Talent Development Archives - Pagina 12 di 22

18/08/2015

Corporate India up-and-coming’s source of learning: the ‘west’ or indian tradition?

During my recent business trip to India one thing that struck me is the increasing presence of ‘western’ food chains and all in all even lifestyle. A few days ago an article on Forbes India pointed this out “Eat street: India is the new battleground for global burger chains” .

Now, going well beyond the given rhetoric relevant to the ‘western junk food’ conquering the ‘east’, I had the opportunity to observe and ponder about a spreading of western lifestyle reaching well beyond food, clothing or changing customs: something that seems to be reaching the way that many indian junior managers, moving rapidly upward within the career ladder, interpret their own corporate role. All of this is an integrated process.

Western food chains, shops, brands, music (I attended a birthday lunch in a fancy restaurant within Mumbai where the US pop music from the 70s was played non-stop!) appear to take rapidly over the corporate developing and affirmed geographical areas.

Even some of the imposing corporate buildings seem to be built in typical US fashion requiring structural maintenance after just a few years from construction. It all tends to have a flavour of pretentious, know-it all, superiority that little has to share with the humble yet determinate, firm and consistent entrepreneurial spirit typical of the indian tradition.

I begun to think that, while pundits in the US start to point out the qualities of a more balanced, health conscious, professional lives driven by ‘getting back to basics’ in learning about our inner potentials and using them at work with skill and awareness; emerging corporate India seem to be losing this kind of mindset (in actuality part of its very own tradition) heading towards what the west has been going through and it is suffering from.

India, its traditions, its culture, even its mindset (very much related to Jugaad, a skill to face reality in creative, innovative constructive ways, no matter the lack of opportunities or resources at hand – more on this topic coming up in these pages) deserve to be rediscovered, understood and valued not only by us ‘westerners’ but possibly also by the rising corporate India to avoid falling into mistakes made in the west.

A strong sense of unique identity, on key factors that now corporate west wants to integrate for sustainability, has always been an integral part of India, why miss it? why don’t leverage on it though a process of integration with the lessons learned and in the process of being learned by the west? It would be quite interesting to open a conversation with the rising corporate indian on these topics.

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10/04/2015

Innovazione e performance alla portata di tutti, a patto che…

‘Panta Rei’! (tutto scorre). Il celebre aforisma di Eraclito oggi assume un doppio significato: da un lato l’inesorabile presenza del cambiamento; dall’altro la necessità di rapportarsi con questo cambiamento nel modo più fluido, scorrevole possibile, senza esserne travolti.

Oggi più che mai abbiamo il compito e responsabilità di essere non solo attori, ma anche produttori, registri e soprattutto scrittori del copione della nostra vita. Per questo osservare e riflettere su percorsi di vita di successo (dove il successo viene misurato con il riuscire ad esprimere il meglio di se, del proprio potenziale e farlo con consapevolezza).

Innovare nello scrivere e vivere questo copione, raggiungere il massimo delle nostre Performance nel farlo. Sono questi i temi guida dell’ebook appena pubblicato: “Innovare e Performance. Nella scia di Ayrton Senna: apprendere i fondamenti su come scoprire e dare il meglio di se” – autori Riccardo Paterni e Andrea Morici – Edizioni Lifeplan.

L’ebook presenta una narrazione a due voci. Da un lato tratti salienti del percorso professionale del compianto tre volte campione del mondo di Formula 1; un percorso che mette l’accento sul modo originale e innovativo (perché efficace) che lui utilizzo’ per sviluppare la propria carriera. Dall’altro lato riflessioni, commenti e esercizi pratici ispirati da aspetti concreti di quella narrazione. Il tutto sviluppato per stimolare in noi un senso di consapevolezza, progettualità e conseguenti azioni costruttive.

Lo schema di pensiero riguardante aspetti di innovazione e performance si rapporta anche ad un contesto più ampio, organizzativo, con specifici piani d’azione da implementare.

E allora: ‘Panta Rei’! con una consapevolezza e progettualità che non sono solo alla portata dei campioni.

