Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts

The Differentiated Workforce: Transforming Talent into Strategic Impact Review

The Differentiated Workforce: Transforming Talent into Strategic Impact
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The Differentiated Workforce: Transforming Talent into Strategic Impact Review
Brian Becker, Mark Huselid, and Richard Beatty shares their thoughts about how to solve the various strategic challenges that line managers now face. "Specifically, it is about making senior managers more successful at executing their strategy" by putting strategy, not people, first. "For most organizations, that success has an important talent dimension. When it comes to workforce strategy, our approach requires that line managers define success but that HR professionals deliver the solution. This requires a new perspective on workforce strategy for both." That said, the transformation they recommend requires thinking more broadly (perhaps even counter intuitively) about the respective roles of line managers, HR, and the workforce because all of them must be centrally in any change initiatives.
With regard to this book's title, Becker, Huselid, and Beatty explain that "there are four key domains that distinguish a differentiated approach from a more conventional (undifferentiated) approach to workforce management: a focus on equity instead of equality; a focus on engaging the right employees, not necessarily all employees; an emphasis on hiring choice employees, not becoming an employer of choice; and finally, a focus on earned increases (i.e. increased responsibilities and compensation." More specifically, strategic talent becomes a competitive advantage (equity), those with strategic talent fully understand how to acquire and retain customers as well as how to accelerate improvement of organizational performance (employee focus); strategic talent is retained and helps to attract and hire fewer but much better-qualified job candidates (employee of choice); and peak performers are generously (and appropriately) rewarded and remain whereas poor/mediocre performers are not rewarded and asked to vacate their strategic roles.
There at least two major reasons why workforce differentiation is so important to almost all organizations, whatever their size or nature may be. First, it can help them to achieve significant and verifiable strategic impact in their competitive marketplace. Also, it will address one of the greatest challenges now facing their senior-managers: How to get more workers positively and constructively engaged? Recent Gallup research indicates that only 29% of the U.S. workforce is positively engaged (i.e. loyal, enthusiastic, and productive) whereas 55% is passively disengaged. That is, they are going through the motions, doing only what they must, "mailing it in," coasting, etc. What about the other 16%? They are "actively disengaged" in that they are doing whatever they can to undermine their employer's efforts to succeed.
In their book, Becker, Huselid, and Beatty provide a cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective program by which achieve these two very important objectives, achieving significant and verifiable strategic impact in the competitive marketplace, and increasing the positive and productive engagement of workers at all levels and in all areas of operations. More specifically, they explain
1. How to put strategy, not people, first
2. How to link strategic capabilities to workforce strategy
3. How to identify and evaluate strategic positions
4. How to establish leadership accountability for workforce success (e.g. the line manager's HR role)
5. How to design architecture for the differentiated workforce
6. How to develop and apply strategic workforce measures
My repetition of the word "how" is deliberate because Becker, Huselid, and Beatty devote most of their time and attention to explaining how to implement their various recommendations. They are diehard pragmatists, with an insatiable curiosity to know what works, what doesn't, and why. Their determination to focus on real-world issues, problems, and solutions is perhaps best illustrated by the detailed and surprisingly lively case study they provide in Chapter 7 (Pages 171-231) of how th4 American Hat Association created a differentiated workforce. Obviously, it would be a fool's errand to attempt to duplicate those initiatives without appropriate modification in another organization, even one in the healthcare field. It would also be a fool's mistake to ignore the lessons to be learned from this case study.
Those who share my high regard for this brilliant book are urged to check out Becker, Huselid, and Beatty's previously published The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance and The Workforce Scorecard: Managing Human Capital To Execute Strategy as well as Enterprise Architecture As Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution co-authored by Jeanne Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson, James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler III's The New American Workplace, Dean Spitzer's Transforming Performance Measurement: Rethinking the Way We Measure and Drive Organizational Success, and Leadership Brand: Developing Customer-Focused Leaders to Drive Performance and Build Lasting Value co-authored by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood.The Differentiated Workforce: Transforming Talent into Strategic Impact OverviewDo you think of your company's talent as an investment to be managed like a portfolio? You should, according to authors Becker, Huselid, and Beatty, if you're interested in strategy execution. Many companies fall into the trap of spending too much time and money on low performers, while high performers aren't getting the necessary resources, development opportunities, or rewards. In "The Differentiated Workforce", the authors expand on their previous books, "The HR Scorecard" and "The Workforce Scorecard", and recommend that you manage your workforce like a portfolio - with disproportionate investments in the jobs that create the most wealth. Based on two decades of academic research and experience working with hundreds of executives, "The Differentiated Workforce" gives you the tools to translate your talent into strategic impact.

