simple processes

A very insightful comment in my blog from a well respected IT management consultant, Vaughan Merlyn, motivated me to write this follow up article. IT Accountability is an interesting topic and there is a lot to uncover and delve into. In Part One, I wrote about accountability as something that does not only happen when things go wrong — it is taking ownership from the beginning. It is continuous rather than something that has an end point. There are three important areas where IT accountability comes into play: (1) IT Accountability in Operative Teams; (2) IT Accountability Cost Management; and (3) IT Accountability to improve service delivery. These are just three of the many facets of IT organizations where accountability is an important driver for success. They are meant to illustrate the meaning of IT accountability and to provide examples.

Part Two aims to tackle the challenges on how to deal with the problem of lack of IT accountability. According to Mr. Merlyn, lack of accountability is a symptom of a lack of organizational clarity. I agree withVaughan. The main reason why IT leaders fail to address the accountability issue is a lack of clarity on what the team is accountable for in the first place. Accountability matters as much as any other IT capabilities. The key to directing individuals and teams towards success is to clarify the organizational purpose up front. The organizational purpose is a declaration of what the organization wants to be and, in broader terms, what it wants to achieve. It provides meaning to the day-to-day tasks, triumphs and setbacks that make up the daily operative grind. A lack of purpose will create disconnection among the different levels of the IT organization. Teams and individuals will not know why their effort matters. They cannot connect their work to a larger story. Their work becomes a matter of going through the motions. When that happens, team members lose accountability.

The following statement is Vaughan Merlyn’s assertion on this subject:

“If organizational purpose is not clear (i.e., the goals, values desired business outcomes and guiding principles for a given capability are defined and well understood?) then organizational commitment (i.e., sponsorship and accountabilities) will be lacking or confused. With weak organizational commitment, ability (i.e., clear processes, well-defined roles, competent resources filling those roles, appropriate tools and technologies supporting the processes) will be deficient. And with deficient ability, there is virtually no way accountability (i.e., criteria for success and related performance requirements) can be meaningful.”

Root Cause: Lack of Organizational Clarity

When there is a lack of organizational clarity, it will be harder for IT managers to inspire people because they don’t have a clear direction, performance measures and objectives to follow and to communicate to their teams. This disconnect will open the door for individual managers to interpret directions, formulate objectives and determine their own priorities. On the other hand, for IT team members, it will lead to inconsistent performance of day-to-day operations that will cause low morale and productivity. It will be impossible to expect accountability from team members who may ask themselves the question—“How do we know if we are doing a good job? How do we know if we are fulfilling our obligations to the team and we are achieving results for the company?” Without organizational clarity, chances are you will have a lack of accountability from your people.

Creating the culture of accountabilty starts with the IT leaders – to me this process is always top-down. They define the IT strategy and vision based on the desired results and business strategy of the company (IT to Business Alignment). The desired objective of IT or the entire company could be to: become the easiest to conduct business with, be the most innovative organization in the industry, have technological excellence, increase profitability, or create the best sales and distribution network. IT leaders must clearly understand the business strategy of the firm which it provides services to. They must also work to provide the right IT strategy, platform, experiences and actions to achieve these results. The role of IT leaders is to communicate this organizational purpose clearly to the whole team. It requires persistent effort and a clear message to get the right commitment. By doing this, they can be certain that their subordinates know or are reminded what they are accountable for. This is where IT leaders make all the difference. Leadership is about reminding people what it is that we are trying to achieve—and why it matters.

Photos courtesy of Renjith Krishnan and Sheelamohan

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Unfortunately, accountability in some IT organizations has become something that happens only when they are dealing with major problems. What you have is a working environment with members taking responsibility only when things go wrong. That is, when someone or some group has to own and be answerable for the consequences that impacted the business operations and later on work on reactive solutions. This kind of accountability seldom works because it is founded on the wrong principles.

Accountability in IT happens when IT team members or teams take responsibility in performing functions and work to achieve objectives. Here they take ownership of the services they provide to the business. This kind of accountability impacts both IT services delivery and ultimately, the company’s results.  This kind of accountability makes things go right and far from being a punishment for failures. This kind of accountability develops the culture that produces people with the right attitude and managers that execute the right IT strategy. Highly accountable IT organizations have that commitment at all levels — from top management to IT operators that manage day-to-day functions.

IT Accountability in Operative Teams

In my current occupation, I am fortunate to lead a team of professionals with a strong sense of pride in what they do and with the goal of contributing to the organization. That sense of pride translates into a positive attitude and best practices that govern how we work to provide the best service to our internal customers. I once told my team that what I admired most about their work is their culture of shared responsibility. I like that each one has a sense of ownership of the team’s overall performance. They have the initiative to perform certain functions within the scope of their responsibility — very mindful that they are accountable for keeping business operations running efficiently. In our team, doing things above and beyond for the sake of customer service is daily routine. To me, that’s accountability in every sense of the word. The way we hold ourselves accountable defines the very nature of our working relationships, how we provide support to the business, how we work in projects, how we respond to problems and how we interact.

