RIP Posterous; Welcome PostHaven

So, Posterous.com has shut down. It is sad when startups that hold such promise as Posterous did, have to shut down. Of course, Posterous' major problem was that it did not have a real business model (like many other "hot" startups). It is rumoured that Twitter paid 10mn to acquire Posterous which, if true, means that the investors who funded the company to the tune of $10mn did not make much money. I am sure the founders did make some good returns and some of the team members found a new home at Twitter.

Anyway, it was good while it lasted. Posterous really did make blogging easy. As easy as sending an email. 

I have moved my blog to PostHaven, a new startup from Garry Tan, one of Posterous' original founders. The good thing (in a way) about PostHaven is that they are charging from day 1 and promising never to be acquired. At $5 a month, it is not free like many other services but it is not too expensive either. Having burnt my fingers with a great free service, I guess a lesson has been learnt that there is no free lunch. A price has to be paid even for a "free" service, either in terms of advertising / loss of privacy or a service shutting down. I may as well as pay some real cash for the certainty that my blog will remain alive (not that it is an essential requirement for anybody's health or survival).

Best wishes to PostHaven.


Rethinking MBA Assessments

Recently, I was thinking a lot about our management education system, one reason being my teaching stint at IIM Ahmedabad. One thought led to another, and ... I had this strong sense that the way that business schools assessed students at the MBA program had almost no connection to the way they would get assessed in "real" life, soon after they stepped out of campus.

Here is how the system works at most business schools, including top institutions like the IIMs. Each term, students take several courses, which could be all compulsory or all electives or a mix of both. These courses cover a wide gamut of topics that a typical manager is expected to be familiar with, irrespective of whatever career option they choose to pursue. In particular, the first year of a two year MBA course covers the entire spectrum of management topics as compulsory, core courses, ranging from strategy to finance; operations management to marketing; human resource management to information systems; and so on. 

Courses are assessed individually, i.e. students receive grades for each course separately, usually on the basis of multiple modes of assessment including term exams, class participation, quizzes, group project/assignment, etc. An average of the grades is used to determine relative performance of the participants in a program. It is not difficult to see how this system of evaluation came about - in its basic methodology, it is no different from how assessments are carried out in an engineering or a commerce degree program. In fact, this is how high school grading system works - you study several subjects and get assessed in each of them separately for an overall average score/rank.

The issue, however, is that management is not a bunch of subjects that can be bundled together into a sum of the parts. Not only that, and most managers will vouch for it, what you "learn" on campus is rarely-ever, directly applied in real post-MBA jobs. So should MBA students have to take all the various courses that they take during the two years, particularly the first year core courses - I would say, mostly yes. It gives you a wide perspective of business and management aspects that always do come of use, in some tangential way in future. But does everyone need to be "assessed" through quizzes, mid-term exams, end-term exams, etc. in each and every one of those subjects? Absolutely not.

So what is an alternative? I have some thoughts that are in formative stages here... more discussion and debate may help shape these into something useful.

In the real business / professional world, MBAs are expected to play functional or leadership roles, handling situations that are multi-disciplinary in nature. Designing and launching a new product would require strategic & competitive input, market research, technology & operations capacity development, skills & capability building, financial planning, distribution management... phew!! Rarely would any person have the aptitude or desire to do all these types of activities in a life-time, leave alone simultaneously. It is about working in teams to solve such problems.

The model that I have in mind (right now for the first year) would involve one or two projects/business-simulations that several groups would work through a term; the problems would create situations that are consistent with the courses being taught during that term. Group members are assigned roles, as if they were functional / business managers and are expected to work together to develop appropriate solutions. Students should be assigned different roles across various projects / terms. Assessment should be based on overall class performance, group assessment by the faculty members (majority weightage) and individual peer review by team members.

The benefits that I envisage:
1. Education mirroring its purpose - If the goal of MBA education is to create better, well-rounded or multi-disciplinary managers / leaders, the above assessment system ensures that what is taught in the class is being tested for its application (and not comprehension).

2. Role play enables discovery - Many MBA students - especially those without prior work experience - have no idea what kind of a job would suit or interest them; they are mostly swayed by seniors' or public sentiment. The role play approach gives them opportunity to discover what they like more, and choose their second year courses and projects accordingly.

3. Assessment weights reflect appraisals - In many corporate performance appraisals, individual performance on KRAs contributes 30-50% towards the overall rating, the rest comes from group and company performance. Similarly, the MBA assessment should reflect how well the groups and class perform as a whole, in addition to the individual performance.

