Prioritize Work, Optimize Time

Prioritize Work, Optimize Time

Implement a Significant Time Management Strategy

By Sathya Menon

“Time has no meaning in itself unless we choose to give it significance” – said American author and motivational speaker, Leo Buscagila.

Many of us spend the entire day at work in a frenzy of activity but end up nowhere near our goal simply because we do not use our time significantly.

 This is where time management skills come into play. This when we learn to prioritize work and optimize life. Effective time management also helps establish better control over our lives and offers the key to corporate success and life-time achievement.

The dictionary describes “time management” as an act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.

The idea is to make conscious decisions and act on them — to decide what is important to accomplish, to decide how something can best be accomplished, to find time to work at it and to get it done.

And if all these seem alien words for you, maybe it’s time to implement a significant time management strategy.

You can start by planning your day. Write a to-do list, putting the most important tasks at the top. Keep a schedule of your daily activities to minimize conflicts and last-minute rushes.

The second step is to prioritize your tasks. It is important to say no to non-essential tasks or delegate them to other people.  Take the time you need to do a quality job. Doing work right the first time may take more time upfront, but errors usually result in time spent making corrections, which takes more time overall.

The third step is to break large, time-consuming tasks into smaller tasks. Work on them a few minutes at a time until you get them all done. Practice a 10-minute rule. Work on a dreaded task for 10 minutes each day. Once you get started, you may find you can finish it. Evaluate how   you're spending your time. Keep a diary of everything you do for three days to determine how you're spending your time.

The fourth step is to look for time that can be used more wisely. For example, could you take a bus or train to work and use the commute to catch up on reading? If so, you could free up some time to exercise or spend with family or friends. Limit distractions.  Block out time on your calendar for big projects. During that time, close your door and turn off your phone and computer.

Finally if your employer offers continuing education, take a time management class. If your workplace doesn't have one, find out a local college, university or community education program that does.

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Handy Hints

·         Effective time management reduces stress and restores life work balance

·         Prioritize tasks and delegate unimportant ones to reduce stress.

·         Break-up huge time consuming tasks into smaller ones in order to complete them on time.

 

(ENDS)

Blue Ocean Toastmasters Club Draws Popular Response

June 9, 2013

Press Release

 

Blue Ocean Toastmasters Club Draws Popular Response

Professionals groomed in public speaking

Dubai: Public speaking is a powerful leadership tool, one that helps professionals fast-track their careers. Blue Ocean, UAE’s leading professional training institution has taken a small step in the right direction—launching the Blue Ocean Toastmaster’s Club – to help students learn this all important professional skill.

 “This is one of the greatest investments you can make in yourself ” explained Mr. Abdul Azeez, President of Blue Ocean Toasmasters Club, a life-changing opportunity for students to develop their public speaking and presentation skills,” he added.

In the UAE and elsewhere in the Middle East, the power of rhetoric and public discourse remains grossly underestimated. Very few educational and professional institutions actually train professionals to speak eloquently and confidently. 

A flair for public speaking can actually land a professional in a win-win situation. He not only succeeds in a job interview, but is also regarded by the management as an asset to the company, often called upon to make presentations to clients, and address the audience from the podium during seminars and conferences.

Drawn from diverse backgrounds as varied as information technology, engineering, healthcare, retail, HR, cabin crew, logistics and supply chain, quality control, the members of the Blue Ocean Toastmasters Club have come together to create an effective learning platform. They are taking valuable lessons in confidence, poise, vocabulary, time management and a host of other English speaking skills that are imperative to succeed in today’s fast-paced competitive world.

For the first time in the UAE, a professional training institution, recognizing the need for individuals to transform themselves as public speakers has taken this non-profit initiative. Admission to this club is completely free of cost for Blue Ocean students and all are invited to come, see, and learn from the speakers who introduce themselves and speak on topics designated for the day.

A Blue Ocean Professional Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere.

 

Members learn communication skills by working in the Competent Communication manual, a series of 10 self-paced speaking assignments designed to instill a basic foundation in public speaking.

 

Members also learn leadership skills by taking on various meeting roles and working in the Competent Leadership manual. In the learn-by-doing approach, members are not lectured about leadership skills; instead they are given responsibilities to mentor and help.

 

Blue Ocean has roped in expert speakers from the Dubai Chapter of Toastmaster’s International, to train and evaluate students on their speaking skills.  Since 1924, more than 4 million people around the world have become more confident speakers and leaders because of their participation in Toastmasters.

