You Get What You Pay For

With all these scares on the melamine issue from products coming out of China, I couldn't help but think about the very principle behind it. I am not against low-cost labor or cheaper alternatives but the bottom-line still remains which happens to be one of my favourite taglines these past few days: you get what you pay for. A lot of multinational companies have outsourced their manufacturing to China because of the low labor cost, thinking that it would eventually end up with increased profits. Probably for the short term but with products being recalled, I don't know how they would quantify that. The same is true for just about anything. A lot of companies treat employees and staff the same way. They think that not sending people to training or not properly investing in them would eventually end up with increased profits because of lower costs. This ends up with employee morale going down causing them to become unproductive and eventually leave. Management thinking that they can get away with not investing in their staff ends up being more costly in the long run.

Same is true with leadership and teamwork as pointed out in the Law of the Price Tag in the book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by Dr. John Maxwell. When organizations are not willing to pay the price for growth, they end up losing a lot. Bottom-line still is: you get what you pay - or not pay - for.

The next time you see a cost entry in your balance sheet - whether for an employee benefit or a business investment - evaluate it with a different perspective. I don't see it as cost when it is for an employee benefit but rather as an investment. And always remember: you get what you pay for!

Work With, Not For

A typical response everytime you ask somebody where they work is this: "I work for..." Whether intentional or simply something we got used to, it somehow represents how our working relationships are with our employer or boss. In a boss-subordinate kind of relationship, there is not much to say about co-dependence. Maybe this is where we got the term "working for." And maybe we need a new mindset where the boss-subordinate kind of relationship needs to be changed to something like "coach-team staff" where everybody in the team would realize the value each one brings into the team to become successful. Think about it. Imagine a basketball team where each player has a different goal or the star player wants to show off or the coach simply wants to finish the game. There's no way they can make it to the championship with that kind of mindset. But with each member of the team focusing on a common goal, "working with" each other instead of working for the coach, the championship is just a matter of time. Co-dependency may not make a star player but it definitely makes a championship team. And a championship team makes every member a star player.

The Success Formula #1

I've had the opportunity to speak about The Ironies of Opposites for Success last year at the PASS Community Summit in Denver, CO. There really is no silver bullet to become successful but principles applied in every day life. The goal of this article is to come up with a series of formulas for success that we can apply.

Formula #1: Your success in any undertaking is directly proportional to how much you enjoy working with the people in your team.

Whether we like it or not, relationship has a big impact in just about anything we do - work, study, recreation, etc. And as we try to attain a specific goal and build a team, we need team members who are rockstars to become very successful. We cannot do it on our own. The book The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by Dr. John Maxwell highlights this fact in every chapter. But what's more important is not just having great players in the team but making sure you have good working relationships with every member. Let's face it. How many baseball or football teams have you heard where the a great player leaves the team because of a stained relationship with the coach or the team captain. It's impossible to please everybody but not the fact that you can build good relationships with anybody. And this could mean the difference between success and failure. One article I read about employee turnover in organizations mentions "employees don't quit jobs, they quit managers." This simply highlights the importance of relationships in the corporate world.

When I was starting off in business, I have coined the term "relationship selling" and "relationship marketing" which highlights the effectiveness of relationships in your sales and marketing efforts. Maintaining very good relationships with existing customers would be more profitable than getting new ones. You can ask just about any sales professional you know and they'll say the same thing. Bottom line is that you can no longer ignore the effects of relationship in just about anything you do and it may spell the difference between success and failure.

I will be speaking on using Emotional Intelligence in Information Technology in this year's PASS Community Summit in Seattle, WA

Leadership Lessons from a Formula One Grand Prix Race

Singapore happened to host the very first Formula One Grand Prix evening race. Formula One, or F1, is the highest class of open wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. Hundreds of avid fans flocked to Singapore this past weekend to watch this sport live. Though I am not an avid F1 fan, I like sports car racing and anything that has something to do with cars. But we preferred watching it from the comforts of our own living room as the sound of the F1 cars from beside the tracks is totally deafening unless you brought some noise reduction/cancellation gadgets like ear plugs. While fans watch the fancy cars and enjoyed the rush of the race, I was watching how teams work together in the pits together with the drivers. There's a lot of leadership lessons you'll learn from such a popular sports event. Here are a few that I've noted.

1. FOCUS. If you want to achieve your goals, focus is the key. This was proven by F1 Singapore Grand Prix Champion Fernando Alonso from Team Renault. He has posted great results on the practice laps during the first night and was pretty sure he'll make it to the top. Unfortunately, his car suffered some serious mechanical problems during the qualifying rounds on the second night, causing him to start at the 15th position during the finals. Though disappointed by the results of the qualifying rounds, that did not deter him from focusing on what he really wanted - the championship title. That focus has given him the opprtunity to bounce back during the finals, making him the first F1 Night Race Champion.


2. TEAM-SPIRIT. While the drivers appear to be the very popular ones in this sport, every one plays a very important role - and in this sport, the term "very important" is an understatement. One mistake could cost not just the championship title but lives as well. Everyone in the team wants to be the champion - whether it's the driver or the constructor team categories. But doing it as an individual would cause really serious damage. This is what happened when Felipe Masa of the Ferarri Team. He took pole position during the qualifying rounds but one mistake during the finals caused him the title. As he sped away during a pit stop, some of the pit crew are knocked down after they failed to get fueling hose off the car. This could have caused some fuel ignition and possible fire as the fuel hose was leaking with fuel as it was being dragged by the car and that sparks were coming out of the car every now and then. The pit crew could have lost his life in the process. A Ferrari engineer was said to be at fault for Massa's double pit disaster. In organizations, teamwork is normally highlighted in high-profile activities but underestimated in others. Imagine how a team would perform if members, including the leader, would make everyone feel that their roles are very important in the success of the entire team as well as the organization. Most of the time, it's th star players, the managers and the bosses who are given that mindset but does not trickle down to the subordinates. A mistake made by a Ferrari engineer has caused them the championship


3. PRACTICE YOUR SUCCESS MOVES. An article in a local Singapore newspaper featured the McLaren-Mercedes Team practicing their pit stop maneuvers and tasks during the first few hours before the race. The team believed that what they do during their practice determines the outcome of the competition. Which is why even at the last minute, they still did those practice moves, earning them the constructor team championship in this race. This should be the same with organizations. We wanted our teams to win yet we do not practice those moves that will make us win. Take for instance a team of sales people who wanted to win that big account for the quarter. We assume that the sales people can do it without sending them for training or practicing those closing phrases. Or the IT team who is responsible for keeping the IT infrastructure up and running and making sure the most critical IT projects are successfully implemented. Managers assume that the IT guys are smart enough to pick it up on their own and not send them to training. If we really want to be successful as an individual or a team, make sure we practice those success moves and do them correctly and efficiently.

There are more leadership lessons learned on and off the F1 race track but these are the most visible ones. As managers and leaders, may we learn from the greatest sporting event on this planet to achieve that championship title we've always wanted. For pictures of the Singapore Grand Prix, check out the Boston Globe website or check the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix website. Enjoy the ride!

