Nitin Malhotra's Blog

In 300 words or less: Samsung Galaxy Tab

2010-11-24T14:26:00.000+05:30

My biggest compliments to Samsung for consistently introducing cutting-edge products in India, not far after their rest -of-the-world launch. Samsung Galaxy tab is the nth such device where they have done this (Galaxy S is another recent example) – Ku Dos! HTC, Apple – please pay heed!

As always, you can find tones of information on technical details etc but here is how you’d ‘feel’ about the Tab.

1. Zippy – fast processor; easily runs several applications at once.

2. Flexibility of Android.

3. Solidly built, feels good in the hand (finger-print magnet however, like most gadgets these days) and looks quite attractive (until your finger prints ruin the classy finish!).

4. Really average camera.

5. Hard to type on this big block (like with most tablets) in either portrait or landscape, swipe-type is meaningless – you end up touching more real estate & hence tiring your fingers sooner.

6. Pre-loaded with MapmyIndia maps but I really don’t see myself peeking at a (relatively speaking) mammoth device for navigation.

7. Lets you make calls too – unlike more premium (read ‘iPad’) tablet(s).

Bottom Line – Samsung has got the price-point wrong. For that money, you might want to look at (comparison inevitable…) the iPad – which is much more polished OR Dell Streak – which is much more pocket able (and an awesome product if Dell could upgrade the software quicker!! much easier to use as a GPS device too..). Then again, you really need to choose your ecosystem. Polish of Apple vs flexibility of Android.

If you are in India however, you only get smuggled iPad at this point – at over US$1,000. So the Tab may make sense yet.

That then is the review in 300 words or less, but who is counting?!

Until next post,

Nitin Malhotra

Best leaders nurture independent decision makers

2010-10-12T20:48:00.000+05:30

In the Ramayana, Hanuman, the monkey-god, is known as the greatest devotee of Ram. It was he who located Ram’s wife, Sita, in Lanka, after she was abducted by the Rakshasa-king, Ravan.

The story goes that after the discovery of Sita’s whereabouts, Hanuman, of his own volition, set aflame the city of Lanka. This had displeased Ram as he had no desire to hurt the residents of Lanka for the crime of their king.

Not want to displease Ram ever again, Hanuman swore never to take any decision without consulting with Ram.
This absolute obedience became so intense that it alarmed Jambuvan, the wise bear, who also served in the army of animals raised by Ram to defeat Ravan and liberate Sita.

When Hanuman was being given instructions of where he would find the Sanjivani herb that could save Ram’s brother, Laxman, from certain death after being injured in battle, Jambuvan told Ram, “Make sure to clearly tell him to come back with the herb after he finds it. Otherwise, he will find the herb and simply wait by the mountain, in complete compliance.” This was not good, Ram realised. The situation had to be rectified.

And so it came to pass, as retold in the Adbhut Ramayana, during the course of the war, Ravan’s cousin, Mahiravan, a sorcerer, managed to abduct both Ram and Laxman, and take them to Patala, his subterranean kingdom. Only Hanuman had the intellectual and physical prowess to rescue them.

He had to rely on his own wits; there was no Ram around to instruct him. He was on his own. Jambuvan realised this situation was of Ram’s own making; Hanuman was being forced to rise up to the challenge.

At one point of the rescue mission, Hanuman had to simultaneously blow out five lamps located in five corners of Patala. He solved this problem by sprouting four extra heads: that of a boar, an eagle, a lion and a horse. With five heads he could blow out five lamps located in five directions easily.

Eventually, Hanuman succeeded in rescuing Ram. He had transformed from an obedient servant to an astute independent decision-maker. He had transformed from Rambhakt to Mahavir, from god (in lower case) to God (in upper case), worthy of veneration in his own right. Ram had thus created a leader.

A time comes in every leader’s life when he has to create leaders around him. This involves making people around him competent enough to take independent decisions. But this is not easy. Every decision has consequences, not all of them acceptable to a leader. It demands tremendous restraint and maturity on a leader’s part not to intervene and change the decision made by a junior.

Hanuman’s decision of burning Lanka displeased Ram. And so after that, Hanuman stopped taking decisions. To rectify the damage done, Ram had to remove himself from the scene so that Hanuman could rediscover his decision-making abilities. A leader need not agree with a junior’s decision.

They are two different people and so may not see the same situation in the same way. But to imagine that the junior will think just like them, is many a leader’s folly. Sanjeev is one such leader.

Sanjeev’s brilliant decision making abilities have resulted in his becoming a partner in a consulting firm at a very early age. Now he has to nurture his managers and nudge them to take more responsibilities.

One manager, Sebastian, on his own decided to follow up on the status of a business proposal with a client. “Why did you do that?” shouted Sanjeev, “It can put them off.”

Another time, Sebastian gave a half day off to a management trainee who was feeling unwell. “Why did you do that?” screamed Sanjeev, “There is so much work to do.” After this, not wanting to upset his boss further, Sebastian stopped taking any decisions.

He just did what Sanjeev told him to do. During appraisals, Sanjeev said, “You need to be more proactive,” to Sebastian’s astonishment, and great irritation.

Sanjeev wants Sebastian to be proactive but any signs of proactive behaviour is immediately reprimanded. As a result, Sanjeev is surrounded by obedient followers and no leaders. Sanjeev does not trust his managers unless they think exactly like him, which is impossible.

Potential leaders, unable to handle Sanjeev’s demand for proactive behaviour followed by reprimand of all independent decisions, have left the organisation. Sebastian is planning to leave too. And he will, unless Sanjeev realises that to groom leaders he has to allow them to take decisions and stand by them, no matter what. This indicates trust. Only in trust does growth happen.

The author is the Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group who has just written Jaya: an illustrated retelling of Mahabharata (Penguin India).

Boosting the productivity of knowledge workers

2010-09-20T16:39:00.000+05:30

The key is identifying and addressing the barriers workers face in their daily interactions.

SEPTEMBER 2010 • Eric Matson and Laurence Prusak

Source: Strategy Practice

Are you doing all that you can to enhance the productivity of your knowledge workers? It’s a simple question, but one that few senior executives can answer.

Their confusion isn’t for lack of trying. Organizations around the world struggle to crack the code for improving the effectiveness of managers, salespeople, scientists, and others whose jobs consist primarily of interactions—with other employees, customers, and suppliers—and complex decision making based on knowledge and judgment.¹ The stakes are high: raising the productivity of these workers, who constitute a large and growing share of the workforce in developed economies, represents a major opportunity for companies, as well as for countries with low birthrates that hope to maintain GDP growth.

