Kassarjan
Session 1 - Jan 25, 2010
Case: Erik Peterson at Biometra (A)
Would you take Erik's job?
favorite words:
- empowerment
- buy-in
- alignment
- role definition
- matrix
- vision
- mission
Problems that Erik is facing:
Erik has less respect of people
communication problem
enough belief in the product (external)
External
Internal - team dynamics
Problems with his team and the HQ
instead of addressing all the problems at teh same time - make one goal for the day and discipline yourself to address that goal.
"Agree and commit, disagree and commit or get the hell out"
Session 3: Feb 1, 2012
Case - Rick Drumm (A)
Being opportunistic
Doing the same thing and expecting different results is a sign of insanity - Einstein
Nothing Fails like Success - always
Session 5: Feb 8, 2012
Session 6: Feb 13, 2012
Cross cultural issues at work:
El Dorada culture exercise
role playing exercise
Session 7: Feb 15th, 2012
Kay Sunderland
Difference in power. Power not only because of the position but superiority but also because of the respect due to their knowledge and role they have in their organization.
KSF (Key Success Factors)- Context
For the account manager
Retention of the client and the understanding of the competition and what is happening around is important.
Exchange currencies
Inspiration-related
position-related
task-related
relationship-related
(see slides|)
Guidelines for writing assignment:
Introduction - should include conclusion.
Structure - use headings - so that the reader can SCAN
Audience awareness is important
Session 11: Feb 29, 2012
Session 12: Mar 5, 2012
Case: Monica Ashley
Did Monica fail?
Victim mentality is very very dangerous.
Was this situation designed to fail?
Ask Parker about his story.
Ask the old guy about the things he put in (as a starting line)
Include him in his data collection and analysis.
Ask for help.
Ashley- "I could've had Parker's support if I had not bashed the holy cow of Analog technology"
Others see me as over-confident and aggressive. I probably act that way to overcome my weaknesses.
Implementing Change:
The formula for change
C=f(DxVxSxP) > Co.
D= Dissatisfaction
V=Vision
S=Support times Pathways for
accomplishing change
All greater than teh cost of change.
Co. = Cost of change
Last class - case: Hema Hattangady and Conzerv (A)
Its not about 50-50 relationship, its how they fit together. Thats how the partnerships and relationships work.
"Remember how porcupines make love" - very very carefully
The most important case in this course is about "you". Some of the courses are a mirror for you, that is the most important case for you.
The winds - Our ship - Our Role as a leader
THE STORY
<Go through the last class slides - VERY IMPORTANT>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLEO - Final Paper
*************************
***********Creating and Leading Effective Organizations is designed to encourage you to think critically and creatively about organizational management as a process and yourself as the most important asset you have for leading. During the course, you will be stretched, challenged, sometimes jolted, and encouraged to think in new ways.
Instead of a Final Examination, you will write a paper that explores your learning about organizations and leadership and its implications for YOU now and in the future. Please consider the following questions and write an essay that incorporates your thinking in response.
- Reflect on a moment(s) in the course when you were most surprised or challenged or had your prior beliefs upended. Discuss what you learned as a result and why it is important for your growth as a leader.
- Given your personal style and propensities and the type of leader you aspire to be in the future, discuss three things that could throw you off track as an entrepreneurial leader and what you’ll try to do to avoid having that happen.
- What kind of organization do you want to work in? What would the essential design elements (such as structure, talent management processes, team management, among others) be like to create and support it?
- What does all this mean for your thinking about your future as a manager and leader, and what specifically does that mean for you going forward?*********************
******************
Reflect on a moment(s) in the course when you were most surprised or challenged or had your prior beliefs upended. Discuss what you learned as a result and why it is important for your growth as a leader.
The discussion on the case "Influence in implementing strategic change: The Monica Ashley experience" was an eye opener for me. I have experienced at times that in large organizations it is difficult to stimulate a change. Some "experienced" people are very hard to be convinced and they generally do not give a lot of value to someone less experienced. When reading the case I was totally on Monica's side and considered her as a victim of teh situation. But after the case discussion and reading the follow up case I learnt that there were mistakes on both parts. It is really easy to say that "your time has gone" and "news ways need to be implemented" but the real challenge is to actually bring the experienced people at the same page. If we "the new talent" do not take into consideration the work tat has been done before us, we will be missing out on a lot of things. There is very good example given by the teachers of tradition. They say that if there is already a building made, you should spend your time bringing in your bricks and adding to it; making it bigger and more elegant, instead of breaking the complete building and losing all the work done before you.
