It's time to embrace risk management

With the debut of Standard & Poor's new enterprise risk rating for non-financials, execs need to start paying attention

By Prakash Shimpi
(Financial Week)

April 7, 2008

Since the advent of Sarbanes-Oxley, non-financial corporations have faced increasingly strong regulatory and compliance requirements aimed broadly at increasing transparency in their business practices. Risk management has been addressed at times, but usually as an afterthought.

All this is about to change.

In November 2007, Standard and Poor's announced plans to introduce enterprise risk management into its credit ratings criteria for non-financial companies, a move meant to bring a level of consistency to evaluating not only the resilience and profitability of these firms, but also the quality of management.

S&P has been evaluating ERM in the financial sector for some time; now it will apply its ERM ratings criteria to industries as diverse as airlines, pharmaceuticals and retail. While S&P plans to tailor its proposed ERM analysis based on individual companies' unique risks, structure and culture, all companies will be rated against four major criteria that will serve as the framework for analysis—risk management culture and governance, risk controls, emerging risk preparation and analysis of strategic management.

ERM is anything but a trendy concept. In fact, its roots go back more than a decade. In 2005, S&P brought ERM into its ratings criteria in the insurance sector. Later S&P analysis showed that the strength or weakness of a company's ERM was a differentiating factor among insurers impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Those with weak ERM were unable to quantify their exposure, and many were hit with much greater losses than they had thought possible, while those with stronger ERM were able to quickly estimate losses that were within 25% of actual claims.

Several banking firms that implemented ERM and then successfully weathered a similar storm in the subprime market may also have influenced S&P's belief in ERM's value for other industries.

For companies outside the financial sector, taking an enterprise approach to risk management is a relatively new concept. And while only a progressive few look at risks holistically, S&P's move should be a wake-up call. To be sure, some companies with fresh memories of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance exercises will initially react with frustration. However, those who embrace ERM are likely to see a positive impact on their cost of capital and bottom line because S&P will draw a straight line from ERM ratings to better credit ratings. Although ERM won't eliminate risks, it certainly will prepare companies for difficult situations, thereby minimizing their negative financial effects.

In response to S&P's announcement, companies first must take inventory and evaluate any existing ERM processes against the four S&P criteria. Second, management needs to take action to remedy any inadequate processes. S&P will not implement these changes overnight, but it's reasonable to expect that it will start to give official ratings as early as 2009. Companies should start making changes now to prevent any adverse effects on their ratings scores and, thus, their ability to access capital.

ERM is only as successful as the priority it is given by senior management. The C-suite sets the tone for corporations by identifying priorities, and at companies outside the financial sector, ERM has rarely made it onto that list. S&P's initiative should elevate awareness about the importance of risk management and prompt senior leaders to establish a “risk management culture” that communicates the importance of ERM from the top down and forges a connection between business objectives and business performance.

Despite ERM's decade-long presence in some industries, we are only now entering an era when more companies will get serious about ERM and move from just talking about it to implementing robust methods that tackle a range of risks. And it's clear that ERM will need to be higher on the CEO's agenda if companies want to continue to maintain healthy financial performance.

In the future, the focus of ERM will shift from compliance, management and measurement to more business-driven results such as better loss optimization and strategic integration. Now is the time for corporations to honestly assess how well prepared they are to meet the portfolio of risks they face and begin to implement ERM as part of the complete business process. To do otherwise would just be, well, risky business.

towards excellence>>www.globalpro.com.my

How to Be a Great Salesperson

(Life Learning Today)

This article is for everyone, even for people who are not technically in sales. Why? Because we are all in sales. Anytime you are trying to influence someone’s actions or thoughts, then you are selling. The best selling happens when you are trying to meet someone’s needs. This is when you will be most successful. This guide will outline the top ways to become a superstar sales person.

I’ve condensed my greatest sales learnings from 17 years of sales experience and combined it with the very best tips from the best sales books all into this one article. I’m a big fan of reading books and I reference several of them at the end of this article. At the same time I’m a bigger fan of absorbing some quick basic information and then immediately applying it in real life.

Sales Concepts for Success

1. Be Organized. This is very important. Planning is absolutely crucial to success:
Establish your Yearly Goals and break them down into quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily goals so that you know what you need to be working on. Post your Goals in plain view so you see them all the time, especially your daily goals.

Be sure to do a Weekly Review of your Sales Funnel. Check to see that your results are matching up with your goals. If they’re not, then it’s time to recalibrate your strategy.

Plan your day everyday for maximum productivity and success.
Very Smart Practice: On a yearly basis (and quarterly basis too if you can), analyze what activities or clients brought you the most business? What activities were the least effective? Adjust your plan to do more of the high revenue producing activities and spend more time with clients and prospects who bring you the most business. Eliminate the less effective practices. Work smarter, not harder. Reviewing your results and adapting your strategy over time brings the sales process full circle.

2. Planning is Good, But Remember to Be Action Oriented. Makes your calls. Set appointments. Meet with clients. Have lunch with power networkers with whom you can learn and work for mutual success. Inspire prospects to take the next action. Be bold. There is no failure, just learning experiences. Balance your planning time with action time. Your plan doesn’t have to be A+ perfect. You can hone it over time. Plan and then get moving!

3. Uncover Needs. This is your most important task. If you don’t understand your prospect’s needs, you’ll never sell anything except by accident. So much could be written on this one point alone. But here is what you need to know in a nutshell:
Start with more open-ended questions where the prospect can talk a lot.
Make sure you keep quiet while the prospect is talking!
As your meeting is closing down ask more closed-ended questions which will be answered with one word such as yes or no questions. Be creative with uncovering needs.
Be direct when you can and be indirect when you sense resistance.
Don’t hold back because you think you’re prying. Remember you’re here to help. You can only do this if you understand your prospect’s needs.

4. You’re Here to Help: Meeting Your Clients’ Needs. The reason sales people get a bad rap is because of the ones who try to force feed their clients. That is not selling. That is bullying. Your true role as a sales professional is “Needs Consultant,” helping your clients meet their needs, solve their problems, ease their pain, and bring them joy. Sometimes you need to help clients become aware of what their true needs are. Many people go through life thinking they want X. Sometimes you need to help them turn on the light to illuminate their real needs which may be better served by product/service Y. Always confirm that you understand a need. Then match it with a benefit from your product or service that solves your client’s need.

