Human Capital Management

PeopleStreme.com have made this awesome video and posted it onto You Tube.  I have put it here and will add my contribution further down the page.

What value do you place on your work?  What value is placed on you?  Do you rate yourself or not?

Conversely - What value do you place on others work?  What value do you place on others?  How do you measure that value and is that measure relevant or accurate?

Here are a few facts of life as far as organisation's go -

• Size matters.  The bigger the organisation the less they know about you.  What happens is the more layers in an organisation the more removed you will be from the central services.
• Front Line Managers matter! The relationship between you and your direct manager is always the most important relationship you will have.  This is true if you are the cleaner all the way through to if you are a Director of the Board.  You must work with your boss!
• The HR Department matters!  Admitted in most organisations the only time you most people will interact with HR is when they are hired or if they are fired.  But it doesn't have to be that way!  Go out of yur way to meet the staff and make sure they remember who you are (for the right reasons of course).  It pays to make friends and keep them for as long as you can.
• The skills and abilities of your staff matter!  Update them!  Watch your staff.  Learn from them.  Be open to having your staff tell you where they think what sklls they need to work on and develop.  If you disagree you can help steer them in a better direction.  Create an audit or questionaire to work through at appraisal time to help lead and guide your discussions about where peoples skills are at.
• Coaching matters!  The best time to coach someone is when they are reflecting and considering their performance.  If your manager doesn'tdo this for you - tell them or look for another manager.

PunkRockHR posted a great piece on employee engagement a few days ago which ties in nicely with this post.  Head over there and check it out - WARNING: it will provoke a response.

People who are paid to do work will do a better job when they feel valued, understood and have the freedom to do what they have to in a way that makes sense to them (while adding value to the organisation).

Word of the Week - Catalyst

cat·a·lyst (ktl-st)

1. Chemistry - A substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process.

2. One that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences.
 
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If being a catalyst were a requirement in your job description would you meet the grade required?

Remember - catalysts make chemical reactions move faster. Catalysts aren't the reaction.  Based on that understanding here are a few thoughts on how you can become a catalyst in your place of work -

1. Stay fresh.  Catalysts are used over and over again.  Make sure you are fit (physically) and look after your health.
2. Question everything.  Create new methods and practices for doing things better!
3. Be open to new ideas.
4. Search out new ideas, options and practices for current procedures that will create new levels of performance (mental fitness).

The secret to being a catalyst is to speed up reactions in others and to help processes move along faster than what they normally would!

(Image courtesy of : http://www.flickr.com/photos/chemheritage/3010563525/)

CEO Interview - Anne Mulcahy

McKinseyQuarterly.com strive to be the best.  There is no doubt about that fact.  How do I know?  Every few weeks that email out updates that summarise the latest and greatest content that they have available.

This month there are interviews with three top CEO's who share some of the lessons they have learnt through business.  One of the interviewees this time is Anne Mulcahy.  

Past Chief Executive and current Chairperson of the Board at Xerox - this is one very cool cat!

Here are the major points that Anne expressed -

• Don't surround yourself with yes people.  Have people on staff and on board who will challenge your decisions and will be honest with you.
• Get the right people!  You can create forward momentum by selecting the right people at the outset.  And if those people aren't the right people - go out and find them!
• Create a team that will fill your weaknesses while also challenging your strengths.
• Ask hard question of yourself and others; and have them ask those same hard questions right back at you.
• Learn what not to do.  Knowing when not to do something is just as significant as knowing when to do something.
• Timing is everything.  "Timelines trumps perfection".  Take a risk, have a go - but be smart about it.

You can read the original version of this article by clicking here and heading over to McKinsey.

You will also be able to fnd another great interview with Anne at the Corner Office.

Don't Leave Your Job - Here's Why

This 'Management Tip of the Day" from Harvard sums up my present feelings absolutely.

