My Second Boss

It is said that children are the real bosses for their parents.
On Saturday we got our second boss.

5 mins for an Interview

I recently came across this news article in Financial Express which mentions of interview lasting for 3 to 5 minutes to judge whether a GM in public sector bank can be elevated to the post of ED. What I find is surprising is that how can an interview board which consists of distinguished people judge a person in 5 mins for such a senior post.

The only other idea which comes to mind that interview might just be a formality and whether to promote a person or not being decided by political masters on the basis of some other considerations

Infrastructure needed to develop a city

Infrastructure

I had been in Banglore last week. It lacks the infrastructure or may be the city has grown but the infrastructure has not improved at the same pace. I fear that the way Pune is growing it may go the same way in next couple of years. Builders and city planners are just interested in bringing up IT parks, malls, multiplexes, but what about the basic amenties. Do the roads support these. What about parking places for the number of vehicles which are being introduced everyday
Unless and untill these issues are addressed it is no point marketing the city as next IT or any other destination

Visually Challenged


Most of us have seen Visually Challenged people on the street and have always marveled at their ability to walk without any support. At my office in the cube, where I used to sit for some time, sits a guy, who is visually challenged. Looking at him working on the desktop no one can imagine the same as he doesn’t wear black glasses. He has normal glasses, but probably they have high power. I have seen him working deftly on Visual Studio, SQL, Outlook and even Instant messenger and heard him discussing technical issues on phone or with colleagues. He always has headphones on which gives the impression that he is listening to music, but he works using the voice interactive software. He never gets up from his seat, except for going to canteen or restroom and even at that time, his friends or project team members come and escort him.

I also didn’t realize about his handicap (or should it be even called one) until I asked one of my cube members. I was under the impression that he probably has some difficulty in walking and that’s why he needs help.

Republic Day Parade

I remember as kid every year I used to watch the Republic Day parade on TV with great enthusiasm , but probably since college days and all these years after that never watched it .Today I wanted to my son to enjoy the fly past of aircrafts and the march past of soldiers, hence made it a point to watch the entire proceedings on DD.

After all these years it was really a nostalgic feeling of having watched the entire proceedings and it made me wonder how we used to wait for this day every year.

An Interview of different kind

Couple of days back I attended a different kind of interview with my wife. The interview was for my son’s school admission. The admission form had clearly mentioned that school does not believe in interviewing children and that’s correct approach taken by school.

We were supposed to meet the principle who asked us why we want to admit our child to their school , have we read the prospectus , how far is our residence from the school , where did we hear about the school and that’s all.
The results were supposed to be put up on Monday but yesterday I could not find time to go and see them. The school authorities had clearly mentioned that they are not going to entertain any questions on admissions and the result list. Today morning I was relieved to see my son’s name in the list. Never in my schooling or college education I felt so anxious for the result as for last couple of days.

The school in question is a different kind of school than normal school as it believes in imparting education through self learning , experimentation and hence they also limit the intake of the students. Infact , I had liked the atmosphere of the school on the day itself when I had gone to take the admission form

New Job


Today I joined a new job after 4 weeks of vacation /rest whatever you may call. These 4 weeks made me realize that I cannot sit at home. Still a long time to go but I wonder what will happen to me post retirement.

Regarding new job, it surely is bringing a lot of responsibilities. I am happy that I selected this out of all the offers which I had.

A New Year

A new year has started and I am looking forward to lot of new changes in the coming year.

About resolutions I had seen this article couple of years back and thought that today is the right time to put it here.


A to Z of New Year resolutions


A
AIM high in my work and life
Avoid mediocre thinking and performance
AnalySe my mistakes & learn from them
Anticipate consequences of my actions & communications

B
BE curious and keep an open mind
Be alert to new opportunities
Become more dependable/reliable to my colleagues and superiors

C
COMPILE a list of pending matters regularly for taking actions
Challenge my assumptions
Celebrate success of self and team regularly
Collaborate more and compete less

D
DREAM for and contribute in creating a congenial work place
Delegate more
Debrief regularly, especially after each major event

E
ENERGISE self and people around me
Experiment with ideas
Earn respect from others
Enjoy uncertainties

F
FORGIVE the defaulter but would not forget the fault
Focus on the overall objectives of the organisation and team
Follow up regularly with people

G
GIVE and receive feedback regularly
Go extra step to talk and sort out work issues instead of sending IOM's
Gear up the teammates & kill complacency

H
HONESTLY fulfil the promises
Have an understanding of the teammate's families and background
Have at least one major challenge a month to overcome
Hold back public criticism of colleagues and teammates

