Clarity of Direction Prevents Defection

How do you stop top talent walking when the going gets tough? Businesses that win in a downturn are the ones that engage with their employees, providing reassurance when necessary and clear direction to all. But what is the secret of motivation in a downturn?

“Of all the no-brainers in all the executive suites in all the world, winning the engagement of your employees must come near the top of the list. And yet, survey data seem to indicate that managers are failing spectacularly to achieve that aim.”

That’s the view of columnist Stefan Stern, writing in the Financial Times earlier this year. It’s easy to make these observations but it’s tougher to do the job of motivating a workforce in turbulent times. Retaining, rewarding and galvanizing employees over a sustained period is rarely easy. When jobs are plentiful and competition for good people is intense, it’s tough enough. When the market becomes more challenging, when many people begin to fear for their job security or that their salary won’t meet their rising costs, the trickle of defections can turn to a flood.

Unless organizations capture the hearts and minds of their people, the grass for some employees is always going to be greener. So just how do you stop key talent from walking? Here are some basic points; all of which are, to useFinancial Times vernacular, ‘no-brainers’:

• Provide clarity of strategic direction and pace . When the clouds come down, you need to know where you’re heading and have confidence that your leader is going to get you there.
  
• Instil trust and confidence in your most driven, focused employees. These are the people who most demand and expect clarity of direction.
  
• Address fundamental concerns. Everyone needs to know what is expected of them, the behaviors they should be exhibiting, the objectives they need to achieve.
  
• Put people in roles suited to their skills and ambitions. Many employees are stymied by inappropriate roles and work environments that frustrate rather than help.
  
• Provide the tools for people to do their jobs. Clarity of direction is meaningless unless people have the resources – including the time, the space and the support – to succeed in their roles.
  
• Act quickly. The longer you wait, the more you create a vacuum, leaving your employees to worry and draw their own conclusions.
  
• Continue investing in R&D. Innovation is even more important in a downturn.

Have you provided clear direction and morale boosters to your organization. Let me know.

Back To Business As Unusual

The global economic and financial crisis that struck so fast and so furiously last year is just one manifestation of an increasingly volatile and unpredictable climate. A sustained period of economic boom may have masked it, but the world is characterized today by political uncertainty and extremism, fluctuating financial and commodity markets, unpredictable consumer sentiment, increasingly complex global trade, climate change, terrorism, genocides, the threat of pandemics and so on.

Adapting to the 'New Normal'

'To survive and thrive, organizations will have to adapt to this 'new normal'. That will be no easy task. It will require different leadership, different skills and talent, different organizational forms, different corporate priorities and different human resources strategies. And critically, it will require different thinking – not least understanding that volatility is not, of itself, bad, provided you accept it and work with it.

Technology Will Be Critical

Technology will be at the heart of the new networked, customer-centric organizational model. Embracing technology will therefore be critical for everyone in the organization – not least human resources, for whom the shift to the new paradigm will be a particular challenge.

'Next' versus 'Best' Practices

Abandoning their obsession with 'best practices' and thinking instead in terms of 'next practices' will be a critical challenge for leaders in the new world. What's more, within the more fluid networked organizational structures the job of leadership becomes that of catalyst and coordinator rather than command and control. As such, they will need to be humble, emotionally intelligent, collaborative and comfortable with ambiguity.

Being able to manage future and current challenges together, and to integrate apparently contradictory objectives, will be vital. So, for instance, chief executives shouldn't prioritize shareholder value over customer satisfaction; they should satisfy customers to the extent that it creates shareholder value. Likewise, instead of choosing between developing their people and becoming more cost conscious, they should develop their people in order to help reduce costs.

Indeed, leaders will need to work even harder to engage the hearts, hands and heads of their employees in an economic climate – characterized by dramatically shifting demographics and intensifying competition, particularly from China and India – that will require everyone to work harder, longer and more flexibly. The current downturn not withstanding, talent will be a more important source of advantage and innovation over the coming years than it has ever been.

Shifting to this new modus operandi won't be easy; nor will it happen overnight. But there is no standing still and certainly no going back. The world has changed irrevocably, and organizations that want to prosper have to observe new rules and develop new practices. For those that do, the prizes are there for the taking.

Your thoughts on this would help expand this paradigm shift, email me at wgstevens2@gmail.com.

