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Friday, August 29, 2008

Be A Better Team Player

Here are some essential people skills you should have to perform as an effective member of a group

A team environment facilitates a brainstorming of ideas as each individual brings to the table different ways of solving a problem, handling an assignment and new approaches to running a project more effectively.

Through this, the team can leverage on the synergy that is created. Each team member has varying strengths and weaknesses but often, the sum of the individual parts outweigh the weaknesses, thus enabling the team to achieve the 1 + 1 = 3 formula that represents synergy.

Having such synergy enables the team to create more impact and propels it to greater success.

So what does it take to be a team player? Here are some essential people skills you need to hone:

Seek to understand

In his bestselling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, leadership guru Stephen Covey says that the key to emphatic communication is to “seek first to understand, then be understood (Habit 5)”. What this means is making the effort to understand the other party before choosing your response.

In the corporate environment, each team member needs to understand the vision, objectives and goals of the team.

Why does this team exist and what does it hope to achieve within the given timeframe? When members understand this, they will know what role to play and what sort of accountability is required of them and precisely what they are able to contribute to the team.

Be cooperative

Everyone wants cooperative team members who are able to meet the team’s objectives and fulfil their individual responsibilities rather than a teammate who merely wants to outshine the rest.

To achieve the team’s goals, you should not only be very competent and demonstrate excellent performance but also have a cooperative spirit.

Be assertive

Assertiveness in this context means to speak one’s mind. It springs from having self-awareness and confidence. It is also means that team members are not necessarily fixated on the need to be politically correct.

With this attitude, the team member can contribute his experiences or challenge the ideas brought up by others for the best interest and effectiveness of the assignment at hand.

Being assertive does not equate to aggressive behaviour such as running people down and screaming at the top of your voice. Assertiveness facilitates open communication — each team member has the right to speak his mind and contribute for the team’s benefit.

Build trust

To have a truly effective team, other members must know that they can count on you. So walk your talk and do what you say you’re going to do. If you say a report will be completed by next Monday, make sure it is delivered as promised. If you agree to take on a task or project, make sure you follow it through.

Be solutions-oriented

All members in a team essentially solve “people problems” — problems with customers, the boss and organisations.

Every team member should be solutions-oriented and when issues arise, which are inevitable, effective team members should not blame others, circumstances or the management. Instead, they should acknowledge it and seek solutions, which can be done through brainstorming with other teammates.

Be tenacious

There is a saying that goes, “There are no half-hearted champions”. Only when a team member is tenacious enough to press on towards the goals and objectives of the team with a “never say die attitude” will the team win.

In any project or assignment, there will always be obstacles, difficulties or setbacks. But are you just going to give up when you face difficulties? If all members are able to push on in the face of adversity, then success will be yours.

Be a mentor

All teams will have some members who are “stronger” than others. And it is the weakest link that will cause a team to fail. So if you have certain strengths that your teammates can benefit from, take the initiative to help the weaker ones by mentoring them.

Keep growing

The world is marked by constant change as technological breakthroughs revolutionise the way we live and work.

To cope with all these changes, you need to have a spirit of growth within you to become a more effective individual. No team can survive with stagnant members as every team needs to change to stay competitive.

Thus, as a team member, you must always seek to improve and challenge yourself, your paradigms, the way you work and the strategies and approaches of your organisation.

Working in a team presents many challenges. But the ability to function as an effective team player is fundamental to success in almost any setting, be it the football pitch or the corporate boardroom.

- Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Joshua Yim, founder and CEO of specialist recruitment firms.

Changing Careers In A Changing World

Making a career change is not impossible, but you must be willing to make the commitment necessary for success

A study conducted by DBM revealed that one in two people who find themselves in career transition, are changing industry or job function, do so successfully.

The biggest challenge to changing careers is identifying your transferable skills and then learning how to package them to appeal to an employer in a different industry. An accountant with several years of experience may have an easy transition period from one industry to another due to a core capability that applies across industries. But a teacher trying to move to a sales role may have a difficult time transitioning due to the wide gap of skills requirements between the two jobs.

The larger the gap between the experience requirements of your current industry and the new one, the harder it becomes to make the switch and the more compromises you must be willing to make.

The stronger your skills are and the broader your knowledge base is, though, the more credibility you will have and the easier it will be to make the change.

There are several key considerations to keep in mind when contemplating a career change.

1. Plan for a longer job search. Changing industries requires research, which requires time. Assess your financial situation and make realistic decisions. You may have to consider an interim position or part-time work to form a bridge to your new career. Stay optimistic and be realistic at the same time, knowing that in Malaysia the average job search period is 6.5 months. Be mindful that the longer you stay out of a job the more difficult it gets to land a new one or to explain the ‘gaps’ in your resume.

2. Use outplacement (a term used when a company releases an employee) services, such as DBM, to your advantage.

With more and more companies providing outplacement services to employees, it is to your advantage to use this service to get a new job.

