CEO

Do you want to win or do you want to get a deal?

In a negotiation, what are your objectives, do get a deal or to win? As a manager, I have to sit in many meetings where a decision has to be made and parties must come to an agreement. In one of my last contract negotiations, the emotions were high and both parties stood firm by their position, it seemed there was going to be “no deal.”

The issue was “each company’s” CEO has a big ego that they were not welling to let go and the deal was about to collapse. I work for one of the CEOs, but I was also able to maintain good relation with the CEO of the other company.

In order for me to save the day, I had to make each CEO feel that he had won; I had to talk to each CEO separately. My idea was to make each CEO feel as if he won, although my aim was to make sure we reach an agreement and in order to do that, each party had to make some concessions.

After I sat we each CEO separately, I also called on a mediator who both partied trusted and he also met with each CEO separately.

At the closing of that business day, we had a signed contract by both CEOs. We made them feel that they WON

What is COBIT?

1. What is the purpose of COBIT?
The purpose of COBIT is to provide management and business process owners with an information technology (IT) governance model that helps in delivering value from IT and understanding and managing the risks associated with IT. COBIT helps bridge the gaps amongst business requirements, control needs and technical issues. It is a control model to meet the needs of IT governance and ensure the integrity of information and information systems.
2. Who is using COBIT?
COBIT is used globally by those who have the primary responsibilities for business processes and technology, those who depend on technology for relevant and reliable information, and those providing quality, reliability and control of information technology.

Can I use COBIT as a statement of criteria for specific audit conclusions?
Yes, basing the IT Assurance Guide firmly on the control objectives takes the auditor’s opinion out of the audit conclusion, replacing it with authoritative criteria. COBIT is based on more than 40 standards and best practices documents for information technology from standards-setting bodies (public and private) worldwide. These include documents from Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan and the United States. Because COBIT contains all pertinent worldwide standards identifiable at the time of publication, it is all-inclusive with respect to IT controls standards. As a result, COBIT can be used as an authoritative source reference document, providing IT controls criteria on audits.

The above information and more FAQ about COBIT can be found at:

 http://www.isaca.org/Content/NavigationM…

The CEO who refuses to go on-line

Ever seen those TV ads where they show the CEO of the company struggling with his IPOD or his Internet? In these TV ads they usually show a middle age CEO struggling with Technology and is usually rescued by young techi.

At my current job, I am struggling with a CEO who refuses to do things online, it took my a great deal of office politics to convince him to have a domain name registered under our company name. His idea of online collaboration is to have all e-mails sent to our company read by everyone, please don’t laugh.

I am still trying to convince him to pay all his bills and companies bills online.

Management by fear

One of the worst management styles is to use fear as a way to make your employees perform. I have seen few Individuals CEOs and few corporate managers who use the fear factor as a tool to keep their employees performing, what a cowardly and unprofessional way to manage!!!!!!!!

Why communism as a system and as a theory failed? In most communist societies, workers were forced to perform, they kept working because they feared their bosses, or even in extreme cases, feared for their lives.

Unfortunately, we still see managers use fear and power to manage their employees. As a manager who held several managerial positions, I have learned that to get the best out of your employees, you must build solid and open relations with them, to let employees communicate their fears and their weaknesses will only lead to a better performance.

I don’t have a bit of respect for managers who use fear as a way to manage their employees, I think that only show their lack of experience, self-confidence and a talent to manage.

What is more important, Experience, Money or the Job title?

How long will you work before you say “ I have gained enough experience, now I need to make more money from my job.” Some jobs will give you the opportunity to assume responsibilities, which are otherwise giving to the most senior staff members. I know a CEO who would tell his employees who complain about the low salaries he is paying them “ I am giving you the chance to get experience that you would not get it at other companies with the type of qualifications you have.”

Some would say, I should get the salary that my position entitles me regardless if I have the total experience and qualifications this position requires.

I know an employee who’s job title is “Finance manager”, his only 24 years old and without significant experience. He would complain about his low salaries and the limited benefits he is getting at his current job, so I asked him why he doesn’t change companies and he said “I cant get the title of Finance Manager anywhere else.”

I know the work of this person very well and the best job title I can give him is “ an accountant trainee”, I have told him few times not to foul himself by thinking he has the qualifications or experience to be Finance manager. I know very well this guy will move to his next job thinking he has what it takes to be a finance manager only to face the reality of the real responsibilities of finance manager.

Under performing employees

What would you do with under performing employee who is constantly doing the same mistakes?

