Innovation and originality: A distant phenomena?

No, I’m not talking about breaking all the ground rules and going on to do something completely over-the-top just to show how innovative and different one could be. Neither would I suggest you to idolize Micheal Jackson as far as his blind crave for the color ‘white’ is concerned. Its simply not required. All that needs to be done is to make sure that we use the ‘right’ side of our brain, more often than not. Unfortunately, this is something that’s not quite the norm as of now (at least in our day to day lives) and the results are there for all to see.

If you’ve noticed, off late, there has been an air of sameness and monotony around us.You switch on the TV and you would find those numerous 24 X 7 news channels presenting the same news, in a similar manner and using similar tactics to attract the audience. Whats the difference between a certain ‘Times Now’ and ‘Headlines Today’? Hardly any. You find companies coming up with the same products, providing similar services, using similar promotional strategies and employing people possessing similar skill sets. Where’s the difference? Advertising campaigns focus more on maligning the competitor’s products instead of promoting their own work (The Cola war). You find politicians coming up with similar election campaigns, promising similar benefits to the ‘naive’ citizens and ultimately forgetting every single word of it like their innumerable predecessors. Where’s that one unique individual?

Each one of these entities mentioned above could be replaced by the other and it would hardly make a difference. Everyone is so busy copying and imitating others that they seem to ignore their most prized possession, ‘a human brain’. What we see around is the true reflection of our thoughts. Just yesterday I was watching a talent hunt programme on MTV. Each one of the contestants was asked a simple question “What is your dream in life?”. The answers left me shocked. 90% of the answers were on the lines of “I want to be the next Shahrukh Khan”, “I want to be the Bill Gates of India”, “I want to dance like Hrithik Roshan”, “I dream of becoming Aishwariya Rai”. This was the youth of India on display. From the replies it was very evident that instead of aiming at carving out their own identity, these people were hell bent on following others blindly. Getting inspired by the greats is not a bad thing at all, but trying to be like one at the expense of your own identity doesn’t really make sense, does it?

A couple of days back I met a couple of friends who are planning to start their online entrepreneurial venture. I asked them to provide me with a brief description of their objectives and targets. They handed me a printed sheet. Each and every printed statement was targeted at how their venture could beat this particular ‘xyz.com’. The foundation of a new business was nothing else but that of a potential competitor. I simply couldn’t understand as to why were these people not trying to present their own ideologies in front of the world. Why were they not willing to come with a unique business plan instead of copying an existing one? Ultimately I had to settle for a shocking reality-check…”People are no longer willing to create their own unique identity and the same reflects in what they do. ” Where’s the ‘escape velocity’ required to break the shackles of mental restrictions?

We have become so used to the conventional stuff that neither are we willing to be unique and nor do we backup someone who wants to be unique. These days the world laughs at someone who wants to go out of the way and do something different. A techie who also shows interest in the operational and managerial stuff is laughed at and accused of not being clear about his goals. People are not willing to accept individuals possessing a multi-dimensional thought process and this is what promotes a singleton mindset and a copy-cat tendency.

How great it would be if each and every individual was willing to march out of the comfort zone and discover his/her unique skills. The world would be so different if companies could put more thought into creating unique products and services instead of blindly competing with the rivals. In short, if each and every individual starts unleashing the true power of the human brain, this planet would be a far more interesting place to live in and may be then we could truly be proud of having made a difference to the society as a whole.

Now Pound starts depriciating against the value of INR

Just when you thought that the entire Dollar-Rupee value chaos had been refactored successfully, here comes another thorn in the flesh. After USD its the turn of British Pound to play havoc with INR. The value of Pound has depriciated by almost 5% against the INR in just a matter of few days. The Pound which was valued close to Rs.82 at the beginning of this quarter, slipped to Rs.77 in the month of March.

Its worth being noted that after the Dollar crisis, most IT companies were speeding up the process of penetrating the European market, specially UK. But now that the British Pound has also started playing games with the INR, the question that seems to be on everyone’s mind is “What next?” The good news however is that contrary to the British Pound, the Euro is appreciating in its value with reagrds to the INR. The value of Euro has appreciated from Rs.55 to Rs.63 in a matter of three months. Luckily for Cognizant, most of its European expansion plans at the moment are centred on Eastern Europe, where Euro is the traded currency.

