Ten Secrets of Effective Management

I found this article when I was surfing the web to search something. When I was going through the article I found that these facts are very true and how we can campare these facts with our experiences when working with our manager/supervisor.

What I always say is that in sri lanka we are lack of managers. Most of the time manager works as a person who gets the things done. They don't try to plan and work. they just do the things they have to do. Enen they plan, hardly implement those plans. Most of the managers handover their work to subordinates and wash their hands. Manager should understand the role of a manager and must practise to plan and implement those plans.



Ten secrets of effective management from the pros.

The costs of poor management are severe and manifest themselves in countless negative ways including demotivated, demoralized staff, high staff turnover, reduced employee productivity, increased employee uncertainty, a client/company disconnect and increased customer complaints. While a plethora of literature exists on the myriad ways managers can up their performance and positively impact and influence their companies and their teams, below we outline ten basic management tips from the pros.

1. Lead don't manage

Leaders who 'inspire' their teams to perform by example and by communicating and eliciting excitement for a common vision, mission and set of values and goals are far more effective over the long run than their more subdued counterparts who 'manage' rather than 'lead'. While managers control, meddle, limit and demoralize, the leaders excite, enthuse and infuse the organisation with their own contagious positive energy, motivation and dedication to professional principles and ideals as well as their solid, passionate and unwavering commitment to the company and the clients. Leaders manage less rather than more and while guiding and overseeing broad strategic issues and communicating closely with their teams, refrain from regularly interfering in the day-to-day tasks and workloads or micromanaging. As people take their cues from the boss, the boss's principles, tone, work ethic, values, workstyle, energy and motivation will largely influence and determine the corporate culture.

2. Hire the best

A manager's performance is a direct function of the performance of his team - by definition his role is to achieve a specific output or desired result through his employees and as such there is no substitute for surrounding yourself with the best possible players in the field and grooming them to excel. Confident managers are not afraid to hire Grade A players, they do not fear such employees will downplay their own track record or undermine their profile and abilities. To the contrary, good managers recognize that top performers will lift the whole division and will reflect directly in purely positive terms on their boss. Grade A players are motivated, driven, energetic, innovative, have the right attitude, aptitude, experience, abilities and their enthusiasm and quest for excellence usually sifts through the entire organization infusing it with renewed vigor and competitiveness. Just as excellence is contagious, so is mediocrity and incompetency - good managers are vigilant to never permit mediocrity in the front door and to excise it immediately should it rear its uncompetitive head before it manifests itself further across the organisation to everyone's detriment.

3. Set clear goals

Setting goals is the first step towards achieving peak performance. These goals must be clear, specific, reasonable and attainable. The team must be able to articulate these goals in no uncertain terms and commit to them. Once the expectations are set, training programs and resource allocation can be tailored around these milestones and performance measured accordingly. A team that cannot articulate the company's mission and goals and their own is a team destined for failure. A team set unreasonable, unrealistic goals is also set for failure. Good managers understand what is reasonable and attainable and ensure that the teams have the tools, training, infrastructure, resources and know-how necessary to achieve these goals. A good rule is to tell your team "what" needs to be done and "why" and leaving them to determine the "how" based on their best professional judgement and all the resources and know-how made available to them.

4. Listen to your team

A good manager listens to his team, closely monitors the issues they are facing and acts as a sounding board for their concerns, problems and ideas. Good listening starts with being open minded and approachable and involves paying close attention and making an effort to truly understand the issues raised while respecting the different viewpoints, communicating your understanding and offering nuggets of wisdom, direction, guidance or advice where sought for or appropriate. Ask questions where you are unclear about something. Probe. Reiterate key points to make sure you understand correctly. A manager divorced from the unique needs of his team cannot begin to motivate or inspire them toward a common goal. A manager who listens with objectivity, respect and discipline translates into a team that listens, both to each other and to the client and this is often the first step towards a winning, client-oriented service and product line. Good listening need not stop with the team - ideas, feedback and advice can come from anywhere, often from unlikely sources, and a good manager is always receptive to them.

