Portfolio Management

This is a very interesting pictorial article in Portfolio management. I read it on the 25th August, 2014 in the Economic Times....Read and plan for your future. 

RM 1 ..Research Methodology

This is an introduction to Research Methodology: 

http://www.slideshare.net/drpadmashankar/research-i

New perspective to EI

I read this article in the Economic Times on 23 August, 2014, It sounded different from the general perceptions, hence I decided to share and store. 

 

"Emotional Intelligence: Why People Get it Wrong

Emotional intelligence is an “it“ thing in business, if you believe the 11,000 books on the subject on Amazon. Still, there's lots of confusion about what emotional intelligence is. Here's a quick look at the concept::"

FA 2 .....History of Accounting

To understand  History of Accounting.....visit the following link:


http://www.slideshare.net/drpadmashankar/history-of-accounting-38292492

Leading vs Managing

John Kotter expresses the following points to differentiate between management and leadership:

• Leadership is not mystical and mysterious.
• It has nothing to do with having"charisma" or other personality traits.
• Not the province of a chosen few, nor leadership necessarily better than management or a replacement.
• Management is about coping with complexity.Without good management complex enterprises tend to become chaotic threatening their existence. Good management brings a degree of order and consistency to key dimensions like the quality and profitability of products.
• Leadership is about coping with change. Leadership has become so important in recent years, is that the business world has become more competitive and more volatile, faster technological change , greater international competition and deregulation of markets are among the many factors that have contributed to this shift. Doing what was done yesterday, doing it 5 % better, is no longer a formula for success. Major changes are necessary to survive and compete in this new environment.

More change demands more leadership.



Source: John Kotter, "On leading and managing", 18 August, 2014

FA 1.. Introduction to accountancy

Introduction to Accountancy

Visit the following link:

http://www.slideshare.net/drpadmashankar/ppt-1-introduction-to-accounting

"Do not do extraneous stuff"

Says M G George Muthoot, Chairman of Muthoot George. His work life balance technique is :

• Follow 3 P's to manage work life balance : plan, priorities and private time.; also micro plan;
• It is not how well you start a race that matters but how you finish which determines champions;
• Do not do extraneous stuff;
• "Me" time , some time helps to channelize thoughts and energies;
• Walking, meditation, yoga and a balanced diet practice religiously , take yearly vacation with your family;
• Peoples trust is the foundation of business that gives energy and vigor;
• Failures a step towards ultimate success you learn to revise, re-frame and refocus your strategy . Success is the result of your learning from your failures;
• anticipate, identify and prepare for contingency;
• Remain calm, focused and embrace unforeseen developments as opportunities to learn something new.
• Secrets to success

1. never give up on your ethics and values
2. be reliable and dependable
3. try and make a difference in  peoples lives by giving back to society;
4. build people as they are the ones who build your business 

Source: Times Life, August 10, 2014

Tips to become an entrpreneur

Source:Economic Times, 11-17 August, 2014

"Negotiating around cultural differences"

This is the title of the article that I read in the Hindu on August 6, 2014. We find that many youngsters are crossing boundaries to either study in a university abroad or to secure a job. They are also sent on deputation by their employers especially if it is an MNC. Culture shock and differences are bound to arise. It is more difficult to put across your view point and negotiate when you are interacting with people from different cultures. I have picked some vital points from this article which will give some tips while negotiating with people from different cultures.  

Read on.........

“Negotiators focus narrowly on the most obvious information about the task at hand.               Prof Max H Bazerman of Harvard Business School in Cambridge says such focusing failures lead negotiators to overlook information that is equally important but less obvious. When you learn that you will be negotiating with someone from a different culture that person's culture becomes the most salient aspect especially if the culture is unfamiliar to you. Individual differences play an important role in negotiation around cultural differences. Cultural differences are unique and multifaceted. For an international negotiation, emphasis should be placed on culture so that your counterpart is not offended with insensitive behavior. Simultaneously focusing too much on culture can also back fire. Therefore the guidelines that can help to strike the right balance are:

• Consider the individual: Back ground research on your counterpart’s culture, including his / her profession, work experience, education areas of expertise, personality and his / her negotiating experience. Ensure that your counterpart treats you as an individual rather than as stereotypes. Suggest an introductory telephone call to discuss your plans and expectation for your first meeting.
• Broaden your scope: Understand issues pertaining to changing politics and laws in the region, the interest of community groups and business norms. Adopting a more inclusive mindset and thinking like a diplomat, though you will improve your odds or reach a successful lasting agreement.
• Reduce stress: Emotional stress, deadline and accountability to others from your own culture can cause you to act in lockstep with cultural expectation. Do what you can to reduce stress at the bargaining table whether by taking breaks, extending dead lines or asking a neutral third person to help you to resolve any differences that arise during your talks.

