By Celina Chew
Published on July 11, 2011
The values of a company define its character - who it is, what it stands for, what it believes in and how it treats its stakeholders and the environment in which it operates. It is rare today for a multinational company not to have a formal statement of its corporate values. Although the direct link between values and business performance is hard to measure, most companies believe that they need to demonstrate strong corporate values. This is especially important for reputation and risk management; strong, clear corporate values enhance brand and reputation building, recruitment and retention, and often serve as a shield in managing risk in increasingly complex legal and regulatory environments.
In the article "The Value of Corporate Values", Reggie Van Lee, Lisa Fabish and Nancy McGraw describe "values" as a company's "institutional standards of behaviour". After defining such values, companies try to embed them in the company's practices in the hope that they will reinforce behaviours that benefit the company. This, in turn, will strengthen a company's commitment to its values.
However, merely having an articulated set of corporate values is not sufficient. If corporate values are not authentic or lived by the company, they can [according to Patrick M Lencioni in "Make Your Values Mean Something"] be destructive and not merely harmless, as some executives assume. He said: "Empty value statements create cynical and dispirited employees, alienate customers, and undermine managerial credibility".
Therefore, it is important to consider the following questions: What are your company's values? Have they been articulated in a simple, user-friendly way? Can your employees [or you] repeat them? Are your employees acting consistently with them?
Bayer recently re-formulated its corporate values, using the acronym "LIFE". Each letter stands for a value: L for Leadership, I for Integrity, F for Flexibility and E for Efficiency. Each value is further defined by a set of examples that reflect the essence of each value and give guidance to employees as to how each value is to be lived and applied in their daily work. The LIFE values also fit beautifully with our mission statement: "Bayer: Science for a Better Life", namely, innovating and inventing for solutions that improve society, especially, in the areas in which Bayer operates. Innovation and science are part of Bayer's corporate DNA. We reformulated our corporate values to make them easier to remember, more focused and more user-friendly.
The corporate values of many companies reflect similar concepts like integrity, collaboration, teamwork, innovation, openness and honesty, focus on customers. It is therefore important to breathe life into corporate values and integrate them into every business-related activity undertaken by the company's employees. They should be embedded in the company's processes, from recruitment to performance management, from research to production. In other words, corporate values should be applied by employees when conducting the company's business as well as dealing with colleagues, business partners and stakeholders. Employees should be measured against such corporate values to ensure that corporate values form the basis for every decision made in the company.
Bayer's aspiration is that every employee will apply the LIFE values as a check-list for every business-related activity. In order to ensure that the LIFE values are interpreted, understood and lived consistently in the company, open and candid dialogue between management and employees about LIFE has been implemented in the form of structured discussions and workshops, and the sharing of LIFE stories and anecdotes. Employees are encouraged to be creative and inspiring in the way they live LIFE and make it relevant in their daily work.
Corporate values define a company's character and influence the success of a company by providing a set of shared fundamental beliefs that gives a cohesive and consistent direction for the company. To borrow the words of James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras ("Building Your Company's Vision"), "it is more important to know who you are than where you are going, for where you are going will change as the world around you changes…. Leaders die, products become obsolete, markets change, new technologies emerge, and management fads come and go but core ideology should ensure as a source of guidance and inspiration". Corporate values can guide and inspire if they are well articulated, well embedded and authentic.
Celina Chew is senior Bayer representative for the Country Group North Asean and managing director of Bayer Thai.
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2011/07/11/business/Hi!-Managers-Corporate-values-30159942.html
วันเสาร์ที่ 20 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2554
Company that cares gets employees who care
By Special to The Nation
APM Group’s Marketing Team
Published on July 18, 2011
Employee engagement is simple: Find out what your people care about most in their lives, then show you care about that too
Why do you get out of bed and go to work every day? Don't be alarmed if the answer is not on the tip of your tongue; it is pretty easy to forget why we do things when they become routine. Why people go to work - no matter how engaging, satisfying, career-developing, or well-paying that work can be - rarely has to do with the work itself.
The real motivation for going to work every day lies on a deeper, personal level, a level of meaning which organisations typically regard as outside their preserve.
Deeper levels of connection between the organisation and employee, however, inspire deeper levels of employee engagement.
