Chatter in Salesforce: Social Networking in Enterprise Part II

Adaptive Change Management - Part 2 The Science

The Science of Change, is a completely different entity. It provides the structure to support change management activities.

It helps bring order to the often complex process of managing the human elements of a project by defining the tasks, roles, milestones and timelines required to achieve project objectives.

Without Science, our insights into human motivation remain only insights without the corresponding actions needed to create desired behavioural change.

The Science of Change is more than a well-designed deliverable. It is the process that can translate the language of human behaviour into the language of project management. You will understand how necessary this is because it helps Project managers better understand the relationship between technical activities and the actions required to achieve the behavioural change required.

The elements that need to be applied include:

• Project Management 101 - Although the change team can create a high-level plan upfront, they also need to expand the detail once the project has started. They also need to fully link their activities with those of other work streams. This will build their credibility and they are more likely to be seen as collaborative, and avoid the change team being seen as separate from the project, the PMO and technical teams.
• Follow the Leader - The change team need to identify one clear leader, and avoid operating in a loose formation. Busy project managers, who are focused on driving to timelines and budgets, will better understand the chain of command and will easily direct the communications and accountability, in that direction. Increasing the visibility of the change leader improves the perception of accountability and establishes a clear point of communication, which project leaders need and demand.
• Boundaries - Once you have established clear divisions and boundaries capture them in a detailed project plan. That way the team will better understand what skills and capability is needed to complete the work. This strengthens the quality focus and the targetted results because team members are assigned work consistent with their skills.
• Define Tasks - Provide a clear project structure with well defined tasks and task responsibilities. This will help everyone focus on their specific objectives and prevent the change team holding a crisis meeting every day, to address the latest hot issue of the day.
• Proven Tools - Use the well trodden path and well proven tools, wherever possible and include them in the detailed project plan. It introduces more constants and helps the team see where they can bring consistency into the use of tools. This also brings with it an improvement in the quality of reports, assessments, and templates that work stream leaders use. It is teh responsibility of the change team to make project teams aware of the existance of such tools and that they are used appropriately.
• Regular Team Meetings - The Science of Change will also help manage the regular team meetings effectively and make them more focused and directed. The change team needs to create a more consistent meeting schedule and again make sure the appropriate structure is adhered to.

When the 'Art of change' is applied without the 'Science of Change', the change team will be visibly less successful and less able to help the project resources adapt to the new organisational realities.

When you apply the surgical tools of the Science, the PMO team will not only understand the actions required for intervention, but also the deliverables and accountability to help them generate better results.

Integration is essential.
The 'Science' needs the 'Art' because the 'Art' identifies any underlying issues and the drivers of behavioural change. It identifies pathways and conduits for adaptive solutions to flow through and this is required to overcome any and all project challenges.

Likewise, the 'Art' needs the 'Science' because the 'Science' converts the 'Art’s information and ideas into an understanable and realisable structured action with clearly defined outcomes.

The 'Art' identifies what needs to happen and the 'Science' makes it happen. By recognising and understanding the existance and the connections between the two, change leaders will be far better able to bring about the adaptive capability, required to manage change, more effectively.

Adaptive Change Management - Part 1 The Art

Talk to any project manager and they will underscore the importance of change management support from their colleagues in HR.

Also, most PMs believe that, even when solid capability is brought to the table, they still struggle to include change methodology into initiatives, let alone leverage its value for improved project success.

The difficulty of incorporating change management lies less in the construct of the particular change methodology, and more in the challenge of integrating the rational structure of project management with the irrational and unpredictable process of managing human behavioural change.

Successful change managers have learned that they must enhance the adaptive capability of their project teams by applying both the Art and Science of Change, to create more project successes.

The change 'team' must lay down the strong foundation early in the project;

• assign resources,
• identify their methodology,
• conduct stakeholder readiness and awareness assessments,
• establish a high-level project plan
• Create a project 'theme', develop key messages,
• conduct numerous and varied 'communication' and 'awareness' presentations
• Establish an executive sponsor council and a customer board, keeping the business case uppermost in your head and on the agenda
• Create consensus about the solution with senior executives and HR leaders worldwide.

Closely review and audit progress every 6 weeks and recognise that corrective actions are likely every three months after the project starts. Look for the wobbly wheels before they fall off.

There will be disagreements within the work streams between company and vendor resources. HR leaders and senior executives will suddenly baulk at proposed changes to processes, especially if it concerns performance management and reporting formats.

The change team will find itself marginalised and on the edge of the project. The project managers will be increasingly elusive and evasive, missing or re-scheduling change update meetings.

No matter how well structured, conceived and planned, once a project begins there will be obstacles and challenges that require 'change'; redesigning the plan or creating work-around solutions to help meet broader project objectives.

Some problems are technical problems that can be solved by applying expertise. Others, require solutions that are more adaptive and focused on navigating human emotions and behaviour.

Most problems are a combination of both and require adaptive capability that allows change leaders to navigate the ambiguity and create flexible solutions to keep initiatives on track.

The change team can struggle in the first phase of the project if they place too much emphasis on the Art of Change — assessing, interpreting and understanding the emotional and behavioural factors that influence people during the course of an initiative.

This will be made more difficult. if they remain removed from what's really happening and continue to articulate the project vision and key objectives.

They need to listen actively, ask tough questions, and create good, honest communications that helps to clarify and define the real problem. They also need to be concerned about maintaining and building good relationships which will help work stream and project leaders stay 'collaborative' over the long haul.

Examining the Art of Change will produce valuable information that will help projects adapt and evolve, successfully. Any behavioural obstacles identified can be difficult for highly structured and logical project managers and technical resources to understand and address. That's why you may need assistance with this.

The flow of information can seem to work against the flow of the project process; the deadlines and budgets established for the initiative. There is a big risk that the Project managers will be left puzzled and wondering how to create actions that fit within the structure of the overall project plan, and as a result, they will see the change team as an obstacle and reject their meaningful 'collaboration.'

Social Engineering - The biggest Threat to Security is still You and your People

Social Engineering - Are you Tempted?

Whether they are going through the eTrash, dumpster diving, pod slurping, or impersonating other people, our constant companions, the hackers know that social engineering is still the best way to by-pass security.