COMMENTI E AGGIORNAMENTI DISPONIBILI ANCHE SU LINKEDIN

04/04/2015

Going global leveraging on three factors…

The conference I moderated at the University of Pisa on the topic International business development. Is there a common enlightening and empowering trait? featured interaction among the International MBA students and a panel of four entrepreneurs and managers active on the global market in different fields (mechanical industrial, fashion, new technologies applied to health management and improvement, services for patent and innovation development) from the start-up to the major corporation.

Three have been the common traits emerging strongly from the debate: innovation, teamwork, talent. All of them related to the overall need to create value in the perception of the customer, and the customers are not all alike even within the same sector.

Innovation. It is not just fashionable or trendy, it is a must demanded by a market in continuos dynamic evolution and increasingly demanding from several points of view. Innovate to personalise to the customer needs while increasing efficiency and managing to slow down a progressive, almost inevitable, shrinking of operational margins almost across all of the sectors.

Teamwork. It is increasingly the essential leverage to performance. Both at the technical or managerial level, without the ability to lead stimulating actual teamwork turns into an ineffective and dangerous for survival waste of resources.

Talent. Creating value through innovation and teamwork nowadays depend on talent. The ability to express top level performance in a consistent way. To note that within the debate we have had different perspectives on talent selecting and managing: is it better to have top talented people with low interpersonal skills (even nasty) or talented-tending-to-average people with effective interpersonal skills? Some have had no doubt: it is part of the job description of a manager to handle ‘nasty’ talent and make it effective even within teamwork. Some have stated that in any case the development and focus on international skills for anybody is paramount.

The interaction among professionals and the MBA participants has been strong, stimulated by all of this. Overall a concept has been clear: international markets are changing and shifting at an increasingly speed. There is the need to consistently analyse where is the best place, the best contexts, where to develop production, sales markets, financing projects.

22/03/2015

International business development. Is there a common enlightening and empowering trait?

On April 1st, our University of Pisa International MBA is going to feature an event titled “Entrepreneurship and managerial experiences in an international context”. Top representatives from five very different companies (from the start-up to the corporation) belonging to several international economic fields, will debate with the participants to the VI edition of the MBA.

This edition, the 24 participants are come from 20 different countries that are well representing the opportunities and problems present nowadays on a global scale. The MBA participants themselves have academic and affirmed professional backgrounds belonging to several organisational areas and economic fields.

I look forward to moderate the debate and in particular I will try to focus the attention on finding and outlining a common powerful denominator in order to project an enlightened perspective regarding the opportunities present and ahead within the current fast changing global economic and social complexities.

What can this common power force be? What can be the driving force forward for any project that unavoidably will run into barriers, shifting unpredictable contexts and at times outright chaos?

On the topic I found quite enlightening and intriguing a recent interview to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook published by Fast Company. The key focus of the interview was, a matter of fact, centred on the challenges that no doubt are having an impact on the present and foreseeable future of the giant corporation. The title chosen for the interview is revealing of the CEO perspective “Tim Cook on Apple’s future: everything can change except values.” (http://www.fastcompany.com/3042435/steves-legacy-tim-looks-ahead) and it will be interesting to stimulate this kind of topic within April 1st debate.

Participate to the debate to have your saying on these perspectives.

The debate will be held at:

University of Pisa Department of Economics and Management

Aula Magna – April 1st 2015 – from 2.30pm to 5.30 pm

See you there!

12/02/2015

Achieving success through focus, awareness and action. In F1 a potentially winning ‘black notebooking’ technique is in the making

During the recent Formula 1 tests in Jerez Sebastian Vettel, the new Ferrari driver, has been noticed walking around with a large black notebook, a sort of an oversized classic Moleskine. This has been pointed out as quite unusual for a Formula 1, and overall Motorsport, context. He is utilising the notebook intensively, apparently making notes about everything that he is going through during the time on track and off track, in pits and paddock, spent with engineers and mechanics. Reportedly at the end of the day he transcribes all of the data, information, observations on his personal computer.

It is a systematic approach potentially overshadowing the work of track engineers and causing friction within the teamwork roles; more likely showing everyone the kind of determined meticulous approach he is choosing to bring back not only Ferrari to success but also himself after a surprising (after four consecutive world championship titles) somewhat dismal season he has had with Red Bull Renault last season.

