Mindblog

Working with a product company, one of the bigger dilemmas facing the Product team is what to build based on the backlog of product items. Listening to a Harvard lecture podcast online recently, I came across a concept which helped me clear this dilemma. It simply asks a question- what is the job that your product is hired to perform? Ideas for the product you are building can come through various routes. We're going to lose this customer if we don't incorporate this now, this is something the CEO really wants to see in the product, it's been sitting in the backlog forever etc. But a very good way to go about prioritizing what goes into the product is to find the answer to the question- what is the job that your product is hired to perform? Imagine the product to be an employee who is hired for a particular profile. Now there are certain roles and responsibilities or KPI's which will define whether this employee is fit for the post. The same logic will apply to the p...

Keeping ahead of the competition is a key business growth metric. With constant innovation in sales tactics and dynamic pricing, it is essential for small businesses to match up and better their sales figures quarter on quarter. Gone are the days where your employee will open up his email to check who has submitted a form on the website and draw out a lovely looking template to welcome and thank the lead introducing it to the dreaded "Sales Funnel". Automation can fill this backlog and give you and your employees more breathing space to focus on other key business growth metrics. Automation at the turn of the 19th century was necessary for mass production to meet the demands of markets globally. It was coupled with rapid strides in transport and communication channels. What we need today is a way to achieve business success using the same tricks conceived back then. Businesses need to focus on what they do best, create fantastic products or services for the customer. Key r...

Time flies, truly does. I don't think that this blog has seen this much of a gap between posts. Time to set things right? Updates updates- -Met my girl! Asked her out, got engaged, got married, the works! Life has been super awesome ever since. It does get a lot better post marriage, trust me! Seems like life has finally begun post the wedding. It's awesome to have a partner in crime, who you would want to go to jail with too! -Was in the States last year. Unique distinction was that I wasn't in our dear India for both its Republic and Independence days. Instead I was working on both said days resolving client concerns for my product sitting in Reston. Twice to California- Carlsbad, San Diego, LA. Missed flights and the jazz. NY is a super awesome place. -Ran into Ratan Tata at the NY Apple Store. Long story short, it was fantabulous! -Got promoted! Took time to sink in, still taking time. Also realized that titles are just titles, same workload, more responsibil...

For a successful enterprise, there has to be a need for the service/product which they are providing to the audience. There has to be this gap which is being fulfilled. If not, the entity being provided has to be captivating enough to entice the user into buying it. It has to create its own vacuum. Over the years as a company, we have evolved to be leaders in the franchising domain. We know the pain points our customers face and what how we can alleviate them. I would like to take an example of a company by the name of 3M. Why I like citing examples of this company is because of its unique philosophy. Founded in the early 1900's dealing primarily as a mining firm they diversified, and how! They own 100,000 patents to their name across industries and roughly a third of their revenue is through products they've created over the last 5 years. They believe in innovation and one of their company policies is to allow employees to spend a day a week in self run projects fo...

People who know me well enough know that I come up with theories on which I base proceedings. And well, most who know this are annoyed beyond comprehension by these blocks I've set for myself, which sometimes leaves them in the lurch! I understand that forming theories or creating these mental blocks can alienate people around me. My understanding of life is simple, there are patterns everywhere. Once someone is capable of identifying these patterns, the logical outcome of a situation is not very difficult to predict. When something new comes across, it fits in the brain as a new pattern docket, of which there are many! When patterns overlap, there is always a unique identifier which sets them apart, and then they Venn. So when a situation presents itself, dockets are scanned, patterns identified, outcome ascertained, and action taken. Now one of these theories is that of glass ceilings of thought. Lets see if I can articulate this: everyone has a specific IQ, everyone has...

This comes from an individual who does not give two hoots to politics, its implications/repercussions. Some may raise questions on my attitude saying one must have a say about happenings in the country, its outlook on local, international and financial affairs. But it is my understanding that we all are Ogden Nash's born spectators, sitting in the sidelines watching things happen. We all might be vocal in our opinions, but seldom have the time to get down and dirty in the bullpen. We are the country of a billion people, and of that number there is a good mix of go-getter self starter types, and there are those who want for themselves and only themselves. Things tend to balance out and equilibrium is maintained. My point here being, the country is running and so it shall, with or without my opinions. At least in politics, I don't mind not having a say. What I am coming at is the recent wave of this candidate we chose to represent us, Herr Modi. Over the past few weeks this ...

The summer has been relentless. We had a good few weeks of consistent 45C+ day temperatures, thankfully the majority of which were under conditioned air. The monsoon is late is the MET status for Delhi, but the clouds have started their on and off cover so we expect some respite soon. What else is scorching? The world of technology of course! Android L announced a few days ago, seems a thorough UI overhaul, optimizations and quirks. I still haven't found out an answer to the question, "to what end, is technology?" There are answers, but the correct answer is elusive. I guess the search for this is my mission for sometime. Random note: I like Linus Van Pelt, I tend to associate with his antics and look forward to the daily comic strip to see what he's gotten up to. I recently have taken charm to Bollywood remixes from the 90's, weird as it may seem. Watching YouTube videos of trains chugging by is another odd thing I seem to enjoy these days. I think its th...