Have Your Heard Your Internal Customers?

It is performance appraisal time. Most of the meetings rooms are occupied and few guys stare through to see whether the room is occupied. During this time, we see a lot of red faces - faces that are symbols of uncertainty and clueless. While we spend a lot of time in getting our customers' feedback, are we spending enough time in hearing what our internal customers (teammates) has to say about us and if you hear those feedback do you try to clarify things or put their feedback into actions.

During my three years of leading teams, I would say one key activity that I feel adding a lot of value to me is the feedback from my team (that people who report to you). Since you are doing business, (ok,  just for the sake of argument) eventually we need to send questionnaire to our customers and they give feedback based on the service we provide. Irrespective of your linking, you ought to receive and put an improvement plan. because your competitors do it. The next usual thing is receiving feedback from people above you. As a part of your performance appraisal, you must be rated by people whom you report to.

The only missing piece is the feedback from people who report to you. Those are the people who work closely with you and they know you very well. When you will react and how will you react. Are you pleasant to work with? What they feel about their learning and growth when they worked with you? Are you really adding value to them? How they see themselves if they continue to work with you for next few years? What is their perspective about you? What are the areas that you have to improve to yourself valuable and make their work interesting?

These are some of the questions that one can ask to drive towards a meaningful discussions. These are open ended questions and the answer to these questions will help you to find blind spot. Rather than asking, give be rating from one to four, the open ended questions should give a lot of inputs. More than external customers and your reporting chain up the hierarchy, I feel that a lot of valid concerns, inputs, feedback and suggestions can be received from the people who work closely with you. If you are collaborating with someone in informal setup (or informal teams), try to get their perspective as they will be very open in giving you a candid feedback.

Keep seeking feedback and keep correcting. It is a wonderful journey towards excellence.

Saying or writing this as a post is not a rocket science. Knowing how-to of receiving is not rocket science. But doing this wholeheartedly with an open mind is a rocket science.

Power of Less

Assume that you are given a job of placing few dozens of framed pictures on the wall. You have frames, a hammer and few nails. You have to strike the nails and put the frames on the nails. Also, the time given to you is limited. How do you go about with this activity? Obviously, we tend to take a nail, strike it on the wall and hang the picture one by one. While we will be thinking of putting as many frames as possible, it is unlikely that we do this task of striking few nails in parallel all at once. Moving from one nail to another without completing it doesn't sound like an idea. Because the time it takes to move from one nail to another nail eats up half of the total time and you have less time to nail/hang the picture. We don't have an option of putting more seconds in a minute but we have an option of deciding how to spend each of those 60 seconds in a minute.

So far, I have been leading a life of doing more. I spend more time on context switches than the actual tasks. If I look back, my life is full of context switches and this shows that I didn't apply much of common sense. I spend lot of time in preparation than the actual work. The power of more is less than power of less. In order to be blissful and successful, it is enough if we understand only one thing. I need to spend less time on doing less things. The idea of spending less time is to optimize the execution of a task (nothing is free in this world, even time too) and it does not signify the laziness or not trying. The idea of doing less things is to pick up things that are important. If you put both ideas together, the idea of optimizing your execution together with lesser number of things in your to-do list will help you to focus your energy on few things and get it done.

I would like to leave this idea for now and let us dig more deeper in future posts. Meanwhile, if you are  seriously thinking of optimizing your life, here are two (great) websites that I feel help a lot in personal effectiveness.

Life Optimizer

Zen Habits - Simple Productivity

My Teacher, My Role Model - Prof C K Prahalad

A couple of years back, when I was attending an event of setting organizational vision at my workplace, I happen to hear one of my teammates (yes, my CEO, Mr. Vineet Nayar) speaking about Prof. C.K Prahalad. Quite impressed that, I happen to read his book "Competing for the Future". Slowly but steadily Prof C K Prahalad happen to occupy my mind. Many teachers have made very big impact in me and helped me to be where I am today. But Prof. C.K Prahalad is very rarest teacher in a sense that he makes me to think where I should be in 10 years from now. Prof C K Prahalad is a Cheeranjevi (the person who never dies) and I believe still he is alive. Here is one of the videos that inspired me.

