NHRD April 2013.pdf - National HRD Network

More documents

Recommendations

Info

dashboards can help him get closer to his clients (he was reading a pilot magazine) – A chief financial officer understood why shipping wedding dresses on time and building “personal social capital” can help his B2B department as well (he was reading a women’s fashion magazine) Two challenges to overcome to be able to spot weak signals First challenge: swim upstream Most companies I know rely on secondary (published) data to understand their market and the future trends. They scan the media and clip relevant press releases and newspaper articles, subscribe to expensive databases to get a collection of data, buy market research reports, and listen to experts in international conferences. Those sources are typically the last ones I’d recommend to identify weak signals, as the graph below shows. As an example, these are some of the subjects currently discussed in the media today: 3D printing, Cyborgs, Genetic engineering, Embryonic stem cell research, Robotics, mobile. These subjects are all already well documented emerging trends. On the other hand, science-fiction authors are discussing today Artificial General Intelligence (greater-than-human), Neuro/ Brain simulation and enhancement, post scarcity society, DIY science, existential technology risks, radical lifeextension/”immortality” and technology singularity. The implications for the HR professional: When you recruit a new strategy analyst, do you ask if they have an MBA or the type of books they are reading? When you analyze and map their LinkedIn network, do you find mostly school friends, colleagues, or do they also connect with people outside of their sphere of interest? Do you try to attract those reading sciencefiction? Second challenge: interpret the data The key of the process lies in the interpretation of the signal. – What does it mean for my company? – What is the likely impact? – How strong a signal does it have to become to start acting on it? 4 April | 2013 NHRD Network Journal
In a company, this “making sense” phase can take many shapes. Some use a full fledge scenario planning exercise; others play “red teams” an exercise used during the war by the British army to review strategic plans and ensure no blind spot has developed. When internal resources are not available, one can always rely on external consultants and their work. For example, the following WI-WE database has taken the first step into spotting potential weak signals, but also in interpreting what they mean: Six practical tips on how to build the ability to spot weak signals in your organization Tip1: Create a ”Crow’s Nest”: this term was developed by IBM as a reference to the crow’s nest situated on top of sailing ships. It is designed to be able to spot upcoming danger or weather changes. This is a good image of the process companies need to implement to scan the horizon beyond the next quarter, and have a team who will have credibility within the organization to challenge common wisdom. This “crow’s nest” concept has given birth in the social media age to “command centers” such as the acceleration Team at Nestle: a room dedicated to spotting signals on social media. Tip2: Hire those with imagination The 9/11 commission findings were quite direct: The 9/11 Commission Report “We believe the 9/11 attacks revealed four kind of failures in: l Imagination l policy l capabilities l and Management.”(p. 339) Talent development and acquisition professionals should therefore aim to identify who in the young talent they are hiring have imagination. Maybe a piece of creative writing should be part of the interview? Some companies provide candidates with a few random concepts (bionic man: apple: teacher), and ask them to write a short story, or create an impromptu improvised theatre piece. Tip3: Open social networks to let ideas flow, and allow your employees to develop networks outside of their sphere of comfort: if your company is still today restricting access to social networks during work hours, change this policy. Those tools are as essential to the personal development of your employees as using a computer or a phone is. Tip4: Train to develop networks: very few executives have been trained in the art – and sometimes science- of developing a network. Training should be planned, but companies could also incorporate the notion of the network into the performance evaluation (with a focus on internal as well as external networks). Tip5: Create time to be creative: we all have heard of Google employees dedicating 20% of their work time to work on “pet” projects. You need as a talent management professional to ensure there is time and space for employees to flex their creativity. This can take the form of meetings without PowerPoint slides (triggering discussions rather than passive listening), or applying reverse meeting techniques (like in an MBA class, reading the documents and the case in advance, and using meeting time for questions and discussions). Tip6: Recruit from outside: companies need to include in their workforce employees who can bring new fresh perspectives to the business. While industry knowledge is important, candidates from adjacent or even drastically different industries can bring a wealth of new ideas to a business. One of my clients in the transportation industry is hiring professionals from the April | 2013 NHRD Network Journal 5
Page 1 and 2: ISSN - 0974 - 1739 NHRD Network Jou
Page 3 and 4: profe sion. Donn Doongaji Anil Sach
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS S.No. Title of Article Aut
Page 7 and 8: Editorial Comments Dear Reader, Wha
Page 9 and 10: opportunity for organizations to go
Page 11 and 12: Picking up weak signals in the new
Page 13: or https://twitter.com/rossdawson/
Page 17 and 18: Resonant Leadership for Results Dr.
Page 19 and 20: Leadership for Results has touched
Page 21 and 22: Day Two, then, is highly customized
Page 23 and 24: Enabling Learning through Technolog
Page 25 and 26: letting go the control mindset and
Page 27 and 28: exhibit a positive view of the tech
Page 29 and 30: The Employer Brand: A Truth Lived E
Page 31 and 32: In an ideal sense, every element in
Page 33 and 34: cynicism, under-ambition sloth. Mak
Page 35 and 36: In short, life in the workplace tod
Page 37 and 38: of knowledge, passion and ownership
Page 39 and 40: time to offer to an executive ridin
Page 41 and 42: Buchanan. With a team of uniquely g
Page 43 and 44: This paper seeks to demystify gamif
Page 45 and 46: l l approach to create opportunitie
Page 47 and 48: Learning Employee engagement l l l
Page 49 and 50: 5. Yardstick: An HR professional ca
Page 51 and 52: l Move beyond formal learning proce
Page 53 and 54: having the ability to hold the tens
Page 55 and 56: HR, Social Media and creating the o
Page 57 and 58: l mistakes? Can leaders be question
Page 59 and 60: and visions of the future, to look
Page 61 and 62: A business within the business Dave
Page 63 and 64: of which can function as a complete
Page 65 and 66:
customers successful.” Customers
Page 67 and 68:
and readable by everyone; second, t
Page 69 and 70:
those who routinely introduce new i
Page 71 and 72:
competencies as part of the organiz
Page 73 and 74:
ABOUT THE JOURNAL The National HRD
show all

NHRD April 2013.pdf - National HRD Network

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?