FIXING CRICKET: THE SPORT TURNED SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT

Hello World,

Some days back, I visited one of my friends and got to watch an IPL cricket match on the television.  A lot of things flashed through my mind as I watched the barrage of intentional half-volleys hurled at batsmen who repeatedly cleared the boundaries that alarmingly fit in one view covering the batsman and the wicketkeeper. So here’s my perspective on how a fine team sport got transformed into a flashy form of sports entertainment. Click here to download the pdf version of this post.

Match Fixing, Spread Fixing, Spot Fixing are just a few famous terms that frequently appear on the media, quite surprisingly, just prior to a series of high scoring history-setting cricket matches. My opinion stands that the betting racket is a widespread black-market business and it has penetrated the organized official versions of cricket. Every time some fixing news leaks, the media creates a buzz and then all of a sudden the reports vanish and we are offered the best of cricket matches immediately. The public’s media memory is always short lived and it has been leveraged for all what it is worth.

What specifically

Let me begin with the eye-opener incident that questioned my faith in the televised versions of cricket. It was 2001 and South Africa was touring India. The Delhi Police attempted to tape the phone calls of suspects involved in a possible criminal case and ended up hearing the then South African cricket team’s captain Hansie Cronje conversing on topics that would otherwise violate the law or at least the policies as laid out by the ICC. Further investigation led the Delhi police to identify the existence of a huge betting racket running right under their noses, that has grown big enough to contact international players with offers of money in exchange for a wide array of help that would include but not limited to fixed match results, information on playing conditions, bowling and batting orders and so on.

Find below the media coverage of this incident before you read any further:

Here are the links for the same videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mVOmJVTeIEc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=V5BrQeXMZs4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gJSF1d5xw3g

We are here primarily to discuss the opportunities available in the cricket scene for betting and the subsequent fixing of elements of the game to facilitate and control the betting business model. So we would discuss on how betting works and how it causes fixing in the games. We would be questioning the circumstantial elements involved in famous betting/fixing events that had happened in the past and attempt to look into the reasons. I strongly believe, a clear idea of the intention behind any act can lead us to the possible reasons or motivations. Again, fixing does not necessarily mean “fixing the outcome of the game.” Let’s roll.

Cine Crime in Cricket

Right after the New Delhi match-fixing incident, Hansie Cronje denied all the allegations and stood by his denial of all charges thrown at him. Unfortunately, it did not last very long. A detailed investigation later on found evidences against Hansie Cronje and he confessed. Things turned out in ways nobody expected. He just accepted his willfully committed mistakes and explained all such incidents and his actions. Mysteriously, he got killed in a plane crash. The circumstances as alleged indicate that his scheduled flight from Johannesburg to George was grounded and he had to travel as the only passenger on a turboprop aircraft (cargo flight) that had malfunctioning navigational equipment which led to the aircraft’s crash to the Outeniqua Mountain located to the north of George. Now checking the systems prior to take-off is very important and therefore the checklist formalities in aviation industry is very elaborate and time consuming. It is true that pilots and mechanics tend to skip the checks that are often conceived as a trivial or “it-cannot-fail-so-soon” situation but they would never do it to an extent of risking their or passengers’ lives. In case of navigational equipment in an aircraft, during an emergency, whenever two pilots are involved, one calls for the check and the other responds by executing the check. Usually it is the Pilot Flying (PF) who would call for the check/setting and the Pilot Not Flying (PNF) would respond by adjusting the setting of the navigational equipment to the desired mode/level as called for by the Pilot Flying. There is a specific element of this check where the PF would call for the setting-up of lateral and vertical navigation limits (LNAV/VNAV) where the PNF, based on the terrain information would set the safe-altitude and so on. The procedure seems “too-careful” and “why-so-serious” type but this is what makes the flight safe and comfortable for the pilots, crew and the passengers. 

Now the safe-altitude is just among other information that the pilots are provided with prior to the flight. The pilots are trained to handle emergency situations too. If the pilots of the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 lost visibility due to bad weather, they very well knew how to move out of the bad weather and land accordingly. Sometimes pilots just circle around following guidelines from the Air Traffic Control (ATC). Also, in case of bad weather, the ATC informs the pilots so they can take necessary counter-measures. In this case of plane crash, the pilots lost visibility and were circling around when they encountered malfunctioning navigational equipment which mysteriously led them to crash in the mountains. With malfunctioning equipment, circling would not have been possible as that would not have been the obvious choice. You need to know where you are and where you are headed before you start circling around looking for a good time and route. In bad weather, pilots usually move out into clear skies and then look for alternative routes with ATC in radio-contact. So why would trained pilots circle around in low-visibility with faulty navigational equipment? The black-box data and the ATC comm-log need to be published for clarity. If there had been an international aviation regulation that calls for the public release of such data after such an accident, the public can learn about the actual cause of the accident. The official investigation ended up declaring it as a “Pilot Error (Act of Omission)” which led to the accident that resulted in the death of Hansie Cronje and the two pilots. This is more than Bollywood cinema. A tainted sportsman who confessed and gave out names and details of his involvement in malpractice hitches a ride on a cargo flight, when the pilots choose to circle around in low visibility in spite of faulty equipment and plane crashes into the mountains killing them all. This beats a traditional “dead-hero-comes-alive” movie script. It is true that we are working here with alleged information but more than the information, it is the construct and composition that raises the questions…..”What are the chances for this to happen?” and “Why would this happen to Hansie Cronje right after he confessed and divulged sensitive information?”  The mystery remains….

