CincoIdeas

En la rutina que mantengo diariamente, siempre procuro dedicar entre 15 minutos a 1 hora diaria de lectura, a alguna información del tema de las organizaciones y los negocios. El lugar para ello, puede ser cualquiera, desde mi oficina hasta mi habitación en casa. La razón por la que siempre procuro ese tiempo la atribuyo a lo que denomino muy personalmente espíritu emprendedor.

Cuando pasó por mi mente escribir esta nota, se dio básicamente porque quiero compartir con otros jóvenes profesionales mi visión sobre lo que podría hacer un profesional cuando su espíritu es emprendedor y se encuentra ávido de aprendizaje en el tema de las organizaciones y los negocios, sin menoscabar que esto pueda interesarle a cualquiera.

Por ello, ofrezco cinco ideas que pongo en práctica constantemente, con el propósito de consolidar mi formación con el devenir de los años, la cual, por lo que llevo me suena mucho a que es más un pasillo amplio y emocionante, que un lugar al que llegar.

Idea 1. Construir una biblioteca física y virtual. Probablemente esta idea sea trillada, pero no lo es cuando una persona ve el aprendizaje como una constante en su quehacer profesional. La biblioteca personal es una vía de formación, no sólo es un depositario de información. No hay nadie mejor para decirte que aprender, que uno mismo y unos cuantos libros, revistas o artículos escogidos precisamente por uno mismo. La tarea de enseñar y aprender debe hacerse con cariño, y si uno se tiene cariño, pues el resultado puede ser bastante bueno!

La idea es identificar aquellas fuentes de información que más atraen por su temática y adquirirlas. La vía puede ser visitando periódicamente librerías, explorando en internet la recomendación de libros en el área de interés y suscribiéndose a publicaciones periódicas reconocidas. En mi caso estoy suscrito a tres publicaciones, dos en el área de negocios y una en lo económico y visito cada dos o tres meses una librería muy buena que contiene títulos sobre el tema de los negocios. Esto es sólo un ejemplo.

Pero no sólo veamos la biblioteca como espacio físico. Existen en internet un sin número de publicaciones y boletines que nutren con experiencias prácticas y noticias recientes que por más que los diarios y las imprentas pretendan recogerlos, no son tan ágiles como las entregas por internet. Por ello sería estupendo que hagan una biblioteca en favoritos o se suscriban a algún servicio de lector de RSS para recibir información de todo tipo y de todas partes casi en tiempo real. Las empresas además suelen tener boletines bastante interesantes, y si de ser el caso quieren conservar alguno, dispongan alguna carpeta de papers en su computadora para los fabulosos y siempre atractivos en presentación, archivos pdf.

Idea 2. Incluirse y promover las redes. Es ideal para todo profesional saber que hacen los demás y que los demás sepan que haces tú! Esto te incluye en un intercambio bastante interesante que te aporta conocimiento y roce que probablemente solo no llegarías a tener. Las redes no sólo surgen en el trabajo, surgen en lo social también. Por lo que es bueno dedicarle tiempo a ello. En la actualidad en internet existen múltiples portales y herramientas para hacerlo, no los desperdicies, afíliate a uno y aprovéchalo! No olvides tampoco promover brindis con amigos, reuniones en casa o cualquier evento que te dé la oportunidad de hacer… redes.

Idea 3. Haz benchmarking. En pocas palabras es la actividad que haces para medir comparativamente un sistema con otro, una práctica con otra, a través de indicadores de rendimiento por ejemplo. Pero la idea no es tan difícil cuando la haces tú mismo para las actividades que más te interesan. Básicamente lo que propongo es que todo lo que veas en tu campo laboral, en tus lecturas, en tus ideas emprendedoras o de negocios, siempre busques referenciales.

Las referencias son buenas porque te indican los caminos que han tomado otros, si éstos han fallado, si han tenido éxito o te despiertan la creatividad para hacerte más competitivo o hacer tu idea o producto mucho mejor de lo existente. Se trata de explorar lo que ya se conoce y en el que tu tengas ganas de mejorar o hacer distinto. No se trata de copiar, cuidado… se trata de gestionar conocimiento, y ahí vamos con la idea 4.

