Scamsters, Gangsters and ...

Not so long ago India was touted as the land of elephants and snake charmers. Not anymore...India today is known as the land of information technology and call centre...or is it truly so...I think India should be known as the land of scamsters, gangsters (and masters). Let me explain in detail.

Scamsters: A dictionary defines a scamster to be one who perpetrates scams (or perpetrates something that invariably ends up in the involvement of lot of money...hell of a lot). But can we define all the scamsters in the same light...Certainly not...In the world of Madoffs (of the infamous Ponzi fame) and dirty US bankers (the ones who brought the world to its knees) Indian scamsters are to be considered in a different league altogether...Yes, no prizes for guessing that I will be talking about the dirty rotten scoundrels – Indian politicians...and not one or two but a plethora of them. The year that is about to end in a few days time, was marked by the occurence of atleast half a dozen “mother of all scams”. Such was the magnanimity of each scams that each one would fight for the coveted “mother of all scams” title. First it was the Commonwealth Games (should I call it common wealth scam), a scam of roughly around INR70,000 crore...then came the Telecom Spectrum Allocation Saga, a scam of roughly around INR170,000 crore. I would stop the listing here, leave alone the superstars involved in these scams...these numbers do numb my mind and boggle mind in drawing bizarre conclusions...Land of Scamsters – hence proved.

Gangsters: Men (or women, pardon me if I hurt the female sentiments!) with dark character and an uncanny poise and charm that works wonders to create the aura of invincibility around them. Contract killing, extortion, kidnapping, murder (and many more) are his watchwords. Such dogged is their determination that it would put the greatest of all determinists to shame. These stars, a breed which is abundant in India, determine the fate of the common man and the politicians (to whom they are close associates) alike. They can control the profits of your business (read extortion) or manipulate the results of assembly elections (read contract killing, murder, kidnapping...). Such is their stronghold that it is quite common in our conutry for many of them to lead political parties. After all they have that innate ability to influence and lead people!I would not tarnish their glorified names here...but needless to say they hold a status quo in the society which is time and again glorified by the Indian media...Land of Gangsters – hence proved.

Till now I have tried to deduce a lot (not much deduction I should say, but applied inferences)...in a fashion similar to Holmesian inference (For the ignorant soul, I would leave it to them to find out the meaning of Holmesian inference). In the end, I would like to deduce that India is also a land of masters. These men are ordinary men with extraordinary deeds. They are masters in their own right...who have actually brought a lot of laurels to our motherland. Once again I would not want to take names (just in case I miss out on any and alas! The media also does not glorify them always like it does for the previous two cases) But nevertheless, these men of extraordinary repertoire deservedly command respect and I salute them. Not for their great deeds, that I deem them worthy of the honour but for the hope that they give me...that hardwork and determination pays and that all things can't go wrong in this great country.

Hail our heroes, whether they are scamsters, drilling a unmendable hole in the Indian exchequer or gangsters, killing and extorting ruthlessly or masters, glorifying India in the world stage. Don't get me wrong...I am just asking you to hail the heroes...laurels or brickbats ultimately they are the stars which defines or lends a meaning to India...the “LAND OF 'STERS''...upto you to decide what should be appended to 'STER'.

Romantic Rain

I am neither a poet nor a romanticist…but I love rains – a conclusion that probably defies logic. My romanticism with rains began since the very early days of my life. No, I was not influenced by the Bengali poetry (It requires a special mention here that lot of Bengali poetry, especially Tagore, has been inspired by rains), I was not influenced by the Bengali delicacy of ‘Khichudi’ (Hotchpotch, an English word which probably can never describe Khichudi) and ‘Bhaja Ilish’ (Deep fried Hilsa. Coincidentally, monsoon also marks the arrival of Hilsa fish, considered to be the most tasty fish, in the Bengali fish market) – an influence of sorts for lot of Bongs to like rains. But, as a kid I loved, and ever since love rains because of altogether different reasons. Pre-NDP days ‘Rainy Day’ – a chance to skip school and enjoy a lazy day at home, was the biggest influence. That actually changed when I went to NDP (NDP is always open – on a ‘Bandh’, on a day when it rains cats and dogs or on other ‘worldly’ holidays). I started enjoying the beauty of nature during rains and enjoy football. The dark skies, white lightning, smell of wet soil, toad’s croak, clean green tree leaves – ah! I love rains. And of course, football. Bongs love their F’s – Food and Football (Or else how do you explain a Hilsa fish as the logo of a football club?). Rain and football is a combination quite awesome. I should say that those who are lucky have had that opportunity to play football in rain. I got that chance while I was in NDP. Nothing is more fun than that. Really, even now I long for those football matches whenever it rains. I consider myself lucky to be born in a tropical country, which receives considerable rains.

