Open Innovation share

This is deck shared around Open innovation and thoughts actually from the book "Ten Types of innovation"....
http://www.slideshare.net/openinnovation/10-types-of-innovation

- D

What are top 5 things that successful people do on consistent basis?

What are top 5 things that successful people do on consistent basis?

Time management - They manage their time effectively such that they always have time to do right things at right time and meet/connect with right people! They don't believe in Inbox Zero :)

Work-life balance  - They would work hard, play harder… will thrive to effectively balance their workload and family pri's!

 

Socialize - This is controversial as few people are introverts and great leads. However, personally have found that successful people can easily connect/talk with anyone and make friends...

External hobbies/Interest - Some like to reflect over time and meditate to seek inner growth  Helps them be balanced at work and in their personal life. Others, tend  to be a outdoor person with heavy focus on sports and other outdoor activities. Whatever method one applies, strongly believe doing something outside our day to day activities/routine helps boost your productivity.

 

Respect and value for an individual - Successful people have usually gone through different phases of life and they understand well the value of life and respect for an individual and their time.

 

Sure, there are more to add to this list...

LaserLock announces updated version of VerifyMe for identity verification...

LaserLock announces updated version of VerifyMe for identity verification...

LaserLock provider of identity verification and product and brand authentication, company that authenticates products and people, today announced a new version of VerifyMe.

VerifyMe™ is a free app for iPhone, iPad and iPod that allows users to store their passwords locally and access password protected websites with a unique identifier based on a swipe pattern and color choice chosen by the user. VerifyMe™ is available for free on iPhone, iPad and iPod now in the Apple Store at http://applestore.com/verifymesso.

-D

Seed funding... Microsoft Ventures

Found this interesting and thought to share - If you are looking to buy a house, this is the wrong place :) but if you are intending to fund your startup probably Microsoft ventures program that was launched recently would be of interest.

"Microsoft Ventures is a strategic partner for promising startups around the world focused on business growth & customer development, industrial strength technology and beautiful usable products. We’re especially keen to partner with proven young B2B startups looking to leverage our global routes to market. "

Buzz Table, Buddy and KitchenBug are few of the initiatives funded...

More here... https://www.microsoftventures.com/

Cheers- D

Does bringing ex-CEO help firms transform?

Does bringing ex-CEO help firms transform?

There's some news/rumors floating around these days that Bill Gates would take the helm back from Steve Ballmer at Microsoft. Personally, I don't believe this would happen as Bill is very much involved in philanthropy work with "Melinda and Gates" foundation and believe he has crossed that desire to run a profit organization. Sure, he still loves Microsoft and is chairman of the board. However, his vision and thought process to help poorest of the people come to next level by helping them in areas of basic necessities is remarkable and applaud able. Initiatives around having a "polio free" world, working with Pharma companies and investing heavily in creating medicines to eradicate malaria, TB and others is more important than selling Windows :) Sure, Google and other companies are also contributing to the world in such areas... but for someone like Bill this is full time job~! :)

However, these rumors of having Bill rejoin as CEO started me thinking that do companies really outperform/transform themselves by having prior leaders join back?

JC Penny would bring back ex CEO Ullman back and ousts someone who was trying to transform the company - Ron Johnson! Without Ron having enough time/opportunity and lacking full support for transformation, Ron was left lonely... fair?
Results: We haven't seen outstanding results yet...but time will tell..

Infosys gets ex CEO Narayan Murthy back, good move but is it a great choice? Sure, he was the co-founder and CEO who deeply believed in the company and it's success. But what does his return indicate? Lack of next generation entrepreneurs in the company or just boredom.
Results: We haven't seen outstanding results yet (this quarter was helped with Rupee dropping significantly)...but time will tell..

Apple - had a slightly different story by having Steve Jobs come back but that was with an intent to buy his company Pixar back. Also, point to be noted is that Mac is still struggling to have its market share against PC. They have been successful in few of their recent products (iphone, ipad and others) because of weak competition and being the first adopters to consumer market. Ofcourse, Steve had stewardship qualities that helped Apple transform but lets not forget the distinguished engineers who toiled hard to get finest products out.

Recently, with P&G's former CEO A.G. Lafley's return puts the iconic company's reputation at stake as well. All will rest on whether he can turn around P&G quickly....

I think returning the reins to a former CEO signals of desperation and failed succession planning. Hiring a CEO is a very key decision and I am sure lot goes into the thinking left to the best of the lot! :)

Cheers - DJ
 

Should you go for Microsoft Windows Surface RT or Windows Surface PRO?

