Innovation is a habit....

The significance of innovation can never be over emphasized. Every activity, business or profession needs little bit of creativity, to break the traditional way of execution and to innovate new things. 

Innovation of new product especially for a service industry is primarily driven by external factors, such as, change in regulatory requirements can open the doors for a basket of services. Eg: Sox, SAS 70, SEC attestations, etc… Innovation for a manufacturing industry could be through Market Intellegence and from R&D departments. 

The organisation has to continuously monitor and device tools and techniques to cater the changingdynamic demands. Currently convergence with IFRS could be the next big time bread winner for audit firms. Apart from innovating new products, equal amount of significance has to be demonstrated for the existing product lines and services, this calls for rethinking business modal or execution modal. 

To bring out such capabilities, which get clogged with the mundane requirements, there has to be team discussions at every level, a small spark from a subordinate can ignite flames for business. New brains should be infused in to existing systems to rethink and to bring new vision to the older process. These types of firm activities will help people to innovate as a routine. 

Innovation and creativity cannot be brought out over a day or two. A poet has to scribble a lot to bring out his first poem, a painter cannot make a master piece in day one, there has to be consistent practice to groom and inculcate the process of thinking. The biggest investment is time spent which no organization can afford to ignore. Hope this piece of information was useful. 

 Innovation is not an event, it’s a habit.

Editorial for News Revolt - 2nd Issue

Dear readers,

Success is not the word that can express the overwhelming response from the readers of the first edition of news revolt. The first edition of the revolt has breached the barriers of the globe and has reached almost all the continents of the world. The issue has reached over 52,000 readers. We spare the movement to say thanks for the readers and people who gave us back the valuable feedback to improve the product further.

We understand that winning the battle can never be called a victory when a war is left behind. This is just the beginning of the battle and the war is yet to begin. With the kind of response and committed writers, victory of the war is not far in the roads to success.

Cover storey on the announcements made by the railway ministry and the finance ministry studies the major proposals of the respective ministries and the impact of such amendments to the common man. Indian has a long way to go surpass the dictators of the developed nation, however the proposals have shown a clear indication that the fist step has been taken long back.

In today’s context, the industry which offers the maximum number of job opportunities is also suffering from the attrition and the work culture may not be suitable for many. The article tries to reflect the true picture of the segment and analyses the reasons for such high attrition.

Time tested edition – well that’s what I would like to comment on the current edition. Compiling the information and gathering from various sources has taken abnormally great time for the second edition. The poor thing is this has happened despite some of the competent professional engaged in bringing out the final product. We believe that this would be taken as an experience and not as a expense of time and efforts and expect the same level of cooperation and comments from the readers of the second edition as similar to the first one.

The reading industry is flooded with motivation books and the readers have a variety to choose from the heap of books that hit the markets each year. A book titled “The One Minute Manager” written by Spencer and Kenneth has redefined the way in which the motivation books were looked at. The fable kind of approach in narrating the happenings has clearly leaves a long lasting impact in the minds of the readers. Review of the book also forms part of the current edition.

Happy reading!

From editors desk - Kishore

The one minute manager - a book review by Kishore

Thee one minute manager
Author: Kenneth Blanchard & Spenser Johnson
Publishers: Berkley books – New York

The storey starts with a young mans quest to know “what takes to be an effective manager?” The authors slowly describe the concepts of man management and take us through the methods that can be effected practically. The man meets the one minute manager, learns the principles and techniques that make the one minute manager and joins the same organization where he gets a chance to practicing and teaches others about the one minute techniques.

The book attempts to explain about the types of the managers (in terms of approach) as per the management theory: Democratic, Participative, Supportive, considerate and humanistic.

Focuses on the bottom line:
“Only people who feel good about themselves produce good results.”
This establishes a betterment of the attitude of the individuals. Further clarifying the role of the managers, who come out with problems rather than the solutions.

The authors quote “If you can’t provide a solution to a problem then you are just complaining.”

The three basic golden principles of the one minute managing focuses on How to get the best out of the people and making them feel proud of what they have done.

“We Are Not Just Our Behavior We Are The Person Managing Our Behavior.”

