Jack Keogh

Growth = Immigration

2010-08-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting snippet from the Guardian.co.uk - especially in light of the current debate about immigration into the United States:

With the financial crisis a thing of the past, the authorities in Singapore are looking at ways of letting in a fresh wave of immigrants. This year 100,000 foreign workers should be needed to cope with the powerful surge in the city-state's economy, with 18% growth for the first half of the year.

The full article is worh a read - see it HERE

Corralling the 'Horses' to Staff the Global Organization of 21st Century

2010-08-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Just saw the following note on the Employee Relocation Council's Newsroom:

"Staffing international organizations with enough skilled employees has become increasingly difficult, largely due to the complexity of competing in the global marketplace.

Daniel Hanyzewski, Nike Inc.'s global staffing director, says Nike could grow its business significantly more if it could effectively staff global management positions. Human resource managers must strike a balance between managers who have experience in emerging markets, but are not prohibitively expensive, as well as find employees willing to relocate their families to the emerging markets for 20 to 25 years.Global organizations must develop a global plan to address the shortage of skilled resources, and ensure they are competitive in emerging markets, such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Poland, Turkey, South Africa, China, India, and South Korea. These markets will represent 7/8 of the global population in the next 30 years, and 93 percent of the world's population growth will be in emerging markets over the next 20 years.

The key to the success of global managers hinges on them being used in an effective manner.Agilent Technologies uses Recruitsoft systems to assess the multi-cultural awareness and interorganizational abilities of candidates for global positions. Multi-cultural recruitment options and the variety of global assignments available means some employees may be more culturally adaptable than in the past, and are willing and able to help themselves and each other if given an opportunity. Technology has created many solutions to communication and work problems in global assignments, and the problems associated with expatriates can be minimized."

Left and Right Brain: Creativity and Logical thinking

2010-06-17T13:41:00.001-07:00

One of the things I have learned during my career is the need to develop synergy between both hemispheres of the brain. In order to be truly effective, we need to use the logical and analytical left side of our brain without neglecting the creative and intuitive right side of the brain.

Most analytical, logical, and rational thought takes place in the left hemisphere, where the tasks for well reasoned arguments take place. That may be the reason most people prefer to hold their phones against their right ear. The right ear connects directly to the left side of the brain - the side that processes language and analytical thought.

In today’s work environment, I find the right side of the brain is not used nearly enough. The right hemisphere is where our brains focus on the big picture. It is where we are creative and intuitive. In order to gain a competitive edge, especially in the realm of international business, we need to be able to draw on the resources of our whole brain – creativity and intuition to find the possible solutions and alternatives to a problem and logical and analytical reasoning to implement the solution.

In the world of organizations and business, the logical thinkers who tend to concentrate on data and details often dominate. In my consulting work, I find many teams where not one team-member is right-brain dominant. In part the reason for this is that the detail oriented logical thinkers find it hard to recruit personalities different to their own. The result of such self-selection is quite predictable – the team gets lost in data, details and processes, struggling to see the big picture.

During my career (see my memoir "Driving Straight on Crooked Lines"), I think I was able to develop synergy between both halves of my brain. My boss, for many years, was a logical thinker who focused on detail. He didn’t spend a lot of energy on feelings – but he always seemed to manage to stay in touch with his intuitive side. He trained us to see the big picture, to seek creative solutions and then focus on process and implementation. Like so many corporate and organizational types, I tended to be a data-focused logical thinker and the organization I was with became quite left-brain dominant. The how of getting things done tended to be more important than the why. As a result, we tended to focus on a rational approach to life and spirituality with a decided bias towards action. On the positive side, that is one of the reasons we got so much support from powerful business people – we knew how to get things done and we spoke the action oriented language of business.

Our bias toward action was tempered with an intense dedication to prayer – although our prayer life too tended to be structured and regimented. That approach probably worked best for our dominant personality type. A solid prayer life does help one keep in touch with the creative and intuitive side of the brain. I have since learned that optimism is probably the most important emotional asset in business. There’s nothing like a good prayer life to cultivate optimism.

