Serena Williams Episode; Talent vs. Values

It was US Open 2009 in Flushing Meadows a couple of weeks ago when I got to see Serena Williams yell and scream at the lines umpire for calling a foot fault. Serena threatened the lines umpire with profanity laced tirade waving her racquet and was eventually thrown out of the US Open for her behavior leaving Kim Clijsters to not only win the semis but also the finals against Wozniacki. What left me aghast was the attitude of a very talented world number one tennis player during a professional game. USTA fined Serena a meager $10,500 fine for her atrocious behavior on the court. What is even worse is that Serena did not even find a reason to apologize to the lines umpire. Where are the values in our role models? Is it acceptable for talented individuals to not conform to the values of the organization?

Let us take this scenario to our world of professional workplace. What would you do as a HR professional if you found your superstar screaming and yelling at another employee in a public forum after repeated admonitions? Would you take a few percentage points off during the up and coming performance reviews? Would you be afraid to take a serious action against the superstar for fear of him/her leaving the company? or would you take some tough decisions to make sure that such practices are not acceptable in a valued organization? Even worse, what would you do if the superstar in question happens to be the CEO?

Here's where I stand and what I have always stood for in my professional career and personal life. Values always wins over talent. If the values of any employee, including any superstar, does match with the values of the organization, there is no place for the superstar there. Any indication of compromising values of the company must be dealt with detailed one on one discussions followed by training and coaching to repair the situation IMMEDIATELY. It is not beneficial to the rest of the organization to feel that their values can be compromised by a juggernaut. The human resource organization must actively engage in policing the value system in the company to make sure that the values espoused by the leaders in the company is the culture that exists in the deep trenches of their organization. It is beneficial for the entire organization to have a set of team players who trust and respect other members for the value they bring to the table.

In the case of Serena Williams, I only hope that the USTA brings on tougher actions (not just a mere $10K fine for some one who earns over $10 Million a year) against her soon to clarify the position of values of talent. No organization should compromise on values over talent.

Talent acquisition Vs. Customer engagement

Having spent more of my career of 20 years identifying and winning customers, I see the process of recruiting talent into the company in a similar light. Let us analyze the process of winning the right customers for a product or services company. First, the marketing team BUILDS a BRAND for the target audience. Then, the sales team is tasked to identify all the potential customers interested in the product by FILLing a sales funnel. It is then the function of the management team to SELECT the customers who could provide the maximum return for the time and effort invested (ROI- Return On Investment) by the company. With a short list of targeted high ROI customers, the entire team rallies behind the sales team to CLOSE the deal. Let us analyze the similarities between winning customers and the process of a successful recruiting process in a company.

BUILD A BRAND: It is important for any company that plans to build a mid to large sized team to focus on building a brand of itself in the job marketplace. The objective is to conjure a very positive image of the company in the heads of job seekers. The effort must result in job seekers wanting to work in the company. Google, Goldman Sachs and Mckinsey are prime examples of companies that have built a solid brand in their respective markets. The focus for any branding campaign is to communicate effectively the culture of the company and the quality of work for wholesome development.

FILL THE FUNNEL: Once a brand is successfully established over time, the company should have no problems receiving a constant flow of resumes. However, when the company has not built a strategic brand, the HR team is forced to expend a ton of energy in filling the funnel. Using the current employee network is a good source of qualified resumes to the company. Remember, employees will never recommend someone who'll pull the company down.

SELECT A FEW: This is probably the toughest of all steps in the recruiting process. In countries such as India and China, where the ratio of incoming resumes to number of positions open could be in the thousands, it is critical for the company to identify sources of talent with the best ROI. Utilizing personal networks of current employees and alumni, employees of competitors, personnel from companies of similar knowledge base and top notch schools and their alumni are some of the channels that come to mind. Effective utilization of social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook can be also prove useful in the search for qualified candidates. Although, employee references have been used for a couple of decades, I continue to believe that the network is under utilized.

