Money and Performance

More money does not always lead to better performance. Have a look here..

Women and 'Vision'

Here is a good article on the topic of women and their perception of a vision. (Click here.) The good news, say INSEAD professor Herminia Ibarra and PhD candidate Otilia Obodaru, is that in a study of executives, women did better than men on several measures. The bad news is that women fell significantly behind in one key area: vision.

Their research shows that women leaders are not perceived to be as strong as men when it comes to articulating a vision of the future and translating that vision into a strategic direction for the organisation. Read more ... (Click here.)

 

Startup Saturday Bangalore Feb '09

The North Pagola at the IIMB campus witnessed the first anniversary edition of Startup Saturday , this Saturday, 14 Feb '09. It has been one year at Bangalore, since the first 'official' Startup Saturday graduated from being a get-together of startup-bug-affected-techies to a meeting point of entrepreneurs, investors, freelancers and media persona. This occasion had three Startups showcasing themselves in a big-but-still-over-packed room. This was the highest ever turn up of folks for such an event, say Kunal and Amit Singh, who have been with this event since its very inception. A huge cake-cutting ceremony was arranged during the tea-break to mark the occasion, which had folks such as Keshav Reddy and Kallol Borah, the founding members of Headstart.in and StartupSaturday.in .

Kreeo.com CEO, Sumeet Anand , did a wonderful presentation studded with videos of folks around the world commenting on the concept of 'Collective Intelligence', and the pace at which the total digitized knowledge of the world is growing. He brought out the need for a holistic way knowledge management, which includes and goes beyond the conventional ways of Google-ing and Wiki searches. It is something that is completely built up on Open Standards, using ajax alone. It gives you more than a combination of Wikipedia, Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Flicker and more! It introduces a novel concept called the BOK framework, or the 'Body of Knowledge' framework. Sumeet gave the example of someone doing a Google search to find out a needle from a haystack and once the search is done, the needle is back in the haystack - the reason being that the next user has to put in the same or more effort in locating the same information from the ocean of information that the Internet is, as of today. There is no evolution that really happens in such a case. The knowledge in Wikipedia also does not improve after a point, once a few folks have done the page. It only gets updated in bits and pieces and the policing of quality too is something that is of concern. Kreeo.com comes with a solution that has answers to all of these and some more situations as well. It is an easy-to-use interface in which the needle is not re-searched in the haystack, again and again! Once a relevant piece of information is gathered, it is marked by the user to a BOK, and has comments, examples, best-practices, Q&A, and even relevant videos for the set of info. All this is done by different users all over the world and Kreeo promises of a high level of quality standards in this. Kreeo distinguishes between users and customers. For Kreeo, the customer is one from an enterprise and who pays for the services it gets. It is amazingly useful for companies who struggle internally for a standardized system that helps them manage knowledge, without having the risk of leaking proprietary info to the outside world. 

'Change is the norm' is different from the statement 'Change is the only constant'. In the latter case, we have to accept change as something we cannot prevent in any case, and as something that 'has to' happen. In the former case, when we consider change as a norm, we have a more proactive approach, says Sumeet. We drive the change we want to see in the world, and we are the creators of  the newest things in the future. If change 'has to' happen, why not have it our way!. Sumeet gave an understanding that the next decade is going to see a new spelling of the word new - it being spelled as n-i-w, n for nano, i for intelligent, and w for wireless. These are the three technological pillars that are going to sustain the fundamental developments in the near future. 

The discussion was interspersed with numerous questions shot by the audience and it added to the liveliness of the session. There were many questions which challenged the very concept of going away from Google and Wiki and it was interesting to see people take exception as well as accept, a very new concept in front of them. 

There was a talk by Raj Dutta from MindTree , which had to be canceled at the eleventh hour due to Raj's ill-health. But this was replaced by two more Startups pitching in: Movie Shoovie and TringMe . 

