A buzzword that scares me. I fear it because I take a million stabs at it unknowingly; all the while, I accuse it for being a jargon that gives people six-figure salaries.
Taking a class on strategic execution at Georgetown University, I thought, was going to be about spending a sum of 19.5 hours in a nice glass building. Yet I was surprised by how speaking in generalities, my way of classifying the teaching of soft skills, still helps my mind wander about what I have done and what I can do with mu ventures.
One night, toward the end of class when my brain can pay no more tribute to knowledge, I came up with the idea to encourage the youngest staff member at Sarjana.co.id, after hammering into my head a concept 'People are assets of the highest value.' She has been facing what others would consider a failure, and yet still has fire for her work interacting with Indonesian youth through social media. How dumb was I to forget giving her praises for successfully executing my social media "strategy"? Well, pretty dumb, as I concluded that night.
People are just people. Without values, we are mammals seeking survival. And Sarjana.co.id is a real battle ground for me to test my values and train my ability to project and transfer these values through my collaboration with my passionate colleagues. For example, we are dedicated to persistence and endurance. With the amount of silent rejection that we have to face everyday, we find consolation in the integrity of our team. We joke around about old cheesy songs or our own frustration. It is easy to blame our surroundings, and though easier said than done, it is our responsibility to maintain our values intact: resilience, along with honesty, patience, and trust.
Though money is always the issue, it is often not. Incentives come in many forms. Project clear incentives for the success (and failures) in carrying out such complex tasks defined in the description of each job (and some more, for lean start-ups). 'Clear' means involving commitment, paid when owed, and open for discussion. Sarjana.co.id has been committed not to withhold financial compensation in exchange for performance, not stingy about encouragement and gratitude. Incentives move people; personal and collective incentives, that is. Emphasis only on personal incentives will create unhealthy internal competition. Emphasis only on the collective would not allow for individual recognitions or merit-based promotion. And we seek to strike a balance.
Two more class sessions to go. So I thought I've learned enough, we shall see.
