Most leaders say the resource they lack most is time. But if you really observe managers for a day, you will see them rushing to meetings, constantly checking their Blackberry, dodging fires, believing they are attending to important matters.For 10 years, Bruch and Ghoshal observed behaviours of busy managers, and their conclusions: 90% of managers squander their time in all sorts of ineffective actions and activities. A mere 10% of managers spend their time in a committed, purposeful, and reflective manner. These 10% are usually classified as great leaders.Worst still, psychiatrist John Diamond found that 90% of people “hate their work.” They come to work to punch their time clock and can’t wait to go home. The difference between leaders who love their jobs and those that don’t – they take time daily to re-energise themselves and focus through reflection.
successful leaders, we find success driven by the quality of loving relationships within an organisation. These loving relationships are seen through behaviours like compassion, commitment, care, kindness, reflection, intuition, inclusiveness and forgiveness.
Prominent leader John Hope Bryant believes there are four laws of love-based leadership for business:
Fear fails Leading through fear is antiquated and crippling. Love is the antidote to fear.
Love makes money Long-term loving relationships with customers and employees make everyone wealthy.
Vulnerability is power When you open up, people open to you.
Giving is getting Giving inspires loyalty and confers true wealth. John D. Rockefeller, regarded as the richest man ever, was governed by love and believed it was greater to give than receive. People rallied to him because he gave. He later used his wealth to build universities and fund great causes.
May 25, 2011
May 08, 2011
Happy Mother day and Happy Birthday Amma.....
Of course mothers should be worshipped every day but since this is not always possible there is this special day to remind your mother of your love and worship for her
"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."
special wish to my mum ..Halimah bt Mohd Mydin
Happy Mother day and Happy Birthday Amma.....
"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."
special wish to my mum ..Halimah bt Mohd Mydin
Happy Mother day and Happy Birthday Amma.....
Managing Tacit Knowledge in Projects
In software projects, when we talk about knowledge management it is usually about managing explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is disseminated with the help of knowledge assets like documents, standard operating procedures, etc. Tacit knowledge cannot be passed on easily and deals mostly with implicit or unstated knowledge. The individuals who possess this knowledge either don't know that they posses some unique knowledge that can be shared with others, or they think that it is routine and do not know the value of the knowledge they posses. This is where the need for managing tacit knowledge arises, and most often, teams realize the importance of tacit knowledge in crisis situations.To understand better, let us start with a real life scenario. Suresh was the project manager of a maintenance project, which was running successfully for 1 year with 100% Service Level Agreement adherence. The project started with a team size of 20 out of which 13 were fresh people.The system was developed in a legacy technology, so he had a combination of problems to tackle:
Train the team in the technology
Ensure that the transition happens without any glitches
Due to the effort of the senior engineers in his project they moved into the steady state and wrote success stories for 1 year. This was also due to the knowledge management practices that they adopted. The team developed Books of Knowledge on technology and the system they were maintaining. After 1.5 years Suresh had to release 5 of his senior engineers for other opportunities. The release was planned 2 months in advance and Suresh ensured that a proper transition took place. After all the planned activities were completed, the release happened. The next two days saw a flurry of cases from customer as it was the quarter end. There were some major issues and suddenly the team was panicking. The frantic and clueless team approached Suresh for the contact numbers of the engineers who left the project.Now what could have gone wrong here, after such careful planning and meticulous knowledge management ?why was the team not able to cope up with the flurry of cases? The answer is simple; Suresh missed a few tricks of tacit knowledge management in his project.Some of the tacit knowledge management practices, which can be adopted in projects, are:
No knowledge is too less to share and too trivial not to disclose: Ensure that the team understands the importance of the routine jobs they might be doing, and ensure that such routine jobs are identified and recorded properly.
Rotation of tasks: Ensure that people are rotated across modules in the same project and that proper training takes place during such rotation. The team should record special cases that were not handled in the transition, and which they came to know of only after working on the system. This can be identified easily when a particular task is taking a longer time to complete with a new set of people.
Working with gurus: In every project, we come across gurus. This is because they have grasped the technology/system better than others in the team, or they have found a way to work smarter. Allow people to work with gurus on a rotation basis and tell them to record any steps that the whole team is unaware of.
Eureka mails: Encourage the team to send eureka mails, when they struggle with a task, and eventually find a solution
10 min knowledge sessions: Schedule daily recap sessions of the issues encountered. A scribe should be allocated to take down the major issues. The scribe should record such issues in a daily tips repository and send out emails, whenever a major issue is solved.
From the above mentioned points it is quite clear that interaction between team members is the key to managing tacit knowledge. The team is the strength of any project. Therefore, as a project manager, managing tacit knowledge equates to being a facilitator to interactions within the team and innovating new ideas to make these interactions more productive and interesting.
