Interesting morning so far.
Woke up to series of talks with AllThingsDigital - a joint conversation with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Boy, talk about creative tension within genius minds. It was so evident in the conversation, I'm glad Jobs did what he did when he reinvented Apple - take the focus away from "competing" with Microsoft - but rather create a market by himself leveraging the iPhone as a channel (winning without competing with folks who you are better off not competing 1:1). The approach was mentioned by Steve himself in this conversation, quite different from the interviews he gave in 1983 about Microsoft's ethics and culture. Anyways, fascinating to be in an era where two wonderful minds have created markets for the world to embrace.
Ended up shooting a mail to Mr.Jobs and gathering a quote from Mr. Gates - that's so much inline with my "Closing Credits" post, especially with the way the post was closed :)
Mr.Gates says:
"As I see it, there are two great forces of human nature: self-interest, and caring for others. Capitalism harnesses self-interest in a helpful and sustainable way, but only on behalf of those who can pay. Government aid and philanthropy channel our caring for those who can't pay. But to provide rapid improvement for the poor we need a system that draws in innovators and businesses in a far better way than we do today. Such a system would have a twin mission: making profits and also improving lives of those who don't fully benefit from today's market forces. For sustainability we need to use profit incentives wherever we can. At the same time, profits are not always possible when business tries to serve the very poor. In such cases there needs to be another incentive, and that incentive is recognition. Recognition enhances a company's reputation and appeals to customers; above all, it attracts good people to an organization. As such, recognition triggers a market-based reward for good behavior. In markets where profits are not possible, recognition is a proxy; where profits are possible, recognition is an added incentive."
Cannot be articulated any better!!....With some contentment, on to another round of coffee.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Energy 2.0 - Smart-Powering America's Future
Giving Back..Transforming lessons learned in Silicon Valley to RePower America's Future..
They say - one thing leads to another....
This has been a fascinating project (or the starting point to a project!) over the past 35 days. It has been a productive time collaborating with a variety of professionals both in the IT & Energy sectors - to produce a pragmatic small-scale enterprise's viewpoint on America's Energy Future.
Every recording session was filled with constructive discussions. Definitely a positive experience overall....What's next? Musing begins.
They say - one thing leads to another....
This has been a fascinating project (or the starting point to a project!) over the past 35 days. It has been a productive time collaborating with a variety of professionals both in the IT & Energy sectors - to produce a pragmatic small-scale enterprise's viewpoint on America's Energy Future.
Every recording session was filled with constructive discussions. Definitely a positive experience overall....What's next? Musing begins.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Closing Credits
What really prompted me to write this blog & also ask a simple question to my fellow enthusiasts (which i'll detail a few lines later) - was the sheer velocity in the antipathy that was unleashed against Wall Street CEOs - especially a guy named Dick Fuld (Ex-CEO of the now-defunct Lehman Brothers), when the market collapse occured...My reaction to the antipathy was : SURPRISE.
Here's what I thought (& by the way, i'm one of those in the American middle-class who's every bit affected by this crisis) ---- I do not have any reasons to have issues with Mr. Fuld - absolutely none, but I have issues with - guess who? us, the society....I'll share my thoughts here - on why I say so..
I migrated to the U.S in the late 90s & now I'm in my early 30s...I absolutely believe in America & in the 'American Dream'....I adore America for its history & traditions, it's journey to being the best & on top of it all - the Hope it offers for not only the citizens of America, but for everyone in the world.
Having said all that, I do believe there's one area where American Corporate Sector has been losing the ball-game BIG-Time - i.e. in Real Leadership....the same sphere where America led at the turn of this century churning out many visionary intellectuals that looked out for the society as well...Don't mistake me - there is no dearth of Efficient Managers - who get the "job done", which is a credible achievement in itself.
Hopefully we won't confuse & trust "Management" - i.e. measuring mid-quarter market returns, credit derivative differentiators & more head-counting management techniques - to lead the world's largest economy into the next generation - instead of "Leadership" i.e. Planning by promoting programs including Education, Visionary Thinking, Innovation where it matters -e.g. Energy Independence, Promoting Small Businesses,Creating Jobs for everyone in America, Implementing schemes that provide incentives to boost the productivity & bring out the innovator in the everyday American Worker....
