business coaching

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the measure of a man

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Forget US, IITians prefer to stay home

15 Apr 2008, 0253 hrs IST,Sujata Dutta Sachdeva,TNN
They may be some of the most sought after techies in the US, but the Big Apple does not seem to hold its charm for IITians anymore. A study reveals the number of IITians opting to move to the US after graduation is steadily coming down. In the last five years, nearly 84% preferred to stay back and pursue a career in India.

The trend began from the class of 2002. Of the IITians who graduated in 2002 and later (including the class of 2008), only 16% went abroad. In comparison, between 1964 and 2001, 35% IIT graduates preferred to fly to the US. Interestingly, 59% of IIT graduates before 2001 believed that the US and other developed countries provided better opportunities. However, in the last five years the mindset has undergone a change. Now, nearly 49% believe India is where the action lies. The study 'Changing Career Destination and Career Choices for IITians' by Evalueserve, a KPO, also reveals, the techies believe India will become the most promising geography for them in the next 10 years. What's more, the number of IITians who believed the US offered a "better standard of living", too has come down from 13% prior to 2001 to almost zero now. And why not? After all, payrolls in the US have shrunk by 80,000, and the jobless rate has touched 5.1%, the highest since September 2005. The techies have now realised that India offers more opportunities for them. No wonder, many of them are returning as well. The II sector is buzzing with stories of the returning prodigals who now prefer the home and hearth. The Evalueserve study also shows 60% of IITians, who graduated before 2001, saw developed countries as the destination with the best career opportunities. However, the trend changed in the last five years. Now, 51% consider India a preferred career location. In 2006, 90% IIT graduates chose to stay back and work here. A substantial percentage (35%) of those who wanted to move to the US, did not go there.

The reasons were many. While stringent visa regulations after 9/11 shattered dreams of many, high cost of living, limited scholarships, and high tuition fees unnerved others. Shrinking job opportunities and poor quality of life were among some of the major reasons.

Many are disillusioned with the overall quality of life in the US. Nearly 14% of the respondents say they stayed back because they were getting better job offers here. Another 9% felt that India offered better opportunities. Most strikingly, when asked, ‘10 years down the line, which geography do you think will hold the most promise for success?' 72% chose India, with only 17% opting for the US, 5% for Europe and 2% for China. It's India Shining for IITians, finally.
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Business Vacation: Take One Frequently

Business Vacation: Take One Frequently, Make Valuable Business Contacts and Write it All Off

I recently came across a most interesting idea for small business owners: a "vacation club" that brings together entrepreneurial small business owners to have fun, create interesting business deals, learn from each other (mastermind), have fun in a beautiful vacation area and write all this off as a business expense.
CLICK HERE to get more details.
I stayed awhile back in the first property of many that the Entrepreneurs' Vacation Club (EVC) will be purchasing- a gorgeous luxury private vacation property in Breckenridge, Colorado.
With a great view of the Rocky Mountains and the endless ski trails at Breckenridge, this place was a little piece of Heaven.
And, true to the mission of the EVC, I struck up a relationship with another business person there, and by the end of the weekend we had penciled out the structure for a very cool joint venture!
I saw the vision first hand of this most innovative business idea. Check it out HERE

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building a strategic plan

Last week, we talked about building a strategic plan. Whether you endup creating one of not, you will find doing a simple SWOT Analysis(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) helpful.

This simple look at your company and your market allow you to understand how to plan for the future success of your company.

Learn a simple way to implement SWOT here:http://www.ceocoachblog.com/2007/09/swot-out-the-co.html

Let me know how your business building is going.
Best,Henri
PS: Join our How To Double Your Profit teleconference with other CEOs and learn how to bring your company to the next level today:http://www.theceomastermind.com/register_free.html
15480 Annapolis Road, Suite 202 #167Bowie, MD 20715

ACHIEVEMORE CHA

I am happy to share the details of Corporate Health Assessment (CHA) , my brain child & fruit of my 30 years of Organization Development(OD) consultancy. It is a must for every company to improve profitability & to grow. Regarding my other OD services, my website can explain. In case you need any further information , please feel free to ask .

