Management thoughts from Harvard Business Publishing

Use Stress to Your Advantage
12:15 PM Wednesday March 4, 2009


A friend of mine sends me at least five articles each day about the economy. Each with a slightly different viewpoint about how to successfully manage through the next few years. Each suggesting that the future is unpredictable before offering a prediction and some advice.

One day I asked him what he was getting out of all this reading. His answer was immediate and clear. "Conserve cash. Reduce expenses. Continue doing your job the best you can. Stay the course."

Great. That's a reasonable strategy. We're done then. No more articles. Let's spend our time doing more productive things, or at least more enjoyable things, right?

But my friend keeps sending me article after article. And I keep reading them. Why?

First, maybe, just maybe, the next article will provide some insight the others missed -- the secret to emerging from this economic mess better off.

Second, looking for that insight gives us a sense of comfort and control. It gives us something to do. We're reading. We're thinking. We're discussing. We're developing opinions. It makes us feel better.

It's our Stress Reaction, what we do to manage ourselves through stressful periods of time. I don't mean a particular stressful event, like having an irate client on the phone, but the kind of ongoing stress that's impossible to pinpoint or allocate to a particular person or event.

How do you respond to your stressful life? What's your Stress Reaction?

I recently cut my hair very short. Out of curiosity, I looked back through iPhoto to see other times I've cut my hair that short. There was 1998 when I first started my business, 2000 during the dot com crash, and around the births of each of my three children. Cutting my hair short is one of my Stress Reactions. It gives me the illusion of control. My wife used to joke about another one of mine -- she loved when I had a big proposal to write because I always spent the first day cleaning our house.

A Stress Reaction can be a useful tool to maintain your focus and preserve your ability to move through times of uncertainty. A sense of control is invaluable when we lack real control.

Of course it would be ideal if we all had Stress Reactions that drove us to eat normal portions of healthy food every few hours, exercise daily, sleep eight hours a night, meditate morning and evening, and connect deeply and authentically with our friends, colleagues, and loved ones. But some Stress Reactions are destructive. They increase our stress rather than reduce it.

A client of mine, vice president of sales at a software company, told me his sales managers were worried they wouldn't meet their sales goals in this economic environment. I asked how they were acting differently as a result of their nervousness.

"They're micromanaging their teams," he answered, "requiring more reporting, making heavy-handed suggestions on next steps and second-guessing team members' decisions."

This has the potential for a perilous outcome: sales people spend more time reporting and less time selling. They feel frustrated, impotent, and insecure. Their confidence plummets. That reduces sales. Which creates more stress. Which intensifies their Stress Reactions. And so on.

Another destructive Stress Reaction is withdrawal. We become uninvolved, aloof, occupied with other things. We hide in our offices. We avoid communicating.

A third common Stress Reaction is to get competitive. Sometimes that translates into working harder. Other times it feels political. At the extreme, you might become like Alex Rodriguez taking steroids -- doing anything to get an extra edge.

So what can we do about these destructive reactions?

Pause.

Sit down, shut off your computer, take a deep breath and ask yourself "How am I handling the stress?"

Try to recognize your stress tendency. How do you act when you're overwhelmed? If you're not sure, ask the people around you. They'll know.

Then ask yourself if it helps or hurts. If it helps, like cutting your hair, then by all means cut away. Even build it into your process.

Once I realized that cleaning the house was one way I dealt with the stress of writing a big proposal, I stopped getting frustrated about wasting that time and, instead, built it into my schedule. I started the proposal one day early with step 1: clean the house.

But if your Stress Reaction hurts? If you're micromanaging? Avoiding? Being aggressively competitive? Something else?

Then take another deep breath and cut yourself some slack. It really is stressful these days and it's bound to affect you. Getting frustrated with yourself will only make it worse (and getting frustrated with yourself for getting frustrated with yourself will make it worse still).

The amazing thing here is that noticing your Stress Reaction is all you have to consciously do. The rest mostly takes care of itself. Once you notice it, you'll automatically start to mitigate it. And you don't necessarily have to stop the behavior completely. Some of your Stress Reaction may be helpful even if too much is hurtful. It's useful in turbulent times to manage more closely, withdraw to reflect, and compete a little harder than usual. It helps keep you on track and focused. Just remember to pause. And notice.

Meanwhile, my friend keeps sending me his articles and I, in my short hair and clean house, keep reading them.
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Four Ways to Improve Your Team's Performance
11:40 AM Wednesday February 11, 2009

Face it: 2009 is going to be your toughest year yet. Budgets are lower, expectations are higher, and you're under pressure to deliver the goods -- no mistakes or hiccups allowed. That's a tall order even if you've got a seasoned team of highly motivated A+ performers.