It is easier to say in words but in reality, even I have not been following that. In our passion for work, and over confidence of our abilities, we do get selfish in approaching the tasks.
This case discussion was a good learning experience for me. I realize now that the people who have been in the company at its starting phase are quite important. When management is having a look at their performance, they always keep the value they added to the company during the struggling days.
It was an important lesson that good analysis can backfire if we do not consider all stakeholders, history and the culture of the organization.
Given your personal style and propensities and the type of leader you aspire to be in the future, discuss three things that could throw you off track as an entrepreneurial leader and what you’ll try to do to avoid having that happen.
My personal style is to be an inspirational leader. This is probably because of the culture that I am from or the way I was brought up. I think a leader needs to lead by example and have a personality that does not offend, dispute or repel its followers at ANY level. I think I can drive a change in people if they are able to identify with me at some level. Given that, there are a few things that can throw me off track as an entrepreneurial leader:
- Trying to be acceptable in everyone's eyes and losing focus.
- Being too "idealistic" and not being practical has been a concern earlier and can be a concern in the future.
- Sticking to the thought that "I am the best person to do this job"
The goal of the leader is to lead people towards the final target. Being acceptable to everyone is an out come that will be awesome but not required. To avoid getting offtrack due to this reason I will try to remind myself of the final goal time and again.
Having a mentor is helpful in staying focused and not getting lost in the ideal world. I have learned that it is best to find a good mentor. There is an important rule in following the path of "Sufism" (Spirituality [not exact translation though]) that if you to go to the path without a mentor, it may lead you to madness. It may be divergent from the topic but the rule does apply in other aspects of life as well. Leadership is a difficult path. No one has been able to write firm rules and guidelines for it but having a mentor helps you climb that ladder without repeating the mistakes that others have made.
This will help me avoid the last apprehension as well. A mentor can give me a reality check if I am good enough to do what I am trying to do or not. An unbiased person who can view my situation from the outside will be able to give a different perspective.
What kind of organization do you want to work in? What would the essential design elements (such as structure, talent management processes, team management, among others) be like to create and support it?
Ethics, morality and values are important to me as a person. It is my dream to be a successful entrepreneur but I do not agree with the definition of entrepreneur sometimes used. "an entrepreneur is someone who identifies an opportunity makes a business out of it". I see entrepreneurship as something that solves the problems of the community, not as something that takes advantage of it. I could identify a lot with the last case about Hema Hattangady and the dilemma she faced. The culture that I come from we see similar problems and it is very difficult to stick to stick to the strategy of integrity. Despite that I see a change coming along and people realizing that it is important and is direly needed for nation building.
I would like to work in an organization where integrity is given importance. Moreover, the business does not violates any ethical values. I would like the whole team to identify with that vision. The steps that I would take to share the vision are hard to be completely defined but here is my idea of them:
I would with a thorough hiring process in which I would like to identify the individual's core "currencies" and aspirations with life.
A clear idea of company's vision will be conveyed to the employees at the start so that know what they are getting into.
The balance scorecard for appraisals and promotions will have a section for "integrity score".
The 360 degree evaluation system will be adopted, so that the subordinates also get a chance to give feedback about their managers.
The above steps may sound a bit "idealistic" but I have a plan to go back and work in my own country. Corruption is one of the most important problems. There is one way of stopping it through power, but the other way is to inculcate the change through something that is organic. My view of bringing in the change is by "being" the change. I believe taking small steps towards that change can result in something amazing.
What does all this mean for your thinking about your future as a manager and leader, and what specifically does that mean for you going forward?
I see every new situation as a learning opportunity. If I try and reflect on the situations I go through, I can draw a number of learning implications. The decision of coming to a US business and leaving a working life is a plunge that I took to explore myself. Simple things like the working behavior of the group that I am part of and the interactions with the peers and teachers in the class, all add up to this process of exploration.
Some of my earlier beliefs and concepts have been challenged. My view about the world has broadened and now I can actually appreciate more point of views. A leader needs to have a vision and the motivation and perseverance to stay focused. He needs to have an idea about "The Winds" and a strong understanding (at all levels) of "The Ship". It is only then that the aspired change can be brought about.
