Tuesday, February 13, 2007

BRAGGING WITHOUT BLUSHING

Few of my friends say that any place is "Great Place to Work" as far as it makes them feel great , If so we need to be really good at one thing , blow our own trumpet . It's said in the corporate jungle - if you don't do it , no one else would.
Well this article would certainly help .
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Modesty has no place in resumes, cover letters, bids, and other places where we are selling our strengths, abilites, and experience. Such documents require us to stifle a blush and write shamelessly about ourselves. However, when we write about ourselves there are many problems and common mistakes.
For many of us, it's difficult to write about ourselves without nagging, uncomfortable feelings. Maybe that's because of childhood messages we heard about being modest. I, for one, had an imposing old aunt who announced, whenever I was happily bragging, "Self-praise stinks."

Despite our discomfort and wherever it comes from, there are times when we are obliged to write proudly and confidently about ourselves; for example, in self-appraisals, resumes, cover letters, proposals, and bios. These documents require us to stifle a blush and write shamelessly about our accomplishments, experience, and skills.

Here are ten suggestions for writing proudly about yourself without blushing
1. Think about your pride and joy. If you have difficulty identifying your accomplishments or special strengths for a resume or self-assessment, think about what makes you proud in your work. Also, consider what gives you the greatest joy. Often these things-coaching managers, calming anxious visitors, solving systems problems, mentoring new employees-will help you identify your accomplishments. Once you have listed several accomplishments, try the STAR method, below.

2.Use the STAR method. In resumes, proposals, and self-evaluations, you must write convincingly about your strengths, skills, and accomplishments-that is, to write about yourself as a star performer. To do that successfully, use the STAR method. This method involves briefly describing a situation (S) or task (T), the action (A) you took to accomplish it, and the results (R) you achieved.

Management example: When I started as branch manager, annual employee turnover was 25 percent (S/T). I implemented an employee satisfaction survey and suggestion program, established coaching plans for supervisors, and instituted a weekly staff meeting (A). As a result of these efforts, the employee turnover rate is now 10 percent (R).
Training example: The challenge was to train staff in the new software by the opening of business on Monday (S/T). I designed, planned, and managed around-the-clock training using classroom instructors, online learning, and targeted job aids (A). On Monday morning, 96 percent of employees reporting to work had been trained in the new system (R).

3.Use specific examples. Specific examples add credibility. Although words like outstanding, dependable, and creative are positive, they don't always paint a convincing picture. Besides that, they may make you blush. In a bio, list your years of experience, impressive job titles, prestigious clients, certifications, education, or other relevant credentials. Instead of stating that you "always maintain good customer relations," cite customer-satisfaction surveys, letters of commendation, and the absence of any customer complaints about you.

4.Use numbers wherever possible. Numbers are concrete. They communicate a clear picture. By contrast, a "large staff" may be 20 or 200. If you are in charge of a large staff, budget, or region, use numbers to show how large it is. Alternatively, state specifically how long you have managed it.

Exaggerations or misstatements will not give you confidence, in addition to their obvious ethical implications.

5.Do not exaggerate or lie, even a tiny bit. Your self-assessment, bio, or resume should make you feel proud and help you speak confidently in an interview, performance discussion, or proposal presentation. Exaggerations or misstatements will not give you confidence, in addition to their obvious ethical implications. Even if something is true but sounds exaggerated, leave it out. One consultant's bio says that he himself has trained 350,000 people in 15 years. That's an average 23,333 people each year, or 449 participants each and every week for 15 years! While it may be true, without further explanation it sounds false. Save telling about such an amazing deed for a speech or conversation, where you can elaborate.

6.Use I. Many people have been taught in business or technical writing classes not to use the pronoun I. In some instances that may be useful advice, but in a cover letter or self-assessment it doesn't make sense. Feel free to write "I hired 200 interns" or "I wrote the final draft." If you participated in a successful group effort, you are still justified in using I: "With my team members, I won the Corporate Communications award in 2004." Vary your sentence structure if you find that you have too many sentences beginning with I. Change "I reduced turnaround time by 20 percent within a year" to "Within a year, I reduced turnaround time by 20 percent."

7.Give relevant information. Most self-assessments include specific categories: teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and so on. Be sure that the examples you give match the category; otherwise, they lose power.

8.Explain value. Be sure to tie results to organizational goals. For example, as the new safety coordinator at your organization, you may have conducted 40 safety inspections in your first three months. The number sounds impressive, but what does it mean? Is there a correlation between your inspections and a reduction in accidents or incidents? Whenever possible, translate your hard work into results your reader will value. Consider "negative data" to illustrate your effectiveness-information such as the absence of on-the-job accidents, lawsuits, and grievances.

9.Enlist the help of a friend. When you have drafted your resume, cover letter, application, bio, or self-appraisal, ask a friend to review it and answer these types of questions:

Are my examples specific?
Have I described my strengths accurately?
Is every statement clear?
Does every statement sound believable?
Is all the content pertinent?
Have I missed any relevant strengths or accomplishments?

