tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35226208496957124982012-01-18T23:02:19.596-08:00Prospective - twisted and real and unusual ! Betaal way !Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.comBlogger2811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-6363186605657374862012-01-18T22:20:00.000-08:002012-01-18T22:20:53.298-08:00

Strange shades of human nature .. On business trip of west coast, USA, I meet this person, some one I have talked over phone many times earlier, but face to face for the first time. After walking in to his office cabin, I saw pictures of his family. As an ice breaker, I asked "Hmm.. two daughters ?" ! "Yeah ! The elder one 14 and younger one is 10". He goes on. "The younger one is a gymnast.

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-1690839059042886822012-01-06T05:29:00.000-08:002012-01-06T05:29:16.302-08:00

Came across this story ! So of course not an original thought or work. But something that immediately touched the nerves ... " A person dies ! And he discovers himself in a beautiful place. A place where everything is in place. Neatly arranged. Food, shelter, clothes, luxuries.   He examines everything and becomes happy. He has done something good in his previous life to have landed up here

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-52091448444326030622011-12-16T07:11:00.000-08:002011-12-16T07:13:43.547-08:00

Last couple of days I have been in a "All Women" conference. Driven by the new age HR initiative across many companies - I&D. Inclusion and Diversity ! One of the key proponent of I&D, wanted to have my opinion on initiating tracks on "LGBT" networking within companies here in Bangalore, India. Support groups. Prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation in the MNCs. My honest opinion

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-61276048462612915802011-11-26T22:20:00.001-08:002011-11-26T22:20:53.505-08:00

Naughty grin, stuck to the faceBeen a while since you leftshuffling you in my mindForward, backward, wind, re-windThe magic alluresThe taste lingers  Scent scintillates the senses Can't  you leave me, Just for a few moments ? Go ! Far far away I want to miss you - say "My friend! so long !" and wish like a parting soul mate - "May you never get to cry alone" !! - Betaal, A Rainy Sunday

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-43559978331210537612011-11-12T20:27:00.001-08:002011-11-12T20:28:44.657-08:00

All of us have some of the seasoned believes, backed by mental statistics and correlations to results - good or bad ! If I wear the blue dress, the presentation will be good. The old wrist band for a few free aces in the game. Enter home with left foot in first ? Ok... that's too much ! But all of have some form of superstitions. And when we rationally think about them or especially when

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-40533006972394235072011-10-29T23:22:00.000-07:002011-10-29T23:23:24.540-07:00

India story turns to the page of "Formula 1", "Lady Gaga", "Metallica" - all in the same week. The youth has moved on from "I am Anna". From fighting financial and political corruption, to inviting moral and cultural corruption. From the demand of inclusive growth, to showcasing capitalistic-porn ! The priorities have changed. The focus has moved to more comfortable subjects. Nevertheless,

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-40965597014618031782011-10-26T01:24:00.000-07:002011-10-26T01:26:42.170-07:00

Diwali - the festival of lights ! The victory of truth. Awareness over ignorance. My very dear friends !       While you must already be getting tons of best wishes from all around you, let me wish all of us just one thing - "To be aware of what exactly we wish for in our life, family, friends, society, country,  planet and universe. Let just be aware of that." And  old drop of wisdom "Satyam,

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-72392216836885188582011-10-22T22:28:00.001-07:002011-10-22T22:29:52.483-07:00

"Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt.  Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench.  Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.  Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity." - Lao Zhu

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-43930668715651093762011-10-08T23:43:00.000-07:002011-10-08T23:44:26.339-07:00

I often turn to kids to tap in to some fresh, pure, un-cluttered, uni-dimensional, courageous thinking. Its interesting to watch them analyze grave subjects and come up with probable solution. They are not too sensitive to feedback (one saying other "what a dumb idea! you shut up !") neither they are afraid to accept others' idea ("cool didi .. thats a great idea !"). Today morning, the kids

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-22807729323934826882011-10-07T06:37:00.000-07:002011-10-07T06:37:06.268-07:00

20 yrs ON, one of the so-called management Guru's of that time, would probably publish some paper / theory telling how Steve Jobs demise, simultaneous iPhone 4S launch, which failed to excite users, caused a brand like APPLE to disappear. In a couple of days the fate of the biggest ever tech giant was sealed. .. that's assuming APPLE does struggle from now on and marginalized in next 20. If

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-77314712409896148152011-09-29T06:09:00.000-07:002011-09-29T06:09:24.295-07:00

How human beings, as young as 7 yrs react to same stimulus ? Here is an example .. Two kids rushing home in the evening at the end of their play time in the garden down stairs. Both have insect bites on there legs. First kid whines - "Mama ! Why do mosquitoes bite ONLY me ?? " The second kid - 'No they bite me more. Because my blood is sweeter. Even the doctor gives it "A+"'

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-64352107615354481892011-09-26T02:47:00.001-07:002011-09-26T02:47:28.143-07:00

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-13249623570465905952011-09-20T10:06:00.000-07:002011-09-20T10:06:11.450-07:00

Few months ago, I tried to help a struggling manager with a small metaphor. This manager was not the usual, organically grown from technical hands-on engineering ranks ! But had enough common sense to land there. And penchant to follow right things up at right time. But, he did have tough time feeling competent in a group where everyone else grew from engineering and technically strong.

