Why Good People Cannot Get Jobs

Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli's most recent book -- Why Good People Can't Get Jobs: The Skills Gap and What Companies Can Do About It -- has inspired a reaction from just about every group with a stake in today's workforce: employers, employees, recruiters, academics and media commentators. Cappelli debunks the oft-repeated argument from employers that applicants don't have the skills needed for today's jobs. Instead, he puts much of the blame on companies themselves -- including their lack of information about hiring and training costs -- and on computerized applicant tracking systems that can make it harder, not easier, to find qualified job candidates.
Cappelli, who is also director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources, sat down with Knowledge@Wharton to talk about his book. Below is an edited transcript of the conversation.
Knowledge@Wharton: Peter, thanks for joining us. You cover a lot of ground in this book, but one of your themes is that, given the weak economy and bleak job market, companies have a bigger pool of job applicants to choose from and, therefore, can be much more selective in hiring. Yet these companies still claim that they can't find candidates with the requisite skills. Can you talk about that?
Peter Cappelli: I think it's important to remember that employers control everything about the process. They define the job, they create the requirements for the job, then they decide how the word gets out to people, recruiting-wise. They set the rate of pay, which helps determine how attractive the job is, and then they handle the selection part where they look at the applicants and sort them out.
The obvious point is that there just aren't enough jobs to go around right now, so employers can certainly be picky. But we're not really talking about being picky here. It's not surprising that employers might actually search more, and it might take them longer to hire now, because there are so many candidates to look at. Why grab the first one when you have this long queue that you could look at? But the unusual thing, and certainly the negative thing, from everybody's perspective is those employers who say, "Look, we're just not hiring, or we're waiting a very long time to hire, because we can't find what we want." I think the place we have to begin to answer that question is back with the employers who are making all those decisions about the process. Are they doing anything wrong?
Knowledge@Wharton: Well, clearly they are, because there's this mismatch between people looking for jobs and employers saying they can't find people to fill them. I think one of the issues that you raise is what you call the Home Depot view of the hiring process, which basically says that filling a job is like replacing a part in a washing machine. You simply find someone who does the exact same job as that broken part, plug him or her into the wash cycle and that's it. But some companies feel they don't have to fill that vacancy and can put the work on existing employees. So they don't really know when the existence of too many unfilled positions begins to hurt their business -- their expansion, their profitability, their competitiveness, whatever. So, isn't that part of the problem? That companies delay hiring employees and don't realize the hidden costs of doing so?
Cappelli: That's certainly part of the problem -- that the internal accounting systems in most organizations are so poor that they can't tell what it costs them to keep a position vacant. They easily know how much it costs to employ somebody, but they can't measure that employee's contributions. So, in most companies, given their accounting systems, it actually looks like they're saving money by keeping positions vacant. If you think that's the story, then you're obviously in no rush to hire. I think it starts there, and that's clearly not a good thing for society or for employers. But it begins with their own problem: The way their internal accounting is designed encourages them not to hire.
Knowledge@Wharton: You also say part of the problem is that companies aren't paying market wages. They're trying to low ball the job market. But why should they pay market wages when they can get employees cheaply?
Cappelli: Well, the thing is they can't -- that's what they're claiming, right? There's a survey done by Manpower that asks employers if they're having trouble finding people to hire. In that survey, about 11% say the problem they're having is they can't get people to accept the jobs at the wages they're paying. So 11% are saying we're not paying enough. If 11% admit this, my guess is the real number is probably double that. We're not very good at identifying problems that we create ourselves. That's certainly part of it. You know, maybe you can't blame them for trying. But if they're not finding [employees], don't call it a skills gap; don't call it a skills mismatch -- you're just being cheap.
Knowledge@Wharton: One of your chapters in the book is called "A Training Gap, Not a Skills Gap." You have some figures showing that in 1979, young workers received an average of two and a half weeks of training per year. By 1991, only 17% of young employees reported getting any training during the previous year, and by last year, only 21% said they received training during the previous five years. You note that this especially hurts work-based training programs, such as apprenticeships. So, really, a huge part of the so-called "skills gap" comes from the weak employer effort to promote internal training for either current employees or future hires. Is that correct?
Cappelli: Right. I think the story that one hears, particularly around the policy community, is that employers can't find the people they want to hire because schools are failing and kids aren't coming out with the right academic degrees and the right knowledge. If you actually look at the data from employers themselves when they report problems they're having with recruiting, they never talk about academic skills as being near the top of the list. In fact, their complaints have been consistent for the 30 years or so that I've been looking at this. And their complaints are the ones, frankly, that older people always have about younger people -- they're not conscientious enough, their workplace attitudes are not diligent enough, they don't want to work hard enough -- those sorts of things. They're not actually looking for young people out of school at all.
When you look at what they want, they want experience -- everybody wants somebody with three to five years' experience. What they're really after are the skills that you can't learn in a classroom, that you can only learn by doing the job itself. So, the craziness about the hiring requirements is that in most cases, employers are looking for somebody who is currently doing exactly the same job someplace else. That's partly why they don't want to look at an applicant who is currently unemployed.... They want somebody who is currently doing the same job right now. The problem is that nobody wants to give those people right out of school any experience. Nobody wants to take somebody who's never done this job before and train them.
Now, I can understand why it's better, easier, if you're an employer to hire somebody who's already been trained -- or it seems like it's better. But it's creating this skills problem, because nobody wants to give people that initial experience. And again, in many cases, it would pay off to take people who are really qualified in many ways -- except for these quite specific skills -- and help them get training. You can pay them less while you're training them. You can require that they get some of these skills before you engage them. But because of the accounting systems, employers, for the most part, have no idea what it would cost them to train somebody. They have no idea whether they're actually saving money by trying to chase these people who already have jobs and hire them.
Knowledge@Wharton: It's one of the Catch-22s that your book seems to be filled with. Employers don't want to train their employees because they fear they'll leave the company -- which employees are actually doing more and more frequently these days -- which means all the effort and expense of the training process will be wasted. But that means it's increasingly heard for employers to find trained job applicants. It seems like there's an impasse here.
Cappelli: There's certainly a Catch-22 for the employees -- that you can't even get your foot in the door because you have to have experience to get the job. It's worth pointing out that employers used to do all this training. There are ways that you can train and recoup the benefits of it. Apprenticeship programs, for example -- a longstanding approach to have the applicants ... work as they're learning. The way we train doctors is the same, the way we train consultants and accountants, exactly the same. Those firms lose virtually everybody -- the accounting firms and consulting firms -- in five years. But along the way, the people are learning while they're working. So they're getting trained, but the company is still making money off them even though they all learn. It isn't that hard to figure out how almost any employer could do something like this, but there's just a kind of knee-jerk reaction that says, "We're not going to do it at all."
Knowledge@Wharton: You mentioned that there's discrimination against unemployed job applicants for a number of reasons. Maybe companies feel they aren't up to date on their skills, maybe they're older workers. So, is there any way around this, short of federal regulations that bar such discrimination, which would no doubt be difficult to enforce?
Cappelli: The older worker issue is particularly important because for the most part, older workers have everything that those employers say that they want in new hires -- better work attitudes; experience doing the work; they don't need ramp up time; they don't need training -- or they don't need as much -- and yet, there's still widespread discrimination against older workers. There are laws against it and yet, it still seems to happen.
I think the problem begins with employers understanding their own self-interest. I think that's the irony here. I'm not making any argument that employers ought to do something simply for the social good. But it's just not in their interest to do what they're doing now, which is to chase the same small group of people who already are employed someplace else. It makes sense to train people. It makes sense to give people a chance. It makes sense to be more realistic about what your job requirements are so that you can actually fill the positions.
I think that's the real puzzle about all of this -- that employers are not doing what's in their self-interest. So, how could they get better at this? Well, maybe they could get help from people outside, and that includes the academic world, to just point out how expensive it might be to simply chase outside hires all the time. For example, our colleague here, [Wharton management professor] Matthew Bidwell, has done an interesting study comparing people who were hired from the outside to people who were promoted from within. People who are promoted from within do much better on cost and productivity accounts -- which doesn't mean you should never hire from the outside. But it certainly can pay off to develop from within. So, I think that employers have to begin with better information. And the irony about this is if you look at any other aspect of their business -- such as how much each supplier contributes or what the costs are of having [inadequate] inventory are -- they have incredible detail about it. When it comes to people, they have got no idea about any of these things.
Knowledge@Wharton: Has the role of the typical company HR department been enhanced, minimized, made irrelevant in this hiring process these days?
Cappelli: I think that part of the story is that the HR departments have been gutted over the last 20 years. Particularly in this recession, there's a lot of downsizing, but especially in HR. The training departments are largely gone out of most companies, and a lot of the recruiting functions are gone as well. So, in the old days, you ask a hiring manager to create a job description. There would be an HR person there to help him do it or to push back if they had requirements which were crazy or out of whack with the market. Now those folks are gone, and basically, those wish lists of hiring requirements get baked right into applicant tracking software. Human eyes rarely see applicants until the very end of the process. So, we're trying to push the automation too far. There's nothing wrong with the automation, per se, and you need to screen all these applicants. But trying to get rid of the people altogether means that we're relying on the machines to make the decisions. Human judgment is still pretty important.
Knowledge@Wharton: Also, a lot of applicants for jobs have learned how to game the system in terms of putting in the key words they need to add to their resumes or cover letters -- whatever. So, it seems like as sophisticated as these software systems are, there are ways to get around them.
Cappelli: Right. I think that's a great point because the people who can game the system, you'll see them make it through the application process, and the people who don't know how to game the system, you never see them. Is that really who you want to be hiring? People who can game the system? I suppose it tells you something about people, but it doesn't tell you much about who has the requisite skills.
Knowledge@Wharton: And it doesn't tell you much about character or the ability to manage yourself or anything like that.
Cappelli: The things that employers say they want.
Knowledge@Wharton: You also blame the press for preferring to write stories with headlines like, "Companies Have Trouble Finding Skilled Workers," as opposed to "Companies Ecstatic over New Hires." But the press isn't likely to change. I don't see them getting any more analytical or in-depth. So, how does one get the true facts out there?
Cappelli: Well, it was a real puzzle to me -- which is partly why I wrote this book -- that you would see so many of these anecdotal stories, and then in Washington, you would see so many people picking up these stories and assuming that this is what's going on in the economy as a whole. Basically what I do in Why Good People Can't Get Jobs is look at some of the real data. And when you look at the data, you can see that there's really no truth to any of these claims. You can see that employers are not doing what these anecdotes suggest, for example. What I hoped the reporters would do is just ask a couple of questions. Employers, when they say they've got a skills gap, that there are no applicants out there who meet their needs, they are self-diagnosing the situation. What's really happening is they're just not able to hire, but you don't know why that is, right? And the skills gap story is their diagnosis. It's basically saying there's nobody out there, when in fact, it turns out it's typically the case that employers' requirements are crazy, they're not paying enough or their applicant screening is so rigid that nobody gets through.
Knowledge@Wharton: I was intrigued by a comment in your book that every generation thinks it has experienced this profound technological change. But then, as you point out, imagine witnessing the rise of widely available electricity, telephones and cars all in the same decade. You say that there's no evidence that our current period -- as computer-driven as it is -- is on a different scale. But that seems hard to believe, given recent transformative changes in healthcare, nanotechnology, robotics, etc.
Cappelli: The real question is: Is there something that's happened to jobs that makes the skill requirements go up so much that we would think there's this mismatch? And you know, there are always some jobs that require some new technologies. There are always some jobs that don't. If you look at the array of jobs in the U.S., the ones that are growing and shrinking, you see two poles: There are some high-scale jobs that are increasing in demand, and there are some really low-scale jobs like health care, home health care workers, which are really increasing in demand. Overall, there's just not that much change.
There's nothing systematic that's cutting across all jobs. We talk about computers and IT being so important now. But you know, personal computers came to the office 30 to 35 years ago. So, you ask, when was the first time anybody can remember not having a PC on their desk? Well, there are people who can. But for most workers now, they can't. Computers have been there for a long time.
I think we're fascinated by the fact that young people seem to be on their BlackBerrys or their iTunes all the time. But if we think about how older folks used technology, it's really the same, right? The difference is just that young people are talking to their friends 24 hours a day, and we talk to our friends kind of rarely. So, it's not that the technology is different; it's just that [young people] are more intensively using the things that we're paying attention to. But we use them, as well.
Knowledge@Wharton: What about the claim that our graduates are less skilled and qualified than foreign counterparts? You cited an OECD report showing that U.S. students are about at the middle of industrialized companies. But you also say that's partly because countries in Asia, for example, are catching up to the U.S. in terms of education and job training. Still, is it something the U.S. should be worried about?
Cappelli: I think this narrative we were talking about earlier -- about skills gap problems because schools are failing -- is powerful because there's a view in the U.S. that schools are failing. That's not true on average. Schools have been slightly better over time for the last 20 years. There are still some terrible schools in the U.S. They get all the attention. But the story in the U.S. is really one about variants. There are terrific schools, and there are terrible schools. When you compare us to countries in the rest of the world, we are about in the middle, and we've been roughly there for a while.
Among the top five countries or cities for student academic achievement in high school are Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong. So, if you look at our competitors in Europe, we're about in the middle. The difference is that many more people go to college in the U.S. than in most parts of the world.
So, the typical employee of the U.S. has more education than in most countries. Some people argue that we don't have enough education, and you know, I suppose you could always make those arguments about what is enough. But again, the simple point is that employers are not complaining about a lack of academic skills among job applicants. And employees and students, in particular in the U.S., are killing themselves trying to figure out which career tracks will give them jobs, which majors will give them jobs.
There's this belief that we don't have enough STEM graduates -- science, technology, engineering, math. Some engineering jobs are in hot supply now, but five years ago they weren't.... So if you're entering one of these engineering fields, you're really making a bet about whether it happens to be hot the year you go on the job market. If it's not, you've got the same problem as everybody else, and you've got the additional problem that those skills go out of date very quickly, especially IT degrees.
So, the idea that you're going to have a career as a computer programmer, for example, is probably not true because your skills become obsolete. You're pushed out, and you've got to figure out how to get retooled. It's very difficult for math majors and science majors to get jobs in math or in science. If you look here at Penn, for example, most of our students with those majors end up doing consulting and investment banking. So it's not the case that the industry is clamoring for math majors and biology majors and they just can't find them -- that's not what's going on.
Knowledge@Wharton: The subtitle of your book -- The Skills Gap and What Companies Can Do About It -- suggests there are solutions to these issues. You've touched on this already. But if you had to pick two or three things that could alleviate this problem, what would they be?
Cappelli: If I were an employer, I would first begin -- actually, I put this to a group of CEOs just this last week -- to ask if I know what it's costing me to keep a vacancy open. It's got to be costing me something. Do I know what it's costing me to train somebody versus hiring somebody and chasing them on the outside? If you have answers to those questions, you start realizing that it does cost something to keep vacancies open. Searching forever for somebody -- that purple squirrel, as they say in IT, that somebody who is so unique and so unusual, so perfect, although you never [find] them -- that's not a good idea.
So, maybe we ought to revise our hiring requirements and just get somebody in there and start doing the job. Could we figure out ways to train people so that we could make money on it the same way that accounting firms do and that craft unions used to in terms of trade skills? Can we figure out what makes sense for us rather than just going with our gut? Because our gut is probably wrong. We've just got to keep waiting until we find the purple squirrel that we can't train, so that we can't give people time to get up to speed? Why don't we consider other options? It just doesn't make any sense not to.
Knowledge@Wharton: And lastly -- what would you advise employees?
Cappelli: I think the first thing is to remember that if you're looking for a job, to a large extent it's not your fault that you don't have one. There just aren't enough jobs for the number of people looking for them now; the shortfall is enormous. So, don't take it personally if you can't find a job.
The second thing is, given the way the system seems to work now, and particularly how automated things are, the best advice -- which is not new advice -- is to see if you can get around [the automation], see if you can get to a real person where you can make the case about why you have the skills in ways that may not be completely obvious from your resume. It always helps to put yourself in the shoes of hiring managers who understandable want to minimize their risk -- and want to find somebody who is really motivated to do the job. See if you can make that case to them

