Nightmare at Satyam

From Ajay Shah's  blog ---> Nightmare at Satyam

Sweet Memories: Rajesh's Birthday Dinner @ The Avenue

Satyam Computer board needs a lesson or two in Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance

Last Saturday, we made a presentation on '10 Ways to Create Shareholder Value' based on an HBR study. One of the principles explained in the presentation ties very well to the Satyam Computer fiasco.

On Tuesday, Satyam announced its decision to pick up 51% in Maytas Infrastructure and 100% in Maytas Properties. However, as soon as the USD 1.6-billion deal was announced, it met with stiff market resistance. Investors were angry on the company’s acquisition of the infrastructure company — especially when the realty business is highly cash-consuming now. The Satyam ADR fell by as much as 55% on news of the acquisition.

Some newspaper called this Ulta-Pulta deal, because when you spell SATYAM in reverse order (ulta), it become MAYTAS (Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties are companies owned by Satyam Chairman's sons!).

The corporate finance lesson that the board of Satyam Computer need to learn is:

Principle: "Return cash to shareholders when there are no credible value-creating opportunities to invest in the business"

Satyam today finds itself in this situation - excess cash, undervalued shares, but limited opportunities of growth in IT business. As per this principle, Satyam could return the money to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.

Advantages:

• It gives shareholders a chance to earn better returns elsewhere, rather than Satyam investing them in the companies owned by Satyam Chairman's sons.
• Reduces the risk that management will use the excess cash to make value-destroying investments–in particular, ill-advised, overpriced acquisitions. (This is exactly what they attempted to do yesterday - Value destroying investment)

Well, investors finally had the last word - they forced management to drop the deal. I saw one of the biggest institutional investors of Satyam on TV questioning the deal and asking why the company is not buying back the shares.

So, how should Satyam use the cash? Buy-back shares or give dividend? The thumb rule is simple:

• Repurchase shares only when the company’s stock is trading below management’s best estimate of value and no better return is available from investing in the business.
• Pay dividend when the shares are expensive and there’s no good long-term value to expected from investing in the business

In Saytam's case, the first point is true. So, the company should buy-back shares and refrain from such ulta-pulta deals!!!

It brings another point. Was it just about financing or also about Corporate Governance?

This episode raises serious questions about Satyam's corporate governance. Now, you know value of TATA group - they are a class apart when it comes to corporate governance. Mr. Ratan Tata, you may want to start a management education program on Corporate Governance. Otherwise, "these bozos" will never understand it...

Keep Rocking!

It's Rock On season! While Rock On (movie) fever is still on, our 'band of boys and gals' has also been rocking throughout the semester III of MPE.

Yesterday was last day of semester. The most exciting and learning experience in business school is working on projects and making group presentations. We presented on many interesting topics this semester:

(Subject / Presentation)

• Brand Management: 1. Positioning of Sprite 2. Hyundai i10 Product Launch in India
• Business Sustainability: Sustainable Asset Management (SAM)
• Corporate Finance: 10 Ways to Create Shareholder Value
• Macro Economics and Global Economy: Hyperinflation Crisis in Zimbabwe
• Operations Management: Application of Lean and Agile Principles in Software Development
• Strategic Marketing Management: Marketing Models of Consumer Behavior

We ended the semester on a high with an interactive presentation of Hyundai i10 Product Launch in India. Nitin came up with this idea of doing a role-play of business news channel covering Hyundai i10 Launch event. The entire team worked on preparing slides, thinking through the screen-play, assigning roles and setting up IBC News - Indian Broadcasting Corporation. In studio, we had Lakshmi as News Reader and Rajesh as Auto Industry Expert (Analyst); at the launch site, we had Nitin as IBC reporter, Anand as Marketing head of Hyundai Motors and Prachi as independent car reviewer. Anshu did a great job of shooting the entire event on Video Camera. It was real fun!