Questions Are Pointers and Answers Are Dead End

How will you earn a million rupees is next two years? Assume that someone is asking this question to you or you are asking this question to yourself. If we fixate our focus on finding answers, we will probably find some answers that are widely accepted. When we start decomposing a question into many questions and when we question the relevancy of the question, we will find much better questions that provokes thinking. Each question shape up thinking and thinking helps us to anticipate probables. Most of the man made events in this world are non deterministic and only way that we can sail through is by anticipation. Questions helps us to anticipate probables. Only when we question, our ignorance surfaces and only when our ignorance crops up we make an initiative to learn and only when we learn we ask more questions. This is never ending cycle and probably ends when we cease.

If you keep asking questions, when you will find answers? Keep questioning doesn't signify  the absence of answers and in fact each question will have answer. The key here is to derive questions out of each answers and the objective is to move beyond the obvious and abstract ideas. If you look at questions, they are pointers and they shape our thinking. But definitive answers are dead ends. It is not a real dead end. It is our mental condition, limitation and satisfaction on the answer.

So, the questions are pointers for reproductive thinking and definitive answers are dead end towards reproductive thinking.

Artificial (Fake) Chaining - Can We Break It?

There was an elephant near a temple. An iron chain was tied around his leg and the other end of the chain was hanging free. The elephant was believing that he was tied to the stone pillar near him. He was thinking that he wouldn't be able to move as he was tied, very tightly. He wanted to go to jungle to have deep bath. He wanted to eat green plants to live an healthy life. He wanted to be around like sized and like minded individuals. But he thought he couldn't go because he thought that he didn't have strength to break the chain. I m not talking about the elephant that you heard in some story. It is us - you and me. We never realize that we are not tied. Once we were tied and we still think that we are tied forever. For some of us, we have an opportunity and privilege to be tied with a golden chain.

This perception is not a problem until you realize. If you believe that there are 24 hours in day, one day you will wake up to find that there is only 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. Someone may steal one second from you without your permission. Someone will say that you have to work in the way he wants and say that it will give satisfaction to you. Someone may dream for you and say that it is the purpose of your life. If you let that happen, you will be sitting like a duck that is ready to be butchered. Absolutely there will be no notable difference. Only difference is - the duck quacks but we speak.

Don't curse them. It is the way they have be asked to operate. They are doing it thinking that they are chained which is not true. We are totally stuck in disbelief about ourselves and we are doing total disservice to ourselves. But the irony is we want to grow. Growth is not a matter, growing up is a matter. I feel that the biggest conspiracy that is quite successful in this society is this "chaining". The conditioning hinders the free flow thinking. Get rid of the conditioning and grow up.

Sometime back, I heard from someone in a respectable position that I cannot do two things. But the issue is that those two things are done by single guy few years back. He was quite immersed in status quo and very strong view. But the problem with his strong view is that it cannot be changed and it hindered him  from seeing my perspective. We don't need strong views. We just need free flow views. He is deeply chained with golden chain decorated with diamonds. How sweet it is, a trouble is a trouble, probably we can call it a nice trouble or sweet trouble. But trouble is a trouble.

How to Transform Your Workplace BY Transforming Individuals

Leading people is no different from parenting. Our parents are highly influential and inspire in our personal lives. They crafted our life in a best possible way and that is why we feel so good about them. They gave us everything but yet never blow things up. But, at work, why we aren't parenting? Why are we so focused only on our growth, prosperity and satisfaction and less focus on people that we are privileged to lead. Based on my experience, I have few thoughts on leadership and followership. This is a daily ritual and this is not something like "panic and patch" or "invest and harvest today". This has to be your leadership lifestyle and lifeline. Never cross the lifeline :-)

Listen

People think speaking is leadership. They speak a lot and lot endlessly and without any boundary on subject and time. When you speak, you understand less about the people and the issues that block them. Rather try to listen. Listening is a great skill which is quite different from hearing. While hearing, we don't empathize and it is the sound waves hitting the ear drum. Listening is interpreting and empathizing. If you are more serious about listening, try to take a notepad and keep taking notes. One of the advantages of listening is that you get an opporunitity to see many perspectives of the subject under discussion. The person whom you are listening to will feel like a hero because you are LISTENING him. While listening make an official eye contacts and have each eye contacts crisp and short. You may show some gestures that is welcoming and shows that you are authentic listener.