The three basic principles are…

Ø One minute goals
Ø One minute praising and
Ø One minute reprimand

The book tells us to write all the goals in a piece of paper in 250 words and should not take more than a minute to read through. By continuous review of the goals would enhance the satisfaction level on fulfilling the targets and would also through light on the reasons for non fulfillment. Simply proving that asking questions can change the life not just in Crorepathi.

“The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.”

One minute praising with real care and empathy would prove the readers that not just motivating other and more than that inspiration, when the subordinate is inspire the manager would be in a position to extract the best out of the employees.

“Help People Reach Their Full Potential Catch Them Doing Something Right.”

Its not always all the employees do things correctly, some times things may go wrong and at that time the managers should reprimand the employees and make them understand that they have failed in there responsibilities. The book also emphasises on starting the reprimands with a soft tone and rather start the reprimands with a good accomplishment and stating the way out for the problems would build trust within the employee relationships.

Take A Minute:
Look At Your Goals Look At Your Performance See If Your Behavior Matches Your Goals

Power of Silence:

The authors emphasis on leaving a small gap of silence at the time of appreciating / reprimanding the employees, which would enable the other person to feel what is going on in the minds of the employees.

Making others the one minute manager:

The basic essence of the book is not just to tech the concepts of the one minute managing, but also to teach others and make them the one minute manager. In the storey the young man after learning all the concepts and effectively executing them publishes a summary chart of the one minute managerial techniques. This also ensure continuous spread of the concepts about the one minute manager and also pushes the one who has become an expert in the ladder of growth.

Key highlights of the books:

Some of the key feature of the books that’s worth mentioning is as follows.

Ø The writers use the symbol of the digital clock to represent the “one minute” management concepts. They expect the readers to think of the one minute techniques when ever the readers happen to see the modern digital clock.

Ø Free flow of conversation between the characters in a simple storey telling way, which is common for all motivation books.

Ø There is no much of an emphasis on concepts and principles that draw us to the techniques, rather the author focuses on the practical techniques (one minute) that can be directly applied in the real life.

Ø A practical book written based on the behavioral science

Ø Summary of the approach at the appropriate places helping the reader’s to recaptuate the techniques that the author has discussed in the unit.

“Everyone Is
A Potential Winner, Some People Are Disguised As Losers,

Don’t Let Their Appearances Fool You.”

About the authors

Dr. Kenneth Blanchard, chairman of Blanchard training and development Inc, a renounced author of many of the best selling books and serves as a professor of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour in the University of Massachusetts, in addition to a member of National Training Laboratories.

Dr. Spencer Johnson, chairman of Candle communications Corporations, a author, publisher, lecturer and a communications consultant, has written over a dozen books on medicine and psychology, a MD from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. The author of some of the best selling books including “Who moved my cheese?”, The precious present, etc..

The BPO impact: by Aparna

The industry that has been at the center of attraction since 1990, but what impact it had over the society. The author presents the current trends and its impact on the society on the BPO industry.

What are the requisites for setting up a BPO industry in India? Well that’s not what we address in this article; instead, we voice out something which is very much associated with this sector, a impact study. The sudden boom started since early 1990’s has spurred the growth in employment opportunities, standard of living, foreign exchange and also to our national GDP.

The roads of globalization instigated this remarkable journey of BPO to station and establish the international network in our soil. It has routed its operations in varied areas like hospitality, financial services, retail, travel, etc. It is observed that along with the growth of the industry, some events have started creeping out and has created a significant impact. Thus, came into existence of the happening words for this sector – Attrition, Breakthrough and Costs, which has become the real nightmare to the sector.

The performance of the industry, as evident from the present scenario is a boon to our economically crisis faced country. One can witness the trend of hike in the growth rate of this industry leaping from 10% to 20% in the span of few decades. Yet another significant feature is India being regarded as a dominant player in the global platform.

The revenue figures for the sector surpass its earlier years earning. The exports have risen sharply from US$12.9 billion in 2004 to US$ 23.6 billion during 2006, further projections for the year 2007 is at US$31.3 billion.

