Key Point New Employees need to Know

Recruiting and selecting high potential employees does not guarantee that they will perform effectively.  People who do not know what to do or how to do it cannot perform even if they want to.  To ensure that new employees know what to do and how to do it, you have to orient them.  Orientation is a planned introduction for new employees to their jobs, colleagues and the organization. 

Here are a few suggestions to make orientation effective:

New employees must feel that they belong and are important to the organization.  The supervisor and the HR Department should be prepared to give them this perception.  Colleagues should be prepared for the new employee’s arrival. 

Use colleagues or peers to serve as buddies or mentors during orientation.  Involve experienced high performers who can serve as role models fo5r new employees. 

Use checklist of what new employees need to know.  Many employers require that new employees sign the checklist to verify that they have been told about the pertinent rules and procedures. 

Provide information of policies, benefits and company rules; these include absenteeism, hospitalization, parking, safety rules, sick leave, tardiness, vacations, etc.  The supervisor should describe the routine followed during the course of a normal working day. 

Determine the most appropriate ways to resent information.  Employees will retain more o the orientation information if presented in manner that encourages them to learn. 

New employees presented with too many facts may ignore important details or inaccurately recall much of the information. 
Conduct follow up interviews and questions with new employees a few weeks or months after the orientation. 

Consulting Venture for an Organization

Consultants are generally viewed as doctors who are supposed to diagnose your organisation’s ailments and suggest relevant remedies.  Depending on the ailment, the remedies can range from revisiting oranisational strategic priorities and making necessary modifications to tweaking the business model employed. 
In effect, a consultant’s job is to bring significant business change within short time frames.  Thus the flexibility to attack a multitude of problems is imperative for the success of any consulting intervention.

Within the current fast paced, dynamic and unpredictable economic environment two ingredients are necessary for any consulting venture to be successful:

This involves the consultant’s ability to implement new insights and pertinent best practices from the industry.  Additionally, an easy decision making process while quickly taking stock of difficult situations (both internal and external) are essential components of any probable effective solution, which is ready to be implemented. 

World over companies are laying off employees and slashing budgets to deal with the current economic situation.  Gone are the days when a consultant would stay for months using his or set 6 steps or 15 topic modules.  Today consultants need to conduct effective needs analysis to ensure that they hit the bull’s eye and customize the methodology to quickly turn around the organizational condition.

Of course, expecting consulting to come with a magic wand to make your company the rising star in this age of halted growth is not a pragmatic view either.  It is therefore critical for consultants to help the client set realistic expectations and explain exactly what value would their advisory services bring;  helping the organisation differentiate mere wishes from what should e the ideal goal in quantitative terms. 

This type of collaboration based on a greater degree of trust and a common goal of improving the organisation is necessary to enable the company to survive during these tough times and perhaps even lure customers from a dying competitor.

Evaluating Short Term Employees

Performance evaluation for permanent employers is a balancing act which often becomes the focus of criticism and leads to lengthy debates.  The task is even more challenging when evaluating short term employees.   Here are a few tips on how a HR department can ensure that the process goes smoothly. 

Employees must be made to understand from day one their functional role   and the constraints attached to it.

It all parties begin work with the outcome clearly in mind; there will be no surprises at the end.  Scope, evaluation criteria, rewards and required resources should be clearly spelt out. 

At evaluation time, open communication without fear should be encouraged to appreciate achievements and develop areas of improvements. 

Pay for performance is preferred, however, in cases where the employees are on third party payroll, financial rewards should be clarified at the beginning of the year to avoid any disappointments. 

If the services of the employees are extended, the role and expectations must be reviewed again in all respects, preferably with some role enlargement to provide motivation.

Having invested time, training, expertise, etc, it would be unwise to lose an experienced person especially to a competitor, and the HR department to give due attention to such evaluations. 

Remember that all employees (permanent and short term) should be treated alike, not  only to ensure fairness but also to promote the organisation as the employer of choice if and when the employee goes back t the job market. 

Fish Practices...Workplace Ideas

The Fish Philosophy is based on four principles which when adopted can lead to higher employee morale and consequently better operational results.  Here is a closer look at the first two principles:

Everyone can benefit from a little lightening up during the day.  We now know that the primary antidote to stress is fun, laughter and engaging our sense of humour.  Endorphins, which override stress hormones and produce a sense of calm, are released by the brain every time we laugh or engage in a fun activity. 

People who find ways to incorporate play into their daily lives approach their work, responsibilities and challenges with energy and enthusiasm.  They display a contagious optimism towards work and the people they work with.  They are forever cheerful and energetic and display a beneficial and constructive sense of humor.

In fact, play brings out the child deep inside each one of us, the person who never hesitated to ask why? Or How come? Bringing forth the person who looks at the world creatively and openly.  Some of the best innovations in the world are a result of playing with ideas. 

The practice of make their day could be as simple as holding open a door for someone, asking about a person’s family, showing gratitude and saying thank you.  It goes beyond merely being civil and pleasant; it is taking that extra step you did not have to take.  And that makes all the difference. 

Whether it is spontaneous or planned, when you make the effort to brighten someone’s day, not because you expect a rewards, but because that’s the person you want to be, you experience fulfillment and you are a pleasure to be around ad positivity is contagious. 

Free Advice is Worth what you Pay for It

A recent edition of Fortune Magazine featured a host of successful people including Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, General Colin Powell sharing the in a section entitle The best Advice I ever Got.  Here are some that have helped me along the way.

From Anthony Robbins:  There is no such thing as success or failure; there are only outcomes.  This is very similar to Shakespeare’s There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so.  How we label the outcome also determines our approach to dealing with it.

Also from Mr.  Robbins: When preparation meets opportunities, luck happens.  Too often we are waiting for life to happen to us instead of the other way around.  I don’t know the source of this one but it is really good:  You have got to be in it to win it. 
There is also a story of a blonde who kept praying to win the lottery until finally one day, God said to her:  Could you at least buy a ticket?  I hope this is not the story of your life.  Another one of my favorites is from Eleanor Roosevelt, who said:  No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.  Unless we draw our boundaries, people will step al over us.  Learn to stand up for what you think is right but do it respectfully and without ego.  Last, but not least, this one is from a previous boss:  Free advice is worth what you pay for it.  There you go. 

Saving power at Work Place

In these trying economic times, many companies are facing eroding profits and budges deficits, with the end result that the focus is increasingly on cutting overheads and expenses, with electricity consumption singled out as one of the most practical ways to save some money.

Here is how:

Turn off your CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor every time you leave your desk.  These monitors consume 150 watts of power per hour and keeping them off for just an hour during the day can save enough electricity to power a bulb for 10 hours or enough to light up a small household in any village. 

Set the thermostat of all air conditioners at no less than 22 to 24 degree each degree increased saves two to four percent worth of power.  If the workplace consists of a large hall, turn off one of two ACs and use the remaining in conjunction with pedestal fans to circulate the cool air, air conditioners account for 60 to 70 % of the total summer bill.

Turn off all air conditioners during the lunch break.  The room will absorb heat and this process will stop once the warm air completely replaces the cold air. Then when the air conditioners are turned on after lunch, all the heat will be removed in one go.

