Who are you?

Project Manager is a Person who thinks nine women can deliver a baby in One month.

Developer is a Person who thinks it will take 18 months to deliver a Baby.

Onsite Coordinator is one who thinks single woman can deliver nine babies in one month.

Client is the one who doesn't know why he wants a baby.

Marketing Manager is a person who thinks he can deliver a baby even if no man and woman are available.

Resource Optimization Team thinks they don't need a man or woman; they'll produce a child with zero resources.

Documentation Team thinks they don't care whether the child is delivered, they'll just document 9 months.

Quality Auditor is the person who is never happy with the PROCESS to produce a baby.

Tester is a person who always tells his wife that this is not the Right baby.

HR manager is a person who thinks that a donkey can deliver a human baby if given 9 months

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT IS HARDER TODAY

Improving performance just isn’t as easy as it used to be. Why?

For one reason, employees have already experienced every performance improvement program or philosophy out there: motivational programs, process improvement, gurus, consultants, PI, PM, TQM, and ISO 9000! “One person can improve only so much,” today’s employee says to him or herself, “and I think I stretched beyond that limit a few years ago.”

While employers continue to push for doing more with less, employees are saying, “We’re at the zero point. There is nothing left to trim, give up, or reduce. We’re already doing the job in less time and with fewer resources than it takes to perform.” And yet, managers are still being asked to get increased performance from an already overextended workforce. How can this be accomplished?

Making assumption is risky

One hot afternoon a crow felt very thirsty. He went in search of water and could not find it anywhere. At last he came across a pitcher kept in the yard of a house.

He perched on it’s mouth and peeped in. He was overjoyed to see some water. But when he put his beak in, to drink the water, he could not, as the level of water was too low.

The thirsty crow looked around and saw few pebbles scattered in the yard. He had an idea. He picked one of them and dropped in into the pitcher. The level of the water rose a little. Then he dropped pebble after pebble, till he could reach the water drink comfortably and quench his thirst

L1 - Learning Level 1 (lessons from the story)

Necessity is the mother of creativity
Creativity opens out unlimited possibilities
Creativity makes life more meaningful


L2 – Learning Level 2 (experience sharing)
1. Share your experience, where thinking out of the box yielded good result
2. Share why creativity is being seen as a rare commodity
3. Share What does creativity mean to you ?

L3 – Learning Level 3 (introspection)
1. What prevents creativity in a person ?
2. How often I hang on to conventional method ?
3. How much do I use my creative brain ?


Story No :2 (Lateral Thinking)

A party of suppliers was being given a tour of a mental hospital.One of the visitors had made some very insulting remarks about the patients.After the tour the visitors were introduced to various members of staff in the canteen.The rude visitor chatted to one of the security staff, Bill, a kindly and wise ex-policeman.
"Are they all raving loonies in here then?" said the rude man."Only the ones who fail the test," said Bill."What's the test?" said the rude man."Well, we show them a bath full of water, a bucket, a jug and an egg-cup, and we ask them what the quickest way to empty the bath is," said Bill."Oh I see, simple - the normal ones know it's the bucket, right?""No actually," said Bill, "The normal ones say pull out the plug. Should I check when there's a bed free for you?"

Moral :

Having confidence is good but overconfidence may often prove you wrong
Making assumption is risky

Accountability --- The Secret Ingredient to Execution

We all “Talk the Talk”. We understand that we must introduce accountability into the organization if we have any hope of achieving our objectives. Yet, many companies struggle, some unknowingly, with this concept for many different reasons. Long term employees can become complacent, competencies can be limited, a free pass is sometimes given for a variety of reasons and the “Peter Principle” is still alive and in existence today; promoting people beyond their ability to perform.I believe that many employees, often the majority, understand the concept and want to be held accountable. But, what about those that don’t?
Here are some simple concepts that may help you “Walk the Walk”.
·
Make sure you have clearly defined job descriptions and put performance expectations in writing with measureable goals.
·
Demand that every supervisor invest a minimum of thirty minute a month discussing job performance with every one of their direct reports. Record this informal discussion on a 4 X 6 card and put it in a file. When it comes time for the annual performance review, you now have eleven documents--- informal performance discussions--- to guide you in completing the formal annual review. If you don’t do this, burn your annual reviews. They are worthless.
·
Do not accept incompetence, don’t give free passes. It can become cancerous and effect the entire organization. It is rare that you ever terminate an employee and other employees don't wonder what took you so long.
·
Practice and train supervisors on coaching and mentoring. Document all performance discussions. When an employee is struggling, do everything in your power to help them including additional or remedial training. Don’t neglect using probationary status as a tool to make sure the employee knows you are serious and provides an opportunity for them to turn things around but with a timeline of patience defined.
·
Make sure you have a good new employee orientation program. Consider having a new employee sponsor for each new employee for a 60 to 90 day period. Compensate this champion.
·

As a leader, you must demonstrate, by example, a low tolerance for mediocrity.

Mind Map

To make notes on a subject using a Mind Map, draw it in the following way:

1. Write the title of the subject you're exploring in the center of the page, and draw a circle around it. This is shown by the circle marked 1 in Figure 1, above.
   
2. As you come across major subdivisions or subheadings of the topic (or important facts that relate to the subject) draw lines out from this circle. Label these lines with these subdivisions or subheadings. These are shown by the lines marked 2 in Figure 1.
   
3. As you "burrow" into the subject and uncover another level of information (further subheadings, or individual facts) belonging to the subheadings above, draw these as lines linked to the subheading lines. These are shown by the lines marked 3 in Figure 1.
   
4. Finally, for individual facts or ideas, draw lines out from the appropriate heading line and label them. These are shown by the lines marked 4 in Figure 1.

As you come across new information, link it in to the Mind Map appropriately.

A complete Mind Map may have main topic lines radiating in all directions from the center. Sub-topics and facts will branch off these, like branches and twigs from the trunk of a tree. You do not need to worry about the structure produced, as this will evolve as you develop your mind map.

Pretty Girl

Tanzan and Ekido were once travelling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't do near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"