Great Minds

Entrepreneurship – An Exciting Opportunity! #GreatMinds

/ Business, Great Minds

It is more exciting and lucrative to be an entrepreneur, an intrapreneur, or a freelancer than being in a secure job. Entrepreneurship is a career opportunity if you want to go up the social hierarchy or economic hierarchy. Let us understand that future growth will come from new ideas. Therefore, we must be ready to invest in the creation of new ideas! We should all become entrepreneurs. Becoming an entrepreneur is not a business model – it is entirely your mindset that pushes you to do so. Identify your dream business and then put your 100 per cent into it. Employ competent people (build a great team), deploy world-class processes, and have a good mentor who can be your friend, philosopher, and guide through various stages of your business. 

Here’s what Robert Toru Kiyosaki, an American businessman and author of ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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What makes you a great leader? #GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Leadership

As we all know – leadership involves getting things done through people. Leadership is all about helping, encouraging, inspiring, and nurturing members of an organization and teams to give their best to accomplish organizational goals. It is the quality of the top leadership that sets the tone for how effectively and efficiently a corporate entity is being managed or navigated. Leadership comprises influencing members of an enterprise to endeavour willingly to achieve group objectives. Leadership has three dimensions, namely, the leader, the follower, and the situation. All leaders need robust personality attributes like vision, self-belief, integrity, courage and result focussed approach to function. These, however, must be accompanied by external qualities like communication skills, teamwork, attentiveness, commitment, and visibility.

Here’s what Tom Peters, an American writer on business management practices, has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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Ensuring Fair Pay to Your Employees #GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Management

To ensure a fair pay policy in our organization – we must align pay for a given role with the market value of that job by adhering to the best benchmarking practices. The requirement of specific skills for certain jobs and the performance of individuals at jobs being performed by them should also be taken into consideration. According to Fayol, wage rates and method of their payment should be fair, proper, and satisfactory. Fair remuneration increases workers’ efficiency and boosts their morale. Fair remuneration practices in any organization also play a crucial role in improving relations between employees and the management.

Here’s what Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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Do organizations resist change?#GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Management

If you want to be successful in life – go ahead – accept and embrace the change. Resistance to change will be easy to spot in an organization that has a culture of trust and transparent communication. In the workplace, where the employees are engaged and have positive interpersonal relationships, such resistance is also less likely to occur. Employees feel free to tell their boss what they think and to have open exchanges with managers. When a change is introduced in this environment, the resistance to change is minimized if it is accompanied by a lot of discussion and employee involvement. Resistance is also minimized if there is a widespread belief that a change is needed. Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with change both from the perspective of an organization and the individual.

Here’s what Charles Darwin, an English biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution, has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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The Ingredients of Team Work #GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Management

Teamwork is a coordinated and cooperative action of a group whose members participate responsibly and enthusiastically to accomplish a task. A supportive environment is of great consequence. Getting people to work together effectively is the primary task of a manager. Clear communication and motivation is the glue that holds the team together. The success of a manager depends on this creative fusion of assertion and affection on their part, while the team members need to bring productivity, sensitivity, motivation, and cooperation to the task at hand. All successful teams demonstrate the same essential features: strong and effective leadership; the establishment of precise objectives; making informed decisions; each member contributing responsibly; the ability to act quickly upon these decisions; communicating freely; mastering the requisite skills and techniques; having clear targets for the team to work towards; and – above all- finding the right balance of people prepared to work together for the common good of the team!

Here’s what Oliver Wendell Holmes, an American physician, poet, and polymath, has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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Group Decision Making #GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Management

There are two major methodologies for decision making – the authoritarian style and the group method. In the authoritarian method – the executive makes the decision and explains the decision to the group to gain their acceptance. In some studies, the time breakdown for a typical operating decision is somewhat like this: Making decisions- 5 minutes, Explaining the decision – 30 minutes, and Gaining acceptance – 30 minutes. Total 65 minutes. In the Group method – the group shares ideas do the analysis and agree upon a decision to implement. Studies show that the group often has values, feelings, and reactions quite different from those the manager supposes they have. Interestingly, the time breakdown in this method is somewhat like this: Group making decision – 30 minutes, Explaining the decision – 0 minutes, Gaining acceptance – 0 minutes. Total 30 minutes. 

Clearly, group decision making is better from an efficiency standpoint. Moreover, it is well known that people prefer to implement the ideas they think of. They will work harder and more energetically to implement their idea than they would implement an idea imposed on them by others. 

Here’s what Bill Cahan, an architect and founder of Cahan & Associates., has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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Is Bureaucracy good or bad? #GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Management

Whenever we think of the office mode of working, especially in the Government, we are reminded of the word “bureaucracy.” Originally conceptualised by Max Weber, it is a term used to describe high specialization, rigid hierarchy of authority, elaborate controls, and above all – impersonality. It is a condition where the structure of the organization, systems, rules, and procedures are stringently followed. With respect to daily operations, a bureaucracy encourages efficiency, creates predictability and avoids favoritism. However, it is also true that bureaucracy is often considered by many as counter-productive. It is perceived as a cage of regulations from which no one can escape. 

Here’s what John Sculley III, an American businessman and investor, who was also the president of PepsiCo, has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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Why Organizational Behaviour? #GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Management

Organizational Behaviour (OB) is an important concept in Management. It is a field of study that researches the impact that individuals, dyads, groups, teams, and structures can have on people’s behaviour within an organization. OB attempts to deploy this knowledge towards improving organizational effectiveness. It deals with the three determinants of behaviour in organizations: Individuals, Groups and Structure – and then applies this knowledge to make organizations work more effectively. In a nutshell, the subject is concerned with the study of what people do in an organization and how their behaviour affects the organization’s performance.

Here’s what Jennifer Griffith‘s (an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior) work involves:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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Why do we need Corporate Governance? #GreatMinds

/ Business, Great Minds, Management

Corporate Governance is the system of rules, procedures, processes, and systems by which a company is directed and controlled. Adhering to good governance practices brings about an excellent balance in the interests of a company’s many stakeholders – customers, employees, shareholders, management, suppliers, financiers, government, and the community. Since corporate governance also provides the structure for attaining a company’s objectives, it incorporates practically every aspect of management – planning, strategizing, instituting effective control systems, performance measurement and corporate disclosure.

Here’s what Dominic Cadbury, a British businessman and member of the Cadbury chocolate manufacturing dynasty, has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

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What to do and what NOT to do? #GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Management, Motivation

Decisions and the process of decision making are fundamental to all management processes. But it is an inescapable fact of both our work-life and our personal life. It involves making a judgement — sometimes a crucial judgement — between two or more alternatives or options. The decision-making process generally comprises steps like identification, analysis, assessment, choice, and planning. To arrive at a decision, a manager must define the purpose or the problem clearly, list the options available, choose between the options and then turn that choice into action. Sometimes, the decision to choose what not to do becomes as important!

Here’s what Denise Moreland, author of ‘Management Culture’, has to say:

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In this ongoing series #GreatMinds on my blog, I am shining a spotlight on the important ideas that some very successful people keep talking about in their public life.

What to do and what NOT to do? #GreatMinds Read More »