In an interesting comment on my last blog post, ' A Business School is not an Employment Exchange', Rhea said that the job of a business School should be "helping students improve themselves to such a level that, 'not hiring them fast enough' becomes a threat to the companies. I guess she hit the nail right on the head, pretty much summing up what Business Schools ought to be doing. The moment you hear that kind of a thing, what comes straight to one's mind is the saying that you can take a horse to the water but can't make it drink and rings true. There is only that much that even the best schools can do. The onus of learning, training and finding a job lies with the student. You will probably ask what purpose do the B.Schools serve then? B. Schools can at best provide a platform for that learning. You would have noticed the emphasis all along is on learning not on teaching.
The teachers in B Schools need to grasp the value of this slant towards 'helping' students 'learn' rather than 'teach' otherwise they will continue to be an obstacle in the way of their learning despite best of intentions. Yet I hear a lot of well intentioned, yet unpalatable boast in conversations when members of the venerable fraternity get together in their cabins or at boringly routine get-togethers over tepid tea and the ubiquitous samosas and biscuits, extolling the quality of the lecture they 'delivered' and how well they 'taught'. How such and such a a student would have been struck in finance if 'I' had not forced him take up marketing"; or how "I literally caught him by the ear and made him finish her assignment or else she would have flunked that year..." and it goes on and on interminably. The self adulatory tone sometimes becomes overbearing, to say the least, yet that is the prevailing strain in such mild encounters. The teachers have to learn make themselves less obtrusive and get out of the way of student's learning. This is not to suggest that B. Schools do not need teachers.They do. Only there style of functioning needs to change. There probably is a need to set up training institute to train B.school teachers so that they can appreciate the difference between teaching in kindergartens and teaching in B. Schools.
The reason I am writing this piece is not as much to change the teaching style and stance of the faculty as it is to encourage students acquire the right attitude to learning. They have to some day take ownership of their lives and sooner they take a decision to do so the better. Students have been a victim of a vicious circle. They joined a particular B.school, based on its ranking. They expect to earn large sums of money when placed as an all pervasive impression that higher the ranking of B.schools means higher pay packets for its students has been created by B. schools in cahoots with the media. There is nothing wrong with being able to earn large sums of money but the focus in this has to be on the skills, ability and behaviour of the graduates; not on money. Another thing that's even more damaging and works at a deeper psychological level is the fact that it makes students, who are going to be the decision makers in the business world tomorrow, dependent on the Placement cells to find them a job which they believe the B. Schools have tacitly promised them. This makes very deep inroads into the psyche of the students and leads to their becoming dependent on the placement cells to find them a job and the faculty to 'teach' them. They come in dependent and they go out dependent - exactly the opposite of what any professional school ought to be doing for them. When I ask them why do they think they deserve a seven to ten lakh package, the answer nine time out of ten times is that the ranking of the school warrants that. On probing a little further one learns that the students with higher CGPAs expect higher salaries because they did everything their teachers and their parents 'told' them to do. That is how they slowly become the problem rather than the solution to the problem. They have learnt too well what they have been 'told' to do. They have never been encouraged to think for themselves and take their own decisions.
The students should learn to take their own decisions starting from small things like whether they should attend a particular class or bunk it to what discipline they ought to major in and so on. They should during their stay in the B. school acquire enough self esteem to find jobs for themselves based on their own learning, skills, ethics and confidence. What graduating students can do has been nicely suggested by Charlie Hoehn in his beautiful little e- book, Recession Proof Graduate It is also is a great way to pick a Company YOU want to work for rather than be picked by any company the Placement Cell chooses to bring to the Campus. More on that in another post. Meanwhile read the book.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A Business School is not an Employment Exchange
With the onset of the placement season the anxiety levels of the students in Business Schools begin to rise to volcanic levels. Their anger is directed against almost against anyone and everyone associated with helping them find a job. The Placement Cells in particular become the focus of their ire. They feel the 'Placement' people not only do not get better companies with better jobs and better pay packages to the Campuses they also do not treat students with the respect they deserve. "They treat us like commodities," is the common strain.
My issue is not whether the Placement Cells are inefficient and that they don't treat people with courtesy and respect or that they treat future managers like onions and tomatoes because that will depend on the quality of people manning them and their training and if you allow people to treat to you like commodities; they will. No one can treat you bad without your permission. My issue is more fundamental.
Should a Business School that prides itself on providing quality education even have a Placement Cell? Many people believe that the focus of Business School is all wrong when they try to rope students in by advertising their ability to find students a job at the end of the course. The media and the pseudo rating agencies also play their part in ranking business schools where a major criterion is the institute's placement record. Placements become big news and Business schools vie with each other in buying space in newspapers and magazines to report how well they have done and how quickly the batch was 'placed'. Big budgetary allocation are made to wine and dine people in Companies responsible for visiting campuses for placements. Placement people are assured a hefty commission for every candidate landing a job. The whole thing smacks of a malady that afflicts most Business Schools and is eating into their innards and converting them into employment exchanges.
The problem with organised placement assistance is that that it make the students dependent and the faculty lazy. It is a double whammy when Students join a management course attracted by the promise of placement. One the students overwhelmingly begin to believe that it is the responsibility of the Business School to get them a job. And two it attracts a lot of students who otherwise have no acumen or interest in the discipline making a bee line for getting admission in a Business school. It is no wonder then, that despite tremendous encouragement, pleading, plodding, requests and threats many students in most Business Schools do not begin to read the business newspapers let alone get genuinely interested in reading the journals, even towards the end of the third or final semester. Somewhere deep inside they believe that, because they have paid the money they will get the degree and because the Business school has a Placement Cell it will get them jobs. Most students, especially from non business families come believing that ethics and business can never go hand in hand and that all businesses are built by deceit go out confirmed in their view that you just have to while away two years in a Business School and their Placement Cell will work hard to get them decent employment. What kind of managers would such people make? If they do not make good managers and the society begins to feel, at some stage, especially during a major financial crisis, that business school products are rude, crude, arrogant and greedy should they be alone in taking the blame? Aren't Business Schools as responsible because of their focus on placements and not on education and training?
As far as the Faculty at Business Schools is concerned it makes them lazy and casual in their approach. They begin to think their job is to go to the class and deliver a lecture and go home. They forget it is their job is to help students acquire a holistic approach to business problems. They have to create and disseminate relevant knowledge. The message that seems to go across is "pay money (through your nose) and get admission in a school that guarantees employment and that will help you make a lot of money. You see it is becoming some kind of a vicious circle. It is possible the faculty's laziness stems from students apathy or unconcern. But that is no excuse. It is possible that the student's apathy is the result of faculty's laziness. But that has to be set right. You see the faulty vicious circle taking stranglehold of business education. It is time to stem the rot. To begin with all self respecting Business schools should scrap their Placement Cells and focus on providing theoretical base and practical experience to its students to become future managers that the business world needs. It is then that the Industry and business houses will come looking for genuine talent and future managers will not be treated like commodities.
My issue is not whether the Placement Cells are inefficient and that they don't treat people with courtesy and respect or that they treat future managers like onions and tomatoes because that will depend on the quality of people manning them and their training and if you allow people to treat to you like commodities; they will. No one can treat you bad without your permission. My issue is more fundamental.
Should a Business School that prides itself on providing quality education even have a Placement Cell? Many people believe that the focus of Business School is all wrong when they try to rope students in by advertising their ability to find students a job at the end of the course. The media and the pseudo rating agencies also play their part in ranking business schools where a major criterion is the institute's placement record. Placements become big news and Business schools vie with each other in buying space in newspapers and magazines to report how well they have done and how quickly the batch was 'placed'. Big budgetary allocation are made to wine and dine people in Companies responsible for visiting campuses for placements. Placement people are assured a hefty commission for every candidate landing a job. The whole thing smacks of a malady that afflicts most Business Schools and is eating into their innards and converting them into employment exchanges.
The problem with organised placement assistance is that that it make the students dependent and the faculty lazy. It is a double whammy when Students join a management course attracted by the promise of placement. One the students overwhelmingly begin to believe that it is the responsibility of the Business School to get them a job. And two it attracts a lot of students who otherwise have no acumen or interest in the discipline making a bee line for getting admission in a Business school. It is no wonder then, that despite tremendous encouragement, pleading, plodding, requests and threats many students in most Business Schools do not begin to read the business newspapers let alone get genuinely interested in reading the journals, even towards the end of the third or final semester. Somewhere deep inside they believe that, because they have paid the money they will get the degree and because the Business school has a Placement Cell it will get them jobs. Most students, especially from non business families come believing that ethics and business can never go hand in hand and that all businesses are built by deceit go out confirmed in their view that you just have to while away two years in a Business School and their Placement Cell will work hard to get them decent employment. What kind of managers would such people make? If they do not make good managers and the society begins to feel, at some stage, especially during a major financial crisis, that business school products are rude, crude, arrogant and greedy should they be alone in taking the blame? Aren't Business Schools as responsible because of their focus on placements and not on education and training?
As far as the Faculty at Business Schools is concerned it makes them lazy and casual in their approach. They begin to think their job is to go to the class and deliver a lecture and go home. They forget it is their job is to help students acquire a holistic approach to business problems. They have to create and disseminate relevant knowledge. The message that seems to go across is "pay money (through your nose) and get admission in a school that guarantees employment and that will help you make a lot of money. You see it is becoming some kind of a vicious circle. It is possible the faculty's laziness stems from students apathy or unconcern. But that is no excuse. It is possible that the student's apathy is the result of faculty's laziness. But that has to be set right. You see the faulty vicious circle taking stranglehold of business education. It is time to stem the rot. To begin with all self respecting Business schools should scrap their Placement Cells and focus on providing theoretical base and practical experience to its students to become future managers that the business world needs. It is then that the Industry and business houses will come looking for genuine talent and future managers will not be treated like commodities.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Body line...contd
Apart from the silent treatment that you can sometimes be subjected to, the ‘Bodyline’ interviewer has a few more weapons in his arsenal. Stress interviews though not very desirable are still common though I doubt you will encounter one when going for an entry level job. But if you are aware of what the interviewer is trying to do you can deal with it with ease and confidence and actually help the interviewer understand better your suitability for the job. Most prevalent stress interview is the one where a five or six interviewers interview the candidates in quick succession. The objective is to intimidate and confuse them to find out how they handle such situations. Questions about handling pressure, conflict resolution and work load are asked to find whether the candidate has faced similar situations and how did she handle them. Another arrow in the interviewer’s quiver is that the interviewer acts in a hostile and rough manner. For example, the interviewer may ‘act’ disgusted with the candidate’s answer and roll his eyes to convey disbelief and shock; he may avoid making eye contact and interrupt the candidate mid sentence and turn his back on him. Sometimes he could take a phone call while the candidate is grappling with a question he has asked. You ought to be smart enough to realize what is going on. The interviewer is playing a game or a role. Once you realize that you can play along. There is nothing personal and there is nothing wrong with you. It is an act. The moment you are aware of this fact it becomes easy to answer his questions. As he is tries to throw you off balance you remain calm, cool, relaxed and smiling as you answer his questions with aplomb. In another tactic of the stress interview all members of a panel of interviewers asks you questions in quick succession without giving you enough time to answer any. Once again be quick to recognize the game, keep your poise and deal with them like you will deal with a group of curious friends asking you questions about your recent trip or success or achievement.
A stress interview is an odd ball as in it you encounter a hostile interviewer. You are treated as if you are an enemy and not welcome. That is the reason I say a stress interview is not the norm. It is an exception and designed to check temperament of a candidate for very specific environment. Normally a job Interview should not be viewed as a tug-of-war where the interviewers and you are trying to get the better of each other or as a cat-n-mouse game where you are trying to hide something and they are trying to dig them out. It is not a catch-me-if- you-can game. An interview is a joint effort on the part of the interviewers and the interviewees to determine whether the later is suitable for the job in question or not. That is the reason good interviewers always start of with interview openers designed to relax the candidates so that they are not tense or overwhelmed by the situation. The interviewer wants you to relax and feel comfortable so that they can get to know you better. In fact they are seeking your cooperation to help them find the ‘real you’ and determine whether you are the most suitable candidate for the job or not. That is the reason they ask you to talk about yourself. After all that is one subject you know very well and psychology tells us that everyone is a thousand times more interested in himself than in any one else. Psychology also tells us that subjects people most like to talk about are ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my self’. Also, nine out of ten people, when they talk about themselves, talk about their achievements and strengths and special talents. Then why is it that when faced with a similar request during an interview people instead of feeling relaxed and relieved they actually become extremely nervous and crumble? The main reason could be that they are either trying to hide something or trying to make an exaggerated claim. Do they do that normally while talking to their friends? They probably do, but their job does not depend on being found out by their friends though there to their credibility takes a plunge. In an interview the moment they hide something or exaggerate a claim they are scared and nervous because if they are caught, which is very likely, they will be out of contention for the job. So if you were to recognize two facts about interviews you will not be scared or nervous.
The first thing is that an interview is actually a combined effort on the part of the interviewer and the interviewee to find out whether the interviewee fits the bill to be recruited based on the skills, knowledge, attitude and aptitude required for the job or not. More often than not it is conducted in a friendly cordial atmosphere. While the interviewers are trying to establish the candidate’s suitability the candidate also has equal right to try and find out whether the company is good enough for him. I know this seems so far away from what the common perception of the interview is, yet it is true and the sooner you recognize it the better it will be for your confidence. For this you have to acquire the ‘abundance mentality’. Abundance mentality would entail that you believe that there will be enough jobs out there for which you will have the requisite capabilities and skills. Once again this also comes as a bit of information that is hard to swallow for people who have been actually raised in a world of shortages and have a scarcity mentality. Most of you have grown up hearing that this is the age of cut throat competition and that unless you get ahead of others whether by hook or by crook you do not have a future. It may have been true for the generations that grew up in the ‘Industrial Age’ it is no longer true in the ‘Information Age’. The rules of the game in the information age have changed and you need a more modern, a more confident, a more cooperative rather than a competitive attitude to be successful. There are more opportunities for every well educated, well mannered, optimistic young citizen of the world today than there have ever been at any other time in history. As the world shrinks opportunity expands. Second thing is an interview is a selection process and not a rejection drill. The interviewers are as interested in selecting you as you are keen on being selected provided you are the right candidate. We come back to the same thing focus on being the right candidate. Will you find a job that you want to do? I am one hundred percent sure if you look for one sincerely and be the right currency, you will.
