Encourage Curiosity And Generate Creative Employees

Writen by Robin Henry

I was sitting at my desk trying to get inspiration for an edition of a newsletter I write when grandson Tory, who hangs out with me a lot said, 'What's this Pop?' He'd been progressively going through the top drawer of my desk and it was about the 10th time I'd answered. It got me thinking about curiosity and how uncluttered minds remember.

When we are three like Tory we are very curious about our physical world and the cornucopia of gadgets and animate beings that fill it. It's a period of rapid intellectual development, excitement at every turn, and discovery. My young companion constantly amazes me how he can recall days later, names he has heard once. (I can't even remember where I left my cordless phone half hour beforehand!)

I encourage (and reward) Tory's curiosity by taking time out to demonstrate or discuss the things about which he is curious. For example, when he asked me what a staple puller was, I demonstrated by placing a staple in a sheet of paper and then pulled it out with the staple puller. He may not yet know why we use staples to hold sheets of paper together, but he sure knows that one process places the staple and another removes it.

As the years pass, we become more selective in what we remember and our curiosity diminishes to varying degrees. Imagine what we could do as managers if we could inculcate a sense of curiosity in our employees/learners.

Marketers often use a device to arouse curiosity in their readers. And it works. The question is, what devices can we use in our workplaces to develop curiosity in our people?

An example that comes to mind is to implement a suggestion box. I recall an excellent example of how useful suggestion boxes can be from my service in the Royal Australian Air Force during the Vietnam War era. While some of our bombs were fitted with devices to make them explode above ground level, it was a hit and miss approach … some exploded at the right altitude and others didn't. My boss, an electrical engineer, was curious why this was happening and after looking at the triggering mechanism, 'suggested' how it could be improved. His suggestion was adopted and worked. The RAAF sent him a cheque for $3,000 (quite a lot in 1969).

Rather than having a truck load of suggestion boxes placed here and there within our organizations and hoping someone will place a worthwhile suggestion, I like the idea of circulating a list of 'challenges' that need resolving and asking staff to come up with options.

Management doesn't have all the answers (although many managers believe they do) and quite often the lowest salaried staff can see things that management can't (or see things with a different perspective).

If we peak curiosity, imagination and creativity will follow. Rather than having people 'Turn off their brains when they come to work', we want them to 'Turn on their creativity and imagination' and hopefully solve some of our challenges.

In this rapidly changing and global world, creativity and imagination are the only really viable skills for long term survival. And it's much more fun than anything I can think of that we might call work.

Copyright 2005 Robin Henry

Robin Henry is an educator, human resources specialist and Internet entrepreneur. He helps small and home-based businesses and individuals improve performance by applying smart technology and processes and developing personally. He runs his business Desert Wave Enterprises from his home base at Alice Springs in Central Australia, although at present he is working in the United Arab Emirates.

If you need to streamline your business email system, implement a link management program, get a world class Internet site management program, or simply need to know how to apply for a government job, Robin can help.

What Your Employees Want You To Know But You Might Be Afraid To Ask

Writen by Jan B. King

This is a challenge for every company owner and manager. You have tremendous plans for growth and expect a lot of your employees. But do you know if the company is meeting your best employees' expectations? Are you providing the type of environment that supports high productivity and high quality? Do you really want to know?

If you do, consider creating a Company Performance Review to find out what your company culture really is. Find out how employees feel about their environment and morale at your company. The Company Performance Review asks employees if they see certain behaviors occurring at your company – behaviors that could kill a company over time if left unchecked. It will help you determine if there are ethical issues you need to be concerned about in your company.

This review must be completed anonymously, or employees won't be comfortable answering honestly. The object is to make all employees suddenly more aware that actions that are sometimes common in companies can do real and lasting damage. It takes effort to increase the recognition of ethical issues to make it easier to begin setting standards.

For instance, here are some questions you might consider asking employees – but only if you are ready to deal with the answers in the whole culture (don't kill the messenger).

Do employees…?

Give a full days work for a full days pay
Accept gifts or favors from suppliers
Falsify time sheets or other reports
Gossip about other employees
Do other work on company time or with company equipment

Do managers or supervisors…?

Discriminate by gender or race
Allow unsafe or unhealthy work conditions
Discourage criticism
Forget or fail to give promised performance reviews or salary increases
Have unfair work performance expectations

Does top management…?

Ignore long-term problems
Live up to our mission statement
Provide rewards such as promotions on a basis other than competence
Mismanage company funds
Really care about employees

When you get the answers tabulated consider these thoughts:

Are there ethical issues you uncovered with this survey that surprised and concerned you?

