Quarterly Newsletter from Gray Matters Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Volume 1, Issue 3, March, 2009

inside this issue…

Tipping Point: Reverse MentoringGuest Column: All the Kings MenG’nome: Role of HR in turbulent timesBusiness Capuchino: Powering the Supply ChainSilver Screen: Coach CarterPerspective: Six Thinking HatsShowcase: Learnsmart – Pepsico InternationalLearning Pulse: Beatles on TeamworkAction Learning: Shackleton’s LeadershipPartnerships: Thomas InternationalInside Gray Matters: New clients …Shared Reviews: Execution

contentscontents

" Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.Your playing small does not serve the World.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that otherpeople won't feel insecure around you.

We were all meant to shine, as children do. It's not just insome of us, it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously giveother people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear. Our presenceautomatically liberates others."

Au Revoir

Over the past couple of months we have been hearing about the ‘downturn’ and the reasons why it happened. RecentlyI received a mail from a friend of mine, which explained the financial crisis in a simple language. I thought of sharingthat explanation with all of you.

“Linda is the proprietor of a bar in Cork. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - mostof whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger(thereby granting the customers loans). Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers floodinto Linda's bar.

Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Linda increases her prices forwine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively. A young and dynamic customerservice consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Linda'sborrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDSand PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide.

No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, astheir prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (subsequently of course fired due to his negativity) ofthe bank decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Linda'sbar. However they cannot pay back the debts. Linda can not fulfil her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.

DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after droppingby 80 %. The suppliers of Linda's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in thesecurities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by acompetitor.

The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governingpolitical parties (and vested interests). The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers”.

Finally an explanation I understand...

Sanjay Roy ChowdhuryManaging DirectorGray Matters Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

In lieu of an editorial ...

Sanjay Roy Chowdhury

Managing Director

Gray Matters Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

Regards

From the MD’s Desk

Tipping Point 4

For years, forward-thinking companies have viewed mentoring as a way to pass onexperience and knowledge within an organization. Hundreds of companies in anarray of industries have established formal and informal programs designed to ratchetup their competitive firepower. Yet the technological revolution has presented themodern enterprise--and human resources--with an intriguing irony: it's not uncommonfor young, entry-level workers to have a better understanding of technology thantheir managers.

In response, many organizations are shifting into reverse. They're asking tech-savvyemployees to teach the "old dogs" new tricks. "Reverse mentoring can providesubstantial benefits for an organization," says the CEO of the Center for Coachingand Mentoring in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. In a study conducted last year, the companyfound that 41 percent of respondents use reverse mentoring to spread technicalexpertise and 26 percent rely on younger staff members to help executives gain amore youthful perspective.

The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania has matchedabout 60 executives with mentors--mostly graduate students who have demonstratedan excellent grasp of technology. Each reverse-mentoring pair spends time face-to-face but also exchanges knowledge via e-mail and the phone. "Executives arebeginning to realize that knowledge isn't a one-way street. It's in everyone's bestinterest to share expertise," says Jerry Wind, director of the Wharton Fellows Program.

Another organization that has embraced reverse mentoring is Procter & Gamble. Acouple of years ago, the CIO -- a 30-plus-year veteran of the company and a longtime mentoring advocate--began a reverse-mentoring relationship with a staff scientistso that he could learn more about how science and toxicology affect businessdecisions. The pair met every month or two in an office or over lunch to discusstopics ranging from the structure of DNA to sophisticated biotechnology issues.

The person generally credited with introducing formal reverse mentoring is GeneralElectric's former CEO Jack Welch. In 1999, he ordered 500 of his top managers tofind workers who were well versed in the Internet and tap into their expertise. Welchhimself chose a mentor and blocked off time to learn about everything from Internetbookmarks to competitors' Web sites.

Setting up a successful reverse mentoring program requires a good deal of planning.It's essential to create a structured program so that participants don't wind upoverwhelmed with regular work and skip sessions.Finally, both the mentor and thestudent require training. "The mentor must learn what's important and how to showpatience, and the student has to check his or her ego at the door,". "Reverse mentoringis a great concept, but it doesn't just happen on its own."

REVERSE MENTORING

Tipping points are "the levels at which the momentum for change becomesunstoppable.“ Malcolm Gladwell in his book of the same name defines atipping point as a sociological term, "the moment of critical mass, thethreshold, the boiling point.“ In this section we would bring out articles / news& views of the unstoppable nature. A potential to become a “cult”Changing the way ‘work’ works

You’ll know that the seven-dayweekend is working its magic whenMonday loses its “Oh God, itsMonday!” stigma.

For that to happen, we must tapinto what we call the “reservoir oftalent” in the pursuit of personal orcompany goals. Everyone has awealth of instincts, interests andskills that combine to form theirtalents.

The best way to ensure jobsatisfaction over the long run is toexhaust that reservoir or to answerthe calling. After all, no one worksfor money alone.

People need more than apaycheck in their lives to feelgratification, yet most cannot figureout how to reconcile living withmaking a living.

People don’t come to work toproduce an inferior product, tocome late and leave early, to bebored and insubordinate. Theywork for a reason, for at least somekernel of interest that attractedthem to their particular field orprofession as a means of earninga paycheck. So why not create anorganization that can find out whatthis is and exploit it.

Here’s a counterintuitive idea foryou: For a company to excel,employees must be reassured thatself-interest, not the company’s istheir foremost priority. We believean employee who puts himself firstwill be motivated to perform. AtSemco this is considered a formof corporate alignment.

Employees can pursue their self-interest and fulfill the company’sagenda at the same time. If there’sa match or alignment betweenwhat we want and what they want,the results will be twofold: Whilethey’re busy satisfying themselves,they’ll satisfy the company’sobjectives, too. They succeed, wesucceed.

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.

~ Winston Churchill

5 Guest Column

suspension (Shoaib) and the absolutelybizarre ( Hodge having to join theAustralian team as a back up as MichaelClarke wanted to console his fiancéeon her fathers death). In addition, wehad 5 days to start and develop a teamculture that made sense to the diverseteam of players and staff.

It was not an easy journey, but one thatwe can now look back with pride. Prideat the way we refused to quit – pride inthe way we stayed together as a team.

Shahrukh brought a completely differentconcept of leadership to the team. Whenowners were distancing themselves fromtheir team efforts and firing CEOs,Shahrukh was quietly exhorting his boysto keep fighting.

The fundamental difference - SRK takesresponsibility for his teams actions -good or bad. He never distances himselffrom a project if the results are not asexpected. India’s most successful filmstar knows that even in films, fates aredecided every Friday, and even thebiggest soothsayer can not predict theoutcome.

John brought an Australian flavour withhim. He barely cracked a smile evenwhen McCullum was demolishingBangalore, and refused to get sweptaway when Deccan were beaten for a2-0 start. This steadiness really helpedwhen the team went through a nightmare

patch and nothing was going right. If acoach sways with the players, they havenothing comforting to hold on to in timesof great emotion. John was the rock.

If John was the rock, Sourav just refusedto give up. Even when the team wasdecimated with injuries and internationalschedules, Sourav battled on. And hewent for the jugular the moment hesensed the slightest opportunity, likewhen Umar Gul started swinging his batagainst Kings XI Punjab. If John is therock, Sourav is the ‘Rocky’ of KKR.

It has been a seismic shift for me,after joining the Kolkata KnightRiders for the inaugural season ofthe IPL.

When I was in broadcasting, theequation was very simple. If thebroadcast was on air and the matchwas being covered in the bestpossible way, we had done 90%of our job. The other 10% was theactual fine tuning of thecommentary and the cameras- theediting and wrap around showsthat add lustre and depth to theevent.

The greatest stress was laid ontwo facets, pre production andcrisis management. We plannedto be covered on all fronts evenbefore we reached the venue, andthen paid top dollar for the besttechnical experts to be on site andtrouble shoot in an emergency.Most people do not realize thatnormally, the best paid personnelin an outside broadcast are not thedirector or producer, but the farfrom glamorous engineers.

The IPL has exactly the samedemands in terms of pre planningand work. Unfortunately, the maindifference is in the results. Whenin ESPN, getting on air successfullywas 90% of the job, here thepreparation counts for nothing ifthe results do not come. We hada tumultuous first season wherewe battled against injury (Gayle),

ALL THE KINGS MEN

Joy Bhattacharjya is a mathematics graduate and has a Master of Computer Applicationdegree from Jadavpur University. The CEO of Indian Premier League team Kolkata KnightRiders, started his career with Patni Computers. Joy had been associated with various TVchannels including ESPN and National Geographic Channel and has created award-winningsoftwares as a producer. Joy is also a well-known quizmaster and was the mind behind SuperSelector and ESPN School Quiz. A keen basketball player, Joy has represented his varsityteam. He has written a couple of books on behalf of ESPN regarding Quiz and also editeda book of lists on Amitabh Bachhan and also done quite a few Corporate events.