I
IDENTIFY wrong work habits and develop the correction plan
Inject humor in the routine drab office
Impress superiors with actions and not with 'gift of the gab'
Invite colleagues/teammates at home to strengthen informal relationship

J
JOIN a group of learners and help each other to learn new things
Judiciously deal with all subordinates and guard myself against any perception of partiality
Judge people only on the basis of their performance and contributions

K
KEEP learning new things
Keep fixing tougher targets for self and the team
Keep strengthening the IT skills
Keep anger under control
Know the problem from multiple angles

L
LISTEN emphatically
Learn to say no
Learn to respect the feelings and thinking of others
Loosen the tight controls and let people take charge of work processes

M
MENTOR new comers in the team
Market ideas effectively instead of imposing them on people
Modify past behaviour that has been irritating others
Mend differences with others
Match the individual agenda with the team agenda and organizational agenda

N
NETWORK with people in the industry
Negotiate performance expectations and results with the team members
Negotiate honestly to reduce differences amongst colleagues to develop a congenial work place

O
ORGANISE parties and get to gathers
Obey the office norms and ensure that others do the same
Overcome the wrong notions about the people who work around me
Offer tips to others whenever they get struck in their work

P
PLAN daily, weekly, monthly and annual activities
Praise people openly
Polish presentation skills
Participate effectively in meetings

Q
QUESTION effectively
Quest to create customer delight
Question myself about the contributions I make for all my stakeholders
Quality injections in all my actions

R
READ, read, read…
Relax, relax, relax…
Review, review, review…
Reinvent self

S
SERVE with the right attitude
Spot the right ideas and talent
Search for new opportunities in my work area
Set deadlines and help people achieve those deadlines

T
TEST understanding of teammates before setting them off
Train, train, train…
Try to balance emotions with actions
Take care of the money and property of the company

U
USE mistakes of others as their learning opportunities
Understand factors that hold back my people and help them overcome
Undertake implementation of at least one creative idea every month

V
VALUE evaluation of each action
Volunteering for positive change initiatives in the organisation
Voice disagreements politely and diplomatically
Vibration creation through successful action

W
WATCH against resource wastage
Weave trust and harmony amongst teammates
Weight pros and cons of each action

X
X-RAY the past to dig out the hidden bad performance of attitude
'Xchange learning with others
Xerox the successes of other teams and organizations to identify the points to meet or to beat

Y
YESTERDAY is history; take charge of today to design the tomorrow
Year after year write new action points in this list
Yearn to break my past records
"Yes and…" and not "Yes but…" approach while participating in meetings

Z
ZEAL to heal the emotional insecurities and problems of teammates
Zebra crossing to protect self instead of taking uncalled for risks
Zone of comfort for self to relax and rejuvenate
Zero defect in fulfilling the commitments made to the person sitting inside 'ME'

Noise Pollution

Not exactly near my house but may be a km as the crow flies there are some temples. Every day at 4:00 a.m in the morning , the people there start playing devotional songs at a loud volume , trying to wake up all the residents in the area and most surprising part is they switch it off at 7:00 a.m in the morning.

I shudder at the thought what those people might be experiencing who stay close to those temples.

This is a common thing in most part of our country and inspite of Supreme Court banning use of loud speakers at night, no one cares, specially the police and administration whose duty is stop such nuisance.

Neighbours

Recently Manish Chauhan made a post on his blog regarding neighbours “The So called Society “

. Here are some of my thoughts on the same based on my experiences
In last 7 years I have changed my residence thrice and each time I got different types of neighbours. First time, they were too poky to the extent that why I have not gone to office today or why I have come early from office or where I am going out for dinner. I always failed to understand what thrill they get by asking such questions
Second time , I had a doctor as a neighbour who always insisted that we keep his key at our home so that his kids could pick it up without even considering that we also need to out sometime and on top of that he used to charge an exorbitant amount incase we consulted him in case of emergency claiming it to be a home visit
To say that my recent neighbours are too aloof would be an understatement, some times they will talk too nicely but at other times their behavior puzzles us like incase if their door is open and if we open our door they will close their door with a big bang or incase they are going out of town they don’t even inform. We realize they have left when we see a lock on their door for days.

Only time will tell how more different types of neighbours I will get

Sensationalism by Media

Now a day there seems to be a tendency by media to sensationalize even trivial issues whether it is kissing in public by two bollywood actors or a TV actress asking for a Chief Ministers resignation.

In all of these instances media tries to overplay the situation, claiming them as exclusive stories whereas in fact on all the channels/newspapers you can find the same stuff. The news reports are hyped for couple of days and then a new story is picked up

One thing being clear that media can never attempt to do this unless they are tacitly being supported by the concerned people. I feel in order to achieve publicity most of these people plant stories with the help of their friends ,media obliges them as they need some or other fodder to keep viewers glued , and then these same people deny/retract the story or send a defamation notice.

