sub_ray@seecasia.com
6

Hello all....

This is one of the emails I received....thought of sahring with you all...

5 lessons for IT pros from Team India

A 6-1 series win over the feisty Sri Lankans; squaring

the one-day series 2-2 against the South Africans --

Indian cricket has brought a lot of cheer to the

enthusiasts of the sport.

It seems almost incredible that just a month ago there

was debate among various camps of cricket pundits

about the future of Indian cricket team's coach Greg

Chappell (a fallout of the Ganguly-Chappell spat in

Zimbabwe), the future of Sachin Tendulkar, and the

probable outcome of a fractured team challenging the

Sri Lankans' might.

But today the script reads different. And as an IT

professional, one who is also an ardent follower of

cricket, I realised that our community of young IT

engineers could learn a few lessons from the new Team

India.

Following are the five lessons that young IT engineers

can learn from Team India.

Lesson #1: Discover yourself when on the 'bench'

For six months Tendulkar was forced to sit out of

international cricket, nursing his injured elbow.

Finally when he returned, he scored a measly few runs.

The naysayers wrote him off completely -- his career

was over, they agreed in unision. Then the maestro

with a couple of feisty innings proved them wrong.

I believe Sachin used this time (the 6 months that he

was away from cricket) to reflect on his past,

identify his weak spots and prepare himself for the

new innings.

Now compare Sachin's absence with someone from the IT

industry. If an IT engineer was not being productive

or billable for a project, he would be labeled as

someone on the 'bench.'

Bench time, in the IT industry, is generally

associated with lack of productivity. Is there a

lesson for us from Sachin? Of course, yes. When you

are on the 'bench,' utilise the time to reflect on

your past and identify your weaknesses.

Attend that soft skill training that you have always

wanted to. Take up that IT certification that you feel

will boost your career. Sharpen your tech skills.

Bench time can thus be utilised effectively to improve

the competence of an employee.

Lesson #2: Be flexible

During the India-Sri Lanka one-day international

matches, Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh

Dhoni, on certain days, was asked to accelerate the

scoring rate in the early stages of the game. On other

days, he came lower down the batting order to provide

stability. Irfan Pathan is a bowler who can bat.

Gautam Gambhir scored a century and was yet made to

sit out of one of the matches.

While it may have left a few cricket pundits totally

dismayed and out of their depths, the fact remains

that flexibility played a key role behind the success

of Team India.

The cricketers were brought out of their comfort zone

and were asked to be flexible in their mindset. The

instructions were given at a short notice and one was

expected to complete the task.

The result: The team was winning and the young players

looked more confident and assured of their place in

the squad.

Shouldn't this too be the case with the young IT

engineers? Your first project could involve the

challenges of a development project. Next you maybe

asked to work on a maintenance project.

If the work involves doing quality reviews, there is

many a reluctant person. Here is where we need to

learn from Team India. We must understand that being

flexible and working in different projects will

provide us exposure to the software development life

cycle, or SDLC.

This does not only look good on our resumes, it also

plays an important part in furthering our careers. You

must remember that early days are for you to learn,

explore and innovate.

Lesson #3: Work on the weakness or be replaced

Few would doubt that Sourav Ganguly was an outstanding

leader -- probably one of the most successful cricket

captains that the Indian continent has produced. But

as his batting got from bad to worse, questions were

raised about his place in the team.

The result: A man, who a lot of us thought was

irreplaceable, was dumped from the one-day side,

stripped of captaincy and India under a new captain

did exactly what was expected of it: win matches.

IT engineers might have strong technical skills. You

might be an asset to the team but if there are

specific areas that you need to work on, do address

them.

The technology in the IT industry is always changing.

One should always be open to learning new technology

and be ready working on one's weakness. Else, you'll

be left out.

Lessons for IT professional: It is great to have some

skills that are your strengths, but don't assume that

you could just survive through them.

Lesson #4: Believe in the leader who has a vision

Was Greg Chappell experimenting? Perhaps he had a

strategy for Team India. Did he know what he was

doing? Perhaps, he had a vision in his mind. He had

the required credentials. He knew the rules, he knew

the game.

The Indians were asked to have faith in the new coach.

And he is delivering as expected.

Consider the IT industry. Often the projects in the

Indian IT industry have time and budget constraints.

The command is given to the project manager and the

project leader. A new team is set up and the leader

makes a few quick decisions, which we might not

understand or like.

But we should realise that here is one man who has a

plan in mind and will chalk the path for us to

execute.

Lessons for IT professional: A leader is chosen by the

management based on his experiences, abilities and

potential. Have faith in him.

Lesson #5: It's all about teamwork

When a television channel sought Greg Chappell's views

on the key factor behind India's success, he said,

"everybody shared the work load." A good team is worth

more than the sum of the individuals. We had the same

bunch of players, but there was a BIG difference in

the results this time.

The concept of teamwork has been constantly repeated

to us. The IT industry comprises of ordinary people

delivering world-class software. Teamwork holds the

key to success.

The biggest lesson that the new team Indian has

taught: There is no 'I' in teamwork and together

everyone achieves more.

Regards

Subhash.RV

From India, Hyderabad
bala1
20

Hi Subhash, Good analogy between Cricket and IT teams. Kudos to the one who wrote the piece. Most of it applicable to non IT industry also. Thanks Bala
From India, Madras
sub_ray@seecasia.com
6

Hi Bala,

Yeah I too feel the same. It applies to all the working faternity.

Thought of the day

Freedom of attitude

When you wake up in the morning, you are completely free to choose whatever attitude you wish to have. And the attitude you choose can have an enormous impact on the way your day unfolds.

Each time you encounter another person, you are completely free to choose your attitude toward that person. And the attitude you choose will most certainly determine how well the encounter goes.

For every event or situation that comes along, you are completely free to choose the attitude with which you respond. And the attitude you choose will determine how much positive value you gain from whatever is going on.

With many aspects of your life, there are restrictions and limitations imposed upon you from outside forces. Yet with your own attitude, you have total, unlimited control.

And your attitude can make a big difference, with people, with events, with what you get out of the moments that make up each day. Your attitude exerts a powerful influence, and it is yours to direct as you wish.

Choose not to allow your attitude to merely follow you along. For you are free to choose an attitude that will lead you to ever higher levels of achievement and fulfillment.

-- Ralph Marston

From India, Hyderabad
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