Do not fool yourself, every decision we make on a daily basis; big or small, influences others.

At times we wonder if we are actually making a difference in this world? Worse yet, it seems at times what we do is not even appreciated or recognized.

I am spending the week with my nephew and niece as they are on holidays. After a great few hours playing in the pool we ran into an old neighbour of my sisters. This encounter reminded me of one of the most precious moments in my life.

This young gentleman looked at my sister and with a serious tone in his voice said “I have to tell you something.” He went on to share how my sister and her husband had a life changing impact on him when he was younger. Then he said “you probably do not even know it, let alone remember the moment that influenced the rest of my college career.” He was right, my sister did not remember the critical 5 minute conversation with this young gentleman that consisted of a few positive and inspiring words.

He went on to repeat a particular conversation that impacted his way of thinking to this day.

As a leader; never doubt your self, never doubt your vision, purpose and your chosen journey. At times it may seem that we are not really making the difference and touching the lives like we aim to. Just because we cannot see it does not mean it does not exist. Be true to your self and the ripple will carry throughout time.

In my next post I will explain what I meant by how this moment reminded me of one of the most precious moments in my life and impacted me as a leader.

 

 BI #22 - Canadian Workforce Demography Challenges and Solutions Part II: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #22 - Canadian Workforce Demography Challenges and Solutions Part II

Duration: 10 min 23 seconds

Show Notes:

John Eckmire of Canadian Management Centre and Bill Johnston of Johnston Consulting, continue their discussion of Demography and it’s affect on the Canadian workforce. Today they will begin their discussion on the topic of Unions. Johnston, who has a heavy background in labour relations mentioned that in labour relations many people believe that you get the union you deserve.

• Unions were initially developed in order to protect workers from being unfairly treated by their employer as well as to ensure that organizations were meeting health and safety requirements brought forth by the government.
• Bill suggests that this trend may be the result of people within organizations focusing on helping to ensure the satisfaction of their employees.
• Bill believes that instead of trying to “tackle the unions” that you must tackle the real issues behind why people are contacting them in the first place.
• Bill feels that only dissatisfied people will feel compelled to contact a union. Instead organizations should focus on how they can better meet the needs of their employees.
• If you are an organization that respects work/ life balance, employee partnerships, diversity in the workplace and other things that employees value with respect to work then you will likely find that unionization will decline.
• In recent years the rate of unionization among workers has been declining rapidly. Bill suggests that this trend may be the result of people within organizations focusing on helping to ensure the satisfaction of their employees. Today approximately 26% of the population belongs to unions.

On the topic of the “perfect storm”, which is the descriptor used to depict the culmination of a skills shortage, a labour shortage and a knowledge shortage within Canadian business organizations.

• Bill believes that senior managers have the ability to make huge contributions and avoid a “knowledge shortage” thorough mentoring and sharing knowledge so as to add to the knowledge and expertise of the next generation.
• Constant learning and integration will be what assures the success of organizations
• There are approximately 4.3 million people in Canada over the age of 65. They all have the ability to make a huge contribution to the success of their organizations by sharing their knowledge and experience with those who will eventually take their place.

Many of us would not readily admit to doing the wrong thing. We could, however, see our way clear to admit we did nothing. What is the difference between doing nothing and doing nothing wrong?

Inaction is not the same as choosing to do what we know is right.

I was reminded of this the other day as I was watching the movie “Radio”. While a whole town turned a blind eye to the well-being of a mentally challenged young man, the high school football coach decided to do something, get him involved on the coaching team. When the school principal asked the coach, “Why do you do it?” Coach Jones replied, “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

It wasn’t the easy thing to do. It wasn’t the popular thing to do.

It was simply the right thing to do.

Sometimes we must find the courage to do what we know in our hearts to be right, even if we must stand alone in our convictions. These could be heroic acts like spearheading a public campaign against injustice, or changing company policy to protect the environment.

And sometimes doing the right thing requires small acts of kindness like giving your lunch to a homeless person. Professionally, it could be as simple as giving credit to the office clerk who made the brilliant suggestion — even if no one else would know. Yes, you could close your eyes and fill your own belly. You could allow your colleague to go unrecognized by doing and saying nothing. That would be the easy route.