Install reflecting film on your glass windows.  Not only do they reflect 40 to 60 % of the heat, they also let in the sunlight giving you a nice bright office and cutting down on lighting needs.  According to the California Energy Commission, 30% of any area’s cooling needs are derived from solar energy entering through glass.
Unplug electrical items such as microwaves and tea makers; about 75% of the electricity used to power such electronics is consumed while they are in standby mode. 

Clean the filters of the hand dryers in the office washrooms at least once a week.  This will help reduce the power it consumed while they are in standby mode.

Clean the filters of the hand dryers in the office washrooms at least once a week.  This will help reduce the power it consumes.

Unplug mobile phone chargers immediately after charging.

Replace incandescent bulb or tubes with energy savers.  These last 10 times longer and cut down on electricity consumption by up to 75% with out compromising on the lighting quality.

Motivating Employees

While organizations invest a substantial amount of money on buying and maintaining machinery, keeping employees motivated is often overlooked.  However, since human beings are decidedly different from machines, they need to be motivated and at times even pampered. 

Here are some guidelines on how to keep employees motivated:

Make your employees feel wanted and secure to keep them committed t the organization. 

Pay your employees more than what the market offers.  Review their benefits package on a yearly basis.  Make sure that your employees are aware of the benefits that are being given to them. 

Ensure that the objectives chalked out for each individual are clear and can be easily understand. 

Maintain open channels of communication and keep team members updated on the organization’s progress.

Institute a system of training to enhance employee skills.  This will result in individual and organizational development.

Make sure that you are accessible to your team members at all times.  Ensure that team members are accessible to each other as well. 

Maintain a friendly work environment so that your employees feel like coming to work and can enjoy their jobs. 

Initiate a fair system of rewards.

Arrange get together like annual dinners, picnics, social events etc. so that the team turns into a family.  Make it a point to remember employees special occasions such as birthdays, weddings etc.  When employees are faced with crisis, take care of them. 

Minimising Mistakes at Work Place

Very often insufficient emphasis is given to avoiding mistakes which not only affect productivity but also the working environment.  The truth is that mangers do make mistakes which at times not only affect the performance of their departments but the morale of the employees as well.  The key for a good manger is to ensure that his personal mistakes are kept to a minimum.  Here is how:

Keep abreast of developments in your field.  Subscribe to industry journals, obtain further education and network with people from your field who work for other organizations. 

Always welcome tough assignments and increased responsibilities; not only will you enhance your confidence, you will also develop professionally. 

Do everything to make sure the right decision is made.  Ask yourself questions related to the problems, whatever you have the required information to make a decision and what the consequences of inaction will be. 

Once you have made a decision carry it out without about the outcome.  Remember that although it might feel good to be liked by your employees, it is far more important to be respected by them. 

Ask employees for their ideas and opinions.  This lets them know that what they think matters and as a result they will work harder when they feel they are contributing to the organization success. 

If you need to be critical, suggest specific steps to prevent a mistake from reoccurring.  Constructive criticism can result I peak production, performance and profits.  Learn to share responsibility for the mistake and listen to the other side of the story, too.  Above all, forgive and forget. 

Most personnel problem comes from employees not having enough information about what management has done and why or what is expected of them.  Keep employees updated and let them know exactly what you want them to do. 

Summer At Work Place

Summer is a time to flaunt your trendy summer wear.  It is the time to experiment with fresh and lively colours.  However, with the rising temperature and power outrages, comfort also becomes a prominent consideration.  It is imperative to look neatly attired while simultaneously surviving the heat and avoiding horrendously unattractive sweat stains.  In short, summers should be about hassle free dressing.  Here are a few ideas on how to build effortless summer style:
Mixing and matching works best.  A light shade top with a stripy shalwar or vice versa makes for good summer wear. 

Splurge on flowery, flowing, printed sundresses for effortless summer femininity. 
Consider purchasing knee length kameezes in colorful print patterns that exude the cool and breezy look. 

Hop on the Capri pant craze, buy a pair of cotton white, being or black Capri or full length pants to take you anywhere.  Pair them easily with a loose or slightly form fitting \bright single toned or floral long kameez, the trick here is the airy fabric.  For the most flattering Capri/pants look, opt for a wide leg.  Choose bright or neutral colors. 

Fancy footwear is key; consider revamping your shoe closet with a new pair of sandals, flip flops or flats with flashy embellishments.

Avoid dark bags; switch to large, bright bags or two-tone canvas, woven straw, or lighter neutral carriers.

Binges in, so be it your shoes, bags or jewellery, bling away.  For work, small, subtle diamantes with a basic elegant pendant and bracelet will give the final finish to your summer work attire. 
Finally, summer is not for tousled hairstyles, long sleeves, dark colored clothes and cotton jackets.  Save them for cooler months. 

Start Living in Three Dimensions

A curious mind is very different from a curious person.  Unfortunately, most of us belong to the latter category wherein we are interested in the lives of other people, colleagues, neighbors and celebrities.  This we do to our own detriment, filling ourselves with envy and resentment.

However, those who cultivate a curious mind are forever filled with wonder and excitement at the universe around them.  They are avid readers and learners and explorers of the worlds within and without.  They discover, create, invent.  They ask why to gain a deeper understanding and uncover mysteries.  They search, probe and investigate to uncover the truth. 

Why is this important? Well aside from the obvious benefits of being knowledgeable in a manner that is useful to you (and to others), the person with the curious mind takes himself or herself into an entirely different orbit of experiential living.
 
Try this for the next few weeks and see the difference:  gaze at nighttime sky and wonder at how early explores traversed the oceans and continents.  Pick up a good dictionary and probe the origins of everyday words.  You will be surprised at what you discover.  Open the hood of your car and try to figure out the relationship and use of all that’s there. 

Keep asking questions like how and why things work or are the way they are.  Ask who invented the machines and gadgets you use.  Don’t just take your life for granted; start living in three dimensions.

Tips to Burn Out at Wrok Place

Do you find yourself in a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress?  Are you feeling overwhelmed and unable to meet pressing demands?  If you are, then you are experiencing what is knows as burn out, a gradual process which can creep up on anyone who fails to spot the early warning signs.  These signs are subtle at first but they get worse with the passage of time.  However, they can be prevented if timely addressed. 

Hare are five signs of a burn out:
Dragging yourself to the office, coming in late, skipping work altogether or leaving early from work.  Your post lunch sessions are spent either frequently looking at your watch or checking the empty email box.

Being cynical, irritated or snappy on petty matters with your colleagues.  You may find it difficult to get along with people you used to get along with well in the past. 

Enthusiasm is replaced by indifference, so that it takes an unusually long to complete even mundane tasks.  This is often referred to as going through the motions syndrome. 

Feeling sudden bouts of failure and self doubt with an increasing sense of general dissatisfaction which may isolate you from the professional network. 

Reduced immunity may leave you vulnerable to frequent physical ailments, including exhaustion, headaches, general weariness and muscular tension, as well a change in appetite and disturbed sleeping patterns. 

Prevention:
Review your professional commitments to reset your priorities.

Apply personal management tips; for example differentiate between what is important and what is urgent, learn to delegate, etc.

Take care of your physical well being with a proper diet, sleep and regular exercise. 

Nurture your creative side by trying innovative solutions of routine problems.