People Skills
Social engineering finds and hits directly at our weak spot, you're a nice gal /guy, a people person and people are still the weakest link in security. Yes, it is difficult to change this because it means changing people's attitude and behaviour. Plus you have just spent 10's of thousands of Dollars, Pounds and Euros, to give them better customer facing skills.

Why? It Works!
Why are hackers still using social engineering to gain access to organisations? Because it still works better than anything else and it provides quicker results. It's easier to infiltrate an organisation via the people because the security is focused elsewhere, on the building and on Technology. Plus your guard is down, your complacent because you 'think' you are secure.

Who? People!
Front-of-House contact people are the most succeptible to intrusions. Partly because they form the first barrier but also because they are often bored, busy, isolated. Almost certainly, the least aware, uninformed or not adequately trained, concerning social engineering techniques and their risk to security. After all, who doesn't like to help a nicely dressed, sexy gal /guy and be rewarded by a smile, a compliment or just some friendly attention? What 'bait' would work on you?

What are the most likely vulnerabilities versus bad behaviours:

1. People want to be, and are trained to be helpful and co-operative. Sometimes this help can go too far and they give away too much information. - Make it clear to them what they can and cannot reveal, in writing.

2. People want to avoid confrontation and are trained towards compromise. It's difficult for some people to ask others to prove who they are. They don't like or want confrontation, especially with a possible 'authority' figure. Support your staff's doubts and back them up, review and clarify their decisions.

3. People like convenience and easy options. No one wants to take the complex additional security check route because they are busy or distracted, even if it may protect or benefit the organisation. Make the secure route the easy option for your staff.

4. People are messy, unorganised and easily distracted. They leave paper around, leave screens open to view, copy multiple people on e-mails, gossip and leak data. Provide them with pleasant incentives to change their behaviour and give them other, more positive things to talk about.

5. People are curious, inquisitive creatures. A great example is an employee who finds a USB drive in the parking lot. The first thing they do when they get to their desk is plug it in to see what's on it. You have to tell them why this is a threat to security and also a violation of someone else's privacy.

Is there light?
Social engineering attacks are some of the most difficult to defend against, but not all is darkness. Your greatest weapon is training and education. Maintaining awareness of current threat profiles and passing those on as a simple and easy to implement 'cheat sheet' or guidelines. Address all of peoples' senses, sight, sound and listenning. Use the technology Podcasts, MP3s, YouTube Videos, Twit and Facebook them. Whatever it takes.

Technical Barriers
There are very few technical solutions to people problems but here are some technical controls that are sensible to put in place:

* Lock down or limit capability of all peripheral devices, especially USB ports. There are now many commercial products that allow security administrators to completely lock down USB ports. This might be difficult but not impossible, because many devices are connected via USB ports.
* Use Data Loss Prevention techniques and products. Know who has access to your data, when they access it, and what they are accessing. Not very effective if someone's profile has been duplicated, stolen or access has been incorrectly allowed.
* Use encryption on every device and wherever systems talk to systems.

Remember 'If your employees don't know what social engineering is and how it operates, why should they change their behaviour?" You are the Agent of Change! Make it so!

Change and Business Analysis

What makes a good and effective Business Analyst in these days of economic storms, tightened belts and changing political tides.

While strong abilities in communication, collaboration and analysis will always be the mainstays of strong business analysts, our changing technology environment is altering the world in which business analysts commonly work and therefore, their skills have to change in line with this and meet current business requirements.

While a Business Analyst's traditional skill set is still king, those decidedly non-technical leadership, communication and business-process understanding traits, the changes in software delivery methods have altered what business analysts need to offer right now.

The Rise of Agile Methodologies and Lean Concepts
It's the end of traditional software delivery as we know it, thanks to Agile and Lean. A recent survey found that 41 percent of respondents are using Agile techniques and 10 percent are exposed to Lean concepts.

Organisations are planning and implementing new, lighter-weight software delivery processes on a large scale, and this is largely changing the world of the business analysts. The BA's need to stay up to date with recent approaches and changes in methodologies, understand the subtle changes to their roles, and modify their practices accordingly.

Agile Approaches Change the Business Analyst Role
Requirements look very different in an Agile project than they do in a traditional waterfall endeavour. With Agile, the team typically describes requirements at a high level early on in the process and only elaborates on them when it's time to implement them.

The team uses different artifacts such as user stories, and the requirements definition process is much more collaborative and iterative.

Agile Methodologies

With an increase in the adoption of Agile methodologies inside businesses today, BAs need to understand what's changed and what's different in the methodologies so that they can help guide the transformation of their role and practices.

If their CIOs and business-unit leaders aren't already adapting the business analyst role to new software delivery methods and process changes, then the BAs might need to do it themselves.

Cross-Functional Knowledge

Business analysts need to obtain cross-functional knowledge and experience by being exposed to new technologies and different business units. Cross-training in project management, software development and quality assurance would help.

As with most roles in technology, it's never safe to rely on the skills you already possess. Effective business analysts are constantly seeking to improve their core skills and staying up to date with technology changes to add the most value to their organisation.

Should you be picking the low growing fruit

NOT SURE WHICH WAY TO TURN?

SHOULD YOU TAKE A LOWER PAID JOB?

When searching for a new job and the time starts to drag on and on, normally extending beyond three months, it is natural to begin to wonder if you should take a lower-level or lower paid job just to get some sort of paycheck again.

It's a sensible and an honest question but also a difficult one to answer. After working so hard to build a career and climb the corporate ladder, taking a step or two back, can affect more than your pride.

Some career experts will warn you against taking a lower-level job. They will advise you to hold out for a better offer that will better advance your career and not set you back a step, or three. Clearly, this is not an issue when you need a money to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. It doesn't matter what job you get, just as long as it's honest and helps pay the bills.

There is a strong argument that taking a lower-level job can be a smart career move, especially if it prevents you from being unemployed for more than 12 months, and with the economy as slow as it is, 12 months of unemployment is not unrealistic.

Its a simple but realistic outlook. You may want to consider positions at a level lower. You will increase your chances of getting a job sooner if you keep your options open and consider lower-level positions in addition to relocating and switching industries. This advice goes for executives too. There is an expression that says; 'A' class talent always rises to the top. Clearly, holding out for the perfect or even a comparable job opportunity in this economy may be even more risky than taking a step or two back.

