Teachers Day! Dr. H V S Murthy from VJTI / Mumbai!

 गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णुः गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः ।

गुरुः साक्षात् परब्रह्म तस्मै श्री गुरवे नमः ॥

 [attempted translation in English]

Guru is the Creator, Guru is the Preserver, Guru is Destroyer

Guru is the absolute god, Salutations to the Guru

Close to 3 decades ago my first brush as a FY Engineering student at VJTI with Dr. Murthy wasn’t positive. We had an industrial visit in our first or second month and being the first such visit we were experiencing, it was just like a picnic at least for me! I wasn’t paying too much attention to what was being shown, the machine specifications, mechanical aspects that we had been taught in class were all being practically demonstrated and Dr. Murthy would point out, explain and see if we had any doubts. The free snacks and the fun of going out with new friends, being out during the class time could have been too exciting for me to pay much attention to the real purpose of the industrial visit, I guess. The following week we were given a short test by Dr. Murthy and all the questions were from the practical aspects we were supposed to have observed during the visit. I knew the theory, but had not been paying much attention during the visit, the result was disastrous, I think I got 5 or 7 marks out of 20! I was angry and felt the evaluation could have been done better. J At 17 I was fearless as well as naïve of course. The discussion with Dr. Murthy not only brought home the point of how important it is to focus but also made me realize the core purpose why we were there in an institute of repute. It changed the manner in which I looked at knowledge, I began to pay more attention to the practice of what was covered in the classroom and it has reaped rich dividends for an ordinary student like me.

The qualities of a teacher and their character can play a significant role in shaping the lives of countless students that they touch. As I was to find over the next few years, Dr. Murthy was one of the most positive persons you could come across anywhere, he was brimming with ideas, he was extremely resourceful and always ahead on Academia-Industry collaboration, his ability to drive home a point, provide equal impetus on the theory as well as practice were just incredible. Dr. Murthy was one of the most friendly teachers one could find, he was not only a wonderful communicator but also a great listener. The way he treated the juniors, rest of the staff etc. and collaborated with everyone in spite of the usual bureaucracy and back stage politics that might have been going on in the background was commendable to say the least.

There are several students he would help financially thru various scholarships and assistance schemes. If one door closed, he would find another and so on. Once he knew some one was in trouble, he would go all out to support those students. I remember he tried and got scholarships for some students from an external community based organization and we were amazed as to how he was able to convince them. Hundreds of needy students would go on to benefit from this resourcefulness of Dr. Murthy.

I am one of the many beneficiaries of his network, connect and influence in the corporates, when he got me to do my final year project in Ahmedabad and that experience truly got me ready for my stint in the professional world. There are many qualities of Dr. Murthy that I can recollect, but his positive attitude to life and his ability to help others in need is something I have always tried to emulate!

Heartfelt Gratitude and Kudos to you Dr. Murthy! I wish more teachers learn to do even at a smaller scale what Dr. Murthy did in his 3 decades at VJTI!

"People who don't feel significant, rarely make significant contributions" - Mark Sanborn

“People who don't feel significant, rarely make significant contributions” - Mark Sanborn

This quote by Mark Sanborn has made an indelible impression on my mind. I write this with the realization that I see the quote being not only meaningful but also providing visibility into things that we see around us practically every single day.

I have always found individuals who are proud of what they do, their role, the work they do and the group and unit they belong to. Invariably these are also individuals who think of themselves as significant, as important.

On the other hand there are individuals who are not so proud, they want to keep under wraps the work they do, they are not very keen talking about their real role, they do not seem readily willing to disclose the team and the unit they are part of. One part of me thinks this is simply a shy individual, another sees an individual who is not confident about himself/herself, someone who is not very sure about the work they do, someone who does not “like” to be associated with the team and the unit.

My mind then goes back to performance – which is at the heart of it all! Can such an individual who is not confident, not sure, does not like to be associated with the team and the unit be able to accomplish something substantial? With the kinds of expectations and the fact that these are also ever increasing, Can such individuals understand these goals and expectations and exceed them through their passion, hard work, determination and a go-getter attitude? Seems like a task, but in my experience it would be extremely difficult and in majority of the cases the results would be failure to perform at par.