A stress interview is an odd ball as in it you encounter a hostile interviewer. You are treated as if you are an enemy and not welcome. That is the reason I say a stress interview is not the norm. It is an exception and designed to check temperament of a candidate for very specific environment. Normally a job Interview should not be viewed as a tug-of-war where the interviewers and you are trying to get the better of each other or as a cat-n-mouse game where you are trying to hide something and they are trying to dig them out. It is not a catch-me-if- you-can game. An interview is a joint effort on the part of the interviewers and the interviewees to determine whether the later is suitable for the job in question or not. That is the reason good interviewers always start of with interview openers designed to relax the candidates so that they are not tense or overwhelmed by the situation. The interviewer wants you to relax and feel comfortable so that they can get to know you better. In fact they are seeking your cooperation to help them find the ‘real you’ and determine whether you are the most suitable candidate for the job or not. That is the reason they ask you to talk about yourself. After all that is one subject you know very well and psychology tells us that everyone is a thousand times more interested in himself than in any one else. Psychology also tells us that subjects people most like to talk about are ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘my self’. Also, nine out of ten people, when they talk about themselves, talk about their achievements and strengths and special talents. Then why is it that when faced with a similar request during an interview people instead of feeling relaxed and relieved they actually become extremely nervous and crumble? The main reason could be that they are either trying to hide something or trying to make an exaggerated claim. Do they do that normally while talking to their friends? They probably do, but their job does not depend on being found out by their friends though there to their credibility takes a plunge. In an interview the moment they hide something or exaggerate a claim they are scared and nervous because if they are caught, which is very likely, they will be out of contention for the job. So if you were to recognize two facts about interviews you will not be scared or nervous.
The first thing is that an interview is actually a combined effort on the part of the interviewer and the interviewee to find out whether the interviewee fits the bill to be recruited based on the skills, knowledge, attitude and aptitude required for the job or not. More often than not it is conducted in a friendly cordial atmosphere. While the interviewers are trying to establish the candidate’s suitability the candidate also has equal right to try and find out whether the company is good enough for him. I know this seems so far away from what the common perception of the interview is, yet it is true and the sooner you recognize it the better it will be for your confidence. For this you have to acquire the ‘abundance mentality’. Abundance mentality would entail that you believe that there will be enough jobs out there for which you will have the requisite capabilities and skills. Once again this also comes as a bit of information that is hard to swallow for people who have been actually raised in a world of shortages and have a scarcity mentality. Most of you have grown up hearing that this is the age of cut throat competition and that unless you get ahead of others whether by hook or by crook you do not have a future. It may have been true for the generations that grew up in the ‘Industrial Age’ it is no longer true in the ‘Information Age’. The rules of the game in the information age have changed and you need a more modern, a more confident, a more cooperative rather than a competitive attitude to be successful. There are more opportunities for every well educated, well mannered, optimistic young citizen of the world today than there have ever been at any other time in history. As the world shrinks opportunity expands. Second thing is an interview is a selection process and not a rejection drill. The interviewers are as interested in selecting you as you are keen on being selected provided you are the right candidate. We come back to the same thing focus on being the right candidate. Will you find a job that you want to do? I am one hundred percent sure if you look for one sincerely and be the right currency, you will.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Bodyline Bowling
‘Readiness is all’, says one of Shakespeare’s characters. Dealing with prolonged silence and sustained staring by the interviewer during an interview can be very unnerving for the best of candidates. Mercifully it is not used too frequently. Normally you will not face this treatment when you appear for an interview for an entry level job. Nine times out of ten the people interviewing you will be thorough HR professionals trained to spot your strengths and suitability for the job. Yet you ought to be prepared for the situation as you might end with a goofball of an interviewer once in a while. The interviewee is sometimes put through the ‘silent treatment’ to check whether the candidate can work well under pressure. It is one of the techniques of what has come to be known as ‘stress interview’ and is used to see how you respond to stress situations. Once again at the risk of repetition it has to be said that readiness is everything. Awareness about what the interviewer is trying to do makes dealing with it so simple that you will wonder if there was nothing more to it. On the other hand if you are not ready for it you might mess up the interview. If the question’ what are your greatest weaknesses?’ is a deadly bouncer, this one is the lethal ‘bodyline bowling’ itself.
This is how it works. You have just answered one of those questions about your strengths, achievements or your weaknesses and the interviewer instead of carrying on the conversation just sits there and stares at you for what seems to be endless time. You wait feeling a bit uneasy and thinking if you made a mistake or broken some sacrosanct rule of good behaviour in an interview. You either freeze in your seat or fidget around uncomfortably and all he does is sits there smiling like Mona Lisa. Such an experience can be very disquieting and devastating to your confidence and could lead to some stupid actions like smiling foolishly and asking, “what?”
Most interviewees unprepared for the situation make the mistake of rushing in to fill the vacuum created by the silence assuming prolonged silence is an invitation to restate or clear up the previous answer. The hapless interviewee sometimes babbles on and on to get things right giving away more and more information irrelevant for the purpose of the interview. Sometimes this information could even be damaging. Why people begin to babble thus is because in most cases the candidate feels that he has committed a blunder so he just keeps rambling on to correct the ‘wrong’ without knowing what wrong he is correcting. He ends up being utterly confused and feeling miserable. That is what happens when you are unprepared.
Now let us see what can happen if you are ready for the body line bowling. The ‘stress test’ or ‘the silent treatment, as it is sometimes called is nothing more than a weak little kid wearing a vicious looking mask. The moment you unmask the interviewer it becomes innocuous. If the interviewer tries to put you through it this is what you do: You keep quiet yourself for a little while and then with a smile and all the sincerity at your command ask something like, “Is there anything else you want me to tell you about my achievements or strengths?” The point is not to be scared or confused. Keep any hint of sarcasm out of your response and be very, very polite. That is all there is to it.
That is why the strategy of being honest not just in the interview but all through life is so important. The silence scares people because they know they are either hiding some information or exaggerating an achievement. You have to be one hundred percent sure at all times to be honest. Then you have nothing to hide and no one will ever be able to intimidate you by silence and staring. In any case in general conversation too, we must remember that silences do not have to be filled up unnecessarily. In a situation where you are negotiating a deal or an agreement you have to be ready not only with your own ‘shopping list’ but also the ‘shopping list’ of the other party. In learning the art of effective negotiation one must be trained not to rush in to fill up the vacuum created by ‘silences’. In fact it is believed that he who speaks first looses. In an interview situation the rule dose not apply with the same intensity but it is certain but the person who rushes in to fill up the silence too quickly looses. So what you have to do is: wait for some time; look and feel confident; smile; and ask politely, pleasantly and sincerely if there is anything else the interviewers would want to know about the last question they asked.
This is how it works. You have just answered one of those questions about your strengths, achievements or your weaknesses and the interviewer instead of carrying on the conversation just sits there and stares at you for what seems to be endless time. You wait feeling a bit uneasy and thinking if you made a mistake or broken some sacrosanct rule of good behaviour in an interview. You either freeze in your seat or fidget around uncomfortably and all he does is sits there smiling like Mona Lisa. Such an experience can be very disquieting and devastating to your confidence and could lead to some stupid actions like smiling foolishly and asking, “what?”
Most interviewees unprepared for the situation make the mistake of rushing in to fill the vacuum created by the silence assuming prolonged silence is an invitation to restate or clear up the previous answer. The hapless interviewee sometimes babbles on and on to get things right giving away more and more information irrelevant for the purpose of the interview. Sometimes this information could even be damaging. Why people begin to babble thus is because in most cases the candidate feels that he has committed a blunder so he just keeps rambling on to correct the ‘wrong’ without knowing what wrong he is correcting. He ends up being utterly confused and feeling miserable. That is what happens when you are unprepared.
Now let us see what can happen if you are ready for the body line bowling. The ‘stress test’ or ‘the silent treatment, as it is sometimes called is nothing more than a weak little kid wearing a vicious looking mask. The moment you unmask the interviewer it becomes innocuous. If the interviewer tries to put you through it this is what you do: You keep quiet yourself for a little while and then with a smile and all the sincerity at your command ask something like, “Is there anything else you want me to tell you about my achievements or strengths?” The point is not to be scared or confused. Keep any hint of sarcasm out of your response and be very, very polite. That is all there is to it.
That is why the strategy of being honest not just in the interview but all through life is so important. The silence scares people because they know they are either hiding some information or exaggerating an achievement. You have to be one hundred percent sure at all times to be honest. Then you have nothing to hide and no one will ever be able to intimidate you by silence and staring. In any case in general conversation too, we must remember that silences do not have to be filled up unnecessarily. In a situation where you are negotiating a deal or an agreement you have to be ready not only with your own ‘shopping list’ but also the ‘shopping list’ of the other party. In learning the art of effective negotiation one must be trained not to rush in to fill up the vacuum created by ‘silences’. In fact it is believed that he who speaks first looses. In an interview situation the rule dose not apply with the same intensity but it is certain but the person who rushes in to fill up the silence too quickly looses. So what you have to do is: wait for some time; look and feel confident; smile; and ask politely, pleasantly and sincerely if there is anything else the interviewers would want to know about the last question they asked.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Deadly Bouncer
If there is a complicated or a trap question then this is the one. We know the basis of your selection for a job is your strengths not your weaknesses then why should the interviewer even bother to ask a question like, “What are your greatest weaknesses?” The fact is this too is a question which is asked quite frequently. There is a 50:50 chance you will be asked this question and more often than not it will be lobbed at you in an ever so lighthearted, easygoing manner. If you are not prepared for it you will be hit by this bouncer. Like they say you will not be knocked out by a a hard knock but by the one you did not see coming. Chances are this is the one which will catch you unawares.
This is normally an eliminator question and the purpose it serves is to shorten the list of candidates for the final round of selection. The psychology behind the elimination seems to be why should you even talk about your weaknesses? Why be negative? Some people (usually psychologists) even suggest if you are aware of your weaknesses why have you not worked on them already and got rid of them. So the best strategy to deal with such a question is not to talk about your weaknesses. If you do the interviewer will probably give you credit for honesty but assess you negatively for your being aware of your weakness for sometime and not taking effective steps to improve. Don't even ask me why they do that. I am not a psychologist. All I can tell you is that they do.
One very old, tested and quite acceptable strategy to deal with the question is to disguise one of your strengths as a weakness. Though it has been extensively used by trainers to train candidates for interviews it works most of the time simply because it insures you do not talk about any weaknesses. Of course it occasionally produces hilarious results especially in campus recruitment as sometimes the entire batch of say twenty or even thirty candidates are asked the question and each one invariably talks of the same strength 'disguised as a weakness'. For example they would say something like, "I am so focused and determined to get the job done on time that I drive my people too hard. I am this A type personality and I work with such a sense of urgency that I sometimes forget that not everyone is at the same wavelength."
Interviewers also have fun with this and the moment they realize the batch is prepared with it they twist the question and sometimes ask," OK is your weakness also the fact that you drive them too hard?" The experienced interviewer will obviously know that you will not talk about your weakness and that is how it should be.
The best way to deal with this question in an interview again focuses you on finding out what exactly are your interviewer's needs because you can state them in answer to this question and assure him that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing the functions that need to be performed in the job you are being interviewed for. Remind them of what they are looking for and show them you have those skills and traits. For example you could say, " Well, I am sure there will be shortcomings in me but based on what I know what qualities are required for this job, I believe, I will be the best choice. I know when you hire people for a job at this level; you are looking for the right qualification and the right kind of motivation to do well. You can see from my records I have both the qualification and a willingness to pursue excellence in whatever I do. So I feel I there should be nothing that could come in the way of my performing well if given the opportunity."
And of course don't end up repeating this passage verbatim. Try and understand what you are doing and convey it in your own language. This will require practice and practice sometimes is boring. Remember, spectacular success is always preceded by a lot of not-so-spectacular practice. If you still do not feel up to it for any reason or you are still not very sure about the qualities the interviewer is specifically looking for, you could confess to a small weakness which is not really a weakness. If you can match it with the requirements of the job so much the better. For example if the position you are being interviewed for is in the PR department, you could say I like people and one of my weaknesses is that I like to party. If it is a teacher's job you are applying for, you could say that one of your weaknesses is that you do not seem to be able to finish off your work in the class room. Students tend to trust you so much that they continue their contact with you even after the class and keep coming to me for advise and guidance. That takes a lot of my time and my family sometimes has a problem with it. Sometimes you could just say with a touch of humor that your biggest weakness is coffee or perhaps chocolates.
The idea is not to focus on weaknesses and be prepared to talk about he interviewer's need and your strengths and how they make a perfect match.
This is normally an eliminator question and the purpose it serves is to shorten the list of candidates for the final round of selection. The psychology behind the elimination seems to be why should you even talk about your weaknesses? Why be negative? Some people (usually psychologists) even suggest if you are aware of your weaknesses why have you not worked on them already and got rid of them. So the best strategy to deal with such a question is not to talk about your weaknesses. If you do the interviewer will probably give you credit for honesty but assess you negatively for your being aware of your weakness for sometime and not taking effective steps to improve. Don't even ask me why they do that. I am not a psychologist. All I can tell you is that they do.
One very old, tested and quite acceptable strategy to deal with the question is to disguise one of your strengths as a weakness. Though it has been extensively used by trainers to train candidates for interviews it works most of the time simply because it insures you do not talk about any weaknesses. Of course it occasionally produces hilarious results especially in campus recruitment as sometimes the entire batch of say twenty or even thirty candidates are asked the question and each one invariably talks of the same strength 'disguised as a weakness'. For example they would say something like, "I am so focused and determined to get the job done on time that I drive my people too hard. I am this A type personality and I work with such a sense of urgency that I sometimes forget that not everyone is at the same wavelength."
Interviewers also have fun with this and the moment they realize the batch is prepared with it they twist the question and sometimes ask," OK is your weakness also the fact that you drive them too hard?" The experienced interviewer will obviously know that you will not talk about your weakness and that is how it should be.
The best way to deal with this question in an interview again focuses you on finding out what exactly are your interviewer's needs because you can state them in answer to this question and assure him that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing the functions that need to be performed in the job you are being interviewed for. Remind them of what they are looking for and show them you have those skills and traits. For example you could say, " Well, I am sure there will be shortcomings in me but based on what I know what qualities are required for this job, I believe, I will be the best choice. I know when you hire people for a job at this level; you are looking for the right qualification and the right kind of motivation to do well. You can see from my records I have both the qualification and a willingness to pursue excellence in whatever I do. So I feel I there should be nothing that could come in the way of my performing well if given the opportunity."
And of course don't end up repeating this passage verbatim. Try and understand what you are doing and convey it in your own language. This will require practice and practice sometimes is boring. Remember, spectacular success is always preceded by a lot of not-so-spectacular practice. If you still do not feel up to it for any reason or you are still not very sure about the qualities the interviewer is specifically looking for, you could confess to a small weakness which is not really a weakness. If you can match it with the requirements of the job so much the better. For example if the position you are being interviewed for is in the PR department, you could say I like people and one of my weaknesses is that I like to party. If it is a teacher's job you are applying for, you could say that one of your weaknesses is that you do not seem to be able to finish off your work in the class room. Students tend to trust you so much that they continue their contact with you even after the class and keep coming to me for advise and guidance. That takes a lot of my time and my family sometimes has a problem with it. Sometimes you could just say with a touch of humor that your biggest weakness is coffee or perhaps chocolates.