Develop a strong mental resilience to handle stress related challenges. 

Take advantage of your holiday times to refresh yourself. 

The Right Career Move

When it comes to career it is up to you to create options for growth and expansion.  Here are a few helpful points:

Pick a boss, not a job.  Your boss can often be the most important factor in your success or failure.  A boss who is skeptical regarding your capabilities will not allow you to take up new challenges or conduct new experiments.  On the other hand, an easy going boss will not push you to avail opportunities to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. 

Before making a career move, thoroughly research the organization you plan to join. Does it treat is employees as potential or resource?  Potential is to be tapped, while resources are to be consumed. 

Unless you passionately enjoy what you do, success will remain an illusion.  If you are passionate about marketing but you work in finance, the chances are that you will soon be at war with yourself. 

Apart from your primary passion, profession, always find avenues to create a second line of defense.  If your primary career becomes redundant, due to external factors, you will then have something to fall back upon.  So, Plan B must be in place all the time. 

Fortune favors the bold and the brave.  A certain Colonel Sanders changed his career at the age of 66 and from being a loser salesman he became an extremely successful entrepreneur. 

The Importance of Hiring 10s

Is your company a victim of the law of diminishing expertise?  A law that comes into effect the moment people starts appointing or promoting people less effective than themselves. 

Organizations are generally started by 10s – hard – working, ambitious people with highly effective skills.  They then appoint other people who appoint more people. Eventually, the company notices hat the new people aren’t as smart as they used to be.  Why is this? 

What happens is that the 10 hires a 9 and very soon the 9 starts hiring 8s or even 7s.  At some point, new recruits go as low as 5s.  If the organization is lucky somebody will realize that in such a scenario, the company will fall form good to mediocre to hopeless fairly soon. 

Here are some suggestions for hiring 10s:

Set minimum education and qualification levels for each position.  Publicize benchmark performance standards within the company so that everyone knows what a 10 is supposed to do.

Panel interviews can be quite helpful.  And you should always ensure appointments and promotions are approved one level up.  It ensures that a more senior, more experienced manager confirms or questions your decision.

Injelitis is word coined by the late C. Northcote Parkinson, a renowned British civil servant, in is book Parkinson’s Law:  the pursuit of Progress (1975) which means each level of management is hiring down rather than hiring up.  The same applies to promotions.  Mangers, consciously or unconsciously prefer to promote people who are non-threatening, who will not challenge or demand too much of them.  This is repeated down the line, spreading the disease even further. 

There is no question that a major part of organizational success relates to appointing and promoting superstars and near superstars people who are committed to organizational and personal growth. 

What not to do in an Work Environment

At work, what you choose to say, how you wish to communicate and, above all, your demeanour can determine where your career is headed.  You therefore need to exercise extreme prudence to know what not to do rather than what to do. 
In a work environment, little things can often land genuinely nice people and good performers into big trouble.  Here are some ways to prevent this from happening. 

Don’t give one and you won’t need to take one.

You can find better and more productive things to do that are less career threatening than the apparently harmless small talk.

Make sure what comes around doesn’t have your name flagged all over it.

It has never worked nor will it ever, be genuine or be quiet.

Just because you are happy with your achievements, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is also thrilled about them.  Try not to broadcast them too much; most of your colleagues will already know if you have done well.

Stop taking yourself so seriously, no one else does and if they do, they will probably stop taking you seriously. 

Prudence is leaving the lavatory dry, even if it wasn’t you who left or found it wet.  Just don’t go out and write out a complaint letter to the admin, do some thing else, be creative. 

Control camaraderie driven urges even if your boss happens to be a nice person. 

Exercise formality, work is not a family gets together you go to everyday, though it may appear to be one big family. 

Turn an Internship into Job...Rout to Permanent Job

Internship is a good way to assess one’s ability and get the proverbial foot in the door.  Most internships are only temporary and end after a few months.  It is always better to make the internship work in your favour and land up with a permanent job by employing a few techniques.

Internships are designed to prepare applicants for future careers, so identify your professional goals and try to find an internship that meets your expectations rather than accepting just any internship that is available.  This will assist you in your future job search. 

Keep your supervisor abreast of your work and accomplishments by checking in frequently and making sure you are meeting his or her expectations.  Developing professional connections as an intern will give you a head start in professional networking. 

Employers want employees who show initiative, learn, develop and who ask for more responsibilities. 

Employers will trust you to complete more difficult tasks once they recognize your ability to handle the small stuff. 

Employers seek people who can think out of the box and identify solutions to current problems that management may not have yet addressed.  Offer solutions that you think may resolve a specific problem. 

Employers seek individuals who are good at teamwork and contribute positively to the overall accomplishment of the group. 
Show your keenness to join the organization and feel proud to be part of the group.

Yes, Yes You Can...Slogan of Success

Barak Obama’s election slogan was: “Yes, we can.” Imagine if he said: we will try our best or I really want to, but you know, I am a black man and Hillary Clinton is the front runner.  What do you think the result would have been? 

Besides his self belief and confidence, he put together a formidable team and planned and executed a campaign the likes of which has never been seen.  The odds against him right at the start were preposterous:  his race, colour, middle name (Hussein) and the fact that he is just a first term senator in Washington.  Along the campaign trail he had to endure attacks on his person or real and perceived failings as well as for his associations, but he had the courage to face them down. 

What is clear is that is not just a matter of having confidence, but realizing that it is key to getting on to the road to success.  Confidence infuses you with positive personal energy and tires up the rest of the team to also push in the right direction. It gives you courage (as opposed to bravado).  Planning and execution are equally important but amount to nothing without confidence. 

Too many of us are defeated in the mind before we set pen to paper or take a first step to what we want, so the next time you catch yourself hesitating over an important decision or goal, just paraphrase Obama and say: Yes, I can.

Books About Personal Development

If you are an avid reader you have certainly come across books that have not only made an impression on you, but have taken you to a new plane of existence.  Let me share some of my favorites. 
“Brave new world” by Aldous Huxley takes you on a journey that shows you the positive and negative effects of living a conditioned life.  The state creates you for a particular purpose and programmes you to think and feel the way it wants you to.  Then scientists come across a savage tribe living in Mexico and bring back a specimen to study.  The book is witty and prescient and presents you with a moral choice at the end. 

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull y Richard Bach is a story of a seagull bored with the daily grind of looking for food with a flock of other seagulls.  He starts to fly in a manner quite different to what is expected of him and soon finds himself expelled for not being one of them.  Jonathan meets up with a spiritual guide who proceeds to show him a higher purpose to his life.  This book will encourage you to soar. 
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Sukav is a must read if you are trying to discover the meaning of your existence.  A bit heavy but it makes you want to read on.

Awaken the Giant within by Anthony Robins is one of the world’s bestsellers on personal development.  It gives you a step by step approach to improving your life.  Read it to make a difference. 

HEC Scholarships for MS and MPhil

Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has announced and advertised in national dailies offering Scholarship opportunities for Pakistan Students.  This program is offered in selected fields for MS/Phil leading to PhD. 

National Testing Service...GAT-General for MPhil and NEC Scholarship

What is Your Story....Career Building

Success is a choice, and so is failure, in either case, a story is written.  Some stories go into history books, some to Holly/Bollywood (as true stories) but many remain unsung.  People, who choose to make their life a success, write their story before events take place.

