iLatish

Below are some of my thoughts on how to go about solving any problem as I have seen many times people seem to go wrong in fixing a problem

Disclaimer – This is based on my experience and what i feel has worked for me in fixing problems. Not everything written here will/might work for everybody.

Accept that the problem exists and needs fixing – One of the most important things but does not get enough credit. Many times its the ego which prevents us from even accepting that there is a problem as it is very uncomfortable to acknowledge that we are in a situation that needs a fix.

Identify the root cause of the problem – This requires patience and experience. Not many people want to do it as it is not a job which many appreciate and many of those who do end up diagnosing the wrong cause. Always spend good time in finding the correct root cause of the problem. Incorrect root cause diagnosis will lead you to an incorrect solution which can be turnout to be irreversible and expensive sometimes.

Work on fixing the problem – This  is the step which many people consider as the first but ideally should be the last in the process. There are many ways a problem can be fixed and it depends on many factors such as how painful or inconvenient the solution would be or how fast the fix can be applied etc.

There would be many other factors but i have seen that finding a fix to a problem can be a relatively easy task if we always choose fixes if they work in the long term without creating any new issues and fixing the root cause of the issue. The 1st step would be what i would call a long term fix. These fixes are supposed to address the root cause of the problem. There can be times when the fix is too time/effort/resource consuming and thus there are chances that the other stakeholders might not be ready to adopt the fix. In such scenarios, it would make sense to create one or multiple fixes which might not necessarily fix the root cause of the problem but would be attractive to the stakeholders as they seem doable and they will solve the immediate problem. Such fixes can be termed as short term fixes. This fixes help in solving the immediate problem but there are chances that using the short term fix as a replacement of the long term fix can cause unintended side effects thus creating new problems. Care therefore needs to be taken while designing and using short term fixes that they are used only till the long term fix is in place.

Balance – a word which everyone knows the meaning about but very few are able to apply it in real life. I feel it is one the underrated life principles which does not get enough attention and importance it deserves but is very important. It has the power to transform our lives.

Almost all things which we do in our lifetime are not binary i.e. there is no THIS or THAT , My way or the highway ..etc. There is always some place in between which you can be at and still be happy. It is the ability to identify the point where you need to stop which is difficult to practice. It is difficult because you may have to give up somethings which can make you seem less ambitious or make you appear less successful than your peers. Some of the scenarios where balance helps i feel are below. Of course there will be more important ones , but these are are some of the things which I could think of .

1. Work life balance.
2. Balance between earning and spending.
3. Luxury vs Needs.
4. Hunger for power / status in society.

I feel once we honestly start answering the balance related questions and stick to achieve that, life would be lot less stressful and effectively more happier. Convincing ourselves and immediate family is the most difficult part as your definition of balance may be very different of what your spouse or children or parents think of. There are no right and wrong answers.

I am still working on it, I hope you do too.

We are moving towards a world where religion is driving many people to harm/kill fellow beings. The concept of religion is good and I feel it has played a very important role in human history by serving as a moral compass. Without any moral compass, we might have got lost and become directionless.

My theory is that any religion (set of rules) was designed to keep the flock together so that the flock could reproduce, be happy and ensure the future generations survive. This worked well when different religion were practiced in different parts of earth, somewhat like WIFI channels. When different people use their own WIFI routers in a same area, we have clashing of channels also called as Interference. Different religions were created at different point of time and have their own biases, plus and minus. Not all religions are same. Some are designed to believe that they are only one existing and as a result are intolerant of others. Some believe that others are substandard product and only they are pure stuff thus causing superiority complex in them.

Humans are complex emotional beings and it would be foolish to believe that our ancestors would have been satisfied with only religion. When we have 10 different companies making similar Android phones, multiple types of alcoholic drinks , hundreds of different food recipes, multiple languages across different cultures how can a single religion satisfy all of us. ?

Coming back to my compass example, In a sea journey we depend on the compass for guidance but we need to understand that there can be rocks or icebergs in way. We need to apply our minds and move by skipping those obstacles. Also different ships may have compass from different brands. This does not mean only your compass is best and only you would reach the destination. Every compass has different features, packaging but they all serve the same purpose – To help you reach your destination safely and on time.

