Serendipity and Learning

User Friendly - easily the best book I have ever read on the evolution of Design Thinking.  Wanting - a fabulous book on Mimetic desire or rather how what we want is mimetic.  What does it mean to be an Indian - really the younger sibling of the magnum opus - The Heathen in his Blindness - is a fantastic short version of the original book by SN Balagangadhara. I finished both of them in 2021.  Out of this world - How NASA created the best team on the planet. Lateral Leadership - this is a book on a different approach to Leadership.  Working Backwards and The Amazon Management System - two books with an insight into How Amazon works.  India that is Bharat - a brilliant deconstruction of de-colonial thinking. Together with SN Balagangadharas book, this book shows us how we are trapped in a colonial thinking "matrix".  Subscribed - a book with some cool insights how products need to change as they move into a subscription model.  Seeing what others dont -...

As a leader we often expect our subordinates to take whatever feedback we give in a positive manner. Somehow as a leader we put the onus on the receiver.  I have a different view on this.  As a leader, it is your duty to learn the skills of giving feedback. Just because you happen to be in a position of authority doesn't mean that you feeedback will be taken whichever way you give it.  So, at the first point when you have people reporting upto you - please do yourself and the organization and the people who work with a favour and learn how to give feedback (all types).  It is a great foundation for your career ahead, leadership skills and the culture of the team and the company.  Sure there are examples of people who did not have this skill - but you dont have to be that way. You can tread a different path. 

  In the 1950s Daniel Berlyne was one of the first psychologists to offer a comprehensive model of curiosity. He argued that we all seek the sweet spot between two deeply uncomfortable states: understimulation (coping with tasks, people, or situations that lack sufficient novelty, complexity, uncertainty, or conflict) and overstimulation. To that end we use either what Berlyne called “diversive curiosity” (as when a bored person searches for something— anything —to boost arousal) or what he called “specific curiosity” (as when a hyperstimulated person tries to understand what’s happening in order to reduce arousal to a more manageable level). [HBR] That got me thinking. Where does Curiosity and L&D intersect and how does curiosity motivate people to learn? A lot of times in an org context, people seek learning when they are looking for something specific or when there is a desire for knowledge. It may also be exploration of a topic. So, my argument is that L&D falls largel...

In the olden days when blogging was a thing, people used to link each others blogs, like this. This is a link to Ravi's review of my book . Thank you Ravi.  So, yes, I did write a book .  The goal was to reach about 35000 words. And as soon as the writing and editing work was done, I suffered from a deep imposter syndrome. The first copies arrived and I could not bring myself to read the book afraid that there would be some error or other in it. When I read it, I was relieved that there were no errors.  And the book sold well, and some people bought copies for their teams and so on. So, thats one thing ticked off the bucket list. Write a real book with an ISBN number.  And yay, I am an author!

 As someone who was sceptical of Virtual Facilitation (I practically learnt it only in the post pandemic era), I have come to terms with it . And at some point, got comfortable with it .  But a hybrid session - with a few folks online and few offline is truly challenging. For one, the rooms are not built to take it. The facilitator voice has to be carried from where the facilitator walks. Two, we need to be able to treat them a group (or groups). Net result is a bit of a broken sub optimal experience. You forget to engage the virtual folks. Or if you are using a tool - a physical tool - they cant use it. Or they lose your voice and so on and so forth. We somehow managed it the last time we did a hybrid session - but yes, this is a problem that has not been solved for fully.  Some companies which have a built video conference rooms - these have mic pick ups throughout, the participants can see each other, the facilitator and the room - such places offer truly seamless hybr...

I purchased my first digital camera in 2001 or perhaps early 2002. A few days back I realised I had some of those old pictures stored away. Those images had a royal resolution of 1 mega pixel. The size of the photographs - every single one of them was less than 100kb.  At that point, digital cameras were still new. So new that people will still buying non digital SLRs and film cameras.  Approximately 20 years later, digital camera resolution has grown by leaps and bounds - our phone cameras offer resolution that was deemed impossible then.  I was in awe of the technology then - but seeing those images of 20 years  ago - I was in awe even more to see how technology has progressed. At that time, I was a coder (or thereabouts) trying to find my feet in the tech industry.  10 years ago, I had another digital camera with the resolution of approximately 12MP. And a few years back we stopped carrying cameras anywhere - only phones. 10 years ago I made another shift in ...

