Hubert Rampersad's Weblog

Barack Obama’s Authentic Personal Brand

Hubert Rampersad — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:57:18 +0000

Barack Obama’s dream is—Bring about real change, change that we can believe in. His passion for change is the pillar of his authentic Personal Brand. Parts of his speeches: “America is a land of big dreamers and big hopes. It is this hope that has sustained us through revolution and civil war, depression and world war, a struggle for civil and social rights and the brink of nuclear crisis. And it is because our dreamers dreamed that we have emerged from each challenge more united, more prosperous, and more admired than before…….The true test of the American ideal is whether we’re able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them. Whether chance of birth or circumstance decides life’s big winners and losers, or whether we build a community where, at the very least, everyone has a chance to work hard, get ahead, and reach their dreams….Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek…. I don’t want to settle for anything less than real change, fundamental change - change we need - change that we can believe in. It’s change that I’ve been fighting for over two decades ago. Because those dreams - American dreams - are worth fighting for”.

Martin Luther King, Jr’s dream was– Free at last. Part of his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1964: “ I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed; ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood……And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire…… Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. ……From every mountainside, let freedom ring…..Free at last! Free at last! His Personal Brand came from his relentless devotion and hope to realize this dream and to realize a sustainable change in the US. He once said: “Put yourself in a state of mind where you say to yourself, ‘Here is an opportunity for me to celebrate like never before, my own power, my own ability to get myself to do whatever is necessary’.”

Mahatma Gandhi’s dream was- Achieving freedom through the path of non-violence.His Personal Brand reflected his life style and moral and behavioral code, set down by this dream and hope. He was the man who played a significant role in achieving independence for India from the British Empire with his simplicity, strong willpower, and passion for real change. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi believed in living a simple life. He proved to the world that freedom and change can be achieved through the path of non-violence. Albert Einstein said of Gandhi: “Generations to come will scarcely believe that such a man in flesh and blood once trod upon this earth”.

Nelson Mandela’s dream was– A free and just society in South Africa. This dream and lifelong passion was the pillar of his Personal Brand. He made conscious choices based on what he truly stood for and got credit for his relentless commitment to his dream and to his passion and hope for changing South Africa. Nelson Mandela is a fighter. Instead of bowing down to the unjust apartheid system of government, he became a lifelong warrior in the battle to free South Africa. Nelson Mandela’s dream of transforming the racist society of South Africa into a multiracial democracy lasted more than 50 years. His determination to pursue that dream with passion and love, to keep fighting despite intense torments to both his people and himself, carried him to a day in May 1994 when he became the president of all South Africans.

Mikhail Gorbachev’s dream was/is– A Post-Nuclear Age. He built his Personal Brand around this dream and his passion for real change. This hope resulted in his concept of Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness) which was a distinct break with the authoritarian past of the Soviet Union. He said: “We, our generation, were not associated with the repression. Moreover, we ourselves were aware of the repression, and that left its mark on us, because ours was an educated generation, a generation that knew its own value, and was capable of thinking for itself. When we found ourselves active participants in life, in work, and in politics, then we began to see a great deal and see it clearly. Little by little there came the awareness that in this country, this society, this system, no matter how hard we tried, no matter how sincere our convictions were, very little good could be achieved. Therefore the system had to be changed’.

Albert Einstein’s dream 100 years ago was— Understanding the universe. His genius fundamentally changed the way we look at the universe. His dream and hope were the guiding principle of his personal brand (the gentle genius). He saw the universe as a puzzle, and he delighted in trying to solve its mysteries. All he needed to contemplate the cosmos was his most valuable scientific tool—his imagination. He said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” When somebody asked Einstein what question he would ask God if he could ask one, he replied, ‘Why was the universe created? Because then I would know the meaning of my own life.”

Bill Gates’s dream about 30 years ago was— A PC on each desk in each house. Recently he said, “When I was 19, I saw the future and based my career on what I saw. I have been right……Personal computers have become the most empowering tool we have ever created. They are tools of communication, they are tools of creativity … and they can be shaped by their user“. The richest person in the world knew his genius at that time, namely developing and marketing PC software. Since then he is doing related work with love and passion. His Personal Brand started with his dream, hope, and his passion for changing the personal computer industry. Years ago he left Harvard, dropping out because he was too busy fulfilling his own dream to wait around for a Harvard degree. He is truly trying to make the world a better place, with his money, his brains, his Personal Brand and his connections. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is currently the largest transparently operated charitable foundation in the world.

