Archive for January, 2006
By Rajesh Setty on Sun 08 Jan 2006, 10:49 PM - 2 Comments
Middle of last week I became a victim of the flu bug that was going around. On day one, I thought that it was mild and thought that I would start feeling better by the end of the day. I was wrong. The flu got worse and I decided to see a doctor. I got an appointment with my doctor for next day morning.
The next day it was a struggle to drive to the hospital but I did. After a brief wait, a nurse called me in and asked a few questions. When she took my temperature, suddenly her expression changed and she said something like “Oh My God! You are running fever over 104 degrees..” and rushed to get me into the room.
Until then, I was not feeling good but not weak. The moment I heard the “number”, suddenly my legs went weak and I almost started feeling dizzy.
What can I say.. power of the mind 
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By Rajesh Setty on Sat 07 Jan 2006, 6:00 AM - Leave Comment
I talked earlier about focusing on the last mile. This is in some ways similar to that concept. But please read on.
Let me set the context first:
In any organization, the top leader is the ultimate context switcher in action. He or she has no option but to be able to switch contexts in a moments notice and be very comfortable in the new context. As the organization grows, the leader relies a lot on his subordinates as he or she cannot do everything like the earlier days.
Take a scenario where the leader is attending about 12 meetings in a day (not very uncommon.. meetings are ingrained in our corporate culture) and is rapidly switching contexts with every meeting. In between meetings he calls some of his subordinates and requests them to take care of certain tasks and moves on. This happens multiple times in a month and the leader might slip on tracking every single item that he has asked his subordinates to take care of.
If you are one of the subordinates there are choices based on the nature of the task. If the task is (using Covey’s terms):
a) Urgent and important: Everyone will be watching them including the leader. So you better get it done well before the due date.
b) Not urgent but important:
Chances are that it may not come up very soon and sometimes the requirement dies on its own. You can decide to not do anything for a while and nobody will notice it.
It is in the second case that you get an opportunity to distinguish yourself from the crowd. When the task is “not urgent but important” you still can give it your best shot and actually “close the loop” with your leader when the job gets done. They say “Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.”
Closing the loop consistently takes a lot of hard work. If you are committed to closing the loop on tasks assigned to you, you will watch your commmitments carefully. You will think before you make promises and you won’t over-extend yourself.
Take care!
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 06 Jan 2006, 8:45 PM - Leave Comment
Darren Rowse at Problogger has some great advice for serious bloggers under the title “18 lessons I’ve Learnt About Blogging”
Hats off Darren!
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By Rajesh Setty on Fri 06 Jan 2006, 6:28 PM - Leave Comment
My friend Kamalesh Ruparel sent me this beautiful quote that made my day. I searched long and hard to find the author but could not succeed. No more explanation needed. Just enjoy!
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away”
- Anonymous
Thanks Kamalesh
Posted under Great Quotes, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 06 Jan 2006, 1:57 PM - 8 Comments
You get to hear reports about thousands of new blogs getting created almost on a daily basis. Unfortunately we don’t hear much about the number of blogs that get abandoned before their anniversary is up.
So, the burning questions are:
* Why do so many blogs get abandoned?
* What could we do to ensure that we are able to maintain a successful blog?
I thought about this topic for a while and also talked to many successful bloggers who have maintained blogs for more than a year now. I have come up with a few ideas for you to consider:
1. Make a long-term commitment:
Don’t start a blog because one of your friends started one. Like many things in life, starting a blog is way easier than maintaining it. You need long-term commitment to make it successful.
2. Write what you are passionate about:
One easy option to start a successful blog is to imitate someone else. That will yield short-term results. You can’t imitate someone for a long time. Best is to find your own voice. If you are writing about something that you are passionate about, you may not run out of ideas to blog. Find your own voice and stick to it.
3. Pick your audience:
Unless you are extremely accomplished or a celebrity, attempting to write something that is applicable to everyone may be futile. How about picking an audience to whom you can add the highest value?
4. Respect your audience:
Anyone who reads your blog is investing their most precious asset – their time. If you focus on
ROII (return on investment for an interaction) for every visitor to your blog, chances are that they will come back for more. If you don’t, there are so many choices that are out there as an alternative to reading your blog.
5. Observe and Listen
The more you observer and listen, the better your writing will be. There is always a lot of focus on “doing” things that sometimes we forget to “think”, observe and listen.
6. Participate in a conversation
Blogosphere is the biggest conversation marketplace. It’s like a big party going on all the time. You need to be willing to participate in an ongoing conversation or start your own.
7. Check your ego
Blogging many times is spontaneous expression of your ideas, thoughts or insights. It is possible that you will make a mistake and it is also possible that somebody will roast you for those mistakes. Rather than trying to defend it endlessly, try to admit your mistakes and go on. Ego won’t help you get far, at least in the blogosphere.
