JAM adventures

 Jo and Merin Adventures

Global Traffic Congestion Solution

 Solving for Global Traffic Congestion

Traffic congestion in cities across the world is real in terms of economic and non-economic impacts. Economic impacts include productivity loss, fuel wastage costs, impact on businesses and logistics and a lot more. Non economic impact can be in the form of health impact or even at a ground level, lives lost because of ambulances not being able to reach hospitals on time. 

Economic impact can be measured by doing a detailed estimate, making assumptions backed by data. For a major city, this is in the range of billions of dollars which several reports can corroborate. Non-economic impact in terms of lives lost can also be measured. 

Hence,  it is imperative for us to solve this problem. 

This is a problem that affects me as well. So, just as a fun thought experiment , I decided to attempt solving this problem. And I believe I've cracked it. Below I'm sharing my case analysis. It's a 47 minute video. For a really hard problem like traffic congestion, unfortunately, I am not in a position to articulate my thoughts in a short 2 minute summarized version. Would love for you to go through the video when you have free time. It's just 3/4th of an hour - roughly about the time you might be waiting in traffic in total today or even a netflix episode. 

Please watch and give feedback. If you like it, requesting you to please share this blog link (not just the youtube video) with your friends and family. 

Imagine if is a realistic solution and it reaches the ears of your local municipality earlier- you could possibly use the time you save from traffic congestion to spend more time with your family, or you could meet friends and what not. So, if you like it, please do share :) 

How do i need your help?

I need your help in analyzing whether this solution is practical. That is about just watching the video and letting me know feedback via Linkedin.

If you like the solution, do like, comment and share the blog link. Imagine you like the solution and share it with your network by strongly vouching for it and imagine they share it with their network again strongly vouching for the solutions suggested in the video, this logic will run on an infinite loop and the hope is that it will eventually reach traffic researchers who are looking at ways to reduce congestion or people in positions of authority take notice of that and then they're in a position to take action on the solution I've suggested.

As an individual, I have limitations. Best i can do is to stretch my mind to find the solution which i believe I've done. The implementation is a team effort. And for that I need your help.

 

Gratitool

In one of my strategy lectures in B school, the professor said that according to certain management literature, around 30% of the success of a company is attributed to the "Firm" effect, referring to how well the company uses its resources, technology etc. 10-15% is attributable to the "Industry" effect referring to the nature and structure of the industry the firm operates in. When a classmate of mine asked the prof what the remaining 55-60% of the success is attributable to, the prof said we're yet to develop statistical tools to explain for this part of the success. I believe this component of success is pure LUCK and luck is a component a lot of people take for granted.

Why am I talking about luck?

Taking the analogy of the company to an individual's life, I believe his/her/their happiness is a function of personal effort(firm effect), the supporting environment(industry effect) and a good chunk of luck. Hence to tap into an individual’s total happiness, the individual should not only be bothered about their personal contributions and effort but also be grateful for this luck. The value of gratitude comes from acknowledging luck as a contributing factor in one’s life.

I thought of a tool which I call GRATITOOL (gratitude tool) which helps me tap into my total happiness by increasing my gratitude levels. Yes. It's slightly philosophical but hear me out.

What is it? Simple tool to increase your gratitude level to help you tap into your total happiness

How does it work?

For every person who comes to you with a problem or anyone you meet on a day to day basis for that matter (from work colleague to house help), actually visualise yourself in their position. I mean ACTUALLY visualise yourself in their position. Would just take a few nano seconds. It was because of pure luck that you are where you are and they are where they are. You could as well have been in their position. What would the real you(using the gratitool) have wanted to do for the other person is what you should actually do. Once you start helping the other person, it starts generating happiness in them. This leads to the luck/gratitude component of YOUR happiness increasing pushing you to use gratitool even further. This drives you to continue to help the other person, which makes them even happier which further increases your luck/gratitude component of happiness and this pattern runs on a happiness loop infinitely increasing your total happiness

And what's the physics of gratitool?

Assuming we've all been created from the same energy source, it means all our energies are connected. When you help someone, that creates positive energy in them which makes them happy. Since all our energies are connected, the positive energy from the other person flows through this energy connection and feeds back to you creating positive energy in you which makes you happy and this makes you want to help the other person further and this goes on an infinite loop. I believe that's why you feel good when you help others.

Various religions and philosophies talk about this concept but makes it seem as if it has to be MANDATORY that one has to be selfless/go out of their way to help others. This encourages the thought process that if your act is not selfless, you’re losing out on happiness and in turn generates guilt. Many people are not aware/discount the gratitude component of happiness. This alternate perspective of looking at the same is pure physics, seems more logical and easy to implement for me and I hope for you as well.

