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)