UTI Website

Finally, after struggling with different web developers for a year or so, we have managed to put out a decent website. Of course it's nothing near perfection yet but at least there's something out there for people to get acquainted with Unleash Talent Inc. Send us your suggestions what components and gadgets you'd like to see in www.unleashtalent.com

People management

Imagine a single mother who starts her day six in the morning as the new-born cries for food. She hurries to take the baby out of the cradle and carries him to the kitchen. Single-handedly she mixes the baby’s porridge on the stove while changing his diapers simultaneously. She hears loud noise from the living room where the two-year-old has managed to turn on the DVD player and is watching a Schwarzenegger action flick. After turning the TV off she runs back to the kitchen to steal back a fork that the baby-boy is shoving down his throat. Porridge boils over on to the stove as the two-year-old starts to cry showing a yellow pond on the floor.

After feeding, cleaning and changing it’s time to go out. While preventing the baby of inserting his tongue into the electric socket mom struggles to fit on the shoes for the elder brother that just stands dumb without a response to mother’s pleading for some initiative. As soon as they reach the playground the baby pukes all over his carriage making the mom busy cleaning again. Meanwhile the big brother is wobbling down to the road and in a split second the mom needs to be there rescuing him from an approaching truck… and so the day continues.

This heroic mother is not one in the million. These epic stories can be heard all over the place. These stories are what people management is at its best. Full stop.

People management is a term that can be found in as weird places as Harvard Business Review website, a name of a seemingly reputed magazine, and so on. How do these scholars and professionals even dare to use those two words together. Isn’t it evident that adults are not to be managed, but to be led? Meetings can be managed, projects can be managed, and planning can be managed, but not people for crying out loud!

The lingo that we use defines partly the culture that surrounds us at the working place. Do we speak about subordinates or team members? Do we have human resources or people? Are we really managing our people?

The harsh reality is that sometime we are. We spoon feed people with right answers to “save time” without challenging them to think. We see them in trouble and as great patriarchal managers we go and save the day (preventing them from learning how to get things done). We go and turn off the TV if the information is not suitable for their eyes

Think about it. Are you leading or managing?

Challenging assignments

At times any company might face a situation where major approach change is needed in order to adapt to the client’s reality. We had been working with a certain client for a while already, and they saw that we could help them even further by helping them to carve out a strategic framework for their future. Only challenge was that they were not willing to make the time investment of required four months to go through the BLUE learning process. They wanted BLUE strategy framework but they wanted it as “a shot in the arm”. They gave us three days to shift their people from all walks of organizational life to go in the same direction.

We said we couldn’t make miracles in that short time frame but we would give it a try. After initial preparations and great inputs collected by the project team, we were ready to start our common effort. Or so we thought…

Though we were ready to squeeze the time frame in absolute minimum we were not ready to let go off our participative and fun delivery style. We made them play games, run around and act foolishly. We wouldn’t let them give obvious answers and we didn’t spoon-feed them with solutions. It paid off – but at what cost? The agenda dragged on to midnight every evening.

We were forced to experiment with ad hoc solution teams that would release the rest of the group to relax while the team would finalize the step that we were working on; whether it was purpose statement, dream, values, core strategies we worked till late night to get a draft out. Next morning we would play a prank on the rest of them and present some utter bullshit as the results of our last night’s work. E.g. the purpose statement proposal included phrases like “integrating enterprising synergies”, “generating seamless models”, and “adding value to enable mission-critical methodologies”. They would question it and say that they cannot understand what it means. It was complete crap of course. Then we would reveal the real output and start working on that. Making people smile early in the morning gave us energy to continue. It was stressful; we all gave our utmost. In the end we had nearly-ready this and half-done that. We had good stuff, but nothing was ready. Still, one objective was fulfilled: it became one big team! They’d come up with a funny name to describe their whole team, regardless of their geographical location or functional role. They would picture the future as a common path that started from yesterday’s darkness and went towards light. They would collect all their fears, doubts and disbeliefs and literally burn them at the end of the program. After running a few extra miles during these three days Ruki and I were completely exhausted, but happy and impressed at the same time. We held a few follow-up meetings at their office to finalize everything and the end result was good. It was a stretch… It was painful… It was fun… It was inspiring… But we’re never going to do it again!

Sticking together

Though we moved to a new office couple of months ago, we didn’t go it alone. We moved together with our “sister company” Wild Drift [see the pictures], “cousin” Eco Team and our “adopted kid” Strategic Solutions International (that we love like our own child).

Wild Drift is doing management training in wilderness setting. They have done 255 programs so far enabling thousands of people to unlearn the inhibiting behaviors that are no good for successful teamwork and leadership to happen. They are sometimes used in supplementing Unleash Talent Inc offering for clients that require both deep leadership understanding and team building or ego-scattering in unfamiliar setting.

