MN2M on RELIGION

(MN2M  =  My Notes To Myself)

Newspapers, News Channels, …  speak of the unrest  in every part of the world and society, in the name of Religion, Politics, Caste,  … , shocking gang rapes, unwanted hate speeches, illogical fanaticism, mutilated bodies of soldiers,  ….   I have vented out my mind through this blog post.

I always prefer simplicity in everything in life; in understanding and defining Religion too.   This post is  my personal opinion on Religion based on some facts and my reasoning/logic.

Logic.  Every person follows a religion to which his parents belong.  I am a Hindu because I am born to Hindu parents.  If a child is abandoned in an orphanage (by his biological mother) soon after his birth, the orphanage would give him a name.   If it is an orphanage run by Hindus, the child would get a Hindu name; a muslim name, if the orphanage is run by Muslims.  And, so on.

Fact.  My friends  (viz. Saleem Koya, Ahmed Abbas, Rehman, Mohd Husman, Thomas De’costa, Manoj Francis, Fredrick, Jesudas, Ram Prasad, Vinay Karan, Kuldeep Singh, Nadir Khajani,  Hunaid Deesawala, Hemant Gupta, Niraj Kapasi, Kushal Das Gupta, … )  follow different religion.  No religion speaks ill of other religions.   We perfectly understand this TRUTH and the secularism among ourselves. 

Fact.  One follows religion to lead a proper life in the manner that the CREATOR expects its subject to live, perform the duties in one’s lifetime,  ... ,  and to eventually qualify for a place in heaven after death.

Logic.   When Adam and Eve, the first among the humans on earth, lived on earth, there existed everything.   The land, the plants, the animals, the forests, ... , the other planets, the Sun, the Moon,  … , the cosmos.   In other words, the CREATOR did exist before Adam and Eve were born.   Religions came later but the CREATOR existed thousands of years earlier.    

Fact.  Various messengers of God (the CREATOR) lived among the people.   People were spread across continents.   Over a period of time, people treated the messengers-of-God as GOD himself.   And, thus many religions and sub-religions surfaced over these years.   And, we have many GODS now, when in fact,  they were actually messengers of the CREATOR.  And, the CREATOR is one.

Various people, organisations, political parties, …   have systematically injected differences among the people of different religions  for their selfish motives.   This is no different from  ‘market segmentation’  as in Marketing.  

Me and my family have insulated ourselves from these illogical aspects.   We believe in secularism.  Our friend circle testifies it.  In fact, spouses of some of my cousins belong to different religion, caste, state, ….  And, we have no problem.   Life is so beautiful and peaceful among us.

Through this post, I wish the reader to form his OWN  OPINION  on every aspect of LIFE including  RELIGION.   That will provide us the clarity in our mind.   And, thus we will  NOT to be carried away by non-secular people, organisations, political parties, ….    Thus, we will NOT be used as pawns by others.  Every person will thus be a CEO of his life.

If you concur with my reasoning contained in this post, you may share the blog with others.

Jaikishan
13^th Jan 2013

CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT --- ORGANISATIONS IN INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY

Focus on smart Cash Flow management has become imperative this financial year in view of the current scenario in Infrastructure industry.

EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY:

This report contains a brief note on the following points to address and manage the Cash Flow situation.

·        OPENING  WIP  &  BILLS  RECEIVABLE

·        RE-CONFIRM ANNUAL BUSINESS PLAN (ABP) PROJECTIONS

·        CASH  INFLOW  PROJECTIONS

·        B2B SUB-CONTRACTS

·        PROJECTS  BEING  EXECUTED  DEPARTMENTALLY

·        SCM & PROJECTS  CO-ORDINATION &  PLANNING

·        WEEKLY FUNDS TO SITE

·        MANAGING  EXCESS  HR  AT  SITES

·        ENHANCE  PROJECT  CO-ORDINATION  EFFECTIVENESS

OPENING  WIP  &  BILLS  RECEIVABLE  Re-conciliation:

Sometimes, the Finance Dept and the Project Dept may differ on the Work-in-Progress (Unbilled Turnover) & Bills Receivables figures.  

In such cases, we must first identify the variances to these figures.  Finance Dept will have the project-wise breakup of these figures.   They may share these figures with the respective Zonal Heads and seek their confirmation. Ideally, the COO may take the initiative for this exercise.  