When you're aware of luck, more importantly acknowledge it as a contributing factor in life and then give back to society by helping others, you're tapping into an alternative source of happiness. That I believe is the link between awareness of luck and happiness. Think of this as a mind hack - a different way of looking at things - in my case, I consider myself selfish for my own total happiness that I help out people with an intent of feeling the luck/gratitude part of my total happiness as well.

Gratitool and the physics of it might sound interesting, but could be challenging to implement. For adults who've already lived life a particular way, it's difficult to change the programming in their mind, although definitely possible. Gratitool would be helpful particularly to mold children with a service mindset, which will help them look at happiness through a different lens.

I know this is debatable. But this helps me. Just like kickstarting a car, it used to be a forced act in the beginning to kick start my mind with gratitool. After all, one's mind is far more complicated than a machine. Changing behavior is difficult and time taking. Over the last few years, I've used gratitool and slowly it has started to become second nature. Try using this tool and let me know if this is of any benefit in the comments/DM me and let me know your views on this perspective.

Cheers!

#positivepsychology

#gratitool

Consulting Beyond Business: Exploring Social Interactions

Ever since B school, I've been solving complex open ended business problems using logic, data and frameworks. Back then, I also loved using similar frameworks to solve and deal with simple sounding yet challenging real world non-business oriented problems. One such problem that intrigued me then was around the "Art of Conversation".

A common concern my friends/peers voiced was the inability to initiate a conversation with someone they found attractive in select social settings. I analyzed this as a fun consulting challenge and formulated a framework which helped some of my friends and tada! I turned out to be their "Pickup Consultant"(for a lack of a better word). Thought I'd just share this framework for the fun of it.

(Disclaimer: This post is not targeted at objectifying people. Strategy/Framework suggested is just an example of a mind hack)

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Imagine a girl (Let's call her X) and a guy (Y) sitting across a bar. Y finds X attractive and wants to go and talk to her and see where fate leads them. However, Y is facing a roadblock.

Lack of Adequate CONFIDENCE. That's the root cause problem.

We'll be going through a framework in an attempt to solve this fundamental problem. In a consultant's language. the problem statement for the client we're solving is :

"Increase the confidence levels of the insecure not-so-confident client Y above the threshold limit required to make a move on the target X"

Before we get into this framework, there are 2 assumptions and a story that are fundamental to this solution.

Assumptions

Assumption 1. Y has the minimum threshold confidence to talk to X. (Yes, I know, that's what we're trying to solve for, but stay with me for a bit - you'll see that we'll nullify this assumption as we go along)

Assumption 2. Y will pursue X only if Y finds X interesting. With Assumption 1 in place, Y will drop pursuit of X at any point Y finds X not interesting enough.

Story

With both assumptions holding, This is a story which Y will be narrating to X. The story goes as below.

"Actually, I'm from the future. 50 years from now. In the future, I met with an wise wizard who granted me the wish to come back to any point time I wanted with all the learnings and knowledge I had till then. I asked my then life partner when and where I should come back to"

That's the story. I know it's quite abrupt/eccentric. But that's by design. Later you'll realize that you can plug in any better narrative you wish, but this story can do the job for the solution/framework, into which we'll dive in next.

The Solution | The Pickup Framework

Just to refresh, the pre-requisite for this framework is we have 2 assumptions and 1 story narrative. Since Y has the confidence to go talk to X, let's design the conversation ahead and break down all possible scenarios.

Step 1. Y approaches X. Says "Hi. I noticed you from across the table. Can I get you a drink?" or "May I join you?" etc. There are 2 possible answers here.

Step 1.A X says "Yes".

Highly unlikely response but still possible. In this scenario, Y wins the game.

Step 1.B X says "No". This is the more likely and probable scenario. Go to Step 2.

Step 2. Y says "Well. That was the answer I expected. Before I leave, I'd like to tell you something very interesting. Can you spare just 2 mins of your time?". Now, let's look at the possibilities

Step 2.A X says "No. Not interested"

Remember our Assumption 2 ? Y should drop pursuit if he finds X un-interesting. In this case, as X cannot even spare 2 mins to listen to something interesting, Y can conclude that X is not interesting enough for him. Hence, he should drop pursuit and he is better off / WINS.

Step 2.B X says "Yes. I can give you 2 mins" Now Y has an opening. This is where the story we crafted comes. Y needs to deliver the story. And at the end of it it, Y says "You know what? When I was discussing with my then life partner what point in time should I come back to, she said come to the day we first met for the first time which is why I'm here talking to you. You wanted us to save the 6 months of the cat and mouse pursuit we went through before we got together. So, yeah. Would you let me get you that drink I offered?