3. Stay grounded in reality. Successful career change is based on setting realistic goals and making an honest assessment of your skills, then matching those against the current market conditions. If you need to gain some skills to be able to move from one industry to another, consider taking up short-term courses that will equip you with some basic skills.

Stay in tune with what’s happening in your industry or the industry where you want to move into by monitoring the big companies or employers, the current salary range and available positions.

4. With the exception of entry-level positions, companies run advertisements to recruit prospects with specific experience.

This is also true of search firms, which are paid to find highly experienced talent that matches the job description exactly. In some cases, critical or sensitive roles are not even advertised, so don’t just rely on what you read on the newspapers or the Internet.

5. Network, network, network. Networking is the key to any successful job search, especially in the case of a career change. The most effective way to transfer skills to a new field or new career is by using your contacts. Companies are more willing to take risks on people who are referred to them by individuals who can account for the candidates’ abilities and potential.

6. Learn the language. Every field has its own culture and language. Assess your skill set and align it with industry needs – then translate your skills into language that resonates within that industry.

7. Learn the business. Professionals today are expected to have an understanding of their industry – current issues and challenges faced. Read every article you can find on the industry, so that you can leverage your skills in offering solutions to industry challenges and demonstrate the value you would add to an organisation.

Do a thorough research of the company or industry you want to move into. Use all the resources available to you including the Internet, libraries and other publicly available materials. Just as companies would ask for references before hiring anyone, it would be worthwhile talking to current and previous employees of a company you’re eyeing to join. This would give you some ‘insider’ view of how the company works, its culture, vision and values.

Making an industry or career change is not impossible, but it will increase your job search time and the amount of research you have to do to be successful. Before you make any firm decisions, consider the positives and negatives carefully and seek advice from knowledgeable friends and colleagues, so that you can be sure you are willing to make the commitment necessary for success.

Article contributed by Mastura Diana Jaffar, managing director of DBM Malaysia, which offers human resources solutions.

Pick Yourself Up

When you face a setback in life or at work, the challenge is not to cave in

RESILIENCE means knowing how to cope in spite of setbacks, barriers or limited resources.

Resilience is a measure of how much you want something and how much you are willing, and able, to overcome obstacles to get it.

It has to do with your emotional strength. For instance, how many cold calls can you make in a row that all turn out to be, “No, thank you”?

Look to Lincoln

Remember Abraham Lincoln? You wouldn’t, if he had given up.

In 1832, he was defeated for the state legislature. Then he was elected to it in 1834.

In 1838, he was defeated for speaker of the state house.

In 1840, he was defeated for elector. He ran for Congress in 1843 and, guess what, he was defeated.

He was elected to Congress in 1846 and then lost for re-election in 1849.

He ran for the United States Senate in 1855 and was defeated.

In 1856, he was defeated for vice-president. He ran again for the US Senate in 1858 and lost.

And in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the US — but only after eight major setbacks. That is resilience!

Your challenge to stay resilient may not be quite the same as Abe Lincoln’s.

You might be working on making a sales quota when 90 per cent of your prospects say “no”.

You might be pushing for a change in your department and you have to fight with the management.

You might be trying to get your co-workers to recycle paper to save money and trees.

When you are up against obstacles, you can either maintain your resilience — or cave in to defeat.

Kids know better

People are all pretty resilient when they are kids. When they fall down, they pick themselves up again.

When the tent they make with sheets and cardboard gets blown apart by the wind, they put it back together again.

When someone says they cannot go to the park because it is raining, they find something else to do.

However, somewhere along the way, they start to develop a rigidity towards the unexpected, and then towards change in general.

They lose their ability to shift course or to try something else. They lose their resilience.

Bounce back

Let me give you a couple of tips on improving your resilience.

Here is an exercise that is fun and can tell you something about yourself.

Finish this sentence with five different endings: “When I’m faced with a problem, I ...”

Give yourself 30 seconds to come up with any five answers. Be creative.

Is there a pattern to your answers?

Here are some answers I came up with for myself:

When I’m faced with a problem, I...
  • generate several different options to deal with it.
  • ask my wife, Sue, what she thinks.
  • listen to music in the dark.
  • say to myself: ‘OK, this too shall pass.’
  • call one of my friends to get his input.
  • decide it is time to read the sports page.
Now, some of those answers are useful and some are silly. However, the exercise revealed to me that my attitude is basically one of engaging the problem rather than running away from it.

I hope you have some silly answers among the serious ones. But I hope that your answers indicate that your basic approach to problems is a hands-on, can-do attitude. That is the stuff resilience is made of. — Source: ST/ANN

Article by Dr Tony Alessandra, president of Online Assessments and co-founder of MentorU.com. He is also the author of 14 books including Charisma and The Platinum Rule.

Communicate Better With The 5Cs

Use them to build strong business relationships and achieve greater success

SUCCESSFUL professionals are leaders who have mastered the art of effective communication. They are well-liked by colleagues — subordinates or superiors — and your company’s clients love them too.

