IT as an enabler for egovernance

I had an issue with my PAN Card and I was quite skeptical as to how I would get the stuff changed on the card.

Like any other person with a work and home to take care of, I too had a challenge of being able to spend no more than a few minutes on this, also since it was not critical , it was not a show stopper.

My name on the PAN had been spelt incorrectly , it was how one would pronounce my last name in Gujarati J. I wanted it changed and the address too was a place I am not sure even exists today J

I just happened to do a Google search and figured out that the government of India has enough mechanisms to do all of these things and to my surprise, many more things online at a cost!

I was happy but was still skeptical about the response and I was pleasantly surprised with the response, it was amazing, within couple of days of my sending the application form thru’ courier along with the required documents, I had my new and classy and corrected PAN card with me.

IT has and is changing governance in India significantly. Did you have any such experienced with the Government agencies of late!

How much of a social networking person are you?

Are you on facebook?

Do you tweet?

You blog?

Familiar questions! There is a great chance that you heard these and many such questions from unusual quarters. I have heard these and similar queries from my neighbors son who for all this while was a teenager I thought was focused more on sports than studies.

What’s mind blowing is the amount of headway most of these social networking sites are able to make with in no time of their launch. Take a look at the statistics and you will wonder, what the heck!

Most of the top sites actually boast of 100 million+ users! I also happened to see a cover on TIME last week.

So, How much of a social networking person are you? How do you answer these questions from curious teenagers around you?

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno... End of an Era

One of the few TV programs that I loved watching was the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Funny to the core, the special effects that Mr. Leno added were a treat. The celebrity guests on the show were chosen well and I must admire the staff for it. For 17 long years Mr. Leno took the stand up act to a new level – performance of a sublime kind.

I often liked the music at the end of the show as well. For many years it had been something that I looked forward to catching up over the week end.

Conan o’ Brien who has taken over the show would need a lot of effort to get to where Mr. Leno took the show to. Big shoes to fill in for sure.

All the best Conan!

http://www.nbc.com/The_Tonight_Show_with_Jay_Leno/

What's happening in Australia?

What’s happening in Australia is appalling and any citizen of any country would feel insecure if the attacks continue as they happen today.

The law should take its course and most importantly the executive and the legislative in the respective country should ensure the citizens and immigrants feel safe and are provided adequate safety. The sad part is the attacks are not just on the professionals but on students too!

There are larger issues that come up when we think deeper about these attacks.

Why are 90,000 students from India in Australia?

Does the country not have decent educational institutes of repute to host and train 90,000 of its own youngsters? What is the government doing about it? Are we still fighting over petty chapters in history books that need to be added/modified/deleted to appease certain sections of the society? Can we not set up many decent institutions of higher and secondary education with in the country modeled perhaps on the world renowned IIT/IIM/NIT’s.

Why are professionals still leaving the country?

Exposure is one part that I personally have felt is significant when it comes to a career in a globalized world and being an expat provides with the much needed opportunities for this exposure. But if one looks at the salaries, Indian salaries have risen significantly especially in the growth sectors like services.

What about the self respecting Indian? Are we able to assert ourselves?

YES, especially over the last few years the surge and growth in the economy has made a lot of Indians confident (some over confident too!). We, as the Australia example shows are able to stand up, protest and demand what is rightfully ours.

Let the Australia incidents of protest against the injustice serve as an example to Indians in other parts of the world and call for their conscience and self respect. We need to see this in say the gulf countries (at least some of them) where hordes and hordes of migrants from places like Kerala are forced to work in inhuman conditions, where the “Sheikh” is served before anyone else even if he is the last to arrive, passports are snatched for a year(?) so you are bonded to the employer….

Let us rise, awake and demand for a humane treatment of our kids studying abroad and our bros and sisters working away from the country!

From hand written memos to emails

I have been writing for some time now and it seems to come easily now and it looks like I can write just a little better than few of my peers.

Well I am talking emails!

Yes, in the corporate set up, you are now so used to typing emails and some of us are so adept at it, we can do few hundred in a day’s work!

One to one discussions culminate in a parting statement asking each other to email the stuff back. Big shots close the meetings asking for an “send me an update presentation” by email. Team meetings end with a minutes of the meeting created and circulated over email.

