Life Coach - Kaikaku - 17 - Bargaining power

Again a blog that starts in different directions only to merge later. Sometimes I feel this is a pattern of my life too. I dabble in completely unrelataed things and somehow, somewhere they are all related. Seems like there is a unseen coordinated pattern running the show and I am only the player acting it out.

1. I drive an Altima Nissan. It is a lower end car which serves my need of transportation. One good thing about this car and many other cars in the same class is their ability to inform the driver of any possible malfunction in addition to service reminders - misfiring, my battery starting to die down, seat belt not fastened, doors not shut completely and things of such nature. All I do is take it to the service center where they connect a meter which reads the code and I know what exactly needs to be fixed. Expensive cars come with more functions / alerts / warnings.

2. Wal Mart exerts a lot of influence over its suppliers. If it says that they should introduce RFID on the pellets for easier stock taking and inventory control, they do it. If Wal Mart wants sandwich bag makers to sell their stuff unbranded, they do it.

http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2010/02/score-another-one-for-the-good-guys.html If they want cereal makers to drop their prices due to recession, they do it by making the boxes smaller removing the excess volume of emptiness that make the boxes bigger and occupy shelf space.

3. I recently had the opportunity to try a Kevlar bullet proof jacket. It was so light. I remember my RR bullet proof of ceramic plates. It weighed around 16 kg including the groin guard and patka and we had to walk the hills of Doda with it. Kevlar was so light in comparison - around 6 kg and flexible too.

4. I recently purchased a jacket to face the Canadian winters. It had pockets in the right place - a pocket on the arm sleeve for my keys, a slant pocket for cell phone, a pocket for wallet, Ipod, camera, internal chamber for Ipod wires so that they do not dangle around. It was a well designed jacket apart from the fact that it was water proof, warm for temperatures upto minus 30 C, machine washable and so light. Then I remembered my RR jacket and parka - heavy, voluminous, pockets ill designed.

5. I purchased a hat - it fits snugly on the head and has floppy sides with in built detachable parka, has a mesh for breathing, chin strap, it protects the forehead (rigid flap) as well as the back of the neck from the sun (floppy flap), etc.

6. I buy an item in Wal Mart, Target, Kohls or any big super store. If it does not work the way it should be, I can return the item to any of its branches across US - unconditionally. Now consider our Canteen Stores Department - I bought a heating pad and the element failed, a food processor whose bearings wore out within 3 months. I had to take it to the service center for repairs. In case of the processor there was no service center in Mumbai.

Defence services are a big market to any supplier. It is sometimes a wonder what our bargaining power is. Is it just in getting items cheaper than the market rates? Why do we not use our bargaining power for insisting that manufacturers provide us features that we need. Could an air bag have saved Jitender Pandit's life? I dont know. But I have seen at least 3 army jeep accidents that have been fatal wherein an air bag could have make a difference.

The more I browse through stores both virtual and online, the more I see and relate to what we can do better with our bargaining power. Let me blog top of the mind things.

1. Vehicles with options of seat belts, alerts, air bags, service reminders

2. CSD - unconditional return of defective items

3. Clothes well designed, hats, jackets, trousers, pitthu- functional and utilitarian

4. Tents, bivouacs, store tents, pandals for mandir/gurudwara parades/langars/raising day that are light, easy to install and durable and keep sun and cold out depending on what you want

5. Tools for tradesmen - for example pneumatic drills, nail guns, laser levellers, spray painting guns, tons of tools that I can think of

6. Bullet proofs - Kevlar based http://www.ktsm.com/news/bulletproof-clothing

7. Air proof coffins / body bags- sorry about that, but we do need it if we want the body to reach the home with least deterioration

8. Fuel pumps for pumping fuel fast and without leakage

9. Electric meat cutting slicers, coconut scrapers, electric knives and other kitchen equipment http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1835665&cp=2568443.2568448.2626057.1259989

10. Steam press http://www.unbeatablesale.com/re114.html?srccode=cii_11138&cpncode=23-75314384-2 Most of the commerical operators use such kind of press. It takes 30 seconds to press a trouser and maybe a minute for a shirt at the most.

And I repeat that we can get them at the same price as before, if we only ask for them. Or we can build a business case of efficiency and hence total cost of ownership if needed.

The issue here is not whether we need these features or not, but more about do we really know our bargaining power and are we making use of it.

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 16 - Innovation Center continued

The following edited comment from Rajesh Snehi is precisely what makes it important to create an Innovation Center.

"Due to the steep hierarchy, there is a problem with the ideas reaching the right person for further action. In the IAF an officer is required to submit a service paper along with his AR mandatorily. If he so desires, he may choose to put up a service paper every week. But the problem, in my opinion lies in the focus shifting from the merit of the idea to the quality of service writing. Secondly, most of the time no feedback is received of those papers that are forwarded up in the chain. Thirdly, in today’s fast paced world, it takes a long time..."