Idea 4. Gestionar conocimiento. Todo profesional debe buscar articular todo lo que sabe con todo lo que hace, de esta forma puede agregar valor. Gestión del conocimiento no es saber todo, sino saber cómo. Si conoces un tema y lo requieres para el trabajo, aplícalo! Si no conoces un tema, pero sabes dónde está la información, búscala! Si no conoces el tema, ni tampoco dónde puedes ubicar información, contacta a alguien que si sepa. Fíjate como en esta idea conecto las anteriores.

Cuando se gestiona conocimiento se configura una rueda de elementos interconectada entre lo que sabemos, lo que otros saben, lo que hacemos y lo que otros hacen y el valor que agregamos para resolver situaciones o producir nuevos conocimientos al servicio de nuestra organización, nuestro proyecto o el emprendimiento que tenemos en mente. Ponemos esa biblioteca al servicio de nuestro cerebro, esa red a moverse en varias direcciones y con conexiones que generan energía y esas cualidades de benchmarking sobre lo que otros han hecho para aventurarnos a mejorar, innovar y crear.

Idea 5. Globalización. No hay ninguna actividad, ni conocimiento alguno que se genere aisladamente. La globalización hace tiempo dejó de ser un concepto económico. Hoy es un concepto que está entre nosotros. Al abrir el correo o al comprar un diario, estamos en presencia de la globalización. Más que una idea de práctica la número 5, es una idea de visión. Rueda por allí un adagio (si podemos llamarle así) que reza “piensa globalmente y actúa localmente”.

En el caso de los negocios y la tarea emprendedora lo relaciono muchísimo con la posibilidad que tenemos de ver el mundo entero y actuar en lo local analizando las ventajas y desventajas de nuestras acciones antes de llevarlas a cabo. Los éxitos y los fracasos que han tenido otros realizando determinada actividad, y lo que podemos aprender de ella para que nos vaya mejor. Los diferentes enfoques que surgen de una misma situación y cómo se revela el carácter innovador y creativo de las personas.

El profesional no puede aislarse, ni alejarse de lo local, pero mucho menos puede hacerlo de lo global. Si lo hace estaría probablemente excluyéndose de toda una dinámica que para la gestión del conocimiento, para las redes, para el benchmarking y para su propia biblioteca quedaría limitado en su actuación, limitado en lo nutrientes que lo mantienen en el mundo de hoy.

(*) La imagen es tomada de un artículo de Business Week.

La imagen evoca en nuestro artículo la idea de interrelación en todas las ideas propuestas.

50 Best Internships

A month ago, I wrote an article about Internships programs. This time, I will be sharing with you a ranking published by Business Week regarding the best places to do an internship in the United States.

Check this information out at http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/best_internships_07/?chan=careers_special+report+--+best+places+to+launch+a+career_best+places+to+launch+a+career

Leave your comments please if you know other place or company that has got an internship program.

Best Business Books

US News & World reports tell us that each year the printers publish many business books, but we get very little information and guidence on what the best book is, which book exactly to look for, or what are the essential books for our business library.

In this article you can find the suggestions made by fourteen leaders of the business world in the United States, about what books make a difference in their professional careers.

Check this information out at http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/bestinbiz/bestbusinessbooks/ and leave your comments regarding books, reviews or webpage in the biz world!

Career managements: tips and insights

Introduction

In this week I received a newsletter from Duke University, regarding to MBA programs and admissions process, and I read this notes about interviews. I thought that are important tips for everybody and I would like to share with you.

If you would like to see further information, you can go to:

http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/mba/daytime/newsletter/1107/index.html

Article

Sheryle Dirks, Director of The Duke MBA Career Management Center, has identified three of the toughest interview questions for students to answer well. The following tips are excerpted from the internal CMC Newsletter, CMC Digest. In this excerpt, Sheryle provides tips for students as they prepare for upcoming interviews both on and off campus.

Interview Question #1: Tell me about yourself.

This is a question students are asked in almost every interview, but it is one that is surprisingly difficult to answer well. If you think of a thirty-minute interview as a product advertisement, what do you say in the opening two minutes to capture the listener's attention and make him/her believe that this is a candidate worth interviewing?

Rather than simply walking through the chronology of your life and career, find a way to work in three themes that you will highlight during the conversation. Labeling these "buckets" for the interviewer in your opening makes it easier to remember them and also sets up your stories as proof points for these themes.

Interview Question #2: Why are you interested in the company / this job?

