12 years back, I started my career as a tutor who taught Oracle and PL/SQL to students belonging to different age groups. One thing I realized very early in my career as a tutor is that everyone of us has a different rate of learning – the speed with which we grasp new things, accept […]
In software world, delivering is generally associated with painful process of testing, rework, defect fixing, perfecting, packaging and then shipping. We build our reputation as professionals by the stuff we deliver, quality of what we deliver and timeliness of our shipments. Here’s what I have realized: All deliveries have associated pain. Software has to be […]
We all find it difficult to stick to our new year resolutions beyond a few months. A lot of people wish to focus on their health and start exercising. Many people I know want to quit smoking. We have a lot of “wishes” on improvement, but we often fail to take some real actions. Why? […]
Last few months, I have been playing Table Tennis regularly. From a complete novice to a reasonably comfortable player has been a wonderful road so far. With each game, I am getting more confident because I learn some new tricks, understand the nuances and find better ways to handle different situations. For example, when I […]
When a project is executed, a plan is established. Work is broken down into smaller pieces and a neat schedule is created. Team members (often referred to as “resources”, unfortunately) are assigned, milestones are created and the schedule is circulated to all concerned. Then the execution begins with a great zeal. As the time passes, […]
I love project management as a subject not only because it gets so much work done, but also because project management manifests how people operate. I have written before that Projects are a great opportunity to practice leadership. They way we work on projects and the way we manage projects tell a lot of the […]
John Spence has done a brilliant job of writing a very useful handbook titled “Awesomely Simple – Essential Business Strategies For Turning Ideas Into Action”. It is a privilege to interview John on his book. Business is complex and this book is a great attempt to simplify it through ideas and how they can be […]
Total Quality Management (TQM) says that quality is everybody’s job. Each individual’s approach to work, understanding of quality and personal standards of excellence are crucial for delivering quality. One of the biggest challenges for a lot of organizations today is to involve each and every team member in the quality game. Most people in the […]
When a kid learns how to play music, he develops “ability” to play music. He knows the basics. He is able to play the music according to notes. He can play the songs exactly as the notes tell him to play. Then a few more years of practice and he develops ability to play new […]