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-70039509770260439072011-09-20T09:50:00.001-07:002011-09-20T13:22:49.239-07:00

When time comes to do a org wide equity adjustment after more than 2 yrs of wait, the anxiety hits the roof. The HR types swing in to action to figure out ways to be very fair in terms of distributing the new booty ! And hence invented a nice new formula that takes many things in to consideration - 1. Total industry experience and relevant experience 2. TIme in current grade / role 3.

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-8136055808885549382011-09-04T07:18:00.000-07:002011-09-04T07:18:10.329-07:00

Disclaimer : Not really trying to be pointing out any fault in any behavior below ! Just that I see that around me a lot and this is one more instance ! There was a new admission to the tennis class where I take my kids to. So, on a Lazy Sunday afternoon, I am just sitting beside the court and watch kids arranged in to beginners, Intermediate and Advanced in to three different pools - hitting

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-38742301340778175322011-09-01T09:30:00.000-07:002011-09-01T09:30:47.805-07:00

Sometimes the obvious stuff comes to you, when you go through it. One such thing is "when there is motivation, one does not get tired". Clearly see that in the game of tennis - when having a good match, running becomes really easy as long as you know that you have enough oxygen to beat that other guy. Winning is within reach. The running mercilessly does not hurt that much. But when the

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-75545937464785000362011-08-15T05:19:00.000-07:002011-08-15T05:19:49.482-07:00

.. this independence day ! In the advent of Internet media, advanced countries struggled regulating p2p sharing for porn. There were enough laws to control the infestation - both production of pornographic material and consumption of it were illegal. But tracking it down to the offenders was not possible ! It was and is well, very well trenched in the society. There was and is plenty of demand.

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-40337360957762023202011-08-06T07:38:00.000-07:002011-08-06T07:38:54.123-07:00

Mixed feelings ! My younger brothers, who until few years ago, were my responsibilities to large extend- education, marriage, housing all the typical things human being does to "settle down". I was the one helping them through all the phases, at every stage feeling proud of their progress and their success. At every stage feeling satisfied about being able to take care of brotherly duties. But,

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-2298272611246627532011-08-06T07:29:00.001-07:002011-08-06T07:29:47.812-07:00

A recent bout of lay offs in US of A clearly shows the age discrimination in its full ugliness. Companies are going for more and more young people in the work force. They put in more hours. They take less sick leaves. Not much of families to take care of. There is ambition to grow, so they all work hard. While the people in the other side of middle age, have families, have found out better

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-87102709204961220202011-07-25T10:07:00.001-07:002011-07-25T10:07:15.956-07:00

C.I.D office. Cyber Crime Division. Arrived on the dot for the appointment with the Inspector and Investigator - 2PM! Inspector was having lunch. His assistant outside wanted us to wait for a few minutes, take a round about the office and come back in some time. We were back again after having a coffee at the canteen - 2:20PM. This time we talk ! Long interrogation. Detailed observation of

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-37131278772038704172011-07-24T06:46:00.000-07:002011-07-25T09:39:48.283-07:00

.. is it just me ? If I am driving by a lonely road in the evening, I am more scared to see a police than odd strangers. Should not police evoke the feeling of safety ? And no - I ve NO criminal intent or back ground - ever ;) Even then, in India, the sight of a cop is scary ! But normally I do not ponder on that much .. I do see them, get nervous, and when they disappear in the reverse

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-5600773345876756222011-07-16T07:53:00.000-07:002011-07-16T07:53:18.884-07:00

Reading the events of the week, on a rainy, lazy weekend that forces one to reflect back on issues wider in scope - I notice the following ! The very basic necessity to survive, that we buy, Food is being more and more expensive. Double digit inflation year over year in India, on food items. No sign of prices cooling off.   And people refer to this as "Cost of living is very high". Turn the

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-36896618894900272072011-07-15T07:41:00.000-07:002011-07-15T07:41:44.520-07:00

I notice two types of inaction in corporate life. Especially when there is huge change ahead of all. Especially when the future is not clear, and challenging. And that happens every few years for sure .... ! The first type of inaction is Leaders moving very slow to take decisions. Not sure where to put their money. This batch gets in to a spectator mode - the "wait and watch" mode ! And all

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-89377675917517139032011-07-03T09:04:00.000-07:002011-07-03T09:04:50.144-07:00

Met a wonderful couple in their 70's. Golden years  ! The husband (Mr. Bose) was in forest services and he sure loves to drive his vehicles fast. Ghats, city traffic, unknown terrain - he just keeps driving fast. While taking a ride with him, he driving, Mrs. Bose in passenger seat, and bunch of us in the back seat, and as usual complaining about Bangalore traffic, we noticed one unique thing.

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-33937095790855683932011-06-17T09:10:00.000-07:002011-06-17T09:10:45.913-07:00

Imagine walking in to a WAR room, where the experts working hard for hours to get to root cause.. not having any context, and first thing you notice among thousands of lines of information is the Root Cause of the issue ??? Yes it happens !!

