Random Musings

BLT Diaries - My management credo (part 3)

2011-08-23T00:01:00.001+05:30

Pardon me, but even after having long shed the role of a BLT, i’ll continue to call this series of posts “BLT Diaries”.

the decrees so far..
Part 1 - http://ohnewoerter.blogspot.com/2009/07/blt-diaries-my-management-credo-in.html

“Anything can be, and everything that can be, will, very likely be, uncertain”
“Ye all shall learn the most sacred art - Follow Up”
“Earth calling moon rocket” - if you can’t figure this one out, read the full post :P

Part 2 - http://ohnewoerter.blogspot.com/2009/10/blt-diaries-my-management-credo-part-2.html

“Thou shall beware the wrath of the P-R Vortex”
“Thou shall ‘be the ball’”
“Ye shall always be the puppeteer short of strings”

and now... My management credo (part 3)

“Confluence - lest thy predicament persist”
Remember “12 Angry Men”?? When in conflict, it does work!! Decisions can be arrived at simply by getting every person involved around one table to talk on the subject matter!! (ok travel budget cut, i hear ya… over a conf-call will still do :P). Easier said than done... expect about 5 of the 12 to be involved, 3 to be disinterested, 2 simply questioning every line that comes outta your mouth (valid or not :| ), 1 texting (or these days playing angry birds on their smart phone) and 1 (you) moderating!!! But get this done, and rest assured, the issue will be at a better place than where it started from...

“‘TO-DO’ or not ‘TO-DO’”
While I curse microsoft’s powerpoint, I adore its Excel. Don’t get me wrong here, i am not a numb3rs person - am not commending the over abused ‘macros’, multiple sheets of valuations (will all formulae plugged in already :/) i am talking about a simple “ToDo: What-When-Status” sheet. I believe vehemently that the human brain (mine for starters) is not meant to multitask. There are times my thoughts run like traffic in Bangalore - changing lanes every few minutes at the end of which i am left wondering where i am headed... This, when one’s worrying only about what they are supposed to do... Now add on to this all the stuff the same person has to “Follow Up” on lest it gets... well, you know what.
Another version of this when “confluenc’ing” is the “Go where no one has ever gone, But be sure to make a tracker”

“Ye shall know your Freak-hold”
When to start freaking out?? This stands out as one of the two major learnings i take back from B-school. No problem is as big as it seems at the time… not passing a paper, not having made it thro one interview... it doesn’t seem so grave in retrospect does it? Having said that, I admit - this is one of those decrees I know, but when needed, find really impossible to remember!! Also, that said, if you have a job where you can ruin the world economy, work with viruses that could destroy the world, please freak out more. Else, take a breath n a walk before crossing over to freak-out zone.

i realize my decrees are becoming less funny and more morose... hazards of being buried under work i guess, but will try and flex those humour chords and hit those notes soon enough.. till then adios.

Life across W-A-M

2011-08-22T20:01:00.003+05:30

Yes, i am a bit of a geek… Yes, i work in the technology space.. but nothing manages to wreak my day like having to work on my W-A-M setup i.e. my Windows XP office laptop, Android smart phone and Macbook personal laptop.

Of course, there is a distinct advantage to having the set-up i do ... as someone who works in an environment creating applications its a fantastic thing to be exposed to the best and worst of all that is available in these application oriented platforms. But then again, the hassles of trying to live with these does drive me wild now and again..

Its almost as if my digital space is dyslexic.. what i suddenly think of and note down on my mobile (on a fancy app that has awesome mind mapping etc), i cannot work on on the W and M machines! Worse, Mac informs me that i cannot write onto a HDD that is NTFS formatted and asks me “Do you wish to format” at the cost of losing my life’s collection of music and movies!! And of course, google and OEM who work on Android seem so completely assured that no MAC user will ever buy an Android phone that all mobile connect software made available for macs are “Lite”, crappy and near impossible to work with!!

