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progmoessay175 · 5 years ago

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essayonleadershipforstudents260 · 5 years ago

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recentanimenews · 5 years ago

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INTERVIEW: Keeping English Dubbing Alive In The Wake Of COVID-19

With the state of emergency affecting the rate of production in Japan, the anime industry has taken steps to become operational once again, but under new safety guidelines. Part of those safety guidelines includes changing the setup for voice recordings. In Japan, voice actors will typically work in groups where they will all record an episode in the studio together, but that's not really an option right now in a COVID-19 world. Instead, Japanese voice actors have had to downsize when it comes to voice recordings, and are now recording multiple episodes one actor at a time. While this is a big change for the dubbing industry in Japan that will require some time to adjust to, this method of recording is actually the standard in the States. So, if Japanese voice actors are adjusting to the way English voice actors record anime, then how are English voice actors recording during the COVID-19 pandemic? The answer is ... remotely.

Adapting To Remote Recordings

At the time this article is written, other countries have slowly begun to open back up, however, some businesses and industries in the U.S. remain closed. Businesses like the dubbing industry have had to adapt to different methods in order to continue to operate. When it came time to conduct remote voiceover sessions, some voice actors found themselves ready — or at least somewhat ready. Like voice actress Faye Mata (Konosuba, The Rising of the Shield Hero). "I wasn't super prepared, but I had looked into recording remotely before we were all forced into that hikikomori (shut-in) life so I had a general idea of what I'd need. I guess it gave me a reason to finally take the leap."

Other voice actors, on the other hand, weren't as prepared for work-from-home life, as was the case for voice actress Laura Stahl (Welcome To Demon School Irumi-Kun, The Promised Neverland). "Oh, I was soooo not prepared!" says Stahl. "At the time I was working off of an 'all-in-one' monitor/computer, auditioning with a very basic USB mic. I had never had a remote record session before. Not to mention I didn't have the chance to go home and work on changing that situation for over a month into lockdown. I was staying with a friend for a little while. The whole thing was anxiety-inducing."

Having to quickly adapt to the new workflow didn't just mean recording from home. It also meant voice actors having to create an environment in their living space that is optimal for voice overwork. Voice actor Chris Hackney, (Tower of God, Fire Emblem: Three Houses) explains, "When we had to stop going into studios, it was a mad dash to try and get a decent enough acoustic setup in my home so that I could hopefully be up to an acceptable standard to the studios."

Voice actors have the tough challenge of creating a space that could produce audio equivalent to that of audio produced in a sound studio. Depending on space and funds, for some actors that meant building/investing in a recording booth, for others, it meant soundproofing a space in their homes, such as closets! Voice actor Robbie Daymond, (Sailor Moon, The God of High School) took to Twitter to show fans a handcrafted recording booth complete with custom framework and ventilation system.

— Robbie Daymond (@robbiedaymond) August 10, 2020

Mata explains, "I went through a breakup just before lockdown and went into full work mode, buying and upgrading my home studio and a streaming setup because I was determined to stay positive and be successful rather than stew in sad panda mode." In a YouTube video, Mata takes fans on a virtual tour of Porygon-Q, a prebuilt Studiobricks One Plus booth. "I used to record in my closet," says Mata. "But realizing how long we'd be out of studios, I didn't want to gamble anymore on neighbors taking random showers at like 4 PM (those SHHHHH water sounds are brutal). Also, I don't want them to think I'm murdering people all the time. My roommate has received texts from the neighbors asking if everything's alright because they heard screeching and yelling." Porygon-Q is equipped with various microphones for animation, video games, and commercials, "[Thick] squishy pads people stand on while washing dishes that genius moms probably invented so I don't get tired standing during long sessions, and a scented unlit candle so it always smells nice," explains Mata.

youtube

As previously mentioned, due to each actor's unique circumstance, every setup is different. "My recording space is in my bedroom," says Stahl. "I have a solid-state mini gaming pc mounted to the wall behind my desk, two monitors for ease of dubbing, carpets on the floor and foam on the ceiling to dampen noise — and I suppose the most unique thing about my space is that I ran a track in a U shape on my ceiling around my desk and hung sound blankets from them." This home studio sounds pretty original, and Stahl had a lot to think of when creating her space. "I considered using my closet, but it's not very large and would've been cramped and uncomfortable, which is a distraction for acting. I didn't want to use the common areas for ease of living for my housemates, and I didn't have an [exorbitant] amount of money or time to spend on something like a true booth. This seemed the most [efficient], and cost-effective solution."

Creating a home space conducive for voice recordings was the first part of the remote recording process for actors. The next step would be working with studios on what is needed to conduct smooth recording sessions. Dubbing studios like Funimation gave fans a sneak peek into how they conduct their remote recordings with the release of My Hero Academia Episode 84. In a Twitter post, ADR director Colleen Clinkenbeard describes Funimation's remote process where special dub kits were sent to the cast. She also shows fans an iPad with the software to be used for the session which Clinkenbeard describes as a "mini little Pro Tools." When it comes time to actually record from home, "It gets easier the more you work with each production house," says Stahl. "They [studios] do each have their own particular way they want to do things — and the first session with a client since lockdown began is always a little nerve-wracking. Then you start to get into the groove of how you need to prepare for each session depending on who you're working with that day."

— Funimation (@FUNimation) April 10, 2020

SDI Media, the studio who dubbed DEVILMAN Crybaby, discusses workflow and tips for voice actors when setting up their recording space in a recently published article. With each studio taking a different approach, Chris Hackney finds that "Most studios are using some combination of Zoom/Skype/Etc to talk to me while I record and then there's various professional methods to stream the high-quality audio back to the studio. A bad Internet connection means you could also blow a perfect take, so it's a lot to think of. The other weird thing is sort of doing my own engineering, where I'll have to think 'Oh, this line is going to get kind of loud,' so I may have to manually control that so we don't blow a take. It's a brave new world for us all, but I'm happy to make it work." We can only imagine the extra level of difficulty added to each recording session now that voice actors need to become more cognizant of not only their performance but the technical results. While this must be difficult for the VAs, it does make sense seeing as everyone involved in the production of dubbing has to go the extra mile to continue to operate — including the audio engineers. "Bless the engineers right now," Hackney says. "Because they have the Herculean task of making all of us sound like we recorded in the same space."

The Challenges Of Remote Recordings

Maybe you used to think recording anime voice-overs from your home seemed like a dream. But now we know it doesn't come without its challenges. Studios are specifically designed for conducting smooth and efficient recordings blocking out any and all noise from the outside, but every actor's remote space presents its own obstacles that need to be worked through. Dangers to a solid recording session can be cars passing by, aircrafts traveling overhead, unexpected maintenance work, or lawnmowers, just to name a few. For Chris Hackney, it's "Trash day and my kids! Myself — and I know many others — just don't have the kind of money or space to build something top-of-the-line like at a studio, so we're at the mercy of whatever the world has to throw at us. Trash day? Gotta wait for them to leave or schedule around it. My kids play a little too loud? Blown take. Everyone's doing their best to make this work, and I'm thankful for the patience."

