Namita Iyer

Sit on the Red Chair !

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:01:58 +0530

Sit on the Red Chair !

It only takes a girl !

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:50:47 +0530

It only takes a girl !

Ghc - architectimg multi tenancy

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:20:30 +0530

Ghc - architectimg multi tenancy

Grace Hopper Celebration

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:54:51 +0530

Attending Grace Hopper Conference today and tomorrow. Follow me on twitter for updates.

What would you do if you wern't afraid ?

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 06:34:54 +0530

Had one of the most enriching heart-to-heart chats with Shanti Subbaraman (Aarohi Communications and Emulex) on Friday evening.

It took me down memory lane and through my days when I ran a company and then a non-profit organization. Given that its the end of the year, I was in a contemplative mood already. The chat further got be thinking about the year that went by. How I executed what I planned. How I can further change and correct my strategy for the rest of the decade.

I decided to dream for the remaining days of the year :-) … and then work on realizing the dreams.

An initiative for the privileged

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:50:16 +0530

In October we launched an initiative at our company which aims at making the workplace more inclusive to women employees. It’s a pleasure being a part of the core team and using this platform as a medium to engage all employees and together enhance the work culture.

During the launch we spoke about the mission and the activities that we plan to do as part of the initiative. In particular, I pitched the initiative as an opportunity to improve the engineering approaches to solving problems. I spoke about how diversity can bring in multiple diverse perceptions and how that can lead to better engineering. This, I hoped, would help the men in the company to see that its not an women-only initiative. It is about everybody. It is about the workplace and the work culture.

We got many people coming up to us and say that this is a great initiative and they always wanted to contribute to something like this. I was heartened to see such overwhelming response.

A week after the launch, we had a meeting to discuss about the suggestions and ideas that people had and how they wanted to participate in the initiative. Interestingly, *all* of them - men and women - had interpreted the initiative as a means to help ‘under-privileged women in our society’. They *ALL* came up with NGOs they are associated with and how the company can sponsor the activities of the NGOs.

That meeting was an eye opener for me. I realized how important this initiative is and how much responsibility laid on the shoulders of the core team members. I realized that there are many people working towards bringing up the under-privileged women to the level of those who have the opportunity and means. But those very people are ignorant that the world up there is not inclusive to women and conducive to their growth.

It is considered *normal* in the IT industry to work late nights, have dinner in office for months, check (and respond to) your mails when you are on vacation with your family, work on weekends etc. This *normal* is very difficult for women who are married, pregnant, have kids, have extended family living with them and so on. This norm has to change - not because it is difficult for women but because it is actually *abnormal* - for both men and women.

Unless this change does not happen in parallel, the women who become ‘privileged women’ will not remain there for long. They will quit and go back to their original ‘under-priviledged’ status !

There is no secret ingredient !

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:10:25 +0530

Last week I was watching ‘Kung Fu Panda’ with my daughter. All through the movie she giggled and I heard her giggle. It was a wonderful experience.

Wonder why so many people run around attending spiritual seminars in search of ‘inner peace’ and ‘happiness’ when true peace and happiness lies in the simple joys of life.

People need to realize that ‘the secret ingredient is …. nothing. To make something special you just have to believe its special ! There is no secret ingredient !’.

How to ask for perks

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:10:51 +0530

Dont we always find the best inspiration where we least expect it ?
The best strategies for pitching in a request for perks spring out of my maid’s mind.

The other day, I asked her if she wanted the mattress that I wanted to dispose off. She agreed immediately and followed it up with a request for a bedsheet to cover it. Fair enough I thougt. She may not have a double sized bedsheet.

Today, I asked her for her phone number. She said she did not have a cellphone. And before I could say ‘ok’ she asked me if I can give her a couple of thousand rupees to buy one !!

Probably, Madame Necessity had two children. Monsieur Invention, as we already know. But there also is his little known sister Mademoiselle Ingenuity.

"Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplacable spark. In the hopeless swamps of the not quite,..."

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:27:29 +0530

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplacable spark. In the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not at all, do not let the hero in your soul perish and leave only frustration for the life you deserved, but never have been able to reach. The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.”

- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
US (Russian-born) novelist (1905 - 1982)

Slow down now

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:46:17 +0530

As a child I remember collecting the week’s newspapers on Sunday just to read the column called Jugular Vein by Jug Suraiya. (At that time they were pure humour. Now he writes more serious stuff.) He made us all laugh at ourselves and made us more fond of ourselves. It was a calming feeling - both laughing at oneself and liking oneself. He would subtly show us the mirror and help us become better individuals.

This is something that bloggers of the 21st Century are unable to do. All through the 2000s any blog that barely fell in this genre would be about ‘self help’. And in this decade they renamed it ‘personal development’ blogs.

Today I stumbled upon an author who took me to the same state of mind as on those warm sunday afternoons. Remember the movie Ratatouille. Remember how Anton Ego feels when he takes a bite of the ratatouille that Remy prepares ? I had the same feeling. I felt teletransported to my childhood. Just loved the feeling.

The blogs were by Chirstopher Richards. He uses the approach of humor and storytelling to convey his views about life and how every moment of it can be enjoyed. Worth a read .. and reflection !

planet of the apps

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:03:57 +0530

Apple recently got a trademark for the phrase ‘There’s an app for that.’
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/12/apple_trademark/

Interesting hint to the future.

Was watching Ratatouille with my daughter. There is a scene in the movie where Remy eats cheese and...

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:52:12 +0530

Was watching Ratatouille with my daughter. There is a scene in the movie where Remy eats cheese and then strawberry and experiences their taste individually. He then eats them together and experiences the combined taste. Something similar happened to me this afternoon. Two separate thoughts experessed at two different times by two different people made a great combination.

In the preface of a book by John Holt he says that we must hold ourselves responsible in order to get anything done right. To quote him : “Blame” and “guilt” are crybaby words. Let’s get them out of our talk. Let’s use instead the word “responsible.”

In a talk that I heard recently the speaker talked about using the right language to form narratives. The speaker said that the right narrative forms the right visualization. And right visualizations can generate infinite possiblities.

These two ideas made symphony when put together.

Conventional wisdom, anynone ?

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:38:20 +0530

While chatting over coffee yesterday, one of my friends said that his wife is looking for a job as a school teacher in order to get more time at home and with children. She currently works in the IT industry.

Yes, that sounded familiar. Back in the earlier generation, when all jobs had fixed timings, a school teacher’s timings had shorter hours. However, even though they were shorter they still were fixed. At that time it was a usual refrain ‘The best job for women is that of a school teacher.’

Today, a school teacher’s timings are not only longer than before, but also they are still fixed. Whereas, in an IT job, the timings are flexible and you can choose to work from home. If there is a need, this option can always be excersiced. But it just did not occur to him !!

Ever wondered how conventional wisdom can blind people ?

I dont wanna be you !

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:25:00 +0530

In the year 2000 I read an article titled ‘Mediocre Minds”, authored by “James Ray”. The article changed the way I looked at relationships. For the first time I realized that I had a choice. I decided to spend no time with “people I did not want to become” and seek out connections with “like minded” people. That decision changed me forever. I still keep a text version of the article and read it at least once a month.

Pleasant surprise !

Sat, 25 Dec 2010 10:59:48 +0530

Pleasantly surprised to find that Noam Chomsky’s eldest daughter’s name is Aviva !

Integrated Disqus

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:46:00 +0530

Just integrated disqus on this site. Feel free to comment and react :-)

"When you are tolerant towards the intolerant, you are intolerant towards the tolerant."

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:23:54 +0530

“When you are tolerant towards the intolerant, you are intolerant towards the tolerant.”

- Namita Iyer

"Opportunity does not knock your door. You got to run behind it with a club."

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 19:16:56 +0530

“Opportunity does not knock your door. You got to run behind it with a club.”

- Namita Iyer

Dora the rolemodel

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 19:14:16 +0530

We need role models like Dora,the explorer, for preschoolers because all old fairytale tale ones are too victorian.

Trust

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:49:26 +0530

The merchant had a heart of gold
His chinacup was rare and old

Made in the finest classical mold
With care it was shaped and rolled

And those who had the luck to behold
skipped a hearbeat, truth be told

One day it slipped through from his hold
broke into half, as it rolled

the burmese healer’s eyes were cold
‘it can be done’, to the merchant she told

‘It is no use, your heart of gold,
cause it won’t help hide the fold.’

An old adage:
Trust is like a china cup,
very costly and rare.
Once broken can be mended up,
But the crack is still there.