Save the People's Company!

It is ironic that when our national car company was in dire straits and was contemplating a new ‘strategic direction’ by going into partnership with an European manufacturer with an established brand name and R&D capabilities, a hue and cry was raised by certain quarters. They argued that Proton is a national asset and it should not be ‘given up’ so easily. The same people brought forth the argument that Proton is the people’s company and thus it should be protected. It mattered little to them that in business, having a strategic partnership is not the same as selling out. Nevertheless, the din that they raised was loud enough to scuttle those plans. At least temporarily.
Strangely lately, as a behind the scene battle is raging for control of Proton, these very same people have not argued for the ‘independence’ of Proton as a people’s company! One will have to be an avid reader of business publications to put the pieces together but suffice to say that there is an intense jostling by certain individuals and their companies to buy over the government’s stake in Proton which is currently held via Khazanah and the EPF. The asking price by these individuals for this stake is way below the real value of Proton currently; at least that's the impression I get by putting together the bits and pieces that are trickling out. I will not be surprised though that the offered price is obscenely low as such things have happened in corporate Malaysia before.
I have been critical of Proton. In fact, I used to just hate reading every move that Proton used to make. I used to wonder for whom exactly was Proton building its cars for? And what was all that raving about Proton’s export capability? And yes, the Islamic car! That too. But of late, Proton has shown it self to be a savvy company (the pun is intended). Like our national carrier, left alone to decide what is best for its business survival, Proton showed a remarkable ability to be creative, strategic and market savvy. Something that many pundits thought were no longer within Proton’s competencies after years of proxy wars and un-fair protection given to it by those who used its existence for their own political mileage…and empty nationalistic rhetoric and chest thumping.

Now that this venerable company is rising and recovering from an extremely bad patch in its history, there are those who are jostling for some low hanging fruits at the expense of Proton’s true value. Lets face it, Proton’s true value lies in 3 areas : Its land bank located in the prime area of Shah Alam which I reckon could be close to half a billion ringgit in value, its under utilized manufacturing facility in Tanjung Malim and; its new found sexiness among global automotive players. Also, as was one my wishes at the beginning the year, Proton is making serious inroads into the future of automotive market : India and China. Especially India where the market is less crowded although probably with more entrenched interests; but nothing Proton can’t handle as Malaysian companies are regarded highly in the subcontinent. Add to these, Proton’s successive hit models in the form of Persona and the new Saga (and I suspect the Exora too very soon), Proton has added a couple of hundred millions to its value by showing a strong future value proposition. The market is also enthusiastic with the planned arrival of the Mitsubishi Lancer as a Waja replacement model in 2010. Don’t forget that Proton has Lotus in its stable too. All these are surely mouth watering prospects for wily businessmen, their cohorts and their sons and daughters.
Hands off gentlemen! The Malaysian people suffered with Proton. We bought its cars despite its poor quality and horrible delivery time. We put up with its declining brand name. We stuck with it and now we should have a say in its direction.

Unless the offer being made to the government is something that is totally fair value for Proton’s current and future potential and unless the whole transaction is transparent and above board, the Malaysian people should send a clear message to the government that we will no longer tolerate the corporate musical chair of the past. We may yet see a new champion to be proud of. The current management team of Proton has done a remarkable job doing an almost thankless job. Lets give them time and see where they can take this company. The global automotive market is a largely transformed one today and Proton may yet find a lucrative niche for it self.

After all, those stalking Proton are also loved by the Malaysian people for their respective successes and charisma. Don’t get greedy now and loose that goodwill.

If ever, now is the time for Proton to be saved. It is a people’s company.

Paris of the East

“Where is the soul of this city”?

Someone asked me this of Shanghai recently as we both admired this city that acquired its importance and status since 1297. As the morning mist and pollutants gave up the fight against a brilliant autumn sun, and as the hustle and bustle of the most fashionable city of China began, it is easy to forget that you are in China with her more than 1 billion souls where a huge portion of this are too far away from the modern cities lining its shorelines. China is not one country. There are two. Each feeding on the other. One of peasants and one of merchants. Shanghai is without doubt the lair of the merchants and the bourgeois. In the same breath as the question was asked, this great city was compared to the mega cities of India where despite great leaps into modernity and progress, Indian cities have maintained their ‘Indianess’. For many, India is seen as not having sold its soul for modernization…unlike cities like Shanghai. But then to me, Shanghai is not any other city. It has never been.In fact it is unlike any other city in the middle kingdom. Even the communists could not keep it’s spirits down. The Japanese tried before that but Shanghai survived. Long before the Japanese, the imperial powers of old Europe carved out little plots of the city to themselves. The hotel that I stayed in is in the French concession and I could have bluffed you by saying that I was in France by showing an early morning photo taken from my hotel room’s balcony. There is no city in Asia that embraced western mores as wholeheartedly as Shanghai. There is no city as full of intrigue and romance as Shanghai too. One needs to know a little bit of Far Eastern history to appreciate this. Shanghai is different. Historically, she is incomparable. To appreciate this great city, you need to see beyond the sky scrappers that had mushroomed in the last 15 years or so. Chinese history is far more colourful than what we know by reading western sinologists works and in any narration of Chinese history, Shanghai will always get a special mention. People say that China had become a confident country in the last few decades but they forget that long before the rest of China became comfortable in her own skin, Shanghai had already proclaimed it self as the mother of all cities. The place to be. The place where high fashion lived side by side with third world poverty.

They say that the world that you see is determined by the lenses that you use. In my case, the world that I see is very much influenced by my search for the similarities and the universality of us. Not the differences. Without fail, as I prepare to board the plane home from another strange land, I often think to my self that it was not a strange land after all. In the end, we are indeed the same. Human greatness and its inherent weakness are abound everywhere. A perfect example of this was illustrated by an experience I had in the Old Town of Shanghai. As I waited in line at a designated taxi stand, I noticed that some of those who were in the line became impatient and walked a couple of metres ahead to hail a cab (which means that they are ‘hijacking’ a cab away from whoever was the first in line at that moment). For some strange reason the cab drivers seem to be more than willing to entertain these ‘line breakers’ although they know that there is a lot of would be passengers waiting just a few metres down the road at the designated taxi stand. Things were made worst by those who just pop in and stop a cab from nowhere leaving the 6 or 7 of us lining up looking bewildered. As the evening wore on, I noticed a remarkable thing. Those who lined up were essentially made up of two kinds of people although we were of different colours and nationalities: 1. Those who kept to the principle of waiting for their rightful turn; and 2. Those who took a shortcut to the detriment of others. The former stood their ground and refused to take the shortcut while the latter thought and behaved otherwise.

While I was contemplating this, an African couple came by and stood behind me and moments later a group of street vendors surrounded them with all kinds of wares; from laser pointers, fake LVs to fake Omegas. I heard the man telling one of the vendors that he needs a taxi not a watch. At this, one of them said in broken English that he will get him a taxi for a tip. My fellow African traveler agreed and off the street vendor went. He walked a few steps ahead to highjack a taxi that was approaching the waiting would be passengers! This time it was me who was at the head of the waiting line of people. As the taxi pulled up at the curb this vendor just ran along and asked the taxi to stop at where we were waiting. You get the picture? He is not doing anything. He did not cross the street or go any distance to find a cab. He just took an easy way to make a few bucks. When the taxi stopped in front of me, the street vendor blocked my path with one arm and ushered in the African couple with the other. At that exact moment, I had another reason to believe in my fellow humans. The African guy refused to take the taxi as I was up next. I suppose he had the same idea as the rest of us when the street vendor offered to find a taxi….to actually go out of his way and look for a taxi. Not steal one from those who had already lined up for close to 45 minutes. His refusal was met with English curse words. I looked up at him and thanked him. He just smiled and said “ no problem bro”. As my taxi pulled away, I looked back and saw the street vendor venting his anger with more verbal assault. I thanked that African guy again. This time silently and for his action that once again affirmed my belief that left alone by priests and politicians; we can do what is right. We can make this world a better place. Kinder and perhaps a little bit more happier. We can live harmoniously and keep the extremists and the vulgar among us in check. We can live the middle path and keep the liars and manipulators at bay.