Oprah Winfrey’s dream is–Using television as a service to God. This dream is the guiding principle of her personal brand, the emotional connection with her audience. The television talk-show host, born into poverty in Mississippi where she was sexually abused by a number of male relatives, is following her passion, hope, and genius that she defined about 30 years ago. Oprah has a reputation for doing good in the world and she walks her talk. She said: “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe. ….Hold the highest vision possible for your life and it can come true …. Go for your highest and greatest vision for your life and align your purpose with the flow of your life. …Follow your passion…Sooner or later, your passion is going to win out and nobody can stop you’.

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They all: · identified and leveraged their authentic, relevant, meaningful, exciting, inspiring, enduring, ambitious dream and hope · responded to their dream/hope with love and passion and added value to others · knew/know what made/make them unique, special, different and outstanding · recognized and identified their genius and expanded their limits based on this · succeeded by living according to their dream and doing related work they love(d) · had/have faith in themselves and the courage to pursue their dream and hope, and based on this delivered peak performances and were/are exceptional

Remember this (Rampersad, 2008):

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Dream it, hope it, believe it, fix it in your mind, visualize it, accept it, respond to it with love, passion, and integrity, give your peak performance to it and you will achieve it

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Like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, and Mikhail Gorbachev, Barack Obama is a man of peace, love, integrity, and vision, who is fighting against oppression and political corruption. We admire above mentioned role models because of their genius, achievements, success, and added value to others. Anyone can deliver peak performances and be successful in life, because all of us have the genius within us to do so. Success is not something that will come automatically or something that the world will define for you. It’s what you define in your ambitious dream (hope) and in the way you pursue this dream. Remember what Marva Collins said; ‘Success doesn’t come to you …you go to it’. You must have a dream in life, follow your heart and love what you do, if you expect exceptional success. You will surely have it, since people who ask for it, wish it, dream it, hope it, fix it in their mind, visualize it, feel it, allow it, give your peak performance to it, respond to it with love, passion and integrity, attract success. The discussed role models have proven that if someone has a clear authentic dream, responds to it with love and passion, has the courage to pursue this dream, has faith in him/herself, and lives according to their dream, this dream will guide that person’s life and will result in purposeful and resolute actions. My mentioned heroes took the responsibility to identify their authentic dreams and hope, and to respond to them with love and passion. Stop complaining and do not blame others for your failures. Take the initiative and the responsibility to develop, implement, and cultivate your authentic dream and hope as well, and keep it at the forefront of your mind each day. You should have faith in yourself. Also remember this (Rampersad, 2008): ===============================================================================

no dream + no hope + no faith + no self-knowledge + no mindset change + no integrity + no passion + no trust + no love = NO SUSTAINABLE CHANGE

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Love is an important element in this equation. It is about loving yourself (self-love), loving others, and loving what you do. You should love yourself in at least equal measure to others or things. This can be found in most religions: “to love others as you love yourself”. Remember what Abraham Maslow said: “We can only respect others when we respect ourselves. We can only give, when we give to ourselves. We can only love, when we love ourselves”. Without knowing who you are (self-knowledge), it’s very difficult to love yourself and others. You need to make a positive emotional connection with yourself and find yourself interesting first, otherwise others you will not make a positive emotional connection with you and will not find you interesting. With an authentic Personal Brand (based on your dreams and hope), your strongest characteristics, attributes, and values can separate you from the crowd. Without this, you look just like everyone else. Defining your authentic dream and hope, and building a related authentic Personal Brand is an evolutionary and organic process and a journey towards a successful life. I am launching a holistic blueprint and roadmap to help you to formulate and implement your own dream, hope, and brand identity. …..» read more by clicking on these two links http://www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=1360 and http://rampersad.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/effective-personal-and-company-brand-management-a-new-blueprint-for-powerful-and-authentic-personal-and-company-branding/

