It is my great pleasure to share some of my self-composed management prose collection. The quotes, extracted from my own library, represent my past experiences and observations in the corporate sector. I hope you will perceive these as food for serious ponder in relation to your respective work environment.

# Be observant and alert. You may run your department as the head. But your second-line subordinates may be controlling it silently, especially when they collaborate for a common purpose. For all you know, they are building their little kingdom within the department to take care of their self-interests.

# Do not tolerate a story teller in your team. He neither means what he says nor says what he means. Whatever he tells to substantiate his statements are mere stories, which are never real. If not controlled, he will bring your entire team through a spinning tale of confusion.

# A leader may not be directly responsible for faults arising within his team. However, he is still accountable by virtue of his position. 

# Sturdy leadership involves pro-acting, pre-empting and ironing out issues; not reacting, scrambling and confronting issues. 

# Managers should learn to hear with their eyes and listen with their minds when interfacing with people they are dealing with. Do not just hear what the other party says aloud but also listen to what is not said verbally by observing his body language.

# Secure the inputs of the long serving subordinates who have served the company with full dedication. Not because they are always right, but because they have tasted more experiences of being wrong.

# Look back in time to learn from past experiences in your work. Look ahead in time to determine your future. Look around to recognise reality surrounding you now. Look within you to realise yourself. 

# Many top officers know how to map out and document improvement plans, few know to translate the plans into immediate action. A corporation needs top officers profound in both planning and implementation to materialise successful improvements.

# The easiest way for a young manager to grow in experience is to surround himself with people who are more experienced than he is.

# Say not, “I’ve done no wrong” but ask, “How much more do I need to do right?”

# Managers are always concerned about correcting what is wrong but not pursue ahead what is right.

# There must be a clear objective in whatever you do. Begin by thinking what result you want to achieve at the end before you decide what you want to do at the beginning. 

# I have known two types of CEO – one type really functions like a chief executive officer; the other acts like a chief entertainment officer. 

# Face up to work issues by deciding either one of the three options …… talk about the issues; live with the issues; or act on the issues regardless whether prudently or otherwise. Which do you prefer?

# When a failure occurs in an organization, more attention should be given to find out the cause than identifying the culprit. When an intended misdeed occurs, immediate appropriate action on the culprit must be taken. Failure may be tolerable.  Intentional misdeeds are not tolerable, for if not weeded immediately, these are cancers that will kill the organisation.

# A corporate officer is not a discipline master who makes sure everybody under him obeys rules rigidly and be subjected to tight scrutiny. Rather, he should remove the barriers to allow talented subordinates exercise creativity and some form of autonomy via guidance. 

# Learning without thinking is as good as learning for nothing. Thinking without learning is as good as heading for disaster. 

# Bosses give directions and say, “You go!” Leaders pave directions and say, “We go.”

# Generalists like meetings to fill up their daily routine. Specialists like tasks to act out their daily routine.

# Any innovation initiative inevitably carries with it some elements of failure risk. Be bold to face up to such possible failure risk than not innovating at all. Be prepared to learn from a failure for the sake of future improvement by trying out than remaining stagnant by totally avoiding failure risk.

# To mitigate any unforeseen failure risk that may arise by implementing an entirely new creation, it is prudent to run a pilot experiment or simulation first. If the pilot results turn out positive, then go ahead to launch a mega innovation drive. 

# Knowledge by itself does not translate into value. Only when acquired knowledge is fully reflected upon holistically can it become your wisdom. 

# A picture tells more than a thousand words. A word can command actions more than a thousand pictures. So, penetrative communication is a combination of pictures and words. 

# You administer processes, work flow, computers, documents and machines. You manage people to administer the former.  See the vast difference in the practical definitions for administration and management?

# Why do businesses propound that shareholders come first? Is it not practical business sense that employees should come first, customers second, and then finally shareholders? Without satisfied and committed employees to deliver excellent services, there will not be loyal customers. Without strong customer loyalty, there will not be vibrant business growth. And without vibrant business growth, there will not be good returns to shareholders. See the logical domino effect?

