Reflections

This is the first Rashmi Bansal book I am reading, and I have to admit that her writing makes for an interesting read. Stay Hungry Stay Foolish is a very interesting and diverse collection of stories of Entrepreneurs – I wont say Case Studies, as the focus is on the individual rather than the company, the Brand or the strategy employed. And this is just about the only negative I can spot in an otherwise near-flawless book on Business in India. A worthy addition to any regular reader on Business, rated 4 stars. THE BOOK The book’s collection of Entrepreneurs is subdivided into 3 interesting heads : The Believers, The Opportunists, The Alternate Visionists. The first – the Believers – consists of examples of Entrepreneurs who went into Business straight after their MBA: the Opportunists went into Business when opportunity presented itself; and the third group – those with creative intent or social causes at heart. This classification makes it interesting, to say the least...

It was late at night – for me anyway. My sleep time stands at around 10-1030; it must have been around that time. I switched off the lights, and was in the Balcony outside my French windows. The Saptarshi Contstellation is visible just outside my bedroom window – from the balcony. As is my habit, I looked up at the Saptarshi; only this time, there was one difference. My eyes were in 2018, but my mind was in my childhood, in the 80s, when I recalled the seeing the Saptarshi and the Mruganakshatr constellations almost every night. My mind’s eyes saw them as they were seen then : bright, clear and easily visible. But now, as my physical eyes looked up, I could see only the Saptarshi – but the stars were barely visible. Most vital – I used to stay outside town both in the 80s, and now, with clear skies above me, and lots of open space; both then and now. And, even more critically, I could not spot one star in the 7-star constellation, try as I might. I just couldn’t spot it! ...

The Fragile Thread of Hope by Pankaj Giri is a very dark novel, a series of tragedies. In fact, it is a series of unrelenting tragedies on the main protagonists, right from the word go – and how they manage to hang on through it all, through thick and thin, frequently on their own. It is a story of grit, courage, determination, near-impossible odds, fighting the impossible as life hits them with one turn after another, with one tragedy after another. It is the story of two people whose lives slowly intertwine and what they go through as their troubles just keep on coming till the final solutions manifests. That, in a nutshell, is the simplified story of the book under review. I can state the characters; but I wont; I don’t want to digress from my main objective in writing this book. This was not an easy book to review at all; it is one of the hardest I have reviewed till date. A deep, dark and turbid tale is not my choice, neither is it my liking, nor is it my genre. That...

In the previous 2 segments of this conversation, we went deep into the concept and role of relationships & trust in the context of a modern workplace, and understand the concept of what it entails. We also examined the nature of workplace relationships in the light of the modern organization, and the modern survival of the fittest syndrome, before moving on to tactical aspects of this question – that is implementing them in the real world, wherein I confronted the panel with the simple questions – can it be really, truly achieved in the modern world? In this   concluding segment, we look at these aspects : survival, vertical relationships, inter-function / department relationships,   external stakeholders, and going onto the most basic of all : ethics, values of an organization, and the need for them. My personal thanks to both the panelists, for their candid responses, which also served to kindle hope and build confidence in the reader as well as myself wit...

मी हे कथानक अपल्या गीता प्रेम पासून सुरु केलं; पहिल्या दोन भागात अपण गीता वाचन कसं आणि कां सुरु केलं ते पाहिलं; कर्माचा प्रपंच आणि त्याची ओढ थोडी फार बघितली {ते नंतर सविस्तर बघू - ह्याच कथानकाच्या पुढच्या लेखन मधेच ; आणि हे लक्ष्यात घेतलं के ह्याहून पुढे वाढायला, गीता चा सार नीट समजायला मन शांत ठेवण्याची गरज असते. मग प्रश्न हा उठला कि जगाचा कोलाहल मध्ये, जगण्याचा प्रपंचामध्ये मनाची शान्तता कशी आणावी? खरं तर ह्या प्रश्नाचा उत्तर दरेक माणसानी सवतःच द्यायचा असतो. ह्या मोठ्या जगात निरनिराळे प्रकारांचे प्रश्न येतात, सगळ्यान   समोर नवीन परिस्थिती असते, सगळ्यांची मनं वेगळी  असतात , विचार वेगळे असतात, आणि नैसर्गिक गुणांचा खेळही वेगळा असतो - त्रैगुण्य - सत, रज, तम - ह्यांचा असर दरेक माणसावरती वेगळा ठरतो. ह्या प्रश्नाचा   काही सोपा उत्तर भेटणार नाही - माझ्या शोधांनी तर मला हेच कळले आहे. Source - Google Search माघील ४ वर्षापासुन सुरु केलेला ह्या प्रवासात एक मात्रं लक्ष्यात यायला लागलं आहे आता : मलादेखील मन शांत करण्या साठी निरनिराळे प्रयोग करावे लागतात. मन कोणच्या परि...

Me, I am old school; and perfectly happy in that classification, thank you very much. When I say a ‘successful” company I mean a profitable company; preferably one that is among the top brands in its market segment/s. To be even more specific – operating profit; that is a positive cash flow from operations to be crystal clear, a company where revenue is greater than expenses. What are these words doing in a book review, you say? Well, thing is, I have just read an entire book – yes, an entire book – that analyses ECommerce Companies, and not once does it fully look at the above. Nice, isn’t it? And yes, before you mention it – have been in ECommerce Sales for years as well. So, I don’t buy this current trend of looking A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z series funding, valuations, GMVs etc.{ Sarcasm added for effect }   As a professional, I have one, and only one question – be it brick-and-mortar, or be it ECommerce : Is your per unit sales valu...

माणसाला एक अशी जागा हवी असते ईथे पोचून मन अगदी स्थिर हुन जातं ... जिथे मन , अंतर्मन , विचार , इच्छा , राग व द्वेष सगळा शून्य होतो . अश्या जागी खऱ्या अर्थाने आपण आप्ल्या स्वतःला   समजू शकतो ... मनाचे खरे बोल ऐकू शकतो . अश्या जागी ब्रह्माण्ड नसतं ; काही असतं तर ते फक्त खऱ्या अर्थात आपण , आपले खरे विचार , आणि एक अशी ताकत ज्याचा आप्ल्याला फक्त भास होतो , पण डोळ्यांनी काही दिसत नाही . हि जागा फक्त मनाच्या डोळ्याने दिसते ... असते ती खऱ्या अर्थात आप्ल्या श्रद्धे मध्ये ; आप्ल्या श्रद्धेतून उगवणारी   जागा . पण ती जागा एकदाची भेटली ह्या बाह्य जगात , तर समजावं कि आपण जगाचा मायाजालमधून बाहेर पाडण्याकडे पहिला पाऊल घेतला ! मी श्रीमद भगवद गीता ३ किंव्हा   साडे   तीन वर्ष्यापासून रोज वाचतो . माघे मी म्हणालो होतो कि हा प्रवास कसा सुरु झाला मला ठाऊक नाही . पण झाला तो सुरु . हळू हळू रमू सुद्धा लागलो ... आवडायला लागलं , आणि मग सवय झाली ! आता कधी - कधी असं व...