Respect 

There is nothing greater than being respected. Keep your hand on your heart and say won't you feel happy if someone respects you. Respecting and acknowledging the respect is a fantastic thing. When done properly, the person who is respected feels that he earns the respect and this improves synergy in the team. Everyone in the team works like a rock star. They love to work and show at least 100% at work, if not more. How to show that you are respecting your teammate? It is simple. Before taking any crucial decisions, consult your teammate and take their opinions. Count on them and make them to have their head high. If you have any doubt on how respecting will improve performance, try to respect a kid that is lesser than 2 years old.

Understand

The next thing that comes is "understanding". When you listen and respect your teammate, understanding blossoms automatically. Understanding is nothing but everyone in your team sells every others in the team authentically. Understanding is about having confidence in your teammate that he is a champion and stand by him in an occasional setback. People too understand that failures are bound to happen when they become extraordinary. Once you stand by him, even if your competitors give him 400% hike, he just stands by you like a dog. But listening and respecting should precede "understanding" so as to make "understanding" authentic.

Coach

One of the key requirements for modern day managers/leaders is ability to coach and mentor the juniors. If you listen to freshers, most of them (if not all of them) say that they see work as school and their leads as coaches. Nothing is on par with the coach. He commands, scolds, yells, appreciates and pushes his student. Set them a very big vision for their career in line with their aspirations  (and set aspirations in some cases) and its impact on their career. Build a skill that they will cherish/reflect when they retire. If you are mentoring freshers, just tell them that you are coaching a CEO not an entry level guy. Their eyes really go bright.

Challenge

Push the performance envelope. Many records are broken everyday. They aren't records but benchmarks to be reached and redefined. Never make them to touch the ceiling. If they touch the ceiling, it may lead to complacency. Rising the bars to a level that it appears neither it is too easy nor too difficult to achieve. They should be attained not easily but with little stretch. The little stretch matters a lot. This makes life very interesting both for your teammate and you.

Follow 

My father was in total control until he was 63. Now, for the past two years is following me. Following is not doing whatever someone asks. Following is also about "not following" when something is wrong. Blind follower follows like a drunkard but a real follower questions every step, validates each move. Once the coaching is done at sufficiently level, it is always good to take an occasional test drive by asking your guy to lead you (and also test the effectiveness of your coaching). Every generation proves that it is more intelligent than the previous one. So, when you follow, be confident and follow. For sure, you will love it and so proud about your guy, a new leader for you.

Compensate

While all the above things are qualitative. As a leader (or an organization), it is your responsibility to compensate people well. At the end of the day (month), pay check is what they can deposit in their bank account. They need money to feed themselves and their loved ones. Never exploit people giving everything but money. Compensation is one of the stickiness factors.

Addendum

Ok. if you ask me whether i do all these, my answer is no but i m trying :-). Transformation is not a choice. The choice is whether you are going to do it or someone else. This is not an effort to become self proclaimed leader. I dedicate this to people who are trying to transform me.

Immature Managers - Reality With (lot of) Humor

Sometime back, there was new performance and career management initiative rolled out in one of the top IT services company in India. The management thought that they could institutionalize the new initiative during recession and they started implementing it. I would say that was a very bold and bright thinking from the part of the organization. We promote people who bring in results and we generally don't focus on experience or maturity part when promoting people. We promote people rather ruthlessly and without any basics thinking. Finally, we run entire organization to tinker them.

The idea of giving promotion in many organization is to just make most of the people happy in some way. Promotion is one of the ways. There is an ice cream seller goes on selling ice cream in a street. A kid, on seeing the seller, wants to buy one not knowing the effects of ice cream and his last week's viral fever. The mom says, "I will take to movie next Sunday". The kid keeps quiet. But giving promotion ruthlessly will have a serious effect on the growth of the organization. The guys who do not have basic human touch or  demeanor makes his team miserable. Either people run away out of frustration or it leads to mediocrity  through "suck up leadership". This is how a class b guy goes on to create class z guy. One of my friends tweeted this video. This summarize the reality but with good humor. Enjoy this video and think at the end :-)

Multiply Your Money - Systematic Investment Plans

Money is not biggest thing in life but it is reasonably close to oxygen. And there is nothing wrong in trying to maximize your corpus. With the rising inflation and real estate reaching unrealistic limits, I always feel that I m left behind. I m not so sure what will my lifestyle and what kind of lifestyle I can afford when I retire. With my little experience in investing, I feel that we have few options like NSC, PPF, Fixed Deposits, Stocks, Real Estate, Mutual Funds and life insurance.

