June 28, 2005

What does it take to be a SUCCESSFUL MAN-AGER!!!

Let me start from the scratch.Everyone starts his career from the lowest and this is true in each and every field be it IT or Non-IT field.So consider that you are in the software field so it means that you will start your career from the post of Software Trainee and may reach to some height in your career as the time keeps on progressing.Now the question which arises in mind is why a fresh graduate or post grad needs to start from the bottom of the career ladder and climb upwards.

Can't he not directly go to the top of the ladder in one shot.The answer to this question is very simple and it is a straightforward "NO".So what does a person gain when he starts climbing this ladder.As you have guessed it is "Experience".So what does this complicated terminology "Experience" mean?Seems very difficult.Isnt it.With Experience,the person gains knowledge about the various business aspects as well as his brain keeps on maturing each and every second.This knowledge growth will help him reach higher positions in his career and the maturity will help him scale new heights in his career.

So,now the question arises is whether every "Experienced" person is "Mature" or does he have enough knowledge about the business.The answer to this question is again "NO".That is why we have only one person like Bill Gates,Larry Ellison.They have used their experience in the enhancement of business by study of the various aspects of business.So,who accompanies them in various decision making activities.It is the Management Level of the company.Now what is this "MANAGEMENT".It is proper execution of your activities.Every person is a Manager in his day to day life since he/she has to do various activities everyday but not every person who is a Manager is a "Successful Manager".One one hand we have people like Vivek Paul(Vice Chairman of Wipro) who has helped Wipro scale new heights in all businesses be it IT or BPO.What could be the reason for his success.Does he have his own "Management Mantras" which help him?The anwser should again be "NO". So, what qualities does a Successful Manager have?The simple answer is all qualities of a Manager plus some other qualities.

I would list down some of the qualities,which have come to my mind after few years of IT experience.Experience is always "Few" since everyday we have something new to learn and would appreciate the contibution of the readers of this article towards this area.

1.
Manager is a normal Human Being(and he is also bound to make mistakes) and whatever he/she says is not always TRUE and so, it is very important for the listener to analyse his/her statements.
Conclusion :
A "Good Manager" should be a "Good Listener".

2.
Since people work under him so it is his reposnsibility that every person in the team has some work irrespective to the quality of the work and he/she should not be on "Bench"(IT terminoloty to refer to a person who is idle).
Conclusion :
It is the sole responsibility of the Manager for the assignment of work to the various members of the team.

3.
We expect only things to be said about us.Whereas when we have people working with us(or may be under our leadership),we should expect people to come out with our bad qualities as well.
Conclusion:
The Manager should be on the look out to improve this own managerial skills as well as the attitues and gelling between his team members.During this course there is a high possibility that people in the team may come out with his weaknesses.So,in short Manager should be Open Minded and should take things in the correct way.

4.
There is always a difference between people who work and people who pretend to work.
Conclusion:
He should keep not only his eyes open as well as his ears open since,everywhere we have people who work and some(or should i say most),who pretend to work.

5.
Some issues need discussions whereas some can solved without even stepping into the Discussion Room.How many people do we see who are active as well as attentive in meetings?Many people pop off all the elements from their Mind Stack(Could not help myself from using Technical Language) when they enter the Discussion Room.
Conclusion:
It is Man-ager's responsibility to forsee whether meeting is required to get the solution for a particular issue else only mockery will happen inside the room resulting in wastage of time.So,call for meetings only when required.

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June 8, 2005

Be careful while You BLOG and what you BLOG!!!!

Google blogger has left the building
By Evan Hansen

Source:
http://news.com.com/Google+blogger+has+left+the+building/2100-1038_3-5567863.html

Mark Jen, a blogger whose candid comments about life on the job at Google sparked controversy last month, has left the company.
"Mark is no longer an employee at Google," a Google representative said in response to an inquiry Tuesday. Efforts to reach Jen for comment were not immediately successful.

Jen's departure comes less than a month after he joined Google as part of a wave of new hires and began recording his impressions of his new employer, including criticisms, in his blog.

Employee blogging is on the rise, sparking increasing clashes between workers and management over the line between appropriate and inappropriate commentary. In one recent dispute, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant lost her job after posting photos of herself in uniform on her blog.

A Microsoft contractor lost his job last year after he took some pictures of Apple G5 computers being unloaded onto the software company's campus and posted them to his blog.

Friendster, known for breaking new ground in online social networking and promoting self-expression among peers, fired one of its employees in August over her Troutgirl blog.

The employee blog issue is doubly sensitive for Google, which became a prominent booster of blogging through its acquisition of Web logging pioneer Pyra Labs in February 2003. The company also has made a point of putting ethics before profits in its business operations, suggesting it holds itself to a higher standard of care than the average for customers and employees.

While details of Jen's departure are unclear, the newbie Googler ran into trouble at the company almost immediately when he decided to record his impressions of Google on a blog called Ninetyninezeros--one zero short of the mathematical term known as a "googol."

Jen began making entries in Ninetyninezeros on Jan. 17, and soon drew the notice of other bloggers. Curiosity spiked when the postings temporarily disappeared about a week later.

On Jan. 26, an edited version of the blog reappeared on the site, with a new entry explaining the on-again, off-again commentary. Gone was the first day's post explaining his reasons for creating the blog, as well as a description of an employee orientation event that vaguely touched on discussions of Google's booming business.

At that time, Jen denied he made the change under duress, insisting that Google "was pretty cool about all this."

News of Jen's job status was posted at Google Blogoscoped. According to an anonymous message in the blog forum, Jen was let go on Jan. 28.

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