Customer “Centricness”

So what’s going wrong between setting a direction to be more customer centric and actually implementing it? 

To start with ; Is it definitely not just a delivery and/ or sales only role

If you look at organizations that have successfully adopted a Customer Centric Strategy, you will find that the managers of all departments including internal functions such as IT, Finance and HR are in regular contact with Customers. If I will suggest this to some companies, I am sure that I will be told about the lack of success that they have had when taking their Financial Director into a Customer to help close a deal. They’re right, it rarely works. But the important thing is - are you making the best external use of your Financial Director? Are you sure he is not uncomfortable selling? After all he chose a career in finance not in sales.

In my opinion customers need, and want, to talk to their peers in other companies about current issues and common areas of concern in their area of responsibility. Using the knowledge, expertise and the experience of your managers and staff, on topics that they understand and care about, could be far more effective as it also helps build a learning relationship between the two organisations. 

This, I feel, is a key feature of being Customer centric.

Here’s an example of a good definition from an IT company’s strategic plan. 

“Being Customer Centric is about an ability for everyone in the company to continuously learn about Customers and the market. It is also the responsibility of everyone in the company to respond appropriately to what we learn.” 

Many organisations also find it helpful to state what being Customer centric does not mean. It should be obvious that it’s not about simply doing everything the Customer wants, irrespective of the impact on the business. Obvious yes, but I’d strongly recommend still saying something like “products, services and resources should be utilized in line with the organisations overall strategy as well as meeting the needs of Customers”. 

Steve Jobs always put himself in the shoes of the customer and even takes the lift down to the customer’s level understanding and more importantly, ignorance. Then he probably wonders “how can we make sure that they use my products and use it well”?[i] 

Being Customer centric means better relationships across the organisation which leads to increased revenues.

---

[i] John Scully (ex-CEO of Apple) in an interview talks about Steve approach to customer centric design. Read full article here [i]http://tiny.cc/UZCf2b

Be an Eagle

1. Eagles fly alone at high altitude and not with sparrows or with other small birds. No other bird can go to the height of the eagle. When Moses went to commune with God on the mountain, he left the crowd at the foothills. Stay away from sparrows and ravens. Eagles fly with eagles.

2. Eagles have strong vision. They have the ability to focus on something up to five kilometers away. When an eagle sites his prey, he narrows his focus on it and sets out to get it. No matter the obstacle, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it. Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle and you will succeed.

3. Eagles do not eat dead things. They feed only on fresh prey. Vultures eat dead animals, but eagles will not. Steer clear of outdated and old information. Always do your research well.

4. Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm's winds to lift it higher. Once it finds the wing of the storm, the eagle uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees. We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.

5. The Eagle tests before it trusts. When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down to earth with the male pursing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her. Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The male chases the wig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases it. He has to catch it before it falls to the ground. He then brings it back to the female eagle. The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a higher altitude and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on for hours, with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of catching the twig which shows commitment. Then and only then, will she allow him to mate with her! Whether in private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.

6. When ready to lay eggs, the female and male eagle identify a place very high on a cliff where no predators can reach. The male flies to earth and picks thorns and lays them on the crevice of the cliff, then flies to earth again to collect twigs which he lays in the intended nest. He flies back to earth and picks thorns laying them on top of the twigs. He flies back to earth and picks soft grass to cover the thorns. When this first layering is complete the male eagle runs back to earth and picks more thorns, lays them on the nest; runs back to get grass it on top of the thorns, then plucks his feathers to complete the nest. The thorns on the outside of the nest protect it from possible intruders.
Both male and female eagles participate in raising the eagle family. She lays the eggs and protects them; he builds the nest and hunts. During the time of training the young ones to fly, the mother eagle throws the eaglets out of the nest. Because they are scared, they jump into the nest again.
Next, she throws them out and then takes off the soft layers of the nest,leaving the thorns bare. When the scared eaglets again jump into the nest, they are pricked by thorns. Shrieking and bleeding they jump out again this time wondering why the mother and father who love them so much are torturing them.
Next, mother eagle pushes them off the cliff into the air.
As they shriek in fear, father eagle flies out and catches them up on his back before they fall and brings them back to the cliff. This goes on for sometime until they start flapping their wings. They get excited at this newfound knowledge that they can fly.
The preparation of the nest teaches us to prepare for changes; the preparation for the family teaches us that active participation of both partners leads to success; The being pricked by the thorns tells us that sometimes being too comfortable where we are may result into our not experiencing life, not progressing and not learning at all. The thorns of life come to teach us that we need to grow, get out of the nest and love on. We may not know it.
But the seemingly comfortable and safe haven may have thorns. The people who love us do not let us languish in sloth but push us hard to grow and prosper.
Even in their seemingly bad actions they have good intentions for us.