When Reducing Cost is More Than What It Is

I've been following the progress of Tim Sander's book "Saving The World At Work" and found a great perspective on cutting down on cost (didn't I say I'm a fan of Tim Sanders?) I'm really good at finding means to cut down on costs, coming from a third-world country where resources are scarce. In businesses where making profit is a top priority, the common message is to increase revenue or lower down costs to make sure profits go up. The ideal case would be to do both at the same time, hence, maximizing profits. Today, cutting down costs means more than that. It means saving the environment, as the book highlights. Whether you are turning off the lights when not in use or simply reducing the amount of paper used to print documents, it's a means to saving your environment. And this is one message you need to convey to customers, staff, partners and stakeholders. Not only do you get their support (who wouldn't want to save the environment with what is happening around us?) but also gives you a different perspective on increasing your profit margins.

Brag About Your Staff...and do it often

One thing managers are really good at is bragging about their accomplishments. There's nothing wrong with that so long as you do not take credit for what is not yours. But what they need to do more often is brag about their staff and make sure they do it real good. I had an opportunity to do just that last week where our project director asked me if I can deal with an immediate project. I know its not my field of expertise but I know somebody from my peers who's really good at it. I started talking to my director about the guy and made sure he gets to do the job. I acted as the coordinator/project manager for this until the issue has been resolved. I requested for a comprehensive report of what the guy did to fix the issue and formatted it very well to make sure my director would perceive of it as a highly critical project. After submitting the report, I made it a point that he gets compensated for what he did. To make the long story short, the guy got compensated for what he did because I pushed so hard for it. But my job didn't stop at the point where he got the payment. I've crafted a very nice email thanking the customer for their confidence in our team and that we under my director's leadership are committed to excellent customer service and are always ready to be of help. I asked the guy to send that email to the customer and copied our director. That guy became a somebody from a nobody in a span of a week and the management realized his value in the organization.

As managers, we get much of the limelight especially when our team did really good on a project or two. It wouldn't hurt if we let our staff take the spotlight once in a while and make sure they shine within the organization. They will feel good about themselves, about you as their manager and the organization for recognizing their potential. So, for the weeks to come, find something about your staff that you can brag about and make sure they feel it. They'll love you for doing it

The Power of a Smile

I was renewing my driver's license in Manila, Philippines two weeks ago and learned a very important lesson. The renewal process was quite efficient with all the information necessary to renew one's driver's license posted on billboards inside the office. The staff were very helpful and know exactly what they were doing. It took much longer than expected as there were a lot of people trying to renew at the same time but, overall, the process was very efficient, I should say. One of the staff approached me as I was waiting for the release of my ID card and asked me to fill up a survey form about their process with the usual questions on the form. I answered every question with something like "very good" or "very satisfied" until I came to the portion where you were given a chance to provide additional feedback. There's just one thing I noticed about their staff - they rarely smile. And that's exactly what I've written in the additional comments section. And that hit me hard. Efficiency doesn't matter when you're dealing with people. You may be very good at what you do, know exactly what needs to be done and how to do it but if you don't include the "people factor" with what you do - in this case, a simple SMILE - you'll still apear to be inefficient from other people's point of view. So here's a word of advice for subject matter experts (SMEs) out there or just about anybody: SMILE. Give a smile to just about anybody you see today. You'll never know if the person on the receiving end needs one badly or has the authority to give you your most awaited promotion or increase

I'm speaking at PASS - again

I was privileged enough to do another presentation for the PASS Community Summit this year in Seattle, WA. PASS stands for Professional Association for SQL Server. While this may be a technical conference, my session topic isn't. I will be speaking on Using Emotional Intelligence in Information Technology. My goal for presenting at PASS is to help people grow and develop their full potential, which has been my personal mission statement. Now since the attendees are all tech savvy, it would be best to complement it with self-help topics to make them a well-rounded IT professional.

So, if you're attending the PASS Community Summit this year, please drop by my session

Life's Lessons from Humpty Dumpty

You definitely know this if you were required to memorize nursery rhymes when you were a kid. Who would ever imagined a nugget of truth embedded behind those lines

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

A lot of people claim that they're on a slump, having a bad day, just fortunately unfortunate and everything else they can think of. They blame their misfortunes to life itself and expect the situation or somebody else to help them bounce back and pick them up. Sad to say, we are the only ones who can help us. And that's a fact. Not the king's horses nor his men.

And if I were to add a second part to this nursery rhyme, here's probably what I'll write

Had Humpty Dumpty realized the fact

That nobody else can help him get back

He'd probably think twice on sitting atop the wall

Or design a nice armor so he'll survive the fall

We all fall in a slump or a ditch every now and then. No one's exempted. But make sure you make that decision to bounce back in because no one else can help you do that but yourself

Doing the unconventional

I have missed a couple of weeks of not posting anything to my non-technical blog because of my intense preparation for TechEd Asia 2008. As a regular conference and event speaker, these are the major events that I sort of anticipate throughout the year. But this year was different. I ended up focusing more on the delivery of my sessions than just simply the content. I have been working on the content almost everyday since it is a part of my daily routines. I normally choose to speak on topics that I am very familiar with so I can spice up the delivery by telling my own stories. I've decided to do the unconventional this time - restructure my slides that would be totally different from what the average speaker does. I've replaced text with pictures which required a lot of creativity since these are technical in nature. I've written story lines and scripts to drive the delivery of the session, making it more like a story than a technical session. That turned out to be rewarding. The people liked my sessions and provided very good evaluation scores (although not as good as those who really are expert speakers). I guess the investments paid off. And, so I've decided to change the way I'll do presentations, learning from people like Steve Jobs and applying tips from Carmine Gallo. Who knows, I might end up being one of them

When Job Anonymity = Job Misery

"To lead people, walk beside them ... As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate ... When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'"
- Lao-tsu -

I like Patrick Lencioni's view of anonymity that causes an individual's job misery. I have to admit that most employees dread coming to work every day, dragging their feet just to get a paycheck. I was listening to a colleague the other day how he didn't like the idea of our boss coming back to work after a long break due to the fact that he'll start feeling useless again. For the past few days, he was spending sleepless nights trying to solve technical issues together with our US counterparts and that felt like an accomplishment for him. Once the boss gets back, he'll be back to being "just like everyone else." Knowing that we are important and making a difference is something that everyone likes to feel, whether at work, at school or at home. But the truth is, we really are important as we are unique individuals. The problem with managers nowadays is that they tend to miss the point. Ask this question to any manager you know : "When was the last time you told their staff how important they were in the team?" They probably won't remember. And having that feeling of unimportance will cause any individual to feel miserble at work. We keep forgetting that working professionals are human beings, too. And it is important to understand that making people feel important contributes to their productivity and fulfillment.

Get out of your track

I have to admit that I am a self-confessed workaholic. Most of us will probably do what I do - stick to what we have always been doing, thereby creating a habit. While this is a good practice to get ourselves master what we do well, it also hinders our ability to grow in some aspects. Today, I have purposedly just stopped reading work-related emails for half a day and went over and started reading about business and personal development (I haven't done this for more than a month now as I have been focusing more on SQL Server recently). I used to do this everyday but the demands of both work and career sometimes make us forget that in order for us to really be successful is to make sure we grow. We need to create a habit that will enable us to grow even outside of what we do, realizing the fact that there is life outside of work and career. Getting out of your track will also make you get a better perspective of what is happening outside of your environment.