Train the team in the technology
Ensure that the transition happens without any glitches
Due to the effort of the senior engineers in his project they moved into the steady state and wrote success stories for 1 year. This was also due to the knowledge management practices that they adopted. The team developed Books of Knowledge on technology and the system they were maintaining. After 1.5 years Suresh had to release 5 of his senior engineers for other opportunities. The release was planned 2 months in advance and Suresh ensured that a proper transition took place. After all the planned activities were completed, the release happened. The next two days saw a flurry of cases from customer as it was the quarter end. There were some major issues and suddenly the team was panicking. The frantic and clueless team approached Suresh for the contact numbers of the engineers who left the project.Now what could have gone wrong here, after such careful planning and meticulous knowledge management ?why was the team not able to cope up with the flurry of cases? The answer is simple; Suresh missed a few tricks of tacit knowledge management in his project.Some of the tacit knowledge management practices, which can be adopted in projects, are:
No knowledge is too less to share and too trivial not to disclose: Ensure that the team understands the importance of the routine jobs they might be doing, and ensure that such routine jobs are identified and recorded properly.
Rotation of tasks: Ensure that people are rotated across modules in the same project and that proper training takes place during such rotation. The team should record special cases that were not handled in the transition, and which they came to know of only after working on the system. This can be identified easily when a particular task is taking a longer time to complete with a new set of people.
Working with gurus: In every project, we come across gurus. This is because they have grasped the technology/system better than others in the team, or they have found a way to work smarter. Allow people to work with gurus on a rotation basis and tell them to record any steps that the whole team is unaware of.
Eureka mails: Encourage the team to send eureka mails, when they struggle with a task, and eventually find a solution
10 min knowledge sessions: Schedule daily recap sessions of the issues encountered. A scribe should be allocated to take down the major issues. The scribe should record such issues in a daily tips repository and send out emails, whenever a major issue is solved.
From the above mentioned points it is quite clear that interaction between team members is the key to managing tacit knowledge. The team is the strength of any project. Therefore, as a project manager, managing tacit knowledge equates to being a facilitator to interactions within the team and innovating new ideas to make these interactions more productive and interesting.
April 26, 2011
What house are you building?
Building a solid house can only be done through reflection.
“Keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll get what you are getting. If that is good, great. If it’s not, you better change.” – Ang Hui Ming
A FEW years ago, I heard about an elderly construction worker who wanted to quit. He told his boss of his plans to leave. His boss was sorry to see such an excellent worker go and asked him to build one last house as a personal favour.
The construction worker said yes, but his heart was not in his work. There was no passion left. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials, cutting corners to get the work done.
Finally, when the house was finished, his boss handed him the keys to the house saying, “This is your house. It’s my gift to you.” The construction worker was stunned and full of regret as he knew he was sloppy working on it. If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
Isn’t it the same with us? Often we work hard but after a point in time, we dish out less than stellar performances. Our attitudes differ but we console ourselves by saying it doesn’t matter. But in most cases, it does matter.
Each day, we build our lives, one transaction at a time. Each day counts as we build our life’s building. When I worked at General Electric (GE), people always spoke about the “house that Jack built.” Jack Welch, painstakingly, for more than 20 years, built the foundation of GE, then its rooms, its roof and finally completed a remarkable turnaround. This took patience, time and years.
When we don’t get the promotion we crave, or we fail to get what others get, we are surprised. Could it be because the house we built doesn’t have strong foundations or good materials? It’s not just last year’s performance or last week’s deal that counts – it is your cumulative effectiveness on a daily basis.
So, how does one ensure that you are effective daily? Based on our research, it requires an equilibrium of action and reflection. While most leaders are biased towards action, the best leader balances contemplation and action, creating daily solitude for effective action.
Ineffective leaders
Most leaders say the resource they lack most is time. But if you really observe managers for a day, you will see them rushing to meetings, constantly checking their Blackberry, dodging fires, believing they are attending to important matters.
For 10 years, Bruch and Ghoshal observed behaviours of busy managers, and their conclusions: 90% of managers squander their time in all sorts of ineffective actions and activities. A mere 10% of managers spend their time in a committed, purposeful, and reflective manner. These 10% are usually classified as great leaders.
Worst still, psychiatrist John Diamond found that 90% of people “hate their work.” They come to work to punch their time clock and can’t wait to go home. The difference between leaders who love their jobs and those that don’t – they take time daily to re-energise themselves and focus through reflection.
Reflection
The practice of reflection goes back centuries and is rooted in numerous institutions including the Japanese samurai. Ben Franklin, one of my leadership heroes, had a rather systematic approach to reflection, which was a fundamental part of his daily life. He developed a list of 13 virtues and each day he evaluated his leadership relative to these virtues.
A sincere examination of ourselves is never easy. It involves the willingness to face and acknowledge our mistakes, failure and shortcomings. Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Prize winner, believes reflection in life is critical to leadership as it allows you to take into “account what you have neglected in thoughtlessness.”
Interestingly, a key step in the Alcoholics Anonymous programme asks participants to make a probing and courageous moral inventory. Steve Jobs went to India to reflect prior to starting Apple.
In business, reflection provides an opportunity to consider the ramifications of the services they provide and how to keep raising the bar. Business grows when they look within.
So, what does one achieve by reflection and contemplation? Productive action relies on a combination of three traits:
1. Focus – the ability to zero in on an objective and see the task to completion
2. Energy – the vitality that comes from concentrated personal commitment.
3. Learning – the ability to correct past mistakes and improve oneself
Focus without energy results in lethargic execution or burnout. Energy without focus leads to aimlessness or artificial busyness. And not learning from your mistakes ensures you repeat them.
