Primitive behavioral psychology is often utilised by management consultants to read the mind of CXOs, says Sandeep DasManagement consulting, in a nutshell, is about building trust based long lasting relationship with CXOs. Although problem solving or analytical rigor is often stressed upon as the key skill required to succeed in this industry; successful client interactions go a long way in establishing lucrative professional relationships. Leveraging primitive psychology, as a tool, can be extremely helpful in this exercise.The most talked about management research on behavioral communication, by researchers Mehrabian, Wiener and Ferris, concluded that 55 per cent of all communication is through body language. Only 7 per cent of all communication is through the actual words spoken while 38 per cent of communication occurs via tone of the voice. The article looks at some of the most extensive techniques leveraging behavioral psychology to garner initial and capture sustained share of mind. Building "cultural familiarity" and delivering "impact statements" are often used to garner initial share of mind!Garnering initial share of a CXO's mind is seen as a good starting point in any conversation. Conversation starters to build "cultural familiarity" with CXOs often revolve around conversing in a local dialect or engaging in a discussion of a sporting tournament or sporting heroes. Other techniques to build "familiarity" include talking about the stock price of the client or a latest news item featuring the client. Another technique recommended by management literature includes using an impact statement. The concept of an impact statement revolves around starting a conversation with a key fact or anecdote that can force an audience into thinking about what is coming next. For instance, "while you are doing well today, nearly 70 per cent of today's customers will no longer be with you in 3 years' time" is a classic case of using a "scare message" as an impact statement. Utilising social styles is one of the most effective management tools to capture sustained share of mind!While garnering initial share of mind is easy and achievable, generating a sustained share of mind is significantly more challenging. One of the key management tools that is universally applied by management consultants is the social styles behavioral model. Social styles, formulated by Merrill and Reid, is one of the premier behavioral style models to understand interpersonal behavior. Every person's interpersonal style, when evaluated on two key parameters of "Assertiveness" and "Emotional Responsiveness" can be categorized in 4 categories; Expressive, Driver, Analytical and Amiable. People with an Expressive social style tend to look at the "feeling based" big picture with a slight aversion to excessive detail. People with a Driver social style are result oriented with low emotional display. People with an Analytical social style are process oriented, thorough and fact obsessed. People with an Amiable social style are primarily people focused. CXOs belonging to a certain social style prefer a particular style of communication. For instance, different strategies can be employed to present a detailed market entry strategy to CXOs. An Analytical social style might be shown a detailed number heavy presentation with the focus on key assumptions and underlying numerical logic. A Driver social style might be shown a detailed implementation plan and the date by which she or he can start realizing profits. An Amiable social style might be presented the people impacted and the softer aspects of business. An Expressive social style might be presented one slide with the key findings. One of the perennial rumors in consulting are about how an Expressive CXO was once a shown the output of a market entry strategy by showing a tree with fruits where each fruit indicated a different segment and the diameter of the fruit the size of the segment. Some of the segments which were immediate priority were shown as low hanging fruits. While it is difficult to generalize, there are some behavioral aspects that are characteristic of certain social styles. Expressive and Amiable tend to be emotionally open rather that Analytical and Driver. Expressive and Amiable tend to be great motivators for the people who work for them. Analytical and Driver tend to be more structured, pragmatic and thorough with what they do. With consistent training, it is possible to assess the social style of a person in less than a minute. Over a period of time, some management consultants become experts at understanding behavioral psychology!Basic psychology suggests that non-verbal or behavioral aspects emerge from the "unconscious" or the temporal lobes of the human brain. These aspects manifest itself in individuals, all individuals behaving in either "freeze, flight or fight modes". With sustained training, experience and exposure; some consultants become experts at behavioral psychology. They become experts at understanding nuances about human behavior and understanding the root mode behind the "sub-conscious communication". Sample examples include closely following eye movement, noticing the direction of the feet on the floor, twitching of fingers, inclination of posture, etc. Some even try and leverage on graphology or critically evaluating the hand writing of the client stakeholder to get a better idea about their state of mind. In fact, a CXO's signature speaks volumes of his mental makeup whether he is stingy, flamboyant, meticulous, etc. In conclusion, in any client facing business, building relationships based on trust leads to lasting professional success. Effective interactions based on behavioral psychology can go a long way in succeeding in such a client context. Although it is easy to understand the nuances of some of the management frameworks, building expertise is a matter of specialized coaching and experience. (The author, Sandeep Das, is an MBA from IIM Bangalore, a management consultant, the author of “Yours Sarcastically” and a columnist)
