Collaborate, Diversify, Niche Or Die! - The New Mantra for Corporate Training

In a recent post issued by Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Australia, there was a discussion on the need to “collaborate, diversify, niche or die” insofar as revamping corporate training in Australia. I believe this holds through for all countries in this region. This article explores how this could be done on a practical level for training programs offered by training providers for corporations in multiple industries.
 Collaborate
The belief in the need for and a level of collaboration between training providers, corporations as well as government agencies providing funding for training has been dismally low over the years. As a training provider, I often feel lost in despair when asked to conduct training sessions. Important issues that need to be ironed out for the session to be a success, such as the desired outcome of the training session, why the training session is required and the context for conducting training in the first place, is hazy and unclear. The requester knows that training is required but does not seem to comprehend that a failure to engage the selected training provider could have dire consequences. There should be more collaboration in this regard. This collaboration should be based on mutual trust and lead to the achievement of desired outcomes, both for the training provider, corporations, as well as government agencies providing funding for training programs.
 Diversify
 Sending staff for training programs is not the only way to up skill them. It is merely one of the tools in the Human Capital Development Toolbox. Coaching, mentoring, delegating, peer to peer dialogue, guided conversations and job rotation is other tools that should and can be used. Corporate should diversify their methods in up skilling their staff and use a mix and match approach to do so.
 Likewise, training providers who offer training programs should diversify the training programs they offer. The diversification should enable the programs to be fine-tuned further, so that they become more suitable for specialized industries. For example, my project risk management training course sessions for the banking industry began being somewhat general in nature. It however gradually grew in complexity as I continued researching on non-financial risk management within banks, which covers areas such as facility risk management. The module was well received within the banking fraternity due to the increased specialization within the program which catered for their needs in a way no other training program could.
 Niche
 Depending on the business strategy set forth, the focus of training should change. There should be attempts made to identify what has to be focused on. For instance, if a company is seeking to diversify its business operations from manufacturing to providing IT services, the niche areas within IT should be identified and explored. Likewise, training providers should find their niche and specialize in this niche in order to deliver value for money. Training providers should seek to be specialist and not generalists as there are too many generalists in the game, who are “jacks of all trades but masters of none”.
 The mantra “Collaborate, Diversify, Niche or Die” is one that rings bells that beckons the need for a complete revamp of the methodology and approach towards training. It has to be considered deeply and practiced routinely for participants of training programs to derive value from attending training programs. Only then will corporate training programs become a catalyst for growth in the human capital in corporate.

Moving From Crises to Interactive Management

Crisis management sets in whenever there is a crisis that involves stakeholders. This may include anything from a major customer compliant that is highly publicized, a delay in the politically connected project launch or even the disappearance of an airline. In any case, under such circumstances the relationship with stakeholders is at an all time low and the trust deficit gap has widened considerably. Managing the situation is crucial to the survival and reputation to the company. What is needed under these circumstances is crises management. Such a management approach is characterized by being reactive, very vulnerable to shifting perceptions and can lead to hostile reactions from affected stakeholders.

Depending on how such a situations are managed, the relationship with stakeholders may improve or deteriorate even further. If handled well, the perception of a lack of credibility by the organization concerned may be altered somewhat. Gradually the affected stakeholders such as potential clients will realize that the company has the capability the avert such crises and has the character to take ownership of untoward incidents. However, failure to react will further erode the company’s credibility as doubts emerge of their capability and character. This was well illustrated in the case of the missing MH370 airplane.

Proactive management is an attempt to maintain good relationships with both internal as well as external stakeholders. Maintaining positive relationships are only possible through appropriate management of their expectations. This will require the identification of relevant stakeholders, and taking proactive measures in keeping them informed of the goings on within the organization. In such organizations, stakeholder expectations are anticipated in advance with regular updates and information provided. Such an approach aims to maintain the good relationship it has built over the years. Large companies have dedicated resources aimed at maintaining stakeholder relationships owing to the immense importance attached in doing so.

Most organizations I have dealt with are comfortable with the concept of proactive management. As long as there are no untoward incidents or negative perceptions arising in the minds of stakeholders towards the company, it is fine. This line of thinking is wrong on three counts.

The first is that we now live in a digital age where information can spread from anywhere and reach anywhere within seconds. Hence all organizations risks having their reputation tarnished anytime. Having a dedicated team to deal with maintaining positive attitudes towards the company does not necessarily mean that it is not vulnerable to attacks from disgruntled stakeholders.

