Abhijit Bhaduri

Day: December 31, 2016

  • 2017 a year of possibilities

    2017 a year of possibilities

    Happy New YearWe are always fascinated by fresh beginnings. Every candidate who promises a new beginning captures the imagination of the voters. We will all make new year resolutions. We think of new behaviors that we will adopt as we put up a fresh calendar on the wall. It symbolizes a chance to do what we have not done before. It is an opportunity to restart a project we abandoned midway. The first day of the year seems like an unopened gift package whose contents are unknown but they never fail to trigger hope. In many countries even government agencies make known their new year resolutions.

    Aspirational behaviors

    What is it about the 1st day of the year that creates this desire among millions of people around the world to try to do something challenging. Religion also offers us to make a fresh start. Confessions or seeking forgiveness are two common methods by which religion infuses hope among its believers. Festivals are symbols of fresh starts. Birthdays and vacations are all opportunities that motivate us to try out aspirational behaviors.  

    Mental accounting

    A job change is a chance to reimagine one’s career. Life events like marriage, births and deaths of loved ones can prompt us to swear to try out new ways of living. A major life event is a chance to create a new version of ourselves.

     To try out the new behavior we have to discontinue the old patterns. A brand new notebook and pen can inspire someone to start writing a novel. A new semester, transitions from school to college and a new relationship could be triggers to try out life altering choices. Psychologists have found that our choices are altered by mental accounting periods. When we create a new marker, we create a mental balance sheet where we turn away from the old “me” and start designing a new upgraded version.

    Creating a break in the way we perceive time allows us to disconnect ourselves from an imperfect self. A new mental account will allow us to distance ourselves from the past. It is no wonder that Google searches for the word “diet” and “exercise” peaks on 1st January every year. Whatever be your resolution, remember that you have many opportunities for a fresh start throughout the year. Any day that can create the feeling of a new beginning is an opportunity to complete an annual goal like an annual medical check-up.

    Many opportunities many lives

    If there is a behavior you wish to start or stop then this year has plenty of opportunities. You could start it on 1st January 2017 to mark the new year or on 2nd January which is a Monday. The Chinese New Year will be celebrated on January 28th. If you miss that then remember that the Bengali New Year starts on April 14. The Parsi New Year in 2017 will be on August 17. The Jewish new year will be on September 20-21.

    The first day of the week or the month or the year is new start. The world has not agreed on any one common calendar. Therein lies the opportunity. Every religion offers a different day of the week as a fresh beginning. Think of 2017 as the year of the “&”. That is a symbol of possibilities. You can start on a Monday & on any other day. You can start on the first of January & then again on any other day.

    Let 2017 be the year of exploring new possibilities. If you falter, remember you can restart that very day itself. Someone, somewhere has already created a reason for you to celebrate a new on any of the 365 days. That’s what I am going to do. Every day is an opportunity to work at your resolution. Do you agree?

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    Read: When should you wish someone a happy new year in India?

  • Would a robot boss be more effective?

    Would a robot boss be more effective?

    BridgewatRobot Bosser, the world’s biggest hedge fund with $160 billion, is now stepping beyond using algorithms to do financial trades. It is now trying to ask the existential question, “Why do we need managers?”Elsewhere in the world, billionaires are dreaming up ways to build space ships, make humans live forever, and make cars fly. So, if Ray Dalio, the Founder of Bridgewater, aims to take a pot-shot at the relatively new art and science of managing people, why should we worry?

    How is the algorithm being built?

    What kind of jobs does a manager do that the software will take over? Ray is building the software in the vision of his 123-page public manifesto called The Principles. He says:

    “Bridgewater’s success has resulted from talented people operating by the principles set out here, and it will continue if these or other talented people continue to operate by them. Like getting fit, virtually anyone can do it if they are willing to do what it takes.”

    He suggests a five-step process to get what you want out of life.

    1. Have clear goals.
    2. Identify and don’t tolerate the problems that stand in the way of achieving your goals.
    3. Accurately diagnose these problems.
    4. Design plans that explicitly lay out tasks that will get you around your problems and on to your goals.
    5. Implement these plans, that is, do these tasks.

    An app, dubbed The Contract, gets staff to set goals they want to achieve and then tracks how effectively they follow through.A team of coders in busy building PriOS, a software that wants to make three-quarters of all management decisions within five years. To build the logic underlying the software, vast amounts of data are being constantly collected. Meetings are recorded and people are encouraged to challenge each other constantly. People grade each other and that shows up in individuals getting a report card of their strengths and weaknesses. The machine will match people with job openings.

    Beyond logic

    Ray believes that if only human emotions would be left out of the workplace, it would make it possible to run the place most efficiently. He is investing the brute power of his financial empire to make this dream a reality. People would be rated based on a million data points. The decision would be a foregone conclusion. But because people have difficulty (at least for now) to take orders from a machine, the role of the manager would be to simply convey the decision the machine has taken. How meaningful would that be for employees?The role of a manager is part science and part art. While the algorithm will take care of the science part of the manager’s tasks, there is so much more to that role. The role of the manager is also to persuade the team members to go above and beyond. Two managers can convey the same performance rating to the same employee and have very different outcomes. One manager can leave the employee devastated with the rating while the other manager can leave the employee motivated to excel.When we reflect on the cause of pain, we make progress says Ray in his manifesto. This maybe a time for us to reflect on the future.—————-First published by YourStory.com dated 27 Dec 2016  <more stories>Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduriRead: Would schools be better off without human teachers?