BUSINESS MUSINGS by desh

MOVED TO MOVABLE TYPE

2005-02-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

GUYS: PLEASE NOTE.. I HAVE MOVED MY BLOG TO MOVABLE TYPE PLATFORM .. and the NEW ADDRESS IS DESHKAPOOR.ORG SO PLEASE COME THERE.. DESHKAPOOR.ORG

- spirituality: Identification and fear

2005-02-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

Its a fear that most of us have.. the fear of being alone.. without any support.. its so easy to categorize ourselves and just follow the crowd. To identify ourselves with a group or leader we do not need to invent or discover the truth for ourselves! To categorize or identify ourselves we must "FIT-IN" .. which means this will be a process of taking on and discarding certain values, thoughts and believes that may or may not be valid. This fitting in process leads us to "limit" ourselves and also apply restrictions to the freedom of our thought.. and our ability to question.. or we do not belong. How can limiting that leads to loss of freedom bring in change? How can you understand the free and the limitless without freedom of thought. That is why organized religion is the surest way to lose the perspective of truth.. for truth of the organized religion is doctored.. dictated.. it is SOMEONE's TRUTH.. not one you EXPERIENCED! If you did not experience.. then does it remain "TRUTH" at all? It is at best a conjecture.. a belief.... not even a conviction!

- laws of success #1

2005-02-14T22:45:00.000-08:00

Either you put a cost to your own failure.. or the failure does that for you.. when you do it.. you do that at YOUR TERMS.. and at the TIME OF YOUR CALLING! Think up ways for your failures and find ways to avoid those pitfalls.. think ahead... and plan well!

Pak will be a failed state by 2015: CIA :(courtesy: HindustanTimes.com)

2005-02-14T07:47:00.000-08:00

Pak is for Muslims.. which one? Since a long time, I have heard that Pakistan was created for Muslims. However, I have always wondered.. which Muslim? Sunnis? Shias? Ahmediyas? Aga Khanis? or just Punjabi Sunnis?! If anyone was honest, the answer would invariably be the last one! The very basis of its formation was and still is flawed: that of Two-Nation Theory. This theory is predicated on one assumption that Muslims cannot live in a country where someone else is ruling.. the reason? because the DIN (that is religious duty) and the DUNIYAVI (the worldly duty) of a Muslim needs to coincide.. so if someone else is ruling a country then the DUNIYAVI will be in some sort of disorientation with the DIN. Dichotomy of DIN and DUNIYAVI That on a discourse level in a Mosque is fine.. but hidden in that belief is a curse of exclusivity.. of an inherent conviction that Muslims CANNOT coexist with ANY other community.. for if they rule.. then the DUNIYAVI element will be so strictly tailored to Shariat that others will have little or no freedom of thought or action.. and if they do not rule the country.. they will be always at loggerheads with the authorities. I am not so sure if any spiritually oriented discourse would endorse this. So I personally believe that either the Mullahs have interpreted the edicts incorrectly or just tailored them over the years. Because what you see around the world in most societies where Muslims are in any numbers are the effects of that dichotomy.. between DIN and DUNIYAVI. In that, the basic interpretation that is, I am convinced, lies the answer to stop the fall of Islamic societies and its populace and the friction with other cultures. Pak will be a failed state by 2015: CIA : HindustanTimes.com: "Pakistan will be a 'failed' state by 2015, as it would be affected by civil war, complete Talibanisation and struggle for control of its nuclear weapons, premier US intelligence agencies have said in an assessment report. Forecasting a 'Yugoslavia-like fate' for Pakistan, the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a jointly prepared Global Futures Assessment Report have said 'by year 2015 Pakistan would be a failed state, ripe with civil war, bloodshed, inter-provincial rivalries and a struggle for control of its nuclear weapons and complete Talibanisation'. 'Pakistan will not recover easily from decades of political and economic mismanagement, divisive policies, lawlessness, corruption and ethnic friction,' said the report quoted by former Pakistan High Commissioner to United Kingdom Wajid Shamsul Hasan in an article in the 'South Asia Tribune'. Titled 'Will Pakistan Army invade Balochistan as per the NIC-CIA Plan', the former senior diplomat said, 'In the context of Balochistan, one would like to refer to the 2015 NIC report. It forecast a Yugoslavia-like fate for Pakistan. 'The military operation that has been put in motion there would further distance the Baloch people from rest of the country. That perhaps is the (NIC-CIA) Plan,' Hasan said."

- Indian history: 'Netaji is alive and Nehru knows it'

2005-02-14T06:47:00.000-08:00

read the article below as well as the investigations done by the Hindustan Times staff.. and you get a surreal feeling that something was not quite right with all this! At more than one place and by more than one people in this investigation, it has been said: that if the news of Subhash Bose being alive came out or he came out of his hiding.. India would have burnt and relationships with some prominent countries would have gone sour! Something that started with Gandhi's Hitler-like undemocratic and self promoting resistance of Bose.. ended in a quiet and unsung death of a hero... and I believe in which some of his friends and foes were equally complicit! 'Netaji is alive and Nehru knows it' - Sify.com: "By Udayan Namboodiri in New Delhi Monday, 14 February , 2005, 09:17 'Subhash is alive and Jawaharlal knows it'. It was with these famous words in late 1947 that Sarat Chandra Bose, the elder brother of Netaji, broke a two-year silence over the 'death' of the famous leader. Sarat, a towering leader himself, had spent the preceding months retracing Netaji's footsteps. He had visited the places he had stayed in, interviewed his friends as well as foes and among the people he met were intelligence officials of the Japanese, American and British armies. Almost all of them told him that Netaji had not died in the August 18, 1945 air crash at Formosa's Taihoku Airport. He lived with this conviction till his death in 1950. Nehru did not dare oppose Sarat and, perhaps out of deference, did not once reiterate his statement till 1952, when in the Lok Sabha, he declared that the Government of India believed Netaji had died in that accident. Yet, the first Indian Prime Minister buckled under public pressure to institute a committee under Shah Nawaz Khan in 1956 with the specific term of reference to inquire whether Netaji was still alive (he would have been 59 had he been around then)."

- career:The Six Cardinal Rules of Resume Writing - CFO.com

2005-02-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

Good resume writing is one thing that I always emphasize on! You shouldn't write inaccurate stuff but you should be very focused on what you write. Just because you did something that yo are very proud of .. or spent a lot of time on does NOT mean that it should find a place in your resume even if it has NO relation to the job on hand! I have a cardinal rule of my own: Memoires are for your personal diaries.. Resume are for getting jobs.. PERIOD! So before you start writing all your exploits.. make sure they are related to the job you are applying. On the other hand, do NOT forget to include things that can make a lot of impact on the interviewers.. things that you thought was small value in your career hitherto... it may have a lot of value in the eyes of the interviewers! The Six Cardinal Rules of Resume Writing - CFO.com: "Fred Runyan didn't want to be left holding the bag when the Northern California-based management consulting firm he worked for completed a pending merger. After 10 years with the firm, the senior consultant knew there would be big staffing changes ahead, and decided to explore opportunities elsewhere. He needed a resume, though, so he shuffled through his desk to find the one he'd used to land his current job. He thought a few paragraphs about his decade-worth of consulting assignments would update it sufficiently, so he jotted them down. Next, he dug up a resume he'd received six years ago that had an attractive format. He handed the revisions and original copy to his secretary and asked her to make the finished version look like the sample. In an hour, his new resume was done and he felt ready to interview. Six months later, Mr. Runyan was still waiting for an invitation to interview. He'd received a few phone calls from employers, but nothing more. Discouraged and confused, he didn't know why the response to his mailings was so poor. He had worked for good companies, held responsible management positions and delivered strong results. Couldn't prospective employers see that when they reviewed his resume? Apparently not. By not thoughtfully redrafting his document, Mr. Runyan failed to address key issues of resume-writing, according to resume writers and career coaches nationwide. To ensure your resume makes the best possible impression, it's essential to meet six challenges regarding its presentation, format and content. These challenges and resume writers' advice on solving them follow"

- career: Shortcut to CFO - CFO Careers

2005-02-13T05:59:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting article with respect to career advancement for finance professionals! There are some companies that really nurture the managers and the leaders in them.. its good to know which ones they are as you grow on. courtesy: CFO.com Shortcut to CFO - CFO Careers - CFO.com Stints at proving grounds like Dell, PepsiCo, and Motorola help managers speed their rise to top finance jobs at other companies. Lisa Yoon, CFO.com February 11, 2005 In recent weeks, former finance employees of Dell Inc. seem to have been busy conquering the world. Robert Davis, who was vice president of corporate finance and chief accounting officer at the computer maker, was named chief financial officer of Computer Associates. Former Dell CFO Tom Meredith was named to the board of Motorola Inc. And in January, Lloyd Sorenson joined Dallas-based Vought Aircraft Inc. as CFO. It’s Sorenson’s first CFO position. At Dell, Sorenson had been controller of the corporate business group. Though the jump from divisional controller to finance chief may seem sizable, Sorenson maintains that he’s well prepared for the top finance job—largely because of his experience with Dell, where he worked under Meredith. At Dell, says Sorenson, nurturing talent was a way of life. “They really had a penchant for developing people.” ..... Academy companies .... Their names are familiar: General Electric Co., PepsiCo, Motorola Inc., and Honeywell Inc. are a few. The difference is that while Dell is known for its business success, academy companies are known for developing leaders, recruiters say.

- misc: After 20 years of silence, brain-damaged woman begins talking

2005-02-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

Triumph of human spirit! Amazing story of faith and recovery! My heart goes out to the parents who waited for two decades to listen to their daughter! and best wishes.. it doesnt happen often to people! USATODAY.com - After 20 years of silence, brain-damaged woman begins talking HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — For 20 years, Sarah Scantlin has been mostly oblivious to the world around her — the victim of a drunken driver who struck her down as she walked to her car. Today, after a remarkable recovery, she can talk again. Scantlin's father knows she will never fully recover, but her newfound ability to speak and her returning memories have given him his daughter back. For years, she could only blink her eyes — one blink for "no," two blinks for "yes" — to respond to questions that no one knew for sure she understood. "I am astonished how primal communication is. It is a key element of humanity," Jim Scantlin said, blinking back tears. Sarah Scantlin was an 18-year-old college freshman on Sept. 22, 1984, when she was hit by a drunk driver as she walked to her car after celebrating with friends at a teen club. That week, she had been hired at an upscale clothing store and won a spot on the drill team at Hutchinson Community College. After two decades of silence, she began talking last month. Doctors are not sure why. On Saturday, Scantlin's parents hosted an open house at her nursing home to introduce her to friends, family members and reporters. A week ago, her parents got a call from Jennifer Trammell, a licensed nurse at the Golden Plains Health Care Center. She asked Betsy Scantlin if she was sitting down, told her someone wanted to talk to her and switched the phone to speaker mode: "Hi, Mom." "Sarah, is that you?" her mother asked. "Yes," came the throaty reply. "How are you doing?" "Fine." "Do you need anything," her mother asked her later. "More makeup." "Did she just say more makeup?" the mother asked the nurse. Scantlin still suffers constantly from the effects of the accident. She habitually crosses her arms across her chest, her fists clenched under her chin. Her legs constantly spasm and thrash. Her right foot is so twisted it is almost reversed. Her neck muscles are so constricted she cannot swallow to eat. The driver who struck Scantlin served six months in jail for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident. Scantlin started talking in mid-January but asked staff members not to tell her parents until Valentine's Day to surprise them, Trammell said. But last week she could not wait any longer to talk to them. "I didn't think it would ever happen, it had been so long," Betsy Scantlin said. Scantlin's doctor, Bradley Scheel, said physicians are not sure why she suddenly began talking but believe critical pathways in the brain may have regenerated. "It is extremely unusual to see something like this happen," Scheel said. The breakthrough came when the nursing home's activity director, Pat Rincon, was working with Scantlin and a small group of other patients, trying to get them to speak. Rincon had her back to Scantlin while she worked with another resident. She had just gotten that resident to reply "OK," when she suddenly heard Sarah behind her also repeat the words: "OK. OK." Staff members brought in a speech therapist and intensified their work with Sarah. They did not want to get her parents' hopes up until they were sure Sarah would not relapse, Trammell said. On Saturday, Scantlin seemed at times overwhelmed by the attention. Dressed in a blue warm-up suit, she spoke little, mostly answering questions in a single word. Is she happy she can talk? "Yeah," she replied. What does she tell her parents when they leave? "I love you," she said. Family members say Scantlin's understanding of the outside world comes mostly from news and soap operas that played on the television in her room. On Saturday, her brother asked whether she knew what a CD was. Sarah said she did, and she knew it had music on it. But when he asked her how old she was, Sarah guessed she was 22. When her brother gently told her she was 38 years old now, she just stared silently back at him. The nurses say she thinks it is still the 1980s. Her father, Jim Scantlin, understands that Sarah will probably never leave the health care center, but he is grateful for her improvement. "This place is her home ... They have given me my daughter back," he said.

- business: MAIL REBATES - Fraud on customers and the offenders

2005-02-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

The Mail rebates by various companies are a big fraud! I have seen it happen to me so many times.. the worst culprit is D-LINK.... BY FAR!!! Never ever got anything from them EVER!! best buy and amazon.. however are angels in this field. here is post and reactions on the Bensbargains entry by people on a leather Chair.. from OFFICEDEPOT .. another culprit! I need to start a list of offenders very soon .. if I get some responses!

- business: Disney chairman responds to critics - Feb. 11, 2005

2005-02-11T12:57:00.000-08:00

When I was in India, I had always felt that the Family corporates were a thing of the past.. because the guy who started all .. .would eventually have his own son rule next. There was no room for new professional people ruling the company. But the way the succession drama is being played over and over at these top companies in US.. it puzzles me. For good or for worse.. at least the family paternal leader HAD a SOLID motivation to GROOM his successor.. these "professional" leaders have failed the shareholders repeatedly with amazing non-chalance!! I mean how do you go about "looking" for a CEO "within" the company.. if he/she is there.. you PRETTY DAMN WELL KNOW IT! Or the board members have been playing pool while the company was sliding down the tube! What happens to succession is not only a statement on the incumbent CEO but also on the Board members! After all board members of one company are CEOs of another! Like Einstein said: You have to be at a higher level of intellect to solve a problem than what you were when you created it in the first place! You can't just get the smarts because you sit in a board room chair... any more than you have when you sit in your corner office during the day! Disney chairman responds to critics - Feb. 11, 2005: "NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Walt Disney Co. chairman George Mitchell said Friday that the board is following through on its pledge to interview both internal and external candidates for the CEO position. The remarks, made at Disney's annual shareholder meeting Friday morning, refute recent charges that Disney President Robert Iger is the sole candidate for the top job. Earlier this week, longtime critics Roy Disney, nephew of founder Walt Disney, and Stanley Gold said they would withhold their votes on a new Disney board due to reports that directors have yet to interview any outsiders for the job."

- misc: If you can't beat.. join 'em

2005-02-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

I have a theory.... if you are as fanatic as your enemy.. slowly you become like him or her. Look at what Bal Thackeray and his chums are always upto.. well when i first saw this article .. I thought it was about Saudi Arabia or thereabouts. Well this is near the US President's hideout! By the time the term of this president ends.. who knows .. we might have the Pope staying there part-time! :-) What people feel when they see someone looking sexy has been a favorite debating topic of the Taliban and now the Republicans.. Same Difference! Its a classic conflict of ONE'S EYES vs OTHER's TURNOUT.. whether its a lady's feet sticking out of the burkha or thong sticking out of the jeans... both should be penalised because nice and Godly people have trouble controlling their "guns".. In country where people used to be fiercely sticky about their freedom .. in that heaven of freedom they are now having the state control their underwears! Pay $50 for showing off thongs- The Times of India: "WASHINGTON: Virginia is likely to make a legislation to penalise both men and women who fail to put their pants at the right place. The fine to be imposed would be 50 dollars. The need for the law-in-the-making arose after witnessing the latest fashion trends whereby people, of both the sexes, wear their pants too low exposing boxer shorts or sexy thong strings in a 'lewd or indecent manner', the Daily Times reported on Friday while quoting an agency report. "

- business: South Africa may hit India's BPO biz : HindustanTimes.com

2005-02-11T07:57:00.000-08:00

I do believe that South Africa is a credible threat..it has a lot of things going for it! A western educated population speaking English and good work culture as well as good middle class. But all the analysts miss one main thing: India is good at BPO NOT.. NOT because of its LOW COST.. but this low cost is BECAUSE of the BIG supply.. its as if.. people just wanna forget economics and jump to acocunting principles to get an answer! Not done. Supply and Demand rules the basics! All else is just but a result! South Africa may hit India's BPO biz : HindustanTimes.com: "An initiative supported by the national and provincial governments in South Africa to lure call centres of multinationals to this coastal city could impact on India's huge role in this field. Marc Spendlove, marketing director of one of the largest call centre companies in Cape Town, The Dialogue Group, said firms were showing a keen interest in the fast developing call centre industry in South Africa. Spendlove said one of the main reasons that could see South Africa getting an edge over India was the stability of the communication network in South Africa. He said India sometimes had communication breakdowns that left multinationals with a concern over downtime."