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Adventure Education: Theory and Applications Review

Adventure Education:  Theory and Applications
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Adventure Education: Theory and Applications ReviewThis is an excellent resource for those interested in experiential learning, adventure style. The techniques can be used in many ways - in the classroom, camps, Sunday school, after school programs, psychotherapy. It is proven the best way to learn is by doing, and that is exactly what Adventure Education addresses. It's more than just how to live in the wilderness, it's about doing life. Because life IS an adventure.
Tina Johnston
Therapist and Career CounselorAdventure Education: Theory and Applications Overview
Adventure Education: Theory and Applications allows students to

-get a broad view of adventure education and programming;

-explore the role of games, low- and high-element courses, and outdoor pursuits in adventure education;

-use key concepts, student activities, and Web-based research to enhance the learning process;

-employ real-world examples to explore strategies for adventure education in a variety of settings; and

-learn core skills for effective facilitation and leadership preparation in adventure programming.

With Adventure Education: Theory and Applications, adventure education enters the educational mainstream. This comprehensive text is ideal for introductory adventure courses in a variety of college departments and as a reference for professionals in the field.

Project Adventure, a leader in the field of facilities-based adventure learning, teams up with leading adventure educators and professionals to provide a broad view of adventure education and programming. Together, they present the foundational theories and applications of adventure education. In doing so, they

-explore the role of games, low- and high-element courses, and outdoor pursuits in adventure education;

-cover the core skills for effective facilitation and leadership preparation;

-include student-friendly features, such as key concepts, summaries, student activities, additional readings, and Web-based research to meet students' levels of experience and enhance the easy delivery of the course; and

-recommend strategies for adventure education and programming based on real-world examples that connect to a variety of recreational, educational, therapeutic, and community settings.

Part I presents the history of adventure education as well as the numerous theories and philosophies that have informed its development. It explores the world of adventure in education, health care, and therapeutic, corporate, and school settings. It also provides an overview of adventure organizations and career options, which is helpful to students who are interested in pursuing the study of adventure.

Part II outlines the technical and pedagogical skills needed for facilitating adventure experiences.

Part III describes each adventure component, explaining how they work in the educational process. It covers facilities-based pursuits such as games, cooperative activities and initiatives, and challenge courses as well as outdoor pursuits. Some sample activities and many additional resources are provided. The final chapter covers models for programming adventure in educational, therapeutic, corporate, and community settings.

For students who select careers in other fields, the leadership and team skills learned through Adventure Education: Theory and Applications will serve them well in their future workplaces. For students who do go into adventure education, this text is their guide for finding their own paths in the field.


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Assessing Educational Leaders: Evaluating Performance for Improved Individual and Organizational Results Review

Assessing Educational Leaders: Evaluating Performance for Improved Individual and Organizational Results
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Assessing Educational Leaders: Evaluating Performance for Improved Individual and Organizational Results ReviewThe book took a little longer than I expected but it came in great condition. If not for the time I would have given a 5 star.Assessing Educational Leaders: Evaluating Performance for Improved Individual and Organizational Results OverviewFeaturing real-world examples, this revised bestseller shows you how to improve educational leadership and organizational performance through a multidimensional leadership assessment system.

