Following the Herd

“Please do not follow the herd. Realize what you really wish and then pursue your goal. Listen to your self. Do not ignore it and take infinite challenges to pursue some other’s goals.” - Every one might have heard these words at some point of time. From the past few days, Raj wants to know whether he is following “his” goals and started introspection.

In his schooling the most fascinating subject was Natural Science (Physics, Botany & Zoology). To continue his interest in college the only option he knew was to become a Doctor. But it’s very difficult to get a seat in the college. Though his parents didn’t object him to choose his interests, like many of his friends he took Mathematics and Physics as major in the Pre-University studies. He was always amused by the laws of Physics but didn’t enjoy the mathematics. All the Differential mathematical problems got integrated and challenged his future. But with the motivation of his parents and teachers he managed to get into engineering.

First, he wanted to get rid of hard core mathematics. Even though IT was in deep waters by the dot com bubble, he started pursuing his studies in computer science. To his relief he found most of the computer science more or less “Common Sense” and a little bit of logical & mathematical puzzles. His interest grew and performed well in that domain.

Watching his friends getting a hefty package in a research company he too joined that company. In his work, even though he has to deal with numbers, he was able to manage it. But the only problem is that he thinks his interest is not in numbers.

There are two options in front of Raj. One is to quit from the present job & go after his interests. The other one is to develop interest in his current work leaving his preconceptions. Is it better to enjoy being a member of the herd or to come out of the herd?

Hareesh's IT Job - 80-20 rule

Like many of my other friends, Hareesh was also fascinated by the IT world. He pursued bachelors in computer science and joined an IT company. His team builds an information system for a multi-national company. He was thrilled to be part of such a great job. He loved the job and used to spend most of his day in the office. He aimed excellence in everything and so he worked very hard to achieve the quality output. But in the process he used to miss the deadlines. His inexperience in the job made the situation even worse. This had demoralized Hareesh. After a week, he called his US manager and said “I am unable to balance between the time and quality. I am missing the deadlines frequently and its demoralizing me. Is there any possibility to extend some deadlines or to have additional team members?”

His US Manager said, “Don’t worry. I too faced this dilemma initially. See Hareesh, we can follow 80-20 rule. 80% of the tasks will take just 20% of the total time and 20% will take 80% of the time. So, first complete those 80% tasks and then if you have enough time, attend to the other 20%. Most of the people would be happy if you complete just 80%. So, plan and go ahead.”

After returning from the office, Hareesh said 80-20 rule to me and praised his US manager a lot. He changed his attitude slightly according to it and achieved good results.

Happy New Year 2008

Another year has passed, leaving a lot of memories to my life. I can’t mark them as good and bad. When there are many colors, it’s foolish to see them as black & white. Some are sweet, some are sour and some others are spicy. The time has come to welcome another new year. I gladly welcome it into all of our lives.

Hope Year 2008 brings us another tasty dish with all the colors.