 There are multiple possibilities now. We explore them in Step 3.

Step 3A: X completely buys the story (probability is extremely low but possibility still exists :P which is a little concerning to be honest). She says "Yes" Y WINS

Step 3B: X feels it is indeed a very lame unrealistic story but an interesting way to make a pitch. She is interested and says "Yes". Again Y WINS

Step 3C: X feels it is a very lame story and a dumb way to make a pitch. She says "No". Before Y jumps into a conclusion on whether to pursue X further or not, Y needs to make one final attempt. So let's move onto Step 4

Step 4: Y tells X - "Ok. This was expected. I guess we'll just wait for time and destiny to naturally bring us together in 6 months. :) . I'd hate to come back again in another 50 years. You sure you don't want to grab a drink and save us both a great deal of time?"

Step 4A X says "ok. Sure. I'll let you buy me a drink". Y wins

Step 4B X says "Not interested" Coming back to our Assumption 2, now it's safe for Y to assume that if X cannot appreciate an interesting pitch, then he's better off not pursuing her further. So even in this case, Y wins!

An interesting observation you would have made is Y wins the game at every level of the process. The thought that whatever be the scenarios, "Y would always be better off "creates a confidence feedback loop which generates the necessary minimum threshold level of confidence required to make the move. Hence, our Assumption 1 that the minimum threshold confidence exists is validated

As mentioned, the crux of this solution/mindhack is not the story/narrative. It can be modified if you're able to create a better one. This is just the first story I came up with. People have used it directly. Few have modified it to suit their taste. And interestingly, most of them did not even have to use the story because the sheer thought gave them sufficient confidence to go talk to the other person. The beauty of looking at this problem this way is that you know what to think, what to do and what to say for every "No" that can possibly come from the other side. Point is that the confidence increase has happened naturally.

What happens after the conversation is initiated is outside the scope of analysis of this discussion.

Till now, we've been trying to solve the problem for Y. Let's just quickly look at what are the stances for X before wrapping up this post. In case someone comes to X with this pitch,

1. X is already committed and not interested in the conversation. X can just say "No". Y knows how to handle the "No" with the strategy discussed above. So it is a WIN WIN for both as both parties are acting in their best interest.

2. X is single and not interested. X says No during any point in the conversation. X is happy. Y is happy - Again WIN WIN

3. X is single and interested. X says Yes. Again WIN WIN for both.

Below is a flowchart of the framework discussed.

In wrapping up, let's remember: life's too short for missed connections and overlooked opportunities. Like any savvy consultant faced with a complex problem, the art of conversation demands a blend of strategy, courage, and a touch of whimsy. This approach isn't just for sparking dialogue with a stranger—it's a life hack for navigating the myriad challenges we encounter daily. By reframing our fears as opportunities for growth, we can conquer not just social anxieties but any obstacle, armed with nothing but our wits and the willingness to take that first, daring step.

Nine to Five

 

Well. Hello there! Long time. No See. Sorry my bad that I haven't been writing much. Been almost 3 years since my last post. This one's called 

" 9 to 5 ". 

So, there are 2 reasons why I decided to write again. One - This blog is special to me and I can't see it go dry with no content. Two - I wanted my creative juices to start flowing and writing is the best medium for that goal. 

Now that I've decided to write again, next up is deciding what to write about - I have a handful of stories in mind. And decided to write this one since it really changed my perspective about certain things, which will be clear by the end of this story. 

This is about an interesting set of events on a random Friday when I was working a sort of 9 to 5 job. 

The location for story was Chennai. The year I think was 2013. Been 8 years now. I was working for ITC Ltd. as a manager. I was in charge of setting up a manufacturing facility and the location of my factory was in the outskirts of North Chennai. Just like you or anyone who has worked at 9-5 job, I absolutely loved my job. :D

Well. Yeah... I wouldn't say I was super excited with my job. It was ok, I guess. 

Anyway, no point talking about that. Let's jump in right into this one.  

This was my first job.  And it was to set up a manufacturing facility right in the outskirts of Chennai. For the first 2 years of this project, I was living in this so-called outskirt area - a place called Tiruvottiyur. It was like 30-40 kms north of core Chennai city. But when the project was about to be completed and the next project about to commence, I was asked to move in to the city. So, I took up residence in Vellachery with Jairaj, who's a very close friend from school and Rohit, who was Jairaj's friend. And it was one kickass year chilling like crazy with the two of them. 

