Out of Comfort Zone

Woke up today at 5:00 AM in morning. Within next half an hour I was on jogging track. I am following this routine since last 3 weeks. Waking up early in the morning is in itself a delightful experience, which I have missed throughout my life.

• By the way, I am preparing for a half marathon, which is scheduled in next month. I have 3 more weeks to prepare for it. Though 6 weeks of practice is a bit less duration for preparation of Half Marathon, I am still optimistic about finishing the race.
  
  Everyday, when I wake up early in the morning, in spite of insufficient sleep, my mood is always positive. I am very eager to reach the jogging track. My wife’s expressions are normally priceless whenever I wake up and get ready for running. While driving towards jogging track, I see the city around in deep sleep; the fresh and clean air makes me even more energetic.
  
  I carry energy drinks, fruits with me while going for run to make sure that I am not drained physically. I wear all the kinds of running accessories, like shoes that supports my feet perfectly, knee/ankle supports, a stop watch to measure my speed, sun screen lotions, anti tanning creams, etc. Sometimes, I wonder why I am doing this. I am out of my bed in spite of lack of sleep, my family members are in deep sleep. But I am always determined to do it. I want to push the boundaries of my physical and mental strength. Important thing is that there is no purpose or goal behind it. I am simply running for the sake of well, running itself. J
  
  The motivation behind running a marathon is to experience that extravaganza. I will be running alongside the best runners in the world. I am not sure whether I will be able to complete the run. My first target is to finish 10 KM. Then I will go for another 5 KM. Once I reach 15 KM milestone, I will go for the kill for sure. The most important motivator for me is to achieve the top 3 priorities in my life. I am stating it in terms of its importance to me.
  
  Ensure perfect health for myself and family (Physical, mental and Spiritual)
  Nurture great relationships in family
  Achieve Professional goals
  
  Many will be surprised with the sequence of the priorities of my life, especially in this fast paced world. For most of them the last one (i.e. Professional goals) would be the top one on their priority list.
  
  I am very much sure that if I can ensure that the first two priorities are met, then the last one will be achieved automatically. Rather, I will definitely get better results than my expectations. Our overall sense of well being (i.e. great health and relationships) will produce the best results and that will be reflected in our professional goals.
  
  The Zone of Comfort can make us stagnant at any stage of our life and that can affect on the top priorities of our lives. I am not saying that to achieve these priorities, we should be restless all the time. But we need to make conscious efforts to come out of comfort zone from time to time.
  
  My personal opinion is that if you want to excel in all walks of your life, then one needs to come out of his/her comfort zone. Start with achieving your physical mastery. By physical mastery, I mean to maintain best possible health. If you can maintain the physical mastery, the mental and spiritual well being comes automatically with it. All this will reflect in our relationships and finally will help us to achieve professional goals beyond our expectations.
  
  The ones, who feel that they are already enjoying these things, then no need to do anything. They are doing great. J

Never Never Never Give up

About Running

I wanted to write something on this topic since quite some time. I am running since last few months and it has brought a kind of metamorphosis in my life.

My romance with running started earlier this year may be around February 2011. Thanks to my annual health report. My Cholesterol and Blood Pressure levels were slightly on upper side. It was a bit surprise for me, because I have a very active life and was particular about my diet.

Although there was nothing to worry about, I took it a bit seriously. I tried to dig into the root cause of the issue. Finally, we agreed upon the root cause: slow metabolism rate of my body.

I thought about two alternatives to get rid of this: Running and weight exercise training. Out of these, I chose running. I am a bit sluggish in doing gym/weight exercises.

As I started running, each and every muscle of my legs rebelled. During the first run, I could hardly run for 100 meters. But I tried to continue and slowly my body (Particularly legs) got used to running. Slowly, I increased my running up to 5 km without any break. On weekends I tried to push more and even touched 10 km at a stretch.

During the same time, I came across a book “Dare To Run” written by Amit seth. In this book, Amit has mentioned about his quest for running and his journey from starting to run for few meters to completing Comrades Marathon, in South Africa. Comrades Marathon is one of the toughest human marathons, which includes around 90 km of running, across hilly regions of South Africa.

This book gave a real boost for me and became a true motivating factor. Though I started running for maintaining my fitness, very soon it became my hobby. And at the moment it’s more than just a hobby.

When I start running, most of the time, my mind is overflowed with thoughts. But after some time, the thought process ceases. Then there comes a point where, my mind is free of any thoughts. I just try concentrate on my breathing. I get detached from the world around. My soul gets connected with god and I feel a kind of relaxation through out my body. Then I talk with my sub conscious and affirm that each step taken is guiding me to move towards my personal mastery. Then running becomes a spiritual way to connect with almighty, it becomes meditation for me. At the end of each run, I feel a sense of calmness and fulfilment. And to be honest, that period is the best one throughout my day.