5. Match needs with benefits. How do you do this? Complete this exercise so that benefits roll off your tongue easily when talking with actual prospects. Here’s what you do:

Title a sheet of paper horizontally or use a spread sheet with the columns: “Features” “Benefits” “Needs” “Benefit statement.”
Write down all the features of your products/services. Next to each feature, write down the answer to this questions “So What?” The answer to that will be your benefit. (You’ve heard about doing this before, but have you really done it? Don’t rely just on what the company puts out either. Be creative and come up with lots of benefits.) Example: Feature: Web access on your phone. So What?! => Benefit: You can access any information from anywhere.
Next take tiny yellow stickies and write down all the different problems, pains, desires, your clients and prospects have.
Under each problem write down what the need is. Example: Problem: Getting lost finding addresses when showing clients real estate. Need: Instant direction information.
Next take all your clients problems and match them to the appropriate benefit.
Write in the needs in the “Needs” column.
Last, write out a Benefit Statement for each feature that you can practice. Example: “You’ll never get lost again with the XYZ phone because it allows you to get information anywhere anytime.”
This exercise takes some time but it is one of the most powerful things you can do to prepare yourself for success. The best salespeople I know do preparations similar to this.

6. Tap into Feelings. Many people will start with a rational approach to making a decision, but in the end, how a person feels in their gut will often determine their final choice. Make sure you find out how they feel in addition to their rational needs. And it is important to use the language of feelings and to demonstrate that you understand. Examples: “How does it make you feel that your current advisor never calls you?” or “What was your feeling about that house we just toured?” A handy phrase is “I know how you Feel. I’ve Felt that way too. And what I’ve Found is..(insert helpful advice here)…” I call this the 3F’s.

7. Get a Read on Your Prospect. Here’s where you need to listen to your intuition a bit.
It’s helpful to assess the level of desire a client has for meeting their need. Where do they fall on the spectrum from desperate (will buy anything) to confident (their awareness and feeling of need is not high enough to spur action)? Use this analysis to decide how much time to spend with them. Don’t knock your head against a brick wall trying to convert someone who feels no pain. But if you see a need that they don’t, then be sure to follow up with them in the future. Be there when they start to feel the pain of their need. Example: Prospect who is looking at new cars, but is very emotionally tied to his old clunker. You can see that he needs a new car, but he can’t see it as clearly as you yet because of his satisfaction with his current car. Be in touch with him so you can be there when his beloved car bites the dust.
The other thing you want to read is your prospect’s personality and style. You will do well to somewhat mirror that style so that he or she will feel comfortable with you. Be too bold with a conservative person and you’ll lose them. Be too “soft-pedal” with a type-A person and they’ll be gone before you can blink. Be yourself, but be aware of how your prospect likes to interact and accommodate them.

8. Know What Your Goal is with Each Sales Interaction. This is important so that you will know when your interaction is finished. In sales you need to be efficient for both your sake and your clients’ sake. This will keep you from wasting time. The best way to do this is to actually write down your goals ahead of the meeting.
Example: I want to:
confirm my client’s top 5 “must haves” in a home.
get their 10-scale rating on each home I show them today.
know their favorite and least favorite thing about each home we see.
schedule our next meeting.
If there is a home they love, I want to establish next steps to keep the momentum moving forward.
ask if I met all their needs for this meeting.

9. Asking for the Sale and Closing. Closing is not just about asking for the sale, but continually moving towards that point. An example is asking for the next appointment and setting mutually agreed upon next steps for both you and the prospect.
Closing, of course, also means asking for the sale. It is amazing how many sales people climb the sales mountain and then fail to take this last crucial step. Don’t be one of them! Ask for the sale! What have you got to lose?
When should you ask for the sale? Once you’ve confirmed that you correctly understand a client’s needs and you’ve explained how the benefits of your product or service meet their needs, then ask for the sale. There are many ways to do this. This is where the art of sales comes in. Read your prospect and ask in the way that will get you a yes. This takes practice. So go ahead and practice, practice! Consult with other top sellers to learn how they speak and then use what will feel natural to you.
If you get a “no,” find out why. Are you dealing with a misunderstanding, an objection, a concern, or perhaps indifference? Explore the root reason for saying no. If the client still has a need and wants to meet it, and if you have a product/service that meets this need, then continue on. If one or more of these elements is found to be missing then it is time to move on to the next prospect. But at least you tried!

10. Follow-up and Service. Follow-up is your continued communication with prospects. Service is your continued relationship with clients.
Follow-Up: Unless there is no need to meet or unless the prospect tells you to not contact them anymore, make sure you find a way to follow-up that not only keeps you in contact, but also provides value, whether via phone, email, newsletter, etc.. This is almost like your audition to show how you will provide service once they become a client.
Service: Once you’ve made the sale, the relationship is just beginning. Make sure that your client gets the best service. Set reminders for staying in touch. It’s easier to make a new sale to an existing client than a prospect. And with a happy clients, you’ll be more likely to earn a referral.

11. Ask for Referrals. The 80/20 rule applies here. 20% of your clients will provide 80% of your referrals. Find those 20% and cultivate them. There are certain people in this world who really LIKE to help others with referrals. You can ask every satisfied client for a referral, but usually it will only be a handful that actually refer you business. That’s ok. And don’t be afraid to be specific about the types of referrals you are looking for. Treat these clients like gold and watch the referrals stream in. There are many ways to ask for a referral. Here are some ideas:
Actually ask for a referral upon completion of a meeting.
Offer an incentive for referrals. Put this on your website and all your marketing materials.
Send out a survey to clients asking their opinion of your service and would they refer someone, “if so please fill in name or call me. If not, how can service be improved? What would make you want to refer business to us?”
Host a seminar for clients (make sure it is valuable and serve food!) and request, encourage, or invite them to bring a friend.
Offer an affiliate program.

