Does Quality really matter?

This is just unbelievable!! Just got off watching [Tivo'ed] American Idol. And yes, Sanjaya survived. The guy obviously has *some* talent, to have made it even to the first round, but this is just ridiculous. I was reading this, and really want to know - who does vote for him? There were couple of Indian local newspapers that carried an article of two about him, but I cannot see our community being this asinine. And the look on this own face shows how low a expectation he had for himself. Atleast two good people got let go. Yeah, Antonella had a lot of distraction, but lets giver her this - she can sing. I am just flabbergasted.

Next to that, is actually the blog. I just cant believe I wrote this blog.

Its Good to please the king !

I was reading this on Joel's blog about customer service, and the statement "Customer is always King " ran through my mind. Very often this should be the core of a lot of companies, especially start ups. Sure, there have failures due blown ideas, but at the end, a majority of them happens in one way or another because the customer was ignored. I am not just talking about the after sales component of it. I am talking about from the get go of the first interaction with the customer. In my 13+ years working with customers [with a good bit of success] some things that stand out in my mind are

1. Always listen before you talk
I remember my 4 standard [yes, it is standard and not grade where I grew up] used to say that there are two parts to a conversation, the good part and the one talking all the time. A lot of time, you will find a favorable customer and a loyal one if you just listen. That gives the ability to solve their problems or explain why you cannot.

2. Be Honest
Nothing good comes out of telling teh customer anything short of the truth. Sooner or later it will come back to bit you in the rear and your business as well.

3. Walk away, if you have to
This is a tough one and needs to be managed carefully. But at the end of the day, there are customers you need to walk away from. What I am referring to is not place yourself or the company in a position where trying to keep one customers is compromising the needs of others - customers and company goals. It might hurt in the short term, but will reap long term benefits.

4. Do not forget where your paycheck comes from!
Seriously, satisfying a customer and taking care of them should not and must not translate to selling your company or the colleagues. I have worked with people who have been super successfull with customer in the short term, and lost out in the long term. The irony is that the very customer looks at you differently [negatively], in most cases.

5. Be Passionate
I know its such a cliche thing to say, but without being passionate , the conviction in your ability to represent the customer at all levels will be constantly tested.

One of these I hope to put down in greater details, of my learnings. And the amazing thing is that I continue to learn from my customers, and thats always exciting.

Google....Youtube...

I was just reading Mark Cuban's post on his blog about this deal. Very interesting reading. Over lunch today, a friend and I were discussing this very same deal. I think a lot of people are thinking US centric on this one. With Google's marketcap, they can easily buy the rights for few thousands movies in South East Asia [Bollywood???] and be the provider of movies. On line cable? Now who would not want to advertise a site that reaches couple of billion people?

What is your favorite color daddy?

My eldest, very comfortable picking up the phone and calling my cell, said whats your favorite color daddy? This is an enormously weighted question. For those who dont have children, you are probably thinking "what is the big deal?". The choice you make here, is a choice that you will have to standup for, over time. Kids remember.

I am "reasonably" new to Open Source. I went from you gotta be a "whiz " [read geek sometimes] to use it "productively" to "there has to be an Open Source solution" for this problem. What is the connection here???
In the business world, you have to constantly make choices that you will have to standup for. More and more, the basis of these decisions are extremely transparent within the enterprise {gack!! I never thought I would use that word} The transparency and the security you get by choosing [commercial??] open source is incredible!! I will be the first one to tell you that I am probably graspping at the tip of an iceberg that I have not much clue about!! but I do know it exists and its very real!!!

TK's weblog

TK's weblog

One of things that I have been wondering lately is about "time". There is only so much to split it.
My 3.5 yr old daughter told me before she went to sleep " Daddy, why are you going to play racquetball
at this time?" that being 8.30 pm...My answer "I have the time to play only now"...
I was talking to Brij today and asked him, where does he get the time to write?

This is my first time in a start up environment. I have heard that it gets crazy, I am living it now.
You cram what 3 people can do in 3 months in one week, alteast it feels that way.
The motivation is that everyone else is doing that as well. I, once again, lucked out in working with a
great bunch of people. One of these days I will talk about the 12+ yrs at SGI, now that's a memoir.

One of ways time is wasted, I think, is that some of the simplest things to do in life has been made into
rocket science. You spend more time figuring out how do this simple thing than it takes for thing
itself [hmm...some profound Freudian there..]

I will pick back on the force behind making things more complex that it should be later...

I was looking at Vivek's post and said, I should atleast let him know what I thought about his post.
That led to me wanting to be myself on the comment. And ofcourse I forgot my login [dontcha hate that?]. A search on TK's blog made some interesting reading!! So many people out there with my name...atleast I would like to think so...

My name has been commodotized, it does not make my name or what it represents any less significance, it just means more choices to my name....

kinda like Open Source .....


tk

At last.
What is it about choosing a log in that one wants that has become so difficult? Half the time people just squat!!
Anyhow, my foray in blogosphere! Better late than never.