Been a while…

Been a while since i sat down and keyed a few words in my BLOG…but not without reason. Had to use the fingers for the tonnes of office work, new responsibilities and yes some fun in between all this.

Team was taken out on a “All hands meet” and it was well arranged, short and sweet.

Nothing can refresh a person more than a walk on the beach, something about hearing the waves rising and swooshing down , taking back sand and bringing back lost belongings 🙂 , wish we could spend a little more time down there.

Its strange how we stay in a city with beaches and never find time to drive down and take in the salt. Must plan for more trips down there and maybe pack some sturdy sneakers …or wait maybe just barefoot will do as well. Feel the sand and water and shells in your feet.

Also uploading some pictures i felt were breath taking …

More to come soon, Ciao till then

Writing got published!

Hi all, a little while back i had written a letter to Lonely planet magazine on the fantastic issues they manage to launch every month. I loved the issue on Turkey so much i had to congratulate them!

That little para got published …i know …i know its a small thing but makes me happy! 🙂

Also SCRIBD reading is touching 2000 reads ..and one of my work has reached about 500 reads …which is great!

Deep Dive, among other things…

Long time since my last post, i did try in between to try and open the BLOG and maybe key in a few words.

My mind and body had other plans though as I was in a deep dive among other things and had no creative juices flowing whatsoever. If you have been to a lot of sites that post material as to how recruitment companies function, you would have understood the term “Deep Dive” by now.

A “Deep Dive” is taken by people who are inundated with work and have not come up for fresh air for a very long period of time. This is what is happening with me currently, to cut a long story short I undertook an exercise at work which demands all the energy and time I have. We are working as passionately as we possibly could and hoping that in the end the vast amount of learning’s we gained will speak volumes about us professionally. The pity is that not the entire team believes in the exercise completely and when you don’t have buy-in from the team it’s difficult to manage and share your enthusiasm.

The benefits of the exercise are massive from professionally to the unique experiences it gives us. However majority of the team don’t share the same opinion and this is where an ideological conflict is driving a wedge between all concerned. This is the typical conflict situation that people often ask about in interviews, the classic questions are

“How do you handle someone in the team who refuses to see reason and work as part of the team?”

“How do you handle employees who knowingly underperform?”

My two cents worth is that I still don’t have my finger on it yet. I did observe that if people are working to earn and are just using the profession to get by and this is what they would not do given other opportunities, then you would start facing this conflict soon.

There is no easy solution to handle conflict, that’s why it’s called a conflict in the first place. It’s a toss-up between ignoring the people who don’t believe and moving on like a soldier with a purpose to not giving up and trying to utilize people for whatever task they are good at.

In case a person does not believe in working in a team, there is no way you can convince them otherwise. Leave them be, find the true soldiers in your team who are willing to take chances and try sometimes to make what you do sound interesting in the hope that all will follow. You cannot physically force anyone to be interested.

Sometimes this conflict can be frustrating and even though you want to ignore it and move on and channel your energies, its still there at the back of your head. Tune it out; life is too short to waste time on correcting ideologies.

The world is filled with such conflicts; let’s blame it on genetics partially as people are who they are because it’s encoded in their DNA.  Partially lets blame it on circumstances, situations and experiences add on to the way we treat ourselves and other people in our lives. But why is that some people learn and get better and some people tend to linger and continue to build an alternate reality for themselves?

Don’t know the answer to this as well, maybe they feel comfortable in that alternate reality and maybe they don’t have the capability to be symbiotic. Not everything in nature can be adaptable to human life I guess!

But here is the crux of the conflict, it’s agreed by now that we will not try to force people on board, but can they afford us the same fair treatment? Is it possible for them to not mock other people’s sincerity and make it out to be very vague and superficial?

Is it possible that they don’t make disparaging remarks and leave people who really do their job because they enjoy it alone? Not a chance.

This is where I am truly perplexed as well, I resolve not to get angry or disappointed when people don’t match my expectations but the conflict is soon rearing its head in my face and asking me to react. I realized the only way out of this is to simply ignore their existence, literally. Say to yourself, that in your world these people have no place and you have things to do and places to go. Or maybe give them a fair dose of their own treatment, but then we would not be any different than them…

Less than Gandhian solution but I will have to live with it till something better comes along.

Meanwhile got to dive back to the bottom, more work to do. if anyone has any ideas on this topic, feel free to comment.

Ciao!

Paper-Cut : Work & the Lonely Planet

So how are all my fellow bloggers and readers doing today?

 Got off to writing for my BLOG after a small gap, so many opportunities at work to do so many new things. Work has been a two faced monster, one face friendly and inviting and the other draining me and challenging me to re-think my work strategy. One thing I do know that is from time to time I try and draw inspiration from Peter Drucker 365 days writings or Jack Welch’s “Winning”.

They offer some age old advice on how to know when one is ahead of the game but also the fact that the enterprise today is a leaving breathing organism and not a machine. An enterprise is also fuelled constantly with the energies that we apply every day, sometimes we fuel change and sometimes which is the rare moment that we fuel inspiration.

