A few days ago, I had a reunion with a few school friends. We met over drinks one pleasant evening. After an hour or so, I wanted to visit the restroom and stood up, a friend asked me where I was going. I replied - "When the going gets tough, the tough get going and I'm going" …. "to the rest room", I added in a lower tone and we all burst out laughing.
When I returned to the table, I reiterated the saying - "When going gets tough, the tough get going", and asked for votes on who believed in which interpretation, i.e.,
Interpretation 1: Whoever said it, probably meant that the people who are resilient and persistent keep on their tasks even when the circumstances are not very easy and encouraging.
Interpretation 2: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going, I'm going!".
Surprisingly, the group was divided and 80% voted for the latter…. My vote went to the former definition and I was expecting majority to vote the same way.
When I asked the 80% to explain their choice, they said - "when you have tried enough and know you cannot win in the current circumstances, you need to move on…".
What they were trying to tell me was that there is no point to die fighting, that we have limited capabilities and that survival is more important than martyrdom. They also said, move on while you are ahead…
What do you believe in?
Friday, January 3, 2014
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Leadership on Rotation
Leadership by Rotation is my attempt to develop leadership qualities and abilities at various levels in an organization…
About 8 years ago, I was faced with a situation when the Tech Lead of my team was facing a burnout and needed a break. At this time, as the Manager, I was responsible for product deliveries and for resolving the issue of leadership.
I performed a preliminary assessment of the Team Members and found that there were more than 1 eligible candidates for the Tech Leadership Position. If I chose one over the other, there would be dis-satisfaction and going ahead, there would be a power struggle and politics. There was a risk of disintegration of the team which I was not prepared to take.
It was here that I came up with the idea of "Leadership on Rotation".
I had 2 ongoing projects, and 4 more in the pipeline. I assigned one of the "eligible" candidates - Jack, as the Tech Lead for Project X and the other "eligible" candidate - Jamie, as the Tech Lead for Project Y.
The rule was that Jack was a Tech Lead for Project X and was also having a certain responsibility as a Team Member in Project Y. On the other hand, Jamie was a Tech Lead for Project Y and was also a Team Member for Project X.
This way, both Jack and Jamie were getting to be the Leader and the team member at the same time.
For a new Project Z, both Jack and Jamie were team members to a new Tech Lead John.
I had a reasonable amount of success with this concept - in deliveries and in creating a pipeline of future leadership in the company.
Here's a list of advantages of this approach:
About 8 years ago, I was faced with a situation when the Tech Lead of my team was facing a burnout and needed a break. At this time, as the Manager, I was responsible for product deliveries and for resolving the issue of leadership.
I performed a preliminary assessment of the Team Members and found that there were more than 1 eligible candidates for the Tech Leadership Position. If I chose one over the other, there would be dis-satisfaction and going ahead, there would be a power struggle and politics. There was a risk of disintegration of the team which I was not prepared to take.
It was here that I came up with the idea of "Leadership on Rotation".
I had 2 ongoing projects, and 4 more in the pipeline. I assigned one of the "eligible" candidates - Jack, as the Tech Lead for Project X and the other "eligible" candidate - Jamie, as the Tech Lead for Project Y.
The rule was that Jack was a Tech Lead for Project X and was also having a certain responsibility as a Team Member in Project Y. On the other hand, Jamie was a Tech Lead for Project Y and was also a Team Member for Project X.
This way, both Jack and Jamie were getting to be the Leader and the team member at the same time.
For a new Project Z, both Jack and Jamie were team members to a new Tech Lead John.
I had a reasonable amount of success with this concept - in deliveries and in creating a pipeline of future leadership in the company.
Here's a list of advantages of this approach:
- Those who want to lead, get an opportunity to do so.
- Those who get the opportunity to lead, understand & know that they have to be team members in their next project - this brings about a sense of empathy to fellow team members and solves the "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely", problem.
- Some team members who always have awesome ideas on leadership and how to run projects got to implement their ideas.
- We had a pool of leaders in the making.
By implementing this concept, I was able to identify "Adaptable" leaders, those who could Lead and Be Led. It was an eye opener for a few individuals who thought they could lead but unable to do so.
The implementation needed close monitoring and a lot of effort investment, but that is a small price to pay for the long term goals of the organization...
Friday, April 6, 2012
Kickstarting a Career...
I have had the opportunity to interview thousands of candidates for various positions in the Organizations I have been associated with in my career.
I have not seen many people who know exactly what they want to do in their careers. Most people have goals, that very generic like "settling down abroad" or "be a project manager in 5 years" and sometimes even "I need to buy and SUV next year!". That's not bad. A career does not depend on whether one has goal or not, what one needs is an opportunity!. My Blog Post on Opportunity explains what one needs to do to encash an opportunity.
When I interview candidates (I am referring to young Job Seekers, who are looking forward to their first job!), I get to hear the following expectations from their jobs;
When I ask them what they can contribute to this company at this point in time, they unabashedly say, "I don't know much now, you Train me and I will perform!".
I have not seen many people who know exactly what they want to do in their careers. Most people have goals, that very generic like "settling down abroad" or "be a project manager in 5 years" and sometimes even "I need to buy and SUV next year!". That's not bad. A career does not depend on whether one has goal or not, what one needs is an opportunity!. My Blog Post on Opportunity explains what one needs to do to encash an opportunity.
When I interview candidates (I am referring to young Job Seekers, who are looking forward to their first job!), I get to hear the following expectations from their jobs;
- No more than 8 hours at work
- Assignments abroad, frequent trips to different countries
- Working on New Technologies
- Change of Projects every 6 months to handle boredom
- Want to work on only X Technology and not on A, B or C
- Will work on Programming only, will not do any support activity
- Willing to work for a max of 2 years in this company
- No Work on Weekends
- Work-life balance
- Flexible Work Hours
- Lots of Training and Learning
- Vacation Time
- Free Transportation
- Free Food
- Recreation facilities at office
- Growth in their careers
- Good Salary to start with and raises of 30% year on year
- Loans for buying Vehicles and Home Appliances
- Sponsored Courses in Institutes of repute
- Time off to do a Post Graduate Course
I can go on and on. I have met very few people who have said, "I need this job and give me any work, I will do it". People come to interviews with closed mindsets, they come with a lot of expectations without willingness or intentions of earning any of it. Some candidates are so arrogant that they were not willing to work for less than "N" in salary as it is "Too Less", they did not even see, that their earning is 0 now, and that something is better than nothing...
Not one realizes, that the first step in one's career is To Secure the First Job. What assignments one works on, the career path, the technology, salaries offered, facilities provided in office are all immaterial.
There is so much of competition now. The loss of one candidate is the gain for another one. If one candidate refuses an offer, there will be 100 candidates who will be willing to accept the offer. It's time that the Job Seekers change their mind sets, set low expectations and grab any opportunity that comes their way. Career Management can happen later and there will be a lot of time for that...
Friday, March 30, 2012
I can't live without you...
My BlackBerry and My MacBook!
I spend a considerable amount of time with these two hi-tech devices each day. I am so addicted to these devices that I look at these even before I say good morning to anyone at home. I searched on Google for rehabilitation camps for this addiction... I found some interesting sites. So, this is a valid form of addiction and there are other people in this world who are also addicted and there are also some organizations that help in rehabilitation....
Yesterday, I sat thinking about what will happen if I shut both the devices off for a FULL MONTH. Here's what I discovered...
No Reminder Service
No Phone Book
I don't want to go to stone age, I can't live without you... my BlackBerry and MacBook!
I spend a considerable amount of time with these two hi-tech devices each day. I am so addicted to these devices that I look at these even before I say good morning to anyone at home. I searched on Google for rehabilitation camps for this addiction... I found some interesting sites. So, this is a valid form of addiction and there are other people in this world who are also addicted and there are also some organizations that help in rehabilitation....
Yesterday, I sat thinking about what will happen if I shut both the devices off for a FULL MONTH. Here's what I discovered...
No Reminder Service
- My Bills will never get paid as my reminder service will be shut.
- I will get beaten for not remembering Birthdays and Anniversaries.