Lessons Learnt:
Running has also taught me a few lessons.

• First of it is being patient about end results. A few months back, I tried to run in spite of severe pain in my left foot. Finally, it resulted in Ligament fracture and I could not run for next 2 months.



• Second lesson I learnt is to live in present and concentrate only on the task at hand. During the run, I focus all of my attention on the next step.



• Overcoming the mental barrier. The only factor which keeps us away from our personal mastery is our mind, the thought process. The same mind which was creating a mental block for me to run even 100 meters, obeys my determination to run 10 km now.

What next:
Continue running as much as I can and get benefitted from it. I am also eyeing for a Half Marathon on 6th Nov 2011. Right now, I have only 4 weeks of practice left. Though I haven’t tried any distant running since last 6 months, this looks a bit challenging. But I am still hopeful to make it. Currently i am struggling to run for even 2 km at a stretch. But i am determined to run as much as i can. So keeping my Fingers crossed and hoping for the best. !!!!!!!!!!!

Change Yourself First

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following inscription is attributed to an Anglican Bishop (1100 A.D.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it, too, seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.

And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family.

From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world."

Finding Daily Inspiration

It is up to an individual to find the purpose of his/her life. To find that purpose, one needs to look at the spiritual side of life. For that, we need to invest some amount of time from our daily life. It can be anything like indulging in hobbies, spending time with our dear ones, reading, introspection, meditation,etc. And the list can go endless.

For me, Quotes written by great people gives me a lot of inspiration. It gives me strength when the chips are down and things are not going well. On the other hand, it makes me to feel better, when everything is going smooth. I just do not read it but try to remember it and apply it to me to some extent. Following are my 20 favourite quotes. These are collected from numerous web sites, blogs, books and other stuffs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference- Reinhold Niebuhr

“Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” - Martin Luther King, Jr

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." - Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

"If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars." - Rabindranath Tagore

"It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple." - Rabindranath Tagore

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” — Mary Anne Radmacher

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.” — Winston Churchill

“Winners compare their achievements with their goals, while losers compare their achievements with those of other people.” — Nido Qubein

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain

"Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” — African Proverb

“You alone are the judge of your worth and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks.” — Deepak Chopra

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” — Norman Vincent Peale

“The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” -Helen Keller

"The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers.” - Deepak Chopra

"The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times." - Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

"The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them." — Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)

"A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires." - Paulo Coelho

"Anyone who loves in the expectation of being loved in return is wasting their time." - Paulo Coelho (The Devil and Miss Prym)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
Books by Paulo Coelho
News Papers
http://sourcesofinsight.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/36913.Rabindranath_Tagore

Lord Ganesha

Today is Ganesha Chaturthi, the Birthday of Lord Ganesha. This festival is celebrated throughout the India and the atmosphere during this period is so divine and electrifying. People bring the Ganesha idols in home, worship him and pray together.

In 1893, Indian freedom fighter, Lokmanya Tilak, transformed the domestic festival into a well organised public event. The motive behind this move was to bring people across all casts and communities together, celebrate the festival and bridge the gap among them.

Ganesha, the elephant headed god, is a son of Lord Shiva and Parvati. He is widely worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. Ganesha is associated with the root or mooladhara chakra in our body. This is the first energy centre and represents the earth element, providing a solid foundation for life. Praying to Ganesha is believed to bring stability enabling one to proceed with higher goals in life.

Ganesha is also known as Vighnahartha, the one who rules over the obstacles. He represents the energy which controls and removes the obstacles. Ganesha is also a symbol of quick thinking and effortless accomplishments.

Once, Lord Shiva held a contest between his two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya to see who could circle around the earth first. The winner would receive a sacred fruit of wisdom from Lord Shiva. Kartikeya sped off on peacock and started circling around earth. Ganesha turned to his advisor, Mouse. The mouse suggested that he should encircle his parents Shiva and Parvati and tell them that they were his universe. Ganesha did the same as advised; Lord Shiva was flattered by that gesture, and gifted the sacred fruit to Ganesha.

Personally, I am a true devotee of Ganesha, and very much attached with him.
There is a divine connection and understanding between us. Whenever, I think about god, the picture of Ganesha appears in front of my eyes. There are various reasons and co incidences. I was born during Ganesha festival, I used to bring Ganesha idols every year in my home, even I met my wife for the first time in Ganesha temple itself.

Let’s pray Lord Ganesha to take care of us and our dear ones. May he shower his blessings upon us for great health, happiness and well being and give us strength to face the challenges, (coming along our paths) quite gracefully.