We are writing emails all the time. I come from the time when I was required to send a hand written memo to the next department and also keep a Carbon copy of the same on the log! J No, I am not that old, I am talking just about 12-14 years back time frame – mid nineties!

Let’s see what happens to all the emails we are writing today, with advancements in technology and newer more nimble tools coming in!

Processes - Gate Keeper or Enabler

Read this piece on “Gatekeeper or Enabler” and could not help add my views, I have been in the process world for some time and been keenly following some of the relatively newer development on the process front actively.

One way to look at it, like Neel mentions is to put yourself in a more rigid and at times an academic position where you do everything by the “BOOK”.Well from my own experiences of defining processes, running them, implementing them for others I have over the years come to well and truly become a believer in them.

I have a simple theory as to how and who should create these processes and I have seen it to be working well.Most times when something is created by “others” and thrust upon you, it just does not seem right, even though you might have ended up doing the same thing yourself, considering the constraints etc. It hurts more when these processes are created by “others” who are also “amongst the management”.

Processes that are customer facing need to be created by people who have been there, done that and over and above critically reviewed by people who have a sense of the customer business and ways of working. I would put business before the processes and Business value ahead of regulation (unless it’s a legal, compliance related process).Internal processes must be defined by people who are less arrogant, flexible and understand the intricacies of the business, these must be reviewed by people who typically are hard to please, a bit arrogant.

When one is looking at implementing these processes typically try to expose people to the changes as the stuff is being created, see the feedback, test the waters as they say. Any sudden change is a thing that most people do not wish to take up, so bring it slowly but surely and do not retract once you are sure that you have the right process and can back it up with a business reason for doing something!

The "Right" Mandate - Elections 2009

The Indian elections are a major “mahotsav” and the sheer size and volume of the electorate make it the biggest circus that takes place in our part of the world, every 5 years.

The election commission does a fantastic job of ensuring seemingly free and fair elections in large parts of the country with a coordinated effort supported by the rest of the agencies of the government.

Results day for most elections is much awaited and this time it was no different. The expectations were that the incumbent UPA would get closer to the mandate but would really have to struggle for seats.

What the results actually proved was the fact that the ridiculous policies of the left front were not only thrown out but also did not find any connect with their so called bastions of West Bengal and Kerala. The mandate was hugely in favor of the UPA and against the communal agenda of the Right wing NDA and the policies of the left front.

A “Right” mandate indeed. Kudos to the voters of the country and many thanks to the founding fathers of the constitution for creating such a vibrant democracy. We still have a long way towards development that is inclusive, but I believe we are on the right track and must cherish our democratic process!

A true contributor!

One often wonders what or who a true contributor is!

In the professional world that I have spent donkeys years in, value add and contribution have assumed different meanings at different times.

In my own career these have been everything from operational customer centric transactions to creation of high end consulting solutions and transformation approaches.

In effect who is a true contributor that deserves respect and love(?), admiration and adulation from the team and peers as well as subordinates and superiors at the same time?

I may not be 100% accurate here, but from my observations over the last few years, I have come to believe that a true contributor possesses certain attributes that stand out in the crowd.

One would NEVER ever miss those!

• ROI is unquestionable – Always gives more than what he takes!
• Results may not always be guaranteed, but the effort, commitment can never be questioned!
• Quick learner and extremely flexible when it comes to aligning with the larger objectives!
• Dependable to the core…Trustworthy!
• Loyal to the cause (of the team), Puts the team before self…always!

Last but not the least, a true contributor always draws some bits from the past experiences of his predecessors, his seniors, makes the best use of his current capabilities and competencies and prepares for the future success of the team and self by planning ahead.

No wonder that a true contributor need not have a certain kind of experience, need not possess a certain management degree, need not also be of a certain age and grade/role/position. One just merely needs to display the frugal qualities of a good team player and a true CONTRIBUTOR!

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.

Launch of the Nano - 23rd March 2009!

Dear Mr. Ratan Tata,

 

Sir, I have the utmost respect for your vision and leadership. I feel proud to be an Indian and you have made it special for many of us.

The amount of respect and awe for India as a country has significantly gone up. Launch of the Nano has definitely made it special for all of us!