# In order to cater for the overall optimal interest of the company, its directors must look at the best approach to balance up the interests of all stakeholder parties which contribute to its business one way or another. 

# The root word for “manage” is “man”. So, management has more to do with manpower in organisations than anything else. 

# Every corporation is primarily in the people business. Products and services are its secondary business.

# Profound management involves recruiting good and right employees into the fold. At the same time, it also involves managing out the bad and wrong ones.

# The highest echelon of management must continually face up to two inevitable challenges – loss of practical knowledge when experienced employees leave or retire, and slackening of productivity as employees advance in age.

# A successful turnaround can never happen if you have senior officers who give excuses one after another instead of delivering.

# With modern technology, machine power apparently overshadows human power. But do not forget it is human power that creates machines and the necessary system logic for putting machines to work.  Thus, human power, than machine power, must earn management’s priority attention.

# Many machines and systems have failed because of the failure to engage the right people to design the right machines and systems.

# Promotion from within may be the wisest choice only if you have a steady flow of good candidates coming into your organisation.

# If you are looking for an able assistant from within your department, will you choose the one who is very good but difficult to control, or the one who is average but easy to manage? Well, it depends on your own calibre in managing people under you. 

# Common scene: Officers who can express well but not so talented always have time to recommend management decisions. The really talented but quiet ones are always busy solving problems emanating from such wrong decisions.

To kick start this posting, I like to share a quote from a renowned global business adviser.  “The issue facing business leaders in 2015 (the year this quote appeared) is not how to cope with change. It is about how to anticipate changes coming down the track, understand their implications before competitors, and utilise them to improve your market position and profitability.”

Extracted from IN THE BLACK business magazine, Professor Ram Charan quipped: “More than ever, business is about ideas, about innovations and intellectual property, and also about social change.”

According to him, much mental focus of managements have been on how to do better the things currently and normally being carried out, but that is not good enough in a very competitive business world.

To me, he is implying managements of businesses should not merely plan for, and be satisfied with, organic growth. Rather, it is timely now, in the face of intense competitive business scenarios, to explore creative/innovative growth. 

The call for creativity prompts me to ask readers one question …….. how does one shift to the creative/innovative mode efficaciously? Well, I would say surely there must be an essential base serving as the source to germinate workable creative ideas and concepts. Predictive proactivity supports enlightening creativity – the former comes first in order to manifest the latter.

Proactivity equates to anticipation of imminent changes ahead. It is not about thinking how to cope with changes already knocking on business doors now – that is being reactive, not proactive. Proactivity means visualising emerging changes and realising how the phenomena will impact the business if nothing is done soonest possible. It also means taking urgent actions to leverage on readiness to grab hold of market position plus revenue opportunities. 

But the common scene in most corporations is top executives being totally entrenched in business-as-usual escalation objectives like improving operating efficiency for incremental growth. They do not allot sufficient time to explore revolutionary concepts for achieving quantum leaps. 

To push a business forward continually, its top executives should put on a new cap to think not only out of the current management box but also from a new box. They should direct some attention to brainstorming sessions to explore new business horizons. But first, they need to anticipate proactively the changing trends and possible new fads. Failure to recognise changing trends could even cause a conglomerate to fade out of the market.  Creating new initiatives without sound underlying basis will be a futile waste of effort. Only with proactive visualisation can there be a high probability of conceiving successful ideas.

Apple, originally in computer business, made great waves in the mobile phone industry with the launch of iPhone in 2007. Some people in a leading mobile phone giant before that year knew about Apple’s patent filing, yet they brushed it aside, thinking that a computer player would not seriously move into mobile phone business.  Had they been more proactive in exploring the possible rise of a new genre of mobile phones, that once leading brand would not have become defunct in the industry. 

An erstwhile popular American camera brand which faded out of the scene in 2012 is yet another example of a conglomerate’s failure to recognise imminent shifts to new opportunities.  Although the photography business giant was the first to experiment the innovation of the prototype digital camera, its top executives felt that people still preferred to look at hard copy photo prints and stored in physical albums. They thought people would not be used to view captured images on screen. They did not explore proactively the likely change in consumer preference within the realm of increasing proliferation of IT trends.

