Some people make resolutions in the New Year, some have goals that they want to achieve, and some carve out a new path. New Year's resolutions are a great way to focus your brain on what you want to accomplish in the coming year. The more time you spend pondering and writing down your goals, the more you engage in the process and the better are your chances of reaching them.
Anyone can make resolutions or have goals, but how do you achieve them? Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12% actually achieved their goals. A separate study in 2007 by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol showed that 78% of those who set New Year resolutions fail (from Wikipedia).
Under these situations, is there a method that one can use to achieve goals?
You start by recognising that this goal achieving process involves Change…..Be prepared for Change….Then the ABCDE as below may help:

Anger – Surprised? How is Anger related to achieving goals? A study at a University in Netherlands, describes how anger makes people actually want things more. What this means is that anger is a very powerful motivation. Something like Kolaveri………. It actually translates to achieving the goal ‘with a vengeance’.

Believe – Now this is a word that we have heard over and over. Self Belief is the most important factor that will help in achieving goals. I mean, what chances do you have if you think you cannot achieve what you want? Napoleon Hill said “whatever the mind can conceive, and Believe; it can achieve”. So the adhesive between achievement and dream is “BELIEF”

Commitment - Are you emotionally committed to your goals? Your commitment to your goals plays a significant part in achieving them. Make a personal commitment and if relevant share with a trusted one about your commitment to achieve this goal. When you make a commitment, when you hit the rough spots, your immediate reaction is “how can I solve them?” and this is good.

Discipline – Daily discipline is tantamount to have measure progress and stick on the path. You have to be disciplined about passionately reaching your goal.

Enthusiasm (Excitement) – In order to reach your goals, you have to be enthusiastic about it. The goals should kindle excitement inside you. If visiting the gym regularly is your goal, I bet you will get bored after sometime. Experts suggest that the exercise routines are varied on a regular basis. Create enthusiasm when you talk about, or think about your goal

Follow through – Always take stock of where you have reached since you have started. A regular follow through will help in making any course correction that may be necessary.

Happy Goal Achieving!

Communication as a tool for the Project Manager

While I was preparing to take up the PMP certification, I read somewhere that a Project Manager spends up to 90% of his time on communication. I realize the truth in this!
Even as the debate rages on whether communication is an ‘art’ or a ‘science’, we’ll leave it to the debaters. I would just like to focus on the fact that a Project Manager needs to be an effective communicator as he is the visible face (or the audible voice) of the project. He is the liaison between the all the stakeholders (includes the clients, vendors, the team and all and sundry). The sole responsibility to successfully carry the project through, rests on his shoulders.
To be an effective communicator the Project Manager needs to understand and inculcate the ABCD of communication.

A – Attitude:
This is the most desirable trait that the Project Manager must possess for him to communicate well. A Project Manager who exhibits a positive attitude is respected and heard, more, understood! Attitude clothes the personality. So, are you wearing your best clothes? Always carry your best attitude that encompasses positivity, enthusiasm and pleasantness. The person interacting on the opposite side can read the attitude very well. The human brain picks up those hidden signals very easily. So communicate with the right attitude!

B – Body Language:
This forms the other part of communication. Non-verbal communication! Research has shown that in communication, 55% is formed by the body language, 38% by voice (tone) and a mere 7% by words. So, it is imperative that a good Project Manager understands the importance of body language in communication. It is necessary to project confidence in posture, gait, movements and gestures. If we watch fine actors we can pick up nuances of body language. There are many books in the market which will talk about this. A confident Project Manager will be able to get his point across using the right gestures and intonations. This works for communication over the phone too. Try sleeping or slouching and talking on the phone against sitting upright on the chair with a smile! If you ask the person on the other side, in which of the stances were you able to communicate better? The answer will be apparent!

C – Clarity
Remember 38% of communication is by voice and 7% is by words! That means one has to use the repertoire of the vocabulary with maximum impact. The Project Manager has to be clear and concise in his communication. It is said that clarity of thought percolates to clarity of speech. It is very important that the Project Manager thinks clearly about the issue to be communicated so that the thoughts can be translated to words and will flow with clarity. Remember, it is good only for streams to meander, not thoughts or words, at least for a Project Manager. Many times we hear people saying “get to the point”. It is always better to avoid this situation by communicating with clarity.

