| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
Comparing Ancient Programs from the East to Modern Programs like Stephen Covey.
Comparing Corporate and Personal goal attainment programs that have developed over thousands of years with those of modern day legends such as Covey - "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" In the 1990s Stephen Covey's name became famous through the publication of the "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". As many know the "7 habits" are not a group of new concepts but age-old approaches to success represented in a way that can be clearly applied to modern day personal and corporate development. These precepts are taught in a number of ancient development, and achievement arts, which have been practiced for thousands of years. Although many of these concepts have been lost and misinterpreted, they exist and can be translated in non-extreme forms, from such arts as: Zen (which is not a religion, but a path for self discovery and growth), the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu (the classic text on strategy which is often regarded as the most definitive text on the topic), and the Tao de Ching (the "book of change"). Profound lessons for leadership, change, victory and non-conflict have arisen from bodies of work such as the "Art of War", because the learnings came from life and death scenarios. Obviously today's corporate world does not induce a mechanism for change, and success, anywhere near as strong as these ancient arts as the consequence of failure is far less. This is why groups such as the Samurai, and post-war Corporate Japan, adopted highly refined lessons from Chinese Zen and the "Art of War". However, modern Asia is very different from its past. Today such cultures as Japan often see an environment which is one of the most materialistic and rapid success oriented cultures around, quite a contrast to its approaches of the past. Today many Western corporate cultures are now embracing past strategies to avoid conflict and gain success. The strategy text "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, is often incorrectly viewed as an aggressive approach to victory. However, it is essentially a master text on "Conflict Management" and "Win-Win" scenarios ("Win-Win", habit 4 of Stephen Covey). It also discusses partnering in detail ("Synergize", habit 6 of Stephen Covey), project planning ("begin with the end in mind", habit 2 of Stephen Covey) and has many direct relationships to goal attainment in corporate and personal development contexts. Partners, Competition and Internal Efficiency: Managing conflict in a modern organization has an amazing number of ties to the central themes of Zen, the "Art of War" and the book of change (Tao de Ching).They are all about understanding yourself, your organization, your strengths, weaknesses and synergizing with others to achieve positive outcomes. Collectively these things have a direct correlation to an annual company S.W.O.T review (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Furthermore, these attributes and approaches mimic an employee's annual performance review. In Applied Zen workshops we go through approaches to company S.W.O.T. which include: company self analysis, analyzing the competition, and partnering for best case strategic outcomes. All the above methods (old and new) are about changing base behavior, beliefs and approaches. These are core values, and are far more important than putting band-aids on problems, or approaching things with simply a behavior change. In regard to the ancient philosophies, they of course must be interpreted, and applied, using case studies in a context that matches the modern corporate world - but the lessons are most definitely there! Continuing to train ones skills and undergo development both in-house and outside your company is essential. As the ancient samurai saying says: "Continually sharpen the sword or it will go blunt!" By Jason Armstrong, Ph.D. Copyright 2005. Dr Jason Armstrong has worked at Corporate CEO levels in Japan, the USA and Australia. He has studied Sun Tzu's Art of War for 20+yrs. He was educated to Ph.D. level in the USA and his career has spanned the biotech and software industries. Companies he has worked for include multinationals like AMGEN, Mitsubishi Pharmaceutical, Zymark (Caliper), and CM Capital - a Venture Capital firm. http://www.AppliedZen.com
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Business Innovation - Status Games Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Lower the Bar "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo EmersonI'm so excited. Lead to Succeed: The Seven Essential Steps to Work Leader Success In my book "You're In Charge?What Now?" I use a mnemonic to describe the seven essential steps to work leader success. The mnemonic is "L. Biometrics and "Return On Investment" At this time of tight budgets, the mantra of business is "Return On Investment!" With few exceptions, expenditures are measured against the bottom line. Outlays for capital expenses are strictly evaluated in terms of profitability and the total cost of ownership. A Management Strategy I witnessed some interesting behaviour from one of our premier management schools this summer. A behaviour that I have since discovered is not uncommon. Managing Creativity - An Oxymoron! Not Interrogated on a beach in Barbados by friends insistent that there was little validity to my speciality, I have felt compelled to answer the most common objections in the field of Managing Creativity and Innovation.a) Managing Creativity and Innovation is an oxymoron!When ideas are required, leaders tend to herd people into a room with a flip chart and conduct (usually an ineffective) brainstorming session. Is Your Employee Newsletter Management Propaganda? It should not be. If it is an effective newsletter, it will serve the needs of readers (employees) as much as it serves the needs of the publisher (management). Delegation for Business Leaders - How Letting Go Works A leader's role is to focus on those areas of operation where he or she can deliver the greatest value and this requires huge shifts in perspective of the role. Leaders differ from managers in terms of accountability. Innovation Management and Brainstorming Management - why people hate to brainstorm! Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Bye-Bye Boring Meetings! Make Yours Remarkable! It's the middle of the night. You've woken up with a brilliant idea on how to improve the way your business product is delivered to your customers. Innovation Management - Measuring Failure! Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. 5 Surefire Ways to Bring Your Business Objectives Full Circle with Technology All small to mid-sized company owners want to know where their dollar is being spent when it comes to computer technology in their organization. The challenge is for them to get the information they need to make the right purchasing decisions. Creativity and Innovation Management: Incubation and Insight Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Where Businesses Fall Short 1. No vision. Guidelines For Conducting A Good Meeting Okay, so you've figured out what kind of meeting is needed, you've planned well and you have all the right materials. How about the meeting itself? How can you be sure the meeting you've so carefully planned and prepared actually comes off as expected?The checklist below can help you through the process. Success at Work : People Skills : Dealing with New Ideas Re-organizing, re-engineering, re-training, down-sizing, outsourcing, changing-changing-changing. Organizations today think they need to be constantly changing or they will perish. Building A Stellar Business One Employee At A Time Top businesses that continually lead their industry clearly understand a simple fact:People are their most vital assets.Every employee plays a key role in the company. The Rise of Corporate Chair Massages Employers have rapidly begun to understand the importance of stress relief in the workplace. Stress free employees have a higher retention rate and higher rates of productivity. Virtual Assistance: A Money Saving Opportunity For Employers What is a Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant is a highly skilled, independent entrepreneur who provides business services in a remote or virtual environment. Some have used terms like telecommuter or working from home. Problem-Solving Success Tip: Whatever You Do, Do It on Purpose Decision-making shows up throughout the problem-solving process. The decisions may be difficult or unpopular, so it's very tempting to ignore some of them.
|
| home | site map | contact us |