The idea is not to focus on weaknesses and be prepared to talk about he interviewer's need and your strengths and how they make a perfect match.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Prepare to talk about your strengths
We all know that you are going to be recruited for your strengths and not your weaknesses. Here is another question which is very straightforward and in sync with what the interviewer is looking for. You need to be aware of your strengths and what is going to be your unique contribution to the job and the organization if you were to be offered the job. This is another one of those innocuous little questions which could throw the candidate out of contention if he or she were to come across as some one who is arrogant or egoistic. Some candidates hit the other extreme and end up being too humble and spineless. Both extremes are undesirable.
This might seem to be an oft repeated theme but it is so true it bears repeating. We learnt earlier that your first and foremost strategy is to find out what does the interviewer want the most before you even begin to answer any questions. The best way to do that is to do your research and if there is still something you need knowing; ‘ask’. You need to do your homework and be prepared for answering this question. Know what your greatest strengths are. Be prepared to talk about your strengths and site examples and instances from your life to substantiate your claim. It is easy to understand ones reluctance to talk about oneself as we have been trained from the very beginning not to blow one’s own trumpet. In most people’s mind it goes against the basic tenant of edification which says you can edify anybody else in the world except yourself. Yet you need to prepare yourself mentally to talk about yourself and your strengths and achievements in an edifying manner without coming across as someone who is pompous and egotistic. The best way to do that is to state your achievement or your strength in an even tone and immediately get down to narrating an incident or a stating statistics to illustrate your strength or achievement. The more recent the example the better it is.
The secret to responding successfully to such a query is to prepare for it. The preparation obviously starts at home. You should take some time out and write down some of your strengths and achievements which are similar to what the employer is looking for in a candidate for the job you are being interviewed for. Then think back and also write own some incidents, statistics, or anecdotes that will illustrate or reinforce your claim that strength or achievement. This is another one of those innocuous looking questions which unless you are prepared for it will cause a few problems. Once again chances this question will be lobbed at you in one form or the other. The interviewer wants to find out whether you have introspected or not. He also wants to see where is your self esteem is at. Can you talk about your strengths and achievements without being boastful? Or do you swing to the other extreme and act so humble and self effacing that you become part of the furniture? The focus of the interviewer is as much on your tone and posture as it is on your strength and achievements. Being prepared for this question will require a bit of effort and sometimes some change in attitude. Are you the kind of person who takes the entire credit for your self or will you give credit to others where it is due?
Generally speaking some of the strengths employers are looking for are what every, well socialized young person already has and one does not have to ponder too deeply about them. For example character traits like honesty, integrity, sincerity, loyalty, commitment and a strong work ethic are all prerequisites that are non negotiable. No amount of talent, skills and enthusiasm and motivation will compensate for a little bit of lack of honesty. In fact there is no such thing as a little lack of honesty. One is either honest or not. You either have 100% integrity or not. Yet interviewers will want to see some of these strengths and achievements illustrated. If you have proven track record of being an achiever it helps the interviewers take appositive decision. Employers are looking for someone who is intelligent yet humble, someone who is an achiever and yet a team player who will fit into their corporate culture, someone who will be comfortable around other people, someone who is dedicated and will walk an extra mile in pursuit of excellence, has clear cut personal goals and targets which can be aligned to the goals of the company and of course someone who has appositive attitude and looks to the future with optimism and expectation.
So the best way to tackle this question is to be prepared for it. Preparation is done at home and is sometimes quite boring. But remember spectacular success is always preceded by some very unspectacular (read boring) preparation. Another similar question which needs solid preparation is what your greatest weaknesses are. More about it in the next post.
This might seem to be an oft repeated theme but it is so true it bears repeating. We learnt earlier that your first and foremost strategy is to find out what does the interviewer want the most before you even begin to answer any questions. The best way to do that is to do your research and if there is still something you need knowing; ‘ask’. You need to do your homework and be prepared for answering this question. Know what your greatest strengths are. Be prepared to talk about your strengths and site examples and instances from your life to substantiate your claim. It is easy to understand ones reluctance to talk about oneself as we have been trained from the very beginning not to blow one’s own trumpet. In most people’s mind it goes against the basic tenant of edification which says you can edify anybody else in the world except yourself. Yet you need to prepare yourself mentally to talk about yourself and your strengths and achievements in an edifying manner without coming across as someone who is pompous and egotistic. The best way to do that is to state your achievement or your strength in an even tone and immediately get down to narrating an incident or a stating statistics to illustrate your strength or achievement. The more recent the example the better it is.
The secret to responding successfully to such a query is to prepare for it. The preparation obviously starts at home. You should take some time out and write down some of your strengths and achievements which are similar to what the employer is looking for in a candidate for the job you are being interviewed for. Then think back and also write own some incidents, statistics, or anecdotes that will illustrate or reinforce your claim that strength or achievement. This is another one of those innocuous looking questions which unless you are prepared for it will cause a few problems. Once again chances this question will be lobbed at you in one form or the other. The interviewer wants to find out whether you have introspected or not. He also wants to see where is your self esteem is at. Can you talk about your strengths and achievements without being boastful? Or do you swing to the other extreme and act so humble and self effacing that you become part of the furniture? The focus of the interviewer is as much on your tone and posture as it is on your strength and achievements. Being prepared for this question will require a bit of effort and sometimes some change in attitude. Are you the kind of person who takes the entire credit for your self or will you give credit to others where it is due?
Generally speaking some of the strengths employers are looking for are what every, well socialized young person already has and one does not have to ponder too deeply about them. For example character traits like honesty, integrity, sincerity, loyalty, commitment and a strong work ethic are all prerequisites that are non negotiable. No amount of talent, skills and enthusiasm and motivation will compensate for a little bit of lack of honesty. In fact there is no such thing as a little lack of honesty. One is either honest or not. You either have 100% integrity or not. Yet interviewers will want to see some of these strengths and achievements illustrated. If you have proven track record of being an achiever it helps the interviewers take appositive decision. Employers are looking for someone who is intelligent yet humble, someone who is an achiever and yet a team player who will fit into their corporate culture, someone who will be comfortable around other people, someone who is dedicated and will walk an extra mile in pursuit of excellence, has clear cut personal goals and targets which can be aligned to the goals of the company and of course someone who has appositive attitude and looks to the future with optimism and expectation.
So the best way to tackle this question is to be prepared for it. Preparation is done at home and is sometimes quite boring. But remember spectacular success is always preceded by some very unspectacular (read boring) preparation. Another similar question which needs solid preparation is what your greatest weaknesses are. More about it in the next post.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tell me about yourself
Most interviews open with this innocuous sounding request, “Tell me about yourself.” We talk a lot about Pareto’s principle or the 80: 20 rule. It certainly applies to the interview openers. Eighty percent of all interviews open with this request. If you are smart and have prepared well you should welcome the opportunity as we understand by now an interview is all about the interviewer getting to know the interviewee. The trouble is that most candidates are unprepared to talk about themselves. Some begin to babble, quite incoherently at times about their ‘times and life', others go blank. Some even go on to talk about their personal life and problems they are facing as if they are not appearing for a job interview but are on a psycho analyst's couch. You have to learn to avoid falling in this trap. Don't get me wrong, the interviewer is not trying to trap you in any way. It is your lack of understanding of the question and what it implies that you get all tangled in a web of your own making. There is no need to narrate the story of your life and what your parents and siblings do and where you hail from.
Remember the purpose of the job interview? It is to find out whether the candidate is suitable for the job or not. Period. Your best answer for such a question can only be directed in that direction. You could start with the present and why you feel you are best suited for the job on offer. Once again remember the maxim ‘you can only sell what the buyer is buying’. This is the most important thing to be understood by the candidates. if you can truly understand this one little marketing principle you have understood the secret of job hunting. You would have understood the intrinsic psychology of acing every interview.
The good news is that it is not entirely about you when you are asked to talk about yourself. This may come as a surprise but it is true. It is first about knowing whether you understand what the job requirement is and then it is about whether you are the perfect match for it. It is about knowing what qualities the interviewer is looking for in you. It is about knowing what are the goals, targets and aspirations of the company. An effective response to this question will be different in different interviews. You need to do a thorough research on the Company, the industry in which it operates and profile of the job you will be interviewed for.
If you are satisfied with your information about the company and the job profile and are confident you know what strengths and qualities will be required to do the job you are on a strong wicket to talk about ‘you’. If in a rare case you feel you are still not sure about what the job requirements are; do yourself a favour and ask the interviewer, as early during the interview as possible, for more elaborate description of what the post entails. When you are asked to talk about yourself and you are still unsure about the the abilities required to perform in that position you might respond by asking something like, “I have quite a few accomplishments I could tell you about but it would be best if I could address directly to your needs. It will be great help if you tell me about the priorities of this position. if you feel the need follow it up with a couple of more questions so that you know exactly what the interviewers are looking for. Your second question could be, “Is there any thing else that you is essential for success in the position?”
There are a few things which emerge from what you have just read. First of all a job interview is not an interrogation session where the interviewer shoots questions an the interviewee either answers or ducks them. it is a conversation. The objective is to find out whether the candidate is suitable for the position on offer or not. The success of an interview is as much a responsibility of the interviewer as it is of the interviewee. If the interviewer fails to select the right candidate for the job it is his failure. Second of all there is no ban on the interviewee asking questions to clarify things and finding more about the requirements of the position. So get fear out of the way and practice asking these key questions. It will also showcase your confidence. Of course do not ask questions just for the sake of asking questions. Don't ask unnecessary and illegal questions either.
Once you know what are the main requirements of the job you can 'tell them about yourself'. Talk about your skills,strengths and abilities in the light of what you know the job requires for you to be successful in it. Talk about how you have performed strikingly similar tasks and undertaken similar duties with success. Do not forget to give actual examples from your SIP, your past job experience and academic life. Tell the interviewers about achievements and responsibilities which will present you as the most suitable candidate for the job based on the needs of the job. At no time should you lie about your talent and claim to have abilities you do not have. Be absolutely honest at all times.
When they ask you to tell them about yourself they are actually asking what do you know about the job on offer and what are the qualities you have which make you feel you can do it competently.
Remember the purpose of the job interview? It is to find out whether the candidate is suitable for the job or not. Period. Your best answer for such a question can only be directed in that direction. You could start with the present and why you feel you are best suited for the job on offer. Once again remember the maxim ‘you can only sell what the buyer is buying’. This is the most important thing to be understood by the candidates. if you can truly understand this one little marketing principle you have understood the secret of job hunting. You would have understood the intrinsic psychology of acing every interview.
The good news is that it is not entirely about you when you are asked to talk about yourself. This may come as a surprise but it is true. It is first about knowing whether you understand what the job requirement is and then it is about whether you are the perfect match for it. It is about knowing what qualities the interviewer is looking for in you. It is about knowing what are the goals, targets and aspirations of the company. An effective response to this question will be different in different interviews. You need to do a thorough research on the Company, the industry in which it operates and profile of the job you will be interviewed for.
If you are satisfied with your information about the company and the job profile and are confident you know what strengths and qualities will be required to do the job you are on a strong wicket to talk about ‘you’. If in a rare case you feel you are still not sure about what the job requirements are; do yourself a favour and ask the interviewer, as early during the interview as possible, for more elaborate description of what the post entails. When you are asked to talk about yourself and you are still unsure about the the abilities required to perform in that position you might respond by asking something like, “I have quite a few accomplishments I could tell you about but it would be best if I could address directly to your needs. It will be great help if you tell me about the priorities of this position. if you feel the need follow it up with a couple of more questions so that you know exactly what the interviewers are looking for. Your second question could be, “Is there any thing else that you is essential for success in the position?”
There are a few things which emerge from what you have just read. First of all a job interview is not an interrogation session where the interviewer shoots questions an the interviewee either answers or ducks them. it is a conversation. The objective is to find out whether the candidate is suitable for the position on offer or not. The success of an interview is as much a responsibility of the interviewer as it is of the interviewee. If the interviewer fails to select the right candidate for the job it is his failure. Second of all there is no ban on the interviewee asking questions to clarify things and finding more about the requirements of the position. So get fear out of the way and practice asking these key questions. It will also showcase your confidence. Of course do not ask questions just for the sake of asking questions. Don't ask unnecessary and illegal questions either.
Once you know what are the main requirements of the job you can 'tell them about yourself'. Talk about your skills,strengths and abilities in the light of what you know the job requires for you to be successful in it. Talk about how you have performed strikingly similar tasks and undertaken similar duties with success. Do not forget to give actual examples from your SIP, your past job experience and academic life. Tell the interviewers about achievements and responsibilities which will present you as the most suitable candidate for the job based on the needs of the job. At no time should you lie about your talent and claim to have abilities you do not have. Be absolutely honest at all times.
When they ask you to tell them about yourself they are actually asking what do you know about the job on offer and what are the qualities you have which make you feel you can do it competently.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Magic Wand
One final word before we go on to discuss specific questions and the reasons why they are asked in an interview. The other day in the class I asked how many of the students felt that I had a magic wand and I just had to wave it to turn them into the most sought after managers in the job market. While most students were not very amused by the question there were eight to ten of them surprisingly raised their hands and said, they did. The response was at once, scary and humbling. Though no teacher or a trainer has such a stick which she can wave to turn you into super managers that the industry will kill to acquire, you certainly have one. It is called decision. You can certainly take a decision to become someone that the industry is looking for by deciding two things. One you are willing to outwork every one else in the world and that you will be honest to the core. Bingo. As far as knowledge goes every one has to be a student all his life and make an everlasting commitment to learning. You have to tell yourself that you are good person but you have to become better. There always is scope for improvement. You have to be the best you can be. You were created unique and you have to be without equal. If you can prove to the interviewer that you have great work ethic and uncompromising integrity you will ace every interview you go to provided you have the skills required for the job. Apart from that it is a marketing thing. The secret to smart sell yourself is that you need to find out what the company wants in an employee and show them that you have in you what they are looking for. Can you match your abilities with the requirements of the job? If you can, the job is yours.
