Q4, 2009

Coming Soon! Contact us for more information:

	Leadership Assessment: More Help, Less Hype HR leader learning series coming via Webinar to Europe on 23 February
	Getting Results Long-Distance (GRLD) Consortium Workshop will be offered in London on 7-8 April
	Making Matrix Management Work Emerging and Innovative Approaches. Drs Ray Henson (OS Americas) and James Eyring (OS, COO) will present at the Society of Industrial / Organizational Psychologists' annual conference in April. Also on the panel are Dr. David Rodriguez, EVP– Global HR for Marriott International, Dr. Gregory Smith, Director of Global Talent Management at ITT Corporation, Mr. Hernan Vaisman, Group President, Flavors for International Flavors and Fragrances and Dr. Joseph Faranda, a strategic marketing and consumer insights executive.

Architects for Growth – may we reintroduce ourselves? Our business is all about creating positive and sustainable growth – for businesses, teams and leaders. We're proud of our work in this area and now we're especially pleased to tell you a bit more about what we do and what makes us unique. Please visit the recently revamped About Us and What We Do sections of our website for a reintroduction to OS.

Good Science, Great Practice Learning Series gains momentum. HR leaders in Singapore enjoyed an encore presentation of the popular Leadership Assessment: More Help, Less Hype learning session. We also ran our first complimentary client HR learning session with an encore presentation of: (You) Better Change. This was a great experience and we'll continue to share these sessions with our clients at no charge in 2010.

Prequel to 378 Days (CEO blog) now in Leader Resources. Over the years, many people have asked me why I run marathons or participate in other endurance races. Many think I'm crazy. This past quarter I published the prequel to my blog, 378 days. The prequel consists of two short chapters which explain what got me running and how I discovered what a meaningful life looks like. I hope you will enjoy my story.

HR Leader Community Building in Singapore Organisation Solutions hosted the final meeting of the Asia Pacific HR Roundtable for this year. Members shared their learnings as HR leaders over the past difficult year. Together, we looked ahead to what 2010 might bring. This was followed by a Wine & Cheese party for over 30 top global and regional HR leaders where we introduced a marathon of "speed networking". We enjoyed co-hosting this event with our partners, Chapman Consulting Group. The HR Roundtable is now beginning its 6th year!

Leader Excelerator practice expands. This past year saw many exciting developments in this practice area. New clients, enhanced delivery capability and an expanded offering. In Q4 we released over 10 new tools in the Leader Excelerator tool box. The tools are used, when appropriate and at no additional cost, to leaders in LEPT. This helps them build skills and sustain new behaviours or practices.

Call for Nominations! We are now accepting nominations for leaders of non-profits to receive a complimentary LEPT coaching programme:

	Selected leaders will be granted a LEPT intervention for 6-9 months to help them grow and enhance their leadership effectiveness
	Eligible leaders are heads of non-profits whose organisations are creating sustainable change in the lives of the disadvantaged and whose full-time staff count exceeds 25 people
	Please submit your nominations to me directly so that we can discuss this opportunity with them...we will give 10 LEPT programmes away to celebrate our 10th anniversary

Q3, 2009

Architects for Growth – Recent Work Designing and Executing Organisation Structures for Growth. Our business is all about creating positive and sustainable growth – for businesses, teams and leaders. This past quarter, we began working with two clients to design and implement organisation architectures suited for their changing business environments and growth objectives. We also worked with two other clients to help them more effectively execute matrixed and distributed structures, and global professional networks. Our solutions have leveraged our expertise and tools in areas such as creating sustainable change and executing strategies across geography, time zone and organisational boundaries.

Good Science, Great Practice Learning Series goes Global. We’ve taken our novel learning series for global and regional HR leaders to Europe and the US via webinar. Our aim is to increase the use of evidence-based practice by HR leaders. Leading global companies such as 3M, BHP Billiton, Credit Suisse, Danone, DeBeers, Dell, Deutsche Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Microsoft, Nokia, Shell, Standard Chartered Bank, and Unilever have been represented. Recent sessions included:

	July – Virtually There: The Impact of Distance on Performance (Europe via webinar)
	July – Leadership Assessment: More Help, Less Hype (Singapore)
	September – Virtually There: The Impact of Distance on Performance (US via Webinar)

Updates to our Leader Resources section. Please visit our website to download the white paper, “Virtually There" by Dr. James Eyring and Maria Diana Conway. This white paper summarises key research and practice about the Impact of Distance on Team Performance. Recent articles posted in the Leader Resources section include:

