The ABC’s of Timing Your Careers

One of the top most topics that people is bracket of 3 years and above look for is timing their careers. While enough knowledge is available in how to make an entry into a Industry/ sector, there was almost little knowledge in the ways how you time you career for greater successes. I am sharing the best of the tips and tricks that were shared by few fellow managers and sr management based on their own experience, observation and based on their study.

For best timing of your careers you need to have grab on three core views.

1.    Your Current Specialization, Skills- It is almost impossible to time your career without you having a clear understanding of what you are good at? And how best you are in it. Please carry on SWOT analysis of your core skills and rate yourself so that you get a clear understanding of how you stand in your current roles. Develop a calendar goals to improve your skills. If possible have mentor to help you to strategize your skill development and improvement program. Typically you can choose your boss, or friend who is senior to you in your industry. Please choose people who are clean minded, willing to help and not the wicked.

2.     Trends In Your Industry- For you to train your guns, you need to follow what are the trends that are happening in your industry. Subscribe to industry journals, network with people to know various trends in your stream locally and internationally. Trends can be understood in two ways An accelerating trend, and Ordinary trend.  An accelerating trend is some thing that you cannot ignore, It basically provides you information on what’s happening fast. Align yourself to accelerating trend.

3.    Job moves Lateral/Vertical -  I have seen few people shifting jobs while a rise in local markets; they have miserably failed on long runs. The best way for you understand when you can move forward can be best understood when you know your current skills, positioning, tends in your industry and how your current company is doing Vs Industry . Don’t change jobs for petty reasons, understand what is in offer in totality and not just the monetary pays. No person will be willing to pay you a huge raise against industry norm with out there being a some kind of trick attached.

Calculate all your options carefully and select a long term strategy than falling for short term gains. I have rarely seen people in Sr Management who successfully grew without a strategy. If you are not clearly able to understand what is in new Offer for long term, stay back with your current employer after all, he is the one who is nourishing you and a reason for what you are now ! Its the best way forward till you get some clarity and re-strategize your career.

Good luck- Ravi Kollipara.

Top Seven Attributes Of Super Leaders

Leadership is mind set, world over  people follow leaders. Leaders are born out of people, while many a times the followers remain follower. But everyone at some point of time NEED to become a LEADER weather it is for your corporation or for state or even within the family. In this article I am going to discuss basic attributes that are truly exhibited by modern leaders.

1. Driven By Need- Leaders  are driven by people needs. He understands the needs and the importance of fulfilling it. They give all their best to ensure that the understood need is fulfilled for their people.  Unfortunately in few democracies, we have seen leaders falling for their own satisfaction at the expense of peoples.

2. Future Oriented- What lies ahead for a group or a future success of a group actually decides how good a leadership is. All truly successful leaders are futuristic; they look beyond current goals and work in strategy for future . This probably points why a BIG IT firm in India is looking in hay way with its old strategy .

3. Solution Focus- Traditionally all successful leaders are not focused on smaller issues, rather they understand the root cause of the problem and do not fall prey to smaller answers, but work toward greater solution/ Purpose. Gandhiji worked towards realization of Independence for India than on smaller petty issues with British. Its is the bigger solution that Gandhiji inspired people and achieved.

TWO lists that managers needs to follow

( from Harvard Business Review)

I was late for my meeting with the CEO of a technology company and I was emailing him from my iPhone as I walked onto the elevator in his company's office building. I stayed focused on the screen as I rode to the sixth floor. I was still typing with my thumbs when the elevator doors opened and I walked out without looking up. Then I heard a voice behind me, "Wrong floor." I looked back at the man who was holding the door open for me to get back in; it was the CEO, a big smile on his face. He had been in the elevator with me the whole time. "Busted," he said.

The world is moving fast and it's only getting faster. So much technology. So much information. So much to understand, to think about, to react to. A friend of mine recently took a new job as the head of learning and development at a mid-sized investment bank. When she came to work her first day on the job she turned on her computer, logged in with the password they had given her, and found 385 messages already waiting for her.

