Life as a Knowledge Manager

Archive

10 Quick Ways to Motivate by David Javitch

Published by Nainil Chheda on June 26, 2009 in Management. 0 Comments

10 Quick Ways to Motivate by David Javitch: Employee Management

1. Praise the employee for a job well done–or even partially well done.
2. If an employee is bored, involve that individual in a discussion about ways to create a more satisfying career path, including promotions based on concrete outcomes.
3. State your clear expectations for task accomplishment.
4. Ensure that the job description involves a variety of tasks.
5. Ensure that the employee sees that what she’s doing impacts the whole process or task that others will also be part of.
6. Make sure that the employee feels that what he/she is doing is meaningful.
7. Provide feedback along the way, pointing out both positive and negative aspects.
8. Allow for an appropriate amount of autonomy for the employee based on previous and anticipated accomplishment.
9. Increase the depth and breadth of what the employee is currently doing.
10. Provide the employee with adequate opportunity to succeed.

Retrieved from “5 Employee Motivation Myths Debunked” by David Javitch: Employee Management : http://www.entrepreneur.com/humanresources/employeemanagementcolumnistdavidjavitch/article202352.html on Saturday, June 27 2009.

Share this:

Definition of a good job

Published by Nainil Chheda on April 29, 2009 in Technology. 0 Comments

If money wasn’t an issue would you still be working and loving what you did?

Share this:

Microsoft’s 2019

Published by Nainil Chheda on March 5, 2009 in Human Behaviour and Technology. 0 Comments

Microsoft’s 2019 is the latest entry in the genre of future product dramatization videos. Discussing “Retail Future Visions” by Microsoft.

It discusses:

Potential of improvement in the Retail Market
Technological Advancements in Inventory Control
Synchronized Updates

Share this:

Data Destruction Policy/Service

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 27, 2009 in Organization and Technology. 0 Comments

Recently I documented my thoughts on “Deleting Data does not Purge Data“. My inclination was toward developing a policy which would formulate the “Data Destruction Policy” in our company.

We deal with confidential data all the time which is sent by clients for:

Data Migration
Checking Database Integrity
Development
Stress Testing

During this time, the data is passed around our highly qualified staff (who have signed a “Non-Disclosure” agreement). Many a times, we have seen the medium of transporting/transferring data is a secure channel. However some times, the channel storing/transferring confidential data could also be a “DVD”, “USB Drive” or even a “Magnetic Tape Drive”.

To safeguard the interest of our clients and our staff members, we have partnered with a “Digital Media/Data Destruction Company”. This company guarantees destruction of digital information from any external media at a nominal cost of ($15-$25) per incident.

The Data Destruction Company has signed a “Non-Disclosure” agreement. So the data/information is safe and not in unsafe hands.

Here is the process that we have set:

Any disk/tape drive which needs to be destroyed should first be formatted by our company staff member.
The staff member would also physically abuse (destroy) the disk with a hammer or melt the same if possible.
We would then give the disk/drive to the “Data Destruction Company”
During this time, the company would provide us with a receipt of the disk/drive and would inform us the date/time the data will be destroyed
Once the data is destroyed, the company sends us a formal receipt that the data was destroyed and the task has been completed.

We have also published this process within our organization so that any staff member who believes that they have disk/data that needs to be destroyed can contact our IT staff members and take advantage of the new “Data Destruction Service”.

This is a process which has safeguarded our position with the clients and we have built a trust relationship where we respect the privacy and confidentiality of the data we receive.

Share this:

Bill Gates: Work hard, be nice

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 19, 2009 in Human Behaviour and Technology. 0 Comments

Bill Gates @ (Ted Talk 2009) hopes to solve some of the world’s biggest problems using a new kind of philanthropy. In a passionate and, yes, funny 18 minutes (Subject: Bill Gates: How I’m trying to change the world now), he asks us to consider two big questions and how we might answer them.

In this presentation he spoke about two issues: malaria and education reform.