If topics were interesting and presentations were fun, the feedback from professors was immensely encouraging [except for one subject where expectations got to be modest:-)]. Some of them are quoted here...

• Positioning of Sprite: "Superb presentation... the best presentation of class...!"
• Hyundai i10 Product Launch in India: "The delivery was superb... everyone contributed... I'll give them full marks...!"
• Sustainable Asset Management: "Excellent presentation... The topic was very well brought out...!"
• 10 Ways to Create Shareholder Value: "Very good presentation...!"
• Hyperinflation Crisis in Zimbabwe: "Excellent presentation...!"
• Application of Lean and Agile Principles in Software Development: "It was enlightening presentation... very new concept... excellent presentation... it was learning experience for me as well... the time spent on listening to this presentation was worth it... very well done!"
  
  It gives us sense of satisfaction! What has been even more satisfying is the kind of support, motivation and appreciation that we have received from our class-mates.
  
  An SMS read, "Rajesh, I know im repeating but you guys totally rocked today.. Im sure u guys wud have put in a lot of efforts... Trust me it was all worth it."
  
  Thank you very much! Your appreciation means a lot to us!
  
  I must thank my entire team for running that extra mile every time to give our best! Lets keep rocking!!!
  

Are you intelligent?

Here is a very simple test to measure your intelligence... Submit your answers as comment to this blog and I'll send you your score!

1. How many birthdays does the average man have?
2. Some months have 31 days, how many have 28?
3. How many outs are there in an inning?
4. Is it legal for a man in California to marry his widow's sister?
5. Divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10. What is the answer?
6. If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have?
7. A doctor gives you three pills telling you to take one every half hour. How many minutes would the pills last?
8. A farmer has 17 sheep, and all but 9 die. How many are left?
9. How many animals of each sex did Moses take on the ark?
10. A clerk in the butcher shop is 5'10" tall. What does he weigh?
11. How many two cent stamps are there in a dozen?
12. You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?
13. If you overtake the last person, then you are...?
14. Note: This must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it: Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the total?
15. Mary's father has five daughters: Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?






Don't be shy... Take the challenge and prove your intelligence.

What's Your Google Quotient?

The idea of person branding (The brand YOU) is increasingly gaining importance in today's world. 'Google Quotient' and 'Twitter Quotient' are a couple tools to assess your online brand presence.


Here is an useful piece of information on personal branding and Google Quotient.

What's Your Google Quotient?


Does it make sense to you?

My new blog - Uncommon "Common Sense"

I have created a new blog recently to share my perspectives on organizational matters, leadership and work related initiatives.

Check out... http://itzcommonsense.blogspot.com/

Some of the posts on the blog are:

• Situational Leadership
• Gully Cricket Strategy
  

This blog is also linked with other blogs of my colleagues from TCS and our client organization. Check out http://waywework.it/


FOR THOSE OF YOU, WHO CAN'T OPEN BLOGSPOT.COM FROM OFFICE, YOU CAN READ MY POSTS THROUGH THIS URL (http://waywework.it/author/23)


By the way, I am also using Facebook, LinkedIn and Second Life these days... Stay connected...!

My favourite retailer is bankrupt now

Curcuit City has been my favourite retail store for electronics goods. My laptops, digital camera, camcorder, DVD players, Pen drives, CD Player and most other electronics items I have are all purchased from Circuit city. I admire their customer service, range of high quality products, excellent deals and very user-friendly website for online purchases.

So, it's very sad to know that Circuit City has succumbed to the Global Financial Crisis and has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on November 10, 2008.

Is GM the next in line? I wish not.

Introduction to Second Life

Vision India@75

“India has a potential to lead the world in 2022 with its predicted largest pool of manpower consisting of 200 million college graduates and 500 million trained and skilled workforce. It could be home for at least 30 of the Fortune 100 companies of the world and generate over 10% of the world trade, by nurturing a vibrant renaissance of world-class contemporary art, science, research and education could have at least 10 Nobel Prize Winners. This is possible in next fifteen years provided leaders focus on this goal as a priority.”