Are There Critical Interview Questions to Ask?

Most job candidates feel interview questions can be decoded and hacked, letting them respond to those questions with “perfect” answers.




Guess what: They’re right, especially if you insist on asking terrible job interview questions.



(Quick aside: Is there really a perfect answer to a silly question like, “What do you feel is your biggest weakness?” I think there is: “If that’s the kind of question you typically ask… I don’t want to work for you.”)



I’ve interviewed over a thousand people for positions ranging from part-time to skilled to executive. While I’ve actively repressed a lot of my experiences, I have learned two things:



Candidates I think are the most likely to succeed almost always turn out to be the worst performers, and

Asking opinion-based questions is a complete waste of time. Every candidate comes prepared to answer general questions about teamwork, initiative, interpersonal skills, leadership, etc.

Interviewing is an imprecise process, but you can improve your ability to evaluate candidates by asking interview questions that elicit facts instead of opinions.



Why? I can never rely on what you claim you will do, but I can learn a lot from what you have already done. The past is a fairly reliable indication of the future where employee behavior and attitude is concerned.



How do you get to the facts? You have to ask. Ask an initial question, then put on your 60 Minutes investigative hat and follow up: Fully understand the situation described, determine exactly what the candidate did (and did not do), and find out how things turned out.



Follow-up questions don’t need to be complicated: “Really?” “Wow - what did he do?” “What did she say?” “What happened next?” “How did that go over?” All you have to do is keep the conversation going. Remember, an interview is really just a conversation.



With that in mind, here are four of my favorite behavioral interview questions:



1. “Tell me about the last time a customer or coworker got mad at you.”



Intent: Evaluate the candidate’s interpersonal skills and ability to deal with conflict.



Remember, make sure you find out why the customer or coworker was mad, what the interviewee did in response, and how the situation turned out both in the short- and long-term.



Red flag: The interviewee pushes all the blame — and responsibility for rectifying the situation — on the other person.

Good: The interviewee focuses on how they addressed and fixed the problem, not on who was to blame.

Great: The interviewee admits they caused the other person to be upset, took responsibility, and worked to make a bad situation better. That’s the trifecta of answers: You are willing to admit when you are wrong, you take responsibility for fixing your mistakes, and you learn from experience. (Remember, every mistake is just training in disguise as long as the same mistake isn’t repeated over and over again, of course.)

2. “Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the last six months.”



Intent: Evaluate the candidate’s ability to reason, problem solving skills, judgment, and sometimes even willingness to take intelligent risks.



Red flag: No answer. Everyone makes tough decisions regardless of their position. My daughter works part-time as a server at a local restaurant and makes difficult decisions every night, like the best way to deal with a regular customer whose behavior constitutes borderline harassment.

Good: Made a difficult analytical or reasoning-based decision. For example, wading through reams of data to determine the best solution to a problem.

Great: Made a difficult interpersonal decision, or better yet a difficult data-driven decision that included interpersonal considerations and ramifications. Making decisions based on data is essential, but almost every decision has an impact on people as well. The best candidates naturally weigh all sides of an issue, not just the business or human side exclusively.

3. “Tell me about a time you knew you were right… but you still had to follow directions or guidelines.”



Intent: Evaluate the candidate’s ability to follow… and possibly to lead.



Red flag: Found a way to circumvent guidelines “… because I know I was right,” or followed the rules but allowed their performance to suffer. (Believe it or not, if you ask enough questions, some people will tell you they were angry or felt stifled and didn’t work hard as a result, especially when they think you empathize with their “plight.”)

Good: Did what needed to be done, especially in a time-critical situation, then found an appropriate time and place to raise issues and work to improve the status quo.

Great: Not only did what needed to be done, but stayed motivated and helped motivate others as well. In a peer setting, an employee who is able to say, “Hey, I’m not sure this makes sense either, but for now let’s just do our best and get it done…” is priceless. In a supervisory setting, good leaders are able to debate and argue behind closed doors and then fully support a decision in public even if they privately disagree with that decision.

4. “Tell me about the last time your workday ended before you were able to get everything done.”



Intent: Evaluate commitment, ability to prioritize, ability to communicate effectively.



Red flag: “I just do what I can and get the heck out of there. I keep telling my boss I can only do so much but he won’t listen…. “

Good: Stayed a few minutes late to finish a critical task, or prioritized before the end of the workday to ensure critical tasks were completed. You shouldn’t expect heroic efforts every day, but some level of dedication is certainly nice.

Great: Stayed late and/or prioritized… but most importantly communicated early on that deadlines were in jeopardy. Good employees take care of things; great employees take care of things and make sure others are aware of potential problems ahead of time just in case other proactive decisions make sense.

Note: Keep in mind there are a number of good and great answers to this question. “I stayed until midnight to get it done” can sometimes be a great answer, but doing so night after night indicates there are other organizational or productivity issues the employee should raise. (I may sometimes be glad you stayed late, but I will always be glad when help me spot chronic problems or bottlenecks.) Evaluate a candidate’s answers to this question based on your company’s culture and organizational needs.

There are plenty of others questions you can use; these are just my favorites.

Stick to facts-based questions and you quickly get past a candidate’s “interview armor” since few candidates can bluff their way through more than one or two questions. Plus you’ll easily identify potential disconnects between a candidate’s resume and their actual experience, qualifications, and accomplishments.


Best of all you’ll have a much better chance of identifying potentially great employees. An awesome candidates will shine in a fact-based interview.

Key Interview Questions

I’ll forgive anyone for almost anything if I get a heartfelt mea culpa — an apology with no strings attached — but, unfortunately, that’s hard to find these days. Our culture is inundated with victims who like to scapegoat:




“It wasn’t because of the steroids I was injecting — it must have been my trainer’s fault.”

“We didn’t misjudge the severity of the recession — it was those greedy Wall Street financiers who made it this bad.”

“It wasn’t because we ignored the safety warnings for years — it was a natural disaster.”

“It wasn’t that I have been stealing my country’s natural resources for years and stuffing the money into my Swiss bank account — it was Twitter that caused my people to revolt.”

“It wasn’t the third line of coke that I snorted — it was that my parents didn’t pay enough attention to me as a child.”

