There once was a wise sage who wandered the countryside. One day, as he passed near a village, he was approached by a woman who told him of a sick child nearby. She beseeched him to help this child.
So the sage came to the village, and a crowd gathered around him, for such a man was a rare sight. One woman brought the sick child to him, and he said a prayer over her.
"Do you really think your prayer will help her, when medicine has failed?" yelled a man from the crowd.
"You know nothing of such things! You are a stupid fool!" said the sage to the man.
The man became very angry with these words and his face grew hot and red. He was about to say something, or perhaps strike out, when the sage walked over to him and said: "If one word has such power as to make you so angry and hot, may not another have the power to heal?"
And thus, the sage healed two people that day.
"Language does have the power to change reality. Therefore, treat your words as the mighty instruments they are - to heal, to bring into being, to nurture, to cherish, to bless, to forgive." - Daphne Rose Kingma
Obama by his words and speeches has managed to galavanise the whole nation and inspite of his so called disadavantages( first time senator, foriegn sounding name , Afro American origin...)
This article is contributed by Surabhi Bhantnagar. She wins the book 'Stay Hungry Stay Foolish"
THE TRAP - get out of your comfort zone! There was a village that was attacked by wild boars. Everyday the wild boars would enter the village to rampage the whole village of their food. The villagers tried various means to fight and chase away the wild boars, but without much success.
One day a wise man approached the village headman to offer his advice. He told the villagers that they will have to follow all his advice and directions. Out of desperation, the villagers agreed. The wise man told the villagers to gather all the food from every household and put it in the middle of a big empty field.
They followed his advice, and immediately they saw hundreds of wild boars approaching the vicinity where the food was placed. The wild boars were apprehensive initially, but after a while they went for the food. Once the wild boars had a taste of the food they came back for the free food everyday. And everyday the villagers would put more food in the field and the wild boars would come to have their free meals. After a while, the wise man asked the villagers to erect four poles at the four-corners of the field.
The wild boars were too busy having their food that they did not take notice of what was happening. After a few weeks, the wild boars developed the habit of having free food. The wise man then asked the villagers to put fencing around the field, with a large gate through which the wild boars can enter to have their food.
Finally once the fencing and the gate were completed the villagers closed the gate and all the wild boars were trapped inside the field. The wild boars were
finally defeated!
SUCCESS PRINCIPLES
Habits are easily developed but difficult to get rid of. The wild boars were trapped because out of their greed, they developed the habit of having free food, and without having to work for their food.
They became so comfortable, that they did not realize they were being trapped. Most of us are like the wild boars because we become too comfortable with our jobs and businesses that we do not realize we are in one way or another being "trapped". We seek security rather than freedom!
Linking Attitude and Behavior Also known as Betari's Box, Betaris Box, and the Cycle of Conflict
Natasha's boss mistrusted her. This wasn't because she was incompetent – rather, it seemed to be a matter of principle for him. He spent most of the day watching people to make sure they did their work correctly. He watched the clock to ensure that everyone's lunch hour was exactly one hour long. He even checked their mailboxes to make sure they weren't receiving personal messages.
Not surprisingly, Natasha and her colleagues resented their boss's mistrust. As a result, they stopped making decisions for themselves; they just asked him what he wanted when a decision had to be made, and they stopped taking responsibility for what they were doing. This reinforced the boss's belief that they weren't capable of working under their own initiative.
Have you ever seen a cyclical pattern of behavior like this in your workplace? It's common in organizations, and it's illustrated in a simple model called the Betari Box.
In this article, we'll show you what the Betari Box is, and you'll learn how to use it to improve the mood of your workplace.
The Betari Box
The Betari Box, seen in Figure1, is a model that helps us understand the impact that our own attitudes and behaviors have on the attitudes and behaviors of the people around us.
Our attitude plays a large role in the behavior we exhibit. When we're feeling motivated and positive, we smile, we compliment our team, and we empower those around us. When we're feeling negative, the reverse is often true – we can be impatient, we get angry at our people, and we might even yell or argue.
These behaviors often affect the people around us. They then turn those negative behaviors back on us, and the conflict gets worse.
Although the idea of the Betari Box is quite simple, understanding it can help people learn to recognize when they're stuck in a negative cycle.
Examples of the Betari Box
Using the Betari Box is all about recognizing negative cycles, and making a change within yourself to break out of them. The following examples show what can happen when you are – or are not – willing to make this change.
Example 1: Imagine that your drive to work is very stressful. The longer you sit in traffic, the more frustrated you become – and by the time you get to the office, you're in a negative mood.
Your attitude causes you to use inappropriate negative behaviors. Your temper is short, so you yell at your assistant and then shout at a colleague when you discover a mistake in the report she just gave you.
Your negative behavior, in turn, affects your assistant and colleague. They are upset by your attitude and behavior, and they then repeat them in other negative ways. Your assistant is sulky and unhelpful for the next few hours, and your colleague is sarcastic and resentful towards you as well. No real communication takes place.
Example 2: Imagine that it's just after lunch. You've had your negative drive into work, and you've already yelled at your assistant and your colleague.
