Who the Hell, Introduced Contingency Hiring Concept?

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Tell me about a single business, other than contingency recruitment, where you work hard and depending upon a huge luck factor only, paid later -- often never?

Oh, yaa, there is another, pretty close, where service providers fight hard to satisfy customers and get paid, later. You know, what I mean. However, in this business, unlike contingency recruitment, the payment is assured.

Sometime, I wonder, who the hell started this concept of contingency recruitment where recruiters work madly against no assured rewards.

Look at the funniest part of this game: Same task is given to at least half a dozen agencies, and that reminds of the scenes I watch on 'Animal Planet' where predators fight it out for their share of a kill! Well, there too, most of them manage to get hold of something at least.

Now, don't console me saying, it's like sports where you work hard for winning a medal but without firm assurance.

Sorry, it's business, and in business it pains seeing your hard work generating no revenues unless you reach the destination through a host of uncertainties.

The trauma doesn't end with placing the candidate because you need to ensure that she/he doesn't leave your client within a specified time frame, otherwise you pay your fees back to your client. It's fine if you have received some interim reward, but that never happens.

So, a contingency recruiter keeps trying unless an ova is fertilized and wait patiently for a healthy baby emerging out of the womb of uncertainty.

Do Mobile Phones Cause Brain Damage ?

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During a summer holiday trip to my native place, a year ago, a medical representative turned up to demonstrate the extent of damage mobile phone causes to our brain.

It was not an exciting topic during a hard earned holiday - which happens once in a year with great difficulties - but, out of courtesy I allowed him to continue with a specific request to finish it quickly.

His preliminary lecture was quite scary: Explaining in details how electromagnetic radiations - microwave - emitted from cell-phone virtually fries our brain

But, when he insisted on demonstrating actual frying process with the help a egg placed in a glass filled with water and a cell phone kept near it in working condition, I couldn't bear it any more and very politely asked him to leave us alone.

Well, I didn't want to spoil my holiday but at the same time this incident cast some doubt in my mind and a detailed study followed later. Surprisingly, I couldn't find any investigation report with conclusive scientific evidence that mobile phone poses any health threat, although a few were strongly suggestive in nature -- in favor.

On the other hand, some of the investigation results I found on internet were contradicting the above mentioned claims. Confused with claims and counter-claims, I left it there  and re-captured my holiday mood.

After a long time, I recollected that incident while noticing  the findings of a new Scandinavian study indicating that cell-phone usage don't lead to an increased risk of brain cancer.

It was an encouraging news for me, because cellphone is an integral part of my life now and it's really difficult to manage things without it.

What Makes Us Interesting to Others?

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My wife went on a laughing spree when I shared with her that a few people I had recently interacted were kind enough to call me an interesting person. Least expected though, but highly motivating for someone who's struggling hard for basic survival. Isn't it?

However, knowing the fact that I've never been called an interesting personality before neither I ever believed me to be so, how, suddenly,  I turned out to be one? Good question that certainly deserves an appropriate answer!

I'm sure, it has something to do with the quality of conversation that I had with them? May be they noticed a caring voice, or may be something I said that they could easily connect to. But the fact is: A positive attitude was noticed, and appreciated.

If so, then how come, all of a sudden, I turned out to be so caring? What's that, that brought about this sudden change in me: An infamously arrogant person?

 The answer is: A series of unexpected failures that completely ripped apart my arrogance, making me realize that there's nothing special about me and I'm an ordinary person like a few billions all over the world. A life changing experience.

My suggestions to all highly successful professionals would be: Be grouted to the earth irrespective of your degree of achievements so far and treat others with respect, if you really don't want to experience the pains that I had and remain interesting to others through-out your life!

Why A Feeling of Emptiness, Despite Having Everything in Life?

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This is the question, a reader asked Cary Tennis in 'Since You Asked' column on 'Saloon,' clearly demonstrating a sense of emptiness despite having everything that a normal person can think of for living a comfortable life.

"Dear Cary, I have it all. Life has been good. Though by no means rich, I have money in the bank, a solid marriage and prospects for a comfortable future.But I am happier when I have less.

This life has numbed me into not feeling happiness. I have everything, and instead of being happy, I feel like a glutton. Most people would trade their life for mine in a minute. I have, it seems, done everything the right way -- or at least had timing on my side."