You may think these individuals are blessed with a natural talent for speaking well — and maybe they are. But everything can be learned, including how to speak like a star.

Apply the five Cs of effective communication to enhance your relationships and get on the road to greater professional success.

1. ARTICULATE CLEARLY

If your listeners cannot understand what you are saying, your message will never be effective. The easiest way to instantly improve the clarity of your speech is to slow down.

When you get nervous or stressed, your rate of speaking often increases. And these are the times when calm eloquence and tact are most needed. Take a deep breath, slow down and speak clearly.

It is also important to formulate your thoughts in a clear manner so that other people can understand your message. Stick to your main point, be as concise as possible and back up your arguments with examples and stories that make sense to your listener.

2. SPEAK CLEARLY

Whether you like it or not, you will be judged on how you speak. Individuals with poor grammar and sloppy speech patterns are often viewed as being lazy, uneducated and even disrespectful.

Make proper speech a priority. Polish your grammatical skills and build a healthy vocabulary. Read as much as you can, and ask your friends, family or colleagues for help or join a grammar refresher course.

As our world becomes more global, just speaking English isn’t enough. You need to speak it really well.

3. BE CONSIDERATE

Even before you open your mouth, focus on being considerate towards everyone you meet. Make eye contact with people when they approach you. Have a good attitude and a winning smile.

Show that you care for others by asking questions and showing interest. Remember personal details that are important to them, and build a relationship that consists of more than just the work at hand.

Small talk is imperative for building rapport and stronger relationships in the workplace.

If you are considerate towards others, they will also treat you with care and respect.

4. GIVE COMPLIMENTS

In addition to being considerate, another way to build instant rapport is to give sincere compliments. Recognise those around you for a job well done. Show interest by congratulating others on their accomplishments.

If your colleague mentions that he finally finished that big project that you know he was slaving over for months, respond with a sincere “Great job!” or “Good for you!” Such remarks are always appreciated.

Keep in mind that compliments should be subtle and appropriate and the closeness of your relationship also determines how a compliment will be received.

Commenting on a colleague’s physical appearance, for example, may not be acceptable in the modern workplace, unless you are also very close friends outside of the office.

5. HAVE CONFIDENCE

A successful communicator is a confident communicator. It is hard to take someone who doesn’t seem to believe in his own words seriously.

Confidence does not just come from what you are saying, but also what you are vocalising — that is, the pace, pitch and volume of your voice.

A calm, steady voice always sounds stronger and more confident than a mousy squeak.

Your visual appearance can also exude confidence. Make sure you stand straight and make firm eye contact when you address other people.

Even the least confident individuals can “fake” a confident image simply by forcing themselves to do these two simple things.

— Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Heather Hansen, a professional speech and language trainer, public speaker and voiceover artist.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Customer loyalty comes from consistently good service

In this era of tough competition, more businesses are seeking to differentiate themselves through customer service. But how many businesses show this in ways customers recognise and genuinely appreciate?

The truth is that service excellence is not something one does on an ad hoc or piecemeal basis. It requires a sustained effort, perseverance and consistency.

In many markets, businesses strive to acquire “loyal” customers. The simple reason is because loyal customers bring in the most profit. They are satisfied with your products and services, and patronise you repeatedly. They then recommend you to their friends and associates.

The global research company, Gallup, showed that “loyal” customers typically spend twice as much as “satisfied” customers. They defect to the competition at half the rate.

The customer loyalty challenges

The first challenge that companies face is to achieve differentiation from their competitors. While such product differentiation is apparent in industries like consumer electronics, most service industries find it difficult to sustain any competitive advantage based on product features alone.

In the financial services industry, a product can be emulated by a competitor within hours. As a result, businesses are seeking to differentiate by improving on customer service.

The second challenge is to understand what customers really want by shifting them from being merely “very satisfied” with product features to becoming loyal to your business and your brand.

The third challenge is to organise product and service delivery in such a manner that customers recognise and appreciate the value that is being placed on them.

They will reward you in return, with their loyalty and follow-on business. This means customers must experience something beyond the traditional “Greet”, “Smile” and “Thank you”.

Loyalty roadmap

A four-stage management model can help meet these challenges and move organisations towards building a differentiated customer experience, and delivering it deliberately and consistently across all touchpoints.

1. Understanding the problem and the opportunity

This means learning and understanding what makes for a “customer experience”.

Employ motivational and behavioural research techniques to analyse customer feedback and complaints.

2. Identifying what customers really want

Customers enjoy a bewildering choice of alternative suppliers. A business that is “good” at what it does is unlikely to truly succeed.

Organisations must learn about what it takes to make customers “feel important” and “cared for”.

This makes them truly enjoy the service experience. It is this “emotional engagement” that makes the overall experience memorable.

3. Designing a compelling customer experience

Design your business processes from the “outside in”, from the perspective of the customer.

