Do we need Innovation team??

'Innovation' is the new trend. Companies are spending thousands if not millions to be called innovative and survive in the continuously changing world. But how to identify the innovative ideas.Many companies actually have teams and people designated for innovation. But could this type of arrangement actually work and succeed.

Yes this is the general practice at many places. But normally this practice limits the true innovation. People who are part of so called 'innovation team' are either so busy in innovating that they actually miss the true essence of it or they start thinking of themselves the only 'Innovators' around.

On the other hand people around them become so complacent about all this 'Innovation' talk that they think -Its not my job. Even if they have better idea they feel no one will actually listen to them or explain to them and they prefer to remain quiet.

Doesn't this actually kill many potential successful ideas before they are born? I am not trying to say the ideas presented by non designated people will be significantly important . But not listening to those ideas actually inhibits the further thought process.

I believe -A true innovative idea can come from anywhere even from a kid or form an outsider. So having a team or a person dedicated for innovation is not only wasteful but harmful too.

In my view there should only be a team who implements innovative ideas but not solely designated to innovate.The responsibility of innovation should be given to everyone and should be shared by all.

Google It!!!

As I always say - 90% of Software development for 90% of Software Engineers will become impossible if 'Google' vanishes suddenly.

All the Software Professionals know what I meant by above. For rest its like whenever a software developer encounters an error : doesnt matter whether he has seen this error before or not but he knows the solution.And the solution is - Yes! Google It.

I was just thinking the way Google has replaced all the dictionaries ,encyclopedia and books :Is it coming closer to replacing 'Leads' and 'Mentors' and teachers and your 'social friends' and may be Doctors too? Because Google has solution for each and every problem. If you dare to ask your mentor a doubt-I am sure he will reply back saying "Havent you googled it?" So why do you need him ?

If your friend just starts talking about some stuff which you have no idea and dare to ask - he might point you to http://justfuckinggoogleit.com .Yes that happened. Isn't Google just destroying all your social network(Not on Facebook or Orkut).

If you are worried about pain in chest -just google it and see if you actually need to worry or not? Google will tell you that chest pain could be simply because of acidity.So skip some caffeine and save an expensive trip to your Doctor.

Moral of the story is --If you have any doubt or question no matter related to your health or career or personal - just Google It!!!

Attitude makes it all

Just ended another phone call with a customer representative(CR) who said she is a Relationship manager.As usual disappointed again. Disappointed because these CRs are so irresponsible. They are not ready to listen to what customer has to say. I get hurt not because my issue is not resolved but by looking at the level of Irresponsibility. I come across same kind of people again and again . I feel bad because these people never grow up. They are happy to take pay checks without fulfilling their duties.

I started pondering whether it is the mistake of Hiring Manager or Hiring System or Education System . Hiring system which gives more emphasis on paper degrees but look no further to check the attitude and ambitions of a person. Or Education System which is so focused on embedding the hard skills in students in hard way and completely neglects the most essential soft skills. Or is this the mistake of parents; who are too busy to teach their kids about important Values. They just want their kids to get good grades without thinking about how the kid is actually growing.

This female said she has an MBA degree. And the way she replied to my mails was no better than a 5th grader.When I asked her on phone whether she knew what was i asking for - she said and I quote "You were getting some error and I reset the password" . Actual issue was -I wanted some person from their team to help me in doing my stuff when I was out of country. My password was working correctly and ever since she reset my password I could not check my account. Reason - I did not have my mobile with me where she sent the password. I had already told her this in mail. The error which she misunderstood was internal error on their website which I was not able to access. She just did not read my mail and replied in haste doing exactly opposite of what I asked for. When I said "Do you realize your mistake." She said it was not a big mistake. That showed the value she gives to time. And just to let you know this time was costing me money. In a week's mail communication she had no clue of what I was asking her.

If I attach my mail you can clearly read my query in three of my mails in bullet points. At last I had to read my mail word by word on phone. To which, I was atleast expecting an apology.I was surprised and annoyed at the same time to get a reply like "It was not that big of a mistake.You send me another mail and I will send you the reply" .

Atlast I realized there is no point in showing the path to a blind person and raising my Blood pressure.I asked her if she could give me her Manager's email id. I was lucky.Without excuse or may be in arrogance she gave me her manager's id(Hope it is actually her Managers's) and I hung the phone thanking her for her time.