Would these individuals who are not so proud….etc. never perform well? Not really, these individuals are also those that are amongst the once most scared and this fear makes them perform at par. But this performance would be in areas where one is seeking performance for compliance, someone who has to stick to a routine, follow a standard work pattern etc. When it comes to creating something innovative, questioning the status quo, changing things the way they have happened in the past, taking risks, taking the lead, these individuals would ideally have a very tough time. The cynicism that stitches around oneself when one is not proud of what they do, would stifle away the initiative that is required to do these things.

If we notice the pattern of things that have worked well around us and those that have fizzled out or haven’t had expected success, we could clearly notice this difference. These are also insights one needs to carry while one begins a new initiative or hires individuals for specific roles.

One advantage we have in our teams is that we largely have people of the first kind, those who are proud of what they do, sure about themselves and confident about the things that they wish to accomplish! No wonder then that we should see a lot more success in the days to come!

Be a proud Quality professional, take pride in what you do and do not hesitate to talk about your role and work with the confidence that it deserves the next time you meet someone!

My name is Naresh Choudhary, I Head the Tools Group and I am part of the Quality and Prodcutivity Unit @ Infosys Ltd.

What can professionals in Quality learn from Steve Jobs & Apple!

Most of us are aware of the life and Times of Steve Jobs, amongst one of the most influential minds of our times. Last week, like millions who paid their respects, I tweeted and blogged on Steve and the impact he has had.

A thought that there are several lessons we could learn from the way Steve Jobs made decisions, in particular the Quality community could gain from the Jobs and Apple insights. Here goes.

• Imagine and Create the Future:-
• There aren’t too many better examples of this than Jobs. The Innovations that Jobs and team created were things that one could never ever accomplish through Client Surveys, Market Research etc. [am not suggesting these are not required, but they have their own purpose of helping understand what clients need and they serve that purpose well]. Jobs imagined and more importantly created these things taking a big leap ahead of the rest of the competition. All this with the client in mind all the time!
• For us this means along with looking at current conventional models and frameworks, imagining what can be and attempting to create the future state with the client in mind – both internal customers and external clients. This applies to all the services and offerings that we are currently engaged in, are creating and are planning to create in the near term.

• Style and Design make a lot of difference
• I am sure all Apple products have their own share of issues and these issues have at times surfaced with the larger client base, but one thing that keep these products creating the impact that they are known to create is the fact that design, form and style is absolutely amazing. The client experience of using these products is something that oozes with great usability and design.
• For us it means again keeping the client central to what we do, at the same time paying enough and more attention to things like usability, design that go on to differentiate a good product from an average and an great product from a good one. Process designs, definitions, system design etc. all can be made better and user friendly if they are created with the client in mind – in our case the project and project teams rather than us.

•  Speed is important, timing is crucial too
• We all like to move fast, but along with the speed and agility that Jobs and team have shown, they were also masters of timing. The skill required here is quite contrary to that of “speed”, it requires waiting for the right moment and Jobs and team used timing very well. It means they understood when was  the right time for the product to make an entry, get the mind share and also create a positive impact for the organization. It also meant they were prepared to make the move and therefore had done all the preparation in advance to be able to leverage and seize the moment.
• For us who are in the game of change management, this could mean an important lesson. Timing here, especially in our context also refers to the way we plan, organize and then implement the proposed changes. While speed and agility in the manner in which we design, define, create and implement the processes is important, timing is crucial too. For example, if the process/process changes are launched at a time when the particular offering is taking shape and getting into the market, it creates a far more positive outcome for everyone involved including our internal customers than say waiting for a long period of time and then launching a process for the offering – both speed and timing play a big role.

• We’re all marketers now!!!
• When I first read this McKinsey article in July 2011, I was kind of thinking of 2 instances one a person I know who would not stop selling his wares even if confronted with the most challenging of conditions, second the more refined and fine-tuned approach that Jobs and team have taken at Apple. The famed Apple product launches are an amazing example of how the drama unfolds for the product and the setting where the features are unveiled. The other important aspect of marketing is to be truthful to the product and the brand promise, Apple seldom makes promises about the product that the product actually does not do or possess.
• A great process should promise and more importantly deliver an improvement in capability for the organization. The gap between this promise and the actual delivery is what marketing cannot and should not try to bridge but if at all there is a gap, Engineering should bridge that gap and not marketing. This is an important lesson because I find many people assuming and asking if we can launch a campaign (marketing!) to ensure better deployment (selling!). Well a product first needs to fulfill the brand and the product promise and then good marketing helps, else we are staring at trouble for the future! More importantly understanding and segmenting customers is important not simply from the point of view of their differentiated needs, but also to ensure you don’t get overawed by the segmentation and continue to offer something for all the segments you cater to – DM, DH, PM, SE etc…

