Book Review: 9 to 5 Cubicle Tales

'9 to 5 Cubicle Tales' is a chronological account of a boy who endures some testing times in his childhood, then graduates, gets into an Information Technology firm and his life experiences with colleagues & friends, frequent challenges faced and how he copes with each in this tech field. The author, Harish Rijhwani, has 20+ years’ experience in IT and it goes without saying that this book could be inspired by his own IT projects, colleagues and experiences. But you know, if I get a chance to ask him, he will admit the characters are fictitious and any resemblance to someone is purely coincidental.

Judging a book by its cover - The book cover is exquisite and very detailed albeit appearing simple and clean! The reader will understand the nuances only after reading the book. A lot of what is mentioned in the book is shown here. From the various locations that matter to IT professionals, travel, to the currency, the deadlines, errors in the code, Uno cards, the ladder of success (or failure, whichever way we look at it), love, savings, home, coffee, books and many more are depicted. Each of this aspect of an IT professionals’ life finds a place in the book!

Who should read this book - IT professionals, if it wasn’t that obvious from the title! Students planning to pursue and IT career will also find this insightful.

What's the story like – The book follows the life of a boy-turned-man, Hridaan Rajdev, who experiences a tumultuous childhood of loss of a family member, then moving to a different city with relatively less relatives (see what I did there?). The story, said from Hridaan’s first-person account, moves quickly from his childhood to his college life to starting his professional life. This is where the story opens up and expands on the numerous work-related experiences, some of which are hidden right on the cover page. How Hridaan grows from a talented newcomer to a seasoned professional in an industry that gives you a lot but also takes a lot from you making you wonder if the journey’s worth it (personal opinion: it is).

How's the writing - The book is divided into 51 chapters, each covering a specific aspect of the life of Hridaan. The author has used simple and easy to understand words to narrate the story, the surroundings, the character traits of people involved and the protagonist's notions and feelings. This makes it a breeze for a casual reader (by that, I refer to someone who's not always seeking a book to read every day). The life-arc from a student to a fresher in IT to an experienced pro to onsite opportunities is also linear and we, as readers, aren't required to 'read-between-the-lines', which is a breath of fresh air in today's convoluted and non-linear storytelling era. Description of locations, unique personalities in Mumbai and the words used to describe sounds are also well done. 'League of extraordinary gentlemen' as auto-rickshaw drivers and BEST bus-driver as someone who aspired to be a pilot took the cake!

So, what do I think – It’s a breezy read from start to finish. If you are IT professional, you will relate to mini-stories in the book and enjoy the overall premise for sure. If you are looking for a book with writing that's easy to understand and one that doesn't force you to reach out for the dictionary app, this is it. It’s been quite a while since I have gotten hold of a book that doesn't have sub-plots, characters with varying shades of gray, twists, thrills in the plot and a story that takes the reader on a socially relevant roller-coaster ride. However, there was one aspect of the writing that I couldn’t quite get used to. When a scene is being played out in your mind while you are reading the book, that scene somewhat abruptly ends and a new scene begins without a proper segway - as in a journal. I am not sure if this was a conscious decision made by the author. It took me some time to get used to this writing technique. It wasn't a deal-breaker for me though, just an observation. Personally, I enjoyed the bits where Hridaan had to sit through aptitude tests & more importantly, group discussions as it was identical to what I went through during my time. Group discussions being a 'fish market' is exactly how I would categorize the experience (with all due respect to fish markets). 

My Rating: 4/5

PS: Is it just me or did you also feel that you were 'literally' part of this story? If you know, you know.

OnePlus is taking the market for a “Disruption” ride…

I am sure by now you may have come across a brand by the name “OnePlus”. If you haven’t, then read the next para, else skip the next para and read on. End-if. Phew, you can take your life out of programming, but you cannot take programming out of your life!