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-21761527385444379032011-06-05T06:23:00.000-07:002011-06-05T06:23:25.069-07:00

Entire last working week, been in a real cross culture room of executives, assembled in Beijing. Americans, Indians, Chinese, Singapore, Australians, Malaysian. Easily 2-3 meta cultures in that room. The schedules were crazy too. Everyone need to get to the room at 7:45AM and can only get out at 6:00PM. No real breaks in the middle, no laptops, no iPhones to fiddle with. Just focus on what you

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-2294440685434441032011-06-05T06:04:00.000-07:002011-06-05T06:04:18.530-07:00

Cloisonne handicraft in China is very famous and extremely pretty. I saw quite a few in a good shop, but did not buy any. There was some amount of intention in me to get one, but for some reason ended up not getting any. Next day - on my way back from "Great wall of China" - in the rural area, I stopped by a "Cloisanne" factory. It has chambers for each phase of copper-smith, coloring, polishing

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-53379672892694980942011-06-02T08:51:00.000-07:002011-06-02T08:51:55.417-07:00

My first opportunity to come to Beijing, China. While I would like about other experiences, this one experience is worth mentioning right away ! China does have dubious record of producing "duplicate" Global brands. And in Beijing there is a place called "Silk Market". This place is a good old china market. Everything is available. And you have to be shameless at bargaining. For example if a

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-76486829055886206652011-04-27T12:01:00.000-07:002011-04-27T12:01:47.493-07:00

While on a long flight, I was catching on a documentary on Tennis. And there was this 30 min biography of the most famous uncle in the Tennis world - Uncle "Toni". Yes - Rafael Nadal's uncle and coach from the age of 6. And here was the most significant piece of information I came to know from there. Rafa is a "right hander". He does everything with his right hand. He started playing tennis

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-56784479069699959712011-04-22T09:35:00.000-07:002011-04-22T09:35:28.402-07:00

Add a "Dalit" to "Lokpal" panel - says Mayavati ! Often we see a dreamer takes a really audacious step for an "obvious" reason. For a path breaking idea, that is as simple and obvious as day and night. In the cycle of "Idea generation -> Communication to garner support -> getting attention / funding -> execution -> Enjoying the fruits" - most of those fundamental dreams, simplest of ideas,

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-75719632250427961912011-04-15T23:15:00.000-07:002011-04-15T23:15:19.675-07:00

Travel for leisure industry has boomed in India, many fold over the last decade or so. With disposable income increasing and breathable oxygen decreasing, the urban lining up to hill stations and stretches of green. And wherever you go, you come back with some level of good/bad/ugly experience. But my last outing to South Coorg, Kutta, Spice Garden Homestay was different. I came back with a

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-9245152838930080302011-04-09T04:46:00.000-07:002011-04-09T04:46:07.000-07:00

Just a wild case study ! 60+ yrs ago - another saint, The Great One, went on a "Hunger Strike" protesting against unfair laws of the land. News spread ! Word of mouth. Supporter came in herds. Protest gathered momentum, until the then govt caved in to the demands. 31 days of fasting. Today, Anna does the same for the independence of the new kind, in the new world. Facebook, Twitter spreads it

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-20781532365196566492011-04-07T05:48:00.000-07:002011-04-07T05:48:22.513-07:00

Apology = power to move ! A huge tech company, once a leader, a bell weather, is struggling for last few years. Looking back, blame goes to some bad strategy, bad acquisitions, bad partners, wrong hires, letting go of good leaders, focusing away from core competency, being shallow etc. etc. Not done ! The biggest cause is - "Denial" that the company is in trouble. Being a public company,

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-2719534980464427692011-04-01T21:25:00.000-07:002011-04-01T21:25:03.811-07:00

2011 census is over. The populations increase is 18.6% over last 10 years in India and pegged somewhere at 1.2 Billion. 20 yrs ago, when census was done, for months and years to come, each politician of the country, each arm chair commentator, each intellectual talked about close to 1 billion mouths of India that is eating it all. Talked about, how basic needs like food itself is scarce. Equated

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-38627264630963902422011-03-31T07:54:00.000-07:002011-03-31T07:54:21.244-07:00

a.k.a building "support structures". Just a week ago, we requested a gen next platform owner within the team to pool in his voice to get some expedited support from a support team. Its a serious irony, that support functions give higher priority to systems that are building now, than the systems already widely deployed all over the world. They all know, the real support is needed in what is

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-19035242046103153402011-03-28T09:38:00.000-07:002011-03-28T09:38:09.899-07:00

Today I had a visitor from another building, another department - desperate to get out of his current job and find new opportunity inside the company ! Not an old friend, however - we have a common friend, was he wanted to come over and spill his heavy heart in front of me .. betaal obliged ! Here is the story ! This guy is clearly the "hardest working" of the team. Offloads his boss and

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-68285121407644162422011-03-26T09:01:00.000-07:002011-03-26T09:01:30.495-07:00

Back to blogging after a long break !  And considering all the stuff going around, I am sure there will be a steady flow for a while. The break went very fast, mainly this is the time that is busy in corporations. Post the holidays of December, until the summer school vacation, there is this stretch where a lot of year ahead set ups happen. Just like new years resolutions. Some lesson's learned