So part of the process of your search for a suitable job is to thoroughly research what the employer wants. You must spend some time finding out what the employer is looking for. If you are applying for a job in response to an interview read the advertisement closely and figure out the employer’s needs. Then go ahead and provide them what they need. If your college has a placement cell who has invited a company for recruiting candidates for certain position, talk to the people manning the cell and find out everything you can about the company and the industry it functions in. Discuss the profile of the job on offer with the people in the Placement Cell. Make a check list of all the abilities and skills the job requires. Check out if you have the qualities and qualifications the company wants you to have. If you do not have some of the skills required, make a commitment to acquire the skills needed. If there have been any articles about the company that appeared in the press in the recent past read up the articles and be aware of the direction the company is moving in.
Ask yourself also a few questions like do you have the temperament to do the job you are going to be interviewed for? Is their any likelihood that you will be willing to the job without rumination if such a situation were to arise at some time in the future? This is as tough a question to answer as it is important. The answer to the question will determine how much fun you are going to have doing the job and in your life. If you were to answer the question in the affirmative you have found a job which will never be a boring because you love doing it. The secret to happiness in life is either finding what you love doing and doing it for remuneration or without it; or begin to love what you are doing. At this stage in your life when you are checking things out it is not a bad idea to go ahead and try a few things and then figure out what you like doing and what you don’t. Take a few risks. There is no bigger tragedy in life than to be stuck all your life in a rut for a little bit of extra money. No one ever regrets having spent less time in the office or at the place of work because most people are in the wrong job. The time to think what job is good for you and what job you will absolutely love doing is now before you commit your self. For most people it is too late the moment they get their first job because they never have the opportunity or the guts to change direction later.
So part of the process of your search for a suitable job is to thoroughly research what the employer wants. You must spend some time finding out what the employer is looking for. If you are applying for a job in response to an interview read the advertisement closely and figure out the employer’s needs. Then go ahead and provide them what they need. If your college has a placement cell who has invited a company for recruiting candidates for certain position, talk to the people manning the cell and find out everything you can about the company and the industry it functions in. Discuss the profile of the job on offer with the people in the Placement Cell. Make a check list of all the abilities and skills the job requires. Check out if you have the qualities and qualifications the company wants you to have. If you do not have some of the skills required, make a commitment to acquire the skills needed. If there have been any articles about the company that appeared in the press in the recent past read up the articles and be aware of the direction the company is moving in.
Ask yourself also a few questions like do you have the temperament to do the job you are going to be interviewed for? Is their any likelihood that you will be willing to the job without rumination if such a situation were to arise at some time in the future? This is as tough a question to answer as it is important. The answer to the question will determine how much fun you are going to have doing the job and in your life. If you were to answer the question in the affirmative you have found a job which will never be a boring because you love doing it. The secret to happiness in life is either finding what you love doing and doing it for remuneration or without it; or begin to love what you are doing. At this stage in your life when you are checking things out it is not a bad idea to go ahead and try a few things and then figure out what you like doing and what you don’t. Take a few risks. There is no bigger tragedy in life than to be stuck all your life in a rut for a little bit of extra money. No one ever regrets having spent less time in the office or at the place of work because most people are in the wrong job. The time to think what job is good for you and what job you will absolutely love doing is now before you commit your self. For most people it is too late the moment they get their first job because they never have the opportunity or the guts to change direction later.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
You can’t sell from an empty wagon
So what you know is that you can’t prepare for a job interview overnight though it is also true that you should always be ready to face one. After all an interview is nothing but the interviewer and the interviewee getting to know each other and determining if the interviewee is suitable for the job she is being interviewed for. What you can do right away is remain positive and upbeat, have a good self image and do something every day that will take you closer to your goal. The goal is to become the best person you can be. Remember you are not really in competition with anyone else. Your motto is every day in every way I will become better and better. You have to sharpen your axe every day as Stephen Covey will say. Your axe here is your brain, your character and your personality.
Let us create a hypothetical situation. For a moment assume you are the CEO of your own Company and you are going for a holiday and plan to be travelling around the world. You will be gone for six months. You are looking for a Chief Manager who will look after your Company in your absence. What kind of a manager will you recruit? What qualities should your manager have? The other day when we discussed this in the class full of students of business management a huge list of desirable qualities was proffered by them. They would want their Chief Manager to have good communication and interpersonal skills, problem solving and conflict resolution skills. They expected their manager to be educated, experienced, intelligent, punctual, well dressed and well mannered. He should be a good team player be able to work under pressure and have great leadership qualities. He should have good knowledge about the world in general and the world of business in particular. The right manager should not only be high on IQ but also on EQ, should know how to compliment and criticize as also be flexible while still being firm. She should be able to manage her time and meet targets of the company. She should be responsive while being responsible. Everyone agreed that the qualities that would be the most important would be that the candidate be honest and have high integrity. No one wanted a manager who would be unethical, dishonest, unorganized, rude, crude and foul mouthed. An intelligent but dishonest manager will clean you out before you have enplaned let alone gone around the world.
Remember when you go for an interview the industry is also looking for all those qualities in you that you will look for if you had to appoint someone to run your business. Is it very tough to acquire all those traits of character and personality? No you are just a decision away from being the manager that everyone needs and desires to run businesses. Once you have taken that decision you have to hone the required skills and work on your self every day. Success is first an inside job. You have to work on your self and become absolutely irresistible and make success a habit. It is a life-long commitment. Everyday in every way you become better and better. Your journey in life is not about perfection but about progress. Being a good manager is the same thing as being a good human being only more efficient. Yet it is not about doing one thing a hundred percent better; it is about doing a hundred things one percent better regularly.
Landing a good job is all about selling your wonderful qualities. You cannot sell them if you don’t have them. You cannot sell from an empty wagon. Preparing for an interview is not just about learning how to wear a tie and dress up well or learn how to answer a question. It is not even about learning the right posture and body language, it is about deciding to be absolutely honest and having uncompromising integrity. After that it is about acquiring the right skills and knowledge and willingness to work hard. Your time starts now. The price of success is non negotiable.
Let us create a hypothetical situation. For a moment assume you are the CEO of your own Company and you are going for a holiday and plan to be travelling around the world. You will be gone for six months. You are looking for a Chief Manager who will look after your Company in your absence. What kind of a manager will you recruit? What qualities should your manager have? The other day when we discussed this in the class full of students of business management a huge list of desirable qualities was proffered by them. They would want their Chief Manager to have good communication and interpersonal skills, problem solving and conflict resolution skills. They expected their manager to be educated, experienced, intelligent, punctual, well dressed and well mannered. He should be a good team player be able to work under pressure and have great leadership qualities. He should have good knowledge about the world in general and the world of business in particular. The right manager should not only be high on IQ but also on EQ, should know how to compliment and criticize as also be flexible while still being firm. She should be able to manage her time and meet targets of the company. She should be responsive while being responsible. Everyone agreed that the qualities that would be the most important would be that the candidate be honest and have high integrity. No one wanted a manager who would be unethical, dishonest, unorganized, rude, crude and foul mouthed. An intelligent but dishonest manager will clean you out before you have enplaned let alone gone around the world.
Remember when you go for an interview the industry is also looking for all those qualities in you that you will look for if you had to appoint someone to run your business. Is it very tough to acquire all those traits of character and personality? No you are just a decision away from being the manager that everyone needs and desires to run businesses. Once you have taken that decision you have to hone the required skills and work on your self every day. Success is first an inside job. You have to work on your self and become absolutely irresistible and make success a habit. It is a life-long commitment. Everyday in every way you become better and better. Your journey in life is not about perfection but about progress. Being a good manager is the same thing as being a good human being only more efficient. Yet it is not about doing one thing a hundred percent better; it is about doing a hundred things one percent better regularly.
Landing a good job is all about selling your wonderful qualities. You cannot sell them if you don’t have them. You cannot sell from an empty wagon. Preparing for an interview is not just about learning how to wear a tie and dress up well or learn how to answer a question. It is not even about learning the right posture and body language, it is about deciding to be absolutely honest and having uncompromising integrity. After that it is about acquiring the right skills and knowledge and willingness to work hard. Your time starts now. The price of success is non negotiable.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Interview: You can only sell what the buyer wants
Let us face it. Everyone is nervous before an interview and it is a rare person who is not anxious during one. Just like a little bit of tension is actually good for health; a little nervousness is not necessarily harmful for your chances of success in an interview. Nervousness is normal. So just go with the flow and know that it is not easy for the interviewer either. Like any other form of communication, every type of interview is a two way street though here we will restrict ourselves to job interviews. Failure to identify the right candidate for the right job is as much a failure of the interviewer as it is of the interviewee.
So, you as an interviewee just need to remain generally upbeat and positive. The whole idea of the interview is for the organization to pick the right person for the right job. You have to just help the interviewee to get to know the real you as well as it is possible in the short duration of the interview – a task which is not easy by any means. It is not such a stupid idea when you are sometimes asked to spend some time to know yourself and practice articulating what you know about yourself. How, for example, will you describe your strengths and weaknesses; what are your likes and dislikes; what are your goals and dreams or what strategy do you have to achieve them? Is your strategy in sync with the goals and dreams? Do you have a strategy at all? Preparing yourself for a job interview is a lot about getting to know your own self and being able to communicate it to the interviewer on the day of the interview.
Sometimes candidates memorize answers to questions and rattle them off like a parrot would. In preparation for an interview there is nothing worse you can do. If a person cannot talk about himself what else can he really talk about? An interview, unless it is designed for some specific objective where a different approach is required, is a conversation and not an interrogation. The onus of keeping an interview conversational lies with both the interviewer and the interviewee. If the interviewer fails to keep it at that level, you as the interviewee should try and bring it to that level by being absolutely honest and disarming. So do not memorize answers to questions but certainly know what points you would like to cover in answer to a question. You could rehearse answering questions with your friends or even alone. Make sure you keep the tone conversational. Make sure you never memorize the exact language. Be natural. Be your self. It is ‘the you’ that the interviewer is looking for in you - the real you.
It may be common knowledge for marketing people but is perhaps the most well kept secret when it comes to cracking job interviews. It goes like this: find out what people need and help them satisfy that need. For getting a job find out what an organization or a Company wants and help them get what they want. In other words you must have the qualities that the employer is looking for in the candidate for a particular position. You can only sell what the buyer wants. So it is not just about you it is about the position. You must match your abilities with the needs of the employer. To be able to do that you must first know what is the employer looking for or what does he want. You have to find out what is the buyer buying. And the best way to do that is research the job being offered; research the company and the industry. If required ask a few questions in the interview itself. Yes you read it right. You can ask a few questions in the interview.
To crack an interview find out what the employer wants and give to him.
So, you as an interviewee just need to remain generally upbeat and positive. The whole idea of the interview is for the organization to pick the right person for the right job. You have to just help the interviewee to get to know the real you as well as it is possible in the short duration of the interview – a task which is not easy by any means. It is not such a stupid idea when you are sometimes asked to spend some time to know yourself and practice articulating what you know about yourself. How, for example, will you describe your strengths and weaknesses; what are your likes and dislikes; what are your goals and dreams or what strategy do you have to achieve them? Is your strategy in sync with the goals and dreams? Do you have a strategy at all? Preparing yourself for a job interview is a lot about getting to know your own self and being able to communicate it to the interviewer on the day of the interview.
Sometimes candidates memorize answers to questions and rattle them off like a parrot would. In preparation for an interview there is nothing worse you can do. If a person cannot talk about himself what else can he really talk about? An interview, unless it is designed for some specific objective where a different approach is required, is a conversation and not an interrogation. The onus of keeping an interview conversational lies with both the interviewer and the interviewee. If the interviewer fails to keep it at that level, you as the interviewee should try and bring it to that level by being absolutely honest and disarming. So do not memorize answers to questions but certainly know what points you would like to cover in answer to a question. You could rehearse answering questions with your friends or even alone. Make sure you keep the tone conversational. Make sure you never memorize the exact language. Be natural. Be your self. It is ‘the you’ that the interviewer is looking for in you - the real you.
It may be common knowledge for marketing people but is perhaps the most well kept secret when it comes to cracking job interviews. It goes like this: find out what people need and help them satisfy that need. For getting a job find out what an organization or a Company wants and help them get what they want. In other words you must have the qualities that the employer is looking for in the candidate for a particular position. You can only sell what the buyer wants. So it is not just about you it is about the position. You must match your abilities with the needs of the employer. To be able to do that you must first know what is the employer looking for or what does he want. You have to find out what is the buyer buying. And the best way to do that is research the job being offered; research the company and the industry. If required ask a few questions in the interview itself. Yes you read it right. You can ask a few questions in the interview.
To crack an interview find out what the employer wants and give to him.
Monday, May 25, 2009
You will be punished by your anger
I really don't understand why people, especially parents and teachers get so angry even when there is no provocation. Things sometimes take a fatal turn like in a case reported recently when a teacher flung a duster at a twelve year old killing her. I have no pretensions of being a psychologist and to completely understand the origins of anger or strategies to keep it at bay. I have no intentions of delving into them but in a general way we all know what anger is and we have all felt it at some time or the other whether as a fleeting annoyance or as a full blown rage. Yet to show unnecessary and uncalled for annoyance just because you are in a position of power is not only abominable but also irresponsible. What right does a parent or a teacher or a boss have to fly into a rage. Will Roger's comment that people who fly into a rage make a bad landing is not only very witty it is very incisive.
Teachers losing their cool at the slightest pretext is unacceptable. A teacher or anyone who aspires to be a leader and hopes to influence future leaders in a positive manner has to learn to conduct himself in an exemplary manner at all times. A lot of thought has to go into every thing he does. He cannot let his guard down. He cannot afford to lose his temper because he does not know who is watching him and learning from him. He does not know who he is mentoring informally. In any case the unintentional negative influence he can have on students is sometimes unalterable especially when the teacher is held in high esteem for his knowledge by the students.
I am not even suggesting that a teacher never ever can lose his cool. He, like everyone else, can do so easily. Aristotle has said, “Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree,at the right time, for the the right purpose and in the right way...that is not easy.” We all need to mull over what Aristotle says and if we cannot get all those dimensions right it is wiser to decide never to become angry. Even Aristotle perhaps is not suggesting that you should never get angry but what he is saying is that you learn how and when to become angry and to what degree.If that sounds like being contradiction in terms; it is. Any one who needs to keep a clear mind can't afford to get angry because, like it is often said,no man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.
