Common Man

Business Resiliency as a competitive advantage

2008-08-19T14:04:00.004+05:30

I chanced upon a iJET risk research report recently on the above subject.

It talks about business resiliency for enterprises and to utilise it as a competitive advantage in the market place. It can be used by the contingency planners for getting the necessary "executive buy-in".

For the entire report, submit your details and gain access here.

The 2008 Business Resiliency Survey results can be accessed here

Shift Happens

2008-08-19T13:51:00.002+05:30

I came across this presentation in Slide Share. Pretty much neat ..no wonder it won the Slide Share best presented content last year..

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Art of 'Ware - Sun Tzu’s The Art of War unplugged !

2007-06-01T11:33:00.000+05:30

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War had been reinterpreted by various authors world wide.

For the uninitiated, The Art of War is a 6th century BC treatise on conflict and warfare written by Sun Tzu. The principles of war largely applies to politics,business and life in today's context.

Webster had attempted it earlier to reinterpret Sun Tzu’s maxims and applied to developing and marketing information technology products, most particularly software.

Currently he is in the process of updating his Art of 'Ware version 2.0.

Some of the quotes I liked most :

Sun Tzu (Chapter 2, ‘Doing Battle’, Sonshi.com translation): When weapons are blunted, and ardor dampened, strength exhausted, and resources depleted, the neighboring rulers will take advantage of these complications. Then even the wisest of counsels would not be able to avert the consequences that must ensue.

The Art of ‘Ware (Chapter 2, ‘Supporting Development’, 1995 edition): When your developers are burned out, your technology aging, your resources diminished, and your advantages gone, then others will take advantage of your weaknesses and cut into your market. Even expensive consultants and new CEOs won’t be able to turn things around.

Please click here to read the entire book. Pretty good reading..

Are you a Salesman?

2007-05-29T12:34:00.001+05:30

I received this story from a friend and found pretty interetsing ! It covers the trait of a salesman.. go on ready the story and enjoy..

A young Indian guy moves to Montreal and goes to a big department store looking for a job. The manager asks, "Do you have any sales experience?"

The kid, "Yeah, I was a salesman back home". Well, the manager liked the young man, so he gave him the job. "You start tomorrow. I'll come down after we close and see how you did, but let me give you a bit of advice. If a customer comes looking, say, for toothpaste, you might suggest for him a toothbrush, or shaving cream etc. you get the idea?" "Of course," the young man said.

His first day on the job was rough but he got through it. After the store was locked up, the manager came down. "How many sales did you make today?

The kid says, "One"

The manager groans, "Just one? Our sales people average 20 or 30 sales a day. How much was the sale for?"

The kid says, "$101, 237.64."

The manager exclaims, "What? $ 101,237.64? What did you sell him?"

The kid, "First I sold him a small fish hook. Then I soldhim a medium fishhook. Then I sold him a larger fishhook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod. Then I asked him where he was going fishing, and he said down at the coast, so I told him he was going to need a boat, so we went down to the boat department, and I sold him that twin engine Chris Craft. Then he said he didn't think his Honda Civic would pull it, so I Took him down to the automotive department and sold him
that 4X4 Pajero."

The manager says "You mean a guy came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a boat and truck?!"

The kid, "No, no, no, he came in here to buy a box of Kotex for his wife and I said, "Well, since your weekend's already screwed up,you might as well go fishing."

Ten Ways to Use Linkedin!

2007-05-25T10:29:00.001+05:30

Guy Kawasaki points to the ten ways of effectively using the Linkedin.

Increasingly the head hunters are browsing the linked in profiles to sift the loads of profiles to match with the jobs.

It is also better to promote the Linkedin profile as apersonal branding in the blogs,email signatures et al.

India - a vibrant democracy

2007-05-18T12:35:00.000+05:30

Anything can stall the Parliament in India.It has become a routine now that our esteemed MPs stall the proceedings of the House.

Have you ever wondered that a train ticket can cause a furore in the House ? It all started with a member demanding that 3 languages be printed in the ticket (English, Hindi and a local language of the state) and no exceptions be given to a state (TN in this case!)

NDMA Guidelines for earthquake resistance buildings

2007-05-18T12:28:00.000+05:30

The National Disaster Management Authority chaired by the Indian Prime Minister had finally come up with broad guidelines for the buildings to be designed as earth quake resistant.

