A paradigm shift for Engineering...

This 15th September commemorates the 150th birth anniversary of Sir M.Visveswaraya, one of the most  revered engineer across the globe. I have a lot of respect for this individual, not because he was an engineer, but he was a professional who thought about public good, in each of his deeds. I strongly recommend reading about his life and achievements. You wouldn’t get a better day than 15th Sep, to celebrate Engineer's Day.

But somehow, I feel off-late engineering as a degree has been degraded a lot, thanks to easy availability of seats, and selling of seats to people who can afford it, not who deserves it.  But there is always a question of why engineer's degree is not in sync with the work he is doing. And once you have done engineering, why should you do MBA..? Trust me - these are valid questions…

Here is my analysis -

Engineering is not a subject, not a degree; it is paradigm of looking at things, it is the attitude which molds your thinking, and problem solving abilities. It is not about why a diode works in a particular manner, it about if a diode is working in a particular manner, how can you utilize this capability to form a half wave rectifier or full-wave rectifier circuit. It is about how creatively you look at getting the half-wave rectifier or full-wave rectifier with the least number of diodes. It is the way you look at issues as cause v/s effect phenomenon.

Engineering is also not about just finding solutions to problems, it is also about working backwards - have a required solution/ end product in mind and then decide the how things should evolve in order to obtain the solution, or to put it simply - reverse engineering. So what is this?? This is the way you look at things - Management books call it Top-Down (forward engineering) and Bottom-Up (reverse engineering) approach.

In a series resistance structure, if one resistance fails, the whole current flow collapses; this is similar to how a typical hierarchical structure in an organization works, if one level fails to execute, the flow of information may be skewed, leading to wrong decision making. In a parallel resistance structure, even if one resistance fails, the circuit still continues to run, as the current is still passing through the other branches of resistance. Similarly, in an silo mode of management, even if one the branches of the company is not working correctly, the company still continues to thrive, because there are other supporting branches. Now the challenge for management is how best can it use this parallel and series structure of management to enhance optimal performance.  The challenge for engineer is also the same, but with resistors. So engineering is not about resistors, but how best you arrange them - this is the paradigm shift that is required.

This is one of the several examples which I can quote to say that my engineering attitude has helped me develop a totally different outlook towards issues, and ways to solve them.

So if you are a mechanical engineer who worked for a software company, in banking domain, and now with a MBA degree, looking out for a consulting job - there is nothing wrong, as long as you can prove people that engineering is a paradigm and attitude, not (just)a degree.

Happy Engineers Day!!!

Innovation = creativity * implementation

"Innovation is not creativity" - A statement made by Vijay Govindarajan, in one of the recent HBR blog. He has tried to quantify things in terms of a simple formula, which says an organization's capacity to innovate is the product of creativity and execution.

Just as I read this article, I came across an update on Google wave.  This was an update saying that it is withdrawing the Google wave product, by this year-end. When Google wave was first introduced, it literally waved across the user community, but it failed to increase the user-adoption. Does that mean, it was not user friendly - Not at all, it was infact very impressive. Then what failed ..??

One reason which I can recognize, for this failure is lack of a great business model. It just re-instated the perspective, that innovation is not just creativity, but also a strong implementation strategy (or a sustainable business model). One cant expect a mediocre business model to propagate a great product. If you give say 9 points (out of 10) to Google wave product per se, and there exists no business model to sell the product, implementation gets 0 points, the multiplication (9 x 0) of which gives 0. So net innovative quotient of that product is zero, even though it was a creative one. If the business model even propagates by 1 point, the overall score increases by 9. This is the splendor of a great business model.

As I skimmed through the humble submission of Google, my fascination for that company actually increased. We say that people don’t learn from their mistakes, how about organizations like Google?  This is the not the first product failure which the company has faced (some of the previous failures being Dodgeball, Jaiku, etc..  apologies for my bad memory), but still it thrives, and continue to be creative and (sometimes) innovative.  Google chandelled with a innovative search engine concept, and has leveraged that growth in expanding into various products.  But Google has never repudiated any legitimate failures, rather has accepted  them graciously and got motivation from each of the them, to succeed. I remember people saying, learn from your failures - and not every person can do so, only great persons can do so. It takes a lot of courage to accept your mistake and get motivation from the same.

Isn't it amazing to find out how organization and humans are analogous? Any maxim applied on humans almost applies to organizations. One great man said - "If you never failed; you never lived" , I bet Google would be the present Google, had it not failed.

Non-blood brotherhood - Reel or Real ..?

If you are thinking, this is another story of a soul crying brother-sister relationship, sorry to disappoint you!!

