Capturing Knowledge That Makes the Company Great by Robert Hyde

As the Cold War generation retires from the defense industry, companies in this sector are struggling to replace these personnel with a shrinking pool of qualified professionals. Northrop Grumman has turned to knowledge transfer as a means for growing tomorrow's leaders.

The concept of knowledge transfer is taking on new importance throughout the defense industry. That industry is faced with a demographic profile that had its foundation during the 1960s portion of the Cold War. It developed the world's best technical workforce in a society in which engineering was an occupation of choice and our public education systems had the rigor to develop tens of thousands who understood, learned and applied the math and science skills needed to be successful engineers.

That workforce is now retiring and the pipeline of talented replacements has shrunk considerably. All of the above are realities forcing the defense industry to understand that knowledge transfer isn't just another consultant-generated fad or cutting-edge buzzword. Survival - and, by extension, the qualitative edge the industry provides the American defense establishment - is reliant on successful knowledge transfer.

The Northrop Grumman Story

For Northrop Grumman Marine Systems, which employed more than 2,000 during the peak of the Cold War, the final victory was symbolized with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the crumbling of Soviet Communism and the Westernization of the Eastern Bloc.

All of those events, however, resulted in tens of billions of dollars in canceled defense contracts and a flattening of defense spending on development programs and weapons systems production. It was the peace "dividend," which meant reducing the workforce from approximately 2,500 to about 1,000. Business wasn't expanding, few new employees were hired and attrition was limited to retirement.

Fast-forward to today and Cold War-era systems need replacement, business is better, employment is growing, and the generation that won the Cold War is retiring in droves.

Northrop Grumman Marine Systems owns the intellectual property that makes one of its products singular in the world. It helps deliver the absolute reliability of a key strategic weapons system. This technology, which has never failed even a single test during decades of deployment, is the brain child of a key and indispensable engineer who has nurtured, fine-tuned and mastered this technology.

The problem is that this engineer has decades of accumulated "institutional" and "tribal" knowledge bouncing around in his head. He is planning to retire. In response, the business hired a brilliant engineer to serve as a protege for several years and learn from the master. That was a plan right up until the moment the protege accepted her "dream job" at NASA. Lesson learned: Don't put all of your eggs in one basket.

The case above demonstrated a key flaw over and above having "all of your eggs in one basket." Where were the lessons? How can they be replicated? What gets taught first? These and other questions plagued the management team. The result was a documented process and management commitment.

The leadership team quickly understood that to succeed, the organization needed a plan that standardized the process and removed the guesswork of ad-hoc learning. That plan and the lessons inherent in it had to be documented and shared with more than a single protege. Lessons are now prepared, reviewed by contemporaries of the knowledge holder and the management team and presented in a classroom in Socratic fashion.

Starting with the basics, the senior technologist presents the technical road map intertwined with that invaluable lifetime experience. "Here's what the book says, and here's what I've found out about this that isn't in the book," is the key to passing on the unique knowledge and keeping the interest level of the learners high.

The foundational sessions are presented to a group of learners that represents varying levels of experience. A veteran should be included along with newer high-potential employees and those others who need the knowledge to better accomplish their jobs. That veteran will help with organizational knowledge and has his or her own set of experiences to impart. Along with each learning session, job assignments and projects are assigned so the learners, the master and the management team can be confident that the concept is being imparted.

As the lessons progress, they get more detailed and specialized. With the input of the knowledge-holder and management team, the larger group branches out toward those aspects that best fit their skills, abilities and interests.

If there are any prodigies in the group, they will keep up with multiple branches of the lessons. These lessons are presented at intervals of three to four weeks. In the intervening periods, the project assignments are prepared in consultation with the knowledge-holder and in collaboration the entire team of learners.

At the right times, independent projects are assigned so the learner can demonstrate competency in an aspect of the knowledge. To spread the advantages, other interested engineers and technologists who can benefit from the entire process are invited. Managers debrief the senior technologist and the learners in individual sessions every 60 days. Progress is measured and reviewed, and necessary adjustments are made.

To summarize some of the key lessons learned:

1. Management must allow the senior technologist to have the dual role of contributor and teacher. Time and workload have to be carefully managed to make that work.
2. It doesn't work without budget and allocated time.
3. Keeping critical skills is the organization's highest priority. Without them, it is like every other organization. Remember that when weighing priorities.
4. Impart the knowledge to groups, and don't hesitate to have the body of knowledge branch out into more discrete paths.
5. Learned skills must be exercised, and learners have to develop their own lessons learned.
6. Measure results and reward success. This process shouldn't be a burden; it should be an opportunity.

In summary, because there was a plan, a road map, frequent review and adequate documentation, the process not only succeeded, but could be replicated. The business is stronger because of it. Instead of a sense of dread regarding retirement of the senior levels of the workforce, this is seen as an opportunity to grow tomorrow's key contributors.

Conclusion

The U.S. defense establishment is faced with a wholesale passing of the baton from the Cold War generation. The legacy of that generation can be preserved. It's neither cheap nor easy, but it is imperative if the defense industry is to fulfill its responsibility to the shareholders and keep the United States and its Armed Forces personnel safe.

[About the Author: Robert Hyde is director of human resources at Northrop Grummans's Marine Systems business.]

Manager vs. Manager by Scott Flander [Human Resource Executive Online | September 2, 2008]

Employees worried about their jobs because of the tough economy are competing against each other in unhealthy ways. But HR executives can mitigate such problems in several ways, including making people feel more appreciated.

As the economy falters, it's more of a dog-eat-dog world than ever -- and your best managers and executives may be the ones snapping at each other's throats.

Executive coaches and others say that high anxiety in corporate America is causing co-workers to be more competitive, often in harmful ways.

"August is the biggest month I've had in 25 years," says Anna Maravelas, a coach and author of How to Reduce Workplace Conflict and Stress. "I've had human resource directors calling me up, they were hyperventilating over the state of their executive teams. They say, 'Our teams are dysfunctional, the executives are hostile to each other.'"

Maravelas, founder of the St. Paul, Minn.-based firm Thera Rising, which focuses on team building, conflict resolution and leadership development, says co-worker competitiveness has significantly increased over the past year -- a situation she attributes to the downturn in the economy.

'When people's economic security is at risk, their behavior deteriorates," she says. Among the most serious problems among managers and executives are "backstabbing and avoidance," she says. "You do something that annoys me, or I don't agree with, I don't bring it up. I don't ask for explanations when things aren't going well in your division."

Eventually, she says, executives will stop offering each other a head's up about imminent problems -- "Or worse, they'll set you up to fail."

There are other signs co-worker competitiveness is growing. A recent survey of 150 senior executives from large U.S. companies found that nearly half (46 percent) believe employees are more competitive with their co-workers than they were 10 years ago.

But, just in the past year, the competitiveness has been accelerating, says Dave Willmer, executive director of OfficeTeam, which commissioned the survey. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based staffing firm, a division of Robert Half International, places professional and customer-service professionals.
He also puts the blame on the economy.

Competition among co-workers can be healthy, and can benefit companies when times get tough, says Willmer. But HR leaders need to be on the lookout for competition that becomes unhealthy -- which can lead to poor morale, lower productivity and difficulty in retaining good employees.

Employee often feel more anxious about their jobs when they don't get enough recognition, says Willmer. "If recognition is unfairly distributed or not distributed, people become competitive to seek that," he says.

Competitiveness among co-workers also increases when companies don't communicate with their employees well -- not only about where things stand with the company's health, but about where an employee's career stands. "When you don't know, you tell yourself, 'I have to do whatever I can,'" says Willmer. "But that may not be a healthy thing."