Here are how you can make your story an amazing one.

This page needs to show that you believe in yourself.  It needs to have a challenge that you overcome not because the problem was easy, but because you believed it could be done.  If you have the mindset of a victim you will see problems.  If your mindset is of a victor you will see success.

Make your story of the day inspirational by ensuring that you are enthused about what you do.  Focus on purpose not problem; on creating not cribbing; on winning not whining.

Make friends. In the morning, determine the people you intend to interact with and improve your relationship with.  You can wish others well without bias.  Understand that alone you cannot achieve success. However, together you can create a perfect team. 

No one has ever succeeded without developing themselves physically, spiritually and emotionally.  Unfortunately, most people waste their lives wanting to be someone or have something without developing themselves.  Success is hard work.  Every day spend some time developing yourself.  Learn new things and put them into action the next day.  This is true growth. 

So what stories are you building you life around?  Are they enhancing your potential or minimizing it?

The Right Career Move

When it comes to career it is up to you to create options for growth and expansion.  Here are a few helpful points:

Pick a boss, not a job.  Your boss can often be the most important factor in your success or failure.  A boss who is skeptical regarding your capabilities will not allow you to take up new challenges or conduct new experiments.  On the other hand, an easy going boss will not push you to avail opportunities to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. 

Before making a career move, thoroughly research the organisation you plan to join. Does it treat is employees as potential or resource?  Potential is to be tapped, while resources are to be consumed. 

Unless you passionately enjoy what you do, success will remain an illusion.  If you are passionate about marketing but you work in finance, the chances are that you will soon be at war with yourself. 

Apart from your primary passion, profession, always find avenues to create a second line of defense.  If your primary career becomes redundant, due to external factors, you will then have something to fall back upon.  So, Plan B must be in place all the time. 

Fortune favours the bold and the brave.  A certain Colonel Sanders changed his career at the age of 66 and from being a loser salesman he became an extremely successful entrepreneur. 

Summar at Workplace.... Dressing Tips

Summer is a time to flaunt your trendy summer wear.  It is the time to experiment with fresh and lively colours.  However, with the rising temperature and power outrages, comfort also becomes a prominent consideration.  It is imperative to look neatly attired while simultaneously surviving the heat and avoiding horrendously unattractive sweat stains.  In short, summers should be about hassle free dressing.  Here are a few ideas on how to build effortless summer style:
Mixing and matching works best.  A light shade top with a stripy shalwar or vice versa makes for good summer wear. 

Splurge on flowery, flowing, printed sundresses for effortless summer femininity. 
Consider purchasing knee length kameezes in colorful print patterns that exude the cool and breezy look. 

Hop on the Capri pant craze, buy a pair of cotton white, being or black Capri or full length pants to take you anywhere.  Pair them easily with a loose or slightly form fitting \bright single toned or floral long kameez, the trick here is the airy fabric.  For the most flattering Capri/pants look, opt for a wide leg.  Choose bright or neutral colours. 

Fancy footwear is key; consider revamping your shoe closet with a new pair of sandals, flip flops or flats with flashy embellishments.

Avoid dark bags; switch to large, bright bags or two-tone canvas, woven straw, or lighter neutral carriers.

Binges in, so be it your shoes, bags or jewellery, bling away.  For work, small, subtle diamantes with a basic elegant pendant and bracelet will give the final finish to your summer work attire. 
Finally, summer is not for tousled hairstyles, long sleeves, dark colored clothes and cotton jackets.  Save them for cooler months. 

Some Guidelines On How To Keep Eployees Motivated

While organisations invest a substantial amount of money on buying and maintaining machinery, keeping employees motivated is often overlooked.  However, since human beings are decidedly different from machines, they need to be motivated and at times even pampered. 

Here are some guidelines on how to keep employees motivated:

Make your employees feel wanted and secure to keep them committed t the organization. 

Pay your employees more than what the market offers.  Review their benefits package on a yearly basis.  Make sure that your employees are aware of the benefits that are being given to them. 

Ensure that the objectives chalked out for each individual are clear and can be easily understand. 

Maintain open channels of communication and keep team members updated on the organization’s progress.

Institute a system of training to enhance employee skills.  This will result in individual and organizational development.

Make sure that you are accessible to your tem members at all times.  Ensure that team members are accessible to each other as well. 

Maintain a friendly work environment so that your employees feel like coming to work and can enjoy their jobs. 

Initiate a fair system of rewards.

Arrange get together like annual dinners, picnics, social events etc. so that the team turns into a family.  Make it a point to remember employees special occasions such as birthdays, weddings etc.  When employees are faced with crisis, take care of them. 

Hot to Improve productivity ...Tips

No one likes a complaining voice, least of all HR, as the management may perceive these complaints as the HR department’s failure to deliver adequate services.  However, not all grievances are invalid and if tackled positively can be used to improve productivity and processes. 

Here are some tips:
A user friendly complaint policy or standard Operating procedure (SOP) not only provides a guideline on how to deal with contentious issues but also indicates to the employees that the organisation values their opinions. 

Policies are useless unless mindsets are aligned.  All incoming information should be treated as constructive feedback.  Until that happens minds will remain closed to suggestions.

Sift the good from the bad through non judgmental evaluation.
Verify all facts, especially those of a serious nature.  This will not only encourage others to follow suits but also allow HR to learn about different issues on a firs t hand basis. 

Handling of the complaint process should note seen as policing rather it should facilitate the all round coordination and involvement of key stakeholders.

Avoid falling in the typical lip servicing trap.  Trust and confidence are synonymous with promptness and fairness; organisations and HR departments lose credibility in their absence. 

Suggestion boxes, task forces, etc., should be promoted as effective tools. 

A corporate environment where people are encouraged to voice their opinions without fear and are publicly recognized for doing so should be nurtured. 

Perhaps the best way to achieve company growth is by listening to people and acting on their opinions.  Often the difference between average and great companies lies in their ability to execute this function well. 

Free advice is worth what you pay for it

A recent edition of Fortune Magazine featured a host of successful people including Bill Gates, Tiger Woods, General Colin Powell sharing the in a section entitle The best Advice I ever Got.  Here are some that have helped me along the way.

From Anthony Robbins:  There is no such thing as success or failure; there are only outcomes.  This is very similar to Shakespeare’s There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so.  How we label the outcome also determines our approach to dealing with it.

Also from Mr.  Robbins: When preparation meets opportunities, luck happens.  Too often we are waiting for life to happen to us instead of the other way around.  I don’t know the source of this one but it is really good:  You have got to be in it to win it. 
There is also a story of a blonde who kept praying to win the lottery until finally one day, God said to her:  Could you at least buy a ticket?  I hope this is not the story of your life.  Another one of my favorites is from Eleanor Roosevelt, who said:  No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.  Unless we draw our boundaries, people will step al over us.  Learn to stand up for what you think is right but do it respectfully and without ego.  Last, but not least, this one is from a previous boss:  Free advice is worth what you pay for it.  There you go. 