You and your team at Tata Motors has demonstrated that a clear vision and leadership could help take up technical innovations to the highest levels of efficiency and cost.

It’s heartening to see that a sub 3000$ car is today, not only a reality but something that could potentially change how the rest of the world views India in the years to come.

Thank you for your leadership and effort. Kudos to the Nano team.

 

Yours truly

A fellow Indian!

Power of Women - Women's Day

Women can create a significant impact in the society, I strongly believe that a woman with the right attitude and mindset can transform any impending situation into an opportunity.

I have always had a significant part of my upbringing around strong women, all the women in my family have been strong individuals, upright and straight. All of them women with a lasting and strong value system and strong women with independent, clear thoughts.

I have always been blessed with friends around me, many of whom strong women (even those much younger to me) have always proven that they can withstand bigger problems, face dire situations without hassles. I have learnt a lot from friends like these and believe me, quite a few of them can be exemplary role models.

A good number of my colleagues in the office too have been strong women, my team has >50% women - all motivated, extremely talented and potentially better performing than most of their peers in other groups. I have had my favorites and they have always happened to be people who are young, consistent performers, go getters, never say die attitude and a strong value system – No surprises here that quite a few of the spots right at the top are taken by WOMEN!

This Women’s day I pay my tributes to all the strong, committed women around me who have made me personally a stronger human being and allowed me to rise above petty things and move ahead.

Let’s celebrate Women’s day and continue to contribute to the betterment of the society!

Unknown Number - A technology issue in my daily life!

Technology has become pervasive and has provided many a benefits to mankind.

Our generation has been one of the most significant beneficiaries of the evolution and adoption of technology. Take mobile phones for example, today they have reached every nook and corner of the country and have given accessibility a new meaning altogether.

Technology could also create problems!

My phone for some reason has been having this strange problem where is shows perfectly known numbers (phone calls from family, friends and colleagues) as “Unknown Number”. I can do nothing other than just watch the call drop off. I am unable to pick up the call, call back the number since there is no number displayed. Am getting a new set and hopefully it would help with the problem, but I am not sure if it’s the hardware or the software that’s causing the trouble!

Did you face issues like these with technology in your daily life? Do write back!

Are you a "Spoilt Customer" who demands better customer service on every transaction!

I remember the good old days in my home town in Suburban Mumbai when I would wake up early to ensure that I am at the bank before many more arrive and apply for the demand draft that I need for some entrance exam fees so that I am not driven away saying “Come tomorrow and collect the draft” or “Come after 12:00 noon, From the back door!”

I have also observed the same bank officials make fun of people like me when they have dared asked about certain slips and forms to be used for the transactions.

This essentially was the Customer Service I had gotten used to. For years!

It was in the mid nineties that I moved out and started to bank with a Private Bank and I almost had tears of joy in my eyes when the bank executive told me that my draft would be ready within 10 minutes. I even had an ATM card to pull out money anytime I wanted. It was a sea change, I could not believe all this to be true! I now have more or less got used to the fact that good and proper customer service goes a long way into making customers happy and ensuring a continued and repeat business at a higher level.

 

Few days back I had an interaction with a bank executive whose bureaucratic habits and tone reminded me of the good(?) old days of customer service. It was a terrible feeling, more so since I could clearly make out that this person was a complete misfit in the changed ways of working, one who was embarrassing his peers with his behavior and someone who was unable to comprehend the vision and objectives of his organization.

I felt pity but soon I also realized I must report the incident, I got calls from the executives from the bank and the issue was sorted out, with the person apologizing for his behavior and rendering the service he was supposed to provide as part of his job.

 

Do we ask too much under customer service since some of us are “spoilt customers” demanding too much! What are you?

Famed Mumbai Taxis to be taken off the road by the government...

Last heard, the famed Mumbai Taxi’s, the good old yellow and black Premier Padmini cabs are going to be off the road soon.

 

The state government has made this decision based on the age of the vehicles, the emission levels.. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Taxi_in_Mumbai.jpg

 

How would the urban landscape look, when these socialist era relics are off the road?

Wish you all a Happy New year 2009!