As you sit at your desk angry, you realize that this all started with something incredibly silly: your drive into work. After thinking about this, you decide to exit the cycle. You begin by offering your assistant a genuine apology, which he accepts with a smile. You also apologize to your colleague, and you offer to work with her on the report to improve it. She also accepts your apology, and she thanks you for being willing to help fix her mistake.
The end result: productive, meaningful communication can now take place, simply because you were willing to stop your negative thinking and step out of the cycle.
Example 3: The next day, your commute is just as bad, but you use relaxation techniques in your car, and you make a real effort to be positive as you go into the office. You greet your assistant and your colleague warmly. Soon they're pleasant back to you, and you all have a positive, enjoyable, productive day.
Key Points
The Betari Box illustrates how our own attitudes and behaviors directly affect the attitudes and behaviors of people around us. When we're stuck in a negative cycle, then it's up to us to stop that cycle by changing our attitude. This will positively impact those around us – and therefore break the cycle.
Apply This to Your Life
Remember that your attitude, good or bad, affects everyone around you.
The next time you're in a negative mood, stop what you're doing. Take a few minutes to assess why you're feeling so negative. Negativity often begins with an insignificant event (like spilling coffee or getting stuck in traffic) and simply gets worse from there. Consciously decide to break out of the cycle by focusing on something positive.
If a colleague is stuck in a negative cycle, then remember that you have a choice in how you respond. Just because that person is negative to you doesn't mean that you have to be negative back.
If a team member is persistently grumpy and rude, explore the reasons for that negativity with them. Consider talking about the Betari box, and highlight the consequences of their behavior for team productivity and for their own quality of life.
It's possible to get into downward spirals where someone is grumpy with you, you get defensive and grumpy back, and so on. Where you see this happen, see if you can agree to "press the reset button", and be pleasant to one-another.
Practice empathy at work. Empathy can also get you out of a negative cycle once you're in it.
Every manager likes to work with employees who ‘know-more-learn-more’, are optimally productive and provide a strategic business advantage. The post of a Chief Learning Officer (CLO) was created to meet such high expectations. However not many have succeeded. CLOs cite lack of interest and involvement among senior executives as reasons for this failure. “ Half-hearted support for employee training programmes has an adverse impact on employee performance and organisational productivity. As a result, cynicism for training activities is bound to grow. It’s a rather vicious circle, to say the least! According to a recent Gallup research 70 percent of managers lacked engagement and commitment for training and development activities. But managers alone can’t be blamed for this situation. CLOs are aware that most managers believe training programmes gain impetus and importance only when the organisation is experiencing an economic high! This is true. When profits stagnate or begin to reduce, training is the first to go. Their B-school experience is responsible for managers to view training as ‘nice-to-have-n-do’ programmes only when the going is good. But this situation needs to be reversed. Forming a well-oiled CLO-senior executives working partnership is invaluable to the success of every training initiative. The first step The main role of CLOs is to create awareness among and educate senior executives on how training
Is as important as any other managerial function
Improves sales, revenues and market share
Reduces operating costs
This is followed by a few other simple tasks.
A ‘costly’ affair Heading the list of organisational expenses is the ‘cost of employees’, which includes their salaries, perks, and maintenance of support systems. However this cost doesn’t show up in the balance sheet. One of the first CLO tasks is to remind top management of the importance of reducing this cost. It is important for the CLO to know the average costs of hiring an employee and that of every new employee (salaries and perks). An enterprising CLO can obtain this cost from the CFO. Reducing the cost of employees especially during tough economic times is quite a challenge. Also, most organisations are staffed with employees who aren’t competent in their key tasks and those who are burdened with large workloads. These employees invariably fail to reach the desired performance levels. To implement strategic, tactical and profitable decisions that help improve performance even during tough times a workforce would require:
Ample senior managerial support
Adequate training
It is often wrongly assumed that senior executives would know something of this importance. In a random exercise a handful of senior executives were asked why their organisations invested in training and development. Most of the responses were weak and unconvincing. CLO intervention is urgently required here! A smart CLO found a novel way of educating his senior executives on the value of training. He compiled a presentation naming a few low performing organisations, which were so because of a lack of training and performance support systems. He showed this presentation during meetings with his executive team. What’s a performance system? A manufacturing firm offered good products and competitive services. However their sales figures were constantly low. An untrained sales force fails to create additional and new customers, reduces the existing market share and increases operational costs. Sufficient managerial support and timely and adequate training results in the much desired cost containment. Fortunately there is the Systems Approach for Workforce Performance that helps develop a highly competitive workforce. The flip side though is that less than one percent of senior executives is aware of this methodology. Again, hardly one percent knows that in order to improve workforce performance, the training department should provide performance consultants, well versed in key organisational functions. It is time for the CLO to step in again. A CLO must explain how the Systems Approach for workforce Performance works. All it takes are six steps The first step is all about comprehension. The CLO with his senior executive team should identify and understand the key factors affecting strategic and business goals. In step two, while it is the task of the line manager to ensure that key processes are being performed to achieve cost containment, CLOs too have a role to play. They review the basic processes whenever a new decision is being implemented. Performance consultants begin to play an active role from step three onwards where they identify what employees must know and do in key positions. Identifying performance requirements helps the consultants take step four. At this stage consultants work with instructional designers to develop or improve training and support systems that help create a performance system for key positions. A well- designed performance system includes:
Employee development activities
On-the-job and performance based training initiatives
Basic support systems
While the emphasis of performance systems is on training, this alone doesn’t impact employee performance. That’s why in step five the human resources team comes into play. Working in tandem with performance consultants they work on a reward and recognition system that motivates employees to optimise performance levels. The sixth and final step is when:
Line managers are involved in performance appraisal tasks and coaching
Consultants, based on feedback, make due changes in their performance systems
Performance of key positions are benchmarked against that of competitors
This six -step easy- to- implement methodology helps develop outstanding performers.
