Charting your own course

Charting Your Own Course

Consultant A, Consultant B, Do either of you have the cycles to help Senior Manager and I with a proposal over the next 3 days? Partner Hmm...Interesting..This actually means you better say YES!

Why you need to have good grammar

Here is the reason

Consulting Gyaan #2 Do the "Minto" thinking. Every time I end up showing a deck to the Senior Managers here, they first look to see if the story board is right. They ask if it has passed the "Minto" test - it is about Situation, Complication, Solution, xxx. Sometimes, I get irritated by it. At other times, it makes sense. But for me, it is a learning experience.

Consulting Gyaan Tip #1 Today, I learnt a new word in the management jargon. This was really new coz I haven't heard it any time before. The word is "Strategic Philanthropy". There might be many explanations for that but in fact what it really means is investing your time in such philanthropic activities that will aid/boost your career.

Knowledge has no Value unless you put it into Practice. Sindhi: I have a cow for you for just Rs, 500! Patelbhai Patelbhai: I'll take it, you can bring it to me tomorrow! Here is the money The next day: 'Sorry Bhai, but the cow died last night. ''Oh.. So, ok then. Just give me my money back'' Sorry Bhaia, I already spent that money. ''Oh my ! So, ok then. Just bring me the dead cow.' So, Sindhibhai brought the dead cow to Patel the next morning. A few weeks later, Sindhi bumped into Patel and asked him what he did with the dead cow: 'You won't believe it Sindhibhai! I made a raffle for the cow, and I sold 251 tickets for Rs.5 each! I made a profit of Rs.850! But, I didn't tell anyone the cow was dead.. 'Oh! And didn't the people complain?' 'Yaa ! Only the guy who won! So, I gave him back his Rs.5 and he was happy