All three pieces can only be obtained through reflection. Procrastinators are usually people with low levels of energy and focus. Leaders with high focus but low energy never inspire and generally end up ostracising the troops. Managers with high energy but low focus confuse their employees with chaotic activity.
Reflective managers are purpose-driven with high energy levels, learning from their mistakes. They start their day in reflection to ensure purposeful execution and action.
Focus
Confucius once said, “A man who chases two rabbits catches neither!” In Star Wars Episode 1, Qui-Gon says to the young Jedi Anakin, “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” There is an ounce of truth in that Jedi wisdom. A focused person usually attains his/her goals.
At the end of a tiring day, if we focus on how tired we are, generally we will remain tired and end up vegetating in front of the TV set. If we re-focus the mind from being tired to needing to be healthy, there is a bigger likelihood we will exercise.
It is easy to stray with all the distractions, TV, Internet and mobile devices that we have today. These distractions can lead us off-tangent, stealing our focusing power. Reflection corrects that.
Energy and passion
Reflection generates passion and energy. Energy comes from passion. Passion is self-generated as you can motivate yourself to be excited about what you do.
Author Bill Strickland writes: “Passions are irresistible. They’re the ideas, hopes, and possibilities your mind naturally gravitates to, the things you would focus your time and attention on.”
Strickland believes that only by following your passion will you unlock your deepest potential. “I never saw a meaningful life that wasn’t based on passion. And I never saw a life full of passion that wasn’t, in some important way, extraordinary.”
Learning from mistakes
Reflection allows us to learn from mistakes. We all make mistakes – I have done so spectacularly at times. We have all been in situations where things don’t go exactly to plan. But how often do we take the time to sit down to reflect on where it all went wrong?
Plato’s great words “know thyself” implies that a lifetime of self-investigation is the cornerstone for knowledge. John Dewey states, “We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.”
In fact, the Kolb Learning Cycle, is based on the belief that learning for real comprehension comes from a sequence of experience, reflection, abstraction, and action. All learning can come only through reflection.
Check your attitudes daily
Living an extraordinary life is done internally through the daily positive alignment of your attitude. Your attitudes and the choices you make today build the house you live in tomorrow. Build wisely! Build with commitment, pride, joy, love and passion.
Your attitude is contagious and sets the mood for those around you. Your employees get excited when you are excited. They are energised when you are.
Plato opened up The Academy in Athens at the age of 40, when life expectancy was 36. He ran this first university, training Aristotle and others, until he was 80. Pursuing focused positive dreams arms one with high energy and leads to an extended, rewarding life.
I don’t have time to think!
This is a pretty common reaction: I don’t have time to reflect.
Which begs the question: Do you have time to make the same mistakes over and over again? Or to remain unfocused, running around like a headless chicken? Or lack energy to fulfil your dreams?
I remember an old boss once told me that I was not paid to sit around and think. On hindsight, that was probably the worst advice I received. Leaders should spend at least a quarter of their time thinking about the future of their company and reflecting on the past. It may seem ludicrous to spend time reflecting but “real work” can only be done right when you know where you are going and have the energy to get there.
Final thoughts
If we could do things over, we probably would do many things differently. And better. But the problem is, we cannot go back. We are just like the construction worker. Each day we hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall in our career, family and lives. Are you doing it with focus and energy? Are we improving ourselves by learning from our mistakes?
If the fire in our eyes has diminished and we are going through life in auto-pilot, with the joy of life seemingly leaked out, it is time to take stock of life and reflect.
Socrates, Ben Franklin and most great leaders believed that reflection led to a productive and fulfilling life. And don’t say you don’t have time. After all, as Buddha aptly puts it, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”
“Keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll get what you are getting. If that is good, great. If it’s not, you better change.” – Ang Hui Ming
A FEW years ago, I heard about an elderly construction worker who wanted to quit. He told his boss of his plans to leave. His boss was sorry to see such an excellent worker go and asked him to build one last house as a personal favour.
The construction worker said yes, but his heart was not in his work. There was no passion left. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials, cutting corners to get the work done.
Finally, when the house was finished, his boss handed him the keys to the house saying, “This is your house. It’s my gift to you.” The construction worker was stunned and full of regret as he knew he was sloppy working on it. If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
Isn’t it the same with us? Often we work hard but after a point in time, we dish out less than stellar performances. Our attitudes differ but we console ourselves by saying it doesn’t matter. But in most cases, it does matter.
Each day, we build our lives, one transaction at a time. Each day counts as we build our life’s building. When I worked at General Electric (GE), people always spoke about the “house that Jack built.” Jack Welch, painstakingly, for more than 20 years, built the foundation of GE, then its rooms, its roof and finally completed a remarkable turnaround. This took patience, time and years.
When we don’t get the promotion we crave, or we fail to get what others get, we are surprised. Could it be because the house we built doesn’t have strong foundations or good materials? It’s not just last year’s performance or last week’s deal that counts – it is your cumulative effectiveness on a daily basis.
So, how does one ensure that you are effective daily? Based on our research, it requires an equilibrium of action and reflection. While most leaders are biased towards action, the best leader balances contemplation and action, creating daily solitude for effective action.
Ineffective leaders
Most leaders say the resource they lack most is time. But if you really observe managers for a day, you will see them rushing to meetings, constantly checking their Blackberry, dodging fires, believing they are attending to important matters.