Why should companies consider CHA? :

Corporate Health Assessment (CHA) is like Master health check up for human beings and every company must do it at least once a year . It can indicate problems in early stage and areas needing immediate attention. More than corrections, preventive measures are possible. Process of CHA can improve achievement motivation of employeesIt can be a major turning point for every company.It can serve as an orientation for re- engineering the company. Process of CHA can help improve management –employee relations. Powerful CHA tools / methods with 50 plus indicators are used . An external expert can get more and even delicate information from all sections of employees with special skills to read peoples mind . Companies may or may not have strong feedback system . Employees may not be comfortable to reveal delicate information to management and may not take initiative even or official opportunities may be less.CHA can eye open the management on policies , priorities , strategies etc..CHA can reveal employees perceptions, loyalty to organization, job satisfaction, problems, feelings etc.CHA can indicate organizational climate and culture clearly .CHA can help develop a critical positive attitude to all employees in the company With a firm conviction , I am doing CHA, as my professional social responsibility and as the first step in OD work , for 30 years. In India, only a few Consultants offer proper CHA.

Who should take CHA immediately? :

All companies need CHA for business development, particularly companies having one or more of the following problems: .Business turn over is less to the potentials of the company.Companies set reasonable goals but can’t achieve even 60% . Business comes down in spite of all efforts.Profit is less to the volume of business done.Production department can’t cope with orders brought by marketing .Marketing department can’t get enough orders to keep production busy.Companies are run unprofessionally & without proper systems.Companies with annual growth less than 30%.Companies having more basic problems, prolonged & un resolved.Everything is good but employee morale and team work are poor . Even companies doing well, need CHA to sustain & develop business.Methodology / Processes : Customized CHA study design will be developed based on company profile & climate.Realities / systems / best practices / style of functioning at every level in the company will be studied Management team, departmental heads, other key personnel in the company and the employees at every level will be met and their perceptions & feedback will be collected.I have 30 years of rich experience in collecting employee feedback using several methods and with my psychological approach . I can get their mind, however deep or tough they may be. Also I can read them in between the lines. The collected information will be analyzed and presented to the top team of the company for their confirmation. Then the needed OD proposals will be suggested for business development. Flexible options : Companies can decide the duration & type of CHA to suit their budget .CHA can be done in a simple way with 2 days (Type A).Moderately with 4 days - when more indicators can be applied (Type B)..Detailed study for 6 to 8 days - when departmental health also can be focused (Type C) . Group of 2-4 companies can take CHA together to reduce the cost (Type D).Companies can take CHA through internet to save cost and for convenience ( Type E). Program cost :I charge only Rs.15,000/- as professional fee per day and apart , companies have to bear my travel, boarding & lodging. Cost of the program will depend on the type / duration of CHA.More the duration, total fee will come down, than proportional to the days.Companies can have CHA , as a joint program and the cost per company will come down significantly . Companies having difficulty to afford the prescribed fee , if they communicate their problems and affordability , a suitable CHA program can be specially developed for them.
Proposal implementation : If companies want, I can implement the proposals after the study, in phases.If companies have internal expertise, they can implement the proposals themselves.If companies need only my consultancy to guide & support their team, I can oblige. Companies can avail my services / expertise, whatever way they want.
Send basic information of the company : To develop a customized CHA for your company , please send the following information : · Total number of employees : Managers & Executives / Supportive staff / Workers. · Various departments you have in the company · Annual business turnover · Major issues / concerns · Type of CHA you want : A / B / C / D /E· If you prefer a group CHA , how many companies you can bring in?· Prime reason for you to consider CHA Hope you would have got a fair idea about CHA now . After hearing from you, I can send further details / proposal to take the matter forward . I think I have given you needed inputs to decide in this regard . In case, you need any further information, please feel free to ask .Looking forward to your early response ,
Best wishes,
Prof.V.G.Krishnamurthy

SWOT

SWOT Out The Competition
SWOT is an often discussed but not often implemented business tool, at least in small businesses. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Sometimes companies do a little chart showing some bullet points, but that will be it. The question, then, is how to make this little idea actually helpful.