Eco Team is an entertaining outdoor holiday provider who thrives in managing their numerous resorts and activities all around Sri Lanka. They also support Wild Drift clients to utilize the best locations in startlingly beautiful environments, reside in well-managed outdoor camping facilities and enjoy excellent food to complete the unforgettable experience.

Strategic Solutions International ensures that we all are safe and sound in case the rainy day arrives. They master the art of insurance for varying needs.

This combination of companies is not only supporting each other business-wise but the family-like common culture at the office is uniquely refreshing: People help and serve each other without thinking what the company of one another is. We crack jokes all the time and share our feelings as much as knowledge.

It’s a very good working environment. If you have a chance to build something similar, go for it!

Respect and love your competition

We have one competitor that we respect a lot and look up to. It’s called Center for Creative Leadership. It’s an amazing organization built on great principles and improving lives of thousands of people. Their extensive product portfolio is well-branded and their clients seem to be very satisfied with their programs. Even more impressive is that they have managed to become one of the greatest researchers and publishers on the area of leadership and strategy. If you have a chance, read their books: Very enlightening and entertaining stuff!

Why do we go ranting about a company that serves the same purpose as us? Why are we giving free marketing for them? Isn’t that plain stupidity?

Having a great competitor like CCL is a beacon of light for us; they serve as an example of great future that lies ahead. They inspire us. They keep us improving and striving for greater heights. There is nothing worse than a complacent and stagnant company enjoying the perks of a monopoly, am I right?

Respecting and loving CCL doesn’t mean that we want to copy them. Though our offering includes many similar traits we still feel that UTI delivery is so unique not even CCL can match it. But let's face it: we are small and have only a few years of history. CCL is huge and has experience of 30 years.

We got to work our way to a status where CCL will write something like this about us in the future. On that journey there’s no point fighting. Though word “strategy” originates from the war terminology, we don’t want a war with them. We support them, because they are on a good cause!

If you know of any small or medium size company that shares our passion for strategy and/or leadership development let us know! We are ready to learn from them, share our wisdom with them, network with them and look for mutually beneficial partnerships in the future.

Let all flowers blossom.

Baby steps in Ronaldo's pants

You know, previously we were called Innersense Inc. It was a well-performing company, but way too serious for us. Our colors were shades of brown and our approach was strictly professional. Boring! Innersense made too much sense. Thus Unleash Talent Inc was born.

Starting out with a new name, identity and brand can be a burdensome process. “Un… what?” people would say. Still we stuck to our decision to make this baby work.

Once we were discussing what kind of feeling people should get in dealing with us. Ruki said we should be seen as the new kids on the block (not the band!); rascals of strategy and leadership with fresh thinking and funky approach. He knew I love football so he picked a player from my favorite team Portugal saying that we should be seen like Christiano Ronaldo; someone who breaks the conventional norms of the game and uses his creativity and skills for the whole team’s benefit.

I loved that metaphor. I still do. And I’ve come to understand that though we are facing tough competition from both leadership trainers and strategy consultants, we are highly unique and worth every penny the “spectators” and “clubs” are ready to invest in us.

Using metaphors and vivid language is one of the requirements of strategic leaders who wish to influence others and get them on board. It’s a leadership skill that can be learned. Of course some people are more prone to using visual language but anyone who wishes to pep up their communication can take it as part of their repertoire.

We are currently collecting a storytelling tool that helps us to cover a wide variety of leadership issues and thus enhance our trainings. If you have a good story to tell, please e-mail it to us! It can be factual – from your own life – or completely fictional story that delivers a point that every leader should know.

What about the pants? That’s for you to figure out.

Indika

Quite soon after setting our new ambition level to become a global franchise we realized we are in common trap of a company that has come to the level where it is not taking full use of its potential due to lack of people and it doesn’t have enough business to recruit new people.

We decided to break out from that vicious cycle and ensured that we start off 2007 with a blast. The first quarter was amazing and we could have recruited one or two new people right away. But we tend to be quite picky on who we select in our team. We had grueling disappointments with some brilliant minds who would have loved to join us but the decision to move in Sri Lanka was not financially feasible solution for them.

We interviewed a bunch of people but most of them were just not good enough for our demands. Then we took a leap of faith and decided to hire a guy who was an uncut diamond. He didn’t portray all the qualities we were looking for but we knew that he has potential. On the last meters he backed out due to the twisted news Western media portrays of Sri Lanka. There we were again, in ground zero.

