Archive for February, 2005
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 21 Feb 2005, 7:44 AM - 1 Comment
Those of us in professional services business are very familiar with the concept of hourly rate. Some companies have daily rates for their people. It is an accepted norm to have a rate sheet for based on the levels of people. While this concept works and helps in transacting business, my strong belief is that each professional needs to move away from the hourly rate mentality.
Come to think of it, the client is not paying for every hour that we spend on the project. In fact, if they did, that’s an insult to our intellect. They do pay for the value that we pack in an hour. What if we start thinking about the value that we can add in an hour, in a day or throughout the life of the project and forget completely about the hourly rate that the company charges the client. What if we come up with our own value rate. The amount of value that we intend to pack in an hour – quantified. Obviously this will be a far greater number compared to the hourly rate that is being charged.
If all our project team members start thinking in this fashion, I am sure our clients will experience a WOW in every project.
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sat 19 Feb 2005, 7:54 AM - 1 Comment
We all know that communication skills are very very important to
succeed in our careers and in life. However, only a few of us make a
sustained effort to improve our communication skills in a disciplined
manner. The key reason is that improved communication yields results
over a long period of time and most of us want “instant results”.
The key objective of communication is to get the other party
(recipient) to be on the same page and understanding on the topic of
communication. Many times, I have someone come and complain to me “I
have told him in so many different ways but he won’t understand”.
As long as we have this attitude, we can’t improve on our communication
as we are not even acknowledging the fact that we have a problem. We
have moved the problem to the recipient. This may make us feel good but
it won’t solve the problem.
What if we shift our response to “I have told him in so many different
ways but he won’t understand. I have to learn how to communicate in a
way that he will get it”. With this approach, we are still taking
responsibility for the communication and we can start looking for new
ways to communicate.
If we don’t acknowledge that we have a problem, we may never look for a solution.
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 18 Feb 2005, 6:31 AM - Leave Comment
Brands provide powerful shortcuts. When you need something and you
don’t have the time to research, your gut says to go with a powerful
brand. People are no different. Powerful personal brands provide an
unfair advantage.
If you are an IT professional and don’t have any time at all (you are
extremely busy with your projects), you precisely should get some time
out to build your personal brand. In fact, if you are so busy to even
think about it, I think it is fair to assume that you must be doing
something worthwhile in this busy time.
We have to think through “who we are” and “what are our strengths” and
“what should we be known for”. Everyone can create a personal brand.
However, there is a need to get out of the entitlement mentality that
if we do good work, brands get automatically created. We have to work
for it. It’s hard work and it takes a long time but the rewards are
great too..
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 17 Feb 2005, 7:55 PM - Leave Comment
I have been asking this question to hundreds of people over the last
few years and the response usually is either “Not really” or “Yes,
but..” Interestingly, only a small portion of non-entrepreneurs respond
with an “Yes!” answer.
My concept is that loving your job is a decision that you make and once
you make that decision, you will start looking for evidence to support
that decision. Whatever be the decision you make (a) to love your job
or (b) not to love your job, one thing is guaranteed that you will find
enough evidence to support that decision.
I think we should consciously decide to love our jobs and start looking
for evidence on why we should have that attitude. If four or five
people meet and participate in an “I love my job because..” exercise,
where each one has to come up with at least three reasons for loving
their job, you will notice that instantly all the five of them will get
at least one more (other than their three) reason to love their job.
Work will not seem like work if you love it..
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 16 Feb 2005, 10:48 PM - 1 Comment
There is enough literature that is out there that says that leadership is not tied to the position. However, there is not much written about how a person who is not in a “sort of” leadership position able to lead.
I believe that leadership is as simple as filling in the blanks. Any organization or for that matter any project has places and situations screaming for someone’s attention. These are the blanks that someone needs to fill. If we are willing to take up that initiative and fill in those blanks, we are on our way to become leaders.
A crisis or a breakdown are perfect examples of blanks waiting for someone. Most often our approach is to blame someone when there is a crisis or breakdown. Wouldn’t it be great if we embrace those situations and use them as launch pads to demonstrate our leadership skills?
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 16 Feb 2005, 7:08 AM - Leave Comment
If I ask you to name a few of your teachers from your college,
most often you will tell me your favorite teachers. The ones that made
a lasting impression on you.
Professional services is the same. If you are in the PS business, you
should ask yourself “With how many clients have I made a lasting
impression?”. If someone asks your client to name a few of the best
consultants they worked with, would your name pop up? Wouldn’t it be
great if it did?
If you agree then start thinking about what you are doing in your current project to leave a lasting impression!
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 14 Feb 2005, 11:49 PM - Leave Comment
Software projects tend to be a few days late and a few thousand dollars
over budget. So, for technology professionals, “walking the extra mile”
is almost a common practice.
Apart from the standard project pressures, these technology
professionals have a daunting task of avoiding commoditizing
themselves. The technology that’s hot today may be a commodity
tomorrow. Should a technology professional focus on a particular
technology at all? The answer is not a simple “Yes” or a “No”.
Here are some simple practices to avoid commoditization
1. Solve the right problem:
Many smart customers may diagnose the problem and ask you to solve it.
If the diagnosis is wrong, the project fails even if you solve the
problem you were requested to solve.
2. Care as if it’s your own:
Treat the project as if it was your own project. If you care and take
care, clients will know and will want you back on their teams
3. Have a great attitude: Technical skills are necessary but not enough to differentiate yourself. It’s your attitide that counts
4. Set the right expectations: Many
times customers don’t care if the project is delayed but they don’t
like negative surprises. Set the right expectations from the start and
throughout the project. A positive surprise is welcome but not
otherwise.
5. Enhance clarity in your communication:
Most projects fail because what you meant was different from what you
said and what the client heard was different from what was interpreted
and so on. Communicating with clarity will play a major role in making
the project successful.
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 14 Feb 2005, 11:21 AM - Leave Comment
Most white collar workers will relate to this – the constant dilemma
between delivery (flawlessly executing on current projects) and the
preparation (building more capacity to deliver projects). Some of us
have tried to get out of this dilemma and in the process lost sight of
some of the other things that we should have focused on such as
building long term relationships.
This blog is a companion website to my upcoming book on the same topic called “Beyond Code”.
More soon..
Posted under Main Page.
Recent Comments