Rainfall in India is one of the things which is very unpredictable. Some parts of the country receive record rainfall while others do not receive any. This monsoon probably is a record of sorts for Delhi. It received a lot of rains and ironically when it did not require it. Yes, this time Delhi would have been happy without rains or very little rains – the reason being the sports extravaganza, for which it is grossly underprepared. Even I, a lover of the monsoons, never wanted so much rain this time. Partly, because I love my country and I really want it to save itself from the blushes and partly, because it hurts to see the infrastructure crumbling so badly in a new metropolis (Gurgaon is touted as India’s latest metropolis).

From the bottom of my heart I want my Country to overcome all the challenges – especially posed by persistent rains, and organize an amazing Commonwealth Games. There’s nothing much I can do other than only praying for the rains to go away. The pride of India is at stake and I don’t want the rains to be a spoilsport. Oh! The least said about the infrastructure the better…Gurgaon has potholes a plenty with some roads, skyrocketing power bills without power and plenty of water to waste on its golf courses (golf courses in Gurgaon require a daily average of 300,000 gallons of water; is that the reason why the taps at home dry out very often? I can’t help myself but to believe it is). Apartments are built in Gurgaon as if every Indian will be accommodated in a Gurgaon apartment to live in, with utmost pomp and lavish, and of course at a premium price. But roads are built by misers – one spell of rain and everything is washed away. On one hand, the city dares to beat Mumbai and become the financial capital of the Country and on the other hand, it promises to beat even the modest of Indian towns in terms of infrastructure. No wonder, why it plans to woo the foreign delegates to its shopping malls by organizing shopping festivals. Other than malls it has nothing to showcase (even though I believe malls in other Indian cities are better, but of course Gurgaon pips everybody in terms of the number). I can’t do much myself (as I write this I hear a loud thunder, signaling rain. More rains and more problems…). As long as it rains I don’t how to react…whether to be happy or to be sad…I wish I could sing “Rain Rain Go Away…” Even if my mind sings so, ask my heart and you will get the answer…don’t get me wrong!!! I love India more than the rains…

Teacher's day

This Teacher’s Day I remembered or rather missed Narendrapur (NDP) for two reasons – one, the greatest teacher who taught me, Ajit da is no more and second, it had been ten years since I celebrated Teacher’s Day. A Teacher’s Day would be a celebration in any school, but in NDP it had a different meaning. Like everything else in NDP we celebrated Teacher’s Day differently. On every Teacher’s Day the students used to get an opportunity to teach a lesson or two to their revered and knowledgeable teachers. In a way it was simple role reversal. But it had a lot of meaning to lot of us. Some took it as an opportunity to showcase their teaching skills and some took it as an opportunity to make a mockery of our very humble teachers. To top it all, the day used to end with a football match featuring the teachers and students in two different teams. Mind you, it was no ordinary match – a full-fledged eleven a side football match on an 80x120 yard playing pitch (and not on a ground the size of a backyard) with the teachers and students cheering for their teams. All the cards were involved in the game. But the match was always refereed by a teacher. Nothing big was at stake but the pride was big enough stake to motivate each team. In the eight years which I spent at NDP, I think on most occasions the students used to win the match. Those days were pure fun…

This Teacher’s Day was also a celebration of sorts, which actually had started late on a Saturday evening. The evening was great in company of friends…and later ended with a sumptuous meal at Al-Jawahar, the famous Mughlai restaurant near Jama Masjid. The next day, I watched one of the better movies I have ever watched – Dead Poets Society. Starring Robin Williams at his motivational best, the film actually made me nostalgic about NDP. The story somewhat resembled the life at NDP – a boys hostel, strict time table, a strict principal and above all excellent teachers like Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams in the movie). I especially liked the last scene when Mr. Keating was leaving the classroom, and his beloved students were standing on their desks. After the movie, it was time for me to say good-bye to my friend…my heart was heavy thinking about office the next day…

Ajit da no more...

Ajit Sengupta passed away yesterday at 1325 hours. He might not be alive anymore, but his legacy will live on for many years to come…Yes Ajit Sengupta aka Ajit da, the legend passed away…all he left away is his teaching legacy but he is irreplaceable though. How to begin writing about Ajit da? Let me start from 1999.

In the month of April, 1999, when I went back to Narendrapr (NDP) after the spring break I was about to start in the ninth standard and in the C Section and had already spent 4 years in NDP. As a routine we used to check the time-table once we were in NDP before anything else. When I checked the teachers allotted to teach in IXC for the year I was very apprehensive. Ajit da was supposed to take Life Science classes for us. Before that I had heard about Ajit da and had also heard that he was very short tempered and that was the reason that he was always allotted classes in the ninth and tenth standards. To begin with, it did not make such an impression in my mind…I was waiting for the first class to give the judgment about this great man. Everything changes with time and my impression also was not an exception. A week later, after attending his first class, I prayed to God for forgiveness, for I was shameful and cursed myself for my first thoughts on this great man.