Making changes to established systems would not be easy, particularly for those that are governed by larger university rules. However, B-schools that are independent and / or deemed universities can surely experiment with some changes to the student performance evaluation system. I believe my suggested model is in the best interests of both the students and recruiters.

More suggestions are welcome.

Healthy New Year 2013: My Experiences from 2012

In a recent Facebook post, I shared an annual health update -- that received a lot of positive comments as well as requests to share the secrets behind the improvement. This blog post is a response to the requests.

My original post:

In the 13-month period between November 2011 and December 2012, these were the changes:

Weight: 10Kg Reduction
Waist Size: 3" Reduction
Cholesterol:  65 mg/dl Reduction (almost reached normalcy threshold of 200)

It was not easy... it did not happen just like that, without my knowledge or effort. Nor was it super tough... it did not require me to go off to the hills to practise martial arts and live on fruits & nuts. So let me share two major tips from my past year's experience. (A word of caution: I don't claim any expertise on the topic at all -- this is just from personal observation and a sample of one.)

I was eating 2X of what I needed to
It was quite normal for me to eat 3-4 chapatis at a meal... I'd feel "full" when I ate the fourth roti and sometimes, out of greed, I might even have consumed a fifth or a small helping of rice after 3. Mind you, this was mostly home-food, so the rotis were accompanied by regularly cooked vegetables and dal, rarely deep fried and never in "butter masala" type gravies. I never felt that I was over-eating during such meals at home.

Dr. Zubeda Tumbi (referred to above) put me on to a customised diet plan which had measures for all food that was to be consumed... all the way down to five almonds, four halves of walnuts, 2 katoris of vegetables, etc. And TWO rotis per meal. (For several months there was no rice!!!) 

Initially, I thought I'd starve to death. 

Soon, the body adjusted to the lower quantity of food and two rotis has now become the new normal. If I eat a third, I know I am over-eating and if I manage a fourth out of greed, I have to keep a sachet of Eno nearby.

In terms of food, there were a few other subtle changes that have helped a lot. Move to Olive oil or Rice bran oil. Lower GI rice (like Saffola Arise). Try alternatives to wheat flour like jowar, bajra, oats & nachni. Keep low-fat / healthy snacks handy (I carry fruits and a serving of crunchy muesli to work daily). If you over-eat, make a note to compensate later (soon).

(Healthy food can look and taste wonderful!)

(On the odd day that I forgot my evening muesli snack and ate a chaat in the office canteen, it was a speclal event duly noted by my team members!)

It is not easy to change one's eating habits, particularly those that have been developed over years... eating that extra roti (with ghee) is supposed to fill your heart with mother's love - as per a recent ad for a TV show. I would strongly recommend consulting a nutritionist to get a diet plan that is suited to your health and physical conditions. Hopefully, such a "plan" (along with the associated investment) will instil a certain level of discipline in execution. It is better to go on a diet plan before your doctor orders you to.

I am making Exercise Fun
I really hated exercising. Since childhood, I have never enjoyed much physical activity. I used to like playing basketball a bit but I spent all my non-academic time in literary and cultural activities. Even during the last fifteen years, when my weight has been increasing, there were several aborted attempts at jogging and gymming. It's not that I am not capable of physical activity, just that I found it too routine and boring. 

My diet plan had shown dramatic results in the first few months itself; I lost 8 of the 10 kilos in the first six months - obviously there was a lot of low-hanging fruit :-) But, I was not exercising at all. I felt this could lead to two problems:
1. The weight could easily come back if eased on the diet rigour (and there's a limit to how long you can live on a "plan"); and
2. I was not inherently strengthening my body & its health, while losing weight dramatically, thus, setting myself up for a weaker immune system.

Here, I will cut a long story short, a few months ago, I accidentally discovered tennis as a sport that was extremely rigorous in its physical demands and at the same time was real fun to play. And, just to clarify (since someone asked me!), I am talking about real tennis here, not the Wii Sports version, though I must admit that having enjoyed the Wii version earlier may have played a big role in why I am having so much fun now. I am just a beginner and I have no illusions of what I can achieve in the game. However, I have a role model - someone who picked up what must arguably be one of the toughest sports in the world (polo, having never ridden a horse before) after the age of forty and is doing pretty well in it.

