Celebrate Mistakes

Leader definition according to Dictionary.com - a person or thing that leads; a guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, or political group.

Leader definition according to Oxford Dictionary - the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country; the person or team that is winning a sporting competition at a particular time; an organization or company that is the most advanced or successful in a particular area.

Today we redefine Leadership. Leadership is not exclusively related to the work environment. Leadership is about being in our element, operating from our essence. I have real life examples to make the point in a work environment that equally applies to all walks of life. The example is a real organisation in decline and in real trouble. In administration and having lost six hundred thousand dollars. I will later show you how Leadership utilising this new definition, has impacted this organisation.

We are all born natural leaders. But leadership is often educated out of us in our early days to conform to normality, through fear of mistakes.

We celebrate mistakes!

In this organisation the Staff to choose their CEO. I am that CEO. I, in turn nominated the customer as our CEO and delegated myself as his assistant. We instituted weekly meetings where the team was encouraged to bring their mistake to the table. If people did not, we assumed that they were not trying hard enough. Management is about control and as a result driven by fear of failure. Without risk, there is no growth and risk brings fear of mistakes. It is our responsibility as leaders to remove fear of mistakes as that's where the gold lies. Be-it at home or at the workplace, where there is fear of making mistakes, growth and creativity are greatly hampered. As a child, every fall was a step closer to our first step. The light bulb might never have been invented if it wasn't for thousands of mistakes.

"You mean I can do what I want, when I work for your company." Yes, this is your company. You turn-up when you want to and approach your role in the way that feels best for you. If the customer is satisfied, then so are we! "Really??? But when I expressed myself freely as a young child, I was told to grow-up and stop being silly!!!"

Such is the rigorous and pervasive normalisation training from our early days in in our culture generally, that fear, whilst undesirable, feels comfortable (the comfort of the known) where-as true freedom of expression is difficult and challenging. Happiness at home and at work relates more to the freedom of self-expression than it relates to how much we earn. Fear marginalises us. It makes us feel like frauds among peers. Operating from our essence, without fear of failure makes us Leaders. Leaders are creative and motivate others to operate from their core and their essence. They remove barriers of fear and shame. They motivate by respecting the individual for their individuality rather than rail-roading them into conformity of standards, hierarchy, roles and KPIs.

Mums can be Leaders. Artists can be leaders. Receptionists can be Leaders. Leaders are not hierarchically or financially motivated. Managers are! Yet, in my experience, the hardest thing is for people to trust that they are allowed to make mistakes and that they are allowed to "be themselves"! That's the real test. I was fortunate to work closely with Stan Shih (founder of Acer Computer). He believed that mistakes are the cost of education and losses applied to our training budget. Stan's company became the 3rd largest global PC manufacturer. When we set-out to be the best of who we are, doing what we believe not for financial or hierarchical advancement, as Steve Jobs showed, we end-up changing the world and receiving great financial reward.

So, operating from our Essence, is the best way to look after the board and the shareholders. We, met our customers and asked them many questions about us. We turned rhetoric and clichés into actions, marketed less, established customer-centric internal vision, eliminate non-profitable products, allowed the organisation to self realign behind the new vision, did not replace sales staff that left, removed the Sales Department, re-distributed the amount traditionally allocated to sales commissions into incentives for all. Most suppliers abandoned us. This had a significant impact on our Vision and had to choose a new, more profitable and sustainable direction. Gave 40% of company to staff and shared it equally between us.

We got the team to have more fun, flexible working hours, Foosball at office, Go carting & Karaoke nights, hours/days off without impacting leave entitlements, worked smarter not harder, Eliminate manual processes, open space environment and more. 14 staff spend less time at work, produced more than 29 did, revenues continued to slide! Profitability went up SIGNIFICANTLY, finishing 2011/12 with six hundred thousand dollar profit (a one point two million dollar turn-around) and on track to a record two point six million in 2012/13.

Corporate anorexic lethargy

We see it in most interviews, most meetings, strategies and decisions.

Cleverly it has been perfectly masqueraded in sophisticated concepts such as steering committees, team-work, delegation, "I'll talk to my people"..... you get the point. Not that some of these are not important business concepts. However, one needs to ask themselves, "am I getting involved in these processes to cover my arse (or CMA as one of my colleagues recently explained to me!), or am I clear about what I know needs to happen in this situation and I wish to get everybody's feedback to ensure the best possible outcome"?