This ensures that tasks are completed more efficiently according to the customer’s requirements.

Advertising and marketing collaterals, along with the process of delivery, fulfilment and after-sales service, must be mapped to ensure that potential “combustion points” are removed and “emotional rewards” are introduced to deliberately make the overall experience much more memorable.

Ensure that everyone in the process flow, from the business units to each individual colleague, knows precisely which element of the customer experience they are tasked with.

The result is that delivery will be consistent, across all direct and indirect touchpoints. In a bank, for example, this includes branches, contact centres, ATMs and even the Internet.

4. Assuring service exceeds customer expectations

Focus on customer outcomes when it comes to measuring the customer experience. The outcomes of routine operational activities should align with the organisation’s customer experience strategy.

Ensure that performance indicators such as customer complaints are regularly reviewed by a service council, chaired by the chief operating officer.

The purpose of the council is to seek constant improvements in customer service.

Give staff incentives for sales and service. For example, a bank’s branch performance indicators demonstrate that branches with higher levels of customer engagement achieve higher revenues.

Implement customer-based competencies into the annual staff performance appraisal so that staff can better understand the role they play in delivering a great customer experience.

Equip all staff with emotional quotient-based training so that they know how to build emotional engagement with customers.

The payoff

While the efforts may seem considerable, the potential benefits are equally considerable.

A bank’s recent customer engagement survey, conducted by Gallup, showed that “fully engaged” (loyal) customers were more than twice as profitable as average customers, and over 50 per cent more profitable than customers who are “satisfied” with the bank’s financial products, services and processes.

— Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Mark Grieves.

Bouquets or Brickbats?

Whether you receive positive or negative feedback during your performance appraisal, treat it as a tool to chart your career development

ACCORDING to media reports, about 30 per cent of British workers regard staff appraisals as a waste of time.

It is probable that many local employees feel the same way.

But until a dramatically different way of measuring work performance is created, it looks like staff appraisals are here to stay.

You may have just had one and are keen on preparing better for the next.

First, make sure you know what exactly a staff appraisal is.

PERFORMANCE REPORT

A staff appraisal is information provided to an individual concerning certain aspects of his performance on a task.

It takes the form of positive and/or negative feedback.

Positive feedback is where the employee is essentially told to “keep up the good work”.

Negative feedback is where an improvement in areas of work, competencies or behaviours is usually sought.

It is an employer’s responsibility to praise an employee’s strengths and alert him to his weaknesses so that his work performance may go from strength to strength.

But how can employees accept negative feedback to improve themselves and move one notch up to reach or optimise their potential?

RECEIVING FEEDBACK

Some people do not want to receive feedback as they consider it “a criticising session”.

Others see it as another way to confirm their worthlessness.

Many only want to hear “the good stuff” and nothing more.

And then there are those who want feedback and are willing to accept it although it may be painful or disturbing, only because they believe they can benefit from it.

Supervisors should always treat their staff with dignity and respect, and feedback should be given in a fitting manner.

Employees should also accord their managers with similar respect and listen to what they have to say.

Here are some tips on how to receive feedback:

1. Don't be defensive

Trying to justify your every action leaves you little time to see your supervisor’s point of view. Listen carefully to judge if the feedback is correct or misplaced. Clarify issues if necessary, and do not interrupt your supervisor as far as possible. You will have time to respond accordingly.

2. Don't verbally attack your supervisor

Getting personal may not be in your interest.

Just stick to the facts and defend yourself, if you have to, by clarifying your actions regarding specific events.

Take feedback as a reflection of another person’s perspective. You might learn something about yourself.

3. Don't shift the blame

Blaming someone else is not the solution.

If you believe that a colleague should be held accountable for something, ask that he be included in the dialogue session too.

You don’t want to be accused later of having “stabbed someone in the back”.

4. Don’t ignore your supervisor

Looking blankly at him while he is giving you negative feedback tells your supervisor that you are not interested in improving.

5. Don’t pretend to listen

Giving the impression that you agree to what your supervisor is saying may seem like an easy way out, but it really does you no good.

Your supervisor is hoping for a sincere effort from you to improve.

It is better to ask him to specify exactly what he expects from you, rather than to nod in agreement.

You don’t want to come back the next time and face the same criticism.

OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE

Be thankful for the feedback you receive during your appraisal. Treat it as an opportunity to reflect and ponder on your actions or non-actions.

If you are able to act on both positive and negative feedback — leveraging on your strengths and minimising your weaknesses — you will have an advantage over your peers.

As a final tip, focus on the future and not the past. Think about what you can do instead of what you did not.

- Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Victor Gomez, a consultant on leadership, management, creativity and communication issues.

Stretch a Year to 54 Weeks

Save 15 minutes a day, and you will gain two extra weeks a year

HOW do you find the time to achieve everything you want to? Suppose you were suddenly given the gift of two extra weeks each year to do anything you wanted. How would you spend this time?

