IBM's Project Big Green

Warren Buffett's New Year Advice - Happy 2009

We begin this New Year with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism. Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organisations and nations. Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health. They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess.

Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future. This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older. This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser.

• Hard work: All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to poverty.
• Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.
• Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income.
• Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.
• Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving.
• Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.
• Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.
• Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.
• Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet.
• Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health.

Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful 2009.

- Warren Buffett

What's up? Inflation->516 quintillion per cent; $100 trillion note

Since my last post on Zimbabwe hyperinflation crisis, a lot has changed. Unfortunately, the change has been for worse.

In July 2008:

• Inflation rate was 2.2 million per cent a year
• Highest denomination of currency was Z$100 billion note

Later, Zimbabwean central bank slashed 10 zeros from the currency notes on Aug 1, 2008. So, Z$100 billion note became Z$10.

In our presentation, we had reported that zeros were coming back. So, where does it stand now?

In Dec 2008:

• Inflation rate was 516 quintillion per cent (that is 516 followed by 18 zeros)!!!
• Highest denomination of currency was Z$100 trillion note (Remember this is after removing 10 zeros!)

Zimbabwe is set to create a world record.

• Cato Institute has calculated the figures based on exchange rate movements and market data, putting Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate at 516 quintillion per cent - 516 followed by 18 zeros - overtaking Yugoslavia in 1994 and putting it behind only Hungary in 1946. Prof Steve Hanke said: "... if they keep going at this pace, they have a shot at it within a month or maybe a month-and-a-half at the outside."
• In post Second World War Hungary monthly inflation reached 12,950,000,000,000,000 per cent, with prices doubling every 15.6 hours - Zimbabwean prices are currently doubling every 1.3 days.
• Zimbabweans must spend money as soon as they get it before it loses its value. But goods are in desperately short supply. Supermarkets are accepting only US dollars and South African rands, leaving those without access to foreign currency in dire straits.

Where and when will it stop?

Ducks Quack , Eagles Fly

I have read this more than a couple of times and found it so meaningful every time... It's more important when we are studying Services Management. Knowing that you may have already read this, I still thought of sharing it for the benefits of those who may have missed it...

*****Ducks Quack , Eagles Fly*****
No one can make you serve customers well.

That's because great service is a choice.

Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.

He handed my friend a laminated card and said:

"I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement."

Taken aback, Harvey read the card.. It said:

Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, "Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf."

My friend said jokingly, "No, I'd prefer a soft drink."

Wally smiled and said, "No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice."

Almost stuttering, Harvey said, "I'll take a Diet Coke."
Handing him his drink, Wally said, "If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today."

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card. "These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio."

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

"Tell me, Wally," my amazed friend asked the driver, "have you always served customers like this?"

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. "No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.
He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle.. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'"

"That hit me right between the eyes," said Wally. "Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more."

"I take it that has paid off for you," Harvey said.

"It sure has," Wally replied. "My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action."

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

How about us???

Harvard School in Second Life

Tata Indicom in Second Life - Extends its 'Suno Dil Ki Awaaz' Brand Campaign

I distinctively remember when our group was preparing for 'Sustainable Assets Management (SAM) presentation and were learning about Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), a new broke out - "TCS makes it to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index". What a coincidence!

Well, histrory repeats itself... sometimes...

Now that I am about to complete my capstone project on Second Life, another news broke out yesterday - "Tata Indicom gets a Second Life". Well, this makes Tata Teleservices Ltd the first Indian telecom company to establish it's presence in Second Life.

"the first telecom operator to have a presence in the virtual world with a mass media campaign; the first to offer a virtual talent hunt, which will invite participation from people all over the world; and the first to have its brand ambassadors, in their virtual avatars, engage with visitors from the Indian subcontinent in an interactive forum. "

As part of the initiative, Tata Indicom will create and own an 'island' in the virtual world of Second Life. Users can visit this island, participate in the talent hunt, get a deeper understanding of the company's products and offerings and enjoy the softer properties on the island, including games, songs and other interactive programs.