India had been affected by a series of earthquakes - Latur, Bhuj,J&K being the most recent ones which had not faded in our memories.

The focus is on earthquake resistant construction of new structures, selective seismic strengthening and retrofitting of existing priority structures, regulation and enforcement, awareness, capacity development and emergent response.

The NDMA has finalised another set of guidelines, for chemical (industrial) disasters. It is also working on guidelines for management of other disasters like floods, cyclones, landslides and nuclear disasters.

New feature in Linked In!

2007-05-16T12:25:00.000+05:30

The new Linked In feature enables the users to view the visitor profiles.However,to prevent the privacy of the vistors,the names are left out.i guess this is in contrast with sites like orkut which provides the names of the vistors too!

Googleability - a tool for landing a dream job?

2007-05-16T12:06:00.000+05:30

The "googleability" quotient of individuals is now a determining factor for people to land in their dream jobs! I also came across a news clip that now couples are deciding their babies name so that it can be easily searchable and located in the web.

In addition to that , creating a brief profile in the social community networking portals like Linked In,Zoom Info ,Spoke also has high chances that it gets visible in the recruiters radar.

1000 Paintings.com

2006-05-31T17:38:00.000+05:30

A unique and an interesting experiment with art & mathematics!!

Onethousandpaintings.com for your pick !!

Bird Flu - How do we handle it?

2006-02-20T09:46:00.000+05:30

Mostly feared and now that it had made to the headlines in India!

Samples of the Bird Flu virus spreading across Maharashtra and the culling is on !!

Here is a definitive guide on the business continuity in managing the crisis caused due to the bird flu.It is published by SPRING Singapore based on their previous experiences in handling SARS related cases.

Definitive Guide on Business Continuity - SPRING Singapore

Please pass it to the concerned as it might be of help to them in tackilng this issue.

The Wedding Crashers

2006-02-06T17:23:00.000+05:30

It had been so long since I posted last..Lots of activity and movement prevented me to do a posting.

It had been sometime now that I saw this movie on board SIA flight enroute to Chennai.I did not have much expectations about this film as I watched this light comedy through my journey.
I had completely forgot about this movie till yesterday when I came across the review by Shobha De on this movie in her regular column.

De is in for full praise about this boldness of this movie and it okay for men to cry and occasionally smooch as they try out their gals during the wedding crashes.

Other aspect which I liked about the movie is that its very light comedy exhibited by Vince Vaughen (Jennifer Aniston's current boy friend) and Owen.

Mail for the future !

2005-12-20T11:32:00.000+05:30

The site futureme.org had gained some notice quite recently and it allows members to write mails to themselves about how they will feel about any thing and can be delivered at a future date to themselves..

Try out for yourself..Get logged into the time capsule as the site claims human memory is short..

Is small the new big?

2005-10-06T16:26:00.000+05:30

I recently got a chance to read an article by Glenn Reynolds about the emerging power of small companies.Quite well written and true in today's context.

It has just reiterated my belief about the following things..

1.Death of intermediaries

Be it publishing industry,music -we all know the entire value chain is being resurrected by giving a blow to the existed intermediaries.

Dell did it by directly connecting to customer.
Amazon,E Bay all followed.

2.Reinvention of intermediaries

The new entrants to the market like Dell,Amazon et al had reinvented their role and became the new intermediary.

What Barnes & Nobles could achieve in a brick and mortar was achieved by cutting the intermediaries by Amazon.

What Indian Airlines cannot do..Deccan did ..others followed by eticketing..

Passing the benefit to the customer..

3.Empowerment of small companies

It is in the own interests of the big,they need to nurture small..

Be it companies or nations..the rule applies..

It is in the own self interest of the Western world,they are atleast saying they are saving Africa from hunger,poverty..

Make Poverty History Campaign just reflected that idea.

4.Co-existence in a ecosystem

We need to have both small and big they are here to stay...only it brings efficiencies in the system by coexisting,collaborating in a eco system.

IBM recently announced that it is giving free access to many (100 or so) of its patented innovations for collaborative use to counter threats from competition(Read Microsoft) for use of engineers across the world for open source development..