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Wincourse will be looking at acquiring more companies in the edu-tech space this year, reports Sonal Khetarpal Delhi-based education technology firm Wincourse has acquired an 85 per cent stake in Mappr, a networking platform for schools, for an undisclosed amount. Wincourse, an online location-based tutor aggregator platform, was founded by Dheeraj Jain, Ashwani Duggal and Kay Bhagavatheeswaran to organise the tutoring market in India. The portal allows former and present students to grade and provide feedback to their tuition teachers on the basis of their experience. The company currently has around 8,00,000 tutors on their platform from Delhi NCR and Bangalore, informs Jain. “We wanted to expand our educational services to schools and Mappr is a great networking platform that acts like a combination of Facebook and LinkedIn for schools,” says Jain. Mappr was founded in March 2015 by two IIT alumni, Soham Chokshi and his partner who requested anonymity for professional reasons. The online platform connects school administration, teachers, students and parents within and across schools. It allows teachers to give feedback on students’ progress, helps schools go digital by facilitating online uploading of assignments, and connecting parents through social groups. The portal has onboarded few schools and private tutors in Delhi NCR and Mumbai as its clients and are targeting to reach over two lakh users by this year end. One of the key differentiator of Mappr is that it gives visibility to students not only for their academic performance but also for their behaviour and extra-curricular achievements to not only to school administration but also to parents in real time, informs Chokshi. “We got Wincourse on board as we were running the company part time and their manpower and resources will help to accelerate the scaling process for Mappr,” he adds. Choksi is the co-founder of another logistics start-up Shipsy. Wincourse will be looking at acquiring more companies in the edu-tech space this year.
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Indian educational system calls for an urgent reform. But till now, little progress has been made by the central government. It is high time the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government should change its focus from building infrastructure such as buildings and class rooms to 'learning outcomes'. The National Policy on Education was framed in 1986 and modified in 1992. Since then many changes have taken place that call for a revision of the policy. The Narendra Modi government promised to bring out a National Education Policy (NEP) to meet the changing dynamics of the population's requirement with regard to quality education. For the first time, the government is embarking on a time-bound grassroots consultative process, which will enable the Human Resources Development Ministry to reach out to individuals across the country through over 2.75 lakh direct consultations while also taking input from citizens online. In a country where access to education is still an issue and digital India is still to take off, the framework of NEP is yet to be structured. HRD minister Smriti Irani has, however, assured that the draft education policy shall be ready by the end of 2015. Earlier this year, the Centre said that it would also evaluate public-private partnerships (PPPs) to finance education, seek ways of upping India's spend on higher education to 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) from less than 1 per cent now, and emphasise on research and development (R&D). "We need to increase the budget for education significantly and keep 10 per cent of the allocation in improving teachers' competence and assessing learning outcomes and we must change the way we measure progress in this area," said Anil Sachdev, Founder & CEO of School Of Inspired Leadership (SOIL). However, it is a known fact that higher education cannot sustain only through public funding. While PPPs in higher education have been pursued as a strategy, not many have shown successful results. Hence, the PPP models need to be revisited so as to allow more meaningful collaborations. Education experts believe that the public and private sectors, along with the centre and state governments should have an integrated approach to education to create an environment of financing with incentive. "The government should facilitate engagement between academia, industry and research institutes in a better way including providing incentives on research so that it grows in leaps and bounds rather than create an incremental growth," says Sachdev. On August 20, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched a portal —www.vidyalakshmi.com— for students seeking education loans and five banks including SBI, IDBI Bank and Bank of India have integrated their systems with the website. This is aimed to ensure that no student misses out on higher education for lack of funds, and the launch of the portal is the first step towards achieving this objective. The government has also sought suggestions on ways to rework the examination system for better assessment of students, restructure education regulators such as the University Grants Commission and the All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE) as present regulatory systems tend to stymie quality and growth of our institutions. The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan ensures constitutional provisions for providing free and compulsory education to all the children between 6 to 14 years of age. Even after declaring education as a fundamental right, there are numerous hurdles that prohibit a girl child from actually getting education. The biggest hurdle is the prejudices that families have about girls-like girls are slow learners, they are not rational; they are to be confined inside the domestic household, and why bother educating them. For ensuring that girls get the right kind of education, the education experts believe that the government must develop role model female teachers and involve mothers of female students in running the schools as well as recognise them for encouraging their wards to study. Further, the schools must be equipped with basic facilities to make the female students safe and comfortable. They also believe that it is important to educate "Panchayats" and "city councils" about the benefit of educating the girl child and work with NGOs to remove biases against this cause. Although the government has big plans to reform the education sector, everything remains on the policy