Little did I know that as I was considering these thoughts, the supreme leaders of our very own leading political party, UMNO, were giving inspiring speeches back home to pull this great political party to the middle path. UMNO has the ability to bring the best out of this nation. It has the ability to play the middle ground and do what is right. Left alone by racial zealots, the Malay masses who support this party will allow the middle path to blossom and the non-Malay components of this great land will willingly allow this party to lead. But I digress…

As I boarded my plane I took one last breath of this ancient land of emperors and great teachers and I mentally separated this nation from the Chinese Communist Party and the recent economic prowess it has enjoyed; and what was left behind in my mind’s eye is the Middle Kingdom. A nation that was at peace with it self and one that was self sufficient and willingly thought and learnt from others. After a long, long time this country has awaken to do justice for a gorgeous historical city like Shanghai. China has now earned its right to host this great city! If China is ever to lead the world, that is the past that she has to rely one. Not, her current superiority as measured by western matrices. Rome’s greatness was not in its empire but in it’s legacy of knowledge and honour. China needs to reach out much further into her history of wisdom and balance than the mere 60 years that has been celebrated recently. Paris of the East was what I imagined it would be and maybe we all can learn a thing or two about survival and dogged determination from her.

Her soul is there for all to see. If only we knew where to look.

People Management in the Upturn

According to psychologists, déjà vu (yes, Denzel Washington experienced this big time on one of his movies too !) is an intense feeling of familiarity although the situation or experience seems to be the first that you can recall. But somehow you feel that you have been there, said that, or did that. The faces that you seem to have seen somewhere before, the utterances that seems to be said at a time and circumstances not entirely the first time. Jamais vu on the other hand is an experience or situation which you find strange although by right you should be familiar with it as you have indeed experienced it before. A name you should know, a response you should be familiar with.

As we move into 2010, there will be two kinds of people managers; one who has a déjà vu and one that has a jamais vu. Which one are you? You have been there before haven’t you. Or, have you forgotten? For those of you who have gone through a period of downturn before, you will find all these strangely familiar while for some, you might be scratching your heads to remember what exactly you did the last time you had to manage people during an upturn.

The economic crisis has blown over. I bet my money on this. But I must tell you that I don’t have much money. Still, my bet is that 2010 will see a definite bullish market. Though I was not planning to argue my case why I think so (as you can see, the title is on people management), I think it is prudent to do so just in case you are still using the ‘downturn’ as an excuse to push your usually excellent people management skills to the back burners.

Here are some reasons why I think the economic crisis is over and that there will be a definite pick-up in 2010. BUT…this will be true only if Israel doesn’t attack Iran, India doesn’t attack Pakistan, North Korea doesn’t attack the South and/or Japan, China doesn’t attack Taiwan/Tibet and Russia doesn’t throw a nuclear missile into Georgia and a few hundred other former Soviet block nations bent on humiliating Vladimir Putin and the other guy who is supposedly to be running the country. Other than that, the reasons are clear why 2010 will be a robust economic year. Now, for my reasons to be optimistic:

1. This was not an economic crisis. It was a financial fiasco. The big fat financial manipulators are out of the way (or so they tell me).
2. Indian and Chinese banks have been pretty much protected from the devastation thanks to their conservative lending policies. So are most of South East Asian banks.
3. The African economic potential will begin to be felt and once again we must thank the Chinese and Indians for this as they are re-igniting the dark continent long forsaken by the west and by default by much of the free world.
4. World Cup 2010 in South Africa. It will not be the grandest but the stock market in the FTSE is going to hit the ceiling especially if the English team is doing well and the ripple effect will be felt through Europe. South Africa will make this an African dream and the whole continent will stir from its slumber. We will know more about South Africa and the African Continent than we did for the last 100 years. Advance thanks to ESPN, BBC, FIFA and the SkySports.
5. With the awarding of the 2016 Olympics to party town, Rio, the whole geo-politics of South America will be more business driven. Just like South Africa’s World Cup, Rio’s Olympics will be a South American event. Good for business I tell you as maybe finally the world will remember that there was a time when the Brazilian economy was bigger than the United States and that Argentina were the India and China of an age long gone by.
6. Barrack Obama – conservative whites-Iran-Russia-China-Europe- Israel. I can’t explain this but whatever he does will flow in this continuum and somehow I feel he will not loose which will be good news for the stock market. The fact that he couldn’t swing votes to Chicago at the IOC voting should not be an issue. Please!
7. The Japanese is stirring from their extended sake fueled slumber. Can you feel it? I can..and that is going to be good news for world business. Imagine all that money saved by Japanese housewives flooding the market. Imagine the purchasing power.
8. The Ikeas, Nokias, IBMs, GEs, Fords, VWs, Samsungs, Philips and Sonys of the world will do more of their business in Asia which will help them reduce their costs and open up more markets in Asia, Africa, South America AND parts of Europe that will enjoy a dramatically lowered pricing of goods and services. There is a huge slice of the Eastern European market that is under served as they are unable to enjoy the same purchasing power of their more affluent cousins in Western Europe. I have a feeling this is the market Ratan Tata is eyeing with his European version of Nano.


Now that you are convinced with my scholarly arguments for the recovery, I am sure you are eager to hear my expert advise on how to manage people in the upturn. Thank you. Here it goes :

1. Remember that your people are damn angry with you. In fact, they have sharpened their knives. Your situation will be worst off if you had downsized, froze promotions, cut budgets, reduced employee welfare, closed plants, etc. Don’t expect any love. Your survivors didn’t stay around and keep their knives in their pockets because they love you. They just knew better. But with things getting better and with job opportunities opening up, you are in trouble buster. Be closer to your people than you have ever been or you are going to loose valuable battle hardened talents to your competitors. Find out what they are planning to do in 2010, how they feel as we move into a new financial year, how did they take the whole downturn and its effects.

2. Whatever credibility and good-will that you had accumulated over the years have evaporated. You have to begin all over again from ground zero. You have to win over your people again. Your soldiers are wary and battle scarred. They are also questioning your loyalty to them. This is the time to use your personal power more than your expert power. Win them over (again) with your heart. Huddle together with them while waiting for the sun to rise over the horizon and allow the old familiar warm feeling of trust and security to emerge.

3. Your carefully and lovingly developed talent structure, power base, chain of influence, and internal sponsors are all gone or dramatically re-configured. You are back where you started when you first began. You will not wield the same kind of influence anymore. Your wise words and motivational advise will not have the same kind of effect. You will have to slowly develop new relationships. There are bound to be those who had to take the plunge into new roles and responsibilities when you downsized. Nurture them as you did their predecessors. Take time to build new relationships. Give all, expect little for the next one year.

4. You probably broke every promise you made to your people – with the board’s blessing. The board had probably covered your back these last 12 months or so. Now, they want to see results and they are no longer going to protect you. Ironically, the ones that you will depend on again are your people. You will have to dig deep into your people management skills to re energize and reignite the team. Go for refresher courses. Take your team to team-bonding sessions. Allow time for venting and get all unresolved issues out of the way. Remember, your board is impatient for results. Your results, as always, depend on how well you manage your people.

5. Take some time off. If you are like most of the people leaders that I have met in the last 15 months, you have probably worked non-stop with total disregard to your physical and emotional health. Go refresh your self. You need to allow that punching-bag body of yours time to heal. Enjoy your family and friends. The storm is over. Time to dust your self, pull up that tie, put that lipstick on and face the new year with renewed hope and energy.

Remember : Give it all you got, expect little in return.
Good luck.

Called to Lead

I don’ think you can train just anybody to become an effective leader. You can assist him or her to manage ‘a position’ that requires leadership qualities or even competencies but not a leader in the true sense of the word (I know I am going into contentious grounds here by saying that). A true leader is one who just leads. He doesn't try to lead…he simply leads. And, I am not even talking about charisma; though that helps too. Those who have a calling to lead don't stay in a 'position' of leadership although this may be bestowed upon them in many ways and forms. Rather they stay in a 'state' of leadership.

You can only make a leader out of someone who has a calling to become one. The challenge is – how do you measure a ‘calling’? Well, instead of worrying about how to ‘measure’ or in essence how to identify someone who has the calling to be a leader; it could serve your purpose better if you redefine what ‘leadership’ means for your company and your business. By focusing only on what I term as ‘classical leadership’ .ie. those who can lead with all the strength and refinement of a heaven-sent leader, you will be on a journey as epic in scale as the search for the holy grail. No, your company do not have that luxury. Instead, look at leadership from a more realistic levels. Perhaps you should look at the functionality of leadership more than the qualities of what is deemed to be great leadership. This would probably change your entire organizational leadership development interventions. Maybe even dramatically so and for the better.