This incident did shock me to the core as I was a serious cricket fan. I remember my dad asking me to bunk school, only to watch the Indian cricket team play. Watching cricket on TV was so important to me and my dad at that time. After the match-fixing scandal broke out, we were devastated and angry over the players who were caught and penalized. But as the events turned out, my attention grew in a specific direction.

Right after Hansie Cronje’s confession and death, the media, especially the television channels went crazy over Hansie’s involvement in fixing and broadcasted videos of him and his team mates tampering with the ball. The media took a stand on Hansie as if he had always been a corrupt cricketer who kept low profile all the while. Now televised cricket dates long back compared to the times of the Hansie Cronje incident. That means there are not minutes or hours but years of cricketing video to analyze for possible malpractice on the field. How the hell did the media only find Hansie’s videos of ball tampering from the archives? More importantly, …If a cameraman catches a player red-handed in an act of malice/misconduct, zooms in to capture the player in the act right during match, why was that not looked-into at the very moment, or later on after the match for further disciplinary action against the player/team/management?

 With more than a dozen cameras around a cricket field, there must be a centralized control for monitoring all cameras and the broadcast of footages based on the media requirements. So the cameraman shot the player tampering with the ball, zoomed in but said nothing, the controller kept it from being broadcast, the officiating authorities neglected to review it and the ICC did nothing to investigate and even the news of such an act never made it out into public domain. But right after the concerned player’s filmy death in a plane-crash, the exact footage of the player engaging in ball tampering comes out in flying colors accompanied by media scrutiny. With all due respect to the media and cricketing authorities all over the world, ….Do you really think the public is so dumb that nobody would realize the background of these media manipulations????!!?!!?? What happened was a special case of paid advertisement, the subject of which was the negative publicity targeted at Hansie Cronje, who at that time was not even alive to respond to.

It doesn’t end here, unfortunately.

On 18^th March, 2007, the then Pakistan cricket team’s Head Coach, Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room. This incident happened right after Pakistan’s elimination from the world cup after losing to Ireland. Dr. Ere Seshaiah, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Bob Woolmer’s body recorded his findings and released it, claiming that Bob Woolmer died from “Asphyxia via Manual Strangulation” and “Cypermethrin Poisoning.” Surprisingly, these terms did not make it to the media very loud. The initial reports said that the Jamaican police have registered a case and are looking into possible murder investigation. The possibilities of poisoning and strangulation did not stay long on air. Out of the blue three independent pathologists were commissioned by the police. The expert analysis and findings of the independent pathologists ruled out death due to poisoning and strangulation and declared that the death was due to natural causes. The natural causes were never released, defined or explained in any of the official statements. At least the media did not care to get the specifics of the natural causes, given that the media often shows great interest in the specifics of scandalous actresses and page-3 parties. Let’s get this straight. A man died, the pathologist who did the autopsy specifically mentioned his findings and cause of death, 3 independent pathologists were commissioned, they ruled out the initial findings of the pathologist but NEVER MENTIONED THE SPECIFIC TERMS for the cause of death of the man. There may be circumstances where in certain cases, the signs and symptoms of death vanish due to their volatile nature. Certain poisons just vaporize from the body leaving no traces and dead flesh decomposes which may also result of loss of evidence related to the cause of death. But at least that has to be mentioned in the official report released to the media. Calling “NATURAL CAUSES THAT LEAD TO CARDIAC ARREST” just out of the blue without mentioning the specifics is intentional with the intentions remaining unexplained.

Dr. Ere Seshaiah was the Chief Consultant Forensic Pathologist and Director of Legal Medicine Unit in the Ministry of Jamaica in the West Indies when he performed the autopsy on Bob Woolmer’s body. He did his MBBS (the basic medical degree in general medicine, here in India), MD in Forensic Medicine and worked as assistant professor of Forensic Medicine until 1993 before accepting the offer to serve as the Chief Consulting Forensic Pathologist and Director of Legal Medicine Unit in the Ministry of Jamaica. Now the Jamaican police commissioned three independent pathologists to re-verify the analysis, findings and conclusions of this man, Dr. Ere Seshaiah, whose illustrious career until before the Bob Woolmer murder case was solely responsible for him to be chosen for the position and the task of performing the autopsy on Bob Woolmer’s body in the first place. This can never happen unless there was an order from the superiors of the authorities who headed the Bob Woolmer murder investigation. Why would they do such thing? How can a specialist go wrong in his analysis and findings? An autopsy report cannot just have the cause of death and the signature of the pathologist. He/She has to analyze the body, look for signs and symptoms, document them appropriately and then based on the documented findings arrive at the cause of death.

Here’s anarticle made available by the University of West Indies at Mona, Jamaica that has a brief mentions of Asphyxia and its classification from the forensic standpoint. Click here to download the document. As per this document, that I presume is for educational/research purposes, the definition of Asphyxia are:

“Asphyxia is defined as hypoxia/anoxia that is caused when respiratory function is hampered by interference with the mechanics of breathing.” 

