Digital eminence is the currency you build today to encash tomorrow

 ( Reblogged from my IBM internal blog, First published in 2011 ) 

It is truly delighting  when people in the organization starts recognizing you as Social Software expert or SME, i have been involved with BlueIQ or Social Software adoption since Dec 2008 and i personally find it  a great way to contribute back when i receive requests to share my knowledge on this topic . I love to facilitate enablement sessions on Social Software adoption ( refer BlueIQ Education roadmap ) My facilitation experience comes in handy during such times. As we all know Social software adoption is the hot topic both internally ( in IBM)  and externally ( outside IBM ).

I am passionate about Web 2.0 technologies and consider myself an early adopter, i read somewhere reasons for early adopters to use  Social Software differs from late adopters. Nevertheless, more and more IBMers have come to realize the benefits of participating online and collaborating through emerging technologies or or so called Emerging Social Software platforms. We have Lotus connections as the Enterprise wide platform in the form of Social Software in IBM.

In this blog i will try to focus on , what are the tasks i effectively accomplish/ed when i use Social Software.

1. Finding Experts - Industry skills is the focus for ISA. I have discovered SMEs on industry learning online when i was looking for content on Industry Learning. Industryspace is a great place   to find Industry experts and learn from them.

2. Finding Content - I have actually learnt all about BlueIQ by following content of people like Luis Suarez, Sacha Chua , Andy Piper . Outside IBM  Andrew Mcafee is my favorite blogger and thought leader on Web 2.0.  Great content led to discovery of people which led to greater, richer content. Both are inter-related. Social Software helped me identify who are the Thought Leaders in the field in which i had desired to   develop my expertise on, after identification, it was a matter of following their online activity, blog, bookmarks, and voila ,i had access to their expertise information , thought leadership and valuable content.  Let's agree we all stretch our imagination and add to formation of new paradigms and perspectives when we meet new people. This online phenomena to meet new experts online had its own charm coupled with my desire to learn new stuff ! I started out as a follower and didnt even realize when i became a contributor . This transition and journey from follower to contributor was natural.


3. Sharing materials quickly- I am careersmart Focal for ISA. i receive several requests for sharing additional information and materials on CareerSmart with my peers and colleagues. Believe me, i love it,  when i dont have to scan thousands of emails and are able to point them to a link in a couple of seconds. Online sharing has heldped me to shorten  turnaround time, manage my time better. I am better organized when i keep my documents online. All i have to do is to point to the relevant links.

4. Communicating effectively - I participate and communicate online as the situation demands. Blogs are an effective medium to communicate online.  I wish more and more colleagues of mine were participating & communicating online , i know ..i know .. there is a long way before i give up on email ( i don't need to go that far actually !  ) as most of the valuable information still remains in notes and archives, wish there a publish to blog button in email !

5. Managing events-  How could i forget , it is through Social software that  i have learnt about online meetings and managing events online. how much easy it is  to organize and manage a event using w3 inviter and Lotus live. I have organized quiet a few successful events and sessions  through w3 inviter and participated in sessions worldwide via w3 inviter, had it not been IBM Social software, i would
     not have learnt new ways to effectively run online meetings through Lotus live and manage events through w3 inviter. More on it , in a seperate blog.

6. Continous Informal  Learning-  Need i say more ? I am writing this blog because i was determined to build digitally eminence and i had an insatiable desire to learn new skills and new knowledge and because i participated in online forums inside as well as outside IBM, as i write this post, my twitter follower count has crossed 2000+ mark, a feel good factor :-) ,.hehe... I once coined one liner which i would like to quote here , Digital eminence is the currency you build today to encash tomorrow..                          