Joseph Koob, author of Succeeding with Difficult Co-Workers, says he's seen a growing competitiveness over the last five or six years, as companies have cut back and eliminated entire levels of management. "They're leaner and meaner, but that creates more work and takes away a fair amount of advancement," he says.

"Mid-level and senior executives are working tremendously long hours, which puts pressure on everybody," says Koob, founder of Metacoach, based in Lansdale, Pa.

At the same time, he says, there's less loyalty to companies, and people are jumping from one to another -- which means "you have all these people floating around who are really good." That gets managers and others worried about their own job security, which creates even more angst and competitiveness, he says.

Co-worker competition can be good when it helps people to do their best, but becomes unhealthy when employees are so unhappy they leave, says Koob. "That eventually undermines the whole organization," he says.

How can a manager or executive tell when competition has moved from healthy to unhealthy? Koob suggests that leaders walk around and talk to people. Among the signs: "People will be complaining about other people, pointing their fingers. They'll be blaming others. They'll be whining about their own situations."

Like other experts, Koob says that if employees feel appreciated, they're less likely to worry about their jobs and engage in harmful competition. "It comes down to how people are treated," he says. "If a manager makes an effort to understand who they are, and appreciate who they are, then competition is fine."

Maravelas, of Thera Rising, offers these suggestions for keeping competition from getting out of control:

1. Acknowledge the contributions of your direct reports and other divisions daily." She recommends inviting leaders and employees from other departments to staff meetings and publicly thanking them. This helps everyone feel appreciated.
2. Eliminate performance measures "that reward employees and leaders for sacrificing the needs of other divisions for their own gain" such as a sales-compensation structure "that drives wedges between groups and leaders."
3. "Build the consistent message that we don't throw people under the bus here. As soon as you see a person disrespect or target another person or group, you shut that down."

Upgrading Talent by Matthew Guthridge, John R. McPherson & William J. Wolf

A downturn can give smart companies a chance to upgrade their talent.

Downturns place companies' talent strategies at risk. As deteriorating performance forces increasingly aggressive head count reductions, it's easy to lose valuable contributors inadvertently, damage morale or the company's external reputation among potential employees, or drop the ball on important training and staff-development programs. But there is a better way. By emphasizing talent in cost-cutting efforts, employers can intelligently strengthen the value proposition they offer current and potential employees and position themselves strongly for growth when economic conditions improve.

Companies can maintain their attractiveness to internal and external talent by using cost-cutting efforts as an opportunity to redesign jobs so that they become more engaging for the people undertaking them. A job's level of responsibility, degree of autonomy, and span of control all contribute to employee satisfaction. Head count reductions provide a powerful incentive to use existing resources better by breaking down silos and increasing the span of control for challenging managerial roles-thus improving the odds of engaging key talent in the redesigned jobs.

Consider Cisco Systems' approach to downsizing during the last recession. In 2001, as deteriorating financial performance forced the elimination of 8,500 jobs, Cisco redesigned roles and responsibilities to improve cross-functional alignment and reduce duplication. The more collaborative environment fostered by such moves increased workplace satisfaction and productivity for many employees. Initiatives like Cisco's succeed when companies focus on redesigning jobs and retaining talent at the outset of downsizing efforts.

In addition to redesigning roles, companies cutting jobs should carefully protect training and development programs. These are not only essential to maintaining workplace morale and increasing long-term productivity, but they also give people the skills necessary to carry out redesigned jobs that have greater spans of control. During the last recession, International Paper continued offering classes at its leadership institute by replacing external facilitators with the company's senior leaders. This approach not only reduced the cost of delivery but also, thanks to the involvement of senior leaders, redirected the content of the leadership program by tying it more closely to decisions and skills affecting the company's current performance. Similarly, IBM retained its employee-development programs during its major performance challenges in the mid- to late 1980s. It took the arrival of Lou Gerstner as CEO and a new strategy to turn the company around, but the historical investments IBM had made in developing its people helped achieve a successful turnaround.

Before undertaking widespread layoffs, companies should use their performance-management processes to help identify strong employees. Companies that conduct disciplined, meritocratic assessments of performance and potential are well placed to make good personnel decisions. These companies should also bring additional strategic considerations to the decisions. They should assess which types of talent drive business value today and which will drive it three years from now, as well as which talent segments are currently available and which will be in the future-keeping in mind, for example, that new MBAs will be equally available in two years. They should also look at which types of talent would take years to replace or develop-for instance, skilled electric utility engineers in an environment where retirements are dramatically reducing supply. Performance management well informed by key strategic questions can minimize the negative cultural impact of downsizing, improve the bottom line, and help identify talented people the company should try to retain.

Companies that are reducing staff must focus relentlessly on the internal cultural and external reputational implications of cost-cutting efforts. Although strong employer brands are resilient, it's difficult to reestablish brand strength once the culture has been damaged. The way many companies conduct large-scale downsizing decreases efficiency, morale, and motivation on the part of remaining employees. It also increases voluntary turnover among high performers and compromises a company's ability to attract strong talent in the future, as potential employees wonder how risky it is to take a job there.

Counteracting these tendencies requires creativity. In 2001, Cisco gave generous severance packages and assistance with job searches to the workers it laid off and launched a program that paid one-third of salary, plus benefits and stock options, to ex-employees who agreed to work for a local charity or community organization. Steps like these protected Cisco's employer brand by attempting to make departing employees feel better about Cisco and underscored the company's commitment to its people for those who remained. The results were measurable: employee satisfaction remained high, and Cisco retained a prominent spot on Fortune magazine's "Best Companies to Work For" list.

A strong employer brand is also important for companies undertaking selective recruitment even as they cut personnel costs elsewhere. Using slowdowns to uncover and hire displaced talent is often fruitful. Studies have shown that although overall levels of recruitment may level off or even fall, the quality of workers hired rises in recessions. And opportunities to find and hire displaced talent may be particularly valuable during this downturn, as massive downsizing in the financial-services sector makes available to nonfinancial companies a large pool of highly educated and motivated professionals who previously might not have considered jobs outside their previous employers or industries.

Some organizations are moving surprisingly quickly in response to these opportunities in the talent market. In late October 2008, the US Internal Revenue Service hosted a Manhattan career fair targeted at displaced financial-services professionals. More than 1,300 people attended, many standing in line for three hours to learn more about an employer that offered a newly interesting brand of "job stability."

Cost cutting during a downturn is often necessary to ensure a company's current profitability and future competitiveness. Rather than freezing all hiring and employee-development programs, companies should use this period as an opportunity to upgrade talent and better engage existing staff. This means reinventing a percentage of the capital liberated from cost cutting into, for example, selective recruiting and development programs and in efforts to safeguard the culture and to redesign jobs so that they are more engaging to the remaining employees.

[About the Authors: Matthew Guthridge is an associate principal in McKinsey's London office, John McPherson is a director in the Dallas office, and William Wolf is a principal in the Washington, DC, office.]

I Hate Coaching Employees! by Chuck Murphy

"I hate coaching employees! They take so much out of my day and waste my time. Why can't they understand this? It's so simple. I can explain it 10 times, and they still don't get it. Boy, are they thick! Where did they get this one?"

Sound familiar? Well, sometimes trying to coach employees can be challenging. This is especially true if the talent manager believes coaching merely means showing another employee how to do something. The difficulty usually is not the employee, but rather in the manager's understanding of what is required to be an effective coach.

Like other duties, coaching requires specific competencies. Think about the following change in our society.