Well, how our eternal quest for something better that we assume would bring happiness into our life, actually  mislead us -- has been explained by Cary and you may read it HERE

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For How Long, I Would be Able to Continue Fighting Against Destiny?

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It started a couple of years ago and still continuing. Never before, in life, I have experienced so much of hardship.

Business is just not picking up and despite taking all corrective actions, nothing is moving in the right direction.

I even vacated the office space, thinking, there could be some correlation between my destiny and that place since the down slide started only after shifting there.

May be, I'm getting a bit superstitious, but, in a situation where I am, looking at every possibility that might have contributed to this unimaginable losses makes sense.

Well, I will not give up and put in my best efforts for turning the tide around. But, for how long I'd be able to continue fighting against destiny?

Republished with permission from "Kushiara"

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We Are A Set of Multiple Personalities, Frozen With Time At Various Life Intervals

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The other day, while talking to a professional connection, I happily shared with him about a common friend who has made it hugely in life and appeared to be far ahead of contemporaries as far materialistic success is concerned.

'OMG,' was the reaction and then he said, "Nice to hear about his success, but you know while working together for a few years a decade ago I could never imagine that a simple person like him would ever achieve such a stupendous success."

What does it mean?

As simple as: You and everything related to you, are permanently frozen with time at various intervals through out your life journey. Your current status would neither upgrade nor degrade the perception of people -about you - who're associated with you during those periods.

I too experienced it during a painful break-up with a childhood friend, who, to my utter surprise, murmured a long forgotten negative comment about me that he used to deliver, jokingly, a couple of decades ago.

Well, now I know that, that was not done jokingly, otherwise it wouldn't have been alive within him for such a long time.

Since we can't change people's perception about us developed at different point of time through-out our life span, the best option in my opinion is to live it while interacting with them without trying to impose a modification.

Because, that will not work rather strain the relationship.

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Control Your Expectations Without Affecting the Actions

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The act of silence is more damaging than actual violence, and in a situation where a response is justified the lack of it inflicts a sense of loss and despair among probable recipients depending upon expectations level.

In professional life, a simple example could be: You wrote a mail to the CEO of a client organization, whom you know for several years and perceive as close to you, indicating a few problems that you're facing  - down the level - with a hope that he would sort them out. However, your mail got lost into the darkness of silence and you never received a reply. That means, he didn't feel it worth sending you an acknowledgment even -- forget about acting on its contents.

Can you really blame him for this stunning silence? Not necessarily. Because, had your message been perceived by him as an important task he would have definitely replied. You can't blame him for not considering you or your expectation as important as you think he should have. Right?

I think in every relationship, professional or personal, there exists a difference between both 'what we expect from' and 'reciprocate to' each other in terms of satisfying our materialistic and emotional needs. 

Always remember, depth of relationship is like two sides of the same coin: One, that's yours and that you can control; the other, you can't and it keeps changing hugely in either direction without your knowledge.

The best way to make your life little better, is to control your expectations; however, never let it control your actions. Keep trying, but be ready to face and accept even the wildest response without feeling bad about it. I've learned it the hard way and I'm sure, anybody can.

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Can We Really Bury Our Expectation for A Reciprocation ?

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Long ago, someone approached me through a corporate connection, saying, he was without a job and desperately looking for a break in corporate India.

His story of struggle made such an impact on my emotional ecosystem that I went out of the way to place him in an organization, free-of-charge, in that process incurring a huge loss of few hundred thousand.

Nothing prevailed over my value system except one objective: Fix his life path. Frankly speaking, I didn't do it with an expectation that when time comes he would return my favor, because I never thought that I could ever be in a similar situation.

He got the assignment and I felt happy, as if I've done a great job. Yes, there was a sense of accomplishment. Well, friends did remind me to use my brain more, than heart, while carrying out business deals.

A decade later, when I needed some help that he could have easily extended by virtue of his current stature, a call and subsequent discussion was followed by a stunning silence from him.

Was I wrong in my expectation from him, or that's how the world keeps revolving?

It's not an unusual story, with most of us having gone through similar situations in life at some point of time, but the question is: Can we really bury our expectations for a reciprocation, practically?

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What Governs Our Ability to Accept the Failures and React Positively?

