Don’t Fall Asleep Behind the Wheel
This post is a rude reminder to all of us involved in outsourcing. Just a few weeks ago I talked about fundamental laws of outsourcing (FLO). And yet I just escaped from being hit hard by one of them, the ominous Second FLO, by the skin of my teeth. Quick note - the second FLO as the same as the second law of thermodynamic – entropy always increases. In offshore outsourcing the second FLO exhibits itself as consistent degradation of quality of services in absence of non-stop energy applied from the on-shore.
In this particular case it was about sourcing. I have an agreement with my current provider that I can interview any resources prior to them being assigned to the project and I can stop that assignment from happening solely on the results of the interview. I have to say that is a somewhat unusual agreement – most of the vendors would fight tooth and nail against it; that did not stop me on many of my contracts though.
Anyway, my vendor has been good in many respects, with quality of the resources being one of the top. So when I did not see any red flags on the resumes of a couple developers about to be assigned to the project I was ready to give the green light. I am not sure what stopped me and why I decided to interview them. But as soon as I asked for the interview all kinds of red flags stared coming up: scheduling delays, preparation phrases, language and cultural difference discussions… Making the long story short interviews were a complete disaster: the guys were not only exceptionally green, they did not have the foundations I was looking for, no grip on technology, no relevant background… they were good guys ready to learn. Sorry, but I do not pay for on-the job training…
So what happen? Why my trusted partner was about to put these spring chickens on my project? Well, just because. The second fundamental law of outsourcing is as strong as the gravity laws. You know, you can fight the laws of gravity as long as you want and yet you will end up with you face in the dirt… Uninspected deteriorates. [Dwight David Eisenhower]
Here is a metaphor for your consideration. A long time ago I was in the far north of Siberia, in Eskimo country. I saw an amazing event there – sleds led by sixpacks of reindeer were competing in a traditional race. That was indeed a fun race and a very vigorous exercise for the jockeys – they had to use a very long stick to control the deer, and make them run. Interesting thing about those deer – they do not run if you do not hit them, and, unlike horses, they would stop the second you stop hitting them. So the only way for the jockey to win the race is hit them non stop all the way to the finish line. Little did I know that many years later I would have to use the same technique on all my offshore engagements.
Can’t teach an old dog new tricks
“Yes to death” is a well known phenomena. In many places people are conditioned never to say “No” and that’s particular true for India and even more so for Indian outsourcing companies. Saying No as well as other forms of delivering “bad news” or “negative message” are considered rude and offensive. The fact that it causes enormous issues on business delivery side is dwarfed by the cultural conditioning. Not long ago I was on an interviewing marathon in Noida, India. Just before the start I spent some time talking with a VP of services for the company. I asked him what his company did to deal with cultural differences. He went on explaining how they invested in cross cultural training and that all employees were specifically trained on “cut to the chase” American culture, and so on. My first interviewee was a project manager with about 10 years of experience. I asked him “Rajiv, imagine the situation that when your team is falling behind because of some serious screw up on my part. What would you tell me to deal with the situation?”. The next five minutes went into back and force of defining the fine details of the situation and I started running out of patience, so I asked again “Will you tell me that you are falling behind and that is my fault?” Rajiv went silent for a few seconds, looked at VP and than said – “Of course I would never tell you that!”
