An ambitious and restless shishya was getting impatient with his guru’s style of teaching one lesson at a time. He wanted to learn everything quickly and reap the rewards of this learning quickly.
He finally expressed his desire to complete his course quickly and move to the next phase of his life. The guru nodded his head and told him to come to him early next morning.
Next morning when the student arrived, he found the guru waiting for him near the chicken coop. He then let the chickens free and asked the student to catch them all in the next one hour . The student ran about trying to catch one and then the other and finally at the end of his hour got exhausted and sat down dejected as he had not been able to catch any. Then the master told him, now I ask you to catch only the one with the ribbon round its neck. The student got up and despite all the other chickens running around him just went after the ribboned one and caught it with time to spare!. The master smiled and said “Focus is not our ability to stay attraced to the ‘one’ but also the discipline to avoid the distractions of the ‘ninety nine” .

But does this story apply to us in the age of multitasking? There are many things that we want to achieve in our life, but the trick is to focus on the most important goal at that time and work towards achieving it instead of running after many things at the same time.

Source: Trainers Forum

Here is an article I came across on how organisations use their Compensation Philosophy to achieve organisation objectives and manage employees better. I quote
“The chain restaurant/retailers that maximize on their compensation philosophy have shown superior results in all areas of the business; achieving business strategies and attracting and retaining the highest performers. For example, McDonald’s Corporation created their philosophy around a program entitled The Plan to Win and Best Buy promotes reward flexibility and entrepreneurship for their employee base. Listed below are pertinent excerpts from McDonald’s and Best Buy’s stated compensation philosophies.

“Our executive compensation program is designed to support our business strategy based on the long-term plan we adopted in 2003: The Plan to Win. The Plan to Win focuses on maximizing customer satisfaction and strengthening our financial position. To achieve those goals, the Plan to Win emphasizes operational excellence, leadership marketing, innovation and financial discipline with initiatives implemented around five drivers of exceptional customer experiences – people, products, place, price and promotion – which we refer to as the ‘five Ps.’ When we adopted the Plan to Win, we also redesigned our Company-wide compensation program, which we refer to as our global compensation program, to further our strategic objectives under the Plan to Win.

In determining the amount and mix of executive compensation, we seek to achieve the following principal objectives:

a) To reward executives for supporting the five Ps and delivering profitable growth;

b) To differentiate rewards based on the achievement of Company, geographic business unit and individual performance goals so as to ensure that executive compensation is reflective of performance;

c) To achieve an equitable balance in the compensation levels of executives who have comparable levels of responsibility; and

d) To set compensation levels that enable us to compete for talent in a highly competitive global market, balancing this goal with the other business priorities we consider in allocating the Company’s resources.”

(McDonald’s Corporation – 2006 Proxy)

“We believe our success depends on employees at all levels using their unique strengths, experiences and ideas to foster innovation and build strong customer relationships. While our compensation and benefit programs are important tools in attracting and retaining talented employees, we also believe that non-monetary factors such as work environment, learning and development opportunities, and relationships between employees and managers are critical to provide a rewarding employee experience. Collectively, these elements comprise our ‘Total Rewards’ philosophy. We believe this company-wide approach to attracting, motivating and retaining talent is a competitive advantage.

Our Total Rewards philosophy seeks to:

a) Provide employees with a greater choice of rewards that are most valued by them;

b) Differentiate rewards to individuals, based on their contributions;

c) Encourage and recognize experimentation, entrepreneurship and innovation; and

d) Reward employee contributions for achieving strong financial and non-financial results.

We implement the Total Rewards philosophy by employing broad-based programs that are designed to align employee interests and create a common vision of success.”

(Best Buy – 2006 Proxy)

An organizational compensation philosophy is a vital tool for success. Taking full advantage of a well thought out and strategic program will set you apart from competitors in your business and in the market for talent.”

CHANGING LANES

New Meaning

SANJEEV ROY’S move from advertising to setting up his own search and HR consultancy firm was triggered when in the middle of his life he started asking questions on what he wanted to do with the rest of it.