Available All the Time: Etiquette for the Social Networking Age

After a long day at the office, imagine logging onto Facebook to see what your friends have been up to, only to have your boss or colleague message you about an urgent work matter. Aside from the fact that you are officially off duty, is it appropriate for your co-worker to reach out to you through a social networking forum? Was it wise to accept a colleague or higher-up as a "friend" to begin with? And -- perhaps more importantly -- in this day and age, when people are seemingly available around the clock because of smartphones and our endless appetite for all things online, is anyone ever really "off duty?"

As Facebook, Twitter and 24-hour Blackberry access blur the lines between business and personal lives, managers and employees are struggling to develop new social norms to guide them through the ongoing evolution of communications technology. Wharton faculty and other experts say the process of creating rules to cope with the ever-expanding reach of modern communications has just begun, but will be shaped largely by individuals and organizations, not top-down decrees from a digital Emily Post. Generational differences in the approach to openness on the Internet will also be a factor in coming to common understandings of how and when it is appropriate to contact colleagues, superiors or clients.

"There are huge etiquette issues around the new social media, especially the interactive type," says Wharton management professor Nancy Rothbard. "What if your boss friends you on Facebook? That's a dilemma. How do you not accept that friend? What if you really are friends?"

According to Rothbard, new communications technology is eroding the boundaries between home and office, which creates a "double-edged sword" for companies. "On the one hand, it enables flexibility. In some ways, it makes you more effective. But it can also lead to a lot of burnout. In the long term, it may lead to conflict about how you feel towards your other life roles and your ability to be fully present in any one domain."

To read more go to the link above.

Have You Protected Your Assets

Having worked closely with sales teams for the past 20 years one area that seems to get missed is keeping your sales force up to date on basic skills and expertise. As the economy changed, the means to market and sales approach has to change to deal with the customers economic condition. The old "hi Charlie, how much can I put you down for" has all but disappeared. For that matter it did a long time ago and top sales people did not know how to adjust.

So you as a manager need to focus on the following:

• identify weak spots - does your sale team and for that matter customer service people know the company's strategy?
• climate - sales people want new ideas and products so keep the pipeline full including software that will make their job easier and more efficient;
• check for complacency - management should keep communication lines full from strategy to daily updates on sales activity. Keep sales teams motivated through impact marketing, coaching, and weed out poor performers if they continue after development investment;
• adjust territories if needed.

A couple of other housekeeping initiatives such as:

• continue to evaluate your resources
• focus on service excellence
• get people out of their comfort zones
• train towards peak performance
• continuous measurement - post results
• keep their eye on the ball
• create a theme

As a manager are you doing these things to keep your sales team at peak levels and if not you will experience the recession and you will lose the dream for your team. What are your thoughts?

Losing Is Never Fun

Losing is never fun. When you invest significant time and resources pursuing a deal and it falls through, it’s frustrating – and invariably causes some self-reflection.

Why weren’t we successful this time? What could we have done differently? Implementing a process to learn from your losses can yield great dividends – and is often the best way to lock in the next potential customer you approach.

There are plenty of reasons deals fall through. See if any of these sounds familiar:

· The price was too high

· The competition had a personal relationship with the buyer

· The product was missing a key feature

· The product isn’t a comprehensive solution

· The sales rep didn’t position our product correctly

· The lack of a reference customer in the industry

· The customer didn’t believe they have the problem you solve

· The competition simply outsold your firm

· The lack of an ROI toolkit

The list goes on but by taking the time to formally analyze your losses, you discover a wealth of valuable

information that can impact your overall vision and strategy. Here are 10 quidelines you can apply to your own

loss analysis:

1. Interview internally and externally

2. Choose an objective individual to conduct the interview

3. Don't wait to long

4. Understand the customer need

5. Get their prospective on your product

6. Get pricing feedback

7. Get competitive insights

8. Review their key decision criteria

9. Evaluate the sales process

10. Review the effectiveness of your marketing

If you build this in as a normal part of your sales process you not only will get valuable feedback, but you will

indicate to them that you are a company that is continually looking to improve your products and services. More

importantly, if you are engaged in a similar opportunity in the future, you will be armed to win.

