Let others steal your credit and ideas......it is OK

When you are in a big organization, you probably will never create a solid career for yourself by worrying about who is using your solutions and ideas. There probably is some nepotism, if the staff around you are related to the management or some kind of related relationship with the senior people. People hate whiners, they hate bickering, and, most importantly, people who are confident that they have many plans and ideas don’t keep track of each one. And, let’s face it, we do not get far by just having ideas. You need to be likable in the eyes of the management and which means you are either in sync with them or singing the same tune all the time with the CEO ( probably the CEO likes that ! ). So cut it out. Worrying about who gets credit for which solutions or ideas will prevent you from having a fulfilling career in your hectic work life, especially in some kind of tough industries with challenging schedules to meet. Why ??

There is no such thing as infinite count of good ideas -

Good people - the ones who have tons of good ideas - share them. If you’re a business venturer, you have an idea and call some friends to share it. They may say why your idea won’t work, and you do the same thing the next week, until you land on an idea that does work. However for an entrepreneur, the ideas never stop coming and you never stop sharing them.

Those who have lots of ideas or at times “think out of the box” don’t bother to treasure their ideas and keep it secret. If your ideas are so valuable that they need protecting - or you think they do - you’ll come across as someone who is anything but creative. Then no one will hire you for your ideas. So if you want to be known for your ideas, act like someone who has a lot of them. Keep them coming and give them away all the time. It will benefit you more than keeping them tight in your pocket.

Bosses like “nice” people and dislike “smart alec” -

It may be true that most would rather work with people who are likeable than those who are competent but selfish. In fact, some view the nice people as more competent, even if they are not. And the skilled people who are jerks start appearing incompetent to their co-workers. That’s how powerful being nice at the office is. In other words, others will view you as you better at your job if you stop bitching about who gets credit for ideas or solutions.

As I see, management would likely prefer those who help others get their job done. That person genuinely cares if you are happy doing your work; they genuinely cares if it feel connected and engaged. One way to become that well-liked person - share your workable ideas and sell it for FREE.

Try make your boss look up to you -

Do not complain and do not be the “YES” man either. Demanding that your boss give you all the credit does not help, either. If you make your boss’s life easy, he may help you. Hopefully he or she will mentor you, train you, guide you through the organization and recommend pay adjustment for you. Bosses do not complain that they don’t have enough idea people working for them. Bosses complain that there is too much work to do. This is because bosses always think they are the idea people, whether or not they are. So if your boss thinks your staff has all the ideas, it doesn’t matter. Your boss will recognize those who gets things done.

If you want to get credit for your ideas, you could try a blog -

Resumes may not showcase ideas. Resumes are a history of what others have allowed you to do in their organization. If you want to be known for the ideas you are coming up with right now, then try to put in your blog. It’s incredibly easy to write a blog if you have a lot of ideas. The ideas need not reveal company proprietary info; they just need to reveal how you think - about a wide range of things in your specialised field. Try putting your ideas out for public reference. Don’t write about people stealing your ideas. Your blog ideas, should they be convincing, then others will associate those ideas with you.

Be “Open Source” software -

Imagine yourself as “Open Source” software versus “proprietary” software. Open Source’s strength is that many people contribute to the growth and refinement of it. It’s a breeding ground for people to share ideas. Credit is shared, and tracked as the software evolves. And as your contribution to it grows you will gain power and recognition in the community.

Alternative to blogging your ideas, Speak up -

Make sure the Boss hears your ideas at meetings, in emails, in memos — establish yourself as a constant “source” of bright thinking and good ideas within your team. Do not try to outshine your peers in front too much and control yourself. Otherwise, you may be seemed to be too arrogant in the meeting.

Work Hard -

Be seen as the person on the team that always does your homework. Never come to a meeting unprepared. Think through what the agenda is, and add your insights and ideas, in front of everyone. Refrain from talking irrelevant issues not related to the topic of discussion.

Push yourself to the front -

That doesn’t mean you have to be “in-their-face”, but it does mean that you should seek out opportunities where you can show your abilities to best advantage. (eg. trade shows, trade publications, special committees) In the long term, wise companies will ensure that all employees who participate in the creation of new ideas are recognized. New ideas are one of the engines of economic growth after all.

Where will all this get you? Hopefully some organization or headhunter will want to hire you or work with you not because of the list of tasks on your resume, but because you are that person with all those sound ideas. And once you’re hired, it doesn’t matter if someone has stolen your ideas and your credit.