The common mistake that candidates make in regard to this question is to focus upon their own interests and needs in answering this question. What the company wants to know is how you will add value and if you will be a good fit on their team. Some important characteristics of a good answer to the question include:

What skills and abilities will allow you to add value;
Why you are passionate about the company;
Why you are a good fit with the organization and the industry
The research that you have done through networking and other avenues will allow you to get beyond generic responses and demonstrate both enthusiasm and insight.

Interview Question #3: Why should I hire you?

This is often the last question in an interview and can be masked in a broader query such as, "Is there anything else you'd like to ask/discuss/tell me?"

Don't be afraid to ask for the job! Of course, this needs to be done in a style and tone that is sincere and natural for you. If you're not an intuitive seller, this will take some practice. Even saying, "I would like to express my sincere interest in being selected for second-round interviews" is far better than letting the opportunity slip by. At the same time, don't tell a company that it's your top choice if it is not, as that strategy only burns bridges if your later actions are inconsistent with such a strong statement.

Pick the three most compelling elements about your candidacy, summarize them in order of importance to the company, and reference the proof points that you have used to back up these claims throughout the interview. Especially if you used this approach in your introduction, those three themes will be even more compelling.

If this question is not asked directly, make every effort to find an opportunity at the end of the interview to give a strong closing summary and statement about why you're the right person for the job.

Web social y educación

El siguiente video es elaborado por el Área del Portal Educastur y Servicios Educativos en Línea, de la Consejería de Educación del Principado de Asturias.

Es una muestra maravillosa de cómo diversas aplicaciones en línea se fusionan para dar vida a diferentes tendencias y espacios de intercambio que pueden ser aprovechados por quienes trabajan en el ámbito educativo, sobretodo a la hora de considerar elementos y recursos para el aprendizaje.

Aunque el contexto principal del video versa sobre la escuela, es importante mantener la mirada en cómo la diversidad de recursos y espacios pueden potenciar dentro de la organización, comunidades sociales y de conocimiento, pueden generar redes y mecanismos de gestión del conocimiento, mucho más avanzados que los métodos tradicionales o las fórmulas que en la actualidad se aplican. Es una invitación a modificar el paradigma del aprendizaje del participante empresarial sentado en una silla recibiendo información sobre cómo aplicar nuevas tendencias gerenciales de la organización.

La empresa, en su afán de educar a su equipo de profesionales, debería tomar en cuenta estas ideas para generar el crecimiento y productividad de la misma alrededor del conocimiento, de la comunidad social, no sólo internamente sino con todos sus "stakeholders".

En las últimas ediciones se han venido agregando post alrededor del tema: human network, how to invest in social capital, internships programs, capital social y web 2.0 por citar los más recientes. Los invito a ir más allá!

Internships Programs

The purpose of this article is to talk about Internships Programs, what are they, which are the opportunities for students, professional and organizations, which industries are carrying out these programs, and further information regarding contacts, enterprises, etc.

Internships programs (IP) are special options for training and developing people who are finishing their undergraduate or graduate degree at university. Organizations of all kind of sectors of the economy offers job options for students and different scheme of practice. The purpose of the IP is learning and developing job goals, which graduates can use in the future to get into a new organization or join a current employer. The IP helps you to gain advantages in your professional career and achieve your technical and management goals, because you can to live a real work experience.

One of the ideas of a IP consists in discovering your role in a company. You can figure out what are your real intentions, what drives your career. In the moment when you graduate you have a framework that you should test with different roles and positions. You should develop some skills in management, technical approach in your area, specialized knowledge and gain job practice. The IP is an important option to add to your CV an important experience in a great company.

Generally, all programs are designed with three fundamentals courses. First of all, the induction course about the business in that company, the structure in the business, the objectives and what they expect from their employees and stakeholders. Second, the company expects you to have a business project with a description about your purposes or main ideas. Third, most companies have a special training program regarding the business that they carry out, because it is possible that they hire you for a position at the end of the internship, over all if you are in the last year of your degree.

The main industries that offer IP are financial and energy companies, because they have an organizational chart that allow to you, to experiment your university’s knowhow at work. They also have a variety of modalities of IP that suit your needs, such as: undergraduate, graduate, summer work- placement, etc. You only have to choose which is more convenient for you. Besides they can give you a manager or mentor in the organization, to organize your learning, activities and future network.