So we try to speed up to match the pace of the action around us. We stay up until 3 am trying to answer all our emails. We twitter, we facebook, and we link-in. We scan news websites wanting to make sure we stay up to date on the latest updates. And we salivate each time we hear the beep or vibration of a new text message.

But that's a mistake. The speed with which information hurtles towards us is unavoidable (and it's getting worse). But trying to catch it all is counterproductive. The faster the waves come, the more deliberately we need to navigate. Otherwise we'll get tossed around like so many particles of sand, scattered to oblivion. Never before has it been so important to be grounded and intentional and to know what's important.
Never before has it been so important to say "No." No, I'm not going to read that article. No, I'm not going to read that email. No, I'm not going to take that phone call. No, I'm not going to sit through that meeting.
It's hard to do because maybe, just maybe, that next piece of information will be the key to our success. But our success actually hinges on the opposite: on our willingness to risk missing some information. Because trying to focus on it all is a risk in itself. We'll exhaust ourselves. We'll get confused, nervous, and irritable. And we'll miss the CEO standing next to us in the elevator.

A study of car accidents by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute put cameras in cars to see what happens right before an accident. They found that in 80% of crashes the driver was distracted during the three seconds preceding the incident. In other words, they lost focus — dialed their cell phones, changed the station on the radio, took a bite of a sandwich, maybe checked a text — and didn't notice that something changed in the world around them. Then they crashed.

The world is changing fast and if we don't stay focused on the road ahead, resisting the distractions that, while tempting, are, well, distracting, then we increase the chances of a crash.
Now is a good time to pause, prioritize, and focus. Make two lists:

List 1: Your Focus List (the road ahead) What are you trying to achieve? What makes you happy? What's important to you? Design your time around those things. Because time is your one limited resource and no matter how hard you try you can't work 25/8.
List 2: Your Ignore List (the distractions)
To succeed in using your time wisely, you have to ask the equally important but often avoided complementary questions: what are you willing not to achieve? What doesn't make you happy? What's not important to you? What gets in the way?

Some people already have the first list. Very few have the second. But given how easily we get distracted and how many distractions we have these days, the second is more important than ever. The leaders who will continue to thrive in the future know the answers to these questions and each time there's a demand on their attention they ask whether it will further their focus or dilute it.
Which means you shouldn't create these lists once and then put them in a drawer. These two lists are your map for each day. Review them each morning, along with your calendar, and ask: what's the plan for today? Where will I spend my time? How will it further my focus? How might I get distracted? Then find the courage to follow through, make choices, and maybe disappoint a few people.
After the CEO busted me in the elevator, he told me about the meeting he had just come from. It was a gathering of all the finalists, of which he was one, for the title of Entrepreneur of the Year. This was an important meeting for him — as it was for everyone who aspired to the title (the judges were all in attendance) — and before he entered he had made two explicit decisions: 1. To focus on the meeting itself and 2. Not to check his BlackBerry.

What amazed him was that he was the only one not glued to a mobile device. Were all the other CEOs not interested in the title? Were their businesses so dependent on them that they couldn't be away for one hour? Is either of those a smart thing to communicate to the judges?

There was only one thing that was most important in that hour and there was only one CEO whose behavior reflected that importance, who knew where to focus and what to ignore. Whether or not he eventually wins the title, he's already winning the game.

( As reported by Peter Bregman)

All New - Modern Tester’s Dictionary

I figured it was time for a review of some modern testing terms.  Feel free to challenge me if you don’t like my definitions, which are very conversational.  I selected terms I find valuable and stayed away from terms I’m bored with (e.g., “Stress Testing”, “Smoke Testing”). 

Afterwards, you can tell me what I’m missing.  Maybe I’ll update the list.  Here we go…

Tester – Never refer to yourself as QA.  That’s old school.  That’s a sign of an unskilled tester.  By now, we know writing software is different than manufacturing cars.  We know we don’t have the power to “assure” quality.  If your title still has “QA” in it, convince your HR department to change it. 