Things I would like to change in my life

Last week, a friend of one of my close friend passed away tragically in an accident. Her name was Rohini. Although, we never met with each other, I came to know a lot of things about her through my friend. She was the only child of her parents, their only hope in their post retirement lives. Rohini was on her way back to home while a drunken car driver rammed his car into her two wheeler. Rohini wore a helmet while riding, but the impact was so strong that her brain got badly damaged.

I was working in office that day while I came to know about that bad news. Her condition worsened as the day progressed. Though we never met each other, I was continuously praying for her life and giving hope to my friend. I was getting update after each hour, but finally Rohini lost the battle with life.

This incident made a lot of impact on my life, in particular my way of thinking about life. The faces of her parents flashed in front of my eyes. What about their life post their daughter’s demise? Would they ever have imagined such situation? How will they face their future? Let’s pray for her soul to rest in peace and to give her parents enough strength to embrace the future.

The incident reminded me of a speech given by “Ric Elias”, who survived from a plane crash a couple of years ago. The followings are some of the lessons he learnt from that incident. I am trying to elaborate on his lessons and relate it with the lessons I learnt from Rohini’s demise.

Everything can change within an instance:

We do take everything in our life for granted. Let it be our dear ones, our relationships, and our approach towards the life. We live our life as if we are going to exist on this planet forever. But all can change within an instance. I am not being pessimistic over here; rather I am trying to be realistic. So what can we do? Should we worry about our future and prepare for our death? No. Of course not. But we can change our outlook towards life. We can learn to live in the present and enjoy the taste of it. We can learn to avoid procrastination and try to do the things which we are supposed to do as early as possible. If we want to do something we like, but are not able to do so far, then try it now. Let it be a silly thing, don’t worry about others perspective. Just enjoy being in that moment

Eliminate negative energy from our life

Get rid of negative emotions from our life. A negative emotion can be anger, stress, ego, greed or anything which creates negative influence on our life. When I look back, I really regret about the time wasted by me because of these negative emotions. Getting rid of such emotions will help us to live a perfect life. Just imagine our life without any fight, disagreements, stress. Sounds great! After that incidence, I do not try to be right, rather I choose to be happy.

Be the best person in whatever role you are playing

Be the best person in whatever role you are playing in. Our role can change according to the age or situation. It can be anything like son/daughter, father/mother, mentor friend, etc. Try to be the best person in that role. We should be proud of whatever we did/achieved when we look back at the twilight of our life. The most important thing I want to do in my life is to be the best son for my parents and be the best father for my son. Above all. Above all !!.

I challenge the reader of this article to imagine if the same situation happens with you. Please don’t, but just imagine and just think about the things you would like to change before it. Time to take a step back and introspect.

About Love

Since my adulthood, i am quite confused about the definition of Love. Some say it is mysterious, magical, joyous, and immeasurable while other say that it’s something intended to display solidarity and well being towards another person.

Here i am talking about the love expressed in a relationship. Whenever i think about it, it reminds me about one story. A story told by the chief guest of Annual Gathering function held during my graduation days. The followings are the excerpts from it:

Once upon a time a well known hunter went on a tour to Africa. The African jungles are well known for the rich heritage for all kinds of wild animals. The hunter was particularly looking for a deer to kill. Deer was the only animal he could not kill until that time. The reason was deer are very quick and alert and hence are difficult to hunt.

One fine day, the hunter went to a jungle nearby Nairobi, Kenya. He went on to meet the local tribe men who, the hunter thought would help him to find a deer. After discussions with them, he found one guide who was well versed about the Jungle and the preferable location for hunting. Accordingly, the hunter went for hunt that night along with the guide.

They decided to build a shelter next to the nearest water reservoir. After building the shelter, they started to wait for a deer to arrive. The hunter saw on the other side of the reservoir. He could see the local tribal group was gathered in front of their huts. They had set the campfire and were dancing on the beats of drums. Some of them were singing.

In between, the mid night arrived. The hunter was very cautious. He sensed that a deer was approaching the water. The hunter removed his gun, set the target and was waiting for the right moment to shoot. After few moments, the deer came closer. The hunter put a finger on the trigger. Just before he could shoot, the guide deflected the barrel of the gun. The bullet from the gun pierced through the air making a loud noise. The deer got alert and ran away from the reservoir.

The hunter became irritated and asked the guide for his strange behaviour. The guide apologized and said to hunter “Sir, please do not kill that deer. You can kill any other animal from this jungle”. Hunter felt strange but did not ask any reason. They waited for the whole night, but could not find any other deer to kill. The hunter went back to his residence, a bit frustrated with the fact that he missed an opportunity to kill the deer.