These are the words from the leading management Guru Prof. C. K. Prahlad, who visited SVKM's NMIMS University on 19th July 2008 to lay out his vision for India @ 75.

The recent visit of Prof. C.K. Prahalad to India has given us opportunities to hear him on TV and/or in person and admire his thinking and vision for India. I can't agree more to his views on India lacking a shared aspiration - "He said that “As a country, India must have high and shared aspirations like it had in 1929 when the leaders of the then Congress party declared their ambition as Poorna Swaraj. Since then, India has never had a national aspiration which every Indian could share.” "

I am big fan of C. K. Prahalad's writing:

• The End of Corporate Imperialism: An HBR article that won "McKinsey Award for the Best HBR Articles" in 1998!
• The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: A Guide on Eradicating Poverty through Profits

Reading the book "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" really helped me understand practical use Business Sustainability concepts. You can get a glimpse of the book by reading the strategy+business article written by Prof. Prahalad.

My Dream Job!!!

On this very special day, let me wish you a very happy Diwali!

I love to think (or should I say 'dream'?). Few days back, I was asking myself 'what would be my dream job?'... Well, I am not planning to leave TCS! It's just something that came to my mind. And what was the answer? Well, in a matter of few seconds, two options came to my mind:

• Professor, Harvard Business School (Like what Michael E. Porter does!
• CEO, Berkshire Hathaway (taking over from legendary Warren Buffett!!)

It didn't take much time for me to narrow down on final choice - CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

I know these are nightmarish days for all investors - well not for all. Mr. Buffett is an exception. He believes that "You want to be greedy when others are fearful. You want to be fearful when others are greedy. It's that simple.".



Check out Mr. Warren Buffett's recent interview after the US Financial crisis broke out.



Hope this gives a sense of optimism as an investor on this day of Diwali - Festival of Lights! Wish you and your family a very happy Diwali and Prosperous New Year!

TCS makes it to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index

A great news for India Inc, TCS and Tata Group.

TCS has made it to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index released in September 2008. TCS is one of the only two companies from India to form a part of the list. The other company from India to become a part of the Index is also a Tata Group Company – Tata Steel.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) was established to track the performance of companies that lead the field in terms of corporate sustainability. The index was started in 1999, and is maintained by Dow Jones in conjunction with SAM Group, a Zurich-based research firm that conducts detailed sustainability analyses of thousands of global market-cap leaders each year. Each company represented in the index has its corporate sustainability assessed through an intricate weighting system that looks at economic, environmental and social metrics, as well as industry-specific criteria.

Just at right time when we are preparing for SAM presentation, we have got a great news. Isn't it a good news to share while presenting the SAM in our class?

Sweet Memories: Nayan's 2nd Birthday

Sprite Team: All White, Clear Hai?!

It was Sunday morning and our group was sporting "White" to convey message of "All Clear" soft-drink. Don't know who all noticed that, but there was one thing that everybody noticed that day. And that was quality of our group's presentation. The presentation on positioning strategy of Sprite soft-drink in India was a big hit in class:-). The attitude of Sprite also reflected in our presentation - "Seedhi Baat, No Bakwaas, Clear Hai?!"

Well done, everyone! It felt very good to hear the encouraging feedback from Dr. Amit Rangnekar!

What followed was a lunch at Amar Juice and a "photo shoot" just outside NMIMS. Have a look at those picture right here right now...

Quiz: Are you a good negotiator?

Here is a quiz that I found on CNN website. Take this quiz not just to test your negotiation skills, but also to brush up some finer aspects of negotiations...

Click here when you are ready for the quiz...

All the best! Don't forget to write your comments / feedback / opinions on this blog...

Making of Mindtree

I wanted to publish this entry more than a month back. But, I thought let me share it with one friend (Our own Anand) first. Because, I wanted to validate if it was just me who loved this piece or others also like it... Secret it out... It's an unbelievable knowledge artifact that you may also appreciate.

