Sunday Posts

As we get ready to emerge from the recession this time, we should learn from this near-death experience. If this recovery should sustain, which means that we shall not have an inflationary run, absurd interest rates and countries going bankrupt in the near future, the way we conduct ourselves must change. So far, it seems that we have learnt little, and waiting, like little boys, to return to life as usual. The only way we can move forward is by accepting that there will be no return to life as usual. We must move forward, not back, and that includes not trying to replicate past templates. Bonus et al included, we should not wait around to banks get back to their old ways soon and start buying houses beyond our pay. We should save and not go back to our free-spending days. Businesses must focus on create value, and not just sustain themselves on easy credit or the naivety of investors. But, before anything else, we must acknowledge that we have this terrible habit not to learn, and m...

I am contributing in the blog on the Institute of Wellbeing website. This is an interesting assignment, as this will allow me to reflect and write on various subjects on the news on British tele . Here is another post I sent last week. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alistair Darling is looking angry. He has a right to be - his dream job turned out to be one of 24x7 crisis management almost the day he started. And, just when he seems to be getting a grip, there is an embarrassing possibility that some bankers, the same bankers who gambled with their depositors' money and rewarded themselves with hefty bonuses, may be at it again. This time, they may play with taxpayers' money, of which Mr Darling is in charge. He can clearly see something coming. AIG , the ailing insurance company which was kept in business by a huge injection of taxpayer's money in the United States, decided to reward its executives and traders few months...

I noticed this video on Alex Goodall's blog and then on ted.com. Comes at a time when we were talking about bankers' bonuses paid for by tax money. To retain talent, that was the standard excuse that the banks were giving out. I thought this was a very timely outing of whether bonuses mean better performance.

Because there was nothing to write. I suddenly feel - almost for the first time - very depressed. Oh, yes, with a laugh. But it seemed either age or recession caught up with me. I spent an useless weekend doing nothing, wondering where I am now and where I wish to get to. Not for the first time, those who know me will testify, answering the second question was very difficult. It almost seemed like a series of flashing images, an endless list of alternative futures. But, for the first time in my life, I craved for some certainty . My first problem, indeed, is that I am homeless. It was always there - I sure recall days long time back, when I shall stand on the terrace of our family home in India on a wintery morning and feel that I do not ever want to go away, but at the same time telling myself that I must go and see the world. I lived a life of compromises - going away with a promise to return - but I obviously know how difficult it is to return, to anything, at any time. I intended t...

It is perplexing to see a hero's welcome being extended to one of the Lockerbie bombers who has recently released by the Scottish government on compassionate grounds. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi , a convicted man for the Pan Am Jet explosion above Lockerbie in 1988, is suffering from terminal prostate cancer and was released by the Scottish government based on the principle of justice usually applied in such cases. This led to worldwide condemnation, drawing angry reaction from victim's families, and also from English and American leaders who saw this as an excellent opportunity to show they are tough on terrorism. The Scottish government indeed was following the letter of the law. They applied the principle that normally applies in such cases, and chose not to make an exception. The British government, not wanting to appear soft on terrorism, tried to keep this as low key as possible, first by being less than clear whether the appeal will be granted and then by trying...

I liked it so much that I gave in to the temptation of putting this up here.

I had this interesting conversation with a colleague yesterday, who was describing my state of mind being similar to one of being in an unhappy marriage - can not stay, can not go away. With a little reflection, I realized that is exactly correct. This blog trail, and many other conversations, will point to the fact that I have always talked about my responsibility to 'complete' the job at hand, but never looked forward or communicated my excitement about what I am doing. This has lasted very long, I would guess since early 2008, and particularly since August 2008, when I decided to leave and put myself in a self-determined long notice. She indeed pointed out that I am not giving 100% to this job, which is indeed correct. I keep saying I am doing my best, a statement designed to confuse, and in every sense is a qualified statement. This is one of those statements in English which has an underlying mitigation - under the circumstances, as the qualifier - and funnily, I am doing ...

Talent Management was, and still is, the buzzword. As championed by numerous management gurus, including the uber -guru, Tom Peters, Talent Management is envisioning your company like a football team. He says, you must have the stars and the others. Like a football team, you must have the miracle man, who will pull up that miracle goal, which will make all the difference between winning and losing. In today's hyper-competitive economy, that's what makes a difference. Makes sense, indeed, just that the companies are not football teams. They are not even an orchestra, which is the next best parallel that Talent Management consultants draw. Well, they can seem to be, if you all you care for is 90 minute glory. But if one sees a business organization as the hard long term slog that it actually is, suddenly the poor knowledge workers seem to be as much valuable as anyone else. The point I am making is - yes, stars make a difference. But since building a great company usually is a lo...

I have been writing this blog for three years running now, and it has been extremely useful to me personally. Unlike some of the other bloggers , I did not start with a purpose. I did not have a product or service to sell. Instead, I used this blog as a scrapbook of ideas, partly to keep a tab on myself so that I can look at my years in 'exile' later on and reflect back on these days. Also, I intended to use this blog as 'morning pages', following Julia Margaret Cameron's advise to practise writing everyday so that I can learn to overcome the writers' block. But, as I started writing, I achieved something else which I did not anticipate - I started building friendships. Friendships with people I know and did not know, but a continuous friendship without the barrier of spatial limitations . It did not matter how far or near I stayed, but we kept in touch, with people managing to visit these pages once in a while and leaving comments, either here or by email, and ...