Remote recordings definitely present their fair share of challenges, but does working from home mean more work overall? "100 percent," says Mata. "As far as working in LA goes, eliminating the wait in traffic for two hours every session gave me more time in my day! ... to be even more of [a] workaholic." For others, the answer is a little more complicated because once again, every voice actor's situation is different. "Actually I try to limit how many sessions I put into a day, or at least space them out well because I share this living space," says Stahl. "I can't ask my roommates not to leave the house between the hours of 9-4 PM just because I live over the garage. Nor can I ask my roommate who works in the office by my room to whisper in all of his Zoom meetings and phone calls. And I don't want to leave my air conditioning off for 6-8 hours in August. I try to be [courteous] to my housemates."

Is the Future of English Dubbing Remote?

With the prolonged closures, no one really knows when English dubbing will become fully operational at studios again. Because of the uncertainty surrounding the virus, and with actors and studios adjusting to this new way of dubbing, it begs the question if the dubbing industry will adopt remote recordings permanently. For Chris Hackney, the answer is, "Not at all. The current environment is a fine substitute for the time being, but having a studio full of talent and the creative team can't be beat."

But this doesn't mean all talent are anxious to get back in the studio. "I see a healthy mixture of both," says Mata. "Some people have been recording remotely for a long time. When the US gets its ship together and it's safe to record in the same studio again, that is honestly best for audio consistency as far as space + equipment goes ... but even then, it's possible to adapt." And Stahl? "I think it's going to be a mixture. I do think many projects will go back to in-person recording. But at the same time, the fact that many actors have improved their home setups for this situation widens the talent pool. If a show that's produced in LA really wants an actor who's living in Atlanta now — it's more feasible. Or perhaps, if there are some actors that wouldn't consider a supporting role because it may not be worth the commute from say the OC to Burbank to them — now maybe they can negotiate. Only time will tell."

The COVID-19 virus has caused worry and disruption on a global scale. Many are unsure when things will return to normal, and even when they do, will businesses continue to operate under the safety guidelines implemented during the pandemic, or will they try to return to the same workflow as once before? As Stahl said, "Only time will tell." But until then, great job to all the voice actors, studio staff, and recording engineers who are working hard to keep bringing anime to the fans!

What are your thoughts on the English dubbing industry's remote recording process? Let us know in the comments!

To keep up with their work, you can follow Laura Stahl, Chris Hackney, and Faye Mata on social media.

Pro hero Veronica Valencia is an anime-loving hot sauce enthusiast! You can follow more of her work as a host, writer, and producer on Twitter and Instagram.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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natesafety · 5 years ago

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The Future of the Field

By Sam McGuire (Red Mountain Scientific)

Compared to the number of NATE members, the 500 towers I climbed in 2016/17 are just a drop in the bucket. By the time I was done climbing, I had seen a lot of this country and learned a lot about towers. But more than anything, I realized just how much work it takes to keep this industry up and running.

My brother and I always started our day way before the sun came up. We’d grab a McDonald’s coffee and listen to a podcast on the way to our first tower. We had hot climbs, cold climbs, windy climbs, and pretty gross bird climbs. We stayed at cheap hotels, worked off bad WiFi, and spent long nights writing reports before waking up to a long day on the road chasing towers.

Thank God for Seinfeld and six packs or I don’t know if we would have made it through.

All that said, it was one of the most formative and impactful years of my life. An invisible industry was all of the sudden at the forefront and towers were suddenly everywhere. Friends and family found it interesting at first and now just want me to stop pointing them out wherever we go (just ask my wife).

Needless to say, the tower industry found a special place in my heart. Once you know it’s there you begin to understand how important it is in our day-to-day lives, connecting us with loved ones, helping us work faster and smarter, and keeping us together in even the most trying of times. But stacked steel is pretty worthless without the men and women who build them, deploy our networks, and make sure this critical infrastructure is operating safely and efficiently from coast-to-coast and beyond.

It is for those reasons, among many others, that I am so passionate and excited about the future of this industry. Innovation around infrastructure deployment is taking us well beyond towers and onto rooftops, billboards, water tanks, light posts...you name it. As this trend continues, we will need to advance our workflows to keep up or we’ll continue to find our supply of technicians outmatched by the demand for their services.

Traditional workflows will be reshaped significantly by new technologies in the coming years. Whether it’s the way we manage projects, communicate with crews, access sites, or collect data, a digital transformation is upon us. And while there are a number of technologies worth diving into, today we’ll focus on data acquisition and discuss how UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), better known as drones, are changing the way we work.

Just a couple of years ago, I joined my first NATE UAS Committee meeting. There were about ten of us sitting around a table in a small conference room in Nashville. This year at NATE UNITE we found ourselves moving rooms at the last minute so everyone could fit and even then, we ended up with standing room only.

Outside of those meetings, NATE has been the leading advocate of UAS technology in the wireless infrastructure industry by providing sessions at NATE UNITE, Summer Drone Summits, the publication of Industry Best Practices, and even guiding the FAA on legislation to the benefit of our industry. That advocacy has helped drive awareness of the technology and helped guide the industry towards this amazing new tool.

Just as the Committee has grown over the years, so has the use of drones out on site. While the adoption of drone technology is still very early, we are already starting to hear about the benefits and we’re seeing the promise of its use at scale. Whether you’re a technician, operations manager, engineer, or up in the C-suite, the benefits of this data is compelling.

Today we’ll look at these benefits in three categories:

1. The Field

2. The Data

3. The Back Office

The Field

This is where it all begins. Effective deployment and management of resources in the field can make or break a project. It’s also where we encounter the greatest risk to our most valuable assets - the crew.

Improvements to health and safety are the foremost benefit that comes to mind when considering UAS technology. If nothing else, it allows our technicians to assess the environment they are working in and approach their task with real time data. Can we safely navigate an obstructed climb, missing climbing peg, kinked safety climb, or damaged top terminator? Yes. Does it benefit us to understand these hazards before commencing elevated work? Absolutely.

In addition to a climb path assessment or bird site evaluation, drones also provide us the opportunity to minimize strenuous, repetitive motion. The health benefits are hard to argue but it goes beyond that. Fatigue inherently increases the risk of injury on-site so reducing length or number of climbs is a no-brainer.

Taking drones into the field can be an intimidating proposition. After all, towers are your specialty, not flying robots, but with the advancement of automated flight programs and the price point of very capable, mid-range airframes, making this technology a part of your day-to-day operations has never been easier. Some important things to consider are FAA Part 107 Certification, insurance requirements for tower companies and carriers, and client expectations regarding the data. All of which are a relatively easy bridge to cross.

While drone data may not be needed for every site visit, there is growing demand across the industry for these data sets incorporated into traditional deliverables. Some call it a hybrid offering, I’d argue it’s just the beginning of a bigger movement.

The Data

While drones still do have their fair share of limitations, one advantage that is hard to argue with is the new perspective they provide. They may not be able to turn a wrench or open a box, but they can certainly help you see the backside of a monopole, the far leg of a self-support, or assess a guy line safer and easier than a climb. They can also just as easily collect 360 degree views of a tower from tower top to bottom.

The debate within the industry has been over the value of said data. What are its limitations? How reliable is it? And more than anything, what do I do with it? All of these are fair questions that no one has a true and final answer for yet. Despite a few thousand flights happening annually, there still isn’t a consensus on how to best leverage this data across the industry.