As part of our prayer life, I would have to include the enormously healing, holistic effect of Gregorian chant. The French doctor Alfred Tomatis pioneered research on the neurophysiologic effects of chant on the minds and bodies of its singers and listeners. According to his theory, there are two kinds of sound: "discharge" sounds (those that tire, fatigue and drain the listener) and "charge" sounds (those that give energy and health). According to Dr. Tomatis, Gregorian chant may be the most potent "charge" sound to promote strength and vitality. Unlike other types of music, the rhythm of the chant is based on the breathing of the participants rather than on a mathematically calculated beat. Just try listening to a small amount of it each day, or better still, chanting some of the traditional melodies, and you will quickly notice how calming it is as you get in touch with your intuitive and creative side.

I am thankful that most of us analytical types got to spend a balanced amount of time on creativity-enhancing exercises. A solid physical exercise regime helped us manage stress; we all spent a lot of time on writing, metaphysics and brainstorming. We listened to well selected classical music and had ample time for silent meditation. I think the positive result of all of the above, for me, is that I learned to be in touch with both hemispheres of my brain. As I wrote at the beginning, this is not a skill I come across often in the corporate, technically oriented world I live in. Did I learn anything usefulfor the oft-maligned creative types? Yes. My creatively inclined confreres got in touch with their logical left-brain processes by playing dominoes and chess, studying scholastic philosophy, developing plans and budgets and adhering to the strict schedules that marked our life in community.

2010-06-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

Damian Thompson reveals unexpected turmoil, confusion and poor organization behind the scenes in the preparations for Pope Benedict XVI’s keenly awaited visit to Britain. He claims the trip has been hijacked by a Blairite cadre.

Benedict XVI’s visit to Britain was always intended to be on a smaller scale than that of John Paul II in 1982. But the diplomatic, political and logistical problems associated with it are far greater. For various diplomatic reasons, the last Pope came to Britain on a private visit: Benedict XVI is doing so as a head of state. Accordingly, the British government will pay for aspects of his visit that are not specifically Catholic. A draft itinerary of his visit, seen by The Spectator, includes an audience with the Queen at Holyrood House, Edinburgh, and an 8.15 p.m. state banquet in his honour hosted by the Prime Minister at Lancaster House — which, bizarrely, the Pope is not expected to attend, presumably because, at 83, he might find it exhausting.

The Papal visit also coincides with much public indignation at the Church’s role in protecting paedophile priests. The authors Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens would like to see the Pope arrested for his role in covering up the abuse. There has also been resentment over the £7 million of taxpayers’ money that will pay for the visit — but at least that sum has not increased since the non-Catholic parts of the Pope’s itinerary were confirmed earlier this year. It is the part of the visit run by the Church which is running into danger. The question facing the archbishops is how on earth the church got its own sums badly wrong.

Read the full article here

Turning Adversity to Advantage

2010-06-03T16:14:00.001-07:00

I do a fair amount of public speaking so I am always thinking of themes that are discussed in my book and which relate to leadership and business. Dealing with adversity is one such theme.

When I wrote my memoir, “Driving Straight on Crooked Lines: How an Irishman found his heart and nearly lost his mind” I decided to share my own personal journey and the special circumstances that helped shape who I am today. One of the themes relates to learning to turn adversity into an advantage. I had to learn from my mistakes, getting in touch with my heart and my emotions, and follow the principle that it’s "better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

Managers and leaders have to face difficult situations all the time. I learned that it is essential to be able to rely on a series of well articulated principles when faced with adversity. These are principles that I was able to think about and develop which served me in good stead in times of adversity. I think the process is akin to learning to drive an automobile on quiet roads before venturing out into traffic. Learn to drive straight first, then you can adapt to crooked roads.

When you are faced with an adverse situation, you need to know what principles to fall back on. To do this, you need to be able to articulate them and incorporate them into your life and leadership style. Being in touch with your principles will do wonders for your self-confidence which, in turn will make you a much more inspiring and effective leader. Humility and resilience are two qualities you need to cultivate. Knowing your values and principles will help you.

Here are some principles, in no particular order, which I believe in. Readers can think about them and see which ones they share, so that when the time comes they can help you turn adversity to your advantage.
To read about these principles in PDF format click HERE.

Employees rate work-life balance over bonus

2010-06-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

Flexible working is the most valued benefit for employees, ahead of material perks such as bonuses, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey.