This sounds like a subtle (but significant) diversion between the two. And the diversion is fear. Fear is at the core of corporate decision-making. After-all, I need my job and why should I stick my neck-out and get victimized by those that decide my tenure. Our experience is that this fear is experienced at both sides of this discussion. The "manager" is equally as fearful as you, in case they authorise the wrong proposal as they too report to somebody; and so on and so forth.

The end result is mediocrity.

Volumes have been written about agile businesses. Agility is key, especially in today's interconnected world. We have introduced amazing efficiency tools and yet, as always, the biggest expense in an organisation is human resource and organisations that allow this "fear" to manage decision-making are ensuring that this already significant cost, is even larger.

So what are we doing about turning this significant expense into an investment. The problem is where do we start. It is a chicken and egg situation. Most are not prepared to stick their neck out, and even when they do, those around them feel it is their responsibility to protect them from themselves. So, the result is corporate anorexic lethargy (CAL) where expensive time is wasted wallowing and avoiding the unavoidable, making a decision. We have all heard that not making a decision is ALWAYS making the wrong decision. "Oh but at least I get to keep the job, after all, nobody was ever sacked for not making a decision"!

How do you gauge CAL? What internal research do you regularly carry-out to monitor the (hopefully) decreasing levels of CAL within your organisation?

For the problem here is about creating an open environment where fear is parked at the door. Fear is not the result of how you or your managers behave and manage. However, you and your managers could trigger the fear that exists within most human beings. This fear is the result of the "wounded child" inside most of us and rears its ugly head when threatened, and the person in fear has no power over it once threatened!

So what do we do?

The short-term answer is to ensure empathy at every level of your organisation as a result of your understanding as a Leader that the best in everybody is found by allowing them to freely contribute their best creativity within their role.

The long-term solution is to devise programs that free your people from the tyranny of the "wounded-child" that once freed and in your nurturing environment will transform your business into a GREAT organisation.

A true leader has already faced this fear and is already ensuring that the nurturing and empathetic environment has been created and they are your toughest competition should you be competing for the same business. ("The Accidental CEO", available from CxO is a great read regarding this subject).

CxO engages experts in the field of "wounded child" and "adaptive adult" to unleash your organisational true potential. Contact us for further information.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Is Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia, a true Leader?

I have been waiting with great anticipation the emergence of the real Mr. Rudd, from behind the nice suits, the great rhetoric and well prepared 3 liners that seem to roll-off his tongue in response to any question of note levelled at him.

Today I believe we start to see his Leadership emerge. He is promising to correct a huge error on the Australian business landscape; the break-up of Telstra. Leaders operate from their essence and do the right thing rather than the most popular one (or the one that wins more votes).

Kevin Rudd is in a great position to do this. His unquestionable electoral lead protects him from a back-lash of some level that his government will undoubtedly face. Greedy organisations (that have raked-in millions if not billions of dollars) and their powerful media partners will embark on scaremongering campaigns designed to protect their income at the cost of every tax-payer.

The telecommunications industry in Australia is well behind the rest of the world with Telstra traditionally overcharging for its services and under-delivering, protected by its monopolistic position.

And yes, some of us will be impacted by seeing a short-term lowering of share values. This is the time (as we recommend in the article "Vote with your Money") that you divest from Telstra and invest in the Telco that you have chosen as your service provider. In any case, you stand to win as investor or not, once the scare-mongering and the defense mechanisms of Telstra pass, we will be left with a competitive environment where prices will be lower and service will be better; as has been the experience in other countries that have truly followed the path of de-monopolisation.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Depression; a gift of Ego that guides us to our Purpose

For those suffering depression there is little sense of hope. The world becomes a slow process of withdrawal into doubt, inertia and often thoughts of suicide. Many resort to the only one or 2 things that gives them a sense of joy, relief and often moments of bliss; such as music, nature, creativity, reading, etc...(1)

Depression was a lesser known condition before the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution took a colorful race of human beings engaged in those things that they were naturally passionate about and normalized us and turned us into a race driven by greed, shedding our passions, for work we often do not enjoy; driving us away from our purpose.