So here are eight simple steps:
Get a management team together (at least two including you)
Use a flip chart or white board
First, consider your internal (within your company) Strengths and Weaknesses. Write them down
Then, consider your external (out in the marketplace) Opportunities and Threats
(continued)
5. Now - strategize on how you can go after the opportunities that make the most sense, especially considering those which can be leveraged by utilizing your strengths 6. Next strategize on how you can mitigate your company's weaknesses 7. Finally, look at how you can shield against those threats using your company's strengths and by leveraging forces in the marketplace.
This is a simplified way of doing SWOT. If you do even cursory version of what has been outlined here, you will reap almost immediate benefits in terms of how you feel about the future of your business.
To get support around you to get going on this very entrepreneurial of business planning exercises, CLICK HERE to learn more about The How To Double Your Profit System.

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Salaries as a percentage of Sales Revenue for different industry sectors

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http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/CC6qv16Q/

Execution: The Darkside Of Many Small Businesses

Have you created the best goals and loftiest plans for your business, only to see your hopes dashed on the rocks of non-execution? We all have...

Over the years, we've seen hundreds of small businesses in our The How To Double Your Profit System face and overcome this business demon. All too often, the CEO, the staff, or both, are simply too overextended to complete the work of the plan.

We've compiled a short list of eight key steps to making sure your project gets completed. You might not agree with all of them, but you should find the list useful nevertheless. Here it is:

Set a Goal (SMART)
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timed
“Chunk” down the steps to achieving the goal
Set a date for completion for each step
Create a visual timeline or project calendar
Decide who does what
Put it in individual calendar(s)
Manage, Manage, Manage; Track, Track, Track
Adjust as needed, but never give up
While certainly not exhaustive, if you follow these steps, you should either complete the task or not undertake it, because the process will have shown you that you do not have the capacity. This blog post is admittedly brief; if you'd like a little more, download a slide presentation here.

http://www.ceocoachblog.com/2007/08/execution-the-d.html

tools and services to help you improve the performance of your business,

BUSINESS PERFORMANCE & GOVERNANCE EXCELLENCE
Boardrooom Metrics provides tools and services to help you improve the performance of your business, quickly.
Board and CEO Information
Information developed by Boardroom Metrics that provides a perspective on Board and CEO effectiveness.
Management Services
Boardroom Metrics works with CEO's, Boards and Management teams to ease governance and performance pain. By providing objective, experienced insight, facilititation, consulting, coaching and interim management services, Boardroom Metrics helps your team get results, fast.
GovernanceTools
Boardroom Metrics makes it easy for CEO's and Directors to proactively mitigate risk and address the needs of their stakeholders. By partnering with leaders in stakeholder feedback, strategy consulting and risk/governance compliance, Boardroom Metrics provides a complete governance and corporate leadership solution.

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CEO evaluation

Performance
The first step in conducting a CEO evaluation is to decide what criteria you will use to determine how well the CEO is leading the organization. Measures of success flow from strategy--not just the easy-to-quantify measures that boards are often tempted to use, such as margin. The board and CEO should first develop a long- and short-term organizational strategy upon which all agree and which all thoroughly understand. A designated group of trustees and key leaders should meet to determine this strategy and present it to the full board.
The best performance measures are integrated and comprehensive. Seen together, they tell a story about the organization's values and goals. Measures in a health care setting include financial benchmarks, such as net income or margin, and quality-of-care metrics (developed with the medical staff), such as readmission and postsurgical infection rates. Patient and employee satisfaction measures and hospital-medical staff relations are often used to round out the CEO "scorecard."
But hard measures are only one part of the equation. What often derails executives is not the actual results but the actions and behaviors--such as strategic thinking or skills in building community relationships--needed to achieve those results. The board must be able to articulate the actions and behaviors it expects and clearly communicate them to the CEO.
Christopher Bennett, board chair of Woodstock, Ill.-based Centegra Health System, which comprises two hospitals, a psychiatric facility and outpatient clinics, says, "A full 40 percent of [our] CEO's evaluation is based on building relationships with the broad community, the

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CEO Evaluation form

Proprietor

Are you the great-guy CEO who loves to be loved by all your employees? So then, do you have an "open door policy?" I have a challenge for you - close it!

