Sunday, 19 May 2019

Quiznak - Lessons on team work from Voltron

Dear Reader,

 I've been binge watching Voltron - Legendary Defenders on Netflix for the past couple of months and can't get enough of it. I first watched the old version Voltron - Defender of the Universe when I was a kid, waaaay back in 1990s and have always been a fan of the show. The idea of 5 lions coming together to form a lean mean fighting robot was truly incredible at that time. So, when I came across the new version of the show on Netflix I could not resist watching it.


Voltron animated series touches up on many aspects of leadership. Such as, ownership, insisting on high standards, obsession with a goal, invent and simplify, thinking big, bias for action, learn and be curious, earn trust, have backbone - disagree and commit, deliver results and more importantly collaboration & team work.

 Team work can make or break the future of the team.

Some lessons from Voltron on teamwork and well functioning teams,
  • Every member in the team has a unique skill/quality that is different from others and very unique to that member. This also includes the team leader and no I'm not talking about leadership skills. These are skills that are required for the team to achieve their goals.
  • Members in teams communicate on the best way to achieve a goal/target. They may not always agree on the way forward but they decide on consensus and agree to the decided approach i.e. "Disagree and Commit"
  • Each team member seeks support from others in the team at the different times and in different situations and let others take the lead if required.
  • Humor is a great way to break tension in teams, break an argument, lighten the mood in difficult situations and get perspective.
  • Members encourage other team members to excel in his/her own area of expertise and in the process uncover unknown strengths.
  • A team works together when faced with an external threat, even if it is unknown and are dealing with a new situation.

What more do you think constitutes a great team?

 Until next time.

 Vrepit Sa!

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Sunday, 16 September 2018

IKEA Hyderabad - Crowds

Dear Reader,

IKEA opened its new store in Hyderabad, the first in India. There was much pomp and flair before the opening with IKEA promising a grand shopping and eating experience. There was much advertising and marketing of the store before the opening and that got the city rallied up for a grand opening.

News of the crowds at IKEA started spreading on the day of the opening with short videos of the queues, visiting crowds, and customers spending a lot of time just getting into the store. IKEA, as its brand stands for, did a great job of managing the crowd and ensured that every customer was delighted. However, I think they underestimated the size of the crowd on the first day and also on subsequent weekends.

Here are some online links to news articles on the same topic,




Clearly, IKEA did not anticipate the volume of people that will turn up to visit its store in Hyderabad. With more and more millenials shopping online it would have helped IKEA to launch an online presence and supplement their brick and mortar store. Below is an online article that touches upon the same subject. 


Segmenting their customer base into those that 'do purchase online' and those that 'don't purchase online' would have allowed IKEA to attain higher sales while at the same time provide a great, slightly different, IKEA shopping experience to both segments. For example, customers that fall into the 'don't purchase online' segment would want a full blown brick and mortar shopping experience at their store. Whereas, customers that fall into the 'do purchase online' segment would probably be fine with browsing through the IKEA online catalogue, selecting the items they want to purchase, making a purchase and visiting the store to collect the items - that way, they get the IKEA shopping experience, save time and also avoid the crowds.

IKEA catalogs have always been a key part of the IKEA shopping experience. I as a kid, my family and I used to spend hour browsing through the catalog and ogling at the furniture designs and home furnishings. It was only when we were certain we wanted to purchase something we ended up visiting the store. Saved a ton of time and money!

In India, a majority of the customers would fall into the first segment i.e. those that 'don't purchase online' and I also think visiting a store like IKEA would be a first time experience for them. Just the sheer number of items on display and the ability to touch them and feel them itself is part of the IKEA experience. Most wouldn't even buy anything nor would they even have any intention of buying anything in the first place. For some it is a day long getaway to experience something new with a high brand value.

An online presence would definitely make IKEA a best seller in India. Hopefully they learn something from their store launch in Hyderabad and make better plans for their store launches in other cities.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Until next time.

Jyothin


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Monday, 5 March 2018

Wait




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Wednesday, 31 January 2018

NF Rap - Powerful lyrics








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No Name


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Location: Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Sunday, 28 January 2018

Learnings from my first computer

Dear Reader,

Everyone remembers their first experience with a computer. Mine was in the year 1984 when my dad bought our family's first computer. It was an IBM 5155. Here is a picture of it.


