. Well trained employees would be happy to do their work very effectively and efficiently. Normally, in a good organization along with promotions an employee would be given training to learn the requisites of the newly promoted job requirement. These kinds of trainings are mainly devoted to develop managerial skills in a person and are generally called career development or career planning. The idea of these trainings are to increase managerial performance, enhance job satisfaction or improve knowledge, skills and abilities and also helps in identifying strengths, weakness and interests.

In large group of hotels, training becomes a continuous process. The hiring, terminations, resignations, promotions etc. takes place very frequently. The Human Resources Department will be busy all the time in the process of recruitment and selection. Man power planning becomes very important in these organizations. They have to keep large amount of personnel data in order to cater to the man power requirement of various departments. Once the selection is done, they need the selected employees to be prepared for training before they actually start their job. To be cost effective, the training has to be done in co-ordination with man power planning. With the experience, Human Resources Manager would be able to assess the number of terminations, resignation and recruitment takes place periodically.

In small hotels, training is always done during the course of their job. Off the job training are very rare in small hotels due to the high cost of training. However, training can be done periodically in such hotels through consultants only to the specific needs. In many small hotels, the existing employee or supervisor gives on the job training to the newly recruited staff. Still the training continues to be the perennial process even in small hotels.

Many hotels give very little importance for training due to the high cost involved. Although training by a professional trainer is expensive, benefits derived out of such investment is invaluable. Well trained employees would be able to serve the guests better and ultimately that results in good reputation and shows the results in financial statements as well. Employee training and development is one of the most important functions of the personnel management. In hospitality industry training becomes a very important function as the job demands for the guest interaction at all levels of management. Training helps in team building, uniform thinking, establishment of standards and conformance. All this ultimately results in guest satisfaction. The goal of the training is "Guest Satisfaction".

Human Resources are the biggest asset of any organization. Retaining good and highly motivated employees is a big challenge. Employees are motivated not only because of their pay package they get, they also look at various other direct and indirect benefits they get from the organization such as, good boss, training, working atmosphere, career development, class of the hotel and other benefits. Training helps in team building and bringing the entire organization together. One has to realize that success of any organization depends on the coordination and cooperation of all the departments. Training helps in creating and retaining such organization! Do you think training is the only solution for your organization?

 

[Written by NP Chandrashekhar, Group Financial Controller, Chelsea Group, Dubai.]

Management Lessons

Matters/Administration
It's a fine sunny day in the forest, and a rabbit is sitting  outside his burrow, tippy-tapping on his typewriter.  Along comes a fox, out for a walk.  Fox: "What are you working on?"
Rabbit: "My thesis."
Fox: "Hmm... What is it about?"
Rabbit: "Oh, I'm writing about how rabbits eat foxes."
Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that rabbits don't eat  foxes!"
Rabbit: "Come with me and I'll show you!"
They both disappear into the rabbit's burrow. After few minutes, gnawing on a fox bone, the rabbit returns to his typewriter and resumes typing.
Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the hardworking rabbit.  
Wolf: "What's that you are writing?"
Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves."
Wolf: "You don't expect to get such rubbish published, do you?"
Rabbit: "No problem. Do you want to see why?"
The rabbit and the wolf go into the burrow and again the rabbit returns by himself, after a few minutes, and goes back to typing.!
Finally a bear comes along and asks, "What are you doing?
Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat bears."
Bear: "Well that's absurd!
Rabbit: "Come into my home and I'll show you"
As they enter the burrow, the rabbit introduces the bear to the lion.
Moral:
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW SILLY YOUR THESIS TOPIC IS.
WHAT MATTERS IS WHO YOU HAVE FOR A SUPERVISOR.
In the context of the working world:
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW BAD YOUR PERFORMANCE IS; WHAT MATTERS IS WHETHER YOUR BOSS LIKES YOU?
-------------------------------------------------
Two camels (a mother and a baby) were lazing around, when suddenly baby camel said.
Baby: "Mother, mother, can I ask  you some question?"
Mother: "Sure! why son, is there something bothering you?"
Baby: "Why do camel have humps?"
Mother: "Well son, we are desert animals, we need the  humps to store  water and we are known to survive without water."
Baby: "Okay, then why are our legs long and our feet  rounded?"
"Son, obviously they are meant for walking in the desert. You know with these legs I can move around the desert better than anyone", said the mother proudly.
Baby:"Okay, said baby camel. "then why are our eye lashes long? Sometimes it is bothering my sight." said baby camel.
Mother: "My son, those long thick eye lashes are your  protective cover. They help to protect your eyes from the desert sand and  wind." said mother camel with eyes  brimming with pride.
Baby: "I see. So the hump is to store water when we are in the desert, the legs are for walking through the desert and these eye lashes protects my eyes from the desert. Then what the hell are we doing  here in a zoo???
The Moral of the Story :
Skills, Knowledge, Abilities and Experience are only useful if the management gives opportunity!!
---------------------------------------------------
It's a fine sunny day in the forest, and a lion is sitting outside his cave, lying lazily in the sun.
Along comes a fox, out on a walk.
Fox: "Do you know the time, because my watch is broken?"
Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix the watch for you"
Fox: "Hmm. But it's a very complicated mechanism, and
your great claws will only destroy it even more"
Lion: "Oh no, give it to me, and it will be fixed"
Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that lazy lions with great claws cannot fix complicated watches"
Lion: "Sure they do, give it to me and it will be fixed"
The lion disappears into his cave, and after a while he comes back with the watch which is running perfectly.The fox is impressed, and the lion continues to lie lazily in the sun, looking very pleased with himself.
Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the lazy lion in the sun.
Wolf: "Can I come and watch TV tonight with you, because mine is broken? "
Lion: "Oh, I can easily fix your TV for you"
Wolf: "You don't expect me to believe such rubbish, do you? There is no way that a lazy lion with big claws can fix a complicated TV."
Lion: "No problem. Do you want to try it?"
The lion goes into his cave, and aftaer a while comes back with a perfectly fixed TV. The wolf goes away happily and amazed.
Scene: Inside the lion's cave. In one corner are half a dozen small and intelligent looking rabbits who are busily doing very complicated work with very delicate instruments. In the other corner lies a huge lion looking very pleased with himself.
Moral:
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY A SUPERVISOR IS FAMOUS, LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES.
In the context of the working world:
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY SOMEONE UNDESERVED IS PROMOTED, LOOK AT THE WORK OF HIS SUBORDINATES.