The second is that we live in a hyper competitive environment, in which competitors have the ability to lure customers away by developing innovative products or services. Nokia is a good example of a massive company that has almost been wiped out by the development of the smart phone. The I phone was developed by having close interaction with prospective clients and developing a product that customers wish they had. This was a result of engaging with prospective clients to exceed their expectations.

The third is that stakeholders are more educated and less loyal. They move where technology takes them and thrive on the fringes of technological developments. They need more than just information about what is happening. They need to be part of what is happening. This is where interactive management takes root.

Interactive management is a management concept that is based on the belief that everyone wants to be part of something exciting. All stakeholders, both internal and external need a sense of clarity on where the company is headed. This is possible only through interactive stakeholder engagement. Stakeholders have to be encouraged to be more involved, to contribute and to collaborate with the organization both in developing the strategies as well as implementing them. This would require such organizations to embrace change. By doing so, stakeholder engagement will enhance the relationship with stakeholders, who should be viewed as partners in developing the future of the organization.

As we move from crises management, to stakeholder management program, and land on stakeholder engagement, we see a gradual transition from being reactive, proactive, and finally to being interactive. Essentially this marks a higher degree of stakeholder interactive maturity that will determine the future of the organization to the well being of all stakeholders associated to it.

Question Storming: A New Tool for Knowledge Management

You may have heard of brainstorming, but question storming?? Well this is apparently a new term being bandied around in knowledge management based circles. Let me share with you why this approach is gaining ground fast as a tool for acquiring knowledge that is required, when it is required.

In brainstorming sessions that I normally conduct, creative ideas are generated, compiled and analyzed in groups. The process aims to ignite ideas in the minds of participants based on what ideas others have offered. I consider this as a means of trying to relate how one idea may be applied in different context and interpreted differently based on different experiences. Having participated in and conducted brainstorming sessions, I find this process extremely useful when “creative juices” have to flow.

In this instance, the issue or problem was already fairly well defined and what were needed were merely ideas to be generated to either solve the problem or come up with a different ways of doing something better. This has been used for many years as a knowledge management courses based approach towards knowledge acquisition and knowledge sharing.

Question storming process is almost the same except for one primary difference, instead of ideas, questions are raised to clarify the problem or issue at hand. This is done primarily when the issue or problem is not well defined or is beginning to emerge with no certainty of what it really is.

Questions are asked without discussion and argument and all questions are welcome. These questions are then compiled and analyzed to extend the range of enquiry on the matter in question. So how does this help? If more questions are asked by different people with different experiences and insights, they enable different pathways for probing issues to be discovered. This in part helps the knowledge management process as the participants are better equipped to acquire knowledge based on questions posed.

An executive who attended the question storming session remarked that he did not realize how extensive the problem was until he saw the list of questions that were posed by participants. His initial reaction was to discard the questions completely owing to the sheer number of questions. But when he went through the questions one by one, the key theme surrounding the problem emerged and it helped refocus the problem in an entirely different light.

So the message is this – if you don’t know how to deal with an issue let the questions flood in. This will help you unearth how people think around the issue and what really matters to them. In this way, you will not only come closer to solving a problem but also get everyone’s curiosity perched up to a point they want to be involved in resolving it.

How Management Consulting Firms Can Contribute Towards Economic Growth

Growth in the Malaysian economy is anticipated to be around 4.7% in 2016. This may appear somewhat encouraging but in reality the expected terrain within which the economy will grow is somewhat gloomy.

It has been estimated that in 2015 alone, more than 20,000 employees from various sectors in Malaysia lost their jobs, an increase of almost 10,000 recorded in 2014. The Malaysian Employers Federation, MEF expects the numbers in 2016 to rise as the economy, which is closely linked to revenues from the oil and gas sector continues its descend. Things have reached a stage where the Government itself have frozen intake of public sector employees in 2015, except for critical positions.This means a loss of 15,000 job opportunities in the public sector.

The immediate concern now is how to provide job opportunities to the growing number of people who find themselves unemployed. If left unaddressed, this problem can have serious spillover effects on further curtailment of economic recovery due to suppressed internal consumption of goods and services offered.

The way forward is to intensify efforts at promoting the development and sustenance of an entrepreneurial culture in Malaysia. The realization among the unemployed that that their future now lies in their hands has to set in. The days of working for an employer for a fixed wage are gone. Under the present circumstances, the cultivation of an entrepreneurial mindset and persistence in seeking out successful products and services will unlock the huge untapped opportunities that technology presents itself.

