Does she deserve our Empathy?

Today's Headlines - Nalini begins indefinite fast in Vellore prison


What the *$%&# ?Whats wrong with our country. Any one can go to hunger strike? How can an accuse of assassination of none other but countries' Prime Minister has guts to do that. Does she realize the depth of crime she has committed? I don't care how many years of imprisonment she has served and whether her only kid has no one else to look after. All I know is :she is an accused of murder of PM. No matter what her circumstances were and why she committed that heinous crime. Whether she was ignorant or not. But I want everyone to know that there is no escape route once you are involved is such an act. So think not once or twice but hundred times.

Also whats wrong with Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Ms Priyanka Gandhi? With due respect want to say that Don't look at Nalini as a murderer of husband or father.Please don't try to take any political advantage by advocating early release for her. She is a murderer of Prime Minister of India. Entire country lost a valuable and honorable leader. She deserves no empathy.

She should remain behind bars until she dies. Be it due to hunger strike or suicide or natural death.

Pardon me for my harsh comments.

On the other side of equation

Yesterday,I got the news that my project is ending in two months and for next project they will not need any workers here. They are going to outsource it to the teams at India, China. Makes perfect business sense.But that is not a happy news for me.As that means I will not have a job in few months.

Other than several thoughts which pass my mind -like what next, how are we going to manage and blah blah ,I was also thinking about the reason given to me. It was easier to just blame and start hating Bl**dy Indians if I was not one among them. Certainly, I can't do that. That is my home.I got my first job there because of outsourcing itself. Did I think at that time that this job actually belongs to some one else.So obviously I don't have that choice of cribbing for the cause which benefited me some time back.

Though, I have an option to go back to India. But Is that a guaranteed success path? Probably not.Sooner or later some other countries will emerge with same skills but less cost. So does that mean my skills are getting cheaper day by day? difficult to answer but answer is 'Yes'. Hence moral of the story is In this new globalized world need to develop skills which are not so globally available.

Luck Vs Karma

Have you heard people saying - "Its all pre decided. You cant do much about life. God has written your faith even before you were born". I have heard it numerous times. Every time I hear it I wonder then why do we need to work. Why do we need to work even hard. Why don't we just sit and relax.After all everything is pre decided .Things will fall in place by itself .We have to do nothing. But then the same people start saying ,"You should do your Karma and forget about reward".Geeta says that.

It always leaves me wondering which statement to believe in.Though I am a strong believer of Karma but then what is this luck all about.Is it just a condolence term?

After years of thought process ,I finally came to conclusion. Both statements are equally true. Its like a flow diagram.Complete flow is predefined but then there are decision boxes. At various points in life you need to decide and make choices. Rest of the flow depends on the choices you made.

So though everything is pre written and pre defined, depending on your Karma you will encounter different choices. And as I said earlier these choices impact rest of your life


So moral of the story is - Life is all about choices you make.

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.