NDP has been blessed with many great gentlemen since its inception in 1958. Many still continue to serve NDP as they had done more than 50 years ago, with the same passion and zeal. I have not met many of such greats. But I was fortunate enough to meet Ajit da. Ajit da was a gem of a person with an uncanny ability of mending young minds towards a brighter career. He always stressed on knowledge, albeit not the bookish ones, preached by a lot of teachers whom I have interacted with in my life. He used to say that knowledge should be the morning star in the journey of a ‘bright’ career. He himself was the personification of that. Nobody could have been bored in his classes, be it during the toughest times of post-lunch or during the late afternoon, the time when everyone used to yearn for playground. He never used a chair during his classes and used to stand like a crane with one leg on the ground and the other folded on the edge of the table. We were challenged by him that if we attended his classes we need open the biology book again, not even before the exam. I remember those lessons even now. Such was his impact. Those lucky few ones, who had been fortunate enough to attend his class, can testify that. I personally learnt a lot of things from him, be it Life Sciences or Life minus the science.

The Ajit da we met was the Ajit da of the late 1990’s…By then he was approaching his sixties and time had taken a toll on his body. He was a severe asthmatic; I remember once he had come to take our class with a crepe-bandage strapped chest. It had happened due to excessive coughing. But he refused to quit cigarettes. On the same day he explained to us that why was he a bachelor for life. I won’t forget that class. I used to wonder and even wonder now that how have he been in his younger days. Had he not been attracted towards the materialistic side of life? Like we are…He was an admirer of Mother Teresa and had a heart like Mother Teresa. He was always seen with his trademark 32-inch smile and the last time I met him in 2008 was also same. He greeted me with his customary smile and spoke for some time and he even joked about my weight.

The simple dhoti-punjabi clad Ajit da was as elegant as a Tuxedoed actor or a business leader and could put to shame a stand-up comedian with his one-liners. He has touched many hearts and mended many minds in NDP since the 1960’s. I think he was born to teach and touch lives. Spending more than fifty years in an institution, speaks about his longevity, but also speaks volumes about his love and dedication for the Institution. I salute this great gentleman and pray to the almighty…May his soul rest in peace…Wherever you have gone Ajit da, you will continue to be in our hearts and minds…

In Pursuit of my Dreams...

“When you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” ~ Paulo Coelho

My father taught me to dream, and to dream really big. At times he reprimanded, for as a kid most often I used to dream the unrealistic. But then dreams are always unrealistic unless you achieve them. Isn’t it? Whatever it may be if you strive hard, you tend to realize your dream. So in a way I was in pursuit of my dreams ever since. And is still dreaming…dreaming for that ultimate glory…

When I got the offer letter from Copal Partners last month, to join them as a senior research analyst, one of my long cherished dreams was fulfilled. I wanted it so badly…maybe the entire universe had conspired to help me achieve my dream. But whatever it is I had worked hard to achieve this small bit. Dreams are so powerful and you tend to ignore them unless you realize them. Seriously, if you ever think, then you would realize that everything happens twice in your life…and I can tell this from my personal experiences. I say twice because once it happens in reality and once it happens in our minds. And the latter part always happens first. Unless it comes to your mind you cannot really achieve it.

I dream and if I want to make my dream a reality then I know I have not only to give my best but employ my mind to constantly think about it. Such is the power of mind that it will make you achieve what you think. I would say that I do not have such a strong mind, but what I have is dogged determination and a decent amount of self containment to see me through tough times. My mother says that I am the laziest person in this world, but I defy agreeing that. Neither have I been a brilliant student in school. During my formative years I lived in the shadow of my elder brother. He was a brilliant student and unfortunately I went to the same school. Most of my peers were amazingly gifted. I would not say that I was useless, but yes, when I used to compare myself with them I was not above the cut. But I always tried to develop myself. I had a dream, a burning desire to be successful and always believed in myself and God—that I am “Unputdownable”. That the desire and the dream have brought me so far is quite clear to me. By the end of my school I had an identity of my own, people realized my potential and my abilities. And when I went to college I started to become famous, albeit in a small way. I ended college as a “Sir”…people used to look up to me and asked me to counsel them. From a no-one in school to a university rank holder at the end of college is in my book an achievement. Something which would probably made my dad, had he been alive, really proud; something which was achieved only because I dreamt about them.

My journey to be successful continues…I would not stop dreaming. I work harder now. And I am waiting for the next milestone…I know I will reach there soon, because whatever I want I want it badly…

Adieu CK Prahalad...

Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad…CK to his loved ones…more famously CK Prahalad…is no more. I was one of his many admirers. One of the foremost thinkers in strategy and management donned many hats. He consulted Philips, AT&T, and Sony to name a few. He is the father of Core competence—a concept which finds its relevance everywhere, Bottom of Pyramid—once again a game changing concept to tap the market at the bottom level and many more modern management concepts. Unlike many other thinkers he was the one who firmly believed that globalization is actually bad for the poor of the world.

Rest in peace Prahalad Sir…May the almighty give all the strength to the family of Prahalad sir to see through this crisis.

The Indian 'Sponsors and Controversies' League

This is the time. The semifinals of the Indian Premier League (IPL) are nearing. When I write this the four teams for the semifinals are not decided yet…but one thing is decided that the IPL cannot come out of controversy so easily in the future. Such is the situation or I should say such is the interests of the stakeholders that finally the government decided to step in. I decided this can be a hot issue to discuss. And why not when the stakes are so high and we are just mere cricket-crazy fanatics following the ruckus…which is to be described in a single word as “consumerism”, at its very best.

The league has created a niche for itself—be it commanding astronomical rates for an advertisement in a ten second slot or becoming the “manoranjan ka baap” for the Indian TV audiences or for that matter creating innovative ways to plug in more advertisements and breaks during a cricket match. Such is its influence that global giants like Vodafone have a featured advertising scheme for the IPL. The idea and initiative taken by Vodafone is noble—that to have a new advertisement featured during every match involving the zoozoos is brilliant per se. But what is the gross outcome? And how long can this cacophony sustain itself? Oh I forgot that one important hypothesis—Indian markets can absorb anything. I agree that the sponsors are spending a lot of money. Come on…they have the money, which is the reason why they are the sponsors. But in lieu of sponsorship you cannot just make a game an arena to showcase non-sense. I mean what is the use of commentators yelling “a Citi Moment of success” every time when a batsman hits a six or “a Karbon Kamal catch” when a fielder takes a catch. Doesn’t it sound repetitive and boring…Had it been a great shot or a great catch and had the commentator said so is quite justifiable…but when the ball touches the edge and flies past the keeper for a six what is the use of “a Citi Moment of success”? It not only kills the game but also kills the traditional style of commenting in a cricket match. Gone are the days when we had absolute brilliant commentary and commentators like the legendary Richie Benaud or Tony Greig or Barry Richards to name a few. Then there is the “MRF BLIP” flying high in the sky glorifying MRF and its association with cricket in India. Does it make sense to showcase the blip and the commentators be asked to rave about it?

As if all that was not enough, now there is the much needed twist in the latest controversy. Things were going smoothly for the IPL…the teams were making money, Lalit Modi (the IPL commissioner) was hogging the limelight everywhere he went and everything he did, the teams were competitive as well and the participants were minting money. But then the nemesis—the controversy…and is threatening to kill the tournament itself. Like always the Indian government now will involve itself and will bail out or should I say pull the IPL out of this muck. This actually sounds the death knell for cricket as a game. Instead of going global cricket is shrinking itself day by day. Look around the other popular leagues around the world in any other sport…the MLS in the USA, the English Premier League or the Spanish League…they all are so well managed. They neither have the cap on foreign players representing a team. That is the reason why they are truly global and not just followed locally but across the planet. I mean how many of us care to know follow about the I-league…the league of Indian Football Clubs? But I am sure there are thousands who actually follow the English Premier League. The IPL as a brand is very big, but unless it is managed well and unless some of the stupid restrictions are removed how can it call itself a global brand? How can it go shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the English Premier League or the MLS? Stakes are even higher there in the MLS or the English Premier League, but that does not pose a threat to the game. But all the hype and hoopla associated with the IPL and the controversies actually is posing a very big threat to the game of cricket. Unless something is done seriously to manage the things, the IPL will die and with it the game of cricket too. Come on BCCI, don’t just enjoy the scenic beauty of Dharamshala (the BCCI governing body is scheduled to meet at Dharamshala for a high profile discussion on the IPL), but break the stranglehold of petty politics and sponsors; and come out of the niche.

Open the door to Bob

Next time the door is knocked be careful. Take a look and then open the door. Who knows you may have Bob as your guest. Not that Bob wants to exploit the traditional munificent Indian hospitality, but he wants something else. That ‘something’ is really very important for a monster; don’t get scared. The monster in discussion is in business parlance. Makes sense? Okay let me explain the person Bob Mc Donald is the diminutive global head of the FMCG monster Procter & Gamble aka P&G. Bob McDonald is on a visit to various households across India to gauge the perception of these householders about P&G products. So if you are a user of Tide detergent powder or Head and Shoulders shampoo don’t be surprised to open the doors to a strange looking foreigner—he is none other but Bob.