2D vs. 3D? My answer to that question would be: Yes. Do it. Explore the offerings that exist out there today. The sooner you start to explore your options, the sooner you’ll begin to understand the potential impact within your organization and the benefits it can bring your end customers.

Depending on your place in the market, there may not be much use for it at all. And you know what? That’s okay.

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence get a lot of buzz today, and for good reason. As that side of the business begins to mature, we will save countless hours behind screens conducting analyses on damage, inventory, change detection, etc. While these offerings are still relatively new, research is validating use cases every day. Similar to 2D vs. 3D solutions, a critical mass of data will be required for our industry to start seeing the benefits on a larger scale.

The Back Office

Whether your company works on towers, owns towers, resides on towers, or all of the above, the impact of drone operations will be most significant in the back office. Datasets that have never existed before will power new analytical opportunities, provide deeper insights across portfolios, and allow us to be more effective in all aspects of infrastructure management.

Contractors will better understand the status of projects in the field and provide enhanced reporting to end clients. Tower ownership groups will be able to pinpoint problems or opportunities across entire markets on a granular level. And similarly, carriers will have access to better data to help them more effectively assess line of site, deploy equipment, and track their assets.

Over the past few years I have been fortunate to discuss the future of this technology and its potential impact with stakeholders from across the industry. The topics of conversation focused on everything from faster site visits to AI based change detection and everything in between. Slowly but surely, these conversations have turned from theory, to proof of concept, to standard practice in some cases. Every team has taken their own approach to leveraging this data, and all have found significant value in their own way.

That’s the beauty of something brand new - no one can tell you how it’s supposed to work.

What’s Next?

So with all this momentum across the industry, exciting new technologies gaining traction, and more flights happening each day, what do we focus on next and how do we take this to the next level? How do we enable the future of the field?

A short answer to a complex question is this: The industry needs to reassess and adjust policies that create blockers for operators, the most notable of which is the required insurance for UAS operations. In a number of cases, $10M policies are required to operate a drone on site. That is higher than a traditional climbing operation and represents a significant cost barrier for smaller teams and companies across the industry. For the industry to realize the true value and benefits of this technology, we need to use it at scale. To use it at scale we need to enable our workforce.

How Do We Fix It?

To achieve a better understanding of the risks of UAS operations on site, SBA Communications UAS Division, led by Mark Foster, Red Mountain Scientific, and NATE will be collaborating with the Telecommunications Industry Association to host a UAS research exposition in the coming months.

We will conduct experiments and a number of different simulations including, but not limited to:

■ High RFI flights - To better understand a drone’s response in specific environments

- Manual flight vs. automated flight

- Different bands and frequencies

■ Drone Impact study

- Damage to structure

- Damage to network equipment

- Signal degradation

- Fall zone, etc.

NATE’s membership combines to build, deploy, and maintain the digital backbone of our country and that makes us the greatest driving force for connectivity and innovation. As such, we owe it to ourselves to explore and collaborate around the technologies that will shape our future. If the next two years look anything like the last, I’d say we’re well on our way.

Sam McGuire is a member of the NATE UAS Committee and Vice President of Red Mountain Scientific in Fort Collins, Colorado. He can be reached at 720-212-4133 or [email protected].

#UAS Drones NATE

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itsyourturnblog · 6 years ago

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Most of the leadership mythology we subscribe to was created in the 20th century world of fossil fuels and mechanistic, production-oriented businesses. In the 21st century, that world is dying. We can see before us a new world, one of ideas, knowledge and innovation, but we’re not quite there yet. It’s still emerging. And as a result, we’re kind of in between things.

Stepping into the new world is a slow process. And it’s messy. In the old era, leadership was about efficiency and uniformity, and the best way to achieve that was highly structured, top-down leadership. But in a world where everything is changing, top-down can no longer work. Or as Otto Scharmer and Katrin Kaufer put it in their book, Leading from the Emerging Future, “Our inherited leadership vocabulary is no longer fit to meet the challenges of our time.”

On some level, we all sense the need for a new leadership vocabulary. But first, we must break free of the lies that keep us from re-examining just what a leader is and should be.

Lie 1: Leaders are Either Heroes or Scapegoats

It’s difficult not to romanticise the heroics of leaders of spectacularly successful companies. They had a gloriously ambitious vision (or several visions in the case of Elon Musk) and they made it a reality. They were tested and persevered through extreme adversity and yet, they prevailed.

But even the best leaders are also human (thank god) and as such, they’re also (sometimes deeply) flawed. And if and when they ultimately fail, they will become a scapegoat. They couldn’t cut it. They weren’t strong enough. You’re good or you’re bad. You’re in or you’re out. A winner or a loser. It’s personal. And frankly, childish.

The problem with the leader as the be-all-end-all hero-visionary-superstar is that it assumes the people who work for those leaders are feckless followers who are in need of someone to tell them what to do and how to do it. In his book, The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge wrote, “At its heart, the traditional view of leadership is based on assumptions of people’s powerlessness, their lack of personal vision and inability to master the forces of change, deficits which can only be remedied by a few great leaders.”

This is not the way to create an organization that can adapt and thrive in uncertain times. It is the way though, to create employees who are cynical, or worse, unwilling to take risk and responsibility at work.

It’s a great way to get stuck.

Unstuck Leaders are mortal. Get over this hero thing.

Lie 2: Leaders Create Organizational Order

We believe that leaders should set the goals for a company and then implement policies and procedures to accomplish those goals. Company standards, regulations, workflows, performance metrics, etc. are all designed as top-down mechanisms of control. We believe that leaders are the best qualified to arrive at optimal solutions for all our problems.

The real world just doesn’t work that way. There are multiple informal systems in place in any organization that actually get the work done. Floor employees and supervisors have their own hacks and methodologies that senior management has no knowledge of. There are also informal networks of communication, favor trading and resource sharing and competing all happening under senior management’s radar. Employees often ignore organizational charts and regulations. They self-organize in spite of them. They break the rules. They create workarounds. And, they get shit done.

To try to impose order on these complex adaptive behaviors would be madness. And ill-advised to boot. Creative solutions arise out of tension, not order. When rules are enforced with an iron fist, innovation dies. Weak leaders create a false sense of security out of order and it gets them stuck.

Unstuck Leaders understand that informal systems are forming without them. They learn to understand them and then enable the teams and employees within them to do their thing. Notice that I didn’t say “harness” them. That’s not what this is about. The challenge of the Unstuck Leader is to not take control, but rather enable.

Is the thought of that making you a little nauseous? That. Right there. Is why Unstuck Leaders are so rare.

Lie 3: Leaders Provide Certainty in Times of Uncertainty

Most of us are not fans of uncertainty. Not a lot of people would say, “Yes please, bring me a whopping helping of I-don’t-know-what’s-going-to-happen!”.

That’s why, during times of uncertainty, we like nothing more than a strong leader to take charge. We like it even more if said leader can also reassure us that he or she will stop the change, put an end to uncertainty and restore the past as it was. Even better, we’d like to be assured that things aren’t really that complicated, that they are in fact simple and the old ways of doing things will continue to work once we just get past this one little blip.