Movie Shoovie presented the concept of showcasing memorable Indian movies, with high residual value, to the NRI audience. Jyoti, an ex-Stanford and ex-Yahoo and a string of other names to her experience list, made the presentation truly engaging by asking the audience about their favorite movies and why they have been their favorite since ages. She charted out the plan to keep producers/distributors and the consumers happy with live streaming of selected movies (with a download/streaming validity option of a week). They focus only on Indian movies, shun piracy, and increase the viewing audience of older movies. They look forward to project Indian movies of all the regional languages, subtitled and ultimately create a strong emotional community of movie lovers all over the world. 

TringMe is VoicePHP at is very best. A presenter at many of the recent Startup ecosystem events, TringMe engage the audience all the more by live demos of their technology and wished "Happy Birthday Headstart Startup Saturday ..." to the whole audience! Though the session by TringMe swung between techie-talk to heated defense arguments by existing XML lovers, it was something that showed a new paradigm of Voice related technologies over the Internet and the mobile space. In TringMe CEO, Yusuf Motiwala's words, "Our basic intention has been to enable VoIP without the need to download anything. The click-to-call capability fits within our overall solution accordingly. Suppose you don't have access to your laptop and you need to call from some place where you have just plain old Internet connection. With our solution you can make the calls without downloading anything. The VoIP capability is enabled by a web integrated dialer."

The audience compromised of newbie entrepreneurs, weekend-entrepreneurs, students, techies, HR consultants, media professionals, and established entrepreneurs, including Anurakt Jain, from the VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson India. Apart from specific questions, the three presenting companies candidly answered audience queries on startup hiccups, bootstrapping issues, legal, financial, market reach and IP hurdles. NSRCEL , IIMB which hosted the event, gave a small talk on the incubation facilities available to budding startups. 

Startup Saturday coincided with Valentine's Day celebrations and it was during the tea-breaks and other unscheduled breaks taken by the audience, when everybody engaged themselves with networking and you could see remarkable hustle-bustle within the audience. The regular Startup Saturday attendees and the new folks (which by far outnumbered the oldies!) mingled with coffee, tea and cookies. Sumeet Anand from Kreeo was joined by Kallol, Keshav, Sujay, and Kunal to cut the Birthday cake and it was a treat in all senses to be a part of the event this weekend. The organizing of this event has graduated from being a 'i-have-time-and-will-contribute' one to one which is driven by a team of more than ten volunteers, each handling a different function. You had one to look at the logistics part of it, while one to run and get the media folks and arrange for the posters. Thanks to the team at IIMB for the room and all other critical arrangements, for, on a lighter note, what is networking without snacks and beverages and a place to hang around!

Recessionista!

A queer word in these times! Investopedia has the following to say:

 

What Does it Mean?
A person who is able to remain stylish during times of economic hardship. A recessionista can shop on a limited budget and still manage to be up to date on the most current fashions. A recessionista does not let a bad economy, inflation, or a strong recession damage his or her wardrobe and opts to search for sales and shop at thrifty discount stores instead.

 

Investopedia explains Recessionista

The term recessionista derives from a combination of the words recession and fashionista. It is used to make light of a bad situation and demonstrate how people can maintain their lifestyles in times of struggle. Read more...

The Power of Your Speech

By Virginia Avery [Note: Virginia Avery is a communications specialist who trains and coaches businesspeople to make more profitable presentations. * Virgi...@AveryPresentations.com*]

Language expert Wilfred Funk was one of the first to study highly successful men and women to determine what they have in common. What he discovered was that they all have the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Since then, many studies have shown the same thing. In fact, members of the "speaking" professions - lawyers, politicians, professional speakers, salespeople, and entertainers - are among the highest paid. There appears to be a high correlation between word power and earning power. The ability to speak, to persuade, and to keep an audience's attention is well rewarded.

What about you? Have you been sabotaging your own success because you feel that speaking in front of a group is something you would rather die than do? If so, it is time to do yourself a favor and learn the skills that can change your life. There is no better time than the new year to develop the confidence to speak up.

Speaking well is considered the *number one reason* for career advancement. And - no doubt about it - this is an essential business skill. Every time you meet with a client or make a presentation, your company image is affected - for better or worse. From the standpoint of public relations, your business can have no better vehicle than a well-spoken representative.