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-70531598475379662352010-12-29T05:57:00.000-08:002010-12-29T05:59:57.378-08:00

sorry for the egoistic title ! In years, I ve taken my first ever long vacation without having to open my hand bag at the airport. Yes ! No carrying laptop... ! I always thought it would be a torture. For someone addicted to looking at screen and hoping for clear the mailbox and when done, waiting for the next mail.. it was a supposed to be a torture. But then, I gave up tobacco last year "

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-47907154738566086762010-12-17T07:17:00.000-08:002010-12-17T07:17:13.766-08:00

Whether shipping people in a car or shipping information packets over networking devices, there is huge similarity between these two businesses. - Both need to transport their objects, reliably - Although the job is same, there will be many models of cars and many models of routers. Varying sizes and capacities - The fancy cars will cost more. There will be a moon roof, which will cost a

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-54066098028079519142010-11-26T07:47:00.000-08:002010-11-26T23:09:32.982-08:00

One of my very close friends, went through a most troublesome pregnancy. Just fate - I would say. Drs. would say differently, and name a 21st chromosome to cause all the issues. End of the day, the 21st chromosome was not invited by my friend to cause the rubble any way ! So fate it is .... The baby goes in to ICU post delivery. And very predictably the Health Insurance company says, they

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-2341576352464522762010-11-17T06:24:00.000-08:002010-11-17T06:24:54.039-08:00

I walked in to a bi-cycle store, which is oh so rare in Bangalore urban area. You can find Car dealers, but the old fashioned bi-cycles, which used to be the ONLY way of transport when I was a kid, is no longer a common sight on the streets. Yes ! You can find an upscale mountain or racing bike easily in Bangalore though :) With Rampant wealth creation and consumerism, one thing that has not

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-831261758180554252010-11-08T07:47:00.000-08:002010-11-08T07:47:37.606-08:00

This Deewali, we launched an initiative in the apartment association to have a cleaner Deewali. Simple agenda - Lets stay away from crackers ! And focus more on cultural stuff, eating good food, dancing to bollywood music etc. But then, those were all taken care of by the over enthusiastic kids of the apartment complex. My agenda was just to convince or at least tell as many families to not

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-80002699209190630712010-11-06T09:25:00.000-07:002010-11-06T09:25:56.695-07:00

Yes ! Emotions have a lot to do with how one carries his leadership. Emotions - powerful tools to touch and connect and hence influence desired decisions.  Display of emotions is how you make  your decisions more palatable, more acceptable and less rational  for your followers and peers. What modern business (and not that business has changed in thousands of years) has taught through "

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-58635558764105369382010-10-24T07:11:00.000-07:002010-10-24T07:11:31.983-07:00

We have heard, value of "presence" and price paid for "absence" of leaders ! Now, lets read about absence. Once a loyal, very senior man who manages most of the floor for many years, wanted to go on a long vacation. Around 6 weeks. He knew the entire team depends on him. He has never taken off, because he has this great sense of ownership and loyalty. After all there are many undocumented

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-42329532385082935492010-10-09T06:04:00.000-07:002010-10-09T06:04:42.683-07:00

Stepping out of the hustle  bustle of City life is definitely a welcome change. But one thing for sure. There is a certain level of "inertia of motion" as you step in to the sleepy hill stations or laid back beaches. One such this happened when I landed in a North East hilly, sleepy town. Beautiful place ! Me rushing to make to the airport check in counter, as per the airline instruction. 

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-17136189539850795842010-10-03T09:30:00.000-07:002010-10-03T09:30:08.947-07:00

McD welcomes the burger buyers with "Get your order in less than 1 minute or get a coke free". And they go ahead and walk to talk ... put a Sand Clock on your tray to make sure the order is on before the sand runs out. The people behind the counters, run like machines - I can imagine, having such micro level targets and constantly running, can be really irritating :(

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-25999123548160466032010-09-26T07:35:00.000-07:002010-09-26T07:35:13.972-07:00

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-78659511332717180192010-09-26T07:33:00.000-07:002010-09-26T07:33:07.286-07:00

Marketing folks never seize to amuse one. Last week there was a small cheapo gadget, with a photo sensor and a pre-recorded advertisement of a car, was embedded in to the news paper. When you open the news paper, the device will read out the page long add to the reader ! In a loop, until the reader puts the paper down. Hmm.... even news paper reading is becoming "listening". I am sure, more

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-50498053507169023082010-09-17T10:30:00.000-07:002010-09-17T10:30:35.303-07:00

One day a street smart, suave man, stops by a restaurant a little past mid-night. He demands a 25% discount from the restaurant manager, saying he is a friend of the owner of the business. The poor manager did not know what to do. Whether to acknowledge it or to take his chance and deny it! And its past mid-night. He did not have guts to wake up the owner by calling his cell / mobile phone. 

