Month: April 2012

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UK FSA Highlights Corporate Governance

Low angle view of an office building

Hector Sants, the chief executive of the UK Financial Services Authority has given a speech today (24 April 2012) highlighting the importance of good corporate governance and effective boards in regulating financial firms. Although this is a view widely held, this emphasise from the main UK regulator is telling. It is also one of his last speeches before leaving the FSA and has therefore been eagerly awaited. The full text of the speech can be found on the FSA’s website here.

Mr Sants does draw some interesting conclusions from the financial crisis and he says that “when you analyse those firms that failed during the crisis, one or more of five key indicators were evident:

  • a dysfunctional board;
  • a domineering CEO;
  • key posts held by individuals without the required technical competence;
  • inadequate ‘four-eyes’ oversight of risk; and
  • an inadequate understanding of the aggregation of risk.”

Mr Sants is primarily looking at financial firms in his review as this is the ambit of the FSA, however these failings could be levelled at a huge number of firms the world over, in many different sectors. Yet it is cheering to see that a regulator is highlighting this as such a key point because in part, one suspects, that were the financial firms lead, other industries will be inclined to follow. Yet, both the importance and limits of a regulators role is well summarised by by Mr Sants:

Good governance and a strong culture are a necessity for maximising the likelihood of the right judgements being made by management. Regulators have a role to play in ensuring that firms have the right governance and culture. But I should stress that it is not for the regulator to determine the culture. Ultimately, however, even a successful regulatory regime will not be sufficient to ensure good outcomes. Crucially, firms need to have an appropriate culture and one which is focused on the firm delivering the right long-term obligations to society. The right cultures are rooted in strong ethical frameworks and the importance of individuals making decisions in relation to principles rather than just short-term commercial considerations. In particular, this means that when a regulator expresses a clear instruction then firms should not continue to resist for reasons of expediency and short-term gain.

Time will tell how much of a change in the approach of the FSA this speech actually leads to but I undoubtedlyapplaudthe sentiment and encourage you to read the full text of the speech if you have time.

This article was written by Nick Lindsay a director of Elemental CoSec. Elemental CoSec providescorporate governance and UK company secretarial services. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as specific advice or acted upon without seeking legal advice.

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Creating the Container for Connection

Business-people-discussing-on-social-enterprise-

Creating connection at the team level requires individuals to consciously connect first to themselves. The leadership literature confirms that emotional intelligence, presence, and influence all require self-awareness – as does connection.

Connection starts with your inner dialogue

We all have an inner dialogue that goes on in our mind, commenting on our experiences in the world moment-by-moment, situation-by-situation, person-by-person. It is so natural, so much a part of our “self,” that we rarely even hear the content or notice the impact it has on our actions. Tim Galloway calls it “Self 1”, Freud might say it is a product of the superego, and neuroscientists are beginning to believe it is an aspect of our consciousness. Regardless, mastering our inner narrative can change how we interact with the world and enables connection at a deeper level.

Full disclosure, this is not easy! I first became aware of the inner dialogue in 1985 listening to my mother after she had a mild stroke. She lost much of her ability to edit her inner dialogue, so we heard it as it happened. Wow, who knew? But then, wasn’t I also having a similar, but different, dialogue with myself? Equally enlightening was to observe how her inner dialogue created a self-fulfilling relationship with the world.

A Journey of a Million Miles

Tuning into your inner dialogue is a big step toward self-awareness. How critical, judgmental, blaming, or positive, praising, and playful is it? Connection with others requires that we be positive and see them as worthy of a deeper interaction. Since most of us operate as part of a team let’s start with how we can connect on that level.

Our inner narrative takes in all that we perceive during our interpersonal interactions – remember that includes the 90% non-verbal communication that is registering somewhere and showing up in our inner dialogue. “That was really stupid” can be directed toward another or ourselves. Either way it damages our ability to connect and react or interact positively. If this happens to you, “Mind the Gap!”

