Idea being lost

I thought of posting in the blog from next week. But by the way things are going, I don't think I can stick to my initial plan.

It is mainly because, of late I have this feeling that it would be better if I can start all this exercise with a website, rather than doing all this in blogger.

With a website I could see lot more flexibility in terms of posting and also from a user perspective. 

The blog is going to discuss about better investment opportunities in equities and mutual funds in India.

With the economy growing at almost 10% a year and some sectors growing even better, I am sure than if one can put his or her money in the right instruments for growth, million dollar dreams are quite achievable.  

This is something like once-in-a-life-time opportunity. 

I wish all my fellow Indians be a part of this Indian growth story. 

No one should miss this bus, because no one can afford to miss it!

Finding the niche

After trying to blog for more than a year, I'm now convinced that blogging is not my cup of tea. I want to blog something for good, but haven't found out the niche I should be commenting on.

I'm good at couple of things. Take for instance, I do trading as a hobby and I'm not bad in that.

I try to spot opportunities in the smaller and mid caps and I'm getting good returns on those for the last 2 years. So this could be one niche.

Another niche could be related to my job. I'm a search engine marketing consultant. And I love this field. So this could be the one I should blog on.

Or it could be both.

Still not made up my mind.

Engineering Marvel in Iran

The Karun-3 dam on the Karun river in Iran. Have a look.

Not a bad timetable to follow!

Got this picture from somewhere, don't remember now. Sorry folks.
But I think it is a good one to share and not at all bad to follow.

Enjoy your day!

Monsoon Fury in Kerala

These are some of the pictures of the fury monsoon caused in Kerala, India.

Brand called YOU

This is a new world, a new ‘brand’ world.

Days are all gone where you went to a shop and bought a pair of sneakers, without looking at who made it and where it was made.

That cross-trainer you're wearing -- one look at the distinctive swoosh on the side tells everyone who's got you branded. That coffee travel mug you're carrying -- ah, you're a Starbucks woman! Your T-shirt with the distinctive Champion "C" on the sleeve, the blue jeans with the prominent Levi's rivets, and your fountain pen with the maker's symbol crafted into the end, all says one thing.

You're branded, branded and branded!

It's time for me - and you - to take a lesson from the big brands, a lesson that's true for anyone who's interested in what it takes to stand out and prosper in the new world of work.

Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.

It's that simple - and that hard. And that is inescapable.

From now on, you're going to think of yourself differently! You're not an "engineer" of Infosys, you're not an "employee" at Reliance, nor a "worker" at TATA. You don't "belong to" any company for life. You're not defined by your job title and you're not confined by your job description.

Killer phone – Apple iPhone

In less than couple of hours from now, one of the most talked and anticipated product launch of this year is about to happen. Yes, I am talking about the iPhone release from Apple.

I first heard about iPhone, I think it was in last December, when Mr. Steve Jobs had its official launch. I went on to see the video out of curiosity, since Apple or for that matter Mr. Jobs is famous for coming up with something contemporary.

When I saw the launch video, I was sure that I was watching one of the most incredible gadgets I had ever seen in my life. The first thing which struck me, of course after the design, was that it is going to be a killer machine. Killer machine, in the sense that it is going to change the rules of the game.

The mobile phones which once started as simple devices to call people, went on to add more functions and became smart enough to be called smartphones. So now we have phones like Nokia N95s or Sony Ericsson's K800s, with smart functions and good camera respectively. That was a long journey considering the technologies that went into making these machines. The scarier part of iPhone launch is that our phone, the one which you and I use to make call to our loved ones, is going get outdated.

One thing I liked about the iPhone is the level of secrecy involved in the development of the device. Considering that Apple had a number of partners of the likes of Yahoo, AT&T or Cingular for the development, there were not too many instances of leaked information to the public. Most of the people like me were not even aware that Apple was developing a phone in the first place! Even my friend, Matt, who I consider as a  gadget/tech/google geek, was caught off guarded with Mr. Jobs announcement in last December.

Coming back to the killer machine theory, iPhone as I mentioned earlier is going to set the rules now. It is going to get the first mover advantage as we say in management books. There are couple of things which really worth mentioning about the device. First is of course its sleek design. There is no stylish phone in the market which can even think of being a competition to iPhone. With technology also, it is far ahead of its competitors when you consider the zooming and picture viewing capabilities. (I wonder what the Nokias and Sony Ericssons were doing all these long, sleeping?)

