My career is sorted. Thanks Pisi.

I know this lady for some time now. She is in her late sixties or early seventies or may be mid seventies, some one who is little older than my baba and can be called pisi (fathers sister in bengali). I see her everyday on my way to office, she sits non challant at one corner of the foot near the tolly metro station with a sad and demure face and often spread her hands to passerby for a coin or two. She represents those millions who possibly have done a lot to raise their kids and then the same kids have thrown her out of home or else she is been homeless for ages and no body cared for her ever.

For some thing for some pull every day I walk up to her and give her 10 Rs. I know that is not enough but it saves her from some embarrassment at least she can buy her small lunch from shacks near by (you still get lunch at that price in Kolkata).

Earlier when I started out she use to give me a scared look, it was an windfall for her, I understand she doesn't expect this generosity from masses which for me is 4 Rs more than that one piece of cigarette I smoke every day. But now its an easy relationship, everyday I meet her and she smiles at me and raises her hands for blessings.

And I will tell you that blessings is more than enough for me. I don't need any god any more to bless me. I have found where god is and what he or she wants me to do.

Thanks pisi my career is now sorted. I know 15 years from now what I will be doing.

Mr. Dhoni, please don't get disheartened!

If I would have been in Dhoni's place today, then I would have been the happiest man around. Because at last after close to dozen innings spanning over two continents my team registered 350 and and then 400.

My best batsmen got some good batting practice. One opener came to party, middle order with hiccups still managed to deliver and tail enders batted like brave hearts.

Whatever the score card may read I know my team has gone through the last onslaught in the hands of quickies on grass laden coagulated, homogeneous bouncy turfs. The nightmare is over.

This is positive.

Cricket is a funny game. One day you are at the top of world, other day you are sulking. However how you sulk matters. And India today despite all, whatever the experts may say didn't played like meek opponents searching for opportune moment to surrender.

And salute to the little master, despite the 100/100's evading him, he possibly is playing the best cricket ever (on second thoughts he is playing like this forever!). We are now waiting for Mr. Sehwag, Mr. Kohli (please don't drop him) and Mr. Dhoni to join the party. Mr. Dravid, well I know, his 100 is due.

Aussies watch out. Waka is not going to be the same.

500? Any one?

Just say India win the toss and bat on Boxing Day. If Virender Sehwag receives half the strike, if he repeats his 1.19-runs-a-ball scoring rate of two years ago, when he batted through a day in Mumbai for 284, and if he doesn't get out, he will bring up his 500th run shortly before tea on the second afternoon, at 2.32pm to be exact. If he goes a little faster, as fast as in the Indore one-dayer last fortnight, the clock will say four minutes past mid-day when he crosses for run number 500. "Run" is a misnomer, actually: there'll be not much running, mostly a whole lot of standing and swatting, if Viru becomes Test history's first 500 man.

Four hundred is the record, set by Brian Lara in St John's. Curious to think, that's not so much more than Len Hutton's 364 in 1938, a mere 36-run rise in 73 years, a case of arrested evolution, an anomaly - now, a sitting duck in Wisden's books. Already Sehwag has blitzed the one-day record 16 days ago with his 219 in Indore. And he is the one who can repeat the same feat in test too. Making the Wisden book look a bit younger.

So will it be?

Is Your Gen Y Recruiting Strategy Getting ROI?

After quite a lull companies are beginning to advertise for new positions and recruiters are becoming busy again. This is a good sign that the economy is starting to improve. However, the market is growing more competitive, and a one size fits all approach to recruiting won't cut it anymore. Recruiting today seems to be a rush job. Recruiters get a position description and scour the internet for a match. Recruiters find a CV that matches the position description and send an often canned, cold and generic email. Recruiting has become less and less personalized.

Many companies do not embrace a diverse recruiting strategy that mirrors the current diverse pool of applicants. I've seen minimal use of cross generational recruiting; meaning lack of adapting the recruiting strategy and approach based on different demographics. This approach is not always the best means to attract certain qualified talent, particularly Gen Y talent. A Baby Boomer will not respond to the same style and approach of recruiting as a Gen-Y'er.

Generations view things differently and thus expect different ways of being recruited. With an ever changing and more diverse workforce, recruiting must become more unique and customized if organizations wish to attract the best possible Gen Y talent.

Gen Y's those born from 1979 to present : are one of the largest demographics entering the workforce. It is estimated that this generation will make up approximately 46% of the workforce by 2014, so attracting and retaining them is critical to organizational success. So, what are some things to consider when recruiting Gen Y?