CLOSE THE DEAL: Once a few have been selected with a match to the culture of the organization and the skills needed to get the job done, it is of utmost importance to close the deal. Most of the deals I have closed had nothing to do with the $$$$$. Potential employees are excited about the prospects of working with employees who are having fun and are learning every day. I remember one of my managers telling me during an interview that the opportunity will help build on my resume. At the end of the day, if you make the connection and you see the value in the candidate, find a place in the company. Solid candidates whose values match with the culture of the company are hard to come. Pick them up. Train them. Keep them.

Being prepared for recruiting

A good recruiting/staffing organization typically does strive to reduce recruiting costs, reduce time to hire, increase acceptance rates and also to improve time to productivity. However, most organizations do not spend enough time to PREPARE for recruiting. I am not talking about the process of hiring a team. But, more the understanding of the needs of the micro-organization and at the macro level of the company. Typically, the recruiting process starts when hiring managers lob a standard requisition with the details of the job and the skills required to do the job. But, how many times has a staffing manager sat down proactively with the hiring manager to understand the NEEDS of the organization prior to a desperate need to hire a person?

Being prepared for recruiting one or more personnel into any company requires a complete understanding of the functional performance of the team. Functional performance of a team is determined not only by the hard skills required for the job function but also on the soft skills needed to accomplish the tasks as a valued team member of the organization. Soft skills and values are often not given enough attention during the hiring process but plays a very critical role in the success of the person and the company as a whole. Let us probe this avenue by a list of simple questions. Is the team's values (determined by the values of the leader and the independent values of each of the team member)aligned with the culture of the company? What values are lacking in the group? How are leadership skills within the organization? Is there a succession plan in the group and is there is a need to bring in someone with the skills to lead over the long term? Does the team contain a few innovators/out of the box thinkers? Are there personnel within the company whose skills and values match better in an organization other than the one that he/she is in? Proactive, regular discussions led with questions such as these with the managers in the company can lead to building a prepared and responsible staffing organization.

With over 20 years in the high technology industry in roles ranging from engineering to CEO, I have realized that a super star team with no values or even values that do not match with the culture of the company can be a disaster. More importantly, one bad apple in a team with values can sour the entire organization. Therefore, it is the job of a responsible HR team to PREPARE every manager in the organization understand the 'complete needs' of the team in the long term. At the macro-level, it is also important for the HR organization to know the skills and values available within the entire company to consider transfer of personnel within the company prior to engaging in a high cost hunt for talent outside. With a clear understanding of the skills and values of each of the team members, the staffing team can be better prepared to add value to the team. To the HR team: KNOW your team, PREPARE your managers, HIRE the best.

To Be or Not To Be; A Manager

To be or Not to Be.........a manager is the question. After a few years starting off in any job, most people ask the question, should I become a manager or continue to be an individual contributor?
In some countries, taking the role of a manager is not only prestigious but also the only way to grow one's compensation. In other countries such as in the U.S, a solid individual contributor can not only rake in the cash like any other manager but also is accepted and respected in the organization. What are the primary qualities to be a good manager? Am I cut out for it? Can I learn to be a good manager? Successful managers guide their team members to achieving a common set of business goals by respecting their opinions, acting promptly on the feedback and sharing the stage with the team.

LISTEN: Earning the trust of each team member is probably the most important trait to be a good manager. The first step to building trust is respecting each member's opinion. Accepting the fact that each member has a valid contribution to make, whether it agrees with the managers or not, is absolutely critical. Building an environment where each employee is open to offering their own perspective on how to improve their organization will prove to be utterly useful in the long term. I remember the days when I was a marketing manager and used to walk in to the CEO's office to provide him my perspective on how to improve his communication to the employees. Having gained his respect, I was often provided a chance to review his emails to employees prior to publishing it. There is no better organization that one where each employee feels the ownership to provide direct feedback to their managers without thinking one second on the possibility of a repercussion. LISTENing is an important skill that every manager needs to develop over one's career. Learn to LISTEN WITHOUT BIAS.