Notes: 
Lockstep.......means a way of marching in which the marchers follow each other as closely as possible.

Becoming a leader.......

Becoming a leader is not easy. It requires some inherent traits, such as: ability to deal with a sudden crisis and take hard decision, patience to take criticism, honest feedback head on, maintaining transparency and honest communication. For some are born with these traits, some develop these in their course of life evolution. In fact is parenting is a fine example of leadership. Unfortunately nobody looks at it as a leadership process. Parents are force to take hard decisions, manage crisis, accept honest feedback from their children, or teachers about their children, and keeps their communication honest.

Professional there has been many successful leaders. Budding leaders are always curious to read their success stories to improvise. I read this article in the Economic Times dated July29, 2014.
I have given an extract of that article "How I became a Leader" below for you to improvise and to understand you are not alone in facing the leadership challenges:

(a) Kumud Srinivasan, President, Intel, India says:
      Leadership is not easy. What she learnt from her master is make people happy while doing the things that you want them to do. Pouncing on right behavior with praise and appreciation; make the team want to do and make them feel valued; It is a life long journey.

(b) Siraj A Chaudhry, Chairman, Cargill India,
      Leadership is earned through competence, compassion and the choices we make; An aspiring leader has to be seen and accepted as an leader before he is appointed as one; Minimize the cost of candor in the team by being open to feedback; Being vulnerable at times allows people to see me as human and provide feedback when they feel I can do better; Give candid feedback; Look for virtues in people that can be imbibed.

(c) Ashok Sethi, CIO , Sapient
     Leadership reiteration: "If you are inspired, by your role model, what stops you from becoming like him or even bette?"

(d) T V Mohandas Pai,
      Improve confidence and speaking skills; be prepared to face crisis; leadership is a lonely affair; team spirit and leading by example was the way to win; stand up against injustice; be tough in business ad take hard decision; standup to you mistakes , speak the truth and change the policies if needed; trust was more long lasting than trying to be smarter; data and transparency was the only way to earn a trust; following the toughest standards and leading the pack was the best way to earn respect; people wants tan honest and straight view.

(e) Sanjay Sethi,CEO & Co-founder of Shopclues.com
      It is okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from it and not make the same mistake next time; Leadership is not the end of the road but a journey of continuous learning and that makes it a humbling experience; people are led, resources are managed; you cannot use the "one-size fits all." approach that ignores traits and competencies; Leadership is about bringing out the best in the people around you.

(f) Rajesh Jain, CEO, MD of Lacoste India,
     The  role taught the importance of team work, to work under pressure and to balance; to be optimistic even in worst situation; to accept failures and cherish victory; customers teaches the importance of product quality, innovation, communication and brand positioning the ultimately strengthen brand virtues and brand visibility; colleagues teach the concept of work hard, party harder that helps in building a united and binding team ready to take new challenges; family teaches how to leverage work-life balance so as to justify at both ends.

(g) T R Ramachandran, M D CEO Aviva Life Insurance:
     "If you want leadership, look in the mirror."; to be a self starter, take the imitative; step out your comfort zone; experiment with ideas; be obsessive about customer service; keep customer at the heart of decision making.

Leadership Wisdom

Life lessons from Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman & CEO of Zensar Tecnologies:

• Focus on your strengths and the value we could derive from the school rather than bemoan its weakness.
• Confidence and self worth that one finds sadly missing in many young people in our country today.
• The ability to communicate and reach to all segments of industry and society is what keeps us going..
• He asserts that there is no job or role that does not need selling skills. Good selling skills help manage a work-life balance top or at least create the illusion at home that this is happening.
• Life-long learning is the value that many leaders and participants in organization and society often mouth* but rarely practice.
• With all the stresses in the world it is the ability to work with great people and co create magic with customers and business partner that truly differentiate great companies and visionary leaders from the also-ran*

Source; Ganesh Nataragan, "Book of Verse", Corporate Dossier, August 1-7, 2014

Notes:
*mouth........means....to express one's opinions or complaints in a loud, indiscreet manner
*also-ran........means..... a person who attains little or no success.