 Had a small interaction with a sales team of a learning company on "How to sell to L&D" folks. What is unique about selling to L&D folks? Having been on both sides of the table, here are some of my observations: As a seller: L&D teams want complete solutions. That doesn't necessarily mean they will buy the complete solution - but they want to know that you have the complete solution.  On the other hand they will want to integrate everything you have to everything they have even if it is an xl sheet. Or competency framework. They want everything to talk their language. They love customization. They will want customization. They will ask customization. They hate to pay for customization though. How to tackle this? Almost always never get into price negotiations. Get into value conversations. And as the price reduces, convey the value reduction. For this price, you get this - and so on. That doesnt mean you dont reduce the price - there are situations you will d...

 DT really unlocks peoples creative confidence.  When people work in a default manner, creativity is lost - worth noting for people/teams/organizations that are forever in "full speed" mode. When you know a problem too well, you may be actually limited in looking at in a new manner.  Reframing the business challenge is often difficult when seen through the default lens. Brainstorming is limiting. 108% Indian (the tool we used) enables people to see beyond "safe" creativity.  The options teams came up were mindboggling when they were given the cards. While DT is fast paced in a workshop, the time enables them to get comfortable with the process and make it their own.  Notes from a recent Design Thinking workshop I conducted. 

 If you, by chance go to a recipe site these days, the recipe will start with a story. And then a pointless anecdote and then other recipes and finally deep down is the actual recipe. Some of the not so sadistic recipe sites have a "jump to recipe" button. The reason is probably misplaced incentives . But that does explain it fully.  While writing a book (as in my own experience) there is a temptation to write and fill pages. But the reader will lose interest. The trick is to keep it short and punchy. This is difficult when the goal is to write x pages or y words.  In a TED talk - there are so many rambling stories that I find it easier to dive into the transcript, get the core idea and move out.  I was recently tasked with looking for some good online courses on a platform. There is so much rambling - somehow that is seen as necessary for the course to be seen as something with gravitas.  Or a podcast. So many of them have so many unrelated anecdotes it is impo...

 As I reader of non-fiction, some books are just pathetic to read. What makes a non fiction book pathetic? 1. They all look like they are written by the same person. There is a style to it. First it starts with describing what they wore, what they ate, a description, then a few words and then the deep insight (which is neither deep not insightful)  2. They are basically rehashed versions of other (lots of) books .  3. They are repackaged greatness . A set of people appreciate one another and write books cross referencing each other. Almost seems like a insider trading scam. 4. They become more about the author than the topic at hand. I recall a great book that I was a huge fan of and was looking forward to this authors second book and the second book was all about herself.   5. They cash in on a trend (and I buy them). And very soon they are out dated.  Thoughts as I finish a book with a great cover picture, but quite a pathetic one otherwise. This book som...

The other day I posted a tweet about the Metro work on Outer Ring Road Bangalore and tagged a few infra handles. That tweet got 250 plus likes. Whoever thought infra was s*xy? But it is and if you go to youtube you will find channels who report on the amazing levels of infra building happening in India.  The legion of amateur weathermen in India is impressive. Or for that matter musicians. Or chefs. The amount of acting, singing, art talent in India is visible on instagram where I often found myself wandering into rabbit holes.  And this is India. For every country you will find such rabbit holes of excellence, fun, dedication to craft, practice and learning on the internet. Of course, you will find trash, but well, thats par for the course. But you will also begin to see magic, so to say. Thoughts as I work on sharpening my video skills in preparation for the launch of the worlds first Sanskrit Game - Devabhaasha.  

The internet is a great barrier reducing machine. It removes hurdles from the path of most types of creativity.  Some years ago when blogging was at its peak, it almost threatened to disrupt normal courses of reading. Normal courses were books, magazines - both of which were highly restrictive and had fairly high walls. So, the more connected ones got opportunities regardless of talent. When the talented ones did get opportunities and they mostly returned the favour by making the walls higher. In those days getting published in a newspaper was a big thing. Once blogging came about, anybody could become a writer. It also changed the way people consumed information by breaking down barriers and making the consumption of information a two way process. From blogs to twitter it was a short hop. If it was not for the incessant blogging, there is no way I would have written daily and managed to eventually write my first book. If you are an aspiring writer, the time to start writing is now...

