Samuel Kamau Wanjiru from Kenya broke the Olympic record during 2008

Summer Olympics with a 2hr 6 min run of the 26 miles while at the same

time Usain Bolt from Jamaica broke both 100m and 200m sprints with 9.69s

and 19.30s. Both Usain and Samuel are phenomenal athletes of their

generation and are revered in their own runs. However, can Usain be

half as good as Samuel in running a marathon race or will Samuel give

Usain a run for his money in short distance runs?… Continue

It was US Open 2009 in Flushing Meadows a couple of weeks ago when I got to see Serena Williams yell and scream at the lines umpire for calling a foot fault. Serena threatened the lines umpire with profanity laced tirade waving her racquet and was eventually thrown out of the US Open for her behavior leaving Kim Clijsters to not only win the semis but also the finals against Wozniacki. What left me aghast was the attitude of a very talented world… Continue

Having spent most of my career of 20 years identifying and winning customers, I see the process of recruiting talent into the company in a similar light. Let us analyze the process of winning the right customers for a product or services company. First, the marketing team BUILDS a BRAND for the target audience. Then, the sales team is tasked to identify all the potential customers interested in the product by FILLing a sales funnel. It is then the function of the management team to SELECT the… Continue

A good recruiting/staffing organization typically does strive to reduce recruiting costs, reduce time to hire, increase acceptance rates and also to improve time to productivity. However, most organizations do not spend enough time to PREPARE for recruiting. I am not talking about the process of hiring a team. But, more the understanding of the needs of the micro-organization and at the macro level of the company. Typically, the recruiting process starts when hiring managers lob a standard… Continue

What's one very important attribute of a successful start-up? Is it the brilliant idea? Continuous innovation? or the plain old execution? All of the above are important for the young company to survive and flourish. However, over the last decade or so that I have dealt with start-ups including building a few of my own, I have realized that focus on execution is key. There are tons of examples of companies that had just another product like many others but out shined the rest with pure focus on… Continue

To be or Not to Be.........a manager is the question. After a few years starting off in any job, most people ask the question, should I become a manager or continue to be an individual contributor?

In some countries, taking the role of a manager is not only prestigious but also the only way to grow one's compensation. In other countries such as in the U.S, a solid individual contributor can not only rake in the cash like any other manager but also is accepted and respected in the… Continue

Performance review time in any company is detested by most managers and employees. Most companies continue to follow the same old process of reviewing every candidate just once a year and make changes to compensation based on the outcome of the review. How can a manager expected to remember all the events from the first day of the year to the last? Is it right to expect a manager to record every significant event with the employee during the year? Should we expect the employee to accept… Continue

In the business world, where managers are expected to find ways to improve productivity of a diverse set of employees, it is extremely important to find ways to identify the right FIT for each person in the organization based on their skills and values. Especially, in a global age where almost every large organization is spread worldwide, finding the perfect FIT by understanding the effect of local cultures on skills and values of every employee is critical.



Over these last 17+ years… Continue

In a world filled with CEOs who pilfer their company's coffins for their personal interests, there are a few like Leonard Abess Jr., CEO of City National Bank of Florida whose recent action embodies the concept of ultimate leadership. When a Spanish bank bought into 83% of Leonard's bank recently, Leonard and his executives made a pile of dough like most executives do during a successful financial transaction. However, the similarities with most executives stop right there. Leonard shared over… Continue

All of us have worked with colleagues who were brilliant (very high IQ) but have an attitude. They typically understand that they are much better than the rest of the population at work and behave as such. With their high strung attitude, they treat their team members with disrespect and nonchalance as the team members do not measure up to their intellectual capabilities. The team members, in turn, do not wish to interact with this person with an A+ intelligence. Does this highly intelligent… Continue

I was recently approached by an American organization who was looking for an entrepreneurial leader to head their Indian office as their Managing Director. After a few discussions, I was told that they were impressed with my background and capabilities as a leader with experience in managing people in the U.S. However, they would prefer someone with the experience of managing people in India. Here's what was exactly said "We are really looking for an individual that has built a team in India… Continue

In our lifetimes, many of us have had the opportunity to work with leaders who displayed great leadership values every day. These true leaders were interested in our personal growth, showed compassion to every team member and cared for the success of the entire organization. I am sure a few of us have had the unfortunate times of working with managers who we want to stay away from for ever. How do we identify the creme de la creme among the leaders that we want to work for? What do we look for… Continue

Most of us spend an enormous amount of time at work, sometimes wondering if we work to live or live to work. There should be no confusion on why we live on this planet. Definitely, not to work 80 hr weeks in a job that one does not have a passion for. How does one realize own passion to make a living? A job where you are eager to jump out of the bed most mornings, get to work and kick some butt.



How and when does one realize ones own passion to make a living? When does one make the… Continue

Feeling valued? What does that mean to you? To me, it means that my opinions are respected and my judgment is trusted for its worth. It is well known that the best teams or the best companies to work for in any corner of the world are most productive and creative when its team members are valued for who they are and what they believe in. That should be of no surprise to any of us. However, some companies do not seem to recognize and strive to develop a culture that embodies trust and… Continue