It Is No More The Book I Knew

This interesting conversation between two characters, from an inspiring Korean series about books, authors and publishing, made me reflect a lot about the books I had read in the past.

Character 1 : It is an old book, a very good one. I kept reading it again and again, when ever I was happy, sad, tired etc. I had even gone to the extent of memorising the lines from the book. But off late, the book looks different to me. It is no more the book I knew. I started realising that I had missed a lot of lines or even missed to read between lines that conveyed strong meanings. Why does the book behave strangely off late?

Character 2 : The book has always remained the same. Perhaps, you (the reader) have changed. That is how good books are. 

This conversation was so relatable that, it reminded me of several good books. But the one that stood out was, "Tuesdays with Morrie" which struck different chords when read during different times in my life - 20s, 30s, and almost 40s. Do you remember any such book?

Root Cause Analysis and Empathy

 

Table Review

It was a post lunch session and I was one of the reviewers in the table review with the development team. The purpose of the activity was to find out how a bug escaped our development and testing process and reached the customer and also to find out means to prevent them in future.

My 11 Year Old's Observation 

We reviewed the 5 why analysis done and discussed in detail about the bug that slipped. When the meeting was over, my 11 year old who was keenly observing the conversations told me, "I will never enter the corporate world". I asked her, "Why?". "You are making developers feel guilty for a bug that slipped. They are already guilty. Why do you ask so many 'whys' to them? Imagine how they would have felt."

Paradigm Shift

Suddenly I could feel the heat on the other side of the table. How much offended they would have felt, that they even become defensive at times. They put their heart and soul into the feature. A customer bug would have pierced their heart and this exercise would have hurt them more. 

Purpose

However the purpose of this activity is not to blame a team or a person, but to come up with innovative methods to prevent similar issues in future. Continuous improvement is not only applicable for software development, but for everything under the sky. It is the only way to keep up the quality. Innovation and improvement are the keys to quality and success. 

Taking the Developer's Side

But wasn't it my duty to make the developer feel at ease and explain the purpose? When my 11 year old could empathize with the developer, why didn't I? The reason is that, my daughter is a recent developer herself and it has been a long time since I was a developer. She would always request me to test her coding projects, and a bug in her project is the last thing she would want to hear from me. :)

Lessons Learnt

Finally I learnt these precious lessons from my 11 year old. "Understanding the purpose of an exercise by all involved parties is more important than performing the exercise itself. Also, empathizing with our colleagues is an important trait to master while working in a team, to get the best results." 

Later, I explained to her the purpose of this activity and told her that this is not specific to corporates. I went ahead and told her that  'Continuous improvement' is applicable for everything under the sky. 

I am not sure if my little one ("What?? I am almost a teenager and you call me your little one?" lol) agreed with me, but I definitely learnt a lot from her :)

Attrition and Attachment

1. What are the basic necessities of humans?

Food, clothing, shelter and most importantly, 'attachment'. Let us say, the first three are taken care of by the salary component of an employee. 

2. How do we know that attachment is a basic necessity for humans (and other species)?

Harry Harlow's unethical experiments on rhesus monkeys proved this theory.

3. How can we ensure 'Attachment' at work place?

If an employee has a sense of 'belonging' to a team, there is a huge chance that he/she would stay there longer. 

Postive work environment, positive people and leadership team, work-pressure handled with 'care', job security, emotional support during personal crisis, timely encouragements and appreciations, work place harrassments and bullying taken care of effectively, lively work space, retention of energy level and enthusiasm of the team by means of innovative  methods, ensuring work-life balance, aligning personal goals with professional goals, ensuring job satisfaction are a few ways I could think of, to cultivate 'belongingness'. 

If we detach ourself from our work place (though we are talking about attachment here :) ) and think of why our team members are leaving, we can arrive at more ideas. However it is easier said than done. Detaching ourself and getting into the problem is not easy. Most of the time I have made the mistake of realising the importance of an engineer only after he/she decides to leave.

Fear, security and attachment are the aspects we often forget about, as we give more importance to salary and promotions. It is high time we start thinking about the psychological aspects of attrition.

#attrition #letstalkcorporate #attachment #workculture #leadership #workenvironment

Staying Relevant to the current world

What is scarier than death? The fear of becoming outdated and no more relevant to the current world is even worse.