Even when we move away from Managers to Leaders - a fundamental challenge, i think, still remains rooted in the system. That brings us to the question i posed around recently - "In Business, Is it important to do the right thing or to do the smart thing?" or is there a mid-ground about being smartly right & rightly smart (should the ones who get paid the big bucks have enough wisdom to find this middle-ground?)
I think - over the past 4 decades, when the economy started turning 'super-powerish', there have been decisions made by "Management", that seemed smart for a short-term period (I'll let you re-read the "MOVIE" Post, in the context of this statement). In the first decade of the 21st century - Mr. Fuld did the same thing, nothing different. Yes, Dick Fuld (& many other countless CEOs - some who perished, some who survived) did the smart thing in investing on Mortgage sector(because it was the Highest-Yielding Sector irrespective of the bugs & ills it may have faced!!) - so did the U.S Government(via GSEs) & so did Global Governments & Banks...They just got a bit more smarter than their predecessors by implementing Funny-Money techniques like Credit Derivates & making them Mainstream (ever heard of CDO Subject Matter Expert Job Openings in NYC,Chicago? - I have!)
Not all joined the "smart bandwagon" though - enterprises including Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo largely managed to stay out of high-risk investments (though invariably they continue to get affected as the Home Prices continue to decline, with no lower ceiling)..
Let me reiterate, I'm ok with Capitalism - but when we have "Ship Captains" in-charge - is'nt it supremely important for them to spot the iceberg early? Is'nt that why we are paid the big bucks than a regular sailor or the chef in the kitchen? What happens when Captains chart their Cruise course searching for Icebergs?
The problem, make no mistake, is not with the Captain only - the problem is with ( a part of) Shipping Industry(i.e. us - the society) as well...We (Not generalizing, but trend-wise) are being trained (by our own institutions of choice) to avoid Icebergs - not for our safety - but just because we'd happen to burn more fuel in the Ship's tank if we take that route.
Just in case, it made sense for the Ship's fuel economy - we'll probably advise our Captains to take the Iceberg route (because we save more & the probability of hitting the Iceberg is about 0.01%)..
Guess what, in September 2008, We Just Hit the IceBerg head-on!! & yes, the Ship(Global Economy) is showing signs of sinking into a recession...
From the above analogy, it's clear the American Corporate Sector (through all its ups & downs over the decades) is less guilty of the sins than the Global Corporate Sector's current ones over the past 6-7 years - seemingly feeding on the American Consumer's enthusiasm by promoting the BPO/Call-center culture but not exactly promoting high-quality local socio-economic programs including emphasis on Technology, Science & Engineering, more importantly Ethics).
For all the Emerging market talk & being insulated from America's positives & ills - it's clearly evident that the Global Industry(as it stands today) took decisions -during the timeline of this crisis - blindly driven by the decisions taken by the American Corporate Ship Captains...Maybe they did not have a choice but to follow the U.S - in order to sustain their aggressive GDP growth yearly - but is that a good enough reason & more importantly - is that a right reason?...
Leads us to a bigger question(probably another blog-topic!)- Is Globalization ready for prime-time as being touted or is it a growing concept? - Is the Customer/Consumer global yet - or are just the Services being provided on a Demand-basis (independent of geography) to the same Consumer-base(in U.S)? Questions that demand some introspective thinking at a Global Level, i believe....Is the World Truly Flat yet? or are we mistaking a change from a Circle to an Ellipse for a Straight line?....
Without getting idealistic about "being right all the time" etc (That's la-la land, given that we are human!) --- I do think, what's missing is the ingredient called "Ethics" in the Entrepreneurial Cuisine & that Ingredient needs to be added - way early in the game & across the cuisine (not just sprinkled in one entree during one meal etc..)