First Contact: Gen Y values a personalized touch. A canned and generic email will often turn them off immediately to a potential new position. If sending an email inquiry to a potential Gen Y candidate, use their name, not "dear candidate". Take the time to discuss why you think they may be a fit for the role as it relates to their own experience. This lets them know you have actually reviewed their CV and job goals and not just mass emailed based on a keyword search. Gen Y also values details, so for the quickest possible response, include the job description, and why you see them as a fit in the first correspondence.

Response: Gen Y is a tech savvy generation. If first contact regarding a possible new role peaks their interest, they waste no time in responding. They utilize the technology at their finger tips (Wifi, Blackberry email etc.) to promptly express interest. They expect the same in return. If your organization has high interest in the candidate, then don't let communication lapse. Respond proactively, promptly, and personalized with establish next steps.

Expectations: Once the time for the first conversation has been set, use that time to set clear expectations with the potential Gen Y candidate. Take the time to explain in detail what they can expect in the new role and from the organization, and what would be expected of them. Be congruent, honest, and transparent about everything from salary and work life balance, to culture and roles and responsibilities. Gen Y is very tuned into organizational culture. One of the main reasons Gen Y talent tends to leave an organization within the first year is because what they were told they can expect is not the reality. Try and prevent this from the first conversation.

Interviewing: Be prepared for Gen Y to ask detailed questions regarding not just the potential role but the organization overall. Gen Y views interviewing as a two way process. Often recruiters don't have the specific information required to answer certain questions. If this is the case, make sure the people the candidate interviews with are knowledgeable of the various parts of the organization and can answer specific questions.

Offer: If the process leads to making a job offer, then do not only do so in writing, but also make the personalized phone call. This call should come from the person who will be the candidate’s direct supervisor. Often disconnects exist between recruiting and the actual departments and managers who the employee will be working with. Gen Y values open and honest communication in all directions. Having the opportunity to speak directly with the individual they will be reporting to offers them the opportunity to begin to build a relationship immediately and get any last minute questions and concerns addressed.

After the offer is accepted, the next step is on boarding, but it doesn't end there. Recruitment is phase one, once the employee joins the organization focus must be placed on engagement and retention. I will discuss more about these topics in future posts.

Steve Jobs: 1955 -2011

Statement of SAP co-CEO Jim Hagemann Snabe on Steve Jobs (English version). Recorded on Thursday, October 6th at 12:00 p.m. at SAP headquarters in Walldorf, Germany.

Procurement & HR: realizing each other’s value.

The worlds of human resources (HR) and procurement have become increasingly entwined as the greatest cost to most organizations these days is that of human capital. To better manage this important and complex resource, HR and procurement professionals have had to collaborate and strategize more than ever before.

The evolution of the “traditional” procurement organization.

The “traditional” procurement organization has evolved to a “Sourcing and Procurement Services Organization” or “Strategic Sourcing Organization.” This elevated, more strategic function of procurement is working closely with HR now more than ever before. Sourcing professionals usually handle the high-value, high-risk, high-reward, and highly complex types of purchases (mainly focused on services or specialty items) where procurement is focused on the operations side (“procure to pay” and “invoice review and recovery”). The trend is clear and is likely here to stay — more HR services are now purchased with sourcing and procurement departments used as an intermediary. To be effective, HR and procurement teams must understand how to unlock value from one another by building a relationship that helps generate efficiencies and, ultimately, more effective acquisition of talent and other HR-related services (e.g., healthcare insurance) for their companies.

We've reached a tipping point in the HR/procurement relationship.

No longer “new” to one another, HR executives and procurement professionals are at a stage where their partnership has reached a certain level of maturity. HR executives — once used to managing their own supply base, developing relationships with vendors and negotiating their own deals — are bringing their procurement counterparts to the table. Likewise, procurement teams are striving to add value and show that they are not just a formality that needs to be managed in the purchasing process.

Creating value is not as easy as bringing HR and procurement teams together and asking them to collaborate. The teams must establish a strong working relationship that starts with a foundation of mutual understanding and respect for one another's competencies.

How can HR and procurement teams best collaborate to unlock their combined value?

