Archive for June, 2006
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 20 Jun 2006, 7:22 AM - 2 Comments
Note: This is my 500th post since I started blogging on February 14, 2005. This is special for me and I am blessed to have made a ton of new friends through this blog. A big thanks to GOD and to every one of you.
In India, thousands of kids are taught to follow this simple practice before every meal. I am sure this is true in many cultures across the world. The message to the kids is clear and simple:
Before you start your meal, close your eyes and thank GOD for providing that meal.
It is a simple act of counting your blessings EVERYDAY. In our quest to go after what we don’t have, we tend to totally forget what we already have.
Let’s do a simple exercise. Start with zero. Take a look at the following list and for every item you got, add a point to your score
1. You don’t have any physical handicaps
2. You get at least two meals everyday
3. You have a family
4. You get safe drinking water
5. You have a college degree
6. You have a job
7. YOu have a car to get to work
8. You have at least 2 close friends
9. You have a home to live (rental or own)
10. You have a TV at home
11. You have freedom of speech in the country you live.
12. You can afford to send your kids to school.
I can go on further. But I guess you get the point. Did you notice how many things you took for granted?
Because everyone around us are running like crazy to get what they don’t have and because nobody around us wants to be grateful for what they ALREADY have, it may seem reasonable to follow the crowd and get into the same trap – but that won’t let you distinguish yourself. Common sense will say that if you follow the crowd, you should not expect to “stand out” from it.
When I talk about this during my speaking engagements, typically there are some people that argue against it. Their main points against this are:
a) this will lead to complacency
b) there won’t be a motivation to stretch
My point though has nothing to do with ambition or motivation. I don’t think there is any connection to having the gratitude and feeling blessed everyday with going after your dreams. Of course, you can always connect seemingly unrelated things with your creativity. That’s not the point. Why should feeling blessed dampen your dreams? In fact, if you don’t learn the art of having the gratitude, when you reach your dreams, you may not even see it as your sights are new on the “new” dream. This dream, that you just achieved is taken for granted in a heartbeat.
Here’s another scenario. Being where I am (Silicon Valley) I get to meet a ton of wannabe entrepreneurs – young and energetic dreamers. Sometimes their ideas are broken but their enthusiasm is not. However, after listening to them for a few minutes, you know that they won’t take the plunge. It’s easy. The reason – most often they quote something that they don’t have – experience and skills. May be it’s marketing or sales or finance or something that they don’t have. They almost want a strong reason to NOT take the plunge. In the process, what they forget is what they have. In a quest to get what they don’t have, they stop spending time and improve their areas of strengths. Meet them few years later and you will see that they are in an eternal quest – may be an MBA program or a change of job that will “round up” their skillset or something of that sort.
Here is an alternate approach – plain and simple:
1. Be thankful for what you have (your strengths)
2. Work relentlessly to improve them
3. Find team mates to complete a configuration necessary for your business
4. Get lots of help – you will need it
5. Execute!
The first step is VERY important – you got to start loving what you have!
The bottom line: If you can’t feel blessed for what you HAVE, why go after what you didn’t have? Because, simply speaking, when you get what you don’t have, you will HAVE it and you won’t feel blessed because you ALREADY HAVE it and your new goal will be to acquire something that you don’t have again. Want it to be more simple – why try to get something that you don’t have time to enjoy?
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 19 Jun 2006, 10:00 AM - Leave Comment
Imagine this scenario:
You are in a relay race. You are the second person in the team. The race begins and when your turn comes up, you pick up the baton and run like hell. The speed is great and you cover a lot of ground in a very short time. However, when the time is up to pass the baton, you fumble and drop it. The next person in the team is ready to receive the baton but is confused. He somehow picks up the baton. Again, runs like hell but can never make up the time lost due to the time lost in recovering the baton in the first place. Long story short – your team loses the race.
In the above scenario, the cause of failure was very clear. Unfortunately, in real life,things are not that black and white.