Last, but not the least The famous GE CEO, Jack Welch often asked his general managers, “What technology or invention by a competitor would greatly erode your market share and what are you doing to avoid such a debacle?” This question and many more help a line manager direct his efforts towards creating a competitive workforce. A CLO along with his senior executives should prepare a list of key questions for their line managers that could comprise the following:
Is the training department aware of your new strategic or tactical decision?
Have you, based on the approval of the training team, identified the jobs that will impact profits the most?
Have you developed performance requirements with help from consultants for key positions?
Are training and support systems well equipped to help employees achieve optimum performance levels?
Is the allocation of funds and resources adequate to ensure proper employee functioning in key positions?
These questions are very different from the typical ones that a CLO will ask in the absence of well-informed senior executives. Some of the ‘typical questions’ are:
Is training necessary during tough economic times?
Will reducing the training budget affect performance?
How can training be focused to help achieve organisational objectives?
A look at the difference in questions indicates how a good CLO-senior executives’ working relationship contributes towards a higher and better understanding of the way training improves workforce performance. This partnership helps in achieving major breakthroughs in workforce and organisational productivity. This is a CLASSIC Knowledge Mailer.Published by TheManageMentor.
When people think of conflict, they may think of an embittered battle, the locking of horns or the need to prove right versus wrong. Many view conflict as a bad thing - something that needs to be managed. Further, many approach conflict with the idea of simply avoiding it. They associate conflict with arguing, and if they aren't arguing, they believe there is no conflict. But understanding conflict and addressing it instead of avoiding it can allow learning and development professionals to harness it and lead teams to better collaboration.
There are five distinct modes people deploy in reacting to and managing conflict. The first is avoidance. Those in the avoiding mindset will not argue. They don't care if their point of view is honored, nor do they care if the other's point of view is honored. Typically, they believe it is not worth the effort. When issues are trivial, avoiding can be the most appropriate mode. Basically, the approach is to pick your battles and avoid the ones that do not hold return on investment. Also, if tempers have flared, take a timeout. Agree to get back together after an explicit amount of time; temporarily avoiding can be a powerful way to reduce tension to allow the parties to come back together and be more productive. Going to this avoiding mode too frequently, however, can result in others believing someone has no decision-making ability. If they are important decisions, the festering will eventually become too much.
The second conflict mode is competing. Those in competing mode believe, "It's my way or the highway." They need to win at all costs. When tough, unpopular decisions need to be made, these folks can be very useful. They are willing to make the call despite what others think. They are willing to take a stand and not be swayed from it. They will argue for their point regardless of the other points presented. They will throw their weight around if their position or rank will get them what they want. The challenge with overusing the competing mode is that no one will want to present dissenting views. There will be no opportunity for learning. The folks who will be attracted here will only be willing to give welcome messages, omitting other information regardless of how pertinent it is.
The third conflict mode is accommodating. An accommodating personality will bend over backward to respect the view of the other, regardless of how important any of the aspects are. A person in this mode will do what it takes to keep the peace and create goodwill. To some, it will appear to be selflessness, while to others, it will come across as weakness without conviction. This mode can be appropriate when someone is wrong or has lessons to learn from others, as well as when the issue is unimportant to someone and the social credits that could be gained outweigh the need to win. Overuse could lead to a perpetual ignoring of ideas by others. They will be unable to learn from others, restricting influence.
These are the most common modes of conflict, with accommodating and competing being the ones traditionally thought of when we think of conflict. The final two modes seek to take into account some of the views of each of the players.
The fourth conflict mode is compromising. In compromising, players look to make a deal. A negotiation takes place within compromising - "I'll give up this, if you'll give up that." It's finding that middle ground where no one is completely happy, but no one is completely miserable. Compromising strives to give and take, the quantity given and the quantity taken being directly tied to negotiation skills. There are times when it makes sense to compromise, like when time is tight and the issue is too complex for a simple right or wrong answer. Because of the strong negotiation tactics that can be used in compromising, this mode can degrade trust between the parties, each believing the other is out to get as much as possible. It can also focus attention only on the aspects that players care about, thereby losing the big-picture aspects.
The final mode is collaborating. This looks at the whole picture. It looks to integrate the solutions that allow players to learn from each other, to listen and come up with a solution that is bigger than any individual views. It requires that openness to possibility and a discarding of the concept that any one view is the best view. Collaborating works best when we are open to learning; when the merging or insights will take us to the next level; and when a truly creative solution is needed. Not every situation calls for collaboration. In situations that present a puzzle instead of a problem, collaborating would waste time. Puzzles are situations where there is a known solution and an expert could resolve the challenge.