The other day I felt very sorry for a colleague's sudden burst of anger when a few students did not respond quickly enough to fill some seats lying vacant in the front rows, when he asked them to do so at the beginning of a comined session. I am not even sure if it was anger or demonstration of power or even just an exhibition of superiority. A teacher should never have to demonstrate superiority or power. What gives them the right to lose it before we can even say anger? Students keep quiet and do not react not because they love an angry pedagogue but because they are either too decent to react, or more damagingly, because they feel this is kind of outbursts are expected from a person of great learning. They subconsciously take a note of it and will act in exactly the same manner with their juniors or when they themselves are in so called position of power. The damage has been done and a vicious behavioral cycle set in motion. Apart from the damage we can inflict on our students in this manner, anger also punishes you in a very subtle but damaging way. It is not my intention to explain how but we can take Gautama Buddha's word for it who said, “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
Teachers losing their cool at the slightest pretext is unacceptable. A teacher or anyone who aspires to be a leader and hopes to influence future leaders in a positive manner has to learn to conduct himself in an exemplary manner at all times. A lot of thought has to go into every thing he does. He cannot let his guard down. He cannot afford to lose his temper because he does not know who is watching him and learning from him. He does not know who he is mentoring informally. In any case the unintentional negative influence he can have on students is sometimes unalterable especially when the teacher is held in high esteem for his knowledge by the students.
I am not even suggesting that a teacher never ever can lose his cool. He, like everyone else, can do so easily. Aristotle has said, “Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree,at the right time, for the the right purpose and in the right way...that is not easy.” We all need to mull over what Aristotle says and if we cannot get all those dimensions right it is wiser to decide never to become angry. Even Aristotle perhaps is not suggesting that you should never get angry but what he is saying is that you learn how and when to become angry and to what degree.If that sounds like being contradiction in terms; it is. Any one who needs to keep a clear mind can't afford to get angry because, like it is often said,no man can think clearly when his fists are clenched.
The other day I felt very sorry for a colleague's sudden burst of anger when a few students did not respond quickly enough to fill some seats lying vacant in the front rows, when he asked them to do so at the beginning of a comined session. I am not even sure if it was anger or demonstration of power or even just an exhibition of superiority. A teacher should never have to demonstrate superiority or power. What gives them the right to lose it before we can even say anger? Students keep quiet and do not react not because they love an angry pedagogue but because they are either too decent to react, or more damagingly, because they feel this is kind of outbursts are expected from a person of great learning. They subconsciously take a note of it and will act in exactly the same manner with their juniors or when they themselves are in so called position of power. The damage has been done and a vicious behavioral cycle set in motion. Apart from the damage we can inflict on our students in this manner, anger also punishes you in a very subtle but damaging way. It is not my intention to explain how but we can take Gautama Buddha's word for it who said, “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Grades, Knowledge Character and Success
One dilemma that continues to persist in the minds of the students is whether to focus on grades or on knowledge. What is more important getting better grades or acquiring more knowledge? Normally it should not be an either or questions as better knowledge should lead to better grades but the evaluation system in most business schools is so subjective and convoluted despite all efforts to make it more objective and simple that the students focused on higher grades do not hesitate cutting corners and go to extremes to make their grade sheet look better. The fault lies with our entire education system which encourages students to score higher marks which enables them to get into coveted institutions for higher education which in turn leads to better jobs; Even the parents pressurize their children to focus on grades instead of learning, on higher marks rather than on knowledge, ability, character, value, skills and personality.
Once Students join a professional school they must realize they are no longer preparing just for exams but for life. They will not be carrying their mark sheets and certificates with them wherever they go all the time but their knowledge, character and values go with them every where. There is no getting away from them. Every time they interact with people and talk to them their character shows through. To be successful as a manager or in any other sphere in life you have to focus on yourself and become the kind of person people will like to deal with. In business as in every other sphere in life people deal with people. If you have not learnt the art of dealing with people you will not succeed despite your high grade. You have to learn to be a caring person and care for everyone who comes in contact with you socially or for business. People don’t care how much you know till they know how much you care. Your success in life and business will depend on how well you can get along with people and how caring you are. It is the business world’s best kept secret. In fact it is not even a secret. It is so obvious that no one notices it till failure is staring them in the face.
Once Students join a professional school they must realize they are no longer preparing just for exams but for life. They will not be carrying their mark sheets and certificates with them wherever they go all the time but their knowledge, character and values go with them every where. There is no getting away from them. Every time they interact with people and talk to them their character shows through. To be successful as a manager or in any other sphere in life you have to focus on yourself and become the kind of person people will like to deal with. In business as in every other sphere in life people deal with people. If you have not learnt the art of dealing with people you will not succeed despite your high grade. You have to learn to be a caring person and care for everyone who comes in contact with you socially or for business. People don’t care how much you know till they know how much you care. Your success in life and business will depend on how well you can get along with people and how caring you are. It is the business world’s best kept secret. In fact it is not even a secret. It is so obvious that no one notices it till failure is staring them in the face.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Taking Initiative
"Don't let school get in the way of your education."
- Mark Twain
I have been toying with writing this piece for some time now. One reason I couldn’t get it out of my system is because I have not been able to make up my mind whom am I addressing it to - the students or the faculty. So if you feel a little lost reading it there is nothing wrong with you. The idea is to convey that it is the lack of understanding, both on the part of the students as well as the faculty in business schools about the role of the teachers, which unobtrusively hinders developing the very traits we are trying to ostensibly encourage and develop in the future managers. The school comes in the way of education ever so surreptitiously.
MBA is not primarily about attending classes. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying you don’t have to attend classes or that you should not attend classes. In fact we expect you to have 100 percent attendance nothing less. Without learning what you will get to learn in the class you are not even ready to appreciate what you will need to learn outside the class. What I am saying is that though what you learn in the domain classes is the foundation on which you have to build the real you. MBA is not about attending classes it is about who you become because of your training in the business school. And who you will become will be determined by your character traits like creativity, tenacity, honesty, integrity, curiosity or willingness to learn, interpersonal skills, oral and written presentation skills, and many other important traits. Let us talk about initiative.
Stephen R. Covey in his seminal book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ says that,"The difference between people who exercise initiative and those who don't is literally the difference between night and day. I'm not talking about a 25 to 50 percent difference in effectiveness; I'm talking about a 5000-plus percent difference, particularly if they are smart, aware, and sensitive to others." As a manager one of the most important trait you ought to inculcate is the readiness to initiate action; to take responsibility and to get things done. It is called initiative. Business school students must seize every opportunity to demonstrate initiative and prove it to the faculty in general and to themselves in particular that they have it in them to get things done.
If the faculty cannot foster a ‘can do attitude’ in the students they will never become assertive and productive which means they are really not employable. One of the hallmarks of a good manager is that he or she knows the types of tasks that require permission and those that don't. Students need to be put through situations where they must exercise their discretion and learn with experience to distinguish between the two. It is so important for the teacher, trainer, mentor or facilitator, depending on what role the faculty sees itself in, to demonstrate extreme caution and desist from taking decisions for the student.
The faculty has to learn to stop talking and start listening and encouraging students to look for solutions to the problems they are facing. The faculty must ask them to come out with two or three solutions and then encourage them to choose one they think is the best option. The faculty should at best guide them and endorse their course of action or politely suggest looking for a better solution. I see so many trainers strut about pompously all over the place dispensing obsolete academic solutions and defeat the entire purpose of helping students to take initiative.
The worst thing about the faculty playing the oracle or letting unsuspecting students believe that they are the ‘be all and end all’ of all knowledge is not just that it kills initiative among students but that it puts a ceiling on their capacity to learn. It says to them, ‘thou shall go thus far and no further’. It limits them. It cuts off their wings before they have learnt to fly. The members of the faculty must consider themselves as just another resource like books and the Internet for the students to consult when they want to. The trouble the faculty can talk, and how. The faculty has to be trained to listen, listen, listen and listen and hold their horses (tongues). If they don’t do that they kill the initiative in the students. You kill the initiative you kill the manager.
- Mark Twain
I have been toying with writing this piece for some time now. One reason I couldn’t get it out of my system is because I have not been able to make up my mind whom am I addressing it to - the students or the faculty. So if you feel a little lost reading it there is nothing wrong with you. The idea is to convey that it is the lack of understanding, both on the part of the students as well as the faculty in business schools about the role of the teachers, which unobtrusively hinders developing the very traits we are trying to ostensibly encourage and develop in the future managers. The school comes in the way of education ever so surreptitiously.
MBA is not primarily about attending classes. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying you don’t have to attend classes or that you should not attend classes. In fact we expect you to have 100 percent attendance nothing less. Without learning what you will get to learn in the class you are not even ready to appreciate what you will need to learn outside the class. What I am saying is that though what you learn in the domain classes is the foundation on which you have to build the real you. MBA is not about attending classes it is about who you become because of your training in the business school. And who you will become will be determined by your character traits like creativity, tenacity, honesty, integrity, curiosity or willingness to learn, interpersonal skills, oral and written presentation skills, and many other important traits. Let us talk about initiative.
Stephen R. Covey in his seminal book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ says that,"The difference between people who exercise initiative and those who don't is literally the difference between night and day. I'm not talking about a 25 to 50 percent difference in effectiveness; I'm talking about a 5000-plus percent difference, particularly if they are smart, aware, and sensitive to others." As a manager one of the most important trait you ought to inculcate is the readiness to initiate action; to take responsibility and to get things done. It is called initiative. Business school students must seize every opportunity to demonstrate initiative and prove it to the faculty in general and to themselves in particular that they have it in them to get things done.
If the faculty cannot foster a ‘can do attitude’ in the students they will never become assertive and productive which means they are really not employable. One of the hallmarks of a good manager is that he or she knows the types of tasks that require permission and those that don't. Students need to be put through situations where they must exercise their discretion and learn with experience to distinguish between the two. It is so important for the teacher, trainer, mentor or facilitator, depending on what role the faculty sees itself in, to demonstrate extreme caution and desist from taking decisions for the student.
The faculty has to learn to stop talking and start listening and encouraging students to look for solutions to the problems they are facing. The faculty must ask them to come out with two or three solutions and then encourage them to choose one they think is the best option. The faculty should at best guide them and endorse their course of action or politely suggest looking for a better solution. I see so many trainers strut about pompously all over the place dispensing obsolete academic solutions and defeat the entire purpose of helping students to take initiative.
The worst thing about the faculty playing the oracle or letting unsuspecting students believe that they are the ‘be all and end all’ of all knowledge is not just that it kills initiative among students but that it puts a ceiling on their capacity to learn. It says to them, ‘thou shall go thus far and no further’. It limits them. It cuts off their wings before they have learnt to fly. The members of the faculty must consider themselves as just another resource like books and the Internet for the students to consult when they want to. The trouble the faculty can talk, and how. The faculty has to be trained to listen, listen, listen and listen and hold their horses (tongues). If they don’t do that they kill the initiative in the students. You kill the initiative you kill the manager.
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Company You Keep
A lot of things begin to fall in place once you decide to take control of your life. You become acutely aware of the fact that no one else but you will be responsible for where you will be five years from now. You begin to think about your future and begin to design it. You will realize that there will be two types of people you will come across in your life: one that will discourage you and tell you that nothing good can come out of your plans or your efforts and the others who will encourage you and say that nothing is impossible if you set your heart to it and are willing to pay the price. Which of the two categories of people would you like to spend your time with? Obviously, the latter.
It is important that you pick your friends carefully. Have you ever noticed that you tend to become like your friends? Their attitude, their mannerisms and behavior rubs on to you and slowly you loose your own unique personality and you become like the rest of them. Some old couples even begin to look alike. Not only do birds of a feather flock together birds that flock together slowly acquire the same feather. Like an eagle brought up in a chicken coop that never learns to soar high in the skies and acquires instead all the pedestrian traits of its co inhabitants; you will never live up to your potential if you do not surround yourself with people with positive attitude. You can’t choose your parents and you cannot do anything about the circumstances you were born into but you can certainly choose the friends you will spend time with and the kind of life you will lead.
If you will spend most of your time with people whose attitude sucks you will acquire the same attitude. A person with a negative attitude loses out many opportunities that will come his way because a negative person’s mind is closed to opportunities. A successful person is the one who got a chance and took it. It is up to you to decide which people will influence your thinking and then take positive steps to seek their company. After all where you will be after five or ten years depends on the books you read and the company you keep.
Whenever you embark upon a project or an adventure you want to be told you can do it. Such words of encouragement are vital and they will only come from people who have a ppositive attitude and are no threatened by your success. Such people will egg you on and on days,you are feeling low will listen to you and will inspire you with stories about other people who went through similar circumstances and finally succeeded because they never gave up. Negative people, on the other hand, will tell you how they themselves tried something similar and they failed and that you should give up as you don’t have any chances to succeed. Who would you rather listen to?
I am in no way advocating that you should not be realistic in analyzing your chances of success. You cannot be foolhardy and pursue an unrealistic goal. For example I will be absolutely foolish to set my self a goal of beating Usain Bolt or Asafa Powell in a hundred meter dash. So much for ‘whatever the human mind can conceive and believe it can accomplish’. One needs to be guided by the serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Yet your friends have a very powerful influence which at best of times the most independent amongst us cannot ignore. You need to be very careful about the friends you choose and the company you keep. Surround yourself with positive people; chances are you will always get positive results in whatever you do.
It is important that you pick your friends carefully. Have you ever noticed that you tend to become like your friends? Their attitude, their mannerisms and behavior rubs on to you and slowly you loose your own unique personality and you become like the rest of them. Some old couples even begin to look alike. Not only do birds of a feather flock together birds that flock together slowly acquire the same feather. Like an eagle brought up in a chicken coop that never learns to soar high in the skies and acquires instead all the pedestrian traits of its co inhabitants; you will never live up to your potential if you do not surround yourself with people with positive attitude. You can’t choose your parents and you cannot do anything about the circumstances you were born into but you can certainly choose the friends you will spend time with and the kind of life you will lead.
If you will spend most of your time with people whose attitude sucks you will acquire the same attitude. A person with a negative attitude loses out many opportunities that will come his way because a negative person’s mind is closed to opportunities. A successful person is the one who got a chance and took it. It is up to you to decide which people will influence your thinking and then take positive steps to seek their company. After all where you will be after five or ten years depends on the books you read and the company you keep.
Whenever you embark upon a project or an adventure you want to be told you can do it. Such words of encouragement are vital and they will only come from people who have a ppositive attitude and are no threatened by your success. Such people will egg you on and on days,you are feeling low will listen to you and will inspire you with stories about other people who went through similar circumstances and finally succeeded because they never gave up. Negative people, on the other hand, will tell you how they themselves tried something similar and they failed and that you should give up as you don’t have any chances to succeed. Who would you rather listen to?
I am in no way advocating that you should not be realistic in analyzing your chances of success. You cannot be foolhardy and pursue an unrealistic goal. For example I will be absolutely foolish to set my self a goal of beating Usain Bolt or Asafa Powell in a hundred meter dash. So much for ‘whatever the human mind can conceive and believe it can accomplish’. One needs to be guided by the serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Yet your friends have a very powerful influence which at best of times the most independent amongst us cannot ignore. You need to be very careful about the friends you choose and the company you keep. Surround yourself with positive people; chances are you will always get positive results in whatever you do.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Price of Success is Not Negotiable
No one ever found himself on top of the Mount Everest taking a morning walk. It requires a dream, a goal, a strategy, training, practice, determination, commitment and execution of the plan to reach the summit. All these things are equally important. You can’t leave out anything or ignore even one of these. The price of success is not negotiable. You can add a few more things like focus, teamwork and good communication and interpersonal skills to the list depending on what field you are working in. As the Olympian's motto goes 'No pain no gain.
