As part of my project 365 for 2010, I've been to a couple of networking events. And there seem to be some people who are very good at it. And who enjoy it.
Unfortunately I'm not one of those who enjoy networking. Probably because it has work in it. Walking up to a complete stranger, exchanging cards and discussing each others business does not seem to be my cup of tea. I SUCK at it.
And to make matters worse, most people try to sell you their services, and if they realize you are not a target disappear before you can blink. And then there are the really suave ones. They pretend to be interested in your business, try and say that they would like to discuss working together and then try and do a hard sell and convert you into their client.
There are several networking games that get played. Such as introducing a contact. This typically means giving a telephone number or an e-mail address. Am not at all convinced that this helps in getting any kind of advantage. Most of this information can in any case be got relatively easily. The issue is to get a meeting. And that can only be got by a personal introduction. Which I'm guessing can and should only happen when 2 individuals become good friends. Not meet for a few seconds at networking events and give contact numbers. How do you recommend someone when you don't know them well enough. And I guess this is one of the failure points of these meetings. No one has the time to get to know another well.
I'm guessing there would be good people out there too. People who would like to make a network without any ulterior motives. And do get in touch if you think you fit the bill. :-)
If at some point it results in a mutually beneficial business opportunity, that's a bonus. But I believe that any relationship that starts of as a business opportunity is doomed to failure. And I'd like to make this a success. So am looking forward to meeting people, some of who will become good friends for life.
Irrespective of whether or not we ever do business.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Being effective and productive isn't EASY !
We are in the process of shifting office and we are having a tough time. Every 10 minute job is still incomplete after 10 days. And its very tempting to just try and complete it yourself.
Our CEO Bipin, who is probably more frustrated than us, since he has to handle the issues, made an interesting comment. "These guys have done everything twice. If only they planned well, they could have got everything done so much faster and saved such a lot of money, thereby increasing their profitability." And I realized as he was saying this, that it was a 100% true.
At that point, I realized another fact. Many of us, definitely me seem to also do a lot of things twice and sometimes even thrice or four times. Image the increase in productivity and efficiency if only I could figure out a way to plan well and do everything just once, correctly.
I'm trying a few things to become more effective and some of them work pretty well.
1. E-Mail
I try and respond whilst reading it the first time. That saves the bother of going through them again and then replying, etc. The one I can't reply because I don't have some info or need more data, I mark. That way e-mail consumes very little time.
2. Paperwork
Same as e-mail. Ensure it leaves my desk asap. Ideally a few seconds after it gets there. That way paperwork too takes very little time.
3. Project Planning
Give the data to the team leads. They work on it, do the first level of planning. Have a look at it, modify it if required and you're ready to roll.
4. Project Tracking and Monitoring
Here I think I have miles to go. Although we have a web based PMS, its not as effective as we'd like it to be. It ends up with us having to spend a lot of time collecting data, multiple times. The data itself is usually created when asked for and hence majorly faulty, and projections are not as accurate and quick as they should be. We've started building our own PMS. We hope to launch it by April and then maybe then, I'll have nothing to do. :-)
5. Client Interaction
This is one place where I'm extremely ineffective and have no clue on how to improve. 80% of the time is spent in traveling. And I don't think at this stage we can build our own transportation system. Fortunately a large section of our clients are in the US and so we make do with conf calls. Next step, video conferencing ?
6. Doing nothing
Guess what. Believe it or not, this takes up the maximum amount of time. Whether its meetings at which you don't contribute, or just general small talk or actually doing nothing. This I think is where a large portion of time disappears and is the major area of improvement. Starting tomorrow, lets see if I can try and do a little less of "Doing nothing."
Any ideas any of you have to increase efficiency and productivity will be appreciated.
So much to do, so little time.
