Put your Employee first and your Customers second

Vineet Nayar, The head of HCL Technologies does not do it to make his employees happy.

Here at HCL Technologies we developed a management approach called Employees First, Customers Second that has become known around the world.

It is not what you might think. It is not a human resources initiative, as many seem to assume. "It's an employee satisfaction program," one person who heard about it said. "It involves picnics." No. It is about employees, but it's not about HR.

I have nothing against programs designed to improve the lot of employees or at least make them feel a little better. And I have nothing against human resources departments and what they do. But Employees First, Customers Second is a management approach. It is a philosophy, a set of ideas, a way of looking at strategy and competitive advantage.

The idea came from observing our company closely. We create value in one very specific place: the interface between our HCL employees and our customers. We call this the "value zone." Every employee who works in the value zone is capable of creating more or less value. The whole intent of Employees First is to do everything we can to enable those employees to create the most possible value.

This has led us to take a number of actions to turn the organizational pyramid upside down. In other words, we want management to be as accountable to the people in the value zone as the people in the value zone are to management.

EFCS is not about making employees happy or comfortable. I don't even really care if employees are happy. I don't think that employee "satisfaction" is something a company should strive for. Satisfaction is a passive state, isn't it? Satisfaction doesn't produce change or improvement or innovation or much of anything.

As for employee "engagement," that isn't much better than satisfaction. I would hope that everybody, no matter what their job is, would be alert and paying some attention to what they do, would be engaged.

What we want at HCL is passion. We want people to be burning up with desire to pursue their interests. Fascinated by their assignments. Jumping out of their skins with excitement about what's next. Eagerly pursuing better solutions and new initiatives.

We have found that the Employees First approach produces far more passion than any motivational or recognition program. Why? Because it proves that management understands the importance of the work being done by the employees in the value zone. It demonstrates that we are actively helping them in ways that make it easier for them to do their jobs. It shows that we trust them to do what needs to be done in the way they believe it should be done. And it shows that we respect them for the value they bring to the company.

We give them understanding, help, trust and respect--which is much better than potato salad and cold cuts.

Employees First, Customers Second does not guarantee that employees won't feel stress or will always feel happy. No, they will be pushed, demanded of, put into tough spots, made to account for themselves and their actions, questioned, debated with and pressed for more. Why shouldn't they be? Why wouldn't they want to be?

Life is work, and work is life, and both are a struggle. It's doing meaningful work and being valued for it--not picnics--that makes it all worthwhile.

Vineet Nayar is chief executive officer of HCL Technologies, the India-based global information technology services company, and author of Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down (Harvard Business Press, June 2010). He hosts two blogs, one at Harvard Business Review, and the other at http://www.vineetnayar.com. He can be found on twitter at @vineetnayar.

Exercises to Change Your Body-and Your Life

Exercises to Change Your Body—and Your Life

By Rebecca Santiago
Oprah.com | February 05, 2013

Jessica Matthews, an exercise physiologist at the American Council on Exercise, breaks down the key moves you need to know to build muscle, prevent high blood pressure, and more.
You can do these moves on their own, or incorporate them into problem-solving fitness routines.

Squats

How to do them: Standing with your feet hip-distance apart, tighten up your core as if you were bracing for a punch to the gut. Then shift your weight into your heels and press your hips back, keeping your abdominal muscles tight. Bend your knees and slowly lower into a squat. Your knees should be in line with your second toe. Go as low as you feel comfortable going, and hold for a count of two. Straighten your legs to rise. Standing and lowering into the squat should take the same amount of time.

You're doing them wrong if... Your lower back feels strained. You should feel the burn in your thighs and butt.

Push-ups

How to do them: Start on your hands and knees with your hands directly under your shoulders and your bent knees behind your hips. Your arms should be straight. Bend your elbows, lowering your chest toward the floor. Make sure to keep your elbows fairly close to the sides of your body and keep your torso in a straight line from your knees to your head. Hold for a count of two and then return to your starting position by pushing up through the heels and outer portions of your palms.