Interesting Posters

10 classic Indianisms

10 classic Indianisms: 'Doing the needful' and more If you have done your education in India, here are a few grammatically English incorrect sentences that are thought correct in India. Here is the article 1. 'Passing out' When you complete your studies at an educational institution, you graduate from that institution.You do not "pass out" from that institution. To "pass out" refers to losing consciousness, like after you get too drunk, though I’m not sure how we managed to connect graduating and intoxication.Oh wait … of course, poor grades throughout the year could lead to a sudden elation on hearing you’ve passed all of your exams, which could lead to you actually "passing out," but this is rare at best. 2. 'Kindly revert' One common mistake we make is using the word revert to mean reply or respond.Revert means "to return to a former state." I can’t help thinking of a sarcastic answer every time this comes up.“Please revert at the earliest.”“Sure, I’ll set my biological clock to regress evolutionarily to my original primitive hydrocarbon state at 1 p.m. today." 3. 'Years back' If it happened in the past, it happened years ago, not "years back." Given how common this phrase is, I’m guessing the first person who switched "ago" for "back" probably did it years back. See what I mean?And speaking of "back," asking someone to use the backside entrance sounds so wrong. “So when did you buy this car?” “Oh, years back.” “Cool, can you open the backside? I’d like to get a load in.” 4. 'Doing the needful' Try to avoid using the phrase "do the needful." It went out of style decades ago, about the time the British left. Using it today indicates you are a dinosaur, a dinosaur with bad grammar. You may use the phrase humorously, to poke fun at such archaic speech, or other dinosaurs.“Will you do the needful?” “Of course, and I’ll send you a telegram to let you know it's done too.” 5. 'Discuss about' “What shall we discuss about today?” “Let’s discuss about politics. We need a fault-ridden topic to mirror our bad grammar.” You don't "discuss about" something; you just discuss things. The word "discuss" means to "talk about". There is no reason to insert the word "about" after "discuss." That would be like saying "talk about about." Which "brings about" me to my next peeve. 6. 'Order for' "Hey, let’s order for a pizza." "Sure, and why not raid a library while we’re about it.” When you order something, you "order" it, you do not "order for" it. Who knows when or why we began placing random prepositions after verbs? Perhaps somewhere in our history someone lost a little faith in the "doing" word and added "for" to make sure their order would reach them. They must have been pretty hungry. 7. 'Do one thing' When someone approaches you with a query, and your reply begins with the phrase "do one thing," you're doing it wrong. "Do one thing" is a phrase that does not make sense. It is an Indianism. It is only understood in India. It is not proper English. It is irritating. There are better ways to begin a reply. And worst of all, any person who starts a sentence with "do one thing" invariably ends up giving you at least five things to do. “My computer keeps getting hung.” “Do one thing. Clear your history. Delete your cookies. Defrag your hardrive. Run a virus check. Restart your computer... .” 8. 'Out of station' “Sorry I can’t talk right now, I’m out of station.” “What a coincidence, Vijay, I’m in a station right now.” Another blast from the past, this one, and also, extremely outdated. What's wrong with "out of town" or "not in Mumbai" or my favorite "I'm not here"? 9.The big sleep "I’m going to bed now, sleep is coming." "OK, say hi to it for me." While a fan of anthropomorphism, I do have my limits. "Sleep is coming" is taking things a bit too far. Your life isn’t a poem. You don’t have to give body cycles their own personalities. 10. 'Prepone' “Let’s prepone the meeting from 11 a.m. to 10 a.m.” Because the opposite of postpone just has to be prepone, right? "Prepone" is probably the most famous Indianism of all time; one that I’m proud of, and that I actually support as a new entry to all English dictionaries.Because it makes sense. Because it fills a gap. Because we need it. We’re Indians, damn it. Students of chaos theory.We don’t have the time to say silly things like "could you please bring the meeting forward." Prepone it is. There are many more pure grammatical "gems" in what we call Indian English. Perhaps in time I’ll list some more. And perhaps in the near future, we’ll get better at English. Till then, kindly adjust. Here is more from another article: 1. Only "He kicked the ball like that only." Like there was any doubt about the way he did it. "I’m here only." As opposed to just being "here"? "Only" is the least lonely and most overused word in Indian English. 2. Myself … “Myself … [Followed by your name].” If you want to say your name, just say "my name is …". Unless you’re looking to fail a job interview. 3. Updation "We’re awaiting updation by our manager." [via svark] Right. You’re an android. And your manager always winds you up first thing in the morning. Why not simply: "We’re waiting to be updated by our manager?" Still, "updation" does have a nice ring to it. Like "tiffin." I guess I can let this one pass (see, I do discriminate). 4. Basically and actually This might be an Americanism, and perhaps a Britishism too, but it’s funny when we overuse "basically" and "actually" to emphasize what we mean. "Basically, we import toothpicks." "Actually, you know, I’m not sure what we export." It's like having your head slammed against a wall. Try to stop the habit. For the sake of my head. 5. Taking things "I will call you back later as I am taking my lunch right now." Taking it where? To the pool for a swim? [via Shak] Just like "take rest." [via Shakthi Girish] Really. "Take rest." Instead of just "rest." Why? It seems that we just love to take things. Where do we put them? 6. Would be "I would be coming for the meeting in Malad." [via superstar] “Would you also care to purchase a copy of "English Grammar for Dummies" on your way?” It should be "will be", not "would be." No reason to switch the two, even to sound polite. 7. Putting this and that "Put on the switch", "Put this yellow dress." [via Umamaheswari Venkatesh] We just love using the word "put." It’s a great so-called filler verb to shorten sentences. "Switch on/turn on the light" or "wear/put on this yellow dress” are all correct. No idea how "put" came into the picture. Then again, we also have people who exclude that word completely. “Off the lights.” Doh! 8. Danced on "We danced on this song at the wedding reception." [via Ranjit] Yup. "Danced on." Not "danced to." But "danced on." What is the world coming to? Those wedding guests were tripping for sure if they thought they were dancing "on" a song. Come to think of it, I’d like to have been at that reception. 9. Don’t eat my brains One of those colloquialisms we love to use in times of irritation. "Eat my head" is another variation. While your dietary choices are your own, I would like to point out that Mumbai has some excellent goat brain on offer, should you decide not to take up the challenge above. 10. Indian-English SMS speak “c if u cud mk it psible fr tmrw itz gna b osm party ... i nw u bzy wd shoots nly bt gv a try na .... cheerrzzz yaa ...” [via KC].I save the best for last. This headache inducing cellular shorthand is a worldwide problem, imported from the decadent-capitalist-pig-West onto our shores. People who talk like this are the future of the country. Think about that. And shudder.

Some interesting posters..

Unwritten rules to live by

I read this article in the Men's Health magazine. I must admit that I don't agree with all of them but here are the key ones which I think are worth giving a second thought.



It is more important to have good health insurance than good health.

When one of the big bosses at work unexpectedly says something really cheery and friendly to you, he means absolutely nothing by it. Not even if he's your father.

Wear as much black as you can. It makes you look slimmer and cooler. But avoid black jeans.

When someone in your family is going through a divorce, always side with the blood relative.

Pointedly praising something unusual a person owns or has done will make you appear far smarter in his eyes than a 10-minute discourse on world events

The man who can't dance, can't converse, and can't provide psychological support to a woman is only half a man; the other half can't cook, can't clean, and badly wants a drink.

