Can Game theory explain behaviors?

Operations Strategy has turned out to be a fantastic course. I wish my antenna is more receptive though. Last class was on Game theory and its application to the operations. I think this is such a nice topic and is applicable to many business problems dealing with competetion. If this is true, my argument is that Game theory can be applied to many places where there is competetion. Some examples:

• Competetion with in a company for a CEO position
• Competetion between fellow students who rat race towards grades
• Sub-optimal performance by employees, students etc.,

While the first two in the above list are easy to understand the third one is a bit complicated. Let me try to get into the details by trying to answer the following question:

Why do some employees do not perform with their full potential?

Some possible answers

1. Employee do not have enough resources.
2. Employee is not capable.
3. Employee thinks he is not capable.
4. Employee thinks other things are more important than work.
5. Employee thinks that by working better. the result may not be necessarily beneficial to him as an individual
6. Employee works in an environment where failures are not encouraged and successes are not rewarded
7. Employee works to only certain extent that his promotion, recognition etc., are assured

I might have missed a few more situations but my point is that employee is either not seeing the payoffs or payoffs are simply not worth taking the risks. In my opinion, all the above situations can be rectified or at least mitigated by better work practices.

I haven't seen a perfect compensation system which really works. Most of the compensation systems are at best designed well but used poorly. And compensation may not be the only thing which can be causing the behaviours. A few other factors I think which can be controlled and there by leading to optimal behaviors are:

• Recognition
• Environment
• Culture
• Lack of guidance
• Lack of structure
• Freedom

In otherwords payoffs can be a combination of a compensation plus other such qualitative factors which affects the behaviors.

Conclusion: Game theory can explain a few behaviors in the work place; understanding the theory will enhance our capacity as future leaders to fine tune work practices in the best way possible.

Rationality and Conflicts

Most people do behave rationally; you just have to discover the rationale.

I used to believe in this argument very strongly but the word Most in the argument is bothering me now a days. According to the learnings in one of the courses here (I think organization behavior), conflict can be explained when there are differences in

• Norms
• Values
• beliefs
• Data
• Assumptions
• Context

If you go by Rational thinking , everybody commits to an action based on the above categories. I believe this is a very important framework for us as future managers. Majority of our time goes into conflict resolution. When conflict happen; many times you can explain the conflict based on the above framework.

Nonethless, conflicts can also happen because of irrational behavior. Usually pejorative, the term irrational is driven by emotion-driven and impulsive actions which appear to be, less logical than the rational alternatives. In my opinion most of our Indians are almost always on the emotional side rather than the rational side. I believe this explains more number of conflicts in the Indian work environment compared to the US work environment.

Key learnings for me in the future is:

1. Use the above framework to deal with conflicts
2. This framework will help me understand and probably solve many conflicts and mis-understandings
3. However, if something cannot be explained, I need to be cautious of irrationality
4. Most important: I should not take crucial decisions when I am emotional or impulsive

Summary statement: As a manager, my heart should be burning but my mind should be cool.

Un-leashing full potential

What prevents me to un-leash my true potential?
How can I find the right activity so that I am working with my full potential?
Can I get around with my problems so that I can do my best everywhere?

These questions have been bugging me from ages. Today I think I have a few valuable insights:

Dream big: Why should I think about problems when I am dreaming? Let me think of the big picture without any constraints. Think of ideal scenarios. Example: Imagine India as the economic super power.
Think radically: Many historical inventions happened because of radical thinking. That's why professors keep saying that no idea is a stupid idea. If I feel I have a stupid idea, I don't disclose the idea to others unless I am comfortable about sharing them. But I start jotting down these stupid ideas as soon as I get them.
View Problems as Constraints: I think this is what Goldratt means by his Theory of constraints. Why should we view problems as road-blocks? Why can't we view them as constraints? We know the big picture and we have the idea. Focusing on solutions and working with constraints is a better approach. Once we know what the constraints are, we can try eliminating one by one. We should bring focus on solutions. Some times some constraints actually guide you to work in the right direction. For example: If you do not have thirst for money why will you work?
Get Inspiration: I have to thank my dearest friend Vijay for giving me the inspiration to write this blog. He is the inspiration for me to do many things after coming to ISB. By being with the right people around you, you automatically start thinking differently. We will be able to remove many mental blocks by getting inspiration from the right people. Some professors are a great source of inspiration. They have much more depth in their analysis when compared to us. Books are another source of inspiration.

Ask Tough questions: I start asking tough questions about the problem. If I have run into a roadblock, I try to go back a step and see if I have missed anything.
Try doing peculiar things: We need to do a number of idiosyncratic activities once in a while to generate ideas. Some of them I try to do are driving to an unknown place, seeing movies from unknown languages, taking an impulsive vacation etc., Hardest thing I have tried and suceeded is not to do anything.