Computers have greatly reduced our patience in waiting for information. Thirty years ago, it would take five to seven minutes for someone to retrieve information from a folder in a file cabinet, but nobody had a problem waiting. Today, if the computer takes 10 seconds to retrieve data from a system 1,000 miles away, we tend to think it is taking all day to service our request.

We become frustrated, angry, irritated and may click "Ctrl, Alt, Delete," to end the task because we feel the computer is hung up. In reality, the computer is just taking a bit longer to process our request because it has 100 million other customer requests in the queue before ours.

This instant-response mentality also might be the root cause of our impatience in other situations, such as waiting in line for a sales clerk, waiting an hour at a restaurant for a table on a Friday or Saturday night or, in our professional lives, waiting for an employee to catch on to what we are trying to explain.

Coaching involves patience and understanding. It requires that we perceive an employee's difficulty in comprehending what we are trying to convey. To be a professional coach, you must think back to a time when you had to learn a new process or task yourself. How did you feel about not getting it the first time? Were you nervous or unsure of yourself as you entered into the learning process? Did the coach appear to be irritated when you didn't catch on immediately?

Professional coaches go slowly and are patient. They move in slow motion, shifting down from their normal 90 mph speed, to 2 mph so the employee can comprehend the task or concept being explained.

Professional coaches are patient, empathetic, resourceful, kind, understanding and focused on maintaining the employee's self-esteem. Coaches know it may take several attempts before a trainee understands what they are trying to demonstrate or communicate. Further, professional coaches employ different approaches to effectively transfer information. A professional coach is creative and thinks out of the box, or uses analogies the trainee can relate to everyday life.

Good listening skills are extremely important in the coaching environment. A professional coach listens carefully to employees' questions to pinpoint the specific areas in which the trainee is experiencing difficulty. They chunk information and ask questions at key points to ascertain an employee's level of understanding. These periodic checkups allow the coach to correct any confusion or lack of understanding prior to proceeding with additional information. The coach approaches the task at hand in a slow and systematic manner and is aware of where the employee is in the learning process.

A good coach has his or her finger on the employee's pulse and an eye on the person's body language. A professional coach proceeds slowly and cautiously, maintaining the employee's self-esteem and providing the person with opportunities to stop and ask questions.

There's really only one thing talent managers need to do on a continuous basis when coaching: Ask, "How would I feel if I was the one learning something brand new?" Now you get it, coach.

[About the Author: Chuck Murphy is a training specialist for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.]

Measuring Business Impact of Learning by Michael E. Echols, Ph.D.

In its one-year-plus existence, the Bellevue University Human Capital Lab has funded research on how best-practice companies are using measurement of learning's business impact to support their talent management and strategic objectives. Here is what's happening at some of those companies.
Business Issue: Employees Quit Their Supervisors

At ACS, multivariate statistical methods were used to determine the impact of learning on call-center performance. The first phase of the research documented that training is a key factor impacting employee retention. The method used to derive this conclusion addresses a key measurement issue: how to be sure the improvement in business outcome - in this case, retention - was directly related to the training and not something else. Based on the initial business implications, ACS extended the analyses to additional dimensions of the business including recruiting.

Business Issue: Leadership Pipeline

The business challenge addressed here is one way a geographically dispersed global retail organization identifies highly engaged associates and delivers learning to this hourly and salaried workforce at thousands of locations. In this case, the focus is a customized retail-management program leading to a bachelor's degree. The program is co-designed by retail subject matter experts in conjunction with Home Depot executives to provide maximum impact on current associate performance and on future career capability.

This program integrates the corporation's tuition assistance benefits into its leadership career development strategy. The key element of this program is the opt-in nature of the highly engaged associates. The business-impact measurements at the company include the tracking of the percentage of future store management that emerges from the customized program vs. more traditional channels.

Business Issue: Tuition Assistance as a Strategy

One of the most advanced companies in the use of tuition assistance is Verizon Wireless. Under the leadership of Dorothy Martin, LearningLINK program manager for Verizon, the corporation already has monthly dashboards that document business impact. The four key business outcomes measured include recruiting, retention, job performance and job mobility.

These are key human capital factors for any company. All four parameters show favorable outcomes for employees utilizing tuition assistance relative to the general Verizon Wireless employee population. Especially dramatic is the fact that the strategy has produced as much as a 10 percent improvement in retention. This result is important because it is directly opposite to the "educate them and they will leave" opinion widely held among operating managers.

To extend the impact of tuition assistance, Verizon Wireless is collaborating in the development and deployment of a customized retail management program targeted at accelerating the development of future leaders in critical retail operations. Calibration of the impact of the custom program on the business outcomes listed above is part of the deployment.

Business Issue: Sales Training Redesign and Redeployment

Few industries face the challenges seen in the auto industry today. Innovation, a key concept in many markets, is more than a mere expression at Chrysler Academy. First presented to the public in detail at the Fall 2008 Chief Learning Officer Symposium, the corporation has deployed an innovative approach including:
a) Performance maps for high performers.
b) Gap analysis.
c) Sales training redesign and new deployment model.
d) Measured business impact.

Answering questions around learning's impact has motivated senior Chrysler management to extend the analysis to dealership management programs that reach far beyond sales training.

In summary, these best-practice companies are walking the talk when it comes to innovative learning strategies and the related business outcome measurements that show the value of the investments. Validated in the first phase, these measurement initiatives are being leveraged to impact even broader strategy issues - the true seat at the table.

[About the Author: Michael E. Echols, Ph.D., is vice president of strategic initiatives at Bellevue University and author of "ROI on Human Capital Investment."]

The Human Resources Department As a Profitability Factor by Kenneth Moore & Robert Furlong

What would you do if you had a Human Resources employee who could improve the company's profit margins, positively impact the cost of goods sold, lower the day's sales outstanding, and increase the price/earning ratio while liquidating overhead costs to the business - and still deliver flawless transactional and traditional HR services?

Most CEO's would react in two ways:
a) Why is this individual wasting his/her time in an HR department?
b) Why didn't I demand this level of HR department performance five years ago?

The concept of the Human Resources department as a profitability contributor is fast gaining currency in U.S. businesses and bears closer examination. Professor David Ulrich of the University of Michigan, a leading expert on HR competency models, sees the changing business world as a 20-20-60 proposition. Of executives surveyed, 20% currently use the HR department as active and innovative business solution partners. 20% believe that the HR department should remain as administrative overhead and only perform transactional work.

But, 60% of the executives are starting to expect the HR department to partner with others departments to improve the company's core competencies and competitive advantages. And, more HR people are stepping up to the plate and delivering the goods.

What's driving this thinking? The short answer is competitive pressure in a fast changing business world - pressures for sales, talent, and profits. Most CEO's (and their CFO's) are held accountable for three general but powerful results: Increasing revenue, generating cash, and reducing costs. In order to focus on these three accountabilities, executives are discarding paradigms that no longer work as companies seek to stay in and grow their business.

The HR department as a strictly administrative overhead and resource consumer is one of the paradigms under justifiable attack. Transactional HR departmental activities such as payroll, benefits administration and records keeping are easily outsourced or digitized (or should be) with significant cost savings.

We have worked with companies who have digitized their current and past employee data bases. In one company, they eliminated over 35 five-drawer file cabinets (and two rooms) and condensed them into CDs that fit into a shoebox. With advances in technology, even the shoebox is in jeopardy as a storage device.

To many CEOs and CFOs, the HR department as a revenue enhancer takes getting used to. That's not the way they were taught. They are more interested in the payoff and are asking appropriate questions: What's in it for the company? Where is the improvement in the revenue stream? How does this get us new customers and retain our current customers. Where is the proof of corporate performance enhancement metrics?