Ask your employee: what is the most important thing in your life The answer to this question is the real reason people go to work, and the key to employee engagement.
Most human resource professionals know that there is more to employee engagement than offering competitive financial compensation.
In her article, "What People Want from Work: Motivation", Susan M Heathfield makes the point that although different people have different reasons for working, money is an important factor that motivates most people to work. That on some level or another we all work for money is a safe assumption.
It is peculiar though why so few HR experts probe deeper: ie why do people want to make money
This question may seem absurdly simple or complex depending on how in tune you are with the things that matter most in your life.
Parents, for example, can answer this question with ease: they want to make money so they can take care of their children.
For those without kids, your answers may be more vague, egocentric, and disparate [apparently there is nothing in the world as existentially grounding as parenthood]. That said, you being human, there are probably people in your life other than yourself about whom you care about very much. Whether they are the parents to whom you are eternally indebted - culturally, spiritually, financially - or your spouse for whose life you would lay down your own in an instant to save, the real reason you get out of bed in the morning and go to work is because you are driven by a characteristic that is essential to being human: a deep care for the ones you love.
If an organisation can demonstrate care for the people its employees care about most, then those employees will care deeply for that organisation.
A typical employee engagement survey, unfortunately, does not ask the kinds of questions that would arrive at identifying such deeper levels of employee motivation.
Usually, they seek to identify the factors involved in job satisfaction - those that get at the question of "why this job". But they do not get at the more critical question of "why work".
While the first question is certainly important for addressing "total reward", answering the second question is crucial for helping employees have fulfilling lives.
When employees see that their organisation is not only taking steps to take care for their work-lives but their lives outside of work, then employees can't help but engage with the organisation on a deeper level.
Consistently rated as one of the best companies to work for in the world, SAS has been praised for offering exceptional onsite healthcare, childcare, and an onsite summer camp for kids.
As reported by CNN Money, the website awarding SAS the No 1 company to work for in 2011, one manager said, "People stay at SAS in large part because they are happy, but to dig a little deeper, I would argue that people don't leave SAS because they feel regarded - seen, attended to and cared for. I have stayed for that reason, and love what I do for that reason." SAS cares about what many of its employees care about most - in this case, their kids - making SAS when of the best places to work. SAS offers benefits that demonstrate a deep level of care for the employees, inspiring in them their commensurately deep level of engagement."
How can you show you really care for your employees?
First, find out what your people care about most in their lives, then show you care about that, too.
If you invest in what really matters to your people, they can't help but invest in you. Many organisations offer competitive salaries, but few take pains to connect with the lives of their employees on a more deeply meaningful level.
If an organisation can offer its people something that acknowledges the ultimate driving reason of why they come to work day in and day out, something that shows they really care about what their employees care about most, letting them know the organisation cares deeply about them, then those people will in turn engage deeply with the organisation.
APMGroup is Thailand's leading organisational and people-development consultancy, established in 1992. Write to us at: marketing@apm.co.th
Source:http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2011/07/18/business/Company-that-cares-gets-employees-who-care-30160449.html
APM Group’s Marketing Team
Published on July 18, 2011
Employee engagement is simple: Find out what your people care about most in their lives, then show you care about that too
Why do you get out of bed and go to work every day? Don't be alarmed if the answer is not on the tip of your tongue; it is pretty easy to forget why we do things when they become routine. Why people go to work - no matter how engaging, satisfying, career-developing, or well-paying that work can be - rarely has to do with the work itself.
The real motivation for going to work every day lies on a deeper, personal level, a level of meaning which organisations typically regard as outside their preserve.
Deeper levels of connection between the organisation and employee, however, inspire deeper levels of employee engagement.
Ask your employee: what is the most important thing in your life The answer to this question is the real reason people go to work, and the key to employee engagement.
Most human resource professionals know that there is more to employee engagement than offering competitive financial compensation.
In her article, "What People Want from Work: Motivation", Susan M Heathfield makes the point that although different people have different reasons for working, money is an important factor that motivates most people to work. That on some level or another we all work for money is a safe assumption.
It is peculiar though why so few HR experts probe deeper: ie why do people want to make money
This question may seem absurdly simple or complex depending on how in tune you are with the things that matter most in your life.