MY FIRST job deal was struck over a breakfast table. Unhappy with the way my PhD programme was going, I landed up one morning at my best friend’s breakfast table, dug into a large spread and poured out my heart. Secretly I knew that I just did not want to study any longer. My friend’s sister who, at the time, was a senior executive with a large advertising agency heard me out and asked me if I would like an advertising job.

A couple of interviews later I was an Account Executive sharing a cabin with another AE and some old Dunlop tyres. I was 23 then and took to advertising as if I was born to it. For the next 16 years through Ogilvy, Grey, JWT & Euro RSCG, I had a blast. I worked in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. I was already a ‘Director’ with Euro RSCG, had been through three start-ups, undertaken training in marketing services in Paris, London and Edinburgh, been sent on EDPs to IMD Lausanne….and then the feeling started.

Getting to office was a drag. The joy of cracking a positioning, selling a campaign or meeting the numbers was gone and I was losing the passion and energy that is critical for success in advertising. I knew I had to do something else but did not know what or how I was to do whatever it was. I was also afraid to rock the boat. With a wife and a kid to look after, I did not want to take a risk.

My wife however thought otherwise. She felt I was wasting my time and instead needed to do something that I enjoyed, and, most importantly, on my own terms – advertising had run its course. Meanwhile, I walked the usual path, meeting consultants, calling up contacts looking for a job outside advertising. Needless to say, things were not going too well for me at my office. I finally decided to quit.

Three months into my notice period I was panicking. No job, no new ventures, nothing at all. Was I too old to start afresh? I explored a range of options and toyed with many a whimsical idea at the time. I was clear on two things: I did not want to be in advertising and I wanted to do something with people. I knew I had been a good mentor and counselor to my colleagues. Vast reserves of patience and natural empathy were my strengths. I started looking for jobs in Search and Training organizations. The idea of being on my own was still very scary.

With a month to go in my notice period something happened. One of those things that happen to most people who finally change lanes. A friend asked me to help his organization find ‘trainers’ across the country. I leapt at the offer. Here was a live assignment. And thus was born BullzI Inc., the ‘Inc.’ added for effect. My wife became my partner and we set ourselves up with two computers and two phones trying to find trainers.

We did not place a single person in that assignment. However the process gave me the confidence to pitch myself as an “HR consultant’ in Search and Training. Along with it came the insight that there were innumerable opportunities out there if one just had the courage to take the first Big Step beyond the tried and the tested. Help came by way of old associations generously offering new business. I did not dither in asking them for work either. But completing the assignments was quite another story. After a couple of quick successes (beginners’ luck) the well was dry for nearly six months. It was a time when we had to fall back on our savings and watch it deplete every month.

That is when a great job offer happened. But the adrenaline had already started working and the sense of satisfaction that came with a job well done was not something I could easily give up any more. On the other hand, turning it down now came easy for both my wife and me. Meanwhile, we moved to a cheaper apartment and got rid of one car. We also joined two video libraries – watching movies at home was cheaper.

Working out of home also presented its own challenges. I rediscovered how to file, manage a database, book tickets, fix appointments, all the while juggling with the doorbell, the presswallah and in the absence of a driver, picking up my son from school. It is also difficult to believe you are working if you can saunter into your office three paces away in bedroom slippers and shorts. It took me a year to get a discipline going.

The most difficult challenge however was to teach myself new skills at age 43. It took me a long time to read ‘text books’ in the old way of making notes, looking up references. I also spent a lot of time with some great HR people, getting a first level understanding of a completely different and fascinating skill.

BullzI Inc (www.bullzi–inc.com), now in its third year, is a reasonably well-established senior level search company of some repute. In the training area we work on very strategic assignments involving facilitation of change management. Very soon we will be adding on Executive Coaching and I have other partners interested in teaming up today. We have just moved into our own house, lead a very comfortable life, and am able to give my 6-year-old son, family and friends a lot of time. I manage money a lot better. And the one big thing I have conquered is Fear. Today, a regular office job and reporting hierarchies are for the rest. May their tribe increase.

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Link to the article.

Scanned article here … New Meaning – Changing Lanes/ET Empower/EcoTimes/22/05/2007.