Joy BhattacharjyaCEO

Kolkata Knight Riders

There is lot of anticipation for the secondseason of IPL. The first season was the‘learning’ season for all of us, on manycounts - Let us see where this seasontakes the Knight Riders.

Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re (We will do it,Fight for it, Win it)

G’nome 6

“It was the best of times, it wasthe worst of times….” (A Tale ofTwo Cities – Charles Dickens)

How it applies to the situation weare going through now!

The “worst of times” part of thesentence is clear. With the vagariesof the economic scenario acrossthe world and jobs haemorrhagingevery other day, the situationappears to be bleak. In such asituation, organizations andespecially HR, generally respondby resorting to stereotyped actionslike downsizing, forced holidays,salary cuts etc.

But how is it – “the best of times”?The answer lies in the maxim –“when the going gets tough, thetough get going.” Now is the timeto do some soul-searching. Whathave organizations been doing rightor not doing right? How is HR faringas a strategic business partnerduring the downturn?

According to Dr. David Kolb, ourlearning and consequently,capability building happensaccording to the “Decide-Do-Reflect-Connect” cycle.

Before beginning to do some task,we plan i.e. decide the ways ofdoing the task and then do it. Aftercompletion of the task, ideally weare to reflect (examine in detail“what happened”, “why” etc.).Thereafter, we should connect(examine the cause & effectrelationship between what was

The Institute of Directors asks: Whatare the competitive advantages for thosecompanies who do not cut training spendin a recession?

● To ensure that your business is well-positioned when the economy startsto recover. Those businesses thatdo not survive will open up marketshare to those who do.

● To remain competitive. If youremployees are knowledgeable andmotivated, they will find new waysof generating revenue.To understand your customers’buying habits and how to build ontheir loyalty. You need to maintainrepeat business in a recession.

● To enable your employees to standback from the day-to-day operationsand understand the strategicimplications of their work.

● It sends one of the most powerfulmessages to your employees - thatthey are valued. When youremployees are anxious about jobsecurity, it is more important thanever to demonstrate a commitmentto them.

● To avoid a long term skills shortageamong your employees. UKbusinesses are still recovering fromskills lost during the 1990s recessiondue to poor investment.

● Training increases productivity in theshort term, as well as the long term.The sooner you engage your staff,the earlier you can address and dealwith the impact of the recession.

•Toensurethatyo

•Toremaincompe

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understand

’buying

habits

•Toenableyoure

•Itsendsoneofthemo

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•Trainingincreasespr

ROLE OF HR IN TURBULENT TIMES

Doing

Connecting

Deciding Reflecting

planned, what was the outcome, whatworked, what did not) and then competethe cycle by deciding what do we needto do differently. It's not what you do –it's what you do after you've done it.

However, in our day-to-day life, as aparticipant in the “rat race” of competition,chasing customers and targets, we areprimarily busy “deciding and doing” –we have, more often than not, “no time”for “reflecting and connecting” aboutactions taken and outcomes. Same oftenis the case with organizations.

But can organizations afford to rest ontheir laurels? Now is the time fororganizations and leaders to “reflect andconnect”. Creating a robust outfit thatcan survive the recession as fit andhealthy as before (if not more) isimportant for ensuring sustainedperformance in the future. It would berisky to put "tomorrow on the backburner" even in the current economicclimate. "Tomorrow's outcomes will bethe result of decisions made and leftunmade today."

Therefore organizational strategies needto focus on building capableorganizations for the future. HR's role inall this cannot be ignored either. At abasic level it centers on ensuring thatleaders have the capabilities and skillsto do what they have to, as well as takingregular 'pulse checks' to monitor whatpeople are thinking. HR must championthe cause of capability building.

But for HR, the challenge has alwaysbeen, walking the tightrope betweenmaking investments in HR / ODinterventions and cost containment. Thiswould be more applicable now – in these‘dark times’ – why spend money onsomething (read people processes)where the results are not immediatelyvisible? HR initiatives are the firstcasualty during such periods.

But is investment in capability buildingreally necessary during these times of“hardship”? Putting it in another way,

7 G’nome

Why is it that HR / OD initiatives arefocused first for any economy drive inorganizations? It is because HR hasnot been able to convince withconviction. Let me elaborate…

Organizations need to base theirstrategic decision making on facts andfigures. People costs are such asignificant operational expense that itis logical to expect organizations tohave quality measures and metrics inplace to underpin people-baseddecisions such as who the top andlow performers are, performance-based incentives and effectiveness oftraining etc.

This is where HR stands on a weakwicket. The experience generally isthat while other functions anddepartments go for ‘hard’ facts, e.g.Marketing is prepared with volumes,market share, or even marketresearch, Finance generates theprofitability figures and other financialdata, HR has a penchant for resortingto ‘soft’ or qualitative data – inimportant areas like performancemanagement and capability building– which is also linked to other people-based decisions.

operational decisions without takinginto account the human element asorganizations’ intentions are turnedinto action and delivered throughpeople.

So the task is clearly laid out – HRhas to add an extra dimension to factsand figures linking processes withoutcomes, to further inform business-critical decisions.

HR also needs to explore innovativemethods of tapping the potential ofpeople in organizations, facilitatingthem to think proactively aboutbusiness success rather thanreactively about how to save theirskins.

Now is the “best of times” to build“organization preparedness” fordealing with the “worst of times”. Andit is upto HR to champion thecause!

In the recent KPMG report The Troublewith HR, the CEO of a major highstreet retailer said: "When themarketing director comes to theexecutive board meetings he presentsdata on our consumers and we aregiven enormous insight about theirbuying habits, their aspirations, theirconcerns and their hopes. We haveclear demographic data, and we canpredict with real accuracy how patternswill evolve. But when HR presentsinformation about our employees it isless precise, less concise, lessinsightful and less predictive.“

It is difficult to maximize anorganization’s performance if peopleperformance is not measured. Thereis a need for having meaningful HRmetrics that can facilitate proactivedecision-making that have financialimpact, e.g. incentives, training anddeveloping budgets etc. Employeesatisfaction will be higher and the HRdepartment will enjoy improved moraleand greater respect from the business.

Businesses must be able to changeand adapt quickly to the shiftingeconomic climate. It would beimpossible to make strategic and

Article by Adhir Ghosh,Principal Consultant,

Gray Matters

BOND WITH THE BEST — ROLEX…Ian Fleming's James Bond character worea stainless steel luminous-dial Rolex OysterPerpetual in the series of spy novels. Thatwatch came to an unfortunate end in thenovel On Her Majesty’s Secret Servicewhen he used it as an improvised knuckle-duster. In many of the early EON-producedBond films, Bond wore a Rolex Submariner.It was reference 6538.

Rolex models were used from the first Bondfilm Dr. No until 1974's The Man with theGolden Gun. Thereafter Seiko digitalwatches were worn by Bond until the RolexSubmariner reappeared in 1989's Licenceto Kill.

Since 1995's GoldenEye, OmegaSeamaster watches have been product-placed in the Bond films.

Some more ROLEX facts…Rolex is the official time keeper ofWimbledon and The AustralianOpen tennis grand slamsGolf professionals and icons GaryPlayer, Jack Nicklaus and ArnoldPalmer have all worn Rolexmodels for over 40 years andrepresent Rolex as "The Big Three"of the golf world.Sir Edmund Hillary and SherpaTenzing Norgay carried a RolexOyster: 1953, altitude 8,848 m,Mount Everest

Business capuchino 8

Harry Potter™ has thrilled the kid’sworld with its magic wand. But theoverwhelming customer-demand ofHarry Potter’s book is met by efficientsupply strategy that captures theattention of very few. Scholastic, thepublisher and distributor of HarryPotter™ and other popular children’sbooks used different magic-wand toweave magic in its vast supplynetwork. It managed its distributionnetwork through electronicallypowered supply chain. And the resultwas dramatic - revenue was doubledand earnings per share were climbedover a five-year period. The publisherand distributor has successfullymanaged the phenomenal demandsof Harry Potter™ through its cost-effective, customer-centric supplychain strategy built over improvedelectronic links it establishedthroughout every nodes of its supplynet-work.

Similarly, Dell Computer™outperformed the competition in termsof shareholders’ growth by over3000% over an eight-year period,1988-1996. The formula of thisastounding success is again virtualintegration, a strategy that is achievedby blurring the traditional boundariesbetween suppliers, manufacturers,and end users through electronicallyinterlinking every parts of its supplychain.

But not everyone was so successful.Living.com purchased Shaw FurnitureGallery, one of the largest furniturestores in US, in March of 1999, tovertically integrate with top-linefurniture manufacturers. After aninvestment of $70 million in e-businessas the exclusive Amazon.com furniture

Similarly, Peapod, the online grocerystore, collapsed due to high deliverycosts of its transporters.