We’re surrounded by people passing the buck, and as hard as it is to listen to our leaders and heroes grasp for someone to blame, it is even more infuriating when an employee — someone on your payroll — plays the victim card.



You know the type. When something goes wrong, he immediately looks for something or somebody else to blame. She whines about how unreasonable the customer was. He blames his tools instead of looking in the mirror. She throws her team under the bus before she owns up to her mistake.



My bet is that you, too, dislike being around victims, in part because you’ve learned that when you’re the boss, it doesn’t matter who’s to blame; you’re left picking up the pieces regardless. Further, victims make it impossible for you to have a conversation about what they might do differently next time — meaning the same costly mistakes will just keeping happening on a repeat cycle.



In a business, you need people who are going to own up to mistakes, learn from them, and get on with their jobs. The last thing you need is Teflon Terry spending half his time covering up his mistakes and turning your employees against each other.



I’m so severely allergic to victims that I have started to use a simple, one-question test when hiring. If applicants fail the test, I don’t hire them, no matter how technically qualified they are for the job. I say: “Tell me about the last time you made a mistake.”



There are a number of possible responses to this question. Some are acceptable; others signal “victim.” Here’s what to watch out for:



The victim: Certifiable victims will be paralyzed by the question. They have been so programmed to deflect blame to others for their screw-ups that their system will overload as they search for a way to answer. They’ll fidget in their chair, request that you re-ask the question, and finally “admit” that they can’t actually remember the last time they made a mistake.



The victim-in-disguise: Some people will tell you about a mistake they made but then start to justify their actions. For example, they may say something like “Last Tuesday I shipped a customer’s order to the wrong address… I mean, I guess it was my mistake, but the guy in sales had scribbled the customer name so illegibly that it was hard to read his writing.”



Exercise caution before hiring a person who gives you a half-answer. Once on your payroll, this person will be quietly sizing up the most vulnerable people on your team to blame as easy ways to deflect criticism. If you get a half-answer from a candidate but you’re still not sure he or she has a full-blown case of victimitus, you can qualify the question further by stopping the interviewee mid sentence and saying, “I’m not looking for an example that had mitigating circumstances. I want you to tell me about a time when you made a mistake where you were 100 percent in the wrong.”



If the person still thrashes around, justifying his or her response, run, don’t walk, away from this person.



The safe responder: Some people will offer a safe answer, a benign mistake made in their personal life. For example, you might have someone answer with something like, “Yesterday, I was baking a cake at home, and I added a tablespoon of salt when the recipe called for teaspoon — the cake came out a disaster.”



They are admitting a mistake, taking full ownership and not blaming others, which is good. However, they lose a couple of points in my book for not reaching for a work-related example. Nevertheless, they answered the question honestly and would pass my test.



The leader: I love it when someone comes up with a work-related example and describes the situation, the decision made, and the reason it was a mistake in hindsight. They accept 100 percent accountability and do not reach for excuses or anyone else to blame.



I almost always hire these people. To me, they are exhibiting the essence of leadership.



Any candidate can be taught technical skills, but one who comes with a victim mentality in tow just isn’t worth the trouble.

Confessing Your Mistakes As A Boss

Suppose you thought to send a letter to your old team of colleagues after you have been promoted to become a boss, what would you say?
Lately I’ve been thinking about everyone who used to work for me, in particular those of you who were my first direct reports. I’ve spent the last year writing a book for new managers, Suddenly in Charge: Managing Up, Managing Down, Succeeding All Around, and I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on what it must have been like to work for me early in my career. I realize that at the ripe old age of 24 (can you believe they made me HR director?), I may not have been as strong a leader as I thought. I owe you all an apology. In making amends, I hope that others will learn from my past mistakes and limit the damage that so often occurs when we think we know it all simply because we’ve been given a title.
A day doesn’t go by when I don’t think about our time together as a team. My intentions were good, but my nerves, ego and lack of experience got in the way of becoming the type of boss you deserved. Please accept my apologies for:
Being a know-it-all. I should have listened to you when you were trying to prevent me from making a huge blunder, but I thought I knew more than you because I had the corner office and you didn’t. I recall how you warned me about certain people in the organization — specifically the way they tried to take my predecessor down. I was naïve, and these people were nice to me — at least in the beginning. In the end, you were right. You were the ones I should have trusted, not them.
Rolling my eyes when you called in sick to care for your child who was ill. I’m writing this while home with my sick child. Who knew kids really got sick so often? I remembered thinking, “What’s wrong with these people? Can’t they make other arrangements?” Meanwhile, many of you were thinking, “How am I going to pay my bills? I don’t have any sick pay left.” In retrospect, I could have and should have been more sympathetic.
Failing to manage up. I was so focused on learning how to manage you that I forgot to manage those above me: the people who controlled the resources for our department. I realize now that had I done a better job of managing those relationships, I would have been able to provide you with the rewards you so deserved. Instead, that money went to the very same department heads you warned me about, which explains why their administrative staff were sporting nice cars while you were driving clunkers.
Thinking that just because I didn’t have a life, you shouldn’t have one either. I was a young single manager who couldn’t possibly understand the challenges of balancing work and family. I never thought twice about asking you to work late or come in on the weekends. That’s what people do to get ahead. But I never bothered to ask you if getting ahead was even something you wanted to do.
Trying to be a friend rather than being the boss. I should have provided you with the feedback you needed to improve your performance, but instead I avoided addressing performance issues because I feared you would take this feedback personally, which might mess up our friendship. I now know that relationships are built on honest feedback, something I really didn’t give you. If I had the chance to do it again, I would have been a coach rather than a friend.
Being a micromanager. You were right: I really didn’t trust that you would get the work done to my specifications, so I hovered over you, ready to land the moment you moved off course. In retrospect, I should have placed more trust in you. When you’re young and inexperienced, you think you’re the only person who can do things right. I now know that you have to give people the freedom to fail in order for them to succeed.
Being more concerned about my image than your paycheck. In my efforts to be a team player, I may have dimmed your light more than I should have. After all, how could I have more than one person on my team who exceeded expectations? In retrospect, I should have done everything in my power to make sure that your light shown brightly for all to see. My political aspirations took me to a place where my need to succeed trumped your needs. I know now that leadership is about making others look good. In turn, you’ll get what you deserve, and so will your team.
They say time heals all wounds. I certainly hope so. The lessons you have taught me have stayed with me for life. And for that I am grateful.
Sincerelyh Yours,
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HR As A Career

With HR becoming a key strategic contributor to business, it has become a much sought after function for job aspirants today. However, several HR professionals complain that finding a job within the HR domain is not and easy task. Here’s what some top leaders have to say about this ironical perception.

These are people who get us our jobs, organize lucrative induction sessions, introduce us to the right mentors, address issues related to employee grievances and ensure our journey into any organization is a smooth one. HR professionals are no longer just doing back end jobs, but are now considered active decision makers too in subjects related to business. The creativity and innovation that they bring to the table in matters concerning recruitment, the incentive approach they harbor towards people management and experiments that they conduct to ensure retention and employee motivation are a few factors that led to the transformation of HR from being timekeeping function to key strategic contributor to business goals.

Several aspirants are ken on starting a career in HR as it throws lucrative opportunities. Career analysts point out that demand for HR jobs will increase in the future and the median annual income for careers in HR too will shoot up. However, in India, it has been observed that getting a job in the HR department is not an easy task. Also, people already in HR who is seeking out for a change find it difficult to grab a good opportunity as not many vacancies are advertised as openly as the rest.

Why is it so difficult for HR professionals to find a job for themselves? Most organizations work on an average ratio of 100:1 which means, for 100 employees there is one HR personnel that is hired. Also, the size of the HR department depends on the culture and size of the organization. The trend also seen these days is that of organizations resorting to technology and outsourcing HR transactions. However in certain verticals like BPO, the number of HR personnel required is more because of the size of the organization and high levels of hiring and attrition that take place.

An organization may grow multiple folds, but a good ratio of an HR team in any organization will be less than 1 per cent for large organizations and 1 to 1.5 per cent for medium and small organizations of the total strength of the organization. Hence, if you compare the availability of opportunities compared to other professions, the opening are very less.

Finishing MBA around 25 years ago, HR heads of different companies were not very well known. But now, there are some very big names and people have become like brands in HR. Therefore, it is seen as recognition of HR as a function itself taking place very significantly in the past 10 years or so. And also, even in terms of what these people get paid and the kind of responsibilities they shoulder, there is a very big change form what it was earlier; therefore, one is not very sure whether getting jobs per se has become difficult for them. But what is important to realize is that the quantum of jobs in HR is basically less.

There are seven management functions of a human resources (HR) department staffing performance appraisals compensation and benefits, training and development, employee and labor and human resource research. The HRM staff in larger organizations may include human resource generalists and human resource specialists too. As the name implies, a HR generalist is routinely with all seven HRM functions while an HR specialist focuses his / her attention on only one of the seven responsibilities. So, has the trend changed from hiring generalists HR people to hiring specialists HR managers?

While at a middle management level specialist skills may be required, at top and operational levels, generalist skills are preferred. Specialists: HR professionals might be in demand when that particular industry vertical is growing but it is always the generalists professionals who are more in demand as they have the expertise of working with various industry verticals goals, every HR professional aspires to head the HR department of an organization and one can only do that by being a generalist equipped with the knowledge of all HR domains.

These terms are used normally at the entry and middle levels where people do undifferentiated jobs, which are largely transactional in nature. If you look at HR out sourcing then certainly, it requires a certain level of specialization. But if you look at the bulk of jobs, about 60-70 per cent of them are in functional Hr. For person working in HR, you have to know everything. You can’t afford to be a master of just one area as at some point, it will hamper your growth. Hence, if you are getting into an organization, it is best to have wide range of HR exposure.

This goes by the maturity of the organization. In large organizations each sub function of HR will have accountability for that particular vertical and it is important to have specialists in those areas, whereas in small organizations, generalists can play multiple roles within HR. For example, we created a specialist role for performance management recently in order to link the scorecard approach to Performance Management Systems (PMS) All that we did was move a HR generalist to win this process and groomed him /her to be a specialist in PMS.

So, what is that HR professionals should keep in mind in order to crack it through some good jobs? In my opinion before seeking n opportunity in HR, it is important for aspirants to understand the underlined purpose of this function. HR professionals at junior levels should be open to working in various HR sub-domains and should not restrict themselves to one particular sub-domain. As they climb up the organizational ladder, they should look to some form of specialization to the middle level and again generalize at a senior level.

So, if you were finding it difficult to crack it through that HR job, apply these tips and you are sure to land yourself a great job soon.
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Distance Interviewing

Did you ever land the job you desired 1000 miles from home, not by flying out for your job interview but by interacting with your interviewer over a webcam? If not, then in the future, you certainly will, as recruiters are hiring candidates through such and many more innovative, virtual platforms. Experts suggest unique ways through which you could create strong impression without being physically present for the interview.