Viewing from the economic perspective, the boom is really a boost to our country, by providing a source or means for achieving the economic growth; it also enhances the status of the people associated with this sector. On the other side the industry has contributed for the disparity in the income levels in the society.

The sector has provided opportunities for college drop-outs, retired people, non-graduates, etc to get employed with sufficient training and enables them to work like others, which otherwise would not have been possible.

The overall productivity of Indians has increased and is still expected to grow, NASSCOM has projected that there lies a space for creating nearly 1.1 million jobs in the next two years in this avenue.

Newer venture and collaborations are happening in the arena which has tapped the employment and hidden entrepeurnership talent in India. The ample opportunities, commendable performance, significant revenue and growth have really marked this invasion as a breakthrough in India.


Despite the stunning growth in the industry, there has been a significant underperformance as compared to the expectations. Though, it may sound contradicting, the industry experiences some phenomenon which is curbing the growth and acts as an indirect impediment. The attrition rate is quite higher than any other industry and withholds the growth of the sector; as new employees would take there own sweet time to settle down. Even the fresher would have to cross the learning curve of the industry / company. On an average the attrition rate in the industry has been 30%-35%. In this context the HR department assumes greater significance in retaining and hiring the employable resource. Companies like WIPRO, TCS are also facing such problem where the attrition rates range beyond the industry standards. The companies try desperately to resolve the issue by weaving a good HR policy. On a closer look the inherent problems associated with the industry could be understood as follows.

1. Monotonous work culture
2. Long and irregular work timings.
3. Unrealistic targets
4. Inability to meet the long term objectives

But the industry sources say that the main reason for attrition is poaching by other competitors, which can’t be predicted and countered easily. But, as a matter of fact, the entire issue can’t be clinked with poaching. How far can a person travel by shifting from one office to other? How does it help in long run? At one point of time, the person will be out of this sector despite drawing attractive salaries.

Basically, it requires an effective motivational training and a livelier environment which makes the office, a sweet office. Generally, the BPO companies are tagged with “wok for fun” label. However in reality, the work pressure and stress faced by the employees in the sector is immense and much more than in any other industry. The scope for job satisfaction and growth potential across verticals is less when compared to other industries. Yet another factor that turns as a hurdle for the growth of the sector is increasing costs.

India entered the BPO segment and is considered as a better place for global outsourcing is mainly due to the cost factor – the benefit factor. Our country is rich in its human capital if not capital intensive. Abundant talent and cheap labor is the advantage to the investor in the segment .the companies would spend only 20% of the cost incurred in their countries, and is more than sufficient enough to meet the Indian costs.

Getting employed in a MNC engaged in the business of outsourcing is a matter of pride, with the increased empathy and sense of belongingness the output from the employee increases. All the above said factors add up together for a better synergy and a way to mint huge profits at a lower costs. Currently, things have started to swing against the BPO industry as the cost incurred for attrition alone, is rising like ever before. Latest survey indicates that major chunk of the cost of BPO in India, is only hiring cost. On the other side they are unable to hike the sale prices as the market faces stiff competition which would impact the volumes drastically. The second major cost is retention cost incurred as per HR policies to counter poaching. As the costs are soaring rocket high, attrition rates are not dropping down.

Due to high attrition and high cost of training a fresher and waiting till he passes through the learning curve inflades the costs to such companies. Therefore, the basic “cost advantage” factor is slowly wept from the BPO segment which is prevalent in India. Companies like GE, HP have rolled back to their own workplace in Australia and Ireland, as they could not strike the balance between the cost and the revenue. At least, 10% to 20% of their cost is attributed to employee related cost. In the years ahead, it is predicted that BPO segment may also report loss as their cost advantage on outsourcing will be tampered, unless the recoveries from the clients are increased.

Apparently, BPO industry is surrounded and squeezed by attrition and overall operating cost from all the sides, unless the margins are increased days are not too far to see some glorious companies start reporting losses.

Peergroup influence - writeup by Sundaram

Almost 70% of the effective living time is spent at office with the peer friends, thus selecting and managing the groups would make 70% of your life happier. A brief introduction to the topic have been presented by the author with the a highlight of issues that creep in and some simple solutions to overcome the situation.