• Never underestimate the importance of Learning
• As all of us are aware, there have been failures at Apple as well, products have not worked as expected, things have gone haywire with features, defective pieces etc. The important part is Apple has always been able to bounce back and this I believe is a must have trait for a successful corporation. Jobs personally has always been known to apply learning’s from the past to get his products to become better – the type face fonts, the mouse etc. are vibrant and noteworthy examples. Apple has demonstrated its ability to learn from the past and integrate the lessons learned into making the products better.
• Any Quality process follows the approach of PDCA/ETVX/ADLI or something on these lines, it essentially means that we are continuously looking at aspects in the process that can be improved and integrated back. The importance of this is a direct impact since an improvement in the processes provides a larger, scalable improvement in the organization capability and this no business can grow without!
• Open up to new developments
• Apple was always able to ride the waves of new trends, developments. Many of the things that Jobs and Apple went on to create, were actually not invented at Apple. They just created “better”, “superior” and “client focused” solutions from existing or emerging technologies that put them steps ahead of others. This, they were able to do by a relentless focus on observing, thinking through and absorbing new trends and changes and riding on the waves relatively early.
• In our world, where client requirements continue to change and change rapidly, the challenges of keeping pace with new developments is always staring us in the eye! We need to take the Apple approach of creating a way in which we understand the trends in new processes and models early, leverage it for bettering our offerings and do not ignore the trends assuming that we are better than the others. Complacency and rigid attitude to new and upcoming trends could be big factor that could derail successful enterprises in the future.

• Hold your own against pressures
• Failures create a lot of pressure, but success creates if not more an equal amount of pressure as well. Jobs and Apple have seen both and therefore both the kinds of pressures – Of success and failures. They were able to withstand these pressures, do what was right and come out with the kind of consistent success that they have demonstrated over the years.
• Most of us face these pressures from our internal clients, our teams, partners etc. The pressures create a decision window where one way leads to a path that is easier, treaded by many, more comfortable and convenient, the other path is a tougher one, least treaded, uncomfortable. As change agents we need to be willing to take the path least treaded, once we know that it is the RIGHT thing and for the long term benefit of the organization. Let us not back off, but demonstrate courage!

These are my personal views, send in your responses if you have any thoughts to share, will be more than happy to discuss.

Leadership in recessionary times

All of us irrespective of the industry, role, experience and age are faced with a multitude of challenges emerging from the current spate of changes due to the existing environment.

Recession or depression or slow down whatever name we may suit the situation, it definitely needs each and every one of us to think differently.

How must a leader behave in these times?

Tough question for a tougher situation, well yes!

A leaders body language and handle on the situation, point of view and grasp of the subject play a significant role in shaping the outlook and engagement of the team towards a host of new things that the team would want to take up as a counter to the times.

Can doing the same thing over and over again give a different result? NO…NO…NO. It does not and it cannot.

A leader therefore is required to push his team to think different, take up seemingly impossible tasks and direct, guide them towards achieving these in a relatively short time frame.

Difference between bravery and foolishness

There is a thin line, when something comes off its seen as a great successful strategy, when it does not it seems like a foolish thing to do…hindsight.

A leader ensures there are enough backups for a strategy in terms of risk mitigation, contingency etc. This helps since you do not want the team to see grand failures when the times themselves present a grave picture because of the impending gloom.

Can everyone on the team align to the objectives, tough targets.

A leader has to ensure everyone on the team understands the new objectives, targets well and truly in the spirit and book. He must ensure everyone aligns to the objectives by reinforcing these during discussions, team meetings and also making them part of the performance evaluation. A positive reinforcement typically comes with the rewarding of a behavior or work that is in alignment with the expectations. Eventually people who do not align have to be dealt with a firm hand and it must be made very clear to them that there cannot be tolerance for poor, sub standard performance emanating from a lack of understanding or alignment with the objectives.

Soldier “Sir, we are surrounded”

Captain “Good, We can attack in all the directions”

A leader has to be optimistic and has to ensure the team though aware of the crisis and the tough times is able to carry the optimism with them as they go about doing their work.

Finally people who are committed and happy deliver better results, Look for committed individuals, trust them and you will see the results, as desired.