The Steps:

1. Speak the same language.

Anyone who works amongst peers of the same discipline every day has a tendency to speak in their own language. To set clear objectives and manage processes effectively, HR/procurement teams must understand one another clearly. Avoid HR/procurement-speak and, in instances where it's unavoidable, explain what terms mean. If you don't understand what something means, ask. For example, if the procurement team is discussing “aggregation” (combining buying power in specific categories within the various business units within a company), it may not be a familiar term or idea for the HR executives with whom they are working. It would be important when discussing aggregation to be sure everyone in the room understands the concept so that they can provide input on where aggregation would be optimal.

2. Trust and value one another's expertise.

Procurement and HR teams must engage with one another without one side trying to dominate the other. Both parties must come to the table with the understanding that the ultimate objective is to meet the business goal (i.e., secure the right talent and HR services for the company's needs) and that, in partnership, they will deliver a more valuable solution. Without this foundation of trust and respect, working together toward that end goal becomes increasingly complex and tedious, which can create detrimental results.

3. Remember your soft skills when establishing your partnership.

HR/procurement is an area where a hard-skills approach must be balanced with a soft-skills approach. The procurement team must position itself as a strategic partner to HR, guiding the department in the direction it recommends vs. “taking over” negotiations or vendor relationships. HR must remember that procurement's agenda isn't necessarily contradictory to its own, and should be open to other ideas and recommendations. Having a candid dialogue and leveraging the expertise, experience and knowledge of both parties, will lead to a more effective solution for the company.

4. Create a consistent approach to vendor relationships.

Uniting HR and procurement has provided companies with a single view of their supply base, rather than each HR specialty knowing only about its own suppliers. This can lead to cost efficiencies due to scale/scope of services provided to the overall organization. However, most organizations that have procurement teams still have a large portfolio of HR services providers to manage. Creating a consistent approach to vendor relationships not only helps the vendors come to expect a certain working relationship with your company, but can help ensure consistency in management of that relationship between procurement and HR as well. A consistent approach to managing and negotiating with suppliers can eliminate gray areas between HR and procurement during the process, while also helping to generate efficiencies throughout the partnership.

5. Bring services purchasing expertise to the table.

HR/procurement is vastly different from materials purchasing. Buys of services are more often based on relationships and are not returnable. Bringing a pure cost savings mentality to HR/procurement can hinder an HR/procurement team's relationship from the onset — value, not cost savings, is the ultimate goal. Staff quality and agency service levels are just as important as generating cost efficiencies.

Form a partnership and a consistent method of delivering value.

At the end of the day, clearly defining roles from the onset and throughout the decision-making process is critical to a combined HR/procurement team's success. Who makes the final decision? Who has the lead on the decision timeline? Who is in charge of the process? Those organizations that get it right stand to improve in their efficiency, value, and risk management. Those organizations that allow ineffective procurement/HR relationships to continue are missing a great opportunity to unlock value in their human capital strategy.

The 10 Commandments For 21st Century Customers

1. It's all about the customer ... and they know it. Customers want a 100% satisfying experience every time they use your products or come in contact with your company. If customers don't experience it from you, they'll quickly turn elsewhere.

2. The customer always knows best. Always give them what they want ... not what you want ... or what you think research tells you they want ... or what the ad agency said worked for a former client like you. Even if customers don't know what they want, they certainly know what they don't want.

3. Know Your Customer. Understand their needs, likes, dislikes and expectations. Customers are not nameless, faceless entities. Listen to their feedback through measurable, real-time Voice of Customer programs and just by talking with them.

4. Get Customer Feedback and Act Quickly. The internet has given customers a forum where they can make you or break you. Customers want to give you their opinions and concerns. Make sure they tell you ... before they tell your competitor ... or the internet internet! Once you get their feedback, acknowledge it and act quickly.

5. Always Tell Customers The Truth. Customers can smell a lie a mile a way. If you lie, customers will sooner or later will find out the truth. If they don't, the media or somebody else will.. If you lie once, they'll never give you the chance to lie to them again.

6. Customer Service Is Only A Small Part of The Equation. Top quality service is a given. Customers expect a whole lot more ... like two way communication and feedback ... uniquely personalized experiences that provide them with 100% satisfaction 100% of the time ... easy to navigate web sites ... low prices ... free shipping ... and these are just for starters. Don't be lured into a false sense of security thinking you have great customer service and that's all you need to do.

7. Always under-promise and over-deliver. Customers have high expectations and don't like to be disappointed. One of the keys to maximizing customer experience is to continually exceed their expectations. As they say in show business, "always keep them coming back for more!"