However, this entire currency uncertainty, has brought to the forefront the need for an exceptionally innovative strategy that would somewhat decrease the inter-dependency of margins and currency. How long would we be able to market our USP of providing low-cost solutions? Ploys like presenting a company as the ultimate customer satisfaction ambit is fine, but definitely some radical work needs to be done on the financial operating model. Probably the organization which comes up with the most innovative financial model to counter-attack this problem would walk away with the honours in the next decade.

Life : A form of street-smart business

Gone are the days when people trusted their friends more than themselves. Gone are the days when people genuinely wanted to help someone in pain. These days if someone offers help, be assured that 90% chances are that he’s there for fulfilling one of his ulterior motives. After spending 22 years in this world, I’ve finally reached a conclusion : The best way to live life is to take it as a form of business. In a business setup, one needs to be alert 24 X 7. Same is the case in your personal life. The moment you lose guard, you would be doomed by someone or the other.

During my childhood days, I was taught to help others and to ensure that there was no pain or suffering around me. In short, I was taught to be a ‘good human being’. When I stepped into the real world as a teenager, I tried to apply these learnings and principles with a hope that I was doing something good for everyone on a whole. But little did I know that there were animals in the form of human beings waiting out there to latch on to the slightest bit of opportunity. After repeated emotional slaps, I realized that this may not really be the wisest way to live. I decided to change the way I approached situations and people. I decided that before performing an action I would try and ensure that I don’t lose anything in the process. But at the heart of it all, there still existed an innocent kid who had no clue about the selfish world out there. As a result despite numerous tries, I always ended up losing much more than I gained. The intention used to be honest, but the result used to portray me as a dishonest individual.

As time passed by, gusts of harsh winds in the form of selfishness made repeated attempts at changing my thought process. Every now and then I could hear an inner voice telling me “You are a fool. These people would destroy you. Change for your own good else you would be doomed..” Finally after numerous attempts, the voice started making an impact on me. I gradually started to change and now when I finally look back, I feel proud that I made the right decision. Every single incident that happens these days, further vindicates the fact that the ones who think of themselves ahead of others, are the ones who would succeed. At times I still miss that innocent kid who could never think negative about others. But at the back of my mind there’s a sense of satisfaction of having achieved much more than what the innocent kid could have managed.

There are numerous forms of business. Some corrupt, some with very honest intentions and some really ’street-smart’. Corporations that have adopted the third category have been the most successful ones. Same is the case in our personal lives. One needs to be ’street-smart’ to be successful in life. At least thats what I feel at 22.

• A street-smart individual knows whats good for him.
• Knows how to get things done. Talks less and does more.
• Never reveals his intentions and plans.
• Is not an emotional fool but knows how to distinguish between genuine and ulterior emotions.
• Wont harm others but if need arises, would be willing to cover that extra mile to make sure his position is safe.
• Is fast and accurate at the same time. Doesn’t waste time cribbing about his past, rather he’s quick in safeguarding his future.
• Is always on the lookout for something more out of life. You won’t find him satisfied with life.
• Forgets disappointments in a flash and moves ahead instantly.
• Understands the necessity of being practical and is willing to create his own rules if need arises.

Thats quite a list, isn’t it? But then in today’s complicated world, you need to constantly work hard on yourself in order to be ahead of the rest. If you are willing to do so, you end up being one of those whom the world labels ‘cool’. If not, then better pack your bags and try finding the path to the mountains and woods.

Getting things done!

A very common problem that people face on a day to day basis is procrastination and lack of time-management. The consequences can vary from loss of confidence to an absolutely chaotic lifestyle. Management experts have been penning tonnes of books every now and then to help people live an organized life. However, most of the tips mentioned in such books make our brains feel heavy and we end up concentrating more on maintaining schedules and fixtures instead of focusing on the actual work.