International Business Etiquette

Working in foreign countries means working with foreign cultures. International business etiquette allows people to build better and longer lasting business relationships.

"To have respect for ourselves guides our morals; and to have a deference for others governs our manners." Lawrence Sterne, Irish novelist & satirist (1713 - 1768)

Etiquette, or good manners, is an important part of our day to day lives. Whether we realise it or not we are always subconsciously adhering to rules of etiquette. Much of the time these are unwritten; for example giving up your seat to a lady or elderly person, queuing for a bus in an orderly fashion according to who arrived first or simply saying "please" or "thank you". All are examples of etiquette; complex unwritten rules that reflect a culture's values.

Etiquette accomplishes many tasks. However, the one noteworthy function that etiquette does perform is that it shows respect and deference to another. By doing so it maintains good interpersonal relationships. Ultimately, it could be argued, etiquette is about making sure that when people mix together there are rules of interaction in place that ensure their communication, transaction or whatever it may be goes smoothly.

We all know how we or others feel when a lack of etiquette is shown. If someone jumps the queue, does not thank you for holding the door open for them or forgets to shake your hand, we naturally feel disrespected and perturbed.

International Business Etiquette

Keeping the above points in mind, now consider the complexities of working on the international stage. Modern business is global and demands people travel to foreign countries and mix with foreign clients, colleagues or customers. Each one of those cultures will also have their own etiquette rules, many of them unwritten. When two or more different cultures mix, it is easy for small etiquette mistakes to be made that could have negative consequences. Just as you may have felt annoyed when a foreign businessman did not shake your hands upon greeting you, imagine how your Chinese client must have felt when you wrote on his business card or your Indian colleague reacted when you flatly rejected an offer of a meal. Sometimes, not understanding the etiquette of another culture means you show a lack of manners and as Lawrence Sterne said, a lack of deference. This can and does lead to soured relationships, lost deals and in the end poor business results. Anyone working on the international stage needs to understand international business etiquette.

International business etiquette manifests in many shapes and sizes. Throughout the world people from different cultures have varying etiquette rules around areas such as personal space, communication, gift giving, food, business meetings and much more. For those wanting to make a good impression and understanding of international business etiquette is crucial. By way of introducing some of the key areas within international business etiquette we shall look at the following common areas...

Business Card Etiquette:
When you exchange business cards (even if you exchange them) do you simply pass it over and forget about it? In many countries the business card has certain etiquette rules. For example in the Arab world you would never give or receive a business card with your left hand. In China and Japan you should try and use both hands to give and receive. In addition it is always good etiquette to examine the card and make a positive comment on it. Whereas in the UK it may be OK to sling the business card into a pocket, in many countries you should always treat it with much more respect such as storing it in a business card holder.

The Etiquette of Personal Space:
How close do you stand to people? Is it impolite to touch somebody? What about gender differences? In the Middle East you may get very touchy-feely with the men, yet one should never touch a woman. A slap on the back may be OK in Mexico but in China it is a serious no-no. Touch someone on the head in Thailand or Indonesia and you would have caused great insult. Without an appreciation of international business etiquette, these things would never be known.

The Etiquette of Gift Giving:
Many countries such as China and Japan have many etiquette rules surrounding the exchange of business gifts. International business etiquette allows you an insight into what to buy, how to give a gift, how to receive, whether to open in front of the giver and what gifts not to buy. Great examples of gifts to avoid are anything alcoholic in Muslim countries, anything with four of anything in Japan and clocks in China.

The Etiquette of Communication:
Some cultures like to talk loudly (US and Germany), some softly (India and China); some speak directly (Holland and Denmark) others indirectly (UK and Japan); some tolerate interrupting others while speaking (Brazil) others not (Canada); some are very blunt (Greece) and some very flowery (Middle East). All will believe the way they are communicating is fine, but when transferred into an international context this no longer applies. Without the right international business etiquette it is easy to offend.