Making the conscientious choice isn’t always convenient, easy, or popular but it is the right one if it makes the world a slightly better place.

Become aware, look for opportunities to do the right thing. Ask yourself in the end of every day, did I take the opportunity to do the right thing today?

Fred Sarkari

 

 BI #21 Special Presentation: Charles Handy on Eudaemonia and Other Important Matters: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #21 Special Presentation: Charles Handy on Eudaemonia and Other Important Matters

Running Time: 9 min 53 sec

Extended Show Notes:

Today John Eckmire host of Canadian Management Centre’s podcast series Business Intelligence is thrilled to bring you a special interview from AMA’s Edgewise podcast series with author Charles Handy. Handy has over 40 years of business experience and wide ranging personal interests and passions. The subject of this interview is Charles’s latest book Myself and Other More Important Matters which deals with Handy’s interests and passions. The two of which work together to create a balanced and fulfilling life.

The Education System:

• Handy does not believe that the education system in preparing children adequately or appropriately for the future because:
  • Relies too much on ‘warehoused learning’, which doesn’t work because the mind does not work by recalling information that it learned 30 years prior unless students frequently practice what they learn.
  • Modern schools focus more on analytical skills and numeric skills then they do on teaching children how to build relationships, how to negotiate, or how to persuade others. The later three skills being skills that these children would use on a daily basis once they reach adulthood.
  • Children’s creativity and imagination is too often stifled along with their artistic, musical and athletic talents.

The Golden Seed:

• A golden seed as identified by Handy is the early recognition of a particular talent that a child has. The early recognition of these special gifts provides children with the confidence to excel in later life.
• The golden seed is possibly the most important thing you can receive at school. All too often children leave school feeling as though they are complete failures, lacking the confidence to enable them to do well as adults.

The Concept of Eudaemonia:

• The concept of Eudaemonia is one that can be traced back to the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. The term Eudaemonia is often translated to loosely mean ‘happiness’.
• According the Handy a more accurate translation of the term would be to discover what you are best at. Than doing what you are best at to the best of your ability, for the good of others.
• The idea of discovering your golden seed/ Eudaemonia during the course of your education is what Handy believes the education system should support for all children.
• Doing what you do best, to the best of your ability and for the good of others is a concept that should be adapted and used in order to set powerful goals and drive the best performance from your people.
• Eudaemonia is also referred to by some as ‘core competence’ although Handy quips that Aristotle certainly said this more beautifully.

Change to education as we know it:

• Handy believes that schools should ultimately be used to give students opportunities, show them what they are good at and teach them how to make the most of their talents.
• Charles suggests that he would like to see school as we know it end at lunch time, with the afternoon dedicated to helping children discover their talents. Whether through sports, drama, music, art or traditional learning. Each student should be enabled to practice what they are good at with people of different ages (as they would in the workforce).
• This will teach children to be great collaborators.
• Schools should be places where you learn how to use your talents in order to make your life a good life for you and for others.

Self Realization:

• Charles realized while writing Myself and Other More Important Matters that much of what he spent his life trying to do counted for very little. What he really aspired to do was to make a difference in the lives of his friends and family.
• The concept of Eudaemonia is one that can guide you to achieve worth while success and a fulfilling existence.

AMA’s Edgewise podcast series can be found at http://podcast.amanet.org/edgewise/

A friend of mine mentioned the other day that she had sprained her ankle when she stumbled down the stairs. “What were you doing?” I asked.

“Fishing in my purse for my keys.” Two minutes ahead, her mind was already on opening the door, not on taking each step down the stairs.

That got me thinking about how often we live in the future and miss out on the gift of the present. As you have your thoughts projected into the future, by the end of the month, you will have accomplished _____… but what about right here, right now?

Create the habit of connecting to your clients, employees, spouse and children here and now in the moment. Genuinly care about their present state of mind. People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Great Leaders Learn to Think Ahead but Act Now!

How many times have we missed a step, missed an opportunity, or missed a breathtaking moment because we were either in the past or in the future? Just think how effective a leader would be if (s)he were so far ahead that the followers lost sight of him or her — not very effective!