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Retooling HR: Using Proven Business Tools to Make Better Decisions About Talent Review

Retooling HR: Using Proven Business Tools to Make Better Decisions About Talent
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Retooling HR: Using Proven Business Tools to Make Better Decisions About Talent ReviewProfessor John W. Boudreau wants you to rethink the contribution your human resources unit makes to the way your company recruits, develops and retains crucial "talent," that is, people. Dodging most, but not all, jargon, Boudreau advocates using metrics from the business side of your organization to evaluate how talent contributes to your firm and how your talent needs will vary under changing business conditions. He asks you to examine how you will muster enough people with crucial skills, now and in the future, and suggests strategically rethinking your workforce and considering how to develop it as the demand for pivotal skills spikes or shrinks. Boudreau makes his points with sharp intelligence in this clearly written, well thought-out book. It covers some very specific subject areas pertinent to HR professionals, but it is not a difficult read, partly due to its lively examples. While HR professionals who want to play a more strategic role will receive it most readily, getAbstract finds that this book will also help talent-focused C-level and middle managers who want more from HR and their employees. Boudreau makes a solid case for the merit of good metrics, but he's aware that HR is measuring people, not widgets, so risks and trade-offs abound.Retooling HR: Using Proven Business Tools to Make Better Decisions About Talent Overview

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Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework Review

Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework
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Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework Review"Our purpose in this book", Cameron and Quinn write, "is not to offer one more panacea for coping with our turbulent times or to introduce another management fad. We agree with Tom Peters that, "If you're not confused, you're not paying attention." Confusion abounds as to prescriptions and proposed panaceas. Instead, our intention in this book is both more modest and, we believe, potentially more helpful. The book provides a framework, a sensemaking tool, a set of systematic steps, and a methodology for helping managers and their organizations adopt the demands of the environment. It focuses less on the right answers that it does on the methods and mechanisms available to help managers change the most fundamental elements of their organizations. It provides a way for managers, at almost any level in an organization, to guide the change process at the most basic level-the cultural level. It provides a systematic strategy for internal or external change agents to facilitate foundational change that can then support and supplement other kinds of change initiatives."
In this context, Cameron and Quinn basically :
* discuss the importance of understanding organizational culture and its place in facilitating or inhibiting organizational improvement efforts.
* provide the instrument (The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument-OCAI) for diagnosing organizational culture and instructions for how to complete and score it. (OCAI produces an overall organizational culture profile.)
* provide a more thorough explanation of the theoretical framework (The Competing Values Framework) upon which the OCAI is based. (The Competing Values Framework explains the underlying value orientations that characterize organizations.)
* illustrate how organizations designed a strategy to change their current culture to better match their preferred culture.
* focus on the personal change needed to support and facilitate culture change.
* provide an instrument (Management Skills Assessment Instrument-MSAI) that helps managers identify the key competencies they will need to develop or improve in order to foster organizational culture change.
* provide suggestions for initiating culture change in each of four types of cultures (market culture, adhocracy culture, clan culture, hierarchy culture).
* provide lists of suggestions for improving management skills and competencies associated with the MSAI.
I highly recommend this invaluable study to all executives.Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework Overview

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Competitive Intelligence Advantage: How to Minimize Risk, Avoid Surprises, and Grow Your Business in a Changing World (Wiley) Review

