Sunsigns, Best books of 2009, Panama Canal, HBR

Good to be back after the Xmas Holidays. I would make this short post as to catch up on things.

I was amazed to read this post on predicting your boss nature based on his sun sign. I guess this is partly correct in as far as me as a boss as well as with some of the boss with whom I had interacted. Cant take it all the way though!.... On the boss front, I came across this fabulous picture post by Kris Ashok on doing Jalsa and showing Jilpa(Dont know what it means, not that I have heard till 1985, when I left Tamilnad) on how boss react to your sick leave. I also came across the post on Interviewing smart tips for tech folks, who miss the nuance of preparing and working out the job interviewing aspects.

As indicated in my earlier posts, I am trying to understand the essence of Bhagavad Gita thro the Discourse of Chinmayananda. I was fascinated with this post on linking Githa in modern management terms. Very apt and practical explaining Passion, Ignorance, Goodness, the 3 key aspects in human being.

I leave with the thoughts on Best business books of 2009, worth the list. Also I look forward to revamped HBR from 2010.

I was fascinated reading about Panama canal, never knew that you need Millions of gallon of Fresh water to move ship and more so to lift 85 Feet...... Marvel..

So 2009 was a decent year, lot of challenges, well overcome with ways to find a practical solution and move on. Ofcourse, ultimately it all boils down to what your stakeholders feel and that's what matters.

Take it easy and take care; live Consciously.
Karthik

Avatar, Meetings, Despair, Cheques bounce

I am still in daze from the Avatar effect. My son persuaded me that I should accompany all to the movie(My 4th movie in 11 years, Titanic, HP V and Spider man) were the other 3. Also I was pulled in as I wanted to experience the 3D progress from the days of the Poltergeist. my dear Kuttichatan.

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Avatar is a mixture of Indian beleif(Moving soul from body to body, Spirits etc which are well documented in Indian history) and technology. For 160 minutes you are at a different world forgetting traffic jams, Lousy situations etc. The music of James Horner is master piece (Austrian touch of Mozart!) (As good as John Williams in Star Wars, Riders of the last ark and his own Titanic) adds to the thrill. It is a must watch for every one. The take away for me is It might help me to dream better and get better ideas as seed for thought process/ innovation to continuous improvement.

Cheques are going to be part of the history. With all the plastics, Digital aspects happening, Cheques may become extinct as per decision taken in UK. So the term Rain check may become Rain Digital.

With Cynicism at it's height in these depressing work state across,no wonder the site Despair.com, would help to let out the frustration and show out. Slogans, mug, posters etc. This site came to my knowledge in response to the practices of dog and pony show on safety thro behavior change in Let's get real which I shared with friends.

On the management side, 3 of the articles this week caught my attention. 50 Minute meeting by David Silverman on setting tight time and not just stick to calendar timings. 10 min saving can go a long way. The other post was on How to detect if your colleagues are lying.(Very apt both when lied or lied up on!!). The third one was Retaining top performer in tough times. Show your feeling and thank them is key also work out non cash rewards and align career expectations. Also I want to mention Mike and Mark podcast on Making your favourite candidate succeeding in your interview process. Top Stuff.

Google has come with a navigator that adapted to the Indian needs. In India the concept direction like North, south are alien. It is more to do with street, shop, temple, post office and work reference to that. So Google maps have adapted to that. GMAIL language typing in to TAMIL தமிழ் is a cool stuff.
I leave this week with the chart that caught my eye on How web Browser use has changed over years from all MS to Others. This is what they call CHANGE HAS COME TO THE WORLD. Also a quick look at the top 10 Web platforms.

Till next week, Take it easy and take care; Live consciously.

Regards
Karhik.

PS: As a favor to my son for taking me to Avatar and giving me good time, I will watch and support CHELSEA his team tonight.

Spousal Jealousy, Drucker, Soft Skills, Password

So the year is coming to an end, 2009 looks like went like a whistle.

Came across this interesting article on Spousal Jealousy arising out of a new term I came across as work spouse. Of course, keeping the relations to the platonic level is the key and to avoid the wrath of home spouse I guess. Very practical article in MI and It covers indepth analysis of various issues at work and has a distinct UK flavor. I also came across lot of good management information at Management today. This also covers practical happening at the Management aspects. From an Indian perspective, Tickledby life is a good website on all updates in management.

I cant help keep writing about Peter Drucker. This HBR Website article just moved me I thought that I should share with all. This covers the personal side of Drucker which we seldom get to know.

Two articles which got Twitted around caught my attention. 1) The soft skills people require to work their way around by Kate Nasser. 2) 10 HR trends of the decade by Susan Heathfield for with web taking over the process. Wonder if HR folks would change their Mindset????

Everyday we use a lot of passwords for various access to websites, machines. A practical way to remember the password is explained here.

A live update of all the trains running in India are covered in the South Central Railway website. This covers update within 20min of current time and give the train status.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Thumb impressions, Tiny URL, Dictinoary, Gil Schwartz

I am glad to be back on blogging after a week's gap as I was away last Sunday evening for some shopping and couldn't get time to blog. So feels good to be back.

I was amazed to read this story of a Florida, USA, bank insisting on a thumb impression of a man who has no hands to cash his cheque. You think you will hear such stories in this part of the world. Looks like the" crow is black" every where as they say in India, Kawwa Kaala Hi.

Tiny URL is a good feature to use when you have to shorten the URL which are lengthy. More so when you have to use it in Twitter or other microblog or send as link in email. It shortens and cuts it to less than 10 characters.

