End of Programmers

The advances in technology witnessed exodus of unimaginable number of workers, especially amongst renowned automotive manufacturers. That was couple of decades ago. And, when the industrial age workers paved way for the emergence of knowledge workers, the job losses and sufferings of those deprived of work were relegated to the annals of business history with the stamp of unskilled workers. And, of course the subsequent progress in computing and widespread automation ensured continuous focus on companies in the realm of technology.

Sometime during this phase saw the emergence of India as a knowledge factory, essentially a coding hub for the world. Blue-chip companies, Indian as well as foreign, established base in India to leverage cost arbitrage, which was set as a differentiator by early movers. Young engineers and graduates with no inclination to coding could find high-paying jobs as the industry matured. No one was bothered about the growing similarity of the Indian IT industry to the famed auto industry in the west that let go off thousands of workers.

A recent report in Economic Times could perhaps awaken the thousands of software engineers from their comfort zone. It is obvious. Many in India would soon be rendered jobless.  Anyone who has been watching the transformation in the travel industry would note the rapid changes owing to the burgeoning online travel portals. It was just an indication that automation and software can change our lives. It is also an indication that technology can replace people. There are two key factors that would prove to be a death knell for the once in vogue Indian programmers. One is the rapid technological change we are witnessing everyday over the last couple of years, which is forcing businesses to rethink and re-engineer their business and operating models. Secondly, the advancement in technologies is also forcing businesses to realize more value from their workers. In other words, there is now increased focus on improving productivity more than ever. Time for programmers to ask - What can I do, right now that would be the most powerful use of this moment?

Three imperatives for social media marketers

Progressive organizations are grappling with what could be the most effective strategy on social media. While consultants and practitioners draw up framework and present compelling case studies to persuade organizations into increasing their spend on this fast evolving and critical customer touch point, the perceived lack of appropriate metrics and limited understanding of potential outcomes appears to be constraints for in-house marketers and communicators. After a session on social media with John Bell, the following factors came to my mind as essentials for any organization’s success in social media. 

 

Be convivial: It is common to see organizations making themselves present in a plethora of social platforms without actively engaging themselves in any initiatives. Most often, the decision to be present is a result of the marketer’s reticent attitude; after all she should tick against that present in her to-do list. In a customer-centric platform, one cannot play a docile role, especially after marking your entry. Such a restrained approach also implies lack of appropriate investments in resources to ‘man’ the platform. In effect, the organization forcefully adopts a ‘mute’ strategy. No better case than what consulting giant McKinsey went through in 2011 when it struggled to appease media and others who questioned one of its reports.  When you plan to adopt social – be social. 

Transparent processes – Marketing and communication experts often ensure that the social media and brand guidelines are so exhaustive and stringent that proactive and enthusiastic bloggers within the company doze off after two pages or else are petrified of contributing. Organizations can instead create broad points which will ensure that social media ambassadors adopt a self-regulating approach when they venture into social media. The processes of marketing and communication in today’s ‘social’ era cannot be restraining. An increasing number of organizations are working towards personalization (knowing customers as individuals), creating a system of engagement; maximizing value creation at each touch point and finally, ensuring a standard culture (including brand promises). Well, it is safe to assume that such a move would start internally; understanding their own employees who are also potential customers.

An organization with such advanced systems in place can certainly create a transparent process wherein every employee can actively engage in social media and contribute substantially. 

Feedforward – Change in behaviour could potentially transform one’s life, let alone social media initiatives. A friend of mine, while trying to improve his firms social media initiatives, informed his content creator,’ let us build more such compelling Q&A’s as you did in the last month – they seemed to be engaging. By the way, we need to focus a bit more on improving the quality. Let me know what we can do.’ He had told me that the content creator was focused on increasing the number of articles and hence overlooked ‘attention to detail.’

Feedback focuses on the past and can be limited and static while Feedforward can make any initiative more fun and enjoyable.

God’s the Social Media

While young, it was common to hear elders saying, ‘remember, whatever you do, God’s constantly observing you.’ It was a tactic primarily adopted when they pre-empt something inappropriate from a youngster. God has become the social media today.