{OnePlus is a smartphone brand from China. Their first product (and as on date, their only product) is curiously named OnePlus One. They came up with an audacious claim that their smartphone is a flagship killer and guess what, they delivered! With features that match the flagships when it was launched and price that’s a fraction of what these flagships demand, they literally took the telecommunication world by surprise. They even introduced the invite system to buy the smartphone which led to an increasing desire in the consumer space. This strategy balanced the demand-supply equation. They are now coming up with a new product, OnePlus 2, with even better features with price less than $450/-. The wow factor is the launch – it can be viewed on a VR cardboard – what a way to use Virtual Reality!}

If you are reading this line, then I am sure you know something about the brand. But there are reasons, I believe, why OnePlus is actually disrupting the smartphone industry. I have touched upon them in my post I wrote on IdeasMakeMarket. Please do read and let me know your thoughts.

I am using their product – OnePlus One – and it’s a stunningly powerful gadget without burning a hole in my pocket. I simply cannot wait for OnePlus 2. The expectations are sky-high, hope the brand lives up to it. 

July 27th, that’s the date.

Red Chillies and Trinidad & Tobago – What’s the deal?

T20 is the in-thing. The top players are much sought after across the Cricket playing nations. Some of these top players have happily ended their commitments towards their respective national team in order to focus on T20. The fans love the hustle and bustle of “rapid-fire” version of Cricket. There’s non-stop entertainment, loud music, dancing, cheer-leaders and – most of all – umpteen sixes! So, if you are a Cricketer, this is one area you need to excel to rake in the moolah and big bucks. For many, this format has also opened up opportunities in the ODI and test version which, without T20, would have been a distant possibility. For the owners, this is one business idea which they can utilize to diversify and market their brand to a larger audience. For the ground-owners, this is another revenue stream and a significant one too. For the politicians, this is... Oops, let’s not traverse this road (sic).

So, it comes as no surprise that Kolkata Knight Riders’ owner Red Chillies Entertainment decided to buy a West Indian local T20 team, Trinidad & Tobago. It’s a business deal that has money and future profits written all over it. West Indies Cricket Board also stands to gain as popular public figures invest in their T20 teams. Shahrukh Khan is not the first celebrity to invest in a T20 team in West Indies. Hollywood stars Mark Wahlberg bought Barbados team and Gerard Butler bought Jamaican team. 

What’s in it for all stakeholders?

• Red Chillies Entertainment – One word, diversification. Red Chillies are into movie production, allied industries in relation to movies, Cricket team in IPL and now another cricket team in West Indies. They are simply hedging their bets and investing in long term profits from T20 format. Shahrukh Khan owning and producing his own movies is always a win-win situation for the group. This deal also gives Shahrukh Khan an entry into West Indies possibly to increase the fan base for his movies. A fan of one venture of a corporate biggie will have a natural inclination to support the owners’ other ventures. It’s a bold decision, but will reap rewards in the medium to long term.
• West Indies Cricket – Any investment of this kind in a country is always beneficial for that country. West Indies Cricket in general only stands to gain from such an investment. This means there’s a corporate house ready to invest in the ‘unofficial’ hub of T20 Cricketers. West Indies Cricketers are one of the reason why IPL has succeeded the way it has. Can you imagine Mumbai without Pollard and Simmons, Kolkata without Narine and Bangalore without Gayle. This business deal will possibly unearth more such gems from the T20 production headquarters, which is the Caribbean. And they are likely to get more spotlight now with CPL (Caribbean Premier league) now on global map. 
• Kolkata Knight Riders – This is a long shot, but I think Kolkata will be the eventual gainers from such a deal. Here’s how. The core team that handles Cricketing activities for Kolkata team are more likely to be a part of the Trinidad and Tobago team too. Don’t you think they will have direct access to raw talents from Trinidadian origins? Any sports team needs to have the right balance of top players and future prospects (at relatively lower price, I might add). Any player who has a breakout season can then directly be poached by Kolkata and the transaction will be relatively smooth since both the buyer and the seller are the same. Add to that the fact that IPL and CPL don’t happen at the same time, and the T20 contracts are usually renewed on a yearly basis. Such a situation will allow for frequent shuffling of players from one team to other team under the same ownership umbrella. Kolkata and T&T can not only “share best practices” but also “best players”.
• IPL – IPL is not a direct stakeholder, definitely not at this point in time. But I feel IPL will stand to benefit from this deal in the long term. Any idea evolves over time. IPL as a concept is fantastic primarily because it has copied been inspired from the most successful English Premier League / European Football leagues. So, it’s only natural for IPL to adopt more features from the Football leagues, one of which is the loan system. Don’t be surprised if players from one team are loaned to another team in a different country. This is especially possible when the owners of both the teams are same. Also, raw and young T20 specialists from West Indies may now move to the “more lucrative” IPL. 