BCM World 2005,KL

2005-09-21T18:17:00.000+05:30

I was invited as a panel member to deliberate the evolving standards in the field of Business Continuity at the BCM World 2005 held in KL recently.It opened up hot debates whether Small and Medium Enterprises should have their own set of standards in the already crowded maze of standards!

Some tips for a memorable date!!

2005-08-01T12:10:00.000+05:30

Ze Frank is one hell of a creative guy with some great ideas!!

When I was trying to get some hold on the above subject ,just chanced upon this (hi hi!)

Read more to get his gyan on this subject :: How to impress your date?

...TED....

2005-08-01T12:06:00.000+05:30

Recently saw a program in the TV showing an interesting event..World's smartest ,funkiest and innovative network of people (congregation of beautiful minds) and listening them display their flair is the highlight of the event.. TED :: Technology Entertainment Design..

Born in 1984 out of the observation by Richard Saul Wurman of a powerful convergence between Technology, Entertainment and Design. The first TED included the public unveiling of the Macintosh computer and the Sony compact disc, while mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot demonstrated how to map coastlines with his newly discovered fractals and AI guru Marvin Minsky outlined his powerful new model of the mind.

Ever since, attracting a growing and influential audience from many different disciplines united by their curiosity, open-mindedness, a desire to think outside the box... and by the sense of community arising from their shared discovery of an exciting secret. (TED has never had an advertising budget or a PR campaign.) TED 2006 tickets already sold out!!

Those who have spoken at TED include Bill Gates, Frank Gehry, Jane Goodall, Billy Graham, Herbie Hancock, Murray Gell-Mann, Larry Ellison. Yet often the real stars have been the unexpected: Li Lu, a key organizer of the Tiananmen Square student protest, Aimee Mullins, a Paralympics competitor who tried out a new pair of artificial legs on-stage, or Nathan Myrrhvold speaking not about Microsoft platforms, but about dinosaur sex.

The story continues...More about the TED prizes in my next writing..

A Musical journey...

2005-08-01T08:58:00.000+05:30

It was a long overdue for me to purchase the recently released masterpiece by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja - "Thiruvasagam -By Ilaiyaraaja a Classical Crossover".Finally got the opportunity to buy and experience the soul stirring performances perfect mix of Western Harmony and the Eastern Melody.I must place my gratitude to his team who collaborated across the world to recreate the work done by the 10th Century Saivaite Saint Manikavasagar in praise of Lord Siva.

The old saying goes"Thiruvasagathikku urugaar oru vaasagathikkum urugaar"(For those whose heart do not melt for these songs,will never melt for any other song !).Such is the power of those hymns by a mere recital, melts even the hardened hearts..

This work has come out of hardships for arranging the necessary financial support.This also proves that how music industry will collaborate in the near future...This piece is termed as oratorio and not exactly Symphony..as it is a musical work for orchestra and voices on a sacred theme..Conducted by the Hungary's best known "Laszlo Kovacs" from the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and the sound engineered by Grammy award winner Richard King and the English lyrics by Stephen Schwartz .

Nobody would have ever imagined even such collaboration and network is possible..Orchestrated by a Indian classical composer ,Sound engineer from New York,Budapest Symphony Orchestra,Conducted by a Hungarian,Chorus Sound recording done in the sound studios of Chennai,Mumbai,Hungary...With a total 260 musicians and 130 singers.

I strongly recommend this work for everyone - for the Music doesn't have any boundary or the lingual barriers..Do purchase for yourself and recommend to your friends and help the cause .The music CD's are available at Amazon ,Carnatica and all other leading stores in India and abroad.Let us pray only that the Almighty provides the strength to our Maestro Ilaiyaraaja to pursue similar projects to preserve our Traditional Culture and Music...

Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit ...

2005-07-07T12:36:00.000+05:30

Last month's Piper Jaffray First Global Internet Summit threw some interesting trends ...My former employer Sify was also invited to participate in the summit to present on the topic " International markets - Local Power and Dominance of Non U.S opportunities".

The top 10 takeaways from the first Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit: My thoughts appended against each trend ..

1) Online Advertising - The Big Winner Though debatable ,I would say that the changing trend of delivery based pay models which is a welcome move from the advertising community..You pay for the results delivered as an imp
act of the ad..

2) Changing Traditional Media and Telecom Models - Media will get consolidated with telecom,ip network,and the future of digital movies sent through optical pipes preventing piracy to an extent...the way I see the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprise is betting on...with the infocomm infrastructure deliver the entertainment content...adlabs acquisition is already a beginning sign..