Consider this. There are more than 1 type of leader or shall I say there are more than 1 type of situation in which a company may need leaders. A company may need leaders :

1. To lead the people (what we commonly refer to as executive leadership/classical leadership)
2. To lead strategy (formulation)
3. To lead strategy (implementation)
4. To lead strategy (follow-through)
5. To lead client experience
6. To lead the company’s knowledge advantage (those who want to be seen as leaders in their respective job-specific areas and may not necessarily want to be seen as executive/classical leaders)
7. To lead sales
8. To lead marketing (Yes! There is a world of difference between leading sales vs leading marketing and I am yet to see one who can do both equally well)
9. To lead the company’s ‘happiness index’ (individuals who are adept at keeping the peace and sowing the seeds of harmony and joy at the work place. It is better if the executive leaders can play this role but often times, they will need someone on the floor to do it. Those who are magnets for others to share and confide to are leaders in their own right and often becomes good change leaders too if given proper training and preparation.
10.To lead the company’s culture and values (those who constantly remind everybody else to keep true to the company’s values). These are the living brands of the company. Though they may be unfairly labeled as the ‘furniture’ of the company, they are in truth an embodiment of the company’s DNA. I have an amusing (and sad) story to share here : Some years ago when I was an independent trainer, I was involved in delivering leadership development workshops for a company that was incidentally going through a branding exercise. I got to know from my participants that the company had formed a 45 strong brand ambassadors who had the following qualities : female, young, pretty, ‘energetic’. The new brand values and promises of this company was around the idea of strength, stability and maturity. Right there in my sessions, I could have identified those who would have made great leaders of this type. No offense to the PYTs though. It was not their fault to begin with.


Lets take a look at the 1st type of leaders as this seems to be what we are all most interested in. Companies invest huge sums of money to identify, assess and develop those who are deemed as possible future leaders of the ‘1st type’. The results have been mixed. I suspect that the problem lies in the misconception that the 10 types of leadership are interchangeable and hence anyone can be trained to narrow the gap. So, if you have a super-performing R&D specialist, you can easily train and develop her to become an excellent lab manager (which involves much…much more than just researching, recording and analyzing data)….or so this thinking goes. It is not impossible for a knowledge specialist to become an effective executive leader but this is not a given. It is a lottery game. Failure rate is high.

So, as you might have guessed it by now : Right selection is the key.
There are some tell-tale signs (which are not scientific and I can’t defend this vigorously except that I have noticed these qualities in different settings and circumstances). There are some unique qualities of those who have a natural calling…a certain predisposition…to lead people and if viewed in tandem with more scientific and objective tools, there is a higher chance of making the right selection:

1. They are grounded. Their language is one of realism with a healthy dose optimism. They are able to show others how to reach for the skies while keeping their feet firmly on the ground.
2. They like to be involved (there is bound to be a slow progress from getting involved in everything and anything to selective and meaningful involvement without any sign of detachment for those things deemed not worthy of their involvement).
3. Exhibits a strong sense of personal values. I have said before that it is one’s professional duty to find a company that fits one’s personal value system. Those who have a calling to lead seem to be able to find jobs and companies that are aligned to their values. This value-alignment gives them the confidence and wherewithal to explore their personal boundaries of capabilities in terms of taking the risk of leading. They are also the first to leave when there is a non-alignment for extended periods of time.
4. They do not constantly tell stories of their past successes and their good deeds to establish their credibility. In the art and science of leadership, sharing truthful stories of past successes (and failures and the subsequent learning) are indeed an excepted strategy to build one’s leadership credibility. One with a calling to lead will know how much and how often this sharing should take place. For most effective leaders, their success lasts for only that moment. They do not live on past glories. They take their due credit and move on to new success paths.
5. Shares credit and keeps away from trivial and insincere praises.
6. Seeks out leadership tasks even without an official leadership portfolio or reason. They lead for the sake of wanting to lead to add value, to provide direction and ensure collective success.
7. Develops others in many different ways and often times beyond the call of duty.
8. Takes initiatives and explores beyond the boundaries of their comfort zone at the risk of failure.
9. Spirited and reflective and somewhere in between this continuum, they are constantly showing subtle signs of insecurity and self-doubt. This enables them to constantly improve and achieve better results while showing their followers their very human side.
10. They exhibit a fierce and determined sense of ownership.

So, for those of you good talent development professionals out there, remember that leadership development is as much an objective process as it is a wise decision. Decide wisely every step of the way and you may see the intended results that your company so richly deserve for such a huge investment of money, time and effort. I am all for objective data based selection and development process though I will not discount the benefit of a wise observation and judgement call.

The Marrow of Life…

“Live deep and suck out the marrow of life..”
Henry David Thoreau in Walden


Thoreau challenged us to experience life deeply in all its excitement, wonder and glory. Don't float on the surface. Dive deep. Live intensely. Love powerfully.

There are 3 of us wannabe hot rods who frequent the gym, pumping away at the irons or burning the rubber until our bones ached. In the course of my usual 1 ½ hours in the gym, there were countless times when I just feel like throwing in the towel, literally, and hit the shower. I would have been well justified as it is not easy to do a full workout after a day at work and I am sure my other gym buddies felt the same. One of them works as a ice-cream distributor and he clocks hundreds of miles in a day. Another is an entrepreneur with a string of companies under his belt. I am sure they have a more demanding day than me. In fact it is never easy to be in the gym for anyone. There are just so many other things one can do instead of sweating it out. So many other pleasant things like a couple of cold beers for instance or a comfortable sofa with a TopGear and a drink in hand. One of my gym buddies usually ends his final set of weights with an expletive….not sure at what or whom that is targeted at but it usually signals a good workout for him. A good workout for me is when my sweat clouds my vision. A good workout is one that takes you to the edge; when you feel your heart is going to explode or when you feel your arms are just going to give away and yet you could push your self for one more minute or one more set of weights. And….that is when I sometimes feel that I have sucked the marrow of my live for all its worth. It is indeed worth all that effort as somebody once said -you don’t pay the price but rather enjoy the price of doing things that you otherwise would rather not. Later, as I hit the shower and wash away the sweat of the work-out and the day’s physical, mental and emotional pains and aches, the subsequent feeling of relief and ‘achievement’ can be a seductive catharsis. It is that feeling of achievement and subsequent flow of warm soothing relief that I crave for. Strangely, I find my self being more vigorous and pushing my self harder in the gym on days when work seem mundane and lacking of any particular challenge to satisfy my craving for ‘worthwhile and meaningful endeavors’.

Now, it seems to me that this is what management consultants the world over (like yours truly) tell their clients whether in their one-on-one relationships, in seminars or in workshops. Manage and Lead like you are sucking at the marrow of life. Do things with such focused intent and purpose that what you do brings out the best out of your people and adds the greatest value to your organization. Push your mental and emotional energy to the edges of human endurance BUT don’t break. Keep your cool. Manage with a smile and loads of wisdom. Create a friendly atmosphere and be a magnet for those seeking advise and guidance. Grow others, leave a legacy, build a winning team. Defeat your fears and walk on fires, literally.

Usually in a workshop, I can get my clients excited about the prospect of managing and leading as deeply as sucking at the marrow of life. But I also know that the positive feeling lasts until the next morning when they step into their offices and the first nasty email from a customer pops up or hears what a new and arrogant young staff says or whatever. At that exact point in time, their managing and leading becomes less than experiencing the marrow of life. All that energy and motivation dissipates into thin air. And that's why in fact, I have christened this blog as First Coffee. It is to remind my self, my participants and clients that they should not get excited with what I say and what we discuss and get all fired up and feel a great sense of energy; just like what you feel as the first gulp of your morning coffee goes down your throat. Then, when the first irritant hits the face, that feeling vaporizes. The idea is to keep repeating that experience of a first coffee through out the day, to keep sucking at the marrow of life throughout your day at the office. Keep feeling that warm soothing sensation throughout the day. It is possible.

In my experience there is only one thing that can make that happen : Your Values.

The marrow of our lives is in our VALUES. It is not in the way we live. Definitely not in the accessories that we surround ourselves with. It is to be found in WHY we life? Go find them and/or make them. Never just accept them. Once they are identified use it for everything, for every single interaction, decision and action. Find jobs and companies that are aligned to those values. Make it as a basis for dealing with the easiest of problems and toughest of the challenges. Drink it through-out the day and that first coffee feeling should creep back and spread soothing warmth and calmness down your spine.

Know that each time you loose that first coffee feeling, you are probably doing something incongruent with your values. Trace back, make corrections, say your piece; and go home knowing that you have been true to your values.

Do yourself and everybody else a favour - don’t get a job to pay the bills as you will soon pay the price. Get a job that fulfills you and you will find it pays the bills and more. Also, if for whatever reasons you find that your values are no longer aligned to that of the organization or vice versa – leave honorably and on a position of strength and truth. There are too many of us stuck in our seats and lamenting how ‘wrong’ that seat feels. Go find a better seat. There always is one that will fit you perfectly. You will find that the fit is usually more to do with a fit of values than anything else.