This type of denial is what’s known in Systems Leadership Theory as “absencing”.

Rather than bravely stepping into the future, we cling to the past. We shut ourselves off from what is emerging. We turn our backs on those being affected by the change and ultimately, we turn our backs on ourselves. We’re left incapable of responding and creating and innovating. When we live in an absencing cycle, we’re betraying ourselves. It’s the ultimate self-own.

Scharmer and Kaufer believe this pattern of reaching into the past creates stuckness by limiting the organization to a single ideology (one way), an “us vs. them” mentality (othering) and perhaps most troublingly, a single will (fanaticism).

You only need look to the current state of American politics to see absencing in practice. The irony of absencing is that it can look like strong leadership, but it is in fact, an abdication of leadership. When we’re certain, we don’t seek out uncomfortable facts and data. We don’t seek out opposing views. And we’re left unprepared to face the challenges of the rapidly changing world we’re attempting to deny.

The Unstuck Leader understands that leadership is about accepting uncertainty and ambiguity and learning to thrive despite them. An Unstuck Leader’s job is to give employees certainty within the uncertainty. And that doesn’t mean telling them lies, nice stories or giving them false confidence and reassurance. It means giving them the only kind of certainty that matters. The certainty of co-created values, purpose, mission and vision. And it means showing them how to grow those things within themselves as well as within the organization.

Ultimately, Unstuck Leadership is about prioritizing truth over comfort. And that’s why we have to let go of the lies. It’s time to step out of the old, and into what’s emerging. And yeah, that’s not always easy…

Hi there! This post is an excerpt from my upcoming book, The Unstuck Leader: Getting unstuck. Staying unstuck. If you’d like to learn the five steps to eliminating the patterns of belief and behavior that are holding you back, sign-up for my email newsletter here (green box at top right of your screen on desktop, or under this post on mobile), and you’ll be the first to know when the book is published.

The 3 Most Damaging Lies We Tell Ourselves About Leadership was originally published in It's Your Turn on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

by Judy Sims via It's Your Turn - Medium #itsyourturn #altMBA #SethGodin #quotes #inspiration #stories #change #transformation #writers #writing #self #shipping #personaldevelopment #growth #education #marketing #entrepreneurship #leadership #personaldev #wellness #medium #blogging #quoteoftheday #inspirationoftheday

#ItsYourTurn #It's Your Turn #IYT #altMBA #Seth Godin #Inspiration #Stories #Change #Transformation #Blog #Medi

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geeksperhour · 6 years ago

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Stories That Inspire # 4: How a Made-in-India firm is spearheading digital transformation for 300+ SMBs across the globe

In our latest in the Stories That Inspire series we have Arnab Bandyopadhyay, CEO of GoldenLion, who shares his incredible journey which began with identifying the need for quality software for small and medium businesses.

Ani: Let’s start at the beginning, tell us a little about your background and how GoldenLion happened.

Arnab: I’m a business solution evangelist with about 18 years of experience across supply chain, sales, and marketing, and I’m proud to lead a vibrant team of 30 at GoldenLion.

I come from a middle-class family and as a kid I was neither the smartest student in the class nor the dumbest. However, since my early days I was always on the lookout to create a better life for myself, my family, and the people around me.

After working for Microsoft till 2010, I decided to pursue my own dream. Sanjukta, my life partner, and myself set up GoldenLion with a vision to help businesses all over the world get more traffic, leads, and conversions . I’m so grateful that God has given me a beautiful family, awesome team members, and lovely partners like Zoho!

Ani: What prompted you to go into consulting and establish GoldenLion?

Arnab: It all began when I saw a gap in the market.

Small and mid-sized companies(also referred to as SMBs), both in India and abroad, were grossly under-served when it came to digital transformation. These companies couldn’t afford large vendors, and small vendors didn’t have enough expertise to provide quality consultation. So, to bridge this gap, we set up GoldenLion in 2010.

Ani: Wow! What was it like in 2010 and how did you go about building your company?

Arnab: We started as a sales consulting company back in 2010 and used to work with small and mid-sized companies to make their sales process more efficient and hone their consultative selling skills. As the business grew, quite a few of our existing customers wanted to put in place a sales tool, and that’s when we signed up with Zoho in 2011.

Between 2011 and 2015 we were mostly a Zoho shop, implementing the Zoho suite of apps for different customers, building industry specific solutions on Zoho, voraciously learning about various Zoho products, and earning testimonials. And then something interesting came up!

A lot of our customers wanted us to help them build their digital presence along with Zoho deployment. Hence, in 2016 we set up a digital transformation division. Looking back, this was one of the best decisions we made—because we could now offer a customer everything they needed, right from traffic to lead to conversion.

Long story short, we currently have a team of 30 serving over 400 customers across 30+ countries. We have some of the brightest minds in the industry, who are passionate about building awesome products and providing outstanding customer service.

Ani: You’ve got a diverse clientele base. Tell us a little about some of the different industries you’ve served?

Arnab: Since early days, we started building industry solutions. So a majority of our customers use these industry solutions that are built on Zoho. They’re travel agencies, real estate agencies and developers, training providers, entertainers, law firms, packers and movers, event marketers, Disney vacation planners, and migration agencies, just to name a few. We have customers from other industries as well, like manufacturing, professional services, trading, financial services, retail, and wellness.

Ani: Let’s jog your memory a bit. How did you get your first client?

Arnab: During my Microsoft days, a lot of my customers and partners became friends. Thanks to this relationship and the trust they had in me, I got my first consulting client the day after I left Microsoft. It was a year-long engagement where I was asked to mentor the sales and leadership team of a mid-sized company on how they could grow their revenue and retain existing customers.

During this time one of our other customers wanted to implement a sales pipeline management tool, and I was given the responsibility of choosing the right CRM system for them. I evaluated multiple CRM systems and fell in love with Zoho. In about 3 days, I read the help guide for Zoho CRM, cover to cover, and made my first Zoho CRM presentation to this customer. They loved it! I signed up as a Partner with Zoho, and the customer signed up with us as our first Zoho customer.

Ani: What are the challenges in speaking to customers about SaaS products in India?

Arnab: SaaS products literally transformed the way businesses manage and access their data. For a lot of businesses in India who implemented those large, monolithic ERP systems, SaaS was a relief! Though some percentage of business still have a reservation in paying a recurring fee, most businesses loved the idea of moving to the cloud. And the next decade, this market is only going to grow exponentially in India.

Ani: Based out of Kolkata, how is that you’ve grabbed the attention of customers in over 30 countries?

Arnab: There’s a saying: “If you call customers, you are a salesman. However, if customers call you, you are an expert.” Hence, from the very inception of GoldenLion we followed an inbound marketing strategy.

This is how we went about it: Once we roll out a solution successfully for a few customers in a given industry vertical, and we discover that the industry has its nomenclature and workflow, we decide to product-ize that industry solution. We then build the solution on Zoho and create instructional materials that include datasheets on the industry solution and explainer videos. Once the initial set of marketing materials are built, we create a landing page for the industry solution and drive traffic via paid targeted advertisements. Besides the paid medium, we get references from our existing customers from that specific industry, as well. However, if there’s only one lever that I need to mention that helped us immensely, it would be YouTube. We publish videos on a variety of topics at regular intervals. Since YouTube is the second-largest search engine today, it helped us gain visibility at a lower cost.

