My Best Learning resources

Personal development is one of the most single important activities we have as leaders. The opportunity to keep up with knowledge is critical for success.

I often look for new resources and each one listed below is part of my personal journey.

I hope you enjoy it!

My favorite Leadership Books

Why Great Leaders don’t take Yes, Managing for Conflict and Consensus, Wharton School Publishing

Leading Change, An action plan from the world’s foremost expert on business leadership, John P. Kotter

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, A leadership Fable, Patrick Lencioni

Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Self Leadership (Hardcover) by Ken Blanchard

The Secret: What Great Leaders Know — And DobyKen Blanchardand Mark Miller Continue reading My Best Learning resources

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Coaching managers on managing people is perhaps one area where I spent most of my time. As HR generalist, I realized the more I work with my management team in helping them to build strong people skills it quickly translates in less employee relations issues, more committed workforce and stronger business results. Continue reading The power of One on Ones

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World Café: Driving Conversations that matter

Since I moved back to HR line management, one of my goals has been strengthening our people management skills at the manager level. We have solid Performance and Talent Management processes but it seems we got used to fill forms rather than breathe the process and make it alive.

During my first 90 days, I quickly realized about the need to engage and inspire our executives in this changing process. I’m glad at the time I came across a book called The World Cafe: Shaping Our Futures Through Conversations That Matter.

Continue reading World Café: Driving Conversations that matter

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Implementing a Succesful Mentoring Program

I’m finally back; after 6 weeks on the road. In any case, while I was travelling I got a very interesting question from a colleague when I was visiting our subsidiary in Shanghai. We were talking about the challenges of retaining employees in a hot market and then she asked me how to start a mentoring program? To be honest, I have only launched two mentoring programs in my career and none of them were in China so I adventured some ideas that I hope can help you too.

You can find a great source of tools at Leadership Roundtable. I used the book <code><a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787947423?ie=UTF8&tag=nikbesdea-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0787947423″>The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships</a><img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nikbesdea-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0787947423″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” /></code> which is full of templates and structure for a new mentoring program. I’ve also used the 8 steps for change introduced by John P. Kotter in <code><a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578512549?ie=UTF8&tag=nikbesdea-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1578512549″>The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations</a><img src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=nikbesdea-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1578512549″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”" style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” />

</code> to illustrate my implementation process.

Starting a mentoring program can be lots of fun. Like any other HR tool it can also be super-powerful or another binder on the shelf. So what do you need to know?

Increase the sense of Urgency

I have sometimes launched HR programs without making a case of the business impact. In the end, it was the right thing to do but I encountered lot of resistance at first. Since then, I always ask myself why this program is necessary in first place. In other words, what business results we are not getting?

Like every HR tool or program, mentoring should provide an answer to improve business results directly or indirectly. So make your case and be very specific about the measures you are planning to improve. As you build your case, some opportunities that mentoring can fulfill are: career advancement, diversity efforts, minority development and talent retention. Establish a sense of urgency without creating panic!

Build a powerful coalition

As you design your program make sure you have sponsors in the organization willing to put time and effort in supporting the program. It’s critical that sponsorship comes from the top of your organization. The executives you choose have to be a visible to your employees. Don’t choose an executive who visits your subsidiary or branch once a year, get your highest ranked local executive actively supporting your program.

Get the vision right

I always work cross-functionally when designing a new program. Make sure to bring informal leaders to the party. Ask them to share their expectations and insights about the program. You can always share your ideas but you want them to feel it’s their program, not yours!

Communicate for buy-in

I like to start small and get bigger because I can learn from experience and make changes if needed. I would suggest starting with a pilot but don’t call it pilot to avoid your employees feeling this is a test only.

As you get into the first wave of the program, let your mentees and mentors know that you are actively seeking for feedback about the program. Make sure you formally gather feedback surveying your participants as well.

Empower for action

Not only is important to have a good program with good tools but also share some of the successful stories out of the program. There are some you can openly share with the consent of the participants and there might be some results and improvements in your measures that might tell story as well.

Create short term wins

As you progress with your program, what are the short term indicators that are reflecting the success of your program? Decide what will be your short terms wins first.

Don’t let up

Make sure to revisit your vision and ensure that is being fulfilled. If the program is not getting the traction you anticipated, go back to your participants and ask them for ideas. Report back to your executives sponsors on regular basis and make sure the program is part of the business reviews.

Make change stick

I hope your program has a long life and becomes the way your organization develops your employees. However, if your original promised has been fulfilled you might need to review the purpose of the program.

If you want to read more stories like this, I would like to invite you to read my blog at <a href=”http://www.livingwhileworking.com”>Livingwhileworking.com</a>

Until next time, have fun and live with passion!