Luckily we happened to get back in touch with a local graduate who was finishing his time in AIESEC, too. We were impressed by his thinking and strategic readiness he portrayed. He’s called Indika. He was hired without any further pondering. Getting fresh blood into the team had to happen; and better late than not at all.

So far he has proven to be an invaluable part of the team. He can provide us with views that we could have never thought of. He is active in asking questions and aiming to understand the business more and more. He comes up with very good ideas how to improve the company and he’s seemingly passionate of working with us.

This is another turning point. We are becoming a stronger and more vital team. Still, we’d like to have a couple of high-profile foreign talents to fulfill our current potential and to reach out to international markets on more than one front. It is our strategy. It is our destiny.

According to Indika, there are five F’s that excite him about working with Unleash Talent: ‘Freedom, friendliness, family-feeling, future possibilities, and flearning. What? Who said learning cannot start with “F”?’

There’s still room in this Fantastic team. Currently we’re screening talents from India, Hong Kong and Romania but only the world is our limit: the fresh brain that we need might be anywhere out there. Maybe you are the next?

Noyoners

We just came back from an amazing two-day leadership development program for Noyon Lanka Ltd. We have worked with these people for quite a while already, but again it felt so fresh and inspiring to share our leadership savvy with them. These guys are so intelligent! They are not only book-smart but they are emotionally intelligent. “Noyoners” can work easily together; there are no ego-issues or departmental barriers. They are quick to adapt new theoretical inputs and crack any practical problem via seamless teamwork and out-of-the-box thinking. Here are a few pictures from the program to show you how much fun we had while taking them to the next level in leadership understanding.

But let’s take a step back…. In early 2006 our BLUE Strategic Management Framework saw the daylight. I was still back home in Finland, but it had been confirmed that later that year I would be joining Unleash Talent Inc. So, I started giving my inputs to the model already at that time. It was exciting: the first strategic management framework that I had ever seen that is so simple, so down-to-earth, so inspiring and first and foremost so people-oriented.

As soon as I landed in Sri Lanka I joined Ruki in first ever BLUE project facilitated for Noyon Lanka Ltd. Though I had no clue of lace manufacturing, I fell in love with this client instantly. They had been established just two years ago in cooperation with French Noyon and local MAS Group. They were fresh, yes, but they were also open to fresh approach. We admitted that our product is about 90% ready; they were ready to experiment with us.

The process was painstaking but rewarding. People got frustrated at times under the workload we pushed on them: We didn’t let them go easy. We didn’t give them readily chewed answers. We wanted them to think strategically.

And they did. The whole Noyon crew, or family as they call it, grew to a whole another level in their thinking. Excitement took over as they launched the first glimpses of new identity and strategy. They could see clearly the path they have walked with us. And they were genuinely happy.

When we are not working with Noyon we occasionally miss them. We want to go back there. We want to feel their energy and joy. I love Noyon Lanka!

New office, old chandeliers

We have now officially been at our new office in Fairfield Gardens for one month. As we moved here, it was a big chaos. But it was an organized chaos, like pretty much anything that we do. We transferred all the stuff from the old place and dumped it inside: boxes and computers lying around everywhere; wires, dust, and useless old stuff all over the floors. There was no phone line, no internet connection, no air conditioning… no nothing. But we were happy.

We knew that this place will be our dream office. We sat amidst all that crap and planned where we would place the water dispenser and the fresh fruits, what kind of fountain or waterfall we would install on our stone wall, what kind of fish we would put in the indoor pond that we have, where we would put the new lounge chairs, bean sacks and the Japanese style low glass table.

There was one disgusting thing though. In the ceiling we had two dusty antique chandeliers that according to Ruki were “ugly”, that appeared to me as “grannyish” and for Indika just “yucky”. We wanted to replace them as soon as possible, so we asked the landlord to take them away. He couldn’t believe we didn’t want to keep those precious things. In his mind they should be there because they’ve always been there. Ruki told him we cannot possibly have something we don’t like bothering us every day.

Also the leaders have to move with time. Rather than hanging on to old chandeliers you got to stay updated and choose what suits your style the best.

Ruki explains: ‘Our people are knowledge-workers who don’t treat their work as a job but as a passion. We spend most of our waking hours at the office. That’s why we need to have a working environment where people enjoy spending time and that can trigger their thinking to a new level. We wanted to move to new premises where we can live our values every day. This space reflects our values of passion, no limits, impact and edge.’

Why leadership blog?

We believe that ordinary people in ordinary homes and ordinary organizations have extraordinary thoughts. We want to share our thinking with you and at the same time get you to contribute.

Most of the postings here will be from that ordinary life in the jungles of leadership and strategy development. In case you want us to discuss a certain topic that has been on top of your thoughts lately please make a comment in any of the postings and we'll write about it within a week or so.