ACT: Once an environment to accept each member's opinion has been created, it is important for the manager to ACT on the feedback at the earliest. There is no worse insult to the team when the manager acts on his own impulse disregarding the feedback provided by the team members. I distinctly remember one CEO to whom I was reporting to felt insulted when provided feedback and took diametrically opposite direction just to prove that he could act on his own. The company disintegrated into a political mess in less than 1 year where employees realized that it is better for their career to provide inputs that the manager would agree on rather than provide inputs that would be publicly derided upon. A manager who can be trusted to ACT on feedback develops a deep TRUST with the employees and tends to develop an organization where employees focus more on getting work done rather than jousting for political limelight. First listen then ACT PROMPTLY.

SHARE: A true manager will not only listen and act on feedback from the team but also willing to share the stage with each of the team member. Sharing is never easy. I have seen very few managers in my few decades of work experience who are eager to share the limelight with their team members. Over 70% of the employees that I interviewed for this blog were 100% sure that their managers provided no credit to their work or ideas when communicating to their managers. Managers should learn to let their guard down and provide credit to each of their employees in any forum. It brings out the fact that the manager cares for his/her employees and therefore strengthens the bond between the manager and his/her team members. SHARE WITH DELIGHT.

There is no doubt that an organization with managers who listen, act and share will not only be most productive but also provide an environment where the employees will develop an enduring and fulfilling career. The best managers go the extra mile in helping their members achieve their personal goals by aligning the personal needs with the organization's.

If you are already a manager or would like to be one, just remember to LISTEN to each employee, ACT based on what you have heard and SHARE the stage and your knowledge with your team. If you are running an organization , make sure that the managers are assigned enough TIME to MANAGE their people. It is already very hard for a first time manager to leave his/her ego behind and HELP his team. The organization must support and understand the time required to manage a team.

Don't be just Average; Be the Best

Over the last 20 years or so that I have been a part of the high technology industry, I have been lucky to work with some of the best in the industry. I had always wondered what makes them successful. A successful engineer has the capability to build some really cool products that have lasting effect on consumers and successful businessmen build great companies that stand the test of time. Typically, these successful people have high energy, great confidence in their abilities, positive attitude that keeps their head above water and most importantly their ability to excel in their area of focus. They are not another 'average' Joe but are the 'BEST' in their fields. That should be obvious. Now, the question is: What does it take to be the BEST? Assuming there is a need for your talent, being the best is a confluence of 'who you are', 'what you would like to do' and 'how much effort you put in'. Let us take this one at a time and understand it better.

Who are you? Now, that is a question that people try to get answered in a lifetime. Let us keep it focused on 'who you are' for a successful career as that would identify what you may naturally incline towards. Let me give you an example from my own life. Having graduated from one of the top engineering schools in India, followed that up with a graduate degree in electrical engineering and worked in the high technology industry for over 20 years, you must be thinking that I am an analytical wizard with capabilities to solve any mathematical problem at the back of a paper napkin. However, I have always been less analytical but more conceptual, creative, innovative, visionary, empathic, social and want to be less bothered with the details but more interested in the results. That's indeed the reason why I wandered towards marketing, business development and dealing with human resources. Tools such as MBTI, Emergenetics and AVA offer a way to understand your inner slant and what you would be 'innately' good at. However, as I did, you can figure that out yourself by being true to yourself and understanding what you are good at and most importantly what you are not good at.

Once you have understood your real self (I am talking like a yogi here) and having accepted on what you are good at and what are you not, it is time to take the next step to being the best. What you want to do (or) what would you like to do? What career will bring out the best in you? What profession utilizes most of who you really are and less of who you really are not are? These are not easy questions to answer for most people, especially if you are at the beginning of your career. Ask this question to yourself: What would you like to be doing 24/7 if you had the option to pursue? Be realistic. Most of us need a career to make money. The question is whether you can make money and lots of them by pursuing something you really want to do and that you are innately good at. Think within your confines. Establish boundary conditions if you would like to be realistic.

