Missing my target big time !!

I started off the year 2008 with a resolution to write 100 posts on this blog. With the current count at 37, I sure am going to miss my target big time. In my opinion, it does not help to state that I have been busy in pursuing more important targets. The goals for me are never going to smaller than what were in this year.

However, I have now crossed a critical threshold in my life and my posts need to take a better direction and frequency now. I will cover whatever I can in this year and definately hit my target of 100 posts next year !! God..give me some ideas ....

My Journey to ISB !!!

Thanks to ISB Class of 2010 to kick off an interesting contest, Blog War. The first topic couldn’t have been better - “My Journey to ISB”. I believe this topic is going to serve two purposes. First, it will make all participants re-live the passionate, nervous, and joyful moments of their ISB pursuit. Second, these posts will serve as a data points for future ISB aspirants. We are going to create database of personal stories of ~10 ISB admitted students –their aspirations, fears, thoughts, and interests. ISB Class of 2010 is already on a song. So, with intentions to live my ISB journey again and to help ISB aspirants, I proceed to my first autobiographical post.

Sachin Tendulkar during his interview after breaking Brian Lara’s world record to become highest Test run scorer said something that touched my heart “It’s the journey of success where stones are thrown at you and you turn them into milestones”. Not to compare my accomplishment with my God’s, yet I can absolutely relate my ISB story with this phrase. I have had a fair share of disappointments before eventually reaching the acme of my journey.

Pre-ISB Mania – How I fell in love

I first heard about ISB in March 2006 when a colleague made it to ISB. She and I took CAT in 2005 but scored way below what was expected of us. She, however, was way more informed that I was. She applied to ISB based on her CAT score, cracked the interviews, and secured an admission after clearing GMAT cut-off set by ISB. I then realized the difference it makes to have educated and well-versed individuals to guide you. I belonged to a small town, with quite ignorant parents and didn’t have the luxury to be guided and coached. I decided then to develop such assets (Buzz work Networking) to gain wider perspective and guidance. As I will explain later, this habit to question, learn, and just talk with even a complete stranger has been my strongest ally during my ISB journey. In mid 2006, I got an opportunity to come to Orlando, US on a project from TCS and that’s when my ISB pursuit formally started.

A Raw and Passionate Attempt – First propose

Since I was all alone during initial stay in US, GMAT books became my ally. I started GMAT prep, unclear of where I am heading. MBA was a black box during those days. It seemed like a magic pill that will heal all my wounds, make me successful forever, and end all my worries. It was a magnet to me – I didn’t know why then, nor had the maturity to explore. I simply had raw passion to crack GMAT and go to ISB. I prepared for around 10 weeks for GMAT and scored an average 690. That was the first stone throw in my journey. Wise from my CAT experience, I choose to just apply to gain exposure. I was always appreciated by my friends for my writing skills. However, ISB essays seemed different ball-game. It wasn’t that simple. I did my best and choose to review essays with an acquaintance in Orlando (Networking was already working here). He completely blasted my essays that shocked and surprised me. All my friends praised but a stranger found them rubbish. What’s wrong? I realized I was comparing myself with wrong peer group. I decided that my college, school, and town friends will continue to be extremely important for me but will no longer be my comparison group. That was an extremely important realization since it helped me shift focus and get out of my comfort zone. Coming back to application, my efforts were not sufficient and ISB send me a rejection without inviting me for interview in Jan 2007. That was an abrupt end to a raw and passionate journey. I didn’t address “What” and “Why” questions then, nor did knew I should address those. However, my response to rejection was quite mature. I accepted that I haven’t done enough to feel disappointed. For the first time, I appreciated the learning irrespective of the results. That realization and reaction in itself is my first milestone.

An Informed Attempt – Second Propose

Before this attempt, I improved my profile by taking additional responsibilities in work and outside. Further, since I found so many gaps in my first attempt that I ruled out all other B-school and thought that if I can address the identified gaps, I can make to ISB itself. I paved my way for an extremely risky path. But that’s how you behave when you are mad in love. By the time ISB applications commenced, I improved my GMAT to a confident 730. I dived deep into essay writing and earned an interview call. It was the second happiest moment of my ISB journey. I knew that there is another mountain to climb- ISB Interview. During preparation, I realized my weakness to answer deep “Why” questions but somehow made up for the gaps. I did well during interview. One of the craziest questions that I cracked was “How many schools should be opened in India so that every child who is not able to go to school today can go to school”. I was confident of a “YES” from ISB. I was in flight to Hyderabad in my dreams. One fine morning, an abrupt “Rejection” email de-boarded me forever. That was the biggest and hardest stone throw I ever faced in my life that later turned into the most significant milestones of my journey.

My ISB rejection was followed by the toughest period of my life. My confidence took a hit, my professional career derailed, and I began to doubt myself. I returned to India without any gifts and chocolates for friends and family. SRK’s dialogue in OSO “Apni filmoin ki tarah, apni zindagi mein bhi end mein sab theek ho hi jata hai” seemed superficial. I became unusually quite that concerned my friends and family. I was at verge of giving it up but some thing kept the hope alive – something kept on telling me “Ek bar aur too banta hai”. The brief dull period followed with a period of intense introspection where I grew and learned most – about MBA, about life, and about myself. I evaluated almost all phases of my personal and professional aspirations, associated “Why”, “When”, “What if not” to everything. Looking outwards, I networked with people from virtually every B-school in the globe. I would simply talk to someone I find on Orkut, Facebook, Blog, B-school websites and learn something. In retrospect, I am thankful to ISB to reject me since I may have never learned so much and become the person I am now, If I were not humbled by ISB rejection despite my best possible attempt.

A Mature Attempt – Third Propose and she said "YES"

By this time, I developed number of unique stories to compliment my profile, excelled professionally, gained deep understanding of MBA applications through my networking, and improved my written and verbal skills significantly. I put my heart, blood, and sweat in my essays and was satisfied with the representation of my professional, personal, background, aspirations, and achievements. Since I had already opened up for International B-schools, I also applied to Duke in Early Action round. A list of back-ups for R-2 was also prepared.

ISB Interview call was more or less expected. The actual interview was, however, not as smooth as I expected. Huge pressure and high expectations brought an element of nervousness. The short 15 minutes interview also concerned me. There is no fun in disclosing it now that I got in this time, since you already know. But let me share that along with ISB I also got admitted to Duke in EA round. Duke news broke earlier and like your first kiss, you enjoy your the first admit more. However, my ISB admit was greeted with amazing responses from my friends – some actually shouted, jumped, and what not!! Maannnnnn for a moment I thought that they made it to ISB. A close friend who didn’t booze, self organized a party and took 6 vodka shots, that too when I was in US and he in India. Can you beat that?

That day, my Gtalk status message read “It was never a question of “if” it was always a question of “when”. That day SRK’s OSO complete dialogue made sense “Apni filmoin ki tarah, apni zindagi mein bhi end mein sab theek ho hi jata hai. Aur agar sab theek na ho, to who the end nahin, picture abhi baki hai mere dost”. That day, the confident Vinit I knew was back.

What it means for what lies ahead

ISB Admission will continue to be important to me because this is a testimony to my persistence and actuation of a dream. I will continue to be motivated by my own efforts (Looking back, I am also surprised by my efforts, by what made me come this far). I will continue to look at positive side of any failures I may face in my life – the learning from experiences, the next opportunities. I completely understand that the journey ahead will perhaps be tougher, harder, and stakes would be higher. MBA and ISB are just bridges, a connection that will complement what I have and supplement what I want. However, I approach what lies ahead after actually living the golden words from my hero: “It’s the journey of success where stones are thrown at you and you turn them into milestones”. This realization is my biggest takeaway from my ISB journey thus far.

P:S: For my ISB Class of 2010, I have already rejected Duke and decided to join ISB since it creates a lot of balance in all aspects of my life(more to come on that). Look forward to meet you all.

Quotes !!

While reorganizing some stuff on my lappy, I came across some good quotes that I noted down sometime back. Thought to share some words of wisdom here:

Never tell your problems to anyone...20% don't care and the other 80% are glad you have them. -Lou Holtz

Never explain yourself. Your friends dont need it and your enemies wont believe it.

Forgive your enemies, but never, never forget their names. -John F. Kennedy

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. -Ann Landers

Being sad with the right people is better than being happy with the wrong ones. -Philippos

Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too. -Will Smith

If your problem has a solution then...why worry about it? If your problem doesnt have solution then...why worry about it? -Chinese Proverb

Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change. Kiss slowly, play hard, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything and have no regrets. Life's too short

The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Pain never really goes away; you just elevate and get used to it by growing stronger. -Philippos

You have to take the good with the bad, smile with the sad, love what you've got, remember what you had, learn from your mistakes, but never regret, people change, things go wrong, but remember life goes on!

Sometimes the people who hurt us the most are people who were hurt more than us. -Philippos

I like to pretend that everything's alright. Because when everybody else thinks you're fine, sometimes you forget for a while that you're not.

"Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us." -Thomas Paine

The things that made me stronger are the ones that didn't let me sleep at first.

Strategy's strategist: An interview with Richard Rumelt

One of the most informative interviews I have ever read. Not sure whether that's because of my incessant interest in what is getting discussed or because the thought process of Mr. Richard is simply awesome.

Check the article here

Accepted ISB and Declined Duke !!!

I have been longing since forever to post this on my blog that Yeah - I have secured an Admit to a top business school. I have always kept my blog aloof from my B-school journey since I always wanted to writing MBA stuff once I secure an admit. However, I never knew that the day when I will declare the news on my personal blog, I will post in the title a rejection message for another kick-ass school. It was, perhaps, the toughest decision of my life to pick between ISB and Duke. Why did I pick ISB? I will cover that later. I am in mood today to write random and therefore, don't wanna touch ISB vs Duke decision since that pretty important and needs to be addressed properly. Okay, going little retrospective today.

It may sound bit presumptuous that I started writing this blog to create an asset and identity for myself on the web that will assist me in my MBA Application. But I actually did. I was of the opinion that writing blog will help me in two ways. First, If I write and maintain this blog well I can use this as a handle to showcase my wide range of interests in my MBA application. So this would serve as an additional data point for Adcom. Second, I choose to write here to capture my activities, interests, etc to better my writing skills that will assist in my essays. And it really worked for me since last 2 years. However, what I never planned or even dreamed was that this blog will serve as discussion point even during my ISB Interview.

During my ISB Interview, the interviewer opened my blog (I mentioned in hobbies section) and he questioned me on Decision Making Post about Grid Analysis. Maannnn- I took me sometime to realize when he threw question "So tell us more about Grid Analysis" and I was thinking "Where did that come from". The good part was that I somehow related myself during the brief silence to my post and was able to explain Grid Analysis. I started off by "Oh, so you are at my blog. Well, Grid Analysis is.....". Trust me, such moments will continue to stay golden for me forever. And even if they try to fade, I have my blog to help bring them back.

I am having hundreds of thoughts in my mind now that I have started writing about ISB and MBA journey. How many times I attempted, what made me stay persistent, why MBA, how to write good essays, why not to follow advise of your friends always, what happens when you are rejected, How can you be different...Numerous things.

And it's all gonna come in a mega-post I am planning on - "My Journey to ISB and what it means to me" - Thanks to Zorawar for the first topic for ISB Class of 2010's newly introduced "Blog War". I am ON !!!!

Check out details of Blog war at : http://isb-mmx.blogspot.com/2008/12/bloggers-war-kickoff.html

Struggling to Write

I can’t believe I am writing this post with the aforementioned title. There used to be time when writing a blog was a piece of cake. I would enjoy the simplicity involved in the same. While writing blog, you can afford to be free. You don’t need to worry about the word limit. You don’t need to polish the write again n again so that someone sitting in Admission Committee of a business school “Likes you” !! Yeah, I am referring to numerous essays I have written in my ordeal for B-School Admission.

Now finally when I am done with my B-School journey, it seems I have suddenly lost touch with writing. Hope this blog acts as a refresher because writing sure has to be an integral part of me forever. Perhaps, part of reason that I am not able to begin full montyyy on bloging because of some outstanding questions that I still have to get answered – It was huge decision to pick ISB finally over Duke (More to come on that)

Whatever said and done, I almost forgot what it means to sit on your lappy and do something other than writing an essay or browing some websites… Life seems to be back on track atleast for sometime unless I hit April 2009 

Time to be back !!

It's time to be back on web. The forced sabbatical that I took from my writing paid of well and I am here to talk about number of different things that I brought up never before.

In the days to come, I am sure to convert my blog into a real representation of myself !! Hope to have your continued and perhaps increased interest in my posts....

Not much on web these days !!

I haven't been able to take out time to write something on my blog for many days now. When you are short of time to breathe, perhaps blogging takes a lower priority. Over the last month, life has been hectic - much more than I have ever experienced. The divergent priorities - Professional and Personal - each at peak in its own terms have taught me numerous things in one month.

First, I have learnt and applied more time-management techniques these days. I attempt to visualize my day and plan for the same during shower / during travel to work. This has helped me to recollect my priorities of the day often.

Second, I have also learnt to stay composed under pressure situation. I have learnt it hard way when I reacted impulsively to a situation at work that had rippling effect on my work. I escalated about an person whereas I could have handled the situation more calmly and talked personally first to the person. However, I learnt the importance of carrying everyone along in tough situation. You never know in delicate situations how things sway in various directions quickly.

Third, I have also realized the importance to disconnet yourself from work / personal things. It is important to stay in present. When at work, focus on work. When at home, focus on your stuff. Trust me, this ain't easy. Yet I feel I have succeeded in many ways to achieve this and till now, I am satisafied with my performance.

To conclude, I value this intense period of time in my life and I have the courage to think that this will pay rich dividends in time to come. At the same time, not everything is exactly on track and I have much more to accomplish in coming month. I am on !!!

An amazing story !!

I was reading some of speeches from emminent business leaders and came across this wonderful story from Azim Premji about the power of education and cascading effects of educating one child.

The story is about a poor Scottish farmer named Fleming. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the boy from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you, " said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life." "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment the farmer's own son came to the door of the hovel.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If he's anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of." And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him?
Penicillin.
This is not the end. The nobleman's son also made a great contribution to society. For the nobleman was none other than Lord Randolph Churchill. And his son's name was Winston Churchill.

I think this is the only way for accelerating economic growth and development for the entire world economy. Those who know, share there information. You never know when you end up making a farm kid into Alexander Fleming.

All set to Fly - Once again !!

Folks, it the time again in the year for the third consecutive time that I am all set to fly.

Again going through the troubles of packing your bags in hope to dispose old stuff and get new things at new place, leaving a cozy environment of friends and acquitance around hoping to find even better arrangements, breaking some commitments and promise I made to myself and others in aspiration to scale new heights. Each time I have take this leap - each time I have unsettled myself to break out of comfortable zone, I have gained something. I am hoping this experience turns out to be the deal closer for me in many ways !!

Rest updates from a new IP address :)))

A refreshing realization at Toast Master !!!

It isn’t easy for me to come to my blog these days. Still wanted to write a quick update on the first prize I won at Toast Master in yesterday’s meeting for I don’t want my dear blog to be devoid of the good news.

I was rated as the ‘Best Table Topic Speaker’ though I thought I could have added a lot to the content. The topic given was ‘Knowledge is Best when put into Practice’. It was even better when the evaluator showered praise on my voice, style, and flow. The best compliment perhaps was ‘It was an impromptu speech and you are our Guest. Still I would say it seemed like a prepared speech”. In my own small world, it’s a huge boost and a significant step towards my public speaking un-official career that I launched couple of months back.

This post definately deserves 'The First in my life' tag. I shall be updating about my public speaking developments as I go. For the time being, time to get back from where I came from.

Ciao
~Vinit

Public Speaking – A marathon with David Brooks!!

For long, I wanted to write a post in Q & A format. Please pardon me if you find this structure imposed.

Q. Who is David Brooks?
A. David is World Champion in Public Speaking contest in 1990, have been associated with Toast Masters club for more than 20 years, author of the book “The Seven Strategies of Master Presenter”. To discover more please visit www.DavidBrooksTexas.com

Q. How do you know David?
A. Ahh…he is a childhood friend. In fact when he was writing his speech for his contest in 1990 I helped him with some fundamental corrections without which he admits he may have never won!!! (Wasn’t that outrageously audacious: P). On factual note, I heard him today at New-Delhi present with his Magic Moments collection and I am highly impressed the way he digressed the moves and gestures of speakers, suggesting that it’s no less than an ART to speak well.

Q. Why are you writing this post?
A. First because research suggests we loose 50% of content from our memory within 24 hours, next 50% in 48 hours and continue to loose at similar pace. I don’t want to loose insightful things I learnt from David today. Second, if you go right to my first post on this blog I made a promise to my blog that it will be my companion in my journey. I am man of my words my friend.

Q. Why should I read this post?
A. If you have reached this far, perhaps you are interested in either of three: - Public Speaking or David Brooks or me!! Read on, I assure you will be interested in at least one more thing that what you currently are.

You can’t have better start to your newly developed passion as I did. I have often read and tried to understood styles, presentations, speeches, and insights of numerous well known personalities. However, this is the first time I met someone accomplished personally. David left me with number of things to think, actions to take, and ways to improve my public speaking capabilities. I will note here some of the highly concise yet elaborate pieces one should take care to make credible speeches:

Body Language begins with Face:-
Speeches not backed with credible gestures will merely be imposition. You have to act as a guide to the audience with your gestures making it as simple as possible for them to interpret what you are saying. The body gestures start right from your face. Learn to let your face clearly express what you say and more importantly, what you don’t. Audience will love it.

Don’t tell the audience, take them to the scene:-
Again, the gestures -The speech should include gestures that take the audience right into the scene. If you are verbally fighting with someone in the speech, the person should appear to be at a distance with your gestures. If you are caring for someone, the person should appear right close to you.

