Why are people EMPTY? (MT)

Have been seeing this for a long time now.  The generation that is coming fears something.  They are not confident.  I am talking about some 99% of the people.  They fear something.  They are not ready to express what is right.  They are not ready to tell the world that the thing that is happening is not right.  They are not ready to challenge !!!!!

When I joined my first job in 2001, we were a bunch of MTs taken.  Why were we taken?  To challenge the status quo.   Young blood with young ideas, amazing amount of enthusiasm, burning desire to do something and a high amount of confidence.  We were taken in the organization as a breakthrough step and were supposed to bring about a Huge change in the organization and take it ahead with a greater speed. 

The organization was not prepared for our arrival.  As I understand GE prepared its organization in order to use the might of the MTs -- to drive the organizations growth in an exponential manner.  But here it was not prepared.  What happened then ????  We all faced challenges of our own.  Things were not right.  we were not being used properly and the whole thing started becoming a waste.  But the irony of the situation is that none of us stood up and told the management what was going on wrong.  That means there was a lack of feeling for the benefit of the organization, we were all more concerned about ourselves only.  What happened Slowly and Slowly everyone moved out of the organization.  

The company hired a fresh bunch of MTs but then same thing happened and thus they discontinued hiring MTs.  Same things is being repeated today.  Companies don't have the set objective for the MTs.  Either they have the objective but that is neither communicated to the employees nor to the newly joining MTs

Whose fault was it?  The organizations -- That they did not take the right people or they did not manage us in a right manner.  Ours -- As we were not able to bring about a change.  We did not even bring about to the notice of the management that what was happening was wrong.  ???????

 

• Some say HIRE for Passion
• Some say HIRE for Enthusiasm -- Tom Pete
• Some say HIRE for Attitude

Had heard long time back -- I can hire the hand and the mind but how can I hire the heart. Also heard that I would pay anything to someone who does this thing in a manner I would do it, at least with that much Passion.

Hence they say that HIRE for the heart which can be translated into Passion / Enthusiasm / Attitude which can also be termed as Conviction and Grit in working.  Passion intersecting with work is rare to find.  But if you have the attitude and the Enthusiasm then you may work with Passion for all the assignments gives to you.  Covey gives a concept of PROACTIVENESS.  That is what you do when you have these three (which are basically saying the same thing in different ways)  Yes that is also in sync with this. 

But do we HIRE for subdue-ness?  Do we want people who are less confident, are less capable and thus are less Ravana?  Don't we normally hire such people as we have our own fear.  We have our own job insecurity.  We ourselves are not Ravana (people manager or leader) hence cannot breed Ravanas (managers or leaders)

But in this aren't we sacrificing the growth of the organization?  Aren't we changing the whole objective of having MTs.  Aren't we compromising and managing with MEDIOCRITY.

Was this the attitude shown by the most successful people in the world?  Was this done by all the successful school drop outs ?  I bet that if this is what was done by them then they would have been somewhere and somebody.  But to make a difference what needs to be done is to have the ability to manage Smart People.

Lets try challenging things and not sit in our comfort zones.

Why School drop outs succeed

Hi P NC series

Bill Gates - Microsoft

Steve Jobs - Apple

Michael Dell - Dell

Larry Ellison - Oracle

Mike Lazaridis - Blackberry
Shawn Fanning - Napster

Jerry Yang - Yahoo

etc etc

And it is no coincidence all of these college drop outs are boys. And what about India???  Is this happening in India or Is this going to happen in India.

 

It seems that these people are the ones who are most successful.  Is it that it was the times that made them successful?  Is there no value of education?

 

They were driven to the corner.  They did not have anything to fall back on.  Dire straits as they say and some character to bounce back and some grit to really do something.  They were ready to move out of their comfort zones

 

They are high performers -- constantly re-creating themselves. That's what Tiger Woods does -- Says HIGH PERFORMANC research from Accenture.