Ani: And we are sure that this approach has helped you grow immensely over the years and at the same time could you tell us how the past year has been?

Arnab: It’s been a fantastic year for us. In fact, over the last three years, our consulting revenue has been growing close to 100% YOY! The average deal size has doubled because most of the customers are now hiring us not only for implementation of the Zoho suite, but also for creating and enhancing their digital presence. This has been a win-win for both the customers and us. A customer now will have to deal with only one company when it comes to their digital transformation.

Ani: What was that one interesting problem that you helped your customer overcome?

Arnab: Most of the customers come to us for one of two reasons:

They have an aspiration to grow and they need a partner who can complement their growth aspiration. They have a leakage in their process and they need a partner to fix it so that they are back on their growth path again!

Over the years we’ve received numerous testimonials from our customers on how they benefited from using our services. You can read them on our website.

I can cite one specific use case that I love: One of our travel agency customers had a tough time managing their different tour packages. They had to update the packages within CRM, then had to go to the website back-end to add the packages.

This was a massive duplication of work, so we built a connector between the CRM and website. They now can create or edit the package in just one place and it automatically gets replicated in another place. This saved close to 40 hours of work for them every month.

Ani: Having made your mark, could you tell us what your approach to consulting is?

Arnab: When we take up any consulting assignment, we focus on four things. How we can help our customers: Increase their deal size Reduce their sales cycle Improve their sales predictability Reduce costs

With the right blend of people, process, and technology, we take an organization from 1.0 to 2.0 in their digital transformation journey in a step-by-step manner. It’s an inclusive process where our team and the customer interact on a regular basis to craft the right solution that delivers the result fast.

Ani: When things don’t go according to plan, where do you get your strength from? What’s your success mantra?

Arnab: Robert Schuller wrote the book Tough times never last, but tough people do! I faced many adversities in my life—been rejected so many times in so many ways. These experiences only helped me become an emotionally tougher emotionally.

My father had also been a role model to me. He completed his last novel at the age of 88, just one day before he passed away. If a man can read and write so voraciously for 12 hours a day, at the age of 88, why should I be down for silly reasons?

Ani: Anything that you’d like to tell Zoho?

Arnab: You’re an amazing company.

We look up to you and draw inspiration from how you continue to touch millions of users via your lovely applications on a daily basis and your relentless passion for innovation.

Ani: The three qualities essential to survive and grow in this business: Creativity, confidence, and sustained discipline!

Check out GoldenLion at: http://bit.ly/2FjhjZU

Know more about Partners @ Zoho here

The post Stories That Inspire # 4: How a Made-in-India firm is spearheading digital transformation for 300+ SMBs across the globe appeared first on Zoho Blog.

from Zoho Blog http://bit.ly/2Fo68OW via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Zoho Blog GPH #Geeksperhour

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amybethmusic-blog · 7 years ago

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In my last post I was talking about the unnecessary stress of social media, and trying to maintain a Pinterest worthy lifestyle and get the right shots for Facebook and Instagram. I know how hard it is not to get too caught up in this online world we live in, and as a ‘trying-to-make-it’ singer songwriter these platforms can be really helpful for gaining and growing an audience. I’m all for using social media for the right purpose…the challenge is not getting emotionally or too mentally caught up in it all. How do we enjoy a perfectly beautiful and enviable life, without the hassle of trying to create it in an image that isn’t true?

“Live from the abundant place that you are loved, and you won’t find yourself begging others for scraps of love.” Lysa TerKeurst – Uninvited

I think the key is in that word “enviable”…we spend so much of our time envying others lives, or what it looks like they have according to Instagram, that by comparison our lives are just plain ugly and boring. In order to feel good about our own lives, we feel we have to make everyone else feel awful about their own, without necessarily putting it in those words…we want people to think we have something they don’t.

I’m going to tell you a little secret; you DO have something that no one else has. No one else see’s the world like you, no one lives life quite like you, no one experiences the same things you do, no one else loves like you, laughs like you, thinks like you, dreams like you and no one is loved in the same way by the people who love you. You are unique, and though you’ve heard that many times, when it comes to being creative with social media, being unique is your best route to success.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14 NIV

Many people say they’re not creative, but I’m going to bet you are. You don’t have to be a painter or musician to be creative; creative abilities are not limited to handicrafts and music. These are simply the areas where creativity often shines the brightest, but they are not the entirety of the list.

“So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.” Genesis 1:27 CEV

Being creative can be as simple as finding shortcuts in the office to make workflow easier and more efficient. The way you arrange your throw cushions even though your house is a little untidy, the way you always make a unique design in your latte art. The way you do a simple little twist with your hair that just works, no one else can do it and it looks great even though you think it’s just ordinary. The way you can just “throw something on” and you always look fabulous. The way you see light and capture it in a photograph, the way you put together a science lesson so your students are inspired instead of confused. And millions more…

You may be surprised by the ways people appreciate your creative abilities, but even more so, you may be surprised by how much you appreciate them. Whilst I can’t claim to have mastered this, I do think I have discovered a key to success in being creative that is particularly effective for social media, but also helpful in general, and I’m going to share it with you.

Thankfulness and Gratefulness.

it’s that simple. I’m not the first or the only person to suggest this, the other day I was listening to a talk by Oprah Winfrey about living a successful life, and she said that it was absolutely necessary to keep a gratefulness journal and write down 5 things every night, that you are grateful for. The reason being, the more you focus on what you have, the more you appreciate it, the less you worry about what you don’t have, and the more full your life is.

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” Oprah Winfrey

Brainy Quotes

Without the need for a journal my concept is similar. Simply notice the things that bring you joy, or make you smile or that you’re thankful for, and take photos of those! Start noticing how you see the world, when you notice something, ask yourself why. Start to appreciate your own perspective. Learn to be thankful for the little things that brighten up your day.

I’m going to show you some examples from my Instagram below, with some “Behind the Scenes” shots to go with them…this is never before seen kinda stuff so be prepared!

What I actually see when I first step outside my front door…

It had been raining for DAYSSS when I took these photos…all my washing was hanging on a strap between my veranda poles. Not only that, but Instagram shows a beautiful tree with sunshine streaming through…what it doesn’t show is that most of that sunshine doesn’t ever reach my little concrete bunker of an apartment…

What my Kitchen actually looked like…you can see the leaves and flowers on the window sill.

I had been at work most days this week, and had very little time or inclination to do the housework. A cluttered house makes me feel really depressed, yet you wouldn’t know it in the Instagram photo. I had just been for a walk to help clear my head, and came home with those leaves and flowers, which then lifted my spirits enough to get stuck in and do some housework.

My dining table that morning…

I was sitting on the couch, in my pajamas, trying to prioritize my jobs for the day, (starting with clearing off my dining table!) But I still noticed that the knitted jumper I had put on was my favorite colour, blending nicely with the warm brown tones of my tiger printed blanket and the coffee mug I had chosen specifically to try and brighten my morning with some hope…if my table had been tidy and ready for the morning, I never would have got this shot for Instagram.