It is fairly easy to determine how to integrate the first four modes into any given situation: avoiding - just don't give a hoot and whatever happens, happens; competing - stand your ground no matter what; accommodating - bend over backward to make sure the other person's needs are met; and compromising - negotiate meeting the other person in the middle so that some needs are met for each of you. Collaborating, on the other hand, needs special attention to be achieved; it requires people to behave in ways that are above and beyond what they usually do. It requires exploring completely to achieve that something that is beyond what anyone has considered.
Not all teams have a learning coach available to help make this powerful leap to collaboration. A few behaviors that make a huge difference in collaboration are:
1. Team size.
At least four but no more than eight, preferably no more than six. A team with too few people will not possess enough diversity of thought. The larger the team, the harder it is to get to a decision.
2. Questions.
Be sure to draw the views of all participants into the discussion.
3. Process checks.
Make sure the team members are processing in a manner that serves them in the best possible way.
4. Identifying the real problem.
Before moving to a solution, identify what needs to be fixed or what the opportunity is.
5. Listening.
Truly listen to what others on the team are saying.
It is only through collaborative, open processes that truly creative solutions can be found to today's problems. Today's world is changing too fast to simply improve on yesterday's benchmarks. If it is benchmarkable, anyone can improve on it. What is needed are solutions that will take organizations to the next level of benchmark, the benchmark that will leave the competition scrambling to catch up. Through collaborative processes, these powerfully creative solutions can be achieved.
[About the Author: Dr. Bea Carson is an author, speaker and expert in the field of action learning.]
Our fitness trainers try to force us on a diet; our doctors warn us to control our food intake thanks to our high cholesterol levels; our wives and girlfriends have warned us they will walk out on us because of that excess baggage pouring over our belts! It is not as if we haven't tried. But it is just so darned hard to control our hunger! Sound familiar? Stay tuned. Rediff offers you tips to control that darn hunger so that you can go ahead and finally be successful in your attempts to stop overeating. Read more after the break...
1.Eat small frequent meals.
Want to lose weight? Eat more -- frequently, that is. Your body needs food to provide energy, repair damaged muscle tissue, and to carry out various other functions. But there are only so many nutrients it can draw from each meal. Large meals mean more nutrients than your body can handle, thus causing an 'overflow effect'. Thus, go for smaller, more frequent meals. They provide just the right amount of nutrients every few hours, without causing that overflow effect. They also maintain blood sugar levels, thus keeping your appetite and energy levels in control.
2. Don't skip meals!
Skipping meals and going too long without food can turn hunger pangs into irresistible cravings. To start with, don't skip breakfast! It is amazing how so many people skip this meal. If you are one of those, change that nasty food habit. NOW! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Your first meal of the day helps replenish all those nutrients lost during that all-night fast. It raises those early morning low blood sugar levels. Missing out on this meal means setting you up for low blood sugar levels and, thus, low energy levels and irresistible hunger pangs and cravings at lunchtime.
3. Eat your veggies!
Vegetables are healthy. They are chockfull with nutrients that can boost your health. They are also rich in fibre, the dieters' secret weapon to control hunger. While all vegetables are beneficial as far as good health and hunger control go, certain veggies, like broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and mushrooms, are super-high in fibre and have a negligible amount of calories. They can fill your stomach and control your hunger while filling you with a small amount of calories.
4. Eat more whole grains and less refined carbohydrates.
Whole grains, besides being healthier than their 'nutrient-stripped' refined counterparts, are also higher in fibre.
Thus they are more filling and satisfying. While refined carbs -- like idlis, dosas, white bread, white rice -- may be low in fat, they are higher in fibre. You may run the risk of over-consuming calories.
5. Eat slowly!
Give it a shot. It actually works. The brain actually takes ten minutes longer than the stomach to receive the message that it is full. Thus, eating too fast might cause you to eat beyond the point of fullness without even realising.
6. Sleep and shed those pounds!
Studies have found that people who sleep only five hours every night were 50 per cent more likely to be obese than those who sleep seven to nine hours. Researchers believe lack of sleep affects hormones related to appetite, causing you to gain pounds.
7 tips to Control your Hunger
Our fitness trainers try to force us on a diet; our doctors warn us to control our food intake thanks to our high cholesterol levels; our wives and girlfriends have warned us they will walk out on us because of that excess baggage pouring over our belts! It is not as if we haven't tried. But it is just so darned hard to control our hunger! Sound familiar?
7. Drink more water!
Water is the healthiest, cheapest and most easily available appetite suppressant around. Thirst is often mistaken as hunger. Also, foods with high water content can fill you up easily. They naturally pack fewer calories for their volume. Toss together a salad of lettuce, cucumbers.
Water is the healthiest, cheapest and most easily available appetite suppressant around. Thirst is often mistaken as hunger. Also, foods with high water content can fill you up easily. They naturally pack fewer calories for their volume. Toss together a salad of lettuce, cucumbers.
Pay for performance has been seen by many as a magic formula that will virtually guarantee the implementation of a successful compensation strategy for any organization. It makes sense. When employees perform according to specific, well-defined measures, the business grows profitably and employees are appropriately compensated. If employees don't perform, the company doesn't pay. Unfortunately, it's not that easy.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management certainly thought it was. After decades of building pay scales based primarily on federal workers' seniority, the government became a major proponent of pay for performance. Its example encouraged many large companies to take the plunge. Unfortunately, few government success stories have emerged. More often, pay-for-performance programs have foundered, including the U.S. Defense Department's National Security Personnel System (NSPS) a pay-for-performance plan designed for 700,000 federal employees. In 2009, Congress repealed the program and plans to transition all NSPS employees to existing civilian personnel systems no later than Jan. 1, 2012.
