Human Resources

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 sep 2014

'Design Thinking' is being applied by professors at University of Michigan's Ross School of Management to develop and enhance leadership capabilities of participants in their Executive Education programs. The programs are developed by using design thinking approach to seek and understand perspectives of potential candidates and fulfill their expectations and aligning theory with practice. In today's business world innovation is a critical component of leadership and competitive advantage. According to Professor Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks of Ross School, 'The design thinking approach shrinks innovation to something that doesn't require a massive strategic change in an organization, but can be applied every day; from how might we better communicate within a team to how might we increase our ability to identify new market potentials and trends.' Professor D. Scott DeRue, associate dean of executive education at Ross, explains that, 'We had a program in place, and it was doing well, but we weren't sure it was the best we could offer. We went out and immersed ourselves to understand the needs of high potentials in today's world.' Read on...

Talent Management: Use Design Thinking to Develop Better Leaders
Author: Kate Everson

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 24 sep 2014

To be a better business leader, either of a small company or a big corporation, it is essential to have a positive influence, effectively manage human relationships and get the work done through exemplary behavior. Business leaders have to be clear about who they are and want to be, what they stand for and how they emotionally connect with people. They have to develop their 'personal brand' by using the right tools and methods. According to branding expert, Glen Campbell of Brandheart, 'Personal branding is not about the external manifestation, what you wear and your style and manner. Well before that it's about the internal drivers that increase self-awareness and self-control; that enable a leader to consistently respond as their best self.' The methods that he uses to build personal brand for clients is through asking the five basic questions and finding answers to discover their best self - (1) Who is your current real self? (2) Who is your ideal self? (3) Why do you need to change? (4) How do I become my best self? (5) Who can help? Read on...

Huffington Post: The Basics Of Personal Branding - Five Simple Questions Before You Start
Author: Brian Horn

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 22 sep 2014

The recent study by Pitchbook Data, based on the funding data between 2009 to July 2014, number of startups and analysis of educational backgrounds of over 13000 founders globally, observed that IIT's (Indian Institute of Technology) are among the top 10 of world's most entrepreneurial universities, with 264 entrepreneurs, who have founded 205 companies and cumulatively raised US$3.15 billion. On the basis of total capital raised, at the top is Stanford University (US$ 3.51 billion) and at the 2nd spot is taken by Harvard University (US$ 3.23 billion). According to Sangeet Paul Choudary of Platform Thinking Labs, 'Less than 2 percent of the applicants get selected, and less than 0.1 percent make it to a top rated branch like computer science or electrical engineering, which is where most of tech-related entrepreneurship and VC activity takes place.' The study by Kauffman Foundation found that 33.2% of all companies founded by immigrants in the US had an Indian co-founder. But a different point that should also be mentioned here is that IIT's are not able to make a higher global mark on the academic basis with most of them being ranked between 351-400, according to The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2013-14. Read on...

QUARTZ: Why India's best tech schools produce more entrepreneurs than the Ivy League
Author: Nelson Vinod Moses

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 20 sep 2014

Entrepreneurship requires diverse sets of inherent talents and acquired skills in individuals to successfully navigate through a journey of developing ideas & concepts into practical and workable solutions for the betterment of society. And sometimes entrepreneurs fail in their uncharted endeavors for myriad of reasons that might or might not be in their control. These failures often become their learning experiences that finally better equip them to pursue another idea and launch another startup. But entrepreneurs can also hedge their risks by knowing and understanding what others in the field have been through. They can interact with founders, VCs and CEOs, if they have a chance and access to them. But if not, then there are a number of books written by these experts that new or even experienced entrepreneurs can read to better navigate their entrepreneurial voyage - (1) Business Adventures (John Brooks) (2) Business Model Generation (Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur) (3) The Start-Up of You (Reid Hoffman & Ben Casnocha) (4) Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell) (5) The Four Steps To The Epiphany (Steven Gary Blank) (6) #GIRLBOSS (Sophia Amoruso) (7) From Resource Allocation To Strategy (Joseph L. Bower & Clark G. Gilbert) (8) Rework (Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson) (9) My Years With General Motors (Alfred P. Sloan) (10) The Practice Of Management (Peter F. Drucker) (11) Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, And Made A Fortune Doing Business My Way (Richard Branson) (12) Founders At Work (Jessica Livingston) (13) How To Win Friends & Influence People (Dale Carnegie) (14) The Zigzag Principle (Rich Christiansen) (15) Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) (16) Good To Great (Jim Collins) (17) How To Win At The Sport Of Business (Mark Cuban) (18) Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises (Timothy F. Geithner) (19) The Smartest Guys In The Room: The Amazing Rise And Scandalous Fall Of Enron (Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind) (20) The Startup Game (William H. Draper) (21) Playing to Win (Alan G. Lafley & Roger Martin) (22) Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Peter F. Drucker) (23) The Ascent Of Money: A Financial History Of The World (Niall Ferguson) (24) The Lean Startup (Eric Ries) (25) The Signal And The Noise (Nate Silver) (26) So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love (Cal Newport) (27) All Marketers Are Liars (Seth Godin) (28) The 48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene) (29) The Innovator's Dilemma (Clayton Christensen) (30) Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh) (31) Steal Like an Artist (Austin Kleon) (32) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig) (33) Start With Why (Simon Sinek). Read on...