What would you want to accomplish? Would you increase your efforts on an existing project? Start something new? Or even use it as restorative personal time?

This gift is not a fantasy. Eliminating just 15 wasted minutes each day adds up to 91 extra hours a year — more than two full work weeks.

Here are some simple ways to achieve this “miracle”.

1. Do the right things

Don’t confuse activity with accomplishment. Management expert Peter Drucker defines them like this:

* Efficiency is doing things right.
* Effectiveness is doing the right things.

There is no point doing well what you shouldn’t be doing at all. Make the hard decisions about what you want and need to do. Then do them right.

You have probably heard someone say, “I don’t have time to get organised” or even “I don’t have time to do it correctly right now, but I’ll come back later and fix it”. But the future does not hold limitless time to undo and redo something done poorly.

2. Pace yourself

Your calendar is probably full as you try to squeeze in everything you need and hope to do. As hard as it may seem, don’t overbook. Be realistic! Underbooking will actually allow you to achieve more.

3. Block-book

Some projects can’t be picked up and put down easily. Block-book your high-priority items.

4. Multi-task

Combining or piggybacking tasks makes you more efficient.
  • While you are holding on the phone, sign letters or cheques or mark magazine articles you want to read later.
  • In small buildings, don’t wait for elevators, take the stairs. It’s good exercise, and you’ll get there sooner.
  • Have a meditation break instead of a coffee break.
  • Listen to motivational tapes or CDs while commuting or travelling.
  • When you plan to meet someone, do it in a place where you can accomplish something while you are waiting.
5. Confirm

Save yourself hours of wasted time by confirming all appointments and flights. Yes, it takes time to confirm, but the payback can be enormous.

6. Do it now

One of the biggest time-wasters is waiting to do something until it doesn’t matter any more. You lose more than just time. You surrender control to others or to random chance. And you sacrifice your two-week time bonus.

Some things have to be done perfectly. Some don’t. Don’t strive for perfection in items or actions that don’t matter. People are usually paid to get results, not to be perfect.

Decide. Do it. And don’t waste your time on regrets or rehashing decisions, justifying bad ones or salvaging poor time investments that ought to be written off.

Use the past as a guide for the future, not as an excuse for not dealing with it.

There! You have just saved yourself weeks of time. What will you do with it?

— Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Patricia Fripp, a San Francisco-based executive speech coach, sales trainer and award-winning professional speaker on change and customer service.

Connect with Employees

Employers must strive to make employees feel valued and appreciated, regardless of race, age and designation

WHEN he was commander of the Pennsylvania State Police, Major Benjamin Brooks had an open-door policy at his workplace, but he noticed that no one ever came to see him.

When he tried to find out the reason, he discovered a startling reality. He was told that anyone who came to his door found it always closed.

It was a simply a case of sending out mixed messages. The closed door communicated to the employees that Maj Brooks was busy. In reality, he kept the door closed to ward off the noise in the office area. He immediately saw to it that it remained open thereafter.

What he realised was that though an open-door policy allowed an employee access to the manager, the employee had to be encouraged to utilise this procedure.

“Often, employees are reluctant to take advantage of this service because there’s a discrepancy between what the managers say and what they do,” he says.

“The biggest challenge for employers is to recognise that what worked in the past may no longer be appropriate, and that it’s time to make a significant shift in how business is conducted. Employers in this new millennium require different coping skills in order to effectively connect with the different generations in the workplace.”

Naturally, the employer who is aware of these changes, he says, will be able to compete better in the multicultural, global marketplace.

The next logical question is “how?”

Says Maj Brooks: “The best way for employers to handle these challenges is to recognise the demographic realities of the workplace.”

By recognising the need to be culturally competent and culturally flexible, the employer will not allow superficial differences to impede organisational progress.

It will also make better business sense when the employer realises that the organisation’s success will depend on the full utilisation of all of its available human resources, irrespective of their cultural or territorial differences.

In his career as a human resource (HR) consultant/presenter, Maj Brooks says he has spent a great deal of time on recruitment, retention and talent management, and by employing many of these strategies he was able to realise a greater return on investment in HR.

“This was measured by higher morale, and greater job satisfaction and as a result, realistic alignment of skill and job function. The biggest challenge was finally realising that we were in the people business. It was much easier to retain, develop, and manage our existing HR talents than to constantly hire new employees.”

The best way for organisations to retain and manage valuable human resources is to ensure that positive inclusion is an organisational philosophy, rather than a programme.

The importance of inclusion, says Brooks, is critical in today’s multicultural talent market more than ever before.

“It’s important because it ensures that the organisation will become more competitive in a multicultural marketplace. When employees feel that they’re an integral part of the organisation, morale is high, production increases and there’s a greater return on the organisation’s investment in its people,” he asserts.

But where do employers start? The best way for employers to connect with the employee is to undertake this simple principle: the key to learning is listening.