For 10 years, Bruch and Ghoshal observed behaviours of busy managers, and their conclusions: 90% of managers squander their time in all sorts of ineffective actions and activities. A mere 10% of managers spend their time in a committed, purposeful, and reflective manner. These 10% are usually classified as great leaders.
Worst still, psychiatrist John Diamond found that 90% of people “hate their work.” They come to work to punch their time clock and can’t wait to go home. The difference between leaders who love their jobs and those that don’t – they take time daily to re-energise themselves and focus through reflection.
Reflection
The practice of reflection goes back centuries and is rooted in numerous institutions including the Japanese samurai. Ben Franklin, one of my leadership heroes, had a rather systematic approach to reflection, which was a fundamental part of his daily life. He developed a list of 13 virtues and each day he evaluated his leadership relative to these virtues.
A sincere examination of ourselves is never easy. It involves the willingness to face and acknowledge our mistakes, failure and shortcomings. Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Prize winner, believes reflection in life is critical to leadership as it allows you to take into “account what you have neglected in thoughtlessness.”
Interestingly, a key step in the Alcoholics Anonymous programme asks participants to make a probing and courageous moral inventory. Steve Jobs went to India to reflect prior to starting Apple.
In business, reflection provides an opportunity to consider the ramifications of the services they provide and how to keep raising the bar. Business grows when they look within.
So, what does one achieve by reflection and contemplation? Productive action relies on a combination of three traits:
1. Focus – the ability to zero in on an objective and see the task to completion
2. Energy – the vitality that comes from concentrated personal commitment.
3. Learning – the ability to correct past mistakes and improve oneself
Focus without energy results in lethargic execution or burnout. Energy without focus leads to aimlessness or artificial busyness. And not learning from your mistakes ensures you repeat them.
All three pieces can only be obtained through reflection. Procrastinators are usually people with low levels of energy and focus. Leaders with high focus but low energy never inspire and generally end up ostracising the troops. Managers with high energy but low focus confuse their employees with chaotic activity.
Reflective managers are purpose-driven with high energy levels, learning from their mistakes. They start their day in reflection to ensure purposeful execution and action.
Focus
Confucius once said, “A man who chases two rabbits catches neither!” In Star Wars Episode 1, Qui-Gon says to the young Jedi Anakin, “Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” There is an ounce of truth in that Jedi wisdom. A focused person usually attains his/her goals.
At the end of a tiring day, if we focus on how tired we are, generally we will remain tired and end up vegetating in front of the TV set. If we re-focus the mind from being tired to needing to be healthy, there is a bigger likelihood we will exercise.
It is easy to stray with all the distractions, TV, Internet and mobile devices that we have today. These distractions can lead us off-tangent, stealing our focusing power. Reflection corrects that.
Energy and passion
Reflection generates passion and energy. Energy comes from passion. Passion is self-generated as you can motivate yourself to be excited about what you do.
Author Bill Strickland writes: “Passions are irresistible. They’re the ideas, hopes, and possibilities your mind naturally gravitates to, the things you would focus your time and attention on.”
Strickland believes that only by following your passion will you unlock your deepest potential. “I never saw a meaningful life that wasn’t based on passion. And I never saw a life full of passion that wasn’t, in some important way, extraordinary.”
Learning from mistakes
Reflection allows us to learn from mistakes. We all make mistakes – I have done so spectacularly at times. We have all been in situations where things don’t go exactly to plan. But how often do we take the time to sit down to reflect on where it all went wrong?
Plato’s great words “know thyself” implies that a lifetime of self-investigation is the cornerstone for knowledge. John Dewey states, “We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.”
In fact, the Kolb Learning Cycle, is based on the belief that learning for real comprehension comes from a sequence of experience, reflection, abstraction, and action. All learning can come only through reflection.
Check your attitudes daily
Living an extraordinary life is done internally through the daily positive alignment of your attitude. Your attitudes and the choices you make today build the house you live in tomorrow. Build wisely! Build with commitment, pride, joy, love and passion.
Your attitude is contagious and sets the mood for those around you. Your employees get excited when you are excited. They are energised when you are.
Plato opened up The Academy in Athens at the age of 40, when life expectancy was 36. He ran this first university, training Aristotle and others, until he was 80. Pursuing focused positive dreams arms one with high energy and leads to an extended, rewarding life.
I don’t have time to think!
This is a pretty common reaction: I don’t have time to reflect.
Which begs the question: Do you have time to make the same mistakes over and over again? Or to remain unfocused, running around like a headless chicken? Or lack energy to fulfil your dreams?
I remember an old boss once told me that I was not paid to sit around and think. On hindsight, that was probably the worst advice I received. Leaders should spend at least a quarter of their time thinking about the future of their company and reflecting on the past. It may seem ludicrous to spend time reflecting but “real work” can only be done right when you know where you are going and have the energy to get there.
Final thoughts
If we could do things over, we probably would do many things differently. And better. But the problem is, we cannot go back. We are just like the construction worker. Each day we hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall in our career, family and lives. Are you doing it with focus and energy? Are we improving ourselves by learning from our mistakes?
If the fire in our eyes has diminished and we are going through life in auto-pilot, with the joy of life seemingly leaked out, it is time to take stock of life and reflect.