MARCH 24, 2010, 3 Reasons You Shouldn't Leave Your Job

You may be unhappy, fed up, and ready to bolt from your job. Instead of running out the door, take a deep breath and consider these three reasons to stay where you are — at least for now:

1. Relationships matter more than money. You may think you can find a job that will pay you more, but you will be leaving behind a wealth of relationships. When weighing your options, don't forget the value of the network you have now.

2. It's less urgent than you think. Job seekers who are desperate to get out of a job tend to do less research about potential employers. Strategically plan your next career move instead of running away.

3. You're likely overestimating yourself. Research shows that most job seekers overestimate their skills and prospects. Before you leave, take the time to do a realistic assessment of what you have to offer.

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This is one area that I battle with quite a bit.  Whenever things aren't going quite right, the politics are too much to handle or I just get sick of the BS my first inclination is to look elsewhere for employment opportunites.  That is the subjective view.

But when I sit back and take stock objectively of where I am at as far as career development and the opportunities afforded to me -  I am actually in an excellent place of work right now.  Am I thinking of leaving - no, probably not.  I think I'll just wait and see what comes along.

Community Contribution

When you leave work what do you do?  Go home, kick back and relax.  Mellow out and wait for the next working day to come around?

What about contributing to your community?  Volunteer.  Give up some of your time and expertise to help others achieve their goals and dreams.

Here are a few ideas - Toastmasters, local Schools or Kindergartens, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Sports clubs.

If you are reading this and you are in New Zealand here is a great example website -http://www.volunteernow.org.nz/.

Personally I enjoy helping out with events and organisations that are relevant to our family.  Examples - my daughters netball team, helping out at Toastmasters, helping the athletics club run their event days.  In the past - helping churches, kindy's and scout groups.

Take the expertise that you apply for-profit during the day and apply if not-for-profit in the evenings and weekends. Who knows - you might even enjoy it!

Crisis Management - Telecom New Zealand (Case Study)

Telecom New Zealand has been having a real hard time recently.  They engaged a new project and product offering.  Telecom installed an entire new network, called XT, with high speed capability across the country.

The system was buzzing along fine for a few months and then the unthinkable happened - the network failed!

Okay - they set to work to fix the problems as quick as they could.  Then a few weeks later the system crashed again, and then crashed again with a grand total of four crashes.  The crashes ranged from being nation wide for a few days, to occuring in a localised area for a few hours followed by inability of users to call emergency services.

Once the media sensed there was a 'news-worthy' story they started watching out for further fails.  Like vultures awaiting the dying prey to fall, the media waited.  And, unfortunately, they got what they wanted.

This post isn't bout the media and their coverage - it's about accountability.  Given the service crashed four times and affected different locations and types of customers who is responsible?  The most obvious place to start is the CEO.  They have the final sign off for crucial projects and therefore the buck stops with them.  Right?

Not necessarily.  Like the Toyota hearings being held in the Senate earlier in the year management may not have actually been at fault!

If I were the CEO of Telecom or Toyota here's what I would endeavor to do -

• Stay put.  I would do everything within my power to see the problems/projects completed.
• Be open and transparent.  There was no hiding the fact that there were issues going on.  Hiding away or trying to ignore the problems does nothing to solve them.  Create a plan or strategy for dealing with the issues (the more comprehensive the better) and then use the media to broadcast those ideas instead.  Make the media work for you and not the other way around.
• Rally internal support.  I would seek out those loyal to me firstly and make sure I had a team who were prepared to take the rap as well and see the project satisfactorily completed.  If I was unable to gather the level of support I needed then I would reconsider my first decision to stay put.
• Rally external support.  Ultimately shareholders and stakeholders are your employer.  I would be seeking out ways to get those persons on board as quick as I could.  The rlationship you have as CEO with the Chairman of the Board can be the making or the breaking of your employment position as well.
• Know when to call for help!  I would seek out extensive experts in their field.  No one person has the capability to deal with this type of situation.  Cool heads and intelligent people are needed to work through these issues. 