Transitions are part of our life – both personal and professional. In fact, without transitions, life may be boring. On one hand, if there is no change, we complain of monotony. On the other hand, if there is a lot of change, we resist and complain about uncertainty and the unknown. It seems obvious enough to observe that many of the projects that we are involved today will continue long after we have transitioned out of those projects. In fact, we really WANT every single one of those projects to continue smoothly after we transitioned from them.
Two things are important -
1. Who do you pass the baton to
2. How smoothly do you pass the baton
If you pick the wrong person to pass the baton to the second point almost becomes irrelevant and a non-issue. If you find the right person to pass the baton to, the second point – how smoothly do you pass the baton becomes important. Here’s why: The person who picks up the baton from you quickly wants to hit the ground running. Everyone is watching him and his every move in the first few days and weeks. He or she wants to succeed in the role and needs all the help that he needs. This new role MAY also be a big change for that person. Passing the baton smoothly will not guarantee the person’s success but not passing the baton smoothly will increases the chances of the person’s failure.
Now, things to think about:
1. What are some of the major transitions coming up in your personal and professional life?
2. How can you plan to ensure that these transitions are smooth?
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sun 18 Jun 2006, 8:16 PM - Leave Comment
One thing that comes with size and scale is that it definitely opens up new possibilities. Buying Innovation is one of them. Here are some ways companies approach innovation:
1. Internal Research and Development (R&D)
This is the most common form of innovation within a company. A separate division within the company is dedicated to create new products, take existing products to the next level, watch competition and decide when to retire non-performing products.
2. Outright acquisitions
You find a ocmpany with cool technology and cool people. Look at the opportunity cost and work the numbers. If everything looks good (or you are paranoid or both) make a compelling offer and acquire the company and integrate. Cisco is famous for acquiring companies for technology innovations. They have been acquiring companies since 1993. The acquisition price ranges from a few hundred thousand dollars to a few billion dollars.
3. Fast followers
Sometimes acquisition may not be an option. What if the product that is threatening you is introduced by one of your fierce competitors and thee is nothing similar to acquire. You setup a SWAT team and pour energy and resources to follow very fast. We all know what Microsoft did to get back into the Internet game when Netscape seemed like it would dominate the browser market. Agreed. Now they are being challenged again by Firefox. It will be interesting to watch Microsoft’s response to the new kind of attack.
4. Intrapreneurship
In simple terms, Intrapreneurship is basically creating an environment conducive to entrepreneurship within the corporation. The biggest struggle for entrepreneurs when starting up is the resources (money being #1) and support. If the corporation provides both of these and also lets the group be (almost) autonomous, wonderful things can happen. Whirlpool is famous for this. When I met the folks at Whirlpool leading Innovation over there a few years ago, they had more than a thousand projects being tracked in their “Innovation Pipeline.”
5. Licensing
There are times when it makes sense to acquire the “right-to-use” an Intellectual property and pay a royalty rather than acquiring it. In the recent past, several universities have put a process together to commercialize some of the innovations out of their research facilities.
Link: Stanford University -Inventions, Patents and Licensing
6. Asset sales
There are several reasons fro an asset sales. Here are a couple:
6.1 Company has cool technology but the business model is broken. The company folds. Investors want to make whatever they can to salvage their investments. They sell the assets for a song.
6.2 Company has lots of products lines. company decides to focus on a few of them and retire the rest. The retired products may be of interest to some other companies and a win-win asset transaction is negotiated.
7. Open Innovation
Get consumers (or anyone) to participate in the innovation efforts of a company. It can be as simple as inviting people to participate in a contest to design the next version of a company’s product. Offer bounties for winning entries. Think about it – for a reasonably small administration fee and the prize money, you get to see a few thousand ideas. Seems like a huge ROI. Here are a few articles on Open Innovation that I wrote a few months ago.