These examples confirm that correctsoftware tools when applied throughright supply chain strategy can havea major impact on businessperformance. Developing integratedsupply chain strategy is a necessaryprecursor before implementingelectronic technology. Peter Nygård,Chairman of Nygård International, aglobal clothing enterprise based inManitoba, US, says, "As apparelmanufacturers develop quick responsemethods, a limiting factor to the overallsupply chain can be the textile clothmanufacturing industry. Integratedstrategies must be establishedbetween the textile supplier, apparelmanufacturer, retailer and ultimately,the consumer, to ensure rapid deliveryof fabrics to coincide with the time ofneed." Nygård International with salesin excess of $300 million, managesa textile supply chain within the USmarket and other key countriesincluding Korea, Japan, Europe andIndonesia. At the center of its efficientsupply chain management of vastglobal network of suppliers andcustomers is installation of EDI orelectronic data interchange.

Sheldon Leith, a partner with Ernst &Young's consumer products and retailgroup also observes, "The key valueof automatic stock replenishingthrough electronic network system isthat there's less labor and lessstockpiled inventory. Overall, itautomates paper-based processes,saves time and energy, which can bereapplied throughout the business."

link, Living.com declared bankruptcyon Aug. 29, 2000. Same fate met withPeapod, founded in 1989 and basedin Illinois, US. Considered one of theAmerica's leading and highlyexperienced online grocers, Peapodsuffered a loss of $29 million in 1999,and was later sold-out!

Why, in some cases, does the newbusiness model fail while in othercases it generates incredible successstories? Alternatively, if Dell andScholastic can use the Internet andother electronic technology to developsuch an effective business model,what inhibits other experienced firmslike Peapod, once entertained morethan 130,000 customers, fromadopting similar techniques andimproving their businessperformance?

“It is the better understanding ofsupply chain strategies incommensurate with organization goalsand overall business environment”,says David Simchi-Levi ofMassachusetts Institute of Technology.According to David, Internettechnology has forced companies toredefine their business models so asto create new opportunities. Whileacknowledging that the influence ofthe Internet and e-commerce on theeconomy in general has beentremendous, he found that reasonsfor the failure of Living.com, the on-line furniture mall, are investment ina new information system that did notfunction correctly in the specificbusiness environment. Moreoverswitching to a carrier that had noexperience with furniture delivery alsoled to an amazing 30% return rate,triggering to Living.com’s downfall.

POWERING THE SUPPLY CHAINWITH E-TECHNOLOGY

Debasis DaspalEx COO – KDS Accessories, Bangladesh(Currently pursuing a Management Program at MIT)

9 Business capuchinoBut how much this electronically enabled stock-replenishmentimproves fill-Rate and customer satisfaction, which are so crucialin surviving today’s volatile market. Consider the case of Wal-Mart,the world’s largest retailer. It has been at the forefront of stockreplenishing, offering shoppers more than a 98-per-cent chanceof finding a complete selection. Wal-Mart uses Retail Link, asoftware system that provides vendors with up-to-date access topoint-of-sale price and volume information, as well as its inventorypositions and forecast of future needs. In the opinion of NarendraMulani of Accenture and Hau Lee of Stanford University, whostudied success formula of Wal-Mart, implementation of Retail Linkhelps the vendor to position the right inventories, and to interactwith Wal-Mart about movement and promotions for products andcategories. Also agreed Peter Nygård, Chairman of NygårdInternational. He found that using EDI within the supply chain isnecessary to manage the constant change driven by consumerdemand.

Technology has become a core component of virtually every supplychain innovation. The Internet brings immediacy to almost anysupply chain event by capturing real-time customer demand, andby maximizing visibility into asset status, including location ofgoods-in-transit, inventory positions, and supplier capacity. Use oftechnology, even as simple as using e-mail, can sometimes provevery effective. For instance, U.K. based photography firm DoubleRed, sends its photos by e-mail rather than by post. Its customerbase has increased by 40 per cent because they can now meettighter deadlines. Music retailers can now make it easy for customersto download music over the Internet rather than post out CDs. Itis also cost-effective for software sellers to offer customers thefacility of logging on, paying for their software and downloading -all via the company's web site.

E-powered business is estimated to skyrocket to $1.3 trillion withthe promises of convenience and cost reduction, as predicted byForrester Research group. In parallel, the Internet and otheremerging e-business models have produced expectations thatmany supply chain problems will be resolved by virtue of thesenew technology and business models. E-business strategies aresupposed to reduce cost, increase service level, increase flexibility,and of course profits, albeit sometime in the future. Various electronictechnol gies inserted into supply chain give the supreme confidenceto entrepreneur. Peter Nygård echoed the same buoyancy, whenhe said “the company guarantees 100 per cent correct ordersdelivered within 24 hours or the merchandise is free”.

Debasis Daspal is a senior supply chain professional withexperience in companies like KDS - Bangladesh, Arvind Mills,Morarjee Brembana, and Raymond. He is currently pursuing amanagement program in MIT. Prior to this, he has served KDSGroup as Chief Operating Officer. His overall experience includesstrategic planning, marketing, projects management, internationalsourcing, vendor development, compliance (ISO-9001, 14001,18000), manufacturing, planning, customer service, logisticsand product development.He has contributed several articles on supply chain and strategy,regularly to print and online international journals.

Incognito…A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC andstarted to play the violin; it was a cold Januarymorning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people wentthrough the station, most of them on their way towork.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged mannoticed that there was a musician playing. He slowedhis pace and stopped for a few seconds and thenhurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later,the violinist received his first dollar tip: a womanthrew the money in the till and without stoppingcontinued to walk. A few minutes later, someoneleaned against the wall to listen to him, but the manlooked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearlyhe was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 yearold boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried butthe kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally themother pushed hard and the child continued to walkturning his head all the time. This action was repeatedby several other children. All the parents, withoutexception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20gave him money but continued to walk their normalpace. He collected $32. When he finished playingand silence took over, no one noticed it. No oneapplauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell,one of the best musicians in the world. He playedone of the most intricate pieces ever written with aviolin worth 3.5 million dollars.Two days before hisplaying in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at atheatre in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito inthe metro station was organized by the WashingtonPost as part of a social experiment aboutperception, taste and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty?Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize thetalent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experiencecould be: If we do not have a moment to stop andlisten to one of the best musicians in the worldplaying the best music ever written, how many otherthings are we missing?

Silver Screen 10

Learning ManagementThro’ Movies

Coach Carter is a 2005 drama film released by Paramount Picture, and directed by ThomasCarter. It is based on a true story, in which Richmond High School head basketball coach KenCarter made headlines in 1999 for benching his undefeated team due to poor academic results.

Economic downturns are scary timesfor employees. Many firms cut personneland add to the workload of the remainingemployees. But few forward lookingorganizations utilize these ‘slack’ timesfor developing skills in their employeesto build a ‘lifetime’ individuality. Thiswould bring loyalty amongst employeesand also help in build up a ‘robust’corporation, which is great from its ‘core’.

The movie ‘Coach Carter’ gives us agood understanding of how a basketballcoach goes about bringing in a ‘lifetime’individuality for all the players.

Carter was appointed as the coach todevelop a winning team, but he soughtto do that not only by teaching thembasketball skills but also making themlearn ‘life skills’. At the end he createsan ‘undefeated team’ who plays the statechampionship, but more importantly theyall get admission into good colleges forfurtherance of their career.

The movie begins with a basketball teamplaying against St. Francis, only to endup with the teams fighting with eachother. After the game, Kenneth Carter(Samuel L. Jackson) is officially offereda part-time, low-paying ($1,500 for thewhole basketball season) job coachingthe basketball team at his old highschool, an inner-city public school inRichmond, California for which he hadpreviously played and set of as yetunbroken records. Although he discoversthe players to be unruly anddisrespectful, he accepts and starts togain their respect.

Coach Carter sets strict new rules forthe team in the form of contracts — Heforbids use of the word "Nigger" (lest

it be used in moderation) and expectshis players to address him as "Sir," theymust maintain a 2.3 grade point average(not just the 2.0 GPA set by the CHSAA),they must attend classes and sit in thefront row, and they must wear jacketsand ties on game days (similar to theNBA dress code). One of the players,Timo Cruz, walks out of practice on thefirst day after an altercation with Carter.Two other team members, who werelast season's scoring leaders, also walkout on the team,.

When we enter an organization, we arehanded over ‘set performance norms’just like the way Coach Carter did forhis players. We are also supposed tomeet these norms as part of our contractand if we do so, the organization andus, both benefit. Both sides need to keeptheir part of the contract for it to besuccessful.

Carter's son Damien, a good studentwho attended and played basketball atthe private school St. Francis, quits theprivate school (against his father'swishes) and transfers to Richmond HighSchool to play basketball on his father'steam. Carter only agreed after Damiensigned a contract stating that he willmaintain a GPA of 3.7.