12. Perseverance. Sales is a numbers game: SW³ = “Some Will. Some Won’t. So What!” You won’t win them all, and that’s ok. We all know the baseball analogy of how even the best batters miss the ball about 70% of the time. So don’t sweat the individual sales loss. Just move on to the next. With that said you do want to analyze your result patterns over time and adjust your strategy when you want different results. The idea here is to stay disciplined especially on bad days, stay focused on meeting needs, and keep evolving your strategy, tactics and skills. Slow and steady wins the race. Stay upbeat and when you’re down get rest and/or seek out positive people to help lift your spirits.

13. Look for Opportunity. Always be analyzing situations. Is there a local event you can leverage? Watch the news. Always ask yourself, “Is there a need for my business in this that could help me reach my goals? Can I fit it into my schedule? Will it be more or less effective than other activities I have planned?” Look for opportunity, analyze it’s potential, and if it is worthwhile then strike while the iron is hot! If you observe yourself shying away from a high potential idea because it’s something you’ve never tried before, challenge yourself to do it! Seek out helpers or partners! Go ahead, amaze yourself!

14. Become a Networking King. They say eating lunch alone is wasted time. Depending on your field, you should set a goal for 1-10 networking lunches per month. You should attend at least three networking functions per quarter. They don’t have to be obvious things. It might be going to a golf tournament. It might be going to an art gallery opening. Go to where your prospects and industry colleagues hang out. Include networking goals in your overall goals. Like any of these elements networking takes time to build so take it slow and build upon your successes. And by all means, have fun with it!

15. People Buy from Positive People. Be enthusiastic in your own way. Be authentic. Take responsibility if things go wrong. Watch how you speak in front of clients. Don’t blame others. Don’t complain. Don’t trash the competition. Life is Good! Life is challening, and that’s what makes it fun! Let your passion show! And, of course, on the inside, believe in yourself. You can do it!

16. Be Driven. Tap into what motivates you and connect to that everyday. Is it helping people? Is it helping your family? Is it a lifestyle you desire? A home, a car? Find ways to to get your energy flowing. The best way to do that is to move your body. Do some jumping jacks, do some stretching up to the sky, do some crazy facial exercises, and then laugh. Now you’re ready to tackle your cold calling block, or your seminar, your meeting, whatever.

17. Be Your Own Toughest Critic. Be brutally honest with yourself. Are you making real progress? In sales, the numbers don’t lie. Of course at first you need to build, but make sure you’re getting some wins. If you’re not, then don’t get sad or mad, just figure out a new way. The best sales people I know are always tweaking their strategy. Don’t let yourself get comfortable. The only thing that should stay the same is that you constantly seek better ways to improve your results.

18. Seek Guidance from Top Dogs in Your Field. This is one of the most important items. Leapfrog your knowledge by learning from those who’ve already made some mistakes. Offer to take them out to lunch. Ask to “ride-along” on their sales meetings so you can observe firsthand their magic. Ask them the secrets to their success. And offer to help them out in some way to repay their guidance.

19. If I Trust You, I Will Buy from You. Honesty, Integrity, Credibility. Build this with your actions. Do what you say you’re going to do. Answer the phone promptly. Return calls ASAP even if to say, “I got your call and I will be free to talk at this specific time.” Write down questions you don’t have the answers to and then get back to them promptly. Saying “I don’t have the answer to that right now” is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of honesty. Following up on that question later is a demonstration of reliability. Use these opportunities well.

20. What is Your Unique Selling Proposition? What is your “elevator speech?” This is the 1-2 minute answer to “What do you do? And, why should I do business with you?” Be outrageously creative. Be memorable. Be concise. Continue to work on this over time to get it just right. And have fun with it!

21. Use the Simplest Method Possible for Tracking Your Sales Funnel. You will have Unqualified Prospects, Qualified Prospects, Best Few Prospects, and Closed Sales. Most likely your company will have a system for this. But if they don’t or if you have your own business, find the simplest system that will do what you need. There are two major players ACT! (software based) and Salesforce (online). And now there’s a new online player from 37 Signals called HighRise. It is free for 250 contacts or less. Above that there is a monthly fee. Make sure you’re constantly feeding your sales funnel and that prospects are moving along through to closing. Analyze what is working and what is missing in your approach.

22. Stay on Top of Your Field. People like to buy things that are shiny, new, and sparkly. If your product or service isn’t new, make sure it is “sparkly” in your clients’ eyes. How? Simple. Make sure that you are meeting their most current needs. Your product or service doesn’t need to be new, but it does need to keep up with customers’ ever evolving needs.

23. It’s Not About Price, It’s About Value and Relationship. People want to solve their problems and fulfill their desires and they want to feel good about how they accomplished that. That’s value. Value is also giving extras to your clients with no extra cost and no expectations. There’s value in a relationship too. People like to be comfortable and trust the person they do business with. Show them how your product or service will meet their needs and give them something to brag about with their friends. Bragging Example: “I bought my new car at ‘Medium Priced Cars R Us.’ Anytime my car needs servicing, I get a free loaner car. And this dealership has been ranked 5-Stars by it’s clients consistently for the last 5 years. The sales person was helpful and patient with us insisting that we take our time. And when it came time to negotiate, they were very fair. And since we’ve bought the car, our sales person has called us to see how things were going with the new car.”

24. Please, Don’t Be Afraid. Really! If you feel the fear or hesitancy inside you, break through it! You have nothing to lose! Remember you are here to help. If someone doesn’t want your help, if someone is rude to you, no problem. Just move onto the next prospect. There’s billions of fish in the sea! Don’t be afraid to fail either. Learn from your experiences. Analyze them. How can you do things better next time? Sales is a big puzzle. You don’t fall apart when two puzzle pieces don’t match, right? Neither should you with sales that don’t pan out. Sales is fun! Enjoy the ride!

25. Celebrate Success and Cultivate Balance. (Balance? What’s that?) No really. Take care of your body, spirit, and personal relationships too. This can be difficult for real ‘Type-A’ personalities, which many sales people are. Make this part of your plan. Schedule it in. If this is hard for you, then enlist the help of people you know are good at this. They’ll love it and it will help you.