8. Customers Always Have Choices and Options. They can always find other solutions, products and companies who are willing to give them what they need. Customers know that somewhere in the world exactly what they want exists, and all they have to do is go online to find it.

9. Always Maximize The Customer Experience. Today's customers don't settle or accept product shortcomings as easily as their parents and grandparents did. Customers expect maximum satisfaction from every product experience at every touch point they have with you.

10. Never Forget Rule Number One.

My Favorite Flintoff Moments: Various People Talk

Adam Gilchrist - Former Australia wicketkeeper

A lot of people would talk about 2005 and the effect he had on the series in general. Everywhere I looked in that season he was there everywhere; every time I batted he seemed to bowl and generally I got roughed both in Tests and ODIs; he was on the billboards, he was ever-present in the newspapers; he got inside the mind so much that one night when I went to say good night to my wife I saw Andrew Flintoff! What I really liked about him was his work ethic: in The Oval Test in that series, on the fourth day, he bowled about 14 overs on the trot starting in the first session and carried past lunch. That showed how desperate he was to win. Then I loved the way he celebrated the Ashes victory as I've always been one to celebrate well, too.

Matthew Hoggard - Former England team-mate

My favourite Fred moment came during an Under-19 game in Zimbabwe. We were playing a Test in Bulawayo of all places, and we were struggling to get wickets. At that time, Fred had been told he couldn't bowl because he was suffering from spine curvature in his back, but Bumble [David Lloyd], the coach, told us to put Fred on anyway. He bowled about four overs, got five wickets and he bowled freaking rapid. That was Fred through and through. He wasn't supposed to bowl, he did bowl, and he didn't look back.

Micky Arthur - South Africa coach

The moment for me was the spell he bowled against us at Edgbaston last year - it was phenomenal. For those eight overs he bowled, he captivated the audience to such an extent that it became the Freddie Flintoff show. Only he had the ability to do that. Whenever he bowled you felt something would happen and hence our guys had a huge amount of respect for him.

Sourav Ganguly - Former India captain

The thing about playing against Andrew Flintoff was he kept coming at you. I always felt he was a better bowler than a batsman. I remember the NatWest Series final distinctly where even though we won, we had to actually play out of our skins to get past him. He was young then and kept getting better from there. On the field he was a huge competitor, played with a lot of passion for England, someone who improved consistently since the Lancashire days when I saw him for the first time. My only disappointment is he could have achieved a bit more with the talent he had, but injuries robbed him of that.

Dale Steyn - South Africa fast bowler

I never really played much against him, so I really can't speak much about his skills. But I do remember he was quite a crowd-pleaser. I didn't play the Test match at Edgbaston in 2008, as I had a broken hand but the distinct memory was that each time he turned to ball the crowd lit up.

Michael Henderson - Veteran broadsheet columnist

My favourite Flintoff memory was the final Test of 2005 at The Oval, when he pounded in on that Sunday, determined that England should take a first-innings lead when it seemed Australia might move ahead. It was an act of considerable physical courage actually, with England needing to draw the game to win the Ashes, and he ended up with his second Test five-for. The crowd could sense that here was someone playing with heart and soul, and it reminded me of Ian Botham in 1981. Everyone forgets the final Test of that summer, also at The Oval, when he bowled something like 80 overs in the game for ten wickets, running in and in and in, as if to say 'we may have won the series, but it hasn¹t ended yet, and I'm going to play my heart out until it does.' In both instances, it was the end of a glorious summer.

Stephen Brenkley - The Independent correspondent

My favourite Flintoff moment, and there have been many in England shirts, was actually right here at this ground [The Oval], playing for Lancashire against Surrey, when he hit Alex Tudor several times over the boundary. He finished his innings on 135 not out from 111 balls, and it was then that we realised we had something special on our hands. It took him some time to prove it, but boy did he go on and prove it. And boy, will England miss him. The moment occurred in some half-forgotten quarter-final of the NatWest Trophy. But what isn¹t forgotten is the way Flintoff took on Tudor, who was then England's fast kid on the block. The previous summer he had actually smacked him for 34 in an over in a Championship game at Old Trafford. But this is the performance that sticks in the memory.