Are you dressed appropriately for the interview? Is your posture right? Did you maintain eye contact throughout the interview? These are a few questions that hover over your head when you are physically present for the job interview. But then, how can you win over your recruiter without being in front of him / her? Recently for one of the senior positions at sanofi-aventis India, they had received a lot of enquiries from NRIs who were interested in taking up the position. They decided to interview the candidates though video conferencing and were successful in short listing the candidate for the role. Salary negotiations wee also conducted through email and tele-conferencing. Thus, they were able to utilize the new medium of job interview that thereby lead to considerable savings in costs and time for sanofi-aventis India. With organizations introducing newer, more technological modes of interviewing candidates, it has virtually become possible to interview a prospective employee in Alaska by an HR manager based in Nasik today. But for job seekers who are physically present, the challenge is even bigger for you to create a good impression as your recruiter will evaluate you and your personality traits (read: motivation, professionalism, honesty team skills, etc) in ways oblivious to you.

While some processes need physical presence of the participants simultaneously from various geographies it is practically impossible to get everyone to be physically present at one place at all times. The only solution to address these kinds of situations is to take shelter under technologies such as video conferencing, web casts, online transactions and chats. And this holds true for job interviews as well, especially today where talent is globally scattered. The need for speed, time optimization and the increasing trend of collaborative hiring practices wherein selectors from different geographies and time zones need to converge on hiring decisions are the drivers behind this trend. There are several factors that contribute to this key among those include advancement in various technologies as these facilitate seamless interview experience and also speed of execution.

This method also helps to provide a greater degree of comfort to the candidate since he / she is not facing the interviewer directly. Given the non intimidating environment that this creates, it provides the interviewer to have a better understanding of the candidate’s psyche and helps evaluate his / her fitment with the job. People are not limiting themselves to taking up jobs in their home towns anymore. They are steeping out to the best deal in various markets. Technology has evolved to provide a rich live screening experience. Audio conference has become sharp and less expensive across geographies and most audio and video technology is now widely available.

However, since every coin has two sides, this trend is not devoid of challenges. One of the key limitations of having a non-physical interaction, according to experts, with a candidate is that the interviewer is unable to gauge certain behavioral and non-verbal aspects of the candidate. A decision on a potential hire cannot be made solely on the basis of non-physical interview as one is unable to gauge the softer and social skills of the candidate. This is more relevant when the role demands the candidate to interface with consumers. There is also likelihood that the interviewing environment on the candidate’s side may distract him / her and hence, affect his / her candidature for employment. Two major cons: 1) The video conference quality varies and may not always be great and 2) this recruitment technique is ideal for only specific job profiles.

It is evident that virtual interviewing techniques are the need of the hour and may be, in the future face to face interviews may no longer persist.
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Practical Tips on Interviewing

Interview job candidates is a combination of science and an art. Interviewers do need to go through intensive training on how to conduct effective interviews to select the right person for the right job. Likewise, I noticed from experience that interviewees may lose a job opportunity simpley because they missed good preparation for the interview. Here are some tips that may help both side of the equation:

For Interviewees:
Work:
1) Describe the accomplishments you were most proud of in your last job.2) Do you consider yourself more of an independent contributor or a team player?3) What serious problems did you face and how you handle them?4) Describe an incident in which you handled a problem involving personal interaction well. Describe another incident in which you were less effective.5) Where do you see your career in five years?
For Interviewers:
Education:
1) Why did you choose your major field of study?2) What courses did you like the best? Least? Why?3) If you worked during school, how did you manage your time?4) Were you satisfied with your college?5) How important were extracurricular activities to your education?6) If you were starting college all over again, what would you do differently?
Activities and Interests
1) What activities are you involved in?2) Would you describe your role in these activities as more of a follower or a leader?
Strengths and Weaknesses
1) Give me three reasons why you are especially qualified for this job.2) What weaknesses have previous employers identified over the years?3) What part of this job would probably give you the most trouble?
Pay attention to personal hygiene and grooming including mustaches and beards should be neatly trimmed and combed. Hands and fingernails should be clean. Perfume and cologne should be used with moderation and should not overpower the interviewer.
Do not smoke, chew gum, or eat during the interview. This can detract substantially from your presentation and overall image.
Be polite, courteous, and friendly to the interviewer’s support staff (i.e. secretary, administrative assistant, assistant). These individuals will frequently relay their impressions of an employment candidate to their supervisor.
When greeting the interviewer, be pleasant, smile, extend firm (but not crushing) handshake, and look him or her in the eye. Do not sit until asked.
Maintain eye contact throughout the interview. Look out for a friendly face in the panel. It will help you to be at ease. Occasionally look away, at appropriate moments, so that your host does not feel challenged to a starting contest.
Be alert to your body language throughout the interview. Be careful not to slouch down in the chair. This may be interpreted negatively by the interviewer (i.e. you are disinterested in what is being said, you are lazy or sloppy, you are not concerned with your personal appearance etc). Conversely, do not sit rigidly or on the edge of the chair. If too rigid, you may project the image of someone who is overly formal, unfriendly, or distant. Likewise, sitting on the edge of the chair may take you appear nervous, anxious, high strung, or overly aggressive. Maintain good posture and a relaxed, but attentive demeanor throughout the interview.
Gesticulate appropriately to make a key point. However, be careful not to over-gesticulate, since this can draw the interviewer’s attention away from what you are saying and can detract substantially from your overall presentation.
Avoid unnecessary fidgeting with your hands or finger, such as tapping your fingers, playing with pencils and paper clips, stroking your beard of hair, pulling your ear, resting your shoulders on the table, rubbing your nose and so on. All of these suggest nervousness and will distract interviewers, thereby causing them to pay less attention to what you are saying.
Be pleasant, friendly, warm, and polite throughout the interview. Remember to smile from time to time. You will want to establish and maintain good personal rapport with the interviewer throughout the discussion. Do not try to pretend to know what you do not know.
Be careful not to dominate the interview discussion. This can cause the interviewer to feel anxious, or even hostile. Be sensitive to the interviewer’s right to control the interview, and do your part to ensure a well balanced two way exchange of information. Do not get into an argument with a hostile person. Thank him if he explains to you something. Do not try to fool or outsmart any person on the panel. Do not be anxious and never plead or beg for the job.
Never volunteer negative information to the interviewer. However, should such information come to light as a result of the interviewer’s questioning, do not dodge the issue. Be factual and honest, but be brief. Try to present this information in as positive a light as possible, but do not over-explain or apologize.–

Tips on Conducting Performance Reviews

Companies invested their time, money, and all their energy into building their business. But no company can function for very long without a team of productive employees supporting it. It’s important not only that your employees feel appreciated, but also that they feel they're progressing steadily in their careers.
One of the best ways to ensure this level of job satisfaction is by holding employee performance reviews at least once a year. However, as essential as these reviews can be for the growth of the company and the well-being of its employees, many small business owners remain uncomfortable with the entire process.
To make your performance reviews as productive and as painless as possible, follow these 10 tried-and-true suggestions:
1. Be prepared. First of all, make sure you are fully prepared before sitting down with the employee. Decide both what you're going to say and how you're going to say it.
2. Lead with the positive. It’s important to reaffirm the employee’s strengths at the beginning of the review. Since job security is the number one concern of most people, the performance review is a good time to tell an employee how much you value their contributions to your business.
3. Don’t be confrontational. It’s also important not to criticize the employee in general terms. The goal is to evaluate job performance and not the person. A performance review that turns into a gripe session misses the opportunity to raise employee morale.
4. Keep it real. Human resource professionals recommend that you avoid detailed reviews that are too complicated and mechanistic, which can leave the employee feeling like a drone rather than a human being.
5. Be consistent. Make sure to handle performance reviews in a consistent manner. Top performers should hear affirmations from you regarding their exemplary efforts; weak performers need to hear that their performance requires improvement. A simple approach to review criteria is to evaluate work based on quantity and quality relative to the job requirements. Secondary considerations might be employee attitude, willingness to help other personnel with their work when appropriate, and the ability to get along with others.
6. Make it a two-way conversation. An effective performance review requires an interactive discussion with an open agenda. Try to formulate questions that seek the employee’s ideas and input. Remember, this will help the employee feel you value his or her opinions. The review should also be a forum for employees to voice their concerns.
7. Address what’s important to the employee. Since job satisfaction is the most important factor affecting an employee’s attitude (and therefore his or her level of performance and value to your company), an effective review should delve into areas that include issues most important to that employee.
8. Discuss work/life balance. The performance review is a good opportunity to show your concern for the employee’s work/life balance, and to jointly discuss solutions to improve that balance. It’s also a good time to create a plan for the employee’s career advancement and discuss what future opportunities might exist for him or her.
9. Be a good listener. Remember to be an active listener and to pick up on your employee’s verbal and nonverbal cues.
10. Review regularly. Reviews should be done proactively with the purpose of improving employee morale and productivity. When you conduct them on a regular basis, you avoid reviews prompted solely by the need to document an employee’s poor performance. This in turn can imply that the information is being collected as evidence to avoid litigation, should the employee ever be terminated.
The sign of a successful performance review is an employee who leaves the meeting feeling motivated and excited about his or her job. If the employee’s job satisfaction needs are unmet, it’s less likely they will be motivated to focus on your goals for the company. But if an employee feels acknowledged, appreciated, and fairly rewarded for past efforts, he or she will indeed become a valuable asset to the future success of your company.

Fostering Team Spirit

These days when organizations are introducing several ways to foster team spirit amongst employees, in an endeavor to ensure that all team members are on the same page in terms of work, is it true that one poor performer can actually hamper the performance of the entire team as opposed to the rest?
The strength of the chain is determined by its weakest link. Yes, if poor performance on part of a team member is not caught upfront and corrective measures taken, it will bring down team performance. Team members tend to accommodate, step in and compensate for any weakness and that spreads the burden within the team. Systems should be put in place to provide leading indicators on non-performance to enable the organization step in support and take corrective measures.
One poor performer is, legitimately said to destroy the performance of an entire team only if the poor performance comes as a complete surprise. Otherwise, the team should be able to plan around its weak link and should not use the poor performer as an excuse for poor results. To take a sporting analogy - if you pass the ball to your star bowler in the last over and he bowls only wides and no balls and full tosses, that could destroy the team's chances. But, if you know the bowler is weak, you would never put him in such a position.
Of course, it does especially if the poor performer is handling a task in a bottlenecking position. It becomes imperative in such situations for the team leader to distribute work in such a way that adequate redundancy planning is in-built into the team. To that extent, a leader needs to think "negatively" what all can go wrong with whom, and plan accordingly with alternative back ups to ensure that nothing goes wrong and the task is successfully completed.
The solidarity or cohesiveness of a team is an important indicator of how much influence the group has over its individual members. The more cohesive the group - the more strongly members feel about belonging to it - the greater its influence. If the members of a group feel strongly attached to it, they are not likely to violate its norms.
Team cohesiveness also plays a role in small companies. Team cohesiveness is critical in helping the individual feel good about his or her contribution to the effort. When TQM was introduced at Kane, teams of between five and eight employees were set up to deal with specific problems and demonstrate the impact that teams could make. They also made sure that all employees understood that no improvement is too small. Over a period of time, they can make a major difference. The first team the Job Information Team, worked on improving the clarity of forms used to process orders. Once the project was completed the team's recommendations were accepted and immediately implemented. Kane continue to emphasize the importance of every team and very employee to TQM.
Highly cohesive teams often have less tension and hostility and fewer misunderstandings than less cohesive groups do. Additionally studies have found that cohesive groups tend to produce more uniform output than less cohesive groups, which often have problems with communication and cooperation.
The Software Reusability Department of ARINC Research Corporation discovered that trust is the key to cohesiveness in teams. What this means is that cohesive teams cannot tolerate extremists, positive or negative. One of our most difficult realizations, recalled Risa B Hyman director of the department, was that some talented individuals cannot flourish in a team oriented environment. If team cohesion is not to be eroded, management must recognize such a mismatch and address the problem before team goals are jeopardized .-

On China's Learning Style

When President Obama recently called for American young people "to be makers of things" and focus on subjects such as science and engineering, it was partly a nod to China's rapid growth. Had he lived, taught and consulted in China for the last 33 months, as I have, he might have urged American students first to follow his example and study the liberal arts. Only technical knowledge complemented by well-honed critical and creative thinking skills can help us regain our innovative edge. China's traditional lack of emphasis on teaching these skills could undermine its efforts to develop its own innovative economy.

