HABITS ~ a short motivational story

HABITS

A wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits.

The scholar took the youth for a stroll through a garden. Stopping suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there. The youth held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out.

The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all.

 

 

 

“Now pull out that one,” said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength to pull it out.

“Now take this one out,” said the old man, indicating a guava tree. The youth grasped the trunk and tried to pull it out. But it would not budge.

“I – It’s impossible,” said the boy, panting with the effort.

“So it is with bad habits,” said the sage. “When they are young it is easy to pull them out but when they take hold they cannot be uprooted.”

The session with the old man changed the boy’s life.

How is your work performance?

How is your work performance?

Employee “A” in a company walked up to his manager and asked what my job is for the day?

•The manager took “A” to the bank of a river and asked him to cross the
river and reach the other side of the bank.

•”A” completed this task successfully and reported back to the manager about
the completion of the task assigned. The manager smiled and said “GOOD
JOB”.
Next day Employee “B” reported to the same manager and asked him the job
for the day. The manager assigned the same task as above to this person
also.

•The Employee “B’ before starting the task saw Employee “C” struggling in the
river to reach the other side of the bank. He realized “C” has the same task.

•Now “B” not only crossed the river but also helped “C” to cross the river.

•”B” reported back to the manager and the manager smiled and said “VERY
GOOD JOB”
The following day Employee “Q” reported to the same manager and asked
him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again.

•Employee “Q” before starting the work did some home work and realized “A”,
“B” & “C” all has done this task before. He met them and understood how
they performed.

•He realized that there is a need for a guide and training for doing this task.

•He sat first and wrote down the procedure for crossing the river, he
documented the common mistakes people made, and tricks to do the task
efficiently and effortlessly.

•Using the methodology he had written down he crossed the river and
reported back to the manager along with documented procedure and training
material.

•The manger said “Q” you have done an “EXCELLENT JOB”.
The following day Employee “O’ reported to the manager and asked him the
job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again.

“O” studied the procedure written down by “Q” and sat and thought about the whole task.

He realized company is spending lot of money in getting this task completed. He decided not to cross the river, but sat and designed and implemented a bridge across the river and went back to his manager and said, “You no longer need to assign this task to any one”.

The manager smiled and said “Outstanding job ‘O’. I am very proud of you.”
What is the difference between A, B, Q & O????????
Many a times in life we get tasks to be done at home, at office, at play.,
Most of us end up doing what is expected out of us. Do we feel happy? Most probably yes. We would be often disappointed when the recognition is not meeting our expectation.

Let us compare ourselves with “B”. Helping someone else the problem often improves our own skills. There is an old proverb (I do not know the author) “learn to teach and teach to learn”. From a company point of view “B” has demonstrated much better skills than “A” since one more task for the company is completed.

“Q” created knowledge base for the team. More often than not, we do the task assigned to us without checking history. Learning from other’s mistake is the best way to improve efficiency. This knowledge creation for the team is of immense help. Re-usability reduces cost there by increases productivity of the team. “Q” demonstrated good “team-player” skills,

Now to the outstanding person, “O” made the task irrelevant; he created a Permanent Asset to the team.

If you notice B, Q and O all have demonstrated “team performance” over and above individual performance; they have also demonstrated a very invaluable characteristic known as “INITIATIVE”.

Initiative pays of everywhere whether at work or at personal life. If you have initiative you will succeed. Initiative is a continual process and it never ends. This is because this year’s achievement is next year’s task. You cannot use the same success story every year.
The story provides an instance of performance, where as measurement needs to be spread across at least 6-12 months. Consequently performance should be consistent and evenly spread.
Out-of-Box thinkers are always premium and that is what everyone constantly looks out for. Initiative, Out-of-Box thinking and commitment are the stepping stone to success.
Initiative should be lifelong. Think of out of the box.

Think before you decide ~ a short story with good moral

MAKE SURE…

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route.

No problems for the first few stops, a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground.

He glared at the driver and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” and sat down at the back.

The driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek… Naturally, he didn’t argue with Big John, but he wasn’t happy about it.

The next day the same thing happened -Big John got on again, said “Big John doesn’t pay!” and sat down.

And the next day, and the one after that, and so forth.

This irritated the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of his size.

Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building program, karate, judo and all that good stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; So on the next Monday, when Big John got on the bus and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” the driver stood up, glared back and screamed, “And why not?”

With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, “Big John has a Bus pass.”

