Role change - You get a new avatar. Now what?

Role change @job is probably the most awaited thing for any employee who has put in his mind, heart and soul to meet his targets. So it was for me few weeks back till I received a C&B letter mentioning my new job role. I was all excited about it till my wild imagination got entangled with the phrase “Get ready for the greater accountability”. Once again it is time for me to re-calibrate myself to ensure I live up to my new responsibilities. A time when


a) Upgrading skills is a must –Suddenly your smooth sailing ship reaches uncharted waters that need new maneuvers at the blink of an eye. To keep your skills with the new job demand, figure out trainings that can get you there. Put yourself into learning as fast as you can. A swift upgrade of your skills will boost your credibility and go a long way toward improving your overall professional image on paper.


b) Getting a mentor – Is a must for the professionals who are adjusting themselves to the “challenges of the reward”. If you know somebody inside your company who has already traversed this path and is willing to help, you can make your upward transition really smooth else make sure you search for one outside your company.


c) You should work harder than you need to – It takes extra effort when you start learning a new game. Make sure you put your best foot forward and everyone notices the hard work you are putting in the initial few months. Keep your enthusiasm high and ensure that it speaks for you every time.

When you have mentor in place, you are spending time to upgrade your skills and working hard to leave everyone impressed, it won’t be long before you realize you have paced yourself to the new responsibilities without any increased stress!

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Holiday Cheer: Google's New Venture

How many times have you heard - Google in race for world's domination, Google is reaching a way too far into our lives, Sergey Brin and Larry Page are grabbing a slice of pie in our everyday life be it voice, mail, search, health, maps, finance etc.

What do you think? Watch this scary video from current before voicing your opinion

This fun video in any way is not a reflection of author's views and is shared here just to get cheer on your face.

Courtesy: Current

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Is traditional Manager a history?

Today, I happened to pull out historical records of the IT program I am managing for last 3 years at my company. While doing some data churning, a unique observation stuck my mind – Till date over 62 people from different units of my company have directly or indirectly reported to me in this program in multiple capacities and at various intervals of time. About 70% of this workforce was out of sight as a result of globalization or virtualization of workspace. I know all of them by name, did work with them for months, have talked to some of them over phone at least 5 times a week and very well know the competencies for few of them but have never got a face to face opportunity to say ‘hello’ to most of them.

This makes me wonder how little line of sight and direct control I have over the work these team members do today. I still remember my early days when organizations were following military developed hierarchical practices where managing people and work was based on command and control. I had my superiors sitting next door to me and I learnt my management style and leadership on job from them. They use to correct every single mistake of mine at work. There was a personal touch and direct oversight. We use to see every single person in office, greet them with smile on the face every morning and use to go for morning and evening tea together as a group.

Gone are the days when I use to stand up in my cube to see my teams sitting all around the floor churning code. The work is still getting completed and several flawless deliveries go to my overseas client round the year. Teams have become way bigger, global and virtual. Most projects and initiatives have become cross units to take advantage of diverse expertise and skills needed to handle multi technology programs. Does this essentially mean, team members are self managing themselves and time has come when we don’t need managers or need fewer managers?

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Bankless Banking - P2P lending

Person-to-Person (P2P) lending is an innovative solution for credit worthy buyers who need money and lenders who have extra cash at hand. When US economy is in doldrums due to credit-market crisis, P2P lending business model is helping individuals who need small loans. Given the success of this consumer lending model, large financial institutions need to watch carefully the development in this space. One of the leaders in P2P lending is Prosper.

How Prosper works?

Lender registers at Prosper and sets a minimum interest rate they are willing to earn and bid in the increments of $50 to $25K. Lender can use credit scores, histories, borrowers personal stories, endorsement from friends and group affiliations to select borrowers.

Borrower creates a loan listing of up to $25K and set the maximum rate they are willing to pay to lender.

Prosper takes the bids with the lowest rates and combines them into one simple loan to the borrower. The company handles all on-going loan administration tasks including loan repayment and collections on behalf of the matched borrower and lenders. The company generates its revenue by charging borrower 1% to 3% fee on funded loan and 1% per annum loan servicing fee to lender.

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