I should say this is a brilliant idea-- an idea which can do wonders for P&G. Indian FMCG segment is nearly a 5000 crore segment and gaining confidence of Indian consumers is no mean task. Specially, in times where customer loyalty is a thing of past and companies are having a tough time to woo customers. Another aspect of this brilliant idea is that instead of just spending on advertisements the company is actually trying to find out how important it is for a customer to have a right kind of product which should match just the customer’s requirement. When the biggest rival Hindustan Unilever is busy making advertisements which not only just makes a caricature of P&G but also wins GRP, P&G’s act is not just a stroke of brilliance but also a great strategy.

Strategically speaking it actually takes care of three very important things of marketing—product, price and promotion. A FMCG company sells mundane products, products which are seemingly trivial but are of great importance in our daily lives. So there is the big question—should every other company go brouhaha over a great product or its only just about promotion? A great product can only be ensured when the company tries to find out what exactly the customers want, what is their perception about the company’s brands, do they actually relate to the brand. This relation is very important. If you can relate to the toothpaste with which you brush your teeth every day, in whatsoever way, be it feeling fresher or getting whiter teeth, I bet you will have a yearning for the product however trivial it is.

Price is the most important factor in the Indian market. To understand the price points you need to understand the consumers better. And needless to say Bob’s visit will ensure that price points better understood in times when inflation is sky high. Today the consumers also understand how difficult it is for the companies to maintain a price point when the input costs have become so high. Finally, as far as the promotion goes…do I have to write anything? The unwritten part is always better understood…

N.B.: I appologise for the use of Jargons like FMCG and GRP. FMCG stands for Fast Moving Consumer Goods. These goods are the goods which are bought regularly from a retailer. So the retailer needs to update the stocks regularly and the goods move very fast from their shelves. Goods like toothpaste, detergents, toilet soap and a plethora of other goods as well fall under this category. While GRP stands for Gross Rating Points. It measures the success of an advertising campaign.

Watery tales...Do we deserve even this?

Is it a curse that we are born as Indians? Excuse me if I unnecessarily hurt anyone’s sentiments here…I could not stop myself but to write this. The issue is serious. It’s about water. So next time when anyone says “Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink”…think again and take a note what the person is trying to tell. India has one of the biggest coastlines but still our country does not have enough potable drinking water. What makes me write this is a step from the Commonwealth Games organizing committee…they are ensuring water of the highest quality for the foreign athletes participating in Commonwealth Games. If only we citizens could have had access to it…I would have loved to drink water free of coliforms, iron, fluoride and arsenic. Who wouldn’t have for that matter?

I resort to aquaguard water filter for the supply of pure drinking water. A lot of my friends resort to packaged drinking water. This not only hurts the pocket of my friends but also expose them to lot of health hazards. Mind you when I say that the packaged drinking water exposes them to health hazards, I mean it. The spuriousness of packaged drinking water makes them so dangerous. Our country cannot provide us with safe and clean drinking water. We at least get our hands to packaged drinking water or filtered water. The poor folks, out there in the rural India, don’t even have access to potable drinking water. I pity them…they do not have electricity to filter water and our infrastructural constraints ensure that they do not have access to packaged drinking water.

We in urban India exploit the ground water. The water tables are at all time low these days. The rural India, which is about 65% of India, uses ground water for irrigation. But should it have really happened to India? The country which can boast of one of the longest coastlines receives considerable rainfall every year and is a leader in information technology can’t provide drinking water or it doesn’t want to provide? The question needs to be answered. Abu Dhabi, one of the driest places on the planet and still it has very less problems with water. It can’t boast of a long coastline, but has one of the largest water desalination units in the world. Hence even with so little rain it ensures clean drinking water for its citizens. Think of countries like the United States or France where people just take water in a glass from the tap in the kitchen and drink the same. The packaged water is actually very costly in most of the developed countries. In Japan a packaged drinking water bottle is actually so costly that people think twice before they buy one.

Let’s face it…we have to live with it…Can I call it apathy towards the citizens? Shouldn’t it be our right to get clean and safe drinking water to say the least…

Swaminomics

          The idea of “god man” is very confusing to me…the men of honour, the men whom thousands follow and admire. The all smiling, all knowing, guru the great—enjoy tremendous status and priviledges in the society. They embody sacrifice and virtue. Sometimes they are seen with politicians or sometimes with sportsmen or at times with bollywood divas. They serve humanity and nonetheless take our message or complaints about our lives to God. But truth sometimes turns out to be stranger than fiction. These men in the garb of serving the humanity are actually cooking up something else. Aren’t they? Some of these men possess acres and acres of land, some have investments worth millions in real estate, some run prostitution racket.