Succession Management

A common misconception is that succession management is a human resources driven exercise with little impact on the company. Well, the opposite is true. For those companies that do not have a pure succession plan it has a damaging effect on the long-term impact on the companies bottom line. So where does your company stand on this very important issue especially in today's high impact, fast moving environment of business activity and mobility of great talent. Here are the guideposts and where do you stand:

Level 0 - no succession plan. 21% of companies fall into this category

Level 1 - Replacement Planning - companies only focus on senior level management and an A list of potentials is created. 15% operate at this level

Level 2 - Traditional Succession Planning - Talent review are conducted and plans are put in place. 52% of companies operate like this today

Level 3 - Integrated Succession Planning - A company targets all critical positions at all levels and it is tied to business strategy. 12% operate like this today

Level 4 - Transparent Talent Mobility - no companies operate at this level today where companies completely understand the capabilities and potential of their human capital where decisions are made naturally based on business need and the company as a whole.

So where are you in this talent slide? Bersin & Associates have dealt deeply into this subject and the full text is in this months issue of Workforce.

The Four Functions of Management

For any kind of organization to run smoothly in achieving their set goals and objectives they need to implement management concepts. To plan for it, there are four basic management concepts that allow any organization to handle planned, tactical and set decisions. What are those plans? The answer lies here.

Any organization, whether new or old, whether small or big need to run smoothly and achieve the goals and objectives which it has set forth. For this they had developed and implemented their own management concepts. There are basically four management concepts that allow any organization to handle the tactical, planned and set decisions. The four basic functions of the management are just to have a controlled plan over the preventive measure.

The four functions of management are:

The base function is to: Plan

It is the foundation area of management. It is the base upon which the all the areas of management should be built. Planning requires administration to assess; where the company is presently set, and where it would be in the upcoming. From there an appropriate course of action is determined and implemented to attain the company’s goals and objectives

Planning is unending course of action. There may be sudden strategies where companies have to face. Sometimes they are uncontrollable. You can say that they are external factors that constantly affect a company both optimistically and pessimistically. Depending on the conditions, a company may have to alter its course of action in accomplishing certain goals. This kind of preparation, arrangement is known as strategic planning. In strategic planning, management analyzes inside and outside factors that may affect the company and so objectives and goals. Here they should have a study of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. For management to do this efficiently, it has to be very practical and ample.

The subsequent function is to: Organize

The second function of the management is getting prepared, getting organized. Management must organize all its resources well before in hand to put into practice the course of action to decide that has been planned in the base function. Through this process, management will now determine the inside directorial configuration; establish and maintain relationships, and also assign required resources.

While determining the inside directorial configuration, management ought to look at the different divisions or departments. They also see to the harmonization of staff, and try to find out the best way to handle the important tasks and expenditure of information within the company. Management determines the division of work according to its need. It also has to decide for suitable departments to hand over authority and responsibilities.

The third function is to: Direct

Directing is the third function of the management. Working under this function helps the management to control and supervise the actions of the staff. This helps them to assist the staff in achieving the company’s goals and also accomplishing their personal or career goals which can be powered by motivation, communication, department dynamics, and department leadership.

Employees those which are highly provoked generally surpass in their job performance and also play important role in achieving the company’s goal. And here lies the reason why managers focus on motivating their employees. They come about with prize and incentive programs based on job performance and geared in the direction of the employees requirements.

It is very important to maintain a productive working environment, building positive interpersonal relationships, and problem solving. And this can be done only with Effective communication. Understanding the communication process and working on area that need improvement, help managers to become more effective communicators. The finest technique of finding the areas that requires improvement is to ask themselves and others at regular intervals, how well they are doing. This leads to better relationship and helps the managers for better directing plans.

The final function is to: Control

Control, the last of four functions of management, includes establishing performance standards which are of course based on the company’s objectives. It also involves evaluating and reporting of actual job performance. When these points are studied by the management then it is necessary to compare both the things. This study on comparision of both decides further corrective and preventive actions.

In an effort of solving performance problems, management should higher standards. They should straightforwardly speak to the employee or department having problem. On the contrary, if there are inadequate resources or disallow other external factors standards from being attained, management had to lower their standards as per requirement. The controlling processes as in comparison with other three, is unending process or say continuous process. With this management can make out any probable problems. It helps them in taking necessary preventive measures against the consequences. Management can also recognize any further developing problems that need corrective actions.

