On a Labor Day visit to California Academy of Sciences, my family of four almost missed the beautiful 3D Bugs! Show as all the shows were sold out. We checked with the staff member disbursing the tickets for any availability to no avail. Rather than simply give up and walk away, we came back to him no less than 4 times. Finally, at show time he quickly ushered us! What a great show! In hindsight I would have been really disappointed to have not seen it. While we were waiting at a close distance to the theater, two four members families inquired and left when told no tickets are available.
Persistence is critical to success in all walks of life. As President Calvin Coolidge famously states “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Change is an opportunity
Summary: Nothing endures but change (Heraclitus). Change is a constant (Benjamin Disraeli). Companies can embrace Change as an opportunity by driving change than be driven by change.
California Academy of Science has a beautiful 3D video Bugs capturing the life changes from an egg to a caterpillar and then a butterfly eventually preyed upon by a Mantis. Businesses likewise are acquired and merged to scale up. Venture arms incubate firms in related industries to create real options. As in nature where larger animals are fewer in numbers, larger firms are fewer in numbers and entrepreneurs’ best prepare for such an exit in their entry plans. VC and PE firms enter with an exit plan and are flexible to change as events unfold.
Changes come in waves. Like waves, they vary in size. Surfers travel the world to ride the killer waves. The surfers’ skills are tested by catching and riding the challenging waves and ability to execute various maneuvers. The risk of entering the wave too soon is facing a wipeout. Wait too long and lose the feeling of being stoked. Businesses like Netflix capitalize the first mover advantage before the incumbent Blockbuster realize changing customer habits. However, fast followers like Microsoft are also able to cross the chasm and ride the wave due to a better management team or business model. Wireless service providers and insurance firms entering the Indian market now have most likely missed the wave and will be part of the coming industry consolidation phase. Depending on the investing style, some investors like Warren Buffet prefer the predictability of the trough of the wave while others like Jim Clark crave the New New Thing.
Imagine driving in the wild at dusk as a dense fog sets in dropping visibility. Such is the scenario when an industry or economy wide crisis happens. One approach to deal with such an uncertain change is to park at the side of the road and wait for dawn in the hope that the morning heat will burn away the fog. Businesses in the down cycle often take such a cautious approach reducing investment in innovation and marketing to their detriment. On the other hand, companies who have planned ahead drive change and benefit at the expense of others. Hopefully financial services firms are capitalizing the present crisis to retool their business models and develop systems for the future to emerge stronger.
Unbeknownst to the driver, it is at the pinnacle of the icy mountainside that the decline begins and the vehicle begins to descend down the slippery slope. A concerted set of actions can help the vehicle and companies stave off decline and reverse the descent. Can the US auto manufacturers not capitalize on their bankruptcy and federal assistance to energize their employees, suppliers and customers by running a contest to design ‘America’s Car’? It is time to go back to being a start-up again and fight back like an underdog in the true American spirit. Newspapers, book and music publishers can leverage the Internet to customize their products increasing distribution and revenue while reducing costs to reverse their decline. Newspapers can increase pricing, trim losses by reducing the number of pages and frequency and explore online delivery mechanisms. Music companies can enable customers create their custom CD on demand at a higher price, publish their own music and reduce artist search costs by having the crowd vote. Book publishers can adopt on demand printing technology to reduce holding costs while increasing pricing by allowing product customization and support print democratization.
Conclusion: Change is an opportunity. The fashion industry would not have a ‘Fall’ line but will instead have a ‘next week’s’ line. The auto industry would not have a next year model but will instead have a co-designed World Car. The IT industry would not have a multi-year next generation version but will instead have a last week’s Cloud Service.
Companies who are creative and flexible can and will drive change/ innovation in their industry and emerge as industry leaders.
California Academy of Science has a beautiful 3D video Bugs capturing the life changes from an egg to a caterpillar and then a butterfly eventually preyed upon by a Mantis. Businesses likewise are acquired and merged to scale up. Venture arms incubate firms in related industries to create real options. As in nature where larger animals are fewer in numbers, larger firms are fewer in numbers and entrepreneurs’ best prepare for such an exit in their entry plans. VC and PE firms enter with an exit plan and are flexible to change as events unfold.