Consulting Venture for an Organisation

Consultants are generally viewed as doctors who are supposed to diagnose your organisation’s ailments and suggest relevant remedies.  Depending on the ailment, the remedies can range from revisiting oranisational strategic priorities and making necessary modifications to tweaking the business model employed. 
In effect, a consultant’s job is to bring significant business change within short time frames.  Thus the flexibility to attack a multitude of problems is imperative for the success of any consulting intervention.

Within the current fast paced, dynamic and unpredictable economic environment two ingredients are necessary for any consulting venture to be successful:

This involves the consultant’s ability to implement new insights and pertinent best practices from the industry.  Additionally, an easy decision making process while quickly taking stock of difficult situations (both internal and external) are essential components of any probable effective solution, which is ready to be implemented. 

World over companies are laying off employees and slashing budgets to deal with the current economic situation.  Gone are the days when a consultant would stay for months using his or set 6 steps or 15 topic modules.  Today consultants need to conduct effective needs analysis to ensure that they hit the bull’s eye and customize the methodology to quickly turn around the oranisational condition.

Of course, expecting consulting to come with a magic wand to make your company the rising star in this age of halted growth is not a pragmatic view either.  It is therefore critical for consultants to help the client set realistic expectations and explain exactly what value would their advisory services bring;  helping the organisation differentiate mere wishes from what should e the ideal goal in quantitative terms. 

This type of collaboration based on a greater degree of trust and a common goal of improving the organisation is necessary to enable the company to survive during these tough times and perhaps even lure customers from a dying competitor.

Recruiting and Selecting High Potential Employees

Recruiting and selecting high potential employees does not guarantee that they will perform effectively.  People who do not know what to do or how to do it cannot perform even if they want to.  To ensure that new employees know what to do and how to do it, you have to orient them.  Orientation is a planned introduction for new employees to their jobs, colleagues and the organization. 

Here are a few suggestions to make orientation effective:

New employees must feel that they belong and are important to the organization.  The supervisor and the HR Department should be prepared to give them this perception.  Colleagues should be prepared for the new employee’s arrival. 

Use colleagues or peers to serve as buddies or mentors during orientation.  Involve experienced high performers who can serve as role models fo5r new employees. 

Use checklist of what new employees need to know.  Many employers require that new employees sign the checklist to verify that they have been told about the pertinent rules and procedures. 

Provide information of policies, benefits and company rules; these include absenteeism, hospitalization, parking, safety rules, sick leave, tardiness, vacations, etc.  The supervisor should describe the routine followed during the course of a normal working day. 

Determine the most appropriate ways to resent information.  Employees will retain more o the orientation information if presented in manner that encourages them to learn. 

New employees presented with too many facts may ignore important details or inaccurately recall much of the information. 
Conduct follow up interviews and questions with new employees a few weeks or months after the orientation. 

Lesson from Sports ...Helpful for your Career

Sport has as much to teach us about managing corporations as it does about life.  Let’s take a few examples. 
Cricket… every ball you face does not have to be hit for a six:
With apologies to Shahid Afridi who thinks it does, each situation must be faced on merit.  Sometimes well left is the best strategy (learn to leave the ball alone).  This is particularly true for the var5ius proactive thing people say to you. 

Golf… plays the all as it lies:
There are very few times in life (or golf) that you are allowed a free pick to extricate yourself from a disadvantageous position.  You need to make the best of whatever situation you find yourself in by learning how to recover from that poor lie.  There is nothing you can do about the previous shot (so learn not to regret), nor the next one; just the one at hand. 

Humility is key:
As long as you keep your head down, you have the best possibility of striking the ball correctly.  Raise your head and suffer the consequences.  The lesson here is not to get ahead of ourselves. 

Tennis, Cricket and Golf… keep your eye on ball and watch your follow through:
The minute you take your eyes of the ball or ignore your follow through, you find yourself in deep trouble.  This also implies the importance of timing and preparation.  So focus, practice and get on with the game of life. 

Personal Development

If you are an avid reader you have certainly come across books that have not only made an impression on you, but have taken you to a new plane of existence.  Let me share some of my favorites. 
“Brave new world” by Aldous Huxley takes you on a journey that shows you the positive and negative effects of living a conditioned life.  The state creates you for a particular purpose and programmes you to think and feel the way it wants you to.  Then scientists come across a savage tribe living in Mexico and bring back a specimen to study.  The book is witty and prescient and presents you with a moral choice at the end. 

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull y Richard Bach is a story of a seagull bored with the daily grind of looking for food with a flock of other seagulls.  He starts to fly in a manner quite different to what is expected of him and soon finds himself expelled for not being one of them.  Jonathan meets up with a spiritual guide who proceeds to show him a higher purpose to his life.  This book will encourage you to soar. 
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Sukav is a must read if you are trying to discover the meaning of your existence.  A bit heavy but it makes you want to read on.

Awaken the Giant within by Anthony Robins is one of the world’s bestsellers on personal development.  It gives you a step by step approach to improving your life.  Read it to make a difference. 

Sharing Some Key Learnings At Workpalce

I remember embracing the 9 to 5 work life with soaring ambitions and an iron-clad resolve to prove myself as a committed professional.  While commitment was an inherent quality thqat did not require much effort so genuinely believed, efficient  time management was an art that came with time.  Six years after successfully earning the certified seal of approval from my employers in timemanagement, I would like to share some key learnings with all newbies hoping to start the year 2011 with a leap into the corporate world.

Priorities:
Learn to differentiate between work that is priority and work that can wait.  Focus first on work that is pressing and tackle it head-on.  For work that is not urgently required but is pending nonetheless, give yourself deadlines and stick to them. 
Do not procrastinate:
The more tiem you have, the more time you will waste.  As clichéd as it may sound, do not put off work that you can do today for tomorrow.  You never know what new tasks will come your way the next day so make your life easier by doing the maximum you can do each day. 

Get a head start:
Learn to respect time.  It is one thing to stroll in late for a meting one day, but make a practice out of it and you will lose all respect no matter how good you are at what you do. So try to get a head start each day.  Remember, staying ahead of time is the onloy way you can stay ahead of the game.

Get rid of the clutter:
Sometimes the smallest tasks can take the most time.  Unclutter your mind by using the early hours of lthe day to get rid of the small things that are pending to allow yourself to focus on the bigger picture.
Ensure clarityof vision:
Before you step in for work, have a clear  vision for each day.  Remember time is money so work out what you need to achieve each day.  The clearer you are, the more you will achieve. 

How to Fail Successfully...How to succeed

Most people are successful in life.  Some plan for success; take regimented and disciplined actions and achieve it.  Others plan for success but don’t do anything else beyond planning and successfully failing.  Failing is much easier to achieve. 
Guess what? You don’t have to do anything to fail.  Most authors of self-help books preach and attempt to teach us things that we do not do very well. They tell us what to do and become very rich in the process.
As opposed to telling you how to succeed, here are a few things that will help you fail amazingly well.

People, who are destined to successfully fail, never write things down.  After all, if you can remember, why write it down. Think of all the time that will be wasted just writing things down on a piece of paper.  Rely on memory.  Calendars are for winners only.  If you keep a diary, you will be left with no excuses. 

Spend most of your time on the pettiest of things.  Do not bother prioritising.  Micromanage and be involved in everything.  Believe that you need to know and control everything.  The added benefit is that it will accelerate your rate of failure because people will also hate you. 