Also, as per the document, the different classification schemes for asphyxia are:

1.       Suffocation                                        

2.       Smothering                       

3.       Choking                                               

4.       Strangulation (as mentioned by Dr. Seshaiah)

5.       Hanging                               

6.       Drowning

7.       Crush (Traumatic) asphyxia

The forensic pathologist, Dr. Ere Seshaiah had documented his findings and concluded on a specific cause of death namely “Asphyxia due to manual strangulation.”  How can the experienced forensic pathologist go wrong with the conclusion or cause of death? Even by the remotest of chances, if Dr. Seshaiah was actually wrong on the cause of death, the postmortem findings as documented need to be clarified as they have been identified as the signs of death. So the media gave us an initial report that was specific but turned out to be wrong/erroneous but the subsequent expert reports did nothing but nullify the initial report and close the file with a blunt “natural cause” as the reason. For this joke of an investigation, Scotland Yard worked together with the Jamaican police.

Did ICC (International Cricket Council) start any internal probe? Mainly because the official coach of a participating team was found dead in the premises of the facility organized/rented by the World Cup organizers for the safe and comfortable stay of the participants. If a legally legit organization is organizing an international event where a participant dies, is it not the responsibility of the organizers to probe in its own domain and release the information on the circumstances during which the death might have taken place? Even if such a thing has happened, why has it not been publicized by the ICC? Its name is tarnished anyways. At least scientifically identifying the cause of death and releasing the information to the public would be an act of courtesy towards the dead man. Bob Woolmer is now dead and he died out of natural causes (that nobody knows of) under mysterious circumstances. What a way to pay someone back for his life-long contribution to cricket.

There were a few mentions of Bob Woolmer writing a book where he was alleged to have revealed match-fixing scams he had seen during his days. It is hard to know if such a thing would have happened but it has to be mentioned that he was the one who spoke to Cronje over an earpiece that Hansie carried into the field during a match in 1999. So I am sure Bob Woolmer knew more about match fixing even before he joined the Pakistan team as coach. He even speaks of knowing it in the interviews marked above (the YouTube videos). Pakistan team too was under the scanner for various fixing allegations during the time of Bob Woolmer’s death.

Sting Operations that Stink

Recent media-led sting operations had a lot of cricketers accepting to under-perform, or rather “perform in specific terms” for a financial favor. At first these were shocking to watch but later on we just got used to it because the sting operations did nothing but raise the news channels’ TRP. But there is a pattern in which such events are handled. Every time someone gets caught, the media just riddles the individuals with accusations and does not question the credibility of the governing body that is responsible for the sport’s administration. The news channels do the probing but the channels that actually telecast the various forms of cricket do nothing to add to the fixing stories or scandals. That is because they don’t want their broadcasting rights to be cancelled. Again, this is the indicator of the big brother’s hand over the media. The telecasting channels are friendly media and the news channels that do the sting operations are the mosquitoes that BCCI and ICC has to bear with.

Fixing the Elements

Fixing does not always mean fixing the outcome of the game. A player not hitting a century, fall of wickets within a certain number of overs, no-ball/wide in an over are just some of the elements of the game that can be fixed. These are the specific spots that are often betted on. Since the betting racket has grown, billions of dollars change hands during any given series involving a huge number of individuals spread across the world. Now when the money gets bigger, the betting organizers get motivated to influence the game in such a way that the most favored outcome doesn’t happen so that the house makes more money than the players in the betting game. This is where bookies contact captains, coaches and individual players with offers of gifts for specific acts during the game.

A no-ball in the second over of the game is not a crime as big as a murder, to the bowler who agrees to bowl a no-ball in exchange for money. A batsman choosing to get out quickly is not a big deal either. Things like these do not usually impact the match result but the fact remains that the cricket broadcasted is not real in every sense. In case of a fixed outcome of the game, more number of players would agree to perform in specific terms to ensure the fixed result in exchange for a financial favor. The players are professionals and professionals respond to remuneration for their professional services. If someone is going to offer a huge amount of money for a simple task as a deliberate no-ball, then a bowler would do it. The amount of money may vary from bowler to bowler. Very few players may be out there, not willing to be part of the fixing scene and expecting to be out of the team anytime. When the entry into a team requires money and recommendation, the entrant is bound to make an effort to recover his/her entry fee. Just my thought.

The Reality

The televised forms of cricket are nothing but a modern form of sports entertainment that have very little reality. It does engage the audience and entertain them but not in the realistic sense. Be it Hansie Cronje or Sreesanth, players have always been working with bookies over the years. These guys are just unlucky to be trapped by the media. Some of them just run out of luck and pay with their life. There are a whole bunch of players who have completed their careers, earning more out of spot-fixing than their actual player salaries. Even today there are so many players out there who agree to do specific tasks in exchange for money. This won’t hurt anyone, if it is clearly mentioned that the Test matches, One Day Internationals and IPL games that are broadcasted are actually SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT and not actual sporting events. I mean, World Wrestling Federation once broadcasted by Star Sports was a huge hit. Kids were fighting in the backyard trying to imitate the wrestlers. I know for I was one among them. Undertaker is still my favorite wrestler and when I was a kid I used to believe he came back from the dead. Today’s televised forms of cricket are the same, offering a different variety of sports entertainment.