From the day we are born, our parents, the education system, the media and everything around us normalizes us to a world where money is king and where academia is valued above all other types of vocations. The result for most of us is a suppression of the natural talent and creative self that we were born as, to become aligned with the normalized world.

Then..... depression hits and all the world can do is; feel sorry for us, medicate us and re-route us into normality.... the ability to once again fit-in (usually totally dependent on drugs)!

There are few that answer the call of depression. They are the lucky ones, the ones that often by pure coincidence end-up working on themselves in a non-traditional way, by allowing themselves a healing process through "a journey in" (to borrow a line from a yet unpublished author, friend of mine), into the discovery of who they really are... dare I say a spiritualy journey. And I am not necessarily talking about religion here; although some find solace in this, I am talking about balancing our normalized bias to everything logical and worked through mental processes, with our natural self that comes from feeling, rather than just thinking, our way to the beautiful creative person we are.... finding our true purpose!

In my opinion, mid life crises (which I have redefined as mid life creativity; see my article on this subject), is another form of depression. And like depression, it is our purpose (our natural creative self), calling us away from our ego (our normalized self). Some heed this calling and evolve back (!) to their natural self, allowing their purpose in life to be fulfilled, others plough-through (once again often with the ongoing support of medication) and live a less satisfactory life.

There are many inspirational writers and supporters of this process of a journey in, "a journey from Ego to Purpose" (to borrow a line from Tom Voccola's brilliant book, The Accidental CEO). They include; Shirley Smith, Pia Mellody, Tom Voccola, to mention a few.

If you have had enough of the ineffective medical solution to your depression, look-up these and other authors and set yourself on the most amazing journey of discovery, discovering the beauty and abundant creativity of YOU! (1)This is the gift of depression and those few moments of bliss that cut through your depression are pointing you towards your purpose and cure.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Has China missed the Opportunity?

In the blink of an eye, the future became the past.

For decades, we have been forecasting China becoming the leading state a super power, super economy and as a result the leader of the world surpassing the USA. Then the new millennium brought about unanticipated events that strained the American and Global economies, bringing them to their knees, at a time when the world's eyes were focused on the amazing economic and polished Olympic performance and BANG, China is the powerhouse of the world. Becoming one of America's biggest creditors with stunning economic performance driven by low-cost manufacturing, exports and growing domestic consumption, accelerating China to a position of dominance.

This on a back-drop of questionable human rights, a state controlled media (a government mouth-piece) and growing evidence of cleansing and atrocities; while at the same time the developed world is sobering-up to the destruction of greed and ego. The emergence of a new type of Leadership based around true concern for the environment, the less fortunate and the anti-nuclear weapon proliferation; symbolized by the remarkable actions of the Obama administration that contrast the failures of the previous administration in these same areas.

Then, almost as a test provided to China by the universe, we see an ex-Chinese, Australian Citizen, Stern Hu, arrested for suspected inappropriate actions (it is not for us to discuss the merits here), not yet officially accused of any crime. The world will take note and China potentially risks alienating investors, organisations and expatriate employees right at the crucial time when the Lion was ready to roar. This very publicised arrest could become the catalyst for China's new direction and could easily (with the ongoing Tibetan struggle and other less publicised challenges) turn into China's symbolic Achilles heel.

It could be speculated that the timing of such events come at a crucial moment in history when we observe the rise and rise of India. India's highly educated population that is experiencing significant growth, with a strongly growing economy and established and stable infrastructures, is a formidable challenge for China.

Has China missed the boat, or is it facing the revolution it had to have?

And where is the US in all this? What role does it play in a global economy that is experiencing seismic shifts?

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

iPhone; today's PC?

Of course there is WindowsMobile, Blackberry, Android (or Google phone) and Nokia, and having strategies for these platforms should also be on your consideration list. However, the exponential growth in sales of iPhone is not to be ignored. It is quite interesting to see Apple beating Microsoft at its own game......

You see, while the iPhone is indeed sexy, easy to use and has now achieved cult status (all important aspects for product success). There are, have been and will be equally good or better designed products that might or might not dethrone the iPhone. So why is it that we believe that the iPhone is such a key strategy for any business and why do we say that the iPhone is the new PC.