You're doing them wrong if... You're not feeling the burn in your shoulders, arms, and chest. If it feels too easy, tuck your elbows in, check your hand placement, and make sure your knees are far back enough to make the move challenging.

Biceps Curls

How to do them: Sit on the edge of a chair, keeping your back straight and your feet directly below your knees. Take a dumbbell in each hand and hold them down by your sides. Your palms should be facing forward and your wrists should be in line with your forearms. Pull your shoulders down and back. Keeping your elbows in and your arms close to your sides, draw both weights up to your shoulders and hold for a count of two. Lower the weights and return your arms to your sides.

You're doing them wrong if... If your wrists feel pinched or strained. The main areas you should be feeling are your biceps and forearms.

Next: Shoulder presses, dumbbell rows, and more...

Shoulder presses

How to do them: Stand with feet hip-distance apart with a dumbbell in each hand. Curl the dumbbells up to shoulder level, with your elbows tight to your sides and your palms facing away from your body. Take a deep breath. As you exhale, push both arms up overhead and hold for a count of two. Breathing in, bend your elbows to return to your starting position.

You're doing them wrong if... You find your back arching with strain. You should be feeling your shoulders and arms working, not your back.

Dumbbell rows

How to do them: Take a dumbbell in one hand. Assume a split stance with one leg slightly in front of the other. Keeping your back straight and abs tight, fold over at the hips. Rest your free hand on your back thigh for support, and bend into your front knee. Keeping your arms and elbows tight to your body, breathe out as you draw your elbows straight back toward the ceiling. Hold for two counts. Inhale and lower the weight without twisting your torso.

You're doing them wrong if... Your torso is rotating during the row or if your shoulders are scrunched up by your ears. You should feel your back muscles working.

Chest presses

How to do them: With dumbbells in each hand, lie down on a bench or the floor, with your knees bent and feet firmly grounded. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees, with your palms facing away from you, holding the dumbbells level with your chest and directly above the armpits. Breathe in. As you exhale, press your arms overhead until your elbows are straight. Hold for a count of two. Inhale and bend your elbows to return your arms to their starting position.

You're doing them wrong if... Your back is arching. Concentrate on keeping your back in contact with the ground so you feel the move in your shoulders, arms, and chest.

Side lunges

How to do them: Start with your feet together and step out to hip-distance, keeping your core tight. Take a small step out to the side, keeping your toes facing forward, and begin to shift weight into the leg you stepped out with. Your knee should be directly over your second toe. Push your hips back as you bend your knee and lower your thigh toward the ground. Hold for a count of two. Push off your heel to return to your starting position.

You're doing them wrong if... You're taking too big a step to the side. Keep it small enough that your knee stays over your toes. Expect to feel it in the butt, thigh, and calf.

More Exercise Advice

• The 6 essential exercises everyone should know how to do
• How to be your own trainer
• Have your workouts stopped working?

Printed from Oprah.com on Monday, March 25, 2013

© 2012 Harpo Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

Entrepeneurship

Words from Anita Roddick-late owner of the Body Shop-'Entrepeneurship is dysfunctional. It is not a subject you teach. You can't teach obsession nor commitment to a vision. Entrepeneurs are loners, vagabonds, troublemakers. They dance to a different drum beat. They don't equate success to wealth. They have energy and enthusiasm. They believe that their life is about service and leadership.

