What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

Based on a mammoth research study conducted by the Gallup Organization involving 80,000 managers across different industries, this book explores the challenge of many companies - attaining, keeping and measuring employee satisfaction. Discover how great managers attract, hire, focus, and keep their most talented employees!

Key Ideas:

1. The best managers reject conventional wisdom.
2. The best managers treat every employee as an individual.
3. The best managers never try to fix weaknesses; instead they focus on strengths and talent.
4. The best managers know they are on stage everyday. They know their people are watching every move they make.
5. Measuring employee satisfaction is vital information for your investors.
6. People leave their immediate managers, not the companies they work for.
7. The best managers are those that build a work environment where the employees answer positively to these 12 Questions:
1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my supervisor or someone at work seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
12. This last year, have I had the opportunity at work to learn and grow?

The Gallup study showed that those companies that reflected positive responses to the 12 questions profited more, were more productive as business units, retained more employees per year, and satisfied more customers.

Without satisfying an employee’s basic needs first, a manager can never expect the employee to give stellar performance. The basic needs are: knowing what is expected of the employee at work, giving her the equipment and support to do her work right, and answering her basic questions of self-worth and self-esteem by giving praise for good work and caring about her development as a person.

The great manager mantra is don’t try to put in what was left out; instead draw out what was left in. You must hire for talent, and hone that talent into outstanding performance.

More wisdom in a nutshell from First, Break All the Rules:

1. Know what can be taught, and what requires a natural talent.
2. Set the right outcomes, not steps.
3. Standardize the end but not the means. As long as the means are within the company’s legal boundaries and industry standards, let the employee use his own style to deliver the result or outcome you want.
4. Motivate by focusing on strengths, not weaknesses.
5. Casting is important, if an employee is not performing at excellence, maybe she is not cast in the right role.
6. Every role is noble, respect it enough to hire for talent to match.
7. A manager must excel in the art of the interview. See if the candidate’s recurring patterns of behavior match the role he is to fulfill.
8. Ask open-ended questions and let him talk. Listen for specifics.
9. Find ways to measure, count, and reward outcomes.
10. Spend time with your best people. Give constant feedback. If you can’t spend an hour every quarter talking to an employee, then you shouldn’t be a manager.
11. There are many ways of alleviating a problem or non-talent. Devise a support system, find a complementary partner for him, or an alternative role.
12. Do not promote someone until he reaches his level of incompetence; simply offer bigger rewards within the same range of his work. It is better to have an excellent highly paid waitress or bartender on your team than promote him or her to a poor starting-level bar manager.
13. Some homework to do: Study the best managers in the company and revise training to incorporate what they know. Send your talented people to learn new skills or knowledge.
14. Change recruiting practices to hire for talent, revise employee job descriptions and qualifications.

~ Gangadhar Kotu

Ways of Appreciation

Any form of appreciation makes a person happy and valued. It gives the impression that the employee is efficient and thus deserves some form of acknowledgement. Appreciation does not wait for time or occasion. Whenever the employee delivers commendable work, a small act of appreciation can be a great boost to their morale.

The most common form of appreciation is through gifts or increments. Gifts like chocolates or something that interests the particular employee can be bequeathed. Cash prizes or coupons can be awarded so that the employee gets some extra income. No matter how small the gift is, it can be the biggest motivating factor.

An appreciation letter can be an asset for any employee. It leverages the career prospects of the employee. It portrays that the employee was very good at his/her task and thus can be regarded as a worthy employee.

A simplistic way of appreciating is saying thank you or praising their efforts. As the employee has contributed whole heartedly for the organization, expressing gratitude for the same makes the employee keep up the good work. Also their names can be displayed on notice boards as performers of the month or week.

If a team effort needs to be appreciated, the whole team can be taken out for a pleasure trip or a small feast. Acknowledging them with claps in front of the whole workforce reinforces their spirit. It also instigates others to perform and receive the same commendation.

An efficacious employee longs to receive opportunities to flourish in his/her trade. Training such employees to be better will guarantee fruition to both the company and the employee.

Every employee requires to be appreciated and the medium of appreciation can vary or can be developed. What is important is that the employees receive his/her due as it can make them feel esteemed and execute quality work.

~ Gangadhar Kotu

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ashram trip

With a short notice from friend, I had been to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ashram with my friend's car. Today, seems to be lots of rush inside the ashram. Also noticed that there are various religions from India and devotees (Yoga students) are from other countries too.

As I noticed there, everything is commercial and too costly since the Yoga practice to buy anything. But not sure why? Is this a damn good business going on?