- business: Google Maps

2005-02-11T02:40:00.000-08:00

Google jumps into the map arena.. this is a great service from google - still in the beta stage though... THUMBS UP Google Maps

- business: Google Search Features

2005-02-11T01:14:00.000-08:00

great find today.. worth a look! didnt know google search could do sooo many things! Google Help : Search Features In addition to providing easy access to more than 8 billion web pages, Google has many special features to help you to find exactly what you're looking for. Click the title of a specific feature to learn more about it. • Cached Links View a snapshot of each page as it looked when we indexed it. • Calculator Use Google to evaluate mathematical expressions. • Definitions Use Google to get glossary definitions gathered from various online sources. • File Types Search for non-HTML file formats including PDF documents and others. • Froogle To find a product for sale online, use Froogle - Google's product search service. • I'm Feeling Lucky Bypass our results and go to the first web page returned for your query. • Local Search - New! Search for local businesses and services in the U.S. and Canada. • News Headlines Enhances your search results with the latest related news stories. • PhoneBook Look up U.S. street address and phone number information. • Search By Number Use Google to access package tracking information, US patents, and a variety of online databases. • Similar Pages Display pages that are related to a particular result. • Site Search Restrict your search to a specific site. • Spell Checker Offers alternative spelling for queries. • Stock Quotes Use Google to get stock and mutual fund information. • Street Maps Use Google to find U.S. street maps. • Travel Information Check the status of an airline flight in the U.S. or view airport delays and weather conditions. • Web Page Translation Provides English speakers access to a variety of non-English web pages. • Who Links To You? Find pages that point to a specific URL.

- business: Networking tips

2005-02-11T00:57:00.000-08:00

Interesting article I got in a newsletter.. worth a read! NETWORKING: A "HOW-TO" Leaving Messages that Bring Responses By Bob Olman I've received numerous inquiries regarding whether or not to leave a message when networking. This is not a minor issue to be responded to in an off-hand or incomplete manner. As one reader correctly pointed out, more than half of your calls may end up with a secretary or voicemail prompt. Thus, I'll devote this article to a complete and thorough discussion — or, as my old philosophy professor might say (when he wasn't peaking from whatever hit of LSD he ingested that morning) - provide a complete argument. Each scenario may require a custom message: these should be prepared in advance. Don't fret — there are only a few scenarios to prepare for, and all others are merely derivatives or combinations of these scenarios. You can't network if you can't connect to the target. In light of this fact, I'm going to have to agree with Machiavelli on this one: "the end justifies the means!" Leaving a Message with the Secretary You should leave a message with the secretary in any of the following scenarios:

You're already engaged in an on-going dialogue with the target.

You've been asked by the target to be in contact.

You're related to the target.

Be sure to tell the secretary you are ALREADY in a dialogue with his or her boss. In this case, use any of the following: "I am returning her call" "This is a follow-up to an earlier discussion" "He asked me to get back to him"…or the like. "She is expecting my call." The key is to let the gatekeeper/secretary know that you are not making a cold-call. By doing this, you can avoid the dreaded "May I tell her what this call is about" scenario, where you blab about looking for a job and the message is delegated to the round file with all the vendors and bucket-shop broker calls. Derivatives of the Above Referrals If someone had referred you to the target and you have permission to mention that name, leave the message that you were "referred by so-and-so" and "the nature of the call (if the secretary asks) is confidential". Make sure you say the referral source name slowly and SPELL IT, or it may not even be noted on the message. Follow-up with an email This is a two-step correspondence workaround that I use often. First, get the target's email address and send him or her an email. Then call and leave a message saying, "I am following up on earlier correspondence between us and, (again, if the gatekeeper asks), the nature of the call is confidential." Unfortunately, getting the target's email address is not always that simple. Of course you can simply ask for it, but 9 times out of 10 the secretary won't give it out. In this case, try the following: "I'm trying to send an email but it's bouncing back - can you give it to me again?" Hehe, it works! If none of the above situations or their derivatives apply to you, avoid leaving a message with the secretary. Mostly, it will not be responded to and you are limited to how quickly you can call back, which is typically 2 days. By the third message you've become an amusement, rather than a business-related call requiring a response. Chumming up to secretaries is nice, but it won't get your call through to the target (after all, they generally like their paycheck more than they like you!). Leaving a Message on Voicemail When the secretary asks to take a message, just ask to be transferred to voicemail. Most often, they'll oblige. Leave your message on voicemail and you can call back again in 2 days with the "correspondence" work-around mentioned earlier. The benefit to this is that you are mostly guaranteed the target will receive your message. Here goes: Don't wing it. The first 10–15 seconds of your message determines whether or not the target hits delete immediately or listens to the message. You MUST give him a reason to listen to the whole thing. Prepare your message but deliver it naturally. End the message with a call to action. Smile. It DOES come across. Remember, less is more. Brevity and clarity are key. Long-winded messages won't do you any good, because they are quickly deleted. Here is a suggested outline (by the way, this is great for a cover letter in email too):

Name. Your name, title, department and company name (or previous company)
Purpose of the call. I like: "The reason I'm calling is I am looking for a stronger opportunity than 'current company' is providing me." (5 seconds gone)
The Sell. (Here we go with the good stuff.) State your greatest accomplishments and your benefit to this company. Both are described in terms of how you made the employer money, how you saved the employer money and/or how you increased workflow or added new capabilities. Do NOT read him your resume!
History. Companies and dates of employment, just go back 5 years or 3 companies
Education. Enough said.
Call Soon! Create a sense of urgency. "I'm talking to (name 1–2 top competitor companies) and wanted to see if there was a reason for us to meet."
Follow-up. Call to action or notice of follow-up. For example: "Please give me a call (state your number SLOWLY) otherwise I will give you a call back on Wednesday."

Here's a sample: Hi Bill, this is Bob Olman, President of Alpha Search Advisory Partners. I am calling to explore career opportunities with (his employer). While at Alpha Search, I initiated and led the development of a new consulting practice, which hit break-even within the first 4 months and netted $8mm then $12mm for the past two years respectively. I can build and manage an advisory service for you which will offer a new platform of services to increase revenue rapidly and add to the stickiness of your client base. Prior to 3 years with Alpha Search, I was VP of Marketing for CMA Services for 2 years (state what the company did if not immediately recognizable), a marketing company targeting traditional asset management. And before that 5 years with Ernst & Young Advisory Services. I have an MBA from SUNY Binghamton and an undergraduate degree from Cornell. I am in talks with Capital Market Risk Advisors and Merrill Prime Brokerage, and wanted to see if there was a reason for us to talk as well. Please give me a call with any questions and, otherwise, I'll follow-up Tuesday. Thank you. Rules of Professionalism Do not call back more often than every other day. Be upbeat and enthusiastic when speaking. Don't take it personally. And there you go, folks! Getting a job is the end goal, so make sure each step you take to get there counts. Leaving a message sounds simple enough, but it must be thoughtfully prepared beforehand in order to warrant a response. Adequate preparation (and your corresponsdingly cool tone) can make all the difference in getting a call back. After all, if you can't get in front of the right people, you'll never get the job!

- business: The Inside Story of Carly's Ouster

2005-02-10T23:24:00.000-08:00

incredible story!! worth a read on the machinations of HP's inner doings! The Inside Story of Carly's Ouster: The blow by blow of how the board lost faith in HP's all-star CEO and wound up in a Chicago hotel to make its ultimate decision By the end of 2004, the pressure in Hewlett-Packard's corner office was almost unbearable. With Chief Executive Carleton S. Fiorina's efforts to fix the $80 billion computing colossus stalled and tensions building with the board, one of high tech's most powerful executives began mulling an exit plan, BusinessWeek has learned. Around the holidays, Fiorina held separate meetings with at least four high-profile chief executives to glean advice on making a "graceful exit" from HP (HPQ ), according to industry sources. These industry luminaries, approached by Fiorina at yearend business conferences, included Cisco (CSCO ) Chief Executive John T. Chambers and Intel (INTC ) President Paul S. Otellini. During the conversations, Fiorina told the CEOs she was feeling some pressure from HP's board and inquired about face-saving ways to leave the company should she decide it was in the best interest of shareholders, according to the sources. Fiorina, Chambers, and Otellini didn't return requests for comment. OVER AND OUT. It was a decision she didn't get a chance to make. On the evening of Sunday, Feb. 6, HP's board hunkered down with Fiorina in an emergency meeting held at Chicago's O'Hare Hyatt Hotel. As a light rain drizzled outside, the directors stewed over their star CEO's failure to execute her ambitious plan for the company. In addition, directors were concerned about the "board's inability to work constructively with [Fiorina]," according to an HP insider. The next day, they asked Fiorina to step down. And on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 5 a.m. Pacific time, HP stunned the world, announcing Fiorina's dismissal, ending her five-and-a-half year stint atop one of the legends of Silicon Valley. Despite the surprise announcement, the board's concerns about its chief had been mounting for nearly a year. Sure, she had dazzled directors and many investors with her passionate work in pushing through the controversial merger with Compaq Computer in 2002. And the immediate integration of the two companies bested expectations, silencing even her fiercest critics. But by late 2003, investors began shifting their focus from the Compaq deal to HP's ebbing position against key competitors IBM and Dell. They bored in on the ragged financial performance that led to the swooning stock price. "[Fiorina's] good with marketing. She's a good speaker for the company," says a former HP executive. "But this is a company that doesn't need a statesman. It needs a hands-on operations person." GROWING DOUBTS. The tide really began turning against Fiorina following HP's massive profit shortfall in the third quarter of last year. That marked HP's second miss in five quarters and further damaged the company's credibility on Wall Street -- a major issue, since HP's stock has long traded at multiples well below those of its competitors. Although Fiorina fired three top sales executives for the miss, the board's doubts about its CEO grew. At the same time, the board's proddings of Fiorina to bolster HP's operations talent went largely unheeded. As HP struggled to nail down its operations, some directors were chagrined that Fiorina didn't move more quickly to strengthen HP's position against Dell and IBM. For instance, although HP has gradually built up its direct-sales efforts to better compete with ultra-efficient Dell, some directors felt the company wasn't moving fast enough, according to the HP insider. In addition, HP balked at a major acquisition to bolster its money-losing software business. In 2004, HP had considered acquiring Veritas Software but didn't move quickly enough, according to current and former HP execs. In December, Symantec (SYMC) gobbled up the profitable software company -- leaving some HP directors unhappy. "Things needed to make us more competitive in certain segments weren't being done," says the insider. HEAVY BLOW. By November of 2004, HP's directors began holding periodic conference calls -- without Fiorina -- to discuss their CEO's performance. And by the time of the board's January meeting in San Francisco, it enlisted three directors to meet with Fiorina to discuss its concerns with her performance. The trio produced a document indicating their concerns represented the consensus of the entire board. The ensuing board meeting, which was supposed to be an annual strategy review, became focused on the performance of Fiorina and HP. And during the meeting, directors pushed forward a plan to distribute some of Fiorina's operating responsibilities to her key lieutenants. Sources familiar with the reorganization plans say they're on hold because of the management shakeup. It was a heavy blow to Fiorina's credibility as the company's leader. Just weeks later, she was out. It had become increasingly clear that HP's need for a nuts-and-bolts operations whiz far outweighed the benefits of a high-profile CEO. Elgin is a correspondent in BusinessWeek's Silicon Valley bureau

- business: good thinking.. but needs commitment

2005-02-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

This was one area where Nehru gave India the most! A scientific base that we are still harnessing.. India further needs more research facilities in Biotech and Nanotech.. and prepare minds in these areas for the future. siliconindia.com: "NEW DELHI: The Indian Biotech sector is eyeing 10 percent of the global market share within the next five years from the current 2 percent, Dr. M.K. Bhan, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology today said. He said the industry research showed the sector could employ at least a million skilled people by 2010 and generate annual revenues of $5 billion from the present annual revenue of $705mn. 'The government too is keen to put in money into the sector but also encourage competition,' Bhan said adding the government is planning to start biotechnology research institutes on the lines of the IITs and 30 new biotech parks."

- misc: House Swaps - interesting vacationing alternative

2005-02-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

These days people exchange homes.. so they can vacation in some place while they can live in each others' houses.. and not spend anything on hotel charges! This requires some degree or rigor and investigation to get the right people and place.. but it may be worth it. You could even exchange each other's cars ..or take care of pets etc. Some useful sites to go look: Home Exchange Home Link Intervac niche ones: Teacher Home Swap Apartment Exchange try your luck!

- Finance: Bush's New Private Social Security System

2005-02-10T10:43:00.001-08:00

I was curious about the new Social Security system that Bush is proposing.. today I read this article in the Time magazine. Here are some of the major points: percent age contribution under current system = 6.2% Bush's plan : percent wage contribution to Private account = 4%

So basically only 2.2% of the money will go into the Traditional SSA. The Private Investment Account money is invested in a limited number of Government selected funds. The account cannot be spent or borrowed against until retirement.
It is also required that a certain portion is committed to the an annuity from that Private Investment Account (PIA). The Annuity commitment hopefully will be high enough such that the Monthly proceeds from the PIA + Traditional SSA check (much reduced) > poverty level
Any amount left over in the PIA could be used according to your wishes: take out lump sum or over a period or added to the annuity or invested in the securities.
If the PIA earned CAGR of 3% (after inflation) on real terms... you would get about the same income as from the normal SS check.
Initially the amount would be limited to $1000 but then would increase by $100/year until it reaches 4% of your income.
Investment choices could be: a Large-cap stock fund; a small cap stock fund; an international stock fund; a corporate bond fund; and a Treasury bond fund. Govt. may also throw in a life-cyle fund.
yes, you can leave the remaining money for your kids as inheritance

Investment eligibles: people born - 1950-1965: could start investing in 2009 1965-1978: 2010 >1978: 2011. Those 55 years and older will continue to be covered by the traditional SS system. (Source: Time Magazine: Feb 14, 2005)

- business: candidates for the TOP Job at HP

2005-02-10T10:43:00.000-08:00

These are some of the names that Wall Street Journal dished out today: Incumbent CEOs ranks Anne Mulcahy: Xerox Corp's Chairwoman and CEO Edward J. Zander: Motorola Chairman and CEO Michael Capellas: MCI Inc. President & CEO MOST LIKELY Anne is not entertaining new opps; Zander took over at the top of Motorola in Jan 2004 and doesnt intend on leaving so soon. That leaves Capellas.. he may be out of job soon with the Qwest buyout of MCI! Insiders ranks Vyomesh "VJ" Joshi: head of HP's Printing and PC division MOST LIKELY Ann Livermore: head of HPs Services and Enterprise Computing Long Shots ranks Klaus Kleinfeld: took over at the top of Siemens Larry Bossidy: Former CEO of Honeywell International Inc. = may not have the drive anymore. John Joyce and Doug Elix: Senior Executives at IBM. Joyce runs the Global Services Business and Elix handles the world wide sales and distribution. MOST LIKELY My vote will go for the IBM's John Joyce in the suggestions above. HP is currently caught between Dell and IBM.. it needs to decide what it wants to do when it becomes more intelligent! To match IBM it needs to get a BearingPoint/CGEY and a Veritas under its wings to seriously become a threat to IBM. As IBM is discovering.. world is moving more towards services away from hardware... and the latter will sell piggybacking on the former. Time for a rethink of strategies. Btw, here is some details on HP's overall product mix: Personal Systems: Revenue ($24.62 bn) percent share in Revenues (30.4%) Technology Solutions: Revenue ($29.85 bn) percent share in Revenues (36.9%) Image/printing: Revenue ($24.20 bn) percent share in Revenues (29.9%) Other: Revenue ($2.34bn) percent share in Revenues (2.9%)

Printing business is the most profitable.
Services business trails IBM's like hell
Networking Business - not profitable enough
PC division: borderline of black and red.. and losing badly to Dell.

