FLEXCUBE User Training - "I Get Nervous Around Really Smart People"

04 January 2001. I took a flight to Eastern Europe( Poland) for the first time. Little did I imagine it's going to be the first of the numerous passages I would make time and again to Eastern Europe.

I flew from Mumbai to Warsaw via Amsterdam by KLM airlines. I was going to Warsaw to conduct stoner training for one of the reputed American transnational bank. I had a brief stop- over in Amsterdam( It came my home latterly for a long time) and flew in to Warsaw. The flight had reached at about 2030 hrs. and due to spurt pause I felt tired and worn out. Oracle project accounting online training

I completed the visa formalities and awaited in the line for hack. The hack motorist was a women and she ate me with a" dzien dobry". I hardly understood what it meant. Without important trouble she took my 20Kgs suit case and shoved it in the charge of the auto.

The hack started wheeling from field to Warsaw megacity where my plant apartment was. All I could see outdoors was white mounds of snow- The entire megacity was indurating and decolorized out. I was seeing snow for the first time in life. There was low energy left in my body to enjoy the fresh snow and before I could realize I had dozed off in the hack. I woke up when the hack motorist pressed the break hard. I looked at her and she gave me a smile. I guess I had to understand everything from that smile. It was further than an hour since the hack left Warsaw field. I asked her how important time it'll take to reach the apartment, for which there was no response. I repeated the question for which the response was a pearly smile. I was losing tolerance and in a more stern voice I asked her whether she follows what I'm saying. she replied" English small, small". I understood the uphill task ahead of me. I knew survival was going to be tough in Poland. I had to train bank staff on software which many knew how it worked, including the inventors of the software.

My landlord was staying for me at the apartment and I was happy to get off from the hack eventually.

This American bank had its indigenous center( CEEMEA) headquarters in Poland. This American bank had acquired a original Polish bank to increase its request share.

The bank had laid out a condition on the profile of the training adviser . The adviser coming for conducting training sessions should have knowledge of heritage system also. The heritage system running in the bank was COSMOS, which was a different icon of MicroBanker.( MicroBanker was the before interpretation of Oracle FLEXCUBE). The heritage system had been running in the bank for 20 odd times. I was ready to start the stoner training.

I had a cold event in the bank on my first day. This was in sync with the rainfall conditions( minus 16 Degrees C) in Warsaw during that time of the time. latterly I realized Polish people are cold irrespective of the season of the time. Reason for this it seems is the literal fermentation they had gone through. substantiation of the same is in Krakow and Auschwtiz.

I spent the first many days setting up FLEXCUBE software. Further I was trying to learn a many Polish words for survival and tasting world notorious Polish vodkas.( I can confirm Chopin is the stylish)

Training commenced after 3 days of me reaching Warsaw. CITIL used to follow the standardized" Train the Coach approach". I felt this was a good approach to produce the first set of knowledgeable druggies of the system. Core platoon had representation from colorful departments( Marketing, Operations, Audit, ITetc.) with a good quantum of banking experience. Further the platoon had members from colorful ethnicities( Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechetc.) Team size was about 20 roughly. I felt good about the profile of the platoon. The only reservation I had was actors were from two different banks and hadn't met ahead. They were getting to know each other on Day 1 of stoner Training.

Training started and within a many twinkles everyone had a wry smile. There was also small resemblant conversations in progress with full of horselaugh. I realized I didn't have the class with me and stopped the training. I wanted to know what was funny so that I could also laugh. One of the actors with a chortle asked me what's" spread"? He said system was giving 2 options" One side" and" both sides". This set me allowing a little bit and I was little bit on the guard.

I explained to the platoon that it's was a slang used in the world of storeroom. It was nothing but the periphery on the shot and ask quantities. After a many twinkles the party who raised the query said they were each apprehensive of the introductory stuff.

He said they had imaged a spread which will give articulation to their carnal solicitations. Their imagination had gone wild. I was wondering whether it had anything to do with the freezing rainfall. I had a small laugh and moved on with the session.

As session continued one of the actors from Russia made a comment. He said the technology armature doesn't convey rigor and robustness. He felt the system was designed without important study. It was a direct assault on me and the product. I asked him what made him say so. He said looking at the stoner interface I fantasize the table structure in the Data base and depicted a model. I was in admiration as what he said was factual. He could fantasize the table structure grounded on stoner Interface and system armature. I had to recover misplaced ground. I justified the table structures and design sense.