Google has done it again, The new Google dictionary is amazing to translate meanings. Not only that it gives meanings in various context of word and gives example. I tried features in my mother tongue Tamil and found it fascinating.

Bing, Stanley aka Gil Schwarz, (Bing, not the search engine) has come out with a new book, and has done a great podcast with Wayne on CMM. Give a listen. Bing writes fantastic column on Fortune and blogsite. Wayne in another podcast called Working week has covered the link between environmental sustainability and employee engagement in a conversation with Jagan Nemani. Give it a listen.

Mike and Mark have come out with a fabulous podcast on DISC Behavioral profile downfall and have covered HighC this week. Eureka, that is it.....

Gina Trapani, some time has written an excellent blog post in HBR on throw away your business card and create your GOOGLE Profile. Very true. I have done my Google profile . Of course, GOOGLE exposes you on all about you or what others write about you as this case study "We googled you" indicates.

Ok, Untill next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.

Regards
Karthik

Education, Scandal, Steve Jobs,2611

Education access is an universal right for every one. I recollect reading some time back that Indian government passed a bill making basic education a fundamental right. In that connection, reading goes as a part of education. So I was amazed to see the SLS Planet read effort by subtitling film songs/ programs which would make people read and improve learning. This is common sense as one might say, but how many common sense ideas get implemented??.

So on to some of the scandals I came across this week.
1) 112 Year old man marrying 17 year old girl in Somalia- Mother of all scandals I guess!!..
2)Read the scandal by Tony Young in duping investor funds. The modus operandi was too common and wonder how people fall for it...

You can love him, you can hate him, you can forget him, but you cant Ignore him. Steve Jobs is back. He has been chosen as Fortune's CEO of the decade. You have to agree, the Ipod, The Iphone and Macs.. What is next? Just cant wait, made music a common access. My son was on for a music recording for his school program yesterday and he got a feel of Mac Pro tools 8.0 for that and says that MAC a thing to have.

This week on Friday will be the First anniversary of the Bombay Seize. Time flies. But you wonder any significant learning has happened and the sense of security has improved. It is time to ask the questions and see if we get answers. Meanwhile I share the grief, memory for the departed. Vir Sanghvi has written a great article.

Ok, until next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Drucker,9 ways, Kalashnikov,Fitbit,

This week is the 100th Birth anniversary of Peter Drucker. I am sure we are very lucky that Like Gandhi, Drucker was amongst us and helped us to charter a way forward in management. As I read more and more of other authors on management issues, I see the fundamental concepts all boil from Drucker. We are blessed. Interesting would be his thoughts on today's chaos......

Read an interesting article by Liz Ryan on 9 ways to find a perspective employer. Yes, some of it are common sense and practically known in this part of the world like reaching early to find latent aspects, linkedin aspects. Good thoughts.....

With Google wave mania catching here is a practical guide written by Gina Trapani. She covers practical aspects in office work in HBR as well as in her blog called Lifehacker which is a good read. On HBR this article why parents make a great manager, was a good one.....

This week marks the 90th Birthday of Mr Kalashnikov the inventor of AK 47. The weapon yes, has taken lives, but brought more peace I guess. He was my childhood hero.. So salute.....

Yes, It is good to see Linkedin connected to Twitter, but no use in this part of the world as many service providers don't provide twitter connect so just dream.......Also many company firewalls bar twitter.....

Just got the fortune print article which has recognised Steve Jobs as Fortune CEO of the decade. Great accolade. The man has revolutionised digital waves.... Hopefully he takes it to next level on digital reads.....

I leave this week with FITBIT the device that can measure your movements and give feedback. Wish it comes sooner to this part of the world.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Qacks, Disagreement, Students, Readit forme.

When I was 12 years old in my 7th Grade, I had allergic rashes on my body (reason never known) and my grandmother immediately suggested that I go the Quack to get it treated. Nothing came out of the roadside treatment after 12 hrs, my dad decided to take me to alopathic Doctor in Karaikudi(Far and few that time) and I was Ok in 6 Hrs. This CNN article on the quacks reminded me of that. The other side is the way the medical costs are skyrocketing this way of treatment would be beyond reach for many average Indians.......

Mike and Mark again have done it again. While you may have disagreements with your boss and it will be big joke if you had not had one over time(then it is career derail). They have come out with a fantastic podcast on how to disagree with your boss. I would even take this to work out over my children and family and friends based on this article when to shut up.

Here is an interesting piece on advice supposedly given by Bill Gates to Children. (of course now confirmed that he is not the source). Good thoughts to pass on to children regardless of source.

Came across this website Readitforme gives summary of best books released to go thro on a video. Also liked the web page Aggregated Alltop as a good source to read all threads in one page.

OK, till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.

Regards
Karthik.

Wave,Online Hazard, 100 working, Slip, Sleep.....

I received yesterday morning the email invite for the Google wave, the collaboration tool and a communication tool from Google Inc. I must admit that I am pretty excited about it as it leads to explore on topics and people whom you would never have known. It looks good, let's see. The only hitch is there are only 20 Invitations to give away to connect to your wave. I hope the number increases as the system stabilizes.

I have heard people working till 70s, 80s that is all fine, here is a story of an Attorney in Texas coming in to office and working, guess his age!! Yes, 101.... Read on. At half his age, I am already feeling on some days that office is boring and what could be done differently to bring excitement in to work.
This is a shocker of a story in which a person who was doing online dating was killed.... I am sure many such incidents of fraud, cheat etc must be happening, but to kill some one for gain is horrendous!... Never thought that online could be such a hazard.