We do not believe the answer is a technical one. This is not a technical newsletter and in fact it is a newsletter for leaders and great leaders know that a key aspect to successful strategies, is picking the right horses to bet on.

In our opinion, much of the success of Microsoft is unrelated to the quality or indeed effectiveness of their software; and let's not even entertain sex appeal. Many technocrats have for the last 25 years discounted Microsoft technical prowess and in their earlier years, their future fortunes (obviously proven wrong in retrospect). What Microsoft brilliantly did (knowingly or not) are in our opinion, 2 key tactics:

1. They made many people rich
2. They created an industry around them (now known as resellers), many of which became wealthy fulfilling Microsoft's Client's needs; arguably sorting-out difficult to use software.

So, why do we believe that the iPhone is today's PC? Simple:

1. Apple's Appstore is a new channel a virtual chain of resellers, adapted to today's delivery systems and customer needs.
2. A great direct to customer channel of software sales; allowing developers to reap significant rewards.

As a leader:

1. Are you ensuring that your products are being aired to iPhone customers?
2. Are you ensuring that your employees and partners know that they stand to benefit significantly financially from their involvement with your organisation?

A few examples of iPhone successes/strategies:

1. Robert Murray, chief executive of mobile games development studio Firemint, says the iPhone and App Store also helped save the company after the downturn showed them their model wasn't working - http://www.smartcompany.com.au/leisure-and-gaming/20090703-firing-up-the-gaming-industry.html
2. With more than 60 percent of Toyota Motor’s WAP traffic coming from the iPhone, the automaker decided to take a different approach to mobile with the promotion of the newest Prius car model - http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/database-crm/3636.html
3. Rental resource provider Apartments.com has launched a new iPhone and iPod touch application to complement its online services and claim some territory in the coveted iPhone demographic - http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/search/3625.html
4. Pernod Ricard’s Absolut Vodka is leveraging the mobile channel for branding, customer engagement, entertainment and affinity. The liquor giant has launched an iPhone application for meant to help it connect with legal-aged drinkers and provide relevant information to this audience - http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/3600.html
5. Sam Plowman, head of online banking said: "It was very apparent to us that Apple had developed an interface that would bring forward the use of browser and internet apps on mobiles. We decided we had to be ready with app when the iPhone launched here.'' - http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/gadgets/business-goes-for-iphone-apps-20090709-de79.html

And finally - According to Clevenger, 44% of businesses that have not yet embraced iPhones plan to do so this year. As one attendee observed, where the one-laptop-per-child initiative failed, one-iPhone-per-child appears destined to succeed - http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid40_gci1359509_mem1,00.html?track=NL-315&ad=710878&asrc=EM_NLN_8099263

So if you have been thinking that the iPhone is not the right channel for your products/clients, maybe, as a great leader, you should rethink your strategies! Early adopters will reap the benefits.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Problems or Opportunities?

We invented the automobile as we gradually found horses too inconvenient; then we decided we could get there quicker if we fly......

We could have seen the horse as a problem and chosen to get angry and beat it into submission, and we knew the possible outcome of such action.

I still remember, at the turn of the millenium, the feeling of accomplishment visible in most people's demeanour, in the developed world. We had achieved amazing things and could see that with the exponential growth of wealth, technology and knowledge, we were on the verge of something grandiose. We were all speculating and talking about how we have moved from the industrial age to an intellectual age.....

Sometimes, usually at the right time, the universe throws us these opportunities disguised as problems to propel us into our next stage of human growth. How the West reacted to September 11th had signs of everything but certainly not an intellectually evolved society. We saw actions propelled by anger, greed, ego and power. Close to a thrillion dollars spent since on the "War on Terror" (a rediculous concept for a wise and intellectually evolved society), addressing anger, greed, ego and power directly, that did nothing (or possibly the opposite) to making the world a safer place.

Wisdom and intellectual soundness might have taken a totally different approach.

It is however a refreshing change to see those like President Barak Obama operating from their passion and purpose approaching the ensuing global wows in a totally different and empathetic way. Let's hope the greedy wont stop them, as this approach is exactly the opportunity the universe is giving us right now.