Senior role-holders also need to beperceived as being fair in treatment ofall staff, without any special “rules” forsome.This ensures commitment.

Cruz walks in on practice one day, askingto return. Carter challenges him with theseemingly impossible task of 1000suicides and 2500 pushups to becompleted in less than a week. Cruz

comes close to the target but is unableto fully finish.

His teammates impress Carter byoffering to do the rest of the suicidesand pushups for Cruz, after which Carterallows Cruz back on the team. Together,Carter and the team, after a heavycourse of working out win their first matchonly to be followed by multipleconsecutive wins.

Real teamwork is all about mutualaccountability.Team members of unitsin organizations must take collectiveownership, if they are to make their unitsand organizations “win”.

Despite the team's winning record,Carter eventually realizes the playersare becoming arrogant and that manyof them are not living up to his academicrequirements.

Carter solved the former problem bymaking fun of them in practice andeventually putting a rule that cockybehavior was prohibited.

Later, the team is invited to play in atournament which they win in dramaticfashion over the home squad.

But after seeing the poor grades in theacademic reports of the team, Cartercracks down on them and locks themout of the gym in the midst of the stillundefeated season. He cancelsbasketball practice, forfeits gamesincluding the most important game ofthe season, and makes the team spendpractice time in the library, being tutoredby some of their teachers. Although afew of the players are fulfilling thecontract Carter insists that all the playersmust accept the consequences for theircollective actions as a team.

11 Silver ScreenHerein comes the ‘core ideology’.Coach Carter, apart from basketball,wanted the players to get into goodcolleges so that they do not get into‘bad company’ after school. So hewanted to instill in the players, disciplineand sense of responsibility for dutiesthat may not be attractive to them(studies).

Discipline plays a huge role in thedevelopment of an individual and it alsoaffects the organization in the long run.Organizations often get elated by ‘quickwins’ without realizing that the ‘core’ ofall these might not be right and hencethe results are not sustainable in thelong run.

We also often forget the ‘big picture’ inour enthusiasm of short termachievements. A good manager shouldnever loose sight of the bigger goal andshould always take corrective steps forthat – even if that means loss in theshort term. If the base is not strong, thebuilding will eventually fall.

Eventually, the school board and theparents fight back against Carter’sactions. The board eventually votes4–2 to end the lockout, the dissentingvotes being the school's principal andthe chairwoman of the board. Carter ison the verge of quitting, but when hearrives at the gym to pack up his things,he finds the players sitting at schooldesks in the gym, with their teacherstutoring them. The players point outthat even though the gym is reopened,the school board can't force them toplay

The action of ‘sitting in the gym’ andstudying shows that the boys havegrown up. Often we operate in the‘parent-to-child’ directive mode with ouremployees who are not mature. Butover a period of time, when theyunderstand the manager’s actions areultimately beneficial to them, theybecome mature and take ‘profitabledecisions’. Then the superior can resortto ‘adult-to-adult’ communication. Thisis transactional analysis. There is aParent, Adult and Child in all of us. Weswitch our behaviours based on ourpereption of the others behaviour. Inlife also we follow the same principles,we talk to a child like a child, as aParent. When the child grows

The movie “Coach Carter” also givesus a good understanding of conceptsof Value Exchange and PerformanceManagement.

What is Value Exchange?

It is the exchange of value between anemployer and an employee.

What is the value we areexchanging?

The value being exchanged is at twolevels, Employer – satisfying employeeneeds through appropriate investment,Employee – exhibiting profit maximisingbehaviour.

Why do we need to exchange? Forthe benefit of both the parties, employerand employee. This would meet thegoals of both the entities.

At the philosophical level, ValueExchange: Is a belief about howorganizations must continually (re)allocate resources to optimize the valueof customer, employee, supplier andinvestor relationships. If implementedproperly, Value Exchange will guideleadership decisions about investmentsin people, processes and technologythat are necessary and sufficient todeliver predictably positive experiencesfor customers, employees, suppliersand investors in areas they value most.

At the tactical level, Value Exchange:Identifies the specific investmentsrequired to promote and sustain profit-producing customer, employee, andsupplier behaviours at an individuallevel. Provides a causal model thatenables organizations, over time, todrive down investment managementdecisions to employees who must beable to optimize shareholder value.Focuses on the simultaneous challengeof acquiring new customers, as well asimproving their profitability and retentionlevels. Represents a dynamic andcontinuous way to improve businessperformance.

up and learns to handle life on his own,we have adult-to-adult interactions.

Carter is heartened and decides to stay,thanking the players.

The team makes it into the state high-school championship playoffs. The bigclimactic game takes place at the statetournament's first round against the #1ranked team in the state, St. Francis(starring a superstar NBA prospect).But in spite of close competition,Richmond loses.

The team is understandablydisappointed by the loss, but Cartergives them an inspirational talk aboutall they've accomplished, quotingRichmond High School's pump-upcheer "Rich-what? Richmond!" and tellsthem that this loss wont ever take awaywhat they've accomplished.

Organizations need to realize that it isnot about business results andprofitability only. Investment in peopleand ensuring their growth translates tocommitment and corporate identity. Itis the employees who become brandambassadors if they dvelop into goodprofessionals.Moreover, organizationsalso create a better society when theirstaff develop.

Over the closing song, it is told that sixof the players went on to college (thiswas a school at which only about 50%of students graduated, and only 6% ofthose who graduate usually went tocollege). Junior Battle went to San JoseState University on a full scholarship.Jason Lyle went to San Diego StateUniversity and received a degree inBusiness Administration. Timo Cruzattended Humboldt State Universitywhere he became a starting guard.Jaron "Worm" Willis received ascholarship to San Francisco StateUniversity where he played point guardfor four years. Kenyon Stone attended and received a degree inCommunications. Damien Carter wenton to break the Richmond High Schoolscoring and assist records previouslyheld by his father. Upon graduation, heattended the U.S. Military Academy atWest Point.

-- Analysis by Gray Matters Team

Prespective 12

"Six Thinking Hats" is a powerfultechnique that helps you look atimportant decisions from a number ofdifferent perspectives. It helps youmake better decisions by pushing youto move outside your habitual waysof thinking. As such, it helps youunderstand the full complexity of adecision, and spot issues andopportunities which you mightotherwise not notice.

Many successful people think from avery rational, positive viewpoint, andthis is part of the reason that they aresuccessful. Often, though, they mayfail to look at problems from emotional,intuitive, creative or negativeviewpoints. This can mean that theyunderestimate resistance to change,don't make creative leaps, and fail tomake essential contingency plans.

Similarly, pessimists may beexcessively defensive, and peopleused to a very logical approach toproblem solving may fail to engagetheir creativity or listen to their intuition.If you look at a problem using the SixThinking Hats technique, then you'lluse all of these approaches to develop

your best solution. Your decisions andplans will mix ambition, skill inexecution, sensitivity, creativity andgood contingency planning.

This tool was created by Edward deBono in his book "6 Thinking Hats".

How to Use the Tool:

To use Six Thinking Hats to improvethe quality of your decision-making,look at the decision "wearing" each ofthe thinking hats in turn.

Each "Thinking Hat" is a different styleof thinking. These are explained below:

White Hat:With this thinking hat, you focus onthe data available. Look at theinformation you have, and see whatyou can learn from it. Look for gapsin your knowledge, and either try tofill them or take account of them.

This is where you analyze past trends,and try to extrapolate from historicaldata.

Red Hat:Wearing the red hat, you look at thedecision using intuition, gut reaction,

and emotion. Also try to think howother people will react emotionally,and try to understand the intuitiveresponses of people who do not fullyknow your reasoning.

Black Hat:When using black hat thinking, lookat things pessimistically, cautiouslyand defensively. Try to see why ideasand approaches might not work. Thisis important because it highlights theweak points in a plan or course ofaction. It allows you to eliminate them,alter your approach, or preparecontingency plans to counter problemsthat arise.

Black Hat thinking helps to make yourplans tougher and more resilient. Itcan also help you to spot fatal flawsand risks before you embark on acourse of action. Black Hat thinkingis one of the real benefits of thistechnique, as many successful peopleget so used to thinking positively thatoften they cannot see problems inadvance, leaving them under-preparedfor difficulties.

Yellow Hat:The yellow hat helps you to thinkpositively. It is the optimistic viewpointthat helps you to see all the benefitsof the decision and the value in it, andspot the opportunities that arise fromit. Yellow Hat thinking helps you tokeep going when everything looksgloomy and difficult.

Green Hat:The Green Hat stands for creativity.This is where you can develop creativesolutions to a problem. It is afreewheeling way of thinking, in whichthere is little criticism of ideas. A wholerange of creative tools can help youhere.

