Holiday at the Kannur Beach House, Kerala

We had a great time at the Kannur Beach House last week. Some amazing shots....

The Kannur Beach House

This is what we saw on our arrival

Kids playing football on the beach

Stay tuned... more to come :-)

 

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Leadership in Self Organizing Teams (SOTs)

Probably nothing has been more misinterpreted than the term “self-organizing teams” in the agile world of software development. For some, SOTs are “leader-less-teams”. They are seen as teams with highly motivated individuals, collaborating with each other to deliver tasks. In his recent Cutter article, Jim Highsmith said, “for some, self-organized teams have become, antiorganization!” It is often viewed (by the misinformed crowd) that, because of the operational style of these “super-heroes” of SOTs, there is no necessity for leaders.

Well, I beg to differ.

In my opinion, leaders’ role is more crucial in “self organizing teams” than any other style. Lack of leadership nearly kills teams of any form, self organized or otherwise. Leaders are important for teams for many reasons: translate vision into deliverables, set standards for interactions - inter/intra team communication, unite and lead team members towards achieving common goal etc.

SOTs are highly disciplined teams as contrary to the popular misconceptions. Sanjiv Augustine, in his “Managing Agile Projects”, refers to these teams as “Organic Teams, enabling connections and adaptation through close relationships on small, flexible teams”. Obviously leaderless teams find it very challenging to accomplish these objectives.

I think leaders are naturally chosen by the teams. In all my projects (especially with “agile” flavor), I saw this happen. When you don’t name leaders, teams are naturally going to choose leaders. I think that is the best way for leaders to emerge. But a word of caution: I have also experienced chaos when people were confused and didn’t see big picture. So, you should be extra-cautious in observing the process patterns and ready to adapt to changes.

I also liked Jim Highsmith’s “six-point-formula” on creating empowered teams. May be we will discuss it sometime later.

Huh, heavy stuff? Let me sign-off on a lighter note. This is my favorite on XP :-)
Courtesy - http://beingextreme.blogspot.com/2005/11/light-bulb-jokes.html

How many XP developers does it take to change a light bulb?
What's the test for your use of the room? We cannot possibly estimate the amount of work or the resources required without understanding the "what". Why do you want light in the room? We can simplify the room by deleting the roof, walls and light bulb so that you can get light at least 8 hours a day - of course you should only be doing 40 hours in there anyway. And you'll never need a new light bulb! Which has tangible business value over the life of the system? We estimate it will take 2 developers 4 ideal days provided the roof doesn't cause injury if we refactor the floor first.

Gandhigiri and You!

Latest flick from Bollywood has some great ideas on how "Gandhism" can be applied to current world (our global audience who may not know, Gandhi is our "Father of The Nation" and played key role in Indian independence movement - a quick Google gets you 23 million results on "Gandhi"!).

 

Gandhiji is, unfortunately, is a forgotten hero today.  You may disagree with his actions, but you will agree that he was a great leader.  History tells us how powerful his ideology was in bringing an entire nation together!  That's the fact.  Though many of us (in this generation) almost forgot this gentleman, he was a hero for millions of our fathers' generation.  Gandhiji demonstrated some of the best success principles.  We will see how they can be applied (or at least related) in the context of organizational leadership.

 

Truthfulness and honesty are the core of Gandhiji's values.  He learnt very early in life how valuable these qualities are, and practiced them for the rest of his life.  His leadership-by-example model (practice-what-you-preach) inspired many to develop these qualities.  Let's see how they matter in our context.

 

Honesty and Leadership

Honesty is the best policy.  Isn't it?  I believe honesty is the best way to coexist and build long lasting organizations.  An organization is only as good as it's leaders.  It is the leaders who energize teams with their energy (incidentally, these two qualities - energize and energy - are the first two of Jack Welch's 4E's of leadership).  It becomes much easier for the leadership to motive and energize people when they gain buy-in.  And trust forms the core of this.  People only trust those who are honest.  Obviously, you yourself don’t like bluff-masters, do you?