Its OK to hold out for a perfect or promoted post for three to nine months. Even up to a year can be acceptable and justifiable, but if you're out of a job for 12 to 18 months, you're in danger of devaluing your skills and marketability. Today's business moves so fast and there are so many changes and new regulations, new laws and new competitors arriving on a 7-by-24 basis that being out of the market and out of touch for 12 or more months, is a big gap to jump.

The dilemma is; If you spent some of the time you were unemployed doing contract or short term consulting work would this mean that you were still in touch with the business world? Taking on short term and consulting projects definitely will help, for a number of reasons but it's important to take on projects that will help you gain the knowledge and experience that will help you get a promoted post. Also, employers tend to consider these projects as part of a job seeker's portfolio, if they are made aware of them by you.

The down side could be; If you, as an experienced executive, picked up a consulting contract managing a company's payroll, a prospective employer may not consider this as suitable experience, a diversion away from, and dilution of your normal key skill sets. Thus, they may look disfavourably upon your application as an IT executive. They may not think it was at a high enough level and would have preferred to see you working on a more strategic project.

In conclusion; Diversify by all means but be mindful of what contracts and consulting projects you take on. It may seem to contradict my earlier recommendation to seriously consider lower-level jobs, especially if money is tight but consider the circumstances well and do not forget the overall perception that may be given out by some positions, with respect to new employers. They may not see it as a positive move for your career.

Take Control - Shorten the Layoff

It's easy to view a layoff as an end-of-the-world situation. Few experiences are scarier than losing your job and the risk to your financial security that it brings.

The emotions; fear, loss and desperation, that grip you after you've been laid off are unhelpful and potentially destructive emotions. They drain your energy, distract you from picking yourself up and effectively prevent you doing the work you need to do to find a new job. You know you cannot allow these emotions to consume you and must work at battling through them.

Dismiss and fight the thoughts that unemployment is the end of the world, it is only the end of a small chapter in your biography. It is a good opportunity to improve yourself and to open another fresh chapter. Find out what you enjoy doing and what you do well, it is possibly different from what you were doing. You have an opportunity to be better off and stronger, than you were before, both emotionally and economically.

The key to success is maintaining a positive attitude. This is especially so in an interview situation. Potential employers can detect a candidate's fear and desperation, as easily as a shark can smell blood. Keep a stiff upper lip and play the most positive role of your life, being you.

Here are seven tips you can consider for getting through the initial layoff feelings, even in a bad economy;

1. Negotiate for the best package, for you.
Don't think that you have to accept whatever severance package your manager or HR puts in front of you. Your severance package (everything) is negotiable, don't feel pressured to immediately sign on the dotted line. Take the time to read the severance package, even if it's 20 pages long.

Your employer gives you a hard time but hold your ground and tell the manager that it's unreasonable and unacceptable for the employer to ask you to sign something, without first reading it in detail.

Beware of the covert threat, 'If you sign this right now, you'll get your best deal. If you don't sign it, you'll get a worse deal.' You do not have to agree with their flawed logic. Tell them you have to sleep on it and take the document away from the office. This should not surprise them and they would be foolish to try and stop you. It is important that you study this document in detail and in a relaxed atmosphere. Seek objective and knowledgeable advice.

To help you prepare for severance negotiations, consult your contract and HR manual for information about what kind of severance package you should expect from your employer. That way, you can plan ahead of time what other elements of a severance package (e.g., career counseling, health insurance) you might need or can request.

If you require more information than what's included in the HR manual, then seek out and politely ask other employees who've been let go, what they received for severance. It would be a good idea to form an ex-employee support group.

When it comes to actual negotiations, negotiate one perk at a time, whether it be the money, healthcare or career coaching, rather than going after the whole package. You will always get more if you look at one thing at a time. Your mantra should be, 'I just want to be treated fairly and receive the support and benefits that I am due.'

Initially conduct negotiations on your own, without a lawyer, not just because of the expense but also once you get lawyers involved, it's taken out of your hands and it becomes lawyers talking to lawyers. Its always better to try to work things out with your company in a congenial and rational manner.

2. Don't defeat yourself
Remember that after you've been laid off, you will feel vulnerable. When you feel vulnerable, it's easy to look to far ahead into a gloomy scenario and to sink into depression. It is difficult to resist those negative thoughts but for your own well-being and the success of your job search, you have to fight against it.

Do not dwell on all the reasons why your employer might have selected you for a pink slip, remember that the fundamental reason you lost your job economic not personal. Your employer was having trouble competing during this economic downturn, not because you're a bad worker. Remember that high numbers of talented, hard-working professionals are getting laid off and that you are not alone in this. You still have great potential and will be a valuable employee at another more stable company.

There are still a large number of companies that are in desperate need of highly experienced, quality employees. There is something else out there for you, a great opportunity that will improve your future. You may have to work for it. You may have to study for it. You may have to manage the change.

3. Examine your finances, closely
If you have Excel or similar, build a spreadsheet model of your personal finances. Closely examine your outgoings, expenses and your savings, to determine, exactly how much money you'll need to cover your expenses during the time you're unemployed. You can hope for the best but plan for an extended period of time e.g., more than three months.

If you know your budget i.e. how much money you have on hand, it may put some of your anxiety to rest. It will be a bit of a reality check but if the exercise of planning your finances sends your anxiety levels and blood pressure through the roof, then try and turn it around to give you strong motivation to find a new job.

4. Make job-hunting your new job
Do not consider yourself a vitim and you are certainly not a prisoner in your own life. Stay active and take regular light exercise, it will help dissipate the negative feelings and increase your circulation. Now, its important to devote the time you previously spent at your old job to looking for a new job.

Your new job is 40 hours a week looking for employment. Stay busy and focussed on your task. Your mood and motivation may be a bit cyclic at the beginning. Be aware of this, recognise it but don't lie down to it. Make a plan, build job seeking activities and keep a routine going.

By continuously working toward getting a new job, you bring structure and discipline to your life and you'll feel better about yourself because you have stopped seeing yourself as a 'vistim' and you are taking control of your situation.

If you do this, you'll find that you have less time to dwell on your recent layoff and less time to sink into the negative thought patterns that are associated with it. If these thoughts continue and become a problem do not hesitate to seek help and advice from your doctor. Short term, event driven depression is a well documented condition and can be readily treated but, like all illnesses, it needs to be diagnosed and treated early in its onset.

