Bizaholic

The Role of Communication in Execution of Vision

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 04:55:00 +0000

One often hears about the 'vision' thing in corporate corridors. Many times organizations witness shake-up and chaos because a new 'vision' has dawned upon the leader. Nothing wrong is having a 'vision' and doing what it is necessary to realize the vision in reality. Leaders are ultimately worth their 'vision' and its meticulous execution.

The worrying aspect about 'vision' is that it is useless if all the 'visioning' is confined to a select group of leaders at the top. 'Vision' must percolate down to the bottom of the organization if it has to become a reality! And this is one aspect where the leadership often fails and induces unnecessary confusion and chaos in the organization just because everyone is not aligned to the vision.

If the leader develops a new 'vision', his most important responsibility is to educate everyone in the organization from shop-floor worker to salesman at the lowest rung to the administrative clerk to the senior managers about his 'vision', how he is going to turn the vision into reality, and how everyone in the organization has a part to play in realization of the vision. Unless everyone in the organization, irrespective of the hierarchy, is aligned to the 'vision', it will remain a chimera in the head of the leader!

The 'vision' has to be vociferously and enthusiastically communicated to the extent that it is embedded at the back of the mind of every spoke of the wheel that keeps the organization running. In the end, the power of a 'vision' is as good as the power of persuasion of the communication that helps the 'vision' being owned by one and all in an organization!

Overcoming Resistance To Change

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Change management is resistance management. Most change management programs fail not because people don't see merit in them but because people fear about the impact of change on their lives and put up resistance.

The first and the foremost job of a leader leading a change program is to communicate and generate confidence. There is a catch here. If the communication is focused at the group, chances of eliminating resistance is low. Communication has to be at an individual level to assuage fear, explain the change, its positive impact on the individual, and sell the concept to bring the individual on the board!

Human nature is such that majority of people think about their own welfare before they think about their group or organization. Only when welfare of self is achieved do they think of welfare of others. A leader of a change management program has to keep this in mind. If he wants the change program to succeed, he has to take change management to individual level to win confidence and participation.

Once an individual is convinced about the merits of a change program, not only will he overwhelmingly participate in it but will also sell its virtues to others in his peer group. A positive word of mouth can go a long way in helping a change program succeed. While a negative word of mouth can simply halt it.

The mantra to successfully lead change management is to engage the people at an individual level so that the change actually flows from the bottom up which is owned by the people themselves. Any thing forced is likely to be stalled with even greater force!

Restrictive Policies No Longer Work!

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:36:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I tweeted a satire on the restrictive and regressive Internet policies of many companies. People who have seen the blockbuster movie Sholay would get it.

Company: Mere pass policy hai, access control hai, site blocking capability hai, tere pass kya hai?

Employee: Mere pass GPRS hai!!

I can't help but laugh when I come across Internet policies of companies which aim at blocking access to mail, social networking sites, and other websites. It doesn't work and in future also will never work. I, like many others of my generation, don't need office Internet to browse web, check mails, or indulge in social networking. My PDA phone is good enough to keep me connected to the world through mail, twitter, facebook, orkut, et al.

Today we are shifting towards an era when mobile phone would be the real convergence device for uniting telephony, Internet, and entertainment. Anybody who thinks of blocking access to Internet in this day and age is living in a fool's paradise.

The bigger issue to focus on is building trust at workplace. Days of restrictive policies to induce desired behavior among employees is over. Today we are faced with a generation which is interested in participative culture based on trust and empowerment. This generation doesn't need to be told when to play and when to work. Generally they are responsible enough if trusted with their capability. But the moment you try to control them through restrictive policies, they may just revolt and try to find a way or two to defy the grand policies in place. With the technology and knowledge available, they in all likelihood would succeed. And if they don't, they will quit and move to another company. Either way the loss is of the company.

Instead of investing time and effort in designing regressive policies, it would be much better if companies used same time and energy in making the workplace more trustful, more participative, and full of positive energy.

Heroes...be humble!

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 07:52:00 +0000

A week back, a reality stuck me while I was watching dahi-handi festival in Mumbai. Heroes stand tall on the robust shoulders of non-heroes. I was astonished to notice time and again that after succeeding in breaking the dahi-handi, although the whole team was cheered, it was the Govinda at the top of the human pyramid who was the darling of his team as well as the crowd! Despite the whole thing being 110% a team effort, where every member's contribution was equally vital, it was the Govinda who broke the dahi-handi who was the hero.

Heroes are everywhere and they are cheered and glorified and many a time are credited with the entire success of an effort even when contribution of many others was equally important. But heroes have a responsibility on their shoulders. They have to remember that they are heroes because many other lent their strong shoulders for the hero to stand and perform his astonishing feat. Without the able shoulders on which he stands, a hero is as good as useless.

So heroes, be humble if you want to stay a hero for long! Acknowledge that alone you are good for nothing and credit your team for helping you succeed. Keep your team in good humour and your team will ensure that you are always in the limelight. The moment you start thinking that you are a hero because of your own talents alone, it would be the start of the end of your status as a hero.

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 12/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"To manage or to coach? People will manage the work. By attempting to manage people you are limiting their potential. A manager is a title, it does not guarantee success. Coaching is an action, not a title and actions will result in successes!"

- Catherine Pulsifer

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 11/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience."

- Hyman Rickover

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 10/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"Insecure managers create complexity. Frightened, nervous managers use thick, convoluted planning books."

- Jack Welch

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 09/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"A manager is responsible for the application and performance of knowledge."

- Peter Drucker

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 08/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got."

- Lee Iacocca

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 07/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal."

- Elbert Hubbard

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 06/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business."

- Zig Ziglar

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 05/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"If people are coming to work excited . . . if they're making mistakes freely and fearlessly . . . if they're having fun . . . if they're concentrating doing things, rather than preparing reports and going to meetings - then somewhere you have leaders."

- Robert Townsend

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 04/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader."

- Max DePree

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 03/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers."

- Ralph Nadar

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 02/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 01/07/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"Charisma becomes the undoing of leaders. It makes them inflexible, convinced of their own infallibility, unable to change."

- Peter Drucker

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 30/06/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

- John QuincyAdams

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 29/06/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world."

- John Le Care

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 28/06/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work."

- Agha Hasan Abedi

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 27/06/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity."

- Peter Drucker

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 26/06/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"An army of lions commanded by a deer will never be an army of lions."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 25/06/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"We don’t grow unless we take risks. Any successful company is riddled with failures."

- James E. Burke

Management Wisdom: Be Ready With Your Elevator Pitch!

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:40:00 +0000

For every innovative initiative or idea you propose, be ready with your elevator pitch

Whenever you propose a new initiative or an idea, always prepare an elevator pitch as well. It's one thing to make a neat two page note of your idea but it is a completely different ball game to explain the idea in 30 seconds flat! Believe me, your ability (or inability) to make sense of your idea in 30 seconds can make or break your excellent idea.

Big guys who decide on the worthiness of your idea are often impatient. They may or may not read your proposal. Even if they read it, they may not give it all the seriousness. Very often, after sending across an idea or proposal, you will find that the big guy corners you at coffee vending machine and ask your idea to him. And the next 30 seconds may decide eternity or obscurity for your idea!

So before sending the mail about your million dollar idea, diligently prepare and memorise your elevator pitch. You never know how soon you may need it!

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 24/06/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"You now have to decide what 'image' you want for your brand. Image means personality. Products, like people, have personalities, and they can make or break them in the market place."

- David Ogilvy

Bizaholic Thought of the Day 23/06/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Bizaholic) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:30:00 +0000

"The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself."

- Peter Drucker