The more one rises in the business pyramid, the greater becomes the challenge to remain grounded. It is important to remain grounded, not only to connect with fellow professionals, but also ultimately with the customers buying up the products. That is why the term MBWA- Management By Wandering Around- has been popularized by the duo of Tom Peters and Bob Waterman. The idea here is that one cannot lead an organization simply from the top, but needs to have a connect with what is happening on the ground. This connect provides key business intelligence that can later be applied, as done so successfully at Disney. This concept has been best explained in a new book titled The Excellence Dividend penned in by Tom Peters himself. It also resonates with the traditional Japanese concept of shinrin-yokuthat translates into forest bathing.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Why-Wandering-Works-Wonders-for-Managers?gko=28355&sf194954980=1

Uploaded Date:01 September 2018

As per a study by Accenture Operations, companies in the digital age are increasingly looking to improve their talent recruitment efforts for the creative and entrepreneurial types. Such talent can also be deployed in agile positions. Certain traits needed among them are- passion, tenacity, agility and curiosity. Hiring of such talent though isn’t easy as such traits are not easy to identify from the traditional recruitment pools such as educational institutions or other companies. For creative roles, companies are also trying to enlist the services of freelancers, academia and contractors. Such people are able to eke out insights from digital data. Recruiters need to eliminate unintentional hiring biases to ensure increased workplace diversity. In addition to merely recruiting fresh creative talent, companies need also understand how to assess their existing staff. New tools are available that use artificial intelligence to do this. During this entire recruitment phase, companies will need to put up an attractive brand and value proposition to attract the best.

Source:https://www.accenture.com/us-en/blogs/blogs-allan-racey-how-to-hire-innovative-talent?c=bpo_intelligentopertwitter_10313422&n=smc_0718

Uploaded Date:01 September 2018

While most professionals fear immediate deadlines, research conducted has proven than people are more likely to perform such tasks better than tasks with long-ahead deadlines. Those far off tend to bring increased anxiety leading teams to commit greater resources to them. This further complicates when there are multiple deadlines far ahead. That is why people tend to prioritize immediate reports over things that will bring long-term gain. Managers are often guilty of poor talent management practices where they cannot bring the group’s attention to long-term goals but rather to each day’s reports. This often leads people to set easier targets. Time and the resultant monetary commitment both tend to rise with longer deadlines on the horizon.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/08/why-we-procrastinate-when-we-have-long-deadlines?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=dailyalert_activesubs&utm_content=signinnudge&referral=00563&deliveryName=DM13129

Uploaded Date:01 September 2018

The usual discourse on automation is that it will take away several jobs which will now be performed by cheaper and more durable robots. The same discourse also considers blue-collared jobs to be most at threat of getting disrupted as opposed to the more creative college-educated jobs. This general assumption comes from an understanding of present wages and education levels. The actual explanation though is far more nuanced. Unfortunately, business intelligence on risks by profession is rare to decipher on academic literature. That is why the MIT Sloan conducted its own research on fifty professions from across the educational or wage divides. It was revealed that it is untrue that blue-collaredjobs are more at risk. A lawyer for example is more threatened than is a plumber. Four kinds of impacts will take place as a result of automation. Jobs will either be disrupted, deconstructed, displaced or prove durable.

Source:https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/four-ways-jobs-will-respond-to-automation/

Uploaded Date:01 September 2018

Talent recruitment efforts do not always succeed. There are, admittedly times when recruiters get it wrong. A recent study has pegged success of new hires at a mere 19%, while the much higher 46% have been deemed outright failures. When such mistakes in hiring take place, the manager must prepare for an awkward but straight-to-the-point discussion with this new hire. One must take into consideration the bigger picture of continuing with this employee or moving ahead. For this, costs must be weighed on the new hire’s present and future. Reassignment or focused feedback may somewhat rectify the mess the team has landed in as a result of this wrong decision. Each company has a defined exit plan. On this occasion, one may deviate slightly to reduce the damage for all. As overall it is a bad deal for all, next time due diligence must be pained after learning from this experience.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/08/what-to-do-when-you-realize-you-made-a-bad-hire

Uploaded Date:01 September 2018

There is what is known as the termination playbook. It is almost universally followed for firing people. However, an even better method has been discovered known as the “transparent separation”. Here, instead of sacking someone directly, one is officially told about the impending move but is given time in the office. This allows the employee to look for a job during the office hours itself, as it is much easier to get a new position while one already holds a job. It is also good for the morale of the team as a whole because it is often painful to see older employees leave. The existing ones quite often miss their former colleagues, so now the separation can be smoother. It also helps the company in multiple ways, such as in talent recruitment or closing deals, as the organization now has a better reputation in the market. Legal risks also subside while the transitions are usually smoother. The relationship with all kinds of stakeholders- internal and external- improves.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/08/a-more-humane-approach-to-firing-people?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=dailyalert_activesubs&utm_content=signinnudge&referral=00563&deliveryName=DM12562

Uploaded Date:27 August 2018

A lot of professionals, once at the managerial cadre, genuinely try to make fair decisions. However, in spite of the genuine attempt, a lot fail to convince the people reporting to them that their processes are indeed fair. So, it is important to let people know of the processes being followed in a transparent manner. Leaders need to focus both on the process as well as the outcomes to be generated. Research has thrown up an interesting revelation. The relative importance of fairness in outcome versus process gets accentuated depending on what the employees hear first. For example, during talent recruitment, for those who knew of the process before but did not get selected, the reaction is usually fair as they have been informed prior. The reaction is quite opposite when first they got the bad news, followed by an explanation of the process.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/08/how-to-earn-a-reputation-as-a-fair-manager?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_monthly&utm_campaign=leadership_activesubs_dalertnlsubs&utm_content=signinnudge&referral=00206&deliveryName=DM12568

Uploaded Date:27 August 2018