“I brought some mosquitoes – we’ll let them roam around the auditorium. There’s no reason only the poor should experience this” Gates jokes.

Bill Gates recommends the book about KIPP, “Work Hard, Be Nice” by newspaper reporter Jay Matthews to his TED audience.

Bill Gates discussed:

The need for better education
The need for better teachers
The need for better technology to serve the students and the teachers

I am motivated by his presentation and I hope everyone watches it and learns something that they can remember for the rest of their lives.

Share this:

Documenting the (SLA) Service Level Agreement

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 18, 2009 in Organization and Technology. 0 Comments

The most difficult job is being a Network Administrator. The reason is simple:

They have never get credit for what they do
They always have a problem which does not have an easy solution
Everyone complaints that the network performance is slow

Recently I was requested to document the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for our organization. The SLA is intended to provide guidance on how the network and telephony infrastructure is expected to perform, and the Network Team’s commitment to maintaining the quality and reliability of services provided to the enterprise.

The Structure of an SLA can be summarized by:

1.0    Statement Of Intent
1.1    Document Approvals
1.2     Document Review Dates
1.3     Time Conventions

2.0     About This Service
2.1     Services Covered Under This SLA
2.2     User Environment
2.2     User Support Services

3.0     About Service Availability
3.1     Scheduled Events That Impact Service Availability
3.2     Nonemergency Enhancements
3.3     Change Process
3.4     Change Management

4.0 Service Measures

5.0 Network Team Prioritizes

Network SLA cover all services under the administration of the Network Team, and includes, but is not limited to:

Desktop Services
LAN Services
WAN Services
Telephony Services
Backup & Restore
Security
Audit

The SLA is governed by both the response time and the resolution time. Response time does not mean resolution. Response time is the time in which you will be contacted by a IT operations team member to triage/troubleshoot the issue.

Here is how we prioritize requests for support according to the following severity guidelines:

Highest Severity (Response: Within 15 minutes)
Impacts the whole business unit (Department); Employee Termination; Involuntary Employee Termination; Phone System Affected; etc.
High Severity (Response: Within 1-4 hours)
Workstation failure; etc.
Normal Severity (Response: Within 2-4 hours)
Causes partial loss of productivity for an individual user; Cannot Receive Emails; etc.
Low Severity (Response: Within 24-48 hours)
Hardware Approval; Software Upgrade; Email setup in Blackberry; A user needs administrative assistance; etc.
Very Low Severity (Response: Within 1 week)
Enhancement requests are logged as Severity 5-Very Low Priority, but are reviewed and scheduled by the Network Team Advisory Board.

For an SLA to be honored the “Technology Resource Utilization Policy” should be used to bring accountability amongst the stakeholders and the Network Team. The purpose of the SLA is to ensure that the proper elements and commitment are in place to provide optimal data processing services for the business function.

Share this:

Being Patient with Technology

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 16, 2009 in Human Behaviour and Technology. 0 Comments

Being a CIO, I hear people complaining every hour of the day:

The network performance is too slow

I need more RAM

My emails are not going out

I don’t like being a “Limited User”. Please make me a “Power User”

My computer just froze up

It would be wrong if I mentioned that everything that the members request was invalid.

There have been instances when the Network performance is very slow. It feels as if you can click a button, go to the kitchen and brew coffee. Even after that your page might not load. Some members really need to upgrade their workstation memory as they would have installed some apps which require a higher processing unit.

Even with these experiences, I am not convinced that those who use technology are patient enough to deal with the same. My inclination is toward these examples:

1. As soon as one logins to the computer, the user constantly moves the mouse thinking that the computer might react to the mouse movement and the screen would reflect the users desktop.

What the user is forgetting is that even though he/she is constantly moving the mouse to make the computer react faster, there is an additional level of processing which is consuming the current resources of the workstation. Thus making it even slower.

2. If a user is not able to send an email, he/she directly contacts the Network Admin. They need to do some basic testing which would include:

Check if the internet connection is available

Did you know? Most of the issues in your computer (about 75%) are resolved by just restarting the same.