Last Working Day

Friday was my last working day in the organisation where I worked for last six years.
During the day, my team gave me send off lunch with a nice card. I was really touched by the messages they wrote in the card.
While going back home I really felt very sad.

Wanted to make this post on Friday but my PC conked off , had to get OS resinstalled and finally I am back online today

Ctrl -D

I have been thinking of doing this for last couple of months, but finally this month I have done Ctrl -D(This term has been used colloquially for putting in ones papers in the place where I work)
Though I did this couple of days back , but informed my team today. Still a fortnight before I take up new assignment.

Some people have asked me why I am putting in my papers after 6 years , but as much water has flowed down the Mula river , I would prefer keeping the reasons to me rather than disclosing and spoiling the relations at the last moment(though some people are aware of the same as they also have experienced some of the issues).

In the last couple of months , I attended a number of interviews and each was an experience in itself. Forlast 4 years I have been taking interviews , but sitting on other side is different feeling. One can easily understand what point interviewer is looking for or what he is going to ask next. At some places things didnt work out due to difference in domain knowledge or due to financial reasons.

I was surprised by "Sadashiv pethi" atttitude of some . These people directly asked me whether you are ready to work for less and these were not small organisations but medium to large ones

Old Song

Since last couple of months my feelings can be summed up in this memorable song from the film Funtoosh , lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri , Music by S D Burman, and sung by Kishore


Dukhi Man Mere Sun Mera Kehna
Jahan Nahin Chaina Wahan Nahin Rehna

Dard Hamaara Koi Na Jaane
Apni Garaj Ke Sab Hain Deewane
Kiske Aage Rona Royen
Des Paraaya Log Begaane
Dukhi Man Mere...

Laakh Yahan Jholi Phailale
Kuchh Nahin Denge Is Jag Wale
Pathhar Ke Dil Mom Na Honge
Chahe Jitna Neer Bahaale
Dukhi Man Mere...

Apne Liye Kab Hain Yeh Mele
Hum Hain Har Ek Mele Mein Akele
Kya Paaega Is Mein Rehkar
Jo Duniya Jeevan Se Khele

Working in Teams

While working in Teams what is one expected to do when one is made to feel that one is not required in the team inspite of putting in number of years building the team

Menace of cars ferrying BPO employees

This is my observation in Pune , I dont know how it is in other cities which have more BPO firms. As is the case , most of the BPO firm employees are ferried from their homes to offices in cars typically hired from some service operator. I have no grouse against this practicse.
My crib is against the car drivers. These guys drive the cars as if they are lord of the roads without paying any head to anyone.One should specially see the way they park their cars outside the offices and dont even let others drive on the road.Have even read in newspapers that these vehicles are becoming a nuisance in one of townships in Pune which has number of BPO firms

This weekend I saw number of instances of these guys breaking signals with impunity. I understand that most of these cars have a wireless system plus the drivers are provided with cell phones by the service operators.
Probably the attitude of the people these guys ferry rubs on them and they think no one can question them. I am really surprised how none of the companies which employ these cars say anything whereas these firms are at forefront of proclaiming CSR(Corporate Social Responsibilty)

Shwaas - a breath of fresh air

Saw the film "Shwaas" over weekend. Really a touching story specially the way it portrays the relationship between a grandfather and grandson, patient and doctor and what life is really about.

I would recommend a must watch for anyone even if they dont understand marathi

My best wishes to the makers of the movie as this movie has been nominated as Indian entry for Oscars.

Where is the life we have lost in living?

I got this as a forwarded e-mail. Thought of putting it here

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into
the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.


Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask, "How are you?"
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short
The music won't last.

Ever told your child
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not seen his sorrow
Ever lost touch,
Let the good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say hi.
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.


When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower.
Hear the music.
Before the song is over.

A Cruel Waste of Forests - A tribute to Pune Times

Kunal S a fellow blogger from Pune along with Salil has started a new blog meant to lampoon Pune Times and its trashy content. http://punetimepass.blogspot.com

I will say , a good initiative on their part. This reminds me a couple of months ago some students came to my place , saying they were doing survey on behalf of the trash Pune Times. As soon as I started telling them about what a trash PT is , they wished me a good bye

Decesion making and Human mind

Sometimes we have to take some decesion and our mind dilly dallies. Many times in such a situation we take decesion and then try to convince ourselves how our decesion is correct.We think of all possible reasons justifying our decesion , but we dont realise that only time will tell whether our decesion was right or wrong and that time it would not be worth remuniating on the same