But what if you don't? What if, like most managers, you're dealing with a strong but not stellar group, players of varying drive and skill, and a severely limited ability to bring in fresh talent? A recent New York Times article demonstrates how the right approach to coaching your team can let you achieve spectacular performance -- no matter what the environment.

The article describes Tom Donnelly, the men's track and field coach for the past 34 years at Haverford College, a Quaker school with fewer than 1,200 students. Despite the school's tiny enrollment, noncompetitive philosophy, and lack of athletic scholarships, Donnelly has managed to produce 113 All-Americans and 24 individual N.C.A.A. champions -- a jaw-dropping record for a school of any size or budget. He's also sent runners to each of the past four Olympic trials, and won more "Coach of the Year" awards than anyone can seem to count. (His team boasts the highest average GPA of any Division III track team, too.) Donnelly's superb, sustained results are the kind every manager dreams of.

And according to the Coach himself, they're the kind of results any manager can shoot for -- and attain. The secrets to getting your team out front, he says, are as follows:

•Spend as much time with the slowest runner as with the fastest. To improve a team's performance, focus on its weakest members. As long as a team member is working hard, he or she deserves your attentive, careful coaching.
•Take away performance pressure by adding perspective -- and fun. Donnelly's pep talks are laced with trivia, history, and jokes. He readily acknowledges that running track is not the only important thing in his athletes' lives. "All you have to do" he says, "is try your very best. Then you cannot lose."
•Accept inevitable setbacks -- and move past them quickly. The times when other teams win? Donnelly and his runners spend no time sulking or pointing fingers. "We acknowledge the other team's accomplishment and we recover."
•Let the team's performance be its own reward. The team's trophies and award certificates go up in Donnelly's office. His own coaching awards go in the trash. They get in the way, Donnelly claims, of doing his job -- teaching other people how to succeed.Imagine your workplace being managed by Coach Donnelly. Sound like one where you would be motivated, even in this awful year, to achieve? (Me too.)

Now imagine being Coach Donnelly -- and watching your runners lap the field.
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Subbu PVSubramanian's Blog

My wife's cousin Subbu has created a Blog and keeps writing many things about investments
http://sharemarketdvlytips.blogspot.com/

Investment Ideas

We begin this New Year with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism.

Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organizations and nations.

Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health.

They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies,
forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this
financial mess.

Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future.

This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older.

This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser.

Hard work : All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Laziness : A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.

Earnings : Never depend on a single source of income.

Spending : If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.

Savings : Don't save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving.

Accounting : It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.

Auditing : Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.

Risk-taking : Never test the depth of the river with both feet.

Investment : Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these
principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that
those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health.

Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful life.
------
Warren Buffet

Indian Stock Market

Indian Stock Market. One of the stock markets in the world watched by everybody. Many people have made their fortune here and many have lost every thing here. Let us see how we can make some little money from here. If we are sure enough about our vission we can bet on it and make more money here.

Indian Stock Market is a dream for everyone. Many people have made lot of money and many have lost lot of money. Let us try to make money here. Keep watching the posts and keep giving your comments.