	Executing Growth Strategies in China – Perspectives on People and Organisation
	Fostering Learning and Development Remotely
	Aligning Teams to Improve Performance

Asia Pacific HR Roundtable Growth Summit: Managing Precious Resources in Emerging Markets. Cadbury hosted the 2nd annual Growth Summit this year where participants learned from one other as well as line executives in Cadbury, GE, Microsoft and Thomson Reuters. The line leaders shared their insights in successfully managing the challenges of leading growth in emerging markets. A key theme that emerged over the 1.5 day session was the importance of managing paradoxes to grow in emerging markets. Examples of these paradoxes included: “drive growth and cut costs”, “expand offering and simplify the business” and “drive global processes and use fit-for-market practices”. The HR Roundtable was co-founded by OS in 2004.

Talent Management in Emerging Markets: More ‘Best Practices’ Don’t Lead to Better Results. We recently completed the first phase of our research which examines how talent management practices in emerging markets impact management pipeline and capability to grow in these markets. We focused on China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Results were shared at the Asia HR Roundtable Growth Summit. Initial results suggest that while companies are spending money and time implementing many TM practices, only a small number of these practices are related to key outcomes such as leadership bench. We also found that companies relying solely on standard, global processes had lower outcome levels. We will extend this study to other companies and regions shortly. Please contact us if you are interested in being part of this.

Leader Excelerator Online Enhancements – To improve the impact of our Leader Excelerator offering and enhance customer experience, we recently completed improvements to Leader Excelerator Online, including:

	Dictionary of 100% definitions that define ‘what right looks like’, which can be customised by each leader
	Streamlined process for leaders to request online feed forward and peer/supervisor assessment feedback
	Streamlined process for leaders to identify their development focus areas, and suggested methods to develop those focus areas

Q2, 2009

Expanding Global Capability for Leader Excelerator. We welcome Dr. Glenn Nosworthy (Singapore) and Tom Pedersen (Tokyo) as senior members of our Global Leader Excelerator Practice. Glenn and Tom each bring over two decades of experience in leadership development to our team. This expands our coaching and leadership assessment capabilities and extends our practice into executive selection and assessment. We now have 5 PhD level Organisational Psychologists as part of our global practice. Our expertise in executive and leadership assessment and development is extensive. Please contact James Eyring to learn more about our capabilities and experience.

Good Science. Great Practice Learning Series Launched in Asia. In April, we kicked off an exciting learning series for global and regional HR leaders called, "Good Science. Great Practice." Our aim is to increase the use of evidence-based practice by HR leaders. Companies such as BHP Billiton, CapitaLand, Danone, Dell, Nokia, Shell, and SingHealth were represented. The first two sessions were:

	Virtually There: How Distance Impacts Team and Leader Effectiveness shared current research on long-distance leadership and recommended practices to maximise performance in complex, distributed workplaces
	(You) Better Change shared research on the impact of change on individuals and the impact of change practices on company performance. Recommendations were given to create more positive change and to minimise the downside of downsizing

Revamped Leader Resources section. We've just opened the Leader Resources section on our website which shares our knowledge with global leaders who wish to create sustainable growth in their business. We aim to provide a global perspective from Asia. Included are our own articles on topics relating to strategy execution, leadership development, and working across boundaries. The new design is more interactive and offers the flexibility to share our articles with others. Let us know what you like and how it can be more useful to you.

Milestone reached in Team Alignment survey. We've just surpassed 1000 participants in our Team Alignment survey. This survey has helped more than 300 long-distance leaders improve alignment in their global or regionally dispersed teams. The survey is based on our 4P framework which aligns a team's purpose, processes, people and perspectives of diverse stakeholders. Read our article on Team Alignment in the Leader Resources section.

Supporting Growth Strategy Execution in M&A. This past quarter, we worked with two clients in the process of acquiring or integrating companies as part of their growth strategies. Our solutions have leveraged our expertise and tools in areas such as creating sustainable change and executing strategies across geography, time zone and organisational boundaries.

Asia Pacific HR Roundtable explores how to Manage the Paradox of Growth and Cost. Kraft hosted the June meeting which examined how member companies manage the paradox of driving growth while at the same time managing costs. SAP's regional CFO joined us for the conversation. Achieving greater strategic focus, and driving more efficient selling processes and organisation design were key themes. We're now busy preparing for the Growth Summit in September! The HR Roundtable was co-founded by OS in 2004.