Sapient Tester – A brain-engaged tester.  It is generally used to describe a skilled tester who focuses on human “testing” but uses machines for “checking”.

Manual Tester – A brain-dead tester.  Manual testers focus on “checking”.

Test (noun) – Something that can reveal new information.  Something that takes place in one’s brain.  Tests focus on exploration and learning. 

Check – An observation, linked to a decision rule, resulting in a bit (e.g., Pass/Fail, True/False, Yes/No).  Checks focus on confirmation.  A check may be performed by a machine or a human.  Repetition of the same check is best left to a machine, lest the tester becomes a “Manual Tester”, which is not cool.

Developer – It takes a tester, business analyst, and programmer to develop software; even if they’re just different hats on the same person.  That means if you’re a tester, you’re also a developer.

Programmer – Person on the development team responsible for writing the product code.  They write code that ships.

Prog – Short version of “Programmer”. 

Test Automation Engineer – This is a Tester who specializes in writing automated checks.  This is the best I have so far.  But here are the problems I have with it.  Test Automation Engineers are also programmers who write code.  That means the term “Programmer” is ambiguous.  A Test Automation Engineer has the word “Test” in their title when, arguably, a test can’t be automated.

Heuristic - a fallible method for solving a problem or making a decision.  Like a rule of thumb.  It's fallible though, so use it with care. Why is this term in a tester dictionary?  Skilled testers use heuristics to make quick decisions during testing.  For example: a tester may use a stopping heuristic to know when to stop a test or which test to execute next.  Testers have begun capturing the way they solve problems and creating catchy labels for new heuristics.  Said labels allow testers to share ideas with other testers.  Example: the 'Just In Time Heuristic' reminds us to add test detail as late as possible, because things will change.  Example: the' Jenga Heuristic' reminds us that if we remove too many dependencies from a test, it will easily fall down...instead, try removing one dependency at a time to determine the breaking point.

Test Report – Something a team member or manager may ask a tester for.  The team member is asking for a summary of a tester’s findings thus far. 

Context Driven Testing – an approach to software testing that values context. Example: when joining a new project, Context Driven testers will ask the team what level of documentation is required, as opposed to just writing a test plan because that is what they have always done.  IMO, Context Driven testers are the innovators when it comes to software testing.  They are the folks challenging us to think differently and adjust our approaches as the IT industry changes. 

Bug – Something that bugs someone who matters.

Issue – It may result in a bug.  We don’t have enough information to determine that yet.

Escape – A bug found in production.  A bug that has “escaped” the test environment.  Counting “escapes” may be more valuable than counting “bugs”.

Follow-on Bug – A bug resulting from a different bug.  “we don’t need to log a bug report for BugA because it will go away when BugB gets fixed”. 

Safety Language – Skilled testers use it to tell an honest accurate story of their testing and preserve uncertainty.  Example: “This appears to meet the requirements to some degree”, “I may be wrong”.

Test Idea – less than 140 characters.  Exact steps are not necessary.  The essence of a test should be captured.  Each test ideas should be unique among their set.  The purpose is to plan a test session without spending too much time on details that may change.  Test Ideas replace test cases on my team.

Test Case Fragment – see “Test Idea”.  I think they are the same thing.

AUT – Application Under Test.  The software testers are paid to test. 

Showstopper – An annoying label, usually used to define the priority of bugs.  It is typically overused and results in making everything equally important.

Velocity, Magnitude, Story Points – Misunderstood measurements of work on agile development teams.  Misunderstood because Agile consultants do such a poor job of explaining them.  So just use these terms however you want and you will be no worse off than most Agile teams.

Session-Based-Test-Management (SBTM) – A structured approach to Exploratory Testing that helps testers be more accountable.  It involves dividing up test work into time-based charters (i.e., missions), documenting your test session live, and reviewing your findings with a team member.  The Bach brothers came up with this, I think.  Best free SBTM tool, IMO, is Rapid Reporter.