 

They were SMART enough to be in good school (even Harvard and smarter enough to do something better in that school).  As Roger Schank  says if you want innovation then Hire the Bottom 10 % of Harvard. 

 

Tsu Zu - Art of war also says -- Don't surround the army from all four sides.  Do it from only 3 sides.  Don't let them be in Dire Straits.  If they will be in Dire Straits, they will fight for their lives and then they will fight to their might.  Same thing happens when you drop out from college.  But mind you that you should have the anger in your belly plus the conviction and the grit to do something.

 

I read an answer in Linkedin once on the same issue.  As to what should be done in case your career is in the Valley.

 

http://www.linkedin.com/answers/career-education/career-development/CAR_CRD/32518-451888?searchIdx=0&sik=1182503433252&goback=%2Easr_1_1182503433252

There's an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Captain Picard gets to re-live an incident in his youth where he goads some Klingons into stabbing him in the heart. Picard regrets the event which he believes has killed him as his artificial heart fails. However, when Q lets him re-live the event without it, he finds that his elder self is not a Captain but a Lieutenant in the Science division, never having taken any bold chance that would have caused him to stand out as fit for a command post. When Picard eventually comes around, having not actually died, he has a huge smile on his face. He made the correct life choices all along.
This doesn't tell you if your own career is in the valley, but it does tell you what to do about it: take chances. Be the one to challenge assumptions openly that make no sense to you. Be the one to take on the tough jobs. Be the one to give the bad news to the boss, and admit you have no good solution, but will listen carefully to everyone and see if you can come up with one. Be the one to ask the boss if he wants to shift jobs - so you can take his. Be the one who isn't all that concerned if he gets fired, since "I can find another job easily." And knows it's true, because he talks to the recruiters all the time, and has his resume up to date all tlhe time, and has let it be known that he expects to do bigger things, or will soon be out the door in search of them elsewhere.
None of this is to say take foolish risks that have no good payoff, nor cross people or try to show them up as incompetent (unless they really are and drag everyone down, not just you, and you can be hero to all by taking down a pointy-haired boss). It's just to say, be more like yourself.
Everyone has to decide for themselves if they are "in the valley". If you've got no ambitions to do management work, for instance, don't want to take responsibility for others' failures, then, you won't think of a top technical job as "in the valley". But if you are tired of technical work and believe you can do a far better job of coordinating others, you'd see the same situation differently. So you have to judge by your own satisfaction and happiness.
There's no other guide. We're all different. We all have different attitudes to risk, too. Your colleagues may really like it when you step forward to take a risky task on. Or, they may resent it and ask for the job themselves. Feel them out. Get a sense of what they want you to do - not what the boss wants, what your colleagues want. You'll be surprised how able they think you are. Ask others what they'd like you to do that they don't want to do. Take on extra tasks and earn some gratitude so that you have political support if you fail at something very difficult later.
Finally, don't be afraid of randomness. If you don't know whether to say something or not, flip a coin, and flip it in front of everyone. Heads speak up, tails shrug and say nothing. If asked why, say that you want to speak half as much and do twice as much. If they hand you the dirty job after tails come up, fine. Take it. Do it. Show results without objection or any comment. Demonstrate willingness to trust fate. Put tough jobs in a jar and draw one out every day. Make it an event. Ask others to put jobs in.
Just get creative. You know what to do. If they fire you, tell the recruiter why. After s/he stops laughing they'll find you a far better job, somewhere they like courage and creativity. And you'll wake up like Picard, smiling, even after heart surgery.
If you don't do this, five years from now, you'll be the same five years older.

 

May be this is what these people also did.  They tried to do anything and everything to survive.  You only give your best and your full when you run for your survival. 

I Want More

This happens with everyone. Wanting more. This is the truth of life. Some one call it " Neenyanvein ( ninety nine in hindi ) ka pher " i.e The vicious circle of 99.