Everyone wants the information to flow pretty seamlessly to their system. The fundamental fault in this assumption is that there are a number of dependencies which might cause the system/network to fail.

To respect technology is to be patient with the technology. One must not show his/her emotions by being frustraited over a slow network connection or a bad keyboard. They should try to find a solution to the situation by being patient. Technology is there to help and not make life complicated.

My advice to everyone: Be patient with technology and you will find great results with what you are trying to achive.

Share this:

What an exciting time to be alive!

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 12, 2009 in Life, Organization and Technology. 0 Comments

A few years ago my grandfather was showing me a four-in-one pen. He said, “Look at that – blue, red, green, black! It’s like having four pens in one! What an exciting time to be alive!”. I looked at him and smiled.

A few days ago, I was speaking with a colleague about “Digital Whiteboards” and how they have evolved from being a simple electronic whiteboard to a smart whiteboard with an inbuilt printer. (The digital whiteboard is an electronic version of a dry-erase board.) I remember the good old school days where we had a Black Board, and our teachers used a white chalk to write the notes for the class room. Things have certainly changed. To know more about the digital white boards; check this Video: M.I.T. Digital Drawing Board

Things sure have changed!

The most successful (technological) inventions till date have been telephone, computer, television, automobile, camera and of course the light bulb.

In recent times I have seen the following areas show progress :

1. GPS Navigation Systems (e.g. GPS)

2. Eco-friendly cars (e.g. Hydrogen Vehicle)

3. Wireless Broadband Internet (e.g. Verizon Broadband)

4. Electronic Toll Collection System (e.g. MTA – FAST LANE Program)

5. Intelligent Robots (e.g. Sony Robots)

I have always embraced technology and innovation. I might not know every aspect of the technology or the product but my thirst to learn new things will never stop. If I ever stop embracing technology and innovation, I will retire. (This is a very bold statement to make. But it’s true.)

Time Magazine recently announced it’s list of best inventions for the year 2007.

The areas where the inventions are being concentrated are:

Applying solar energy to conservative use
Building eco-friendly cars
Using nano-technology
Video Gaming, Mobile Technology and Space Technology (Rocket Science)
Architecture Mobilization

We don’t always realize how technology has changed our lives. It has made our lives simpler and it sure is an interesting age to live in! It is our experience which makes us “believe” that things are possible and it is the realization from our experience which makes us lead a complete life.

Share this:

Open your Portal of Life and find the Creative Genius

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 11, 2009 in Life. 0 Comments

Here is a synopsys of Elizabeth Gilbert’s narration of “Creative Genius” in her 20 minutes speech @ ted.com

A different way to think about Creative Genius – By Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth a very prominent book writer discusses the hidden secret behind her success which has connections with the ancient Greek & Roman civilizations.

Best Seller. Now What? If you have succeeded at first, everyone expects you to be afraid of the work that you have previously accomplished. Will you be able to surpass the previous success?
Creative people are sometimes mentally unstable with magnificient young minds
Fear of Genius: Your best performance is behind you.
Genius and Daemons: Greece believed creativity came from a divine spirit called “Daemon”. Romans believed a magical entity who would invisibly assist an artist and shape the work (called Genius).
Being & Having Genius: Being a Genius is a mistake because it is too much responsibility for a single entity. Having Genius makes you have an imaginary spirit which helps you rub a fairy juice on your projects.
Letting Genius Catch you: Don’t try to find Genius, let the Genius find you. Some ideas come to you from other uncontrolled impulses. Genius is some moment which could be called as “This is it”, “Time would stop”, “Everything would be aligned”, “You are light from within”, “Magic”, “Glimpse of God”. Open the portal of your life and let yourself into a totally different level where you have the most brilliant moments which would be wonderous.
What are you to do for the rest of your life?: It is not always that the most extraordinary aspects of your life came from you. You have been loaned the extraordinary aspects of your being from an unimaginable source to be passed on. Share the knowledge.
Do your job: Don’t be afraid. Don’t let anything change what you do and have the stubberness to keep showing up.