By way of conclusion we can state that etiquette helps maintain good relations with people. When dealing with people from a shared culture, everyone knows the rules and there is not much to think about. Those that lack etiquette are branded as uncouth and rude. However, this is not the same when working on the international stage. Someone may very well come across as being rude through a lack of etiquette but this may be because in their culture that behaviour is normal. As a result international business etiquette is a key skill for those wanting to be successful when working abroad. Through a great appreciation and understanding of others' cultures you build stronger and longer lasting business relationships.

  [Source: Consultants United / Author: Unknown]

Ten Qualities of an Effective Team Player !!

If you had the opportunity to start a new team and select anyone from your organization to be on it, who would you pick? Assuming that people have the right technical skills for the work to be done, what other factors would you use to select your team members?

Teams need strong team players to perform well. But what defines such people? Read on.

Demonstrates reliability

You can count on a reliable team member who gets work done and does his fair share to work hard and meet commitments. He or she follows through on assignments. Consistency is key. You can count on him or her to deliver good performance all the time, not just some of the time.

Communicates constructively

Teams need people who speak up and express their thoughts and ideas clearly, directly, honestly, and with respect for others and for the work of the team. That's what it means to communicate constructively. Such a team member does not shy away from making a point but makes it in the best way possible — in a positive, confident, and respectful manner.

Listens actively

Good listeners are essential for teams to function effectively. Teams need team players who can absorb, understand, and consider ideas and points of view from other people without debating and arguing every point. Such a team member also can receive criticism without reacting defensively. Most important, for effective communication and problem solving, team members need the discipline to listen first and speak second so that meaningful dialogue results.

Functions as an active participant

Good team players are active participants. They come prepared for team meetings and listen and speak up in discussions. They're fully engaged in the work of the team and do not sit passively on the sidelines.

Team members who function as active participants take the initiative to help make things happen, and they volunteer for assignments. Their whole approach is can-do: "What contribution can I make to help the team achieve success?"

Shares openly and willingly

Good team players share. They're willing to share information, knowledge, and experience. They take the initiative to keep other team members informed.

Much of the communication within teams takes place informally. Beyond discussion at organized meetings, team members need to feel comfortable talking with one another and passing along important news and information day-to-day. Good team players are active in this informal sharing. They keep other team members in the loop with information and expertise that helps get the job done and prevents surprises.

Cooperates and pitches in to help

Cooperation is the act of working with others and acting together to accomplish a job. Effective team players work this way by second nature. Good team players, despite differences they may have with other team members concerning style and perspective, figure out ways to work together to solve problems and get work done. They respond to requests for assistance and take the initiative to offer help.

Exhibits flexibility

Teams often deal with changing conditions — and often create changes themselves. Good team players roll with the punches; they adapt to ever-changing situations. They don't complain or get stressed out because something new is being tried or some new direction is being set.

In addition, a flexible team member can consider different points of views and compromise when needed. He or she doesn't hold rigidly to a point of view and argue it to death, especially when the team needs to move forward to make a decision or get something done. Strong team players are firm in their thoughts yet open to what others have to offer — flexibility at its best.

Works as a problem-solver

Teams, of course, deal with problems. Sometimes, it appears, that's the whole reason why a team is created — to address problems. Good team players are willing to deal with all kinds of problems in a solutions-oriented manner. They're problem-solvers, not problem-dwellers, problem-blamers, or problem-avoiders. They don't simply rehash a problem the way problem-dwellers do. They don't look for others to fault, as the blamers do. And they don't put off dealing with issues, the way avoiders do.

Team players get problems out in the open for discussion and then collaborate with others to find solutions and form action plans.

Treats others in a respectful and supportive manner

Team players treat fellow team members with courtesy and consideration — not just some of the time but consistently. In addition, they show understanding and the appropriate support of other team members to help get the job done. They don't place conditions on when they'll provide assistance, when they'll choose to listen, and when they'll share information. Good team players also have a sense of humor and know how to have fun (and all teams can use a bit of both), but they don't have fun at someone else's expense. Quite simply, effective team players deal with other people in a professional manner.

Shows commitment to the team

Strong team players care about their work, the team, and the team's work. They show up every day with this care and commitment up front. They want to give a good effort, and they want other team members to do the same.

Team players who show commitment don't come in any particular style or personality. They don't need to be rah-rah, cheerleader types. In fact, they may even be soft-spoken, but they aren't passive. They care about what the team is doing and they contribute to its success — without needing a push.

Team players with commitment look beyond their own piece of the work and care about the team's overall work. In the end, their commitment is about winning — not in the sports sense of beating your opponent but about seeing the team succeed and knowing they have contributed to this success. Winning as a team is one of the great motivators of employee performance. Good team players have and show this motivation.

 

 

Lucy Doss
Manager - Training Coordination (Singapore)
Oscar Murphy Life Strategists P Ltd
772, 10th Cross, 10th Main, Indira Nagar 2nd Stage
Bangalore - 560038, India
Phone: 91 80 5116 1534 / 35
Email: omls@oscarmurphy.com
WEB:  www.oscarmurphy.com

Stories That Inspire - The Red Rose and the Cactus !!

One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. Many kinds of trees and plants grew there. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, What a beautiful flower. I wish I was that lovely. Another tree said, Dear pine, do not be sad, we can not have everything.