Repetition and Restatement leads to Remember able speeches
The theme needs to be restated so that the audience stay hooked to the message.

Good writing backed with rigorous practice is pivotal for good speeches:-
Now I can relate and decode Steve Jobs. When Steve was giving his presentation on launch of i-Phone, he had his presentation behind him. Without even looking at the presentation, Steve most of time spoke exactly when the next slide was shown. This shows rigorous amount of practice that took him close to perfection.

Structure your speech like a Necklace: -
Each bead is unique story / anecdote. The thread that binds bead is your theme.

Make a point & tell a story because Facts Tell. Stories Sell.
I can’t illustrate this better. People don’t remember points, they remember the stories. So if you are writing your self-evaluation or personal statements, any adjective you use for yourself should be backed with an example. Similarly, if you are making a presentation and preaching some message back it up with a story.

Silence can be a message
Perhaps the toughest thing to do. To be silent and to keep the audience silent at the same time. For this, you need to have riveting control over the audience. Use silence at appropriate time and your presentations will fly.

Keep your own personal story file:-
Start noting small stories from your life and connect them to six emotions all human share (Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, Surprise, and Fear). I am fortunate that I have been collecting and introspecting on my story for some time now. I got a new handle today to organize my thoughts – connect your stories with six emotions we all share.
Learn to use the power of misdirection.
Sometimes you have to misdirect the audience simply to gain more control. For instance, you may start an anecdote and give a pause where you feel audience will state something obvious. Once the audience does, say something different and more insightful. To surprise the audience and to re-state that “I am here. I am taking control here”.

Quite a lot of words of wisdom: - Writing them is one thing and practicing is another. This new journey in Public Speaking should be fun. I am on!!!

I am sick ! I am Imagning !!

I hate to be sick. Perhaps, everyone does. But there are people who are too good at getting well after falling sick and then, there are few like I, who are absolute nerd at getting well. The first category and the major ones would take appropriate medicine, avoid things they should in sickness, and even take extended caution once they are well. The second category and the crazier ones, try to behave and become normal just at slight signs of recovery. Take for instance the fact that I went to office on Friday just because I felt little okay and didn’t wanted to be get boar alone at home – an action good enough to turn me further sick.

Interestingly, I found a doctor who kind of approved of my acts – the second category, An extremely practical guy, he didn’t asked me to avoid working on computer, avoiding various things to eat, or even watching movie. He said, it’s a viral and you will get well in 4 days - not before. I took it Not later also :P.

Lying in my bed, I have come to an interesting conclusion. I think sickness is direct challenge to your imagination potential. The more imaginative you can get, the easier it is to traverse through dull sick period. You like it or not, you have to stay in your bed most of the time. And there is a limit to your sleeping hours. Rest of the time, you got to get imaginative. If not, you bound to find it difficult to get well. So next time you call ill – god forbid though – imagine incessantly and cruise through your sickness.

The First in your life !!

In a recent experience, I realized that there is a usual charm associated with doing things for the first time. The first time, you begin to speak – Of course you may not reflect how you felt then but your family does, the first time you begin to ride a bi-cycle, first time you say ‘I love you’ to someone, and numerous other first. Some we remember till date such as first time I saw a Beach, some we forget in race of our lives. But to my regret, many times we simply keep on doing new things without realizing we are doing it for the first time. In such instances, we generally miss a chance to enjoy the thrill of the first.

I experience another first in my life yesterday. Nothing significant if look retrospectively, yet I felt charged up to the journey. Without over-dramatizing, I reveal that the recent first was a travel in Swarn Shatabadi from Ludhiana to New Delhi. Did I disappoint you with this fact? I would love if your answer is ‘Yes – What’s so significant about it’ because that would help me make my point more assertively.

The opportunities to celebrate the first in life are numerous. It’s we who have to associate that importance to things and look at the whole routine life from an entirely new dimension. Sitting inside the Shatabadi, I didn’t find much difference other than some trivial ones such as you could feel that the train is really guzzling fuel fast, the courteous food services, and lot of foreigners in Indian trains. However, it is the connection that I made to my past that rendered me excitement to write this post. I remembered those days of traveling in Passenger trains and watching Shatabadi zooming past. Then came the time when I used to travel in Express / Super Fast trains n the speed and AC coached of the train fantasized me. Then, I began to travel in AC yet never did it in Shatabadi.

I wish to emphasis here that although the train experience sounds trivial yet the connection I could establish with this FIRST helped me make this memorable experience. I am convinced that if one continues to note and consciously add the ‘Firsts’ in his/her experiences, life would become way better and colorful. So much so that it am prompted to write this post. So much so that I am going to add new tag to my blog – The Firsts in my life and conclude that if I don’t find a post to write in this category for more 2 consecutive weeks, I am going to die without trying a lot of things even once. Steve jobs said ‘Stay Hungry Stay Foolish’. Be so – Always !!

This is not a Post !!

I just didn't get a chance to write for some time - Really busy at work. As I opened my blog today, I simply could not think of anything to write - Something unusual. Suddenly, it struck - why do I always have to write something? From where did I get this idea to write on a consistent basis?

I recollected I hired this idea from Robin Sharma. He said that if you do 'something' with consistency, everyday or perhaps couple of times a week, and pursue that activity regularly, within 3-5 years you will be deemed expert in that 'something'. I began to introspect on what I could do. I took out my diary and began to scribble something. I realized I could not organize my thoughts properly, as Robin often does in his blog and books. I decided that my 'something' will be writing. I started writing in blog, took my email communication very seriously, noted words used by eminent people and inducted those words in my write ups, wrote number of articles for citizen journalists websites, and participated in Essay writing competitions ( Never won any -- YET). Today I feel so good about writing - Many times, I open up my old emails just to check whether it was well crafted – What could I have done better there. In retrospect, I think Robin was quite insightful - It's not that just by doing something regularly you will become an expert, the idea with which it all started for me. It's the fact that when you pursue something regularly, you grow passionate about it and your threshold keeps on growing. You continue to upgrade yourself. You continue to be Hungry – for more.

I am far from an expert today to pen down my thoughts, I doubt I ever will be. I am million miles away from my dream to write a book. I even don't have an idea to write a book. For someone who is currently struggling to find a decent topic to write a blog, writing a book seems to be far fetched idea. Yet, in many ways I am proud of my writing skills today. It’s heartening when some friends want me to review their important e-mails. It’s even more satisfying when people, in attempts to pull my leg, comment on my writing skills. If this could be an inspiration for you, to start doing something on a regular basis – I shall feel a part of Robin Sharma’s journey to enlighten people.

Lastly, as I re-read this post, I thought to change the heading for I have ended up writing a decent post. In second thought, I choose to keep it that way - Thanks to Robin that I am able to write well on the fly.

De-Stress the Rain Way !!!

Last few weeks have been taxing with number of threads in my life going on. On Saturday evening as I was contemplating my course of action through tides that have disrupting my boat, I suddenly heard thunders of rain outside.

It was the first rain of the monsoon season. Delhi has been receiving significant and unusual rains this year. However, Saturdays rain was very different – First because it was heavy & perhaps first actual monsoon rain. Second because the rain sprung me in action.

I decided to get wet in rain. Not sure whether I decided so because of the frustrating events but I did. I went outside in the community where I noticed most people getting out their cars were rushing to get back to the apartments and I was doing exactly the opposite. I believe I am quite good a judging people from there gestures and comments. I could make out that while some were thinking 'Who the hell is this guy' but a majority simply wanted to join me.

Initially, I just walked in the rain. I recollected that as a kid we used to jump in the water. I thought I should do that now. At the onset, deep down my heart I felt little reserved to do this action because number of people standing in their balcony would have a clear view of me doing these childlike activities. At second thought, exactly for the same reason I decided to jump. I had just started when bunch of kids came running from a direction. We became a group of 5 and I was sure that if I add ages of rest 4 members of my group, I will still win !! We jumped in water and it reminded me of Dia Mirza’s entry in the movie ‘Rehna hai Tere Dil Mein’. Not sure if some girl noticed me this time :P..Will find out soon  !!

Later, the kids proposed me to play ‘Pakan Pakdai’ (A game in which one person runs and other chase him to catch him). What a fun it was. And trust me, these kids have some stamina. They tired the hell out of me. I loved those kids for everything but one. They called me ‘Uncle’ and I educated them that you should call Uncle to only those who are married. I am still happy and therefore call me ‘Bhaiya’. They obeyed and most importantly, agreed.

To conclude, it was a huge stress buster. I made some wonderful decisions lying in the rain. I completed many pending activities with enthusiasm and rejuvenated passion. Most importantly, I feel happy since I can’t recollect when last time I pursued such activities and let free the child that resides deep down inside of each one of us. Try it out sometime !!! Rains aren’t scare in Delhi anymore, just the attitude and approach to life needs to be !!

Proud to be Teacher - Teach India - Teach !!!

Here is my cool badge from TOI’s Teach India Initiative !!



Proud to be a Teacher!!!