It was also heard in "Pretty Woman" when Julia Roberts says that now she wants more. Richard Gere smilingly says that yes he knows what wanting more means as he was the one who had coined it.

Once you reach the place that you wanted to reach there opens a whole new world ahead thus more to achieve and more to conquer, hence WANT MORE.

Jessica Hagy also shows this in a smart vicious circle. She also brings in the new point of getting tired / bored of what you are doing. I am adding to the point that as soon as you reach your goal there opens new vistas and new pastures that you start aiming at.

(from indexed.blogspot.com)

Some mention this as an orbital change. Orbital change gives you a larger orbit to revolve in as well as changes your speed of revolving and rotating.

I also WANT MORE. I want to put my career on STEROIDS

nityn

The THEORY of DEKKHEE JAYEGEE

This is the most addictive and the most contagious attitude that can be carried ... The DEKKHEE JAYEGEE attitude. This means: “We will see when it happens” :) No need to worry. This flows from the thought that we should not sacrifice today’s happiness in pursuit of "perceived happiness" of tomorrow. Any happiness that may come tomorrow is perceived only as of now.

The RAVANA initiative (Hirdu) also resonates with this theory. This theory shows an ultimate confidence in a person and also clearly shows how much in control of thing he/she is and even in case of anything he is ready to make sure that it will be handled as it needs to be handled.

KAL KE LIYE AAJ KYON MAREIN, AAJ YE NA KAL AAYEGA.

Let’s go and do what we think is correct at this time and at this moment and we will see when we have to see. I will see you when I will see you. “Ocean’s 13” also says the same…. Be in control, have confidence and don’t prepare too much for the things to come. Execute it in Style and Win it in Style.

Instability or Ease

Here is what I want to understand a bit more. There are a few people whom I have seen and met who don’t seem to be worried or moved by anything. They are not worried and have a KOI FARAK NAHIN PADTA attitude or that MAIN KUCH NAHIN KAR SAKTA attitude.

Is this a real Quality they have and then they can manage situations better or is that they have the capability to not show their uneasiness? Is that these people are actually very perturbed and that uneasiness is hidden behind that calmness?

Are these people, the kind who don’t do anything or are these people the kind who have got things easily or are these kinds who are very optimistic and have a lot of faith and thus they win?

But then what happens to the understanding that I had got from Tom Peters views which said more unstable you are more will you think and more will be the efforts thus better will be the result. The same is what I could understand from the History (WW II) and by Eisenhower’s strategies. In strategy you need to think what the opponent is thinking and out think him or her. But don’t keep the opponent thinking too much so that he is on his toes of thinking and ultimately out think you. Is stability the key or uneasiness the key? Is hunger the key or contentment the key? Is anger the key or adjustment the key? ACCHAA hai bahut ACCHAA hai. Anger or the adjustment (theek hai koi nahin)

Coming back to the topic are these people the ones who have got things easily and thus this attitude developed. Has their growth stopped? No! actually no, intellectually their growth has not stopped but may be there contentment has stopped their thinking ahead and wanting more.

Let’s think a bit more and get to know what is that the Americans are made of. They are the ones who are most successful today or may be in the past so far. And they are the ones who have moved out of their homes (comfort zones) and challenged the things. They are the ones who have had the best of the hunger – hunger of MORE, BETTER etc etc. They are the ones who have been by far the most aggressive ones and who have not slept at ease and challenged the unchallenged and dreamt the undreamt. They are the ones who have been at unease always and thus they are the ones who have succeeded.

Tom peters mentions another anecdote and this time it is from the S&P instability ratings. The data proves it and proves it over the years that the sectors and the companies who have been more unstable have given more returns. Then FARAK PADTA HAI KYA? Isn’t it important to get perturbed and DO something? As they say the best strategy is doing something :)

Be Creative:

There are no answers to this.