As reported by : Eric Jacobson at Thursday, June 07, 2012 in his p[personal blog

Men and women differences in chemistry

Hi friends, I am back and want to continue to write on Anger management/ Emotion management. Before you jump in lets try to understand whats happening at chemical level and who are good at what?

Traditionally the following differences are widely accepted and acknowledged., that for

1. MULTI-TASKING
Women - Multiple process.Women's brains designed to concentrate multiple task at a time.
Women can Watch a TV and Talk over phone and cook.
Men - Single Process. Men's brains designed to concentrate only one work at a time. Men can not watch TV and talk over the phone at the same time. they stop the TV while Talking. They can either watch TV or talk over the phone or cook.

2. LANGUAGE
Women can easily learn many languages. But can not find solutions to problems. Men can not easily learn languages, they can easily solve problems. That's why in average a 3 years old girl has three times higher vocabulary than a 3 year old boy.

3. ANALYTICAL SKILLS
Mens brains has a lot of space for handling the analytical process. They can analyze and find the solution for a process and design a map of a building easily. But If a complex map is viewed by women, they can not understand it. Women can not understand the details of a map easily, For them it is just a dump of lines on a paper.

4. CAR DRIVING.
While driving a car, mans analytical spaces are used in his brain. He can drive a car fastly. If he sees an object at long distance, immediately his brain classifies the object (bus or van or car) direction and speed of the object and he drives accordingly. Where woman take a long time to recognize the object direction/ speed. Mans single process mind stops the audio in the car (if any), then concentrates only on driving.

5. LYING
When men lie to women face to face, they get caught easily. Womans super natural brain observes facial expression 70%, body language 20% and words coming from the mouth 10%. Mens brain does not have this. Women easily lie to men face to face.
So guys, do not lie face to face.

6. PROBLEMS SOLVING
If a man have a lot of problems, his brain clearly classifies the problems and puts them in individual rooms in the brain and then finds the solution one by one. You can see many guys looking at the sky for a long time. If a woman has a lot of problems, her brain can not classify the problems. she wants some one to hear that. After telling everything to a person she goes happily to bed. She does not worry about the problems being solved or not.

7. WHAT THEY WANT
Men want status, success, solutions, big process, etc... But Women want relationship, friends, family, etc...

8. UNHAPPINESS
If women are unhappy with their relations, they can not concentrate on their work. If men are unhappy with their work, they can not concentrate on the relations.

9. SPEECH
Women use indirect language in speech. But Men use direct language.


10. HANDLING EMOTION
Women talk a lot without thinking. Men act a lot without thinking.




Suggested further reading : Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Grey.
You can down load it from the following link xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/21230179/1805388939/name/ladies.pdf

Managing a HOT head

Managing an anger person-

It's never fun to deal with an angry person, whether we're talking about a hothead who's quick to anger or a chronically angry grouse. It particularly difficult to act without an emotion, when you are handling a foolish Head.

On top of that unfortunately, none of the natural reactions that an angry person inspires -- defensiveness, fear, or getting mad yourself -- tend to be productive

I faced hard times in managing the angry person, but my experience thought me few interesting facts which I collected over the time from management books and websites from MSN, Google etc. They made me better equipped and helped me in various situations. I am sharing for benefit of all and these following tips can help you.

1. Let the angry person know you understand that he's upset.

What this sounds like: "I understand that you're really angry right now that I missed our appointment." "Oh, wow, you seem really mad that the doctor's office never called back." "You're mad that I ate that last brownie -- is that it?"

It's important to be specific, to hit home the message to the other person that he or she is truly understood. Don't just say, "I understand what you're saying."

Keep the focus on the other person's emotions. Don't say, "I understand because I've been there, too." The upset person doesn't care; in the heat of the moment, he feels like his experience is unique.

Why it helps: The tactic known as "reflective listening" or "active listening" is a basic building block to all kinds of effective communication, says psychologist Steve Sultanoff, an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University. Especially with someone who's seething with anger, it's not enough for you to realize that he or she is upset (which tends to be pretty obvious). You need to demonstrate that realization to the upset person by saying so.