5. Expand your search
Do some research. You may have been out of the job market for some time. Find out what's going on in your field or expertise, geographocal location and beyond. Find the success stories, the well-funded organisations, the new, new thing, etc. Its out there and it needs to be developed, manufactured, sold and supported. Where would you fit into this cycle?

Make a long list of industries and organisations in your chosen location(s), preferably those industries where you could put your skills and experience to good use. Don't worry too much about who are advertising vacancies and might be hiring, just develop a long list.

You cannot de-select companies because you don't want to work for them. You are just shrinking your pool and greatly reducing your opportunities. Be realistic, put yourself in a stronger negotiating position in the event one of those firms suddenly has a position for you. Simply consider them as a shorter term opportunity. Somewhere you can gather knowledge, experience, and extend your network. I guarantee you will meet some very good and interesting contacts, wherever you work.

6. Online applications and search firms
Although the Web is an invaluable resource for researching companies, it's not always the best medium for submitting job applications and résumés. Some say that its not an original or unique way to find work, 'If you can do it, about a million other people can do it, too." Companies can get hundreds, even thousands, of résumés for one posting. That is not the best way to get a job but don't dismiss it.

Explore your network to make contact with senior people and hiring managers inside the companies where you're interested in working. You are looking for friends of friends or colleagues of colleagues. People who can introduce you directly to key managers.

Recruitment and search consultants may yield some help in connecting you with a new job but they are generally geared up for buoyant economic conditions, when there's lots of competition for labour.

Rememeber to attend as many conferences or networking event as possible, somewhere you have the opportunity to make personal connections.

7. Stop reading bad news
Don't pay too much attention to the news about the economy because the news is, by definition, always going to be attention grabbing; shock, horror and downright bad. It does make people very discouraged at a time when they need to stay optimistic. Your attitude, in the form of discouragement, negative thoughts and lack of stamina, is the biggest obstacle to finding a new job.

Employers want people who are flexible, resilient and open to and understand the need for change. Variety is the new constant!

Calculating the odds of being paid off - First step

"Will I still have a job tomorrow? and in the tomorrows after that"

With the world economy claiming to be in a far-reaching recession and companies announcing layoffs seemingly every day, the question of continuing employment looms large in every thinking person's mind.

Clearly, some employees feel that they are at greater risk of losing their jobs than others. What's not so clear is how to calculate that risk. So how do you become your own Risk Manager and carry out a risk assessment on yourself. Consider how you can devise a good method that would help, not only yourself but also other IT professionals, get a relatively objective handle on the odds of getting laid off.

You may be wondering why anyone would want to determine the likelihood of their losing a job. You may also believe that a 'layoff' risk assessment method could be a very helpful tool. Depending on your circumstances, outlook and character, many people worry unnecessarily about getting laid off and others who do get laid off, are often taken completely by surprise.

A risk assessment for layoffs could help IT professionals determine whether they are in the red zone (high) or the green zone (low) risk category, when job losses come around. Low-risk professionals will then be able to rest easy and carry on with their work and the high-risk employees can be proactively defend and entrench their positions, whilst actively preparing themselves emotionally, professionally and financially, for the moment when their jobs get cut.

As a first step, let us propose a list of possible variables that could indicate someone is likely to get laid off. Let us also propose another list of variables that could indicate someone is unlikely to get laid off.

Our goal is to develop an accurate and plausible assessment, one that will really help people get a grip on their futures. Coming up with such an assessment, can be difficult, for a whole variety of reasons. One of these reasons would be an incomplete or inappropriate list of variables.

If you examine the lists below and identify which of the variables are appropriate to your circumstances and discard those that are not. You can also weigh a certain number of the retained variables more heavily than others, because of their importance or criticality.

Examine also how the assessment is structured. Structuring it as a questionnaire would allow people to assign points for each negative variable (e.g. each strike against them) and subtract points for each positive variable. The conclusion would be easily calculated and greatly simplified. People with high scores are more likely to be laid off than people will lower scores.

Remember that the goal of this assessment is to help and support people, not to frighten them.

Variables that Could Indicate Someone Is Likely to Get Laid Off

1. Your employer is not meeting its financial plan. (he's broke!)
2. Your salary is at the high-end of the pay scale for your profession or function. (so much for ambition!)
3. A position or function you help support has been eliminated or restructured. (the horse died!)
4. You work on a project that has been cut or that you sense is going to be cut. (Zepellin restoration)
5. You gossip or complain a lot. (no wonder. Look at the previous options on this list)
6. The work you do is mundane or repetitive in nature (e.g. re-setting passwords or setting up routers) and could be outsourced to a third party. (or monkey with learning difficulties)
7. Your work is not customer-focused. (but I work in Security)
8. The function you work in is well/over-staffed (full of "fat" cats that need a trim)
9. You don't "fit in" with the 'culture' of your department. (You are sober)
10. Your company could find someone to replace you at a lower cost with relative ease (e.g. going to the bus stop line, rather than hiring a head hunter)

Variables That Could Indicate Someone Is Unlikely to Get Laid Off

1. You've demonstrated your ability to adapt to new strategies. (Flexible as Yoga)
2. You have good relationships with different people throughout your company. (married to the boss?)
3. Your position is cross-matrixed to different leaders. (you are a bigomist)
4. You have a good rapport with your boss, and your boss is regarded highly by senior management. (you still own the negatives from the office party)
5. You work on multiple projects that are critical to dealing with existing business conditions. (your wife sleeps around)
6. Your skills are up to date, in demand and align with the IT organization's current and future needs. (you have killed all the competition in the office)
7. Your company would have difficulty finding someone to fill your shoes. (you are overweight)

Expanding your career in a shrinking market

It is the aim and nature of all professional people to develop themselves to the maximum. The mantra states; we must maximize our potential and grow our careers.

To do that you have to achieve better results than those around you and without 'over' achieving. Although, this last point is more a problem for older more mature employees.

Remember there is a tiger at the door; So you are in direct competition with everyone else in your company

Consider some simple techniques to help you get more recognition and better results for your efforts.

1) When the bell rings, come out fighting.

• Be the first to arrive and the last to leave.
  
• Be sure to be caught working all the time you are at work.
  