Managing Tomorrow’s People explores the work aspirations and expectations of 1,167 professionals across the UK. Flexible working arrangements were rated the most important benefit by 47% of those surveyed, above performance related bonuses, which came second (19%).

Flexible working was given fairly equal priority by men and women, with 41% and 54% respectively ranking this benefit the most valuable. Moreover a better work-life balance was seen as more achievable in the long term by 42% respondents than vastly increased responsibility and salary (39%).

New Memoir About Life in the Controversial Legion of Christ by a Former Member Reveals Insights into the Double Life of Founder Father Marcial Maciel

2010-05-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

Press Release

TRUMBULL, Conn., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- As Vatican-watchers await the appointment of a papal delegate to oversee the Legion of Christ, a new memoir by a former member claims that few Legionaries were aware of the double life led by their founder, the late Father Marcial Maciel.

Driving Straight on Crooked Lines: How an Irishman Found his heart and Nearly Lost his Mind, http://www.drivingstraight.com (ISBN 978-0-9845227-0-5, Trade paperback, 352 pp, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2) provides author Jack Keogh's insights into the inner workings of the Legion of Christ and the intimate thoughts of a former priest who collaborated with the controversial Maciel, the founder of the Mexican congregation.

Keogh, the first Irish-born Legionary to set foot in Mexico, tells how he ultimately came to believe that God does indeed drive straight on the crooked lines of our lives after first nearly losing his mind.

Spanning locations across the globe, Keogh's "gripping story offers realistic insight, told with a subjective, non-judgmental outlook," says Australian writer and editor Cerian Griffiths. "Keogh's sincere narrative, in which he faces many challenges, inspires an attitude of hope for the future. His story is told with candor, a sparkle in the eye, plenty of blarney, and Irish good humor."

Investigative reporter, author and film director Jason Berry, whose recent report on the Legion of Christ's Father Marcial Maciel was published in the National Catholic Reporter says, "I was pulled along by the story of a young Irishman drawn into the world of the Legionaries of Christ, unable to see the raw truth of Father Maciel, coming to the painful realization of Maciel's psychological tyranny as time passed, and having the fortune to leave early enough to make a new life. This is a sad yet, in the final measure, uplifting memoir."

Keogh is Managing Director of Keogh & Associates Consulting, LLC of Trumbull, CT, which advises multinational corporations on leadership and cross-cultural communications. A resident of Fairfield County, CT, Keogh studied in Spain and Italy and is fluent in their languages. Many thousands of people around the globe have attended his presentations.

For more information about Driving Straight on Crooked Lines or to schedule an interview, please contact Jack Keogh at (203) 268-3126 or visit http://www.drivingstraight.com. The book is available on http://www.amazon.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

Book Cover: http://www.ereleases.com/pic/DrivingStraightonCrookedLines.jpg

CONTACT: Jack Keogh Iveagh Lodge Press Trumbull, CT (203) 268-3126 info@iveaghlodgepress.com

This press release was issued through eReleases(R). For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Jack Keogh

Emotional intelligence and its relationship to transformational leadership

2010-05-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

The May, 2010 of the "I E Update" Newsletter provides the following abstract of a research study on Emotional Intelligence. The study refers to the "MSCEIT" one of the instruments that Keogh & Associates Consulting, LLC uses in our approach to team and leadership development.

Clarke, N. (2010). Emotional intelligence and its relationship to transformational leadership and key project manager competences. Project Management Journal, 41(2), 5-20.

This study examined the effect of Emotional Intelligence, as assessed using MSCEIT, on several competences (i.e., communication, teamwork, attentiveness, and managing conflict) and transformational leadership after controlling for personality and cognitive ability. Results based on a sample of 67 UK project managers revealed a number of significant correlations between the MSCEIT and the dependent measures. Branch 2 of the MSCEIT (using emotions to facilitate thinking), Branch 3 (understanding emotions), and the overall EI score were all found to positively correlate with the project manager competence of managing conflict. Both the abilities of using emotions and of understanding emotions positively correlated with the project manager competence of teamwork. Using emotions to facilitate thinking was the only EI ability found to have any significant correlations with transformational leadership. Both total EI and branch scores showed minor correlations with personality measures, offering further support for the predominantly independent nature of these two aspects of individual difference.