Dear friends,

 

As I write this email, I reflect upon some of the hits and few miss-hits of 2008. I personally closed the year with an excellence award and recognition from the organization for my team.

The coming year presents new challenges. Challenges that will test each one of us on the professional front and perhaps on the personal front too, challenges that will stretch some of us to the limit.

I feel excited and confident that most of us would overcome these challenges and surpass most expectations. What makes me confident is the faith and trust, commitment and dedication that most of us have known to show, especially in difficult times.

 

I wish you and your near and dear ones a very happy new year and hope all of us have a fulfilling, energetic and upbeat 2009!

 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has" - Margaret Mead

 

Warm Regards

Naresh Choudhary

Satyam Scandal - India's Enron

The news flash on Wednesday morning as I returned to my desk after a brief meeting was shocking to say the least.

A colleague showed me the flash on his laptop and I could not believe it was true till someone opened the candid admissions of R Raju on the letter faxed to the stock exchanges and the Board (BORED?) members.

 

Why would seemingly smart and accomplished people do reckless and stupid things? For the thrill in it out of the risks involved? Why does this consume some of us in its fold while leaving others out of it?

I read in an issue of TIME(http://www.time.com) sometime in 2008 that the coding is in the brain and neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin play a role in the thrill- seeking behavior. Not all risks are serious some could be a lot less damaging like bungee jumping.

 

The problem perhaps is that high-sensation seekers tend to under estimate the risks and put themselves and a whole lot of others into deep s**t as we have seen in this case. Many a successful individuals have fallen hard by trying to think that they are step ahead. Meteoric careers have ended within no time, people who had it all seem to have thrown it all away in brief moments!

What could have prevented this? A model, framework like Baldrige, a Board that was not Bored and did its duty, a management that had its feet on the ground and was willing to be truthful and still do extra ordinary things by being honest with themselves and the rest of the world, an audit firm that could have potentially looked at the records and done what was expected of them – raise the issue, shout.

50 Rs for a cup of coffee/tea

He was a naïve 5 year old when he first overheard conversations about the Taj hotel near the Gateway of India.

It was mere hearsay, none who bragged had ever set foot in it, it was what they had heard, it was what someone else had told them, it was what they had imagined!

He and a friend argued on how a cup of coffee or tea could ever cost 50 Rs, it was unheard of when one could get it for 20 paisa elsewhere in the town. He found it hard to believe and could not wait to get back home in the evening and ask his father.

He waited till dinner time and eventually asked his father, much later he could figure out, his father too could only imagine! His father thought for a moment and said yes they would charge 50 Rs for a coffee or tea, but the cups would be extremely clean, they would have cold air from the air conditioner flowing in, there would be a waiter serving the tea and so on.

He could not sleep well that night, kept thinking, well more calculating how much money would be required to have a cup of tea every day at the Taj. He decided that night he was going to have a cup of tea in the Taj once and the very next morning, he went back and told his friends, they all should.

It’s been over 25 years now, the friends have moved on, many went on to do very well, they would have had their cups of teas, he too moved on, had many cups of teas around the world, but that one promise remained unfulfilled.

Today as he read the news of the Taj reopening, he quickly said to himself it has to be now, the next time in Mumbai must be the time to have that cup of tea.

A cup of tea to salute the men and women who laid their lives for the country, city and the pride of Mumbai!

Mumbai Meri Jaan...

Aatankvadiyon ke pairon taley, uskee zameen kuchaltee hain

Bhediyon kee goliyan uska seena chalee kartee hain

 

Gunehgaaron ke bumb-golon sey, uspar waar hotey hain

Shaitanon ke haathon sey uskey cheer ka haran hota hain

 

Lachar aur Bebaas apnee rakhsha main kamjor hain

Napunsak netaon ke haathon main yeah aaj kaid hain

 

Bekasooron key Khoon sey Lathpath, aankhon sey aasoon bahati hain

Apnon key bewakuf bayanon sey marti hain, Yeah hain Mumbai meri jaan

 

 

Arrogance of Non Performance

At a recent team meeting, I spoke on this topic and from the feedback towards the end of the session, I thought people liked it, at least some of them!

