vijayanands

[vijayanands]

I don't know. That's still a very valid answer. There is so much in this universe and details that we don't know about. Yet, increasingly i find very few people who would use that phrase. It is always "I don't know BUT...." It is okay to not know everything. In my book someone who knows what he/she doesn't know, is a step above and is comfortable in his/her skin. We all have to practice this more often. Say "I don't know" when you don't, so that real help can step in.

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[vijayanands]

I don't know about you but sometimes i find science confusing. On one hand apparently we could scan a planet thousands of miles away from here and tell if the rock there has water underneath it. On the other hand i saw a documentary where archeologists are trying to scan the pyramids in Egypt to look for hidden chambers and still perplexed by it. On one hand we still can't seem to identify remains of human beings and there are tons of unsolved murders. And on the other hand, we seem to know what sound a certain dinosaur made millions of years ago. Am I the only one who seems perplexed by the contrarian logic here, or have scientists started telling stories and spinning their own fables from the little details and everything else their own imagination?

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[vijayanands]

One of the biggest mistakes that startup entrepreneurs make when they launch a product is that they keep it hush hush till the last minute. Suddenly the site goes live. They submit the URL to a product listing site and then frantically start emailing everyone from coworkers, drinking buddies, ola can drives to maids to get upvotes. The listing might get a ton of upvotes, but a month later the product still doesn't have real users. And isn't that the point of a product launch? Im doing a webinar on how to do a product launch (both for B2B and B2C products) this saturday. If you think it would be of use to you, do register.

[vijayanands]

When the vision for India was being laid out by those who drafted the constitution, there was a fundamental premise made that was significantly different than other nation states. As per the Indian constitution the freedom of the individual was paramount. The individual was at the centre and the state would operate around him/her. It is also one of the fundamental differences between say an American democracy and Indian democracy. That does in a sense have some issues. It puts the onus on the government to convince and encourage the individual to partake in the democratic process. One could choose not to. The aadhaar verdict tomorrow will fundamentally relook at that issue as to whether it is the freedom of the individual that is paramount or if the power of the state over the individual trumps it. That is what tomorrow's verdict is about. I know most folks would say, whats the big deal? It is a big deal because this is the decision being made for generations to come and almost a century of struggle went into winning the liberty that is seldom cherished but still is at the heart of a truly free society. #aadhaarverdict

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[vijayanands]

The aadhaar verdict arrives tomorrow.

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[vijayanands]

How would you be able to tell if the copy that you have was made by the Chennai Tricolor Initiative? Well, apart from the security printed certificate, every book also comes embedded with an RFID tag.

[vijayanands]

The biggest threat to an institution once it achieves social proof are its founders.

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[vijayanands]

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[vijayanands]

An "Engineer" is a label. Engineering is a verb. My mentor used to say, when a solution is engineered, the first impression would be elegance - that someone could almost see God in the design.

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[vijayanands]

It is easier to fish out of calm waters than it is on a stormy day. My teacher said that to us when we were growing up. This also applies at the workplace. Everyone does an open space plan these days but i find it extremely noisy - people randomly coming by to say hi and poof goes the train of thought. In order to be able to fish something of value, you need an environment of zen around you. That's why i write early in the morning before the world wakes up, the dogs start barking and the vehicles start honking. Create that zen space around you, however that is - for some its noise blocking headphones and or it is quite literally a space where you can focus. Research suggests that each of get 45mins in a day where we are at our cognitive best. Don't be wasting them on useless distractions. Find your calm waters.

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[vijayanands]

India can and will innovate. But what holds the whole ecosystem back is the fact that we don't have answers to some crucial questions. Innovation comes with phenomenal efficiencies. That also usually means freeing up of human resources. If we take three big verticals - agriculture, government and manufacturing, innovation can and will bring india into the 21st century. But jobs will get vaporized. A few millions of them. We wont need 400mn farmers when technology is more than capable to help produce food for the entire country and more with one tenth of those number of farmers. Take any govt department. For a fact, the police dept in chennai city has 200 odd folks working in the mail department. A simple tech intervention as getting an email server and digitizing workflow between depts will cut down the need to perhaps 10 people to handle the odd one of cases and release the rest. The big question is this : What do we do with all these freed up resources? Labour unions and politics will play out. Social equity will be spent and elections will be lost. But the society will become far more efficient, productive and in turn generate wealth. Citizens would get better services too. But what to do with the freed up resource. Till we find the answer for that, India can't innovate - not with an open mind and free hand. In every forum I've been part of talking about Innovation this is the subtle topic that gets hintef but not talked about. The govt today cannot wholeheartedly advocate for innovation because at the end of the day what will we do with these 300-400mn people who need jobs, are unskilled and hold swing votes. This is the sword over our heads.

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[vijayanands]

One of the key roles that a manager has to play is to achieve the holy grail of speed AND accuracy in the execution of projects. The new entrants to the industry always have the speed, whereas the veterans of the industry are cautious about everything but they do have executional accuracy. The Job of a manager is to blend the two attitudes to achieve optimal outcome of speed and accuracy. These exceptional managers aka CEOs have to have the unique trait of having experienced the same things the veterans have, but still have the optimism of someone entering the industry and dreaming with their eyes open.

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[vijayanands]

There is a reason why all aliens from advanced civilizations have big hands and pointy fingers. Touch screen phones. The phone manufacturers kept increasing the size of the screen so hands grew big but fingers had to become pointy so that they dont make typos. Maybe everyone who made typos were killed and through natural selection only big handed pointy finger ones survived. Our phone manufactuters who have foreseen this evolution are simply accelerating the process. Now it all makes sense.

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[vijayanands]

An iPhone costs about $132 in parts. It is priced at over $1000 and yet without question most people will go sell their kidneys to get one. Even if they had sold the other kidney just six months ago. =================================== The most important part of a masterpiece project is what happens finally after the outcome is achieved. Most folks will appreciate it, and if you have done the job - want it, but very few will know the true value of it. Or be willing to pay it. You can show everyone how something is made, that's a craft and one anyone can appreciate if they have the palate for it. Not everyone should be allowed into the gallery though, else you are going to have a hard time saying no to everyone who will talk abt wanting it at cost. Most of all it breaks the spirit of the artist. Don't let everyone into the gallery. Pick your audience. Art gains value because it is exclusive, not commonplace. And a masterpiece is art.

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[vijayanands]

The webinar on doing business with the government starts at 10am today. Register, if you'd like to be a part of it.

[vijayanands]

What is luck? This is a question I've asked myself for a while now. If random things can come together to give an exponentially positive outcome (compared to consistently working hard that is), doesn't that sound unfair? As indians we have a God for every possible angle. If luck truly was a "force", I wonder how come we don't have a goddess for luck. Luck isn't random. Luck is a boomerang. Luck is a positive "side effect" of work you put in, somewhere in the past. You did the work and got the results and there was so much good will that it goes around the world and one day when things are going your way (or not), shows up saying Surprise! Luck is the chutney with your idli. Or the dip with your veggies. The sauce for your salad. When you order your idli (or dosa), you get the chutney extra, but nobody is ordering just the chutney. Luck is a bit like that.

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[vijayanands]

Reminder : For the startups out there looking to do business with the government, I am going to be doing a webinar this weekend (saturday). There are some BIG opportunities, if you know how to navigate the process.