Link: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/453

Share this:

Matilda – Poem of the Week

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 10, 2009 in Life and Literature. 0 Comments

MATILDA

by: Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953)

WHO TOLD LIES, AND WAS BURNED TO DEATH

MATILDA told such Dreadful Lies,

It made one Gasp and Stretch one’s Eyes;

Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,

Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,

Attempted to Believe Matilda:

The effort very nearly killed her,

And would have done so, had not She

Discovered this Infirmity.

For once, towards the Close of Day,

Matilda, growing tired of play,

And finding she was left alone,

Went tiptoe to the Telephone

And summoned the Immediate Aid

Of London’s Noble Fire-Brigade.

Within an hour the Gallant Band

Were pouring in on every hand,

From Putney, Hackney Downs, and Bow.

With Courage high and Hearts a-glow,

They galloped, roaring through the Town,

‘Matilda’s House is Burning Down!’

Inspired by British Cheers and Loud

Proceeding from the Frenzied Crowd,

They ran their ladders through a score

Of windows on the Ball Room Floor;

And took Peculiar Pains to Souse

The Pictures up and down the House,

Until Matilda’s Aunt succeeded

In showing them they were not needed;

And even then she had to pay

To get the Men to go away!

It happened that a few Weeks later

Her Aunt was off to the Theatre

To see that Interesting Play

The Second Mrs. Tanqueray.

She had refused to take her Niece

To hear this Entertaining Piece:

A Deprivation Just and Wise

To Punish her for Telling Lies.

That Night a Fire did break out–

You should have heard Matilda Shout!

You should have heard her Scream and Bawl,

And throw the window up and call

To People passing in the Street–

(The rapidly increasing Heat

Encouraging her to obtain

Their confidence) — but all in vain!

For every time she shouted ‘Fire!’

They only answered ‘Little Liar!’

And therefore when her Aunt returned,

Matilda, and the House, were Burned.

“Matilda” is reprinted from Cautionary Tales. Hilaire Belloc. 1907.

Share this:

Overshare – the 2008 Word of the Year

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 7, 2009 in Life, Management and Technology. 0 Comments

Information is always overwhelming. However when information is turned into knowledge it is a gift. With my role as a Knowledge Manager, I feel it is important for people to understand when information is “Overshared”. Is this a good thing?

The 2008 word of the year is both a noun and a verb: overshare. It basically means it is when a person gives you more information than you want or need to know.

I believe in information transpancy, sharing of knowledge and accepting the fact that being accessible to others makes life simpler.

Sharing of information can be classified into:

Personal
Work Related
Social
Other

One must group his friends and collegues into various catagories. I have choosen to share my information to various groups (social networking) in the following fashion:

Personal:
1. Website: www.nainil.com
2. Blog: www.nainil.com/blog
Friends:
1. Facebook (id: nainil)
  http://www.facebook.com/people/Nainil-Chheda/630638930
2. Orkut (id: nainil@gmail.com)
Work Related:
1. LinkedIn (id: nainil)
  www.linkedin.com/in/nainil
2. Blog
  www.nainil.com/blog
Social Networking:
1. Twitter (id: nainil)

The level of discrete information that I share about myself is limited to the nature of the service and to the level of information I am willing to disclose about myself.

On my Website: I have information related to my areas of interest, my research activities, my vision, my resume and some images that I cherish.

On my Blog: I record my experiences with technology, quality control, policies, management as well as topics such as game theory and geological sediments.

On my Twitter profile: I update the various articles I read, videos I watch and document anything which helps me understand a concept/theme .

Never have I felt that I overshare my information. I tend to give data which is precise and to the point.

Information if left idle is not of any value. When we put our thoughts to process information we gather knowledge. Being a Knowledge Manager, I have learned to value the boundaries of information. Only some can be shared while other must be cherished by a limited group of members.