Parents, for example, can answer this question with ease: they want to make money so they can take care of their children.
For those without kids, your answers may be more vague, egocentric, and disparate [apparently there is nothing in the world as existentially grounding as parenthood]. That said, you being human, there are probably people in your life other than yourself about whom you care about very much. Whether they are the parents to whom you are eternally indebted - culturally, spiritually, financially - or your spouse for whose life you would lay down your own in an instant to save, the real reason you get out of bed in the morning and go to work is because you are driven by a characteristic that is essential to being human: a deep care for the ones you love.
If an organisation can demonstrate care for the people its employees care about most, then those employees will care deeply for that organisation.
A typical employee engagement survey, unfortunately, does not ask the kinds of questions that would arrive at identifying such deeper levels of employee motivation.
Usually, they seek to identify the factors involved in job satisfaction - those that get at the question of "why this job". But they do not get at the more critical question of "why work".
While the first question is certainly important for addressing "total reward", answering the second question is crucial for helping employees have fulfilling lives.
When employees see that their organisation is not only taking steps to take care for their work-lives but their lives outside of work, then employees can't help but engage with the organisation on a deeper level.
Consistently rated as one of the best companies to work for in the world, SAS has been praised for offering exceptional onsite healthcare, childcare, and an onsite summer camp for kids.
As reported by CNN Money, the website awarding SAS the No 1 company to work for in 2011, one manager said, "People stay at SAS in large part because they are happy, but to dig a little deeper, I would argue that people don't leave SAS because they feel regarded - seen, attended to and cared for. I have stayed for that reason, and love what I do for that reason." SAS cares about what many of its employees care about most - in this case, their kids - making SAS when of the best places to work. SAS offers benefits that demonstrate a deep level of care for the employees, inspiring in them their commensurately deep level of engagement."
How can you show you really care for your employees?
First, find out what your people care about most in their lives, then show you care about that, too.
If you invest in what really matters to your people, they can't help but invest in you. Many organisations offer competitive salaries, but few take pains to connect with the lives of their employees on a more deeply meaningful level.
If an organisation can offer its people something that acknowledges the ultimate driving reason of why they come to work day in and day out, something that shows they really care about what their employees care about most, letting them know the organisation cares deeply about them, then those people will in turn engage deeply with the organisation.
APMGroup is Thailand's leading organisational and people-development consultancy, established in 1992. Write to us at: marketing@apm.co.th
Source:http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2011/07/18/business/Company-that-cares-gets-employees-who-care-30160449.html
Age taking its toll on business leadership
By Pattarasak Uttamayodhin
Special to The Nation
Published on August 17, 2011
Executives of the 21st century face a constantly growing variety of challenges. They must create a flourishing enterprise in spite of increasing global competition and cope with political complexity, rapidly changing technologies, economic uncertainty and transition to a service-oriented economy.
However, an even more challenging issue - but one that is largely unrecognised - is the ageing of the workforce and the subsequent loss of leadership expertise.
According to AMA Enterprise, a division of the American Management Association, more than 60 per cent of senior management believe their companies are "not well prepared" to deal with the sudden loss of a key member, especially in an unstable economy.
The ageing workforce and the loss of critical leadership skills and knowledge is an issue we should be confronting right now. If we don't face it now, when should it be tackled? Just how prepared are we to replace the leadership that is starting to leave the workforce? And what qualities should we seek to develop in our emerging leaders?
There are seven key truths for leadership development that have neither changed over time, nor have they been affected by evolving market conditions.
-Good leaders embrace change
Every market and industry is an ongoing source of change. Visionary leaders learn to use this change to gain strategic advantage, and these are the leaders whose organisations will succeed and thrive. Leaders who resist change and fail to perceive new opportunities offered by changing market conditions often get left behind and ultimately fail.
-Good leaders have both soft and hard skills
Executive-talent assessment often evaluates two dimensions in leaders: character and competency. One leader may have highly developed professional or technical skills. Another may have strong social skills and personal integrity. Both can be strong assets for an organisation. But it is the leader who excels in both character and competency, and who manages from both "sides", that will inspire employees to extend themselves for the sake of the organisation and strive for excellence.
