Personal and professional development for technology professionals.
» Bringing Ideas To Life. With Love!
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 31 Oct 2005, 9:26 PM - Leave Comment
My column at CIOUpdate was published today and the topic is Leading Smart IT professionals.
The focus of the article is how to recruit and manage people smarter
than you (basic requirement to build a powerful organization)
Cheers!
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 28 Sep 2005, 8:03 PM - 3 Comments
That was the topic of my talk at Cisco as part of the “Beyond Code Tour” organized by NetIP San Francisco Chapter.
I have posted new album with photos from the talk at Flickr.
The theme of the talk was simple. There is a rapid acceleration in the
rate of change and it’s only going to get worse moving forward. We need
new skills to lead and manage in this new world. Also, the skills and
tools required for tomorrow may not even be available today. That means
it is imperative that we need to start learning how to learn rapidly so
that we are prepared to adapt tomorrow.
It was a fun group and there were a ton of questions. Sometime in the
future I will post a mindmap summarizing the key points from the talk.
It was mainly for the “Lead” chapter in “Beyond Code“
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 15 Jul 2005, 10:34 PM - Leave Comment
Many people who end up in leadership positions think they are leaders.
This little quote explains that it’s not the position or it’s not the
people that report to you that defines the quality of your leadership
but..
Posted under Great Quotes, Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Mon 04 Jul 2005, 12:53 PM - Leave Comment
AA just unveiled a program called Operation Hero Miles where people can donate American Advantage miles and AA will pool them and donate to those that are serving in the war.
AA’s goal is to get at least 17,760,000
AAdvantage® miles to Operation Hero Miles. With the matching program in
place all it requires is 17,760 AAdvantage members donating the minimum
number of miles (500) to this program. I hope this will be an easy goal
to reach.
The website says:
I am doing my bit tomorrow. The only drawback of the program is that
you need to download a form, fill it up and fax it. May be it’s a legal
requirement else an online donation would have gotten a higher response.
Happy 4th of July to all of you!
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sat 02 Jul 2005, 7:10 PM - Leave Comment
I have known Marshall Goldsmith
for a few years now and every interaction with him has been
inspirational. I just heard from him that he is giving away a wealth of
knowledge on leadership, coaching etc. at his new website
Cost: Free
Value: Priceless
Thanks Marshall for sharing this.
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 16 Jun 2005, 6:47 AM - Leave Comment
Yesterday I attended the SDForum Visionary Awards celebration (happens every year)
Every time I attend this event, I come back charged up and inspired. The event was held at the home of Heidi Roizen and David Mohler.
This year’s award recipients were:
1. Carol Bartz, CEO of Autodesk (intro: Scott McNealy)
2. Bill Draper, Partner at Draper Richards (intro: Ann Winblad)
3. Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP (intro: Larry Sonsini)
4. Ray Ozzie, CTO of Microsoft (intro: Bill Gates and Esther Dyson)
It was great to hear all of these people talk passionately about why they did what they did and about the Valley. Kudos to SDForum team
(especially Laura Merling) for putting together this phenomenal show. I
think these are the kinds of things that make the valley a special
place to live.
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 13 May 2005, 12:32 AM - 2 Comments
Recently I was discussing some of my favorite topics (management,
leadership) with Ashok Shrivastava, retired VP at CPG giant Proctor and
Gamble. Ashok had several insights to share but this particular one was
very interesting.
When a leader declares a goal and goes ahead and achieves it, he or she
is in the “challenge” mode. When a leader does not announce what he is
doing and achieves something, he or she is in “chance” mode. In
“chance” mode, the stakes are low and in the “challenge” mode, the
stakes are high.
There are cases when one is appropriate or the other. But, if a leader is never in a “challenge” mode, there is a problem!