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This article is based on Dr. Hubert Rampersad’s new book “Authentic Personal Branding: A new blueprint for building and aligning a powerful leadership brand ” (Information Age Publishing, USA, 2008; Sarabooks, New Delhi, 2008). He can be reached at: h.rampersad@tps-international.com, www.Total-Performance-Scorecard.com. His Blog is: rampersad.wordpress.com

Advance Praise for Dr Rampersad’s new book “Authentic Personal Branding: A new blueprint for building and aligning a powerful leadership brand“

“In Authentic Persoal Branding, Hubert Rampersad has provided a sorely needed guidebook for knowledge workers. He shows us all how to build our own personal brand – and just as important – how to persuasively communicate this brand to the world….I love his focus on authenticity. …My request to you, the reader, is – make this book part of your life. Don’t just read this book for its ‘interesting’ content. Don’t be content with a few ‘aha’ moments. Make it part of your life planning – and ultimately part of your life! If you do, you can become a more integrated and successful person – and better enable your company to help you make a positive difference in our world!” – From the Foreword by Marshall Goldsmith. Author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, a New York Times bestseller, Wall Street Journal #1 business book and the Harold Longman Award winner for Best Business Book of the Year for 2007.He is recognized by the American Management Association as one of 50 great thinkers and leaders who have impacted the field of management over the past 80 years.

“Hubert Rampersad has a knack for preparing comprehensive frameworks for analyzing important issues. … The four stage model that he suggests proposes an explicit way to turn a desired external identity into something concrete and actionable. …. It’s a wonderful step by step approach to making out desired brand explicit….The mental models and their related investigative questions will help you know where you are today so you can get to where you want to be tomorrow. …This book offers an architecture to turn these ideas into action.”—From the Afterword by Dave Ulrich, Professor of Business, University of Michigan, and Partner, The RBL Group. Co-author of the bestselling book “Leadership Brand’ ( Harvard Business Press, 2007). He was ranked as #1 management educator and guru by Business Week, #2 among management thinkers by Executive Excellence, and listed by Forbes as one of the “world’s top five” business coaches.

Human Six SigmaTM

Hubert Rampersad — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 21:55:49 +0000

Linking Human Capital to Six Sigma

A New Blueprint for Creating a High Performance Six Sigma Culture

This new forthcoming book emphasizes the introduction of a new blueprint, called Human Six Sigma. This model entails the integration of Dr. Hubert Rampersad’s Total Performance Scorecard, Personal Balanced Scorecard, and Authentic Personal Branding concepts and Six Sigma. Human Six Sigma and the related new tools provide an excellent and innovative framework for creating a high performance Six Sigma culture and a sustainable breakthrough in both the manufacturing and service industries.

Call TPS International Inc. at +1-786-284-8652 for information on our Human Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt Certification Training.

CONTACT:

TPS International Inc.

P.O. Box 601564

North Miami Beach, Florida 33160, USA

Phone: +1-786-284-8652

Fax: +1-714-464-4498

info@total-performance-scorecard.com
www.Total-Performance-Scorecard.com

Blog: rampersad.wordpress.com

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt Certification

Hubert Rampersad — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:44:18 +0000

Learn the Latest Techniques and Tools in TPS & Lean Six Sigma To Earn Your Certification!

TPS International Inc., Miami Beach, Florida, offers a unique Green Belt and Black Belt Lean Six Sigma Certification training that facilitates corporations in reducing variation and eliminating waste in a sustainable way based on the TPS & Lean Six Sigma Methodology. We show you how to implement Lean Six Sigma and reduce process variation in everything you do. By reducing variation, your organization can significantly reduce cost, improve cycle times, eliminate customer complaints, and drastically improve your corporate bottom line. This powerful program will provide participants with the proven Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques, plus practical experience to catapult their organization toward “World Class” status