Business Insights from the Shop Floors

I was riding the Light Rail Transit in Manila,Philippines a couple of days ago and couldn't help but overhear a bunch of merchandise staff who are responsible for sales in one of the biggest malls in Asia. What's notable about their conversation was the fact that they were discussing how to strategically position the products that they sell in various locations within the mall in order to increase their sales. Now, you might think that this is something normal for businesses who need to understand how their products and customers mesh together to become successful but you need to understand something. In Manila where job opportunities are scarce, the very people who are discussing strategies and business approaches didn't even had the opportunity to get themselves into college. Some of them didn't even finish high school. It reminds me of how Sam Walton - founder of Wal-Mart - asks each of his staff how to improve the business and eventually turned it to what it is today. He just understood the value of each staff - whether they're management or rank-and-file. While I am a great fan of business intelligence and how we can use technology to gain business insight, there's still no substitute for the guy who sees your customer smile everyday and understand what it takes to take your business to the next level

When validating change is important

Part of IT Information Library's change management process is to validate whatever change was made to the IT infrastructure so that if there are some unnecessary incidents that happened because of the change, it can be reverted back. We often follow stringent procedures when it comes to processes without realizing its impact in our day-to-day life. Take for instance when we deal with people. We expect people to change for good and that is, of course, essential. We tell them what needs to be changed and we expect them to do it. But when they do, we don't even notice, much more validate the change. The person who did everything at his disposal to improve will end up to be disappointed knowing that it seems unnecessary to change. This goes back to the concept of "seagull management" where we only see the bad things in people and not the good ones. Even changes in people need to be validated so that they would be able to benchmark whether to improve further or maintain the status quo. So the next time you see your staff, children or even friends make changes for their improvement, make sure you validate them so that they'll keep improving. It won't hurt telling them they have submitted their requirements way ahead of schedule and that you are happy with what they did.

Say cheese!

"There are two things people want more than sex and money -- recognition and praise." Mary Kay Ash

The public bus system of Seattle, Washington is filled with pictures of their employees - bus mechanics who have won the Vehicle Maintenance Employee of the Year Award who have also won some trade skills competition in the United States and Transit Operator of the Year. From a marketing perspective, one might think of it as telling the customers of the competent staff that an organization has to ensure excellent delivery of goods and services. Besides, nobody will doubt the performance of a staff who has won trade competitions. I've also seen this in fast food chains like McDonald's and Burger King where they do have their Employee of the Month pictures posted near places where customers can see them. But what organizations fail to realize sometimes is that these recognition programs actually do more than just recognizing their staff. According to Abraham Maslow's heirarchy of needs, recognition is simply meeting one of the basic human needs. Regularly doing so has a lot of benefits within an organization. A Gallup Poll revealed that recognition programs can reduce employee turnover and increase loyalty. After all, if recognition is a basic human need, whoever fills that need will gain the individual's respect and loyalty. It's just basic human psychology.

A better way to approach this is make it a habit to simply compliment anybody sincerely each day. You will not only make the other person feel recognized, you will also gain a loyal friend

Get a good night's sleep

- The best bridge between hope and despair is often a good night's sleep -

from the God's Little Devotional Book

I've read of one of Forbe's Magazine's South East Asia's 40 Richest from the Philippines, John Gokongwei, Jr. In one of his comments in a local newspaper, he specifically mentioned about "not loosing sleep over a big business deal." Talk about somebody who values sleep more than riches which is probably why he is one of South East Asia's richest. This reminded me of Steve Ballmer, President and CEO of the largest software company in the world, Microsoft Corporation. During the MVP Summit in Seattle, WA last month, the MVPs were given the opportunity to ask him all sorts of questions - from what's Microsoft's role in protecting the environment, his vision of the company similar to that of Bill Gates', etc. An Indian friend of mine got the opportunity to approach the microphone and ask him a question. A lot of people were expecting him to ask technical questions and stuff but were surprised to hear what he has to ask. The question was: "Do you get sound sleep?" There was laughter in the crowd as most of them have not had good enough sleep during the course of the summit due to adjustments in time zone differences and activities which lasts until the morning. Steve Ballmer's answer was pretty straight-forward. "Yes. Excellent sleep. Seriously, I sleep extremely well, and long. I need seven to eight hours a night. I get seven to eight hours a night. And if the question is, are there things that worry me, the answer is sure. I worry about many things. I worry about our company, and keeping agile, and our desire to have all of the best and brightest people working for us, and partnering with us. I worry, and think, and wonder about how we're going to come from behind where we're behind, and stay ahead where we're ahead. I worry and wonder about financials. But the day you don't sleep well, I think it's probably a day that you shouldn't keep doing the kind of job I'm doing. You have to be realistic when you're awake about where you are, and confident enough that you can go to sleep when it's time to go to sleep." What a statement of confidence! People think that you have to work harder, sleep less in order to become successful. But these guys know better and their status tells it all. I guess I need to include this in my list of Ironies of Opposites for Success.

So the next time you feel that you cannot go to sleep at night, think about the guy who runs the biggest software company in the world. The transcript of Steve Ballmer's keynote session at the MVP Summit is available on this site

Different Yet United:Leadership Lessons from Service-Oriented Architecture

Two weeks ago, I heard Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect of Microsoft Corporation, speak at the MVP Summit on his insights about software as a service. While he was talking about the role of software as a service and the Internet as a hub, I couldn't help but relate it to our ever-changing global world when it comes to leadership. The global economy has changed the way we do business and lead people which sums up a very important fact: we all are different yet unique and can be united.

Let me explain further. Global corporations are faced with challenges that has something to do with geographical, cultural, and sociological aspects, to name a few. In Singapore alone, you will rarely see an organization with all staff being Singaporeans. This means organizations need to realize and capitalize on each individual's differences. Breaking down the walls of cultural differences is the key to having a harmonious and healthy work environment in a highly diverse organization. This not only means understanding one another's differences but identifying the strengths behind those differences which can be key to the success of an organization. As Ray Ozzie pointed out, the Internet is a hub where different software can connect to and, in an orchestrated fashion, provide excellent service to those who may opt to use it. In an organization, the vision is the hub which every individual can be attached to and, with the leader's ability to orchestrate each individual's strength and uniqueness in their differences, achieve greater heights by achieving that vision.

The transcript of Ray Ozzie's keynote session at the MVP Summit is available on this site

Why Emotional Anxiety Is Costly

I was talking to one of our project managers a few days ago while trying to fix some issues in one of our remote data center and out of nowhere just asked how she was doing. While a typical "I'm doing good" answer may have been enough for a few people I know, I asked again, this time stressing out the real reason for asking. She then started down the path of telling me how the IT industry simply does not really care about the well-being of the individuals and is more focused on getting things done. Now, I might be wrong but I guess that is one of the reasons why her performance started going down the drains. I highlighted the fact that whatever industry we are in, we still are humans and have the basic human needs which includes emotional stability in the workplace. Ask yourself these questions. Would you be excited to come to work everyday knowing that you will have to face the same old Mr. Scrooge in the likes of your immediate superior? Would you be enthusiastic to do your work if none of the things you do well are getting noticed while even a small mistake goes across the end of the office premises (I think I've pointed this out in the "seagull-type" management style)? Would you be motivated enough to take initiative to solve problems in the workplace when all you'll end up hearing is that you need to go thru processes to get things done? You may say that everybody should start motivating themselves and I couldn't agree with you more. But what I am trying to drive at is that organizations need to realize that emotional anxiety in the workplace is one of the reasons for performance degredation and high turnover rates. Why did I say it's costly? Let me put some numbers into this. Let's say it takes an average of 30 minutes to finish a typical, repetitive task. For a highly motivated individual, it would probably take 15 to 20 minutes, which would mean a time reduction of 33 to 50 percent (others may call it productivity increase). But an unmotivated, highly-stressed, emotionally anxious individual may take more than an hour to finish the same job. That would mean a 100 percent decrease in productivity or whatever you may call it. That is not to consider absenteeism, long coffee and lunch breaks, employee turnover, etc. I am not a psychologist but I believe its a natural human need to feel important and have their emotional needs met anywhere, including the workplace. Which is why I believe that creating an emotionally healthy workplace will be one of the factors to succeed in a globally competitive environment.

