Leader Versus Manager

Managers give answers, leaders ask questions

Shouting orders at your staff will turn them against you. Instead, ask your employees this: “What would you do?” or “What do you think of this idea?”

By allowing people to participate in the decision-making process, you’ll transform what could have been an order into something more easily swallowed. This type of questioning will also inspire creativity, motivation, and autonomy in your staff.

 

Managers criticize mistakes, leaders call attention to mistakes indirectly

Pointing out your employees’ mistakes directly will only leave them feeling embarrassed and frustrated. Effective leaders give their employees the chance to learn and grow letting them address their mistakes themselves.
 

For example, say a project was sent to a client and you receive a disgruntled message in return. Calmly ask your employee about the clients’ concern and whether they feel what was provided was on par. This gives them a chance to provide input and understand what needs to be improved for the future.

 

Managers rarely praise, leaders reward even the smallest improvement

Praise is a must when it comes to effective leadership. Finding time to recognize your employees for even the smallest accomplishment will only increase their interest in what they do. Providing regular feedback and recognition is certain to show your employees you genuinely appreciate their efforts.

 

Managers focus on the bad, leaders emphasize the good

This really comes down to seeing the cup half empty or half full. Only tuning into the flaws of a project or an employee doesn’t leave room for learning or improvement. Become a stronger leader by creating a sandwich effect: Start with some form of praise, follow with the criticism, and end with praise.

 

Managers want credit, leaders credit their teams

Poor managers are always the first to take credit for positive praise; effective leaders understand the importance of crediting their team for the big wins. This pays off in the long run by establishing a more positive company culture where employees are driven toward more successes as a team.

 

Takaful Ikhlas Progress

Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd will focus on group insurance schemes in efforts to educate more Malay clients on the importance of Islamic insurance policy and protection coverage.

President and Chief Executive Officer Ab Latiff Abu Bakar said the Islamic insurance penetration rate by the Malays in the country was only 12 per cent, a very small percentage as compared to the population.

"Of the 88 per cent of the Malay market for Islamic insurance protection which have not been penetrated, we are aiming to secure up to 10 per cent next year, driven by would-be-launched new group schemes and existing group insurance policies. We are targeting RM10 million returns in the next five years from our group insurance schemes."

Ab Latiff said Takaful Ikhlas was also confident of netting RM2 million worth of sales this year from RM1.5 million last year, aided by the appointment of more agents, up to 50, and improved marketing strategies.

He said the Islamic insurance industry, particularly the Malaysian Takaful Association, must play its role to eduate the people who think that Islamic insurance and conventional insurance schemes are the same.

"The most important aspect is the product itself and the way we present and promote to potential clients. The insurance business is about reaching out to the masses. The products that we sell must be reasonable in terms of price and are affordable by the people.

"One of our strategies at Takaful Ikhlas is to come up with reasonable and affordable group insurance schemes that can be sold to target groups, be they cooperative members, trade unions, associations and affiliated bodies," he said.

Ab Latiff said the awareness on Islamic insurance schemes would serve as an "eye-opener" for the very small contribution of group Islamic insurance schemes to the company's overall financial results.
We launched three products recently basically to tackle the non-muslim customers as they accounted for only seven per cent from our 1.7 million policyholders. We have about 30 non-Muslim policyholders including agents sitting for qualifying examination before they can perform their duties.

"We are aiming for 100 non-Muslim agents by the end of the financial year (March 31, 2014) and we target to open 5,000 new policies from non-Muslim clients through the agents. We will explain to non-Muslim clients that the Islamic insurance is good for them as the investment is very stable. We will not invest in high-risk counters," he said.

The recently launched three insurance schemes were the first three products specially designed for non-Muslims, he said, adding that two more such schemes would be launched next year. The new schemes will focus more on entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises.

"These schemes will have no returns or dividends, only protection. Takaful Ikhlas may become the first Islamic insurance company to introduce such an insurance scheme in the country," he added.