Sugar Stocks - Watch Balrampur Chinni, Bajaj Hindustan and Renuka
December 16, 2007 5:18 AM
K R Suresh said...
At 1.15 pm on 17/12/2007 BSE Sensex crashed 299.65 points
December 16, 2007 11:48 PM
K R Suresh said...
Will SENSEX hit 18000 any time now?
December 16, 2007 11:58 PM
Ravi said...
its good if the sensex comes to 18000 points so that we can buy some good scrips at low rates
December 17, 2007 12:02 AM
K R Suresh said...
Company Name Open High Low Last
Price Prv
Close Change % Chg
Bajaj Hindustan 269.00 276.00 258.60 270.00 269.50 0.50 0.19 Balrampur Chini 110.30 111.75 107.80 108.40 110.55 -2.15 -1.94
Bannariamman 921.00 933.80 892.00 905.00 922.45 -17.45 -1.89
Dhampur Sugar 90.00 93.30 86.00 91.70 87.85 3.85 4.38
Dwarikesh Sugar 88.00 97.15 87.00 92.95 88.00 4.95 5.63
EID Parry 170.00 174.00 168.10 171.50 171.35 0.15 0.09
KCP Sugar 28.50 29.10 27.00 27.85 28.45 -0.60 -2.11
KM Sugar Mills 34.50 36.00 33.80 34.50 33.65 0.85 2.53
Oudh Sugar Mill 80.65 84.75 79.10 83.50 79.00 4.50 5.70
Ponni Sugars(E) 47.90 52.00 47.35 49.65 47.00 2.65 5.64
Rajshree Sugars 67.50 71.05 65.35 68.75 67.80 0.95 1.40
Sakthi Sugars 87.00 88.90 85.50 86.60 85.45 1.15 1.35
Shree Renuka 871.55 932.40 871.55 912.15 908.20 3.95 0.43 Triveni Engg 184.95 195.40 182.50 190.25 186.35 3.90 2.09 Upper Ganges Su 108.00 110.80 106.25 108.00 105.95 2.05 1.93 Uttam Sugar 105.20 108.95 103.15 106.00 105.20 0.80 0.76
December 17, 2007 12:05 AM
K R Suresh said...
How about Refinery Stocks?
Company Name Open High Low Last Price Prv Close Change % Chg
Bongaigaon Ref 100.90 102.00 99.00 100.75 100.55 0.20 0.20
BPCL 420.05 420.05 401.05 405.00 418.85 -13.85 -3.31
Chennai Petro 421.00 430.00 407.00 407.95 421.30 -13.35 -3.17
Essar Oil 289.00 296.00 280.70 282.90 288.95 -6.05 -2.09
HPCL 339.65 339.65 308.25 310.60 324.70 -14.10 -4.34
IndraprasthaGas 163.10 170.50 162.55 165.20 163.65 1.55 0.95 IOC 675.00 675.00 633.10 635.45 661.30 -25.85 -3.91
MRPL 129.30 140.80 129.30 136.75 135.25 1.50 1.11
Reliance Petro 223.00 223.00 216.15 216.50 221.65 -5.15 -2.32
Sah Petroleums 24.80 25.75 24.55 25.10 24.80 0.30 1.21
December 17, 2007 12:10 AM
K R Suresh said...
Lakshmi Vilas Bank - What is the prospect for this scrip? It was trading between 75 - 90. Suddenly going up, up and up. Today it went up to 155 and now trading around 146.
December 17, 2007 12:39 AM
K R Suresh said...
Himachal Futuristic (HFCL) - This scrip is doing between 35 and 45. Start accumulating in small lots. Target price 200.
December 17, 2007 2:14 AM
Ravi said...
How about buying Sambholi Sugar Mills. Is it traded / listed.
December 17, 2007 2:29 AM
K R Suresh said...
I have not seen Sambholi Sugars listed anywhere. Let us explore
December 17, 2007 11:49 PM
K R Suresh said...
Buy Ashok Leyland @ 44, Hindalco @ 180 and ITC @ 170
December 17, 2007 11:50 PM
K R Suresh said...
Buy Berger Paints @ 50, Tata Teleservices @ 40
December 18, 2007 12:25 AM
K R Suresh said...
Buy NIIT; target of Rs 187: HDFC Securities
Buy Electrosteel Casting, tgt Rs 107: Angel Broking
Buy Madras Cement, target Rs 4800: Sharekhan
December 26, 2007 6:39 AM
K R Suresh said...
Above Rs 2945, Reliance can go upto Rs 3370: Gujral
December 26, 2007 6:41 AM
K R Suresh said...
HFCL is around 41. I have bought 25 more today. Will it come down or go up from here?
January 17, 2008 11:24 PM
K R Suresh said...
HFCL was at 28.45 on 29.1.2008. I have bought 25 more.
January 29, 2008 6:44 PM
K R Suresh said...
Bonus issues possible from the following:
Bank of Maharashtra
Glenmark
Container Corporation
February 6, 2008 8:51 PM
K R Suresh said...
The art of buying low, selling high
Rasheeda Bhagat


