Strength based organization

The benefits of engagement and strengths

In the 1990s, Gallup concluded a decades-long study into employee engagement. One of the key findings was that employees need 12 essential elements from their workplaces. These elements -- measured by the Q¹², Gallup's 12-item assessment of engagement -- reflect a sense of belonging, growth, and contribution. They are also deeply emotional. Though workers do need to be paid -- and though they do like status symbols such as corner offices -- they also need emotional fulfilment. If workers' emotional needs are met, they become engaged with their companies, and their productivity, profitability, retention rate, and safety rate increase

Gallup published its groundbreaking work on strengths. In Gallup's terminology, strength starts with an innate talent -- a tendency to think and behave a certain way -- to seek harmony among group members, for instance, or to enjoy learning for its own sake.

A talent becomes strength when it's refined by skills, knowledge, and practice then consciously applied to something that needs doing -- such as practicing international law.

Engagement starts with managers. To manage toward engagement, leaders must understand the 12 elements and apply them to every worker every day. Strengths, however, are a little different. Strengths develop from innate talents and look different in different people. To develop and work from their strengths, employees must know what their talents are and learn how to hone them into strengths. To make the most out of employee strengths in an organization, managers need to know the strengths of each employee. Then they must create opportunities for employees to use them.

Gallup research has proven that the best way to develop employees -- and net the greatest return on investment -- is to identify the ways in which they most naturally think, feel, and behave, then build upon those talents to create strengths -- the ability to provide consistent, near-perfect performance.

Discover What's Right With People, Then Build on It

All organizations seek to improve performance. To get there, though, far too many follow conventional wisdom: Focus on fixing weaknesses. Find what's wrong with your people and try to correct it. Unfortunately, that "wisdom" leaves them struggling on the path to mediocrity.

A growing number of organizations have learned that although weaknesses can't be overlooked -- and must be managed -- fixating on weakness is a mistake.

Gallup Study: Engaged Employees Inspire Company Innovation

National survey finds that passionate workers are most likely to drive organizations forward

When it comes to innovation, business leaders aren't necessarily looking to traditional sources, like research and development departments, to contribute big new ideas. Rather, they're counting on ideas from their employees, customers, and partners to help drive the organization forward. And engaged employees are most likely to contribute those innovations, according to a recent Gallup Management Journal (GMJ) survey of U.S. workers.
GMJ surveyed U.S. employees to discover what effect employee engagement may have on team-level innovation and customer service delivery. Gallup researchers studied employee responses to several items about innovation in the workplace to see which factors differed most strongly among engaged employees (29% of respondents) and those who were not engaged (56%) or actively disengaged (15%). (See graphic "The Three Types of Employees.")
Gallup research has shown that engaged employees are more productive, profitable, safer, create stronger customer relationships, and stay longer with their company than less engaged employees. This latest research indicates that workplace engagement is also a powerful factor in catalyzing "outside-the-box" thinking to improve management and business processes as well as customer service.

When GMJ researchers surveyed U.S. workers, 59% of engaged employees strongly agreed with the statement that their current job "brings out [their] most creative ideas." On the flip side, only 3% of actively disengaged employees strongly agreed that their current job brings out their most creative ideas. (See graphic "Creativity on the Job.")
The study also showed that engaged workers were much more likely to react positively to creative ideas offered by fellow team members.

When asked to rate their level of agreement with the statement "I feed off the creativity of my colleagues," roughly 6 in 10 engaged employees (61%) strongly agreed, while only about 1 in 10 actively disengaged employees (9%) gave the same answer. This suggests that higher levels of employee engagement not only increase the likelihood that individual employees will generate new ideas, it also suggests that idea generation among engaged employees can be amplified when it occurs in a team setting.

GMJ researchers also explored the role that workplace friendships play in promoting innovation. About three-fourths of engaged employees (76%) strongly agreed with the statement "I have a friend at work who I share new ideas with." On the other hand, only 2 in 10 actively disengaged employees (21%) strongly agreed that they have a friend at work with whom they share new ideas. Clearly, friendships do play a significant role among engaged employees when it comes to setting the stage for idea creation and refinement.