- I will miss my "Favorite" TV Program because I don't remember which day and at what time it is telecast.
No Alarm Service
- I will not be able to get up in the morning as my Morning Alarm will not go off.
- My daughter or wife do not understand the "Snooze" function, so I guess I won't be woken up again, till I open my eyes on my own.
No Banking
- I have to walk to my ATM and figure out my bank balance!
- I cannot pay bills online! Have to figure out alternative ways to pay my bills.
No Phone Calls and Messages
- I cannot call my friends and relatives.
- I cannot register my complaints on service providers.
- I will not be able to call my wife as I do not remember her phone number.
- I have not used a Land Line in ages and I don't know what a Telephone Directory looks like. Even if I get my hands on one, I have to figure out how to use it.
- I cannot take photographs on the move.
- I cannot share these photographs with my friends and relatives.
- I will not be able to write new blog posts. So, I have to switch to writing on a notebook. OMG!, there is no backspace, no editing, no taking a break to consolidate my thoughts, I have to "Do it Right the First Time, Every time!".
- I will not be able to publish my blog posts each week.
No Writing To Communicate
No Facebook- I have forgotten how to write letters now, my daughter said, I got to walk to the neighborhood post office and buy an "Inland Letter" and write to anyone I want to.
- Oh, I have to write with a "Pen", I have used my pen only to sign Cheques and Application Form (my agent fills the form out for me).
- OMG!, my handwriting is pathetic with no practice over the years, and I was complaining about my Doctor's bad Hand Writing the other day. I used to type my Covering Letters in Microsoft Word and the print out on A4 sized sheets.
- Friends will not know what I am up to as I will not be able to access Facebook.
- I will not know what is happening in my friend's lives as I rely on facebook to tell me, I know of no other simpler ways to find friends and keep in touch....
- Some teams will stop functioning as they won't get responses to their emails.
- I won't get my Pay Slip & Income Tax Computation Working!
- Boss and Colleagues will forget that I exist.
No Research, Study & Reading
No My Time Piece & Calender- No Google, so I will not know where to search for information
- No Wikipedia to find consolidated information
- I have forgotten what a Library is and even don't know where I can find one!
- I will be tired of carrying books around as there is no pdf versions.
- I won't know what time it is, if someone asks me.
- I won't know the date as well.
- No Solitaire, No Word Mole, No Bejewelled
- No YouTube
I don't want to go to stone age, I can't live without you... my BlackBerry and MacBook!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Learning, while you are Earning
A few weeks ago, a 26 year old and very able professional resigned from the services of his company. Reasons for this decision was stated as continuing education and that his company was not willing to provide sufficient flexibility with respect to the 10 days of leave that he was asking for preparing and giving examinations.
This professional, started his career when he 16 years old, right after his 10th Grade examinations. He decided that "Studies" was not his cup of tea, so he dropped out, started working and gradually worked his way up be gathering experience on various assignments. He was fairly stable in his current organization where he had worked for more than 5 years. Something happened in his life that he decided that he should continue his education and get a Graduate Degree through Distance Education. So, he enrolled for a Degree that had little value add to his current role and responsibility, but more to do with the satisfaction of his own ego as he would be a Graduate. In his 2nd Semester, he requested for 10 days off to study and give his examinations and his request was approved in principle with a caveat, that he would be available in case of some problems because there was no one else in the company who could handle the department. So, our hero decided to get a small job in another company and decided to throw the existing job, where he was doing well, out the window and pursue his "Education". He was obsessed with the idea of being a Graduate.
I was confused about the intent of this man, he sacrificed his Education for a Career when he should have studied, and then 10 years later, he is sacrificing his Career for an Education, when he could have worked and grown...
I have gone thru' the Executive General Management Program at IIM Bangalore myself, and it was tough managing the day to day work, studies and family expectations. That 1 Year, I went thru' hell. I had to manage the dis-satisfaction of my family, my boss and my friends. Looking back, I really don't know what kept me going!.
I chose to go to school again because I was felt that my career was plateauing, I was solving problems with age old techniques and was finding it difficult to innovate at work, I needed a new perspective and I had to re-invent my thinking process. I achieved most of my objectives from the course.
Organizations pay for the value that one brings to the table and a small percentage is attributed to the individual's scaleability. People generally don't recognize this and take up an unrelated courses more from the Continuing Education purpose instead of Executive Education perspective. These courses add more soft skills instead of hard skills. Soft skills are intangible when compared to hard skills. Intangible skills take time to get recognized hence the "eagerly awaited" change in compensation and benefits take time to come by and then disgruntlement sets in.... people get upset and leave. Switching jobs after an Executive Education Degree or Certificate is easier as one can project/present oneself how he/she likes and get the new job. It is usually harder to stick around in the same company and wait for opportunity to come by and then rise up in the Organization Chart, one has to exhibit a lot of patience.
Executive Education Courses should be chosen carefully to enhance one's skill set or to add a certain missing skill set so that there is a Value Enhancement On The Job because it is this job that is providing the Bread, the Butter and the Jam.
This professional, started his career when he 16 years old, right after his 10th Grade examinations. He decided that "Studies" was not his cup of tea, so he dropped out, started working and gradually worked his way up be gathering experience on various assignments. He was fairly stable in his current organization where he had worked for more than 5 years. Something happened in his life that he decided that he should continue his education and get a Graduate Degree through Distance Education. So, he enrolled for a Degree that had little value add to his current role and responsibility, but more to do with the satisfaction of his own ego as he would be a Graduate. In his 2nd Semester, he requested for 10 days off to study and give his examinations and his request was approved in principle with a caveat, that he would be available in case of some problems because there was no one else in the company who could handle the department. So, our hero decided to get a small job in another company and decided to throw the existing job, where he was doing well, out the window and pursue his "Education". He was obsessed with the idea of being a Graduate.
I was confused about the intent of this man, he sacrificed his Education for a Career when he should have studied, and then 10 years later, he is sacrificing his Career for an Education, when he could have worked and grown...
I have gone thru' the Executive General Management Program at IIM Bangalore myself, and it was tough managing the day to day work, studies and family expectations. That 1 Year, I went thru' hell. I had to manage the dis-satisfaction of my family, my boss and my friends. Looking back, I really don't know what kept me going!.
I chose to go to school again because I was felt that my career was plateauing, I was solving problems with age old techniques and was finding it difficult to innovate at work, I needed a new perspective and I had to re-invent my thinking process. I achieved most of my objectives from the course.
Organizations pay for the value that one brings to the table and a small percentage is attributed to the individual's scaleability. People generally don't recognize this and take up an unrelated courses more from the Continuing Education purpose instead of Executive Education perspective. These courses add more soft skills instead of hard skills. Soft skills are intangible when compared to hard skills. Intangible skills take time to get recognized hence the "eagerly awaited" change in compensation and benefits take time to come by and then disgruntlement sets in.... people get upset and leave. Switching jobs after an Executive Education Degree or Certificate is easier as one can project/present oneself how he/she likes and get the new job. It is usually harder to stick around in the same company and wait for opportunity to come by and then rise up in the Organization Chart, one has to exhibit a lot of patience.
Executive Education Courses should be chosen carefully to enhance one's skill set or to add a certain missing skill set so that there is a Value Enhancement On The Job because it is this job that is providing the Bread, the Butter and the Jam.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Working for a Tyrant Boss!
My 1st Boss was a Tyrant, 2nd one was Friendly Back Stabber, 3rd one was Heartless Task Master, 4th one Hands off Delegator and I don't want to talk about my 5th and current boss for obvious reasons!.
1st Boss: Very loud, everything he says has to be done or someone gets yelled at. He gives me my first assignment and asks me how I will to go about it!, I had no idea where to start, no idea what I should do, people tell me that I will be torn apart. I sat thinking how I will solve it for about 30 mins, could not find the answer, had to close the task on the same day, so I mustered up courage, accepted martyrdom and walked into the Lion's den, I said, "Sir, I don't know how to solve this problem". Boss smiles, sits me down, explains step by step from fundamentals... a lesson I have not forgotten till date. From then on, he was my favorite. I was awed by his practical knowledge. No one dared to challenge him, because, he was never afraid to roll up his sleeve and complete the task without any help. He was fearless and would never buckle under pressure, because he had "been there and done that".