But yes I can mention one thing that our dear blogger friend Hugh Mcleod wrote -- when you do something for yourself it is ART and the pyramid goes like this -- OBLIVION --> MONEY --> ART.

First you are in Oblivion, and then you work for others and get paid for it (you get Money) and then you find something that you want to do and that is Art. You get maximum satisfaction when you do what you want to do (that is ART) but it is very seldom that you get Money for Art. But you should not stop performing ART rather keep doing what you like to do and what gives you happiness but to pay the bills keep the day job also.

So be creative is what he says and also gives some ways of “How to be creative” (one of the very few HOW to books that you should read and are effective)This is what he describes as Cash and Sex theory. Cash is the thing that you do to pay the bills and sex refers to something that you do for yourself, that you like doing, which you get happiness from. (Nice SIMILIE) This is what my friend Ady also used to use. Whenever he would like something, he use to call it SEX :)

People are trying to cash on anything and everything

People are trying to cash on anything and everything

Disclaimer: The below mention thoughts are mine and only mine and are mere thoughts. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. The thoughts are based on some things seen and observed and are not made to ridicule, belittle or make fun of anyone and of any sort.

Yes people are trying to cash on anything and everything.

* In films people are trying to cash on the name, the story, the success of anything and anybody. They are trying to relate to something or the other which has been successful and ride on that glory and be successful. The remakes, the sequels and the “same names” are the examples of the same.

* In advertisements people are trying to cash on some image of someone and be successful.* In movies again they are trying to blow out of proportion and sensationalize anything and get noticed and hence trying to be successful.

* Some one is trying to cash on people’s emotions on cricket (Lagaan) and now on Hockey (Chakde India).

* Some people are trying to cash on some one else’s emotions and feelings for him/her.* Some writers are trying to dwell on the names or writings of other writers. Some are trying to bring out a sequel of the book saying that they have added some new points and thoughts to it but in actual, they have not said something new in this. They are just trying to cash on again on the old success.

* Even in the professional life while in search of a new assignment we try to relate the earlier assignment, somehow, with the coming one and try to ride on the success of the old one. We some how try to fit things and put them in the same perspective.

In Hindi, they say SAB APNA ULLOO SEEDHA KAR RAHEIN HAIN …. :)

But, are they successful?

Are they really successful?

Are the people chasing false success?

Are they trying to give what is wanted to be given to success?

Aren’t we supposed to do what we want to do, give what we want to give, prosper on our capabilities and brains?

Isn’t that the best thing to do?

Isn’t that going to bring out the best in us?When we are trying to dwell on success of others then isn’t that false?

Aren’t we less capable and competent if we are trying to dwell on success of others or on old things?Aren’t the people or things that were successful in the past and successful on their own capabilities and competence more successful? Isn’t that real success?

Why do people forget?

Why do people forget?

Why do people forget that when they are doing something to others, the same thing can happen to them also? Why do they stop fearing that some day something similar can happen with them also?

Why the fear of getting into the similar situation is does not exist? Why people forget their own times, when they were in similar situations and they felt bad at being treated like this.

Why? Why ? Why?

SMILE is the answer :)

SMILE is the answer to many QUESTIONS that you either don’t want to answer or you can’t answer.

Yes this is SMILE :)
Let’s see what can this little curve do in many difficult situations and in situation we find ourselves often. These are the situation which make us feel most awkward and we don’t know what to do or how to react. These are the situations in which we feel stranded and try to avoid them like plague. The only thing that we end up doing is either blushing or getting angry and loosing it out yet again…..

Imagine yourself in a situation in which some one has asked you the most difficult and embarrassing question and that too in front of some unwanted people, you don’t want to answer anything but you can’t yell either. Hasn’t it happened in the past often. More realistically someone has asked you your age or your salary. Now can you relate? Yes most of us have been in such situations before. Now think what you did in this situation. You either asked the person how was she concerned or got angry, though didn’t show that as much.