The great thing about sport as a form of physical activity is that brings out the competitor in each of us, there's always someone else on the other side, even if it is a beginner just like you. That would any day beat a treadmill where all you have is your reflection in front of you and perhaps a Nike device keeping pace and posting updates to Facebook.

As I promised in my Facebook post, this is not the end of the journey... I have ignored my health and abused my mind and body for long, recovery will take a few years. I am grateful to the support of my family and friends as I work through this human behaviour transformation (no different or easier a task than organization behaviour transformation!). Finally, a suggestion to those who usually watch such struggles from the sidelines: either you join in and participate in the mutual benefit or keep to yourselves; nobody has the time or energy for your so-called humour. 

Irony died...

I don't normally watch breakfast TV news but today was an unfortunate day... and while I was at it, the following messages appeared on the screen of a popular English news channel (JV between an Indian media house and a US channel):

*UPA govt set to go ahead with more reforms. *42000 crores to be pumped into PDS system. *Hike in sugar rationing expected. *Reforms in state power utilities likely.

*7% increase in DA likely for govt employees.

*No clarity on raising FDI in Insurance.
No further comment.
(I may have missed a word or two in remembering the exact tickers but I have capture the essence accurately.)

Smart Phone Choice?

As a (self-proclaimed) gadget enthusiast, I am often asked by friends and colleagues about my recommendations for phones, tablets or computers. Of course, I have my biases driven by personal experiences (good & bad), but I always try to provide an objective analysis of various options. Ultimately, gadgets are a matter of personal choice. Different gadgets appeal to different use cases / preferences... knowing how to distinguish them can help make a better decision. In this post, I share my thoughts about the smartphone world.

There are four major platform choices for smartphones (and tablets): Android (with Samsung phones leading the charge plus HTC & Motorola/Google); iOS (iPhones 5, 4S and 4); Blackberry (several models) and Windows Phone (Nokia Lumia leading the pack; Samsung & others). There are two major factors that contribute to a platform: Experience and Eco-system. Once you are hooked into an experience & eco-system mix, it is tough to move away.

Experience is difficult to define; can be considered as the sum-total of various features (hardware, software and design) that you feel while using a phone/device. Most Blackberry users swear by the (almost unique) keyboard experience or the tight email integration with corporate mail servers. Samsung Galaxy S3 users might be wowed by the sleek, beautiful form-factor (in spite of the large screen) and its intelligent camera.

Eco-system could be the content, applications and accessories that surround the device, as well as the other people with whom you are able to engage with using the device. BBM is a huge eco-system draw for Blackberry; iTunes content or paid apps may play that role for the iPhone. An eco-system not only creates unique value (and adds to the experience) but also creates exit barriers. You will lose (money, connections, content, etc.) if you move away from that platform.

Therefore, it's easy to see why I would almost never move away from the iPhone... I am too heavily invested in that platform (paid content & apps, tight integration with my iPad & Mac, iCloud, etc.) to seek an alternative. I will overlook Apple's flaws or shortcomings because the overall value to me is still greater. Of course, were Apple to screw up big-time, there would be net positive value to churn out.. So, if you are already "wedded" to an experience & eco-system, then the smartphone choice is obvious -- the next iteration of your current phone or another model from within the same platform.

On the other hand, if you haven't made a particular choice yet (or looking for a new platform), then I encourage people to look at both the aspects of experience & eco-system. Don't just go by popular perception or the outward brilliance of a device's appearance... ideally, try to experience the alternatives for a while before you plonk $500-800 on a new phone. And remember, there is really no one perfect (or best) phone out there... all of them have several gaps; all of them have many wonderful features. The smart choice is the one that works best for you.

Parting thoughts: Another important factor that you may want to look at -- resale value. If you like to use the latest gadgets in town but don't want to blow your fortune away, you have to become good at recycling your investments. Gadgets lose value very quickly... my Lumia 800 lost almost 40% value within months of purchase (partly because Nokia cut prices by 15-20% immediately after my purchase!!). The Blackberry doesn't retain much value either, because the older models are available at heavy discounts in the primary market. I have never owned an Android phone, so I can't speak to its resale market. The best of the lot, in my experience, is the iPhone. My iPhone 4, even two years after purchase, is likely to fetch nearly 50% value.

Post-script: Based on the experience / eco-system framework, there's one great company which is not yet in the smartphone business -- Amazon. If anyone can challenge Apple (today) in terms of user experience and building platforms, it is Amazon. There are several rumours about an Amazon smartphone; I think it's just a matter of time.

