A Warrior’s search for Synchronicity

[09:19] Hashin: ivide oru banking product development team unde athilotte
[09:19] Jan: interesting…what is the next generation demands for banks
[09:19] Hashin: within company marukayanne
[09:20] Hashin: interesting question
[09:20] Hashin: mostly analysis
[09:20] Hashin: and risk
[09:20] Hashin: ippo concentrate cheyunathe risk analysis
[09:21] Hashin: bank data analyze cheythe oru productinte riskum koppum okke calculate cheyaa
[09:21] Hashin:
[09:22] Jan: so this will enable the professionals
[09:22] Hashin: yenthay jan chetande company mattam
[09:22] Jan: to be less reliant on intuition and manual calculations
[09:22] Hashin: yes
[09:23] Hashin: basically it will provide the data for deriving their intuition
[09:23] Jan: it is not company mattom…job change within the company
[09:23] Hashin: ok
[09:23] Jan: Interview was succesful….as usual
[09:23] Hashin: confidence
[09:23] Jan: I will share a secret with you
[09:24] Jan: I have never failed a face to face interview
[09:24] Hashin: banking products can be broadly classfied into two
1. transactional 2. analytical
[09:24] Hashin: hmmm impressive
[09:24] Jan: go on I am listening
[09:24] Jan: analysis is my domain
[09:24] Hashin: oh ok
[09:24] Hashin: transactional is your day to day banking
[09:25] Hashin: so software for that
[09:25] Hashin: analytical banking is for the board to make decisions
[09:25] Jan: so to assess the customer trends and behaviour and probably …the characteristic of a particular locality
[09:26] Jan: as well as the online behaviour
[09:26] Hashin: not really rather that customer oriented it is the banking product oriented which in turn reflects the customer trends
[09:27] Jan: ok
[09:28] Hashin: its just tells you in fig how well each of your product is doing in figures
[09:28] Hashin: also gives in figures what your assets and liabilities are
[09:29] Hashin: also does an analysis whether you abiding by the rules of the country
[09:30] Jan: are you talking about the current product or the product you will be designing
[09:31] Hashin: current product
[09:31] Hashin: it is designed in germany
[09:31] Hashin: one of the most complex products developed
[09:31] Hashin: the one i am trying to move is the transactional banking one
[09:32] Hashin: what sort of analysis do you do???
[09:34] Hashin: the product is awesome but the kind of work i do is crap. wanted to have some knowledge of the product. Got it. Now time to do something interesting
[09:36] Jan: airline industry is a bit different…we look at past trends and future bookings at the same time. From the past trends we get to know in concrete terms what did work well….the future bookings tell us what may work well or where there is demand…so in short make recommendations to increase prices, increase capacity, squeeze more bucks by intelligently holding onto the inventory….betting that the customer will pay a higher price…for an extremely perishable product because you cannot sell today’s seat tomorrow
[09:37] Hashin: hmmm very interesting
[09:37] Hashin: start selling a seat for 1 re and end up selling hte last one for 5000 Rs
[09:37] Hashin: air deccan style
[09:38] Hashin:
[09:38] Jan: so it is knowing the market, the events, assessing the impact…putting a number to it
[09:38] Jan: it is also not selling any seat less than Rs 5000 some times if there is a special event
[09:38] Hashin: hmmm so a team does it???