Outstanding creativity based on proactivity emanates from the acquisition of wide pertinent knowledge.  Realising this, some corporations have established their respective prominent market intelligence & analysis – alternatively called business strategic, or research & development  - department. Technocrats seasoned in such tasks ought to be engaged to exploit workable new avenues. Team members, under the leadership of a maestro, should be encouraged to discover new  “moments of truth” for consumers, then contemplate on the right innovations to drive the conceptualised needs.

Needless to say, the team is entrusted to gather updates on the latest events pertaining to society, economy, politics, demography and whatever likely in store for the near future. Also pertinent is to reckon the likely directions the industry concerned may head to, especially in the light of indicative signals transmitted by regulators to test market responses. Such information has great bearing to future business landscapes, thus constituting part of the prime tasks of these technocrats. Proactive preparedness to leverage on the correctly perceived new changes with the view of formulating vibrant new initiatives will secure the lasting competitive edge. 

In America, a survey conducted in September 2013 revealed close to 30 per cent of the women interviewed named beer as their favourite alcoholic beverage. The number of lady beer drinkers is increasing. To some beer brewers there, this new trend signalled opportunities to quickly tap the fast emerging female market. Proactively, they quickly launched craft beers, or “girly beers” – specially “crafted” to suit the light taste preference of the female gender. Mixed varieties and blends then crept up with increasing sales, such as fruit flavoured beers, golden ales and radlers. And “girly beers” are gaining quick speed in market share. 

In a Southeast Asian country, more and more male executives switch preference to whiskey, especially the single malt concoctions. It is imperative beer brewers there take cognizance of this switch by males and it is high time to produce more beer varieties that entice the finer taste buds of lady executives. I believe a vast alternative market opportunity exists in this respect.

I had a hobby of browsing around large bookstores for leisure, checking out books promulgating practical tips on management, leadership, human behaviour, psychology and philosophy. The hobby ceased few years ago because I found the business environment in these outlets was no longer customer friendly. I could not flip through the pages to know whether the topics were of interest to me because all books were sealed in transparent plastic wrappers; only the front cover with price tag could be viewed. 

I can guess the transparent wrappers were meant to protect the books from being smeared or worn off by the hands of browsers. But why would a person buy a book without knowing at least the contents outline? Will you? This is the catch 22 situation faced by bookstores – either loses potential customers or stands the risk of displaying smudged items on the shelves, which then causes a loss the other way around. 

Publishers, together with bookstores, ought to proactively start migrating in stages to the e-book platform in anticipation of challenging times for the conventional distribution chain. The migration process must include marketing concepts to promote books the e-way. If I were a publisher of e-books, I would front a synopsis to complement the topics outline as the free preview for each book. Such may entice intended readers to make purchase on-line. The book purchased could either be a downloaded soft copy or hard copy delivered by parcel. Is this not more convenient than having to go to a bookstore which imposes restrictions on previewing the contents of a book?

In the female fashion business, designers frequently engage young alluring models to parade catwalks in trendy clothes, often the mod type too. If I were a female fashion designer, I would proactively take cognizance the increasing number of top lady executives in both public and private corporate sectors. I would recognise the market potentials in office attire for them who are mainly in the middle age group. I would engage middle-aged female models parading in front of invited female senior executives, knowing that the latter could afford the expensive price tags. 

A new business terminology called “disruptive innovation” is seeping into the corporate world. The terminology refers to entirely new initiatives that create new markets and new values distinctively different from established norms, entailing not just thinking out of the box but more so forming new think boxes. Corporations begin to acknowledge disruptive innovation is much desired if they wish to thrive well continually.

Rightly so, Ram Charan’s executive test resonates aloud in the new era. He encourages top executives to ponder at least four times a year what new developments they could take advantage of to create a new need or a more compelling experience to customers. And what is it out there that they ought to know about?