(Disclosure: I have been using an iPhone since 4 years; I replaced my Blackberry with a Nokia Lumia (800 first & now 900) earlier this year.)

Jo Mera Hai Woh Tera Hai: NOT

A lot has been written about the Apple-Samsung dispute, so there's not a lot more I can add to it - particularly given my Apple "fanboy" status. Just one thought occurs to me... why is it that some of us cry from the rooftops when our photos on Flickr are misused by some site/publication without attribution or permission..... and why is it that we want to accept Samsung's blatant copying of Apple's designs as "natural evolution" of the smartphone industry?

What makes us want to support the underdog (even if it's an underachiever) in the fight against the leader? You can see a similar strain appearing in the so-called battle between the oh, so cute "kirana" (mom&pop) stores and big, bad evil Walmart. It's interesting that in the smartphone wars, the historical "enemy" of Apple fans has actually come out looking good. Windows phones may not be selling millions every month but I can see some real innovation in design and experience, particularly with the Nokia Lumia series. (Disclosure: I use both the iPhone and the Lumia 900; I considered buying the S3 but chose the Lumia over it... just a personal preference... will discuss my views on smartphone choices in a subsequent post.)

As a business manager and as an individual, I am a firm believer in the protection of intellectual property. Investment in innovation happens because you expect adequate returns from it - that requires IP to be protected. At the same time, some types of IP (mostly core technologies / standards) should not create a monopoly situation... therefore, an environment of fair and reasonable licensing should exist. It can be nobody's argument that design or content related IP leads to monopolies.

What belongs to you is mine or vice-versa is the kind of stupid economic policy that India (and many other countries) followed for decades with disastrous results. Everyone needs a level playing field and equal access to opportunities but that does not mean balancing outcomes.

(Note: the post title refers to a line from a popular jingle and is translated as: "What is mine, is yours".)

Throw away your strategic plans.

We are in the middle of our strategy planning process, an exercise that involves at least a hundred, if not more, managers across the company. For any organization, this process is a huge investment: thousands of man-hours, travel, external advisers, etc. The goal, of course, is to create the document that will guide the company's future, *the strategic plan*.

Too much emphasis, unfortunately, is placed on writing a document. Corporate planning departments work with the top management to show off their excel and powerpoint skills Many companies outsource the work to consultants so that the best, most comprehensive plan can be written. In most cases, nobody looks at the document after it is "approved" and bound.

For me, the value of the strategy planning process is not in its outcome but in the process itself. Getting managers across departments and levels to participate in asking the right questions and debating possible answers is invaluable. As we concluded a recent strategy workshop, the overwhelming feedback was, "wish we spent more time discussing these issues in such cross-functional groups". 

Given how the world is changing around us, a "plan" is outdated the day it is finalised. What won't be outdated is the thought-process that went into it. Having your mangers share a common understanding of the market, your choices and actions is a powerful advantage because they are now equipped to make changes as the underlying assumptions change. A plan written by the corporate planning team or consultants does not lend itself to dynamic modification.

Make the strategic planning process a key element of your leadership / mangement practice. In fact, consider making it an ongoing activity, part of your monthly conversations. Democratise your strategic plan.

(Later: The top 3 strategy questions every manager should think about daily.)

Resuming Global Gyan

Almost a year after my last post at this blog, I have now resolved to resume blogging. There can be any number of excuses to not write... work-load, travel, laziness.... but in reality, it isn't so difficult. One thing I realised was that I was waiting for the correct topic to come up and for sufficient time to do justice to the topic. That's not going to be possible all the time. So I am going to keep this simple... short, topical posts that I can send from my phone, whenever I can find a few minutes to write. Hopefully, that will keep enough gyan flowing... :)

So long and thanks for everything

It's not often that you cry when someone you've never met passes away. Steve Jobs had that impact on me (and millions others worldwide). From the day I first used an Apple computer at IIMA to design a brochure to now where my life is surrounded by all things Apple, no other technology company or person has had the influence on my life the way Apple and Steve Jobs have.

As a manager, I have learnt so much from Steve Jobs, almost like Ekalavya did from a guru who didn't know the student existed. Three things stand out.

Business strategy is as much about what you don't do as it is about all the stuff you do, even if it means going against conventional wisdom. Think of the missing floppy drives on Macs or the lack of USB ports on the iPad or the lean SKU structure of all iThings - Apple made tough choices even if popular "demand" suggested otherwise.