This is exactly what I was looking for. TOI is doing great work - Perfect utilization of the scale. TOI should be complimented for the two significant drives: Lead India and Teach India. The first produced awareness and brought to limelight some people doing exceptional work. The second is the need of the hour for India.

It was hearting to note that 10,000+ educated corporate associates, doctors, lawyers, and most significantly, college students have volunteered for the program. The fact that these people have committed for 2 hours of Sunday to the noble cause over spending the leisure time sitting in lounge / shopping in mall / watching a movie speaks of the sensitivity towards the problem of illiteracy among the Indians.

The program is currently launched in 4 metro cities of India. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that soon the waves of the program would reach to Tier-2 cities and ultimately to most disadvantaged rural areas. My father, an avid social work, has been doing the same activity for last 10 years in my town. An educator by profession, he renders free-after school tutoring to poor schools kids. I have often mooted upon spreading his initiative on a larger scale. My efforts to popularize the program with help of top businessmen in my town and senior social workers of the town have to opening up of three news chapters in the surrounding areas. Yet scope of the contributions has always been limited. TOI comes in and launches a similar program on a National scale.

I am eager to commence work and play my small part in educating few kids. It is so gratifying when some of my father's old students who have managed to get decent jobs come home and thank whole-heartedly to my father. My dad is a proud teacher. I too have started on his journey.

On the Dot Mr. AB

It's a well said old adage that 'You don't know importance of something unless you loose it'. Something similar happened to me today. Sometimes we are so accustomed to something that we donot realize how that thing uncounciously becomes an integral part of our life. I am referring to my habit to sit for many hours on my laptop and surf various websites, informational articles, blogs, business journals. Suddenly today, as I sat with my lappy, I realized I am not able to open GMAIL. I am not able to open my Blog. I am not able to open www.economictimes.com. Gtalk is also not working. What's wrong ? After diligent analysis, I found that my internet is not working. I checked my router & modem. Everything looked fine. Perhaps Airtel has discontinued the services since we did not pay bills for past 2 months. What a way to remind your customers !!

I was clueless for few minutes. What do I do with this laptop in front of me ? Counciousness struck that Internet and Laptop are two different things. Now that I have Laptop but not Internet I have to think how to best utilize this opportunity that's different and little boaring to start with. At the onset the best options seemed to give my lappy some rest and turn to some book or TV. But, I was hell bent on spending time on my laptop without internet. So here is the list of activities that I did in next couple of hours:

> Organized all the random data, articles, and softwares that I have collected over a time.
> Listened music - Perhaps the only activity on this list that I do even when I have internet
> Prepared a Video Song from the pics of the wonderful time spent at ILP, Trivandrum
> Add / Remov unused programs, disk formatting, and cleared cache to enhance the performance of the system.
> Played some creative games I downloaded sometime back but never touched.
> Uploaded my I-POD with new songs and podcasts.
> Wrote this Blog.

Seriously, it was fun. It was different and interesting. Try it out sometime. For Old times sake !!! Just sit on your computer and decide not to connect to internet. You will break monotony, find loads of untouched files, and feel fresh to get online the next day :) and most importantly, remember days few years back when getting online was such a privelege. We are changing as fast as things around us are. Perhaps that's why it took me couple of minutes to realize that without internet I can't open websites as I do everyday.

Lastly, I close this blog recollecting Amitabh Bachan's dialouge from Sarkar Raj when his wife tries to convince him that 'badtale waqt ke sath badalna chahiye' and he replies 'Badlte Waqt ke se sath agar hum badal gaye to kaise pata chalega ki Waqt badal gaya'. On the Dot Mr. AB !!

Is there something like 'SongMania' ?

I searched Oxford dictionary to see if the word 'SongMania' exists but it does not. So I choose to put it as 'Song Mania' although convinced after my experience that such word should exist. This happened with the sensational song 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi' from movie Jaane Tu.....

As I was traveling from Jaipur to Gurgaon after dropping my sister at her new college, IIHRM Jaipur, I simply got hooked to this song. I could not let my Ipod play the next song. I could not sleep. I could not even think anything. I simply listened to this song again n again. And again.

Here I write the lyrics of the song that I have learnt after listening the song for hours ..Yeah literally ..For hours !!!

Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi Me Yun Hi Koi Apna Lagta Hai
Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Woh Bichad Jaye Toh Ek Sapna Lagta Hai
Aise Me Koi Kaise Apne Aansuon Ko Bahene Se Roke
Aur Kaise Koi Sochle Everything Gonna Be Okay
Kabhi Kabhi Toh Lage Zindagi Me Rahi Na Khushi Aur Na Maza
Kabhi Kabhi Toh Lage Har Din Mushkil Aur Har Pal Ek Saza
Aise Me Koi Kaise Muskuraaye ,Kaise Has De Khush Hoke
Aur Kaise Koi Sochle Everything Gonna Be Okay

Soch Zara Jaane Ja Tujuko Hume Kitna Chahte Hain
Rote Hum Bhi Agar Tere Aankhon Me Aansun Aate Hain
Gaan Toh Aata Nahi Hai Magar Fir Bhi Gaate Hain
Hey Aditi Maan Kabhi Kabhi Saare Jahan Me Andhera Hota Hai
Lekin Raat Ke Baad Hi Toh Savera Hota Hai

Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi Me Yun Hi Koi Apna Lagta Hai
Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Woh Bichad Jaye Toh Ek Sapna Lagta Hai
Hey Aditi Has De Has De Has De Has De Has De Tu Zara
Nahi Toh Bas Thoda Thoda Thoda Thoda Thoda Thoda Muskura

Tu Khush Hai Toh Lage Ke Jahan Chaiyi Hai Khushi
Sooraj Nikle Baadalon Se Aur Baaten Zindagi
Sun Toh Zara Madhosh Hawa Tujhse Kehne Lagi
Ki Aditi Woh Jo Bichadte Hain Ik Na Ik Din Fir Mil Jate
Yeh Aditi Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na Phool Fir Khil Jate Hain

Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi Me Yun Hi Koi Apna Lagta Hai
Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Who Bichad Jaye Toh Ek Sapna Lagta Hai

Hey Aditi Has De Has De Has De Has De Has De Tu Zara
Nahi Toh Bas Thoda Thoda Thoda Thoda Thoda Thoda Muskura - 5

Happy listening to the song. I am sure I need not give you a video / audio link !!

Enterprise IT and the competitive advantage mantra!!

I came across an interesting article at HBR that so closely relates to the work that I have been doing. The article details the competitive advantage several organizations have gained by investing in technology especially in Enterprise Software. It was insightful to read the compelling observation in article since I have been working as a consultant in ERP.

I always believed that client get a significant advantage by implementing ERP. Otherwise what is the point in making such huge investments. However, most of the line managers that I used to question about the software's impact on the business would delve into the day to day issues and challenges in the product rather than thinking from a holistic purpose. For example, I asked a manager who looks after Learning Management of his Organization that what he feels about PeopleSoft’s impact on his business. Rather than thinking that he is getting a system that provides a single platform for the whole organization he was keener on discussing smaller issues and granular functionalities of the system. Reading the article and impact of Enterprise IT today I realized that it is the senior management who value ERP more since it provides single platform to manage the organizational data, any change in business processes, and help business surge in new directions.

Further, I was quite intrigued by the example of CVS. The company changed its client handling process by bringing the background check to front end. Through this change, in a single shot CVS made the changes across the organization primarily because it has an ERP Software. Further dependence on technology also meant that CVS reap organization wise change benefits rather than localized benefits that are generally people dependent. While this example was impressive, my experience with field managers has been little different unless I have started my interaction with Directors and VP's. As I worked in the national roll-out of a Enterprise Software, I realized that most of the line and localized managers are concerned about how the system will impact the functionality at their own location. Also, they were keen to get the product changed according to their whims and fancies. On the other hand, the Directors and VPs I have interacted are more concerned about keeping the software uniform & holistic. Classic example of difference between the Corporate and Individual Functions.

Coming back to the article, some of the advantages of the enterprise software are: covering a wide span, immediate results, precise rather than general guidelines, consistent, and enforces change. The article has helped me put my area of work in right perspective. Further I have learnt how technology can impact the business through the CVS example. Perhaps someday as an associate on business side, I will be able to gel with technology department in better manner.

A much needed Refreshment !!

This post should have been made on 28th June - Pardon my crankling bones that I can hear the grunts and oomphs even today!!

I went to a Outbound Camp organized by TCS with motive to foster team spirit, collaboration, and leadership among the associates. I have attended many such outings before. However, the timing of this event couldn't be better. I needed such a dose to refresh and rejuvenate myself from the cliche of work and personal pursuits that have turned into obsessions now. And what a dose it was !!!! I still carry the after effects of the dose with a sweet pain across my arms n legs :).

