BI #18 Canadian Workforce Demography: Challenges and Solutions: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Running Time: 18 min 47 sec

Extended Show Notes:

An article published by the Globe and Mail in July 2007 called “The Economic Challenge of Age”, is the focal point of a discussion between John Eckmire of Canadian Management Centre and Bill Johnston President of Johnston Consulting. The article discusses the demographic shift occurring within the Canadian workforce and states that within a decade there will no longer be enough people to fill the positions of those retiring or leaving the workforce.

• John and Bill first point of discussion centres on a book written in 1997 by author David Foot entitled “Boom Bust and Echo: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Shift”. Bill is quick to point out that in 1997 not many people paid attention to Foot’s book, but now that the trend is starting to play itself out at an organizational level people have started to pay attention.
• The demographic trend will affect many different areas of business, such as employee recruitment, retention and engagement.
• Both Bill and John speculate that this shift in demography will cause recruitment to become a competitive sport. The need to retain employees will lead many people to develop a defensive strategy in order to hold on to valued employees.
• Many employers are seeing a prevalent trend towards mobility, particularly within the younger cohort of employees. As a result, many organizations make the conscious decision not to train people so as to minimize the cost of turnover. This inadvertently leads in many cases to turnover.
• This is a costly mistake that organizations make, as they do not understand the true needs of their employees.
• Employees today seek to maintain a work life balance and to develop themselves professionally.
• The best way to retain employees is to be aware of the top 5 engagement factors for your employees. This will help to ensure that they are getting what they need out of their career in order to feel fulfilled and engaged in their professional lives.
• Organizational design also plays an important role in the level of engagement an employee feels. Within large monolithic organizations individuals tend to feel that they are lost in the crowd.
• The pressure of working has increased dramatically due to the demographic crunch, while rewards have not and training is inadequate. Many employees want what they consider to be a “fair deal” from their employer.
• A major part of that “fair deal” is that they want to improve themselves professionally, they do want training. However, training for jobs has in some instances become a barricade to employment due to budget and time constraints.
• Bill believes that not all people in the older cohort will retire at 65, but he notes that problems are likely to occur if the older generation does not move over, instead of moving out.
• The concept of moving over instead of moving out will enable the younger generation to influence decisions made at an organizational level, helping younger workers to feel valued.
• Within a well run organization compensation ranks 5th on the list of employee priorities. Studies have shown that people will work for less at a company they love to work for.
• The concept of rewards and recognition of employees needs to be re-examined according to Johnston, as evidence shows that a happy and healthy work environment appears to mean more to people than compensation.
• Both Bill and John agree that people know enough to know when they are valued by their employer. Therefore, people are more likely to go to work for smaller organizations that are flexible, nimble and fun, because more of their self actualization needs are met.
• Immigration is discussed by Bill and John as a possible solution to the labour shortage. Both Bill and John recognize that there is a huge untapped resource (about 3 billion people strong) of well educated people who are starving for jobs in North America.
• Bill believes that there will be a trend in the future towards more training being offered to employees with an emphasis on relationship building skills such as leadership and team building. As we know employers need to be able to get more out of a smaller workforce therefore requiring a highly motivated team.
• Multi tasking is also important in order to keep people engaged. If people are only trained to operate in one role for many years they are more likely to get bored and feel underappreciated for their contribution to an organization.

For many years, I worked for one of the world’s leading strategy consultancies. On any typical assignment, watching CEOs evaluating the pros and cons of our recommendations, I would always find myself wondering, “What is really determining their decision?”

With the best chief executives, those at the helm of the most effective companies that we advised, I knew that there was something more driving their decisions than simply the need to make immediate profits. Some advice was deemed a natural fit; some, even though it would be difficult to execute, was taken on as part of a long-term strategy. And some “slam-dunk” options were dismissed immediately, often with a comment like, “This is not what we are trying to do here.” I came to recognize… continue here to read Nikos’s entire article or click here to listen to Nikos’s podcasts on Purpose

 

 BI #17 - Business with Purpose Part 2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #17 - Business with Purpose Part 2

Running Time: 21 min 16 sec

Extended Show Notes:

As an extension of last week’s podcast; Purpose as described by Nikos, reflects what a company is all about at the highest level of abstraction. Purpose should be what drives your company towards excellence in all areas and helps one to achieve truly meaningful success.

The 4 categories of moral purpose identified by Nikos include:

1. Discovery
2. Excellence
3. Altruism
4. Heroism

Nikos points out that there are many conceptions of what is ‘good’ all have been debated for centuries without reaching a consensus. Of the many conceptions of ‘good’, there are 4 that are compatible with business.

1. Discovery
• Discovery is the pursuit and achievement of innovation. While many companies innovate, there are only handfuls that innovate well.
• Some examples of highly innovative companies include Sony and IBM.
• If your company is committed to discovery, the rest of your company must be aligned with this single purpose, as discovery comes at a price.
• The Innovative Company is likely to experience erratic financial returns. Your success will depend on whether your particular innovation will fill a niche. An example of this is Research in Motion and the development of the Blackberry.
• IBM is a great example of a company that is committed to discovery. Within their industry, innovation is imperative in order to experience success.