As a Leader, are you adopting the President's approach or are you still in the "If you are not with us you are against us" mode? The latter (propelled by greed and ego) will keep you, your family, company, community and the world in this turmoil, the former will springboard us collectively into a future far brighter than we can even imagine.

We are currently observing the universe's natural selection process at work and those choosing greed over empathy are the dinasours of our age.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Be Different or suffer Depression

Many of us believe that if our truth does not match that of others (especially our parents, religion or culture), then we are wrong.

When we try to comply with the truth of others and usually are unsuccessful, then we hide it as we believe something is wrong with us!

When we let this accumulate over time, we start believing we are crazy and eventually move to depression or suffer a breakdown!

But remember, that every thing created by human-kind was DIFFERENT at that stage!

So be different or choose the path to depression and breakdown.

Finally, as a mentor once told me, "NEVER compare others' exterior with your interior" (you never know how close they are to depression/breakdown!)

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Our Inevitable Doom

You are driving down the road searching for the park where you know you can sit and read surrounded by nature, away from the city noise for a few selfish moments with yourself and nobody else.

You take the right turn that you know will soon open up into this vision of the park that you had been dreaming of all week, looking forward to this moment on your weekend. But alas, rather than the beautiful park, you find a marsh-land with nowhere to sit and relax. What a disappointment. But you know it is somewhere around here. You remember from years ago when as a young man you stumbled across this oasis, that now you are so yearning for.

Easy you say, so you reverse back out of the path and track that took you there and right before you took the right turn. You stop for a moment, re-visit the beautiful park in your mind's eye and after a short while you once again, take the right turn to find what?..... Obviously the marsh-land. But you are sure that those many years ago, this same path took you there. Surely that passage of time has not transformed that oasis into this stinking sludge.

And after repeating the same process a few times.... you give up!

Well, those of you still reading.... know that you would never go through this process as after you first attempt you would certainly do something different like, try a different route, call a friend, etc.... but it seems futile and downright stupid to repeat the same action expecting a different outcome...

Well not so stupid it appears...... we seem to keep investing our hard-earned cash in organizations that continue to make the same mistakes, vote in Governments that apply new rhetoric to same old practices and as Leaders....... are we more or less driving down the same path expecting a different outcome? Somebody defined this as a sure sign of stupidity!

You see, as Leaders most of us do. Yes, we might put different make-up on it, but the essence of what we do is the same. Why? Well, because this is what is expected by the investors that continue to invest, the Board Members that continue to hire CEOs of the same ilk and our staff that continues to support our misguided actions even though intrinsically they know they are off-the-mark.... and so do we Leaders by the way, know this.

Sounds like a viscious cycle; our inevitable doom! And if we do not break it, another GFC or the one after will.

The truth is that in every crises there is always a handful of Leaders that understand this and operate outside the norm (effectively listening to and trusting their essence, their purpose, the intuitive voice inside) and create something new, sustainable and initially apparently unorthodox.

The crises (so the opportunity) is here NOW! Which choice are you making TODAY?

• take the right turn, yet again!
  
• listen to the voice within!
  

The choice is yours. History shows that there are very few that take the second choice, (they are called Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Richard Branson), so the choice is simple but certainly not easy!

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

The Tribal Organisation

In the early noughties, silos and the destruction of these was all the talk in management consulting circles; get rid of the silos; flat structures are more efficient; silos are insular and should be dismantled........ I know, I was there actively participating in the destruction!

I await with anticipation each and every article illustrating Seth Godin's business insight which is a great source of education for me, and I recommend that as a Leader you could do a lot worse than doing the same. His concept of tribal communities is as accurate as it is timely in a web-centric world where sites like Facebook, Twitter and others have shown the power of tribes bound by similar interest themes. So I guess this is a case of back-to-the-future, except this time it is not merely a Hollywood fantasy!

So, did you ever consider that your organisation is already prepared for this world. And what if I was to suggest that the most cost-effective and fast method to unleash the power of your organisation is in fact to give power to these silos, bound by the same interest themes, simply by renaming Silos, Tribes. And I do not say this light-heartedly.

