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Showing posts from February, 2011

25 Unwritten Rules of Management

Different Perspective: 25 Unwritten Rules of Management I blogged about this more than 2 years back and maybe read this as the same time, however with time I have only seen the relevance grow of this list. This list now is pinned on each and every of my team members desk. See the rules The rules are simple, but little harder to understand, and very hard to practise and make it a habit. Lot of issues can be avoided by these simple rules. I have seen many people failing by not following these simple rules. Or people who are just stuck where they are, and not moving ahead... A lot is written, read, trained in management, but that is nicely summed up in these points. My fav in the list are - 2. It is easier to get into something than it is to get out of it. 15. Be extremely careful of the accuracy of your statements. 17. Promises, schedules, and estimates are important instruments in a well-ordered business. * You must make promises. Don’t lean on the often-used phrase, “I can’t estimate

Why do people work late?

Here are some common reasons for people working late - Plain inefficient – Lacking logical thinking you spend loads of time on simple problems. Bad planning – Managers bad planning, leaving no time for the execution phase, so team has to slog. Bad process – Whole process is inefficient so lots of time waste. Managers perception – If people working late are assumed to be efficient, then you have to sit late.. Bad personal planning – people wasting time in initial phases and then scrambling in the end. We tend to have the last minute scrambling syndrome. Inefficient team – So you end up doing what you team was to do. This is probably fine in initial phases but sometimes it just never improves.  Office perks - Bachelors sit for free internet, coffee, dinner, comp off's, etc. I have had many instances where people working late as perceived as hard workers. The problem is big in software industry as this is a service industry. You can spend hrs solving and researching a t

The Case of the Bonsai Manager

The Case of the Bonsai Manager: R Gopalakrishnan: PB Books Buy The Case of the Bonsai Manager India: - Infibeam.com I am reading the second book from this author, when the penny drops, and there are few references to the Bonsai trap. Whats interesting is that every manager falls into this, but few only manage to understand, learn and come out of the bonsai trap. What i also feel the difference is that book talks about the challenges in management in Indian companies, which are different from those in MNC's. A good book which somehow i feel is some years ahead of me...the writer has poured his yrs of experience. What is also interesting that writer feels, that loyalty to manager, is more important than loyalty to your company. For many yrs i used to feel otherwise, but recent experiences also make me agree with the writer. However, this is something i believe will come very hard to me... Learning is never easy,,and never stops....

Reasons for communication gap

Loads of books have been written on effective communication and related topics. A quick googling on reasons for communication gap, did not turn out anything interesting, simple and straight to the point. Therefore i decided to blog my thoughts on this. Some reasons according to me are  - Fear - Sometimes when the position of 2 parties are not same, then because of fear, you may not have clear communication. People should not have the fear, that what they speak in front of you shall be used against them. Mistrust - If the persons engaged in communication do not trust one another, then they are not actually listening. both try to do one way communication, or worst still, they just don't bother to communicate. Contempt- if there is contempt, then that reflects in words, and leads to dirty or half hearted conversations. Fixed ideas - People are just too fixated on what they want other person to understand and know, that they just do not listen. Not listening, breaks down the commun