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-70230291274795657302010-09-04T23:34:00.000-07:002010-09-04T23:34:56.623-07:00

Not everyone enjoys a perfect day, everyday ! No matter how positive, how detached from results, how calm a person is. And what is worse is external factors or wrong doings, over a period of time create accumulated bitterness internally, until one day it explodes. When it explodes, if it damages something, the first causality is subjects own day, and more often its a few days and some

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-89192945496065259482010-08-28T10:59:00.000-07:002010-08-28T10:59:32.603-07:00

Increasingly I notice, extremely bold moves are coming from very young, small companies. Just a year ago, when giant laptop maker,  to accommodate one more key in the key pad, wanted to reduce the size of the SHIFT key. The design was eventually rejected, even if the new key was really cool addition for taking one touch pictures and videos on the embedded camera. It was rejected, mainly because

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-28607812972430607692010-08-26T08:41:00.000-07:002010-08-26T08:41:23.051-07:00

.. in a polite (and yet very irritating) way !    Not sure where this new trend has surfaced from. May be some wise MBA picked it up from a copy of HBR and then it is making its rounds ! In last week itself, at least three leaders have told me "I do not have to tell you what exactly you need to do in this situation,.... " and yet went on to tell the exact set of instructions. Other forms of

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-85196085481992314602010-08-22T22:57:00.000-07:002010-08-22T22:57:38.232-07:00

I do not think any other country in the world goes close to covering all segments of population when writing laws. Here is a snippet of a law written in 1967 and still in force, although "illiteracy" is officially a infinitesimally small issue now ! Its a thought - where one can clearly describe it by attributes like - "Age old classic !" .

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-17227829871697974722010-08-19T09:29:00.000-07:002010-08-19T09:29:54.468-07:00

After 64 yrs of achieving independence, and 20 yrs of open market economic progress, India is facing a new threat. Corporate India is losing independence, slowly yet surely ! Expat Invasion is a clear and present danger. Prologue : As MNCs / Global companies moving in to India to tap in to relatively cheaper and yet skilled and English speaking human capital, corporations going all the way to

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-8567249868318651862010-08-14T08:08:00.000-07:002010-08-14T08:08:00.696-07:00

Employees and employers often agree on just one clause of the job offer letter. "Employment at will". It gives freedom to the employee to explore better ways to further his / her career. It gives freedom to the "Employer" to clean up dead settled wood from the warehouse ! However, a lot of mid and small enterprises struggle to keep employees and always wish that people would stick around for

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-47482090378591777422010-08-14T07:50:00.000-07:002010-08-14T07:50:26.947-07:00

There is an age old joke - let me repeat that here ! "What do you call a person who knows 3 languages ?" - Ans: Trilingual "What do you call a person who knows 2 languages ?" - Ans: Bilingual "What do you call a person who knows just 1 language ?" - Ans: American That used to be indicative of world power. No need to know others languages. As others would need the super power and not the vice

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-14380884833088181912010-08-13T03:43:00.000-07:002010-08-13T03:47:13.200-07:00

People of Karnataka / Bangalore treat "Amavas of Asadha" as the most inauspicious day. This was last Tuesday for this year. And that's the day one of my govt transactions registering a land was scheduled.  Something that is a candidate and driver for finding an auspicious day. I was excited by the thought that the office would be really empty. I and the seller of the land, wont have to wait too

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-88821462629174502022010-08-12T07:45:00.000-07:002010-08-12T07:45:40.768-07:00

A new fad in today's corporate executive communication. Most of the communication comes in form of video blogging. Let us not kid ourselves - Executive communication is important. No matter how high level it is, just knowing what your chain of command till the pinnacle of the organization think, adds value to day to day operations most of us burjuas do ! Earlier, it used to be a simple e-mail

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-62823194104351980512010-08-08T09:34:00.000-07:002010-08-08T09:34:21.986-07:00

Limiting this "observation" to sporting goods for now. I love playing the sports that deal with a raquet and a ball or a shuttle type. I think, it comes naturally to me. As a result thoroughly enjoy  tennis, squash, table tennis and badminton. Over the weekend, I was trying to change my gear for all these games. Buying new raquets and getting rid of the 5-6 yr old ones. They get a good amount

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-32495717933580765752010-08-05T01:19:00.000-07:002010-08-05T01:19:29.691-07:00

..only if there is "Command and Control" to enforce it !! Major corporations are moving to collaborative platforms like WiKi, and coaching their managers to pitch in two cents on each initiative, that helps move the tasks in a better manner and shares the risks. As my own experience goes in past one year, all collaborative initiatives start out with a lot of excitement, and then slowly dies

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-75934700820679133252010-08-02T10:02:00.000-07:002010-08-02T10:02:36.266-07:00

Got annual customer satisfaction results for two hot selling products in the entire industry. Both of them are out there for more than 10 years. Make a Billion USD each, every year ! Pretty useful products. One has been in constant news for wrong reasons, last year. Issues, Quality - customers needed a lot of hand holding with this one. The other one has been pretty quite ! As as of the

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-90269414090755855092010-07-30T21:37:00.000-07:002010-07-30T21:37:17.855-07:00

Metrics all around us ! Measurements, stack rankings, trends, analysis, charts.... ! We would like to think the "message" in the "metrics" gets across. However, most of the times, the audience is not ready ! My KG child, who gets back from school, plays teacher and student at home and draws the following .... We know how he does his dictations at school from here :) But not sure he knows what

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-37139148650727296392010-07-17T06:49:00.000-07:002010-07-17T06:49:43.600-07:00