TPS & Lean Six Sigma is Human Lean Six Sigma approach that helps organizations in any environment - service or manufacturing, healthcare, pharmaceutical, government, etc. - boost financial performance by assessing, managing, and improving the employee-customer encounter. It’s based on our new book TPS-Lean Six Sigma; Linking Human Capital to Lean Six Sigma. It entails a new blueprint for creating high performance companies. Many companies around the world are adopting the Lean Six Sigma Methodology in an effort to increase quality, reduce cost and increase customer service. TPS International Inc., Miami Beach, Florida offers a TPS & Lean Six Sigma Certification training for Green Belt and Black Belt to educate participants on TPS & Lean Six Sigma Management, methodologies and tools. The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training includes a two weeks of classroom training and the Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training includes a four weeks of classroom training. The first two weeks of the Black Belt course is the same as the Green Belt. This 2+2 format allows for Green Belts and Black Belts to attend this training together, thus improving internal synergy while providing greater organizational flexibility. Emphasis is on gaining knowledge in all aspects of product and process life cycles. Our Master Lean Six Sigma Black Belt instructors have experience implementing Lean Six Sigma in a variety of organizations and assist the students with their particular needs as they work their way through their first project during the training. Black Belt participants become certified through TPS International Inc. after completing the 4 week training program successfully and upon completion of their project. Green Belt participants become certified after completing the 2 week training program successfully. We provide the training and mentoring required for successful implementation of TPS & Lean Six Sigma in your organization.

Highlights of this Learning Experience:

- Integration of Lean and Six Sigma Process Management Techniques and concepts using the DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) methodology - Integration of Lean Six Sigma and Human Lean Six Sigma using the Total Performance Scorecard Methodology. - Hands-on training with Minitab Software for Black Belts - Strategic Process Improvement - Process Analysis and Management Tools - Understand Six Sigma Management - Develop the ability to solve a problem using the DMAIC methodology - Learn organizational and structuring skills using lean concepts - Illustrate the conditions for a 3-sigma process and a 6-sigma process and illustrate the improvement in percent output between its lower and upper specification limits - Discuss the costs and benefits of Six Sigma management and the roles and responsibilities of the individuals and bodies involved - Statistics for Effective Business Decisions, plus much more Our focus is to create success for you personally, and for your organization. We guarantee you will be delighted with the results of this learning experience.

Who Should Attend

Anyone who wants an in-depth understanding of the Lean Six Sigma process
Anyone who has been given the challenge to implement (Lean) Six Sigma
Anyone working in an organization already deploying (Lean) Six Sigma
Any employee of an organization participating in (Lean) Six Sigma teams
Executives who wants to decrease defects and cycle time, improve customer satisfaction, and generate business growth and improve profitability

Workshop Facilitator:
Dr. Hubert Rampersad, main author of the book TPS-Lean Six Sigma; Linking Human Capital to Lean Six Sigma (Information Age Publishing Inc., Connecticut, 2007)

What’s Included in the rate

The course price includes: · breakfast, lunch, and refreshments each course day · a student manual developed by experienced instructional designers · a copy of the standard forms, templates, and worksheets for use back at the workplace · certificates upon completion of course requirements

Training Dates for Lean Six Sigma Green Belts and Black Belts:

Call +1-786-284-8652, fax +1-714-464-4498 or email info@total-performance-scorecard.com
for 2008 training dates

Location: Miami Beach Florida

Enrollment:
Call +1-786-284-8652, fax +1-714-464-4498 or email info@total-performance-scorecard.com
Call us for additional information on our Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt Certification Training.

Hubert Rampersad’s Personal Ambition and Personal Brand statement

Hubert Rampersad — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:09:26 +0000

Personal Vision

To live life completely, honestly, and compassionately and to serve the needs of mankind to the best of my ability. I want to realize this in the following way:

• Enjoy physical and mental health

• Passionate and compassionate to inspire others, earn their respect, and always serve out of love

• Energize innovative organizations where human spirit thrives and which model the best practices in business performance and personal integrity

• Experience enjoyment in my work by being full of initiative, accepting challenges continuously, and to keep on learning

• Achieve financial security

Personal Mission

Enjoy the freedom to develop and share knowledge, especially if this can mean something in the life of others.

Personal Key Roles

In order to achieve my vision, the following key roles have top priority:

Spouse: My wife is the most important person in my life

Father: Guide my two sons on the road to independence

Coach: Love to serve learning individuals and innovative organizations to unlock their potential

Student: Learn something new every day and always be a scholar

Personal Brand Statement

Linking Human Capital to Business Success

Passionate and compassionate to inspire learning individuals to unlock their potential and dedicated to energize innovative organizations within the service and manufacturing industry. Using my holistic insight and innovative Total Performance Scorecard principles, I promise to help my customers to realize their dreams.