I have moved on to sticking to plain text and pdf’s which partly solve the problem whilst unrealistically looking forward to the day when i may be rid of these and manage to work seamlessly in a W-A-M space...

PS: I am talking disconnected computing here where my work does not hang on the “cloud” yes it clears the W-A-M dyslexia a bit, still it nowhere near ‘seamless’.

Istanbul - 2

2010-12-12T19:22:00.000+05:30

Although it comes very late, memories and hence the content still remain fresh in my mind. In my earlier post, I spoke about being in love with “bosphorus”, my second love in Istanbul – Istanbul-ites.

It’s a nice feeling when the cab driver realizes you are a tourist and not only does he point out and attempt to describe his city’s landmarks (most of which I hardly understood coz I don’t speak Turkish :P) but also pauses to ask you about your country. “Industan” I say, to which every single one replies with “ooo slumdog millionaire!!” Or “ya ya, awaraama ooo (with a dance step thrown in as well)”.

If you have something to hide, better stay a loner in Istanbul, coz you are bound to blurt something out caught in the barrage of questions. :) It only takes an introduction for the istanbullites before they treat you as a new found cousin from a far off land and wish to know everything there is about you… it seems totally OK to ask a person you’ve known for 5 minutes “Do u have a boyfriend??” or “when do u plan to wed? :O

Strangers on the street are willing to play dumb charades to help you find your way, friends you make take you out to little known local hang-outs, teach you to play ‘tavla’, a local backgammon game or take you cycling in the islands over the weekend or teach you how to speak Turkish :)

I walked into the city as a complete stranger and flew out having met some wonderful people and made a few great friends.

Istanbul

2010-12-12T19:01:00.000+05:30

4 years ago, it never occurred to me that the first stamp on my brand new passport will take 4 years to come by and that it would be that of a country whose borders span 2 continents.

Turkey

. “Welcome to Istanbol” said my neighbor in the plane, music to my ears after 19 hours of flying and boring transfers.

(PS: this was when I started drafting the blog… now when I am posting it, I have been to two more countries :P )

Everyone has their favorite pick of every city they travel to. Well, if u ask me about Istanbul, I could say “the grandeur of the ancient Aya Sophia” or describe the streets if “Kapali” Bazaar, the grand bazaar in exquisite detail…. But it wouldn’t be honest. The only honest answer would be the sea – her moods, her colors, and her strength.

I am truly, madly and deeply in love with Istanbul’s “Bosphorus”. On board a ferry at different times of the day, you’ll notice how she dons diverse costumes – to look like liquid gold in the soft morning light, stunning crystalline blue through the day, molten lava during a fiery sunset, fluid silver on a cloudy afternoon and into a restless black cascade by moonlight. She will make a romantic out of any one who pauses, and takes a while to observe her =)

A friend suggested that I read Orhan Pamuk before venturing into Turley. I managed to grab a copy when in

Turkey

and start reading… he describes turkey as having its own ‘melancholy’ (huzun) in his words… I could not agree more… to take that last ferry across the sea and feel a quite descend over the city… and wake up to the prayer calls of the mosques at dawn… its heart breaking and endearing.

I regret not being able to travel out of Istanbul to explore the whole of turkey - hope to do that on my next trip :)

Convergence?? Long shot... but maybe?

2009-12-12T10:39:00.002+05:30

Its not exactly funny, but its hard not to laugh if you've been following the headlines for the past few days… Well yes, I know.. its not a laughing matter but its also natural for an observer to quip "Why stop with states?? why don't we split every district/ city/ street into its own land"

I don't understand politics and neither do i know much about what's happened in the past in the world of politics, so i won't try to pretend i do.

I'll digress here and recollect an incident that happened about 8 months ago... Me and a group of friends decided to head to the Wagah border on our way to Delhi... A beautiful sunset and with the 'beating the retreat' proceedings underway, my friend sitting next to me pointed to the sky and smiled. We looked up to see a flock of birds flying across the border and I realized what she meant "they don't have borders do they"

And here we are yet, trying to divide pieces of land further more!!! More borders, more boundaries!!