The Roads Less Travelled

Namik Glacier Region Trekking Trip

1.     On the journey of life, you will meet many fellow co-travellers who will  make the treacherous journey seem easy & be your friends for life. Know how to identify them.
2.     We all travel together but it is the solo inward journey you make that count most.
3.     During Moments of solitude  you will question about your beliefs, values, priorities and ponder about Identity, Ego, Love, Life, Sex and God
4.     Goals and dreams are supposed to motivate you to get into action. At times you will run, walk, follow, lead or simply, take a pause to smell the roses and enjoy the view. Believe in beauty of goals and dreams.
5.      You will feel inspired with deeds of good people and noble spirits. Your heart will be filled with gratitude and love for such souls. Be grateful for such people and experiences.
6.     A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. There will be many moments when you feel like singing even when no one is listening because you will be overfilled with so much joy and love .
7.     Small consistent steps count  and random acts of kindness will make you a truly noble human being.  At certain stage in Life, You wont act to impress others but for yourself , to scale the internal heights and touch the depths that you have set out for yourself.
8.     Keep stretching the limits. No one but you tell yourself what you can or can not achieve.
9.     People will judge you despite all the good intentions. Don’t take them seriously who are quick to jump to conclusions.
10.     Narratives matter. Don’t let anybody else define you. Make your Life story worthy of being told over and over, a million times.
11.     Create a quality of mind which provides a Zen like state irrespective of situations, surroundings or people. That will be your bliss. 
12.     Some People will hurt you and some people will love you . Don’t stop believing in Love. Learn to forgive. For some people don’t  hurt you deliberately, the fight is with their own demons. Be forgiving and kind to people who hurt you.
13.     Let your internal compass be the guide. You will  know which bridges to cross and which to burn. 
14.     Pray. Prayers work wonders.
15.      Sing, Love, Dance, Eat, Pray, Walk, Run, Get going. Chase your dreams. Dreams often come true.

Open Educational Resources for HR professionals

MOOCs offered by Coursera, Udacity , EdEx have gained much popularity over last few months. Corporations have started to experiment with MOOCs for skill development and as a low cost innovative solution to manage learning needs of the employees at large scale . When it comes to Open Online Educational Resources , HR Professionals need not look far for their own professional development. Through this blogpost, I share some of the useful OER for HR Professionals.  

1. IndiaHRChat – Hosted by Dr Tanvi Gautam  every month. #IndiaHRchat is a monthly twitter chat aimed at creating conversation with/for the Indian HR community. Every month a guest is invited as Expert and a chat discussion follows for an hour on a predetermined HR topic . Insightful knowledge nuggets get generated in real time during chat discussion.  As the saying goes, The smartest person in the room is the room , IndiaHRChat is a demonstration of collective intelligence & represents true power of a community. Dr Tanvi Gautam has wider network and interviews experts across the globe & share insights through Podcasts which are my absolute favorite.  Hashtag #IndiaHRchat

2. IndiaHRLive – Hosted  by Nisha Raghavan . IndiaHRLive is a live TV for HR professionals. Nisha interviews HR & Industry experts every week . You are likely to meet key HR & Industry experts and get to hear them live.  Hashtag #IndiaHRLive
3.  Gautam Ghosh Blog – Gautam Ghosh has earned reputation as a Thought Leader in Social HR . His blog is a great resource to stay current on various aspects of Talent,  HR and Design of Open Transparent Organizations. Gautam curates and highlights interesting HR initiatives through his blog posts and shares his insights on HR trends & initiatives across the industry through his blog.




4. CiteHR Community – Hosted by Nabomita Mazumdar , offers real world insights through collective professional intelligence on Human Resources. Do you have a question, problem or a situation in the field of HR you are grappling with, chances are your questions would have already been answered on CiteHR , or you will find several HR professionals coming to your rescue to provide solutions to your problems or specific situation. HR members openly share their knowledge and experience. I Thank Nabomita  for tagging me sometimes to engaging & interesting HR discussions happening on the forum.





5. Abhijit Bhaduri Blog – Abhijit  Bhaduri is the author of 3 books & Chief Learning Officer at Wipro. He writes interesting blog on variety of HR , business and current topics.   Abhijit writings are influential , not just limited to  HR , and is reflective of wide range of interests across Movies, Books, Music . Abhijit is queit selective in what he tweets.  I am appreciative of  Abhijit ‘s twitter curations too.

6. Meghan M Brio Blog – . Meghan writes a popular HR blog on Forbes.  Meghan through her writings cover  leadership, career, HR tech and social enterprise .  