The results also suggest that there are significant differences in how engaged and actively disengaged employees view their company's encouragement and acceptance of innovative ideas. Only 4% of actively disengaged employees strongly agreed with the statement "My company encourages new ideas that defy conventional wisdom," while more than half of engaged employees (55%) strongly agreed that their company encouraged such ideas.

Innovation and customer service
GMJ researchers also investigated the effect of employee engagement on customer service innovation. Nearly 9 in 10 engaged employees (89%) strongly agreed that "At work, I know where to go with an idea to improve customer service," contrasted with only 16% of actively disengaged employees.

Engaged employees also involved customers in the innovation and improvement process. When asked to rate their level of agreement with the statement "At work, we give our customers new ideas," 74% of engaged employees strongly agreed that they shared new ideas with customers, contrasted with just 13% of actively disengaged employees. (See graphic "Sharing Ideas With Customers.")
Gallup's employee engagement research has consistently shown a connection between employee engagement and customer engagement. One factor that can influence customer engagement is an employee's willingness to change -- or to "learn and grow" -- to meet the customers' changing needs. When Gallup asked workers to rate the statement "I have grown in my ability to positively affect our customers," the results were telling. Almost 9 in 10 engaged employees (85%) strongly agreed that they have grown in their ability to positively affect their company's customers, while only 2 in 10 actively disengaged employees (19%) strongly agreed.
Finally, more than half of all engaged employees (51%) strongly agreed with the statement "At work, my coworkers always do what is right for our customers."

This was in stark contrast to the actively disengaged employees: Only 1 in 10 strongly agreed that their coworkers always do what is right for their customers.
Gallup's research into the relationship between employee engagement and innovation strongly indicates that engaged employees are far more likely to suggest or develop creative ways to improve management or business processes. They're also far more likely to find creative ways to solve customer problems or to involve their customers in creating service innovations. Company leaders who want to drive growth through innovation should first create an environment that welcomes new ideas -- and should make engaging employees a key component of that strategy.

Results of these surveys are based on nationally representative samples of about 1,000 employed adults aged 18 and older. Interviews were conducted by The Gallup Organization by telephone quarterly from October 2000-October 2002, then semi-annually thereafter. For results based on samples of this size, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects could be plus or minus three percentage points. For findings based on subgroups, the sampling error would be greater.

The Q¹² items are protected by copyright of Gallup, Inc., 1993-1998. All rights reserved

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Osho Insights - The moment you relax you are in the present

Osho - Meditation is a state of total relaxation; not of concentration, not of contemplation, but of relaxation. When one is so absolutely relaxed that there is no tension either in the body or in the mind, then suddenly there is an opening of the heart. Only in total relaxation does the heart open, it becomes a flower. Without its opening one remains unfulfilled, discontented.
The opening of the heart as a flower is the ultimate ecstasy; there is nothing more than that. One has come to the highest peak, one's life has blossomed. And that is the meaning of Teresa. Teresa means a reaper, a harvester. When one has come to the blossoming, the flowering, the ripening, then one can reap the crop. Then life is tremendously significant, a gift of god. Otherwise it is just a possibility, and nobody can be blissful with only a possibility. It has to become actual, it has to become a realisation.

in Osho Quotes on Relaxation, Osho Short Insights

Being with me means only one thing: learning how to relax. The moment you relax you are in the present. The past is a tension. Relaxation is going beyond time - no past, no future. One simply disappears into the infinity of the now and the here. And that is springtime as far as the inner ripening, flowering, is concerned.
Source - Osho Book "Just The Tip"

Point to ponder...

When Mozart was composing at the end of the eighteenth century, the city of Vienna was so quiet that fire alarms could be given verbally, by a shouting watchman mounted on top of St. Stefan's Cathedral.

In twentieth-century society, the noise level is such that it keeps knocking our bodies out of tune and out of their natural rhythms. This ever-increasing assault of sound upon our ears, minds, and bodies add to the stress load of civilized beings trying to live in a highly complex environment. ~Steven Halpern

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ReTHINK wallpaper freebies

" We'll have to be different in some ways to be much better, but that's the prize "

While some see us as the crazy ones. Wee see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Thinker, Iconoclast, Designer, Builder or Innovator, we are here to take up the task in buoyancy and hope. The task to make the tools for genius one as might not change the world but we definitely spark the mind that will.