The rose turned its head and remarked, It seems that I am the most beautiful plant in this forest. A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, Why do you say that In this forest there are many beautiful plants. You are just one of them. The red rose replied, I see everyone looking at me and admiring me. Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, Look at that ugly plant full of thorns! The pine tree said, Red rose, what kind of talk is this Who can say what beauty is You have thorns too.

The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, I thought you had good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You can not compare my thorns to that of the cactus.

What a proud flower, thought the trees. The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not move. As the days passed, the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things, like This plant is useless How sorry I am to be his neighbor.

The cactus never got upset and he even tried to advise the rose, saying, We weren't created without a purpose. Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in the forest, as the plants and animals needed water and no rain fell. The red rose began to wilt. One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away, refreshed. This was puzzling, and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds got water from the cactus. Does it not hurt when they make holes asked the rose.

Yes, but the cactus does not like to see any birds suffer, replied the pine. The rose opened its eyes in wonder and said, The cactus has water Yes you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help.

The red rose felt too ashamed of its past words and behavior to ask for water from the cactus, but then it finally did ask the cactus for help. The cactus kindly agreed and the birds filled their beaks with water and watered the rose's roots. Thus the rose learned a lesson and never judged anyone by their appearance again. Also we too should learn a lesson that we should never be too proud of what we do, and never carry high egos especially in work place, what one has knowledge the other would not be familiar on tat but we should always be willing to learn rather than carry our egos.

Author Unknown

Appraisal and Resignation

 

A newly joined trainee engineer asks his boss "what is the meaning of appraisal?"

Boss: "Do you know the meaning of resignation?"

Trainee: "Yes I do"

Boss: "So let me make you understand what a appraisal is by comparing it with resignation"

Comparison study: Appraisal and Resignation

Appraisal	Resignation
In appraisal meeting they will speak only about your weakness, errors and failures.	In resignation meeting they will speak only about your strengths, past achievements and success.
In appraisal you may need to cry and beg for even 10% hike.	In resignation you can easily demand (or get even without asking) more than 50-60% hike.
During appraisal, they will deny promotion saying you didn't meet the expectation, you don't have leadership qualities, and you had several drawbacks in our objective/goal.	During resignation, they will say you are the core member of team; you are the vision of the company how can you go, you have to take the project in shoulder and lead your juniors to success.
There is 90% chance for not getting any significant incentives after appraisal.	There is 90% chance of getting immediate hike after you put the resignation.

Trainee: "Yes boss enough, now I understood my future. For an appraisal I will have to resign ... !!!"

Choosing the right business partner..

Let's face it: in today's corporate world, getting funds is not really a problem. The Indian market is flooded with money for anyone who comes up with good ideas.

 

Of course, in the struggling phase, a new businessman may think his idea is not good. However, if he strongly believes in his own concept and continues to put in efforts, the situation will change eventually. He will even get many people who are ready to finance his company.

 

This is when opportunities crop up for getting a new and financially stronger partner. However when such offers come flooding in, the challenge is to choose the right partner.

 

Chanakya advices,

 

"If situated between two stronger kings, he should seek shelter with one capable of protecting him" ( 7.2.13)

 

 

So when multiple partners arrive with a lot of money and even experience, you should be very alert and cool-headed. After all, a wrong choice can ruin the business that you have created from starch.

 

To make the correct choice, one should be able to evaluate strengths and only then tie up with the one who is strongest. Here are a few tips to determine who would be the right partner.

 

1. CONSIDER YOUR VALUES

 

Business is about values you follow. Each person puts his feelings, hopes and emotions in building the organisation. When a new partner comes, it is important to consider if your values and his values match. Both the parties should have the same wave length in thinking.

 

2. THE LONG-TERM APPROACH

 

At times, one may impulsively accept funds when it's readily available. But consider all possibilities, and have a long term approach before you tie up with anyone. Otherwise it is like a person who was not getting married for a long time. As soon someone says "YES", he jumped into the wedlock, only to realise later that it was the greatest blunder of his life! So check all the credentials with known sources before the partnership becomes an agreement. It may take some more time – but you will be a winner in the long run.

 

3. ITS NOT JUST MONEY

 

Partnerships are not just about money. It is not just plain give-and-take. In fact, it is about a life-long relationship that needs to be built upon. So, as Stephen covey says in his book, 'Seven Habits of highly effective people', "….you need to develop an emotional bank account". You will have to spend time with your partners regularly. It is necessary to communicate with them so that the relationship builds beyond just business transactions.

 

Remember, every business story is a story of team work and having the right team with you. No wonder then that choosing the right team members is highly important to win the game.

Two Heads Are Better than One!

How to Accelerate Your Success with a Mastermind Group

We all know that two heads are better than one when it comes to solving a problem or creating a result. So imagine having a permanent group of five or six people who meet every week for the purpose of problem solving, brainstorming, networking, and encouraging and motivating each other!

This process is called masterminding and is one of the most effective success tools you can adopt! It is a powerful way to support your dreams and bring unlimited resources to your business and personal life.

Participating in a mastermind group has been critical to me. I can't imagine achieving all I have without one, and it certainly made my goals happen much faster.

