The Hindu Business Line : People join good companies, but leave bad bosses

THERE are "50 basic laws that will make people want to perform better for you," says Michael Feiner in The Feiner Points of Leadership, from Warner Business Books (www.twbookmark.com). The very first law is of `expectations'. They are not a floor but `ceiling' on performance, points out Feiner. "To raise performance, a leader must raise the ceiling."

Another law instructs that you don't have to treat everyone the same, because "some of your subordinates need a short leash, some a long leash."

Elsewhere, the author exhorts leader to have the courage to take on uncomfortable issues: "Those situations where it is as difficult for the leader to speak out as it is for the subordinate to hear." Here's a line for HR: "People join good companies, but leave bad bosses."

Feiner is good company.

To lead the people, walk behind them

THAT'S a tantalisingly contradictory Lao-Tzu quote. But here's a whole book of 1,400 such statements — "that on the surface appear false or illogical, but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true": Dr Mardy Grothe's Oxymoronica, from Harper Collins (www.harpercollins.com).

"The quintessential collection of memorable, push-me-pull-you, yin-yang statements," as Richard Lederer notes in his foreword.

The word `oxymoron' is from Greek oxus, meaning `sharp or pointed', and moros, meaning `dull, stupid, or foolish'. Thus, "oxymoron is itself an oxymoron," explains Grothe. "This book is for language-loving readers who get a kick out of seeing words and expressions used in clever or creative ways," he writes. Fun read.

Don't start talking too fast

TO SUCCEED in any negotiation, the first `golden rule' is to get information, says Martin E. Latz in Gain the Edge! from St. Martin's Press (www.stmartins.com). Don't enter into negotiations "with arguments intended to persuade the other side of the legitimacy of your position", because you'd then be giving up power from the first time you open your mouth. Rule two is to maximise your leverage. "Leverage consists of two elements: How much each party needs or wants an agreement relative to the other; and the consequences to each side if no agreement is reached."

Latz explains: "The easier it is for you to walk away and the harder for the other side, the stronger your leverage." Three, employ `fair' objective criteria. Remember that `fair and reasonable' means little in a negotiation because "it's just a conclusion people use to justify their positions". Therefore, whenever you hear the term `fair', ask `why'.

Rule four, "design an offer-concession strategy". Beware of the `premature offer'. Take time and size into account in deciding when and how much to move, advises the author. His last rule is, "Control the agenda". Use deadlines to your advantage, by using `deadline dynamics'.

Latz gives lots of edge!

See the reality of unused people

SURVIVAL instinct of the organisation itself may be a burden on the quality and effectiveness of performance. This is one of the thoughts that N. K. Singh shares in the latest edition of Mantras for Managers, from Pentagon Press (rajanarya@vsnl.com).

A chapter discusses `organisational unconsciousness' to spot the blind spots "by using useful pictures of reality as seen by non-contributing people". Once you understand them, you can "rebuild the picture of the organisation" so as to "unleash the energy of unused people". You can restore `damaged links', assures Singh. Sounds too true?

Full-circle feedback

MULTI-SOURCE feedback, full-circle appraisal, and group performance review are all about "collecting perceptions about a person's behaviour and the impact of that behaviour from the person's boss, direct reports, colleagues, fellow members of project teams, internal and external customers, and suppliers," explain Richard Lepsinger and Anntoinette D. Lucia in The Art and Science of 360º Feedback, from Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer (www.pfeiffer.com).

An important chapter is the one on presenting the feedback, or `holding up the mirror'. As the magic mirror in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, feedback may give information one does not want to hear.

"That is why decisions concerning the forum for presenting and interpreting the feedback can be as important as choosing the method of data collection or the instrument." A relevant book for horizontal management structures where you can `democratise the feedback process'.

Try it out.

Teacher-watching with sound turned off

PULL out your stopwatch and get ready to use `rapport by design' for creating instant relationships. Nicholas Boothman tells you `how' in his book, How to Connect in Business in 90 seconds or less, from Workman Publishing (www.workman.com). "The cheapest, most effective way to connect with others is to look them in the eye," is one of the tips that jumps out of the pages.

The author cites a `stunning discovery' that Dr Nalini Ambady of Harvard University stumbled upon during a study of the nonverbal aspects of good teaching. She videotaped hundreds of classroom hours and put together two-second clips `with the sound turned off' for showing to two groups of students: one, for whom the teachers were unfamiliar, and the other "who had spent an entire semester" studying under those teachers. Nalini gave the students "a checklist of educational attributes" and asked them to do a rating.

"Both sets of students came to almost identical conclusions about the teachers, thus demonstrating the power of first impressions," observes Boothman.

Read this if you want to connect, not just communicate.

Books courtesy: Landmark (www.landmarkonthenet.com)

Tailpiece

"I don't like quotas!"

"No, I like Kota!"

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
An unattended tender generation may go wayward

Computation of assessable value

Did you say, `I'm moral'?

Number Crunch - 341

Dividends for dummies