Prudential BSN Takaful - Surplus

Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd (PruBSN) has announced a distribution of surplus to its certificate holders in respect of the financial year 2012.

In a statement by the insurance company yesterday, Pru- BSN said its eligible customers will receive a proportionate rate from the surplus of the Tabarru fund that is the pool of funds contributed by participants and also proceeds from the investment of the Individual Special Account (ISA), which is the certificate holders’ savings account.

“Close to 300,000 entitled certificate holders of the company’s ordinary family takaful plan, from a range of their innovative products, namely ummah, crisis cover, protect plus, and mortgage reducing term takaful will receive their share of the surplus from the Tabarru funds amounting to RM7.5 million,” it said in the statement.

At the same time, PruBSN said it will also be distributing RM11.3 million of investment profits to about 486,000 eligible participants.

“While thanking our customers for subscribing to our market leading innovative products and solutions, we look forward to their continued patronage in the future. We know PruBSN will not be the leading takaful operator it is today were it not be for the support of our customers.

“We shall continue to manage our finances and the Tabarru funds prudently and ensure that the distribution of surplus is made fairly, reflecting the Shariah principles of equitability,” PruBSN CEO Azim Mithani said in the statement.

PruBSN today protects and serves over 500,000 customers which is nearly 2% of the total Malaysian population.

Takaful Insurance At Crossroad

Steven Dewhurst, partner at DAC Beachcroft, suggests some regulatory action is needed to help tighten up the takaful market.

The Inland Revenue and Stamp Duty Legislation (Alternative Bond Schemes) (Amendment) Ordinance is not the flashiest title you could give a new piece of legislation, so it is perhaps understandable that its arrival in Hong Kong went largely unnoticed outside of the territory. Yet this obscure law, which puts the taxation of sukuk (Islamic bonds) on a level footing with conventional bonds in Hong Kong, marks a significant effort by the Hong Kong Government to promote the development of a sukuk market in the territory.

Hong Kong is not alone in seeking to position itself as a centre for Islamic finance. Stellar growth rates (albeit from a low base) have led to jurisdictions jostling for regional or global prominence.

Behind the hype, however, a more complex picture emerges. Last year's decision by HSBC Amanah to scale back its Islamic finance operations points to stellar growth rates failing to translate into a viable commercial proposition (in HSBC's case, the challenge lay in some markets being considered too small to justify continued operations). The point is that success in developing a market for Islamic finance is not just about regulation and tax. Most importantly, it is about ethics, in the form of Shariah compliance.

Banking dominance
Islamic finance continues to be dominated by banking. Insurance (takaful) has received much less attention and its development reflects a degree of neglect. Even in Malaysia, which has the most advanced system of takaful regulation in Asia (if not the world), the picture that exists is one of selective compliance with Shariah principles, aided by ineffective enforcement. Malaysian takaful is at a crossroads, however; a new Islamic Financial Services Act came into effect on 30 June 2013, introducing new provisions dealing specifically with Shari'ah compliance.

The interesting thing about Shariah compliance is that, like corporate governance, it embraces all aspects of a financial institution's commercial activities. We cannot (and should not) look at takaful as simply an alternative product which is sold to Muslims. Unlike conventional insurance, takaful is first and foremost an ethical proposition, not just a product. This explains why Malaysia's new Islamic Financial Services Act imposes a duty (backed by criminal penalties, no less) for takaful operators to ensure that all aspects of their commercial activities are Shariah compliant.

Takaful operators in Malaysia will surely struggle to satisfy this duty when it comes to looking at product integrity.

Spot the difference
The problem lies in the widespread use of takaful and retakaful contracts which are nothing more than conventional insurance and reinsurance contracts, "re-engineered" by replacing "insured" with "participant" and "premium" with "contribution" (to name two examples). The resulting products are fundamentally at odds with Shariah principles. The scale of this problem implies that it is simply a matter of time before Bank Negara singles out a takaful operator for enforcement, in order to encourage others.