If I can borrow the words of Prof. Flynn who taught Corporate Strategy in Griffith, now our phones are going to become dinosaurs, meaning extinct. That is why I said in the beginning iPhone is going to be a killer device.

Any way time is ticking and the launch is only couple of hours from now. I am not a huge fan of Apple, but you like it or not, as things stand, it’s Apple all the way. But how long it is going to stay this way, only time will tell.

Want to know more,

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

http://www.apple.com/iphone/phone/

Be A Kid Again

I know that you might have seen this list in other sites. But for me, this list brings me back tons of memory from my childhood. I check this list once in a while.

1. Do a cartwheel.
2. Sing into your hairbrush.
3. Walk barefoot in wet grass.
4. Play a song you like really loud, over and over.
5. Dot all your “i”’s with smiley faces.
6. Read the funnies. Throw the rest of the paper away.
7. Dunk your cookies.
8. Play a game where you make up the rules as you go along.
9. Step carefully over sidewalk cracks.
10. Change into some play clothes.
11. Try to get someone to trade you a better sandwich.
12. Eat ice cream for breakfast.
13. Kiss a frog, just in case.
14. Blow the wrapper off a straw.
15. Have someone read you a story.
16. Find some pretty stones and save them.
17. Wear your favorite shirt with you favorite pants even if they don’t match.
18. Take a running jump over a big puddle.
19. Get someone to buy you something you really don’t need.
20. Hide your vegetables under your napkin.
21. Stay up past your bedtime.
22. Eat dessert first.
23. Fuss a little, then take a nap.
24. Wear red gym shoes.
25. Put way too much sugar on your cereal.
26. Make cool screeching noises every time you turn a corner.
27. Giggle a lot for no reason.
28. Give yourself a gold star for everything you do today

Ancient wisdom I just made up. . .

Vision Statement and Mission Statement - The Difference

Vision Statements and Mission Statements are the inspiring words chosen by successful leaders to clearly and concisely convey the direction of the organization. By crafting a clear mission statement and vision statement, you can powerfully communicate your intentions and motivate your team or organization to realize an attractive and inspiring common vision of the future.

“Mission Statements” and “Vision Statements” do two distinctly different jobs.

A Mission Statement defines the organization's purpose and primary objectives. Its prime function is internal - to define the key measure or measures of the organization’s success - and its prime audience is the leadership team and stockholders.

First we look at creating mission statements. Then we create vision statements.

Mission Statement Creation

1. To create your mission statement, first identify your organization’s “winning idea”.

This is the idea or approach that will make your organization stand out from its competitors, and is the reason that customers will come to you and not your competitors (see tip below).

2. Next identify the key measures of your success. Make sure you choose the most important measures (and not too many of them!)

3. Combine your winning idea and success measures into a tangible and measurable goal.

4. Refine the words until you have a concise and precise statement of your mission, which expresses your ideas, measures and desired result.

Example:

Take the example of a produce store whose winning idea is “farm freshness”. The owner identifies two keys measures of her success: freshness and customer satisfaction. She creates her mission statement – which is the action goal that combines the winning idea and measures of success.

The mission statement of Farm Fresh Produce is:

“To become the number one produce store in Main Street by selling the highest quality, freshest farm produce, from farm to customer in under 24 hours on 75% of our range and with 98% customer satisfaction.”

Vision Statement Creation

Once you’ve created your mission statement, move on to create your vision statement:

1. First identify your organization’s mission. Then uncover the real, human value in that mission.

2. Next, identify what you, your customers and other stakeholders will value most about how your organization will achieve this mission. Distil these into the values that your organization has or should have.

3. Combine your mission and values, and polish the words until you have a vision statement inspiring enough to energize and motivate people inside and outside your organization.

Using the example mission statement developed for Farm Fresh Produce, the owner examines what she, her customers and her employees value about her mission.

The four most important things she identifies are: freshness, healthiness, tastiness and “local-ness” of the produce. Here’s the Vision Statement she creates and shares with employees, customers and farmers alike:

“We help the families of Main Town live happier and healthier lives by providing the freshest, tastiest and most nutritious local produce: From local farms to your table in under 24 hours.”

Mission Statements and Vision Statements
- from Mind Tools