The reason the pay-for-performance concept has been so disappointing is because the human aspect of motivating desired behaviors is not as cut and dried as the pay-for-performance approach generally implies. Most organizations simply don't know how to successfully define the performance they want, so organizations end up paying for failure rather than for performance.
At the Root
Traditional compensation management is a flawed process often executed without adequate supporting data. Talent leaders give managers budget guidelines and expect them to allocate salaries and bonuses based almost entirely on scores from annual reviews, then record compensation information in a spreadsheet.
Organizations that believe people truly move the needle for their businesses need a more innovative rewards program that integrates multiple measures of success into a sophisticated management tool. The right compensation program must be:
a) Market competitive and capable of fairly rewarding all employees and providing strategically higher compensation to key performers.
b) Transparent and able to offer the entire workforce visibility into how compensation decisions are made and what people can expect to be paid if they do well.
c) Performance based and focused on real outcomes related to business performance, not simply a performance review score, and able to draw upon formal and informal measures that capture an employee's true contribution to organizational success.
It is critical that a pay-for-performance program incorporate these cornerstone elements, which work together to ensure success. For example, unless a company offers market-competitive salaries and bonuses, it can't afford to be transparent because the lack of competitiveness in the compensation structure likely would cause employees to leave over time. Further, transparency is required to communicate precisely what employees must accomplish to earn rewards.
Paying for Failure
Without the aforementioned three underpinnings in a properly structured pay-for-performance program, organizations could indeed pay for failure rather than for success, as the following examples illustrate.
1. Running off the road.
In the book Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths and Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton, the authors describe a pay-for-performance plan implemented by the city of Albuquerque, N.M., for its garbage collectors. Apparently, it was taking too long to complete pickups each week, and as a result, the city was paying a significant amount of overtime.
The city staff devised a pay-for-performance plan that offered the garbage collectors bonuses if they could complete their routes during an eight-hour day. Unfortunately, this fostered two counterproductive behaviors:
a) The garbage collectors often exceeded the speed limits along their routes or on the way to the recycling yard or dump.
b) The trucks made fewer trips to dump their loads - leading to a high incidence of dangerous overloads.
The city of Albuquerque just wanted the garbage collected on time and on budget, but it ended up paying for heavily overloaded garbage trucks careening recklessly through city streets, endangering the lives of local residents.
2. Unseen crime.
New Orleans regularly found itself ranked as having the highest murder rate in the United States. Because New Orleans is dependent upon tourist revenue - and tourists tend to avoid vacationing where the risk of being murdered is so high it makes national headlines - the city instituted a pay-for-performance program for its police force.
Unfortunately, it turned out there are two ways to reduce the reported incidence of crime. One is to actually reduce crime. The other is to underreport it. Human nature chose the second path. So, while the city paid bonuses to the police, the criminals were still in town, and New Orleans' murder rate continued to rise - increasing 31 percent from 48 per thousand in 2006 to 63 per thousand in 2008.
3. Failing grade.
In the Chicago public school system, students were underperforming. The system's board of directors decided to institute merit pay for teachers, based on bringing grade point averages up. Once again, human nature took over. Without needed transparency in the process, audits later discovered many teachers allowed students to cheat on tests to improve class GPAs. Grades and teacher compensation went up, but learning did not.
4. Taking stock.
In 2003, the New York Times suggested that to improve shareholder value, CEOs should have their compensation tied to the company's share prices. While that approach worked in some cases, many CEOs became adept at driving the stock price up to coincide with the dates on which their stock-option bonuses became available. The CEOs benefited, but the company and the shareholders ended up shortchanged.
All of these pay-for-performance programs were missing a key building block - either the appropriate transparency or real, employee-specific measures of success rather than standard performance review scores. As a result, instead of being paid to perform, people were actually paid to fail.
Performance for the 21st Century
There are some guidelines talent leaders can use to create a performance-driven rewards program that will foster a true culture of performance and organizational excellence.
1. Define a unique formula for success.
Do not try to base a pay-for-performance program solely on performance review scores or tie each employee's compensation to the company's overall financial performance. These measures may be part of it, but one must also define unique formulas for success based on competencies, proficiencies or performance tailored for each individual's role.
For salespeople, that can be relatively simple. A sales manager bases an employee's compensation on the sales quotas he meets or exceeds. But for a business consultant success criteria may be more challenging to identify. For example, a company might base compensation on community feedback or other measures of satisfaction regarding the programs or projects the consultant has overseen for clients.
Previously built compensation management solutions cannot help organizations define and measure the specific performance measures needed to work in today's business environment. Talent managers must employ tools that incorporate real measures of success from various talent processes - both formal and informal - to ensure reward dollars are spent where they provide the most value.
2. Reward potential as well as existing behavior.
Once a properly discriminating compensation program has been designed, is it better to reward employees currently exhibiting the desired behavior? Or should companies reward those with the potential to grow into the behavior - thus improving the business' performance over time?
