Hiring a manager to bring changes

Пока на русском, перевод последует чуть позже.

Кирилл Обух о найме менеджера для проведения изменений в компании:

Если говорить о том, что испытывает менеджер, который призван привнести в компанию новую компетенцию либо осуществить какие-то изменения, то такого менеджера слушают полгода. Компания берет максимум его свежести, выжимает его, как апельсин, расслабленно анализирует его знания, и принимает десятую часть от тех 30%, которые смогла понять. Все! Дальше менеджер сливается с остальной «биомассой», что бы радикального он ни говорил, и становится предсказуемым в своей непредсказуемости. Продолжает ходить по коридорам, фонтанировать идеями, но про него все говорят: «Да, он постоянно такой! Нам это не надо, так зачем его слушать?»

И вот через полгода понимаешь, что получаешь зарплату за «менять», но толком еще ничего не поменяно, потому что компания не готова принимать изменения. Так за что ты вообще зарплату получаешь? За то, что все идеи и планы ушли в песок? В моей нынешней деятельности я такого не допускаю. Любые альянсы с компаниями начинаются с разговора «по понятиям» – о способах решения проблем для нее и поставленных задачах для меня. Если взаимопонимание не достигнуто, я предпочитаю с такими партнерами не работать.

Наверное, это неправильно с точки зрения универсального менеджера, с точки зрения HR-а, с точки зрения корпорации. Вот MBA, например, вообще отрицает эмоциональное начало в человеке. Но я уверен, что каждого в работе есть своя мотивация и свои амбиции. И человек более эффективен именно в том, от чего его реально прет.

Взято отсюда.

Думаю, сроки варьируются в зависимости от размеров компании и “болотистости” корпоративной культуры. К тому же трудовые отношения типа “я начальник – ты дурак” или “копать от забора и до обеда” тоже не добавляют желания работать.

Logic Men vs Feelings Men: who’s needed more?

Short summary of “The MFA Is the New MBA” by Katherine Bell (HBR Senior Editor).

In the article she describes how useful right-brain-sided people are for companies and states 4 lessons a Logic Man (MBA) might learn from a Feelings Man (MFA):

1. Criticism acceptance (hear what people say).
2. Understanding motivation (remember about hidden desires and motives).
3. Engaging an audience (lead the story but ask customers for ideas).
4. Constant and critical review of your ideas (don’t let your imagination shelter your eyes).

Nice article, highly recommended for reading.

Golden words on future and YB’ees

Anthony Tjan:

At the early stage of a business it is critical to build culture before company. The culture comes from the evangelism, heart, and fire in the belly of founders. You need to create a belief system, energy, and inspiration during the early stage of business and, as it grows, balance that with structure and process. If you put the latter (left side thinking) too early you lose the chance to form the soul of the company – you basically begin managing when the company has not yet been led.

Eleanor Roosevelt:

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Wm. Arthur Ward:

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.

P.S.: to be updated.

Explaning economics with… cows

In case your business partners need a lesson in economics… let them read the following economies classification.

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you.

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

WALL STREET CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new President of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public then buys your bull.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow has dropped dead and ask the Treasury to buy you a new one.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows. You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called “Cowkimon” and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are. You decide to have lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment and high bovine productivity. You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows. Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have none. Nobody believes you, so they bomb the shit out of you and invade your country. You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

Twitter and Google as customer service tools

Twitter and Google as customer service tools – New Media & Search

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Online collaboration: Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro

Today was the 1st time I’ve ever tried the software mentioned in subj: Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro.

Just at a glance some good points are seen (in comparison to MS LiveMeeting etc.):

• shiny and user-friendly nice UI,
• outer-web access.

Full comparison of online collaborating software will be presented here later, so stay in (there’s a special RSS link in the right-side bar ).

Mobile operators suffer from crisis?

Looks like my mobile operator (“Beeline” brand by Vympelkom) feels the crisis: today they’ve called me with 20% intercity discount offer.
Discount is available for calls from my mobile to city and other mobile operators’ phones in some another region within Russia – it’s the most pricy feature. So they’re trying to make me use it – but I don’t do at all, it’s much cheaper to use VoIP.
Brief analysis of the offer shows they already try to gather cashflow from every possible feature. Not a good sign.

Changing job

In these times of crisis most of the people think about saving their jobs and not many – about changing a job. I belong to the second ones )