Detachment

People, including me, are so much attached to the things we own, things we are responsible for and even the smallest of things such as the work-space. I mean every single instance I had to change my work-space, I felt that a part of me was left behind. Did that happen to you too?

Is that feeling good? How should true leaders think and act?

Sangeet Varghese described how detachment is a rare quality of leaders these days. The article can be found here. I think Sangeet is spot on, when he says, "Attachment is a curse."

Can we learn to detach ourselves? Sangeet again came out with a few ideas on achieving this. The article can be found here.

In my opinion, there are a few other things that can help.

We need to keep in mind that no one in this realm of life will stay on till the very end. In other words, no one is invincible. We are all meant to be gone after our time's over. So, just keeping ourselves humble from the beginning and making sure we realize that we are here to "serve" a purpose and then walk away. We cannot take stuff while we pass on. Isn't it? I know that detachment is difficult to attain, but I am sure this thought can help create a perspective.

I feel that it's human to look to others when it comes to living life. We try to look to others who are in similar situations such as holding an office and imagine that we need to follow suite when we are in their shoes. But, hey, we are all different. So, why not hold the ground and say "no" when it comes to getting attached to material things.

22 years old, what can you do?

The ultimate sacrifice.

It has been 10 years since the Kargil War began. It's a shame for people like myself who didn't know about it. I came to know only when I saw this article. This article has a very touching letter that this 22 year old Soldier sent to his family, knowingly that he might be going on his last journey.

MY GRAND SALUTE to people who stand up, time and again to serve their DUTY. My post is not only for people serving in armed forces across the world, but also goes out to those who sacrifice themselves (partly or fully) to serve higher purposes, be it nations, people, companies or communities.

I sometimes wonder how selfish we become at times thinking about all petty things around ourselves and really, forget the mighty force inside us that can possibly transform us in to self-less beings.

There's one thing that stands out and screams out loud to me, time here is limited in every sense, spend it wisely on 'grand' causes.

Business Etiquette

Just finished reading the book "Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work". It's a pretty good one and the author, Jacqueline Whitmore has succinctly packed the best practices of inter-personal skills needed at work these days.

The book also suggests the website Executive Planet for anyone looking at free information on business dress, topics of conversation, gift giving, etc for various parts of the world. I am surely going to refer it the next time I am on an international customer visit.

Wings of fire

Just got off reading "Wings of fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam". The book has changed the way I perceive state-owned and public sector organizations. I have had the pleasure of interacting with talented people from these companies, including my father. There's a flood of talent in these companies, however as Dr. Kalam also reflected, the organization culture does not align well with execution. It needs transformation.

The book provides an excellent insight in to how India, a nation marred with two centuries of subjugation, rose up the ranks to join the elite lead of countries who do indigenous space, atomic and missile technologies.

There's another point Dr. Kalam makes - do not run behind money, lead a working life without thinking about fancy rewards. It's difficult in today's economies and social circles to follow this, however he's absolutely right. In order to lead a harmonious life, simplicity is the key.

Great book, highly recommended for any one who wants to know what it means to start from scratch and still be able to write their names in the sky.

Lead without title *?>

Isn't that phrase very popular these days?

There won't be a person who will not appreciate this video that answers this question. An absolutely brilliant message that does not need an understanding of the background Hindi language!

Embedded Systems Conference

1st of April will be exciting. Well, no, not for wrong reasons. I do not plan to spend my day fooling.

I am presenting at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) Silicon Valley on next generation networking. I'll talk about the key success factors for companies playing in the next-generation wireless market. The presentation describes a development strategy that leverages a common real-time device platform and enables companies to focus on the customizations that make the difference to their 4G customers. It is ideally suited for new deployments of long-term evolution (LTE) and WiMAX infrastructures, as well as other broadband access devices.

My session is from 2:00pm — 3:15pm. Check out the catalog here.

Want Successful Products or Companies?

This e-book describes why some products and companies fail, where others succeed.

The authors found seven consistent success factors related to company culture, management style, and product & marketing strategies that propelled the winners. And also the seven fatal flaws that derail market laggards.

Read on.

Your Image

It's really hard to get away from political news these days. Be it USA, who recently elected it's new President or India, which is getting ready to elect it's next cabinet. So, what does it take to be a leader?

To me, there are as many definitions as there are leaders in this world. I firmly believe that leadership can be learned with excellence. We can read various elaborations in leadership books authored by people including Jack Welch and Robin Sharma. I have referred a few characteristics in my prior posts, but I want to reiterate the "IMAGE" acronym that Robin pointed out in his talk with CBC News.

