Dear SafetyXChange Members:

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."

Peter F. Drucker

When Peter Drucker passed away last November, the Washington Post described him as "the world's most influential business guru. Drucker and his philosophy of management influenced Winston Churchill, Bill Gates, Jack Welch and thousands of managers and leaders.

Drucker focused most of his thinking on the job of the executive. His thrust was showing men and women how to fulfill this role effectively. To Drucker, effectiveness meant not just getting things done but getting the right things done. For those of you who aren't familiar with Drucker, here's a quick and dirty distillation of his approach.

Peter Drucker: Management guru who influenced executives and world leaders

The 8 Keys to Management Success

In a Harvard Business Review article two years ago, Drucker distilled the lessons of his career into eight simple practices for managers. "An effective executive does not need to be a leader in the sense that the term is now most commonly used," stated Drucker. "Great managers may be charismatic or dull, generous or tightfisted, visionary or numbers oriented."

But, according to Drucker, every effective executive follows eight simple practices:

• They ask, "What needs to be done?"
• They ask, "What is right for the enterprise?"
• They develop action plans.
• They take responsibility for decisions.
• They take responsibility for communicating.
• They focus on opportunities rather than problems.
• They run productive meetings.
• They think and say "we" rather than "I."

"The first two practices give executives the knowledge they need," Drucker explained. "The next four help them convert this knowledge into effective action. And the last two ensure that the whole organization feels responsible and accountable."

Conclusion

There's actually a ninth practice in Drucker's formula. "Listen first, speak last." Although not listed in the famous article, this was a phrase Drucker used often.

Incidentally, the article listing the eight practices, called, What Makes an Effective Executive, was first recognized for excellence in management thinking with the 46th Annual McKinsey Award in 2004. This award acknowledges the most significant Harvard Business Review article in a given year that is most likely to have a major influence on executives. You can download the article for a small fee from www.hbr.org - enter - What Makes an Effective Executive? in the Search Box.

Wishing you career success,

Lauryn Franzoni
www.execunet.com

JOB MARKET TRENDS

The Résumé Is Dying

By Glenn Demby

Is the résumé dying? Yes and no.

On the one hand, résumés are still landing on the desks of HR managers and executive recruiters as frequently as they ever have. In fact, the volume of résumé traffic has increased dramatically in the past five years.

However, it's what happens after the résumé gets to the desk that's changing. Simply stated, résumés aren't getting read as much as they used to. One-third to one-half of them get tossed without even a glance, according to a new survey.

Why? For one reason, résumés tend to be of poor quality. This decline in résumé quality is a byproduct of the changing dynamic of the job search process. The advent of electronic job boards has made it easy to find openings. From there, it's only a mouse click or two to send a résumé. Résumé sending, in other words, has become so easy and so routine, that applicants can afford to send résumés even for positions they have no realistic chance of obtaining.

The result of this has been to degrade the impact of the résumé. Employers and recruiters are now experimenting with new forms of applications and methods to capture, distill and compare information about job candidates.

The bottom line: Those who adjust best to the new methods will have a competitive advantage in competing for jobs in the coming years.

Source: www.mrinetwork.com.

RÉSUMÉ TIP

By Glenn Demby

Use digits, $ and % in a résumé. Reason: They stand out from the résumé body and catch employers' eyes.

Wrong: Increased profits by one-quarter of ten-employee staff with million-dollar budget.

Right: Achieved 25% increase in 10-employee staff with a budget of $1,000,000.

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