I think we are all familiar with reports that talk about “employees’ mistakes that cause companies millions of dollars in productivity.” As a manager, I see that daily in my work, in the company where I work we could save thousands of dollars each month by reducing employees mistakes.

Although I hold weekly meeting with my employees give support and offer training, some employees are still not performing to the level that corresponds to their job descriptions.

When you draw the line and decide you have exhausted every effort with a certain employee? Firing an employee is the hardest decision for any manager to make but sometimes there are no alternatives.

I am in the process of making that decision, in the next few weeks, I will have to let go of one or two of our employees, I arrived at this decision after so much efforts with these employees, their job performance is causing the company lots of money every month in loss productivity

Must every company give a holiday bonus?

As manager working in a new country (Qatar), I was asked by my employees to give a holiday bonus, a religious holiday is coming up soon (the celebration after the month of fasting (Rhamadn) for the Muslims.)

Our accounting department added the holiday bonus to this month (September) salaries, but the CEO of the company was absolutely against the idea, he said “a holiday bonus is something left to the management to decided on and it should not be included in our accounting records, it should not be a regular practice.”

I have been working as an independent consultant for several years now, and I can’t really recall while working in corporate America if I have ever received a “Holiday Bonus.” I still recall employees talking about getting a bonus, but I am not sure if we received anything or it was a common practice for our company.

I think in many parts of the world, its socially accepted practice, but its not required by law.

Management –Employees mistrust

Management –Employees mistrust

Imagine walking into an office where each employee confined to his/her desk. No communications, no greeting and no trust. Have you ever lived this type of situation? Have you ever walked into your office feeling as if you are stepping into some type of war zone? I am sure most of us went through this type of situation sometime during our working years.

In the past few weeks, I have been dealing with the issue of mistrust in my company, the CEO is on one side and some of the employees on the other side and I am “ as the General Manager”, acting as a messenger between the two parties.

After working with the company for almost five months now, I can see why there is a mistrust and how to resolve the issue.

CEO point of view and complaints about the employees:
1- We are a small company and every employee need to pitch in time of need
2- I have to, consistently, guide and supervise employees, why can’t they work with little supervision?
3- Other employees with the same situation, but in other companies, are doing better work

The point view and complaints of the employees:

1- We don’t have a clear job description, we don’t know what is expected of us
2- We are not trained to work in each and very task asked from us by the CEO or Management
3- Other companies are paying far more for our type of jobs

My views and complaints:

1- Before I joined the company, the owner (CEO) was in charge of the daily operations of the company and he didn’t give any clear and precise job descriptions to most employees
2- The CEO is trying to run the company as “One man show”, he is trying to make all employees work together without assigning clear responsibilities to each employee, this leads to lot of conflicts between employees and management
3- Employees don’t communicate well with management, when there is a problem, most employees wait for the management to find out instead of letting management up to date on urgent issues
4- To resolve this mistrust, the company must write clear policies regarding employees job duties, management-employees communications, role of the CEO, and the role of management

The core of this mistrust are based on two things:
1-No clear written policies regarding various companies operations
2- Failure from both side, the CEO and Employees to communicate

Don’t walk in a straight bath, but listen to the world

The above title is from a book I was reading written by the former French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin. The book doesn’t not discuss management issues, but it talks about how an individual must be aware of the world around him, that a person must turn as the world turns around him, he must be ready to adopt to new ways of doing things.

As a manager, I find this to be a very interesting aspect of successful management, managers must always observe the world around them, spot trends and apply changes when necessary. Many corporations and even many countries have used one style of management for decades, which eventually led to market share decline, productivity loss and lower quality products.

In today’s ever connected world, you never now where is your next client is located, doing business as usual may not proof to be the best management decision, you must listen to the world and turn as it turns.

Global Peace Index 2008

An interesting index that groups together a number of interrelated initiatives focused on global peace. The index is published by a group that identifies itself as “Vision of Humanity groups together a number of interrelated initiatives focused on global peace. It brings a strategic approach to raising the world’s attention and awareness around the importance of peacefulness to humanity’s survival in the 21st century.”

The index ranks countries in some very interesting areas:

Level of distrust in other citizens

Number of homicides per 100,000 people

Ease of access to weapons of minor destruction

Respect for human rights

Potential for terrorist acts

Aggregate number of heavy weapons per 100,000 people

Number of visitors as % of domestic population

Net Migration (% of total population)

The extent of regional integration

Hostility to foreigners/private property

Importance of religion in national life

Willingness to fight

Number of paramilitary personnel per 100,000 people

In this age of globalization, it’s important to know the world around you.
You can find the index at: http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/resu…