Managementconsulting firms in Malaysia needs to reassess their priorities and view the emergence of entrepreneurial growth as an opportunity for their own survival. They should cast aside their predisposition to provide consulting services only within their domain of expertise and identify how to navigate this emerging need of new breed entrepreneurs towards success. They should invest time and efforts in helping entrepreneurial skills develop and flourish.

  

Entrepreneurial skills center around attitudes (soft skills), such as persistence, networking and self-confidence on the one hand and enabling skills (hard skills) on the other hand, including basic start- up knowledge, business planning, financial literacy and managerial skills. By contributing in whatever way they can, management consulting firms can help considerably in developing these entrepreneurial competencies and skills, which are transferable and beneficial in many work contexts. The aim is not only to strengthen the capacity and desire of more individuals to start their own enterprises, but also to develop an entrepreneurial culture in society.

Sharma Management International, as a responsible Management consulting firm in Malaysia aims to garner support from relevant stakeholders in its effort to develop entrepreneurial skills in Malaysia. What it plans to do is to

1.     Encourage retrenched employees to seek opportunities as entrepreneurs in technology based industries by identifying suitable technologies that provide opportunities for the Malaysia.

2.     Educate and equip potential and early stage entrepreneurs in the areas of

a.     Management Development Program (MDP)

b.     Entrepreneurship Development program (EDP)

c.      Technical Skills Development Program (TSDP)

d.     Stakeholder Management Skills Development Program (SMSDP)

3.     Connect entrepreneurs to mentors, venture capitalist and entrepreneurial incubators to maintain the continuity of entrepreneurial development in Malaysia.

Hopefully Sharma Management International will be able to spearhead the concept of entrepreneurial consulting for potential and new entrepreneurs and in the process better the lives of people affected by the economic turmoil we are all in.

Integrating Project Risk Management with Stakeholder Management

Project risk management covers many aspects. One of them is the development of a risk response strategy. Developing a risk response strategy for projects is tedious, time consuming and laborious. It takes a toll on project managers and project team members. It consumes a lot of time to identify, analyze and develop risk response strategies. Despite doing this, projects still fail. Why is this so? This article seeks to share some insights that address this question.

Oftentimes, project teams tend to identify, categorize, analyze and strategize risk based on their perspectives and assumptions when faced with uncertainty. This is where the problem lies. Since their visibility is bounded within the confines of their combined experience, assumptions made often do not hold. A concerted and conscious attempt to recognize and validate assumptions is required when risks are being identified, analyzed and risk response plans strategized. This is not usually done.

Managing risks and stakeholder expectations go hand in hand. In this regard, stakeholder management is crucial. Stakeholders are people who affect or are affected by a project. They usually are affected by the outcome of the project or the way it is being managed.

As they will be affected by the project, they will naturally be concerned about the project. They see the project from their perspective and as such can recognize impending risks that may not be identified by the project team. By incorporating their views, the project team will be able to acquire a multidimensional perspective of the risks that surround a project.

By engaging with key stakeholders, assumptions made by the project team may be validated. This will prevent the possibility of relying on assumptions that do not hold when the project takes off. By incorporating the perspectives of stakeholders on risks faced by a project when developing a risk response strategy, a deeper understanding of the risks involved and a better formulated risk response strategy emerges.

A practical starting point would be to ask the following questions that relate to any new project:

•       What is that we don’t know?

•       Who are the stakeholders that really matter?

•       What are risks they see from their standpoint?

•       How can we incorporate these risks into our risk response strategy?

By doing this, the project team will be able to engage with key stakeholders to establish different risk scenarios from the perspective of all relevant stakeholders. The level of engagement can vary anywhere from collecting information from stakeholders, informing stakeholders of the risks, involving them in developing risk profiles, to even consulting with them on what to do to deal with the risks identified. The decision on the extent of engagement will depend on the extent to which the stakeholders have involvement, interest as well as influence on the project.

Interactive discussions with key stakeholders would curtail the possibility that the outcome of these strategies could affect them negatively in the long run. Jointly agreeing on risk response strategies brings about better ownership of the outcomes by both the project team and the key stakeholders alike.

Engaging stakeholders also help in determining the severity of risks, the likelihood of these risks, and their impact level. This in turn will enable a more accurate assessment of the risk to emerge as opposed to when done purely by the project team.

What really matters is that, when risk strategies are formulated, they are realistic, accurately describe what pitfalls lie ahead, and more importantly, establish the readiness of all stakeholders in dealing with risks. When this is done, the process of developing a risk response strategy is less tedious, less time consuming and more effective.

At Sharma Management International, we provide training courses in both project risk management & Stakeholder management in Malaysia.