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It's not failures but our in-ability to accept the same and stride it over, is what makes our life miserable.

'Failure is the pillar of success,' has been bombarded into our amygdala from all possible learning centers of life. However, facing it point blank and living it, is one of the most daunting tasks human can ever think of.

Most of the people who have the guts to accepts their own failures eventually give up in course of time; however, a few adamant, not only accept but embrace it -- and finally come out victorious.

It's not an easy task, since, subconsciously fighting against the influence of evolution governed self-defense mechanism, not many have the emotional strength to accept and react against their own shortcomings.

So what's that factor, that fuels a never dying fighting spirits in individuals?

Well, in my opinion, it's nothing but the quality of upbringing which influences our ability to fight against all odds of life -- and the credit goes to our parents.

Do you agree with me?

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Is Knowledge, Always A Blessing?

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More we gain knowledge, more we learn, and are able to differentiate between hope and ground realities.

Looking at the positive aspect, knowledge makes us understand a little more about an issue helping us resolve it better.

However, sometime , knowledge painfully makes us realize how useless is the hope that we believe in, would change our life for better.

I don't know, if it's better to live with a false hope that keeps us moving or, know and try to accept accept what's impossible to resolve -- and live it, somehow!

Is knowledge always a blessing in disguise, or sometime: A disguise in blessing!

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The Angel Who Saved My Life!

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With no money to pull on beyond a week, the only option I had, was to put best efforts in getting a long-awaited refund of half a million from the Income Tax department.

The concerned official happened to be a young lady in her early thirties. I met her for a minute and explained my situation -- more through body language than any verbal communication.

She could sense my desperation and put all her senior officers on the job, instantly -- something unusual in a  government run set-up.

Finally, the problem, that was lingering for more than a year got sorted out in hours. Surely, it wouldn't have been possible without her extra-ordinary intervention.

I'd always pray to God for her well-being, because she saved a life: Mine!

Thanks a lot my dear angel!

Could Personality Test be Used as A Lethal Weapon to Destroy Good Recruitment!

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You work hard to identify a relevant candidate from hundreds and convince him to look for a change; recommend him to your client for a detailed interview and he comes out in flying colors; and finally, Managing Director of the company meets and approves him for an offer. However, the result of a psychometric test, that he takes later, projects him to be a mismatch for the job under consideration and all your efforts go waste.

Yes, the 'you' that I mentioned above, is 'me.' It has happened with me, recently, and not once but a few times. I don't know, if my strained relationship with HR director of the company - may be because the MD of the company doesn't hesitate to call me whenever there is a critical position to be filled up on priority - has a decisive influence in deflecting the outcome but, something was wrong!

Well, there seems to be a major concern in intellectual circle over the relevance of psychometric tests in decision making as far as recruitment is concerned, as evident from the following analysis:

"It is important to understand that testing on its own should never be the sole
tool in selection decisions. There is any amount of research material and
validation studies that provide information on the predictive validity of various
means of selecting staff. Recent findings provide quite an optimistic picture of the value of the interview and rigorous reference checking as a highly valid method of selection." Click here to download and read this interesting analysis.

Also, the comments by participants in a linkedin discussion reveal how concerned but divided, professionals are, over the usefulness of psychometric tests in recruitment.

Digging further, I recently conducted a survey to find out what our HR folks think about its usefulness and surprisingly 90% of them ruled out its importance in final decision making, specifying clearly, that it may only be used as an additional tool to gain some foresight into candidates' personality -- nothing more!

All of them clearly opined that psychometric test, is, no doubt, an important predictive tool, but a wrong use may even put the organization in jeopardy in terms of picking up a basket-full of non-performers over a period of time.

So, personality test may be misused as a lethal weapon to destroy good recruitment and also the organization, if, there's some one committed to...

What do you say?

Do you think psychometric test as a decisive tool in recruitment is contextually valid, or an obscure manifestation of inflated intellectualism promoted by people with vested interests -- purely for business ( or individual ) gains?

Update: 20th Oct 2010

1. According to Businessballs: In most respects psychometrics tests and personality models are aids to personal development and to helping people understand more about themselves. They are not to be used a single basis for recruitment or career decisions.



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Abraham Maslow and Self Actualization!

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"Self Actualization is the intrinsic growth of what is already

in the organism, or more accurately, of what the organism is."