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Editor’s Note: Blue Ocean is an ISO 9001:2008 certified organization and a leading management training and educational consultancy firm. Blue Ocean has sparked the careers of thousands of professionals drawn from different industries who have displayed rare leadership qualities in challenging scenarios. Blue Ocean specializes in designing courses that bridge the gap between infrastructure and knowledge, imparting futuristic skills to a new genre of industry leaders, shaping them into dynamic professionals in an increasingly competitive world. Headquartered in the UAE with a strong presence in the UK, KSA, Qatar, Sri Lanka and India, Blue Ocean stands on an enviable reputation built on 16 years of training, 40,000 alumni worldwide, a global network of certified trainers, international affiliations and multinational partners. For further information pls log onto www.blueoceanacademy.com.

 

 

The Changing Face of Procurement Professionals

                                          

The Changing Face of Procurement Professionals

By Sathya Menon 

After the global financial crisis, companies are actively looking for skillful, qualified procurement professionals who can cut costs, optimize global supply chain functions and deliver potential savings.

Internationally qualified procurement professionals are the key to creating a cost-conscious culture in the organization. They are poised to become change leaders instead of mere order takers.

Ineffective governance, policies and procedures or a lack of appropriate procurement engagement usually result in faulty purchasing decisions. Companies who are not fully leveraging their spend, are leaving themselves open to business and commercial risk.

In many procurement departments, there is no sufficient focus on monitoring and tracking compliance with companies facing real challenges in maintaining control over both direct and indirect spend, and in supporting demand management activities.

Marketplaces worldwide are witnessing an unprecedented pace of change. As a result, businesses are rapidly re-evaluating their operating models and market strategies not just to withstand these market forces, but also to capitalize on them.

 Procurement professionals have a significant role to play in helping organizations achieve their objectives and prepare for the uncertainty ahead.

 Highly mature procurement departments have stepped-up their game, fundamentally changing the way they work with the business and – as a result – are increasingly taking a leadership role in helping drive growth and reduce costs across the organizations.

For the Procurement function to achieve a place at the table, more work should be done to align to key stakeholders and understand the business operations.

This means moving up the value chain to ensure that the function is involved much earlier in the decision-making processes and clearly demonstrating how active involvement adds tangible value to both the bottom and the top lines.

 The procurement process needs to be reoriented to include other value-added services to the business. This requires a culture-shift, taking procurement away from the tactical, category-focused culture that seems to dominate most functions, to one that is fully aligned with the organizational goals and active in the strategic decision-making processes of the business.

No doubt, Chief Purchase Officers (CPOs) and Supply Chain Directors will increasingly find themselves reassessing their operating models to squeeze greater value from their activities around the world.

 Handy Hints

·       Companies not fully leveraging their spend, are at risk.

·       Skilled procurement professionals can deliver potential savings for the company.

·       The highlight is on transforming from mere order takers to effective change leaders.  

 

(Ends)

Sathya Menon is Director, Academics, Blue Ocean Academy.

Focus on creating “women-friendly” workplaces

Gender-Sensitive Policies Needed to Boost  Emiratisation

By Sathya Menon

 

Training and development of national women for gainful employment in the private sector is a key area of emiratization, one that needs to be highlighted and prioritized.

Female nationals face a higher unemployment rate than their male counterparts. This is surprising when national women graduates from UAE universities largely outnumber the men. More than 2,000 - 3,000 women graduate from university every year and can contribute freely to the country’s economy.

The private sector will do well to offer employment incentives to this largely educated and talented pool of female graduates –wooing them into the private sector, tutoring and mentoring them for appropriate roles. This will leave a positive and long-lasting impression on the country’s social and economic framework.

Established in 2006, the Dubai Women Establishment (|DWE) has strived in its noble mission to help Emirati women balance stimulating careers with a satisfying family life by evolving appropriate gender-equality policies and initiatives.  

 

The private sector needs to partner the government in such laudable ventures displaying a  certain sensitivity towards women’s role within the workplace.  For years men have monopolized workplace ethics, setting rules that have intimidated women.

In the past, a majority of decision-makers in private sector companies were completely unaware about the need to accommodate this new breed of intelligent, articulate and well-educated women who if groomed and developed could become important assets for the company.

The time has come to build more “women-friendly” workplaces in the private sector. Incentives for women need not be limited to compensation packages alone but should also include flexible work hours, training and mentoring of women, transport and crèche facilities for women employees and gender-sensitized managers who can deal with high women achievers.