I am very big fan of Systematic Investment Plans because of the idea of discipline. A portion of your salary goes to stock market every month. If you ask any successful investor, he will tell you that the key to investing is discipline and investing in small chucks periodically. The simple reason why "periodic small chuck investing" works is that we buy when market is low, we also buy when the market is high and we sell when the market is higher. I have strong belief that a periodic investment (every month) of few thousands for 15-20 years in stock market gives 5-10 times the returns from fixed deposit. But there is so risk but the risk can be diversified or reduced by investing in different types of mutual funds every month.

To give you a perspective, I started to invest 3-4 years back when the market was high. We all know that market crashed and even now I have a returns between 20-50%. The high return is possible simply because I bought during market crash. If you are serious about building a corpus, I would seriously suggest you to enter into mutual funds every month. The old saying, "little drops make ocean" hold very much for systematic investment plan.

Of course, you need a good financial consultant who does more than collecting money from you. He should be able to give you ideas on investments. Anyone who is having a good portfolio of services in MF and contacts in fund houses is the right candidate. Though, I don't do this as business, I can point you to my financial consultant Mr. Anand Srinivasan if you want. With his help, I am able to build a good corpus even now and I m on track with my targets :-)

Threads Execution - From my Imagination

Having posted general posts for long time, once in a while, a little poor programmer tries to creep out. This is an interview question and so far I haven't heard from anyone any different answer. The key to software development is imagination and trying to add more perspective. The multiple perspective helps us to clearly differentiate and appreciate the depth of the language. With no delay, let me jump into my question. Take a look at the following code and tell me what happens.

public class Threads extends Thread {
   
    public void run() {
        // do some serious thing
    }
   
    public static void main (String[] args) {
        Threads t = new Threads();
        t.start();
        t.start();   
    }
}

If you recognized that we create a thread, execute it twice and it will lead to IllegalThreadStateException, you are right. But have you ever imagined why threads cannot be executed twice. Here is my imagination.

Any thread is an independent execution path. You can have many execution paths that are similar in terms of execution and state changes. Let us take an example from real world. We do lot of things in a day like reading, writing, eating, speaking and so on. If we model or think that each activity as thread, though on a given week we may read many times, probably the same book at same speed, each read is different in the context of time. Similarly, in programming, two or many threads appear similar but they are not really similar. Any execution may it be a process or thread, it is illogical to go back in time however you can spawn off new process or thread that does the same thing. Execution cannot be taken back in time (if we take back execution, it is debugging).

Thread has two properties - object and an entity that can be scheduled. The points we discussed above is more on "an entity that can be scheduled". An entity that has completed its run, cannot brought back to execution as its purpose of its creation is over. But from object's perspective, it is data and hence can be accessed and kept for any duration as long as the process is alive.

When you think about thread, remember - "thread has life and object has space". Thread is an object and hence it is given a space in heap, it is available as object till it is garbage collected. But Thread as a entity of execution, it has life. Once its life is over it can be restored again.

Health Advice - Drink Water

For the guys who are in air-condition, try to drink water. If we are in a/c, we don't feel thirsty. So, better proactively drink a lot of water. This year it is going to be terrible hot.

On a lighter note,

Sandy: Chennai has only two climates

Me: What, only two climates..

Sandy, Yes, hot and very hot.

Unlike cricket players, i don't get money for endorsement and don't send income tax officers to my home.

Drop Your Arrogance

There was an interesting tweet, "It is easy to write words and hard to live the words". I often wonder how people think about their people and how quickly they change their stance when they speak out. They often think that their teammates should dance their tune and few will go to any extent of thrashing their ego. While they are doing it, there is always only one thing in their mind, "i must prove to him that i am superior". This is what you call as "arrogance" and if you do it, you stink. When they hold their microphone, on the spot, they become humane. How is that possible?

But the guys who are hearing can spot the double nature and tag you as "arrogant". Arrogance is not in your acoustic level but in your mind, the way you think about your guys. So, be sensible. If you want to make a good connection with your teammate (or anyone), the first thing you got to do is "drop your arrogance" and build a character that is predictable and authentic.