5. Communicate effectively

Effective communication means clear, concise and timely communication and open lines of communication between the manager and his team. This goes beyond effective listening to communicating the mission, goals, standards, values and job expectations, giving ongoing and regular feedback to employees, seeking and acknowledging feedback from the team on decisions that affect them, relaying both positive and negative news in a timely manner, motivating and coaching the team and positively reinforcing employees in both public and private for jobs well done.

6. Respect your team

A good manager is consistently and unwaveringly respectful towards his team in attitude, words and actions. They do not look down on their teams nor do they consider themselves above maintaining a healthy, robust and direct line of communication with them. Good managers never belittle, humiliate, embarrass, threaten or otherwise undermine the integrity of their employees. When they need to criticize they do so professionally, constructively and in private; in public they laud, commend and motivate. Good managers never single out an employee to publicly flog or scream at nor do they create a culture where anger, ranting, raving, blaming, accusing or screaming are acceptable. Autocrats and dictators fail as managers over the long run; respectful leaders win the loyalty and commitment of their teams and succeed.

7. Create a learning culture

Teaching is a high leverage activity - the amount of time you spend training and coaching an employee or group of employees will generate a high return on investment that should with positive ramifications infiltrate many levels of the organisation. While you teach, your own learning and understanding of the subject matter will be enhanced. Make sure your own training and self-education remains uninterrupted as you progress up the career ladder even as you teach and provide training programs for subordinates. In this knowledge-economy age we live in, education, skills, knowledge rapidly become obsolete and it is essential to stay ahead of the productivity and innovation curve through constant training and education. Competitiveness necessitates a highly trained workforce - make sure you allocate key resources including some of your own precious time to the regular and ongoing training and development of employees. Groom them for success and cultivate great future leaders by providing the best training feasible while continuously updating, refining and enhancing your own skills.

8. Delegate Don't Abdicate

Good managers don't hire a team then do the job themselves - they delegate then supervise, monitor, inspect and provide feedback. Delegating does not mean a handover then washing your hands clean of the project - delegation without supervision is abdicating! Make sure you set a clear schedule for follow-up and regularly track progress towards agreed goals. Managers who delegate without ensuring their teams receive the proper resources, tools and training are setting their teams up for failure. Similarly, managers who assign responsibilities then rob their subordinates of all decision-making ability and authority while maintaining complex bureaucracy and rigid, archaic policies/procedures are dooming their teams to failure. Finally, managers who meddle, control, micro-manage and routinely take over tasks that veer off-course rather than leaving their subordinates to take charge and see the project through to completion are also inefficiently allocating valuable resources and undermining their subordinates. Employees who are routinely divorced of their responsibilities in such a manager cease to feel accountable and eventually lose motivation.

9. Remove barriers to success

Make sure the policies and procedures in place in your company help rather than hinder peak performance and success. Workplace rules and regulations should be minimized and facilitated to be easy to comprehend and follow rather than a barrier to success. Any rules/procedures, bureaucracies or other boundaries that paralyze, delay and frustrate rather than catalyze the efficient production process should be rethought and wherever possible removed or alternatives found. Workers should be encouraged to constantly innovate and optimize on their work processes and output and work processes should consequently be flexible enough to allow for this constant redefining and innovation. Strive to give employees freedom - the unfettered freedom to create, innovate, improve and exceed all expectations and performance targets.

10. Focus on the Customer

Effective managers realize that the customer is the real boss. Customers through their purchasing decisions hire and fire employees every day and their actions, attitudes and habits ultimately determine the shape, focus and size of the organisation. A boss's focus on the customer will permeate the organization and create a customer-driven organization where everyone realizes that they work for and are ultimately paid by the customer. All positions in an effective organisation should be geared towards either getting or keeping a customer. The successful manager will take responsibility for training the employees in the fine art and science of getting and keeping customers while removing all corporate and procedural barriers that fetter these activities.