My last flight was a month ago. Domestic - Kingfisher. I was traveling with family back to Bangalore from the home town. Being normally a happy person, I ignore inconveniences which are small and can be ignored. Kingfisher, in that sense was a breeze. Flight on time. They even serve good hot food on board (a very few domestic ones do that now). Kids love the entertainment section. The

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-22196002585505539382010-06-20T09:13:00.000-07:002010-06-20T09:13:21.448-07:00

The "tenth" day is a big day for the rituals. The entire family gets together. The common Kriya is done in the morning. The eldest son, after the Kriya waits near the river, while the entire extended family, friends, relatives get together and come to the river bank. None of them would have shaved or cut nails for all those 10 days, nor even gone to temple or done any thing celebratory -

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-54815530551778943912010-06-17T08:54:00.000-07:002010-06-17T08:54:46.167-07:00

(continuation of the previous post) Once the cremation is done, the "kriya" starts. The eldest son of the deceased is supposed to follow the "kriya - set of rituals" which as the faith goes, helps the soul rest in peace. One key Hindu belief is - rebirth !  Soul never dies. The body does. One the soul leaves the body, it can come back to any other body, based on Karma. The truly complete

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-3399010783872958632010-06-15T09:38:00.000-07:002010-06-15T09:38:21.939-07:00

The people of Odisha take the dead bodies of their beloved one's to "Swargadwara". The name literally translates to "The Gate to Heaven". Swargadwara is situated right on the sea shore (Bay of Bengal), facing the famous Hindu temple or Lord Jagarnath of Puri. So cremating a body is not something where a lot of us have prior experience with. So, while one's dealing with emotions, flash backs

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-47847501500247786622010-06-14T08:58:00.001-07:002010-06-14T08:58:55.016-07:00

Returning to blogging after a long  while ... but the time was worth spent beside  my ailing father in his last days, followed by his death and the Hindu rituals there after that lasts 13 days. Just when I was starting the believe that I ve control over my emotions, thoughts - I was proven wrong ! Seriously wrong. He has been ailing for a while, and one after another body functions were

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-19018743716869023432010-05-10T06:31:00.000-07:002010-05-10T06:31:11.380-07:00

.. happens to major brands too ! Look at this picture. A cool technology, advertised at one of the busiest airports ... do you see anything wrong ??? ;) ;)

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-57806049222551036662010-05-07T21:29:00.000-07:002010-05-07T21:29:03.083-07:00

I grew up in a locality which is a "Mao" area now. The nearby hills and forests, that used to be our picnic spots have become head quarters of Naxalites. The police station in the city has become ammunition center for them, that they rob every once in a while. Life still moves on ! People have accepted the gradual change and occasional firing in the heart of this mountainous town, is part of life

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-69996085684617823932010-05-05T10:35:00.000-07:002010-05-05T10:35:55.751-07:00

Seen in a posh, high end designer shoppe, where "wasting resources" is the right - talking Green is the act ! With talking and looking Green being the latest round of fashion among the elites - looks at the toilet paper turning Green and slogans to recycle !!

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-32027094630592225902010-04-30T08:18:00.000-07:002010-04-30T08:18:15.226-07:00

My new lesson, that I learn hard way. I am going to treasure this rest of my life. While struggling with one of the toughest problems of my professional sphere, I was  applying all technical skills to fix it. All hands on deck approach !! Not going any where, I babbled the problem out in front of someone, who has nothing to do with this profession or field of work, but has been a general coach

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-89756607262283559022010-04-18T06:45:00.000-07:002010-04-18T06:45:53.214-07:00

Ruthless business ... in the pursuit of protecting assets, sometimes completely forget the people who build it. This story pertains to India's telecom poster child. Growth of which has been synonymous to "India Shining". It has an office routing billions of mobile calls, right next to the Arabian sea, on Marine Drive Mumbai. And in a series of mysterious failures in the systems, the out come

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-74892829787032146192010-04-18T05:59:00.000-07:002010-04-18T05:59:41.243-07:00

A few things current govt of India is doing, that are pretty well thought through and very sensible. Notice the new 2 rs coin. It has value written in Braille !!! Talk about accessibility.

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-63004060411962318652010-04-17T02:30:00.001-07:002010-04-17T02:30:32.136-07:00

When one of the biggest IT companies of India, decided to allow its 100,000+ employees to blog on intranet, it did it with a lot of confidence. The company had a lot of arrogance and over confidence, that its employees would write constructive stuff in the intranet social networking site. HR department was proud announcing the initiative and touted the "Open Communication" culture and ability

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-78055103217206096922010-04-15T09:32:00.000-07:002010-04-15T09:32:00.019-07:00

The internal support had become a nightmare as the company grew leaps and bounds over a period of time. 11 yrs ago - e-mail not working, send a mail to sysadmin@xyz.com. The guy comes running and does some magic. 5 yrs ago - A web interface where you need to sort through options and create a case for your problem. All problems starting from AC not cooling your cube to PC has virus under one

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-71783901273162671552010-04-09T07:12:00.000-07:002010-04-09T07:12:20.774-07:00