Nonetheless, many executives have a hazy understanding of what it takes to bolster productivity for knowledge workers. This lack of clarity is partly because knowledge work involves more diverse and amorphous tasks than do production or clerical positions, where the relatively clear-cut, predictable activities make jobs easier to automate or streamline. Likewise, performance metrics are hard to come by in knowledge work, making it challenging to manage improvement efforts (which often lack a clear owner in the first place). Against this backdrop, it’s perhaps unsurprising that many companies settle for scattershot investments in training and IT systems.

Since knowledge workers spend half their time on interactions, our research and experience suggest that companies should first explore the productivity barriers that impede these interactions. Armed with a better understanding of the constraints, senior executives can get more bang for their buck by identifying targeted productivity-improvement efforts to increase both the efficiency and effectiveness of the interactions between workers.

Among companies we’ve surveyed, fully half of all interactions are constrained by one of five barriers: physical, technical, social or cultural, contextual, and temporal. While individual companies will encounter some obstacles more than others, our experience suggests that the approaches to overcoming them are widely applicable.

Physical and technical barriers

Physical barriers (including geographic distance and differences in time zones) often go hand in hand with technical barriers because the lack of effective tools for locating the right people and collaborating becomes even more pronounced when they are far away. While these barriers are on the wane at many companies given the arsenal of software tools available, some large, globally dispersed organizations continue to suffer from them.

One remedy implemented by some organizations is to create “communities of practice” for people who could benefit from one another’s advice—as the World Bank has done to help the 100 or so of its planners who focus on urban poverty to facilitate discussions on projects to upgrade slums. The communities feature online tools to help geographically dispersed members search for basic information (say, member roles and the specific challenges they are addressing) and sometimes use the latest social-networking tools to provide more sophisticated information, including whom the members have worked or trained with. By supplementing electronic tools with videoconferences and occasional in-person meetings, communities can bridge physical distances and build relationships.

Social or cultural barriers

Examples of social or cultural barriers include rigid hierarchy or ineffective incentives that don’t spur the right people to engage. To avoid such problems, Petrobras, the Brazil-based oil major, created a series of case studies focused on real events in the company’s past that illuminate its values, processes, and norms. The cases are discussed with new hires in small groups—promoting a better understanding of how the organization works and encouraging a culture of knowledge sharing and collaborative problem solving. (To benefit further from such approaches, companies should include knowledge sharing in performance reviews and ensure that team leaders clearly communicate acceptable response times for information requests. The communities of practice described above can help too: employees are far more likely to give timely and useful responses to people in their network.)

Contextual barriers

Employees who face contextual barriers struggle to share and translate knowledge obtained from colleagues in different fields. Complex interactions often require contact with people in other departments or divisions, making it hard for workers to assess a colleague’s level of expertise or apply the advice they may receive. Think of the disconnect that often occurs between a company’s sales department and its product-development team over customer data. The two groups frequently struggle to communicate because they think and talk so differently about the subject (sales staff devote attention to customer insights while developers focus on product specifications).

To overcome contextual barriers, organizations can rotate employees across teams and divisions or create forums where specialists in different areas can learn about one another’s work. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), for instance, holds a biannual “Masters Forum” to share knowledge across disciplines. About 50 employees from different parts of the agency attend the meetings to hear other NASA colleagues talk about the tools, methods, and skills they use in extremely complex projects. The sessions are lightly moderated and very interactive.

Similarly, managers at Ecopetrol, a Colombian gas and oil company, have found that technical forums not only break down the natural barriers between occupations but also facilitate knowledge sharing across geographic boundaries. Moreover, the forums build trust, which encourages employees to share information more freely.

The barrier of time

The final barrier is time, or rather the perceived lack of it. If valuable interactions are falling victim to time constraints, executives can use job roles and responsibilities to help identify the employees that knowledge workers should be interacting with and on what topics. In some cases, companies may need to clarify decision rights and redefine roles to reduce the interaction burden on some employees while increasing it on others.

Boston-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals, which develops drugs for cancer treatment, did just that. When it found that researchers didn’t have time to share lessons from their experiments, it created a small group of scientists to act as “knowledge intermediaries.” Based on meetings with company scientists as well as presentations, these employees summarize findings and submit them to an internal database. They also act as brokers by sharing knowledge across groups. The company reckons that this practice, combined with other initiatives, has boosted success rates for the company’s research and reduced the time needed to make key decisions.

About the Authors

Eric Matson is a consultant in McKinsey’s Boston office; Laurence Prusak is a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and a former senior adviser to McKinsey.

Changing competitive landscape..?

2010-02-04T17:07:00.000+05:30

Who sells the largest number of cameras in India?
Your guess is likely to be Sony, Canon or Nikon. Answer is none of the above. The winner is Nokia whose main line of business in India is not cameras but cell phones.

Reason being cameras bundled with cellphones are outselling stand alone cameras. Now, what prevents the cellphone from replacing the camera outright? Nothing at all. One can only hope the Sonys and Canons are taking note.

Try this. Who is the biggest in music business in India? You think it is HMV Sa-Re-Ga-Ma? Sorry. The answer is Airtel. By selling caller tunes (that play for 30 seconds) Airtel makes more than what music companies make by selling music albums (that run for hours).
Incidentally Airtel is not in music business. It is the mobile service provider with the largest subscriber base in India. That sort of competitor is difficult to detect, even more difficult to beat (by the time you have identified him he has already gone past you). But if you imagine that Nokia and Bharti (Airtel's parent) are breathing easy you can't be farther from truth.
Nokia confessed that they all but missed the smartphone bus. They admit that Apple's Iphone and Google's Android can make life difficult in future. But you never thought Google was a mobile company, did you? If these illustrations mean anything, there is a bigger game unfolding. It is not so much about mobile or music or camera or emails?

The "Mahabharat" (the great Indian epic battle) is about "what is tomorrow's personal digital device"? Will it be a souped up mobile or a palmtop with a telephone? All these are little wars that add up to that big battle. Hiding behind all these wars is a gem of a question - "who is my competitor?"

"What Apple did to Sony, Sony did to Kodak, explain?" . Sony defined its market as audio (music from the walkman). They never expected an IT company like Apple to encroach into their audio domain. Come to think of it, is it really surprising? Apple as a computer maker has both audio and video capabilities. So what made Sony think he won't compete on pure audio? "Elementary Watson". So also Kodak defined its business as film cameras, Sony defines its businesses as "digital."