This is a classic case of slip between the cup and lip. Recently heard a interesting experience from a friend. After attending a job interview a job offer was received. Up on discussions, with not being very happy on terms and conditions and benefits and further negotiations, the company sent revised terms in which the cash component was much much less than initial offer as well as what is offered in present job. Both stuck to their guns and offer vanished!!!... Classic slip case.... So watch out.......

I leave you with the sad story of the passing away of the SAP India CEO aged 42 due to massive cardiac arrest this week. What kind of saddened me was his belief that 4 hours of sleep was enough to keep going. I recollect reading HBR article on sleep deficiency- a killer. Wonder if there are connections?...... May his soul rest in peace. I guess corporate needs to focus on this and do something as well as CEOs set an example. This is also a case for work life balance or choice.....

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Diwali 2009. Articles with Impact.

Glad to share snaps of the DIWALI Celebrations at Renaissance Park III. We had a great time at our home on this joyous occasion. This time it was a simple get together as less than 20 families have moved in. We hope others move in soon.....

I thought of listing 5 articles I read which has an impact on me.....

Managing Oneself Peter Drucker.

What great Managers do? Marcus Buckingham

Manage your energy not time. Tony Schwartz

Who has got the MONKEY
Lary Bossidy- Honeywell. (Allied Signal). A Job No CEO should Delegate

Bonus
Process audit Michael Hammer.

Overwhelmed, Leap, Portfolio,Charity

I am just pondering:-

1) Barrack Obama Nobel Prize, this was totally a bolt from the blue. I agree with the school of thought that the president is yet to deliver on results. Anyway, the decision is made as they say, past is history as is this year prize and we need to move on to await the Next Nobel Peace prize winner.

2) I was listening to Bahgavad Gita discourse by Swami Chinmayananda in my IPOD as I do every weekend 2 to 4pm. I was listening to the Chapter 11, in which Lord Krishna takes VISHWAROOPAM to show his full form to Arjuna. I am still to recover from the explanation and its manifestation. If hearing only makes me go in AWE, I just wonder what it must have been for the Mighty solider on the battle field.

I listened to Wayne Turmel on chat with Rick Smith on LEAP. It is a very thought provoking podcast. It covers three aspects as interface of Creativity, Excecution and Leadership. I undertook the test.

Came across, intersting info on the hedgeable award for worst investment fund award.

Also this article touched me on charity being done by N KRISHNAN at Madurai. He feeds about 1000 invalid/ mentally handicapped people in and Around the temple down. I am doing my best to contribute.

Looking forward to DIWALI celebrations less than a week away.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; Live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Ambulance, KS Mangalam, Subramaniam Siva, Roads.

Whenever any government is involved, I usually criticise them or find that the quality of service is pathetic or poor. For a change, I witnessed something positive and here how it goes. Last Wednesday, when traveling from Bangalore to Trichy by train, a fellow passenger who boarded the train at Mysore,complained of Symptoms that could possibly lead to paralytic stroke. The Passenger's family members informed the railway traveling ticket examiner, (TTE) who in turn, communicated the situation to the Bangalore city station and sought an Ambulance to be brought around to the Platform 6 (Which is crowded, congested more so being holiday season!!!) when the train reached Bangalore city station. This is how I saw Ambulance in the platform while waiting for the train to arrive. As soon as the train arrived, the Ambulance crew swung in to action and worked first aid and shifted the passenger to nearby hospital. The family decided to discontinue journey to be with him. I am not sure of the outcome, but this effort by Railway authorities is indeed commandable.


We went for our annual pilgrimage to our family deity at KariSuzntha mangalam( Means Temple surrounded by Elephants) which is 25Kms from Tirunelveli, corporation in South Tamilnadu. It was a memorable experience to spend a day in the midst of greenery, on the banks of the river Tamira bharani and away from daily chaotic life. I felt recharged and good to go on at high levels for some time. The weather was indeed surprisingly mild, (It has started raining since we left). The decoration done on the deities makes you wonder, that the people who do that may be blessed......








On the way back we spent a couple of hours at Lalitha's home town Trichy and for dinner we went to Hotel Sangam. There at the Chembian resturant, we were treated to melodious Flute music by Subramaniam Siva, a 3rd Year Engineering student from Coimbatore.( He is native of Trichy). The 45 Minutes, we spent were simply great. Again you need besides talent, skill and attitude, a special blessings from almighty to render such enthralling performance. The team was great.......
I am also attaching a video which My son shot thro his mobile. The song is Kurai onrum illai. (Lord I have no grievances, composed by Rajaji, the First Indian Governor General of Independent India). Take a listen.











I was also impressed with the road conditions in Tamilnadu. Vast improvements with an average speed of 60 Km/hr. A far cry from days when 40 is superfast. Yes, that do bring the issue of severity being high when things do go wrong, like the near miss we had when our driver managed to avoid the state bus entering in to highway without a watching to his right!!....

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik

Women as better managers, Email, Glassdoors, Gmail

Here is wishing all a Happy Dasserra. It is the only day of the year, when I sit behind the wheel of my car and drive the 30 yards, (of course my driver sits beside just in case!!)as an auspicious beginning for the year ahead.