 

I believe trust forms core of human relationships.  Trusting and being trusted are clearly visible in any healthy relationship.  And lacking them obviously results in conflicts.  Trust is built on the great foundation called "honesty".

 

Honesty is being yourself.  It is about being comfortable without having to wear masks.  It is this core value of people that lets them win others trust.  And honesty is strongly coupled with truth.  They are the Siamese twins of success.  As we observed earlier, without these qualities, people find it very challenging to gain trust.  It is this quality of being upfront builds reputation and wins trust.  Gandhigiri suggests the following simple practice steps:

 

1.      Don’t wear masks.  They are invisible to only ONE person in this world.  And that's unfortunately - you.

2.      Be genuinely interested in people.  Tell them how much you value them.  Tell them how you few being associated with them.

3.      Develop an important quality of leadership - listening.  Understand trust is NOT a one-way route.  Understand what people are genuinely interested in.  And show them how they can achieve them by doing what you want them to do.

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Power of Mentorship

I am so excited in life now.  There are so many things happening simultaneously.  And by GOD’s plan I was fortunate enough to be mentored by a couple – a couple who gave a piece of their life to touch others’ lives.  And things happening for the last couple of weeks prove how powerful mentorship is.

 

I was very confused for quite some time.  If I look back in retrospect, I can understand why I was so confused.  I did not have access to people who could show me how to do things that they have done, so that I could be there where they are.  I know people who are very successful in life, in terms of financial success, in terms of career success etc.  But the problem was – no one was willing to spare their time to help me go where I wanted to go (poor guys, they themselves are caught in the proverbial “rat-race”!).  Probably earlier generations did not face this challenge as most of them are mentored by their parents.  With the changing times and work environments, jobs are created to help people cut the mustard! 

 

And while living in such a competitive, busy world, expecting personal help from people to achieve your dreams, means expecting a lot!  I realized that very early in my career.  So, only way you find your way to reach your goals is by reinventing the wheel.  Of course, along with it comes frustration too, right?  I have been looking for a teacher who can guide me reach my goals.  And I have been speaking this into existence for quite some time.  If you don’t understand power of spoken word – my case is a classic example.

 

The teacher showed up when the student was ready.  He answered all my questions, to my satisfaction.  I love his answers for a simple reason:  he preaches what he practiced.  He never said a thing that he never did.  So, it became easy for me to relate to what he was saying.  Sure, I want to be there where he is today.  And the best thing about my mentor is that he is ready to take time out of his life to help me.  And that backup, is quite something!  It’s an amazing sense of security!!

 

Power of association!  Sure you become who you associate with.  Probably you heard this before.  “Tell me your friends, I will tell who you are!”  Doctors hang-out with doctors, lawyers with lawyers and IT guys with the same crowd.  I did not believe when someone told me this.  Then I looked back – my grandfather was a senior advocate, and all his friends, needless to say, are advocates!  I look at myself and listed down my friends.  There you go again – all IT professionals.  There could be exceptions here and there.  But grossly, if you are successful in a career – you tend to be friends with guys in the same profession – most of the time.

 

What an amazing principle of success!  Power of Association!!  I learnt a great lesson about this principle.  I am learning how to disassociate with people who are negative, sarcastic, tying to pull you down or even those who can’t reciprocate with positive vibes.  Hey buddy, life is too small to be worried.  And people take you down if you are not cautious enough.  So, the first step is to stop negative.

 

The second step is to increase positive.  I was amazed at the examples he quoted – things I used to do regularly – even without realizing how it affects my brain.  I got some wonderful tips on how I could increase positive-supply to my mind.

 

Of course, the third is to pass on the knowledge.  Help others if they are looking for help.  Never say things you never did.  Only such things help people which you yourself practiced and got results.   Blessed are those who can touch others’ lives.

 

Phenomenal stuff, man!

Fun with Recruiting

I have been fortunate enough to get involved in hiring activities for the last couple of years.  It gives me great pleasure in meeting new people, knowing about their aspirations, dreams, and things they like etc.  Of course, there were times when things did not happen as expected and with it came frustration.