The Characteristics of a Great Sales Person

Selling is a profession and not simply a job. It takes time, dedication and commitment to be successful. However it is a profession which pays for the personal commitment of the sales person. Many people outside of the profession are astonished at the amount of time and preparation required to be a successful sales person. The image of the peddler pushing his or her wares is long gone. Today’s sales person is dedicated, educated, highly trained, technically savvy and committed to their profession.

Implications to the Sales Person

Realistically review the nine characteristics listed below and assess your skills and abilities accordingly. While there is no pass or fail in this test, it does serve as a benchmark as to where you want to be if you wish to be at the top of your profession. If you see a need for improvement, develop a mini-plan for each characteristic. Develop your goals, objectives and a timeline to develop the skill. Skill development will take a specific plan and commitment to achieve.

The Application

What makes a great sales person? Here are nine specific characteristics that define success in a very competitive profession.

1) Positive

Attitude is everything. In the face of rejection, failure and endless frustrations, a great sales person is able to keep everything in perspective. They do not take things personally and remain upbeat and positive.

2) Persuasive

A great sales person is able to use of his or her skills, experience and expertise to be persuasive, bring people around to his or her point of view and ultimately make the sale.

3) Patient

A great sales person understands that selling today takes an average of eight calls before a commitment is made. They persist and remain on track until the sale is consummated.

4) Precise

The great sales person doesn’t need puffery or exaggeration to make his or her point. They use the precise details of the products to clearly represent the features and benefits of their products.

5) Polite

The great sales person minds his or her manners. They remain cool, unemotional and professional throughout the sales process.

6) Planning

The great sales person understands the value of planning their time and sales strategies to achieve their goals and objectives.

7) Prepared

The great sales person is prepared for every sales call, focusing on a specific reason or purpose for that call. They are prepared to handle objections and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.

8) Punctual

The great sales person understands the value of time. They respect both the time of the prospect and their own time. They make sure they are on time for their appointments and if necessary call to reschedule if they are going to be late.

9) Practical

The great sales person is both practical and pragmatic. They understand failure and rejection are a part of the job. They are able to keep things in perspective and walk away from unprofitable situations.

Something to Think About

Great sales people are committed and purposeful. With that in mind consider the following points:

1. As you review the nine characteristics listed above, think of the various situations where one or more of these characteristics allowed you to make a sale. Explain.

2. What characteristics do you need to work on and polish? What is your plan to improve this skill? Explain.

-- By Timothy F. Bednarz, PhDTimothy F. Bednarz, PhD is the Principal Partner of the American Management Development Group

(Call Center Directory, 20 Oct 08)

Management: Doing it right

Rick Spence

From the March 2008 issue of PROFIT magazine

It’s the great mystery of business: how do successful businesspeople marshal their hopes, intentions and objectives and turn them into accomplishments?

Brendan Calder has worked on the solution for 40 years. The Toronto-based entrepreneur and mortgage czar has built and sold several companies, from Canavest House to FirstLine Trust (now CIBC Mortgages Inc.), all of them managed according to his evolving philosophy of focusing on results. He has turned that experience into an MBA course at Toronto’s Rotman School of Management called Getting It Done.

Armed with only a math degree from the University of Waterloo, Calder joined Rotman as entrepreneur-in-residence, but was recently promoted to “effective executive in residence.” Why not? His course in organizational effectiveness attracts some of Rotman’s best. And he promotes it by paraphrasing Ernest Shackleton’s famous advertisement for Antarctic adventurers: “MBAs wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful.”


Calder is only partly kidding. The crucial trait of an effective executive, he says, is courage: the bravery to buck existing systems by insisting on results, and the guts to be judged by them. “Courage is a necessary condition,” he insists. “Courage plus passion plus process equals results.”
As Calder embarked on a new class last month, I asked him to explain what makes for an effective executive. It’s difficult, but there’s a shortcut for you at the end of this story.

Organizational effectiveness begins with Peter Drucker, the late, great management strategist. Drucker bemoaned the recent emphasis on leadership; he believed businesses must focus on results. He popularized “management by objectives” as a way to get managers to stop focusing on mere activities, and instead seek out actions that move the entire organization forward. (Calder says the concept may have started with the Jesuits. “If you were building a mission in the wilderness,” he says, “the Jesuits would tell you to come back in a year and report on how it turned out.” They demanded results.)

Calder’s course emphasizes four of Drucker’s key points: focusing on results, managing by objectives, making effective decisions and prioritizing top management tasks. Sadly, not all of us are as disciplined as the Jesuits. In most companies, says Calder, “Management doesn’t know what the top management tasks are. They think they have to do everything, but they can’t.” It’s all about role clarity, he says. The hardest andmost courageous step is to “focus on contribution” — the key difference you can make — and then insist on measuring the results of your efforts and on being compensated for them.

Getting It Done also draws on the work of Michael Kami, a Florida-based business consultant who served as chief planner for IBM and Xerox in the 1950s and ’60s. In the ’60s, Kami coined the phrase “the speed of change” and urged organizations to become “fast, fluid and flexible.” He called for better, faster strategic planning by continually reviewing your SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats), adjusting your goals and paying constant attention to market feedback.

But there’s one more side to effectiveness: understanding your personal management style. What creates results for Donald Trump may not work for you. So, Calder’s formula includes the 3-D Theory of William J. Reddin, a British-born, New Brunswick-based management expert of the 1970s. Reddin noted that most people tend to be relationship-oriented or task-oriented, and that both styles are appropriate in different situations. By applying an “effectiveness filter” to individual style, Reddin gave managers the awareness (and permission) to adapt their personal styles to the context. “If you want to get things done,” sums up Calder, “you have to learn to flex your style.”

Fittingly, most of the work in Calder’s class goes on outside the classroom. The 25 students spend much of their time observing Calder’s principles in action at one of several local organizations, such as FirstLine and the Toronto International Film Festival, that have embraced all or most of Calder’s effectiveness formula.

Anthony Pittiglio, a 2007 Rotman grad who now works as an internal consultant with RBC Financial in Toronto, says the key concept he took from Calder’s course is “alignment at all levels”: without alignment, there can be no shared objectives and no results. At first, he resisted Calder’s contention that seeming intangibles such as customer satisfaction can be quantified. But now, he says, he understands that “when you find the key activities that can be measured, that’s how you get a truly output-focused organization.”