Trying to "teach someone a lesson"never works

Be careful about publicly discussing your hobbies, as most hobbies strike people as somewhat pathetic: most notably, collecting stamps, coins, or anything else, bird-watching, bowling, rockhounding, spelunking, table tennis, poetry, dog shows, chat rooms, polka music, yoga, herpetology, marathon running, and religion. The only hobbies you can safely own up to when among people you need to impress are fly-fishing and go

Always imply, in every possible way, that the person you're talking to is smarter, better-looking, slimmer, and more successful than they really are.

When choosing a bottle of wine to bring to a dinner party, spend between 10 and 15 dollars. That's for a bottle, not a gallon.

Never get into a pissing match via e-mail. If he forwards, you lose.

Three Questions to Get the Feedback You Need

One of the things that I have got hooked to is the HBR Management Tip of the Day. I like it coz its a nice tip that is easy to digest and great to execute.

Here is a great one from the source

Three Questions to Get the Feedback You Need

No leader improves without feedback. But getting people to be honest about your performance isn't always easy. Give your team a way to supply you with the candid information you need to change by asking them these three questions:

What should I stop doing? Ask which behaviors stand in your way of success.
What should I keep doing? Inquire about what you do right, and should continue to do.
What should I start doing? Once you've stopped unproductive behaviors, you'll have more time and energy for new behaviors.

In Presentations, Learn to Say Less

As a consultant, when I sometimes notice the slides of my clients, I freak out.
I notice that
- It has a lot of text
- Key messages are missing
- It is not made for the audience

Here is an interesting article. It has three solid points

1.When you prepare a presentation, work backwards. Start with the key message or takeaway that you want to convey. Then imagine that you had to send that message via Twitter instead of using slides, charts, documents, and discussions. Force yourself to summarize your key points in no more than 140 characters. Based on that focus, then think through what other information you'll need as backup and support.

My suggestion is that these 140 character should form the header of your slide so that the reader understands what is the content of the slide.

2.Practice making your presentation without any slides or other supporting materials — and limit the time to six minutes. Think of it as a TED talk that's going be watched by millions of people on YouTube. Doing this (and getting a friend to capture it on video) will force you to be very clear about what you want to say and how to say it with conviction and zest.

If you notice Partners, they carry a set of slides in their back pocket, but actually keep the audience engaged with their talk.

3. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience and imagine how they might react to your condensed message. What questions will they ask and what concerns might they have? How will you address these, and how open will you be to alternatives? Speculating about these scenarios ahead of time will give you confidence to state your position clearly and respond to audience feedback.

It's not easy to say less and convey more. But if you learn how to do it well, you'll have much more impact on your audience and on your organization.

Quotes

Feedback is the breakfast of Champions

FOCUS - The main thing about the main thing is the main thing

How to Look and Act Like a Leader

Do you have the " Executive Presence". If not, then work on it. Read this article.

Savvy executives know the part, act the part and look the part. That's because they exude "executive presence," a broad term used to describe the aura of leadership...

....Executives with presence act self confident, strategic, decisive and assertive, concludes a study released late last year by the Center for Work-Life Policy, a New York think tank....

...To correct this misperception, Mr. Bernstein says he embraced many of her suggestions. He tried to avoid a monotone in commanding his employees, sit upright during meetings and display powerful confidence at a conference table by marking his territory with a water bottle and notebook...

How to Network Across Culture

A very interesting article especially for all the folks who struggle to network in a different cultural environment.

The ability to network — to develop contacts and personal connections with a variety of people — is a critical skill for any global business leader. The only problem is that global networking can be extremely difficult to do when the rules for networking vary so dramatically across cultures.In fact, these cultural challenges can be so strong that many of the young potential foreign-born global leaders that I know often purposefully avoid networking opportunities in the United States — despite how important these opportunities can be for developing their careers.

....... I have found three key tools for success in learning to adapt behavior across cultures in a networking situation or in any other situation where you need to switch your cultural behavior to be effective in a new setting.

Learn from those around you: Watch carefully how others operate in networking situations, and learn what behaviors work and don't work in that setting. Customize your own approach from what you observe to develop a style that feels authentic to you, and that is also effective in the new setting.

Master the new cultural logic: Learn the rationale for this new behavior from the perspective of the new culture. Learn, for example, why "small talk" is such an important part of networking in the United States. Understand from the American point of view why it's actually appropriate to speak positively about yourself and your qualifications. Master the logic of the new culture and the behavior will feel much more comfortable to perform.

Finally, Practice! Practice multiple times, and ideally in settings that mimic the stress and pressure of real situations. Integrate the behavior so deeply into your psyche that it becomes your "new normal" — something you do naturally and instinctively