Business Insider: 33 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read
Authors: Aimee Groth, Emmie Martin, Max Nisen

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 15 sep 2014

In the constantly changing, technology connected and globally competitive business environment, it is imperative for businesses and organizations to create an environment of open communication and transparency, and acquire and effectively manage a knowledgeable and empowered talent pool. Organizations have to incorporate a continuous learning and skill updating mechanism to enhance their competitiveness and profitability. Learning through social networking is one such mechanism that can be utilized to harness more organizational knowledge, nurture and facilitate collaborative communities and finally improve employee performance leading to increased business value. Social network technologies have evolved from 1990s corporate intranets and extranets to now public-facing online networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and many more. Enterprise social networks are currently build on similar technologies in the form of private internal software platforms to engage employees for better collaboration, communication, knowledge sharing and informal learning. According to IDC, the worldwide enterprise social software applications markets' revenue was valued at US$ 1 billion in 2012, and the market revenue is expected to grow to US$ 2.7 billion by 2017. Some of the basic functions of ESN (Enterprise Social Networks) include activity streams, discussion forums, user groups, private messaging, subject matter expert identification, searchable knowledge base, file-sharing, tagging and bookmarking. Organizations can develop ESN platforms in-house or can obtain them from software vendors according to their specific needs and requirements. The benefits of implementing ESN platforms include cost reductions, employee engagement, open collaboration, increased innovation, bridging the gap between formal and informal learning, increased business performance and enhanced competitive advantage. Valerie Goodwin-Adams of Abaxis Inc, a medical device manufacturer, points out, 'In addition to knowledge-sharing, some of the key drivers for implementing ESN technology are also reduced travel expenses and increased sales revenues. The greatest challenge to overcome when implementing an enterprise social networking platform is adoption, then it's training and measurement. I believe that if you cannot measure it in terms of sales, then it's not relevant.' Read on...

Chief Learning Officer: Is Social Networking Good for Learning?
Author: Susan Distasio, Donna Lord

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 14 sep 2014

Entrepreneurship is critical for economic progress. At individual human level, it converts ideas into workable innovations. At organizational level, it is an engine of business growth and survival. At societal level, it balances demand and supply, creates job opportunities and provides innovative solutions to real-world problems. The spirit of entrepreneurship is valued even by big corporations. But how to build an entrepreneurial organization? The answer is provided by Dr. Thomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a business psychology professor at University College London, who suggests four essential steps - (1) Hire Entrepreneurial People (naturally more inquisitive & critical of status quo; highly proactive) (2) Learn How To Manage Them (tolerance to erratic, demanding & moody behaviors; provide new and meaningful projects; avoid engaging them in routine, well-defined, tactical projects) (3) Build Entrepreneurial Teams (look for congruent beliefs & values but complementary skills & styles while selecting members; align them towards clear goal or mission with a strong leadership) (4) Create An Entrepreneurial Culture (mutual trust & understanding between leader & team members; provide support & autonomy; individuals should feel incentivized to take risk, make their own decisions & experiment; assure culture that provides exploration, learning & play). Read on...