Biology of Business

Neurologically there is a gap between our physical (body and senses) processing of the environment, our brain’s interpretation of events (which collects all the body stuff and compares it to experiences from our past), and our conscious perception of the thoughts and feelings that tell us what is going on (the meaning we attach to any particular moment). In this gap multiple, if not millions, of possibilities exist simultaneously until they collapse into one “actionable state.” Simply stated, we have a choice in how we interpret and react to each encounter, and “Mind the Gap!” helps us identify the choices we are making.

Imagine a team meeting in which numerous ideas or opinions are flying around the room. Our tendency is to quickly assess (judge) the ideas and/or speakers based on our…what? Where does this come from? The brain bases it on our past experience, the body bases it on our reaction to the non-verbal, and our mind takes in all this and comments on it. Only when we “Mind the Gap!” can we create an internal dialogue that chooses to connect.

Let’s turn this meeting into one that “contextually welcomes connection.” Start the meeting with a check-in. For example, ask a question: Tell us one thing about your life that we would never guess? Or, What one or two words describe how you feel this moment? This creates the container for the meeting by: allowing everyone to leave what they were doing and come fully into this new space, reconnect with themselves (become embodied) before they have to connect with others, and express to the group who they are and how they are at this moment (creating the possibility for correct interpretation of their comments and actions, especially the non-verbal ones). The check-in, listening to others and determining my own, begins the connecting process. We now have the opportunity to interpret others correctly and respond with compassion even when we disagree.

With the check-in over, leaders (both formal and informal) have the responsibility for setting the pace of the meeting. Is it slow enough that connection can be maintained? Or, has it turned into a rapid fire, conversational shoot-out? Phrases, such as: “How interesting, tell us more”, “I wonder…” and “Let’s explore that further before we move on” provide the team with a chance to “Mind the Gap!” – keeping the conversation non-judgmental and people connected.

Be clear about where you are in the conversation. Is this a dialogue that is slow, reflective, and able to generate innovative ideas? Is it dialectic, where thesis and antithesis battle each other to create a better idea (synthesis), which must be hard on the problem but soft on the people? Or a discussion – action orientated, decision making, and assigning tasks and responsibilities. When team members are having different conversations at the same time without being aware of it, connection is impossible.

Close the meeting with a check-out. How is everyone feeling, what did they take away, what insight did they have? This confirms the connection that was established and prepares the team for an even deeper connection the next time they meet or as they work together between meetings.

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Professional Fund Raiser vs. Fundraising Professional

A Professional Fund Raiser shaking hands with a Fundraising Professional

Last week I went off on “professional fund raisers,” and, in passing, referred to Fundraising Professionals. I think I made it clear that I was opposed to the use of the vast majority of those “professional fund raisers” who raise the money for you.

And, now, to clarify the differences between the two, and the reasons you should favor one over the other, I offer the following:

The, so called, “professional” fund raiser
• Has little, if any, background/training/experience in development
• Is interested in dollars, not people
• Usually gives the NPO an unethically-small percentage of the total dollars raised
• Has no commitment to establishing relationships between “donors” and the NPO
• Has no interest in helping the NPO create a donor base
• Doesn’t always provide the NPO with a list of who gave what amount
• Has no interest in helping the NPO create an ongoing funding stream – unless
       you hire them on an ongoing basis
• And, most States that require registration by fundraising consultants and professional
       fund raisers require (only) the latter to be bonded. Wonder why that is ??

Fundraising Professionals
• Have an understanding of the relationships that must exist between donor and NPO
• Have had mentoring and/or formal training in development
• Have broad experience in development
• Have developed expertise in one-or-more areas of the development process
• Work with you to create a constituency
• Work with you to create a donor base
• Work with you to create relationships between your donors and your NPO
• Work with you to establish realistic fundraising goals
• Who are employees of NPOs, work for a salary, never a commission/percentage
• Who are consultants, work for a fee (agree upon in advance, but not paid in advance)
       based on services/expertise to be provided, never a commission/percentage

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at AskHank@Major-Capital-Giving.com

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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

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I is for Introducing Yourself

Two men introducing themselves while shaking hands

Have you ever stumbled a little over your introduction? I sure have! I vividly remember once I was being introduced, and the person introducing me forgot my name. The nervousness must have been contagious, because when I started to speak, I practically forgot my own name as well. Not an auspicious beginning, right?