The rest of my house…

I realize most of these photos were taken about the same time, but I don’t usually take behind the scenes photos, I was planning this post at the time and had given myself the task of taking a “reality” image every time I took a photo for Instagram. I may have got my wardrobe organised and tidy and looking so trendy and enviable…but I had no clean towels for if I wanted to shower, because it had been raining AGAIN and I was trying to dry them all inside my tiny little house. I could barely move in my living room. Tidying my wardrobe helped me feel like I had achieved something, and when I stood back and looked at it I was proud of what I had done, and felt a little bit of joy at all the beautiful things I had in there. (is that weird?? Do people feel proud of their wardrobes? Or is it just me? :-P)

I’m not trying to put myself and my creativity on a pedestal, in fact I’m a little ashamed to share these photos from behind the scenes! I just want to show that it’s possible to enjoy a beautiful life amongst the chaos. I think it’s important to be real, but it’s also important to keep our heads up, and stay positive which sometimes requires a little creativity. When it comes to posting on social media, being creative is about noticing the little things that you’re grateful for, that bring you joy, and that lift your spirits, it’s not about trying to create a life that is worthy of a photograph, but about living life in all it’s reality, and being creative in noticing the tiny little beautiful moments that bring you joy.

Creative Ideas – Beauty in the Chaos In my last post I was talking about the unnecessary stress of social media, and trying to maintain a Pinterest worthy lifestyle and get the right shots for Facebook and Instagram.

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cleaningservicesgroup-blog1 · 7 years ago

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6 Important Factors to Consider When Getting a Property Management System for Your Hotel

If you think of a hotel as a well-oiled machinery, with its million little parts functioning together to deliver a seamless experience, a good property management system (PMS) is the heart that keeps the machine beating perfectly. From simple check-ins and check outs to offering sublime experiences based on guest preferences, a good PMS is integral to the functioning of hotels of all shapes and sizes.

That said, the technological needs of a smaller hotel are very different from that of larger establishments. An intuitive PMS that understands their specific requirements is worth its weight in gold. But it is also a significant investment and to ensure that the money is well spent, hoteliers need to choose a system that works well for their property.

Most hotel manager consider security to be their top priority, and that is a valid concern indeed. Any PMS you select must be PCI compliant. Without it, the system is open to threats and vulnerable to attacks. The banking data of your clients, their credit card details, and other personal information must be protected at all costs.

However, the specifications don't end with security measures. There are a few other things to consider before you finalize a PMS for your property.

It should be easy to use

The best kind of technology is that which is absolutely easy to use. The longer it takes for you to wrap your head around the system, the more quickly you'll get fed up of it. Besides, hotels are famous for their high turnover rates, and the software is likely to be used by young executives and experts alike. The system should be such that it requires minimum training for people to get comfortable with it.

It should be mobile compatible

Gone are the days when technology was restricted to personal computers attached to a desk. This is the 21st century and unless your technological solution can literally walk with you, it's useless for all intents and purposes.

Any PMS you consider should be able to connect and send information to mobile devices. It should be able to communicate with you no matter where you are and what device you are using, including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and personal computers. Not only does this promote operational efficiency, your staff will also be able to deliver great guest service on the go.

It should be easy to integrate

The PMS you select should have APIs that support both inbound and outbound connections. This will ensure that you're able to integrate it with any other solution you may be using in your hotel, such as customer relationship management and rate management software.

If your PMS doesn't facilitate deep partnerships with other vendors, you will have a fractured technology solution on your hands. It will impede two-way exchange of information and hinder sharing of guest profile data. The final result will be less than satisfactory guest experience, not to mention a breakdown of relevant systems.

It should keep track of guest preferences and history

The front desk is one part of the hotel that sees the maximum engagement, and, yet, most of the tasks happening there are fairly mundane and repetitive. If there was a way to automate them, the staff would be free to attend to more important duties.One way in which a PMS can add significant value to an establishment is by making low end decisions on behalf of the hotel. For instance, it should be able to auto assign rooms based on the guests' preferences. This it will do by collecting all the relevant information and using it to make appropriate choices on behalf of the guests.

Secondly, a good PMS should be able to pull a guest's history to discern what he likes and what his preferences were. This way, if a repeat guest has booked a room by the swimming pool in the past, the system will automatically book him the same room or something similar to that.

This form of automation not only eliminates congestion at the front desk, it also results in more intuitive exchanges with guests and the delivery of personalized and informed services.

It should automate guest communication

Hotels are often required to reach out to their guests to share regular updates. But due to conflicting time zones, it becomes difficult to get in touch with them on phone. That's why they generally prefer to communicate via emails.

Having to do this manually can get fairly tedious for hotel owners and the staff. And should you forget to send an email out, it could cause serious lag in communication. To keep things running ship shape, a property management system can automate this process, sending out emails related to confirmation of reservations, post-stay thank you's, and everything else in between.

It should help you measure success

A great feature to have in your property management system is advanced reporting. It frees you up from having to go through long and complicated spreadsheets and deciphering the data that is relevant to you. Instead, it places all the information you need at your fingertips, accessible in just a few clicks.

Basic systems will give you an overview of the daily running of your property. More advance systems should be able to provide reports around parameters like check ins and check-outs, cancellations, payment methods, average unoccupied rooms, average occupancy, average length of stay, and even revenue per available room.

With so much data at your disposal, you can get a perspective into the workings of your business and even identify areas that need improvement.

As you may have gathered by now, a good property management system can really be god sent for a small hotel. Working invisibly behind the scenes, it combines the best parts of workflow management and decision automation. It also displays a fair amount of intelligence, learning from external systems it is integrated with, and delivering subtle insights that help improve guest relations.

That's why it's important you choose a PMS that fits your establishment. Take into account all considerations, evaluate your requirements, and take a final decision once you're sure the product ticks all the boxes.

#6 Important Factors to Consider When Getting a Property Management System for Your Hotel

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francisrochon-blog · 7 years ago

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Blog #1: A Reflective Month

I have a general idea of what makes a good blog, or what a blog is really supposed to be: It can be about anything. I think that’s the main appeal of it. So I decided that maybe I’d give it a try. That once a week I’d challenge myself to just sit down, think of something (literally anything) to talk about, and just talk about it. Doesn’t matter how boring it might be, or personal, or funny or whatever. I want to try and just put out my honest thoughts on certain aspects of my life, other’s life, the world around us. Again, this can be about anything. Some points might be more serious, some more reflective (see what I did there?) and some might just be about me talking about my favorite games or favorite music or whatever. No matter what, I just want this blog to be about me, and hopefully all of you will be able to enjoy this too.

*Takes a deep breath*... So without further ado, here goes my first post.

Some of you may know this, but I used to have a part-time job a little over a month ago. I won’t be saying the name of the workplace or using specific names for some of my co-workers for the sake of keeping people anonynomous by default (and protecting myself if I ever go too ham when I’m trying to criticize something), but the people that know me in real life (for the most part) know where I worked. And I have a LOT of things to say about the place, but I’ll try and start with the good stuff to not sound like a total hater here.

