Offshore IT challenges

As some of you know, I have been working for last few weeks studying the issues around developing an Offshore IT delivery capability for American companies in India.  I started developing my interest in this subject because of a specific assignment with my current employer but soon realized there are many serious global issues in this area.  I have been discussing my observations with some of my friends and soon realized there are some trends emerging out of those discussions.  I will discuss one of the key issues in this post.

Trust: 

Lot of employers/managers are finding it very difficult to trust the resumes/profiles of Indian IT companies/professionals.  My research shows it is truly because of the absurd over exaggeration by individuals and companies of their experience, knowledge and capabilities.  More disturbing is the fact that some resumes and corporate profiles are plain out fake.  In my discussions, few people made a comment that when they receive a resume of an Indian IT professional their starting point is that they consider the candidate has 25% experience of what he claimed on the resume and then they will talk to them and assess how much they really know.  It's very sad but I guess there is no one else to blame other than the Indian IT community itself that let building up of that kind of a deep distrust.  Even more disturbing is the fact that some companies themselves may be padding the experience of candidates before they send them to the clients to increase their billing rate.  I am not saying that this is a universal problem  with every company/professional but there is enough of this going on in the industry to stereotype the entire community. 

I do understand the Indian culture and the ground reality and how competitive it is in India to succeed.  I also understand Indian's are generally very hard working and will go above and beyond to meet employers expectations.  It is also very true that Indian IT workforce is generally the best talented and best educated workforce and Indian IT professionals are regarded very highly in the global marketplace for their skills.  But, if we don't fix this problem of mistrust, I believe the survival and growth of the entire Indian IT industry is at risk. 

I believe following are some steps that should be immediately implemented to restore the trust and dignity of the Indian IT community:

1. Teach the importance of honesty and ethics and perhaps make it a mandatory subject for all graduate level courses.  This not only helps with IT industry's image but the overall business environment and position India as a true trustworthy partner in global economy.  
2. Big name Indian IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam, etc to make ethics a part of their operations and on-boarding processes.  
3. Recruit professionals based on education and skills assessment as opposed to just years of experience (which encourages individuals to fake resumes).
4. Give an opportunity to job seekers (whether they are fresh graduates out of colleges, individuals out of college for a few years and trying to get a break in to the workforce, individuals looking for a career switch in to IT or professionals trying for career advancement) to compete on a fair entry criteria.  
5. Industry consortium like NASSCOM developing a directory of companies and IT professionals which provides verifiable background skills and experience.  

These are just few steps that  I can think of based on my research so far but I am sure many of you reading this post may know of many more measures that are in place already or that can be implemented to address this issue.  Please feel free to share them here so we can all understand what need to be done. I also believe we can make a material difference if we start talking about this and bring awareness of the problem and discuss possible remedies within our companies, circles and other acquaintances in the industry.  

At the end of it all, I believe we should do our tiny part in building a global economy based on mutual trust. 

The Future Of Management - Gary Hamel

Following are the takeaways from Gary Hamel's book titled "The Future of Management"

1. Management innovation is defined as anything that substantially alters the way in which the work of management is carried out, or significantly modifies customary organizational forms, and, by so doing, advances organizational goals. 
2. Management innovation yield a competitive advantage when the innovation is based on a novel management principle, the innovation is systemic, and the innovation is part of an ongoing program of rapid-fire invention where progress compounds over time. 
3. The innovation stack is made up of 4 stages: Operational innovation, Product/service innovation, Strategic innovation, and Management innovation.  The advantage from each one of these stages increase from the former to the later.
4. The 3 challenges that companies face in this new century are: 1. Building a company that is nimble, 2. Making innovation everyone’s job, and 3. Creating a highly engaging work environment that inspires employees to give their very best.  “One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.”
5. Lessons for management innovators: 1. Principles matter, 2. The biggest obstacle to management innovation may be what you already believe about management, 3. Inspired management innovation can help to resolve intractable trade-offs, 4. Management innovation often redistributes power, 5. In the short run, the costs of management innovation may be more visible than the benefits, 6. Don’t be timid, 7. The internet itself may be the best metaphor for 21^stcentury management, 8. Experienced managers may not make the best management innovators, 9. Management innovations that humanize work are irresistible. 
6. Systematically deconstruct the management orthodoxies that blind you to new possibilities.  Keep digging deeper. Ask the right questions. 
7. New principles of management: 1. Experimentation beats planning, 2. Markets are more dynamic than hierarchies, 3.Leadership is distributed, 4.The mission matters, 5. Diversity beget creativity. 
8. The goal of management is to first amplify and then aggregate human effort – to get more out of individuals than one might expect by providing them with the appropriate tools, incentives, and working conditions, and to then compound those efforts in ways that allow human beings to achieve together what they cannot achieve individually.

Thanksgiving 2010

As I unwind and reflect back this Thanksgiving holiday week, there is a lot for me to be thankful about.  In the hustle and bustle of daily life, we just keep moving at super speeds and don't take the time to reflect on where we are in life and realize how blessed we are. Thanksgiving is a perfect holiday to do the very same and be thankful to all we have in life and also to think about those less fortunate than us and see how we can help. 