After a few days away from blogging .. and something that can be explained by the subject of this blog !! Conveying sense of urgency is an art. Sometimes it can be really irritating. The org is working on something which is very critical, and needs all depts to work in emergency mode - HW, SW, Marketing etc. etc. Here is what my boss did. Set up a meeting every day lunch hour. He knows

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-12112772101760410262010-03-28T00:06:00.000-07:002010-03-28T00:06:41.502-07:00

Can not explain something ? Say - "Its all created by the ONE above". Blame it on the Stars. The Destiny. The Almighty ! Look "Up". Honestly, the people in our industry has done this many times too. Can not explain some hard bugs in your product while customer is screaming ?? Explanation - "Cosmic Rays changing 'bits' in the hardware". Look UP and be rescued. Look who is using the same

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-12674151547684802562010-03-27T23:55:00.000-07:002010-03-27T23:55:42.098-07:00

We are going through the time, when the first page of tabloids talk about all swami sex scandals. The spiritual gurus caught on camera doing something not so holy as per the society. In the leading Sunday daily, there is a big topic on "Sex and Swami". And yet another great Spiritual leader makes this comment (the pic may not be too clear.. so I am typing a snippet here) - "Since the Mahabharata

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-3360409892553175152010-03-26T01:36:00.000-07:002010-03-26T01:36:39.886-07:00

Found in my work place gym. A first aid box. And then a life saver kit. Very thoughtful Work Place Safety measure. In India, when one is inside work place, it is as good as "West" - but it needs "Localization". Look at the emergency dial number ...  picture below ;) Should not we change 911 to 108 ???

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-67072807136939345842010-03-25T01:34:00.000-07:002010-03-25T01:34:10.001-07:00

Mar 27th night 8:30 to 9:30 will be "Earth Hour". An hour to shutdown all lights, save energy and more importantly spread the awareness regarding conserving energy. IPL 2010 is big on Green this year. Every player is wearing a green tag. And before every match they hand out a green tip (e.g. please walk or bi-cycle to work). Now, I am waiting to see, if IPL Match at 8:00P on Mar 27th (KKR vs

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-47702370211534124792010-03-19T07:43:00.000-07:002010-03-19T07:43:54.811-07:00

This is Mar. In India, it means many things and one of the most important things among them is "end of financial year". End of financial also means - "Harassment by traffic police on the road, desperately trying to meet some numbers for the FY and for themselves too in the process". Me and bus load of my colleagues were going on a off day today to a near by resort. Right outside the city

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-75253592223337637402010-03-17T23:28:00.000-07:002010-03-17T23:28:50.808-07:00

This morning I woke up to sear horror ! My ToDo folder looked something like this. Empty, blank and with a message which can be labeled as the worst news to neo-workaholics like me. "No To Do" items. I know it is temporary. Still its chilling experience. It is so much better when this list is full with a tiny scroll bar on the right side of it. Obviously finding difficult to accept this. I am

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-42948177316718297822010-03-14T22:33:00.000-07:002010-03-14T22:33:50.229-07:00

Shades of "Gender" has primarily been a "West" thing. Preaching tolerance to transgenders and advocating compassion to human beings which can not be defined as "male" or "female" has been mostly a "west" thing. However, I ve never seen an official form in US where "Sex" has more values than M / F. And today while filling up renewal form for Indian Passport I see this (image). There is a third

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-63781886036056290612010-03-12T09:42:00.001-08:002010-03-12T09:42:10.745-08:00

This week one of the biggest networking companies made a pre-announcement that said "Launching something that is going to change the way internet works and will redefine the world of communication". Then the announcement did come in - that of the Biggest, fattest networking device that can hold simultaneous video calls between 1.5 Billion people. Path breaking indeed. But not in line with

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-85405633653985094822010-03-09T08:55:00.000-08:002010-03-09T08:55:36.680-08:00

After a long long time I happened to visit the small, reputed Shiva temple on the hill, close to my native place, in the deep rural interior of Odisa. Found one example of "age-old" automation and one example of a "new" one. In one picture, you would see a (form) of a Drum and some bells that are normally played during the "aarti" are automated ! Inquisitive, I asked around why the drum and

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-55045125252152264002010-03-05T09:36:00.000-08:002010-03-05T09:36:58.902-08:00

This same bench in the local mall without the middle hand rests, could have happily accommodated the 2+2 middle class, mall going, Indian family. Alas, now it can not actually take any more than 3 .....

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-26524927926042070772010-03-02T05:48:00.000-08:002010-03-02T05:48:11.647-08:00

With respect to one of my recent work, I was looking for different things that ails Health Care System of India. And, on of the key ailment of Indian Health Care seems to be "Delivery" of health services. While there are plenty of doctors and hospitals in urban areas where Health Care as a business is making sense, the rural places do not have access to health care, easily. And some of the

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-78099744358513878652010-02-28T21:39:00.000-08:002010-02-28T21:39:00.058-08:00

Akio Toyoda, from Japan, chairman of a Japanese car company is blasted by lawmakers in US for a quality issues. In a live congress session in US. Is this a sign of time to come ? Do we fore-see Steve Balmer, John Chambers or Steve Jobs being tried in parliament house of India or in front of premier of Chine for software bugs in years to come ? Car industry is older than IT industry. But the

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-36569890301514079072010-02-28T06:57:00.001-08:002010-02-28T06:57:24.159-08:00