In my line of work, it gives me a great sense of comfort knowing that at the highest levels of our organizations, our leaders have their hearts at the right places. They do indeed focus on the values of the organizations. Making a profit is a given. How that profit is made will make the difference between a lasting and benevolent organization and a short-living and selfish entity. Again, as I said earlier, it is not what life we live but rather how we live it.

The how is always answered by our values. I salute each and every individual whom I come across on a daily basis who continue to suck at the marrow of live by living their values and constantly having that first coffee feeling at work.

Present Truthfully and Efficiently : Basic Principles for Effective Business Presentation

As my relationship with my workshop participants or my career transition candidates evolve into more than just a consultant-client relationship, and when they share their trials and tribulations at the work place I often hear them lamenting how difficult it is for them to make effective presentations. Once, a senior manager of an organization who was in my workshop wrote to me this sentence (with a smiley added at the end) : “I am cooked! Remember, the new area GM? Presenting to him tomorrow! Any remedies other than a malt?!”

I have delivered my share of successful and less than successful business presentations and over the years I have begun to trust a simple mantra for making the best out of any type of business presentation : Present the truth….present it efficiently….walk away with your integrity if nothing else. I hope you will find this useful too.

First, PRESENT THE TRUTH, don’t take people for a ride! A presentation be it to influence or to inform has one underlying purpose and that is to educate. Facts need to be conveyed first and foremost with confidence and conviction; not arrogance. Do not sugar coat what you have to offer with bombastic words and phraseology as usually that is a clear sign that you are fishing for something to cling on for dear life. Why? Because you didn’t go in with a clear ‘point-of-view’ (POV). Have a crystal clear POV and decide what exactly you want to walk away with. For example, your POV could be : I am going to inform the Boss that the launch of the new product in November this year is not the way to go as we have quite substantial historical data to prove this. Your take away could be : I will walk away from the presentation with the Boss’s agreement that another round of meeting need to be held with our external branding advisors’.

Part of presenting the truth also involves clarifying your intend and purpose. Why are you the one delivering the presentation? Why have you taken up the responsibility of presenting? Is it because of your expertise, your convincing ability, your humour, your strong personality? Or, is it because this is an opportunity for you to shine, to make an impact, to put your name on the organisation’s radar? The answer to this question will to a large extend influence your intend and purpose and hence your approach. If you are asked to deliver a presentation ask the person assigning you the task this question. For all you know, you could be asked to deliver the presentation for a purpose that you are not naturally and truthfully inclined towards. For example, if somebody had asked me to present a solution to a client with the believe that I can convince, I will be in trouble. I don’t see my self as a natural convincer. I am more like somebody who will say all that is need to be said; both positive and negative, and hope that the listeners have an open mind to make their decision. I sincerely believe that in my industry what differentiates between one product from another is the passion put behind its delivery and that is what I will hope for my clients to detect rather than trying to convince them that ‘this framework is better than that’. For me to present most effectively, I need a less rigid ‘client take-away’ especially from a first meeting. For example, if a client called me in to share our Coaching solution as a way out for their performance problems VS if I was asked to share our coaching solution and what ever else that I think they will benefit better from, I will definitely do better in the latter. It will be difficult for me to go in with an aspirin-pill that the client had chosen and walk away ‘convincing’ them that that is the right pill for their aches!. Some presenters are what I call ‘high-focus/narrow-information’ type. People like me are what I call as ‘high-radius/broad-information’ type. There is a need for both type of presenters for different purposes.

Another element of presenting the truth involves ignoring the pressures of the moment. Have you experienced walking into a presentation feeling well prepared and relatively positive about your balanced approach only to be greeted by a obnoxious client who shoots you down after your first few lines or PowerPoint slides? I have, but more on that later. If you have than you will agree with me that your most immediate reaction is to switch to the survival mode. What will one do in a survival mode? That’s right…anything and everything to survive. When we are cornered into a survival mode, it is hard to present the truth as we have lost our upper ground. So, regardless of what initial reception you get, keep to your game plan. But that doesn't mean that you do not readjust to your listener’s motives and requirements. This brings me to my experience with a rather difficult client who barked at everything that I presented and shot holes into my presentation to an extend that I began to doubt my own preparation, which is rarely sloppy. But, as I persisted with my POV and maintained a humble predisposition and explained why the training program that I am proposing will be of value to his people, I noticed that he seemed to catch on with the idea that one of the modules will help participants identify where their true passion in life lies. With that, a presentation that was at the risk of being terminated prematurely, extended into late evening over cups of coffee and teh-tariks. I got the project and made the training provider a happy man for a year.

Next in the equation for effective presentation is to PRESENT EFFICIENTLY. This means you are conscious of your listener’s time and you are humble enough to admit that what you have to say is probably not really a life-or-death matter that they are willing to forgo their lunch hour for. So, say your piece succinctly and get the main points across quickly and allow time for questions and clarifications. Deliver your POV as clearly as you possibly can and make it known what take-aways you are expecting out of the meeting. Arrive early to get your materials ready. Make sure your laptop battery is fully charged and the slides are already on the screen before your clients/audience walks in. If you are not using a power point presentation but only printed materials, use your early arrival to arrange them neatly. Have your notebook and pen ready and open. Don’t begin the meeting or presentation by saying trivial things like ‘this is a nice meeting room’. You will have better chance of scoring some points if you mention something positive about the company that you have read recently. If it is a follow-up meeting, summarize the major points from the previous one before getting into you latest presentation.

In the end I suppose what makes or breaks a presentation is our mindset going into it. If we can get that right, the tool set follows seamlessly.

So, Present the Truth…Present it Efficiently….Walk away with your integrity.
You might just not need any 'malt' the evening before!

Tread Softly on Earth

I read an article recently about how one can create a rural haven right smack in the middle of a modern city. The writer expounded the idea that humans need to be kinder and gentler to the environment and as an extension to our very mother planet herself. As I was reading it, one particular phrase caught my eyes …..“ tread softly on earth”.

It is an amazing phrase. Beautiful, powerful, soul-piercing; and it hit me like a tonne of bricks. ‘Tread softly on earth’? This got me thinking and reflecting for the rest of the afternoon on that day. It sounds like an oxymoron to say 'tread softly' and 'earth' in the same breath. Its such an antithesis to my life on this planet. Maybe yours too.

Do I ‘tread softly’ on earth or do I stomp, tramp and crush my path through this life? Am I one of those humans, as one of the talking-tree characters say in the Lord of The Rings “cutting, slashing , burning…”? Do I leave more than footprints and take away more than memories from this life giving planet?

I think I don’t tread softly. I am a brute who thinks of only my pleasure and comfort and only my time on earth. Damn what happens after that. Not my problem!. I leave a trail of destruction on my path and by the time my sojourn on this planet ends, I would have left behind a place far more worst than when I came into it. I would have left behind nothing but hurt, pain, devastation. That would be my legacy. Is this anyway to live? Is there any other way?

As I was contemplating this unsavory thought about me and my life on this planet, I instinctively remembered a gentle soul who once graced my world many years ago. My late grandmother. She was probably one who left this world a better place or at the least not one that was worst off. I remember her as a little sweet old lady who glides effortlessly from one chore to another. Constantly on the move; doing something or other. Her small frame and her frail demeanor can be misleading as she was a woman of great energy and strength. Yet, she was quite, soft and moved about her life in a gentle whisper. The only ‘noise’ that she would make is when she sits on the veranda every evening, with her legs resting flat on the cool floor while she pounds her beetle nut in a wooden bowl made by my late grandfather. She will do this until I return home after my game of football or a round of wild running and shouting in a nearby playing field. Most times, I will return home with cuts and bruises. She will look up slowly at me, and without saying a word she will get up and prepare some hot water for my bath. During these times, I knew that the more silent she was when I came home dirty and bleeding the more ‘punishment’ is awaiting me. True enough, once I have had my dinner and is just about getting ready to laze the evening away she will ask this one all powerful question : “ Aren’t you going to study now?” Regardless of my answer, she will begin a slow, deep and almost inaudible narration of my family ‘history’ and how my mother is sacrificing so much for my education. Over the years, I memorized her entire narration. Soon after talking about my mother, she will begin saying things about how much my aunt is helping to educate me. After that it will be about what kind of example am I setting for my younger sister. She will end this narration by her all powerful self-questioning : “Will I die knowing that you have turned out to be a good for nothing boy?”. With that final whisper from her, my evening would be totally and absolutely destroyed and I would drag my feet to my room. She was devastatingly effective in getting her message across. Gently. Ever so softly.