Are you setting the right example for employees?

Are you satisfied that the standards of behavior you have set are high enough?

Are there items that should be added to this list that are unique to your company or industry?

Do you have a policy and procedures manual or employee handbook that sets standards on these issues?

Should some of these behaviors be cause for termination of employment?

Honest feedback can be hard to hear. I suggest you work with an industrial psychologist or other professional to help you hear the positive message in the survey results and formulate a plan of action. The real reward will come later when you administer the survey a second time and the results have changed for the better.

About The Author

Jan B. King is the former President & CEO of Merritt Publishing, a top 50 woman-owned and run business in Los Angeles and the author of Business Plans to Game Plans: A Practical System for Turning Strategies into Action (John Wiley & Sons, 2004). She has helped hundreds of businesses with her book and her ebooks, The Do-It-Yourself Business Plan Workbook, and The Do-It-Yourself Game Plan Workbook. See www.janbking.com for more information.

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the byline is included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

janbking0191@sbcglobal.net

Management Consultants The Trusted Advisors

Writen by Atul Uchil, PhD

Answering the question "what is management consulting?" is as difficult as attempting to answer the question "how high is the sky?" There are two causes for the confusion about exactly what management consultants do. First, management consulting is an umbrella term that encompasses many different careers. Second, management consultants cannot give specific examples of their work because it almost always is confidential and highly sensitive.

The essence of consulting is to help a client create value by providing information and advice which leads to lasting organizational change in a variety of ways including development of new strategies, accounting systems, information systems integration, quality management, process redesign, marketing, distribution channel development, logistics, leadership training, cost control, productivity enhancement, leveraging technology, activity based costing, competitive analysis, human resource strategy and value management.

Experts of all kinds frequently refer to themselves as "consultants to management," but only those who advise on the management process itself can legitimately be called management consultants (though even this generalization is being challenged today). One definition that has gained widespread acceptance came not from consultants themselves but from academia.

Management consulting is an advisory service contracted for and provided to organizations by specially trained and qualified persons who assist, in an objective and independent manner, the client organization to identify management problems, analyze such problems, recommend solutions to these problems, and help, when requested, in the implementation of solutions.

Management consulting in the United States has undergone a very dramatic change over the past fifteen to twenty years. The reason for this change is to cater to an evolving market and to stay competitive. About fifteen years ago, the emphasis was purely on technology. Clients wanted their systems to be better and faster. The general thinking was that every problem could be solved by technology. Organizations implemented large, complex systems for accounting, customer service, sales force automation etc., without giving real consideration to the people who would have to use them. This also led to different divisions in an organization using incompatible systems, duplication of work and repeated storage of information resulting in what is commonly referred to as "technology stovepipes". Several years of complex implementations were followed by a flurry of activity in training staff and building interfaces between systems used by different divisions within the organization.

About a decade ago, the consulting industry began its most recent metamorphosis to ultimately reach the state that it has achieved today. This process began when several top consulting organizations expounded the concept of total consulting. Moving away from the traditional technology solutions, clients were now advised to solve problems by considering a combination of strategy, process, technology and people. Consultants began addressing problems at a macro level across the entire organization and by viewing the organization as a whole entity. The consultant evolved from a person who recommended and implemented technology systems to a person who collaborated with the client and helped resolve business problems affecting the organization as a whole. The consultant had morphed; he/she was no longer a technologist but more a trusted advisor.

About the Author Dr. Atul Uchil is an entrepreneur, business-owner and author. In addition to several research papers, Dr. Uchil has published the following books that are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Borders, BooksAMillion, Bertram Books UK, Gardners UK, Alibris and many other respected and recognized national and international book retailers. - The Corporate America Survival Handbook: ISBN - 1598000942 - Consulting: A Job or A Lifestyle: ISBN - 1598000640 - I Opted Out: ISBN - 1598000713 For more information about Dr. Uchil and his books visit =>http://www.uchil-llc.com/books.html

The Changing Bosssecretary Relationship

Writen by Andrew E. Schwartz

THE CHANGING BOSS-SECRETARY RELATIONSHIP: Imagine a partnership at work. One member is outlining the agenda for the annual stockholders' meeting, the other is managing the logistics. The last decade has brought many changes to the traditional boss/secretary relationship. We now see powers and responsibilities delegated to "executive assistants" that only ten years ago would have been the sole province of the boss. And there has been a corresponding rise in the prestige and influence of those secretaries chosen to fill such positions. The fact is that fewer women are willing to be career secretaries.

