So much for the ME market . . .

This article in yesterday's paper:

Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down
With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/middleeast/12dubai.html?em

Despite Cutbacks, Firms Invest in Developing Leaders

This article in today's Wall Street Journal.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123395874246058397.html

FEBRUARY 9, 2009, 4:44 A.M. ET

Companies Renew Focus on Employee Training, Betting That Strong Managers Will Help Through the Recovery
· By DANA MATTIOLI

Despite layoffs and recession-starved budgets, many employers are investing in leadership-development programs, hoping not to be caught short of strong managers when the economy recovers.

Identifying and grooming leaders is important in good times, says Bret Furio, senior vice president of consumer lifestyle for Philips Electronics North America. "In times of crisis when the economy is struggling," he adds, "it's imperative."

Like many companies, Philips Electronics NV is trimming its training budget this year. A December survey of 117 large U.S. companies by Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. found 23% of respondents had recently cut training programs, and another 18% planned to do so this year.

But Philips will offer its annual Inspire program for 30 high-potential employees, stressing subjects such as business strategy and personal leadership. Participants are assigned to teams to work on a business project. Mr. Furio reasons that investing in leadership development will help Philips through the recession and the recovery.

In a nod to the tough times, Philips trimmed the budget for Inspire, eliminating one tutor and tapping more employees, rather than outsiders, as trainers. It's holding the program near Seattle and Boston, where Philips has many employees, saving the company transportation costs. Last year, one seminar was held in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Philips is typical of many companies, according to Bersin & Associates, a research firm that studies corporate training. Bersin estimates that companies cut overall training budgets 11% last year and projects another decline this year, based on a recent survey of human-resources executives. President Josh Bersin says the deepest cuts are in training for "soft skills" such as communicating with co-workers and conducting meetings. He says leadership development is taking a growing share of training budgets.

Yaarit Silverstone, global managing director for the organizational-effectiveness practice at consulting firm Accenture Ltd., says the emphasis on leadership development is a departure from the past. Ms. Silverstone says companies historically cut leadership-development programs during downturns, but the moves backfired, prompting midlevel managers and top performers to leave when the economy recovered. Now, she says, executives believe that without capable managers, "their ability to come through [the recession] in a healthy fashion is diminished."

Consider Estée Lauder Cos. The New York cosmetics maker Thursday reported lower sales and profit for the period ended Dec. 31, and said it would eliminate 2,000 jobs over the next two years. But Lauder is continuing its leadership-development programs, albeit more cheaply. Lauder typically sends 120 executives to a two- or three-week summer program at Vassar College. This year, it plans to send 60, for one week. In all its leadership programs, Lauder will emphasize innovation and managing change in volatile business conditions.

The budget cuts are hurting business schools, which say companies are sending fewer employees for executive-education courses and ordering fewer custom programs, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. David Newkirk, CEO of Executive Education for the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, says the school began to feel the downturn early last year, as financial companies deferred decisions. He says few companies have dropped programs completely, but many are delaying custom program enrollment by six months or so as they watch expenses.

But leadership coaches say they're still in demand. Author and consultant Paul Hellman has been expecting a slowdown, but says December was his busiest December ever. Mr. Hellman, president of Express Potential, says employers know employees are less likely to jump ship during the recession, and are exhibiting a "let's make sure people are developed" mentality. He says he sees companies cutting costs by using more Web training than in past years; he hosted four "Webinars" in January, compared with six for all of last year.

That's the case at Canon USA Inc., which launched "Canon Academy" in 2008 to expand leadership development. This year, the camera and office-equipment maker is combining Web tools and instructor-led courses to offer training to more newly promoted managers than in the past. The program will touch on strategic decision-making and influencing employees. "Certainly times are tough, but we recognize that employee development needs to continue," says David Metzger, Canon USA's director of management development.

Some consultants see a renewed focus on leadership development, even at companies that are laying off employees. Patrick Sweeney, executive vice president of Caliper, a Princeton, N.J., management-consulting firm, says companies are trying to grab managers' attention and focus them on "keeping the ship afloat." Mr. Sweeney says much of Caliper's current work is geared toward identifying employees with high potential and developing their leadership skills.

Write to Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B4
Copyright 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Rhineland vs. Anglo-Saxon?

"[Malcolm Gladwell's new book "Outliers"] is being received by reviewers as a call to action for the Obama age. It could lead policy makers to finally reject policies built on the assumption that people are coldly rational utility-maximizing individuals. It could cause them to focus more on policies that foster relationships, social bonds and cultures of achievement."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/opinion/16brooks.html

In this Op-Ed piece in yesterday's NY Times, it appears yet another call to the more socially coherent characteristics of the Rhineland leadership model: focus on holistic unity instead of individual gain over the common good. It seems to me to be a remedy for these troubled times.

Internationals Series 2009

We are planning for our Internationals Series 2009. On 2 December, 2008, we will be holding a presentation, offer sample workshops and holding discussions with the goal of hearing from our Internationals group what they would like to see offered in 2009. We are also looking at a way to share the costs of this offering amongst all the participants, and their contribution to this business model is essential.

If you would like to be considered for an invitation to this exclusive event, please send an email to Rozalinde at r.zurel@debaak.nl. After 2 December, we will use this blog as a forum for collecting ideas for developing next year's offering. Please feel free to contribute. Comments are open for everyone.

Internationals Dinner
2 December 2008, 17:00 - 21:30
Landhuis de Horst, Driebergen, the Netherlands

17:00 - Meet and greet at the Landhuis
17:15 - 17:45 - Tour of the estate
17:45 - 18:00 - Torch-lit trek back to Landhuis
18:00 - 18:30 - Presentation 2009 Offering and appetizers
18:30 - 19:15 - Sample workshops
19:15 - 19:45 - Tilburg Tigers
19:45 - Dinner and informal discussion at table

Internationals dinner

We've had our third internationals dinner, this time at the restaurant Edel in Amsterdam. Click here to see a video: http://www.debaak.nl/en/deBaakTVint

Intercultural coaching - how it's NOT done

Teaching Baseball as Second Language in China

NY Times, 5 July, 2008

BEIJING — On a dusty, shoddy baseball field here this spring, Jim Lefebvre, manager of the Chinese national baseball team, gathered his players and demonstrated the Red Sox slugger Manny Ramírez’s philosophy on hitting.
“If you hit it here,” Lefebvre said, acting as if he were hitting a ball after it passed his body, “you drive a Chevy.”
“If you hit it here,” he said, pretending to hit the ball as it crossed the middle of the plate, “you drive a Cadillac.”
“But if you hit it here,” he said, pretending to connect a smidgen earlier, “you’re in a Rolls-Royce with a chauffeur! Get it? That’s how much money they have. They don’t count it, they weigh it!”
The players, who speak little English, stood by, looking puzzled. Yi Sheng, the third-base coach and unofficial team interpreter, struggled to relay the story.
Yu Lei, a pitcher, giggled and said in Mandarin: “The coach has got a good sense of humor. We all like his gestures. But, no, I can’t say we understand him most of the time.”

-- To see entire article, click here

Strategic direction

"We strive to be recognized as a partner in international learning. Our goal is that by 2010 our clients will naturally see us as an authoritative institute, on the European continent, with which they can partner to address leadership and other business-related topics in an international context. "

-- from Strategienotitie 2008 - 2011