stage as of now. Even as the country's economy has nearly stabilised, the education industry which is largely seen as a social sector should now be perceived as an industry. Educationists believe that education is very much correlated with the economic development of a country, citing examples of countries like China, South Korea, Singapore, which, in a matter of decade and a half have transformed into developed economies because of the transformational changes they have brought about in the education sector. It is now imperative for India that is undergoing demographical, economical, and digital transformation to follow the path. As Sam Pitroda in his National Knowledge Commission paper had said in 2005 that "we need generational transformation in our education system to bring about change." But it has been a decade and we are still doing incremental changes therefore we do not see the impact. Modi's Reforms In A Logjam; Read Businessworld magazine 24 September Edition
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Labeling and packaging solution provider Avery Dennison recently awarded scholarship worth Rs 9 lakh under its ‘Spirit of Invention’ (InvEnt) programme to 10 Indian students from five reputed institutes for innovation capabilities in science and technology. "We are pleased that the InvEnt Scholarship Programme has entered its fourth year in India,” said Alicia Procello Maddox, president of the Avery Dennison Foundation, CSR wing of the company. “As a company we are committed to improving the communities in which our employee operates and lives. We recognise the need for talent development to nurture effective leaders of the future. We are excited to play a part in the journey of these 10 students from India as they get ready to take on new opportunities in their future,” added Alicia. The participating Indian institutes this year included Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani; M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore; MIT, Manipal; Pune Vidhyarthi Griha's College of Engineering and Technology, Pune and St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. The company provides them a tour in their plant to broaden their mind. Alicia said that there is a huge chance for retention of the best minds. Anil Sharma, MD of Material Group, South Asia said, “We at Avery Dennison support innovations and understand the need for that. We also support social causes, which is an integral part of our Foundation. Our foundation is involved in many activities along with Smile Foundation. We work towards women empowerment, their education and improvise the Indian community.” On asking about the investment the company will make in India, Sharma said, “Currently, the packaging and labeling industry in India is around Rs 60, 000 crore. So far we have invested $70 million in India. We are looking forward to invest $100 million in the next 6-7 years.” The US based company which has specialized in pressure sensitive labeling has around 1,300 employees in India in its two centers, Bengaluru and Pune. Since becoming operational in the country, they have been working with different NGOs to promote education, sustainability and women empowerment.
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Chanakya IAS Academy has organsed a seminar 'Art of Success' for the aspiring candidates of Civil Service Examination. Chanakya IAS Academy in association with Art of Success created a platform for the aspirants to build their confidence level by listening to Mr. A.K. Mishra, the celebrated motivational speaker.A.K. Mishra, Managing Director of Chanakya IAS Academy, said, “This seminar is an initiative to empower the civil services aspirants with prerequisite skills to succeed in Civil Services Examination, to break their myths related to the examination and to provide right guidance to the students to excel in their chosen fields. Art of Success organized the seminar for the aspirants with a belief and goal to spread the knowledge and motivation to the aspirants, who aim to be a Civil Servant.”This initiative of Art of Success served the purpose of the candidates on how to come out with flying colors in the most competitive examination. He has also set straight the myths associated with the Civil Services Examination and motivated the deserving students on how to succeed and overcome all the difficulties in lifeA.K. Mishra, Managing Director of Chanakya IAS Academy, popularly known as Success Guru, was the chief speaker of the programme. The seminar witnessed the aspiring candidates from all over India. A.K. Mishra is the renowned motivational speaker of Art of Success encouraged the hardworking students to express their doubts, fears or any preconceived notions that has been a barrier to get through one of the most competitive examination.(BW Online Bureau)
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"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." William Arthur WardIn the olden days, teacher was considered as a provider and transmitter of information. A teacher was considered as an authoritarian over her subject matter and the student regarded teacher as a role model.The young today are facing a world in which communication and information revolution has led to changes in all spheres: scientific, technological, political, economic, social and cultural. To be able to prepare our young people face the future with confidence, purpose and responsibility, the crucial role of teachers cannot be overemphasized. New demands are often placed on the schools in addition to the existing ones, to be equipped with current knowledge and modern methods of acquiring new knowledge. It is teacher's responsibility to see that the student is prepared and is equipped to compete in the current scenario. Time has come when a teacher needs to realize that, " Knowledge is like an ocean- never ending and deep." As teachers, we are just ice-burgs with a small crown over our head.In the dynamic society like ours, the role of a teacher has undergone lots of transformation just as the needs of our students have changed and revolved. As a part of teacher community, we complain and argue saying, "Hamare time pe aisa nahi tha." Or, "Yeh generation lucky hai.", "Yeh bacche teacher ko mante nahin." My question to all my fellow-beings is, " Do you really think