An enjoyable Friday evening!

I watched a video yesterday in my "Technological Innovation" class and I really enjoyed it! (It is a video which is probably shown in every management/business/technopreneurship class every semester) I'm here to share what I saw and learnt with you!
Well, the topic we discussed about this week was "Motivating Engineers and Scientists" And the video was a recording from a news program on abc channel - about a company called IDEO. This is basically an innovation company - the best known in the world and one of the hot spots of Silicon valley. They innovate just about anything! Starting from a range of toys, 'monster shoes', through toothbrushes to sophisticated medical equipment, they are involved in designing/re-designing of an entire range of products!
This program's was actually structured to give an insight into how things actually work in IDEO. So, a group was assembled and given the task of redesigning a shopping cart. The first thing that struck me was the informality! I did expect a little deviation from the standard top-down hierarchy, considering that people were here to innovate, but this struck me right on the face! The founder of the company working together with a new 22 year old employee - that's the limit!
This was a group of about 20 people and all from very very different backgrounds - As the introductions were made, I realized that it just about covered every single faculty in my university!! An engineer, computer specialist, statistical grad, biological sciences major, psychologist, history major and the list went on..!! The diversity, I realized during the course, only helps add more perspectives to come up with totally crazy ideas that lead to innovation.
Even in the midst of all the informality, there was structure and organization - They first elected a group leader - not the most 'senior' member or not even the 'one with lots of ideas' but one who was good with people and with groups! They then set about trying to identify problems one may face with the current shopping cart - problems like child care safety (where the statistics came in very handy to use the no. of hospitalized to carry this idea through in the new product), the psychology of people not wanting to wait in long check-out queues, the size and thus the utility of the shopping cart, etc . They actually researched this topic - by talking to customers, 'professional' shoppers, supermarket employees, actual engineers who build and repair the cart, to get a good idea of what exactly is involved!
Then came the brainstorming session - where each group member would come up with as many designs of the cart as he/she could, make a rough sketch of it and paste it on huge boards placed all around the spacious room. Once done, each would review the ideas of the others and if they felt the idea was worth their vote - they'd stick a post it with their name on it!!
And in this manner, they finally narrowed down the options stage by stage and came up with 4 separate designs - one with several baskets in the shopping cart - one with a scanner - one with a separate level for child seating and one which focused on the fashion/size aspect! They then set about building these 4 designs - Once ready, they went on to review each of these carts, scale them back a little to come up with the final design -
Well, this can't be described in words...So have a look yourself!
http://www.ideo.com/portfolio/re.asp?x=50029
What I learnt at the end of the day was that, to motivate, you need to express confidence in your people. Don't regard them as inferior to you in any way - instead try to make it a 360 degree learning process, so that in the end, your goals are achieved! Give them their space and autonomy to do what they are best at! That's how a manager is defined in today's world - he/she leads - no more "command and control"!
Would'nt you like to work for IDEO someday?? :-D

One of my favourite poems!

Daffodils" (1804)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

Everytime I read this poem I'm really inspired! Have you ever had such an experience? You enjoyed something so much and every single little detail leaves an imprint on your heart? I don't have a single such memory... yet...There have been several beautiful and enjoyable moments in my life which I can lie back upon and ponder about, but not a single one I remember as vividly as wordsworth has described his daffodils...
Every single blog I write, I think - " Ah! When I read this 5 years later, I'll wonder - wow! That was me!!! " But I'm still waiting for "my daffodil moment" - when I won't need words to remember...merely to describe!

I've just got through my first week in the university this year - my second year! It was a very very tiring but awesome week! After a very enjoyable but long summer vacation, I was aching - actually - to start studying again! Its really weird isn't it, but as they say, humans always are in search of knowledge! And so here I am, maybe a little wiser to the ways of the world...

To be outrageously honest, last year was a breeze through...except the programming of course...I'm studying electrical engineering and my uni being an internationally recognized one with students from all over the globe, meant to standardize our basics last year - so we did physics, maths and some basic circuits and laws - all of which I had already dealt with in my Junior college. So in effect, I was only adding some depth to what I already knew about - dealing with solving real world problems with a lot more calculations - but it somehow wasn't inspiring or exciting enough! This was not the engineering I expected to study!

