From whatever little I have seen and experienced in my short life, there are very few things that would have 'moved' me. One such thing was a phrase 'lets make a dent in the universe'. It takes courage and great vision to even think of such a thing and I have admired a man who could say this. Today I am 'moved' again.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Implementation is the key for Startups
This is one piece that I was waiting to write for some time now. The reason may not be as obvious as it may seem. It is a very subjective topic and may have many interpretations, however, I will try to keep it as objective as possible.
So, first let me try and define the difference between operational and implementation. Operational is how your company will be run and the implementation is how you plan to get to the point where you are actually running the Company. To put it in simple words, operational is that how your life in a stable love relation will be and implementation is what all you should do to ensure that you are in a stable love relationship.
The reason I have taken this example is because company and relationship are 2 things that are very close to an individual and require similar involvement for them to be successful in the long term. The interesting thing is that most founders fail to develop an implementation plan for the business. Reason being envisioning how the business will work is much easier than envisioning/identifying all the steps to get the business up and running. However, the situation is completely different when you talk about a relationship. For a relationship an individual thinks of the minutest of details to ensure the start of a love relationship. This individual may not have a clue as to what or how must things progress from there on.
I believe if a founder thinks and acts like a person in a relationship, he is sure to get success. At the end of the day it is all about being able to implement swiftly and not being lost in thought. Thinking too much sometimes takes the excitement away and makes an individual anxious. If you implement what you have planned without being anxious you will surely be running a company and will surely be in a relationship. Once this is achieved you must work very hard on the operational plan for stability. An operational plan helps in rapid expansion and to tackle well with the challenges that will come along with more people and processes.
I hope this makes some sense and helps startups to think right and implement fast.
So, first let me try and define the difference between operational and implementation. Operational is how your company will be run and the implementation is how you plan to get to the point where you are actually running the Company. To put it in simple words, operational is that how your life in a stable love relation will be and implementation is what all you should do to ensure that you are in a stable love relationship.
The reason I have taken this example is because company and relationship are 2 things that are very close to an individual and require similar involvement for them to be successful in the long term. The interesting thing is that most founders fail to develop an implementation plan for the business. Reason being envisioning how the business will work is much easier than envisioning/identifying all the steps to get the business up and running. However, the situation is completely different when you talk about a relationship. For a relationship an individual thinks of the minutest of details to ensure the start of a love relationship. This individual may not have a clue as to what or how must things progress from there on.
I believe if a founder thinks and acts like a person in a relationship, he is sure to get success. At the end of the day it is all about being able to implement swiftly and not being lost in thought. Thinking too much sometimes takes the excitement away and makes an individual anxious. If you implement what you have planned without being anxious you will surely be running a company and will surely be in a relationship. Once this is achieved you must work very hard on the operational plan for stability. An operational plan helps in rapid expansion and to tackle well with the challenges that will come along with more people and processes.
I hope this makes some sense and helps startups to think right and implement fast.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Global Warming is real !
I was thinking of writing this piece for over a month now. This is one of the take aways of my trip to Canada in the month of July'07.
The way global warming has been presented to the world is inappropriate if not incorrect. We know that global warming can result in:
1. Rise in sea level (Alexendria, Kolkata, Shanghai etc. will submerge) ... I could not imagine this and hence I did not relate!!!
2. Extreme weather conditions (flooding, drought, storms etc.). These were always there, I could not relate to the concept of increased frequency of such events.
3. Glaciers melting. Aren't glaciers meant to melt. Yes they are receding fast, who cares, its more land to live on. I could not relate to the idea of dried rivers, I don't think I will see that happening in my life time may be even my children may not see that.
All the communication about global warming and its impacts fell on deaf ears as far as I am concerned, and am sure such is the case with most of us. However, one trip to Canadian rockies changed all this. The scale of what I saw was unimaginable and the impact catastrophic. If what I saw and will talk about can ever be mended, it will take generations of human lives to happen.