Introductions are such a great opportunity to step up and make a powerful first impression, and with a little advance thinking, you can ace this important aspect of presenting.

3 Tips for introducing yourself

  1. Don’t leave it to chance. This part of your presentation is so important that you will want to plan and rehearse it. And if you are uncomfortable speaking about yourself in this way, do your best to get past it. Your audience needs to know a little about you in order to make a connection with you. They also need to know you care about them, which is why I often talk about the audience and their concerns first, ask a few questions, get them engaged, and then tell them about me.
  2. Add something personal. My goal in my introductions is to connect with the audience. One way to do that is to tell a little story about yourself, as long as you make it brief. One of my favorite stories involves the time I was at a conference and on break I met some participants that would be in a future session. They all glanced at me, and then one person spoke up: “Oh, you’re the presentation lady.” At first I was so impressed that my reputation preceded me, I just smiled. But when no one else smiled, I got it. They knew who I was and they were nervous about the session. I have been able to use the story several times, and it always gets a chuckle. It also reminds me not to get too big-headed.
  3. Don’t tell all. Instead of going on and on about yourself, think about what you have in common with the audience and then stress that part of your background rather than giving a detailed biography. One of my clients is in the agriculture business, and every time I ask people to introduce themselves, practically every one mentions having grown up on a farm. Now, I was a city kid, so I can’t pretend otherwise, but I can mention the summers I spent on my uncle’s farm. That resonates more than going into great depth about all my credentials and professional background, most of which they could care less about. Having spent some time on a farm creates a personal connection that is more important than degrees or honors.

Introducing yourself is a key component of your presentation, and one that is often overlooked. Do yourself and your audience a big favor; take time to prepare and polish your opening so you can make a great first impression and get your presentation off to a strong start.

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Coaching Tool – The Art of Challenge

-project-coach-explaining-project-points-to-a-fellow-worker.

In coaching, a challenge is a powerful request that asks the client to extend themselves beyond their self-imposed limits. A challenge can shift the way the client sees and thinks of themselves for years to come.

The elements of a challenge include a specific action and the date/time of completion.

Here are some examples of challenges:

  • For a client that is overwhelmed with demands: “I challenge you to say “no” to anything that is not a priority this week.”
  • For a client that procrastinates: “I challenge you to finish your project by tomorrow morning.”
  • For the client that isn’t satisfied with their physical well being: “Here’s my challenge – sign up for the marathon instead of the 5K right now.”
  • For a client that wants to make one cold call a day to increase business: “I challenge you to make fifty calls a day starting today.”

Clients can respond with a yes, no or counter offer. Usually, in the face of a challenge, clients will respond with a counter offer that is greater than they initially would have allowed themselves to make otherwise. Therefore the challenge served its purpose – to get your client out of the box and change their way of thinking.

In what ways do you use challenge?

For more resources, see the Library topic Personal and Professional Coaching.

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Pam Solberg-Tapper MHSA, PCC – I spark entrepreneurial business leaders to set strategy, take action, and get results. How can I help you? Contact me at CoachPam@cpinternet.com ~ Linkedin ~ 218-340-3330

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From One HR Nerd To Another

From-One-HR-Nerd-To-Another

I often get asked lots of questions about HR stuff and I often hear lots of stories about situations that occur to people in the workplace. At the end of these sometimes “hypothetical” situation descriptions, I often get the following question in one form or another, “Is that even legal?” or “Can they do that?” Most of the time for those questions the answer is “yes, they can.”