Continue reading Implementing a Succesful Mentoring Program

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Have you Kiva?

Kiva‘s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

Three way connection

Kiva has set up field partners, these are non profit institutions based in countries where Kiva operates that undergo a selection process to determine their risk and transparency.

The people you see on Kiva’s site are real individuals in need of funding

When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.

Continue reading Have you Kiva?

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Better breakfast = Better fat reduction

From The University of Nottingham

A low GI breakfast before exercise could help with weight loss, a study conducted at The University of Nottingham has found.

The benefits of physical activity and a balanced diet are well documented and already form the basis of many public health recommendations. But could the type of food you eat prior to exercise impact on the results of your workout?

A study led by Dr Emma Stevenson in the University’s School of Biomedical Sciences and published in the Journal of Nutrition looked at eight healthy but sedentary young women following an overnight fast. In one study period they were given a breakfast of food known to cause large rises in blood glucose — those with a high glycemic index (GI). In another study period the same women breakfasted on food with a low GI. Both the high GI and low GI breakfasts had a similar calorific value.

Dr Stevenson said: “Following the study, we concluded that consuming a low GI breakfast increases fat oxidation both at rest and during subsequent exercise. Longer-term studies are required to investigate whether the combination of a low GI diet and regular exercise will result in an increase in fat mass loss. A low GI breakfast also had an impact on appetite, with test subjects feeling fuller for longer after they’d eaten these types of foods.”

Have fun and live with passion!

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Make money like a Pro

I have said many times that one of the most powerful techniques for personal development is modeling. It’s about shadowing a person who is successful in their field. You learn about that individual, read their books and understand how they think. The important thing is to walk their journey to success until you become confident enough to continue your own path.

When it comes to investment, there has been fewer people who can be so successful like Warren Buffet. The good thing is you don’t have to invest millions in the process but with a few hundreds you can emulate Buffett’s success.

Berkshire Hathaway

Buffet’s emporium is run under the Berkshire Hathaway Inc company which controls insurance companies (like Geico) to investment banks like Goldman Sachs . You might think he is good at timing the market and crisis like the one we have now but interestingly enough, he didn’t. As a matter of fact, his stocks got hit harder because of the derivatives he sold. BRK.B stands today at -32% from it’s maximun peak in 2008 and almost -20% from a year ago.

The business of derivatives is complex and even people like Buffett can get in trouble. It’s basically an isurance you write to others in case the market falls, which as you know it has.

But it’s unfair focusing only on these short term records when he built Berkshire stock from $19 a piece in 1965 to $97,560 at end of the closing business today.

Buffet has a simple methodology buy cheap and sell high. His principles are a master class from the school of Value Investment by Benjamin Graham. Mr. Buffett actually worked with Graham and learnt his trade from the master.

Modeling Buffet

If you just want to replicate his portfolio you can use websites like Warren Buffett’s stock portfolio

Alternatively, you can buy one of the best books on this topic The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel

I personally prefer ETFs because they allow me to feel like Buffet with significant less risk. If I learnt something about investment is that you need to understand what you are doing and measuring your risk tolerance.

Let me leave you with Buffett’s in his own words at CNBC interview back in March 2009: “The best assets you can have during inflation is your own abilities”… “if you are the best doctor in town or the best lawyer in town or the best broadcaster in town… you will always command a certain percentage of the resources of society… If you don’t have any talent, like (me), you try to buy into other’s people’s talents”

In the meantime, measure your risk, learn before loosing money, live with passion and have fun!

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The story of Labor Day

Yesterday, we celebrated Labor Day. In honor to this very special day, I decided not to publish my daily article. For most people, is the end of the summer but I would like putting some perspective into this very special day.

The first Labor Day was celebrated in 1882, New York City but it was celebrated only in major cities. In 1894 the deaths of workers during the Pullman Strike, led to President Grover Cleveland to set Labor as his priority agenda. Fearing further confrontations Labor Day was approved as a national holiday by Congress. Continue reading The story of Labor Day

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Do you need a coach? Part 2 – Goals

In the first part of this series of articles we looked at ways to understand our performance gaps.

Now that you understand where you stand, it’s important setting where you want to go. In many years coaching people, I can’t stretch enough the importance of goal setting. For me, creating goals is not exciting but a reminder of the things that are important. Continue reading Do you need a coach? Part 2 – Goals

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The power of intention – Creativity – Part 1

Last week I wrote about guided meditations as good starting point for focusing your meditations.

Like praying, meditations need to be scripted and focus. When we close our eyes and do not have intentions, we are just simply day dreaming.

When we use intentions in our meditation, we are creating our present and attracting the object of our intention. In very simple words, by letting your mind put thoughts about something specific you are creating the vibration required to attract such an object. Continue reading The power of intention – Creativity – Part 1

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