7.1 The world is your R&D Unit (April 27,2005)
7.2 Open Innovation – Nike Joins In (May 24, 2005)
7.3 Collaborating with your users to create powerful offers (June 14, 2005)
8. Innovation Marketplace
Look at Innocentive, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly. The company was founded with a simple idea of getting help (for a fee) from inventors all over the world to solve some of their R&D problems. Today Innocentive has grown to be an Idea Marketplace connectin the problems with solvers all over the world. Just so that you know – this is not eBay for ideas. The fee offered to solve some of the R&D problems can be over $100,000. Again, the ROI is huge because you pay one solver $100,000 but you get to see the problem solving approaches of ten or hundred more solvers for free.
9. Direct Connection
I had an opportunity to listen to Mohanbir Sawhney at TiEcon East recently and he talked about P&G’s new Initiative – Connect and Develop. Their current mission statement according to the website is:
Connecting with the world’s most inspired minds. Developing products that improve consumer’s lives.
Sawhney mentioned that Crest Spinbrush was one example of P&G’s Connect+Develop initiative. After searching on the Internet, I found the inspiring story of the invention and growth of Crest Spinbrush. You should also read about the other achievements of the inventor John Osher. Inspiring again!
10. Innovation Capitalists
Again, thanks to Mohan Sawhney for raising awareness on this new kind of businesses called Innovation Capitalists. These Innovation Capitalists (also known as Product Capitalists) will work with entrepreneurs to make their innovations or inventions to make them commercial success stories. Ultimately, when the timing is right, these Innovation Capitalists can find a home (large corporations) for some of these innovations. Sawheny quoted two companies in this space.
1. Evergreen IP
2. The Big Idea Group
I am not saying that the above list is complete. I am also not making a claim that one approach is better than the other. Every company follows a combination of approaches for their innovation strategy based on a number of internal and external factors. The point though is to have an innovation strategy within your own company.
May be it’s time to look at your company’s innovation strategy and refine it to ensure that you have a unfair competitive advantage?
Posted under Innovation, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 15 Jun 2006, 6:32 PM - 2 Comments
Note: “New Russians” are Russians who have acquired wealth through questionable means
Two “New Russians” meet. One of them looks extremely happy and the other one wants to know the reason. The first one shares the secret -
“I have to tell you. It’s all because of the elephant that I bought recently. It is so good that it has taken over all the work in the house. It cooks, does dishes, re-arranges stuff, vacuums the floor, does the laundry, irons clothes, drives children to school and at night acts as our security guard..”
“Stop!” says the second one, “You are kidding right..”
“No” the first one continues, “I am really blessed. Because of the elephant even our marital life is getting better as my wife is happy and relieved from the drudgery of house work. It is the best thing to happen to me”
The second one is now convinced and wants to buy the elephant too. The first one says that these kinds of elephants were never on sale and he was lucky to have chanced upon one. The second one badly wants the elephant now and start making offers to the first one to sell the elephant. The first one is not interested in selling upon the conclusion of a VERY lengthy negotiation session. The first one reluctantly agrees to sell the elephant for $8M. Both parties are happy.
A week passes by and they both meet again. The second one is visibly disturbed. When asked, he tells his sad story -
“I don’t know what happened to the elephant. Something is terribly wrong. The elephant does NOTHING. It just eats and poops. My wife is already sick of cleaning up. We fight on this topic almost everyday..”
The second first one says – “I don’t know about the elephant but I have to tell you. With this attitude, you won’t be able to sell the elephant to anyone.”
Hat Tip: Yakov Soloveychik
Posted under Main Page, Smile Please.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 15 Jun 2006, 12:07 AM - 4 Comments
Referrals happen almost on a daily basis. You are participating in the referral game either as a receiver of a referral or as a giver of a referral. The referral can be as simple as what movie to watch this weekend or which M&A attorney to use for a possible M&A transaction in the near future. With our busy schedules, it is possible that we may not give a request for referral that kind of attention that it truly deserves.