Now try this try smiling. Yes just imagine SMILING in the situation and hey you have perfectly dodged the question and not been rude either.

Let’s go a bit more into this and think that if the person who has asked this embarrassing question goes a little too much and asks you again saying that you didn’t answer the question. Yes this may happen. But answer is SMILE again. And yes you are out of it with minimum damage :)

So just SMILE.

Let’s see another situation now. In this situation you are at an embarrassing position. In case you have climbed up the stage to receive some award and you stumble at the step. Yes you stumble and fall. What do you do? You can ignore it or you can come out with something witty to defend yourself. But how many can come out with some thing witty and then execute that wittiness in perfection. Now do what I say. Just SMILE and shrug your shoulder (I mean raise your shoulder and open your arms) and SMILE again. Yes you have conquered it.

So many times this SMILE saves us. So just SMILE as much as you can and SMILE in difficult times and see that you are a winner again :)

Here I would like to mention one of my oldest signature lines (yes the signature used below an email) and that said
“Let’s make each others day… Let’s SMILE :) ”

Soon to come language of lips :)

Dont ASK work, ATTRACT work

Long time nothing in the Hi P N C series.

Dont ASK work attract WORK.

Yes I believe in this. If you ASK for work you get whatever is available and that can be quite useless. Many times when you ask work then the next question is what kind of work do you want to do. And then you have two options

1. To say something that some one is already doing

In this case you become a secondary resource and keep doing the DOGs work and don't get any credit too. You certainly don't want this to happen untill the assignment is so interesting that you eventually gain and learn. Or you are SMART enough to make use of all the things in a way good for youy.

2. To suggest doing something new and UNIQUE

Now this is a good way but man you need to very SMART as what will happen is either the other person will pass your idea as his/her own and gain good browny points or what will happen is that you will be asked to do the same and without any support and inputs. Moreover you will be asked to DRIVE that too and believe me DRIVING something without support is not that easy.

Then what should be done. You can't sit idle.

So I say ATTRACT WORK

Now what is this ???

Yes in order to get good work and also good support for that work you need to give your inputs at the right place and at the right time. Be SMART and read as much as you can and get to know what all is happening. Then when you are discussing with people the issue give some suggestions but be sure to give in a sweet manner and as if it has come from both of you. Slowly you start getting noticed and you start getting good work.

You have to be very Diplomatic in this approach. Many times your ideas will go waste but soon they will realize that your potential can be used and they will give you the work.

You also make sure that you are there when some new and good work comes. The funda of BEING IN LINE OF SIGHT works here also (remember old funda of OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND :) ) If you know the work is good and you want to do that work then you can even volunteer and then they will have to give it to you and your enthusiasm as well as earlier reputation will come to use.

Here I again remind " NOTHING IS AS CONTAGIOUS AS ENTHUSIASM" and read what Tom Peters has to say in that. So the Mantra is ATTRACT WORK :)

Nitz

HR carnival ( this weeks )

And yes the HR carnival is ON.

With Gautam Ghosh, one of my favourite bloggers assimilating the best HR blogs at one place it gives an awesome reading :) and yes I am also there :)

Great Ideas and Execution

Great ideas are like BABIES.
Easy to concieve but difficult to deliver.

I liked this quote a lot and who would agree more to me that EXECUTION :) I believe in execution and the excellence has to be EXECUTION

Says Tom Peters too

"We have a ‘strategic plan,’ it’s called doing things."—Herb Kelleher.

"Execution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability."—Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. Action has its own logic—ask Genghis Khan, Rommel, COL John Boyd, U.S. Grant, Patton, W.T. Sherman.

Doing things brings out results. Doing things brings out issues. Doing things brings out problems. And when there are issues and problems there are opportunities ( also said by my friend Robby )to solve them and thus grow. These opportunities gives you some thing to work on, something to improve and something to contribute to.

