06/01/08 06/01/08

Are You A Global Manager?

You have attended global conferences. That basically means that you have snored through Executive Development Programs in every country. You have seen the Seven Wonders and notched up more frequent flyer miles than your nearest rival down the hallway. You have developed a taste for exotic spirits and by that I do not mean people who pursue Extreme Sports. But are you a global manager?

10/11/07 10/11/07

Should We Make or Buy Leaders?

When are you hitting the office again? I have some work for you to do. Go to the corner office and without spilling coffee on the carpet out of sheer nervousness, ask the occupant what he or she does for a living. The trick is to tell them upfront that "playing golf" is not one of the options they can choose. That sobers them into really thinking hard.

21/10/07 21/10/07

Do You Have a Lovemark?

I had the opportunity to talk to a student group on Employer Branding. When I asked them to name their number one choice of an employer, the overwhelming majority voted in favour of Google. Then I ask them for details that one would be expected to know about a potential employer eg the office location, the number of employees they have in India etc. All these queries draw blanks. I ask the group about what specific jobs at Google they wished to apply for.

14/10/07 14/10/07

Coach Coach Hota Hai

I am currently reading Sun After Dark by Pico Iyer. He writes about the Dalai Lama who is considered to be the spiritual Coach to a nation and to many world leaders. He says though the Dalai Lama is "increasingly famous as a speaker, his real gift, you see as soon as you begin talking to him, is for listening." That ability to listen makes him a true Coach. The world leaders listen to him because he in turn is a world leader who listens.

22/09/07 22/09/07

Where Have All the Employees Gone?

I keep bumping into people who are completely uncool. I swear there are some who have not realized that our function is not called Human Resources anymore. We are about Talent Management. You do not hire fellows anymore. And you get a minus 5 if you think that it is the folks in Staffing or Recruitment that give you jobs. That department is now called Talent Acquisition.

16/09/07 16/09/07

Work Life Balance - Walking the Tight Rope

I know the young kids will never believe me when I tell them that I never had an X-Box or an iPod when I was growing up in various towns across India. Somewhere along the 90's, globalization happened. Salaries started to rise. Productivity and Quality became important criteria for survival. As companies started to face competition not just from Indian companies but also global behemoths, the treadmill started. That was the beginning of corporate India's "Get In Shape" campaign.

01/09/07 01/09/07

misFortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Prof CK Prahalad wrote a book called Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid about the 4 billion people who live on less than $2 a day. He says that if only we could start looking at this group as a group of discerning consumers with specific needs, the corporations could tap into the immense opportunities that lie there.How about having the HR folks taking a look at those in the corporation who make up the bottom of the pyramid?