Zonal Heads may, in turn, share the figures with their respective Project Managers (PMs).   They may ask their PMs to through each Bill-of-Quantity as per the Contract Agreement (as far as the WIP figures are concerned) with their Site Engineers.   If any variance is noticed that may be re-checked.  Even after re-checking, if the variance persists, it may be conveyed to Finance Dept (HO) through their Zonal Heads.    Zonal Heads may confer with the Finance dept (HO) and do the necessary corrections (if required) to arrive at the correct WIP.

After this exercise, the Project Team as well as the Finance Team would be on the same page with respect to the WIP and Bills Receivable figures.   If this exercise is skipped, in every subsequent project review meetings, substantial time will be wasted in arguments between the Finance and the Project Team.

PMs may indicate the Gross Amount as well as the Net Amount of the WIP and the Bills Receivables in the month-wise Collection Forecast.

Project Monitoring Cell (PMC) may follow-up with the Zonal Heads and the Project Managers (almost every alternate day) to expedite collection.

RE-CONFIRM  ABP (Annual Business Plan) FOR  FY 12-13: 

The ABP figures must reflect an achievable topline.   Especially in the current scenario.  The ABP is normally prepared every January.

If there is any reason to believe that the ABP of any project would have to be revised (so as to reflect achievable figures) in view of the current industry scenario, then the ABP of such project(s) may be revised.

The concerned PMs may be asked to taken up this exercise seriously.  They may be asked to run through each BoQ (along with their Site Engineers), and to project the execution plan (keeping in mind the site situations, hindrances, …).

Instances where the ABP figures could get affected due to delay in permissions, clearances, approvals, etc  the PM may provide an appropriate note for such cases along with the likely effect on the projected turnover.

To avoid/mitigate such instances, the PMs may also suggest the preventive actions that can be taken at Site/Zone/HO.

After this exercise, the PMC at HO will have details of the achievable topline.  

CASH-FLOW PROJECTIONS:

Based on the Opening WIP, Bills Receivable and the ABP, the PMC & Finance team will be able to prepare the (monthly as well as cumulative) Cash Flow projections for the year. 

Once the Project-wise, Zone-wise and All India  Cash Flow projections are ready, the PMC will be able plan the strategy on the aspects covered in the subsequent paragraphs.  

B2B (Back-to-Back) SUB-CONTRACTS:

Currently, there would be sub-contracts which are NOT on B2B basis but could be converted to B2B basis.   You may explore the possibility of converting some of such sub-contracts to B2B basis.   Accordingly, the Sub-Contract WO for the unexecuted scope-of-work may be revised with re-negotiated rates.       

PROJECTS  BEING  EXECUTED  DEPARTMENTALLY:

You may explore the possibility of sub-contracting some of these works on B2B basis (especially if the Collection cycle is long).  This may be done selectively (& not for all works) because your site staff would become idle.

In case of New Projects, the planned execution in FY 12-13 (as per ABP) may be considered for B2B Sub-Contracting, if not the entire work.  This may be considered on a case-to-case basis.

(How to manage ‘excess staff’ (if any) has been addressed under a separate caption in this proposal.)

PROCUREMENT & PMC  CO-ORDINATION & PLANNING:

Normally, the SCM Dept (Procurement) would share, every month, the details of  ‘Open POs’  (POs raised but material delivery awaited)  &  ‘Open Purchase Indents’  (Indents for which POs are yet to be raised) with the PMC.  PMC would in turn share the same with the respective Zonal Heads.  The Zonal Heads would share it with their respective Project Managers (PMs). 

From the ‘Open POs’  and  ‘Open Purchase Indents’  lists, if the PMs feel that delivery/purchase of some of the items could be deferred by a month or two, they made intimate the SCM team through their Zonal Heads & Project Co-ordinators.  

SCM may thus re-schedule their procurement plans which will help the Finance Dept to manage the Cash Flow better.

WEEKLY FUNDS TO SITE:

Among the various items in the Fund Indent request from Project Site, there would be some amounts that have to be released by Friday/Saturday every week.   For example, the labour payments, the diesel payments, etc  which cannot be deferred.  

PMC must ensure that such Fund transfers are not delayed at all.   Delay of even 2 days in releasing such weekly payments might translate into a week’s progress loss.   Some of such instances may have cumulative effect on the projected turnover.

Ask the Site Project teams to indicate such items specifically in the Fund Indent requests (if not being done now) such that Finance Dept can accord top priority for the release of such funds to site.

MANAGING  EXCESS  HR  AT  SITES:

Excess staff at sites, if any, may be transferred to other projects, if possible.

Non-performers may be trained, if they have the potential and the passion to learn.