Socrates, Ben Franklin and most great leaders believed that reflection led to a productive and fulfilling life. And don’t say you don’t have time. After all, as Buddha aptly puts it, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”
CEOs need to lead by example
Leading the way in good corporate behaviour is a top mangement challenge. At the recent StarBiz-ICR Malaysia CR Exchange – a forum on CR In the Workplace: Issues & Best Practices – past winner Guinness Anchor Bhd human resources director R. Sujitha Rajaratnam and finalist Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd president and CEO Bi Yong Chungunco – both in the workplace category – shared their views and strategies on how to ensure a sustainable CR programme. Leaderonomics founder and CEO Roshan Thiran also shared his insights on the importance of a long-term CR plan. The forum was held in conjunction with the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia Corporate Responsibility Awards 2010.
CEOs and top executives must be seen to practise the corporate responsibility (CR) initiatives implemented by their companies, if they expect their employees to take those measures seriously.
“Top management must walk the talk and practise what they preach in the CR initiatives implemented by their companies.
“If top management does not practise the CR initiatives as set out, can they really expect their employees to follow?” Leaderonomics founder and CEO Roshan Thiran said.
Roshan, who was a guest speaker at the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia CR Exchange last Monday, observed that there were a number of local companies (listed and unlisted), including those at top management that do not fully appreciate the CR agenda and the benefits derived from good CR initiatives.
Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd president and CEO Bi Yong Chungunco
“CR today is beyond philanthropy and charity work. It is, in fact, a critical element in the development of a sustainable business model to enable companies to remain competitive globally,” he told StarBiz.
Roshan said CR encompassed many factors ranging from initiatives taken to retain and attract talent, appropriate and sustainable raw material sourcing as well as having a “social mission” in business.
He said companies must not only have a profit mission but also a social mission that involves giving back to the community.
Roshan predicted that in 20 to 30 years, all businesses would need to have a social mission to remain competitive and profitable.
He said: “Organisations that don’t have a social mission will not be around long-term, as CR creates shareholder value and makes business sense.”
He cited several companies, including AirAsia Bhd and General Electric Co, as exemplary companies that had a social mission imbued in their businesses, beyond being profitable.
“AirAsia’s famous tagline “Now everyone can fly” underscores the airline’s mission to open up opportunities for air travel to more people globally,” Roshan noted .
In the case of General Electric, he said the company had a strong commitment to engage the communities with programmes such as “ecomagination challenge” while PepsiCo Inc, a soft-drink manufacturer, had now moved towards providing more health-based drinks.
Roshan said successful companies with good CR were able to attract talent and also to get the community’s trust and support. This is a win-win situation as when communities thrive businesses will also thrive,” he said.
Not marketing gimmicks
Roshan said some people might view such CR exercises as marketing gimmicks but the top management of companies, especially those in leadership position, must believe in it (that CR initiatives provide tangible long-term benefits) and take proactive steps to resolve issues, even if short-term losses occur in their businesses.
He said CR should be led by those at the top and they must also learn to be more engaging with employees.
“Senior management must be seen to not only talk about CR but must actively take part in such initiatives to show colleagues of their commitment to the CR cause,” he added.
Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd president and CEO Bi Yong Chungunco, another guest speaker at the forum, said an area in which Lafarge had promoted CR in the workplace was through the health and safety aspects.
She said logistics safety was an important area for Lafarge as the company transported almost all cement sold in the peninsula.
“We believe companies cannot achieve “excellence in business if they cannot achieve excellence in safety. This is why the safety and health aspect are emphasised in Lafarge,” Chungunco said.
She added: “Lafarge conducts health and safety engagement every year where we revisit and re-state the policy and commit ourselves by signing the policy in every country where we are present.”
Chungunco said Lafarge involved the spouses of employees, who were mainly male truck drivers, to appeal to their sense of responsibility on the road, where they were often driving alone.
“We ask the wives to tell their husbands to come home safe, that their families need them. In fact, we make them hold hands at our Transporters’ Safety Day and make that a commitment,” she said.
Other CR commitments include provision of reflector safety belts and GPS systems in the trucks to better monitor the drivers.
Lafarge Malayan Cement was a finalist in the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia awards in 2008 and 2009 under the workplace category.
Guinness Anchor Bhd (GAB) human resources director R. Sujitha Rajaratnam emphasised how the company engaged employees by giving them opportunities to reach their full potential.
“Each employee will have a career development plan encompassing training and development aimed at encouraging and enabling their growth,” she said.
Other initiatives in GAB, a StarBiz-ICR Malaysia award winner in 2010 under the workplace category, included a responsible drinking policy and healthy living.
The company encourages a work-life balance where flexi-time is practised, with a “home early” programme in the pipeline.
The investment in GAB employees is paying off. “We’ve delivered nine consecutive years of growth in revenue, profit and market share,” she said.
CEOs and top executives must be seen to practise the corporate responsibility (CR) initiatives implemented by their companies, if they expect their employees to take those measures seriously.
“Top management must walk the talk and practise what they preach in the CR initiatives implemented by their companies.
“If top management does not practise the CR initiatives as set out, can they really expect their employees to follow?” Leaderonomics founder and CEO Roshan Thiran said.