In this article I would try and present a few simple steps which I personally feel are very effective in getting things done in a complete manner and on time :

1. Just go for it, avoid over-analyzing

The moment you feel a task needs to be done, just begin without giving it a second thought. Normally when it comes to doing something, people start doing all sorts of analysis like : Should I do it now? What are the other options…What about taking a bit of rest and then beginning…How much time would it take for me to complete…I would start after lunch…

All this analysis simply complicates things for us and we tend to get into a lazy state of mind. To avoid such situations, simply stop analyzing and get going with your task at that very moment, irrespective of the conditions.

2. Avoid looking at the watch

Contrary to what time-management gurus say regarding timing you tasks, I feel that the best way to do something is to do it without any mental time limitations. This way one would be able to concentrate entirely on the task instead of carrying a mental baggage and fear of getting it done on time. In case you do have time limitations, just set up an alarm and then forget about the time. Let the clock intimate you when the time is up.

3. Take it one at a time

When you are involved in a particular task, do not think about the other tasks scheduled for the day. Concentrating on a single task at a time gets things done faster and in a better manner.

4. Do not care about the result

When involved in something, avoid thinking about the end result. Thoughts on whether you would be able to complete the task in the required manner and on time add unnecessary mental baggage and ultimately affect your concentration.

5. When working under pressure, concentrate on the current ’second’

In today’s age of deadlines and cut-offs, the best way to deal with pressure is to relax and concentrate only the present ’second’. Take it second by second and try to feel that you are a part of this very moment. Forget about everything beyond and before that. Everytime your concentration hinders, take a deep breath and focus at your task, ignoring the surroundings. This way you would feel relaxed and would ultimately enjoy your work.

6. Avoid strict task scheduling at the beginning of the day

Time-management experts talk about the necessity of maintaining daily diaries and schedule charts. However, lets assume that you have completed half of your day as per the schedule but due to some reason you end up going off-track in the afternoon. This would put you in a negative frame of mind and for the rest of the day your mind would be competing with itself to be on time rather than focusing on getting your tasks done in the best possible manner. So , its better to give your mind some breathing space and being flexible with your schedule.

7. Inculcate a dynamic thought process

Try taking decisions on the spot instead of getting pre-meditated. Too much of planning leads to over-utilization of your brain (in an inefficient manner). Even our brain needs some fresh air. Allow your brain to relax and pep up at the right time. This would help you extract maximum power out of your brain.

All the suggestions mentioned above have one objective in common : Relieving the brain of unwanted clutter. The lighter we feel in our minds, the more effective we would be at work and a light mind is the ultimate secret to a stress free life.

Smoking your senses away!

Warning : All opinions stated in this article are a matter of personal thought and should not be taken to heart.

Its strange how people keep coming up with ways to harm themselves (and others). I stay at a place where 4 quotidian fools (thats what I prefer calling them) begin their day with a cigarette puff. When I started living with these 20-something so called ‘cool’ (thats what they prefer calling themselves) people, I had little idea that they were so hell bent on self-destruction. Gradually I realised that cigarettes had actually blown their common sense away as well. I have hardly come across people who are so proud of committing stupidity. At times I feel astonished at the way these people back their actions with statements as silly as themselves.Some of them being :

• “A cigarette early in the morning will prevent a headache throughout the day.” – I guess from now doctors should begin prescribing cigarettes instead of medicines.

• “By buying cigarettes, you are helping innumerable tobacco traders run their business and in a way helping the economy grow”….Phew!!!!!!!!

• “Smoking helps you control your weight.” The lesser said, the better…

• And of course, the most common of them all, “Smoking is the ‘in-thing’. Its really cool man. The circular rings that you blow out makes you look so hep.” – Well, seems like blowing away your common sense is pretty hep as well.

Well after hearing all these statements, I realised something very clearly i.e. these people are classic cases of minds gone terribly wrong. One can’t help but pity them. I just hope that someday, sometime, by some means, their senses start working again and they regain something thats supposed to be an individual’s most prized weapon i.e. ‘common sense’.

• Piece of advice to cigarette makers :-

Please change that statutory warning imprinted on the cigarette packets to “Smoking is injurious to health and mind.“

Indian Media and its weird ways

Aaj Tak Breaking News : Amitabh Bachchan ko thand lagi ( Amitabh Bachchan has caught cold)

Times Now Breaking News : Monkeys disrupt the net practice session of the Indian Cricket Team

Headlines Today Breaking News : Rakhi Sawant slaps her boyfriend.