She had never shouted at me or at anybody else for that matter. She is not one who curses others but I distinctly remember her cursing quietly at those who drag their feet while walking as she considers that act as “ burdening mother earth”. My sister and I were not allowed to stomp around even in jest. She never steps onto the little plot of land in front of our house with her slippers on. That is not ‘polite to mother earth’ she would say. When she died, she was happy, comfortable, witnessed me going to the university ; one of her silent goals in life…quite amazing for a illiterate woman from a little village just out of Madras of the old days. I would like to think that she entered the world screaming and shouting but exited it quietly and softly and disappeared into the great realm of nothingness of what life essentially is. She treaded ever so softly on earth. At least that's what I witnessed until my early 20s when she passed on.

I am on the contrary, a terminator. Through out my days, I terminate what is beautiful and nice. From the moment I wake up till I crash on my bed late into the night, I destroy the beauty of this world. The things that I consume, use, throw, deplete are all designed to do one thing and one thing only : reduce the splendor of this world. I am a virus that spreads and multiplies and destroys this planet in every imaginable way. I chip away at nature slowly, steadily and with a quite vengeance and efficiency. When the day comes for me to say goodbye, I will have done more damage to this world than anything else that could have ever done. I am a master of destruction. I don’t add. I reduce. I eat away at the transcendent purity of this earth. I pollute the very essence of this planet. My greed and my insatiable desire for comfort have always won over the need to preserve and protect. I do not ‘tread softly’.

But, I compensate. I try not to justify.

I tread softly on the hearts of those who cross my path...I try. I attempt to connect with others on the fertile soil of kindness, honesty and fairness. I hope that at least will redeem my soul. My ancestors were farmers who respected and worshiped the earth that they treaded on. They put back much into life than what they took for themselves. I will never redeem my self in their eyes but at least I hope people will remember :

“Here lies a man who destroyed. Here lies a man who treaded softly on his kind”.

That, is the least I can ask for as I don't tread softly on earth like my sweet and gentle grandmother did.

Strategies for Organisational Effectiveness

Note : An interview with BFM (with my colleague). The processes discussed here are my firm's IP.



Q : Ok, first of all, why does a company need a strategy?

A : A very fundamental but an extremely critical question really. Well, a company needs a strategy because it does not operate in a vacuum. It operates in a business environment. This environment has two sides to it; one that is predictable and one that is unpredictable. To manage these, especially the unpredictable ones, a company needs a strategy. So fundamentally, a strategy is your collective efforts of both soft and hard actions to navigate these two sides to take the company where it wants to go. If the ocean is your business environment, and the ship is your company; then strategy is your navigation plot.


Q : ‘Strategy’ is possibly the most used word in the world of business. But in essence what is ‘Strategy’?

A : Well, bear with me for a second here as I define ‘strategy’ from the abstract to the concrete. Strategy is first and foremost a set of organizational paradigms that will ensure that the company will take the needed actions to achieve operational effectiveness(profit). So what it means is that a strategy is something that is supposed to guide your actions in a way that helps you achieve your objectives. Say for example, a low cost carrier. Its strategy is to go for volume at minimal cost not high yield like full service carriers. With that strategy it will take actions like tapping into hitherto untapped markets, providing hard to refuse offers, going paperless, having fewer cabin crew, extensive use of the world wide web, landing at secondary airports and so on. So, in essence your strategy will help you get to where you want to go…be it cost efficiency, market leadership or whatever.

Now, lets say a promising manager in this low cost carrier suggests that the company now offer at least one cup of fresh juice free for each passenger. A cup of fresh juice is no big deal but this action will be decided on only one criteria .ie. will it jive with the strategy and what is the strategy : High volume, minimal cost. That's it! Will adding a cup of free orange juice for each passenger achieve that? The answer to that will determine whether that particular action is go or no go.


Q : So, strategy should not be equated with actions?

A : No and that is a huge problem because it is so very easy to confuse both. Often we find ourselves busy taking actions, even seemingly creative and proactive ones, thinking that this is the strategy. They are not. Actions by themselves are of no use until and unless they help you to realize your strategies. You can only have that many strategies but you can take an infinite number actions to fulfill that strategy. And, sometimes a company makes it known to the market of its strategy and yet it takes actions that are contrary to that strategy - at least in the perception of the market. I am not saying strategy can’t change. They can but whatever it is your actions must help you achieve your strategies.


Q : Can you provide an example to illustrate that?

A : Lets say you run a coffee shop and your strategy is to position your little quaint shop as a place for middle aged businessmen and executives have their cuppa while getting their work done in a place that will bring back sweet memories of the little coffee shops of the old days. You promote your shop as such and yet when your targeted customers enters your shop, he or she is greeted by a worker who can’t speak a word of any of the Malaysian languages. Your menu is more western. Your wifi has moods every now and then. Will you close shop? Probably not but in the long run, you don’t have anything to create loyalty. Worst still when a competitor learns how to execute that strategy better than you.


Q : What exactly goes into a strategy or in other words what ingredients make a good or effective strategy?

A : Well, let me first put a caveat here. By it self all strategies are good strategies. They may be imperfect but good nevertheless as they are intended for improvements of some kind whether increase in profit, market share, customer satisfaction, and so on. What makes it effective or otherwise is in the implementation or execution.

Anyway, a more pertinent question is what should a strategy address? A good strategy should address 3 things : 1. Structure, Roles & Capabilities; 2. Leadership; 3. People, Systems & Processes. When your business strategy addresses these 3 areas, you then have high Employee Engagement, which in turn produces Customer Satisfaction and which in turn gives you optimum Organisational Performance i.e profit.


Q : Sounds logical and seemingly easy. Yet so many business strategy fail. Why is that?

A : It is logical but many organizations have this illogical believe that they can focus on one or maybe 2 of the 3 areas I mentioned earlier and that should be enough to take them across. No. You can’t be world class in your Leadership development strategies and hope for your People, Systems and Processes to sort it self out. No. You need to plan and execute all three effectively. Your strategies are dependent on all 3 areas and together they will give you your competitive advantage. In that sense, some of our GLCs are doing well now because they have realized that they can’t focus only on customer satisfaction without having a robust people systems or that they can’t achieve profit by merely focusing on cost and not employee engagement.

Then also, sometimes a strategy may not be well formulated with its end results not precisely determined. What is your strategy intended to do? In other words, where do you want to go with your strategy – Profit, retention, share price, efficiency, cost reduction, quality, market share, culture change? You also can’t bite off more than you can chew. You can only be good in one or two things. Have strategies to make you the best in these one or two things.

Let share some data on this. In 2005, the Wharton School Publishing reported that companies only achieved 63% of the expected results from their strategic plans. In 2007, MIT Sloan Management Review shows that fewer than 45% of board of directors believe that their company is capturing strategic objectives. Interestingly in 1999, Fortune magazine estimated that 70% of CEOs fail not because of bad strategy but because of poor execution. In 2005, the Harvard Business Review said that 2/3 of the HR functions are not aligned to the business strategy and 95% of the employees don’t understand what the strategy is all about. So, is it a wonder that according to a Towers Perrin global study in 2007 only 21% of employees are fully engaged with their companies and their jobs?



Q : Having a good strategy is one thing, but executing it is another! What can leaders do to ensure their strategies are executed effectively.

A : Well, they have to ask 3 critical questions : 1. What are the most important levers of strategy execution for me currently? 2. How can we improve our ability to deliver on our strategic commitments? 3. In what way we can leverage our current talents to achieve our strategic objectives?



Q : I have always wondered how consulting companies like yourself can help a business develop its strategy. I mean, its their business, not yours right?

A : That's an insightful question. We at Right Management of course will take pains to understand your business through our research and our interactions and discussions with you. That's gives us an understanding of who you are and where you want to head. But more importantly, what we can do for you is to ensure that you go through a systematic thinking and planning process in developing your strategy. We will also ensure that you are considering all the factors that you need to consider and sometimes we may also help you find the answers you need or identify the gaps you need to know about as you plan your strategy.


Q : Typically, what would be the recommended process for an effective strategy development?

A : 1. Discovery, 2. Executive Alignment, 3. Strategy Design & Planning, 4. Strategy Implementation, 5. Measure & Review


Q : Any last words on how to achieve organizational effectiveness through effective strategies?

A : Well, as we have been discussing in the last 4 sessions with you, all businesses have been impacted by the financial and economic crisis. To manage this, we have had to down size and restructure our business. So, while we begin to motivate and realign our existing talent and resources, we may be in a position to re-visit our business strategy moving forward. Take this opportunity to do the right things for your business. You owe that much to your people and your shareholders.

Especially for SMEs, our message is that pay attention to all facets of your strategy. I reckon that the business environment for SMEs will get tougher in the coming years. They need to strategize and the need to be nimble enough to adapt. A good and actionable strategic framework should help them do that.