IT Accountability in Cost Management

Accountability in cost management practices is one of the most important areas where IT can really impact the business’ bottom-line. IT leaders need to start by responding to the following questions: What are my cost drivers? What business objective is driving spending? Is spending aligned to the business strategy? Is IT cost transparent and does business understand the value? Accountable IT confronts these tough questions together with their business counterparts. The practice of shifting the focus from IT cost to one of business value no longer works, especially during these tough economic times. It has to be a balance of both. IT needs to be accountable for the business cases that go with its project portfolio. I think that the biggest challenges in IT are those that deal with the intersection of both technology and business — how the cost of investment in certain technologies translates to business value. IT management needs to be at the forefront in taking responsibility for cost efficiency and value creation of their products and services. IT management needs to understand what drives IT cost. The basis for effective cost management is understanding cost structure and analyzing the costs flowing through that structure. 

IT Accountability for Improved Service Delivery

Better accountability improves service delivery performance. But how does this work? IT accountability for improving IT services delivery is not simply a question of providing the technology needed to run its business or ensuring service availability. It is also about its service culture as well as better partnership and alignment with the business. In short, the challenge is as much about partnership and customer relationship as it is about providing the right IT business solutions. Service culture is one of the softer elements of the IT organization’s identity but it’s extremely important when you want your organization to have a strong sense of accountability in delivering excellent services. Essential to improving partnership with the business is a deeper understanding of the business strategy, objectives and the service levels that are required. How do we engage business leaders? What is the current and evolving business strategy of the company? How can IT be leveraged to gain competitive advantage? How do we manage ongoing innovation and process improvements? Does the business understand our capabilities to maximize our value? How do we communicate and manage perception about IT services? These are some of the difficult questions and challenges that must be addressed head on by IT leaders. There must be a structure used to allow learning from business engagement about strategies, core elements and innovations to improve service culture.

Although the concept of accountability is often reduced to ‘answerability’ or ‘enforceability’, a more complete understanding includes the actions that take place at every level and every internal customer touch points. Again, accountability does not only happen when things go wrong—accountability is taking ownership from the beginning. It is continuous rather than having an end point.

Photos courtesy of Salvatore Vuono and Michal Marcol.

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We have “known” for decades that telephones would eventually become portable, wireless and small enough to carry around just like a wallet. Do you recall the Communicator device in Star Trek? It resembles the current flip mobile phones. They were used for voice communication connecting individuals between Star Ships. Dr. Martin Cooper, inventor of the modern mobile phone, credits the TOS communicator as being his inspiration for the technology. Although the first “brick” mobile phones were much larger, modern flip phones strongly resemble the original series communicator. 

Early on… 

For me, the development of mobile phone technology is kind of the same thing as the development of the Internet. Our generation has been fortunate to witness its exponential advancement. I remember the first time I used the Internet in the early 1990s. It was through the old Vax mainframe computers at the De La Salle University in Manila and later on, with the more user-friendly Netscape browser in Personal Computers (PCs). Computers at that time were exclusively housed in laboratories where they kept the temperature low to protect the equipment. Despite the tropical heat of the Philippines, we would wear sweaters if we planned to stay longer in the lab to survive the low temperature. I remember the web pages were simple, text-based, had limited contents and features. We were glad to just send emails and read static content that we found online. De La Salle University was one of the first Philippine schools to be connected to the Internet. By the time I graduated in 1997, the Internet had already gone through a series of major developments. 

Advancements today… 

Today, we are in the midst of continuing development of the web fueled by advancements in the Internet and technology. The most notable application is “Social Media” which led to the  inevitable creation of a vast content and knowledge base. There is an abundance of information and the size of social interaction has reached a colossal scale. We are in the age were ordinary people break the news. Just recently, CNN reported that “some of the first public accounts of the military operation that killed the terrorist leader (Osama bin Laden) came in the form of tweets from Sohaib Athar, an IT consultant in Abbottabad — the city where bin Laden was found.” This breaking news spread fast and made ecstatic fans at a game in Philadelphia hold up their mobile phones to show the news of Bin Laden’s death as they received messages from friends. Later on, President Obama announced the news to the world on mainstream TV. This shows that within a span of just one generation, the availability of information, capabilities to create and share, and our access to them has changed dramatically. 

Family interaction platform… 

It was not until a couple of years ago that my parents in the Philippines have started using the Internet, or a computer for that matter. I was determined to help them catch up with new trends and I knew introducing them to the use of computers and the Internet was something that could create value for them, personally and as well as in their retail business. On the other hand, my hidden agenda was to utilize another communication channel with my family that is effective and cheaper as compared to international calls. The last time that I visited home was December 2009 and one of my objectives then was to convince my father to invest in a laptop. To sweeten the deal, I would pay half of the cost and would stay a little longer so I could teach them how to use it. Teach them I did, starting with the basics of switching the computer on and off, use of the keyboard (comparing it with typewriters used during my parents’ time). Soon, we ventured off to the more fun stuff– the Internet. The first thing that we accomplished was to create an email account, then Windows Live for chat, Skype for video conferencing and then Facebook for social networking. Eventually, we ventured into Excel so that my father can use it to upgrade their process of recording daily sales (he usually just used paper notepads!). After I returned to the United States, in less than two months, they were adept in using their new-found tool. My parents processed their US visa application online, bought plane tickets (even helped friends buy tickets online) and they were also everywhere in social media. I could chat with them, video call using Skype with them, and send them blogs that I have written. A month ago, I was even able to share with them photos and videos of when my twins were born through Youtube and Facebook. The social media and the web have become our platform for family interaction. 