A Process for Accelerating Your Growth

The basic philosophy of a mastermind group is that more can be achieved in less time when people work together. Sometimes called a "dream team" your mastermind group is made up of two or more individuals who voluntarily come together on a regular basis - weekly, biweekly, or monthly - to share ideas, thoughts, information, feedback and resources.

Your group can be composed of people from your own industry or profession or people from all walks of life. You can focus on business, increasing each other's income, building a business, raising better kids, or solving a social problem.

Within your mastermind group, you benefit from the other members who empower you and draw out your full talents, resources and abilities. They trigger you, stimulate and motivate you to become all you are capable of being.

Creating Your Dream Team

Regardless of its purpose, the key is to choose people who are already where you'd like to be in your life - or who are at least a level above you. In forming your mastermind group, start by carefully enrolling another friendly, on-purpose, like-minded individual. Start by meeting together and then adding other selected, unanimously agreed-upon individuals who will work in total harmony for the good of each other and for the good of the group.

1. Your Dream Team should consist of 4-8 people. Most people find that 6 is the ideal number.

2. Meet weekly, if possible, for an hour to an hour and a half. This meeting must be held sacred as a life-enhancing priority. The meetings should be upbeat, enriching, encouraging and beneficial to each individual and the group's purposes. I always start our meetings with a prayer or an invocation. You could also start with an inspiring story.

3. Each member must agree to play all out -- to openly share ideas, support, contacts, information, feedback, and anything else that will help advance the individual and group goals.

4. Start by having each member share something positive and good that happened since the last meeting.

5. Next, have each member share an opportunity or problem they have experienced since the last meeting and ask for whatever support they would like on it. Appoint a time-keeper to make sure that everyone gets the same amount of time. This is important if you want your group to last. Everyone must get value at each meeting.

6. End by sharing appreciations and acknowledgements.

You'll find one of the real values of a mastermind group is the accountability factor - other members checking up on you to make sure you meet your stated commitments. It's one way to ensure you'll accomplish a lot more!

Look Where You're Going

by Sandy Karn Sandy@profnet.org

It is certainly important to look where you are walking. It is
even more important to look where you are going with your life.
In other words, you want to keep your eye on your objectives.

Many people tend to spend a lot of time looking back on where
they have been. Some focus on some positive things that
happened in the past that they feel they may not be able to
match in the future. Dwelling on the past makes them feel good
at the moment; however it causes them to miss all the
opportunities that exist ahead of them.

Others tend to dwell upon past mistakes, failures, and
shortcomings, seeing them as a reason that they may be unable
to succeed in the present. A brief glance at past missteps can
be valuable when used as an opportunity to learn from our
mistakes and not repeat them. Dwelling on them, however, is a
recipe for failure.

To succeed you need to look ahead to where you want to go
and to whom you want to become.

Although you always want to look ahead, you also need to
look down. Imagine walking in a desert with a majestic hill
directly in front of you. You certainly want to focus on that hill to
keep up your motivation to reach it. If you keep your eyes
focused only on the top of the hill, you will probably never
complete your journey.

You also need to look down to see where you are walking. You
want to avoid objects that may be in your path and will cause
you to stumble and fall. In life, too, you want to look down to
your very next step while maintaining your overall focus on
your ultimate objective.

Your goal:

To keep focused on your objectives and your immediate
actions.

The result:

You will move more quickly and easily toward your desired
outcomes and objectives.

Your assignment:

Notice any time you find yourself looking back to past events
in your life. If they are positive events, are you using them as
motivators and quickly moving on? If they are negative
events, are you using them to learn what to avoid or do
differently in the future and then moving on? If you find
yourself stuck in the past, push yourself to take some
immediate action to start moving ahead with your life.

Wishing You the Very Best!

Sandy Karn

Priorities

This is a list generated in the USA.

One can be sure that every country has similar situations!

1. Only in America......CAN A PIZZA GET TO YOUR HOUSE FASTER
THAN AN AMBULANCE.
2. Only in America......are there handicap parking places in front of
a skating rink.
3. Only in America......do drugstores make the sick walk all the way
to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy
people can buy cigarettes at the front.
4. Only in America......do people order double cheeseburgers, large
fries, and a diet coke.
5. Only in America......do banks leave both doors open and then chain
the pens to the counters. 
6. Only in America......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars
in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
7. Only in America......do we use answering machines to screen calls
and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we
didn't want to talk to in the first place.
8. Only in America......do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and
buns in packages of eight.
9. Only in America......do we use the word 'politics' to describe the
process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning
'bloodsucking creatures'.
10. Only in America......do they have drive-up ATM  machines with
Braille lettering.

Enhance Customer Loyalty to Gain More

Customer Loyalty - "It takes a lot less money to increase your retention of current customers than to find new ones-but I know I don't give it as much effort as I should because it does take a lot of energy and effort!"

 

Strategize And Plan For Loyalty!
Do you even have a specific plan for building customer loyalty?

I bet you haven't given it as much thought as you should- because to tell the truth I need to give it more effort also.

If you currently retain 70 percent of your customers and you start a program to improve that to 80 percent, you'll add an additional 10 percent to your growth rate.

Particularly because of the high cost of landing new customers versus the high profitability of a loyal customer base, you might want to reflect upon your current business strategy.