The answer is to do both. Like maintaining a balanced investment portfolio, it's important to achieve a balance with pay-for-performance programs by both identifying current performers and motivating those who demonstrate they can reach proposed standards in order to nurture the performance required to succeed in the future.
3. Reward ability as well as hard work.
In many pay-for-performance programs, rewards have largely been tied to effort. A key goal in any organization is to motivate people to work harder, so using the rewards "carrot" based on effort makes sense.
But if talent managers do decide to reward effort, they must also build ability into the equation. Business success is s till based on results. And exceptionally talented people may be able to achieve superior results with less effort than others.
Traditional pay-for-performance programs have failed because companies have incorrectly assumed that by properly motivating everyone, effort would dramatically improve and goals would always be achieved. This assumes everyone has the same amount of ability, which is not the case. Talent managers need to enable performance excellence, not simply attempt to drive it by increasing the effort of the masses.
Monkey Business
In Competing for the Future, authors Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad describe an experiment involving four monkeys in a cage. Researchers dangled a bunch of bananas at the top of a pole in the center of the cage. But every time a monkey tried to climb the pole to get to the bananas, he or she was hit with a shower of extremely cold water.
One by one, the monkeys tried to reach the bananas but only received a blast of cold water. Eventually, they stopped trying, though the prize remained within reach.
After a time, a new monkey was added to the cage. When the new monkey started up the pole, the old monkeys yanked the surprised creature back down - sending the message, "Don't waste your time trying to achieve higher goals." Even once the entire population in the cage consisted of monkeys that had never received the cold shower, the culture of not trying for anything better remained.
And so it is if there's a negative culture within an organization, simply introducing positive influencers won't drive the intended change. A poorly designed compensation management program can actually reduce performance dramatically if it is not focused on the right attributes for success, and companies will end up paying for stunning failures instead of the inspiring performance they hope to achieve.
[About the Author: Maksim Ovsyannikov is senior director of product strategy for Saba.]
CLOs' ability to assist their organizations in surviving economic crisis corresponds with their ability to measure and demonstrate impact.
CLOs have a measurement dilemma. They must demonstrate the business impact of training, but they can't garner required resources without showing the connection between training and performance. While the economic environment has made it even more difficult, some progress has been made in this endeavor.
Every other month, IDC surveys Chief Learning Officer magazine's Business Intelligence Board (BIB) on an array of topics to gauge the issues, opportunities and attitudes that make up the role of a senior learning executive. For this article, more than 800 CLOs shared their thoughts on the topic of learning measurement.
Training as a Response to Crisis
When this survey was conducted in January 2010, the economic crisis was abating in the U.S. After 17 months of economic difficulty, almost 40 percent of CLOs felt their companies were performing better than they had expected, compared with about 25 percent who felt their companies were doing better than expected a year ago. This positive shift represents a welcome relief from the months of dreary economic and development news.
More important, however, is that 75 percent of CLOs felt they played a moderate or significant role in their enterprises' response to the economic crisis. At least part of this role can be attributed to the ability of CLOs to align their programs to organizational need and to document the impact of their development programs.
Unfortunately, almost one-quarter of learning organizations felt they played only a minor role in the enterprise's response to the economic crisis, so there is room for improvement.
Taking Measures
Training professionals aren't particularly satisfied with their organizations' approaches to and successes with measurement, but there is little disagreement among learning professionals about the value of measurement. When done properly, measurement can demonstrate training's impact on the company's top and bottom lines and set the stage for further increases in relevance. As one CLO reports, "Our metrics [have] enabled us to grow and, unlike other areas of the company, increase head count in 2010. We have demonstrated our value to the company and have strong support from senior management. Our department reports directly to the senior executive of our company."
Key metrics may include employee performance, speed to proficiency, customer satisfaction and improved sales numbers. As the BIB survey shows, the challenge lies in gaining access to these key metrics and finding the time and resources to conduct measurement.
In 2008, this survey reported that a majority of enterprises indicated a high level of dissatisfaction with the extent of training measurement that occurs within their organizations. Two years later, that feeling has moderated, and for the first time, more CLOs feel satisfied with their measurement programs than dissatisfied.
The relationship between the role a learning organization plays within the enterprise and its satisfaction with measurement is stark. About 60 percent of companies that were very dissatisfied with the state of measurement in their organization felt they played only a minor role in their company's response to the economic crisis. On the other hand, about 60 percent of organizations that were very satisfied felt they played a significant role in their organization's response. Learning organizations that can demonstrate their impact can have a greater impact on their organization when needed.
Compared with prior years, the common forces working against satisfaction remain a combination of capability and support. Specifically, CLOs believe their ability to effectively deploy effective measurement systems is limited by:
a) Level of resources.
b) Level of leadership support.
c) Availability of technology.
d) Level of funding.
e) Culture of indifference.
f) No means to automate process.
g) Lack of understanding of how to implement measurement.
Leadership support is essential for developing an effective measurement program. But getting that support is challenging. The link between executive support and a learning organization's ability was clearly illustrated by one respondent who said his executive staff fails to align training with business needs. Others report that their measurement program is not as far along as they hoped because the level of understanding of measurement and evaluation among their learning and development team is weak.