As an inane observer, can't help but wonder, is it simply madness or possibly an act that might provoke thoughts towards convergence?

'coz well, we seem to be heading down a path where ultimately one'll realize "ok! now that each street is a separate entity, what next??" and maybe they'll answer declaring "we can't function anymore! one country, one state"

no point musing you say? you may be right, since there's no way of predicting with any amount of accuracy what might happen... yet, there's a nagging feeling that I might just live to find out :P

BLT Diaries: My management credo (part 2)

2009-10-22T20:23:00.006+05:30

Continued...
Part 1 at: BLT Diaries: My management credo in the making http://ohnewoerter.blogspot.com/2009/07/blt-diaries-my-management-credo-in.html

“Thou shall beware the wrath of the P-R Vortex”
Its depressing, its frustrating and damn near impossible to bear… its not often I’ve heard someone complain of the power-responsibility (P-R) dilemma… then again, I am limited by the sample of managers I’ve heard from regarding. What’s the vortex you ask? Well, I’m talking about the situations where one finds themselves stuck in a role where we have loads of responsibility, all accountability and zero power on who/what/how/when of the actual execution.
The ride on this wave is as choppy and mutinous as it can get, but hell, we’re going to have to and are expected to survive and emerge (with as little damage as possible) on the other side. Not to fret, we have of course, a big smug smile and a great story of how we braved the storm… (Alas, only until the next one comes along!)

“Thou shall, ‘be the ball’”
Of all the funny situations (not funny to the protagonist at the time mind you!) we’ll find ourselves in, the best is the one of the being the ball… you know, those really awkward situations when you find yourself trying to get two teams, who seemingly support each other, to well, actually support each other!
The feeling of being bounced around from one court to the other (visualize a completely harassed trainee as the ping pong ball in a game of TT that never ends…), a sense of nirvana coz we know that the only role the ball has in the whole scheme of things is indeed to get smashed, thrashed and bounced around, and at last (if one is lucky to survive to see the end of the game) feel the elation of being held high by the victor!!! I rest my case – thou shall, indeed, be the ball!

“Ye shall always be the puppeteer short of strings”
I am not kidding. Honestly!!! There are moments when I yearn for those days when I could code-compile-and see it work!
Getting people to work is so much more difficult than doing it yourself…
U’ve got them working? Great! Now lets get them to work without getting on their nerves…
Done? Good! How about making them enjoy their job… however mundane it is??
I rest my case! =)

Will continue...

BLT Diaries: Mumbai

2009-07-09T17:49:00.002+05:30

Statutory Warning!! This narration is totally biased - seen, felt and expressed in the terms of a photography buff and a damn near quixotic essayist!

Having vowed to write/blog regularly, I’ve never really stuck to the resolution. But the whirlwind that is Mumbai has fascinated me into penning this one down

This is not my first encounter with Mumbai and it has most certainly not been ‘love at first sight’. My first impression of Mumbai was a capital lettered NASTY!! (Rains and a couple of sluggish dirty and smelly taxis are to blame!) A typical visitor’s reaction I’d say in hindsight. But this time around, I’m here to stay… albeit for a few weeks only (once again during July-Aug amidst the monsoon mayhem). I am now able to see Mumbai from the eyes of someone who lives in this city – freshly pressed formal trousers folded up to knees, laptop bag in one hand & umbrella in the other, rush hour morning traffic en-route work, a walk on the sea face while returning home, calling friends and meeting them over dinner.