Interesting article posted in New York times,in which Carol Smith of Elle group which says women are in all sense Better Managers than men. After working for a Female manager and the female manager had a woman manager. I cant help to agree with the statement. They give you more head room and tend to seek and take your opinion more than male managers do. Of course, the issue is only that some times conversation can go a bit longer and you need to master the time management skills.

Here is an interesting website, Glassdoor which gives inside information on all companies thro opinions posted. Of course, this only perceptions of individuals who post what they feel.

Read last night on the HBR article in Sep issue on death by information overload. A must read article for those drowned by information, more so from Web and dont know how to manage. The article talks about thebrain and Twine as source of tools to help manage information overload. Let me see start using and see how it goes.

Hmm, Again Gmail had trouble this week, when I couldn't access my contacts for couple of hours. Wonder, where the invincibility disappeared?? Yes, again Mike and Mark are right, Always take a printout of contacts.....

Ok, Looking forward to catch up the next 2 days holidays with lot of catching up to do on reading.....

Until next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik

Eid Mubarak,Internet Kills, Tragedy, Art of living, Navaratri.

I am posting this blog in a more relaxed manner as tomorrow Monday is a public Holiday for the Islamic festival Id-ul-Fitr. I pass on warmest Eid greetings to my Muslim friends, more special greetings to my friends in my second HOME, Lahore; Pakistan. (Special friends in Monsanto Pakistan, Dr Rahman, Rana Rafiq and Zahid Islam, the last mentioned was instrumental in getting me to visit Pakistan) I am really amazed that in every religion the path to spiritual greatness are done thro sacrifice, discipline, (I am not an expert, this is my initial views, still a long way to go).

Saw an interesting web piece on 50 things that Internet has killed. I will add one more thing is looking at Dictionary or writing the correct spelling.

I found the web page History search engine Infoaxe cool, It helps you to search the web pages you visited and restores. Cool..... So no struggle for pages visited and lost.

I have posted a poll on linkedin on work life balance, a topic that is very close to my heart. I find it very irritating and frustrating to see many Indian companies and managers don't try to do a bit or walk the talk to enforce this important concept!!. I posted my brooding on this topic about an year back in my blog. Seems nothing has changed. They seem to live in a different plane(t) on this as compared to companies like bp, Honeywell. As much as we don't understand the western divorce concept as I was explaining to my wife.

I am listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Blink Audio Book. A must listen for every one to get a sense of thinking on feet as well as go by hunch. Gladwell also explains the concept of Contempt/ criticism which is a big take away for me as well as the concept of THIN SLICING...

It was heart rendering to read that a 12 year old girl died in labor in Yemen. It shook me to the core and it took me a while to regain composure. Where the world is going??????

I had a chance to examine my pulse thro Nadi Pariksha( Pulse Diagnosis) thro AOL. Some of the concepts and treatment are akin to grandmother's remedy in a core sense. (Pita, Kapa, Vatta).

Yes, navarathri, 2009 has commenced from Yesterday. It will fun filled 9 nights. Of course, We have not kept the Golu(Doll arrangement at home, I have been pestering Lalitha for one, may be next year!!). How much I miss the Gujarati Garba/ Dandiya Rass of Bharuch, Ankleshwar which are etched in my memory even after a dozen years of moving away from that wonderful place and people.

Yes, leave you with "GREED IS GOOD" saw the movie after 22 years of its release. What a theme and very relevant in present day context. Vintage Michael Douglas.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.

Regards
Karthik.
Amritkala,Bangalore, India.

Austerity, IC, Gandhi, Children,India medical

I was away to Bombay on a private visit Saturday,after almost 7 years for a domestic travel( I had hobson's choice for Lahore!!) I had a chance to take Indian Airlines ( Rechristened Air India) flight.(Because of the ongoing Industrial action by Jet Airways Pilots with whom I hold loyal Platinum membership), To my pleasant surprise I found the experience enjoyable, both ways the flight was on time, the food was reasonable and the entertainment and papers on board were aplenty. So private competition has increased Indian Airlines service attitude to customers. Lets hope they sustain this!!.... As for Bombay visit, I was stuck in the unusual traffic jam for Saturday evening on the way back to Airport on LBS Marg Bhandup, thanks to the brevity of my cab driver, I managed to reach on time to board the flight.(The 20 Mile Journey took 2 Hrs!!, my plans catching up with friends on the way back went for a toss!).

On another news on travel front the news that is making headlines in India in on the austerity measures (!!!!!??) by the central ministers to travel economy and reduce spending.. Wonder how long they can stick to it...... knowing the integrity (All political parties are in the same boat) of our folks, they will find a way to game the system to get upgrades without cost, with pro quid pro, or arm twisting!!... Let's wait and watch. Of course, with mobile phone camera around it is easy for anyone to shoot photo of politician's caught on wrong foot and expose them.

I am glad that I read this article on Indian medical care,Lovely story self explanatory. Also this one on Mother in Law forming as association to protect their rights!! Wow......

I am not a great Gandhi admirer, ( I am from Patel, Bose Clan) but still found it interesting to read Obama's views on the father of the nation. Of course, I always believed that it is the dignity of British (personally convinced having a British Boss)that they let Gandhi do what he did. Anyone else, we might have to do with an Omar Muhktar. Hmmmmmm........

I leave with the images of the kids(Cant call anymore like that) growing fast. 2006 and 2009, the same place for my daughter's birthday party.... Time flies. Makes you feel old.. Scary!

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.