In digital camera the two markets perfectly meshed. Kodak was torn between going digital and sacrificing money on camera film or staying with films and getting left behind in digital technology. Left undecided it lost in both. It had to. It did not ask the question "who is my competitor for tomorrow?" The same was true for IBM whose mainframe revenue prevented it from seeing the PC. The same was true of Bill Gates who declared "internet is a fad!" and then turned around to bundle the browser with windows to bury Netscape. The point is not who is today's competitor. Today's competitor is obvious. Tomorrow's is not.

In 2008, who was the toughest competitor to British Airways in India? Singapore airlines? Better still, Indian airlines? Maybe, but there are better answers. There are competitors that can hurt all these airlines and others not mentioned. The answer is videoconferencing and telepresence services of HP and Cisco. Travel dropped due to recession. Senior IT executives in India and abroad were compelled by their head quarters to use videoconferencing to shrink travel budget. So much so, that the mad scramble for American visas from Indian techies was nowhere in sight in 2008. (India has a quota of something like 65,000 visas to the U.S. They were going a-begging. Blame it on recession!). So far so good. But to think that the airlines will be back in business post recession is something I would not bet on. In short term yes. In long term a resounding no. Remember, if there is one place where Newton's law of gravity is applicable besides physics it is in electronic hardware. Between 1977 and 1991 the prices of the now dead VCR (parent of Blue-Ray disc player) crashed to one-third of its original level in India. PC's price dropped from hundreds of thousands of rupees to tens of thousands. If this trend repeats then telepresence prices will also crash. Imagine the fate of airlines then. As it is not many are making money. Then it will surely be RIP!

India has two passions. Films and cricket. The two markets were distinctly different. So were the icons. The cricket gods were Sachin and Sehwag. The filmi gods were the Khans (Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and the other Khans who followed suit). That was, when cricket was fundamentally test cricket or at best 50 over cricket. Then came IPL and the two markets collapsed into one. IPL brought cricket down to 20 overs. Suddenly an IPL match was reduced to the length of a 3 hour movie. Cricket became film's competitor. On the eve of IPL matches movie halls ran empty. Desperate multiplex owners requisitioned the rights for screening IPL matches at movie halls to hang on to the audience. If IPL were to become the mainstay of cricket, as it is likely to be, films have to sequence their releases so as not clash with IPL matches. As far as the audience is concerned both are what in India are called 3 hour "tamasha" (entertainment). Cricket season might push films out of the market.

Look at the products that vanished from India in the last 20 years. When did you last see a black and white movie? When did you last use a fountain pen? When did you last type on a typewriter? The answer for all the above is "I don't remember!" For some time there was a mild substitute for the typewriter called electronic typewriter that had limited memory. Then came the computer and mowed them all. Today most technologically challenged guys like me use the computer as an upgraded typewriter. Typewriters per se are nowhere to be seen.

One last illustration. 20 years back what were Indians using to wake them up in the morning? The answer is "alarm clock." The alarm clock was a monster made of mechanical springs. It had to be physically keyed every day to keep it running. It made so much noise by way of alarm, that it woke you up and the rest of the colony. Then came quartz clocks which were sleeker. They were much more gentle though still quaintly called "alarms." What do we use today for waking up in the morning? Cellphone! An entire industry of clocks disappeared without warning thanks to cell phones. Big watch companies like Titan were the losers. You never know in which bush your competitor is hiding!

On a lighter vein, who are the competitors for authors? Joke spewing machines? (Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, himself a Pole, tagged a Polish joke telling machine to a telephone much to the mirth of Silicon Valley). Or will the competition be story telling robots? Future is scary! The boss of an IT company once said something interesting about the animal called competition. He said "Have breakfast ...or.... be breakfast"! That sums it up rather neatly.

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Pranayama for Dummies

2009-09-23T10:07:00.001+05:30

Between work, commuting in the crazy cities we live in, pleasing your beau, and finding the next meal, you barely have time to wipe your…well, you get the picture. Now we all take our health for granted from time to time, but there is never an excuse to mistreat your most treasured asset. You may not have the time to join any of the hip gyms in town, but this do-it-yourself technique can be practiced at home. And you won't believe how easy this is!

Performing the age-old Indian deep breathing technique, called the Pranayama, for a few minutes every day will help you absorb more oxygen that will improve the frontline defence systems in your body. It is also a very good way of keeping most diseases at bay such as stress, high BP, asthma, lung infections such as common colds, diabetes, and much more.

What you need to take care of while doing Pranayama?

1. Pranayama is best done on an empty stomach.
2. You can sit on a mat or in a chair with your legs crossed at the ankles, in a posture most comfortable to you.
3. The flow of breath - both in and out - must be continuous. Never break the rhythm.
4. Begin with three minutes of Pranayama and go on to 15 minutes per day.
5. As with any form of exercise, Pranayama is best practiced under professional guidance.

There are six types of Pranayam practices. Bhastrika Pranayama, Anulom Vilom Pranayama, Kapal Bhati Pranayama, Bahya Pranayama, Bhramari Pranayama and Udgeeth Pranayama. The simpler ones are the first three. The others are best learnt from a master.

Bhastrika Pranayama:

Sit in a comfortable posture with your hands upturned on your knees and close your eyes. Bring your thumbs and forefingers together with the other three fingers pointing straight. Breathe in slowly through both your nostrils and fill in your lungs and abdomen. At this point, you should be able to feel both your chest and stomach expanding. Now breathe out uniformly but with more force then while you were inhaling. The exhalation time (ET) will be less than the inhalation time (IT). This is one cycle. Breathing in and breathing out may be continued for three minutes on Day One and may be increased to as much as 15 minutes gradually.

Tip: Do this daily for five minutes, for one whole week and your life is made!

Kapal Bhati Pranayama:

Sitting posture is same as above. Inhale air through your nostrils normally and exhale forcefully. The ET should be way shorter than the IT. You can feel the pressure on your abdomen when you exhale. You can do this for three minutes on Day One and for up to five minutes over a period of time.

Anulom Vilom Pranayama:

Sit in the same posture as before. Close the right nostril gently with the right thumb. Inhale slowly through the left nostril and fill your lungs and abdomen fully with air. Now, close your left nostril with the middle and ring fingers of the right hand and open the right nostril. Exhale through the right nostril slowly and fully. Now, inhale through the right nostril, close it with your right thumb, open the left nostril and exhale. This is one cycle. Begin with five cycles on Day One and continue till you reach a duration of about five minutes.

