Bosses make productivity go down

My early learning on the jobs was, "Bosses make productivity go down".

When boss is on leave the productivity goes up by double.

Surprisingly, but Bosses do interrupt tooo often to know something that they are in disconnect with, as not involved directly and can get into dis-comfortable situation if things fail, they have no much control over you if they do not disturb you to know what is happening, a dozen times in a day.

Bosses are afraid and doers are disturbed.

Bosses seek control for to be in charge of their fate, and Doers seek the  empowerment to let them do the things.

We are busy doing things and bosses are busy worrying what are we doing.

To cut their worry they must interrupt us while we are doing the things, and worry what pace we are on to.

Oh god how am I supposed to do anything if you break my flow that frequently.

It is not you don’t trust me, but you have feared that I will not tell you early enough if things are heading towards an uncontrollable mess progressively.

Why will I, I am busy doing, hell, I need to "do it" to stop it heading towards the mess. Please stop resetting my flow so often.

Dear boss, more information gives you sense of in control, but are you really in control?

I know things, little less than you, may be, but I am the first person to deal with real things than someone like you who is fed with secondary or tertiary information status from so many, sucked so often.

Bosses got to let people find out the "How" part if they have decided and communicated the "What" part.

And sometimes let decide the What part also.

When boss is absent, the productivity of the day is super duper!

My dear boss if you want good results, please pretend to be on leave, I don't mind if you feel bad about you are not doing anything worth for your paycheck,...but things will be delivered better and... faster!

Paralysis by Perfection

Perfection is terrible issue as it kills "time to market->test->change->test again" cycle.

Problem is,

we don't know "what will work". No body knows either.

Our only hope towards progress is,

set aside perfection and embrace evolution method which will help us spot "what works now" with our customers.

Most people are scared of delivering incomplete. Why?

Mental blocker, "need to be perfect".

Fear of failure and fear of public dismay, leaves most people locked very long in their nest, busy practicing flights of the sky by just sitting there.

"Paralysis by Perfection" is what I will call it.

This is a state of "very strong internal perfection microscope and a poor visionary telescope".

There are dimensions to this Perfection Syndrome.
1) Perfection to be complete,

2) Perfection to be logically correct or faultless.


Not giving any chance to fail, stems from the "fear". The deep fear of public dismay.

"Every aspect" need to be "faultless" makes perfectionist work at every microscopic level, long enough to be lost by loosing the relevance to the time.

So if you are imperfect, be happy.
As you attempt, you know what to correct on the next attempt.

Most chances are, you the imperfect, will win by producing something available. And make lead and money  now, to eventually move towards perfection to create entry barrier to others by building competence.

It is easy to beat perfectionist as they strive hungry.


I know what you are thinking.
Remembering the "pixel perfect man" of Apple inc.

His deliveries were perfected.
The process was never to "attend perfection in first go" type, rather it was systematic, multiple proposals and competitive selection practice which still required market research and understanding customer and most importantly attempting improvements in multiple rounds.



Something to read if you still think perfection is the way!
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/perfectionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfectionism_(psychology)

Plague about software and its Development Process

Plague about software and its Development Process

There is a common plague about development process.


Software is fast in the beginning, and becomes slow progressively.
Development is fast in early days and becomes very slow progressively.


Software does best at user, but adding new features takes long time.
Any changes to existing software makes it break at many places.



There is single reason for this phenomenon.
With wrong choices of technology, changes and ambitious features, internal state of software becomes "complex" beyond manageable.


There is simple fix to this,
Simplify software everyday through continuous refactoring.
Being agile is to maintain internal state of the software to "simple" things.

What is your creativity style?

What is your creativity style?