-Good leaders are trusted because they are trustworthy
Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship between leadership and staff. It is the basis upon which commitments are made. It is also what motivates employees to embrace an organisation's goals and make them their own. Yet good leaders do not expect trust because of their title or position of authority. Good leaders know trust has to be earned. Strong executive leaders actually begin by trusting in their staff before asking the staff to trust them; they give trust and get trust in return.
-Good leaders are created; they are not born for the job
Leadership styles are molded and adapted throughout a life of learning experiences. Leaders are formed by their environment; a person's leadership style is not established at birth. While some people are born "natural leaders", it is not because of their DNA, but because of their ability and willingness, conscious or not, to improve their leadership skills. Good leaders actually develop their leadership skills as the world changes and business needs evolve.
-Good leaders develop other good leaders
Successful leaders not only develop their own leadership competencies, but they also develop leadership competencies in their employees. The strongest leadership is shared leadership, where good and successful leaders provide high potential talent with leadership opportunities so that they can learn from their successes and failures and have "room" to grow into successful leaders.
-Good leaders view the world
systematically
Successful leaders are capable of a 360-degree perspective, which means they are able to consider and evaluate all possible scenarios to achieve their business goals and objectives. This ability requires vision. Furthermore, it requires creativity and curiosity to explore all the "what ifs", and the courage to act upon those scenarios to provide new opportunities and paths for success.
-Good leaders are good buyers and not just good sellers
Successful leaders know how to sell a vision, motivate a team and inspire action. But they also know how to accept their staff for who and what they are, and to employ their innate skills. This requires an ability to recognise the unique values and abilities that each employee has and to use these abilities and values for the common good. It also requires believing in, trusting and respecting others.
In summary, there is no quick way to develop good leaders. While some of us are born with innate leadership competencies, all of us are "created" by continuously adapting to changing business, political, technical and social environments and by self-learning and self-development. With a looming shortage of leaders, we cannot simply hope that good leaders will emerge. Instead, we need to proactively address the challenge now, before the challenge becomes a business and economic crisis.
Pattarasak Uttamayodhin is a government-sector practice leader at organisational and people-development consultancy APMGroup. He may be contacted at pattarasak_u@apm.co.th
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08/17/business/Age-taking-its-toll-on-business-leadership-30162948.html
Special to The Nation
Published on August 17, 2011
Executives of the 21st century face a constantly growing variety of challenges. They must create a flourishing enterprise in spite of increasing global competition and cope with political complexity, rapidly changing technologies, economic uncertainty and transition to a service-oriented economy.
However, an even more challenging issue - but one that is largely unrecognised - is the ageing of the workforce and the subsequent loss of leadership expertise.
According to AMA Enterprise, a division of the American Management Association, more than 60 per cent of senior management believe their companies are "not well prepared" to deal with the sudden loss of a key member, especially in an unstable economy.
The ageing workforce and the loss of critical leadership skills and knowledge is an issue we should be confronting right now. If we don't face it now, when should it be tackled? Just how prepared are we to replace the leadership that is starting to leave the workforce? And what qualities should we seek to develop in our emerging leaders?
There are seven key truths for leadership development that have neither changed over time, nor have they been affected by evolving market conditions.
-Good leaders embrace change
Every market and industry is an ongoing source of change. Visionary leaders learn to use this change to gain strategic advantage, and these are the leaders whose organisations will succeed and thrive. Leaders who resist change and fail to perceive new opportunities offered by changing market conditions often get left behind and ultimately fail.
-Good leaders have both soft and hard skills
Executive-talent assessment often evaluates two dimensions in leaders: character and competency. One leader may have highly developed professional or technical skills. Another may have strong social skills and personal integrity. Both can be strong assets for an organisation. But it is the leader who excels in both character and competency, and who manages from both "sides", that will inspire employees to extend themselves for the sake of the organisation and strive for excellence.
-Good leaders are trusted because they are trustworthy
Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship between leadership and staff. It is the basis upon which commitments are made. It is also what motivates employees to embrace an organisation's goals and make them their own. Yet good leaders do not expect trust because of their title or position of authority. Good leaders know trust has to be earned. Strong executive leaders actually begin by trusting in their staff before asking the staff to trust them; they give trust and get trust in return.
