Credibility Management

Technological advancement has brought in a sea of change in the way world works! Information is the key here, gone are the days when experts spoke technological jargons that customers seldom understood; but now the situation is different. We cannot utter even a singe word that is incorrect or manipulative because people on the other end knows exactly what you are talking about and if you are correct or not! Companies have started investing more and more on "Do it yourselves" tools that require less intervention by any 3rd party consulting company (though this is not the case always). Hence for a consulting company, to survive in this information era,one of the most important tasks is to build the credibility in the minds of the customers. It does not come so easily, it requires lot of hard work and honesty as well as proven results. Credibility if lost, it is very difficult to regain them; anything you do would then be just a compromise. We need to prove our mettle, build the trust and manage them throughout. Hard work always pays, but the honesty factor plays a crucial role as it stays in the minds of the customer longer than the hard work you had put to achieve something. If you do a mistake then accept it honestly and analyse what you can do to make the situation correct rather than trying to hide it uselessly. Being impractical and unrealistic also tarnishes one's credibility. For instance if you work on a value adding activity and provide the benefit to the clients then you need to present what they exactly get out of it rather trying to put irrelevant benefits without putting practicality and realism into picture. There are many reasons why one should kill the credibility in the minds of the customer which in the long run proves to be a big mistake made. So the key words important for maintaining the credibility are hard work, honesty, practicality, honesty and common sense.

New Learning

Of late I have been spending time reading Project Management Book of Knowledge to attempt PMP exam. I have 4 + years of experience now, but I have been so fortunate to work in diverse areas ranging from technical, pure functional and project management. I have worked on so many proposals and have converted most of them into tangible revenue. My team members like to work with me (I think so :-), my boss hates me at times but cannot ignore me due to my contribution and hence he likes me too. I have spent most of my time in client facing roles under the disguise of Business Analyst but mostly performing not just functional role but also in the areas of Project Management.

After spending brief time gaining the above said experience, I have understood that PMP exam provides you needed theoretical support during project execution but does not qualify you as a successful project manager. It requires lot of maturity and ability to handle things deftly to be a successful PM.

End of the day, certification is a glamor added to your profile and that is one of the few reasons why I am pursuing the course. Other reasons includes gaining knowledge on the unknown areas in project management, spend quality time apart from work and fun, fulfill the goals assigned to me in the appraisal and most importantly for the purpose of professional development.

Inception

After hearing much appreciated reviews from my friends, I decided to watch this movie "Inception". Well, I must say the movie makes the audience think while many other movies make the audience relax! There was not even a second I had turned my head as the movie kept me occupied throughout.

In a nutshell, the movie is about planting an idea into people's mind by getting into their dream, manipulate the surroundings within the dream. If one level of dream does not result in anything, then our experts go into multiple levels of dream risking their life! Technically sound, theoretically thought provoking and a fantastic climax.

Overall, a good movie to spend time on! Well, after the movie you are either calm & confused or trying to explain others the actual story!

särkänniemi, Tampere

Last week I had been to an amusement park called särkänniemi (Finnish word for Success Factors) in Tampere, a place 180 KM away from Helsinki.

We took Audi A3 for the drive to Tampere, needless to say, it was a great experience on the road and pleasure to drive. We reached the park at 11.45 AM in the morning and the park opens at 12 everyday during summer and closed during winter. The cost of the ticket for adults is 32 euros which is a meager amount compared to the experience in the park.

I recommend the following sequence of experience for anyone who would like to visit the place:

1. Dolphin show - a visual treat to cherish. We were enthralled by the performance of the dolphins accompanied by excellent music befitting the show. The trainers had complete control over the dolphins and it was really amazing.

2. Next we went to the water splash ride that was relaxing, not much adventurous but a pleasant experience

3. One of the most thrilling rides, Half Pipe roller-coaster is sure to turn anyone's knees to jelly by the time it goes 30 meters up - down -up and the best part is that the place you are seated revolves 360 degrees as you go up and down.

4. As your body is over excited with the half pipe, now you can relax yourself with the space of thought in the planetarium which shows "The realm of life" (show changes every year) in the multimedia sky. Absolute treat to your mind as well as visually. After the show relax yourself viewing the aquarium.

5. Now comes the best part of the park which is the Tornado! It has rail like seats where you can fit yourself and moves like a snake but at a great speed. It takes you zig zag, revolves your vertically and horizontally. The ride is over in a few seconds but worth remembering life time.

6. Don't let the tornado effect down, next you are swooping through the air in Trombi ride, inspired by the birds, you lie down on your stomach strapped into the safety harness and zoom into the air in all directions.

7. Now its time for few rides that you will find on the way from Trombi to MotoGee. Enjoy the rides, you will have stirring effect after couple of rides, but don't miss them.

8. Enjoyed the rides? Now its time for MotoGee, ride your own Yamaha with a super pick up speed! Seated two abreast on your own motorbike, you look like a racer and get ready for an exhilarating launch from 0 to 65 km/h in less than 2 seconds. Well, now you are really confused which one is the best? MotoGee or Tornado or Trombi. I think there is no answer for this question!

9. Now you are almost done, if you want you can enjoy few other rides and water splash.

You can always go back and experience the thrill as there is no limit for entry to specific attraction!This is the best part of Särkänniemi!

You must have noticed that I did not mention about food during the day! Don't make it a spoilsport event by having food in the middle! Complete all the attractions and enjoy your meal in any of the restaurants in the park.

The following video has a trailer effect of Särkänniemi, Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIYjJb0tT8

Let me know your experience if you have been there or planning to visit. Cheers!

Umpteen

Umpteen refers to innumerable times, many times and so on in a fanciful way.

E.G. There are umpteen reasons why one should invest in equity to yield maximum returns.

Drudgery

Drudgery refers to tedious or unpleasant work.

E.G. After a long vacation, I will be getting back to the drudgery of work from next week.

Shawshank Redemption

Genre: Crime, Drama

Direction: Frank Darabont

Cast: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman

An all time classics that consistently holds top position in IMDB top 250 movies, Shawshank Redemption was released in the year 1994, same year when Forrest Gump was also released.

Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufrene who is a banker and victimized by circumstantial evidence that leads to conviction of the murder of his wife and her illicit lover. Andy goes to the Shawshank Prison in Maine to serve life sentence where he meets Red (Morgan Freeman) who is notorious for selling contrabands inside the prison. In the initial period, Andy is subjected to much torture from a group of inmates and later insulated by the officials as Andy helps all the officers to make a financial planning. Bog Guntan who plays Warden Norton uses Andy's knowledge in Finance and legal to cover his illegal sources of income that he appropriates from the prison fund and directs to his own account that he runs with a fictitious name.

After a period of 19 years in the prison, Andy escapes after successfully drilling a long big hole in his prison cell by using a small hammer that is usually used to carve stones and the hole is covered by a long poster of Rita Hay-worth which Red gifts to Andy. This takes everyone to a surprise as it takes a lifetime to drill such a long hole with a small hammer and a great perseverance that a normal man cannot have!

The ultimate meaning of this excellent movie can be illustrated by the following quote from Andy:

"Hope is good, probably the best of all things and no good things ever die"

If you have not seen this movie yet, rend your DVD now without any delay else you are missing a great movie.