D – Diplomatic:
There is a saying “it is not what you say; but how you say it”. There is a certain way to say things so that it has the desired effect without ruffling feathers or rattling bones! This is art! A Project Manager has to practice and perfect this in order to be effective. This diplomatic communication makes the Project Manager approachable and pleasant and people would like to deal with him. The usage of words shouldn’t veer towards bias or sound opinionated. It has to be in such a way that everybody feels benefitted by what is being said.

There are many other nuances to be effective in communication as Project Managers. It can be perfected over time, but it is necessary to be ‘aware’ at all times and look for ways of improvisation!

I loved this letter!!

This is the kind of letter that i want to write to the many services that i avail of........ i have reproduced this letter that i got as a forward from someone. With due respect to the author (wherever he is) .............read on ..............

Dear Cretins,
I have been an NTL customer since 9th July 2001, when I signed up for your 3-in-one deal for cable TV, cable modem, and telephone. During this three-month period I have encountered inadequacy of service which I had not previously considered possible, as well as ignorance and stupidity of monolithic proportions. Please allow me to provide specific details, so that you can either pursue your professional prerogative, and seek to rectify these difficulties – or more likely (I suspect) so that youcan have some entertaining reading material as you while away the working day smoking B&H and drinking vendor-coffee on the bog in your office:
My initial installation was cancelled without warning, resulting in my spending an entire Saturday sitting on my fat arse waiting for your technician to arrive. When he did not arrive, I spent a further 57 minutes listening to your infuriating hold music, and the even more annoying Scottish robot woman telling me to look at your helpful website….HOW?
I alleviated the boredom by playing with my testicles for a few minutes – an activity at which you are no-doubt both familiar and highly adept. The rescheduled installation then took place some two weeks later, although the technician did forget to bring a number of vital tools – such as a drill-bit, and his cerebrum. Two weeks later, my cable modem had still not arrived. After 15 telephone calls over 4 weeks my modem arrived… six weeks after I had requested it, and begun to pay for it.
I estimate your internet server’s downtime is roughly 35%… hours between about 6pm -midnight, Mon-Fri, and most of the weekend. I am still waiting for my telephone connection. I have made 9 calls on my mobile to your no-help line, and have been unhelpfully transferred to a variety of disinterested individuals, who are it seems also highly skilled bollock jugglers.
I have been informed that a telephone line is available (and someone will call me back); that no telephone line is available (and someone will call me back); that I will be transferred to someone who knows whether or not a telephone line is available (and then been cut off); that I will be transferred to someone (and then been redirected to an answer machine informing me that your office is closed); that I will be transferred to someone and then been redirected to the irritating Scottish robot woman…and several other variations on this theme.
Doubtless you are no longer reading this letter, as you have at least a thousand other dissatisfied customers to ignore, and also another oneof those crucially important testicle-moments to attend to. Frankly Idon’t care, it’s far more satisfying as a customer to voice myfrustrations in print than to shout them at your unending hold music. Forgive me,therefore, if I continue.
I thought BT were sh*t, that they had attained the holy piss-pot ofgod-awful customer relations, that no-one, anywhere, ever, could be moredisinterested, less helpful or more obstructive to delivering service totheir customers. That’s why I chose NTL, and because, well, there isn’tanyone else is there? How surprised I therefore was, when I discoveredto my considerable dissatisfaction and disappointment what a uselessshower of bastards you truly are. You are sputum-filled pieces ofdistended rectum incompetents of the highest order.
British Telecom – w**kers though they are – shine like brilliant beacons of success, in the filthy puss-filled mire of your seemingly limitless inadequacy. Suffice to say that I have now given up on my futile and foolhardy quest to receive any kind of service from you. I suggest that you cease any potential future attempts to extort payment from me for the services which you have so pointedly and catastrophically failed to deliver – any such activity will be greeted initially with hilarity anddisbelief quickly be replaced by derision, and even perhaps bemused rage. I enclose two small deposits, selected with great care from my cats litter tray, as an expression of my utter and complete contempt for both you and your pointless company. I sincerely hope that they have not become desiccated during transit – they were satisfyingly moist at the time of posting, and I would feel considerable disappointment if you did not experience both their rich aroma and delicate texture. Consider them the very embodiment of my feelings towards NTL, and its worthless employees.
Have a nice day – may it be the last in you miserable short life, you irritatingly incompetent and infuriatingly unhelpful bunch of twats.