It was portable by those days standards and came pre-installed with PC DOS. It didn't look like a traditional computer with a separate monitor and a separate CPU (most of my friends had those kind). However, it packed a punch when I loaded GW-BASIC onto it and games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, etc. I was excited every time it beeped and booped.

Here is another picture.
It had two floppy drives (not one as shown below) and made a lot of noise. Compared to today's (2018) computers it was VERY slow. But it was ton of fun. Just putting in a new floppy and waiting for something to show up in anticipation was so much fun.


The computer was designed in such a way so as to fold the keyboard into the front, close the back panel with a shutter, pull out a handle and carry the computer around like a briefcase.




It came with 3 manuals from IBM with so many instructions. I don't think any one in my house ever read even a single page from the manual. As with all electronics gadgets, its best for kids to watch and learn from someone else using it. I had a whole gang of friends who also had computers and were watching each other play games or load stuff on the computer and do other cool things. Eventually I became the master of the computer at my home.






It was not until I was in 6th grade that I started using the computer for more productive uses. I was taking computer classes at school and we were taught how to program in LOGO and BASIC. Creating all kinds of figures with the turtle in LOGO. We competed with each other on who could write a program to draw a cooler figure. Loops, variables, drawing stuff using GW-BASIC and do calculations on the computer. I had a school project to complete in the 10th grade and I wrote programs to do all kinds of statistical calculations; mean, median, mode, standard deviation, max, min, correlation coefficient, and draw all kinds of cool charts like pie charts, bar graphs, line charts, etc. I even made cool animations of the charts with them shrinking and growing as the numbers changed. And I loved every moment of it.

What I've come to realize is that everyone has a different way of learning but generally they can be classified into 4 kinds,
  1. Learn by Yourself: read up, try something, try something again differently, read up again, and eventually you understand how stuff works. This is also the self learning kind or in the corporate world learn by trial and error (fail fast and iterate). This is also where one can get more creative.
  2. Learn by Watching: this is the best way to learn initially until you get a hang of things. You watch your friends how they do things and then imitate them. This is kinda like group learning or group study. In the corporate world this is pair programming or mentor-mentee learning.
  3. Learn by Training: this is where you take structured classes, do formal exercises, get graded and then become a master in the subject. This is also the typical classroom style learning or in the corporate world, learning by undergoing training/certification.
  4. Learn by Fun: this is where you get adroit at something by exploring the fun side of a subject. Like playing games on a computer or solving math puzzles, etc.
Going back to how I first learned to use a computer. Initially it was all 'learn by fun', I played  a ton of games on the computer, without wondering too much about how it all works. And when we learned something new, we were like 'I didn't know it could do that!'.  There were also elements of 'learn by watching' during this time. After some 'learn by training' in school, I began to appreciate the other uses of a computer. Eventually, I started 'learning by myself' and got really good at it. Today, I do a mix... depending on the situation and circumstances.

If you cannot learn by either of the above methods... you've really lost the love of learning.

Are these methods applicable even today? Absolutely. Even today, managing a team of software engineers I realize everyone has a different way to approach solving a technical problem but generally they fall into one of the above buckets. Most people in India typically fall into the third bucket as that is the general learning methodology followed in schools in India. And its very hard for someone used to one learning style to switch to another learning style.

What is your unique learning style? Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Jyothin

 PS: Here is a picture of me hacking away 😉

And another one with my childhood friend Prashant.




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Location: Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Friday, 21 July 2017

-ve Health <--- 0 ---> +ve Health

Dear Reader,

"Health is Wealth", is an old saying that I often heard as a kid. When you get to my age, health is not just about wealth but even more than that. It becomes a necessity and takes priority over most other things like, catching up with friends, watching a movie, eating out, etc. Keeping good health is becoming increasingly important for not just those who are unhealthy (physically & mentally) but also for those who are healthy and look healthy. It is just so easy to go from a state of being healthy to a state of being unhealthy in today's world.

 Keeping good health is a huge business. Gyms, personal trainers, customised exercise regimes, diet fads, lifestyle changes, pills and many more health related businesses catering to all kinds of unhealthiness exist today. I bet more people are stress out today about their health than about their wealth.

