CASPIAN BUSINESS NEWS DIGEST

December 2005

Empowerment:  the key to successful business development
"The history of company success is the history of staff empowerment, involvement and ownership. "
(Low Kim Cheng, Patrick, 2000: 77)
The empowerment of people places great confidence and trust in you as a leader, manager and as their employer. It helps in the smooth flow of communication, thereby encouraging the employees to put forward their ideas. Moreover, it helps in building a moral organization, encouraging the employees to participate, and is a necessity in today's business environment. When there is constant pressure to develop new technologies, empowerment plays a critical role in enabling employees to take risks without any fear from the higher иps.

Low Kim Cheng Patrick (2005) 'Empower Your People1, Today's Manager, Singapore institute of Management (www.sim.edu.sg), August/Sep. 2005, pp. 17 -18.
Low Kim Cheng Patrick (2005a) The Essentials of Empowerment1, Effective Executive, Institute of Chartered Financial Analyst, India (ICFAI), forthcoming.
Low Kim Cheng Patrick (2002, 2000) Strategic Customer Management, BusinesscrAFT Consultancy, Singapore.
Low Kim Cheng, Patrick (2003) Team Success, BusinesscrAFT Consultancy and Humber Lincoln Resources, Singapore
Low Kim Cheng Patrick (2001) The Power of Relationships, BusinesscrAFT Consultancy, Singapore.
Low Kim Cheng, Patrick (2000) 'Manage your Own Career, Be The Boss', Horizons, the magazine of Management Development Institute of Singapore, November/ December 2000.
About the Author: Dr. Patrick Low Kim Cheng, Ph.D. (South Australia), M.Bus. (Curtin), Dip M (U.K.), GDPM, GDMF (MIS/Standard Chartered Bank Gold Award), BA. Currently he is the Associate Dean of the Bang College of Business, KIMEP. A Chartered Marketer and Chartered Consultant, Dr. Patrick Low is also the author of 7 books: best-sellers The Power of Relationships (2001) and Strategic Customer Management, (2000,2002), his fourth book is Team Success (2003); and his fifth book, co-written with Daniel Theyagu, Ph.D., is Developing True Leadership Potential (2003). His sixth book is Training Success, published by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analyst India (ICFAI) while his seventh book, co-written with Elmira Ibrayeva is Sales Success (2005) is published in Kazakhstan. Also, an associate with the University of South Australia, he has on an ad hoc basis lectured and tutored for the Universities of London, Murdoch and Monash (Australia) as well as the Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore.
Mr. Jim Dever, MBA, is a Fulbright Scholar with many years of entrepreneurial experiences. He is a Visiting Professor at KIMEP.
Patrick Low Kim Cheng,
Ph.D. & Chartered Marketer
and James Dever, MBA
As managers, these questions and concerns may sound familiar to you:
1.	How can I encourage my staff to make
decisions when management is not present?
2.	How can I prevent my staff from making
these statements:"Don't ask me,  ask my
boss", "Sorry, but the manager is not here",
and "I can't do this, it's against the rules".
3.	How can we  act as  a team,  not as
individuals striving for separate goals?
4.	My staff fears committing mistakes! How
can I encourage calculated risks so that my
company stays current?
5.	What can I do to boost my workforce
morale around here?
6.	Training is so important, but I often wonder
about some of my staffs abilities.
7.	My staff is not motivated. They come to
work and immediately go on coffee breaks.
8.	I would like for my workers to mingle with
our clients more. The answers to all these
questions and concerns lie in one word:
EMPOWERMENT.
The Template for Empowerment Success
Empowerment also supports and enhances the organisation's implementation of its strategy [under the Staff of the McKinsey's Seven S framework], and once companies have achieved empowerment, success is at hand. Empowering is all about seeing a group of motivated people brought together with the same objectives, and when this occurs, the empowered people will make things happen.
The Company's Purpose and Goals
Employees need to know that their company's purpose, goals, and the answers to the usual conflicts that arise in business are critical. Most managers commit the mistake of failing to share information with their staff. They fail to share the company's mission... They fail to share the vision, the company's direction, expectations, and customer philosophy; these should be communicated to all. Sharing one's vision will encourage others to think about and take on new challenges. A technique that works well is to include one's entire staff in creating a mission statement for the organization. Challenge them by asking the whys and why not. This involvement will give the employees a feeling of ownership and therefore empowerment.
These exercises will force continuous improvement. Focus on internal and external customer needs while recognizing the market changes. Make problem solving and brainstorming common practices within the organization. Technology is fast moving, and new techniques are imported in; so look at trends, embrace change and be ready! (Low, 2005a)
The Power and Ownership
Your people want to be involved; they need to be given the power and ownership. "Basically, people take care of what they own. They do not wash rented cars" (Low, 2001: 133). More specifically, if they are given the chance to make decisions and to take risks, a marked improvement in their output will become evident. They will own the decisions they make. Someone once said that progress always involves risk; one cannot steal second base with one's foot on the first. Sometimes it becomes necessary to empower oneself, and

