Women Leadership Summit 2012

Hi,

How are you doing?

After the resounding success of the four editions of Women Leadership Summit since 2008 in 6 cities of India i.e. Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Pune and Kolkata, Siliconindia is back with its 6^th edition of the ‘ Women Leadership Summit 2012' in Bangalore on February 24th.

You will get an opportunity to listen Rekha Menon, Executive Director Geographic Services, Accenture who will speak in one of the panel at the event. Rekha leads Geographic Services for India & ASEAN and Human Capital & Diversity for India with over 24 years of rich experience.

You can also listen to Anuradha Rao, VP Leadership Development, Deutsche Bank with an experience of 23 who leads Talent & Development for DBOI globally.

The Women's Leadership Summit advances women’s leadership across careers, cultures and continents by connecting the world’s most preeminent women of significant and diverse achievement. This event will feature panels of highly successful professional women from the corporate industry who will share their knowledge and insights to help empower more women to achieve their goals.

List of confirmed speakers:

• Usha Chamurturi, Director, Alcatel Lucent.
• Anuradha Rao, VP Leadership Development, Deutsche Bank.
• Meena Ganesh,CEO,Edurite Technologies(Pearson Group).
• Jessie Paul,CEO, Paul Writer.
• Dr. Sunita Maheshwari, Doctor and Entrepreneur, Narayana Hrudayalaya .
• Maya Vidhya, VP IT and Operations, CGI India.
• Kalpana Gopalan, IAS and Principal Secretary, Govt. of Karnataka.
• Tina Vas, Senior Global Head, Tavant Technologies .
• Sheela KL, VP HR, Collabera Technologies.
• Laxmi Char, Senior Director, Global Business Solution, Yahoo .
• Soma Pandey, VP HR, Accenture.
• Alka Manchanda, Director Engineering, Cisco.
• Anupama S Ambe, Chairperson, Women Leadership Council, IBM.

The panel topics:

· Ascending the Corporate Ladder

· Women's Work: The Great Juggling Act

· Achieving Success Turning every Adversity in to an Advantage

· Women Innovators: A new way of thinking in a complex world

Our previous editions:

· Women Leadership Summit, Bangalore

· Women Leadership Summit, New Delhi

· Women Leadership Summit, Mumbai

· Women Leadership Summit, Chennai

· Women Leadership Summit, Hyderabad

· Women Leadership Summit, Pune

DATE: February 24th, 2012
Timings: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Venue: The Lalit Ashok, Hall: Grand Ball Room, Kumarakrupa High Grounds, Bangalore-560001

The Women Leadership Summit is an INVITE only event. To request for an invitation kindly write to us at mehdi@siliconindia.com or call us at 080-43112116

.

Block your seats now. There is an early bird offer of rupees Rs 1000 /- till February 15th after that registration charge will be Rs 2000./-
This is towards: Access to Sessions, Tea/Coffee & Refreshments and Lunch.

This is a one-stop shop to address such challenges ahead for the Women Leaders who would inspire the leaders of tomorrow. Don’t miss the opportunity.


Regards,
Mehdi
Siliconindia

Ph: 080-43112116

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HR can meet Customer Expectations !

Dave Ulrich, Prof. Ross School of Management, University of Michigan addressing at the National HR conference 2011 in Bangalore on Friday.

Bangalore, Nov. 18:

The human resource function needs to be redefined and has to view itself from the outside in rather than be focused on internal policies and strategies. Only then will it be more relevant for a firm's customers and also help top leadership achieve key objectives, said Mr Dave Ulrich, well-known author and professor at the Ross School of Management, University of Michigan.

Delivering the keynote address on the theme ‘Securing the Future of the HR Profession' at the National HRD Network (NHRDN) Conference 2011 here today, Mr Ulrich said, “The world is changing so rapidly, so how do we link HR through strategy to the outside world, so that we can be advocates of change?”

What does HR from the outside in mean? Mr Ulrich illustrated with a few examples. Many firms talk about being an employer of choice. “Let me move that to an outside perspective. You want to be the employer of choice but if you are not hiring employees consistent with customer expectations, you're hiring the wrong people.”

He referred to training programmes, but “are we linking them to customers, are we co-creating the training with customers? Are they participating in those programmes?” When a facilitator teaches, employees will ignore, but when a customer teaches, they will listen, he emphasised.

Are we executing compensation with customers in mind? Mr Ulrich posed the question to the audience of approximately 1,500 delegates attending the conference. He said he is a regular flier on Delta Airlines with almost 14 million miles under his belt. “Delta told me, here's 100 units of bonus money, each of $100. The airline said it has taken out two per cent of bonus money and given it to customers who travel a lot. When you see good service from an employee, the customer can call and give that coupon. What an idea, the customer is connected now to the bonus pool,” explained Mr Ulrich. As an aside, to much mirth, he added, “I make sure the coupons are in my pocket where everybody can see it and I get good service!”