Imagine a simple scenario. You are lost in a new city and you ask for directions and the person who gives you the directions gives you incorrect information. You believe him and after some time realize that you wasted a lot of time. You get annoyed. Depending on how important it was to get to your place at the right time, the annoyance level will vary. If you were going there for an interview and because of the wrong directions you blew it, you may almost not forgive the person giving the wrong directions. In fact, you think and wish that the person said he didn’t know the information. That way you could have asked someone else.
Referrals are similar. Getting a wrong referral can mean a huge cost as there is an opportunity cost involved going down in the wrong direction. When someone asks you for a referral, they typically do so because of the trust they have in you. Give them a wrong referral and there is a dent on the trust level. Repeat the stupidity again and you probably won’t get a request for another referral from the same person. When you refer someone, it is important to note that:
a) your reputation is on line and
b) the level of trust that that person has placed on you is on line
Before you jump and provide a referral as soon as you get a request, think carefully for a few seconds and ensure that whenever you refer someone both parties will benefit and there is a possibility of a win-win. You can guarantee that every time but it is absolutely important that you do your best to get to that scenario.
Note: It is DEFINITELY better to say that you don’t have a referral (if you don’t) rather than giving a wrong referral. After all nobody will have all the answers to everything 
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 13 Jun 2006, 11:20 PM - 2 Comments
If you would like to (occasionally) hear from me on topics related to this blog, my book, events, promotions and offers, please join my newly created mailing list.
Link: Life Beyond Code mailing list
I have not finalized on the frequency or topics but my goal is to work hard to ensure that the content has a high ROII.
Posted under Endorsements, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 13 Jun 2006, 7:20 AM - 2 Comments
It was an ACG event and Kimberley Wiefling was presenting an interesting workshop. I had seen the teamwork exercise that she conducted two times before but this time the learning was crystal clear. The exercise was simple and you can do that in your office too. It works like magic.
Get about 12 people and split them into two teams of six. Make this six people stand in front of the other six and get all of them to put their hands forward. All the 24 hands should be aligned with open palms and thumbs up. Now place a long thin pole on their hands. Ensure that everyone of the hands is touching the pole. The objective and the conditions are:
a) lower the pole to the ground as a team
b) ensure that throughout the process no one disconnects their hand to the pole.
c) If anyone disconnects from the pole, the person exits from the team.Now, watch the magic. Instead of the pole coming down, it starts going up (in most cases.) You can let people strategize, plan and execute how many ever times they want but the results are the same. The pole won’t come down.
Now, what might be the problem? The answer is simple again. Look at the agenda of the team (a) and the agenda of the individual (b) and you will see the problem. The agenda of the team is to bring the pole down. However, the individual agenda (to not get out of the game) is to ensure that the person does not disconnect from the pole. Seems like a conflicting agenda? You bet! Every person will first ensure that he or she is always connected to the pole – this means that he or she is silently pushing the pole UP when the team agenda is to get the pole DOWN.
The game is just fine. It makes a point. This can happen in real-life. Observe your own team agenda and see if it conflicts with the team members’ individual agendas. If there is a conflict, there will be a problem and the team goes down. Personally, your goal should be to ensure that in all the teams that you belong to, agendas are aligned. That will ensure that you spend less time in non-productive stuff!
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 12 Jun 2006, 1:10 PM - 2 Comments
Practicing what you preach can be hard. It is the basic difference between an idea an execution. Ideas are dime a dozen but those that get executed are a handful – one reason is because it costs less to discuss an idea than to execute one.
Here is a quote that highlights the need to act than just to talk.
“It is well to think well. It is divine to act well”
Hat Tip: My friend Kip Meacham at
The RSS Pundit.