If you do not leave office on time why bother reaching there on time; get to work just in time.  Settle down, have a cup of tea, socialize (teambuilding), warm up and start work after 45 minutes.

Reading can e harmful to your eyes.  Management books don’t tell you things you don’t already know.  It is all common sense.  At most, they change the title of concepts.  Come to think of it, why are you even reading this?  

Exemplary Behaviour of The Line Mangers

Inspiring and motivating those around us is a difficult task involves much more than just thinking about and believing in good management principles.

The fact is that corporate culture can only be improved through the exemplary behavior of the line mangers displaying true adherence to good management practices.  Examples of the desired behavior have to be constantly portrayed in an effort to establish belief in employees about the possibility of these actions i.e. setting examples of putting words into action with sincerity.  This will foster an environment of mutual trust, transparency and confidence in the organisation and employees will follow their instructions in their entirety. 

Some behavior indicators for making this happen are:

Observe company discipline in terms of time management by being punctual to work and on time for official meetings.

Cascade the corporate culture and values to al staff while explaining their importance and necessity.

Be humble and cooperative to all, even your subordinates and the support staff of the company. 

Own your job responsibilities and perform better than desired.

Always maintain a humanistic attitude towards everyone and constantly coach the staff to help them overcome their performance problems.

Be resource conscious and show co9ncern for company property.

Unless line mangers show that they practice what they preach, staff will keep on ignoring their message and will consider them nothing more than just lip service.

A Bit more about Fish Philosophy

Optimizing operational results while at the same time developing high employee morale are at the heart of the Fish! Philosophy, which is based on four principles, here is a closer look at the last two principles:

To be there for another person has a very powerful effect.  Think about how good it feels when someone gives you his or her undivided attention, focusing on your needs and feelings as opposed to someone who is otherwise distracted during their interaction with you.
Even though listening is a big part of being there, it goes beyond that.  All too often, when we are engaged in a conversation, our minds are focused on thinking of an adequate response to what the person is saying instead of giving them our complete attention.  Another common thing is selective listening where we only hear what we want to hear.  Being truly present means suspending judgment while you are listening.  In order to have meaningful exchanges, it is critical to e there and be fully present, physically as well as with all your emotional and mental faculties. 
Of the many things that determine the levels of success and happiness that a person is able to achieve in life, the foremost is attitude.  Is is also the one factor that is most within your control. 
We may have inherited a predisposition to a certain general attitude towards life from our parents or our past experiences; and we can either be subservient to external events, few of which we have any control over, or we can take charge of our own response.  By using your mind, your ability to think, you become a creature of circumstances.
Choosing your attitude is about being aware of what your attitude is, and that it does affect you and others.  Once you accept that you are the only one who is choosing your attitude at his moment, you can control it and respond to situations instead of reacting. 

The Right Career Move

When it comes to career it is up to you to create options for growth and expansion.  Here are a few helpful points:

Pick a boss, not a job.  Your boss can often be the most important factor in your success or failure.  A boss who is skeptical regarding your capabilities will not allow you to take up new challenges or conduct new experiments.  On the other hand, an easy going boss will not push you to avail opportunities to stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. 

Before making a career move, thoroughly research the organisation you plan to join. Does it treat is employees as potential or resource?  Potential is to be tapped, while resources are to be consumed. 

Unless you passionately enjoy what you do, success will remain an illusion.  If you are passionate about marketing but you work in finance, the chances are that you will soon be at war with yourself. 

Apart from your primary passion, profession, always find avenues to create a second line of defense.  If your primary career becomes redundant, due to external factors, you will then have something to fall back upon.  So, Plan B must be in place all the time. 

Fortune favours the bold and the brave.  A certain Colonel Sanders changed his career at the age of 66 and from being a loser salesman he became an extremely successful entrepreneur. 

Why Employees Leave

Almost every company faces the problem of employee turnover and for reason that range from career development to employee friendly human resources (HR) policies, to better salaries or even a canteen which services better food. 

But if all the above are provided and the organisation continues to lose good people, it is time to have a closer look at their managers because more than any other person in an organisation, they influence whether employees leave or stay and thrive with an organisation. 

People leave managers not companies, wrote HR experts Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in their book First Break al the Rules:  What the World’s Greatest Mangers Do Differently. 

Different managers can stress out employees in different ways, by being too controlling, to critical, too pushy and or too suspicious forgetting that workers are not fixed assets but rather free agents.

Experts believe that of all the abuses that employees might have to put up with at work, humiliation is the most intolerable.  The first time, the employee may not leave, but a thought has been planted; the second time that, they look for another job.

Even if employee stay with the job but find no redress, they will begin to show signs of passive aggression.  This could include slowing down; doing only what they are told to do and no more; omitting to give the boss crucial information.  They no longer have their heart and soul in the job and the only thing that they can think of is how to get their boss into trouble.
 
And if this goes on too long the employee will leave quite often over a trivial issue taking his or her contacts, experience and knowledge straight to the competition. 

Dealing With Noise in the Workplace

The current trend of open plan offices has altered the way we work.  For one, it has made the environment much noisier, with constantly ringing phones, noise from water cooler gossip sessions and from a variety of office machinery, such as printers and copiers.

A noisy workplace tends to increase stress levels and reduce productivity.  There are no solutions that will completely eliminate noise but there are ways to control it.  Here is how:

You cannot make the noise go away.  The best way to deal with his situation is to acknowledge the unwanted sounds and understand that you must coexist.  Acceptance can make you adjust easily. 

There will be times when you will be irritated by the increasing noise levels.  Take a break and walk away from the environment.

Talk to your line manager about the increasing noise and how it is affecting your productivity.  Doing the same with your colleagues may help.

Discourage irrelevant talk by not becoming a part of unnecessary conversations in the open office areas.

Help create a culture of acoustic courtesy by posting signs like Quiet Please, Work in Progress.

Do not hesitate to politely ask colleagues for an action that may help reduce the noise to some extent, like not to using the speaker phone or to taking their extended conversations to an office or conference room.

If all else fails, use earplugs or muffs; they can block out background noise to large extent.

Dealing With Noise in Workplace

The current trend of open plan offices has altered the way we work.  for one, it has made the environment much noisier, with constantly ringing phones, noise from water cooler gossip sessions and from a variety of office machinery, such as printers and copiers.

A noisy workplace tends to increase stress levels and reduce productivity.  There are no solutions that will completely eliminate noise but there are ways to control it.  Here is how:

You cannot make the noise go away.  The best way to deal with his situation is to acknowledge the unwanted sounds and understand that you must coexist.  Acceptance can make you adjust easily. 

There will be times when you will be irritated by the increasing noise levels.  Take a break and walk away from the environment.

Talk to your line manager about the increasing noise and how it is affecting your productivity.  Doing the same with your colleagues may help.

Discourage irrelevant talk by not becoming a part of unnecessary conversations in the open office areas.

Help create a culture of acoustic courtesy by posting signs like Quiet Please, Work in Progress.

Do not hesitate to politely ask colleagues for an action that may help reduce the noise to some extent, like not to using the speaker phone or to taking their extended conversations to an office or conference room.

If all else fails, use earplugs or muffs; they can block out background noise to large extent.