- lists #4: Life Strategies - Philip C McGraw

2005-02-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

This is the list of strategies that Phil details in his book.. Go buy the actual book for more details. but this list is handy to keep by yourself: Strategies 1. get real 2. you either get it, or you dont 3. you create your own experience 4. people do what works 5. you can't change what you don't acknowledge 6. life rewards action 7. there is no reality; only perception 8. life is managed; it is not cured 9. we teach people how to treat us 10. there is power in forgiveness 11. you have to name it to clain it 12. take a guided tour of your life 13. the seven step strategy step #1: express your goal in terms of specific events or behaviors step #2: express your goal in terms of what can be measured step #3: assign a timeline to your goal step #4: choose a goal you can control step #5: plan and program a strategy that will get you to your goal step #6: define your goal in terms of steps step #7: create accountability for your progress toward your goal 14. finding your formula some quotes from the book I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific. - Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner Whatever is begun in Anger ends in shame. - Benjamin Franklin No one can make you feel inferior without your consent - Eleanor Roosevelt Its not whether you get knocked down; its whether you get up. - Vince Lombardi There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so. - William Shakespeare Well done is better than well said. - Ben Franklin The sower may mistake and sow his peas crookedly; th epeas make no mistake, but come up and show his line. - Ralph Waldo Emerson We do not deal much in facts when we are contemplating ourselves - Mark Twain

- business: Starting pay for college grads posts modest gains

2005-02-10T06:55:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting article if read along with other facts: - enrolments for Comp Science courses has decreased significantly in the last one year. - Lou Dobbs tirade against the outsourcing companies. This article below shows hope for kids.. as the comp science jobs salaries have grown. Now, just because some one knows how to operate a PC does not give him/her right to that salary.. you need to be the right person in the right place.. and often luck is nothing more than the right attitude mixed with right action! I will write more on this Luck Factor later in my posts. But here, the important thing is that enrolment candidates generally do not get their cue from such surveys tucked into one corner.. but from programs like Lou Dobbs... who loses no chance to help these kids lose hope in future of America's Comp Science industry.. and when the baby boomers begin to retire... the outsider flow.. will give a fresh fillip to Mr. Dobbs zeal.... nice way to keep a job Lou.. while you screw the future of this country!! courtesy: CNN Starting pay for college grads posts modest gains - Feb. 10, 2005: "NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - College graduates are getting a bit more for their degrees as starting salaries continue to rise. The vast majority -- 85 percent -- of disciplines reporting changes in starting salary offers for the class of 2005 reported increases, according to a preliminary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Engineering and computer science graduates saw the biggest gains overall. Civil engineering grads reported a 5.1 percent increase in their average starting salary, now at $43,159. Starting pay for computer science graduates, on average, jumped 4.9 percent to $51,042, while information science grads are reporting a 3.9 percent, to $43,741. Elsewhere, marketing graduates posted a hearty 4 percent gain in entry-level pay, to an average of $37,519. Business administration graduates earn an average of $38,357, up 2.6 percent. The NACE survey notes that many of those jobs were in sales and that the average starting pay for those jobs is $40,395. Economics/finance graduates received a very modest 0.3 percent increase. Their average pay now stands at $40,719."

- Business: Carly "FIRE"-ina and Question of Succession

2005-02-09T16:56:00.000-08:00

Everyone and his brother knows that Compaq was a lousy decision.. even then it did not need a Wharton's top professor to tell us that it was foolish.. she obviously thought "taking" a decision is a nice way to show that she "can" take a decision.. irrespective of its quality! Its like one loser married another thinking it will do wonders! NAAH! The thing that has REALLY SURPRISED ME is that there is NOBODY to succeed her!! Talk about the succession crisis in Leadership of Corporate America. Any bets on how many days .. ok .. lets be charitable.. months the new incumbent is going to survive? This month Harvard Business Review runs a main story on it..by Ram Charan.. and thats the major issue he talks about.. Succession. Carly.. to be fair was smart and aggressive.. and whatever.. but she "steadfastly" refused having a Chief Operating Officer.. and that is kind of strange. In a conglomerate like HP you need someone with the complete range of business knowledge of all its businesses.. which no single BU leader will possibly have.. so it was imperative that someone was groomed for this role. According to a research, the chances of Outsider CEOs failing is significantly higher than the Insiders... HP, now, is burdened with a losing option Hewlett-Packard Board Ousts CEO Fiorina: "Carly Fiorina's Reign at Hewlett-Packard Ends As Company's Board Forces Her Out As CEO SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Carly Fiorina's nearly six-year reign at Hewlett-Packard Co. ended Wednesday as the company's board forced her out as chief executive, disappointed by her efforts to make the technology giant whose strongest business is printers more nimble and innovative. HP shares jumped more than 6 percent." -ddk

- Business: CFO-to-go

2005-02-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

No this is not the name of your local hole-in-the-wall Chinese eating joint but the way of things to be going forward.... and Tom peters has called it right in his Brand You 50. Guys we are in the economy which will pay for individual services.. and you are as good as your last project! Excellence on an individuall basis is as important as a team level. Lifelong employment is not a guarantee.. so get ready ... to-go!! BW Online | August 20, 2001 | Order In a Takeout CFO: "It can be tough for a new company to attract venture capital these days -- and it can be even harder to find a veteran chief financial officer (CFO) with the sort of expertise to handle the detailed planning and projections that must be pulled together before the company can start calling on prospective investors. Given the no-guarantees atmosphere of today's economy, nobody can blame a seasoned CFO for being reluctant to sign on at a young company"

- Spirituality: God fearing? or God Loving?

2005-02-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

whoever is familiar with the Indian marriage "marketplace" .. go to any singles site or section in an Indian newspaper... will know that its not unusual to see ads that describe the person or at least his/her family as God-fearing! As if they somehow got the entity wrong.. they intended to talk about "Satan" .. but the slip of tongue is so Institutionalized in their personality that they go on referring to Satan as "God'. Hey what use is a "God' who is feared?? Isnt he supposed to be loved... like BY DEFINITION!. wasnt that the whole idea behind inventing this "God" guy? See thats where we just lose the perspective .. God does nothing wrong .. not right .. i mean its NOT SUPPOSED to favor ANYONE! Or it will be a CORRUPT GOD! It just interprets what is already there in the Karma - law book.. he needs to apply the same rules for everyone! isnt it? -ddk

- business: How to deal with a difficult boss ; Two Case Studies

2005-02-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

Bad Bosses last night got an email from a friend in India where she was describing her boss (lets call her Deepali) who is just plain rude! a rude and bas rude... another one! last year I had to counsel my sister (who works for an Insurance company in JV with a top US Insurer - lets call her: Amy) and my friend (Lets call him Gary) who works in the Photo department of the world's top news agency on how to deal with their bosses. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.. astute Abraham Lincoln had observed.. very true. People who are bosses have two choices: one, to make their work outcome the King.. or their Organzation. Since most of these bosses are measured on THEIR own work.. they forget about the organization. So that is a distinction that the managements involved in hiring need to address foremost. Just Difficult? or an Asshole? Before we just keep whining about the bosses.. lets parse out these "bad boys" a little. There are Difficult People and Assholes. the former just do not know how to do it right .. because they haven't yet developed (with a little practice and prodding they would) that side of their brain. The latter category however, not only have that area of the brain surgically taken out at the time of their birth.. but they don't care about it too. As in any other case, its not good to come to a preconceived notion about people.. so you need to follow the right steps to deal with "bad" bosses. ENGAGE! The first step always ought to be of ENGAGEMENT.. engage with that person more.. ask him/her.. what does he/she expect of you.. how you can best help them to do their job.. and ALWAYS ask for a feedback. A research I read about recently says that people who ask for feedback have a higher percentage probability of rising higher in ranks. Feedback does two things: one, makes you aware of what the standards in the organization are and .. second, the boss after his/her feedback cannot ding you for doing exactly what he/she expects of you! Can he? Most of the people can be easily dealt with at this step itself and you will be a happier being. TWO CASE STUDIES However, as Amy, Gary, and Deepali saw.. you may need to go further. Lets understand their situations: Amy's situation She works in the HR department of one of the offices.. and her boss - the Unit head .. was a quintessential Sales guy... who thought that women are best suited at home doing house chores.. now obviously he dates back to prehistoric times... even by Indian standards! He succesfully "coerced" a lady to leave the company . just out of frustration and now he was targeting Amy. But she was in a position that was not easy to fill by the company.. just yet at least! So he was subtle and at times would openly challenge.. in verbal form.. Amy was just frustrated. She tried her best to disengage and keep out of his sight all the time. Then we discussed her situation. I thought that few things that worked in her favor.. one, she was a solid performer and was in an area that made her ireplaceable for sometime.. and second, she worked for a multinational company that could ill-afford to have a sexual harrasment case. Now the point was .. since it was becoming verbal .. and which meant it was a contest of her word against his.. how does she tackle it? How about documenting everything in a dispassionate manner .. and sending a mail to him saying that she did not appreciate his behavior. Now he would have to reply back or acknowledge... any move and he would have committed! but how will that help she asked? well, for one thing it will gethim on defensive.. and second if this doesnt go anywhere.. then at least you have made your case and second time it happens.. there is a precedent. She did that.. and he didnt handle it well... but could not do much. Now this guy just could not control himself .. and came back again at her after a few days.. this time I asked Amy to send a mail to the Regional Head with a cc: to this guy and the HR Head in the Country HQ.. and also mention that this was tantamount to discrimination. This triggered a big ruckus.. and soon this guy was summoned to the HQ and summarily disciplined. He soon left the company! Gary's situation Gary was a top photo editor of a news agency.. and he came to US on some business. Since he was here... I asked him to come over and visit me.. he made all the plans and told his boss (an American on an assignment to India) back home.. but she got furious.. he could not take even a day off .. even if Gary paid for the stay himself and it was a weekend. Gary was to tell then that this lady - lets call her Mirela - personified the ugly American image.. vastly different from the earlier American boss who was very cordial and nice. She hated anyone in the Indian office challenging her.. and would almost force her way through everything.. her work was at best mediocre.. and she took this assignment to be a punishment.. although her agency saw it otherwise because of India's growing prominence. Now she was miffed that he was getting the exposure to the top bosses in US.. which he got to meet on his trip here.. and most of them shared his view on the handling of the Indian office. So now the question was: How to deal with her?? We discussed in detail and finally thought that the current battle was best given away.. no good fighting it now. He needs to go and engage first and talk to her about her expectations etc. But the very next day he got a nasty email to him cc: ed to the US boss about his "tardiness". He had been sick a month back and had to be hospitalized.. so could not attend to some of his work.. and she was playing with words now to put him down. he was shocked! Now, we had to change our strategy.. this was an email that he HAD to answer with a "REPLY TO ALL". His BETTER BE a DISPASSIONATE and UNEMOTIONAL email .. dispite the anger that he had in him.. and all he had to do was honestly and point-wise counter her issues. We went ove rthe reply slowly and point-wise... and soon he was ready to take the battle which was at a much higher level than he had envisaged. The email worked.. if not in getting Mirela out of that position .. but at least in reigning her.. because she had not planned on getting a rejoinder from an "Brown subordinate".. .. (any outsider working in India would note that most Indians are strangely non-confrontational!). Now she is no more there.. and Gary has gotten a great exposure in the overall Asia-Pac region as well as their World HQs and is expecting big things in future. lessons This brings us to the next step. After engagement.. you need to document everything and then Escalate the issue! Its important for you to show to the top management that there is a history.. a precedent! If you do not then this "Asshole" bull would destroy many china shops before making a mess of the whole organization!

- business: Google by the Numbers

2005-02-08T17:50:00.000-08:00

Google is an enigma that continues to surprise me and puzzle me. I sometimes cannot believe that its worth the market price it fetches. But then again the promise it has from the different stuff that its doing - like digitizing libraries and search on TV programs... that it seems the Present Value of current business may not give that valuation but what it can achieve over the next few based on the new initiatives .... like the real option value of its current actions and decisions have a value that I find hard to understand and measure! Business 2.0 :: Online Article :: Future Boy :: Google by the Numbers: "Google (GOOG) blows away so many people with its financials that it is easy to lose sight of what's really driving the business: It uses the network as a competitive weapon. This week the company reported its first $1 billion in quarterly revenue. Its net income of $204 million has shot up nearly eightfold from a year ago. And its stock, you might have heard, has more than doubled in value since its IPO last summer. First, about that $1 billion figure: It's inflated. Not illegally inflated, mind you, just confusingly. About half of it Google gets from sales of ads on its own websites, primarily Google.com. The other half comes from sales of ads that appear on its network of affiliated sites, such as AOL and the New York Times. The network ads brought in $490 million last quarter, but before Google was able to collect a dime, it had to pay $378 million to the partner websites that hosted the ads. So its true revenue for the quarter (i.e., the money that went into Google's bank account) was closer to $650 million. Not all companies measure revenue that way. If eBay (EBAY) considered the entire $10 billion in goods traded over its site last quarter to be its own revenue, that would be the equivalent of Google's counting its entire $1 billion in ad sales as revenue. Instead, eBay counts as revenue just the nearly $1 billion in fees it collected from the site's users. Google is not trying to hoodwink anyone. It feels justified in its accounting and spells everything out quite clearly in its financial statements. It also recognizes that some people don't consider what it calls 'traffic acquisition costs' (the $378 million) to be part of its revenue. But accounting differences aside, there is something very interesting going on here."

- spirituality: Rumi on Spiritual Tourism

2005-02-08T12:30:00.000-08:00

The Spiritual Tourist year before last I had gone to this congregation of the Radha Soami sect. Standing in a line .. I heard these two white gentlemen talking.. one was telling the other how last year he "tried" the transcedental meditation.. and now was here. Hmm "Spiritual Tourist" - i thought! The answer lies in us.. not outside.. the truth is very much there in Bible as it is in Gita or Guru Granth Sahib.. or words of any other master.. as this verse from a poem by Rumi suggests. It helps to validate the teachings of one master or book with others.. but just because we didnt get to understand what one Master said - sometimes its more of what the priest or pastor said the book or master says than what was actually said or meant! - does not mean that the Master got it wrong! Need Validation or a New Philosophy/technique? Let me give an example of how "validation" helped me understand an important spiritual principle and get me an answer to a question that I had been missing all this time! Gita or Ganpati Stotram? When in college, i read Bhagwad Gita .. and in that Lord Krishna tells Arjun that one can get whatever one desires from worshipping any Devi/Devta (God/Godess) but one thing that will always elude you is the Salvation. That will only be achieved when you worship me.. as in Supreme Consciousness.. not as in Krishna. Then I read another prayer called Ganpati Stotram.. which is a prayer to Ganesh. It goes on to say that if you pray to Ganesh.. the ones who want son will get a son ... those who want wealth will get wealth .. and those who want Moksha.. will get the Salvation they desire. Benefit of Validation kicks in Surely this was contradictory to Gita's message! For a long time.. I kept believing one of them to be incorrect.. Gita or Ganpati Stotram. Until i read this treatise on Gita by Swami Sachinanda.. where he explains.. Form or name is NOT important.. what is most important is what "Characteristics" you are content to associate with the object of your prayer... If you can associate the qualities and values of the Supreme COnsciousness to something.. its immaterial whether you call it Krishna, Jesus or Cockroach.. you will get Salvation. now THIS was the distinction that I had missed all these years! the Power of Intention (read Dyer's book).. not only works for the things you desire but also for Salvation purposes. Moral of the story.. Validation from different sources of what you have read can help you. Just because I believe Gita is the most profound thing written doesn't help me if I cannot understand what it says! Maybe reading Bible and understanding it can help me understand my issues with Gita more! RUMI ON SPIRITUAL WINDOW-SHOPPERS These spiritual window-shoppers, who idly ask, 'How much is that?' Oh, I'm just looking. They handle a hundred items and put them down, shadows with no capital. What is spent is love and two eyes wet with weeping. But these walk into a shop, and their whole lives pass suddenly in that moment, in that shop. Where did you go? "Nowhere." What did you have to eat? "Nothing much." Even if you don't know what you want, buy _something,_ to be part of the exchanging flow. Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah. It makes absolutely no difference what people think of you. Rumi, 'We Are Three', Mathnawi VI, 831-845

- misc: tsunami animation

2005-02-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

This is really well done animation of the Tsunami wave that spelt terror the morning after Christmas .. this last December. Animation of the Tsunami Wave

- business: HP Prints a New Chapter in Circuitry

2005-02-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

This is the first major use and breakthrough that I have seen for nanotechnology that is going to affect our lives in the near future. This is one of the those areas that has looked promising for a while but not many things coming down the public domain! HP Prints a New Chapter in Circuitry: "HP researchers say they've solved an enigma that next decade could lead the computing industry beyond the current standard of silicon chips and transistors into an era of molecular computing. The computer giant has patented a process that uses microscopic platinum nanowires to create ultratiny circuits. FINE LINES. 'Most people have been trying to reinvent the transistor. We decided to reinvent the computer,' says Stan Williams, HP senior fellow and co-author of the paper published in the Feb. 1 issue of the Journal of Applied Physics. "

- misc: finally a new beginning!