The effect of simply stating what's behind the anger is like pouring cool water on a fire. "As humans, we have a tendency to feel connected when another person gets us," Sultanoff says. "Repeating back what you're hearing the angry person say is both connecting and calming."

2. Solicit what the angry person wants from you.

What this sounds like: "What is it you want or need right now?" "How can I help you?" "How do you envision the outcome of this in terms of what I could do?"

Why it helps: Most anger develops when the person perceives the world (or situation) as unfair, according to Sultanoff. "Anger is generating energy to get the unfair thing fixed," he says. Sometimes the anger stems from a perceived wrong: You or someone else did (or is perceived as having done) something upsetting -- forgot a birthday, broke a prized possession. Sometimes, though, the anger stems from a bigger sense of being wronged -- the person lost a job, his or her partner left, or he or she has a tough medical diagnosis, for example.

But nobody wants to listen to endless ranting. So cut to the chase by moving the conversation (even if it's mostly one-sided barking, so far) to a more proactive realm. Basically you're saying, in a nice way, "So what do you want me to do about it?"

3. Offer what help you can -- or say clearly what you can't do.

What this sounds like: This can take several forms. You may be able to fill the desire: "Let me see if I can call the doctor for you and find out what the delay is." You may hear that an apology is desired, if you accept some fault for the situation: "I'm sorry, I didn't realize the snack I ate was something you were saving for yourself. Please accept my apology -- I'll buy you a replacement."

Or you may decide that it's not within your power to help. If so, express that clearly: "I wish I could stay longer today to help, but I can't." Or, "I know you're mad about being fired and want your old job back, but I can't do anything about that. It is what it is."

Sometimes it's within your power to help, but you choose not to -- that's setting a boundary, and it's perfectly OK. Express it as a "can't" rather than a "don't want to": "I'm sorry, I wish I could help you with that, but I can't today."

Why it helps: You want to keep moving the situation along in a productive way. After the person expresses what he or she wants, decide what, if anything, you're able do, and say so.

Very interesting new testing tool from HP

Indeed a very exciting Hp tool, for all my folks in software testing. I see that ALM 11.0 together with QTP, other integration's  is going to storm the development world.

I see great potential for ALM 11.0 along with Agile accelerator and its ability to integrate Project Management and Multi platform distributed developments teams to very very effectively plan, manage, trace and deliver future applications.

Dealing With Localization- Localization- project development, localization testing

While organizations started localizing for multiple countries, it had led to emergence of accepting and handling the applications in  multiple language dimensions. In this write up, I am presenting some steps which worked well in  mutli country project I managed, I hope it will equip you to  perform to handle localisations effectively.

Target Locales

First and foremost understand the target locales, countries your customer/ business is targeting. It may not be a bad idea to find out the extensibility of the product to other countries that your business may want to take it in near future. So even the future locales are considered and handled during current validations.

Special Handling

Identify the areas that need special attention. Review the glossary to be localised. **Remember that RTL and countries and LTR countries will need a separate and full-fledged handling independent of each other.

Resourcing

Identify the resources and SME’s who can help and provide you the inputs. Document the time and telephone numbers, when they can be contacted. Take a Secondary owner for each and every stake.

Avoid Pitfalls

Identify and create a Check list of all items that needs localization based on the need before for an example, a Image makes no difference between countries but a currency sign will. SO make a list of countries that need to be accounted and list of countries that do not need attention. Cross check your check list with business owners and country manager, SME’s for each locale separately.

Heuristic Data

Apply heuristic data on the check list to arrive at realistic estimates for development and validations.

Reverse integrate

Try to get as much data as possible . With potential failure in mind, chalk out all possible areas of failure and mitigate the risks

Plan

With a Well-defined check list and come out with detailed project plan. Review your plan with various stake holders from each locale and publish your plan .

Create a detailed  validation plan and risk mitigation plan. Involve stake holders and make newer team members as responsible for limited locale.