Our CEO Bipin, who is probably more frustrated than us, since he has to handle the issues, made an interesting comment. "These guys have done everything twice. If only they planned well, they could have got everything done so much faster and saved such a lot of money, thereby increasing their profitability." And I realized as he was saying this, that it was a 100% true.
At that point, I realized another fact. Many of us, definitely me seem to also do a lot of things twice and sometimes even thrice or four times. Image the increase in productivity and efficiency if only I could figure out a way to plan well and do everything just once, correctly.
I'm trying a few things to become more effective and some of them work pretty well.
1. E-Mail
I try and respond whilst reading it the first time. That saves the bother of going through them again and then replying, etc. The one I can't reply because I don't have some info or need more data, I mark. That way e-mail consumes very little time.
2. Paperwork
Same as e-mail. Ensure it leaves my desk asap. Ideally a few seconds after it gets there. That way paperwork too takes very little time.
3. Project Planning
Give the data to the team leads. They work on it, do the first level of planning. Have a look at it, modify it if required and you're ready to roll.
4. Project Tracking and Monitoring
Here I think I have miles to go. Although we have a web based PMS, its not as effective as we'd like it to be. It ends up with us having to spend a lot of time collecting data, multiple times. The data itself is usually created when asked for and hence majorly faulty, and projections are not as accurate and quick as they should be. We've started building our own PMS. We hope to launch it by April and then maybe then, I'll have nothing to do. :-)
5. Client Interaction
This is one place where I'm extremely ineffective and have no clue on how to improve. 80% of the time is spent in traveling. And I don't think at this stage we can build our own transportation system. Fortunately a large section of our clients are in the US and so we make do with conf calls. Next step, video conferencing ?
6. Doing nothing
Guess what. Believe it or not, this takes up the maximum amount of time. Whether its meetings at which you don't contribute, or just general small talk or actually doing nothing. This I think is where a large portion of time disappears and is the major area of improvement. Starting tomorrow, lets see if I can try and do a little less of "Doing nothing."
Any ideas any of you have to increase efficiency and productivity will be appreciated.
So much to do, so little time.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Mumbai Traffic
Amongst its various virtues, Mumbai has the distinction of having a perpetual traffic jam. Even on the highways. And like most of Mumbai's other issues, this is a self created problem.
Following traffic rules is something that most Mumbaikars are not familiar with. And frankly, why should they. In every single traffic jam, the offenders who flout the rules, get to their destination much faster than those who follow the rules. The fact that they are the ones who cause the traffic jam in the first place is something that neither they nor the traffic police appreciate.
And these offenders are not the usual suspects. Bus, Taxi or Rickshaw drivers. They are the affluent in their expensive cars, either at the wheel or encouraging the driver, whilst they sit with their laptops at the back Many of these persons are well educated and are frequent international travelers. Whilst they are vocal in their criticism of this country, they seem to be blind to the fact that they are part of the problem. When they should have been part of the solution.
The traffic police are a hard working lot that try and do the best they can, given their limited resources and powers. The fine for breaking a rule is a princely Rs. 100 ($ 2) and most people just pay a bakshis (bribe) of between Rs. 20 and 50 (< $1). And then they complain about the traffic cop being corrupt. How can we, who encourage and actively participate in this corruption, not take responsibility for it. Interestingly, I've never been asked for a bribe by a traffic police in the 20+ years I've been driving in the city. And on checking with several of my friends have never come across anyone where a bribe has been demanded. Its always we who offer it to reduce the money we need to pay for our mistake and the hassle of a visit to the police station. I guess having the ability to pay fines online and on the spot would reduce the corruption.
There is actually an extremely simple way to get rid of 70-80% of the traffic jams and delays. The cost of flouting the rules should be unaffordable. The fines should be made 10x. The erring driver should be made to park his/her vehicle and assist the traffic police for an hour. And repeated offenders should have their licenses confiscated.
The traffic police used these methods for tackling drunken driving and they've been hugely successful. Most people in Mumbai are careful not to drink and drive and on those occasions when they go out, make alternate arrangements like a cab or a driver to get home.