Lesson:
Lesson:
Lesson:
From my experience with all the bosses I have worked for, I hated the demanding bosses the most, but I got to learn a lot from them. They challenged me to do more, and do better, they were never satisfied with what I said or what I did. All suggestions I made were "wrong" and there was always a better "solution" that I was not aware of. Result was that, I was getting better and better and I was growing.
I have also had the opportunity to work for very capable and demanding bosses who used to insult, humiliate and waste time by conducting 8 hour meetings to punch holes in a 5 slide presentation just to demonstrate their power. I got a lot to learn from this type too, but what I learned was what "Not To Do".
Under the "not so demanding" bosses, life was stagnant, I never grew, I never learnt and I failed.
I have realized the value of my demanding bosses long after I left them, but deep inside my heart, I am grateful to all my bosses who pushed me hard, demanded more than I could deliver, it is because of them I am where I am and I do what I do...
Thank you my Tyrant Boss!.
1st Boss: Very loud, everything he says has to be done or someone gets yelled at. He gives me my first assignment and asks me how I will to go about it!, I had no idea where to start, no idea what I should do, people tell me that I will be torn apart. I sat thinking how I will solve it for about 30 mins, could not find the answer, had to close the task on the same day, so I mustered up courage, accepted martyrdom and walked into the Lion's den, I said, "Sir, I don't know how to solve this problem". Boss smiles, sits me down, explains step by step from fundamentals... a lesson I have not forgotten till date. From then on, he was my favorite. I was awed by his practical knowledge. No one dared to challenge him, because, he was never afraid to roll up his sleeve and complete the task without any help. He was fearless and would never buckle under pressure, because he had "been there and done that".
Lesson:
- Knowledge is power!.
- Never show resistance to do what you expect from your team members, when you lead, you lead from the front. If you expect your team to put in 16 hours to complete a task, you be ready to put 20 hours, be available to them, just in case they need anything.
- When team members come to you for help, spend time to mentor them, if you are able to help them, they will be independent soon, which will give you some spare time to add another skill and grow.
- Never be afraid of approaching your boss and saying you don't know or I need help, he cannot take your life, worst case, he can fire you, but you can always find another job...
Lesson:
- I failed because I did not work hard enough and took it easy.
- It is not ok to fail, never be carried away with re-assurances that tomorrow will be a better day, there is no tomorrow if you don't make the best use of today. Don't go to bed if you know that you are going to fail tomorrow.
- You get paid for performance, not potential.
Lesson:
- I learned to find my own solutions to my problems, not go running to my boss for solutions, I learned that by owning up the problem, by thinking hard and trying really hard, we can find solutions to any problem.
- I learned multi-tasking.
- I learned to prioritize.
- I learned to observe how my Boss thinks and be prepared with answers ahead of time. I was careful not to make assumptions using "my bosses' thought process" as a shield.
- Learnt the difference between Aggression and Assertiveness and when to use each.
- To win, you need to set a target better than the current record.
Lesson:
- I did not grow in this set up, I was contributing all my knowledge from my previous jobs into this one, and was not adding any more.
- I was working very hard to ensure that all was well, while someone else was walking away with the credit, it's glory and the accolades.
~o~o~o~
From my experience with all the bosses I have worked for, I hated the demanding bosses the most, but I got to learn a lot from them. They challenged me to do more, and do better, they were never satisfied with what I said or what I did. All suggestions I made were "wrong" and there was always a better "solution" that I was not aware of. Result was that, I was getting better and better and I was growing.
I have also had the opportunity to work for very capable and demanding bosses who used to insult, humiliate and waste time by conducting 8 hour meetings to punch holes in a 5 slide presentation just to demonstrate their power. I got a lot to learn from this type too, but what I learned was what "Not To Do".
Under the "not so demanding" bosses, life was stagnant, I never grew, I never learnt and I failed.
I have realized the value of my demanding bosses long after I left them, but deep inside my heart, I am grateful to all my bosses who pushed me hard, demanded more than I could deliver, it is because of them I am where I am and I do what I do...
Thank you my Tyrant Boss!.
Friday, March 9, 2012
How to destroy a Career!
This is a story about a young professional, a star performer, a potential future leader and how he destroyed his career...
He joined the company when he was fresh out of college. He was enthusiastic, quick witted, lively and knowledgeable. He joined the company with 14 others, within a week, they voted for him to be their representative, they gave him a nickname "Captain". This incident was noticed by the company management.
Captain topped in all assignments during the Induction Program and quickly grew in popularity. All the Project Managers wanted Captain in their teams. At the time of Project Assignments, the Resource Allocation Team gave him the option of choosing his own project, a rare distinction. Captain evaluated all available projects and chose his project.
Quickly Captain won accolades from other team members, he was faster than most others, would take just about 60% of the allocated time to complete an assignment, would move on to the next one as soon as he would finish his current task. The Project Manager was having a tough time keeping Captain "busy" with interesting assignments.
The next 3 years went by quickly, Captain was promoted to be a Team Leader.
One fine day, a senior in the team asked Captain, "why are you working so hard? Are they paying you too much?" --- this got Captain thinking. He was flabbergasted. The question made a lot of sense. He starting seeing other people around him, they were leaving at 6:30 PM, they were enjoying their lives, he realized that he was one of the first to come in to office, and the last to leave. He was doing almost 40% of the project all by himself, while people who were senior to him and who were getting better salaries than him, were getting away by contributing much lesser.
Captain started losing interest, his work hours were getting lesser and lesser, his efficiency suffered, he would come in at 9:30 AM and would be out the door at 6:30 PM. He was only doing what was being assigned. He was able to finish the assignment in 60% of the time, but never reported the completion of the task to the Manager before the deadline. In the spare time, Captain would chat with friends, browse the internet and while away time in the cafeteria. The story does not end here. Captain's interest fell further and his tasks were averaging a delay of 25% each time.
The Manager stopped giving interesting assignments to Captain, he stopped relying on him for delivery, his team was now reporting to someone else, Captain was reduced to a team member's role.
Captain started bad mouthing the company policies, he said that the Management does not know how to take care of loyal employees and his "own version" of the story of why he was demoted to a team member's role, he said it was because, his Manager was considering him a threat and so on.
Captain was fired after 4 years of service with the company.
Summarizing Captain's story;
Step 1: Captain listened to and more importantly, believed a manipulative senior,
Step 2: compared his contributions and salary with others', then lost interest in the work,
Step 3: started wasting time and subsequently introducing unnecessary delays in the task,
Step 4: lost out to others in the team for being more reliable, was demoted,
Step 5: then he started bad mouthing the Manager, the Management and the Company Policies.
This is how Captain initiated and architected his own downfall, but somehow, it was the Manager's fault.... he did not realize that his career was his responsibility and not his Manager's or the Organization's.
What captain did not realize is that;
He joined the company when he was fresh out of college. He was enthusiastic, quick witted, lively and knowledgeable. He joined the company with 14 others, within a week, they voted for him to be their representative, they gave him a nickname "Captain". This incident was noticed by the company management.
Captain topped in all assignments during the Induction Program and quickly grew in popularity. All the Project Managers wanted Captain in their teams. At the time of Project Assignments, the Resource Allocation Team gave him the option of choosing his own project, a rare distinction. Captain evaluated all available projects and chose his project.
Quickly Captain won accolades from other team members, he was faster than most others, would take just about 60% of the allocated time to complete an assignment, would move on to the next one as soon as he would finish his current task. The Project Manager was having a tough time keeping Captain "busy" with interesting assignments.
The next 3 years went by quickly, Captain was promoted to be a Team Leader.
One fine day, a senior in the team asked Captain, "why are you working so hard? Are they paying you too much?" --- this got Captain thinking. He was flabbergasted. The question made a lot of sense. He starting seeing other people around him, they were leaving at 6:30 PM, they were enjoying their lives, he realized that he was one of the first to come in to office, and the last to leave. He was doing almost 40% of the project all by himself, while people who were senior to him and who were getting better salaries than him, were getting away by contributing much lesser.