Non-performers who do not have either passion or potential, may be outplaced properly.

Outplacement must be handled by a mature HR official otherwise it will have serious ramifications within the company as well as in the job-market.

ENHANCE  PROJECT  CO-ORDINATION  EFFECTIVENESS:

Project Co-ordinators play a significant role is supporting PMs as well as the supporting departments (Finance, SCM, HR, …) at Head Office.

There would be ample scope for improvement in this department in most organisations.  Many a time, the non-productive works would consume substantial time of the Project Co-ordinators.   If your organisation has this issue, you may address it appropriately on priority.

Jaikishan

8^th July 2012

On Maintaining Marketability Till Retirement

Important Facts of Personal and Professional Life to ponder:

• Most of us will live beyond 80 years of age. For the employed, this implies that they will live for 20+ years after they stop earning (that is, after their retirement). Private jobs are not pensionable. Even some of the government jobs are not pensionable.

• An own flat/house, children’s education, and their marriage are some major expenditures in everyone’s life. And, also provide for our retired life. We must, therefore, plan to save/invest adequately and quite early in our career.

• Monthly medical expense will increase after one crosses 50.

• Hospitalization charges are very expensive. All of us must have proper Medical Insurance policy to cover our family. And, we must take care of our health to avoid hospitalization (as far as possible).

• Joint Family system is almost extinct. Most of us will be away from our child/children during our post-retired life. Be mentally prepared that some of us may have to spend the last phase of our life in Old-Age Homes.

• At 5% annual inflation, our cost of living will increase by 1.6 times every 10 years. For example, if your age is 30 and your current monthly expenditure is Rs 10,000.00, then, to maintain the same standard of living, you will require approximately Rs 16,000.00 pm at 40, Rs. 26,000.00 pm at 50, Rs. 41,000.00 pm at 60, Rs 66,000.00 pm at 70, and Rs 100,000.00+ pm during 75-80 years.

• For the post-retired phase, you must have some source(s) of income to sustain and live (without depending on your child/children). You may also invest in assets, that can be liquidated in a phased-manner, to support the retired living.

• Most of us may plan to postpone the retirement to 65 (or even 70, if health permits).

• Every company operates in a highly competitive market. Only those companies that perform well, that foresee changes in the market, that adapt themselves to the market dynamics, … (vis-à-vis competition) will be able to earn adequate profits to remain-in-business and to grow. Every company has to be ahead of its competitors in some areas/aspects to survive/grow in every industry.

• Since the collective quality of all employees reflects the quality of a company, it is imperative that the company must have ‘performing’ employees (to survive and grow in the competitive industry).

• Performing employees are paid well and are in demand. To earn a good income, one must possess the relevant skillsets (among other things). And, to remain a ‘performing’ employee, one must CONTINUALLY upgrade the relevant skills and also acquire new ones.

• Unlike the earlier generation (of our parents), most of the current generation employees would work in more than 5 companies during their career span. We are witnessing this general trend.

• Only those who are MARKETABLE will get job-placements of their choice when they plan to move-on to another company. ‘Performing’ employees will always be marketable because of the scarcity of ‘performing’ manpower in most companies.

Therefore, to address financial aspects of the above points, we must consciously Maintain Our Marketablity till the last day of our retirement. By doing so, we will remain a ‘performing’ employee, and will be able to align ourselves to the changing working environment in the organisation/industry.

Auto-Suggestion Tip: One may set an alarm in the mobile phone to remind on the first Sunday morning each month to self-introspect and to rate one’s Marketability.

Jaikishan

11th June 2012

On Being INVALUABLE and DISPENSABLE --- (MN2M)

(MN2M = My Notes To Myself)

Every employee must continually try to become INVALUABLE in his sphere of work.   He must draw his career path, and work towards it consciously.  Review progress every quarter.   Well, he may have to modify his career-path at times as per work/industry/economy dynamics.  

Unless a person turns invaluable, his Reporting Authority may not notice him (especially in large organisations).

Among other things, a Reporting Authority must surely provide the needed support to his direct reports to make them invaluable.    He would thus facilitate their continual growth.

A Reporting Authority must also ensure to make all his INVALUABLE direct reports ‘DISPENSABLE’.   That is, develop second-level for all critical/important positions.   Thus, he would be de-risking attrition of even invaluable resources by having an able successor readily available.

If a person while trying to become invaluable, also develops his second-level, then he is a ‘leader’ material.   Organisations must have a system to notice such leaders, and facilitate their further growth/development.