Sports Entertainment is not bad at all. We need entertainment. We just don’t need to be fooled into watching Pre-Designed Cricket Drama claiming them to be honest sporting events. Does betting happen everywhere? Yes it does. Do the bookies fix elements of the game with the players? Yes they do. How frequently? More frequently than we would imagine it is.

Do you notice that the worst teams in the past seasons of the IPL are shining like a star in this season?

Do you feel weird when all the bowlers are bowling half-volleys outside the stumps in IPL?

Do you tend to think about record-setting high-scoring games right after every match-fixing scandal?  

Hurray!!! You just realized you are watching Cricketing Drama. But it is nothing to be ashamed of. You love cricket and you have every right to watch it. How do we handle this thing? Watch the cricket matches without believing them as you would watch a movie or a sitcom.

Please remember that every game you watch can have someone bought, threatened or even killed in the background……..All for the silly 2-second attention you would give to the advertisements during the broadcast of the game. Bob Woolmer and Hansie Cronje were famous and we could know about them. I am sure there have been many who sacrificed their lives so you could host your friends to a great evening of cricketing action with snacks. Many have lost their reputation only because they wanted to help you make more money on a no-ball or six from your favorite player. They did have financial motivations of their own but it was a mutual feeling you see. 

It is time we digest the fact that the cricket on television is a sport turned sports entertainment without the steel cage or ladder matches but sadly with occasional spills of original blood. 

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 Regards,

PROCESS CONSULTING FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES

Hello World,

Having worked as a Business Consultant with a management consulting firm, I think I have quite a view of what business analysis is, more specifically process design for SME’s (Small & Medium Enterprises). I have read quite a bit on the internet about this and I happened to notice that most of the information provided is superficial and the in-depth analysis or reporting is usually absent. It makes perfect sense when we come across such information on the websites of consulting firms and freelance business consultants because they only want you to know the top cream so there comes a demand for the cake below which may mean business to them. The other resources available however are very informative from one or the other standpoints but still stop at throwing the proverbial wisdom of process design/streamlining, business transformation and consulting in general.  I feel, a little glimpse into the nuts and bolts of a typical consulting exercise would help people interpret and work out the proverbial wisdom that they have already been rammed with. So here I am writing about how the Process Design/Streamlining Exercise would be, especially when engaging an external consultant for the cause. Click here to download the pdf version of this post.

Let’s Mark the Corners

SME generally covers a whole bunch of businesses and there is so much diversity within the group, even within segments owing to reasons far beyond the scope of this article. However, from the business process standpoint, they all have a common science dissolved in their composition. This means that whatever we discuss here might suit to every business provided the appropriate interpretations and analogies are made prior to verifying its applicability to the concerned business. I would however attempt to educate the budding entrepreneurs and start-up’s with the basics that I have learned so that they can assess the state of their business and identify room for improvement. The well-established businesses can however verify the vulnerability of their business processes and do a superficial health-check. Overall this article will help you gain a perspective with which you can assume your business as a living being, identify and analyze its anatomy to understand the basic necessities of a business……things that are required to keep the business up and running. A missing part is more dangerous than a bad paint job. I guess we can proceed now.  

System Study alias Process Understanding

Quite similar to the need for a Guidance, Navigation and Control system employed in aircraft and spacecraft, the businesses need to know where they are, where they are headed and how are they are moving towards their future state of position. We consultants call it System Study or Process Understanding. It is a neutral diagnostic tool we use to assess the current size, structure and working of the business. The objective of a System Study would be, to deeply identify the business elements and processes, their workflow pattern, data input/output/storage capacity and to map down the entire business. 

How we do this is simple. We meet with the concerned process owners (employees of the organization) and ask them to narrate what their job is and how they proceed with their day-to-day operations. We note down the details they give us, sometimes even record our conversations and then transform their narration into a neutral position/department specific Process Flow Diagram. The process flow diagram would contain a flow chart with each step of the process described with the mentions of data inputs/outputs and storage. Here’s an example layout (Fig.1):

MS Visio can be a good tool to draft process flow diagrams. It is nothing but boxes, lines and text. All we need to know is what box would hold what text connected to what other boxes by what lines. Read it again if you wish to amuse yourself but MS Visio is a very simple tool that anybody can use. Beware of those who would say only certain expertise can make someone use Visio. They might as well steal your kidneys while you are still alive. My opinion on MS Visio is that elementary school kids can use it for their homework. They might have to provide medical help to their teachers who would later fall unconscious to the ground but using MS Visio is definitely within everyone’s grasp.

The process flow diagram (PFD) would be given to the concerned process owners for review and after their clearance, recorded into the final PFD Documents that we would compile for all the departments of the business. From this point on, the PFD’s would serve as the basis for discussing process design and dynamics. So we always make sure we got it right. We would also get the concerned division head’s approval on the same. The simple reason is that, sometimes, employees lie about what they do fearing replacement/reprimanding. A simple participation during the project initiation meeting would prevent most of the chaos. So my advice to business owners is that always include your teammates in important meetings where their participation is discussed so that they would know that at some point of time, their direct involvement with a consultant like me would be necessary and their cooperation is being appreciated. Also they might add valuable points to our exercise and we would never know until we engage them in these meetings.

