Management

The Basics of Building a Business

/ Management, Business
The building blocks of business

As regular readers of my blog are aware, I serve as a consultant to a few business owners. My job entails advising and assisting these clients as they launch their businesses. It also entails giving the CEO or other top executives advice regarding their daily operations. It is an engaging and challenging task! I thoroughly enjoy it!

In this third inning of my life, I have been dreaming about working closely with young minds. It has been my goal to reach at least 1 lakh students and entrepreneurs and share my passion and expertise with them. With that in mind, I’ve been considering how to communicate with more aspiring business owners and providing them with information on the fundamentals of managing a company. To reach a younger audience, I have distilled my lectures into these five basic tips in this post.

Tip 1: The Entrepreneur must have goals and objectives that are clear.

The bigger vision, yearly mission statements, goals, and objectives of an entrepreneur’s business or initiative must be very clear. More importantly, all employees of the organisation who work in various divisions, departments, branch offices, etc. must be made fully aware of these. The word SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic, and time-bound, best describes these goals. For every entrepreneur, these goals will be different, depending on their specific project or stage of business.
Let me give one or two examples to demonstrate my point. For an entrepreneur who is implementing a real estate project, the objectives would ideally be controlling the timeline, project cost, and scope of activities. For another entrepreneur who is managing FMCG operations – these objectives would be related to the cost of production, product and process quality, speed of delivery (to minimise the lead time for the customer), flexibility, and dependability.

Tip 2: Resist the temptation to borrow more

For first-generation entrepreneurs embarking on their entrepreneurial journey, it is prudent to begin with a micro or small business with 100% equity raised from savings, with financial assistance from family, relatives, friends, and associates. Since a first-time entrepreneur is still learning to manage finances, borrowing would add to the stress and increase risk. Borrowing from banks/DFIs (by mortgaging your property as collateral) should be avoided as a general rule unless and until you have mastered the art and science of handling money and making money from money.
The advice I give to first-timers in general is that they should start a micro or small business first. Check their tenacity for business risks, grow their business slowly in modules and eventually with baby steps consolidate the company over a period of 6 to 12 to 18 to 24 months. This would be an ideal strategy. This technique will work wonders for them in the sense that it will enable them to learn and make money at the same time. Additionally, it will protect them from unanticipated dangers, and in the event that they do, the damages will be within reasonable bounds.

Tip 3: Build experience first, then jump into riskier waters

As the company grows and the size of your business expands, then the entrepreneur can create an additional equity pool. Ideally, they should start with the people they know. The first resource is to reach out to classmates who have completed their professional degrees with the businessman for help. One could also get in touch with the major suppliers of machinery and raw materials of their business or other business associates. There are many alternative ways such as bootstrapping, crowdfunding, and so on. Eventually, the entrepreneur would have gained sufficient experience and mastered the art and science of effectively managing all of their resources (particularly financial resources). This experience is required to learn how to create the necessary value addition from their business operations. Once this experience and rigour are achieved, they can always seek a secured loan from a bank or a development finance institution (DFI) and make somewhat riskier business decisions.

Information helps take prompt action

Tip 4: In the digital age, information is an important resource.

The entrepreneur must also create proper systems for information flow within and outside the organisation. This systematic collection, organisation, presentation, analysis, and interpretation of all available data and information will facilitate good decision-making within the organisation. This simple task will result in the initiation of timely actions. An effective and robust MIS (Management Information System) should also be developed and implemented to ensure that all employees and key executives benefit from all important top-down and bottom-up communications. An effective MIS also ensures the organization’s long-term success through effective management control.

Tip 5: Develop world-class business processes

The next step should be to choose world-class business processes. These processes should be created and validated with the assistance and support of various domain experts both inside and outside your organisation. Process or activity flow charts should be created as needed and made available on your intranet for access and retrieval.

I hope this helps young entrepreneurs visualize the challenges and the road ahead for them at whatever stage of business they are in. If I have missed a crucial point, let us discuss them in the comment section below for the benefit of others!

