Why Soft Skills?

Home
>
Business Management
>
Why Soft Skills?

The industrial age is over. Organizations still stuck in the industrial age business models are going out of business very fast. Technology is only as good as the people using it. That is the clear message of the new millennium. The knowledge era is supported by tapping into the immense power of the humans to think creatively, find unconventional solutions to add value, improve productivity, and find answers which will make life and work more valuable to the society.

The straight jacketed systems thinking, assembly line techniques adapted to human endeavor has failed to provide the required results. Not that they are not required. But humans cannot be automated. Automation is good only as far as inanimate objects are involved. While discipline is important, systems cannot be the end all to derive the best value out of individuals. Human capital is best exploited when self actualization needs are met.

There is lot more to human beings than repetitive, mechanical operations. Value is derived from out of the box thinking. Values are derived from the best possible team work, communication skills, empathy, intuitiveness, and self management needs of the people.

This realization has resulted in the west embracing soft skills in a big way at considerable expense. The needs of different work environment, industries and business organizations are unique. The same systems applied in different environments will produce different results. The knowledge era demands certain freedom to apply skills specifically suited to the particular set of situation and circumstances.

Soft skills are the key to providing workers with the core skills in communication, team work, leadership; personal effectiveness skills required to leverage one's individual strengths. With better quality of people the organization will produce higher customer satisfaction and achieve market leaderships.

The soft skills initiative needs to be planned very carefully by organizations. They need to be tailored to the set of circumstances to connect the acquired skills to the workplace.

World's topmost names in training today-Anthony Robbins, Stephen Covey, Tom Peters, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy and Edward De Bono are all advocating and emphasizing on a total shift in training to self awareness, core values, mental and creative management skills-indispensable to personal success. Some of these names mentioned above are not even from the management discipline and they are the buzzwords in fortune 500 companies.

What then must a CEO and the HR focus on?

The answer might sound simplistic. Forget the organizational success models. Focus on success of each individual working for the organization. Make him succeed. Be it in work, personal lives or relationships. Make him a better contributor to the society. Take your people's self esteem to a very high level. And they will take your organization to the next level.

Though it may sound dramatic forget the outdated management models and training models. Focus on core human values. The important element is not look into immediate cost benefit analysis which cannot be applied to soft skills training. While you can measure the effective transfer of knowledge you cannot measure the change in behavior in the short term. The process must be defined in the longer term benefits of upping the total value concept of the organizations by improving the human potential and thereby create a much higher market value in all areas of corporate activity.

Look closely and prepare a soft skills inventory required by your organization. Not with the standard training products available. Ensure the training to be tailored to your unique requirement. Start on a strategic plan to improve such skills across the organization. Improve the skills and you automatically improve the bottom line and your market leadership.

About The Author

R.G. Srinivasan is founder of Born to Win Forum. He is a certified trainer and consultant in training design & methodologies. He is also the author of e-books, publishes 2 ezines on success and motivation and Home Business. His articles are widely published across the world. He is featured as an Expert Author in leading content syndication portals. Check out his home business ezine at http://home-businessleaders.tripod.com

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Job losses stack up as recession deepens (AP)

AP - Trying to survive a deepening recession, employers are cutting their work forces to the bone, leaving more Americans unemployed and with dim prospects of finding a new job any time soon.

Illinois House on verge of impeaching Blagojevich (AP)

AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces almost certain impeachment by the Illinois House, a historic step that would trigger a trial to determine whether the Democratic governor should be tossed out of office.

Rifts show as Obama urges quick action on stimulus (AP)

AP - Lawmakers are under orders to finish action on President-elect Barack Obama's nearly $800 billion economic recovery plan by mid-February. But already it is plain that a set of serious fissures need to be bridged if the bill is to be completed within five weeks.

Israel to continue offensive despite UN resolution (AP)

AP - Israeli jets and helicopters bombarded Gaza Friday and Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets, as Israel's government said it will press forward with its offensive despite a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Obama to finalize national security team Friday (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama is completing his national security team by announcing his unusual choices for CIA director and a national intelligence director who may face tough Senate confirmation questioning over how he confronted the Indonesian military when civilian massacres were occurring in East Timor.

Stocks point lower ahead of employment report (AP)

AP - Investors showed nervousness Friday ahead of the government's monthly employment report, sending stock futures moderately lower.

Democrats begin new session with labor bills (AP)

AP - Democrats are ushering in what they believe will be a new labor-friendly era in Washington with House votes on two bills aimed at helping women fight pay discrimination in the workplace.

Broadcasts to mobile devices to start in 22 cities (AP)

AP - TV stations in 22 U.S. cities announced Thursday that they will start broadcasting their signals this year in a format designed to be received by mobile devices like cell phones, MP3 players, GPS units and in-car entertainment systems.

Ex-'Sopranos' actor faces prison for burglary try (AP)

AP - A former actor on "The Sopranos" faces up to 15 years in prison for a botched burglary in the Bronx in which an accomplice shot and killed a police officer.

Tebow leads Fla. past Okla. 24-14 for BCS title (AP)

AP - Tim Tebow gave Florida the jolt it needed, and the Gators toughed out a second BCS title in three years. Their 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in a choppy, sloppy affair Thursday night made them a national champion.

World waits on jobs data as recession weighs (Reuters)

Reuters - Steep falls in European industrial output underlined the severity of the world economic crisis on Friday and more grim news was on the way with the United States expected to report the biggest monthly job cuts in more than 30 years.

U.N. calls for immediate Gaza truce (Reuters)

Reuters - Israel pushed ahead with its two-week-old offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday, defying a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Panel steps up criticism of Treasury: report (Reuters)

Reuters - A report being released on Friday alleges that the U.S. Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog, and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, the Wall Street Journal said.

Obama team working on overhaul of financial rescue (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is working on an overhaul the $700 billion financial rescue program with the aim of doing more to spur the flow of credit to the struggling economy, an Obama aide said on Friday.

EU seeks gas supply return after deal on monitors (Reuters)

Reuters - Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said a deal to monitor gas exports via Ukraine would be signed on Friday, allowing for the resumption of supplies to Europe cut off by Moscow's price row with Kiev.

Citi backs measure to help avoid foreclosures (Reuters)

Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc will support a proposal in Congress to rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said on Thursday.

Illinois panel recommends governor's impeachment (Reuters)

Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Health care overhaul needn't break bank: study (Reuters)

Reuters - An analysis of proposals to overhaul U.S. health care by President-elect Barack Obama and members of Congress suggests it is possible to insure all Americans without significantly raising total health spending.

Israel presses on with Gaza strikes despite UN resolution (AFP)

AFP - Israel battered Gaza with bombs and shells on Friday, vowing its offensive on Hamas would go on despite an order by the UN Security Council to stop the assault that has killed hundreds of civilians.

Russia hopeful of resuming Europe gas supplies (AFP)

AFP - Russian gas deliveries to Europe could resume later Friday, the head of Russia's state gas firm said, raising hopes for an end to a transit dispute with Ukraine that has left several European states without gas at a moment of bitter cold.

Why Soft Skills?

Business Management Business Management