Creativity also involves the power of imagination, covering the ultimate impounding promotion campaigns to launch new products or services to targeted consumers. However, most advertisements aim at instilling brand consciousness - and precisely all that these can do is to make people aware of the brands, nothing more. The high costs of advertisements may be a waste of financial resources if merely for the purpose of conveying brand consciousness.

Although brand consciousness is necessary to some extent, an enticing advertisement propounds the distinct values of the product that stands out among the pool in the market. Effective advertisements involve more than mere branding efforts. In other words, what is so special about this advertised brand compared to numerous other brands? For example, in the case of a craft beer brand targeting at ladies, what is the exuding unique essence that satiates their refined taste buds?

SUMMARY: 

In the era of prolific competition penetrating into the various business worlds, a corporation’s survival in the longer term cannot depend on business-as-usual growth focus. Business mind-sets are moving away from the conventional mode to the revolutionary mode. 

Proactive and creative minds (also termed revolutionary minds) no longer promulgate that the type of chicken eggs always depend on the type of chickens reared by the farmer. Conventional minds say, “Free range chickens produce better eggs than chickens reared in small coops, so I just rear free range chickens in larger tracts of farm land.” Revolutionary minds say with the end in mind first, “I foresee the type of quality eggs I want to sell in order to stay ahead of competition, then I think of how to genetically breed the type of chickens to produce the special eggs.” See the difference?  

   

Conventional minds lead to business-as-usual incremental business growth for a while, which then dwindles gradually by not adapting to changes. Revolutionary minds prompt disruptive innovative growth, by keeping close touch with imminent changes in order to germinate workable new initiatives so that the business can thrive ahead for long. 

In this posting, I am touching on socially responsible corporations, meaning those imbued with the desire to develop good employees in its fold. The noble objective aims at raising levels of employees’ contributing proficiency, enabling them to head towards a promising career path in the company of choice they have been serving. 

The word “develop” is too generic, in a broad definition scope. I prefer “groom”, which is in intense form.  A dictionary defines “groom” as an activity leading to skilled behaviour, which involves much preparation.  In fact, the process of grooming envelopes the entire works for gearing up good employees to prolific productivity, viz. coaching, mentoring,  training, guiding, counselling, demonstrating, etc. – the positive follow-through activities conducted by superiors as the sequel after performance appraisal on subordinates.

In an encompassing perspective, my inference to “grooming” focuses on the following directions:

What about the poor performers? My personal opinion: This group, probably not many individuals, would not make much headway for uplift, no matter what form of assistance is placed at their doors. Either due to attitude, cultural mismatch or IQ gap, they may merely move by only a few strides via counselling, or not move at all. Efforts to help them normally turn futile. In the first place, how did such individuals get into the fold? I guess proper due diligence was never deployed in the employee recruitment and selection process.

The appropriate treatment for poor performers is to work out a “graceful” exit scheme for them if transfer to other jobs more befitting their characteristics is not viable. Keeping them where they are now leads to redundancy – a management issue that calls for a prudent decision from the human resource perspective. 

Let me clarify that it is not necessary all in the above average and outstanding category at their existing roles should automatically qualify to be groomed for higher positions.  Some do very well in their present jobs but may not cut out for more challenging assignments.  For example, an individual adept at providing backroom sales support, like market research, sales analysis etc., may not fit in to take on as future head of sales which requires more interactive plus eloquent skills. The best plan to support him is to look into alternatives, like head of market intelligence unit, depending on viability. Otherwise, he should be recognised by way of remuneration incentives in line with his attainments measured against current annual targets. 

Grooming begins with selection of the right candidate for an earmarked higher position planned for availability in the near or future timeframe. Specifically put, it is succession planning. Socially responsible corporations grant opportunities for high performing employees to progress forward along with the corporate growth. Successors, if any, are preferably from within than sourced from outside. However, if there are no internal candidates possessing the right prerequisites suiting a role, the corporation will then look externally.

A wholesome work environment comes about when good employees in a corporation feel elated. And elation emanates from job satisfaction when they know their management has their interest at heart in terms of career advancement. 