[09:39] Hashin: the person who makes the final call has an axe on his neck all the time
[09:40] Jan: software does the normal …..usual work….but the software does not know…this year the Bahrain Grand Prix is on 4 – 6 th april or the oil price is more than 100 dollars
[09:40] Jan: so that oil companies will ramp up production by 25%
[09:40] Hashin: hmm
[09:40] Jan: so the annual spend on a certain flight will go up from 5 milliion to 6 million
[09:41] Jan: so instead BHD 1500 we can charge 1650 for a LHRBAH ticket
[09:41] Jan: and so on…
[09:41] Hashin: hmmm
[09:42] Hashin: so in short you are a business analyst
[09:43] Jan: whatever you name it….in today’s kind of software and data permeated world…everyone should have business analysis skills….I tend to be good at it …s o I do a consultant kind of job
[09:43] Hashin: ok
[09:43] Jan: within the organization…helping the managers make competent business decisions…
[09:43] Hashin: what is the new job you are looking for
[09:44] Hashin: ok
[09:45] Jan: currently I make recommendation…other people act on my recommendation…the new one…I make decisions..for a particular route …for example….London Geneva….7 flights a day …oneway…for 355 days in advance…I decide how the software should behave …in the way it puts the availability on the flight
[09:46] Hashin: ok
[09:47] Hashin: hmmm interesting
[09:47] Hashin:
[09:47] Hashin: actually very interesting
[09:48] Jan: It is not much different….in a way it is knowing rather than doing…most of the brilliant work is done…when you are not at your desk…the thought process never leaves you…a flash of an idea comes to you when driving or reading or having a conversation….and then you start brainstorming….it is a continuous learning process
[09:49] Jan: so the actual sharpening your skills is sharpening your thinking….continuos self renewal
[09:50] Hashin: sometimes wonder there are so many better things to do rather than sit and stare at the monitor day in and day out knowing what is best in you is been draining out of you
[09:50] Jan: very true
[09:51] Jan: Successful career are not the product of luck or planning; they are built by people who are able to sieze those opportunities that match their own strengths, work styles and values
[09:52] Hashin: hmmm
[09:53] Jan: my commitment to myself is never do anything that is boring…even if it is boring…I bring an angle into it…re-imagining the work…and making a signature of your brand on it…..
[09:54] Hashin: used to think the same
[09:54] Hashin: moving here was one bad idea
[09:55] Hashin: the mark left had faded away
[09:55] Hashin: laziness creeped it
[09:55] Hashin: you know in Infosys I used to put in 7 effective hours everyday
[09:56] Jan: good…so that’s the awakening…
[09:56] Hashin: actual 7 working hours here i put 3 every week
[09:56] Jan: why don’t you see that as an opportunity
[09:56] Hashin: so decided enough idling around time to move
[09:56] Jan: to sharpen your skills…learn…fill some gaps
[09:57] Jan: and just feel the difference it will bring even on the most boring elements of your work
[09:57] Hashin: laziness creeped in, trying to storm out of it
[09:58] Jan: probably you may need to engage yourself into something challenging…outside work…some classes probably
[09:58] Hashin: yeah actually thinking of that also
[09:59] Hashin: part time mba
[09:59] Hashin: there is an IIMB part time MBA entrance exam on march 12th
[09:59] Hashin: march 02
[09:59] Jan: exactly
[09:59] Meebo Message: Could not connect to network.
[09:59] Jan: that will change your life
[09:59] Hashin: yeah it will
[10:00] Hashin: their coaching is the best
[10:00] Hashin: so have to start coaching myself for them
[10:00] Hashin:
[10:00] Jan: make the journey interesting….its not the goals…the journey…that’s the most important….enjoy it….
[10:00] Hashin: have to tell have become one lazy bugger. which is not something new but still
[10:01] Hashin: hahaha
[10:01] Hashin: have you seen jab we met
[10:02] Jan: laziness cannot persist…..it has to fade….because nothing can susbtitute the adrenaline rush of a carefully planned action
[10:02] Jan: no I havent
[10:02] Hashin: there is a song in it
[10:02] Hashin: aao milo chale
[10:03] Hashin: in it says hum jo chalne lage manzil se badkar lagne lage ye raste
[10:03] Jan: true….love for the road…gets you places you have never dreamed of.
[10:04] Hashin: hum jo chalne lage chalne lage ye raste
manzil se behther lagne lage he ye raste
[10:04] Hashin: to be exact
[10:04] Hashin:
[10:04] Hashin: yeah
[10:05] Hashin: hmmm to be frank lots of plans made but nothing worked upon
[10:05] Hashin: why i am shifting team
[10:05] Jan: mm
[10:05] Hashin: is to move me out of this inertia
[10:05] Hashin: to start moving of this static state
[10:06] Hashin: the way you start cars with no battery
[10:06] Jan: do you read still
[10:06] Hashin: hadn’t read for a long time
[10:06] Hashin: started last week
[10:06] Hashin: felt awesome
[10:06] Hashin: it was a crap book
[10:07] Hashin: but the words just amazed me
[10:07] Hashin: didn’t know i missed it so much
[10:08] Hashin: i read that after six months
[10:10] Hashin: what about you
[10:10] Jan: i am not suggesting any books…may be drop into a bookshop….a big one….simply look around…pick up something that catches you spell bound….a title…a phrase
[10:11] Hashin: yeah started reading fountain head
[10:11] Jan: me I had a wonderful time reading….after I re arranged my priorities….
