Some of you might know that my first job after graduation was with the Productivity and Standards Board or PSB for short (now known as SPRING Singapore).
Reason why I got hired was because my Master thesis was on measuring productivity using Econometrics modeling. During that time, there was an on-going debate by Alwyn Young and Paul Krugman about the productivity, or lack of, in Singapore's manufacturing sector compared to the other Asian 'dragons', such as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Now, with productivity back in the headlines it is a question I ask myself if I should dust off my thesis and look for relevant learning points or is this productivity a really different one?
After much thoughts, I reckon that while the computation of productivity is still valid, the variables and coefficients are now very different.
Let me illustrate. In the past, we determine how productive we are through the use of labor and capital in an optimal fashion and in the most effective and efficient way. Therefore, two firms with the same quality and quantity of labor and capital used in the same combination should produce identical outputs. However if one firm manages to outdo the other, then in comparison it is more productive.
In this new economy, using the same quality and quantity of labor and capital in the same combination will not yield the same output. And this is because of one key differentiating factor. And if this factor is harnessed to the max and properly nurtured (note: not managed) it will bring about extensive competitive advantage.
This differenting factor is 'ideas'. And I believe ideas is something that requires an elegant expression of calculus to capture, which then allow us to solve and hence seek solutions in the process.
To help us learn how to nurture ideas in our workplace, we suggest the 4E Framework and with it a four-step process in nurturing ideas.
Explore: this is simply to encourage our people to ask questions, challenge assumptions, think "what if we can ...", and see things from different perspectives. At this stage, it is important that we really explore all areas to see how we can better ourselves.
Experiment: here, we provide seed funds for projects that were explored in the first phase. Individuals are encouraged to be creative and innovative in their ways to solve the areas identified in the explore phase.
Expand: once the experiments are completed it is essential to see how it would contribute to the organizational goals. This is where we determine which ideas are given an expanded lease of life.
Excellence: implementation at the macro level may not be as smooth as implementation at the controlled level. Therefore at this phase, a close assessment and review process must be employed to refine the ideas further in order to experience excellence.
Research and real-life stories have shown that the above process brings about significant productivity gains for organizations. Do you have some form of framework and/or process that mirrors that of the 4Es described above?
Please share with us. Thank you.
Your friend,
Melvyn
(Posted from my iPhone)
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Most Important Element of 21st Century Skills
We spent a considerable amount of time researching, discussing, and defining the 21st Century Skills (21Cs). During the process, we discover that the most important element that needs to exist before these skills-set can be laid upon is simply this - responsibility.
First, the 21Cs list a wide repertoire of skills that is required for one to survive in this new economy. To make it happen, one has to consider a series of factors. And the most important of all is, to us, responsibility.
Why?
Let us do an exercise together in order for us to illustrate the point. Think of a goal that you have set in the past that didn't materialize. Now, reflect upon what happened that caused you not to achieve this goal. Next, list down all the possible reasons you think caused this to happen.
Got it?
What we would like you to do now is to put a tick next to all the reasons that caused you not to achieve this goal that were within your control. And place a cross next to all those that were not within your control.
Tally up your score of ticks and crosses. See for yourself. Do you have more ticks than crosses?
If you had more ticks then, congratulations. You are someone who is responsible. However, if the converse was true then you'd really need to re-examine your action plan.
You see, if you have more ticks, then you have a good chance of succeeding. Why? Because if you correct those factors then it will greatly increase your chance of succeeding the next time. But if you have more crosses, then even if you were to try even harder, chances are you will not succeed.
Now, back to the 21Cs. A lot of these skills can be taught. It can be learned. It can be role-modeled. But unless one takes personal responsibility to be taught, to learn, and to role-model others who already have these skills; then trying to equip that person with the 21Cs will be extremely difficult.
And that is because more often than not, this person would be blaming others for his own demise.
We welcome your comments and look forward to engaging you in this dialogue and for you to share with us your thoughts.
Your friend,
Melvyn
(Posted from my iPhone)
First, the 21Cs list a wide repertoire of skills that is required for one to survive in this new economy. To make it happen, one has to consider a series of factors. And the most important of all is, to us, responsibility.
Why?
Let us do an exercise together in order for us to illustrate the point. Think of a goal that you have set in the past that didn't materialize. Now, reflect upon what happened that caused you not to achieve this goal. Next, list down all the possible reasons you think caused this to happen.
Got it?
What we would like you to do now is to put a tick next to all the reasons that caused you not to achieve this goal that were within your control. And place a cross next to all those that were not within your control.