Quick Fix:

The two nostrils represent the sun and the moon. The right one belongs to the sun while the left to the moon. When you have a headache, close your right nostril with your right thumb and breathe evenly through your left nose - both inhaling and exhaling. After doing this for a few minutes, your headache will gradually reduce.

When you are tired and sleepy in the middle of your work, do the reverse. Cover your left nostril with your index finger and breathe evenly through your right nostril. After a short while, you will feel refreshed and wide awake.

Where Does Agile Not Work?

2009-09-04T12:14:00.001+05:30

Where Does Agile Not Work?

Posted: 03 Sep 2009 04:30 AM PDT

In the last month, I have gotten the question "Where does Agile *not* work?" numerous times, mainly from large firms planning their first Agile rollout efforts. That question is quickly followed by, "And I don't want to hear that it works everywhere!"

Admittedly, that's a tough one for me. My answer is that Agile approaches can be applied anywhere - from your home moving project to the creation of space crafts. So I usually flip the question. If Agile conceivably could work anywhere, the question is really, "On which projects do you choose to start your Agile adoption?"

Where To Start

Jean and I and our fellow Rally coach Ronica Roth tend to apply two criteria: the strategic importance and risk of the effort. The iterative nature of Agile development is going to provide you with the tools to steer a risky and highly strategic project much better than phased development approach.

Our rendition from "Stand Back and Deliver"

In their new book Stand Back and Deliver, Pollyanna Pixton, Niel Nickolaisen, Todd Little and Kent McDonald provide a more elaborate portfolio model to assess your efforts. They map uncertainty versus complexity in a 2×2 matrix with nice labels of colts, bulls, sheepdogs and cows. I find the model is very effectively elaborated in the book and some very useful implications for staffing, selecting and managing the value flow are discussed. The variables used in the book include:

Uncertainty Attributes: Market, technology, customer size, project duration, scope of change
Complexity Attributes: Team size, mission critical, team locations, team maturity, domain gaps, dependencies

Three Perspectives

We agree with the authors, the best place to start using Agile practices are projects that are High Uncertainty (because you leverage Agile to learn as you go) and Low Complexity (to avoid the headaches of technical risk).
If the risk to the business is significant, such as eroding market share or the possibility the project will be canceled, then accept the technical risk and use Agile for a High Uncertainty-High Complexity project. The use of Agile will help with the uncertainty. It will be important on those projects to increase the discipline level around process and communication.
Projects of Low Uncertainty and Low Complexity rank third. They could easily transition to Agile and benefit from the improvements to productivity, quality, and collaboration. Yet they don't need Agile to be successful. For these projects, the tie-breaker may be the next set of criteria - the environment.

Environmental Factors

Once the project is right for Agile by its nature, the next question is whether you can quickly create an environment for success. Many people talk about this as the organizational readiness for Agile or assess these concepts via Agile team assessments. Here is a snippet of that kind of team assessment:

Does the Product Owner have the right level of authority and influence? Are they…

Embedded with team?
Dedicated to the project?
Able to gain consensus from stakeholders on goals and features?
Able to evolve the product backlog (with training)?
Able to support the team through constant feedback and decision-making?
Able to plan at multiple levels (with training)?

Is there a dedicated, persistent, cross-functional team?

The team is dedicated to the work being planned using Agile (note: The team could actually work on multiple projects, as long as they are working a single backlog and work from all projects is scheduled via Agile planning cycles).
ScrumMaster, Product Owner, Product Development and Quality Assurance must be full-time dedicated resources.
Other resources might be part-time for any one Scrum team, but they should be spread across as few Scrum teams as possible. These include: Database, User Education, Apps Architect and Ops Architect.
Architects might be contributing members, or might be advisory.

Is the team co-located?

It's not required, but can be a risk factor.
For distributed teams, it is important to have good communication constructs, and to have a leader in remote locations to partner with the ScrumMaster and Product Owner of the core team.

Do you have an Uber Product Owner and Uber ScrumMaster?

For multi-Scrum-team projects, it is important to have an overall Product Owner and ScrumMaster to own releases and communication across teams.

Is there a controlled build environment?

To ensure quality and a smooth flow of work, the team should be able to provide QA with builds multiple times during a two-week sprint.
As a Scrum team matures, and to increase velocity, the team will want to integrate code to a shared dev environment continuously (at least daily).

You can get a copy of Rally's Team Agility Assessment and we welcome your feedback. I hope you will buy their book and try team assessments to help you map your own approach. To me, Agile works everywhere, it is just a question of how good do you want to be and by when.

For your heart's sake

2009-08-26T15:39:00.000+05:30

A chat with Dr. Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya
(Heart Specialist) Bangalore was arranged by WIPRO for its employees .
The transcript of the chat is given below. Useful for everyone.

Qn: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?

Ans:
1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Qn: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?

Ans: No

Qn: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?

Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Qn: Are heart diseases hereditary?

Ans: Yes

Qn: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?

Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.

Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?

Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints

Qn: You have done so much for the poor and needy. What has inspired you to do so?

Ans: Mother Teresa , who was my patient

Qn: Can people with low blood pressure suffer heart diseases?

Ans: Extremely rare

Qn: Does cholesterol accumulates right from an early age (I'm currently only 22) or do you have to worry about it only after you are above 30 years of age?

Ans: Cholesterol accumulates from childhood.

Qn: How do irregular eating habits affect the heart ?

Ans: You tend to eat junk food when the habits are irregular and your body's enzyme release for digestion gets confused.

Qn: How can I control cholesterol content without using medicines?

Ans: Control diet, walk and eat walnut.

Qn: Can yoga prevent heart ailments?

Ans: Yoga helps.

Qn: Which is the best and worst food for the heart?

Ans: Fruits and vegetables are the best and the worst is oil.

Qn: Which oil is better - groundnut, sunflower, olive?

Ans: All oils are bad .

Qn: What is the routine checkup one should go through? Is there any specific test?

Ans: Routine blood test to ensure sugar, cholesterol is ok. Check BP,Treadmill test after an echo.

Qn: What are the first aid steps to be taken on a heart attack?

Ans: Help the person into a sleeping position , place an aspirin tablet under the tongue with a sorbitrate tablet if available, and rush him to acoronary care unit since the maximum casualty takes place within the first hour.

Qn: How do you differentiate between pain caused by a heart attack and that caused due to gastric trouble?

Ans: Extremely difficult without ECG.

Qn: What is the main cause of a steep increase in heart problems amongst youngsters? I see people of about 30-40 yrs of age having heart attacks and serious heart problems.