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Deepak Chopra has been branded many things. New age guru. Hodge-podge philosopher. The celebrity guru. Very recently he came to be known as Michael Jackson’s spiritual adviser. It matters not that MJ never proclaimed him as such. For me, coming from the Indian-Hindu tradition, he is a philosopher more than any thing else. He is no doubt an extremely savvy marketer and purveyor of Hollywood chic. Hey… lets get real. So was most of the greatest philosophers of the modern world. Somebody once told me of how he is inspired by Bob Dylan’s philosophical lyrics. If Bob is a philosopher, Deepak is definitely one. And please, don’t equate him with St.Augustine, Sankracharya or Khalil Gibran or Lao Tzu. He is not but he makes sense. Anybody who can help dense souls like yours truly make sense of quantum physics deserves some respect.

One of his books, usually The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success which I bought on Christmas day in 1998 is always on my bedside. I have read it a dozen times and I am still reading it.

To be honest, you need to understand a little of Indian philosophy and cosmology before you can truly grasp the messages that Deepak tries to convey OR you need to have a totally open mind and heart to allow the messages to be absorbed. OR, you must have been exposed to this world view in some manner to appreciate it. Otherwise, I doubt you will have the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success by your bedside! If you do, and if I am being presumptuous… my apologies.

One of the things that I find fascinating about Deepak’s approach is his belief that the universe works instantaneously and effortlessly. There is no pressure or compulsion involved. The universe just works its magic. The energy in all flows effortlessly. Butterflies just fly. Flowers bloom. The sun rises and sets. Water flows. Babies smile. They don’t try. They just do it. He terms it as the Law of Least Effort. We have within us the ability to move mountains without missing a heart beat. Didn’t somebody once say – be silent, and the universe will dance at your feet? As I am writing this, Morgan Freeman comes to my mind. If you watch his movies, you will think that he happened to walk by the shooting set and decided to pop in and have some fun. He doesn't act….he just IS. Now, I am also thinking for Zinadine Zidane, Lois Armstrong, Mario Puzo, Stephen Hawking,Tagore, Fateh Khan. They never showed that they strived to achieve their ‘stardom’. Their lesser competitors amply illustrated that they were ‘working hard’. Yet they never achieved the level of success as enjoyed by their idols.

So, the saying that ‘what’s worthwhile, is worth fighting for’ may not always hold true. The human race has developed a paradigm that struggle is to be respected. Strive and toil is honorable. In fact the ancient Chinese used to scorn traders as they were seen as enjoying the fruits of ‘no-labour’ ( in other words – least effort) while the farmers were held in high esteem as they ‘worked hard’ for their living. They were honest while the traders were not; so it was said. Is this true or does it makes sense at all? At least for me, all those things that I fought hard for are no longer with me. They even seem so irrelevant now. What I have now and what seem to have lasted are things that happened to me instantaneously and effortlessly. My love and my life - my beautiful and gentle girlfriend Alcie, my twin daughters Vana & Vila, the peace I enjoy, the serenity I experience, my new extended family that I am getting to know. All these happened to me effortlessly. Sometimes, I am embarrassed about it as I often feel I don’t deserve them as they just happened. Without much effort from me. Am I not supposed to ‘work hard’ for them?

Even some of the people I have met and still meeting in my life. They bring new and profound meanings. It makes me stop in my track as these individuals are adding so much value into my life and they are painting it with such beautiful colours that I sometimes wonder how did I attract them into my little universe in the first place.It takes my breath away. They are just popping up, literally, everywhere and we are connecting instantaneously and effortlessly. Even my relationship with my mother which was strained for many years have undergone a total transformation – again without any particularly strenuous effort from me; for once.

These things began to happen as I slowly learned to ‘let go and let God’ (as a dear young friend told me recently). In my case, I let the universe take care of the details. This probably came about as I began to realize that in the end, we don’t really control anything. It’s an illusion to think that we are in control. We only have choices not control. We can take actions but we can’t determine the results.

Even in the world of business, I think there is a place for ‘letting go and letting God’. As leaders and managers, there is a need for us to be able to make things happen instantaneously and effortlessly. If we are constantly fighting raging fires, running all over the place, being busy all the time, constantly on edge, harassed; something is wrong with our leadership and management style. Calmness in a business leader is an underrated thing. Great achievements are a result of being ‘in the flow’ and it is a state where we ‘create’ unprecedented successes almost by magic. Usain Bolt ran 100 metres in 9.58 seconds a few days ago and he looked pretty relaxed at the finishing line. The number two, and three were huffing and puffing. If you ask him how he did it, he will probably say “I just did”. Anyway, coming back to leading and managing, we need to accept the humbling reality that we can’t control everything. We need to ‘let go and let trust’ work. We need to trust that our people will do what is expected of them and that they will do the best they can. Sometimes they may not repay that trust in full but that's a price we have to pay so that we can let go of the trivial and get on the real stuff. Stuff that really makes a difference for the organization. We need to be conscious of the choices we make and the actions we take but not the end results as they are determined by factors beyond our control. Maybe this is what Krishna was saying to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Maybe that's what Jesus was saying to his followers. Maybe this what the Sufi mystics have been saying in their lyrics and hymns. Make the choice and don’t be burdened by the results. Float. Be light. Be free. Let go of the control.

Float like a butterfly…soar like an eagle (sorry Ali!).

Oh, by the way…did anybody wonder why Silvio Berlusconi still manages to be in power? He doesn’t try very hard. He just IS with all his faults and strengths and the Italians love him for that. The rest of the pretentious politicians ‘work very hard’ to be other than what they really are.

Effective Redeployment for Better Results

NOTE : The following is the Q&A for last week's interview on BFM. Hope it gives you guys something to ponder on.

Last week we shared with you the analogy of a platoon leader in war who finds himself with a bunch of soldiers who have survived enemy assault but have lost hope and drive to move forward with you. And that analogy was to illustrate what many managers are going through now after the recent spade of restructuring and downsizing. Today, using a similar analogy, we would like to ask this question ‘ Imagine that somehow you did manage to motivate and push the survivors in your platoon to move forward with you towards new war targets and that the whole platoon (or whatever left of it) is now totally committed to you. Now, imagine that you suddenly realize that you are short handed. You gunner is lost and so is your communication man. Your medic is alive but is in no shape to help others. You look around and quickly appoint those whose eyes you caught into these positions. As good soldiers, they follow your orders but they are now worried sick in the stomach as they are not familiar with these new roles. The new gunner is trained in terrain mapping while the new communication man is an artillery engineer. The new communication man is your former cook! They are ready to serve BUT they need your help to get used to the new roles. Then, you find that you need a new advance scout but not sure who among your men can fill that role. Or, do you have to call HQ for a new guy who is going to have trouble fitting in with your platoon.

Feels familiar? I bet it does because that is what many companies are facing now.
Well, its time for you to take a look at your redeployment options and strategies. After all you now have to move forward with the ‘survivors’.


Q : Why are we talking about redeployment now? Is this important for companies coming out of their downsizing and restructuring?
A : The simple answer is yes, it is important for companies that have restructured recently to pay some attention to redeployment as a strategy. The reason why this is important now is because this is the time for companies to realign and reassess their workforce and talent management strategies. As roles and positions were eliminated or reduced, new roles and work relationships had to be established. Also most companies that downsized in some areas of their business had also, at the same time, hired for other areas of their business. In fact there is a conundrum here : On one side companies need to manage costs and downsize while on the other they have to hold on to their key talents and prepare for the upswing. So, this is where redeployment comes in.

As we discussed last week, the first thing you do as a manager is to get your team back to speed and productivity by taking some simple yet powerful measures. One of the more critical ones is actually to be able to redeploy your people effectively. It is important enough to warrant special attention from all managers.

Q : So, redeployment can be defined as a sort of re-cycling of a companies existing talent?
A : Yes. It is a deliberate and highly structured movement of talents from one part of the company to another part where those talents are needed and can return better value. Not only that, this movement is also important as sometimes this is the only thing standing between your key talents staying or leaving.



Q : Typically, what are some of the circumstances why a company may have to look at a redeployment strategy?
A : Well, in our experience, redeployment strategy will be needed when a company is either doing one or a combination of the following : preparing an internal mobility program, restructuring, transferring a section of the business to an external provider (outsourced) or even when implementing creative work cultures such as flexible working hours. All these may involve some form of role change, role reduction or increase AND the need to acquire new skills.