I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. I feel entitled at this juncture, at this time, to claim the aid of all and to say, " Come then, let us spead the inspirational genius dust with our united strength"

And we leave you this evening by dedicating these words ,

"Everybody's a genius, it's just a matter of whether you love yourself enough to admit to yourself and fly with whatever your area of genius is"

And have fun by downloading the attached wallpaper and do spread it around.

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ReTHINK : Be positive even it's not your blood group

Positive and Negative Vibrations

The word vibe is often used to describe a mood or a feeling that you pick up from someone or something. For example, you may say you pick up a good vibe when you are around a certain person. Or you may say that you get a negative vibe when you walk in a certain part of a city or neighbourhood. In all of these cases, the word vibe is used to describe the mood or feeling you are experiencing. In short, a vibe equals a mood or a feeling.

The word vibe comes from the longer word vibration (which isn’t used often by most people). In the ‘vibrational’ world, there are only two kinds of vibrations, positive (+) and negative (–). Every mood or feeling causes you to emit, send-out or offer a vibration, whether positive or negative. If you go through the dictionary and select every word that describes a feeling, you would be able to put them into either of these two categories. Each word will describe a feeling that generates a positive vibration or describe a feeling that generates a negative vibration.

Each one of us sends out either a positive or negative vibration. In fact, we are always sending a vibration. Think about the expression "He gives off good vibes," or "This neighbourhood gives me negative vibes."

Every single moment you have a mood or a feeling. In this moment right now, the mood or feeling you are experiencing is causing you to emit or send out a negative or positive vibration.

Here’s where the Law of Attraction comes in. The Law of Attraction (universal energy around you that obeys the science of physics) is responding to the vibration you are offering. Right now, in this very moment, it is matching your vibration by giving you more of the same, whether positive or negative.

For example, when a person wakes up first thing Monday morning feeling a little bit cranky and irritated, they are sending out a negative vibration. And while they are sending out this negative vibration, the Law of Attraction responds, matching the vibration they are sending and giving this person more of the same. (The Law of Attraction always matches your vibration – whether positive or negative.)

So, this person gets out of bed, stubs their toe, burns their toast, the traffic is snarled, a client cancels and then they catch themselves saying "I should have stayed in bed!"

Or, how about the salesperson who is joyfully excited about a huge sale they just made, thus sending out a positive vibration. Shortly after, they get another ideal sale. They catch themselves saying "I’m on a roll!"

In both of these examples the Law of Attraction is at work, unfolding and orchestrating all that needs to happen to bring them more of the same, whether positive or negative.

You might ask what it got to do with ReTHINK: THINK DIFFERENT. We Believe that we are here for a reason.I believe that a bit of the reason is throw little torches out to lead by through dark by inspiring the others...

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iLeadership : think different -“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

Whilst ileader have passion to create and deliver great things, new things, management is much more "getting things done, more on mechanical, linear and quantitative approach, driven by process and controls, with clearly defines tasks and measurable output. It thrives on planning, organizing, delivering and constrolling.

The future will always be about achieving the impossible and thinking different. Below slogan which summed up Apple eloquently had been mentioned by us in each seminars, training or conference that ReTHINK consultancy took part. Part of our mission to create a working culture to ReTHINK : Think Differently.

It has been said once by Antoine de Saint-exupery that "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."

A good management doesn't not look for blind obedience. We're looking for people who on their own initiative want to be doing what they're doing because they consider it to be a worthy objective. I have always believed that the best leader is the best server. And if you're a servant, by definition you're not controlling.

If you inspire an environment where people truly participate, you don't need control. They know what needs to be done and they will do it. Southwest can fit perfectly for the Think Different epitome. The empowerment to think differently.

Rec'd from co-worker this list of 21 funny statements made by pilots or attendents in the cabin of commercial airliners. Check these out.

1. On a Southwest flight 245 (SW has no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"

2. On a Continental Flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."

3. On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have.

4. "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane"

5. "Thank you for flying Delta Business Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."