7. Luis Suarez Blog – Professionals who have a deep interest in KM, Social & Open Business, Social Learning, Enterprise 2.0  may already know Luis. He is a popular and  well known Thought Leader on Social Media . He writes an interesting blog which covers aspects of Collaboration, Knowledge work, Communities, Social Learning and Open & Transparent Business .Luis and I have worked together for a brief period of time on Social media adoption across the enterprise and I have picked his brains a lot while working together on the key initiative. I look for opportunities to work with him as there is a lot to learn about Communities, Collaboration, and Open Business and Changing nature of work from him . Few years back,  I had my first novel experience of participating in online sessions organized by Luis where hundreds of global IBMers participate and exchange in online knowledge exchange in real time ( similar to twitter chat discussions). Luis shares his deep knowledge & expertise through his blog regularly.  

8. Jane  Hart Blog –  A must for all Learning & Development professionals to learn concepts of PKM ( Personal Knolwdge Management) and emerging Learning Frameworks.  


9. Khalid Raza Blog  –Khalid is a dear friend and colleague at IBM. He shares his experience, observation, opinion along with practical tips and advice on social media through his blog Social Glamor. I & Khalid worked together to conceptualize initial framework for India HR Hub – A community for India HR professionals @ IBM India. Khalid is involved with Social HR Programs and initiatives at IBM. He knows how to keep the audience engaged and make online communities work. I look for opportunities to work with Khalid as work is fun and engaging with him.

10. Dr Lynda Gratton Blog – I revere Dr Lynda Gratton’s work for her insights, strategic HR trends , studies on organizational behaviour & research on Future of work.

For guidance on  Who to Follow on Social Media , refer to SHRM list or  Top 30 HR, Recruitment and Social Media Industry Professionals to Follow on Twitter  , a list curated by Kunjal Kamdaar.
 
Which HR people you follow & learn from on Social Media ?
 

Follow Every Rainbow

Are you an aspiring entrepreneur? Do you have a dream ?  Is something holding you back ?
Then you need to get hold of Rashmi Bansal’s latest book “Follow every rainbow”. The book is collection of stories of  Life of Women Entrepreneurs , how they came up against all odds and how they  made a name for themselves.
The book has easy to read format , the stories are diverse . The 25 stories are categorized into 3 sections namely Lakshmi (the Indian Goddess of wealth), Durga (The Indian Goddess of strength) , and Saraswati (the Indian Goddess of Knowledge) .
The 8 stories under Lakshmi section are about the women who brought wealth and prosperity to home & who involved Family members into their ventures.  Durga section is about stories of 8 Women with extraordinary strength, circumstances forced these women to be enterprising, to fight for survival.  Saraswati section has 9 stories of  women who are armed with professional education and they enjoy unusual freedom to be who they wish to be, beyond traditional roles.  Each narrative is interesting and a story of triumph, hope, and success. It gives reader a good understanding of the Life of a Women entrepreneur, what it means to succeed against all odds.
A common theme running across these stories is that these women found their calling, raised the family and run the business with love , laughter , patience and perseverance.  These women started out small and made it big through their passion and continuous efforts. They were willing to overcome the challenges that lay in front of them to pursue their dreams and were determined to succeed.
Stories to inspire
My Personal Favorite is  Story of Meena Bindra ( owner Biba ) who got married at 19, spent 20 years raising the family and at age of 39 got into designing of clothes and selling them informally. Together, along with her sons, she has built a 300 crore ethnic wear empire through her hard work and determination.
Another personal favorite is story of PremLata Agarwal , an housewife, who at the age of 48  became the oldest Indian Woman to scale Mount Everest . What courage, grit and determination. Her story just proves that age is no bar for any kind of achievement. As C.S. Lewis said “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream.
I like Neeti Tah’s (owner of 36 Rang ) story too . Neeti quit a high flying advertising career to return to her hometown in Chattisgarh and do something different. She combined creativity with commerce and is bringing traditional arts to the notice of the modern world.
What is interesting to note  is the usage of Hindi Language (accompanied with English translation ) at few places as it might have been recorded or captured during the actual interview. This adds to the conversational style of the book. Reading this book feels like you are indulging in  a dialogue with great women who were determined to follow their passion and had the courage to pursue their dreams.
Right here, Right now: What you can do
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend this book to every women (even men too, why not !  :)  ) who want to pursue their dreams, who may be thinking of starting a new journey , an entrepreneurial career  or  those who simply appreciate a good read . There is lot of practical advice in the book to learn passion, perseverance, determination, courage from Women who have been there done that – Start small, stay hungry , have the courage to dream a new dream , connect with like minded folks,  Find a support group , join a (Women) Network, rely on support extended by family, and most importantly, have faith in your talent and abilities.
Go, grab the book and enroll into Entrepreneurial Leadership Course   This book along with Entrepreneurial Leadership Course  will inspire your enough to be motivated to pursue Entrepreneurship journey and follow your dreams :-)
Other resources of interest