          Religion is a tricky issue in our country. My existence will be questioned if I say anything offensive about Lord Rama. In the name of religion all sorts of things happen in India. If you need to grab a piece of land construct a temple there. You know that the local civic body can’t touch the temple, leave alone demolishing…so the land become yours. In course of time you build up a shop there all start something “noble” within the temple itself if you wish to continue with the temple. The “temple” economy is flourishing even in times such as this. This parallel economy is run with the help of our contribution. And I need not say it here how.

         Faith is something which should come from within. And one should have faith in God and oneself and not in these worthless god men. The great Swami Vivekananda said, “Religion is the manifestation of divinity, already in man”…So think again next time when you bow in veneration in front of a God man. Who knows what’s beneath the smile...

New Kid in the BLOC..

2010 marks the beginning of a new decade; and here we have the latest jargon—SEP, which is an acronym for Smart Enterprise Process. When I first read about it in the Economic Times a few days back, I was taken aback. After all if  the last decade was jargon- filled this decade promises  to be no different. We had all kinds of outsourcing in the last decade – BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing), LPO (Legal Process Outsourcing) and what not. So all of us should be ready for a new wave of outsourcing which has to do with SEP and God-knows-what other smart processes, which would extract even more from the revenues as profits to be reflected on the Profit and Loss statement of the organizations.

What exactly is SEP? Well as the name suggests, it is about making a process smart. By smart I mean more lean, in terms of cost, in terms of use of technology, in terms of manpower. SEP actually applies a framework of analytics, technology and reengineering to the key processes that a company uses to manage its business. Let me explain it in simpler terms. Lets assume that you need a credit card and you walk in to a bank. What would you expect to happen? Needless to say, all of us would expect the credit card to be delivered in the shortest possible time (if we are eligible for the card). But invariably it takes around a good 20-25 days before the card is delivered to you. Have we ever wondered what makes the bank take so long to process a card? Yes, you got it right, they do a round of background checks and other verifications, which at present takes a lot of time.

This is where companies like Bloomingdales are different. Being a retail chain it can set benchmark for many world famous banks. If a bank takes around 20-25 days to issue a credit card then Bloomingdales can issue  a credit card in ten minutes flat. Isn’t it smart? If this is not a smart process then what exactly is a smart process? This is what any organization can achieve by integrating processes. This will not only usher in a new meaning to the word customer satisfaction but will help organizations achieve more profits. Today, it is very difficult to suggest a method which can improve the revenues; such immense is the competition that customer migration is a norm today. Smart enterprise processes will not only take care of the profits; but will give the organization scores of satisfied customers. This will in turn reduce the advertisement expenditure, which otherwise would have been required to woo new customers and also to retain existing customers. I think the organizations of the future will be the ones which embrace SEP and work on it.

N.B Genpact is already working big-time on SEP. My question is why GE (Genpact was hived from its mother GE) always has the upper hand? Six Sigma was developed in Motorola in 1981, but it was the legendary Jack Welch(ex-CEO, GE)  who implemented Six-sigma in GE in 1995, and today it is followed in almost every organization. Are the other organizations listening?

Joyride

        Gosh!!!Roshan you had to be right… That Mohammed Rafi has got a mesmerizing effect in his voice was no surprise, but the real surprise is that it took me around 4 years to realize this simple fact. Roshan and I always had this argument in college that who is the greatest of all—Rafi or Kishore. I always argued in favor of Kishore da and he supported Rafi with such a passion that it was hard to ignore him…but even though he could not convince me. (I will not dwell much on who is the greatest; both are the doyens of Hindi Film Music and I am a ‘nobody’ as far as Hindi Film Music is concerned for a comment) But at last my argumentative instincts were convinced today and guess what it took to convince my logical mind…no not a talk show or a debate but a bus ride to Gurgaon.

        Delhi Transport Corporation’s buses are in news for all the wrong reasons. Around 40 odd buses caught fire within a month (that’s more than a bus a day). The iconic Tata Group’s reputation is at stake and it is at such level that government is thinking to cancel the contract with the Tata Group; though it is a different issue that Tata group has nothing to do with the buses catching fire. The blame should actually go to the growing population of India and lack of public transport. The buses are actually not meant to be loaded so heavily. Anyways, let me come back to the point. I should not drift away.