2005-02-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

yesterday, i put in my papers at my current employer of last over six years.. i joined a big consulting company in october of 1998 after working with an Indian firm.. it was just great learning.. a dream come true.. then moved on to the another larg econsulting firm as the consulting practice was grabbed by this big tech firm! The projects were great and people just amazing.. it is really tough to excel in competition to so many A type personalities! Moreover, things were changing around me.. and the quality of folks was coming down as the compensation and other practices were ot motivating folks enough.. and they were leaving in hordes and the new ones.. just didnt have the consulting rigor that we were brought up on. then this opportunity came into my lap.. a friend had talked to this recruiter long time back.. and had forgotten. Now this recruiter wanted someone to fill in the job and contacted him.. he didnt want it as he had just moved into a new one. He forwarded this guy to me.. and I got the job. Went through five different interviews.. from manager - reporting to the CFO.. but it worked well in the end. the role is going to be a challenging one.. its a manufacturing company and it has SAP with BW and some SEM portions.. and my task will be to get this useful.. help with visioning and strategizing on how to use Business Intelligence products and then get it to work. Its a high-risk role with room for a lot of learning and performing! Will keep you posted on how it all goes.. -ddk

- Moneytree Survey (PWC) VC Invesment Activity in US

2005-02-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

This is useful site for people who want to get better knowledge of the Venture Capital Industry! The Money Tree Survey: "The MoneyTree Survey is a quarterly study of venture capital investment activity in the United States. As a collaboration between PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, it is the only industry-endorsed research of its kind. The MoneyTree Survey is the definitive source of information on emerging companies that receive financing and the venture capital firms that provide it. The study is a staple of the financial community, entrepreneurs, government policymakers and the business press worldwide."

- Business: Sears in the incarnation of a homebuilder

2005-02-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

Soon Sears as US as known it will have merged in K-Mart.. another US icon.. this is a business - of building houses - that Sears was in early part of last century. Over three decades they built 100,000 homes for people and help usher in the American Dream for so many!

What is a Sears Modern Home?

From 1908–1940, Sears, Roebuck and Company sold more than 100,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program. Over that time Sears designed 447 different housing styles, from the elaborate multistory Ivanhoe, with its elegant French doors and art glass windows, to the simpler Goldenrod, which served as a quaint, three-room and no-bath cottage for summer vacationers. (An outhouse could be purchased separately for Goldenrod and similar cottage dwellers.) Customers could choose a house to suit their individual tastes and budgets. Sears was not an innovative home designer. Sears was instead a very able follower of popular home designs but with the added advantage of modifying houses and hardware according to buyer tastes. Individuals could even design their own homes and submit the blueprints to Sears, which would then ship off the appropriate precut and fitted materials, putting the home owner in full creative control. Modern Home customers had the freedom to build their own dream houses, and Sears helped realize these dreams through quality custom design and favorable financing. Designing a Sears Home The process of designing your Sears house began as soon as the Modern Homes catalog arrived at your doorstep. Over time, Modern Homes catalogs came to advertise three lines of homes, aimed for customers’ differing financial means: Honor Bilt, Standard Built, and Simplex Sectional. Honor Bilt homes were the most expensive and finest quality sold by Sears. Joists, studs, and rafters were to be spaced 14 3/8 inches apart. Attractive cypress siding and cedar shingles adorned most Honor Bilt exteriors. And, depending on the room, interiors featured clear-grade (i.e., knot-free) flooring and inside trim made from yellow pine, oak, or maple wood. Sears’s catalogs also reported that Standard Built homes were best for warmer climates, meaning they did not retain heat very well. The Simplex Sectional line, as the name implies, contained simple designs. Simplex houses were frequently only a couple of rooms and were ideal for summer cottages. While browsing the Imagebank, you may see many houses that partially or even closely resemble a house that you own or have seen. Look closely, because the floor plan may be reversed, a dormer may have been added, or the original buyer may have chosen brick instead of wood siding. Plumbing may look like it was added after construction, or storm windows may appear on the house but not in the catalog’s illustration. Important Milestones: 1911: First mortgage loan issued (typically 5–15 years at 6% interest) 1917–21: No-money-down financing offered History of Sears Modern Homes The hour has arrived. Dad gathers Mom and Sis into the carriage. He hops in the wagon with his brothers to ride off to the railroad station. The day and hour have come to greet the first shipment of your family’s brand-new house. All the lumber will be precut and arrive with instructions for your dad and uncles to assemble and build. Mom and Dad picked out No. 140 from Sears, Roebuck and Company’s catalog. It will have two bedrooms and a cobblestone foundation, plus a front porch—but no bath. They really wanted No. 155, with a screened-in front porch, built-in buffet, and inside bath (!), but $1,100 was twice as much as Dad said he could afford. In just a few days, the whole family will sleep under the roof of your custom-made Sears Modern Home. Entire homes would arrive by railroad, from precut lumber, to carved staircases, down to the nails and varnish. Families picked out their houses according to their needs, tastes, and pocketbooks. Sears provided all the materials and instructions, and for many years the financing, for homeowners to build their own houses. Sears’s Modern Homes stand today as living monuments to the fine, enduring, and solid quality of Sears craftsmanship. No official tally exists of the number of Sears mail-order houses that still survive today. It is reported that more than 100,000 houses were sold between 1908 and 1940 through Sears’s Modern Homes program. The keen interest evoked in current homebuyers, architectural historians, and enthusiasts of American culture indicate that thousands of these houses survive in varying degrees of condition and original appearance. It is difficult to appreciate just how important the Modern Homes program and others like it were to homebuyers in the first half of the twentieth century. Imagine for a moment buying a house in 1908. Cities were getting more crowded and had always been dirty breeding grounds for disease in an age before vaccines. The United States was experiencing a great economic boom, and millions of immigrants who wanted to share in this wealth and escape hardship were pouring into America’s big cities. City housing was scarce, and the strong economy raised labor costs, which sent new-home prices soaring. The growing middle class was leaving the city for the—literally—greener pastures of suburbia as trolley lines and the railroad extended lifelines for families who needed to travel to the city. Likewise, companies were building factories on distant, empty parcels of land and needed to house their workers. Stately, expensive Victorian-style homes were not options for any but the upper class of homeowner. Affordable, mail-order homes proved to be just the answer to such dilemmas.

- Today's pic: Elbow River and Falls, CA

2005-02-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

have been sharing some very heavy stuff. here is picture from Elbow river and falls in Alberta, Canada .. enjoy -ddk.

- business: Monetizing your blog's archives

2005-02-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

Now this is an interesting business concept.. the world of writing is changing with the onslaught of blogs.. as it becomes more democratised it needs a new model for bringing the word out in print. the normal books are not the only stuff that literature will be seeing action in going forward... so this is a new business model .. more of which you will see as we go on in this blog revolution: PrintMyBlog.com - Monetizing your blog's archives

- misc: $80 Billion Annual Cost of Power Interruptions, Study Estimates

2005-02-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

this is what makes this country so progressive.. an attempt to keep improving.. if US loses that much with the amount of power outages it has... I can only imagine the kind of losses that the Indian economy is having to bear due to the perennial outages.. time to do an assessment in India and shock ourselves out of our slumber a bit! $80 Billion Annual Cost of Power Interruptions, Study Estimates | Science Blog: "A study conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers Kristina Hamachi-LaCommare and Joe Eto for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution estimates that electric power outages and blackouts cost the nation about $80 billion annually. The costs of these power interruptions, which can last from just seconds to days, is a key missing element from recent discussions to modernize the grid. 'The big blackout that hit the northeast in the summer of 2003 really focused attention on the state of the electric power grid,' says Hamachi-LaCommare, who, like Eto, is a staff scientist with Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division. 'Immediately after the blackout, there were calls for investments to modernize the grid ranging from $50 and 100 billion. We wanted to add a key missing piece of information to these discussions, namely, the value these investments might bring in the form of improved reliability or fewer or shorter power interruptions.' The starting point lies in establishing a baseline on how much these interruptions cost businesses and consumers today. After reviewing the literature and finding significant gaps in previous estimates, Hamachi-LaCommare and Eto began to systematically assess and fill these gaps. The Berkeley Lab study aggregates the best available data from three sources: surveys on the value electricity customers place on uninterrupted service, information recorded by electric utilities on power interruptions, and information from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on the number, location and type of U.S. electricity customers. Based on the data available, the researchers divided power interruptions into those that last less than five minutes, and those that are longer. The longer interruptions are generally characterized by their duration (length of time of each interruption), are generally characterized by their duration (length of time of each interruption), and frequency (number of interruptions per service territory)."

- spirituality: God v/s Science - An Insane Conversation

2005-02-06T23:20:00.000-08:00

Yoga Bear: God v/s Science - An Insane Conversation Point missed its rather interesting to read the arguments of Yoga Bear on the prof-student conversation. What she misses is the following statement from the student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed. to me it was a delightful play of arguments.. while the prof started with a curious mix of deductive style with all the trappings of hypothetico-deductive argumentative substance, the student wonderfully countered him in an inductive argumentation style. Deductive Argument: an argument where the conclusion follows validly from the premises. (In other words, an argument where truth of the premises guarantees truth of the conclusion.) Example: All men are mortal Socrates is a man ______________ Socrates is mortal II. Inductive Argument: An argument where the premises point several cases of some pattern, and the conclusion states that this pattern will hold in general. (An inductive argument will not be deductively valid, because even if a pattern is found many times, that doesn’t guarantee it will always be found. Therefore, an inductive argument provides weaker, less trustworthy support for the conclusion than a deductive argument does.) Example: We have seen 1000 swans, and all of them have been white All swans are white III. Abductive (or Hypothetico-Deductive) Argument: An argument that (i) points out a certain fact, (ii) points out that if a certain hypothesis were true, we would get this fact, and so (iii) concludes that that hypothesis is indeed true. (Abductive arguments seem to make an even bigger jump than inductive arguments: inductive arguments generalize, while abductive arguments say that successful predictions ‘prove’ a theory is true. Abductive arguments are not deductively valid, because false theories can make true predictions, so true predictions do not guarantee that the theory is true.) These coins conduct electricity (fact) If these coins are made of gold (hypothesis), then they would conduct electricity (prediction). These coins are made of gold. Nice start gone astray Now, Yoga bear starts brilliantly with the argument of duality that strangely springs forth in the vedanta philosophy by the very absence of this duality and is thus an unintended state...Yoga bear then goes on to counter every point unmindful of the Duality that the student attempted to explode! Duality and its absence the use of heat to explain both existence of heat AND cold is to very intelligently explain the duality concept. Interestingly, Ramayana explains this concept nicely through the "concepts" of Ram and Ravana .. both equal in intellect but different in application.. and the subtle hint that the application of mind is ALL that is between good and bad.... (refer to Satan and God duality). Western and Eastern Scientific Temper Western Scientific pursuit differs in its very premise stage from the Eastern - at least the Vedanta type - Scientific temper. While the former started with the main argument that if .. IF .. we could "logically" prove any occurence through a "rational" manner..we have "disproved" the existence of "God". The latter on the other hand, was content to start with the premise that God does exist.. at least as a Supreme Consciousness form - and all that we see happening is but an expression of "IT"... so if I could understand the very basis of natural occurences.. I .. maybe.. could understand the Supreme Consciousness one day. While the west found science to be antithesis of God .. east looked at science as a means.. a way to IT! Little wonder that while eastern practices of every day life.. though less luxurious.. have a harmony with nature.. while the western science has brought a telling destruction of the natural world as we have known! I am still an Atheist... THANK GOD! Vedanta and indeed most of classic Hindu Philosophy, provides a route to a normal person to "become God" him or herself. for no one is any different from IT. The reason.. God by very definition - from that Great Indian Mathematician Ramanujam - is Infinite as well as Infinitesimal! So everything is in IT and IT is in everything! Hence God as a representation is a restricted entity.. for any range of thought or body will put in a limit to that "Infinity"! Hence Atheist - Yoga Bear being one "them" - are right.. there is no God.. that they themselves are no different from God! Play on Duality? huh? your take!!

- finance: Buffett warns on investment 'time bomb'

2005-02-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

Please read my last mail. I think the pressure to show good results gets better of the CFOs.. who are not afraid to make bets that artificially inflate the losses although they may not be able to confirm the reality for some time! I will be reading more on this issue and bring my thoughts here on the blog in the near future. BBC NEWS | Business | Buffett warns on investment 'time bomb': "The rapidly growing trade in derivatives poses a 'mega-catastrophic risk' for the economy and most shares are still 'too expensive', legendary investor Warren Buffett has warned. The world's second-richest man made the comments in his famous and plain-spoken 'annual letter to shareholders', excerpts of which have been published by Fortune magazine. The derivatives market has exploded in recent years, with investment banks selling billions of dollars worth of these investments to clients as a way to off-load or manage market risk. But Mr Buffett argues that such highly complex financial instruments are time bombs and 'financial weapons of mass destruction' that could harm not only their buyers and sellers, but the whole economic system."

- finance: Quarterly Derivatives Fact Sheet

2005-02-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

I am not sure why i am blogging this.. but I really liked the kind of information this site provides. this is specially important in view of the fact that a lot of companies are borrowing short term bonds .. at floating rates (mostly) and lending for higher long term rates. it seems.. from an article in the latest Forbes issue - that a lot of financial engineers in most organizations - specially financial services ones - have not even resorted to swaps of any kind to take care of their "backsides"! The idea is .. in this day and age of revolving executive doors.. i just care for my behind.. and tomorrow.. well that's too far off.. and at that time.. anyway .. the shareholders will be looking at someone else's behind. I would have screwed too much and too many.. and gotten my loot worth millions and scouted off... to an island in the Bahamas! Quarterly Derivatives Fact Sheet: "Quarterly Derivatives Fact Sheet Each quarter, based on information from the Reports of Condition and Income (call reports) filed by all banks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency prepares a Fact Sheet. That fact sheet describes what the call report information discloses about banks' derivative activities. The fact sheet is presented as at least four pages - General, Risk, High-risk Mortgage Securities and Structured Notes, and Revenue. Selecting the quarter you are interested in from the list below will take you to the General page for that quarter. From that page you may select any of the other pages, or may read the fact sheet sequentially by following the 'Next' prompts at the bottom of each page or by using the navigation icons in the Adobe Acrobat reader." -ddk

- business: Indian Tortoise and Chinese Hare

2005-02-05T05:22:00.000-08:00

these statements at the G7 meet of Finance Ministers are amazing in their imagination! .. specifically the last one.... which if believed : could see just THREE COUNTRIES having a 60% SHARE OF WORLD"S GDP! Will Indian tortoise catch up Chinese hare?: "Among the many reasons why China has outperformed India is that its working population is larger. But this will be reversed before 2030 because China will turn grey sooner: the median age of its population is around 32.4 years against 24.5 for India. 'The economy is therefore in line for a major demographic bonus owing to rising incomes and consumption, and a declining dependency ratio,' said Rajeev Malik of JP Morgan in Singapore. Indeed, in its GDP projections to 2050, Goldman Sachs expects India to overtake China in the growth race as soon as the 2011-2020 decade and to steadily widen its lead thereafter. Even so, China would still be much the bigger economy in 2050. In Goldman's scenario, it would account for 24.1 percent of world GDP versus 15.8 percent for India. Sandwiched between them would be the United States with a 20.3 percent share." -ddk

- misc: categories solution at last

2005-02-05T04:37:00.000-08:00

FINALLY! Its 2 am and i have been fighting over this now.. finally I have got the categories in place. No programming necessary! I created as many blogspot accounts as the number of categories you see. the only thing I will do is.. to include a prefix for every post to distinguish it for each category. Meanwhile.. I have all the posts to my main account forwarded to my gmail account (free and with excellent filters!). I put in a filter for every category to forward the mail to the email id that allows me to post it to that blog.. something I switched on in the Settings there. and then I hyperlinked all the blogs .. (of course with the same template as the main one!) here on the main page. voila! -ddk

- business: economic forecasting & buffett's book recos

2005-02-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

800-CEO-READ Blog: Finance and Economics Archives This page has some extremely interesting insights from top folks. Lakshan Achutan, of ECRI - and author of Beating the Business Cycle.. writes on how these guys at ECRI do the economic forecasting! One thing that comes out glaringly is that they do NOT rely on the past behavior of the economic indicators! But on the messages that the leading indicators give them about the economy..it is this collection of the leading indicators that makes the ECRI technique so proprietary. Also read the book recos from Warren Buffett himself in his Annual Reports. useful blog this one. I will quote more from this off and on. -ddk

- blog design reborn..