• Start the day with the most important, onerous or the most difficult tasks.
  
• Do not surf the Internet, make personal calls, read the newspaper or make small talk with the 'losers'.
  
• Check your list of activities for the day,
  
• Focus on establishing priorities and get on with it.
  
• Start knocking down those skittles!
  

2) Fill your day with achievements.

• Always be the one that contributes positively at meetings and in face-to-face interaction.
• Ask your boss and yourself, what you can do to provide the greatest contribution to the organisation.
  
• Let everyone know that you are willing to go the extra mile or kilometre.
  
• Do more than the basic minimum, more than you are paid to do.
  
• Be seen to be the one that puts in more effort than the others.
  
• Look for solutions, methods or tools that will allow you and therefore the organisation, to be more effective.
  

3) Set a scorching pace.

• Your career is not a quick sprint or dash across the hurdles.
• It is more enduring like a marathon:
  
• Some runners sprint off at the beginning and get out way ahead of the pack.
  
• Most will be happier running with the pack, safe in the middle, un-noticed, unseen
  
• There are many who are less fit and not really motivated. They are content to be in the race at all but they are clearly seen to be struggling and lagging behind the pack.
  
• Your place is up amongst the leaders, being in the right place at the right time. Excel in hitting targets, achieving goals and milestones.

Take control of your life, your day and yourself. Start each working day with a list of planned activities carried over from the previous day. These will be organised by their priority, so you can address each task as the priorities dictate.

This is a life discipline not just an office routine and will make you more efficient, targetted and better directed as a person. This, in itself will make you stand out from the ambling, gasping crowd and when all around are losing their's, your career will soar.

If you are looking for promotion, assume the position

The Survivors' Guilt

“But at least you still have a job.”

Yes, those who survive the all-too frequent layoffs are very grateful for their work, but studies show that the stress from all the upheaval can wreak havoc on their health, morale and productivity. And don’t expect them to work harder out of sheer gratitude

Working with the survivors is challenging. These people have lost good friends, vast quantities of institutional knowledge, pay raises, benefits. Plus, they are being asked to take on other people’s work and add it to their own heavy load. The company is expecting them to be upbeat about it.

There’s that low-level anxiety, vulnerability to colds and flu, aches and pains, sleeping difficulties. When you’re anxious, waiting for that next shoe to drop, your body stays in a kind of fight-or-flight mode. Your body is overproducing adrenaline and cortisol. The hormones you need to sustain yourself during a crisis and the substances your body is producing are very toxic.

There can be guilt that they were spared. This can manifest itself as, anger and depression. Clearly, there’s a huge increase in insecurity and that uncertainty is very destabilizing.

As part of a 10-year study of downsizing at a major U.S. manufacturer, looking at depression in workers, in surveys two years apart in the ‘90s.

Depression scores dropped by more than half in those who took a voluntary buyout. There was little change in those who left involuntarily, but, interestingly, depression scores rose slightly among the workers who stayed on.

From the company’s data on sick leave, it was found that managers and other higher-skilled workers took more sick leave, possibly to look for other jobs. Less-skilled workers, meanwhile, took less sick leave and absenteeism at the company declined as workers hunkered down, trying to hang on to their jobs. Remembering that this was in a job market much more favorable than that of today.

This points to research that layoffs often don’t improve companies’ financial performance – essentially the reason they are done in the first place – and to a 2003 study by the Institute of Behavioral Science that found that people who had seen co-workers laid off reported poorer mental and physical health than workers who had not been exposed to layoffs at all.

The whole metaphor breaks down. We’re a family. We take care of each other and you don’t divorce your children.

Reporting even worse health and attitudes were layoff survivors who were shifted to different positions or departments within the company.

One of the inherent dangers for companies is that handling layoffs badly can taint the perceptions of those who are left. They’re the ones the company is relying on to move the company forward, yet that depends on the respect that remains for those who have led the downsizing.

A lot was going on with the companies studied, including a merger, an increase in outsourcing and a move away from its “we’re a family” culture towards a shareholder-driven, profits first company. Workers took that as a betrayal, with comments that they were being treated as a number or an expendable commodity.

It’s hard enough for workers to concentrate when rumors are swirling at the water cooler and online and these can quickly turn toxic in the absence of reliable and reassuring information from the company but to see coworkers escorted from the building like criminals only severely hurts morale.

Though plenty of articles say productivity goes down for layoff survivors but it’s not that simple. It depends on how productivity is measured and the economic climate in which it occurs, e.g. any form of restructuring and change will take some getting used to.

Workers need time to grieve after a layoff, just as they would a death in the family and workers who have to take up the slack might require more support and training, which suggests there will certainly be a period of inefficiency until everyone is up to speed on the new tasks.

A recent US survey report bears a real sting. It’s based on surveys of 4,172 workers who survived corporate layoffs. In the study:

• 75 percent said their productivity has decreased.
• 64 percent said it's true of coworkers.
• 69 percent said the quality of the company’s products or services has declined.
• 81 percent said customer service has been hurt.
• And 61 percent believed the layoffs have hurt their company’s future prospects.

The bright spot in the survey, however, echoed the advice of many experts: You can lessen the blow by being as open and forthright with employees as possible. Workers who rated their managers as visible, approachable and candid, even when there was nothing new to report, were much less likely to report these declines. You really can’t over-communicate during these events.

Let your surviving workers know that they are here because they are the right people for the job. Let them that you believe in them and together they can work to get the company through these very challenging times. You’ve got to show them your respect, trust and appreciation. Help them prioritize their work. Let them know why they are there and let them know how they can help and how you are going to support them.

This is not the time to sit quietly in your executive office and neglect your people. They need leadership and they need it now. You have to be out there amongst them, letting them know what’s going on and have them feel that you’re fighting for them.

Creativity and Innovation

The the creative art of any deal can be enhanced by the art of creativity and innovation.

In truth, "art" is overstating it. "Visualization" is more accurate: if you can draw basic geometric shapes, lines, arrows, and stick figures, you have all the creativity skills you need to put your ideas into practice and produce a vast array of concepts and network models, diagrams, schematics, flow charts, tables, and other visual representations. Welcome to the world of Pictorial analysis.