Having figured out 'who you are' and 'what you really like doing', the next step is simple....Work hard. If you really enjoy what you are doing and it is aligned with who you are and what you want to be doing, you should be spending an enormous amount of time living your dream. There is no substitute to hard work. In this boundryless globalized world, I am sure there is someone in another part of the world who's pursuing the same dream but putting in more effort that you are. The best in the world did not achieve their dreams thinking about it. They worked hard to accomplish it. Accomplishments needs effort and that too a lot of it.

As a manager in your profession or as a dad to your kids, it is important to educate them on these basic principles to be the BEST. Identify early on who you are, what you want to do and work hard to be the best. DON'T BE JUST AVERAGE, BE THE BEST.

Performance reviews; Do they perform?

Performance review time in any company is detested by most managers and employees. Most companies continue to follow the same old process of reviewing every candidate just once a year and make changes to compensation based on the outcome of the review. How can a manager expected to remember all the events from the first day of the year to the last? Is it right to expect a manager to record every significant event with the employee during the year? Should we expect the employee to accept feedback based on 'remembrance' of the manager?

If we seriously consider using performance reviews to provide quality feedback to improve the professional life of a employee, shouldn't the system be designed to collect the highest quality information on the person throughout the year? The highest quality of data is of utmost necessity to provide the highest quality feedback. Identifying completion of a project on time, with quality is the easy part of judging the performance. The hard part is to understand 'why' the project was not completed and to improve on skills and the work place values/character of the employee to enable him/her be more productive at work. Let us try to understand the requirements for a perfect performance review system.

The ideal system should be continuous, easy to use, efficient to track improvement or degradation and be designed to manage talent. Let us take it one step at a time. Typically, managers collect performance data on employees once or best case twice a year. I have seen some managers collecting data during the performance review time to substantiate their claim or knowledge of their employee. 360 reviews and peer reviews are talked about often, but, are rarely used effectively. An ideal system should enable anyone to provide feedback on any other employee at any time of the day. For eg., an engineer at the lowest rung of GE should be able to provide an opinion on the CEO based on his/her interaction with him during an all-employee meeting. The manager, with an access to the feedback of his/her employee should be able to check the data and provide feedback to the employee on a continuous basis (throughout the year). Such continuous feedback detailed with the context and the relevant time frame goes into improving the performance of the employee on a continuous basis.

Secondly, the performance review system has to be easy to use for anyone, anywhere and anytime. With the issue of having to remember events of relevance from a year ago for the reviewer, it makes it harder if the system requires the reviewers to write in detail of not only the performance but also the context. In an age of Facebook and Twitter where citizens express 'what they are doing?' in less than 140 characters, employers cannot and must not expect employees to provide detailed write ups during performance reviews. The system should be designed to not only receive feedback from anywhere, anytime but also be intelligent to make most of the few characters that the feedback is based on. Once the system is available on a continuous basis and is as easy as tagging a person, the feedback system will prove useful to not only the employee but also the entire organization.

Next, once the feedback is received, the system must be designed to track improvement or lack of improvement. Once the employee's performance is reviewed with him/her, the system should also be capable of monitoring the change on a continuous basis. In a perfect world, the employee would strive to improve on objections raised during the review and would like to see the results of the improvement (positive reinforcement). In the worst case, the system should provide the option for the manager to notice degradation of expected values and work with the employee to change course.

Last but not the least, the system with its intelligence and all the skills and performance data of the employee should enable managers within the company to identify the right fit for the employee. If the employee is not performing well in the current group, the question to ask is 'does he FIT well into this group? If his skills and values do not match with the culture of the organization, the question should be 'will he be a better FIT in another organization within the company?' or more importantly ' where would the employee be the BEST FIT?' in the company. A well designed performance review system should not only be able to collect data on a continuous basis but also enable managers make the right decision for the employee and the organization with the data.

Do the requirements for a perfect performance review system sound too ideal? Can it be done? YES, WE CAN!