The next night, again the hunter along with that guide came back to the reservoir. As usual the local tribe’s men were beating the drums and were dancing on its beats. The hunter could hear that music. Past mid night, a deer came to the reservoir. The guide sensed that it was the same deer he saved a night before. The hunter set his target and was about to shoot. Again the guide deflected the gun barrel and bullet was fired making a loud noise. Again the deer sensed danger and disappeared in the jungle. The hunter became very angry and asked the guide about his strange behaviour. The guide gave the same reply as the previous day. “Sir, please do not kill that deer. You can kill any other animal from this jungle”.

The next night, same thing happened, the hunter missed his target and the deer got disappeared in Jungle. The hunter had enough of it and got very upset with his guide. He shouted at guide and said that why the hell he was doing it. The guide as usual apologized to hunter and told the motive behind it.

He said, Sir last month another hunter like you came to this jungle for hunting. That time, the hunter killed one of the female deer. He took the deer’s head off to showcase his bravery and went back. The local tribe’s men ate the flesh of the deer and removed its skin. They used the skin for making the drum so that they can enjoy the drum beats.

The deer which is coming on this reservoir is the companion of that dead deer. But still he can feel the presence of his sweet heart through the drum beats. He can realize her presence through the sound of those drum beats, the drum which is made up of her skin. The hunter became speechless.

According to me, love is an eternal feeling, the connection of two souls. It doesn’t matter whether the person you love is with you or not. The only thing you expect is the well being of your partner. It is an emotion expressed towards a person we like, that he/she is being cared. There are no conditions, there are no boundaries. It is a divine feeling where everything looks so pure, bright and serene. There is no need of any words to express that feeling.

PLM and Cloud Computing

There is a lot of buzz around cloud computing today. If you don’t know much about cloud computing, the simplest description is to think about a bank of remote computers whose resources you can harness on an as-needed basis.

This trend of Cloud is increasing around all industry sectors and PLM is not an exception. Dassault recently announced about availability of V6 Platform on AWS (Amazon Web Services). Aras announced about availability of Aras Innovator on Amazon. Autodesk also aims for cloud with multiple projects like AutoCAD WS.
Dassault Systèmes announced a cloud-based partnership with Amazon.com’s Web Services arm that will enable clients to use its 3D design and manufacturing software remotely over the cloud. PLM and 3D software is traditionally memory-intensive, but by partnering with Amazon Web Services, DS will be able to offer clients a preconfigured environment to remotely run 3D and PLM software without having to buy expensive hardware.
Dassault Systèmes is leveraging multiple AWS services to power Version 6 platform, providing the following resources:
High performance and highly available compute resources: Dassault Systèmes is utilizing the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) to provide discrete compute environments for each customer.
Geographic reach: Dassault Systèmes leverages the AWS global footprint to provide the best experience for their customers, regardless of their physical location. By leveraging AWS’ Regions, Dassault Systèmes can ensure that data required to stay within a geographic boundary remains so.
Storage of easy-to-access design content: Using Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Dassault Systèmes can store volumes of design data without having to support an extensive array of legacy platforms. The combination of Amazon EBS and Amazon S3 allows customers to have immediate access to large storage volumes, coupled with the resiliency native to Amazon S3 for back-up purposes.

DS also announced its new 3DStore online (http://swym.3ds.com/#3DStore). The 3DStore will premier several cloud-based 3D and PLM business services:
1. 3DSWYM, DS’ new social innovation solution
2. n!fuze – for SolidWorks customers- and n!volve -for CATIA Version 6 customers- both taking advantage of award winning ENOVIA Version 6 technology
3. Access to 3DS products including 3DVIA and Draftsight
4. Access to experiences and applications from partners and customers.

Challenges in PLM implementation on Cloud: The following picture is taken from this blog: Amazon S3 – more than 449 Billion Objects.
These are the number of objects stored on Amazon S3 infrastructure. Looks Impressive. It can manage upto 2,90,000+ requests per second.
But what if the information from a typical PLM/Manufacturing company is put on Cloud?
The following information is taken from this blog:http://plmtwine.com/2011/07/25/cloud-plm-and-amazon-s3-scale/

Let’s talk about Boeing 747-400. If you exclude fasteners, Boeing 747-400 has about 3 million parts. For the whole history, Boeing delivered 694 of Boeing 747-400 jets. Now, let’s make calculations. There are only 650million S3 objects for each manufactured Boeing 747-400. Now imagine that 100 companies like Boeing have adopted cloud. Think about the amount of data. The cloud should include all part and manufacturing info, documents, drawings, revisions, etc. Is it really possible to map all this information on Amazon or any other cloud infrastructure? Not sure.
Now, just imagine that the cloud system goes down because of some apparent reasons. And also imagine the business impact on hundreds of companies who are accessing the cloud. Sounds scary. (Rather Amazon Web Services went down for few hours on 21st April 2011)