Bustling train stations, striking malls and stores, Big-bazaar queues so long that they leave you teary eyed, the super rich, the visible poverty, high rise buildings fenced by tiny one room tin roofed homes (I know not if they can be called houses, but a bunch of rain drenched kids and granddads playing outside the curtain that doubles as the door, definitely makes ‘home’ a fitting description!), huge Victorian style Gebäude* so picturesque, that I risked getting out of my taxi at a signal during rush hour just to click a snap (*Gebäude just means buildings :P but if you’ve seen the ones I’m referring to, I’m sure you’ll appreciate me using a word that sounds more exotic), flyovers- one after another, buildings that have stood for decades (if only they could talk, what history they’d be able to recount!!), red buses sounding their characteristic horns, the unrehearsed ballet of the black-yellow taxis, the smell of the rains, the sight of the sea, the breeze, lights, noise, people, crowds!

Confounded… Drenched… Lost… Overwhelmed…Charmed!

And every step of the way, I’m told “Yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan!!”
To which I quote from Delhi 6, “Yeh shehar nahin mehafil hai!!”

BLT Diaries: My management credo in the making

2009-07-06T11:49:00.004+05:30

As DMB put it succinctly, So much to Say!!!

Been 4 months since I left the secure walls of B-School and even lesser time since I’ve been working as a manager… well, management trainee to be precise... Too early to be giving gyaan you say... I’d agree. But never too early to pen down observations... not surprisingly, its stuff that is mostly just common sense and nothing that calls for an MBA to understand. Yet, I realize now that its not so much the knowledge but the actual implementation that brings into picture the multitude of complexities that I hadn’t given much thought to.

Most of my management credo, I derive from my past two bosses (two really great managers in my opinion) and their style of working. But recently, as a management trainee, I have been able to observe a lot many managers from the perspective of a manager-in-the-making. As an observer, I could not help but analyze the situation and dig into the why’s and how’s. (An occupational hazard you could say :P ).

And the result, well, adding a few more decrees to my own evolving management credo!!!

“Anything can be, and everything that can be, will, very likely be, uncertain”
What’s the big deal in being a manager u ask? Well, after having happily spent my time as a s/w developer, the biggest trouble I had was getting used to working with an enormous level of uncertainty. Before my current role as a management trainee I told myself, “Hell, I’ve worked with clients who change their requirement more often than they breathe… I can handle uncertainty.” What did I know!! It has been mind boggling, the number of factors that are variable when you assume the role of a manager… things which are difficult to foresee. Anything ranging from hunting down a vendor who has absconded, handling emergency procedures when a sudden storm hits your tiny town and forces you to shut down and what not!

“Ye all shall learn the most sacred art – Follow Up”
As for the next big challenge I have realized I will continuously face as a manager, it’s a glaring complexity one has to learn to work with and is something that is not always taught in a B-School. I’m talking about the fact that as a manager your performance depends not only on how you work and instead relies on the performance of so many others who directly or indirectly contribute/affect your work. The last couple of months, my major learning has revolved around a seemingly very silly yet vital concept –“Follow Up”. Those of you who have some corporate experience probably know what I’m talking about here.
It’s the art of getting things done, pushing people to work for you and doing all that without getting on their nerves. That said, it is not a very easy thing to do when you are a trainee – you know, when one is neither a boss nor a subordinate.

“Earth calling moon rocket!” (Doesn’t exactly kling like a decree, but bear with me :) )
The calling!! One of the “Tintin” comic book bubbles that says “Earth calling moon rocket… come in moon rocket” is the source of this odd title for this decree. It is not a lesson in humility or any such thing… its just that the elation and excitement of the first job as a manager (more so when its the first assignment as a management trainee) which makes it very easy to lose sight of ground reality. You know, the “wave the wand, and change the world” kinda attitude.
Don’t get me wrong here. I believe in thinking BIG and making it happen. Neither am I a compulsive “look before you leap” person. Rather, what I’m trying to say is “Make sure you know where the ground is, how hard you may land if you fall, and leap only if you think you can handle a fall & the broken bones just as gracefully as you would handle a successful leap”. Non-comic book version of this decree,
“Thou shall respect and revere reality whilst thinking big”

To be continued…

BLT Diaries

2009-05-30T10:06:00.000+05:30

Chapter 1 - Haldia Awakening
Haldia, WB

(hmm, guess i've been watching Heroes a lil too much!!!)