[10:11] Hashin: the one i last read was by one of your fav authors
Chronicles of a death foretold
[10:11] Jan: many great books….catapulting from one to another…
[10:12] Jan: probably you can check out my wish list on amazon.com
[10:12] Jan: 123 titles….that i have in my list to read
[10:12] Hashin: oh ok
[10:13] Jan: december and January were phenomenal…close to 20 books…and at least 15 of them outstanding oness
[10:13] Hashin: how do you see the wish list
[10:14] Hashin: janjoshi: me I had a wonderful time reading….after I re arranged my priorities….
[10:14] Hashin: feels like you are reading it out of my mind
[10:15] Jan: from the Amazon home page…the task bar …has Gifts and wishlist
[10:15] Jan: click on it
[10:16] Hashin: ok
[10:16] Jan: on the next page there is an option on the right side…
[10:16] Hashin: ok
[10:16] Hashin: your mail id??
[10:16] Jan: find some ones wish list…janjoshi@yahoo.com
[10:16] Hashin: Genius Moves: 100 Icons of Graphic Design
????
[10:17] Jan: the latest order was Robert Mckee…s book on screen writing and Paul Ekmans book on reading human faces
[10:17] Jan: variety titillates you…read something you know nothing about
[10:18] Hashin:
[10:18] Jan: find connections…between different sciences
[10:18] Jan: ideologies
[10:18] Jan: by trying to fill your gaps of knowledge…you start realising how much more there is to know
[10:19] Hashin: hmmm
[10:19] Jan: about priorites…
[10:20] Jan: I had a difficult time after I moved to Dubai…demands of the job, new place, starting to live with a family….all changes at once.,,,,wat not easy
[10:20] Hashin: hmmm
[10:21] Jan: I was floating for a while….struggling to make everything work…but not complete or do justice to any….
[10:21] Hashin: hmmm
[10:22] Jan: the revelation came when I realised I can be my best self….when I spent time on sharpening my skills…that’s what makes my day….learning something new…keeps me fresh…
[10:23] Jan: the greatest discovery was…you wont believe – an apple ipod…coupled with online edition of economist…read word by word
[10:23] Hashin:
[10:23] Jan: that helped me listen to the book..while I was running…
[10:23] Jan: so one hour of running…meant one hour of reading
[10:24] Jan: so I was not distracted by having to keep me updated
[10:24] Hashin: hmmm
[10:24] Jan: mornings I could read books
[10:24] Jan: new insights
[10:25] Jan: negotiated…I use the term negotiated..with my wife
[10:25] Jan: for my own time
[10:25] Jan: which meant she gets more quality time out of me
[10:25] Jan: when I am happy…fulfilled
[10:25] Hashin: hmmm
[10:25] Jan: and it worked
[10:26] Jan: ordered about 20 titles from Amazon….a lot of Peter Drucker
[10:26] Jan: Tom Peters… Daniel Pink
[10:26] Hashin: hmmm
[10:27] Jan: and the results….don’t even go there….the love is for the journey
[10:28] Jan: when something becomes integral part of your well being…you cannot stop doing it….
[10:28] Hashin: hmmm
[10:30] Jan: did you find any interesting books in my list
[10:30] Hashin: looking into it
[10:31] Hashin: haven’t heard or seen any of it
[10:31] Jan: most of them are recommended by tom peters
[10:31] Hashin:
[10:31] Hashin: ok
[10:31] Jan: or some one like that
[10:32] Jan: from the books you read…you increase the numbers on your wish list
[10:32] Hashin: hmmm
[10:32] Hashin: i see mostly books on management and business
[10:32] Jan: my domain of learning….
[10:33] Jan: I was long debating the thought of doing an MBA….then I chose not to……
[10:33] Jan: it is not meant to influence your decision
[10:34] Hashin: i really have to say this and i am not exaggerating when i say you say things right out of my mouth
[10:34] Jan: it is just that….i am not any more listening to my instincts…but obeying them#
[10:34] Hashin: yeah hahahaha
[10:35] Hashin: was just going to say that
[10:35] Hashin: was going to say that you live by your instincts
[10:36] Jan: very true….once you develop a habit of listening inwards…the voice becomes so powerful….that you dont feel comfortable if you disobey it….