Regards
Karthik

Chase, Inhuman Resources, Drunken Grandmaster, YSR

I am now doing a wild goose chase and learning the frustration of handling customer service ineptness. About a year ago, I had ordered a home safety security alarm system from EUREKA FORBES(Honeywell make!!!!) at a discounted price at an exhibition sale in Honeywell premises. At that time, I had indicated to the salesman that I would require the system installed after 6 months or so at my new house and that I am purchasing, paying the full amount (US$ 300) to take advantage of the discount. It appears that salesman is no longer employed in the company. The company couldn't trace my order. (Being an average Indian company) I am not surprised that they have state of the art ERP to track orders. I am now not sure whether I will get the product or the money back!!!......... This is a lesson to learn to go after discounts or pre order.... Some lessons. I am also in a frustrating followup for a online order cancellation with ICICI Bank credit card, that is a story for another day.

We all know HR is a touchy area in many organisations and how much we would like to stay away!!(More so over the last decade and a half when it is getting more and more robotic!) emphasising that point is a great is a book by Michael Stanford which explains all the process of inhuman aspects at work thro your colleagues and boss etc etc and HR or any one cant do anything about it......... (except you to get inoculated against it)

Here is a funny side to sports in which a grandmaster came to play his chess match drunk and slept over the board. Hmmmm, at least he was sober to come to the right place in the first place.....

This morning during my walk I was listening to the podcast by Robert Goffee on his upcoming new book, Leading clever people. I had read the Article" Why should anyone be led by you" on HBR some time back. It was a very revealing article on authentic leadership.

On the management bookshelf, came across an interesting website which lists great management books of all time.

I will leave you with my thoughts on passing away of Dr YS Rajashekara Reddy, (YSR)the Chief minister of the state of Andhrapradesh(Hyderabad), killed in a Air crash. If I remember right, after 20 years, a state has lost its CM in office. May his soul rest in peace. But what saddened me was, that during the 24 Hrs he was missing and as efforts were on to trace his helicopter, 6 to 7 out of 10 messages that were posted in various new forums was that he would be found dead or good that he is gone. I am also averse to Indian politicians and many have done an irreparable damage. I endorse the saying by many that "India is doing extremely well, in spite of her politicians". But to hope that they all die, would lead to administrative vacuum. The other way is we choose,what we deserve!!. In my interactions with people from that state is that he had done his bit for the downtrodden. RIP......YSR.....

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik

Awards, must known thing, Alumni, RFK

I am hugely distracted from routine over the last 8 weeks since moving in to our Apartment. The noise from construction from the projects within and the neighborhood have put spanner on the daily routine. What saddens me was that noise from construction projects are well past midnight with least concern or respect for people living in the community. I am aware that in Indian context the respect to compliance and following the law and order are minimal (More so when some norms are voluntary) and people try to work a way out thro bribe, coercion power, position or influence. But to see blatant violation as well as putting aside voluntary compliance is the saddest aspect. What is also shocking is the so called board of directors of such companies are much respected men in Indian society. I guess they have no clue to the ground level realities!!!. Remember Satyam!!.....

I am also puzzled by the craze to chase awards in many organisations, a friend of mine was sharing an experience of how his company is chasing awards in various function so much so that their HR and corporate communication functions were doing only the emails on awards protocols and sending emails to that effect. (Where is the question of not influencing!!??). It is a case that these functions have forgotten their primary responsibilities of meeting the internal customer requirements viz meeting HR deadlines etc.? Hmm, signs of things.....

Wayne talks about managing various aspects with Lisa Hanaberg in the 5th Anniversary podcast. I am pleasantly surprised that he mentions about my job profile in the conversation. Thanks Wayne!!.

A must listen for people who have direct reports the acid test, the podcast from Mark and Mike. It is simple.

Scary story of an Alumni suing her college for having not able to find employment. Read here...

Sad about the passing away of Ted Kennedy, great liberal champion. May his soul rest in peace. Incidentally, his brother Robert's assassination is the news, is as far as I could back to my childhood to remember times(1968 when I was 4 years old, staying in Madras!!!).

Till next week, take it easy and take care; Live consciously.

Regards
Karthik.

Back to posting.

I am glad to be back to posting this week after almost away for more than 3 weeks due to Ill health as well as chasing on issues, as well as laziness to some extent due to settling down at our new home. We are still not falling in to a groove, I guess it should happen say from this week.

Last Sunday( 9th Aug) I was glad to catch up with my classmate from college, Ganesh, who had come from USA to India on a 3 week trip. He took time in his schedule to work a visit Bangalore. The 4 Hours flew just like that. It was a good chance to recollect events that happened over the past 25 years.....

Mike and Mark have come with Excellent podcast on Airline travel in their career tools Podcast. A must listen for all the frequent travelers.

On connection, Anna Farmery has gone out a with podcast on the engaging brand show with Iggy Pintado. This 2 part podcast is a must listen for people to work out the intricacies of connection on Social media.

Ok, I will start active posting from next week, I promise. Until then Take it easy and take care; live consciously.

Regards
Karthik.

Kalaivani, 20p, Bribe, Songbird, Indians don't give!!!

Good to be back to blogging after a couple of hectic weeks with the move to our new apartment.

I was very much touched by this story forwarded to me. This goes to show how Kalaivani a 17 or 18 year old girl as a sales girl at a book Shop in Madras manages the family... There are so many families out there. The story has a happy ending.....

I was touched to read this saga/ epic struggle of this entrepreneur who had refused to pay bribe to the authorities for carrying out the legal formalities in connection with the house he had built. Corruption in this part of the world is given, more so to escape the opacity and slowness of the process. This story gives the courage to face the situation.

