WINNING STRATEGIES

WINNING STRATEGIES

The mantras are narrated below:

- Selecting the best: i.e. employing the right people especially at senior positions, having a positive attitude, the ability to inspire others and the potential to grow and assume higher responsibilities for contributing to the success of the organisation. ‘Superior talent will be tomorrow’s prime source of competitive advantages, we bet on people, not strategies’.

-Agile organisation: i.e. being able to take the changing scenario in its stride. A ‘High Speed’ culture enables an organisation to be more sensitive to its goals and objectives while taking into account the demand of the existing business department.

“Speed has to be inbuilt in the organisation’

-Be small but look big: Globalisation is erasing boundaries and building a network between nations and people. So, flat structure and adaptive people shall be the slogans of the next millennium and this could be done through out-sourcing secondary functions and by giving emphasis to and strengthening core competencies to boost up profit and future growth and build a strong reputation of the organisation in the corporate world.

-Investment in people: Human Resource in an organisation is its most renewable source.

The key issue should be optimum utilisation of intellectual capital and to capitalise the creativity and talent available by giving due recognition to those who have made exemplary efforts in implementing improvements and creating innovations.

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A big strength of GE (General Electric) lies in its mastery in motivating people. GE’s CEO, Jack Welch, himself reviews the performance of the Co.’s top 3,000 managers every year and suggests the desired changes, thanks them, and takes note of their family crises.

So, to be successful, organisations need Managers who are “ Loving & Caring” and are employee- oriented.

-Culture of learning and adaptability: New and innovative concepts are to be continuously learnt and adapted in the organisations. By applying the latest and the best management practices and also by leveraging the knowledge of employees as well as database/ archives, an organisation could gain a significant competitive advantage

 

A closer interface/ interaction between Industry and Academic Institutions has immense potential to benefit both.

This has been corroborated by HDFC Chairman- Deepak Parekh when he says:   “The real advantage one company has over another in a highly competitive and  ‘information- sensitive’ economy, is the ability of its managers to learn faster than its competitors”.

-Synergy of resources is possible only when the team is integrated and the team can only be integrated when the team members share different thoughts and actions together.

The key to success is the optimum utilisation of resources, infrastructure and human capital and this can be done through skill tracking.

“Challenge is how to trap the organisation’s hidden wealth which means full utilisation of its human competencies”

Some companies like DR. Reddy’s laboratories and Crompton Greaves are already putting their human capital into the asset part of their balance sheet.

The second section, titled ‘Dynamics of Success’ is devoted to the importance of change and adaptability and unleashes the entire strategy of success. The phrase of  ‘Dynamics of Success’ is narrated letter by letter in this section

D :   Develop new generation business leaders who through their talent can bring about 

the metamorphosis from the existing state to the desired state. Leadership is the foundation of sustained profitability.

Y:    Young talent should be encouraged to give a fresh look to the organisation and also   

         to blend the past experience with future enthusiasm to achieve the future goals.

N :    Need for “ Knowledge Management” to regain the edge. Successful companies will

         be the ones that will best do the job of capturing, storing and leveraging what their

         employees know. ‘ Knowledge will be the new currency of the Millennium’.

A:     Adopt and adapt to a flexi system by switching over to flexible timings and

         adaptation to new technology to make the managers’ life easier.

M :   Make individuals a part of the Vision and the Objective of the company

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“People perform better when the organisational goals are aligned with the individual interest.”

I :   Interface between the industries and various academic institutions  to make good use of genuine and innovative ideas of  professional institutes for achieving excellence

C :  Concentration on ‘Competency Development’ to ensure survival of contemporary business

S:  Shifting the attitude from Control to Support and giving the highest value to humanity- treating people with the fullest dignity and in a humane manner.

O :  Openness so as to ensure a paradigm shift in the organisational culture and environment along with free flow of information and knowledge through interactive forums.

F :  Focus on Excellence in All Spheres ranging from customers’ needs, customer service,  customer retention– it is very imperative for today’s managers to maintain their competitive edge.

S : Self motivation - ensure that people working in the organisations are motivated and inspired enough to be fit and to excel in work, and let them feel that opportunities never come to those who wait-  they are captured by those who attack.

U : Utilising the vast potential that lies dormant within each individual. Most of the individuals do not realise their hidden potential, which is to be tapped by a good leader

         

C : Continuous Improvement Process.

“ Success is not achieved by luck or fate, it is achieved only when an individual takes a decision to succeed  with a clear goal followed by persistent action.”

C : Creativity – It is an organisational necessity - because it helps the organisation to come up with improved productivity and higher consumer satisfaction, which is the goal of every dynamic organisation.

