Ravi Pratap Singh

Kerr's Folly & Indian Hockey

On 28th February, the Indian Hockey Team started it's "FIH World Cup 2010" campaign in spectacular fashion by decimating arch-rivals Pakistan 4-1. As is the wont when these two nations take on each other in any sporting event, the hundreds of millions of fans on either side of the simmering border consider a victory over the neighbour to be bigger than winning the tournament itself, be it a World Cup or a school-level competition. This time was no different - infact, the win was sweeter than what the Indians have tasted in a long, long time because it was not only our first win in a World Cup match over Pakistan in 35 years, but the margin of victory was also our biggest over Pakistan in World Cup competition!

A billion people erupted in celebration and accolades poured in from all quarters for the "champion" team. This was followed by announcements of cash incentives for the team by Hockey India and various state governments and corporate houses. The money showered on the players was more than welcome considering that these guys who represent India in its "national game" are grossly underpaid. However, there was one thing about the incentives which was jarring - apart from a fixed amount for the entire team, most government and corporate bodies also offered additional cash bonuses for individual goal scorers!

Now this, i thought, was a classic case of "Kerr's Folly" where "...the types of behavior rewarded are those which the rewarder is trying to discourage". In this case, individual efforts were being rewarded in a team sport! The incentive scheme encouraged players to be selfish and retain the ball with themselves and attempt to score goals individually rather than pass it on to team mates and further the team's cause. So was this not a flawed and counter-productive reward system? 

Well, after the win against Pakistan, India lost their third straight game of the tournament last evening... and slipped out of contention for a semi-final berth. Is this the effect of the "Kerr's Folly" committed by our sport/political/corporate leaders or is it just that the team was beaten by better opponents? I guess, we will never know...

P.S.: Here is an earlier post of mine on "Reward Systems - Is Kerr's Foly Alive?"

Sharing Success – Secret of a Winning Team!

On Christmas eve, the Indian cricket team scripted one of the most fascinating victories in One Day International (ODI) history to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in its series against Sri Lanka.

The cool manner in which two young turks of the Indian team went about the run chase was both clinical as well as entertaining. But the standout moment for me was what happened after the game… at the post match presentation ceremony! Declared “Man of the Match” for his heroic 150 not out, Gautam Gambhir magnanimously handed over the award to his young partner, Virat Kohli, who cracked his maiden ODI century and shared in a record 224-run stand with him. Truly inspirational stuff!

Have you ever noticed that members of a winning team, be it in sport or corporate, always share and celebrate each others’ success? This means, the members:

• Demonstrate no sense of insecurity, jealousy or one-upmanship towards each other.
• Give precedence to team goals over individual goals.
• Are willing to “do or die” for the team’s cause.
• Remain positive and united!

No wonder the Indian cricket team is currently ranked # 1 in Tests and # 2 in ODIs.

Welcome Aboard !!!

 

A couple of days back we celebrated my son’s birthday. It seemed not too long ago when my wife and I were picking up a pram to welcome our newborn home… and here we were now buying a 6-gear bicycle for his sixth birthday! Amazing how time had flown by in a jiffy!

 

As my wife was checking off items on the to-do list for his birthday party, my thoughts went back to the day we were making the shopping list for the soon-to-be-born baby. We had meticulously broken down the items into various categories – stuff required for the baby’s clothing, feeding, bath, nursery, transportation, etc. We wanted to be completely prepared to receive the new member in the family and ensure that the baby was comfortable right from the moment it stepped into our lives.

 

Is this situation not uncannily similar to a new employee joining our organization? So are we always as well prepared to receive a new employee and ensure that the new entrant feels comfortable right from day one?

 

Here are five simple things that an organization of any size could do to help make its new employee feel welcome on his/her first day at work:

 

1. Ensure existing staff are aware of the new employee coming onboard so that the new person doesn't feel like a stranger on arrival.

 

2. Have the new employee's workspace ready - including furniture, computer hardware/software, phone, email, business cards, office supplies, login id, access key/card to office, etc.

 

3. Assign a person to introduce the new employee to co-workers and give a brief tour of the department/office (washroom, pantry/kitchen, vending machine, meeting room, etc).

 

4. Identify a coach/mentor to help the new employee with work-related processes and procedures.

 

5. Arrange a welcome lunch for the new employee.

 

A new employee is like a new member of our family. And as leaders, it is our duty to go the extra mile to make the person feel that s/he belongs!

Corporate Taglines - Targetting Hearts!

I used to take the public transport bus to school from Classes 3 to 5. As I stood waiting for my bus number 11D every morning, my eyes would frequently be drawn to the slogan/tagline of the quaint little shop beside the bus stop. It was a dyeing and darning shop and the tagline was “We dye for you!”