Ans: Increased awareness has increased incidents. Also, s edentary lifestyles, smoking, junk food, lack of exercise in a country where people are genetically three times more vulnerable for heart attacks than Europeans and Americans.

Qn: Is it possible for a person to have BP outside the normal range of 120/80 and yet be perfectly healthy?

Ans: Yes.

Qn: Marriages within close relatives can lead to heart problems for the child. Is it true?

Ans : Yes, co-sanguinity leads to congenital abnormalities and you may not have a software engineer as a child

Qn: Many of us have an irregular daily routine and many a times we have to stay late nights in office. Does this affect our heart ? What precautions would you recommend?

Ans : When you are young, nature protects you against all these irregularities. However, as you grow older, respect the biological clock.

Qn: Will taking anti-hypertensive drugs cause some other complications (short / long term)?

Ans : Yes, most drugs have some side effects. However, modern anti-hypertensive drugs are extremely safe.

Qn: Will consuming more coffee/tea lead to heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Are asthma patients more prone to heart disease?

Ans : No.

Qn: How would you define junk food?

Ans : Fried food like Kentucky , McDonalds , samosas, and even masala dosas.

Qn: You mentioned that Indians are three times more vulnerable. What is the reason for this, as Europeans and Americans also eat a lot of junk food?

Ans: Every race is vulnerable to some disease and unfortunately, Indians are vulnerable for the most expensive disease.

Qn: Does consuming bananas help reduce hypertension?

Ans : No.

Qn: Can a person help himself during a heart attack (Because we see a lot of forwarded emails on this)?

Ans : Yes. Lie down comfortably and put an aspirin tablet of any description under the tongue and ask someone to take you to the nearest coronary care unit without any delay and do not wait for the ambulance since most of the time, the ambulance does not turn up.

Qn: Do, in any way, low white blood cells and low hemoglobin count lead to heart problems?

Ans : No. But it is ideal to have normal hemoglobin level to increase your exercise capacity.

Qn: Sometimes, due to the hectic schedule we are not able to exercise. So, does walking while doing daily chores at home or climbing the stairs in the house, work as a substitute for exercise?

Ans : Certainly. Avoid sitting continuously for more than half an hour and even the act of getting out of the chair and going to another chair and sitting helps a lot.

Qn: Is there a relation between heart problems and blood sugar?

Ans: Yes. A strong relationship since diabetics are more vulnerable to heart attacks than non-diabetics.

Qn: What are the things one needs to take care of after a heart operation?

Ans : Diet, exercise, drugs on time , Control cholesterol, BP, weight.

Qn: Are people working on night shifts more vulnerable to heart disease when compared to day shift workers?

Ans : No.

Qn: What are the modern anti-hypertensive drugs?

Ans : There are hundreds of drugs and your doctor will chose the right combination for your problem, but my suggestion is to avoid the drugs and go for natural ways of controlling blood pressure by walk, diet to reduce weight and changing attitudes towards lifestyles.

Qn: Does dispirin or similar headache pills increase the risk of heart attacks?

Ans : No.

Qn: Why is the rate of heart attacks more in men than in women?

Ans : Nature protects women till the age of 45.

Qn: How can one keep the heart in a good condition?

Ans : Eat a healthy diet, avoid junk food, exercise everyday, do not smoke and, go for health checkups if you are past the age of 30 ( once in six months recommended) ....

Beat the Swine!

2009-08-18T09:52:00.001+05:30

The media is flashing our faces with scary reports of death tolls while pharma companies and mask makers are raking in the moolah… Sounds like swine flu to me. Given the global nature of the disease combined with popular misconceptions, what's spreading faster than the pandemic itself is panic! It's time we braved the situation…dissipating relevant knowledge instead of fear and frenzy. With a little common sense and these quick facts at hand, let us outwit the H1N1.

Swine flu can be traced back to 1976 in the United States. The 2009 outbreak which began in Mexico has now spread to many parts of the world. However, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that most cases worldwide are usually mild, and most hospitalizations and deaths have been of persons that also had underlying conditions such as asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or a weakened immune system. The mortality rate is less than .01 percent of those affected. Some believe that human beings will soon start developing immunity to the virus. Meanwhile, here are some preventive measures you can take.

The swine flu virus spreads easily between people, through the air or surface contact.
It can spread through coughs and sneezes, so it is important to encourage use of tissues. Tissue papers must be disposed off after use.
The virus can also spread by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the nose or mouth. You may knowingly or unknowingly touch many infected surfaces like door knobs, phone handsets and table tops. So avoid touching your nose, mouth and eyes too often.
Wash the hands regularly, with soap and water. Alcohol-based hand cleansers/sanitizers are also effective.
Many types of masks are available for prevention. The n95 mask is the most popular and sougth-after, as it provides more protection that surgical masks. For the people in Mumbai city, the BMC has indicated that regular cloth napkins can also provide adequate protection.
In India, many people have started using nilgiri (eucalyptus) oil drops on handkerchiefs. Though the implication is debatable, nilgiri oil in general is used to relieve fevers that arise from infectious diseases.
As far as possible, avoid crowded places like malls and multiplexes or any such public spheres. The chance of catching infection in crowded places is higher.
Extra care is required in offices and other environments with central air-conditioning, where infected air can ciruclate easily.
Eat healthy, at home, or at restaurants where you're sure about the hygiene standards.
Exercise to keep your system fit. Healthy eating habits coupled with an active life boost the immunity levels which, in turn help combat diseases.
Babies, young children and the elderly need extra care in this aspect, as they tend to have lower immunity.
At home, keep surfaces clean by wiping them with a household disinfectant.
Linens, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are sick do not need to be cleaned separately, but importantly these items should not be shared without washing thoroughly first
Eating utensils should be washed either in a dishwasher or by hand with water and soap
Throw away tissues and other disposable items used by the sick person in the trash. Wash your hands after touching used tissues and similar waste.

Swine flu symptoms are similar to those of ordinary flu - fever, sneezes, sore throat, coughs, headache, and/or body ache. These can last upto one week. If any of these symptoms are noticed, the person should get a medical check up and stay at home to avoid spreading the infection further. Certain medicines and anti-viral drugs can treat the flu if administered at the right time. WHO (World Health Organization) does not expect to have a full effective vaccine before the end of 2009. Until then, it would be best to practise prevention and stay healthy.

Yoga At Work

2009-08-06T09:51:00.001+05:30

Desk-bound jobs come with a lot of responsibility, pretty pay-cheques and long hours of inactivity. No wonder then, you find your muscles stiffening and the waistline widening. Upset physical conditions directly impact your work, but this is something you already know! What you need to know is that you can work those muscles at work, with the help of office yoga.