An employer must be able to bond spiritually or emotionally with the employee. Adds Maj Brooks: “If the employer can connect with the employee, it will be able to impact the employee. If it is able to impact the employee, it will be able to influence the employee. If it is able to influence the employee, it’ll be able to move the employee wherever it desires.”

However, he is quick to clarify that this will only happen when the employer is able to positively connect with the employee through his words, deeds, philosophy and emotion.

Research shows that when an employee is hired, 90 per cent of the emphasis for selection is on his or her technical skills. However, when an employee is fired, in 90 per cent of the cases, it is due to the lack of people skills.

Consequently, employers must become more proficient in the art of emotional intelligence. “This challenge becomes more acute, particularly when bridging the gap between veterans, Baby Boomers, Generation X-ers, and Nexters in the multicultural work place,” he explains.

- Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Cut the Silence

When a business conversation grinds to a halt, ask leading questions to restart the dialogue

THERE is more to hearing than meets the ear. In this age of noise, more noise, and still more noise, perhaps the most confusing and misunderstood sound is the sound of silence.

Silence doesn’t mean a conversation is dead; it may have simply lost its direction. You can regain control of things by asking leading questions — those that penetrate the confusion and guide the conversation to a desired end.

1. BE MORE SPECIFIC

One of the most common reasons for silence is a lack of clarity in the words and phrases used. Generalities, clichés and unclear terms can disrupt the flow and content of your conversation.

Mark Twain said it well: “The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the same as that between lightning and the lightning bug.”

Leading questions can help you nail down details and define terms. For example:
● “Does ‘as soon as possible’ mean you want those reports by the end of the week, by the end of the day or by noon?”
● “You said our representative was discourteous. Did he yell? Act disinterested? Ignore your comments?”

All of us have our own peculiar communication styles and mannerisms. Learn to recognise your own and those of others as you converse.

2. GET TO THE POINT

Conversations can digress into detours, and detours can take you far off the beaten path. Leading questions can steer you back on track.
● “Your primary concern is that everyone gets their input to you before next week’s staff meeting — is that right?”
● “Of all our products, which one do you think is the most feasible within your budget?”

Know where you’re going in a conversation and you’ll know when you get there. Keep a careful ear out for those things that distract rather than direct.

3. ELICIT FEEDBACK

The purpose of conversation is to exchange ideas and information in a giveand- take manner. Just as a tennis match is monotonous if only one contestant dominates, so it is with conversations. Some people don’t give any feedback; others give it, only insufficiently. Be alert and use leading questions to elicit the answers you’re seeking. For example:
● “What other comments do you have regarding the product’s reliability?”
● “In your opinion, which features interest you the most?” Get the feedback first and avoid the misunderstanding later.

4. REACH AN AGREEMENT

At times, nothing more is said because nothing more needs to be said. It is time to act and ask.
● “You probably want a matte finish, right?”
● “Being so displeased with your current service, don’t you want to consider another vendor?” There is a tendency to be gruff or pushy here. Don’t be. You simply want clear, specific action.

Silence is simply another form of communication, but it can speak louder than the most adamant protests. If your goal is to maximise these quiet opportunities and have clear, concise, and effective conversations, leading questions can get you there.

- Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Dianna Booher, the author of 42 books, keynote speaker and trainer on communication and life-balance issues.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Brand Yourself

Today’s marketplace is crowded with smart, talented executive lookalikes — here’s how to have an extra edge

IT IS time for all of us to turn ourselves into brand names. “Shameless marketing”, teaches you to combine personal branding with entrepreneurship for revolutionary success. It covers everything from generating free publicity (then truly profiting from it) to advertising on the cheap, forming strategic alliances to capitalising on non-traditional sales channels.

Shameless marketing exponents are people who are very comfortable talking about themselves — but in a way that doesn’t put people off.

How comfortable are you about talking about yourself? Shameless marketing means you have the ability to communicate “who you are and what you bring to the table, unashamedly”. Can you talk about yourself, sharing your skills and abilities? Can you say with confidence: “I am the best candidate for the job?”

Imagine that you have a reputation so strong — and you convey it so well — that the marketplace comes to you. It recognises your personal value and seeks you out for your unique talents and accomplishments.

Imagine standing apart from your peers, utterly confident in expressing your distinctiveness as a business leader and human being.

In the new working world, your reputation, or personal brand, is the currency that sets you apart.

Whether you are looking to move up the corporate ladder at your current organisation, seeking a position at another company, making a major career change or starting your own enterprise, a personal brand works like a magnet, attracting all the visibility and opportunity you need to achieve your goals.

Personal branding is a strategy that allows you to shape (or reshape) how others perceive you, create visibility and drive demand for your services. It is about letting your business colleagues — and the world, for that matter — know exactly what you stand for.

Your brand synthesises your business themes and accomplishments as well as your personal attributes in a way that powerfully conveys who you are. It is based on your authenticity — and held in the hearts and minds of those around you.

At this point, you might be wondering if every executive needs a personal brand. The answer is yes, yes, and yes!