Changes come in waves. Like waves, they vary in size. Surfers travel the world to ride the killer waves. The surfers’ skills are tested by catching and riding the challenging waves and ability to execute various maneuvers. The risk of entering the wave too soon is facing a wipeout. Wait too long and lose the feeling of being stoked. Businesses like Netflix capitalize the first mover advantage before the incumbent Blockbuster realize changing customer habits. However, fast followers like Microsoft are also able to cross the chasm and ride the wave due to a better management team or business model. Wireless service providers and insurance firms entering the Indian market now have most likely missed the wave and will be part of the coming industry consolidation phase. Depending on the investing style, some investors like Warren Buffet prefer the predictability of the trough of the wave while others like Jim Clark crave the New New Thing.
Imagine driving in the wild at dusk as a dense fog sets in dropping visibility. Such is the scenario when an industry or economy wide crisis happens. One approach to deal with such an uncertain change is to park at the side of the road and wait for dawn in the hope that the morning heat will burn away the fog. Businesses in the down cycle often take such a cautious approach reducing investment in innovation and marketing to their detriment. On the other hand, companies who have planned ahead drive change and benefit at the expense of others. Hopefully financial services firms are capitalizing the present crisis to retool their business models and develop systems for the future to emerge stronger.
Unbeknownst to the driver, it is at the pinnacle of the icy mountainside that the decline begins and the vehicle begins to descend down the slippery slope. A concerted set of actions can help the vehicle and companies stave off decline and reverse the descent. Can the US auto manufacturers not capitalize on their bankruptcy and federal assistance to energize their employees, suppliers and customers by running a contest to design ‘America’s Car’? It is time to go back to being a start-up again and fight back like an underdog in the true American spirit. Newspapers, book and music publishers can leverage the Internet to customize their products increasing distribution and revenue while reducing costs to reverse their decline. Newspapers can increase pricing, trim losses by reducing the number of pages and frequency and explore online delivery mechanisms. Music companies can enable customers create their custom CD on demand at a higher price, publish their own music and reduce artist search costs by having the crowd vote. Book publishers can adopt on demand printing technology to reduce holding costs while increasing pricing by allowing product customization and support print democratization.
Conclusion: Change is an opportunity. The fashion industry would not have a ‘Fall’ line but will instead have a ‘next week’s’ line. The auto industry would not have a next year model but will instead have a co-designed World Car. The IT industry would not have a multi-year next generation version but will instead have a last week’s Cloud Service.
Companies who are creative and flexible can and will drive change/ innovation in their industry and emerge as industry leaders.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Towards High Richness and Reach Computing
Introduction: Rich v/s Reach is a framework first described by Evans & Wuster in Blown to Bits. The term is used to illustrate a trade-off between providing a Rich experience in terms of Bandwidth, Customization and Interactivity v/s reaching a larger number of people.
A Rich computing experience can be result of superior display or form factor, ease of interactivity, processing speed and a broad applications suite. Reach or mobility is primarily driven by connectivity speed and ability to travel with the device. Devices ranging from the 50” TV to the utilitarian cell phone illustrate the computing rich v/s reach trade-off. We explore each of these factors to propose a device strategy which delivers both richness and reach simultaneously.
Ease of Interactivity: The move away from traditional keyboard contributes to significantly better novice user experience and drives adoption. HP Touch Smart and iPod Multi-Touch technologies dramatically improve how users interact with devices. The Wii Remote and Nunchuck have revolutionized gaming and made it accessible to all ages and abilities. The future interactive model will be supported by a stylish pen which replaces the keyboard in supporting applications based on motion sensors.
Processing speed: Intel with 70% and AMD with 22% market share dominate the CPU market. Intel processors will continue to power high end server performance. Intel Atom processor line competes with ARM in powering mobile devices however lags behind in power consumption. A 200 licensee base, lower power footprint and broad usage in mobile devices gives ARM the edge in powering future mobile devices.