If you think about it, you'll see that your most important business - and personal - transactions involve face-to-face communications. To mention just a few: asking for and receiving a pay raise ... making a winning proposal ... promoting your new service with a speech ... and persuading others to back a cause you feel passionate about.

Communication is a complex subject. We communicate more than simply with the words we use. We communicate as much by *how* we say something as by *what* we say. We communicate through voice inflection, tone, facial expressions, body stance, and even by the way we breathe. But perhaps the most important aspect of effective communication is having the self-confidence that comes from practice.

I once consulted with a small engineering firm that was on the short list for a contract to design a project for the city of Grants Pass, Oregon. Five firms were making proposals, among them two extremely large and successful companies. Now, I know about as much about engineering as I do about nuclear physics. Nonetheless, I had my client restructure their approach, improve their visuals, and practice ... practice ... practice their presentation. And, yes, they were awarded the contract.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson observed: "All the great speakers were bad speakers at first." Woodrow Wilson, for instance, started out as a political science professor. He had a reserved manner and a stilted speaking style - not characteristics that make friends and influence people. Recognizing that, he deliberately and systematically set a goal for himself to become a skillful orator. And it worked. His success was so evident that when he delivered his inaugural address as the 28th President of the United States, it was said "not since Lincoln has there been a president so wonderfully gifted in the art of expression."

Biographer Joseph Tumulty wrote that by the end of Wilson's life, he "was like a great organist playing upon the heart emotions of thousands of people who were held spell-bound by what he said."

The ability to speak is one of your greatest gifts. Doing it well can transform your life. You can present yourself and your ideas hesitantly ... or you can be purposeful, direct, and confident. It's up to you.

Think, for a moment, of Socrates, Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Abraham Lincoln, Will Rogers, Martin Luther King, and Oprah. All of them master communicators. These diverse individuals from different times and places made history with their words. They moved others in their time, and they still move us today.

No one is born with the ability to be an expert communicator. But it's well worth the effort to develop it. Being able to speak with confidence - in any situation - can be one of the most exciting and rewarding skills you will ever have. A deep sense of satisfaction, even exhilaration, comes with knowing you have expressed yourself effectively.

Anyone (yes, even you) can deliver a presentation that will captivate an audience. But it does take preparation, planning ... and, of course, practice.

Here are some ideas to help you begin to become a master of the spoken word:

- Become aware of how you sound. Record yourself ... then listen to it as if you were listening to a stranger. What advice or suggestions would you give this person?

- Start a file of short stories that you find appealing. Tell these stories to yourself in the shower ... then to a few people ... then to a few more people ... and then to larger groups.

- Go to lectures and seminars to hear other speakers. What worked for them? What didn't?

- Beg, borrow, or buy tapes of speakers such as Earl Nightingale, Zig Zigler, and Brian Tracy. Listen to them over and over again.

- Consider joining a Toastmasters group where you can practice weekly.

- Volunteer to speak at every opportunity.

- If you want to make the most progress, and make it fast, get professional advice and coaching.

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Which is the correct problem to solve?

(From an email fwd: Credit to Janice Y. Preston, 1993.)

1. A gentleman traveling on a coast-to-coast flight Was the king of person
who had real insight. A five-year old youngster was really a fright Running
up and down aisles and giving a fight.

2. The people in business were trying to work Near those who were sleeping,
the youngster did lurk. He yanked off the headsets of some music lovers, And
took all of the peanuts that he could discover.

3. The passengers complained, "He must becontrolled," And threatened the
flight crew to knock him out cold. Theflight attendant buckled him in his
seat But his screams and his hollers were less than a treat.

4. The passengers, desperate, want him bound tight and gagged. "Arrest the
boy's parents, or let them be nagged." At last comes our gentleman, who
spoke to the crew. They loved his idea; into action they flew.

5. They found a seat for the boy in the front of the plane. They were
willing to do it to keep themselves sane. They fashioned a steering wheel
from a large plate; A stick was a rudder' he thought it was great.