Roshan, who was a guest speaker at the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia CR Exchange last Monday, observed that there were a number of local companies (listed and unlisted), including those at top management that do not fully appreciate the CR agenda and the benefits derived from good CR initiatives.
Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd president and CEO Bi Yong Chungunco
“CR today is beyond philanthropy and charity work. It is, in fact, a critical element in the development of a sustainable business model to enable companies to remain competitive globally,” he told StarBiz.
Roshan said CR encompassed many factors ranging from initiatives taken to retain and attract talent, appropriate and sustainable raw material sourcing as well as having a “social mission” in business.
He said companies must not only have a profit mission but also a social mission that involves giving back to the community.
Roshan predicted that in 20 to 30 years, all businesses would need to have a social mission to remain competitive and profitable.
He said: “Organisations that don’t have a social mission will not be around long-term, as CR creates shareholder value and makes business sense.”
He cited several companies, including AirAsia Bhd and General Electric Co, as exemplary companies that had a social mission imbued in their businesses, beyond being profitable.
“AirAsia’s famous tagline “Now everyone can fly” underscores the airline’s mission to open up opportunities for air travel to more people globally,” Roshan noted .
In the case of General Electric, he said the company had a strong commitment to engage the communities with programmes such as “ecomagination challenge” while PepsiCo Inc, a soft-drink manufacturer, had now moved towards providing more health-based drinks.
Roshan said successful companies with good CR were able to attract talent and also to get the community’s trust and support. This is a win-win situation as when communities thrive businesses will also thrive,” he said.
Not marketing gimmicks
Roshan said some people might view such CR exercises as marketing gimmicks but the top management of companies, especially those in leadership position, must believe in it (that CR initiatives provide tangible long-term benefits) and take proactive steps to resolve issues, even if short-term losses occur in their businesses.
He said CR should be led by those at the top and they must also learn to be more engaging with employees.
“Senior management must be seen to not only talk about CR but must actively take part in such initiatives to show colleagues of their commitment to the CR cause,” he added.
Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd president and CEO Bi Yong Chungunco, another guest speaker at the forum, said an area in which Lafarge had promoted CR in the workplace was through the health and safety aspects.
She said logistics safety was an important area for Lafarge as the company transported almost all cement sold in the peninsula.
“We believe companies cannot achieve “excellence in business if they cannot achieve excellence in safety. This is why the safety and health aspect are emphasised in Lafarge,” Chungunco said.
She added: “Lafarge conducts health and safety engagement every year where we revisit and re-state the policy and commit ourselves by signing the policy in every country where we are present.”
Chungunco said Lafarge involved the spouses of employees, who were mainly male truck drivers, to appeal to their sense of responsibility on the road, where they were often driving alone.
“We ask the wives to tell their husbands to come home safe, that their families need them. In fact, we make them hold hands at our Transporters’ Safety Day and make that a commitment,” she said.
Other CR commitments include provision of reflector safety belts and GPS systems in the trucks to better monitor the drivers.
Lafarge Malayan Cement was a finalist in the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia awards in 2008 and 2009 under the workplace category.
Guinness Anchor Bhd (GAB) human resources director R. Sujitha Rajaratnam emphasised how the company engaged employees by giving them opportunities to reach their full potential.
“Each employee will have a career development plan encompassing training and development aimed at encouraging and enabling their growth,” she said.
Other initiatives in GAB, a StarBiz-ICR Malaysia award winner in 2010 under the workplace category, included a responsible drinking policy and healthy living.
The company encourages a work-life balance where flexi-time is practised, with a “home early” programme in the pipeline.
The investment in GAB employees is paying off. “We’ve delivered nine consecutive years of growth in revenue, profit and market share,” she said.
April 25, 2011
April Special
April was the second month in an early Roman calendar, but became the fourth when the ancient Romans started using January as the first month. The Romans called the month Aprilis. It may come from a word meanting 'to open', or it may come from Aphrodite, the Greek name for the goddess of love.
Small animals that hibernate are usually coming out of their burrows in April. The birds fly back northward or they settle down to have their families. The bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar from the first flowers of the season.
In some parts of the world, it's planting time. In other parts, it's the harvest season. Professional baseball begins in April. Then the amateur athletes begin to go outside in the warm weather. Spring cleaning starts and people start mowing their yards again.
Special days celebrated in April begin with the first day of April, when children and grown-ups play jokes on one another on Aprill Fools.
Month of April always close to my heart ..since it carry mine ,my wife and my elder son birthday. This year it means a lot since I join Maybank Berhad as Business Analyst on IT Transformation Programmed on 19 April 2011.
Happy Birthday Fawwaz
Happy Birthday Sherry
God Bless u
Small animals that hibernate are usually coming out of their burrows in April. The birds fly back northward or they settle down to have their families. The bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar from the first flowers of the season.
In some parts of the world, it's planting time. In other parts, it's the harvest season. Professional baseball begins in April. Then the amateur athletes begin to go outside in the warm weather. Spring cleaning starts and people start mowing their yards again.
Special days celebrated in April begin with the first day of April, when children and grown-ups play jokes on one another on Aprill Fools.
Month of April always close to my heart ..since it carry mine ,my wife and my elder son birthday. This year it means a lot since I join Maybank Berhad as Business Analyst on IT Transformation Programmed on 19 April 2011.