-Good leaders are created; they are not born for the job
Leadership styles are molded and adapted throughout a life of learning experiences. Leaders are formed by their environment; a person's leadership style is not established at birth. While some people are born "natural leaders", it is not because of their DNA, but because of their ability and willingness, conscious or not, to improve their leadership skills. Good leaders actually develop their leadership skills as the world changes and business needs evolve.
-Good leaders develop other good leaders
Successful leaders not only develop their own leadership competencies, but they also develop leadership competencies in their employees. The strongest leadership is shared leadership, where good and successful leaders provide high potential talent with leadership opportunities so that they can learn from their successes and failures and have "room" to grow into successful leaders.
-Good leaders view the world
systematically
Successful leaders are capable of a 360-degree perspective, which means they are able to consider and evaluate all possible scenarios to achieve their business goals and objectives. This ability requires vision. Furthermore, it requires creativity and curiosity to explore all the "what ifs", and the courage to act upon those scenarios to provide new opportunities and paths for success.
-Good leaders are good buyers and not just good sellers
Successful leaders know how to sell a vision, motivate a team and inspire action. But they also know how to accept their staff for who and what they are, and to employ their innate skills. This requires an ability to recognise the unique values and abilities that each employee has and to use these abilities and values for the common good. It also requires believing in, trusting and respecting others.
In summary, there is no quick way to develop good leaders. While some of us are born with innate leadership competencies, all of us are "created" by continuously adapting to changing business, political, technical and social environments and by self-learning and self-development. With a looming shortage of leaders, we cannot simply hope that good leaders will emerge. Instead, we need to proactively address the challenge now, before the challenge becomes a business and economic crisis.
Pattarasak Uttamayodhin is a government-sector practice leader at organisational and people-development consultancy APMGroup. He may be contacted at pattarasak_u@apm.co.th
Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08/17/business/Age-taking-its-toll-on-business-leadership-30162948.html
Moving 'onward' to a better future with a good company
Published on August 19, 2011
Starbucks Thailand's managing director Murray Darling shares his perspective and insights on the book, 'Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul', which was written by the international coffee giant's chief executive Howard Schultz. Darling has written this article exclusively for The Nation.
Before I came to Thailand in mid-2009, I spent more than six years in the Starbucks Support Centre in Seattle, leading international marketing and category (product) management during the period covered in the "Onward" book. While the focus was on North America, my task was to identify the product, brand and marketing issues as well as opportunities that were relevant for us in 50 countries, where we were in a younger stage of development but faced potentially similar challenges as the US.
I was part of the "transformation agenda action team" and was jointly responsible for leading the seven big moves across international markets. I sat on many of the project teams and in many of the meetings with Howard Schultz and his leadership team to represent the international markets' perspectives. Since I am friends with most people mentioned in Schultz's book, the book was particularly personal to me and I read from cover to cover in two nights. Some of my favourite memories (with some implications for us in Starbucks Thailand) include:
_ Being on a coffee farm in Costa Rica with Cliff Burrows, president of Starbucks US and Colin Moore, president of Starbucks Canada, as well as attending the Global Advisory Council Meeting in Dubai with Schultz, Jim Donald (ex-CEO) and Jinlong Wang (president of the Asia-Pacific operation), as well as Cliff and Colin. It was clear then (2006) that we were facing some tensions between explosive store growth required to meet the customer demand and still delivering the best possible experience. Our joint ventures and licensed business partners gave us some very direct feedback on how important it was that we kept our values and culture intact. That is something that we at Starbucks Thailand are very proud of. It is critical that we treat each other with respect and dignity, and that we live by the values that make us a good company.
_ Peter Gibbons, executive vice president for the Supply Chain and I teamed up every week in Seattle as the dynamic Scottish duo in the Starbucks six-a-side football team. Well, Peter did all the running and I just got in the way of the shots as goalkeeper. You have to have fun and our Thai team knows how to do that. Maintaining a work and life balance is key to a happy and productive team.