Captain started losing interest, his work hours were getting lesser and lesser, his efficiency suffered, he would come in at 9:30 AM and would be out the door at 6:30 PM. He was only doing what was being assigned. He was able to finish the assignment in 60% of the time, but never reported the completion of the task to the Manager before the deadline. In the spare time, Captain would chat with friends, browse the internet and while away time in the cafeteria. The story does not end here. Captain's interest fell further and his tasks were averaging a delay of 25% each time.
The Manager stopped giving interesting assignments to Captain, he stopped relying on him for delivery, his team was now reporting to someone else, Captain was reduced to a team member's role.
Captain started bad mouthing the company policies, he said that the Management does not know how to take care of loyal employees and his "own version" of the story of why he was demoted to a team member's role, he said it was because, his Manager was considering him a threat and so on.
Captain was fired after 4 years of service with the company.
Summarizing Captain's story;
Step 1: Captain listened to and more importantly, believed a manipulative senior,
Step 2: compared his contributions and salary with others', then lost interest in the work,
Step 3: started wasting time and subsequently introducing unnecessary delays in the task,
Step 4: lost out to others in the team for being more reliable, was demoted,
Step 5: then he started bad mouthing the Manager, the Management and the Company Policies.
This is how Captain initiated and architected his own downfall, but somehow, it was the Manager's fault.... he did not realize that his career was his responsibility and not his Manager's or the Organization's.
What captain did not realize is that;
- A negative talker has a ulterior, sinister and selfish motives. He should have reported the incident to the Management immediately.
- By working harder, he was the one who was amassing experience, what others taking 1 year to achieve, Captain was achieving in 0.6 years.
- It is unfair to compare one's salary to some one else's in the company. What one gets is what he/she deserves. One who is "underpaid and more productive" has a better chance to survive a layoff than the one who is "overpaid and under-productive". The same applies to getting a new job as well.
- Wasting time and introducing un-necessary delays on a task is a sin!, it is our duty to report the completion of a task as soon as it is done and move on to the next task.
- Bad mouthing the Management and Company policies is a crime. If one has a problem with a policy, then one should contact the Human Resources Department Representative or the Project Manager and not vent "feelings" in the Cafeteria with other employees.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Where's "My Life"?
One evening, I sat down thinking how long I have come, what "I was" and what "I am" and stopped at the question --- "Am I doing what -- I -- want to do?", the answer was "not everything I do is what I want to do", which led me to another question, "Where's -- My -- Life?". To seek the answer, I started out evaluating my life 5 years at a time, starting from the day I was born. Here's the train of my thoughts...
Age 0 to 5 - For the first 5 years of my life I slept when I wanted to, ate when I wanted, played when I wanted. My home was my world. Everyone I knew, my parents, my grand parents were all special, the person I was with, was the most important at that moment in time. I tore up news papers, broke my toys, learned to stand and walk, learned to talk, learned that I can attract attention by throwing a tantrum, realized that I can melt mom, but dad was tougher. I learned to use my mother's lap as my bed, learned to make a mess, I learned that I can pinch my younger brother to make him cry and I could quickly run to the other room and run back in looking all concerned as my little darling brother was crying . There was nothing I cared about, and I was not expected to, I did what my heart said, I guess, my brain was only helping me with instant non sense.
Age 5 to 10 - I went to school, don't know what was happening, teacher said "A for Apple" and "Two Times Three is Six", and I believed it. Learnt to make friends, learned to complain, learnt that there is a variety of food beyond what my mother cooked. I learnt to use a fork to eat noodles. My teacher helped me discover the world, various continents, cities and it's peoples. When I came home to tell my dad that we live in a continent called Asia, he said he already knew about it!.
Age 10 to 15 - Learnt that I had stage fear, realized the friends can be enemies too, dad said "work hard and be competitive, you got to top the exams", I liked literature, I liked art, dad said "no way, there is no money in it, how are you going to feed your family", teachers told my parents that I was a good student, but I must work harder, dad said, "10th standard is the most important milestone and you get only one chance at it, so don't waste time". I wanted to learn to play the guitar, my dad wanted me to get trained on vocals, issue is unresolved to this date!. This was my initiation into Peer Pressure and the Rat Race.
Age 15 to 20 - "What are you going to do now? Engineering? Medicine? you must take up Science and prepare for the Entrance Tests", I told dad, I want to be a mechanic as I love automobiles, dad completed my admission formalities to study Electrical & Electronics Engineering in an Engineering College. New life, new friends, new freedom, professors are not bothered if I am present or absent in their class, they were there to do their job, i.e., deliver their lecture and get going. It is here I learnt that "teachers were working for money too", the picture of a teacher, a Guru who was preparing us to change the world was shattered. Staying in a college hostel, I realized, I have to live on a budget, bills had to be paid in time. I learned how to make five hundred rupees last for a month.
Age 20 to 25 - "Hey, you know this great IT company, they pay a big salary, they depute you around the world to work, you get to earn in Dollars, we should get IT jobs", another line of thought, "who cares for a job anyway, let's get done with Engineering first and then think what next", get a CV ready, do a software course and be ready when Companies come to the Campus, got a job, realized that it takes 10 days of work to earn Rs.1,000 and I have pay 10% of my earnings to the Government as Tax, but in college, all it would take is a phone call to dad, a cheque would arrive in 3 days. Learned that there is something called "Job Satisfaction" and I also learned that I was not satisfied!, learned to switch jobs, learned that interviews are just meetings where my interviewer is telling me that I am unfit for the job and I am trying to convince him otherwise!.
Age 25 to 30 - Have to earn more money, have to buy that cool red bike, just like my friend's, need a bigger room to stay, need a computer so I can browse the net when I get home. Have to try out swanky restaurants, watch movies, "Friday Dressing" sounds cool, I need a new wardrobe, hey you checked the new mobile phone? need that as well. How do I fund all this, it's easy, switch jobs. I wanted to make a statement that I had arrived and I needed a lifestyle to prove it. "Dad, I earn more than you!", I said, dad smiled.
Age 30 to 35 - Got married, disposable income got multiplied by 2. Need an apartment now, buy one, get a promotion, buy a car, daughter is born, watch her grow. Wife is busy taking pictures, making albums and shopping for the kid, while I tagged along figuring out what it would take to keep up with the expenses. As new parents we are trying to teach the kid to walk, to talk, to behave and what not, I now realize what my dad did for me. It's time to settle down, my outlook changed from a "Job" to a "Career", I am looking for stability, I am looking for work-life balance.
Age 35 to 40 - Which school is she going to go? Planning for my daughter's education, buy insurance polices, save for her education, plan for our retirement, "spread the risk", said the investment consultant, he said I should invest in stocks now, wife wants to buy jewelry because prices of Gold dropped by Rs.20 per gram, "what the hell? you want me to spend over Rs.100,000 to save Rs.800!, it's ridiculous", man will this ever end? Where's "my life"?
I don't know what life has in store for me. For once I have concluded that I won't have "my life" again, at least not in the next 3 decades or so, that is if I live that long!. The only time I did what I wanted to do was when I was less than 5 years old, I was living "My Life", but I didn't know it then!, after that it was predominantly doing what my parents wanted, what my teachers wanted, what my friends wanted, what my boss wanted. what my wife wanted, now it is what my daughter wants...
Now that I realize that "My Life" is my family, my friends and my work, then why complain? I should try to be happy to live for others in my life...
Age 0 to 5 - For the first 5 years of my life I slept when I wanted to, ate when I wanted, played when I wanted. My home was my world. Everyone I knew, my parents, my grand parents were all special, the person I was with, was the most important at that moment in time. I tore up news papers, broke my toys, learned to stand and walk, learned to talk, learned that I can attract attention by throwing a tantrum, realized that I can melt mom, but dad was tougher. I learned to use my mother's lap as my bed, learned to make a mess, I learned that I can pinch my younger brother to make him cry and I could quickly run to the other room and run back in looking all concerned as my little darling brother was crying . There was nothing I cared about, and I was not expected to, I did what my heart said, I guess, my brain was only helping me with instant non sense.