Drove off alone, an hour outside the urban area. In to a a slightly rough terrain. Not entirely sure of the location, map and how to get back. No idea of local language. Not enough to ask the way out too. And most importantly - forgot to pick up mobile phone when I left home. How do you feel in 2010, when you are in this situation ? This incident can be very panicky just for the reason that

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-67054860317047798062010-02-25T22:06:00.000-08:002010-02-25T22:06:14.099-08:00

Measurements / metrics have been part of many corporate solutions for long. Repeat - "Part" of the solution. Rarely the "whole" of it. But it can be ! Here is a small experiment conducted internal to my team. There is an e-mail list where a lot of customer facing people post technical / marketing questions. A community of engineers keep looking at the list and respond. This is a simple way

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-30611889263303414602010-02-25T06:32:00.000-08:002010-02-25T06:32:45.067-08:00

The following material came from a very close friend abroad with a request to put this on "Betaal Gyan". Betaal obliges :)  ---------------------------------------------------- Really didn't want to send this to your work ID but this is must have material for Betaal Gyan. The Facecloth This has to be read, laughed at and passed on. There is not a woman alive today who won't crack up over

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-15896069080401157632010-02-23T08:15:00.000-08:002010-02-23T08:15:19.719-08:00

One thing that distinctly "Indian". And I am proud of it ! In other advanced countries, if they would have built a door like this that pinches your knuckles when you open the door, they would replace the door. They would sue the maker of the door. The owner of the door can actually return this door within the 30 day "money back guarentee" period. In India - the solution is simple :) See for

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-56222775759656311502010-02-17T08:42:00.000-08:002010-02-17T08:43:30.007-08:00

Went to attend a ceremony today. A "Upanayana" or a "Thread Ceremony" conducted by Bramhin families.Being from a different place, my knowledge of the rituals and the kind of food that would be available was very limited. But 2 hrs of Bangalore drive has already made all of us hungry. We were waiting for the food.The food turned out to be just superb ! Amazing food and uncountable items.A very

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-53984360569485442512010-02-06T23:13:00.000-08:002010-02-06T23:14:38.689-08:00

Currently, I ve an assignment that is much bigger than what I ve ever dealt with in my professional life. So, I am feeling much like how Nillekani might have felt being given the UIDB job. Just in a different scale may be ;)Last few weeks I am completely lost about even where to start, as the problem definition is so vast.Whatever I think of, has been thought of by someone already. Whatever I

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-61570016240940771272010-01-31T20:13:00.000-08:002010-01-31T20:23:35.664-08:00

I see kids growing up with constant reminders. Early morning rush to school, screams by mom/dad - "brush properly. Don't waste breakfast, did you finish breakfast ? Its 7:30A already ... you should better be dressed, school in 15 mins" etc.At work I see the so called program managers sending day in day out reminder mails, which are becoming more and more machine like, script like ! - "You the

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-30553344422929797302010-01-30T23:08:00.001-08:002010-01-30T23:08:55.706-08:00

After measuring productivity quarter over quarter, for a large pool of young and skilled engineers, I see a pattern which may not be too obvious.It was known that if the "loading" is less, productivity will be less.Meaning, say you have 5 things to get done with 1 person's help.We assign 1 item out of the list to the person. Wail until that is done to assign the next one etc. The productivity

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-91200877211323551732010-01-24T01:19:00.000-08:002010-01-24T01:26:07.903-08:00

Time to practice Picture Composition for my 8 yr old. And here is the picture that was given to write a 10 sentence story.We all know how the story should have gone ! And here is how it went :)------------------------------------------------------The Two Friends--------------------Once up on a time there were two friends. "Chatur" the Tortoise and "Rancho" the Rabbit. They wanted to go to the

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-376712666348401862010-01-20T07:54:00.000-08:002010-01-20T07:58:59.055-08:00

This is taking the "money" theme to a certain extreme.My kids school came up with a rate chart a month ago, that looks like this -"Forgot to do home work - Rs. 50 fine""Forgot book at home - Rs. 50 fine""Dirty shoes - Rs 25"" Wrong socks - Rs 25""hair not combed properly - Rs. 25"etc.For all these, when we were kids, we had to stand separately in assembly or max kneel down.Even schools are

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-65682836663407028402010-01-18T05:56:00.001-08:002010-01-18T06:04:00.508-08:00

Having grown up in the land of rituals, traditions and so called culture, I ve accepted few things as norm without questioning them.However, I see financial viability changing some of that.Recently I ve attended 2 marriage parties, in southern part of India (this part abides by tradition more than the other parts of India) where "Reception" is done the night before the actual "Marriage". This

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3522620849695712498.post-50755919567656758292010-01-12T08:04:00.000-08:002010-01-12T08:10:17.726-08:00

Everyday we walk in to our work place with huge digital displays showing company's stock price.That's one of the ultimate metrics of effectiveness of our work - agreed ! And lot of us who have this stock in our portfolio through ESOP/ESPP or RSU do pay enough attention to this one.One thing interesting I noticed today though ! When the ticker is in RED we get that feeling, "MAN something went

Betaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08968415933982402808noreply@blogger.com0