Living in the 9 to 5 Box

I remember embracing the 9 to 5 work life with soaring ambitions and an iron-clad resolve to prove myself as a committed professional.  While commitment was an inherent quality that did not require much effort so genuinely believed, efficient  time management was an art that came with time.  Six years after successfully earning the certified seal of approval from my employers in time management, I would like to share some key learning with all newbies hoping to start the year 2011 with a leap into the corporate world.

Priorities:
Learn to differentiate between work that is priority and work that can wait.  Focus first on work that is pressing and tackle it head-on.  For work that is not urgently required but is pending nonetheless, give yourself deadlines and stick to them. 

Do not procrastinate:
The more time you have, the more time you will waste.  As clichéd as it may sound, do not put off work that you can do today for tomorrow.  You never know what new tasks will come your way the next day so make your life easier by doing the maximum you can do each day. 

Get a head start:
Learn to respect time.  It is one thing to stroll in late for a meting one day, but make a practice out of it and you will lose all respect no matter how good you are at what you do. So try to get a head start each day.  Remember, staying ahead of time is the only way you can stay ahead of the game.

Get rid of the clutter:
Sometimes the smallest tasks can take the most time.  Uncluttered your mind by using the early hours of the day to get rid of the small things that are pending to allow yourself to focus on the bigger picture.

Ensure clarity of vision:
Before you step in for work, have a clear vision for each day.  Remember time is money so work out what you need to achieve each day.  The clearer you are, the more you will achieve. 

What is Career all About

Unfortunately, many of us do not work for a rewarding. Success is difficult in somebody’s work and family life, see no more challenges in their job and are ready for something new, like promoted within their company, have fear of losing their jobs, want their career a new direction, etc..
These are the issues and problems can go to a career counselor steps. This will build upon your initial question and through individual discussions, exercises and home assignments possibly, teach you a better picture of who you really are, what you can do and what you want. Such guidance takes at least six hours, is divided into discussions of one to two hours and spread over several weeks or months. It goes without saying that the information collected during the mentoring process is communicated to the Advisor, is strictly confidential.

What Your Job is?

"Your job is to find out what your work"
(Buddha)
Is this still what I want in my work?
When will I do what I want to do long?
How can I after discharge or reorganization pick up the thread?
What I really want in my life?
Shall I start for myself?
I know what I want, but how do I go about it?
How do I prepare for the job?
Career guidance is aimed at people who worry about the work situation that has arisen or is likely to arise in the future. The task is up to you in contact with and learns to act out what energizes you. What is the realistic and achievable framework? Together we look at which "I" should be addressed.

The Need of Career Guidance

Guidance (advice, coaching) means that you wonder who you are, what you want, why you want and what other possibilities. You're not alone, but together with a professional guide. Eventually you find out what suits you best and how best to deal with yourself and others in your work.

Before you try to reach a qualified instructor, it had better talk to your partner or friends about what exactly goes wrong in your work. Read also a book or magazine about your career questions. If that does not lead to a satisfactory answer then perhaps a seminar or training can provide you an accessible start to your career questions.

The most intensive form of career is a personal journey with a professional career coach. These are experienced people who are used to deal with difficult questions in the field of work and career to go. In a personal career coaching assignments, get your questions and get your weekly or bi-weekly by the consultant for a coaching conversation.

Each man or woman, young or old, who works or wants to work can benefit from career guidance. Most people who seek careers in the "second quarter" of their career (as between 30 and 45 years) and have a busy social life. People who are below or above this age group are making use of career guidance.

The Psychology of Vocational Guidance Process

The psychology of vocational guidance process is characterized by several features to help the individual to:

• The development of an integrated picture of the same suit with different abilities, aptitudes, motivations, value orientation and social conditions
• Development and acceptance of the role played by the world of work in accordance with its possibilities
• Experience and test the image being of himself and his role in the world of work in the field of real life.
• Achieve an image of himself in the field of work so that happiness is available to him and beneficial to society.

What is Career Guidacne all about?

Known as vocational guidance, the scientific method as a strategy that allows the individual access to the highest cultural level in the shortest time possible and provide as much of the means by which to engage in the highest social groups.

 The direction especially in the field of employment and vocational education has emerged at the beginning of this century as a result of the development of industry and manufacturing.

From here the States concerned with vocational guidance issues recently considerable attention and has become a large enterprise and the role of a wide equipped with the latest devices that help in achieving these purposes.

Vocational guidance began to focus on the existence of different capacities of individuals and attempt to discover these capabilities and the development of each individual commensurate with the preparations. 

Career guidance prepares young people for life and their attitude to the profession through appropriate study of field. Getting knowledge of their abilities and aptitudes and inclinations is the goal of career guidance. Career adviser give adequate information on the different professions and the required capacities and predispositions to enable an individual to choose a profession or craft, which is aligned as well as providing information, advice and expertise through targeted professional development.

Lead the Change...Helping Firms Manage Change

Helping firms manage change is a major issue for HR managers.  In today’s corporate world where employees leave unexpectedly, customers demand new, more effective products and the continued focus on automation all put added pressure on the organization as a whole and the HR department in particular. 

Faced with situations like these, good HR managers need to focus on certain aspects of their organization such as the corporate culture, employee attitudes and skills, company strategy and structure as well as new technology. 

Here are a few tips on how to be a change agent:

• Once you have become aware of a need to change, start by creating a sense of urgency.  Involve all the affected departments and diagnose the problems jointly. 
• Create a guiding coalition of influential people, who work together as a team to act as visionaries and implementers.
• Develop a shared vision by involving employees involved in the organization intended future direction. 
• Communicate the vision with all those who will be directly and indirectly affected by the change.  The best way do this is by keeping the message simple, i.e., eliminating jargon and using multiple channels such as meetings, formal and informal interaction etc. 
• Lead by example – make sure your behavior and decisions are consistent with the vision you promote.
• Change at any level can be difficult therefore it is critical to help employees adjust to the change.  This may include training, time to adjust to new responsibilities and opportunities to give their feedback.  
• Monitor progress and adjust the vision as and when required. 

Understanding of the Spirit of the Squirrel

Once employees have an understanding of the spirit of the squirrel, based on the realsiation that they are performing worthwhile work towards a goal based on values the employees also need to be in charge of their goals and have control over how the goal is achieved.

The second principle showcases empowerment and was demonstrated by watching heavers repairing their dam, which had been damaged by a flood.  Each beaver swam back and forth with branches, and anchored them to the dam in a purposeful, independent activity.  There was no boss beaver telling the other beavers what size of branch to bring or where to put it.  Each beaver decided or itself by exercising its best judgment. 

The way of the Beaver descries an individual’s relationship to the organisation.  Employees need to have a playing field with clearly marked boundaries the role of the management is to establish the framework through setting goals and values and define the rules of the game and the limits for each position.  The players should have the liberty, and the responsibility, to work to their highest potential without unwarranted interference.  Having spirit and teamwork is not enough if management puts employees on a tight rope which doesn’t allow them to make their own decisions or judgments. 

Another critical factor is respect.  If people don’t support and respect each other in an organisation, they will not be able to reach their assigned goals. 

Gung Ho!  Requires a stretch in order to move into uncharted territory and that is achieved by making sure that expectations are according to the skill and capability of the person yet challenging, demanding the best of them and encouraging them to extend themselves beyond their reach to learn and move ahead. 