Analysing the 'Psychology' of changing your hair colour

The Huffington Post

When Britney Spears turned up at Elton John's Oscar party with noticeably darker hair, we all let out a collective "huh." No doubt Brit looked pretty great, but what did the dark hair mean? Was she trying to tell us something? We've seen the pop star act out with crazy hair moves before (pink wigs, shaved heads), and keep in mind, this was the first time we'd seen the singer since her recent breakup with former fiancée Jason Trawick.
It got us thinking ... and hypothesizing. Obviously, there can be many reasons why someone would reach for the dye -- wanting to cover greys, trying out a new trend and then there are actresses who regularly color their hair for roles -- but maybe there's something deeper going on. Could it be possible that breakups, divorce or other big life events would perhaps inspire a sudden change?
"There are those girls who almost rely on change, and it's very emotional," says Tracey Cunningham, Redken Creative Consultant for Color and co-owner of newly-opened Beverly Hills salon, Mèche. "When we sit down and say 'what's really going on,' it's always something, you know." But what, exactly, in Spears' case? Her choice of going brunette came as a shock to more than a few.
"It's more unusual that people go darker after a breakup," says Marie Robinson, celebrity colorist and owner of the eponymous NYC-based salon. "People mostly go redder or blonder, because they associate it as being sexy or sexier. Even if they necessarily shouldn't go blonder, they feel like they must, they might feel like they need this lightness around them. They feel like the dark color would be more of a dark cloud. I think it's unusual that she went darker, but she's also stunning."
According to these colorists, it seems people tend to go lighter after breakups, but perhaps Spears' reasoning wasn't so much about drawing attention to herself or even freakout-driven. Another very public pop star, Nicki Minaj, is allegedly ditching her entire style team, including her long-standing hairdresser, in an attempt to be taken more seriously. Possibly, Spears was also focused on building more credibility. Robinson agrees, drawing non-celebrity parallels with going darker: "There are women, I find, who are in fields like psychology or psychiatry, and they often will be more conservative with their color. Most of them will err on the darker side, and I think it's because they want to be reserved, unassuming, not have anything about them seem distracting, so that the total focus is on the person who's in their chair."
While we don't see Spears completely shying away from the spotlight, it is easy to assume that hair color shifts are reactionary. Yet could it also be an impetus for creating real adjustments in your life? "I've noticed that people have changed their color before they make a big change in their life," says Robinson. "Like, 'I'm thinking of breaking up with my boyfriend, but I'm not really sure.' It's almost like they look for an excuse to do something to themselves to start a conversation. There's definitely a thing that happens with divorcees where they really do sex it up a bit, but it's not just about meeting other people, I think it has to do with a sense of freedom because they've dedicated so much of their time to being in a family environment, but now their children are older and now they don't have to dote over someone else. They have time for themselves."
Cunningham echoes that feeling, noting that "hair color does change a lot for you, people see differently. Sometimes people grow into their looks and into their confidence. And listen, there's nothing wrong with wanting to find the best you."
Maybe Spears is finally putting her troubled, umbrella-wielding past behind her, which (mostly) involved her signature blonde hair. Her colorist, Brittany Hunter, told Us Weekly that she thinks the star "will stick with [the color]," but Cunningham isn't so sure. "Britney Spears, to me, has been looking so good. The show she did was so great. She kind of seems like she's on top of the world. But we know Britney Spears will go back to blonde, don't we? She's beautiful with brown ... but she is a blonde. That's just how we all see her." With Spears' track record, she's got a point.

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Leaders must be great speakers

Today's advice comes from Amy Schulman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Pfizer, via The New York Times:

"It's important not to be ambiguous or vague about what you want, because then people waste a lot of energy trying to figure out, well, what is she thinking? What does she want? Why is she reacting this way? And so there is a certain kind of clarity and an absence of ambiguity about goals that I think is critical. And I think one of the marks of being a more mature boss is finding that perfect balance between clarity about goals and purpose."

Schulman says it's important to be clear and concise when your a leader. If people look up to you and want to hear what you have to say, a cloudy, convoluted message isn't going to cut it. Your employees want to know that they can trust you. If you want to establish a strong bond with them, it's important that you learn how to clearly and confidently articulate your vision for the company. Schulman also believes that every leader needs to speak up and be aware that what they say matters and impacts their colleagues greatly. 

"People want to hear from you. They want your opinion. And if you don't ever speak up and weigh in, then I think the people you lead will feel frustrated, wondering why you're hanging back and not saying what you think. But if you're constantly giving direction and speaking, then you're really not encouraging conversation. And no matter how democratic you'd like to think you are as a boss, you learn that your voice is louder than others."

Article off Business Insider