I once challenged my Chinese MBA students to brainstorm "two-hour business plans." I divided them into six groups, gave them detailed instructions and an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their idea, the better, I stressed -- and we'd vote for a prize winner. The word "prize" energized the room. Laptops flew open. Fingers pounded. Voices roared. Packs of cookies were ripped open and shared. Not a single person text-messaged. I'd touched a nerve.In the end, five of the six groups presented plans for, you guessed it, restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering service. Why risk a unique solution when the instructor has let it slip he likes the food business?Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment and reiterated what I had expected -- originality -- and why. But they'd been so enthusiastic that I couldn't deny them a winner. After a polite discussion of the merits of each idea, the Haagen-Dazs gift certificates were awarded, but not without controversy. Runners-up later complained that an identical concept had been featured on CCTV the night before.
My students weren't recent college grads. They were middle managers, financial analysts and marketers from state-owned enterprises and multinational companies. They occupied the space in the developing economy that has spawned a small industry of articles about "China's great talent shortage." Most were intelligent, personable men and women, not without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness.The scenario I've described occurred in different forms throughout my two years at the school. Papers were routinely copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates meant to be spontaneous were jointly scripted by the opposing teams and memorized. Students frequently posited that copying is a superior business strategy to inventing and innovating. When they considered the wealth that Chinese industry had amassed in such a short time, it was hard for them to believe otherwise.Throughout the semesters, like students everywhere but more so, they wanted to know exactly what they needed to memorize for the mid-term and final. Considering it takes me a week just to commit several Chinese phrases to memory, I had to respect their skills. Nonetheless, I reminded them that their exams would require analysis, and often re-explained at their request the difference between analysis and summary.My Western-trained colleagues, both foreigners and Chinese, tell similar stories. It's not that university students in the West hadn't also needed coaching in critical thinking, but they weren't so blindly locked into such a seemingly entrenched style. It doesn't help, of course, that certain important topics related to politics and business have to be avoided in my Chinese classes.Ironically, the government that has enforced such restrictions and focused its schools so intensely on math and science seems to realize its efforts may be too effective. Highways, dams, bridges and airports have been built, every conceivable product manufactured and sold, but so few sophisticated marketing and management minds have been cultivated that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.With this problem in mind, local partnerships with institutions such as USC, Johns Hopkins, Yale, MIT and Insead of France have been established. If not quite ready to create cadres of disaffected litterateurs and cineastes, Beijing clearly recognizes it will take different kinds of thinkers to invent new products and sell them around the world. And then there's the "thousand-talent scheme," a new government program intended to boost technological innovation by luring top foreign-trained scientists, including those of non-Chinese origin, to the mainland with big money and perks. But the officials and professors who conceived this "scheme" are likely products of the educational system that generated the problem they are trying to solve. They are ambitious. They are confident. They want to push China forward. But worries about China's research environment, hardly known for fostering independent thinking and openness, may overshadow lucrative salary offers."Money is important for practical issues," said Zhangqing Li, a University of Maryland professor, to Nature.com in January. "But the determinant factor is whether we would be able to be as productive in China as the United States." Ultimately for China, becoming a major world innovator -- and by extension, a robust economic power -- is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities or roping off elites and telling them to think creatively. It's about establishing an intellectually rich learning environment for young minds. It's about harnessing the same inventive energy of the street markets and small-time entrepreneurs and putting it in the schools. The Chinese don't need expensive free-agent scientists. They need a new farm system -- and about 10 million liberal arts professors.

الإدارة بالواقع : طرح جديد لمفهوم الإدارة فى مصر (5

نتابع معا رحلة تطبيق نمط الإدارة الجديد الذى نقترحه والذى يتناسب مع بيئة العمل فى مجتمعنا المتفردة فى ظروفها وضغوطها وبالتالى المهارات والجدارات والمرونة التى ينبغى أن يتميز بها المدير المصرى .. وقبل أن أتطرق إلى التجارب الشخصية التى أثبت بها أن المنهج الذى أنادى به واقعى يمكن تطبيقه إذا توافرت الإرادة ، دعونا نستعرض معا الأدوات التى يمكن للمدير استخدامها لكى يكون مديرا مؤثرا:
· المدير الفاعل فى الظروف التى نعيشها هو الذى يلعب دور "الكابتن" بالنسبة لفريق العمل .. بمعنى أن يلعب مع الفريق داخل الملعب ولايكتفى بالفرجة عليهم وهم يلعبون .. الناس فى مصر يحترمون صاحب الخبرة حتى لو كانوا هم أنفسهم يتظاهرون بأنهم يعرفون .. ولاتزال المعرفة قوة تجتذب الناس إلى أن ينجذبوا إلى من يتمتع بتلك القوة ويطيعون عن اقتناع وينبهرون بما يتناسب مع حجم المعرفة .. وذلك يتطلب من مدير اليوم أن يستثمر فى بناء قدرته الذاتية وألا ينتظر التدريب الذى يمكن أن توفره له المؤسسة التى يعمل بها .. كثير من البرامج التدريبية والخبرات والمهارات أصبحت متاحة على الإنترنت ، بل إن كثيرا من الجامعات أصبحت تتيح بعضا من برامجها للتعلم عن بعد لمن يريد .. وهناك احترام فطرى للعلماء ويكفى للتدليل على ذلك أن نراقب متابعة بسطاء الناس بشغف لبرامج الفضائيات التى يظهر بها علماء مصر مثل زويل والباز ومصطفى السيد .
· الإتفاق مع المرءوسين على معايير موضوعية محددة لقياس الأداء مهما كانت تلك المعيير بسيطة تضمن العدالة وعدم التحيز وتقلل كثيرا من ضياع الوقت فى الجدل حول كفاءة الموظفين .. فمثلا المدير حين يقول للمرءوس : " أريدك أن ترتقى بمستوى أداءك " فإن لايعتبر هدفا يمكن قياسه ، وإنما لو قال : " إنتاجك أو حجم مبيعاتك يحتاج أن يرتفع بنسبة 5% على الأقل" فإن ذلك يمكن قياسه وتقييمه .. كثير من الشركات اليوم تتيح لموظفيها أن يضعوا بأنفسهم الأهداف التى يسعون لتحقيقها ثم يتم مناقشتها معهم واعتمادها واعتماد طرق القياس الواقعية التى تسمح بمكافأة المتميز ومعاقبة المقصر باتفاق مسبق بين المدير ومرءوسيه.
· " تدوير العمل " بين المرءوسين فى الإدارة الواحدة أو فى الإدارات التى تتعامل مع بعضها البعض بصفة يومية يعد طريقة جيدة تكسب الموظفين نظرة أشمل لمجموعة أو مجموعات العمل ودور كل موظف فى إنجاز هذا العمل .. ويقضى ذلك بالتالى على " احتكار " المعرفة التى أصبحت جزءا من ثقافتنا فى مكان العمل حين يرفض أفراد الفريق الواحد تبادل المعلومات أو نقل المعرفة ، ويعتبر كل فرد فيها أن مايملكه منها ملكا خالصا له لايصح ان يشرك أحدا آخر فيه حتى يظل متميزا .. لو سمحنا بذلك فى مكان العمل فسوف نفاجئ بعدم توافر صف ثان من الموظفين يحل محل الصف الأول الذى يتناقص شاغلوا وظائفه تدريجيا إما تقاعدا أو استقالة أو لانقضاء الأجل ، وبالتالى تنعدم الإستمرارية فى مكان العمل ويبدأ كل شاغل جديد للوظيفة من نقطة الصفر ونهدر كل الوقت والمجهود والتكلفة فى طرق عمل ونظم طبقت بالفعل ولكن لايدرى أحد عنها شيئا.
· التخطيط طويل المدى فى مصر ليس من ثوابت العمل بوجه عام فى المؤسسات المحلية والحكومية .. حتى لو خططنا للمدى الطويل ، نتدخل بصفة دائمة لتغيير الخطط فتتغير تلقائيا إلى خطط قصيرة المدى أو خطط تنفيذية تعالج المشاكل اليومية أولا بأول بدلا من تبنى منهج يضمن عدم حدوث المشاكل أو الإستعداد لحلها لو حدثت .. لذلك يمكن للمدير أن يخطط للمدى الطويل ثم يقوم بتقسيم الخطة إلى " مشاوير " قصيرة نسبيا يتم تقييمها والبناء على ماتم إنجازه استكمالا للخطة .. الناس نفسها قصير ويتعبون بسرعة من الجرى مسافات طويلة ، وضعف المتابعة يساعد على التراخى والتخاذل والتملص من المسئولية.
· سهل أن يشكو الناس فى مصر ، وكثير من شكاواهم لها مايبررها نتيجة لعجز الحكومة عن إدارة الموارد المتاحة لها بنفس المنطق الذى ننتقده هنا ، ولكن لو اقتصرنا فى مكان العمل على الشكوى وحدها فلن يتغير شيئ ، وسوف يتحول الأمر بعد ذلك إلى عداء شخصى بين المدير وموظفيه أو بني الموظفين وبعضه البعض .. ينبغى على المدير ان يجرب إشراك موظفيه فى حل المشكلات ، بمعنى إذا تقدم إليه أحد بشكوى لابد وأن يتقدم معها باقتراح الحل من وجهة نظره .. لما جربنا ذلك فى بعض المؤسسات واشترطنا لقبول الشكاوى ان تكون مصحوبة باقتراح الحل قلت الشكوى بشكل ملفت للنظر، وبعد أن كانت الصناديق المخصصة للإقتراحات تمتلئ عن آخرها بشكاوى ، أصبحت جاذبة لبعض الإقتراحات البناءة التى يمكن استغلالها فى تحسين أحوال العمل والعاملين .. المدير بالواقع لايدعى ولايتظاهر بأنه يملك حلولا لكل المشاكل ، وإنما يطلع موظفيه على حقيقة حدود سلطاته دون خجل فيجعلهم يتعاطفون معه ويتفهمون موقفه ويحاولون مساعدته بدلا من أن يرتفع سقف توقعهاتهم لو تظاهر المدير بسلطات تفوق سلطاته.
· المجتمع العربى بوجه عام والمصرى بوجه خاص لايزال يعتبر الأسرة الخلية الأولى للمجتمع ، ولايزال يضع قيمة كبيرة على الترابط الأسرى على الرغم من كثير من المظاهر السلبية التى أصبحت تناقض تلك القيمة التى ضعفت ولكنها لم تختفى .. ويمكن للمدير بالواقع أن يستغل ذلك فى أن تصبح الأسرة " حليفا استراتيجيا " يعتمد عليها فى توفير الراحة والإستقرار للموظف .. جربت بعض المؤسسات أن تمنح موظفيها أجازة بأجر يذهبون فيه إلى العمل مع أسرهم ، ويسمى " اليوم المفتوح " يخصص لزيارة الأسر للقاء الأسر بمديرى الشركة وزيارة مكان عمل الآباء أو الأمهات ، ثم الإشتراك فى بعض الأنشطة الفنية والرياضية فى جو أسرى جميل ، وتوزع الهدايا فى نهاية اليوم من الشركة على الأسر والأطفال .. مثل تلك الفكرة تنمى انتماء العامل الذى سوف يجد فى أسرته تفهما أكثر لدوره ومسئولياته ، ودعما معنويا وعاطفيا يشجعه على البقاء فى الشركة وتحمل ضغوط العمل .. نوع من الصحة النفسية بإمكانيات معقولة ولكنها شديدة التأثير.
· ظروف مصر السياسية والإقتصادية فرضت على الناس نوعا من الإحساس بعدم الأمان وفقدان الثقة فى أى وعود رسمية .. وزاد من هذا الإحساس فى مكان العمل أسلوب التهديد الذى يستخدمه بعض المديرين فى حث الموظفين على العمل وأقاويل مثل : "هو ده نظامنا" أو "اللى مش عاجبه الباب يفوت جمل" .. المدير بالواقع يركب الصعب ويحاول أصلاح الخلل من خلال اتخاذ القرارات التصحيحية والتواصل مع مرءوسيه وطلب مساعدتهم فى تصحيح أى خطأ يكون قد وقع مادام ليس متعمدا .. تطبيق لائحة الجزاءات عمل سهل لايحتاج إلى إعداد أو تدريب ولكنه أقصر طريق نجهض به إرادة الموظف فى التجريب والتعلم عن طريق التطبيق الذى قد ينجح وقد يفشل .. والمدير بالواقع يتذكر حين كان موظفا صغيرا وكيف ساعده غيره على أن يكتسب المهارات وسهل له الحصول على فرصة لكى يصبح مديرا.
· وأخيرا، فإن المدير بالواقع يلعب دورا سياسيا يمكنه من أن يكسب تعاطف " أصحاب المصلحة " ومساندتهم لعمله ودعمهم له بالإمكانات التى تحقق له النجاح فيه .. أول هؤلاء هو الرئيس المباشر للمدير والذى من حقه أن ينجح هو الآخر فى دوره ، وأن يبرز عمل مرءوسيه وأن ينال قسطا من الإعتراف بالنجاح .. وهذه النقطة بالذات هى المحك فى حسن أو سوء العلاقة بين المدير ورئيسه .. المدير الحصيف يفسح مساحة لمن يرأسه لكى يظهر فى الصورة ولايستأثر وحده بالأضواء حتى لايستعديه فيحاول تحجيمه أو نزع اختصاصاته.