        Today, I missed my cab to office and I was cursing myself for not being proactive. But nevertheless it took me a lot of courage to decide that I should take a bus to office. And to top it all the bus I embarked was so full of people that I was actually struggling to stand on the foothold. Somehow I took the ticket and when I firmly set my foot inside the bus a cold stare welcomed me. It kept me wondering for quite some time that what actually prompted that kind of a stare from such a beauty. Either I was looking good, which I guess was not the case or something was wrong. But I did not give much heed to the stare and reciprocated with a similar cold stare. All this while, while I was jostling inside the bus, I was caught unawares…a nice background music was being played. And it did not take me long to recognize the mesmerizing voice about which Roshan always talked about. Yes, no prizes for guessing, it was Mohammed Rafi, at his best. Such was the impact of the numbers being played that I was dumbstruck to see that everyone was somehow contended. As if they had forgotten about the dangers of traveling in a low floor DTC bus; not a single soul was complaining. Otherwise such journeys are invariably marred by altercations and arguments and not to mention the ubiquitous Delhi slang in which people always drag others mothers or sisters into reference. The authorities had actually done a good job in putting up so many notices which advised passengers about how to use the fire extinguisher and the emergency exits in case of a fire. But today nobody cared about those warning notes and I was the only one who was busy reading such warnings and of course listening to Rafi. Probably even I was touched. The numbers were all time chartbusters and not that I had not listened to them earlier. But today somehow it had a different meaning.

        I realized Rafi’s greatness when a septuagenarian, barely standing next to me, started nodding his head when the number “khoya khoya chand…” was played. Probably that song reminded him of his wife or of his youth. Numbers like “chura liya hai tumne jo dilko…” or “kaun hai jo sapno main aye…” or “kya hua tera wada…” struck a chord with everyone inside the bus. Had it not been for the legend I don’t know in what state of mind I would have been at the end of the journey. But apart from Rafi the journey had nothing interesting in it. It pointed out the inadequacies of the Indian public transport system. That it requires a major overhaul is not an issue and is probably known to all, but the funny part is how do the westerners think that their money is being utilized for India’s development and India is shinning? Really if this is what India has to showcase during the upcoming Commonwealth Games, then I pity India and its bureaucrats. It’s a shame that we are so awfully prepared for such a mega event, but yes if I would have been given the charge to do something then I would have definitely tried Rafi’s songs (We cannot ramp up our public transport system in the next 6-8 months; that’s a herculean task) to mesmerize the foreigners. I am sure it will work and with less than 8 months to go for the mega event I am sure Rafi is our best bet. What do you think?

N.B. Roshan Dash is a very close friend of mine. We studied the same subjects in college and were in the same team at Oracle. Currently, he is pursuing Masters in Embedded systems in Philadelphia. Incidentally he has got a beautiful voice and is surely making the Indians in his college listen to Rafi.

"PHI"nance...Need Vs. Greed

        Those three letters in the beginning of the title can actually signify a lot of things...let me begin with the simple interpretation—which is: the 21st Greek letter. It can however signify something very interesting. The apocryphal “GOLDEN RATIO”. You must be wondering what it is or what it has to do with finance. For your information the “GOLDEN RATIO” is a ratio which is something similar to the following shown below…read on…

According to the ratio, if ‘a’ and ‘b’ are two variables, where a>b, then (a+b)/a should be equal to a/b. Now here in my case I have taken ‘need’ and ‘greed’ as two variables and it is needless to say that need>greed. But the whole world probably works according to the ratio as shown in the figure below; and aptly so because the simplification of this ratio leads to something very interesting. Let me not discuss it here.

        The planet is home to around 1.5 to 2 billion people who really struggle to survive. And a humongous number of that is in my motherland. I mean it is sometimes baffling to me that what would have Darwin postulated had he been alive today. Really, I salute those “fittest” people who overcome the hardships to survive. The world though moves on without the slightest notice. And that is why I wonder about the ratio. Today the balance is heavily tilted towards need but who cares…we are driven by our greed (N.B. my sincere apologies to those who really think that they are somehow not greedy). Whenever the ‘need’ tries to put its head up the cruel world forces it down…the world or our ‘greed’?

        Seriously it is time to ask ourselves…that whether we care for the needy or we really go on fulfilling our greed. Today the world is on its knees and the west has never been so humble before, thanks to the worst financial crisis in seven decades. But are banks only to blame for this or is it our individual ‘greed’ which is to be blamed? I know such questions are uncomfortable and they require diplomatic answers. But let me tell you how greed brought down the world on its knees. The banks are run by individuals and individuals are run by God knows what. So in the process these bankers kept selling some financial “INSTRUMENTS” for the simple sake of earning fatter perks. Of course they were driven by beastly greed and you heard it right when some wise men called these “INSTRUMENTS” as weapons of mass destruction. I still wonder what was George Bush searching for in Iraq (read oil; though that I would not discuss here) when the weapons of mass destruction were being developed in his own backyard. Yes, the simple greed of earning fatter perks changed the world forever. Probably it has changed the entire meaning of the phrase ‘financial system’. Instead it has now become synonymous to ‘greedy system’. Such is the situation that even now people are back to the old days. By old days I mean the days of sky-high-greed. The recession is not even over and the same old greedy bankers are laughing all the way to banks with even fatter paychecks. God help us.