Value statements

Mr Ulrich referred to value statements issued by companies. “But, how have we linked internal value system to our customers?” he asked. He said these statements can be taken to a customer and three questions asked: Are these statements important to you; what should the company do to live those values, and “if we do live them will you buy more from us? Suddenly the HR professional is connected to the outside customer.”

He urged HR pros to go on sales calls to key customers and build relationships with them. HR, he said, has to connect with all stakeholders as only then can top leadership's objectives and business strategy can be achieved.

Source Businessline

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From selling clips in local trains, Mumbai to Brazil

It has been a long journey for Durga Mallu Gudilu — from selling clips and needles on Mumbai’s local trains, to representing the country at the World Social Forum in Brazil.

And the lanky 22- year- old has had to overcome the stiffest of odds in her quest for this remarkable turnaround.

An 8x10- foot cubbyhole of a room in the Sanjay Nagar slums, located in Jogeshwari ( East), serves as a home for Durga, her parents and sister Govindi. They belong to the “ nomadic” Vaidu community that has been living in the area for the past 30 years.

The community, now a denotified tribe, still holds panchayats headed by elderly males to decide on law and order. “ Vaidus are relegated to one of the most neglected parts of the expansive slum.

The nearest toilet is 200 metres away; girls stand in serpentine queues at 5 am daily to fill up unhygienic and contaminated water from the nearest tap and most members of the community suffer from tuberculosis,” primary health centre nurse Neelima said.

That’s not all. The men eke out their living by recycling and repairing old steel dabbas . “ More than half of the meagre Rs 30 that they earn are spent on drinking. And wife beating inevitably follows the boozing,” Durga’s 63- year- old mother Anku Bai says.

The family used to struggle to get, even two square meals a day. “ As a child, I had never seen home- cooked food since we used to beg for food in trains and homes,” Durga recalls.

But things underwent a dramatic change ever since Durga became one of the first girls to be educated in the community. Today, she has completed Class XII, imparts basic computer training and runs a coaching centre for 40- odd schoolchildren from her cramped kholi. She also uses the computer to stay in touch with her friends from Peru and USA whom she met during the forum.

Durga remembers how the NGO Yuva had managed to convince her parents to send her to the local municipal school. “ Initially, my sister and I were made to sit separately as we used to be stink,” she says, adding that it was the progress they made in studies and sports that helped them gain acceptance among classmates.

Being lettered had other spin- offs as well. “ Since the girls started going to school, we gained respectability and stopped begging. Their father stopped drinking, too,” Anku Bai says.

“ The journey from those days to the smart and confident woman that Durga has become, is no mean achievement,” Raju Bhise of Yuva points out. “ We gave her the support and guidance; but it was she who has stood out with her leadership skills,” he adds.

Govindi, the older of the two girls, is pursuing a software course from GNIIT. Durga will pursue her graduation only after Govindi finishes her course because one of them has to look after the household.

Forthright and outspoken, Durga has her own viewpoint.

“ The Rs 16 crore announced by the Maharashtra government to create awareness about child labour will not achieve much until parents are helped to get sustainable livelihoods,” she observes. Having performed street plays and participated in poster campaigns as well as in door- to- door mobilisation drives to raise awareness about child labour and other issues, she definitely knows what she is talking about.

This truly a hear touching story of how NGOs are make a difference to people. Our salute Yuva team for helping Durga

Raghav

Founder

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303 Motherland Building

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Employee Referral - The Best way for Best Talent

India Inc is looking within. To fill vacancies, that is. More and more companies are trying to fill empty slots with existing staff, rather than employ a recruitment agency to find them someone, because of the huge savings possible. Companies like Dabur, Mphasis, Netapp, SAP, Wipro, IBM and Essar, have now designated whole teams to help with what is know as an internal hire. Last year Mphasis saved $1 million on 1,200 internal hires, while Netapp saved Rs 2.4crore on 100 internal hires and Dabur saved Rs 1 crore on the 75 posts filled from among existing employees. On an average, this works out to savings of between Rs 3.75 lakh to Rs 1.3 lakh per employee for each of these companies. Reduced dependency on headhunters and employee referrals, possible savings on training for a new candidate and intangibles like the amount of time s/he might take to start performing, is adding to the companies' coffers. They are also being able to stem attrition by giving first dibs to current staff when a job opens up; disgruntled employees may be persuaded to stay back in the organisation with a role or designation change, or even a new boss.

Given all these benefits companies are making sure they have a robust internal hire policy in place. "We are extremely mindful of recruitment costs, and have found that if we fill vacancies internally, we save almost one crore a year," says A Sudhakar , HR head at Dabur. In fact, the company's internal hire policy is so well-entrenched that if a new person is taken on board through referrals or an external agency, the manager has to explain in writing why an internal candidate was not fit for the job. Alternatively, those who wish for a role change within the organisation, go through a performance management training followed by an interview with HR and line managers. Their profiles are managed by a career development 'centre' , which is the inventory Sudhakar delves into when a vacancy is created. "At times, when there are not enough openings we combine two positions to create one, rather than hire an outsider," he adds, referring to the way the company keeps its existing employees happy. Since it takes a few months for the employee to start performing in the new role, that period needs to be factored in as well. At Dabur, this 'gestation period' is around four months. Therefore, for an external hire, if the person's salary at the junior management is Rs 12 lakhs per annum, the loss to the company is taken to be Rs 4 lakhs, to take into account the four months that s/he might require to start showing results.

