A river when it is a river is never stagnant. It keeps flowing. Until it reaches a pool or a greater river which then flows and reaches the ocean. A river flows until it reaches a point where water is stagnant. The definition of stagnant as I search, gives me,

• dead(a): not circulating or flowing; “dead air”; “dead water”; “stagnant water”
• not growing or changing; without force or vitality

If you look at it from a career perspective, it is easy to get into being stagnant. One doesn’t need to do anything beyond what he is expected. The person will be in the flow but at a point will become stagnant, in more business terms a commodity. You are no more worth than millions of others who are in the pool. Standing out or being uniquely recognized and becoming successful is to swim against the commodity pool. As you keep moving against, you will raise to a lesser commodity pool.

Taking the same analogy of a river, if I have to take the example of river Ganges, it has many tributaries flowing through many cities North East India until it reaches the Ganges Delta and flows into the Bay of Bengal, north eastern part of the Indian Ocean. But the source of Ganges is a 19 mile stretch glacier in the Himalayas called the Gangotri glacier. The origin of yet another major river in India called Cauvery is Talakavery, which is a spring. The source of any river is unique and distinct.

To reach success and growth in career is to swim against the current, to constantly grow and change and not be stagnant. Growth is not possible until one exerts additional effort to do things beyond what is expected. When one tries to do things beyond what is expected, there will be hurdles and blocks as in the current that pushes the water in the river. Sure, swimming against the current is difficult, but when you make it you get towards a point, a unique identity and are in a pool of lesser commodity.

So what did you do/learn beyond what is expected out of you?

“Walk that extra mile” - often we have heard this phrase to emphasize that it is not enough to do something just enough, but go one step farther. The context is generic, doesn’t matter which field, the difference between being good and being great is the extra mile. Better said than inspired you say? Watch this movie “212 The Extra Degree” and if you could not resist watching it again and again, join my club. Though what matters most is the action, inspiration is just a trigger.

Thanks to Hari Shetty of Jiffle for pointing this link.

I was invited for a guest lecture to the computer science students of the “Hindustan Institutions“, Coimbatore. The head of computer science department and my friend Rangaraj had been discussing for quite some time about collaborating education institutions with the industry, for the students and teachers to get some perspective of current trends.

The problem that exists today in India is the wide gap in what is taught in colleges (only with respect to computer science related courses) versus what is expected in the software industry. On one side is the outdated syllabus that majority of the subjects are either not being used in the industry or outdated. On the other side is the lack of training, grooming and guiding students on the expected soft skills when they enter the industry. While we could keep complaining about the education system and point finger at the Government, it is not going to solve this problem. We cannot blame the teachers in the colleges as well, because they may not be exposed or aware of the industry needs. The ideal solution is the industry start collaborating with the education institutions. All of us have gone through our system and faced the reality of expectation mismatch when a fresh pass out from college joins a software company.

So my friend and I decided, we would kick start this process and start off an awareness session. So I prepared a mindmap on points that students should focus on the technical side as well as from the soft skills side and work towards those points. I also covered some points on preparing for interviews.

In fact this session is an awareness program not just for the students but also for the lecturers. These points are only triggering points and are not solutions. This presentation is a starting point, more of such sort has to happen focusing deeply on each of the points I was mentioning and definitely this industry can help the education institutions to guide and build a better tomorrow for the students as well as the industry.

Click on the photo for a larger image of the mind map. Have a look at some photos taken during the lecture in Flickr.

This post is part of “Foundations” series of posts.

In software architecture, defining and implementing Non Functional Requirements (NFR) impact the degree of satisfaction of the stakeholders of the system. Non functional requirements determine the Quality of Service (QoS) of the system. QoS has a huge impact on the quality of the system in terms of how well the system is able to satisfy the behavior (functional requirements) of the system. To achieve the QoS, the implementation of the NFR depends on how SMART they have been defined, where SMART refers to, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realizable and Traceable requirements.

QoS is not only applicable for architecture but as an individual for all of us. It determines how much of quality of service we provide in what we do. Hence working harder is not enough but working SMART’er is very important. Let’s define SMART in terms of an individual’s quality of service.

• Specific - One should know what are his/her roles and responsibilities clearly. Specific also refers to Scope here. The more you deviate from the scope of work, the more confused you will be and will lead to chaos in planning, prioritizing and executing. Simply put you don’t want to be “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
• Measurable - Completing a work is one aspect. The other aspect is how effectively the work has been completed. That would require defining a quantifiable objective that can be measured in what has been done. This leads to benchmarking yourself and determining where you stand in terms of effectiveness in what you do.
• Attainable - Defining a goal for the task you are performing and making sure that it is achievable is important to confidently proceeding in performing the task. Clearly differentiate between what is possible versus what is not possible. Time, Money and Resources are the three quadrants that play a crucial role in identifying what is possible versus what is not.
• Realizable - This defines what is expected out of what you are doing. Essentially this is the end result of what is being done and what the stakeholders expect out of your work. Remember there cannot be any task or work without stakeholders. Even if you are working on something that you are going to use, you are still a stakeholder and would have expectations. I am sure you would want something best for yourself. So if the stakeholder is someone else they too would want the best outcome.
• Traceable - There is a lesson to learn in everything we do. These lessons build the experience and expertise factor. Tracing back what is done, what went right and what went wrong will result in a collection of what to do’s and what not do’s. Remember making a mistake is OK but repeating it is not OK. A mental imprint of events that affect our emotional mind is there with us throughout our life. But that may not be always the case in the tasks that we do in our career. Hence keeping a document of lessons learnt might be very handy as you move ahead. That could also become a reference for others to use without wasting time going through the same mistakes.