And no! This story isn't one of those fun #flatmatebonding/doingcrazysh*ttogether bromance story. That's for another day. This is a specific incident that happened during the 1 year I spent at Vellachery.

 

Although I had moved to Vellachery (VCY), I had to visit Thiruvottiyur(TVT) quite often to close out the first project - Since it was my first professional contribution as part of my work life, I was also quite emotionally attached to the project. I was leading a near 100-member team and I wanted to be present at the project site often myself since I felt my oversight was absolutely necessary. 

 Usually, ITC used to arrange a car for me to travel all the way from VCY to TVT. But occasionally when the car won't be available, I used to take a local train and travel half way and then take a bus for the remaining part of the journey. This was one of those days. And when I travel, I typically have my backpack + my trademark headphones where I'll be blasting music. 

Yes. These exact same headphones from Philips which they've unfortunately stopped now :(

So, I wake up in the morning, travel from VCY station to Chennai Beach station (which is half way b/w VCY and TVT). I get off the train. And remember, I have my headphones one while walking.

So, I'm in the station platform and ideally, I need to take the foot over bridge in the station to reach the main platform from where I should be able to exit. But the lazy boy in me decides to do what a bunch of other people are also doing. Cross the platform via the track and jump/climb to the main platform - Lol. No. I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't jump or climb. But there was a gradual incline from the level of the tracks to the level of the main platform. And there were many people who crossed the tracks and got onto the main platform like this instead of going over the bridge. So I thought what's the harm - I'll also do it

This simple harmless decision to cross the track would be one of the top contenders for the best worst decisions I've ever made in life. Why so? Read on....

So, I was peacefully listening to music and I crossed the track. I was walking up the incline to the main platform and Tada! If you haven't guessed it already, it was 

Yes. The cops. Rather. A cop. Railway police officer. He stopped me. He said using mobile while crossing the platform is an offence. I thought I was going to be caught for crossing the tracks itself but hey! He didn't seem to have any problem with that. The fact that I was listening to music while I crossed the platform was apparently a mistake - one which didn't make a lot of sense. But may be because you'd lose track of an upcoming train if you're on the phone and potentially put yourself at risk might have been the reason. I said sorry. But he was like you'll need to pay a fine. 

I realized my mistake, thought the fine would be a few hundred bucks and asked him for the amount so that I could pay it and head to work. He said I'll have to follow him to his superior officer's room to pay the fine. I said OK. He accompanied me to the railway police station room. It was a room with a staircase to the first floor. There were nearly 20-25 well dressed individuals carrying bags who were there in the ground floor. I was puzzled. What have so many people done wrong to be held there. Anyway, it didn't matter to me. I asked the cop for the fine so that I could head out. 

Surprisingly he asked me to wait in the hall for some time. I had work to get to. So, I asked the cop when I can leave since there were people waiting for me at my project site. He said I'll have to wait for some time for the superior to come. Asked me to wait along with the others. This was around 9 am in the morning. 

I thought the superior officer (Sub Inspector / SI) would come in a few mins and decided to wait. But obviously, seeing so many other office goers stuck there in the same room - who knows for how long they have been waiting - that was a bit concerning. But there were 2 cops outside the hall guarding it and one of them had a rifle kind of a gun. So, I decided to wait along with the others.

15 mins passed. 30 mins passed. The SI hadn't shown up. The only change to the room was there were 4 more new people who got added into the room. And all these people were decent look well-dressed office going folks whom I could gauge had a decent personality. I messaged one of my direct reportees at work about the situation and that I'll be an hour late or so. Little did I know what lie ahead.

I started talking to the others who were detained. Most of them were also detained for using mobiles. That got me more worried. Is that such a big crime that you get detained. After all, we were all ready to pay fines. Now it was 11 am. Absolutely no sign of the SI.  A few of us kept asking the cops when the SI will arrive. The cops progressively got angrier, asked us to shut up and wait. I realized that the situation I more serious than what I thought. I messaged Jairaj and my dad about the situation. Neither of them was in a position to help me out unfortunately. 

 

At around 12 pm, I noticed a fellow person who was detained go to the cops and tell them that his daughter will be leaving school soon and he needs to go pick her up. Initially, his voice was mellow but when he saw that the cops were not budging, he started to raise his voice. They shut him down and asked him to wait. God knows what happened to his daughter? By this time, I realized I'm going to be really late for work. The cops specifically asked us not to call anyone from there. So, I tried messaging one of my reportees, told him about my situation. He said he'll try to take care, but I was deeply stressed. 

One other fellow "detainee" - I think he had contacts with some Sr. police inspectors. The cops came into the hall and called out his name. He stepped forward and he was given permission to leave. We started raising our voice but through sheer abuse of authority, they asked us to stay inside. 