I realized this party could fantasize beyond spread. What he said was logical and making sense to me. He was making every moment of the training session miserable and delicate. Post perestroika in USSR numerous Rocket scientist took up jobs in banks as Data center drivers. This party was a Research mastermind who had worked on factual rocket wisdom systems. He was playing with our" technology" and was fleecing my eye out. I felt exhausted by Day 1 and I was dreading whether I can handle the 3 week training session by myself. It did not take important to realize it would not be possible to handle the session by myself. I had transferred request for redundant resource to my Boss on Day 1. I said need one further resource to handle the training situation.

You know how easy it's to get a resource when you ask for one. My master was persuading me that I was a super star and he'd full faith in me to handle the assignment. I had to be stern with him. The communication was loud and clear for my master-( I guess) cursing me he said he'll act on it and come back to me in 24 hours.

Day 2 started with a discussion on another Treasury product.( NDF- Non Deliverable on). Within 20 twinkles of the session there was major chaos and argument between the members of the group. Issue was the American Bank had a certain norm of passing counting entries. The FLEXCUBE system was handling the conditions as needed by the American MNC bank. The actors from the original Polish bank had refocused out certain major account excrescencies. Account entries passed by FLEXCUBE was contrary to guidelines specified by the Central Bank. The Polish bank actors were in disagreement with the American MNC Bank. This was a peculiar situation as I had nothing to do with it. The situation was exposing the in acceptability of an M&A sale. Core system metamorphosis wasn't allowed through at the functional position.

Day 2 went on analogous lines like Day 1 with the only difference being the Russians were joined in by the Czechs. The core platoon was taking out everything from me and the system. Day 2 end of day saw me worn and exhausted at 430 PM.

It was time to take feedback from the actors. Summary of the feedback was as follows

party 1- From Bulgaria) I'm not comfortable in English. I do not follow your Indian English and accentuation

party 2- From Romania) Your age is my experience in this bank. You shouldn't be asking me questions and exposing my ignorance. I allowed I'm transferred to attend the program for some rest from my routine conditioning

party 3- From Poland) At a superficial position it looks like as follows I'm going home at 730 PM these days. Post perpetration of this new software it looks like I'll be going home at 1100 PM.

party 4- From Russia) This system is a junk and we're being conned in to buying this. We need to design a new system and the training sessions are a waste of time.

My head started spinning after reading and assimilating the feedback.

Day 3- I decided to take effects in control and set the rules of the game.

1. Thou won't condemn the software any farther as it's a software bought by them

2. The deals stage i.e. love letter stage is over and marriage has taken place. Now we've to figure out how to run the family rather than condemn the software time and again

3. dissensions will bandied and a agreement arrived

4. No party will make the other feel small or little

I managed to survive through the week and as a great relief one further resource joined in with me over the weekend. I told him that we will handle the sessions every alternate day. I reasoned out so that we do not get exhausted by this unpredictable and super brilliant group.

Day 6 of the training session my coworker handled the session. He was also given a" fair" treatment by the group. I was there to back him up and read the rules of the game agreed on Day 3 to the actors. I suppose, I appertained to the rules of the game at least 4- 5 times. The actors started getting friendly with me as time progressed. Stockholm pattern had set in I guess.

It was time for feedback again on the evening of Day 6

One of the lady party was floundering to bespeak a sale in the system. I took the redundant action and donated to help her. You know after all she was a miss in torture and I was the idol staying to save her. - When I sat down next to her and told her I would be showing her how to bespeak a Forex deal, she soughed with relief." I am so glad you are tutoring me rather of him."

Surprised, I said that my coworker was far more educated than I was.

" Yes," she said," but I feel much more comfortable with you. I get nervous around smart people."

This epitomized for me how actors felt about my training though she was subtle. I was happy this was in private and only for my cognizance.

Training concluded after 3 weeks. It was time for me to transition the design to my coworker and return back to Bangalore, India.

I've forged a lifelong cooperation with this awful bunch of actors. They had tutored me storeroom products and technology in the space of 15 days. I also had tutored FLEXCUBE software to them. The only parallel I could draw was is US Navy SEAL training. I had been wondering for a long time though who trained whom. I recollect those days when I admit happy New Year emails from these actors.