Process Gap Analysis

This is where we business shrinks huddle up and talk the process run we are going to execute. We would share the process flow diagrams among ourselves and go over each of them, individually and as a team. We would identify the process design gaps and their probable impacts on the business. We would do a Risk Based Internal Audit to assess the current vulnerabilities of the system and match the issues identified with the Process Gaps. Now Risk Based Internal Audit is a whole different phase of management consulting which has to be isolated and discussed separately owing to its vastness and quite frankly, the funny stuff we consultants do with it. I will try to get one of my future posts dedicated to Risk Based Internal Audits. I am sure that would be fun. Let’s get back to process gap analysis.

Any part of the process where the current design fails to provide adequate measures to capture and process business data would be classified as a process gap. For example, in the purchase process, if there is no room for vendor/supplier analysis, there is no room for the business to validate the selection of a vendor for a particular product. This would mean that the business is dependent on the purchase personnel for proper selection of the vendors/suppliers. This in turn means that the business, in the purchase aspect is more people dependent and not process dependent. This makes room for human errors and non-uniform execution of the purchase process that renders it vulnerable. With such a process gap, the purchase process cannot be streamlined to meet changing management policies. This would hold back the organization from progressing into the future to grow and adapt to the dynamic business world.

In case of start-up’s, we would do the System Study with the owner alone and draft the process as the business owner has envisioned for his/her business. Quite frankly, it is easier to avoid the trash than to clean it after it clogs the system. 

Once we identify process gaps and note them down, we try to come up with necessary process elements and control measures that may fit into the current process and fill the gaps appropriately. The controls may be systemic or manual depending on the organizational need. It is always important to keep the base process unchanged while adding new elements. Only where the process has too many gaps to be filled, or is contradicting the business goals/mission/vision, we can design a whole new process. The understanding of the business goals, mission and vision is very important for this. However, after the addition of new process controls/elements, it is absolutely necessary to verify the interaction of the edited process with the rest of them so as to avoid compatibility issues.

The new updated Process Flow Diagrams are then compiled based on the already captured process and the newly developed ones. All the document outputs are separately marked next to the concerned stages of the process. To give a better perspective of the workflow, we may, depending on the need, prepare what we call as the Process Wise Document Flow List, which would essentially contain a table with fields for Document Name, Prepared by, Verified by, Approved by, Submitted to, Frequency of Submission, Mode of Submission, Filed/Stored in and anything more in case of specific need. Based on the updated PFD’s, we fill out the Process Wise Document Flow List (PWDF List)with the document movement data. This list gives a more data-oriented view of the process. Often times, we tend to identify the need for important control procedures from this list. 

Once the updated PFD’s and PWDF Lists are ready, we sit with the business owner and process owners and go over them step by step. It is often considered boring or unrelated by some but I have seen business owners who are more serious than us when it comes to process design and related details. During this process run with the business owner, we stop at crucial points in the process where we have added new elements and discuss the significance of the new process. The actual PFD is termed as “As-Is” PFD and the updated/proposed PFD is termed “To-Be” PFD. Just a little jargon that is commonly used in the field of consulting. After we do the process run, we try to brainstorm with the business owner regarding the process gaps, possible options and the viability of the process. With SME’s, most often the clients want what their big brothers in business already have, assuming that would benefit their business. The hard fact is that one business process cannot fit or suit another business, be it the same kind in the same industry. Some business owners, mostly the CEO’s and Founders of start-up’s do show immense sense of enthusiasm in creating a process design very specific to their business needs. Heads of established businesses often tend to clean-up what is already there and leave it as it is. It is truly a matter of choice, given the state of the business and the future goals of the entrepreneur. Once we find a common ground to settle on for the process design, we mark the changes and freeze the processes. 

Standard Operating Procedures

Nothing happens in business without careful planning and systematic execution. At least the successful businesses have come so far only by being careful in planning and systematic in execution. Now from planning to the execution, there is always a part that reality plays which should never be skipped. All that happens while executing a plan/process needs to be documented beforehand into a comprehensive manual. Unless we define our book clearly with all the detail, we would never succeed by “Going by the Book.” The detailed write-up of all the processes, along with the PFD’s, PWDF Lists and the formats, in a department wise manual with also the mentions of the organization structure of the department/division would comprise what is called a Standard Operating Procedure. The formats however are an addition to what had already been developed. When we touch the existing processes, amend them and include new features and controls, there comes a need for additional data capture at certain points in the process that would keep it sustainable and fail-safe. Now these new data, need to be captured by either the existing forms/formats or the new ones that we may have to create. Adding an additional field in the existing format would make it easier for the process owner but sometimes, it simply won’t be feasible. In such cases, we develop the required formats and registers and review it with the process owners prior to inclusion in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) document. Essentially all the processes need to end at a specific storage point, usually file or folder in the computer. This is usually included in the processes. In case of a strict information security policy, the data may be required to be stored in a different location. In that case process for establishing the regular data back-up at the remote facility needs to be developed and drafted into the SOP’s. 

At every stage of the process there would be company policy that has to be implemented. Although the process description would have it in details, it is better to include a separate Policies Section in the respective SOP’s and record the process specific policies. In case of too many policies, a separate policy document may be drafted. 