On Saturday, the weather was perfect - With clouds in a natural setting. A light breeze could have been an icing on the cake. Anyways. The event started with a bus journey to a resort near Damdama Lake, around 50 KM from Gurgaon. Many of us could not believe that so close to GGN, such a natural ambience exists. The bus journey made me feel nostalgic of the numerous trips made during TCS ILP at Trivandrum. Of course nothing beats those travels in heart of Kerela but this one was quite refreshing as well. Some standard games followed n soon we were at the resort.

There were number of activities such as Rappelling (Not so exciting for me but loved to see nervous first timers), Burma Bridge (TCS ILP one was way better), and Team games such as crossing the obstacles etc. The activities in themselves did not stand out from my past experiences yet the timing of the events and the different people around did. Some of the experiences that stand out in my observations are a ride of Tractor - made me feel nostalgic of childhood days when I used to drive a bi-cycle & catch hold of such tractors, and competition to throw stones - again things I used to do as a child.

To conclude, I really enjoyed the whole day out. I just to wish get normal now and I am longing now to go back to my obsessions as soon as possible. Only if my bones stop making noises :). Will post some of the pics of the event here soon.

Can you get this one ?

Today, I was surfing across just to find something crazy, something stimulating. My search ended with the following illusion pic - one of the best I have ever seen.



Now the concept is: Both the A and B blocks are same shades of Grey. Period !!! Spend sometime here to really have a look before I lead to resolve the mystery. I know you will need my help :)

Done ? Perhaps you can read the explanation here. Could you make it ?

Perhaps try desi estyle. Copy this image in your mspaint, cut a piece from each block and compare. The explanation above will start make sense :). One of craziest things I have seen. How about you ?

Ciao
~Vinit

Leadership Jack Welch eestyle !!

Disclaimer: As I was re-organizing some old content on my lappy, I came across some old write and blog collections. The one that follows is from an unknown source. I simply found the write compelling since I have turned a big fan of 'Jack Welch' after reading his 'Winning'

A couple of years ago, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch visited the Stanford Graduate School of Business to talk about leadership and his book, Winning. With about 800 people, we had a public conversation about managing. The best comment he made, I thought, was the simplest. It's something I believe and try to practice every day. Leadership is not about you. It's about the people who work for you. "The day you become a leader, it becomes about them," Welch said. "Your job is to walk around with a can of water in one hand and a can of fertilizer in the other. Think of your team as seeds and try to build a garden. It's about building these people," he insisted. "Only you will know the team." That's right. The minute you move from being a task-oriented professional to being a manager of people, it stops being about your individual talents, your successes, and starts being all about coaching, motivating , teaching, supporting, removing roadblocks, and finding resources for your employees.

Leadership is about celebrating their victories and rewarding them; helping them analyze when things don't go according to the plan. Their successes become your successes. Their failures are yours too. Too many people today think leading is exclusively about their own performance. Even some of those who become CEOs, usually highly intelligent people who worked hard to get where they are, turn into self-aggrandizing individuals once they hit the executive suite. Too many people, perhaps encouraged by the media, have developed an obsession with leaders. In his book on hierarchies, Top Down, Hal Leavitt covers a broad range of issues. Leavitt, who is the Kilpatrick professor of organizational behavior emeritus at the B-school , surmises that part of today's infatuation with the leadership discussion springs from the fact that we perceive organizations have become flatter, when they are still hierarchical , though changed to being "participative" and "groupy." They have become harder to navigate with chains of command that are less clear. As a result, leadership qualities are more important for managers at every level, not just for those at the top of an authority pyramid.

Although it is difficult to find common characteristics among acknowledged leaders (What would Winston Churchill have in common with Mother Teresa?) , Leavitt identifies three recurring themes of leadership : transformation, persuasion, and competence. Leaders are able to transform or change a situation. They can influence others and motivate them to follow. They exude confidence and competence about what they are doing that inspires others. At the B-school , we have created a leadership development program that gives students experiences and coaching to help recognize and reinforce some of these qualities. Of prime importance, in my view, is the notion that leadership is about change and a leader must leverage those who work for him or her, empower and support them with regular feedback, rewards, and exchange of ideas.

Of course, sometimes leaders have to 'weed the garden' in Welch's pithy vocabulary. The tough job of firing and hiring is part of creating an effective team. One person, no matter how talented, cannot accomplish much in a managed organization of today's complexity and global reach. Transforming through others is the job of the leader at any level. Said Welch when he was here: "The day you become a leader, your job is to take people who are already great and make them unbelievable."

Enterprise of the Future - IBM Global CEO Study.

Today I happened to read IBM's Global CEO Study - a study that I downloaded from my maiden visit to HBR Online website. I have been a regular reader of printed version of HBR as I like on reading on paper rather than online. I visited the online version just in hope to get some good case study to read over the weekend and I got one - The Enterprise of Future.

I took print out of the 79 page study from my office. Before diving deep in the study I observed with my room mate and old college friend that the print out- 79 page thick almost resemble with the complete study material we used to have for one subject during our engineering.

The study is basically a collection of responses of survey & Interviews of more than 1000 CEO's worldwide. I also learnt that this was the third such study conducted by IBM and it’s primarily focused on how the organizations should respond to the rising challenges and how the Enterprise of future would look like. The striking revelations of the study focused on the following five traits of success for the organizations:

1. Organizations should manage change in a thoughtful and well planned manner rather than in reactive manner. Organizations that promote change as an integral part of there culture and day to day work are more likely to succeed.

2. Organizations that foresee the ever increasing customer awareness as opportunity to collaborate with customers to design breakthrough products and services are more likely to capture customer attentions. Innovation needs to be a way of life.

3. Global integration - not just riding on the growth in developing economies such as India and China but to position the business in such a manner that you source where its most cost-effective, produce where its best quality, and sell where its most profitable. Further, rapid reconfiguration when new opportunities appear should be on high agenda.

4. Since it is becoming highly unlikely to differentiate in terms of products and services, organizations are trying to differentiate and change the business models. The Enterprise Model Innovation is most commonly followed.

5. CSR is rising on CEO's agenda - With the increasing awareness among consumers and potential employees about the social aspects of business, enterprises are embarking on a path towards genuine CSR activities to win trust and loyalty.

Each of the above point is explained in depth and supported by the survey data in the study. I found the compelling insights invaluable to develop a macro-view of where companies are moving / should move in the next 2-3 years. If interested, you may read the complete study Here

Ciao
~Vinit

HR after MBA - A refreshing rejuvenation!!

Ok. I am not expert at career advice and I have nothing planned for myself in the HR or MBA for the time being. You might ask then why this topic? I’ll come back to that. First, some novice & touch funny incidents from life on the subject.

During late college days and early days in professional life, I wanted to do my MBA and go into HR. As I retrospect diligently, I recollect that my inspiration to be a HR MBA was primarily because of TCS HR professional whom I met during our campus recruitment drive. I was awed by there presentation & communication skills and I simply wanted to be like them, confident, humorous, and well-groomed. Further, the kind of royal treatment they were getting from my college as compared to brutal one we used to receive as students, made me think that HR MBA & then recruitment drive at GNDU will be a nice way to square off things. Also, I always have had a knack to organize activities, convince & handle people to come to party or some gathering, and simply talk a lot. I thought that is exactly what a HR do & I will just take-off as HR Professional. When couple of people argued that “HR is an area for girls”, I simply responded “Isn’t that a good enough reason to go for it?” Well, those were novice days and things have changed a lot now. However, the seeds of the journey I have been on were sowed there & it is refreshing to remember those days.

Now, coming to why suddenly this topic. Today, I was approached by a bright, confident, and able associate in my team. He wanted to know about the future prospects of HR Professional and what kind of opportunities he may expect. I was both amused a little & felt bit nostalgic when he explained his reasoning similar to I used to have – A knack for organizing events, people management etc. However, he was more clear, interested, and passionate about HR than I used to be. While advising him, although I do not have any latest research, I expressed him that HR will be bright area in future because of two reasons.

First, as Indian industry is maturing and facing severe skills shortages, HR professionals are moving up the ranks of importance in CEO’s agenda. Second, I have read somewhere that there is a severe shortage of HR professionals itself in India. Many companies have been on rampage to hire engineers (in range of 10k to 35k per year), but they have not matched this trend in HR and at some point of time; companies will have to do so. With this bit of advise, I also observed that HR as a function is not only about organizing events and people management – as we see everyday our project HR doing. At a middle/ senior level, it is about policy design to better the employee satisfaction, help organizations hire & retain talent, and build competitive advantage.

Because of my limited knowledge on the subject, I provided him threads to explore – The best one I could. First, I told him about an independent HR Management Consultant – Gautam Ghosh, whose excellent blog I followed for some time. - http://gauteg.blogspot.com/. Second, I provided him contact of HR head for Tata Group – TAS. Third, I helped him with a lethal weapon – A combination of Google, Linkedin, and Orkut through which he can track the lives of successful HR professional and foresee whether & how he can reach there. I believe that if one network & research smartely, no information can stay hidden in today's world.

To conclude, I think HR after MBA makes a lot of sense with knack for people management, curious intellect, and pleasing personality. However, it is important that you have valid reasons to choose HR / any area of specialization and not crazy & weird ones such as working with lot of girls, squaring of things with your college :).