Today, we as individuals are tested in every step we take - an interaction in person or online. With eyes constantly trained on the mobile and keeping pace with the rapid flow of social media updates from friends, relatives and others, many often click intrusively into others personal matters or leave their pages open with little left for others to imagine. We are unquestionable treading into a world where there is no return. Many are known to have lost jobs because of their social media updates. Weird but true.    

Taking a leaf out of the new marketing normal wherein customers are increasingly being seen as individuals and not as segments, we should know that the same transparency that allows us to understand others as an individual; conversely allows others to understand everything about us. Further, this would mean that the dissonance between who we are and what we portray would be known to not just those who are in our network but by others whom we might not even know. Thus, in today’s connected world, the measure of one’s success would be a result of how authentically one balances the dissonance. Marketers attempt to close the gap between the brand promise by building a system to ensure that in every interaction brand and culture are one. The same should apply to individuals.

If you want to be good, be good.

Hubris Born of Success

When you are good at something, you tend to show off. Most often, when people ask you to share the success recipe, you extend an analytical response – simply attempted at making the recipe complex. If you’ve noticed, the next moment onwards, that analytical response starts playing in your mind and most often you fail to repeat your success. The shift from an intuition based success to one based on false analysis is pretty common. People who do this tend to add a swagger to their walk.  

   

I have noticed that with a cricketer who has been in the limelight recently for the wrong reasons. 

Success attracts skeptics. Indian Premier League has been no different. However, the last few weeks that has seen some of cricketing world's prominent personalities scurrying for legal cover seem to prove the skeptics right. Why do these people with the potential of furthering their success get themselves into such positions? Is there a lesson for others when such people can go from an iconic status to irrelevant? Jim Collins' book, 'how the mighty fall,' could perhaps provide some insights. As he writes, if companies such as Motorola, Circuit City, and Fannie Mae — icons that once served as paragons of excellence — can succumb to the forces of gravity, then no one is immune. After all, it is individuals who run these companies. 

Be it N.Srinivasan who was at the helm of affairs in cricket in India or Sreesanth or Vindoo Dara Singh - the common thread running through them is that they seem to have become insulated by success. Jim Collin's calls it 'hubris born of success.' People become arrogant, regard success virtually as an entitlement, and they lose sight of the true underlying factors that created success in the first place. Further, such an attitude leads to undisciplined pursuit of more—more growth, more acclaim, more of whatever those in power see as "success." People often stray from the disciplined creativity that led them to greatness in the first place, making undisciplined leaps into areas where they cannot be great or grow faster than they can achieve with excellence—or both.

So, what could be the solution?

It is important to learn to discount success and work incessantly to position one as stronger and better-positioned, as each day passes.

Desire for growth is the problem

Was reading 'in search of the obvious' by marketing guru Jack Trout. Found some very interesting views that aren't just applicable to marketing and businesses but in life as well. 

The well-known economist Milton Friedman put it perfectly when he said, "We don't have a desperate need to grow. We have a desperate desire to grow." That desire for growth is at the heart of what can go wrong for many companies. Well, it is what triggers disappointments for individuals as well. Growth is the by-product of doing things right. But in itself, it is not a worthy goal. In fact, Ggrowth is the culprit behind impossible goals.

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Costa Rican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellow-fin tuna.

The American complimented the Costa Rican Tico on the quality of his fish, and asked how long it took to catch them.

"Only a little while," the Tico replied. The American then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish. The Tico said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Tico fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife Maria, stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Wall Street executive and could help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat and a Web presence. A scalable, go-forward plan would provide capital for several new boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to San Jose, Costa Rica, then to Los Angeles and, eventually, New York City, where you would outsource tasks to third-party clients to help run your expanding enterprise in a vertical market."

The Tico fisherman asked, "But senor, how long will all this take?"To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then, senor?"

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right, you will announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You will make millions."

"Millions, senor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you will retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you can sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings, where you will sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."