There will be problems that we have to handle - how to motivate people to contribute, what should be the reward and recognition policy, how to ensure quality over quantity, but these are normal with every organization and easy to overcome. First comes the intention, next the desire and lastly the plan to execute.

So what should be the plan to move this forward?

Establishment of an innovation center

The establishment of an innovation support structure has two phases

• Elaboration of strategic directions; and
• Operational planning and implementation.

Elaboration of strategic direction

The elaboration of a strategic direction for the innovation support structure would comprise the following activities:

• identify a possible general manager or coordinator;
• define objectives of center (with general manager or coordinator);
• define the center’s corporate structure;
• define participants (stake-holders) in innovation structure (network) or innovation center;
• identify government agencies (departments of industry and technology);
• identify universities and other public R&D organizations;
• identify banks and other financial institutions;
• identify private persons and organizations;
• define the board membership;
• define the activities of the innovation support structure;
• innovation awareness advertising;
• training and awareness seminars for inventors/researchers/associates;
• invitations to inventors/researchers/associates to submit proposals;
• evaluation of project potential of submitted inventions/innovations (technical & commercial);
• selection of projects with success potential (and rejection of non-viable projects);
• development of commercialization strategies (business plans);
• management advice for project development and commercialization;
• internet site with information on center and links to other relevant sites;
• technology to enable idea capture, collaboration, records management, work flow documentation, approval process, project management

Operational planning and implementation

Operational planning and implementation of the plan for establishment of the innovation support structure (network, center) would include the following activities:

• recruitment of Innovation Champion by the Board;
• identification of site/premises for offices of the Innovation support structure
• formulate policies and procedures for operations;
• policy relating to initial free consultation (e.g. 1 hr. duration);
• policy on further support (e.g. project equity, note fee by Center);
• produce a check-list to assist Inventors/Researchers to submit proposals;
• produce a score sheet to facilitate project evaluation;
• select local advisers to innovation support structure;
• select project assessment panel and seek views on checklist and score sheet;
• select accountants and auditors for Innovation Center;
• select legal advisers for Innovation Center;
• identify technical experts to assist in project evaluation;
• develop and apply pro-forma and model agreements;
• pro-forma confidential disclosure agreement;
• pro-forma supply of materials agreement;
• pro-forma assignment of rights;
• model R&D, license, and joint venture agreements;
• create and publish internet site with information on innovation support services and links to other relevant sites;
• engagement of business development executives

Typical list of policies and procedures (not comprehensive)

• Innovation policy
• Innovation center vision document
• Innovation center handbook
• Innovation framework
• Innovation training policy
• Idea approval process
• Budget approval process
• Innovation project management process
• Kill gate criteria
• Rewards and recognition policy
• Intellectual property management
• Third party vendor involvement
• Non disclosure agreements
• Security policy
• Business continuity and disaster recovery policy
• IT Infrastructure and management policy

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 15 - Innovation Center Framework for the Defence Services

Just 2 examples

DCB - Ditch-cum-bund defence was a master stroke in warfare planning. It was innovative thinking when it was first thought of and put into practice. We still rely on it decades later.

Clearing of mines and obstacles by air delivered explosive is another innovation that would be appreciated by Corp of Engineers

Innovation is what separates the winner from the pack. It is all about constant rethinking - redesigning - rebuilding and back to rethinking. Invention is about -ideas made manifest - cash into ideas. Innovation is about - ideas applied successfully - ideas into cash

While in Satyam (now Mahindra Satyam) we used a tool called Idea Junction wherein associates were encouraged to submit ideas. Tons of ideas were generated and each was useful in its own merit. I was involved in setting it up in two ways - defining a framework for proactive continuous business improvement by setting up a six sigma channel and managing the framework for reactive business improvements via the employee suggestions.

While in Army, I used to think of crazy stuff all the time - product innovations, service innovations, process innovations and would keep sending my ideas to what I thought was the correct authority. For example if an officer gets a Charlie grading in the course, he pays for the costs incurred. Attendance for PT is voluntary as long as you have excellent gradings in quartely BPET and PPT tests. Using civilian mechanics for painting a water trailer than sending it away for 3 months to an Army Base Wksp. Everyday I would come up with an idea and send it to the respective authority. I never received any confirmation on what happened to my ideas. I hope that some day we have an Innovation center for the defence services that taps the amazing potential of the soldiers and officers.

This blog is about setting up of an Innovation Center. Why do we need an Innovation Center?

Problems encountered while handling innovations

• Lack of right incentives to contribute
• A significant work needs to be done to refine the original idea
• Lack of methods of socialization of the idea to a wide audience
• Lack of availability of experts to vet the ideas
• Lack of structured processes in place to drive transparency, metrics and collaborations
• Long lead times

Is there any way this innovation activity can be accomplished in a practical manner. Innovation is not about one crazy scientist slogging away in his lab and emerging years later with a revolutionary product. Innovation is about constant improvements big and small as a result of a focused effort.