6. As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

7. After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Memphis, a flight attendant on a Northwest flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."

8. From a Southwest Airlines employee: "Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245 to Tampa.. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."

9. "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

10. "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Southwest Airlines."

11. "Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and, in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."

12. "As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."

13. And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

14. Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake City the flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."

15. Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"

16. Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."

17. An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline." He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no, Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"

18. After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."

19. Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of US Airways."

20. Heard on a Southwest Airline flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing and if you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."

21. A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.. OH, MY GOD!" Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Coach yelled, "That's nothing. You should see the back of mine."

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The Steve Jobs Way: iLeadership for a new generation

Steve Jobs – the man that transformed the way we connect, consume and communicate. Having read the book, – The Steve Jobs Way – ildeadership for the next generation, I thought I would share some of the insights into Steve Job’s leadership style and approach. Ask yourself, how can I apply these insights into helping me realise my leadership potential?

The thing that struck me about his approach is that it is simple, common sense based, consistent, contagious and highly effective – the results speak for themselves.

But in real sense rules and regulations that have been stumbling blocks must be removed. Since our school days we are overshadowed by rules and regulations that even for creativity we long for rigid step by step approach.

Rules and regulations that encourage people to concentrate on not making mistakes will lead to confirmity and compliance, and inhibit creativity and stiffle imagination, Rules and regulation that attempt to impose a one-size-fits-all structure will hamper the efforts of breakthrough idea.

We must make inventiveness and out-of-box creativity the expected outcome of our next generation leadership vision. We call this as iLeadership, the next generation leadership. Ideas that we borrow from the founder of Apple.

• Passion – he valued this trait in people above all others. Given his passion (some would say obsession) with product, he sought people who had a genuine interest in Apple products – those who not only who owned, used but had ideas in how to improve the products.

• Hand’s on approach: his “hand’s on” was not based upon a controlling paradigm but rather an empowering one. He felt the more he knew about the products, markets, customer needs, financials, the more he could (and did) add value and empower people to think beyond borders and push boundaries.

• “Why join the Navy when you can become a pirate” – this was Steve’s recruitment philosophy. He was only interested in people who “stood out from the masses”. Pirates, Steve believes, are people who bond and rely on one another and build cohesive teams. Pirates are also free thinkers and are prepared to take risks and above all bring an individual uniqueness. Pirates he felt accept a demand for high standards from their leader and accept a demand for perfection and strive to achieve it.

• “No “Bozo’s” – only hire people who meet the highest standards – bright, passionate and unique. During a selection process, Steve would drill until he was satisfied he had discovered the person’s unique talents and then create a role that would leverage their talents.

• “Talent finds talent” – he believes in the following – “great people find great people”, “pirates are a huge multiplier”, “be unencumbered by predetermined opinions and biases about people”, “sometimes there are people who appear to be all “Navy” but when you reach inside you find a “pirate” dying to be released” and an “A-grade person is anyone with REAL talent”

• One’s workplace is one’s “stage” – he believed that each team members’ workplace is their stage; a place where they create something special. He ensured that seating was arranged as an orchestra so that people could see and interact with each other and easily engage with the leader who was positioned as the conductor.

• “Reward the pirates” – be believed in “showering others with recognition, appreciation and reward – let people know you know about their greatness”, “real recognition happens face to face”, “encourage the artist in everyone” – he refers to himself as the “Head Artist”. He tells the story that in 1982 he took the Mac team to the Louis Tiffany museum because he regarded Tiffany as an artist who successfully made the shift to mass production.

• Have very frequent review sessions - he held weekly, what he referred to as, “meat and potatoes” sessions with his team. Where they discussed and mapped progress, celebrated milestones, identified issues, generated ideas and solved problems.

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Don't settle.Be Bold, Be Brave,Be Brilliant

If you were lucky enough to have rare conversation with Steve Jobs and you asked him what it takes to be a successful innovator, what could be the answer. I believe that we don't have to guess. He answered the question in1995, in a rare interview with the Smithsonian Oral History Project :

“I think you should go get a job as a busboy or something until you find something you’re really passionate about.I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. It is so hard.