 

It took some time for me to realize that this frustration tells me that I need to change, than expecting “circumstances” to change.  Long ago, I read a little story about change.  It goes something like this.

 

Carrot, Egg and Coffee

(from unknown source)

 

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.        

 

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.  In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.  

 

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see." 

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

 

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  She did and noted that they were soft.  The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.  Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

 

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

 

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water.  Each reacted differently.  The carrot went in strong, hard, and relenting.  However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.  The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.  The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

 

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

 

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?  Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?  Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

 

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean  The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

 

</end-of-story>

 

So, I started enjoying interviews rather than complaining about them.  I started talking to “people” rather than “candidates”.  I started working on improving my skills to bring the best of an interviewee: by having a positive conversation.  Then it became very easy to see if there is a fit – between the role and the person.  Decision is very easy.

 

Thank You GOD, for teaching me valuable lessons of life by providing great opportunities to learn.

E-ntilligence

I recently read an article about “E-Mail Intelligence”.  It’s very interesting.

 

Briefly, email intelligence is analyzing those zillions of emails that reside in the corporate email systems and present it in a dash board to analysts for further analysis.

 

As email has become THE standard of communication these days, it is not surprising at all that most of the information, if not all, which is critical to business, hides in someone’s mail box.  Legal battles like the anti-monopoly case against Microsoft or other infamous litigations of corporate governance heavily rely on email analysis.  And traditionally most of the legal houses carried their job by dedicating large teams to manually analyze corporate email systems, which proved to be expensive and laborious.

 

This is an emerging market for sure (a Google quickie on “email intelligence” brings up 140,000,000 results!!).  There are already various products in the market place with tools that offer application of advanced statistical, linguistic and proprietary analysis techniques.  This, for sure, is an interesting space to watch.

 

 

Strong Home Team - The Mantra for Guaranteed Success

I have never been so happy in my life.

 

I've been able to achieve great success in recent years. I know success means different things to people. For me, success is to lead a “happy – no worries” life, personally and professionally.

 

I credit this success to having a “strong home team”. A loving and caring spouse, happy and satisfied parents/kids, healthy working environment – I believe these are critical factors for success, for anyone. I seriously think this environment forms a great platform to achieve success. For me, this was 98%. And the rest was my individual effort.

 

Almost all my life, I have been with my parents. They moved with me where ever I went for my job. While time-consuming household work was affectionately taken care by my father, my mother fed me with all possible, traditional Andhra delicacies. I never missed home food for most part of my life.

 

Even the work environment was morale boosting. Most of the teams I worked with were filled with positive people. When I said this last time, someone said, “Impossible!! Do you mean to say in your nine years of professional career, you never got negative/discouraging people on your teams?”.

 

I didn't say this. Of course, there were always such instances. Just the difference is that the association did not last long! Either such people were shunted out of teams, or simply I made the move. Very early in my life, I somehow realized that I could never relate to such teams as my productivity was seriously effected. Hence the moves were mandatory.

All the time along, I was expecting EXACT SAME results from life. In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that I believe in “Speak What You Want!” principle. I was speaking what I wanted, demanding positive expectations from life.

 

I got married. Ours was an arranged one. Some were surprised to know that Indu and I did not even see each other before we were engaged. We spoke to each other on phone (as I was in UK, and she was in India). In less than an hour, we made the decision. You know if that's the ONE (meant for you), in a heart's beat. Our decision is hardly surprising for people who are aware of this nature's law. Quite coincidentally, both of us believed in it.

 

Today when we look back, we THANK GOD every minute for the decision we have made. We both believed in “Marriage is not about FINDING the right one, it's about BEING the right one”. It was refreshingly surprising for both of us to realize that we had 80% of our expectations met. The rest 20% is about Being the right one, and that's easy.