Office yoga helps balance our actions which in turn, impact the decisions we make. It promotes inner-strength, confidence and self-esteem, a feeling of well-being and respect for others and love for one's self. This practice improves the overall stability of the organization and its work force.

Office yoga is useful to the organization in many ways.

Decreases frequency & duration of absenteeism
Improves employee morale and team spirit
Increases loyalty, reduces attrition
Enables one to work for longer hours without affecting productivity
Lowers healthcare costs

And what's in it for the employees?

Reduced stress levels
Improved focus and energy
Increased productivity & creativity
Fortified immune system
Enhanced posture and muscle tone
Greater internal harmony

Office Yoga is appropriate for all ages and genders. It is a mild yet effective form of exercise which has multiple benefits for the body and soul. This form of yoga follows a holistic approach and doesn't require any special equipments or environment. All exercises are done sitting on a chair and require no specific clothing. What's more? These exercises hardly take up any time!

Here are some basic office yoga postures. They help alleviate stiffness and pain by releasing tension and increasing muscle strength and flexibility.

1. Arm Stretch

Bending both hands at the elbow, clasp your hands backward. Hold, and then stretch your hands out, shoulder-width apart. Go back to the start position. This exercise helps adjust the shoulder-muscle balance and promotes the circulation in the head, neck, and shoulder.

2. Shoulder Swing

Hold the left leg with right hand and place the left hand behind the back, as far as possible. Then swing shoulder from left to right for 3-5 times. Repeat with the other side. This yogic exercise helps adjust the shoulder-muscle balance.

3. Spinal Column Stretch

Sit straight with palms placed on the thighs. Push the center of gravity on the left hand side, and hold..Feel the stretch in your spine. Go back to start position and then push the center of gravity to the right. Repeat this motion 20 times. It helps adjust the pliability of the spinal column and neck and also helps promote blood circulation.

4. Waist and shoulder workout

Sit straight with hands on the waist. Sink your belly in, jutting out your shoulders and bend in. Hold. Release the belly, jutting your chest out. Repeat this motion 10-15 times. This exercise relieves the fatigue of the waist and shoulder and improves metabolism.

5. Pelvic workout

Sit straight, placing hands on the knees. Then push the center of gravity on the left leg and hold. Repeat with the other side. Do at least 30 reps. This exercise helps relieve the fatigue of pelvis.

Try this yoga regiment in your office. I'm sure you will experience a positive change!

Great Toons

2009-08-05T16:10:00.001+05:30

Nandan's brief of his first day in parliament!

2009-07-28T11:28:00.000+05:30

Continuing my tryst with capturing the life and times of Nandan Nilekani in his new avatar as a Cabinet Minister, here is what he had penned after his first day in the Parliament. The last entry stopped when the House was just about to begin. Let’s see what happened thereafter….

The House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with anticipation and excitement!!!! Manmohan had informed me that my introduction was one of the important points of the agenda. I hoped that I will be able to make my speech properly. After so many interviews and conferences, I was nervous today!!!! After the Speaker indicated that the proceedings of the House could begin, Manmohan formally introduced me to the entire House. He mentioned that as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, I was responsible to ensure that each and every Indian had a digital smart card as a proof of his existence.

Manmohan spoke about why I was selected and also some references to the various projects executed by me in Infosys were mentioned. The House listened with rapt attention. I was asked to say a few words and I did exactly the same!!! I thanked the Government of India for having given me this opportunity and I assured the House that I would strive to successfully deliver this project. The Speaker then formally inducted me into the House and before the proceedings could move any forward, there was a small commotion on the other side of the hall.

It was Minister of Textiles who had a comment to make before the next point on the agenda. He made a request that I should be attired in a more austere way instead of a flashy suit. It did not go well with the image of a minister who should live to serve the common man and should be less ostentatious in his habits. I stood up to reply. I offered my apologies to the Honourable Minister and assured that I shall be in a more acceptable dress next time. I felt that he was right. We also used to have corporate dress code in Infosys. So it's here as well!!!!

I sat down and felt somebody nudging me. I turned around and to my surprise; it was the former Indian skipper and one of my favourite batsman Mohd. Azharuddin. I remembered that he had recently won the elections. I smiled at him and mentioned to him that I used to like his game very much, shaking his hand. No Rolex, I noticed. Azhar told me that he would “fix” me an appointment with an Italian designer who had designed his dapper Kurta suit. An Italian designer in Milan doing Kurtas!!!!! I made a note of this and reminded myself to give this example to Friedman for his next book,” The World Markets are flattened”.

Since there was no doubt about the “Fixational” capacities of Azhar, I told him to give me the details and I would consider. The proceedings of the House went on with numerous bills being debated and passed as I sat as a passive audience waiting for my project’s turn to come up. After the lunch break, it was the moment for me!!!!

MY PROJECT”S FIRST REVIEW CAME UP FOR PRESENTATION.
I was at sea. My laptop did not have any reserve power. I went to Manmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was sweating. He calmly replied that this would not be a cause of concern. I was flummoxed!!!! The Speaker asked me to explain to the House on what were my plans for the Unique Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan prepared for 30-60-90-120 days’ milestones and I have presentation to make for which I need a power socket, a projector and a screen. I had no idea what was going to happen after this.

The next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I was completely in a tizzy. Let me just summarize what happened. A Joint Cabinet Secretary Committee was set up to judge the feasibility of my request. The Under Secretaries for the Ministries of Power, IT and Broadcasting will prepare a Viability Report after scrutinizing National Security threats to my request. This was because the power socket comes under Power, laptop comes under IT and projector comes under Broadcasting. I have also been told to reconsider my timelines of 30-60-90 days and start thinking in terms of years. Probably, they are right. I did not have the foresight in this matter.
The summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a more inclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this project to be executed over the next five years. I have also been given a presentation slot 3 months from now (by which the issues related to the power cord etc will also be resolved). I am filled with mixed reactions. I was planning for a quick resolution; the management wants a strategic solution. I come out of the House and text Murthy.
“You won’t believe it but these guys work just like us. I am on a NATIONAL BENCH for the next three months!!!!!!!!”

Nitin Malhotra

The Art of Fine Dining

2009-07-25T13:38:00.001+05:30

Fine dining is all about gourmet meals, plush decors and impeccable service. But there's a little role you too must play, to do justice to the experience. Good dining etiquette not only portrays you as a classy person but also implies respect towards the people accompanying you. So brush up on your table manners and dine in style!