Moral of the story: First be sure is there a problem before working hard to solve one.

crk

Young & Old – Where you Miss

Happy Boss – Happy You :)

TIPS  FOR MANAGING HAPPY RELATION WITH BOSS

We all know it, if you have to stay happy at work, it is crucial to have a happy boss. Your boss shapes your career – salary hike, responsibilities, appraisal etc. If you think it is only your hard work and success that impresses your boss, think again. The criterion for any boss is quality of your work and the impression you have on everyone. So, it is as important to be good as it is to do good. Just learn to score your points and strive towards making an impression
Demonstrate motivation and confidence: Tell your supervisors about your aspirations and ask them to give you more responsible work. Take up whatever work you are given with confidence and perform aggressively. Talk confidently to people. Showing motivation and confidence towards work goes a long way in creating a good impression on supervisors.

Observe and listen carefully: Observe how your boss and other senior employees behave in the office. Listen to what they have to say. This way, you not only learn how business is conducted in the office but also learn about their individual working style. Remember – these people, with their rich background and knowledge, can be good mentors too.

Avoid gossiping: Gossiping is an evil that haunts every workplace. A lot of people merrily indulge in the same, not realizing the damage it can cause. Stay away! Listen to what the gossip mongers have to say to keep yourself updated about latest happenings in the office, but do not comment or participate. Unnecessary gossiping can lead to trouble with colleagues and supervisors and you will certainly not want any negative publicity.

Develop good working relations: Try to understand the working styles of your boss and your co-workers and help them understand yours. Develop good working relations with colleagues to ensure cooperation while executing critical projects. This way, you will not only be able to complete your work efficiently but will also be able to leave an impression on your co-workers and supervisors.

Help your boss with day-to-day tasks: There will be many tasks that your boss performs on a daily basis. Take up some of the responsibilities that you can perform without affecting your own work. This will help you to prepare yourself for the road uphill and create a good impression on your boss.

If you succeed in making a mark, you can expect trust and confidence to come your way. The confidence and faith that you win, coupled with your sincere efforts will undoubtedly take you a long way

CRK Cirehr

PLEASING EVERYONE – a short story with good moral

PLEASING EVERYONE

One day a man was going to market with his son and his ass. they met a couple on the way.

“Why walk when you have an ass to ride?” called out the husband, “seat the boy on the ass.”

“I would like that,” said the boy, “help me up father.”

And the father did that willingly.

Soon they met another couple. “How shameful of you!” cried the woman, “let your father ride, won’t he be tired?”

So, the boy got down and the father rode the ass. Again they marched on.

“poor boy”, said the next person they met, “why should the lazy father ride while his son is walking?”

So, the boy got onto the ass too. As they went on, they met some travellers.

“How cruel of them!” They are up to kill the poor ass.” cried one of the travellers.

Hearing this, the father and the son got down. Now they decided to carry the ass on their shoulders. As they did so, the travellers broke into laughter.

The laughter frightened the ass. It broke free and galloped away.

MORAL: You can not please everyone

attribution CiteHr

Thought Of the Day!!

HR Article: Managing performance – getting the balance right

Managing performance – getting the balance right

I have observed over my working life a distribution of people’s performance exists such that something like 20% of people drive or deliver value adding activities of the organisation. That is, those activities which assist the organisation to deliver against its goal. I also have observed that about 10% of people drive value destroying activities. The distribution of the other 70% is skewed in their value adding or value destroying behaviour dependent on how the 20% value adding and 10% value destroying are rewarded for their behaviour.

Jack Welch observed the same and assiduously managed out the bottom 10 percent of performers. Whilst not advocating such action is right for every organisation, my observations have led me to believe that we spend far too much time on the bottom 10% and not enough time with the 20% giving them the head space and resources to do even better. We also do not spend enough time with the middle 70% helping them understand the benefits of aspiring to do better and how they can achieve it.

Willing and able matrix

The willing and able matrix provides a standard thought process to managing performance of the 70:20:10 distribution prevalent in most organisations.

 

Willing and able:

Sponsor people who are willing and able to help them further their development as a person and as an organisational resource. This includes but is not limited to:

• Assignments in different functions of the business
• Membership of cross-functional project teams tackling difficult issues
• Elite training programs
• Control over assignments in their area of expertise with stretch targets
• Relieving duties for more senior managers while they are absent for extended periods of time
• Assignment of a mentor

Willing but unable:

Educate and encourage people who are willing but unable to complete more difficult activities. This includes but is not limited to:

• Corporate training programmes
• On-the-job training programmes
• Assessment of knowledge and practical execution of processes and procedures to understand knowledge and skill gaps
• Assignment of a coach to coach in skills and provide a role model for behaviour
• Provision of reading materials assessed s being relevant to the behaviours required for their role

Able but not willing:

Counsel those who are able but not willing to use their talents and skills to make a better life for themselves and a better outcome for the organisation. If that does not work after several tries, move to confrontation. This includes but is not limited to:

• Seeking understanding of their interests to ensure that they are in roles that match their interests. It is much easier to build skills when you are in a role that matches your interests
• Determine if there are blockers to their performance and agree where possible to remove those blockers in return for a concerted effort to improve their performance
• Determine if they feel valued or not and seek to improve their perception of their value
• Agree on an action plan of mutually agreed actions to improve performance. If repeated attempts to execute an action plan results in insufficient improvement in behaviour and performance move to confronting them on their behaviour and ask them “What are you going to do about your problem” passing ownership of the problem from a joint between you and the employee to them alone.