At Netapp, says HR head Manjunath, "there is a clear preference for employees to be sourced from within the company compared to taking people from the outside." The IT services company saves around 12.5% of the recruitment fees that a company would have to pay an external headhunter for a juniorlevel employee, 18% for a person in middle management and 25% for a senior employee, by conducting internal hires. Even though those taken in through employee referrals are less expensive for the company, internal changes are still considered the best option. Around 100 existing employees have applied for job rotations in the period between May 2010 and April 2011 at Netapp. India. About 45% of these hires are direct; 45% are conducted through referrals, and the rest through external agencies.

At Essar, which started the initiative of focussing on internal hires about six months ago, some 85 positions have been filled so far, totally from among existing staff. "It is not about saving costs but earning profits through career development of the employee ," says HR head Adil Malia. But it appears the company has saved "a couple of crores" by filling the 85 positions from within. Internal promotions and hires reflect on the company's leadership management and succession planning strategy. However, that does not mean that those already working in the organisation will not take time to acclimatise to their new role

Abhijit Bhaduri, chief learning officer at Wipro says, however, that the time taken by an internal hire to acclimatise is perhaps a few months at the most - and still considerably less than what an outsider might require. In the IT firm, the recruitment fee given to a headhunter is 25% of the candidate's CTC. By automatically saving on this through an internal hire, the company sometimes finds itself in a position to provide better compensation , and makes provisions for the seven months (on average) that the internally-hired candidate to start producing. With internal hires, the more difficult decision that a company has to take relates to whether management is actually putting the best person in the job, or worrying about whether it is an internal hire. "Should there be a headcount addition to fuel expansion, or should one settle for the most suited internal candidate," says VA Rangarajan, recruitment leader at India.

There's no doubt that external candidates can bring much more fresh blood and perspective to an organisation, and there's no discounting the merits of this. That's why companies like IBM have a management tool called Global Opportunity Marketplace, where the resumes of all internal and external candidates are managed and the best one is picked. Preference is given to internal hires, but a tussle ensues when the skill sets required for a role are unavailable from within. The firm makes a rough saving of 30% because of internal hires. "Searching for the right talent from within is like seeking an elusive white tiger," says DK Srivastava , corporate vice-president and global HR head at HCL Technologies. The IT services company has a portal called 'The Insider Edge' which shows the positions that have opened up at any point of time, along with the names of the managers who would be hiring for those posts.

So when an employee wants a transfer, he or she can find out more about the managers and the attributes they are looking for, for that position. This is not just about providing more information about the position, but also gives candidates an overall perspective of hiring in the company. SAP Labs has seen a 20% year-on-year increase in employees picking up alternate job roles within the company - both locally and overseas. Over 30 open positions were closed in India through internal transfers this year. Nevertheless, there is another school of thought that states that measures such as internal hires are only possible in companies that have a 'bench' of employees (floaters who move from one project to another, and are not attached to any particular department), and not companies that prioritise product development. "Money is saved through referrals and not internal hires since to fill up one position, you invariably end up vacating another," says Deepak Shetty, director (HR) of the Philips Innovation Campus. Philips has around 600 employees and 400 of them have been hired following employee referrals. This has been such a success that the company has hiked the fee, given to employee for referrals and subsequent hires, to Rs 40,000 from Rs 20,000. This will be applicable, adds Shetty, for the next few months since the January to October period is the peak hiring time.

Succession Planning in Indian IT Companies

The abrupt change in leadership in Wipro in January and the public rumblings by one of the ex-directors of Infosys about the way the company was going forward with the selection of its new CEO in April have suddenly brought into limelight the issue of succession planning in Indian IT companies.

The not-so-exemplary leadership changes within a span of few months in two of the top three IT firms in India have not exactly created a great impression about the management depth and maturity in these companies.

A few other examples of the past, such as that of WNS Global Services, one of the top BPO companies, which took more than a year to name a successor when its founder director announced his resignation, have strengthened this perception.

Coming ability of this sector to create value in the long term.

Research by Dataquest shows that this perception is not exactly based on fact. Among the larger Indian IT companies, more firms have had a well-planned succession strategy than those who did not have such a plan.

They include India's largest IT company, TCS, which saw a leadership change in 2009; Cognizant, which had had that transition in 2007; and HCL Technologies, where the leadership baton passed to a new CEO in 2007.

All these three are among the top five offshoring companies from India. In the BPO segment too, Genpact and EXL, two of the largest BPO firms, had had a good succession planning in place while HCL Infosystems, the largest Indian company focussed on the home market, too has had a well-executed transition.