Get in control at "hot meetings"

If you have not been once a while under fire by your management or seniors then it may seem either your job is not interesting or your career’s probably not going anywhere. It is sort of like “no pain no gain.” If you push the envelope and take risks, then you’re going to get mercilessly grilled from time to time. That’s just the way it works. And if you really really want to get recognized or hoping for next promotion and get something of yourself, you have to learn to deal with situations and present your skills infront of the “audience”.

Not talking about being thick skin and becoming a human punching bag. I’m talking about learning to handle getting fired upon like a true leader.

We all probably behave as defensive in the early days, but as time pass we tend to mellow down and learned the ropes:

Don’t get emotion - It’s good to be passionate about your ideas, but if you’re emotionally attached to them, it’ll come through when you’re getting grilled. And managers are incredibly distrustful of ideologues trying to shove things down their throats. It’s all about positioning. In your mind, you have to be willing to walk away. That little separation will give you the appearance of perspective and poise under fire.

Find alternative plans - The best way to respond to most objections is by first embracing them, then explaining why your plan is better or at least equivalent. Again, it’s a positioning game. But there’s a subtle but significant difference between, “My approach is better and here’s why,” and “That’s an interesting idea; here’s why I think this might be a better approach.”

Know your stakeholders - Of course you need to know your material and expect the worst. Unfortunately, that’s not even close to good enough. You also have to know the stakeholders, your audience, and pre-empt their likely objections. A few one-on-one pre-meetings are a good idea. Then you’ll be ready to counter effortlessly.

Never lose your cool in meeting- It’s your meeting, or at least your time to present, so you’re in charge and you need to act like it. You need not bother if the chief or boss start going down on some trivial point. You have to be adept at all the usual techniques for keeping meetings on track, on topic, and on time. Come to think of it, that’s probably a topic of its own.

The truth is that great things can happen in meetings, if the person running the show knows what he’s doing. Unfortunately, most managers are so inept at conducting effective meetings you’d think it’s rocket science. Become adept at running effective, productive meetings with some tips that will help you keep a group of highly intelligent and opinionated staff on track when they’re all trying to fly off in different directions.

The setup - Tell what you expect from those in the room what you don’t expect from them. Be specific. For example, “we’re going to determine our testing proposition to customers,” but “we’re not going to sit here and brainstorm the pros & cons to death; we’ll do that offline.”

Be the alpha person- From the start, your manner, level of confidence, eye contact, and body language need to project and reinforce who’s in charge. You don’t care if the boss is in the room; it’s your meeting. You can be respectful and still be the alpha person. You can even tell them in the setup that your job is to accomplish some key actions today. Just don’t overplay it.

Channel useful debate- There will inevitably be heated debate where the meeting starts to get out of control. That’s fine, as long as you bring it back. First you have to get everyone’s attention with something like “Everyone here listen, I have to jump in …,” and once all eyes are on you, then perhaps you summarize the two sides and start to bring everyone to consensus. Then you’re back in control.

Table useless debate - Same as above, except once you have everyone’s attention, tell them they’ll have to take it offline for a separate meeting, then just continue with the agenda … with authority. Be honest, “it’s time to move on and there’s a lot to cover …” Be tough. Remember, it’s your meeting; you get to override.

Improvise- Sometimes meetings get out of control because you screwed up and executives can sense loss of control. Well, before they take over the meeting, you have to improvise, and that can only come from experience. Thinking on your feet is equal to parts knowledge, experience, preparation, self confidence, and maintaining a sense of humor.

Lessons to learn from IPAD evolution......

In early 1980’s the personal computer and graphical user interface (GUI), with keyboard, bulky and heavy CPU unit and mouse for input, and a separate display monitor using CRT as output, was developed. At that time, with all these bulk of equipment hooked up by bunch of wires, it was for the purpose of creation of soft documents, such as word processor, spreadsheet, or desktop publishing program and gaming software application was not yet in the pipeline then. It then started to surface at later stage of the PC evolution and now gaming has gone wireless with 3D moving fast to our living hall. In word or number crunching processing PC, unlike text-based systems such as MS-DOS, the "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) GUI allowed you to see on screen something that closely resembled what you should get when you send or press the print button either through the printer interface or nowadays with WIFI wireless technology.