3) Emergence of Mobile Media as the Next Big Opportunity -Largely depends on the content and delivery techinques to the end customer.

4) Google's Brand Strength and Dominance in Search - It will continue to grow further with this online library thing also catching up for free flow of information to everyone..

5) Uncertain Future for Music Industry - I think this we have deliberated long time back in our strategy classes about the abnormal disruption of the music industry value chain..

6) Development of New Web Communities - Yes and No Partially..Blog as a good example...the freedom of expression ..that had led to many wonder the emergence of a new media ..esp from the print media who is threatened about this form of media..

7) Consolidation Environment with Increasing M&A Activities - Increasingly the consolidation is happening in the bank sector,energy will follow suit as the thirsty Asian tigers will swallow the erstwhile mighty west.

8) Limited Upside Potential for Pure eCommerce Players - Thats the truth anyway...when the company does not find a niche then,soon the service will be commoditised and no more a value differentiator.

9) Vertical Search Gaining - As I see it,the new search engines like grokker ,vivisimo will further enhance the search capabilities.If anyone can throw some more light on it,most welcome..

10) Spyware, Viruses Could Slow Ad Spending - Highly correlated to point #1 .However the viruses and spywares are anyway threat to the netrprise and it does not restrict itself only effecting Adspends..

Are you listening?

2005-06-10T22:43:00.000+05:30

Recently I heard the news of SK Telecom introducing mosquito repellents using a mobile phone!!South Korea's Mobile company hadn't got a better time to launch the product..The timing was so perfect and the mobile gizmo produces low range noise that shoos mosquitoes away ...With the astounding success of this new venture which was truly an innovation by putting the product's multiple uses to the client,now the company has plans to exapand its portfolio with more insects added to the list...They are trying one for the bees,insects and the like...
In India where the mobiles are added in the tune of 1.7 million units per month,these concepts have a long way to go..Can any Indian mobile company give a try in such things rather by merely spending in the marketing budgets and the ads with sportsmen.

the bureaucrats,babus and India!

2005-06-06T14:42:00.000+05:30

Enough had been written about the India - China comparisions and the emergence of an Asian superpower in the subcontinent.

I was attending a conference organised by the Global Organisation for the People of Indian origin - GOPIO INdia Links 2005 yesterday.As I was one of the very few Indian Indians among the diaspora,many of the speakers missed the fineline and the focus for every reason the conference was to deliberate upon.A lot of information overload in terms of statistics were shown in the subseuent presentations.Sometimes the same information being shown again...But the ways and opportunities to invest in India or the diaspora's responsibility to contribute to the Indian growth hardly came up during the discussion.

We had the Minister of Youth affairs from the State of Andhra Pradesh and luckily he was younger as against the norm in India that the Youth minister must be a senior citizen!Neither could he answer the floor about the bueracratic delays that happen when new investments flow in,nor could give a convincing answer...The Deputy High Commisioner of the India to Malysia need to come to his rescue by saying that a lot had improved over the years which is true..It is understood that our real polik in most cases reflect the same genre of babus,it is high time that they can do their homework before attending these types of forum!

As usual the conference started late as per the Indian standards delayed by only one hour,then the panel discussions which should have been deliberated could not happen as the chair hurried to catch up the time lost!!I could make a nice comparision between the Andhra's former CM Chandrababu and the current minister who represented India ...The one who transformed the city of Hyderabad to the Cyberabad as it stands today.Many may argue that I am complaining,but it is good that way rather to be passive and resist change..

It is a sham that we have such people spoiling the whole image of our nation abroad!

It is atleast a good sign that many youth join the system ...to be in the system first to clenase the system!!

Position in the consumer mind...

2005-06-01T16:22:00.000+05:30

There are trains and there are these LRT's....The Local mass transit trains are there plunging the skys and tunnels...Advertisng all over the coach is one thing....Whether it serves the purpose is another different thing...You ask the marketing guy and she is to give a good 100 reasons for advertising the same..

In this kinda scene,I rather experienced a simple yet different campaign by Nokia!.All the space including the top of the coach is covered with a model of Nokia Phone with some call outs all over.My station was to come..I hear the announcement...a familiar Nokia tune..Many passengers including myself went on to pick the mobile phone ...Only to find that it is an announcement....Next Station....Bangsar....Nokia .......Connecting People...followed by another tune....