2. Excellence
• Excellence is the pursuit and achievement of business practices that set the highest standards within that particular industry. These standards become industry benchmarks..
• An example of a company who has achieved excellence within their industry is Toyota. Excellence is built over time and with this singular Purpose in mind.

3. Altruism
• Altruism is the demonstration of unselfish concern or devotion for others. One example would be devotion to bettering the environment.
• The example Nikos uses is Wal-Mart, although Nikos recognizes that this can be disputed. Recently Wal-Mart has endeavoured to reposition their brand within the market.
• A new premium within Wal-Mart is being placed on helping the environment. This repositioning of the Wal-Mart brand from an employee centric company to an eco conscious company will take time and is quite expensive.

4. Heroism
• Heroism according to Nikos is about getting things done, while at the same time being conscious that things are being done through ethical means.
• An example of a person who exhibits heroism is Henry Ford, who revolutionized industry with the creation of the assembly line. Another such example is Microsoft’s Bill Gates, who has also changed business through philanthropy.
• It is important to note that heroism does not ascribe to the Machiavellian philosophy of “the end justifies the means”. According to Nikos, a strategy of the ends justifying the means is a dead end strategy, as it is not a morally purposeful strategy.

 

 BI #16 - Business with Purpose Part 1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #16 - Business with Purpose Part 1

Running Time: 20 min 50 sec

Extended Show Notes:

In part one of a two part series on business with purpose John Eckmire of Canadian Management Centre and Nikos Mourkogiannis author of “Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies” discuss how good companies become great.  Real success is more than the achievement of a financial goal. Truly meaningful success requires using the concept of purpose and applying it to the day–to-day activities of the corporation.  Nikos stresses that without purpose a company will struggle to find meaning in what they do. The concept of applying purpose to action is designed to help others attain well-being.

According to Nikos a “Great Company not only sustains itself but provides continuing evidence of the value of its existence. It not only makes a product or provides a service that people want but it does so in a way that makes people glad that this particular company has come into existence, if only because of the great way that it plays its role”

• In short great companies raise the standards of life for others. it is difficult, but achievable
• The number of companies and business leaders, who would embrace the thought of raising the standard of living for others, depends largely on who they are as individuals and at which stage they fall in their careers.
• Typically once people have achieved success in whichever way they define success they then will seek to do something more meaningful, something they can be proud of.
• The concepts of purpose and meaningful success are not for everybody. People must be good before they can be great.
• Meaningful success presupposes a level of success already but only the best and the brightest aspire to achieve meaning.
• Purpose according to Nikos is preparation for doing what is right and what is worthwhile, it creates a feeling of obligation for going beyond yourself.
• Having a sense of direction and obligation towards your goal provides you with direction and purpose.  Purpose acts like a compass, guiding you in the direction you wish to go.
• Purpose then ties directly in with company mission and strategy.
• Strategy alone is devoid of human considerations, by linking strategy to purpose people are forced to consider the concept of greater good.

Simple questions such as “What will sustain Morale?” “What will make people proud to go to work?” can be worked through using the concept of purpose to drive individual and collective actions.  Nikos points out that simply going to work for a pay cheque is not a productive activity.  In order to be successful each brand must be focused on a  purpose.

• Purpose must be particularly focused in the HR and Marketing departments of every company.
• Purpose will provide the best company alignment.
• Customers must know what your companies focus is, once your organization has its purpose clear.
• Purpose also provides clarity within an organization as well as outside an organization. The more clear and crisp your company purpose is the better you will do.
• Purpose then becomes a competitive advantage for your business: Nikos describes 2 sources of competitive advantage
  • Innovation
  • Relationships
• Purpose is integral for cementing relationships. A feeling of joint purpose between working partners helps to build strong lasting relationships.
• Purpose and innovation according to Nikos are intertwined. Without a common shared purpose, innovation is extremely difficult and unlikely. This is because innovation is dangerous.
• If you have a purpose low level considerations such as corporate politics, job security, predictability etc. become secondary in an innovative environment.
• A sense of purpose is directly related to company morale. People who are not united by a common goal or purpose may feel a lack of direction.  Finding a way to raise morale is the holy grail of management today.

There are 4 ways to raise morale:1.      Teaching people new skills: Most important to the younger generation2.      Rewarding people for a job well done: This can be both monetary and non-monetary rewards3.      Having a successful community: 4.      Serving a higher purpose: Serving a higher purpose is the most sustainable of all 4 and the least expensive. Many executive and managers do not understand this concept and as a result leave a lot of money on the table.

Retention of employees is easy to do with a higher purpose in mind.

·         Nikos notes that we live in a period of “flat organizations”.  If you have a flat organization you cannot hire people or fire people, promote or demote people. IF you try to hire people using only money to draw them in the endeavour becomes quite costly.

Research shows that people will go to work for an organization with a higher purpose for less. People will also buy products from companies that have a purpose even if their product costs more than the competition.

·         Nikos uses the example of purchasing a hybrid car.  Nikos believes that there is no economically justified reason for purchasing a hybrid. Yet the demand for hybrids is exceeding supply.