This way we develop the SOP’s for all the departments of the business and proceed with the review with the business owner and process owners. The new processes, control procedures and data processing methods now get a full-fledged form. I would like to suggest here that processes would seem all creamy and nice until they are documented into the SOP’s. They have the tendency to turn poisonous the moment they are implemented. A thorough brainstorming is very necessary to analyze the feasibility options of anything before freezing on the SOP’s. With the SOP’s frozen, we would then have a documented version of the business that would, from that point onwards, dictate the business. So please think twice before freezing on them. 

Process Owner Training

Employees will always be a mixed bag. Some will welcome change, some will just go by it without questions and some may even resist. This becomes significant especially when we tend to amend a long lasting tradition within the organization that may transfer responsibilities or include new players. We need to keep in mind that without a compliant workforce, the process designs mean nothing more than paper. This is the reason it becomes important to include the process owners in the review and brainstorming sessions. Sometimes the insight that an employee gives could go far and beyond helping the process streamlining exercise. 

After the SOP’s are released, training workshops are planned to train the process owners with their processes. Some businesses have a weird iron fist work atmosphere where the SOP’s are released and we’re done!!! The implementation is either 100% or 0%....In cases like these, it is usually not more than 30%. I personally feel that workshops for each division involving the employees would make it more fun, get everyone informed at the same time and also bring about the new level of involvement among the employees. The comedy has no bounds when the business has most of its employees underpaid. They would get furious at any additional responsibility given to them. Something very common among SME’s from around this part of the globe. 

Each process owner must be provided with a copy of the SOP and Policy document along with a set of formats and registers they would be using. In case of an ERP under implementation, the screenshots of the respective pages need to be provided. Never assume that the employees can do it since they have been doing it for a long time. It is experienced employees that often make the silly blunders. Treat the workshop like a standard 101 class and explain every detail of the process and the process owner’s responsibilities. Once we get the process orientation done, we can understand that the business is ready for a trial run. 

If the business is attempting to implement an ERP Software as part of the process streamlining, then we have include one additional player, the ERP Software Vendor. Now all ERP’s are not the same and so their constraints too would be unique. It is important to include the ERP Systems Design person from the Process Gap Analysis stage. Only the concerned ERP expert can exactly narrate the ERP-related process constraints and needs that would have to be addressed and included for in the new processes. The reference for the formats in the ERP shall be the formats/registers we have already prepared using excel/word.

Start-up’s can do with excel and word formats in the beginning. These formats can later be incorporated into an ERP Software when the time comes for expansion. But without specific formats for each process, the business would remain blind on what happens and how it happens. Loss of process history is the major risk, any business, new or established must avoid under all circumstances. The business needs to know what has happened in order to evaluate the credibility and composition of the events.

Process Implementation

After the training workshops, the new set of stationery is supplied to all the process owners. This would include the new formats in hard copy (ERP software implemented in case of electronic formats). Having an ERP software expert alongside during implementation would also help trouble shooting. 

We would also appoint experienced personnel from each division as the go-to person in case of trouble during unforeseen circumstances. This way we help the individual division work and progress on its own. This is also a good way to introduce the art of mentoring within the organization. We consultants, would however be there to take all the recoil when implementation begins.

The date of implementation would be announced, starting on which the new processes and formats would replace the old ones. Usually a physical presence at the workplace helps trouble shoot problems faced. But that does not warrant a micro-managing nuisance that may irritate the process owners. Businesses where the management has specifically taught the employees to cheat the authorities and customer usually have this problem of non-compliance when micro-managed. Therefore it is advised not to encourage any short-cuts while training employees. 

It is during this implementation stage when we can actually get to know the reliability and feasibility of the process design. Sometimes the processes seem perfect on paper but in real life it won’t last an hour on the floor. This is why we discuss feasibility options during the gap analysis and have back-up plans prepared. 

Business Incubation

Once we see the new process in place, we might think it has worked pretty well but we would never know when the system would collapse. Therefore it is always required to incubate the business for at least one quarter with the help of the consulting team. Now the ideal way in my view is to create a whole new division for Operations and let that division play the role of an in-house business consultant. Things tend to change and we need someone to identify the changing trend and make necessary arrangements. This is the reason established businesses have a separate team to take care of operational effectiveness. Small businesses can either do with dedicated personnel such as a business analyst or the business owner has to step up to the job. Most small business owners don’t refrain from playing that role. 

The incubation needs to be more supportive and diagnostic in nature rather than managerial in function. The idea is to see how the business is fairing with all the new changes in place and what may be the future problems that the business may face trying to keep the implementation intact and live.

Small businesses, in turn would have a completely different challenge. They won’t have too many employees to carry out all the elaborate paperwork and data entry that would go into implementing the detailed processes. This is something the small business has to go through because, it is simpler to cut down on the process to bring down the work load but that way the business loses its capacity to grow into the one as envisioned by the entrepreneur. The process design should factor in the less personnel element but that cannot be given the priority if the business model does not allow any process compromise. We would always suggest hiring personnel for the role but then small businesses have their financial constraints. 

However, the first few hires, in my view for any small business would be an Accounts Manager and HR Manager. One for the handling the revenue and the other for handling the reason for the revenue……. that is how I see any business. These two positions can get any small business the first platform for expansion into any format. 