Security of Data :There is a lot of discussion by PLM vendors regarding cloud computing and the possibilities for SaaS (Software as a Service) via the cloud. And there has been almost immediate, response from users regarding concerns of security and privacy. The typical reaction is like, “PLM data is my company’s secret material – I would never store intellectual property on the cloud.” Or even if I use cloud computing, what is the guarantee that my data is secured against all interferences.
Bottom line: There is no doubt about ability of Cloud computing to satisfy the requirement of all enterprise sectors because of the way in which cloud technology is evolving. Also the cloud providers like Google, AWS, etc are very serious as well as optimistic about the cloud future. The companies are also very keen about adopting this trend, because of its cost effectiveness, easy scalability and virtualization . But the companies are also very skeptical about how cloud will map the complex data from PLM (Like, parts, specifications, drawings, revisions, etc) on its infrastructure. Second thing they are concerned about are the extent of security, reliability the cloud will provide, especially in a multitenant application.

It will be too early to come to any conclusion regarding the future of cloud computing in PLM industry. Probably the things will get much clearer over next couple of years, as the cloud technology matures.

Just my views.

Meditation Mantra

A lot of people around me have distinct views about what the meditation is. There are quite a few myths as well. I am practicing the meditation since last five years (Though not on a regular basis). I would like to get into further details so that it will answer most of the doubts about it. There are few people around who are willing to practice the art of meditation but don’t know how to begin.

Meditation is a period of time set aside every day to quiet the mind. It is a way to slow down, chill out and get in touch with inner side of our self. Initially in meditation, the thoughts are slowed down and after conscious practice, eventually thoughts stops completely.

According to studies, meditation can increase immunity, defuse negative emotions, lowers blood pressure and reduces the effects of stress. More important, it’s free and has no side effects. But with so much information around books, internet and other sources, people are still not sure how to begin.

I have already read a lot about this subject in the past and was confused also. There are hundreds of ways of doing mediation. But I chose one of the simplest and effective ways to do it and it has created wonders for me. That is breathing meditation.

How to meditate?

Sit comfortably on a hard chair, with your spine a few inches away from the back of the chair. Close your eyes. Focus your attention on your breathing. Let your belly expand on the inhalation and contract on exhalation, allowing the breath deeper into your lungs. You can also count One while inhaling and Two while exhaling out and so on. This conscious counting of the breaths (i.e. One while inhale and Two while exhale) will help you to restrict the thoughts entering your mind.

Initially, the thoughts will keep on entering your mind and will try to distract you. But gently come back to your conscious counting as mentioned. As you keep on practicing, the thoughts will eventually slow down and your mind will reach to the state of absolute thoughtlessness (Samadhi). Anytime your mind begins to wander, and it will, so don’t be hard on yourself. Slowly, focus your attention back on breathing.

When to Meditate?

The best time to meditate is as soon as you wake up. Bypass the tea and head straight for your meditation. Once you get a cup of tea and start reading the news, you know, you are absorbed in other things. Meditation as a first thing in morning has maximum health benefits.

What much time to meditate?

According to research, we need to meditate at 10 minutes a day to begin reaping the benefits. So the only requirement is finding that time from our so called multi tasking culture.

Benefits of Meditation

It Lowers oxygen consumption
It decreases respiratory rate.
Increases blood flow and slows heart rate.
Increases tolerance in heart patients.
Leads to better level of relaxation.
Decreases muscle tension.
Builds self confidence.
Enhances Immune system
Increases serotonin production in body which influences mood and behaviour.
Good for people with high BP as it brings the blood pressure to normal.

Bottom Line

Just the action of focussing on your breath for 10 minutes a day is enough. Most people over complicate the process of meditation. They think that they should get up at 5 AM in morning and do it for hour or so. Second thing, its not a religious practice. It’s a scientific technique and already proven as a beneficial thing to apply in our daily life.

Another thing, meditation is not a corrective measure to apply after a health problem has started (Of course, it helps in better recovery, but by that time, the damage has already been occurred). Rather it’s a preventive measure, which helps in our overall well being. So you can start practising it from today onwards itself.

Autobiography of Lee Iacocca

Just finished with reading of the book titled as “IACOCCA: An Autobiography”. The book is a bit thicker in size which I don’t like much but once started reading, I finished this book within no time.

For those who don’t know much about Lee Iacocca, this is the brief. The son of Italian immigrants, who went onto become President of Ford Motors and Chrysler respectively. A visionary leader, Marketing icon, media person who received celebrity status in America during 1980s.