It is easy to admire a Sachin Tendulkar bat like a champion because he makes it look so simple. But people who know Sachin will tell you how disciplined he is and how long he practices in the nets. I have seen Jeeve Milkha Singh practice at the Golf Course in Chandigarh for hours on end when he was a teenager. One look at him and you knew here is a champion in the making. Navjot Sidhu’s rise to stardom as one of India’s best opening batsmen along with Sunil Gavaskar was a through the same route called hard work. I watched him practice in the Gymkhana Club in Patiala and would be amazed by his commitment and focus. Abhinav Bindra’s single-minded pursuit of his goal should be an inspiration for everyone and encourage us to set big goals and reach them.
All these sportsmen know that spectacular success is always preceded by not so spectacular preparation. There are times along the way when you could feel lonely and disheartened. What keeps you going at such times is if you visualize yourself at the victory stand and everyone in the stadium applauding you. So it is important for you to visualize your self as a successful person even before you are successful. I remember when I had set myself a goal to lose twenty kilos of extra weight that I had put on I visualized myself as having Mohammad Ali’s body. I even pasted a picture with his body and my face in my dream book. It took me a year to lose the twenty kilos and though I did not acquire the same muscles as Mohammad Ali I have never looked fitter in my life. To be able to say that at 57 is some achievement. Every time I wanted to give up my workout I would look at my goal and the visual and would be encouraged to spend those minutes on the treadmill. Age is no barrier to achieve what you set out to achieve as long as the goal is reasonable. We will talk about reasonable goals another day.
It is easy to admire a Sachin Tendulkar bat like a champion because he makes it look so simple. But people who know Sachin will tell you how disciplined he is and how long he practices in the nets. I have seen Jeeve Milkha Singh practice at the Golf Course in Chandigarh for hours on end when he was a teenager. One look at him and you knew here is a champion in the making. Navjot Sidhu’s rise to stardom as one of India’s best opening batsmen along with Sunil Gavaskar was a through the same route called hard work. I watched him practice in the Gymkhana Club in Patiala and would be amazed by his commitment and focus. Abhinav Bindra’s single-minded pursuit of his goal should be an inspiration for everyone and encourage us to set big goals and reach them.
All these sportsmen know that spectacular success is always preceded by not so spectacular preparation. There are times along the way when you could feel lonely and disheartened. What keeps you going at such times is if you visualize yourself at the victory stand and everyone in the stadium applauding you. So it is important for you to visualize your self as a successful person even before you are successful. I remember when I had set myself a goal to lose twenty kilos of extra weight that I had put on I visualized myself as having Mohammad Ali’s body. I even pasted a picture with his body and my face in my dream book. It took me a year to lose the twenty kilos and though I did not acquire the same muscles as Mohammad Ali I have never looked fitter in my life. To be able to say that at 57 is some achievement. Every time I wanted to give up my workout I would look at my goal and the visual and would be encouraged to spend those minutes on the treadmill. Age is no barrier to achieve what you set out to achieve as long as the goal is reasonable. We will talk about reasonable goals another day.
Focus on Stimulating Supply not Demand
The problem is not that so many economists have gone berserk, the problem is that the y are still at the helm of affairs trying to get the world out of a massive financial crisis which would not have occurred if they were not running the economy in the first place. One definition of madness is that you continue to do the same things and expect different results. Policy makers, in their effort to pull the world out of the global economic crisis continue to pursue the same policies which they pursued to bring it to a brink. Economies the world over have gone into tail spin and millions have lost their jobs because of the policies put in place by these worthies and they still continue to pursue the same policies and expect us to believe that the results this time around will be different. At best of times economists are known to be experts who will know tomorrow why the things they predicted yesterday didn’t happen today. Politicians all over the world have done precious little to boot them out and bring in people who are in touch with reality and the markets and are capable of keeping things simple.
One of the simplest lessons one learns when one begins to study economics or sociology or even psychology is that human beings have unlimited needs, wants and desires. I think that translates to mean that there is unlimited demand and that it does not need to be stimulated. But the ivory tower economists whether they are in China, USA, Europe or India, are busy advising their political masters to throw money out of the window by way of stimulus packages to boost demand. One of the easiest things to do is to spend money when you have it. USA perhaps has the money because all they have to do is get the printing presses to work overtime and as long as the world trades in dollars they have no problem in announcing one stimulus package after another. But it is not the same with countries like India. We do not have that luxury. We should be very wary of following the US lead and implement stimulus packages. We just need to go back to basics and remember demand needs no boosting. The solution for India and even the USA lies in focusing on boosting supply not demand.
Let us look at a few examples. Starting with basic needs for survival is there any way there will not be enough demand for food, fuel and gas. These things are mandatory and we have to buy them whatever the price. For other things which we call discretionary ‘wants’ and on which the health of an economy really depends; we will buy them when the price is right. Who wouldn’t buy all those items like an iphone, another car, a plasma TV, a handyman, if they were available at a price which is affordable for the consumer and profitable for the manufacturer. Demand will surface the moment the price dips to the right level. The problem is that manufacturers are unable to supply products at a price at which people are willing to buy. If the government was to focus on the supply side of the equation and help manufacturers improve their manufacturing facilities by giving them monetary incentives to implement technological improvements to boost supply at affordable price we will see the light at the end of the tunnel. The government could cut excise duties and other taxes. That will at least keep the factories running and keep people in jobs. By focusing on boosting demand by pouring money into the market the economists and the politicians, who are unfortunately in charge at the moment are, as a wit put it, hell bent on switching off the light at the end of the tunnel.
One of the reasons why products are not available at affordable prices is because a lot of capacities were built at a time when prices of everything were bloated because of the policies of the economists focused on boosting demand. Subprime crisis is a result of the effort to boost demand by putting money in the hands of people to buy houses who could not afford them. They obviously bought ‘assets’ at uneconomical prices meaning they overpaid. Similarly industrial capacities were built by unsuspecting entrepreneurs and are now realizing they spent too much creating them. The policy makers should focus on helping these owners who will obviously be capital constrained, to cut their losses and sell their assets to people who can make them viable at a price they are viable. The more they delay this worse will the situation become. The government should play an active role in identifying these assets and insure they do not sit idle or run unprofitably. Every asset is profitable at some price. The government should go all out to insure the transfer of assets which have become economically unviable because of the high price of acquisition of the current owners to new owners at lower economically viable price. This is where the government should be spending its money and not waste it in trying to artificially boost demand. The government has to help the market find its own level of efficiency and not try to impose its decision on it. No government can ever dictate the market. The best it can do is identifying the trend correctly and help it along and not go against the trend. There is no other reason to explain the failure of the massive infusions that the governments have made without making the slightest dent in reversing the tide of the current crisis. Let us face it the current owners who acquired their assets at a high price during an era of easy credit are now feeling the pinch and would want to get out and minimize losses. This will help create supply at lower prices and thus stimulate demand.
The current policies the governments are pursuing are the same as the ones they followed to bring on the financial Tsunami. By flooding the economies with massive amount of money in an effort to stimulate demand they are sowing the seeds of an even bigger disaster. Ten years from now they will be trying to stop an avalanche of inflation that infusion of money today will definitely trigger. The world economy will not emerge from the recession unless the price of goods and services falls to prices at which demand emerges. When you put unearned money in the hands of people the prices will go up, not down. Till the production houses start churning out products at reasonable prices the demand will not return. Focus on supply the demand will take care of itself.
One of the simplest lessons one learns when one begins to study economics or sociology or even psychology is that human beings have unlimited needs, wants and desires. I think that translates to mean that there is unlimited demand and that it does not need to be stimulated. But the ivory tower economists whether they are in China, USA, Europe or India, are busy advising their political masters to throw money out of the window by way of stimulus packages to boost demand. One of the easiest things to do is to spend money when you have it. USA perhaps has the money because all they have to do is get the printing presses to work overtime and as long as the world trades in dollars they have no problem in announcing one stimulus package after another. But it is not the same with countries like India. We do not have that luxury. We should be very wary of following the US lead and implement stimulus packages. We just need to go back to basics and remember demand needs no boosting. The solution for India and even the USA lies in focusing on boosting supply not demand.
Let us look at a few examples. Starting with basic needs for survival is there any way there will not be enough demand for food, fuel and gas. These things are mandatory and we have to buy them whatever the price. For other things which we call discretionary ‘wants’ and on which the health of an economy really depends; we will buy them when the price is right. Who wouldn’t buy all those items like an iphone, another car, a plasma TV, a handyman, if they were available at a price which is affordable for the consumer and profitable for the manufacturer. Demand will surface the moment the price dips to the right level. The problem is that manufacturers are unable to supply products at a price at which people are willing to buy. If the government was to focus on the supply side of the equation and help manufacturers improve their manufacturing facilities by giving them monetary incentives to implement technological improvements to boost supply at affordable price we will see the light at the end of the tunnel. The government could cut excise duties and other taxes. That will at least keep the factories running and keep people in jobs. By focusing on boosting demand by pouring money into the market the economists and the politicians, who are unfortunately in charge at the moment are, as a wit put it, hell bent on switching off the light at the end of the tunnel.
One of the reasons why products are not available at affordable prices is because a lot of capacities were built at a time when prices of everything were bloated because of the policies of the economists focused on boosting demand. Subprime crisis is a result of the effort to boost demand by putting money in the hands of people to buy houses who could not afford them. They obviously bought ‘assets’ at uneconomical prices meaning they overpaid. Similarly industrial capacities were built by unsuspecting entrepreneurs and are now realizing they spent too much creating them. The policy makers should focus on helping these owners who will obviously be capital constrained, to cut their losses and sell their assets to people who can make them viable at a price they are viable. The more they delay this worse will the situation become. The government should play an active role in identifying these assets and insure they do not sit idle or run unprofitably. Every asset is profitable at some price. The government should go all out to insure the transfer of assets which have become economically unviable because of the high price of acquisition of the current owners to new owners at lower economically viable price. This is where the government should be spending its money and not waste it in trying to artificially boost demand. The government has to help the market find its own level of efficiency and not try to impose its decision on it. No government can ever dictate the market. The best it can do is identifying the trend correctly and help it along and not go against the trend. There is no other reason to explain the failure of the massive infusions that the governments have made without making the slightest dent in reversing the tide of the current crisis. Let us face it the current owners who acquired their assets at a high price during an era of easy credit are now feeling the pinch and would want to get out and minimize losses. This will help create supply at lower prices and thus stimulate demand.
The current policies the governments are pursuing are the same as the ones they followed to bring on the financial Tsunami. By flooding the economies with massive amount of money in an effort to stimulate demand they are sowing the seeds of an even bigger disaster. Ten years from now they will be trying to stop an avalanche of inflation that infusion of money today will definitely trigger. The world economy will not emerge from the recession unless the price of goods and services falls to prices at which demand emerges. When you put unearned money in the hands of people the prices will go up, not down. Till the production houses start churning out products at reasonable prices the demand will not return. Focus on supply the demand will take care of itself.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
An Idea is Worth a Million
A picture is worth a thousand words and an idea worth a million bucks. We will talk about a picture another day and focus on ideas today. A story is told by Harold Ross, editor of New Yorker Magazine, in 1935 of a man who went into Coca cola offices in 1896 and said he had an idea which could help them make millions and millions of dollars and will reveal it to them on payment of $50000. The executive at Coca Cola was very amused and shooed him off thinking the man was crazy. Remember in 1896 the entire cash available at Coca Cola was just about 50000 dollars. It is still a very large amount today but It was huge then. The visitor persisted for many weeks before he was allowed to meet the founder and president of Coca Cola Company, Asa Griggs Candler. Back then aerated drinks were not sold in bottles. They were sold at soda fountains and one had to go to the retailer, usually a drug store, to drink the refreshing cola. After a solemn agreement had been drawn up the stranger forwarded a neatly folded piece of paper on which was the million dollar two-word advice.
“Bottle it.” It said.
The rest, as they say, is history..
The story may not be factually true. Even Harold Ross (A High school drop-out by the way) the founder of The New Yorker magazine in his note calls it a legend. A biographer of Candler tells us that he got the idea not for $ 50000 from a strange but free from his wayward nephew. Candler did not implement it for many years which might have helped the legendary “bottle it” story to spread and be accepted as one of those simple ideas that changed the course of an iconic company. Whether the story is factually true or not is not important here what is important is an idea can change your or a company’s life and implementing an idea and making it a commercial success can change the course of a company and make history.
An idea is at the root of a business plan. If you have an idea which you feel will help fulfill a need of a large number of people and you are passionate about it you will have a big business. So it is important to keep the ideas flowing. There are some naturally talented people who can, by simply looking at things or processes, see that they can and should be different or done differently. It is possible for mere mortals like us to too train ourselves to generate ideas. The first step to generate new ideas is to question the old way of doing whatever it is that you are doing especially if you expect different results.
“Bottle it.” It said.
The rest, as they say, is history..
The story may not be factually true. Even Harold Ross (A High school drop-out by the way) the founder of The New Yorker magazine in his note calls it a legend. A biographer of Candler tells us that he got the idea not for $ 50000 from a strange but free from his wayward nephew. Candler did not implement it for many years which might have helped the legendary “bottle it” story to spread and be accepted as one of those simple ideas that changed the course of an iconic company. Whether the story is factually true or not is not important here what is important is an idea can change your or a company’s life and implementing an idea and making it a commercial success can change the course of a company and make history.
An idea is at the root of a business plan. If you have an idea which you feel will help fulfill a need of a large number of people and you are passionate about it you will have a big business. So it is important to keep the ideas flowing. There are some naturally talented people who can, by simply looking at things or processes, see that they can and should be different or done differently. It is possible for mere mortals like us to too train ourselves to generate ideas. The first step to generate new ideas is to question the old way of doing whatever it is that you are doing especially if you expect different results.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Pessimists and Optimists
Interesting place to start introspecting. This post was not actually intended to be here. I wrote it as response to Ashish's post. I was too lazy to write another so here it is again. Ashish says he has been called a 'cynic' and a 'pessimist' by the two people who know him best. I have been at the other end of the spectrum most of my life. I do not remember ranting or ever play the blame game seriously as far back as I can remember.I might blame someone momentary but I think God built in me an automatic system to banish the blame almost immediately. Somewhere, I guess, I feel it is a sin. In fact I kinda use to loose my temper when someone around me would turn to whining and blaming.