For several years, learning and development professionals have complained that their biggest issue is gaining the support of management, that they face a certain level of apathy toward the quality of what they're generating. A combination of the need to generate impactful measures and the willingness of executives to leverage them presents a challenge.
Mixed Measurement
With various forces aligned to retard advancing measurement, there has been little change in the use of measurement. About 80 percent of companies do some form of measurement - with a bit more than half of those using a manual process and a bit fewer than half using some form of automated system.
CLOs in this survey have been reporting a mix of processes for measurement as far back as 2004. There has been a slight decrease in the percentage of respondents who indicate that they use a manual process and an increase in the percentage of enterprises that use a combination of LMS and ERP systems to develop their learning metrics.
Organizations generally report that a technology-based learning platform gives them a greater ability to make correlations between training and performance and that the absence of technology can be a significant burden. One CLO stated, "Due to lack of automated resources, metrics and measurements are done per time available. As such, the data is often dated."
The barriers to correlation remain consistent: lack of resources and an inability to bring data together from different functions. And sometimes, technology is not the best answer. As one CLO reported: "Actually, our training metrics [are] generated partially manually and partially automated from PeopleSoft. We use Questionmark to measure students' performance and SurveyMonkey to assess students' satisfaction with the course. These tools are not integrated."
Correlating Change
There has been a meaningful change in the number of enterprises correlating training assessments to changes in the organization. Sixty-four percent of respondents reported correlating training with employee productivity, up from 33 percent last year. Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported correlating training with overall business performance, up from 42 percent last year. Respondents correlating employee performance and overall customer satisfaction showed slight increases from 2009 as well.
Other research suggests organizations that can consistently tie training to specific changes are more likely to train less. They focus efforts on training the most appropriate people on the most appropriate topics; getting rid of useless training; and spending less on training overall.
Reason for Hope
Despite measurement challenges in the learning and development space, the survey showed a certain level of optimism. Almost 40 percent of CLOs reported being either satisfied or very satisfied with the extent of measurement going on at their companies. This group typically has wider support for measurement within their organization and enough manpower to consistently tackle measurement initiatives.
Almost half of all organizations, both satisfied and dissatisfied, have plans for some additional measurement initiatives in the next 24 months, far less than the 90 percent who reported planned activities last year. On its face, this seems like a decline in interest for measurement initiatives, but 24 months ago, CLOs reported their intentions to increase the measurement of employee productivity. In 2010, the ability to correlate employee productivity with training increased dramatically. What we measure, we improve.
Room for Improvement
For reasons already cited, measurement will remain a significant challenge for learning executives going forward, but it continues to be on the agenda. CLOs can take several steps to demonstrate relevance. Three of the most significant practices are:
1. Define success early.
By defining with stakeholders what success will look like upfront, learning professionals are more easily able to identify and benchmark key metrics for measurement before training is delivered, making post-training results easier to quantify.
2. Establish metrics at the project or business-unit level.
While it may be tempting to go all out in attempting to demonstrate training's value at the enterprise level, successful measurement programs typically start off as smaller initiatives that focus on the project or business-unit level. When working with smaller groups there are typically fewer obstacles to interfere in the measurement process as well.
3. Set expectations upfront with stakeholders.
Help stakeholders who are interested in measurement to understand the commitment that is required to see assessment projects through to the end. This way less resistance will be encountered during the measurement phase.
Companies that incorporate these guidelines into their assessment methodology should see a marked improved in the success and relevance of their measurement initiatives.
[About the Author: Cushing Anderson is the program director of learning services at IDC.]
The old man shuffled slowly into the restaurant. With head tilted, and shoulders bent forward, he leaned on his trusty cane with each unhurried step.
His tattered cloth jacket, patched trousers, worn out shoes, and warm personality made him stand out from the usual Saturday morning breakfast crowd. Unforgettable were his pale blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, large rosy cheeks, and thin lips held in a tight, steady smile.
He stopped, turned with his whole body, and winked at a little girl seated by the door. She flashed a big grin right back at him. A young waitress named Mary watched him shuffle toward a table by the window.
Mary ran over to him, and said, "Here, Sir. Let me give you a hand with that chair."
Without saying a word, he smiled and nodded a thank you. She pulled the chair away from the table. Steadying him with one arm, she helped him move in front of the chair, and get comfortably seated. Then she scooted the table up close to him, and leaned his cane against the table where he could reach it.
In a soft, clear voice he said, "Thank you, Miss. And bless you for your kind gestures."
"You're welcome, Sir." She replied. "And my name is Mary. I'll be back in a moment, and if you need anything at all in the mean time, just wave at me!"
After he had finished a hearty meal of pancakes, bacon, and hot lemon tea, Mary brought him the change from his ticket. He left it lay. She helped him up from his chair, and out from behind the table. She handed him his cane, and walked with him to the front door.
Holding the door open for him, she said, "Come back and see us, Sir!"
He turned with his whole body, winked a smile, and nodded a thank you. "You are very kind." he said softly.
When Mary went to clean his table, she almost fainted. Under his plate she found a business card and a note scribbled on a napkin. Under the napkin was a one hundred dollar bill.
The note on the napkin read...
"Dear Mary, I respect you very much, and you respect yourself too. It shows by the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness. Your kind gestures will shine through those who meet you."
