Afternoon Thoughts

 

Infosec is to Fintech what HSE is to Oil and Gas.

#AfternoonThoughts 

 

Just like OIl and Gas depends on security to keep its engines running, Fintech depends on Info security. One incident, and everything comes tumbling down and grinds to a halt. Coverup is a short term solution and perhaps the instinctive reaction, but as the oil and gas industry will tell you, its a poor strategy, and what's worse, doesn't work. 

The only good thing to do is to approach infosec like the Oil and Gas Industry approaches HSE - have transparent standards, invest in a clear security policy and ensure that every member of team is educated and compliant. Report transparently and periodically. Most importantly, learn from EVERY mistake. Each one of those recovered mistakes is going to save you from a larger disaster, and make no mistake, there will be larger incidents. Oh, and don't forget the Incident Management System. 

 

Why is reading newspapers the best habit for children?

 These are the top FIVE reasons why every child needs to read a children’s newspaper every day.

1. Vocabulary - Books around us do not have the vocabulary that kids need. In our paper, we are covering the SAT word list. A child who starts reading at Grade 4 will be done with SAT vocabulary by Grade 8 and they will not even realise it. All children’s papers are doing something similar.
2. GK - This is the main reason why parents want kids to read newspapers. They may not remember everything from the paper on a day to day basis, but they will need that consolidated information at some point and it WILL come back to them when they need it. Its not just current affairs, but general awareness about various topics too. most children’s papers combine current affairs with other GK too.
3. Interest in various things - The best way for a child to learn about many different domains of knowledge is the newspaper. A newspaper covers everything from puzzles to literature and science to history. The child might read some items carefully and gloss over the others, but there really is no other way to ensure that the child gets this diverse exposure on a daily basis.
4. Logic Puzzles - Indian students perform badly in the Critical Reasoning section of most aptitude tests. The reason is that logic puzzles are not a part of their growing up. It is not that Indian children cannot analyse or do critical reasoning. it is that they have never been taught how to. A children’s paper brings them bite -sized, fun puzzles and before they know it, they are ready for Critical Reasoning. This is a tried and tested formula. My aunt ensured that I do logic puzzles as a child and after growing up, when i aced CR, i understood the importance of what she had done.
5. Imagery - Imagery, or visualisation, is one of the most critical adult skills. But it can only be developed in a child’s mind. As a child consumes text input, its brain automatically converts the words to pictures. This ability is called imagery or visualisation. These are the people who, when they grow up, are able to visualise complex scenarios, do wireframing, and other critical tasks for success. Children who are only given visual inputs cannot develop this ability. A newspaper, therefore, and not news channels or online games. Chapter books and not graphic novels. Illustrated books, but not videos. Newspaper is one of the BEST ways to develop the visualisation skill in a child because it is consistent and happens EVERY DAY.

Us Samay ka karoonga kya? - One of the most important stories of my life

एक समय की बात है। मिस्र में एक अंग्रेज काहिरा की ओर जा रहा था। रास्ते में उसे एक अकेला बूढ़ा आदमी  चलता हुआ मिला। अंग्रेज को दया आ गई। उसने अपनी गाड़ी रोक कर उस बूढ़े आदमी से पूछा, "आप कहाँ जा रहे हैं?" 

"काहिरा जा रहा हूँ।" वृद्ध ने उत्तर दिया। 

पता नहीं वृद्ध के व्यक्तित्व में क्या आकर्षण था, अंग्रेज़ ने न्योता दिया, "आइए, मेरी गाड़ी में बैठ जाइए। मैं आपको ले चलता हूँ। आपके पूरे पाँच दिन बच जाएंगे।" 

वृद्ध पहले हतप्रभ हुआ, फिर धीरे से मुस्कुरा कर ना की मुद्रा में सर हिलाते हुए कहा - "पर पाँच दिन बचा कर मैं उस समय का करूंगा क्या?" - ऐसा कह कर, वृद्ध ने अंग्रेज़ से विदा ली और चलने लगा। 

ये मेरे जीवन की सबसे महत्वपूर्ण कथाओं में से है। समय और पैसा, किसी गेम करन्सी जैसे हैं। जब हम कोई गेम खेलते हैं, तो उसका पैसा उसी गेम में कमाते हैं, और वहीं खर्च करते हैं। उस पैसे को गेम के बाहर न तो लाया जा सकता है, न ही उसका गेम के बाहर कोई मोल है। 

हमारे जीवन में भी, पैसा और समय, ऐसे ही हैं। इस जीवन के बाहर, न तो उनका कोई मोल है, न उन्हें ले जाया जा सकता है। समय बचाना तो अच्छी बात है। पर उस समय का करोगे क्या, यह और भी महत्वपूर्ण है। 

पैसा कमाना और संजोना, दोनों अच्छी बातें हैं, पर उस पैसे का प्रयोजन क्या है, उसका उपयोग क्या है, यह और भी महत्वपूर्ण है। 

पाँच दिन बचाकर, हम करेंगे क्या? 