Second, passion and persistence pay off. Steve Jobs' story is that of rising above adversities; he won against the odds, in business and in life. If you love what you are doing and believe in your capability to achieve your goal, nobody can hold you back.

Third, Steve Jobs built an institution at Apple. Yes, he was the visionary and creative leader but undoubtedly a large part of Apple's success is due to the extremely talented people that he was able to motivate and the entrepreneurial agility that he created at a large organization. A leader without great followers / team is at best a maverick.

And one more thing. Steve Jobs realised the power of presentation, the visual impact and drama that brought chips, glass and software alive. I shamelessly ape Steve's style (if you haven't already noticed) and hope I can make even a fraction of the impact he made to technology, business and life.

Sent from my iPad

Update: This tribute to Steve Jobs was published in The Hindu Business Line on October 7, 2011.

iPhone 4S: The most amazing iPhone ever, yet...

Last night, I almost faced an Internet blackout at home, minutes before the iPhone announcement was to commence. The broadband connection which was down for a day had not yet been restored and both my cellular data connections were wavering, refusing to open most sites. Having announced earlier in the day that I was expecting something dramatic at the keynote and that my resolution to skip an iPhone generation was wavering, I wondered if I'd miss the excitement of the live coverage of Apple's event.

addepalli: 
16mos after IP4 and with a new CEO in the spotlight, today's iPhone announcement's got be dramatic, I expect. My resolve is weakening….
10/4/11 11:12 AM

However, persistence paid off… I was able to get the Twitter feed on my iPhone 4 (running on a weak 3G signal) and also accessed the Engadget live-blog on my iMac connected to the Tata CDMA EVDO network (through my Blackberry). I was all set as Tim Cook took the stage for his first product launch at Apple. 


90 minutes later, I was a bit disappointed. Obviously, expectations were quite high, particularly because the iPhone 4 was an amazing upgrade to the 3GS. There were several rumors predicting a minor update only (4S), but I was hoping for a surprise. This was, after all, Tim's first public appearance as CEO. Unfortunately, he didn't say much - his colleagues did most of the talking. And, more than half the time was spent repeating stuff (iOS5 and iCloud) that had been announced earlier.

The new iPhone 4S (the most amazing iPhone ever) made no changes to the exterior of the iPhone 4… well, not that there was any real reason to. Maybe they could have adopted the iPad 2 form factor, but not really required. The 4S had three major "internal" changes:

1. Faster proceessor, with the A5 dual-core. Apple showed off how it creates amazing gaming performance. Well, my iPad 2 does that too, and I don't spend too much time on my iPhone with games (except the occasional Angry Birds while I am waiting for a meeting). Anyway, this processor was a pre-requisite for the next two changes, I guess.

2. Superior camera. With my limited knowledge of cameras, it appears that the 4S camera is a massive improvement (over the IP4 and other smartphone cameras) for still and video photography. Having just invested massively in my first DSLR (and assorted lenses & accessories), I am kind of content with the mobility of the IP4 camera and the quality of the DSLR. The camera in the 4S is not sufficient to induce purchase.

3. Voice Assistant. The real WOW moment of the keynote was the demo of Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant that is built into the 4S. Voice recognition stuff has been around for many years, but what Apple showcased yesterday was amongst the best ever implementation of natural language conversations with a machine. It appeared so good that it was kind of scary… Rohan Joshi (@mojorojo) tweeted something very apt:

mojorojo:
When Skynet kills us all na, we'll all stop being so amazed by this Siri shit. "NO SIRI! STOP! STOP NO! AARRRGGGHHH" 
10/4/11 11:57 PM

Siri is the only compelling reason to upgrade from the iPhone 4 to 4S.

If you are with the 3GS or any other "smartphone", I'd say go buy the 4S. Also, if your carrier is subsidizing 70% of the cost of the phone, then again, you could upgrade. But if you have to spend another US $650 for the 4S (having spent a similar amount a year ago), I would advise restraint. Wait till 2012; your iPhone 4 with iOS 5 and iCloud will continue to amaze you for some more time. Hopefully Apple will get back to its summer schedule of launching iPhones and you will have a new iPhone 6 (the most amazing iPhone ever) in less than a year.

 

Update: See this video of Siri in action (from the Apple site) - amazing stuff! Also, this Dan Curtis post about the difference between "good enough" (Android voice actions) and "better" (Siri)

Update 2: Sorry Tim. http://t.co/1pmW5MwN