SIX THINKING HATSBy Dr. Edward de Bono

13 PrespectiveBlue Hat:The Blue Hat stands for processcontrol. This is the hat worn by peoplechairing meetings. When running intodifficulties because ideas are runningdry, they may direct activity into GreenHat thinking. When contingency plansare needed, they will ask for BlackHat thinking, and so on.

You can use Six Thinking Hats inmeetings or on your own. In meetingsit has the benefit of defusing thedisagreements that can happen whenpeople with different thinking stylesdiscuss the same problem.

A similar approach is to look atproblems from the point of view ofdifferent professionals (e.g. doctors,architects, sales directors) or differentcustomers.

Example:

The directors of a property companyare looking at whether they shouldconstruct a new office building. Theeconomy is doing well, and the amountof vacant office space is reducingsharply. As part of their decision theydecide to use the 6 Thinking Hatstechnique during a planning meeting.

Looking at the problem with the WhiteHat, they analyze the data they have.They examine the trend in vacantoffice space, which shows a sharpreduction. They anticipate that by thetime the office block would be

completed, that there will be a severeshortage of office space. Currentgovernment projections show steadyeconomic growth for at least theconstruction period.

With Red Hat thinking, some of thedirectors think the proposed buildinglooks quite ugly. While it would behighly cost-effective, they worry thatpeople would not like to work in it.

When they think with the Black Hat,they worry that government projectionsmay be wrong. The economy may beabout to enter a 'cyclical downturn', inwhich case the office building may beempty for a long time.

If the building is not attractive, thencompanies will choose to work in

another better-looking building at thesame rent.

With the Yellow Hat, however, if theeconomy holds up and theirprojections are correct, the companystands to make a great deal of money.

If they are lucky, maybe they couldsell the building before the nextdownturn,

or rent to tenants on long-term leasesthat will last through any recession.

With Green Hat thinking they considerwhether they should change thedesign to make the building morepleasant. Perhaps they could buildprestige offices that people would want

to rent in any economic climate.Alternatively, maybe they should investthe money in the short term to buy upproperty at a low cost when arecession comes.

The Blue Hat has been used by themeeting's Chair to move between thedifferent thinking styles. He or shemay have needed to keep othermembers of the team from switchingstyles, or from criticizing other peoples'points.

Key points:

Six Thinking Hats is a good techniquefor looking at the effects of a decisionfrom a number of different points ofview.

It allows necessary emotion andskepticism to be brought into whatwould otherwise be purely rationaldecisions. It opens up the opportunityfor creativity within Decision Making.It also helps, for example, persistentlypessimistic people to be positive andcreative.

Plans developed using the '6 ThinkingHats' technique are sounder and moreresilient than would otherwise be thecase. This technique may also helpyou to avoid public relations mistakes,and spot good reasons not to followa course of action, before you havecommitted to it.

Scrabble began as Lexico in 1931, the creation of an out-of-work architect, AlfredMosher Butts. He determined the frequency of each letter in the game and itsvalue by reviewing the front page of The New York Times.

The first annual Eton vs Harrow cricket match took place at Lord’s in 1805, whenthe poet Lord Byron was on the losing Harrow team.

The first England team to visit Australia, in 1861, included G. Wells, father ofnovelist H.G.Wells.

The first cricket World Cup took place in 1973 – for women. The first men’sWorld Cup took place in 1975.

Ronald Reagan, later US president, appeared as Notre Dame football starGeorge Gripp, in the biographical film Knute Rockne, All American (1940)

English novelist Jane Austen refers to ‘base ball’ in her 1798 novel NorthangerAbbey (although the game as we know today started only in 1825)

LEARNSMART: TRAININGMANAGEMENT SYSTEM

PepsiCo, the world leader in convenientfoods and beverages, has a communityof over 157,000 employees spread overmore than 200 countries and territoriesacross the globe with annual revenuesin excess of $33 billion.PepsiCo’s mission is to be the world’spremier consumer Products Companyfocused on convenient foods andbeverages. The company seeks toproduce healthy financial rewards toinvestors as it provides opportunities forgrowth and enrichment to its employees,business partners and the communitiesin which it operates.PepsiCo now has many global brands,which include:Pepsi-Cola, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew(Diet & Regular), Gatorade, Walkers,Lays Potato Chips, Doritos Tortilla Chips,Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice,7-UP (Outside USA), Cheetos CheeseFlavoured Snacks, Quaker Cereals,Aquafina Bottled Water, Ruffles PotatoChips, Mirinda, Tostitos Tortilla Chips,Sierra Mist (Diet & Regular) and FritosCorn Chips.Founded in 1965 through the merger ofPepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay, PepsiCoentered India in 1989 and in the spanof a little more than a decade, has grownto become the country’s largest sellingsoft drinks company as well as dominantplayer in the snack food segment (Frito-Lay is the leader in the branded potatochips market).As part of its sustainable developmentinitiatives, PepsiCo India has been acommitted leader in the promotion ofrain water harvesting, waterconservation recycling and the reductionof effluent discharge.

The “Learnsmart” System

Pepsico International has a unique Training Management System driven throughtheir Intranet, wherein employees are fully empowered to choose and plan theirown Training & Development schedule in a calendar year within the budgetallocated to them, by attending Training programs floated by the organizationor buying books for self development. At their own will. At their own pace.

Career Development

When thinking about new opportunities and potential moves, PepsiCo typicallyconsiders five factors. These are: proven results, leadership capability, functionalexcellence, knowing the business cold and key experiences. These elementsare evaluated against the current set of opportunities as well as longer-termcommitment to growth and development of the employees.

PepsiCo’s Values:

To deliver Sustained Growth through empowered people actingwith responsibility and building trust

PepsiCo’s Guiding Principles:

Care for customers, consumers and the world we live in.Sell only products we can be proud of.

Speak with truth and candor.Balance short term and long term.Win with diversity and inclusion.

Respect others and succeed together.

Fig. Pepsico’s Leadership Model & Training Framework

LeadershipImperatives

SuccessFactors

CompetencyDimensions

Showcase 14

15 ShowcaseInitiatives for development of employees for sustained growth:

The leadership and functional competency of employees as well as theirknowledge of business under the PepsiCo leadership model frameworkis developed through a bouquet of training initiatives that the employeehas an option to choose from. This conforms to the core value ofempowerment of employees and build talent through self initiative.

Each employee is provided with a Learnsmart account with a yearlybudget and corresponding training program list published on the intranet.

The Learnsmart kit has a Learnsmart card with a login id and passwordcustomized for each employee. The budget and selection of trainingprogrammes available for selection corresponds to the employee’s joblevel.

The Innovative LEARNSMART concept of PepsicoInternational has a“Learnsmart” debit cardthrough which theemployees monitor theirLearning balance in theCompany Intranet.

The employee is provided with his/ her developmental priorities in theperformance appraisal form and is explained the same during the focalpoint discussion at the end of each performance cycle.

The employee also discusses the Career Development Action Plan withthe manager on the basis of his/ her career aspirations, performanceand exposure history, potential and the opportunities in the organization.The developmental priorities as well as requirement of the future roleform the basis of the training needs for the employee and translate intoa 70:20:10 action plan with 70% focus on on-job-learning, 20% focuson coaching/ mentoring, 10% focus on classroom training. Learnsmarttakes care of this 10% classroom training requirement.

The employee is required to input his/ her individual training needs inthe Learnsmart system.

The Learnsmart administrators in the Organization Capability teamsevaluate the key training requirements, liase with trainers, consultantsand educational institutes to finalize the training courses to be publishedin the intranet.

These are some of thescreenshots from theLEARN SMART Intranet

Both leadership training and functional trainingincluding technical training options feature inthe list. Details of the training program, venue,faculty and no. of seats available in eachprogram are mentioned.

There are options of exclusive trainingprograms conducted internally by internal orexternal faculty or nomination to externaltraining programs.

An individual may shop online for acombination of training programs and therequest is automatically sent online formanager’s approval.

Once manager approves the trainingnomination, HR department coordinates thetraining. Learnsmart features the traininghistory of every individual for his/ her reference.

Learnsmart budget can also be utilized forhobbies and for purchasing books from thelist of books available on this site. This isintended to take care of holistic developmentof the employee and his work-life balanceneeds.

“MyDevelopNet” – Pepsico’s singlewindow People Process website

Learning Pulse 16

OUR OFFERINGS

Individual EffectivenessCommunication SkillsPresentation SkillsTime ManagementWorkplace EtiquetteAssertiveness SkillsInfluencing SkillsWork-Life BalanceTransactional AnalysisHuman Process Labs

Functional EffectivenessNegotiation SkillsSelling SkillsInterviewing SkillsProblem Solving & CreativityConflict ManagementCustomer RelationshipPerf. Feedback & Counseling

OrganizationalEffectivenessCulture Building WorkshopsCompetency ManagementBalanced ScorecardBasic HR TrainingAdvanced HR SkillsCompensation & Rewards

Leadership DevelopmentBasic LeadershipFacilitative LeadershipTransformational Leadership

Signature ProgramsWinning Habits of Effective PeopleHigh Performance TeamsSilver Screen-Management thro’ movies

BEATLES: On TeamworkWe have all been witness to failure of global teams - andnot because the team quality was bad. But the qualitywas too good!