अमूमन गेम में हम उस XP और पैसे को खर्च कर के, कुछ सीख लेते हैं। जीवन का भी ऐसा ही है। उस पैसे और समय (XP) को तो गेम से बाहर नहीं ले जाया जा सकता, पर गेम खेलते खेलते हम जो सीखते हैं, उसे साथ ले जाया जा सकता है।   

My first published story

 Pahaadi Gaanv ka Iskool – Rashmi Bansal – India's Best Business Books Author

Am so kicked! 

The Brilliant Craftspeople of India

 Dilli Haat is just my favourite place to be at.

It is a living museum. Every time you go, in addition to the staples, there are artisans from some part of India. Almost every single time, they are either making the product and you can see it happen, or they tell you in great detail how they go about it. Its an education in the rich crafts of India and leaves one bewildered - every single time.

Last time, as we exited, there were quite a few people outside the Haat. Usually, I buy from one of the two-three papier mache vendors because they sit there and paint. They are visibly proud as you make a choice. So, we did that and just as we got into the vehicle, a lady came by to sell lovely silk brocaded shopping bags. They were breath-taking. The price she quoted made it obvious that she had made them herself. We bought three. After we had made the purchase, the lady said, "Mata Rani will bless you. I am a single parent raising two children without any support."

It was too dark to take a picture, but I don't need to take a picture. This is what Mata Rani must look like - making brocaded silk bags to be financially independent, selling them at 9 pm on the road, raising two children, and doing it all with panache. Those many hands of the Goddess? They are real.

Perhaps, in addition to the business practices of India, we should also understand the craft practices of India, and how our craftspeople are short-changed by a well irrigated system. The seed of an idea, then?

Its not the data, sir

Today, RBI kept the interest rates the same after a 3-day deliberation. 

Finshots is a email service/app that writes short journalistic pieces on the.. well, financial sector. 

In today's story, Finshots hypothesises that : 

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And an oft-cited criticism of the Reserve Bank of India is that it consistently fails to forecast inflation and growth rates accurately. According to the critics, this is a rather serious transgression on the part of the bank, mainly due to the fact that these numbers are then used to justify the monetary policy calibrations [changing interest rates etc]. How could the collective wisdom of the Monetary Policy Committee, the governor, the deputy governors, the modelling experts and other technical advisors all be so woefully inadequate to deal with what seems like a rather straightforward problem?

To answer that question we must first look at the data that’s used to predict these future outcomes. As Duvvuri Subbarao, the former Governor of the RBI points out — “The Reserve Bank operates within the universe of knowledge available in real-time, and that universe is largely shaped by data. If the data are reliable and available in good time, policy response can be accurate and confident. But the Reserve Bank is oftentimes wrong-footed because of the questionable quality of data.”

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Let me tell you a story. 

Naresh wanted to predict the rainfall this year. So, he took data from the last 20 years' rainfall - all 20 chaumasas with their comings and goings and everything in between. 

Then, he used a predictive index to say which day of the year will see how much rain. 

The statistical model predicted a deluge. People took precautions, businesses delayed new launches until after the deluge, and so on. 

But, that quote - Man proposes, God disposes, was not created in vain. The rains were normal, or below normal. People suffered that and criticised Naresh. 

A good friend came to meet him and asked him how he had configured his predictive model. Naresh said - the highest rainfall received on that date in any year was used to create the prediction of the expected rainfall in this year.  

Obviously, Naresh had all the data. He simply did not put the right analysis to that data. 

But why would anyone make such a huge mistake? Why not use something as simple and obvious as mode, or even mean rainfall? 

Because, Naresh had taken that model from a Cherrapunji based scientist. There, they prepare for excessive rains. So, they predict based on the highest they have ever got. Because the variance is not too high, it doesn't matter. They prepare for the worst and it works best for them. 

When we see that the model was created by a scientist in Cherrapunji, what appears to be absolute lack of reason, makes complete sense. 

End of story. 

************* 

Why is that story relevant here? 

Because, the financial models we use to predict our numbers are created by economists who work in western economies. For over 200 years, everyone has been trying to fit our economy and its variables to a single universal format, guided by research in macro and behavioural economics. This research has been conducted in largely homogenous economies, with a defined set of cultural and social parameters. 

My hypothesis is, that if we want to understand the economy of India and how it interacts with macro economic policy variables, we have to understand how THIS economy functions. The government has often criticised the Indian trading community as being less than transparent. But is the government also not guilty of remaining ignorant about how the trading classes actually function, and then to create rules and laws that keep that in mind? 