Execution

Automate as much as possible for different locale. Automation helps you to control the wastage and helps in accelerated lifecycle.

Localization will expand more as businesses are expanding foot hold to other countries gear up will and customise your check list. I hope the points I mentioned here will be handy for your localization assignments. Good luck

How to describe yourself to a Client

There you are dressed your best and being interviewed for new assignment of your dreams and the dreaded question gets asked, "Describe yourself for me." This question is almost always asked and almost always answered with a resounding uuuuuh… Knowing how to describe yourself in an interview can mean the difference of landing your new assignment or going back to the want ads.

It helps if you come to grips with the fact that this question will be asked and you prepare for it ahead of time, but be careful that you don’t some off sounding like you memorized a script the night before. When getting ready to describe yourself in an interview you should consider the following:

• Don’t tell them what they already know: Don’t start out with your name and age, they have that on the application and repeating it sort of makes you sound silly. Instead of saying where you went to school –also on the application- tell the interviewer what you got out of your schooling or who influenced you along the way. Get into any activities or hobbies you have that may not be listed on the application. This is your time to let the interviewer know everything about you that is not on the application already.

• Give your strengths AND your weaknesses: First off all when giving your strengths, never come off too cocky. Be proud, but be careful not to toot your own horn too loudly as this can be a major turn-off to the interviewer. Besides giving what your strengths are, also mention your weaknesses, but do it in a way that makes you look good. ‘I have no patience for those that do not want to go the extra mile to help a co-worker,’ or ‘A big fault of mine is that I tend to pay too much attention to detail when it may not be needed.’ Statements such as those show the interviewer that you don’t think you are perfect, but that your faults are good ones to have.

• Try to relate how your strengths and accomplishment can bring value to the new assignment or clients business.

• Be honest: This is most important of all. If you are not being honest many prospective employers can see right through your bologna and besides, you are who you are. If the job isn’t meant to be, then that is life. Never pretend to be somebody you are not.

• Speak clearly and don’t stammer: This goes back to the whole practice thing. If you are constantly stammering or saying ‘uh’ then you give off the impression that you are searching for words to say. This gives a bad vibe off because if you don’t know who you are, then who really does?

• Show your conviction.

While there are no magic words to speak that will guarantee you a new assignment, you should be prepared to adequately describe yourself at an interview. Again, you know the question is coming, so you may as well prepare for it. 

Tips to make your networks WORK.

Now a day’s most successful businesses are driven through networks. In this blog, I am trying to list out some tips to ensure that you can improve your networks.

Please note that it’s not the number of people in Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Im, linkedin etc who it really matter, but the quality of network you maintain that really matters.

When a Top executive switches, the very intangible benefit he carries is his network and ability to influence the future businesses. The more networked an organization is, the more successful, powerful, influential it will be. There are millions of people who believe in networking as one of the best ways to improve their businesses. 

To be a successful networker you have to make people show interest in your companionship. Remember - if you want to be interesting, be interested.

1. Attitude :

The first and foremost important factor to decide your success in networking is your attitude. If you are out there for networking to just collect some bunch of cards and thinking it will be a mere waste of time and something you are particularly dreading, you soon will get frustrated about it. Get encouraged with a fact that 75% of US property companies businesses from 2008 to 2010 came from networking activity alone.

Love people. Love to be in a crowd. Love to make more friends. Love to have win-win relationships.


2. First Impression is undoubtedly the Best Impression :

Dress appropriately. If your profession does not require a professional business suite, then smart casual is fine. Dress according to the situation. You may want to dress according to the majority target networking people. Don't be too enthusiastic while wishing and giving a hand shake. A hand shake can tell you what kind of feelings you carry. Have a pleasant smile while wishing and more importantly wish with heart not with mouth.



3. Research :

Research shows your seriousness. Do a little research about the event, the place and more important the profile of the people who will be at the event. Look for synergies with your business. This helps you in not meeting every person and wasting your time and effort. You can smartly network with only the people who can be helpful for you.

If you are not sure of the event or the people who will attend it, you can always ask the person who invited you for the event or the event coordinators.

