Establish a sense of urgency. The means by which you do this are the precursors for the deliverable of urgency establishment.
Form a powerful coalition . The political arrangements you make with people important to your plans provides this deliverable – the coalition.
1. Create a vision. The vision can be yours or a combination of decisions which come from a team tasked with identifying the vision and its components.
2. Communicate the vision. This vision, shared by everyone in the organization, can overcome many of the small problems threatening your plans.
3. Empower others to act on the vision. By changing the organization culture through the use of organization leaders sharing the same focus, workers at all levels of the organization can begin to feel empowered to act if they share the vision.
4. Plan for and create short-term wins. Implementing major changes is always difficult without making many people feel threatened by the changes. The momentum of your planning is increased if there are many early successes. After all, all changes do not need to be made at once.
5. Consolidate improvements and implement even more change. Success builds on itself, building even more momentum.
6. Institutionalize new approaches. The culture will gradually change and become more
like you want it to be. Changes can more easily be made and accepted as workers begin to trust your motives more.
7. As soon as a change has been implemented, be prepared to plan the next change.
8. Because an organization is never static!
To say that talent is where you find it is an admission that functions of recruiting, hiring and staffing are essentially a random exercise in futility. Hence I firmly believe that identification, assessment and constructive utilization of talent is not only worthwhile but a critical function in determining organization effectiveness and success.
Once talent is identified the whole spectrum of constructive actions begins and is accompanied by continuous organization attention and action.
Each step in the process requires attention and evaluation to determine the value not only to various participants but the organization as a whole. Talent is a potentially valuable commodity but is also a perishable commodity and must be nurtured if the HR function in the organization is to provide the benefits of organization.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
IT And The Government - 102
In the middle 1980s I was a partner in a computer company. Following computer consulting for the Tennessee House and Senate, I felt that more business might be available with city and county governments. I was wrong. Tennessee had its act together. The state had custom software it developed and offered it to local governments at a nominal cost. There was no business there for me.
In the past month (it is now July 2009), I read that the new US Czar of Energy (or some such person) let out a contract for 18 milion dollars for a web site. There are several things wrong with this:
1. Since when did a non cabinet-level entity have such power?
2. Why does the US Government not have two or three different web site templates which can be used for any or all departments? This would cut costs dramatically.
3. All web sites for government use would need to be informational and receive comments from surfers for help, complaints, etc. – That’s All!
4. I know that until now (this administration) there has never been an overall cabinet rank IT person (even if he is in security) – are there no SMEs (subject matter experts)in IT who can advise on IT policy? Even a simple thematic analysis of a dozen government web sites would provide you with 98% of web site requirements, and a non-IT analyst could write the specifications.
We are all taxpayers, and 18 million dollarsfor a web site is a little much, don’t you think?
Dr LGG
In the past month (it is now July 2009), I read that the new US Czar of Energy (or some such person) let out a contract for 18 milion dollars for a web site. There are several things wrong with this:
1. Since when did a non cabinet-level entity have such power?
2. Why does the US Government not have two or three different web site templates which can be used for any or all departments? This would cut costs dramatically.
3. All web sites for government use would need to be informational and receive comments from surfers for help, complaints, etc. – That’s All!
4. I know that until now (this administration) there has never been an overall cabinet rank IT person (even if he is in security) – are there no SMEs (subject matter experts)in IT who can advise on IT policy? Even a simple thematic analysis of a dozen government web sites would provide you with 98% of web site requirements, and a non-IT analyst could write the specifications.
We are all taxpayers, and 18 million dollarsfor a web site is a little much, don’t you think?
Dr LGG
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Honesty Testing for Employees
A Look at the Psychology of Honesty
Some employers are very interested in hiring ‘honest’ employees. This can be easily understood when it involves hiring policemen or employees in whom much responsibility may reside. The late billionaire Howard Hughes liked to hire ‘incorruptible Mormons’ as bodyguards and attendants. In these examples the importance of honesty as a personality or character dimension can be easily understood.
Taking a positive viewpoint of human beings is always a good place to begin. Honest behavior is relative, relative to the times (zeitgeist) and the person. Honesty is also relative to the peers and groups to which one belongs. Let us assume that you are an honest employee. Are you still just as honest when your employer cancels your bonus this year (est $20,000)? If you inadvertently take a writing pen home from work, are you dishonest?
Consider the following scenario I faced as a consultant:
The client had a trophy wife, big businessman, spent time in prison for tax evasion. Wanted to swap $120K of coupons for my proposed $30K network – who will know, he said?
Another was a nationally known company. Fix our network. The server crashed. They wanted me to restore from their CDs. All bootleg software: more than 20 different vendors. Suppose they promised you they would become compliant? – would you install the bootleg software?
What would you do if you discovered child porn on a computer you were repairing? –a personal computer? –a business client’s computer? –a friend’s system? -a family member's computer? Do you look at all these the same way?
