Quote --- on YOUTH , STATE OF MIND --- by Gen Douglas MacArthur

Quote:
Youth is not a period of time.  It is a state of mind, a result of the will, a quality of the imagination, a victory of courage over timidity, of the taste of adventure over the love of comfort. 

A man doesn't grow old because he has lived a certain number of years.   He grows old when he deserts his ideal.  The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul.

Preoccupations, fears, doubts, and despair are the dust before death. 

You will remain young as long as you are open to what is beautiful, good, and great, receptive to the messages of other men and women, of nature and of God.

If one day you should become bitter, pessimistic and gnawed by despair, may God have mercy on your old man's soul.

Unquote

Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Contract Management Maturity Model ( CMMM) --- Five Levels (Gist)

(Noted for my consumption and ready reference from a write-up found on the web.  Google search will throw many results on this topic).

CMMM is a tool used for measuring  the Contract Management Process capability of an organization,  and to take corrective actions towards continual improvements.   Efficient  contract management processes help organizations to achieve competitive advantage over its competition.    The five levels of Contract Management (Process) Maturity Models are as follows:

Level-1:  Ad hoc & Sporadic

Some  Contract Management Processes are used but they are used in some contracts.   Some Informal Documentation system also exists but it’s use is ad hoc and sporadic.  Processes are not used across all projects.  

Level-2:  Basic.  

Some basic processes are used and are used in selected projects.   Some formal documentation process exist but not used across all projects.  

Level-3:  Structured.  

Fully established processes exist and they are used throughout the organization.

Level-4:  Integrated.  

Here the processes are integrated with other functions or corporate processes in an organization.

Level-5:  Optimized. 

Here, organizations use performance matrix to assess the efficacy of the processes and necessary corrective steps towards continual improvement are taken.  Lessons-of-experience and the best practices learned are recorded and used towards continual improvement of the processes.

Jaikishan  (10th Nov 2014)

Contract Management - Six Key Processes

Google search will throw many results on this topic.   Noted a gist here for my ready reference.

Process-01:   Procurement  Planning

What to procure and what not to procure, how much to process, when to procure, how to procure, ….

Process-02:   Solicitation  Planning

The process involves the preparation of documents required to go ahead with the solitation.  How to solicit (bids, RFQ, RFP), documenting the evaluation criteria, ….

Process-03:   Solicitation

Floating bids/quotation requests,  pre-bid conferences, clarifications, and obtaining the quotes/proposals from prospective vendors.

Process-04:   Source  Selection

Evaluation of the quotes/bids as per the criteria planned, negotiating with eligible vendors, and concluding the procurement contract.

Process-05:   Contract  Administration

Project progress reviews vis-à-vis planned progress, budget vs actuals, change management controls, … complete.   In short, all processes other than  procurement processes indicated above, fall  in this process category.

Process-06:   Contract  Closeout

Even when the physical execution of contract scope is completed, there would be many administrative activities that are to be attended to, to close the contract.   These include all reconciliations, documentations, collecting  work completion certificates, releasing of Bank Guarantees, cancelling of some licenses/registrations,  ….    

This process also includes  post project audit to note the lessons-of-experience.   Accordingly, that experience(s) could be used to improve the processes for implementation in other ongoing projects as well as in new projects.   Continual Improvement.

Jaikishan

7th Nov 2014

 

Tapping The Potential of Retired Professionals

MN2M  (My Notes To Myself).    Comments solicited.

Unlike the earlier generation, many retired professionals from government and private sectors are now seeking placements in private organizations.   Indeed, 60  is too early an age to be inactive  (if one’s service can value-add in an organization).

For the purpose of this blog, I have classified such job-seeking Retired Professionals under two broad categories.    

Category-A:  One who seeks a job to meet one’s financial needs  &/or  is enthusiastic and passionate  about one’s work/profession.  

Category-B:  One who seeks a job to keep himself busy instead of idling at home.     

As a thumb rule, Retired Professionals may be employed in Senior Management positions.   Selectively, in Middle Management positions.   

Professionals in Category-A  can be considered for executive jobs.    For example, a Head of Department or sub-department.   Even, as a CEO.

Professionals in Category-B may be appointed as  ‘advisors/consultants’  under  an appropriate  Department Head.

In all cases, they must be able to value-add in that organization.  Non-negotiable criterion.

 

Jaikishan

7th Nov 2014

Soft Skills: Listening

(Source: From an audio-visual on this topic found on YouTube.  Noted for my consumption and also to share with my friends.)


a.  Listen Optimistically and with a genuine interest.

b.  Look for Ideas.  Do not focus on the words and sentences in a conversation or speech.

c.  Listen Longer.  Allow the speaker to finish.  Only then, we will get the gist of the conversation or communication.

d.  Listen with an Open Mind.  Do not let emotion(s) to distract us.

e.  Judge the Content.   Not the delivery.  Not everyone is good at speaking but they will have substance that would be of interest to us.

f.  Listen Opportunistically with a   what's-in-it-for-me   approach.


3rd Oct 2014

Why Good Projects Fail? (Nadim Matta and Ronald in HBR)

Excerpts & Gist from the article by Nadim and Ronald publishied in the Harward Business Review on Managing Projects.  The book is available at all leading book stores in Hyderabad.  Jotted these notes for my consumption as well as to prod the interested reader(s) to buy the book.


According to the authors, there are three types of risks in a project, namely:

a.  Execution Risks
b.  White Space Risks, and
c.  Integration Risks.

Most Project Managers take into consideration the Execution Risks but neglect the other two. 

Execution Risks are those risks that can be identified in advance.

White Space Risks are those that cannot be identified in advance; they surface during project execution.

Integration Risks. When more teams work on a project, the end product/result of such Project requires integration of the end-results of each team.  The risks related to integration of such works are termed as 'Integration Risks'.

A solution to address all these risks is to break-up the project into mini-projects & work on them.  These are referred as 'Rapid Results Initiatives' (RRIs).

RRIs can be upto 100 days duration with key results defined.   The lessons-of-experience from each of those RRIs are considered in the subsequent RRIs. Thus, the risks are substantially mitigated and addressed properly.

For example, if a project is to establish a pipeline network is 50 locations in a city, then in the RRI two or three locations would be taken up by different teams & the work is planned and executed.  During the execution, various problems would surface which would be the lessons-of-experience.

The subsequent RRIs would obviously be well managed than the earlier ones.  And, finally, the entire project gets executed as well as integrated duly managing/mitigating the various risks in its course.

Jaikishan
3rd Oct 2014

 

Tips from Andy Grove of Intel Corporation

Quote:

Most companies don't die because they are wrong; most die because they don't commit themselves.  They fritter away their momentum and their valuable resources while attempting to make a decision.  The greater danger is in standing still.  

Unquote  

(Andy Grove of Intel Corporation)