| | AUGUST 2022191. The Bus-stop QuestionAs professionals we can find ourselves questioning our roles or impact throughout their professional career. Sometimes they don't feel valued enough or sometimes they feel they have done enough and need a change or growth. In many of these situations, `the bus stop' question are very helpful. Simply put ­ do I like the bus? Do I like the direction the bus is heading? And finally, do I like the driver and the people on the bus? It's simple to understand that the bus is a metaphor for your company. The golden rule of thumb is that if your answer is a `No' to any one of these questions then it's time for you to evaluate your position ­ whether it's time to change seats within the bus or changing the bus!2. Actions Speak Louder than Words, Always! We have forever learnt that actions speak louder than words ­ but perhaps without really grasping the magnitude of the impact of actions vs. words. As leaders, our actions guide and inspire the people we work with. The below powerful picture, that has stayed with me and the rest of my TAS batch of 2012 to this date (this was his last six months as Chairman of the 100 billion Tata Group and he chose to have an interaction with the newest batch of TAS managers joining the Tata Group as potential future leaders). It would have been easy for Mr. Tata to give us his nuggets of wisdom on respect, humility and true leadership ­ each of us would have remembered it for many years to come. But he chose to speak through actions ­ he chose to kneel down with some of us for this group picture instead of using a chair while some of us knelt, at 74+ years of age!3. The Best Strategies are the Simplest ones - Who, What & How?As leaders and managers, we are often strategizing new ways to grow business, to be more profitable, to be more cost efficient, to launch new products or new markets, and so on. We can make this process very complicated. But the greatest strategies that inspire people and lead to best results are the ones that are simplest to grasp. Simply ask yourself three key questions of `Who', `What' and `How' and build your plan around these three. `Who' is for the audience/people ­ Who am I doing this for? Who is my target customer? `What' is for the product or offering ­ What is the product we want to sell, What is our best proposition? And finally, `How' is for the approach - How do we want to achieve this goal? How will we go about selling the `what' to the `how'?4. The One-third Rule to Managing Time as a Professional & a LeaderTime is the biggest resource available to each one of us. As often said, it is also the most equitably distributed resource of all ­ each one has the same number of hours per day. Then how do leaders make the best use of their time? What is their guiding principle? It was interesting to note that one of the foremost industry leaders of India had this rule of thumb to manage their time - One third for self & family, one third for employees & colleagues and remaining one third for customers. This helped him make sure he was not missing out on the balance he needed in life to ensure he was performing well as leader and as a person. 5. Listen to your CustomerWhile this is an old adage, it was really enlightening to me that every successful professional and business leader who had achieved extra ordinary things had always stayed true to this statement. They followed it religiously. The idea was to stay close to the customer and learn the ground realities ­ the truths that you need to know as a leader ­ understanding your customer, understanding their pain-points and challenges, understanding your shortcomings and not getting blindsided by the `truths' that you may assume or pick up through others that may not always be true. 6. Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner!Another common adage that every organization in the world of today is focusing on is to develop a culture that will help them build resilient foundations and drive success. Culture is what ensures people do the right thing ­ for the customer, for the company and for their fellow colleagues. Building a culture is hard, even harder to keep that culture as you grow. But it's still the most important investment that leaders can make to achieve success. Cultures that are inclusive, enabling, empathetic, agile and value sustainability are the cultures that will thrive through any pandemic, live through the biggest challenges to come back on top, stronger. 7. What are you Putting on the Table? As leaders we often are building plans that needs the organizations resources and budgets. Often the same pool of resources and money is being vied for by multiple leaders and teams within the company. An important quality that top business leaders I worked
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