We are hiring: Driven 'automotive' marketing specialists.

It's going to be tough.  Automotive is a multi-billion industry in Malaysia.  Our GDP relies on this.  One screw up isn't one car sale down.  It sends a repercussion to hundreds or maybe even thousands of jobs being cut.  It's serious business because it involves 8.3 million lives (excluding motorcyclists and pedestrians).  So if you think we are anal about how this business is run and communicated, you are absolutely right. It only looks repetitive if you don't know how to hack it.  The game?  Is to keep repositioning your competitors with what you do.  One step if you're good.  Ten if you're great.

You'll be wanted for accountability - of everything that comes out from your kitchen.  Your pole position is meeting targets, the title on your card is secondary - let us make that clear.  You drive the brand and it drives you.  You are partners, like in any race - man and machine is one.  And let us repeat one more time, in case you missed the first line.  It's going to be tough.  On top of a challenging industry, is another.  We believe in innovating how brands are built by way of integration and collaboration.  We put scientific measures behind our intuitions and have extremely stringent expectations on our fellow brand builders whether from a creative, media or comms specialist aspect.  And most of all, we take pride in providing world-class service to our clients.  They win, we win.  If you can't agree to that equation, you may exit right now.

So if you have what it takes - the desire to not just race but win in the automotive business and you can demonstrate to us why you can do that, we want to meet you.  We're looking for automotive specialists, no longer an account management person or a strategic planning person or a whatever person who can do many things.  We don't care where you come from as long as you can deliver what's to come in the future.  You can be Jack of however many trades you like, there's only ONE thing that we care for you to master - the car business.

In terms of personality requirements, you will need resilience and energy to excel.  A strong character with an inclusive leadership to take the reign is not absolute but from our experience, is a trait will take you very far.

So if you know anything about races, you'd also know second place is the first loser.  Reach out to us now.

How to hire the right person when you have too many candidates?

Okay.  Scenario.  You wanna hire an Account Manager - so it would be someone who's got some level of leadership, a team player, able to decipher complicated tasks from the Account Director which usually comes in the form of a Morse Code and break it into understandable tasks where they and the Account Executive can work on, able to put things together and get it organised and present it back to their boss.

There are 5 candidates.  All Senior Account Executives with similar agency experience and operational skills.  But what you need are 'invisible' skills and they are usually not stated in resumes or extravagantly exaggerated otherwise.

And your enemy is time.  You need this guy like yesterday and interviewing all 5 means you'll have to drown in your own team planning incompetency together with all of your other projects at hand.

So what do you do?

Tick tock tick tock tick tock.

Easy peasy.  Get all 5.  Put them into a room with a two-way mirror (if your agency doesn't have this crazy surveillance room, then a spy camera would do).  You might want to inform them of the camera, in case they found out they didn't get the job, you might get sued to Timbuktu.  So as I was saying, get all 5 of them.  Put them into this room which you can observe them remotely and give them a 30 minutes to an hour task.  Give them a problem of which all 5 will have to agree on a common solution.  Tell them they're free to do whatever they want and you'll be back in an hour to 'hear out the solution'.

Tick tock tick tock tick tock.

Now sit back, relax and evaluate.

All 5 people, and everyone knows only 1 will get the job.  So there is some kind of tension already in the group.  So observe who is the natural leader in the group, who opposes with facts and who without facts, who are the followers, who are the 'whatevers', who are the limelight grabbers, who are the thinkers, who are the idea jotters, who are the yes people, who are the mavericks, who are the smartypants and who are the actual smart ones.

There.

I think you have an ideal candidate in mind already.

;)

Would you put your life out on the line for money?

Something that intrigued me recently - what motivates people in a social norm setting (doing something that has nothing to do with monetary value) and in a market norm setting (doing something that has everything to do with monetary value).  Our job almost always falls into the latter category, although sometimes it's muddled by management - social norm requirements from employees in a market norm situation.

But the question which popped into my head was, what about law enforcers?  This is a highly grey area. Surely a job which requires you to risk your life be entirely about the money?  How much are you paid for your life?

Look at the police ranking in Malaysia, below from Wikipedia:

According to Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, there was a scheme, effective Jan 1 2009, that would adjust the police salaries at the quantum of three annual salary increments.  Which means, an Inspector now earns a salary of RM2,060.28 compared to RM1,423.50 previously while their maximum salary of RM3,710.66 is increased to RM4,962.39.  An Assistant Superintendent of Police received a new salary of RM2,130, which is an increase of RM69.72 compared to RM2,060.28 previously while the maximum salary is now at RM5,170.53 compared to RM4,962.39 previously.  Now let me make a comparison to an industry renown for lack of staff benefits, low pay and long working hours - ADVERTISING.  According to Firebrand, an entry-level Account Executive (fresh grad) now should earn a neat RM2,000 of which upon promotion to a Senior AE level (which roughly requires an average of 2 year working experience with consistent performance), they will be earning at least RM2,500 up to RM3,500.

Am I the only one who sees how our human resource system for law enforcers is flawed?

Assuming an SPM graduate / undergrad / cadet school grad who for some unknown reason is extremely passionate about protecting civilian security of his nation joins the police force at a Constable (PC) level, what do you think his salary starts from?  IF an Inspector (7 ranks above) was earning RM2,000?  And you ask what are the police doing in alleviating crime rates?  What do you think?  What would you do?  Would you put your life in the line of fire for RM2,000?  Even if you are okay, what about your family?  Who's gonna take care of your children?  Your parents?  Your spouse?