These four factors will greatly affect your ability to build a loyal customer base:

1. Products that are highly differentiated from those of the competition.
2. Higher-end products where price is not the primary buying factor.
3. Products with a high service component.
4. Multiple products for the same customer.

Market To Your Own Customers!
Giving a lot of thought to your marketing programs aimed at current customers is one aspect of building customer loyalty.

When you buy a new car, many dealers will within minutes try to sell you an extended warranty, an alarm system, and maybe rustproofing. It's often a very easy sale and costs the dealer almost nothing to make. Are there additional products or services you can sell your customers?

Three years ago my house was painted, and it's now due for another coat. Why hasn't the painter called or at least sent a card? It would be a lot less expensive than getting new customers through his newspaper ad, and since I was happy with his work I won't get four competing bids this time. Keep all the information you can on your customers and don't hesitate to ask for the next sale.

 

Use Complaints To Build Business!
When customers aren't happy with your business they usually won't complain to you - instead, they'll probably complain to just about everyone else they know - and take their business to your competition next time. That's why an increasing number of businesses are making follow-up calls or mailing satisfaction questionnaires after the sale is made. They find that if they promptly follow up and resolve a customer's complaint, the customer might be even more likely to do business than the average customer who didn't have a complaint.

 

In many business situations, the customer will have many more interactions after the sale with technical, service, or customer support people than they did with the sales people. So if you're serious about retaining customers or getting referrals, these interactions are the ones that are really going to matter. They really should be handled with the same attention and focus that sales calls get because in a way they are sales calls for repeat business.

 

Reach Out To Your Customers!
Contact . . . contact . . . contact with current customers is a good way to build their loyalty. The more the customer sees someone from your firm, the more likely you'll get the next order. Send Christmas cards, see them at trade shows, stop by to make sure everything's okay.

 

Send a simple newsletter to your customers-tell them about the great things that are happening at your firm and include some useful information for them. Send them copies of any media clippings about your firm. Invite them to free seminars. The more they know about you, the more they see you as someone out to help them, the more they know about your accomplishments-the more loyal a customer they will be.

 

Loyal Customers and Loyal Workforces
Building customer loyalty will be a lot easier if you have a loyal workforce-not at all a given these days. It is especially important for you to retain those employees who interact with customers such as sales people, technical support, and customer-service people. Many companies give a lot of attention to retaining sales people but little to support people. I've been fortunate to have the same great people in customer service for years-and the compliments from customers make it clear that they really appreciate specific people in our service function.

 

The increasing trend today is to send customer-service and technical-support calls into queue for the next available person. This builds no personal loyalty and probably less loyalty for the firm. Before you go this route, be sure this is what your customers prefer. Otherwise I'd assign a specific support person to every significant customer.

 

You can count on Oscar Murphy International to Help Empower Life Potential.

SREE NIDHI S K

Life Strategist, Business Coach & Change Agent

Oscar Murphy International P Ltd

Singapore & Bangalore

 

Email: sree@oscarmurphy.com

 

Web: www.oscarmurphy.com

Is 'The Peter Principle' Alive and Well In Our Industry?

by Lizz Chambers, CHA, CHE
 

 

Lisa sat in front of me wringing her hands and looking very uncomfortable. This once confident, driven, and passionate operations person was disappearing before my eyes. It was only two months ago that we had promoted her to Director of Sales for a select service hotel. Since then her performance had begun to slip. Her sales reports were never on time and getting her out of the office to make a sales call was like asking her to walk unarmed on to a battle field. I had never seen such fear and apprehension. I was at a loss.

Lisa had always excelled in guest service. She was outgoing, could convert a reservation inquiry with the best of them. In fact, her Mystery Shop scores were never below a perfect ten (10)! Over the front desk she was the ultimate sales person. She had been the Guest Service Manager for five years and excelled. We had felt that she should be rewarded and being the Director of Sales seemed to be the logical choice. When we asked her about the position, although she was initially hesitant, she accepted and seemed pleased that we had selected her. What happened?

When I asked Lisa to compare her current job performance with what she knew our expectations were of a Director of Sales, she began to cry; no, not just cry, she sobbed. She was well aware that she was not performing to standard and she absolutely "hated sales." She could not transfer her love of selling over the front desk and over the phone (when people called the hotel wanting what we had to offer) to telephone prospecting or offsite sales calls. We had promoted her to her level of incompetence. It wasn't that the position was 'more difficult'—it was simply that the position was different from the Guest Service Manager position in which she excelled. It required different skills and a different temperament both of which she did not possess. Does any of this sound familiar?

Knowing what we know as managers, why do we still convince ourselves that our best housekeeper will make an outstanding Executive Housekeeper or an outgoing Guest Service Associate will make a great outside sales person?

Is it that we truly believe that this person is our best candidate? Do we also find comfort in the fact that this person actually knows our company and there is a level of trust? Or is it simply an easy fix? The first option makes sense, as long as we have groomed this person to move up. The latter is unforgivable. Not only can you cost the company in lost profits…you can destroy a human being's self-confidence and possibly their career in the process.

What is the answer?