Abraham Maslow

Maslow argued: Humans intuitively have a natural drive to become the best possible persons in terms of both physical and mental health, including a high level of spiritual achievement.

Recruiters' Nightmare: Talent Crunch at Its Peak, in India!

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While executing a candidate search operation for one of my clients, urgently looking for two manufacturing heads for a particular product range at two different locations, I could sense the severity of talent crunch that many organizations in India are not aware of.

How to Edit Blogs from Smartphone Via Mobile Browser, and Completely Forget the Computer!

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The exponential growth of mobile technology is allowing smart-phone users to carry out most of the internet related tasks on their device itself, with no need to remain dependent on the availability of either a desktop or a laptop.

Social Intelligence, One of the Most Desirable Leadership Traits

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The other day while introspecting through my career achievements, in general, I suddenly remembered a professional with whom I had worked for a few years as his deputy .

The company was not in good shape, making huge losses, and the owner paid hefty compensation to get the best available talent for reviving the lost glory.

Having worked with one of the largest system driven organizations of that time, for many years, I was suddenly at loss of enthusiasm and initiatives on the very first day.

Although I was told about the background and also the current state of affairs, living with it even for few hours happened to be a different kind of experience. Only news worth mentioning was: My new boss would be joining the next day.

Well, he came; mingled freely with all of us; and in a few days became extremely popular. In less than 3 years he turned around the company from a blacklisted entity to a self certified vendor supplying precision engineering products to a galaxy of public and private sector organizations.

I followed him blindly, rather he made me follow him blindly, which I did not realize at that point of time because his ability to inspire and motivate people was remarkable.

Entire team worked round the clock, happily, embedding in mind a single objective of reviving the lost glory of the company in terms of reputation as well as profitability.

He successfully removed all other priorities of life from our mind channelizing our strengths in one direction and, finally achieving the objective.

What made him such a good leader, is a million dollar question!

I think it's his 'Social Intelligence' skills, exhibiting empathy and becoming attuned to our moods literally integrating his own brain chemistry with that of ours, his followers. He actually removed the "Fear of Failure" from our mind....

Apart from professional issues we could confide in him about personal matters also, taking his guidance time and again and in that process made him an integral part of our life.

It was a unique biological synchronization or brain interconnectedness through which he guided us to develop a genuine interest in the purpose, fostering positive feelings in us.

Well, a recent discovery of mirror neurons in widely dispersed areas of human brain confirms above connectivity, that help us detect, consciously or subconsciously, someone else’s emotions through their actions and our mirror neurons reproducing those emotions. Collectively, these neurons create an instant sense of shared experience: Mirror image!

Perhaps, because of those mirror neurons' intervention we minutely observed and followed his actions moving seamlessly towards the goal -- no longer his, but ours too.

That's why, I strongly believe that 'Social Intelligence' is one of the most desirable leadership traits.

What's your take? Pl, share!

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Always Remember You're Already Perfect

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"A powerful realization that has helped me is simply this: You’re already good enough, you already have more than enough, and you’re already perfect.

Try saying that to yourself, as corny as that might sound, just to see if it sounds true. Does it resonate as something you already believe (in which case, you can probably stop reading now), or does it not feel right? Do you feel like there are things you still need to improve?

Read full article at you’re already perfect | zen habits:

Should Talent Sourcing be Attached to Corporate Sourcing Function?

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It's a wild thought, but based on some logic: Why is Talent Sourcing - or recruitment - a part of Human Resource Development function, when, the process demands more of sourcing expertise and less of people development skills.

An Enlightened Experience of Meeting A Great Leader

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For several decades we've been talking a lot about customer delight, and with both 'Marketing Generals' and 'Scholars' from all over the world re-inventing the concept - several times - to ensure that every dealing leaves a permanent impression in consumers' mind, don't you think the same may apply to enlightening every contributors - internal or external - in human resource value-chain also?

This thought came my mind immediately after attending a meeting with one of the top ten HR professionals in India, who has grown much beyond the domain 'HR" and currently holding several other key responsibilities - in addition to HR - in India's one of the biggest and most admired companies.