With an increase in the level of understanding, individuality and personification of data, “Overshare” is the term which needs to be catered to the market.

Share this:

Giving Credit to the Right People

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 5, 2009 in Life, Management and Organization. 0 Comments

I work in a company with a varied set of team members. We depend on each other to make the right choices and deliver the right services. We all try to deliver products, services and processes to our team members and the clients. Yet, I often ask myself “Is there any tangible product which comes out of my work?”.

Here’s the way I think about my work:

* I am a “Facilitator”. I help in getting people the right correct answers. It does not mean I am always the one who is giving these answers.
* I am a “Shovel Supplier”. I supply the tools and services that others need to make their lives easier.

Every day I receive emails, phone calls and have people come to my desk asking for all sort of answers. I might know a few of these answers as I might be involved in the project. However most of the times I am asked for the right direction. I am asked if I can point them to the right person who can do the job. I am asked if I can get an answer for the questions they have.

While looking for an answer to a question, I tend to involve various other team members. Many a times they give me an answer which is complete. I inturn transfer the answer to the team member who requested it. So, I diligently perform my duties, find the answers and convey the same to the team member who has requested the same.

Does this mean:

* I did all the hard work to get the answer?
* I have the answer to every question?
* I am the one to be praised and thanked?

The answer is No. I believe, in an ethical business environment where all the members involved while providing a solution should be respectfully thanked. The effort is a group effort and the right person deserves the credit. I always try to remember what our old folks used to teach us “It’s always good to give than to receive”.

While on a project, I make sure that I broadcast the efforts of the other team members who helped me find the answer to the main requesting party .This leads into a “Win-Win” situation. It keeps the requestor informed and the efforts put in by the other team member are also brought to light which acts as a motivational factor.

This sure does not mean that I (the facilitator) do not deserve a part of the credit. However, considering the nature of my job I choose to do the right thing and take credit only for the things that I deserve.

Share this:

Deleting Data does not Purge Data

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 3, 2009 in Technology. 0 Comments

I have always been an active proponent of disposing replacement or obsolete technology products in a regulated fashion. Of late, I have been promoting the notion of “Deleting Data does not Purge Data“.

It has been assumed by many that, simply “deleting” the files on a system gets rid of the contents on the drive. This is not the case as there is a very high possibility that this information will most likely still be recoverable.

This compromises the privacy of your data which could include passwords, personal information, classified documents from work etc. The classified nature of data could lead to legal consequences.

As per a recent article (Dumped hard drives tell all), most people tend to transfer desktops or laptops without disposing the data.

113 of 200 drives purchased on eBay as part of a security vendor’s study on disk sanitization still contained recoverable data, including data that in some cases appeared to be confidential or quite personal in nature.

We deal with highly classified data which might some times include data which could be confidential or quite personal in nature. Many a times our team downloads client database (with consent) over a secure connection. This data might contain Electronic Patient Health Information. This data must be protected from unauthorized disclosure in compliance with the requirements of HIPAA and other applicable state and federal privacy regulations.

When an employee terminates the employment usually the desktop or laptop is transferred to another person, department, or disposed of as surplus property. While this being done it is required to mandate “Disk Sanitization”.

There are two options to Sanitize a Disk:

Wipe or OverWrite the disk using a software utility
Physically Destroy the hard disk by melting, shredding etc.

Types of Secure Deletion Standards:

Simple Overwrite (1 pass)
Department of Defense – DoD 5220.22-M ( 3 pass)
NSA (7 passes)
Gutmann (35 passes)

To successfully wipe a hard drive one must at least look for a utility which meets the DoD 5220.22-M ( 3 pass).

Some Open Source Products which perform software disk wiping include:

Eraser: http://www.heidi.ie/eraser/ (free)
DBAN: Darik’s Boot and Nuke: http://dban.sourceforge.net/ (free)

Aging compute hard drives and other storage media are always at a risk for compromising data. Anyone making any claims that the potential costs associated with aging computer hardware is limited has not done the research.