Effective and efficient management leads to success, the success where it attains the objectives and goals of the organizations. Of course for achieving the ultimate goal and aim management need to work creatively in problem solving in all the four functions. Management not only has to see the needs of accomplishing the goals but also has to look in to the process that their way is feasible for the company.

How does your company fair against these four areas management?

'Locals,' 'Cosmopolitans' and Other Keys to Creating Successful Global Teams

Global teams are like oceans: Depending on how they are navigated, they can link the world together or split it apart. When global teams work, they tap into a company's top talent, exploit local expertise, unite far-flung groups and ramp up worldwide production. When they don't, they are divisive, spark massive miscommunication and drive global projects into the ground.

"In any team, there are lots of barriers to effectively working together, and there are ways to make teams more effective through selection, through design, through leadership," says Wharton management professor Nancy Rothbard. "The challenges are really exacerbated in global teams where you have even greater potential barriers, especially when there are different cultural norms."

Working across international, cultural and organizational boundaries poses daunting challenges on a variety of levels. Time zone differences can make meetings difficult. Language and cultural differences sometimes lead to communication problems. And a variety of less obvious differences trip up global team members in ways they rarely expect.

Despite such difficulties, global teams -- in all forms -- are here to stay. Whether it's a small task force within a single company, a cross-border partnership or a multinational coalition of leaders spanning several organizations, global teams have become an essential element of modern business. "They're often a necessity," says Rothbard. "You may need those diverse cultural perspectives to solve a cultural problem.... We need to find ways to make these teams work effectively. We need them to get the work done as the world becomes a more global place."

When done right, global teams can be an asset, unlocking tremendous value for companies that use them. "Global teams are able to take advantage of people not being in the same place at the same time, in order to get the work done," says Batia Weisenfeld, a management professor at NYU's Stern School of Business. "Projects can be progressing 24 hours a day. You'll be doing software development in Silicon Valley and then the software testing is being done in India while those people [in California] are sleeping."

Global teams can also ratchet up creativity and innovation by tapping into unique skill sets and multiple points of view. Weisenfeld points to one New York advertising firm as an example. The firm's New York office developed what was supposed to be a worldwide advertising campaign. But the campaign probably wouldn't sit well culturally for Asian consumers, the company's Asia office advised. So team members in Asia tweaked the campaign to accommodate local tastes. In the process, they improved the campaign so much that headquarters ultimately replaced the original campaign with the Asian version.

Unlocking Value

Despite such potential, global teams pose challenges that must first be overcome.


One of the most common issues is time. When team members are scattered across several time zones, simply scheduling a meeting can be difficult.

Consultant Ana Reyes is a partner of New Worlds Enterprise LLP, lecturer in the Penn Organizational Dynamics Program and academic director for a program offered by Wharton's Aresty Institute for Executive Education called, "Leading Virtual Global Teams." Reyes once experienced a timing and communication snafu when working as a consultant for a large multinational corporation. The company, which had offices in several U.S., European and Asian locations, usually held global teleconferences in the morning New York time. Since team members in Asia attended the meetings in the evening, they usually used their personal phones at home. When it came to scheduling a meeting via videoconference, however, things became very complicated. Asian team members didn't have videoconferencing equipment at home, and discovered -- weeks, unfortunately, after their meeting was scheduled and the agenda was set -- that they couldn't use the video equipment in their office building because it was locked at night. "To get the video conferencing, they had to hire technology support and security for the building," Reyes says. In the end, the company decided it would be easier to just fly people to New York.

Organizations often assume that global team members are willing to meet when it's convenient for headquarters, says Catherine Mercer Bing, CEO of ITAP International, a Newtown, Pa.-based consulting firm that "works at the intersection of business and cultural issues." The unfortunate result for some team members: Every meeting takes place in the middle of the night or at the crack of dawn.


"It becomes [demotivating] for those team members who always have to be available at 4 a.m. or some other off-work hours," Bing says. Her suggestion: Start global conference calls by asking what time it is for everyone involved, to make everyone aware of other team members' situations. Also, change meeting times frequently so that everybody has a chance to attend a meeting during the day. "Rotate," she suggests. "It makes it fair. It makes team members feel more equitable."


