Q&A: Is there a big politics involved in selecting Indians as CEOs of top software companies?

Is there a big politics involved in selecting Indians as CEOs of top software companies?

Considering the number of software engineers in India, board members of top software companies want to play with the psychology of young Indian software engineers.

My response:

• Is there politics/nepotism/cronyism in the corporate world? Sure!
• Is there politics involved in selecting CEOs? Sure there is.
• Is there a glass-ceiling in Corporate America? Heck Yeah!

Yes there is politics/nepotism/cronyism in corporate world, just like there is in rest of the society.

Now that we have addressed the basics, let us get to the corporate world. Corporate leaders, Board of directors and Shareholders have one primary goal: maximize Shareholder value - Wikipedia Most B-School students and graduates will recognize this mantra drilled into their minds from day-one.

What does this mean? While corporate leaders might accept some “politics,” cream does rise to the top. Otherwise the enterprise will fail .. and shareholders will loose value!

Why do you think the two leading software companies - Google and Microsoft - selected “Indians” as their CEOs?! Because they happened to be the best!

Image: Google / Bing search

And speaking of politics, After completing a round-robin by offering CEO position to its founders, Infosys hired an outsider, a global tech-executive as its CEO. … he just happened to be “Indian” too

Vishal Sikka (Googled image)

Recent Q&A on EA: What is Enterprise Architecture and why do we do it?

My answer to a recent question on Quora: What is Enterprise Architecture and why do we do it?

Let us start with Wikipedia, even though it is not the most authoritative source on the topic of Enterprise architecture (EA)

"a well-defined practice for conducting enterprise analysis, design, planning, and implementation, using a holistic approach at all times, for the successful development and execution of strategy. Enterprise architecture applies architecture principles and practices to guide organizations through the business, information, process, and technology changes necessary to execute their strategies. These practices utilize the various aspects of an enterprise to identify, motivate, and achieve these changes."

On the second part of your question, why do we do it? The short answer: Successful Enterprise Architectures bring together the Business, Information, Data, Application and Technology (BiDAT) dimensions of an enterprise. When practiced successfully, EA can enable strategy realization by bringing in new capabilities, and enhance existing capabilities.

Longer answer to the question would require one to refer to a book: Among the best books I have read on the topic is “Enterprise Architecture As Strategy”- My review on Amazon

Recent NRI Q&A: Can NRIs write IAS? and other questions

Here are my recent responses to questions about  NRIs on Quora. Do keep the questions coming. I will try and respond on this blog or Quora  

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Question: Can NRIs write IAS?

Check out eligibility listed for Civil Services Examination - Wikipedia “For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.”

An Non Resident Indian (NRI) who is an Indian citizen - holding Indian passport - can appear for the exam if otherwise qualified

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Question: How are baby showers in India different from baby showers in the U.S.?

In the U.S., baby showers aren't always women-only. As a guy, I have been invited to several babyshowers, including one for my (then) pregnant boss years ago!

These events have been social gatherings with some potluck and some gift-giving [even when invitation emails said “no gifts please”]. And then there is the American commercialization at work: Online gift-registries are heavily promoted by Amazon, Target Babies"R"Us et al

(Image: google search)

Neelima Paravastu has posted a great response on the Hindu customs followed. Indians following other religions - Muslims, Sikhs, Christians etc - also have similar religious ceremonies. A couple of additional points to note on Indian-babyshowers in the US:

• Baby-shower is generally a religious ceremony.
• Close family-and-friends - generally married women - are invited to bless the mother-to-be and the unborn baby.
• The ceremony is grander for the first-born (especially if the parents realize It’s going to be a boy! - don’t ask me why)
• Gift giving is not prevalent in India. However, Indian Americans and NRIs have taken to gift registries like ducks to water. Gifts and gift-cards are appreciated and welcome. :-)
• Potluck or lunch/dinner may follow the ceremony

As a photographer for an Indian-American baby shower, what do you do? Just observe and take good pictures of the “ceremony” guided by your host. It is not rude to ask questions (when in doubt)

Enjoy the vent and make sure you enjoy the good food and post some pictures here!

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Question: Is there any threat to the jobs of the Indians living in the US by Donald Trump becoming the POTUS? 

“Indians living in the US” is a broad term, so let us look at the distinct groups of Indians working* in America:

• Indians on temporary work visas (H1, dependents -H4): Media is speculating that there will be a change to H1 Visas (What Will Happen to H-1B Skilled-Worker Visas Under Donald Trump?). In the near future, prospective H1 applicants will encounter more scrutiny
• Indians on L1 (company transfer and dependents): Change to immigration laws may impact intra-company transfers; but such a change is not likely in short term.
• Indians on Green Card (permanent residents): Even if there is a dramatic immigration overhaul, it’s unlikely to be done retrospectively. Therefore, there is little likelihood of impact to those already living on green in America
• Indians working in the US illegally: Like folks from other countries, there are some Indians who have overstayed their visas and are living and working in America illegally/without work permits. Any action on undocumented workers in America is bound to impact this group too.

*I have not included Naturalized Indian-Americans or students (F1 visa holders) or those on temporary business visas B1 etc since the question was about “jobs of the Indians living in the US”

Recent Q&A on Enterprise Architecture

Here are my recent responses to questions on Enterprise Architecture asked by fellow EA's on Quora. Do keep the questions coming. I will try and respond here or on Quora or Linkedin Pulse. 

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Are EA tools really helpful in enterprise architecture?

An Enterprise Architect uses several tools including Word (for documentation), Document repositories (to store artifacts), Powerpoint, Visio etc to communicate visual viewpoints.

In some scenarios, EA tools are helpful too. Check out my earlier answer to “What are the best enterprise architecture design tools?”

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Do I have to build models in order to do Enterprise Architecture?

Modeling is one of the most effective ways of communicating architectures. Why? As the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. It is easy to visualize architecture models including integration between processes and platforms.

Enterprise Architects use several modes of communication including

• Verbal and nonverbal - in meetings, sessions and workshops
• Written - emails, memos, reference documents etc etc
• Formal Viewpoints, Whitepapers etc
• Blogs, wikis and other social media tools (internally in an organization and externally like this Quora post)

Models - including reference architectures certainly help in such communications.

So, back to your question: Do you have to build models in order to do Enterprise Architecture? You don’t always have to. However modelling skills are expected and effective in communicating your viewpoints.

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What recent technology trends are important to Enterprise Architecture?

Enterprise Architects continually scan the landscape for emerging trends in technology and business. Most of us review “lists” published by analysts and consultants (e.g Gartner's Special Report : 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2016,McKiney’s Ten IT-enabled business trends for the decade ahead , BCG’s Ten Trends That Are Reshaping the Retail Industry etc etc).

EA’s also try to contextualize the trends specific to their industry or vertical channels - e.g Retail, Finance, Insurance, Chemicals, Supply Chain, Digital etc).

Given this context, it won’t be fair for me to list “technology trends” here on Quora since such a list is bound to be outdated very soon. You should continue to scan the landscape and some of the references I have posted to formulate an opinion of your own.

Answers by  Mohan Babu K, Enterprise Architect for a global 1000 company.