Applications Suite: The over 1700 web-apps provide Apple iPhone and iTouch a very rich user experience. The catalog of 756 games provides Nintendo Wii an incomparable advantage in reaching users of all ages and abilities. The future rich device experience will need to adopt a similar development ecosystem approach and offer a better application base to drive adoption.
Display: Current Form factors constraint the richness of the experience. The 50” Plasma TV has a rich display but limits mobility. The smaller screens on the various mobile devices foster mobility at the expense of display richness. The future display device will be a fashionable video eye wear which provides a large screen monitor display while accommodating prescription lenses and have a low power footprint. The display will scroll with the movement of the eyes or head movement. Accessories will support real and virtual 3D content.
Connectivity: 4G networks which promise to deliver a nominal data rate of 100Mbit/s, 1 Gbit/s which in fixed position and data rate of at least 100 Mbit/s between any two points in the world will be critical to further bolster the reach of the proposed device strategy. 4G networks will support real time audio, high speed data, HDTV video content and mobile TV. Verizon plans to launch with LTE technology in 2010 and Sprint-Nextel as part of Clearwire with WiMAX in 2009.
Typical Scenario
John is on the move wearing a video eye wear and carrying a Bluetooth linked stylish pen. His user session is running on an Intel or AMD powered server farm in a remote data center. Currently the display is redirected to his eye wear. The video connectivity is supported by Verizon’s 4G network. His directory view is organized as a file cabinet. He opens a file and edits it with his pen, picks and drops in rich content and saves a draft as he exits the train. Once in office his session is now displayed on his large screen monitors where he continues his editing. Connectivity is now provided by his high speed LAN circuit.
Summary
A high rich and high reach computing experience can be supported by a 4G network, video eyewear display, a pen for interactivity, Intel or AMD powered server farms and ARM powered eyewear and pen running supporting applications suite.
A Rich computing experience can be result of superior display or form factor, ease of interactivity, processing speed and a broad applications suite. Reach or mobility is primarily driven by connectivity speed and ability to travel with the device. Devices ranging from the 50” TV to the utilitarian cell phone illustrate the computing rich v/s reach trade-off. We explore each of these factors to propose a device strategy which delivers both richness and reach simultaneously.
Ease of Interactivity: The move away from traditional keyboard contributes to significantly better novice user experience and drives adoption. HP Touch Smart and iPod Multi-Touch technologies dramatically improve how users interact with devices. The Wii Remote and Nunchuck have revolutionized gaming and made it accessible to all ages and abilities. The future interactive model will be supported by a stylish pen which replaces the keyboard in supporting applications based on motion sensors.
Processing speed: Intel with 70% and AMD with 22% market share dominate the CPU market. Intel processors will continue to power high end server performance. Intel Atom processor line competes with ARM in powering mobile devices however lags behind in power consumption. A 200 licensee base, lower power footprint and broad usage in mobile devices gives ARM the edge in powering future mobile devices.
Applications Suite: The over 1700 web-apps provide Apple iPhone and iTouch a very rich user experience. The catalog of 756 games provides Nintendo Wii an incomparable advantage in reaching users of all ages and abilities. The future rich device experience will need to adopt a similar development ecosystem approach and offer a better application base to drive adoption.
Display: Current Form factors constraint the richness of the experience. The 50” Plasma TV has a rich display but limits mobility. The smaller screens on the various mobile devices foster mobility at the expense of display richness. The future display device will be a fashionable video eye wear which provides a large screen monitor display while accommodating prescription lenses and have a low power footprint. The display will scroll with the movement of the eyes or head movement. Accessories will support real and virtual 3D content.
Connectivity: 4G networks which promise to deliver a nominal data rate of 100Mbit/s, 1 Gbit/s which in fixed position and data rate of at least 100 Mbit/s between any two points in the world will be critical to further bolster the reach of the proposed device strategy. 4G networks will support real time audio, high speed data, HDTV video content and mobile TV. Verizon plans to launch with LTE technology in 2010 and Sprint-Nextel as part of Clearwire with WiMAX in 2009.
