The OLA drive to office this morning was great. Pick up was within the stipulated time, driver was courteous and professional, car was clean and air-conditioned and the music played was tasteful. Though the route is a familiar one, the drive through bad roads and terrible traffic points was negotiated well and I felt safe and was comfortable all the way through. Wow, it was the same on the UBER last week too. The online taxis now don't cost much more than the auto-rickshaws either. So that's great value for money right there. I remember when I caught the rick a few months back and the way the guy drove me through the roads and potholes and how narrowly we avoided the other vehicles and people on the roads. And the last straw was on the fare, without even bothering with the meter reading, I was asked an amount that was not lets say 'value'.
I also see the private buses here whizzing past everything and everyone, I am sure even with all the stops they can get to any hospital faster than an ambulance. So why do they drive like maniacs and make the other vehicle drivers on the road furious? Should we feel they are doing great public service when they stop in the middle of the road to pick up an elderly woman and help her get on her way. Do they have such strict and perfect schedule and collection targets that this is the only way to achieve it, a frantic race every day. The elements like, safety comfort, politeness, courtesy, traffic rules have no real relevance for them.
Whats the difference here, is it that its smart, its an app, its online? No, one fundamental difference is the effectiveness of the feedback loop. An UBER, OLA, Amazon, TripAdvisor etc will make the feedback and reviews a key performance metric for the service delivery and future engagements so the behavior of the service provider is conditioned to ensure better customer satisfaction. Its that simple, what is not measured is not managed well and nor can it ever be improved.
When we invest, we need to carefully evaluate how its performing, and course correct when we see deviations that are not desirable. Its equally important when we invest in funds, assets and more important in the case of capital investments.
Isn't it amazing that government offices and establishments are differentiated from private enterprises by a clear absence of a feedback mechanism.
If media is the only feedback loop, we are not well served, because they cant pick on everything and they usually magnify the sensational news, the eye catching items, the VVIP and celebrity matters.
Twitter, Facebook too has a role but the reality is that most people only present a politically correct side of themselves on social media, true feelings are shielded for reasons such as professional reputation, family stigma and sometimes even fear.
How is the government performing, how are the elected candidates performing on their election time promises, surely this is deliberately kept away because it will demand better attention to issues of civic importance, higher accountability, improve overall governance as this will tricky down to all departments and desks. Who would not want that, right , just ones who have a lot to gain with the corruption.
So, Demonetization, didn't work but caused more harm? We don't know which voice to believe as the real mechanism to ensure it was never clearly defined and now its partial facts vs partial facts. GST, great move but every restaurant i go to , I am paying more as a consumer.
Every major and minor Infrastructure project, roads, city Infrastructure, airports why don't we have a feedback loop. The tax payers money being spend must have accountability and a transparent feedback loop so that what needs to be named and commended can be praised and what needs to be shamed and changed is done without stalling.
Even IT has woken up to it with DEVOPS having a feedback loop at the center of its effectiveness.
Giving proper feedback, accepting it, acting on it is a step towards maturity, towards a better society. Its also a matter of courage and character.
Any process without a feedback loop is doomed to deteriorate into a one that will certainly meet some objective, but will lack finesse, perfection, innovativeness, care, comfort and safety.
I also see the private buses here whizzing past everything and everyone, I am sure even with all the stops they can get to any hospital faster than an ambulance. So why do they drive like maniacs and make the other vehicle drivers on the road furious? Should we feel they are doing great public service when they stop in the middle of the road to pick up an elderly woman and help her get on her way. Do they have such strict and perfect schedule and collection targets that this is the only way to achieve it, a frantic race every day. The elements like, safety comfort, politeness, courtesy, traffic rules have no real relevance for them.
Whats the difference here, is it that its smart, its an app, its online? No, one fundamental difference is the effectiveness of the feedback loop. An UBER, OLA, Amazon, TripAdvisor etc will make the feedback and reviews a key performance metric for the service delivery and future engagements so the behavior of the service provider is conditioned to ensure better customer satisfaction. Its that simple, what is not measured is not managed well and nor can it ever be improved.
When we invest, we need to carefully evaluate how its performing, and course correct when we see deviations that are not desirable. Its equally important when we invest in funds, assets and more important in the case of capital investments.
Isn't it amazing that government offices and establishments are differentiated from private enterprises by a clear absence of a feedback mechanism.
If media is the only feedback loop, we are not well served, because they cant pick on everything and they usually magnify the sensational news, the eye catching items, the VVIP and celebrity matters.
Twitter, Facebook too has a role but the reality is that most people only present a politically correct side of themselves on social media, true feelings are shielded for reasons such as professional reputation, family stigma and sometimes even fear.
How is the government performing, how are the elected candidates performing on their election time promises, surely this is deliberately kept away because it will demand better attention to issues of civic importance, higher accountability, improve overall governance as this will tricky down to all departments and desks. Who would not want that, right , just ones who have a lot to gain with the corruption.
So, Demonetization, didn't work but caused more harm? We don't know which voice to believe as the real mechanism to ensure it was never clearly defined and now its partial facts vs partial facts. GST, great move but every restaurant i go to , I am paying more as a consumer.
Every major and minor Infrastructure project, roads, city Infrastructure, airports why don't we have a feedback loop. The tax payers money being spend must have accountability and a transparent feedback loop so that what needs to be named and commended can be praised and what needs to be shamed and changed is done without stalling.
Even IT has woken up to it with DEVOPS having a feedback loop at the center of its effectiveness.
Giving proper feedback, accepting it, acting on it is a step towards maturity, towards a better society. Its also a matter of courage and character.
Any process without a feedback loop is doomed to deteriorate into a one that will certainly meet some objective, but will lack finesse, perfection, innovativeness, care, comfort and safety.
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