There are some professions where physical effort is more needed than the mental effort. These professions could be more mechanical in nature. In such environments working harder may be sufficient. It is not the same case in software industry where mental effort plays a major role than (almost no) physical effort. While working harder is important, it is just not enough to be successful and to grow. What is needed is to work SMART. So don’t just work hard but work SMART.

This post is part of “Foundations” series of posts.

“Life’s not a spectator sport. If watchin’ is all you’re gonna do… then you’re gonna watch your life go by without ya.”

That was a dialogue by one of the Gorgoyle’s in the movie “The Hunchback of Notre Dame“, a Disney classic movie. Everyone is caught up with work, personal work, career work. How often have you said “Time flies by”? How often have you answered the question “What are those initiatives taken by me to go beyond what I am supposed to do?”. If you are unable to list any to that question convincingly, then probably the above dialogue is for you. Start thinking what is that something you can do on your own more than what you are currently doing. It could be as simple as learning something new, creating a tool that would automate some manual work in your organization etc. These are small things that provide you that competitive edge over anyone else who just stick to what has been assigned to them. Think about this. If you are applying for a job, what are those significant value adds you have that you can talk about beyond your experience and projects. In this fast paced world, what the industry needs are people who can take the driving seat than just take the ride. If you are always a spectator, then you will see your life go by without you very soon.

PS :- This post is part of the Foundations series.

Sometime back I had written a post “Lessons learnt from Jenga“. The latest revelation came to me again through Jenga. Somehow I get fascinated to this simple game! Every time I visit my nephew I play Jenga with him. It was only this time that I found a variation of Jenga in a toy shop, called Uno Stacko. If you have not played Uno, then you have missed some fun, particularly when you are in a group during events or functions. Anyway this game is a combination of rules applied from Uno and Jenga. This makes it even more interesting and challenging.

After playing several rounds, in a particular game, we came to a “can’t remove anymore” point where the tower started to sway and even a blow would bring it down. Neither I nor my nephew wanted to pull out pieces anymore, it was quite obvious the entire tower was shaky and clearly the foundation was very weak and supported by only individual pieces.

An idea stuck to me at that moment, what would it take to do a reverse Jenga? At this point how easy or difficult would it be to construct back the tower to its initial state? I relaxed the rule and used both my hands in doing this, so that I can hold the tower with one hand and it doesn’t collapse. Slowly I started taking the pieces from the top and started inserting them into the gaps. Very soon I realized that it was much more difficult to insert the blocks than to remove them. Because of a poor foundation, the weight of the tower had fallen on its individual pieces that were at the bottom and it was very rigid to insert any piece near them.

I had to force and lift the pieces carefully, so that a piece can fit in. But beyond a point I could not hold the tower any more, inserting a piece at the foundation was harder than removing it. Ultimately the tower collapsed. My friends, here is where I realized again, how important the foundations are, if you miss learning them in the first place, it is very difficult to put in those pieces later because, by then you would become rigid, your practices are rigid. Less flexibility provides less scope for putting in those important pieces which are the basis to support for the future.

But there is nothing as impossible. What is more important to realize is that there is always scope for unlearning and re-learning. Creating a stronger foundation is always possible if you are ready to let go of whatever you have learnt (wrong) and build the foundation again by relearning it the right way, which adds more value. Traditions and old practices may not apply for every generation. You can sustain and keep growing only if you are able to let go of old practices that are not applicable and learn and apply what is necessary for the current needs. So my friend, be open to unlearn and relearn as and when necessary.

This post is part of the foundation stone series of posts.

“There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning CORN. Each year he entered his CORN in the state fair where it won honors and prizes.

Once a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors’.

“How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir “said the farmer, “didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions! Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbors and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others live well.

Success does not happen in isolation. It is often a participative and collective process.”

This story is a good example to demonstrate that you would be more successful if your peers are successful. The reverse is true as well. If you are in an environment where growth is not cumulative you wouldn’t gain much. When you compete with peers (not physically or personally) the pressure slowly and equally falls on each other that you will automatically try to match each other in terms of mastering skills. You are forced to learn beyond what you already know. Combined with the attitude to share what is learnt, the team together can grow successfully than struggling to learn everything individually. Experiences cannot be learnt from a book but can always be shared. When someone shares an experience you do not need to go through it. The “What to do?” and “What not to do?” is already available as a lesson. It is a way of fast tracking your learning curve. Your team could have a Wiki site that can be used not only for project related documentation but perhaps a section that captures the lessons learnt and tricky situations that were solved and so on. You basically invite people to participate and share their experiences and learn from each other. Participative and Collective Success is continuous and a better way of growth in comparison with doing things individually and trying to be successful.

Thanks Preethi Vaidyanathan for sharing with me the above story.

I like Paulo Coelho’s books mainly due to the inspiration the book provides through his simple yet powerful way of expressing things. If you haven’t read his first book The Alchemist I would highly recommend it. His latest book Like the Flowing River is an intimate collection of his reflections and short stories. One of the stories from the book teaches five things to learn from a pencil. Even though I have heard the same before through a mail forward in the form of presentation slide, I loved the way Paulo Coelho had put it in the form of a short story. Below I have copied on how he has explained the five qualities of a pencil that we can hang on to.

“A pencil has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.

Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.”