Recently Richard Deitsch interviewed Indra Nooyi, the new CEO of PepsiCo, I found the discussion rather interesting and thought I would share some of her philosophy with you.
Excerpt reprinted with permission of The Costco Connection, copyright 2008.
The cornerstones of Nooyi`s management are what she describes as the five “C’s” for success, competence, courage (and confidence), communication, compass and coaching.
The first four “C’s” I never change she says. The first one is competence. I think you can’t move up in any job or in life unless you are darn good at something. You have to have a hip-pocket skill. If you forget that skill, your, your utility goes down in your company because people don’t know what to come to you for because you are not current in anything.
The second “C’s” are courage and confidence. You can be very good at something, but if you are not willing to break some china in speaking up when you think something is not being done right, what is the value of having all that competency.
The third “C” is communication. You might be willing to have the courage and have the confidence, but if you can’t communicate what you are going to do in a compelling way, that is a wasted thing.
The forth “C” is compass. You can have everything, but if you don’t have the moral integrity it is all for naught.
The fifth “C” I have varied over time. The one that I use most often is the notion of coaching because mentors have always played a role in my life. Mentors find you. You don’t find them. A mentor has picked you because you have the competence, the courage and confidence, you are a great communicator and you have the moral compass. They say “ I want to hitch my horse to yours because I think you are going places and you will take me with you. Not because I need it but because I I enjoy the ride.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Give more of yourself to others
WHICH WAY IS YOUR SERVICE FLOWING?
by Ron Kaufman
We all serve others.
We give internal service to colleagues and external service to customers. With service partners we work together. You might serve a manager. Servant leaders serve their teams.
Tennis begins with service. Cars are regularly serviced. And from time to time, computers need servicing, too.
There is community service, religious service, food service, civil service and military service. Prisoners are serving time.
Others are serving humanity.
When you Serve you give and energy flows from you to others. That creates a vacuum, so life flows energy back to you.
When you Con-serve, you put something aside so it can serve again in the future. When you Pre-serve, you protect something today so it can serve again tomorrow.
But when you think too hard about what you De-serve, your energy shifts from giving, to getting. The flow starts going backwards and you may debase, degrade, and decline.
Key Learning Point:
The way to get more of whatever you want is to focus on giving more to others. If you want a lot, give a lot. If you want more, give more.
Action Steps:
Want more money? Give more value. Want more love? Give more affection. Want more respect? Give more credit. Want more help?
Give more appreciation. Want more understanding? Give more time.
Want a more extraordinary life? Give more of yourself to others.
by Ron Kaufman
We all serve others.
We give internal service to colleagues and external service to customers. With service partners we work together. You might serve a manager. Servant leaders serve their teams.
Tennis begins with service. Cars are regularly serviced. And from time to time, computers need servicing, too.
There is community service, religious service, food service, civil service and military service. Prisoners are serving time.
Others are serving humanity.
When you Serve you give and energy flows from you to others. That creates a vacuum, so life flows energy back to you.
When you Con-serve, you put something aside so it can serve again in the future. When you Pre-serve, you protect something today so it can serve again tomorrow.
But when you think too hard about what you De-serve, your energy shifts from giving, to getting. The flow starts going backwards and you may debase, degrade, and decline.
Key Learning Point:
The way to get more of whatever you want is to focus on giving more to others. If you want a lot, give a lot. If you want more, give more.
Action Steps:
Want more money? Give more value. Want more love? Give more affection. Want more respect? Give more credit. Want more help?
Give more appreciation. Want more understanding? Give more time.
Want a more extraordinary life? Give more of yourself to others.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
YOUR ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO ACHIEVE YOUR DREAMS!!
Karen Morris realized she wanted to become a doctor at the age of 15. Unfortunately, a year later she became pregnant which put the dream on hold. She finally finished school, got married, had 5 children, and ran her own beauty salon. A medical degree seemed out of the question then. She eventually decided to become a nurse but the itch to become a doctor never went away. In nursing school, she juggled her studies with a full-time job, raising the children - and a failed marriage.
Finally, when her youngest children were teenagers, Karen made the decision to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. She said firmly, "I don't want to be 80 years old, look back at my life, and say - what if? At the same time, I thought everyone would think I was crazy," she said. "I was 38, had five kids, who wouldn't think I was crazy?"
