The most memorable things in our career are the ones we initiated. People love saying, “I was the one who started the NY office” or “I defined the testing processes here” or “I bought our first consulting assignment” or “I started it from scratch”. During the hiring process, I encounter a number of people who […]
At the core of leadership is ability to support improvements. One of the biggest change when an organization embarks upon a process improvement journey is the change in mindset. While the objectives change, business leaders tend to cling on to traditional management styles of ‘command and control’. With ‘command and control’, managers will control everything […]
Once in a while, when I have exhausted all current reading material, I get to my book cabinet and randomly pick up any old book that I first notice and read a few chapters. It helps me get out of my routine reading and I discover new insights from the same books that I may […]
In manufacturing world, improving quality of raw material was the first step to improve quality of final product. Then came manufacturing process and efficiency of assembly lines. Ditto with knowledge world, except that raw material here is not plastic beans, but a knowledge worker’s brain. Consider that with range of other softer aspects like motivation, […]
Today, I have been reading and thinking about importance of ‘workplace mentoring’ in building great teams that deliver results. I chose the term ‘workplace mentoring’ because I am writing this from a business context. To me, simple definition of workplace mentoring is – “An act of coaching/counseling with an intent of improving people, their performance, […]
This happens to me all the time while reading blogs. Reading diverse ideas written by different individuals on a same subject (on a same day at times). The topic then occupies my mind space. Sometimes I comment on those posts and most of the times, the subject goes hiding in some corner of my brain. […]
… and I am very proud and happy about it. Jurgen Appelo (over at NOOP.NL), whom I have been reading since last couple of years, has compiled a list of Top 150 Management and Leadership Blogs. QAspire Blog ranks 89 amongst these, when mere inclusion in the list is an honor in itself. There are […]
I am fond of meaningful quotes and read this one a few days back – “Half of our problems can be solved by bridging the gap between what we know and what we do.” My experience suggests that excellent execution of simple ideas will yield better results than great ideas executed poorly. Similarly, having good […]
If you are a manager or leader, you are very likely to have followers whom we commonly refer to as ‘subordinates.’ In an organizational context, subordination refers to a lower position in the hierarchy. A leader is placed at a higher rank and subordinates are at a lower rank. That is the common perception, and […]