A positive word for 2010

This is my first blog in 2010, so I thought it appropriate to start with something positive. A positive message, a positive thought…………….. at least a positive disaster!!
Well, I got a hoard of messages this New year (on 1st Jan). some of them read “hope you have a nice, prosperous year………..”, “hope all your dreams come true……….”, “hope you achieve all that you set out on………….”. most of the wishes started with “hope”. Wonderful!! Everyone wishing me is “hoping” for the best for me!!
HOPE is a positive word after all ……….it signifies the human spirit!!
But is this good enough for me?........for you??
Someone says to us “I hope I become rich, I hope I win the lottery this year”…..this can be said even without purchasing the lottery ticket. How does this sound? ………….. is this very positive?
After a surgery on a dear one, the doctor says “I have done all that I can, now lets hope for the best” ………….. is this still positive?
Well, hope signifies an element of positivity, but I thought it isn’t good enough for me!!
So, what is the one word that will egg me on to go ahead and achieve things, that will spur not only positivity but also action and subsequent joy in me? ………..BELIEVE!!!
The word is perfect!
I ‘believe’ that this year is going to be wonderful for me!
I ‘believe’ in my abilities to make things happen!
I ‘believe’ that my partner will take care of things!
I ‘believe’ that my company will go on to make profits.
BELIEVE – this word not only evokes positivity, but encompasses ‘hope’, trust and follows it up with action as well and gives me that euphoric avenue to sprint through.
I have to quote Napoleon Hill “whatever the mind can conceive, and Believe; it can achieve”. So the adhesive between achievement and dream is “BELIEF”
BELIEVE that you will have a wonderful year and life ahead!!

'Small Talk' success

Let me confess to you that I was hopeless at making small talk! Atleast I was until a few weeks ago. I was pathetic at the ‘connect’ with people on a personal level. Yeah, I could make conversation and also keep a group lively. I can perk up people with motivation and regale them with wit and humor. But when it comes to engaging someone in small talk especially when I bump into them unexpectedly, I was wanting. Here, I have to mention that I was the ‘go-to’ person whenever people wanted solutions, but I would never be approached if people wanted to chat casually. Infact, I would somehow manage to repel even those few who would approach me.

Then I watched charismatic people closely and figured out their ‘connect’ with people and what drew or attracted people to them. I figured out that they were very casual with their demeanor and would show a genuine interest in people. I would hear them talk to people very personally and obligingly.
I learnt and figured that, while engaging people in small talk, two things are a strict no-no – EGO and INHIBITION. These two emotions hinder us from engaging the other person. These evoke a feeling of ‘superiority’ or ‘inferiority’ and hampers people from being attracted. If we bring in these two feelings to the table (or corridor) when we make casual and informal talk, we automatically give way for an emotional disconnect and we botch up many things.
Another thing that I figured out if we need to be successful in engaging people is avoiding the ‘need to control’. Humanly, we feel the need to control the conversation and behave that we are the ‘know all’, but this disengages the conversation. We are created with 2 ears and 1 mouth. So speak less and listen more. There is also no need to have all answers and solutions. Sometimes, a smile and ears is all that is required to be a good conversationalist! I am incorporating these and am pretty successful in my ‘small talk’ now. I will keep you posted on the ‘super success’

Troubled times

Amid today's impressive technological innovations, business leaders sometimes forget that work is—at its core—a fundamental human endeavor. During the days of uncertainty the only factor that keeps organizations active and competitive in the markets is its 'employees'. As Maslow once said 'A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization. … It refers to man's desire for self-fulfillment, namely to the tendency for him to become actually in what he is potentially: to become everything one is capable of becoming'. The same holds good for organizations, after all, these institutions are made up by people like you and me.

Lets get back to the topic 'troubled times'.During these days of financial uncertainity,job losses, redundancy- off shoring companies seem to be only concentrating on the need to survive this downturn. The need for being successful has diminished or holds little or no value. The junkbond crisis, Dot com bubble burst and then Lehman brothers have got Newton to act on all of us and the gravitational force is keeping all of us on the ground (9.8 also seems to be quite a hand full now!).The start of off shoring brought in a lot of opportunities that were first unheard of in the sub continent. Youngsters were given more than they could chew and liquid cash could be seen everywhere. The government also went on to change the basic education system to suit the needs of the industry. BPO/IT...ITeS. Half baked or semi literate individuals were out in the market vying for roles in MNCs doing graveyard shifts, speaking the language of the West, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. The west culture was slowly creeping in.

