SAP

Spring is in the air, the days are getting longer and the crocuses are poking up their hopeful heads. Yet, these remain bleak times for too many job seekers, even leaders and managers with impressive resumes. The reason? The demands of a collaboration-based, talent-hungry, global, wired economy are evolving so quickly that success depends on nothing less than continuous learning. Fall behind and you may find yourself disqualified from the race. One senior innovation advisor at a major energy company put it this…

C-Suite Plans For Growth As you would expect, for many businesses profit-generating and core-business activities are given priority over longer-term investments to promote expansion and growth. However, it appears that more than one in five business leaders (22%) would like to see a greater focus on these ‘growth’ initiatives, but believe this is stymied by a lack of accountability for competitiveness further down the line in their organizational hierarchies. As this graph shows, most of the barriers that c-suite executives are already encountering in improving their long-term business prospects are those that are culturally embedded within the organization.

IT Workers Are Unique Different industries have different workforces, and those workforces have unique attitudes and motivators that attract them to certain organizations. Our recent research on this very subject suggests that those in the IT industry have an innate attraction to innovative projects, and are more likely to expect a higher salary and benefits package from their employer. So, if you’re hiring in the IT sector, consider these key issues throughout your recruitment campaigns: Innovation gets their attention: IT workers are more likely to seek…

Recently, my wife Jane and I were discussing my career:  in particular, what I planned to do next. Two things precipitated this discussion. For one, as I wrote here, my long, self-crafted study of the intricacies of IT and “The Enterprise” is finally wrapping up. For another, I’d just passed another completely arbitrary milestone in my social media adventure – 200,000 followers on Twitter. This last one really caught Jane’s attention. “Hey dummy,*” she said to me. “I know how you feel about ‘celebrity’ being…

I get it…Political Correctness is a big deal. These days it seems that almost anything you say has consequences good, bad or indifferent. And with this I have noticed something…. People are becoming afraid to have an opinion; about anything! Perhaps out of fear of backlash, or concern that their opinion won’t be popular. While all of this whitewashing may make people feel good, the consequences may not be as beneficial…

If want to hear lots of specific details about a TV show you missed, you’re better off asking a shy person in the office, rather than the loud-mouth talking about it in the break room. That’s because, according to a study by Dutch scientist Camiel Beukeboom, introverts use more descriptive and concrete language than extroverts. Extroverts are far more likely to use abstract language and remember details less accurately. In the experiment, 40 subjects were asked to describe a…

These are extraordinary times to be a manager. Sure you can point out the horrendous examples of management so common these days. You could even make a strong case that management is broken. In fact we believe management has plenty of sloughing off old practices and beliefs no longer suited for today’s dynamic business environment. Yet despite the plentitude of crappy management, I still see today as an extraordinary time to…

From my early childhood I was encouraged to be decisive. My mother helped me start little businesses that honed my decision-making ability. When I was a quarterback in high school, my coach allowed me to call all my own plays. I held numerous leadership roles during my school years. Then I attended Harvard Business School, where the case method teaches students about decision making. I was good at making decisions, and this ability was affirmed…

When comedian Daniel Tosh did a bit on Ethanol I distinctly remember his remarks and I paraphrase. Running our cars on corn…? (sigh followed by a long pause) Ethanol is a dream, and a dumb one. You want to know what else is a dream, and a dumb one? The 4 hour work week or anything that tells you that you can achieve unrealistic goals or levels of success with a nominal effort. While I certainly lack the credentials to comment on the…

When I talk about leadership, diversity and teamwork I often use the analogy of an orchestra. Watch my video blog to learn how we can help the world run like never before by uniting our different backgrounds, cultures and ideas. How do you establish a common goal or “melody” and uniting your team behind that goal within your organization? Diversity is key to SAP’s continuous innovation and competitive edge. Check out the Diversity section on our corporate website to learn more about what SAP is doing to support cultural diversity. 