2005-02-04T10:54:00.000-08:00

there were couple of things that were irritating me about my blog.. the strong colors and the fact that when viewed using Firefox.. the RSS feeds didnt look right. moreover with so many RSS feeds that I had added non-challantly.. it just gave a cluttered look.. the question is: is someone at my blog to read what I say or am I going to tell him/her more about what others are saying - however accomplished or great their writings maybe! so the narcissist in me took over .. and out went all the feeds.. tom peters, atanu dey... sadly but surely :-) i will add a link to their blogs here on the left .. so I can read them as i love their stuff.. but to do that I will HAVE to go to their sites. also I created in the process the 3-column blog.. it will have its utility .. and we shall see that as we go on. also I need to add some categories.. how? good question.. blogger.com for all its greatness forgot some of the basic stuff for a blog. I have found a very elegant solution that i will test out soon.. so keep in touch.. and see it unravel. btw, in the link above for the 3-column page layout... the guys solution Posted on: 2005/1/29 0:23 had a problem.. it didnt work with my stuff?? I just didnt know why.. but i changed the specs of the two sidebars .. still the problem existed when you make your browser smaller than the max size.. so it took me a while to figure out the solution.. take the content variable out of the "content" section. now it works fine.. so guys lemme know what you think of this design? and feel free to use it! However I changed the contents column to this: /* Content ----------------------------------------------- */ #main { margin-left: 220px; margin-right:199px; voice-family: "\"}\""; voice-family: inherit; text-align: left; padding:5px; margin-left: 250px; margin-right:250px; } #sidebar1 { position: absolute; text-align: left; left:20px; top:220px; width:200px; } #sidebar { position: absolute; text-align: left; right:10px; top:220px; width:201px; } *****************

- no wonder the toads proliferate in the merger market

2005-02-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

the statement below is just amazing.. and this article... no wonder AOL finds Time Warner a kosher target... and Sears joins K-mart .. if this is how it works in the most sophisticated financial market.. wonder how it will be elsewhere :D read the previous post on this .. specially Buffett's wisdom ************** Source: HBR Working Knowledge Writing a Credible Investment Thesis Every deal your company proposes to do-big or small, strategic or tactical-should start with a clear statement how that particular deal would create value for your company. We call this the investment thesis. The investment thesis is no more or less than a definitive statement, based on a clear understanding of how money is made in your business, that outlines how adding this particular business to your portfolio will make your company more valuable. Many of the best acquirers write out their investment theses in black and white. Joe Trustey, managing partner of private equity and venture capital firm Summit Partners, describes the tool in one short sentence: "It tells me why I would want to own this business."10 Perhaps you're rolling your eyes and saying to yourself, "Well, of course our company uses an investment thesis!" But unless you're in the private equity business-which in our experience is more disciplined in crafting investment theses than are corporate buyers-the odds aren't with you. For example, our survey of 250 senior executives across all industries revealed that only 29 percent of acquiring executives started out with an investment thesis (defined in that survey as a "sound reason for buying a company") that stood the test of time. More than 40 percent had no investment thesis whatsoever (!). Of those who did, fully half discovered within three years of closing the deal that their thesis was wrong. Studies conducted by other firms support the conclusion that most companies are terrifyingly unclear about why they spend their shareholders' capital on acquisitions. A 2002 Accenture study, for example, found that 83 percent of executives surveyed admitted they were unable to distinguish between the value levers of M&A deals.11 In Booz Allen Hamilton's 1999 review of thirty-four frequent acquirers, which focused chiefly on integration, unsuccessful acquirers admitted that they fished in uncharted waters.12 They ranked "learning about new (and potentially related) business areas" as a top reason for making an acquisition. (Surely companies should know whether a business area is related to their core before they decide to buy into it!) Successful acquirers, by contrast, were more likely to cite "leading or responding to industry restructuring" as a reason for making an acquisition, suggesting that these companies had at least thought through the strategic implications of their moves. click on the headline to read more! -ddk

- offshoring and job losses: curse of productivity!

2005-02-03T11:02:00.000-08:00

Very instructive article. people just completely forget the role that productivity plays in these cases! i work on SAP implementations... that software itself replaces at least 100 legacy systems - that is a huge change in manpower requirement! and the latest figures show that the US productivity has been increasing by 3% for last few years against the customary 2%. low productivity That brings us to another point.. to what i call the curse of Productivity: Developing countries are troubled by low productivities.. look at the Indian example. Dairy and Wheat farming in India has a productivity that's 1-2% that of US levels! In fact Dairy farming in India employs LARGEST number of manpower for ANY SECTOR ANY WHERE IN the world. Despite India being the largest milk producer in the world.. the number of people involved in creating that production.. negates the rewards that the economy could generate if the productivity was higher. and the farmers do not have any incentive to really use mechanized techniques as the labor is so cheap. the way out? The all-important question then is: how do we then increase the productivity without increasing the cost of labor relative to mechanization? my bet is to wean the excess workers from the farms - its important to raise the opportunity cost for their daily effort to level exceeding the farm labor incomes.. to get them worthwhile alternatives in the tertiary sectors of the economy. This is the sector that often acts as the catch-all for the farm labor. However, this is not possible until the primary industrial sector of the economy progresses. Its all interlinked to each other. that is why the anti-India-shining campaigners were totally off the mark when they accused the NDA of ignoring the poor. For all the socialist policies that had leashed India to mediocrity all of these years of existence.. someday we will have to take a hit! But this is something that the politicians are not willing to let go .. specially of the leftist orientation! reversals from high productivity US, of course is on the other side of the "Curse of Productivity" continuum! The productivity levels here are rising so high and so rapidly that it might lead to a shrinking economy. So what is the remedy here? to manage productivity? or to discover sectors that are .. as yet low productivity level areas but high value ones. The McKinsey Quarterly: Don't blame trade for US job losses The real causes of job losses were weak domestic demand, rapid productivity growth, and the dollar's strength. The take-away Protectionism won't address the causes of the loss of US manufacturing jobs in recent years. The real solutions—stimulating domestic demand, cutting the budget deficit, and pushing countries with artificially low currencies to allow them to appreciate against the dollar—are harder to implement but more likely to boost employment. -ddk

- Shareholder Value or Other objectives: the dichotomy.

2005-02-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

Interesting article in that it brings to the fore.. often passionately .. the issue of Shareholder Value and its primacy or otherwise versus other objectives. The issue here is whether Shareholder Value is the Primary objective or a secondary one? the dichotomy Is an insurance company in business to take care of the insurers or to make money for its shareholders? Is a restaurant's highest motive to provide best food at good prices to its clients or to make money for its owners? shareholder value or profits Its seemingly an interesting dichotomy! The problem in this issue is that this dichotomy takes life due to the temporal space we assume it to function in. To make the two set of objectives align.. you need to carefullly understand the derivation of shareholder value. To any discerning analyst its obvious that Shareholder Value represents the PRESENT VALUE of ALL FUTURE CASH FLOWS. shareholder value is a result.. not the cause Now if I were to not care for my customers well enough and just harp on my current profits ... then I am, in all honesty, not really "caring" for my shareholders' value... because sooner or later this profit number will be at best fictitious! Its not enough for a "Shareholder Value-oriented"management to care for today's profits but for profits that will follow year after year... for a LONG TERM! The way is to ensure that business is run in the best possible fashion .. so that it takes care of all my stakeholders.. and BECAUSE of that, my company's shareholders' value will eventually rise. Shareholder Value is, thus, a RESULT of a corporates actions.. .. not the direct objective to be achieved. Another important distinction is between Current Profits and Shareholder Value.. the two ARE NOT THE SAME THING!! The author .. and indeed .. most Shareholder Value critics tend to overlook this basic fundamental! Death of shareholder value as main driver of business strategy Why current obsession with "bottom-line profit" and "shareholder value" is looking tired: having failed to help leadership, motivation, marketing, product innovation, change management, or customer loyalty - danger of destroying the value that people sought to gain You can have the greatest strategy in the world but if your vision of the future is wrong you just land up travelling even faster in the wrong direction. A prime example of this is the dangerous obsession with shareholder value and bottom line profit, which has driven board policies of many multinationals to the point of distraction and damage. -ddk

- Kilauea volcano: lava in Pacific

2005-02-03T05:58:00.000-08:00

great shot! i really love this one.. lava flows in to the pacific.

Kilauea volcano: Lava from Kilauea volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park enters the Pacific Ocean at dawn on Wednesday, February 2, 2005, in Hawaii. Photo released on February 3. -ddk

- calm amidst disturbances

2005-02-03T05:55:00.000-08:00

this is kashmir... routine life while it burns..

A Kashmiri Muslim woman walks past burning tyres during a protest in Srinagar on February 3, 2005. Demonstrators in Kashmir burnt tyres and threw stones at police in Srinagar after hearing news of the beating of Mohammad Yasin Malik, chief of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), by Indian security forces during an anti-election rally in south Kashmir. -ddk.

- creative advertising : new dimension to outsourcing

2005-02-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

guys, the world of business is changing.. its globalized! in the world of global corporations, global finance, global brands, and global communications.. its kind of ostrich-like to look for "Local Employment!" that is why... take the brand you seriously.. on a global scale! US firms opt for Indian creative heads- The Economic Times: "US firms opt for Indian creative heads" By the end of this year, 500 hot creative directors will have the choice of dumping their full-time jobs. Because they may have the option to work on international business, for a hefty sum, without leaving the comfort of their homes. While back-end operations in India are old news in the IT segment , they bring a totally different dimension to communication.

- friendship across seas bypassing borders

2005-02-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

this is an interesting story on how the indian BPO folks like talking to and calling Pakis in Britain and US. but this warmth though seems strange is pretty normal in these foreign countries! Desi BPO guys love Pakistanis -ddk

- sixth consecutive interest rate increase by Fed

2005-02-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

Interest rate rise the interest rates have risen again... with the deficit rising and the economy seeming to do well, it seems that this would not be the last time.. at least not until people start noticing it :-)

A bronze relief of Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture, is inlaid in the marble fireplace of the meeting room of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (news - web sites) System, usually known as the Fed, as seen in this Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005 photo. She is said to symbolize stability and productivity. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson) My investment strategy: Is to go for stocks in Oil & Gas.. where the companies can pass on the increase to the customer without much competition, foreign companies, and I-Bonds - the Inflation protected bonds... which add a certain percentage to the inflation for the total return. So, although the rise in interest rates will see a decrease in the Bond prices.. the I-Bonds should keep you nice and warm! Place to buy: Treasurydirect

Alan Greenspan the question however, is .. where do we see the interest rates stabilizing? how true is the alarmist position of high inflation and oil prices? Over the next few months.. we will track these two things. ******* Interest rates rise again WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve (news - web sites) on Wednesday raised interest rates for a sixth straight time, extending a policy of gradually lifting borrowing costs to levels high enough to ward off inflation pressures. The unanimous decision by the U.S. central bank's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (news - web sites) moves the target for the benchmark federal funds rate -- which affects credit costs throughout the economy -- to 2.5 percent. In a statement after a two-day meeting, Fed officials retained an assessment that economic risks were balanced between slower growth and rising prices and said they thought they could keep raising rates at a "measured" pace. ********* -ddk

- Interesting tech blog

2005-02-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

Faughnan's Tech Interesting and Informative! -ddk

- test for audioblog - a cool service from blogger.com

2005-02-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Its available at Audioblogger - register and have fun!

-ddk

Democracy evades Saddam

2005-02-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

Saddam could vote but he did not! Hmm.. but he thinks that he still rules Iraq!! in his mind maybe... So its an Irony aint it? -ddk

- The Taj

2005-02-01T11:45:00.001-08:00

Its a beautiful monument.. and these pictures are breath-taking!

-ddk

- Business of Religion and the Tsunami Market Entry Strategy

2005-02-01T11:31:00.000-08:00

Two articles on the attempts by evangelists and missionaries to make inroads using Tsunami as an "opportunity". Reproduced belowis a letter to editor in Houston Chronicle (now in archives and not available directly) which seems to be a line of argument that some of these folks use. My View I hold the opinion - where God or Spirituality and Conversion are mentioned in the same breath - in very low esteem.... because it betrays a belief of separate "Gods" arranged in a "hierarchy"... for Conversion is an implicit statement of "My God is better than yours". Action at the level of religion reduces Spiritual pursuits to that of increasing numbers as if it was a War to be won.. and not Peace to be achieved! *********** HoustonChronicle letter to editor. Who's next, God? Regarding Jonathan Sacks' Jan. 9 Outlook article, "What now, God?" It is evident that God permits tragedy to extract evil from the world. When humans become so self-destructive and evil, God has no choice but to interfere so that mankind is preserved. Because of the earthquake and resultant tsunamis, thousands of children are now in heaven. Isn't that a wonderful thing? I believe the tsunami was a warning of things to come if human beings continue to rebel against the creator and reject biblical teaching. PAT McDONALD Houston ************ Yale article Counting Sheep? Christian missionaries are no strangers to the lands surrounding the Indian Ocean. Europeans traveled to the region throughout the 19th century in an effort to spread their belief in the "one true God." Even today, missionaries work tirelessly in South and Southeast Asia to draw converts from local Hindu and Muslim populations. Yet their zeal has irked the ire of many in the region since the tsunami disaster that devastated much of coastal Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka. Christian groups have been accused of tying aid to conversion and of exploiting the tragedy as an opportunity to swell the ranks of Christians. Often with the backing of wealthy Christian organizations based in the United States, missionaries offer relief and education to the tsunami's victims while demanding a change of faith. Critics fear that such proselytizing will only accentuate religious tensions at a time when the notion of the "clash of civilizations" is increasingly gaining currency. – YaleGlobal. to read more click on the link above. ********* Rediff Article Conversion attempts in the time of grief When I entered one of the rows of temporary shelters built for tsunami victims in Pattancherry village in Nagapattinam, I witnessed a minor scuffle in a corner. Some inmates had surrounded a Christian priest and two nuns, and a war of words was going on. "We are Hindus and we want to live as Hindus. Why do you want to convert us?" some young men shouted at the missionaries. The priest said, "We are not here to convert people. We were only offering prayers for your peace of mind." But flashing some pamphlets distributed among them by the three, the inmates snorted, "What does this mean?" The priest had no answer. "Why do you enter our houses and pray?," they asked. "Your nuns do this when our women are alone at home. We know how to pray." The young men were extremely furious. The priest was unruffled. But the nuns were shaken by the sudden surge of animosity from the muscular men. The scuffle went on till the three were forced to leave the place. to read more click on the link above. -ddk