Inevitable Future and Questions… 

The Internet has enabled humans to develop new technologies and social structure that allow us to participate in content creation and dissemination (such as blogs and social networking sites). The advancement and innovation that has catapulted the Internet to ubiquity also reveal enormous use in business. Nowadays, users participate in solutions building through collaborative platforms. Internet has developed social structures that allow interaction without boundaries– thus making our small world even smaller. 

In 10 years, humans and computers will join forces to create “collective intelligence”. Technology will evolve as such that the Internet (and information within it) will be accessible and available to everyone— this will exponentially increase the already massive data we exchange today. How we (and machines) will make sense of as well as analyze and synthesize this collective information, is what will bring us to Web 3.0 and beyond. 

In closing, I leave you with some questions:

• How do you see the Internet impacting the world, business and human interaction in 10 years?
• Does the Internet in its generative form need new kinds of control to avoid problems in society and loss of opportunity?
• Are we looking at a prospect of a better world for our children with seemingly exponential cycle of innovation and growth of the Internet?

Photos courtesy of jscreationzs and Idea go.

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By: Glenn Remoreras, in collaboration with Ira Fialkow and Ivy Remoreras

No matter how insightful, or powerful, innovative or fantastic your solution or idea is, if  your target audience doesn’t “get it”, then none of it matters. 

Is there a secret formula for success in business – and in your career?  Probably not. But I believe it makes sense to learn from the people I respect and who have been successful themselves. 

Case in point: Ira Fialkow was the Executive Vice President for Shared Services at CEMEX, until recently. His career spans 25 years and he is a highly respected leader in his field. This series marks the culmination of 25 business lessons documented and developed by Ira over the past 25 years of his career. Ira used to distribute these lessons to the team every year. In this series, I will endeavor to share the 25 business lessons that I’ve learned from Ira and our shared services team. 

This is part four of the series: 25 Lessons for Work (and Life!) – 3-Minute Coaching Sessions 

Nowadays, having good presentation skills seem to be a no-brainer.  In fact, there is plenty of information out there about how to give good presentations – for example, how to be a good speaker, which gestures to use, correct posture, how to capture your audience’s attention, etc.  However, I think it is just as important that the message of each presentation is delivered concisely and effectively.

First of all, if your audience doesn’t get your message, then you didn’t deliver it.  This is part of accountability – a common theme in all these 25 work-life lessons. The audience must be considered first.  It is your responsibility to ensure that the message your audience receives is exactly the same as what you intended to deliver. Secondly, if you are not able to deliver your idea or solution, then there is no innovation – the second repeating theme on these work-life lessons. No matter how insightful, or powerful, innovative or fantastic your solution or idea is, if  your target audience doesn’t “get it”, then none of it matters.

Make sure your message is the one they receive

Before you even create your presentation start with the end in mind by asking yourself: With what message do I want the audience to leave?  Business leaders that develop exceptional presentation skills do it by analyzing both their audience and their purpose for presenting. This message needs to be the exact message the audience receives.  To do this, you will need to consider  how your audience best processes information. For instance, will a story that relates to the solution you are offering going to engage your audience, or will it make them impatient?

In discussing this with Ira, he mentioned that whenever it came to issues related to change management, he would always try to engage the audience with a story that they can relate to. The story should be relevant to the current situation and help explain the “Why behind the what?” For people to engage in change, they first need to understand the need for the change. Without that understanding, there will be no desire to hear the message.

In giving a presentation to executives, usually they know the “why” and are primarily interested in the “what”, “who” “how much” and “by when”. However brief the presentation is, that too  needs to have a good story flow, but delivered in a much more summarized manner.

The success of your presentation is best measured by how well the audience understands or appreciates the subject matter after you finish speaking. Naturally, presentations will be very different depending on the target audience and the message being delivered. Your presentation should have a logical sequence and the message should tell a story that can be readily retold by the audience.  

Be brief. Be bright. Be gone.

A 2009 report on American consumers, published by the Global Information Industry Center of  the University of California – San Diego, stated that the average American receives about 33.80GB or more than 100,000 words of information per day. (Bohn & Short, 2009)  That’s a lot of information to process! If you want your message to be heard and understood, keep it short and relevant. Studies show that the average adult’s “undivided attention span” is roughly 30 seconds. So even if you have the most interesting topic or are the most exceptional presenter, you still can’t keep the audience’s undivided attention for so long. That’s why our advice in this lesson is, “be brief be bright, be gone.” The story or message needs to be brief and focused — compelling and worth retelling for it to stick. Everybody is busy and you have to be able to cut through the clutter.  You need to be able to present your idea concisely. We call it the “elevator speech” – a 30-second presentation you would give to your audience (such as your CEO) if you found yourself alone in an elevator with them (and you have their undivided attention).

Secondly, your message needs to be memorable. This is what “be bright” means. Your presentation needs to be impressive enough to cut through all of the other information that your audience receives. And finally, after you have delivered your message concisely and memorably, finish your presentation, and “be gone”. There’s nothing worse than having a drawn out presentation. For this, you need to assess your audience and determine if the message has been received or if more information is required. Remember that the closing part of the presentation is what the audience will remember the most. Repeat your purpose statement. By doing so, you deliver your key messages one final time.