You put so much of your life into this thing. There are such rough moments in time that I think most people give up. I don’t blame them. It’s really tough and it consumes your life.

You have to be burning with an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right. If you’re not passionate from the start, you’ll never stick it out."

Jobs press well further on the importance of this creative period in his life to a group of Stanford graduates in 2005.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle. 

Creativity and passion complement each other. Most management, books and phd research shows studies on arcane theories, methods and techniques on innovation. But we are missing the most important factor from the whole idea of innovation calculus.

In contrast, if you find the life and words of Steve Jobs, world most exciting innovator, you find that innovation starts with something that we all have : Passion. And how could we explain what hold back someone after 10,000 times of failure just to light up something.

On Michael Jordan missing more than 9000 shots in his career, Lost almost 300 games. 26 times been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.

What do Bill Gates, Harry Truman, and Walt Disney all have in common? Their first business venture was a flop, but they didn't let it defeat them.

Passion is not a topic taught in M.B.A classes, because it is not quantifiable- it doesn't fit easily on excel grid. Innovation can't occur in the absence of passion,innovation will only occur when someone is obssesively passionate about a particular subject, whether it be building computers, developing new medicine or even cultivating exceptionally engaging workplace.One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.

People who obsess over these ideas can't imagine doing anything else. Thinking about the subject that consumes them,energise them and ultimately inspires them to create breakthrough innovation.

And if still haven't found your passion, takes Job's advice and keep looking,Find you passion.Once you do,you'll be on your way to create insanely great ideas.

We will leave you this evening with that Oprah Winfrey quoted before.

" You've to follow your passion. You've to figure out what you really love - who you really are.And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage that anyone ever need is the courage to follow your dreams"

Be Bold, Be Brave,Be Brilliant.

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ReTHINK : Innovation isn't product of logical thought

Innovation isn't product of logical thought although it is tied to a logical structure.

Creativity and innovation is 2 words that greatly misunderstood in corporate world. And the regret is further intensified by most the manager's, executive's and almost all business owner belief that by analyzing data, this will give us a new way or a new idea to operate. This is a belief that went too far afield supported by Edward De Bono himself. He quoted;

" Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see."

Recently i witnessed the confusion of innovation and six sigma. A corporate culture dominated by Six Sigma management theory will be primarily inclined toward inwardly focused, continuous improvement types of innovation activity—process, customer service, systems, operations, and so on.

A culture that fosters disruptive innovation is going to be more entrepreneurial, more outwardly focused on new markets, technologies, and business models. The objective is to find big new growth platforms that add significant chunks of revenue and profit.

It's not a question which is important as both are equally crucial. But the point is not letting the whole consideration misplaced with distorted view. Do not confuse art of possibility and art of profitability. Reducing defect by running experiment and analyzing data do increase the profitability but on the other hand it does not lead you to the way of art of possibility.

You can’t put a Six Sigma process into an area and say, well, I’m getting behind on invention or innovation, so I’m going to schedule myself for three good ideas on Wednesday and two on Friday. That’s not how creativity works. That's not how you generate crazy innovative ideas.

By plotting the sensitivity and analysing the data of the key-pad won't lead you to breakthrough crazy idea like Iphone touch screen. Obsession towards customer requirement might not bring you a new innovative offer.

You might not agree with me but you can take-on Henry Ford as he said " If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses".If you measure everything you manage, risky ideas will not spark. Employees need to be able to dream, and they need to know that their company not only encourages risk but in fact exhibits a high tolerance for failure.

Only death fish follow the flows.ReTHINK...THINK DIFFERENT...INNOVATE

The issue, I believe, is not so much that process improvement and cost reduction are somehow inherently in conflict with innovation – the issue is that combining a top-down executive managed process improvement process with one set of cultural presumptions with a bottom-up innovation process with another set of cultural presumptions might not be such a good fit. The key message is that when selecting your box of tools, it is important to understand the assumptions inherent in the tool and select a compatible set of tools to achieve the desired outcomes.

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Don't worry ... Be crappy

Recently i gave a short speech on innovation which i believe PASSION is the first article of faith in INNOVATION. And innovation is an equation that will never complete without having Apple culture being mentioned.