Symptoms:
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How do we know that we are becoming outdated?

We are slowly becoming irrelevant to the current world if, :-

1. We are not able to have a meaningful conversation with the younger generation.
2. We are not able to understand many topics involving technology, culture, books etc., they talk about.
3. We find them living in a different world :)

Recovery plan:
------------------------

1. Remember, age is just a number. Becoming outdated has nothing to do with the age.
2. 'Listen to me and obey me because I am 40' is an 'old fashioned' meme. What you think? What you say? What are the values and skills you have acquired over these years, are more important for people to listen to you, than your age. This is the new normal. Again, 'Age is just a number'
3. Make a note of all the current topics that are difficult to understand/follow and make the best use of Google. Try to talk more about these topics with others in every given opportunity and read more books on those lines. Reading and exploring are the keys to acquiring knowledge. 'Knowing to read and not reading is the same as not knowing how to read'. :)
4. Acknowledge to the younger generation that you don't know and try to ask questions to understand better.

The world that looked at us as a tech savy person, might now look with a different pair of glasses, if we do not update ourself. And it hurts! 

#age #updatingourself #olderandstronger #ageingwell #generationgap #reading #exploring #stayingconnected

Hybrid Toastmasters Meeting - Made Easy

Note: If you are a Toastmaster trying to move your club to hybrid mode of operation, please move to the topic 'Setting up a hybrid meeting..' directly. 

What is Toastmasters: 

It is a non profit organization that helps its members to improve their communication and leadership skills with a practical approach. These clubs are spread across the world. The members give speeches and  participate in various contests (international) to improve their communication skills. They are given opportunities to host various events and take up roles to improve their leadership skills.

What is a Hybrid Meeting?

While the meetings used to be conducted in a meeting hall before the pandemic, we moved to zoom and other online platforms later on. Many of the clubs are operating in the online mode now. However, we are slowly in the process of moving to the in person meetings which are more exciting and in no way comparable to online. The butterflies in one's stomach, just a minute before he/she steps into the stage is a feeling that needs to be experienced and is unexplainable in words.

Hybrid meetings allow the members to participate either online or offline as per the preference.  Many clubs hesitate to move to the hybrid mode, fearing the infrastructure, man power and technology required for setting up a Hybrid meeting. 

Setting up a Hybrid Meeting with minimal resources

A hybrid meeting can be set up with sophisticated arrangements for a better experience online and offline. But this article aims at explaining the basic setup required with minimal resources. This might encourage the clubs hesitating to move to hybrid mode of operation.

All we need is the following:

1. Projector

2. Laptop

3. Microphone

4. Meeting hall 

5.  Bunch of enthusiastic members and excom team online and offline 

Preparation

1. It is very important to make sure we have enough man power before going for hybrid mode. It is good to have 2 excom members online and 2 offline to facilitate the meeting.

 2. Coming to the venue an hour or atleast 30 mins before the meeting, would be of great help. Opening the online meeting room and checking on the availability of the role players before 30 mins will ensure that the meeting starts on time.

3. Make sure to invite and greet the guests online and offline as they come in.

4. Place a microphone near the laptop and connect to the online meeting (eg. Zoom). The mic has to be adjusted by the offline speakers between pointing to the laptop and pointing to them while speaking. With a powerful mic, they can move around the stage and speak as well.

5. Connect the laptop to the projector and position the laptop to capture the stage (You can also use a webcam if you have, for easy movement). This will allow the offline audience to watch the online speakers and role players on the big screen.

6. Zoom master's role is crucial here. The zoom master should spot light the online and offline speakers meticulously throughout the meeting. This is the most important step in a hybrid setup to offer a good meeting experience to the members.

7. The SAA can offer a Google form to the online and offline members for electing the best speakers and role players for the day. Consolidating the online and offline results is tedious. So Google forms work well in hybrid mode.

8. Inform the offline speakers to watch the laptop for the display of timer cards.

9. If the timer is present offline, make sure he/she has a laptop to show the cards online for the benefit of online speakers.