And then suddenly this week, it struck me - all at once! I'm doing four "core" modules this semester - and suddenly, I realized - hey this isn't just physics or math anymore! It's application! Somehow, it excited me a lot - here was something totally different - like an experience of learning a language for the first time! Every single concept in the lecture was supplemented by actual examples - for example, the concept of feedback and thus control in robotics, temperature control, etc - the concept of signals in waving, seeing, sound waves, etc - the concept of applying mathematical models like probability to data communication systems and the mathematics used as "short-hand" notation for bit representation!

Interesting no doubt, but also a lot of hard work too I suppose! Since everything you're learning is suddenly new, you need to put in more effort to get a good grasp of all the concepts. And here I am, quite exhausted but still very inspired after the very first week of just lectures - tutorials and labs start only next week! I've taken another module - Technological Innovation - just for this purpose - to have a recess from all the engineering :-D

This module seems quite fun - though it is from 6-9 on Friday evenings (I know!!) It focusses on the importance of innovation in entrepreneurship! In my first class, we had a discussion about Google - Was it right for them to become entrepreneurs? Are they being innovative enough? Aren't they shifting focus away from their core capabilities? It was a very insightful and interesting discussion and I really enjoyed it!

When you're 19, talking to your loved ones and eating to your fill everyday, living on one of the best campuses in the world with access to excellent academic and co-curricular facilities, enjoying with your friends and making new ones - from over the globe - and learning what you want to from the best aiming for the stars all the while, what more can you expect out of life??

A great programme..

A great day was already on the cards when I was to accompany my parents to witness my school’s 49^th Anniversary. A day made even greater because of the knowledge of the fact that my little sister...um sorry…cultural secretary of the school would be adorning a beautiful blue saree and compeering the show! But what made today a day to remember and cherish was the actual cultural performance of the little children…hey…my juniors!

Being an Indian and a Chennaite at that, I have attended several cultural programs – Carnatic concerts, Dance performances, Dance dramas, Dramas, light music events, arengetrams, etc, etc. The fact I’m trying to hint at here is that I have experienced enough to be termed as an “art appreciator”! And I must say, today’s show was absolutely brilliant!

But to be fair, I must say – it was to be expected! My school’s Anniversary is always one of the awaited events of the year when we get to witness student’s talents enhanced by professional make-up and too-good-to-be-true-props! It was a little different this year though…

I observed that quite contrary to the last few years, this year’s anniversary was quite devoid of props (except for the finale.) It was perhaps this fact that made me appreciate the efforts even more! Instead of the usual props, like the oonjal or the swing, there were four students and they appeared to be pushing and pulling it! It was done so naturally and beautifully, that I wondered if they were the little children they appeared to be!

The theme for this anniversary was Dhana Vaibhavam – Ullathil Nalla Ullam. It was a great theme considering the innumerous tales we all know of charity, “giving without hesitation, and expecting nothing back.” Each of the tales – Akshaya pathram, vamana avatharam, karnan, etc. were beautifully portrayed by little ones!

As a student of NUS I have had the good fortune of witnessing certain other concerts as well – Chinese New Year dances, Accapella and the usual “English Concert” (as I term it) And all these factors made me realize that today, I had witnessed one of the strongest representations of the Indian art form of drama, music and dance.

On Cloud Nine!!

He's been trying for the past 6 years; it just intensified last year, when he asked me out no less than 8 times! Every single time, there was something else for me to do... But when he asked me out on 4th August 2006 again, I thought, well this is a hopeless cause...let me at least go out with him...And that's how I ended up falling in love! What began as dislike ended up this way- all because of an evening out...
Well, it was the day when I was returning to university - to a country away from my home, away from my loving parents, away from my best friend - my sis and away from my homeland...So you can imagine what I was going through...And that's when I saw him - sitting next to me and comforting me all along the journey...
You must be wondering - "Hey! She just told me that he'd asked her out many times before and now she's saying she saw him ... as though for the first time!" But yeah! That was the first time I really saw him - saw who he was, what he did and what he meant...
Anyways, there was the initial awkwardness as I pecked on his cheek but it was washed away with some coke and peanuts as we got talking and I must say about really weird things! We moved on from angels and castles to Ganesha and Amu's kozhakatais!! It was as if with him, I could be myself and talk about things I really like or things that have really affected me and all along, he seemed to be reflecting my exact thoughts on every subject!! With all this rapport building, I had even forgotten the spectacle he'd promised me before dinner...
But it was BEAUTIFUL! With the vast expanse of the Indian ocean guarding me on the sides, with him as my aide, I saw it - the wonderful sunset! And not just any sunset - one which reflected that we live in a round world!! Behind me I could see the glorious sun, just setting and ahead of me darkness was already enveloping the lands ... It left me awestruck!I think that was the moment when I was lovestruck - and this fact made dinner a very enjoyable affair!
But finally it was time to land and get back to reality from the wonderful dreams as they seemed... And as he brushed against my cheeks I suddenly felt sad...to be going away from him...
And then as I walked out of the airport towards my university - I looked up at his vast, dark expanse and said...Soon again my love!!