A notebook and a pencil are also the trademark of Adrian Newey, the top technical mastermind Vettel has spent many years with at Red Bull. Pencil and paper are powerful tools in terms of their perception impact; they are no doubt noticed when they are utilised instead of all the mobile technology most of us feel nowadays bound to use even just to fit-in within a work method and keep up to pace with times.

Beyond the actual content of the notebook (we will be able to tell as the racing season progresses if those notes are contributing to the improvement and success of the team) what really counts from the get go is the visual impact it has in stimulating the driver and the entire team to focus and ponder upon every single detail. It has also been pointed out that Vettel has spent a lot of time with engineers and mechanics while the new car has been totally disassembled and reassembled, side by side focusing and contributing to develop rapidly a mutual welcoming feeling within the team.

Vettel and some Scuderia Ferrari team members

In the past we have had a few other quite evident and successful examples of meticulous approaches to the role of a Formula 1 driver. The late Ayrton Senna developed through the years his legendary career also because of his intense approach to racing. It has been reported by many engineers that worked with him that after testing he was able to communicate corner by corner, almost computer like, all of the reactions and settings of the car, back in his time telemetry was almost not present. He used to spend many hours side by side with the mechanics while they were working in making changes himself had been meticulously marked down on a one page sheet (to note that it all had to be on one page). Intense, focused and side by side work with the team.

The same kind of approach that Michael Schumacher always had in methodically reading, interpreting and making sense of every single detail coming from telemetry data. Schumacher himself used to spend a lot of time side by side with mechanics while they were working to fully understand what was happening and strengthen the comrade spirit. It is a matter of fact Schumacher throughout his career always managed to form around him a strong focused team that markedly contributed to overcome tough and complex times towards achieving top and consistent success.

It is often said that any process of change and improvement begins with actual awareness of reality and a sheer determination to improve it through focused appropriate actions. Vettel appears to take this by heart and no doubt, given also the size of the notebook, he is also making other people to pay attention to it. Time will tell whether this will contribute not only to consistent success but also to a winning overall team spirit.

25/01/2015

Diversity empowering global development. Pisa University 2015 MBA!

The University of Pisa International Master in Business Administration has just reached the VI edition (http://mba.master.unipi.it/programme) and its developing more and more one of its key characteristics: the high level of diversity that becomes dynamically integrated within the program itself.

2015 University of Pisa International MBA

Diversity from several points of view: culture (all continents have been represented throughout the six editions – about twenty different nationalities this edition) as well as academic and professional backgrounds (all of the key areas of organisational development are represented with the majority of the participants having years of work experience, at this link some key statics http://mba.master.unipi.it/alumni_and_careers ) belonging to global entrepreneurial, SME and corporate contexts.

The program has the characteristics of an Executive International MBA yet it is intensive full time and completed in one year time in order to enable participants to progress rapidly within their global careers.

We are in the process of powering up the Corporate Network linked to the MBA that is already quite extensive http://mba.master.unipi.it/corporate-network/career_network and continuing to formally and purposefully develop an Alumni Association. This to empower even more an extensive network of contacts that the MBA has generated among not only participants (by now around 150 alumni – on purpose classes are kept below the 30 participants threshold per edition) but also reaching out to the extensive international network of professors, individual professionals, entrepreneurs, managers that have been enriching the actual and consistent connections of this hands-on MBA with the managerial, economic and social dynamics of the ‘real world’.

It is has been a pleasure for me to have had the opportunity to participate dynamically to the development of the program since the very first edition. Today I focus on Talent Identification and Development of the participants related to the progression of their careers and I coordinate the Business Game that is representing a concrete fresh entrepreneurial challenge integrating concretely the overall know-how and experiences developed throughout the MBA itself.

2015 MBA participants, we will enjoy the development path together.

All of you interested to connect and enrich this unique context of learning and global know-how development feel free to contact me riccardo@synergypathways.net , I will be happy to dialogue with you regarding the ways we can contribute together to the development of this unique project.

20/01/2015

India, time for a definitive new course to real progress?