to focus on what one can do to improve. To make
this happen, determine what you need to do and
obtain the required information to make good
decisions.
>From their business-ownership experiences, the
writers believe that the many business owners, who
are entrepreneurial in spirit, are indeed risk takers.
None of them ever started on a new venture with failure in their minds, it is not a part of their makeup. They should not stop with the creation of the new enterprise; they need to encourage their people to aim for success as they have done. Now they must help their people see the necessity of trying new business ideas or products and to foster creativity. People fear the unknown. You may hea

Ryour staff saying, "I'm not ready yet", or "I might fail", or "I don't know enough". Encourage your staff to look within themselves to see how they are setting up barriers to their success. One entrepreneur is quoted as saying: "If I waited until I was ready to make that perfect keynote speech, I'd still be waiting and procrastinating!"
Get rid of fear. Fear is really false evidence appearing real.
Here  are  several  motivational  statements  that managers can share with their staff:
"There are three kinds of people, those that make things happen, those that watch things happen, and those who wondered what happened!"

"The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to do it."
• "Everyone fears new things when they are on unfamiliar waters."
Are Your People Protected Even If They Make Mistakes?
Ensure that as a manager, you create an
environment   and   an   atmosphere   that
encourages calculated risks.
If you are of the entrepreneurial spirit, you
know exactly what the authors are referring
to; risks are an everyday part of starting that
new business or even being a boss.
It is up to you as a manager to allow your
employees the latitude and space to make
mistakes and to take those risks that allow one
to become empowered.
An atmosphere of possibilities encourages
growth and development of the individual
employee and the team that you need to make
your company a success.
This is another important question to ask,
"Are your people protected even if they make
mistakes?" Remember, part of growing is
learning from our mistakes.
Misdeeds, mishaps and the guilty feeling
Do not punish the performer.    You must
ensure that the penalty for failure is not
greater than the penalty for doing nothing.
People fear taking risks for many reasons.
Some staff fear ridicule from their colleagues,
and refuse to try new techniques.
Some managers might demonstrate great
displeasure when staff acts on their own
initiatives.
Others may feel embarrassed when they tried
new ideas that do not work well.
They do not want change because they feel
safe and secure with the status quo.
Managers must talk to their staff that risk
taking is a skill that must be used. Without it,
stagnation occurs.
Joint desire for common improvement
The American Bar Association did research
on risk taking. It is a fact that more people get
involved in accidents while mowing their
lawn than, say, while hang gliding!
So,  do  remind your staff that life  is  a
continuous risk. No risk, no mistake, no
learning, no change and no gain.
If a manager really wants to encourage his or
her staff to change, and to take risks one must
ensure that they will stand by them, even if
they fail.
If they make any mistake, ask this key
question, "What is the lesson here and how
will we handle it differently if this situation
occurs again?"
The sharing of blunders' consequences
Another successful technique that is risky but powerful is to share a mistake that you made in the past at the next staff meeting. Then ask your employees to share with the group a mistake that they have made that may be greater in scope than the one you have shared...
This sharing may be terrifying and fearsome for some employees; however, it can also be a way that will encourage your staff to talk about their mistakes and to show them that you will stand by them. By adopting the methods outlined above, the writers believe you will grow your people as you grow your business. Empowerment is the key to a successful entrepreneurial venture and will help ensure your future success in business.

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