6. Flying instruments were made from some odds and some ends. The pilot came
back; the two became friends, The pilot then asked for help flying the
plane. Because it'd be tough if they ran into rain.

7. The kid was delighted' he was taught how to fly. Flight attendants all
smiled; the copilot came by. The pilot saluted and left the boy in command.
He kept pretty quiet and thought it was grand.

8. The passengers rejoiced; the gentleman was praised. How did you think of
it?" the question was raised. The gentleman answered in a voice calm and
low, "It's really quite simple, if you go with the flow.

You tried hard to solve your own problem, the noise; But the problem I
solved was that of the boy's."

(c) Janice Y. Preston, 1993.

Battling Terror: Learn from USA, Israel? Not Entirely ...

This is a good article comparing two approaches to India's response to the Mumbai terror attacks. Click here.

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Recession Medicine

With a recession hitting the common man below the belt, do you think people change to mend their ways of living? Consider the case of people who are still in an okay kind of situation, and who can still spend - do they change as well to reduce the costs of operation due to the economy? A recession has many uses for various people. While the traditional methods is to go back to school and improve your skillsets, there are people who start something on their own. You will find managers extracting the most out of their workers while no one complains much. The government is a pseudo-saviour in such cases, though it also takes most of the blames for things not okay.

 

Do you think people start using healthier measures like running the treadmill more often, assuming that the medical insurance companies can crash any day!? Is their something that is of a transforming nature in this environment? And what about people who cannot change - say for example older folks and kids. You cannot compromise on a kid's nutrition citing recession as the reason!

 

The Economic Times predicts a darker future to come (and this might in fact urge some folks, particularly the younger folks to enjoy as much as they can when they can). How come companies have started using 70% of their electricity usage when things are bad? Was it that they could run at the corrected levels in the first place but people somehow forgot to bother? Is the concept of Lean Six Sigma more valid in such turbulent times as this one?

 

Situations in life teach us to learn a lot of things. I feel a levelling effect is going to take place with recession taking place in almost all nations on the globe. There is a correction in the real estate prices, not just in New York, but in Bangalore as well and this cascading effect is going to hopefully bring a new world order. Its going to cure unnecessary dumping of waste into our lakes and seas - now people are thinking of not creating that waste in the first place. Now is the time that many automotive companies are getting more and more concerned about cleaner technologies. There is an world consciousness that is improving things - provided we respond well - and see to it that such a bitter medicine has it effect in making a better world.

 

Let's have the leadership turn tables in favor of the developing world. Let there be a gradual disappearance of the differentiation based on the country's development (or amount of carbon emmitted to the ecosystem, as a matter of fact!)

 

 

Slumdog Millionaire

There have been quite some mixed reactions to Slumdog Millionaire. Some say its one of the best movies they have seen, while some say its kind of a okay movie. AR Rahman is being honored with awards for the music but it is true that deep within himself, he knows that this is just one of his mediocre compositions. There are groups that are protesting the name Slumdog, while a few others have started a group called Slumstars. Well, this is way too much news for the state of reality that Slumdog shows.

Personally, I did not really like the movie but I did understand that it shows some part of the reality that still exists in India even after huge improvements in infrastructure and living standards.

There are still things to improve and one of the things that this movie taught me is to look beyond the unrealistic states that we choose to live in and come back to some real truths in life.

When me and my wife decided to celebrate Diwali last year, in a different way, we literally walked in to a slum and called out a number of kids. We did not understand Tamil - we called up a friend over the mobile and handed the phone to the kids - they were instructed to come over to our place in the evening to burst crackers. Many of the kids turned up and it was a real happy experience to play with the kids who did not ever have the resources to have such a Diwali. We had a light food session and we called one more of our friends to help us out. Once the celebrations started, even our neighbors turned up.