But before i tread carefully with my words to inspire about innovation with the DREAM of heading to our office, switching on our laptop, starting with a clean sheet of paper, the hours ahead of us to grow - to do something better, to develop our ideas further and t0 improve our capabilities,BUT  i'm deeply troubled with the way we live with.

Somehow it doesn't often feel like that, Most of us in most businessess heading straight for new coffee machine, then to our email-laden inboxes, followed by a sequence of hours-long review meeting or click open our hundred-page documents.

We have little to think. We spend most of our business lives with our heads down. Doing what we did,reviewing what we have done, doing more of what we have always done. Endless pursuit for more information,more details analysis, faster reporting and get caught is spreadsheet trap.

This lead to quote of what Edward De Bono said, "Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see."

It's time for ReTHINK...Be Different.

Let me get to the irrestible tendecy of having innovation and Apple's founder Steve job next to each other to be explained.

Apple is on a roll and we want to know how Steve Jobs does it. The Steve Jobs way is, in a word, passion. 

Passion drives his perseverance and momentum through setbacks. 
Passion obliges his attention to detail. 
Passion necessitates his intense focus. 
Passion fuels his outbursts. 
Passion compels him to encourage those around him. 
Passion urges him to compete with himself. 
Passion informs his decisions. 

I recounts of an articles that i read on what Steve Jobs said .

“I think you should go get a job as a busboy or something until you find something you’re really passionate about.” He believes that “about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. 

You put so much of your life into this thing. There are such rough moments in time that I think most people give up. I don’t blame them. It’s really tough and it consumes your life.” 

You have to be burning with “an idea, or a problem, or a wrong that you want to right.” If you’re not passionate from the start, you’ll never stick it out."

And this is some of the rudimentary ideas that i shared during my presentation.

 

I leave you this evening with following words.Words to inspire you to have courage to follow your passion even if you have to stray slightly off the beaten path.

“Because of their courage, their lack of fear, they (creative people) are willing to make silly mistakes. The truly creative person is one who can think crazy; such a person knows full well that many of his great ideas will prove to be worthless. The creative person is flexible; he is able to change as the situation changes, to break habits, to face indecision and changes in conditions without undue stress. He is not threatened by the unexpected as rigid, inflexible people are.”

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Our Thought

Psychologists estimate that, on average, we have asmany as sixty thousand thoughts in a typical day. If we sleep six to eight hours a day, then we are having about on thought each second.
When we started paying attention to my thoughts, I found my head filled with an endless dialogue. I was surprised to discover that I wasn’t having sixty thousand new and useful thoughts.

Instead, I was repeating a series of unproductive fight, flight, and freeze thoughts—doubts about myself, doubts about my abilities, imagining upcoming scenarios with difficult people and difficult situations, criticizing and judging myself and others, and analyzing everyone and everything (and not necessarily in a positive way).

If everything we say and do first begins in thought, I wondered how I was able to accomplish anything of significance to me with all that chatter.

when we manage our thoughts and stay in the moment, we release many of those sixty thousand daily thoughts. We create the space for powerful thoughts to come through.

Creative ideas emerge when our heads are clear, when we give our minds a rest, and when we do what we love to do. These creative ideas result in great decisions. And we don’t waste time, energy, or money. We focus on what is significant.

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ReTHINK : Decision Making by Anthony Robbins

Napoleon Bonaparte Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.

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The 7 Hidden Reasons Why Employees Leave a Company...

Employees don't leave a company, they leave the managers..

About the author of The 7 Hidden Reaons Why Employees Leave a Company

Leigh Branham is the Founder/Principal of consulting firm Keeping the People Inc. and is an author, speaker and consultant on workplace best practices. He has been widely quoted in the media including Fortune, Business Week and The Associated Press as an expert on employee retention.

As we know, when exiting employees are asked, ‘‘Why are you leaving?’’ most are not inclined to tell the whole truth. Rather than risk burning a bridge with the former manager whose references they might need, they’ll just write down ‘‘better opportunity’’ or ‘‘higher pay.’’ Why would they want to go into the unpleasant truth about how they never got any feedback or recognition from the boss, or how they were passed over for promotion?