This advertisement proves to be effective,there is a total recall for the brand..You might ask me what difference it makes to an existing Nokia phone owner...When there is a need for upgradation,top recall along with the experience of using Nokia phone for its simple navigational features and use brings them back to the Finnish giant..all over again..

These simple,yet effective ways to communicate with the masses in the busy travel time in morning or a tired travel after work will definitely make a big difference...

Nokia ! Surely connects with people...

Singlish - The language of the sentosa !!

2005-05-20T07:01:00.000+05:30

kiasu (kee-ah-soo)

A Hokkien adjective literally meaning, "afraid of losing". Commonly part of the Singlish dictionary(the Singaporean English lah!!) , kiasu has a certain philosophy A highly pejorative description beloved of Singaporeans and is evident there in every aspect of life. Possibly the defining of a major characteristic. The nearest English equivalent is "dog in a manger", though even that is pretty mild."You went to get a handicapped sticker just to chope a parking space? How kiasu can you get?"

You can see them in the trains trying to enter first before the three alarms ring to close the door ..in the escalators running down or up to catch the unknown...in the ticket counter rushing others to get the ticket only to stay ahead of a few seconds difference with the next guy standing in there...

Though kiasus are ubiquitous,but the word got labelled to Singapore..

I believe that having the trait is good...but too much of it as exhibited will personify the greed and fear of unknown...

Now Everyone can fly!!

2005-05-08T10:41:00.000+05:30

This is the tagline of the regional low cost acrrier (LCC) in Malaysia -Air Asia.They had done that rightly since their inception in 2001.Much had been written about the emergence of LCC in the region and the fillip that brings to the economy.Can they manage the sky rocketing fuel costs and poaching of qualified staff?These challenges are for every other sector too..The airline which had a modest beginning like the desi version Deccan now commands a total of 30 flights and has ordered additonal Airbus to handle the traffic.The media savvy CEO Tony opines that the trend is to stay and the plan is to open up to countries like China apart from Indonesia,Phillipines,Thailand where the carrier currently caters to.

The innovative price models adopted by carriers like Deccan offering starting at INR 1 (Plans are in place yet the exact details will be announced when the time is appropriate as per the CEO Cap.Gopinath) will drive the growth and the price elasticity of demand.

We can look for a brighter future for these companies adding the bottomline as well apart from pricing pressures.It is often stated jocularly that if you come as a billionaire and start an aviation business you will end up being a millionaire...We hope to see the reverse trend where common man can become billionaires provided they have the right model like Air asia and Deccan..

Asian fashion

2005-05-07T16:23:00.000+05:30

Finally it has arrived....The third edition of the KL fashion week showcased some of the best of breed designs from all across Asia.It is quite satisfactory to note that the fashion had been redefined here and many names including India's Rohit Bal were exhibiting their designs.The ramp shows and the cat walks brought in huge crowds in the venues.Now there are plans to get an international affiliation to add some more recognition to the show.

The corporate bigwigs,fashion freeks and the common man thronged the mega malls to witness the gala shows though very few shows were open for public.It is better that India can learn few pointers from the show.The Tourism Board of Malaysia promotes and supports the show along with L'oreal and the Star Publications as the main sponsors.

Among the other noted figures spotted were Allan Chai from Singapore and Liang zi from China.

Gazelle - A health check for the economy??

2005-04-22T17:07:00.000+05:30

The last time I heard about this is in a conference by the Young Entrepreneurs Organisation - Taipan 2005 in the Kuala Lumpur City. The word "Gazelle" coined by a Cambridge Professor Dr.David Birch refers to the companies that have 5 to 100 million in revenue with a 20% annual growth. Verne Harnish extended the theory and concluded that these companies are the real job generators for the economy. It is very surprising to note that small companies constitute 15% of the gazelle economy .With the technological boom, it does not really matter how many employees your company has but stands on which level in generating the revenues and the growth is a real question to ponder!

The evolution is very difficult as the transformation a small company into a big one brings with it the cultural differences .You do not know the names of all the employees and neither do the core values the organisation stands for.