I cannot forget the expressions on the faces of the kids - it was something I was rememebering when I saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

What is happiness if not the innocent smiles on such faces!? Can we not do something that increases the internal strength of an emerging India? Are the current efforts enough? There are many folks who take pity on such people and donate huge sums of money - does that help? Why give alms? They need to be educated and free - not just fed. What drives these people to be what they are!?

And why reality oriented movies such as Traffic Signal by Madhur Bhandarkar could not go to an Oscar while a Danny Boyle creation could!? Any thoughts!?

Before you startup!

Should you really think before starting up!? You might have heard stories of folks who came with just few hundred bucks with them and then they worked themselves up to be millionaires. You will find Narayan Murthys or Sabeer Bhatias or any of the Mittals starting with meagre sums of money and a lot of dreams. It is said, that for starting up, all you need is an idea and lots and lots of passion!

Well, this is true, though not completely so. The success rate of a startup is something of the order of one in a thousand. There are many folks who come up with ideas every fifteen minutes, ideas that can supposedly revolutionize the world - very few of them go a long way and be successful. So, apart from the blue-eyed dreams of people who really started up to be millionaires, there are certain things that you need to really put a thought to, before you take the leap.

What does it mean to work in a startup? Well, to work in a startup is to work in a challenge-filled environment, fired with passion, because passion is the only thing that is going to replace the frustrations due to lack of infrastructure, finance, and support from the outside world. It is a place where your confidence in yourself is getting tested in the fire. It is a place where you see light at the end of the tunnel even before the tunnel is dug, and you have to keep the light on till the time you really dig through and come out of the other side of the tunnel. So, be ready, with guts!

Apart from this, you have to do something that you really love doing! It will be something that never tires you. Something that is so important to you that you are ready to come out of the comfort zone that you may be in right at that moment of time.

Next, it is a place where you get hit on the monthly compensation that you may be commanding in the outside market. Be ready, not just in your mind, but inform your families as well, that you are taking a dip in income! (Of course, they'll say you are out of your mind!)

One big point is the team that you are working with. It can make or break your situation. In fact, most of the successful startups had a smaller team to begin with. In the words of one successful CEO that I talked to recently, you can afford to have two, and at max four points-of-failures in your team. In such a case, even if few folks in your team are still not convinced, make up a team with you alone! (I myself had to roll back my startup plans right from the doorsteps of a potential customer, after one of my teammates, who was the main technology person involved, backed out!)

Do think about the monthly burn rate of cash in your proposed startup - it seriously makes sense to be austere in your expenses at the beginning stages. Have a thought on the positive bank balance (friends, families as well as and if possible, foes!) and the cash inflow mechanism of your idea. However great your idea may be, if it cannot generate positive cash flow, you better take Sanyaas! (In other words, grab a sandwich and go ahead with your day job with your startup ideas in the bookshelf!)

Create uniqueness (say, intellectual property) - for Pete's sake, please create something that is going to be unique to you - it can be intellectual or not, is not important - what is important is that it should be unique, and differentiating you from the rest of the herd!

Never be worried about the thought storms in your mind! Madness is contagious - if you have the bug, you are gonna do it! Startup!

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Indian VCs

I got this comparison while talking to the CEO of a successful startup, who has arranged funds for his dream company mostly from his own sources. Venture capitalists in India have been traditionally funding a lot of 'me too' ideas than really original ones. We have been observing that if your idea is very original, in all probability, you have to have some self-fund. This is explained by the CEO in question, in a really imaginative way:

You start the stuff on your own and keep up your spirits till you reach a huge pit. This pit is the point at which you have to prove that your startup has power, by overcoming and jumping to the other side. This is the place at which you will be needing the most help, particularly in the financial part. When you search for a VC, he will be smiling at the other side of the pit! He'd say, Show me 'that your Idea works for one customer' and I will lead it to success! In his words, this means, jump over this pit in front of you and I have a limo waiting on the other side to take to to our goal. In what way are these 'early stage' VCs? They are not ready to put money in un-tested ideas and just 'me too' approach can not take us real ahead.

If you are an original thinker, better save some money and get your friends together to help you out as VCs here seem to be not ready to wet their feet! Any thoughts?!

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