Leading and Managing a Global Workforce

The book is getting some great reviews. Here are some I'd like to share:


1: A wonderful gem of a read, Dr. ArLyne Diamond shares her compelling life experiences and wise insights about leadership, life and business in her work with businesses globally. Written with spirited energy and her signature maverick candour, Dr. Diamond’s anecdotes - drawn from her wealth of knowledge and personal trials and tribulations over decades – are amongst the most fun, personal and memorable that you would find in any business book! - Rebecca Quah, MBA student at Keller Graduate School & Senior Director, CBRE/Asia Client Development.

2: ArLyne Diamond is to be admired for her insight into management and leadership. She has created a comprehensive guide that provides a clear direction on how to lead in the changing Global Economy. For executives this book is required reading. – Stephen Miller, CEO Eclipse Identity Recognition Technologies, Inc.

3: ArLyne brings to the vast sea of management/leadership books a very personal perspective from her many years of consulting and teaching. Avoiding the prescriptive “How to do it”, but rather putting things in an historical and geographic format demonstrates her knowledge of the reality we experience in trying to adapt to the global business world of today. I thoroughly enjoyed relating my own past missteps to ArLyne’s views and recognizing what I can learn and incorporate into my daily management life. – Michael J. Cubbin, President Bay Area Metro, DeVry University.

4: ArLyne Diamond’s book: Leading and Managing a Global Workforce has the rare quality of blending work experience, psychological insight and business know-how. The result is a powerful guide and treatise on how leaders cannot just manage but inspire their workers throughout the world. - Fred Foldvary, Director, Civil Society Institute at Santa Clara University.

5: Leading and managing A Global Workforce is a practical, easy read for anyone in leadership or management. Once again, Dr. ArLyne Diamond gives her audience food for thought in a compelling and unusual manner with timely insights for a rapidly changing global economy. - Dr. Lydia Ortega, Chair and Professor of Economics, Dept. of Economics, San Jose State University.

6: No company nowadays can afford to do business only in their domestic market. The minute a company has a website, they are global! Having grown up in initially in Germany and having lived and worked besides the USA also in the UK, Japan and South Korea, I applaud ArLyne’s capturing of the importance of doing business internationally. Only a true leader understands the importance of respecting and working with other cultures and nationalities. This understanding and global knowhow however is of essence for todays’ global leaders in order to themselves be respected and lead global teams. Well done ArLyne! - EJ Dieterle, President & CEO, YES Partners – Global Executive Search.

7: Intensifying global competition and staff from diverse cultures are driving the need for dynamic workforce management in today’s companies. Managing a global workforce is about managing diversity as cultures can vary from one location to the next with the same company. As such, the leadership must be astute to be able to relate to their employees’ needs in order to maximise their contribution to the organization.

Dr. ArLyne Diamond’s book will prove to be a guiding light for probing mangers who must take the lead to find answers to this ever-evolving subject. In her own words, she summarizes: “Great leaders are confident. If you don’t believe in yourself and your ideas, others will feel your self-doubt and fear following you.” Well said, indeed. - Sritharan Vellasamy, Founder of Outsourcing Magazine, an international publication on global services industry.

In addition, the book will be serialized in Outsourcing Magazine next year (2012)

Ten Steps to Success

Ten Steps to Success

I meet so many professionals who dream about creating their own success but find themselves being stopped by obstacles of their own doing. In the many years in which I’ve been consulting to people, I often help them look at and overcome these obstacles so that they can reach the heights to which they subscribe. The obstacles are different for different people, and the steps to success are also different.

I am offering an on-line, or on-the-phone consulting service called “Ten Steps to Success” which will consist of three separate sessions over a one or two month period to mentor and coach those interested in taking the ten steps to success. The rate for this service is a flat $1,000.00. If you are interested, or know of anyone interested in creating their success path, please contact me.

Diamond's to YOU: October, 2010

Hi What a busy month. In addition to teaching and seeing clients, I’ve been busy speaking here and there – something I love to do. I’ve also spent a fair share of time on Facebook, trying my best to stay in touch with friends and to do a little professional networking. This month I am going to add the facebook link to this newsletter (as soon as I figure out how to do it properly.)