Tackling cultural differences can be much more of a challenge. When global teams include more than one culture, team members carry unspoken assumptions that can lead to inadvertent misunderstandings. After all, the type of information people share and how they share it is culturally based, says Rothbard. "Hesitation in voice in one culture might signal discomfort with what is being shared. In another culture, it might just [mean they're] being deliberative. What people mean, and how [others] interpret what they mean, is very subtle. The speaker might have no idea that their words are being interpreted in a certain way."

Depending on a person's cultural background, fellow team members might seem to be speaking too loudly or softly, interrupting too much or being too reticent, demanding a ridiculous amount of information or being oddly ambiguous.


"Everybody is programmed by the cultures they grew up with," says Reyes. Studies have shown that people from Latin American, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries speak several decibels louder than other cultures. In many of these countries, interrupting is considered an acceptable way to exchange turns in conversation. "These communication patterns ... become annoyances that people can't figure out, so people often ignore [them]. And best practice is to talk about them."

Cultural differences also impact the way global teams communicate information to others outside of the team -- another possible source of conflict. Bing once worked with a global team with members in the U.S. and Spain. Consistently throughout the project, the Spanish team members would copy their superiors in emails about what the team was doing. Members of the U.S. team misinterpreted the move as attempts to undermine team efforts. "The U.S. [team members] were saying, 'You guys are trying to get us in trouble,'" Bing recalls. "But part of who gets copied is a cultural decision." The misperception ultimately caused so much conflict between members that the team missed a project deadline.

Cultural differences even creep into the technologies companies use, creating additional challenges for interaction, Reyes says. "Culture is really pattern-based ways of organizing space, time, human activity and the material environment. So technology -- any kind of technology, whether it's a robot or a technology system -- [involves] human practices that have been disembodied and put into a machine."

So what can managers and companies do to make global teams work better? Our experts offer a few ideas and suggestions:

1. Try to meet at least once face-to-face
2. Choose team members carefully
3. Keep the team small if possible
4. Consider cross-cultural training
5. Be explicit upfront about how the team will operate
6. Be conscious of time
7. Consider how the team is organized
8. Don't overload team members
9. Give the team autonomy

Some ideas for companies that want to tap talent and utilize their expertise to advance product, services, and infrastructure. For the complete story go to http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2328

Executives Prefer In-Person Meetings to Virtual

Despite the rise in virtual meetings, business executives prefer face-to-face meetings, according to the results of a Forbes Insights study released Thursday.

The study, “Business Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face,” was based on June survey of 760 business executives. It found that 84% prefer in-person contact to virtual because face-to-face meetings enable them to build stronger relationships (85%) and provide greater opportunity to “read” another person (77%).

Nonetheless, teleconferences, videoconferences and Web conferences have grown as 58% of respondents said they were traveling less for business now than in January 2008.

Those that preferred virtual meetings cited the time savings (92%) and the financial savings (88%).

What Made Jack Welch Extraordinary

Stephen Baum's book "What Made Jack Welch, How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary Leaders" truly articulated what all the gurus in leadership, Harvard, and Michigan have been trying to say for years. But he breaks it down into simple language and how to apply the skills in ordinary business roles. According to Baum, there are core leadership traits and, said Baum, "the possessors of these traits are generally the most effective and the most successful people in any organization". My question to each HR professional today is DO YOU HAVE THESE QUALITIES and DO YOU EXERT THEM IN YOUR ROLE IN BUSINESS TODAY? So, here are the five (5) traits:

1. do you have the appetite to take charge?
2. do you have character? - meaning doing the right thing when no one is there to see as well as when your actions are visible or will be revealed to the world at large
3. do you have the confidence to see challenges and embrace risk?
4. do you have the capacity to act? - key to this is do you possess the ability to act despite risks and have the emotional readiness to act despite any risks involved but also exhibit critical thinking to act wisely
5. do you have the ability to engage and inspire?

He goes on to say that there are shaping experiences you will incur along your HR journey up the ladder and by the way if you are there today staying there.

If you have these you have the ability to become a Jack Welch in your industry at the HR level or greater. What are your thoughts on Baum's assessment of leadership traits, let me know.

Loyalty As A Lifestyle

Loyalty is a word based on such definitions as unswerving in allegiance: as (a) faithful in allegiance to one's lawful sovereign or government (b) faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due (c) faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product.

Employee retention is a key factor in any organization's success. Is there a difference between longevity and loyalty? As a business leader your goal should be to have a workforce that is both longstanding and loyal. Usually longevity goes hand in hand with loyalty. Most loyal employees and customers have no real reason to sever the relationship.