In that growth mode, the companies also slowly get distant from the customers and the employees to add more to the problems. The real challenge is to keep pace with the fast growth, yet remain focused about the core values that the company means to the stake holders..

Larger than life Brands!!

2005-04-16T17:23:00.000+05:30

It had not taken me by surprise the recent decision of a famous TV editor from India's 24x7 news channel to start a new venture on his own..As usual the stock markets reacted to the news by a blood bath by the scrip plummeting by another 12%.

The TV channel used to promote the anchors as larger than life brands and these people were given the liberty to strip off the interviewer in the literal sense to create any such hype..NEWS..Sensational NEWS..

The incident is not new as the same thing happened a couple of years ago in the South Indian based TV network..The TV company itself had created many such brands and given a celeibrity status...

The company's loss is the new ventures gain..Lets hope these journalists do keep up the

Point The brand that an organisation created had created its own peril.You can expect to see many such movements after the sector had opened up..

Food for thought

2005-04-10T09:19:00.000+05:30

Recent business trips to Malaysia had taught me some lessons that stand memorable..

Although I am aware of the Pay as you Please concept introduced by the Annalakshmi Group of Restaurants,it is very good once you experience the whole process yourself..

A class vegeterian restaurant serving authentic Indian food in a highly culturistic ambience that reflects the ethos and principles of India is quite amusing...There are quite a few of them run by the same group in Chennai and Coimbatore,but it took me so long to exoerience the feeling in this country..Their motto is simple "Where vegeterian dining is a cultural experience"..The priniciple is derived from the ancient saying,"Athithi Devo Bhava" -from Sanskrit meaning "Guest is God"

Started by a hindu monk,Swami Shantanand Saraswati from the Rishikesh to promote Bharateeyam now stands a big testimony as sucessful ventures in 4 countries and expanding day by day.It all started with a simple journey to Malaysia way back in seventies to meet people.In Kuala Lumpur, he was hosted by a family and through them met a number of families. His gatherings were filled with songs in praise of God and his talks illuminated almost every conceivable subject pertinent to life and living but most of all, it was the way he spoke God's love that filled the hearts of those who heard him.

The whole thing is run for pure service by volunteers from all walks of life.The proceeds go to charity,health care projects.The guest can pay as per the wish and leave after a sumptuous lunch or dinner.

So I made a concious decision to provide my daily food allowance to this cause by promoting it by visiting regularly to this place..It is really a food for thought and the service is excellent to any standard..It is very surprising to find Chinese and Foreigners in this place for the dining.

Apart from the dining,the group also runs Temple for Fine arts to promote Indian culture among the people.Next time you visit Perth,Singapore ,Chennai,Coimbatore or KL do visit this place and enjoy the fine dine experience for yourself!!

Consumer Delite at its best

2005-03-23T21:32:00.000+05:30

I was recently forced to use the cybercafes after a long hiatus due to constant travel and the experiences are worth mentioning!!
The leading telecom provider whose papa had a vision to provide connectivity at affordable rates has a chain of branded cyber worlds..To my dismay I noticed that the minimum entry is INR 100 and it goes on for some thousands..There were glitches right from my registration and hence they had asked me to visit the next day.Even then the server congestion could not be rectified and as a stop gap arrangement,they had allowed me to access through a temporary identity provided by them.Notwithstanding the fact,I had used the same facility twice in a day and the next time I visit them,the cyber guide blasts at me and I as a common customer asks my money back.After much to my arguments,the guide had allowed me access though I had not utilised my entire amount...
It is really fun watching the customer argue with the green warriors and they have had a uniform attitude towards customers..Courteousness needs to be found in their dictionary..
After much of the teething problems,they still had not learnt their lessons..The last I heard they are busy fighting within the clan to gain ownership of the mammoth rather than stramline and sort issues...This is customer delite at its best by the most unreliable corporation.

Gong Chi Fa Cai

2005-02-26T09:07:00.000+05:30

Last week I had a chance to witness the famous lion dance in relation to the Chinese New Year Celebrations -The Year of Rooster.It was quite an new experience for me ..

