Job Labels

ashokbhatia

Tired of time-worn designations? Try these:

·         Chief Worrying Officer: Normally, the Chief Financial Officer who is worried sick about legal compliance in all areas of business.

·         Chief Listening Officer: A Vice President – Human Resources who is always ready with a bucket and a towel to help employees facing emotional distress.

·         Chief Results Officer: The Chief Executive Officer who believes that ends justify all means.

·         Chief Dreams Officer: The Research & Development head who keeps dreaming of new products and businesses.

·         Chief Conscience Keeper: Keeps a strict eye on fraudulent behaviour anywhere in the organization.

Here are some job labels which appear to be on the horizon:

·         Chief Risk Officer: Ensures corporate governance criteria are met and regulatory frameworks respected.

·         Chief Counselling Officer: A legal eagle who can vet…

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Designations

ashokbhatia

Designations are not important in cases where the external exposure of the employee is minimal. They form the psychological part of an employee’s compensation package.

For those whose role demands an external exposure, a higher sounding designation would improve the canvas of opportunities, enabling a faster realization of the company’s goals.

For employees who have outlived their core utility in companies which believe in firing people only when there is a disaster of a nuclear nature, an improvement in designation would be an invaluable tool in the company’s Human Resources arsenal.

(Excerpt from my book ‘Surviving in the Corporate Jungle’, which covers more than hundred topics of interest to managers of all hues, shapes and sizes)

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Job Labels

Tired of time-worn designations? Try these:

·         Chief Worrying Officer: Normally, the Chief Financial Officer who is worried sick about legal compliance in all areas of business.

·         Chief Listening Officer: A Vice President – Human Resources who is always ready with a bucket and a towel to help employees facing emotional distress.

·         Chief Results Officer: The Chief Executive Officer who believes that ends justify all means.

·         Chief Dreams Officer: The Research & Development head who keeps dreaming of new products and businesses.

·         Chief Conscience Keeper: Keeps a strict eye on fraudulent behaviour anywhere in the organization.

Here are some job labels which appear to be on the horizon:

·         Chief Risk Officer: Ensures corporate governance criteria are met and regulatory frameworks respected.

·         Chief Counselling Officer: A legal eagle who can vet agreements of all sizes and shapes and counsel on a legally safe route to take.

·         Chief Data Crunchers: With big data coming up in a big way, the day is not far off when specialists in data management would be seen occupying corner suites in offices.

·       Chief Merchandising Officers: With organized retail picking up, professionals with a feel of the customers’ pulse move up the organizational hierarchy.

(Excerpt from my book ‘Surviving in the Corporate Jungle’, the English version of which was released recently. The Portuguese version of the excerpt follows.)

TÍTULOS DE CARGOS

Cansado dos títulos muito batidos? Experimente estes:

• Diretor de Preocupações: normalmente, o Diretor Financeiro, que está preocupado com a conformidade legal em todas as áreas de negócio.

• Diretor Ombro Amigo: um Vice-Presidente de Recursos Humanos sempre pronto com um balde e uma toalha para ajudar os funcionários em sofrimento emocional.

• Diretor-Geral que acredita: que os fins justificam todos os meios.

• Diretor de Sonhos: um Responsável por Investigação & Desenvolvimento que está sempre a sonhar com novos produtos e negócios.

• Guardião da Consciência: está sempre de olho nos comportamentos fraudulentos onde quer que possam ocorrer na organização.

E eis alguns novos cargos que parecem estar no horizonte:

• Diretor de Riscos: assegura que os critérios de gestão são cumpridos e os quadros regulamentares são respeitados.

• Diretor de Aconselhamento Jurídico: um ás em direito com poderes para vetar todo o tipo de acordos e dar conselhos sobre os caminhos a seguir que sejam juridicamente seguros.

• Diretor de Tratamento de Dados: com cada vez mais dados à disposição das empresas, não estará longe o dia em que os especialistas em tratamento de dados irão ocupar os melhores gabinetes do escritório.

• Diretores de Merchandising: à medida que a distribuição organizada ganha terreno, os profissionais capazes de sentir o pulso dos consumidores vão subindo na hierarquia das empresas.

(This is how you can lay your hands on the Portuguese version of the book, launched in Portugal during March, 2016.)

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Designations

Designations are not important in cases where the external exposure of the employee is minimal. They form the psychological part of an employee’s compensation package.

For those whose role demands an external exposure, a higher sounding designation would improve the canvas of opportunities, enabling a faster realization of the company’s goals.