Make a great first impression

If you're meeting people like prospective colleagues/clients for the first time, this is the most crucial part. Introduce yourself brightly! Stand up, smile, make eye contact and acknowledge them, and always shake hands firmly. Repeat the other person's name.

The white flag

After you're seated and have had initial conversation, wait for the host to unfold his napkin. That's a signal for the meal to begin. So go ahead and remove your napkin from its holder, unfold it (do not shake it or loosen it out vigorously) and place it in your lap. Completely unfold if it is a small luncheon napkin or halve it lengthwise if it is a large dinner napkin. When the host places his napkin on the table, it's a signal for the meal to end. Follow suit and leave your napkin on the right side of your plate without folding it.

Don't fork up!

It's easy to get confused with the cutlery. Relax… Use one fork for each course of the meal. Start with the fork that's farthest from your plate on the left hand side - that's usually the salad fork. Then comes the dinner fork which is visibly bigger than the other two…and the last one is the dessert fork. Similarly, use knives as and when required, in conjunction with the forks. The soup-spoon is to your outermost right. The butter spreader is usually kept on a little dish near your plate.

Let the feast begin…

Start eating only after everyone has been served. Keep all the drinks and glasses to your right. The water goblet is usually the largest in size, followed by the red wine and white wine glasses and/or a champagne flute. Passing of food is always to the right side. Pass items like sauces or gravy boat with the handle pointing towards the recipient.

Rude Alert!

Snagging food out of a passing item is considered downright rude! Avoid it. Don't blow on your food to cool it down (that's so uncool). Keep your elbows off the table and keep your left hand in your lap when you're not eating. Eat well, but don't stuff your mouth. Chew with your mouth closed and no matter how excited you are, please do not talk with your mouth full. Want to blow your nose, touch-up makeup or use a toothpick? Head to the restroom.

Cut it right

American Style: Knife in right hand, fork in left hand holding food. After a few bite-sized pieces of food are cut, place knife on edge of plate with blades facing in. Eat food by switching fork to right hand, unless you are left handed.
European Style: Knife in right hand, fork in left hand. Eat food with fork still in left hand, with the prongs curving downward. (no switching here).
Once you're done, leave the forks and knives in the plate, not on the table.

Tipping Point

Always offer to leave a tip, ranging from 10%-15% of the bill amount.
Waitstaff: 15% of the final bill
Wine steward (optional): 15% of wine bill
Bartender (optional): 10% of the bar bill
Coat check: Rs.50-100 per coat
Car attendant: Rs.50-100

Now that you're all set to fine-dine, here's a list of the finest restaurants in your city:

Ahmedabad: Basil, Curry Leaf
Bangalore: Via Milano, Mugen
Chennai: Benjarong, Zara
Delhi: Manre, Zen, West View
Hyderabad: The Square, Zafraan Nirvana
Kolkata: Mainland China, Hushh
Mumbai: Wasabi, Thai Pavilion
Pune: Exotica, Flag's

Indian Hell

2009-07-16T11:54:00.001+05:30

An Indian dies and goes to hell. There he finds that there is a different hell for each country. He goes first to the German hell and asks "What do they do here?" He is told "First they put you in an electric chair for an hour. Then they lay you on a bed of nails for another hour. Then the German devil comes in and whips you for the rest of the day."

The man does not like the sound of that at all, so he moves on. He checks out the USA hell as well as the Russian hell and many more. He discovers that they are all more or less the same as the German hell.
Then he comes to the Indian hell and finds that there is a very long line of people waiting to get in. Amazed he asks "What do they do here?"

He is told "First they put you in an electric chair for an hour.Then they lay you on a bed of nails for another hour. Then the Indian devil comes in and whips you for the rest of the day."
But that is exactly the same as all the other hells - why are there so many people waiting to get in? "Because maintenance is so bad >that>>the electric chair does not work, someone has stolen all the nails from the bed, and the devil is a former Govt servant, so he comes in, signs the register and then goes to the cafeteria..."

Ten things that will help you in an interview

2009-07-16T11:46:00.001+05:30

Here are the 10 things that will help you in an interview:

Show up for the interview. Arrive on time or even a little early for your interview. If you are late, the message is that you are not interested.
Inform the relevant person that you have arrived. Don't hide in some corner trying to blend with the wallpaper.
Introduce yourself with a bright smile. Don't behave as though you are doing the employer a favour by attending the interview.[You may be nervous, but try and be cheerful]
Keep a copy of your resume ready. If you are confident, say that you intentionally did not print your resume on paper because you want to be carbon friendly. Provide them with a link to your online professional profile.
If you are a fresher, have some favourite (Academic) subjects which you are comfortable with. Since you are fresh out of college, you obviously don't have any work experience. So the only thing that you can be questioned on is what was taught to you in school/college. Better that they question you in the areas of your strength than on other subjects. So state clearly the 2 or 3 subjects that were/are your favourite areas so that the interviewer asks questions around these topics.
Also if you are a fresher, know your subject in these areas. If, after several years of education, you cannot answer basic questions in your favourite areas, nobody will believe that you can be taught anything, ever.
If you know, answer. If you don't know but think you can guess, say so and then try your answer. If you haven't a clue, make that clear too.
Be aware of the latest happenings in your industry. If you are from the tech industry, for example, know about blogs, twitter, techcrunch, social networking, SAAS, AJAX, or whatever else is the latest craze.
Highlight your other active interests and hobbies. Show that you are having/pursuing an interesting life. Browsing and watching TV are not hobbies.
Keep your phone on silent during the interview. Don't answer calls. I have had people answer their phone in the middle of an interview and say (to their current boss, presumably) that they are having lunch with a friend. No one will recruit a liar.
Bonus: Stick to the truth, always. This is non-negotiable.

Desi Fun

2009-07-09T17:41:00.000+05:30

Mobile Thefts

2009-04-16T11:18:00.000+05:30

Mobile theft is ubiquitous & nearly omnipotent and it’s for this reason that I’d recommend a small ‘investment’ for every mobile user –

http://www.webgate.bg/products/adl_pro/

Besides other things, this little utility alerts you if the SIM card on your phone has been changed by sending a notification SMS to a predefined number. The IMSI number of the new SIM card will be secretly sent to your backup number without the notion of the unauthorized user and your mobile operator and local authorities can assist you to track the new user, and trace the phone.

It may be too technical for some – but for some others, it might be/become indispensable.