Benefits

While the hybrid mode has many challenges, it is definitely worth giving a shot. As a president, I was hesitant to start this, as I have to travel 20 km to reach the club from my house. But with lots of passion and support from the members it is definitely possible. The first meeting may not go well, but the way we brainstorm and make improvements in the process, improves the quality of our hybrid meetings day by day. 

You will see that there are more guest conversions compared to online mode. I have heard a lot of guests who had worked online for the last 2 years, badly wanting to network with people offline. Many guests would prefer the hybrid clubs over the online ones. And the most important factor is the butterflies in your stomach that may not be experienced online. I would be delighted  if atleast one club moves to hybrid mode after reading this post.

Do reach out to me for queries, your hybrid mode experiences, learnings and suggestions.

Kavitha (Current President of Madras Toastmasters Club) kavitha.anbarasu@gmail.com

The Urge to Create

A Creator in My Team

"I am not a big fan of Agile" - One of the youngest scrum team members told me during a retrospective meeting, a few years ago. Having worked in "Waterfall Model" for 5 years and more than 5 years into "Agile", I keep praising agile in every given opportunity. My belief is that, any framework, built on human values and result orientation is here to stay. In spite of being on the other side of the river, I was thrilled to hear that comment from my young team member. I wanted to discuss further with him, but the agenda of the meeting did not allow me to do so. I could only tell him, "The moment you start questioning the existing system, you are more likely to create your own. You never know...You might  end up creating a new framework better than the 'Agile'." I could sense giggles in the conference room, though that team member listened carefully and nodded.

Are Creators Super Humans?

I wondered, "Why were there giggles when I spoke about creating a new framework?"

After a lot of analysis I concluded, it is because we believe that everyone cannot be creators. Right from our school days we were never taught to question the existing system. The inventors, creators and scientists were always thought of, as super humans with extraordinary capabilities. The expectation from the students was always to understand the theories of great people and present them in their exams. But I firmly believe that the creators were also ordinary humans with a lot of passion to create something new. They spent more time on their research when the rest of the world focused on other worldly things.

Are We Trained to Create?

As a school kid, I hated to write the "definitions" word by word from the text book. I ended up loosing marks because I wrote them in my own words. I still remember the teachers criticizing me, "This is not your theory. It is Einstein's. I want it word by word here". Though the educational system has evolved over all these years, we still have a long way to go. I strongly feel that, while it is important to understand and appreciate the existing theories, it is also important to question them and create our own.

Just imagine if Aristotle did not question the existing system, we would still have thought that the "Earth is Flat". If Copernicus settled with the theory of Earth being at the centre of the solar system our understanding of the universe would have been several centuries backward. Creating more creators will take our society, country and the human race as a whole to the next level of civilization. 

Why Should We Create?

There are two main benefits of being creators. 

1. The Feeling you get when you create something new cannot be explained in words.

2. Being a creator, we leave a mark before we leave the world. Our meme will stay for ever in the minds of the generations to come.

The GB Moment

When I play Ilayaraja's (Music Director) music on my Veena I feel a sense of tranquility and peace. But when I write my own musical notes and play them on my Veena, I feel goosebumps and I cannot explain the feeling I experience, in words. In fact, there are no words in the dictionary that can explain this feeling. I call this the GB (Goosebumps) moment. My tune may not be a master piece, but it is still mine. It is unique and I am the creator of it.

When I read an insightful blog post I feel satisfied that I had learnt something new for the day. However, when I write my own blog and my meme reaches hundreds of people to bring a small change in their lives, then that is when I feel my GB moment. 

The Urge

Can you believe, that all these thoughts were running in my mind at 2:45 AM. Why am I not sleeping? Why is this urge to "create" and "create more creators" developing strongly in my mind these days? Is it true that you tend to think too much when you are nearing your 40s? ;)

I could relate to this urge with another one few years ago. When I was 8 months pregnant with my second baby, I had a crazy urge to clean the house. I usually hate cleaning. I do it only when it is absolutely necessary. But I ended up standing for hours together cleaning the house carrying a big tummy. During my doctor's visit I hesitantly revealed my "urge to clean" to my gynecologist. She smiled and said that it is very common and is called "Nesting". When I did some research on this it was fascinating to know how nature prepares us for different phases of life. Nature is full of secrets and is extremely magnificent and there are lots of secrets yet to be discovered. Isn't it?