Since Calder’s course can hardly be summarized in 800 words, I asked him to reveal his top three tips for PROFIT readers. He responded by tossing a book at me: The Effective Executive in Action, a vinyl-bound workbook that prompts you to take notes and generate your own effectiveness manifesto by following the Drucker framework. Calder’s three tips: “Buy it. Read it. Do it.”

Talent Management Essential for Companies to Withstand an Unpredictable Economy

(CNN Money, 17 march 08)

Taleo Research Analysis Finds Continuous Talent Management Is a Critical Business Function for Companies in Any Economic Climate

Taleo Corporation (NASDAQ: TLEO), the leading provider of on demand talent management solutions, today announced the availability of a Taleo Research whitepaper titled "Talent Management in a Down Economy." In the study, Taleo Research analyzes historical and current data to determine the impact of economic downturns on hiring and how the efficient acquisition and retention of top talent helps businesses thrive in slow economies.

Job creation continues even during challenging economic climates, according to Taleo Research analysis of hiring trends during the last economic slowdown. According to Bureau of Labor statistics, in Q1 2000, during the hiring peak of the last expansion, 8.8 million new jobs (or gross jobs) were created. In Q2 2001, as the dotcom bubble burst, 7.6 million new jobs were still created. Analysis shows that while net job creation can go to zero or negative in a down economy, the total of gross jobs created is still significant as the workforce shifts from sectors that are being hardest hit to areas that continue to show growth. This fuels the need for companies to utilize efficient talent management solutions and practices regardless of economic conditions.

In addition, analysis shows that voluntary turnover is not significantly lower during a recession. In 2007, voluntary turnover across all businesses in North America was reported at 23 percent. In 2001 and 2002 (during the last recession) it was at 22 percent. Regardless of the economic climate, more than one fifth of a company's workforce may still be leaving of their own volition. In order to mitigate financial drain from open positions or poor workforce productivity, companies need a strategic hiring process that captures the best talent quickly.

"Given our analysis that significant hiring still occurs even during the most challenging of times, running a business without a talent management system is an expensive and inefficient proposition no matter the economy," said Alice Snell, vice president of Taleo Research.

To view the complete white paper, "Talent Management in a Down Economy," visit the Taleo Website at: https://www.taleo.com/research/whitepapers/talent-management-down-economy-59.html.

Is There a Blue Ocean Strategy for the Health-care Industry?

Dr Sarah layton

23 March 08

It is the object of calls for reform on the presidential campaign trail. Its medical errors come under scrutiny on CBS News's “60 Minutes.” It undergoes the Michael Moore treatment in such biased films as “Sicko.” Yes, health care in America looks like it needs a fresh prescription. “Like it or not, our health-care system has become a price-driven commodity business,” says Florida-based corporate strategist Dr. Sarah Layton.

“Blue Ocean Strategy - an approach which creates brand-new market space where no competition yet exists based on creating value -- is not prevalent in this industry. Nevertheless, it is possible in any industry -- even in health care with its regulations and constraints.” So, how can Blue Ocean Strategy come to health care? “It just takes thinking along the right pathways to determine how to break out of the old competitive Red Ocean and into a new Blue Ocean with no competition,” Layton contends. “I believe that the health-care sector can be ripe for those organizations that have the creativity and wherewithal to leave their competitors behind and launch in a new direction.” The Blue Ocean Strategy concept originated from the research documented in the book, “Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant.”

The cornerstone of Blue Ocean Strategy is value innovation, according to Layton, which creates unprecedented value for the customer while simultaneously creating high profits for the company. The business strategist finds that there is hope for the health-care business. Here are examples of organizations which Layton sees as demonstrating a Blue Ocean Strategy: “NovoNordisk, the diabetics care company that reconstructed the traditional market boundary which had a focus on the physician (the influencer) and started focusing on the diabetic (the user). The result is that NovoNordisk has become a diabetic care company rather than just a provider of blood-sugar testing equipment and supplies. When someone is diagnosed with diabetes, that patient will go to the resource that can provide the best information and care, NovoNordisk.” “One trend on the horizon is the prevalence of women as chief health officers,” Layton says. “Women are making the majority of health-care decisions today. So, having a CHO who can speak effectively with women can potentially reach many more of them.” “There is this particular mental health-care company worth noting,” she says.

“Life Spring: after going through the Blue Ocean Strategy process, it realized that out-of-pocket cost, community reputation for quality and expertise, appointment availability, good locations and facilities and friendly and caring staff became the short list of values they most wanted in a mental health facility.” “A fresh prescription requires new thinking,” Layton says. “Blue Ocean can give health care the fresh water it needs today.”

Ask Dr. Marty: Time Management for Managers

By Martin Seidenfeld, Ph.D.
February 2008

As a manager of others, nothing is more important to you than managing your time well. Always feeling rushed and threatened by deadlines is a sure road to poor performance and personal burnout.

Managers often talk about not having enough time, or seeking ways to stretch their time, or finding ways to save time. But time cannot be saved, stretched, shortened, or otherwise altered; it is fixed and inelastic. Each of us has exactly the same amount of time: 60 minutes in each hour, 24 hours each day, 365 days each year.

When managers or supervisors say “I didn’t have enough time,” what they actually mean is that they didn’t get done what they wanted to. Time is what your job – and your life – is made of. It is, in one sense, all you have. If you waste it and don’t accomplish what you really want to do, then you are not performing well on your job – and perhaps, in your life.

Managers must systematically plan their time. Your individual situation may call for very detailed plans or very loose ones, but without some sort of time plan ning, you will be disorganized and your organization’s productivity will be sub optimal.

Every manager must have a schedule book. It can be as simple as a pad of yellow paper, or as detailed as The Franklin Planner. The important thing is that you have some written method for planning your time. A basic time management sys tem, using these four steps, can help:

1. Listing
2. Prioritizing
3. Delegating
4. Scheduling

First, set aside 10 or 15 minutes each morning to go through these four steps.