With increasing penetration of the Internet, the percentage of computing use spent creating documents has jumped in leap and bound and very much non-stop in speed. Also alot of the time has been spent either communicating (originally just email, then adding IM, Skype audio and video, and social networking) or consuming media (text, images, and video). But our computing tools haven't appreciably changed very much from desktop and laptop, now to netbook or mininote with keypad and mouse.

This leads to the techie question what would be the best computing interface for communication and consumption? If anyone were willing to forgo legacy, and design a device specifically for these uses, you could very well arrive at something like Apple's iPad. This has been a recurring theme for Apple. Whether it was the original Macintosh, or iMac, or iPod, or now iPad, Apple is surprisingly cavalier about supplanting an existing cash cow with a next generation product that responds to how the market is moving.

The one thing to learn from iPad is to ponder and ask, what assumptions and the rest of our industry, making about consumer’s behavior that might simply no longer be true and the new way the consumer is going to live with the everyday “must-have” IT tool ?

Southwest Airlines thwarted convention by not offering meals or assigned seats, instead ensuring low prices and a high on-time percentage. It turns out people are willing to bring their own food on board, and little is as important as on-time arrival. Southwest now carries more people in the United States than any other air carrier and probably the only money making budget airline company in the US and survive the up’s and down’s of the economy.

Many industries still have room for significant evolution. Many bank branches seem optimized for supporting basic transactions, even though there are many other ways to handle such things like online, ATM and internet banking. The bank should feel like a service center, geared toward supporting conversations between you and bank representatives about how to better handle your money and not just the simple daily service that are served at the counter.

Retail outlets ought to move beyond the boring and typical stuff-on-shelves. If I just want to buy stuff off of a shelf, I can do that online, though not so popular in Singapore here. Physical stores have a great opportunity to extend the purchase experience, whether through creating communities of purchasers with similar interests or providing service and support when things go wrong.

As we have approached 2010, we still likely to see many of our companies continue to operate as if they were in 1980. If we take a dispassionate and clear-eyed look at present companies and their behavior of its customers, we probably would realize many new business opportunities that have been obscured by “historical” and backward thinking. As for the offshore industry, can it be as evolutionary as the IPAD and transform the offshore drilling into a high tech world where drillers use less effort at the drillfloor ??

Giving the boss feedback...

Having to deal closely with anyone provide you useful insight into his or her performance. This is especially true of the boss, as he will likely see in a variety of settings: client meetings, presentations, one-on-ones, negotiations, etc. But even if that insight could be helpful as a boss, is it your place to share it with him? Could you be putting your job at risk by telling him what you see or by giving him frank or sometimes wrong advice? Giving the boss feedback, also known as upward feedback, can be a tricky process or at times may be detrimental to the one giving the advice. However, if offered correctly and thoughtfully, your insight not only help your immediate boss or supervisor, but also improve your working relationship.

Leadership could be all about perception; if leaders do not know how they are perceived, their performance might be down the drain. However, the higher up in an organization a leader sits, it may be harder to get “honest” or true feedback. Over reliance on the chain of command prevents leaders from hearing the “unvarnished” truth. Your input can help your boss see himself as others see him and help him to make critical adjustments in his tactic and approach. However, giving any kind of feedback requires careful thought

The relationship comes first :

The ability to give and receive upward feedback, like any form of feedback, is dependent on the relationship between you and your supervisor or immediate boss. Without trust, the feedback will be impossible to receive. Before giving feedback, you need to gauge whether your boss will be open and accept what you have to say. If you know that your boss is unreceptive to feedback, is likely to react negatively, or if you have a rocky relationship, then I think it's better not to say anything. If your boss is open-minded and you have a good relationship, you owe him the straight talk. As with any feedback, your intentions must be good and your desire to help your boss should supersede any issues you may have between you. But never criticise or talk bad about others in front of your boss. This will reflect badly your character and the boss will start to read or wake up to your profile !

Wait to be invited :

Even if you have a great relationship, launching into unsolicited feedback is ill-advised. General advice on how to be a better boss is tough to give unless you're asked for it. Ideally, your boss has asked for your input and made clear what would be helpful to him in terms of technical feedback. Do not go overboard and talk about something out of context with your boss. Your boss may disclose his development areas and ask you to keep an eye out for certain changes that he is working on.

If your boss does not directly request feedback, you can ask if he would like feedback. This is often most easily done in the context of a new project or new client. You can say something like "Would it be helpful to you for me to give you feedback at certain points in this project?" or "I'm likely to have a unique perspective on what we're doing, would you like some feedback about how the project is going?" Again, these questions must be presented with the best of intentions.