It's all about perspective: An amazing result of the power of positive thinking

They say anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Well, if that's how you think, that's how it will be. If you precondition your mind to whatever it is that you want to think about, it will definitely happen, according to Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking. Well, I have yet to prove that with another of my experiences. I planned to attend the Microsoft MVP Summit 2008 at Seattle, WA but decided to stop by San Francisco, CA for a few days before heading straight to Seattle. I was prepared to enjoy a 3-day rest and relaxation in San Francisco when some unexpected things happened. Without a definite place to stay and a very tight budget, I struggled to find the cheapest yet most accessible place to stay. I was starting to think of this experience as a nightmare, causing deep holes in my pocket and stress due to anxiety, I realized that my way of thinking will definitely affect how things will be. So, I decided to think positively. After finding a place to stay which is more expensive than what I originally perceived it to be, I decided to enjoy what I have. Since I will have full 3 days of doing what I can possibly think of doing, I planned accordingly. First stop was a Barnes and Noble branch at the Tanforan mall in San Bruno. I have always loved books and this is an opportunity for me to enjoy a good one without having to worry about phone calls or check emails. It was a long mile-and-a-half walk from the place where I was staying to the mall. I enjoyed every step I was taking simply because I knew that I was going to enjoy the reading time that I have always wanted coupled with a great weather to be happy about. With a cup of Starbucks (they actually have a coffee bar inside Barnes and Noble which proved to be a great asset especially if you need to be perked up when you feel a bit sleepy) and a book by Marcus Bukingham, I had one of the best reading days ever. I almost finished the entire book within a few hours. I can’t wait for another day like this when I can really devote undivided time and attention to reading a great book. At the end of the day, how you perceive things would be will eventually end up as you expect it to be – whether you think of it as either good or bad. And that is the power of positive thinking. The same is true with negative thinking. The choice is totally up to you. I can't wait for another great learning adventure tomorrow

When There is No Such Thing As Customer Service

Ok, I admit, I got the idea for this blog post from leadership expert John Maxwell's book, There's No Such Thing As "Business Ethics" (There's Only One Rule for Making Decisions). His thesis was plain and simple - The Golden Rule applies in all aspect of life. The same thing with customer service. Organizations nowadays focus on delivering the best customer service they could ever provide and believes that this will become their leading edge. I believe that there is really no such thing as customer service. What I do believe in is the concept of service as it is. Organizations simply highlight to staff that providing utmost customer service to customers or anybody bringing in revenue to the company should be a top priority. But this undermines a very important principle. Real service does not know discrimination - whether they're customers, staff, business partners, even people on the streets. What's surprising is that organizations treat their custmers really well but not their employees and staff. What they don't realize is that while customers bring in the revenue, it's the employees and staff that maintain and keep customers. How many times have you heard of customers being mistreated by disgruntled employees? Or even revenue loss due to productivity loss caused by demoralized staff? If we create a culture of service, both for our external and internal customers, it would propell our organization for success. It would break down organizational barriers as managers would no longer care about their status but rather focus more on how they can better serve their staff. I like what Michael Bergdahl's book What I Learned From Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World indicates that Wal-Mart practices “servant-leadership”. Essentially, that means all managers put the needs of their employees and colleagues first. Managers are required to respond to any request for help, even if it means delaying their own work. The concept stems from Sam Walton’s oft-stated belief that “if you take care of your people, your people will take care of the customer and the business will take care of itself.” That in itself is the true meaning of service

Violating the Law of Buy-In

The Law of Buy-In was highlighted in the best-selling book by Dr. John Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. It simply states that people buy into the leader first, then the vision. The leader finds the dream and then the people. The people find the leader, and then the dream. People don’t first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote worthwhile causes. I was on a meeting whose purpose is to educate employees on the changes that will take place due to a new service agreement that was underway between my company and their client. The first thing I noticed was that not everybody was keen on listening. This is when I've learned a very important lesson in leadership apart from the law of buy-in: "To measure the morale of your staff, observe their behavior during one of your most important meetings. If they are apathetic, their morale is very low. If they are very energetic and excited, their morale is high." This new service agreement is probably the most important thing that would ever happen to this organization. But, sad as it may seem, the staff didn't really care much. There was no participation, no discussion, even questions raised. The reason for that is probably because the staff felt betrayed. The service agreement was crafted without the staff being considered, which happens to be a very important aspect since it would be their responsibility to provide those services in the future. Plus, the highlight of fear and anxiety was floating in the air. Instead of highlighting how the entire organization would benefit from the service agreement, much more was said about the penalties if the agreement was violated. In fact, one staff even mentioned about the management not trusting the staff on certain aspects and the one delivering the meeting just said a blunt "yes." It may sound pathetic but who would want to work for an organization who does not trust its employees? I believe that it is a great plan with very noble causes which I also believe in but the one delivering the meeting failed to understand that in order to make the people do what needed to be done, they have to be motivated. This pointed out another important leadership lesson I have learned today: "The message is nearly not as important as the one delivering it." Communication is the key to the Law of Buy-In and, in this case, the nobility of the cause was not highlighted, thereby, causing the staff to simply ignore the message. Even I didn't bother listening during the meeting because I felt that it would only deter my commitment to my organization. But my experience earlier today simply pointed out how not to be a leader in every sense of the word. Make it a point that you, as a leader, would first reach out to your staff and make them buy in to you before letting them buy in to the vision. Once you've manage to do that, communicate the vision properly so as to further gain their support and eventually cause everyone to move in the same direction.