Listing means exactly what it says. Write down all the things you hope to accomplish that day. They may be important things or trivial, or take lots of time or doable in just a few minutes. But unless it’s listed it’s too easy to forget.If an item is a major project, break it down into doable bits. For example, if you are developing a budget for your department, you might separate it into reviewing last year’s budget, sending a memo asking about department members’ anticipated needs, creating categories for budget requests, etc.

Prioritizing consists of organizing the day’s tasks according to their importance and their urgency. Its purpose is to keep you from being busy all day, feeling like you’ve accomplished a lot, and realizing at the end of the day that what you did was relatively unimportant, while some truly significant tasks went undone. Few things are more stressful than realizing you’ve “not had enough time” to take care of something that is really meaningful. This often is mere “crisis management” – the style favored by mid-level managers who never make any higher.

You should consider two kinds of truly important matters: those that help you grow and be better at whatever is your specific function and those that have to do with your relationships. Completing a project report at work might be important, and so might be meeting with your boss, to strengthen that relationship. For personal growth, learning such things as how to use a new piece of equipment can be important. In the long run, as a supervisor of others, maintaining and improving your relationships with your employees and your own boss may be the wisest use of your time.

Urgent matters are those that must be attended to right away and may or may not be important. Urgency may result from a deadline (anywhere from trying to finish a report your manager wants today, to seeing to it that an animal feeding schedule is maintained), a crisis situation (anywhere from a conflict between employees that suddenly threatens to engulf the entire workplace, to running out of paper clips), or simple physical need – what could be more urgent, and yet less important in the ‘Grand Scheme of Things,’ than having to go to the bathroom?

To prioritize the items you have listed, ask yourself, what is the single most important thing that I must accomplish today? Note that there you must choose only one such item, although several may seem awfully important. Pick one and call it your Grand Prize Goal.

Your Grand Prize Goal is one you promise yourself you absolutely will accomplish this day. No excuses, no extenuating circumstances, no limits on your time or energy – nothing will cause you to fail to complete your Grand Prize Goal, short of your sudden, untimely death!

Put your Grand Prize Goal at the top of a new list, and then cross out that item on the first list. Now, consider the remaining items on your to-do list. Choose some Second Place Goals. Add them to the new list, in order of importance, and cross them off the first list. These are things you’ll definitely want to accomplish this day, unless doing them would interfere in some way with your Grand Prize Goal.

Next, choose items that seem important, but not so important that you’ll be seriously upset if the day’s interruptions and emergencies prevent you from accomplishing them. These will be your Honorable Mentions — the ones you have a reasonable hope of getting done. Add them to the new list; cross them off the to-do list.

Now, look at what’s left. This is the stuff you wouldn’t mind getting done, but aren’t going to worry about if they get bumped for more important things. These are your Also-rans.

Delegating: Don’t laugh! Right now, you may be thinking that there isn’t anyone to delegate to. But you can manage it surprisingly often, once you get used to the idea.

Take a good, hard look at your now-prioritized list, and for each item, ask yourself, who can I get to do this task for me? Delegating creatively and effectively is an important and somewhat complex management skill and will be dealt with at length in a future column. For now, just think about which members of your work force might be able to do some of your tasks.

Now, cross those items you have delegated off your prioritized list — but note who’s doing what, and add ‘follow up’ to make sure delegated tasks are done.

Scheduling: If any activities are pre-scheduled, such as a staff meeting or a scheduled conference call, write it in your schedule book, and cross it off your prioritized list. Next, schedule your Grand Prize Goal as early as possible in the day — not just to allow maximum flexibility for unexpected interferences, but also because you’ll want to tackle it when you’re freshest and sharpest.

Next, schedule your Second Place Goals, then whatever Honorable Mentions can fit into the day, and if you can fit in a few Also-rans, schedule them too.

This four-step process (listing, prioritizing, delegating, and scheduling) should only take about 10 minutes, once you’ve had some practice.

Obviously, in most work environments crises happen and things come up that can totally destroy your carefully worked-out schedule. So stay tuned: in my next column I’ll discuss how to block interruptions and avoid time-wasters.

Corporate Leadership: Avoid the fatal flaws of management

(By Harry S. Dennis, III , for SBT)

A manager’s five fatal flaws:

1. Unclear and inconsistent communication.

I’ve written about this issue numerous times the last several years. Deliver the message. Be clear, specific and concise. Say it in 25 words or fewer, if possible. Then make sure your audience understands it.
Now, listen to the feedback. Listen for the intended meaning. Eliminate obvious distractions. Acknowledge your personal hidden assumptions and prejudices. Actively listen by asking probing questions. Listen with empathy for the “heart and soul” of what the other person is saying.

2. Failure to acknowledge change.

The one thing we know about change in the organizational context is that it’s elusive and hard to recognize on a day-to-day basis, but it’s real. To ignore it is to fall behind. It’s important to understand why managers ignore change when they’re surrounded by it:
• Emotion – like fear, anger and uncertainty – gets in the way.
• Perception gets in the way. They don’t see the need for it.
• Attitude gets in the way. They don’t believe it’s for the better.
• Reluctance gets in the way. They want to “wait and see.”To acknowledge change, a management team must do four things. It must identify the change and its source; make it patently clear why the change is necessary and what’s in it for the management team; show how the change itself will be negotiated; and be optimistic about the future.

3. Failure to manage team members differently.

Years ago, when I was the aircraft commander with a crew of 10 on a USAF C-141A Starlifter, my superiors warned me that I should always treat my officers and enlisted personnel on the aircraft’s long global missions the same, according to their rank and station. I never did.
And I don’t do it today in the corporate workplace. Every manager interacts with a variety of personalities. Each requires a different level of attention and “coaching” to maintain high individual performance. What’s important to one team member won’t necessarily be important to the next.

4. Failure to establish clear expectations.

Anyone who has a job should never doubt what’s expected. Here are ways to avoid that problem:
• Be clear and specific when explaining their tasks.
• Have well-defined performance appraisal standards.
• Write mutual contracts with problem employees.
• Measure team goals monthly and quarterly.
• Have a minimum one-year mentor program for new employees.