The issue is not just with the data. The issue is that we have not invested in research to understand the model within which we operate. We report on numbers whose formulae are imported and have limited application in a complex economy like India. 

Examples: 

1. When the high denomination currency notes were banned overnight, no one expected the poorest of the poor to be so inconvenienced. BUT, they were. The preliminary, back of envelope calculation I did back then indicated the massive cash that flows through the bottom of pyramid. But because all this cash is completely undocumented, we cannot even include that data in our models, much less know what to do with it. 

2. Borrowing to spend on weddings and funerals is not listed anywhere as rational economic behaviour. No model of economics accounts for this. Yet, for at least 1000 years, Indians have borrowed routinely for weddings and funerals (if they are poor). What makes this even more perplexing is that this is the same society that gives 10% to charity and has among the highest family savings rates in the world. Why, then, do they borrow for weddings and funerals? (And now, for education) How does this indebtedness impact their disposable income and consumption? Their total income? Their nutrition? For how long does the impact last? 

3. How much does a country like India really need to spend on welfare medical facilities for all its people? What are the real medical needs of people who live every day with snake bites and dysentery?

The fault is not with RBI alone. Most economic reporting of India leaves out India (Sure, you can call it Bharat and snigger, but well, where's the money, honey?) 

It is written by people educated in Keynesian economics, read by people being educated in Keynesian economics, and criticised by people who base their criticism on fancy jargon and models of... you guessed it. 

To be fair, there cannot be a single economic model of India. India is, like all cultures, complex and complicated. Economic decisions have been based on rational decision making only in textbooks. Behavioural Economics is just beginning to get its due (or, is it?). 

But, can that really be an excuse for completely excluding the real Indian economic models from the study of economics? 

India's policy making, macro economic indicators reporting, and indeed, our education of economics, cannot be conducted without understanding the native economic models of India.

Using the Talent Pool without having to hire them

 

Suppose there was a way by which you could assess the technical competence of a candidate even without putting them in an interview?

 

Suppose further, that by this method, you could also get the person to contribute to projects in your organisation without getting paid – on their own time?

 

Suppose that this tool also allowed you to actively stay in touch with your alumni, with the possibility of rewarding them for continuing to be associated with your brand?

 

You are most likely to say that is impossible. And for the most part, it is. Which is what makes this tool so awesome.

 

The Magic..

The tool is a discussion board, open to internal and external folks, enrolment purely voluntary, and all participation rewarded with points.

The points can be converted to monetary and non monetary rewards. Monetary rewards are gift cards from selected vendors. Non monetary rewards are invitations to employee only events (for non employees), membership to industry bodies sponsored by the organisation, and so on.  

 

When you face a business or technical challenge, put it up. Let people respond. All participation rewarded, and all productive answers rewarded extra.

 

Let it be everyone’s playground – from the junior to the senior most person, let everyone talk about strategy to maintenance, from diversity to facility management.

 

The Numbers

Crowdsourcing of ideas is not new. But here is what this model has in addition to ideas:

1. Rewarding Engagement – internal and external, in tangible ways.

2. Pre selecting talent on the basis of their actual contribution and not just on the basis of their interview performance.

3. An opportunity to notice skills/ideas of employees that they are not able to demonstrate in course of their normal work.

 

On the cost side of the equation is the cost of building and running such a platform. Or buying one. On the benefit side are intangible benefits that quite simply are not available elsewhere.

 

The maths makes the most sense for a mid – large sized company in niche skill areas like audit, acturial, IT, Energy, Infra, Manufacturing, community building, city planning, e governance.  

 

The maths does not make sense for generic skill organisations or organisations that depend largely on cottage industry inputs for sustenance. It also does not make sense for talent communities with low penetration of computers.

Lifecycle of the Innovating Organisation

 

We have all heard that story before – a brilliant idea, led to the creation and growth of a market leader. Then, something went wrong, and within a century, or less, the pathbreaking organisation was on its way out.

Usually, the meteor that hits the organisation is , ironically, flab and lack of innovation.

 

We all know, also, about the innovation life cycle.

 

Image Courtesy: http://www.jplcreative.com/blog/index.php/2010/01/26/marketing-strategies-for-innovation/

 

But here, I am talking about the Lifecycle of the Innovative Organisation.

 

An innovative organisation is an organisation that continues to innovate – not for business success, not to get more territory, not to do things better, but just as a matter of course. As a way of BEING. Its in their DNA. All of the business benefits – quality improvement, newer products, better markets, are side effects of that way of BEING. As are product failures, millions of lost dollars, some lawsuits et al.  

 

This distinction is important – In an innovating organisation, innovation is not a means to an end – nor an end in itself. It is, quite simply, be who they are.

 

3M is the obvious example that pops up when we talk about innovative organisations. There are, of course, others. General Electric. I will not put Apple in the list. Because honestly, we have no idea what the culture is INSIDE Apple.