We read and analyze case studies or companies that are successful or have failed. We read about good stories of how Infosys was built. Now read some "real thing". Read how Mindtree came into existence and learn what it takes to build a new company.

• Making of the MindTree - I
• Making of the MindTree - II

Thank you Mr. Subroto Bagchi for writing this gem of a piece.

Excellent resource for Economics

Being an Engineering graduate, the Economics terms used to sound like Greek language to me before I joined MPE. Now that we have learned Micro-Economics and are about to compete Macro-Economics course, it has started making sense.


Still I often come across many new Economics terms that I would not know much about. In such cases, there is one resource that comes to my rescue. It's the Economist.com website.


Check out this link and you would get brief description about virtually any economic term or concept...


http://www.economist.com/research/Economics/alphabetic.cfm?letter=A


Hope you find it useful as well...

Abhinav Bindra: An Indian strikes Gold at the Olympics 2008

It's a proud moment for over a billion Indians today. Abhinav Bindra clinched India's first ever individual gold medal at the Olympics, winning 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Games on Monday.

History has been made! Lets cheer this moment!

ToI: Bindra wins first ever Olympic gold

Youtube: http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=-412ZFapUoY

To be in the Line of Fire!

Being a software engineer turned Project Manager myself, I can very well relate to this incident. It's quite touching, humbling and a very well written story. I thank my friends for forwarding this to me. Posting it here so that I can read it time and again..

*****************
Vivek Pradhan wasn’t a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the First Class air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi Express couldn’t cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the admin guy, it was the savings in time. A PM had so many things to do! He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.

“Are you from the software industry sir?” the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop.

Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car.

“You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir. Today everything is getting computerized.”

“Thanks” smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a detailed look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and stocky like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a Railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass.

“You people always amaze me,” the man continued, “You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside.”

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning not anger. “It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it.” For a moment he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. “It is complex, very complex.”

“It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid”

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence came into his so far affable, persuasive tone. “Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in.” “Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office doesn’t mean our brows don’t sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no lesstaxing.”

He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the point. “Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centers across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database at a given time; concurrency, data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?”

The man was stuck with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination.
“You design and code such things?”

“I used to,” Vivek paused for effect, “But now I am the project manager,”

“Oh!” sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, “so your life is easy now.”

It was like being told the fire was better than the frying pan. The man had to be given a feel of the heat. “Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I don’t do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. And to tell you about the pressures! There is the customer at one end always changing his requirements, the user wanting something else and your boss always expecting you to have finished it yesterday.”

Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realisation. What he had said was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.“My friend,” he concluded triumphantly, “you don’t know what it is to be in the line of fire.”

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek.

“I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire,”

He was staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time.

“There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolor at the top only 4 of us were alive.”

“You are a…”

“I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 JAK Rifles on duty at Peak4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a land assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded. His own personal safety came last, always and every time.

He was killed as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every morning now as I stand guard I can see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know sir; I know what it is to be in the line of fire.”

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a word document in the presence of a man for whom valor and duty was a daily part of life; a valor and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes. The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.

“It was nice meeting you sir.”

Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This was the hand that had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger and hoisted the tricolor. Suddenly as if by impulse he stood at attention, and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.

Epilogue: The incident he narrates during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true life incident during the Kargil war. Captain Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and his various other acts of bravery he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra – the nation’s highest military award.

Source: Click here

A note of 100 BILLION DOLLAR! And Inflation of 12.5 million percent. It's Zimbabwe 4 U!

What would be reaction if I give you a currency note of 100 billion dollar?

And what if I say it's not enough to buy even one loaf of bread? (as of today, July 27, 2008)

Before you even think for a moment that I must be kidding, let me assure you that it's fact of life in Zimbabwe today!

• Central Bank of Zimbabwe released a new 100 billion dollar bank note last week.