Wait. I wanted this to be a fun-serious story but it's turning out to be slightly too serious.

It was around 1 pm. Finally, the SI turned up. He gave us a big speech and they collected our ID cards. I had to give my driving license. We didn't have lunch but around 230PM, each of us were called individually and asked to sign a document which had a copy of our ID cards attached to it. I really didn't know listening to music while crossing the road was going to be such a pain. They made me sign the documents. What I wasn't careful about was the language of the document. It was in Tamil. I couldn’t read it. And I assumed it's the same offence for which I was told I'm being charged. And then I thought, it was just about paying the fine. I was so wrong. Things were just getting more interesting. Obviously in a messed-up way.  Now, they said that they'll be taking us to COURT! It had been 5.5 hours of near torture. Lol! And now, I'm going to be taken to court it seems. ha-ha!

Around 4 pm, they take us from the Chennai Beach station to Chennai Egmore station where the Railway court is situated. I was frustrated and amused at the same time. I didn't know what was the motivation for these cops. 

Finally, I reach Chennai Egmore station. It's around 4.30 PM. And 5 minutes before entering the court, the cops take us aside and tell us that the actual case that they've filed against me was for peeing in public and if I resist/argue against that in court, they'll not give my ID card and will make my life hell. 

Suddenly, the entire story changed. Apparently, listening to music while crossing tracks was not even an offence. The cops needed a few people as scapegoat for reaching their monthly fine collection and case charged targets. And I was one of the victims...There! That was the motivation for the cops. But hey! 5 mins before entering the court room, I didn't know this. I was just told that I'm charged with a case for peeing in public in a railway station. I was too tired and to be honest, afraid to resist at that point and all of us who were there agreed.

I was taken into the courtroom. And it was just like in the movies. There was a clerk kind of person sitting beneath the judge. The judge was a lady with spectacles on. And there was an advocate in black gown. Oh! I was definitely tensed. And I was asked to get into the box where the culprits stand. And it was a collective trial since there were many so called culprits. So, it was around 4 of us standing inside the box together. 

Post that, the advocate stated some charges against us and asked us whether we agree or not. The charge of course was "Peeing in public"

The cops had given us strict warning/orders to say that we agree to whatever the advocate charges us with. So, when the advocate asked us, we all said yes. The judge stated that we'll each have to pay a fine of 100 Rs. Damn! 100 Rs. That was it. I could have easily paid it at 9 in the morning but my normal 9-5 day had been transformed into this messed up interesting one of a kind 9-5 ordeal. 





Should I have resisted more? Probably yes. Did I? No.


What would you have? I don't know. Some of my friends say they would have surely resisted. Only thing I can tell them is unless you're actually in the situation, you'd never know. 

After this, I got so scarred by the local trains there, I have never been on one. To the point where I got my car from Kochi to Chennai so that I don't need to worry about commute. 

It was around 1 pm. Finally, the SI turned up. He gave us a big speech and they collected our ID cards. I had to give my driving license. We didn't have lunch but around 230PM, each of us were called individually and asked to sign a document which had a copy of our ID cards attached to it. I really didn't know listening to music while crossing the road was going to be such a pain. They made me sign the documents. What I wasn't careful about was the language of the document. It was in Tamil. I couldn’t read it. And I assumed it's the same offence for which I was told I'm being charged. And then I thought, it was just about paying the fine. I was so wrong. Things were just getting more interesting. Obviously in a messed-up way. 

Now, they said that they'll be taking us to COURT! It had been 5.5 hours of near torture. Lol! And now, I'm going to be taken to court it seems. ha-ha! 

A few lessons I learnt

1. It doesn't matter which sphere of life you're in, you'll have targets and goals and sometimes, you use the most unorthodox methods to achieve your goals and that's apparently lawfully fine - as evident with the cops achieving their monthly penalty/fine collection targets via the story I described above. Phew! 

2. Next time you feel like going on a holiday and visiting south India - If Chennai is there on your list, do go there. It's a fine nice place. It's hot but people there are very nice. But make sure you don't go to the CHENNAI BEACH station.. haha..lol... just kidding....

No other learnings per say. Only other fact I want to share is that there is a petty police case in my name for peeing in public and that will be in the government records for eternity. That was some achievement! What more can a 9-5 day create? 9-5 with cops and other alleged culprits - no food - no calls to other people - entry to a courtroom for the first and hopefully last time and my name in government records for peeing in public which I hope never comes to bite me later in life...

                                        

                  Unfortunately, this was an EPEEC EXPERIENCE