Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category
Which is the best CMS in terms of usability?
I've been playing with a few open source CMSs for my new book. And I am actually surprised! Most of them are just so darn difficult to use! Not only they are jargon filled, but they are also unintuivie!
I am looking at both user side and the admin side.
I think WordPress excels in usability. The design is good, and it's easy to figure out how things are laid. It follows task-centered approach to design. Which is great.
Joomla is confusing. The action buttons are above the form where you fill in the information. That's very sad. The content adding interface is overly complicated and difficult for an intermediate user too.
Drupal makes me feel I have landed in wonderland! The taxonomy and nodes tangle me! And where is the WYSIWYG interface? That should be on by default!
What's been your experience? Which CMS is best in terms of usability?
10 Tips to Effectively Handle Conference Calls with Customers
We work on outsourced software development projects. One of the biggest challenges in that is to communicate effectively. We started having weekly telephone calls with customers to improve project execution. Here are some tips on drastically improving your effectiveness of handling conference calls with customers.
- Connection: Have the number to call handy. And an alternate number to call in case the first does not work. Understand the timezone difference. Where will the client be when you call? Get connected 2 minutes earlier than scheduled.
- Accent: Just as our clients have accent, for them, we have an accent. Indians have a variety of accents (per their cultural background) and that makes it even difficult for the client to understand what we say. Speak slowly, make sure each word is clear.
- Disturbances: If there are disturbances on the line, don't keep saying "are you there", "can you hear me", "i can hear you" etc. Keep going slowly. If you did not understand something because of the disturbance, tell the client "I didn't get what you said (about ...)" and let them answer.
- Echo: Mute your microphone when you are not speaking. You may be on a speakerphone in a conference and the client may get echo of what he is speaking if you are not on mute. The same may happen to you if the client is on speakerphone. You can request them to mute their line while you are speaking. This will even save you some bandwidth if you are using VoIP.
- Homework: Be prepared for the conference call. A conference call is a meeting. So be prepared with the agenda, be ready with your status updates or questions.
- Culture Difference: Be aware of the culture difference. Your client's expectations and understanding will not be the same as yours. The slang will be different. Some clients will be very demanding, some will be easy. Watch for this and act accordingly.
- Cutting Long Conversations short: You or the client may keep on talking. Cut this short - unless it's contributing. If the client is repeating himself, check whether you understood what they said, and if you reiterated that to them. Go ahead, explain the client what you understood. This will most probably reassure them that you got what they wanted to say. When needed, remind the client about the agenda and time limit for the meeting. And get back on track. Tell them you "would love to get to work on what's been discussed. And will give an update at the end of the day".
- Correct Grammar: Speak good English. Incorrect grammar can upset the customer. It will not only make it difficult for your client to understand you, but will also give a bad impression of you. Practice speaking.
- Greeting and Closing: Greet with a "good evening" (or similar, depending on the client's time). And close with a "Thank you". At the end of the meeting, summarize the actions to be taken now, and provide an update on when can the client expect to hear from you.
- Listening: The most important thing on any call, is to listen to the other person! Listen actively. Repeat what the client says in your head. This will help you understand it. If you don't understand, say what you did, and request the client to explain the rest. Practice listening! This is one thing that can elevate your performance anywhere!
Naturopathy Principles
It's been more than two weeks that we are back from Uruli Kanchan Nisargopachar Ashram. I wanted to write a lot about it, but have been so busy with work that I haven't written anything!
Overall, the experience was great. Taught many things about health and fitness. And rejuvenated the mind and body!
Here are the core principles of Naturopathy!
- All disease, their cause and their treatment are one.
- The basic cause of disease is not bacteria. Bacteria develops after the accumulation of morbid matter when a favorable atmosphere for their growth develops in body. Basic cause is morbid matter and not the bacteria.
- Acute diseases are our friends not he enemies. Chronic diseases are the outcome of wrong treatment and suppression of the acute diseases.
- Nature is the greatest healer. Body the capacity to prevent itself from diseases and regain health if unhealthy.
- In Naturopathy patient is treated and not the disease.
- In Naturopathy diagnosis is easily possible. Ostentation is not required. Long waiting for diagnosis is not required for treatment.
- Patients suffering from chronic ailments are also treated successfully in comparatively less time in Naturopathy.
- After emerging, suppressed diseases can be cured by Naturopathy.
- Nature Cure treats physical, mental, social (moral) and spiritual all four aspects at the same time.
- Nature Cure treats body as a whole instead of giving treatment to each organ separetely.
- Naturopathy does not use medicines. According to Naturopathy "Food is Medicine".
- According to Gandhi Ji "Rama Nama is the best Natural Treatment", means doing prayer according to one’s spiritual faith is an important part of treatment.
What will take you to the next level of greatness?
I am in Ahmedabad for three days, working with Ashok and the sales team here on our Q2 strategy. Found Robin Sharma's Greatness Guide 2, and just opened a page to get the inspiration for the day!
And found something Robin calls the "Mirror Test". Stand in front of a mirror in the morning. Ask yourself: What is it that you can do today, that will take you to the next level of greatness? Personally and professionally? Think through the action, go through it in your mind. Then go ahead and do it. Be bold.
It's the daily small improvements you do that will get you to greatness. Discover a new level of greatness everyday, with the mirror test!
I am going to take myself to the next level of greatness by pushing through the sales game we created and inspiring the Ahmedabad team today.
Nature Calling – going to Nisargopachar Ashram
We were thinking about a vacation for time. There were two options - a naturopathy retreat or an adventure trip! The nature's call won this time and we will be going to Nisargopachar Ashram in Uruli Kanchan (near Pune, Maharashtra, sometimes referred to as urlikanchan) tomorrow morning.
My sister returned from a week's stay yesterday. Dad is still there, and I and Nikita will join tomorrow. Neha just loved the fresh air, the massages and the peace of the place. Hearing her experience, I think it's going to be a good break for me too! Hopefully I won't work too much there!
The place is unique. Famous for its mud baths, strict diets, cleanliness and the heritage of Mahatma Gandhi. Here are some more descriptions and experiences found around the web.
- Uruli Kanchan and Naturopathy on Wikipedia
- Uruli Kanchan Nisargopachar Ashram on Wikimapia
- Nisargopachar Ashram's official website
- Very nice introduction to naturopathy and the ashram on Aarogya.com
- Naren Karunakaran's experiences on Outlook Money
- Moksh Juneja's blog posts about his visits to the naturopathy center - Day 1, Day 2
The Nisargopachar ashram is just one of the many indigenous health centers that dot the countryside. A late-century term for it would be 'health farm', but unlike its newer cousins, it remains a vestige of a more spartan life with its bare walls, crude flooring and minimal furniture. Founded in 1946 by Mahatma Gandhi-himself a fanatic believer in naturopathy-the Nisargopachar Ashram has kept alive the tradition of simple living and high thinking for more than five decades. More recently, it has given succor to stressed-out urbanites with problems ranging from obesity, arthritis and asthma, to heart diseases and diabetes. - Outlook Money Naturopathy believes not only in irradiating the symptoms and treating them but to kill diseases from its roots. For this purpose diet, patience and exercise also is important. The ashram in designed taken into consideration all these factors. - Aarogya.comI will writer more once I return!