• Official figure of inflation in Zimbabwe as of now is 2.2 million percent a year, but the same is estimated by independent analysts to be closer to 12.5 million percent. (Source -Associated Press)



• It also has become virtually impossible to get access to cash as the country's economic collapse worsens.



• The Zimbabwean Govt is reported to have run out of paper to print money

Inflation in India had just reached 12% and there was big hue and cry. Now, think of Zimbabwe!!!

So, what's the reason behind the crisis that lead to world's highest inflation rate?

Here is a good article that analyzes the situation very bluntly.

• "First, it is important to recognise that probably just less than a third of Zimbabwe's population is out of the country, and a sizeable percentage of these Diasporans is domiciled in hard-currency "Western" countries such as Britain, Canada, the US and Australia.



• The Diasporans, as self-serving as ever, have facilitated the sucking out of large amounts of cash from the mainstream economy, and placed it within their own mini-economy within Zimbabwe, from which they and their associates at home only benefit. How does this happen?



• We Diasporans send money home through some criminals running "money transfer" agencies. These people are criminals, in the sense that they are committing a crime called money laundering.



• We deposit pounds and other forms of hard currency into these criminals' bank accounts, and they deposit Zimbabwean dollars into our relatives' accounts back home. This money escapes the legal, official routes and finds its way straight into Zimbabwean banks as Zimdollars, exchanged using the parallel market rate, which is even higher in the Diaspora than in Zimbabwe.



• Thus, there is an extremely high demand for cash that cannot be accounted for, in any way by the Reserve Bank as it represents the illegal transactions carried out abroad and within Zimbabwe via the Zimbabwean-based money exchangers and the naive banks.



• It is not surprising, therefore, that miracle money in turn creates a very high demand for goods and services in the country, which has the inevitable effect of pushing up prices, and that is what inflation is all about!



• The very high demand for cash necessitates the printing of cash on the part of the Reserve Bank, which maintains and nurtures the environment of very high inflation figures."
  

Just a couple of days back, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono has announced that "Zimbabwe Central Bank Plans Measures to Address Cash Shortage".

Lets hope for the best and keep an eye on this crisis. How about selecting this as topic for our presentation in 'International Micro & Macro Economics'?

Time Value of Money: 10 Calculations to Know

Howdy! If first couple of lectures for various subjects are anything to go by, I think we are going to have a great learning experience in this semester. It's an impressive set of subjects that we have in curriculum.

• International Micro and Macro Economics


• Corporate Finance


• Operations Management


• Strategic Marketing Management


• Brand Management


• Business Sustainability

I was amazed to see the level of class participation in Corporate Finance lecture this Saturday. A pof the reason behind it was the topic of discussion - Time Value of Money. Dr. Vrinda Kamat related it to Personal Financing decisions so very well. On the very same topic, I came across a good resource on Net.

Outlook Money recently published a very good piece on "10 Calculation To Know" for money management. It explains following concepts very briefly, but in such a simple language.

1. Compound Interest


2. Compound Annualised Growth Rate


3. Internal Rate of Return


4. XIRR


5. Post-Tax Return


6. Pre-Tax Yield


7. Inflation


8. Purchasing Power


9. Real Rate of Return


10. Doubling, Tripling of Money (Rule -72, Rule -69)

The author has made a very good attempt to highlight that "The value of investments is only as much as their returns. So, it is critical to know how much your money is worth to plan your financial goals!"

Your thoughts?

Contribute to my Capstone Project: Second Life

Hello!!!

First week of MPE semester III and there is lot of action already. We have just started work on our Capstone projects. Let me share what I am going to do as part of my Capstone project.

Project Title: "Second Life's impact on future of business world"

Background:

As you may know, Second Life is an online, 3D virtual world imagined and created by its residents / users. It started as an internet-based video game created by Linden Lab, first launched on June 23, 2003. Today, it's much more than a game. With more than 14residents, living and doing business (with Linden dollor as currency), it's truly a happening world to be in.