3-minute management course

One of my good,old friends indika(Dela) sent me a mail named 3-minute management course. There were couple of stories/lessons. I think they are very interesing & worth to post on my blog. so here ...

Lesson 1
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbour. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbour," she replies. "Great!" the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story:If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.


Lesson 2
A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologised "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.


Lesson 3
A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish." Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Puff! She's gone. Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Puff! He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.


Lesson 4
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?" The eagle answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.


Lesson 5
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story:
BullSh!t might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.


Lesson 6
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird d singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Morals of the story:
(1) Not everyone who sh!ts on you is your enemy
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of sh!t is your friend
(3) And when you're in deep sh!t, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

This ends the 3-minute management course.

Vacation

Today I came to work after 1 week's vacation. It was a good break because last couple of months I was very busy and did hell of work and took only 3 days as leaves for past 10 months.

Last saturday we(dinee,dumma,dhanushka,my self,siri bappa & some of his friend) went dinee's place at Balapity. It was always happening everytime we went balapity and we really missed jana this time because he was our organizer for the past few years for all our trips & parties.(Jana is in UK these days)

It was bit late when we woke up in Sunday morning. We plan to get up early to go for a sea bath before the sun rise but everybody got late because of the late night party. Beach is few meters away from dinee's place. we were lucky because sun light was not that strong because of the rainy weather. That's the first time we went for a sea bath after tsunami.

Dumma,Dhanushka,siri bappa & his friend went back colombo after lunch. Dinee, Akki, Chuti nangi and myself came back on monday evening.It took about 2 and half hours to reach colombo because there was a small traffic on our way because everybody is comming back to colombo after the long vacation I think. After came back home I watched couple of movies. some of them are Insomnia, Derailed, Flight of Phoenix, Lucky number slevin and Longest yard. Dinee went to work on thursday and I watched the cricket match Sri lanka Vs New Zealand. Sri Lanka won the match by 7 wickets.

It's always better to have a break before starting your work in the New year. Because you'll have work!! work!! work!!

Returning Row number in Query

I wanted to return the row number with the data set in my query. I achieve that without much effort but after that I had to modify that to return the line number according to a group as,

StudentName CourseName      Row Number
---------- ------------- ---------
Nalaka      Computer Science 1
Nalaka      Economics        2
Nalaka      Marketing        3
Dineesh     Economics        1
Dineesh     Marketing        2
Indika      Computer Science 1

After some time I found the solution. It's very interesting and I think It's a breakthrough to SQL beginners where they can expand their SQL knowledge. Here it is.

create table #Student(StudentID int,StudentName varchar(20))
create table #Course(CourseID int,CourseName varchar(20))
create table #CourseDetails(StudentID int,CourseID int)

insert into #Student values(1,'Nalaka')
insert into #Student values(2,'Dineesh')
insert into #Student values(3,'Indika')

insert into #Course values(1,'Computer Science')
insert into #Course values(2,'Economics')
insert into #Course values(3,'Marketing')

insert into #CourseDetails values(1,1)
insert into #CourseDetails values(1,2)
insert into #CourseDetails values(1,3)
insert into #CourseDetails values(2,2)
insert into #CourseDetails values(2,3)
insert into #CourseDetails values(3,1)


select S.StudentName,C.CourseName,
(select count(*) from #CourseDetails CD1 where CD1.StudentID = CD.StudentID and CD1.CourseID <= CD.CourseID) as 'Row Number' from #Student S, #Course C, #CourseDetails CD where S.StudentID=CD.StudentID AND C.CourseID=CD.CourseID order by CD.StudentID,CD.CourseID

drop table #Student
drop table #Course
drop table #CourseDetails

Paste this in your SQL Query Analyzer and run. You'll get the result with the row number as I expected earlier. It's bit tricky. examine "(select count(*) from #CourseDetails CD1 where CD1.StudentID = CD.StudentID and CD1.CourseID <= CD.CourseID) as 'Row Number'" part of the query with the data in #CourseDetails table.