Work-life Lesson 4 Takeaways: 

• Know your audience. Each presentation must be tailor-made for the audience.
• No matter how insightful, or powerful, innovative or fantastic your solution or idea is, if  your target audience doesn’t “get it”, then none of it matters.
• Make sure that your message is the one they receive.  Your message should tell a story and it should be one worth retelling.
• “Be brief, be bright, be gone”. It is important that you deliver your message concisely and memorably.

Link to Previous Lesson: Set your performance standards high and never give in to “good enough”. Be your own toughest critic.

About the collaborators:

Ira Fialkow is the SVP of Member Services at Peeriosity. Peeriosity is a confidential network of leading companies from across the world committed to collaborating openly with each other in a completely secure environment with interactions free of consultants and vendors. Prior to Peeriosity, Ira was EVP of Shared Services at CEMEX and Rinker Group (acquired by CEMEX is 2007) from 1990 through joining Peeriosity in October 2010. Rinker Group was the initial recipient of the Best Mature Shared Services Award in 2003. Ira lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and has been the champion of his fantasy football league in three of the past five years.

Glenn Remoreras is an IT Manager at CEMEX. He brings over 12 years of experience as an IT director, business processes manager, project leader, and consultant. He has focused on enabling business solutions through the use of IT capabilities. Glenn has been involved with various international post merger integration projects.

Ivy Remoreras is a marketing professional with eight years of extensive experience, particularly in product management, communications and promotions as a manager, university instructor and consultant. She believes in constant learning and has a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA). Having resided in Europe, Asia and North America, she speaks four languages.

Photos courtesy of Jscreationzs and Pixomar.

By: Glenn Remoreras, in collaboration with Ira Fialkow and Ivy Remoreras 

Is there a secret formula for success in business – and in your career?  Probably not. But I believe it makes sense to learn from the people I respect and who have been successful themselves.

Case in point: Ira Fialkow was the Executive Vice President for Shared Services at CEMEX, until recently. His career spans 25 years and he is a highly respected leader in his field. This series marks the culmination of 25 business lessons documented and developed by Ira over the past 25 years of his career. Ira used to distribute these lessons to the team every year. In this series, I will endeavor to share the 25 business lessons that I’ve learned from Ira and our shared services team.

This is part three of the series: 25 Lessons for Work (and Life!) – 3-Minute Coaching Sessions

Set your performance standards high and never give in to “good enough”. Be your own toughest critic.

Success in your work and personal life is directly related to your productivity, commitment and performance. Therefore, setting performance standards for oneself is taking responsibility for one’s own career and life. Today, performance standards and goal setting in companies is routine and frequently performed in contexts as diverse as every level of the organization. In an individual’s life, setting one’s own standards can touch one’s personal and family life so as to significantly alter social, economic and personal well-being. As such, lesson three teaches us that setting high performance standards can beat mediocrity and achieve highflying goals.

Ira explained why this lesson made the list. He said, “I think one of my biggest frustrations as a manager is seeing someone with unlimited potential give in to ‘good enough’. On the other hand, it’s always a pleasure when someone takes accountability for their own career and always looks for an opportunity to improve things and themselves in the process.”

Personally, Ira had this epiphany when he was passed over for a promotion early in his career. He was upset, went to his manager and pointed out that he “had done everything expected and that had been asked of me.”  His manager simply answered, “Exactly. That’s why you have a job.”  The promotion was given to someone who wanted a career – someone who did things above and beyond what was expected.  He got the message.

This message is best articulated in Jim Collins’ book, “Good to Great”.  According to Collins, “Good is the enemy of Great”. Nothing is more true. We are driven to change when we hit bottom or get bad results – but nothing kills the energy and drive to being better than being “good”. We have to take personal accountability to ensure that we are always our own toughest critic and never give in to “good enough”.

Set your own goals first and set it with a high performance standard

Setting performance standards should start as a personal endeavor. Set performance standards high and don’t settle for mediocrity. If you are serious with achieving success in your career, regularly conducting self-assessment and goal setting is very important. Goal setting is a powerful process that not only ensures your performance standards support your goals, but also motivates you to turn your vision into reality. This necessitates setting high performance standards — not only for your team or organization — but more importantly, for yourself. You cannot expect high performance from others if you yourself cannot perform at the same or higher level.

In addition, setting your own high standards and goals prepare you better for commitment to work objectives expected of you. Self-assessment helps you determine your own capabilities and limitations. If you did your own self-assessment, you are in a better position to set performance standards and goals with others. Knowing your own skills and shortcomings allows you to determine if the performance standard expected of you (by your boss, for example) is reachable or not. And if not, you will be able to ask for the resources you need in order to be successful. Constant self-assessment is critical. You cannot expect nor wait for other people to critique your work. It is in your best interests to do it yourself, especially after every work objective (such as a project or implementation) is achieved (or not, as the case may be).  The basic questions to ask would be: Am I a good boss or co-worker? How could this have gone better? What can we learn out of this?

The process of setting high performance standards keeps you motivated. It increases the chances of success. If you have mediocre goals then you miss them, you totally fail. If you have high performance standards, it helps you go much further in your work and in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you need to concentrate your efforts. You’ll also quickly spot the distractions that can, so easily, lead you astray. Make sure you get agreement on how the performance will be monitored and how frequently. In order for the process to go forward, you need to monitor your own performance.