Great Speech by Pakistani child...Great Career Prospect

Patience Is a Virtue

While we plunge ourselves into “time-management” strictures, attempting to do as much with this precious resource as we can, we also need to realise the virtues of taking things slow.  You see, in our hurry to achieve all our aspirations now, we forget that some things will take time.  Unless we become CEO before the age of 40, we must be doing something wrong.  How destructive.  In an average working lifespan of 35 years it is important to pace oneself over time to ensure the sustainability and continued progression of one’s career.  If not, expect to be humbled by burnout or worse, spend a good number of years sitting on a plateau. 
Realistically speaking, how many people do you know who have made it to the top in their early 30s and were able to stay on top till retirement: unless you plan to give up regular work before you reach 50 (which is the goal of some), it is much wiser to progress in incremental steps, consolidating your learning and achievements along the way. 
The reason for this, in my opinion, is that we are putting the cart before the horse; i.e., we are focusing on gaining positions’ and titles instead of gaining experiences as fairly often things don’t go the way we wish them to.  My advice, for what it is wrath; focus on the tasks and let the results take care of themselves.

Frustrated by the Work environment

Q. I am a B.Com, with PIPA qualification and a CA (Foundation). I have just joined a company two and a half month ago on a contractual basis. Although I was very satisfied with my previous job with zero frustration, I left it because my present employer is multinational organisation. However, from the third day of my joining I started getting frustrated by the work environment here. I am a non-executive staff member and I am treated like an out cast, with no medical facilities, conveyance, drinking water, respect or rights. Even tea and lunch are dished out as if we are getting food in Africa. I am frustrated because of this environment, and also because I cannot change my job now as this is my third job in four years. Keep in mind that I am from a middle class family and cannot afford to lose job at this time. Unemployment amongst the students in today's world is further frustrating me. Your answer will be a great help for me.
A. Hey, stop crying "poor me" and start taking control of your environment. Obviously when you took the job you know it was a contractual position and as such contractual employees in a lot of companies do not have the same entitlements as regular employees. Basically you knew what you would be getting in terms of compensation and benefits and you accepted it in exchange for the opportunity to put the name of this very good multinational organisation on your resume. So congratulations, you got the name, now what? As it looks like you are already comfortable with frequent moves (with three already in only four years' time), now just make your stay here as comfortable as possible till you move on again. How?
Since you do not like the way food is served, bring your own sandwich and bottled water. Since you do not have conveyance facilities, carpool with a colleague and split the cost. No respect or rights? Well here is where I would draw the line. I have a philosophy that goes: you cannot expect respect, you can only earn it. So stop distracting yourself with other matter and focus on performing to the best of your abilities in this new job, and earning professional respect. Perhaps you will start enjoying your new job, and perhaps this time, you will end up staying on for a few years instead of a few months.

The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

It has been long emphasized that people make decisions about the people they meet within the first few minutes.  According to Malcolm Gladwell in his boom, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking,  these impressions are formed almost whenever we meet a new person or have to make sense of something quickly or encounter a novel situation.  He says, Snap judgments are, first of all, enormously quick:  they rely on the thinnest slices of experience… they are also unconscious. 

Gladwell says that sometimes we need to trust the blink because this ability to make instant judgment calls saves lives, provides interpersonal insight, allows us to assess situations instantaneously and take timely action.  So, it’s not an ability you want to be discard, even though sometimes your first snap decisions can be terribly wrong.  However, when you do have the opportunity, you must gather relevant information relating to the challenge before reaching a decision.  However, Gladwell warns against increasing the post of information endlessly and states that at times you need to trust that gut instinct or blink.

IBA Business English Course

Institute of Business Administration has offered admissions in English Language Course.  This course is suitable for those who want to get a job in Multi National companies where the must requirement is knowledge about business English.  This course will cover various aspect of business communication and interaction.  Letter writing, taking notice, office antiquate, English communication etc.  are some field which will be covered in this course. 

Cadet College Petaro...Admission Notice

This is an advertisement appeared in Pakistan Nation daily regarding admission in Cadet College Petaro.   Admission are being offered in class VII and VIII.  The student who want to get admission in this college must old from 12 to 14 years.  Cadet college is place where career after graduation  is bright.  Pakistan Armed Forces offer great career opportunities for cadets of cadet colleges. 

Making Snap Decisions

From a corporate perspective, this ability to make snap decisions about situations and people in a blink has significant implications on how we interview and recruit staff.   It has an impact on how we interact with people who are different than ourselves, how we develop relationships with people at work and our reactions in confrontational situations.  It affects our networking and business relationship building. 

The key learning is that even though we make instant judgments about situations and people that bring into play all of our biases, a result of our beliefs, attitudes, values, experiences, educations and more, the important thing is that these decisions be accompanied using the process of thin-slicing and that it is largely unconscious. 

Changing to Succeed

Fables have been written and shared over the centuries dating back to Aesop, but is only in recent times that the business narrative in the form of a fable has gained popularity as a means to influence behavior.  Our iceberg is melting by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber is a business narrative in the form of a fable structured around eight steps “because that is how people experience the process.  There is a flow in a successful change effort…”

Kotter and Rathgeber present the framework for an effective corporate change initiative by narrating a tale of a colony of Antarctic penguins facing the imminent collapse of the iceberg on which they live.  Under the leadership of one particularly astute bird, a small team of penguins with varied personalities and leadership skills create urgency, build consensus to determine a plan of action to implement change by overcoming disbelief and opposition, develop a team building structure and step outside the box to overcome the changes. 
In the present economic crisis, decision makers in organizations are facing challenges, be it sales, profits, ROI, attrition of valued employees, client and or market share.  What Kotter and Rathgeber recommend in their business fable is, infect, a framework y which to understand and then respond effectively to whatever challenges may appear by changing what is done and more importantly, how is it done, so that organizations can succeed “under any conditions”.

The core issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems.  All of these elements are important but the essential ingredient in any change strategy is always about changing the behaviors of people and that is successfully achieved by addressing people’s feelings.

Beneficial change is an on-going process, not a designation and has one requirement more important than any other: adapt or perish.  

Opposing Paradoxes

To be sure, leadership encompasses an array of conflicting demands that seem to contradict each other.  But what is life without opposites, paradoxes and opposing views?
Remember the sayings we were taught in school: “Too many cooks spoil the broth” and “Many hands make light work”?
I picked this up from an article a long time ago; it was developed by a major firm to remind its executives of the harsh realities of leadership.  I am sorry I don’t recall the source to give proper credit. 

• To be able to build a close relationship with one’s staff… and to keep a suitable distance.
• To be able to lead… and to hold oneself in the background.
• To trust ones’ staff and to keep an eye on what is happening. 
• To be tolerant and to know how you want tings to function.
• To keep the goals of one’s own department in mind, and at the same time be loyal to the whole firm. 
• To do a good job of planning you own time, and be flexile with your schedule.
• To express freely your own views, and to e diplomatic.
• To be a visionary, and keep one’s feet on the ground.
• To try to win consensus and t know when to cut through.
• To be dynamic, and be reflective.
• To be sure of oneself, and be humble.