They were all rock stars- right from engineering folks tomanagers, but somehow didn’t gel well with each other.

What do you think keeps teams rocking together, read on some lessons from the BEATLES.

Invest in Face TimeIn today’s global world, most of the team members are spread across the geography [virtualteams], and the only piece of communication channels are emails/conference calls. Contrastthis with Beatles -”When the young Beatles first hit the top of the U.K. charts in 1963, with“Please Please Me,” they seemed like an overnight sensation, but they weren’t. Behind theirseemingly effortless playing were thousands of hours logged performing together in the clubsof Liverpool and Hamburg. This face time forged the individual Beatles into a cohesive, tightlyknit team that Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger called, enviously, “the four-headed hydra.”Beatles, no matter how different they were spent time with each other and that glued themas a team. So when they performed live, they had a blast! While today’s managers are moreconcerned about short term costs [of bringing the global team under a roof] and tend tooverlook the long term benefit of having a well-glued team.

Evolve/Experiment and keep pumping the EnthusiasmOne of the most significant reason for teams to fail is lack of motivation. Over a period of time,motivation level heads southwards and managers, in general don’t realize this until its toolate.

Unless the team innovate and experiment and have the ‘Lets try this’ approach, motivationlevels are difficult to maintain.” The Beatles had profound powers of observation. They absorbedthe world around them, framed it musically, and gave it back to us. Complacency — beingcontent to sing “I Want to Hold Your Hand” over and over again — is the enemy of sustainablesuccess. The way to keep clients and customers for life is to evolve your songs with them — to constantly expand your repertoire.

Give everybody a chance - Rock stars as well as pop ones!How many times have you seen people quitting an organization because they were neverappreciated? We have seen managers respecting the rock stars but not the others - Alwaysremember that you need all sorts of people in team to make the it happen.” For example,drummers always feel underappreciated in rock groups, and Ringo Starr was no exception.So Lennon and McCartney would write a song for him to sing on almost every album. As theBeatles matured as a team, they worked even harder to recognize and embrace each player.It worked: The individual Beatles became brands within the brand”.

And most importantly - Bring people who are different from you and of course, Agreeto Disagree.

Most of the managers are scared to bring in people who are different from themselves.Reason? They cannot agree to disagree. Ideas are not discussed and are instead imposed!.And the result? We all know.” The most successful songwriting duo in history, in contrast, wascomposed of two individuals — John Lennon and Paul McCartney — who were dissimilar inalmost every respect. When they first met, in July 1957, Lennon was a cynical, angry, sarcasticyoung man of 16 who was constantly getting into trouble. Ultimately, he came to loathe theBeatles’ fame. McCartney, on the other hand, was optimistic and hardworking. He liked toplease, and would later adore celebrity. Despite their differences, they were drawn togetherby a shared love of American rock and roll and their powerful musical ambitions.”

17 Action learningSir Ernest Shackleton has been called “thegreatest leader that ever came on God’searth, bar none” for saving the lives of the27 men stranded with him on an Antarcticice floe for almost two years from 1914 to1916, when their ship Endurance, wreckedin the Antarctic ice. They were stranded 1200miles from civilization with no means ofcommunication and no hope for rescue. The

temperatures were so low the men could here water freeze. They subsisted on a dietof penguins, dogs and seals. And when the ice began to break up, Shackleton set outto save them all on hic heroic 800 mile trip across frigid South Atlantic – in little morethan a row boat. Unlike most other polar expeditions, every man survived – not only

in good health, but also in good spirits – all due to the leadership of Shackleton.

Shackleton’s way of developing Leadership Skills:

● Cultivate a sense of compassion and responsibility for others. You have a biggerimpact on the lives of those under you than you can imagine.

● Once you make a career decision, commit to stick through the tough learningperiod.

● Do your part to help create an upbeat environment at work. A positive andcheerful workplace is important to productivity.

● Broaden your cultural and social horizons beyond your usual experiences.Learning to see things from different perspectives will give you greater flexibilityin problem solving at work.

● In a rapidly changing world, be willing to venture in new directions to seize newopportunities and learn new skills.

● Find a way to turn setbacks and failures to your advantage. This would be agood time to step forward on your own.

● Be bold in vision and careful in planning. Dare to try something new, but bemeticulous enough in your proposal to give your ideas a good chance ofsucceeding.

● Learn from past mistakes – yours and those made by others. Sometimes thebest teachers are the bad bosses and the negative experiences.

● Never insist on reaching a goal at any cost. It must be achieved at a reasonableexpense, without undue hardship for your staff.

● Don’t be drawn into public disputes with rivals. Rather, engage in respectfulcompetition. You may need their cooperation some day.

Motivation Communication LeadershipPhysical endurance Facing ChallengeTeam Building Problem Solving TrustOvercoming Fear Planning Commitment

Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results — George S. Patton

Apsailing

Burma Bridge

Rock Climbing

TheShackletonAdventure

Partnerships 18

For nearly 30 years ThomasInternational has been a globalprovider of objective managementsystems and business assessmenttools that help organizations solvetheir people puzzles.

Thomas carries out over one millionassessments every year, and witha presence in over 60 countries,the behavioural assessments areavailable in 56 different languages.

Thomas personality, behavioural,aptitude and ability tests analyzepeople’s behavioural style at work,identify their strengths andlimitations and help measure theirmental agility. They have manyapplications including recruitmentand retention, personal andorganizational development,succession planning, coaching,team building, career planning andappraisal.

Our user friendly online systemenables clients to apply and usethese business tools, and ourexperienced trainers andconsultants are always availableto give you support and advice.

Job Profiling/ Human Job Analysis

Before you can recruit the right personto the right job you need to understandnot only the candidate’s profile butthat of the role itself. Just asbehavioural profiling with PPA enablesyou to understand the behaviouralcharacteristics of an individual, jobprofiling helps you identify thebehavioural requirements of a job.

Why use Thomas job profiling tool?

Job profiling complements thepsychometric profiling that PersonalProfile Analysis delivers. Both enableyou to 'fit' job and candidate togetherseamlessly. By comparing a PPAprofile against that of a job profile youare able to assess how well a personwould 'fit' the role. Thomas'psychometric and behavioural profilingworks in tandem with job profiling.

What does job profiling do?

Job profiling helps you to think of thekey behavioural requirements of thejob you are recruiting for in a naturaland intuitive way. The process isstructured to give you a template intowhich you can slot a candidate.

To assist in analyzing how well PPAresults compare to a job profile,Thomas has designed a guideline thatoffers external, expert opinion on howgood a fit there is. Called ‘Goodnessof Fit’ the guidelines are in the formof a rating system ‘Fit 1’ through to‘Fit 5’.

Thomas Assessments India PrivateLimited has an exclusive marketing tie-up with Gray Matters Consulting Pvt. Ltd.for the Indian market and a JointPartnership for Nepal and Bangladesh.Solving your people puzzles

Thomas Assessments Private Ltd –

- Exclusively represent ThomasInternational interests andpractices in India and SAARC

- Established in 1997 in Bangaloreand Mumbai, currently sevenoffices, team of 72

- 500 + clients across a spectrumof industries and sectors

- Comprehensive AssessmentRange – Work Intellect,Behaviour, Skills, EmotionalIntelligence, Competencies

- Among the fastest growingassessment companies in India

In India and the SAARC

Thomas assessments cover three main areas:Personality and behaviourThomas PPA - Personal Profile Analysis / Thomas EIQ - EmotionalIntelligence Questionnaire / Thomas 360Aptitude and abilityThomas GIA/TST - General Intelligence Assessment and Tests for Selectionand TrainingJob profilingThomas JOB

Personal Profile Analysis (PPA)

Our work personality profile tool,Personal Profile Analysis (PPA)provides an insight into how peoplebehave at work answering questionssuch as –What are their strengths andlimitations? Are they self starters?How do they communicate? Whatmotivates them?

Key Benefits

Fast, accurate and cost effective

Takes only 7-8 minutes to complete

Eliminates the need for guesswork

Enables more effective peoplemanagement

How does the Personal ProfileAnalysis work?

Personal Profile Analysis is a seriesof 24 forced-choice questions, takingno more than 7-8 minutes to complete,in which the individual selects oneadjective most like them and one leastlike them per line.

Personal Profile Analysis has receiveda Certificate of Registration from theBritish Psychological Society (BPS)to confirm it meets all psychometricrequirements for use as apsychological tool. Thomas is also afounder member of the Business TestPublishers Association (BTPA)dedicated to improving the quality ofpublished assessments. ", dedicatedto improving the quality of publishedassessments."