Age 5 to 10 - I went to school, don't know what was happening, teacher said "A for Apple" and "Two Times Three is Six", and I believed it. Learnt to make friends, learned to complain, learnt that there is a variety of food beyond what my mother cooked. I learnt to use a fork to eat noodles. My teacher helped me discover the world, various continents, cities and it's peoples. When I came home to tell my dad that we live in a continent called Asia, he said he already knew about it!.
Age 10 to 15 - Learnt that I had stage fear, realized the friends can be enemies too, dad said "work hard and be competitive, you got to top the exams", I liked literature, I liked art, dad said "no way, there is no money in it, how are you going to feed your family", teachers told my parents that I was a good student, but I must work harder, dad said, "10th standard is the most important milestone and you get only one chance at it, so don't waste time". I wanted to learn to play the guitar, my dad wanted me to get trained on vocals, issue is unresolved to this date!. This was my initiation into Peer Pressure and the Rat Race.
Age 15 to 20 - "What are you going to do now? Engineering? Medicine? you must take up Science and prepare for the Entrance Tests", I told dad, I want to be a mechanic as I love automobiles, dad completed my admission formalities to study Electrical & Electronics Engineering in an Engineering College. New life, new friends, new freedom, professors are not bothered if I am present or absent in their class, they were there to do their job, i.e., deliver their lecture and get going. It is here I learnt that "teachers were working for money too", the picture of a teacher, a Guru who was preparing us to change the world was shattered. Staying in a college hostel, I realized, I have to live on a budget, bills had to be paid in time. I learned how to make five hundred rupees last for a month.
Age 20 to 25 - "Hey, you know this great IT company, they pay a big salary, they depute you around the world to work, you get to earn in Dollars, we should get IT jobs", another line of thought, "who cares for a job anyway, let's get done with Engineering first and then think what next", get a CV ready, do a software course and be ready when Companies come to the Campus, got a job, realized that it takes 10 days of work to earn Rs.1,000 and I have pay 10% of my earnings to the Government as Tax, but in college, all it would take is a phone call to dad, a cheque would arrive in 3 days. Learned that there is something called "Job Satisfaction" and I also learned that I was not satisfied!, learned to switch jobs, learned that interviews are just meetings where my interviewer is telling me that I am unfit for the job and I am trying to convince him otherwise!.
Age 25 to 30 - Have to earn more money, have to buy that cool red bike, just like my friend's, need a bigger room to stay, need a computer so I can browse the net when I get home. Have to try out swanky restaurants, watch movies, "Friday Dressing" sounds cool, I need a new wardrobe, hey you checked the new mobile phone? need that as well. How do I fund all this, it's easy, switch jobs. I wanted to make a statement that I had arrived and I needed a lifestyle to prove it. "Dad, I earn more than you!", I said, dad smiled.
Age 30 to 35 - Got married, disposable income got multiplied by 2. Need an apartment now, buy one, get a promotion, buy a car, daughter is born, watch her grow. Wife is busy taking pictures, making albums and shopping for the kid, while I tagged along figuring out what it would take to keep up with the expenses. As new parents we are trying to teach the kid to walk, to talk, to behave and what not, I now realize what my dad did for me. It's time to settle down, my outlook changed from a "Job" to a "Career", I am looking for stability, I am looking for work-life balance.
Age 35 to 40 - Which school is she going to go? Planning for my daughter's education, buy insurance polices, save for her education, plan for our retirement, "spread the risk", said the investment consultant, he said I should invest in stocks now, wife wants to buy jewelry because prices of Gold dropped by Rs.20 per gram, "what the hell? you want me to spend over Rs.100,000 to save Rs.800!, it's ridiculous", man will this ever end? Where's "my life"?
~ o ~ o ~ o ~
Now that I realize that "My Life" is my family, my friends and my work, then why complain? I should try to be happy to live for others in my life...
Saturday, February 25, 2012
We have Qualifications, Are we Educated?
Education is the act of imparting knowledge to an individual, which results in better behavior and actions that contribute to improve society.
Nowadays people spend a lot of money on Education of their children. I see kids going to tuition and classes to learn various skills outside of their curriculum - tremendous amount of learning and exposure. Truly, we have come a long way with our Education System.
Interestingly, In India, the Literacy rates have increased from around 5% in 1911 to 65% in 2001 and then to around 75% in 2011.
The question is, are we really Educated?
If Yes, then...
Nowadays people spend a lot of money on Education of their children. I see kids going to tuition and classes to learn various skills outside of their curriculum - tremendous amount of learning and exposure. Truly, we have come a long way with our Education System.
Interestingly, In India, the Literacy rates have increased from around 5% in 1911 to 65% in 2001 and then to around 75% in 2011.
The question is, are we really Educated?
If Yes, then...
- Why can't we tolerate a slower vehicle ahead of us?
- Why do people waiting at the Traffic Signal honk when the signal turns Green?
- Why is it that, an error in the software program we just wrote is "just a bug", but a wrong calculation on the Bank Account Statement is something we would sue the bank for?
- Why is it that we expect our customers to understand why the project is delayed, but we yell at the Pizza Delivery Boy for being 10 mins late?
- Why is it that we get upset when the boss admonishes us for delay in the project, but we cannot tolerate a delay in the paycheck?
- Why is it that we expect appreciation for the "good" work we do, but expect the Management to "understand" we make mistakes and feel bad when management asks us to show cause?
- Why is it that the Policeman always stands at the end of the One Way Street to issue a Ticket to people who have broken the law and not stand the beginning of the street trying to prevent people from breaking the law?
- Why do children at school compare their father's cars and discuss religion?
- Why should a child try to get more marks just because the neighbor's child has obtained better marks in the test at school?
- Why do we need facebook to stay in touch?
- Why do friends compare their salaries, cars, work and designations when they get together?
- Why does a family of 3 want a 5 bedroom apartment?
- Why is grass greener on the other side? Why is my friend's company always better than the one I work for?
Think about it...
Saturday, February 18, 2012
What I learnt from my Mother: Responsibility
When I was a kid, I used to feel important when my parents would assign some tasks to me, like watering the plants everyday or bringing the newspaper and milk bottles from our door-step every morning. I remember very clearly, that I would perform each of my tasks for a few days and then either lose interest or get lazy and then forgot all about it only to find out many weeks later, that my mother had "assumed the responsibilities" of my tasks....
There was not a single day, when my mother would forget to make breakfast on a Sunday or chose to skip doing the laundry because it was a National Holiday!
My mother would ask me, my brother and my dad, what we would like to eat the next day and carefully plan every night how she is going to fulfill our wishes for "tomorrow". There is not a single day that I remember of, when my mother did not fulfill a "reasonable" demand!
Another interesting fact that I remember about my mother is that, I don't recall my mother falling sick or being too sick to cook, there was always something to eat when I was hungry.
What I learnt from my mother was RESPONSIBILITY and that
There was not a single day, when my mother would forget to make breakfast on a Sunday or chose to skip doing the laundry because it was a National Holiday!
My mother would ask me, my brother and my dad, what we would like to eat the next day and carefully plan every night how she is going to fulfill our wishes for "tomorrow". There is not a single day that I remember of, when my mother did not fulfill a "reasonable" demand!
Another interesting fact that I remember about my mother is that, I don't recall my mother falling sick or being too sick to cook, there was always something to eat when I was hungry.
What I learnt from my mother was RESPONSIBILITY and that
- Responsibility is ABSOLUTE! - there are no ifs and buts, no National Holidays, no breaks and no vacations.
- Responsibility is not a 9 to 6 job! - it is a 24x7 job.
- When one takes up a Responsibility, it better get done, because someone is depending on you to do it.
- Responsibility does not need "Comfortable Working Conditions" or "Encouraging and Supportive Customers", only an iron will to do a great job at all costs.
- Responsibility is a Thankless Job! - don't expect a pat in the back for each successful attempt, get on to the next task as soon as possible.
- There are no Shortcuts when one takes up a Responsibility! - the involvement and commitment required is 100% - no one likes a half cooked meal.