Official Site: http://secondlife.com/
Economy Stats: http://secondlife.com/whatis/economy_stats.php
More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

How does "future of business" fit in here?

Do you know Arcelor Mittal had organised shareholder meeting in Second Life? Yes, Fortune 500 companies, like IBM, also have presence in the Second Life. Organizations use Second Life as a platform (http://secondlifegrid.net/) to achieve:

• Increased Productivity
• Effective Collaboration
• Improved Communication
• Enhanced Engagement with stakeholders
• Reduce cost, etc.

Objective of my project:

I would like to study various implications such a platform may have on future business scenario. Also, look at various opportunities and challenges for the organizations leveraging the Second Life for business purpose. I also wish to use Second Life and demonstrate a business transaction as part of my project.

Who am I in the Second Life? Well, you need to figure that out by actually being in that world. Just a hint, I am a Mahatma!!!

My Humble Request:

Over next 5-6 months, if you come across any insightful article, news or information on this topic, please share them with me. What better option that to post them as comment to this blog entry itself? Looking forward to your support and encouragement.

See you there in the Second Life...

Surprise... Surprise...! It's Lakshmi's Birthday today!

We managed to surprise Lakshmi on her birthday today! Though we reached her home half an hour late, it was great to see her completely surprised at 12:30AM (She was talking to me on phone, when the door bell rang, just to find Nami, Anshu, Tejal, Nayan and I standing outside)! Inspired from DCH, you know!!! By the way, Nitin was already there (just like Saif had reached earlier in DCH:-))

Check out the snaps and video of the birthday celebration...

Thanks Nami and Anshu for giving this idea! Thanks Anand for providing the direction from Bangalore! Thanks Nitin and Amit for doing a great job of not revealing the surprise!

Here is wishing Lakshmi many happy returns of the day!

Anand's Competitor: E. Sarath Babu (IIM-A, 2006)

Remember, Anand passionately talking about his "Idli on Wheels" business plan last week? Well, you have got a tough competition, my friend!

E. Sarath Babu, a software engineer (BITS, Pilani) and IIM-A graduate refused a lucrative job offer and has started a catering company (Foodking Catering Service) to sell "Idlis" in the campus of IIM-A!

• DNA appropriately noted that "E Sharathbabu’s life has come a full circle. He started off with selling idlis in the slums of Madipakkam in Chennai, then left it to graduate from IIM- Ahmedabad. He hit headlines for refusing a lucrative job offer and starting a catering company. He recently inaugurated his first outlet on the IIM-A campus and he’s back to selling idlis".
• He had to ask friends to chip in to raise his initial capital of Rs 10 lakh and form a 15-member team. But with "quality, cleanliness and delivery" as his business motto, he expects to emerge a market leader in 10 years. He says he plans to turn his company into a food chain that will be a "national brand" employing 50,000 people. As per Sarath Babu, Foodking will be worth Rs 500 crore in five to eight years!
• Infosys chief Narayana Murthy had released the business plan of 27-year-old Sarathbabu’s catering business. Mr. Murthy said: "I am happy and proud that they have opted to walk on a road less travelled."
• IIM-A director, Professor Bakul Dholakia, said, " In the last four decades, such a thing has never happened in IIM Ahmedabad. What Sarath has done is very encouraging. He will have a great learning experience here as IIM people have a reputation for being a tough clientele!
• Sarath's proud mother Deeparamani said she knew her son had declined a well-paying job but she was happy that he had chosen to be a caterer. "At least, he would be feeding people".
• Read more...
  The Hindu: He sold idlis; he will start a food chain
• DNA: This IIM grad sells idlis
  Blog:

Well, Anand, this proves that your idea of making it big in catering industry has "DUM"! Guys, mark my words: "Ye bande (Anand) me hain dum"! Join me wish Anand all the very best in becoming a top notch businessman!

Hope we are doing good... How is mobile industry doing?