A Practical Equation for Risk Analysis: A Leader's Perspective

Risk taking is one trait that a leader needs to have in order to be really successful. Let's face it, we don't want risks. We fear that taking risks would amount to big losses that we cannot handle. That applies to both business and personal aspects. Business schools will teach you how to quantitatively and qualitatively calculate risks in order to make the right decisions. While I may adhere to those scientific ways on risk assessment, leaders should use their instinct and intuition to make decisions and face risks. As a financial analyst friend of mine used to say, "the higher the risk, the bigger the return." Let me share a practical equation for risk analysis that will be very useful for anybody when making decisions. Take the quotient of the number of times that an event actually happened with the number of times that you have actually feared that the event will happen. I'll give you a very practical example. You fear the risk of losing your job if you bring up an issue with your boss so you keep quiet. How do we calculate the risk quotient? How many times have you gotten fired because you talked to your boss about an issue? Probably, zero since you still have the job. Let's call this n. And how may times have you feared that it would actually happen? Probably, a lot of times. And let's call this one m. Divide these two numbers and you'll realize that you have a very low risk quotient: n/m. You see, most of the risks that we perceive them to be are really just what they are - perception. We are consumed by those fears that we sometimes fail to realize that risk taking is necessary for growth. I've got my own shares of risk-taking adventures as I love taking risks. But sometimes, one can't help but to linger in their comfort zones and this prevents one from taking risks. But as T.S. Elliot once said, "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." And that's the essence of risk taking for leaders

The best way to admit that you are wrong

Let's admit it, we are humans and we make mistakes. But it really is very difficult to admit that we make them. I don't know why but that's human nature. In today's corporate environment, its but natural for just about any leader or manager to hide the fact that they make mistakes. But the truth about admitting mistakes is highlighted in Anne Adrian's blog on why it is important for leaders (and just about anybody, for that matter) to admit that they are wrong. Leaders, and people in general, who admit their mistakes

• - show they are real humans too, increasing trust and loyalty.
• - relate to others by the admission.
• - give opportunities for others to do the same.
• - reduce the likelihood of anyone making the same mistake in the future.
• - provide opportunities for others to learn from the mistakes.
• - provide opportunities for discovering improvements and for making better decisions in the future.

The most liberating thing to do when anybody made a mistake is to speak or write the three most powerful words of the instance: I WAS WRONG. The message conveyed in this statement is so powerful that it changes both the one who says it and the one who listens to it. And, by the way, I just did that today

{Heroes} Happen Here: Leadership Lessons from a Microsoft Product Launch

This entry has been pending for a week but it is still worth posting. Last week was the Server Wave Launch 2008 event here in Singapore where Microsoft released their very new products, namely, Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008. This launch's theme focuses on celebrating the people behind the technology who make things happen in their organizations. It may sound like a marketing hype from the consumers' point of view but I think it is a worthwhile initiative by Microsoft to really recognize the most valuable asset in any organization: people.

I've had my shares of attending Microsoft product launches and being the tech guy as I am, I look forward to seeing what these new technologies are capable of. Not during this event. As Bill Hiff, General Manager, Windows Server Marketing and Platform Strategy, talked about the new features of the products, I was listening for non-technology-related insights he was sharing. What struck me the most was his statement on how each one of us can become change agents in our organizations - "be the change you want to be." We want processes, management, initiatives to change and his challenge is painstakingly practical and that is if you want to have something changed, start from within yourself. Then, there was this round table discussion between executives from Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Intel and Hewlett-Packard. As always, they talked about what makes their organizations stay ahead in their industry and the typical CxO pitch when it comes to doing public appearances. The HP executive highlighted the PPT in their success - People, Processes and Technology, again, having people as the forerunners of their success. When it came to the Sun Microssystems executive being interviewed, one of the things highlighted was the collaboration between them and Microsoft as they were perceived off as rivals in the industry. What the Sun executive said was really striking and if I may quote,"Microsoft and Sun Microsystems love the customers more than they love each other which comples them to work together to provide excellent solutions." This highlights the value of co-opetition in the global economy today. Having two rival companies setting aside their own selfish ambitions for the good of the customers, therefore benefitting the customers and themselves in the process. Quoting from a CNET News published in 1998, "Some people see business entirely as competition. They think doing business is waging war and assume they can't win unless somebody else loses. Other people see business entirely as cooperative teams and partnerships. But business is both cooperation and competition. It's coopetition."

The Power of Resurrection (The Power of Hope)

This was initially posted in a private newsgroup sometime April of 2006 and I decided to simply post it publicly.

We only look at Easter Sunday as the day when Christ resurrected from the grave. After a grueling experience at Golgotha in the hands of the brutal Roman soldiers and being left alone by followers and disciples, a triumphant Christ came back to life as He promised and, right before the very eyes of the people who despised Him, ascended to heaven with a promise. How we love the story. The underdog who was mistreated - beaten to death, died the most humiliating death one could ever have - came back as a superhero. It is no different from any typical superhero story you might say. But what does Easter Sunday really mean to us? We may all have our own meaning for this wonderful day. But one thing God wants us to realize is that there is more to it than simply overcoming death. The grave represents so many things - your broken dreams, an unfulfilled promise,a hopeless case, etc. I know you have your own. In fact, you might have been thinking of one right now."My spouse's not going to change. My career's way out of hand. The economy is getting worse. I can't get rid of this bad habit. The doctor says there is no cure. I have failed so many times." Hopelessness.This is what the grave represents. And this is what God wants us to realize. Jesus was able to conquer the worst there is - death. What is God teaching us here? He simply wants us to dream again, to realize that there is ALWAYS hope.I was reading the story about Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome walking down the grave to anoint the body of Jesus, when something really hit me. Have you ever had that experience where you read something (even memorized it) for a couple of times and on the nth time, something unusual pops up. You might have thought to yourself, "was this really there all along?" On the way to the tomb, they might have been very sober; thinking of what happened the Friday before that. Not expecting anything except a dead body, they were surprised to see an opened tomb.Why were they there in the first place? Why waste time and effort going to the tomb - the tomb of the one who called himself God, now dead for three days.He was the hope of everybody who believed, until every hope collapsed when they saw him up on a cross - dead.If there's anybody who should be there, it should be the disciples. Or probably they, too, lost all hope. But the ladies were there, for no apparent reason.And God was probably thinking to Himself, "let me give them the surprise of their life." When they reached the tomb, an angel of the Lord told them of the good news. And what's surprising is that the angel specifically mentioned Peter, you know, the guy who said he'll go down with the Master no matter what but denied him thrice before the rooster crows. This is the part I like the most. You might have lost hope about yourself, failed a lot of times and disappointed a lot of people, even God Himself. Just like Peter, you may say. But Jesus was so concerned about Peter that He made special mentions - "and especially Peter." Talk about giving hope. He doesn't care whether you failed Him a lot of times but He still wants you to have hope. I just couldn't imagine what Peter could have felt if he were there and heard his name. But I know one thing for sure, it turned Peter's life around, enough to change the world in his lifetime.

There's always hope. It's alright to dream again.And that's what resurrection Sunday brings to us.The God who conquered death is the God who brings us hope. And He dares you to prove it!

