Corporate trainer Chris Majer conducts seminar at JIM

It was on the latest development in the practice of business leadership and management on October 12. The seminar was centered on the theme Human Potential Project: New Ways of Authentic Learning & Working. On the occasion, Mr Majer talked about The Nature of Organizational Transformation, The New Game of Business, Authentic Learning and Commitment Based Management. Mr Chris Majer began as an entrepreneur and competitive rugby player.

In 1981 he founded the first iteration of HP2. Beginning with athletes and the military, the company soon began working with corporate clients, generating remarkable results. Mr. Majer has been a leading innovator of effective processes for producing transformational change in corporate cultures for firms that include Intel, Microsoft, EDS, Nike, Capital One, Citi Group, Amgen and Allianz. Commenting on the changing working environment he said, The very nature of work has changed.

Most contemporary companies are now lead and managed by what are called knowledge workers. According to him, These are people who are well educated, mobile, have the drive and skill to take on complex projects, and bring innovation and competitive advantage to a company. Mr Majer is of the belief that success of organization lies in not only embibing commitment but living commitement. Emphasising on HP2 approach of commmitment based management he said, Commitment or promise-based management holds that work is as a series of commitments.

Management is being able to coordinate a series of commitments rather than supervising activities to produce business results. But with this it also important to understand what we are commited for. Giving example of success of this approach, he said, AT&T consumer products divison was loosing $ 200 million and morale was at all time low. But by putting 6000 managers through 25 days of commitment based managmenet training spread over 3 years we built new culture of acceptability of product. In 48 month, instead of loosing, it generated $ 3.0 billion.One key to learning, he told those in his conference, is to not fear being a beginner because masters start as beginners. He says, Most managers focus too much on supervising their workers.

This tactic tends to make employees resentful. And managers get frustrated, because they cant keep an eye on everyone. So they need to be observers and designers of commitments. When asked why he is bringing his work to India, Mr. Majer said, India has opened not only its economy but also its mind and given the extraordinarily high level of education, sophistication, and inherent focus on impeccability that is the norm here, Commitment Based Management is not only a natural fit, it has arrived at the perfect moment in time. In closing, Mr. Majer offered that he believes Commitment Based Management can be to this generation of corporate leaders what the quality process and movement was to the last generation.