In this page you are going to read about something for which we all spend almost 70% of our life. Yes you are right. It is for employees (even a sole proprietor is employee for his business in true sense) & about the employment. As Mr. Howard Roark, the hero of Ayn Rand’s novel “The Fountainhead”, rightly said “I have, let’s say, sixty years to live, most of that time will be spent working. If I find no joy in it, then I’m only condemning myself to sixty years of torture.” So be sure of the job you are planning to join.


The start up…
When we join a new company, everybody first plan to get friends(?) in the company, many of us don’t know that they are going to influence more on our future both in that company and outside the company. This being crucial decision care needs to be taken during the selection process and deciding our peer friends. Similar to the saying that, “You don’t get a second chance to make the first impression” it’s equally applicable for deciding the peers as well. Of-course you can change the circle of peers over a period of time but that would take lot of efforts more than taking the call during the initial days.


Building a good relationship – the rapo, with the superiors, subordinates and peers warrant significance in creating a conducive environment and work culture. Its easy to speak conceptually / theoretically but how do you make things at ground level – the execution. A summary of issues that an employee would face from the peers is summarised for ease of understanding the relationship complexities and some suggested solutions for the hindrances.

Practical tips to make office a better work space

Building relationships with your boss / subordinate create a better environment for work.

Make them understand that you really care for you.

Don’t speak about the personal and irrelevant information or comments about any one.

Don’t reveal any of your private information to your office friends – in cases of any little hitch this would induce others to act against you.

Never ever compliant about anyone to anybody. This not only decreases your value and also increases the risk of being backfired.

If you have any issues to be solved, find the person who has the authority as well as ability to solve and discuss with him. Unnecessary discussions with others will only make the issue more complicated

Behavioural tips for new joiner’s in an organisation

If you see anyone carrying an armload of files / folders extend a helping hand,

While getting into or out of a lift, always remember it is ladies first,

Hold the door open for anyone following you,

Don’t try to speak when food is in your mouth,

You always eat with your mouth shut (and not wide open)

Request your fellow diners to pass the dishes to you; never lean over,

If you have the habit of backslapping your friends to express your joy / enthusiasm / etc., you would have to overcome it. Very few people will be able to accept it on face value,

Make sure everyone understands the language in which you speak, avoid using ethnic languages,

Lister! Listen! Catch the nuances of all that is being spoken and how it is being spoken. Language can be a big barrier especially if you are a little shaky with the lingua franca of the office.

Managing the peer group and become a role model is not an over night affair but can be achieved with a conscious and continuous efforts. Thus the techniques of managing people are nothing but simple common sense. Its commonly said that “It’s the common sense that is soo uncommon”.

Monk Who sold his Ferrari - a book review by Kishore

Author: Robin S. Sharma
A fable about fulfilling your dreams and reaching your destiny.
Published by jaico Publishing – Bombay in association with M/s. Harper Collins – Canada.

With the series of books, the author narrates the experiences of his friend Mr. Julian Mantle a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crises of his out of balance life. A person at the peak of his professional success collapses for spiritual endurance. As the title implies he sells his Ferrari and provokes the interest on the spiritual side of life where he learns about the sages of Himalyas.

The author compares the life style of the west with the ancient Indian by comparing his life before and after his visit to Himalyas. The wide spread 13 chapters clearly depict the life of the sages including habitats and relationships.

- Includes Wise quotes…
“I am an artist at living….My work of art is my life.” – Suzuki
A day without laughter or a day without love was a day without life.

- Action summary at the end of important chapters covering “ Symbol”, “ Virtue”, “ Wisdom”, “ Techniques” and “ Quote”.

- Throws some light on Kizen theory – concept of continuous improvement.

To conclude a cook book with a moral of any thing done with a spiritual touch and having a purpose of life is a perfect combination to succeed in personal and professional endeavour.

First editorial for News Revolt

Dear readers,

Millions of business, political and entertainment events happen around the world each day, some catch our eyes and some manage to get in our minds. It’s not practically possible for anyone to be update on all the events that happen around, thus the need for short listing the major events and summarizing in a readable form arises. Further there are insights into the stores that go unsaid from the news media thereby depriving the innocent readers from the valuable information and understanding of the happenings.