I see this as the next step in the evolution of T20 league. Expect more corporates to join the bandwagon and own a T20 team in different countries. Australia, New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka could be the next destinations. The existing IPL team owners or their competitors or the bidders who lost out on IPL teams are more likely to invest.

But then, all the above points are likely to change if (and it’s a big IF) the rumors of a rival Cricket league becomes a reality. Remember Zee group? 

Ek Nayi League: What could it be?

The other day, I was surfing the net and reading sports articles when I accidentally saw one of Kapil Dev’s 1 minute video. He was talking something about playing “dil se” and why it succeeds. But towards the end of the video, he said we will fail if we play “dil se” in “Ek Nayi League”. This got me hooked. I searched for “Ek Nayi League” and came across this website - http://www.eknayileague.com/

The aforementioned website has more videos where Kapil Dev described about a renowned Indian person (Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sania for instance) and talks about how passionately they have achieved all the success in their area of expertise. How they have battled all odds (Yuvraj Singh from Cancer and Sania Mirza for elevating Women’s tennis in India). Kapil Dev think MS Dhoni shouldn’t retire after developing such a fantastic Cricket team. But one common thread that binds all these videos is that these champions will fail if they play with all their heart in a new league codenamed “Ek Nayi League”. 

Kapil Dev ends his videos by saying he will reveal the concept of the league soon. When a living legend, who brought India on a global Cricketing platform, tries to describe and tease you with something new, you better stand and take notice. I am no different. So I thought, why can’t I take a calculated guess as to what the new concept / new league is all about? 

Image courtesy: http://www.eknayileague.com/

Key takeaways from the videos and Kapil Dev’s image from the website – 

• Top performers will fail if they play with their heart
• It’s more to do with the mind than the heart
• The concept has to be something to do with renowned people in society, at least their examples are sought to put forward the point
• Kapil Dev is involved, either as a brand ambassador or as a host of the league

Here are my guesses – 

1. How about a “reality-show” league where a certain number of celebrities will compete either as individuals or as teams. There will be competitions where participants have to use their intellect to succeed. Individuals / teams will play against each other and points will be awarded. There will be a points table, similar to the IPL competition. Once the round-robin competitions are done, there will be a grand finale, typical of a reality-show, to decide the winner. This seems possible since such a game show is not present in Indian television at this point. Celebrities will also bring in more viewership. Kapil Dev’s teaser campaign suggests that the makers are confident of the concept and hence take a risk with such a marketing concept. 
2. If this is not about a television show, then it must be an advert of a product. The climax of the teaser videos by Kapil Dev will culminate in revealing an existing product category with a different concept. Now, as per the takeaways mentioned above, what could that product possibly be? Something to do with the mind. In one of the videos, Kapil Dev suggests Dhoni should not consider retirement. This makes me believe that the product category should be something that either prolongs retirement and / stimulates intellect. If my presumptions are correct, then it could be an Insurance advertisement of a new insurance product. Kapil Dev as brand ambassador also adds added weight to a product where trust in the brand matters.
3. One of the few sports where mind rules over heart is the game of Chess. We have had IPL-like concepts replicated in Badminton, Lawn Tennis, Kabaddi, Hockey. Will Chess be next in line? Some of the takeaways mentioned above support this line of thought – mind over heart and the fact that retirement can be delayed. But it doesn’t connect all the dots. Also, an IPL like league for Chess will cater to a niche audience. This appears to be a remote possibility, but a possibility nevertheless.