Calling Cards/Business Cards

It’s amazing to discover that there are a number of people who are job seekers, or networking professionally and yet don’t have their own business/calling cards. Now that their boss isn’t paying for it, they fail to get themselves a card, which is so essential when meeting new people and wanting them to contact you.

In the old days (before my time, of course!) people carried calling cards. When they stopped by to visit, they would drop their card in the tray in the entry way of the home or business they were visiting. In that way, their host/hostess would know that they’d been by to visit.

Business people always have a card with all their contact information on it. Why not purchase your own card when you are not provided one by your employer? When you decide to have cards made, please don’t be cheap. Cheapness shows. You don’t need to get the most expensive type of card made, but the cheap ones make you look as though you can’t afford anything better. Your card (business or calling) is a reflection on you. Make it a good one.

“Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice.” Ayn Rand “Every person is the creation of himself, the image of his own thinking and believing. As individuals think and believe, so they are.” Claude M. Bristol

Non-Profits and Lexus

What a party! What a concept! What a great gift!
Tonight (Wednesday the 20th) I attended a party given by Lexus Auto in Santa Clara. My friends the DuBois (John, Donna and LaDonn) were the organizers – and according to John, LaDonn did 95% of the organizing and work. I don’t doubt it, knowing her energy and devotion to detail. The party was fabulous. Lots of great food, entertainment, and a superb venue.

I enjoyed seeing some old colleagues and some close friends as well. Mingling was easy because of the way the space was set up. Plenty of room to move around and also a lot of scattered comfortable seating. The food was everywhere. Not only were there food stations, but the wait staff walked around frequently with the tastiest of treats. Of course I blew my diet.

The concept: Lexus is sponsoring an on-line community calendar so that all the non-profits in the area can schedule their events with a minimum amount of overlap on dates. I only hope that it gets well used, and not abused. One of the suggestions I made to a Lexus official (Hi Tim!) was that they find a way to avoid having organizations double and triple book to save tentative and then unused dates.

The gift – well, in addition to holding the party on their rooftop and sponsoring the free flowing food and drinks, Lexus has offered to allow non-profits free use of their roof top for events and also free use of some of their conference rooms for smaller events. My hat is off to Lexus – and to LaDonn DuBois as well as Donna and John.

Seven Ps to Management Success

When preparing for my talk to CSIX, I developed these points. My talk focused on trying to explain to my audience what CEOs were actually wanting and needing when considering hiring.

Yes, of course education, technical skills, etc., are necessary – but in order to think about succession planning, CEOs are concerned to find people who have the necessary soft-skills (interpersonal relationships – communication) to be promoted into management. CEOs look for people with good communication skills, personality, ability to be motivating and creative. They also want A players in A positions.

So, my Ps are: 1. Personable 2. Pleasant 3. Polite 4. Patient 5. Presentation (skills) 6. Persistent 7. Persuasive  

Managing Effective Virtual Meetings

Here are some of the ideas I presented in my talk to the Santa Clara Valley Leadership Association of the National Management Association.

When pre-planning your meeting some of the things you ought to consider include: • Is this meeting necessary – or can e-mail or a phone call do as well?
• How much time do you really need? Informational, a small amount of time. If emotional or creative, more than the typically allotted one hour is better.
• Where should the meeting be held? What time (consider time zone differences)
• Do you have the right people in attendance? Why are they needed?
• What about technical aids – like Skype, Go To Meeting, etc.
• Agenda: Always produce an agenda and supply it beforehand, allowing people to suggest additions and changes. Preparing the people who are expected to contribute to the meeting:
• Do they already know each other? Have they worked together before? • If not, find time before the meeting to let them chat together and learn a little about each other.
• What about the cultural and communication style differences? Are there people who you want to contribute who for whatever the reason don’t speak up in a group or public setting? If so, how can you work with them to get their best ideas? Some observations on Cultural Differences:
• Universalism (decisions based on rational goals – in theory at least) - Particularism (decisions heavily influenced by relationships)
• Individualism (US) v. Communitarianism (the community)
• Rational v. Emotional – Different thinking styles
• Attitudes toward time and Aging