Debate: Debate your ideas with people who have experience in the problem area. They might have already thought about it and they may be able to give you better insights. But make sure not to reveal too much if it's an IP.
Use Research: It is very likely that somebody might have thought of your idea or a simlar idea already. Research is a good place to look for those problems.
Freedom: Search for freedom. If you keep doing same thing over and over again, it is very likely that either you are getting bored or you are not bringing quality. Stop doing monotounous thing at least temporarily.

All of these are motherhood/apple-pie statements but that's where the secret is.

Why can't I stop thinking?

This is my typical position now a days. Thinking helps me in a number of ways. After joining this course, I have been doing too much thinking. I think this is what happens when you are serious about finding solutions to the problems. I am able to think so much because I am really not having any constraints. I have been able to think and find solutions to a number of business and personal problems I have encountered in my earlier life. But I have a few problems with this mode.

1. I am not able to implement many of them. Implementation is where fiction becomes reality. While on the paper the idea looks perfect I know there will be tons of implementation challenges and people issues. It is frustrating to realize that I may lose the idea completely.
2. I am not sure if I have enough persuasive skills to convince other parties that my idea can work. I think this is a very difficult task. Sooner than later, I have to develop these skills.
3. I can't turn off myself which is causing insomnia. This is a big problem I am facing now a days.
4. I can't concentrate on what I am currently doing. I am worried about what I should do next without completing the current task.

Having experienced the advantages and disadvantages of this situation. I have come to a conclusion that you need to stop doing in order to start thinking and you need to start doing in order to stop thinking. Have I confused enough? Any comments?

P.S.: I made the above awful picture.

My Ideal CV

What is more important than getting your dream job? Many friends have asked me to review their resumes. While, I strongly believe that every resume has to be specific to the job profile you are applying for, I also think there are some generic insights which may be helpful to everyone. I am writing this blog with an experience of reviewing more than 500 resumes in the last 3 years.

Did you know?

1. Recruiters spend not more than a few seconds on your resume? Strong impressions are made with in the first few seconds.
2. If a senior manager is interviewing you, she is most likely seeing your resume for the first time.
3. If your resume looks too good and you don't meet the expectations in the interview, then your good resume is actually harming you.
4. If you write a mediocre resume, it may be difficult to get shortlisted. Also, you may get negative marks if your recruiter figures out that you haven't done enough homework.
5. Do you know what your recruiter is really looking for? You might think that your experience may be important but empolyer may not care for your experience. Most of the consulting companies do not really care for your experience.

My point is, grab recruiter's attention as quickly as possible and find right balance in your resume.

Following is a realestate distribution for a profile similar to mine (>10 years of experience):

• Objective –5%
• Education and Academics – 10%
• Experience summary: Top 5 achievements quantified and highlighted –10%
• Brief description of various roles performed with periods and companies – 40%
• Skill set Tech/Non-technical – 25%
• Extra curricular and Interests – 10%

You need to fine tune the percentages based on the job you are applying for and based on your experience. Once you establish this high level percentages, try to drill down with specifics and achievements. If I am allowed a second page, I would add the following sections:

• References (No contacts or numbers but just mention the qualitative details of the reference and your relationship with the reference. Example: General Manager of the divison, was directly reporting to him)
• Relevant trainings
• Detailed work experience with web links of your clients/customers
• Any other quantifiable achievements employers might be interested in

MAXIMIZING LEARNING

It's really amazing to see the talent in this campus. Everybody I meet here is talented in one way or the other. Some people are really good in academics but some people are good in other activities. Yet, I see people making some stupid mistakes. I am one of them. "Here is a good sample of a very obvious mistake"

Before coming to ISB, I was a very confident, go-getter kind of person. I am proud to claim that I gained lot of respect where ever I worked. But, with in the first week of coming here, my confidence hit a nose dive. I did not really know what I was really good at. Being a decent programmer, I thought I was good at “quants”. Very soon, I realized that I was at the bottom of the period in this area at ISB. I also used to think that I was very good in business lingo, presentations and business writing. Again I proved myself that I was terribly wrong.

I did not know where and what I am any good for. I worked very hard to makeup for the difference but wasn't even close to where I wanted to be. I attended almost every class, sacrificed my personal life to a very large extent just to keep running. I was doing all the right things but was getting continuously frustrated. My performance was seriously affected. After a lot of prognosis, I came to a conclusion that the real reason was I was benchmarking myself with other students where as real bench mark should have been with myself. When I looked back, I did learn a number of new things. I realized this late in the game but when I did, things were very clear to me.