5. No sound time management principles.

CEOs, in particular, have always struggled to fit 24 hours into a 12-hour day. It simply doesn’t work. The annals of time management doctrine basically stipulate four decision points:
• It’s your time. Know what you want from it.
• Be assertive about the difference between urgent and everything less than that.
• Set your priorities and respect them.
• If something is wasting your time, get rid of it.
Five rights of managersLet’s turn to the other side of the equation. A manager can’t really deal with the five fatal flaws without having certain management rights to pre-empt the fatal flaws in the first place.

1. The right to set clear expectations.

I like the term “managerial paralysis” to describe a manager who is reluctant to spell out job expectations to an employee for fear of a harassment claim. Explaining job expectations is part of communicating well.
There were five specific expectations identified above, and these are all totally acceptable. Not included are issues such as work habits, use of company resources, compliance with company policy, and so on. The bottom line is that if expectations have never been discussed, it’s never too late to have the conversation.

2. The right to expect top performance.

Expecting top performance day-in and day-out from employees is a management prerogative. The caveat is that the company must define performance in terms of specific measurable objectives. That’s where the process typically breaks down. Or more specifically:
• The company talks about top performance in general terms.
• It doesn’t set the “bar” by mutual agreement.
• Employees see that it doesn’t apply to everyone.
• The company doesn’t reward top performance through recognition or incentives.

3. The right to change

Top management is not in business to protect the status quo. It’s in business to advocate change and to advocate this important management right. I’ve already explained how to accomplish change. But for any change process to work, there has to be a change contract, which doesn’t have to be complicated. At minimum, it must include:
• The employee’s participation in the change process.
• Management’s right to change the rules as the situation dictates.
• The employee’s right to discuss performance expectations that are affected as the result of changes.

4. The right to dismiss employees

“Management at will” seems to be old hat these days. But it’s true that if an employee isn’t right for the job, and there’s no other position for that employee, and training isn’t an option, then management has the right to dismiss.
That assumes, of course, that all the fundamental employment policies are in place, and that there have been no extraordinary breaches of management conduct or practice that would lead to a justifiable employee lawsuit.

5. The right to make mistakes

No manager is perfect under any circumstance. Mistakes are inevitable. They’re also fixable, and that’s the sign of a great manager: to admit a mistake and fix it, and to be supported by the CEO in the process. The same is true with employees. They will make mistakes. They should also have the opportunity, working with their boss, to fix them.

These are challenging times for many companies. Sticking with the basics and staying focused will go a long way toward future success. History says so. Until next month, avoid those flaws and exercise your management rights!

80% of Organizations Using ‘Balanced Scorecard’ Reported Improvements in Operating Performance

(AlBawaba, 19/3/08)

80% of Organizations Using ‘Balanced Scorecard’ Reported Improvements in Operating Performance

66 percent of these organizations reported profit hikes

According to recent survey of more than 1,000 organizations, 80 percent of the organizations that regularly use the ‘Balanced Scorecard’ (BSC) reported improvements in operating performance and 66 percent of them also reported an increase in profits. Correspondingly, a significant majority, 61 percent, reported improvements in bottom-line financial results.

“Keeping focused on a strategy is tough,” said Dr. Robert Kaplan, Baker Foundation Professor at the Harvard Business School. “Balanced Scorecard Forum 2008 will provide business leaders with a unique opportunity to develop effective business strategies that are essential to the success of their organizations.” The forum will be held in JW Marriott Hotel, Dubai from 23 – 27 March 2008.

The BSC which is used extensively in business and industry, government, and nonprofit organizations worldwide was originated by Dr. Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton as a performance measurement framework that added strategic non-financial performance measures to traditional financial metrics to give executives a more ‘balanced’ view of organizational performance.

In order to introduce businesses in the Middle East region to the BSC concept and how it can help businesses clarify their vision and strategy and turn them into action, Institute for International Research (IIR) is organizing the “Balanced Scorecard Forum: The Art of Strategy Execution” to take place in Dubai on 23rd to 27th of March 2008.

Drs Kaplan and Norton will appear together for the first time in the Middle East and will deliver their insight into business management, through the use of BSC tools and highlight international and regional best practices during their two-day master class from 23 – 24 March. International case studies from Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame winners Hilton Hotels Corporation Worldwide (USA) and Ricoh Corporation (USA) will follow during the two-day Balanced Scorecard Forum from 25 – 26 March. Regional case studies will also be presented by Microsoft EMEA (UK), Saudi Aramco (KSA), Emarat (UAE), National Bank of Kuwait (Kuwait), Dubai World (UAE) and Dubai eGovernment among others.“Employing the balanced scorecard leads to new business processes that can be used to link long-term strategies to short-term decisions,” concluded Dr. David Norton, the founder and president of Renaissance Solutions, a global consulting organization. “But in order to implement the BSC successfully, a business unit must effectively communicate the organization’s strategies for increasing shareholder value to all employees. That helps to get everyone behind the overall strategy.”

BSC allows better measurement of a firm’s capabilities to create long-term value by identifying the key drivers of this value. The drivers are then translated into four categories of measures- customer, internal/operational, innovation/learning, and financial. The financial measures are typically focused on short-term results; while the other three categories are coupled to future oriented activities needed to successfully sustain the firm.

“Strategy Maps and Balanced Scorecard have been instrumental for us in strategically monitoring the progress of our eGovernment initiative,” said Okan Geray, the Strategic Planning Consultant at Dubai eGovernment. “Balanced Scorecard has also assisted us in aligning our strategy with our resources, competencies and internal processes in order to pursue our vision of “Easing the lives of people and businesses interacting with the Government”.

Improving Management Performance

by SIR PETER PARKER

Quality of management is the prime mover of success in enterprise. It does not in my belief, matter whether the management's accent is Japanese orAmerican, or German, or French, or British, or whatever good management is good management. High-performing world winners come from all over the globe. Of course, there are national influences that condition the people's attitude to enterprise,cultural, historical, geographical-these explain agreat deal but do not explain the fact that goodmanagers everywhere overcome these to produceresults, and often seem to have more in common withone another than the contrast between the countrieswould suggest.

No wonder, therefore, that we have become obsessed with anatomising excellence. What are the common denominators of success? We lust after its secrets.We make out checklists of the desirable features ofthe competition some successful companies even drewup checklists of themselves a sort of laundry listof clean linen to be washed in public.