True, some specialised roles, especially newly created ones, are not easily slotted in by internal candidates. Presume a corporation has decided to create a new department to specially handle media relations. Presume the department head must be a seasoned media publicity practitioner – like a senior journalist, or senior public relations coordinator, or producer of television programmes etc. – who can pull liaison cables with media players.  Imperatively, the candidate must already have endowed in himself, via academic qualification and vast work experience, the knowledge how media mechanism works. Without such a technocrat readily available within, the corporation will have no choice but to source outside from the media industry.

Another example: A corporation covets changes at key positions so as to turn its business around. The fact that business has not grown noticeably over a long period signals leadership malaise. A major revamp is imperative for it to survive. Obviously, existing officers cannot be relied upon to drive a major revamp in view of the prevailing laid-back work culture. Inevitably, a new team (outside) of astute protagonists credited with relevant achievements in the same industry will be recruited.

 

Other than the above plausible scenarios, I am inclined to opine most upgraded roles could be filled in by internal manpower provided conscious cues are taken by the management to institute grooming programmes. 

No denying that candidates acquired from outside do have its pros. I do agree new talents bring along new and different ideas, exposures and cultures catering for new work approaches which may facilitate expediency.

On the other side of the coin, however, resorting to external candidates indiscriminately as the preferred management philosophy to fill up significant positions has its cons too. Outsiders inhered with different work exposures and experiences normally take some time to get adjusted to the technical procedures of the company they have just joined. Time drag causes tardiness to an extent that stalls quests for quick actions and results. There is also the possible risk of cultural mismatch. So, corporations always preferring external candidates without discernment need to be tolerant in this respect. 

A well-structured grooming programme serves as a vitality factor to boost morale of promising employees. Here are some positive impacts:

A formidable grooming programme entails the following steps:

# Nominate potential internal candidates for the programme. Only high performers, based on performance appraisals, are identified. Line superiors are tasked to identify their candidates, if any.

# Evaluation is then conducted on the candidates. The exercise covers review of their past specific achievements, sample case studies of key assignments, personal profile, strengths and weaknesses etc.  In personality profiling, zero into their aptitude and attitude capacity. This is an important but tedious exercise.

Not necessarily one who can implement projects very well will be equipped with the aptitude to initiate projects effectively. An initiator is of leadership quality that enables him to be in command whereas an implementer follows and acts according to instructions given by the initiator. And aptitude does not automatically equate to attitude. A person having the right acumen (aptitude) may not be prepared to face the intense demands of a higher role (attitude).

# Select the successful candidate/s from the nomination list. The best among the elite are given the priority to go for grooming. The remaining candidates will be marked “keep in view” (KIV) for the next relevant opportunities. 

   

# Line superior tailors the specific programme structure for his selected candidate. It should include discussions on real issues, case studies, simulations and small group dynamics participation. Line superior ensures the programme is run according to schedules without deviation. 

Conclusion: A Strong leader does not micro-manage by merely keeping tabs on the toes of subordinates in everything they do. On hindsight and foresight, his nobler responsibility is to hone talents. It calls for removal of barriers that hinder good performers from making further progress. Grooming in this respect becomes pertinent.

Removal of barriers means facilitating an environment that encourages subordinates’ creativity, discretion and some autonomy to flourish – of course, under the purview of line superiors. Talented people work best by being allowed to manifest their strengths, sans inhibitions, after being encouraged to discover their real ingredients.

I like to make a confession - I went through various stages of grooming in my past active employment history. I had a few seasoned bosses in my different roles, showing me how to be proactive and analytical. I also worked with matrix heads who gave me inputs on my technical decisions. The grooming platforms I was put on made me well-rounded in my management philosophy. And I must confess that my prowess to write management articles, like this one, is derived from the structured grooming opportunities I received. Now you see why I am passionate to share the subject on “grooming”?

IMPORTANT ENDING NOTE:  A successful grooming programme is invariably dependent on a sound employee appraisal system. If the appraisal system is flawless – meaning without inconsistencies, prejudices, favouritism and unfairness – the grooming programme will then be prolific. But if the appraisal system is not well structured, so also will be the grooming programme, as the wrong candidates may erroneously be selected as candidates.