Thursday, May 25, 2006

Book Review: Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni

Read this stuff if you are facing the problem in your team. This will try to grap you out of the dirty politics. The book is belongs to the category of Team Building. Patrick Lencioni, famous for Five Temptations of a CEO, has written this book in the same manner. He is well know of conveying management lessons by fictional story.

Here he is giving a story of one company, which is having best assets, best finanicial support, best employees in comparision to its competitors. But then also the output is not as expected. You guessed it right this all because of lack of team effort at the top management level.

Chairman of company decides send S.O.S for his company. Which results in recruitment of new CEO, while ex-CEO was relegated. Patrick while narrating fable conveys that dysfunctions can happen in any team, any company small or big, or even in sports team. He segregates five dysfunctions that can deviate best teams to path of failure. The five dysfunctions are: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commetment, avoidance of accountability, inattention to results. Which are set up in the following manner by author.


First dysfunction: Absence of trust

If the team members are not open to suggestions from peers, and they just press Alt+I (ignore) to them then, this dysfunction comes into picture. How can it be cured? By openly agreeing what are your faults, weeknesses etc.

Second dysfunction: Fear of conflict

Absence of trust paves the ways for this dysfunction. Team avoid debating openly on any issue. Cure: take only five minutes to reveal the past experience of team member, his/her success and failures in life. By this rest of the team knows well about the other team members.

Third dysfunction: Lack of commitment

Imagine a team where in members are not able to debate properly how will they be able to make a commitment, just think.

Fourth dysfunction: Avoidance of Accountability

Team without commitment will avoid to take responsiblity. And thus avoid accountability.

Fifth dysfunction: Inattention to Results

If all the above dysfunctions are present in team then fifth infiltrates automatically.

Till fifth dysfunction, problem of team is not visible. But it does not take time to get the glimpse of team mismanagement. Infact it is like dog trying to bit its own tail. If the results are deteriorated then dysfunctions are likely to increase and if any of the above dysfunctions penetrate in the team then results are to be aggravated.

To check out other reviews: www.extensor.co.uk

www.powells.com

In my next blog:

  • Thougthts after working in office

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

This post is dedcated for F1 freaks(contd...)

Domination over Technology
Huppies used to say: "Humans rule the Technology", but now a days this quote no longer holds true, now the quote has changed to "Technology rules over humans".

F1 has always been a hand length ahead of Technology. Lets see how?
Days of 1960s: The cars used to consume fuel like a hungry monster. But as the years passed on engineers came up with many modifications which led them for better performance.
1970s: Arrival of wings, engineers in the late 70s understood the importance of aerodynamics. And thus wings were added above the rear wheel, which used side skirts and underbody designs to further increase downforce; due to instability, however, ground effects were eventually banned in early 1980s.
1980s: In 1980s there was period where overlapping of so-called Turbo chargers and Computer controlled systems in F1 cars took place. Also parts like semi-automatic gearboxes, anti-lock brackes came into existance. But that raised questions that drivers' skills are allowed to bloom using such technologies. So eventually they were also banned in early 90s.
1990s and post millennium: This decade Ferrari and McLaren were dominating the whole sport, especially in late 90s. Many technologically and operational changes were witnessed.

Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost rivalry was at maximum extent during early 1990s.

1994 at San Marino grand prix is the most tragic race when Roland Ratzenberger died during qualifying race and Senna died during the final race. But thanks to FIA's strict regulations there is not even a single dead on F1 circuit.

Late 90s Mika Haikkenen and Micheal Schumacher were fighting for championship during 1998 and 1999 Mika was held champion while for years 2000 and 2001, Micheal outstanded as the champion. Mika quit in 2001.

In 2004 FIA virtually decided to break Ferrari monopoly, but introducing strigents rules.

After completion of 2005 season world could clearly see that FIA was successful. And Alonso won the championship.


Equipments used in F1:
Lets now get an overview (in alphabetic order) of the equipments used in F1.
Aerodynamics: As you have read above aerodynamics was introduced in 1970s and then it went on gaining importance. It is used to enhance the down keeping force of car, so that at high speeds car dont slip or fly. Also it plays important role in reducing drags caused by turbulence, improving cornering forces.
Brakes: It is always said that before learning how to drive, learn how to stop. Other way, Don't start the things you can't stop. The same case is with F1, brakes should be more efficient than the accelaration. Anti-skid brakes were introduced in late 80s but were banned, so braking remains one of the sternest tests of a Formula One driver's skill.
Tyres: Tyres need to be tuned according to the circuit, if the climate is raining then teams prefer wet tyres. Adequate grooves are provided on wet tyres to hold the car on road.
Steering wheel: This component has evolved a lot from time to time. Now-a-days every control is available on steering itself. While it has most complicated component of car, named as snap-on connector, which connects steering wheel to steering column.
Clothes: The clothes wore by drivers are fire-proof. And tried to made as light as possible.
Engine/gearbox: Modern engines revving up to 19000 rpm and consume 650 lts of air per sec. and fuel consumption is 75 lt/100km.
Traction Control: One of the clearest areas of the much spoken of 'cross over' between Formula One and road cars is traction control. And although built to perform slightly different purposes - in ordinary cars ensuring stability under everyday use, in Formula One delivering the maximum amount of power to the road at all times - the fundamental principles remain very similar.
Cockpit: Cockpit of F1 cars can be compared to cockpits of aeroplane. Cockpit's monocoque structure provides lot of strength to it. Teams take care that in case of accident drivers should be able to come out in 5 seconds (rules of FIA).
Flags: There are 10 flags used up for F1 race. They are Chequered, Yellow, Blue, Red, Green, Black, White, Yellow and red stripped, Black with orange circle and Half Black and half white flags.
Fuel: Teams consume not less than 200,000 lts of fuel during one season. They normally use benzene, alcohol and aviation fuel in large quantities, chemicals and additives are also added.
HANS: Head and neck support system is totally passive component in F1 race. But it keeps drivers safe and secure.
Helmet: In 1980s helmet used to weigh as much as 2kg. But these days it has reduced to 1.25 kg and not to mention they are more secure then their predators.
Medical Treatment: Learning from the past experience medical support is emphasized to max limit. There are special treatment doctors positioned at key points on each circuit. MedEvac helicopter keeps on hovering over the circuit, during the race.
Formula One racing is vastly safer than it used to be, and medical provision is infinitely better. But there is still no room for complacency, and it is a certainty that the scope and capacity of medical provision will continue to be at the forefront of the sport's evolution in years to come.

This is all I wanted to share with you all about F1.
you can visit: www.formula1.com (Official Site)

In my next Blog:
  • Book Review: The Five Dysfunctions of Team - Patrick Lencioni