Innovations could be

• Incremental
• Emergent
• Radical

And innovations can affect

• Products
• Processes
• Paradigm
• Position

The life cycle of an innovation starts with an idea and flows through the following phases

• Strategize: Origin of an idea
• Capture and Publish Idea: Preliminary review and categorization or re-categorization
• Evaluate: Detailed review and creation of a business case
• Define: Creation of a project based on the business case
• Execute: Successful execution of the project or proof of concept
• Transition: Transition of the project into mainstream
• Review and closure

Origin of the ideas: Ideas for innovation / innovation pipeline can emerge from two sources

• Proactive - formal business planning system as a result of a business plan or a strategic innovation strategy
• Reactive - suggestion scheme - which generally is a part of the continuous business improvement schema

The proactive sources are

• Formal R&D planning
• Annual business planning
• Periodic / quarterly / six monthly innovation workshop
• Continuous improvement programme
• Customer insights
• Employment strategy

The reactive sources are

• Competition analysis
• Market benchmarking not necessarily competition
• Employment suggestion scheme
• Customer feedback

Review - preliminary and detailed: Ideas are reviewed for merit

• Preliminary review and forward to appropriate department
• Detailed review by the appropriate department followed by a decision

The decision could be

• Idea is rejected because it is not valid
• Idea is rejected because it has already been implemented
• Idea is rejected because it has been suggested already and is in implementation state
• Idea is waiting on clarifications
• Idea is accepted and taken to next step of project initiation

Business case creation: An accepted idea should meet the following categor

• Valuable - it should add value to the organization
• Feasible - it should be within means or doable
• Acceptable - should be in line with the organizations' objectives
• Worthy - sustainable over long term

An accepted idea could fit into any of the below categories

Doing what we do better

• Business as usual
• Business process improvement
• Existing product improvement

New to the enterprise

• New product development
• New market development

New to the world

• New business development

Project implementation: This is where the rubber meets the road. Or this is where the idea falls apart or makes it through to success. Based on my experience I developed a 30-20-10 % rule. Out of every 1000 ideas, 300 ideas were selected. Of these 300 only 60 made it to prototype level and only 6 were highly successful. Truly transformational ideas were very rare. Most were at incremental improvement levels.

Till now I was talking of the Ideation Management Life Cycle. Let me take a step aside to define the framework. To enable the innovation circus to function seamlessly (circus because there are are so many events happening simultaneously and seamlessly transitioning from one act to another) we need a framework. The framework should address the 4 questions

• Are we doing the correct thing? - strategic alignment
• Are we doing it the correct way? - architecture
• Are we getting them done well? - delivery
• Are we getting the results? - value

The Innovation framework should support the enterprise goal of

• Creating optimal value from innovations at an affordable cost, with an acceptable level of risk
• Guided by a set of principles applied to the innovation processes
• Enabled by key management practices
• Measured by performance against goals and metrics

There are 4 levels at which this framework needs to be built

• Innovation Governance
• Portfolio Management
• Investment management
• Delivery management

Innovation Governance

The goal is to ensure that innovation practices are embedded in the enterprise.

• Establish the innovation governance framework that is fully integrated with overall enterprise governance
• Provide strategic direction for the investment decisions
• Monitor the effectiveness of the overall innovation governance framework and supporting processes and recommend improvements as appropriate
• Integrate the innovations across the enterprise

Portfolio Management

The goal is to ensure that innovations are treated as portfolios for example incremental / radical / revolutionary

• Establish the strategic direction for investments, the resources and funding constraints within which decisions must be made
• Evaluate and prioritize programs within resource and funding constraints, based on their alignment with strategic objectives, business worth and risk
• Monitor and report the performance of the overall portfolio
• Optimize

Investment Management

The goal is to ensure that the investments contribute to optimal value

• Develop and evaluate the initial innovation business case
• Understand the candidate innovation idea and implementation options
• Develop the plan
• Develop the full life cycle and benefits
• Develop the detailed candidate innovation idea business
• Launch and manage the program
• Monitor and report
• Close the program

Delivery Management

Once the innovation program based on an idea is launched it will fall within the ambit of Delivery Management. This is about managing scope, quality, cost, time, resources, integration, etc. Typically the processes fall under 4 domains

• Plan and organize
• Acquire and implement
• Deliver and support
• Monitor and evaluate

What the framework assists is in

• Discipline based innovation - merit, transparency quality, impact and urgency
• Optimize R&D by spending and incubating investments
• Culture of innovation
• Increased speed of innovation process
• Enable collaboration

Most of the blogs in this Kaikaku series seem far fetched. For me I am using most of this knowledge almost on a daily basis due to the nature of my job - enabling clients to serve their customers better. Knowledge is useful irrespective of its origin. Our defence services can leap frog the process by tapping into such knowledge.

Life coach - Kaikaku - 14 - Numb3rs

This blog starts on 4 different tracks only to merge on the intent of this blog.