Typical Scenario
John is on the move wearing a video eye wear and carrying a Bluetooth linked stylish pen. His user session is running on an Intel or AMD powered server farm in a remote data center. Currently the display is redirected to his eye wear. The video connectivity is supported by Verizon’s 4G network. His directory view is organized as a file cabinet. He opens a file and edits it with his pen, picks and drops in rich content and saves a draft as he exits the train. Once in office his session is now displayed on his large screen monitors where he continues his editing. Connectivity is now provided by his high speed LAN circuit.
Summary
A high rich and high reach computing experience can be supported by a 4G network, video eyewear display, a pen for interactivity, Intel or AMD powered server farms and ARM powered eyewear and pen running supporting applications suite.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
What Killer Innovation will make flying fun again?
Summary: A 1:1 customized experience in every class specified by and designed for the flyer will make flying fun again. All classes including the economy class will provide core flight experience requirements including a friendly staff, fine dining, wide selection of entertainment, efficient and quick check-in, fast network connectivity and telecommunications among others.
Recommendations:
Create a super premium class where the flyer can specify their own experience prior to boarding the flight. Experiences could focus on leisure activities of the flyer’s choice. Examples could be Bonsai care, playing a musical instrument, painting, reading a fine book, watching any movie / videos and listening to any music, massages, pottery among others. The premium experience will also include live events ranging from fine cuisine cooked by a world class chef in person, concerts by leading bands, and talks by world renowned speakers among others. The core customer value proposition is a set of activities they would rather be doing if not flying.
For the first class and business class a virtual experience which places the flyer in the experience of their choice for e.g. a gondola ride in Venice, climbing Mount Everest, skiing in the Rockies, driving for the Ferrari F1 team among others.
Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Virgin America are the highest ranked airlines exceeding customer expectations on the core flight experience requirements.
What do you consider contributes to a fun flying experience?
Recommendations:
Create a super premium class where the flyer can specify their own experience prior to boarding the flight. Experiences could focus on leisure activities of the flyer’s choice. Examples could be Bonsai care, playing a musical instrument, painting, reading a fine book, watching any movie / videos and listening to any music, massages, pottery among others. The premium experience will also include live events ranging from fine cuisine cooked by a world class chef in person, concerts by leading bands, and talks by world renowned speakers among others. The core customer value proposition is a set of activities they would rather be doing if not flying.
For the first class and business class a virtual experience which places the flyer in the experience of their choice for e.g. a gondola ride in Venice, climbing Mount Everest, skiing in the Rockies, driving for the Ferrari F1 team among others.
Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Virgin America are the highest ranked airlines exceeding customer expectations on the core flight experience requirements.
What do you consider contributes to a fun flying experience?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
When does Innovation happen?
1. Innovation happens at the edges
Innovation happens where two concepts meet. For e.g. demand for mobile access to libraries is both met with Bookmobile – a large van designed for use as a library in villages and suburbs without libraries OR e-book readers like Kindle which enable mobile access to books.
2. Innovation happens when disbelief meets resolve
Thomas Alva Edison, holder of 1093 patents, responding to repeated failures in developing a storage battery “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. Edison also said “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration”.
Fierce resolve to meet a worthwhile market need in face of widespread disbelief is key to successful innovation.
3. Asking the killer innovation questions
In typical Socratic style asking and answering the killer innovation questions applied to any product or service can lead to successful innovation.
4. Applying the 5 Da Vinci Principles of Curiosita (continuous learning), Dimonstratzione (learn from mistakes), Sfumato (embrace paradoxes), Arte/ Scienza (balance of logic and imagination), Corporalita (fitness and poise) and Connessione (interconnectedness).
5. At the horizon where sky high ambitions meet ground realities
President JFK inspired a nation to work together to put a man on the moon. The X Prize Foundation after the successful Ansari X Prize has launched several additional X Prizes targeted towards automotive design, lunar landing and genomics.
Innovation metrics need to be measured and tracked to improve innovation productivity and generate return on investment.
What do you think? What else triggers innovation?