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Surviving & Thriving in the Corporate World

/ Motivation, Management

Today in this blog post – I am trying to answer a common question that is being frequently asked to me by my management students, young aspiring executives, and entrepreneurs. The common questions being asked by these young males and females are:

• How do we prepare ourselves for the corporate world where we are going to spend the rest of our lives?
• How do we become effective and smart business managers in today’s business environment?
• What attributes and/or qualities we should have to become successful as an employed executive or as an entrepreneur/intrapreneur?

Whereas these questions may, prima facie, appear to be different, these point towards the same answer. Here, I am making an earnest effort to answer this crucial question in the succeeding paragraphs:

Reinventing Yourself

What you are?… What do you know?… And what you can do? What is your eventual professional goal – where do you want to reach in your career? What do you want from your job and/or life? Do self-introspection. Articulate your dream. Do your SWOT analysis to find your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For this, you must scan your internal as well as external environment. Formulate your strategic plan, goals, and objectives. And finally – work on the implementation of your plans under the guidance of your mentor.

Realize Your Organization’s Vision

Stick to your and your organization’s long-term vision and values. Your individual goals and your organizational goals must be aligned – that is important. Be firm and strict in realizing this vision but be flexible when you are implementing your decisions to accomplish this vision. In other words – your long-term vision is firm and non-negotiable, but you are flexible in pursuing the path that takes you there – flexible in terms of your approach towards deployment of all your resources and your general style of management. While you are working with your team on the fructification of your enterprise’s tunnel vision – you should also walk an extra mile to enhance the emotional quotient and happiness quotient of your team members.

Be Effective first, then Efficient

As a corporate executive or a business manager – you shall like to give your best to your organization. This will require that you are effective as well as efficient in your job. Being effective will mean that you set your priorities right and do the right things at the right time. On the other hand, being efficient will mean that you can accomplish your organizational goals by deploying all physical, financial, human, and informational resources in optimal measures. Here, let us not forget that being effective is more important than being efficient. An ideal business manager will be effective first and efficient thereafter. In other words – while effective means doing the right things, efficient will mean doing things right.

Work on Your Communication Skills

Another important requirement for you to succeed in your corporate journey is being very good (if not excellent) in personal as well as business communication. Effective communication is crucial to a business manager’s personal as well as professional life. A large part of our waking time is spent communicating. However, we do not give thought to most of the communication unless it involves a critical business issue or when something goes wrong. Every communication is essential, however insignificant it may seem, especially in the workplace. The communication may be as simple as sending a text message to a colleague requesting data or preparing a lengthy technical report – with proper planning and care both types of communication can be made more effective.

Your Body Language

Apart from mastering your verbal and written communication, you must pay attention to your non-verbal communication skills which we also refer to as body language. These include your posture/gait, power of your handshake, eye contact, and other soft skills (many professional colleges are teaching these soft skills as a part of their curriculum).

To understand and master the art and science of communication, I suggest that you read about 5 Ws and 1 H of communication (What, Why, When, Where, Who, and How).

Your Domain Knowledge

You also must possess good functional knowledge in the field of your specialization together with an appreciation of available resources (including the scarce ones), proven processes and technologies in your professional domain. To achieve this goal, you must engage in regular reading, talking to many domain experts, and attending professional events like trade fairs, exhibitions, webinars and seminars. In other words – you will do well to build a learning and growth environment around you and your colleagues in the organization. This will additionally require building libraries, positioning experts and mentors in your organization, and building a strong intranet.

Your Overall Personality

To build an attractive personality – you should also try to practice speaking and writing with due economy of words – I call this ‘brevity in your expression’. Apart from efficiency in action, and brevity in expression, you should also develop firmness in your decisions, courtesy in behaviour, and tact in handling delicate and sensitive situations. You may also like to work on your listening skills, negotiation skills and problem-solving skills. Building all the skills will require time and effort and active engagement with knowledgeable and experienced people in your contact sphere – but rest assured, you will reap great dividends later in life.

Like I always remind you- this list is not exhaustive. I have written this from my experience. If you think I have missed something essential that you think must be included in this, then do let me know in the comments below!

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Finetune your management style!

/ Management, Leadership
Being ethical and professional

Are you a manager/supervisor, business executive, or organizational leader? You may even be a CEO, or a Unit Head overseeing the working of a medium or large business, social, or a ‘not-for-profit’ organization. Your role may be entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial.  