So execute execute execute. Its better to be a buller which has been shot and has caused the damage rather than the one that is only kept in the belt.

Nitz

Aren't we Sacrificing Happiness to get Happiness ??

Aren't we Sacrificing Happiness to get Happiness ??

What is the cost that we are paying in order to achive Happiness?
Aren't we sacrificing a part of Happiness to get Happiness? Rather aren't we sactificing Happiness in search of Happiness ?

Aren't we caught in the maze / conundrum / vicious circle of wanting something that we don't have ? For that we are sacrificing something that we wanted to get rather something that we thoght we wanted.

Ultimately we keep sacrificing the same thing that we are seeking again and again :)

How to come out of this :)

thelot.com

Last night when I was idly browsing through channels (with eyes half closed) I bumped into this on Star World. ON THE LOT

This is a program which searches for talented film makers . Yes it is a kind of a contest. Similar to American Idol or Indian Idol and its version on various channels on Indian television

Now the contest goes like this.

First the award … The winner gets a million dollars to make a movie.. Sponsored by FOX and Verizon, this is interesting.
Now what you have to do is -- to make a movie of 1 minute yes 1 minute duration and the theme has to be laughter (at least for the one I saw the theme was laughter)
And then there are judges and there is voting ( but this time VOTING is free – a toll free number ;) unlike INDIA )


Go browse more and for me my date with this program is fixed …..

The site is really cool.. AND THE BONUS IS u can see some good movies absolutely free. I am game.. ha haa haaa haaaa

I am waiting when this hits INDIA and someone starts something on these lines for Indian TV..

Another favourite -- Blog book site

http://www.changethis.com/

This is another of my favourite place. I like reading this one. I particularly enjoyed the one by Hugh MacLeod -- "How to be Creative".

I think reading the more contemporary stuff keeps you abreast. The blogosphere allows you to do the same. The classics are always there to read and follow but the latest thinking and the latest trends are there on the blogosphere :)

Check this one also by TOM PETERS. http://www.bizsum.com/trial/2006/111ObviousThoughtsOnSelling.pdf

WHY???

Why do they want US to understand them?
Do they understand US?

Why do they give excuses to everything when REAL is something else...
WHY?? WHY ???

nityn

The best way to tackle attrition is to listen to the individual

The best way to tackle attrition is to listen to the individual.

http://timesascent.in/index.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=200705212019024842644dc48

I said the same thing :) See here and here.....

Amazing forward FW: Toast to the Jams of Bangalore - Another creative work from a jobless s/w engineer... :)

Awesome !!!!

Over these last few years of living in Bangalore, I have slowly grown to like the jams, which this city provides in abundance.

These jams do build your patience and character.

Is it a coincidence that India's most patient cricketers, Dravid and Kumble, hail from this city of jams? (Dravid is even nicknamed "Jammy").

Does it tell you something? Sri Sri Ravishankar; does he get his daily dose of spiritual inspiration while in a jam??
And will I also get a halo after a few more years of this "character building"??

There are, I am sure, thousands of future Anands stuck in the Adugodis and Anand Rao circles, who are plotting their moves against future Kramniks those poor little Kramniks stand no chance.

And if you see a professor-like guy prancing around the Palace road jam, you can deduce that a postulate in Physics has just been proved.

A few days back, I had a thought - If we can have reviews of movies,
which occupy only a few hours of our life in a month, why not reviews
of traffic jams, which takes up significant hours of our day?? So here
is my review of some of Bangalore's famous and not-so-famous jams(in
no particular order).

But before that, a general comment - As they say, the taste of food
in a restaurant is dependent on the ambience ; similarly, the way I
see jams, cozy inside the office shuttle or public transport, is
different from the way the owner of the swank new SUV sees it. (btw,
if you are the owner of the swank new SUV, don't run me down).

