Archive for March, 2007

Stand Out

March 27, 2007 at 4:44 pm · Filed under General, Work

How do you compete in a world where there are millions of candidates, where whatever you do has already been done (You think!) and where others have more experience and resources than you?

The answer is you have to Stand out. Be recognised.be seen as someone not so easy to replace.You need an edge over the competition.

Some tips on how to achieve that:

Have that passion:  If you don’t like what you do, then just quit! Once you hate your job you loose your value in it and you become easily replaceable. If you love your job,you’ll be good at it and everyone will be seeking you. So just do whatever makes you happy. That simple.

Create Value: the more ways you can create value and share that value, the more valuable you are.

Create your Online definition:With the wide spread of Internet and today’s easy access to information, hundreds of people can connect with just a click. In such world, you can link to other passionate people and widen your network. You can do that by Blogging :o ) ,by being part of online communities or any other way that you find suitable for you. The Internet will help you set your price, it can make you priceless.

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Erich von Manstein

March 14, 2007 at 3:23 pm · Filed under Management, Work

The German World War II general Erich von Manstein is said to have categorized his officers into four types. The first type, he said, is lazy and stupid. His advice was to leave them alone because they don’t do any harm. The second type is hard-working and clever. He said that they make great officers because they ensure everything runs smoothly. The third group is composed of hardworking idiots. Von Manstein claims that you must immediately get rid of these, as they force everyone around them to perform pointless tasks. The fourth category are officers who are lazy and clever. These, he says, should be your generals.

When i read this it made me wonder how can we apply Eric’s categories to business organisations.

for that, i thought of asking you guys about your opinions. Which type of officers are you or your boss is?

feel free to drop your comments.

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Quality and Project Interface

March 1, 2007 at 2:27 pm · Filed under Work

Extract of MG publication in PROMAC 2006:

Implementation of a total quality management appears as a critical phase for the success of the total quality management program.
Succeeding in the implementation phase depends mainly on how much the quality manager or the person conducting this implementation phase is able to reduce the expected resistance to change.

Resistance to change may be categorized into an individual resistance to change (habit, dependence, fear of unknown, job security, low learning skills…) and an organizational resistance to change (power plays, organizational structure, limited resources…)

“Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together” (anonymous quote)… In fact overcoming this resistance could become a less cumbersome task through the application of a basic project knowledge area which is team building. By clearly consolidating the implementation phase of a TQM as a project with a project manager and project team members, project team becomes then the most common vehicle for employee participation. This participative work culture will encourage quality to become everybody’s responsibility. Team building in TQM implementation project gains more importance and is more delicate than in traditional project world because groups that are organized to perform simpler and more certain tasks (production groups) usually have more formal structure and a much different way of thinking/behaving than teams focusing on more uncertain tasks (delicate implementation and development of TQM).

The quality manager who is often the project manager of such project will have to cross organizational lines and deal with people over whom he has little or no authority, for that he should transform his managerial responsibilities into leadership skills, transcend his new group into a team, turn the main obstacles into a success factor, and make of his risky TQM implementation a flashy win!

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