Happy Birthday Fawwaz
Happy Birthday Sherry
God Bless u
March 27, 2011
You’re in Charge
You’ve earned your first leadership role in project management—but do you have what it takes to be the in charge?
Ah, the thrill of a big promotion.
You’ve proven your project management prowess and now you’ve been rewarded with your first role in charge. But as the rookie in command, you need to define your role.
And that often means leaving the nitty-gritty minutiae behind. When tech giant Google researched what traits make for a better boss in 2009, it discovered technical expertise was far less important than accessibility.
“New leaders really need to be the manager of the project. They can’t continue to work as if they are still working on the technical side of the project,” says Roberta Chinsky Matuson, author of “Suddenly In Charge: Managing Up, Managing Down, Succeeding All Around.”
Right from the start, you need to position yourself as the supervisor, she explains. “Have conversations with the team about what your expectations are. This is your job now — you need to start acting like it.”
New leaders must establish what kind of authority they actually have and what their stakeholders expect from them, says Thomas Juli, PhD, PMP, founder of Thomas Juli Empowerment Partners, Heidelberg, Germany.
Then they can figure out what motivates their new team and build up a rapport, he says. “What makes the team work for you, with you and against you? You need your team. You can’t do this by yourself.”
In many cases, though, your new team members were your peers not so long ago. So, how can you earn their respect?
If a team member doesn’t fulfill his or her responsibilities, you must address the issue. “Doing nothing will mean you lose respect,” says Ms. Matuson, also president of Human Resource Solutions, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA.
The same can be said when someone goes above and beyond to get the job done. Acknowledging the effort will show team members you appreciate them, she says.
“New leaders don’t always realize that if their people shine, they shine,” Ms. Matuson adds. “You are being evaluated on how well your people do.”
And new or not, the supervisor sets the tone. The Google research revealed that the company’s managers had a much greater impact on employee performance and how people felt about their jobs than any other factor.
As you settle into your role, try to keep your ultimate goal as a project manager top of mind. “Never forget what you are measured against: managing a project to success,” says Dr. Juli, also author of “Leadership Principles for Project Success.”
Being a leader doesn’t come naturally for many project managers. Seek out mentors to help guide the way. Also ask your boss and even some team members to evaluate your performance. “It’s just another way of learning,” Dr. Juli says.
Ultimately, project managers in new leadership roles must acknowledge that not everything will be perfect.
“Expect to make mistakes — and learn from them,” says Dr. Juli. “Don’t try to apply everything you know at once, it’s not necessary. We are project managers, not superheroes.”
Figuring out exactly what you’re doing in your new role in charge can be the most daunting part of your career transition. But armed with the right knowledge, your new responsibilities will eventually fall into place.
PMI
You’re in Charge
You’ve earned your first leadership role in project management—but do you have what it takes to be the in charge?
Ah, the thrill of a big promotion. You’ve proven your project management prowess and now you’ve been rewarded with your first role in charge. But as the rookie in command, you need to define your role.
And that often means leaving the nitty-gritty minutiae behind. When tech giant Google researched what traits make for a better boss in 2009, it discovered technical expertise was far less important than accessibility.
“New leaders really need to be the manager of the project. They can’t continue to work as if they are still working on the technical side of the project,” says Roberta Chinsky Matuson, author of “Suddenly In Charge: Managing Up, Managing Down, Succeeding All Around.”
Right from the start, you need to position yourself as the supervisor, she explains. “Have conversations with the team about what your expectations are. This is your job now — you need to start acting like it.”
New leaders must establish what kind of authority they actually have and what their stakeholders expect from them, says Thomas Juli, PhD, PMP, founder of Thomas Juli Empowerment Partners, Heidelberg, Germany.
Then they can figure out what motivates their new team and build up a rapport, he says. “What makes the team work for you, with you and against you? You need your team. You can’t do this by yourself.”
In many cases, though, your new team members were your peers not so long ago. So, how can you earn their respect?
If a team member doesn’t fulfill his or her responsibilities, you must address the issue. “Doing nothing will mean you lose respect,” says Ms. Matuson, also president of Human Resource Solutions, Northampton, Massachusetts, USA.
The same can be said when someone goes above and beyond to get the job done. Acknowledging the effort will show team members you appreciate them, she says.
“New leaders don’t always realize that if their people shine, they shine,” Ms. Matuson adds. “You are being evaluated on how well your people do.”
And new or not, the supervisor sets the tone. The Google research revealed that the company’s managers had a much greater impact on employee performance and how people felt about their jobs than any other factor.
As you settle into your role, try to keep your ultimate goal as a project manager top of mind. “Never forget what you are measured against: managing a project to success,” says Dr. Juli, also author of “Leadership Principles for Project Success.”
Being a leader doesn’t come naturally for many project managers. Seek out mentors to help guide the way. Also ask your boss and even some team members to evaluate your performance. “It’s just another way of learning,” Dr. Juli says.
Ultimately, project managers in new leadership roles must acknowledge that not everything will be perfect.
“Expect to make mistakes — and learn from them,” says Dr. Juli. “Don’t try to apply everything you know at once, it’s not necessary. We are project managers, not superheroes.”
Figuring out exactly what you’re doing in your new role in charge can be the most daunting part of your career transition. But armed with the right knowledge, your new responsibilities will eventually fall into place.