Trading Places
Once in a while it’s fun to put on shoes of a vendor and see the selection process from the other side of the table. A few days ago I was asked by my long time vendor to help them on a sales call. I have to mention that one of the reasons I like working with these guys is they made themselves a true part of my team, so I felt obligated to help them out as I would do to someone from my own company. Nothing to make a sales call fun like last minute changes. This time it was pretty dramatic – the sales person could not make it. So I found myself along with another guy in a similar situation in front of a CTO of successful startup in the city. Ted, the CTO, did not seem to enjoy the situation. He turned to the “hiring manager” and asked him: “Vladimir, are you saying to me that the company which we are considering is not even here!?” I felt bad for the guy and decided to say few good words about my vendor, reasons I hired and kept them for quite some time now. Ted did not find my attempts to any degree entertaining “Why are you talking!? It should be the sales rep who answers my questions! I have real questions – what is your turn over ratio? I need to know exact percentage!” In the next few minutes the situation progressed from goofy to outright embarrassing. Fortunately it did not last long and in 15 minutes we were escorted out of the building. Oh boy, am I glad that my paycheck doesn’t depend on outcomes of such meetings. BTW, to the best of my knowledge we paved the trail for an Indian company that made a presentation right after us, they had a solid slide deck, all ratios ready and I am sure were not wearing jeans and pullovers. What is still bewildering to me is why someone would prefer a ppp to a genuine customer reference. But as they say “different strokes for different folks”
Food for thought
No matter how well traveled you are be beware of dining experiences. The dangers come in all shapes and forms, literally. Many of my friends were knocked down by local foods while vendor shopping especially in China or India. My friend Boris, VPE of a successful Silicon Valley startup, was out for two days after savoring jellyfish dinner in China, another friend was hard down for almost a week after lunch at McDonald’s in Moscow. I heard that asking for simple local food (something they know how to cook) works well. I also heard that asking for “food that an American can eat without getting sick” gets the message across. I tried those as well as many others and can assure you that none are fail-proof. My latest memory is a low key dinner in Bangalore, where my hosts were quite accustomed to guests from the states. Everything was beautifully served and spiced to a perfect degree; no surprises and no concerns. After the dinner the waiter brought a plate with leaves wrapped into small pouches. My hosts all gabbed one of those and suggested that I do the same - “it’s like a mint candy”. I guess “like” was the key word there, a second later I learned that biting the green pouch feels like drinking Listerine out of fire hose. Luckily I knew the way to restrooms which I covered in just a few jumps.
It’s good to be king
Shopping for an offshore vendor is unforgettable experience even if you are looking for relatively small contract. Where else an IT manager would be a subject to such royal treatment? Every time when I face a dubious pleasure of vendor shopping I keep reminding myself that it is probably one of the best parts of outsourcing. And there is always something fun to remember about those trips. Not long ago I was in Pune, India meetings with Satyam – one of the top tier outsourcing firms. The lobby of Stayam’s office was decorated with welcome slogans, flowers and colored sand “paintings” on the floor. There were four of five executives greeting me, all holding high positions in the company. They shook my hand with impressive enthusiasm. A few women dressed in saris welcomed me with large bouquets of roses. While a photographer jumped around taking pictures of this one-of-a-kind event one of the execs whispered in my ear that this was unusually flamboyant greeting that they only offered to utmost important guests. After a few more awkward moments we moved to the conference room with maybe 20 execs and managers. The power point parade began after 30 minute round of “quick” introductions. 15 min into presentation I noticed that older execs started to fall asleep, most with their eyes opened; the skill I always wanted to master. A couple hours later I was exposed to more glorious aspects of the company history and abilities than one can possibly tolerate. By that time I knew for sure that no company in the world comes close to Satyam in terms of quality of the resources, ingenuity of leadership and reliability of its management. Speaker after speaker we were moving down the agenda of what was called out as a brief discussion of the company’s capabilities. Lunch, a buffet of monumental proportions, was a welcome break then an hour later and a few pounds heavier I was back to the power point water-boarding. But I was adapting, it seemed that finally I was getting the grip on the art of sleeping while actively participating. Unfortunately the photographer woke me up. He brought me a CD with my pictures. I put it in my laptop to bring back fading memories of the morning. Here they were: the lobby, execs, saris, roses… Alas, the victims of the greeting ceremony were two strange guys wearing suites and all American smiles. For some reason I did not feel that special anymore. Yet so happy as that little excitement saved me from immanent death by power point.
About
The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side. [James Baldwin]
In IT outsourcing one does not need to go too far to get ultimately familiar with its ugly side. However, despite all disappointments and failures I honestly believe in offshore capacity and its positive impact on the industry. I’ve seen enough success stories to continue using offshore resources myself and recommend it to others. Offshore outsourcing is one of most powerful weapons in technical leaders arsenal. And like any other powerful weapon it requires careful handling and great deal of knowledge in its use and application. Ugly enough even slight mistakes in its utilization could cost companies enormous pain and expense and technical leaders their reputation and career.
The goal of this blog is to bring to everyone involved in offshore outsourcing my 5 T’s – Thoughts, Tools, Tips, Tricks, and Traps of outsourcing. I hope you find it helpful.
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Tools & Links