More than three decades later, it still remains my favourite corporate tagline. Well, you could accuse me of having a soft corner for it because it was the first tagline that I fell in love with (what’s that they say about first love?) and was therefore an integral part of my growing up years. Though valid, these are not the only reasons for these four innocuous words to have stayed closest to my heart. “We dye for you” has all the elements that make for an effective corporate tagline:

a. It is short, catchy and easy to remember.
b. It gives an insight into the company’s values, attitude and service offerings.
c. It reflects the brand position and brand personality.
d. It is specific, not generic.
e. It connects.

Though every successful tagline may not necessarily satisfy the first four criteria listed above, one can safely say that all iconic taglines certainly manage to “connect” with their audiences… big time!

How many times has the “Think Different” phrase on our Apple computers inspired us to think out-of-the-box when faced with a unique problem? How many times have we pumped our fists and recited Nike’s “Just Do It” mantra in our minds before venturing into uncharted territory? Well, that’s the kind of “connect” good taglines have with our hearts and psyches. Over time, they attain legendary status and become part of the society lexicon.

Here are some of my other all time favourites:

De Beers – A Diamond Is Forever
Nokia – Connecting People
GE – Imagination at Work
Adidas – Impossible is Nothing
Budweiser – This Bud’s For You
AOL – Where The World Meets Online

Now go ahead and recall the taglines that tug at your heart. Believe me, it’s fun!

The Customer Is Always Right? Wrong!

Diwali season is not the greatest of times to go shopping in India if you are as finicky about your personal space as I am. For years I have religiously avoided stepping into malls and shops during festival periods. But last weekend, a surprise birthday party invitation from my son’s classmate sent me scurrying to a retail store in the hunt for a suitable gift.

The store, one of the largest in the city, was bursting at the seams with human beings… obviously someone had forgotten to tell these guys that the world was experiencing it’s worst recession in history! After a nerve-wracking 45-minute pursuit, I was delighted to find the “right” gift for the six-year old and dashed across to the billing counter.

As luck would have it, I chose the wrong counter! While people in the other queues were completing their billing process and disappearing before one could say “diwali shopping”, my queue just wouldn’t move! The young lady in-charge of the counter was clearly a newbie and very obviously lacked adequate training on the billing application. She was punching one key every 32 seconds! To make matters worse, each of the four customers ahead of me seemed to be under the impression that shopping was going out of fashion and had picked up cartloads of stuff. And here I was… waiting not-so-patiently for my turn to bill one little box of magic tricks. Hmmm, at that point of time it was I who desperately needed a magic potion to keep my cool. And then it happened… 

The guy standing behind me lost it completely! He stormed the counter and made his displeasure felt to… well, the entire store!!! I was about to join in and support “our” cause when without warning the guy unleashed a barrage of expletives at the stunned girl. The tantrum worked. Within seconds the floor manager appeared and started apologizing profusely to the irate customer. The manager then promptly arranged for another team member to take charge of the billing counter just as the humiliated girl vanished in thin air right in front of dozens of piercing eyes. The drama ended as abruptly as it had begun and life was thankfully back to being mundane again.

The floor manager was obviously a proponent of “The Customer Is Always Right” philosophy. But was it the right approach in handling this particular customer? I don't think so.

“The Customer Is Always Right” phrase was originally coined by Harry Gordon Selfridge, founder of the Selfridges department store in London in 1909. Though this adage has now deservedly assumed iconic status and is probably the most recited mantra among businesses across the globe, I feel it is not relevant across all situations… certainly not against abusive customers. 

It is justified when a customer loses his/her temper when the service received is not up to the individual’s expectations. Though unpleasant, it is also understandable when a customer under duress screams his/her guts out at the service provider. But even the most unacceptable level of service does not give a customer the right to hurl personal abuses at employees.

A management not standing up for its employees against an abusive customer actually adds insult to the employees’ injury. Because apart from being disgraced by the customer, the employees feel betrayed by their own management, thereby leading them to believe that the management does not value or respect them enough. This adversely affects their morale and could finally lead to worse customer service. Hence following “the customer is always right” policy blindly can actually turn out be counter-productive!

So what do you think? Is the customer always right? Or, like you and me, can s/he be sometimes wrong?

Leading by Example

Ever had a boss who would wax eloquent on the virtues of punctuality, but would himself turn up late to office every other day? Ask you to never ever compromise on quality, but would be the first one to do so when faced with a looming delivery deadline? Forever chant the “Customer Is Always Right” mantra, but bemoan about a client’s stupidity to anyone who cared to listen?

If you have worked under such a leader, then you are likely to have experienced frequent bouts of disappointment, betrayal and disenchantment with your boss and your organization.

Leaders who practice the "Do as I say, not as I do" philosophy are the greatest “morale busters” an organization can have. They gradually destroy a team’s passion and enthusiasm, and spawn a culture of cynicism and distrust among the members.

Being a role model is the most important aspect of being a leader. A team always looks up to its leader for support, strength, guidance and motivation. So it becomes imperative for a leader to “walk the talk” and lead by example.