Let’s now wait and see what Kapil Dev has up his sleeve. Will it be a bouncer or a Yorker? Time will tell.

Chinese product in Indian pockets!

Move over Apple and Samsung. It’s time for a Dragon invasion! Not literally though, but figuratively it could be as massive as a dragon itself. I am talking about Chinese smartphones in Indian market.

An year or two ago, only a handful knew about Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo. Now, a significant proportion of the smartphone crazy consumers are aware of these brands preferably due to favorable reviews. But these products are Chinese. Why take a leap of faith and move over the Samsung’s / HTC’s / Apple’s of the world to buy a Chinese smartphone?

For one, they have almost all the features present in the flagships of top smartphone manufacturers. Still not convinced? Let’s try again – they sell for almost 1/3rd of the price of these flagships! Are you now looking at me with suspicion? “What’s the catch?” you may ask. There’s no catch at all. These are new companies who have adopted new selling models which significantly reduce the cost of the smartphone. Their model is to sell online using flash sales at minimum marketing cost (at least till they establish themselves). So, I can understand if you have not heard about the brand but their operating strategy makes it very difficult to reach you unless you are in touch with a smartphone crazy friend. 

Last to last week, I finally crossed the “Invite Only” hurdle to buy OnePlus One. They sell this brand online and through word-of-mouth marketing. Tech savvy consumers / reviewers buy the phone at near-cost price, love the specs and provide their feedback (mostly positive). I have now used it for almost 2 weeks now and must admit, using OnePlus One is a breeze. But I took a leap of faith on the durability aspect. Only time will answer my query.

If my gut-feel on these Chinese products aren’t enough, Ratan Tata has now invested significantly in Xiaomi! There must be some logic to the Chinese smartphone madness right? All this points to only one thing, your next flagship smartphone will have stiff competition with Chinese ones and chances are that you will buy the Chinese smartphone (after all, pricing matters to Indian consumers).

Click here for the detailed article I wrote for IdeasMakeMarket.com with respect to this topic.  Do read and let me know your thoughts.

Next is what, Samsung?

Two is always better than once – because there’s an option to choose from. Three is better than two for the same reason and so on. More options is bound to make you happy and assuming adequate of time to shortlist and choose from, the customers are usually the happier lot compared to the sellers / manufacturers. Manufacturers join in the fun if they are new in the market / better than most of its competitors. 

But what happens when the Elephant in the room is cornered by relatively small yet hungry foxes? That’s what, I believe, is happening to a giant smartphone manufacturer – Samsung. You may love them or hate them, but cannot simply ignore their presence in the market. The last few years have seen them decline at a rather alarming rate. Samsung Galaxy S5 was supposed to be the game changer. But it simply changed the number from S4 to S5 with a few hardware and software add-ons. Samsung’s Note series was supposed to be their USP against their biggest competitor – Apple. But Apple negated that with iPhone 6 Plus. 

Now what? What is Samsung’s response to all that’s happening in the market? Galaxy S6? That’s not enough in my opinion. The problem lies in reading the market differently, also incorrectly, than competitors. If this trend continues even for a couple of years, Samsung will stand to experience the same fate as that of Sony Walkman / Dinosaur – extinction!

I have been a Samsung user for 6+ years now and know a thing or two about where Samsung is making it worse for the user. All is not lost, however. They can still make a comeback and strengthen their top spot in a market with a lot of new-comers. With some strategic decisions up top and a little tweak here and there, they will do themselves a world of good. And they have started shaking up things, starting from top management changes and discussions to shrink their portfolio. And that’s what I have tried to describe in the article I wrote for IdeasMakeMarket, a business website. Do read it and let me know your thoughts too. To read my article, click here.

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