How to almost always do right:
Anticipate what might happen and know ahead of time how you should respond. Remember that a zero level of honesty is still a measure of honesty. Lies are unnecessary for the true professional. Although I have been tempted to lie to get away from a bad situation.
What should you do if you see your boss is being dishonest? Will you ‘loan’ a copy of your $1,000 software program to your brother if he asks?
If your children are really starving, would you steal food to keep them alive? Having no honesty in your heart and behaviors is still a level of honesty – zero percent!
Dr LGG
Some employers are very interested in hiring ‘honest’ employees. This can be easily understood when it involves hiring policemen or employees in whom much responsibility may reside. The late billionaire Howard Hughes liked to hire ‘incorruptible Mormons’ as bodyguards and attendants. In these examples the importance of honesty as a personality or character dimension can be easily understood.
Taking a positive viewpoint of human beings is always a good place to begin. Honest behavior is relative, relative to the times (zeitgeist) and the person. Honesty is also relative to the peers and groups to which one belongs. Let us assume that you are an honest employee. Are you still just as honest when your employer cancels your bonus this year (est $20,000)? If you inadvertently take a writing pen home from work, are you dishonest?
Consider the following scenario I faced as a consultant:
The client had a trophy wife, big businessman, spent time in prison for tax evasion. Wanted to swap $120K of coupons for my proposed $30K network – who will know, he said?
Another was a nationally known company. Fix our network. The server crashed. They wanted me to restore from their CDs. All bootleg software: more than 20 different vendors. Suppose they promised you they would become compliant? – would you install the bootleg software?
What would you do if you discovered child porn on a computer you were repairing? –a personal computer? –a business client’s computer? –a friend’s system? -a family member's computer? Do you look at all these the same way?
How to almost always do right:
Anticipate what might happen and know ahead of time how you should respond. Remember that a zero level of honesty is still a measure of honesty. Lies are unnecessary for the true professional. Although I have been tempted to lie to get away from a bad situation.
What should you do if you see your boss is being dishonest? Will you ‘loan’ a copy of your $1,000 software program to your brother if he asks?
If your children are really starving, would you steal food to keep them alive? Having no honesty in your heart and behaviors is still a level of honesty – zero percent!
Dr LGG
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Web Marketing 101 - Communities of Interest
This idea is not particularly new. Political parties, religious organizations, professional organizations, and many other organizations have been formed for reasons of shared interest or purpose. Members of such organizations might have little else in common with other members, and might not even like them or socialize with them outside the community. It is the strength of the shared interest or purpose which brings members together, and the motivation to perform shared tasks to reach a shared goal can be a real strength to the organization.
Web Marketing – The Dark Side
There is definitely a dark, destructive side to communities of interest on the web. A decade ago this author was asked to find a technical manual for a Packard Bell computer. When I did a search for the company web site I found “hate” sites in several countries which listed complaints of poor support, poor warranty service, and no manuals or documentation for users. Chat areas on these sites detailed personal experiences which reflected very poorly on the computer company, which apparently solved its problem by becoming the eMachine company. After several years of less web strife, Gateway computers bought the company, and recently (written in 2008) Acer bought Gateway.
If you “google” Nescafe you will find similar communities of “disinterest,” brought together to share complaints about the company. There are other “dark side” examples, including Walmart.
Web marketing – The Treasure Awaits
When selling on the web, a company’s ability to succeed can be seen to improve if a relevant community of interest can be established. Tigerdirect.com, for example, sends out email ads on a regular basis to customers and former customers. Of course customers willingly give their email address in order to be told when their order has been shipped as well as to receive a copy of the invoice. The ads after that always include an “unsubscribe,” or “opt-out,” selection to stop the ads, but the offerings reveal many very low prices and some items are even “FREE.” In fact, some of my professional IT friends gossip about the prices on some of the ads when we meet. I regularly inspect the ad prices to compare with what I see in my area. This is an example of developing a community of interest for “marketing” goals. Here, the customers “opt-in” to the initial email concept, and further, remain community members for later advertising or services. Of course, the customer base expects continuing good service, good prices, and good support from the company. This is a good example of a web marketing plan which uses a community of interest specifically developed to achieve sales and marketing goals. To be minimally credible in the market place, a company must have a web site. Why not use the site to improve profit margins?
Social Networking
Of course, the community of interest idea is not new. It has been around for a long time and is generally referred to as “social networking.” What is described in this paper is a “digital” adaptation to this powerful social tool.