Managing People; Not Indians or Americans

I was recently approached by an American organization who was looking for an entrepreneurial leader to head their Indian office as their Managing Director. After a few discussions, I was told that they were impressed with my background and capabilities as a leader with experience in managing people in the U.S. However, they would prefer someone with the experience of managing people in India. Here's what was exactly said "We are really looking for an individual that has built a team in India and has lived there for a number of years. Unfortunately, your background has been in the USA". Why is my background of managing Americans, Indians, Chinese and many others not a strength but a weakness? Aren't people the same worldwide? That discussion really opened my eyes to the misconception of managing people in the industry today.

The concept of managing people, not Indians or Americans or Chinese, is simple once you pay attention to the culture that surrounds the people. First, understand them, person by person. Understanding Americans is no different from understanding Indians or Chinese. Every employee has a unique need, interest and passion. The duty of the manager is to pay the most attention in understanding the needs, both emotional and professional, of every team member. This is not an hour long process. With some, it may take multiple conversations over many months. Once those requirements are understood and clarified, it is then easy to work to their interests within certain boundary conditions established by the organization.

Second, it is important to expose and help employees understand the boundary conditions that exist in the environment. The boundary conditions include the values/culture of the company and rules and regulations of the organization. If there is not a fit with the values and interests of the employee with the culture and needs of the organization, the marriage will never work. Discussions on salary, options and other benefits can only delay the inevitable if there is not a match.

Once the needs and the interests of the employee are understood and a fit is established, it is the duty of the manager to 'feed' the employee right. I am not talking about the free breakfasts, lunches and dinners that companies provide as a perk. I am talking about the 'intellectual food' to feed the curiosity and interest of the individual. Providing the employees with a job function or a project that matches with their needs/interest and skill set is also critical. Never assign a program that does match with the individual's skills and needs and expect it to work. Such an assignment will not just result in the failure of the project but also result in loss of motivation and eventually the loss of the worker.

These are simple but key techniques in managing people, whether Americans or Indians or Chinese. Understanding the needs, finding the right match/fit and feeding them with appropriate jobs for success of the individual and the organization. Following these key guidelines has helped me not only build and grow great teams but also to keep them energized for the long term.

Successful Entrepreneurship; Focus, Focus, Focus

What's one very important attribute of a successful start-up? Is it the brilliant idea? Continuous innovation? or the plain old execution? All of the above are important for the young company to survive and flourish. However, over the last decade or so that I have dealt with start-ups including building a few of my own, I have realized that focus on execution is key. There are tons of examples of companies that had just another product like many others but out shined the rest with pure focus on execution. It's at any day better to bring a quality product with me too features on time vs. one with whiz bang features a year late.

Now, how do you build an execution machine? Focus, Focus, Focus. Focus on one thing for the entire team to strive for. Focus on building the team with members who have built the same into production many times before. Focus on building a quality product to solve a need in the market. Let us focus on each one of these criteria to understand a bit better.

Focus is everything in a start-up. It pays for the development team to focus on delivering one product. It pays for the marketing/sales team to focus on one market. It may even pay to keep the focus on requirements from a carefully chosen one customer. The focus delivers a solid understanding of the needs of the market and keeps the development team motivated to deliver one product. Distractions are too costly for any start-up that typically runs on a limited source of cash.

Focus on building the best team to deliver the product. Every team member of the delivery team must be handpicked for their experience in delivering a product to production many times. With a 12 month window to deliver a product to the customer in a limited budget requires each team member to be proficient in productizing the deliverable. There is a huge difference between members who have just designed multiple products versus the ones that have taken the specific product to production multiple times. Do not compromise in this area. There is no going back. Start-ups do not have the time or the money to revisit development. Take a look at your development team now. How many of your developers have designed the same block or a similar application to production? You may be surprised about the results. My analysis of over dozens companies in the valley reveal something very different. 6 out of 10 developers in the team had not taken the same/very similar product into production before.