Breakers, Makers, Takers or Critiques

Headers:

Some people are first hand innovators

They can get you things coming out of thin air

They provide breakthrough thinking and lateral thinking

They often provide fundamental and simple solutions

Rare species

Makers:

Some are good as improvisers (2^nd hand innovators)

Primary expertise of them is making thing even better

They need creative inputs to start on producing creative contribution

Good for extending an idea further

Creativity is often tied to moods

Good for guided thinking and guided creativity

Organizations are benefited by these ones

Takers:

Some are creativity consumers or idea assemblers

They do mixing and combining till they get better results

Strength is in formulation of new ways those can be simple combinations

Ideas are like Lego bricks in their hands

Most practical way of solving problems

Organizations have them find solutions by keeping experimentations get going

Critiques:

Some are not creative but simply rational

They need ideas to be presented to them and they can rate or ask directed questions, often negative

Their strength is to as questions to rationalize what had to be evaluated

Logical consequence is more important than sake of being creative

Take them seriously, nothing shall pass OK without they had chance to comment

Do not put them on creative fronts as they can be creativity killers to other style types

And which one you are?

You can be an individual, a product marketer or a business entity

But Breakers, Makers, Takers or Critiques

You can rarely be more than one as primary style, 

You may exhibit and exploit all styles but naturally good at only one

Having all style of mix in a team is required to keep balance

Taking credibility of earlier success

Taking credibility of earlier success

Taking credibility of earlier success,
to promote new produce is natural tendency,
towards ease of optimizing efforts,
required to setup new identity.

Using credibility is a wrong strategy in long run.

Good Product companies like P&G and other many deliberate to associate product as a independent brand. Avoiding to put their name as part of product name. Using common suffix can show a certain creed of products definitely. But still using company name on each product as credible maker of the product does not work in long run.

One of bad marketing efforts recently seen on Indian Markets is, Tata Motors.

What is Tata "........."? it is "Nano" these days. Earlier it was "Sumo". Since Tata is associated with more than one product it creates problem to both products when they try to associate themselves with word "Tata".

Nano is product innovation, thus Sumo was. What made them success was being a first of its kind of offering that aligned with consumer needs.

Before Sumo there were jeep variants in many forms for passenger and transpiration. Sumo was perceived to be focused more thin, for passenger. it was right product in the market. Importantly first product to be so better aligned with consumer needs.

Nano, focused on consumer needs. After Maruti 800, it is using "generation gap" to use same "entry level car for mass" concept. It is product innovation in Indian small car segment, in fact innovating extra cheap small car segment. For next product innovation to try same concept may need to wait 30 years more. Else they will be perceived as only the followers of recent product innovator.

In long run, Sumo business will decline. There are most confusion offerings made by Tata Motors, to extend the Sumo offerings. Non such offerings made it grand success as Sumo did after launch. In fact there are multiple version offerings of "Sumo" making it even diluted. 

Nano is also competing for key phrase "Tata ....." taking it away from Sumo. Nano and Sumo only compete for association with prefix Tata. 

Tata Motors is using "credibility" of Tata in all their products. Same for their other car series too.

Another mistake Tata Motors trying to satisfy the cheapest end of car segment and the most expensive SUV segment. Trying to cover too many market segments. In long run ...danger.

The other thinking at Tata Motors is to use "intel inside" concept. The new Fiat Linea with "tjet"! Does anyone buy an expensive sedan which is also properly a "long sedan" in the market, since it has turbo jet fuel injection system, in its engine? I think NO. Same mistake with Sumo varients and other cars. Only confusing customers. Consumers converse... "So you bought 'Qudra Jet' engine car?" NO. Customers generally do not think so. What is critical thing in PC, is processor. What is critical thing in Sedan, Engine? Fuel Injection? ... may be status, style, pride, being expensive, more horse power... differentiating it as a class apart.

Both Nano and Sumo could have registered well in consumer mind without prefix Tata. Tata Motors as all other Tata products from salt to chemicals use their name prefixed on each product. This stems from use of "credibility". In more matured markets such concepts in long run does not stand well.

What is case for Tata Motors is same for all industries. Movies, Chemicals, Retail stores, Construction, everywhere. In software products things are little different where standards compliance are also important.

Reputation is build over time with consistent performance. Market will reward this with business, without even need to know who builds it.

Credibility is like earned wealth, capitalizing on it will only consume it. In long run you might exhaust it, when used unwisely.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is success
It is a strong brand

Should the wiki replicate it's success?
Do you think “Yes”?

Isn’t wiki concept worked for them?
Banking on similar offering and type?
By creating other related wikis?
They are already doing it with wikibooks, wikiquotes, wikisearch,..
Good.