1. President Obama in his recent press statement said India and China are fast covering the economic ground because they are good at Maths and Science.
2. My favorite shows on TV are House, Medium, Numb3rs apart from History Channel and Discovery Channel. Numb3rs is about a mathematician named Charles who uses maths to help FBI to solve cases.
3. In CME Professor Mohanty was teaching us summation of an infinite series that randomly either increases or decreases. I stopped him and asked him where is this useful in real life. Everything that I learnt had to be related with real life or it meant I simply did not understand it (my mental block in learning). He explained it in simple terms. An electric fuse is designed to work within a range of varying voltage. The fuse should trip between a set of values to avoid damage to the equipment. The voltage at any time is a random fluctation around the mean of 230V. The series will help to identify the lower and upper ratings and design an optimal fuse.
4. Geographic profiling is an investigative support technique for serial violent crime. The process was developed from research conducted at Simon Fraser University, and the methodology is based on a model that describes offenders' hunting behavior. The patented criminal geographic targeting algorithm produces jeopardy surfaces, which are 3-D probability surfaces that indicate the most likely area of offender residence.The models are displayed through 3-D and 2-D color isopleth maps that provide a focus for investigative efforts. Read more on http://www.txstate.edu/gii/geographicprofiling.html

The ability of maths to solve problems in business and defence is well known. We use standard formulaes for statistical sampling, confidence ratios, rejection of hypothesis, EOQs, trajectory paths for missiles, etc. But I haven't seen the defence forces using them to solve the problems which could make our life easier and effective.

Let us take a simple example of militants in J&K. There are so many groups operating in J&K and each group has teams of various sizes. The areas for operation are roughly well defined between the members of a particular group. Based on the interceptions and intelligence gathered from the locals / informants, using mathematics we should be able to create geoprofiles of the various groups and the exact areas of operations. Groups typically stay within their areas due to availability of local support and familiarity of terrain. If I were to add the factor of voice recognition to the intercepted calls and the geoprofile of the group, I can come up with 90% confidence interval of the group operating, the number of members and other sundry details. Will it help me catch militants - that is the point of doing all this? Maths wont catch the militant but will increase the probability.

If I can match the geoprofile with voice recognition and triangulation of the origin of voice, I can cordon and search the areas in a focussed manner. It is no wonder that most of our cordon and search operations end up busting the knee grease especially if we are in a place like Doda - all mountains and valleys.

Extend the logic of numbers and I could predict which vehicles or weapons will fail inspection. The power of mathematics is amazing if we learn to apply it to our daily life duties. Sometimes I feel that what we lack is the awareness that we can use knowledge that we have.

Life coach - Kaikaku - 13 - IT Vision 2015 for Defence Services

Information technology and its consequential transformation of organizations is here to stay. It is only a matter of time before our forces climb aboard the bandwagon.

At the minimum - nothing transformational just incremental improvements in efficiency

• No longer does the clerk have to submit the Part II orders by post to CDA or the various Regimental HQs.
  
• No longer does theQM / MT / Tech clerk need to submit demand through IO mail or there is no printed IO mail. Auto update of demands that have not materialised.
• Precourse training for various courses can be online and course notes / manuals are available on demand. YOs handbook, D&M, RSO, whatever be the course - there is no need to take notes
• Clothing for soldiers is managed electronically irrespective of which units they are located when the due date arrives
• Weapon inspection, vehicle inspection, document inspection - all records are electronic, reminders auto generated, escalations automatic - but someone does need to do the inspection manually
• The list could go on and on, but back to my vision

In next 5 years, I foresee the start of the transformation. And I hope that we are ready to get it right the first time. Hopefully if any of you are involved in any manner with the IT transformation, I would be honored if my focus areas pave the road-map. Each of the focus areas is an areas of expertise in itself and would need highly specialized skills.

These are my top 10 2015 focus areas

1. Client - server / thin - client / zero client architecture: All the terminals in the individual companies / platoons / offices will be dumb terminals. The main computing will happen at the server which would be housed in a secure environment - maybe near the Quarter Guard.
   
2. Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI): An extension of point 1 where the technology virtualizes a desktop and stores it on the remote central server. By making desktops and data more uniform and available, its possible to weather a natural or human disruption with minimal downtime or loss in productivity.
3. Mobile enterprise - mobility, telecommuting and virtual meetings: Many of you use blackberrys / iphones and it is so easy to get work done. In my previous engagement I was travelling from Baltimore to Phoenix a 5 hours flight with 1 hour early checkin, I was getting 5 hours of work done before reaching the destination. With netbooks becoming ubiquitous managing mobile devices and ensuring tight security would be a major concern.
4. Private cloud computing: Due to security concerns public cloud computing is not feasible, but private cloud computing is possible
   