It is difficult to know who is sincerely loyal to you in business and life and who is not, without simply watching their actions and behaviors. That is not too profound, but some people are paranoid about team loyalty but can’t really produce any reasons they feel this way. You can always manage behaviors but it is hard to manage those more intangible things.

As “soft skills” oriented as it may sound, leaders should include loyalty as a part of the job description. Talking about loyalty in the hiring process is imperative and describing what loyalty looks like in the organizational culture is important. This may sound less than profound, as well, but I am finding that many hiring interviewers do not discuss loyalty as an essential to excellent behavior.

excerpts from Rick Forbus, Phd.

Developing Leaders From Within

The IBM Global Human Capital Study 2008 suggests that company leaders emphasize on building leaders from within the company. The survey reflects that it is the leading challenge faced by the organization.

So what are they doing to assess and develop leaders from within the organization? The top executives reported using of initiatives such as Action Learning; Mentoring; and Job Rotation.

Action Learning and Job Rotation are methods where the future leaders gain hands on experience in different projects. Whereas mentoring is one of the most widely used training method to develop future leaders by providing guidance and feedback on one's performance through a one-to one mentor-mentee relationship.

Having worked for IBM for two summers and a parent that spent 43 years with the company I can attest that they have one of the best programs in business today, THINK. Do you agree?

Online Ad Spending Worldwide Contracted 5% In Second Quarter

Framingham, Mass.—Worldwide spending on Internet advertising contracted in the second quarter, declining 5% to $13.9 billion, from the $14.7 billion spent in the same quarter last year, according to market analyst company IDC.

IDC's “Worldwide and U.S. Internet Ad Spend Report 2Q09” found that all global regions posted declines except the Asia/Pacific region and Japan, which saw slight gains in the second quarter.

U.S. spending declined for the second quarter in a row; spending fell 6% to $6.2 billion, from $6.6 billion in 2008's second quarter. Broken down by channel and format, spending on display ads in the U.S. fell 12%, while spending on classifieds plunged 17%.

Christopher Hosford
Story posted: August 10, 2009 - 12:33 pm EDT

Where Are You in the M and A Discussion?

There has been a lot of talk lately that HR is always in on the final stage of acquisitions. Why is that? If you are plugged into the CEO & the M&A team you should been at the lead end rather than the tail end of such activities. So why is that?

Well, for one thing and mainly primary is that HR can read the culture of an organization better than financial types and for that matter senior level managers. Remember, HR is our business. One of the main reasons why things don't go well after an acquisition is that the cultures do not fit and never will creating disparate and unconnected strategy issues. In addition, financial types do not always know the buzz words for hidden costs in the balance sheet or the intricate payer issues for medical plans.

So my issue is make sure your HR lead is in the lead end of acquisition and not the tail or you will be holding the tail in the long run.

To read more on mergers and acquisitions you should read my prior posts in 2008 on this very important subject.

Define Yourself With Merit

By Jen Carpenter – MeritBuilder, a personal branding platform, allows users to collect the “thank you’s” they receive and display them for everyone to see. The site enables workers to build a portable brand and employers to improve the way they thank and value their employees.

The site allows you to share merits through RSS feeds, blogs or social networking sites. You can even e-mail merits to people. The company hopes the ease and inclusiveness of the site will put it on track to one day join, or potentially replace, the resume as the document of choice for job seekers.

Unleveling the Playing Field

I read a great feature article in Fortune magazine this month about Marc Andreesen, the co-founder of Netscape and the social network Ning. I have to say it was inspirational in three(3) ways:

1. it motivated me to dig deeper into the innovation idea bank and move forward with the latest technology to use it as a starting point for the next generation;
2. that creative thinking is the lifeblood of business and entrepreneurship;
3. there are people like him that motivate people like me.