          “ Creative Solutions Need Creative Minds”

E : Effective Leadership and Participation – always makes a winning, unbeatable and result oriented team. Hence, thrust should be given to developing effective leadership , not only at the top level, but also at the middle management level and the floor level.

S : Sensitive to New Business Environment- revolution in IT and new business processes have made business more responsive, less time consuming, effective and productive.

S : Success – “ Success is a journey and not a destination”- To be successful we have to follow the very spirit of all the narrations made above and also to adapt to changes as  has been revealed by Theodore Livitt in the article “ Marketing Myopia” when he states that every major industry was once a growth industry……… In the case of industries with declining growth, the reason of failure was not always a saturated market, rather it was due to failure of the management to adapt to the impending change.

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The third section, on “Motivation for Enhancing Employee Morale”, emphasises the role of organisation in developing individuals as self starters to enable them to set their own goals and accomplish them within the prescribed time. The role of business is not only to make good quality products, make profits and serve the customer well but it is also necessary to keep the internal customers i.e. employees, satisfied, inspired and motivated.

“Unsatisfied employees can never satisfy external customers”

It is true that people work for money but they do need love, care, praise and recognition/ appreciation to go that extra mile. They want tangible proof that someone really cares about the job they do and reward is just a symbol of that.

So, identifying the strengths of individuals and spotting talent in them; Carrier Planning and Career Growth; Celebrating Success at every milestone; Competency Development etc. are some of the issues that are to be taken care of for the healthy growth of the organisation.

 ‘The seemingly under average employees could turn out to be the distinguished ones, if their area of strength is recognised and channelised, so as to match job assignment and also to make them feel that the superiors are consciously caring for their career and any suggestions for improvement are communicated for their own good.’

The fourth section –“Developing Goal Managers in a Cross Cultural Environment”-

reflects the significance of  Global Managers in the globalised environment who through  

 ‘Orientation to the global market’ and ‘Developing a Universally Acceptable Working Culture Ability’, are able to meet the expectations of the foreign counterparts to answer the  questions related to some critical issues, ranging from impact of competitiveness to

being late entrant, to chances of profitable growth, to their fitness in the new culture generated by the new international business scenario  ……

“ A Winning Manager is the one with winning ways across the globe”

The fifth section, titled ‘Speaking to Influence’ spells an effective strategy for developing the art of communication and presentation and starts with  a quote :

“ Mostly people are good at what to say but poor at how to say”

which has been very adeptly supported by a situation where a presentation is to be made to a foreign collaborator. The manager is ready with perfect data and slides but he is thoroughly  confused, nervous and his body language indicates that he wants to get over with the presentation as soon as possible and when the show is over , it creates such a weak/ poor impression that the foreign collaborators refuses to enter into any deal with the company.

“ All communications serve both, a practical purpose as well as an inspirational purpose. Make your communication both”

The sixth and the last Section – “Coping With Executive Stress” is devoted to the first and foremost priority of our lives i.e. managing stress in our personal as well as professional lives.  Stress is the most frequently used word in the workplace today. Long

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working hours, overload, deadline pressure, execessive touring, and no time for family leading to domestic disharmony are a few of the top stresses which executives of today are complaining about.

 

This section dwells in detail about the sources  and consequences of stress .  Sources of stress, ranging from the tension of the past to the anxiety of future, can be broadly classified  into :

External Sources – uncertain future, tyrannical superiors, unreasonable targets etc.

Self- generated stress  - confused priorities, poor time management, emotional immaturity, incompatibility with spouse and/or superiors and colleagues etc.

We should not ignore stress because it may be just the beginning of a long drawn battle with a problem related to stress such as  restlessness, sleeplessness, frustration etc..

 These long drawn consequences of stress may ultimately lead to acute depression and domestic disharmony if not treated timely because

“when under stress , an individual experiences symptoms which are not normal to his behaviour

So to ELIMINATE STRESS for SUCCESS

·        treat your family as the foundation for your success because it is the pillar of strength in your lives

·        develop your subordinates because if you make others winners, you are already a winner.

·        Keep refreshing surroundings because a healthy ambience helps a person to be cheerful, relaxed and away from stress

·        Plan the work and decide priorities ,understand constraints to accomplish your job successfully, and enjoy the success

·        Be self reliant and independent to make yourself ready for hiccups which may arise due to organisational changes like downsizing, retrenchment or unexpected increase in work load etc.

Stress is not always harmful. In the right amount, stress helps in making a person stay alert, reflexive and proactive. But an effort has to be made by the individual and the organisation as a whole to reduce the stress by mutual setting of goals, regular feedback etc. because - ‘If you look for the positive things in the life , you will find them’.

Ultimately, never forget :

 “If you want harmony in your country, you must have harmony in your society, you must have harmony in your family and you must have harmony in yourself.”

                                                                             (A quote by Confucious)