If you are interested to know more about Thomas products, do visit –www.thomasinternational.net or mail us at contact@graymatters.co.in or call

our representatives for a discussion and a demo of the products.

19 Partnerships

Team Audits

Thomas' Team Audit has been developedto help you build high performance teams.Using our behavioural assessment tool,Personal Profile Analysis, it is a team testthat gets to the root cause of team issuesand problems in hours rather than weeks.It is a unique team evaluation andassessment tool.

Benefits of team audits:

Identify ideal team culture

Assess existing team profile

Provide a gap analysis in terms ofbehavioural and role short fall

Team Development

A team test helps members understandthemselves and the impact their behaviourhas on others and can have a massiveimpact on team development. A teamevaluation can be used when teams arenot performing as well as they should,when a company strategy calls for change,if an organization is not performing orwhen there is a change to the membershipof the team.

Why team assessment?

Team audits help you build highperformance teams. Good team work isthe cornerstone to business success buttoo often companies get it wrong. So, whatmakes a good team great? A successfulteam needs the right proportion of peoplewith the right mix of skills, experience andperspective. A high performance teamrelies on three factors:

Self awareness

Recognition of different team member’scontributions

Modification of behaviour to enhance teameffectiveness

Team development can deliver this.

A team must analyse its structure - –howit works, what it's strengths and limitationsare and the role each person plays withinit. If your team is not working as well asit could be you need a team test to get tothe root cause of the problem and planremedial measures to address it.

Team Audits enable you to identify yourideal team culture, assess actual teammembers and analyse the gap in termsof behavioural and role shortfall. Teamaudits also predict a team’s reaction tochange, allowing an organisation to planwith confidence.

Test for Selection and Training/ GIA

Ability testing is an accurate andreliable predictor of a person'sdevelopment potential - how quicklythey can learn and retain new skillsand procedures. Thomas' abilityassessment and aptitude testingpredict a person's potential.

Key benefits of aptitude and abilitytesting:● Objective and fair● Online aptitude test● Quick to administer - –total testing

time is 45 minutes● Accurate and reliable predictor of

ability● Gives complete picture of a person

- PPA works in tandem with ability assessment and aptitude testing

● Identifies fast track potential● Reduction in training and

development cost by using aptitudeand ability assessment

TST can provide answers toquestions such as:● Can this person think on their feet?● Can they cope with the mental

demands of the job?● Could this person be a high flyer?● Is this person a problem solver?● To what degree can this person

respond to training?

Emotional IntelligenceQuestionnaire (EIQ)

Thomas' Emotional IntelligenceQuestionnaire and assessment is anaccurate and objective way tomeasure emotional intelligence andcompetence in the work context.

An emotional intelligence test canhelp you manage your people better,equip your managers with the skillsthey need to be more successful,facilitate more productive teams andenable better communicationthroughout the organization.

Research suggests that emotionalintelligence accounts for as much as31% of success in managementcontexts. An emotional intelligenceassessment will enable you tomeasure this.

Thomas' Emotional IntelligenceQuestionnaire is underpinned by aleading International researchprogramme led by Dr KV Petrides atthe Institute of Education, Universityof London. The current version of thisEI assessment has been developedby Dr KV Petrides and ProfessorAdrian Furnham, University CollegeLondon.

"People don't leave jobs they leavemanagers. Emotional Intelligence cangive you the edge to help people lead,manage and perform in today'scompetitive and complexmarketplace."

The questionnaire is comprised of153 questions ranked through sevenoptions from 'completely agree' to'completely disagree', takingapproximately 20-25 minutes tocomplete. There are no right or wronganswers, no bad scores, simply facetsof emotion that may or may notcontribute to a job role.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

It is an individual's capacity tounderstand and control their ownemotions, and recognize and managethose of others so that they, andothers around them, can be aseffective and productive as possibleat work.

Thomas360 Questionnaire

How does Thomas360 work?

The Thomas360 feedback tool is webbased, accessible through theThomas website in the same way asEI, PPA and TST. The participant (theperson who is the subject of the 360assessment) nominates a minimumof 4 respondents to give feedbackabout a set of competencies (aminimum of 4 is needed so thatfeedback can remain anonymous).Respondents can be their linemanagers, peers, team members oreven

customers and clients. The participantdrives the process, by nominatingrespondents who then receive anemail login to complete thequestionnaire.

Inside gray matters

OUR PARTNERSHIPS … SO FAR…

Graffiti at GrayMatters

“The people who receive the mostare the one’s who give the most. Thisis true of individuals, but also forbusinesses. If the focus is on howcan we give the absolute bestservices, then the profits will follow.

If a company is only focussed onprofits, they miss the big picture andwill always be scurrying for businessinstead of having clients looking forthem”

Good management is the art ofmaking problems so interesting andtheir solutions so constructive thateveryone wants to get to work anddeal with them

HR On-Site

Is it a bird, is it a plane! Soon, a town near Kolkata, around 160km away,will have the first privately held greenfield Airport project and a Township– Aerotropolis, in association with Changi Airports, Singapore. The total

area of operation would be nearly 2300 acres.Gray Matters has been appointed as the “HRPartner” for the project. Our responsibilityincludes, design and implementation of all theHR systems and processes, for the Airport andthe township. This is the new paradigm inKolkata where Gray Matters is engaged toevolve this paradigm by setting up a HRFunction customized to the specific needs andambience of the entity. The process involves

working on-site with the staff of the organization – understanding the‘strategy’, designing the ‘processes’ and ‘hand-holding’ the ‘setting-up’ and‘handing over’ the completed set-up.

Balanced Scorecard.

Every organization looks for a performance management system which isaligned to its business. In Dhaka, recently, our MD conducted a workshopfor Bangla Trac Limited, the Caterpillar dealer in that country, on BalancedScorecard. The senior people in the organization participated in the workshopand were very enthused about the methodology adopted for the workshop.Gray Matters took the help of videos and movies to explain the concept ofBalanced Scorecard to the organization. The workshop was also reportedin two of the major dailies in the Country – New Age and The Independent.

20

Inside gray matters

WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU? DO YOU WANT TO SHARE? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO READ?

contact@graymatters.co.in

If you need any information of ourproducts and services, you canmail us and we will surely respondto you with adequate details.

If you have an interesting concept in yourorganization which you would like to sharewith the community, do write to us andwe will get in touch with you for details.

OUR CLIENTS IN THE PASTTWO YEARSProduct Snapshot Gray Matters intervention in Education & Academics

with E3 model of Enlist – Equip –Evaluate for schoolsand educational institutions that believe in excellenceand commitment in the education sector.

Amidst many educational brands in competition, the onedesiring supremacy must select & retain the right resourcealong with measurement and development of learningservice delivery.

Gray Matters interventions would allow dynamic interplaybetween teachers, students and guardians which wouldgenerate Institution brand with effective teachers,successful students and increased revenue.

What’s (v-e-r-y) special about you?

Tell us what else you would like to seein Gray Matters Quarterly and we willdefinitely try to incorporate your requestsin our subsequent publications.

Education

Sector

Enlist - ABC of Selection - for Educational Institutes where we provide assistanceto acquire high quality talent and also assist to assess the right person to beappointed for teaching role with the help of International profiling tools.

Equip - T3 Workshop – Train the Teacher WorkshopBehavioral training Workshop for teachers to equip them in various disciplinesas part of their development plan.

Evaluate - APPLAUD -Appraising Performance for Leadership And UnleashingDevelopment - Appraisal System for teachers with rating scale based oncompetencies, key performance indicators and feedback from students andguardians. Teachers Development Plan based on achieved appraisal ratings.

“Matters” which gives us an “Edge”

Our wide experience in the Corporate sector, which we replicate for theEducation sector.

Our specialty in the field of HR, Branding and Communication from wideindustry spectrum.

Defining your brand identity and brand attributes.

Formulating the communication plan to deliver the right message to theright audience using the right medium.

Cost effective proprietary models specially developed for the Educationsector.

Ability to align people and processes with brand attributes.

Discovering the relationship between the culture, the organizational identityand the ‘image’

Targeting the 3 pillars of an Education Institute – Students, Teachers andParents

Bangla Trac Limited (CAT)

Bengal Aerotropolis (BAPL)

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd

CGPL ( A Tata Power Company)

Dassault Systemes

Descon Limited

Eveready Industries India Ltd.

First Climate India Pvt. Ltd.

Gontermann Piepers (I) Ltd.

Indian Chamber of Commerce

Subhash Projects & Marketing Ltd.

Standard Chartered (Priority Banking)

SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd.

SKP Securities Ltd.

Seimens Limited

Pepsico International

Mercy Hospital

Lafarge Surma (Bangladesh)

Kotak Securities Ltd.