Posted under Great Quotes, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 12 Jun 2006, 12:00 AM - 4 Comments
I read about one business book a week. I get to about 80-100 in an year. Not all are good but I get my fair share of good business books every year. I have been doing this for more than ten years now and it has served me well. People ask me why I am obsessed with books. I am providing my reasons with a sincere hope that some of you will identify them as your reasons too:
1. Saving time:
My first company was the fastest company on earth. It started and crashed in a matter of months. I experienced the value of experience first hand. I don’t have time to learn all the lessons through my own experience. It might be costly.
2. Saving money:
The first thing to know is we may not be able to afford bringing in the thought leader to consult for us. Second, the thought leader may not have the time to consult with us. Reading their books may be the simplest way to get inside the mind of the thought leader. Thinking about this, you will see that its a steal to pay a $20 or $30 for a book.
3. Research for a song:
Good business books are well researched. I know of several authors having reasonably sized research times that spend months or years before they have enough material for the book. Two great books that come to mind immediately are:
4. Deal with change:
Change is the only thing that is constant they say. The time has now come to upgrade the saying. We have to now say “Change at breathtaking speed is the only thing that is constant.” You need (lots of) help to deal with that change. Business books can be great resources to start preparing yourself for the change.
5. De-commoditization Insurance:
Knowledge workers are getting commoditized at a rapid rate. If you are a knowledge worker, your competition is now global. If you are doing commodity work, there will be someone else in the globe that can do for a fraction of your cost. You HAVE to do something special to NOT be displaced. You can try to invent what you should do differently on your own or you can learn from thought leaders.
6. High ROII:
The return on investment for an interaction (ROII) for a good business book is very high. For a few dollars and a few hours in total, the kind of education that I can get is just awesome.
7. Keeping my mind sharp:
A good business book makes me think. Just like the body needs exercise, the brain needs exercise too. Reading a goob business book or two per week is like taking your mind to a gym.
8. Relationship Building:
There is a saying that all great leaders are readers. While there is no research to prove that conclusively, in my experience I have found that this is true. Since I want to build relationships with great leaders, reading helps me start an intellectual conversation and continuing to read helps me keep the conversation going.
9. Insights on current business concerns.
Business books become famous for several reasons. One of the reasons is the topic of the book. People buy a book because they have concerns in that area and they think that reading that business book will take care of those concerns. By looking at the themes of business books that are getting “hot” I can get an insight into what topics are of prime interest to business people. Being an entrepreneur, these insights helps my own ventures.
Hopefully I have made you think about investing a few more hours of your time to read business books
PS:
—
Now, how much returns you will get from a non-fiction and/or business book will depend on how much you put into this exercise. A while ago, I wrote a note on my thoughts about reading a non fiction book. Here is the link:
For a list of books that have inspired me recently, you can take a look at my squidoo lens
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sun 11 Jun 2006, 1:57 PM - 4 Comments
You can do this exercise very easily. Bring along ten of your friends and/or your co-workers for a quick ten-minute meeting. Ask them one of the following questions:
* What makes a great leader?
* What makes a great manager?
* What do you look for in a friend?
* What makes a great husband?
* What are the characteristics of a great team?
* What is an ideal vacation?
* What makes a great movie?
Each person gets about three minutes to write his or her response. Collect all the responses and remove the duplicates. The list will be daunting. Whatever was your question – the responses will show one thing clearly – it will be hard to satisfy everyone – all the time.
Agreed. You need to be nice. You want great relationships with everyone. Of course, you also know that it is an ideal condition. When you start becoming realistic and look at dealing with people in general – you will see that there is only one thing in common – “everyone is different.” Trying to please everyone is hard work. Even if you succeed, I don’t know whether the returns from that warrants all the sacrifices you need to make along the way.
Now I want to make my final point. Just remembering that your success does not lie in pleasing everyone will give you some freedom. If you bought into this argument, the tricky part is also to remember that you should not expect everyone around you to please you. The same rules apply both ways, don’t they?
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
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