This is a rant - mostly.
A couple of days ago I attended a seminar by MathWorks about their products.
MathWorks has its only Indian office in Bangalore. That is not surprising, the bulk of the government hi-tech establishments are located there.
But Delhi too is important, after all it is where the headquarters of those establishments are located:-) So here they have partnered with a local company. They are part of the MathWorks value stream.
The "bandobast" (organization) - venue, registration, refreshments, lunch, gifts- for the seminar was done by the value stream partner.
I was informed, by mail from MathWorks, about my registration and asked to bring a printed copy of the mail. At the registration counter that mail was no help. The guys there had a handful of sheets listing names and organizations. There was a stack of pre-printed name cards. What was the problem in putting them in boxes according to the some ordering scheme? Better still why not keep a couple of small printers and print out the names on the spot?.I have seen electoral rolls checking, which is done by low paid government school teachers and other district staff, done better.
What does it say about MathWorks when its value stream partner does not know enough to put the lists on an Excel sheet? Does it need great administrative talent to allot a unique registration number to each participant? Is it expensive, compared to the expense of the venue, and the refreshments and lunch, to put a couple of laptops and a couple of printers at the registration counter?
The piece-de-resistance was the gift in exchange for the filled feedback sheet. It is good looking table clock. Nice big digits. The instruction sheet needs a magnifying glass. The day of the week cannot be set. Maybe some Chinese company designed it using a MathWorks product:-) Maybe all the clocks were not like that. Maybe, they fixed this one clock specifically for the guy who was making all that ruckus at the registration desk :D
Lesson: If your value stream partner interfaces with the customer, it is vital that you check the customer experience. Dog-fooding is more than eating the lunch served at the venue.
27 November 2010
24 November 2010
A Role Model for Entrepreneurs
This video on what it takes to build a successful venture was recommended by my friend Karnan.
Learn about dog-fooding, about values and vision.
Learn about dog-fooding, about values and vision.
22 November 2010
Are Top Management's Sensory Channels Effective?
The collapse of a building gets the Chief Minister's attention, not this person's complaints.
My question: Can IT not be used to see that such citizen complaints are visible to the Chief Minister. Not just made visible but processed to extract information, spot trends, establish correlation, ... Delhi Traffic Police's Facebook page is an initiative that could be replicated and built upon.
What is the barrier to effective implementation? The political and administrative culture.
In a software company too, the culture and the values of the organization, can either sensitize, or de-sensitize, the sensory channels. The culture must re-inforce the value - get the bad news early. The culture must promote scientific checking for reality, the courage to face it, take corrective action, determine preventive measures and put them in to practice.
It is top management which, by its actions - not just words - communicates the culture and values.
With the wrong values even the most basic of business sensors, the balance sheet, is worthless - witness Satyam.
My question: Can IT not be used to see that such citizen complaints are visible to the Chief Minister. Not just made visible but processed to extract information, spot trends, establish correlation, ... Delhi Traffic Police's Facebook page is an initiative that could be replicated and built upon.
What is the barrier to effective implementation? The political and administrative culture.
In a software company too, the culture and the values of the organization, can either sensitize, or de-sensitize, the sensory channels. The culture must re-inforce the value - get the bad news early. The culture must promote scientific checking for reality, the courage to face it, take corrective action, determine preventive measures and put them in to practice.
It is top management which, by its actions - not just words - communicates the culture and values.
With the wrong values even the most basic of business sensors, the balance sheet, is worthless - witness Satyam.
21 November 2010
What is The Hard Part in Your Venture?
Finding and doing the hard part in your start-up is critical. It is leading from the front.
The trouble with leading from the front is knowing where the front is. The added problem is that the front keeps shifting. It is not just fighting fires. "Fire-fighting" gives an adrenaline rush. It can be addictive. You have to lead. But you have to also do the hard part, and that is putting "fire-prevention", "fire-detecting" and "fire-fighting" processes in place.
The hard part at any given time could be quality, productivity, raising financing, sales, seeing reality and changing the business strategy, people, ... Whatever it is, it has first to be identified. It is about spotting broken windows. And there could be more than one broken window.
In my view, getting the right people on the bus, and keeping them on it, and getting the wrong people off it, is always a hard part.
Can one person do it? Highly improbable. But a team with shared values, mutual respect, and interlocking skills, can.
At acmet we did not have such a leadership team.
The trouble with leading from the front is knowing where the front is. The added problem is that the front keeps shifting. It is not just fighting fires. "Fire-fighting" gives an adrenaline rush. It can be addictive. You have to lead. But you have to also do the hard part, and that is putting "fire-prevention", "fire-detecting" and "fire-fighting" processes in place.
The hard part at any given time could be quality, productivity, raising financing, sales, seeing reality and changing the business strategy, people, ... Whatever it is, it has first to be identified. It is about spotting broken windows. And there could be more than one broken window.
In my view, getting the right people on the bus, and keeping them on it, and getting the wrong people off it, is always a hard part.
Can one person do it? Highly improbable. But a team with shared values, mutual respect, and interlocking skills, can.
At acmet we did not have such a leadership team.
18 November 2010
Maintaining Software
Lack of maintenance results in a "Bhoot Bangla".
So too for software: RENOVATE it or demolish it. Do not carrying on living with it (or in it).
So too for software: RENOVATE it or demolish it. Do not carrying on living with it (or in it).
17 November 2010
Oversimplifying
Einstein said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler". Watch Complexity leads to Simplicity
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