Once they get solid answers to these questions from competent HR leaders, the CEOs are quick to change their thinking. To answer the payoff questions, recognize that a continual company-wide value chain analysis is critical to the success of any organization. Over the past decade, CEOs began demanding that their Human Resources departments deliver flawless functional work and become a knowledgeable partner with all other disciplines to advance the business plan of the company.

Individual professional silos are breaking down. Disciplines such as finance, sales, marketing, operations, and HR no longer exist as stand alone entities. They are inter-dependent with one another. Weakness of any one of the links inhibits other links from maximizing their efficiency and productivity.

Expectations of the Human Resources Department Have Changed

These three emerging concepts in the practice of HR bear examination:

a) What value does the HR department bring to the organization. Many HR teams lack a vision that includes their value to the organization. Do the HR department's activities directly help the company achieve its broad business objectives? Are the HR team's arguments for or against a business strategy credible to the other department heads at the decision making table? How are the HR department strategies, that benefit the employees, the shareholders, the customers, and all other stakeholders in the organization, selected and implemented?

b) What value does the HR department generate for the customer - the end user of the company's product or service? Sales and quality are no longer restricted to the sales and quality assurance teams. Edwards Deming taught organizations that quality and value must be built into every step of the process. The HR department doesn't just hire a salesperson based upon a manager's request. The end result of HR's recruiting and hiring efforts is that the customer who interacts with the new sales person receives continuing world class service from the company. HR shares the quality of the new hire with the other departmental silos to insure that the company is, or becomes, the vendor of choice for that customer.

The final of the three emerging concepts for the Human Resources Department is:

c) What core business competencies must HR leaders possess in order to be credible strategic partners with the rest of the executive team? Each company and each industry can generate its own list of core business skills their teams must have that go beyond their individual specialties.

This issue has become so critical that in graduate and undergraduate level business programs, new editions of Organizational Development textbooks are including chapters on financial calculations and ratios, corporate social responsibility, globalization, and major workforce diversity challenges, among others.

The biggest barrier to profitability is ignorance - ignorance by many people about how the company makes money and how it achieves its objectives, and how all of the departmental silos are interdependent on each other. The myth that only finance people need to know about finance or that marketing people are the only people who need to know about marketing is fast disappearing. In today's business environment, profitable organizations require highly skilled employees who can solve complex problems using multi-disciplinary teams.

The Human Resources Department and Profitability

Can HR be linked to profitability metrics? Yes. Here are three examples.

a) A well known global company formed a group of HR professionals who developed processes and training programs in sales, customer service, workouts, project management, process improvement and leadership development that focused on critical performance issues for their internal and external customers. By partnering with operations, sales, and customer service they served as a catalyst to forge alliances, partnerships and agreements.

Many of their efforts resulted in improved relationships that translated into "Preferred Provider Status", which increased sales and lowered costs. All of their costs were liquidated by charging a fee for the service while creating net revenue. After two years, this HR group generated sales of $4 million and a profit margin in excess of 30% which was returned to the division budget at the end of each fiscal year.

b) Secondly, an HR team, partnering with the Audit staff, discovered that the accounts receivable turnover had moved from a preferred 30 days to 45 days during the past two years. They decided to let the chief credit officer go. The HR staff established criteria to identify candidates with the ability to reduce the ratio from 45 days back to 30 days. The HR staff recommended one candidate for hire. Within six months, the company's DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) ratio was reduced to 35 days.

c) In a third case, while designing and negotiating a new health care and 401(k) plan, the HR leadership partnered with the sales and marketing team to determine if the cost of the program would erode the company's market share and competitive pricing strategy. The resulting benefit program design achieved its cost/benefit objectives without jeopardizing the company's market share and pricing metrics.

Transition the Human Resources Department to a Profitability Factor

How do HR leaders and CEOs make the transition? Here are suggestions based upon our belief that the more employees become knowledgeably involved in the business, the better they will be able to become a more productive asset.

a) Develop a leadership development program that includes hands on training in all of the functional disciplines. For example, in the production department, identify the barriers that prevent managers from achieving efficiencies and savings;

b) Insist that Human Resources staff receive financial training so they understand the impact of cash flow, receivables, billing cycles, and so forth. If you're a public company, teach them how to read and understand your company's annual report or 10-k. Reading the proxy statement is always informative - even if the information contained in it is reluctantly revealed, and occasionally masked with arcane accounting jargon;

c) Have HR staff participate in sales strategies, customer visits, and technology reviews. Encourage them to learn quality methods, process improvements techniques, terms and conditions, and contract negotiations with suppliers and customers. Engage them as process consultants (have them trained if necessary) so they can assist with growth initiatives;

d) Most importantly, hold all employees accountable for achieving the "critical numbers" established for your company. A superb HR department becomes irrelevant if the company is sliding into bankruptcy. The HR department's powerful value focuses on its contributions toward reversing the slide.

Include your HR employees as full business partners. They will rise to the occasion and surprise you by building your bottom line and becoming a profit center contributor as well as maintaining their traditional responsibilities - and they will be better at both. The intense and brutally competitive business environment of our global and digital world needs the help of everyone in the company. To which group of 20-20-60 does your company belong?

[About the Authors: Kenneth W. Moore is the President of Ken Moore Associates. He specializes in quantitative strategic business and organizational development leading to improved corporate performance. Robert (Bob) Furlong, principal of Sage Leadership Consulting, provides business-savvy Human Resource consulting that enables organizations to meet business objectives while fostering individual employee growth.]

Learning in a Tough Economy by Marc Sokol

Although there seems to be no shortage of bad news in the business world these days, there is a bright spot for learning leaders: Economic downturns often present opportunities to make learning more effective, thereby making organizations more competitive.

When the economy slows, corporations are forced to respond. It's a simple financial matter: Less money coming in means less money available to spend. Common fiscal belt-tightening techniques include budget cuts, spending and hiring freezes, and reducing the size of the employment base through buyouts, attrition or layoffs.

As organizational leaders weigh tough decisions on where to cut costs, they should ask themselves one simple question: "Do we still want to be in business after the downturn?" If the answer is "yes," one area in which spending should not be cut without some serious strategic thought is employee learning and development.

True, adjustments may be needed. The learning and development department probably should reduce spending just like everyone else. Instead of cutting all initiatives in equal fashion, smart organizations retain initiatives that are critical to business success and cut back on those that may simply be "nice to do." Think of it this way: It wouldn't be prudent for a restaurant kitchen to eliminate fire extinguishers to save costs in lean times, would it?

Canceling an arbitrary portion of training initiatives across the board creates the illusion of savings - some real via eliminated travel expenses and some potential under the assumption that freed-up staff time is put to good use. But without strategic thinking about where cuts should be made, such moves could end up damaging the differentiators responsible for competitive advantage.

Planning to Outlive a Recession

Development is a key factor in ensuring people stay engaged in the organization and continue to have an impact on the company's bottom line. Giving current and potential leaders the development they need helps a company weather the storm and continue to excel. So how can necessary cuts be made with minimal long-term damage? What can be cut, and what should remain?

To guide the decision-making process, company leaders should sit down with line managers and talent professionals to examine the key factors to business success and which training and development initiatives enhance these factors. Smart companies proceed strategically so that reduced learning and development spending won't blunt long-term corporate success.

Look at Talent Management as a Response to Economic Downturn
Don't spread reduced training dollars as if they were peanut butter and you were trying to make 10 sandwiches with only enough available for five. Such a nonstrategic approach simply reduces effectiveness across the board - including in the areas responsible for a firm's competitive advantages.