If you want to thrive at the highest levels of corporate life and build a legacy of contribution and change, you need to manage your career with the same “mission- critical” mentality that you bring to your business initiatives. A personal brand is an integral part of such career management.

And even if you are happy where you are, and have no plans to “move up and out”, your brand is the insurance that you won’t fade into the corporate woodwork.

In fact, think of it this way: after all of your years of hard work and accomplishment, you owe yourself a compelling personal brand.

The ball is now in your court.

— Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by David Wee, the founder and CEO of DW Associates / Asia Speakers Bureau (ASB).

‘Karoshi kills’ – Watch It!

Are long hours stressing you out? Bill Lee-Emery has some work-life balance tips for busy people

Do you have a big enough reason to change your poor work-life balance habits? This is your starting point.

Is this you?

Some years ago, a close friend had an angina attack. He had been married for a few years and they had a young daughter. He was under extreme pressure in his job, long hours were common and he ate on the run, mostly fast food takeaways.

There was little work-life balance in his busy life. He was in his early 30s and being a father of a young child had an effect.

It scared him enough to realise he was not superhuman and he could face serious medical problems if he did not change what he was doing.

It is too easy to think that our bodies can cope with an unrelenting schedule and balance is unimportant. Our egos like to think we are indestructible. Clearly, we are not.

In Japan, they have a word ‘karoshi’, meaning ‘death by overwork’ when workers succumb to long hours, high stress with no let-up. In fact, around 10,000 Japanese workers a year die from karoshi.

However, it seems it is not the hard work that kills; it is the continuous and relentless pressure without adequate recovery time that poses the danger.

Have you thought who would be affected if you do not make work-life balance a priority? Do you have young children, a family, people who love and care for you?

I do not know anyone who, on their deathbed, would wish for another extra day at the office, over spending time with loved ones. What about you?

At risk

If your job is getting you down, check the hours you spend in the office. Researchers have found that an increasing tendency to work late may be making people sick.

Researchers in the United States surveyed 11,000 American employees, and found that those working overtime were 61 per cent more likely to suffer a work-related injury or illness, compared to those clocking off on time.

Surprisingly, the increased risks were not confined to the more dangerous industries. The results published in The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine indicate that workplace accidents may be largely due to fatigue and stress caused by long hours at work.

Workers were asked to detail their employment history, working hours and sick leave between 1987 and 2000.

Of the 110,236 jobs records analysed, 5,139 work-related injuries and illnesses had occurred, with over half affecting those in jobs with extended working hours. In real terms, working at least 12 hours a day increased the risk of injury or illness by 37 per cent.

According to anti-ageing expert Prof Avni Sali of Swinburne University in Melbourne, older Australians, especially those over 40, are in danger of being killed by the stresses of work.

“Those over 40 have the strongest work ethic,” he said. And he adds that Australians work the longest hours in the developed world.

Other patterns include too much eating, too much continuous stress, too little sleep, too much hostility and too little physical activity, which can all lead to higher incidences of illness and even death.

So, what about you? Do you have a big enough reason to change now?

– Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Bill Lee-Emery is a work-life balance coach who works specifically with entrepreneurs, executives and senior managers.

In Love For Life

Corporations always want loyal and lifelong customers

IF you look at some of the fastest growing businesses and brands in the world today like Google, Facebook and iPod, you will notice one thing in common – their customers are so in love with their products that they have become a free sales force.

These customers are totally smitten. Just as any teenager experiencing love for the first time, they cannot help but talk to anyone who will listen about their newfound love.

Fleeting interest

Take a look at most other businesses and what you will see millions of one-time customers who, after the initial seduction, one-night stand and promise of a long-term relationship, find themselves bitterly disappointed.

There are others who, after being a loyal customer for many years, decide to divorce the business because of a lack of care. Then there are many others who remain customers until an attractive, understanding and easy-to-deal alternative gets their attention.

At the heart of the most profitable and fast-growing businesses in the world is a positive emotional connection between three groups – the company or brand, its people and the customers. There is an emotional engagement between them. The customers are captivated by the product.

Making the connection

In the 1980s, several Harvard Business School professors started looking in depth at what explains superior profitability between companies operating in a specific service sector.

They looked at airlines, financial services, retailing and professional services. The professors asked themselves why one bank operating in the same geographic area with the same products was 40 per cent more profitable than its competitors.

Their discovery is summarised in a framework they call the Value–Profit–Chain. In simple terms, superior growth and profitability was the result of significantly higher levels of customer loyalty from profitable customers.

I call these customers who “stay, say and pay”. “Stay” means they actively choose to do business with you rather than feel handcuffed by some financial “loyalty bribe”.

“Say” means that they defend the company when others complain about it. “Pay” means that they believe that people do get what they pay for.

So if the business has a price increase and it is explained as being required to continue delivering a superior product and experience, they are more than happy to pay the premium.

The Harvard professors discovered that if customers perceive the value of your product and service to be superior, both in promise and in delivery, they would be emotionally engaged.