Here are a few other lessons I follow which helped me a lot:

1. Bench mark with yourself. If you are not learning anything new, the bottle neck is most likely yourself. Think of ways to remove those bottlenecks.
Attend all the classes. You will learn more by listening and discussing than reading a book.
2. Read the case. I spend no more than 5 min. per page. If I cannot read the case, which is very rare, I will try to get the summary of the case from a friend so that I follow at least some discussion in the class.
3. Try to question every new idea discussed. I always look for relevance of the idea with my previous experience.
4. According to me, the best place to minimize distractions is to study at the library. It’s also the most resourceful place not only with books but also with people.
5. Learning never stops. Once you start thinking that there are no new things to learn then your downfall is guaranteed.

Following Chinese proverb kind of summarizes what I mean: In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities, in the experts mind, there are none.

Power of passion!

Employers crib about this requirement over and over again. "We want employees who are passionate in what they do." Yet, majority of the job aspirants fail to see the requirement. I can understand this to a certain extent that it may not work for all of us at ISB. We all have sacrificed a number of things and we all have big loans waiting to be repayed. In my view, these are minor issues when compared to what you really want to do with our lives. We all have a great future and we can achieve this only if we have a long term view. If we don't follow our passion now, when will be our next chance?

In my view any employer looks for the following:

1. Does the aspirant have enough technical skills?
2. Does he have the right attitude?
3. Will he be committed if I give the offer?
4. Is he passionate about the nature of the job?

Many of us concentrate on technical skills. Technical skills required for the job are important and necassary. Unfortunately, they are not enough. Finding a job aspirant's Technical skills is the easiest part.

You may be technically really good but if you are not having a positive attitude you are not going to get your dream job. I have listed some of them:

1. Emotional maturity.
2. Accepting weaknesses and willingness to work on them.
3. Quest for knowledge. Learning never stops.
4. Assertive Communication skills.

Commitment is a little bit difficult to find out in a ninterview. If the aspirant finds out that employer is asking questions on commitment he will answer what the employer wants to hear. Employers will generally resort to creative ways of finding out if the aspirant is really committed. You may be fit technically and you may also have a positve attitude but may fail to go further because of commitment issues.

Passion is the most difficult to find out during interviews. I don't believe you can really find this during a one hour interview. The only way to find out whether somebody is passionate in what she is doing is to look at her achievements. If you are truly passionate you will find ways to improve on other areas.

If you have convinced prospective employers that you are passionate about the job, it is very likely that you got the job. In case, you have all the four elements, you've got a killer combination. Think about it.

People are not cashflows; don't discount them

It is frustrating for me when I see people discounting others. It is unfortunate but true that majority of the students here don't realistically exploit the strength of other fellow class mates. In my view, the think tank we have here at ISB beats the great faculty and world class facilities we have. But the important question I have is Are we seriously leveraging the think tank? I am not claiming I am perfect in this but here are some learnings which I will value for the rest of my life.

1. Take responsibility: You can maximize learning through team work only if you take complete responsibility. Yes, there will be free riders and you may feel that you are doing all the work. Realize that if you want maximum learning this is the best way to go. To minimize burnout you should take complete responsibility in at least 50% of your courses. When I mean complete responsibility, I did not mean do all the work. First, you need to be confident enough that you can do a good job for your team. Second, you need to be able to motivate the team members and discuss, plan, communicate and assign the tasks. Third, you need to make sure every team member is meeting their commitments. Finally, take the responsibility of integration and putting together what is needed.
2. Combine synergies: We have all gone through initial group exercises where the importance of listening was rather over-emphasized. Neverthelss, we have turned out to be very poor listeners. We don't mind interrupting others when they are talking and completely ignore others suggestions and comments. I am not sure if this is a cultural thing in us but I find it very disturbing. We all understand MBTI profiling and we all know that every person has her own strengths and weaknesses. All you have to do is leverage their strengths and complement with their weaknesses. Some people have very good quantitatve skills where as some people are excellent thinkers and writers. If the both categories combine effectively, it is a deadly combination.
3. Be Professional: One of the key ingredients for success in the business world is to be professional. It is discouraging to see that we quickly develop a dangerous and casual student culture here. Respect for others time is very important especially in group work. Please don't get me wrong. I am not saying you should be formal but you should be disciplined. Simple things like replying promptly to the emails, volunteering for tasks, arranging for food etc., will take the stress factor out.
4. Be assertive : Being assertive is not being aggressive. You try to justify your argument by reasoning and data. When there is a conflict of interest, then try to understand where the other person is coming from. If there is a valid point in his argument agree and try to build on the argument.

These are only some of the learnings which helped me a lot and hope they help you too.