Q1, 2009

Return to CNBC’s Squawk Box. Dr. Alison Eyring (CEO) appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box in February in a story focusing on alternatives to job cuts and dealing with executive compensation. See video here.

Alumni Networks Created for Leader Excelerator and Long-Distance Leaders. We recently launched two LinkedIn networks for these two OS “alumni” groups. These groups facilitate networking amongst leaders across our client companies and provide a forum to exchange information of use to group members. Contact us if you are an alumni of these programmes and wish to join.

Bridging the “Distance” Research-Practice Gap. Drs. James & Alison Eyring presented on “Leading Long Distance” to management faculty and doctoral students at the National University of Singapore. The intent was to help bridge practice with academic research and to encourage collaboration between researchers at NUS and Organisation Solutions through our non-profit research arm, ACORN.

Leader Excelerator Expands Global Capability. We welcome Dr. Steve Arneson (Washington, DC) and Maura Fallon (Hong Kong) as senior members of our Global Leader Excelerator Practice. Steve and Maura each bring over a quarter century of experience in leadership development to our team. Read more about Leader Excelerator™ solutions.

AP HR Roundtable panel explores External Environment. Standard Chartered Bank hosted the March meeting which featured a panel of experts on the external environment. The panel was a sobering, yet insightful look at the current economic recession. Implications for leadership and HR were explored. One key learning for companies was for leaders to listen to diverse views and to better understand inherent risks in their strategies. The HR Roundtable was co-founded by OS in 2004.

Increasing Demand to Drive Strategy Execution Across Boundaries. In Q1, we worked with 2 regional leadership teams and a global leadership team to help them drive strategy execution across geography, time zone and organisational boundaries. An important element of this work was to help them improve their own effectiveness working together to lead this work. Read more about Interact™ solutions.

Q4, 2008

Innovation in Leader Development. We've refined our Leader Excelerator (LE) Practice significantly over the past 6 years. In Q4, we launched a 'lite' version of our LE Personal Training programme. This high-impact development process combines individual coaching over a 6-8 month period, action learning experiences on the job, use of Leader Excelerator on-line tools, and a range of training and assessments to fit different needs. This is best suited for organisations who need to accelerate development of specific leaders in a way that delivers specific business results.

Leader Excelerator Expands Global Capability. We welcome Dr. Steve Arneson (Washington, DC) and Ms. Maura Fallon (Hong Kong) as senior members of our Global Leader Excelerator Practice. Steve and Maura each bring over a quarter century of experience in leadership development to our team.

Using Assessment in HR Transformation. Dr. James Eyring (COO, SVP Asia Pacific) shared research and experience in Asia Pacific with graduate students completing their EMSc in Management of HR & Global Leadership at Baruch College. James spoke about methods for using assessment in transforming HR, including OS' HR Excelerator methodology. He also discussed common mistakes made by companies across the region in areas of Talent Management, Metrics and Selection.

In the News. Dr. Alison Eyring (CEO) appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box in November. The interview focused on her views and advise to MNCs on how to grow in tough times. See video here.

Daisy Scout Troop 28. In support of the girls' efforts to learn about Singapore and our many cultures, we welcomed Daisy Troop 28 to our office for a fun workshop on the Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures within Singapore. The girls are working on their "Singapore Discovery Patch".

Q3, 2008

Asia Pacific Growth Summit 2008. The Asia Pacific HR Roundtable held a 1-day Growth Summit in Shanghai to learn and share about executing growth strategies. IHG and Dell hosted a reception and dinner the evening before. Senior Executives from Dell, Mr. Amit Midha, and GE, Mr. Tim Schweikert, spoke on their respective organisations’ growth experience in China and their lessons learned as leaders in this journey. Dr. Alison Eyring (Organisation Solutions) shared the results of OS’ 2008 study on Executing Growth Strategies in China. This study examined the key enablers of high growth from a business perspective and explored the role of HR in driving growth strategies. Small group discussions focused on different dimensions of talent management for high growth and identified which practices were most impactful in China. The HR Roundtable was co-founded by OS in 2004.

Sales Excelerator. The initial stage of a Sales Excelerator programme was kicked off recently for a leading IT company in China. The intent was to transform their Sales strategy for changing market conditions. The company had begun to talk about a shift from a product push to a solution sales organisation, but lack of agreement on what this meant and how to achieve it kept them from executing the strategy. OS engaged staff through interviews and our online Sales Excellence Survey. This was followed by a highly interactive, 2-day Sales Excelerator workshop with over 20 leaders from their China business. Outcomes included agreement amongst the leadership team on the new strategy, identification of key priorities for action (e.g., account coverage, offering customisation and channel strategy) and creation of a Strategy into Action Roadmap to translate the top priorities into results over 18-24 months. The company has already begun to take action.