 Over the last year with the growth of OTT - I have ended up watching movies in many languages - some which I understand and many which I dont. But with subtitles, the barrier of language can be transcended.  What is intriguing about movies is the imagination and the stories. Yes. Duh.  But far more intriguing and possibly less obvious is the landscape.  In a Hollywood movie everything happens in NY or LA. In Bollywood much of the events happen in Mumbai or Punjab. In Kerala if it is a Malayalam movie and so on.  Even when they reach a different territory in order to have continuity, a character who speaks the language appears somehow (which again isnt implausible whether in India or abroad).  The imagination happens inside the known geography of the audience (for the most part). And using familiar elements a new story is constructed, yet again. 

As I was discussing this at home - my new found learning in creating videos - my son said, "Learning a technology is not a big deal. It is all about creating the technology" I agree. Just because you are consuming youtube, twitter and facebook and using an android phone or google doesnt make you techno-savvy. You are just a techno savvy user. But that is the starting point. And for the person who is not used to it - it is a big deal.  I remember my father using computers for the first time in the late 90s at work. Indeed when I started working, MSExcel had just started making inroads into finance (it was all Tally and books till then). And the first users were using MSExcel exactly like a book without any advanced features. Most of us who use MSWord or Googledocs - use only the basic features.  So the first step is to learn to use something. That is to be a consumer. 90% of the world are consumers. Probably more.  The next stage is to create content - for whatever reason....

 When was the last time you did something new? Mine was last weekend. When I tried my hand at creating youtube videos. I looked at a few video editing softwares, downloaded it (or used it off the cloud). Obviously, I was not very happy with my first few attempts and kept the video in a private mode.  A few hours later into this trial and error process, I realised that this is no different from blogging - where more than getting the writing right - it is all about getting the idea out there and continuing to work on it - and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  So, I put out my first few videos on the Coolture Designs video channel.  And the friend who had instigate this had warned - your first few videos are going to crappy and you will not have views - but keep at it - videos are the mode of the future (as much I am a reader and a consumer of the printed word more than videos) - so you better learn this skill.  So, that was last weekend. This weekend,...

 It is the Olympics. And one hears stories like these: The Philipines weightlifter  Our very own  Mirabai Chanu . Every Olympic story (even the ones who do not figure among the medals) is a story of grit, determination, relentless practice, giving up a lot of "nice" things in order to achieve something they think is important.  On the other hand, when we see the children study for their IIT/Medical or any other entrance exam we are tempted to say, oh, poor kid - how hard they work at an age when they need to be playing and singing (add your favourite non academic activity) But think of the youngest medal winner - who is all of 13 years old - surely the kid did not win a medal without putting in effort? Surely sports achievers do not spend time singing and dancing or studying - they spend time in sport.  The point being, it is perfectly ok for both types of efforts. The child is working hard regardless of whether it is in sports or academia or arts - and it is ...

 2021: Day 1 of school. Teacher asks the kids, "If you could invite a celebrity or two to your house who would that be?" Pause for a moment. If your mind thought, sportspersons, actors, artists - anybody who is conventionally well known - yes, anybody - were the answers the children gave - no. Apparently all the celebrities were YouTubers - rather, famous on YouTube. They were artists, diy-ers, singers, dancers, people who teach various things from workouts to yoga to making things - and almost all of them were non Indian.  The generation of today has a different meaning of celebrities. For them, the celebrities are not the ones covered on TV/newspapers - most of them don't watch TV as TV anyway. For celebrities are internet celebrities. And many of these are not celebrities in the conventional sense - some of them are conventional celebrities in other countries possibly, but mostly they are just someone with a YouTube channel - but of course, someone who has poured their...

 Recently we were talking to a learning consultant and they in in turn introduced us to a "Producer". The producer is the person who produces and creates the learning experience end to end. More than anything else, I liked the term. The fact that it is not a trainer or a designer for that matter or a content creator - but a producer - who is the single point for getting everything right in that learning experience.... Yes, we need more producers! PS: It turns out I was late to this party. Met another consulting firm that has producers - so looks like it is a thing!