         When will we understand that the world is actually driven by ‘need’? It is the need that that has given us so many life changing innovations. Can anyone think about spending a day without a cell phone today? I can really think of many such things which have really changed the face of the world. These innovations actually fulfilled our needs in many ways and made our lives a lot simpler. But the need which I actually want to discuss has also changed the face of the world…if not in such an eponymous way as a cell phone (or it actually has) but it definitely has in many other ways. The world should give heed to these needs—the need of a square meal a day, the need of basic healthcare, the need of primary education, and the need of basic transport system for the mass…the list is actually endless. Really can we not think about this on our end? We definitely can, if we can think of the “GOLDEN RATIO”. Had it not been really interesting if we could have achieved a balance between our ‘need’ and ‘greed’? It is really very interesting…if we remember something very simple…need ‘may’ be fulfilled but greed ‘can’ never be fulfilled.

The Nature's Call

             The recent earthquake at Haiti reminds me of the 2004 Tsunami disaster. I think the more we manipulate ourselves the more we become enslaved by nature. It's not so surprising that we find ourselves gripped by nature's fury so often these days. If we talk of the past decade we will find something very interesting. Let me share some of the interesting facts which most of us noticed but very soon it faded from our memories. Thanks to the media and it’s ever increasing influence on our ordinary lives. Even the most trivial news gets all the attention, which most of the times it does not deserve.

             Probably, the last decade had been the worst in human history. The world shook numerous times due to earthquakes. It was also washed by a number of Tsunamis. Okay let me not talk about natural calamities. Let me discuss the man-made disasters which the world witnessed last decade. The wars which America waged against Afghanistan and Iraq, Pakistan’s nuclear scandal (when the world talks about nuclear disarmament, Pakistanis believe in sharing nuclear technology with countries which have not done any good to the humanity), the rising global temperatures, the cyber war with which China is constantly threatening even the United States, and the financial meltdown towards the end of the decade. There are many more. We have seen it all. But why am I discussing all these when I should really empathize with the humble Haitians. There is a twist in the tale.

              Nature has the answer to all of these. Let us talk about the last decade. If we remember the Bhuj earthquake of early 2001, it was just a beginning to the series of events to follow. Probably that was a warning signal. Then there was the American invasion of Afghanistan which was followed by a series of severe earthquakes in Turkey, Mexico and Alaska. As if all that was not enough, America invaded Iraq (the reason still unknown to the world) and what followed? The Indian Ocean Tsunami which killed around 2.5 lakh people worldwide and rendered many homeless. All this while we might be thinking what happened to the Americans? How were the Americans punished when they were responsible for most of the man-made calamities? Well the Americans were also not spared. Hurricane Katrina destroyed many US cities. We humans went to such an extent that we even tried to manipulate weather according to our desire. The result – the devastating earthquake of China which killed over a hundred thousand people (I need not tell you why am I talking about China; for your information: China tried to seed clouds with silicon for early rains in Beijing last year. It even manipulated with the weather to prevent it from spoiling the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.)

            Just give it a thought and the sequence explained above will fall in place. Need I tell anything more? I mean when we humans will realize that it’s ultimately the nature’s call as to how it wants to behave. And we forget one very important thing when we relate ourselves to nature. Every relationship works on exchange; exchanging love, exchanging feelings and exchanging many other things. That’s the basic premise for any relationship, be it with our relatives, friends or anyone for that matter. But we human beings, thinking that we are the smartest, forget that basic rule of exchange and end up only in a ‘one way’ relationship with nature. Be it polluting the air or mining the earth or even depositing debris in space we have actually exploited nature. And from the sequence of events described above I need not explain it to you how nature reciprocates to the “love” which we express. After every man-made disaster the nature responded with a fearsome hostility unknown to man. Probably the recent earthquake at Haiti was an answer to the endless greed of the bankers which resulted in the financial meltdown of 2007-08; and as we recovered mother nature hit us back and it was at her deadly best.

            Before I sign off, just a little thought for the poor Haitians; may the soul of the people deceased rest in peace. Plight of a poor country like Haiti, after an earthquake of such a magnitude is inexplicable in words. The rescue workers are helpless due to lack of electricity and water. Even I can’t do much about it but I hope that through this blog I reach out many who can at least give a little time to my thought; and think again before exploiting nature. Because I think it’s the nature’s ire which we are facing, to all the things which we have done and are constantly doing to it.