I am a much more tolerant now to the pessimists, cynics and even the whiners of the world. I realise we need them all. They are the ones who look into the minutest details of everything important. They are the ones who organise major tournaments and events in the world.They insure governments function smoothly and trains run on schedule. In fact they are the ones who make those precise schedules in the first. They help make our dining experience a prized memory. Leave it to a reckless optimist and you are sure to have a nightmare to haunt you for the rest of your life. I wouldn't want a fiery flamboyant female to be my surgeon if I ever find myself on an operation table. I would actually run out of a plane if I learnt it was being piloted by an irrational optimistic bloke like me. We definitely need our cynics and pessimists to run the world. Of course they sometimes run it aground like they have done with meticulous precision with the beautifully planned sub prime lending. That of course, is another story.
But we also need the eternal optimists to make the world a beautiful, buoyant, wonderful rollercoaster experience we would like to talk about sipping tea on a wintry night in a camp in the hills into the wee hours of the night when we are old. We need our interesting storytellers and courageous adventurers who realise the dangers of their venture only after they have already jumped, head first, right into the middle of it. Otherwise who would write 'Old Man and the Sea' and who would have discovered America or India... and who would discover a new planet inhabited by people more intelligent and more advanced and more cultured than the earthlings. Without both optimists and the pessimists we would not have the bulls and the bears.
Yes I am a lot more accepting of the cynics and the pessimists of the world today than I was a couple of decades ago. As to being able to say 'no' I absolutely find it impossible to say so. Harpreet my wife, God bless her soul, used to say thank God you are not a woman or you'll always be pregnant.
I am a much more tolerant now to the pessimists, cynics and even the whiners of the world. I realise we need them all. They are the ones who look into the minutest details of everything important. They are the ones who organise major tournaments and events in the world.They insure governments function smoothly and trains run on schedule. In fact they are the ones who make those precise schedules in the first. They help make our dining experience a prized memory. Leave it to a reckless optimist and you are sure to have a nightmare to haunt you for the rest of your life. I wouldn't want a fiery flamboyant female to be my surgeon if I ever find myself on an operation table. I would actually run out of a plane if I learnt it was being piloted by an irrational optimistic bloke like me. We definitely need our cynics and pessimists to run the world. Of course they sometimes run it aground like they have done with meticulous precision with the beautifully planned sub prime lending. That of course, is another story.
But we also need the eternal optimists to make the world a beautiful, buoyant, wonderful rollercoaster experience we would like to talk about sipping tea on a wintry night in a camp in the hills into the wee hours of the night when we are old. We need our interesting storytellers and courageous adventurers who realise the dangers of their venture only after they have already jumped, head first, right into the middle of it. Otherwise who would write 'Old Man and the Sea' and who would have discovered America or India... and who would discover a new planet inhabited by people more intelligent and more advanced and more cultured than the earthlings. Without both optimists and the pessimists we would not have the bulls and the bears.
Yes I am a lot more accepting of the cynics and the pessimists of the world today than I was a couple of decades ago. As to being able to say 'no' I absolutely find it impossible to say so. Harpreet my wife, God bless her soul, used to say thank God you are not a woman or you'll always be pregnant.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Will you be part of the India growth story?
The bad news is that the world is going through the worst financial crisis ever.
The good news is it is not going to last for ever. The bad news is India is also affected the good news is it is not as badly affected as the USA, Europe or China.
If you will just visualize a little beyond the financial turmoil the real economy reveals itself as more robust than what the gloom and doom theorists will have us believe. Going by the long term trends and the way Indian economy is shaping up, India is all set to become the engine of the global economy especially now when the USA will be more than willing to share the burden of growth and development with other countries. India’s per capita income is expected to quadruple by 2020 despite the current lull. Now that is a good news. As India and China move to the center stage of world economy along with Brazil and Russia, it is time for all of us to look at our selves and think at the micro level. It is time to look at some hard facts, and answer some hard questions like...
What will my income be in 2020?
Will my income be four times what it is today and will it be enough to maintain my current standard of living assuming I am happy with the way I live today?
If not what will be my strategy to quadruple my income?
Even if my income quadruples in the next decade or so, will my family be able to live comfortably on that income or do I need to do better than quadrupling my income?
Do I have a strategy a better strategy than, ‘hope and pray’ in place to enhance my income?
Will I have a better lifestyle or will the high rate of inflation insure that my standard of living deteriorates?
As the India growth story unveils itself what will be my role in it? Will I just eke out a living or will I make a life?
Will i have a good life or will I have a great life Do I even know the difference?
According to very conservative projections there will be more than 100 million people with an annual income of over Rs.630,000 or $15,000. On a more micro and personal level two questions come to mind.
First of all, will you be one of them?
And second of all, will a mere Rs.50,000 ($1250) a month be enough to live comfortably in 2020?
The first question is easy to answer, you probably will be making that much or maybe even double that ... The second is a bit tough and sends a shiver down the spine. What kind of life will you have earning just Rs.50,000 in 2020, when that is the kind of money you need today to live just about comfortably. The words that come to my mind are miserable, sad, tough, dreary, and forlorn...Let’s not even go down that road
So, our aim should be earning at least $30,000 i.e. Rs.126,00,00 or at least
Rs.100,000 per month and not just Rs.50,000 per month. As the great Indian juggernaut economy shifts into the next gear, lot of people will be caught napping and be marginalized. That is the bad news.
The good news is, you could wake up to your financial needs and reality, and take effective steps to not only survive but thrive in the next decade.
So what can we do?
The number one thing to do is take stock of where you are today and then decide where you want to be in the next five years. Assuming, you are unemployed and earn nothing, or even if you are earning Rs.15,000 a month today, what are your chances of making Rs.100,000 doing what you are doing in the next five years. If you are 100% sure - and you need to be 100% sure or risk being marginalized - you could continue doing what you are doing. If you are not sure or you have doubts, you need to change direction because only by changing direction can you change you destination and your destiny.
If there is a gap between where you are and where you want to be, you need to set a goal, make a plan and take effective steps to bridge the gap.
You need to select the right vehicle to achieve your goal.
You need to choose the right people to associate with and form a winning team.
You might have to learn new skills to cope up with the changing environment.
You will need to work smart.
To conclude, the growing Indian economy will create opportunities for people who keep themselves abreast with the changing scenario but will marginalize many talented people if they do not change with the times. You need to be aware and benefit from the India growth story.
The good news is it is not going to last for ever. The bad news is India is also affected the good news is it is not as badly affected as the USA, Europe or China.
If you will just visualize a little beyond the financial turmoil the real economy reveals itself as more robust than what the gloom and doom theorists will have us believe. Going by the long term trends and the way Indian economy is shaping up, India is all set to become the engine of the global economy especially now when the USA will be more than willing to share the burden of growth and development with other countries. India’s per capita income is expected to quadruple by 2020 despite the current lull. Now that is a good news. As India and China move to the center stage of world economy along with Brazil and Russia, it is time for all of us to look at our selves and think at the micro level. It is time to look at some hard facts, and answer some hard questions like...
What will my income be in 2020?
Will my income be four times what it is today and will it be enough to maintain my current standard of living assuming I am happy with the way I live today?
If not what will be my strategy to quadruple my income?
Even if my income quadruples in the next decade or so, will my family be able to live comfortably on that income or do I need to do better than quadrupling my income?
Do I have a strategy a better strategy than, ‘hope and pray’ in place to enhance my income?
Will I have a better lifestyle or will the high rate of inflation insure that my standard of living deteriorates?
As the India growth story unveils itself what will be my role in it? Will I just eke out a living or will I make a life?
Will i have a good life or will I have a great life Do I even know the difference?
According to very conservative projections there will be more than 100 million people with an annual income of over Rs.630,000 or $15,000. On a more micro and personal level two questions come to mind.
First of all, will you be one of them?
And second of all, will a mere Rs.50,000 ($1250) a month be enough to live comfortably in 2020?
The first question is easy to answer, you probably will be making that much or maybe even double that ... The second is a bit tough and sends a shiver down the spine. What kind of life will you have earning just Rs.50,000 in 2020, when that is the kind of money you need today to live just about comfortably. The words that come to my mind are miserable, sad, tough, dreary, and forlorn...Let’s not even go down that road
So, our aim should be earning at least $30,000 i.e. Rs.126,00,00 or at least
Rs.100,000 per month and not just Rs.50,000 per month. As the great Indian juggernaut economy shifts into the next gear, lot of people will be caught napping and be marginalized. That is the bad news.
The good news is, you could wake up to your financial needs and reality, and take effective steps to not only survive but thrive in the next decade.
So what can we do?
The number one thing to do is take stock of where you are today and then decide where you want to be in the next five years. Assuming, you are unemployed and earn nothing, or even if you are earning Rs.15,000 a month today, what are your chances of making Rs.100,000 doing what you are doing in the next five years. If you are 100% sure - and you need to be 100% sure or risk being marginalized - you could continue doing what you are doing. If you are not sure or you have doubts, you need to change direction because only by changing direction can you change you destination and your destiny.
If there is a gap between where you are and where you want to be, you need to set a goal, make a plan and take effective steps to bridge the gap.
You need to select the right vehicle to achieve your goal.
You need to choose the right people to associate with and form a winning team.
You might have to learn new skills to cope up with the changing environment.
You will need to work smart.
To conclude, the growing Indian economy will create opportunities for people who keep themselves abreast with the changing scenario but will marginalize many talented people if they do not change with the times. You need to be aware and benefit from the India growth story.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Its not the smile stupid...
The main thing is to maintain the main thing as the main thing. The main thing is not personality. The main thing is character. When we look around and see rabid mushrooming of personality development schools who profess to teach you how to dress up well, smile and shake hands to make you super successful in life we know that there is something wrong with the picture. Personality development though important is useless unless we focus on character. Shakespeare’s quotation from Hamlet, “ One may smile and smile and be a villain,” some how seems relevant. It is not what you do on the surface but what you are deep inside, that matters. What are your values and your principles will determine whether you will be a good person or a villain. Only a good person will make a good manager. Not only that, a good person will make a good spouse, a good parent, a good friend and a good son or daughter.
So your endeavour has to be to improve yourself on a daily basis. You can live by Emile Coue’s affirmation, “every day in every way I am trying to become better and better." Becoming better is an inside job. It is not the smile as much as it is the soul. You are not just working on the effect of power dressing on the interviewer you are working on the impact your character will have on the organisation and anyone who comes in contact with you. No body cares whether you know the capital cities of all the countries or their currencies and can even rattle off the exchange-rates if you are dishonest and lack integrity. That doesn't mean you don’t work on your general knowledge. What good is it if you have a very firm handshake and fantastic communication skills but you don’t think twice about cheating and are a habitual liar. Employers won’t touch such a person with a barge pole. Businessmen know you can’t do a good deal with a bad person.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is to focus on your character. The main thing is to follow the golden rule. The golden rule implies that people will treat you the way you treat them. You treat people well they will treat you well. You respect them they will respect you. You give them love they return the compliment. You care for them they will care for you. People do not care how much you know till they know how much you care. Companies are no different.
So your endeavour has to be to improve yourself on a daily basis. You can live by Emile Coue’s affirmation, “every day in every way I am trying to become better and better." Becoming better is an inside job. It is not the smile as much as it is the soul. You are not just working on the effect of power dressing on the interviewer you are working on the impact your character will have on the organisation and anyone who comes in contact with you. No body cares whether you know the capital cities of all the countries or their currencies and can even rattle off the exchange-rates if you are dishonest and lack integrity. That doesn't mean you don’t work on your general knowledge. What good is it if you have a very firm handshake and fantastic communication skills but you don’t think twice about cheating and are a habitual liar. Employers won’t touch such a person with a barge pole. Businessmen know you can’t do a good deal with a bad person.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is to focus on your character. The main thing is to follow the golden rule. The golden rule implies that people will treat you the way you treat them. You treat people well they will treat you well. You respect them they will respect you. You give them love they return the compliment. You care for them they will care for you. People do not care how much you know till they know how much you care. Companies are no different.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Positive Thinking
One of the most involving discussions we had in our ‘Saturday Special’ was on attitude and positive thinking. It was sparked off by my rather casual introductory comment that the finest outcome of having a positive attitude is that you begin to think positive. The discussion went a bit overboard as a raging debate ensued whether positive thinking was an outcome of positive attitude or is it the other way round? Is it possible to have negative thinking and a positive attitude? Is it possible to train oneself to think positive or learn to have a positive attitude? We had to wait till the next session for everyone to calm down and have a meaningful discussion. We decided that for our purpose it does not make a difference as long as we ensure that we have a positive frame of mind because negative attitude and negative thinking can be major hurdles in the way of happiness and success.
Remember, successful people take their sunshine along wherever they go. As Robert Hastings said, “Places and circumstances never guarantee happiness. You must decide within yourself whether you want to be happy. And once you have decided, happiness comes much easier.” It boils down to ownership again. You decide. You fashion your own environment with your thoughts, your beliefs, your philosophy, your attitude and above all by your actions.
People who will be successful do not wait to feel positive before they act. They act and feel good about having acted. You can see people’s attitude only through their actions. In that sense attitude follows action. Once you get into the action mode you will begin to have positive thoughts. People who start of with negative thoughts for whatever reason are crippled by fear. The only remedy for fear is action. Action cures fear. Action leads to positive thoughts. Positive thoughts lead to positive attitude. You see it comes full circle. So we need not worry whether positive attitude comes first or positive thinking. For people who want to be successful action comes first and everything else follows and everything falls in place. Your action will start a chain reaction and slowly you will exude confidence, energy and positive attitude making you very attractive.
Remember, successful people take their sunshine along wherever they go. As Robert Hastings said, “Places and circumstances never guarantee happiness. You must decide within yourself whether you want to be happy. And once you have decided, happiness comes much easier.” It boils down to ownership again. You decide. You fashion your own environment with your thoughts, your beliefs, your philosophy, your attitude and above all by your actions.
People who will be successful do not wait to feel positive before they act. They act and feel good about having acted. You can see people’s attitude only through their actions. In that sense attitude follows action. Once you get into the action mode you will begin to have positive thoughts. People who start of with negative thoughts for whatever reason are crippled by fear. The only remedy for fear is action. Action cures fear. Action leads to positive thoughts. Positive thoughts lead to positive attitude. You see it comes full circle. So we need not worry whether positive attitude comes first or positive thinking. For people who want to be successful action comes first and everything else follows and everything falls in place. Your action will start a chain reaction and slowly you will exude confidence, energy and positive attitude making you very attractive.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Attitude
The first impact of owning your life and taking responsibility for all your actions that you will notice will be on your attitude. You can’t complain you can’t blame. If you are late for the class or a meeting you cannot blame it on a flat tyre or bad traffic. You cannot postpone the date of submitting your assignment because you fell ill. You cannot even blame a bad teacher for the low grades you get. In school you perhaps could have because the teacher was responsible for making you learn. Not at this level. Now you are responsible. So you figure out how are you are going to learn. One of the first things I tell my class right at the beginning of the new session is that I am a bad teacher and that they better pull all their resources to get good results. It scares those who have not yet taken ownership of their lives. Others know better.