My first hand experience with Microsoft Surface PRO. Microsoft recently launched Surface PRO with Windows 8 OS this Feb 9th. We missed the fanfare mainly due to the storm in east coast but also partly users didnt even realize that there was some new product that Microsoft was launching :) I still hear ppl. asking questions what is Surface PRO and what is Windows RT? Is this  a PR mistake by Microsoft not revealing one brand identity to end users who are not tech savvy! Apple has iPad (thats it :)). On top of this Windows Surface comes in different forms - one developed by HP, Acer, Asus, Dell and what not.... all adds to confusion to end users!

Below, are few of  the pointers where I try to list differences between Windows PRO and Windows RT. Should you go for Windows Surface RT or Windows Surface PRO? There is no one answer but purely depends on your needs -

Here are few pointers that I can list that can help you choose between the 2 products -

1> Windows RT is an exciting new version of Microsoft Windows that is built to run on ARM-based tablets and PCs. Works exclusively with apps available in the Windows Store. ARM based tablets cannot run existing old windows applications.

Surface PRO run all previous version of Windows applications and integrates with your existing enterprise management infrastructure. Use your existing programs and the apps available in the Windows Store as well as it is based on Intel chips i5 processor.

2> Ofcourse, price is something still debatable in the market, as Windows RT is what you can get for $499 odd, v/s PRO @ $899. If you add the additional accessories like Touch keypad, wedge mouse and others you may have to shelve out more - $134 for keypad and 70 for bluetooth wedge mouse. Along with taxes you are looking at somewhere $1300 which is lot even if you are just looking for a high end laptop.

3> PRO does come with Stylus pen - which I think is pretty cool. Remember, however that's not a luxury, but really a necessity as when you switch to OLD windows applications you really need the pen as the fonts (such as the menu bar) really gets small.

4> Strorage is constantly debatable, and it seems there is 32 GB odd of strorage that is already used by OS and backup, thats not kewl! Technically if you buy 64 GB tablet that would leave you with just 32 GB to begin with. Thats the very reason Microsoft didnt even come up with 32 GB Surface tablet, you will get maybe 1 MB of free storage and oh yes they claim you can always put more on cloud :)

5> Camera on PRO is decent enough to do live chat, but not video recording of high quality.  Regardless, cannot imagine video recording thru' Surface.

6> You dont get Microsoft Office free with Windows Surface PRO, but it does with come with home/student edition with Windows RT. Remember, this is one of the key product that MSFT is publishing as productivity app.

7> Battery life - PRO claims to have 3-4 hours of battery life v/s Surface RT which can last for 8 hours plus,

8>  PRO is slightly, heavier than Windows RT but less than regular laptop weight. Comes with USB 3.0 which is faster I/O devices connect compared to USB 2.0. You can connect with HDMI devices.

Both Windows RT and Surface PRO do not come with wi-fi from Microsoft manufactured devices  (though learn that AT&T has started selling those!). I find this little wierd and loses the concept of device everywhere!

Regardless, I can bet that Windows Surface PRO is much better option that Windows RT (infact when i was in Microsoft Store, RT displays were not even looked by customers :)). Price is still a big concern for me but i would love to buy one!

Cheers - Dipesh

 

My first interaction with the China team...

My first interaction with the China team...


This was a brief 30 minute leadership listen only call and hence not really active but I am very interested in being active participant moving forward esp. with the DEV team in China.
Time difference really works for me from US pacific timezone, Good live meeting and network connectivity on-premise and no issues communicating. Wish me good luck so that I can be successful in delivery and management. :)

Here are few learnings that I learned from my past offshore experience -
1 Connect the team more (if possible daily standup).
2 Good project management and understanding of all activities/tasks assigned to the offshore team.
3 Having said, that Offshore team being remote and distant away, would do wonders if you give them a bigger picture. Believe me, that would make the team  feel part of the bigger pool and give them a sense of ownership.
4 You may have to give away some of your time and be flexible/agile to work with a different timezone with the Offshore team.
5 You must know the powermap - Supervisors and managers who own/control the team. Trust me, they treat feedback from client/onshore team very seriously and take corrective action.
6 Understand their culture and be empathic while on call/conferences and change your behavior instead of asking them.
7 Typical work that can be executed successfully
8 If none of this work, then please pull out at the right time than later in the game and avoid heart burns :)

Cheers - Dipesh

Can empathic listening do wonders and win more battles?