Fast Company: 4 UNAVOIDABLE STEPS TO BUILDING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL ORGANIZATION
Author: Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 12 sep 2014

For the better development of society, it is important that kids, who are the future, spend time in community service activities. Leigh Ann Errico, founder & CEO of Kidkind Foundation & 'Wear the Capes', points out, 'Volunteering with your kids touches hearts, teaches important life lessons and engraves fond, lifelong memories of family bonding. Understanding and participating in activities to benefit the community is crucial to weaving one's moral fiber.' Based on extensive research, Dr. Philip Brown of Rutgers University & 'Wear the Cape', provide reasons to encourage kids to serve others. According to him, 'As young people get older, they need to stretch their abilities, including their moral sensibilities. Engagement with other kids and adults in meaningful service activities can support healthy development in a variety of ways, providing opportunities for both growth and positive fulfillment.' The 10 reasons suggested by him are - (1) Volunteering helps foster empathy (2) Volunteering helps develop a sense of self-efficacy (3) Volunteers gain experience working with other people (4) Volunteering develops new skills (5) Volunteering provides the opportunity to explore new interests and develop new passions (6) Volunteers learn a lot (7) Volunteers actually make a difference in other people's lives (8) Volunteering encourages civic responsibility (9) Volunteering offers you a chance to give back (10) Volunteering is good for you. Read on...

EIN News: TOP 10 REASONS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR KIDS TO VOLUNTEER
Author: NA

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 06 sep 2014

From Henry Ford, to whom manufacturing efficiency was paramount, to Steve Jobs, who valued the working of a product over its looks, design has always been an important component of the products delivered to consumers. During craftsmen era, individuals both designed & created the products. Industrial revolution focused on multiple specialized processes to finish products in large quantity with little room for errors. Autodesk pioneered computer-aided design (CAD) software, to enhance collaboration among highly skilled teams of designers, engineers etc. But today design is becoming critical for product performance and everybody needs to have a basic understanding of design. Autodesk is now promoting design literacy and participating in its democratization process. The gap between design, production and distribution is narrowing with technologies of sharing & collaboration, 3D printing etc and in future it will totally disappear. In the design economy the firms will have to perform in real time and the design will become the product itself. Autodesk predicts the demand for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) professionals will rise to 8.65 million in 2018. It created 'Design the Future' program to fulfill this demand and provides free software to students and curricula & training to educators. Diego Tamburini of Autodesk says, 'design no longer just applies to physical systems, but has permeated to other non-physical areas such as software, services, and the overall "emotional experience" of using a product that also require designers.' Read on...

Forbes: Why Autodesk Is Investing In The Democratization Of Design
Author: Greg Satell

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 29 aug 2014

Institutions imparting education are consistently in debates and discussions as they have direct impact on the society both in short and long-term. These institutions often become the beacons of societal change and transformations. At present the issues facing education are related to rising cost, transformations in the labor market and an important technological shift. But question that article raises is that, will any of these issues revolutionize the way education is imparted and have a substantial impact on the long-term goal and purpose of these institutions? Moreover the argument that Simon Tremblay-Pepin, researcher at IRIS (Institute de Recherche et d'Informations Socio-economique) in Canada, brings into fore is that - university's mission is not only to train professionals for the labor market and the goal of research is not only to pursue profits, but it is beyond that. While citing the case of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), that are potentially considered as creating technology induced educational transformation, he points out that they might have short-term value but if they displace real professor-student interactions it would be an overall loss to education. According to him, this would particularly happen in case of students pursuing long-term work, like Master's thesis or a PhD, that require sustained guidance to help advance a new idea - discussions to check whether the students are on the right track and suggestions to open up unforeseen avenues. Read on...

rabble.ca: There's a revolution transforming universities. But into what?
Author: Simon Tremblay-Pepin

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 aug 2014

Dynamics of relationship between employees and their organizations defines the competitive advantage that they can develop to succeed in the marketplace. According to Professor Wayne Brockbank of University of Michigan, the talent paradigm that has gained considerable momentum in the HR field focuses primarily on individual contributions and not on the organizations as a whole. This will affect the impact that HR departments have on organizations - the strategic enablers of organizational performance. He quotes Adam Smith's 'Wealth of Nations' to emphasize that the importance of organizations is to coordinate labor to make the whole greater than the individual laborer's parts. Moreover he argues that over time major competitors hire almost similar talent but what sets the organizations apart is what they do with the talent that they have acquired and this precisely translates into the competitive advantage. Therefore if HR focuses primarily on talent then its ability to create competitive advantage is limited. Read on...

HBR Blog Network: The Best HR Departments Don't Just Focus on People
Author: Wayne Brockbank

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