4. Ask Open Ended Questions :

You have to ask open ended questions most of the times. This gives you more specific answers and hence solves the purpose of networking more. It also creates a better impression about you. To ask more appropriate open ended questions, you have to do research about that particular industry or company or their products/services.


5. Talk Less, Convey More :

Give a clear message. Do not give prolonged explanations in the first meeting itself. Long conversations can make them bore, short and clear talks can create enthusiasm. The goal is to make the other person remember you as person with knowledge, not of words.


6. Be Ready with Elevator Speech :

Elevator Speech is something you have to convey entire message in less than a minute (with in time to reach 6 floors in an elevator). Be prepared. This can really make a great impression if you can clearly tell about your business or company or products/services within a minute.Again, you should not look like hurried or tensed. Practice the elevator speech in front of mirror till you feel comfortable.

To summon up I have seen the following  qualities of Successful networking people.

1. Attitude (Self Belief & Passion towards growth, creating Win-Win )

2. Creating & Maintaining Relationships

3. Ability reach out & touch any one

4. Ability to ask proper questions

5. Ability to give and be responsible. 

When you have to say NO to your Boss…..Tips

As we grow in IT , we develop our own individuality and thinking, there will be instances to debate your point with peers and Boss. Saying no to your Boss is quite tricky, our colleagues might have advised against it countless times, every bone in our body might say that you shouldn’t do it and you might try to avoid it with utter sincerity but at some point during your office life, circumstances are such that saying No to your boss becomes absolutely unavoidable.

You might have the most rational explanations for turning down instructions from your boss but unless you put forth your denial in a proper way, it is highly unlikely that you can wriggle out this situation without harming your reputation.

Better take you case and put your point for debate, than denying the instructions later stage denting your repute.

Use the following tips to ensure your rational logic doesn’t make a serious dent in your reputation with the boss:

Present yourself like a Victim! getting most effected

Try to look slightly helpless when putting across your reason or excuse for turning down the boss’s instructions. For these few moments, shed the confidence in your strut. Don’t carry yourself into the boss’ cabin with the usual air of confidence that you exude at work. This is one of the rare situations in a workplace when looking vulnerable is more likely to help. If you can act a bit, it would be of great help. Try to look a bit dejected, as if this moment is a burden on your soul and is weighing you mdown. Try to exude the helplessness associated with a victim. Looking victimized means that any excuse/reason you will put across will seem more convincing.

Choose your moment

Bosses are like any other person at work, i.e. they are likely to have bad days where anything that seems to challenge their authority or sensibilities can lead to an outburst. Thus, be guarded in picking the day and the moment when you confront your boss.

Try not to interfere between meetings or when the boss is busy on the phone or some other work. Try to gauge the boss’ mood. Search for a moment when the boss looks a bit relaxed and doesn’t exude that typical killer looks that he/she is known to carry.

It is better to choose a time which assures that the boss isn't stressed or apprehensive. This includes the period just after a tea break or after a celebration in the office.

Drown your Defiance

You can be extremely polite and respectful even when saying No to somebody and this is particularly applicable when communicating with the boss. Ensure that your choice of words doesn’t border upon starting an argument. It shouldn’t seem like you are defying the boss’ authority.

The aim should be to emerge from this situation with your dignity and reputation intact. So, don’t engage the boss in an argument. Don’t try to present so many reasons that the boss’ decision-making ability is challenged. Stress your reason for saying No in a clear voice not with emotional tone . You can be a bit assertive too but ensure that you choose a low-pitch tone that doesn’t engage any kind of confrontation.

Use your appearance to win sympathy with the Boss

If you have the liberty of planning the moment when you are going to refuse your boss, ensure that you wear dull, sober-colored clothes. It is better to be devoid any party-like accessories that otherwise seem to get you lots of compliments at work. In fact, a one or two-day stubble, is ideal to be worn for this situation, so plan accordingly.