Hello everyone,

MPE-II exams are half way through and it tempts me to reiterate those famous lines of Shweta - "I hope we are doing very good so far in the exams [she said, in presentation!]":-). As expected, the Business Strategy exam yesterday was interesting one - some wrote about dhobi ghaats (radically different thinking, you know!), some predicted future of PCs, some gave out-of-the-box strategies for innovations. It also made me read a lot in past few days about PCs, PDAs, Mobiles and Digital Divide.

1) A couple of days back D Shivakumar, MD, Nokia India, wrote an excellent piece on "Mobile phone: the ultimate personal product" in The Economic Times.

"A mobile phone has become the ultimate personal product in India. It is the huge personality statement and competes with other ‘notice me’ products like a watch, a pen, shoes, hand bags, sunglasses. A mobile phone is with you 24 x 7. Not even a wrist watch is with you 24 x 7.

It’s estimated India will have more than 500 million mobile subscribers by 2010. Of the 500 million phones in people’s palms, 250 million will have Internet connectivity, 250 million will have imaging (camera) capability, 200 million will have radio capability and 200 million will have music capability and a 100 million could have video capability. This is the India PC. A traditional PC will find it difficult to compete with a mobile phone in India."

[And today's ToI has a big ad on the first page - iPhones are coming to India very soon and Vodafone has started registration as well.]

2) We studied about Intel's strategy of "Intel Outside" and how they phased out the business in 2001. Latest news is that the Intel has just launched their new processor "Intel Atom Inside" for MIDs and Smartphones.

Read more at http://www.intel.com/technology/atom/index.htm

The mobile industry has huge growth potential and spotlight is well and truly on emerging markets including India.

Negotiation with Dentist

A couple of teams today presented this funny video of negotiation with dentist. Just thought of sharing it...

Presentations over, time to gear up for exams

Today we completed all presentations / assignments for semester II. Our presentation on 'Power in Negotiation: Sources & Uses' was really good. There are few things I personally am quite satisfied with:

• The way team used a 'refreshing' approach to presentation: having 2 people present in the mode of conversation (like two hosts for TV programs). It was a challenging task that requires lot of coordination, preparation and spontaneity. And the performance of the group was duly appreciated.
• There was healthy dose of role-plays - four of them to be precise. And who will forget how impressed Prachi was with Anand's acting in role play:-)
• Everybody in the group got opportunity to enact in role play as well as present specific topics!

I think it was a job well done! Congratulations and thank you, team!

I must also mention that I was quite impressed by the presentation of Jitu's group on 'Who makes a good negotiator?'. They truly demonstrated how 'less is more'. And what to write about those A/V clips - spot on! Congratulations to the team! It was a treat to watch.

Well, presentations are over now. Exam date (Jun 21st) is nearing faster than I could imagine. Lets wish ourselves all the very best and go for it!

Inspiring story of Sana Raoof - winner of Intel Foundation's Young Scientist Award

Sana Raoof , a 17-year-old high school girl, is one of the top three winners of Intel Foundation's Young Scientist Award. Intel selected three top young from among more than 1,550 young scientists from 51 countries, regions and territories for their commitment to innovation and science at the end of the world's largest pre-college science fair, held between May 11 and May 16.

Sana's research provided new insight into how a better understanding of mathematical Knot theory could help resolve classic biochemical problems. Read the inspiring story of the 17 year old, very talented girl...

http://us.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/05teen.htm

You Know You Have Finished Your MBA When...

• You ask the waiter what the restaurant's core competencies are.
• You refer to dating as test marketing.
• You can spell 'paradigm'.
• You actually know what a paradigm is.
• You write executive summaries on your love letters.
• You think it is actually efficient to write a ten-page paper with six other people you do not know.
• You believe you never have any problems in your life, just 'issues' and 'improvement opportunities.'
• You know every single piece of clip art in PowerPoint.
• You can explain to someone the difference between 're-engineering', 'down-sizing', 'right-sizing', and 'firing'.
• You start to feel sorry for Dilbert's boss.
• You refer to divorce as 'divesture.'
• You insist that you do some more market research before you and your spouse produce another child.
• You use the term 'value-added' without falling down laughing.
• You give constructive feedback to your dog.
• When Marriage is Another "M & A" for you.