Unable and unwilling:

Those who have shown themselves to be consistently unwilling and unable or have done so through a an act resulting in extremely poor performance or grossly affecting the performance of others, must be confronted with their behaviour leading to the poor performance and asked what they will do to correct their behaviour. This includes but is not limited to:

• Having a one-on-one meeting with the person and developing an action plan with clear timelines of what they will do to improve their performance with equally clear consequences for not doing so.

Getting the balance right

Using a model such as the willing and able matrix is a good approach to managing the performance of people across the 70:20:10 divides. The problem I observe is not people using such a model to guide their thinking but that most of the effort of the Human Resources function and line management is directed at the 10%, the unwilling and unable, through some misguided sympathy for people in this position. The end result of the over allocation of resources and time to this group is that less effort is spent with the 20%, the willing and able. The result is a perception that more attention is paid to those that do not perform than those that do. When the 70% perceive this is clearly the case, their performance skews towards the 10% rather than the 20%. Additionally usually more fuss and more noise are made of the 10% than the 20% magnifying the perception.

So what to do if my assertion is true?

In my experience, what is required is a performance management process as described by the willing and able matrix that is clearly articulated and in which supervisors and managers are well trained to execute. In addition supervisors and managers who it is known are affected emotionally when it comes to counselling and confronting and thus lose objectivity should be assigned a coach who has shown themselves to be able to remain objective in such situations. Further to this, the treatment of the 20% should be proactive and public whereas the treatment of the 10% is necessarily reactive and should be kept as private as possible in a workplace.

Inspired by Kevin from changefactory.com

 

Powerfull words!!

Promote Teamwork at workplace..

How Do I Set Up A New Human Resource Department?

If you were given the task of setting up a new Human Resource Department in a small company where would you begin? Such a task would be extremely daunting, but not impossible, if you follow a few tips. To begin, you need to answer some basic questions:

• Why do you want to set one up?
• What’s changed to make you or the organization believe that an HR department is needed now?
• What do you want the HR department to do? How will this function contribute to the success and bottom-line of the organization? Will it add value?

In other words, before you begin the task, you need to have a clear definition of the mission and goals of the department and secondly, what role you will play as “head” of the HR function. Once you have clear direction, there are some key “audit” issues that you need to focus on.

Do you have personnel files on all your employees? Are they current? Do you have all the legally required documentation? Do you have items in the files that don’t belong there?

Do you have policies and procedures? Are they up-to-date? Are they followed?

Do you have an employee handbook? Do you have the right language in it? Have you inadvertently created a contract between you and your employees?

Do you have policies dealing with sexual harassment, workers’ compensation, safety, benefits, discipline, etc.?

Are you in compliance with state regulations?

Do you have a working knowledge of the law? Do you have all the required postings, forms, and documentation required by the respective governmental agencies? Are all the managers aware of their legal responsibilities and liabilities?

Are you recruiting and selecting the right people? Are you aware of the talent and skills needed to move your organization forward? Do you know where to find these people? Are you recruiting in a cost effective manner? Are your managers trained in interviewing techniques?

What kind of compensation plan do you have? Is it meeting the organization’s needs? Is it motivating your employees? Is it competitive and fair?

How about your benefits? Are you getting the best coverage for your people at a price the employees and the organization can afford? Is your total compensation attractive enough to retain existing people and be an incentive to new people?

What’s it like working at your company? Are people productive and motivated? Are you looking at the indicators of a productive and motivated workforce (absenteeism, tardiness, turnover, grievances, high workers’compensation rates, poor quality, missed deliveries, and poor productivity)?

What about your training? Are manager’s and employee’s skills current? Is training a “way-of-life”? Are you growing your people or do you have to go to the outside every time you need someone with a specialization? Are supervisors effectively managing their employees?

Are managers and employees kept informed? Do they know what’s going on? Is the grapevine the main source of communication? What are the sources of communication?

As you begin the process, get some professional help, whether through networking with peers, other organizations, or outside expertise. It is a big task, but one that is critical to the organization.

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