As far as I am concerned I am very thankful to have a great family, wonderful friends, great education, and a good career.  My parents always gave me what I need and they are the reason for where I am in my life now.  Mom and Dad always gave me the very best that I need and my sister and aunt showered tons of love that made me the person I am.  Sridevi is a very understanding and loving wife and our kids are so adorable.  I just can't thank enough to have such a lovely family. I am also fortunate for having a wonderful group of friends where ever I am and these are folks that I can reach out at any time for things that I need to discuss or bounce off an idea or just hang out with.  I was always enthusiastic about education and God gave me what I aspired for and that gave me a pretty solid career.  So, overall I am very grateful for all that I have in my life. 

I want to take this moment of reflection to commit myself more aggressively to the cause that my family is passionate about - providing means and education to less privileged kids.  While I have good intentions at heart about this cause, I feel I haven't done enough to really make a difference.  I hope to focus on it more going forward. 

I request the rest of my friends and readers of this post to also reflect on where they are and how they can help the less deserved in whatever way they feel is appropriate.  Remember this help doesn't need to be huge amounts of money or huge commitment of time.  A small donation of time or money, or just sitting with someone and counseling them, or sharing your knowledge are equally generous too. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Make an effort to make a difference!!!

P.S: I started this post last week in Memphis while I am at my friend's (Farooq's) place but didn't get a chance to post it until this week. 

Point of diminishing returns

I would like to spend this week's post on what I started calling as "point of diminishing returns". 

I was more of a purist growing up - one who wanted to do the absolute right thing in the absolute right way all the time every time.  But as I started experiencing the world, I shifted more towards the practical/pragmatic side of the spectrum. I realized that getting the job done is really more important than trying to do it the absolute right way, this is not to be misunderstood as giving up on core values and doing anything to get the job done. 

I started thinking through this little further and spoke to few people I have utmost respect for and realized why my fundamental instincts have actually changed.  I believe it is because if we try to stick to doing every thing perfect, we are actually leaving money on the table.  For example, let's discuss just this blog post.  My goal is to spend 15-30 minutes of my weekend on some creative writing exercise which gets my thoughts going, helps in expressing myself better, and share my thoughts with few others that may benefit from them or may start an intellectual dialogue.  With that being the goal, if I really wanted to be perfect with forming my thoughts, constructing perfect passages, using the best vocabulary possible, and be 100% grammatically correct, it could easily take up to an hour or more.  On the other hand, if I put in a decent effort and still get my thoughts down in my desired goal of 15-30 minutes, I am getting the job done albeit it may not be 100% perfect.  I could spend that extra 30 minutes that I would have otherwise spent on the blog trying to be perfect on something else that could generate more value.

Translating that thought process to business scenario, there are many instances where people/businesses spend enormous amount of time trying to get to a perfect solution and in the course of it burn too many resources than getting it just right to a point where it will deliver most of the value.  After certain point, where the solution reaches 80 to 90%, it should be released to market and value should be realized.  That point where almost 100% of the value can be realized without churning too much on the last minute effort is the "point of diminishing returns".  There is also a latest buzz word in the market place for this - "80% solution". While few purists may get outraged hearing that the solution being implemented is a 80% solution, it is upon the pragmatists to explain the value proposition from less than perfect solutions. 

Comments?

Get Organized

"Get Organized" - Dr. Anil Makhija, Professor of Finance, Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. 

As I reflect back on my learning's from Fisher MBA, one of the important learning's that made an impression on me is the opening address from Dr. Makhija.  Dr. Makhija spoke to the class on our first on campus visit and he started saying, "I can talk a lot about many things but the only one thing that I want to ask you for now is to get organized".  He said that is the most important thing because all the students are juggling multiple priorities around work, personal life, professional careers, and school and unless we get organized we just cannot be successful in our MBA pursuit.  That one sentence left a lasting impression on me. 

Reflecting back on that, I agree 100% with him.  Unless we get organized, I don't think we can be successful in anything that we want to achieve.  Taking Dr.Makija's advise, I did get my things in order and made a conscious attempt to get and stay organized.  It helped me tremendously during my school days and I was able to plan out my schedule much better and was able to achieve what I wanted to.  It also helped me feel like I am in total control as opposed to feeling tense over every little thing.  It just makes you more productive and makes you feel more in control of your destiny. Simple things like making a to-do list and maintaining a personal calendar can be invaluable tools in helping us get organized.

It's also very important to stay organized once you get organized.  It's very easy to get disorganized even before you realize.  So developing some good habits, sticking to basics and not overdoing will help you stay organized.  As for me, there are instances where I get out of shape and will take a few days to realize that and then I make a conscious effort to get back in the groove. 

Thanks Dr.Makhija for the powerful one line message you delivered that made a huge impact in my life and I am sure that would have made an impact on many others as well!!!