 A few years back I worked with a consultant as a freelance trainer. They said they were content specialists. And that they would want to work with expert facilitators and so on. And I said yes.  Then they got their client, supposedly understood the requirements and came up with a content pack for 4 hours.  I went through the content and the content was a pot pourri of slides. There was no structure or framework. All the content was unattributed images from Google with a single text line (after all that was the latest in slide design). Every few slides there was an engagement activity (sometimes directly connected with the topic at hand - at other times irrelevant). Then there were quizzes where chocolates had to be thrown to the audience for answering correctly or making the right points. And there were group discussions where the audience was grouped into teams and left to discuss. Then there were role plays.  The entire content was grouped like a bad movie. A set ...

Often, I have prided myself about being ahead in the technology space. And when I say this, I mean, I am a user of most new things. A trier. An early adopter.  On virtual training however, it turns out I was a digital dinosaur - thought in my head I was a digital native. After struggling with virtual training (I did my first true virtual training in 2020), I felt I have got the hang of it and things seem to be working well. The sessions have gone on well, we have got good feedback.  Imagine my surprise when I met someone who was using digital tools far better than I had ever imagined. Part of it was because there are too many digital training tools and as a trainer -investing in any one (or few) is a dent on the pocket, but the second part was that I did not think they were required - and how wrong I was. And no, none of these uses were gimmicky or the digital equivalent of throwing chocolates at the audience) - they were well thought out, creative and very very relevant from ...

More automation means more training. Isnt this counterintuitive? This article is a very well written account from the perspective of piloting aeroplanes.  In a nutshell it is that as planes become more and more automated - in case of a failure, the risks are very high unless the pilot is skilled to that level and is able to handle an emergency. Todays pilots are those who can skillfully manage a plane. And when they are trained in automation - they know how to handle an issue. What happens in future as more and more basic tasks are taken over by the autopilot? And this might be an issue only for airplanes - no - it isnt. Years ago when I was handling a function, we faced this issue. As the project became more and more automated - we realised that exception handling was becoming more and more difficulty - because the skill levels of the incumbents were low.  This will begin to repeat across functions. And if you think about it - as the basic task becomes more and more easy, th...

The added benefit of reading this book was a bunch of good movies to watch out for - Bird box, Icarus, Roma and Mighty Little Bheem. The last one is pertinent since Netflix has really invested in bringing up the quality of animation of Chotta Bheem.  That apart, the book is a fantastic read. Though everything that Netflix has managed to implement - not every company can - like no company can really become another Amazon.  But some parts stood out and can be done for the most part. Candor and honest feedback for instance. Leading by context, not control as a next step. And the innovation part.  But what comes in the way is 1, the existing culture and 2, the investment of time and effort required in moving these existing cultural icebergs. And most companies fail at 2, because the day to day hustle always comes in the way.  All in all a fantastic read for anyone interested in corporate culture and a lot of things we take for granted as "culture". 

Every company wants to be an Amazon or a Netflix (regency effect because of the two books which I read recently), but few are willing to actually walk the talk in making it happen. Sort of in personal life I suppose - we all want a six pack (or some other goal), but are not very willing to go through the trouble to make it happen. Or even a BHAG - like creating something unique and going to market with it.  A few months back, I had a short coaching conversation with someone. At some point, I said, “Well, I want to do this and I want to do that” and pat came the response “What are you willing to do in order to get that?”

Somewhere in February last year I thought I should write a book. This is not a new thought. Like the seasons this thought comes and goes. I start with a lot of enthusiasm and then the enthusiasm fades away - because of the enormity of the task.  This time though, somehow, I was able to stick to it. Partly because someone pushed me to think about writing seriously and then proceeded to give some tips and hacks to make it happen and followed up on it. Partly because we were all stuck at home without too many distractions or needed something to focus on because we were stuck at home.  Whatever be the case, I managed to write close to 35000 words. I was happy. Thrilled.  Then I began to edit. If writing was tough, editing was killing. It was like a trek where you climb the first two hills and begin to feel good that you managed a tough climb. And then the guide points to a misty hill much higher up and says, that is where we have to reach.  But I plodded. A page a day. A...

A few weeks back I received this image. I saw it on Twitter and then someone forwarded it to me as well and I couldnt help but agree with it. While this is about writing, it is true about any other project as well. I love this graphic because of the simplicity with which it tackles the topic! This is the emotional journey of creating anything...Currently with a couple of projects in that swamp of despair, I can so relate to it.   