Well thats the Indian media for you. When such issues are made to appear so path-breaking, then you can very well wonder the authenticity and true value-addition of these Indian News channels. Being a news buff, I always look forward to some really informative stuff whenever I switch on the idiot-box, but the moment I tune in to these so called ‘TRP leaders’, it pisses me off. Everything starting from the way news is presented, to the topics covered, to the hopeless video repetitions and senseless conversations between the anchor and reporter, simply everything appears to be such a waste of time. At times I feel that these channels should be placed in the ‘entertainment’ category rather than where they are.

What I find really hard to digest is that what kind of a value-addition would I get if Rakhi Sawant slaps her boyfriend. All that these channels are trying to do is attract people by presenting over-the-top stuff. Agreed that there would be people who would be drawn towards such stuff, but what about those who actually want something useful.

Shifting the focus from the content to the anchors, I guess this lady ‘Mandeep Bedi’ who anchors the ‘Headlines Today‘ entertainment show is worth being given an award, just that the award should be for ‘The Worst Anchor‘ ever to have hosted a show. The way she talks is so disgusting and cheap in itself. At times it gives you a feeling that you are watching a third-grade stage play. Kudos to Headlines Today for having relegated her just to the entertainment section else news watching would have been such a headache. She definitely seems to be the leader of the pack of those numerous non-stop nonsense kind of anchors.

All said and done but as they say, there’s always a ray of hope. Luckily news channels like NDTV 24 X 7 havent really reached the peril of news presentation. To provide further relief there are the likes of BBC and CNBC who are still as professional as they’ve always been. Just hope that one day even these authentic ones don’t give way to cheap ‘news pre-(d)enters’.

Fun-sourcing

Job Interview for an IT profile

Working model of the IT Outsourcing Industry

The power of the Indian IT crowd

Courtesy :- Doubtsourcing.com

Ashutosh Didwania

Technology transition – An experience of a decade..

A couple of days back, I was sitting in a coffee shop waiting for a friend of mine, so that I could hand over a ‘4 GB’ thumb-drive to her. It contained a few heavy-duty softwares and docs that she had asked for. Just then I recollected a few glimpses of my past. Around 8 years back, as a 14 year old when I got my first PC (4 GB disk-space, 32 MB RAM), I was feeling on top of the world. Those days such specs were considered to be high-end in the personal computer market and when I used to think about the PC’s we had at school (2 GB disk-space and 16 MB RAM), I used to feel very proud of the one I had. On the contrary, here I was holding a 2 inch device boasting of storage space similar to what my huge PC had. Suddenly I realised that I belonged to a generation of people who had seen technology change in a big way but in a very short span of time.

I started thinking about how technology had changed the way we go about our day-to-day lives. Being a music buff, I couldn’t stay away from my walkman which used to play cassettes comprising of only 12 music tracks at max and now here I was holding a Nokia N70 ME in hands, one which has a 1 GB extended memory, can store thousands of mp3’s, provides crystal clear sound quality and what more..is basically used to communicate. Mind you..even a mobile phone was a rarity in the late 90’s.

Those days my PC vendor used to advise me to switch on the air conditioner while working on the computer else the PC could get over-heated….and now, I roam around with my laptop and don’t think twice before switching it on irrespective of the working conditions.

Those days, the internet had just started picking up pace and getting a connection was a hell of a task. You had those dial-up connections whose pre-requisites where never-ending…a telephone device, those never-ending wires and hooks, etc. Contrary to that, I now move around with a wireless internet datacard, handy 24X7. And guess what, in case it doesn’t work, I have a backup option as well….my GPRS enabled cellphone. Spoilt for choice?? May be yes, but yet we are not satisfied.

Talking of technology or the lack of it, how can one forget those never ending queues at the bank or flight booking counters..these days its all done online at the click of a button. Simple, isn’t it?

Well one could just go on talking endlessly about how technology has revolutionized our personal lives. A decade back, it would have been really difficult to imagine something even close to this and the same can be said about what the situation would be 10 years from now. No one really knows and thats how it should be. After all, if we had an answer to our future, why would we need a human brain to come up these unbelievable technological wonders. At least for my sake, I would love to be seated in a coffee shop 8 years from now, pondering over how technology has changed my life and I’m sure that would be an even more astonishing experience.

