Sometimes organizations take time – years – to reach a stage from where they leap. Mindfire Solutions is today at that stage.

As we move forward to our next year in operation, allow me to close my eyes and see where we are next year. In one year from today…

I see new faces. The 300 freshers we selected between Nov2010 and Mar2011 have joined us in Jul2011 and are getting on to projects after some intensive training. I also see the remaining 700 of us helping and guiding the new people to get on-board.

I see more and better facilities and infrastructure – our second Bhubaneswar center in operation since Feb2011, our new NCR (Delhi) center of 500 capacity just becoming operational, our Bangalore center with 150 capacity operational since Mar2011, and our search has begun for 150 capacity centers in Kolkata (or similar) – to suit the rapid growth we are facing. I also see construction of Mindfire Towers at Bhubaneswar with 1000 capacity going strong since Feb2011, on track for opening in Apr2012.

I see a new workplace environment. All our cubicles were broken down in Mar2011 and replaced with open-table Agile layouts, everyone works off laptops, there are bean bags and sofas scattered inside the office, Wii game consoles, napping pods and relax spaces, vibrant colors, LCD screens running mixes of interesting things ranging from the occasional matches to tech videos. Lot of people work from home either temporarily or permanently, and we have a virtual workforce distributed all over the country.

I see a new working style. Everyone works with cooperation and collaboration, helping each other improve. Competition is with self, not others – how do I improve myself every single day? Leads, senior colleagues, everyone in the team and outside is thinking of how to help everyone else. We understand that our value does not come from designation or position. Our value is due to the value we provide to others around us.

I see the most out-spoken atmosphere any company has ever seen. We discuss and disagree (and agree) openly and without fear. Sometimes our thoughts are appreciated by everyone else, at other times they are not – but we accept that as part of life and move on to our next thought. The more we express ourselves, the better we feel and the greater the progress of the organization. This has begun to happen now because we understand after some discussions during Dec2010 – that at Mindfire there is no senior, no junior, no management – we are all in this together.

I see fantastically improved quality of work. We are committed to the work we do – small or large project, small or large client, we do our best. And our best is much better than it is today. We take responsibility, we earn our respect from our colleagues by doing stuff and not by flashing our credentials, we take pride in our craftsmanship and results. The quality improvement and skill improvement focus, the learning and knowledge and better-talent initiatives we started in Dec2010 have succeeded.

I see more and better people eager to join us. From all over the country, freshers to experienced, different technologies, different skills, different roles – all kinds of people – we are flooded with people who want to join us. Growth and learning opportunities, salary, responsibilities, environment – people like what they get at Mindfire. Among other things, the new salary levels we announced in Dec2010 for campus hiring has helped us attract talented people.

I see more and better clients eager to work with us. New and old clients, clients who come to us on their own having heard of our good work from others and clients who we pursue to get their projects, tech-deep clients and big-business clients – all kinds of clients want to work with us. The new messaging we began in Dec2010 has resulted in a unique position in the minds of clients. The sales offices we established in 10 different regions in US/Europe, starting in Jan2011, have taken client touch to a whole new level and enabled new relationships of a different scale.

I see new areas of work. We launched our BI/DW practice in Feb2011, our ERP practice in Mar2011, and our RIM practice in Apr2011 and have already completed some projects in each. We launched our Technology-oriented SIGs in May2011 and our System-based focus areas in Jun2011.

I see a new set of leaders and new styles in old leaders. The new leaders we identified in Dec2010 and fast-tracked internally have delivered responsibilities they could not believe themselves to be capable of, the new leaders we hired in Jan-Feb2011 have carved a greater path for Mindfire, and current leaders are at a higher level of maturity and responsibility after seeing what Mindfire is truly capable of.

I see us blazing the trail in innovation. Mindfire Labs is fully in operation and has delivered 5 innovative products for a better world. Several of our online systems and communities have succeeded in their objectives. 100Drivers has generated employment for 1000 unemployed youth since taking off in May2011, A/B/C have caused action towards better safety, government and education, and X/Y/Z have collectively generated great traffic and revenues. Most of these ideas were brainstormed and finalized during Dec2010-Jan2011, and then developed using an open-source mechanism where all of us could contribute in creating systems for a better world.

I see us doing innovative good for society. We are taking care of the upbringing of 100 children as per the scheme announced in Dec2010, the shelter we had planned together is under construction to house 100 children since Apr2011 (to be ready by Mar2012), our education scholarship scheme launched in Mar2011 has touched 100 children already, and we have just completed our 25th medical camp having started in Jan2011.

I see a new level of trust among us. People understand what Unlimited Leave is and why we are unique in having it, what a zero-hierarchy organization is and why we have it, what a zero-rooms organization is and why we have it, and so on. Those who were not comfortable with such organizational ideas and believed in traditional industrial/factory models of work, those who want respect due to designation and not talent, those who do not match the fundamental principles of the new Mindfire, those who do not understand quality and do not worship work, those who cannot adapt to changes – they left us before Apr2011.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the new Mindfire – Mindfire 2.0. This is it.

Author – Chinmoy Panda