WHY?

·         People want to buy a product with a purpose. For a product with a purpose people will go the extra mile, they will pay more because they see value in what they are purchasing.

·         John happens to own a hybrid car and says that Nikos is right.  He personally feels better about driving a hybrid because it helps the environment, giving it a higher purpose.

In next week’s episode of Business Intelligence John and Nikos will be meeting again in the second instalment of Business with Purpose to discuss The 4 categories of moral purpose described by Nikos in his book.

1.     Discovery

2.     Excellence

3.     Altruism

4.     Heroism

 

 BI #15 The Practical Guide to Growing Your Business Part: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #15 The Practical Guide to Growing Your Business Part

Running Time: 17 min 50 sec

Extended Show Notes:

Last week Robert Bloom explained the first two of his four principles to unlocking your companies inside advantage. They are:

Last Week:
1. Who? Indentifying your core customer
2. What? Recognizing your company’s uncommon offering

This Week:
3. How? How do you develop a persuasive strategy that influences your core customer to buy your uncommon offering?
4. Own it! Celebrate your uncommon offering through a series of imaginative acts designed to make your company recognizable to its core customer.

Step 3 how?
According to Bloom step 3 how is to develop a persuasive strategy to sell your uncommon offering to your core customer versus your competitors.

• Ask yourself can I sell what to who?
• The persuasive strategy must be shared with all members of your company as your strategy needs to be executed at all levels.
• The persuasive strategy really has little to do with advertising but rather what to company is based on.
• All members of your company should understand this strategy and live it.

Bloom uses the example of Curves fitness clubs for women. Curves has gained the distinction of becoming the fastest growing franchise in the world. Their strategy was to build small, inexpensive gyms for women. Their core customer wants to be fit but is uncomfortable in a mixed gender gym. They cater to this core customer by having no mirrors and no men in any of their gyms.

• This strategy is persuasive to their core customer.
• This demonstrates that the architects of this business strategy were able to get inside the minds of their core customer.

As a tip Bob believes that the first word of your persuasive strategy should be an active verb, as step 3 how is all about taking action. Active verbs such as own, distinguish, persuade, discover.

• For example a small chain of suburban newspapers persuasive strategy could be
  “Earn the communities trust and respect by helping to make it a better place to live.”

Above all your business strategy must be honest and achievable, not imagined and unaffordable. The how must be a reality because if you build a strategy based on something phony or inaccurate it will become destructive.
Bloom reminds us that the 4 step process to unlocking your inside advantage is an economic process.

Step 4 Own it!
This step is about becoming a company that celebrates your uncommon offering by making it well known to your customers. If your employees understand your strategy and your uncommon offering but it is not shared with your core customer then you must go further to execute your business plan.
You must exploit your inside advantage.

• Make your uncommon offering well known to your core customer.
• You really only want to be well known for one thing, to one group of people. This is what makes step 4 of the process economical.
• Being well known is not the same thing as celebrity. You should not seek celebrity for your business.

Own your uncommon offering through a series of imaginative events. Exploit your uncommon offering through all channels such as:

• Through your business cards
• The way you answer your phone
• Through your company website
• On the side of your company cars

It is about becoming what you say you are. Imaginative acts can be anything from a nationwide ad campaign or as simple as a personal e-mail to a customer. Consistency with your message is key as when you repeat your uncommon offering over and again, you will become well known for it! Your core customer will begin to repeat this messaging to others, creating the most powerful and trusted form of promotion—word of mouth.

HR professionals are deeply involved in providing leadership development programs for the organization’s executives, but they sometimes neglect to plan for their own development, experts say. This could be risky, forcing firms to look outside for top HR talent, as 10 of the 40 firms on Human Resource Executive’s 2006 top 100 list did. Some firms, however, are making the commitment to develop their HR leaders.

• Financial services firm Wachovia Corp. rolled out a pilot project to identify and develop leadership talent in the firm’s corps of 1,500 HR professionals. Bob Brotherton, senior vice president and manager of leadership resources, says Wachovia values experiential learning. “Most individuals say this is the area they’re most uncomfortable with, but that they benefited from it the most.” Mentoring, coaching and stretch assignments are among the HR development strategies that Wachovia uses.

• Financial services firm Wells Fargo & Co. identified four key competencies that helped them ferret out 30 high-potential HR candidates among more than 2,600 in 2006. Those competencies, as presented in Human Resource Executive, are “managing like a general manager, complex business thinking, leading cultural change and ‘personal impact’ (or establishing credibility, taking risks and dealing with ambiguity).” Jean Bourne, executive vice president and HR manager, says annual meetings cover discussions on how best to develop these potential HR leaders

• Tenet Healthcare Corp. used specific measures for HR directors related to their impact on clinical staff members’ retention and performance. Cathy Fraser, senior vice president of HR, says these measures help to identify high-potential HR talent at Tenet’s 66 hospitals. Development strategies include working with non-HR executives, taking on stretch assignments and moving from a hospital role to a regional role.
  (As reported by i4cp)