Leadership Lessons from a Relational Database

As a database professional, I get to work with databases every single day of my life (that doesn't count all the other stuff I work on). Databases have to maintain files in the file system to store data. Initially, a fixed size is allocated to the database files. The databases are either configured to have the file size to grow when the need arise to accommodate more records to be stored, or sized up to a certain limit. There's some leadership lesons to be learned from this behavior of relational databases. First, we need to grow. Personal growth is very important in a fast-changing world. Everything else is changing and the only thing that's constant in life is change itself. But growing is painful. It takes a certain amount of dedication, commitment and discipline to grow. In the case of the database, the database administrator has to decide whether or not to configure database file growth or not. But that in itself is a choice. The decision to grow is the first step in the process. But that is not the most difficult phase. Once you have made the decision to grow, you need to take the necessary steps to move towards your decision to grow. If you need to grow in the area of communication, you need to take communication lessons and practice what you have learned. That is the most difficult part of the process - the growth process itself. When growth happens, you feel stretched to your limit, exhausted, discouraged, and even helpless. In a relational database, when file growth happens, performance of the database engine slows down a bit because it caters to the increase in file size while at the same time having to do what it is intended to do. Not only that, the operating system also experiences certain levels of performance degradation since it hosts the database file which is currently growing. From a human perspective, when we start to grow, our performance sometimes degrades because we are doing both our regular, normal, day-to-day tasks while at the same time pursuing activities towards our goal. Imagine having to work during the day while studying for a degree at night. Even the environment that surrounds us sometimes feels a bit absurd. The company you work for suddenly demands so much of you since they know you are studying and that you should be applying the skills you have learned immediately at work. Like I said, this is the most difficult part of the process. This is the part where we feel like giving up. But once the growth process is finished, you will never be the same again. When the database file is configured to grow for say 10%, once the file growth is done, it is no longer the same as it was before. A 10 megabyte-file size will now be 11 megabytes. The bigger the growth rate, the more difficult the process becomes. But the end results are way beyond we can imagine. You are no longer the person you used to be. You are stronger, wiser, more confident and better equipped. You'll also feel the satisfaction that you managed to accomplish something. You have become a different person than what you used to be. And you feel the urge to tackle another bigger challenge. And the growth process repeats itself. And as leadership expert Dr. John C. Maxwell says, "for you to be a leader, you have to keep growing."

The F2P=P2F Equation

Didn't I say this blog will be full of those acronyms?

I've seen such equations during my high school algebra days when properties of equations are being discussed. I used to think that mathematics is way too boring if not applied in our daily walks of life (which is the main reason I shifted from pure mathematics to applied mathematics - engineering to be specific - during my college days). As I've learned about leadership principles, this is one equation that really stuck to my head: Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail. It applies to just about any aspects of our lives whether it's business, personal, emotional, economic or even spiritual. I just finished working with a project manager on a certain project. Project managers are supposed to plan, execute and manage projects (which is why they are called project managers in the first place). I highlighted the first one, which is plan, because without it the other two won't be there at all. Planning is key to a successful project. And if not done properly, anything else will fail. Let me illustrate my point. When building a house, you need to talk to the architect and designer to articulate what you want in your house. Once that is taken cared of, the architect needs to have a look at all aspects of building the house - mechanical, electrical, piping, etc. This is where all the detailed drawings included in the blueprints come in. Then, the builders come and build the house according to the blueprint. A lot of people think that once the house is built, it is now ready to be occupied. Not at all. If you didn't plan to buy the furnitures and the fixings for the house, there's no way you can spend a comortable night of sleep. Now, think about the potential loss of not being able to plan properly. Let's do some risk assessment. If you need to move in to the house immediately after it has been built and you haven't included in your plan to buy the furnitures, you might end up sleeping some place else until you manage to have the essentials for your house. Or, you'll probably end up buying at that particular instance. In both cases, your cost will definitely go up. What's more, you'll have increased anxiety which may be difficult to quantify. But if you planned well enough to consider buying those furnitures even before the house is finished, you may even have time to go around and looking for cheap yet elegant ones or even go around and scout for really good bargains.

Businesses lose a lot of money because of lack of planning. Imagine having to delay a project because the key person got sick and a replacement was not planned well ahead of time. Let's place some numbers to quantify these cases. If you are making US$1,000 per day and you need to finish a project in 5 days, you'll make US$5,000. If the key person got sick and have not planned for a replacement, that's an opportunity loss of US$1,000 a day because you not just have to pay for the leave that the sick person is entitled to but also for the extra day or days that he has to spend to continue working on the project. Whereas if a replacement is already available as planned, the project goes as scheduled with the replacement taking over until the key person gets back to work. Efficiency, of course, is a different story. But still, you've managed to save time - and money - lost because of proper planning.

Imagine how much we can save if we just plan what we do in our lives - that vacation you've always wanted, your career path, your retirement, your next project, your family, etc. I'm not saying you should plan everything as rigid as you can as this would probably limit your creativity and imagination. But it really helps a lot planning way ahead.

Running with the giants:An MBA lesson for 90 cents

I was on my way home after dinner when I happen to bump into my former boss. He used to be a Microsoft MVP and a Director for Training and Technology for a Microsoft training partner. A great guy that he is, he joined Microsoft Singapore earlier this year as a Solutions Specialist for the Information Worker. This covers the Microsoft Office product range which also includes Office SharePoint Server. He's a very busy guy and everytime I can get a chance to spend some time with him. I grab that opportunity. He was on his way to get some tea after a stressful day at work. I asked him about what he has been busy with and he started telling stories - lots of them. I've always learned something new everytime I talk to him. This time it was sales techniques and a few new acronyms in sales - the M.A.N in the MAN. M stands for Money. Does the person you are dealing with have a budget? A stands for Authority. Does he have the authority or even influence to make decisions about the transaction? N stands for NEED. Does he or his organization have a need for what you are offering? If any of these is not present in a sales engagement, then, it might be a waste of time.

My point here is that when we run with the right crowd, we tend to be like them. In this particular case, I instantly became a student of sales and everything that he can share with me during that span of time. That's also the same when we hang around with the wrong crowd. Imagine trying to be with the top corporate executives just for dinner at an event. You'll pick up a thing or two about how they think, how they act, and their perspectives. In the long run, you'll eventually be like them. So, ask yourself today. How and where would you like to be in a year's time? It's time to consider realigning your goal to who you hang around with. And, by the way, that was a cheap lesson on sales strategy. A cup of Starbucks coffee is even more expensive

ATMs for your employees and staff

In my previous blog post, I talked about overinvesting in people. As a follow-up post to that, I would like to highlight the need for ATMs for your employees and staff. ATM stands for attract, train and motivate. First, attract the best people. We expect our organizations to grow and become globally competitive in the marketplace. We compete on the basis of performance and productivity. Or products and services have to be as excellent as we can make them. But we need the best people fit for the job to make sure we get the results that we want. In most cases, organizations wanted to get the best but do not want to pay the price. It's just like wanting to get a Ferrari at the price of a Toyota. I amo not saying Toyota is a low-class brand but performance for both are different. Which is why there is a very big difference in the price. I like what a friend of mine usually says when asked abuot compensation,"I deliver what is expected of me and I expect top management todo the same." That being said, I believe there is no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to the best and the excellent. Next, train your staff. We all need to grow and the only way for us to grow is to go beyond our confort zones. The best people will always be willing to take just about any challenge given to them. But in order for them to do so, they need to be equipped. Giving them the proper training will enable them to do their jobs as effective and as efficient as possible. It's just like giving them the tools they need to do their jobs well. Lastly, motivate your staff. Motivation fuels an individual. A simple tap on the back telling them about how good they do at work, appreciating them on simple things and motivating them to strive harder. It's a classic example of over-investing in emotional currency. With the ATM-approach, your organization will create a workforce that is at the cutting edge of today's challenging demands. Bottom line is, the life blod of any organization is the human resource

