Tech Wonders that made a difference to my life in 2013

As 2013 comes to a close, I wanted to thank all the technology wonders that changed my behaviour or became an integral part my life:

1. iRobot Roomba : For making the lazy me even more lazier
2. Songza: For reading my mind and playing that music. I never knew the world of music that existed
3. Pebble: For making me believe in the concept of Crowdfunding
4. Fitbit: For bringing a behavioural change and getting me to be more fitter
5. Appletv:  For making me believe in a product ecosystem
6. Square: For making me look good at the Toastmasters club as we could accept credit card payments 
7. Flipboard: For making me give the best of written world in a short span of time
8. WhatsApp: For connecting me to the loved ones

Maho Beach, Saint Martin

 Sometimes, you just land up at  place unplanned. We were trying to go to Antigua when our plane had to land at St. Martin. We stayed there overnight at a hotel and experienced this beach right next to the airport. Here is more:Located on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin (i.e., Sint Maarten) is the famous Maho Beach. While it has the characteristic white sand and turquoise water of a Caribbean paradise that is not what makes Maho Beach such a popular tourist destination. Read more here

Most Colorful Cities in the World

From Jodhpur in India to St. Johns, Newfoundland, check out the most colorful cities in the world
http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2013/12/06/the-most-colorful-cities-in-the-world-photos.html#f19f34a1-344e-424b-9c69-f711c241678e

How Recruiters See Your Resume

I agree with this article. Recruiters perhaps look at your resume for 10 Seconds . Very nicely put -  "What they look for in the scan are name, current title and company, current position start and end dates, previous title and company, previous position start and end dates, and education."

This picture from (Source : TheLadders) is a great visual.

Do you have a mobile strategy?

India's Tablet Revolution

India's Tablet Revolution — Coming to a Country Near You

Online Business Courses

First Wharton decided to offer the core of its first year MBA program online. Now Harvard Business School is exploring online options as well.

Increasingly, it's possible to get an extremely well-rounded business education from the best professors in the world without enrolling in a university 

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-free-online-business-courses-2013-10

10 Innovations That Improved the World in 2013

A lab-grown burger, Google glass for the disabled and debit card for Syruan refugees...some of the innovations that improved the world in 2013

Your Office Space

What should you office space contain? Here's a few that I have noticed and read

1. Bottle of emergency whiskey  for the bad surprise. (Best One!)
2. One big screen connected to a desktop
3. Decorated  mementos that illustrate career and educational highlights
4. Office with a view
5. Sports  jerseys

 

Don't feed the Monkeys!

One of the things I learnt  as I grew up as a Manager was to get the monkey out of my back. What is a Monkey, you might ask?

This article talks about it and this one explains it quite well on not to feed the monkey.

What is a Monkey?

“Monkeys” are the problems, issues, or challenges your employees bring you that somehow become your responsibility to manage and solve. Instead of the monkeys stopping by your office for a quick visit and going back home with their owners, they end up taking residence and you become responsible for their ongoing care.

So, what happens?

I liked feeding monkeys because I thought I was helping people solve problems. Over time, I learned my good intentions were actually handicapping my employees from learning how to solve their own problems, resulting in me being overloaded with work.

Best practices of LinkedIn profile

1. Avoid having typos in profile
2. Have a great professional profile picture
3. Have a descriptive or strong job title
4. Personalize your LinkedIn connection requests
5. Have a good summary of the page
6. Get credible recommendations

You can read more here. Here is another article to writing an amazing LinkedIn recommendation.

Do Think!

A very nice article. You were hired as a Management Consultant because of your ability to think. However, over a period of time, we have got so tuned to responding to situations that at times perhaps we don't think hard enough. I sometimes feel that I would be able to think more logically about the situation if I didn't have to respond to several emails. So, take some time off and think. Spend some time reflecting and of course plug yourself out from any of he gadgets and wonder how you can make a difference to the project, firm and the world.

Here is an article: 

http://99u.com/articles/6947/what-happened-to-downtime-the-extinction-of-deep-thinking-sacred-space

The author has nicely put that. "believe that genius in the 21st century will be attributed to people who are able to unplug from the constant state of reactionary workflow, reduce their amount of insecurity work, and allow their minds to solve the great challenges of our era. Brilliance is so rare because it is always obstructed, often by the very stuff that keeps us so bus"

Cuff links

I started wearing them when I got into Management Consulting. Some call it a piece of jewellery while others call it accessories that define your personality. I think this is something that gets you noticed. Give it some thought and pick up one that suits your personality. Spend some $ on it and trust me they are for sure to be a topic of conversation during a meeting or at the dinner sessions. I had a Asian client who always talked business and never had any time for small chat. One of the evenings, when we were having dinner and discussing work, she stopped and said that she really liked my cuff links and wanted to get one for her hubby. What was interesting that she could easily recall the cuff links that I wore every other day. The blue stone, the tortoise, the tennis racquets. Impressive! Since that day, I have made sure that I spend some quality time choosing the cuff links I wear. It does matter. 

Ties to brighten up your life!

My collection of ties. From Ralph Lauren to CK, from Satya Paul to Raymond..I love each of them. I think a tie makes a statement about your personality.

And here is one from the internet. couldn't find the source but liked all the display.

9 Best Practices for Successful C-Suite Meetings

I read an interesting book today called the 'Trusted Advisor'. Nice points below.

1.Bring the right mind set

2. Prepare, then adapt

3. Make connecting a priority

4. Bring five slides (if any),  not 50

5. Listen with empathy

6. Speak plainly and honestly 

7. Master the 30 second answer

8. Do your thinking out loud

9. Watch the CXO's watch, not yours

Source: 

Different ways to think Innovatovely

Interesting info graphic on how one can think Innovatovely. Not a great set of ideas (they are generic) but are presented well. 

Running a meeting

If you are a consultant and you can't run a meeting well, you have lost all creditibility. A consultant has to have traits of a good Project Manager and a good Adminsitrative Assistant. Often, if the environment Is new, it is a golden chance for you to gain respect. Send out the objective of the meeting and decide what would comprise a successful meeting. Here is a good checklist to keep. I know when you read the list, it sounds like common sense but hey ..isn't that something that is does not exist easily. 

Undergoing Pain

We must all suffer from one of the two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is that discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

Jim Rohn 

Dress for success

Simple rules to keep in mind when dressing up

1. Sock color should match your pants and not your shoes 

2.Coordinate your shoe color to your suit 

3.Belt should match your shoe color 

How you start the day..,

How you start the day decides how you spend the day. Here is an interesting info graphic 

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