Did you know that...?

Project Manager is a person who thinks nine women can deliver a baby in one month.

Developer is a person who thinks it will take 18 months to deliver a baby.

Onsite Coordinator is one who thinks single woman can deliver nine babies in one month.

Client is the one who doesn't know why he wants a baby.

Marketing Manager is a person who thinks he can deliver a baby even if no man and woman are available.

Resource Optimization Team thinks they don't need a man or woman; they'll produce a child with zero resources.

Documentation Team thinks they don't care whether the child is delivered, they'll just document nine months.

Quality Auditor is the person who is never happy with the PROCESS to produce a baby.

and finally???...

Tester is a person who always tells his wife that this is not the right baby!!!

Learning competence

Did u know that learning involves competence and it’s important for us to realize where we stand in the Learning Competence Curve (LCC). Firstly, let me explain briefly as to what it means by LCC. Basically, there are FOUR states / stages (in order of progression) of learning which one could relate oneself to:

1. Unconscious Incompetence – This, being the first stage where an individual (typically a learner) is in a state of unconscious incompetence, which means that he is not even aware of the existence or relevance of a particular skill / process / knowledge. I guess all of us reside in this state (for a while) when we get on to learn something afresh / new.

2. Conscious Incompetence – The second stage where a learner is aware of a particular skill / knowledge and also consciously admits that he is not a MASTER at it. The learner dwells in this stage for a while to gain mastery and progresses gradually to the next phase to gain conscious competence.

3. Conscious Competence – Is the third stage where the learner is able to perform his tasks at a desirable level (though far away from being a MASTER) and knows that he is competent and is on the verge of attaining mastery, which is the fourth and final stage in the LCC.

4. Unconscious Competence – This being the ultimate & definitive stage in a learner’s life (listen…I am not saying there is no continuous learning) which sets stage for the learner to attain supreme mastery & competence in his chosen area. This is a state where everyone would like to permanently reside albeit it’s extremely difficult to attain such a level and all the more daunting to maintain / sustain!

How do we realize where we stand? SIMPLE! You have to ask yourself the question “How good (or great!) I am at a particular task and do I know I am good (or otherwise) at a task?” I am sure you know the answer now!

"Learning is the ultimate competitive advantage" Amen!

JW and the new business?

Did u happen to read a recently published FORTUNE article on ‘The new business rules’ and the possible contradictions with Jack Welch’s managerial philosophy? Well, here’s what a few high-profile execs had to say:

When people write about how our stock is up, they give us way too much credit for what we did this year. It's what we did three and five years ago that moved the stock. – John Chambers of CISCO on pleasing shareholders

I took $400 million and put it back into advertising, people and marketing innovation. That was fundamental. – Neville Isdel of Coke on courage and sustainability

The problem is that it's notoriously difficult to predict the size of a given market. – Art Levinson of Genentech on the importance of being number one

The real power isn't in scale, it's in alignment. And that's really hard for big companies to achieve. – Anne Mulcahy of Xerox on size and power

And…did u know what JW had to say…?

I have to give Steve Jobs and Apple all kinds of credit. What he's done is remarkable; when you think of starting the Mac, getting thrown out, coming back, rebuilding that, and then starting a whole new product category. A remarkable job.

Corp Gov, Business Ethics & CFO

Recently, I was interviewed by CFO-Asia magazine for a research report recently published on Corporate Governance, Business Ethics & the CFO. This report sheds light on various issues concerning corporate governance and explores the growing awareness among Asian companies of the business benefits of strong governance and ethics.

It presents the findings of a survey of more than 160 CFOs and senior finance executives from mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia and Singapore. The questionnaire-based research has been supplemented with in-depth case study interviews with executives at six companies (including myself representing Mulitex Limited - refer page 16 and other sections of the report) spanning a range of industries, corporate structures and locations.

Feel free to download the report (by clicking on the above link) and pour your thoughts / views...

India Risk Assessment

I recently read a coface report on country risks and this is what it has to say about India…

Strengths
1. Very substantial market potential with a rapidly developing middle class.
2. Definite competitive advantage in sectors like computers, outsourcing, steel, pharma & textiles
3. Dynamic local companies with international scope
4. Manageable foreign debt and ample foreign currency reserves
5. Progressive and continuous economic liberalization since ‘91
6. Start on consolidation of public sector finances and banking sector

Weakness
1. Very unevenly distributed growth that could provoke severe social discontent.
2. Troubling situation of public sector finances, with public debt unsustainable in the long-term
3. Poor financial intermediation, deficiencies in infrastructure and business / legal environment.
4. Despite progress, Kashmir issue is still an element of uncertainty.

Risk assessment
Short-term : A3 (adverse political or economic circumstances may lead to a worsening payment record that is already lower than the previous categories, although the probability of a payment default is still low)

Medium-term : Quite low risk

Sounds VERY promising...right? Let's hope India has a bright future in terms of political & economic performance.