 

Today I represent one of the fastest growing Irish IT companies in the world. Our R&D center in India is bound to grow by leaps and bounds. I am among the first few to be brought in, to help them to achieve these results. This meant lot of ground work from hiring to delivery. Obviously lots of “stress” and “pressure”!

 

We just started tasting fruits our initial success. I can clearly see the invisible link between the success that I am achieving at work and a strong home team.

 

Indu is a born entrepreneur. She has some of the finest ideas of getting into business. Even in her wildest dreams, she never though of getting a “JOB”. She never liked the idea of working for someone. She is a straightforward “S” quadrant (if you read Robert Kiyosaki – the Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame, you know what I mean). She has these dreams and goals in life. And the best thing is she is clear about them.

 

Once I am home, I help her in realizing our dreams (just to explain, I made her dreams mine, she made mine, hers. Now there are no “Your” dreams or “My” dreams. Only “Our” dreams!!). The mazaa in working together as a team with your spouse – appreciating each other – to achieve a common goal in life! Wah, you have to live it realize the pleasures of it!!

 

Thus Indu and I, from “S” and “E” quadrants respectively, working together to move into our dream quadrant -- “I”. We realize the pleasure of success is NOT in achieving the end goal, but it IS in the journey. That's the reason we both believe:

 

Strong home team is The Mantra for guaranteed success.

 

Salam Namaste, Recruitment Teams

I salute your patience and celebrate your spirit of success.

 

My “Hiring Manager” avatar for the last few months made me realize how increasingly difficult it has become to hire good people (oops! I should have said “right” people).  By “Good”, I mean people who match the profile of the position we are trying to fill.  I truly believe everyone is just as good as anyone else.  I think everyone is good for “some” job.  It’s just that the profiles should match.  And that’s THE key.  Finding that right match.

 

It all starts with volatile requirements (you techies over there, this sounds familiar? yeah, it is!).  Is it 10 developers or 12?  What is the mix of college-grads/juniors/seniors?  What are team sizes and their mix? etc.  Once we have a ball-park number, the exercise of “selling” the organization shuroo.  Then you start exploring various means of “finding” these “right ones”.  Media ads, consultants, referrals, word of mouth blah blah blah.

 

If you release ads in news paper, you can be sure that hundreds, if not thousands of resumes start hitting your email.  Be warned to have a bigger mail box.  Once you start receiving these mails, filtering them is another tedious process.  Accommodating curricula received from various sources, and keeping track of them is not as easy as it sounds.

 

Telescreening, logical tests, aptitude tests, code tests!  Personal interviews, office interviews, HR interviews and technical interviews!! First round, second round, third round and even seventh round in some organizations!!!  You have many challenges to find this “right one”.  And when you find one, probably you are justified if you feel you accomplished great achievement of success.  In all probability, you end up negotiating the right deal with your “prospective” employee.  Your colleagues realize your accomplishment as you yell “HURRAHHH!!” while rushing through the exit door.

 

All your “hurrah!!”s turn into “oh! NO”s when you start receiving calls from the “chosen ones” – explaining various reasons why they can’t come on board!!  Someones’ pay just got better, someone else just got a promotion.  Someones’ relocating to a whole new universe, while someone else just realized that they should be “more loyal” to the current organization.  For somebody, their boss wouldn’t let them go, and someone else, its their dog!

 

And finally (sadly) we are back to square one.

 

I pity peoples’ lack of decision making skills (or should I pity myself – they just made a decision NOT to make a move!  But then I wonder why they DID go through all this pain).  Two things that come to my mind in this situation:

 

1. I thank GOD for not letting me work with these guys who are not great decision makers anyway!
2. I build my pipeline stronger so that I can have backups!!

 

I know I sound harsh when I say these things.  But that’s reality.  That’s how I feel.  And I guess most of the professionals in the field of recruitment also feel the same way.

 

I did it just once – on a large scale, full time.  I can’t imagine myself doing this all over again for the rest of my life. 

 

This job needs patience.  This job needs Godly patience.

 

That’s why, Salam Namaste, Recruitment Teams.