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 06 May 2005, 12:04 AM - Leave Comment
This is the first season of Apprentice
I really followed closely. I had heard extreme opinions about the show
(obviously I had not watched the previous seasons) – some hated the
show and some absolutely loved it. I personally have mixed feelings
about the show. Since next week, we may see whether Tana or Kendra will
become the Apprentice, I thought this will be a good time post my
thoughts and hear what others have to say
Here are my $.02
Here are some reasons why I love the show:
a) The show is different from
several of the mindless shows that air on TV. Whether you agree with
everything or not, it will make you think for a while.
b) For insights: Every
now and then the show features executives from real companies
discussing their strategies briefly and what they are looking for in a
new product or service. May give some ideas for you and me.
c) Lessons on teamwork:
I have always believed that to accomplish something very significant,
you need a team that will work effectively and efficiently. You can get
some tips on team work – what to do and what not to do.
d) Creativity: The
time allotted to some tasks are very small. So the teams need to be
quick and creative in their approach to work. Couple of times I was
amazed at what the teams created in less than a day.
Here are some points to ponder:
a) Far from reality to serve the purpose:
If the purpose is really to find an apprentice for Donald Trump, this
interviewing method obviously will not produce the optimum result.
Mr.Trump might find a bright and lucky candidate but whether the person
is suited for the job is questionable.
b) Comments on fellow team members:
For those of you who followed the show, it is very clear that each team
member had “not so” good things to say about the other team members.
Imagine having such team members in your own team. What are we trying
to teach the folks who are watching the show?
c) Decision making is highly subjective:
In some episodes there is a clear winner but in many episodes the
criteria for winning or “firing” is very subjective. In fact, in one of
the episodes I saw Mr.Trump asking carolyn and George who he should
fire but their opinion was not considered at all.
d) Results are the only real measure:
Many times the participants were measured by the “results” they
produced and although all of us were watching how they were produced,
no importance was given to how the team got those results. In fact, in
one of the episodes
where the objective was to create collateral for Pontiac Solstice, the
winning team (Kendra, Craig and Tana) did not even work as a team.
Kendra did most of the work and just because they were part of the
winning team Tana and Craig remained on the show. Fair? May be not!
I have a lot more but this is already a long post and I should end
here. Any comments are welcome. There are no right or wrong answers
here but only opinions.
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Tue 12 Apr 2005, 9:51 AM - Leave Comment
All of us know that leadership is more than holding a title or a
position. However, it is difficult for many people to start an
initiative without positional power. Undertaking a lead role in a
volunteer effort will solve that problem. Leading a volunteer can be
hard work but the rewards are great.
If you are leading a team of volunteers you know that:
a) almost all the team members are in this for a cause and not for the money.
b) each team member has an option to quit at any time.
c) each team member is already walking the extra mile
d) each team member has other choices to volunteer their time
In other words, it takes a lot of effort to lead and succeed in a volunteer effort. What it will make of you is priceless.
Succeeding in leading a volunteer effort will provide several benefits:
a) you will spend time for a great cause
b) very few people lead a volunteer effort so you are in a minority (distinguished yourself)
c) great networking beyond your professional circles
d) short cut to developing your leadership skills
Good luck!
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Leadership, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 10 Mar 2005, 6:11 AM - 1 Comment
A Company’s resume – client list
A teacher’s resume – student list
A leader’s resume – his people
If you are a leader, there are so many things that you have to do right. There are people who are watching your moves as you are a role model for most people. There are many ways to know how effective you are as a leader. One quick way is to constantly watch what your people are becoming. Your people are your resume.
Growing people may be the most important thing a leader has to to. One of my favorite authors on the topic of leadership John Maxwell (who is also a great leader) says that his job definition is “lid lifter” – he lifts lids (limitations) off people so that they can grow higher.What a neat concept.
If you have been leading people for more than a year, take a look at all the people who were with you last year same time. Compare them with where they are today. You should have been a catalyst to cause a major shift in what they are today as compared to what they were last year. If you care enough for your people and create an infrastructure to grow them, miracles will happen. It’s a matter of time.
Posted under Leadership, Main Page.
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