KDS Group (Bangladesh)

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

IXIA Technologies Pvt.Ltd.

TIL Limited

Techno Electric & Engg. Co. Ltd

Tata Steel

VIP Industries Limited

21

22Shared reviews

EXECUTIONThe discipline of getting things done

BOOK REVIEW

The history of business is littered withorganisations with excellent strategies,which failed due to poor execution.The greatest strategy does not meana thing, without the ability to executeit! This is where the book Execution:The disciple of getting things done byLarry Bossidy and Ram Charan canhelp. It’s an “in your face” book,describing the discipline needed toget things done in large corporations.The book is targeted at thosepracticing leadership at the businessunit and organisational levels. Thebook reterts to execution as “the gapbetween what a company’s leaderswant to achieve and the ability of theirorganizations to deliver it“

Authors: Larry Bossidy, RamCharan, Charles Burke

Part III: The Three Core Processesof Execution discusses the three coreprocesses that require focusedmanagement attention to ensureeffective execution, namely:

The People Process - “A robust peopleprocess does three things. It evaluatesindividuals accurately and in depth. Itprovides a framework for identifyingand developing the leadership talent -at all levels and of all kinds - theorganization will need to execute itsstrategies down the road. And it fills theleadership pipeline that’s the basis ofa strong succession plan.” The peopleprocess is regarded by the authors asthe most important of all threeprocesses and the devote a large partof the book discussing the importanceof candid discussion required to holdindividuals accountable. The key isgetting the right people in the right jobs.

The Strategy Process - “a goodstrategy planning process also requiresthe utmost attention to the hows ofexecuting the strategy” The authorsemphasis the importance of creatingstrategies that involve all parties andencourage robust debate, appropriateresources and regular strategic reviewsthroughout the year.

The Operations Process - “Thestrategy process defines where abusiness wants to go, the peopleprocess defines who’s going to get itthere. The operating plan provides thepath for those people. It breaks long-term output into short-term targets.”The authors view these processes asthe real job of executing a businessstrategy, keeping the organisation socialsystems real and honest through robustdialogue.

Know your people and yourbusiness - “Leaders have to live theirbusinesses. In companies that don’texecute, the leaders are usually out oftouch with the day-to-day realities”. Thisis something that I have observed inlarge corporations, the phrase “ivorytower” comes to mind, leaders spendtoo much time in their offices and toolittle time with their people.

Insist on realism - “Realism is theheart of execution, but manyorganizations are full of people who aretrying to avoid or shade reality”.

Set clear goals and priorities -“Leaders who execute focus on a veryfew clear priorities that everyone cangrasp.”

Follow through - “The failure to followthrough is wide spread in business,and a major cause of poor execution”

Reward the doers - “If you want peopleto produce specific results, you rewardthem according”

Expand people’s capabilities -“Coaching is the single most importantpart of expanding others’ capabilities”

Know yourself - “Without what we callemotional fortitude, you can’t be honestwith yourself, deal honestly withbusiness and organisational realities,or give people forthright assessments.”

Building Block 2: Creating theFramework for Cultural Change: Thisinvolves changing “people’s behaviorso that they produce results”, by “linkingrewards to performance and makinglinkages transparent” and having“robust dialogue” as ultimately “leadersget the behavior they exhibit andtolerate”.

Building Block 3: The Job no LeaderShould Delegate - Having the RightPeople in the Right Place: It essentialto have the right people, especiallythose in leadership positions, in theright place. The authors believe thatleaders should “contribute as much as40 percent of their time and energy, inone form or another, to selecting,appraising, and developing people

The primary purpose of the book isto give the reader an understandingof what it takes to execute, that is,to get things done in organisations.They describe execution as adiscipline, “built a company’sstrategy, its goals, and its culture“.

The book is divided into three parts:

Part I: Why Execution is Needed

We all understand the importanceof execution, unless we act on ourplans they’re essentially useless,and as the authors point out, moststrategies fail as the result of poorexecution, and not due to poorstrategic planning, this coverspart I!

Part II: The Building Blocks ofExecution

According to the authors Executionconsist of the following three buildingblocks:

Building Block 1: The LeadersSeven Essential Behaviors: Whichare as follows:

...backpage2323

Gray Matters comprises of consultants who understand the challenges that businesses face in attracting,retaining and motivating people in this competitive environment. We work in partnership with our clientsto deliver people solutions which would help accelerate growth for the organizations, based on our knowledgeof businesses and expertise in HR leading practices.

Our solutions and approaches unlock the full potential of an organization – and deliver real, measurable,substantial and meaningful business results.

Gray Matters, People Solutions offering helps clients realize the value of their people. We know people areyour organization’s greatest asset and we can work with you to discover and optimize their value. With our experiencedconsultants in India, we have the people, tools and methodology to handle your most demanding needs. We canscale our learning’s to address virtually any assignment, from the simplest to the most complex. We offer the followingservices in the people solutions gamut:Organization Vision, Mission & Values Organization design and MappingJob Banding & Evaluation Performance Management SystemBalanced Scorecard Design & Implementation Competency Mapping & AssessmentsCompensation Strategy & Structures Reward StrategiesLeadership Development & Transformation HR Strategy formulationHR Effectiveness HR Measurements & AuditHR Communication & Branding HR Operational ImprovementHR Governance HR Technology enablementImplementation Support HR for Family Businesses

For more information on GrayMatters, people strategy andhuman resource managementand other offerings, visit ourwebsite at:www.graymatters.co.in

B O U Q U E T S& B R I C K B A T S

Our Key Consultants

Through this newsletter, we intend to bring to you “interesting stuff” from the world ofbusiness, nationally and internationally. Please send in your comments and critique on thenewsletter. We would like to improve with your suggestions and make this newsletter a“better read”. Send your mail to contact@graymatters.co.in

Sanjay Roy ChowdhuryManaging DirectorGray Matters

Adhir GhoshPrincipal ConsultantGray Matters

Shruti DhupiaSenior ConsultantGray Matters

Experience: Formerly Associate Director with the Human Capital practice in Ernst & Young. He was headingthe Eastern Region and the SAARC countries. Over a decade and half years of experience with 8 years in E&Yand previously in Arvind Mills Ltd.Consulting exposure in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, South East Asia and the Middle East.Consulting areas: Visioning, Organization Design & Structuring, Performance Management System, BalancedScorecard, Competency based solutions, Rewards Management, Compensation Management, Job Evaluation,Manpower Rationalization, Policies & SystemsAcademic background: MBA from XLRI, Post Graduation from Calcutta University and Graduation from PresidencyCollege

Experience: Formerly Director HR with the Galana Refineries, Madagascar. Has been associated with ArthurD.Little for organisational restructuring. Over 30 years of experience with Bharat Petroleum, Holman Climax andShriram Group.Academic background: One of the few professionally trained ‘executive coaches’ in India. He has been trainedby Sir John Whitmore on the GROW model of coaching. He has also been associated with Innovation Associatesof Dr Peter Senge for ‘organizational transformation.Consulting exposure: India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South East Asia and the Middle East.Consulting areas: Organization Effectiveness, Change Management, Leadership Development, Executive Coaching,Performance Management System, Balanced Scorecard, Competency Mapping & Assessment Centres, Training,Strategic HR and Marketing

Experience: Formerly heading the Eastern Region (Additional vertical) HR Team for Max New York Life InsuranceCompany. Over 5 years of experience with Max New York Life Insurance and Scandent Solutions, Chennai.Academic background: MBA in HR from IISWBMWork exposure: Setting up systems and processes in HR, Staffing solutions, Training, Performance Managementsystems, Policy implementation, Rewards Management, HR MIS / Scorecard, Competency Based recruitment,Balanced ScorecardIndustries worked with: Insurance, IT, FMCG, Infrastructure, Manufacturing

Experience: Formerly Assistant Manager – HSBC Global Resourcing, International operations. Over 6 years ofexperience with HSBC Global Resourcing Hyderabad & Kolkata, Renasonic E Solutions Pvt. Ltd, GE CapitalInternational Services, Gurgaon.Academic background: PGDBA Strategic HR & Marketing from IIT-Kharagpur, VGSOMWork exposure: While being in the role of leading a large team, he managed offshore financial transaction processingoperations. Conducted Behavioural Training & coaching for financial processing executives.Certified / accredited on different modules of Leadership & Management in HSBC core banking operationscomprising of Coaching & Mentoring, Personal Development Program for executives, Review System, BusinessProcess Re-engineering, Capacity & Contingency Planning, Quality Compliance, Data Protection, Money Laundering,Customer Service Communication and Collections & Negotiations.

Swarup DebnathConsultantGray Matters

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Registered Office: - 294, S N Roy Road, Ground Floor, New Alipore, Kolkata – 700038, Ph: 91-33-24987647,Fax: 91-33-24987648E-mail: contact@graymatters.co.in, Website: www.graymatters.co.in

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