The work itself was not bad... for the most part. When everything that was meant to be done was done, when everything was organized and when shifts went well, I had no issues with the work at all. Obviously there’s always the feeling of getting up and telling yourself “Fuck I need to shower, get dressed and go to work at x place”. But on a lot of my shifts (mostly nights/closing shifts) I always found myself looking back on it when one of my parents picked me up to drive me home, and thinking “honestly, today was not a bad shift at all”.

Now granted, and I’m not trying to gloat here, but I was pretty good at my job. There’s a reason that I was offered a supervising position about 4-5 months after I started. I did decline the first time, sighting that I wasn’t fully ready to take on that responsibility (despite literally every single one of my fellow night-staffers told me I was more than capable of it). But about a month later they were pretty desperate to have another supervisor, and this time I said yes. It’s always important to challenge yourself and to push yourself to your limits to see what you’re truly capable of and to eventually push past those limits and redefine them. That’s how people grow and become stronger overall.

But anyways, back to the quality of the job itself: although when everything went smoothly the workload was fine, it honestly would have been a much less enjoyable experience if it wasn’t for the people that I worked with. I’ve made so many new connections and friends through working at that establishment for only eight months. It really surprised me just how easy it was for those people and I to get along and just talk. Obviously it took some time to get used to each other, and teamwork to get things done quickly and efficiently is a priority at those kinds of workplaces, but it was pretty much always an enjoyable experience. There are so many names that I could name on here that I could just praise endlessly for how hard they’ve worked despite the odds, how much I’ve seen them grow simply by being their co-worker/supervisor. It really gave me perspective on how a having people around you can boost your confidence and self-esteem, just by knowing that you have the mutual effect for them as well.

On top of that, a particular person I met at this establishment really resonated with me. This was someone who showed me the ropes on my very first shift there, and who ended up being not only a co-worker, or my supervisor, or a mentor: They became a true friend. Never would I have imagine that working there would yield me such a strong and beneficial friendship. You wouldn’t believe how happy I was to look at the schedule, see that person’s name a little over mine on the same date, with the same hours. “Fuck yes, I’m working with X tonight!”

And the reason that this gets me so work-up is because we both have this mutual respect for one another, as we’ve both experienced certain things in life that is hard to share with other people. Yet this person found themselves comfortable sharing some fairly personal things with me, and vise-versa for me to them. We trust each-other, care for each-other (in a platonic way) and respect each-other. Not only that, but holy shit this person was amazing at their job. I knew that everytime I had a shift with this person that the shift was going to be fun, that things were going to get done and that I’d be able to just be comfortable knowing that everything would be alright. We worked so well together as well, almost knowing exactly what was on the other person’s mind just by looking at them. It’s hard to describe, and it might sound somewhat hard to believe, but that’s literally what we had. We had worked so many shifts together that we knew each-other’s workflow and could rely on one another.

I’m certain that if this person that I am describing is reading this, they know who they are. Working with you was by far the most enjoyable experience I had working at that place. No matter if one of us was having a bad day, or was feeling a little bit sickly or whatever, we always had each other’s back. When I first started supervising, this person made sure to give me all of the pointers while not putting too much pressure on me. If things got a bit crazy, they didn’t mind taking the wheel for a bit until things went steady. This rarely happened mind you, but having that reliable safety net is always going to help. So for that, I thank you very much. I think that I’m a very lucky person to have had the chance to meet you and get so close to you on a personal level, and I hope that our friendship can last for as long as we can remember each-other’s name (hopefully it’ll last forever, but you get the point!).

Unfortunately... that’s where the positives end when it comes to that workplace. Not to put this place under the bus, but pretty much every other person that I talked to that had worked in customer service always felt EXTREMELY bad for me once I told them where I worked. Comments like “Oh my god I’m so sorry for you” and “I could never work there” were only two of countless comments that I received. I found it quite comical, but at the same time it’s comical because it isn’t innaccurate.

Now I don’t think this is entirely the fault of the brand itself. It is a popular brand for a reason, with some very die-hard customers who love the product to the point of purchasing it religiously. People can get mad if their product isn’t as perfect as it was the day before, or the week before, or the month before, or year before etc. That’s fine, I can understand that.

But HOLY SHIT!!! Some of the types of customers I saw when I worked there was out of this world. Like honestly how do these people have friends or jobs when they can be total fucking assholes? (I know, I know, rich coming from me, right?). Like honestly, just from working there I’ve gained so much more respect and sympathy for others working in customer service establishements. I’ve worked in it: We’re humans. We fuck up. It happens. You know it does. You fuck up too. Everyone fucks up! Accept the apology your server gave you after making a mistake, take your re-made product and leave with a smile. There’s nothing good that comes from telling that person that they’re garbage at their job and should learn how to do something “simple”. I could literally go on a whole fucking tangent explaining how much harder working in that environment looks like, but I’ll keep that for another day. This blog is already long enough as it is, and I don’t want to extend it by another 300 000 words.

But again: the brand itself is not at fault here. But the specific location I worked at was... well, to put it simply, poorly run compared to how it should have been. I’m not going to go into detail, because some of it was not its fault, but when it fucked up, it fucked up really big. For those who know what I mostly did over there in terms of work... you’ll know what I mean when I say “Why did they order this much stuff? We don’t NEED this many of this product!”. It got to a point where I loathed Saturdays because I knew that was a delivery truck day, and more often than not I’d get boned by it. And not in the good way.

But some of the management staff there... really pissed me off. Now I had it very easy over there. I never once felt like I was disrespected by my higher-ups or anything of the sort. However, many people that I worked with told me bits and pieces of some of their issues with the management staff, as well as some of the work staff. And my God, some of this stuff was downright psychological abuse.

Nobody deserves to work in that kind of environment. I mean fuck if I wanted to get psychologically abused I’d go r/dota2 and write a poste about how League Of Legends is the best game of all time and that Dota 2 can suck a big fat cock or go on r/leagueoflegends and talk about how Dota 2 is for the pros and League is for the casuals. And you’re telling me I can get PAID to get told that I’m worthless, ugly, awful at my job, a good-for-nothing twat who’s only faking all of their problems for attention? Like really? How were these abusive people not getting fired on the spot? Some of the MANAGERS were saying these things, mind you. That’s how bad it was.

And this all ties in to why I’m not working anymore. Again, none of that abusive stuff happened to me, and this had mostly happened when I was not on shift, or before I even worked there. I didn’t have any experience with that kind of behavior head on, so I was okay with working there for the time being. But then it happened.

That person that I talked about early, that friend who was probably the hardest-working person at that store, who devoted multiple years of their life working for that establishment througout all of the awful working conditions and the abuse... that person was fired. They were fired without a valid reason.

Now again, I won’t go into detail here. I won’t go into this person’s personal life because it is not for me to put that out there. But this person was the LAST person who deserved to get fired by a fucking mile. And it sickened me that these people didn’t seem to see just how much effort this person put into everything they did when they worked there: the hours they put in, the quality of the work they did. Yet for some reason, they were not appreciated or liked by the higher-ups.