I can only hope that everyone learns from experience that using appropriate data destruction mechanisms will prove a real bargain in the long run!

Share this:

A Follower of the KISS Principle

Published by Nainil Chheda on February 2, 2009 in Life, Management, Organization and Technology. 0 Comments

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler” – Albert Einstein

During my Masters in Information Systems at the Fox School of Business @ Temple University, I was introduced to “Strategic Process Management” and “User Interactive Site Design”. The first concept taught was to Keep it Sweet and Simple (K.I.S.S).

With 12 years of Web Application Development experience, I have had the opportunity to look at both:

Processes which are complicated
User Interfaces which do not make sense

Many a times, we try to bring an “Open Forum” approach into our organization. This could lead to:

Multiple Members Contributing to a Project (too many cooks spoil the broth)
Complicating the project in the early stages of formation/development
Everyone has a request to meet their needs. This could over burden the project.

The chain of thought is to make life easier and simpler for both the developers and clients. Design simplicity should be a key goal and any unnecessary complexities should be avoided.

Product Design

Here is a great link on “What is Simple Design“. It shares information about: Agile Development, YAGNI – You Aren’t Gonna Need It; Design Patterns, Code Smells, Simple Design and Test Driven Development (TDD), Once-And-Only-Once, Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY), Communication, Single Responsibility Principle (SRP), Open Closed Principle (OCP), Liskov Substitution Principle (LSP), Interface Segregation Principle (ISP), Dependency Inversion Principle (DIP), Tell Don’t Ask, The Law of Demeter, Triangulate, Influence from Functional Programming, Tests don’t lie and Prototyping.

With everything that I try to manage, I tend to Keep it Simple. This allows me to focus on other core aspects of business which can lead to increase in productivity and sales. Being a follower of the KISS Principle makes my activities at Work and Life much enjoyable and productive.

Share this:

It’s not Personal. Its Business!

Published by Nainil Chheda on January 31, 2009 in Life, Management and Organization. 0 Comments

Michael Corleone: [to Sonny] It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business. — The Godfather (1972)

In an office environment, there are often times when :

1. It is difficult to negotiate with a client/colleague
2. Someone gets fired
3. Emotions (sometimes excitement, anger etc.) are spilled out

There is nothing personal when it comes to business. In an environment where accountability and ownership fail, people sometimes run into a brick wall. The only recourse is to find another way around it and gain insight on how impersonal business can be.

In many instances, when a mistake is pointed out :

The person gets all worked up;
The person gets defensive;
There is a cold-war situation in the environment;
Things are not taken in a positive fashion;
Negative work environment only creates a destructive pattern to erode the success. “Do I loose a friend when he/she points out my mistakes? How can I trust the person? Do I give up a friend because of a conflict of interest at work?” — We are all victims of such thinking.

An escalated matter (to the management) is sometimes required to get things done. Yet if this option is chosen all the time you will not be ale to earn the respect and get things done in the future.

To avoid such thoughts here are some tips:

Personal life situations should not affect your business decisions.
Remember that business is an impersonal entity.
Accept your mistakes and be honest.
Look at the big picture and think about the company first.
Find a recourse of action to avoid business matters affecting your personal life.

Remember: It’s not personal. It’s Business!

Share this:

Life as a Knowledge Manager

Archive

10 Quick Ways to Motivate by David Javitch

Definition of a good job

Microsoft’s 2019

Data Destruction Policy/Service

Bill Gates: Work hard, be nice

Documenting the (SLA) Service Level Agreement

Being Patient with Technology

What an exciting time to be alive!

Open your Portal of Life and find the Creative Genius

Matilda – Poem of the Week

Giving Credit to the Right People

Deleting Data does not Purge Data

A Follower of the KISS Principle

It’s not Personal. Its Business!

About Me

Subscribe to updates

What I am Reading

Meta

Disclaimer