Winning is important, the world puts that in our face all the time but at what cost and how much are we willing to pay. My team mate and I recently won an award from the clients that we work for and all the appreciation and smiles and admiration were heady.

However we took a step back and realized that it’s a moment very short lived and memories are fragile and volatile so we didn’t really want to linger in it. Something kept reminding us of the fact that both success and failure are indeed imposters. Here today and tomorrow is another day, not to say that we were cynical. The key was to enjoy and breathe in that moment of culmination of all the effort and then prepare to stay real and focused for the next day. We did do something but it was not life altering magic. Have I made my mark on planet earth, have I etched my emblem and served a greater good ?

Not sure but I have started this journey of self-reconciliation, trying to always look in from the outside and preserve a sense of “The first time”. Time and again we should do everything as if we were doing it the first time and suddenly it all makes sense, maybe for a moment. A moment is enough.

In my regular jaunt to the book store in search of a delectable piece of literature or a new writer making waves I came across this most wonderful magazine called the “Lonely planet” magazine.I looked at the glossy cover and being an amateur photographer and writer it pulled me like no other book possibly could. I scrambled to feel the pages in my fingers and smell the fresh soft paper, in an instant it was Nirvana. Too strong a description you might say but I traveled a 1000 miles without moving a finger. I stayed hypnotized as the authors summarized their experiences in Turkey and Vienna. Orhan Pamuk from turkey is one of my favorite writers and I owed it to him to savor the word filled gravy of turkey laid bare. It was haunting and exciting, everything I imagine turkey to be, I was transported to cappadocia, from the evil eye key chain that a cousin once gave me to the famed Turkish tea and the soft rugs, there could be no joy greater than to feel turkey so close. For a civilization ruled by the greeks to the ottoman turks and the Byzantine what I read pleasantly surprised me. Every piece of history, every brick, every pillar and every church is preserved as a testament to history. Like a time machine, the city could well move you into a different realm. I must say that the writing on Vienna did not pale in comparison either.

The magazine has given me a picture to keep in my mind forever, maybe I will go see turkey one day but till then I have the lonely planet with me.

 Till next time folks, ciao and comment soon…

Paper-Cut: The week that went by

This week was a no holds barred out and out battle, a battle all of us are waging against the loss of time and the loss of sanity. People make a lot of assumptions of what it is like to be working in the IT industry. What they don’t often know is that for those who enjoy it and take it seriously it’s always a struggle to do a good job. We can all do the best we can but to do a decent enough job and feel satisfied, now that’s a challenge.

Here is the challenge for me though, how do I feel rejuvenated the next day and defeat this constant sense of exhaustion?

I try to visualize a sandy beach or a nice corner café, or the night lights in some beautiful city or lazy Sunday afternoon with the phone off the hook. Does it work? Sometimes it does and sometimes this visualization makes us frustrated for it is yet so far away from our reality. I guess it’s the simple things we need to start appreciating and also doing away with the thought that we can’t take a moment to just enjoy ourselves. I also try a mid week treat of a movie, I know its going to be late the next day but it makes the week less and less intimidating.

I also look forward to writing for my BLOG, what new topic or what new observation can I put into words? What new perspective can I offer to people who come and read?

I guess what I am really trying to say is that we have to stop ourselves from being jaded, try looking at things as if we were looking at them the first time. Try admiring a garden or a nice car and allow yourself to take in things. It’s difficult to retain a childish enthusiasm when the world is only with you as long as you run with it. But it’s this childish enthusiasm that really makes us want to wake up the next day.

Sit in the balcony and savor that coffee slowly, then when you are ready go join the world again.

Mediocrity, Machiavelli and Mozart

The first word I hate, the second stands for a way of being and the third a retreat from the other two. A while back I wrote an article on the art of working and it was well received, but how many people actually subscribed to that school of thought or identified with it? A few have understood, those who have been succumbing to the corporate world and the needs of the universe, balancing and juggling between their personal lives and their professional. 

However there are those who revel in mediocrity, the world we see today has people creating new schemes, new ways to not do much but float into a languid inconsequential life. Is this what we want? Sure, each human being has his or her own “Mantra” for life, but why be incomplete and lead an incomplete life?

It’s a choice of being this way; it’s a mentality and cannot be changed unless the person decided to take a chance on life. “Am ok with this” and “I don’t need to be promoted” or “I don’t need to be like them”, these are traps and not statements. It’s a little bit like opening a trap door a jumping in, not knowing how far down the base might be.

Success is not a cliché, neither is it wrong to want it. Being the best at what you do does not look foolish or desperate; it just says that you are unwilling to settle for less. It’s a constant struggle, trying to convince people that all you want is to get the best out of the situation. We don’t have a choice sometimes but we do have a choice to get the best out of everything, to want to inspire and to want to be known.