Tally up your score of ticks and crosses. See for yourself. Do you have more ticks than crosses?
If you had more ticks then, congratulations. You are someone who is responsible. However, if the converse was true then you'd really need to re-examine your action plan.
You see, if you have more ticks, then you have a good chance of succeeding. Why? Because if you correct those factors then it will greatly increase your chance of succeeding the next time. But if you have more crosses, then even if you were to try even harder, chances are you will not succeed.
Now, back to the 21Cs. A lot of these skills can be taught. It can be learned. It can be role-modeled. But unless one takes personal responsibility to be taught, to learn, and to role-model others who already have these skills; then trying to equip that person with the 21Cs will be extremely difficult.
And that is because more often than not, this person would be blaming others for his own demise.
We welcome your comments and look forward to engaging you in this dialogue and for you to share with us your thoughts.
Your friend,
Melvyn
(Posted from my iPhone)
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Listen - Silent Your Mind
I was watching a training video on YouTube recently, on "The Art of Charisma" and one of the main take-away for me was this: Charismatic individuals listen to you. They pay attention to what you are saying. They are focused on you. It's you they want to know more.
And she went on to say, if you scramble the letters in the word "LISTEN", what do you get? It actually spells "SILENT". Isn't it amazing?
Perhaps, allow me to share our experiences with the schools, where we discuss about the "culture" in the school. To begin, we always get the teachers to describe in their own words what do the school values mean to them. This process allows the school leaders and middle management to really listen, learn, then lead the entire school towards defining the desired culture.
In fact, a lot of things happen when teachers describe in their own words what do the school values mean to them. Firstly, they are describing it from their interpretation of the world. In other words, they are telling you how it is like in their world. For instance, for someone the value of "care" could mean really showing respect to your colleagues, while another may extend the same value towards the environment and community as well. Both are right in their world but they describe differently because of their interpretation of the world, their experiences, their background. This is where we say they reveal their mental models.
Secondly, when they describe in their own words what the school values mean to them, they are revealing their standards to you. They are telling you what is important to them. What would really make them upset. What would mean to "cross their lines". What would violate their trust. It is really important to pay attention to what they are saying here. This is where we say they reveal their values to you.
Finally, while facilitating such sessions, we always end of by asking them what it would be like when they have arrive at a common goal. In most cases here, the common goal would be the desired outcomes of the pupils. By giving them the context of the end-in-mind, we would invite them to describe the same set of values again. Here, our objective is to get them to visualize the context in which these values would be translated into desired behaviors when they have arrived at their desired outcomes. This is where we get them to bond together based on the shared vision.
Here, as a Big-Pictured Thinker, we need to be able to silent our mind and really listen. Not listen to respond but listen to understand. Listen to learn. So that we can expand our view of the world by understanding how other people think, how they perceive the world.
And she went on to say, if you scramble the letters in the word "LISTEN", what do you get? It actually spells "SILENT". Isn't it amazing?
Perhaps, allow me to share our experiences with the schools, where we discuss about the "culture" in the school. To begin, we always get the teachers to describe in their own words what do the school values mean to them. This process allows the school leaders and middle management to really listen, learn, then lead the entire school towards defining the desired culture.
In fact, a lot of things happen when teachers describe in their own words what do the school values mean to them. Firstly, they are describing it from their interpretation of the world. In other words, they are telling you how it is like in their world. For instance, for someone the value of "care" could mean really showing respect to your colleagues, while another may extend the same value towards the environment and community as well. Both are right in their world but they describe differently because of their interpretation of the world, their experiences, their background. This is where we say they reveal their mental models.
Secondly, when they describe in their own words what the school values mean to them, they are revealing their standards to you. They are telling you what is important to them. What would really make them upset. What would mean to "cross their lines". What would violate their trust. It is really important to pay attention to what they are saying here. This is where we say they reveal their values to you.
Finally, while facilitating such sessions, we always end of by asking them what it would be like when they have arrive at a common goal. In most cases here, the common goal would be the desired outcomes of the pupils. By giving them the context of the end-in-mind, we would invite them to describe the same set of values again. Here, our objective is to get them to visualize the context in which these values would be translated into desired behaviors when they have arrived at their desired outcomes. This is where we get them to bond together based on the shared vision.
Here, as a Big-Pictured Thinker, we need to be able to silent our mind and really listen. Not listen to respond but listen to understand. Listen to learn. So that we can expand our view of the world by understanding how other people think, how they perceive the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