You are invited to visit my Web site.

Hubert Rampersad’s Life Story

Hubert Rampersad — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:04:18 +0000

I was born in Suriname (a former Dutch Colony in South America) in 1957. My father worked as policeman and had little money to raise 10 children (I am number 7). We were living in a very old house in Paramaribo, almost in poverty. Life was quite hard and we lived from week to week. So my parents decided to migrate to the Netherlands in 1971 in order to create better learning opportunities for us. They used all their savings to finance this migration. I was 12 years old when we moved to the Netherlands. At that time, I had a dream to make people happy, serve the needs of mankind, and help create a better world. This was my higher calling, my inner assignment. I remember this. I looked up at factories and buildings and said, “I want to make the people that go to those factories and buildings live a happy life”. I was also very eager to learn and I knew that life is short, so I chose to work hard and to grasp every opportunity to educate myself and to make my parents proud of me and not to disappoint them. I decided to study Mechanical Engineering at Enschede Polytechnic Institute, where I got my Bachelor of Science degree. After this, I received a Masters of Science in Robotics from Delft University of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Management from Eindhoven University of Technology. I was the first person at this university who got his doctorate within 2 years. My dissertation was published by John Wiley, Inc. in the United States. I was also the first person among my family, friends and relatives to receive these advanced degrees. During this time, I married and had two sons.

In order to support my growing family and pay for tuition, I worked in the evenings and during the weekends as a labourer in factories. While doing this, I noticed that many employees were unhappy. I also noticed that executives contributed to this unhappiness by their disrespectful and often unethical behavior towards their employees. These practices certainly harmed the productivity of their organization. In 1987, I had my first consulting job in the high-tech industry and taught part-time at the Rotterdam School of Management, focusing on developing innovative personal and business management techniques. After 5 years, I started my own consulting firm serving industrial companies. I also became author of 4 Dutch books and 50 articles in the field of technology and reengineering business processes within factories.

In 2001, I started thinking about people in a more holistic way; about what would make them engaged and more happy at work, as well as, in their private life and spare time, about how to create work-life balance, how to reduce the gap between company life and private life, how to create more enjoyment, love, happiness, and passion at work, how to help executives act in a more ethical manner, how to create a climate of trust and real learning, and how to eliminate fear and distrust. I wanted to turn my experience and passion into something greater - to humanize companies and to stimulate love, passion, and happiness in organizations. In doing all of this, I knew that greater productivity would then emerge. During this time of inner reflection, I developed my own spirituality - something had changed within me. I discovered that my higher calling was to help people live a higher quality of life by developing their knowledge of themselves and sharing this with others. During this time, I reformulated my dream into this vision” To live life completely, honestly, and compassionately and to serve the needs of mankind to the best of my ability” and this related mission “Enjoy the freedom to develop and share knowledge, especially if this can mean something in the life of others”. Based on my vision and mission, I wrote 12 books that are translated in various languages in the mean time, and more than 100 articles in leading journals and magazines. My book “Total Performance Scorecard (TPS); Redefining Management to Achieve Performance with Integrity” was published by Butterworth-Heinemann in the US in 2003. I realized that I wrote the book in order to help humanize companies, to stimulate personal integrity, to enable greater enjoyment and happiness at work, to tackle lack of employee engagement, to develop a happy workforce of committed employees and managers, and to reinforce honesty and trustworthiness in the workplace. My TPS book has received praise from professors at top universities, such as Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, MIT, University of Michigan, INSEAD, ESADE, IMD, and London Business School TPS became my first international best selling book and was translated in 22 languages, which changed my life forever. Based on this success, I began to build an international Total Performance Scorecard movement/network in 2004, which has resulted in strategic alliances in many countries. Padmakumar Nair (professor in Organization, Strategy and International Management at the University of Texas School of Management) said the following about this in 2004: “I am amazed with the fact that the Total Performance Scorecard concept is spreading like gospel. Dr. Hubert Rampersad’s innovative and pragmatic approach to combine organizational and personal performance agendas into one line of thinking helps organizational participants to come up with tangible solutions to current performance and leadership issues”.

