A self-appointed front runner for UNSC seat ..

The wikileaks is clear demonstration of how in this information age, information of all hues and colours is finding its way to public domain. http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/ quarter of a million classified docs of the US govt are in public domain ..

US Secretary of State's comments on India being a self-appointed front runner for the UNSC permanent seat, along with Germany and Japan, in one of her cables to the State Dept made interesting reading.

Perhaps she forgets that US was one of the first self-appointed "permanent member" of the UNSC .. It is true that memory can indeed be short ..

The claims from the State Dept that these leaks are a threat to individual security and American interests the world over is indeed true !! Its double game is getting exposed and that is a major embarrassment for it.

The threat to Julian Assange from the State Dept is grave and in the coming days we shall see how it unfolds. The disclosures made by Assange from different parts of the world is a strategy to see that the docs are well read and received the world over.

The US govt needs to find out how such top secret docs got out of their hands in the first place !!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/29/AR2010112905973.html

ge..

Tensions mount in Korean peninsula ..

While there is no business for US to engage in military exercises with South Korea in the seas near to Korea, North Korea, should not overtly get charged with fears of insecurity.

While the world is fully aware how the rogue state of North Korea got nuclear capability and has been using this in frequent standoffs with US and the Western world, especially South Korea and Japan, the firing of two missiles at South Korean islands is totally uncalled for. It was just an effort to rekindle tensions and to improve its negotiating position in respect to clandestine nuclear projects..

A war can be extremely damaging for South Kora and US at this point of time, even those countries are fully aware of this. But the tough stance is just posturing to show that they are prepared if Noth Korea is up for some misadventure..

When the South Korean auto major, Ssanyong motors was acquired by Mahindra from India, it caused many a head to turn and take notice of this small Indian company which is getting global. The war can unsettle many a reputed Korean companies and make them extremely susceptible for likely takeovers by India and Chinese companies. It will be better for Samsung, LG and Hyundai if US and South Korea does some plain thinking and withdraw from their joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea, on the west coast of Korean peninsula, by not precipitating tensions.

See the map, China, Russia and Japan are avid onlookers at this crucial crisis ..

ge..

The Obamas and Gandhi ..

Straight from the heart, the emotions ...

What a camraderie between two great statesmen of the world ..!! true and sincere ..

My admiration of this duo, two of the greatest statesmen the world has ever had, never gets exhausted ..

Gandhi's workplace at Sabarmati ..

Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat ..

Gandhi's statue at Sabarmati ..

The half naked fakir in his days at sabarmati ..

ge..

Essentials of Entrepreneurship ..

Recently at an award ceremony in Chennai, N Shankar, the energetic Chairman of the Sanmar group from Chennai spoke on Entrepreneurship. E'ship cannot be learnt or inherited, it has to be learnt the hard way by getting the knocks from real world. E'ship is the ability to see beyond and willing to tread where on one else has so far and the outcome is uncertain.

E'ship is of two types: one is radical in nature where a radical idea no one has thought of earlier is implemented, eg. Steve Jobs Apple, Bill Gates from Microsoft etc. The second E'ship is around the idea of managing an existing opportunity with special brand of drive, management and organisational ability., for eg. the likes of Narayana Murthy of Infosys, Premji from Wipro etc..

According to him there are four essentials of Entrepreneurship. They are identification, organisation, management and sustenance.

Identification relates to the identification of the opportunity and the activities that need to be carried out in the business with the expectation of profit.

Organisation relates to the setting up of the resources - men, money and machinery.

Management relates to managing these resources. Managing human resources can be real challenging as it is the differentiating factor between a successful and not so successful industry. Attracting and retaining the right talent and giving them the right environment to work are the key elements. Appropriate compensation, job satisfaction and career progression is vital to retain the right talent.

Sustenance is that which keeps the business going despite challenges and hurdles from time to time. In Sanmar it has been the environment given to employees to take decisions independently, not penalising them for any mistakes, but encouraging them to be responsible for their decisions in the long run.

India is a paradise for entrepreneurs as there are lot of untapped opportunities for them to tap and emerge successful in the end. Success depends on the entrepreneurship capabilities like vision, management, staying power and that undefinable quantity, be it perseverence or not giving up quality or fighting spirit, without which it is not possible to succeed.

ge..( basic content from The Hindu, 29 November 2010, suitably modified by the author)

Economics of sustainability ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMu0ZLLHvHI&NR=1
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Sincere regards,

George Easaw

What happens when religion and politics gets mixed ?

In the name of religion and with the support of religion the fraudsters from BJP got to power.

Now with the huge expose of BSY, now just worth Rs 400 crores, but at least ten times that, the pious and religious are truly hurt, He has misused their sentiments for his personal benefit !!

This is what the people of the country have been shouting, politics and religion should not be mixed, at least the educated and sensible people should understand this and keep off such people who are trying to capitalise on our weakness.

Let us not allow anyone to mix politics and religion .. !! For the sake of the nation !! Let us understand these anti-national and anti-social elements and kick them out ..

ge..

Rules of Gandhian Innovation ...

Gandhian values look at affordability ( for the masses and middle class) and sustainability ( for the earth, for all people) of products for the people.

Some of the rules associated with it are

1. Inclusive growth - try to serve the unserved customer too. This challenge pushes executives to relook at the price performance envelope to improve affordablity and to think of increasing scales to reduce costs. There should be a desire to serve more people. Rather than asking the question, "given our costs, which customers should I serve?", it should be, "given that I need to serve more customers, what should be my costs ?"

2. Unambiguous vision - Leadership is an essential quality in building good organisations. A clear vision with a human dimension is the corner stone of Gandhian innovation. Ratan tata, Sunil Bharti Mittal and Gupta of Lupin have all demonstrated this in great measure.

3. Set ambitious goals - By setting ambitious goals (strategic intent) that are beyond the company's existing resources to attain, the CEO will compel employees to be innovative and entrepreneurial. The mismatch between aspirations and resources is the essence of entrepreneurship. Faced with this mismatch, companies have the choice of either finding innovative uses of existing resources or changing the rules of the game.

4. Learning to innovate even when faced with constraints : Only when we are pushed to a corner will we feel the need to innovate. Constraints are there all the time, and innovating within these constraints is the sure shot path to success.Tata Nano's "Innovation sandbox", the constraints about price, safety, environmental standrads, space and design with fuel efficiency forced the company to come up with a cheap, safe , fuel efficient car for the unserved middle class of the country. Working within self imposed boundaries will help the innovators come with radical designs that can change the whole industry.

5. Focus on customers : Making products affordable to the masses will ensure the scale and critical mass to make products at lowest costs with myriad applications that can arise from these millions of users.

6. Influence of Metrics : concentrating on different set of metrics which look at tracking profit and loss, return on capital employed, cash flow, capital intensity, access and influence, innovation efficicncy, volume and costs and at the same time concentrating on new markets makes all the difference between companies that succeed and not in the new age of global innovation.

Ref : Innovation's Holy Grail - C K Prahlad and R A Mashelkar, Harvard Business Review, July August 2010.

ge..