- spiritual statement #1: Separation and Merger

2005-02-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Religion tries for look for God.. the issue, however, is to BECOME IT! that is best left to the realm of spirituality... spirituality = religion - social practices* * to better understand the equation, read the caselet i prepared for my own understanding. bubble and the sea The bubble that encompasses us is the reason for our separation from the Sea of Supreme Consciousness. To "look" for the Sea is to reinforce the "beingness" of the bubble.. because in the relativity of separation is locked the secret of success of "arriving" at the Sea. The path to get away from the bubble is to "dissolve" it - lost the "I" in me.. the raison d'etre for the separation.. and we would have merged.. and "arrived"! this same principle (also read J.Krishnamurthy's quote in the sidebar) has been enshrined in the principles of modern science by hiesenberg.. as "uncertainty principle" cessation of karma.. where you create niether positive .. nor negative karma is being one with the Supreme Consciousness. some quotes from Ken Wilber's "No Boundary" ******** To look for the primary boundary is to look very carefully for the sensation of being a separate self, a separate experiencer and feeler which is set apart from experiences and feelings. I am suggesting that if we carefully look for this "self", we won't find it. And since this feeling of being an isolated self seems to be a major obstacle to Unity Consciousness itself. Listen to the great Buddhist sage Padmasambhava: "If the seeker himself, when sought, cannot be found, thereupon is attained the goal of seeking and also the end of search itself". - "No Boundary" by Ken Wilber. " The split between the experiencer and the world of experiences does not exist, and therefore cannot be found" "No Boundary" by Ken Wilber ********* caselet: Once upon a time - there were two Saints: Saint A and Saint B. Saint A lived in the mountains in a cold climate. Saint B in the hot plains. Both were nice souls on their journey to purification through honestly, compassion, and meditation. Saint A, one day, heard the WORD of God! He came back to his people and shared his conversation with God. The message: God is one.. and omnipresent. It is compassionate and loving and complete The way to him is through love and good deeds. Love all. There was this guy who really felt cold in the wintery month. Since Mr. A knows THE truth - he reasoned - chances are .. he would know what I might do to get rid of this bitter cold! So he hesitatingly approaced Saint A. "Sir, what do I do to save myself from this bitter cold?". Saint A looked and thought for a minute.. "well, my dear friend, you see that sheep? take off its hair and wear clothes made of that.. it will help... and how often do you take bath?" "Sir, once a day" "Well, son tak ebath once in three days!" and the guy goes away to use the new knowledge! Saint B, in the hot plains, also hears the WORD of God! He came back to his people and shared his conversation with God. The message: God is one.. and omnipresent. It is compassionate and loving and complete The way to him is through love and good deeds. Love all. There was this guy who really felt HOT in the summer month. Since Mr. B knows THE truth - he reasoned - chances are .. he would know what I might do to get rid of this heat! So he hesitatingly approaced Saint B. "Sir, what do I do to save myself from this heat?" Saint B looked and thought for a minute.. "well, my dear friend, you have too many clothes on.. take them off and wear only shorts..... it will help... and how often do you take bath?" "Sir, once a day" "Well, son take bath THRICE A DAY" and the guy goes away to use the new knowledge! Both the followers find happiness in life and their stress has been reduced.... they love their Saints.. they propogate the message far and wide... The message: God is one.. and omnipresent. It is compassionate and loving and complete The way to him is through love and good deeds. Love all. Wear X types of clothes Take bath....... a day It was ok... until they came face to face. And then the love for their Saints came out as their own Egos... they had a big fight... over how many times should you take bath? ONCE IN THREE DAYS ... or ..... THRICE A DAY! ...............the fight goes on.... tilll eternity.. meanwhile the WORD of GOD? hmmm good question!!! -ddk

- indian diaspora: a large market waiting to be tapped

2005-02-01T06:14:00.000-08:00

every world airport that i have gone to, apart from the local population, the other majority is the indian one. now that is pretty significant. and it keeps growing and growing. the IT revolution has increased the numbers even more. admitted that the lifestyles of some of these people changes depending on different countries but still the core stuff remains - more or less - the same! the food, the movies, the music, the wedding ceremonies, the clothes people wear, and specifically the jewellery. now, if you include the indian population also that is more and more globaly conscious .. yet routed in the same practices.. then the "Indian Way of Life" is a BIG market to be tapped properly. as porter says, disorganized markets present the most lucrative opportunity. and indian market is just that. this is why actions of companies like pillsbury in entry the ready made food market for indians specifcally is a smart move! ************ here is an excerpt from LM Singhvi report from the Govt. of India: The Indian Diaspora spans the globe and stretches across all the oceans and continents. It is so widespread that the sun never sets on the Indian Diaspora. The population of the Indian Diaspora is estimated to be about 20 million. There are about 10,000 or more overseas Indians in 48 countries. In 11 countries there are more than half a million persons of Indian descent and they represent a significant proportion of the population of those countries. ************** pretty significant numbers and proportions. the only other populace that is as widespread is of the chinese. -ddk

- #3 list: hit the ground running

2005-01-31T22:18:00.000-08:00

this is something from fastcompany i have been thinking about for sometime now! i will need to internalize the entire list to achieve what I have set for myself in the next 6 months! nice handy list! PS: for more details go to the article through the link below: ***************** 18 Ways to Take Charge -- Fast There are few career moments as exciting -- and these days, as perilous -- as taking over the top job at a company, business unit, or department. But what exactly do you do once you're in charge? 1. Begin your transition before you start the job. Use the interview process to get an early jump on learning about the organization. Ask critical questions: How are decisions made? What are the key challenges? Which functions are strong, and which ones need to be overhauled? Use that information to build some initial hypotheses about how you would change things for the better. Take your cue from Steve Bennett who took over the CEO spot at Intuit Corp. "The interview process is where you start," he says. "That's where you ask all of the questions about what it takes to be successful." Continue 2. Travel widely within your organization, listen carefully, and look for patterns in everything you see and hear. Bruce Patton, co-author of "Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most" and a partner with Vantage Partners, a Boston-based relationship management consulting firm, advises new leaders to spend a lot of time listening and asking questions. Talk to employees up and down the hierarchy. "Soon you'll start to see a pattern about what's going on," he says. Within his first month on the job, Steve Bennett hit the road and tested the hypotheses that he had formed during his interviews. In 30 days, he visited dozens of locations and talked to hundreds of people, gathering feedback and insight on what was right - and wrong - with the firm's operations. Continue 3. As you ask questions, look for the rising stars whom you want as part of your team. Your listening tour may help you identify the key players whose skills you need as part of your management team. "If you're engaging in high quality inquiry, you'll want to keep people who had good answers," Patton says. Asking tough questions is a critical skill, but not necessarily a pleasant experience. Patton offers other strategies and scripts for handling tough conversations: Continue 4. Identify the kind of people who will flourish in the environment you want to establish. Even before interviewing people to assemble your team, take the time to identify the challenges ahead -- and the kind of people who are motivated by those situations. When Scott Lutz was tapped to lead 8th Continent, a soy-milk company borne of a 50-50 joint venture between two corporate giants, DuPont and General Mills, he knew he needed to assemble a team of renegades - people with "the right mix of passion and courage," Lutz describes. "They had to be willing to do things that hadn't been done before." Continue 5. After you've identified the ideal individual, identify the ideal group. Don't stop at finding the type of person you need. Envision how this person will interact with others to get the goals accomplished. Assemble the ideal team. In some cases, literally. When Pat Gillick took over a mediocre Seattle Mariners club in 1999, he was keenly aware of the kind of group it would take to win a World Series. "Chemistry is unbelievably critical," Gillick says. "If you come into a workplace, and there is inconsistency, there are disruptive employees, or you don't know what to expect, then you won't be a motivated employee." The Mariners' quest for a happy clubhouse includes paying close attention to the wives and kids of the players. Gillick meets with wives early in the season to work out everything from ticketing to security to the potentially inflammatory problem of who sits where. Continue 6. Acknowledge what you don't know. Identify those around you are the experts and don't be afraid to lean on them. No one expects an incoming leader to know everything. And perhaps there is nothing more off-putting to a future team than someone who mistakenly thinks he or she does. After 15 years as a manufacturing engineer at Boeing, Bruce Moravec had mastered his technical discipline. But when he was promoted to run the 757 Stretch Program, an ambitious mandate to stretch the plane by 24 feet, add functionality, and do it in less than two years, he understood he'd have to gain the confidence of people who worked in areas he knew little about. "I had lots of credibility as a manufacturing engineer and second-level manager. But suddenly I was responsible for tool design, fuselage definition, all kinds of areas that weren't in my background." Continue 7. Don't be afraid to listen to people who disagree. Listen, actively, to the people around you, especially those who challenge your assumptions. Take it from Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's president and CEO and the engineer of the company's dramatic turnaround. "When I came to Nissan, I engaged in what I call 'active listening' with as many people as I could. I also got a lot of advice from outside the company, most of which was very conservative. People told me, 'You can't go fast in Japan. You can't close plants in Japan. You can't reduce head count.' I listened carefully, even to the opinions that totally contradicted my own beliefs, to make sure that when I made my decisions, I hadn't missed anything." Continue 8. But clean house if you have to. Depending on the situation you step into, no matter how clear your vision is, and how evangelical you are, acknowledge that there may be people - some of whom may have already seen your predecessors come and go -- who are too jaded to follow. Take Dale Fuller's experience. When he took over an ailing Borland Software, which at one time was a pioneer in developing developer tools, five different CEOs had already come and go in the preceding three years. Skeptics assumed that Fuller was the latest in a series of short-term custodians. Rather than embrace the new direction, they figured that they'd just wait Fuller out. Fuller had other ideas. Within six months, he fired about 400 people, including 60 of his top managers. Continue 9. Establish a way to communicate with -- and listen to -- your entire team. Your strategic course of action is only as effective as your ability to communicate it. Have the pipeline and protocol set up to get your message out there, and don't forget that communication goes both ways. Dick Brown took over EDS in 1999 and moved swiftly to change old beliefs and behaviors, unleashing a set of practices -- dubbed "operating mechanisms" -- that were designed to create a company-wide culture based on instant feedback and direct, unfiltered communication. One of these practices is the "monthly performance call." At the beginning of each month, 125 of the company's top worldwide executives punch into a conference call that begins promptly at 7 AM central daylight time. Participation is not optional. Continue 10. Don't trash your predecessor, but don't be shy about promoting your own agenda. Do not assume that the prior administration screwed up or lost sight of the big picture. There's probably an element of truth in that. But it's almost certainly true that they had a different disaster that they were working to avoid, Patton says. If you've got a clear vision of what needs to be fixed, by all means, implement it. Then ask yourself what led those really smart people to do what they did in such a way that it made sense to them? Talk about a predecessor: when Melvin Wearing took over the role of chief of police for New Haven, Connecticut, he filled the controversial shoes of someone who resigned after fathering an illegitimate child with a convicted prostitute. On February 24, 1997, his first day on the job, Wearing moved quickly to telegraph the changing of the guard. First up: a visit to each of the day's four lineups (the roll call of officers that begins each shift) -- a practice that his predecessor had shunned Continue 11. Settle on a few major priorities. You can't fix everything at once. "Typically, you can't do everything you want to do, so you need to make some strategic choices," Patton says. "This is where you begin to align the organization around a common vision for the future." Perhaps Wearing's most far-reaching legacy will be his focus on quality-of-life crimes -- the so-called broken-windows approach to policing. Just as Rudy Giuliani cracked down on New York's squeegee men, Wearing declared war on New Haven's vagrants and hookers, street-corner dealers, and boom-box blasters. By nipping misdemeanors in the bud, Wearing argues, police may deter more-serious crimes. His approach seems to be working. In 1997, New Haven logged 13,950 major crimes; in 2001, the city had a total of 9,322. Continue 12. Meet the customers. Balance the big picture vision with-front line views. There is no reconnaissance more important than scouting out the territory where your products and services meet their customers. Seeing the customers actually interact provides some invaluable information. When Gary Kusin took over as CEO of Kinko's Inc., he went into every single one of its 24 markets in the United States, visited more than 200 stores, and met with more than 2,500 team members. Continue 13. Target a few early wins. Momentum counts, and nothing succeeds like success. It's critical for a new leader to create momentum during the transition, say Dan Ciampa and Michael Watkins in their book, "Right from the Start: Taking Charge in a New Leadership Role." Pick some problems the organization has not been able to address and figure out a way to fix them quickly to establish a new direction. When Jim Berra was promoted to head the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Guest program in July 2001, and like any newcomer to a job, Berra was keen to have a few big wins to energize his new team. "I didn't want to solve world hunger in the first three months, but I was looking for a couple of things that would pay immediate dividends," he says. So he focused on three priorities: First, he had to build better awareness of the company's Preferred Guest program, which lagged behind Hilton and Marriott in visibility despite its unprecedented policies of having no blackout dates and no limit on free rooms. Second, he had to find a way to measure the program's performance. And finally, he had to research customer segmentation for future promotions. Continue 14. Keep an eye on the clock. Faster is almost always better. "Make sure your time is used to its best advantage," says Patton. "When you're new to an organization, many people will want your attention. While it's pleasant to swap stories about each other's golf game, you're better off saving them for the fairway, and using the time in the office to engage in a learning-oriented conversation." Here's a tip: Create a "Stop Doing" List. Take a look at your desk. If you're like most hard-charging leaders, you've got a well-articulated to-do list. Now take another look: Where's your stop-doing list? We've all been told that leaders make things happen -- and that's true. But it's also true that great leaders distinguish themselves by their unyielding discipline to stop doing anything and everything that doesn't fit. Continue 15. Don't be afraid to make mistakes but be sure to fix them faster than you make them. Any new situation is fraught with hazards, but taking over a top job exposes a new leader to pitfalls ranging from the personal to the organizational. Accept that you can't know everything in your first six months, and even an extensive professional background can't insulate you from making mistakes in an unfamiliar company and culture. The key is to assess yourself and your progress as rigorously as you do your new colleagues and workplace, and to be prepared to make your own course corrections as you go along. Last year, Lydia Shire and Paul Licari took over Locke-Ober, a Boston restaurant and Brahmin institution founded in 1875. The entire city was watching, and everybody had an opinion. And the first 10 days were a disaster. "You could have put me in front of a firing squad and it would have felt better," Licari shares. Continue 16. Be wary of reckless re-engineering. If you're assuming leadership of a large organization or department, take the time to understand its current trajectory. Making too drastic and immediate a change can derail both confidence and long-term strategy. Stanford Business School Professor, Jim Collins, warns leaders to be cautious. "Why do overhyped change programs ultimately fail? Because they lack accountability, they fail to achieve credibility, and they have no authenticity." Consider the Warner-Lambert Co. in the early 1980s. In 1979, Warner-Lambert told Business Week that it aimed to be a leading consumer-products company. One year later, it did an abrupt about-face and turned its sights on health care. In 1981, the company reversed course again and returned to diversification and consumer goods. Then in 1987, Warner-Lambert made another U-turn, away from consumer goods, and announced that it wanted to compete with Merck. Then in the early 1990s, the company responded to government announcements of pending health-care reform and re-embraced diversification and consumer brands. Between 1979 and 1998, Warner-Lambert underwent three major restructurings -- one per CEO. Each new CEO arrived with his own program; each CEO halted the momentum of his predecessor. Continue 17. Don't be afraid to look for ideas in unusual places. Don't just read your own industry's trade journals. Cast a wide net for insights -- sometimes the breakthrough idea lies in the triumphs of a completely different industry. When Rob McEwen, took over an underperforming gold mine in northwestern Ontario, he assumed a tough situation: The gold market was depressed, the mine's operating costs were high, and miners were on strike. His breakthrough - an unprecedented move to make his company's proprietary information public and launching a contest to develop the mine over the Internet - came from learning about the Linux operating system and the open-source revolution. Continue 18. Finally, ask yourself who do you really want to prevail, you or your organization? You'd be surprised by the difference. Consider this: Jim Collins and his team at Stanford Graduate School of Business and asked, what makes a good company great? They started with 1,435 good companies, examined their performance over 40 years, and then identified 11 companies that became great. Here's one thing they found: The CEOs who took their companies from good to great were largely anonymous -- a far cry from the celebrity CEOs we read about. Collins believes this is more a matter of cause and effect than an accident. There is something directly related between the absence of celebrity and the presence of good-to-great results. Why? First, when you have a celebrity, the company turns into "the one genius with 1,000 helpers." It creates a sense that the whole thing is really about the CEO. And that leads to all sorts of problems - especially if the person goes away or if the person turns out not to be a genius after all ******************** -ddk

- #2 list: CEO wish list.