There are many formal methodologies for setting high performance standards. One method I like to use is “SMART” goals. SMART means they are: specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented and time-bound. The technique in controlling your productivity and success is knowing the extent of what you can achieve. Know your safe, reach and stretch targets. Safe targets are attainable goals. Your reach targets are goals that you can achieve with complete control and influence. Stretch targets are attainable but with certain conditions beyond your control. It should be attainable but if it isn’t, you should know the reasons why it is not.

I know Ira is a big fan of Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In fact, for a few years, Ira had some of our team members become certified 7 Habits trainers and teach courses to their peers in shared services as a supplement to TQM training.  There are a number of methods for setting high performance standards; the key is to find something that works for you!

Why Your Inner Critic Is Your Best Friend

If you want to be the best you must always view your work with contempt and reservation. Not because you hate what you do but because you want to have the best result. Always critique your own work thoroughly and have a high standard. Come to think of it, you’d be in big trouble without an Inner Critic. Critics are actually a very important part of your performance, productivity and creative process. Since you can’t expect others to always criticize and challenge you, you can begin by making yourself your toughest critic. Your Inner Critic is your first level of assessing the quality of your performance and without it; you could end up with mediocre results. With yourself as your toughest critic, you will also raise your self-confidence, as you recognize your own ability and competence in achieving the goals that you’ve set.

Work-life Lesson 3 Takeaways: 

• Your personal success in your work and life is directly related to your attitude, productivity, commitment and performance. Setting performance standards for oneself is taking responsibility of one’s own career and life.
• Setting performance standards should start as a personal endeavor. Set performance standards high and don’t settle for mediocrity.
• Critics are actually a very important part of your performance, productivity and creative process. Since you can’t expect others to always criticize and challenge you, you can begin by making yourself your toughest critic.
• The enemy of great is good. Never give in to ‘good enough’.

Link to Previous Lesson: If Your Don’t Know, Say “I Don’t Know”

About the collaborators:

Ira Fialkow is the SVP of Member Services at Peeriosity. Peeriosity is a confidential network of leading companies from across the world committed to collaborating openly with each other in a completely secure environment with interactions free of consultants and vendors. Prior to Peeriosity, Ira was EVP of Shared Services at CEMEX and Rinker Group (acquired by CEMEX is 2007) from 1990 through joining Peeriosity in October 2010. Rinker Group was the initial recipient of the Best Mature Shared Services Award in 2003. Ira lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and has been the champion of his fantasy football league in three of the past five years.

Glenn Remoreras is an IT Manager at CEMEX. He brings over 12 years of experience as an IT director, business processes manager, project leader, and consultant. He has focused on enabling business solutions through the use of IT capabilities. Glenn has been involved with various international post merger integration projects.

Ivy Remoreras is a marketing professional with eight years of extensive experience, particularly in product management, communications and promotions as a manager, university instructor and consultant. She believes in constant learning and has a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA). Having resided in Europe, Asia and North America, she speaks four languages.

Photos courtesy of Renjith Krishnan and Simon Howden

Read full article in Associated Content: Five Ways to Improve Your Customer Service Center

Gain Customer Loyalty by Improving Customer Services

Connecting to current and potential customers is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today. Significant resources are invested in creating and improving customer experiences. Even at this time of economic uncertainties, it’s hard to find a business that is not actively pursuing customer service improvements. The competition is stronger than ever as the economy begins to show signs of recovery. Initiatives related to customer relationship management are embraced by many companies as a critical component of their overall business strategy. Organizations continue to spend heavily on CRM — $11 billion annually starting 2010 according to Forrester. But how do you improve your customer service center besides investing in CRM applications and tools? Here are five ways:

1. Understand your Purpose and Establish a Clear Mission Statement

2. Set the Right Expectations and Be Consistent in Your Service Delivery

3. Develop Your Service Offer

4. Have a Culture of Continuous Improvement

5. Foster a “Customer First” Attitude and Strengthen Your Back-office Support Groups

Read more

Google Crisis Response - a google.org project

It’s not that successful people are givers; it is that givers are successful people. – Patti Thor

I was up early Friday morning to monitor news about the massive earthquake that hit Japan. An 8.9-magnitude earthquake followed by a 35-foot tsunami hit the coast of Japan at 2:46 p.m. Tokyo time Friday. It was the most powerful recorded in the Japan’s history, and the seventh largest ever recorded worldwide. The tsunami warning was issued in virtually all areas of the Pacific Rim. Also, I was closely monitoring news about the effect of the tsunami back home in the Philippines through local news outlet Inquirer. The Philippine government ordered the country’s mostly rural Pacific seaboard cleared of people on Friday. Inquirer reported that 224,243 people were moved off the coasts overnight, either on their own or using military trucks.

Web and Social Media Resources at Work

Beyond Twitter traffic and Facebook, many media organizations like CNN are live-blogging information as it comes in. Click here to access CNN live blog. Government agencies are also providing valuable information on their sites. Citizens have also taken to Flickr to post pictures of the disaster.

I also followed real-time updates from Twitter where thousands of tweets per minute came in. Most can be filtered using two primary hashtags — #tsunami and #prayforjapan. They are trending on Twitter since Friday. (Click on the hashtags to view real-time twitter feed.)