For employees who have outlived their core utility in companies which believe in firing people only when there is a disaster of a nuclear nature, an improvement in designation would be an invaluable tool in the company’s Human Resources arsenal.

(Excerpt from my book ‘Surviving in the Corporate Jungle’, which covers more than hundred topics of interest to managers of all hues, shapes and sizes)

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The ‘J’ of Management

JOB LABELS

Tired of time-worn designations? Try these:

• Chief Worrying Officer: Normally, the CFO who is worried sick about legal compliance in all areas of business.

• Chief Listening Officer: A VP-HR who is always ready with a bucket and towel to help employees facing emotional distress.

• Chief Results Officer: The CEO who believes that ends justify all means.

• Chief Dreams Officer: The R&D Head who keeps dreaming of new products and businesses.

• Chief Ethics Officer: Keeps a strict eye on fraudulent behavior anywhere in the organization.

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

Quite a few bosses have an innate ability to be able to think in four dimensions at the same time – viz., the length and breadth of a problem, its depth and also how it may unfold over a period of time. If your boss is not a specimen from this tribe, and if he happens to jump to conclusions without evaluating all the other dimensions of an issue at hand, one can only wish you the very best in your career.

If reporting to such a boss (God forbid!), each day you will be having a roller coaster ride, much like NASDAQ/Sensex, linked to the vagaries and uncertainty of the mood of the “market” at any given point in time. In one such company where I had the good fortune to work (great learning opportunity, if I may say so), public shouting at subordinates was the order of the day. One day, a very sullen looking junior walked into my office. When I asked him the reason for his sadness, he said he was missing the daily “quota” of shouting from the boss that day!

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The “D” of Management

DECISION MAKING
Strategic decisions made in a jiffy on a sudden impulse could lead to disasters. The company could end up having a wrong plant location, an outdated product, or a service of which the time is yet to come. Changing such a decision would invariably be an expensive affair.
Run of the mill decisions, like which brand of Xerox paper to buy for the office, or whether the car parking positions of officers should depend on hierarchy or time of arrival, are best delegated and left to be made at the operational level, where the executives are closer to the ground realities.

DELEGATION
When you can’t do something as well as the other person can, a smart choice you can make is that of delegating the task; that is, moving from doing it yourself to getting it done through others. If you do not learn to delegate, you could suffocate.
Trust, instinct, communication and control are the pre-requisites of delegation. Delegation without benchmarking and monitoring of targets is abdication!

DESIGNATIONS
Designations are not important in cases where the external exposure of the employee is minimal. They form the psychological part of an employee’s compensation package.
For those whose role demands an external exposure, a higher sounding designation would improve the canvas of opportunities, enabling a faster realization of company’s goals.
For employees who have outlived their core utility in companies which believe in firing people only when there is a disaster of a nuclear nature, an improvement in designation would be a valuable tool in the HR arsenal.

DETACHMENT
Beware of managements which exhort you to follow the much misunderstood principle of detachment expounded in the Gita – you should continue to slog all year long but do not expect that elusive overdue promotion. Do a reality check – are you repeating your own past performance? Is there a way you can improve the quality of your targets? Upgrade your work plans and actions accordingly.
If you can follow the principle of detachment, though, mental peace is guaranteed.

DIRECTOR, BEING ONE
Invited to be a director on the board of a company? Accept the offer only after a due diligence at your own risk and peril. You may earn a modest fee and some handsome privileges, but would have little control over the kind of legal and procedural misadventures taking place across the company. Unless, of course, getting served with a notice or landing in a jail is your idea of having fun in life.

DISCRETION
If you wish to start a relationship with the receptionist, better give the idea skip. There is not much difference between a manager rooting for an executive and a cashier having his hands in the till. Managements need to handle such cases with discretion; if the manager concerned is otherwise a good performer, he can be helped to get transferred to a temptation free location and kept under watch. Another misdemeanor, just throw him out.
Complex businesses require discretion in handling information of a sensitive nature – could be related to pay packets, new products and services or long term business plans. Judge the pros and cons and be discreet wherever necessary.

DRAUPADI SYNDROME
In what are euphemistically known as “matrix” organizations, reporting to several bosses at the same time could be a challenging experience. One has to learn to balance each one’s expectations against those of others. Much depends on their relative seniority or clout in the company, based on which one could handle the situation. Of course, it does not pay to pitch one of your bosses against the other, whether directly or indirectly.

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