Category Archives: tips

agile, manage, tips

Dont block facebook!

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A couple of days back a friend of mine working in the ad industry called me.

“Venkat, how do I block facebook chats, gmail chats? Should I block the domains?”.
Answer is No. If you block Facebook, Gtalk – your team will find workarounds. All it takes is a google search nowadays. It will annoy the team and you will get bracketed with the “manager” managers.
So – here are some tips on how to engage your team effectively and reduce the hours spent on SN sites.
1. Daily Stand Ups

This is the most simplest and effective tool. It is a core practice in agile projects – however it will work for any project / environment. There are tons of resources on effective standups. I will give a brief primer :
  • Every one stands up – no slouching, no sitting. Keeps everyone alert and they talk less
  • Stand in a circle like rugby teams.
  • Give brief updates on what you did yesterday, what is your plan today, and any impediments in doing your work
  • Any long discussions do it after the standup.
  • The standup is sacred ( start on the same time daily, cut off trolling etc.. ). You have to protect its sanctity 🙂
Advantage is – the team’s productivity will increase. They number of hours spent on idling will start coming down because the next day you have to give an update.
2. Give more responsibility

Ideally visiting social networking sites should be used to take a break from work – not the other way round. So make sure the plate is full. And coupled with standups they will try to finish off the work promptly.
3. Knowledge sharing sessions

You can introduce regular knowledge sharing sessions – can be on any topic – team could watch a TED talk, someone can critique on a movie, present on the new social media or any area you think will help the team become better. This will involve preparation ( except for TED talks of course ) and will also create a good competitive spirit.
So follow the above steps and your team will adore you and they will invite you for the informal team outings 🙂
Articles, books, tips

Make your idea stick

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In the book Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell ( my review ) says “stickiness” of an idea is an important criteria for the idea to tip.

“Made to stick” by Chip Heath & Dan Heath, is an offshoot of the stickiness chapter of Tipping Point where the authors  analyze how and why ideas stick. They have even formed a mnemonic for it – SUCCES. Each one by itself will not guarantee your idea to stick – but if rightly applied together, the probability of your idea sticking is higher.

Simple : For an idea to stick, it has to be simple.For that you need to tear apart the unnecessary layers and go to the core of it.

Nike – Just do it.
FedEx – The World on Time
Audi – Vorsprung durch Technik ( ok this is an exception, and being Audi they can make anything stick 🙂 )   Jokes apart it explains very well what Audi does – when tranlated it means – Advancement through technology.

Unexpected : The idea should rattle the listeners up. It should break pre conceived notions. Anything unusual is sticky.

When Apple launched Macbook Air, Steve Jobs pulled the Macbook Air out of an envelope in his keynote address.  He did not dish out the numbers about the weight or the thickness of the laptop. Just that image – the unexpectedness of a laptop coming out of an envelope was enough to establish the product in everyone’s mind – the thinnest laptop in the world.

Concrete : If your idea is abstract or vague or is like a puzzle, the probability of it sticking is hard. It should be direct and should not have any ambiguities about it.

Ratan Tata made a statement a couple of years back – “We will produce a car under Rs. 1 Lakh”. It was a concrete statement with no ambiguities. It motivated his team to build this car and they launched a car – with 4 doors which is quite safe, efficient and adequately powerful. All this for under Rs 1 lakh – an incredible feat.

Credible : The idea to stick needs to have the  backing of credible people. Quoting customer testimonials is the best example in this regard. If you notice most of the products will proudly present the awards, experts comments and opinions in their website and product brochure.

Emotional : We associate emotions to every incident,thought,object. If an idea generates emotion in your listener, then the probability of the idea being remembered and spread is higher. Try recollecting your favorite TV commercials – the successful ones will invariably appeal to one emotion or the other.

Stories : No one remembers facts, but we all remember stories. We all remember the moral values found in the stories of Panchatantra, Ramayan and Mahabarath. Imagine if we were just sermoned on just the moral values – will we remember any?

The book is filled with lots of anecdotes and case studies.  You will never get bored reading  this and it will give you many ideas to make your idea stick 🙂

Some quotations from the book :

“In Hollywood, people use core ideas called ‘high-concept pitches.’ You’ve probably heard some of them. Speed was ‘Die Hard on a bus.'”

“Becoming an expert in something means that we become more and more fascinated by nuance and complexity. That’s when the Curse of Knowledge kicks in, and we start to forget what it’s like not to know what we know.”

“Stories are like flight simulators for the brain.”

“The most basic way to get someone’s attention is this: Break a pattern.“

tips, zone

Getting into the zone!