Tao of Process Design

If you wish to see your business grow into the future, transform your dreams into careful planning. Please look for sustainability and solidarity rather than short term financial gain. Today’s 100 is a loss compared to a daily 1 on a recurring basis. Always look into the future, see what has to happen in order to facilitate things that you expect to happen. Irrespective of the size of your business, being systematic is the only way for it to be sustainable and profitable in the long run. Learn to differentiate between symptoms and problems while making decisions. All that you do will not result in immediate revenue but all of your revenue will be a cumulative result of whatever you have done in the past. It is always the business owner who owns the problem. Outsiders including business consultants can give a million ideas but it all comes down to the efforts of the business owner with respect to implementations and further carry forward. Learn to treat advisory as advisory and nothing more. We are ready to work with you only on specific terms of agreement and the most significant one will always be your commitment. All we can do is to help you see your problems and help you repair it. Never try to copy others. Your original plan/work may not be very flashy but it carries an intrinsic value called originality that no other entity can match. Learn to categorize current and future organizational needs and take time to review them frequently. That is the only way to know your business.

Now that we have gone over a few areas of process streamlining exercise, I hope you would have, by now, gained a new perspective of planning your business and also gained a new perspective of Process Consulting for SME’s.

On a very different note [a shameless plug], if you are interested in unique tamil short films, feel free to visit https://www.summamovies.com/. I couldn't tolerate the mass masala entertainers anymore and decided I will do my best to produce content with substance. I have a long a way to go as a producer and a start-up founder, but I am glad our journey has begun. I look forward to your support. Each film on our site costs INR 15. Thanks!!!


Regards,

LEFT IS RIGHT: VERBAL Vs. NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Hello World,

I have quite a few things to share with you but before I could put things together my brain got ambushed by what I would like to term as “Left-Right Confusion.” This has been gently frying my cerebrum, sautéing my brain stem and blanching my spinal cord and serving the “Nervous System au Freak Sauce” to my thoughts. Before I begin my rant, click here to download the pdf version (rough draft) of this post.

I am documenting this 1 year and 3 month long observation of a very weird social behavior of the people of Chennai, otherwise known as “Chennaite” (by the rest of the world) and “MadrasKaaran” by the people of Chennai.  My observation does include individuals (all total strangers to me) of both the genders and people from about all walks of life. I would however make a mention that this observation of mine does not necessarily conclude that all Chennaites exhibit this weird behavior but in fact this observation would like to be documented as an indicator of potential city-wide damage of the friendly communication habits in the future, assuming this continues and spreads to everyone. I am a Chennaite myself and I love my city and it is that love of my city that has prompted me to document my observation of the phenomenon that I think is seriously detrimental to the long-term well being of my beloved city. My mental GPS always hits a technical snag or an experimental error while navigating through routes that involves more than 2 left turns or right turns. So I always stop during my travel and ask someone on the road about the route to my destination and make sure I am on the right heading. It is this habit of mine that gave me the fantastic opportunity to meet and talk to different individuals in Chennai among whom I noticed this weird element of communication that I would like to analyze today. Thanks to all those who were generous enough to help me with the directions during these instances.

It is an internationally known and followed yet unwritten code for telling directions that calls for using hand signals and gestures to explain the route to someone who asks for one. The idea is usually to help the traveler/commuter to understand and remember the route to his/her destination. For those who have trouble understanding this please look at the pictures given below and thrust your face into the palm of your hand for not understanding it before. ;)

 

I don’t own the images shown above and here are the reference links for these:

http://www.iheartjapan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/directions.jpg

http://media.makeadare.com/img/57fac2944/image_4e4e9bba81.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/images/1655_how_to_ask/2162146_directions_555x203.jpg

Observation

When I stop and ask someone on the road about the way to get to a specific spot in the city, the person almost always used his/her right hand to point to the right and said “…take the left….” (When the actual direction was indeed the right turn, as the hand signal had conveyed). Non-Verbal Rocks!!! ;)

Boundary Conditions and Isometricity

Why on earth would anyone with everything working right use the right hand to point to the right and ask me to take that left?

If the intended subject of the communication is actually “The Right,” why is “Left” being used verbally?

From a communication standpoint, the non-verbal communication is substantiated with the verbal declaration of what is being conveyed non-verbally, except the fact that the non-verbal and verbal communication elements completely contradict each other, rendering the purpose of the communication deviate away from the otherwise presumed purpose of helping the receiver receive and process the information effectively.

Our scope right here would be limited to the “Why?” element alone and discuss the possible reasons that we may identify.

Possible Reasons

1.       The person may be suffering from a neuro-developmental disorder namely Gerstmann’s Syndrome which has left-right disorientation as an indicative symptom. There may be other neuro-developmental disorders which may cause left-right disorientation and therefore let’s just stick with “Neuro-Developmental Disorder” and maintain things in the simpler sense.

2.       The person is already occupied mentally with something else that he/she could not possibly make out the connection between what he/she is intending to say and what he/she is actually saying (let alone the hand gesture).

3.       The person is contradicting his/her non-verbal communication with his/her verbal explanation on purpose, where the intention is to confuse or challenge the listener and let the listener struggle to interpret the actual message being conveyed.

4.       All the other million possible reasons put together and royally ignored due to their state of insignificance with respect to this post. ;)

Interpretation

I am no psychologist and this post is not diagnostic in nature and therefore I just have to waive the possibility of the neuro-developmental disorder. Even if I were to possess such intellect, the seconds-long conversation about simple directions may not have served as a suitable and comprehensive diagnostic tool. I guess the concerned individuals can recall how frequently they confuse right with left and I sincerely hope it does not put them in an alarm situation.

