by Kerry Larkan on June 5, 2009
Right now there are two “
R” words dominating the business world neither very palatable and both related to tough times. However last week in Kuala Lumpur I heard a very bright young guy talking about the airline business and the company he runs – Air Asia.
His name was Azran Ozman Rania thirty something (about 35) Harvard graduate who has created a real can do culture at Air Asia. A business that will be interesting to watch over the next 5 – 10 years.
Creating a great culture starts at the top and Azrans’ attitude is infectious and dynamic. He is clearly an adrenalin junky and the young gang at Air Asia love that we can do it attitude. He runs and surf’s for fun and uses all the latest social networking tools to keep in touch with people.
This airline has built a lot of TRUST with its customers and its staff. What matters most is maintaining that trust through the on going challenges of these interesting times and a growing business.
When you’ve survived 9/11, tsunami, fuel cost spikes, bird flu, financial crisis and now Swine flu I guess it might all seem too easy?
I’m reminded of the comment Warren Buffet once made “In the business world, the rear view mirror is often more clear than the windshield.”
Seems to me the team at Air Asia is looking way beyond the windshield in creating a winning formula when it comes to its people, its customers and its shareholders. The last thing they’re focused on is either recession or retrenchment.
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by Kerry Larkan on April 7, 2009
While people think they know what a bad boss is, many people have no idea that they themselves are actually bad bosses. Here’s just one example from my consulting practice to illustrate what a bad boss is:
In company the general manager developed a negative view of his sales director, regarding the sales director as lacking in “big-picture understanding”. Every time the sales director tried to raise urgent issues, it was seen as further proof of his short-term view.
In fact, our discussions with other members of the team confirmed that there were real performance issues in need of pressing attention. This created divided loyalties since team members liked the general manager but also believed that the sales director had a point.
Unfortunately, the HR director’s allegiance and closeness to the general manager also blinded him to the sales director’s contribution. Instead of questioning the boss’s unfavorable label, the HR director endorsed it.
Thus, the HR director failed the top team on two counts:
- First, by not challenging the boss on his assessments
- Second, by blaming the ineffective group dynamics on the sales director and missing all the deeper causes
The resulting malaise within the team was distracting, energy-sapping, and contributed to delays in problem solving.
Had the general manager been managing the sales director based on the “secrets” of THE TALENT WAR and WINNING THE TALENT WAR, the general manager might have turned a negative situation into a postive situation for himself, the sales director, and the entire team.
Can you afford to let these types of negative situations exist in your company when the answers to averting these situations is easily at hand?
Buy my books THE TALENT WAR and WINNING THE TALENT WAR so that you can hire and keep the best people for your company. You’ll be glad you did when the bottom line of your company shows the benefits of finding and retaining the best employees!
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