You cannot complain that you were born poor or that you did not get to go to a renowned school or that you were a sickly child and that your friends bullied you. That time has passed. That time is over. You cannot weep, wale or whine. Today is the first day of the rest of your life and you can take the first step towards achieving whatever you set out to achieve. That is the attitude you have to have because you are only an attitude away from success. You cannot go through life thinking about your past failure. You have to count your blessings and make the best of the hand you have been dealt.
I am sure none of us have been dealt a hand as bad as Victor Frankl. Victor E. Frankl was a Jew born in
Frankl got married in 1942 and nine months later, he was arrested for being a Jew along with his parents and wife. They were deported to a concentration camp near
One day, naked and alone in a small prison cell, he realized that the Germans can torture him and take away every one of his material possessions but one thing they cannot take away is his freedom - freedom to respond to what they did to him. He determined that he and he alone, not his captors, will decide how his circumstances will affect him. He decided that he will choose the response to whatever is done to him. “The last of human freedoms,” he said, “is to choose one’s attitude in any set of circumstances.” Even in extreme cases while he was being tortured by the Nazis he would retreat into his mind and picture himself as lecturing to his students or examining a patient. He grew so much in stature because of his confidence in himself and his thinking that his captors just could not conquer his mind. He not only survived the Holocaust but went on to lead a very successful life, influencing millions of people not only by his example but also as a mentor and motivator.
People who will be successful do not wait for the weather to be good before they go out they take their sunshine along wherever they go. They do not wait to feel good before they act; they act and feel good that they took action. They do not whine that they have been given a raw deal. If they get lemons they make lemonade. What kind of an attitude are you going to have now that you know that you are just an attitude away from success.
Monday, February 9, 2009
OWNERSHIP
You are responsible for being where you are in your life today. Congratulations if you are successful and living your dream life; you get the credit for creating your dream life. But if you are living a mediocre life and consider yourself to be a failure or are anything less than successful, you and only you have to be blamed for it; no one else shares the blame with you. Maybe you are too young and have just joined a professional course and are pretty happy with what you have achieved in life up to now but are not very sure how life will pan out and are perhaps a bit apprehensive about it too. Let me tell you that the most important thing for you is to brace up to reality and take ownership of your life and take responsibility for the consequences of all your actions. You have to tell yourself that if you are successful in life you will create that success and if you end up on the monumental pile of mediocrity no one else is to be blamed except you.
So first thing you got to do is to take ownership of your life. You will, from now onwards design the life you want to live and not just drift with the wind. Where you will be in life five or ten years from now will depend on the decisions you take, the company you keep and the books you read. But most important of them is being capable of taking decisions for your self. You cannot begin to take decisions for yourself till you own your life and say to yourself that I am responsible for my actions, my success and my failure. You will have to grow up and it takes a decision, a conscious decision, to grow up. Maybe you can take that decision right away. Maybe this is your first independent decision and you want to mull over it. But do not read further till you take this decision. I don’t care if you are fifteen years of age or fifty ; till you take this decision you are still a little boy or a girl. I am writing this for men and women; for ladies and gentlemen; not boys and girls.
Congratulations if you are still reading because it means you have taken the all important decision and crossed the first hurdle to success. Taking ownership of your life is both scary and liberating. Scary because now you know you are on your own and responsible for whatever you do in life. It is very liberating because you have now empowered yourself to achieve whatever you set out to achieve. There is a very illustrative saying: “ To the person you give responsibility, you give power.” Now you are in a position to script your success. Nothing can hold you back. Neither your negative friends or relatives nor any adverse circumstances can stop you from achieving every goal you set yourself because you know you cannot blame them. You have to find a way in spite of them. You cannot make excuses, you cannot blame, you cannot complain. Your attitude will change because you took ownership of your life. You still will not be able to control what happens to you but you will certainly be able to respond the way you want to, to what happens to you. You will become more proactive because you have your own agenda and goal in life. You will create your own circumstances rather than be a product of the circumstances. You will consciously and deliberately inculcate success habits. You will pay attention to details. You will get the results because you own your life. You have now starting to live out your story and it is your responsibility to insure that, at the end of it, you have a great story to tell
So first thing you got to do is to take ownership of your life. You will, from now onwards design the life you want to live and not just drift with the wind. Where you will be in life five or ten years from now will depend on the decisions you take, the company you keep and the books you read. But most important of them is being capable of taking decisions for your self. You cannot begin to take decisions for yourself till you own your life and say to yourself that I am responsible for my actions, my success and my failure. You will have to grow up and it takes a decision, a conscious decision, to grow up. Maybe you can take that decision right away. Maybe this is your first independent decision and you want to mull over it. But do not read further till you take this decision. I don’t care if you are fifteen years of age or fifty ; till you take this decision you are still a little boy or a girl. I am writing this for men and women; for ladies and gentlemen; not boys and girls.
Congratulations if you are still reading because it means you have taken the all important decision and crossed the first hurdle to success. Taking ownership of your life is both scary and liberating. Scary because now you know you are on your own and responsible for whatever you do in life. It is very liberating because you have now empowered yourself to achieve whatever you set out to achieve. There is a very illustrative saying: “ To the person you give responsibility, you give power.” Now you are in a position to script your success. Nothing can hold you back. Neither your negative friends or relatives nor any adverse circumstances can stop you from achieving every goal you set yourself because you know you cannot blame them. You have to find a way in spite of them. You cannot make excuses, you cannot blame, you cannot complain. Your attitude will change because you took ownership of your life. You still will not be able to control what happens to you but you will certainly be able to respond the way you want to, to what happens to you. You will become more proactive because you have your own agenda and goal in life. You will create your own circumstances rather than be a product of the circumstances. You will consciously and deliberately inculcate success habits. You will pay attention to details. You will get the results because you own your life. You have now starting to live out your story and it is your responsibility to insure that, at the end of it, you have a great story to tell
Saturday Special
It started as a bit of a banter with a small bunch of students who surprisingly showed up in the last period of the week on a hot sultry Saturday afternoon in August.
"What are you doing here?" I asked the stunned scholars who were as stupefied by the question as I was stumped by their presence. They were perhaps expecting to hear a word of praise. After all they had proved to be the disciplined ones who opted to attend the class at that stifling hour when everyone else had either gone home or decided to start their weekend early and had either hit the bar or gone for movies. My query was only half in jest; I was pretty serious.
Most students have the same perception about 'Soft Skills' classes in a Business School as the domain faculty - an unnecessary appendage. Soft skills faculty does precious little to allay the impression. Who wants to sit through another lecture on, ' how to make an effective presentation' or on, 'how to write a cover letter for your resume' anyway; that to at the fag end of a tiring six day week? My sympathies are actually with the students in this regard. I don't blame them too much if they want to travel to their home town to meet their parents or watch a good movie or even an ordinary one. 'Soft Skills' they reason is not even a credit course.
Not wanting to do anything from the syllabus in the absence of majority of the students, we decided that we will have a freewheeling discussion on whatever topic came up randomly. We actually had a very lively and enjoyable session. Surprisingly we had a bigger number of students who stayed back for the class the next week. Slowly our Saturday sessions became more and more rewarding and the class began to fill up till we had more students on Saturdays than on week days. We continued with discussing topics picked up randomly by students rather than anything from the syllabus. Everyone participated in the discussions and we had a lot of fun. I knew we had a good thing going when one day a student came to my cabin and said,
" Sir, I have to go home because it is my younger sister's birthday but I do not want to miss the Saturday Special."
The series of articles I am writing are a result of the wonderful time we had on these special Saturdays.
"What are you doing here?" I asked the stunned scholars who were as stupefied by the question as I was stumped by their presence. They were perhaps expecting to hear a word of praise. After all they had proved to be the disciplined ones who opted to attend the class at that stifling hour when everyone else had either gone home or decided to start their weekend early and had either hit the bar or gone for movies. My query was only half in jest; I was pretty serious.
Most students have the same perception about 'Soft Skills' classes in a Business School as the domain faculty - an unnecessary appendage. Soft skills faculty does precious little to allay the impression. Who wants to sit through another lecture on, ' how to make an effective presentation' or on, 'how to write a cover letter for your resume' anyway; that to at the fag end of a tiring six day week? My sympathies are actually with the students in this regard. I don't blame them too much if they want to travel to their home town to meet their parents or watch a good movie or even an ordinary one. 'Soft Skills' they reason is not even a credit course.
Not wanting to do anything from the syllabus in the absence of majority of the students, we decided that we will have a freewheeling discussion on whatever topic came up randomly. We actually had a very lively and enjoyable session. Surprisingly we had a bigger number of students who stayed back for the class the next week. Slowly our Saturday sessions became more and more rewarding and the class began to fill up till we had more students on Saturdays than on week days. We continued with discussing topics picked up randomly by students rather than anything from the syllabus. Everyone participated in the discussions and we had a lot of fun. I knew we had a good thing going when one day a student came to my cabin and said,
" Sir, I have to go home because it is my younger sister's birthday but I do not want to miss the Saturday Special."
The series of articles I am writing are a result of the wonderful time we had on these special Saturdays.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
IPL - The Business of Cricket
IPL - The Business of Cricket
Whether the game of cricket came out winner or not at the end of the first season of Indian Premier League will depend on a person’s perspective and on the definition of success but it has to be accepted that the event succeeded in converting cricket into a big business opportunity. You can praise IPL or you can criticize it but if you live in a cricket playing nation you cannot ignore it. Players from all major and new cricket playing countries want to play in IPL and the media companies are vying to get a piece of the pie. The spectators can’t seem to get enough of the action. IPL has truly touched a chord in the hearts of not only the younger generation that want rapid fire action on the field but also the older people who felt five days was too long a period to wait to get a result. The purists who felt the game has been eroded of its basic nature are beginning to realize that it is still cricket and not very different from the real thing except that it is faster paced. They are slowly converting to the new religion and have started nodding in approval though they are still a bit nostalgic and a little overwhelmed.
Indian Premier League (IPL) in its first avatar had everything it promised: exciting Twenty20 games full of 6s and 4s, glamour in the form of various business tycoons and Bollywood biggies endorsing most of the teams, big crowds and who can forget the red skin cheerleaders trying to excite an already ecstatic crowd. Though they put on an impressive show but had it not been for the TV cameramen, who kept focusing on their calisthenics every time a boundary was hit or a wicket fell, they would have perhaps not even be noticed after the initial curiosity had worn off. Then there were the inevitable blame games and the media hype associated with it. All these together with the millions of dollars finding their way to the coffers of the Board of Control of Cricket of India (BCCI) truly made the tournament the biggest cricketing event in the history of cricket. IPL certainly took its time settling down and in due course various lessons would have been learnt by everyone connected with the game and the business of cricket. The organizers, players, captains and even the viewers can all contribute in making the second IPL season a bigger and better event.
Cricket has evolved over the years and the rate of evolution (if the expression is acceptable) has increased tremendously over the last two decades. After sticking to the longer version of the game for centuries the game was transformed by the introduction of a 65-over one day game in 1962 in
Purists often speak of Twenty20 cricket disparagingly. They felt as if a sacred vow had been broken; as if the fine game of cricket had been reduced to something absurdly simplistic; where ‘sloggers’ rule the roost, where hand-eye co-ordination mattered more than finely honed cricketing technique perfected at the playgrounds of Eton, Harrow or Indian Public schools and where bowlers are irrelevant. If you’ve been watching carefully, you will know this isn’t true. Twenty20 is not a dilution of the game but an intensification of it. It is filled with life-and-death urgency. Each team gets to face just 120 deliveries in a match, and every ball counts. There is no space for sloppiness, error or sluggishness. A single mistake can shift the momentum a single over can change the pattern of the game and it can happen many times in the span of just twenty overs. The batsmen have to try and score off every ball. The demands on the batsmen, bowlers and fielders are much greater in a 20 Twenty match than in the longer versions. But this is cricket. The more it changes the more it is the same and everyone is loving it. All this makes for a fantastic spectacle. The game of cricket has changed beyond recognition as far as the pace it is played at is concerned. We are witnessing more results even in Test matches because players have positive result oriented mindset. Losing one day is not a big deal because; with so many matches being played they know they will find themselves on the winning side on another day. They play the game like a game should be played; intensely not seriously. They play with intent to win but without much fear of loss. So IPL and 20Twenty cricket make good cricketing sense.
The best reason IPL is good for cricket is that it is good for cricketers. Local and International cricketers are earning so much from it that there is loose talk of them preferring the IPL to Test cricket. Honestly, that is a problem that cricket control boards will grapple with for the ICC to sort out. Increased opportunities for players can only be good. And in the IPL, these opportunities are very widespread. First to benefit from IPL are
Yuvraj, Ishanth Sharma, Yousuf Pathan, Tanvir, to name a few had a phenomenal learning experience. They hobnobbed with the titans of the game and learned valuable cricketing lessons. It is a great time to be a young cricketer.
There is one niggling issue though which probably is not good for cricket and that is the issue of confrontation between BCCI over rivalry between the promoters of ICL with BCCI. BCCI is running rough shod and is giving critics of the game of cricket a chance to train their guns on it. ICL (the rival cricket league) whose players are being shut out by the crass behaviour of the BCCI is matter of concern and needs to be resolved in the spirit of democracy. There may not be easy solutions at hand but massive efforts must be made to find a way out. The ICL forced the IPL into existence by providing competition to the establishment, but is now losing money, and may not last long. It is a problem rooted in the nature of many sports boards across the world: the BCCI is not a public limited company and therefore is not accountable to shareholders; nor is it a government body, accountable to taxpayers. It has a monopoly on representative international cricket and on the domestic feeder systems for it. There is no legal precedent anywhere in the world, for breaking this up. The ICL tried to provide competition to BCCI, as Kerry Packer once did to the International body, but the BCCI craftily countered it with the IPL. The IPL introduces some competition within the world of cricket – but that world remains governed by one unaccountable body. But legal hassles are beyond the scope this essay.
Though there are some disturbing issues that will have to be resolved IPL is not only good cricket but more importantly it is also good economics. It is expected to bring in an income of $1 billion for the BCCI over the next ten years. All this revenue will be directed to a central pool, 40% of which will go to IPL, 54% to franchisees and 6% as prize money. After ten years IPL will get 50%, franchisees 45% and prize money 5%. Television rights alone that have gone to a consortium consisting of
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