And finally, what exactly am I doing about it. Nothing and everything. Nothing at a macro level, since I don't have the ability, At a micro level, I follow all the rules, even at the cost of being called stupid by many, including my kids. And getting my car hit from behind whilst stopped at a traffic signal early in the morning. But its my hope that some, if not many of you will start with yourselves and who knows. Individually it may not make a difference, But enough individuals will start making a huge difference.
Have a good week ahead !
Following traffic rules is something that most Mumbaikars are not familiar with. And frankly, why should they. In every single traffic jam, the offenders who flout the rules, get to their destination much faster than those who follow the rules. The fact that they are the ones who cause the traffic jam in the first place is something that neither they nor the traffic police appreciate.
And these offenders are not the usual suspects. Bus, Taxi or Rickshaw drivers. They are the affluent in their expensive cars, either at the wheel or encouraging the driver, whilst they sit with their laptops at the back Many of these persons are well educated and are frequent international travelers. Whilst they are vocal in their criticism of this country, they seem to be blind to the fact that they are part of the problem. When they should have been part of the solution.
The traffic police are a hard working lot that try and do the best they can, given their limited resources and powers. The fine for breaking a rule is a princely Rs. 100 ($ 2) and most people just pay a bakshis (bribe) of between Rs. 20 and 50 (< $1). And then they complain about the traffic cop being corrupt. How can we, who encourage and actively participate in this corruption, not take responsibility for it. Interestingly, I've never been asked for a bribe by a traffic police in the 20+ years I've been driving in the city. And on checking with several of my friends have never come across anyone where a bribe has been demanded. Its always we who offer it to reduce the money we need to pay for our mistake and the hassle of a visit to the police station. I guess having the ability to pay fines online and on the spot would reduce the corruption.
There is actually an extremely simple way to get rid of 70-80% of the traffic jams and delays. The cost of flouting the rules should be unaffordable. The fines should be made 10x. The erring driver should be made to park his/her vehicle and assist the traffic police for an hour. And repeated offenders should have their licenses confiscated.
The traffic police used these methods for tackling drunken driving and they've been hugely successful. Most people in Mumbai are careful not to drink and drive and on those occasions when they go out, make alternate arrangements like a cab or a driver to get home.
And finally, what exactly am I doing about it. Nothing and everything. Nothing at a macro level, since I don't have the ability, At a micro level, I follow all the rules, even at the cost of being called stupid by many, including my kids. And getting my car hit from behind whilst stopped at a traffic signal early in the morning. But its my hope that some, if not many of you will start with yourselves and who knows. Individually it may not make a difference, But enough individuals will start making a huge difference.
Have a good week ahead !
Sunday, January 10, 2010
So what is Business Intelligence?
Recently a client asked us if we could develop a BI application. Just to make sure that we were on the same page we checked if she would define for us what she meant by BI. She was very clear in what she wanted. What I was not sure of, was was it BI ? Or was it just a reporting application.
That's when we realized that whilst BI was an often used term, not too many seemed to know what it is. And what's the difference between a reporting application and a BI application. So here's our attempt to define BI in a simple easy to understand manner.
One of the widely accepted definitions is "Business intelligence aims to support better business decision-making. Thus a BI system can be called a decision support system." However a reporting application too can be used as a decision support system. And so what exactly is the difference between a high end reporting application and a BI application.
We studied quite a few definitions and applications to try and understand the difference. And we could come up with only 1 major difference. The past and the future. A reporting application takes existing data and is able to show trends of the past.
A Business Intelligence application is able to take these historical trends and project future trends. What helps translate past data to future possibilities is the BI algorithm. And the effectiveness of a BI algorithm would depend on the design, flexibility, variability and ability of the user to modify user defined parameters, create scenarios and thus project several scenarios based on assumptions. It thus provides the user to make future related decisions based on scenario projections enabled by the Business Intelligence applications.