Lessons Learnt:

1) Brands are important. After all Brands are not made in a day. Brands are made with consistent performance and quality. People who want to build brand know the value of quality they provide and clients. They hire smart staff who share the same passion. They have values and make sure those values become guiding mantras for their employees.So no matter what you are buying or dealing with think about its brand value.It reflects the management.

2) India Shining is no where closer . Lots and lots is to be done.

3) Attitude is the key: No matter what you do and where you are its your attitude which makes the difference. You cant garland your paper degrees everywhere.And look no further than your computer to know what attitude can do. After all Bill Gates never finished his college.

Quest to be the Best!!

When I was in high school - On showing answer sheets to mom, was always confronted with same question ,"Who got the highest?"

Later there were many debates on this topic . Whether it is a good practice to relate? Or Whether each student should be appreciated for what ever S/he got. Whether it motivates a student or does the opposite?

I am not here to debate but just to write my thoughts. I think it has definitely motivated me . Always inspired me to be among the best. No doubt, there was always an extra burden while writing exams and more while getting back answer sheets. There was always more curiosity about knowing the competitors marks than your own.

Today, after more than a decade; I realize how important this question is. If handled with care, it plays a very important role in one's life. It is the quest of being among the best which differentiates . It is the quest which makes you to go out of comfort zone. It is the quest which innovates. It is the quest which prohibits you from being complacent.

I dont get it.

There is so much hue and cry about homosexual marriages getting legal status. Every week there is atleast one news about it. Some where people are protesting against it and somewhere for it. It has become a deciding factor in making or dropping the governments in various countries.

On the other hand each day I see many people becoming a part of live in relationships. Day by day the value of marriage is diminishing.It limits their freedom. People give excuses - they dont want to commit, not ready, dont want to face the challenges of marriage and so on.

It leaves me thinking - what do people want? I think people always want what they dont have. Its the natural tendency to go against the rules. Break the rules. Go and get what other say is not for you.

I dont get it. I am still thinking.

Books Vs Online Material

In case you noticed In my previous posts I have always been a technology admirer. Have always mesmerized by the new inventions and specifically Web. This time I have contradictory views.

I was thinking about how we use google for any to all things. I always say if google is not there we cant work(code) . But then I think Is google (online material) good enough to learn? Can online reading replace the books? I strongly think there is no match.

Books have many many advantages over online material.

1) You can only read the stuff online which you have an idea about. Normally the topics which you have some doubts or which you have some issues with .But what about plethora of material which you dont even know.

2) Books teach you step by step. You get to know many things which you never think about. Since you never think about them you can never google them .

3) Dont forget the old time markers. Yes I know you can book mark pages which you read online but still books come handy when you need to go through those topics again. Once you finish a book you brain always keep an impression of topics with layout of pages. You can easily track the old topic.

4) You can read book anywhere .Yes I know everything is getting Wi-fi equipped but still there is a long way to go.

5)Book gives you a direction and you always have a goal to finish.While you can easily forget about online links. If in case your computer shuts down before you book marked it ,there is 90% chance you will never revisit that page and In case you already bookmarked there is 95% chance you will never open your bookmark list again.

6)Online material usually have links to other pages.Clicking on those links will distract you and you will end up reading a totally different topic which had no connection to what you were reading initially.

7) Very Important in my view Books give you a common platform . You can talk about those books to other people.This helps you understanding people from their taste of books.

These are my views so If you want to actually learn some thing keep Google as a reference and buy a book. Atleast you will have other motivation to read it since you have spent few bucks on it.

How kool is that!!!

Last time when I was reading Thomson Friedman's book " World is Flat" , I was amazed when he cited the incident of Japan.Wherein he, with his friend was sitting in a train. His friend opened up his lap top and they were connected to world through Wi-fi.

This time I was all the more excited as I experienced it myself . I was able to chat in India and US while I was traveling in Europe.How kool is that ,I was connected to whole world at the same time :)

More to it, I did not need to take leave for this trip. Surprised?? Yes, thatz true I just took two days leave for my entire trip of ten days.No, I did not club my trip with public holidays but I was working remotely. Again thanks to technology. I was able to work over VPN using free Wi-fi from hotel.

This is really kool Isn't it!! Kudos to all the Geekiez who made it possible.