1. The Hosur Road Jam - Unarguably, the mother of all jams. We (ex-)
Infoscions are proud of being associated with a great company.
We are equally proud of contributing in no small extent to this jam.
This jam gives a great glimpse of the Other India - colorful
music-blaring interstate buses, garment factory workers, highway
trucks, smoke spewing lorries and such. Provides ample food for
thought for socialist minds. (Rating: ***1/2)

2. The jams around K'mangala/Forum mall - Definitely the best jams in
town. PYTs (Pretty young things), fancy cars, and fancy restaurants;
this has it all. But you can't afford any of those. Never mind!! Your
sadistic brain can take pleasure in the fact that the guy in the fancy
car next to you is cruising around for a parking space, feasting his
eyes on the PYTs , while his family is having dinner in one of the
fancy restaurants. (Rating: ****1/2)

3. The KG Road jam - To be experienced in the evenings before a long
weekend. Every auto/taxi in town seems to be stuck while going towards
the City railway station - your hair stands on end, you start
sweating, the heart beats faster, and you get the rush that a Michael
Schumachaer gets on his last lap. And just as the auto moves, a movie
show ends and a few hundred more vehicles pour out. Which was the
train that hooted just now?? (Rating: ***1/2)

4. The Jayanagar jam - The puzzle-lovers jam; Jayanagar is maze of
bylanes, one-way streets, no right-turns, no left-turns, traffic
signals and whatnot. It is an establised fact that Point A to point B,
in Jayanagar, can be reached in 6436 distinct ways. But whichever way
you take, you are left with a hollow feeling that another route had a
better and bigger jam? (Rating: **1/2)

5. The jams around Marathahalli/Whitefield - The IT professional's
dream jam; As she sits in the office shuttle looking at other office
buses, she can make her career plans. A typical evening in this jam
goes thus:

Voice from Company A bus : "Any J2EE developers in your bus?". Three
guys from Company B bus respond "Yeah" and get down. By the time, the
bus crosses the Marathahalli bridge, the first guy is hired as a J2EE
developer. The second guy, who didn't know what J2EE meant, is hired
as a project manager and the third guy is rejected as he realised late
that he has already worked for Company A last year.

(Rating: ****)

6. The Airport Road jam - Similar in taste and character like the
Koramangala jam but has socialist twist. This jam treats the rich
businessman, who will later travel business class on Jet, the same as
a poor programmer, who had unusually come to office early in the
morning, 3 months back, to buy one of those cheap airline tickets.
(Rating ***)

7. The BTM 7th Main x 7 Cross jam - Close to my home, so close to my
heart. But alas, the spoilsports at BDA finished the flyover at the
Jayadeva circle and brought an end to this jam. But for a couple of
years, this jam used to give me pure joy as vehicles of all types
created a tangle in the small bylanes of BTM layout. The BDA is now
planning a new flyover at the Udupi Garden junction; so there is still
hope (Rating ***1/2).

We jam lovers - currently this club consists of only me - have
petitioned the government to protect and preserve traffic jams as a
cultural asset of Bangalore. Just so that traffic jams are not
endangered in the future, we have these suggestions:

1. Build more flyovers - Flyovers do not reduce jams. They just
transfer it to the next junction. And in the 2 years that it takes to
build them, you are assured of some joyous jams. I am drooling...

2. No public buses - If everybody goes by buses, where will our culture go?

3. Make Tata's 1-Lakh car cheaper by making it tax free - Imagine
every two wheeler replaced by a car...The prospects are
mouth-watering.

Strategy for IT and ITEs companies

The dollar is soaring, thus the margins for IT and ITeS companies are reducing. They (Indian Companies) have a habit of profit margins of 20 %. The share prices are also based on similar expectations.