Whatever the situation – you are concerned with effective and efficient utilization of various physical, financial, human, and informational resources at your disposal to accomplish organizational goals and objectives.

My sole purpose in writing this post is to impress upon you the need to restructure (and/or fine-tune) your leadership and management style so that you are more professional and ethical in your broader approach to people, their problems, and to their organizations. You will also do well to blend the right proportions of compassion and empathy while dealing with people.    

Based on my over four decades of experience in dealing with people and organizations, I am giving below a few specific suggestions to restructure/fine-tune your leadership/management style: 

The first and foremost aspect is to genuinely respond to the interests and expectations of all your stakeholders in the business – namely, your customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, and other local bodies that impact your business, the government, and society. You must do the best possible to fulfil their expectations from your business.

You must always ensure that all your decisions and actions are based on structured information and data. Kindly avoid taking any decision or action based on your personal preferences, whims, or fancies because that would mean that you are deviating from the path of professionalism. You must strive to practice stark professionalism in almost all functional areas like production, marketing, sales, accounts and finance and HR. 

You must also ensure that all your employees show up at work every day and on time, maintain good hygiene, dress appropriately, and follow the company rules. All your employees must understand that their employer expects a full day’s work for a full day’s pay.

All managers should also demonstrate integrity in their behaviour. In my opinion, managerial integrity is an essential ingredient for effective and ethical leadership. In addition to their job competencies, functional expertise and credentials, successful managers have personal characteristics that underlie their leadership skills. Integrity is one such characteristic that is noticeable in leaders who demonstrate a firm commitment to business principles. 

Illustrations of managerial integrity can be found during interactions with peers, colleagues, and subordinates as well as the public within and outside the workplace. Managers who lead with integrity do not sugar-coat employee evaluations for the sake of being popular or being liked. Socially irresponsible corporate behaviour is something that managers with integrity will not tolerate even if it means putting their job in jeopardy. 

As the Head of your organization – you must also ensure that all your employees working in various departments follow and practice ethics in their functional areas like production, marketing, accounts and finance, and advertising. 

You will also do well to sensitize your employees towards various other aspects like workplace discrimination, regulatory compliances, insider trading, and always adhering to moral and ethical practices. 

As a great organization, you must also do your bit towards society by adhering to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) practices. As far as possible you should follow the concepts of Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and the 4 Ps of Ethical Business to make your CSR initiatives more effective and meaningful.

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.

Vince Lombardi

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Planning and Control are indispensable

/ Management

While as a leader/manager you must practice all managerial functions like planning, organising, leading, motivating, communicating, coordinating, and controlling – you must focus on the crucial relationship between planning and control without fail.

Planning and control are known as Siamese twins of management. I mean, that these are inseparable from each other. Planning has no meaning unless accompanied by appropriate control and you cannot enforce any control unless you have a plan. A modern enterprise con­tinuously cycles back and forth be­tween planning and controlling.

To start with, the manager makes plans and then uses the control system to monitor progress to­wards the fulfilment of these plans. Such a practice ensures that you always remain on track and avoid any kind of sub-optimal performance in your operations.

How do Small Businesses benefit from planning?

The institution of effective planning and control systems – both during the project implementation and operation phases can prove beneficial to the entrepreneur in one or more of the following ways:

  • Ensuring that the project or the program is completed without unwanted costs and time overruns.
  • Ensuring that the scope of the project is not altered during the project gestation period and if there are any unavoidable changes in the project scope, these are thoroughly discussed with project sponsors – so that cost and time frames are revised suitably.
  • Meticulous planning and control systems during the operation phase of the project will ensure that all-important operational parameters like cost of production, expenses on salaries and wages, financing charges, promotional and advertising expenses, lease rentals, and other avoidable expenses are kept under check.
  • The firm can deploy suitable strategic planning tools to undertake structured performance evaluation in various areas like Quality Control, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Portfolio Management, Competitive Analysis, and others.

So, what’s included in PLANNING?

Planning, as we all know, means deciding the future course of action. In other words – planning will mean what to do, when to do, what to do, who will do (team), and what should be the rules, procedures, policies that follow. When we plan a mega project or any big activity (like Mumbai Metro, Asian Games, or Commonwealth Games) – it may encompass a series of small secondary and tertiary plans and activities – these can be called decisions. So, in essence – planning and decision-making are the two sides of the same coin. Planning can be strategic, tactical, or operational.

Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning is generally long-term (covering periods of over 3 years to 7 years or even 10 years) and is initiated by the top management. Some good examples of strategic planning may be opening offices and showrooms in foreign countries, undertaking growth and diversifications, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. Strategic planning provides the vision of the top management about the future of the organization.

Tactical Planning

The broader vision of the organization set up by the top management is broken down into yearly chunks and the middle management works on these yearly chunks to realize the whole vision eventually. This is called tactical planning.

Operational Planning

Finally comes the day-to-day operational planning which is undertaken by lower management or the front-line functionaries. The purpose of operational planning is to directly support tactical plans and indirectly support strategic plans.

Contingency Planning

We also must understand another kind of planning known as Contingency Planning. Contingency Planning is done to provide for any unforeseen future event or contingency. Let me emphasize that contingency planning is very important in business due to the very uncertain nature of the business.

How do we think about CONTROL?

While planning looks forward – the control function looks backwards to ensure whether the plan was accomplished properly. There are essentially four components to any good control process – namely setting standards or the target, actual performance, comparing performance with the plan/ target, finding the deviation or variance, and lastly taking the corrective action.

In actual practice, we deploy many types of control. These could be feed-forward, concurrent, and feedback controls. Then there are strategic controls – namely premise control, implementation control, Special Alert Control, and Strategic Surveillance Control.

A corporate executive or an entrepreneur can apply a suitable control mechanism to ensure the success of their business ventures/projects. In business and industry – the control function is used with advantages in areas like Production Planning & Control, Project Control, Cost Control, Administrative Control, and others. Various control techniques generally deployed include Direct Supervision and Observations, Financial Statements, Budgetary Controls, ROI, Break-even Point, MIS, and Management Audit.

Strategic Planning Tools

Planning and control are vital to your mission’s success. For effective planning and control, you must make use of various planning and strategic management tools. You can deploy SWOT Analysis for undertaking the situation analysis, PESTEL Analysis for scanning the external environment, BCG Matrix for doing Portfolio Planning, Porter’s Five Forces Model for formulating your competitive strategy, and Balanced Scorecard for analysing the performance of an enterprise. Likewise, there are many more tools to help you with every aspect of your business planning and control.

Are there any other planning tips and operational practices that you have followed in your business to your advantage? Let me know in the comments below.

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Improve your EQ for success at work!

/ Management, Motivation
EQ at workplace
  • Do you feel demotivated easily at your workplace?
  • Are you critical of everyone at your office?
  • Do you find it difficult to be part of group projects?
  • Do you think you are not communicating your ideas to your team leader?
  • Do you freeze and blank out under pressure?

If you have answered “Yes” to most of the questions, then you are not utilizing your emotional intelligence in the workplace. Emotional Intelligence (EQ), as you must have figured out, is the most important ability that contributes to success in your workplace.

EQ, as an ability, has five factors to it:

  1. Self-Awareness
  2. Self-Regulation 
  3. Motivation
  4. Social Skills
  5. Empathy

We can build these things within ourselves incrementally over time. I believe that no intelligence is fixed and permanent in nature; everything is a skill that can be learned with time. The same goes for EQ. It may seem elusive; however, it is not! We all have some level of EQ, to begin with since it is so crucial to our survival in the world. So, it is only a matter of honing it!

Here are my five tips to improve your EQ so that you can do well at your workplace:

1> Look Inward

First of all, recognise your feelings and the root of them. What feelings come up in the workplace? What is the root cause? How do you react to others when those feelings come up? The first lesson is simply to observe what you feel without judgement. In this process, you will discover who you are.

2> Respond, don’t react.

Once you are able to recognise what you are feeling, you are one step closer to regulating it. Think before you jump into judgement and an emotional reaction to the situation. Find ways to channel your feelings in productive ways! If you feel emotionally charged, expend it in exercise or sports. If you feel low, watch a movie or listen to music to uplift you. These strategies are totally subjective. You will know what works best for you! 

(I have written a post narrating an incident from my life that deals with this topic! Read it here.)