Will these be equally successful as Wikipedia is?
Never.

These offerings are based on the idea,
“as it is Wikipedia, similar for books, quotes, search,… now”

“similar” points out to repeat satisfaction as in case of Wikipedia



Isn’t wiki concept worked for them? Why not repeat same?
This does not replicate success,
but defocuses Wikimedia organization.

What worked in one type of contents may not work with same Avtar called “wiki”.
There are video, photo, presentation, document... content publish and share sites.
These are big brands in their own territory.
These are not “wiki”, but they are their own types.
There are user shared contents through video, blogs through video,...
but these are not same As “wiki”,
these are forms of content delivery under category “online video”.


Leaders
What leaders do? once they become “Leaders”, recognized well for their success?
They put their hand on replication gear.
A common mistake, out of self confidence or self satisfying success needs.


A manager successful in one division soon gets bored of his success in the division and wants to take on to another division.

A CEO after done well with one segment of products, want to start another Product line.

An actor good with one type of role, want to take another type.

An entrepreneur successful in one idea, want to take another soon after the success of earlier.



Replication is common human desire
If I can do this, I shall be able to other as well.

This thinking is common.
This is trying to be successful over all pockets.
This is not diversion mind but the drive for completeness.

“Not just this but other as well” sounds going to 2nd grade after passing 1st.



I can
Basic human tendency, drives need to prove “I can”.
That’s good, motivation to keep taking challenges and repeat.

It makes sense,
as we acquire any skill first time,
we want to be sure to be able to repeat again, equally or better.

“Acquired the ability” is a big sense one can feel.
But for that one shall attempt again to prove it works for next incidence.



Identity
Often, once you create a success,
often through "first to conceptualize" something,
you have same thing tight bound to you as identity.



The success replication attempts after do not materialize,
with the same identity.

Do not loose your identity,
to let you try second, third and more replication attempts.

As you loose identity,
you loose success too, almost instantly.



What should Wikimedia do?
So shall Wikimedia keep all line extensions?
Only if, to support their main character the “Wikipedia”!

If it is, to make the single choice from many,
all other options compete each other.

To avoid that all other options must be chosen carefully,
to not to compete each other,
or must cater a distinct needs to avoid competition,
or all other options must deliberated to lower grade to make the single option out stand visibly.

But all wiki extensions do not compete each other.
They are all alternate offerings for totally different types of contents.

Mistake.
These still compete each other,
to get energy and attention of the Wikimedia,
which is limited.



Secondly,
as people regard different respect to each offering,
the ROI on each is not same,
highest for Wikipedia.

So in limited energy condition,
which single choice should Wikimedia pursue,
if Wikipedia is going to stay for very long and well established too.

Discomfort

Discomfort

Operate to your discomfort zone else you will become loafing
- (a candidate)
Tuesday, 6 Jun, 2010, during interview




Operate to your discomfort level
Getting to comfort zone will make you relaxed and fade you soon

Discomfort is unavoidable
Choose it often
Extinguish the fire when it is small, take yourself to discomfort


Good leaders
choose discomfort zone as it gives them challenge and chance to raise their competency

Degree of discomfort can be chosen
Capacity to take up higher discomfort can be raised
Capacity to expose longer to discomfort can be built
Only by taking onto discomfort

Raise the bar each time and attempt is frequently

Competency raising will always demand working on edge to enter the discomfort zone


Under survival competition
Operate to comfort zone, as it is time to deliver
Too much discomfort and more you exposed to the risk


Good leaders
raise their capacity to handle high degree of discomfort
specially when there is no competition

Good leaders
often choose to toggle from comfort to discomfort as needed
Discomfort can strain you, when exposed elongated
You must raise habit of exposing to discomfort
and sustain  longer

Discomfort becomes ease as your competency is built soon,
as you conqueror limitations of yourself, things get to ease for you



Why discomfort zone operation is required?
to raise you competency

Remember, shark in the tank!
challenge keep your competency shined



There are many choices to choose discomfort
Carefully choose discomfort that will take you to the right goal
Choose the goal first, every thing else is a means
Do not get married to the means, but to the goal

Revisit you goal often to detail it more, refine it further

Remember focused action will take you there