How do you create a curious culture? I struggled with this question until the January 2013 issue of National Geographic landed in my mailbox with this cover theme: “Why We Explore.” Inside was a fascinating article called “Restless Genes”, written by David Dobbs. The article provided panoply of scientific evidence as to why humans explore. “The compulsion to see what lies beyond the far ridge or that ocean – or this planet—is a defining part of human identity and success.” – David Dobbs The article helped me conceptualize a framework…

With Amazon’s human resources troubles turned headline news, many companies are rethinking their own people strategy. We spoke with Christian Scholz, professor of Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, and Information Management at Universität des Saarlandes. Professor Christian Scholz (Photo: private) SAP.info: What are the biggest concerns that the Human Resources industry is facing today? Christian Scholz: Today, we’re seeing a discussion, and it’s only getting more intense, about who has the power to make human resources decisions. We’re dealing with…

It only takes one loop around the dining hall at a trade fair or business conference, meal tray in hand, for many of us to feel like we’re the new student on the first day of school. You scan the tables, noting the ones with lively conversations where everyone seems to know each other, and wonder if you dare to join. You think it would probably be easier to sit down at that nearly empty table by…

You want to know why Marissa Mayer’s decision to ban telecommuting became such an uproar at Yahoo? Here is a hint… It isn’t because Marissa Mayer lacks the experience to make that decision. She doesn’t. As CEO of Yahoo she is fully capable and competent to make that decision. The reason that the decision was met with so much resistance was because she lacks the trust of her people. Bold statement right? Well, of…

When you make a decision, it results in an action. And the accumulation of those decisions and actions become how people describe you and think of you. This becomes your “story.” What story are the collective decisions of your organization telling your customers, employees, and the marketplace? What is important to you? Do your decisions reflect what you intended and what your company stands for? Getting customers to love you begins with how you consider the people impacted by your decisions. You tell customers every day how much you honor them by the way you…

Ever watch talented teams talk but do little else? Or have you seen original ideas wilt away for lack of sustenance when people meet? Winning teams cultivate whole brain leaders who unlock three linchpin skills in order to co-lead innovative outcomes. Go for ASK, STEP and SEE Leaders Co-led teams pull together to strengthen, support, and sustain talent. But how? Long before science revealed how synapses fire whole brain thinking, successful innovators used good questions to map new cognitive landscapes….

I recently was asked by a customer how he could encourage his organization to be “more curious.” As leaders we all can imagine the positive outcomes from any organization that is “curious” – less insular, better at listening, faster sensing. I would go as far as to say that any organization trying to become adaptable, agile or to execute faster in today’s hyper-connected markets requires a strong dose of “curiosity” baked into its culture. An argument can be made that the ability to adapt may be proportional to one’s capacity for…

I love punk rock. It was loud, fast, and trashed authority. I discovered punk in high school. Since then, I’ve become something of an aficionado. The early punk scene in NYC was as diverse and experimental as anything in the history of music. I’ve collected books about that time as well as several documentaries with early footage of bands including the Ramones, Dead Boys, Television and Blondie. As a purveyor of advice about professional life, to date…

By Nicole McCabe, Senior Director of Global Diversity, SAP Family vs. Career? My friend recently had a baby and is getting ready to go back to work. When my husband and I talked to the new parents, painstaking memories came back – after 5 years, we can finally laugh at them. I told them “brace yourself, you will cry for days, but it gets easier the second week.” My husband told them “you will think your wife has lost her mind, and have no idea how to fix it so just…

Organizations bleeding talent is a fixable problem. Before we can look at solutions for keeping talent, let’s look at some of the causes of talent loss. Breaking Trust Leads To Talent Loss The problem has been triggered and exacerbated by recessional workforce reductions in favor of short-term savings. The problem persists and will only worsen as fed-up employees grow confident in finding a different place to work that is “anywhere but here.” Let’s continue, for…