 Recently, I worked on an assignment for a youngish audience. The audience was just out of college and getting used to corporate life for a year or two in most cases. These would be people who are in their mid twenties. Born in the late 90s - this audience is our first experience of the generation gap. The generation gap is a big one for facilitators. For many reasons, but the outcome of that is that the audience doesnt connect with you.  By the time the 90s kids were in school - they would have had access to the internet and have been largely techno savvy.  That was the problem statement. How do we build content in a way that it resonates with this audience.  And thats when it struck us - to use gaming as an analogy. And showed corporate life from a viewpoint of a game that they need to play, collect coins, gain power ups and move up levels.  This simple construct, resonated so well with the audience - we had not imagined it striking such a strong chord.  ...

  A few days back I received a mail asking me to download an app for customer learning that promised to teach me to invest wisely. Being the curious types, I actually downloaded the said app and decided to take it for a spin. Here are my observations : First, it asked me for my personal data. Now already, for me, this is not customer education any more - it is about creating a sales pitch. #Fail Then it introduced a rabbit as a mascot. Why rabbit? There did not seem to be any logic. Atleast nothing that did anything for me to recall the purpose of a rabbit and associate it with investing.  Then it promised to show me interesting videos. I saw two videos. Topic 1: Inflation - and asks me to beat investments by investing in mutual funds. The rabbit came and offered me a badge - well begun. Topic 2: Compounding: Using the example of a mango tree - asks me to invest in mutual funds. The rabbit came and offered me a badge yet again. And a quiz. And a debutant badge somewhere along ...

When I was in school, I recall my mother telling me how she hardly knew to cook when she had just got married. I found it impossible to believe because she was such a fabulous cook. And she said no, I knew very basic things when I started off, so I had to ask people, try out things and slowly work on it until I got really good at it.  Today some 25 years after that she has added more skills and cuisines to her repertoire. Almost all mothers around are good cooks. This might seem obvious - all mothers are usually good cooks (add a few more skills) - but what is not obvious is that they get good at something over time.  I started making chutneys a few years ago - mainly to escape the boring routine of having to eat idlis in the morning. Now about 3 years into the process - I am actually very good at it. Indeed I made a chutney infographic (see the picture) - and have tried more varieties post that.  And India has humongous varieties of chutneys - with their local varia...

I have 30 years of experience, said this character in a popular sitcom of the 80s that aired on Indian television. Most of those who have seen this sitcom will remember this vividly. And this character would start every statement with "I have 30 years of experience". Recently in a conversation with someone, the person kept on bringing up 30 years of experience. However, what we heard post that sentence was, quite, tame and pointed more to blindspots, than to the experience.  Sometimes, experience can be a sunk cost that prevents you from seeing what is in front of you!

 A few days the son built Tetris on his own using a game engine. So what? It is a game that has existed - why go through the trouble of building it.  Turns out, a few friends decided to built Tetris in 2 days. They realised when they got into it that almost nothing can be done in two days. Realised because some managed to build a grid, some managed to get a small piece of code working and some just gave up. But one among them persisted and cracked it in a week. Another one copied code from Github and built something. So this guy decided to build it and see. And every few days he would share the progress or frustration depending on where he was. Starting from a single block, learning from youtube videos, de-bugging - after nearly a month of part time effort, Tetris has been built from scratch.  To me, this was a lesson on interest. There was interest. The challenge was high - but not too high (unlike the case whey they decided they can create a Machine Learning algorithm u...

Across all my mediums - Kindle and Hard copy, On my list at the start of the year are: The Human Cosmos - where the author takes into a way the cosmos has been mapped and seen by various cultures from the beginning of mankind. A fascinating journey - I intend to savour this book slowly. The Parasitic Mind - This is a thinking book. In a world where everyone seems to have the same, one-sided opinion - I hope this one enables my critical thinking.  Becoming Myself - a psychiatrists journey. I am halfway through this. While it is an autobiographical story, it is also a sort of history of psychiatry and psychology and I like it for that.  Fermats Last theorem - A story of how this theorem was solved - even for those not mathematically inclined. Geometry in Ancient and Medieval India - an exploration of ancient geometry. I got this book after much waiting.  Range  - a book on specialists versus generalists. I am not sure where I fit, so this seems an interesting read for ...