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with thinking ahead and visualizing our goals. Yet sometimes we project ourselves so far into the future that we forget to appreciate the precious moments we have here and now. While we journey forward to reach our goals, each step has to be in the present.

A good way to keep it all in perspective is to learn from the past, plan for the future, but live in the present. Take time to think about where you are going, but when you act, make sure that your mind is focussed on the present or you will risk missing a step. The consequences can be far worse than a sprained ankle.

As a leader of an organization, you can guide your employees and colleagues to focus on building toward the future while keeping them aware of what the company is doing in the present.

In your personal life, whether you are a spouse, child, parent or sibling, embrace the moments at hand, connect with them and live each moment like it is a life time within itself.

Fred Sarkari

 

 BI #20 Understanding Human Capital Management Part 2 with Dr. Jac Fitz-enz: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #20 Understanding Human Capital Management Part 2 with Dr. Jac Fitz-enz

Running Time: 17 min 03 sec

Extended Show Notes:

Dr. Jac and Bill agree that the primary focus for all people in HR is to maximize the investment in Human Capital.

• Dr. Jac believes that whether you work for the government in HR or in a for-profit industry one fundamental aspect remains the same. You still need money to run your business!
• The only difference is that if you work in HR for the government you are not working for profitability instead you are working to fulfill your mandate and serve your community.
• There are also political and social implications based on the for-profit and not-for-profit distinction but structurally the two are the same.

The importance of integration, process measurement and human capital measurement discussed last week are the three things that Dr. Jac believes the HR world should pay particular attention to.

Outsourcing

• Dr. Jac believes that since 1999 there has been a trend within industry towards outsourcing, a development that has fundamentally altered the structure of companies.
• More and more companies are taking their non-core functions and outsourcing them to professional organizations with scalability and greater efficiency.
• According to Dr. Jac outsourcing is the largest and most recent development that has come into play in business and has altered the structure of organizations.
• According to Everest research there are now 3,000- 4,000 companies offering outsourcing services of one type or another, so outsourcing is here to stay.
• In the past Dr. Jac used to use outsourced organizations for small functions such as payroll, but now many organizations have made the leap and incorporated the outsourcing model for their training and development functions.
• As a result of the trend towards outsourcing Dr. Fitz-enz believes that leaders in HR are now going to have to focus more on integration and predictability within their industries.

Integration and Predictability

• A focus on integration and predictability will force HR professionals to become more business oriented, where traditionally organizations have hired administrative professionals who are proficient at a transactional level.
• New HR professionals are technically savvy and more interested in efficiency than transactional tasks. Many have business degrees and are accustomed to business metrics.
• Recently in HR there is a realization that HR professionals must become more strategic, more metric oriented, more results oriented but this is sometimes challenging for people who tend to be people oriented.

Looking Ahead

• Dr. Fitz-enz believes that in order for HR practitioners to do well they must become part of their organization. For instance working in HR at a bank and working in HR at a computer manufacturing company are two completely separate industries, but in order to do an effective job you must understand what is happening on the front lines.
• HR professionals should strive to be strategic but also pro-active and interested in problem solving. They must remain curious and intrigued by trends and finding innovative workable solutions to problems encountered.
• The salvation for the HR community is MINDSET. Understanding that HR is an intricate part of an organization and has a lot to offer if they don’t isolate themselves from the rest of their organization.
• Mostly Dr. Jac believes that it is all a matter of will. He believes that people can learn to do anything, if they want to.

Leaders are in the business of learning. Their minds are always open to new knowledge.

One thing we have to realize about leadership is the commitment in finding the love in learning, and more so learning about our chosen field.

It does not matter what you call yourself or what title you have chosen, be it a mechanic, doctor, lawyer, sales person, manager and so on. The question you need to ask yourself is what are you doing every day to better yourself in that field.

I would not dream of sending my child to a doctor that has not re-educated them self for years. Why should we expect our employees, clients and those around us to follow our leadership if we do not re-educate ourselves continually?

Harvard university conducted a research study on learning and found that only:

- 10% of the population look to learning as an opportunity.
- 90% only learn because they have to.