In 1969, Rudolf Arnheim's Visual Thinking made a compelling case that while perception and reasoning may seem like two distinct mental activities, neither one can occur without the other. More recently, in the business world, the concept of "strategy maps" has been advanced by Robert Kaplan and David Norton (creators of the balanced scorecard) as providing a "visual epiphany" that helps business leaders connect processes to desired outcomes.

Executives should reach for the pencil not only when addressing a discrete task such as drawing a strategy map, but in myriad situations in which "the problem [or the solution] is hard to see." That may be a challenge for finance people, who are accustomed to believing that, 'all answers can be found in the numbers if one simply drills down far enough'.

Those in finance are often "red-pen" people, who question the entire idea of visualization, right up to the point where they grab a red pen and redraw everything. You will need to work harder to convince finance executives, than any other group but, once won over, they will become the most ardent backers of the concept.

The other two classes of people are "black-pen" people, those who are instantly drawn to visualization and "yellow-pen" people, who are happy to build upon someone else's initial stab at visualization.

It may help to know that the finance department at Microsoft, where, not surprisingly, employees can "make spreadsheets do pirouettes in ways mere mortals can't," nonetheless, they "understand that insights often depend on looking at the data from different angles and in a more visual form."

Drawing Conclusions
Most business problems can be framed as a variant of the five W's, or, more accurately, four W's and an H: who, what, when, where, and how.

Use your given creativity to show innovation in your ideas and concepts and engage your audience by involving them in, what should be an organic process.

So for your next meeting, leave the laptop behind and instead bring a few whiteboard markers. You may find that even a lousy picture is worth a thousand rows and columns.

Measured Action for Tough Times

IT Consultants and solution providers are, like everyone else, vulnerable to the recession. However, a recent Market survey shows that IT Consultants and solution providers are preparing to weather the economic storm forecast for 2009. With a lot of good fortune and luck allied to smart planning and insight, they could be positioning themselves for growth in 2010.

US Dollars, GBP and Euros
The dawn of the Obama era in the USA and the infusion of hundreds of billions of dollars, pounds and Euros in stimulus funds are not enough to clear the economic storm clouds gathered over North America, UK and Europe.

Since the beginning of the New Year, the U.S. economy alone has shed nearly 600,000 jobs. Gross domestic product fell by 3.8 percent. And the forecast for the remainder of 2009 calls for sluggish or negative growth.

Consultants poised for 2009
The technology sector, with its IT Consultants and the solution provider community poised to withstand the recessionary pressures of the general economy. The 2009 Market survey of 200 North America IT Consultants and solution providers, reveals that solution providers are very cautiously optimistic about their business prospects in 2009. They fully expect a reduction of enquiries, sales, revenues and profitability. They’re cautious optimism means they are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.

Weathering the storm
IT Consultants and solution providers are not taking the sluggish economy in their stride. While there is a natural inclination to retreat to a safe place and ride out the downturn, the Market survey report shows many consultants and solution providers are preparing to implement, aggressive business development, sales and market plans. In an effort to not only weather the recession but to power through it and position themselves for growth in 2010 and beyond.

Gross Revenues
Gross revenues from product and services sales increased for 46 percent of solution providers, while only 24 percent saw their top lines shrink. A near equal number of solution providers (45 percent) reported increases in their 2008 profits, while 25 percent said their profits declined.

Ordinarily, healthy revenue and profit increases would be welcomed news for solution providers. But participants in the Market survey were witnessing a phenomenon caused by the recession.

Customer spending down
Consultants and solution providers reported customers spending was down and their existing budgets reduced. This is in anticipation of not getting full funding in 2009 or in anticipation of end-of-the-year budget cuts. Business-technology customers, ranging from small businesses to large enterprises, are expected to continue investments in technologies critical to business operations. This will focus on smart applications and systems that directly reduce costs or innovations that open up new revenue opportunities.

Do not be fooled, they are certainly not freely opening up their checkbooks. IT Consultants and solution providers report that their customers are already cutting back on orders, delaying project implementations and canceling projects to save money.

2009 Forecast
The stated paradox above, is part of the reason why nearly one-half of consultants and solution providers expect their revenue to increase in 2009, while only 32 percent expect a decrease. The key indicator of how tough 2009 will be for solution providers is seen in the number that expect flat year-over-year revenues;

• 30% of solution providers said their 2008 revenue was relatively the same (plus or minus 5%) over 2007,
  
• 21% expect no change in year-over-year revenue in 2009.

• The clear shift to no change or declining revenue reflects longer sales cycles and customers not committing to engagements.

The survey paints a similar picture for profitability;

• 51 % of solution providers expect no change or a decline in their year-over year profits.
  
• 64 % believe their profits will slide by 15 percent or more this year.
• 55 % of optimistic solution providers expect their profits to increase by 15 percent or more.
  
• No solution provider participating in the Market survey, expected profits to sink by 100% or more. Perhaps trying not to think the unthinkable.
  

Consultants and solution providers dependent upon conventional hardware sales expect the largest decreases in revenue and profitability. Anticipating revenue decreases this year;

• 29% of white box/custom system dealers
  
• 27% of hardware resellers and
  
• 24% of general solution providers,
  

Topping the list of specialists anticipating net revenue increases.

• 67% Software resellers
  
• 60% Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers and agents
• 55% Systems Integrators
  

Additionally, solution providers say that they are seeing the greatest slow down in business, from small (less than 50 employees) and midsized businesses (50 to 250 employees).

Ring fence your customers
Consultants and solution providers recognize that they must adapt to the poor economic conditions, and many are executing strategic plans to bring themselves closer to their customers. Hopefully this will allow them to preserve and protect existing revenues sources while seeking new opportunities to tap into new revenue streams. Clearly everyone is becoming more defensive of their existing clients and therefore, the new revenue opportunities will be harder to find and even harder to win, possibly with lowered margins and ROI spread over longer periods.

Nearly one-half of consultants and solution providers surveyed for the Market say that their top business goal for 2009 is improving customer satisfaction and retaining existing customers. It’s much easier and more cost effective to expand sales within an existing customer than it is to acquire a new customer and build a relationship. The risk that you put all your eggs in one big basket that could, in itself, fall.

Customer retention not detention
Of the consultants and solution providers focused on customer satisfaction and retention, most anticipate their profits will remain flat or decrease. The same can be said for consultants and survey participants focused on increasing revenue, the second most popular business goal for the year. Are you being retained or detained by your customers and service providers? Discuss!