What does stand in the way of getting people out of this mediocrity is the second word in my title. Let’s face it, it’s fashionable to be political and people enjoy the mundane rhetoric that accompanies it. We face it at our place of work and amongst our peers and friends too. But maybe being Machiavellian is not about being dishonest or attempting to conceal the truth. It maybe more about using words to charm the best out of people. Wow, did I just indulge myself in some semantic jujitsu, no. It was very well intended and maybe a little charm and a few words might get the best out of people yet.

Paper Cut: 2010

I waited for the New Year to roll in with CNN. yes, you read right.

I was officially on duty (we have to be alert for S/W production issues) just in case, thats how it is in the Software engineering world! But i kind of liked the idea as i had to stay awake and what better way to do it than with the AC360 Team @ CNN.

They had live coverage from round the world as we chased the clock and celebrated the New Year across time zones and continents. So virtually i was in NY, Paris and Australia and enjoyed it thoroughly! I know what you are thinking at this point, that its really sad that i was not out partying with friends or clubbing at all the hotspots. Well, my friends are all consumed by their own worlds which is what happens often in the real world.

This year though Asia is on the map for plenty of good reasons, a strong economic position and managing to do well inspite the rough weather. We keep hearing news of discrimination and mindless killing of Indians in Australia which is something that shocked me considering that a lot of Indians have been migrating over the years. Whats surprising is that till date we never saw this outburst of racial violence and i cant help but think that there is a larger conspiracy at play here. Am i one for beleiving in conspiracies? Yes, because history shows that racial crimes start out small and peak at the turn of large economic events (thats my own finding), but it seems to have sprung out of nowehere in aussie land.

I hope parents and people make important desicions and keep themselves safe from harm, does this mean we plan a world-wide exodus and people become local instead of global again? No, but if not that then we definitely need to form organizations and groups and frame laws to start rectifying the situation before it takes on irrepairable proportions.

Where are we headed with this open bias? Funny thing is that i have worked and met foreigners who are so educated and so modern in their outlook that this must be really the handiwork of a few people or organizations serving their selfish interests.

Here is hoping that the foreign ministry and Ambassdors appointed figure out a way of saving people, we need more than just commentary and speeches or apologies now.

Apart from this work is hectic and reaching  a moot point, its becoming a big struggle to keep all the stakeholders happy. But we do what we can.

Looking forward to the slew of new cars from Chevrolets Beat to VW  Polo, a lot of test drives round the corner.

So what are you upto? comment and share your thoughts…

ciao till then

Paper cut : The Beetle

Well the last week went by with some big Up’s and one down, not going to get into details as I am an eternal optimist and like to focus on the Up’s. The coming week is looking good as I will be on leave for a week after that and will spend some quality time reading, visiting friends and a bit of traveling. The New Year is much awaited by everyone as this year was not exactly a smooth ride economically speaking. But there are signs everywhere of recovery and consumer spending.

What was exciting this weekend though was my visit to the Volkswagen showroom just ten minutes away from home.

Why was it exciting you ask? Well the new Beetle is in town, officially… and i could not help myself admire and behave like a small child in the showroom. I explored every nook and cranny of my childhood and (adult) fantasy. Yes, i was one of those children who loved Herbie and wanted a little Herbie all for myself one day.

Thanks to Volkswagen and to the economic development and probably a good market for cars, we can see this peice of German engineering on the roads soon. I was first excited when Mercedes drove into town but for some reason it looked so intimidating that i have not found the courage to go to the showroom yet.

I guess the Beetle has a more human appeal to it and that’s fantastic because with all that engineering and a 2 liter engine under the hood it still manages to turn people into children. I was not the only one in the shop to do so as I watched a lot of people come in with big smiles and anxious eyes, waiting to feel and take in the glimpse of the little gem.

I shamelessly took some pictures with my camera phone and said good-bye to Herbie. But this in no way ends my fascination and admiration for him. Welcome to India, Herbie, waiting to see you as you take command of the roads and everyone’s heart.

Information & Economics

Hey everyone out there …hope life has been treating you well and you are all set for a better year round the corner.

Hope that none of the recessionary effects of this year spill over to the next year and waiting to see how our changed policies or better (so they say) regulations have acheived stability.

I was originally planning to write about cloud computing, but with the new year coming it made sense for me to re-look at my own spending and perhaps how it all boils down into the bigger picture.

On that note i have started an essay on the role of information in economics, as i researched and googled this evening i found that this is indeed a very pertinent subject and someone has been granted a nobel prize on the subject. This is also a vindication as to my direction of thought, but of course the professor beat me to it.

The essay is going to take me sometime to prepare as i might need to study economic models and the role of information in the market today. Do visit again and i promise it will be worth your while.

So till the next essay, stay tuned, eat healthy and do comment!

SCRIBD Reading touches 1087 reads!

Another cool news is that my SCRIBD reading has touched a total of 1087 reads which is more than i expected!

Way to go 1000+ reads so far!

Watch this space for more news on that front.