Instead, choose more carefully who you need to invest in and which types of behavior you need to impact. This means you have to determine which offerings have the most immediate and direct effect on the business and on customer experience. It also may mean you have to be more selective about who is invited to participate.

Take the example of Company X, which has a significant development initiative for high-potential leaders. This program has shown visible impact for participants and their managers. As the economy enters a soft period, Company X opts to cut spending for the coming year. How will this initiative be changed to compensate for this cut? Should the program be eliminated for a year or two? Should it be adjusted so it's less intensive? In the end, a decision is made to retain the initiative as its current level of intensity, but to offer it to fewer individuals.

Let's look at the impact of this decision:
a) The nomination criteria for the program are strengthened. This results in more in-depth discussions by senior leaders and managers about who should attend and increases the value of this initiative in the minds of these influential individuals.
b) Chosen participants benefit from the same high-quality program as participants from previous years, and any feelings of being cheated by having to settle for a second-rate version are avoided.
c) Management takes the opportunity to communicate to those who didn't make the cut. They're told of the reduction in slots this year and are reassured they will be reconsidered for participation the following year. They are disappointed they won't get to attend this year, but are glad that when their turn comes they will not get a second-rate version of a program that has become well-respected.
d) Those who did make the cut are told they were among a smaller group chosen, leading to a clear understanding of the company's desire to retain them over the long term and even more accountability to put what they learn into visible practice.

In this way, a spending cut ends up positioning the company to reinforce its commitment to a development program that really makes a difference. Most companies tell their employees that they are the firm's most important asset. Company X found a way to walk that talk.

Ensure All Training Efforts Are Critical to Continued Business Success

The key issue here is deciding what behaviors, industry gatherings and activities are truly critical to business success. When budgets are cut, learning and development managers need to ensure a clear line of sight exists between training efforts and the value they provide for the business and its customers. A good example comes from the manufacturing sector: A downturn is not the time to scale back training on quality or safety technique. Any refinery manager will tell you the same thing in a heartbeat.

On the other hand, an economic downturn probably is a good time for a company expanding in Latin America to limit Spanish-language instruction to only those being deployed there in the near future. Broader training across the talent pipeline in this area can be resumed once the economic storm has passed.

In truth, a time of universal economic contraction may even be a time when expanded training efforts become necessary. Key customer relationships may cool due to less frequent in-person visits and increased reliance on voicemail and e-mail. This may happen at precisely the moment when the customer is looking for its own ways to cut spending.

Companies in this situation would be wise to invest in new or enhanced targeted sales training to ensure confidence and credibility in dealing with nervous clients. It's human nature. We all want to affiliate ourselves with the strong, the confident and those who will survive. Customers of organizations are no different. They want to know that the entities they outsource to or buy products from will still be there after an economic downturn has run its course. Such a strategy not only serves an immediate business need but also positions the company well for when the economy regains its health.

Leverage Learning From Work Experience

An economic downturn is a great time for companies to think beyond the traditional workshop format. Much can be learned on the job and in collaborative groups. Simulation-based learning, increased coaching and mentoring, and looking to company leaders to teach others based on their own experiences all can have a deeply positive impact on the leadership pipeline.
Whether the format looks like a community of practice, an action learning team or simply a facilitated discussion group, learning and development leaders can help get people talking with each other about their own experiences and what they have learned.

Look to Technology

Technology-enabled learning can extend development investment when economic times are tight. Similar program content can be delivered without the associated travel costs, and if done well, an atmosphere of engaged group learning can be maintained.

Let's look at another example, this time from a firm we'll call Company Y. This organization has professionals based in locations around the globe. These individuals gather in person twice each year to review case studies, swap notes and discuss the latest trends. Company Y anticipates a slowing economy and makes a decision to eliminate these twice-yearly gatherings to save travel and accommodation costs.

But Company Y doesn't stop there. In fact, its corporate leaders have been researching lower-cost alternatives ever since the meetings' costs were tagged for discussion. After all, the value of these best-practice exchanges are tangible and are one reason why Company Y's people are so clued in to the needs of their clients. Although Company Y eliminates the twice-yearly in-person gatherings, a quarterly webinar is instituted in its place to cover the same topics. The employees experience continuity of best-practice information flow. True, employees miss the face time with colleagues, but at least they know their needs for connection and development still matter as Company Y realizes cost savings.

Companies should look to intranets, online chat rooms, SharePoint technology or other existing resources to enable collaboration and idea exchange between teams and colleagues geographically separated from one another.
Move From 'Training' to 'Development That Makes a Difference'
Learning professionals know that, as engaging as any training event can be, the lessons learned quickly can dissipate and fail to translate into meaningful changes on the job without an effort to make the learning "stick."

To reap full the benefit from resources spent on learning and development, companies need to effectively communicate expectations to the individuals who will be taking part, as well as to their managers. Success is more than just showing up at a training event. Insights must lead to action, and action must translate into practical improvements in performance.

Taking a realistic approach to learning and development means ensuring people know what needs to be improved, they are motivated to improve and they get useful knowledge and tools to address their targeted areas. They also need opportunities to apply what they have learned, and they need to be held accountable for improvement. These strategies can help drive effective integration of new skills. They're also another example of a reaction to an economic downturn that can have a lasting positive effect on the company long after the economy has improved. Learning professionals can seize the moment to drive best practices into place.

 

Foster Dialogue About How Competitive Advantage Can Be Maintained or Enhanced

An economic recession is like any other type of organizational change, only this one is imposed from the outside. Employees and management can't hide their heads in the sand waiting for the recession to pass or for the "other shoe to drop." The challenge needs to be faced head-on.

Learning and development leaders can help foster dialogue among employees about what the business needs to do to be more competitive than the next company. After all, the whole industry is in the same situation. Issues need to be addressed with emotional engagement, not just a set of dispassionate adjustments. This is the time to increase communication in all directions and encourage employees to respond thoughtfully. Ask them to help prioritize how development dollars get spent. Such discussions often yield surprising and valuable insights.
Set the Stage for Increased Competitive Advantage

Recently, Personal Decisions International conducted a survey of human resources professionals and other business leaders around the globe to uncover organizational approaches to retention of key employees in the slowed economy and what tactics they have found to be most successful. Among the 530 respondents, 93 percent said retaining key employees is even more important during an economic downturn.

Perhaps counterintuitively, the survey found "accelerating the development of key employees" to be a more effective tactic to retain these individuals than "competitive pay and benefits." These responses offer real-world evidence that employees want development opportunities and will stay with the company that offers them.

Skillful learning and development leaders can foster a common vision of what it looks like to be successful, even in a recession. Those who do so will mobilize and focus energy across their organizations, both for today and tomorrow, as they become catalysts for action and learning.

[About the Author: Marc Sokol is the senior vice president and global practice leader of development solutions at Personnel Decisions International.]

"How schools treat parents" series: School 2 - Venkat International Public School

Venkat International Public School is a CBSE school in Rajajinagar, Bangalore - about a kilometer away from National Public School. In the informal survey that my wife and I did, this school ranked somewhere in the middle of the shortlist (in terms of building, number of kids in a class, class room quality, etc.)

My wife and I had, sometime in Oct'08, registered our child's name for the first standard for Academic Year 2008-09.

This morning, my wife received a call from the school with the following instructions:
1. The child needs to be brought to the school on Saturday the 6th December (the day after tomorrow) at 10.00 AM for 'observation' (part of the admission process in most schools - the child is observed while playing and interacting with other kids.)
2. The parents must be ready to pay Rs. 40,000/- in cash immediately (on the same day) to the school. This is a non-refundable 'donation'.
3. The application form will also be issued on the same day, for Rs. 250/-.
4. They have not decided on the monthly fees yet, and will inform the parents of the monthly fees sometime after March'08.