 Fundamentally, if you eat right and exercise right, you ought to be physically healthy (but not necessarily look healthy). So, watch what you eat and watch how much physical exercise you get on a daily basis and you should be good. Supplement that with some specifics for you as an individual and you can go from good to great. Yoga is a great exercise regime for improving your physical health.

Mental health is harder to improve. Thankfully with the right advice this too can be improved greatly for individuals. What's important here is figuring out that you need to improve your mental health. Again techniques in Yoga will help in improving your mental health too.

Whatever method you use to get physically and mentally healthy it is a journey that one, as an individual, will have to make. It varies from individual to individual and depends on which stage of your life you are in.

 But fundamentally, how does one measure one's healthiness. Most people talk about BMI ratios. But that just measures body fat. Is there an index that measures your healthiness. A health index perhaps that tells you how healthy you are.

 Lets make it easier and split the healthiness index into a stamina index (physical, mental) and endurance index (again physical, mental). The medical field should come up with a universally acceptable methodology to accurately measure ones stamina index and endurance index, both physically and mentally. Such a methodology will have to factor in differences in age, gender, environment, etc. Eventually there will be 4 indices to tell you how healthy you are. This will also allow one to improve each index individually by performing focussed activities. Each index also does not have to be only +ve it can also be -ve suggesting how worst off you are compared to an average healthy person.

 I bet those with +ve valued indices will be contributing more to society than those with -ve valued indices. What do you think?

 Regards,
Jyothin

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Thursday, 20 July 2017

Lend a hand - Literally

Dear Reader,
Today is my birthday - July 20th. I turn 39 this year. I still believe I have a lot to learn and have a long way to go before I sleep. I'm still not married (if you know of someone interested in me let me know :) ) so I haven't really experienced married life with kids. But hope to find someone I love, get married, have kids, watch them grow up and grow old with my wife. The reason I'm saying all this is because whenever I think about the person I will get married to or the kind of life my kids will have, I've never delved upon what a wonderful life my wife has had and what a wonderful life my kids will have. I, my wife and kids should be thankful for all that we have. Why? read on.

I went to an upbeat cafe today morning to get some good old fashioned tea. As I was about to enter the cafe, I noticed a young girl lugging a large suitcase up a flight of stairs leading to the cafe. At first I didn't pay too much attention but when I looked closer, I noticed she had only one hand! I couldn't help but look again and immediately asked her if she needs help with the suitcase. By that time she was already on the last step and I really was not of much help in carrying the suitcase up on step and into the cafe. The security guard lend her a hand to enter the cafe and she seemed fine and comfortable, I let her be and entered the cafe. All along I couldn't but help how a young girl ended up in such a situation. Was it an unfortunate event that brought her this misfortune or was this a disability she had from birth. Did she really deserve to be in such circumstances? And why was she alone?

I got some tea for myself and sat down at one corner of the cafe. She ordered something for herself and sat down on a chair, opened her laptop, connected her cell phone, and started typing with one hand. I kept watching her from the corner of my eye and noticed that she was adept at typing with one hand, probably had got used to it by now.

I reflected upon myself and how thankful I should be for all that I have. I don't know if I have won the ovarian lottery or not but I can be thankful for all that I have. There are so many people who rant non stop about how bad things are and complain all the time. All I can tell them is to look on the bright side and be happy about the positive things that have happened in their lives.

There are so many people who have not won the ovarian lottery in some way or another but they haven't given up hope. They strive each day to make things better and improve for the better. Are they all equally worst off? I don't know and can't say. My parents have asked me multiple times as to why I don't give away spare change to beggers who come begging for money at traffic intersections in India. They never hesitate to give a few coins. But I usually refrain from giving any money. I've explained to them that I don't know what circumstances have led them to beg for money. Some of them look fine enough to get a job... any kind of job.

I think, of all those who have not won the ovarian lottery, the kind who are disabled in some way or another are worst off. The disability could be physical or mental. It could be by birth or it could be due to circumstances. They are the ones who must be given a second chance. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. Let me know in the comments section.

Until next time,

Regards,
Jyothin


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