Based on the examples of these companies, here are a few trends that we have noticed in the good succession plans:

The planning happens at least three years before transition. In all these cases, except HCL Infosystems, the faces of successors were projected internally and externally well before the actual transition.

In HCL Infosystems, while the name was not known, it was pretty clear internally that someone from outside and much younger was taking over. So, there was no surprise for employees, customers and investors.

Usually, there is a generational shift. In all these succession plans, there is a minimum age difference of 10 years. In one case, it is 21 years.

That is clearly the next generation in an industry which is not more than 30 years old. This is an acknowledgment of two things: one, the business rules change over a period of time and a fresher approach is always better and two, any new CEO should have enough time to carry out his plans and ideas.

Usually, the new leader has to have deep understanding of the core business, whether insider or outsider. While the shifts may be generational, and it is a good idea to get a fresh approach, a lack of understanding of what is the most important thing in the business may create problems.

So, for most offshore companies, it is both an understanding of the front-end as well as the delivery. Understanding of customers may come from an outsider but understanding of delivery would come from someone who has spent time internally.

In all our examples concerning offshore companies, it is internal people who have been promoted to the top job. HCL Infosystems, which has most of its people in the front-end, decided to go for an outsider who has good understanding of the customer.

Source ET

Raghav

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What Leaders do ?

N. R. Narayana Murthy, the iconic Infosys Founder, never went to a management school. Nevertheless, he was a born leader, as an incident that took place several years ago illustrates. A former Infosys top official who in 1990-92 steered the company's European operations in 1990-92 narrated the following incident. Mr Murthy had been invited by a well-respected organisation in London to render a speech in the evening. But the official — the narrator of the story — who was escorting Mr Murthy to the venue, due to a miscommunication with the taxi driver, found to his horror that at the time of the appointment, they were, in fact, at the other end of town. By the time they managed to reach the venue, the official was a nervous wreck and mentally readied himself to put in his papers. . But when the taxi was taking both of them all round the town, not once did Mr Murthy accuse him of committing a blunder.

The official made a hasty retreat to his house after leaving Mr Murthy at the venue, realising that the Infosys head would not want to see him anywhere near after the speech was over. However, he received a call from Mr Murthy asking him what he was doing at his residence. He apologised profusely and offered to resign. But Mr Murthy put him at ease saying that it was not his mistake but that of the taxi driver and asked him to talk to some of the industry leaders present at the venue so that he could meet them at a later stage. The official not only got to retain his job but also got to experience first-hand how good managers handle sticky situations.

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HR Help - Call +91.8105737966

How to talk in a meeting

Speaking up in a meeting can be quite intimidating for some, but there are some simple ways to build your confidence and make sure your voice is heard, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org.

"Speaking up in meetings is easy for some, but for others it can be completely intimidating. If you're in the latter group, build your confidence with a few useful phrases you can use to interject. Here are three to start:

1. 'Have we thought about...' If you have an idea to add but aren't overly confident about it, phrase the suggestion as though you are contributing to the conversation, rather than putting a firm stake in the ground.

2. 'To play devil's advocate...' It can be hard to disagree without sounding like a jerk. Finesse your comments by explaining that you are playing a certain role.

3. 'This may be a dumb question...' You may hesitate to speak up when you don't know what's going on in a meeting. Don't stay lost -- ask for clarification. You may help others who are in the same position."

-Today's management tip was adapted from "How to Interject in a Meeting" by Jodi Glickman.

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HR Wheel

HR Wheel

Q : What is HR Wheel and its importance.

Raghav :

HR Wheel depicts the entire HR function and hence is a diagram which represent the core HR activities.

The diagram on the left shows all facets of HR and is shown in the wheel format.

How to develop Leaders - Infosys Experience

Matthew Frank Barney had a personal connection with India that goes back to 1997. The 41-year-old American met his Bengali wife, Shreya, in a "romantic semi-conductor factory" in Orlando. Last year, Barney also sealed a professional connection with India. He, Shreya and their two young kids moved to Mysore, where Barney joined Infosys Technologies for an assignment that will have a great bearing on how this iconic Indian software company is run and perceived for generations to come.

Barney is the head of leadership development at Infosys Leadership Institute. Never in the storied 29-year history of Infosys has so much hinged on this responsibility. The seven founders, each of them pillars in their own right, have built and run a company that is solid in its business construct and has values that are unimpeachable. But they are leaving, one by one.

Ashok Arora left in 1989 and NS Raghavan in 2000. Last year, Nandan Nilekani went to work for the government. In the next five years, the remaining four — NR Narayana Murthy, S 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan, SD Shibulal and K Dinesh — will also walk away from Infosys, in deference to Murthy's decree that all founders retire from operational roles by the age of 60 and from the board by 65. Says Barney: "It's an inflexion point for Infosys, and we need to prepare for it."

In his earlier assignments, Barney helped some of the world's top companies, including Motorola, AT&T and Lucent Technologies, to identify their next set of leaders. But, with Infosys, he's working for the first time with founders seeking to pass on the baton.