Having felt the gap in the information media a group of people have started to bridge it by presenting valuable insight on a monthly basis into the stories that can influence the daily life of the readers.

In this issue the details of the Microsoft’s new product Windows Vista has been covered giving valuable information on the product with the new features and the pitfalls in the product as compared to the well traded and used Windows XP.

Companies have found a new way of fighting the ever growing problem of attrition in the organization. Today contemporary techniques of corporate benefits help the HR department to retain the employee as against the classic method of incentive or loyalty bonuses, which failed miserably in retaining the talent with in the organization.

A full section has been dedicated for presenting the latest news that has happened in the national and international arena, with an exclusive sports update on almost all the games.

The idea of presenting a periodical update on news has evolved from the group of knowledge sharing peers and has been started from the scratch and not by any big shots with great experience. We believe that the document serves as a silver-line to alight the thought process. With the mammoth goal in mind every word has been composed with care, we would like to remind the readers that perfection takes time and it can not be achieved overnight.

Having said that nobody is free from flaws we don’t want to take shelter, we understand nobody is human, if efforts were not taken to correct the flaws identified. Having committed to the readers satisfaction, board promises to take every possible action against the flaws identified. We wholeheartedly encourage the critics and comments to explore the best with in us.

Happy reading!

From the editors desk - Kishore

BlueCasting – Technical update by Kishore

Technology is ever changing and this time, it is the extension of existing Bluetooth in mobile phones. No more Bluetooth is just a file transfer platform, but also a commercial application having a huge revenue generation potential. The varied utilities include web browser, radio, interactive games, freebees distribution and more than all a knowledge platform for sharing information. And the good news is, it reaches the customers free of cost.

Generally Bluetooth is considered as a tool for:

Mobile to mobile (M2M) connectivity – Various formats of data are transferred from one handset to another, as simple as ringtones and video files in different formats such as MP3, MP4, avi, vob, dat, etc., pictures as simple as bitmap image to jpeg and GIF animations, contacts and business cards to complex applications and special purpose softwares.

Mobile to Laptop (M2L) – It may not be new for many of us to take a backup of the contents of the mobile using a Laptop, either with the inbuilt COM port or by using a external adapters. The second generation of handsets came with software that enabled real-time synchronization of data in specified locations in Laptop and handsets. Integration with outlook made the life simple to businesspersons.

Bluetooth handsfree – I would say handsfree is a natural extension of wireless technology, eliminating the need for a physical wire and had the ease of attending and making calls with the little headpiece. Some even had the benefit of having fun at office, tuning all the time to FM radios.

Bluetooth Gaming – Thanks to mushroomed software companies that had invented the first revenue generating application for Bluetooth technology. The games are generally downloaded through GPRS or downloaded to a desk or laptop terminal and loaded in handsets. Two or more handsets are synchronized to interact directly and can have a real-time gaming in all the handsets. Some of the Bluetooth games like FIFA Soccer, MLB Slam, Rayman, Virtua Tennis, etc…proved how big the market is.

If you are thinking that above said is exhaustive list of features of Bluetooth, you are wrong. The use of the application is ever multiplying including the latest Bluetooth recorders.

Some of us would have used Bluetooth for transferring the contents of the mobiles either to another mobile or a laptop or could have used Bluetooth headsets as hands free. Today the same technology has explored the ways of improving the communication systems. The user can surf information on the move and based on the location / range the details received. Welcome to BlueCasting.

Basics of BlueCasting:

BlueCasting is one of the proximity based marketing technique which uses the server with a Bluetooth emanating device to establish connection to the handsets. Marketing reports say, almost 70% of the purchase decisions are driven by Point of Sale (PoS), i.e. Purchase decisions are taken by the buyer at the time of purchase based on the ambience, advertisements, sales guy opinions, etc… Thus, proximity based advertising gains significance, especially in retail trade.