An engineer by education, Iacocca started his career as Management Trainee at Ford. After few months of working at manufacturing section, he chose a more happening field of Sales and Marketing. At the age of 36 he went onto become General Manager of biggest division of Ford Motors.

Lee is popularly known as the father of Mustang, a sensational Car model launched in 1964. This model created history in American Automobile sector. Within the first 2 years Mustang generated net profits of $ 1.1 billion.

The success of Mustang, coupled with his great management, selling, interpersonal and decision making skills made him President of Ford Motors in 1970, a business empire of 4,32,000 employees.

During his presidency over the period of next 8 years, Ford was making the average profits of around $ 2 billions per year, the largest margins in its history. His growing influence in Ford and indifferences with Henry Ford II, (who was Chairman of Ford) made the matters worse for Iacocca. After working for 32 years (out which 8 years as President) he was fired.

The insulted and devastated Iacocca then joined Chrysler as President. But the Chrysler was already plagued with bad management, poor quality of cars, declined sales, which led it to almost bankruptcy. As a president, Lee had to take a lot of tough decisions like restructuring of board of directors, shutdown of non-profitable plants and firing of a huge manpower. But in doing so he had the vision and confidence to bring the Chrysler on the right track.

He implemented a lot of other cost cutting initiatives, like he opted to reduce his annual compensation from $ 1 million to $ 1 per year. Other employees then voluntarily came ahead and made their contribution. Lee brought out the concept of “Equality of Sacrifice” at Chrysler.

The OPEC oil crisis in 1980 made the matters worse for him and other than bailout, the only option he had left was asking for Government help. After a lot of struggle and convincing, US govt sanctioned a loan guarantee of $ 1.5 billions. The guarantee was given for the period of next 7 years at the annual interest rate of more than 20%.

After that, Lee concentrated all of his efforts on work and brought the concept of K- Car, which introduced 2 Car models, Aries and Reliant. These models made history in sales and Chrysler came out of the situation of bailout to profit making company within 3 years and paid the entire outstanding loan to US congress.

This is an incredible story. A straight from the gut talking, aggressive sales and Marketing guy became an American legend. His growing influences in America made him a celebrity and people were insisting him to run for Presidency of United states.

I liked this book very much. Personally I took a lot of lessons. This book can prove to be the bible for those who are inclined towards management and wants to climb that ladder very fast.

Through this book, Lee openly criticised working style of Henry Ford II. He openly talked about stringent emission regulations in America, tax policy, Japanese Car challenges and even insisted about the mandatory use of safety belts as precautionary measure to reluctant US citizens. He also expressed his views on bringing back the American glory, importance of work life balance for individuals, etc.

One thing I didn’t liked as a reader is Lee’s open criticism towards Henry Ford II and he also revealed personal side of Henry. But, apart from this, the book is a true masterpiece. One thing is for sure, this book is going to be a part of favourites section of my bookshelf.

The difference between Ego and Self Respect

Ego is about how we mask ourselves from reality, whereas Self Respect is about how we feel about ourselves. Let me further explore into it.

Ego (Ahamkara) is something which keeps an individual under wrong influences. It makes the person to live in his own limited space. He becomes happy when ego is satisfied and devastates when ego gets shattered. Self respect (Swabhimaan) on the other hand, is something beyond respect and disrespect. Whether satisfied or not, it drives an individual to explore himself further and do good Karma.

An egoistic person creates an imaginary world around him. Most of which includes showcasing their existence. He is always concerned about his own interests. During the tough time, he tries to safeguard himself in multiple ways even though he is responsible. He tries to play a blame game and drags others into it. He throws the responsibility on others, to satisfy the desire for authority and tries all crazy things to prove his worth.

A person with self respect tries to discover his own existence on the earth and works to give justice to it. When everything goes well, he feels accomplished in whatever he does; He feels contentment and shares the joy with others. He never expects any appreciation. If something goes wrong, he is the first person to realize it and will feel guilt. After that he accepts the situation and tries to improve upon it.

Extending these thoughts to corporate life, an egoistic person creates a false image about himself. He will try to showcase falsehood, is reluctant in helping others and is always hesitant to take help from others. A person with Self respect is always confident about his doing and there is no existence of guilt in his actions. He will not care about his status in case he needs any help from others and offers everything if they need help.

One needs to understand the difference between self respect and ego and decide our actions accordingly. Otherwise the acquired wisdom will become merely an exhibition.

Google+: New marketing sensation??

A couple of weeks back Google launched its new social networking service Google+. And within this short period of time, it has already become a sensation, especially among techies. People are endlessly talking and sharing their views on this topic.

This made me to go into some details of this new buzz word.