In July, Barney kicked off a hunt to identify 750 leaders, across levels, in Infosys — the largest such exercise the company has ever undertaken. It's not a random, one-time exercise to meet a pressing need.

It's a formal, structured response that is intended to become an integral part of the company. It will, continuously, identify the sparks in the company and groom them to become leaders.

Infosys has plenty of leaders, says TVS Mohandas Pai, who heads HR in Infosys and who brought in Barney.

"We believe we have around 100 leaders who can be CEOs of companies of different sizes," says Pai. "That doesn't mean, though, all of them can become the CEO of Infosys." What Infosys lacked all these years was a system that could efficiently identify, organise and hone that leadership, especially in the lower ranks. Which is what Barney and his seven-member team are putting in place.

To explain that system, one needs to start at the top. At the top, there is a 13-member board. Five of its

members are 'executive members', which means they also hold operational roles in Infosys . CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan and COO SD Shibulal are both members of the board.

Below the board is a four-member executive council: Subhash B Dhar, Chandra Shekar Kakal, BG Srinivas, and Ashok Vemuri. The highest decision-making body below the board, the executive council is the grooming place for the next CEO, CFO and COO.

But the beehive of activity is below the executive council. Out here, Barney has created a three-tiered pyramid that is intended to identify leaders at all levels from the 115,000 employees in Infosys.

At the first level, or tier-I, Infosys is looking to identify 50 Infoscians who can join the board in three to five years. "We want each leader to be outrageously successful before they even come to my process," says Barney of this set. At this leadership level, people typically have about 15 years of experience, and are geographical heads or business unit heads.

"We need to make sure that the person is passionate about business," says CEO Kris, of this elite pool. "Also, the person should know Infosys well. That's why we have always been saying that the leaders should come from inside and they should have a successful track-record."

At the second level, the hunt is for leaders capable of graduating to tier-I or running a business unit in three to five years. The target number is 150. The candidates here are vice-presidents and those reporting to unit heads, and have about 10 years of experience.

At the last level, the search is for leaders capable of graduating to tier-II position. This pool, which is intended to be 550-strong, is chosen from business and technology managers who are associate vice-presidents or below. They have about 5-7 years of experience. They are like the Suresh Rainas of the Indian cricket team.

Before Barney and this three-tiered structure, Infosys was identifying and grooming leaders, but it was more unstructured and the leadership pool was smaller. But as the company grew and its operations became more complex, as it went beyond its founders, the imperative for a leadership system increased.

"They are the first among major Indian companies to go through this transition," says John McCarthy, senior vice-president and principal analyst, Forrester Research. "It's always a challenge when you move the original management out. So far, they have done it in a transparent and orderly manner." But a CEO of a leading rival says the founders will be missed. "Infy is surely ahead in terms of planning its transition, but it will miss Murthy's vision and Nandan's ability to win and retain large accounts like BT," he says.

Professor David V Day, who is helping Infosys as an external consultant to identify sustainable leadership models, advises against benchmarking to the past. "First of all, you can never replace such visionary founders like Mr Murthy and others — they are really one of a kind. You first have to let go of the assumption that they are going to be fully replaced," he says. "The challenge then is how are we going to develop leaders we are going to need not just now, but also in the future."

Barney has some answers. "Beginning this year, we will have the 'tier top-off' process every year," he says. The 'tier top-off' is essentially a routine measurement of the numerical deficiency in the company's leadership pools. The last time, Infosys did such an exercise, it was 2007 and its leadership pool was about 50.

Barney and his seven-member team are now looking to do this annually, with a target size of 750. At every level, currently, Infosys is short. Against its earmarked number of 50 leaders in tier-I , Infosys has identified 37. Down the ranks, the vacuum increases. In tier-II, the number sought is 150 and it has identified 120. In tier-III , against 550, it has identified only 200.

At each level, the method of identifying talent is different. Tier-I is self-nominated. Infoscians who think they are up to it can apply. Their candidature is decided after an interview with the board. For tier-II, it's the tier-I leaders who work with the members of the Infosys Leadership Institute and the heads of business units to identify potential leaders.

Tier-III is through a computer-adapted assessment tool. "The tier-I leaders are fewer and relatively easier to find," says Barney, who speaks fluent Bangla. "But when I get to tier-III , there are nearly 10,000 people who can apply. With the tool, I can do it in less than half the time we did the same process."

Next comes the grooming

Infosys draws on several resources to groom leaders. These include mentoring, leadership workshops and simulation exercises. Mentoring is a big part of the initiation, and it runs through Infosys. Murthy mentors the board. The board members, including other founders, mentor 6-8 leaders at any point of time from the tier-I pool, which includes the four members of the executive council.

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humour to destroy the ego

Anupam Kher

The biggest stumbling block we face in the goal to self-realisation is the ego. It feeds on itself and grows as we meet with success in the material sense. The ego manifests itself when we are not prepared to see the other person’s point of view and then, admit our fault. We like to think that we are always correct. In our belief, it reduces our stature if we admit our mistake. Such an attitude is not necessarily attached to success; parents have egos with their children, seniors have egos with their juniors. And I may be criticised here, but in the Asian way of life, it is normally husbands who have very large egos vis-à-vis their wives.