And as much as I praise this person for everything they’ve done, they aren’t perfect. I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect. Nobody’s perfect, we all make mistakes. But this person’s very slight mistakes at that workplace did not deserve the treatment they got. All of the logical reason that I can think of as to why they would get fired... honestly, by that logic they should have fired literally everyone in the goddamn store. Like, you should have SEEN the effort this person put into every shift to make sure that when we left at the end of the night, that everything was as spotless and organized as possible. Yeah, of course it won’t be perfect every night. Maybe it was their fault, maybe it was mine, maybe it was the fault of another of our co-workers on that shift. But either way, it happens to everyone. The way that they got rid of them was also very unfair and honestly cruel (Also a topic that could easily extend this blog to be double it’s current length if not more). And when that person sent me a message that they had gotten fired, I had made up my mind.

I’m not going to work there anymore.

Now this wasn’t the only reason that I left that workplace. I am a college student, and because my school schedule was so sporatic in terms of timings (as well as living 45-90 minutes away from the college, depending on if I go directly by car or take the public buses) the only reliable schedule I had was to work on the Evening Weekend shifts. Every weekend. For like 6 months.

So there’s that: it was quite draining. Not only that, but I currently in the fourth week of my field placement in my college program, which is a five day a week work day. I get up at 6:30 in the morning, and I get home at 5:45-6pm at night. And then imagine having to work the weekends, my only two days off, on top of that. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. It would have been awful.

Not only that, but I was already considering perhaps finding another job during the summer after school ended. For some of the reasons mentionned above, I was considering moving to another work-place, but also because I would have wanted a little bit of a break as well, as these last months have been pretty crazy for me on a personal level. But when my friend told me they got fired for the very little reasons they did, and knowing the history of abuse and horrible treatment... I had enough.

I didn’t want to willingly work somewhere and promote that kind of behavior. And the more I thought about it, the more I saw that they disrepected what they saw as “the weaker-workers”. That was very insulting to me, seeing as I had been working there for 7-8 months, and yet they were treating others that had started working around the same time as me (and in some cases far longer than me) so much worse. It sickened me to be a part of it, and what sickened me most was just how much I didn’t speak up about it, or fight for my co-worker’s respect. This was a way that I saw that I could at least try and make-up to them for that.

So I gave my two weeks. I decided it was a good time to just focus hard on my field placement to make sure that everything goes right, that I can have a good balance of work and pleasure (hehe) as is recommended. This would also help me transition into a more traditional adult lifestyle, what with the work hours and the liberated weekends.

And I can tell you... This is so much better.

Now obviously this isn’t for anyone, but I’m not even getting paid for my placement, doing work that these people get paid to do, yet I am so much more comfortable and happy working there than I was at that other place. The people are obviously a big reason as to why I enjoy working there, but even just the workload itself, although hefty, is manageable, and I don’t have the added pressure of having to maybe serve 70 different customers in the span of 45 minutes. I get to focus on one task, get it done without much interuption, and then move on to the other task. Especially when it’s something that I love doing, such as writing, it makes it all the most enjoyable.

So if you’re going to take anything from this absurdly long blog-post, please take this: It’s worth it to keep at it. It might be difficult, or seem impossible or like it’s a waste of time and money, but it really isn’t. I’m near the end of my college experience and am about to embark into the adult world. I am scared, of course. But I’m also confident, thanks to my field placement and because of the people I have around me that support me no matter what. Life can be fucking rough at times, I know. It ain’t always easy. But it does get better. You just have to step over those hurdles of life as they unexpectedly come your way. And no matter how much time, energy and effort it might take for you to get over them, if you can manage to get over them...

Then you are the true champion.

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ninetytwotechnology-blog · 7 years ago

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MEASURING PRODUCTIVENESS IN SOFTWARE PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GROUPS

Most software development companies measure productiveness of teams and individuals. Those measurements are then used to price the character or group performance. Numbers are so exceptional, comfortable and familiar. They make things easier; and if someone's productiveness can be objectively rated with numbers, fortunate is that this person and lucky are the managers of this person. This man or woman is lucky due to the fact the readability of numbers backs the readability of expectations, and if a person is aware of that they may get a increase in the event that they hit a sure wide variety of anything, that's remarkable. Managers are fortunate due to the fact they're spared the need of identifying how on earth to rate human beings, in order that they can be given or refused a enhance, or a promoting, or a reward. However, in a few cases mapping the actual price of a person's productiveness and contribution to numbers might be difficult, if on no account not possible.

Permit's look into the reasons why person productivity is measured with the aid of counting things. This dependency can be traced returned to cloth manufacturing or to any interest to product tangible matters. If a farmer alternatives a hundred vs. 50 cabbage heads per day, simply an abstract instance, that is definitely true. One cannot allow a cabbage that is ready to be harvested take a seat for too long out within the subject; it can fall prey to a few pests, and so forth. With cabbages it actually makes feel to move fast, if we're involved with harvesting totally. By means of the identical token, a baker who runs a bakery on a busy avenue is greater effective if she bakes greater croissants. The common sense is ideal: greater croissants, extra customers served more income.

With this dimension version searching so clean and simple, it's very tempting to copy-paste this exercise of "extra is better" to expertise work. The non-fabric manufacturing. They used to measure productivity of developers via traces of supply code produced consistent with positive amount of time. I ponder if a person nevertheless makes use of this metric. One clever man or woman has something to mention about it.

Measuring programming development with the aid of traces of code is like measuring plane constructing development via weight.

Other equally terrible attempts to degree productiveness encompass: count number of bugs determined by a QA (What if this character assessments the heck out of a feature, ensuring it is easy, and reveals no bugs?); the matter of words in a written piece, or the matter of photograph icons designed per day. These are abstract examples, and, thank god, it looks like maximum of the software improvement organizations moved away from those naive metrics. The much less is extra adage is grasped higher now, while we seem to stay in the age of brilliant-abundance of everything (which doesn't store us from the persistent scarcity of price).

That is the phrase. Value. How an awful lot shippable, treasured, finished paintings has this man or woman done? Working many hours is a long way from being identical to super productivity and, after a sure factor, suggests inefficiency. What i name "effective" is when one uses time within the workplace wisely, in preference to works across the clock. Then, which contribution is this character making to the group? What does she or he do to improve the workflow, or to keep the integrity of the team? Naturally, being a collection contributor way that this person is biting some bits off of their person contribution. What if this individual contributes at a larger scope, past their center skill? Then, how to thing inside the subtracted character overall performance when measuring productivity?

With those difficult nuances, I’m wondering if a person is ever capable of quantify them and use it as a numerical measure of productivity. Truly, the kingdom of tests and grades has its doors constantly open, as it attends to the wishes of busy managers looking for rapid and clear ways to price someone's performance. But, as frequently is the case, the turn aspect of rapid is sluggish. People worried with the team's fulfillment are the keepers, and if a numerical grade fails to code the cost of this man or woman efficiently, they might be demotivated. All of us are human, and bosses are human as properly (in case someone ever doubted that). They want to charge the overall performance of teams and individuals faster, in particular if an organization is large. Higher safe than sorry, stakeholders higher make sure they are able to accept as true with the scoring strategies. Otherwise, it might make more sense to paste to the vintage-school methods: study humans, what they do, and notice if this brings value to the corporation. We know that it now and again takes years for judges to be ready with their rulings. It would take what seems to be an eternity for a snail to figure out what's inside this bubble. A rainbow or gasoline stains? However the time spent on figuring out is properly well worth it.

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