When are the times the money you carry is more its worth!!???. I remember old story of a Petrol station agent melting the coins to make fortune as the Silver that came out was worth more than its currency value!. Read this story here in UK where some discrepancy in date makes 20p worth 50£

The best of the 2009 Leadership blog survey is out, I had voted.Some interesting thoughts on leadership expressed in these blogs and this survey is done by Kevin Eikenberry thro his blog.

On the question of best business books I had come across an intersting link. Worth going thro and help you choose the best books in Print or audio form.

On the tech front, here is a challenge to ITUNES from Songbird. The Ipod software to sync your Ipod with a Computer. I have downloaded it and will begin using it. The reviews on Songbird are pretty positive.....

On the way of life in India, I came across a thoguht provoking article in mint on why Indians dont give back to the society like the way it happens in West. I have heard of stories of famous Indian personalities becoming tight fisted when it comes to charity..... Some truth I guess.. I assume the Hindu way of life of living as a zero sum game!!!.... Hmmmm...,,

As always I leave with obituary of two people who passed away recently, Robert McNamara, the first international figure I had known from my school days (As world bank president). The other person was Walter Cronkite, who was a famous announcer. Coincidentally both were in 90s, and both connected to JFK......

Lot reading to catch up!!!.....

Till next week take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

AMRITKALA

I am delighted to blog this post sitting in our new Apartment "AMRITKALA". We completed the legal formalities Friday, 17th July 09 and so our move is complete. Amrit= Nectar of God and Kala is Time. So more reign for things that have god's blessings etc.

We managed to get the Internet connection and wireless phone in this area Subramanya Nagar, Bangalore where the last mile connectivity is yet to be established. So things would go on. We are in the process of settling down and I expect the process to complete soon. Yes we are the 3rd owner to move in out of this 110 Apt of Renaissance Park III. I expect others to follow in 4 to 6 weeks. As for completion of construction I would assume it is 3 to 5 months to complete, so we got to bear with the noise associated with them as well as construction from massive adjacent project of Brigade Gateway(Photo above).

Here is the google map of the Apt. coordinates.


Our achievement was all due to collective efforts put in by all of us as the Renaissance Park III Owners association who chased things at every stage over the last 15 months. Every project needs a great leader and we got one in Mr Suparna, about whom I had mentioned before. The managing committee of our association was helpful at all stages to help when required. Yes, Renaissance Builders also did their best, to be fair in these tough times, So thanks to all.

I am posting some of the photos of the house and ceremony which we did before we moved in.
Hope to resume regular blogging from Sunday........

Regards
Karthik

Rush Rush Rush

Last 10 days have been kind of rush with chasing for final completion of our apartment, Managing finance for shortfall (as usual and as expected dipping in to savings from my pension fund to take from government takes ages; so no help there- not surprising???!!!! ) Wimbledon also took time, seeing off parents to home town after 8 weeks here (With a surgery for dad)...... So Blogging took a back seat! (Lazy too!!!).....

OK, Take it easy and take care; Till then live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

Balance, School children, Coffee, Good Boss.....

It is good to be back to blogging after last week ill health. It was tough times but it gave a chance to catch up on reading.....

One of the key aspect in life is work life choice. To choose and work balance between work and personal life. Both needs to be maintained, somehow in this part of the world one overlaps over the other most of the time. I saw an interesting aspect of this during my visit to Japan a couple of years back. On Wednesday evening, no one is allowed to stay late, they need to clear their work desk and leave for home. Exceptions are by prior permission from Boss's boss. A good chance to at least spend an evening with family. Wish some of our folks learn this and make a beginning.

I always wondered when I hear from my American friends that children participate in so many extra curricular activities!. I always wondered how do they find time for all such events beside studies. I got some of the answer from Lexington this week, that American children spend 32 Hrs a week in school with 3 months vacation vis a vis 45 Hrs a week here in India.(6 days) and 6 weeks holidays. No wonder there is time, but I am glad at least many kids there spend it usefully in extracurricular activities!. Good for them... I hope.

This article made me wonder!! May be it is a joke! That Comrade Chavez fears that President Obama is more to the left than himself or Castro!... Yes, the way economy is shaping up.. Staling may stir in his grave!!.

Here is an interesting snippet on the drink to which I am addicted. Coffee is good for health so says HBR so justifying my 7 cups a day (large 400 Ml cups)..... I almost gave up coffee in the year 2000. The addiction picked up during the Maiden USA visit in 2001 kicked in the habit back and since then the resolve has gone downhill... More so with cups presented in USA as souvenirs didn't help.. Talking of HBR, here is a great article I read by Prof. Sutton on How to be a good boss in bad economy. I only hope, we don't put this in to execution!! and as good to know. I begin to feel HBR is beginning to revamp itself under new editor Adi Ignatius. I wish him success and look forward to great compilation serving practical aspects of Management and leadership.

Mr Suparna, our good friend (Park III Home owners association) has forwarded me an email on Vivekananda university on Yoga here in Bangalore. Thought of sharing this information in the blogosphere.

Until next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik

Emotional Being!!!!!........

I am down with VIRAL Fever since Friday evening and hence couldn't post Sunday evening.The Bone crushing pain was horror and sleep deserted me for 3 nights. I am hearing many of my friends / colleagues here did suffer effects and didn't attend office last week.