PMI
March 01, 2011
Firms must engage more with employees
Corporations large and small, which wish to succeed in the years ahead, will have to engage more with their employees and the community around them as part of efforts to develop their presence beyond just profits. 
From left: Bi Yong Chungunco, Star Publications group MD and CEO Datin Linda Ngiam, R. Sujitha Rajaratnam, Price WaterhouseCoopers senior executive director Chin Suit Fang and Roshan Thiran at the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia CR Exchange on Tuesday. 
Speakers at the StarBiz ICRM Corporate Responsibility Awards 2010, who presented a dialogue at Menara Star yesterday on CR in the Workplace: Issues & Best Practice, said engaging with employees included cultivating their talent, making sure the workplace was safe and healthy as well as encouraging work-life balance.
Leaderonomics Sdn Bhd founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Roshan Thiran said companies needed to have a social purpose in order to attract or retain talent, especially among younger employees.
Star Publications (M) Bhd, the publisher of The Star, has a 51% stake in Leaderonomics.
From left: Bi Yong Chungunco, Star Publications group MD and CEO Datin Linda Ngiam, R. Sujitha Rajaratnam, Price WaterhouseCoopers senior executive director Chin Suit Fang and Roshan Thiran at the StarBiz-ICR Malaysia CR Exchange on Tuesday. “Organisations that don't have a social mission will not be around long-term, as corporate responsibility (CR) creates shareholder value and makes business sense,” Roshan said.
He said examples of companies which have integrated their businesses with this “social mission” were AirAsia Bhd, whose tagline of “Now everyone can fly” underscored the company's mission of opening up opportunities for air travel to more people.
Roshan pointed out that other firms which have made commitments to engage with the communities around them included the General Electric Co with their “ecomagination challenge” and PepsiCo Inc, a maker of soft-drinks now moving towards providing more health-based drinks.
“Companies that want to win need to start engaging with the communities around them, this is a win-win situation as when communities thrive then businesses will also thrive,” he added.
Roshan said many might view such corporate exercises as marketing gimmicks but the companies' leadership must believe it and be seen taking proactive steps, even if it meant short-term losses for the businesses.
Predicting that in 20 to 30 years all businesses would have a “social mission” with a profit motive for sustainability, he said senior management must be seen to not only talk about CR but must be seen to actively take part in it to show colleagues of their commitment. Roshan predicted that over the next 20 to 30 years, all businesses would be social business with a profit.
Meanwhile, Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd president and CEO Bi Yong Chungunco said one area in which the company promoted CR in the workplace was via the health and safety aspects. She said logistics safety was one area of importance for Lafarge as the company transported almost all the cement it sold in the peninsula with the mileage for one year equivalent to rounding the globe three times.
Chungunco believed companies cannot achieve “excellence in business if they cannot achieve excellence in safety”.
This was the reason why the safety and health aspect was emphasised by Lafarge. “We've a health and safety engagement every year where we revisit and re-state the policy and commit ourselves by signing that policy in every country where we've a presence,” she said.
Chungunco said the company used the spouses of the predominantly male truck drivers to appeal to their sense of responsibility on the road, where they were often driving alone.
“We ask the wives to tell their husbands to come home safe, that their families needed them, in fact we make them hold hands at our Transporters' Safety Day and make that commitment,” she said.
Besides this commitment, Chungunco said the company has equipped reflector safety belts as well as GPS systems in the trucks in order to better monitor the drivers.
Fellow speaker Guinness Anchor Bhd human resources director R. Sujitha Rajaratnam emphasised how the company engaged employees by giving them opportunities to reach their full potential.
Describing it as part of the company's human resources vision, she said “each employee will have a career development plan encompassing training and development, to encourage and enable their growth”.
Other initiatives included a responsible drinking policy, healthy living and encouraging work-life balance where the company practiced flexi-time which in future would also include a “home early” programme.
Sujitha said the investment in people was paying off. “We've delivered nine consecutive years of growth in revenue, profit and market share,” she added.
February 22, 2011
PMI Project Management Methodology for Post Disaster Reconstruction
Disasters and crises are, by nature, accompanied by uncertainty. The list of reconstruction priorities is longer than one person can tackle alone without support.
Leadership and the ability to envision solutions are essential to managing projects of all types. But what is also essential is the means to practice the established principles of project management in order to achieve a successful outcome.
To address this, PMI has developed Project Management Methodology for Post Disaster Reconstruction, aimed at those in the disaster recovery field who are providing the kind of leadership and clarity of thought needed to help in the reconstruction effort.
Project management and its related processes are the keys to staying organized and focused, and to accomplishing the solutions a community needs after being hit by a disaster. Reconstruction project management is about solving problems and delivering intended results through an organized, structured methodology.
PMI’s Project Management Methodology was developed for global application by relief agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and/or governments following a major disaster. It is based on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)–Third Edition, and is meant to enhance collaboration and consistency, as well as quality and accountability, of projects undertaken in a crisis/disaster rebuild environment.
In the simplest terms possible the Project Management Methodology for Post Disaster Reconstruction provides an approach that, if followed, will deliver results.
To download a zip file containing the Project Management Methodology, which includes instructor, participant and classroom documents, presentations and worksheets, complete the following fields below.
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