10.Enjoy the smell. Life is too precious to be crippled by my aunt's "Self-praise stinks" rule. Feel free to ignore any of those old voices. Instead, enjoy the sweet smell of your success.

Copyright Lynn Gaertner-Johnston, Syntax Training. All rights reserved. - by Lynn Gaertner-Johnston of Syntax Training

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

RIGHT TO INFORMATION - PRIVATE FIRMS NOT EXEMPTED

Well this is really a welcome news in India , if your bank; ICICI or HDFC , your telecome service provider ; hutch or airtel were thinking that they need not worry about RTI act , they are wrong .

Mint ( http://www.livemint.com) - newspaper reports that these private organisations can be approached thru thier regulators for information of public interest .

"Thus, information on telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile telephonyfirm, can be accessed through the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India; that on banks throughtheReserveBank of India; and on brokerages and foreign investors active in stockmarkets fromthe Securities and Exchange Board of India".
“Applicants have every right to seek information on a private company even though it is in the private sector, if it reports to a government body,” Ansari says,citing sections of the Act that made this possible.Only applications that served public interest would be dealtwith, not those that sought to erode a company’s competitive position, M.M Ansari , Information Commissioner says.
Themessage: you can ask a cola company for details on how much water it used and where the water camefrom, but not the formula of its fizzy drink"
So I think , private companies better be prepared and soon we may witness some interesting applications , Wanna know how your bank calculates that penalty / charges / late fees etc on your credit card ?
Message : Be transparent , clear , honest & true ; Be Great place to work for .

Monday, February 05, 2007

MICHAEL DELL IS BACK..IT'S DELL 2.0

First of all let me aplogise for putting this internal mail of an organisation on my blog , as it's available all over ( net , newspapers , even ET ) so thought let me also share this .

So Michael is back , taking some really hard decisions including " No Bonus" still he might make Dell a great place to work , enjoy the message .

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Subject: Leadership Message from our Chairman and CEO
To: Dell Team Members Worldwide
From: Michael


We held a meeting this morning with our Vice Presidents and Directors. I'd like to share the highlights of this meeting with all of you.
I told our team that I remember the great times and many successes with Kevin Rollins, but now it's time for a change. We are not doing a COO or CEO search. I plan to be CEO for the next several years.
I remember what it's like to start a company. We're moving fast. There is no luxury of time. The competitors are fierce. The difference is this time we have many new assets and some hidden ones that can be brought out.
We have great people . . . but we also have a new enemy: bureaucracy, which costs us money and slows us down. We created it, we subjected our people to it and we have to fix it!

The #1 Tell Dell issue is bureaucracy and getting cooperation from other organizations.

I am asking each of you to look across your organizations and eliminate redundancies, think about what is best for Dell, and provide the clarity and focus of leadership that we need.

Last year, we worked really hard and there were many sacrifices. Thanks!

We had great efforts, but not great results. This is disappointing and it is unacceptable.

The result is that there will be no bonus this year. I know this is a big deal for you and your teams. We're going to fix that so that our efforts translate into great results and success for our teams.

But we still have great people who made great efforts. It's important to recognize your hard work, though our results fell short. Limited discretionary awards will be available to all but the most senior people. We can't cover everyone, but it will be a tool you can use.

And we are also budgeting for above-market raises this year.

For stock awards, we will shorten the vesting period from five to three years for future grants and move to restricted stock units.
And we're going to set the annual bonus plan against realistic targets.
We have a tough couple of quarters ahead. We didn't get here overnight and we won't fix things overnight either.
OPEX (operating expense) grew too fast. We need to grow into what we have, hold cost and eliminate marginal activities. If you have some, please stop them now and if you're not sure, bring them forward. We must focus and wring out savings.
Long-term, we will be the technology leader known for strong operating performance, a great experience for our customers and a great place to work!

We will have clear priorities and a focused strategy. ............

When I started in 1984, it was just me. But now we are blessed to have an awesome team, many great assets and $11 billion or so. It won't be easy, we'll have to make some tough decisions and we won't be shy about those. Our focus will be on building Dell into the company we all know it can be for our customers, our people and our shareholders.
To summarize, we will differentiate with CE (customer experience); deliver value, but go beyond this with our unique understanding of customers; move to Solutions and Services; use database marketing and targeting for smaller customers; leverage our unique supply chain; regain our cost position; and build some new sources of sustainable profit including using intellectual property to differentiate.

It's all part of Dell 2.0.

We will unify our leadership structure, from well more than 20 direct reports to 12. I'll be decisive, but also push many decisions to our leaders. We will speed decision-making and make decisions closer to our customers and have clear responsibility and accountability.
I ask you to commit with me to the future of Dell. Show confidence with your teams and our customers. We will fix this business and take it to new heights!

All the Best,
Michael