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Have you ever experienced being in “the zone”? You might have experienced for sure – but never noticed it. Once you are able to notice how it is to be in the zone – you can plan to get into the zone more often – for better productivity and happiness.

What is the zone?

The zone is a state of mind when time stops, creativity flows, your breathing is relaxed and steady, new ideas spring up and it leaves you energized wanting for more. In spite of working for hours at a stretch, if you are in the zone – you never feel tired.

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, Anna Karenina – are two books that I have read where they talk about this state of mind. Zen book says about getting into the zone on any activity that you do – could be washing dishes, could be fixing a motorcycle, could be writing a blog post. In Anna Karenina, one of the characters – Levin goes to cut corn along with his laborers – this chapter in the book is a masterpiece. Leo Tolstoy beautifully describes how it is to be in the zone – proving why he is one of the greatest brains of all time.

It took some time for me to discover this “getting into the zone” thing. Whenever I am in the zone the code that I produce is beautiful and bug free. New ideas, hidden potential bugs show up and I squash them even before they get a chance to show up.

How to get into the zone?

You need a ritual. Here are some of the things that I do to get ready to go into the zone

1. Music

Either classical music or some movie songs that I have heard a million times before – mostly AR Rahman songs – so they wont distract but will quieten the outside noise.

2. Clear out the feeds and empty inbox

I clear out all the feeds in bloglines, and also empty my inbox – so there is no thread running silently in the head draining resources.

3. Busy status in IM

IM is a big distractor. I educate my buddies not to disturb when I am on busy-status. If they do not respect – I either block them temporarily or sign off from IM.

4. Load up with water

I keep a big jug of water and keep sipping. It will keep the brain hyderated for the upcoming power session !

After this – when I hit the editor I will notice that time would have stopped, and the things around me will disappear and I will not even hear the music. It will be just me and the editor – and things will start flowing. Because now I will be in the zone!

What is your ritual to get into the zone?


health, tips

5 simple tips to fight Flu

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The media is doing what it does best – spreading fear and panic. So here is my little post which is an anti-dote in these scary times. Some tips for increasing your immunity – so when flu gives you a visit, it knows it is not welcome.

1. Orange Juice & Fruits.
Fruits have become really expensive – nowadays Doctors are cheaper than Apple ( the fruit 😉 ). However packaged juices are cheaper than fruits if you do the Cost benefit analysis.
Try and get juices that claim they have no sugar and no preservatives. I do however remember reading that Vitamin C by itself does not help fight flu – but there are other good things – anti oxidants, Vitamin C, fiber – so over all it is good for a healthy you – and it is tasty too.
2. Japanese Shower
Take a hot bath and once you are done – in the end – take shower in the cold water. While taking a hot bath the pores open up and blood flow circulation increases in the skin. When suddenly cold water hits your body, the pores start contracting, and blood is forced to rush deep into your system – carrying with it nourishing oxygen and anti bodies. This is very effective and fun.
3. Pranayama
It takes 2 minutes but this is the most effective of all – I do this while reading the headlines of the newspaper in the morning.
Remember the 10-10-10 rule.
First set : 10 times breathe slowly but firmly through left nostril with right nostril blocked. Repeat with right nostril.
Second set : 10 times breathe a little more faster and with more force through left nostril.Repeat with right nostril.
Third set : 10 times inhale through the left nostril, exhale through right nostril and reverse.
4. Stay away from fries and chaat
8/10 times whenever I ate those delicious fried bajjies, or paani poori outside I have caught cold. You can try rice bran oil for frying ( but do not reuse ) and relish the same sinful stuff at home – cheaper and comparatively healthier.
5. Wash hands constantly
I once heard a NPR podcast about the correlation between number of heartbeats and the lifespan of an animal. The only species which defies this is humans – whose number of heartbeats is less, but their average lifespan is disproportionately higher.
The reason they gave was that humans wash their hands. Simple as that. All the epidemics enter through hand-mouth/eyes route.
Have soap dispensers in all the basins – and yes, you should use anti bacterial soap – just washing hands with water is not going to be of much help.
6. Bonus – Aerobics

This is the panacea to not only fighting flu – but to most of the ailments which might trouble us. If you think about it there is no way of fighting flu alone – your whole body has to be healthy – that will ward off lot many things – bad cholesterol, back aches, stiffness, excess fat build up.
So friends let us not wait till New Year to get healthy, this is the right time – we are being brainwashed with Swine flu scares by the media. Instead of reading reports and worrying, let us hit the healthy lifestyle button.