Seems to be Sri Sri foundation is going to start a new university in Orissa called 'Sri Sri Ravi Shankar University' by 2010. I asked them like "What is the qualification required to join this university? Does this require Graduation or Post Graduation?" What kind of answers do you expect from them? Wow..... ..... Are you thinking now on this???????

Here are the answers

• You can do either Graduation or Post Graduation from this University. But this university will be opened in Orissa by 2010.
• We don't have any brochures on this.
• Give us some contacts where they can help in contributing funds.
• Give us any contact who can rise the funds.

I was like surprised to hear the answers from them. I have no word from then when they are stressing on the last two points.

I went to this Ashram almost like 4 years ago. When I had been there last time, there were very less shopping (just underneath the Vishala Mandir). But now, everything is there including any fancy item, ......bags, shirts, trousers, ..........., handicrafts, ... tiffin, snaks, ice creams,... juice, tender coconut,.................... cyber cafe,................. ATMs,............... choultry........ Travel agencies (taxis, bus facility, airlines booking....). What a facility there?

By all, I don't think this is just an Ashram but a great resort. :(

To add this, I donno what to say, but Sri Sri Ravi Shankar came for a visit (in a car) with tight security on to the one round trip of Ashram road (inside) by 5:45 PM. I was expecting him to have a walk by him in the same path. In spite of that he came by car and just went like that even though lots of people are waiting to see him. I doubt everybody can see him during that time.

Well, as he is a Guru of Yoga and Art of Living, if he would have walk down on the path, people would have followed him and he would have become an example (role model) to not to use the vehicles inside the campus and also it would have been a message (No pollution, exercise and relief) to everybody. What happens to his teach (ethics) to everybody in the world.

I feel Sri Sri Ravi Shankar can serve lots of free or at least low price things to the public.

Finally something for free in Ashram is you can have free lunch/dinner. :)

By all means, my understanding that Art of Living is of a full commercial purpose.

~ Gangadhar Kotu

Leave vs Sick Leave

With all my bad experiences over the years, I was thought of writing this post since 2-3 years. But unfortunately couldn't do it. Finally the time has come for this.

In general, I was tried to apply LEAVE in the organization/client place (where ever I was present) very much well in advance. Applying (in advance) leave is becoming an advantage to the project managers and not even thinking of why the resource has applied leave in advance. They simply ignore the leaves and once it is approaching in a day/two/week, they will say "NOT POSSIBLE" because of the unimaginable reasons.

• Oh, we have got an important work.
• Oh, no; there is no backup.
• Oh, sorry, there is a demo to the management.
• Oh, bad, not possible this time, release is there.
• Oh, seems to be risky to approve your leave in this crucial time

All the above reasons (Cock-n-Bull stories) seem to be funny to anybody as why the hell managers are there, just to check the mails and play the games with the career of the resources.

Why did the resource apply LEAVE in advance? Just to give manager the opportunity to plan the activities better. To fulfill all the above reasons as the manager can't plan any if he applies just on the day or day before. But What happens to the resource, he gets "NO" answer, which will make him to think of how to get the LEAVE?

Funny part here is, the resource especially receives mails (kind of appreciations like you are an important resource, playing a key role, blah... blah...) in this period of time as to make the resource COOL and Happy.

Funny part is, these managers always maintain their own lobby to know the information (like informer job). Of course these lobby people also gets opportunities if they never raise the voice for any reason.

After lots of instances like above, you will get headache or some or other health issue. You suddenly take a leave and the business (project development, delivery, ...) will never stop as everybody knows. Then the so called manager thinks of all the alternatives and make the work done.

By this time, you would have felt bored, frustrated, irritated, stressed out of your manager activities because of all these CHILDISH behaviors.

You would also try the same instance again but this time wantedly take the sick leave with no reason, no personal work... kind of testing the scenario... what happens at project level. As usual, things will go smoothly. Just a feeling..... :)

Funny result is, if you ever want to have a time off, try consider that day as sick day and inform colleague/manager the same. Nobody has dare to stop/reject this (But there are a half-wit managers where they will bargain the resources to postpone the medical checkups or any doctor appointments..... ..... should be careful with these .... ) . And you could enjoy the day as you like and attend the office next day/two.

Now feeling so better than olden days to get the leave. You got the point where the key lies and use the KEY whenever you feel like.

Just think of, if the manager would have approved the leave by considering the point "Applying the leave in ADVANCE", Do you ever think of SICK LEAVE rather applying for leave?. I'm sure You would never do that. But we everybody knows that these half-wit managers would never apply their brain for these kind of things but apply very much to play the politics.

Of course all the above is an experience with our Indian Project Managers as they have to impress next level, next next level management.

Hope you gotta know how easy to get the leave in this KALIYUGA?

Happy Time...!!

~ Gangadhar Kotu