I assume it was also linked to psychological/ emotional well being as some events / situations during last week were disappointing; from there on could have let the mental guard down!!. I guess there is connection between Physical well being and emotional state!!!......

Amidst all this, the good feeling Sunday was my son's team Winning the basket ball tournament and picking up a medal, certificate and a cash Prize of Rs. 151(US$3). I don't remember ever doing one!!!!.


Will post this weekend.
Until then take it easy and take care; Live consciously.

Karthik

Emergency, Traffic, Soderling, U-Turn.

This Blogpost is worked from IE8.0 for a change. The search for this blog post is done thro BING. Let me post my comments next week on how this worked out.!!!

As posted in my facebook page, My father has been hospitalised in Manipal hospital for an emergency (but not life threatening) surgery Friday evening. The surgery went well and he is recovering well. We hope to have him back home, Tuesday. The Manipal hospital (near my home so makes the commute easy)is one of the best hospital with team of good doctors and support staff. Yes, I do find the administrative section like paying doctor fees, getting appointment, retrieving medical reports are irksome and frustrating. I wish they could take advantage of technology, Medical Record management systems to manage information/ access/ for patient interaction better. !!

Also Friday was a significant day for other event, yes, if you had read my recent posts, I have been covering the progress about my upcoming home and issues etc. We did get an appointment to meet the CEO of Renaissance Holdings Mr Ramanj. The meeting went well in a cordial atmosphere(!!) and we got to understand each other's perspective and issues. The good news is that CEO has committed himself to end our Park III project, in about 4 to 6 weeks. We are also seeing some evidence like permanent Electric supply restored etc. I will for the time being put an end to this topic and lets review in say about 6 weeks to see where things stand!!.

Over the last 2 weeks, I had first hand experienced the perils of traffic jam in Bangalore. The heavy rains in low lying areas at which my office is located made experience of commuting a 10 mile drive in over 120 minutes.(twice in a week!!). Yes, the positive side for me is almost after 2 years, I switched on the CD system in my car and listened to the music/ FM Radio. Hmmm, something positive. The rains had its share of tragedy with 2 people being washed away in the open storm drains in to which they were sucked in by the flood waters. You would assume the city is safe!! Not so. Yes, there are changes in civic administration, but it calls for more of execution I would assume.

Who remembers a loser!, we may wonder. The way Robin Solderling, conducted himself in the presentation ceremony of the French open final at Roland Garros is an example of some times the winner gets overshadowed, the way we enjoyed himself made me wonder as to whether he had won the open?. He treated us to a great exhibition of Tennis. Well Done Sir.!!.

It was interesting to read Andrea Jung interview in which she says Fire yourself and do an introspection to come good. Very true!!, the issue is we don't let go the ego in us to do a self search!.

I leave with an interesting article which I read in WSJ, on the reverse brain drain the great U TURN. Who would have thought that thing would come to this!!!. Anyway!!.

Don't wait till next week, I am more comfortable with GOOGLE. Switched after doing half the blog.!!.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.

PS: Meeting a school senior after 29 Years in the hospital yesterday. Dr Latha; whom I met in Hospital Saturday, is a senior (3 years) from my school at Karaikudi. Amazing is the human memory to recognise some one after 29 years in a split second!.

Temper, Kindle, Recession,Art of living, AF 447

Posting this blog with the multitask of watching French Open Men's final.

Saturday was a new experience for me from holding emotions/ temper perspective. As I had been indicating in the previous blog that I am planning to move to our new apartment, and I was indicating that the project at Renaissance Park III in Malleswaram, (Renaissance Holdings) is almost 18 months behind schedule. Yesterday, we had been given to understand that we will be meeting the CEO at his office to express our concern and request a speedy progress. When we reached the office, it was a shocker to see none of the senior executives had turned up and tempers of some of the flat owners assembled (About 40 of them) was flaring up; after a lot of angry exchange over phone, the mid level staff came to the office and met us stating that the project is slow progress but definitely not a no progress. After great reluctance, they have committed to bring the CEO to meet us next week. Let us see how things shape up!!. What saddens me personally was the lack of communication on progress, No regret at deadlines after deadlines being missed with no sense of remorse!. What was a shocker yesterday (with people who had come there by chance,) was other projects are also painfully slow. We hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, the market is slow; all projects by other builders are also delayed and flat owners having no say, but a honest, transparent communications and treating customer with dignity and respect as said by Gandhi would go some way!!. Looks like lack of emotional intelligence. Yes, some of the flat owners were in angry mode, but that is understandable.

Not sure that if I had mentioned about the Amazon Kindle, the new revolutionary ebook reader. Having seen a couple of them in old version over the last 18 months during the flights, I was impressed and the new Kindle version as well as Kindle Dx. No wonder it can be the Iphone of ebook industry. Yes, the price at 359$ is high and and is not available outside USA. I am sure with the popularity it would soon come out in other parts of the world.

The more I read international articles, the more it appears that India and China have escaped the deep effects of Recessions. Looks like the Decoupling has happened. I am seeing signs when I talk to my Indian company friends, who ask me back, "Recession,!! What Recession!!???". It is good to see India and China would lead the recovery. Of course, the effects on long term would be worth waiting and watching.

This week on the personal side, I attended the Toastmasters session as a guest and found it interesting!!. I might give a serious thinking to become a member. Worth the efforts it appears. Also, for the first time I attended the Art of living session conducted by Sampath Althur who did a great job guiding us to the right way. It was a great experience to undergo the session. While the activities, per se, were nothing more than an ergonomic stretch,I feel the effect of refreshingly different from within comes from the deep peace and the way breathing in and out which kind of cools you a lot. Let me see how I take this forward to the next level.