Preparing like a Jazz performer to negotiate.

Prof. Michael Wheeler of the Harvard Business school says: 

Preparation  is an essential stage in negotiation.

Elements of negotiation are constantly evolving through out the process. Over preparation can cause us to disregard the moments of good fortune and synergy that crop up during the process. The best improvisor says:

• They pay close attention to the world around them.
• They identify when and how tho influence and adapt to others and 
• They are proactive, taking considered risks to move the action forward.

Negotiators must assess when to take the lead and when to listen, as jazz musician switch off between soloing and comping*, accompanying or complementing what the other ensemble members are playing.

Jazz players make a split second decision about what notes to play in response to what they hear.  Comping is equally important in negotiation . If there are 3 demands, 2 is out of question resist the urge to immediately condemn them. Pick up a seed or an idea to praise and expand upon, in the same way like a skilled jazz musician.

In a world of improve-comedy every ad-libbed* line adds information that propels the story forward. the offer and agreement becomes the foundation on which the actos construct their relation and their imaginary world.

Wise negotiators understand that being tight lipped and inscrutable will hurt them as much as it will the other party, "always agree, never negate."

Find a useful nugget in even the most preposterous* statement. Adopt the habit of "yes instead of "but" or "no" . (the word "not" is a verbal stop sign). It is wise to strive 80% comfort zone and 20% outside it.

How can you manage your nerves?

Preparation is the ubiquitous* prescription; armed ourselves with solid facts and analysis, we improve our confidence and our ability to be nimble at the table.

However, negotiators also can quiet their inner critic by practicing mindfulness, a state of mind in which we accept our passing thoughts and emotions without judgements .

For eg: that you feel your anger stirring in response to a threat from a counter part . As a mindful negotiator, rather than either surpassing the anger or succumbing to it, you simply register your irritation at the other person and move on. 

Psychologist Alison Wood Brooks research identified emotions reappraisal* to be an effective means of transforming anxiety into a productive stat of mindful alertness.

P.S.: The essay in the source given below has been condensed to highlight the vital points in negotiation by me. I find that these are not  techniques to be followed in a work place as a leader but can be successfully applied at home, while presenting an idea to your family members.

Source: The Hindu, February12, 2014, "Negotiations success, the Jazzs way."

Notes:

*comping means....to play a jazz accompaniment.

*ad-libbed ......improvised performance.

*preposterous......contrary in nature.

*ubiquitous.........seeming to be every where at the same time.

*reappraisal......a new appraisal or evaluation.

Rahul Kaswan, India Member of Parliament, mantra of work-life balance:

"Life has been hectic for me after getting into politics. But I'm sure thing will get sorted gradually. Cooking is my way of a balance in my life. Fitness is my weakness as a risk taker I take failure as a lesson. Success is a part of the journey."

His mantras are:
......Be calm
......Do hat you love doing
......Always find what gives you peace and indulge in it at least once a day.

Source: Times Life, July 20, 2014

Careful choice of words

Rachael Robertson states on leadership:

"I'd rather regret what I did than regret what I did not do."

In crisis , the role of a leader is just as important . Morale must be maintained and business as usual must continue. Information, visibility and careful choice of words are paramount. Leaders aren't there to sort out every little spat between team members . But we do have a responsibility to use our judgement and understand the small, interpersonal differences that we all must tolerate, and what behaviors are symptoms deeper issues.

Source: The Hindu, July 2, 2014

Women have different skills

Diana L Nelson -- Chair, Carlson says:

"A family run company , Carlson epitomizes women power. Women have different leadership skills, strengths and styles. A global research has revealed that companies have more women in governance and on the board are more effective and deliver better results. The biggest theme followed by 3 successful women of this company is a combination of performances and people. Performances is crucial as we have to compete and sustain our family business with a long time horizon and but people are equally important."

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Companies-with-women-on-board-are-more-effective/articleshow/38347210.cms