Ciao
~Vinit.

15 Minute Journalism

Today I read of a powerful concept somewhere (I really need to structure my reading habits to remember where I read what.).

If you hope to inculcate writing habits in yourself, improve your writing skills, and simply want to become more aware of what is happening around you then take a plunge to write everyday / at least on weekend for 15 minutes. You may choose any time of the day you are comfortable, early morning with a sip of coffee or late night before sleeping.

The idea is to not just write about some facts or traverse back through your day or some string of events. The idea is to write about absolutely anything but reach some conclusions, what you liked or disliked, why something became important to you. This will lead you to become a better write with clear opinion about the world and about yourself. I found the concept a powerful one. Some good habits if adopted well can change you a lot.

I have friend who has developed a beautiful habit. He reads a book before sleeping. In fact he has been so consistent that of-late he has started saying that he can’t fall asleep unless he reads some book. Sometimes after a party (apne eeestyle ki party ) he expresses interest to read a book. Subconsciously, he has programmed himself that way. It’s another fact that he an absolute bastard: P, a complete waste for all his talents, and too lazy: P (I know you are dying to hear his name and some of you may have guessed, yet I will refrain from naming him :) ). As far as books are concerned, he always has a book to read, next one planned, and previous one to speak about. It’s tough to admit but yes, I am inspired by him.

I need to do something similar with this beautiful blog. (Beautiful – Ahh some self congratulations after all the good comments from blessed souls). It is here that I have decided to voice my opinions, guts, and learning as a part of 15 minute journalism initiative (I realize that if by some magical pill I can inculcate this habit I will well overshoot my target for 100 blogs this year).

A rocking meeting for an Environmentalist

I had won the Just A Minute (JAM) competition, an extempore competition, for generating ideas to make TCS Gurgaon center better cater to environment perseverance. Thereafter I got an opportunity to spend time with chief auditors who came to test TCS GGN center for ISO 14001 certification. I must admit I heard some rocking examples from the auditors and I hereby attempt to recollect some of those examples. Essentially these examples establish the huge environmental degradation caused due to the day to day activities we conducted.

First, we discussed around the Kyoto Protocol. I asked him how much concerned business leaders and CEO are towards environment protection. How much does environmental implication effect the business decisions they make? He explained how European Nations are quite strict on this. Further he said there are positive developments since 22 US states have signed for the Protocol and US is now showing positive signs. Then he began to provide examples from day to day life. Some of them are as follows:

1. Where have all the house sparrows gone? Did you ever notice? Did you ever miss the chirping of this small bird that was so usual 8-10 years ago? Well, this development has gone largely unnoticed but the cause of this development has not. The success story of Indian Telecom Industry, increase in tele-density, and rise of Bharti Airtel are quite celebrated subjects in media. However, it is the same usage of the cell phones and their radiations that have led to elimination of House Sparrows from the vicinity.

2. Oil Import from Australia to India caused a rare coastal bird to disappear from Australian Beaches: - How is that possible? We are importing oil from Aus. to India. How can it lead to extinction of a bird from Aussie beaches? Well the story goes on that when ships unloaded the oil at Indian ports, they used to put some water from Indian coasts in the tanks so the ship has some weight on it while traveling the back. The same water, collected from Indian ports, was offloaded at on reaching the coast at Australian side. This water was not suitable for development of Algae on the beach. When Algae became a rare, an particular insect that used to live on algae got eradicated. This lead to reduction in number of a particular fish that was quite abundant in the area. The fish was eventually preferred food for the rare bird that got extinct. Did you notice the chain there? Further, did you notice that man can to know of the situation only when the impact reaches 3 levels higher - Algae, Insect, and Fish went unnoticed.

3. Drink Milk causes Impotency. Period!!! Surprised. I was amazed. For a moment I though the Auditor has got this one wrong. But he got it right. The story goes behind this is that these days cows are given injections to deliver more milk. These injections basically have female hormones. When these hormones are increased in cow's body, they naturally flow in the milk as well. So when female hormones reach male bodies in form of milk, it causes certain damage to male hormones. Next time your mom pushes you to drink milk, don't listen to them :) !!

There were several more examples. So much of information flew around; I wasn't able to gather all. For once it felt as if everything we are doing is wrong. Understanding our situation, the auditor explained his stand using one more example.

TCS is coming up with a new center in Chennai that will host around 23000 people. An average of 500 - 800 buses will be needed for transportation of the associates. The same buses will heat up the environment and causes excessive damages. Now the question is who is responsible?

Are the employees who work there responsible? But they simply work there, they didn't make this center. IS TCS responsible or is the Industry - a bank, a financial service, Retail Company who created the demand for the software with TCS responsible? Or is the end user who created such demand with the industry that they need software responsible? Can you answer?

He concluded that ultimately all of us are responsible for everything going on. It is collective responsibility of each of us, to spread the awareness, to stay conscious and contribute in whatever manners we can!!

I am going to contribute my bit and through this post, if I have inspired you also then I have already started !!!

An enthusiastic build up for eventually a failed attempt - TAS !!

As I progressed in professional career, I kept on searching for my ultimate destination. I started my search with the cliché comment "I can't do coding whole my life" to today's well thought career development plan that will render immense professional and personal satisfaction. In additional, I have developed porous boundaries of principles and values I have come to appreciate and will always follow for my life.

Either it was my family's influence or my association with Tata Group's jewel TCS, I have become well defined in my principles. During my career, I have 'missed' several excellent professional opportunities just because I knew it may not be in best interest of the organization. I had decided that I will transparent about my plans and aspirations with my seniors, as I would expect from my sub-ordinates. A case in point is my recent denial to join World Bank project in Washington because I communicated to Senior Managers that since I have applied for TAS, I will be available only after TAS selection process is over. My deliberations have been met with mild criticism and often, subject of leg-pulling by my acquaintance. However, one person who has always congratulated my act and provided inspiration to stay integral is my grandfather.

An old person with weary eyes and shaky voice, he is a man of principles. Since childhood, I have heard about his heroics during his young days from my relatives. I recall the day when I jubilantly jumped at home to announce my campus selection in TCS. The fact that TCS was first company to show at my college and only two people, including me, were selected in 2 rounds of interview had furthered my elation. My grandfather, however, knew little about TCS and showed signs of worry of the kind of company I will work for. I told him "Grand Paa, It's a TATA company". Almost instantly, he stood with his trembling legs and pulled out a 100 rupee note that I should donate in the temple. He further advised me that Tata's are good people and I should work for best of my abilities. Little did I understand his point during those days After all, I will be working with TCS - an software company. What is to do with Tata Group?

Today, as I retrospect, I understand my Grandfather's point. Tata Group is deeply rooted with core values of integrity and social responsibility. I have inculcated these traits in me today, reinforced by the professional setup in TCS and my family's persistent social involvement. In addition, the clouds over my Ultimate Destination have cleared.

As a professional, I have always enjoyed strong equity within my sphere of influence. In addition, I have valued professional excellence and always seeked opportunities to extend my contributions beyond the assigned roles. With just 7 months of experience, I associated myself with two development projects. In less than 2 years, I was with a new strategic client "Siemens" with responsibility to make first good impression of TCS and initiate the project. In past, I have also worked in capacity of Team Lead and in Pre-sales activities. I have mentored around 20 people and interviewed numerous candidates. I have always valued rotation and seeked such opportunities in my career. Now, my focus has shifted beyond IT and professional rise in uni-directional manner. I am after my ultimate destination now.

Tata Administrative Services, TAS, provides the perfect breeding ground to my experiences and aspirations. I deeply value and imbibe the core principles of TATA group. I feel connected with Tata and the day Corus, JLR deals were announced it was not less than festival for me. The professional journey that TAS provides is a perfect setting to achieve Generic Management skills where after dedicated training, I will be able to respond to organization's dynamic requirements such as "We have a company in Singapore that is shaping itself to take on new directions and challenges. We want you to lead the same" and I shall be off. TAS is the destination where I can build sustained equity, rotate in various roles and industries have freedom to express, shape socio-economic policies, and contribute to nation-building - A.K.A my Ultimate Destination. TAS selection process is about to commence. Now it's time for execution. After all, things are done first in my mind and then in action.

Leadership - Risk taking is imperative.

I can't agree more with the subject. Each of us has immense potential and everyone wants to achieve a lot. However, the only thing that stops individuals is the risk associated with the short term decisions.

Many times for long term benefits, short term losses have to suffered. But one gets courage to take those risks and handle those losses in short term only and only if one is clear of his/her long term goals. If you can clearly see the direction in which you are moving, you will become a better leader overnight.

You will synergize efforts towards a particular direction. You will overcome obstacles in your way. You will either build upon your small successes or learn from your failures but towards your ultimate goals. The same sense of direction needs to be complemented by the most important attribute of leadership- Perseverance.