The Google + starts with Circles. It’s a bit confusing term, but a Circle is the list of people an individual wants to share information with. This information can be anything like sharing locations, status, photos, videos and many more. You can make multiple circles like this and name it. The cool thing is that none of your friends who are added to circles will know which circle they are a part of.

Google + has an “asymmetric sharing model”. This means you can share one way with the people but it’s not mandatory for them to share with you. If you both share, then it shows in your stream. There are three modes in which you can share the information. Public, Extended and Limited. Public is public on your profile and in the stream of everyone who circles you. Extended includes friends of people in your circles. Limited is people selected from certain circles. Twitter is an example of this model. Facebook is an example of symmetric sharing model, where two people mutually confirm them as friends and then only can share the stuff.

There is a main difference between Groups and Circles. In groups, everybody knows who is in the group. For circles it’s exactly opposite.

Advantages of Google+ includes it puts privacy first, manages sharing with selective lists, you can version your profile by circles. Disadvantages include it’s a bit confusing, problems can arise when circles collide and there is little social discovery.

It will be too early to discuss about success or failure of this new service, but for sure, it has taken the web by storm and people are talking something other than Apple.

iCloud : A revolution in data synchronization??

iCloud is a cloud computing service from Apple Inc. It’s a hugely enhanced version of Apple’s $100-a-year, problem-plagued MobileMe service. But iCloud is free — and far more ambitious.
iCould stores your music, photos, apps, calendars , documents and more. And wirelessly pushes them to all your devices automatically. You can buy any of the above contents and all these are synched with all of your devices.

It still syncs your e-mail, address book and calendars among your iDevices, Macs, PCs and the Web. But it also syncs your bookmarks, iBooks, app purchases, song purchases and photos among all of them. Your iPhone gets backed up automatically over Wi-Fi each day. Take a photo with your iPhone, and it shows up automatically on your computer and iPad.

When you sign up for iCloud, you automatically get 5GB of free storage. And that’s plenty of room, because of the way iCloud stores your content. Your purchased music, apps, and books, as well as your Photo Stream, don’t count against your free storage. That leaves your mail, documents, Camera Roll, account information, settings, and other app data. And since those things don’t use as much space, you’ll find that 5GB goes a long way.

But if you’re willing to spend $25 a year, you can sign up for iTunes Match, a service that compares your non-Apple music collection — tracks ripped from CDs, for example, or tracks acquired from other services — with the iTunes catalog. Any time there’s a match with Apple’s inventory of more than 18 million songs, you get all the benefits of the iCloud music feature applied to your own, non-iTunes music collection (and they’re upgraded to a high-quality format).

Now, disclaimer time: this isn’t a review. I haven’t tried any of these stuffs. This is just a summary of Apple’s announcements.

Something to think (Work) upon

Last week, I went for a trip to Lonawala, a hill station nearby Mumbai. I had a great time while wondering across the hills, water falls and watching the natural beauty. I like to connect with nature and the rainy season is the perfect time for outings. I travelled around the place, wanted to see the key sites over there, and captured a load of snaps. The nature gives me an immense pleasure, a feeling of relaxation, and being with it gives us the joy which is indescribable.

I wanted to see one of the site “Amby Vally” over there, so I along with my friend went over there on a motor bike. The road connecting the Amby Valley to Lonawala is one of the best roads I have seen ever. On both sides of road, there is a lush green tress, bushes and scenic hills. I reached over there and could not believe the way in which the infrastructure they have developed on this location. There is an airport, capable enough the accommodate landing of private jets and choppers. The entrance of the site itself reflects the kind of infrastructure which it accommodates. Everything around was very well maintained and quite neat and clean. I felt good about the things over there and felt proud that India has such kind of locations and facilities. This is the reflection of modern India. The site contains the private homes, apartments, bunglows owned by politicians, Film stars, business tycoons and sports persons. In summary only, rich people could afford to own a piece of this property.

After having a look around and taking few snaps, we moved over from there and reached to a village nearby. The distance between “Amby Vally” and the village is hardly 500 meters, but I could feel a stark difference between the living standards of people living at both places. The villagers over there were working in the farms and I could see the huts they live in. Rather, the lifestyle of villagers is hundreds of years behind the lifestyle of people who resides few meters away from them. Now, my perception about the modern India got a serious blow. This situation made me to think further.

India is a developing country. By the term, developing we mean that India is not that under developed, and moving in the direction of prosperity. But it is still to be developed as countries like Japan, US, UK, etc.

As per recent statistics, 65% of Indian population resides in villages. And most of the villagers are farmers. So in summary, around 60% of Indian population is dependant upon agriculture. Unfortunately, the rainy season in India lasts only for 3-4 months and the agriculture business relies upon the water reserved during this season.