 

What makes these organisations Innovative Organisations? What can other organisations do to remain (or become) innovative?

 

This article here has some very sound models for organisations asking “What can we do to become innovative?” (Blackberry and Nokia come to mind) . My post is about what MAKES these organisations innovative? What keeps innovation in their DNA?

 

And the hypothesis is this: Leadership does. 

 

Assigning the KTB Dollars for Maximum Value

 

In the previous post, we spoke about assigning dollars to ensuring that the IT team understands the business.

Which starts the next question – where should these dollars go for maximum impact.

This answer is based entirely on my experience as a non business person trying to make sense of the business. My knowledge of industries is limited to IT, Consulting and Energy. This may not apply to some industries, or may have to be modified to suit your specific need, but its a good starting point.

Tier 1: The Grassroots: Assign a set of people who do actual delivery and support work for day to day IT ops, to go and see the grassroots part of the business – the factory, the drill, the delivery projects, the warehouse et al. How do people really work. This internal perspective is very important because it will create the empathy that support people must have for their customers.

Tier 2: The Decisions: Next, assign a group of people to work directly with the middle layer to understand the answers to 2 questions:

1. By what process are decisions taken in that department?

2. What are the variables that impact decision making?

Once we know how decisions are taken and what impacts those decisions, we know the movers for our customers and will be able to respect their constraints better. The other thing I have observed is that when I know the variables for my customer, I am able to work with them to generate the most out of our positive variables, while minimising the impact of the negative variables. But not knowing their variables puts our team in a blind spot from where we argue our respective positions, without much benefit to either party.

Tier 3: This is expected. The Center of Excellence or the Benchmarking team should also allocate time to understand how the business itself is changing. This team will interact internally and externally both, participate in industry conferences and not just IT conferences, preferably with a colleague from the relevant unit.

What are your thoughts? As the CIO, would you invest in your team knowing the business? How would you go about it?

Visualisation: That crucial element for Agile in ERP

Once upon a time, we wanted to use Test Driven Development (TDD) on a small ERP delivery project. This would reduce documentation by 70% and lead to a time saving of upto 40%. We were very excited.

We ran the familiarisation workshops. Explained how the method will be different – to the customer and to our own development teams. Got everyone’s concurrence. And then we started with a small project in pilot.

 

Except, it didn't take off. But that experience taught me something really important about adoption of Agile in ERP projects. The missing link was simply this – because ERP (even small ERP deliveries) are huge, we were not able to visualise the end product. That is why we could not start with Test Driven Development.

 

Once we had the Root Cause Analysis, it was relatively easy. For the next application, I sat and visualised the ENTIRE application – all user types, with all their screens, and behavior of each button.

 

We didn’t have the luxury of standard screens that most ERP customers have – they know the standard screen buttons available to them and know what they look like. We had to visualise the entire application from scratch.

But here is the important thing – once the wireframing was done, it was much easier to do Test Cases. We simply knew what to expect!

 

So here’s the recommendation – when we try to do TDD, especially on non traditional areas like ERP, spend some time and expense on a soft skills trainer – and do a visualisation, wireframing workshop. For the business owner and users. If they can visualise what they want, the rest of the exercise becomes much easier. Today, I find Visualisation to be a really powerful element in application design.

 

And visualisation is a specialised skill. Usually, it needs to be learnt.

Investment: The Core of a Change Management Program

I play this online city building game. It’s a MMG (Massive Multi player game) which means that you don’t just build a city alone, you also interact with other players, attacking their cities and protecting your own. Obviously, the game rewards you for this mutual destruction.

At level 6, I attacked a Level 22 player, and won! Imagine my happiness. Which was successfully doused when, 2 days letter, I got a threat message from the said player, telling me that my cities will be “destroyed” in no time. I laughed, and wrote back to him, saying that it is only a game, and that he could destroy all he wants. I can walk away from the game in 10 minutes and never look back.

At level 30, when the same player attacked me, I wasn’t so amused. I sent *him* a message saying that I play a solo game, and that he had better stay away from *my* cities.

So, what changed? This: I became more *INVESTED* in the game. Suddenly, there was a stake to protect.

That’s what this post is about. We brought that learning back to the Change Management projects we were doing. The objective of change management is not to familiarise and train. It’s not to remove resistance or aid adoption.

The CORE of change management – is to make your user *INVESTED* in the change. It becomes theirs and *they* have a stake to protect.

In designing change management interventions today, the first question one asks is, “Will this make them invested in the new state of things?”

I have found that this change in perspective has greatly enriched the interventions. It makes it mandatory for us to find what will get them invested. And it has helped me understand that time is a major factor in ensuring this *investment*. Like leadership and parenting, it cannot be rushed, nor squeezed into “quality time”.