2005-01-31T21:56:00.000-08:00

This was an interesting article from Inc.com on what the CEOs are looking for in replacement CEO candidates. very useful to evauate what I have and what I do not.. to have a shot at the top spot in some organization .. during this incarnation of mine! basically people are looking at the following traits:

communications
personality
education & abilities
big picture vision and able to roll sleeves
network

I have seen so many folks ignore the personality and communication aspect .. which is amazing. my personal conviction is that three things are required in life for success:

direction or focus
hard work
intellectual excellence

... and IN THAT ORDER!

not much is gained in climbing a ladder at jet speed when its standing against the wrong wall! ************* The following list is a pretty typical founding CEO's wish list, based on Aylward's experience with her clients. Use it to evaluate what you might need in a CEO candidate. The replacement, or second, CEO:

Has earned an MBA and actually used it in his/her recent successes.
Has taken a company public (especially after the terrorist attacks on September 11, after which it became much harder to take companies public).
Has several first-name-basis venture capitalists in his/her social group.
Has started a company on his/her own.
Has an outstanding list of successes -- for both funding and growth -- under his/her belt.
Is a recognized business leader.
Has knowledge of and experience in the company's particular core business and preferably hails from a direct competitor.
Has successfully played in the international marketing-and-distribution arena.
Understands the deeper side of operations on a day-to-day basis.
Has a story that plays well with investors, showing them that he/she has learned from mistakes and knows about the competition, laws, and future issues that are normally not present in start-ups, but that are key to taking the business to the next level (for example, outsourcing, customer service, manufacturing, taking on debt capital, and the like).
Has a keen sense of the future for the business and has strategies for taking it there.
Possesses outstanding communication skills and has the presence and charisma that will be an asset in funding, press, board, and internal meetings. (In other words, he/she listens to others' opinions, is easy to approach, and can charm vendors, employees, shareholders, partners, and creditors alike).
Has a Rolodex of new revenue sources, press contacts, and new customers that will benefit the company.
Promises undying devotion to stockholder value and professes to employees that they are the company's most important assets -- and actually means it.

**********

-ddk

- month of M&A: when two american icons went away!

2005-01-31T11:02:00.000-08:00

this has been an important month for the M&A guys: 1. P&G gets Gillette 2. Federated stores (Macy's and Bloomingdales) gets May (Lords & Taylors) .. and then today two big ones: 3. metlife gets travellers PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - MetLife Inc. (NYSE:MET - news) on Monday said it would acquire Travelers Life & Annuity from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - news) for $11.5 billion in cash and stock, a deal that will make it the largest individual life insurer in North America. and a STANDING OVATION PLEASE for that american icon set to pass into history.. AT&T 4. SBC going to buy AT&T NEW YORK/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC - news) on Monday said it will buy AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news) for about $16 billion, in a move to bolster its business with large companies and ending the independence of its former parent that for decades held a monopoly on the U.S. phone market. personal view: i am not sure which ones are made honestly and intelligently .. but i feel that the federated & may deal is like cleaning the deck on the titanic... it betrays a kneejerk reaction of executives lost in the whirl wind of walmart on one side and amazon-ebay combine on the other! P&G will benefit from Gillette's strong brands and Gillete can get leverage from P&G's marketing channels.. and the two may have a good negotiation strength with the retailers! i have seen that it is customary to evaluate any such deal through the ROI method.. but to me the timing of such evaluation is always suspect. some of these mergers are aimed at long term anhiliation of the compettion.. so the results may be visible more into the future. Should we use a different way to understand the total import of the value created by any merger activity? the master speaks! Warren Buffet on Successful Acquisitions Ingredients In fairness, we should acknowledge that some acquisition records have been dazzling. Two major categories stand out. The first involves companies that, through design or accident, have purchased only businesses that are particularly well adapted to an inflationary environment. Such favored business must have two characteristics: (1) an ability to increase prices rather easily (even when product demand is flat and capacity is not fully utilized) without fear of significant loss of either market share or unit volume, and (2) an ability to accommodate large dollar volume increases in business (often produced more by inflation than by real growth) with only minor additional investment of capital. Managers of ordinary ability, focusing solely on acquisition possibilities meeting these tests, have achieved excellent results in recent decades. However, very few enterprises possess both characteristics, and competition to buy those that do has now become fierce to the point of being self-defeating. The second category involves the managerial superstars - men who can recognize that rare prince who is disguised as a toad, and who have managerial abilities that enable them to peel away the disguise. We salute such managers as Ben Heineman at Northwest Industries, Henry Singleton at Teledyne, Erwin Zaban at National Service Industries, and especially Tom Murphy at Capital Cities Communications (a real managerial twofer, whose acquisition efforts have been properly focused in Category 1 and whose operating talents also make him a leader of Category 2). From both direct and vicarious experience, we recognize the difficulty and rarity of these executives achievements. (So do they; these champs have made very few deals in recent years, and often have found repurchase of their own shares to be the most sensible employment of corporate capital.) ************ toads and the managerial kiss Many managements apparently were overexposed in impressionable childhood years to the story in which the imprisoned handsome prince is released from a toads body by a kiss from a beautiful princess. Consequently, they are certain their managerial kiss will do wonders for the profitability of Company T(arget). Such optimism is essential. Absent that rosy view, why else should the shareholders of Company A(cquisitor) want to own an interest in T at the 2X takeover cost rather than at the X market price they would pay if they made direct purchases on their own? In other words, investors can always buy toads at the going price for toads. If investors instead bankroll princesses who wish to pay double for the right to kiss the toad, those kisses had better pack some real dynamite. Weve observed many kisses but very few miracles. Nevertheless, many managerial princesses remain serenely confident about the future potency of their kisses - even after their corporate backyards are knee-deep in unresponsive toads. -ddk

- stark US economy indicators

2005-01-31T07:05:00.000-08:00

bill gates speech at davos - world economic forum .. some interesting facts: - 35% drop in asians coming to computer science departments in US univs - sharp difference between emerging markets such as India and China, where about 40 per cent of students take engineering degrees, and the US, where the proportion is about 4 per cent, - trade deficit swelled to a record $609.3 billion last year and so he feelsAmerica's status as 'the IQ magnet of the world' was in peril due to the tough immigration laws it has adopted these are pretty stark indicators for the world.. US is afterall the engine that drives the world.

- blog look & 5 keys to a great company

2005-01-31T06:44:00.000-08:00

i think i am done with the customization of my sidebar. this weekend i got the auto-powered stuff in... like the quotes of the day.. the news, the blog entries from tom peters and seth godin.. as well as some investment stuff from motley fool. .. i may go for auto feeds for the URL links and books list also later sometime... I do not want the colors and style i have chosen for myself to be compromized. so i will wait a bit and concentrate on the big changes that i forsee coming in my life in the near future. will keep on sharing my thoughts as i go on. as we move into the new week.. here is some wisdom on building great companies from Narayana Murthy - a leader i admire key to building a great company What is the key to building a great company? First of all, we need good leadership. I don't know of a single great company that has not had good leaders. Great leaders raise the aspirations of their followers; they make people more confident, energetic and enthusiastic. Such leaders make people embrace the adage: a plausible impossibility is better than a convincing possibility. People, who are motivated by great leaders, dream big, make sacrifices and achieve miracles. It is not sufficient just to have great leaders. We need a mechanism to identify, train, empower and mentor successive generations of leaders. Such leadership training and mentoring has to become the responsibility of the current generation of leaders. Second, we have to create a grand, noble vision which elevates the energy, enthusiasm and self-esteem of everyone in the company while ensuring that everybody sees a benefit in following the vision. Third, a company has to benchmark itself on a global scale in every area including sales, production, human resources, R&D and finance. It creates an open and confident environment where first-raters recruit first-raters. Fourth, a great company continuously measures and improves the following attributes: meritocracy, fairness, justice, openness, speed, imagination and excellence in execution. Finally, a great company practices an enduring value system, and follows the finest system of corporate governance. -ddk

- more changes and customization of my blog

2005-01-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

ok.. guys.. some more changes to the design of this blog. i have added an rss feed from other sites - which i desparately missed at blogger.com vs some other blog providers.. but feedroll.com really made it EAAASY!! also i found this blogger hack place - a link from blogger help itself! - that helped me list the archives in chronologically descending order and that too using a drop down! so now this adds more power to my side bar. i am trying to add more stuff and i want this to be as enjoyable experience for me adding the stuff as it will be for all of us in reading it! i have also found a plug in for adding links - thru blogrolling.com - again except for a small blurb at the end about it being powered by blogrolling.. it should not look any different than now.. i am going to use it too. am looking for other plug ins.. to make my life easier... specifically looking for a way to update my book list and adding categories to my posts and also later sorting or filtering certain categories and having them displayed separately! anyone with help on those mail the help to me please. thanks... ...look out for more changes.. -ddk

- gadi sagar jaisalmer, rajasthan, INDIA

2005-01-29T17:08:00.000-08:00

gadi sagar jaisalmer, rajasthan, INDIA

- leonardo da vinci: genius uncomparable

2005-01-29T07:14:00.000-08:00

today let's celebrate the genius of leonardo da vinci . he gave so much to art and sciences .. which is difficult to compare with any other human - before or since. human figure

the mona lisa

self potrait

vinci's flying machine

pictures: courtesy webshots.com

- Question: size of the US automative industry

2005-01-28T20:24:00.000-08:00

what is the size of the US automative industry in dollars of cars sold per year, new. ? The U.S. market for new vehicles is estimated to be $382 billion. "Current Industry Overview New vehicle market ($382 billion) Units: 16.7 million in 2003; approx. 16.9 million projected for 2004 ... Used vehicle market ($356 billion) Units: 43.6 million" for more info

- what is an "upreit"

2005-01-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

..this is a term from real estate investing world.. here is some detail and the link to the answer: How do "upreits" differ from other "reits"? Specifically, how is the tax treatment different for them? How are they different as potential investments? Would the officers be compensated diffrently from those of other "reits"? There's a pretty detailed explanation of UPREIT's (and the tax advantages) at: http://library.lp.findlaw.com/articles/file/00127/000261/title/Subject/topic/Wills,%20Trusts,%20and%20Estate%20Planning_Trusts/filename/wills,trusts,andestateplanning_2_6538 The UPREIT structure was created to avoid recognition of taxable income on the transfer of appreciated property to a REIT... UPREITs have accounted for nearly two-thirds of all newly formed REITs since 1992. Today, over half of the largest REITs are organized as UPREITs. here is more on this

- #1 list: seven habits

2005-01-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

.. i have read so many books that succinctly present ideas in a few points.. like a list of ideas. however, as you finish the book .. and go on with life.. the different points that you found useful fade away. there has been no way for me to keep a sort of ready reckoner for all these lists from the books i found useful. i am going to start a series of lists and will have it linked on the sidebar on the right for ready reference for future .. for my benefit and yours. i will start with what i consider one of my favorite books.. .one that i turn to again and again: if you have any list and/or little summary of a book that you would want to include in here - .please email it to me. i will format it according to my blog design and include it under your name. seven habits of highly effective people by stephen covey Personal Victory Habit 1: BE PROACTIVE: principles of personal vision Habit 2: BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND: principles of personal leadership Habit 3: PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST: principles of personal management Public Victory Habit 4: THINK WIN/WIN: principles of interpersonal leadership Habit 5: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE: principles of empathic communication Habit 6: SYNERGIZE: principles of creative cooperation Renewal HABIT 7: SHARPEN THE SAW: principles of balanced self-renewal

- manage change to accomplish success

2005-01-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

... the assumptions with which we often start an assignment ...do usually change very fast.. and by the time we finish... the parameters of our actions may have changed. so the sine qua non for success is the ability to manage change... a higher TOLERANCE for AMBIGUITY indeed. not everything in this world is structured.. so be ready for change.. interestingly, once success becomes a habit ... it also makes you stale.. not strong enough to make changes as the world around you moves on... you were a success when world used rotary phones.. but now cellphones are the rage! wake up! you need to "orchestrate" change to remain successful consistently. so you need to manage success too for effecting change to be consistenly successful! hence i say: manage change to accomplish success, manage success to accomplish change!

- blame of unsolvability

2005-01-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

edward bono - father of lateral thinking - once said " you cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging it deeper" albert einstein once said "you have to be at a higher level of intellect to solve a problem than you were when you created it!" so, really the two main ingredients to find a way to close agendas in life and solve problems that seem unsolvable is to adequately prepare for it... by: 1. taking a fresh look at what you face and seeking a new understanding 2. improve your intellectual wherewithal otherwise, we will be prone to put the "blame of unsolvability" on the problem ITSELF rather than our ability to handle and apply ourselves!

- Today's Pic: countryside

2005-01-28T04:49:00.001-08:00

countryside view

- EIGHT STEPS TO EXCELLENCE: AZIM PREMJI

2005-01-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

Among others, Wipro has recently won the prestigious 'Risk Management Award,' instituted by the Financial Times-The Banker magazine. What is that which makes this company so successful? "An obsession for excellence," says Azim Premji, Chairman & Managing Director, Wipro Limited. Chairman and Managing Director of Wipro, Premji is credited with transforming Wipro, his family's vegetable oil business, into one of the world's foremost software company. Although one of the richest Indians, he flies economy class and is happiest when hiking, reading or discussing the foundation he has set up to promote primary education. EIGHT STEPS TO EXCELLENCE These are changing times. Yet in the middle of all the changes there is one thing that constantly determines success. Some call it leadership. But to my mind, it is the single-minded pursuit of excellence. Excellence endures and sustains. It goes beyond motivation into the realms of inspiration. Excellence can be as strong a uniting force as solid vision. Excellence does not happen in a vacuum. It needs a collective obsession as I have experienced the benefits of excellence in my own life. Excellence is a great starting point for any new organisation but also an unending journey. What is excellence? It is about going a little beyond what we expect from ourselves. Part of the need for excellence is imposed on us externally by our customers. Our competition keeps us on our toes, especially when it is global in nature. But the other driver of excellence is internal. I have found that excellence is not so much a battle you fight with others, but a battle you fight with yourself, by constantly raising the bar and stretching yourself and your team. This is the best and the most satisfying and challenging part about excellence. How does one create excellence in an organisation? First, we create an obsession with excellence. We must dream of it not only because it delivers better results but because we truly believe in it and find it intrinsically satisfying to us. We must think of excellence not only with our mind but also with our heart and soul. Let us look outside, at the global standards of excellence in quality, cost and delivery and let us not rest till we surpass them. Second, we need to build a collective self-confidence. Organisations and people who pursue excellence are self-confident. This is because excellence requires tremendous faith in one's ability to do more and in a better way. Unless, we believe we can do better, we cannot. Third, we must understand the difference between perfection for its own sake and excellence. Time is of essence. Globalisation has made the customer only more impatient. This may seem like a paradox: should we aim for excellence or should we aim for speed? Excellence is about doing the best we can and speed lies in doing it quickly. These two concepts are not opposed to each other; in fact, speed and timeliness are important elements of quality and excellence. Fourth, we must realise that we cannot be the best in everything we do. We must define what we are or would like to be best at and what someone else can do better. Excellence is no longer about being the best in India. It is about being the best in the world. We have to define what our own core competencies are and what we can outsource to other leaders. Headaches shared are headaches divided. Fifth, we must create processes that enable excellence. Today, there are a number of global methods and processes available whether it is Six Sigma, CMM or ISO. Use them because they are based on distilled wisdom collected from the best companies in the world. Also, we must build a strong foundation of information technology, because in this complex, dynamic world, it is imperative that we use the most modern tools to keep processes updated. Sixth, we must create a culture of teaming. I have found that while great individuals are important, one cannot have pockets of excellence. Quality gives ample opportunities to build a culture of teaming. Cross-functional teams that are customer facing can cut through an amazing amount of bureaucracy, personal empire building and silos and deliver savings that one would not have imagined possible. The other advantage of building teams focussed on quality is that the teaming culture eventually spreads to the rest of the organisation and teaming becomes a way of life. Seventh, invest in excellence for the future. Future always seems to be at a distance. But it comes upon you so suddenly that it catches you by surprise, if not shock. What constitutes excellence in the future will be significantly different from what it is today. In these days of severe market pressures, there is big temptation to sacrifice the future to look good in the present. We must certainly trim our discretionary expenses, but we must ensure that our investments in strategic areas that lead to excellence in the future are protected. Finally, excellence requires humility. This is especially needed when we feel we have reached the peak of excellence and there is nothing further we can do. We need an open mind to look at things in a different way and allow new inputs to come in. Otherwise, there is a real danger of becoming complacent or even downright arrogant. I would like to end my talk with a story that illustrates this very well. A brilliant young professor went to meet a famous Zen master to have a discussion with him on Zen. He found himself in front of a modest house. He rang the doorbell and waited. A while later, he heard shuffling footsteps and the door was opened by the Zen master. He invited the professor to sit with him on the dining table. The professor was a little disappointed with the shabby appearance of the Zen master. He started quizzing him immediately on comparative philosophies and the Zen master gave some brief answers. When the professor began to debate with him on those answers, the Zen master stopped speaking and kept smiling at him. Finally, the professor got angry. He said, "I have come from a long distance just to understand the relevance of Zenism. But apparently you have nothing to say. I have not learnt anything from you at all." At this point, the Zen master asked the professor to have some tea. When the professor held the cup, the Zen master started pouring tea into it. After some time, the tea started spilling and the professor shouted, "Stop! The cup can contain no more." The Zen Master stopped and then, once again smiling, he said, "A mind, full of itself can receive nothing. How can I speak to you of Zenism until you empty your mind to learn." The professor understood and apologized to the Zen master. He parted from him, the Zen master -- a wiser man. The author is Chairman & Managing Director, Wipro Limited.