So with that in mind as a mid-level HR executive, a senior level executive or someone just starting out you need to unlevel the playing field so YOU stand out as a leader and innovative/creative thinker to solve business problems. Certainly as HR continue to be represented at the table and those that are just getting invited you need to really stand out and inspire and move those around you. How do you do that you say for those not yet there or in a company that views HR as an administrative function here are some important ways:

• you need negotiation and influencing skills that are strategy based;
• you need to take the lead on innovation and develop practices that drive growth - KNOW THE BUSINESS INSIDE AND OUT;
• have strong business acumen and a keen eye for identifying high-potential leaders before someone tells you;
• deliver value daily to your internal and external constituencies as well as building extraordinary personal leadership qualities that resonate throughout the life cycle of your business;
• develop frameworks for global exportation and strategies from a product and supply chain prospective;
• get involved with your investor relations program - evaluating it with a ad-hoc team;
• and finally, conventional is passe so exploit technology and social networking to manage talent, HR, and the business with intricate involvement with your CEO.

I hope that you will look at these thoughts and grow from them. If you agree, drop me an email, text, Twitter, or Linkedin message . Oh, BTW my former CEO & Executive HR were just like Marc. Thanks Greg, Iain, and Mike.

Exceeding Expectations in Sales

There was a feature article in Selling Power this month (July/August 2009) that outlined how to set expectations for sales people. This is a add on to my previous post "Sales Managers - Don't Shoot Yourself in the Foot." (7/29)

As sales managers in a transition economy you should do the following as Selling Power outlines:

• set expectations that are attainable with a stretch not unattainable or unrealistic
• goals should be tied to variables the sales staff can control
• goals should be customized to fit the salesperson situation or territory - goals should be broken down into small bites - management must sit down with sales people and show them a clear path they will take to achieve the stretch target
• if you have to adjust the goals based on economic conditions, re-motivate the team with a goal they consider to be fair.

So are you following these easy steps or are you totally or partially disrupting the dynamics of your team with new goals, alignments, and added duties that take their eye off the goal?

Sales Managers - Don't Shoot Yourself in the Foot

I spoke to a couple of colleagues this past week and there seems to be a pattern that has developed because of the drops in revenue, the economy, and tighter competition. Yes, you are right, tweaking or reorganizing the sales force.

Whether you are managing inside or outside sales teams be careful not to disrupt the rhythm a sales team develops over time. It occurs when teams have been together a while, know each others habits, flow of information, and group motivations. When you are trying to preserve and grow revenue you don't want to demotivate your sales teams by massive restructuring. The outcome will be fewer sales over the short term and depending on your team dynamics could provide less revenue over the long haul.

So be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot by doing a restructure or RIF that will demotivate a team that for all intensive purposes has performed in this tough and treacherous economy. I will continue to advocate, as I am sure you will, that you need to get rid of poor performers in an expedient manner and within the laws in your state. Nothing hurts a sales team than a performer that is dragging down your team and killing the drivers of revenue and profits.

Take a tough stand with lots of input from various sources if there is a need to restructure so you make sure your team dynamics are not impacted. What have you done in this area over the past 12 months?

Forbes/Gartner Study: Internet Is Key Source of Information for Business Executives

New York—The Internet is “by far” the most important source of business information for top executives, according to the Ninth Annual Forbes/Gartner C-Level Executive Study, released Wednesday.

The Internet was chosen by 60% of the executives surveyed as the most important medium for business information, according to the online study, which was conducted? this spring. More than 650 executives participated.

Only 15% of the executives identified daily newspapers as the most important medium. The Internet and newspapers were followed by trade publications (9%), magazines (6%), TV (5%) and radio (2%).

The executives surveyed said they spend an average of 15.9 hours per week on the Internet (excluding e-mail) for work and nonwork activities. Fifty eight percent of respondents said they access the Internet before they go to work, compared with 47% who indicated they read a newspaper before going to work.

a reprint from B to B.

What CEOs Want from HR Leaders

All successful corporations use HR strategically, not just to manage administration and other mundane HR tasks. CEOs are interested in growth, profits, innovation, and the ability to retain customers. HR is at a key position to help the CEO attain all of these objectives. To do this your time in the HR leadership role should consist of the following:

• discussing talent, retention, and talent development and pipeline candidates;
• compensation and competitive intersections of market and attaining the best talent;
• benefits, maintaining a competitive package and harnessing costs, especially health and 401K and pensions;
• identifying integration acquisitions quickly;
• anticipating critical business events and regulatory issues;
• guiding and maintaining a daily interaction with the CEO and key business leaders;
• understanding the dynamics of the economy and how they impact the business;
• and finally enabling growth drivers at the employee and business levels.

Are you doing these key functions on a daily basis? Let me know your thoughts.