I'll blog when ...

I hardy post in my blog these days and when I'm posting something, most of the time I mentioned about this and thought to update the blog regularly. But i failed with the heavy work load. So from now on I decided to post only when I have time.So I'll blog when I blog.

Work!! work!! work!! time!! time!! time!!

Couldn't blog for a long time. It's almost 2 and half months since the last post. Last 2 months were terrible. Huge work load. worked late night continuously.I saw this post when I'm going through mahasen's blog yesterday.
Work life in US. I think project mismanagement is the reason for this problem in most of the software companies in Sri Lanka. What I think is most of the managers plan a lot but implement very little. We should practice implement what we plan, stick to the project plan.

New machine

Today I got a new machine in my office. Previous machine was little bit slow. It was a AMD Athlon(tm)XP 1800+ with 512 MB RAM. New one is Intel Pentium 4 3GHz with 1 GB RAM and this is super fast.

Java

Couple of days ago I got an opportunity to involve in a java project. Even I didn't write a java code in 3,4 years, I desperately wanted to dig it inside. What I believe is for developers there's a time they take a decision and select the technology stream to proceed their career. Sometimes it happens naturally according to the materials gather around the person. In my case I choose Microsoft and started to develop in VB. Considering Microsoft, today C# has become my favorite language. Now I feel I always had a liking to java all through these 4,5 years in my development career even I didn't know it.

I think i didn't have much choice those days when .Net took the IT world by a storm. Everybody talked about the beauty of .Net. When I look back i just realized for the last 2 years I never thought about any other technology except .Net. In the recent past Microsoft.net has made a huge impact in this industry than any other, and it proceeds.

When talking about .Net Vs Java Or Microsoft technologies Vs Open source always it has been a hot topic. I found this thread in srilanka.net forum which is very interesting and there are lot of stories inside this thread which is useful to us as Developers, as a 3rd world country or else as a nation.

http://dotnetforum.lk/forums/10035/ShowPost.aspx

It's worth post a separate article about this. So I won't express my ideas deeply regarding this. Anyway I like both the technologies. Microsoft and Open source. And I don't like to compare these two. Definitely there are advantages and drawback in both over one another.

It's very nice to have strong representations of both the communities in SL. Sri Lanka .Net forum has been doing a good job for the past 2 years. Tech Ed and VS 2005 Launch was great. Open source community is also blooming up. http://www.foss.lk is still limited to events. It'll be more active if they start a forum. If so developers will gather around it more and more and community will become more stronger.

I wish best of luck to both the communities and dreaming of something comes out by the unity of these two local communities as a nation.

Cheers.

Recruitment

Couple of days ago one of my friends called me and told that he needs to find some good .net guys urgently & is there anyone I know ?

He said they selected some out of received CVs and conducted interviews. Since their company is looking for a degree as the minimum paper qualification, they've short listed Cvs of software engineers only who has at least a Bachelor's Degree.
Some of those who had over 4 years of industrial experience with over 1 year .net experience. After interviewed 16 applicants they could select only 1 but that one is also not up to the level they expected.

They had called CVs for the position of Senior Software Engineer but some of applicants were not even fit for the position of a Trainee software Engineer. They've mentioned as "A good understanding of OOP concepts" but didn't know what an
abstract class is or how to Overloading methods.

I told him there might be something wrong in your recruitment process...something wrong with the way they selected
those CVs. "Don't you call for an interview for someone who has a Bachelor's degree with over 4 years of industrial
experience and having worked in the biggest outsourcing company in SL?" He replied...

Is it this hard to find couple of good .net resources? Is it true?

There was one of my friends looking for a break who has worked with me in my previous work place. Unfortunately he hasn't had a Degree. not even a certificate except a MCP. I told about him to my friend. He finished the conversation by
taking my friends CV without a hope.