ولعل الوقت قد حان لكى نستشهد ببعض التجارب العملية الواقعية التى طبقت فى إطار " الإدارة بالواقع " تقوم دليلا على أن ماننادى به أسلوب كفء وفعال للإدارة يقبل التطبيق والتطوير ، ويستطيع كل مدير أن يتميز فيه بشخصيته عن غيره .. وللحديث بقية نختتم بها تلك السلسة من المقالات .

الإدارة بالواقع: طرح جديد لمفهوم الإدارة فى مصر (4

بعد أن قمنا بتحليل البيئة العامة التى تحكم نظم الإدارة المطبقة فى مصر، والمؤثرات الإجتماعية والثقافية التى تشكل سلوك المديرين والمرءوسين على السواء أصبحنا الآن مستعدين لكى نطرح نمطا جديدا للإدارة يمكن أن يكون فاعلا فى ظل تلك الظروف . وفى رأيى أن أهم العوامل التى تشكل وجدان المدير المصرى ومن ثم تمثل تحديا كبيرا لأى مدير يتصدى للتغيير فى مؤسسته أن يعييها ويتعامل معها تتلخص فى ثلاثة مؤثرات رئيسية هى :
· أولا – أن الطفل عندنا ينشأ فى ظل حماية أبوية شاملة تجد لزاما عليها إجابة أى سؤال يسأله الطفل دون أن يساعداه على أن يحاول أولا أن يجد الإجابة بنفسه ثم يلجأ إليهما بعد ذلك إذا فشل فى العثور على إجابة .. نعم ، هناك أسئلة حساسة يسألها الطفل فى مرحلة ما من حياته لابد لوالديه أن يبحثا عن إجابة بسيطة تقرب له المعنى الذى دفعه للسؤال .. ولكن معظم الأسئلة التى يبحث فيها الطفل عن إجابة ترتبط بدراسته ويستطيع بشيئ من التوجيه أن يبحث بنفسه عن الإجابة قبل أن يسأل غيره .. إننا إذن نعود الطفل على ألا يبذل مجهودا لكى " يتعلم " ونحوله إلى "متلقى" يعتمد على غيره فى معظم الأحيان .. نحن نعد " مستهلكين " للمعرفة وليسوا منتجين لها .. وطبيعى أن يصبح ذلك جزءا من الشخصية ومن السلوك العام فى مكان العمل فيصبح عدم الحصول على المعلومات " شماعة " يعلق عليها الموظفون فشلهم فى أداء أعمالهم فيتحول مكان العمل إلى مباراة فى تبادل الإتهامات بالتقصير والمسئولية عن الجزء الناقص أو " المسلوق " فيما تم إنجازه .
· ثانيا – إنتشار ثقافة " أوعى تقول ماأعرفش " التى تشجع الطفل على أن يدعى العلم حين يسأل سؤالا لكى يتجنب عقاب المدرس الذى يقرن عدم الإجابة على الأسئلة فى الفصل بالتقصير فى الإستذكار ، والوالد الذى يعاقب هو الآخر بأن يظهر استياءه من جهل إبنه ببعض المسائل البسيطة التى يعتقد أنه لابد أن يعرفها بالضرورة .. والنتيجة الطبيعية أن يتظاهر الطفل بالمعرفة " ويفتى " فيما يعرف ومالايعرف ، ويصبح ذلك نمطا شخصيا يكبر معه ويلازمه حتى يتعلم أن تحصيل المعرفة أصبح ممكنا وسهلا بتوافر أدوات البحث السريع الغير مرهق لكل من تتوافر له الإرادة .. هذه الثقافة هى التى تجعل بعض من تسأله عن عنوان يرفض إلا أن يدلك عليه حتى لو كان لم يسمع باسم الشارع الذى تسأل عنه أو المنطقة التى تقصدها .. المشكلة فى مكان العمل أن من نفترض فيهم المعرفة أحيانا لايعرفون – وهذا أمر طبيعى – ولكنهم يخجلون من التصريح بذلك فيقطعون بآراء يترتب عليها قرارات خاطئة أو نتائج سلبية تضر أكثر مما تنفع .
· ثالثا - إعتباركلمة "شكرا" فى أماكن العمل لتشجيع العاملين على الإجادة أمرا ثانويا وليس واجبا بينما لايجد المسئولون فى مكان العمل أى صعوبة فى انتقاد أداء المرءوسين بينما يشق عليهم أن يمتدحوا محاولة جادة للتفوق أو الثناء على اقتراح بناء أو الإجتهاد فى تقديم المساعدة .. يعتبرون ذلك "واجبا" لايستحق الشكر بينما الحقيقة العلمية ببساطة هى أن "المكافأة" التى نقدمها نظير عمل متميز تشجع الموظف على التمسك بالسلوك الذى حقق له تلك المكافأة مهما كانت بسيطة مثل رضاء رئيسه عنه أو كلمة شكرا كما قلنا .. وحين سألت مجموعة من المديرين عن آخر مرة قال كل منهم لشريك حياته "شكرا" ضحكوا جميعا وصرح أكثر من 98% منهم أنهم لايذكرون .. إذن ثقافة الشكر مفتقدة لدينا ولابد من "إعادة بعثها" لكى تحل محل الكلمة البديلة السخيفة التى يستخدمها الناس تلك الأيام بدلا منها وهى "ماشى".
لابد أن ننظر للمدير على أنه " وسيط للتغيير " يتصدى لتغيير أمور استقرت لحقب من الزمن وتجذرت فى الوجدان المصرى .. والمدير بهذه الصفة لابد وأن يتسلح بالإصرار والمثابرة لتخطى الصعوبات دون يأس .. ولكن قائمة التكليف لاتقف عند هذا الحد ، وإنما تتجاوزه إلى ماهو أبعد ويمس جوهر شخصية المدير وسلوكه لكى يقوم بهذا الدور الخطير مثل :
· الإيمان بأن نجاح أى مؤسسة أو فشلها يتوقف على نوعية الموظفين الذين يعملون بها ومن ثم فإن نجاح المؤسسة يتوقف على حسن اختيار هؤلاء الموظفين والمداومة على تطويرهم وتحسين أدائهم .. إذا أيقن المدير أن الناس هم أغلى مورد يتعامل معه فسوف يحسن اختيارهم ويحافظ عليهم ويحترمهم ويثق فيهم ويفتح أمامهم أبواب التعلم والترقى ويجعلهم شركاء فى اتخاذ القرار .. إن معرفة قدرات فريق العمل والإستمرار فى تنمية تلك القدرات يتيح للمدير أن يوزع المسئوليات بما يتوافق مع قدرة كل فرد من أفراد الفريق والواقعية فى تحديد الأهداف واضعا فى الحسبان المعوقات التى تفرضها البيئة المحيطة كما أوضحنا قبلا .. بالإضافة إلى أن معرفة شخصيات المرءوسين تمكن المدير من اختيار الطريقة المناسبة للتعامل مع كل منهم " والضغط على الأزرار" المناسبة لتحفيزهم على الإجادة والتدخل بنجاح فى حل المنازعات الشخصية أولا بأول.
· الشجاعة فى مواجهة الحقيقة ، وتقييم الذات ، والمجاهدة عن اقتناع للتخلى عن العادات والسلوك التقليدى القديم فى الإدارة والإستعداد لتغييره لكى يتواءم مع متطلبات عصر المعلومات والمعرفة .. من حق المدير على المؤسسة أن تستثمر فى رفع مهاراته الفنية وجداراته الشخصية لكى تزيد كفاءته وفعاليته ، ومن حق المؤسسة بعد ذلك أن تلزمه يتماشى سلوكه مع طموحات الشركة فى بلوغ أهداف تحقق لها النمو والإزدهار.. ومن حق المؤسسة كذلك أن تحصل على أعلى عائد على الإستثمار فى مديريها بأن يتولوا نقل خبرتهم إلى غيرهم ، وإعداد صف ثان يتولى المسئولية من بعدهم وألاتصبح المعرفة حكرا عليهم .. الناس فى مصر يمتنون لمن يعلمهم ويأخذ بيدهم .. ولازلنا نذكر بالخير أساتذتنا ونضرب بهم المثل فى الإلتزام .. المدير القوى الواثق من نفسه لايخشى العمل مع مرءوسين أقوياء ، وهم لايمكن أن يصبحوا كذلك دون تدريب دائم ومستمر.
· " القيادة بالقدوة " هى أصلح أنماط الإدارة فى مصر، وهى وسيلة أكيدة للإقناع والتغلب على مقاومة التغيير لأن الناس بعد أن تربوا على رؤية زعماء فى حجم عرابى وسعد زغلول وأنور السادات وعبد المنعم رياض ، وعلى قادة شعبيين كانوا يتغنون بصفاتهم ومآثرهم مثل أدهم الشرقاوى وجمعة الشوان ‘ أصبحوا يفتقدونهم كقدوة يقلدونهم ويتمنون الوصول إلى ماوصلوا إليه ، ولو وجدوا فى رؤسائهم فى العمل بعضا من صفات هؤلاء وبالذات التواضع والعدالة والجدية ونظافة اليد فإن معظم الموظفين سوف يتبدل حالهم إلى الأحسن وبالذات حين يصبح لديهم مرجعية يقيسون عليها إلتزامهم وولاءهم للمؤسسات التى يعملون بها .. الإنتساب بصورة ما إلى شخصية محترمة يشعر الناس فى مصر بالفخر والزهو ويذكرون إسمه بمناسبة وغير مناسبة ، وكذلك يفعلون حين يتكلمون عن المؤسسات التى يعملون بها إذا كانت كذلك.
· المدير الفاعل فى الظروف التى نعيشها هو الذى يلعب دور "الكابتن" بالنسبة لفريق العمل .. بمعنى أن يلعب مع الفريق داخل الملعب ولايكتفى بالفرجة عليهم وهم يلعبون .. الناس فى مصر يحترمون صاحب الخبرة حتى لو كانوا هم أنفسهم يتظاهرون بأنهم يعرفون .. ولاتزال المعرفة قوة تجتذب الناس إلى أن ينجذبوا إلى من يتمتع بتلك القوة ويطيعون عن اقتناع وينبهرون بما يتناسب مع حجم المعرفة .. وذلك يتطلب من مدير اليوم أن يستثمر فى بناء قدرته الذاتية وألا ينتظر التدريب الذى يمكن أن توفره له المؤسسة التى يعمل بها .. كثير من البرامج التدريبية والخبرات والمهارات أصبحت متاحة على الإنترنت ، بل إن كثيرا من الجامعات أصبحت تتيح بعضا من برامجها للتعلم عن بعد لمن يريد .. وهناك احترام فطرى للعلماء ويكفى للتدليل على ذلك أن نراقب متابعة بسطاء الناس بشغف لبرامج الفضائيات التى يظهر بها علماء مصر مثل زويل والباز ومصطفى السيد .
· الثقة فى المرءوسين ومن ثم تفويض بعض سلطة اتخاذ القرار لهم يعد أول الطريق إلى تنمية مهاراتهم وإعدادهم للعب دور أكبر فى المستقبل .. والمدير الذى يبدأ بالثقة أولا إلى أن يثبت العكس سوف يجعل المرءوسين حريصين على ألا يفقدوا ثقته فيهم .. وهنا ينبغى على المدير أن يعى أنه يفوض فقط جزءا من سلطاته ولكنه يبقى مسئولا عن قرارات مرءوسيه على عكس ماهو شائع فى ثقافتنا بأن " كل واحد متعلق من عرقوبه " المسئولية تكون شخصية حين يتعلق الأمر بجريمة أو مخالفة ، ولكنه لايمكن أن يكون كذلك فى ظل نظام "تضامن المسئولية" الذى يقوم عليه علم الإدارة.. المدير الذى يتخلى عن مرءوسه عند أو خطأ يجعله غير راغب فى تحمل المسئولية ويتهرب من إتخاذ أى قرار ولايقبل حتى بالمخاطرة المحسوبة ومن يفقد يفقد ثقته بنفسه تدريجيا ويظل مرؤوسا سلبيا مطيعا طول الوقت لايجاهر برأيه ويتجنب الإقتراح والمشاركة.. وللحديث بقية.

