Building Interpersonal Skills - S.C.A.R.F Model Exercise

Instructions : Based on the Category you have been allocated please click on the below and input your team's ideas. Thank you!

STATUS

CERTAINTY

AUTONOMY

RELATEDNESS

FAIRNESS

8 Different Ways to Structure your next Presentation

1. Modular – A sequence of similar parts, units, or components in which order of the units is interchangeable (Think of this approach as a plug and play approach. Eg Financial presentations fall under this category. You can easily rearrange items at will but it makes it challenging for your audience to follow)


2. Chronological – Organises clusters of ideas along a timeline reflecting events in the order in which they occurred or might occur (Telling a story that deals with change is the most important objective. Eg HR director of a company that has to bring new staff up to speed about company.)


3. Physical – Organises clusters of ideas according to their physical or geographic location. (Distribution operation whose points of presence around the country/world represent its major competitive advantage. Eg DHL)


4. Spatial – Organises ideas conceptually, according to a physical metaphor or analogy, providing a spatial arrangement of your topics. (Providing a spatial view of topics from top to bottom or vice versa. Eg. Spatial Flow Structure is the physical metaphor of constructing a house. The foundation = platform product or service, the beams = organisations and partners, The wires/pipes = technology, Glass/Brick = Marketing and Branding)


5. Issues/Actions – Organises the presentation around one or more issues and the actions you propose to address them. (Describe issues and tell them what actions you and your company propose to address them. Eg. Used by companies in a Turnaround mode)


6. Case Study – A narrative recounting of how you or your solved a particular problem or met the needs of a particular client, and in the telling, covers all the aspects of your business and its environment. (Provides a central spine that connects multiple diverse components. Stories are always captivating. Excellent way of capturing and keeping audiences)


7. Argument/Fallacy – Raises arguments against your own case, and then rebuts them by pointing out the fallacies that underlie them. (Prempt any objections in the minds of hostile audience, thus creating a level playing field for a positive representation of your company’s real strength. Risky Flow Structure to use. It tends to sounds defensive or contentious)


8. Features/Benefits – Organises the presentation around a series of your product or service features and the concrete benefits provided by those features (Eg. Apple product presentations)

Dude! Pay Attention to your Leadership Pipeline~

From "We are making decent profits" to "Holy Moly! How did we get ourselves into this sticky situation" scenario is one that is not uncommon.

How does a company with a vibrant momentum start faltering? 
To be fair there are a whole host of internal and external factors which have undone a company. 
In this note I would like to shed some light to an internal factor that is controllable. It is Talent Development, specifically Leadership Pipeline. Developing people isn't as simply as smearing mayoannise on a egg sandwich and calling it a day. Just in case you did not get my reference, I mean you can't just do general training and consider it as developing people. It's like going to a gym and walking on the treadmill for 2 mins. 

Leadership Pipeline is a topic which many small and medium companies underestimate. Many thought leaders such as Dr Ram Charan and Walt Mahler have written many powerful articles and books on Leadership Pipeline development and have advocated looking at Leadership in Levels. 

There are 7 levels in Leadership. 
Level 1 : Individual Contributors
Level 2 : Managers of Others
Level 3 : Manager of Managers
Level 4 : Function Manager 
Level 5 : Business Manager
Level 6 : Group Manager 
Level 7 : Enterprise Manager 


Each level of Leadership has its own set of competencies and key success attributes. 
Many business owners have no validated system to reliably train and test whether someone is ready for a certain level of leadership. In my observation I have noticed that at best there is a mediocre understanding of what Leadership levels are and the required capabilities amongst the leadership cohort. In this instance Ignorance does indeed breed contempt. They do know what they do not know.
When you current leadership cannot define each level and spell out based on Global Benchmarks as to what each represents you creating the iceberg that will crush your company. Such blasé attitudes towards Pipeline development is a harbinger of imminent failure. 

So what can you do as a Leader? 
Proper formal education, executive coaching and Mentorship programs can help your company with their leadership development. program. Adopt the 70:20:10 rule
Which is 70% of your Leaders Development comes from On the Job training and Projects. 20% of the development from Mentorship and Network and finally the last 10% from formal training courses.

