Coming from ‘Microsoft Windows’ platform, the first impression wasn’t that impressive – after all even Windows has GUI, dock & task bar. But when I started using it, I realized why Mac is superior. In less than two weeks, I’ve come to like MacBook. There are at least three features that make Mac to stand out  (I’m not sure even in a decade such features can come to Windows based laptop; same holds for Linux too):

• Install & uninstall experience – Drag and drop into ‘Application Folder’ for install; drag & drop into ‘Trash Can’ for uninstall. Just as simple as that. No registry; no clean-up of messy folders. Mac OS folks have done really good design and it is simply superb.
• No shutdown - Okay, not necessary to shut down. Close the lid and its off; Open and start working. Cool, isn’t it?
• Spotlight – something like desktop search. It is quick and precise (only once it didn’t return what I was looking for).

Mac Applications

A concern that I had was that I may have to spend quite a lot on applications. Not true. There are lots of open source and free applications for Mac too. And most of them are elegant in UI and efficient in what they are supposed to do. Here are some of the applications that I’m using:

Web Browsing : Mac comes pre-installed with Safari, which is a fast browser. I am also using Firefox.

Email : Mail, the pre-installed email program doesn’t have a provision to download only the headers. I’m using Gmail with offline feature and it is more than sufficient for me.

RSS Feedreader : Again I depend on Google for it. I’m using Google Reader with offline feature.

Office Suite : I’m using the Apple iWork. Might give a try to NeoOffice.

Games : I’m surprised that Mac doesn’t come with pre-installed games pack. There is only chess. I’m searching for some good free games.

Chat : My chat buddies have grown old (no I’m still young ). Everyone in the current friends circle use Gmail chat and so I go with it too.

Programming : I’m using TextWrangler for coding. But couldn’t find a decent SVN client. I tried SCPlugin, but for some reason it didn’t work.

Photography : I’ve been using Adobe Photoshop Elements and it worked in Mac too. Still to edit any photo in Mac but I’m sure the experience is going to be good.

Note Taking : Voodoopad Lite is a desktop wiki for Mac and it makes it easy to takes notes and organize within a single physical file.

Personal Finances : I tried mmex. But it kept crashing, though it works fine under Windows.

VirtualBox : I couldn’t find a decent Desktop Blog writer than Microsoft Live Writer; also I already bought SmartDraw. So went with VirtualBox to run Windows inside Mac. I am also using MMex for personal finances under Windows.

Others : iSync for syncing addresses & calender from Nokia E71; TweetDeck for tweets; SLife for tracking hours spent on applications; Books for cataloguing; Grab for taking screenshots.

Are there any other interesting Mac applications (preferably free) that I should try?

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A byte of apple is post from finally{}.

Author Bio : Joseph is an independent consultant helping organizations to achieve their business objectives through IT investment. You can follow him on twitter @jjude

Whether lucky or smart, I’ve always worked on challenging, well-paying and emerging concepts & tools. Having reached a certain stage in my career, I’m preparing for the next stage. I’ve followed ‘learn-do-refine’ model which has worked pretty well so far. With that foundation, here is my learning model for the next stage.

My learning model is of two layers – a core layer, domains in which I want to be an expert and a support layer, domains which will help me to practice my expertise effectively.

Enterprise Architecture

Many-a-times, those in software industry asks, ‘I have an answer. Do you have a relevant question?’. But successful (read profit making) companies are those that solve a business problem by engaging technology. EA brings this success story as a practice. I’m excited to learn about EA and possibly apply those concepts in the coming years.

Customer Relationship Management

CRM covers topics such as finding new customers, selling more to existing customers, and retaining customers. Now-a-days, CRM is considered relevant even for government organizations. I’ve been in CRM domain for the past 8 years and I’ve enjoyed both functional and implementation sides. I would like to continue to learn how CRM concepts help companies (and even governments) to be profitable.

People Skills

Executive educator, Marshall Goldsmith, says in ‘What got you here won’t get you there‘, that most of executive’s challenges are ‘people related’. To achieve anything significant, there needs to be a team (composed of seniors, peers, and juniors) and it is important to develop people skills to work with and with-in teams. Having been a asocial introvert, I find that this part of the pie is the most frustrating and emotionally draining; yet a critical part to be successful.

