The Hindu : Managers told to set `stretch' target

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 29, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Others

Managers told to set `stretch' target

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANIPAL, MARCH 28. Ashok Soota, chairman of Mindtree Consulting, has called upon management institutions to create a new paradigm for management education in the form of continuous education.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the 18th Annual Convocation of the T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) here on Saturday.

Mr. Soota said continuous management education could be made a reality by using satellite technology and the Internet. By networking national and global academic institutions, a vast reservoir of knowledge could be created. This would ensure that one's bond with his/her alma mater was not just a sentimental one but a step in the path to success. This initiative would require public-private partnership to increase the reach of the institutions, he added.

Mr. Soota noted that sharing enhanced one's interests. When managers helped others, they maximised their own potential, while enabling others realise theirs.

High aspirations did not mean setting grandiose goals, but setting "stretch" targets and continuously raising the bar, he said and added that accountability meant holding oneself responsible with no excuses for not meeting one's commitments. Action orientation required being quick, decisive, and proactive in anticipating problems.

He said there were many reasons why managers failed, one of them being "over-stretching." They should take one step at a time. Another reason was the fear of failure, which prevented a person from taking risks.

Complacency due to early success and letting this success go to one's head was another reason. This apart, putting the "self" before the team and the organisation also led to failure. Good managers should also be good leaders, he said and added that the mismatch between a person's skills and the job requirements was also a reason for failure.

People should take decisions not on the basis of higher remuneration but on how much they could enjoy the job, Mr. Soota said.

D. Nagabrahmam, Director of the institute, K.K. Pai, Chairman of the Governing Board of the institute, Ramdas Pai, President of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), and H.S. Ballal, Vice-Chancellor of MAHE, were present.

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