3> Stay Motivated

People who have high EQ are known to have intrinsic motivation. It means that they are motivated “by the process itself” and not the external rewards that the work can offer. So, you must think about what you like about your job and focus on it! If you do this, it will be easier to stay motivated even on the tough days at work.

4> Stay Connected

Students always tend to ask how can we improve our social skills and be more proactive in the classroom. The simple answer is to be genuinely curious about other people. If you pay attention to what people are saying, their body language, you will know what the right thing to say or do is. Another practical skill you will have to develop is to improve communication skills by imitating the style of someone who you admire, and slowly you will find your own unique style.

5> Think from different POVs.

Last but not the least, we have to be empathetic. People who can see the situation from different perspectives, and be kind about those differences are emotionally intelligent. If you can put yourself in the shoes of the other person, and imagine their reasons, you will be better able to communicate and collaborate with them. 

Why must you practice these tips on a daily basis? 

We know that an emotionally intelligent person can handle workplace difficulties without indulging in the blame game. They can take responsibility for what went wrong in any situation without castigating themselves too. They have greater empathy for others in the workplace, and therefore can avoid office drama! And above all, they make great leaders since they set the right example by taking action calmly and objectively. And obviously, while you work on your EQ, your personal life will inevitably be enriched too!  

Reference: 

Cherry, Kendra. “Utilizing Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace.” Verywell Mind, 25 May 2020, www.verywellmind.com/utilizing-emotional-intelligence-in-the-workplace-4164713.

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Nurture creativity in your business

/ Business, Management
Creativity in Organizational Teams

As little children, we all were very creative, but our creative instinct started getting eroded as we grew older. To remain creative, we must try out new things, learn to fail and re-learn from each failure, and always try to take the path that was less travelled. We can learn to be creative in many different forms. Remember that if you want something which you have never had, you must do something that you never did. Creativity is one of the most important traits we possess as human beings – and this trait can lift our personal and professional lives by several notches. 

What does it mean to be ‘Creative and Innovative’?

We can understand creativity as the ability to create, bring into existence, invent into a new form, produce through imaginative skill, or bring into existence something new. Creativity is the capacity to produce novel ideas by fusing, modifying, or repurposing old ones. Every idea is the result of creative thinking, and every product is an idea made real. Why do we want to be creative? The objective is mainly to enhance comfort and convenience or to increase productivity and efficiency. Whatever the objective, thinking is a crucial skill for all successful businesspeople. The celebrated human discoveries are not by chance. It was an abstract thought that originally existed only in the mind of the thinker. Men and women used their creative thinking to produce tangible results.

Creativity involves many people from different disciplines working effectively together to solve a great many problems. 

It requires talented people to work effectively with one another. That requires respect and trust, both of which must be acquired over time. It cannot be mandated by managers. What we can do is create an environment that fosters respectful and trusted interactions that encourages everyone to express their talents. If we do that well, the outcome will be a thriving community where talented individuals are devoted to one another and their shared work.

The definition of innovation is the addition of something new to an established process or product. The successful application of novel concepts is innovation. All invention starts with original thought. Innovation is the result of creativity. The implementation of creative inspiration is innovation.

Joseph Schumpeter, a political economist, believes that the concept of innovation to create a new commercial product or service is the crucial force in creating new demand and thus new wealth. Innovation creates new demand. Who brings it to the market? None other than entrepreneurs! This revolutionizes the existing markets and creates new ones, which will in turn be disrupted by even newer products or services.

No doubt, the current economic environment is a volatile and violent one. The new environment demands renewed dynamism of approach and only a few organizations can manage the changes inherent in the new environment. Entrepreneurs must keep their organisation lean, young, flexible, and eager for new things to continuously delight the customers, which is the purpose of every business.

How to Nurture Creativity in Organizational Teams?

Having understood the concept and importance of creativity and innovation, let us now explore how we can inculcate the spirit of creativity and innovation in our corporate teams – particularly in the first-generation entrepreneurial endeavours/projects.  

Creativity is very important to organizations and to organizational teams that want to solve new problems, fix current ones and be innovative in their industry. Look behind any creative success story and you’ll usually find a great team, a group of passionate people who raised each other’s game. 