South India has not been too keen onraksha bandhanfestival historically. But still it was more of a fashion statement, for people to tie rakhis (or not to tie), primarily at school level. I remember my high school days, where we were 9 boys and 18 girls. It was a very good value proposition for girls to tie rakhis, as they brought only 9 rakhis, but boys had to buy chocolates/sweets for 18 girls. We hardly realized the value of brotherhood, and wore rakhis just like that. Thanks to my huge hands, I escaped from those small sized rakhis, though it hardly mattered to me (as I was pretty much sure, that there weren't any potential sister candidates for me.. haha.. ).

Solving this mystery of building relationships just by tying rakhis, has been a challenge, since my high school days, and it still continues to remain so, especially when I see incidences where, in the first year of engineering, a girl calls one as a bhaiyya and the next year they are in an affair.

In my personal opinion, nothing can beat blood. The brotherhood build out of blood relationship is the strongest raksha bandhan between a boy and girl. The most versatile relationship which I have come across, not bonded by blood is that of good friendship. The most fragile relationship which is again not bonded by blood is that with your spouse. Post my matriculation, I have not rejected any rakhi requests from my friends, but made it a point to say that - it doesn’t matter to me at all, and she better not expect any sort of brotherliness from me, and then she never tied it to me.

I don’t need a title of being a brother, to help / care for people. I don’t need a title of brother to serve my friend. I don’t need a title of brother, to guide a girl on a right path. Friendship has given me all the things that I want, for being a responsible and caring person. At the time, when counselors say that siblings should be like best friends, why should anyone tie a rakhi to his / her best friend and complicate things?

Finally, some food for thought -

How ironical things could become when a girl ties a rakhi and can afford spending a night with him, when people are debating whether brother-sisters really can't marry ?

Good Night!!!

Brand + Luck = Success

There were days when I used to think that luck was the least important thing to be successful. Infact I think the same even today, but with lesser conviction. That’s only because of experience, not just mine but also looking at others' . I have heard there are two types of people - wise people, who learn from their experiences; and wiser guys, who learn from others experience also.  I have tried to be in the later category.

Recently, we had a presentation to do regarding social media implementation for educational institutions in front of the professor & class. Ours was a group of 6. Over a grade of 10, I would rate my group, in terms of capability and talent @ 8/10. I must say, it was a pretty fine balance of pure knowledge, smart workers, hard-workers and hardly workers.  We had prepared considerably, but somehow I think, our power point wasn't really showing the work/ effort which we had put in.

It was presentation time, and ours was the 4th group to present out of the 5 groups. The advantage of having to present at a later part is that we know what is the expectation of the professor, but on the flip side, the class and the Prof would have lost interest, and we should do it really well to catch his/her attention. 

There were 3 people who were supposed to speak, starting with myself, followed by 2 other members, one who was like a lucky mascot ( atleast most of the times in the past; even though his group's presentations were a  bit cheek, somehow Profs were impressed), and the other had made a huge impression on the professor, in the previous course and had a brand image of her own.  But, having me in the group obviates it from being the best, especially in this Prof's class, as I had made a very bad impression, and he was one of those sadists who can punish a whole group, based on an individual.

Finally, I kicked off our presentation, and he seemed to be impressed from the beginning itself. It was carried on well by both my group mates. Overall, for that day, I must say, ours was the best presentation, based of the comments, the Prof passed.  He was very impressed with the flow of our presentation, to be particular.  I was infact surprised, what was it that made it such an instant hit, with him.

Then the wires inside my brain started analyzing all the things, that had happened.  Apart from the fact, that our group had that girl who had already made a great impression on the Prof, and we had a lucky mascot, I couldn’t find any great reason for our group to make it big.

I could clearly see how brands and luck could turns things around. Personal branding is a phenomenon, which I have been seeing a lot of value. The best part is you can have multiple brandings, based on the person with whom you have built it. It is equally dependant of how the other person perceives you and how you portray yourself. But the point of interest is, sometimes your luck builds your brand - something which I can't explain. 

However, I still expect a modicum of worthiness in recognizing the best works, though involuntarily, I want to have both the winning brand and luck in my group…  :)

Boomerang..??

There was a time when I thought, being an atheist was the most rational choice. But, I don't know why, I chose to be agnostic. Having seen deaths within my first blood relatives at regular intervals, starting from my maternal grandma (when I was 12 yrs) to the most recent demise of paternal grandpa, each one has had a different impact on my life. Mom always used to say – "Whatever service you do to these people, we would receive it at one time or another". Even though I disagreed with her statement, I made sure I did my best, only because I considered it as my duty, attaching as less emotion as possible. There were deaths, where my eyes didn't even wet.