1. How to quit your job and start your business 
2. Top 10  Indian women Entrepreneur’s on twitter  
3. Podcast: Disrupt yourself with Whitney Johnson 
4. Podcast: Live the entrepreneurial dream 
5.  Author interview : Rashmi Bansal 

Demographic Dividend or Demographic Disaster

1. India's future growth depend on supply of skilled workers .  Can India can achieve target of upskilling 500 Million workers by 2022 ?
2. Acc to a research , 80% of the workforce in urban and rural areas does not possess any identifiable marketable skills . What can be done to change this situation ?

3. Employability of graduates coming out of our educational system is becoming a matter of great concern. Only 25 % of graduates are employable. What steps Educational institutions  need to take to churn out graduates with employable skillset ?

4. Are some of Educational institutions often out of touch with the needs of the industry, producing graduates with skills that are outdated or irrelevant ? What more needs to be done to change the situation and  strengthen Industry Academia partnership ?

5. Innovation is critical to create qualified, specialized and global talent pool that will fuel needs of Industry. What role can Corporates play to experiment new ways of creating, developing and maintaining talent ? 
 

Education 2.0

"#Education is a process of living not a preparation for future living" ~ John Dewey 

Learning Theories for Digital Age

Learning Theories for the Digital Age from Steve Wheeler

23 Questions for a Startup

1. What is the current business strategy and model of the firm ?
2. What is working well ?
3. What are the current challenges in operations  ?
4. What do clients of the client appreciate about the firm ?
5. What are the signature strengths of the startup  ?
6. Does it have robust portfolio of products / services to sell in the market ?
7. How does marketplace changes affect the business strategy ?
8. Is there a need to make changes in the organization as business shift to being more connected organizations ?
9. How big is the sales team ? Do sales team  members have right type of skills & competencies ?Are employees right fit to the culture ?
10. Does marketing strategies complement efforts by Sales team ?
11. Does marketing team take continuous feedback  from sales team  ?
12. Does the product design team work in collaboration with Sales and Marketing ?
13. What would  improve the performance of organization ?
14. Does the firm have global alliances to  re-affirm its position in the market ?
15.  Is the current business model / strategies in alignment with marketplace ?
16. What would success look like ?
17. What are the current practices for investing in skills and competencies of its employees ?
18. How many employees does the firm  employe and  in which all geographies  ?
19. What is the current model of collaboration for employees ?
20. Are employees familiar with  social and informal learning ? Do employees engage in Social Learning through Twitter chat discussions or through social media ?
21. Do employees have effective PKM ( Personal Knowledge Management ) strategies to stay current and upto date ?
22. Does the firm have multi generation workforce?
23. What are the employees attitude, motivation, values towards learning ?

Where did you get all this Wisdom ?

I came across this brilliant story from one of the HCM Consultant in my network I really admire. sharing with blog readers.

A fox, a wolf, and a bear went hunting, and each captured a deer.   A discussion followed about how they should divide the spoils.
The bear asked the wolf how he thought it should be done.  The wolf answered, “That’s simple.  Each of us should get one deer.”
As soon as the wolf was done speaking, the bear ate him.
Then the bear asked how the fox proposed to divvy up the spoils.  The fox offered his deer to the bear and suggested that the bear take the wolf’s as well.
“Where did you get such wisdom?” asked the bear.
“From the wolf,” replied the fox.

Source:

“The Difference Maker” by John C. Maxwell 

Image 

www.nj.gov 

Which world is real ?

Saw this ad on FB. Brilliant marketing by Lifebuoy.( Hindustan Unilever ) .
I found , the Facts highlighted at the end of the video , a little disheartening.
"We the People " who live in metro cities or online  eg Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin are disconnected from The problems of  "Rural ( Real)  India"