It started out with an unbelievably dingy hotel (ironically named "Classic Inn" nothing classy about the place i assure u). After a depressing few days in the "classic inn" moved (ran frantically would be a closer description) into the company house. Awesome place with a private garden, patio, music system, gym and home theatre.
If your thinking it had it all, well, reality check... the only things missing were a water purifier, washing machine and best of the list, pest control!! so much so that it reminded me of the land that time forgot... only replace all the dino's with terrifyingly huge/tiny lizards... ewwwww!!! U know paati's (granny) tales of hearing lizard's chuckles (i dunno what else to call the wierd noise they make) being inauspicious?? That better not b true for my sake coz i'm given to listening to entire lizard 'o concerts when i'm at home!!

The next few days went by without much happening. The usual work-home-TV-internet-takeaway parcels substitutes for food-sleep. Then came a all enchanting Sunday. (btw did i tell u, by some silly rule, factories work six days a week...talk about work-life balance, blasphemy!!)

Back to the story. The all enchanting Sunday.

Plan of action: Stay up really really late on Sat, watch movies that i've seen already a zillion times... who cares! i should stay awake!! wake up after noon... take a riverside walk, spend quality time with my precious (tats my awesome'st legendary canon dSLR i'm referring to).

And as most (needless to say, most=> every single one) of my plans end up in deep graves, the all awaited Sunday went something like this.

The only thing that went according to plan - movie marathon n staying up reeeaaallly late on Sat. As for the rest of the Sunday, this is how it went.
Woken up rudely at an unearthly hour (who knew clocks actually touched actually hit 8:30 am on sundays) by the guest house cleaner!! the rest of the day went: clean-dust-clean again (damn! should have dusted bfr cleaning the first time!!!)-eat dry toast-wash clothes(still no washing machine !)-stay indoors... political unrest outside.. u better not venture out says my manager and finally blessed sleep (outta exhaustion). Blissful wasn't it?

But all was not lost... I promised myself that next sunday would not be the same. After a surprisingly fruitful week at work, again the most awaited Sunday.

This time, it did get better!! took a lazy long walk by the riverside, got drenched in the rain. Sadly it was pouring so heavily, that i wldnt dare take my precious cam out for a few snaps! Saw a overloaded jetty take off on the hoogli river, a broken bridge that was really picturesque and to top it all, saw an actual hovercraft in action (u know, the 007 kinda awesome luking ones) at the coast guard hovercraft port. Totally rocking!

Monday morning blues were quickly washed off by the beautiful rains. Which now have turned into a cyclonic storm (named Aila!). Am now stuck at work inside the factory coz its too dangerous to venture outside winds at 90kmph speeds, trees uprooted n everything. Which is what brought about this long long ramble from my part. Got a lil tired of being stuck in my room and listening to the wind wailing outside.

3 more weeks to go in this tiny town... Chapter 2 in d pipeline!

From the diaries....

2008-06-21T01:21:00.000+05:30

I'm a techno geek alright, but nothing beats writing... i mean the real thing... u know, pen on paper... :) Penned this down a few months back... Here goes...

Its past 2am. Just said my prayers and was about to doze off when I had this urge to write, to simply pour out my thoughts. Its not the first time that this has happened but is definitely the first time i've bothered to pick up a pen and actually put down what i'd wanted to say.

Its not a diary... I think!! More like an account of a conversation and the memories it evoked.

I spoke to my sis (well... she's actually my niece.. but hey.. what d hell... ) who just came back home from Aussie land. A picture just popped into my head - one where my niece, my bro (cousin) and i are standing in my aunt's driveway. We were probably around 3- 5 years old back then.... days when we had played choo-choo train holding each other's shirts, along with our akka are still fresh in my memory. I can see us there right now... and now i'm smiling.... grinning ear to ear actually :) that pic never fails to bring a smile on my face.