Q : What are the benefits for a company that redeploys its talent or workforce?
A : Well, as I mentioned earlier, the most obvious one is that its key talents are not lost to competitors. Secondly, these talents will be cheaper to maintain through redeployment than to be rehired when the business picks up which it will (in some cases it already has). Thirdly, what redeployment essentially means is that the company is creating a new or slightly different career path for the individual instead of just laying off the person. With this comes more and continued investment from the company to train and develop the individual. This is an amazingly powerful engagement driver. The company is demonstrating in concrete terms that it values it talents and that career development and job security is not a linear affair. I don't take you in during the good times, extract everything from you and take you out at the first sign of trouble.

Q : Are there many companies out there that employ redeployment as one of their workforce strategy?
A : In a survey conducted by Right Management from April-May 2009 among 268 senior business and HR leaders, it was found that 51% of the companies always or sometimes offer redeployment before layoffs. So, in our experience quite a sizable number of our clients look at redeployment as a workforce management strategy. But in truth, I believe there is a bigger percentage that in one way or another redeploy in other circumstances as I shared earlier. We must understand that redeployment is not necessarily during a downsizing only.

Q : We have established that redeployment is a good strategic move to make but can you share some best practices on how a company can effectively redeploy?
A : First and foremost, I must emphasize that the company’s executive leadership team must recognize the importance of redeployment and they must set the right example before the managers and employees are convinced. For example, in a redeployment scenario, a manager may have to develop new manager-subordinate relationships and this is made more complicated because the new subordinate may not have the required skills yet to hit the ground running (which is what all managers expect!). What’s more, due to the redeployment exercise he may actually have lost some key talents him self as that person may have moved somewhere else in the company! On the employee side, redeployment means they have to leave the known and familiar for the unknown and not so familiar. This requires them to re-tool and re-skill and sometimes even relocate. All so uncomfortable right? Yes. That's why the commitment and buy-in from the top leadership is essential to make this a success.

Secondly, for the employees, the company should have a detailed and accurate communication on its redeployment policy. Issues like compensation, relocation benefits, local legal requirements, etc should be clarified. Employees should also be given the right assistance and tools to evaluate their skills and abilities accurately to gain the best out redeployment. And oh yes….please….give time for this to work. Both the company and the employee need to give each other enough time to settle down and produce results.

Thirdly, appoint internal redeployment champions who will become the point-person for those considering redeployment. A dedicated web portal will also be good for communication purposes and for advertising available positions (internally and
externally).

Finally, I would like to recommend that companies integrate their outplacement offering with the redeployment option. What this means is that, employees will have enough input and expert advise before they make an informed decision. For example, Right Management helped a telco company to provide both outplacement and redeployment. Those employees who went through redeployment activities emerged more prepared not only for redeployment but also for external positions. Many of them, in fact landed external positions long before outplacement services were required!

Q : What are the steps that a company should take if it chooses to employ redeployment as a workforce management strategy?
A : We at Right Management have developed a 6 module – 3 phase solution to assist companies with their redeployment initiative. Phase 1 involves employees going through a Change and Self Awareness module. They will have a detailed analysis of their skills & abilities and the gaps if any. This is where we also provide (with the client’s input) information on where the company is heading, what is happening now and what roles they can play.

In Phase 2, they will go through 3 modules : Internal Resumes & Applications, Internal Self-marketing and Internal Interviews.

Finally in Phase 3, they deal with the actual redeployment it self through 2 modules : Evaluating Internal Opportunities and Success in Your New Role.

So, you can see that these 3 phases covers the 3 most critical needs of the individual : How to ascertain my potential, how to market my self internally and how to realign with my ‘new’ career.

With these systematic program and the relevant modules, the company can be assured that its redeployment is going on a correct trajectory and those who choose to be redeployed are fully equipped and prepared to take on their new roles. With this, their new manager’s responsibility to re-train them becomes much easier and pleasant for both sides.


Q : Can you share an example of a success story in terms of an effective redeployment strategy?
A : I can share with you the example of a global financial services provider who engaged Right Management to add a redeployment component to their large scale off-shoring initiative. This client was well aware and wary of the negative impact on staff morale, customer and public perception and overall productivity as a result of such a large scale off-shoring approach. With our intervention, the redeployment take-up increased from 10% to 70% and the whole off-shoring went on smoothly.

Q : Ok, the million dollar question : can redeployment save money for companies?
A : Yes…and I will give you a million dollar answer. To be precise $2.4 million dollars. One of our clients had an internal job fair as part of their redeployment initiative whereby there were more about 400 interviews with 59 offers extended and 51 offers being accepted. Total savings for client was $2.4 million!

BFM 89.9 :: The Business Station

BFM 89.9 :: The Business Station

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Unity in Diversity

There are as many colours as there are words to describe them
There are as many stars as the numbers can count them
There are as many truths as the hearts that believe them
There are as many Gods as Man can worship them
There as many rhythms as the sounds that make them.

This is a world
nay
a universe of differences
of every imaginable kind.
The colour of your skin.
The language of your ancestors.
The choice of your tastes.
The pleasure of your love.
The height of your intellect.
The 'truth' of your convenience.
The God of your birth.

But
when compressed
all of these is as big as a green pea.

Thats how big we are.
A green pea!

Don't kill for that
Don't hurt for that.

Atoms, protons and bosons maketh us
The God particle forms us
But its us....just us
maketh hate!

We are separate
but we are one

I will wait for you
my brothers and sisters
at the gates of heaven
and I will welcome you
into my home as if we were born of the same womb

But, indeed we are.

The Value of Privacy and Personal Space

I am almost always asked to connect with somebody on Facebook, MySpace or any one of the multitude of similar networking tools that are available today. I am on Linkedin which I activated recently so that I am not classified as anti-technology! And of course I have been blogging at Blogger for some time now and I am quite adept at using email to stay connected

I have nothing against Facebook or MySpace. In fact I may end up being on them too. I think they are nice. I am sure they are cool stuff to play with and they are the product of our generation’s quantum leap in IT and connectivity. We also, it seems to me, have developed a taste for 24/7 culture. We want to be constantly updated on what’s happening around us. 24 hour news channel was a boon for many until they realized that not only do they want to know what is happening in other parts of the world, they also want to know what their closest friends and family members are doing at any given point of time. All at finger-tip speed of course. It is not enough to know the latest breaking news in Nicaragua but also what our dear friend Nigel is doing with his date at the fancy Italian restaurant that they are at. So, we have Twitter and such that are able to keep us in the loop about the most trivial adventures, private thoughts and goings on in other people’s lives. Only recently I read a British Archbishop lamenting how this technology has enabled us to have a multitude of ‘intimate’ friends without the quality often associated with what is termed as ‘friendship’. I guess, that's ok. After all what is wrong to have many friends and having as many ‘network’ as you can.

However, the reason why I am not too eager with Facebook and Myspace and the like is because I am enjoying what will one day become a scarce and precious commodity – my privacy and personal space. Isn’t it strange that, with technology our lives have become everybody’s lives. We want to (and able to) know every minute detail of one’s life style and way of thinking. Harmless? Maybe, maybe not.

Maybe it’s just my personality quirk that I treasure my personal space. It allows me to reflect and it gives me a buffer against the relentless attack on me by forces that are constantly trying to mould my thinking, influence me, decide for me, prying open my life telling me what I should wear, eat and believe. When I list my favorite books on my blog, I do it very consciously knowing that such a ‘simple’ act is actually not that simple after all. The books that I read give you an opportunity to peak into who I am. The places I go to for my vacation gives you a glimpse of me. What I talk about on these sites and how I respond to your comments will tell something of me to you. I leave digital footprints that leads you into me and I may have done that unwittingly. When I update you (say for example through my Linkedin) on my latest projects, I am allowing you to know about me just a little bit more. I have 24 hours in a day which used to be divided into public time (work, family, interest, etc) and personal time. But today, our entire 24 hour is a public life. As we are sleeping, somebody from some where in the world is reading about us or leaving a message commenting on how beautiful the pictures we posted are or how much he or she empathizes with our recent break-up. So, like a 24/7 news channel, our lives are being broadcasted and narrowcasted all the time!

But more sinister (at least to me) is the fact that we end up with 2 lives. One of the physical reality and another of the virtual reality. We mesh these two and we have a 24/7 life. This is not my cup of tea. There are different rules for these realities and it is so easy to confuse one with another. I personally feel that I am not equipped to manage these two realities with equal efficiency. The virtual world will always be a mere tool for me. Nothing more.