The above paints me a picture of an ideal police in Malaysia: You are single, on fire for the country and her people and injustice that you're willing to risk everything including the livelihood of your family (if you have one) for whatever amount the government has allocated as your measly monthly salary for decades unchanged.  A true national hero that will never question the authority or his career rights.

To those who indeed lost their lives in protecting the sovereignty of the country, you are indeed a hero.  No question.  But to those who are less than willing to go the extra mile, I understand your plight.  And to those who misuse their power, I also understand.  Because this system is greatly flawed.  Please do not misconstrue my understanding of the situation as a personal agreement.  Only by awareness we can then identify effective solutions to the problem.

So.  If I were to build my own police force as in like SIMCity, I would overhaul the entire HR strategy.  While the police serves under market norm, but their motivation must stem from a social conscience.  Money in this case is both important and unimportant.  A sound salary plan accompanied by social motivation is perhaps the best balance to ensure minimally an 'effective' police force.  The problem with the current situation is, they are entirely taken for granted, expected to serve at minimal wage.  If we were to plug the holes that are depleting the government funds, surely there's enough to ensure sustainable and progressive wage to our officers?

Agree?

Increasing organisation productivity.

Been on HBR, May 2011 issue about increasing organisation productivity.  While I won't reiterate what I read into this post (you heard of #SOPA? :Pp Sorry, I'm still sore), I just want to highlight some key words that really popped in front of me.  And these keywords put everything into perspective.

• We're not computers.  We're organisms designed to be rhythmic - hence the ups and downs - and an effective manager is then like an orchestral conductor - conducting different instruments and rhythms into one perfect composition.  (Check the link and lemme know if they don't sound like a CEO?)
• This is the insight of athletes - we need to manage our work-rest ratio.  90% work versus 10% rest will melt even super computers down.  Ideal balance is 50-50 but seriously, who can be that disciplined to maintain that sort of perfect equilibrium?  I would reckon, our work-rest ratio will always need to change in order to optimize for the required situation but we need to be 'aware' of our condition in order to maintain productivity.  Managers too need to recognise that because from experience, a lot of people wouldn't realize they are burning out until they are burnt out.  Managers can usually see a broader view by virtue of being an outsider to subsequently provide necessary advice or even rest.
• A leader needs to be the 'Chief-Energy-Officer' (another perspective of CEOs which I seriously feel that this isn't a default trait) - to mobilize, focus, direct, inspire and recharge those they lead.  Interesting thought... But who's gonna mobilize, focus, direct, inspire and recharge him/her?  Hmm.  No wonder they say it's lonely at the top.
• IF the organisation is filled with organisms and organisms are matter of energy.  Energy is never constant and always transforming - over time, they are either renewed or dissipated.  Extremely interesting outlook.  Managers must recognise the origin of this energy and its course of direction, to learn how to effectively transfer it within the organisation and minimize the loss.  Very very interesting.

Seriously, this gave me an entirely different perspective of an organisation.  And I think I now understand better what must be done.  

This issue must be sent from above.  Good luck to you ;)

The world's most scarce resource: Talent.

We've been on a recruiting (and I-so-wish firing) mode. And believe me, from today till the next couple of years, the world's most scarce resource will be TALENT. And when I say talent, it doesn't mean people with skills. It means people with skills and VISION. It's so hard to find that in young people these days. No, scrape young. Just people.

Especially when the world's in a mess (enviromentally, politically and socially), web 2.0 blurred everything about copyright issues and plagiarism is rampant, but at the same time, curiosity brings people to places they've never been (physically and in their mind), creating a new hybrid of thinkers who understand the mechanism of connections better (between themselves and friends, between other people, between corporations and people), and who have higher expectation on what they can do and what employers should provide. This talent management field is tough! The balance between getting someone with a vision versus over-confidence. The balance between a thinker and doer (ha! I think almost everyone in Malaysia can relate to this. They either do without thinking, or think without knowing how to do it). The balance between self and team. It's almost as tough as doing the job, trying to produce an optimum team.

Getting the right people on board is difficult. But I cannot tell which is more challenging - capturing high flyers or creating them in-house. I think for the past one year, I've experienced both. Both are equally challenging I supposed, but I have to admit that the latter brings a much sweeter satisfaction. The question is, on whose expense? Management's sanity? Client's business? The (God forbid) brand?

Awhile back, when I was still with McCann's, we were working towards setting up a McCann University in Malaysia where the unpolished diamonds will be sharpened till they gleam. It was a brilliant idea. Getting the right education endorses was a non-issue since all that really depends on 'management connections' anyway. Shortly, after I left and I never knew what happened to the project. I guess it didn't happen because if it did, McCann would have milked the PR coverage shamelessly (that's why they are a reputable brand). Then this morning, I came across what W+K is doing too, to hone talents. I think the industry is slowly recognising more and more the importance of talent management. Yet so few of us can do that. Why? Because this isn't a factory. We don't churn out square cut products. We're dealing with people. And people have feelings. I've cornered an executive so badly that she cried but I knew if she endures through the furnace, she would stretch, break out of it and become a much better thinking doer. But she's crying, what do I do? I backed off.

These issues, I'm sorry, are not taught in the best of the best Harvards of management schools. It comes with experience in dealing with people. Because at the end of the day, what your people would do for you shows who you really are.