Talent Management - November 2008 - (Page 12)

[leading edge] by Dr. Jac Fitz-enz L L Tomorrow ittle orphan Annie said it best: “Tomorrow is just a day away.” But what will you spend your time on today to make tomorrow better? Like everyone else, talent managers have a minimum of a dozen small items on their to-do lists. You know the list: Make a call, write a note, ﬁnish ﬁling that pile of papers on your desk and so on. It’s likely there’s also a big item on the list, something really important that should be attended to soon. So again, what are you going to do today so that tomorrow will be more productive? Believe it or not, you can delegate more of the small stuff than you think. Give it to someone who can and won’t mind doing it. Also, if it’s been sitting in your inbox for more than a week or two, dump it! If it hasn’t made the urgent list yet, you don’t need to do it. If it reappears later, you can attend In the to it then. Now the biggie: How are you going to attack that? • First, scan. Think of all the forces outside and inside your organization that can affect your decision. Make a short list of the most important and most likely to happen. • Second, plan. What tools, skills and information do you need that may be new or different to solve the problem or exploit the opportunity? Changing markets demand new resources and capabilities. Yesterday’s solutions won’t solve tomorrow’s problems. • Third, update. What do you need to rework by way of organizational processes to improve your or your unit’s ability to perform? Check your recent inputs, throughputs and outputs. Are they adequate for future performance? you need to design to prove you are adding value tomorrow and will continue to add value the day after? Want to Feel Better? You could spend hundreds of dollars and a weekend with a motivational charlatan and not come up with anything more concrete to show for it than this model. Annie was right. Tomorrow is just around the corner, and if you don’t change your ways, it will soon be a memory — and you won’t be any better off than you are today. If you are willing to let go of your self-imposed barriers — thoughts such as “I am too busy,” “He or she won’t like it” and “I’m the only one who can do it” — I can guarantee you will be a bit anxious because you have let go of your excuse In the days when most people smoked, you could sit back, light up and think for the 10 minutes it took to ﬁnish the smoke. Just because you may have stopped smoking doesn’t mean you don’t have time to think for 10 minutes. Consider the following for a few of those minutes. A Thought Model days when most people smoked, you could sit back, light up and think for the 10 minutes it took to ﬁnish the smoke. Just because you may have stopped smoking doesn’t mean you don’t have time to think for 10 minutes. About the Author Dr. Jac Fitz-enz is founder and CEO of the Human Capital Source and Workforce Intelligence Institute. He can be reached at editor@ talentmgt.com. crutches. You will have lost your fallback alibis if at ﬁrst the new things don’t work. • Fourth, deliver. Make a concise, speciﬁc action plan to achieve the best possible outcome, and don’t over analyze it. It’s about who, what, where, when, why, how and how much? • Fifth, evaluate. Decide what data you will use to assess the degree of success you will attain, and this is not about measuring — it’s about valuing. What leading indicators do Some people around you may think you have lost your marbles. Yet, how did you learn and grow to this point in your life? You let go of the familiar and learned how to balance. When you went from training wheels to a two-wheel bike, you were anxious for a few minutes, but you got it with only a couple small falls. If you want tomorrow to be better, learn how to balance again. Every problem short of world hunger or terminal disease is susceptible to a ﬁve-step thought model: 12 November 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - November 2008

Talent Management - November 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Recruitment & Retention Assessment & Evaluation Compensation & Benefits Performance Management Learning & Development Succession Planning Insight Dashboard Application Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - November 2008

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