Shortly Google deployed People Finder tool that was so effective during the 2004 Tsunami and 2010 Haiti Earthquake:

“Google Person Finder available after earthquake in Japan to help you get information about loved ones. http://goo.gl/rlR07” – @Google >> (Twitter)

If you are looking for first-person accounts, a lot of residents from affected areas have also posted eyewitness videos in Youtube from inside their homes and public buildings, and from the streets with their neighbors. Click here to see videos posted in Youtube pertaining to the earthquake and tsunami.

How you can help:

• Donate to the Japanese Red Cross Society through Google Crisis Response website. Donations are accepted in Japanese Yen only. ($20 is approximately 1600 yen) Your donation must be at least 100 yen, up to 25,000 yen.
• “Txt REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to #Japan eq & Pacific #tsunami relief. http://bit.ly/eZJDoJ“ - @redcross American Red Cross
• The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund was launched at GlobalGiving.org to garner funds that will be given to a variety of relief organizations helping victims of the earthquake. It has already raised over $800,000, particularly from concerned Twitter users around the world.
• Save the Children: Emergency Relief for Japan Quake www.savethechildren.org/japanquake Toll free: 800-728-3843 Text JAPAN or 20222 to donate.
• Salvation Army donate.salvationarmyusa.org, Toll free: 800-SAL-ARMY, Text QUAKE or 80888 to donate $10



Thanks for helping out.- @GlennRemoreras

Read this article in Spanish

“One attribute of true learning is a sense of curiosity and wonder. A second is an experience of openness to new possibilities. A third is that the process of searching for an answer is more important that having an answer. Finally, it is necessary to have an approach to one’s environment characterized by experimentation: accessing information, analyzing that information, and looking for connection and relationships.”- John W. Thompson

Blogging and Online Learning

Why do you maintain a blog? You seem to spend so much time making sure that there is a continuous flow of relevant contents- what do you get from it? These are common questions friends and colleagues ask me.  For me, writing is all about sharing knowledge (even the little that I know in my profession) and learning in the process by interacting with my readers. We learn in all kinds of ways, whether through conversation, reading books, attending formal training, and even writing. By doing those things we are taking in and processing new ideas. If you are an Internet user who is accessing websites for your regular news, using social media to interact with friends, reading Wikipedia, doing routine searches– you are bombarded with tons of information. Whether you like it or not, you are already absorbing a lot of information online. You are learning in one way or another.  Come to think of it, the jump to more formal learning – using online teaching platform with the latest computer applications – is not such a big leap. We are already familiar with finding, sharing and processing information online. 

My former boss, mentor and friend Tony Molares – who recently joined Profexor.com, an online learning platform, as their CEO – talks passionately about his amazing opportunity, to lead a company that leverages technology to provide knowledge through web platforms.  He explained to me that online learning tools, because they are so accessible and affordable now, eliminate barriers to learning. They improve the knowledge and competitiveness of people who use them. In the long run they contribute to a better learning society. Providing learning opportunities is the most important mission of Profexor.com — a company providing online training programs. The website caters to the Spanish-speaking market. Profexor.com brings together the knowledge of many professionals worldwide, including experts in computer media applications, process engineers, editors, web designers, marketers, and researchers. Profexor.com is current developing learning contents related to self improvements, leadership, and other competencies that will enable professionals to be competitive in the business environment. It is the company’s goal to offer via this alternative online educational platform an ongoing, rewarding personal experience that fosters growth, self improvement and innovation.

Social Responsibility by Providing Learning Platform

What’s so noteworthy about Profexor.com is its target audience—the Spanish-speaking market. I know most, if not all of the courses in Profexor.com are delivered in Spanish. I remember when Tony showed me the website; the first thing I asked him was, why not offer the courses in English as well? I thought that for sure they will have a wider reach and much larger customer segment. When Tony explained to me that one of the company’s purposes is to bring more learning opportunities to Spanish-speaking people and provide them access to information and more contents (otherwise available only in English), I understood right there that the company has a deeper mission. The individual’s ability to learn and innovate is a direct driver of his capability to compete and succeed. Tony is right, there are countless websites offering online courses in English but only handful that provide the same level of quality of content in Spanish and competitiveness in pricing as Profexor.com. I think it is very inspiring and remarkable for a start-up company to have that sense of social responsibility from the beginning. 

Just as the world has changed, so too has the platform for learning. I am not saying online learning tools like Profexor.com replaces the traditional and formal education provided in schools and universities. Also, I am not saying that blogs and other forms of online clutter should replace the traditional forms of knowledge media like journals, magazines and books. Both platforms: old and new, traditional and modern, are applicable to the learning process of today’s world. The great parallelism that I see between Profexor.com’s mission (be it the platform of learning for Spanish speakers) and my personal purpose for blogging (sharing knowledge) are the acts that benefit society at large—call it “Social Responsibility“.

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See Youtube video about Profexor.com.