Project Management

I would broadly term this part as ‘Getting things done’ – the execution part of the deal. I’ve worked with some of the brilliant minds who are able to place best ideas on the table, but lack what it takes to get it done. Though I like to conceptualize a solution and communicate it with enthusiasm to others, I find it satisfying to get it executed – not really bothering about who gets the credit. You know what? When you get into that attitude, you almost always get the credit!

Financial Management

This is one area where I need to start from scratch. Executives translate every action in the organization into numbers – either profit or loss. It is poor financial management that has gotten the erstwhile famous companies into bankruptcy.

…and some fun

Another critical piece to continue enjoying other pieces. Though I don’t expect to be Ansel Adams or Mark Twain or Michael Phelps, I like to pursue photography, travel, writing and swimming as they joyfully refresh the soul.

Do you have a learning model? Do you think it is worth having one and pursuing it? Feel free to share your comments.

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What is your learning model? is post from finally{}.

Author Bio : Joseph is an independent consultant helping organizations to achieve their business objectives through IT investment. You can follow him on twitter @jjude

You better listen when a million dollar consultant speak.

From opening a bank account to steering a challenging project can be tough, especially when you are starting out as an independent consultant.

So how do you get through?

Motivation is a big part in getting through tough challenges. I draw motivation from family, friends, colleagues, popular icons. Even events can be source of motivation.

Paraphrasing Sir Issac Newton’s words, “If I’ve succeeded, it is because I stood on the shoulders of the giants.

Standing on giants helped me so far; will it get me further? Only time will tell.

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Standing on giants is post from finally{}.

Author Bio : Joseph is an independent consultant helping organizations to achieve their business objectives through IT investment. You can follow him on twitter @jjude

I agree.

Taking parallel from the book, what are the ‘category benefits’ (those expected out of a category or class of products or services) expected from a consultant, as a product and as a service?

I could think of these two:

Domain Expertise: This is the only reason a consultant is in the room. They are expected to be a master in the domain – whatever be the domain – CRM, Project Management, Process Re-engineering, Peoplesoft.

Appreciation of business reality: Usually consultants have to deal with dilemma on the ground and steer their clients to a solution. The problem in hand will be a product of people and process. Yet, consultant should stay focused and find or create a path forward.

Domain expertise can be learnt. In fact, during their life time consultants achieve mastry of more than one domain. However the other skill is hard to learn and judge. But it will be needed in almost all of the assignments. Without it, it is hard to be a consultant.

Do you agree?

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Simply Better Consultants is post from finally{}.

Author Bio : Joseph is an independent consultant helping organizations to achieve their business objectives through IT investment. You can follow him on twitter @jjude

Would you return to a restaurant that has an impressive interior and calming music but serves absolutely tasteless food?

This is the theme of ‘Simply Better‘, a book that, Gary Silverman calls, “… a book about marketing for people who have read too many books about marketing”.  Drawing upon experience of Tesco, Toyota and similar companies, Patrick Barwise and Sean Meehan, authors of the book, argues that, customers expect a predictable and reliable delivery of category benefits, every time; all the time. Differentiation does not matter to customers when category benefits fail.

The authors also emphasize the marketing principle put forwarded by Peter Drucker, ‘Marketing is not a specialized business activity…it is the whole enterprise seen from the customer’s point of view‘. Companies should spend their resources on improving customer’s experience at every point of contact  – be it marketing, sales, delivery or post-sales support.

These are simple yet fundamental concepts for any company’s success. Fact is, simple concepts are easy to be missed.

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What do customers want? is post from finally{}.

Author Bio : Joseph is an independent consultant helping organizations to achieve their business objectives through IT investment. You can follow him on twitter @jjude

Those were some of the questions on my mind when I decided to quit the corporate world and be on my own. I googled and understood that they are not the same.

Generally, creative artists – like photographers and journalists – like to retain their creative freedom and they equally dislike being constrained by the company rule books. They prefer to roll their sleeves, get the work done and be paid; and not bother with other overheads. So they sign-up for specific assignments and if they like the company (the team, the work, the money), they continue to work with the same company; else they go with another. There is another group of people who prefer freelancing – those who can’t commit to a full time work schedule, primarily due to their personal commitments. In both categories, freelancers need not visit client office on a day-to-day basis.