QoS versus Market Share
Consultants and solution providers who are focused primarily on improving quality of service (QoS), will have a higher expectation of profit erosion. Conversely, consultants and solution providers focused on increasing market share or profitability have higher expectation of improving profitability in 2009. This may not be the case, when taking into consideration the cost of sales.

Revenue Growth - greater expectations?
For revenue growth, 60 percent of consultants and solution providers are squarely set on simply acquiring and developing new customers. Another 30% are expanding their relationships with existing customers. Interestingly, solution providers are not looking to their peer communities for support during the recession. Only 13 percent of survey participants said they would form an alliance with their peers i.e. consultant and solution provider partners, or partner with other consultants to reach new markets and customers.

Together we stand and divided,
we may fall

Communications - mutual respect

The primary key to motivating another person is trying to understand their perceptions and manage their expectations.

The primary driver for men is normally status and respect, their standing in the community. This is not only a defensive action but can also be an offensive action. A man's status and respect is most beneficial to him when it grows. A more defensive reaction is triggered when it is seemingly being assailed or reduced.

Initial man-to-man meetings can result in an immediate confrontation and checking of status and esteem, starting with "What is your job title?" and followed by "What 'things' have you got?" e.g. cars, houses, women, etc. The answers are rated, by both sides in the comparative status stakes and from this each person's position in the 'pecking' order is established and a resulting hierarchy is established and will remain, until a change in status is achieved by either party. This can be done openly and aggressively or subversive and defensively. Therefore, it is in both men's interest to check their status, often. Discuss!

A US study of 400 hundred men proposes; 74% said that they would prefer to be alone and unattached, rather than be disrespected and made to feel inadequate (married??). Men perceive criticism as contempt and 81.5% of the sample group, felt disrespected when in conflict with their wife or partner. So, 85% of men withdraw into silence during a conflict. Possibly because he is unfamiliar with the feelings he is experiencing and /or in an attempt to keep or gain control of himself and his emotions. It is an internal fight, an attempt to stay calm so he doesn't break out of his shell and overreact, breaching social norms or worse. He may see it as the honourable and respectable thing to do but his wife or partner will only feel shut out and rejected by this. So the conflict continues, until it reaches a crisis point.

On the other side, it is said that the primary drive and deepest value for women is acceptance and affection. They communicate freely and verbalise openly. They will opt to do this with other women to resolve a conflict, which normally leads to reconciliation or at least mutual understanding. This is not what men do and it is naive to expect it.

The initial meeting between women will be an exchange of feelings and expressions, to ascertain what this person is like and can we bond. The need to be accepted and embraced as part of a supportive 'family' group or 'pack' is very important. Not so with men, they are vying to 'lead' or 'dominate' the 'pack' and be the top dog because it is residual in their ancient genes to do so.

Most women are endowed with the need to be supportive people, teachers or instructors particularly if they have children. They quickly adopt the role of teachers and therefore critics of their husbands, partly without intending to or without realising it. They just simply want to put him on the 'right' path to building a better, more cohesive pack. Their motives may be pure but their tactics often wound the man. Women want their partners to be inclusive, to be close, to open up, to talk, etc. Most importantly, he should be willing and able to listen and share, not necessarily trying to "fix" her every concern or issue, except loose floor boards, faulty lights and other household fittings. In these cases a definitive list often helps.

Men communicate on a competitive level, by sharing experiences, sports or other physical activities. This is normally done on neutral round, without threatening direct eye contact and by just sitting with each other side-by-side, in a guarded position, backs to the wall and facing outward. To gauge their feelings and reactions, women will share experiences openly, in a non-competitive manner and by talking about them to each other, sitting face-to-face, often touching and often in a group or inclusive circle.

Quick tips

To Communicate with the men:
1. Regularly tell your male employees what you appreciate and admire about them - be aware of, and build on their self esteem
2. Stop instructing and correcting and give them your trust and respect - empower them, give them a chance to succeed and the support that will prevent them failing
3. Take time to spend time with them and get to know 'who' they are and what motivates them - no threatening eye contact and no competitive comparisons, don't judge people

Communicate with the women:
1. Make time to talk to them face-to-face - 'include' them in your day, allow them to include you
2. Listen to their problems and don't be too quick to jump in and try to "fix" what is wrong - share their concerns and validate their feelings, be supportive and open
3. Regularly tell your women employees what you appreciate and admire about them - build their self esteem but guard their open-hearted-ness, it is a gift bestowed and not to be used or abused.

Communicate - Single minded isolation and solitude is no way to protect your status or self respect. It just restricts it.

Share your thoughts and feelings and support others who wish to do the same. Build open cohesive teams, not barriers.

Getting on top - Dominate your Credit Risk

Until recently, when debt became more expensive and harder to come by, companies generally had a blasé attitude toward managing their trade-credit risk. Most corporations, big and small, don't have credit risk procedures any more sophisticated than the sub prime lenders did. In which case you are flying in dangerous territory with your defenses down.

A simple tip but one that's been largely ignored until recently: Be more wary before extending credit to new customers. Make them prove their creditworthiness. Currently, companies take more a of shy unassuming approach to trade credit by quickly granting it to every new client that comes across their threshold. Once aboard they hope for the best and follow the client's payment performance over time.

Companies too often get into the habit of not asking for any financial information from their customers in favor of speeding up a much coveted deal. Suppliers have been doling out credit based on what little information may be available on their privately held clients, despite the fact that private firms have a higher rate of bad debt. Even after a credit account has been granted, the supplying company may shy away from asking for financial data because they don't want to offend a brand-new client. Clearly the banks have a part to play in all this because they too have been willing to extend credit lines far beyond reasonable doubt.

Companies should ask for customer and bank references up front. Although, that information may be biased and unreliable because of the struggling financial institutions. Will the bank and lenders be there in the long term for their customer? Are they going to provide financing or will they make a quick exit and leave the company with a liquidity shortfall, which may or may not cause the demise of the company? Are the financial institutes responsible for the ongoing viability of their clients, i.e. the corporate companies. What support and backup can they provide a struggling company when they themselves are in difficulty. These and many more, are all questions vendors need to ask themselves when looking over a customer's bank information.