Jaikishan (30th Oct 2011)

A Non-Technical CEO in Infrastructure Organisation?

A good number of Infrastructure companies in India are based out of Andhra Pradesh.   Most of their promoters started business as small contractors, and over a period of time as they grew in size, they converted into Pvt Ltd or Public Ltd companies.    The opinion expressed here pertains to such companies based out of Andhra Pradesh, in particular; and to all such companies in other Indian states, in general.

The general belief among the Directors/Promoters of Infrastructure companies (including the company where I work, www.vishwainfra.in) is that its CEO has to be a TECHNICALLY qualified person.  I have heard this opinion umpteen times in various discussions where the stress on the ‘technical’ aspect is emphatically made, explicitly or implicitly. 

I too believed in this general opinion until a couple of years ago.   Recently, I did articulate my opinion in a discussion with a Director that the ‘technical qualification’ should not be among the non-negotiable qualification criteria in CEO selection.   I also quoted few successful and big names in our industry where the CEOs are non-technical persons.   My purpose was to convince my directors to consider non-technical professionals also when they scout for the CEO position.

Last week,  I read the book  “Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance”  authored by  Louis Gerstner Jr, who was the Chairman-CEO of IBM from 1993 to 2002.   IBM was heading towards a collapse when he took over as CEO in 1993.   He was asked by the Board of Directors to  ‘save the company’.   Over a period of nine years, he successfully turned around the company.  And, in 2002, he relinquished the CEO position to Mr Sam Palmisano.    The book is about how he turned around that huge organization.   A wonderful book.   I would unhesitatingly recommend all managers and leaders to read it.

Mr Louis Gerstner was an outsider in IBM; I mean, he had not served in IBM before he took up the CEO’s position.  His was a lateral placement.   After graduating from Harward, he joined McKinsey and worked there for almost a decade.    At the age of 35, he joined American Express and served there for almost a decade.   And, in 1993, he joined IBM as its Chairman and CEO.  He had a successful career in all these reputed organisations.

But why am I talking about Louis Gerstner in this blog?   I have a reason.  He was NOT tech/IT savvy person but he headed one of the largest and oldest IT organisations in USA.    Not only he took over the reins of IBM during difficult times, but also successfully turned around the organization.

Louis Gerstner’s story further cemented my belief that a CEO need not necessarily be a tech savvy person in an Infrastructure organization.  Hence, his reference here.   Well, a CEO has to understand the business processes, its revenue model and the industry dynamics.

Jaikishan

23^rd Oct 2011

Tip#01 for Sustaining Growth in Organisation. (MN2M)

(MN2M = My Notes To Myself)

Organisatons must inculcate the culture of  LEARNING and SHARING  information among all its employees to sustain growth and success in today's dynamic market.

This cannot be achieved just by issuing a circular or mentioning it in a meeting. It has to be preached and practiced continually by every Reporting Authority (from the Chairman to the lowest Supervisor).

It has to be a top-down approach. When the employees start sharing information/ideas/experiences/opinions with their superiors and peers, one can say that the 'learning and sharing culture' is taking shape. And, the management must continually ensure to sustain that culture.

Jaikishan (19th May 2011)

MN2M: Simple Tips for a Satisfactory Career

Let me share a few simple and general tips that would be applicable to all of us, no matter where we work:

Tip#01: Be sincere – always and everywhere.

Tip#02: Do our duty as best as we could. And, align with other colleagues towards seamless working.

Tip#03: Be self-motivated. Don't expect others to motivate us because human beings are, per se, selfish.

Tip#04: Have tolerance to withstand demotivating or demoralising or unpleasant experiences that we will face in our official arena. (Such experiences are necessary in our career; it's God way of preparing us for tougher times, such that we can sail through them easily when they surface.)

Tip#05: Always update our knowledge such that we remain relevant with the times. Only performers will survive in today's competitive world. Years-of-experience is no relevance; eventually, only performance matters. Past performances are history; we have been paid for it. We must consistently better our performance.

Tip#06: Remember that happiness, peace, respect … have nothing to do with our wealth, official status, car, …. We must define our work-life-balance and accordingly, define our content-level (i.e. satisfaction in life). This will differ from individual to individual, even among brothers.

Tip#07: Develop our level-2 always. It is also necessary for our growth to the next stage.

Tip#08: And, finally, never ever let EGO get into our head. We must consciously check it on a daily basis.

I believe that following these simple tips will help us lead a happy and satisfied life. Eventually, when we leave this world, we carry none of the material things or bank balances.

Jaikishan
2nd April 2011