How do we keep Peter and his Principle from rearing its ugly head in our hotels? The answer is…Succession Planning. Succession Planning allows us to identify potential candidates within our hotels based on their traits and competencies. It allows us to develop a training schedule and assures us that once this person is promoted we are placing the right person in the right position. I know from experience that an effective Succession Plan is not easy to start or to maintain. However, once the plan is in place and a system for review and maintenance is devised the results are well worth the time and effort.

How do you start this process?

The following is a brief outline of questions you must ask prior to developing a Succession Plan:

• What positions do you want to include in your plan?
• Who are the key people on each property designated for succeeding to higher positions?
• What is their current level of experience?
• Who is able to relocate and who wants to move up within the same hotel?
• What was their ranking on their last review?
• What other candidates can you identify, either for future needs or to replace people who may have been included in your plan and left the company or did not work out as expected?

Design your Succession Plan to fit your Vision Statement.

Where do you want your Succession Plan 'Vision' to take your organization in two to five years, taking into consideration your current strategic plan?

• What will your organization look like in three to five years and what will your key people be doing then?
• What positions will you need to fill due to attrition, promotion, or expansion?
• What new competencies may the company require, and how will you train to ensure your candidates are ready for the challenge?

How will you get from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow?

• Who will be involved and what will each person be doing?
• When candidates enter the program, when will the process end and how will you judge their progress?
• What criteria will be used to determine each candidate's ongoing development and their readiness for promotion?
• How will you determine if a candidate is demonstrating progress toward meeting the requirements you have established?
• How will you determine if someone is not progressing, and what will you do to help that person continue their development?
• What will you offer those who do not meet the expectations within the program?

To be successful in this process you must establish goals, select candidates, establish training schedules, and monitor development. I am sorry to say that this program will not run itself once developed you must continually update your status, review your initial ideas about where you plan to go and how you plan to get there, and it may be necessary to modify your strategies and action plans.

Will you get it right 100% of the time?

It is not likely. But, you will get better as you complete this process on a regular basis. And hopefully the Lisa's of the world will not be crying in your office and instead be on their way to a successful career in operations where their passions and their abilities will benefit all.

I will be happy to share a few of our tools for Succession Planning if you email at the address below. After all, we are all in this together.

 

 

[Lizz Chambers conducts in-house training and training assistance for all properties managed by Newport Hospitality Group. She coordinates and conducts supervisory skills workshops to prepare supervisors to earn their certification through AH&LA's Educational Institute.]