History testifies that there are many great personalities such as Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, and Walt Disney failed in early ventures. However, they were persistent and passionate towards their ultimate goal. It’s the perseverance that separates the best from the mediocre. Understandably you will fail in your ventures and attempts. But that's not failure. That in fact is a wonderful learning opportunity. The real failure is when you give up and decide not to give it a try at all.
So, it settled. Quitting a not an option.

To conclude, Leadership requires clear long term vision, risks in short term, and perseverance to sustain on self development road.

Decision Making

Disclaimer: I generally proof read my posts. After proof reading this one, I found this little boar. Please bear it full or quit right away ;)

Of late I have been caught in myriad of choices. People who know me would not find this an unusual development. However, there is quite a difference in the options this time. As I have grown in professional and personal aspirations, and simply in my age my risks taking and diversity in various force pulling me have grown at similar if not faster pace.I don’t see much substance in discussing each of my current options here. Some even should not be made public. What I see important here is to discuss the cognitive thought process, the decision making process one goes through and in process, I hoping to find some solutions for myself.

When all the air around the subject is removed, decision making is a simple process of problem solving that you do based upon your prioritized interests, inculcated core values, and future benefits. Understandably when you are engaged in a thoughtful process to make a decision there will be several divergent yet enticing options.

I think it is paramount to first consider what interests are most important to you. For instance, you may have option to use your Friday evening in either of the two ways: Read a latest book on your favorite subject or spend the night out in theatre to watch a newly released movie. Now both the options are equally luring. Here you will make a decision based on your prioritized interests. If you are more outgoing types and have company of few friends, perhaps you will pick the movie. At the same time if you are introvert types or don’t have friends to accompany, you are likely to pick the book. In our subconscious mind we do such analysis very quickly and arrive at the decision based on our prior experiences, our personality, and indexing of events that we do in our mind.

The second factor, the inculcated core values, is quite direct. If you follow your core values you are likely to turn the gray looking things quickly into black or white. For instance, if since your childhood you have believed in honesty you are likely to return someone’s fallen 100 Rs note immediately. However, if your value system is not that strong then you may prefer savoring your favorite food or drink with that money. I think it is really very important for people to identify there core value system. A busy professional if decides that he will value work / profile over money then he is not likely to be confused when provided with several professional opportunities. Similarly if a businessman makes excellence his core value then he is not likely to compromise on the quality of product/ business he produces even though it may result in short term profits.

The third factor- future benefits is really what brings you to the decision making process at the first place. I have deliberately placed this as third factor since if placed on top it may turn you hazy over the first two factors. While the analysis of the benefits of pursuing some activity is very important, I think it more important to put the benefits in right perspective. The prospective benefits should really compliment your analysis of first two factors – Your Interests and your core values.

As we have discussed in general about decision making, its time to mention some technical and methodical ways. I read about several of the decision making techniques such as Six Thinking Hats, Grid Analysis, Pareto Analysis, Paired Comparison Analysis, Cost / Benefits Analysis. You may find these wonderful techniques here

Each of these seemed a great fun to employ and quite effective. I liked the Grid Analysis the most simply because of its comprehensive coverage, simplicity, and fun. I am going to use this option tonight to arrive at some wonderful results.

Happy Decision Making !!!

100 in a Year ?????

Hearing feedback on my blog from a dear friend suddenly brought me back to this unforgotten world wide Web URL - www.vinitgarg.blogspot.com.

At the start of the year 2008, as jubilant I was about hitting a 50 of blog articles I wrote in 2007 as aspirational I was to resolve that I will write 100 articles in year 2008. With the current pace, it seems for sure the resolution is bound to fail.

Seems like a urgent need to focus back on the blog and externalize myself again is the doctor's order at this moment..Hmmm !! Game On !!

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

The hottest asset today that any organization seeks to have is IPR - Intellectual Property Rights. It's this drive that led me to compose this post !!

In today's context, where globalization and technology is re-defining the way the business is done and where ideas spread faster than speed of light, it is imperative for organization to protect the ingenious contributions of its employees in form of IPR.

IPR cover a wide range of intellectual outputs such as publicity material, work of art, a product design, a logo, chemical formulations, computer softwares etc. When a company have IPR over a particular assest, the other companies that use the same have to pay fees to the beholder of IPR. It is in this way that an organization can differentiate itself from the pack and also, continue to earn from its innovations.

An IP consists of various elements:

1. Trade Secrets : Trade secrets, as the name suggests, conform the unique knowledge that an organization or a person has developed using skills,people,and resources. This knowledge is supposed to provide competitive advantage to the organization in the marketplace by virtue of the fact that no one else knows the secrets. The strategies to maintain trade secrets involve cautionary steps such as restricting the availability of the knowledge, getting everyone who knows the secret to sign Non-disclosure agreement, mark any written material as Proprietary and Confidential.

2. Patents : Research and development is an expensive enterprise. The grant of patents to an organization ensure legal rights to company that ensure that the company is able to redeem the expenses incurred. An invention, usually a process or product, that ensures a novel approach and a significant improvement over the existing knowledge is patentable. A patent is provided by the Patent office and isvalid for 20 years.During this period no one can use, manipulate, and market the patented product or process without paying royality to the beholder. After 20 years, either the patent has to be re-inforced that inculcates some fees or a company has to for go the patent.
Patents are important becuase they allow space to organization to deploy there break-through products and services openly in market rather than holding on to it. Patents generally protect functional technology whereas copy rights protect artistic and written material.

3. TradeMark : The main purpose of a trademark is to serve as a differentiator from the products and services of other people in the marketplace. A consumer will begin to associate a particular registered trademark. Therefore a trademark should be carefully selected so that consumers can directly connect with the Trademark in this competitive marketplace. For instance the trademark of Tata group, the T in blue and white color directly associate every product or service offered by the group. The thought process behind selected trademark is significant and should be conducted by the top executives.

4. Copyrights: Basically a copyright protects expression of an thoughts and not the idea itself. Copyrights protect literary work such as softwares and advertisements, novels, poems and the like, and artistic work such as painting, photographs, sculptors etc.

5. Domain Names: A domain name is unique IP address on the internet. Domain names provide an easy way for the consumer to reach you in the over-crowded internet space.

Seems like lot of Gyan !! :)

The HCL Way

In today’s knowledge arena, employees are most important. In past it was the process that was important. Today it is the people. Nobody understands this better than Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies.

He has brought some very interesting changes and speaks of an innovative approach to manage employees. Some of his innovations are:

1. The managers at HCL are rated both by Seniors and their subordinates

2. The rating is available at the intranet and anyone can see it, even the juniors

3. There is an online help desk approach and every employee, be it a fresher or senior executive opens a ticket there for absolutely any issue they may have. Furthermore, it is the employees who close the ticket and no on else.

4. His philosophy is Employees first, customer second even in front of the customers.

5. Mr. Nayar replies to each and every question or query that is posted on a common forum personally everyday week.- He does this on Sunday morning

Amazing Leadership !!

A new dimension to my beloved blog

I am commencing this new label to capture my reading and my understandings of various article I read, situation I face, and people I observe. I hope this helps me track my progress, improve my understanding, and help me excel in this key subject!!

According to the Tata Leadership Practice, the three buckets a Leader should focus are:

> Leadership of Result
> Leadership of Business
> Leadership of People.

Amazing categorization I must admit. Of course, it is not tough to moot upon 10 more such buckets. However, I think above categorization follows the MECE [Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive] principle. Today I will venture to write on the first bucket - Leadership of Result

Results, a conception that has followed each one of us from the Kinder garden days. How much did you score in the exam? What position did you secure in your class? A lot would depend upon the results. A report card would decide whether I get chocolates, new cricket bat, a new red Bicycle or I get scolding, no vacation trips to relatives, and reduced cricket hours in the evening. We all have experienced similar instances in our lives and we have been nurtured to get results. So, what does result mean to leaders?

To me, the Results mean two things to leaders- first, to maintain the fire within themselves to achieve stellar results and second, to act as a spark plug to fire the zeal within their people to achieve even better results. I also believe that these increasingly simple looking two lines of "gyan" is among the most difficult things to achieve. A leader has to show and, more importantly, maintain exceptional energy level, establish high standards, and perceive things before its too late.

In addition, a successful leader has to provide breakthrough means to his team to achieve results. In doing so, leader needs to nurture innovation, maintain customer focus, and consistently educate his followers about the importance of results. I personally feel from my experiences that when people are informed about the importance of the work delegated to them and hence, recognized for their contribution, they are generally much more responsive, motivated, and energetic.

Ahhh..Beautiful composition I guess to kick-start my rejuvenation to give this blog a new avtaar.

A voice that echo currently in my mind is from a dear friend who would criticize such articles that reading and writing such articles is one thing but showing this attitude is another and "impossible" in bureaucratic, political set-ups in corporate world. I concur partially with him. Of course implementing this knowledge is paramount. However, I am also of the opinion that we work in two ways - First when we take risks, fail / pass, and learn from practical mistakes and second, when we learn things first and strive to implement them and continue to learn.

Isn't the second point the reason we all went to Kinder Garden. If only, I were to know these attributes earlier, perhaps I would have received more chocolates, more cricket kits, and more red Bicycles.