While products are easy to copy, the element of perceived value is not. The overall “customer experience” is how they feel when they start thinking about your product through to when they are using it.

The personal connection

When your customers deal with your company, the quality of the experience is largely a function of what it’s like to deal with your front-line employees – the customer service people, the people in the outlets, on the telephones and making the deliveries.

Now let’s go into people’s brains and nervous systems.

What is it specifically that gets customers emotionally engaged with your company and brands? At the heart is a particular brain cell or neuron called a “mirror neuron” and it is automatically activated every time one person deals with another. It is the basis of what the scientists call “emotional contagion” and it can be positive or negative.

Assuming that your products are well designed and represent competitive value for customers, the challenge is to get front-line employees to emotionally connect with the company and customers.

Highly engaged employees are those that “stay, say and strive”. The company retains them (they “stay”), they “say” good things to everyone about the company and its brands, and they “strive” to improve the business.

As company leaders, your ultimate role is to emotionally engage your teams and people. When you can truly help employees feel valued and involved, they will make customers feel valued and involved … the mirror neurons will make it so.

A customer’s lifelong love affair with your company requires a deliberate approach I call “engagineering” – applying the art and science of personal and group engagement.

– Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Bill Lang, chief executive officer of Bill Lang International and group president of Training Edge International.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Surviving a Merger

How should leaders and followers handle organisational change? Here are some tips

YOU have heard it all before. In the current climate of mergers and acquisitions mania, you are constantly told to embrace change.

You have to be leaner and faster and create more growth and profit.

Does this sound familiar?

Take heart, whatever level you are at in your organisation, there are practical things you can do to survive the inevitable changes that are on their way.

FOR LEADERS

If you have just been given the task of leading change in your organisation, your first task should be to create a vision for the first 100 days.

This needs to be something that you can articulate in one sentence, explaining what your organisation will become and by when.

One question you must ask is whether your new vision statement inspires you. If it does not, it will not inspire anyone else.

Change is emotional, and people will respond to it differently at different stages.

Start by getting connected within your organisation. Mobilise your staff, remove barriers, see through the politics and bring the vision to life.

Placing a high value on innovation will be vital in creating solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems — something that can be done only in a climate of trust, collaboration and creativity.

Expect people to push back — either by blatantly refusing to cooperate or, perhaps, by agreeing to something but never quite finding the time to follow it through.

It could be useful to identify people who really support the change and give them positions of influence.

Likewise, you have to identify the most influential resistors to find out why they are against the change, and work out how to win them over.

You should create your vision with your management team, communicate it to everyone and then set up small teams throughout the organisation to work on specific problem areas.

Small teams visibly working on change projects will be noticed quickly, which will help to build the momentum you need, particularly if you have a well-structured internal communications system in place.

FOR FOLLOWERS

If you are not in a leadership role, you will be able to see something big coming down the line towards you.

The best place to start is to always seek accurate information. Talk to your line manager and find out when the next communication event is scheduled.

Sort out the myths from the facts, and avoid “emotional vampires” who will suck you dry of energy by telling you why this is wrong for you, the organisation and business in general.

Get involved. Typically, any organisation going through a big change will expect to lose some of its workforce because these workers do not fit in with the new vision.

Do not be among those just because you have not bothered to find out how to make it work for you.

To deal with change with as little pain as possible, you will need to work fast, stay focused, be flexible, cope with the demands of ambiguity and take control of your own destiny.

The people who survive change will be those who embrace it, taking the lead and taking others with them so that the whole organisation is moving in the same direction.

TEN COMMON PITFALLS TO AVOID

1 Not communicating the hard messages — for example, potential job cuts. People will think that redundancies are coming any way and blow the issue out of proportion.

2 Not ensuring that every member of the leadership team is “on message”. Slightest variations in the information communicated will be picked up and spread around the company.

3 Pushing the change down from the top, rather than involving people from the bottom up too. If they are not engaged and do not see any benefits for them, change is unlikely to happen.

4 Failing to provide space and support for people to think through the personal implications of change. The key to success is understanding “what’s in it for me”.

5 Ignoring or fighting “troublemakers”. These are often crucial individuals, and if you can win them over by responding to them effectively, they can become your most powerful allies.

6 Not reviewing your progress regularly. You will not be able to correct your course if you plough on regardless.

7 Focusing on the rational at the expense of the emotional and political — that is, proceeding with no understanding of what people feel. If you do this, the change will not stick.

8 Focusing on the emotional and political at the expense of the rational. As with all things in life, there needs to be a balance.

9 Thinking “it won’t happen to me”. Ignore the change and it won’t go away, but you might get sidelined as a result.

10 Going along with the most vocal group. Often, those who make an impact through the change process are not the usual (loud) suspects, but those who have grown in confidence by using it as an opportunity to progress.

- Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Article by Natalie Gordon, a senior consultant at Egremont Group.