Security & Success - Oxymorons!!!

"Job Security" - I know everybody loves to have a secured job, so that they can enjoy their life. I actually believe that the job security is probably one of the worst enemies a person can have, it's a huddle to become successful in life. I feel security brings complacence, makes a person defocused from the actual goal. Security brings lethargy & more importantly, it affects the quality of your work. After all, an average output won't take the job away from you, isn't it??? Then why toil so hard???

Hence I strongly feel the need of a new working model for the IT Industry. In IT services, people work like log to deliver "something" before the "deadline". In IT product companies, people enjoy a relatively flexible deadline, since they need to produce something "innovative".  Well, there is nothing wrong with either of these two mindsets as long as they are aware of the value provided to the customer. But, I get overwhelmed, when I see the extremes of these two approaches. What is even worse, at times, the management has no clue on what value they are adding to their customers thru the product/service. In my 8 years of work experience, I have seen many such cases. Come-on guys, isn't it very fundamental? Aren't we supposed to ask ourselves - why should the customer pay for this??? Most of the time, people don’t think about this since they feel it’s a “management level question”. Ahh, that hurts. But if you see their perspective, they are quite right. They are doing what they are asked to do.  It may or mayn’t be adding value. But, their salary is coming anyway.

If the management asks you – "unless the customer is benefited from your product/service, you guys will be fired in next 6 months..." Ahh, then it will be fun. Everybody will just focus on one thing. That’s creating a service/product which benefits the customer!!!. Their productivity will be at a crazy high level. I am sure the overall quality will be fantastic, people would give their best & you will have a company which is automatically customer focused - no need to spend on a special CRM program!!!

Bottom line is: Take job security away, And you will have a flurry of top-performers!!!

2nd Test - IND Vs SA - 3rd Day - ~Teatime

We have been discussing - when India should declare? Here is the status as of now:

Day 3 - Session 2
    * India RR 4.20
    * Last 10 ovs 44/0 RR 4.40
    * Min overs remaining 43.1

South Africa 296
India 525/6 (124.5 ov)

India lead by 229 runs with 4 wickets remaining in the 1st innings.Dhoni at 74 & Laxman at 86.

Points to be considered:
1. How the pitch is going to behave in next 2 days? If it is getting more batting friendly (which looks to me at this moment), then at least 1.5 days will be required to bowl SA out. This means, they will get to play ~140 overs. At an average of 3.5, they will score ~450.

2. How comfortable are we to bat in 4th innings? Well, we all know India's track record in 4th innings. Even a 100 run chase might look like a humongous task for them. So India will try it's best to avoid batting in 4th innings.

3. How important is it for India to win this match? Well, definitely they would like to level the series by winning & retain the no 1 position in ICC ranking.

Given all above circumstances, I feel India will look to achieve a lead of 400 before putting SA in!!!

Let's see.....

Sachin - 100 100s...No Big Deal

Do you know - How many times Sachin has scored 90+, but missed century? It's 18 in One Dayers & 7 in Test Matches. Well, currently his century count stands at 45 in One Dayers & 46 in Test Matches. Awesome cricketer, awesome figures!!! Hats off to Sachin. I wish him to score atleast 50 centuries in each version of the game. I know it's greed from my side, but I can't help it. He is a great cricketer & he deserves this.

My prediction is - Sachin will score 50 centuries in One Dayers & will retire immediately after 2011 world cup. At the same time, I feel, he will continue to play test cricket till 2013. And if that happens, I am sure he will score 55+ test centuries. I pity Ricky Ponting; so near, & yet so far :)

Interesting to figure out that - Ricky Ponting's presence will prolong Sachin's test career. And the best part is: he will be under pressure to perform every time for 2 key reasons. 1. Ricky is just there, it's a matter of time. 2. India doesn't get to play too many test matches. Recently you saw him scoring 2 centuries in as many matches against Bangladesh. The very next match, he scored yet another century against SA. I will not be very surprised if he does it again in the 2nd match against SA.

Keep watching Sachin, He is the Best!!!

Chai Time...

I was having a cup of tea with couple of my colleagues, when we saw an accident. 3 cars, crashing back-to-back, and the scene was quite horrifying. Thankfully, everybody escaped unhurt. What struck me at that point of time - "It could have been more devastating. People could have lost their lives. And anybody could have been a victim there - you, me, our friends". Oh boy, when you see such freaky things, you get a different kind of feeling. You feel thankful to God that no matter what the worries of life are, you are still alive. For a moment you forget your personal burdens, your professional desperation, & you wake up to a very refreshing thought - you are lucky to be here on this earth!!!

And hence, the bottom line is: Enjoy & more specifically Enjoy the very moment, the very today. Trash those worries, better keep them for tomorrow which is anyway uncertain :)