Management is currently heavily-breathing, heavily engaged in either checking-up on such lists ordrawing-up lists of their own. I find these lists fascinating in three ways. First, we expect too much of them. Such lists are not always useless, but, at best, they are always only sign-posts. They do not go anywhere. Something else must move management to act.

And, anyway, what list can cover the 360 variety ofbusiness situations: for instance the once-sound, mature business in need of a shake up, or even arescuing turn-round is different from the(embryonic) start-up of a venture; the organizationof a competitive public enterprise or, an essentialpublic service is different from a multinationalcorporation which can decide to change the formulaof a cosmically competitive drink- just like that. It was Solon, the constitution maker in ancient Greece, who when asked to draft a constitution,would nail the question by asking specifically, "Aconstitution for what?"

The second fascination of checklists for me is that they are always a bit of a shock. Their obviousnessis mildly shocking. And there is nothing wrong withobviousness: a litany of home-truths is arguably what we managers need. Actually, managers know wellenough what makes for quality and for money's worth,for success and for failure. Good management is not a bag of tricks, or of secrets, or of surprises . Good management in enterprise is such stuff asplatitudes are made of. Certainly, the litanies are what the manager is getting these days, and, if the market speaks truth, it seems to be what he and she likes.

For example,"In Search of Excellence", by Peters and Waterman,is a record breaking best seller. It explores agalaxy of international business and bringsmanagement back to earth with good, old home-truths.Belief is what makes things happen, belief in thebusiness, and that springs from keeping faith withthe customer. "In Search of Excellence" is born-again Samuel Smiles, racier and wittier, morefun but basically the one same clear message; thesecret of success is professional skill committed toa belief in the job and in the mission of theenterprise. This emphasises the third and most significantaspect of the best of current checklist; their recognition of management being as much a test ofcharacter as it is of professional technique.

This welcome emphasis emerges most clearly in anothercurrent and readable best-seller; "The Art of Japanese Management", by Pascale and Athos, who werein fact close with the ex- McKinsey team of Petersand Waterman. Pascale and Athos set off on their ownsuper-star-trek of international success inmanagement (not only Japanese, incidentally). Their formula is presented brilliantly as well. Their anatomy of success fairly hisses with S's, somehard, some soft. The hard S's are strategy, structure, and systems of management: the soft S'sare specified skills, style, staff, andsuperordinate goals. ("We chose alliteration", they say, "on the theory a little vulgarity enhancesmemory." Vulgarity-surely not. Blimey, I can't believe any well-brought up manager will dare dropany S in the blinding future) Athos and Pascale,like Peters and Waterman, are downright about management being an art, the title of their bookmakes that clear enough.

Outstanding organisations must be strong in strategy, structure and systems,but to rely on these is illusion; "the bestcompanies also have great sophistication on the foursoft S's." Academics and journalists traditionallyconcentrate on the mechanistic parts of managementfor some the soft S's are just froth. "That froth",this splendid Harvard team tells us, "has the powerof the Pacific". And, I would add, the Atlantic. Weon this side of the world are also witness to atransformation in the way management is seeingitself and is set on improving itself. Thesignificance in the best of the checklists is theirshift towards widening its scope and role of themanager. Recession and relentless competition havetaught British management more about the crucialcomponents that the hard S's stand for; they havealso taught us hard lessons about values of the soft S's.

Put another way, the shift is from the mechanics ofmanagement to entrepreneurial qualities. Improvingmanagement means developing the principle andpractice of entrepreneurial change and innovation.Naturally, the process is bound to vary in businesssituations, but in principle its relevance appliesto management in private and public enterprise, tomature industries as well as those aglow in thesunrise sectors, to large and small organizations,and also the public administration. Its applicationis now a central purpose to what we are about in theBIM. It is relevant, too, to the individual manager. Forhim and her, I suggest it involves a five point,self-demanding programme: 1. The continuing improvement of the individual'sprofessional capability - this means more than theessential mastery of functions, it calls forunderstanding of the technical and human values atstake in leading change at every level ofmanagement. On this first point, the other pointsdepend. 2. The personal commitment as a manager to close thegap between the world of work and the world ofeducation - it is not a question of "beinginterested in education and training as well as myjob." It is a vitalising part of the job, within theenterprise and in its external relations. 3. The widening awareness of the internationalhorizons of management, I have said before, nomanagement is an island; of course no manager iseither. International standards are vital tocompetitiveness. International markets andinternational organizations set the pace. 4. The ceaseless practice of communication - themanager is a communicator or nothing. There is noleadership without communication. In a modernworking community, constantly changing, this realityis more than ever a mark of a successful enterprise.What matters more than words are the qualities ofthe relationships expressed what a manager means isconveyed by amenities, by design and style, byaccessibility of authority, by example. In thehigh-tech, information future, flatter smallercommand structures are going to be possible.Communication will be what is expected ofmanagement; and a manager will communicate withmembers of any working community, not because theyare employees or trade unionist only, but becausethey are citizens at work and have the citizensright to information. This relates to the lastpoint. 5. The need to define the social policy ofenterprise this a manager has hitherto not seen withthe clarity and urgency that the priority nowcarries. For example, 200 leading companies arecommitted to the organization of Business in theCommunity BIC has special aims in enterprise andemployment but it is an outstanding illustration ofthe new realism in management. The agenda of socialpolicy is growing; priorities of the socialconsequence of change, of the environment, of equalopportunities of charity and sponsorship, ofestablishing flexible patterns of work-these aregiven increasing attention by the successfulenterprises Inevitably the individual manager has ajob to do in defining his or her role in this socialdimension. Improving management performance calls for aresponse from the individual manager as aprofessional of international standards, as aneducator, as a citizen- not only in the localcommunity, but as a competitive citizen of theworld.

PS - "A management not concentrated on improving itself is not worthy of the name: better call itbureaucracy, damn it, leave it and competition willclean up the mess."

PPS - "A manager who has not experienced the forcethat being changed can give is no manager: he's notup to his job which is changing andleading-moreover, he's in for a big surprise."