My feeling is that we should not allow ourselves to become like the mass produced consumer products that are being churned out in the factories of the world. We should not become as was said, a meaningless generality but rather a meaningful specific. To do that we have to be able to Reflect and we must have a reasonable amount of Personal Space to do so. This personal space could either be literally in the physical world or at least in our mind and thinking. We need to have the skills, abilities and time to integrate the vast amounts of information and data we receive in a day. I read somewhere that a single morning’s newspaper today has more information than our grandparents have acquired in their entire lifetime! I wouldn’t go so far to take this literally but I get the point. A few days ago, as I was interacting with a speaker from the US, he mentioned something interesting in a different context but is related to what I am trying to say here. He said that ‘feedback is data and data is information that you can use to make improvements’. Interesting. As far as I know feedback does not turn into data and data does not metamorphosis into information automatically. That is as far fetched as saying that the mere act of reading a book makes one knowledgeable. Something needs to happen in the interim and that is the process of Reflection and Integration of ideas and thoughts and insights. For me that can’t happen without my personal space and time.

I will hold on to this little space of privacy and personal time that I have. I am not sure for how long but I am going to enjoy it as long as it lasts.

Ensuring Productivity : Post Change and Restructuring

This afternoon, my colleagues were on-air. Just as the last time, the following is the Q&A for those who are interested. As more and more companies have already completed their restructuring and downsizing, I thought it is apt to share this. Next week it will be on how to manage your Redeployment for better results for which yours truly and a colleague will be on air.

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Imagine that you are leading the rest of your bloodied platoon to safety after a brutal battle. You are marching right upfront scanning the horizon, planning and strategizing. You are exhausted and your mind and body aches with anticipation for what lies ahead but you know you have to lead your men to safety and you are glad they are still with you after all that has happened. You are confident that the men appreciate all that you have done for them despite the high casualty. But, when you look behind…..and you find that less than half of your men are following you. The rest are standing still and digging their feet in the dirt, looking unhappy and undecided. They have put down their weapons and they don’t seem to have any more fire in their bellies. They whisper in each others ears while throwing suspicious glances at you. Imagine if that happens to you as a platoon leader in a war.

That is exactly what is happening in many organizations today and what we suspect is going to happen in many more very soon. Restructuring, downsizing, rightsizing, etc are all relatively easy to execute as they all revolve around the reduction of costs and head count but what is harder to do is to manage effectively those who are still with us to take the company forward. As we have been sharing with your listeners before, the reason a company downsize or restructure is to grow in the future. Now, the future is here or may be just around the corner. The question is, have we readied our people .ie. the survivors for the next cycle of growth and prosperity?

Q : What would be the most basic yet critical thing to do for managers now?

A : Keep the communication open, honest and motivating. In our interview with this station some time ago we shared how a manager should communicate during a downsizing exercise. It is time now to ensure that the communication looks into the future apart from clarifying current worries and issues. By focusing the communication on the future, the remaining employees will get the tacit message that they are needed and they are part of the company’s plans for the future.


Q : But no matter how much a manager communicates, there is still bound to be nagging worries and real or imagined fear right?

A : Yes that's bound to happen. That's why we advise our clients to hold ‘navigating change meetings’ in small groups where any lingering doubts and worries can be cleared in a more personalized manner. Some even call it ‘survivor meetings’! Here is where companies that were proactive enough to plan and execute their downsizing in a humane manner (such as providing outplacement services) will be able to use these as a leverage to show the remaining employees that the company is indeed a caring employer and that those who remain are valued and will be taken care off.


Q: One of the things that people may feel now is that their career is not at all secure….nothing to speak of their career development. What can one do about that?

A : This is where providing career management skills will play its role . Malaysian companies have a generally young work-force. This of course includes the Gen-Y employees for most of whom this would have been their first experience of a severe economic downturn. This is a good time as any to provide them with career management skills so that they are better prepared to take charge of their own career development and don't feel that their lives are derailing right in front of their eyes!


Q : How or what can a manager do to maintain employee motivation now that the major part of restructuring is over?

A : Show employees that they are valuable by taking the time to understand their different motivators. During the immediate aftermath of a downsizing, employees’ motivators will differ. Not all are motivated by stability…although it is easy to imagine that they are all only concerned about their job security. This may not necessarily be the case. Just as in the ‘good’ times, employee motivators are also different now. Some may actually be more worried about their career development opportunity as they can now see that many of the career ‘boxes’ they were aiming at are now eliminated, outsourced or reduced. Some may feel that their work-life balance that they have taken great pains to develop over the years is in jeopardy as now they will be required to take on additional job roles.

Also, Surprise them by sending them for training and self development. You will be sending a clear signal to your people that they are indeed part of your plans for the future and you are willing to continue to invest in them. This is a great motivator by it self.


Q : In terms of getting the people back to speed and productivity, what would be some best practices that you can share?

A : First, Clarify expectations. With all the changes that have happened to the company, it is vital that those who remain have a clear understanding of the things that they need to continue doing, the things that they need to reduce or change and also those that they have to stop doing.

Secondly, Revisit the company’s vision and value system and recommit to it and re-energize it. This will also provide a platform for all to reach an ‘agreement’ on what needs to be done and what kind of new behaviors will be expected out of them.

Finally, Focus on results. Many managers feel that if they focus on results, they will make their teams more stressed and feel more pressured in an already not so pleasant situation. This is not true. Just as in the case of the army, what motivates a soldier is an objective; even when everything seems to be so hopeless. As long as he can see the enemy fort, he will keep moving towards it and the mere act of moving and looking at that fort will give him hope and energy. Similarly, now is the time for the executive leadership team to provide clearly defined goals and targets. No doubt, these goals may be dramatically different than what was contained in the 5 year plan developed in 2005 but the mere action of developing and clarifying new goals and targets will energize and give hope to employees.



Q : And people may end up doing more than they used to or even play unfamiliar roles?

A : Absolutely and that's why it is extremely important to clarify roles. Help people to get comfortable with their new roles. Let me give you an example. Lets say a team supervisor has been retrenched. The team is still intact and somebody from the team may be required to take on the role of team leadership whether officially or unofficially. Now, this person has been thrown into the deep blue ocean whereby he/she is now suddenly in a position to ‘lead’ others who only until a few weeks ago were his/her equals. How fair or logical is it to expect that this individual will ease smoothly into the new role. People need to be trained and re-tooled when ever they are given new roles.

By clarifying new roles and responsibilities, managers can ensure a successful post restructure strategy implementation, ensure the right people are doing the right job, and most importantly ensure an effective structure of responsibilities and accountabilities. Again to use the army as an analogy, no matter what happens, the reporting structure is always alive and kicks in instantaneously.


Q : Its strange really as many may feel that the toughest part is separating employees but here we are struggling to look after those who are still around.

A : Well, Yes and No. Separating employees is tough but only because it is most often done in a haphazard way. Similarly, maintaining the morale of those survivors is indeed difficult but it is made difficult by our matter of fact way of dealing with them. How post restructure people management is executed will determine how engaged the remaining employees are to the company. Right Management research shows that companies with highly engaged employees, have employees who are 50% more productive, enjoy 56% higher customer loyalty are 33% more profitable.


We should not take it for granted that those who survived will thank heir luck start and pull up their sleeves and get back to work. Don't underestimate ‘the survivor guilt’ syndrome. Basically, survivor guilt is a term used to describe the dejected feeling felt by those not affected by a downsizing. They may feel ‘guilty’ that they are the ‘lucky’ ones compared to some of their closest colleagues. Lets understand this clearly. I believe, survivor guilt may happen among the older group of the work force. They have a tendency to have worked together in the same company for many years and hence a sense attachment is developed with co-workers. They may feel downcast seeing their friends and colleagues being retrenched and may wonder whether they really deserve to be in the company. This is not a nice feeling to have and if not handled well will continue to affect morale and productivity. On the other hand, the younger work force may not have such a profound ‘survivor guilt’ syndrome as they are the generation that views all relationships as a means towards and end. It is difficult to say but the existence of ‘survivor guilt’ should not be over looked.



Q : So far we have talked about the role of managers. How about the Executive Leadership team? What should they do to get the entire organization back to productive ways?

A : For one, we believe that they should be visible and accessible. No doubt, this post-restructuring period is one where new strategies are being finalized and new decisions being made. The senior leaders are bound to be busy BUT that is no excuse to stay away from the people at large. They need to be seen and heard. They need to be seen mingling and listening to grouses and suggestions. They need to be heard saying kind and motivating things to those whom will be expected to make all their new strategies bear fruit! Isn’t it an irony then when the senior leaders lock them selves up in board rooms and have no idea of what is going on in the work rooms?

Secondly, they must now quickly institute other cost saving and waste reduction measures. Remember, the reason why a downsizing is carried out is to manage costs and reduce waste. But surely, that is not the ONLY way. So, the senior leaders must set the example by implementing other methods to achieve this too after the head count has been reduced. Otherwise the un-intended message being delivered is that ‘the management just found an easy way out at the expense of the employees’.