BullsEye 373 words. The number-one product we use rare earths to make is permanent magnets—components that convert movement into electricity, and electricity back into movement. Scientists began developing permanent magnets in the 1980s, when they figured out that adding a little bit of rare earth metals like neodymium and dysprosium to common metals like iron and … Read more
573 words. Rare earths are actually neither rare nor earths. Most of them are quite abundant, but they are almost never found in their pure form. Instead, they come dissipated in very low concentrations within other minerals, like grains of pepper in a meatball. That makes them difficult and expensive to separate out. Many of … Read more
Raja Manickam grew up in the township of BHEL, Trichy. As a kid, he was inspired by RC Bhargava, who was then the Director of BHEL Trichy, and later on went to become the founding Managing Director of Maruti Udyog. Raja loved physics in his school days. Did well in JEE and went to IIT … Read more
How do you get cooperation in an environment of autonomous units? Some basic principles about human nature may help here. The first rule I would offer is: Groups don’t cooperate, people do. An individual in one location might not feel much fervor in doing a favor for an individual in another location. But if he … Read more
In the previous chapter (The One-Firm Firm) I attempted to describe one (not the only) success model in running a professional firm. What I hope became clear in this description is that making this “collaborative” approach to practice work requires more than just an elusive “teamwork culture.” Rather, it is achieved by making some definitive … Read more
Working hard to involve non-partners in firm affairs and winning their commitment to the firm’s success is a hallmark of the one-firm firm and is reinforced by a widely common practice of sharing firm profits more deeply within the organization than is common at other firms. (The ratio between the highest paid and the lowest … Read more
Turnover at one-firm firms is clearly more carefully managed than it is among competitors. Those one-firm firms that do enforce an up-or-out system (McKinsey and Andersen) work actively to place their alumni in good positions, preferably with favored clients. McKinsey’s regular alumni reunions, a vivid demonstration of its success in breeding loyalty to the firm, … Read more
The characteristics of the one-firm firm system are institutional loyalty and group effort. In contrast to many of their (often successful) competitors who emphasize individual entrepreneurialism, autonomous profit centers, internal competition, and/or highly decentralized, independent activities, one-firm firms place great emphasis on firm-wide coordination of decision making, group identity, cooperative teamwork, and institutional commitment. Hewitt … Read more
The aristocratic model is applicable where strong leadership is crucial to the success of the organization and where the requisite skills for leadership can be readily defined and identified. However, it runs into problems when the standards of skill, wisdom, and virtue are unclear. Who, after all, is to judge the judges, and on what … Read more
This is an overreaction. In the professions, superior performance is evident only over an extended period of time, and should be so appraised. A given year’s compensation decision should be seen as one of a series, not as a game to be won or lost each year, with no view to past or future. Rapid … Read more
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