So, it is no wonder that, according to one survey, 89 percent of managers said they believe that employees leave and stay mostly for the money. Yet, my own research, along with Saratoga Institute’s surveys of almost 20,000 workers from eighteen industries,2 and the research of dozens of other studies, reveal that actually 80 to 90 percent of employees leave for reasons related NOT to money, but to the job, the manager, the culture, or the work environment (Figure 1-1). These internal reasons (also known as ‘‘push’’ factors, as opposed to ‘‘pull’’ factors, such as a better-paying outside opportunity) are issues within the power of the organization and the manager to control and change.


Employee turnover is not an event — it is a process of disengagement that can take days, weeks, months or even years until the actual decision to leave occurs. There are several sequential and predictable steps that can unfold in the employee’s journey from disengagement to departure. These are:


● Question the decision to accept the job.
● Think seriously about quitting.
● Try to change things.
● Resolve to quit.
● Consider the cost of quitting.
● Passively seek another job.
● Prepare to actively seek.
● Actively seek.
● Get new job offer.
● Quit to accept new job, quit without a job, or stay and disengage.

About 90 percent of departing employees leave because of issues with their "job, manager, culture or work environment," Leigh Branham reports, yet nearly 90 percent of managers believe that "employees leave and stay mostly for the money."


One appendix summarizes all the specific practices Branham suggests throughout the book, and another provides guidelines for successful exit interviews and turnover analysis.
So why do people really leave?

• There's not enough feedback or coaching. The root problems are managers' inattention to people they supervise, irregular or nonexistent feedback, criticism instead of praise, and other indicators that feedback isn't valued or valuable. Practices to improve coaching and feedback include focusing it on new hires, setting up buddy or mentor programs with experienced employees, and holding managers accountable for feedback.
•  Employees feel "devalued and unrecognized." Managers, fearing charges of favoritism or not knowing enough about an employee's job to judge performance well, may balk at recognizing employees. But a manager should be aware that problems may arise if good employees are overdue for pay increases or are paid the same as poor performers, or if new recruits make more than experienced workers in similar jobs.
•  Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders. Leaders who don't provide a clear vision and understandable path for execution are at risk. Leaders who are unethical and narcissistic (extremely self-centered) will chase good employees out the door.
• Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance. "Company leaders must determine whether their organization’s culture is unhealthy, or even toxic. When you force workers into choosing between having a life and a career, your organization has a toxic culture," according to Leigh. Hire good people, treat them respectfully, and give them latitude to act like adults.

The answer lies in one of the largest studies undertaken by the Gallup Organization. The study surveyed over a million employees and 80,000 managers and was published in a book called "First Break All The Rules". It came up with this surprising finding:

If you're losing good people, look to their immediate boss.Immediate boss is the reason people stay and thrive in an organization. And he 's the reason why people leave. When people leave they take knowledge,experience and contacts with them, straight to the competition. “So much money has been thrown at the challenge of keeping good people - in the form of better pay, better perks and better training - when, in the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue.” If you have a turnover problem, look first to your managers. Are they driving people away?

"People leave managers not companies," write the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.

Mostly manager drives people away?

HR experts say that of all the abuses, employees find humiliation the most intolerable. The first time, an employee may not leave,but a thought has been planted. The second time, that thought gets strengthened. The third time, he looks for another job.When people cannot retort openly in anger, they do so by passive aggression. By digging their heels in and slowing down. By doing only what they are told to do and no more. By omitting to give the boss crucial information. Dev says: "If you work for a jerk, you basically want to get him into trouble. You don 't have your heart and soul in the job."

Any company trying to compete must figure out a way to engage the mind of every employee,” Jack Welch of GE once said. Much of a company’s value lies “between the ears of its employees”. If it’s bleeding talent, it’s bleeding value. Unfortunately, many senior executives busy travelling the world, signing new deals and developing a vision for the company, have little idea of what may be going on at home.
That deep within an organization that otherwise does all the right things, one man could be driving its best people away.

Different managers can stress out employees in different ways - by being too controlling, too suspicious,too pushy, too critical, but they forget that workers are not fixed assets, they are free agents. When this goes on too long, an employee will quit - often over a trivial issue

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