[10:36] Hashin: i have very strong instincts it is just that i don’t follow tem when it come to me
[10:38] Jan: do you feel lured by it
[10:38] Jan: and then decide against them for popular will
[10:39] Hashin: it is just that i don’t trust my own instincts when it comes to me and just go by it otherwise
[10:39] Hashin: and yeah there have been times i have given them against populat will
[10:40] Jan: and how do you feel after that…
[10:40] Hashin: but i guess that is because i don’t have trust in my own instincts because if i do there isn’t much anyone can do
[10:40] Hashin: disowned
[10:42] Hashin: hapless
[10:42] Jan: doctors write a forecast of the implications of a medicine on a patient before they prescribe…and afterwards study the developments and compare it to their prognosis
[10:43] Jan: i applied the same principle learning to trust my instincts
[10:43] Hashin: past weeks i have been just doing that
[10:43] Hashin: setting my priorities right
[10:43] Hashin: setting out a plan
[10:44] Hashin: moving myself out of this cobweb of self denial
[10:44] Jan: the best way to build and take advantage of the future that has already happened
[10:48] Hashin: hmmm
[10:48] Jan: the future is already there,,,,,,,,in the shelf,,,,it is waiting to be picked by you
[10:49] Hashin:
[10:49] Jan: it is nice to have a serious conversation…once in a while..
[10:49] Hashin: have to say you have some variety in you list
[10:49] Hashin:
[10:50] Hashin: and you were saying about mba
[10:50] Hashin: they say it is more of an attitude than a degree
[10:50] Hashin: if you have the attitude no need for the degree
[10:50] Hashin:
[10:51] Hashin: i see it as a window to a different perspective
[10:51] Jan: Agree completely…..
[10:52] Jan: when I said I decided against it ….I decided against a college degree….I have not decided against learning…..
[10:53] Jan: and decision are not etched in stone….
[10:53] Hashin:
[10:54] Jan: for the time being….my armour….is internet…amazon…the tool to get the books to me…and I am sure every third book I read will change my perspective ( I have an eye to pick books – you better agree)
[10:54] Hashin: yeah
[10:54] Hashin: have to agree that
[10:55] Hashin: that is wide variety i see here and with just a brush through i find many interesting
[10:56] Jan: From George Leornard on Judo – Mastery to the Making of a Chef
[10:56] Hashin:
[10:56] Jan: yeah it is about people with passion…
[10:56] Jan: who have managed to find…greater than life meanings to everyday things they do in life
[10:57] Hashin: which is the book you are reading now
[10:58] Jan: ha ha ha…a task I should say….a SIX SIGMA handbook…by Thomas Pzydek…more than 800 pages…something like a big dictionary
[10:58] Hashin:
[11:00] Jan: Jack Welch introduced me to the world of six sigma….a three sigma process means 99.73 % precision…which meash 270 Million incorrect credit card transactions in USA…six sigma is about reducing the mistakes considerably
[11:00] Hashin: yeah i had read an article about the dabbawalas
[11:01] Jan: improving processes which makes a difference to the bottom like
[11:01] Hashin: in mumbai
[11:01] Jan: go on
[11:01] Jan: have heard about them
[11:01] Hashin: they say it is the best run business in the world
[11:02] Jan: even on the bombay blast day the dabba arrived …at bit late…bu it did..at 1.00A.M what a marvel of a business
[11:02] Hashin: i think six sigma is 1 error in a million right??
[11:02] Hashin: yeah
[11:02] Jan: ya sort of
[11:02] Hashin: and dabbawalas are the examples of that
[11:03] Jan: amazing isnt it…
[11:03] Hashin: absolutely
[11:03] Jan: tell me more
[11:04] Hashin: there was a progam on some channel on them
[11:04] Hashin: they use the local trains for their transport
[11:04] Hashin: they say one wrong delivery means one hungry person and they cannot afford that
[11:05] Hashin: what they do is they pick up lunches from each home and deliver it
[11:05] Hashin: sounds so simple
[11:07] Hashin: and they use some sort of colour coding to identify the areas
[11:07] Hashin: let me search you tube you might get teh article there
[11:07] Jan: it should be interesting to attach RFID tags on to the tiffins and track them online
[11:07] Hashin:
[11:08] Jan: and use them as a case study for businesses for logistics
[11:08] Hashin: http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/nov/11spec.htm
[11:09] Jan: bookmarked
[11:09] Hashin: :d
[11:09] Jan: they are featured in Wikipedia
[11:09] Hashin: great
[11:10] Hashin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf15PDkcOlk
[11:13] Hashin: did you see the video
[11:14] Hashin: good right???
[11:14] Jan: great