Worldwide, women are known to opt out of the workplace when they hit the proverbial “glass ceiling” or at childbirth. However, gender-sensitized managers can be a big help in creating a challenging and nurturing environment for women employees at the workplace. After all the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world!

(ENDS)

Handy Hints

·       Focus on creating more women-friendly workplaces

·       Gender-sensitized managers needed to create a challenging work environment.

·       Constant training, tutoring and mentoring important to motivate female workforce.

 Sathya Menon is Director, Academics, Blue Ocean Academy, Dubai.

Why Global Companies Need Certified Professionals

Why Global Companies Need Certified Professionals

 By Sathya Menon

The value of an international certification has increased manifold after recession. Increasingly, professionals are safeguarding their careers and validating their skills through international certifications. It is a benchmark of competence and a leading credential for professionals in today’s competitive world.

In the Middle East, international certifications signify an instant passport to a rewarding career, a premium tag that helps professionals to gain self-esteem and professional recognition. It also signals entry into an elite club of internationally certified professionals worldwide.

The growth in certification programs is a reaction to the changing employment market. International certifications are portable, since they do not depend on a company's definition of a certain job.

At the same time companies keen to hire certified professionals are those that are demonstrating to customers, competitors, suppliers, staff and investors that industry-respected best practices are in use.

Hiring managers tend to view certifications as a more objective measure of a candidate’s skill level than self-reported skills and competency. A Microsoft  Learning White Paper titled :  “Connecting Dots Between Employers and Employees”  revealed that the added market value of a certification can be as high as 30%-40%. The average salary uplift reported across all certifications is in the 5%-11% range.

Certification stands out from the resume and the professional reference by being an impartial, third-party endorsement of an individual's professional knowledge and experience.

Consider this:  Hiring managers from Fortune 500 companies are looking to pay a premium for internationally certified professionals. Eighty-six percent of  hiring managers indicate certifications are a high or medium priority during the candidate evaluation process. Eight in ten HR execs verify certifications among  job candidates. Ninety-one percent of hiring managers consider certification as part of their hiring criteria.

Statistics revealed that for each new team member certified, the team performance has increased every time. The more skilled a team, the better the profitability it cab bring to the company.  

Certifications are earned from a professional society like the International Purchase or Supply Chain Management Institute (IPSCMI) USA,  American Certification Institute (ACI), International Quality Federation (IQF) or from IT vendors like Microsoft or Cisco. Most certification programs are created, sponsored, or affiliated with professional associations, trade organizations, or IT vendors interested in raising the standards of professionalism.

(ENDS)

 

Handy Hints

International certification is a benchmark of professional competence.

The changing employment market has spawned the need for international certifications.

Internationally certified professionals can demand  a 30-40 per cent increase in salary.

Sathya Menon is the Director, Academics, Blue Ocean Academy, Dubai.  

 

Blue Ocean to Train and Empower Omani Professionals

Empowering minds…        Widening horizons ….

ATTENTION…….. EDITORS …….ATTENTION….EDITORS                                                     

May  8, 2013

Press Release

Blue Ocean to Train and Empower Omani Professionals

MOU Signed with Silver Bird Trading to Develop Local Workforce

70 custom-designed training programmes are on offer to hone skills of private & public sector employees

Dubai : Blue Ocean, UAE’s leading management training and consulting firm is set to take its professional expertise to Oman’s shores, nurturing private and public sector employees to play a key role in the country’s vibrant development strategy.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect, has been signed by Blue Ocean and Silver Bird Trading LLC (Madinat Sultan Qaboos) recently, to train and empower the local workforce and enrich the country’s fast-paced oil-driven economy.

The Sultanate of Oman is in the midst of an ambitious plan to transform itself into a major, regional air travel gateway between Europe and Asia, by building and expanding a total of six airports including the Muscat and Salalah airports. The country also boasts of one of the most advanced oil recovery programmes in the world recording a high rate of oil production since the year 2000.

As Oman throws its doors open for foreign investment in the private sector, the spotlight is on effective partnership between the public and the private sector that will spur economic growth.

“Employees need to be trained and developed to take on the challenges that lie ahead,” explained Mr. Abdul Azeez, Regional Marketing Director, Blue Ocean Academy. “Oman is a fast-growing economy and the need for trained logistics professionals to take charge of the bulk of operations at the newly-constructed deep sea Sohar Port, is something we are looking at,” he highlighted.