Generating Great Ideas from Simple Ones

Simple ideas may in many cases generate greater ones. If you train yourself to think out of the box for solutions to the problems you encounter. Here are some tips that may help:

Let Go of the PastBefore you can create a better future, you must let go of the pains in your past. Failing once does not mean you will fail forever. Learn from your history, but don't let it stand as an obstacle between you and your dreams.

2. Remember SuccessJust as important as learning from and overcoming past failure is recalling past success. It doesn't matter who you are, you have succeeded at something at sometime in your past. Don't gloss over these moments. Use them to remind you that you can in fact achieve your goals.

3. Realize the PossibilitiesIt's possible. The dreams you hold in your heart but push to the back of your mind are within your reach. Accept the fact that you can create a better life. This will serve as the springboard of belief you need to succeed.

4. Dream the Big DreamIn order for dreams and desires to inspire you to action and achievement, they need to be big. If you don't get excited about what you have planned for the future, you will never find the inspiration you need to change your life. Powerful dreams can move the soul, and when you dream the big dream, you will be driven to make the compelling picture a tangible reality.

5. Thinking Your Way to ChangeNo matter how bad you want it to happen, change will never result from thinking alone - you must take action. The world is swimming in dreamers, but only those who act on their desires achieve truly remarkable results.

6. A Daily Habit to Begin TodaySet aside at least 30 minutes each night to review your day and plan for the next. It's a simple way to add an element of control to your life. Also, beginning this habit today will help tremendously when you begin to work toward your exciting and inspiring goals and dreams.

7. Mix It UpThe wrong routine can spell certain doom for your goals and dreams. To make sure this doesn't happen to you, add at least one new step to your daily routine to help break up the pattern. One new activity will set the stage for many more in the future, making it possible for you to break free of any negative routines.

8. A Team SportDon't go at this alone. Achieving a goal or dream requires a team effort. There will be times when you feel like giving up, when you feel like it's too much to take. One of the surest ways to overcome these small setbacks is to have the support and guidance of your goal partner.

9. Get Excited About What's to ComeYou are on your way to getting everything you have ever wanted! Now is the time to get excited and inspired about what your future holds. Imagine living your ideal life - now make it happen!

10. Raise Your StandardsIt's time to raise your standards. It's time to expect more out of yourself than anyone else. Accept nothing less than your absolute best in all that you do and you'll have no problem creating your ideal life. After all, you'd expect nothing less than living the life of your dreams.

11. Take OwnershipBefore positive changes can take place, you must take responsibility for your position in life. You are in control of your future and are the only one who can guarantee a better life. If you play the role of a victim, giving up control and ownership of your life, you will never enjoy the amazing opportunities that life offers to us all.

12. Write in a JournalA million thoughts may rush through your mind each day, but if you do nothing to capture them, they often disappear as quickly as they came. Take time to write in a journal each week. This will not only help you overcome obstacles you are facing in your life but also help you discover what you really want.

13. Whom Do You Admire?Make a list of at least three people that you admire. With your list in hand describe what it is that you most respect about each individual. Often pinpointing what we admire in others offers insight into what we wish to become ourselves.

14. The MomentRemember a time when everything seemed to be going just right? When nothing could get you down? When you thought to yourself, 'This moment, right now, is what life is all about.' We all have moments in life when we feel we are at our best, but most people don't utilize them. Use the special moments in your life to bring to light goals and desires that are sure to fulfill your needs. Learning from and building on these times will help you create magic moments on a daily basis for the rest of your life.

15. A Friendly Brainstorming SessionGather a group of your closest friends, the ones who know you better than anyone else, and use their knowledge about you and your life to help you brainstorm goal and dream ideas. They will likely offer ideas you never considered yourself.

16.What don't you want?Sometimes the easiest way to uncover what you want is to know exactly what you don't want. It all depends on your particular personality. Some find it very difficult to create specific goals, but these same people have no trouble explaining in detail what they hate. Sometimes working in the opposite direction of what you hate can be the key to discovering your goals and dreams.

17. Keep a Notebook in Goal-Creating AreasWatching television offers hundreds of ideas that you can use to help you create your own personal goals. The same is true of your sleep. Because of this it's vital that you keep a notebook handy while watching television and on your nightstand to jot down any goal ideas that come to you.
Do You Know What You Want?In order for these tips and ideas to help you live a better life, you have to know what you want. So the question is, do you? If not, it's time to put a few simple exercises to work and discover the answer.

18. Impossible to FailPeople are more than capable of creating compelling dreams, but the fear of failure often clouds the path. To avoid this pitfall, imagine that it is impossible to fail. What dreams and desires would you pursue if you were guaranteed success?

19. Your Ideal LifeThink ahead. Imagine living your ideal life in five years. Then ten and twenty years. What would you be doing? With whom would you be doing it? What would your life look like on a daily basis? Use the picture of a future life to create goals and desires in the present.

20. Get SpecificIn order for you to create lasting change in your life, you have to be super specific about what you want. Vague ideas just won't cut it. The more specific you make your desires, the easier it will be to act on them. Cloudy hopes create obstacles. You have to know exactly what you want, down to the smallest detail.

21. Write it DownWhen you get an idea for a goal you'd like to achieve write it down immediately. The simple act of writing your goals down on a sheet of paper will bring them one step closer to reality. Saying something is one thing, but when you actually see the words written down it becomes a living, breathing thing.

22. Small Steps to Great SuccessWhile the nature of your dreams needs to inspire, you must also recognize the fact that it takes only small steps to create amazing changes. The dream will lead the way, but it won't come in one giant leap. Small steps, carried out each day, will bring you to the destinations you seek.

23. Who Are You Living For?Many times people will accept the status quo because they are afraid of what other people would think of them if they strived for more. Fitting in becomes more important than moving ahead. Decide here and now that creating the life you want to live is far more important than blending in and living for the approval of others.

24. Search for Success StoriesThe stories of individuals overcoming all odds and achieving their dreams surround you. Seek out and make these stories a part of your life. You are not alone in your search for happiness. Knowing that others have succeeded in the past can be enough to motivate you to succeed in the future.

25. The Overnight Success MythSuccess takes time. People who believe in the overnight success expect amazing results the minute they start working toward their goal. It's not going to happen. Don't let this get you down - it's a positive. When you know the truth about success you won't become upset when immediate results can't be seen.

26. Measure Your ProgressAs you begin putting the pieces of your desire in place, be sure to measure your progress along the way. Doing so will help to keep you motivated to achieve the goal as you see real improvement taking place. You will also be able to recognize troubling areas that need more attention or successful methods that could be spread to others aspects of the goal.

27. Educate YourselfThe more you know, the more you'll grow. Information is the greatest resource you have as you work toward creating a better life. Facts help to increase your confidence, break down fear, and inspire you to action. Learn all there is to know about what you want and you will never be without the drive and energy you need to make it happen.

28. Make Autobiographies Part of Your LibraryLearning about the lives of the people who achieved the goals you want to achieve is one of the most inspiring techniques available. Find out who had the same aspirations and learn all you can about their inspiring story.

29. Essentials of ChangeIt doesn't matter what you want, someone at sometime throughout history has desired and achieved the same thing. Not only does this prove that your dreams are possible but also that you have what it takes to make them happen. People have done so much with so little, proving that the essential requirements of creating change are within you.

