The Numerati

Who says Math nerds are cool? I do. Stephen Baker‘s book turned even me into a raging fan of The Numerati – math geeks for the layperson. For many years I grew up being traumatised by Math and teachers of that dreaded subject. My relationship with that subject was pretty much like that of a fellow commuter riding the elevator during rush hour. You may stand in close proximity, but you never say hello to each other and certainly do not recognize each other at the supermarket as you trawl for discounts. In short I am the most unlikely contender to review a book on Math and Technology. So why am I recommending that you read The Numerati by Stephen Baker. It takes the complex world of Math and puts it in a manner that makes it easy for numerophobic people like me to understand. The book makes Math an almost attractive subject. It made me wish I had paid more attention to Math and Stat in school and college. Stephen certainly makes the Math nerd look cool. The blurb promises the book to be “A captivating look at how a global math elite is predicting and altering our behavior — at work, at the mall, and in bed.” While doing the post on Predictive Analytics for HR Atanu had recommended that read this book and sent me the link on Businessweek on The Rise of The Numerati

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How To Raise Smart Employees

Most of us inherit most employees at the workplace. We do not raise them in the strict sense that parents raise children. Parents lovingly will potty train their progeny, teach them language skills, pass on core values and give them unconditional love despite the pranks and bad report cards. They will willingly cart them around for soccer matches after school, suffer them through teenage tantrums and beyond. Is it even fair to expect managers to do somewhat similar stuff for their team members? Unlike parents who choose to have kids most managers do not necessarily choose every one they need to manage. They hire some of them, some are inherited and some join teams as a result of the shifting sands of time. So is it fair to expect a similar kind of almost evangelical commitment towards their team members. If they did all that for their team members, would it really matter? Do we all need to live with the natural level of intelligence that we are born with or can this level be influenced by the environment we grow up in. Is it Nature or Nurture? A psychologist had answered a journalist by asking her to choose what impacts the area of a rectangle, the length or the breadth
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Managing the Net Gen

Just who is the Net Generation? “If you are between 11 and 31 this year”, (according to Don Tapscott who came up with the term Net Gen in Businessweek ) this is the label that describes you. The web2.0 developments describe what this group wants. They want to collaborate, exchange ideas, opinions (and music), wants to multi task all the time and thinks TV is for the older humans. This gen spends money on texting friends. The technology that grows up as a response to this generation reflects these themes - social networking tools, individual expression and sharing stuff about their lives digitally that would make their parents blush. The generation that started using MySpace and Facebook when the previous gen believed MySpace refered to the messy corner of the house where the teenagers chucked their socks and underwear that would someday be washed. Read more

The Three Email Challenge

The experience of growing up online will profoundly shape the workplace expectations of “Generation F” – the Facebook Generation says Gary Hamel - the management guru. Very clearly if you are one of those who believes that you are now with it because you now know how to use email, you do not belong to the Facebook Generation. Dear Gary, you will be happy to know that I am no stranger to Facebook. As someone recently mentioned that you have to be on Facebook (which I am even if it is really tough) to be considered cool. Read more

New Year in India

When is the new year celebrated in India? Tough question to answer my friend. The answer is really “that depends”. There is a spate of new year celebrations happening in different parts of India of late. The Sikhs celebrated the new year on 14 March to mark the first day of Chet – the first month of the year. The Parsis celebrated Jamshedi Navroz on 21st March 09. The Kashmiri new year Navreh was celebrated on 25 March ‘09. Read more