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.