During the first two weeks of the year I have been travelling extensively across India with my friends and colleagues Samit Naik and Walter Sciacca (co-authors with me of the upcoming book ‘Fast Track Innovation’ www.fasttrackinnovation.it ; lots of the traveling was relevant to interviews and meetings that will be featured in the book itself ). We have spent time in several cities and we have had the opportunity to observe many things that are currently happening in India perceiving clearly a momentum for change in progress. Prime Minister Modi has coined a slogan “Make in India” focusing on the fact that manufacturing needs to get back to actually boosting a concrete economic growth. For example, companies as Mahindra (automotive) point out that this is actually happening by advertising on main national newspapers the production record that they achieved amounting to 5.000.000 units.

January 2015. Mahindra celebrating its 5 million vehicles manufactured

In addition, the educational context directly related to economic development is growing at full speed with companies clearly seeking higher level skills and talents. The focus in not only on technical subjects but also on managerial and economic ones signalling the concrete drive for an overall industrial and organizational growth.

January 2015. Organizations in India recruit at full speed on campuses

There is no doubt that something is happening; change is in the air and its progress is gradually perceivable. We have had several meetings with business people in various sectors and organizational contexts and all of them pointed in this direction. Yesterday even The Times of India has published an article highlighting the same trend “India’s growth to reach 6.3 per cent in 2016: UN report” .

Prime Minister Modi is perceived has the energetic and focused leadership driving and stimulating these changes. I am currently enjoying reading his recently published biography by Andy Marino “Narendra Modi. A political biography”, pointing out that “innovation – doing things better and smarter – engages and animates him”.

I invite everybody to get more acquainted with the way he developed his path to political prominence and is currently implementing organizational and managerial policies. The focus is set to giving the opportunity to public servants to discover and give their best rather than getting stuck within the same dynamics of stale bureaucratic routine. A kind of routine that is too often double knotted in corruption practices representing a heavy cultural and practical burden to economic development.

For good or bad, this is represents a new way to frame and manifest the organizational role of government to the concrete development of a country. No matter what kind of progress actually happens in India, or the speed of it, many of the actual managerial practices Modi utilizes over the inner working of government should be closely analysed by many other countries. Let’s stay tuned to closely observe trends, facts and outlooks.

26/12/2014

Happy Holidays!!!

Happy Holidays to everyone and a Fantastic Vvery Special 2015 to all !!!

19/12/2014

Developing innovative ideas, integrating cultures & professions, together…

On Wednesday December 17th I had the opportunity to be part of the Fp4batiw project http://www.fp4batiw.eu/ (Fostering partnerships for the implementation of best available technologies for water treatment & management in the Mediterranean) with about twenty people coming from many of the Mediterranean countries (professors, researchers, leader of development business institutions alike). The project is organised by the innovation center Innovabic – Messina Italy.

I lead a one-day seminar with them on the topic of “Creative Innovation and Change Management” choosing to focus on concepts and practices of unstructured innovation (in particular Jugaad innovation) linked to the structured one.

Once again, as it has happened and it is happening in different countries throughout my career as international public speaker, it has been revealing to realise that it is possible to instil energy and ‘off the wall’ focus even within experienced academia enviromnets traditionally considered as set in their ways and somewhat conservatives in the way they approach such events. When together we are able to open each other minds, it has been fantastic to generate new perspectives and ideas while enjoying each other company and getting to know each other.

The Mediterranean basin no doubt offers many opportunities to contribute to economic and even social development and progress (and the definition of progress I mean is the one enabling the majority of the people to express and reach the very best of their potentials). In the near future I feel that is an additional direction I would like to focus on.

09/11/2014

A fresh, racing like, roaring way to look at innovation!… stay tuned!

The book “Innovazione a tutto gas!” (innovazioneatuttogas.it) (title translation: Innovation Full Throttle!) has introduced a new fresh way to look at innovation inspired by the past, present and future of Motorsport.

Now the time is right to develop all of this on an international stage with the same fresh managerial approach mixed to new anecdotes and real life stories told by their direct protagonists. All of this linked in many ways to the global pulsing hearth of Motorsport and Automotive. Stay tuned to follow the fast development of a new book leading all of us to innovate… the faster and faster way! … 😉

Riccardo with Walter Sciacca and Samit Naik, co-authors of the upcoming new book ... — Riccardo with Walter Sciacca and Samit Naik, co-authors of the upcoming new book …