Ethics needs to be imbibed in the system from homes, schools, sporting arenas & carried over to working environments & running/managing business(single employee, small-scale or Global Multi-Billion Dollar Enterprises)..
"Try Hard, Put in your best efforts, It's important to WIN, but Winning is not a birth-right, it's not a cakewalk, Winning requires Passion, Sacrifice & Sweat" should be the mantra - replacing a "I'm born to Win" or "Supposed to Be Ahead" attitude.
Ethical Entrepreneurs should echo Abraham Lincoln's words loudly "Ask not what your country can do for you, Ask what I can do for my country"....Yes, make yourself & all the shareholders more economically stronger by your decisions (I'm all for it) - but be conscious of your citizens, your country & the planet...Yes, there will be paths that cross & decisions that create conflict - But Let the Intentions stay within your Ethical Ideals....Never lose the Forest from the Trees!
We all can safely agree - there is no Regulation enforceable (by Government, Law, Politicians, SEC boards) for Human Greed, if it's promoted socially as an "unaccountable" quality of all of us. One of my favorite dialogues is from the movie "Wall Street" where Michael Douglas quips "Greed is Good..". I'll repeat it "Greed is Good" & add a caveat - "as long as there is Real Risk attached to the Reward i.e. People (whether a CEO or a Janitor or an IT Architect or a Restaurant Waitress) who make a buck need to put his/her necks on the line (before we volunteer other people's necks to the altar!!), while earning their bread..
At this point of my comments - Let me take the liberty of mildly contradicting myself...Irrespective of the responsibilities - Leaders/Ship Captains hold, there are critical responsibilities that Workers/Passengers hold as well. I don't believe those are being fulfilled as well, to even a reasonable extent. Without blaming management & policy-makers, individuals/workers need to think about this honestly for a second - wherever you live (whether Detroit or Darfur or Dehradun), whether you are more productive & innovative on a per-hour basis, compared to anyone else - why would your job be lost elsewhere? So is'nt the real question - "Are you competing hard enough?" rather than point the blame at Higher-ups & the System. We may be surprised how much Change, can be brought from inside-out rather than outside-in...
They say - Progress is a simple Manifestation of Intention & boy - as a species - have we progressed or what? - from the Jungles to Globalization, Space Exploration & almost Re-enacting the Big Bang!....I happen to believe (whether it's a myth or a fantasy) that Ethics (not just coincidence) has played a role in our evolution (as much as, if not more than - just sheer laws of nature)..
It's high time we go back to our Basics - not just in America - but everywhere in the Globe - to play the game really hard & furiously fast - but play it the fair way, importantly find the 'leader' within each of us.
Tomorrow needs for the society to drive the government & the government to lay socio-backed policies for industries. Educational institutions need to continue empowering the society, the government & a be the fact-checker for both the audiences. Industries need to imbibe the new(post-2008) foundational goals (job creation, social welfare, innovation not only at a product level but at a productivity level) into their corporate boards & workforce....That brand of "alism" needs to emerge - whether it'd be called capitasocialism or sociocapitalism - i dont know..
But I believe the world & it's life+support systems(Justice, Education, Infrastructure, Human Resources...) has evolved in many ways & will continue to increase its complex intertwinings as our generation matures - that drives a need for a serious re-think on whether socialism & capitalism are polar opposites OR whether they can work together from a "opposites attract" theory...
I think they can, but it needs some re-think of status-quo ideologies & bold implementation of future-looking principles. I'm definitely willing to pitch in my 2 cents..
Signing off now - with LOTSA HOPE!
Here's what I thought (& by the way, i'm one of those in the American middle-class who's every bit affected by this crisis) ---- I do not have any reasons to have issues with Mr. Fuld - absolutely none, but I have issues with - guess who? us, the society....I'll share my thoughts here - on why I say so..
I migrated to the U.S in the late 90s & now I'm in my early 30s...I absolutely believe in America & in the 'American Dream'....I adore America for its history & traditions, it's journey to being the best & on top of it all - the Hope it offers for not only the citizens of America, but for everyone in the world.