As for the “occupied-with-something-else” reason, why would someone with real working senses choose to involve in a communication while they are mentally occupied with something else (I mean to an extent where one cannot realize that they are saying something that is contradicting what they enacting simultaneously)? Assuming the person is occupied with something else and then proceeds to speak to someone, it would only mean that their brain would have cordoned off a minute section of itself for the conversation. But we must consider the fact that we are, in the end, only human and it is normal to confuse the left with right. The question however is that, what are the chances that almost everyone that I asked for directions might have been mentally occupied with something else, over a period of 1 year and 3 months?  It has to be mentioned that there were a few instances where the generous minds correctly mentioned the route to my destination without confusing left with right but these are clearly outliers that have to be gently ignored. Irrespective of one’s state of being “mentally occupied with something else,” is it not normal brain function to analyze what has to be conveyed prior to actually conveying it in any form of communication? We cannot demand the analysis of the “correctness” of the message since that would mandate a philosophical bent entirely based on idealism. We can however demand the analysis of the “consistency” of the message conveyed in verbal and non-verbal formats. In other words, one can verify their words and actions to make them consistent with each other. When the right hand is used to point to the right, the logical verbal form of the message would include a “right” and definitely not a “left.” I am sure even a dead duck would nod in agreement to this idea.

The brain chooses to listen to a question, process an answer and deliver it non-verbally and verbally, except the verbal part would completely walk up and down the ass of the non-verbal part which by some mysterious ways is attributed to the fact that the brain was occupied with something else. How the friggety frat is this even plausible? More than that how come this happens almost every time I ask someone for directions? Honestly, this analysis just needs more information which, as for the moment, is unavailable to me because I have no freakin idea about it.

As for the reason of “purposefully distorting information” during any communication, I have to say it is a rather interesting one to look at, for this really tells a tale about “short-span communications” between complete strangers in the Big City Ecosystem. I go on long rides on my motorcycle and most of the spots I ride through are comparatively rural. I ask for directions the same way I do in my city and I never had anyone confuse left with right or just threw random directions at me and let me figure it out. In fact the rural folk had the generosity to explain the route to me very clearly and most of them asked me if I had got it right. I thank them for their generosity to spare their time for me and even more, their cultural dominance over the city-dwellers in the effective communications context. The city-folk too are generous but not as proficient as the country folk when it comes to effective communication.

Now why would someone deliberately distort information during a communication and let the listener struggle to interpret the right thing? Why would someone say “left” when they are actually meaning “right” just because they want to be discreet to the listener and impose a sense of “nothing-is-free” when the nature of the conversation is not argumentative? In fact it is a simple case of explaining the directions to some lost traveler who has asked for directions. The very intent of such distortion is an indication of an element of misanthropy in a person’s socio-psychological construct. In other words, if the person deliberately succumbs to a self-imposed question of “Why should I be very clear with my communication?” and eventually distorts the messages conveyed, then it indicates a possibility of dust and rust in the top deck. If this is not the case, then what kind of Marijuana dipped in salsa causes someone to point to the right with their right hand and deliberately say “Left”?????? I am sure such a person would be no stranger to blue elephants in baggy pants playing banjos.

Concluding this rant, I would like to mention that I sincerely hope the right-left confusion does not spread like an epidemic. Whatever may be the reason, communicating effectively is a symbol of civilization and a platform for portraying one’s culture in terms of social behavior. While we are human and are bound to be occasional victims of mal-functioning perceptual and motor skills, it is a positive thing to keep attempting to communicate effectively and at times, help lost travelers find their way to the destinations of their choice.

It is interesting to note that there has been considerable academic research in the Left-Right Orientation topic. Find below the link to an online experiment created by Dr. Eric H. Chudler, who is the Executive Director of Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering and a Research Associate Professor in the Dept. of Bio-Engineering at University of Washington:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/java/hands1.html

Anyone can put themselves through this test to find out to what extent they confuse the directions in their mind. I put myself through it and the results show that I fall under the 11% of the total responders so far who show a difference of 4-6 seconds between the two tests. Not too shabby… ;)

For those of you who might love to indulge themselves in something additional related to this topic, here are the links:

http://typeindepth.com/2010/11/mixing-right-and-left/

http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/04/24/11359120-why-some-cant-tell-left-from-right?lite

http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2012/04/cant-tell-your-left-your-right-you-neednt-worry-about-it

http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/Gerstmann%27s-Syndrome.htm

Next time you tell directions to someone, please make sure you say what you think or intend to say and make sure the other person has understood it. If we decide to take the pain of helping someone, let’s just do it in a complete sense and let fundamental physics live in peace. It is always wonderful to let Verbal and Non-Verbal communications stay on the same team.

On a very different note [a shameless plug], if you are interested in unique tamil short films, feel free to visit https://www.summamovies.com/. I couldn't tolerate the mass masala entertainers anymore and decided I will do my best to produce content with substance. I have a long a way to go as a producer and a start-up founder, but I am glad our journey has begun. I look forward to your support. Each film on our site costs INR 15. Thanks!!!

Regards,