Once it does so, Malaysia will cement its position as a leading global centre for Islamic finance, and its competitors will recognise the primary importance of creating and enforcing a strong ethical framework within which Islamic finance can thrive.

AXA & SingaporePost Alliance

Axa has entered into a partnership with SingaporePost to sell life insurance products in Singapore from January 2015.

Axa has entered into a partnership with SingPost to sell life insurance products in Singapore from January 2015. Axa will be able to sell life insurance products through SingPost's retail network in Singapore starting in January 2015.

Axa has gained exclusivity for marketing, promote, sell and distribute life insurance products through all of SingPost's retail channels.

Glen Williams, Axa Life Singapore's chief executive,  said: "We are extremely pleased with the opportunity to work with SingPost. Our purpose is to bring our worldwide insurance and risk expertise, and provide outstanding insurance protection solutions to more people by leveraging on SingPost's distribution capabilities, on top of our existing distribution channels."

What Is An Entrepreneur

What makes an entrepreneur successful?

Some people believe it's the ability to innovate. However, many startups are refinements of existing business models or improvements on how everyday products and services are delivered.  Being innovative helps, but it's not the deciding factor.

How about access to capital? It's admittedly difficult to start a business if you don't have the money to get it started.  Even so, there are plenty of successful startups that survived on the thinnest of shoestrings for their first few years.

Management skill? Give me a break. Entrepreneurs are famously short-tempered and few have the patience to coach employees.  If they wanted to play politics, after all, they would be working in a big company, not starting something new.

There is one thing and one thing alone that every great entrepreneur absolutely must possess: courage.

And courage is very rare in our world.  Numerous surveys of the population at large have shown that, above everything else, most people value security.

Most people will tolerate just about anything--a bad marriage, an intrusive government, a horrible boss, a job that they hate--if only that thing can make them feel more secure.

It's sad, really.

But entrepreneurs aren't like that.

It takes courage to forego the predictability of a corporate job.

It takes courage to sacrifice your nest egg to your startup.

It takes courage to take the risk of failure.

It takes courage to make your dreams into reality.

And it takes courage--lots of it--to hand over the reins when your startup grows beyond your ability to manage it.

That's why entrepreneurs are--rightly--the true heroes of our modern world.

Stay Motivated

1. Always act with a purpose.
If you don't know why you're doing something, you're making that part of your life utterly meaningless. String together enough meaningless acts in your life and your entire life will be literally pointless--without a point.

Starting every action with a review of your purpose, however, puts everything you do into context. Having a purpose for every act keeps you aimed at your life goals rather than cooling your heels.

2. Take responsibility for your own results.
Most people misinterpret this concept.  They think it means taking the credit when things go well and taking the blame when things go wrong. But taking responsibility is not about blame or credit; it's about what you do next.

If you're responsible for your own results, you take ownership of whatever future that emerges from those results. You continue to move forward towards your goals, even when you encounter setbacks.

3. Don't wait for perfection, just do it now!
Perfectionists are the hugest losers in life because they either expect things to be perfect before they take action or, if they do take action, they can't enjoy whatever happens because it's not the perfect outcome.

The real joy of achievement doesn't come from what you achieve but from your efforts in trying to achieve it. The only thing that's perfect in this world is that you're perfectly free to take action.  Now, as in right now.

4. Eat wisely because success takes energy.
Our civilization currently suffers from a self-induced plague of obesity, caused by the mass consumption of addictive food products that give people life-shortening diseases after first making them listless and drained.

I'm not saying you don't eat the occasional donut. However, if you want the energy to act, the energy to achieve your goals, you need to give your body the kind of fuel that can create that energy. And it's not refined sugar.

5. Surround yourself with motivated people.
Numerous scientific studies have shown that the people around you influence your behavior. They define what you consider "normal" and thereby either bring you up (or down) to their level.

If you hang around people who are energized, purposeful and committed to making a difference in the world, that's what you'll consider "normal."  Being motivated will stop being something that you do and instead become who you are.