Competitive Intelligence Advantage: How to Minimize Risk, Avoid Surprises, and Grow Your Business in a Changing World (Wiley)
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Competitive Intelligence Advantage: How to Minimize Risk, Avoid Surprises, and Grow Your Business in a Changing World (Wiley) ReviewThis book is a gem. It is a rare book that I would recommend equally to senior executives and students thinking about a career path, but this is such a book. I agreed to review this book for the publisher and received a free copy. I've known the author since the early 1990's when the U.S. Government first tried to learn how to do commercial intelligence, calling it Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). They still don't get it, for the same reason most executives don't get it: arrogance, ignorance, and a complacency that comes from having too much money and not enough accountability.
Before laying down my notes, let me first place this book squarely in the top twelve books in English. This is the one I would recommend to anyone as a starter, followed by:
Ben Gilad, Blindspots (Infonortics, UK), order online from them directly
Early Warning: Using Competitive Intelligence to Anticipate Market Shifts, Control Risk, and Create Powerful Strategies
Measuring the Effectiveness of Competitive Intelligence: Assessing & Communicating CI's Value to Your Organization
Super Searchers Do Business
Super Searchers on Competitive Intelligence: The Online and Offline Secrets of Top CI Researchers (Super Searchers series)
Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New and Classic Methods
Building & Running a Successful Research Business: A Guide for the Independent Information Professional
The New Competitor Intelligence: The Complete Resource for Finding, Analyzing, and Using Information about Your Competitors
Keeping Abreast of Science and Technology: Technical Intelligence for Business
The New Craft of Intelligence: Personal, Public, & Political--Citizen's Action Handbook for Fighting Terrorism, Genocide, Disease, Toxic Bombs, & Corruption
Information Operations: All Information, All Languages, All the Time
The last are mine, as with all my books free online at Phi Beta Iota, the Public Intelligence Blog. There are MANY books in this field, some listed at the back of this book. For me it boils down to culture, structure, sources, and process. CULTURE: from the CEO to the Chief Content Officer or Chief Knowledge Officer, do the bottom-line bosses understand that Competitive Intelligence is worth at least 20% of their gross in new revenue or avoidance of lost revenue? STRUCTURE: Is there at least a six person CI shop with a direct report relationship to the CEO or no less than one down from the CEO? SOURCES: Does the CI staff have a budget for serious research including out-sourcing of special studies and integration of appropriate processing power? PROCESS: Is the CI staff integrated into both the day to day decision-making as well as the strategic forward thinking? Nothing is dumber than "this is what we've decided to do, tell us about the path."
Now my notes on this book, which fully satisfies as an overview of the above and as an introduction to the broader literature.
1. External matters. It has been a long time in coming, but both the commercial intelligence industry (which is emergent from the scattered competitive intelligence industry) and the key customers including law firms are starting to realize that the customer's future needs, unstated needs, and the totality of the external environment are vastly more vital than internal data mining also badly known as Business Intelligence. One shipping executive told me they learned the hard way that in one particular African country with a strong textile industry, the regulatory and corruption context was so bad that the fashion cycle was OVER before they could get the finished goods out of the country. Never assume anything and forget the past.
2. Truth matters. The author is very polite on this point, one that the U.S. Government at the political and senior executive level still does not appreciate. I am totally enchanted by the early quote from the chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, "When things are not going well, until you get the truth out on the table, no matter how ugly, you are not in a position to deal with it." That one quote made this book worthwhile for me.
3. Executive short-falls. I like to quote Ben Gilad, who along with this author and Jan Herring and Dick Klavans and Babette Bensoussan are among my most respected colleagues: writing in BLINDSPOTS: replacing myths, beliefs, and assumptions with market realities (Infonortics UK 1996): "Top managers' information is invariably either biased, subjecive, filtered or late." Also from Gilad: "Using intelligence correctly requires a fundamental change in the way top executives make decisions." The author does a devastatingly elegant job of putting executive naivete in its place early on, the same section serving as a "lay of the land" for any aspiring commercial intelligence practitioner.
4. Definitions and Scope. The middle of the book is great on definitions and strong in comparing market research with competitive intelligence on multiple levels. In Figure 3.1 on Page 38 th author lists the following as being essential elements of any comprehensive endeavor (I put them in alpha order) Culture; Customers; Demographics; Distributors; Economy; Government and Industry Regulations; Other Industries; Prospects; Substitutes; Suppliers; Technology; AND Competitors. I will never forget the head of the French steel industry lamenting in 1993 that after spending a ton of money on studying all other national steel industries, they got cut off at the knees because they failed to realize plastic would be a substitute for automobile parts including underside parts.
5. Data, Information, and Intelligence. The author does a very fine job, the best I have seen by anyone else, distinguishing among data (pieces), information (a generic collage) and intelligence (actionable answers for specific executives making specific decisions). I like the general discussion of know versus don't know, today versus tomorrow, and the integration of assumptions (question them), changes (recognize them), and strategies (have at least one). I especially like the author's emphasis on encouraging dissent and re-evaluating soup to nuts every single year.
6. Creating or Employing a CI Capability. This portion of the book is intended to be an overview and it does a fine job there. The author also reviews sources and puts Google in its place, but fails to mention that advanced search (not what Google offers, but understanding its actual code language and using it to create subsets within subsets) offsets some of Google's shortfalls. The author properly notes that "it's not about software," and provides proper emphasis on the human aspect of intelligence, something I address in comprehensive manner with my Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Trilogy at the Public Intelligence Blog.
7. Applications. Chapter 7 details more than a dozen applications of CI, with over 70 examples of how and when to use CI.
8. Myths and Advantages. The book ends with a chapter on the 13 myths of CI followed by another on the 15 advantages of CI, and as tempted as I am to list them here, I will simply note that they also make the book worthy of purchase in and of themselves.
This book has been endorsed by Cyndi Allgaier, Babette Bensousson, and Jan Herring, whom I know to be among the top dozen English-language practitioners, and while I am focused more on creating a World Brain with embedded EarthGame that brings all eight tribes of intelligence together (Academic, Civil Society, Commercial, Government, Law Enforcement, Media, Military, and Non-Governmental), I believe this book to be the new leader, the new best in class offering for anyone thinking about "getting a grip" on reality so as to survive.
The author has done all of us a great service in producing something that is easy to read, up to date, and a great starting point for anyone from the CEO of Exxon (poor fellow) to a student at any community college wondering about being a Chief Sustainability Officer versus being a Chief Knowledge Officer--NEWS FLASH: you cannot be one without the other, do both.Competitive Intelligence Advantage: How to Minimize Risk, Avoid Surprises, and Grow Your Business in a Changing World (Wiley) Overview