_ I remember turning up for my interview with Michelle Gass, president of Seattle's Best Coffee, almost nine years ago (I am still grateful that she made the right decision to hire me that day) and noticing how down-to-earth and genuine she and the other 12 senior leaders (including Tom Barr, vice president for coffee) who interviewed me were. Just last month, I saw many of my old friends when I returned to Seattle from Thailand for the first time since arriving in Bangkok two years ago and they all made me feel so welcome. In fact, Tom insisted I go with him to a Seattle Mariners' baseball game on my first night so I did not give in to jetlag. At Starbucks Thailand, we like to hire genuine people with a good heart. We like working with people we can all get along with since this is our "second place" after all.
_ Also on my Seattle visit last month, I took Schultz aside and asked him for some help with a business/culture problem I was facing. He did not even blink. He listened and said he would do whatever it took to support the continued strength of our mission and values. It is not always easy to ask the big boss for help but sometimes you have to. My Thai team has learned this well and the members are not afraid to voice their opinions. Breaking the barriers that can be created by fear of hierarchy is not a problem in Starbucks Thailand.
Personally for me, I think the key messages in the book for businesses that face the similar challenges can be summed up in the following six points that I ask my team in Thailand to think about and hold me accountable for:
_ You need great cohesive leadership at the top that communicates well and engages its teams to be a meaningful part of the solution;
_ Leaders and their teams need the belief, passion and commitment to do what is needed to turn things around;
_ Focus on what you do well - innovate around the core and be the leader in that space (for us, that is great coffee, special service and nice atmosphere);
_ There are no "silver bullets". Stay the course and look to have the all the little things add up to sway the momentum back in your favour (we did that on our recovery from the global economic slump in 2008-2009 and are now having our best ever year in 2011);
_ Even when things are down, don't lose sight of what makes you a good company (Starbucks still kept providing healthcare to employees and supported their communities when times were tough. We in Thailand continued supporting the hilltribes and our local Thai communities);
_ Leadership needs to be open, approachable and genuinely interested in what their teams are saying/proposing, especially at the grass roots, in our stores. (My team is encouraged to challenge me whenever they think I am taking us down the wrong path).
I will use the learning with our team here in Thailand to ensure that we keep at the top of our game:
_ We need to consistently provide the best-quality products money can buy (recently you will have noticed an upgrade in our Frappuccino that allows you to customise your choice of milk, strength of coffee and flavour);
_ We need to keep hiring, training and retaining the best partners to provide outstanding friendly service, every day;
_ We need to invest in our stores to provide that special Starbucks experience (you will have seen some new store designs recently and will do so in the future);
_ We need to ensure that we give back to our communities that serve us so well. That is why supporting the northern hilltribes and the Integrated Tribal Development Programme with Muan Jai Coffee continues so helping build water tanks, schools and clinics remains an integral part of what makes Starbucks Thailand a good company to work for. It is also why we engage in other local non-governmental organisations such as Goodwill Group Foundation, Mercy Farm and Books for Children (we have already donated more than 3,000 community hours this year).
As the book says, Starbucks' future is international and our performance here in Thailand is a good example of that. We look forward to many good years of growth here and across the world.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08/19/business/Moving-onward-to-a-better-future-with-a-good-compa-30163106.html
Starbucks Thailand's managing director Murray Darling shares his perspective and insights on the book, 'Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul', which was written by the international coffee giant's chief executive Howard Schultz. Darling has written this article exclusively for The Nation.
Before I came to Thailand in mid-2009, I spent more than six years in the Starbucks Support Centre in Seattle, leading international marketing and category (product) management during the period covered in the "Onward" book. While the focus was on North America, my task was to identify the product, brand and marketing issues as well as opportunities that were relevant for us in 50 countries, where we were in a younger stage of development but faced potentially similar challenges as the US.