Traducido al español por Alicia Palmero

“Una de las cualidades de un verdadero aprendizaje es provocar curiosidad y propiciar asombro; otra cualidad es abrir la puerta a nuevas posibilidades y una tercera es mostrar que el proceso para encontrar una respuesta es más importante que la respuesta en sí. Finalmente, se requiere disponer de un enfoque hacia el propio ambiente caracterizado por la experimentación y que conlleve a tener acceso a la información, analizarla y buscar posibles conexiones y relaciones.”- John W. Thompson

Los blogs y el aprendizaje en línea 

¿Para qué mantener un blog? Parece que se dedicara demasiado tiempo en asegurar un flujo constante de contenido adecuado pero, ¿qué se obtiene a cambio? Son preguntas que con frecuencia me hacen amigos y colegas. Para mí, escribir es compartir conocimiento (incluso lo poco que conozco en mi profesión) y aprender en el proceso mientras interactúo con mis lectores. Nosotros aprendemos de muchas maneras: conversando, leyendo libros, participando en cursos formales de capacitación e, incluso, escribiendo. A través de todas esas actividades, tomamos y procesamos nuevas ideas. Un usuario de Internet, que entra en una página para enterarse de las noticias, interactuar con sus amigos en las redes sociales, leer Wikipedia o hacer búsquedas de rutina, es bombardeado con toneladas de información. Le guste o no, está absorbiendo ya una enorme cantidad de información en línea, y aprendiendo de una u otra forma. Si nos ponemos a pensar, de ahí a un aprendizaje más formal –por la vía de una plataforma de enseñanza en línea que haga uso de las más recientes aplicaciones tecnológicas– no hablamos de un salto muy grande. Por otra parte, ya estamos familiarizados buscando, compartiendo y procesando información en línea. 

Mi ex jefe, mentor y amigo, Tony Molares, quien desde fecha reciente ocupa el puesto de CEO de Profexor.com, una plataforma de aprendizaje en línea, habla con genuino entusiasmo sobre la increíble oportunidad que tiene de dirigir esta compañía, la cual utiliza la tecnología para ofrecer conocimiento a través de plataformas en la red. Él me explicó que estas herramientas en línea han eliminado muchas barreras en el aprendizaje por el fácil acceso y bajo costo que tienen ahora; dichas herramientas incrementan, además, el conocimiento y la competitividad de la gente que hace uso de ellas, contribuyendo en el largo plazo a una sociedad con un nivel mucho más elevado de educación. La misión más importante de Profexor.com es brindar nuevas oportunidades de aprendizaje, para lo cual ofrece programas de capacitación en línea.  Profexor.com sirve al público hispanoparlante y reúne el conocimiento de un gran número de profesionales de todo el mundo, incluyendo expertos en aplicaciones de computación, ingenieros en procesos, editores, diseñadores de sitios de Internet, especialistas en mercadeo e investigadores. Hoy en día, Profexor.com está desarrollando contenidos de aprendizaje relacionados con mejoramiento personal, liderazgo y otras destrezas que capacitan a los profesionales para ser competitivos en el ambiente de negocios. El objetivo de la compañía es ofrecer, a través de esta plataforma alternativa de educación en línea, una experiencia continua y gratificante que fomente el crecimiento, el mejoramiento personal y la innovación. 

La responsabilidad social a través de una plataforma de aprendizaje

Lo que cabe destacar respecto a Profexor.com es la audiencia en la que se ha enfocado: el mercado hispanoparlante. Tengo entendido que la mayoría, si no la totalidad, de los cursos disponibles en Profexor.com están en español. Recuerdo que cuando Tony me enseñó la página en Internet, lo primero que pregunté fue por qué no ofrecían también los cursos en inglés; pensé que así seguramente tendrían un mayor alcance y un segmento de mercado más amplio. Cuando me explicó que uno de los propósitos de la compañía es ofrecer más oportunidades de aprendizaje al público hispanoparlante, dando acceso a mayores contenidos de información –que, de otro modo, sólo estarían disponibles en inglés–, de inmediato entendí que la compañía tenía una misión más profunda. La capacidad individual para aprender e innovar es un impulsor directo de la capacidad para competir y ser exitoso. Tony tiene razón en afirmar que hay innumerables sitios en Internet que ofrecen cursos en línea en inglés pero sólo unos pocos que brinden el nivel de calidad en contenidos en español y los precios competitivos de Profexor.com. Es especialmente inspirador y digno de mencionar que una compañía tenga desde sus inicios tal sentido de responsabilidad social. 

Igual que el mundo ha cambiado, así ha cambiado la plataforma para aprender. No estoy diciendo que las herramientas de aprendizaje en línea como Profexor.com puedan reemplazar la educación tradicional y formal impartida en escuelas y universidades. Tampoco estoy afirmando que los blogs y otras fuentes de información en línea deberían sustituir las formas tradicionales de difusión del conocimiento, como son las revistas y los libros. Ambas plataformas, las antiguas y  las nuevas, las tradicionales y las modernas, pueden ser utilizadas hoy en día en el proceso de aprendizaje. El gran paralelismo que veo entre la misión de Profexor.com –ser la plataforma de aprendizaje para el público hispanoparlante– y el propósito que personalmente me motiva a mantener mi blog –que es compartir conocimiento– es que ambas son acciones que benefician a la sociedad  en general; en otras palabras, hablamos de “Responsabilidad Social”.  

Lea el artículo en Inglés.  

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in collaboration with Ira Fialkow and Ivy Remoreras

Is there a secret formula for success in business – and in your career?  Probably not. But I believe it makes sense to learn from the people I respect and who have been successful themselves.