- Anything that prevents one from executing the Responsibility is just an Excuse! and not a Reason.
- Most important thing about Responsibility is that one feels for the task or the group of people. The "Brain" follows the "Heart" when a responsibility is involved.
How I wish, we all implement these lessons at work, there will be no loss making companies and no dis-satisfied employees...
Monday, February 13, 2012
Opportunity - Are you Ready for Success?
A few months ago, I read this wonderful book from Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers. Malcolm Gladwell is, in my opinion, an exceptional author and each of his theories are well supported by data that is an outcome of thorough research. In a world of great thinkers, who have attempted to solve complex problems, Malcolm Gladwell, takes our attention to simple occurrences, conducts research, derives data and draws simple conclusions that change one's thought process.
In this blog, I draw the reader's attention to a section in the book Outliers, called the 10,000 hour rule.
This section articulates Malcolm Gladwell's research on successful musicians, entrepreneurs and sports persons. He says, each successful person he interviewed had put in at least 10,000 hours at honing and perfecting their skill.
In the book, Malcolm Gladwell also describes the criteria for being Rich or Successful - he says, you have to be born between certain years.
The key point is that --- Opportunity does not leave a Visiting Card at the door and leave a message that says it will return in a few days. Opportunity comes when you least expect it to come.
The Person who cashes in on the Opportunity is the person who was the most "Prepared" to do so, meaning the person has already put in the 10,000 hours in the skill.
When you don't know when the opportunity is going to come, you cannot predict when the opportunity is going to come, so why not get the 10,000 hours as soon as possible and be ready when the opportunity comes?
To get to the 10,000 hours mark, a person...
In this blog, I draw the reader's attention to a section in the book Outliers, called the 10,000 hour rule.
This section articulates Malcolm Gladwell's research on successful musicians, entrepreneurs and sports persons. He says, each successful person he interviewed had put in at least 10,000 hours at honing and perfecting their skill.
In the book, Malcolm Gladwell also describes the criteria for being Rich or Successful - he says, you have to be born between certain years.
The key point is that --- Opportunity does not leave a Visiting Card at the door and leave a message that says it will return in a few days. Opportunity comes when you least expect it to come.
The Person who cashes in on the Opportunity is the person who was the most "Prepared" to do so, meaning the person has already put in the 10,000 hours in the skill.
When you don't know when the opportunity is going to come, you cannot predict when the opportunity is going to come, so why not get the 10,000 hours as soon as possible and be ready when the opportunity comes?
To get to the 10,000 hours mark, a person...
- working at 8 hours a day, requires 1,250 days which equals 5 years (@ 250 work days a year)
- working 10 hours a day, requires 1,000 days, which equals 4 years
- working 12 hours a day, requires 834 days, which equals 3.33 years
- working 16 hours a day, requires 625 days, which equals 2.5 years
So, working harder, gets you prepared sooner, enhancing your chances to cash in on the opportunity when it comes!
Now look at it in another way, working 12 hours a day, gets you 5 years worth of experience in just 3.33 years!
Everyone likes a hardworking team member. So, when the Boss is looking for a person who has the best chance of solving a very critical problem or to handle a very important project, I would recommend the most hardworking individual in my team. This is because the hard working individual has the highest chance of success!, and I don't want to look like a fool by betting on someone who is less hardworking. As time goes by, this hardworking individual, gets more opportunities than others in the team and eventually becomes more successful.
Others become obsolete and complain, that the company does not care for them, they do not provide the right environment for people to succeed and blame everything in sight.... in reality, this individual has never tried and they are in this position because of their own actions....
When I say working hard, I mean, working hard in the right direction!, For example: I live in Bangalore, if I set a goal of climbing Mount Everest, I need to start my journey in the North of Bangalore. Well, I can even start traveling south and still reach Mount Everest, but, I would have circumvented the Earth and reached at the base of Mount Everest from the Tibet.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Bad News Travels Fast!
I admit that I have committed errors, mistakes and some serious blunders in my professional life. I am not ashamed of my mistakes because I have learnt from each one of them.
I used to wonder how my boss gets to know about my mistakes before I highlight the error to him myself?
Yes, I agree that some colleagues like to highlight my error, just to show that they are better than I am. It's fine, I am not competing with them anyway, so I don't care.
I don't care because I know what I know, I know what I don't know and I am proud of my achievements so far and am willing to work hard to achieve more in the future...
Coming back to the point --- my boss gets information about my mistakes before I take it to him as I delay taking the bad news to him as soon as it happened or discovered. When I delay my communication, I give others the chance to carry the information for me, hence Bad News Travels Fast.
Why do I delay informing my boss of my errors? There are 2 reasons....
Reason # 1 is being UNPROFESSIONAL.
Reason # 2 is PROCRASTINATION. I just need a reason to postpone taking the issue up with my boss because I am afraid of his reactions.
The best approach is ....
Don't hide your mistakes, because someone else will discover it eventually and highlight the error. If this happens, it will be humiliating.
Don't be scared of reactions - if you have made the mistake, be fearless and admit it, be graceful and accept the punishment. Worst case you'll get sacked, no one can take your life from you, you can always start over!
Be the one to communicate your own bad news first....
I used to wonder how my boss gets to know about my mistakes before I highlight the error to him myself?
Yes, I agree that some colleagues like to highlight my error, just to show that they are better than I am. It's fine, I am not competing with them anyway, so I don't care.
I don't care because I know what I know, I know what I don't know and I am proud of my achievements so far and am willing to work hard to achieve more in the future...
Coming back to the point --- my boss gets information about my mistakes before I take it to him as I delay taking the bad news to him as soon as it happened or discovered. When I delay my communication, I give others the chance to carry the information for me, hence Bad News Travels Fast.
Why do I delay informing my boss of my errors? There are 2 reasons....
- I do not want to highlight my errors to my boss, because it will make me look bad.
- When I highlight the error to my boss, he will call me dumb, he will be angry and yell at me.
Reason # 1 is being UNPROFESSIONAL.
Reason # 2 is PROCRASTINATION. I just need a reason to postpone taking the issue up with my boss because I am afraid of his reactions.
The best approach is ....
- Be fearless and let the boss know of the error as soon as it is discovered.
- Apologize for the error.
- Give assurance that this will never happen again.
- Figure out the Root Cause of the error and define preventive actions.
- Go back to boss and explain why the error happened and how you plan to prevent such errors in the future.
Don't hide your mistakes, because someone else will discover it eventually and highlight the error. If this happens, it will be humiliating.
Don't be scared of reactions - if you have made the mistake, be fearless and admit it, be graceful and accept the punishment. Worst case you'll get sacked, no one can take your life from you, you can always start over!
Be the one to communicate your own bad news first....
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Customer is King!
This post is dedicated to Mr.Vineet Nayar, CEO, HCL Technologies and his "Employee First Initiative".
I have heard this statement a million times, every company believes in this, every customer centric training emphasizes this, seasoned professionals "live this".
Software Quality Models emphasize that customer requirements are top priority for any project. The implementation of these models have proved that the only way to transform Customer Satisfaction to Customer Delight is by meeting the Customer's Requirements.
Customer's Requirement is a Statement of their Problem ---- Problem may be a Business Problem or a Problem related to personal life. Customers approach you for a solution to their "problem".
Example: my mobile phone stops working, so I need a new phone, I go to an electronics store and buy one. I don't feel like cooking, so I go to a restaurant to eat. If my phone was working, would I have gone to the electronics store? If I was in a mood to cook, would I have gone to the restaurant to eat?
So, a "Customer" is driven by his "problem" and seeks a solution.
The Customer approaches that Organization or Individual for a solution...
Mature Software Quality Systems ensure that customer requirements are fulfilled and also ensure that they are fulfilled consistently. This ensures the upkeep of service levels of an organization thereby ensuring a fair degree of Customer Satisfaction.
Most young employees I speak with, think that a Customer is a Client who pays the Organization which in turn help pay their salaries.
I tell them, they are 50% correct!. I add "all Customers, don't pay....".