Secrets of high performing teams

I am reading 'The Heart of a Leader', a book by Ken Blanchard. He sites a quote from his another book 'The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams'. It goes like this...
"None of us is as smart as all of us."

Ray Kroc of McDonald's was also quoted saying something very similar...
"None of Us is as Good as All of Us"

And I completely agree with both Ken and Ray's views. It's the collective efforts, the team that enable us to do great things. In a true team, 1+1 != 2, but it's 1+1=11. So, how do you create such high performing teams?

Out of many things that may contribute to making of high performing teams, one that I have experienced in my MPE team is 'DIVERSITY'. We are a bunch of people from very diverse background.

• Anand (Telecom/MNC/Male/Travelled/Gujarati -Born & Brought-up in Maharashtra)
• Anshu (Insurance Broking /INDIAN FIRM/Female/Rajashthan)
• Lakshmi (Financial Services/MNC/Female/South Indian - Living in Mumbai)
• Namita (Insurance/INDIAN FIRM/Female/Travelled/Rajashthan)
• Prachi (Digital Media/INDIAN FIRM/Married Female/Marathi - Born in MP)
• Rajesh (IT Consulting/INDIAN MNC/Married Male/Travelled/Gujarati)

This diversity brings new perspectives, ideas and creative solutions on the table. It always helps when you don't know many things that others in your team know. It makes you be open and encourages you to continue learning. Ken Blanchard notes that "you don't have to be the only bright person in the group. In fact, admitting your vulnerability allows you to ask for help.".

What are your thoughts on secrets of high performing teams?

Sweet memories - Anand's Birthday

MPE Journey so far....

Exactly one year back on May 27th, 2007, I left US to enroll for MPE at NMIMS in India. The GD & PI went well and I headed for a much-needed 1 month vacation. It's been quite a journey since then.

1st semester was fun. New environment, new place, new friends... My project team was excellent. Well, let me first introduce them.

1. Anand: I still don't understand what he is doing in a Telecom company. He is a entrepreneur material - I just can't wait see him make it big in the business world.
2. Anshu: Balanced personality - very mature, thinker, well-read as well as someone who enjoys every moment in life.
3. Lakshmi: If you want to see a truly honest person, you must meet Lakshmi. I admire the way she conducts herself in every situation. Very accommodating and hard-working too.
4. Namita: Extrovert, Fun, Party, "Can do" attitude! Without Nami, our group would be incomplete. She truly makes it fun working as a team. Also, a very good manager, I must admit.
5. Prachi: Before meeting Prachi, I always thought it would be impossible for a working mother to manage study in a B-school. It says a lot about her passion and hard work. Also, a style icon!

In B schools, you learn from your peers as much as you do from faculties. I have learned a great deal from my peers and I must thank all of them.

We worked on various projects and assignments together.

• Marketing to Kids (Marketing Management)
• Personality and Development (Organizational Behaviour)
• Knowledge Management using IT (Information Management)
• Study of General Insurance Industry in India (Managerial Economics)
• Project Financing (Financial Analysis & Management)
• Various Case Studies (Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc.)

Of course, there was enough doze of parties, entertainment, movies, games as well.

Comparatively, the second semester has given less opportunities to work in groups. We just completed a couple of projects.

• Sales Management in IT Industry (Sales Management)
• Latest trends and challenges in Performance Appraisal (Human Resource Management)

At the same time, we did more case studies in this semester . Hilton, Intel, US Army, Apple, etc.

It's been quite a learning experience so far. So, what's next? We have few parties, one presentation and final exam lined up in next few months!!!