In China, besides dragon dance, the lion dance is another popular recreation for the Chinese during their new year season. The 'Lion' which popularly exists in the Chinese culture and custom, is seemingly incredible because China does not have lions and the description of lions by the Chinese nobles derived from their imaginations. Chinese temples all over China and overseas had these imaginative lion sculptures placed in the frontages. These lions were far from the true likeness of a real lion because the real ones have no horns. These people were called 'lion-men' and they danced in tempo to the musical pieces called 'Tai-pin' melody.There are many different sayings about the origin of the lion dance but none with any real historical records. One saying quoted that 'Many years ago there was a lion which appeared in a small village and it caused harm to the people and domestic animals. There was a Kung-Fu expert who learnt of this and went into the forested mountain to figh t with the lion. He fought with the lion on three occasions but was unable to capture it. So he called up some of the villagers and trained them in Kung-Fu with the intention to kill the lion. A few months later, they went up to the mountain again and finally they killed the lion. The villagers, in order to celebrate this occasion, followed the steps of those who fought with the lion and thus the 'lion dance' was composed. Another saying was that 'the emperor of China of the Ching of the Ching Dynasty had seen a lion dance in one of his dreams and he ordered the guards of the palace to dance in accordance with what he had seen after he woke up. Of course the above two sayings were just legends.

Another aspect of the new year is the tossing of the raw fish salad - “Lo Hei”! Essentially you have a plate of ingredients, each specially chosen for its auspicious sound and meaning in Chinese. For example, the key ingredient is raw fish slices. In Chinese, this reads as “Yu Sheng” which sounds like “surplus and vitality”. Everyone is invited to take part in the “toss-up” to mix the ingredients.I did manage to toss using the chop sticks only to know this later.. The higher you toss, the better your prospects and fortune in the year ahead. It is actually a rare opportunity to mess up the table in the name of overflowing abundance!

Run Chennai ...Run !

2005-02-14T14:49:00.000+05:30

Just 5 more days to go for the much awaited Chennai Marathon 2005,the third version of it comes with a bang!An annual event that is organised by the Rotary Club and supported by the Sports Authority of Tamilnadu.

The Marathon emblem ,The triumph of the Labour statue in the sands of Marina beach symbolises the Passion,Perseverance and Persistence.

The Marathon, as we know it today, commemorates the spirit and valour of the Greek soldier Pheidippides as he ran from a battlefield at Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died.

Let us all participate for a noble cause since the very spirit of the marathon is not winning but participating.The proceeds of the marathon will also help in the funding of Cancer Institute ,Adyar and host of other initiatives involving combating the TB,Polio,Differently abled children.Part of the proceed will also reach CRY,Helpage and AIDS Project.

The marathon run is available in different versions with the entire run covering the stretch of Chennai in 42.2 Kms and Half marathon for women in 21.1 Kms.Nine other versions are also avilable for Children,Youth,Celebrities et al.

Let us all show our consolidity by participating this run and making it a big success !

"Everybody is free to wear Sunscreen"

2005-02-11T11:39:00.000+05:30

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97,

Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis or reliable then my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice....now. Read Entire text

So begins this witty, irreverent, and poignant book of advice for life…It was originally published as a mock graduation speech in a column by Mary Schmich in The Chicago Tribune, this lighthearted gift book is for anyone who can use this piece of inspiration.Widely published as a book, the lyrics was made to a song by Baz Lurhmann ( Romeo & Juliet, Alexander the Great et al ) . A spoof is also available in the name of " Not the Sunscreen Song " by John Safron.

How can I help you?

2005-02-09T17:09:00.000+05:30

The customer care services by the credit card companies is simply a test to the patience of the customer.After all the ads and promotions by the company in the so called Interactive Voice Response System,I get a message that my PIN entered is invalid .After 11 minutes wait ,I get to hear a human voice who has no clues about what I say and just repeats the same story that somebody will get back to me .A new PIN will be dispatched within 7 working days..They charge annual fee but after my reistance,they decide to waive it off suddenly...Another instance,I came to know about all the names of the call agents in my mobile phone company's call center by merely calling them n times..

The kind of agression when the sales promises to the customer and after sales is totally dismaying.We all do it when it comes to our clients..Only do we realise when we are at the receiving end..How helpful is really the help desk that we talk about??

Making of a monster !!

2005-02-07T13:42:00.000+05:30

The recent announcement of MCI scouting for some serious partner for selling its Telecom business reiterates the fact of the big monsters in corporate America!The CEO of MCI, Capellas is known for his deals which he made earlier to make HP acquire his troubled Compaq.