Customers are of two types
I have heard this statement a million times, every company believes in this, every customer centric training emphasizes this, seasoned professionals "live this".
Software Quality Models emphasize that customer requirements are top priority for any project. The implementation of these models have proved that the only way to transform Customer Satisfaction to Customer Delight is by meeting the Customer's Requirements.
Customer's Requirement is a Statement of their Problem ---- Problem may be a Business Problem or a Problem related to personal life. Customers approach you for a solution to their "problem".
Example: my mobile phone stops working, so I need a new phone, I go to an electronics store and buy one. I don't feel like cooking, so I go to a restaurant to eat. If my phone was working, would I have gone to the electronics store? If I was in a mood to cook, would I have gone to the restaurant to eat?
So, a "Customer" is driven by his "problem" and seeks a solution.
The Customer approaches that Organization or Individual for a solution...
- who has delivered solutions to the customer's problem most consistently in the past OR
- who has a reputation to deliver OR
- who has the potential to deliver
.... in that order.
Mature Software Quality Systems ensure that customer requirements are fulfilled and also ensure that they are fulfilled consistently. This ensures the upkeep of service levels of an organization thereby ensuring a fair degree of Customer Satisfaction.
Most young employees I speak with, think that a Customer is a Client who pays the Organization which in turn help pay their salaries.
I tell them, they are 50% correct!. I add "all Customers, don't pay....".
Customers are of two types
- External Customers
- Internal Customers
External Customers pay the company for services rendered. Internal Customers are colleagues who we deal with everyday.
For the trainee, one of the internal customers is his Team Leader, who allocates work to this person with an expectation that work will be delivered without defects and on time.
When the trainee is undergoing training, he/she becomes the Internal Customer of the Trainer. It is the Trainer's responsibility to meet expectations of all the trainees in the classroom.
So, all employees are internal customers of each other....
At work we meet many Internal Customers who approach us with an expectation that their "problem" will be solved. When we have a design problem, we approach the most experienced and reputed design engineer. When we need clarification on our leave eligibility, we approach the designated HR Executive. When we need to apply for leave from work, we approach our Manager. When we need clarification in the project requirements, we approach the Business Analyst.
It is important to first meet the expectations of the Internal Customer which translates to meeting the expectations of the External Customers!. If we want to Transform External Customer Satisfaction to External Customer Delight, then we need to first transform Internal Customer Satisfaction to Internal Customer Delight..... after all, they say "Charity begins at home". So if all people in the project resolve to solve each other's "problems", there is no way the external customer's "problem" will remain unsolved....
It is time to focus on achieving Internal Customer Delight now.........
For the trainee, one of the internal customers is his Team Leader, who allocates work to this person with an expectation that work will be delivered without defects and on time.
When the trainee is undergoing training, he/she becomes the Internal Customer of the Trainer. It is the Trainer's responsibility to meet expectations of all the trainees in the classroom.
So, all employees are internal customers of each other....
At work we meet many Internal Customers who approach us with an expectation that their "problem" will be solved. When we have a design problem, we approach the most experienced and reputed design engineer. When we need clarification on our leave eligibility, we approach the designated HR Executive. When we need to apply for leave from work, we approach our Manager. When we need clarification in the project requirements, we approach the Business Analyst.
It is important to first meet the expectations of the Internal Customer which translates to meeting the expectations of the External Customers!. If we want to Transform External Customer Satisfaction to External Customer Delight, then we need to first transform Internal Customer Satisfaction to Internal Customer Delight..... after all, they say "Charity begins at home". So if all people in the project resolve to solve each other's "problems", there is no way the external customer's "problem" will remain unsolved....
It is time to focus on achieving Internal Customer Delight now.........
Monday, August 1, 2011
Commitment!
A few years ago, I was conducting an Induction program for a group of new Software Engineers in my company. I was explaining the characteristics that are required of them to grow in the organization. 2 hours into the session, I came to a point on my presentation --- "Commitment". I explained to the trainees, how important commitment is and that they should be committed to the tasks assigned unconditionally till it is done. I also mentioned that their performance appraisal will depend on the levels of commitment demonstrated.....
One of the trainees asked me, "Sir, could you please explain Commitment because I want to know what is expected of me?"
I explained, I see commitment as Devotion to a cause. Commitment is keeping at a task, however hard it may be, and not giving up till is done. Staying committed to the cause is perseverance!. The quality of perseverance is directly proportional to the levels of commitment in an individual.
Here's an example: A 100 meter sprint athlete sets a goal to participate in the next Olympics which is 4 years away. This athlete is training to better the current world record. He trains for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for 4 years, with a single purpose --- To win a Gold Medal in the next Olympics. It is his only chance as he will be too old for the next Olympics. So, the athlete trains to achieve his goal......
Let us look at some data on the athlete's training time......
So the Athlete trains for 53,913,600 seconds for a 100 meter race, that ends in 9.69 seconds! Amazing isn't it?
What are the chances that this athlete will win? In fact, there is very very high chance that this athlete will fail to even qualify, but still, the athlete persists.... and never gives up.
A normal individual, with low levels of commitment will ask, isn't it too much to give for a race that ends in under 10 seconds? The committed athlete will go for it, because his goal is to win the Olympic Gold Medal....
This is what I call commitment!
One of the trainees asked me, "Sir, could you please explain Commitment because I want to know what is expected of me?"
I explained, I see commitment as Devotion to a cause. Commitment is keeping at a task, however hard it may be, and not giving up till is done. Staying committed to the cause is perseverance!. The quality of perseverance is directly proportional to the levels of commitment in an individual.
Here's an example: A 100 meter sprint athlete sets a goal to participate in the next Olympics which is 4 years away. This athlete is training to better the current world record. He trains for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for 4 years, with a single purpose --- To win a Gold Medal in the next Olympics. It is his only chance as he will be too old for the next Olympics. So, the athlete trains to achieve his goal......
Let us look at some data on the athlete's training time......
Number of hours per day
12 hours
Number of days per week
6 days
Number of weeks per year
52 weeks
Number of years to the Olympics
4 years
100 meters Olympic Record to beat
9.69 seconds
Total Time spent on training
12 hours x 6 days x 52 weeks x 4 years
equals 14,976 hours
equals 898,560 minutes
equals 53,913,600 seconds
What are the chances that this athlete will win? In fact, there is very very high chance that this athlete will fail to even qualify, but still, the athlete persists.... and never gives up.
A normal individual, with low levels of commitment will ask, isn't it too much to give for a race that ends in under 10 seconds? The committed athlete will go for it, because his goal is to win the Olympic Gold Medal....
This is what I call commitment!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Benefit of the Doubt!
I feel bad when people say things I don't like. I am hurt when people challenge my integrity and commitment. I feel miserable when someone questions my good intentions. I feel awful when someone asks me what I feel about a problem and then just sets my suggestions and ideas aside even though they originate from ground realities....
One evening, my 8 year old daughter asked for my help to solve her Maths homework problem. She waited patiently till I solved it and then I explained the solution to her. She was happy and hopped away, at least I thought she was happy!. About an hour later, I saw my wife solving the same problem with my daughter but her method was slightly different. I was furious, does this kid not trust my abilities?. I asked my wife, why our daughter came to her, even after I had explained the solution of the problem? was she trying to ascertain if the solution was correct? why couldn't she come and ask me to explain again if she had not understood, I would have gladly explained.....
I realized, that the people you live with or interact on a daily basis say something or do something you don't expect or like, you feel bad, but when the same action is performed by a stranger, it does not matter.
So, how do you use these lessons to overcome the "hurt feeling", when someone near and dear says or does something unexpected? The "hurt feeling" is so costly that it affects your psyche resulting in ill health, it affects productivity initially and the job finally, it threatens the very basis of civilized societies... "Relationships".
The answer is.....
Let me explain!....
When I saw my wife solving the same problem for my daughter, instead of feeling enraged, if I thought -- "maybe she did not understand it after all... she did not want to disturb me again so she requested her mother for help!"..... now I don't feel bad.
Boss asks me what I think of a new idea, I make suggestions, he listens and then asks another person in my presence, I say to myself "maybe he saw a big flaw in my idea, he did not want to highlight it in front of others, so he decided to move on" ..... now I don't feel bad.