In 2003, Karen enrolled into the prestigious Yale School of Medicine. The path towards realizing her dream was however not an easy one. While at Yale, Karen had financial problems even though she was working as a nurse, part time. A medical degree is a very tough course and Karen had difficulties juggling classes with her part time job, assignments, competing and interacting with younger course mates etc. She recalls that she couldn't have handled it all if not for the assistance of her children, who gave her moral and financial support all the time. At the same time, she never, ever wavered from her commitment of becoming a doctor. And this she says was what gave her energy when things got difficult and stressful.
Finally, in June 2007, in spite of all the obstacles and challenges, the 45-year-old mother of five and grandmother of two, graduated as a doctor from the prestigious Yale School of Medicine - the first ever grandmother to do so. What an awesome achievement!!!
If there is one lesson that we can take from all this, it is that we must never, ever let go of our dreams. There will be problems, the usual naysayers, the never ending challenges, but if we truly believe in what we want and make a commitment, then there will always be a great chance that we will be able to achieve it, just like Karen Morris! So just go out there, be a little ‘crazy’ and take decisive action to make all your dreams come true!!!
Finally, when her youngest children were teenagers, Karen made the decision to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. She said firmly, "I don't want to be 80 years old, look back at my life, and say - what if? At the same time, I thought everyone would think I was crazy," she said. "I was 38, had five kids, who wouldn't think I was crazy?"
In 2003, Karen enrolled into the prestigious Yale School of Medicine. The path towards realizing her dream was however not an easy one. While at Yale, Karen had financial problems even though she was working as a nurse, part time. A medical degree is a very tough course and Karen had difficulties juggling classes with her part time job, assignments, competing and interacting with younger course mates etc. She recalls that she couldn't have handled it all if not for the assistance of her children, who gave her moral and financial support all the time. At the same time, she never, ever wavered from her commitment of becoming a doctor. And this she says was what gave her energy when things got difficult and stressful.
Finally, in June 2007, in spite of all the obstacles and challenges, the 45-year-old mother of five and grandmother of two, graduated as a doctor from the prestigious Yale School of Medicine - the first ever grandmother to do so. What an awesome achievement!!!
If there is one lesson that we can take from all this, it is that we must never, ever let go of our dreams. There will be problems, the usual naysayers, the never ending challenges, but if we truly believe in what we want and make a commitment, then there will always be a great chance that we will be able to achieve it, just like Karen Morris! So just go out there, be a little ‘crazy’ and take decisive action to make all your dreams come true!!!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Be a brand
Your brand is how people think of you. Tom Peters says that “a brand is a trust mark, it’s shorthand, it’s a sorting device.” Think of the well known brands – Coca Cola, Pepsi, Dell, Mac, or iPod. All of them are shorthand for a product. People can be brands, too. Here are several things you can do to ensure your brand is one of high integrity:
Be direct. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing so astonishes men as common sense and plain dealing.” Astonish people with your straightforward communication style.
Admit your mistakes. We all make mistakes. When you own up to yours, you’ll gain a reputation as a straight-shooter – someone who is as honest with himself or herself as he or she is with others.
Deliver. Become trusted by doing what you say you’ll do.
Keep confidences. Earn trust by being trustworthy. Avoid gossip. Respect privacy if someone entrusts you with personal information.
Give credit. Do your job and give credit to others for doing theirs.
Choose associates carefully. Join only those organizations and associate only with those people whose values are in line with your own. If you aren’t comfortable with your surroundings, you’ll have a hard time making a positive personal impact.
Be direct. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing so astonishes men as common sense and plain dealing.” Astonish people with your straightforward communication style.
Admit your mistakes. We all make mistakes. When you own up to yours, you’ll gain a reputation as a straight-shooter – someone who is as honest with himself or herself as he or she is with others.
Deliver. Become trusted by doing what you say you’ll do.
Keep confidences. Earn trust by being trustworthy. Avoid gossip. Respect privacy if someone entrusts you with personal information.
Give credit. Do your job and give credit to others for doing theirs.
Choose associates carefully. Join only those organizations and associate only with those people whose values are in line with your own. If you aren’t comfortable with your surroundings, you’ll have a hard time making a positive personal impact.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The MAIN Thing
Here are five ways to ensure your employees not only know what your main thing is, but also that they work together to accomplish it.
1. Share your vision of what’s truly important…what you want and need your team to achieve. Don’t just recite the organization’s vision – that’s great for the annual report, but employees need to know what’s in your head. It should be a clear explanation of what your team’s results can and should be…and how you see that happening.
2. Provide regular feedback on how each team member is helping to accomplish the main thing. Do not fall into the “as long as you don’t hear from me you’ll know you’re doing okay” trap. Again, your people need to hear directly from you whether things are going well or not.