Sad part is we now have salesmen who spread hate about other religions and try to prove that only the one they practice is best. Some convert others. Some kill. End result is same – They create and spread lot of poison in the process.

I am not saying that we should give up religion. That would be like to stop eating food since we are gaining weight. We really need to introspect and start teaching the next generation to be more tolerant of others religious choices. Your religion may already have this feature without you realizing but that does not mean you should not appreciate it. In case yours does not has this feature, apply your mind, skip the rocks and icebergs.

Listen to your mind and not to the salesman.

I bought a top filter for my aquarium. It overflew twice most probably due to an incorrect  setup. I had my desktop PC under the aquarium and any overflow incident was a serious issue. It was then I felt the need for something similar to a trip switch. The bucket with the money plant serves as the trip switch aka the overflow protection. Water coming from the filter + Overflowed water from the water (worst case) will safely pass through the outlet of the bucket.

Scenario: A famous personality passes away.

Real life: People offer condolences and pray for his soul.

Facebook:  Half a million people like it!

Check the below image from my Facebook feed for proof – 13k Likes for the news about sad demise of our former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

I am not sure why this is so hard for people to understand but i have seen multiple times the same thing occur.

This post is my attempt to educate such Facebook users that liking a post means literally when you LIKE something. It is NOT NECESSARY to like each and every post on Facebook. There is no law in India or in any other country which jails you for not liking a post. For humanity’s sake , apply  0.0001% of the wonderful thing available to you i.e your brain and think before you press the Like button.

Sharing a sad news is perfectly OK and is normal. Liking it is NOT considered OK by normal human beings.

Got some practical entrepreneurship Gyan yesterday from a friend over lunch time discussion.

You can never achieve your goals as an entrepreneur till you have something at stake.

It could be money, house or your self respect. Prior to this discussion i was working on a “zero budget” or “low budget” idea. I am a changed man now 🙂

The below HP ad is MISLEADING.

 

Just because Windows XP support has ended does not mean that you should upgrade your laptop. If your laptop works fine then what you need to upgrade is your OPERATING SYSTEM. Minimally go for a Windows 7 or Windows 8 upgrade . This can be done by buying a genuine version of Windows from Microsoft and then either installing it yourself or getting it installed from your local technical support guy.

Although in future HP support might not entertain your support request for this laptop because you did something terrible which they did not permit but i guess that would be a small price to pay as you save some money by not upgrading your perfectly working laptop.

Whoever said that Gen X,Y,Z always crave instant gratification did not shop online in Indian websites. In the olden days, When ppl from my parents generation decided to buy anything for home, they use to follow the simple steps

1. Arrange the money.
2. Visit a store.
3. Finalize the deal for whatever best is available in that store or nearby stores in the market (After all nobody wanted to go home empty handed).
4. Pay for it.
5. Get the thing home which you just paid for.

When Gen XYZ wants to buy a thing they follow these simple steps

1. Search online for days sometime even months for the perfect model from their favorite brand.
2. Search a zillion shopping sites which offer you a good deal, EMI option etc.
3. Zero on the particular shopping site from which they want to buy.
4. Wait for the new billing cycle to start on their credit cards.
5. Finally on a fine day , click on the buy button.
6. Wait for the online site to process your payment information for a day or two.
7. Wait for the site to actually ship the item.
8. Wait for the item to actually reach you . This can be a painful step as courier companies are known to extremely efficient and always seem to care about the customer’s time.
9. At times, wait for few more days as your package could be stuck between 2 galaxies courtesy the courier guys.
10. On the day when your stars are aligned, you finally get your hands on that package of yours.

Now comparing the shopping habits of this generation to their parents generation, it does not take a supercomputer from NASA to conclude which generation seeks instant gratification. Gen XYZ would win hands down and even the pre XYZ generation guys would also fully agree to that.

Android’s next version will be called Android KitKat. When we have more of our Indian people in the naming department we shall see versions like Android Jalebi, Android Rabri, Android KajuKatli.  🙂