My close friend admonishes me for something I said, while, I'm sure I did not mean it..... I say to myself "maybe he is having a bad day and is just venting his frustrations" ..... now I don't feel bad.
This feeling of hurt would sap my energies and would affect my relations with people at work and at home. It had even started affecting my work. Something was wrong... and I had to do something to overcome this problem....
One evening, my 8 year old daughter asked for my help to solve her Maths homework problem. She waited patiently till I solved it and then I explained the solution to her. She was happy and hopped away, at least I thought she was happy!. About an hour later, I saw my wife solving the same problem with my daughter but her method was slightly different. I was furious, does this kid not trust my abilities?. I asked my wife, why our daughter came to her, even after I had explained the solution of the problem? was she trying to ascertain if the solution was correct? why couldn't she come and ask me to explain again if she had not understood, I would have gladly explained.....
My wife explained "your solution is correct, but your solution method is not the same as what was taught in the kid's school"....... she had a point how can I expect this kid to understand various ways of solving problems... she is only 8 years old......
Another day, I was out on my evening walk in the neighborhood, a stranger came up to me and asked me the way to a certain place.... I patiently explained how to get there, he argued with me that someone else had told him a slightly different route to get there. I told him, "I stay close by and I know this is the best way to get where he wanted to go". He mumbled a "thank you" and walked on. Curiosity got the better of me and I turned around to see whether this stranger was going in the right direction. I was surprised to see that he was asking another person for directions and that person was pointing in the wrong direction.... and the stranger started following the wrong directions.... I thought, "serves him right, for not trusting me, let him go in the wrong direction!, he did not trust me in-spite of my efforts to show him the way."
Later that evening, I was thinking about this stranger, "did he finally get to where he wanted to go?", "he set off in the wrong direction, he must have walked an extra kilometer at least".
A thought crossed my mind -- This stranger did not trust me, but I was not feeling bad at all but when my daughter did not trust me, I was upset.... Why?
Lesson Learnt 1:
Don't jump to conclusions from the superficial evidences... especially when it involves your Family, Friends or Colleagues
Another day, I was out on my evening walk in the neighborhood, a stranger came up to me and asked me the way to a certain place.... I patiently explained how to get there, he argued with me that someone else had told him a slightly different route to get there. I told him, "I stay close by and I know this is the best way to get where he wanted to go". He mumbled a "thank you" and walked on. Curiosity got the better of me and I turned around to see whether this stranger was going in the right direction. I was surprised to see that he was asking another person for directions and that person was pointing in the wrong direction.... and the stranger started following the wrong directions.... I thought, "serves him right, for not trusting me, let him go in the wrong direction!, he did not trust me in-spite of my efforts to show him the way."
Later that evening, I was thinking about this stranger, "did he finally get to where he wanted to go?", "he set off in the wrong direction, he must have walked an extra kilometer at least".
A thought crossed my mind -- This stranger did not trust me, but I was not feeling bad at all but when my daughter did not trust me, I was upset.... Why?
I realized, that the people you live with or interact on a daily basis say something or do something you don't expect or like, you feel bad, but when the same action is performed by a stranger, it does not matter.
Lesson Learnt 2:
Actions of people who matter to you, affect the most!...
So, how do you use these lessons to overcome the "hurt feeling", when someone near and dear says or does something unexpected? The "hurt feeling" is so costly that it affects your psyche resulting in ill health, it affects productivity initially and the job finally, it threatens the very basis of civilized societies... "Relationships".
The answer is.....
Giving the Benefit of the Doubt....
Let me explain!....
When I saw my wife solving the same problem for my daughter, instead of feeling enraged, if I thought -- "maybe she did not understand it after all... she did not want to disturb me again so she requested her mother for help!"..... now I don't feel bad.
Boss asks me what I think of a new idea, I make suggestions, he listens and then asks another person in my presence, I say to myself "maybe he saw a big flaw in my idea, he did not want to highlight it in front of others, so he decided to move on" ..... now I don't feel bad.
My close friend admonishes me for something I said, while, I'm sure I did not mean it..... I say to myself "maybe he is having a bad day and is just venting his frustrations" ..... now I don't feel bad.
Conclusion:
You don't lose anything if you "give the benefit of the doubt" to someone who matters to you. In fact, you are doing a service to the relationship and feeling good in return...
Monday, March 28, 2011
My Goals and my Thankless Job!
The difference between being an employee and being an entrepreneur is that an entrepreneur chooses his own path to achieve his/her goals and an employee chooses to contribute to the goals set by an entrepreneur.
JFK had said, "Think not what the Country has done for you, Think what you have done for the Country", a very powerful statement indeed, now if I replace the word "Country" by "Company", does this statement still hold good? I think it does.
I have chosen to be an employee and have been one for the last 15 years and I hope to continue for a few more years....
At work, my boss sets goals for me on a periodic basis and measures my performance against these goals...
Many a times, I have wondered how does my goals relate to my company goals, what difference does it make to the company if I don't achieve the targets set out for me, of course it affects my promotions and my annual salary increases, but other than that, what difference does it make?
On one beautiful rainy evening, I watched raindrops falling, I remembered a saying that I learnt at school, "Little drops of water make the mighty ocean, Little grains of sand make the mighty desert".
I found the answer to my question...
Small contributions by all employees add up to the achievement of a big goal.
For example: if the sales goal for the company for a certain product for the day is $100,000, then 100 sales staff bringing in $1,000 sales each, adds up to a $100,000. See the difference!
Now if one salesman says, I will take a break as I have to paint my house or I need a vacation or he is just upset with something that his boss said and decides not to turn up for work, we lose $1,000 for the day, so the daily sales total is now on $99,000. Overall picture, the team did not achieve the target.
See the effect of the "Rogue Salesman" --- He has successfully prevented 99 others from achieving the target. This guy goes scott free, but the others feel bad for not having achieved.
Most times, in companies, we never get to know of these rogue salesmen, because, some people over achieve and somehow help make up for the deficiencies of the rogue salesman. These stars keep the company going and protecting from the rogue salesmen. It is sad, but true.
Being an employee, I am obliged to achieve the goals set for me by my Manager. Whether the value of my contribution to the Organizational objective is big or small, I must do my best to achieve my goals. Even if the target is "mission impossible", give it a shot. If I succeed, I have a sense of achievement, if I fail after an honest attempt, I have some satisfaction of having tried at least, hence the experience. Trying and failing is a better than not trying at all.
I have heard a lot of people saying "I am doing a thankless job, there is no incentive for achieving my goals". I wonder why someone should be thankful to me for doing my job. Should my company be thankful? no way, they paid me, so we are even. How often have I thanked my maid for doing house keeping? How many times have I thanked the taxi driver for dropping me off to my destination? How many times has the sales clerk thanked me for picking up grocery at the supermarket? Unfortunately, the answer is "never". So, why should my company be thankful to me for doing my job?
The relation ship between the employee and the company is a mutually beneficial relationship. Company earns some revenue by the work I do, and I earn a salary.
Often times, I have heard employees saying, "I have brought in $1,000 sales today, but I get paid only $200 per work day, that is only 20% of the sales I have brought in". I asked myself is this a fair statement? I came to conclusion and an answer for this employee: "who pays for your transportation and food while you are on your sales call? who pays for your work desk? who pays your telephone bills? who pays for the air conditioning of your workplace? who pays for the cost of acquiring the product that you just sold? who pays for the marketing?" After paying all the bills, I doubt if the company makes even $200 from a $1,000 sales revenues. Even if it does, it helps buy new equipment, rent a new sales office, hire some new staff and everything that helps grow the company.
JFK had said, "Think not what the Country has done for you, Think what you have done for the Country", a very powerful statement indeed, now if I replace the word "Country" by "Company", does this statement still hold good? I think it does.
Being an employee, I try and achieve the targets that the company has set for me and that is the best I can do for the company and for myself. The company will still run with or without me, and I will still be going ahead with or without the company. Now that I am working here, I must contribute positively and go on.....
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