Personal and professional development for technology professionals.
» Bringing Ideas To Life. With Love!
By Rajesh Setty on Sun 19 Feb 2006, 3:48 PM - Leave Comment
What you did yesterday has a direct impact on where you are today. If
that’s true, what you are doing TODAY will have a direct impact on
tomorrow for sure. This simple but beautiful quote encapsulates that.
Posted under Great Quotes, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sat 18 Feb 2006, 10:18 PM - 1 Comment
In most of my corporate seminars, I urge participants to come up with a reading plan of their own. Sometimes I even provide a starter reading list like the one that I have provided on Squidoo under the title “Finding Inspiration.”
Of course, as to be expected, only a percentage of people take this advice and start on a fascinating journey. Of the ones
that start, many give up citing one or more of the following reasons:
(b) they are “really busy” and they will get back once they finish attending to something very important that they are working now.
(c) they have no more motivation to continue
(d) they don’t have a particular reason
Unfortunately, even amongst the people that continue to read, many complain that they are not getting the kind of results that they expected to get out of this exercise.
I can’t get to terms with the above as my personal experience is something different. I have got a lot out of books and I have seen people up close getting a lot out of books. So, rather than arguing, I am providing a set of thoughts and an approach for reading non-fiction.
First, some thoughts:
When you are starting on this journey, it is important to pick the right books first. Don’t pick something just because it is a bestseller and everyone in the town is reading it. The keyword here is “relevance.” The book has to be meaningful for what you are currently doing or where you are headed in the short-term. We need some quick wins and this will help.
2. Know the difference:
Reading non-fiction is very different from reading fiction. If you are reading a lot of fiction, tendency would be to approach a non-fiction work as a work of fiction. Please don’t.
3. Understand that “volume” is not the answer:
If you read only one good book in a year but take full advantage of what’s written there, you are better off than many who may read one book a month and not use anything that they read. It is not the volumes that really matter but how much of what you read that you put to use.
4. Check your attitude:
Sometimes you may get the feeling that whatever the author has written was
(a) very obvious or
(b) less than what you already knew
There may a tendency to try and disprove what the author has written. My point is simple – please stop playing that game. Even if you do win that game and prove that someone was wrong, you won’t achieve much. It’s a total waste of time.
5. Have the right expectations:
While there is a slight chance that when you read a book, you will be transformed, it is unreasonable to expect to be transformed instantly upon reading a book.
Now, here is ONE approach to reading a non-fiction book:
I learnt this technique from my friend and mentor Tim Sanders. When you read the book, highlight important points, make your own notes and cross-reference other ideas related to the topic you are reading and so on.Of course, you can do this only when you own the book. This will help a ton when you want to re-visit the
2. Read the book to teach:
Rather than reading the book to do a critic or just to learn something, read it as if you are supposed to go and teach someone on the same topic in the next one or two weeks. The moment, you need to teach, the way you absorb information will drastically change.
3. Use something from the book immediately:
Just like you can’t become an expert from reading a great book on swimming, you can’t become an expert on any topic you are reading until you start practicing it. Knowing is only part of the deal, doing is what really matters. If someone else that you know has read the book, ask them how have they used the information in their own life? Read reviews and opinions from other folks that might provide more information about how someone would have used this information.
4. Make notes:
One simple way to make a one page note is to create a mindmap out of the key aspects of the book. It is easier to carry a single page of ideas based on the book than the whole book.
5. Share what you read:
Earlier, I said that you need to read the book with a mindset to teach. Now, I say that you need to really “teach” someone the insights of the book. Teaching will totally ground what you read. The audience will benefit from your sharing but the biggest benefit in this exercise is definitely for YOU.
6. Re-visit every now and then:
Very rarely can you digest a good non-fiction book in one-sitting. I have a set of books on my desk that I love to refer back every now and then. Some books are so much fun – as everytime I re-visit them, they provide a whole new perspective.
The above approach as I mentioned earlier is ONE approach and I urge you to personalize or completely design a new approach that works!!
Good luck and have a great week ahead!