Here are a few suggestions to help you boost the effectiveness of your team and to inculcate the spirit of creativity among team members:

Use the power of brainstorming

Encourage your employees to brainstorm to generate new ideas. You can brainstorm effectively by taking breaks and removing yourself from the office.

Create diverse teams

Assemble a group of employees who don’t usually collaborate, who have a different set of strengths and weaknesses and who come from different backgrounds. 

Reward great ideas

Let your team vote on the best ideas that come out of your brainstorming sessions. You can even give the winner a prize as an incentive for employees to put more thought into their ideas.

Give them big open spaces

Create an open and spacious environment so your team is relaxed by removing as much clutter as possible. Cubicles won’t create a collaborative environment, so try and avoid those if possible.

Make sure your top management supports creativity

Your employees will take risks if they know that you support them. If they know their ideas won’t be considered, then they won’t try to come up with them and no change will take place. Don’t penalize employees for taking risks and thinking outside of the box – embrace it!

The presence of others can boost performance

One of the earliest findings in social psychology was the “social facilitation effect” – the way the mere presence of other people engaged in the same task as us can boost our motivation. 

What are some features of successful, creative teams?

A familiar team has benefits like a home stadium.

Everyone knows that sports teams enjoy an advantage when competing in their home stadium’s familiar surroundings. Consider a 2006 Harvard study that showed the performance of heart surgeons improved over time when working at their main hospital surrounded by their usual team. 

Virtual teams can outperform face-to-face teams

In 2009, a research team led by Frank Siebdrat assessed the performance of 80 software companies worldwide and found that more dispersed teams often outperformed “co-located” teams.

A balance of extroverts and introverts makes for a better team

While extroverts will grab your attention and showcase their abilities, you might need to search a little harder to spot the talented quiet types. But don’t go too far the other way and ignore extroverts — a balance of complementary personalities is often the most effective mix.

Most good teams have one analytic thinker on board

Team members with a big picture thinking style are great for brainstorming and creative problem solving but when it comes to idea execution a study published this year suggests it’s a good idea to have at least one focused, analytic thinker on your team — that is, someone who can focus on the details of your project.

Teams perform better when they include both men and women

In 2012, Credit Suisse published an analysis of nearly 2,400 international companies, finding that those with at least one woman on their boards tended to be the strongest performers. The benefits of having both men and women in the controlling team were especially apparent in tougher operating conditions and were attributed by the report authors to issues such as better team diversity and a balance of leadership skills.

There’s a danger of teams splitting into sub-groups

A study led by psychologist Doris Fay investigated this problem in the UK’s healthcare system. Fay found that diversity was a bonus – multi-disciplinary teams produced better quality innovations than more homogeneous teams – but only if certain processes were in place to help prevent internal splits. 

The best teams communicate outside of formal meetings

Researchers at MIT’s Human Dynamics Laboratory have found conversations outside formal meetings are the most important factor contributing to team success. There are simple steps we can take to increase these valuable encounters, including scheduling coffee breaks so that all team members get to chat with each other and planning social events.

I hope this researched article provided you with some practical tips to nurture creativity in your teams. Tell me what features are already present in your workplace or business, and what has scope for growth.

References:

  • Campbell, Ed. “How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity.” Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Publishing, 25 Feb. 2019, hbr.org/2008/09/how-Pixar-fosters-collective-creativity.
  • Akanbi, Sheu-Usman & Iortimbir, Aun. (2015). Creativity and Innovation in Entrepreneurship. 
  • McGowan, Robert. “Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship.” Journal of Entrepreneurship & Organization Management, vol. 01, no. 01, 2012.

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Why Management Audit #GreatMinds

/ Great Minds, Management

Management and Strategy Evaluation is an important concept in business. It critically examines the complete management process, namely, the planning, organising, directing, and controlling. It finds out the efficiency of the management by carefully examining the company’s plans, objectives, policies, procedures, personnel relations, and systems of control. Management auditing is conducted by a team of experts. They collect data from past records, members of management, clients, and employees. The data is analysed, and conclusions are drawn about managerial performance and efficiency.

Here’s what Peter Drucker, Austrian-American management consultant, educator, and author, has to say:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Let me know in the comments section.

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:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Let me know in the comments section.

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:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Let me know in the comments section.

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:

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Let me know in the comments section.

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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