Consultants are a different breed. They are (considered to be) experts in a specific domain and they advice their clients in solving problems in those domains. Their service will significantly influence the policies and projects of their clients. While freelancers are their own bosses, consultants need not be; they could be employed. It is common for employees in an IT firm, to have job roles as consultants. However, realizing their self-worth, some consultants quit their employers and take up independent contracts. It is expected that these consultants visit client office regularly, even on a daily basis.

Considering that I’m my own boss but work from client site, should I call myself as a freelance consultant? How about Independent Consultant? It sounds fancier, right?

Ref: http://freelance.geekinterview.com/42-Difference-Between-A-Freelancer-And-A-Consultant-.html

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Freelancer or a consultant? is post from finally{}.

Author Bio : Joseph is an independent consultant helping organizations to achieve their business objectives through IT investment. You can follow him on twitter @jjude

I wanted to be a freelancing consultant six years back – when the markets were high and CRM (and ERP) consultancy was hot. At that time I was posted in Belgium and most of my colleagues were freelancing. But for various reasons, I couldn’t get into freelancing.

Now, there is a widespread pessimism in the market and I got a freelancing contract! How ironic is that?

I took more than a week to debate with myself. The boss, the team, the work and the clients made the work environment one of the best I ever had; but having already handled series of roles that were available, I was running the risk of becoming complacent.

On the other hand, the freelancing contract is on e-governance. With increasing economic growth in India, e-governance is becoming prominent; and with tech savvy Barack Obama taking control in the US, I believe, many countries will embrace e-governance. Downside? I’ve to move to Delhi, learn Hindi and probably understand ‘red tape’, ‘bureaucracy’ and ‘politics’ in their real terms.

Having debated with myself, the pros and cons, I discussed with the family. Honestly speaking, I expected resistance from them. Because, for the past three years my sister and I are settled in Bangalore and our parents are with us. We were able to take family trips and have quality time together as a family. To my pleasant surprise, they were extremely supportive. That gave me the confidence to take it further and discuss with friends. Finally I took the decision to be a freelancer.

Slowly things fell in place – resignation was accepted; last date finalized; contract was signed; and joining date accepted.

I’ve been preparing myself by reading a lot about freelancing (and e-governance); yet I’m sure there will be plenty of things that I’ll have to work out as I continue through the freelancing world. I’m also convinced that the thrill of being a in a new place, meeting new people and learning new things will keep me motivated to continue the journey.

For now, I’m looking forward to Jan 1st. Because on Jan 1st, 2009, I am becoming a freelancer.

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New year brings a new challenge is post from finally{}.

Author Bio : Joseph is an independent consultant helping organizations to achieve their business objectives through IT investment. You can follow him on twitter @jjude

Every problem that the author talks about is so relevant today. Fundamental to the book is the ‘fallacious and dangerous myth about interchangeability of men and months‘. Even today when I present effort estimates to stakeholders, the immediate question is, “So if we double the team size, we should half the time to build this application?”. Brooks derives his response from a restaurant menu in New Orleans – ‘Good cooking takes time!’. Some tasks can’t be hurried without spoiling the result.

Or take the problem of communication. Though every one talks the same business language (English), their interpretations vary. Often one hears, “Oh! you meant that? I thought it was something else!”. Despite plenty of modeling techniques, understanding between parties involved remains a paramount problem in running a software project. (This is compounded in offshore projects).

Those of us who have handled large systems with different functional owners for different modules would have dealt with the issue of ‘conceptual integrity‘. I have managed such projects and it is not only difficult to integrate these modules; such systems throw enormous amount of confusion to the end users.

Building prototypes and releasing alpha & beta software are a common practices today. Open Source Software Practice advocates ‘release often; release early’. Yet, I’ve witnessed large projects with multi man-year effort and high complexity being developed in isolation after gather user requirements. When the project is released after years of development, the ‘actual need and the user’s perception of that need’ changed; and the project is a colossal failure bringing frustration and humiliation to the technical team.

These are just few of the problems and solutions discussed by Brooks. As I said in the beginning of the article, all the issues discussed Brooks are surprisingly relevant today. If you are in software stream – as a developer or as a functional analyst or as a manager – you should read this book. It will avoid you going though the path of agony.

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How relavant is ‘The Mythical Man-Month’? is post from finally{}.

Author Bio : Joseph is an independent consultant helping organizations to achieve their business objectives through IT investment. You can follow him on twitter @jjude