Commercial applications:

Companies have started using the technology for product launch, seasonal discounts, product improvements, special offers, free service details, etc… This is received well with retail chains, banks to consumer durables. Some of the corporate that have already adapted for their brand promotion or product marketing include, Landrover for launching SUV, sports updates by IPL, Pepsi smash – for launching music video in New York, Hero Honda, Maruthi, HSBC, ICICI bank, Shopper’s Stop, etc…

BlueCasting in temples:

First time in the history, a temple (Not for profit organization) adopted to technology even before corporate / commercial entities figured-it-out. Coimbatore based Vasavi temple uses the technology to let devotees know the aarthi timings and allows subscribers to download free wallpapers and ringtones of slokas where the acceptance was massive 70% with the devotees.

BlueCasting working methodology:

Setup a BlueCast server in the premises, one end connected to emanating devise and the other to the Ethernet / LAN

1. Set the transmission range for the server, which generally ranges from 10 to 75 meters
   
2. When a Bluetooth devise enters the range, the Bluetooth server allots a unique Bluetooth ID (similar to a IP number for internet connections)
   
3. The ID is verified with the BlueCast access and content control table to transmit the permitted content
   
4. The server transmits the content and logs the results at the central database
   
5. Can extend the technology for multicasting, ex: transmit advertisements, pictures, animations, cartoons, text, etc… This helps in creating consumer awareness for product and services.
   
6. The log results are available for analysis to better understand the customer needs and for product improvisation
   

Next time when you walk on the road your mobile will adapt to the surrounding even before you realize the place. Can give you directions for nearest shopping mall, special discounts, and can straight target your valet. This can only be an effective tool for marketing and can influence the buyer decisions only if the users Bluetooth is switched on and today companies adopt teasers or notice boards to create awareness about the BlueCast zone.

Google Health, a writeup by Kishore

Google Inc, with its flagship products Google search and Google ads literally changed the way of searching and turnaround the company as a commercially viable entity from a not for profit organization. As the name suggests Google health (beta version was launched recently) offers health related services for the customers and can be accessed by everyone having a Google/Gmail account. Some of the features include

Multiple user profiles: The user can create multiple profiles under one user name which allows the flexibility of creating separate profiles for allergy/syndromes, etc. The user can grant the access to doctors depending on the medication and requirement. This ensures privacy of the patient, the doctor who provides treatment for joint pains (Ortho) will not be able to see the eye (ENT) medication undergone by the patient, granting access to prescriptions and not diagnostic reports for pharmacist.

Keep track of allergies, medications, conditions, procedures, test results and immunizations. The patient can update all detail such as critical allergies, medications undergone, procedures performed, diagnostic test results, etc. Generally the doctors are expected to know about this before prescribing medicine, but the patient is not patient enough in explaining, nor have the doctor has time to investigate from patient. Thus sharing these information will ensure, flow of information to doctor and also in situations where the patient is not well off to explain to doctor. Ex: Unconscious sugar patients, cannot explain details to doctor and testing the glucose level in the blood is not feasible during critical time.

Detailed reading material: Google health offers reading material on almost 1693 health related topics, covering all ailments. The broad subcategory of information include explanation on decease, symptoms, treatments, root cause, tests and diagnostics, prognosis, prevention, complication, when to contact a doctor, illustrations – with charts and pictures, links for further study, etc.

The page also enables the users to search for the doctor or hospital based on various parameters such as distance, city, and specialization or in combinations of the above

Import records: In developed countries there are several hospitals, doctors, insurance companies and pharmacies provide e-records which the patient can access online. Google health integrates all the medical records from various sources and can be accessed in one place. In case of any updates the system automatically updates the database. The patient can access and share all relevant records online in one place. Medco is an online pharmacy – by linking Google health to Medco the user can have track of medical purchases and the best part is it can be shared with the doctors and others.

Integration with other tools: Currently Google health offers integration with other 14 online tools such as Epillbox – creates schedules for visits to doctor based on the medical records uploaded. All the above said services are available to users at free of cost and can be accessed through the URL www.google.com/health. The facility is offered with 8 medical groups; though the services are primarily offered at US based, extending the same to Indian market is soon expected.