Canadian rockies are full of pine tree (mainly 2 different types of pine). These pine trees cover almost 80% if not more of the Canadian rockies (source: my own estimate). Due to extreme cold weather for almost 8 to 9 months in a year, these trees have a very small growing season. Hence, some of the big trees that one sees there would be around 200 to 300 years old if not older. Infact, I saw some trees not even as tall as me (am a bit less than 6 ft) which would have been 100s of years old. So, here we were enjoying the lush green mountains while driving on the wide roads without realizing the altitude we gained with every mile. Suddenly all the green vanished!! It all turned into brown. It was brown all around, from where we were till the end of the world it was brown. You would think that the trees would have disappeared and thats why brown. NO!! The trees were brown. All of them infected by pine beetle. Every one in the cruiser (our car) was quiet for the next few hours. The OLD trees were dying, and there was no way to save them. In some years there would be no pine tree left. May be over time some other trees which are resistant to pine beetles may grow (IF), but thats an evolutionary process and may take centuries.
The government is trying its best to prevent this catastrophe but in vain. They try to cut down infected trees, burn them and do what not. But beetle is a beetle, they multiply like (rather unlike) anything. Pesticides cannot be used on such a large scale (we are talking about half of Canadian rockies). So, we just have to see these trees die and once a tree dies the beetles take the next and the next and the next and next.....
Now, what does global warming have to do with this. Pine beetles have been there in the rockies for years. However, in the past due to extreme cold, these beetles could not survive and the growing season for them was very small, so the impact wasn't spread. Now, with higher temperatures during the winters and relatively warmer conditions for a longer time, the growing season for the beetles has increased. So, they spread over miles every season thinning the forest year after year. I could even spot brown trees on some snowy peaks.
The problem of pine beetles may or may not have a cure, but we are sure to loose a great part of the rocky forests in the near future and with it will go many heavenly sceneries and places of this world. I feel lucky to have witnessed the beauty...dont know how long it will last. Ironically these are trees that will vanish, trees which are supposed to be our only protection against one of the most prominent green house gas i.e. Carbon di oxide.
This experience was indeed an eye opener for me as I could see something bad happening and there was a logical and scientific relation to the whole event. Global warming is real. It may or may not be due to human reasons, but we must make sure that we do not add to the already increasing problem.
The way global warming has been presented to the world is inappropriate if not incorrect. We know that global warming can result in:
1. Rise in sea level (Alexendria, Kolkata, Shanghai etc. will submerge) ... I could not imagine this and hence I did not relate!!!
2. Extreme weather conditions (flooding, drought, storms etc.). These were always there, I could not relate to the concept of increased frequency of such events.
3. Glaciers melting. Aren't glaciers meant to melt. Yes they are receding fast, who cares, its more land to live on. I could not relate to the idea of dried rivers, I don't think I will see that happening in my life time may be even my children may not see that.
All the communication about global warming and its impacts fell on deaf ears as far as I am concerned, and am sure such is the case with most of us. However, one trip to Canadian rockies changed all this. The scale of what I saw was unimaginable and the impact catastrophic. If what I saw and will talk about can ever be mended, it will take generations of human lives to happen.
Canadian rockies are full of pine tree (mainly 2 different types of pine). These pine trees cover almost 80% if not more of the Canadian rockies (source: my own estimate). Due to extreme cold weather for almost 8 to 9 months in a year, these trees have a very small growing season. Hence, some of the big trees that one sees there would be around 200 to 300 years old if not older. Infact, I saw some trees not even as tall as me (am a bit less than 6 ft) which would have been 100s of years old. So, here we were enjoying the lush green mountains while driving on the wide roads without realizing the altitude we gained with every mile. Suddenly all the green vanished!! It all turned into brown. It was brown all around, from where we were till the end of the world it was brown. You would think that the trees would have disappeared and thats why brown. NO!! The trees were brown. All of them infected by pine beetle. Every one in the cruiser (our car) was quiet for the next few hours. The OLD trees were dying, and there was no way to save them. In some years there would be no pine tree left. May be over time some other trees which are resistant to pine beetles may grow (IF), but thats an evolutionary process and may take centuries.