7. When an Eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out.
We occasionally need to shed off old habits & items that burden us without adding to our lives...

Techniques for releasing presentation nerves

Techniques for releasing presentation nerves

Breathe and relax
Take three deep breaths from your stomach, imagine the air you take in is positive energy and the exhaled air is negative energy. Hold your hand in front of your mouth and concentrate on keeping the exhaled air hot.

Visualisation
Picture the audience reaction after you have finished speaking: see them on their feet, hear the applause and the cheering, feel the warmth of feeling they hold for you, you can almost smell the success as you shake hands with your admiring followers.
Keep imagining your presentation going well

More tips for overcoming the fear of public speaking
• Use involvement techniques (participation).
• Learn participants' names and use them.
• Establish your credibility early by stating your experience, qualifications, successes etc.
• Use eye contact to establish rapport.
• Anticipate potential problems and check in advance the facilities and audio visual equipment.
• Obtain information about the audience in advance
• Manage your appearance (dress comfortably and appropriately)
• Use your own style (don't imitate someone else)
• Assume the audience are on your side
• Introduce yourself to the group in advance (via a social context).
• Practice your responses to tough questions

Ways To Win More Sales

Ways To Win More Sales

1. Start every day with a six-pack. This six-pack is a numbered (1-6) list of the most important things you want to get done every day. Don't let the distractions and interruptions rule your day.

2. Make one extra sales call every day. You will see phenomenal results immediately.

3. These are high-tech times. Nothing says high-touch more than a handwritten note. Send (5) notes every day to your external and internal customers.

4. Always ask questions. Get the prospect/customer to tell his story before you tell your story. Your prospect will pay more attention to your story if you pay more attention to his first.

5. Never leave a sales call with a qualified prospect/customer without confirming the next appointment - unless of course you enjoy the telephone tag game.

6. Develop your expertise on a daily basis by reading good books and listening to good tapes. Your success will be determined by the size of your learning library.

7. Negotiating 101 - never lower your price without gaining something in return. Never!

8. Obliterate these words from your personal dictionary: impossible, discount, commodity, and can't. If you don't own a dictionary go get one. How do you expect to improve your vocabulary?
9. Always offer three options in your proposals. Side bar note - Quotes show prices while Proposals show value.

10. How you think is everything. If you think you can - you will. If you think you can't you won't. Your "Mind" is a powerful resource when it's linked to positive thoughts.

The biggest challenges salespeople face today include:
• Too little time
• Too much work
• Too little balance in their lives
• Too much paperwork
• Too many e-mails
• Too many voice mails
• Too many distractions and interruptions
• Too many customers with a "FedEx mentality"
• Too much emphasis on pricing
• Too many priorities and not enough focus
• Too many cell phone calls
• Too many "fire drills"
• Too many demands on their time
• Too many prospects who won't give salespeople the time of day
• Too many "Deals" that have been pending for way too long

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar ... and the coffee...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the
professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and
only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the Other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are
critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Hope you are smiling at this moment!

Software Testing: The ultimate test….

Testing: the ultimate test….
Software testing offers a lucrative career option for both fresher and experienced professionals though most companies would want to induct test engineers with a few years of development experience. A career in testing can follow both a highly technical career path (e.g. developing expertise in the use of specialist tools) or a strongly business focused route which could lead to a prominent role within the business. A trainee can rapidly progress through the levels of test engineer, senior test engineer, team lead, test manager and then into other management roles within the organization. Most software testers aim for the top position of quality head, but before that they need to have expertise on all the quality processes in the organization.
Long-term career path
Given the right career path, experienced people are more than willing to jump in and make a difference, be it in the domain or in the technology front. The number of people coming in with the domain experience is more than the ones coming in with technical skills, People with work experience in financial institutions and banks are mainly recruited as business analysts. They bring in their domain knowledge which is needed for quick understanding of the applications that are tested and also to act as an interface between
“…the number of people coming in with the domain experience is more than the ones coming in with technical skills…the client business managers and the testing team".
New avenues, changing perceptions
Faster career growth and attractive remuneration is enticing even experienced IT professionals to switch over to software testing.
Faster career growth and attractive remuneration is enticing even experienced IT professionals to switch over to software testing.Software testing is a field that has always been regarded as a ‘non-happening’ option by IT professionals. The increasing significance of software testing and the demand-supply gap for professionals has changed this perception lately. From employing a handful of people for testing work, organizations today are opening separate divisions for the same. A once side-lined career stream, today there is no shortage of talent wanting to enter the field, including experienced professionals who consider it as a lucrative option with rapid career progression.
In the off-shoring space, testing is today one of the fastest growing services and has a bright future for Indian knowledge workers. The interest level in testing as a career is growing as it is a rapidly developing area. The supply of testers is less than developers hence career progression is much more rapid. Persuading software professionals to move to testing is no longer needed; many developers are, in fact, asking to be a part of the test team at IT companies.
Testing Professional – Demand V/s Supply condition
The size of the Indian testing market is growing at a faster rate than the global average. The software testing arena in India is estimated to require more than 16,000-18,000 professionals within the next one year. It is not easy to find qualified and experienced professionals in software testing as it has not been a popular field so far. On the advanced tracks of business analysis and project management, however, there is a demand/supply gap of ‘quantity that can deliver optimum quality’.
The demand is for professionals who can work on automated tools. Manual testing is getting saturated whereas the demand for testers using automated testing tools is growing by leaps and bounds. Testing/quality assurance is now a separate department in every organization and in the organizations where it is not yet, it will soon be.
Domain expertise
In the US and western countries, a tester has minimum three to five years of software development experience before he/she starts managing the quality aspects. Good understanding of software quality metrics is essential to becoming a tester and a quality manager. Moreover, they should have good understanding of the technology and orientation towards the quality aspects of that technology.

