Q1A. What’s one thing no one knows about you?<\/b><\/p>\n
Dov: A tough one… I’ll give you two I just thought of now. <\/span> As interviewee: <\/span><\/i>Q1B. why me ?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n As interviewer: <\/span><\/i>Q1B. if you could have the true answer to one question in the world, what would it be?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n or perhaps an easier one, why are you doing interviews? What’s in it for you?<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Noopur: As an interviewer – You, because you inspired me when I first met you during Agile Gurugram<\/a> Conference. You are not a regular person we meet every now and then, you leave your impression which is long lasting. Let me tell you that you are a rare species. There is a lot the world should know about Dov. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n As an interviewee – There is one question I would like to answer myself ‘Damn! Will I be able to handle it?\u201d and the answer would be – \u201cChallenge Accepted\u201d. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n I love interviewing\/talking to people, be it a street side flower shop guy or a great thought leader in a particular industry. Everyone brings a new aspect of life which either I have not seen or experienced. I get matured as a person. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Q2A. What inspires you the most?<\/b><\/p>\n Dov: This one is easy, I fell in love with the <\/span>book of Tao<\/span><\/a> a few years back, it helped me make sense of all I felt in the world so far, that the important things have no name, that the world is ever changing, that the best way to live is with open eyes and closed judgment, that we are one and I am many. <\/span> My turn,<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Q2B. Can you give me a \u201cwill I be able to handle it\u201d example? When\u2019s the last time you posed this question?<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Noopur: Whenever I am out of my comfort zone or scared of something, this question pops-up in my head like any other human being. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Last time, I thought so when I decided to learn swimming with drowning in water being one of my biggest fears. I said \u201cchallenge accepted\u201d to myself and today I am at second stage of making my backstroke perfect.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n These are simple and small incidents of life which I enjoy. Moreover, I am in a profession where none of the book\u2019s knowledge or theory works, I have to change my strategy with time, product, market, geographical location etc.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n Q3A. If you have to choose one between travelling and books, what would it be?<\/b><\/p>\n Dov: You kind-of answered it yourself!<\/span><\/p>\n Q3B. Is there a word in your language (and btw – what is your language?) that is untranslatable to english? And what does it mean?<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Noopur: My mother tongue is Hindi. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Haha. There is one word called \u2018Jugaad\u2019 (<\/span>\u091c\u0941\u0917\u093e\u0921\u093c<\/span>) in Hindi which I feel is so difficult to translate to English. It means \u2018low-cost solutions to any problem in a smart and intelligent way\u2019. It is about doing more with less. Just google and check out some amazing Jugaad products.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Q4A. What do you like the most about your job?<\/b><\/p>\n Dov: That everyday’s an adventure, it allows me to talk to anyone in the organization, and to connect the dots, see some things that people who work there for years (sometimes decades) may skip because they are too familiar or taken for granted.<\/span><\/p>\n When I see success, the satisfaction is enormous! Since a success usually implies happier people with increased sense of contribution and purpose, and a happier and more focused organization.<\/span><\/p>\n And last, it is a role that allows me to learn every day something new about myself and the world around me.<\/span><\/p>\n Q4B. It\u2019s funny that the word you chose involves agility! I consider Ganesha the lord of agilists – the good-natured remover of impediments (I even tattooed him on my arm\u2026), <\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Noopur: Whether closer than western culture, I can\u2019t comment. But of course, the Indian culture is quite close to the Agile spirit. <\/span>Agile talks about adapting to changing environment and India has undergone so many changes in the history and emerged strong with each incident. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n In our culture we say \u201cAthithi devo Bhava\u201d meaning Guests are like God, so we should respect them and take care of all their needs. It is similar to how in business we value our customers and their requirements.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Q.5A What makes you say that Ganesha is Lord of Agilists?<\/b><\/p>\n Dov: Let\u2019s see…<\/span><\/p>\n And in his four hands:<\/span><\/p>\n Besides, just look at him! Any other deity looks more like an agile coach? (and no, <\/span>Laozi<\/span><\/a>, or Buddha for that matter, are not a deity) <\/span> Q5B. Can you tell me a small story that happened to you this week (since we started the interview)?<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Noopur: First of all, let me tell you I am so impressed with your observations about Lord Ganesh and his agility. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n A very cute thing happened with me this week. I was walking down the street towards the market with my 3 year old niece and was passing an old lady sitting on footpath selling flowers and fresh vegetables. Whenever we pass her for the last 3 years, she offers a flower to my niece and adores her. It is almost a 3 years\u2019 practice for her. When my niece and I were buying stuff at a supermarket, she insisted me to buy a big chocolate. I was telling her \u201cNo\u201d as a strict aunt without knowing her intentions but she made me buy one. While going back home, we were passing that old lady again who was busy selling flowers and vegetables. My niece went to her and gave that big chocolate to the old lady and said \u201cThank You\u201d to her. Everybody present there was appreciating her for the good deed. I was so overwhelmed to witness something so innocent and pure. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Dov: (We sometimes tend to suspect behavior we don\u2019t understand, don\u2019t we?)<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Noopur: Yes, as I did when she asked me to buy a big chocolate. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Q6A. How is this interview going for you? What is one thing you liked about it?<\/b><\/p>\n Dov: Since it\u2019s my first interview, it\u2019s my best one so far!<\/span><\/p>\n Single out one thing? the meta, that a part of the interview is about the interview itself \ud83d\ude09<\/span><\/p>\n Q6B. And for you?<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Noopur: An interviewer getting interviewed is interesting. It helped me unleash a lot of things about myself. Being an interviewer, I read and research about the person I am going to interview and his\/her background. This ping-pong way of interview has given me opportunity to take some time and think about what I feel, what I like and what I am. Thank you for this amazing experience where my thoughts are also valued. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Q7. A What is the one question you think I haven\u2019t asked you, and should have asked?<\/b><\/p>\n Dov: I don\u2019t believe in should-have, what happends is that only thing that should happen (an open-space\/ daoist principle) <\/span><\/p>\n Some subjects I love to talk about and we didn\u2019t:<\/span><\/p>\n But, as Steven Wright said: \u201c<\/span>You can\u2019t have everything, where would you put it?<\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Q7B. Would you take anything from our exchange to your next interview?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Noopur: I believe I need to have a Part 2 of interview with you. <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Most important thing I have learned during this session is \u2018Don\u2019t just interview people, talk to them\u2019.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n Another thing I will be definitely taking from our conversation is, letting others ask questions to me. Haha.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n *Part A’s of questions are asked to Dov Tsal and Part B’s of questions are asked to Noopur by Dov.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dov, is an avid agilist, who started his professional journey as a software-developer and ‘manager’. The Agile movement met his frustration ten years ago, in time to become a scrum-master, a product owner and an Agile-coach. The more he worked, the more he felt transformation should focus on mindset and the will to change, hence Dov currently works closely with HR departments in addition to IT, and helps tailor specific solutions rather than apply a one-process-fits-all approach.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This interview is special and interesting. When I started interviewing Dov Tsal, he suggested a Ping-Pong format, which started a week long exchange of thoughts wherein we both answered each other’s questions. I first met Dov during Agile Gururgam 2017 Conference at the Leela Ambience, Gurugram. His session on ‘Agile thru Mindfulness’ was an enlightening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Interview with Dov Tsal","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[17,90,24,25,18,19,22,91,23],"class_list":["post-268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview-series","tag-agile","tag-experience","tag-food-for-thought","tag-good-thoughts","tag-innoroo","tag-innovation-roots","tag-interview-series","tag-ping-pong","tag-thought-of-the-day"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Dov-tsal.png?fit=3128%2C1709","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Rui8-4k","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":308,"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268\/revisions\/308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/innoroo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/span>1. My itch, the thing I love to scratch, is complexity.<\/span>
\n<\/span>I love seeing and finding elegant solutions to undefined\/open problems, to put aesthetic order in place. Be it in art, music, math or the challenging of all, human dynamics. <\/span>
\n<\/span>2. I refuse to be taken seriously and may deny anything I say.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>This old fool, Lauzi, who didn\u2019t manage to convince his boss the Emperor of China to make an Agile transformation in his empire, was (so the legend says) kind-of forced to write all his world-view before he parted the world. I have the book in my bag most of the time and read it when I need an advice.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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\n<\/span>Sometimes your heart just knows stuff, and your head has to find the excuses (I\u2019m reading about it now in \u201c<\/span>Thinking- fast and slow<\/span><\/a>\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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