The themes of these tribes are for you to choose to build teams around. More likely than not, your organisation, independent of the many thousands of dollars of management consulting fees, still operate in Silos, except now they have gone underground protecting themselves from the wrath of management and management consultants, in an effort to protect productivity. And let me suggest that instead of, yet again disrupting natural organisational evolution, by spending management time rebuilding tribes, you reward Leaders within your organisation that identfy their silos/tribes; but there are a few rules.

Rules for effective tribes:

• Leaders of tribes are not necessarily Managers
  
• Tribe Leaders need to be protected from traditional managers
  
• Importantly, how are they creating and supporting the collective. Meaning how are they ensuring that they are a community of Tribes rather than Silos!
  
• Tribes could be cost centres as well as profit centres
  
• However, they need to clearly identify themselves as such
  
• Whether they are the former or latter, they need to clearly identify and articulate their purpose and how it delivers to the organisational vision
• Tribes that operate outside of the organisational vision are not to be repremanded
  
• Instead they should be asked to come-up with research to show validity for operating outside the vision (this could in fact be the Tribe that is creating your future).
  
• This divergent Tribe could be managed in a number of effective ways:
  
• integrated back into the Vision due to validity
  
• operate within an R&D environment if deemed opportunistic
  
• funded as a separate business
  
• sold-off as an idea (maybe to a keen venture-capitalist)
  
• Remember that they have had to first define their purpose and so have clear objectives

However, whatever you do, do not let a traditional manager convince you that they are just a run-away team intent on destroying the business; this would tell you more about your manager than the Tribe.

So, make it your business to ensure that your managers are Leaders, primarily facilitating the networking of these Tribes to create a collective that is bigger than the sum of individuals, rather than intent on disrupting the, often, great work within these Tribes.

There obviously are other (maybe not so obvious) aspects to Tribal Organisations that can be specifically developed for your organisation. However, before you go about potentially disrupting your Tribe, ask yourself if in fact they are an effective Tribe and should you need further support on Tribal Organisations, contact TribalOrganisation@CxOconsulting.com.au.

And if you are not yet convinced, ask yourself this question; "Why did we believe that flat organisations worked better". Surely the answer to this is that we watched small flat-structured entreprunerial organisations eat our lunch through their dynamism and effectiveness. What we did not realise is that in fact it was the outdated hierarchy based on greed that was destroying value and holding back earnings potential, and not necessarily the silos.

Aren't a group of small businesses merely Tribes with a different name. So shouldn't you be cultivating your Tribes and allowing them to be dynamic and responsive by loosening the schackles of hierarchy?

Another author that best describes the difference between Directive and Transformative organisations is Tom Voccola. Feel free to click here to download a free copy of his brilliant "The Accidental CEO" eBook (PDF).

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Do not engage recruitment firms that drop their prices to get your work!

Instead, engage those that charge the higher fees.... and only once you have seen (not just been presented) their recruitment process.

Now that sounds counter-intuitive especially in these times of belt-tightening.

As part of our services, at CxO we mentor many Great Executives that as a result of the Global Meltdown, have found themselves unemployed, fine-tune their CVs and hone-in their recruitment process skills (from a candidate's perspective). We call this service, LeaderRecruit®. Many of them have not been on this side of the recruitment process for years or ever!

We are comitted to these individuals, as many of them are the architects of our future once an organisation recognises their worth, and because this is a basic humane thing to do.

The unfortunate reality is that many would not get their CV's read by a human being, let alone responded-to or called-upon. Why? Well because until we ensure that the right keywords are included, dispersed throughout the text, their CV's would not make it through the electronic filters utilised by these so called recruitment specialists.

Some time ago, I saw that these great CV's were not getting any responses (beyond the automated emails) and so I approached collegues within the recruitment industry to understand what was happening. I was shocked and disgusted that some of these firms have the audacity to charge 20% plus and supply the sort of service they do. Let me explain.

I was told that, in most cases, when CVs are received by the firms, they are first-up automatically scanned and searched for key-words and only the top 10 or so that qualify get reviewed by a human being. The rest (based on candidate's approval) end-up stored for future reference, which seems a waste of time when it is the same software that re-scans them. So forward the clock to today and the higher unemployment; recruiters are inundated by great CVs and the number of "inappropriate" rejects is even higher.

This is not good enough, not for the candidates and especially not for the clients.

