Menu

Author: Manish Mohan

Is Free a Concept that Works Only in Abundant Economies?

May 14, 2010
| 2 Comments
| Categories: abundant economies, Free

I have been quite enamoured by the whole open source, free software concept, coming to believe that companies can make money by giving things away for free. So when Seth Godin wrote about two lemonade stalls applying different business models, it made perfect sense. There's one stall selling lemonade at $1 per glass and another giving it away free with a tip jar. And the little girl giving away free lemonade made a fortune in tips. But then I wondered what would the situation be for the two stalls if…

Read More

Where am I?

May 11, 2010
| 3 Comments
| Categories: Announcement, employability

No, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. Just moved into a new role and back in Delhi. And that’s what’s taking up a lot of my mind-space. New role, new team, new projects, new clients… Blogging has been slow and there’s been a recession of my online presence. Things are settling down and hopefully in the coming few months, I should be back on my online presence track.A very interesting part of my role is that I am responsible for many employability projects in India. It feels…

Read More

Recognition Beyond Awards

March 15, 2010
| 4 Comments
| Categories: acknowledgement, Management, people, people management, recognition

A few years ago my boss said to me in a review meeting that we weren’t doing enough recognition. I defended we were probably doing too much. We had Star of the Month, spot awards, recognition mails etc. I also felt exceptional work should be recognized not just great work. And then a little while ago, an Aha moment for me happened. Recognition is not just about awards, it is also about acknowledging the work being done that is just supposed to be done. A simple Thank You can go…

Read More

Dealing with Office Bully

February 3, 2010
| 10 Comments
| Categories: case study, Management, Office bully, people, people management, Work

I recently received an email seeking my advice on how to deal with an office bully. Hi Manish, It has been a long time since I interacted with you. The project that I am on is beginning to gain momentum and it seems it's going to be a rugged and enjoyable ride throughout the year. Today I write seeking your guidance. A guy in the office who has been in the company for not more than 5 or 6 months has developed a tendency somehow for irritating me. He does…

Read More

Social Media is a Waste of Time

January 26, 2010
| 2 Comments
| Categories: Blogging, Facebook, Productivity, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter

I am sure you’ve heard this before, what with 54% companies banning social media sites. Of course, Twitter and Facebook are complete waste of time. Reading and writing blogs is a complete waste of time too. I also hear some executives say email is a waste of time too. And phone? What does everyone talk about anyway? They should get off the phones and just work (and I have had managers complain that personal calls were affecting productivity of some people). I think books are a waste of time too.…

Read More

How to Kill an MIS

January 26, 2010
| No Comments
| Categories: IT, MIS, Sarcasm

Here are five easy ways to kill your MIS: Make it hard to access the MIS. Don’t automatically give access to everyone who needs it. Add special permissions that need multiple approvals for access. Have multiple logins.Make it hard to access data. Have too many clicks to reach the data. Have reports that aren’t intuitive and require you to make multiple selections.Have useless data parameters.Shrug your shoulders when data isn’t right. Garbage-in-garbage-out, right. So when the MIS throws up data that is meaningless simply shrug your shoulders and say that…

Read More

Are You Having Fun?

January 12, 2010
| No Comments
| Categories: fun, Life, Tips

The eight irresistible principles of fun from Box of Crayons, “an irresistibly funky animated movie designed to help you create more fun in your life” Stop hiding who you really are. Take the time to figure out what makes up your DNA.Start being intensely selfish. Get hungry for things that are truly important to you.Stop following rules. It’s no longer about what you can’t do, it is about what you can do.Start scaring yourself. Explore the edges; dip your toe in the outrageous.Stop taking it all so damn seriously. Lighten…

Read More

How to Become a Thought Leader

January 11, 2010
| 1 Comment
| Categories: Leadership, Thought Leader

Three easy steps to become a thought leader: Have a thought. You can’t be a thought leader without a thought. Have a point of view about everything, be opinionated.Share your thought. It’s all very good to have a thought but it is quite useless unless you share it. To be a leader assumes you have followers. You can’t have followers if no one knows what your thoughts are. It’s easy to share. Share more at workplace, be a node of reference, start a blog, don’t pass on an opportunity to…

Read More

Development Goals for Leaders

January 10, 2010
| No Comments
| Categories: Leadership

Another great post by Dan McCarthy on 12 development goals for leaders. He is spot on for the 12 development goals for leaders. There are additional ones suggested in comments on his post, but I quite like the 12 he lists. Thank you Dan. Head over to his post for more. Strategic thinkingListeningCoachingFinancial acumenCross-functional knowledge and perspectiveIndustry, competitive, and customer knowledgeLeadership presenceChange leadershipRemote managementCollaborationTalent managementTime management

Read More