The Office of Strategy Management

by Martha Lagace, Senior Editor, HBS Working Knowledge

Many organizations suffer a disconnect between strategy formulation and its execution. The answer? HBS professor Robert S. Kaplan and colleague Andrew Pateman argue for the creation of a new corporate office.
"Why is there such a persistent gap between ambition and performance?" ask Robert Kaplan and David P. Norton in " The Office of Strategy Management" in the October 2005 Harvard Business Review. "The gap arises, we believe, from a disconnect in most companies between strategy formulation and strategy execution. . . . [But] it doesn't have to be like this."
Successful companies, they write, are establishing a new corporate-level unit called the office of strategy management. This unit is distinctly different from the strategic planning unit and plays a unique coordinating role to help bring strategy to fruition.
For this e-mail Q&A, Kaplan, the Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School, teamed up with colleague Andrew Pateman, Principal of the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative.
Martha Lagace: You and David Norton have highlighted some troubling statistics about how strategy formulation is so often disconnected from strategy execution. What is an office of strategy management, and when and why is it needed? What are its typical activities? How it is distinct from a strategic planning unit?
Andrew Pateman and Robert Kaplan: The statistics surrounding the success that organizations have in executing strategy is low. Our article, "The Office of Strategy Management," using data from a Bain Consulting study, notes that seven out of eight companies in a global sample of 1,854 large corporations failed to achieve profitable growth, though more than 90 percent had detailed strategic plans with much higher targets. Our own work with clients supports the existence of a persistent gap between the strategic goals organizations set for themselves and the results they achieve.
Over the past fifteen years, we have studied the root causes of this disconnect between strategy and performance. We have learned that most organizations do not have a strategy execution process. Many have strategic plans, but no coherent approach to manage the execution of those plans. Consequently, many key management processes remain disconnected from strategy. We have also learned that:
(a) Many organizations don't have a consistent way to even describe their strategy, other than in a large strategic planning binder. We believe strongly that organizations need to find a consistent, coherent way to translate their strategy into operational terms.
(b) Sixty percent of typical organizations do not link their strategic priorities to their budget, virtually ensuring that key strategic initiatives do not get funded and resources may not be supplied to deliver on the strategic plan.
(c) Two-thirds of HR and IT organizations develop strategic plans that are not linked to the organization's strategy. This is extraordinary.
(d) Seventy percent of middle managers and more than 90 percent of front-line employees have compensation that is not linked to the strategy.
(e) Most devastating, 95 percent of employees in most organizations do not understand their [organization's] strategy.
In short, there is often a chronic disconnect in organizations between strategy formulation and strategy execution.
An office of strategy management, or OSM, is intended to close that gap. It is typically a new unit at the corporate level of an organization, overseeing all strategy-related activities—from formulation to execution. It is not intended to perform all of this work, but to facilitate the process so that strategy execution gets accomplished in an integrated fashion across the organization. Typically, a strategic planning unit has little or no influence over the process of executing the strategy it helped to create. In our view, one unit should facilitate both strategy formulation and execution process, making an enhanced strategic planning unit a natural home for the OSM.
Since our focus reflects the preeminence of the Balanced Scorecard as the vehicle through which strategy is described and executed, an OSM is typically an outgrowth of a good scorecard program. Such a program tends to raise common questions: How do we use these scorecards to align the organization? How can we ensure that our people understand our strategy? How do we use the scorecard to improve how we conduct our management meetings?
An OSM typically emerges when the Balanced Scorecard team incrementally and organically assumes more and more responsibilities on its own initiative—responsibilities that were formerly not performed by any person or unit in the organization. So, early on the BSC team fills a gap in the management of the organization. While many of our examples are from Balanced Scorecard users, the same principles of strategy execution apply to non-scorecard users.
Based on our research and client work, we created a model to describe the roles and responsibilities of an OSM, as described in the recent Harvard Business Review article. Some of these roles are owned by an OSM outright, such as scorecard management and cascading. There are other roles where it plays a coordinating function, essential to ensuring that strategy informs critical processes like budgeting, operational planning, and performance management.
Q: Your article discusses Chrysler Group and the U.S. Army as designing successful programs that extended their Balanced Scorecard work. Is a Balanced Scorecard initiative necessary as a first step before creating an OSM? If not, how might a company set up an OSM without it?
A: A Balanced Scorecard is an important, though not a necessary, first step in creating an OSM. First, the principles we describe about the need for an OSM are universal—organizations need to improve how they link strategy formulation and execution, whether they use the Balanced Scorecard or not. Organizations failing to make this link are destined to be among the failures we mentioned above.
We feel that Balanced Scorecard users have a distinct advantage. These organizations have found ways to describe and communicate their strategies using powerful and tested approaches. They have recognized the need to make strategy execution a recognized competency of the organization, distinct from simply having a good approach to formulating strategy.
We recognize that there are different approaches being used to manage strategy. An OSM could easily be established in a non-scorecard organization using the identical approach as scorecard users. The same set of questions apply: What is our strategy? How is it being measured? Are we allocating resources to support our strategy? Do our people understand it? Are we having outstanding sessions to discuss and monitor our strategy? How do we pull all of this together into a coherent process?
Q: You write that an OSM can serve in effect as the CEO's chief of staff. In a typical organization, how many staff would be in an OSM, what are their career backgrounds and/or training that make them best for this function, and what are their roles vis-à-vis other important units such as finance, HR, marketing, and so on?
A: A typical OSM in a large and complex company seems to require about six to eight full-time people. Typically, these people are not new hires and consist of the scorecard team and elements of the strategic planning group or finance. The OSM is most definitely not new bureaucracy or overhead for an organization. We have seen many OSMs that are smaller, consisting of between three and five people.
OSM staffing requires a mix of talent. The OSM can become an area where future leaders gain a strategic perspective on the organization. Clearly, people able to understand and think in strategic terms are critical. They need good interpersonal skills since they must interact effectively and authoritatively with senior business units and functional heads. Project management experience is desirable to oversee scorecard projects and initiative management. Operational experience is also vital, since the essence of good strategy execution is about "getting things done" and people who understand the relationship between strategy and operational reality will make enormous contributions to the OSM.
An OSM naturally interacts with other business units and functions. In this regard, it has two roles. First, it provides support to operating units to ensure they have the tools required to support the corporate strategy. Second, it ensures that strategy informs the work of the key functional units like HR and finance, to name two key players. For example, in a typical organization the budgeting process is partitioned from the strategy development process. The result is that key strategic investments often get lost in the pressures of daily operational management, or worse, the budget becomes the de facto strategy of the organization. A good OSM will collaborate with the CFO to "integrate" strategy into operational planning and budgeting. We have yet to see a CFO resist the effort to make the planning process more strategic and useful for the organization.
Q: You write that OSMs are "facilitating organizations, not dictating ones." While they would seem to create the risk of more top-down management, the opposite effect happens. Could you give some examples of positive effects in companies you've seen? What activities should OSMs not be involved in?
A: We believe that strategy must be managed explicitly, like any other major process in an organization. In most organizations, this process either does not exist or is incomplete. Shareholder value is left on the table. The purpose of an OSM is to unlock unrealized value by making strategy execution a distinct and recognized competency in an organization. It can only do this by enabling others—operating units and functions—to do their jobs in a way that supports the organization's strategy. We don't believe that this will always make everybody happy, since an OSM is helping to establish a new management discipline, which may or may not be welcomed by all.
The positive effects are being most keenly felt in the organizations we cite in our article—the Army, Chrysler Group, and Canadian Blood Services since they are the earliest adopters. As the concept of the OSM matures and as we hear more and more stories, we will be able to add to this list of stories that confirm an OSM's role as a facilitating organization.
As for activities not to be involved in, the OSM should not be seen as dictating strategy either at the corporate or business unit levels. It should not attempt to take over functions already being done by other functional units, such as finance, IT, and HR. Its role is to facilitate, coach, and coordinate.
[Robert S. Kaplan is Baker Foundation Professor at the Harvard Business School.]