Two years ago, around midnight, as I was standing next to my grandfather's bed, he held my hand, and I saw the line straighten in the ECG display. I knew he was no more and I don't know what happened, my eyes suddenly filled, my heart started to beat faster. I had to put some effort to release my hand from my grandpa's fist. I came out of the ward. I, along with my uncle went to home after completing some formalities. My grand-mom was sitting on the chair – I didn't know if I had to go to her or not, but she was a strong lady; she called me and told – "Your work will not go waste, you did your best".


Today, as I stand in the balcony of my hostel room, with the background score of my roomie's snore, I realize the truthfulness of her words. At the time, when I should have been somewhere else, should have been doing better things, here I am, struck up for some formal learnings, at the cost of what life had to teach me. But nothing has stopped, things are happening the way it has to happen, with or without me. Isn't it a paradox that you are present for situations where you could have been optional, and you are not present where ideally you should have been compulsorily? But the show goes with/without me.


I think, this is what the two lady warriors (read mom n grand-mom) meant when they said I receive for what I have rendered. May be, someone else who was optional is fulfilling a compulsory role. Life is truly a boomerang....

The true demeanor...

Yesterday, one of my friend commented - "Thoda to has le” (Atleast Smile). The matter of fact is that, I do realize that I don’t smile during a certain period, even though I make an effort to do so. Sometimes, I feel that it’s obviating for me to smile. I try being jovial, most of the time, infact I have been known for my loud laughter in many of the places I have worked. I try to work out a palatable solution to my problem of intenseness. My brain has been thinking about this thing, until I came across an article, which almost gave me an answer.

The story explained about the “Agni” god, and how Rishis placed fire in a specially prepared altar and made offerings of clarified butter while chanting the hymns in order to invoke the gods and moisten their lips, so that they showered blessings on earth. Going by the story, Agni got tired of having clarified butter, and had to consume something raw and primal, like raw woods. Agni, hence approached the Pandavas (remember Mahabharata) and begged them to let him burn to the ground a dense untamed forest. On Krishna’s advice, the Pandavas offered Agni an inherited forest land. After this, Agni regained his original splendor.

The writer excellently brings a similar analogy between how Goddess Kali (wild and blood thirty) turns to Goddess Gowri (demure and docile), when tamed and domesticated. However, there are times when Goddess wants to break-free, become Kali for a day or two, and regain her original splendor. These are kind of regenerating activities.

This gave me a solid reason, as to why sometimes, I lose my temper so soon, or why I struggle to smile. No doubt, I feel a sense of freeness when I fight an argument without much diplomacy, because that’s me. I have my own original forest and flames. Even though I may not choose to nurture those flames and burn forests, I prefer to be truly myself for a change.

I do realize I have lost a lot of people because of these transitions, but they were friends of “Camouflaged Shravan”. And those who have seen my flames and still chosen to be with me are my true friends and off course the number is small.

Don’t be surprised, after some years, if I am spotted with my friends in the footpath adda where we used to drink 2 rs tea, and not in a posh restaurant…

Means v/s Ends

Caution: This write-up is not intended to find ways to root terrorism or suggest any ways either. This is a sincere attempt to analyze the working of a terrorist organization, and see what best can be derived from it to improve the generic state of legitimacy amongst organizations. 








Terrorism has always been discussed at various levels in any country, depending on the incidences that have happened and affected its operations.



This is the meaning which you find in Wiktionary –

terrorism (usually uncountable; plural terrorisms)

1. The deliberate commission of an act of violence to create an emotional response through the suffering of the victims in the furtherance of a political or social agenda.
   
2. Violence against civilians to achieve military or political objectives.
   
3. A psychological strategy of war for gaining political or religious ends by deliberately creating a climate of fear among the population of a state.
   

But let's see terrorism as a product of a group of people called terrorists. The working of these organizations is no joke, and the brinkmanship involved in managing these organizations is the challenge.




Through this blog-post, I intent to find answers to the 3 below questions –

1. What are the funding requirements and how is it made possible?
2. What are the spending areas?
3. What are the revenue streams?

First, the funding requirements can be classified into 2 areas –

1. Funding specific terrorist operations

   These costs include costs of precursor materials like vehicles, improvised bomb-making components, maps, surveillance, material etc.

2. Organizational costs to develop and maintain the infrastructure and to promote ideology.

   Terrorists organizations involved in geographical conflicts have a constant need of funds to support the organization and their activities in territories they control or act in. These may include things like –

• Salaries/subsistence.
  This includes individual operative's day-to-day expenses and perhaps of their dependants.
• Communication Systems
  This forms the heart of the organization. A cell would be generally present to facilitate communication with its members and perhaps the parent network.
• Travel, Training & Logistics
  Training of operatives continues to be an important investment, both in terms of ideological indoctrination and practical skills. The travel expenses include the procurement of false documentation. These travel expenses includes those which are spent on operatives to receive training or other forms of indoctrination prior to the operational phase of a plot.
• Shared funding
  When two or more organizations share a common ideology and goals, it may be called upon or feel compelled to share few resources like network capacities, etc.