that we can buy respect." I feel that as a teacher a student needs to respect a teacher from within. Respect will not come just by students wishing us, getting up in class once you enter, calling us madam. It is necessary that she earns it. A teacher will definitely achieve it if she meets the demands of the student. To meet these demands, the teacher should herself be a learner and ready to transform herself to accept the new roles.Changing roles:1. Facilitator: A teacher needs to facilitate and inspire students for self study and go beyond the text -book.2. Democratic: A learning environment created which is more flexible.3. Emphasis on overall development: Teacher needs to understand specific learning abilities of each individual and try to build the personality of an individual through various teaching learning activities.eg, Role play, debates, seminar and discussions etc.4. Practical oriented: A teacher should plan the curriculum and the course in a way that entails a practical approach. It is essential that teacher provide training in such a way that the matter learnt in theory is applied in real life. This could be achieved through actual experimentation, laboratories, simulation.5. Multidisciplinary approach: A young student may have lots of interests and as a teacher we need to understand and provide time for students to identify their own interests. A multidisciplinary approach will also help the new generation to face challenges holistic way and not in parts.6. Counselor: Students undergo lot of stress. A good teacher needs to understand student's psychology, identify deviations and assist them to cope.7. Technosavy: A teacher needs to understand newer methods in teaching learning activity which would make her class interesting, interactive and sustain the attention of the students.8. Role model: Students look up at the teachers as role models. Time has come when students observe their teachers behavior in all respects. Moral values like respect, punctuality, honesty, sincerity can be only transferred if you as a teacher practice.Thus, it is clear that teaching has undergone evolution with time. Lets learn to face these challenges and transform our outlook to education and help the citizens of tomorrow to create a Better India. All that is required is:M- MotivateI- InspireG- Goal settingH- Honest effortT- Timely interventionThe author, Avani Oke, is Principal of K.J. Somaiya College of Nursing
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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is giving Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) $35 million to develop a facility promoting education and leading-edge research by CMU's faculty and students.The gift from TCS is the fifth largest gift in Carnegie Mellon's history and the biggest the school has received either from outside the US or from a corporation.The gift also will endow presidential fellowships and scholarships, increasing the availability of a CMU education to outstanding students."With our shared commitment to education and research in areas that help address many challenges of our time, the partnership with TCS is both natural and extraordinarily promising," said Subra Suresh, president of Carnegie Mellon."Together, our two organisations have the capabilities and capacity to make breakthrough discoveries, and the scale to make societal impact on a global scale.""TCS is proud to invest in this landmark partnership with CMU to promote market-driven innovation and accelerate advancements in technology," said Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chief executive officer and managing director, TCS."As global leaders, Carnegie Mellon and TCS have the intellectual power, creativity, institutional nimbleness, and global reach to capitalize on new opportunities and have a lasting impact on society and industry through cutting-edge digital research and a long-term commitment to education."TCS is part of the Tata group, India's biggest industrial conglomerate.
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The School of Inspired Leadership, also known as SOIL, is a private business school located in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It was founded by Anil Sachdev who was formerly the CEO of the consulting firm Grow Talent Company Limited before the consulting business was sold to the American HR Consulting firm Right Management. The name Grow Talent Company was retained and SOIL functions as a unit of Grow Talent Company.“Many leaders like Ratan Tata, Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji among others who I’ve dealt with over the years as clients and batchmates who have inspired me to form a curriculum for students to become future leaders in their own field,” says Anil Sachdev, Founder & CEO, SOIL. The B-School was established by a consortium of 32 companies including Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Infosys, Birla Group, Dr Reddys, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Johnson and Johnson, Kohler, Larsen and Toubro, Mahindra, Max, Maruti Suzuki, Nokia, SAS, SAP SRF, Schneider, Symphony, Tata Steel, TVS Motors, Volvo-Eicher among others. The school faculty that are mostly from the corporate world coach some of the top leaders of the company on leadership. Sachdev himself has coached LIC and IRDA top executives. “The industry consortium’s involvement is what makes us who we are. They have been part of our visioning and have helped us through each stage of growth in the past several years. They joined hands with us to literally ‘co-create’ a business school that addresses the needs of corporate India,” says Sachdev Forty per cent of the entire curriculum focuses on spiritual learnings, yoga, travelling to spiritual places. It encourages students to work for social development as every week a student is mandated to work with a non-profitable organisation (NGO). “With so much corporate corruption around we teach our students to be honest and ethical,” says Sachdev. SOIL is now opening another institute in Manesar that will under graduate to post graduate courses on Design Thinking, Innovation and Entrepreneurship among the regular Masters in Business Administration (MBA). The other university will be established in Pune in the next 5 years.
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