Recently, I got asked another question and the answer required a little more thought on my part. One of my HR students asked, “How do you know so much about this stuff?” After thinking about that for a couple of days, I discovered that the answer is that I am a true student of HR and all things related to people in the workplace. I read a lot of books, I read a lot of articles, I spend a great deal of time on websites, I attend professional development seminars and conferences, I teach HR, and I am actively involved in my local ASTD chapter. I am constantly seeking the most up to date information and I love research on the topic. I am a true HR Nerd.

So from one HR nerd to another, I would like to share a few things you should join me in attending.

  • Your Questions, Your Webinar: Background Screening Q&A – The agenda of this webinar is set by your questions. For the price of a question, you can pick the brains of some of the best in the employment screening business including Nick Fishman and Angela Bosworth from EmployeeScreenIQ, Darby James, Director, HR Program Administration and Global Badging at United Airlines and Ron Bower, President of Bower Consulting Group. Follow the link and be sure to register. This one is Coming Soon!
  • HRevolution Conference- This un-conference features the best in our business. Previous attendees of these events can’t speak enough about their experiences. The next one is in Chicago in October. Check it out soon; they usually sell out.
  • ASTD Greater Cleveland Chapter– Join Trish Uhle, PMP, CPLP in June as she discusses State of the Industry: Trends and Best Practices in Workplace Learning & Performance. She will also be facilitating the ASTD Certificate Program on Project Management for Trainers in Cleveland. You can learn more and register here.

Hope to see you there! Now share some things with me in the comments!

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz

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$28k of Taxpayer Money…to Tweet?

A person tying on a laptop with tax on the desktop

Wasteful spending wrecks Philly Councilman’s rep

Philidelphia Councilman Jim Kenney doesn’t know how to Tweet. Not only that, but his PR guy, Martin O’Rourke, who collects $30,000 of taxpayer money every year to handle communications for Kenney, doesn’t either. Logic should direct these two towards taking a few of those bucks and hustling to the nearest social media seminar, right? Think again. Instead, Kenney dropped another $28,800 in tax money on hiring ChatterBlast, a social media management firm.

Check out a few of the choice quotes in this case, from a Philly.com article by Holly Otterbein and William Bender:

No other Council member pays a contractor to help with Twitter. Just Kenney, who has the third-priciest staff on Council. He has 10 staff members with a payroll of $654,034, including his salary – plus another outside communications consultant.

Why does he need ChatterBlast on top of that?

“I, at 53 years old, do not have that facility,” he said. “So I need consultant advice to communicate with a group of folks who are not necessarily in my age group.”

Martin O’Rourke, the politically connected PR man whom Kenney’s office already is paying $30,000 this fiscal year for a communications contract, doesn’t have that facility, either.

 

 

 

 

“I have no clue how to tweet; I still don’t understand the mechanics of it. It’s a thing of the future,” said O’Rourke, who has earned big bucks through contracts with City Controller Alan Butkovitz’s office and the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

If you’re anything like us, your jaw smacked the floor after reading that last comment. A major PR professional not only admitting that he doesn’t understand the physical mechanics of posting to Twitter (uhm…type, click, done?), but calling it “a thing of the future” is nearly beyond belief at this point.

Recent attention already has Philly taxpayers riled up about the situation. We wonder if Chatterbox can help Kenney keep up with all the negativity?

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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Social Media, Hot Marketing and Nobody is Listening

Social media icons on a screen

There is a right way and a wrong way to do, and even people butting in to tell us how to do it. Social media idea has evolved in a very short time into opportunities for marketing rather than for us to leisurely sift through those who are definitely kindred spirits, colleagues in the field and related fields and others who search for knowledge.

I like marketing best when it is practically invisible or at least done with tongue and cheek; we have to do some. What I don’t like is when it has become a doorbell for target marketing. We aren’t necessarily talking about collaborating in the near future.