John Etheridge - The Sun cricket correspondent

I think my favourite Flintoff moment was when he scored 167 against West Indies at Edgbaston, and one of his many sixes sailed into the stands, straight into the hands of a spectator, who dropped it. Later, we discovered the spectator was Colin Flintoff, his dad, and Fred had great fun at his expense, saying: "He never could catch, he always told me he had a brilliant pair of hands, but that's the final proof, in front of the world, that my dad couldn't catch a cold." So that was great fun, and it summed him up as well as anything. It showed him hitting a six, it showed a bit of humour, and it showed him as a great family man. It encapsulates him perfectly.

Mike Selvey - The Guardian cricket correspondent

My favourite was him catching Steve Harmison¹s first ball of the 2006-07 Ashes, that infamous wide in Brisbane that went straight to second slip. He caught it so nonchalantly, it was almost as if he knew it was coming. Had he been somebody who watched the edge of the bat and not the ball it might have kneecapped him, or hit him straight in the bollocks, which would have been even funnier. Instead he just caught it and threw it away, as if it wasn't a big deal really. It was as if they had worked it out beforehand.

Keep Bleeding: 17th most successful song in the US from 2000 to 2009, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade

Lyrics:

Closed off from love

I didn't need the pain

Once or twice was enough

And it was all in vain

Time starts to pass

Before you know it you're frozen

But something happened

For the very first time with you

My heart melts into the ground

Found something true

And everyone's looking round

Thinking I'm going crazy

But I don't care what they say

I'm in love with you

They try to pull me away

But they don't know the truth

My heart's crippled by the vein

That I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding

I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open

Trying hard not to hear

But they talk so loud

Their piercing sounds fill my ears

Try to fill me with doubt

Yet I know that the goal

Is to keep me from falling

But nothing's greater than the rush that comes with your embrace

And in this world of loneliness

I see your face

Yet everyone around me

Thinks that I'm going crazy, maybe, maybe

But I don't care what they say

I'm in love with you

They try to pull me away

But they don't know the truth

My heart's crippled by the vein

That I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding

I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open

And it's draining all of me

Oh they find it hard to believe

I'll be wearing these scars

For everyone to see

I don't care what they say

I'm in love with you

They try to pull me away

But they don't know the truth

My heart's crippled by the vein

That I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding

I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding

I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding

Keep, keep bleeding love

Bengal politics’ shifting colors

As the CPM-led government has moved to the right, Mamata Banerjee has put to use the same weapons the Left had earlier used

With Mamata Banerjee’s convincing win in the West Bengal civic elections, the writing is clearly on the wall for the state’s ruling Left Front. This is no wind of change; it increasingly looks like a cyclone that is likely to sweep away over three decades of the Leftist rule in next year’s state elections.

But a closer look at the reasons for Banerjee’s victory will remove some illusions. To be sure, after three decades of misrule, the people of the state are fed up with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, led front. It has presided over the steady decline of the state. It has successfully banished industry, so much so that Salt Lake, Kolkata’s posh suburb, looks like a retirement home as the younger generation has been forced to seek jobs in other states and countries. But the tragedy is that the Communists did not even push their social agenda.

Some of the country’s best social sector schemes were first tried out in states that had nothing to do with the Left. Take Maharashtra’s employment guarantee scheme, or Tamil Nadu’s midday meal project. The Communists did push through a radical land reform programme and revive panchayats, policies that fetched them a loyal following. But their long stint in power brought attendant evils, a story told tellingly on TV screens across the country when tribals brought down the palatial homes of the CPM cadre in dirt-poor Lalgarh. Over the years, the exploited had become the exploiters, just as had happened in the Communist countries, just as it happened in Animal Farm. And their long stint in power led to hubris, a hubris that led straight to Nandigram.

To its credit, the government of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee realized there was no alternative to industrialization. The solution he came up with was to move to the right, as they had done in China, with Bhattacharjee casting himself in the role of Bengal’s Deng. Alas, he had reckoned without the anger of the people and without Banerjee. She used the same weapons that the Left had used with such devastating effect—a heady mix of populism and raucous street protests. Banerjee has opposed land acquisition; she refuses to raise prices to reflect costs; she makes no bones about her opposition to the privatization of moribund state units.

Her ambivalence towards the far left Maoists is well known. In short, she projects herself as the champion of the poor against CPM oppression. The tables have been turned—it’s not Bengal that has deserted the Left, it’s the CPM that has moved to the right. Whether her populism will help the people of Bengal, though, is another matter altogether.

Point in case: Check the rallies. One from the past (CPM led). The other recent (Mamata led). Colors have surely changed