All training programmes are scheduled to start from June 2013,  and is expected to foster a culture of creativity and innovation among aspiring professionals.

Blue Ocean which stands on an enviable reputation built on 15 years of training, a global network of distinguished faculty members, custom-designed and internationally certified professional training courses, will partner the private as well as the private sector to train employees and ensure that they conform to the highest standards of excellence. 

Mr. Rashed Al Rawahy, Head of Oman Operations, Blue Ocean Academy, said: “Blue Ocean is one of the largest knowledge empowerment enterprise in the Middle East and we are happy to partner with such a leading brand. Oman is in the midst of massive economic transformation and empowerment of professionals through skill development is crucial both in the private and public sector.”

Blue Ocean will offer its flagship courses in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Purchase, Six Sigma Green and Black Belt, Commercial Contracts Management. A total of 70 custom-designed training programmes are on offer for public sector employees as well as private employees to hone their skills and improve profitability for their companies.

Industry experts drawn from different parts of the world will travel to Oman to offer training. There will be local academics and professionals who will participate actively in the corporate training modules. Oman-based companies looking to update their employees skills can be in touch with Silver Bird Training or Blue Ocean Academy headquartered in the UAE.

All training programmes conducted by Blue Ocean Academy and its local partner Silver Bird LLC are supported by international certification and offers individuals a life-time opportunity to gain an internationally acclaimed qualification.

Some of the apex international bodies that have partnered with Blue Ocean are the International Quality Federation (IQF), International Purchase and Supply Chain Management Institute (IPSCMI). American Certification Institute (ACI), American Purchasing Society (APS). All Blue Ocean training programmes are also endorsed and certified by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai.

(Ends)

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2013 Dedicated to Boost Emiratisation in the Private Sector

Nurturing Young UAE Citizens to Assume Positions of Responsibility

 

By Sathya Menon

 

The UAE private sector is gearing to face a new challenge: grooming a new generation of UAE nationals to take on positions of responsibility within the organizational ranks. The government has also launched a multi-tiered campaign to boost the employment of UAE nationals within the private sector, encouraging home-grown young talent to leverage on their skills and dynamism to enrich the national economy.

 Major oil, energy, finance, insurance, retail companies are drawing up short and long-term HR strategies that will help them to attract local talent and ensure their gainful employment. The idea is not just to recruit UAE nationals but also to ensure that they are effectively trained and that their career ambitions match the organization’s goals.

 At the heart of the UAE government’s emiratization efforts is a new charter outlining a nationally recognised code of conduct and values for Emiratis as approved by the Cabinet. It will be used in educational and cultural context to raise "a national generation who are aware of their responsibilities and duties toward the nation, family and community,” according to the state news agency Wam.

 The educational system in the region is also being reformed with a renewed focus on innovation and entrepreneurial spirit expected to draw more UAE nationals into the workforce. At present there are about 330,000 nationals within the UAE's job market, but that figure is projected to rise dramatically. 

The UAE private sector spins more than 5 million jobs and can play a crucial role in helping UAE nationals carve out top-notch careers for themselves. Currently, emiratis make up only 0.5 per cent of employees in the private sector, a study has revealed. With higher salaries, greater social security and terminal benefits, the public sector represent a far more lucrative option.

 The UAE government has dedicated 2013 as the year to boost emiratisation in the private sector. Plans are afoot to amend labour laws so that compensation packages for UAE nationals in the private sector match their counterparts engaged in the public sector.

By 2020 more than 450,000 nationals are expected to be part of the labour force, and by 2050 , the figure is expected to touch 600,000, according to a recent  report examining the talent supply of the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

 Yet unemployment among emiratis in the UAE have ranged from 13 per cent to 20 per cent annually according to data from the National Human Resource Development & Employment Authority as well as the National Bureau of Statistics.

 Female nationals face a higher unemployment rate than their male counterparts. This is surprising when more than 2,000 and 3,000 women graduates from UAE University, compared with less than 500 men. The private sector will do well to offer employment incentives to this largely educated and talented female workforce.

 Handy Hints

Renewed focus in 2013 on emiratisation in the private sector.

Multi-layered campaign launched to encourage UAE nationals to enrich public life and national economy.

Excellent opportunities await educated UAE women to enter the workforce.

 (ENDS)

Mr. Sathya Menon is Director Academics, Blue Ocean Academy, UAE.