'IMAGE' as Robin pointed out, stands for the following:
1. Innovation and Imagination (Think hard, Think twice and Out of the box)
2. Merchant of WOW (Raise standards, Always surpass expectations)
3. Authenticity/Transparency (There's no one in this world like you)
4. Guts (Need to take tough decisions even if they do not make you likable)
5. Ethics and Excellence (Integrity, Shun Mediocrity)

Living or Existing?

Are you actually living your life or merely existing? There's a difference. In these days, it's really hard to take some time out to play with your kid. You know what, you better do. Life is one glorious bird that flies by without telling any one. I was dumb struck when I came to know about the legacy that Randy Pausch left behind. Incredible man, incredible story.

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who was dying of pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed auditorium. In this moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals. Only to find out later that the speech really was meant for his 3 kids.



I am up to read Randy's best selling book "The last lecture".

Carmel

We finally did the "17-mile drive" in Carmel last weekend. Although we shelled out ~$10 for the toll ticket, it was worth every single penny. Enjoy the pictures.

Revolutionary city in India

Ever wondered how a future city in India would look like? Sabeer Bhatia (founder of Hotmail) talks about his vision in this video. Considering that 70% Indian population is still living in tier-2 cities or villages, the project looks revolutionary, promising and ambitious. I commend the immense thought that has been put behind this mega-project and do hope that projects like these transform the way local government bodies think while planning for future infrastructure projects.

Rock this new year folks

Shun Mediocrity

Have you ever looked at the mirror and said to yourself, "I am a mediocre"? Surprising that this feeling resonates sometimes and the feeling of self-doubt kicks in.

We are all born winners in our own special way. Don't get me wrong! There's absolutely no doubt that we can continue improving every single moment of our lives, but there's no reason to wonder that we are less than anyone else. All of us need to compare ourselves with our own past. We have to compete with ourselves, be better each single day.

It's time to shun mediocrity!!! Let's commit to becoming a Verb.

One of my favorite quotes is:
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt

Check out the following slide-show.

Weekend Inspiration - What Is Your Price

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: trainings training)

Pledge

One of a good initiatives I stumbled upon while viewing AajTak (fantastic Hindi news channel) is the campaign that any Indian citizen can join. As suggested on the website, I simply used email to join this initiative. Feel free to join the movement.

Winner of the Slideshare World's Best Presentation Contest

THIRST

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: design crisis)

Be a CEO, each day you live

"Integrity" is a must-have quality for the top executives in business. But, is that true for just the top-rung folks. I don't think so. The traits needed by a recent college pass-out in their formative years are no less important by the CEO of a firm. Joseph L. Bower has explained beautifully in this video what each one of us can do to think and act like a CEO.

Ever wondered if all of us can think and act like CEO's each and every day. Just try it once and you'll raise the bar for yourself.

How best to deliver presentations?

This has been one heck of a dilemma for any one who wants to present in front of an audience. I was actually working with a colleague today to figure out techniques to capture the attention. Garr Reynolds stands out as a subject matter expert as well as for his book "The Presentation Zen". He talks about some of his best practices in this video.

Nancy Duarte talks about the reasons why average presentations suck and the things that can be done to improve. Check out her insights and a sample suggested design for presentations.

Amongst others, Steve Jobs stands out as a maverick amongst presenters. Some of the skills that can be learned from him are available at internet. There's one article that I referred today and found it useful.

A presentation from Jobs depicts how he maneuvers across the stage; the slides behind him synchronize with what he explains to the audience. This is what comes with practicing what you need to deliver.

Strategy! To-the-point

I found a very interesting slide deck that talks about simplicity in communicating the strategy. This hits the nail right on it's head and is in line with the "Made to Stick" philosophy. Executives today do not have the time to look in to the nuts and bolts, they want to see the very core essence of the strategy at the first look. The proposal Samuli has suggested in his blog serves this purpose with excellence. Keep it simple folks.

Mumbai

I don't need to tell what happened at the island city in India during the last week. World media has done a fabulous job of covering the unfortunate terror strike. Like others including five year olds, I have not yet come out of the shock and disbelief the recent attacks have left us with. It was surprising how the bullet proof vests are not "bullet proof".

I am proud of the defense organizations that worked profusely to diffuse the crisis. My homage to the brave martyrs who lost their lives for the safety of others. These were the real heroes.

This is when "Reform" happens.