The plans of SBC to acquire the AT &T is also a case in point.The Indian brigade is also following suit now with the Chennai based Aircel announcement of possible sale to Sistema as a second round of consolidation.Aircel acquistion is interesting in terms of the details of the deal like the swap of Indian sovereign debt from Russia to the telco.

Some queries peep in my mind about the above news..

Are we again entering into the big monsters game?
Is there no space for the small companies?

NO ... The size definitely offers its advantages of the scale of economies for the big monsters.However,it will be easier for a small company to be agile and flexible.The ability to respond to the changes in the business environment can be leveraged by a focused company catering to a niche market.Small niches and clusters can only be served by the companies and even if the monsters like to cater to the market they need to model in the lines of small profitable companies..

Towards a Sustainable Community Development..

2005-02-06T13:50:00.000+05:30

I am glad to hear about the initiatives of public sanitation community development programs in Pune. It all started a few years ago with the Pune Municipal Corporation wanted to build a model with the community involvement with the help of NGO's like SPARC,Shelter Associates with a project outlay of about Rs.40 Crores.

The model is very unique in the sense that the users involve in the maintenance of the toilets with a monthly subscription of about Rs 20-25 /household for the usage.Since the users find value because they pay for the facility and maintain on their own,the area is totally clean!

The project is aimed at providing the public sanitation at the deprived areas,60 -100 households form a cluster.The model is envisaged that these Self help groups appoint a person in their community for the subscription collection and after meeting the monthly expenses including electricity the excess money is deposited in a savings bank.

Thanks to the relentless efforts of people like Gaikwad who were a part of the system but could make a meaningful change..Gaikwad conceptualised this model during his stint as the Pune Municipal Commissioner and the budgetary shortfalls are met with the bank loans..

The success of this experiment was extended to areas like Sangli and other parts of the city..

We need more such initiatives to be emulated in India to build a commendable community development programs.Another such example is that of Sulabh International which goes beyond the Pune model adding more avenues for revenues including the bio gas generation and solid waste management.

The moral of the story is to involve the user and the involvement will come only when the user attaches some value to the activity.

India needs more such innovative yet simple concepts to keep up the pace of the urban growth and providing a better harm free infrastructure to all the citizens..

2005-02-05T14:39:00.000+05:30

Common man in the recent elections!

The great Indian tamasha

2005-02-05T14:31:00.000+05:30

I really do not know it is a tamasha..but the Indian elections had mostly proved to be a decisive mandate from the people who were forgotten for the past 5 years...

Adspace wanted..

2005-02-05T09:24:00.000+05:30

Found innovative ways to advertise your stuff?
The crazy casino the " Golden Palace Casino" had put up a post in the eBay for auction for an adspace in the stomach of a pregnant woman..The living ad board needs to tattoo the casino's ad and expose her belly till she delivers a baby and it fetched her a decent amount of 4k$ which she hadn't thought of before with a large number of hits in the auction site..

bearing this trend in mind,the others might follw suit exploring other innovative(?) ways to post an ad.However for me it appears how much will really translate into business is a question worth pondering...

Of Open source & the media companies

2005-02-04T10:43:00.000+05:30

Open source movement had reached its peak when I found a magazine that proclaims to form an "Open source Media company" ...Online publishing had taken a new turn with this announcement when Tony Perkins along with his member community will launch a blogozine to cater to the needs of the market...One of the unique features of this whatsoever magazine is to complement with a quarterly magazine along with the normal blogs ..reiterating the power of existence in the web!

Of the Summer showers in Chennai

2005-02-02T16:57:00.000+05:30

Literally the Summer has begun in Chennai..the place where I exist currently..

It is of great surprise that yesterday suddenly the showers accompanied by the whirlwinds had cooled down the mercury and a madrasi should be managing without electricity in the midnight..

It caught me awake and then came the odor from the nearby Adayar..once the lifeline of Madras now converted to a stagnant pool ...a good breeding ground for mosquitoes..

I read somewhere that Adyar River(in otherwords spelt as Adayaru meaning used to be a freshwater source of Madras and boating used to happen along the canals..Also a natural creek which acts as an estuary to take the tidal waters back into sea.Organisations like Exnora are taking good steps to protect the natural creek that will help humans avert the disasters like tsunami which worst hit Chennai.