I leave you with tragedy of AF 447, and pray that the trauma of the family of dead is settled soon with the discovery of the wreckage and bodies. That will give the family members a chance to give decent funeral and feel an unknown is resolved. Also with the black box, when found would lead to the mystery unveiled and lessons learnt will be implemented to avoid recurrence and to take aviation safety to the next level.

As I finish blog, Federer has won Roland Garros, the last frontier for him.!

Till next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik

Illegal downlod, Bond, Travellers,Wave

I am back from a meeting of our association in which we discussed the inordinate delay about our Housing project of Renaissance project Park III. It looks like it is going to take more and more delay with things moving at snails pace in the common utility front like power and municipal water. Looks like we need to escalate the issues. Matters were not helped by the traffic chaos due to the Marathon relay arranged here today. Just wonder, when the public will have free access to roads without all the nuisance of rally, marathon, protests etc!!!!. Bangalore traffic has become nightmare!!.

I was not surprised to read that people all over the world are resorting to illegal downloads from sites. The articles show that in Aussie land, Uk the use of bit torrent sites is rampant and is a big concern due to the recession in which people care for every penny. This is more a personal experience as this week I spent about 85$ for renewing my wife's laptop Norton's account. The satisfaction of buying original stuff is amazing!!. Of course, I must make a disclosure that some of the info that comes from Bittorent sites are useful, no questions!!. It comes from a click of a mouse and of course, the charges you pay of 45$ per month, for your ISP provider is the cost for that I guess!!!.

This week marks 100 years of James Bond's secret service MI6. What a character!!, and thrilling the audience in both paper and celluloid. My favorite Bond actor has always been Sean Connery. No questions. Don't remember seeing the latest bond movies!! (Bump in to them in flights more to kill time!!).

It is coincidence that as I read about the violent attacks on Indian students in Australia this week. I read couple of articles about Aussies being the worst tourists abroad!!. It is not surprising given the adjustments needed to be a traveler!!. It is tough and needs resilience to fit in to local culture and a sense of emotional adjustment.

We agree that politicians are made of stronger stuff and don't let their emotions out!. So it was kind of strange to read about El Salvador's president weeping over his son's death and bring the perpetrators to justice. After all every one is human!!.

Google news on Working on Algorithms to see which employee would leave has interesting aspects of employee retention prediction. In a sense, scary that it becomes commercially viable!!. On other google news, watch out for Google wave, the interactive aspects of communication which would go to a next level. My feeling / excitement on seeing demo of Wave was the same as when I saw MS sharepoint about 3 years back!!! for data storage and interaction and which is part and parcel today for me at my work in Honeywell.

Ok, so on IPL Cricket, the Hyderabad team won the championship. It was a great result and personally satisfying one, more so they beat a team in the final sponsored by an Brewery brand!!!. I am also glad that I stayed away from live cricket having watched in total less than 20 Minutes over 35 days. Good for me!!.

Till next week, take it easy and take care; Live consciously.
Regards
Karthik
Bangalore,India.

Iron Lady, WSJ, Toddler, expenses,

The week was a hectic one with the preparations for the house warming ceremony Friday for our new apartment at Renaissance Park III at Malleswaram. The last 3 weeks work was like about 3 years work to bring the house to speed with the chasing/ followup. The function went well, hopefully we should be able to move in the next 6 to 8 weeks.

I could not write about the Iron Lady I admire most,(Conservative of course, who else) Margaret Thatcher last week due to various issues covered and for want of time and space. It is 30 years since she assumed office and brought a turnaround to the British economy as well as the famous war. She and Golda Meir are the kind of leaders the world needs to turn things around. I am sure her leadership style would return to UK in the next 50 weeks!!.

Glad to see the Wall Street Journal print edition in India. While I follow WSJ articles online as well as through the Indian print partner Livemint till now. I need to decide on subscribing to it. The subscription price US$ 250 for 2 years at 50% discount, looks little high for a personal subscription. With the recessionary trends, I wonder any individual would ask for official subscription ??!!! Worth hearing comments!!!

It was an amazing story of toddler ordering an excavator for 15,000 $ thro online auction site. He wanted a toy and ordered it online. I recollect my cousin informing me that his son tried online buy once and burnt a hole in the wallet!!. Perils of online access.!!

Echoing my views on the Pathetic state of Indian TV coverage here is the column by Mahesh Vijapurkar. Very practical, best way is to go back to the old days of watching TV News twice a day (Morning and night).. Just wonder when the standard of Indian TV would improve????, not in my time. Anyway, I had stopped watching/ wasting time. It is less than 10 min a day!!!.

The expenses scam in UK is a big news, the speaker resigned an historic event. Wonder what the British would think, if they hear the way our Member of Parliament do things, to me what the British folks did is nothing compared to what our guys do here!!!.
But people are sensitive and politicians are thin skinned!!!.

Came across the NIGHT JACK Blog of a frustrating British policemen. Very Intestine facts. On the Blogfront, here is an interesting post by Anna Farmery on Blogging facts.

I leave this week, with the former South Korean president, Roh Moo -Hyun committing suicide over corruption and favouritism scandal. Not surprising there, the high moral and ethics that prevail in South Korea which I had witnessed. Our politician will say........../

Until next week, take it easy and take care; live consciously.
Regards
Karthik.