So the farmers plant the crops according to the availability of water resources and the extent of rainfall which happens over there. Most of the farmers in India come below the poverty line. This means, they are struggling to fulfil their basic needs in spite of the hard work they put in.

It’s not about the farmers only. In a city like Mumbai, I can see the beggars across roads, railway stations, in front of temples. I can see the people sleeping on foot paths and under railway bridges. This makes me nervous as a proud Indian. Even I have seen beggars sleeping on the foot path next to a seven star hotel. This huge difference in living standards of people is not a healthy sign for any country. Especially, the country like India, which is moving in the direction of prosperity.

Over last two decades, India has changed dramatically. The globalization created a lot of business opportunities to industries like Manufacturing, Information Technology, Telecom, Infrastructure, etc. This sudden burst created a huge employment and business opportunities. India is an ocean of talent in all sectors of business. In addition, the low cost and very good communication skills of Indians attract western countries to invest more and more in India. As a result of this surge, the common Indian is benefitted to some extent. But it has failed to bring the economic equilibrium across Indian society. Rich people are becoming richer, common man is struggling for his needs and poor people are becoming poorer.

This is the reality of India after 64 years past the Independence, You can only blame upon one thing. The system over here, which governs the country. The politicians in India lack the vision , are un-educated and most of them are corrupted. They do not have any long term plans to get rid of such serious issues. But, I am not going to waste my time writing on this subject. Everybody knows about that.

Now, what can be done for the people who are struggling each day of life for their basic needs? They are also a part of our society and it’s out duty to bring them with us. There can be numerous ways to do this; It can be the roles played by government, NGOs, businessmen and other people, who are rich enough to fulfil their basic needs. I will only concentrate upon the role that can be played by businessmen and the rich people.

A couple of weeks back Ratan Tata, a veteran Industrialist criticized the development of another billionaire business tycoon Mukesh ambani’s dream project Antilla. The Antilla is a 27 storey residence of Ambani’s. According to Tata, this residence is an un necessary showcase of wealth and reflects rich Indian’s lack of empathy to poor. According to me, his statements are true to some extent. But, again it’s a personal choice and it cannot be forced upon anybody.

According to me the rich people should have the courage and empathy to give a helping hand to poor. It’s their duty to express a kind of gratitude to the society, the society which actually makes them rich. I am not thinking about the financial help only. It can be anything right from giving educational assistance to doing the charity work. But of course, it’s a matter of choice by the individual. After all, it’s hard earned money by them.

Now, about the role which can be played by the people who are rich enough to fulfil their basic needs and enjoy some luxury. Of course, they are offering the help through some trusts, NGOs and to some extent on a personal front. But these efforts are not enough to bring the economic balance and prosperity across the society. Some business firms contribute the money donated by their employees and offer it to NGOs or some trusts. But, is their responsibility over just by donating some money from their pockets? I don’t think so. Rather they should track and ensure that the money is distributed properly among those who need it most. On a personal front they can offer the helping hand. It may be voluntarily helping the people. The help can come in any form. It can be food, money, medicine, educational support and even sharing the wisdom.

Rather than relying upon the government and business firm, an individual can contribute more to this cause. Such initiatives can bring the peace, a feeling of well being, and economic balance in our society.

Otherwise, the valley between the rich and poor people will only widen over the time. There will be a kind of resentment formed across the society and our dream of developed India will never become a reality, even after hundred years from now.

I would like to hear from you.

An interesting reflection: Slow Down Culture

one of the article i came across on internet from http://www.scribd.com/doc/18676/Slow-Down-Culture . Can’t resist to share it..

It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has
proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized,
even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule.

Globalization processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of
searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see
immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish.
They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work
with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

Said in another words:

1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo, a state in Brazil.
2. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.
3. Stockholm, has 500,000 people.
4. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, IKEA, SAAB are some of its renowned
companies. Volvo also supplies NASA with critical equipment.

The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every
morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company
and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to
work). The first day, I didn't say anything, either the second or third. One morning I
asked, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance
even when there are no other cars in the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here
early we'll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place
closer to the door. Don't you think? Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe name Slow Food. This movement
establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their
food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its
counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is
the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.

Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by
globalization, fueled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having
with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being". French people, even though they
work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans
have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven
up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US's attention, pupils of the fast
and the "do it now!".

This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It
means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with
attention to detail and less stress. It means re-establishing family values, friends, free
and leisure time. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global",
undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of
living.

It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more
productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It's time to
stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that
will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the
essence of spirit.

In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance
and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al
responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance to a tango.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Congratulations for reading till the end of this message. There are many who will

have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this globalized world