I am lucky(?) that I am not in the position of those CEO's and I wouldn't wish those fail scenarios on anyone.  But I do relish the opportunity to muse on what the Telecoms and Toyotas have done in their hour of crisis so that I can plan now for whatever may come in future years.

(Images - http://www.flickr.com/photos/francescobellu/3488788000/sizes/t/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/hulk4598/3381433179/)

Seinfeld - Answering Phones and Avoiding People

Have you ever had a client/cutomer/colleague you just didn't want to speak to right now?  Check out this great laugh from Seinfeld.  It's titled - George's Answering Phone.  Enjoy!

Whoever the person was that invented the little screen on your telephone that tells you who is calling - deserves an award!

Swiss Army Knife - Management Lessons - Market Placement

Mark Di Somma wrote a great post about the Swiss Army Knife on his blog back in 2008.  What he wrote is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it.

Here is a summary of his points -

• Competition can come from unforeseen places. 
• The place of manufacture and production can be used to leverage an advantage.
• Visual branding is vital.
• Who you are perceived to be selling to can also be an important marketing tool.
• The amount of time and care you take to produce your product can set it apart from it's competitors.
• Create a legacy that future generations want to interact with and own.

Here are my thoughts -

• You never know where your competitors may be coming from - so keep in touch with latest trends and fads.  You can start here for some ideas.
• Consumers are aware and passionate about who made and where made the products they are buying.  Use this as a positive.  Small countrys and towns have great appeal.
• One example of a great branding is Fuel Advertising.  They have a mock fuel pump for a door handle at the entrance of their offices.  This is a great idea!
• Way back in time Harley Davidson used to market their motorcycles to Joe Average.  Clean cut, nice guy motorbike riders.  What they didn't realise straight away was that their motorcycles didn't appeal so much to the masses as to the rebels.  So they changed who they were aiming at and completely changed their business.
• Quality is everything.  There is no excuse for selling, making, teaching crap.  There are few spaces for competitive and sustainable company's to do crap.  The same goes for managers.  Learn, train and be the best at what you do.  Quality counts.
• Do it right today and people will come back for more tomorrow!

ROI = Return On Investment

In business accountants, shareholders and investors apply a range of different measures to assess how well a company or organisation are progressing. The simplest method for calculating a return = Return On Investment.

The basic formula works like this -

• what gains can I make from investing vs. what is it going to cost me to invest?

Most people apply this formula intuitively when spending monies. Some do not. My recommendation for the day is for you to start applying this formula to everything you do during your work day. Try assessing different situations such as -

• Meetings.
• Telephone calls.
• Professional Development.
• Engaging new clients.
• Hiring employees.

Is it worth the cost of your time to engage doing these things? Will you make any gains or investments by doing these or would you be better off delegating the task or contracting it out?

You are most valuable to your organisation completing tasks that create the highest ROI.

Book Review - Pains In The Office

Following on from their previous two best sellers - 'Pains on Trains' and 'Pains in Public', Andrew Holmes and Dan Wilson have gone on to write another great book - 'Pains in the Office'.

The 'Pains' series looks at everyday situations where people interact with other people and attempts to create character profiles for them. For this book the authors have identified 50 personality types that frequent the offices of all company's the entire world around.

Here are some examples -

• The Ball Breaker. Females who want to emulate men and copy some of their worst traits in order to try and be one.


• The Competitor. Failure is not an option. Kisses the butts of those in power and kicks those of everyone who is not.


• The Little Big Man. Short people who attempt to make up for their height deficiencies by being bossy and absolutely unhelpful.


• The Moaner. Some people are just never happy.

Included in each chapter are - ratings on the strength of the pain, the rarity factor, seasonal variations and some fun strategies for dealing with the pains.

This book is a bit of fun. As with its subject matter you can't take it too seriously. I recommend picking it up, having a read and moving on. When you're finished - keep it on your shelf for future reference. You'll need it!