Want to know the right day to ask for a hike !

Are you bored with tracking defects,production rates and customer complaints ?For a change why don't you track your mood!
Yes, Mood chart is one of the tools recommended by psychiatrists to help patients keep track of their mood.
This is a sample Mood chart plotted on a daily basis..

May be Mood chart could be used to keep a watch on the mood of your boss :-)The data could reveal that 'Wednesday' is the right day to approach your boss to ask for an vacation, a company sponsored foreign training or even a hike !
One of my friends has sent me this and you can check out his creative site http://www.anuraags.com

Real-time monitoring : Metrics for masses!

In corporate world we stress lot of importance on metrics,KPIs,business analytics.With so much advancements in the area of Business Intelligence the buzzword is 'Real-time Monitoring'.

One such system that was installed recently in US looks really fascinating.
Like the National Debt Clock - the new number to watch is the Carbon Counter, which tracks the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.A 70-foot-high billboard was erected yesterday on Newyork across the street from the debt clock.
As of yesterday, the sign clocked more than 3.6 trillion metric tons
Climate change is the topic that is of concern to the whole world.To have a real time measurement system that could make atleast one person a day think about effects of Greenhouse gases and climate change is a small step in right direction.
Agile and Visual factory concepts embraces these practices very much.
How about having a Visual counter in office entrance stating about the total unproductive time used in a day especially in meetings :-)

Source:http://www.nydailynews.com/

Indian Elections:Perfect case study on Program Management !

Of late there was has been huge hue and cry about the tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in the recently held Indian elections.We need to wait until the facts of it are revealed to public.

Nevertheless, Indian elections has been a great event that is keenly followed across all greatest democracies including US and UK for its size and complexity.

To cite some statistics ,the Indian general election is the biggest single organised event in the world, involving 714 million voters, 800,000 polling stations, 7 million election officials and 1.2 million electronic voting machines.

It lends itself as a great study to understand large scale 'Program Management'.

It is generally said for a successful implementation of a program in any organization ,we need the right combination of -Process,People and Technology.

Take our Indian election scenario - so many states,different geographies,different languages,challenges in the form of political parties influences,corruption,terrorism,casteism , the list goes on.Given all this constraints to conduct election in five phases and declare the results in one day is indeed a achievement.

Though there are lot of flaws in the process , Indian election process and Election commission needs a pat . Next time why don't we use this as case study in our Project Management trainings ?

Image courtesy :http://news.bbc.co.uk

Public Speaking Skills : US President shows the way !

One of the remarkable speeches ,which I heard in recent times was President Obama's address to the Muslim world in Cairo University at Egypt.

Without commenting on the message delivered,the point which I would like to share is on the quality of presentation.

President Obama is a great orator which was evident in all his election campaigns.

But on this occasion at Egypt ,he caught the attention of the entire world ,that too on an important topic of US relations with Muslim world.

Few points which really impressed me about his speech - style of presentation , conviction in message,positive body language , speed of delivery and the ability to retain the attention of the listeners.

Though several books teach us the principles of Effective Public Speaking , following great speakers would definitely help to pick up the tricks of trade faster.

In this context ,President Obama's speeches are worth following to learn quite a lot on public speaking .

If you have missed this speech , check out http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/NewBeginning/

Resonance Newsletter : Issue 05

View Resonance Newsletter Issue:05