Companies should request that all customers, new and old to fill out a one-page credit profile every year. The sheet should include the company's cash position and the most up-to-date contact information. A type of credit probe which may or may not provide the correct level of information in the right format, in a timely manner. This will lead to more overhead in the accountancy dept or with the business analysts, but if addressed properly, it may provide early warning of difficulties.

If there is any good news to be had during this economic downturn, it's that everyone is in the same boat. Your customers are asking their customers for more financial information. It's now become perfectly acceptable to ask about a client's financial status because everyone is being scrutinized by every supplier. Its a big global circle of accountants, checking each others assets.

If it's impractical to demand financial information up-front, then come up with a triggering number for when your company will demand it. A simple threshold or framework will suffice. If clients cross the established and agreed amount, then they must provide their trade creditors with financial statements to validate their credit. The type and level of the threshold can vary depending on client, industry, item value, uniqueness, development costs, credit exposure, etc. Its not a numerical value, its a way of thinking about and controlling your risk exposure.

Another way to improve your credit /risk management is to conduct a detailed assessment and calculate each customer's probability of default. With such precise knowledge you can price your services accordingly, and by showing your client the calculations, you can easily justify a premium rate. Cash has always been king and currently it is even more critical to companies health and financial welfare, but many companies have no idea who they're selling to, never mind who owns the company or their cash position. Its never been more critical to know your customer.

Moreover, suppliers can no longer rely on traditionally held views that big-name companies are safe from sudden and dire financial problems even if they don't have strong cash flow. Many of these companies have lived on extended credit lines for years and are not asset rich. Other companies can have negative cash flow and positive net worth. They're sitting on land or occupy buildings that no one's willing to buy. If their credit is pulled and they end up going bankrupt, the asset value won't cover the debts.

Experts also suggest sales and credit departments improve their communications between salespeople and the collections side. Your salespeople are trying to maintain the vendor /customer relationship at the same time as maximising their commission payments. This is a tightrope, and is a very dangerous situation for the company to ignore. It must be very, very tightly controlled. Don't allow salespeople to grant extended payment terms, without justification and authorisation, before checking in with their credit counterparts. Companies should use these negotiations to get more financial information out of their privately held clients and reprice future services if possible.

Moreover, salespeople may be able to offer the credit department more insight into a customer's financial situation. Therefore it is imperative that they have the influence, motivation and the time to actually get involved in credit and collections questions. Its a team effort and everyone better be on the team or the game is over.

HR - New Start Integration

DIS - Dynamic integration support in a rapidly changing, cost conscious and fast growing enterprise

The dynamic integration support process will supplement and enhance the services provided by the organisations stressed-out HR staff and management team. The consultant addresses the volatile requirements of stakeholders both in the rapid uptake of candidates and in their effective integration into the new environment. The consultant decreases the time taken to assimilate new staff and embed them into the team and organisation, maximising their effectiveness and motivation throughout.

Chief Executives

Dynamic integration in a rapidly changing 'cost conscious' enterprise is able to support and supplement the HR staff in addressing the 'cost versus talent' argument by supplying focused coaching skills to candidates that may be less qualified, less experienced or unused to the new environment that they find themselves in. Free from this responsibility, the HR team can then concentrate on sourcing candidates with the greatest potential and the right motivation to grow without worrying about precision skills matching and the integration of candidates that may have different or unmatched energy levels and personalities from the incumbent team.

Hierarchy awareness and Buy-in

The DIS process also requires that the managing environment and team understand the changing team dynamics and that they are also positively managed through this period. Working on behalf of the organisation and the team, the DIS process ensures the rapid uptake of new skills and knowledge by the candidate. Supplying the provision of a mentor to manage the changes and to mitigate or resolve any risks or issues, envisaged or arising. The consultant will establish a buffer or de-militarised zone to allow the free flow of dialogue and negotiation, minimising disruption to the team’s effectiveness and to managerial goals.

Performance enhancements realised

It is vital to be able to positively manage the organisational expectations coming from forthcoming changes in staffing levels and the introduction of new skills and personalities. The organisation must maintain team and goal cohesiveness and remain focused on moving forward, not at the same pace but with greater efficiency, greater capability and rapid growth. To do this you need to increase effective integration rates and decrease staff fall-out and turnover. The loss of experience from an organisation is taking the life blood out of it, in the form of loyalty, commitment and hard-won knowledge. Thus compelling them to make the same mistakes over and over again and sustain losses repeatedly.

Finance Officers placated

By supporting the management from within, the stakeholders’ expected benefits, established goals and ROI can be truly realised and even exceeded with the correct level of coaching and mentoring, targeted at the right people, time and place.

Operational success

Left to their own devices a new candidate and the installed team will take up to 3 months to fully integrate and become truly effective to the organisation. The first 6 weeks will find the candidate isolated and floundering to find knowledge and develop new skills on his own initiative whilst the installed team circle around them, sizing and testing this new guy. No organisation can afford to wait that long for a return, especially if it is ‘disappointing’. If you are left wondering why the increase in numbers does not relate to a direct increase in revenue, we have the answers for you. We will be happy to support you. Contact me on kenwbudd@lycos.co.uk

Team integration issues - example

As a new start, it is at this time the candidate will bond with, or be be-friended by, one or some of the team but not all. This may not be with the positive thinking, forward thinking group that you would want them to join. In fact it is more likely to be with other members of the team that have become isolated and withdrawn.

If this trend continues then the team dynamics will start to move in the wrong direction, because every new candidate will be drawn to, recruited by or be-friended by, the ‘outsiders’. The team will start to experience a new division instead of an integration. A divided team is very un-focused, difficult to re-unite and the devil to manage effectively.

Cause and effect

Circumstances like this lead to overloading or repeated distraction of the next level of management, keeping them away from their core activities. Instead they find themselves increasingly involved in ‘territorial’ disputes and trivial ‘personality’ clashes. The intended growth of the organisation is diverted or worse, stalled and, because of the push on recruiting and taking on of new staff, suddenly you now have greater overheads.Unless rectified the company is heading for a self-destructive downward spiral.

Your operational managers are faced with issues that began a long time back and have now become established and possibly cultural. In the words of the Irish philosophers ‘If you were trying to get to Dublin city quickly, I would not have started from here!’