The government is trying its best to prevent this catastrophe but in vain. They try to cut down infected trees, burn them and do what not. But beetle is a beetle, they multiply like (rather unlike) anything. Pesticides cannot be used on such a large scale (we are talking about half of Canadian rockies). So, we just have to see these trees die and once a tree dies the beetles take the next and the next and the next and next.....
Now, what does global warming have to do with this. Pine beetles have been there in the rockies for years. However, in the past due to extreme cold, these beetles could not survive and the growing season for them was very small, so the impact wasn't spread. Now, with higher temperatures during the winters and relatively warmer conditions for a longer time, the growing season for the beetles has increased. So, they spread over miles every season thinning the forest year after year. I could even spot brown trees on some snowy peaks.
The problem of pine beetles may or may not have a cure, but we are sure to loose a great part of the rocky forests in the near future and with it will go many heavenly sceneries and places of this world. I feel lucky to have witnessed the beauty...dont know how long it will last. Ironically these are trees that will vanish, trees which are supposed to be our only protection against one of the most prominent green house gas i.e. Carbon di oxide.
This experience was indeed an eye opener for me as I could see something bad happening and there was a logical and scientific relation to the whole event. Global warming is real. It may or may not be due to human reasons, but we must make sure that we do not add to the already increasing problem.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
How customers can increase spending power by 4 to 5%
New discounting services in Delhi/NCR are revolutionizing the way people shop
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit confirms that consumers in Delhi will have to pay more for better services. In this environment of ever increasing expenses some very innovative discounting services have come up in the market who claim to help the consumers in increasing their spending power by 4 to 5%.
As per a recent press release by E&Y there are around 18Lac consumers in the 4 metros between the age of 22 to 35 years who are well to do and spend around 35% of their income on lifestyle essentially health & beauty, designer/branded clothes and specialist restaurants. The new discounting players are sourcing exclusive discounts from all the major providers across these categories in the city and making them available to the consumers through mobile phones and internet. The exclusive discounts are generally for both online and physical stores.
The average saving that a consumer can get on his lifestyle spend through these discounts is around 15%. Thus he/she will save around 5% of the total income (15% x 35%). These services are free for the consumer and help the consumer maintain their budgets month on month.
These services are accessible through mobile phones, and this ease of access is working towards changing the consumer behavior who now would search for an offer before making a buying decision.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit confirms that consumers in Delhi will have to pay more for better services. In this environment of ever increasing expenses some very innovative discounting services have come up in the market who claim to help the consumers in increasing their spending power by 4 to 5%.
As per a recent press release by E&Y there are around 18Lac consumers in the 4 metros between the age of 22 to 35 years who are well to do and spend around 35% of their income on lifestyle essentially health & beauty, designer/branded clothes and specialist restaurants. The new discounting players are sourcing exclusive discounts from all the major providers across these categories in the city and making them available to the consumers through mobile phones and internet. The exclusive discounts are generally for both online and physical stores.
The average saving that a consumer can get on his lifestyle spend through these discounts is around 15%. Thus he/she will save around 5% of the total income (15% x 35%). These services are free for the consumer and help the consumer maintain their budgets month on month.
These services are accessible through mobile phones, and this ease of access is working towards changing the consumer behavior who now would search for an offer before making a buying decision.
Friday, January 16, 2009
India Feels Proud
I wrote this (I dont know what to call it, its very close to my heart) last year when India won its first ever Olympic gold. But the feelings still remain. Read on :
There was a lot of hype around the Beijing Olympics, and still is as I write this piece with a strange feeling. A feeling I am not able to put in words.
On 8th August 2008 at 5:38 PM (IST) arrived one of the most awaited moment in the history. It was the opening ceremony of Olympics 2008. I tried my level best to reach home as early as possible to be able to see the spectacle live on TV. As it is with traffic in Delhi I managed to reach home by 7:00 PM. But still the show was of such awesome grandeur that I didn't get a chance to think of what I had missed. The huge Globe, the mechanically perfect synchronization, the flying white dove ….. one after the other the marvels continued.
Then the third phase of the ceremony began. The participating countries started to enter the beautiful Bird's Nest – National Stadium. One could easily notice the happiness on the face of each participant entering the field. Each one had an aspiration, a dream to make a mark in the Olympics. To win a medal at the Olympics. To make the country proud. To give the future generations something to look upto and work towards achieving or bettering the feat.