I thought donation was legally prohibited by a supreme court judgement. Apparently the schools in Bangalore do not consider this a major impediment.

In any case, I am taking my daughter here just for the experience of an 'observation'.

Detailed procedure of Sandhyavandanam - 1 of 2

www.vishuji.com

SANDHYA VANDANAM


Sandhya Vandanam is a specially devised efficient spiritual ritual for the realization of the Divinity of the Self (Atman). It is a Nitya Karma or an obligatory daily ritual whose object is to bring about self-purification and attunement to Cosmic Reality. It is an all-round complete ritual which incorporates the principles of the Supreme Divinity (Brahman).

RITUALS OF THE SANDHYA

Each part of the ritual is meant to give expression externally to an internal mental attitude and spiritual feeling (Bhava). Some necessary changes are introduced in the Mantras and ritual according to the time of the Sandhya-- dawn, noon, or sunset, and according to the Veda (Rg, Yajur, or Sama) to which the votary is affiliated. However, the main purpose as well as most of the Mantras, the procedures, and rituals are all common.

The procedure involve :

1. Achamanam :

Sipping a little water, in the prescribed manner, for self-purification, remembering the Supreme All-pervading Reality.

2. Apo-Marjanam :

Invoking all the waters of the earth which form the cause of the emergence and sustenance of all life, by sprinkling water on oneself, to enable one to be attuned to the cosmic life and reality.

3. Pranayama :

Regulated breathings, as per prescription, for establishing psycho-somatic harmony, using the Gayatri-Mantra.

4. Punar-Achamanam :

Again sipping water with appropriate Mantras for the removal of all sins and obstacles, attuning oneself to the light-giving sun in the morning, to the life-giving waters at noon and to the heat-giving fire in the evening, which are the means of all our life and activity, and as such are termed as the sources of Immortality (Amrta-yoni).

5. Punar-Marjanam :

Again sprinkling water over oneself with the Gayatri and other Mantras praying for welfare here in the world and highest spiritual attainment hereafter.

6. Aghamarsanam :

Repeating the cosmic creation Mantras, feeling oneself as a part of it, to remove the limitations of personality.

7. Suryopasthanam :

Invoking the Sun-God who brings life and light to the world and attuning the mind to the Divine in the Sun and to all the cosmic surroundings.

8. Gayatri-Upasanam :

First the Divine Gayatri is invoked as the source of the Vedas and then the different Worlds and the Supreme Divinity are located in the various limbs of one's body by touching them while uttering the Gayatri-Mantra, along with the Vyahrti (Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah). This process of locating is known as Anga-Nyasa.

This is followed by the Japa and meditaion of the Gayatri-Mantra for as long as one can do conveniently, fixing, however, a decent minimum number of times for the Japa. For meditation Gayatri is conceived in the form of a luminous Goddess illuminating the Heart and removing all darkness of Ignorance.

9. Visarjanam :

Valediction. Praying to the Goddess to retire, to return again when invoked. Salutations are offered with devotion.

10. Antya-prakaranani :

Ending. Now, concluding the Upasana, protection against all wrongs and evils is sought and salutations are offered to the Sun-God and other Cosmic divinities. Forgiveness is sought for any flaws or lacunae in the uttering of the Mantras and the performance of the rituals and the Supreme Being is remembered to make them complete. The Upasana is concluded with the offering of salutations.

Preparation for the Performance of Sandhya :

Before performing the Sandhya, one should be physically clean, mentally calm and restrained and have a prayerful attitude. One should sit in a clean quiet place on a mat or Deer-skin, in a straight position with legs tucked in (ordinary Padmasana).

DETAILS OF THE PRACTICE OF SANDHYA WORSHIP

1. Achamanam Sipping water sanctified by mantras

Sit in a squatting position, facing east or north. The hands should be between the knees. Bend all the fingers other than the thumb and the small finger slightly so that a hollow is produced in the palm. Take a very small quantity of water in the palm and sip, uttering the following three mantras (one sip for each mantra):-

Achyutaya namah
Anantaya namah
Govindaya namah

Then
Utter Kesava and Narayana touching the right cheek and the left cheek respectively with the thumb of the right hand.
Utter Madhava and Govinda, touching the right eye and the left eye respectively with the ring finger.
Utter Vishno and Madhusudana, touching the right nostril and the left nostril respectively with the index finger.
Utter Trivikrama and Vamana, touching the right ear and the left ear respectively with the small finger.
Utter Sridhara and Hrsikesa, touching the right shoulder and the left shoulder respectively with the middle finger.
Utter Padmanabha and Damodara touching the naval and the head respectively with all the fingers.

Meaning 1:

By these actions the various parts of the body are sanctified and the person is made fit to proceed with the worship.

2. Vighnesvara Dhyanam - Meditation on Lord Vighnesvara

While reciting the following mantra, gently tap the two sides of the forehead with the fists five times with the thought that thereby the nectar (amrta) in the head flows down through all the nerves and invigorates them.

Shuklambaradharam Vishnum

Sasivarnam Chaturbhujam,

Prasannavadanam dhyayeh,

Sarva-vighnopasantaye

Meaning 2

For the removal of all obstacles I meditate on Lord Vighnesvara who is clad in white, is all-pervading, is white like the moon, sports four arms and is always of serene aspect.

3. Pranayamah

Regulation of breath

Bend the index finger and the middle finger and press the right nostril with the thumb and left nostril with the ring finger and the small finger. First draw in the breath through the left nostril while mentally chanting the following mantra. Then hold the breath within, mentally chanting the same mantra again. Thereafter, let the breath out through the right nostril, again mentally chanting the same mantra. These three actions of inhaling, holding the breath and exhaling, during which the mantra is chanted three times, together make up one Pranayamah.

Om Bhuh, Om Bhuvah, Om Suvah, Om Mahah

Om Janah, Om Tapah, Om Satyam

Om Tat Saviturvarenyam

Bhargo devasya dhimahi,

Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat

Om apo jyoti raso amritam Brahma

Bhur Bhuvas suvar om

Meaning 3

Om is all the lokas - bhuh, bhuvah, suvah, mahah, janah, tapah, satyam. We meditate on the adorable effulgence of the Lord who creates everything, so that it may energize our consciousness.

Om is water, light, the earth that yields tasty food, the air that sustains life, the all-pervading either and the mind, intellect and the 'I' sense marked by the terms bhuh, bhuvah and suvah.

4. Sankalpah

Resolution

Place the left palm, turned upward, on the right thigh and place the right palm, turned downward on the left palm. Recite the following mantra :

Mamopatta samasta durita ksaya dvara sri paramesvara prityartham -

- In the morning Pratah sandhyam upasisye

- At noon Madhyahnikam karisye

- In the evening Sayam sandhyam upasisye

Meaning 4

I begin to worship the goddess of sandhya in the morning (at noon/in the evening) in order to merit God's grace which destroys all the sins acquired by me.

5. Marjanam
Purification of the body and mind

Uttering Om keshavaya namah, write Om on water with the finger and touch the spot between the two eyebrows with that finger.

Then, while reciting the first seven of the following nine mantras, sprinkle water on the head with the ring finger. While reciting the eighth mantra, sprinkle water on the feet. Again sprinkle water on the head while reciting the ninth mantra.