I started to conduct workshops, seminars, and presentations based on TPS for leading companies such as Nokia, Philips Electronics, Lucent Technologies, and Shell Oil Company and became keynote speaker at numerous conferences. Feeling the desire to introduce the TPS process into the United States, in 2006, I decided to move with my family to America in order to establish TPS International Inc. and to launch my new business management concept globally. In the same period I published Managing Total Quality; Enhancing Personal and Company Value (Tata McGraw-Hill). I also published “Personal Balanced Scorecard; The Way to Individual Happiness, Personal Integrity and Organizational Effectiveness” (Information Age Publishing Inc., USA, 2006) which now has been translated in 20 languages. My related article was awarded in the UK with “The most outstanding paper”. Our related Personal Balanced Scorecard Certified Coaching program has been certified by the International Coach Federation (ICF), the world’s largest coaching organization. The title of my latest book is “TPS-Lean Six Sigma; Linking Human Capital to Lean Six Sigma” (Information Age Publishing Inc., USA, 2007). I am also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Training and Management Development Methods (UK), member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Measuring Business Excellence (UK), member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the TQM Magazine (UK), member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Knowledge Management Practice in Canada, and editorial advisor to Singapore Management Review and also a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s prestigious Thought Leader Advisory Board (www.MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com) and selected by The Marshall Goldsmith School of Management as one of the 35 distinguished thought leaders in the United States in the field of leadership development. My views on happiness in life & work and on a new blueprint for creating high performance companies were published in BusinessWeek in June 2007, see http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/jun2007/ca20070605_686127_page_2.htm

Most of my publications are related to employee engagement and how to create love, passion, and happiness within companies. Total Performance Scorecard, Personal Balanced Scorecard, Authentic Personal and Company Brand Management, and TPS-Lean Six Sigma are now worldwide registered trademarks. Due to this, I have established a global business, with strategic alliances in more than 80 countries, conducting keynote speeches and seminars almost bi-weekly somewhere in the world, and coaching executives in many countries about how to master themselves and to become more ethical and effective. I am also hon. professor at Ural State University in Russia.

My Personal Brand evolved organically into something I had not anticipated, namely a crusader for employee’s and company’s happiness and empowerment. I am living happily with my wife and my two sons in Miami, Florida. My success is based on my higher calling, and my authentic dream in life. I was aware of my Personal Ambition and my Personal Brand and responded to these with love and passion. I had the courage to pursue my dream, have faith in myself, and live according to this dream and my higher calling. I took responsibility for identifying my authentic dream, genius, and brand, and to keep it at the forefront of my mind each day. I knew very clearly what I wanted, asked for it, wished it, dreamed it, formulated it in my Personal Ambition, Personal Brand, and PBSC, fixed it in my mind, visualized it, felt it, allowed it, enjoyed it, accepted my responsibility for everything in my life, determined what to give in return, and gave it all my positive energy. I hope you will do the same.

You are invited to visit my Web site.

“A Balancing Act for Life” by Marshall Goldsmith (Interview in BusinessWeek)

Hubert Rampersad — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:57:08 +0000

Author Hubert Rampersad talks about his personal balanced scorecard coaching framework and his views on happiness in life and work

by Marshall Goldsmith (BusinessWeek)

Hubert Rampersad is one of the most interesting people I have ever met. His interests range from corporate quality to individual happiness. His book, Personal Balanced Scorecard: The Way to Individual Happiness, Personal Integrity and Organizational Effectiveness, which has been translated into 20 languages, discusses the intersection of individual and organizational well-being. He has developed an overall framework that integrates methodologies such as performance management, talent management, and total quality management, and enables organizations and individuals to work together for common benefit. He and I recently talked about his work, his efforts to integrate individual and organizational benefit, and the connection his integrated model has to coaching. Edited excerpts of our conversation follow:

