Anuradha Sridharan

  I switched from being a software developer to a product manager back in 2008. Except for writing SQL queries, I haven't done any coding in all these years. I don't have experience in engineering management either. Now imagine that I scream out loud on social media that engineers should always follow test-driven development and write detailed unit test cases. I give gyaan on TDD (make reels, Insta guides) picked up from various popular blogs and expert opinions, without understanding the ground realities. Is TDD needed for all teams? What is the priority of the team at this point - quality code or ship MVP faster? How would on-the-ground engineers and engineering managers react to such posts? The same is happening in the medical field rampantly on social media. There are many Insta-only doctors (MBBS by qualification but not practicing for decades), giving advice such as "Drinking Diet Coke won't harm you unless you drink in gallons". Or calling traditional alter...

 Imagine this scenario. It's a bright, sunny Monday morning in June in Bengaluru. You are the founder of a startup and are currently in the process of finalizing a deal with an investor Mr. YC. You meet up with Mr. YC, do a fantastic presentation, and answer his questions/concerns about the market size, business scope, and revenue model with such flair and confidence. Mr.YC is impressed and has verbally agreed to the terms. After the meeting, you call up your spouse and convey the good news, "Dear, I did it. I clinched the deal !! All my efforts in the past 2 years have paid off". The above is the summarized scenario. Let's get into the finer details. The previous night, you are putting together the presentation. And you wanted some specific data on market growth and your app engagement metrics. You immediately call up your product manager/marketing manager to pull up some numbers. He is busy with his family at a function in his home, but he immediately pulls out his ...

 We are noticing a certain "reels" trend off late and it is between two groups - Group A is "apparently" fear-mongering about packaged/junk foods and claiming that they are poison/cause cancer. Group B mocks group A and makes fun of them by saying that they are exaggerating. I don't belong to either group, though I used to write detailed reviews of packaged foods in 2017-18 before the reels era. When it comes to packaged foods, I would rather stay cautious than be lackadaisical/careless. The long-term effects of many of the ingredients have not been researched conclusively yet. There is huge money at play and influencers (including people who are in the medical field) are being "incentivized" to be part of Group B OR circulate videos made by Group B. I'm not saying that Group A is completely right in their execution, though their intentions might be in the right place. Right knowledge will empower us. Right knowledge will help us make the right dec...

I had the opportunity to attend the live lectures of Arun Sir as part of my course "Vedas, Upanishads and Darshanas" last few days. One insight after another One aha moment after another One revelation after another Many questions I had got cleared thanks to his amazing lectures. I was trying to jot down as many of these insights as possible, but couldn't keep up with the speed! I want to share with you one powerful insight that is so relevant in today's times of content overload, especially through movies/web-series that we consume through OTTs. I had watched a movie a few weeks back. It was an engaging thriller and an unexpected twist towards the end (not gory or violent). I didn't brood over the movie or the story after watching it. A few days back, I was in a similar situation as shown in the movie. There was some bit of fear/anxiety and I consciously ensured that I didn't repeat the actions made by one of the characters in the movie. My mind immediately r...

  First book of 2024, is a gripping, eye-opening read in many aspects. Though I have read some of the principles and factors in other books like Digital Minimalism , Deep Work , Indistractable , and Why We Sleep , Johann Hari's Stolen Focus is an informative compilation of 12 different factors that have stolen our focus and attention. What I liked about the writing is that the author doesn't talk from the perspective of giving advice. His experiences on his relationship with devices, steps taken towards digital detox, and various factors that he attributes to the deterioration of his focus make the reader feel easily connected with the author. Anecdotal and relatable, that's how the book begins in the first few chapters. The author then slowly unravels the factors one by one, with his personal life experiences, interviews with experts, and related examples. Depending on the factor(s) that impact your attention the most, you will be able to relate to certain chapters more t...

  It's been a week since the New Year began. How are the resolutions or habits (that you wanted to kickstart/drop) coming along? Are you able to keep up the motivation or has it dipped after a few days of feeling good? Many health and wellness apps, gym memberships, and online workshops capitalize on this sudden surge of motivation of the general public during this New Year timeframe. There is a steep increase in their topline revenue and subscriptions/renewals in the first week of January. Except for a few, the majority tend to discontinue or are unable to sustain the motivation for long. In my 20s, I used to try new resolutions, but invariably I'd end up quitting after a few days or weeks. In my early 30s, I decided not to pursue the path of resolutions and instead, pursue clearly-defined habits. I realized I was able to continue on certain habits while I was struggling with others. In my late 30s, I moved on to setting broad themes for the Year, that would help me identify a...

Identities are like the shirts we wear. Some shirts are very precious to us as they might have been gifted to us by someone special Some shirts are a must in our wardrobe. Though we may not like them, we choose to wear them to get accepted by society or if society demands it (formal full sleeves for example) We hold onto some shirts, thinking "What if we need them in the future?". Though it might have gone out of fashion or we might have outgrown it (due to size, taste, age, etc), we don't dare to get rid of them. Some shirts are so comfortable that even after they are worn out, faded, or torn a little bit, we continue to wear them Some shirts are the statement we choose to send out to the world. Through looks, color, and fit, we convey a lot about ourselves to the world we interact with. Some shirts are not our current size. We might choose to wear a tight "M" size, though our size might have moved onto "L". It could be due to a lack of acceptance of ...

  Is there a shloka to pray for the safety of planet Earth? What is the difference between courage (dhairyam) and fearlessness (nirbhayam)? Aren't they the same? Does Lord Hanuman exist on the planet now? How can we see him? Why is Lord Krishna called the guru of the Universe? What is the scientific proof of the Mahabali story? Where is the original book on Veda kept? Who wrote it? Why do we have to chant a nama japa 108 times? Why not 10, 20 times? How is chanting "shree rama rama rameti" equivalent to chanting Vishnu Sahasranama? Is Hayagreeva a reincarnation of Lord Vishnu? Why not? When we chant "asatoma sadgamaya", which God is it addressed to? This is only a sample of the plethora of questions asked by little kids (5 of them aged 5-12 years) in the shloka chanting classes I have been conducting in my apartment in the last 2 months. Their curiosity, interest, and inquisitiveness drive me to come prepared for the classes and share relevant answers as much as...

  The book that kept me engrossed in the last 2 weeks of Dec, it was neither on my to-read list nor recommended by anyone. Somehow, this book grabbed my attention and I have been raving about it to everyone I have spoken to. Though the focus of this book is Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), it delves into deeper aspects of parenting attitudes, current challenges, behavioral repercussions, and more. As you read through the book, many of the examples and behaviors discussed seem very much relatable - either observed in ourselves, spouses, parents, in-laws, or our children. The author ends the book with this beautiful line -  "If we can actively love, there will be no attention deficit and no disorder" That's the premise of this book - the role of love, the importance of attachment relationship, meeting the attunement needs of young kids, unhindered access to primary caregiver during the initial years, acceptance and attention without any condition. I'd consider this bo...