5. Software as a service (SaaS) strategy: This would include selecting the right provider, draft the contract, having an exit strategy, managing the relationship, interoperability and integration, etc
6. Right sourcing and vendor consolidation: With most of the IT work being performed by vendors due to obvious reasons like expertise and economies of scale and scope, right sourcing is critical. And the ability to maintain security with use of vendors needs to be managed right. Again the right mix of vendors to prevent dependency on few as well as to encourage competition is a challenge
7. Green data centers with scalability and flexibility options : If we can start on the green note the very first time designing for a scalable and flexible architecture, we will do the right thing
8. Business intelligence and predictive analytics: With the enormous amount of data that is available, it should be easy to predict failures of machinery, planning for trainings, economic order quantities for supplies, linear programming that generates optimum correlation for depots and units, etc
9. Business continuity and disaster recovery transition from peace to war: The ability to operate in Peace as well as War zones and maintain a predetermined standard of services
10. Information security: Training, policies and audits - automated and physical is the way to go

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 12 - Checklist for whether the defence forces can be a super power

When I was 10 years and Chandamama used to rock, I read a story of a King whose general retires. He has to choose between two equally good deputies. He decides to rotate them for a year each in the post of the general. General A brings around innovation in training, tactics, improvises and improves weaponry - does everything possible. General B takes over the command and restores the army to its golden era to what existed before General A took over. The enemy king attacks and General B defeats the enemy - it is a sounding defeat though a few lives are lost.
Betal asks Vikram "Who does the King appoint as the General and why?"
Vikram answers "The King appoints General A because during his one year tenure, the enemy dare not raise its hood".

The best defence forces are those who the enemy fears even to tread on their toes.

I guess this 10 things in my checklist capture every possible dimension of whether we are that defence forces - politics or not, corruption levels or not, lack of attracting talent or not - if we set our minds we can achieve it.

1. Are we passionate and confident of taking on any adversary in any theater? Apne gali mein to kutta bhi sher hota hai.
   
2. Do we focus on maintaining a competitive advantage in whatever gives us that necessary confidence? Be it telecommunications, weaponry, training, tactics, experience - whatever be the case.
3. Do we pursue operational excellence? A minute spent that does not build the competitive advantage is anti operational excellence.
4. Do we ensure rapid and sustained cost management? A rupee spent in pursuit of endeavours that do not help is a rupee lost from pursuing point 4. With budget constraints and more important with World Bank and IMF dictating how much percent of budget should be spent on defence, every rupee matters.
   
5. Think outside the box to ensure point 3 & 4? We have to think beyond the normal to harness the respect that is ordained for the great.
   
6. Look for unprecedented opportunities to build ourselves.
7. Remember that training is the king. We can fool ourselves by being the most trained army on paper (as my company commander used to say).
8. Focus on long term perspectives and keep the end in mind always.
   
9. Take our understanding what can make the enemy lose to new levels. If we have to fight them in air, water, land or in mind or in UN or in relationship to their allies or morally - what will ensure that we will win. The war is often won even before it is fought physically.
   
10. Build leadership and organizational capabilities to ensure all the points above. A wave of leaders after leaders who can ensure that no one dares even raise an eye on us.
    

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 11 - Roti, kapda aur makan

In my previous blog I spoke about kapda via the waterless washing machine. Let me address the roti (literally) today.

In my langar with a dining strength of 80 troops present at any time (our company strength was 216) we made roughly 600 chapattis for every lunch and dinner and 200 puris for every breakfast. A total of 4+1 people would start 2 to 3 hours earlier to get the meals out in time. Of these 2 would be cooks and balance would be the combatant soldiers from the platoon rotation and they would be assisted by the langar commander. A huge number of man-hours spent in making puris and chapattis. If we multiply this number by total number of units in peace ...

Krispy Kreme is famous for selling donuts. What they are more famous for is their automatic donut machine. Their donuts go very well with cold full fat milk. Watch this video for the donut machine.




Back to rotis. I buy rotis from Costco and came across a program "How things work?" in Discovery channel where they showed how these rotis are made with machines - kneading the dough, rolling them out, roasting them. Compared to the rotis made in langar these are quite good - not dry, soft, do not become rubbery after a few hours. And I keep them outside for a week without them going bad.

So why cannot each unit be provided such an automatic roti maker - it can make 2000 rotis per hour. In 2 hours we can have rotis for the entire unit ready. Add a fryer machine at the end and puris are a breeze. We go back to hand cooking once units are in field / exercise areas. But during peace posting spending those valuable hours on cooking food is wrong focus.

I have seen GOC asking for innovations - I hope that someone among you can point this innovation - I had not known about it till I saw Krispy Kreme and then the Discovery programme. Is it costly? No, not at all. And on a volume scale the prices could be driven down further.

It is important that we place the value of time or more important the opportunity cost associated with every soldier.

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 10 - Value conversations

Everything that we do revolves around value. Either we are adding value, maintaining value or destroying it.

For e.g. our time has value. If we do not use it correctly we are destroying its value. If we use it operationally we are maintaining value and if we use it strategically or in a transformation we are creating value.

As a CGEIT (Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT) I consult in value governance. Recently CIO of CISCO Rebecca Jacoby spoke on her interactions with CEO John Chambers on the topic of value conversations.