- indian folk dance: republic day camp

2005-01-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

NCC cadets performs folk dance at NCC Republic Day Camp Prime Minister's Rally in New Delhi on January 27, 2005. =====================================================================================

- alternative storage: datawarehouse by bill inmon

2005-01-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

this article is by bill inmon.. widely regarded as the father of data warehousing! this is a major problem - of historical data for the companies that implement the DW systems. without unmindfully putting large hardware, its important to have the most efficient system in place! this article gives some pointers.

- genius of buffett: part 1

2005-01-27T18:13:00.000-08:00

warren buffett has always baffled me by his amazing knack of regularly outperforming the markets as he has everybody. he is also one of the few leaders who has a level of integrity that few show. unbelievable growth take a look at the 2003 annual report and you see how amazing his company's performance has been! As he mentions rather matter-of-factly.. that over the 39 years that he has taken over the company - Berkshire Hathaway - the book value has had a COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE (CAGR) of 22.2% from $19 to $50,498! well this is half the story.... because "intrinsic value" which is far more important than the book value because it looks at the earning capacity in the long run... had grown faster than that! to understand where buffett comes from it is important to read and digest words of Philip FIsher and Benjamin Graham... I have just skimmed through them.. i need to internalize their teachings! Philip Fisher's importance Fisher's main book is "Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits" by Philip Fisher.(ISBN: 0-471-11927-X). By the way Fisher also has a son Ken Fisher who has a newsletter but is not quite as illustrious as his father. . he also has two other popular writings: " Conservative Investors Sleep well" & " Developing an Investment Philosophy" - Warren Buffet it is said - made some losses following Graham's Margin of Safety principles ... basically Graham was prolific and would buy 100 stocks in his portfolio.. some good and some duds.. Fisher's philosophy then helped him understand "What to Buy" as Fisher gives a good account of what to look for in a company that you are buying and that you need to have patience and choose the "right" candidate. Buffett of course took this philosophy further and became a believer in "Toll Road" and "Brand Monopoly" kind of stocks.. AMEX and GILLETTE for the first category and Coke for the second.. and also those which did not require huge capital investments to sustain and thus having high ROE (which he thinks is tax free return withheld and invested by company for further compounding at such high rates) ...

- india: legacy of subversion

2005-01-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

this legacy .. is one of the congress party's greatest gift since the independence! a recurring one too........ despite links being clear and obvious to whoever was present in delhi at that time and could see.. this dude nanavati thinks that congress and rajiv gandhi were not responsible for killing of sikhs in 1984. if no party was involved in the killings... then who the heck got this thought that it was a nice day to go killing the sikhs!???? we all saw the folks who were looting.. they had NOTHING... repeat NOTHING to do with any religion.. they were there because they thought it was legitimate to kill people of certain community because someone from that community had killed their leader... PERIOD!! all .. ALLL the guys i saw were from the slums... the base of congress then.. and they were acting in a certain coherence! to me there is NO difference between RAJIV GANDHI's role and NARENDER MODI's roles in the killings in their respective rules. semantical mischief over the years the killings have been referred to as "hindu-sikh riots"... and that is a work of a hypocrite or a scoundrel... every hindu that i knew was going around trying to save his sikh neighbor and friend.. often at the cost of his own life.... it was simply .. a massacre of a community by a political party! nothing more... nothing LESS! thoughtless words and thoughtless silence the question that i have to ask is ... how will the sikhs react? specially those who lost so much and so many in those wild thoughtless days... well at least one sikh dude doesnt have much to say... .the PRIME MINISTER of India .. Dr. Singh. he has been reported to have said that the killings were the handiwork of the HINDU PARTIES!!??? i know he is an intelligent guy ... but it seems that he does smoke pot sometimes... to come out with such thoughtless comments and ...................now thoughtless silence!! Inquiry absolves Congress from 1984 riots: Report A Commission of Inquiry, which probed the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the Capital, is understood to have recommended reinvestigation of cases against some Congress leaders including Sajjan Kumar while not blaming the entire party or the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for the incidents.

- customized blog template for blogger/blogspot.com

2005-01-27T15:12:00.000-08:00

..there is a need sometime to include some different and more customized templates. and there are various sources from where you can get free templates.. here is one such place - which i used: noipo.org i have used one of these templates. you could also go to this one and use some really funky and exciting ones: blogger-templates the best thing is that you can customize these templates to suit your style. its not too difficult. i also wanted to add a poll in my blog.. so i added it thru pollhost.com its free and useful .. you can customize to your color and style - vertical or horizontal. go ahead and make your blogging experience a great one.

- looks like my search is over...

2005-01-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

have been looking for a good blogging tool to use under my personal name. i intend to use this blog to share my thoughts and analyses that will help shape me and also that come out of my experiences. my hope is that as i go on - my experiences will become kind of a case study-lets that i can use going forward to look back on and learn. i believe my thoughts on some political areas are part of me and so are my believes in the arena of spirituality. so i will explore and parse them out for my self. off and on i will share some pictures like the one earlier today that can help provide some color to my and readers' day! the cool thing is - i have learnt how to customize the side bar code according to my needs!! and that gives me a lot of flexibility.

- Today's Pic: from japan

2005-01-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Garden Staircase in Kyoto Japan

- Mount Tombstone, Canada

2005-01-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

Mount Tombstone, Canada

- Disappearance of Subhash Bose.

2005-01-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

Subhash Bose - The truth.... and the myth Subhash Bose (Jan 23, 1897 - ????) Jan 23rd was Bose's Birth Anniversary. This is an exceptional story and investigation on the disappearance of Subhash Bose. Bose was one of the leading freedom fighters of Indian Independence... who went on to actually raise an Army and fight the British. He could have done wonders but his army lost and he disappeared.. announced as dead in an aircrash.. but never confirmed! this investigation details what probably did happen: 1931-1950 Reported death of Subhas Bose (August 25, 1945) The Japanese News Agency on Thursday announced the death of Mr Subhas Chandra Bose in a Japanese hospital from injuries received in an air crash, says a London message ...more Eyewitness account of Subhas Bose's death, Tokyo (November 1, 1945) An informant who was a passenger with ten others in a Japanese two-engined bomber in which Mr Bose was flying to Japan said that there is not the slightest doubt that Mr Subhas Bose died on August 18 at the Taihoku Hospital, Formosa after the plane in which he was travelling to Tokyo crashed on the Taihoku airfield ...more Conditions in I.N.A. camp near Jessore (November 2, 1945) According to Mr Sassadhar Acharya, assistant secretary, Jessore District Congress Committee sanitation conditions in the caged camps are bad. There is congestion and possibility of diseases breaking out any day while, practically, there is no medical arrangement ...more Many I.N.A. men already executed, Lucknow (November 2, 1945) "Probably few people know that many valiant soldiers of the I.N.A have already been executed after army trials by court-martial," said Mr Ansar Harvani, president, All-India Youth League ...more Is Subhas Chandra Bose still alive? (November 11, 1945) The Japanese Board of Information anounced "Subhas Chandra Bose, who was on his way to Japan from Singapore for consultation with the Japanese Government, died of injuries received when his plane crashed near Taihoku." But no one was even informed where the "remains" were kept, let alone allowed access to the place ...more "Netaji is not dead" (March 24, 1946) Mr T.K. Nair, one of the engineers who was in charge of the municipal works of Singapore at the time of its fall to the Japanese said he did not believe the story of Netaji's death. "I was told," he said, "that the plane in which he was travelling and which is alleged to have crashed was in fact seen in Hong Kong the next day" ...more Subhas Bose seen at Nalanda? (April 29, 1946) Pareman Pasla, a labourer at Nalanda believes he saw Mr Subhas Bose there a few days ago. The resemblance was unmistakable except that Mr Bose wore a moustache. He was dressed in khaki shorts and shirts and a pair of brown canvas shoes ...more "Deal with Bose on the spot" British Indian archival documents show that during the dying months of World War II, Viceroy Wavell and senior British officials did not want Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose brought to India even as a prisoner. The surviving documents reflect British preference for dealing with the leader 'on the spot' - whatever that meant. On the other hand, Bose was focussed on stimulating a post-war internal Indian upsurge against the British Raj. Subhas was convinced that India's partition was inevitable if the British Parliament were allowed to "transfer power" under an act of the British Parliament. (Gandhiji in 1946-47 had the same fear. He wanted the British to leave India and allow Indians themselves to find a solution to the Muslim League's demand for partition along religious lines). Bose's aim in 1945 was not just to escape the British pursuit. He had foreknowledge of Japan's decision to capitulate. In the spring of 1945, he had wanted personally to lead a military challenge against the superior forces of the Allies. He wanted to court death in this battle. Suicide was not the aim of this move. He thought that, after Aung San of Burma switched over to the victorious British side at the last moment, the INA needed to set an example of patriotic bravery in battle. He felt his own death in battlefield would stimulate a new phase in India's internal freedom struggle. He was dissuaded from this course because two divisions of the INA were still intact and he thought of a new role for this patriotic Indian military force in the postwar situation. Unlike other leaders of the Japan-occupied Southeast Asian countries, he, at one stage, thought of staying with INA troops in Singapore to await the arrival of the Mountbatten-led British Indian occupation force. This course was abandoned on August 14, 1945, on the advice of the members of the Azad Hind government and other important officers of the INA. On August 14, 1945, some information was brought to him from Thailand. This information led him to abandon the plan that the INA troops with Netaji as their head, should await the capture of Singapore by the British occupation force. There is no record of the information that caused the Azad Hind government to ask Netaji to fly to Tokyo for final consultations with the Japanese government. Is it likely that Netaji had been forewarned of the British preference for dealing with him "on the spot"? Netaji had not rejected the idea of his being taken to India as a prisoner. Did he fear that he would not be taken to India as a British prisoner? He knew of the existence of the Allies' spies and operatives in the INA and the Anglo-American forces and agents operating behind the Japanese lines. As the war drew to a close, important but vulnerable people changed sides. They acted on the Allies' directives. The INA, too, had been penetrated by persons who were Allies' operatives. Even in Japan there were important people who wanted to please the victors. They were ready to pay the price the new masters demanded of them. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose knew that he was in a veritable snake pit. It is necessary to bear this fact in mind when the story of his death in an air crash on August 18, 1945 is read. ------------------------------------ The Tip Off Dear Editor, I am a retired Indian Police Service officer who had worked for long years in the Intelligence Bureau in various capacities. In the final phase of my service, I worked as the Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development, New Delhi. During my days with the Intelligence Bureau, in the early 1960s, "Major General" Bonzo J K Bhonsale become a very close friend of mine. During a conversation we had in 1962, General Bhonsale categorically told me that - despite the controversy - Netaji had, in fact, died in the air-crash, as reported. There was just no other evidence or ground to prove otherwise. Later, I submitted a full account of the matter as recounted by General Bhonsale to the Director, Intelligence Bureau. It was seen by the highest officers before being returned to me as the originator, for filing. It may be still in the old files (of 1962-63 vintage). General Bhonsale, a direct descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji, was perhaps the Director of Military Operations of the Indian National Army when Netaji was killed in an air-crash. Therefore, he was a well-placed and well-informed person on the circumstances leading to the death of Netaji. General Bhonsale joined the Congress party after his release at the end of the INA Trial. He was elected to the Lok Sabha and became Deputy Minister for Rehabilitation. Later, he was given the charge of Director General, National Discipline Scheme. It was at this stage that I befriended General Bhonsale. At that time, I was a superintendent of Police in the Intelligence Bureau. Vinod Krishna Kaul A-9, Pamposh Enclave Greater Kailash-1 New Delhi

- the talent grid

2004-12-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

On demand business requires on demand employees Cristina Banks, Senior Lecturer (Continuing) Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations Group

The on demand world is clearly new. One of its prime characteristics is responsiveness — in speed, quality, proven value. For people, it means going where the demand is — and leaving where it’s not. If services are to be delivered exactly when and where needed, people have to be on demand too. The employee’s view

The employee’s world will significantly change. Your job could vary even daily with the vagaries of demand. You’ll probably find yourself identifying more with your work than with your company or job. Job title and corporate affiliation will mean far less than your experience and talent. In essence you’ll be a ‘free agent,’ selling your skills to the right bidder at the right time. This has several implications. For one, knowledge not transcending business lines or particular clients will likely lose value. Another is that knowledge of your own organization will become less important, since your tie to it will be looser. The premium will be on your ability to learn new skills fast and apply them in disparate situations. A benefit — if you’re receptive — is that you’ll encounter new places, new people, new kinds of work. You’ll likely accelerate your professional development. You’ll find greater satisfaction because you’ll be doing the work at which you’re best, for the highest possible price. Organizations, knowing your freedom to leave, will be compelled to offer you more interesting work and better career opportunities.

The organization’s view

Organizations will have to change too. Above all, they’ll need to match talent more closely with work requirements — too much talent for an assignment is a waste; too little, a prescription for failure. Ideally, companies, gauging the talent demand and supply, would set up a “talent grid.” Like power or computing grids, talent grids would deliver talent to where it’s most needed, and when. Specifically, companies would set up databases of people whose talents and skills are denoted and coded for potential work assignments. I understand IBM is moving in this direction. An organization committed to on demand people:

- recognizes the talents of everyone – employees, independent contractors, temps, suppliers and partners, even retirees. - understands how that talent can be deployed – anywhere. - has fair, open, transparent systems for determining new assignments. - supports redeployment of people to new areas. - provides incentives, financial and otherwise, to embrace new assignments. - rewards and promotes people who move as needed. - provides chances to build new skills, and updates employee databases as skills are gained. - creates a new kind of manager: to replace long-term ones, a “talent” manager, much like a talent agent in the entertainment business, who follows people across assignments and becomes their “coach.”

A changed mindset

If organizations truly believe people are important to their success, they’ll invest in those activities that bring every person’s talent to light. Accordingly, they’ll provide people new opportunities — to grow professionally, do meaningful work, build new relationships, expand personal networks, accelerate career development. In an on demand world, everyone wins when talent is surfaced, maximized, and optimally distributed. Question is, are companies — and employees — brave enough and wise enough to make it happen?"

Cristina G. Banks, PhD University of California, Berkeley

- 4 E's

2004-07-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

E - EDUCATION E - EDGE .. Knowledge E - ENERGY...your strength and level of skills to make you more creative E - EVOLUTION .. Rationalized process of ideation to give you an intrascope to check with your ownself what you are and where you stand apart from what you need to keep your self content, updated and motivated

- Basel II Norms

2004-07-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

The Basel II Capital Accord is an amended regulatory framework that has been developed by the Bank of International Settlements that requires all internationally active banks, at every tier within the banking group, to adopt similar or consistent risk-management practices for tracking and publicly reporting exposure to operational, credit and market risks. The technological changes brought about by Basel II provide a unique opportunity for financial services organizations to build an enterprise in which all business systems are connected, available and secure. http://www.basel-ii.info/