Hubert, what is the personal balanced scorecard?
The personal balanced scorecard (PBSC) encompasses personal ambition (mission, vision, and key roles), critical success factors, objectives, performance measures, targets, and improvement actions. Personal ambition is a set of guiding principles that clearly states who you are, where you are going, where you want to be, etc., and that embodies your values. The PBSC elements are divided among four perspectives, which should be in balance: 1. Internal: your physical health and mental state 2. External: relations with your spouse, children, friends, employer, colleagues, and others 3. Knowledge and learning: your skills and learning ability 4. Financial: fiscal stability

What I like about your process is that you recognize that individuals have self-interest—and that is O.K. I am always amazed at the way many corporations expect their employees to worship the corporate god and act like they have no self-interest at all. To me, this delusion just promotes phoniness and pretense. How is your PBSC related to individual and executive coaching?
The PBSC coaching framework consists of 10 steps, which focus on two distinct areas: life and career coaching and executive coaching. PBSC life and career coaching is related to personal effectiveness and growth in life. The emphasis is on excelling in everything you do, making the right choices in developing your future, having a happier and more fulfilling life, and facing new life challenges. PBSC executive coaching focuses on managers who would like to develop their personal leadership, improve employee performance, enhance employee engagement, empower their employees, create trust and a real learning organization, increase employee self-responsibility and work enjoyment, and ultimately, enhance sustainable organizational effectiveness.

How do you get people to develop self-awareness, to think deeply during this coaching process, about who they are, where they are going, their dreams, their values, and to see the big picture and their place in it?
I’ve introduced an integrated breathing and silence exercise—as part of the PBSC coaching process—which has proven to be very effective. By paying attention to your own thoughts during this exercise, you can discover your desired identity and you will be able to distance yourself from your preconceived mind-set. I teach people to be open to all images that come up in their minds, based on personal ambition questions (for example, “What makes me happy?” “Who am I?” or “What is my main purpose in life?”), and listening carefully to the answers of their inner voice to help them learn to look at life with new eyes, and perceive what goes on within them.

That part sounds like fun to me. How is the PBSC related to career development?
Formulation and implementation of one’s PBSC lead to career and personal lifestyle choices, continuous personal development, effective use of one’s talents, self-learning, continued taking up of challenges, greater awareness of one’s responsibilities, and development of one’s creativity. Through this, one creates the conditions for sustainable career and talent development.

Based on your approach, how do you create awareness for personal integrity?
To develop personal integrity, it is necessary first to find a balance between your personal behavior and your personal ambition. The central questions in this contemplative process are: Do I act in accordance with my conscience? Is there consistency between what I am thinking and what I am doing? Does my personal ambition reflect my desire to act ethically? Have I done what was right?

You mentioned alignment between personal and shared ambition to stimulate employee engagement and commitment. How do you see that working?
Employees are often willing to work together toward the goals of the organization with dedication when there is a match between their personal ambition and the shared ambition of their organization. I therefore recommend introducing a one-on-one ambition meeting between the line-manager or superior and his/her employee. Although there will never be a perfect fit between individual and organizational goals, these sessions improve the probability of increased alignment. This is a periodic, informal, voluntary, and confidential meeting between a line-manager and his/her employees, with the employee’s PBSC and the shared ambition as topics. This has an impact on the organizational bonding of the employees. It gives them the proud feeling that they count, that they are appreciated as human beings, and that they make a useful and valuable contribution to the organization.

What you’re suggesting puts new demands on managers and human resource officers in an organization.
Line managers and HR officers should understand that a healthy home situation has an important influence on work performances and this should not be ignored. Their task is also to encourage their employees to apply their PBSC within their family and to help improve the situation at home. HR has a new role in improving the quality of life of employees, having them enter into greater challenges, letting them enjoy their work, and making them happy. My goal is to give our readers a variety of different perspectives on life and careers. While I do the small things, to help successful leaders achieve positive change in behavior, you are looking at the whole picture. I think that the type of introspection you suggest in the PBSC approach can be useful for any of us. If any of your readers have further questions on how they can apply the PBSC process in their own lives, please let them know that they are invited to visit my Web site or contact me directly.

View complete interview at http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/jun2007/ca20070605_686127_page_2.htm

Goldsmith’s new book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, was recently listed as America’s best-selling business book in The Wall Street Journal.