30. Become Aware of Your ThoughtsThe wrong thoughts played enough times in your mind can sap the strength of anyone's confidence. Become aware of the things you say to yourself. Every time you come to a negative phrase stop yourself, refute the belief with logic, and replace it with a strong and empowering thought.

31. Say and SeeFor those with phobias simply mentioning their particular fear puts them in a frightened state of mind. They may even exhibit physical signs of fear. The same is true of goals and dreams. Many times the second you say your goal images of failure and fear pop into your head. To fix the problem, consciously say your goal and imagine success again and again until it becomes ingrained in your mind.

32. What's In It for Me?As you begin taking steps toward the things you desire, you will meet with many obstacles along the way that have the potential to knock you off course forever. To ensure this doesn't happen to you, answer the question: What's in it for me? Knowing exactly why you are reaching for more will serve as a constant source of energy and excitement to keep you going strong in the face of short-term setbacks.

33. Ask Yourself a QuestionWhat's the worst thing that will happen if you give up on your goal? This and other thoughts like them are useful tools. Fear of what could happen if you don't succeed shouldn't be the main reason you work toward your goal, but it is an excellent tool to help you get started.

34. What's Holding You Back?Take time to really think about what's holding you back from working toward and achieving your goal. Too often people get a 'feeling' and quit on their dreams. You can't fight or solve a vague feeling, but you can solve a specific problem. That's why it's critical for you to zero in on exactly what's holding you back from success.
Want 1,001 Quick & Easy Motivation Tips and Ideas?1,001 motivation tips and ideas to help you get and stay motivated, achieve your goals, and improve your attitude can be yours in minutes! 35. Share the ExcitementDon't keep your plans for a better future to yourself - share the excitement with those who will not see it as bragging or your ego taking over. This will make the dream more tangible, and include others in the picture who will ask about your progress and keep you heading in the right direction.

36. If Not Now, When?This is a simple method to adding a powerful boost to your goal-achieving project. People are gifted at the art of rationalization and procrastination. To put a stop to them ask yourself, 'If not now, when?' If you're honest, and I know you will be, you'll realize that now is as good a time as any to begin moving toward a better life.

37. Your Excuses Have No UsesExcuses are scapegoats. They cover up the truth so we don't have to face it. You and I both know this isn't the way to a happy and successful life. You have to put a stop to excuses once and for all. Every time you catch yourself using an excuse to cover up the truth about why you aren't working toward your goal (e.g. I don't have the time), write it down along with at least three solid reasons why your excuse is completely wrong. And never use it again.

38. Fear is Part of the PuzzleIf you're waiting for a guaranteed success, you'll be waiting for the rest of your life. Fear is part of the process of success - there's no way around it. You might think that the people you look up to are free of fear as they work toward their dreams you are mistaken. Everyone feels fear when they take a step outside of their comfort zone, the question is whether or not you keep going.

39. Place Reminders in the Home and OfficePlace powerful reminders around your home or office about the goals and desires you are working to achieve. With the hectic pace of life in today's society it's easy to forget about the truly important things. Placing pictures in your home of the ideal body you are dreaming about or the home you wish to build are effective tools to keep you going strong.

40. The First StepA single step in the right direction is all it takes to put in motion great things. Every written masterpiece begins with a single word on a page. Every long journey begins with a single step. The things you desire most will be no different. Write down on a clean sheet of paper the absolute first step your goal requires - then do it.

41. A Part of Your IdentityWhen success becomes a part of your identity, a part of who you are, you'll find getting motivated to do more with your life is an easy task. People stick to what they believe they are. In other words, a quitter will quit before he succeeds; a winner will get exactly what he wants in the end. Don't just think like a winner - become one inside and out until the thought of quitting conflicts so strongly with who you are that you are driven to succeed.

42. What Company do You Keep?Most often people mirror their environments. The friends and family members you associate with play a major role in your life - both positive and negative. Ask yourself if the people in your life are helping you become the person you want to be or are standing in the way of progress. If changes need to be made, follow through.

43. The Truth about ChangeYou will fail. Not once, not twice, but many, many times. This is how the game works. Believing that you will be able to achieve a lofty goal or dream without a hitch is like believe you can play perfect golf without a single step on a course. It's not negative, it's reality. And a true success uses this as an advantage. When something doesn't go according to plan an adjustment is made and the process resumes. A short-term setback will never bring an end to their ambition.

44. Know When to Keep QuietJust as important as sharing your goal with those who will offer guidance and support is not sharing your goal with those who will resent your improvement and take a jab at you with every chance they get. Naysayers are killers of the spirit. When it comes to these individuals, keep your goal to yourself.

45. If It Works Once, Use It Again!Have you ever watched a movie that really moved you? Read a book that inspired a change in your life? Listened to an audio tape that motivated you to take action? If you're like most people, I'm sure you've experienced one or more of these. But do you revisit them on a regular basis? People will find a tool that inspires them only to leave it behind. If something motivates you, use it again and again.

46. Organize Your SpaceA cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind. Taking a few hours to clean up your common work areas will go a long way in helping you maintain clarity and focus while working toward your goals.

47. Everyone Needs a Day OffSometimes the best way to stay motivated to achieve your goal is to give it a rest. When things don't seem to be going your way or you simply feel exhausted, put your goal out of mind until the next day. Take a walk, a ride, or just sit and relax. This short break will allow you to return to the project with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

48. Choose to Think About What You WantWith everything you have to think about each day, the things you desire won't always get the time they deserve. You have to choose to think about what you want to change in your life, or your dreams will very likely be left behind.

49. Subscribe to Magazines, Newspapers, and NewslettersInformation is a major part of success. To stay motivated to change your life you need a constant flow of new and exciting information flowing into your mind. If possible, subscribe to at least one magazine, newspaper, or newsletter that focuses on the subject of your goal.

50. Use the Library!As simple as it sounds, get and use your library card! Books are among the cheapest (if you use your card, that is) and most effective success tools around. You can learn most anything from a well-written book. Accept this fact right here and now: if you don't like to read, you'll never reach your true potential.

51. Create a Specific StrategyWhen you know exactly what you want, you have to know exactly how you are going to get it. Just as a vague idea of what you want will never lead to success, a hazy notion of how you will achieve your dreams will bring about the same fate. Super specific strategies will result in success. Anything less will make improvement difficult, if not impossible, to enjoy.

52. Use a TimelineYour dreams need a timeline. This includes not only a deadline but also a time to begin. Without a definite timeline, potentially rewarding and fulfilling goals may silently slip away until they become only distant memories. When will you begin working toward your dreams? When will you achieve them?
The Secret to Self-ConfidenceDo you want to change something about your life but don't feel confident enough to make it happen? Discover a proven method for transforming your confidence and never let this obstacle stand in your way again.

53. Tools of the TradeTo accomplish the task above, charts and checklists are the way to go. Charts are the perfect tool to measure incremental goals such as a savings or investment plan. If your desire is more sequential in nature, simply list the steps in a checklist along with their deadline to keep you right on track from start to finish.

54. Intelligent ActionAction is key to change - but not just any action. Eating unhealthy foods is action, but it is definitely not the kind of moves you should be making if your goal is to get in shape. The secret is to take intelligent action. Learn how to make the right moves and you'll be on your way to enjoying an amazing quality of life.

55. Windows of OpportunityWhat you see today will not necessarily mirror the picture of tomorrow. In other words - things change. You can never know for sure how long the opportunity to act will offer itself. It could vanish tomorrow or in twenty years. The point is: Today is the certainty in your world. Make the best of it.

56. Use Your Time WiselyThe one thing we all desire more of but lose every day is time. Because of this, you need to take steps to ensure your time is being used wisely. Discover where your time goes each day and how you can better utilize each minute and hour.

57. Get ActiveAn inspired mind is of little use if you lack the physical vitality to execute your plans. Get active and get moving. Whether this means a daily exercise program or simply riding your bike to work, think of as many ways as possible to be active in your daily life.

58. Maintain a Healthy DietJust as important as an active lifestyle is a healthy diet. You can't expect to have the energy and drive necessary to live an extraordinary life if you continue to fill your body with unhealthy foods. What you put in your body has an enormous impact on your motivation to improve.

59. Get Enough RestYour body cannot perform at its peak levels if you don't give it the time it requires for rest and repair. Four hours of sleep each night will eventually catch up with you. Get the rest you need and you'll have no problem working with passion toward your desires.

60. Collect Your Favorite QuotationsThe written word can be just as powerful as movies. When you come across a quotation that motivates you to achieve your goals, don't let it go! Write them down, save them on your computer, or do whatever works for you to keep them close at hand.

61. Learn from Your MistakesWhen things don't work out exactly as you had planned (this will happen) don't waste the opportunity to learn something. A short-term failure is a good thing - it teaches you how 'not' to do something, which will bring you closer and closer to the solution you seek.

62. Constant CuriosityBe curious. The world can be a truly amazing place when you take the time to look around and learn about it. Read, converse, observe, listen, and discover the miracles that surround you. Constant curiosity is the habit that is sure to get you excited about your world, your life, and your future

.63. Spend Time with ChildrenSpending time with kids is a great way to let go of your worries and reconnect with your more innocent past. As adults, we have learned to hide our true emotions and keep a reserved attitude. Children have a great lesson to teach us - have fun and enjoy life. Maintain your youthful ways as you continue to grow older.

64. Focus on OthersThere is no better way to improve your life than to help others do the same. To give is to get, and when it comes to spreading happiness and joy to others, it has never been more true. As your focus turns from yourself to those in need you will find that your own problems seem less important and may even disappear altogether.

65. Volunteer Your TimeAn effective method to help others is volunteering. Your time is the most precious resource you have, and giving it to someone else is a truly rewarding experience. Contact your local churches, community center, or public schools for volunteer opportunities.

66. The Ups and DownsYou will not always be motivated to succeed. We all have our ups and downs, and expecting anything different will create frustration and anger. We all get upset, encounter setbacks, and have bad days, but here's the secret: you can visit, but just don't live there.

67. Your ContributionWhat are you going to contribute to the world after you have gone? Living an extraordinary life requires thinking beyond yourself and giving back to the world in some way. What will your gift to the world be?

68. Be Grateful for What You HaveTake time out of each day to be grateful for the things you have in your life. Simply being alive and well is an amazing gift - anything more is just icing on the cake. Appreciate what you have and you will discover a renewed passion to achieve the desires you have yet to experience.

69. Starting in the Right DirectionYou may not realize it, but you've already taken a massive step toward success. Simply reading these words demonstrates your desire to enhance the quality of your life. Now that you've taken the first step, keep it going day after day, month after month, year after year.

70. Enjoy the RideWhile you're working your tail off to create a better life for you and your family it's important to enjoy the experience and not just focus on the outcome. It's like taking a road trip through beautiful country with your eyes closed thinking only about the destination. You'll miss out half the joy of success if you forget about the experience of it all.How Long Will You Wait?It's decision time. You can continue hoping things change or, with our help, you can make them happen today.Everyone wants to change and improve, but few understand how the process actually works. When you know the secrets to controlling motivation, like a light switch you can turn it on and off at will.Just imagine what your life would be like if you knew how to get and stay motivated at a moment's notice for as long as you wished.