Aapo hi stha mayo bhuvah
Ta na urje dadhaatana
Mahe ranaya chaksase
Yo vah sivatamo rasah
Tasya bhajaya teha naha
Usatiriva matarah
Tasma aram gamama vah
Yasya ksayaya jinvatha
Aapo janayatha cha naha

Now take a little water in the palm and rotate the palm around the head with the following mantra:

Om Bhur bhuvah suvah

Meaning 5

It is well-known that you, the deities of water, are the cause of great happiness. Please nourish us with the divine vision which brings glory and loveliness. Please make us worthy of imbibing the auspicious bliss even as a mother feeds her children. We approach you with eagerness for that bliss to distribute which you have taken a form and are shining. Bestow on us the boon of a next life sanctified by knowledge.

6. Prasanam

Sipping water with mantra

Take a little water in the palm and sip, after reciting the following mantra :

(Pratah) Suryascha ma manyuscha manyupatayascha, manyukritebhyah.
Papebhyo raksantam. Yadratrya papamakarsam. Manasa vacha hastabhyam.
Padbhyam udarena sisna. Ratris-tadavalumpatu.
Yatkincha duritam mayi. Idam aham mamamarita yonau.
Surye jyotisi juhomi svaha

Meaning 6

(In the morning) May the sun who stimulates everything, anger which enslaves all and the gods who preside over anger, protect me from the sins committed through anger. May the deity of the night absolve me of the sins committed by me at night with the mind, lips, hands, legs, stomach as also of whatever other sins may linger in me. This "me" devoid of all sins, I offer as sacrifice in the effulgence of the sun who is the source of immortality. May this sacrifice be well done.

(Madhyahne) Apah punantu prithivim prithvi puta panatu mam.
Punantu brahmanas patirbrahma-puta punatu mam.
Yaducchistam abhojyam yadva duscaritam mama.
Sarvam punantu mamapo asatam ca pratigraham svaha

Meaning 6

(At noon) May the deity of water sanctify the earth which is its base. May the sanctified earth purify me. May it sanctify the teacher who is the channel for the Veda. May the ever pure Veda purify me. May the deity of water absolve me from sins incurred through consuming food left by others or food unfit to be eaten, through bad contact and through receiving gifts from the wicked. Thus purified I offer myself as sacrifice in the Supreme effulgence.

(Sayankale) Agnischa ma manyuscha manyupatayascha manyukritebhyah.
Papebhyo raksantam. Yadahna papamakarsam. Manasa vacha hastabhyam.
Padbhyam udarena sisna.
Ahastadavalumpatu. Yatkincha duritam mayi.
Idam Aham mamamrita yonau. Satye jyotisi juhomi svaha

Meaning 6

(In the evening) May the Fire who stimulates everything, anger which enslaves all and the gods who preside over anger, protect me from the sins committed through anger. May the deity of the day absolve me of the sins committed by me at day-time with the mind, lips, hands, legs, stomach as also of whatever sins lingering in me. This "me" devoid of sins, I offer as sacrifice in the effulgence of Truth who is the source of immortality. May this sacrifice be well done.

7. Punarmarjanam

Sprinkling water again

Sprinkle water on the head with the following mantra:

Dadhikravnno akarisam. Jisnorasvasya vajinah.
Surabhi no mukhakarat. Prana ayumsi tarisat.
Aapo hista mayo bhuvah……

End with Om Bhurbhuvah suvah

Meaning 7

I make obeisance to the Supreme Person who supports, rules and sustains all the worlds, who is ever victorious and who has taken the form of Hayagriva the repository of all knowledge. May He make our faces and other organs fragrant. May He protect our lives continuously. It is well-known.…knowledge (as in No.5 above)

8. Arghya-pradanam

Offering water

Morning :
Stand facing east. Take plenty of water in both palms and raising the heels a little, pour the water down through the tips of the fingers other than the thumb uttering the following mantra. This is to be done three times.

Om bhurbhuvas suvah. Tat saviturvarenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi. Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat.

[Meaning - see no. 3 We meditate .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. consciousness]

Noon :
Stand facing north and do the same twice

Evening :
Squat facing west and do the same three times

9. Prayaschittarghyam
Offering of water in atonement for failure to perform the worship at the proper time

Do Pranayamah once, as in No.3. Thereafter offer arghya once, as in No.8. Then uttering Om Bhurbhuvas suvah turn round once and sprinkle a little water around you.

10. Aikyanusandhanam
Meditation on the identity of the individual self and the Supreme Self

Sit down, close the eyes and mentally chant

Asavadityo brahma. Brahmai vaham asmi

Meaning 10
This sun is Brahman. I too am Brahman.
Do achamanam once, as in No.1.

11. Deva-Tarpanam
Offering of water to the devas

Morning: Squat, facing east.
Noon: Squat, facing north.
Evening: Squat, facing north

Pour water through the finger tips of both hands reciting the following mantras :

Adityam tarpayami
Somam tarpayami
Angarakam tarpayami
Budham tarpayami
Brhaspatim tarpayami
Sukram tarpayami
Sanaischaram tarpayami
Rahum tarpayami
Ketum tarpayami
Keshavam tarpayami
Narayanam tarpayami
Madhavam tarpayami
Govindam tarpayami
Vishnum tarpayami
Madhusudanam tarpayami
Trivikramam tarpayami
Vamanam tarpayami
Sridharam tarpayami
Hrsikesam tarpayami
Padmanabham tarpayami
Damodaram tarpayami

Meaning 11
I make my offering to the presiding deities of the nine planets - Aditya, Soma, Angaraka, Budha, Brhaspati, Sukra, Sani (who moves slowly), Rahu, and Ketu; and Narayana with twelve names - Kesava, Narayana, Madhava, Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Trivikrama, Vamana, Sridhara, Hrsikesa, Padmanabha, Damodara.
Do achamanam once, as in No.1.

An article I came across on Yajurveda Sandhyavandanam

SandhyaVandanam :: Forums @ KanchiForum.org

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 3:40 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
For those interested, sharing what i recd, with u all. Didnt know how to attach so please forgive me for the cut and paste thus making the text long

[color=darkblue]Nithya andNimithya Karmas
Dear All,

By His Grace and as guided by my Guru Brahmasri Ramji
Sathrigal, a note on the importance of Nithyakarmas is
attached.
You are humbly requested to download,store it in your
hard disc,read with utmost care and follow. This note
may please be passed on to relatives and friends to
enable them to reap the benefits.
The C.D. may be collected FREE of cost in case of
requirement.
Sri Gurubhyo Namaha

ManuDharma

Rishis after undergoing penance for years have brought into this world for the benefit of human beings Vedas that prescribe ways to lead a purposeful life. Epics show that those who have taken such a path have been successful and have had peace of mind. To lead a life as suggested for each person in accordance with one’s Varna and to follow the set examples is itself Dharma.

A person is born with three liabilities to Dhevas, Rishis and Pithrus and these are known as Runas. Performing Nithya Karmas and Pithrukarmas shall discharge one of these liabilities.

The root of Nithya Karmas i.e. acts to be performed daily is Sandhya Vandhanam with which only the other pujas, homas and Karmas get sanctified. In other words there shall be no effect to other Karmas without the basic that is Sandhyavandhanam.

Besides Sandhyavandhanam, Brahmayaganam i.e. Deva, Rishi Pithru Tharpanam is also to be performed once during daytime, which relieves one of the liabilities mentioned.