Case in point: Ira Fialkow was the Executive Vice President for Shared Services at CEMEX, until recently. His career spans 25 years and he is a highly respected leader in his field. This series marks the culmination of 25 business lessons documented and developed by Ira over the past 25 years of his career. Ira used to distribute these lessons to the team every year. In this series, I will endeavor to share the 25 business lessons that I’ve learned from Ira and our shared services team.

This is part two of the series: 25 Lessons for Work (and Life!) – 3-Minute Coaching Sessions

Business Lesson 2: If You Don’t Know, Say “I Don’t Know”.

Ira once told me, “This isn’t a school test where, if you don’t know the correct answer, you take a guess based on what you think is the best answer. If you don’t know the answer, then simply say ‘I don’t know.’ The worst thing that can happen is that decisions will be made and actions taken based on wrong or incomplete information.” Admitting that you don’t know something is taking responsibility and having accountability. 

This second lesson is about attitude. I once overheard Ira telling someone, “You’re lucky you KNOW that you don’t know. You now have an open mind and the opportunity to learn something new and find a real solution!”  This is simple and yet so difficult for many people to practice. In this article, we will look at two perspectives of this essential lesson – (a) learning to say “I don’t know” per se; and (b) openness to learning through the humble attitude of genuinely “not-knowing.”

Saying, “I Don’t Know”

The fact of the matter is, it is so difficult for people to say, “I don’t know.” Of course, it’s normal that you would always want to project yourself as knowledgeable to others; showing that you know (all the time!) is one of the best ways to look good. Most of us don’t like it when we ask subordinates at work to explain what went wrong, and instead of getting facts we are met with three little words: “I don’t know.” It’s frustrating, isn’t it? It’s worse, though, when you get “answers” composed of hardly verified truths and opinions. What happens when you take what you are told as fact and respond accordingly – for example, a customer complaint – and later find out that something completely different happened? By then, conflict has been created and it has further complicated the problem.

Of course, you can’t expect somebody to know everything. Here are two simple ways to say “I don’t know” and still be accountable:

• The obvious – say: “I don’t know.” You can include an action or commitment, though, so say “I don’t know, but I’ll take responsibility to find the facts, or answers, for you and I’ll suggest a solution.”
• If you have some knowledge to begin with, but you need to verify it, you may say, “I’m not as informed as I would like to be but this is what I think, based on the information I have. I will look into this further and get back to you right away.” Here you are being honest about the fact that what you think you know may not necessarily be accurate. So, if you are asked to speak out, your audience knows that it’s an opinion.

We grow up afraid of our own ignorance and terrified that it may show. I admire people who have the ability to admit, “I don’t know.” There are many ways to say this, but the most important thing is to be honest, concise and responsible about what you say.

“Not Knowing” as a Powerful Openness to Learn

Think about going to a meeting, seminar or training with the arrogant attitude that there is absolutely nothing new to be learned. Surely, you will arrive disinterested and full of your own perception of the subject matter. Chances are, you won’t learn anything new. The advantage of not knowing is the opportunity to experience learning. Genuine “not-knowing” is a sign of humility and openness that precedes the leap into finding true meaning. We question not only whether we’ll find answers to questions, but also how to learn new things. How many times have you gone to similar work sessions or training programs but learned something new every time? Maybe it’s from hearing someone else’s perspective and how they applied the knowledge. Maybe it’s an insight that helps you link multiple ideas together and come up with a new way of applying the knowledge to a problem. Or maybe it’s an open attitude that allowed you to listen in a new way.

Being open to new ideas shows a willingness to transcend what you know, to look beyond the conventional and obvious view, and to come up with new insights and use these to find solutions.

When people talk about innovation – this is what they are talking about!

Business Lesson 2 Takeaways:

• Acknowledging that you don’t know something is akin to taking responsibility and having accountability.
• People should not be discouraged from saying “I don’t know” in a company.
• There are many ways to say, “I don’t know,” but the most important thing is to be honest, concise and responsible about what you say.
• The positive side of not knowing is the opportunity it provides to experience learning, gain insights, and come up with a better solution.  
• Genuine not-knowing is a sign of humility and openness that can lead to expanding one’s knowledge.

Link to Lesson 1: Have a mentor (even if they don’t know it). Be a mentor (someone is watching you).

About the collaborators:

Ira Fialkow is the SVP of Member Services at Peeriosity. Peeriosity is a confidential network of leading companies from across the world committed to collaborating openly with each other in a completely secure environment with interactions free of consultants and vendors. Prior to Peeriosity, Ira was EVP of Shared Services at CEMEX and Rinker Group (acquired by CEMEX is 2007) from 1990 through joining Peeriosity in October 2010. Rinker Group was the initial recipient of the Best Mature Shared Services Award in 2003. Ira lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and has been the champion of his fantasy football league in three of the past five years.

Glenn Remoreras is an IT Manager at CEMEX. He brings over 12 years of experience as an IT director, business processes manager, project leader, and consultant. He has focused on enabling business solutions through the use of IT capabilities. Glenn has been involved with various post merger integration projects. 
 
Ivy Remoreras is a marketing professional with eight years of extensive experience, particularly in product management, communications and promotions as a manager, university instructor and consultant. She believes in constant learning and has a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA). Having resided in Europe, Asia and North America, she speaks four languages.