As a parent, how many times have you admitted to your child that you may have been wrong in rebuking him? As an older sibling, how many times have you apologised to your younger brother or sister for having been unfair with him/ her? Not many times, I am sure. There is no cure for this attitude except to follow the dictum of every wise man: Destroy the ego.

There are many ways to gradually de-emphasise your ego. Many group therapy classes abound in which participants criticise your behaviour, habits, attitudes, etc., in a bid to sensitise you to your drawbacks. Such classes are expensive, monetarily and emotionally, and sometimes prove to be a bit too harsh for some to handle.

I have a much more relaxed approach to handling the ego; add a dash of humour to the entire exercise. In my classes, instead of dissecting the individual, which makes him feel like a wet rag and resentful at the end of it, I encourage participants to make the approach very humorous. Such humour takes the sting out of the analytical process and yet gets the message across. Apart from classroom exercises, my cardinal rule to everyone is: Never take yourself seriously. We all develop egos because we acquire a very serious image of ourselves as we grow older and we do not like to be made fun of. We are very conscious of our ‘image’. But it is this projection of the image that makes us false and stressed. We will not laugh at jokes in the midst of people we consider our social ‘inferiors’ because we feel it would bring us down to their level.

On the other hand, we will laugh at things we do not understand merely because our ‘superiors’ laughed and we don’t wish to project an image of an ignoramus.
Just observe a child, see how it laughs without a care in the world. It does not care who is watching it, nor does it care if it is making a funny face. It is laughing because it is living the moment and it is a genuine feeling. Sadly, as we grow older, we are more conscious of the false values around us and we lose that spontaneity. I will return to the topic of humour again. Meanwhile, learn to laugh, as it increases your face value!

The writer is a renowned film and theatre actor

Source DC

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Do we need perfectionists ??

So how are perfectionists perceived at work? “Those who admire perfectionism would steadfastly appreciate, understand and applaud a perfectionist. To these people, perfectionists are seen as those who challenge the barriers. Others would look at perfectionists as fastidious, fussy and individualistic people,” believes Arun Rao, vice president - HR, AppLabs.

Pradeep Menon, chief people officer, Cellcast India feels that envy is often behind the negative reactions perfectionists are treated to from coworkers.

“Perfectionists are dreaded by their team as they relentlessly pursue perfection but at the end of the day, their creations speak for themselves,” he adds.

Elaborating further on how Cellcast views this issue, he says, “We have put a very different entry selection mechanism at Cellcast; we not only evaluate people on their past qualifications and work, but also look for signs of having displayed an interest in perfection.

Past successes and qualifications are no measure for future success but with the right attitude, we can get closer to success. This attitude towards perfection is then nurtured at Cellcast.”

But perfectionists can’t be perfect, can they? Menon certainly thinks so. “I don’t see any cons; it is pros all the way and every organisation should value such contributors,” he avers.

Rao takes a more balanced viewpoint, “The pros are - world beating output, very high levels of customer delight and a high level of intrinsic motivation among the workforce. Some of the cons could be a lack of team play; perfectionism may lead to too many individual players leading to the possibility of missing timelines more often than never and there would be a high demand of time and organisational attention.”

Thus, perfectionism, as a personal trait, is extremely praise-worthy . However, the desire for perfection from others should be limited to a motivating and guiding influence, coupled with respect for the fact that not every individual can be as totally driven to perfection as you are.

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Worst Words To Say At Work

Linnda Durre, Forbes.com

Let's look at some specific words and phrases that are used by some people to buy time, avoid giving answers and escape commitment. If you use these words and phrases yourself, take a scalpel and cut them out of your thinking, speaking and writing. Words like these only weaken you and make you sound noncommittal, undependable and untrustworthy.

"Try" Try is a weasel word. "Well, I'll try," some people say. It's a cop-out. They're just giving you lip service when they probably have no real intention of doing what you ask. Remember what Yoda says to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: "Do or do not--there is no try." Take Yoda's advice. Give it your all when you attempt something. And if it doesn't work, start over.Put passion into your work and give it your best effort, so you can know that you did all you could to make it happen. So if the outcome you were expecting didn't come to fruition, it's not because you didn't do everything you could to make it happen. It just wasn't the right time for it or it wasn't meant to be.

"Whatever" This word is a trusted favorite of people who want to dismiss you, diminish what you say or get rid of you quickly. "Whatever," they will say as an all-purpose response to your earnest request. It's an insult and a verbal slap in the face. It's a way to respond to a person without actually responding. When you say whatever after another person has said his or her piece, you have essentially put up a wall between the two of you and halted any progress in communicating. It's a word to avoid.

"Maybe" and "I don't know" People will sometimes avoid making a decision and hide behind words and phrases like "maybe" and "I don't know." There's a difference between legitimately not knowing something and using words like these as excuses. Sometimes during a confrontation people will claim not to know something or offer the noncommittal response "maybe," just to avoid being put on the spot. If that seems to be the case, ask, "When do you think you will know?" or "How can you find out?" Don't let the person off the hook so easily.