Being prepared can save you the Day

Talk to yourself before your approach the boss. Make yourself understand that this could have implications like the boss getting angered and grilling you or it could be surprisingly, trouble-free. This will help you to cope with the situation in case the boss unleashes a verbal assault on you. Be on your safe zone, Being prepared ensures that such offensiveness will not challenge your tolerance and you won’t lose your anger.

Negotiating at work: Tips

Like any other skill, negotiation requires learning and practice. The better prepared you are with factual data before heading into a negotiation, the more effective you will be.

In an office, as in a war, negotiation is won much before the first battle is ever fought. But unlike in a war, successful negotiation has both parties walking away as winners. What is negotiation at work? It's the skill of reaching an agreement, be it with the boss and colleagues in office, or clients and vendors outside the organisation. In the first part of this sub-series on negotiation, we deal with the latter.

Like any other skill, negotiation requires learning and practice. The key issues often boil down to reaching an agreement that is mutually beneficial and seeking a working relationship that permits the benefits to flow. The following diagram gives 5 Qtrs of negotiation areas.

This process can be made profitable and enjoyable for all concerned if some basic steps are followed. The first step is the same as for any other process-preparation. The better prepared you are with factual data before heading into a negotiation, the more effective you will be.

Thereafter, the most important requirement is to honestly, logically and accurately identify the real needs and goals. Though the most obviously stated need is money, it can be a proxy for other physical or more refined needs (shelter, reputation, self-esteem). In the case of a vendor/client, people are often simply seeking understanding and attention rather than money.

Once you prioritise the needs of both parties, you can plan towards a mutually advantageous solution, wherein you can give away low-ranked needs in return for high-priority ones. Also, identify the stakeholders whose interests or needs are affected by the outcome of the agreement or negotiation. If you can -list out multiple stakeholders and their various interests, you are probably analysing well. Use the matching needs to come up with multiple solutions that may work.

Carry your analysis into the communication with the negotiating party. The communication process is the second critical step in arriving at an agreement. It is important to realise that the words used, emotions, as well as the non-verbal attitude, will have an impact on people, and, hence, on the outcome. Listen with an open mind, focus on receiving and communicating with maximum clarity, and maintain sufficient emotional distance in order to be successful. Simultaneously, you can continue to receive factual data, with both parties  following the give-and-take principle, and building trust gradually. It is important to have persistence and respect for the other person in order to be successful.

Finally, remember that you should care for the outcome, but not too much. You can negotiate well only if you have the ability to walk away from an unfavorable agreement. To build this strength, create a credible alternative to failure. So, a successful salesperson, for instance, can negotiate the best deals on his products if he has a potential back-up customer. You should also factor in the fallback options for the other side. If you do this, it will be clear that the final agreement will necessarily fall between the back-up options of the parties concerned. However, do not exercise your option to walk away; make your final offer and let the other person go first-if need be.

While negotiating with a client/vendor, enter the discussion with a win-win mindset. Understand that both the parties need to walk away with gains. So, if you are looking for a higher price, perhaps your client wants the peace of mind that comes with an extended warranty. If you think of it as a win-lose deal, you stand to lose both the deal and the working relationship. Irrespective of the outcome, do not take words, requests or denials personally.

A lost deal does not mean that you have failed. It simply implies that at that moment, the client could not afford to accept your offer. Do, however, take time to help the client understand what he stands to gain from your offer. Listen carefully to make sure you understand what he really wants.

Also remember never to lose your cool or emotions. Your friends may accept you as you are, but your clients could run scared. Try and be the first to make an offer. It will help anchor the client to your view and the final agreement is more likely to end closer to your proposal. Do not compromise on your ethical standards. Most clients/vendors would be happy to work where they perceive the other person to be fair. While the client has the right to ask and know before paying, both parties are entitled to take time to think through their reactions.

At the end of the day, every interaction with a client/vendor teaches us something new that adds to our negotiation experience. It is a skill that takes years to master. Know that negotiation with clients is often focused on money. Add to it the amorphous nature of relationships and negotiations can become very complex.

Reproduced from  www.businesstoday.in