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By Rajesh Setty on Fri 17 Feb 2006, 5:18 PM - Leave Comment
Somehow I am fascinated to watch homes that are being built. On my way
to work there are several homes that are being built. Sometimes I just
park my car and watch people at work. They build quite fast. Where
there was nothing but plain ground a few weeks ago, I can see a
beautiful home today.
Think about the process for a second at a high level.
If
you think about it, a project like home building is a project not to be
undertaken alone. That sounds very obvious, right! The right people
have to come in at the right time. For example, an electrician can’t
come in before the architect. He can, but he won’t be of much use.
Similarly, the right time to get an interior decorator is after the
home is built. You can get him involved in the project along with the
architect but his real work will begin after the home is built. If you
are the home owner, you are still doing a lot of work and making a lot
of decisions (after all, it’s your home) but not all the work is done
by you. It would be ridiculous to think of building the home completely
by yourself.
Now, let’s move on to your own life. It’s like a
lifetime building project where you are making a lot of decisions and
actually doing a lot of work. But it would be equally ridiculous to
assume that you MUST do all the work all by yourself. You need to get a
lot of people involved in this project. For your home, you need the
best architect you can afford. If your home is VERY important, imagine
how much MORE your life should be important. If you don’t have REALLY
good people on your side, how can you expect phenomenal results from
your life? Yes, the temptation would be to do things by yourself
because you CAN do them. But working with a great team on your side to
design and execute on your life project will provide a leverage at a
whole new level. One thing to remember, though, is that in order for
this to work well, you should also be ready to play a SIGNFICANT part
in the design and execution of other people’s life projects!
The big difference in the above analogy is that the results are very tangible when you build a home (Thanks Ravi for the tip.)
When
you are building your life, the big result is “what you become” and not
“what you get.” Unfortunately, what you become as a person borders on
edge of the tangible-intangible scale.
Summary: You don’t have to go ALONE on the most important journey of your life!
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By Rajesh Setty on Thu 16 Feb 2006, 9:40 PM - Leave Comment
Over the last two decades, more than a hundred books have touched me in
some special way. Reading them has been a valuable experience and I
have to say that these books have played an important part in my growth
- personally and professionally. I have selected a few of those books
and created a lens on Squidoo called “Finding Inspiration.” I am
confident that many of you may have already read a lot of them. Here is
the link anyway:
Squidoo Lens: Finding Inspiration
The second topic is “Power of Questions.” I have written about this
topic at least five times on this blog. Now, I have created a lens with
selected writings on Squidoo. Here is the link:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions
Have a great weekend!
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By Rajesh Setty on Thu 16 Feb 2006, 11:27 AM - Leave Comment
Picked this up from a powerpoint presentation on Tom Peters website. This quote from Marcus Buckingham highlights several things for me
(1) never rest on your laurels
(2) one trick ponies are just that – one trick ponies
(3) think long-term
“Posted under Great Quotes, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 16 Feb 2006, 8:02 AM - Leave Comment
It is common knowledge that our view of the messenger has a bearing on
the importance we will give to the message he or she is bringing. This
acts as a shortcut to filter the amazing amount of noise that is out
there. I am not suggesting that you make a blanket change to this
approach. That would be scary. Here is my proposal:
Only when someone comes to you with an idea, try to detach the idea
from the source – meaning just for that instant, detach the messenger
and the message. That way, your past experiences and assessments about
the source won’t contaminate your evaluation of the idea.
Now, why is this important? Ideas can come from anywhere – from your
kids to from someone that is totally not related to your field of work.
If our filters are strong, most of the time, we will ignore the ideas
from people that we think have no authority to generate “valid” or
“good” ideas in your field of work. You will generally look for
“credibility” and “experience” of the source before giving their “idea”
due consideration. The chances are that you will miss some “gems” in
the process. Not everyone who will come up with a brilliant idea has
the necessary background, experience and/or credibility to back it up.
Summary: Be open to ideas. From anywhere!
Note 1: It is obvious that you need phenomenal patience, caring and
superior listening skills to be able to detach an idea from its source.
You can start working on those skills to start with.
Note 2: Of course, it is clear that you will use your judgment on how
far you can take this. There are some people out there who have a lot
of ideas but not one will be worth your time. You can give them a
chance or two and then put your filters “back on” for that source.