"I'll get back to you" When people need to buy time or avoid revealing a project's status, they will say, "I'll get back to you," and they usually never do. If people say they will get back to you, always clarify. Ask them when they will get back to you, and make sure they specify the day and time. If they don't, then pin them down to a day and time and hold them to it. If they won't give you a day or time, tell them you'll call in a day or week and follow up. Make sure you call and get the information you need.

"If" Projects depend on everyone doing his or her part. People who use if are usually playing the blame game and betting against themselves. They like to set conditions, rather than assuming a successful outcome. People who rely on conditional responses are fortifying themselves against potential failure. They will say, "If Bob finishes his part, then I can do my part." They're laying the groundwork for a "no fault" excuse and for not finishing their work.

There are always alternatives, other routes and ways to get the job done. Excuse makers usually have the energy of a slug, the vision of Mr. Magoo and the spine of a jellyfish. You don't want them on your mountain climbing team up K-2 or Mount Everest.

"Yes, but ..." This is another excuse. You might give your team members suggestions or solutions and they come back to you with "Yes, but . . ." as a response. They don't really want answers, help, or solutions. You need to call the "Yes, but . . ." people out on their avoidance tactic by saying something like: "You know, Jackie, every time I offer you a suggestion you say, 'Yes, but . . . ,' which makes me think you don't really want to solve this problem. That's not going to work. If you want to play the victim, go right ahead, but I'm not going to allow you to keep this up and I may have to report you." After a response like that, you can be assured that the next words you hear will not be, "Yes, but . . ."!

"I guess ..." This is usually said in a weak, soft-spoken, shoulder-shrugging manner. It's another attempt to shirk responsibility--a phrase is only muttered when people half agree with you, but want to leave enough leeway to say, "Well, I didn't really know. . . . I was only guessing." If you use this phrase, cut it out of your vocabulary.

"We'll see ..."

How many times did we hear our parents say this? We knew they were buying time, avoiding a fight or confrontation or really saying no. It's better to be decisive and honest by saying, "I need more information. Please present your case or send me the data--both pro and con--so I can make an informed decision." That way the interested parties will contribute to an in-depth, well-researched "verdict."

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Rejected in Interview ? Keep in Touch !!

After the Recruiter Says No

How to handle job-search rejections.

by Charles Purdy, Yahoo! HotJobs

You had high hopes for this job: The job requirements matched your skill set perfectly. You aced your interviews. And you imagined hearing those sweet words so many of us long to hear:

"You're hired."

Instead, you got another rejection letter. According to recent U.S. Labor Department data, 5.5 unemployed Americans, on average, are vying for each job opening--so most interviews will end in rejection.

And that can be a crushing blow--but it can also be a career-making moment. When you don't get the job, what should your next steps be?

Don't beat yourself up about it.

John Kador, the author of "301 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview," second edition (McGraw-Hill), recommends that you try to learn from each rejection--while understanding that it may not be your fault. "Sometimes you didn't do anything wrong," he says. "Someone else was more qualified or more connected. Companies sometimes go through the motions of interviewing applicants when they've already selected a candidate."

While the experience is still fresh in your mind, writing down what you've learned may help you put a positive spin on the experience--and give you something to refer to later, according to Lewis Lin, of SeattleInterviewCoach.com.

Be gracious in defeat.

How you conduct yourself after a rejection letter can determine whether that recruiter will consider you again--or perhaps refer you to another recruiter. Liz Lynch, the author of "Smart Networking" (McGraw-Hill), says, "Send a handwritten card thanking them again for their time, reiterating your interest in the company, and expressing your hope that they'll keep you in mind for future positions. And whatever you do, do not diss them on your blog!"

Ask for feedback.

Kador advises saying that you accept the recruiter's decision before you ask for feedback: "No one will talk to you if they think you're going to argue or appeal."

If you don't trust yourself to keep your cool, you may want to skip asking for feedback. If you do ask, email is the best medium. "Telephoning is probably too intrusive," says Lynch. "And whatever feedback you hear, don't be defensive."

Lin cautions that "you'll get canned responses most of the time" due to fears about legal issues, but he recommends phrasing your request for feedback like this: "If you don't mind me asking, do you have any feedback on how I can improve for future interviews?"

He adds, "You want to keep the conversation as professional as possible. Who knows? You could be their backup candidate."

Keep trying.

In most cases, you should actively pursue new openings at the company. The phrase "we'll keep your resume on file" is usually an attempt to soften the rejection, according to Kador, who says you should keep applying for relevant jobs and staying in touch with the recruiters you've met. "If a posting says no calls,' I wouldn't call," he says. "But that doesn't mean you can't write."

Bring the recruiter into your professional network.

If, down the road, you can help the interviewer or recruiter by recommending a candidate, for instance, or forwarding a relevant article, Kador says you should "go for it--make yourself known as a resource."