Overinvest in People

I was listening to the audio abridged version of How to Become CEO: The Rules for Rising to the Top of Any Organization by Jeffrey J. Fox on my way to work. I have managed to read the book version of the audio MP3 a couple of years before but didn't have a chance to get a copy. In it, he emphasized something really important about people and employees which I really believe in: Overinvest in People. Think about it. If you are investing in something that you know would have a marginal return on your investments - whether it's that blue chip stock, real estate or your own business - wouldn't you be investing more? The human capital is far better than any of these investment portfolios as anybody has the capacity create and produce - they make things happen. Fox highlighted it in a way that companies should hire the best people and that they should pay for their employees' worth. He states that companies who save money on hiring only the people they can afford are headed for mediocrity. I always take the Asian culture in perspective every time I cite examples as we do not really believe in this principle. The result is a high turn-over rate causing a lot money in hiring, re-training and loss of morale among staff because a key team player "jumps boat." What would happen if your favourite NBA or NFL team suddenly thinks that their best player is not worth every cent of their pay? I doubt that the team will make it even in the initial round of eliminations. Same goes for organizations. Fox also mentioned about overpaying the employees. He states that if an employee gets paid about $20 an hour, he or she knows it. If an employee receives anything less than his or her worth, he or she will feel cheated. A savings of say $1 an hour will amount to $8 per day. But that is not worth saving compared to the loss that will result in the employee's behavior knowing that he or she is being cheated. There's just no way to quantify the amount of loss as an effect of low morale - drop in productivity, sabotage, theft, etc. But paying your employees more than what is expected of them results in high morale and increased productivity. This again highlights the concept on overinvesting in people. Try it out and see what happens. I've done my share of overinvesting in people in small, simple ways and have gotten some very good results.

When even the small things can make a very big difference

As a follow-up on the Double As blog post, I was on the phone almost 3 weeks ago talking to a cousin of mine and simply asking her about how she was doing. She was basically tasked to take care of her three nephews, all boys, as her sister - the boy's mom - had to work overseas. When the boys had a chance to visit their mom, she mustered all her memories and told me about how difficult it was raising the kids. And now that the kids were temporarily away, she felt a bit of ease from the responsibility and that somehow it was really tiring. As I was listening to her stories, I realized all the hard work she had to put in raising those kids and how sometimes she felt like giving up. When she was done telling her stories, I ended up telling her how what she has done to those kids had a positive impact in their lives and the lives of thousands if not millions of people worldwide. She was surprised with what she just heard. All along, she didn't realize that her "stressful unwanted" responsibilities had that much impact. She was trying to figure out what I was saying. Then I told her about my perspective. You see, raising kids, just like everything I can think of, is all about perspective. Some people think of it as a responsibility, I think of it as an investment. Whether we sow seeds of good or bad deeds, somewhere, somehow, we'll get some return. That's for sure. Some kids grow up to be world changers, other end up in the dumps. But there is more to it than that. Apparently, those kids - us included - would have the opportunity to touch and influence a thousand or more people throughout their lives. Now, what does that have to do with our responsibilities as parents (or even foster parents)? Whatever we do to those kids will impact the next generation and they will, in turn, decide how to change the world. As I was telling her about my perspective, I started citing one of his nephews and how he has become an influencer, touching the lives of more than a million Filipinos worldwide. Apparently, his nephew (who happened to be mine as well) won a model search competition and has managed to secure an talent contract with one of the media conglomerates in the Philippines. That being said, a face which used to be only familiar among relatives and peers has now become a public figure. With the media conglomerate's reach of more than 200,000 Filipino subscribers in the United States alone and all across Middle East, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Australia, imagine the impact of this face together with his story worldwide. That being said, she realized how what she had done for the kids did have an impact - not just in the lives of those kids but in those that they manage to influence in their lifetime. So, don't fret. Who knows that the small act you do today - for your kids, staff, or just about anybody, even the people you don't know - will have a profound impact on the world tomorrow. You might be growing the next Albert Einstein or the next Winston Churchill right across your living room watching TV

Empowering individuals with a Double A (a.k.a AA)

Question: What comes to mind when we say "Double As"?
Answer: A pair of pocket-sized batteries probably from Energizer

I was reading the introduction of Ron Clark's book The Excellent 11: Qualitites Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children when I happen to notice a very important note which he had made - understand the importance of the value of appreciation. In today's challenging and fast-paced work environment, organizations compete on the basis of efficiency and productivity. But I believe that the success of any organization lies in the human resource. Leading the organization in the next wave of changes requires a lot more than the usual budget, strategy, innovation and creativity (although these are still necessary ingredients to succeed). And this is where the importance of the double AA come in. People need a dose of appreciation and affirmation on a daily basis. This is the cheapest and one of the most effective form of rewarding your employees. The person who receives appreciation and affirmation will feel valued and will eventually be motivated in their work, thus, increasing employee productivity. This also helps build a productive and positive work environment. I believe that the Asian culture is not used to this kind of employee motivation. Most of the time, our way of thinking is that employees are hired to work hard. Recognizing them for something that they are expected to do can get way over their heads. But that in itself is counter-intuitive in a sense that the more an individual realizes that his or her work has value, the more motivated he or she becomes.

Try it out. Appreciate and affirm somebody from your team (or even anybody you know) today and see how it changes them. With the double As, it's not just the Energizer bunny who can keep going ... and going...

Leadership Lessons from Raising Kids

Proverbs 22:6(KJV) says "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

I normally hear this from Christians raising up their kids. The scripture specifically mentions the way we should raise our kids.It says "train" and not just "teach." More often, we simply teach our children how to live but not train them. Training requires skill. When you are a trainor (as I still am), you must have the appropriate skills to be effective because while teaching the concepts, you are also showing them how to do it. This is what differentiates teaching from training. Our children might be hearing our teaching but not seeing it being done. Then we are not training them. The proper way is to teach AND do. And training requires repetition.Which means you have to make it as a part of your system as if it were a habit. Talk about training our kids how to pray, respect elderly, go to church, etc. Now this is what the scripture means by "training up a child."

But what does this have to do with leadership? In organizations, we sometimes hear management being frustrated at their employees'/subordinates' performance. Top executives have become too engrossed with day-to-day operations. All they ever do is send memos (emails included) and deliver speeches during anniversaries, expecting the subordinates to be fired up and be enthusiastic. What's worse is that management expects a lot from their employees but their staff don't even know what and how to do what they are supposed to do to meet those expectations. It's like throwing a child in a pool and expect him to be an Olympic gold medalist. It doesn't make sense. What they have forgotten is that they need to "train up" their subordinates. Which means teaching and doing as well. And this takes time, not to mention effort. That is why mentoring and coaching plays a vital role in the success of an organization.

If we are managing an organization, let's consider how the scripture defines raising up kids. After all, don't we treat our organizations as such?

When managing by email is just not effective

In today's modern world where technology has become tightly integrated in business, email has become a very popular tool in business. From sending project proposals to congratulating a colleague, email has become a part of our daily communications. But the ease of use of this technology has become one of the reasons for ineffective management. Instead of holding a meeting with team members, email exchanges fill inboxes with comments about meeting agenda. Instead of walking a few meters, if not feet, away to shake the hand of the top employee, we shoot emails instead. Email has been one of the reasons for diminishing interpersonal relationship, which is a necessary ingredient in any organization. There are even public courses on managing by email. Although, the global economy has introduced such concepts as virtual teams which need to be managed virtually as well, there is still no substitute for plain and simple direct, interpersonal communication. Plus, this introduces a lot of miscommunication and sometimes consumes a couple of megabytes of hard disk space just to get to the point because the message was misunderstood (this hard disk space issue is a big deal to a lot of IT professionals, especially to those who manage mail servers). Managers expect a lot from their subordinates while overlooking one very important facet of life - humanity. People still need to feel that their inner desire to be treated as human beings, and not just means to an end as far as business entities are concerned, is met. People are people with emotional needs and sometimes, those needs, when met, define the difference between empowerment and discouragement.