Several inspirational leaders from various spheres of life (corporate, political, religious, etc) have left their indelible footprints on the sands of time. Mahatma Gandhi was one such icon.

“My life is my message”, said Gandhi. And sure it was!

Born to the Diwan (Prime Minister) of Porbander, a small princely state in British India, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi trained to be a barrister at the University College London. It was during his stint as a lawyer in South Africa that he pioneered Satyagraha (devotion to truth), or non-violent civil disobedience, to fight against racial discrimination and assist in the resident Indian community’s struggle for civil rights. After his return to India, Gandhi spearheaded several nationwide campaigns to reduce poverty, expand women's rights, build religious and ethnic harmony, eradicate untouchability, and improve economic self-reliance. Most importantly, he fought for Swaraj (complete individual, spiritual, political independence from foreign domination) and led India to Independence.

So what was it about Gandhi that motivated millions of people to take on the mighty British Empire not with weapons but with Ahimsa (non-violence) and Satya (truth)?

Very simple. Gandhi practiced what he preached. He led by example!

He lived by his principles of non-violence and truth. As an advocate for simple living, he renounced his western lifestyle and lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community. He also gave up his western attire for the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn he handspun on a charkha (spinning wheel). He ate simple vegetarian food, and undertook long fasts as a means of both social protest and self-purification.

Since Gandhi always did what he said and said what he did, he built a tremendous amount of trust, faith and loyalty among his followers. They knew that he would never ask them to do something which he would not do himself. Under his inspirational leadership, Gandhi managed to bring together Indians from across diverse segments of society and made them work unitedly towards a common goal. And succeeded in making the impossible possible… winning India's Independence without fighting a bloody war!

According to Gandhi, “An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching”. There's no arguing with that one!

Reward Systems – Is “Kerr’s Folly” Alive?

Getting an organization to embrace e-learning as a medium to train its workforce, albeit very challenging, is only half the battle! The other (and often more difficult) half, is to get learners to start using the e-learning modules once the online infrastructure and course library are in place.

One of the more popular practices adopted by corporates to increase e-learning usage among employees is to offer incentives and promotions through “reward programs” to those who complete a stipulated number of online courses. However, if not carefully designed, such reward programs can go completely awry as the following story will testify.

A friend of mine employed with a leading technology company in the US recently shared his organization’s experiment with one such reward program. A couple of years ago, this organization launched it’s e-learning initiative amidst much pomp and fanfare. But even 6-7 months after the launch, the management was struggling to motivate it’s employees to sign up for the online courses. To add to the woes, the drop-out rate was extraordinarily high even among the abysmally few who did manage to enroll for the courses. Finally, the management devised an incentive program wherein employees could notch up reward points for courses completed and certifications achieved. At the end of each quarter, these reward points could be redeemed for goodies ranging from iPods and mobile phones to digital cameras and laptops.

What followed next was pandemonium! The minute the reward program was announced, every single employee signed up for every single course that he/she was eligible to take. Moreover, from that day onwards almost all employees spent a large percentage of their time in office diligently going through one e-learning course after another. Not surprisingly, discussions during lunch and coffee breaks hovered only around one topic… who ranked where on the rewards points table! The buzz that the management had hoped to create about the e-learning initiative had finally arrived, and how!!!

By the end of the third month, an overwhelming majority of employees had completed the maximum number of courses and certifications he/she was eligible to take in that quarter. More importantly, each of them also took home a cartload of dream gadgets. The reward program was a HUMUNGOUS success!!!

But... wait a minute! Was the program really a success???

In 1975, Professor Steven Kerr’s widely circulated article “On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B” appeared in the Academy of Management Journal. Professor Kerr observed, “Whether dealing with monkeys, rats, or human beings, it is hardly controversial to state that most organisms seek information concerning what activities are rewarded, and then seek to do (or at least pretend to do) those things, often to the virtual exclusion of activities not rewarded.”

This is exactly what happened in the above case. The reward program got the employees to focus all their energies and efforts towards the activity for which they were being rewarded… which was to complete the e-learning courses. In the bargain, they paid little or no attention to their other tasks and responsibilities. As a result, productivity of the organization suffered and the management was forced to hastily withdraw the reward program at the end of the first quarter itself.

Professor Kerr added, “Numerous examples exist of reward systems that are fouled up in that the types of behavior rewarded are those which the rewarder is trying to discourage, while the behavior desired is not being rewarded at all.”

Does that ring a bell? Ofcourse it does! Haven’t we come across managements talking about nurturing teamwork but actually rewarding best individual performers? Proclaiming commitment to quality but rewarding quantity? Stressing on developing attitudinal skills while rewarding technical accomplishments?

Only goes to show that more than three decades after it was first published, this paradox now known as "Kerr's Folly", is very much alive and kicking in today's organizations!