Think about it - open door policies are for big businesses that need a strategy to break barriers. Small businesses don’t have those barriers. The only thing an open door policy does is upset the chain of command and confuse your employees.

Things are somewhat unorganized, undermanned, and chaotic in most small businesses. An open door policy reinforces this dynamic.
REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE:Our The How To Double Your Profit System member Alan prided himself on his interpersonal skills. He knew the hobbies, kids, spouse’s name, and personal history of all thirty of his employees. Alan also prided himself on his open door policy.
Continue reading "Being A Great Small Business CEO: No Open Door Policy, Please!" »

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Find the Right Coach

Coach Referral Service
How Can I Find the Right Coach?The ICF hosts a free searchable directory of its coach members called the Coach Referral Service (CRS). The CRS makes available the information to match the appropriate coach with the client, depending on the client's needs. Since coaches often specialize in various areas, it's a good idea for the prospective client to shop around for the coach with the most experience and combination of qualities they seek. In the CRS, one can find business coaches, financial coaches, relationship coaches, spiritual coaches, life planning coaches, a rock-n-roll band coach and hundreds more.

The ICF recommends following these Coach Selection Recommendations, as well:
Educate yourself about coaching. Hundreds of articles have been written about it in the last 3-5 years.
Know your objectives for working with a coach.
Interview three coaches before you decide on one. Ask them about their experience, qualifications, skills, and ask for at least two references.
Remember, coaching is an important relationship. There should be a connection between you and the coach that "feels" right to you.
What Is Coaching?Coaching is an interactive process that helps individuals and organizations to develop more rapidly and produce more satisfying results. Coaches work with clients in all areas including business, career, finances, health and relationships. As a result of coaching, clients set better goals, take more action, make better decisions, and more fully use their natural strengths. Professional coaches are trained to listen and observe, to customize their approach to the individual client's needs, and to elicit solutions and strategies from the client. They believe that the client is naturally creative and resourceful and that the coach's job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has. While the coach provides feedback and an objective perspective, the client is responsible for taking the steps to produce the results he or she desires. Coaching does not focus directly on relieving psychological pain or treating cognitive or emotional disorders. Note - to further understand the coaching professions click on "Nature and Scope of Coaching." Below are coaching specialties to review before selecting a coach:

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IIT Alumini

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Attention Small Business CEOs, Entrepreneurs and Sole Proprietors

Unless you are actively engaged in taking yourbusiness to the next level RIGHT NOW…
Your Competition Is Stealing All Your Customers!

Are you getting your fair share of the countless billions of dollars that customers are shelling out to small businesses like yours day after day?

Or are your competitors pulling the rug out from under you at every opportunity?

Do you even know for sure…?

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CEO COACH from IIT Kanpur

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and go here

Mumbai: C.K. Prahalad is now the World's foremost Management Guru. The globally recognized business consultant has been placed at No.1 in the "Thinkers 50" list released in London on Wednesday.

Prahalad who is a Professor of Corporate Strategy at the University of Michigan Ross School Of Business earned this rare dignity owing to his role at top management in diversified multinational corporations.

Prahalad's research basically focuses on next practices, corporate strategy and the role of top management in diversified multinational corporations.

His recent work addresses a complex emerging market, the world's poor and the innovative business models that will help end world poverty.

''Not many management thinkers actually follow up important early ideas with genuinely groundbreaking future ideas. This is what Mr. C.K. Prahalad has managed to do. His work with Gary Hamel set the strategic agenda of the 1990s. Now, with ''The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid'', he has established the social, entrepreneurial and economic agenda of our times,'' said Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove of Suntop Media, the organisation which brings out the Thinkers 50 ranking.

"Thinkers 50" is an initiative of Suntop Media which gives international ranking to business thought leaders - scholars, educators, consultants, executives, economists, and social scientists from all over the world.

The ideas of the personalities set the agenda for management theory and practice and whose actions and recommendations influence commerce on a global scale.

This year, in the "Thinkers 50", four Indians found place in the list including Prahalad. The other Indian management gurus are: CEO Coach Ram Charan at No. 22, innovation guru Vijay Govindarajan of the Tuck Business School at No. 23 and Harvard's Rakesh Khurana at No. 45.