More than two decades have gone by. Haven't met each other for over a year. My niece - away in Aussie land, studying.... doing great there. My cousin bro- well, what can i say, he's the role-model kind. Can't say we've been close pals all our life (although of course i can't say that about a lotta people, its just a handful). But he's someone i adore and respect - he's working... doing something he loves and is extremely good at too :)

And there's me... confused... but having a whole lotta fun at Planet I ( just got back from a String's concert here in campus btw :) was rocking!!! ) I still can't figure out where i'm heading with this passage but somehow I just keep goin on.... and damn... feels good.

I can hear the cold october wind rustle the leaves outside. A sound so soothing and calming, i let it weave an enchanting spell and carry my thoughts along with it. Questions are plenty. What am i doing here? Where am i heading? What career path? Why this.. Why that... blah blah blah!!!!! No answers though. None at all. Oddly, i feel good. Feel good about the place i'm in right now. Content. Satisfied.

Anxious about the future... what it holds for me and for everyone who matter to me... then again, who isn't huh? But strangely calm tonight... right now... writing this....
Want to sing out loud.. but i refrain to spare my neighbours in the hostel.. it is after all nearly 3am now :)

Wish i could write like this on my HR answer sheet :( can't cross more than 1 page there.. that too in 1.5 line spacing!!!!!

Now i stop.... Coz I have to think about what to write. My pen's not moving as if it has a mind of its own... anything more i write would'nt be what it should be - arbit thoughts right from the heart. No point in doing that... its called 'globe' and is better used in exams...

Off to sleep now.. aufwiedersehen!!! Till the next time this urge to write hits me and i overcome my laziness and pick up the pen and write....

Ramblings of a confused yet insanely content mind. Peace!!! :)

Life @ the hillock

2008-01-29T17:27:00.000+05:30

Its hard to believe that i've been here for over 6 months now. Seems silly now... but my biggest worry was " how the hell am i gonna wake up to an alarm clock!!!! " Typical maybe for someone leaving home to live in a hostel for the first time.

My first time away from home... Scary... what was even more scary... "i'm heading to IIM.. ME!" 'ME' to whom bears n bulls were greek and latin... "but hey.. its not all about that... u'll learn.. " i told myself... and oh boy... did I !!!

Ever since i stepped on to the hillock.. it's never failed to surprise me... be it seniors who receive you like old friends, console ur parents with warm smiles saying "Don't worry ma'am/sir... she'll be just fine" or my friends (ya... friends within hours of meeting each other)

Starting then, i've learnt to survive on 4 hours of sleep a day, eat Maggi @ 2 in the morning trying to keep awake to finish assignments, run around to different meetings...

But its not all that drab :) Basketball in the rain.. Badminton at 1am in the morning... singing out loud in the hostel corridors during unearthly hours... and of course taking those long long walks to the gate n back watching the sunset....

If your wondering why there's nothing remotely related to 'studying' here... :) well... its not all about the grades.. is it?? have always been top of ma class... u know what.. its so much more fun being the average student.. :)

The hillock has truly enchanted me... it makes me feel like i belong... it truly does.. for it doesnt matter where you are from... or what you look like.. or how accented your Hindi (believe me.. my Hindi's ridiculously funny)... this is a place where u can be who you are... and a place that i know will help everyone here become what they wanna be...

Ohne Woerter

2007-12-18T23:46:00.000+05:30

Without words...
Couldn't come up with a name for my own blog... spent quite some time thinking 'well.. this is the URL that'll identify my blog... what it's about.. the essence of it all' and then realised that 'Without words' was exactly what it should be named..
With so many thoughts running through my mind.. can't find time to pen them down.. n they remain without words..
When i do find the time.. words fail me.. wonder why.. but then again the moment passes... n they remain without words....