The Indian team entered the stadium with the same verve. But suddenly something struck me. It struck me hard. I realized that one the fastest growing economies of the world, a country that many believe will be a future world power, had a contingent that was smaller that many countries whose names may not be known by many. Worse, in the contingent there were very few if any strong medal contenders.
It made me think. Why is it that India does not seem to be growing beyond cricket (not that they are doing very well in cricket either)? Why are we not able to compete at a true international competition? Are there any systems in place? Do we care?
I did some research and found out that despite not qualifying for any big team (hockey, foot ball – 11 member team each) sports this was one of the largest contingent that India has ever had. Moreover, the number of sports that this contingent covered were far more that any previous Indian contingent at Olympics. So, I consoled my mind that may be there are organizations who are looking into it and slowly but surely India is making progress.
Today, as I write this piece, it not a consolation that fills my mind. It's a feeling of elation, a feeling I may not have experienced even when I cleared some of the toughest competitions in the country. India has won its first ever individual sports Gold in Olympics and first after 1980. Today the country has a role model. The country has someone to look upto. The country has a reason to believe that it is possible. The country knows that it's a work of a genius and there are systems in place to help the genius reach the right place.
I believe its just a start and 10 Olympics down the line India would enter an Olympic stadium with one of the largest contingents with strong medal contenders, and then an Indian like me will not have to console his mind with mere hope.
CHEERS !!!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Startups: Aligning organization goals with their social responsibility
The core goal of any enterprise is to generate profits. And many firms try to give a part of their profits for social activities which are branded as CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility Activity. The larger question is can the business goals and social goals of an organization be combined for the benefit of both the enterprise and the society.
Haresh Amre who led GE's Elfun Volunteers program in India (2002 – 2004) thinks that it can be done. For a company in its inception stages it is easy and more beneficial to build a strong alignment of organization goals with social welfare activities, because this is the time when the basic DNA of the organization is built. He says "My personal preference is time and effort for any social activity. As a start-up, if team is able to stay together beyond the purpose of business, it will establish solid foundation for future."
Sarabdeep Singh, CoFounder of Fachak looks at the bigger picture and says "its society at large which has to develop a moral structure where people pride in giving back to it. Startup is just one part of the ecosystem which should be there in a vibrant social structure where people give it back to the system not only in the form of statutory ways like taxes but also in non-statutory ways."
Today many startups have made such activities an integral part of their business activities. Khojguru.com is running a pledge campaign ( khojguru.com/pledge ) for the National Defence Fund. They contribute Re.1 to National Defense Fund (fund for the welfare of security personnel and their dependents) for a business critical process i.e. a users registered on their website. The founder says, "This activity does not only give us satisfaction but makes us even stronger in terms of our resolve towards peace and security for our stake holders and the country".
Chahiye.info donates 20% of their brokerage fees i.e. revenues to prayaas ( chahiye.info/prayas ). These funds would be used by Prayas to provide health, education and recreation to homeless & exploited children. Over the next few months, they aim to extend their support to 1,000 children.
Carmen B. Lewis, president at Xmantiss Industries (Stone Mountain, Georgia) throws in a word of caution. She believes that a company must be careful in choosing the cause and organization it supports as choosing a wrong organization could cost clientele in some instances.
It seems that it is possible to align an organisation's business goals with their social objectives, outlining a very transparent process having benefits for both the enterprise and the society. Greater the number of firms which do such activities, more dramatic will be the impact on our social landscape.
An initiative in the right direction
www.khojguru.com a comprehensive retail information platform for all popular places in a city has initiated a movement to donate Rs. 1 Lakh to the National Defense Fund, a fund for the welfare of the security personnel and their dependents on 26th January 2009.
They seek help from all the bloggers and individuals to reach more people (khojguru.com/pledge)
Hope to bring together as many concerned individuals as possible.
They seek help from all the bloggers and individuals to reach more people (khojguru.com/pledge)
Hope to bring together as many concerned individuals as possible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)