Mr G.V.Sunder... Though a long-term investor, he is not averse to booking profits quickly when a share appreciates substantially.
WHICH investor doesn't dream of "buying low and selling high"? But how many end up doing the opposite?
This week we met a Bangalore based chartered accountant who has managed to beat the equity market.
Meet G.V.Sunder, who expects on an average 50-60 per cent return from the stock market and gets it too! But then he is a long-term investor, though not averse to booking profits quickly when a share appreciates substantially.
An investor in equity from 1993, Mr Sunder concentrates on " good mid-cap stocks", which have shown good performance and pay a decent dividend, "rather than going for frontline stocks like Infosys, Reliance, L & T, Telco, Wipro, HLL or Dr. Reddy's Laboratory. Whenever I choose a stock, I look at its EPS, dividend track record and lower P/E ratio."
In October 1998, when the BSE Sensex was scrapping the bottom, he bought several such mid-cap stocks like Aban Lloyd, Balmer Lawrie, Escorts, Paper Products, Thirmulai Chemicals, Ashok Leyland, Raymonds , Tata Power, Tata Tea and Kotak Mahindra Finance. "When all of them went up substantially during the boom of 1999-2000, I booked good profits in almost all the counters," he says.
For example, he bought Ceat in June 1998 at Rs 21.75, which he sold in August, 1999 at Rs 68.05; Ballarpur Industries at Rs 32.57 in October 1997, and sold at Rs 87.4 two years later; Tata Tea at Rs 268.2 in June 1998 and sold at Rs 520.7 in January 2000, Kesoram Industries in March 1999 at Rs 14.24 and sold seven months later at Rs 55.45; Raymond in August 1998 at Rs 52.15 and sold next June at Rs 105.45 and Tube Investments bought in June 1998 at Rs 30.1 and sold in August 1999 at Rs 78.95.
But his best profits came from the Kotak Mahindra counter which bought at Rs 20.95 in November1998 and sold at a whopping Rs 228.4 in January 2000; and Escorts bought at Rs 78.45 in September 1998 and sold at over 300 per cent profit at Rs 247.5 in February 2000. In the former, of course, he booked over 1000 per cent profit.
"Around the same time, noticing the boom in IT stocks, I applied for almost all IT IPOs. When allotted, I sold them at a good profit after a few days of listing. I never held on to them as I felt they were over-valued. During the boom time, most IT stocks appreciated and gave me very good returns. Some are not even quoted now. But I have made losses in such stocks as Hotel Leela Ventures, Eveready and R.S.Software," says Mr Sunder.
He used the stock market crash following the WTC attack to buy into several good mid-cap stocks.
"Convinced that there is an opportunity in any crisis, I organised a small get together of friends and clients and told them to take a bold step and invest in equity at that point. I requested a former President of the Bangalore Stock Exchange to address the meeting that was held on September 23, 2001, which was a Sunday. Two days earlier, the Sensex touched a low of 2589. On Monday, September 24, the Sensex gained 60 points and started rising. Those who invested then, reaped rich rewards with the Sensex going up to 3700 during March/April of 2002."
He himself bought Himachal Futuristic on September 19, 2001 at Rs 33.6 which he sold in November at Rs 100.1; Engineers India on September 21 at Rs 68.3 and sold at Rs 172.25 in February 2002; Rolta at Rs 54.25 in August 2001 which he sold at Rs 109.95 in February 2002.
Around this time he also bought Aurobindo Pharma at Rs 146, Gammon India at Rs 68.5 and Amararaja Batteries at Rs 64.1, all of which he continues to hold. Mr Sunder is a firm believer that every two-three years there is a boom when the Sensex would go above 4500 points.
"During such times investors should stand away from the crowd and just watch the market. Most of the good stocks bounce back after a crisis or a sudden fall. We should have the courage to pick up good stocks when the market is down. This contrarian approach has always given me good profits."
But he has watched many an investor doing the opposite and lose. He has also seen greed stopping people from booking profits. "After you have picked up stocks at low values, it is important to book profits when they appreciate. Despite suggestions to sell, most of my friends did not sell Infosys during boom time when it was quoting at more than Rs15,000. I don't think Infosys will get similar valuations ever again."

Mr Sunder himself bought Zee Telefilms (face value Rs 10) at Rs 93. "After a year, I sold it at Rs 600, booking a good profit. Later, during the 1999-2000 boom it went up to Rs 20,000 (when a Re 1 share touched Rs 2000) but I have no regrets.
So is it a good time to buy?

"Oh yes. I am sure in 12 to 18 months, the Sensex will go up again; maybe even beyond 4500 points and that is a time I will be selling the stocks I'm holding. I am now acquiring such stocks as Monsanto, Syngenta, Nirma, Indian Hotels, Birla 3M, Moser Baer and Tata Power. I'll wait for one to two years and hope to get 50-60 per cent profit on my purchase price apart from the dividend."
Mr Sunder admits that his being a chartered accountant does make it easier for him to analyse the balance-sheets of companies as also better understand such things as P/E ratio, EPS, dividend yield, and the like. "Normally I look for companies with high EPS and low P/E ratio," he adds.

Another trick, he says, is to look for "decent profits rather than windfalls. I have done just that and benefited. When people are now recommending buying Electrosteel at Rs 300 plus, I have exited and booked excellent profits in this stock. If you see the stock movement over a period of three-five years, good companies have always stood the test of time. That is why investors should not fear or panic when the stock market is going down. Even a bear phase is an opportunity; only at such times can you pick up good shares at low values. But, then, selling is an art, with the timing of the exit being all important."
Touche