Sunday, September 14, 2008

Remove The Box Instead !

I have just conducted a training session and one of the senior manager that participated in my program commented that in today's competitive global business world, one should not only think outside the box, but instead should remove the box.

If you stop and think, it is quite true as thinking outside the box is often associated with looking at things from different perspective but remove the box is more towards looking at things from totally different and new dimension. Like what suggested in the "Blue Ocean Strategy", one should swim in the blue ocean instead of the red ocean.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Ways to Manage Younger Generation Employees

We are very sure by now we have all heard the horror stories about this young and enthusiastic employees entering the workforce. You know; the ones who believe they are entitled to a huge salary and corner office just for showing up. The truth is this new generation does have different expectations. They are not interested in slowly climbing the corporate ladder and they are not interested in sacrificing their lives for a paycheck. It is all about personal growth, passion and a fun working environment.

To keep your young and enthusiastic employees interested and motivated, here are three simple ways to do it.

1. Show Them the BIG Picture.
If you are going to confine them to a cubicle and monotonous work, at least let them know how their contributions fit in the framework of your organization. By doing that, they will be ambitious and curious to learn everything they can about your organization, where they will be dying to see, firsthand, how a successful organization functions.

2. Socialize Your Working Environment.
A social life is right at the top of every young person’s priority list, so keep them happy by making your working environment as social as possible. This creates a collaborative working environment and encourages employees to befriend their co-workers. The logic is simple; if majority of my friends are also my co-workers, there’s no need to go running for the doors at 5 p.m.

3. Adopt 2-Way Feedback System.
In actual, they want feedback and lots of it. To be specific, it is not just praise that they are looking for. They would be very pleased if you can provide them constructive criticism and offer practical advice on regular basis.