Individuals out of college now never had a thought or intention of studying any further. They could make a fast buck anywhere. call centers which existed in window less offices was the talk of the town. everyone wanted to be a part of it. Selling bra's, airline tickets, printers, comps, and financial data was the so called domain expertise. Major players in the software industry also joined the bandwagon.

This inturn created a lot of jobs and easy money. the number of Pubs in Bangalore has tripled. The average beer consumption also went up. The number of divorces also went up. the number of abortions went up. The number of people in the rehab centers also went up.The number of car sales also went up. The number of personal loans taken also went up. the number of housing loans also went up.The number of flats and builders in bangalore also went up. Loans were given upto 100% of the house value. everything was fine! A 24 year old was capable of owning a house for 24L INR. paying a monthly EMI of 20K, the rest of his money on cigarettes and pubs.The loans kept increasing.

The relationships no longer exist. For me the growth of any organization is simply the accumulated growth of the individual relationships that constitute it. And relationships largely are influenced by a lot of external factors.

Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. Nothing exists in isolation. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone especially during these troubled times. Spider webs are both the strongest and the most fragile structures in the world. Pound for pound, spider webs are stronger than steel, yet they can stretch to nearly 40 percent of their length. They can also break with just the touch of a finger. The construction of spider webs is an apt metaphor for relationships long before the World Wide Web became our new medium for meeting and greeting. Relationships can be resilient or tenuous. They can stretch when tested, or they can break at the first sign of heavy winds.

Our traditional organizations are designed to provide for the first three levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: food, shelter, and belonging. Since these are now widely available to members of industrial society, our organizations do not provide significantly unique opportunities to command the loyalty and commitment of our people. The ferment in management will continue until organizations begin to address the higher order needs: self-respect and self-actualization.

Most economists think of employees as "units of production," customers as "units of consumption," and investors as "units of investment." I came to realize that there is no one unit of production because employees are influenced by their motivation, capacity, and the tools we've made available to them, and their results are a function of these influencers. Similarly, not all customers or investors approach their relationship with a company in the same way. In sum, many business observers view these "units" as fixed commodities (like steel) when in fact they truly are flexible (like a web), depending on how these relationships have been nurtured or "spun."

Human capital, unlike other assets, does not depreciate over time. Like good wine, it actually improves with age.

Awards – the debate whether they are administered correctly!

I haven't blogged in a long time! So here's one!

The recent Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Barack Obama and the subsequent voices, for and against this prompted me to post this blog!
We may have seen many awards given out to people, organizations, movies etc. We may have our own opinion of the awards. Ask around for their opinion of any award and you will get varied responses.
Some of these awards directly affect us, like an award for best performer at our work place and it raises questions in our minds. What has he done to receive this award? Why didn’t I get this award? Is the supervisor partial? And so on. It even sets off a water cooler gossip.
There could be some awards that have group opinions, like a movie award or a best restaurant award. We begin to discuss these awards in groups with varied opinions like – the actor doesn’t deserve the award. He has done a shoddy job. Someone else deserved it more! Oh, it is all rigged!!
There are still others that create a national or international debate – like the Nobel to Obama.
Twitter polls suggested that 69% of Americans felt that he didn’t deserve it yet!
There are posts on the web that denounce the awards, some that ridicule the process and lots of them that are funny. It may have given rise to talk show debates and jibes from some stand up comedians.
One of the posts that read went like this “I have worked relentlessly for the last 15 years to manage my mom, my wife and daughter and keep them from tearing each others' hair. I was successful yesterday. There was peace at home! Will I get the Nobel and a million bucks?”
Another one said that “Obama, in his acceptance speech should thank President Bush for the award, because he wouldn’t have got the award if Bush hadn’t screwed up and proven to the world that America is ready to go to war if the Iraqis sneeze ”
Media companies are quick to cash in. They will say “Do you think X deserves to get this award. Please sms your answers to 53238”.

But, I feel that awards are recognition of an achievement (?) by a group of people, which is not always correct. The people who confer these awards may be biased or do not have the opportunity to make a holistic decision. The awards do not always reflect the mass sentiments of the common man! So the next time awards are conferred, take it with a pinch of salt. They certainly are not your feelings or your awards. If they personally affect you, indulge in some water cooler gossip or some award bashing! Then move on ………..

Post your comments on awards that you would like to give and who deserves them.