"Face is the index of mind; so is HR for the organization," said a HR stalwart a couple of years ago, but what it actually means I experienced while meeting this great leader: Right from preparing the gate-pass even before I entered the premises; followed by security personnel meting out a huge welcome and handing me over to a cab driver for taking me to the destination, and he, finally, escorting me to meeting spot and introducing to the meeting coordinator ( Personal Secretary) - everything happened so smoothly, and quickly. 

The coordinator, adding a silver lining to an already unbelievable welcome procedure, escorted me to a conference room making me comfortable to the extent that I've not experienced for a long time. A few minutes later I was with him, seeing him after a decade.

After exchanging initial pleasantries and remembering the old days we got into a formal discussion about his initial days in the organization, and then it quickly turned into an informal thought sharing platform with him explaining: How he fought against all adversities to change company culture and eventually transformed the company into what, that I experienced.

A down-to-earth personality and gifted with crystal clear thought processes, he never let me realize - during the course of discussion - the huge difference that exists between his stature and of mine.

He proved beyond doubt: True leadership is beyond the scope of all those hypothesis we keep reading -- actually it's about genuinely valuing and respecting the humans, in every form and stature.

Remembering this interaction which kept me spell-bound  for several hours after the meeting was over, my thought process continued evolving: Isn't it high time to replace the word 'Development' in 'Human Resource Development' with 'Enlightenment.'

Don't tell me it sounds funny, or a bit off the track, because, it isn't. After all, the ultimate objective of any development is to create enlightenment!

Update: He meets every requirements of effective leadership identified by Dr. Warren Bennis,

"What does it take to be an effective leader today? The essence of leadership is still character. The essence of character is integrity, passion, curiosity, daring and a guiding vision, without which a leader doesn't know what he wants to do or where he wants to go. Unlike the old command-and- control style, those who want to be leaders in the 21st century will have to be highly flexible and have a broad range of skills. In order to lead and keep great people, leaders must be articulate, energetic and empowering. They must be willing to inspire a collaborative approach that lets them tap into the endless source of ideas, innovation, know-how and knowledge of the people they lead. Read more at  Leader Values

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When You Have None To Talk!

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You're sitting in remote corner of a crowded place desperately wanting to talk to someone over phone.

I Was A Failure, So I'm Confident of Success Now!

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Your work is to discover your world, and then with all your heart give yourself to it. #The Buddha
 
"I was a failure; I'd destroyed a similar venture in recent past. But now I know: Why and how it happened and also, what should have been done to avoid it," said an entrepreneur during his presentation to the management committee of a large corporate - competing against a dozen big firms - staking a claim for handling a prestigious project.

Let's Accept Both Success And Failures, Gracefully!

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We hope, a lot, against all hopes that everything would be alright — one day. And it starts happening also, may be slowly but with all positive indications until one fine morning, when the mirage disappears suddenly and we realize that we’ve not really moved ahead  — still confined to the same black hole of hopelessness.

Leadership vs Myelin: Are All of Us Born with Myelin sheath of Same Thickness?

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Sangeeth Varghese's analysis of the 'Physiology of Leadership' in the light of Daniel Coyle's book "The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How," is interesting.

The Eternal Debate: Money Vs Happiness

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The findings of a recent survey that, money can buy you happiness but up-to a certain point only, is, not surprisingly, in line with 'Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.'

Yes, is it possible for a hungry person, or for that matter a homeless person, to pursue an intense love affair? Not at all! So, his primary objective remains accumulating sufficient wealth so that his basic needs are successfully met, and once done it gives him immense satisfaction making him happy.

It's only after those basic needs are met, one can completely get rid of anxieties pertaining to ensuring the survival, and then, perhaps look for emotional satisfaction through creative achievements -- independent of monetary inputs.

However, beyond that critical point of meeting decent survival needs, money may not buy you more happiness any more but it certainly acts as a catalyst improving the probabilities to gain further -- depending on how you define your happiness.

So I agree with the conclusion of this study, that "Money can buy you happiness – up to a point," but with a slight deviation as mentioned above.What about you?

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Only One Chance: Make It Happen in Life

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There is no way you can make it unless you believe in it. And, the common human tendency is: Not to believe in what we can really achieve.

Let me share with you an excellent video highlighting the power of mind: How, if stretched beyond limits, it can make our dreams come true.



So if you nurture a dream that sounds ridiculous to others, chances are that you would be successful in achieving it -- if you truly believe in yourself.

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