Some (usually those who don't themselves have) may diss MBA and other post graduate qualifications,
As I cannot be direct enough to say It Does Make A World of A Difference! 

The longer you sit twiddling you thumbs about proactive Talent and Leadership Development the more the "everything is under control" shenanigans by your current "Leaders" will continue and soon you will be calling the banks to close your haemorrhaging accounts. 

Start afresh and build a more solid future for yourself and your Organisation with a systematic competency approach. Make Leadership Pipeline a Core Priority.

Do you fit into your Current Team? The TenQ Quiz

Before we jump into the Quiz  let's talk about  T.A.S.K. Model. It's really helpful in  predicting whether someone will be a contributing member of a team. 

T- Track Record : Similar or useful past experiences that will value add to the current and future projects the team will undertake. One big decision you can make right now is to start undertaking projects and work not based on how easy it will be but by how much it will stretch you. Of course those 9-5 clock watchers will veer away from such things so therein your opportunity lies. If you are still in school then get some internship or part time work at the place you plan to work. At the very least you will walk away having a better understanding of what the industry is like and from there you can make a better judgement whether to stay in it or explore other options.  

A- Attitude : One of the MOST controversial and hardest to pin down is attitudes. But generally are you are nice, optimistic driven person?

S- Skills : Do you have the relevant task oriented skills to get the job done. Fundamentals are important. Calculations, coding, selling, negotiating? For a managerial position skills like Project management, basic finance skills, coaching skills would be brilliant. If you live in a Country like Singapore go check out http://www.wda.gov.sg/content/wdawebsite/L204-CourseDirectory.html and for Malaysia there is http://www.skillsmalaysiainvite.gov.my/programmes/ . Be Proactive. Go Upgrade and Update your skills. 

K - Knowledge : How much do you really know about a certain topic. This is about the content aspect. You may have the skill  of cutting grass but that does not mean you know a lot of grass or horticulture. Read. Listen to audiobooks. Sign up for online courses like coursera.org or http://www.onlineuniversity.net and many more. This will help you improve your mental model which essentially shifts how you  perceive and process a situation. 

 

When you focus on the T.A.S.K you can be assured that you will remain relevant and value adding. Everyone has a fair chance at this process. Effort beats Talent. 

 

Now to the  Quiz to find out whether you are a GOOD fit into a team. 

1. Do I have skills that add value to the team rather than duplicating what is already there?

3.  Am I honestly motivated to push for results together with others or am I lone ranger type? 

4. In my decision making process do I "rub people the wrong way" 

5. Am I willing to take up different roles within the group ? 

6. Do I know the difference between assertive and aggressive? 

7. Am I willing to help build a positive morale in the team actively? 

8. Do I have a degree of tolerance of others? 

9. Will  I  to take the risk to be honest with others ? 

10. Do I have a realistic perception of my strengths and weaknesses?

 

If you answered No to any of them, don't fret. It means its an area you would  want to consider improving. Working with others effectively can be a complex skill. How do you know you are in a great team?

They set you up to shine. So make sure you set others up to Shine as well. Cheers! 

 

Dell vs Apple.

What did Michael Dell tell Apple in 1997?
“I’d shut it down and give the money back to shareholders.”

This post is about renewal. One for the Apple fan club.
A throwback to 1997.
"A decade ago, Dell's market value was $130 billion while Apple's was $23 billion. Today, Dell's is down 74% to $24 billion while Apple's has exploded 898% to $234 billion"
http://news.cnet.com/Dell-Apple-should-close-shop/2100-1001_3-203937.html

How apple turned around?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/08/apple-stock-steve-jobs-ceo-ipad-iphone-ipod-mac.html

Apple
https://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1392472396439&chddm=1689902&chls=IntervalBasedLine&q=NASDAQ%3AAAPL&&fct=big&ei=MHH_UuDQLsaRkgWz3QE

Dell (Delisted in USA. Dell privatised.)
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21571425-michael-dell-plans-buy-out-firm-he-founded-will-it-work-dell-goes-private
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/06/30/how-dell-destroyed-68-billion-in-stock-market-value-in-a-decade/

Moral of the Story don't be a Ding Dong Dell.