Innovation at Kern

If you were to ask what is the single driving force that pushes all Kernites to excel, its innovation. We have always prided our ability to take decisions that distinguishes us from the others and allows us to deliver exemplary value to our customers. We have never believed in doing something just because 'everybody does it'. If we do something, it's because we believe in it.

For instance, a few years back when we started Kern, everybody designed websites. However, we never felt the need to design websites just because everybody did so. Similarly, when we started our learning solutions division, people thought that eLearning was only about technology. eLearning companies had only technical teams with zero instructional designers on board. We turned it around and said: "eLearning is for learners. Every decision in creating a course is determined by a thorough study of learners. We believe we can design an effective course only when we understand our learners—their needs, wants and motivations. Our learning strategies drive the tools and technology used to create eLearning and not the other way round. While technology is important, technology sans instructional design is like constructing a building without an architect."

And it is precisely this relentless focus on innovation that has helped Kern carve out a niche in the midst of multiple usability and elearning companies in India.

• Kern won a Brandon Hall award in just its fourth year of operation.
• Kern follows a rigorous, patented course development process using LCM with learners at the centre of our development methodology.
• Kern is the only company to guarantee the effectiveness of our solutions.
• Kern does not propogate eLearning or technology-driven solutions, Kern focuses on simple, sustainable solutions that add value to our client. Kern has the capability to deliver all types of training ranging from classroom to eLearning to 'on the job' learning.
• Kern's team is acknowledged as the best in the industry and Kern's team of experts have extensive knowledge of computing, usability, design, programming, and learning technologies.

For us at Kern, the motto is simple. "Do work that we believe in and help our clients maximize their ROI."

Kern Wins the 2008 Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards

Last month, Kern won the prestigious Brandon Hall Excellence in Learning Awards. We won this award for a program that we had created for Godrej Lifespace and it won in the category of 'Best Use of Blended Learning'. Kern is one of the few Indian companies to win this prestigious award and it was a proud moment for me to get the opportunity to be there in person to receive this award. This award is dedicated to Geeta & Archie, the program masterminds.

To know more about this award, click the following link:
http://elearning.kern-comm.com/?p=314

Mantras to Enrich Life (Contd...)

We all want the magic mantra - Happiness. All I want is to be happy......

3 simple things:
1. Live in the present: One of the most important changes in my life has come from living in the present & this includes multiple things: Don't put away things you want to do for the future, do them now. Concentrate on whatever you are doing. Don't think about whatever other people will think and don't assume things. Just enjoy each moment as it comes.
2. Gratitude: Be thankful for all that you have. Connect or do things for people who don't have all that you do, develop compassion. Avoid comparisons with others at all costs.
3. Is it Important? If something is bothering you, ask yourself if it will matter a few days from now and if not, stop bothering.

Products Versus Services

A dilemma that many IT services companies may be familiar with, your services are doing extremely well in the industry. You keep getting repeat business and everything is fine. Should you diversify into products? For the uninitiated, a diversification into products involves high initial investments and hence high risks as well as returns.

So why do companies venture into products? They do so because once a product is established in the market, it generates consistent revenues and returns far beyond what services can generate (services generate returns of 10-20% on an average). So if you are a startup, it is great to begin with a services model and grow your team . Once you are well established on revenues and cash flows, begin working on products. This helps grow both the divisions without losing focus.

Schooling Versus Home Education

On Sunday, while reading the paper, I chanced upon some parents who had decided not to admit their children to school - they preferred educating their children at home. Schools are too disciplined, they create too much pressure on the children, we can teach them a lot more at home etc.

I don't dispute the fact that these parents may be able to do a much better job on teaching their children than the teachers. So much attention focused on one student! But does that give parents the right to deny children the access to a social support support? A school is the best place for a child to learn the ways of the world and teaches the child to interact in a social setting. Independence, friendships, first crushes, fights, outings, discipline and what not, don't deny these to your children!

Networking - How it Helps
(To the best networker I know - Ripul)
It is really hard to begin networking if you have never done it earlier. You may wonder, why should I bother talking to a stranger? Why should I spend time and energy getting to know these people, they are not my friends or family or even my work colleagues! However once you begin networking, you realize that networking is rewarding personally as well as professionally.

1. Professionally: We prefer working with people who we like. Clients usually prefer working with the same teams if they enjoyed working with them earlier. And also leads to more repeat and new business. And its easy to build better contacts with your clients. Drop them an email on some interesting news from their industry, a phone call to update them about some developments or check if they have any suggestions etc. And this works both ways, both parties develop a mutual relationship of trust and co-operation.

2. Personally: Networking is the best teacher. Most of us hang around with people in the same age group, talk to people with similar backgrounds and have friends who are just like us. However, restricting our circle of friends produces dullness and boredom and can lead us to a rut. For a change, try talking to people from other industries, talking to people in your neighbourhood, to a person on the street, email people across geographies and share your thoughts and views.
Lets talk!

Mantras to Enrich Life
Been reading a lot about the various ailments that are striking us Young Indians and it makes me wonder, is it so difficult to lead a balanced life. And I realized that yes, it certainly isn't easy. But what happens if that balance is not achieved. Can India remain a super-power if we are stressed out and burned out before 40! So read the magic mantra for each day and adopt it. Internalize each of these so that you are able to better maintain a work-life balance. And always remember: Life is what happens to us when we are busy making other plans :)

Today's mantra for the day
Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

The Most Important Strategy - Computer Maintenance

Yesterday, my laptop crashed. I ran a disk cleanup application and voila, some of the applications stopped running. Result: An unproductive day yesterday and looks like an unproductive day today also.

But then I discovered a whole lot of things that I could do. I cleaned out a whole lot of junk from my computer. I backed up all the information on the hard disk. I discovered Thunderbird, a free easy to use mail client. I updated my anti-virus. And a big thanks to Nishana who helped me in doing all this!

So my biggest advice to all of us whose lifeline is our computer: Take time out regularly on a weekly basis, set aside a couple of hours and maintain your systems.

Let Go!

Over the past few days, I have been reading a few interesting books, namely the GE story, the Google story, eBay story etc. One thing that strikes me as I analyze their growth trajectories is their focus on building strong teams and empowering the people under them.

But why is it that very few companies actually manage to successfully build lower-order teams?

One of the most important qualities is the need to let go. We feel insecure that we will not be needed or will lose our place if we share all the information that we know. We desire to be wanted, feel important, etc. And what happens when you learn to let go? When we empower our people and make them a part of all our decisions, they feel more committed to the company’s cause. It reduces stress for us because we have effectively created a second-line who can always step in when things get too hectic for us. And the company grows because you have an empowered team of people committed to the growth.

So a suggestion for the month, let’s forget our ego, let’s trust our people, let’s delegate work and share information openly. Share all your knowledge and watch your companies grow.