Ashutosh Didwania

Residents of the Silicon Valley

I’m sure people who hear the term ‘Silicon Valley’ for the first time, wonder as to why is it so called. Well, here’s why…
These are the so called residents of the Silicon Valley.
Have a look at the offices of these IT giants who form the nucleus of the Silicon Valley

Now wouldn’t you want your office to rub shoulders with these gigantic structures?

Ashutosh Didwania

Indian IT Industry’s lack of diversification and variety – Issues and prospective solutions

Technically speaking, when we mention the term ‘Information Technology’ we mean a huge domain encapsulating elements like Software products, Services, Hardware, Engineering Services (including R&D), etc. But in case you are in India, IT basically means Services, Services & Services. This is how limited our IT domain is. Lets take a look at some stats. A report released by NASSCOM (a consortium that serves as an interface to the Indian IT industry) states that the revenue earned by the Indian IT industry in the Financial Year 2006 was USD 37.4 billion, out of which a colossal USD 25 billion came from IT Services & IT Enabled Services(ITES). Thats a whopping 67% of the entire pie. Now you know why a minor appreciation of the value of rupee against the dollar has both the Government and the IT sector running for cover. It’s because this meagre change straightaway hits that 67% revenue block. Here’s a detailed breakup of the earnings in the period 2004-2006 with an estimate for the year 2007:
The table clearly shows the hidden truth behind all the hype. A revenue estimate of USD 48 billion for the year 2007 is not bad by any means, but isn’t the industry too dependent on one segment of the IT domain(IT Services/ITES). What if something terribly goes wrong with the IT service sector? Lets get an insight into the mindset of the people running the Indian IT industry.Basically there are four breeds of IT executives in India:

• Ones who find IT sectors like software products, R&D and stuff too risky. (Creating and selling a software product is far expensive than outsourcing services and yes unlike the IT Service sector, the risk involved with respect to the returns is too high)
• Ones who specialize in the IT Service Sector and are completely focussed on their strenths.
• Ones who are afraid of breaking the norms and want to make easy money.
• And finally the rare breed of executives who feel they can actually make a difference.

Unfortunately, the fourth breed is way too petite to make a difference. What’s really astonoshing is that out of 1,100 companies registered with NASSCOM, the pecentage of non-service companies is negligible.Enough of the groaning and moaning…Now lets look at what could be done in order to create a bit of segment equilibrium:

• The IT service companies, specially the ones who now possess substantial market experience, could gradually enter the product arena. This would put the IT product sector under spotlight and set an example for the smaller companies to follow. A great example of this initiative is second largest IT Service company in India – Infosys, which has already put a foot in the product sector through its Banking Product ‘Finacle’.
• Organizations like NASSCOM should go all out on promoting the neglected IT domains like product division and R&D. When an entire consortium backs an issue, the results are bound to be fruitful.
• Strict restrictions should be imposed on software piracy so that people are forced to buy original softwares which of course come at a hefty price tag. This would force common man to look at cheaper domestic alternatives and this where the lndian software product companies could cash in.
• The Government of India would do well to create policies that favour the IT Product and R&D companies. The government could also step in by helping Indian product companies establish MoU’s with the bigger giants abroad. The conduction of large scale Software Product Fairs would also go a long way in convincing common man to give domestic software products a food for thought.
• The Hardware companies should concentrate on presenting their products in an attractive & eye-catching manner and give due importance to branding of their products, so that people dont consider hardware as a piece of crap available at the next door factory.
• Last but not the least, a few established and experienced people working in the product giants abroad could come up with their own product companies in India. Nevertheless, this is a completely personal opinion and is bound to face indifferent reactions.

Even a petite step taken in one of these directions, could ignite the much need equilibrium spark in the Indian IT arena. Only then we would be able to say that the Indian IT industry has finally come off age. And may be then Thomas Friedman’s statement in his book The World Is Flat: “If I have a granddaughter one day, and I tell her I’m going to India, she will say, “Grandpa, is that where software comes from?”, could actually come true.

Ashutosh Didwania