“The have’s” for software testers

• An aptitude for diagnosis and analysis.
  See the things, which are not easily visible
  A good eye for detail
  The ability to learn quickly and an urge to learn the latest in tools and technology
  Skills to meet the project timelines.
  Good communication skills
  Skill to manage people at various levels and roles.

Hence professionals with domain expertise are sought after. Professionals with development experience and specialization in network/ wireless and other high technology domains are moving into testing. In-house training and certifications offered by testing companies and private institutions is making their entry easier. The challenges in the industry are numerous and remuneration is enticing. Hence more developers and experienced professionals are ready for the shift to testing. The domains are Gaming Testing, mobile/wireless testing, network/data communication testing, CTI/VoIP testing and enterprise application testing. These verticals demand domain knowledge on the products and protocols used for development.

Independent Testing services: Helping in changing perception.
Complex business needs, multiple delivery and computing platforms, time to market compulsions and increasing user sophistication have lead to exponential increase in software complexity and size. This trend has created avenues to examine paradigms that emphasize on software development and testing as dedicated streams in software engineering.

Why use independent software testing services? The answer is "Because they provide lots of substantial benefits". Here are some of them:
Better testing quality and objectivity: Not only an unbiased and fresh view, which reveals the defects that can't be detected otherwise, but it can be crucial for the market success of the software product. Apart from this, it ensures strict adherence to customer's (not development vendor's) business goals and objectives. It also ensures that the testing is done independent of a development team so that they are unable to influence testing results.
Cost and organizational benefits: No need to hire, train and fire additional employees in the peaks of testing activities and hence there are no expenses associated with the testing processes building and managing. In this model you even get economy of capital investment: saving on test environment / tools purchasing and maintenance. Saving of office space and difference in personnel wages and infrastructure costs in different countries can be another area which is not your concern in this engagement model.

Other benefits of independent Software testing are:
· Impartial quality assessment of your outsourcing software development vendors' work
· Access to best-of-breed capabilities and best QA/QC practices
· More business flexibility and efficiency
· Time-to-market improvement
· Improved in-house personnel focus on the core activity i.e. Software Development
Testing and QA - The Indian advantage

• India has several advantages in its favor for being a preferred outsourced software testing destination:
  Availability of professionals with specialized education, skills and certifications to carry out software testing
  Specialized training institutions catering to education of software testers
  Significant time difference between the US and India, which enables 24x7 work progress. A development team sitting in the US synchronizes well with the testing team working from India. Clients (in the US) get test results just next morning as tests are run in India during their day time (night in the US).All in all, this mix, and market dynamics together offer a bright future for testing engineers in the country.

Software testing has evolved from a mundane click-click-bug activity into a scientific process of uncovering non-conformances and this has necessitated the requirement for resources skilled to perform domain specific testing; knowledge of various testing tools like Quick Test Pro (QTP), Silk Test, IBM - Rational Robot, Load Runner, Win Runner etc as well as Open STA, Selenium, WATIR (open source); and the ability to adhere to the processes and methodologies like Agile Testing, SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). These are some of the skills a fresh engineer straight out of college does not have. People with some experience, either in testing or in software development, tend to have a better understanding of these issues and hence deliver better and faster on such project requirements.

India boasts of having the largest number of certified professionals in software testing and quality (like CSTE, CSQA, ISTQB/ISEB etc). Many Indian organizations are allocating significant amounts towards skill enhancement of their staff to achieve competitive advantage in this field. Organizations take pride in the fact that Indian software testing professionals are now in demand in the international market not because of cost difference, but because of their subject-matter expertise.

Anjani Kumar Shukla
Head of Sales