Spread the Meme

Coming back to my agile team member, I am quite sure that he is going to be a creator one day. In spite of growing up in an educational system that doesn't go with the philosophy of creating creators and questioning the existing system, he was able to question and express it. I was impressed but felt bad that he looked unconventional to the rest. Isn't it important to spread the meme of "creating creators" and make it more conventional? Won't this meme help us move to the next levels of civilization and make many of us leave a mark before we leave?

My Journey as a Humorous Speaker

Inspired by the speakers of 2015 - Division Conference 

I still remember, in 2015 when I joined a corporate Toastmasters Club, I directly happened to attend the "Humorous Speech - Division Conference" held in Bharat Engineering College - Selayur. I had no clue about Toastmasters back then. When the humorous speech contest started, I could not stop myself from being inspired by each and every humorous speaker who represented different areas. They were the speakers who had qualified in the club contest and then in the area level and they had reached the Division. They were all from different professional backgrounds but they all had that common passion for public speaking and extreme sense of humor and wit. The contest came to an end very late in the night. As I was travelling back, the silly thought of me qualifying to be a "division level humorous contestant", kept coming to my mind. I knew it was too much to expect from myself. I was neither a public speaker nor that humorous girl who makes every one around, 'laugh out loud'.

Avoided Humorous Speaking

I joined a community Toastmasters club (MTC) in 2016. Slowly my Sunday morning calendar-slots were permanently filled with Toastmasters meetings. I went regularly and took up roles, speeches and tried every thing from taking up a tally counter role to being a contest chair. But whenever my silly thought of becoming a humorous speaker popped up, I would tell myself - "First become a good public speaker, then dream of 'humorous speaking' (which is considered to be the toughest style)." 

Failure and Plan of Action

When I gained  some confidence and participated for the first time, I failed miserably in the club level. What is the worst thing that can happen to a public speaker? Forgetting the script? No, that can be managed. Bombing in a humorous speech is worse. Imagine, you say something very funny (at least you think so) and the crowd stares at you thinking that the funny part is yet to come :)

People around me kept telling me that humor is some thing that cannot be developed. "It should be in-born,  natural and should run in your blood. You cannot hard work and become a humorous speaker." The more I failed, the more I wanted to learn the genre. I truly believed that any skill can be developed with consistent practice, hard work and determination. Humor cannot be an exception. I started doing a few things:-

1. I kept including humor in all my speeches.

2.  Every day, I started making a note of funny incidents that made me and others 'laugh out loud'. It became my source of original jokes for reference during speeches.

3. I started watching a lot of humorous movies, standup comedy shows and reading books in that genre. I paid close attention to each and every word uttered by the actors, their body language and the impact it created among the audience.

4. I wrote and rewrote my speeches several times, until I was satisfied that each and every one in the crowd would relate to the humor and laugh.

5. I recorded my speech and watched it several times. I paid attention to my body language and the impact it would create with the audience. I kept making changes until I was fully satisfied. I became a strict critique of myself and would never approve until I reached the extreme level of satisfaction.

6. I played the video to all my family members and sincerely took their feedback.

2020 and 2021 - humorous Speech Contests

My diary was filled with resources for my "humorous speech contest". My world was in and around my kids. So obviously my speech was about the toil I underwent with a 2 year old and a software career. I managed to reach the Area level in 2020. In 2021, I was bored of always showing myself as a mother in speeches. I decided to show the funny experiences I have had in my career, especially as a developer and later as a tester. I brought in a few similarities that I realized with software development and cooking. This speech made my silly dream come true. I was one of the Division contestants for Humorous Speech Contest - 2021. 

Aspire to Inspire

Why am I writing all this now? Some of the new colleagues in my club and people around me, think that humor runs in my blood and I am a born humorist and public speaker. I wanted to shout out loudly and say to all the aspirants that any skill can be mastered if the desire is extremely strong. I was an introvert, who felt dreadful to come to the stage and utter a word, not long ago. Dreams do come true, even if they are silly, provided we have a plan of action and stay focused and determined until we reach our goal. And there is always scope for learning and improvement and the belief that we have not mastered the skill yet, will take us to the next level of excellence.