Security Officers in Demand
According to Christian & Timbers, a global executive search firm, the company is receiving a high volume of inquiries from corporations seeking chief security officers. Christian & Timbers predicts the CSO will be one of the hottest executive jobs in 2002. According to Jeffrey Christian, chairman and CEO of the firm, “September 11th changed the world forever. Corporations are scrambling to assess their organizations and take appropriate action to thwart security risks that have gone well beyond computer viruses, fraud and theft. In today’s economy, it is increasingly critical to have the right CSO to develop and implement complete logical and physical security measures. The CSO is responsible for protecting the physical plants, intellectual property, and most importantly, the workers. And, for major corporations, this is a global issue,” he said. Candidates for these positions often come from an intelligence background. “Chief security officers must have strong knowledge of security principles including authentication, auditing, fraud, fire and safety regulations, risk management, executive protection and facility security. Federal agencies are great source environments and the best candidates will have had both domestic and international security experience,” Christian concluded.
Managing Change in Uncertain Times
How should you manage change in the uncertain atmosphere of Post 9/11 anxiety, escalating tensions in the Middle East and a sluggish U.S. economy? Pierre Mourier, president of management consulting firm Stractics Group, Inc. and co-author of the book Conquering Organizational Change: How to Succeed Where Most Companies Fail, offers the following tips for managers who want to be on the frontline of organizational performance in 2002 and beyond:
1. Identify your key players and circle the wagons.
Pinpoint the most important people in your organization and meet regularly with them. Seek their advice, reward them generously and empower them to carry out the company’s vision.
2. Get closer to your customers . . . and be aware of your competition.
Make sure you know how your customers have been affected by these turbulent times. How can your organization best serve these customer needs . . . and what is the competition doing differently under the changed conditions?
3. Reconfirm the organization’s strategy.
Together with the team, rethink your company’s current strategy. Once it has been refined, make sure it is effectively translated into measurable goals and actions that can be taken by frontline employees.
4. Be tactical – think small.
To minimize risk, avoid committing large sums of money to change efforts. Ask whether any change effort under consideration can be broken down into tactical components or into phases, each with a beginning and an end. This gives you more flexibility to respond to changing conditions.
5. Build alliances.
It is more important than ever to maintain strong alliances now across the organization -and with other organizations such as suppliers, vendors and customer groups.
6. Communicate.
During uncertain times, employees are inundated with stories of downsizing, pay reductions, etc. While the importance of systematic and regular communications with your team cannot be overemphasized during normal times, the issue takes on even greater importance now.
7. Become obsessed with productivity.
Productivity must take center stage if the organization is to survive uncertain times. It is critical that managers be adept at understanding what the output is for each dollar spent.
8. Re-evaluate performance management systems and metrics.
Revise existing measurement and performance management systems so managers promptly receive the information necessary to take action.
9. Translate organizational goals into frontline action.
To be effective, goals must be translated so people buy into them, while providing enough stretch to act as motivators. The translated goals must relate closely with the performance measurement system that is in place in your organization.
10. Follow up relentlessly.
Systems that report monthly information are simply not good enough – hourly or daily reports are more appropriate. Managers should consider creating “war-rooms” where key information is provided as it occurs and managers can take necessary action immediately.
“In times like these, it pays to take the principles of good change management and turn them up a notch,” concluded Mourier.
What’s for Lunch?
The Nevada Farm Bureau reports the following fast facts about the country’s eating habits:
1. Americans are eating 900 percent more broccoli than they did 20 years ago. The average person eats 4 ½ pounds per year.
2. The average American child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time he or she reaches high school.
3. Potato chips are our favorite snack. Americans eat 1.2 billion pounds per year.
4. Americans, altogether, consume an average of 19 acres of pizza each day.
5. The average American eats 25 pounds of rice per year. Only seven states produce rice (Texas, California, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and Mississippi).
What’s on Your Mind?
Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation (TTCF) recently completed a community assessment to determine the major issues facing residents of the Truckee-North Tahoe region. Results of the survey of those owning either primary or secondary homes in the area identified the top issues as: transportation infrastructure, environment, community planning, growth and housing. The foundation, which matches philanthropic interests with charitable organizations, undertook the study to see what local people value most and to ask opinions on where charitable giving would have the most impact. “In general,” said Lisa Dobey, TTCF president, “residents indicated the major issues facing the region are the sustainability of the environment and culture in the face of considerable economic pressure to grow and develop.”
What are the most important issues facing residents in the Truckee-North Tahoe region?
Transportation infrastructure 25%
Environmental issues 18%
Community planning 13%
Growth 10%
Housing 9%
Education 4%
Disaster prevention 4%
All other responses 17%
Take a Breath and Count to Nine
Real estate agents, whose business involves dealing with clients every day, run into their share of people whose attitude and behavior make them tough to handle. REALTOR Magazine offers some suggestions for dealing with a difficult person:
1. Keep your voice tone and volume low and speak slowly.
2. Ask no threatening questions.
3. Acknowledge the problem – then repeat it to the person to make sure you understand the issue.
4. Treat the person’s objection as important even if it doesn’t seem like a major issue to you.
5. Don’t argue.
6. Apologize, even if you think the client is the one who’s wrong.
7. Offer to rectify any problem. If you can’t, offer an alternative.
8. Act professionally at all times.
9. Afterwards, analyze the circumstances that led to the problem – including your behavior – so you can avoid repeating it.
