In some companies, "Story Points" have the following two purposes. A convoluted measure for customer billing, the customer won’t really know how much effort has been put up for the said amount of story points in the bill. A number by which the developer has no idea on how much task he is taking Essentially, … Read more
In the ever-evolving landscape of tech-driven workplaces, companies are increasingly adopting unique approaches to foster innovation, collaboration, and rapid problem-solving. One such approach gaining popularity is the code-athon, code marathon or hackathon — a structured event where teams come together in the office for a concentrated burst of coding, creativity, and camaraderie. In some companies, … Read more
One of the important aspects of time management is to prioritize the tasks in hand. This is more of a daily routine one has to perform at the start of the day’s work. However, for some prioritizing might be confusing or difficult. That’s where the Priority Quadrant comes to the rescue. The Priority Quadrant, also … Read more
In the episode Night Terrors of The Star Trek: The Next Generation, the ship Enterprise and its crew go in search of missing science vessel USS Brattain in an uncharted binary star system and gets caught in a spatial phenomenon called The Tyken’s Rift – a massive rupture in space into which energy is absorbed. … Read more
To run a professional software development team and have a clean development process requires the following minimal tools. Especially, small teams that write great software could do better if they have these tools when they develop software. That too at zero cost! Yes, totally "Zero" cost. IDEs Source Control Project Management Tools Communication Knowledge-base IDE … Read more
There is a small snack shop near my place, people call it the “Vadai Kadai” which means “The Vadai Shop” in the local language and Vadai is a small snack made of mashed dhall, mixed with onion, chilly, curry leaves etc., and fried in oil. One day I visited the shop to buy some Bonda … Read more
Life’s Mission… October and November marks a critical period for migration of the Atlantic salmon. These salmons travel hundreds and thousands of miles from the sea and try to reach the highland rivers where they were hatched and born. The river bed on the highlands are the best spawning grounds which provide the much needed … Read more
We all know about the ‘Survival of the Fittest’ law which is in the fabric of nature. To understand it better, we need to look at traits that make the fittest. There are multiple traits that define who is the fittest among all. Here, being the fittest does not just mean being healthy, muscular, etc., … Read more
Nature is a fascinating machine that has its own set of predefined laws based on which it works. One key principle in that is “You can never take more, than you give…” Anything that breaks this principle would eventually cause an imbalance and would spiral down to its end. For example, a bee consumes the … Read more
To most, “process” is a sick word that prevents them from doing things. Like the funny quote goes, “Getting things done is not an excuse for not following the process! Corollary: Following the process doesn’t get things done!” In some cases, the original intent of the process gets hazy or blurred over time and it … Read more
What Job Seekers fear to tread before accepting an offer? An Article by Einstein Amirtharaj, HR Professional As an HR professional many a times I have heard this response from prospective job seekers that they were not able to make it due to following reasons which may go dot, dot, dot & dots of reasons. … Read more
Recognition is not a perfunctory procedure as followed in most organizations today. It is something very vital that nurtures the growth of the employees and the organization. The organizations call it using many names and colours – RnR meet, Rewards & Recognition ceremony etc – but most lack the spirit! There is an incident from … Read more
A better idea – Is there really anything called a better idea? It was a Friday evening, and I was really happy about the week in general and the day in particular. The meeting which I had just concluded ended well. After a lot of brainstorming, thoughts and ideas in abundance had come out. And … Read more
Feedback is an important aspect for the organization and its employees. It plays an integral part in shaping up the career of the employee. Let’s begin with a story In the past, there was a popular orator who performed his discourses at many places. One day he was to perform his discourse in a village … Read more
Instilling confidence and making one believe in their own capabilities is the hallmark of a good leader. Like how it took Lord Rama to make Lord Hanuman believe in his very own strengths. As usual, our story! There was a village nearby a mountain, it had a small population. One day, a Sanyasi (An ascetic … Read more
Focus, usually is a very elusive thing. Leaders get pulled out in fifty different directions and sometimes they are spread too thin to have a better attention span and focus. Yet good leaders cultivate the ability to focus. In the olden days, there were Gurukulams – a sort of a residential school – run usually … Read more
It was a typical Monday at office – everyone had that not-enough-rest, I-need-one-more-day look. I, on the other hand, was having I-was-there, but-not-now look, which naturally was raising eyebrows. I was tapping my keyboard like playing a piano. Raj, my teammate, was curious about it. Well, who wouldn’t if they find a Buddha on a … Read more
To listen, and to be listened to, is one of life’s greatest pursuits. And what better way than a conversation? I have always believed conversations are both a binocular and a microscope to read the other person’s mind, to get closer and go deeper. Many a time I have bruised egos and gotten my ego … Read more
Being inclusive is an important trait for a leader to build a great team. It goes beyond personal preferences to include the right people for the team regardless of their age, experience, levels etc. That said, each person has unique capabilities. So, having the right mix and choosing the right person for the right task … Read more
In this article in the series of “Catalytic Leadership”, we will see about commitment and how committed leaders would be to the task at hand. Thiruvalluvar in his Thirukkural couplet says, தெய்வத்தான் ஆகாது எனினும் முயற்சிதன்மெய்வருத்தக் கூலி தரும்– திருக்குறள் (619) Theivaththaan Aakaadhu Eninum Muyarchi ThannMeivarutha Kooli Tharum Meaning, Even when the Gods are not helping and … Read more