I like what Fred Thompson, former CEO of Jane Goodall Institute, said about managing by email.
"I have a strong aversion to managing by email (also to cleaning out my mailbox!). If it's really important, I ask my staffers to care enough to phone me, or ... walk down the hall and actually see me. That gets my attention. It's always amazed me how people in offices right next to one another will persist in communicating vital information exclusively by email. I really hate it when someone confuses sending an email with taking ownership or accountability."

JCPenney, in a CareerBuilder job ad, has this to say about their store managers.
"Our Store Manger's are not walking around with a PDA checking off to-do's or sitting in an office managing by email. Our Store Managers want four-wall accountability, to get involved, engage customers and develop their Associates for bigger and better roles. In our promote from within culture we want leaders, not just managers."

One of the best examples of NOT managing by email I have ever heard was a story by Tim Sanders entitled The XBOX Story. His movie clip telling the story is posted on YouTube. Go check it out.

So I'm a Millenial - When the world does not adopt

I was reading an article by the Harvard Business School entitled How Will Millenials Manage? and was fascinated how I was branded. The article calls the next generation of managers as such. Here's a brief description taken from the article.

They are generally bright, cheery, seemingly well-adjusted, and cooperative. They'll pull an "all-nighter" for a good reason, but they won't let that kind of thing intrude regularly on their personal lives. Their work styles are sometimes confounding. They need to work in a social environment, often one that would appear to some of us as chaotic. This means, however, that they are very good at working in teams. They are good at multi-tasking, understand how to employ technology productively, and as a result can often produce good work at what appears to be the last minute. They are focused on their own personal development. They want an accelerated path to success, often exaggerate the impact of their own contributions, are not willing "to pay the price," and have little fear of authority. As a result, they are often not a good bet for long-term employment, because they are quite willing to seek other employment (or no employment) rather than remain in a job in which they are not growing. They want their managers to understand their needs and lay out career options.

This is how we are described, people who were born during the late 70's to the late 80's. It's fascinating how generations and their behavior changes with time. But not too many of us. Sad to say that there are still a lot of organizations and people who do not see how important it is to adopt thru the changes. And this is costly as far as businesses and individuals are concerned. One comment in this article points out, "Business which are not adapting, and remain married to the process of blindly searching for degrees and certifications, and who judge employee reliability based on "time served" at other companies are failing to attract, hire, or retain the high knowledge workers." I'm a victim to this kind of mindset. The hiring process for most organizations still looks for degrees and certifications instead of looking at the individual. Now, I'm not a big fan of Ivy Leagues and PhDs but one of the reason I am still keen on pursuing an advanced degree is to change this mindset particularly in the Asian region. There are a lot of talented individuals out there, most of them didn't even have a college degree nor a certification to flaunt but are a lot better at creatively solving problems, getting things done and, not to mention, making and keeping social relationships which is a necessity to being an effective leader. The reality still remains that a new generation is ready to take the leadership mantle from the older generation. But unless we adopt to changing times, we'll lose out on the next generation of leaders.

So, anybody looking for new recruits? You may have missed that one going out of the door after that very recent interview.

Seizing Opportunities

I'm back to blogging after a 17-day vacation in the Philippines. My pastor friend, Fred Abad from Cornerstone Christian Church in Quezon City, Philippines asked me to preach at their last service on the first Sunday of the year. What a way to start 2008! Let me highlight that I am not a pastor nor a preacher, didn't even go to Bible school or whatever. I am an IT professional focusing on Microsoft technologies (isn't that what my profile says after all?), a part of the professional workforce. What am I going to share to the congregation? During the last Sunday service of 2007, Fred happened to be talking about "Taking Risks" which, apparently, was taken from the series by Mark Batterson of National Community Church in Washington, DC from his book In a Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day (well, I did give him the resources). Now, I didn't know he was going to share that until I heard him speak. I guess God wanted me to share something from this book after all. I have been reading this series for more than a month now and I felt God telling me to share anything from this book with a touch of relevance. Like I said, I ain't no pastor. This is what I did.


Seizing Opportunities

Let me first highlight that I am not a pastor nor a preacher, not an evangelist, apostle nor a prophet. I didn't go to Bible school though I taught kids' Sunday School and vacation Bible School way back. I am an IT Professional, working for a global company. I'm like most of you - working thru a 9-5 job (although in our case, it is often more than that) expecting a paycheck at the end of the month. That's why when Fred asked me to share something, I just didn't feel comfortable. But I believe God is doing something in everybody worthwhile to tell. I'm going to share about seizing opportunites this 2008. This was taken from the book In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. This book talks about Benaiah in 2 Samuel 23:20 and how he ended up to be in the Scriptures. Let me start off by telling you a story of two very popular icons. First, Starbucks. Everybody knows what this is. You've probably had a cup or two this week. But what's fascinating about Starbucks is it's success history. Let me quote Howard Schultz from his autobiography Pour Your Heart Into It


This is my moment, I thought. If I don’t seize the opportunity, if I don’t step out of my comfort zone and risk it all, if I let too much time tick on, my moment will pass. I knew that if I didn’t take advantage of this opportunity, I would replay it in my mind for my whole life, wondering: What if?


He had an opportunity and he seized it. The next icon is very popular to all burger lovers. You wouldn't believe that this giant burger chain was started by a multi-mixer milkshake machine salesman, Ray Croc. He mortgaged his home and invested his entire life savings to become the exclusive distributor of a five-spindled milk shake maker called the Multimixer. This became his gateway to McDonald's. Imagine investing your entire life savings and venturing on a business journey. Now, let me frame the concept of seizing opportunities from a Biblical perspective. Enter Colossians 4:5b wher it tells us to "make the most of every opportunity." I've taken these qoutes and lived by them ever since I've read about them. The first one is from
Whitney M. Young, Jr. (American social reformer, 1921-1971) who said, "It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. " Over the years, I've come up with my own quote which says, "If you don’t have an opportunity, create one." I like what Mark Batterson said about seizing opportunities, "Seeing and seizing opportunities is an underappreciated dimension of spiritual maturity." And I thought spiritual maturity has something to do with simply praying and reading your Bible and going to spiritual meetings. I was wrong. God intend for us to experience life to its fullest. That's what Jesus came here for. And seeing and seizing opportunities should be a part of our spritual life. But how do we seize the opporunities that come? How do we know they're the right ones? I think the answer lies in Collosians 4:2 - PRAY. This gives us the sensitivity to see and seize opportunities, even if they mask themselves as problems or adversities. I pray that this 2008, may we see and seize opportunities as God wants us to. May we have the courage to step up and seize those opporunities that God has lined our way knowing that Christ intended for us to live life to it's fullest.


Click here to download a copy of the PowerPoint slide deck used in this presentation.