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 16 Feb 2006, 12:20 AM - Leave Comment
This Yesterday afternoon, when I was meeting with a couple of friends at
Starbucks, I found this gem of a quote about “Innovation” by Virginia
Postrel. The summary is that when an innovation is brilliant – it may
become so obvious that you may not even notice it.
Posted under Great Quotes, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 14 Feb 2006, 12:57 PM - Leave Comment
I want you to consider two scenarios. In both the following scenarios John is the CEO of a successful software company.
Fred, an old friend of John calls up John out of the blue. Fred has a compelling offer for John to consider. Jack, one of Fred’s friends has suddenly become available. From what Fred knows of John’s company, Fred thinks that Jack will be a great asset for this company. Fred says “John, We know each other for a long time and I understand your business. I want to help you in anway I can. So, when Jack became available, the very first company that came to my mind was yours. I am confident that you and Jack will get along famously”
Scneario #2
Ron is an old friend of John and they both have not spoken to each other for years. Ron comes across an article about John’s company in one of the industry journals. He is fascinated by what John has achieved so far. Ron calls up John and says that he would be happy to be associated with John’s company. With the technology skills and industry experience that Ron feels that he has a lot to offer John’s company and he wants to help John in anyway he can.
In both scenarios, it is very clear that Ron and Fred are looking for help from John. While both are offering to help John, in reality (90% of the cases) they want John’s help. Trying to behave as if John can’t get this is to almost underestimate the intelligence of John. It won’t do any good.
If you are Ron or Fred, please note that:
a) John is smart and he can figure this out (very) easily.
b) Have the humility to ask for help when you need it.
c) Asking for help is easier than you think
d) When you ask for help, please remember to ensure that WIIFT > WIIFM
e) Let there never be a confusion about when you are giving help and when you are getting help.
Posted under Compelling Offers, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 14 Feb 2006, 6:03 AM - Leave Comment
The thing about personal growth that is very interesting is that nobody really cares about your personal growth but if you don’t care about it – everybody will stop caring about you 
It is one of those things that people don’t make an explicit remark
about but assume that you are taking care of it on your own. It’s
almost like an obvious thing to do.
Everyday you are either growing or shrinking. It’s hard to maintain the status quo.
Take
an inventory of your investments on your personal growth over the last
year. What is it as a percentage of your earnings for the last year? To
give you some comparison, people spend north of 10% (of the cost) on
their car (not including gas) to keep it in good shape every year. You
got to – otherwise the car might breakdown and it may cost you more
than that to fix it. What should your investment be on yourself if you
consider “YOU” as your biggest asset? I am not suggesting any
percentages here but you are the right person to make the right
judgments on your life.
Imagine a scenario where you
progressively invest 10% more than what you have invested on your
personal growth in the previous year. Do you think it will make a big
difference in your life and career? I bet it will make a huge
difference in “who you are” and “who you are becoming.” I am not
talking about huge investments here but a conscious, disciplined and
continuous investments of time and money on your own growth over a long
period of time.
If this is so obvious, what are you waiting for?
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 14 Feb 2006, 6:00 AM - 4 Comments
Today is Valentine’s day – so it’s special. It’s also special for me
for another reason – last year on the same day, I started writing this
blog. Yes, It’s been a year and the journey has been very rewarding.
First, I want to thank all the readers of my blog for your encouraging emails and support.
Being
an entrepreneur, I can see the similarities between starting a blog and
starting a company. In both cases, the journey is exciting, enriching
and rewarding. You don’t have all the answers when you start either one
of them but during the journey you will figure out a ton of stuff. In
both cases, you can’t do it alone. So second, I want to thank all of you
who helped me figure out stuff that I would have never been able to
figure out myself. Some of what I figured out has been put under the
squidoo lens Blogging Starter Checklist.
I
have written about 363 articles over the last year on this blog. The
most popular ones are categorized under the series “Distinguish
Yourself.” I have also created a lens on Squidoo by the same name – Distinguish yourself for your quick reference.
Once again, a BIG THANK YOU to all of you!
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