My trip to Banglore

I left for a short trip to my Athhai's place on 29th July... Its been quite a while since I visited this town - which has now been declared as "the IT capital of India"! Well I agree...Indeed, all the wealth is reflected in the tremendous growth phase which has gobbled up major part of this beautiful city!

The first thing any person who steps into this valley will notice is the beautiful weather - its really very very pleasant! And it being July, typical Banglore weather prevailed for most part of my trip...I must admit though - that having been transformed into a complete Chennaite, returning to my birth place was a cool...hmmm...Cold trip!

Anyways, my Athhai has a beautiful place in Kasturi Nagar - with lots of gardens sprawling around the house! Its always so pleasant to see roses, jasmines, hibiscus and pavazamalli, eat curd rice with pomegranate (literally garden fresh!) from Banana leaves that grow at home with lovely food cooked by Pattu!!

I was quite pleasantly shocked when I went looking around Banglore - it is literally transforming into a mini-Singapore! Huge malls have cropped up everywhere, with lot of eat-outs peeking out of every corner! Most of the roads have been made one-ways and more importantly the average age of the driver, as my father shrewdly observed, is 30 - which in itself has instilled a discipline achieved perhaps, nowhere else in India!

But the beauty of Banglore is that inspite of the IT boom and the cropping up of the electronic city, it retains its charm and beauty...The places have definitely transformed - but not to an unrecognizable extent - instead they have evolved into dynamically improving environments! My visit to the Cubbon park, Vidhana Soudha(and Vikas Soudha!) and my favorite Ragi Gudda temple confirmed my impressions.

In spite of having lived in Banglore for nearly 14 years of my life, this was the trip when I discovered a beautiful institute here! The Tata Institute - now known as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) came into the picture because my university, NUS, has set up an overseas college here! Curious, I went to just move about and get a feel of the campus - and I must say - I was shocked! I have seen IIT but was still shocked to see that "the campus" consisted of nothing but little buildings in the midst of what seemed to me to be dense forests!! It was really beautiful and I realized that this is the most conductive atmosphere for research and study! A sight one can witness, I believe, only in India!

I hail from Koramangala - and I loved going back to see my house in NGHC (National Games Housing Complex) It's a place that offers a lot of memories...And that always affects you....

Maybe that's why even though I profess myself to be a Chennaite, Banglore will always hold a special place in my heart...

A few nice ones....

1. Impossible says I'm possible!
2. When there is no wind, row!
3. Work hard to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!
4. You fail - only when you stop trying!
   
5. If at all you want to do anything behind a back, pat it!
6. At times of distress, behave like a duck - keep calm and unruffled on the surface, but keep paddling away like crazy underneath!
7. Take time to laugh - its the music of the soul!
8. No doubt great heights are what attract us; learn to respect the steps though!
9. Enjoying something makes it unforgettable!
10. To be the best, be daring, be different and be there first!
11. Home is where the heart is!
12. A hungry man always appreciates his bread!
13. If you can do it in front of someone you love and respect, its right.
14. Love me when I least deserve it; cause that's when I really need it!
15. I can't remember to forget you..
16. We may have inherited the earth from our parents, but it is the property of our children.
17. Atoms don't exist....entities are the in thing!
18. "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
    - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
19. "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny... '"
    — Isaac Asimov
20. "The trouble with land is that they're not making it anymore!"
    - Will Rogers
21. "Don't let school interfere with your learning!"

Disclaimer: None of this is original - all borrowed! Some from the web, some from insightful tags of friends on messenger!!