Expatriate skills still in demand

2010-05-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

From an article by Sanchia Temkin:

"Expatriates are not a dying breed.. They are still very much part of the business strategies of many companies seeking to expand their activities beyond their homes bases," said Siobhan Cummins, MD for Europe, the Middle East and Africa of ORC Worldwide."

However, expatriate assignments are changing, with assignments lasting only one to three years, instead of much longer, which used to be the norm. Another change is that companies are paring down the assignment package, and are no longer paying large tax-free gratuities upon the completion of an assignment. "

Beyond teambuilding: whole person leadership

2010-05-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

For several years now, we have been delivering team-building seminars, highly rated by our clients based on the measurable results we have achieved. It has just dawned on me that I do these programs a great disservice by calling them “team building.”

Sure, we use elements of traditional team development activities. But, I’ve belatedly realized what we do is way more than “team building.” Let me explain why I think team-building does not do justice to what we have been doing and why I think it’s necessary to go “beyond teambuilding” to achieve sustainable change.

One of the great lessons that the current recession is driving home is that success as a leader involves far more than excelling at “business.” We have to succeed in all areas of our lives to be truly successful at work. Genuine work-life balance means we also have to develop our “our own private selves.” Leadership based on this principle is referred to as “whole person leadership.” It’s about finding mutual balance among
family, community, work and our private selves. It means developing individual’s personal, holistic abilities so that they can truly function as valued contributors on a team.

This has resulted in us developing a perspective that connects management and employees conceptually, focusing on vision, purpose, and meaning. The result is stronger teams that resemble “communities,” which encourage development of the whole person. The added bonus is that this personalized development influences not only the work environment but also family and community life. Implementing this new approach to whole person leadership is transformational and empowering for the company, the team and the individual’s personal life. The term “team building” simply does not do it justice.

The value of training

2010-05-14T14:07:00.001-07:00

According to Jim Harris in his book The Learning Paradox, a number of issues would begin to appear, if company employees did not receive on-going training. In a down economy – like the one we are currently experiencing – one of the areas that is subject to cutback is training and development. This means, I think, that HR people need to know how to measure the strategic value of training in business terms. Harris suggests the following outcomes when training goes away; I suggest that these outcomes should be the basis of how we measure the value of the training we deliver:

1. Fewer skilled employees
2. Lower-quality work
3. Poor customer service
4. Higher customer turnover
5. Increased marketing costs
6. Slow corporate growth
7. Higher employee turnover
8. Higher recruitment costs
9. Reduced attraction for new employees
10. Increased IT support
11. High informal training costs
12. Increased workload
13. Increased burnout
14. Slow response to bids
15. Slow response to competition
16. Turf battles, office size and politics are valued

Leverage the tools of social networking

2010-02-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

Companies should not be afraid to embrace social networking sites.

Despite the current recession, buisness is still global. Social networking offers cost effective toolds to help keep employees and teams connected to each other and to management.

When we recover from this recession the knowledge of how to integrate social networking will provide a competiive edge to the companies who embraced it.

Sales is a good job in a recession!

2010-02-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

Sales is remaining a reasonably well-paid job, probably because smart firms see sales as even more important when times are hard… and compensate their professionals accordingly.

The amount of sales jobs increased by 11% since 2007 to roughly 16 million sales jobs in the United States in 2008, (the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Arguably the recession was already underway when those numbers were compiled.

So, even though times are tough.... sales is not a bad place to be!

Become a consultant!

2010-02-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

This snippet from Steve Tobak caught my eye:

"If you think you’re working for a crappy company with bad managers, they don’t have a problem; you have a problem.

So solve it. Quit and go somewhere else.

Better still, try the DIY Management method. If you have a fire in your belly to fix management problems, try your hand at it. Become a manager. Become a VP. Become a CEO. Then you can become a consultant who fixes management problems."

Female Talent in Emerging Markets

2010-02-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

Bloomberg (01/26/10) Hewlett, Sylvia Ann

"Taking advantage of the pool of highly qualified women in emerging markets such as the Middle East could be the key to the future growth of multinational corporations.