Focus :

It can be tempting when your boss is open to feedback, to imagine all the things you would do if you were in his position. However, your feedback should focus on what you are seeing or hearing. Share your perspective so that you can help your boss to see how others are seeing him. This can be invaluable to a leader who may be disconnected from people in the lower ranks.

Give feedback that is reflective of what you can see and avoid presuming what he is faced with. Do not assume and give the wrong signal to your boss. Remember that good feedback rules still apply. Your feedback should be honest and data-driven. Open with affirmative feedback and give constructive feedback with suggestions for improvement. Always avoid accusations.

Do not upset the boss :

No matter how carefully or thoughtfully you've prepared and delivered your feedback, your boss may get upset or be defensive about the feedback you've given. If you were asked for the feedback, hold your ground and explain that you were doing what was asked of you. Sometimes reframing the feedback can help. Gauge your boss reaction to determine how he likes to receive feedback and what topics are out of bounds. Perhaps he doesn't want to hear feedback about his communication style or a certain high-pressure initiative. Rather than clamming up after a negative reaction, take the opportunity to check in with him about what would be useful going forward.

When in doubt, hold your tongue :

If you're not sure if your boss wants to hear feedback or if the subject of the feedback is a sensitive one, it's always better to not speak up. There is no reason to risk your working relationship or your job, unless you feel your boss's behavior is putting the company or your unit in jeopardy.

Render Advice - So that your staff listens

There has been a lot of talk about how to get valuable feedback, because providing it is so often delivered with anxiety. Management may not want or probably shy away from the negative, critical part, even though they realized it is one of their important role and responsibility to hear feedback and give their advice. I have not read a lot or seen many written articles about the art of giving good, old-fashioned advice. Unencumbered by some of the complications of performance reviews — nothing official, nothing related to compensation or promotion, nothing necessarily critical or painful to hear — well-intentioned advice should be a treat to give and to receive.

Would you get better or improve your art of management in giving advice to your subordinates? It may be helpful to pass your experience and wisdom on to others as it also extends your own influence, regardless of whether you ever get “rewarded”. It is also a way to gain trust, stature and gravitas; and it’s just plain gratifying to be valued for what’s in your head.

Why then people who sought for advice still manage to screw up? It could be less about the quality of advice and more because of the way it’s been sent out. The way advice is given can inadvertently increase the receiver’s resistance to hearing it or acting on it. You want the advisee to come away with good advice, rather than bad feelings about the advisor. Note that giving it well doesn’t necessarily make it good advice.

- Bear in mind the difference between solicited and unsolicited advice. Both are perfectly fine ways to be helpful, but remember that the unsolicited variety may not always be welcome, so the recipient might be have tendency to a bruised ego if you push the advice too far.

- Say the "thank you" word. This applies to solicited advice. Before offering any of your wisdom, express some gratitude for being asked. After all, it’s flattering to be seen as wise and helpful. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like being asked for advice. By doing it is one of the best ways to better a relationship as it’s a mutually gratifying human interaction and flattering without being obsequious.

- Understand the intent of question. There’s nothing more annoying than asking for advice on one thing and getting wrong advice referring to non related matter. Stick to the subject at hand, unless somehow there’s a connection.

- Do not be arrogant.  There really is a difference between coming across as authoritative (presumably the advice-seeker wouldn’t be seeking your advice if they didn’t think you knew your stuff) as opposed to authoritarian (using your power to compel someone to follow your advice, or being pathologically certain that you’re always right). Being authoritative can be done with humility, like saying “I’ve seen a lot of situations like this, and I’m concerned that if you don’t deal with this problem now, the damage will only get worse with time.” An authoritarian way of giving the same advice might be, “Look, you have to get rid of that guy now, or else I’ll do it for you.” The latter is obnoxious, off-putting, and not going to help much.

- Get feedback about your advice. Often the best advice is created in an iterative way, rather than being delivered from on high. So after you’re done expounding, ask the recipient if that makes sense, or how they might feel about acting on your advice. Their reactions can help you refine it together and make it even more meaningful.

- Get follow-up. Not only does it show you care if you ask your advice-seeker to let you know how it goes, but it also conveys that you have a stake in giving good advice. Whether or not they take you up on the offer, it will leave them feeling even better about you and more confident in acting on what you’ve shared.