In many of my projects the five value conversations that we have revolve around

1. Strategic alignment - does each group understand its objective partnership, what are the strategic imperatives of each group (do we know what is the right thing)
   
2. Portfolio planning - given a choice of options available are we selecting the correct one based on costs, risks and change management (are we doing the right thing)
   
3. Operational efficiency - audit of cost, quality, impact (are we doing it in an optimal manner)
   
4. Continuous improvement - how do we ensure 1 to 3 steps over and over again constantly improving with time

What I and my group do is create a system of processes and metrics that enables the client to understand where they measure - baseline existing reality, identify the gap with respect to the vision and define the roadmap to get there.

And all these conversations is what you should have with your reports and your IO should have with you. Imagine yourself as your Brigade Commander and formulate these questions for your Commanding Officers? What answers do you expect out of them? What do you see you need to educate the COs on?

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 9 - Live free or die hard

Firesale - most of us would associate this word with Bruce Willis in his Live Free or Die Hard movie. Incidentally Baltimore where all those scenes - freeways falling, F-35 plane chase, electricity hub - is where I live.

I was fascinated by the idea of the firesale comprising of 3 steps and have come up with a slightly different firesale than the movie on what the defence forces should be ready to deal with.

Step 1: Destroy telecommunication. If people cannot communicate with each other, you have got the first strike. Look at all the coordination, sharing of information, planning that you can deny or make it difficult with destroying telecommunication.

Step 2: Destroy public utilities. Electricity, MRTS (mass rapid transit system), water supply, whatever you can get your hands on - strike two. How long can morale be up when core utilities are destroyed.

Step 3: Destroy places of strategic importance - parliament, historical places, government offices - strike 3. These are institutions that people have faith in or are proud of. Once the pride collapses, defeat is near.

This brings up two questions:
1. Are we equipped to do so, do we have a plan and the ability to execute?
2. Are we equipped to prevent our adversary from doing so to us?

Many of you in future would rise in ranks and become Generals. I hope that you put into execution this idea, if someone has not thought of the firesale till then.

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 8 - Think in mind maps

While I was ISB I was introduced to mind maps. We had mind map training videos and it helped me jump start the learning. Now it is my favorite tool for brain storming, planning and execution. Mind map is a way I guess most of us think. Where it helps us is in able to capture the thought process visually.

Have a look at this mind map

http://www.mindmeister.com/34704025/a-career-in-software

or

http://itservicemngmt.blogspot.com/2007/10/itil-v3-mind-map-download.html

These are just samples.

So what is a mind map? I have lifted this definition from Wikipedia.

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

The elements of a given mind map are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts, and are classified into groupings, branches, or areas, with the goal of representing semantic or other connections between portions of information. Mind maps may also aid recall of existing memories.

By presenting ideas in a radial, graphical, non-linear manner, mind maps encourage a brainstorming approach to planning and organizational tasks. Though the branches of a mindmap represent hierarchical tree structures, their radial arrangement disrupts the prioritizing of concepts typically associated with hierarchies presented with more linear visual cues. This orientation towards brainstorming encourages users to enumerate and connect concepts without a tendency to begin within a particular conceptual framework.

The mind map can be contrasted with the similar idea of concept mapping. The former is based on radial hierarchies and tree structures denoting relationships with a central governing concept, whereas concept maps are based on connections between concepts in more diverse patterns.

I have used mind maps extensively in my consulting assignments - to understand client requirements, define scope of project, document limitations, execution, etc. I have used them to plan major disaster recovery exercises.

And since I detest information overload, I insist on one slide mind map presentation from my reports. Whatever you have to say, say it in one slide only.

I have used both paid and free version. This is my favourite free version from sourcforge.net

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/

I also came across this free version

http://vue.tufts.edu/index.cfm

I recommend using mind maps and asking your reports to use them to. A mind map can be made on a piece of paper - no need for any software. Try it once - u will luv it

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 7 - Leadership check list

Are you truly a leader? Here is a simple checklist that validates whether you or. I trust your honour code as you do not have to share your answers.

1. You have a vision - the vision for the COAS will be different from the vision for the CO. So how do you define what your vision should be? The vision is nothing but the reason for your existence.
   
2. You have a strategy to achieve the vision - most of the time I have no clue on the strategy, but what I do is start out on my perceived correct strategy, open myself for feedback and constantly course correct and at times give up my perceived strategy completely
   
3. You can evaluate talent with respect to implementation of the strategy - right man for the right job
   
4. You are able to mold your team to fit the roles - hand holding, micromanagement, mentoring and empowerment - whatever works
   
5. You are able to motivate your team - sam, dam, dand, bhed
   
6. You dont give up - persistence and patience
   

You are either a leader or are not. Whether you succeed or not is never the parameter of success. As Bill Gates in his recent interview said the he was simply at the right time and right place with right skills. Success was the mere outcome of the above 6 points.