Horror Story with KLM Airlines Baggage delivery

This post is to reflect my bitter experience with KLM Airlines when I returned from US after 1.5 years for just 2 week vacation. I have been following CNN-IBN Citizen Journalist news for long from US and I wished to join CNN-IBN as soon as I get back to India. However, I didn’t know my story will start right from the time I land in India.

It started on 29th Dec 2007 when I landed on Indra Gandhi International Airport. Delhi. I has a connecting flight with KLM from Amsterdam and I landed at around 11:30 P:M. The unwanted did happen. One of my bags was missing. As I returned to customer care desk, the lady candidly told me that she has a message for me. My bad could not be loaded into the flight and would come next day. I calmly responded that “I understand you cannot change what has already happened. However, I would hope that you make an expedited and safe delivery of the bag to my address in Punjab”. The lady greeted me well and nodded. There were number of other people shouting on missing their bags. I, however, choose to hope that delivery would be made, only to find it far from truth.

Next day I got a call from KLM that my bag has reached India i.e 30th Dec and would be delivered to my address the next day. I was happy since I had a lot of New Year gifts in the bag and hoped to wear good clothes I bought in night’s party. However, all dreams were about to be crushed. By the evening I called them again only to be told that bag is on it’s way and would be delivered soon. Next day, again I was given the status that bag would reach me by evening. Leave aside the rudeness of the customer care, they did not know the correct location of the bag. Then, in next call they tend to shave off from the whole issue and gave me the number of supervisor for the driver. The number was 09813849651. The supervisor on repetitive calls picked once and would always say that he is not able to contact the driver. He could not contact his subordinate for 2 full days and never was able to tell me where my bag is.

In agony, Dec 31st and Jan 1st slipped away and I was still without my cherished clothes, my gifts n chocolates I brought from heart for my family. I woke up on Jan 2nd wondering that a bag reaching New Delhi on 30th December and thereafter, it could not travel 300 Km in 3 days. I called at the required number 011-25652420. A lady named Jyoti picked. I immediately asked to talk to the manager and she said she is the manager. After hearing my story, she said she will call back in 10 minutes. The 10 minutes that never came. I called after an hour and a guy called Karandeep picked the phone. Ironically, on my request to speak to some manager, he said they do not have any managers. And the bag, he said they have dispatched. When I insisted that I care about the delivery, he confidently said that I will get my bag in 2 hours. After 6 hours, I called back again. This time again, Mr Karandeep picked. Rather than having any clues about his claim to send me bag in 2 hours, he proposed that my bag will reach me in evening. Now, since I was hearing this since last 3 days, I insisted to find out where exactly the bag and the cab driver are. To my surprise, Karandeep had no clues and he gave me the driver’s number to find out myself. As I called the driver, he responded that he has no baggage from KLM and he no baggage for my address. I was tired, frustrated, and felt really weak.

With no clues to where to talk, I called back again to Karandeep. Again on request to talk to someone for escalations, there was noone. My Karandeep could not even tell me who else can I talk, how will he find the coordinates of my bag, when will I get my back so that I can plan my vacation to Shimla. After 1.5 years, I came for a vacation back home just to spoil everything due to the lousy services of an internationally renowned Airlines.

It is only in now that I have got a call from the driver who is some 100 Km Away from my location and he hopes to make it to my place today night or tomorrow morning. On my emphasis of the difficulties I am facing, he reflected that he hears the same from everyone. I have no issues or complaints against the driver. I have no issues or complaints against the missing baggage on the flight, it happens. But my issues is against the lousy customer service that has been provided. I wonder what image will be project with such service to the tourists to our country. I also wonder what actually is the service agreements of these Airlines with the courier companies. And I also wonder about those co-passengers whose both bags were missing from the flight !!!

I have proposed this story to CNN-IBN CJ Initiative and look forward for co-operation of CNN IBN to bring to surface such service issue. I would be happy to assist in manner as may be required.

Wings of Changes @ Dhuri - Citizen Journalist Ideas

I returned to my home town Dhuri after a gap of 8 months. After having underdone a mental surgery in US :P , I began to see things from a different perspective here. I realized while nothing has changed on surface in my home town, wings of several changes are prevalent among the people here. I intend to note my observations here, to keep track and in hope to find more ideas.

Yesterday, I heard a conversation among several small shop owners. Everyone was cognizanance reflected the changes in customer mentality these days. Someone said “ Earlier there were 100 customers and 10 shops” and today “ There are 10 customers and 100 shops. Where will we all go”. Then someone else reflected that earlier the villagers used to come to town and used to feel that since they are in a city* , they should at least eat some sweets or buy some clothes. Today the same stuff is available in villages, so where will small towns like ours go. The people who belong here, tend to buy from larger cities. I was quite intrigued by the depth of thought and the valid concerns among these people. I couldn’t resist and joined their talk. I introduced the concept of Organized Retail and the impact of the same on these stores. The store owners in unity were aware of the threat. They also reflected that although it will take some time for Organized retail to reach small towns like Dhuri, but in awake of this threat they do not want their children to open a new shop / sit in their own shop. Wings of Change I thought. In the days, I used to study in school, the children of shop owners used to be the cool guys with lots of money to spend and with a secured future. Whereas, children of servicing parents such as I used to feel the heat to study hard or else prepared to be doomed.

Second, I also noticed the Euphoria here for the Fly-Over under construction in Dhuri. I could not resist smiling to my barber’s comments that “Dhuri will become a Heaven, an advanced city as compared to neighboring towns once the fly over opens this June”. I could not resist the temptation to visit the fly over venue and click some pics of this heavenly structure :) !! Wings of Change !! [ I did click pics, unfortunately lost the same in my old cell phone ]

Third, a long standing work that I had on my mind is getting started. The Social Activity that Dad has been doing is in shackles these days. I learnt various aspects, not so comforting, from my Dad. I hope to step up my involvement to make my father’s initiatives of free-after school tutoring a larger concept. It was, however, comforting to note that the earlier suggestions have helped Dad to open 3 more chapters of the institute in region. I believe the order of the day today, considering the unorganized functioning of the organization, is to consolidate the activities. Identify a revenue stream, form a steering committee meeting, develop a code of conduct and process to evaluate the teachers at entry point. Lot of things to be done here !! Wings of Change !!

Forth, long handicapped of not being able to drive a Car, I have taken a decision to utilize this time off back home in a constructive way. Dad has found someone who will teach me Car Driving over next 2 weeks and I hope to buy my own very soon. Wings of Changes, yet to hit the road !!

Fifth, lot of marriages. What’s going on ? As I landed here, in next 2 months I am scheduled to attend three marriages and one first lohri celebrations for my nephew. Wow !! This is what I love about India. I am pretty sure I will not know when these 2 months will pass away. And I also sure that a 2 months progress there will be lot more news from different friends. Seems like everybody is getting married. Ahhh no, I am interested yet :P !! This one is not a change I know !!

Redefining Lives!!

It has been a unusally large break from blogging world. Number of factors have been the culprit.. I hope to revive this year's blog with this post....ciao

I had an experience this weekend while traveling back home from a person who embodies Mr. Ratan Tata’s thought process. Ironical it may sound; the comment came from an Auto driver.

As I boarded the auto, that my US client was so found of that he bought a toy Auto and kept on his desk, I could not resist my inquisitive self to engage the driver in conversation and seek insights of his thought process and aspiration. I began my conversation by asking him about his experiences as Auto Driver. He shed first experience details on the red tap auto drivers have to accommodate to get a contract to drive auto. Finally, the conversation drew towards Mr. Ratan Tata’s brainchild, Nano. I questioned him whether he intends to buy Nano and how he plan to use the car?

Promptly, he replied that “Sahab, hamare zaise log roz auto chalate hain, signal pe baddi baddi AC wali gadi dekh ke hamara bhi maan karta hai ki hum apne bachoon ko kabhi gaddi mein ghumyane. Tata Nano hamare sare sapne pure kar degi. Hum yeh gaddi zaroor lenge” [Sir, people like us drive auto the whole day. We see people in big AC cars everyday and we strive to provide such facilities to our children. Tata Nano is a dream car and I will certainly buy it]. I was amazed by his sensitivity and desire to have good resources. Additionally, I also could not help amaze at Mr. Ratan Tata’s vision and thought that connected so dearly with people at bottom of the pyramid.

The driver went ahead to question whether I, being Tata employee, could help him get car this year itself. He feared the production would be too low this year for ordinary people like him to get the car. Surprised at his such strong intent on the car, I expressed my helplessness in this matter but promised him that Mr. Tata has vision big enough to help him achieve his dreams.

I have always rated Cell phones as one gadget that during my lifetime have redefined India. Tata Nano definitely ranks in same the grade and perhaps even bigger, given the international impact the car has made. Perhaps, I will take a toy Nano for my US client next I go there. As I left the Auto that day, I could foresee the driver happily driving Tata Nano with his children playing at back seat, shielded of the scorching heat outside.