A new study on Women in Emerging Markets by the Center for Work-Life Policy reveals that woman earn more than half of all global tertiary degrees, and women in the United Arab Emirates are as ambitious as American men. However, female executives in the Middle East work in a very difficult job environment that is further complicated by different time zones and cultural mores. Female executives get very little break on weekends, considering an end-of-the-week conference call beginning at 2 p.m. in New York means those in Dubai are still at work at 11 p.m. Friday night. Mothers, daughters and wives are discouraged from working, and local regulations and work rules often put them at a disadvantage.

The study offers some strategies multinationals can use to leverage and support talented women. Multinationals could rotate conference calls across time zones, and provide networking opportunities for senior women. Companies also can lobby local authorities on making the work environment fairer to women, and can provide childcare and eldercare."

Social Networking. Time to turn on the privacy settings?

2010-02-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

A survey by CareerBuilder.com of about 2,700 executives in America last year found that 45% of them looked at job candidates’ social-network pages as part of their research, and more than a third of those had unearthed information there that put them off hiring someone. Time to turn up those privacy settings?

In recessionary times it is very smart to stay in touch with as many social and professional contacts as possible. Reinforcing the connections with the people you work with and improving your ability to stay in touch with and expand your “network” of contacts, is a great way to join the digital revolution - in the unlikely event that you are not already on board. I’d like to share a quick and simple method that I use for researching contacts. CLICK HERE to read a short article I wrote.

Non-verbal Emotions

2010-01-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

We rely on emotions to make good decisions and prioritize information. Non-verbal communication transmits emotion. If we ignore the emotion, we also ignore more than 90% of human communication. If you can identify an emotion as it is displayed, the intensity of negative emotion decreases. When you fail to acknowledge emotion or prevent its revelation, the intensity increases. You can "feel" when this happens on a team.

Learning more about your emotional intelligence is an empowering process. It builds internal strength. The more inner strength and knowledge you have, the greater your ability to be effective, compassionate, understanding and empathic. Some authors refer to this competency as "Empowerment" and "Recognition."

Developing your emotional intelligence is key to managing personal, work-related and team conflict.

Self Management

2010-01-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

At the end of the day, the pinnacle of competency is self management, managing one's own emotion...

"To see what isn't shown.

To hear what isn't said."

I'm working on the final preparations for a client team building event. We will spend a good deal of time on "emotional intelligence." It's not an oxymoron. Fundamental skill for high performance teams.

Memory Lane!

2010-01-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

Just posted the prior blog when a colleague at an important NGO sent me this link.
It's a great flashback through the past half century, with music and pictures. Sit back and enjoy a review of 50 years of history in less than 3 minutes! Thanks to Billy Joel and some guy from the University of Chicago with time to Google!

Home Search for Expatriates in Mexico

2010-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Today I received a welcome e-mail from a former colleague at Mayflower International. Mayflower is where I got my start in the Relocation - Expatriate Management business. If I say so myself, we were way ahead of our times. The only relocation company that insiders knew about in those days was PHH HomeEquity - they offered mostly domestic relocation services.

Tony Waugh, a fellow Irishman who headed Mayflower's International division recruited me from the HR Consulting company I worked at in New York City. Together we set up a truly innovative relocation program we called "Attaché Services." Clever name! "Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned ('attached') to the administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency." We offered ancillary international relocation services to the 4,000 or so international executives we moved every year. We had a very successful run until United Van Lines acquired Mayflower Transit. I worked with Bob at United's Fenton, MO headquarters for about a year before I was recruited by Prudential Relocation. 10 years later I formed Keogh & Associates Consulting, LLC. (Big firm knowledge, small firm charm!).

Back to the e-mail from my former colleague. He asked me if I could recommend a provider of destination services in Mexico City to one of his clients. I made a mental note: "Do a better job of marketing your services, Jack!. Not good when a colleague and friend doesn't know what you do."

I told my buddy that Keogh & Associates has its own people in Mexico City – ranging from an independent Realtor who works directly with us, to a small independent destination services company we use when appropriate and a bigger, less-independent destination services company for special occasions. Mexico is an important market for us - we love Mexico, we know it well and we have the most amazing network of influential contacts.

PS = about that mental note I made to myself. Result: added this blog to the English version of our website! One of these days, I may add a blog to the Spanish version.