- Make the promotion increases negligible. It is only a recognition and reduces the pressure on promotions. Promotions should be driven by competence. However, a minimum amount of seasoning is a must for management roles.
- Make it clear the people own their careers.
- Expectation management is a key management mandate. Refrain from over-branding.
- The world is moving towards cash compensation and asking employees to own their retirement benefits. Companies can only help via education of investment options.
- Too much of equity compensation may lead to short-termism on account of the team members. It is difficult to build ownership which is an emotional construct.
- Connect is not engagement. Engagement is when the employee believes that the manager/organisation is truly interested in the benefit of people.
- People are important but a given individual should be dispensable.
- A lot of the work in HR tends to be related to converting a transnational relationship to an emotional relationship.
- It makes sense to have HR policies which are simple and there is little or no need to 'game the system' / 'give proof'. (e.g. have total no of aggregate leaves without having a "sick" leave, give the INR 15000/- in benefit even if taxable and not contingent on proof)
- Incentives matter.
- Not only be fair but perceive to be fair. (even if it means certain compromises)
- You cannot satisfy everybody. Identify your key talent. However they also serve who stand and wait. Balance the need of differentiation and equity.
- It is important to handle toxicity in organizations. Have avenues where people can vent and let off steam.
- When bringing people on-board, peg them to the internal salary (min) even if they are getting an obscene increase when jumping. They will be unhappy in the short-term and long-term.
- Sometimes it is better to ask for forgiveness, than permission.
- Benefits should rarely be level-dependent (except maybe at the very top. It is very difficult to take back what you have given people. Think very long and hard about the benefits you give.
- Do not make life so comfortable for the employee that they cannot go anywhere else. Refrain from golden handshakes. If giving golden handshake, make sure of potential.
- Normalization is about relative difference. There is no fairness in globalization. People have to live with that messiness.
- Allow for failure in a controlled environment. Fail early, fail cheap, fail fast.
- Sometimes let things precipitate. You can only wait for people to learn or realize from consequences.
- Sometimes people just don't get along. Its ok. They probably differ on core values or styles.
- Organisations should create a band where it is "ok to stagnate". Failure to do so will mean that there will be a continual expectation management (which is ambiguous). Those who cannot reach there may be managed out.
- You will certainly make some hiring mistakes. Recognize that and deal with that problem promptly.
- Performance assessment is not 'criticality' assessment. Find other ways to deal with criticality.
- To survive in MNCs, you have to be a "philosopher" than a "religious leader".
- The leader has to create an environment where people can disagree with him and not fear retribution. Psychological safety is very real.
- To some degree competencies/ability matters. However, beyond that it is a matter of luck/circumstances and right-person-right-time-right-job.
- Leadership is 4 components : Results, People, Thought, Personal. Leadership is also "Influence"
- In IJPs (Internal job postings), bring the person to the minimum of the band.
- You cannot hire a bunch of folks with attribute X (i.e. say Marks/Grades/Academic performance) and suddenly expect them to do Y (i.e. say innovation, risk-taking etc.)
- The problem with peer-feedback is that sooner or later, people will resort to "You pat my back" and I will pat yours".
- Avoid anonymous survey feedback about leaders. The best way to collect feedback is to meet and discuss feedback with an independent agency.
- Culture eats strategy for lunch. It is easy to replicate strategy but extremely difficult to replicate culture.
- Have a culture of open IJPs. where people can apply to any role in the organisation with a minimum tenure. While past feedback can be taken, it is naive to believe that the person cannot thrive in a different team and environment.
- Learning/Coaching is good-to-have. It provides some perspective and helps sometimes. However, core deep-rooted human frailties trump all the Leadership Development and Coaching in the world. See the Infoys Leadership Institute (finally after multiple resignations and failed return of NRN, they had to get Vishal Sikka). Ditto for the Tata Group.
- You cannot piss off all your constituents. Get the support of some stakeholders even if it means compromise.
- A career is a marathon, not a sprint.
- One of the surest ways of developing competencies is to give early and diverse responsibilities in career. You have to believe in the 'fungibility of human potential'.
- In learning I believe in the 70-20-10 principle.
- Always hire people who increase the average capability of your team.
- There is no 'perfect' candidate. If basic technical knowledge is in place focus on learnability and attitude.
- Beyond 4 interviews of 40 minutes, any further effort has negative marginal value. In hiring getting 'more' information is counter productive.
- I believe in autonomy mastery and purpose theory - motivation.
- Managers cannot say that they do not have time to train.
- Managers cannot expect that the new generation will behave like they did. Things change and generational priorities change.
- Managers dilemma - why fire someone when there is no surety that next person will be better. Inertia of firing, hiring, training new person too much.
- Psychological safety very important. Public agreement and private disagreement.
- When times bad, adopt overall freeze. Do not try to identify right people and selectively incentivise. Do it in non monetary way.
- Everybody bides their time and notice what you do.
- Do not fall in love with your own product.
- Either give RSU to all or a very very minimal number.
- Always keep some slack in the system. Being hyper efficient is a problem in unforeseen circumstances.
- Productivity is about systems not about people.
- Do not bring your whole self to work.
- Ask only 3 questions - Ok with mental health at work, Do you have a decent line manager, are you paid fairly ?
- Manages need to micro understand work. Not micromanage.
- You can never know about attitude and proactiveness in a 2 hr interview. Be humble as an interviewer.
- If completed a year pay variable pay (resigned or not). But ok not to give salary hike aside is forward looking.
- No respect for leaders who say "I don't care how you get it done"?
- Care about what's right not who's right.
- Don't ever diss the company you have joined.
- Attitude, ownership cannot be taught.
- Do care about history in organizations. Don't be a slave of it but don't disregard it.
- We judge others by their behaviour and self on intent.
- Middle management matters- A LOT
- In product companies technical leadership will earn respect.
- Give marks for effort.
- Give second chances in career.
- Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions is BS
- Luck and randomness matter
- Engineer pass (people good, but stupid) and economist pass (people dishonest, but clever)
- Means (right /wrong) and Objectives (right/wrong) Ram quadrant, krishna quadrant Bhishma quadrant and Ravana quadrant
- Leaders be able to provide the followers with a sense of coherence (feeling of comprehension or that actions/events fit into a pattern/make sense), purpose (feeling that the proposed actions are in line with the pursuit of larger goals that the employees consider to be valuable) and significance (the feeling that the employees and their action matter/make a difference)
- Sometimes you have to quit the Hegelian (and/both) thinking and adopt Kirkegrad (either/or) thinking.
- Most companies don't spectacularly fail. They just fade into irrelevance.
- Parameter, Iias, SES, ISS, Glass Lewis
- Go where you are valued. Big fish small pond
- Hold strong opinions (which you are confident to defend) but hold them loosely. (but not averse to changing them) Get diversity of information sources/relationships etc. humility to change your mind, hear opposing POVs.
- Intellectual humility, empathy and comfort with ambiguity are leadership traits.
- You can do everything right and still fail
- Performance is behaviour under an individual's control that contributes to organizational goals. Normal distribution of performance is kosher. Power laws are not right.