8. Ask
Sports people have been working with coaches for years and that we know works very well for them. Coaching works in other areas too. If you are getting stuck somewhere, go ahead and ask someone that might offer you some help. I have always believed that there is more help then we ever will need in this universe. It is the asking that is lacking. The important point is to remember that while you might get something for free, not everything is available for free. You should be willing to the pay the price to win the prize.
9. Build on a theme
When I started blogging about 11 months ago, I created a series based on a theme called “
Ways to Distinguish Yourself.” Of course, I blog on topics other than this but having a theme helped me structure my thoughts over the long run. In 11 months, I have only got 87 entries in this series but in the back of my mind I am always thinking, observing and discussing ideas that can contribute to this series. You can pick your own theme or series and the beauty of this approach is that you can later enhance and re-use the content for something else.
10. It’s not the quantity but the quality
Many people tell me that they don’t want to start blogging because there is no way they will have time everyday to dedicate to blogging. There seems to be some misconception. There is no rule anybody has set that requires you to blog everyday. However, it will be unlikely that you will get a lot of visitors if you blog once a quarter. Pick a frequency that will let you blog without diluting the quality of the blog. Ultimately, it’s not the quantity but the quality that matters.
11. Keep growing
This is something that is outside of your blog. One of the ways you can get more attention to your blog is from what you do outside of your blog, really! You can get famous through your blog, yes but it’s easier the other way around – meaning you can get famous outside and then it’s easier to get your blog to become famous
Have a fantastic year ahead!
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 05 Jan 2006, 10:34 PM - 1 Comment
Thanks to Sri. The KZSU interview of Jan 4 is now online. It’s in the archives section of It’s Different site.
Hope you will like it!
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By Rajesh Setty on Wed 04 Jan 2006, 4:05 PM - Leave Comment
Ashwin Rangan, the current CIO of Walmart.com
has sound advice for technology leaders on how to make the most out of
2006 without breaking your back. This is specific to technology leaders
who have to manage global technology teams.
Here is the link:
New Year’s Resolutions for the Global CIO
Enjoy!
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 03 Jan 2006, 3:45 PM - 3 Comments
I am being interviewed by It’s Different team on KZSU Radio 90.1 FM (Stanford Radio) tomorrow at 7am. You can listen to the interview live on the web at KZSULive.
Sridhar Krishnan and I will talk about the book, globalization and of course, on how to make the most of the new year!
Posted under Endorsements, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 03 Jan 2006, 1:27 PM - Leave Comment
Today I had a 1-1 session with my long-time mentor Sterling Lanier of TEC. We have these sessions once a month and I prepare a lot for every session. One thing has not changed over the years. I always come back enlightened after every meeting with Sterling. There will be something that Sterling will observe or suggest that will create an “Aha..” experience in me. Sterling has been mentoring CEOs for years so I am sure it comes naturally for him.
Out of curiosity, I asked Sterling what the secrets of his success were. He was happy to share some insights and in turn (with his permission) I am passing them along.
When you are coaching a CEO, things to keep in mind:
1. Listen intently: There are things that are said and there are things that are not said. You need to listen to both of them.
2. Look at the big picture:
You need to be at a different level vertically to look at the big picture. The CEO is busy with ground reality but the mentor has to see the whole battlefield.
3. Ask the right questions:
I have always said that asking the right questions is more important than searching for answers for wrong questions.
4. Understand the short-term and long-term goals of the person:
The design of his or her life should cater to serve towards achieving both the short-term and long-term objectives.
5. No Fee – No Action:
Don’t do this for free. If there is no fee, typically there is no action. In other words, there is no seriousness in the relationship
Last but not the least, just the nature of the relationship (mentor-mentee) makes it easy for the person to derive the highest value from the conversation.
Hope this helps.
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 02 Jan 2006, 8:20 AM - Leave Comment
Whether we want to accept it or not, we all operate with several filters. When someone at work says something, there’s a filter right there telling you to what extent you should believe what you are hearing. When you read a book from a known author, there is a filter there providing a bias about the quality of the book. The impact a message has on you varies based not only on the message but also on the source of the message. That’s the power of filters.
Filters can’t be avoided but their existence should not be ignored. Just being aware of your own filters will help you and may be alert you when you are getting carried away by a set of filters.
One place where filters will hurt is when someone is pitching you an idea and your filters are not letting you “hear” the idea in its entirety. The filter you have on the messenger may garble the message to such an extent that it will serve no one. Even if the idea is brilliant, the past associated with the person bringing the idea may make it hard for you to give it due consideration.
So one simple approach can be that every now and then drop your filters when you listen to a new idea or a concept. Or, mentally assign the source of this idea to someone that you trust a lot. Who knows – you might be pleasantly surprised!
Note: I am not saying that you should not have filters or filters are bad. Without them you may have to spend a lot of time analyzing every piece of information that comes in front of you. But if you are carried away by them, you might miss something and you might not even know that you missed something.
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
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