The man she had waited on was the owner of the restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she, or any of his employees had ever seen him in person.
The art of conversation takes practice, and is not as hard as you might think. It will take some knowledge, practice, and patience, and you can learn to relax and enjoy a great conversation.
With these tips you will be well on your way to having a good, meaningful and entertaining conversation with anyone!
1. Make a good first impression. Smile, ask questions that require more than a yes/no answer, and really listen. Maintain eye contact and keep as friendly and polite as possible.
2. Listen. This is the most important part of any conversation. You might think a conversation is all about talking, but it will not go anywhere if the listener is too busy thinking of something to say next. Pay attention to what is being said. When you talk to the other person, injecting a thought or two, they will often not realize that it was they who did most of the talking, and you get the credit for being a good conversationalist - which of course, you are!
3. Find out what the other person is interested in. You can even do some research in advance when you know you will have an opportunity to talk with a specific person. Complimenting them is a great place to start. Everyone likes sincere compliments, and that can be a great ice-breaker.
4. Ask questions. What do they like to do? What sort of things have they done in their life? What is happening to them now? What did they do today or last weekend? Identify things about them that you might be interested in hearing about, and politely ask questions. Remember, there was a reason that you wanted to talk to them, so obviously there was something about them that you found interesting.
5. Forget yourself. Dale Carnegie once said, “It’s much easier to become interested in others than it is to convince them to be interested in you.” If you are too busy thinking about yourself, what you look like, or what the other person might be thinking, you will never be able to relax. Introduce yourself, shake hands, then forget yourself and focus on them instead.
6. Practice active listening skills. Part of listening is letting the other person know that you are listening. Make eye contact. Nod. Say “Yes,” “I see,” “That’s interesting,” or something similar to give them clues that you are paying attention and not thinking about something else - such as what you are going to say next.
7. Ask clarifying questions. If the topic seems to be one they are interested in, ask them to clarify what they think or feel about it. If they are talking about an occupation or activity you do not understand, take the opportunity to learn from them. Everyone loves having a chance to teach another willing and interested person about their hobby or subject of expertise.
8. Paraphrase back what you have heard, using your own words. This seems like an easy skill to learn, but takes some practice to master. Conversation happens in turns, each person taking a turn to listen and a turn to speak or to respond. It shows respect for the other person when you use your “speaking turn” to show you have been listening and not just to say something new. They then have a chance to correct your understanding, affirm it, or embellish on it.
9. Consider your response before disagreeing. If the point was not important, ignore it rather than risk appearing argumentative. If you consider it important then politely point out your difference of opinion. Do not disagree merely to set yourself apart, but remember these points:
* It is the differences in people–and their conversation–that make them interesting.
* Agreeing with everything can kill a conversation just as easily as disagreeing with everything.
* A person is interesting when they are different from you; a person is obnoxious when they can not agree with anything you say, or if they use the point to make themselves appear superior.
* Try to omit the word “but” from your conversation when disagreeing as this word often puts people on the defensive. Instead, try substituting the word “and”, it has less of an antagonistic effect.
10. Consider playing devil’s advocate - which requires care. If your conversation partner makes a point, you can keep the conversation going by bringing up the opposite point of view (introduce it with something like “I agree, and…”). If you overuse this technique, however, you could end up appearing disagreeable or even hostile.
11. Do not panic over lulls. This is a point where you could easily inject your thoughts into the discussion. If the topic seems to have run out, use the pause to think for a moment and identify another conversation topic or question to ask them. Did something they said remind you of something else you have heard, something that happened to you, or bring up a question or topic in your mind? Mention it and you’ll transition smoothly into further conversation!
12. Know when the conversation is over. Even the best conversations will eventually run out of steam or be ended by an interruption. Shake hands with the other person and be sure to tell them you enjoyed talking with them. Ending on a positive note will leave a good impression and likely bring them back later for more!
Warnings
* Choose carefully when asking personal questions. You do not want to venture into overly personal issues. Even if the other person might be willing to talk about it, you may end up learning things that you really do not want to know. You certainly do not want the other person to think afterward that you coerced them into revealing personal information.
* Be sincere! Compliments are great, but too much flattery is obvious and will reveal you as being insincere.
* Beware of topics that can be inflammatory - such as religion and politics - and don’t venture into them unless you know the person has roughly the same convictions as you, or the circumstances otherwise allow for pleasant discussion. Again, it’s fine to disagree and can be nice to talk about differences, but it can also be a quick step toward an argument.
* Try not to argue! You do not have to agree with everything someone says, but you do not have to tell them all about how you disagree. If you feel the need to explain an opposing viewpoint, express it simply and without putting the other person on the defensive. It is better to simply change the subject in a casual conversation than to get involved in an argument.
* Try not to nod or respond with “Yes” and “I see” so much. It might make the person think you are bored and sometimes it may seem like you are rushing them along. Never say anything hurtful or offensive to the other person, this may project a bad feeling between you.
* If it is a planned conversation, try listening to the news in case you run out of thing to say, it is always a good solution.
* Also try not to cut the person off mid-sentence. It seems disrespectful and it makes it seem like what you have to say is more important than what the other person has to say. Let the person finish their thoughts and then continue on with thoughts of your own.