I was part of the "transformation agenda action team" and was jointly responsible for leading the seven big moves across international markets. I sat on many of the project teams and in many of the meetings with Howard Schultz and his leadership team to represent the international markets' perspectives. Since I am friends with most people mentioned in Schultz's book, the book was particularly personal to me and I read from cover to cover in two nights. Some of my favourite memories (with some implications for us in Starbucks Thailand) include:
_ Being on a coffee farm in Costa Rica with Cliff Burrows, president of Starbucks US and Colin Moore, president of Starbucks Canada, as well as attending the Global Advisory Council Meeting in Dubai with Schultz, Jim Donald (ex-CEO) and Jinlong Wang (president of the Asia-Pacific operation), as well as Cliff and Colin. It was clear then (2006) that we were facing some tensions between explosive store growth required to meet the customer demand and still delivering the best possible experience. Our joint ventures and licensed business partners gave us some very direct feedback on how important it was that we kept our values and culture intact. That is something that we at Starbucks Thailand are very proud of. It is critical that we treat each other with respect and dignity, and that we live by the values that make us a good company.
_ Peter Gibbons, executive vice president for the Supply Chain and I teamed up every week in Seattle as the dynamic Scottish duo in the Starbucks six-a-side football team. Well, Peter did all the running and I just got in the way of the shots as goalkeeper. You have to have fun and our Thai team knows how to do that. Maintaining a work and life balance is key to a happy and productive team.
_ I remember turning up for my interview with Michelle Gass, president of Seattle's Best Coffee, almost nine years ago (I am still grateful that she made the right decision to hire me that day) and noticing how down-to-earth and genuine she and the other 12 senior leaders (including Tom Barr, vice president for coffee) who interviewed me were. Just last month, I saw many of my old friends when I returned to Seattle from Thailand for the first time since arriving in Bangkok two years ago and they all made me feel so welcome. In fact, Tom insisted I go with him to a Seattle Mariners' baseball game on my first night so I did not give in to jetlag. At Starbucks Thailand, we like to hire genuine people with a good heart. We like working with people we can all get along with since this is our "second place" after all.
_ Also on my Seattle visit last month, I took Schultz aside and asked him for some help with a business/culture problem I was facing. He did not even blink. He listened and said he would do whatever it took to support the continued strength of our mission and values. It is not always easy to ask the big boss for help but sometimes you have to. My Thai team has learned this well and the members are not afraid to voice their opinions. Breaking the barriers that can be created by fear of hierarchy is not a problem in Starbucks Thailand.
Personally for me, I think the key messages in the book for businesses that face the similar challenges can be summed up in the following six points that I ask my team in Thailand to think about and hold me accountable for:
_ You need great cohesive leadership at the top that communicates well and engages its teams to be a meaningful part of the solution;
_ Leaders and their teams need the belief, passion and commitment to do what is needed to turn things around;
_ Focus on what you do well - innovate around the core and be the leader in that space (for us, that is great coffee, special service and nice atmosphere);
_ There are no "silver bullets". Stay the course and look to have the all the little things add up to sway the momentum back in your favour (we did that on our recovery from the global economic slump in 2008-2009 and are now having our best ever year in 2011);
_ Even when things are down, don't lose sight of what makes you a good company (Starbucks still kept providing healthcare to employees and supported their communities when times were tough. We in Thailand continued supporting the hilltribes and our local Thai communities);
_ Leadership needs to be open, approachable and genuinely interested in what their teams are saying/proposing, especially at the grass roots, in our stores. (My team is encouraged to challenge me whenever they think I am taking us down the wrong path).
I will use the learning with our team here in Thailand to ensure that we keep at the top of our game:
_ We need to consistently provide the best-quality products money can buy (recently you will have noticed an upgrade in our Frappuccino that allows you to customise your choice of milk, strength of coffee and flavour);
_ We need to keep hiring, training and retaining the best partners to provide outstanding friendly service, every day;
_ We need to invest in our stores to provide that special Starbucks experience (you will have seen some new store designs recently and will do so in the future);
_ We need to ensure that we give back to our communities that serve us so well. That is why supporting the northern hilltribes and the Integrated Tribal Development Programme with Muan Jai Coffee continues so helping build water tanks, schools and clinics remains an integral part of what makes Starbucks Thailand a good company to work for. It is also why we engage in other local non-governmental organisations such as Goodwill Group Foundation, Mercy Farm and Books for Children (we have already donated more than 3,000 community hours this year).
As the book says, Starbucks' future is international and our performance here in Thailand is a good example of that. We look forward to many good years of growth here and across the world.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/08/19/business/Moving-onward-to-a-better-future-with-a-good-compa-30163106.html
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