Lynch, too, recommends keeping in touch with the hiring manager in a "low-key way" and says that, when you do land a position, you should write him or her a note and include your new business card. Then you can send the manager an invitation to connect on LinkedIn so you can easily stay in touch.

by Charles Purdy, Yahoo! HotJobs

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The Top 100 Companies to work for

Top 100

Rank Company Job growth U.S. employees 1 SAS 2% 5,487 2 Edward Jones 8% 37,079 3 Wegmans Food Markets 0% 36,770 4 Google N.A.% N.A. 5 Nugget Market -16% 1,342 6 DreamWorks Animation SKG 13% 1,825 7 NetApp 0% 5,033 8 Boston Consulting Group 3% 1,737 9 Qualcomm 3% 12,255 10 Camden Property Trust -6% 1,743 11 Robert W. Baird & Co. 6% 2,286 12 Bingham McCutchen -7% 1,859 13 W. L. Gore & Associates 5% 5,764 14 Recreational Equipment -6% 8,640 15 Zappos.com -21% 1,300 16 Cisco 0% 37,276 17 Methodist Hospital System 6% 11,145 18 Whole Foods Market -9% 47,478 19 Genentech 2% 11,146 20 Devon Energy 4% 3,912 21 NuStar Energy 4% 1,375 22 Johnson Financial Group 1% 1,316 23 Umpqua Bank 8% 1,836 24 Goldman Sachs Group -13% 12,243 25 Novo Nordisk 10% 3,360 26 CHG Healthcare Services -12% 1,142 27 Scottrade 22% 2,409 28 JM Family Enterprises -18% 3,772 29 Quicken Loans 0% 2,893 30 Alston & Bird 7% 1,842 31 PCL Construction Enterprises -10% 3,970 32 Baptist Health South Florida 11% 11,729 33 Shared Technologies -21% 1,243 34 Chesapeake Energy 20% 7,720 35 American Fidelity Assurance Co. -1% 1,502 36 Container Store -9% 3,233 37 Aflac -3% 4,353 38 Scooter Store 51% 2,173 39 TDIndustries 7% 1,588 40 Scripps Health 15% 11,444 41 QuikTrip 5% 10,311 42 Adobe Systems -4% 4,065 43 Salesforce.com 21% 2,361 44 Ernst & Young -4% 24,815 45 USAA -1% 21,999 46 OhioHealth 3% 12,128 47 J. M. Smucker 44% 4,521 48 FactSet Research Systems 9% 1,322 49 Mercedes-Benz USA 0% 1,612 50 King's Daughters Medical Center 7% 3,263 51 Microsoft 2% 54,923 52 Booz Allen Hamilton 13% 21,303 53 Nordstrom -8% 45,853 54 Paychex 2% 12,456 55 Mayo Clinic 0% 41,839 56 CarMax -16% 13,030 57 DPR Construction -2% 1,142 58 Four Seasons Hotels -9% 12,345 59 Monsanto 5% 10,772 60 Indiana Regional Medical Center 3% 1,200 61 Brocade Communications Systems 39% 2,873 62 Kimley-Horn -19% 1,808 63 Southern Ohio Medical Center 8% 2,286 64 Stew Leonard's -6% 2,037 65 Arnold & Porter 1% 1,295 66 Plante & Moran 1% 1,547 67 EOG Resources -4% 1,725 68 Men's Wearhouse -9% 14,764 69 MITRE 2% 6,572 70 Deloitte 1% 39,065 71 PricewaterhouseCoopers 1% 29,387 72 McCormick and Company 2% 2,799 73 American Express -10% 27,265 74 Children's Healthcare of Atlanta 13% 6,536 75 Perkins Coie -3% 1,680 76 Balfour Beatty Construction -12% 1,514 77 Baker Donelson -1% 1,127 78 Mattel -9% 5,293 79 Meridian Health 12% 7,099 80 Build-A-Bear Workshop -14% 4,588 81 Atlantic Health 2% 7,114 82 Marriott International -10% 110,091 83 S. C. Johnson & Son 0% 3,343 84 Accenture -7% 30,000 85 Arkansas Children's Hospital 8% 3,733 86 Publix Super Markets 2% 139,578 87 National Instruments 2% 2,568 88 KPMG -7% 20,972 89 Bright Horizons 0% 14,497 90 General Mills -2% 16,681 91 FedEx -4% 218,770 92 Gilbane -11% 1,934 93 Starbucks Coffee -27% 116,357 94 Intuit -7% 6,710 95 Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe -8% 1,481 96 LifeBridge Health 5% 6,350 97 Herman Miller -8% 5,186 98 Intel 0% 43,905 99 Winchester Hospital 4% 2,027 100 Colgate-Palmolive 2% 5,366 Source : CNN Bought to you by HRI Foundation 303 Motherland Building 3rd Main 3rd Cross Kamanahalli BANGALORE 560084 www.twitter.com/Raghav_HRGuru Call or SMS 91.8105737966 for any HR Help / Advise