Now that you are focused on the right market with the right team, it is time to focus on the 'needs' of the market. It's very critical that the entire team understands and differentiates the 'needs' of the customer versus the 'wants' of the customers. This is not easy. It took me a couple of hard learned trials to grasp this concept. The customers will always want more for less. The market will always want everything for free. If the customer needs it, he will pay for it.

Once you have a product that solves a real need in the market place, the entire team is focused on delivering the product to the customer and each of the team members have enough experience under their belts (to understand the pitfalls), there is a good chance of success.

Remember; Focus, Focus, Focus.

A+ with attitude Vs. A with the right attitude; What's your choice?

All of us have worked with colleagues who were brilliant (very high IQ) but have an attitude. They typically understand that they are much better than the rest of the population at work and behave as such. With their high strung attitude, they treat their team members with disrespect and nonchalance as the team members do not measure up to their intellectual capabilities. The team members, in turn, do not wish to interact with this person with an A+ intelligence. Does this highly intelligent and individually productive member of the team a good member for the long term? Where do you stand?

The other kind of employee is the one with an above average IQ but with the 'right' attitude. He/She may not get the problem solved as soon as the one with A+ IQ but would solve it eventually. With the yearning to learn and grow, this group of members can be molded to improve and perform at their peak performance over time.

The question is the following. Who would you prefer to hire? The A+ with the attitude or the A with the 'right' attitude? Are you hiring for the long term or the short term? Are you ready to compromise A+ productivity for A? How much do you compromise on the values of the team for the A+ member? These are tough choices to make. However, with the focus on long term benefit to the organization, values and attitude must be given the higher priority when hiring the next team member. It is very important that the organization place as high a priority on understanding the attitude and the values of the member to be hired as on estimating the capability to perform to the job requirements.

Providing an environment that's conducive to developing strong values and creating a fun but engaging environment is a must for long term benefits to the employees and the organization. It is at any day better to build a strong A team with the 'right' attitude for the long term vs. a team with A+ members with attitude that's destined to break soon.

Leaders who SHARE and CARE

In a world filled with CEOs who pilfer their company's coffins for their personal interests, there are a few like Leonard Abess Jr., CEO of City National Bank of Florida whose recent action embodies the concept of ultimate leadership. When a Spanish bank bought into 83% of Leonard's bank recently, Leonard and his executives made a pile of dough like most executives do during a successful financial transaction. However, the similarities with most executives stop right there. Leonard shared over $60 Million of his personal fortune with ALL his employees. In all, he shared his personal wealth with over 471 present and past employees including tellers, secretaries and clerks with each employee getting an average of $127,000. This story reminds us that the world of business still has its share of leaders who really CARE for their employees and do not mind to SHARE, even their wealth.

I personally have had such an experience during the early 90s (downturn time) and will always remain indelible in my mind . One of my first managers at National Semiconductor, Ted Hasegawa called us in to a conference room one day and explained why most employees did not receive anything benefit that quarter from the profit sharing plan. However, he said that the senior managers in the company who belonged to a different bonus plan received a check. He then handed each of us (team of about 7 engineers) an envelope with a check and a personal note on how each of our performance during the quarter enabled him to meet his goals and therefore receive the bonus check. Ted showed that he CARED for us by SHARING his wealth.

I am not saying that it is a must for leaders to share their wealth in order to show us that they cared. Sharing wealth is a very hard thing to do and requires ultimate generosity. However, leaders can begin by sharing knowledge, sharing experience and sharing limelight with their employees. In a world where it all about ME, it is important that stories such as Leonard and Ted be shared and they be commended publicly to energize other leaders to share. Organizations must teach and coach their leaders to share their wisdom gained from years of experience to help grow the next generation leaders. While it is important for managers to be rewarded for their capabilities to achieve results, it is also important for organizations to emphasize and reward leaders on their capabilities to CARE and SHARE. Just imagine a world where every leader CARED for each of us and truly wanted us to grow into a better person by SHARING their experiences.