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 6 - tastebook

I read that mixing 3 parts of wheat flour with 1 part of rice flour makes the roti soft for hours after preparation.
I did not like the rotis made in langar - they were not fully cooked or if cooked has black spots on them. The reason for this was the number of rotis that were to be cooked plus the scarcity of time to do so. I decided that instead of 6 inch rotis, we make 12 inch rotis and focus on cooking them properly.
Just 2 instances that made rotis of my langar palaptable.

Most of us have made some improvements in the langar house. For example Col Deshmukh tiled the walls, the floor and the ceiling of the butchery. A rotating shower at the top with a sloping floor and drains all around ensured cleanliness in minutes.

So if we could share our improvements in the cook house - an army marches on its stomach, we would all benefit.

Imagine feeding an army of 12 lacs strength at one go and the options available to meet the taste buds given the resources. We do actually feed an army of 12 lacs at one time, since most of us eat at the same time though we are separated spatially.
And it is a wonder that we still have the same menu that were there maybe 50 years back or at least 20 years when I ate the first time in an officer's mess. It means that in 20 years we have not evolved much in cooking.

I cook due to necessity. Indian food is costly in US, my wife works full time and we want our daughter to like Indian food. So I end up cooking at least a meal a day for the family. I frequent cooking blogs and search recipes. If I find a good one, I try it out and if it works out well, I store it for repetition in future in tastebook. com.

Imagine a repository of recipes used by various cook houses with the additional information on innovations. We can ensure good taste from the same ingredients. Will we need to teach our cooks to browse - why not. Will they learn - you will be surprised? I gave my RR cook a recipe book in Marathi with 500 recipes and asked him to make one daily with whatever was available. He put it to good use. In our 67 mess we sent our cook to work in a popular restaurant in the evenings. 2 weeks later he surprised us with his new found skills - the first dish we had from him was sizzler - I guess none of you have ever eaten this in the mess. The idea of the cook being sent out was of my CO. But it opened my eyes, that do not accept the mediocre. If officers feel that the hotels make better food then something is wrong with our cooks or us.

If we can create a similar tastebook.com for our cooks, the options are endless, decide what you want to eat, and it will tell you the exact raw materials, the calorie content, etc etc.

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 5 - Kindle

From my YOs till the time I left army, I attended a lot of courses and with each course added to my collection of notes. I had a trunk for my course notes. Add to it books from my IGNOU MBA and later ISB MBA, also my various certifications and now I have a closet of books. Do I need them? I dont know, but once in a while I come across some material and I know where to exactly find it.

Most of us go through YOs, two odd courses, JC, Staff College, SC, if in technical arms then degree courses and MTech. And we carry around books everywhere. Not to mention the fact that every institution needs to keep books, maintain physical inventory, repair them, discard them, etc.

Add to it the subscriptions for Defence Journals, IDSA, Part B and Part D exams and then sundry readings. Most of the time we dump the magazines and move forward. As a weapons officer I recollected an article I had read about an EME officer coating the weapons with a chemical that reduced carbon deposits. But I had read that article when I was a YO in a magazine that I failed to recollect. So my knowledge was wasted.

What could be a Kaikaku solution?

Enters the Kindle. I was travelling to Phoenix and my co-passenger had a Kindle and he was browsing books and magazines. I was intrigued and started researching on Kindle. So what is Kindle?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015T963C/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=4421533945&ref=pd_sl_19calxq4k4_e

Say Hello to the Newest Kindle

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines
Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback
Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered wirelessly in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle
Global Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries.
Paper-Like Display: Reads like real paper without glare, even in bright sunlight
Carry Your Library: Holds up to 1,500 books
Longer Battery Life: Now read for up to 1 week on a single charge with wireless on, a significant improvement from the previous battery life of 4 days
Built-In PDF Reader: Your Kindle can now display PDF documents natively.
Read-to-Me: With the experimental Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you
Free Book Samples: Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy
Large Selection: Over 400,000 books, including 101 of 112 New York Times® Best Sellers, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs.

Look at the implications for us. If every officer is issued a Kindle when he is commissioned there is no need to issue books, write notes, carry them around, etc. An officer attends a course, the books get downloaded to his Kindle. He can read them. They can be downloaded even before he starts on the course. He can use the Kindle to highlight points, make notes. About 25% of the time spent in making notes can be spent on understanding them. Where ever the posting the officer has his notes with him, easily accessible. Any improvements in say mine laying drills can be posted as RSS feeds. The whole concept of studying would be different.

What do you think?

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 4 - Washing without water

I came across this machine is one of my research projects. I hate cleaning though I love cleanliness. Everything should be clean, have its own place and be ready to use. Things deteriorate with time and need to be spruced again. As a MTO CEME inspection was a necessary pain. It was the only time we focused on the priority of maintaining the vehicles. It is a shame when fear of inspection becomes the way to ensure what we should do otherwise. And one of the most difficult thing during vehicle inspection is repainting the vehicles and pontoons. Using spray guns is easier, the difficult thing is removing the earlier paint. And rarely did we ever scrub the earlier paint, it was just one coat over another and I know that a rust will spread internally even when newly painted on the outside.