Aspects of Sandhya Vandhanam

Three important parts are a) Arghya Pradhanam b) Prnayamam c) Gayathri Japam.
Starting with prayer to Ganapathi, one purifies for acts if any done in the night, forenoon, and the after noon. Argyam is given with Gayathri Manthra and thereafter to Navagrahas and twelve aspects of Vishnu who represents AthiDhevatha of the twelve months. Prnava Japa and Pranayamas, Gayathri Avahanam, Nyasam, Japam and Gayathri Upasthanam follow this. It concludes with Prayers to Surya, Sandhya, Dhigdhevathas, Yama, Hara, Hari besides Sarpa Raksha manthram.

Importance of Sandhyavandhanam

1. Covers prayer to all manifestations of the Brahmam, in the form of Ganessh, Sakthi, Vishnu, Siva and Adhithya.
2. Prayers to Sun God with whose Grace only there is life in the universe.
3. In Vedas it is mentioned that there is perpetual war between Devas and Asuras . The Sun God, Devatha for Gayathri, with Argyapradhanam gets stronger to fight the evil and in turn shower His Grace on the performer. This is a cyclic occurrence as described in the verses beginning with ‘ Sahavai’ that is uttered before Brahmana Bhojanam in a Shradhdha.
4. Remembrance to Rishis who gave us this invaluable treasure.
5. Only those who have been initiated through Brahmopadhesam by a Guru could do Gayathri Japa, the essence of Vedas.
6. Gayathri Japa protects both self and the world.
7. While doing the Japa one needs to meditate. This meditation besides purifying ones soul gives the power of concentration.
8. Pranayams done in the proper way with the prescribed Manthras give the desired effects such as longevity, purification of lungs and heals any breathing problems.
9. Different postures followed during Sandhya Vandhanam such as sitting upright, bending, namaskarams, viewing the Sun are different physical exercises one does even without knowing.

Rules to be followed

1. Sandhya Vandhanam is done thrice a day in the morning, noon and the evening.
2. In the morning and noon one should do this standing while the evening one sitting.
3. Japa and Vandhana are done facing East in the morning and Noon while in the evening it is west you face.
4. Arghyam is given in the evening facing north.
5. Achamaniyam should not be done while standing or facing west or south.
6. It is important to have proper count of japams irrespective of the numbers.
7. This is to be done on all days even on days when one may have Aachoucham (Vridhdhi ot Theettu as known in Tamil). During this time one needs to do Argyam, 3 Pranayamas and 12 Gayathri and end with Gayathri upasthanam.
8. It is important that the rules and Prayoga (procedures) are followed with manthras properly uttered.

Our forefathers were performing till recently Nithya Karmanushtanas that started in Vedic period. It will not be difficult to set aside a few minutes daily amongst busy schedule to perform at least Sandhyavandanam and once it is part of daily routine it becomes much easier.

By such performance one should become an example to the next generation. There may be some that due to circumstances would have forgotten manthras or the rules or Prayoga and may be doing this karma occasionally but incorrectly.

To facilitate such people and also to guide fresh Brahmacharis a C.D. has been brought out by Brahmasri. Ramji Sasthrigal, of Aathma Vidhya Samajam, Nungambakkam son of Mannargudi Raju Sasthrigal.

The MP3 C.D. contains the following also.

Upakarma, Sravanam, AvaniAvittam:

This is being observed on Sravan Purnima (normally coincides with star Avittam) by Yajurvedhis, while Star Sravan at dawn is important for Rigvdhis. Samavedhis observe upakarma on the day when star Hastha is at dawn in Badhrapada sukla paksha.

On this day RECOUPMENT or REFRESHER COURSE OF VEDAS is undertaken.
One has to do Vedha Adhyana (learning) from Sravana Purnima in the year post upanayanam. From this day to Pushya Purnima one does Veda Adyayana and for the rest of the period till Sravan Purnima learns other aspects of Veda such as Vyakarna.

Veda adhyana that has been thus temporarily suspended (known as Uthsarjana) for six months, get restarted on the day of Upakarma.
It may therefore be noted Vedaramba or restart of Veda learning is the most important aspect of Upakarma.

Aspects of Upakarma.

1. Samithadhanam by Brahmacharis.
2. Kamokarshith Japa. This is done as prayaschitha for not performing Uthsarjana.
3. Brahmayagnam after Madhyaniham.
4. Mahasangalpam for getting rid sins performed during the year knowingly and unknowingly followed by Snanam / Prokshna Snanam for cleansing the body.
5. Yagnopavitha Dharanam – Changing the sacred thread.
6. Kandarishi Tharpanam- to thank all those Rishis and Devas who have given us Manthras for our welfare.
7. Puja for Vedavysa, Varuna and Homa for the Rishis and Devas.( This is normally done at the congregation by the Prohoit or priest.
8. Vedharambam or restart of Vedaadhyayana.
9. Gayathri Japam on the following day of Sravan Purnima. Followers of different Vedas perform this on this day.

Important rules to be followed.

1. Yagnopavitham is a sacred thread and due relevance should be given.
2. This should remain on the body always and preserved properly and kept clean.
3. It shall be changed as and when necessary say when gets broken or after an aachoucham, or before start of any important Karmas.
4. The Brahmamudichu or the knot should be resting on the top of the shoulder.
5. Since it is Sacred no external objects should be tied to this.
6. Yagnopavitham protects a person who respects its sanctity and observes nithya karmanushnaas i.e. daily rituals.


Sidhdhi Vinayaka Puja:
Alsoknown as Vinayaka Chathurthi is observed on Sukla Chathurthi in the month of Badhrapadha (August / September) as per English Calender.

Normally idol made of clay is worshiped and visarjan takes place on Anantha Chadhurdasi after 10 days. This custom is followed in Maharashtra while in south it is on the following day after Punar Puja.

Varalakshmi Vratham:

Families for the welfare of the husbands on the Friday preceeding Sravan Purnima observe this traditionally. Elders or Guru initiates the lady to the vratha in the year of marriage. If for any reason this is missed initiation takes place in the year when it falls in the Tamil month Avani.

Saraswathi (Dhurga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi) Puja:

This is observed to invoke the Goddess for proper education for the children and Gyna for elders. This falls on the Mahanavami day of Shardha Navarathri Festival.
In east Dhurga Puja is observed during Sharadha Navrathri, Lakshmi Puja on the Purnima following Vijaya Dhasami and Saraswathi Puja on Vasanth Panchami day.

Mahasankaranthi:

More popularly known as Pongal in Tamilnad falls on the day when the Sun changes its path towards North or known as Uththarayana. Sun which gives life to all living creatures in the universe is worshipped at the auspicious time of the change as per the calendar.

Sathyanarayana Puja:

This is being observed in many households on Purnima evenings. It is more popular in Andhra and Karnanatka who conduct the Puja as a part of any important ceremony such as marriage.

Besides Sathyanarayana or Sathyavrathar prayers are offered at the start to Ganapathy, Brahma,Vishnu, Rudhran and Gowri (Pancha Lokapalas), Navagrahas, Ashtadikpalas
(Indhra, Agni,Yama, Nirurithi, Varuna,Vayu, Kubera or Soma and Easanan).

Recital of five stories after the main Puja is another feature and concludes with Palashruthi. It is compulsory for the visitors to accept the offerings.

The C.D. containing the above Nithya and Naimithya Karmas has been made for everyone to reap the benefits by performing regularly and correctly and can be had from:

Sri.Ramji Sasthrigal, New No.18 (old No 37), New Tank Street, Nungambakkam (Tel.28253664)

K.Balasubramanian, 6, (Old No 8/1), Avenue Road, Nungambakkam (Tel. 52137939)

Sri. K.Ramji, PACRIM Software Systems, 7 (Old No.16), Avenue Road, Nungambakkam (Tel. 28211181/ 28223147)

Jai Sriram[/color]

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Har Har Mahadev