There are several experts, who would say that one should be a GOOD listener if they want to avoid troubles for themselves and have a constructive dialogue. Yes, very true but I think one should take it to the next level... NOT just listen, active listening but be an Empathic Listener. huh? What does that mean?

By definition, Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness) that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion - per Wiki.

Empathetic Listening is a technique which can help you manage and avoid disruptive and assaultive behaviors and land you great success in reading right messages and solving problems with client, customer, supervisors, team members or even personal relationships - the way you want!

There is a popluar word that is coined in my organization - LEAP: Listen, Empathize, Ask and Propose. J The message is = Don't just Listen and jump to conclusions and Propose but Listen, empathize with the person, Ask/probe more questions to understand his/her context better and then propose - put forward your ideas/suggestions. That is the skill every executive/leader would find it helpful. Don't play this but br true to yourself and it will benefit you in longer run! Learn to Practice! Practice! Practice!

Success in Emphatic listening is understanding and it can be summarized in 4 simple steps below: 

1. Follow the LEAP process, Give your judgement/advice only after you have completely listened. Give some time, Think through the issue, not required to have an immediate response.


2. Give your full attention while listening. Don't be distracted or be involved in multi tasking while listening. This won't yield the results you want.
3. Give due importance to the topic and the speaker. Show true concern and feel it genuinely. Don’t trivialize the issue. 

4. Assure your understanding. Ask clarifying questions and restate what you perceive the speaker to be saying.

Again, it's an art and learn to Practice! Practice! Practice! Hope that helps win you more battles, :) Cheers - Dipesh

How to start your own small business? How to venture into any new space? Are you afraid of competing against large corporations?

How to start your own small business? How to venture into any new space? Are you afraid of competing against large corporations? OR Are you just double minded on whether you should or you should not?

 There is NO straight answer to this, but I have made an attempt to list some of the basics that I think from my experience are MUST HAVE’S for a leader/entrepreneur by design. Don’t consider them as magic steps that would allow you venture into a new business OR make you a successful entrepreneur, CEO OR for that matter even a business lead in your company. But, my 2 cents draft with some of my thoughts that I think every person should have to enable him/her to take that first bold step to venture into any new space OR a startup company. (will keep it simple) –


4 key fundamentals one would need to be successful venturing into new space as a Startup company OR working at the next level –

CPLB (Courage, Passion, LOTS of patience and most importantly Belief in YOU.)


• Courage – To go against the odds, To take balanced risks, to get out from your comfort level,
• Passion – You need to have the killer instinct passion, desire to prove a point (in a good sense),

• Patience – you may fail, but don’t give up…. Keep on trying and you will get there,

• Belief – Strong belief in you, don’t lose heart with small failures, don’t give it up….keep trying!


In addition, you also need Xtreme dedication/focus, commitment towards work.


• Xtreme dedication/focus – Should have razor sharp focus and clear vision to what you want to achieve. Be very clear headed. Will need lot of sacrifice of your personal time – family will need to stand by/support you for each decision/action you take. Won’t be easy but you will have to practice that during early stages of growth for sure.

• Commitment – Work hard, Work hard, Work hard! There are no shortcuts and don’t play games! Be real, be honest and be true to yourself.


I think few important key points that one should embrace are –


• Need to have VERY STRONG in ideas/thought process. If your product is NOT a value add, then it won’t help you sail :)

• TIME is an important asset for you, utilize it wisely.

• You don’t need to attract lot of money, build upon an IDEA and sell it. Investors will get attracted to an idea anytime.

• Create a blue ocean strategy and compete in the red ocean as well – to grow it’s OK to keep your margins low. Once you are at level 2 – you can think of revising your strategy.


At the end, most importantly - Have FUN in doing what you do!


Here are few DON’TS:


• Don’t treat your venture/new experience as pure competition.

• Don’t get stressed out – set some time aside to celebrate/pat on your back and the team that worked hard for you. The way large corporations term – WORK LIFE BALANCE :)

• Don’t be afraid of FAILURES, but learn from it. (recent entrepreneur/leader example –X CEO for Apple: Steve Jobs)

• Don’t get absorbed in mundane/routine tasks/activities; Outsource them if possible to someone who loves doing it and you take on the value adds. Free up your time to move on.
• Don’t stop learning, Invest time in learning, growth for you and the team.

Will try and focus on how to compete head-on with large corporations and create your own mark/brand in Part 2. 

Pardon my scribbling’s if any....