After 2 days my friend who's looking for .net developers called me and said he has just interviewed my friend who wants to take a break from his current work place. "He is kind of a guy we were looking for. he's easily got through
the technical interview. I recomended him and through to the second interview with the Management. Hope management won't consider the minimum paper qualifications. I might neglected hundreds of CVs like this only because they didn't have a Degree." Hs said.

Adding User-defined Function Libraries to Crystal Reports

Crystal comes with it's own number of Functions that can be used in formula field objects. While crystal provides a huge number of functions that are useful to developers, there are mechanisms to enhance the product with user defined functions libraries. It comes with the ability to accept new functions you develop to meet your needs.

Both available syntaxes (Crystal syntax and Basic syntax) have a branch with additional functions on the bottom of the middle tree. User-defined functions can be added to the additional functions branch of the tree just like if they were existing crystal reports functions.



Creating a user-defined function library

There are two types of function libraries supported by Crystal. Dynamic link libraries and COM Automation server. These libraries can be written in several languages. Dynamic link libraries are usually written in C and must include those files shipped with Crystal. you can also download these files from Crystal Decisions support site.



How to create a project to write functions?

It's really simple and you don't need to worry about interface definitions. Let's write a small function using Visual Basic.

- Create a ActiveX DLL project in Visual Basic
- Add a function named "DateFormat" to your class module or copy the following code.

Public Function DateFormat(ByVal sDate As String) As String
DateFormat = Format(sDate, "dd/MMM/yyyy")
End Function

- Save the project with a meaningful name. Make sure it starts with "CRUFL". For now let's name it as "CRUFLformat"
- Go to --> Make and compile your project into ActiveX DLL (Which will serve as an automation server for Crystal Reports)
- Copy the CRUFLformat.DLL into a directory(better if Windows or crystal reports directory) and register it using regsvr32 exe.



Using it in Crystal Reports

- Create a new report using a database you prefer.
- Insert a formula field. Formula window must appear with 3 panes.
- In the middle pane, go to the Additional functions branch andd you'll see DateFormat function. use it to format the date in a date field.
- Edit the function (changing the date format) and see the difference

I will ...

Couldn't write in the blog for a long time.
Just saw where I stoped. hmm...It was damn right.
I thought I'll update the blog regularly from today onwards.

Chances...

I got the opportunity.

For better or worse we must take decisions of our lives.....
Because we might not get those chances for the rest of our lifetime.....

After a long time...

Well...Well, after a long time I'm writing something in my blog..

I missed TechEd2005 & e-Carnival but I was there for the Launch.
Wow it was cool. SQL Server 2005 and Visual Web Developer 2005 sessions were great.
I met a bunch of mates which I didn't meet for years and met some of the guys in the dotnetforum for the first time.

Last year I haven’t had much plans. Actually I haven’t had a chance to plan 'coz I got married and I was away from SL for couple of times. Only thing I planned was my wedding. I missed TechEd and e Carnival too. But I was in touch with .Net even I didn't get much opportunities to use in developments. Yeah I was a Vb 6.0 developer for last 4 years because my current employer is maintaining a lot of VB 6.0 applications. But I'm desperate to start fulltime .Net developments. Yeah That will be my main objective in this year and "Ready to Rock the Launch" gave me a good start. Today is a very good/special day to achieve that. I have all the determination and energy to approached the task.


We were ready to Rock 'cos it was Ready To Rock
It has started in a rocking style with Wild Fire on stage
There were 2 rocking sessions in SQL Server 2005 and Visual Web Developer 2005
They said we rocked them 'coz there were around 1200 enthusiasts

But...
When the night has come, had couple of beer glasses
And Wild fire’s playing (Another brick in the wall...)

You rocked us!!!

Working class hero

As soon as you’re born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool
Till you’re so fucking crazy you can’t follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be

When they’ve tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can’t really function you’re so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and tv
And you think you’re so clever and classless and free
But you’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be

There’s room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me...

~ JL