These diverse funding requirements indicate that although individual terrorist's attacks can yield great damage at low financial cost, a significant infrastructure is required to sustain international terrorist networks and promote their goals over time. According to National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the US, Al Qaeda is believed to have spent some USD 30 million per year prior to the September 11 attacks on funding operations, maintaining its training and military apparatus, contributing to the Taliban n high level officials, and sporadically contributing to the related terrorist organization.


So how do does organizations manage to get these funds? Let's be clear that these people are not dumb heads to get only from easily traceable resources. These organizations get funded through legitimate sources including charities, businesses, and through self-funding by terrorists and their associates. The concept, where legal funds, for example money stemming from collection by charities or governmental subsidies and social benefits, are diverted for purposes of radicalization, recruitment or terrorism is called "black-washing".


Charities are one of the key sources of funding. This is because, they enjoy public trust, have access to considerable sources of funds, and their activities are often cash-intensive. Furthermore, some charities have a global presence that provides a framework for national and international operations and financial transactions. Finally, charities are subject to significantly lighter regulatory requirements than financial institutions or publicly-held corporate entities, depending on the country and legal form of the charity and reflecting their principally non-financial role. Terrorist organizations use sham organizations to pose as legitimate charities to disguise terrorist financing activity and provide apparently legitimate explanations for links with terrorist groups.


Apart from these, there are the mundane ways of getting money through criminal activities like extortion, drug-trafficking and activities like cheque/ credit card frauds, etc.
The next thing which has been haunting me for a considerable time is how does the funds move in the organization. The literature developed on terrorist finance developed since 2001 has emphasized the great adaptability and opportunism that terrorists deploy in meeting their funding requirements. The most impressive part of the document is the answer to the question – "How do terrorists raise and move funds? "is "Anyway they can".


There were many cases which the document highlights that raising, moving and using of funds for terrorism can be especially challenging and almost indistinguishable from the financial activity associated with everyday life. The biggest challenge is that the connections between funds and terrorism can be extremely difficult to determine in the country of origin, when the terrorist-related activity itself takes place elsewhere. The movement of money can be judiciously classified as –

• Use of financial system.

  The speed and ease with which funds can be moved effectively within the international financial system allow terrorists to move funds effectively and often without detection between and within jurisdictions. Combined with other mechanisms such as offshore corporate entities, formal financial institutions can provide terrorists with the cover they need to conduct transactions and launder proceeds of crime when such activity goes undetected.

• Physical movement of money.

  This is one way is one way terrorists can move funds without encountering the AML/CFT safeguards established in financial institutions. The movement of cash across borders is prevalent in countries where the electronic banking system remains embryonic, or is little used in populace.

• Alternative Remittance Systems.

  Use of ARS is basically due to convenience and access. The role of ARS in terrorist financing may be primarily an "end-user" gateway; i.e. ways through which new or stored funds are passed to operational cells.

Now that we know why organizations need money, how organizations get money, spend money and finally how does the money flow in the global environment, let's see what can we derive.



A quick recap of funding requirements -



The funding requirements of modern terrorist groups are not just associated with conducting terrorists' attacks, but also with developing and maintaining a terrorist organization and its ideology are significant. Funds are required to promote a militant ideology (vision), pay operatives (onsite employees) and their families, arrange for their travel (travel request), train new members (fresher's induction program), forge documents, pay bribes(this happens in every corporate), acquire weapons (new development tools – ERP, SAAS, etc.), and stage attacks (projects running live).


If you observe things that are written in parenthesis, one would realize how working of a terrorist organization has similar to that of any other MNC. Infact the efficacy in which the terrorist organizations work has something for every other MNC to learn.


Many people have opined that Means and Ends are equally important. But the question which I pose here is – How we learn to effectively learn the usage of the means (how terrorist operate and perform) to achieve noble ends (what would a legitimate business work towards)?


I think the biggest learning for any legitimate business to from terrorist organizations is – "Come what may" attitude of terrorists. I also see the value behind the money which each terrorist outfit spends on the indoctrination. Do our institutions spend proportionately to spread their vision and values? Not Really!! Putting boards telling the vision n mission wouldn't suffice. Where is the osmosis?


Finally I would like to mention that, in course of finding the information to learn about the working of a terrorist organization, I got to come across several cases, but one thing struck the chord – Usage of orphanage money to kill people – this case study was a very disheartening one and it was an just one of several cases. If we can draw few points like dedication, "come what may" attitude from them – why can't they learn from us about more noble means..? (Well better said than done).