That's when we realized that whilst BI was an often used term, not too many seemed to know what it is. And what's the difference between a reporting application and a BI application. So here's our attempt to define BI in a simple easy to understand manner.
One of the widely accepted definitions is "Business intelligence aims to support better business decision-making. Thus a BI system can be called a decision support system." However a reporting application too can be used as a decision support system. And so what exactly is the difference between a high end reporting application and a BI application.
We studied quite a few definitions and applications to try and understand the difference. And we could come up with only 1 major difference. The past and the future. A reporting application takes existing data and is able to show trends of the past.
A Business Intelligence application is able to take these historical trends and project future trends. What helps translate past data to future possibilities is the BI algorithm. And the effectiveness of a BI algorithm would depend on the design, flexibility, variability and ability of the user to modify user defined parameters, create scenarios and thus project several scenarios based on assumptions. It thus provides the user to make future related decisions based on scenario projections enabled by the Business Intelligence applications.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
2010 - a new year, a new beginning
Its 2010. And amongst my many resolutions is to have a weekly blog. So here goes. And who knows, it may be the beginning of a writing career. :-)
And if any of you happen to stumble upon it, and like it, please do drop in a line. I guess we all love to know that someone actually reads what one writes.
This blog will be about nothing and about everything. The little things that matter. And the ones that don't.
Day 1 of 2010, we decided to release Web Reporter in the Open Source. And 1 question that hit me was when a colleague asked, What's that ? So let me try and give a simplified version of "Open Source".
A group of people believe that software should be available for free, like the air we breathe. Now whilst this sounds dramatic, its actually how the rest of the world works. Think about this. You are free to tinker around with the car you buy. But you cannot tinker with the software you buy. Since you have purchased a license to use. Not the software.
OpenSource gives the right to the acquirer to not only receive the software and its source code but also the right to resell it with or without modifications, without any monetary benefit to the original developer. A good article to get insights on OpenSource is "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" by Eric Raymond. And can be freely downloaded.
Web Reporter is our first experiment with OpenSource and its commercial viability. We have also uploaded the same at SourceForge, one of the most popular sites for hosting of OpensSource software.
The concept of Web Reporter is pretty simple. It allows you to connect to any database and create your own report templates. This allows one to create reports that don't exist. Its beauty is its ease of use and ability to create powerful dynamic reports. Do check it out.
And in signing off, here's the thought for the week. And from none other than Albert Einstein.
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."
Cheers and have an awesome 2010.
And if any of you happen to stumble upon it, and like it, please do drop in a line. I guess we all love to know that someone actually reads what one writes.
This blog will be about nothing and about everything. The little things that matter. And the ones that don't.
Day 1 of 2010, we decided to release Web Reporter in the Open Source. And 1 question that hit me was when a colleague asked, What's that ? So let me try and give a simplified version of "Open Source".
A group of people believe that software should be available for free, like the air we breathe. Now whilst this sounds dramatic, its actually how the rest of the world works. Think about this. You are free to tinker around with the car you buy. But you cannot tinker with the software you buy. Since you have purchased a license to use. Not the software.
OpenSource gives the right to the acquirer to not only receive the software and its source code but also the right to resell it with or without modifications, without any monetary benefit to the original developer. A good article to get insights on OpenSource is "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" by Eric Raymond. And can be freely downloaded.
Web Reporter is our first experiment with OpenSource and its commercial viability. We have also uploaded the same at SourceForge, one of the most popular sites for hosting of OpensSource software.
The concept of Web Reporter is pretty simple. It allows you to connect to any database and create your own report templates. This allows one to create reports that don't exist. Its beauty is its ease of use and ability to create powerful dynamic reports. Do check it out.
And in signing off, here's the thought for the week. And from none other than Albert Einstein.
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."
Cheers and have an awesome 2010.
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