3. Show the team that you care. If your group is like most, the question “Does anybody really give a flip about what we do around here?” probably comes up now and then. Everyone needs to feel (and BE) appreciated by his or her leader. In fact, being recognized for one’s efforts and contributions is the number one factor leading to long-term job satisfaction. That’s right…it ranks above money!
4. Identify and eliminate unnecessary activities that either don’t support your main thing or that block the progress and success of your people. Test all of the team’s decisions and activities against the main thing. Then have the courage to stop doing the things that distract the team from accomplishing its top priority.
5. Stay consistent. The leader’s job is to provide consistency in everything he or she does. Your actions must be consistent with your words. The performance reviews you conduct must be consistent with the coaching you have provided along the way; the reward system you have in place must reflect and acknowledge the accomplishment of important team goals.
1. Share your vision of what’s truly important…what you want and need your team to achieve. Don’t just recite the organization’s vision – that’s great for the annual report, but employees need to know what’s in your head. It should be a clear explanation of what your team’s results can and should be…and how you see that happening.
2. Provide regular feedback on how each team member is helping to accomplish the main thing. Do not fall into the “as long as you don’t hear from me you’ll know you’re doing okay” trap. Again, your people need to hear directly from you whether things are going well or not.
3. Show the team that you care. If your group is like most, the question “Does anybody really give a flip about what we do around here?” probably comes up now and then. Everyone needs to feel (and BE) appreciated by his or her leader. In fact, being recognized for one’s efforts and contributions is the number one factor leading to long-term job satisfaction. That’s right…it ranks above money!
4. Identify and eliminate unnecessary activities that either don’t support your main thing or that block the progress and success of your people. Test all of the team’s decisions and activities against the main thing. Then have the courage to stop doing the things that distract the team from accomplishing its top priority.
5. Stay consistent. The leader’s job is to provide consistency in everything he or she does. Your actions must be consistent with your words. The performance reviews you conduct must be consistent with the coaching you have provided along the way; the reward system you have in place must reflect and acknowledge the accomplishment of important team goals.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Just a little makes the difference
For me, there is only one very, very important lesson that we can learn from Usain Bolt. And I will start talking about this lesson by way of a question. How many of you can name me the runner up in the 100 meters event, the 200 meters event and the 4 x 100 relay event, all of which Usain Bolt won or was part of the team that won?
Usain Bolt
I would think that 95% of you would not have been able to answer that question. So the first minor lesson in life is that nobody remembers the runner ups in life; We only remember the winner. And yet ironically the difference between the winner and the runner was in miniscule seconds
If we take the 100 meters for example, we find that the difference between the winner and the runner up was only 0.2 and yet the rewards that will be reaped by Usain Bolt will be at least a hundred fold more than Richard Thompson.
Using the above only as a metaphor, what does it tell us? It tells us that in life ‘A small performance improvement can make a huge difference in terms of rewards.’
As W. Clement Stone, the author and master motivator said,
“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference.”
It means that if each and every one of us can improve by say 5% in our skills or behavior, then the rewards we will reap will be many, many fold. That improvement may make us the Usain Bolt in our department, our company, our industry etc. And the great thing is that there is no need for a quantum leap in terms of performance. Just a little at the right places!
So just go out there and make that little performance improvement. You certainly can!! Ultimately you will be glad that you did when the rewards start to rain down!!
- Heera Singh
Usain Bolt
I would think that 95% of you would not have been able to answer that question. So the first minor lesson in life is that nobody remembers the runner ups in life; We only remember the winner. And yet ironically the difference between the winner and the runner was in miniscule seconds
If we take the 100 meters for example, we find that the difference between the winner and the runner up was only 0.2 and yet the rewards that will be reaped by Usain Bolt will be at least a hundred fold more than Richard Thompson.
Using the above only as a metaphor, what does it tell us? It tells us that in life ‘A small performance improvement can make a huge difference in terms of rewards.’
As W. Clement Stone, the author and master motivator said,
“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference.”
It means that if each and every one of us can improve by say 5% in our skills or behavior, then the rewards we will reap will be many, many fold. That improvement may make us the Usain Bolt in our department, our company, our industry etc. And the great thing is that there is no need for a quantum leap in terms of performance. Just a little at the right places!
So just go out there and make that little performance improvement. You certainly can!! Ultimately you will be glad that you did when the rewards start to rain down!!
- Heera Singh
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