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Getting It Done: How to Lead When You're Not in Charge Review

Getting It Done: How to Lead When You're Not in Charge
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Getting It Done: How to Lead When You're Not in Charge ReviewWhenever I meet with bright, motivated business people who want to improve the world, they always complain about others in their organizations who will not cooperate in a change process. Get those reluctant people on board the progress train, and the more positive future will soon arrive. Almost never do these complainers realize that their own habits, perspective, and behavior are contributing to delaying the progress by making others oppose the initiative.
Getting It Done is a wonderful book for helping each of us see ourselves as part of the problem and part of the solution in situations when many people must cooperate. That's a first in my experience.
The book builds on that valuable perspective by suggesting what skills we each need to improve, and how we can implement a process that will lead to genuine, effective progress. That is very critical, because most improvements occur because someone has designed an effective process to ease their implementation. In new areas, by definition, there is seldom such a process. My suggestion is that you try this one if you have no other.
I also liked the way the authors went on to generalize about how lateral leadership (influencing peers) provides lessons for when you are the boss. The same lessons apply here as well. Influencing people through genuine involvement leads to both better solutions and to better implementation.
If you only read and learn to apply one book this year, Getting It Done should be that book. My reasoning is simple. If you cannot help those you work with to make successful collaborations, you and everyone around you will always operate at a low level of effectiveness. Also, your work day will be filled with stress, conflict, pressure, too much to do, and worry. That's not the way you want to live. Getting It Done can help you develop the skills to get the benefits of how all of us know and can do more than any one of us. When you are able to get that benefit from being in an enterprise, life becomes very interesting, rewarding, and meaningful. You will also feel good about living closer to your potential as a person.Getting It Done: How to Lead When You're Not in Charge Overview

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