My research was on identifying a mechanism to scrape the paint of the vehicles. Consider the impact for all vehicles in the Indian Army, the amount of time save that could be used productively, the value add, blah blah blah. Where else could I use the machine, how about scraping walls during annual adm inspection.

My search is still on - I came across sand blasting techniques, using explosive paint to remove old paint - paint explosive as a thin film on the walls and blow it up. And usually my search leads to new paths that I had not planned on. I came across this washing machine. Imagine its potential, we could use the machine in our field stations and use it to wash the laundry. Every company could have one or two. It not only saves time, but also water. Connect it to the vehicle and run it and presto you have a washing machine in field - does not depend on where you are - desert, mountains or forests.

Someday one of you will be in a position where such decisions could be made and I hope you make a Kaikaku decision. Think big and achieve it.

http://www.gizmag.com/xeros-washing-machine/12088/

A washing machine that cuts water usage by 90% is due to hit American shores next year. The Xeros washing machine, which takes its name from the Greek word for “dry”, cleans clothes using reusable nylon polymer beads with an inherent polarity that attracts stains.

The beads are added to the wash along with as little as a cup of water and a drop of detergent. After the water dissolves the stains, the beads, which become absorbent under humid conditions, soak up the water along with the dirt. The dirt is not just attracted to the surface, but is absorbed into the center of the beads.

The beads are removed automatically within the machine at the end of the load so there’s no need for the user to worry about separating the beads themselves. They also don’t require cleaning and can last for about 100 loads or laundry, or about six months of average family usage.

Since the Xeros doesn’t require a rinse or spin cycle the it uses just 2% of the energy of conventional washing machines, cutting CO2 emissions on top of the water savings. The energy savings are further enhanced by the fact that the clothes come out nearly dry, meaning no power-hungry clothes dryer is required. Xeros claims that, taking all these factors into account, its machine achieves a 40% reduction in carbon emissions over conventional washing and drying.

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 3 Evernote

Ideas strike me anytime - while I am reading a magazine, while surfing the net, reading a book on a flight, watching a soap or discussing with a colleague. The problem is that if that idea is not captured at that time I loose it. So I got into the habit of grabbing a piece of paper - back of the magazine, delicious on internet, my notebook or whatever I can lay my hands on and well I loose it.

So what tool can I use that I can use to ensure that irrespective of where I am I can pin the idea and retrieve it irrespective of where I am.

Enter the Evernote
This is an application that I use.
https://www.evernote.com/about/learn_more/

If I am reading an article while surfing, I grab the URL or clip the entire article and store it in Evernote adding tags to it for enabling to search later on. I can store it in a folder depending on the content.
If I am reading a magazine I can photograph it using the evernote application on my google phone and I can upload the photograph to my evernote account and append the tags and store it in the relevant folder. The OCR feature enables me to search on a photograph too.
If I am reading a novel or a book I can do the same, photograph the page and upload it.
If I am talking to a colleague, I can record the conversation and upload it to evernote.

I have evernote installed on my phone, my PC and laptop. All I have to do is sync the devices and does not matter where I am, I have access to the information I need. Going further all my information is also on the web in my account.

As a Commander at a Strategic Level I guess most of the time you should be thinking, talking to reports, giving suggestions. You must be reading books that make your mind think. You are on the move in the field and get ideas, you record them in your phone and upload them. What makes a great commander is ideas and implementation. Ideas strike all of us, it is only about recognizing them and acting on them.

Most of you must be thinking - we do not have the technology right now. But as I see it, it already exists elsewhere and many are making use of it. It is only a matter of time that it comes to a place near you. But that is the beauty of Kaikaku - thinking beyond the daily increments and living a multiplier effect.

Life Coach - Kaikaku - 2 - Google Goggles

Most of love cars, especially those that make a statement. Having worked in Michigan the home to the auto industry in US, I am always curious to identify a car, its manufacturer, the customer segment it exists for, the competition in that segment, etc. I am walking down the street and I come across a logo that I havent seen before. I am not sure whether it is an American or European car. Maybe it is the Japanese who have launched a car for the luxury segment, a separate brand altogether. How do I find out?

Enter Google Goggles
All I do is use my google phone and start the google goggle application. Using the camera it captures the logo and compares it against a database and returns the search - it is able to search an image and provide me the answer. This is cool.

Where can I use it if I have been able to create a database with the information that I need? The information that we need is already there, it is just not ready in the digital format that I can search for.
I am walking in a workshop and see a vehicle and need to recall its past history of repairs. I am on firing range and need to recall the zeroing details of the weapon. Or in a cordon and search operation I have rounded up the suspects and need to know their past history and need to search the photographs of earlier suspects.

In short if I can snap it and the image is uniquely standard (it has been stored earlier)- it could be the tag number of a vehicle, the face of a person, a product number, I can retrieve information about the image and be on my way,