My positions on many aspects of what we do are clear in my blog, but I have also said I am open. If I were the smart marketing person, the last thing I would do is approach me about is taking something from a sales perspective rather than a people/trainer perspective, but it could be done. LinkedIn used to be a good place to have discussions but it has evolved the same way, a place to market rather than discuss and share. GovLoop seems to still be in the sharing mode, but government can be restricting in limiting how and who deals with contractors. And, Face Book? If you aren’t willing to sell to friends and grandma, you aren’t a salesperson. Not really a friend either.

My advice. Come in as a friend and offer assistance. And, mean it. If you don’t; don’t join the network. Old-fashioned networking was no different. You don’t set up a table and start talking about your products. You may mention them or stir up interest. When the customer is ready, he’ll come to you. Now you have someone ready to listen to you and discuss with options with you.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

I’ll end this with a bit of marketing on my part; I’ve got a couple of books I think you might enjoy. But here’s the thing, I make no claims it will change your life or make you rich–only ideas you might make use of. Here are the links to The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development and my new novel, In Makr’s Shadow, where the world is run by an evolving artificial intelligence. You guessed it! Some humans want their world back. Here’s a clue. Most haven’t an idea about how to fight for anything they want since they had their way so long.

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Plan and Organize Your Proposal before You Write

A person working on a business proposal with their laptop

Government grant proposals should go through a five-step writing process:

  • Plan: Think through your proposal sections.
  • Organize: Use the grant guidelines as your outlining guide.
  • Write: Write in a free-flowing manner.
  • Examine: Walk away from your writing and review it later while letting others review it too.
  • Revise: Emphasize clarity, conciseness, correctness, and persuasiveness.

This posting, part one in a series, will discuss the first two steps:

PLANNING YOUR GOV’T GRANT PROPOSAL

Proposal writers should take three simple-but-effective steps to plan their writing assignments: (1) define common terms – the government agency’s terms and your own; (2) use a planning worksheet to outline your sections; and (3) seek feedback early in the process.

Define common terms

  • What are the features (details) of your service?
  • What are the benefits of your service?
  • What benefits are important to the evaluators?

Develop a planning worksheet

Your planning worksheet should help you identify the government agency’s main issues, your solution, your experience and your performance.

Seek feedback early

Remember, you are part of a team! Use your colleagues to review your planning sheet and suggest improvements. This can be accomplished at a brainstorming session or through an individual review of your worksheet.

If your planning process has gone well, every one of the proposal writers should have a detailed planning worksheet before they begin writing. Please note the emphasis on the word “before.”

Too many proposals are written prematurely before the proposal team has carefully thought through what they are planning to present. If you write before you plan, you are very unlikely to develop a competitive proposal.

Resist the very human urge to start writing once you have read the grant guidelines. Step away from the computer keyboard! You must have a substantive outline before you write, and that can only be done through careful planning.

ORGANIZING YOUR GOV’T GRANT PROPOSAL

Proposal writers should take three simple but effective steps to organize their writing assignments: (1) follow the fundamentals of persuasive organization; (2) organize as instructed; and (3) organize around government agency’s hot buttons.

Follow the fundamentals of persuasive organization

  • Present information according to the government agency’s needs. Focus on providing a solution to the agency’s problem, listing benefits and evidence/proof.
  • Group similar ideas together.
  • Place the most important information first.
  • Keep introductions short.
  • Use headings to guide evaluators.

Organize as instructed

Follow the grant guidelines carefully when organizing your proposal narrative. Do not create your own outline – follow the grant guidelines literally.

Organize around the customer/evaluator hot buttons

  • Acknowledge the government agency’s vision, challenges, objectives, and requirements.
  • Establish and prioritize the government agency’s needs and desired outcomes (hot buttons).
  • Present details of your solution in the same order as your prioritization of the government agency’s needs and desired outcomes. Emphasize the benefits to the government of your solution and provide proof that your solution is very likely to work.

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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies. <a href=”mailto:JSoko12481@aol.com”>Contact Jayme Sokolow</a>.

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<strong>If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.</strong>