Having said all that, I do believe there's one area where American Corporate Sector has been losing the ball-game BIG-Time - i.e. in Real Leadership....the same sphere where America led at the turn of this century churning out many visionary intellectuals that looked out for the society as well...Don't mistake me - there is no dearth of Efficient Managers - who get the "job done", which is a credible achievement in itself.
Hopefully we won't confuse & trust "Management" - i.e. measuring mid-quarter market returns, credit derivative differentiators & more head-counting management techniques - to lead the world's largest economy into the next generation - instead of "Leadership" i.e. Planning by promoting programs including Education, Visionary Thinking, Innovation where it matters -e.g. Energy Independence, Promoting Small Businesses,Creating Jobs for everyone in America, Implementing schemes that provide incentives to boost the productivity & bring out the innovator in the everyday American Worker....
Even when we move away from Managers to Leaders - a fundamental challenge, i think, still remains rooted in the system. That brings us to the question i posed around recently - "In Business, Is it important to do the right thing or to do the smart thing?" or is there a mid-ground about being smartly right & rightly smart (should the ones who get paid the big bucks have enough wisdom to find this middle-ground?)
I think - over the past 4 decades, when the economy started turning 'super-powerish', there have been decisions made by "Management", that seemed smart for a short-term period (I'll let you re-read the "MOVIE" Post, in the context of this statement). In the first decade of the 21st century - Mr. Fuld did the same thing, nothing different. Yes, Dick Fuld (& many other countless CEOs - some who perished, some who survived) did the smart thing in investing on Mortgage sector(because it was the Highest-Yielding Sector irrespective of the bugs & ills it may have faced!!) - so did the U.S Government(via GSEs) & so did Global Governments & Banks...They just got a bit more smarter than their predecessors by implementing Funny-Money techniques like Credit Derivates & making them Mainstream (ever heard of CDO Subject Matter Expert Job Openings in NYC,Chicago? - I have!)
Not all joined the "smart bandwagon" though - enterprises including Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo largely managed to stay out of high-risk investments (though invariably they continue to get affected as the Home Prices continue to decline, with no lower ceiling)..
Let me reiterate, I'm ok with Capitalism - but when we have "Ship Captains" in-charge - is'nt it supremely important for them to spot the iceberg early? Is'nt that why we are paid the big bucks than a regular sailor or the chef in the kitchen? What happens when Captains chart their Cruise course searching for Icebergs?
The problem, make no mistake, is not with the Captain only - the problem is with ( a part of) Shipping Industry(i.e. us - the society) as well...We (Not generalizing, but trend-wise) are being trained (by our own institutions of choice) to avoid Icebergs - not for our safety - but just because we'd happen to burn more fuel in the Ship's tank if we take that route.
Just in case, it made sense for the Ship's fuel economy - we'll probably advise our Captains to take the Iceberg route (because we save more & the probability of hitting the Iceberg is about 0.01%)..
Guess what, in September 2008, We Just Hit the IceBerg head-on!! & yes, the Ship(Global Economy) is showing signs of sinking into a recession...
From the above analogy, it's clear the American Corporate Sector (through all its ups & downs over the decades) is less guilty of the sins than the Global Corporate Sector's current ones over the past 6-7 years - seemingly feeding on the American Consumer's enthusiasm by promoting the BPO/Call-center culture but not exactly promoting high-quality local socio-economic programs including emphasis on Technology, Science & Engineering, more importantly Ethics).
For all the Emerging market talk & being insulated from America's positives & ills - it's clearly evident that the Global Industry(as it stands today) took decisions -during the timeline of this crisis - blindly driven by the decisions taken by the American Corporate Ship Captains...Maybe they did not have a choice but to follow the U.S - in order to sustain their aggressive GDP growth yearly - but is that a good enough reason & more importantly - is that a right reason?...
Leads us to a bigger question(probably another blog-topic!)- Is Globalization ready for prime-time as being touted or is it a growing concept? - Is the Customer/Consumer global yet - or are just the Services being provided on a Demand-basis (independent of geography) to the same Consumer-base(in U.S)? Questions that demand some introspective thinking at a Global Level, i believe....Is the World Truly Flat yet? or are we mistaking a change from a Circle to an Ellipse for a Straight line?....