So what are the alternatives to maintain these margins

1. Increase rates -- less likely as there is more competetion and companies like Infosys are already enjoying premium rates
2. Increase productivity -- Redcuce attrition and reduce bench strength
3. Increase Business -- Capture newer markets and businesses
4. Capture Indian companies -- Indian non IT companies can be captured
5. Reduce costs -- reduce over heads, reduce variable costs, reduce fixed costs -- But for how long and till when? You can stop transport, tissue paper or free coffee but will that solve or open some other issues :)
6. Practice Lean Servicing
7. Increase the value add ( Do higher end job )
8. Climb up the value chain
More focus on consulting. Use your connections and start with freelance consulting. Once they are accustomed then you can start charging
9. Productise your services -- Now this is a new one... I think that the services that you provide to one kind of customer that you can provide to similar kind of other customer also. Hence make your services as a product and start selling it. Takes time. But can think of the same. This is the same model as the news agencies use to sell the news to various channels and news papers. Similarly try and sell similar researches to various clients :) INTERESTING ISN'T IT ? :)
10. Automate your services -- Let smart IT do more of your job
11. Collaborate with Captive IT companies and take their businesses


Anything else you suggest

Think Beyond. Next strategy for Service Companies :)

Think Beyond. Next strategy for Service Companies :)

Lean manufacturing to Lean servicing

Main advantages for IT in India

The IT industry growth has been the highest in the last few years. India has been serving the growing IT needs of almost all parts of the world. The US, EU, Middle East Asia, Far East Asia or Pacific regions, all have seen IT services given by India. India has been able to do the same due to various advantages that it has. The advantages that it has due to its geographical location or has grown and developed in the past. Now these advantages have been harnessed in terms of IT revolution.

The main advantages as we can all see and know are

1. Great technical know how
2. Large availability of talent pool
3. Cost advantage – low cost work force
4. Largely English speaking population
5. 12 hour advantage over US. When US sleeps India works
6. Political will and an willingness to open the economy

These factors paved a way to the development of necessary infrastructure and were also captured by the visionaries of India which ultimately led to the development of IT industry. Hence India’s face was plastered in the growing business demands for IT solutions.

But today, after 25 years of this exponential growth these advantages are fading away. A lot is being done in order to keep the USPs in place.

There has already been a scarcity of good technically sound people and the organizations are trying to groom the available talent. Simultaneously the country is also gearing up to produce more technical people by setting up better education facilities and training grounds.
English advantage is being challenged by other languages coming in for IT solutions and also the developing nations are getting proficient in English. Though India’s English speaking population is also increasing at a phenomenal rate.

The cost advantage is reducing as the cost of manpower is increasing due to high demand and less supply. This is becoming a major reason for the reduction in the profit margins of IT organization. The gross profit has not grown in the same proportion as the sales figures or the total income. See attached graph.

This scene is going to continue until some thing is done that brings back the USP of cost advantage.

What can be done? What was done in other industry?

In manufacturing Toyota led the way to move to Lean manufacturing and it can be said that days are not far away when we start following Lean servicing. Now who is going to be the pioneer in doing the same?

Lean manufacturing to Lean servicing

Lean manufacturing (from wikipedia.org) is a management philosophy focusing on reduction of the seven wastes

• Over-production
  
• Waiting time
  
• Transportation
  
• Processing
  
• Inventory
  
• Motion
  
• Scrap in manufactured products or any type of business.

Lean servicing

A management philosophy focusing on reducing various types of wasteful activities in a service industry

• Wrong designs (not understanding the user requirements completely and redoing the job)


• Reinventing the wheel (doing what has already been done by some one else in the organization for some other customer)


• Finding of right knowledge


• Reducing wastage of talent of human capital


• Time spent in coordinating activities

There will be more definitely. There are many methods and many models. But on the ground level how to do this is a thought to ponder

Knowledge Kinematics

This is what is needed. To be able to leverage the existing knowledge and to be able to build more knowledge and build capabilities is what is required. Take each one of the waste and you will find that Knowledge kinematics can be leveraged to actually have a unique way of reducing the wastes and thus a Lean Servicing