Dr. Lou Gamble
Web Marketing – The Dark Side
There is definitely a dark, destructive side to communities of interest on the web. A decade ago this author was asked to find a technical manual for a Packard Bell computer. When I did a search for the company web site I found “hate” sites in several countries which listed complaints of poor support, poor warranty service, and no manuals or documentation for users. Chat areas on these sites detailed personal experiences which reflected very poorly on the computer company, which apparently solved its problem by becoming the eMachine company. After several years of less web strife, Gateway computers bought the company, and recently (written in 2008) Acer bought Gateway.
If you “google” Nescafe you will find similar communities of “disinterest,” brought together to share complaints about the company. There are other “dark side” examples, including Walmart.
Web marketing – The Treasure Awaits
When selling on the web, a company’s ability to succeed can be seen to improve if a relevant community of interest can be established. Tigerdirect.com, for example, sends out email ads on a regular basis to customers and former customers. Of course customers willingly give their email address in order to be told when their order has been shipped as well as to receive a copy of the invoice. The ads after that always include an “unsubscribe,” or “opt-out,” selection to stop the ads, but the offerings reveal many very low prices and some items are even “FREE.” In fact, some of my professional IT friends gossip about the prices on some of the ads when we meet. I regularly inspect the ad prices to compare with what I see in my area. This is an example of developing a community of interest for “marketing” goals. Here, the customers “opt-in” to the initial email concept, and further, remain community members for later advertising or services. Of course, the customer base expects continuing good service, good prices, and good support from the company. This is a good example of a web marketing plan which uses a community of interest specifically developed to achieve sales and marketing goals. To be minimally credible in the market place, a company must have a web site. Why not use the site to improve profit margins?
Social Networking
Of course, the community of interest idea is not new. It has been around for a long time and is generally referred to as “social networking.” What is described in this paper is a “digital” adaptation to this powerful social tool.
Dr. Lou Gamble
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Unintended Consequences of Good Work
Before reading this opinion paper, please read the paper entitled “Avoiding Rating Errors.”
Rating errors are always present to reduce the accuracy and objectivity of performance appraisal systems. It is only natural for raters to want to help some people and not others. Because of this tendency two researchers, Blanz & Ghiselli, developed a rating scale which “hid” the weight of the actual rating from the rater, thereby eliminating much of the “bad” variance in the appraisal rating process.
The Blanz & Ghiselli system was developed and validated for the entire state of Arkansas (Bill Clinton was the governor at the time), and the appraisal system enjoyed some initial success, winning an award from one research publication. While the system remained in place for about four years, some unintended consequences revealed themselves during that time.
First, one feedback participant in management was reported to say, “I can’t tell if I am rewarding those workers who deserve high ratings.” Another said, “The person I wanted to promote did not get the highest rating!” So, minimally, the results of virtually eliminating rating errors did nothing to meet the unexpressed expectations of the raters, who appear to have lost some measure of “power” or “influence” by using the system.
In another large state department which registered complaints from the top manager, it was observed that the manager was functionally or intellectually unable to understand the rating system – but also hated it because he could not control rating outcomes. “Fairness” in this case appeared to exist only in the eye of the beholder and not in the demonstrated fairness of the new system.
So the point made here is that you can do a professionally competent, even brilliant job and still fail. Was the work not sufficiently explained to the users? We believed it was. Was the purpose of “fairness” explained? We believe it was. Was it able to circumvent the traditional “good ole boy network and expectations? Apparently it could not. The system of personal was so inculcated within the state that the system was doomed to ultimate failure – an unintended consequence.
Rating errors are always present to reduce the accuracy and objectivity of performance appraisal systems. It is only natural for raters to want to help some people and not others. Because of this tendency two researchers, Blanz & Ghiselli, developed a rating scale which “hid” the weight of the actual rating from the rater, thereby eliminating much of the “bad” variance in the appraisal rating process.
The Blanz & Ghiselli system was developed and validated for the entire state of Arkansas (Bill Clinton was the governor at the time), and the appraisal system enjoyed some initial success, winning an award from one research publication. While the system remained in place for about four years, some unintended consequences revealed themselves during that time.
First, one feedback participant in management was reported to say, “I can’t tell if I am rewarding those workers who deserve high ratings.” Another said, “The person I wanted to promote did not get the highest rating!” So, minimally, the results of virtually eliminating rating errors did nothing to meet the unexpressed expectations of the raters, who appear to have lost some measure of “power” or “influence” by using the system.
In another large state department which registered complaints from the top manager, it was observed that the manager was functionally or intellectually unable to understand the rating system – but also hated it because he could not control rating outcomes. “Fairness” in this case appeared to exist only in the eye of the beholder and not in the demonstrated fairness of the new system.
So the point made here is that you can do a professionally competent, even brilliant job and still fail. Was the work not sufficiently explained to the users? We believed it was. Was the purpose of “fairness” explained? We believe it was. Was it able to circumvent the traditional “good ole boy network and expectations? Apparently it could not. The system of personal was so inculcated within the state that the system was doomed to ultimate failure – an unintended consequence.
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