Sunday Posts

Interesting times, these. Only a year back, the British Chancellor was talking about the 'longest uninterrupted period of prosperity' since the war. It was only twenty years when the Cold War was finally over, and the supremacy of United States was completely established. Only four years back, American public believed that George Bush can indeed make America a safer place and put him back in office. Francis Fukuyama announced the end of history - the human civilization reaching its highest form. But, in 2008, we are staring at a different world altogether. Under George W Bush, America started believing that they have won the cold war and went out to shape the world in their own terms. And failed. Like all great empires before them, they overestimated their power and stretched themselves thin. They walked into a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan, and lost the moral superiority and the hallow of the winner, which they needed to sustain the global empire. They forgot, like other ...

I started writing a diary and then got diverted. That's me - can't complain - this is why, my teachers would have told you, I remained an underachiever in school. I am entertaining myself thinking that I have an adolescent streak. The thought invariably flatters me as I am getting old. But, anyway, as I always found a justification, I wrote about Georgia, Creative Capitalism and everything else as if they are part of my life. In a way, they are, but let's face it - I was bored. I was bored being out of action. I was bored sitting at home, while my passport sat on a long queue at the Home Office waiting to be stamped for two months. This time was useful - no doubt - I got those few days to pause and think what I am doing. However, I run a business, for someone else, in some other country. Or, countries. My head office is in Northern Ireland, I sit in London, and the business I am supposed to run are in India and other places. Without a passport, it seemed I did not have a j...

Bill Gates spoke about 'Creative Capitalism' in Davos and recently wrote about this, at length, in TIME. [see How to fix Capitalism ]. The idea is essentially to pick up opportunities of business among the poor, in poorer countries. Gates is influenced deeply by Prahalad's work on Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid , the key premises of which is that businesses tend to overlook the huge economic potential of the low-income countries and low-income consumers. This is because the existing business thinking - the framework of risks and returns, for example - can not estimate the potential of such consumers. Prahalad cites a number of examples from Business Strategies of multinationals - of Cemex, ITC, Hindustan Lever and the like - to show how companies can turn this unexplored 'bottom of the pyramid' market to an enormous opportunity. Obviously, Prahalad's vision of this opportunity is its sheer size - that is why the 'bottom of the pyramid' imagery - an...

At the time of writing, Russian bombers are still bombing Georgia and United Nations in currently discussing the crisis. It is expected that the security council will call for an immediate ceasefire, if it can get past a possible Russian veto. The civilian casualties are rising - so there is indeed an urgent need to do something. However, is this important - given that there is Beijing Olympics and US Presidential Election around the corner - to be counted as the most significant news at this moment? Georgians certainly need all the help they can from the international community. Russian Military superiority is overwhelming. Russia is, of course, interested in teaching Georgia a lesson and from the recent interview Mikhail Saakasvili gave to CNN, it seems they don't have much time left before their military is wiped out. Of course, Georgia has offered a ceasefire to Russia, and obviously Russia isn't interested at this time, when they are winning the war. What will the world ...

Remember the Customer Revolution? The lofty corporate announcements that customer is king? And always right. The lovely things said about quality, the great commitments made towards customer service and the theories about the loyalty effect - the way to continued business survival through loving thy customer. The fact is that most companies forget the poor customer first whenever there is an economic downturn. He still pays the bill, yes, but it seems that whenever whatever hits the fan, he is asked to mop up. It is 'counter-intuitive' - indeed it is. That's the problem of seeing the world through numbers and contract codes - they were not on Noah's boat, we forget! Consider this. This August, the holiday season is already looking grim in the UK. Mortgage approvals are at half their last year levels, and home repossessions have doubled. Inflation is 4%, double their target levels, Petrol is £1.19 a litre - up from 85p same time last year, and recession is more than a t...

I wrote about various disappointments with Kolkata , and how the lack of political leadership has dragged the city, and also the state of West Bengal, into the current state of hopelessness that it is in. However, as I said earlier, it is imperative that Kolkata changes and progresses, as this will be critical to bring change in the poorest parts of India, and in the neighbouring countries too. I talk about neighbouring countries here, because I do think national boundaries essentially distort our perspectives. I was explaining to someone yesterday how, when we talk about ancient India, we refer to great emperors of Ujjain and Kanauj , some of which are little more than city states in size. My essential point was how our perception of space changes with the advances in transportation and communication technology. As an extension of this thought, I think Nation is a very 19 th century concept, which is past its prime, and we are moving towards a world of opposites, great regional clu...

Yesterday, I wrote rather flippantly about Kolkata . I was not thinking, but I was happy and feeling light, particularly after finishing a few tasks which was sitting on my to-do list for ages. However, I did not know I was touching a few raw nerves there. At least one person reminded me that it hurts to be reminded that Kolkata has fallen so far behind. Another mused that everyone knows that Kolkata needs a future, but there isn't one - it missed the boat. A friend complained that I stated something that I did not justify - how to turn around Kolkata . I shall keep this for tomorrow. Because, before that, we need to talk about how we got into this current mess in the first place. I do think that the politics is primarily responsible - as politics plays such a central part in life in India and it is one of the least professionalized (I don't mean in money terms) disciplines. However, it is plain to see that West Bengal, and Kolkata , lost out the promise it had at the time of...