HR Dialogue. This past month, OS hosted a breakfast dialogue on the topic,
"How does Distance Impact Leadership Capability in Global MNCs?" Senior HR leaders from BHPBilliton, Cargill, Dell, Kraft, Nokia Siemens Network, Microsoft, Shell and Unilever participated.  Using a debate format, we explored the pros and cons of organisational structures requiring long-distance reporting. For example, on the positive side it was recognised that the additional challenges long-distance leaders face can be a catalyst for accelerating their development. On the other hand, leaders face increased challenges in aligning their organisation with the broader organisation, which can slow decision making and reduce motivation of team members. Participants agreed that benefits to the organisation can be maximised by supporting leaders with training and appropriate technology.

Q2, 2008

Leader Excelerator. A 6-month custom Leader Excelerator programme recently concluded for one client. The programme was designed to help prepare a marketing team for accelerated growth by improving leadership development, coaching and delegation. Over the course of 6 months, the team participated in action learning projects, two development workshops, and used Leader Excelerator on-line. Leaders improved targeted skills and increased their capacity to manage complexity by delegating to their staff. In turn, staff capability improved through development projects. The team has committed to a set of actions to drive this further and to increase capability of the entire function.

Asia Pacific HR Roundtable. The June session, hosted by DHL, featured a panel discussion on "The Ups and Downs of In/Outsourcing". Panelists included leaders from Dell, Unilever and ABNAmro. Some key take aways: 1) As HR outsourcing builds momentum, the function can learn from the lessons of IT outsourcing, 2) be clear why you are outsourcing and what you hope to achieve; 3) beware of business cases used to justify decisions already made; 4) when things don't work -- don't simply dismiss outsourcing, but stop and learn what's happening to build on this. The HR Roundtable was co-founded by OS in 2004 .

Getting Results Long-Distance. The "Getting Results Long Distance" consortium is growing and participating companies now include: BHP Billiton, Shell, InterContinental Hotels Group, Credit Suisse, Avery Dennison, Merck and Electrolux. Consortium members participate in OS' Getting Results Long-Distance workshops and related knowledge sharing events. In Q3, workshops were conducted in Singapore and The Hague. In Q4, workshops will be conducted in Singapore and London.
Contact Sridevi to learn more .

Q1, 2008

8th Anniversary. On 24 January we celebrated our 8th year in business in our new office with clients, partners, and friends. In lieu of a party gift, we funded a Village Bank project that will provide micro-loans to 50 women each year in the Philippines. Read more.

Expanding global presence. Dr. Ray Henson and Bernd Claus joined our global consulting team this quarter; thereby increasing our delivery capability in the US and Europe. Ray and Bernd each bring over 25 years of international experience in MNCs.

Publication: "Executing Growth Strategies in China: Perspectives on People & Organisation" was published in the March issue of the People & Organisation Journal of the HR Planning Society. This was based on research by Dr. Alison Eyring (our CEO) who authored the article. Contact Alison to learn more or discuss the research.

4th Anniversary of the Asia Pacific HR Roundtable. Organisation Solutions hosted the 4th anniversary meeting for this group and shared the results of a study looking at how the 20 member organisations had evolved over the past 4 years. Some learnings were: 1) almost all the companies had become more centralized, 2) companies that had global structures were more likely to report that their leadership pipeline was weaker than 4 years ago while companies that had mixed or regional structures were more likely to report improved leadership pipeline. The HR Roundtable was co-founded by Organisation Solutions and Shell in 2004, Organisation Solutions provides a leadership role for the group.

Q4, 2007

Welcome to our Chief Operations Officer. Dr. James Eyring joined Organisation Solutions as our COO in November. James brings with him nearly 20 years in HR and HRD leadership roles in MNCs. He has lived in Singapore for 9 years.

Office Move. After 6 years in a great shop house, we've moved into a new and completely remodeled building in the Central Business District of Singapore. See photos .

Asia Pacific HR Roundtable - When East meets West. SIA hosted the December meeting. Guest panellists included the global heads of HR from SIA, Jardine Matheson and Capital Land. The aim was to learn from the wisdom of Asian MNCs. Two structural differences emerged: 1) more centralized decision-making - which speeds decision making, and 2) fewer "matrixed" reporting relationships than are common in Western MNCs.