QUALIFIED SECRETARIES: Qualified secretaries are hard to find and even harder to keep satisfied for any appreciable period of time. The most talented and enterprising are voicing the same concerns as a burgeoning number of their fellow employees: "What are the opportunities for growth and advancement?" That has become a popular question. Women who were secretaries in the 1960's are now managers and vice presidents who function as role models for the current group of secretaries. On the other hand, some corporations continue notoriously resistant to employee advancement from clerical positions, leading to frustration and lowered incentive for people in these posts.

VALUING THE SECRETARY: Ideally, the secretary should be acknowledged as an integral part of the management team. When the boss drafts a letter, it is the secretary who checks it for spelling, correct grammar and punctuation and types it up accurately and neatly to present a professional and appropriate image. He or she must also make sure of details such as researching to whom the letter should be directed for maximum effect and assuring its timeliness. Boss and secretary are responsible for different parts of the same project—a team effort, a partnership. In this case, the boss initiates the action and the secretary follows it through—both acts are essential to success.

BOSS-SECRETARY RELATIONSHIP: In a true working partnership, both individuals feel confident of the talents contributed, and both feel respected and appreciated. It is a given that the secretary views the boss this way or at least acts in a way that implies it. To reap the potential benefits of a boss-secretary partnership, it is becoming more important that the boss cultivate ways of showing the secretary that the road travels both ways. Higher wages, of course, are the most immediate incentive in attracting and motivating a skilled secretary, but it is not by any means the only factor. In the case of clerical work, some relief from routine may be as great an incentive as a pay increase. For example, more interesting and decision-oriented types of work could be delegated to those secretaries who have shown themselves capable of handling it. Many employees are interested in the acknowledgment of their contributions and visible enhancement of their prestige in the corporate structure.

Copyright AE Schwartz & Associates All rights reserved. For additional presentation materials and resources: ReadySetPresent and for a Free listing as a Trainer, Consultant, Speaker, Vendor/Organization: TrainingConsortium

CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Experience Isnt Necessarily What Its Cracked Up To Be

Writen by Graeme Nichol

Isn't it always interesting to hear somebody say "yeah, we tried that, didn't work…"

When it was tried; what were the conditions surrounding the business? How was it implemented? How were staff trained? Most questions are never answered with any clarity and real understanding. No real analysis of the changes failure or success was ever done. Meaning that an opportunity to learn was lost.

We all learn by our experiences, from walking to riding bicycles, trial and error and a few bruises and scrapes. We take actions and observe the results. What would we think if we made a decision and never saw the consequence of it? This could be the case if the results are far out into the future or in a distant part of a larger system.

Kinda like sending an e-mail or fax and never really knowing if it got to the intended recipient! Yeah, that does happen. Fire and forget!

This in a larger extent is the problem facing businesses and organizations. We learn best from experience but often we don't directly experience the consequences of our most important decisions.

Promoting staff, introducing new computer systems and hardware, new facilities, etc are typical of decisions that don't leave much chance for trial and error learning.

Cycles may be longer than job tenure and we all have short memories. We have seen examples of this in student enrolment at colleges when there is a surplus of a typical field, say lawyers. Enrollment drops and students switch to other fields. As the cycle runs its course another shortage develops. It's much like the "buy high, sell low" philosophy so students should look at entering a field when few are entering it to be at the gate when the next shortage is evident. Seems obvious now that I mentioned it doesn't it?

What tends to happen is that businesses form functional silos to allow managers to get a handle on their decisions and their impact. These silos often end up leading to fiefdoms which stop the free flow of information across the silos. Then process management is introduced to allow information to travel across silos, such as 'order to cash.' This has not proved to really break the silos but does open information flow. Still leaving room for improvement in understanding decisions and their actions.

So the question is; Are we really learning form our experiences? Very large organizations have developed complex management cockpits and dashboards to try and learn from their decisions. So unless you're working for one of the large companies with budgets nearing the GDP of a small nation, the results of your decisions may not be what you think they are.

Your 'experience' may be leading you and your business astray.

Graeme Nichol, MBA, principal (http://www.arcturusadvisors.com), has worked on 4 continents gaining experience through Big Six consulting companies and boutique firms. Including; Business strategy, project management, change management, systems thinking, developing learning organizations, team development, productivity and quality improvement, and large scale ERP implementations.

At Arcturus Advisors we work with business leaders and their teams to get everybody on the same page pulling in the same direction to improve results. We get you to focus on a shared vision and agree on how to achieve it. We get team members to value and respect the individual members and achieve results that far exceed individual contribution.