That is the reason all these professions are making learning mandatory with credits. It is because 90% of them will not go unless they are forced to.

The average is what the average does.

Ask yourself in the end of every day, “What did I learn today?” If you do not have a specific answer, reevaluate your daily activities.

Happy learning

Fred Sarkari

 

 BI #19Understanding Human Capital Management with Dr. Jac Fitz-enz: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Download here: BI #19 Understanding Human Capital Management with Dr. Jac Fitz-enz

Running Time: 17 min 03 sec

Extended Show Notes:

One of HR Worlds Top 5 Management Guru’s Dr. Jac Fitz-enz and Bill Johnston of Canadian Management Centre discuss human capital. Dr. Jac got his start in HR by accident. After his role within another organization was phased out Dr. Jac was hired by Wells Fargo to work in their training department. Within a year and a half Dr. Fitz-enz was running the Southern California personnel and training department.

By 1981 Dr. Jac had founded the Saratoga Institute where he remained until 2002 when he tested retirement life. When retirement wasn’t working Dr. Jac started the organization Human Capital Source in 2003 which produces a Workforce Intelligence Report. The Workforce Intelligence Report focuses on 4 key areas of interest in the Human Resources field.

1. Metrics

2. Benchmarking

3. Analysis

4. Predictability

Dr. Jac notes that the metrics used to judge production cannot be the same as the metrics used in HR.

• Dr. Jac has begun a new initiative centering around Predictability—this initiative is named Human Capital Management for the 21st Century (HCM 21)
• Dr. Jac believes in the importance of looking at Human Capital from a business perspective using common business metrics. This requires looking at Human Capital in financial terms. Asking questions such as how does human capital add value to an organization and what are the costs associated with not making an investment in Human Capital?
• Business metrics do go a long way towards determining business objectives and planning strategy. However, Human Resources requires that we also look at Human Capital Management in human terms.
• Metrics are things that enable us to achieve the final vision and add value to what we do.
• Canada has many small and medium sized businesses, with very different needs as compared to large organizations.
• When working inside of a small organization you can only really use analysis at the macro level. Answering questions such as how has revenue per employee changed? How much do compensation and benefits cost us as a percentage of our operating expenses?
• Medium sized organizations of 1,000- 10,000 employees can begin to expand their analysis, to look at things such as how long it takes to fill jobs and what is the cost of high turnover.
• Dr. Fitz-enz notes that the important aspect of gaining data is not the metric itself, but rather the ‘so what?’ associated with the data. What does that metric mean to your organization? What does a trend in that number of statistic show you? Ultimately, what does that number mean to your business?
• Metrics can be examined to provide information on two core things:1. Efficiency: How efficient is your HR department?2. Strategy: Development of benchmarks to help develop your organization.
• All of these areas relate back to the Human Capital Scorecard which has 4 quadrants all associated with human capital management activities:

1. Acquisition

2. Maintenance

3. Development

4. Retaining

• Maintaining a balanced scorecard will require tracking data related to cost, time and quality.

• Bill points out that when tracking anything related to people that all things should be related back to the QIPS:

1. Quality

2. Innovation

3. Productivity

4. Service

• Bill asks Dr. Jac if he has seen any crossover between HR metrics from one sector to another.
• Dr. Fitz-enz says that there is now some crossover. In his experience integration has always been a problem within organizations. Many organizations have separate departments that do not communicate with each other. When departments operate like silos this makes work very inefficient, as one department doesn’t know what the other department is doing.
• Without proper integration there is little to no sharing of information. Information on staffing, pay, benefits, employee development and retention is lost.
• If you build and operate using the principle of integration you will be more effective.
• The term integration is beginning to pop up everywhere. It is problematic when companies claim to be part of one team but operate as though they are separate entities.
• Sharing of information between industries that are competitive is less likely according to Dr. Jac. However, that same information is being shared across HR departments because by nature HR departments are more social and less competitive than say marketing and finance departments.
• Bill points to the Big 3 automakers in North America, who are in serious financial trouble and suggests that automakers need to seriously look at productivity, human capital and manufacturing process issues and communicate with each other in order to be better off.