The advantages of companies that offer IP, is recruiting new brains for different areas of the organization, making relations with universities and new knowledge and connecting the classroom with the office. I’m interesting in with knowledge management, networking and social responsibility. These are subjects that I will explore in another article, although I must highlight the importance that each of these subjects has for the development of enterprises and the development of IP.

Finally, If I were you after reading these lines, I would visit the webpages of banks, energy companies and search by google “work- placement” or “internship program”. Perhaps you could find an important article that would fit into your career and your plans. You could also, check the social- job webpages, like “linked in” for example, or job quest, because they have tools to search for advices, places and general information regarding Internships Programs.

See you the next Monday, to live a new experience in a great company. Enroll now!

Capital social y web 2.0

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How to Invest in Social Capital
by Laurence Prusak and Don Cohen

The Idea in Brief

You know your company runs better when employees have close ties and mutual trust: Deals accelerate, teams work productively and creatively, and people learn quickly.

Strong relationships constitute your firm's social capital. But they're under attack, thanks to workplace volatility (relentless emergence of new products and markets, constant strategic change, and endless mergers and acquisitions) and virtuality (telecommuting, flextime, and virtual teamwork).

To fight back, nurture professional and personal connections among workers, and cultivate trust. These investments take time to pay off—but the gains go straight to your company's bottom line.

The Idea in Practice

Don't try to legislate social-capital building. Instead, nurture it daily with these mutually reinforcing interventions:

Make Connections

1. Commit to retention. Relationships form and trust flourishes only when people know each other. Treat employees like people, not just workers.

Software firm SAS strengthens relationships through its recreation facility, health-care center, on-site child-care centers, and Wednesday snack time (featuring 300 pounds of M& Ms). Though SAS's salaries aren't extravagant, its turnover rate is below 4%—remarkable in its industry.

2. Promote from within. You'll bolster connections and build enduring communities of trust and knowledge sharing. For example, most UPS senior managers have risen through the ranks and accumulated long experience working together.

3. Give people time and space to bond in person.One consumer-products company discourages working from home until people have been with the firm one year. It takes that long to absorb the culture and bond with colleagues. Far-flung teams also need opportunities to convene face-to-face on a regular basis.

4. Facilitate personal conversations. Provide cafés, chat rooms, kitchens, and other spaces where employees can discover mutual interests beyond work.

5. Foster durable networks. UPS drivers regularly meet for lunch in parks or cafés—to socialize, exchange missorted packages, and share information. One supervisor meets his team at a park if he wants to talk with them together.

Enable Trust

1. Give employees no reason to distrust. Establish clear rules—then live by them. At executive-search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, people know if they don't "grow," they "go." Trust is high.

2. Show trust yourself. The best way to display trust? Trust employees. Upscale retailer Nordstrom has two customer-service rules: 1) Use your own good judgment at all times, and 2) There are no other rules!

3. Promote trustworthy people. You'll prove that good guys finish first and your company values trust.

Foster Cooperation

1. Give people a common sense of purpose—through strategic communication and inspirational leadership.
Johnson & Johnson's first priority is its customers. This clear purpose unites employees in J&J's scattered businesses—as revealed by the company's swift, coordinated response to the Tylenol poisonings in 1982.

2. Reward cooperation with cash. IBM bases bonuses on group and corporate performance much more than individual performance.

3. Establish rules for cooperation. At Russell Reynolds, new recruiters must make five internal phone calls to get candidate suggestions before calling outside. They learn the ropes and get to know their colleagues.

4. Hire for social capital. Southwest Airlines hires for positive attitude, sense of humor, and joy in team results.

URL Address: http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/oct2007/ca20071023_070114.htm
Provided by Harvard Business—Where Leaders Get Their Edge

Human network

You should see this video, because it will explain to you everything you need to know about the world you live in. These facts influence the training and development process in enterprises and organizations. The people with common interests can connect with each other faster.

Books, magazines, traditional courses and traditional teachers are not the only ways to learn and to share knowledge, human network is in between us for to show us which is the new path for learning business language. "People subscribe to people". The people can make their networks with the shape that they want it. The internet helps the people who knowhow to handle the social web. Whatever you want to go or to find, you can make it.

To go beyond is the challenge... the place where you want to be, is around the corner. It's in you. Welcome to the human network, discover it for yourself!



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