Lloyd Mathias, chief marketing officer, TTSL, says, "With the exciting Second Life initiative, we continue with our tradition of launching many industry firsts. The digital world is evolving at a fantastic pace – cutting across geographical and cultural barriers – and we firmly believe that the virtual world has a huge outreach potential for businesses. “As a company at the cutting edge of technology, TTSL always scouts for relevant and innovative technologies and opportunities. We feel our association with Second Life will redefine the concept of outreach and take digital interactivity to the next level, for it will allow Tata Indicom to engage with the growing digital audience in a manner that is relevant to them."

Second Life is an Internet enabled virtual world in which users can create their virtual identities to interact with the virtual identities of other users. Members of Second Life can participate in individual or group activities and create and trade items like virtual property and services. Members have to pay for the space they purchase on Second Life. Second Life is developed by the US based Linden Lab.

Now here are some interesting figures regarding the virtual world. According to Gartner Inc., by 2011, 80 per cent of active Internet users will interact with virtual worlds; by 2010, 20 per cent of global Tier I retailers will have a marketing presence in online games and virtual worlds. As far as Second Life is concerned, it has 15 million registered users and around 1.5 million active/unique users.

Long live Second Life:-)

Educational Uses of Second Life

Best Practices to thrive in Recessionary times: An Introspection

Currently, the recession is doing rounds across the Globe and the gloomy picture all around reminds me of a saying which I am hearing since my childhood "When going gets tough, then tough gets going". Really? As an Individual, can we really make a difference. What best can be done to sail through these turbulent times? All from SENSEX to Salary goes down and nothing seems to be working. Its not just about loosing money or job, people tend to loose focus. So what do we do? I would to like to open this forum to have an introspective view and come up with best practices from an individual point of view for a much better and sustainable future. Here are some of my views :

1) Invest in yourself - Remember, the basic fundamental behind investing money? Park your money from where you can derive the best returns in least possible time with minimum risk possible. In short identify better oppurtunities at minimum risk. By investing in yourself one just needs to devote time and effort to prepare for any and every oppurtunity coming your way. But How? Keep learning new things . Learn new software language if you are an IT professional. Learn new Banking concepts, norms, standards, case studies etc if you belong to banking and finance background. Look out for industrywide accepted certifications which helps building your credentials. CCNA, CCNP, PMP or be it any certification, look out for and grab them. Expanding your horizons all times will just make you more scaleable and better employable than others. Be the frontrunner for any oppurtunities which might come in your way, which are anyways very feeble in such depressing times. Also I am made to believe that oppurtunity doesn't knock at your door twice.

2) Knowledge Obsolescence - Life of a Newspaper is just one Day! and definitely your hard earned knowledge is not any news. Knowledge is the only entity in our life which can also come free of cost and finally it ends up becoming the bread winner!! But are you updating your knowledge? or Is it getting lost or becoming obsolete as the time passes? In gloom period whether you are a Decision maker in your company or a job seeker, just check whether you have right kind of knowledge, skillsets and approach to participate. Margin of error in these times is bare minimum. Subscribe to your industry related newsletters, magazines, exhibitions, associations or governing bodies websites. Listen to industry leaders or speakers who are now accessible on leading video sharing websites like Youtube! Make best use of these possibilities.

3) Networking at its Best - In childhood did you play a game called 'Napolean' with playing cards - A game named after famous French military and political leader Napolean Bonaparte. The rule of the game is simple - The one who conquers all the 52 playing cards by his side all alone in the end is the Winner! Conquer people by your side. Network with professionals not just locally but globally! The more you network with people the better understanding and footage you build up. In tough times taking tough decisions could be very pensive. You need right guidance by right people. And trust me, they are not avilable next door. Professionals having better overview could be your saviour safegaurding your interests and become your better guide. Social and Professional networking websites like LinkedIn, Orkut, Facebook etc are helping this cause tremendously.

4) Don't forget your Money - Above, I spoke all about intangible 'assets' which can benefit you in recessionary phase and in longer run. But the fact is - that you still require money for survival!! Dont forget your money. One needs to be extra careful while dealing with hard earned money especially when you don't know, how long will it last with you. Park your money in the safest mode with least or no risk. Prioritize your spending and investments. Try and estimate the amount of money you would require in short or mid term. If you cannot, seek a financial advisor. Recession may last for years together. Leave aside the unforseen circumstances, they are anyways not in your control.

I am quite inquisitive to know any views/suggestions to be adopted in recessionary phase. What are your takes on this?