Cheers,
Nitin Malhotra

Understanding the changes in the PMBOK Guide, 4th edition : TechGuides : Tech Management : ZDNet Asia

2009-04-15T12:28:00.001+05:30

Follow it here: http://www.zdnetasia.com/techguide/techmanagement/0,39044902,62053071,00.htm?scid=nl_z_tgtm

Project Manager Interview Guidelines

2009-04-13T15:00:00.001+05:30

Here is a list of 20 Questions (compiled using various free sources on the internet) that Project Managers typically get asked in an interview:

1 Tell us about your experience in managing different projects and how this can contribute to our position.

It is important to structure your interview answer because this is a multi-layered and fairly complex question. Start by explaining how you will answer the question. This keeps your answer on track and to the point. "I will begin by giving you a short description of my last three projects. I will then detail the skills and abilities I developed as a result of each project and then demonstrate the value of these skills to this position." You can then goon to provide a brief but concise summary of each project. "I was the project manager for the XYZ project and this involved ..." Then describe the skills you acquired during the project. "I encountered a number of difficulties on this project that required an innovative approach. I used group problem solving sessions as one of these approaches. This worked well because it helped each team member to clarify their particular project role and responsibility and we were able to develop plans and realistic schedules that the whole project team contributed to ..." Demonstrate how these skills will benefit the position and company. "Projects now are faced with tighter budgets and fewer resources. This approach maximizes the available resources and keeps everyone focused and motivated for the duration of the project..."

2 Describe how you recently managed a diverse project team towards a common goal

Focus on your ability to delegate in a fair and practical way, how you clearly defined project roles and responsibilities, kept personality clashes and conflict to a minimum and monitored and fed back to the project team. Outline your management style and why it worked.

3 Describe the most complex project you have managed from start to finish

Provide a comprehensive answer remembering to explain the project as you would to a client and not to somebody who has been involved in the project. The more complex a project the more formal processes and techniques are needed toeffectively manage the work. Explain the purpose, value and implementation of the most critical aspects of the project including managing the project work plan, the project schedule, the project risks, the project issues and closing the project. Be enthusiastic about your accomplishments and specify how your experience will benefit the company. Point out where you made a difference on the project in terms of expenditure, quality, efficiency, customer satisfaction and business and organizational success.

4 How do you determine realistic schedules for the project?

5 Explain your methods for resource allocation.

6 How do you manage suppliers?

7 How do you inform all the stakeholders of the progress of the project on a regular basis?

8 How do you monitor risks to the project and mitigate them?

9 What tools do you use to monitor and control projects?

10 What project management methodologies are you most familiar with?

11 What project software have you used?

12 What change management processes have you used to ensure that change is introduced properly?

13 What are the practices you follow for closing a project and meeting the conditions required to establish closure?

14 What specific training have you had that would be relevant to this project manager job?

15 Give me an example of how you used your leadership skills to help your project team meet a difficult challenge.

An effective project manager needs to lead though setting goals and using the right methods to guide and influence the project team towards goal attainment. Good leaders enable team members to feel they have a real stake in the project and encourage them to participate in problem-solving and decision-making. When answering project manager interview questions about leadership show how you understand the need to communicate and consult but are also aware that lots of talking and procrastination achieves nothing without deciding and taking action. Effective project managers lead by example and are open and honest about the challenges they face. They recognize the important of collective team effort in achieving the desired results. They are able to identify and use the strengths of each team member and allocate roles and responsibilities accordingly. This empowers team members to respond to the challenges that arise. Those that excel as project managers keep the project team motivated to give of their best to meet these challenges. They understand the appropriate management style to use with each team member at the different stages of team development. They know how to best utilize the competencies of the team and each team member to deal with challenges and problems.

16 Describe a time when your communication and interpersonal skills helped in dealing with difficult clients or team members.

After leadership, the ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels is regarded as the second most important project manager skill. Good project management requires clear communication about objectives, roles, responsibilities, performance, expectations and feedback. The project manager should be able to effectively influence and persuade clients and the team to ensure success. Explicit guidelines and expectations should be communicated to accomplish results. When answering this question it is important to show how you are able to adapt your style of communication to the person you are dealing with. Empathy, understanding and self-awareness all play a role in doing this. The ability to communicate with different individuals on various levels with diverse project interests is important for successful project management. Every project team and every project is different; you must be able to adjust your style to their needs. Included in communication skills is the ability to be enthusiastic about the shared goals and vision. Enthusiastic project managers are committed to their goals and express this through optimistic and confident communication. Be aware of your communication style during the interview including your body language and other non-verbal signals.

17 Give an example of a win-win situation you negotiated

In all projects there are a number of stakeholders who all see their concerns and issues as the most important. Effective project management means responding by finding the best solutions that address the issues without compromising the other stakeholders or the overall project. In your answer show how you are able to communicate essential information and workable alternatives in a way that gains acceptance. Your ability to understand the position of the other person and to focus on solutions rather than problems is key to effective negotiation on a project.

18 What was the most stressful aspect of your last project and how did you deal with it?

Very few projects stay on schedule, under budget and with no major problems. The ability to handle stressful situations is key to successful project management. Limited resources and time, changing demands and new circumstances all result in stress on the project manager. Show how you are able to stay calm under pressure and plan to reduce stress focusing on aspects such as your people management, technology management, risk management and expectation management.

19 Tell me about a situation during a recent project when you had to adapt and manage change

Show that you can adjust effectively to meet changing demands and tasks. An effective project manager can quickly assess a new situation and adapt to it. The change management process is critical to the success of a project. Each change needs to be properly defined, considered and approved before it is implemented. Focus on developing a plan for change that addresses change on both a process level and on a people level. Careful and well thought-out preparation of the stakeholders for change and the ability to overcome resistance are key to successful change management. Your answer should emphasize your ability to plan properly and thoroughly for change.

20 More

Answer your interview questions in a calm and assertive tone. Take time to gather your thoughts before answering, it is a key project manager skill to be able to process the facts before responding! Most project management candidates handle the questions designed to evaluate their technical proficiency well but tend to slip up on the project management interview questions that explore the behaviors or competencies required for a project manager position. Behaviors or competencies are important because over 80 percent of candidates lose the job offer due to their inability to demonstrate the required project manager behaviors

Good luck with your job hunt!

Cheers,
Nitin Malhotra

Scribe lobs shoe at Chidambaram - India - The Times of India

2009-04-08T11:46:00.001+05:30

Jarnail might have coined a new word for activist-journalism - "Jarnailism" - but the mode of protest was certainly not original.