The appropriate recruitment process is an expensive one and requires the appropriate funding and it is your responsibility as a client to ensure that your money is spent wisely by these firms. Let's say that you are recruiting a $150k role. At 20% this is a cost of $30k, before expenses such as advertising in the papers, etc. I imagine that you would like the best candidate for your money and that you do not want the best candidates screened out of the process before they get viewed by a specialist recruiter.

Ensure that your next recruit is the best recruitment decision you ever made, ask for an unsupervised walk-through to understand the recruitment process at your chosen firm. Make it your business to find-out first hand from the candidate interviewers within the firm as to how they get the CVs they recruit from; and if they electronically screen most of the CVs out, sack them. I would expect that if I was paying $30k, that the Job Ad would be professionally written to only attract the appropriate candidates and that in any case all the ones that meet the basic criteria, (namely CV and Intro letter), are studied by the recruitment specialist. If there were 200 of these, then this would cost an estimated reading and rating time of $4,000.00. I would certainly expect that.

So, be a Leader, you have 3 choices as we see it; go to a cheaper recruiter as in any case you are bound to get a more tailored service; go to a greedy recruitment firm that charges too much for a piece of software that filters your best candidates out; or select the firm that gives you back the value for your money and follows-up on all candidates. In fact at best you have 2 choices, the former and the latter. I would go with the latter as long as I have seen with my own eyes how the process works, rather than finding out about the process from some gong-ho power point presentation that rarely lives-up to the promises.

Now here is an idea! A recruitment firm that does not utilise screening technologies but employs staff instead, to give better service at the right cost to the Client. It's a win-win all the way; Clients get better candidates, candidates feel heard and receive the appropriate respect/advice and we employ more people at the recruitment firms that are now able to maintain their higher fees.

If you or one of the recruitment firms you have utilised, employ this or a similar non-electronic process, then please let us know so we publish them in our next newsletters.

Oh, and by the way, these are indeed tough times; so make sure you do get your discount, afterall.

Happy recruiting.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Tasks are for computers!

We have created technology that takes-over menial tasks, speeds them up and adds levels of accuracy unheard-of until the advent of computers.

So why is it that we are still task-focused when it comes to our staff? Not that task definition and measurement is not important; it is critical. However, you employ human beings, not computers; human beings that are able (and to let you into a secret, are rearing to add their purpose and passion to the task at hand) to do those tasks and add so much value, if given latitude and when empowered.

How do you best leave your competition in the dust, when you are in the same industry, more-or-less offering the same products and services with a similar cost base? The no-brainer answer is by improving productivity.

Aldo Grech CxO Consulting

Transparency = Improved Bottom Line

Unless you believe that people actually turn-up to work to contribute positively, and are able to manage those few that do not, you end-up being a policeman with a very depressed and unproductive non-transparent organisation.

Where-as, the truth is that if your people are spending too much time on personal things like personal email and extensive coffee-breaks, then this tells us more about the organisation than about the people. And seeing we are at the helm of our organisation and Leading it, we need to take full responsibility.

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

Vote with your money

Greed has led us here... Where? To the Global Financial Meltdown and the culprits are not only the CEOs and Leaders that have led their organisations to this place, but all of us, driven by greed.

And this is the good news as we can do something about it. We are not helpless, lost in the arms of these wealthy individuals.

In most cases, our money, invested in shares of organisations we do not respect have enabled them to continue to thrive and grow, funding their flawed strategies that we would not accept as customers. So why are we subsidising them by investing our hard-earnt money to give life to disfunctional managers and their organisations? Greed, right.

But look where it all got us. Many of us have lost our money directly by the drastic revaluation of these organisations' shares or by losing our jobs or those of our close family and friends.

Now that safe investments do not seem to exist anymore, I ask you all to take your money and invest it in those organisations you respect because you agree with their strategies, products and services so you fund the great organisations of the future. You are not only doing what is spiritually correct but you are safely investing your money in organisatons of the future (should we all take this approach) and you should see significant growth of your monies as these organisations florish.

So, vote with your money and invest in those organisations you respect!

Aldo Grech - CxO Consulting

This BLOG is not a financial advisory service and we recommend you consult your advisor to choose the right up-and-coming companies worth investing in.