All of us are familiar with and have met at some point in time, people who are arrogant. We see them at our work place, they are our friends, some are our relatives – cousins and uncles and aunts… At times it’s just us, we ourselves are arrogant at times for various reasons.

Arrogance is displayed for reasons like wealth, looks, performance at work, material belongings – great car, mobile phone, gold and jewels and at times for something as despicable as one knowing someone influential or being close to someone!

This is one extreme why people behave in a way that is considered arrogant. There is this other extreme that I really wanted to touch upon and that is “Arrogance of Non Performance”. Being arrogant without any reason (well the one who is arrogant does not/never realizes that the reasons that one is arrogant for are either too trivial or non-existent for everyone other than they themselves)

People behaving in an arrogant manner in spite of not performing to the expectations, not doing their job as required, not complying to the basic objectives. This arrogance stems from couple of key issues.

· At times its due to a sense of jealousy and hatred for those around you who are performing well and behaving in a nice manner that is just not going well with the person involved.

· At other times its due to a feeling of inferiority complex that others are able to do better while I am not able to make much progress though everyone seems to be equal on other terms – education, experience etc. It’s just that – a feeling, in reality there may not be any difference in the capabilities of the people involved, it’s just the attitude.

· At times this is also due to an utter lack of knowledge, learnability and adaptability. There are people who REFUSE to learn, adapt and move forward. Such people have an unfound arrogance about the little knowledge and exposure that they posses, many times this knowledge has never got upgraded and they seldom understand or see other view points, this is amongst the more self inflicting arrogance of non performance one would ever see.

I myself have gone through a phase when I “suffered” from this, early on in my career, in fact the very start of my career as a Management Trainee. I was in this frame of mind that everyone around me knew less and more so people with a varied and great no of years of experience too would be placed in that category of everyone else around me.

An event that really brought about the change was when suddenly out of nowhere me and my colleague (we both were new to the org) were asked to handle a shift as in charge. That’s when I realized how little I knew and how much more there was to learn. Late in the night when I reflected on the day, It changed my perspective and I suddenly found myself on the other side, I was willing to learn, I had opened my mind to new things, I believed everything was possible, I became less stubborn about concepts and I accepted CHANGE as the thing to look for!

You sometimes have to go thru the process, learn the tricks of the trade and then criticize. It’s a lot easier to say things, from the outside, sitting on the fence. Those who jump in and that too with an open mind to learn and make things better typically do well and are successful. Those who are willing to see the other and “new” view point, one that may be very different from what they have been thinking because of their lack of knowledge and understanding find it difficult to cope. Those that keep thinking they know more, close their minds and refuse to learn and adapt to change suffer in life – professional as well as personal.

The Mumbai Drama - A city under siege

What happened in Mumbai on the night of 26/11 has upset many Indians. I personally came to know of the tragedy only late in the night/early morning on the 27^th when a friend of mine called up from the US to check if all was well with my friends and family in Mumbai.

 

When I switched on the TV, watched the LIVE footage for a few minutes, I could gather the gravity of the situation, it seemed to be a tough one and I was sure many, many innocent people would lose their lives in the encounters and counter operations that would follow.

 

The lack of political will and a spineless, vote-bank-feeding-policy-making government is what we have got at the center that is more interested in ensuring its own survival rather than looking at people’s safety and security.

 

A city that has been repeatedly, a sitting target for anti nationals deserves better administration and cover than what it gets today. It’s a symbol of the capital and financial prowess India as a nation could one day become, It’s a symbol of the “Unity in diversity” that we so proudly flaunt when we speak to our friends from other countries, It’s a melting pot of different communities and castes and religions and languages that represent a true cosmopolitan nature of a truly diverse city….

 

A City like Mumbai cannot be a sitting duck to anyone carrying guns and ammo and getting into a trawler from Karachi and reaching its shores and holding up the whole city to its fears.

 

Dear Mr. Deshmukh and Dear Dr. Man Mohan Singh, Kindly do your job and Mr. Prime Minister, you can start out with throwing a certain Mr. Shivraj Patil (Honorable Home Minister) out the cabinet, Please.

 

We want you to protect us and protect us well, Innocent people expect this small favor for the votes they cast you to take care of them, Please oblige, for once, the city may not forgive you AGAIN.