Without getting idealistic about "being right all the time" etc (That's la-la land, given that we are human!) --- I do think, what's missing is the ingredient called "Ethics" in the Entrepreneurial Cuisine & that Ingredient needs to be added - way early in the game & across the cuisine (not just sprinkled in one entree during one meal etc..)
Ethics needs to be imbibed in the system from homes, schools, sporting arenas & carried over to working environments & running/managing business(single employee, small-scale or Global Multi-Billion Dollar Enterprises)..
"Try Hard, Put in your best efforts, It's important to WIN, but Winning is not a birth-right, it's not a cakewalk, Winning requires Passion, Sacrifice & Sweat" should be the mantra - replacing a "I'm born to Win" or "Supposed to Be Ahead" attitude.
Ethical Entrepreneurs should echo Abraham Lincoln's words loudly "Ask not what your country can do for you, Ask what I can do for my country"....Yes, make yourself & all the shareholders more economically stronger by your decisions (I'm all for it) - but be conscious of your citizens, your country & the planet...Yes, there will be paths that cross & decisions that create conflict - But Let the Intentions stay within your Ethical Ideals....Never lose the Forest from the Trees!
We all can safely agree - there is no Regulation enforceable (by Government, Law, Politicians, SEC boards) for Human Greed, if it's promoted socially as an "unaccountable" quality of all of us. One of my favorite dialogues is from the movie "Wall Street" where Michael Douglas quips "Greed is Good..". I'll repeat it "Greed is Good" & add a caveat - "as long as there is Real Risk attached to the Reward i.e. People (whether a CEO or a Janitor or an IT Architect or a Restaurant Waitress) who make a buck need to put his/her necks on the line (before we volunteer other people's necks to the altar!!), while earning their bread..
At this point of my comments - Let me take the liberty of mildly contradicting myself...Irrespective of the responsibilities - Leaders/Ship Captains hold, there are critical responsibilities that Workers/Passengers hold as well. I don't believe those are being fulfilled as well, to even a reasonable extent. Without blaming management & policy-makers, individuals/workers need to think about this honestly for a second - wherever you live (whether Detroit or Darfur or Dehradun), whether you are more productive & innovative on a per-hour basis, compared to anyone else - why would your job be lost elsewhere? So is'nt the real question - "Are you competing hard enough?" rather than point the blame at Higher-ups & the System. We may be surprised how much Change, can be brought from inside-out rather than outside-in...
They say - Progress is a simple Manifestation of Intention & boy - as a species - have we progressed or what? - from the Jungles to Globalization, Space Exploration & almost Re-enacting the Big Bang!....I happen to believe (whether it's a myth or a fantasy) that Ethics (not just coincidence) has played a role in our evolution (as much as, if not more than - just sheer laws of nature)..
It's high time we go back to our Basics - not just in America - but everywhere in the Globe - to play the game really hard & furiously fast - but play it the fair way, importantly find the 'leader' within each of us.
Tomorrow needs for the society to drive the government & the government to lay socio-backed policies for industries. Educational institutions need to continue empowering the society, the government & a be the fact-checker for both the audiences. Industries need to imbibe the new(post-2008) foundational goals (job creation, social welfare, innovation not only at a product level but at a productivity level) into their corporate boards & workforce....That brand of "alism" needs to emerge - whether it'd be called capitasocialism or sociocapitalism - i dont know..
But I believe the world & it's life+support systems(Justice, Education, Infrastructure, Human Resources...) has evolved in many ways & will continue to increase its complex intertwinings as our generation matures - that drives a need for a serious re-think on whether socialism & capitalism are polar opposites OR whether they can work together from a "opposites attract" theory...
I think they can, but it needs some re-think of status-quo ideologies & bold implementation of future-looking principles. I'm definitely willing to pitch in my 2 cents..
Signing off now - with LOTSA HOPE!
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