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Boss, it`s time for some training : The Times Of India : 29.2.08

February 29, 2008 by Shalini Verma
BANGALORE: Training and mentoring are no longer terms restricted to entry-level employees. CEOs and top-level management too are being trained and assigned personal coaches and mentors to help them cope with the pressures of their challenging positions.
“With immense talent crunch in the market today, people are being poached from across verticals. People jump from diverse backgrounds, like petrochemicals to retail. So a certain amount of training becomes essential for the person being hired to have an overview of not just the company, but the entire sector,” says J K Agrawal, head of BTI Consultants, the executive hiring arm of Kelly Services.

Internationally, companies have always placed emphasis on top-level training, but in India this is a recent phenomenon.
“CEO/CXO level training and coaching will become huge in the coming years. People are welcoming such initiatives since it gives them an objective view of their performance and helps them grow,” says Ranjan Acharya, senior VP, corporate HRD, Wipro. “After all, it gets pretty lonely at the top.”

Training at this level, however, is different from entry level programmes, where the period can extend to even three months. A new leader doesn’t have the luxury of time.
“The initial training is conducted over a few days in the head office with other top management executives, which is usually abroad, particularly in case of an MNC. The emphasis here is more to acquaint the new candidate to the culture of the company,” says Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, VP, Stanton Chase International.

After this stage, firms tailor their mentoring programme to the candidate’s specific needs. Rajagopal gives the example of a pharma firm that assigned a mentor to their sales and marketing head based in Singapore when he took over India operations. “Company’s mandate to the mentor was to broaden his horizons from sales and marketing to an overall outlook,” she says.

Sometimes, the next level of training is not restricted to the head alone, but also includes his immediate team. “A CEO, after all, doesn’t work in isolation. It’s more holistic to include the immediate team, which could vary from two to twelve people, since the results then percolate across functions and to everyone in the organisation,” says G Vishwanath, director, Organisations and Alternatives Consulting.

Some of the key areas of training are soft skills, public speaking, people and image management. Soft skills and people management are the most crucial areas since firms invariably land themselves with heads who’re technically sound and have perfect resumes, but find it difficult to juggle various personality types in a team. This leads to poor productivity.

“People at the top often need to be reminded to think out of the box and to listen to all team members. Constant exposure to best practices internationally is another value-addition,” says Acharya.

While training is usually done by management gurus like C K Prahalad, mentoring is undertaken by people from overseas or select IIM faculty as there are very few mentors for this level.
Companies are becoming more proactive in this area. Wipro, for instance, has a strong leadership training and executive coaching programmes in place. Some companies are also asking top-level employees to enrol for programmes at institutes like IIM which would enable them to take on leadership roles, but such instances are still rare.

Posted in COACHING IN NEWS, coaching in India Tagged CEO coaching, image management, mentoring, Ranjan Acharya, Soft skills, training, Wipro No Comments

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FAQs

Personal and business coaching is an ongoing professional relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses or organizations.

Learn how it works and how it can add value to your life.

What is a Coach?Selecting a CoachWhat is ICF?Coaching Core CompetenciesEthical Guidelines

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The International Coach Federation
The International Coach Federation (ICF) is the largest worldwide resource for business and personal coaches, and the source for those who are seeking a coach. The ICF is a nonprofit, individual membership organization formed by professionals worldwide who practice business and personal coaching. The ICF exists to Build, Support and Preserve the integrity of the coaching profession through programs and standards supported by the individual membership.
To Build... The ICF maintains a high visibility for the profession through public relations, publicity campaigns, marketing strategies and the Coach Referral Service (CRS). The CRS is an independent, non-profit ICF service which makes it easy for people to find the right coach for their needs.
To Support... The ICF develops and implements programs that assist in the professional development of its membership. In addition to the professional development opportunities of an annual conference, the ICF provides professional growth opportunities through its local, regional and virtual chapters throughout the world. Continual support is available through the ICF Web site and publications.
To Preserve... The ICF developed and promotes an industrywide Code of Professional Standards. ICF also developed the first universally accepted Accreditation process which will preserve the integrity of coaching through standardized credentials that will assist consumers in choosing professional coaches.
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