Innovation happens where two concepts meet. For e.g. demand for mobile access to libraries is both met with Bookmobile – a large van designed for use as a library in villages and suburbs without libraries OR e-book readers like Kindle which enable mobile access to books.
2. Innovation happens when disbelief meets resolve
Thomas Alva Edison, holder of 1093 patents, responding to repeated failures in developing a storage battery “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. Edison also said “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration”.
Fierce resolve to meet a worthwhile market need in face of widespread disbelief is key to successful innovation.
3. Asking the killer innovation questions
In typical Socratic style asking and answering the killer innovation questions applied to any product or service can lead to successful innovation.
4. Applying the 5 Da Vinci Principles of Curiosita (continuous learning), Dimonstratzione (learn from mistakes), Sfumato (embrace paradoxes), Arte/ Scienza (balance of logic and imagination), Corporalita (fitness and poise) and Connessione (interconnectedness).
5. At the horizon where sky high ambitions meet ground realities
President JFK inspired a nation to work together to put a man on the moon. The X Prize Foundation after the successful Ansari X Prize has launched several additional X Prizes targeted towards automotive design, lunar landing and genomics.
Innovation metrics need to be measured and tracked to improve innovation productivity and generate return on investment.
What do you think? What else triggers innovation?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Collection of Investing Mantras
"In my whole life, I have known no wise people who didn't read all the time - none, zero. You'd be amazed at how much Warren (Buffett) reads - at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I'm a book with a couple of legs sticking out." - Charlie Munger
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"People who habitually purchase common stocks at more than about 20 times their average earnings are likely to lose considerable money in the long run." - Benjamin Graham & David Dodd
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"Draw a circle around the businesses you understand and then eliminate those that fail to qualify on the basis of value, good management, and limited exposure to hard times." - Warren Buffett
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In evaluating people, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. If you don't have the first, the other two will kill you." - Warren Buffett
Thursday, May 7, 2009
What's NEXT?
Premise: Future real stock market returns will stagnant compared to historic returns
No retirements - retirement age will increase and most will be unable to retire
Consumption reduces as savings increases
The next big innovation will be 1. Sustain life on earth despite diminishing resources; 2. Travel to distant habitable planets; 3. Nanotechnology touches every aspect of life
Financial Services: Retirement management will be a core competence.
Healthcare: Research in areas like genetic research to increase longevity. Data driven self administered healthcare.
Health Insurance: Healthcare reform to reduce costs.
Food: Produce and market healthy dietary habits to sustain longer happier lifestyle.
Luxury industry: Super premium will thrive. Mass luxury will not survive.
Auto: Smaller lighter autos operated on renewable energy sources
Technology: Always connected at near light speed. Activities increasingly automated.
Real Estate: Smaller high density and Green housing.
Farming: Agriculture on sea. Local grown fruits and crops.
Waste Management: Deriving value from waste
Materials: Sustainable from plants or nanotechnology.
Leisure: Augmented reality driven. A real vacation will be rare and expensive.
Manufacturing: Regional rather than global manufacturing will increase as production costs increasingly converge
No retirements - retirement age will increase and most will be unable to retire
Consumption reduces as savings increases
The next big innovation will be 1. Sustain life on earth despite diminishing resources; 2. Travel to distant habitable planets; 3. Nanotechnology touches every aspect of life
Financial Services: Retirement management will be a core competence.
Healthcare: Research in areas like genetic research to increase longevity. Data driven self administered healthcare.
Health Insurance: Healthcare reform to reduce costs.
Food: Produce and market healthy dietary habits to sustain longer happier lifestyle.
Luxury industry: Super premium will thrive. Mass luxury will not survive.
Auto: Smaller lighter autos operated on renewable energy sources
Technology: Always connected at near light speed. Activities increasingly automated.
Real Estate: Smaller high density and Green housing.
Farming: Agriculture on sea. Local grown fruits and crops.
Waste Management: Deriving value from waste
Materials: Sustainable from plants or nanotechnology.
Leisure: Augmented reality driven. A real vacation will be rare and expensive.
Manufacturing: Regional rather than global manufacturing will increase as production costs increasingly converge
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Are you trying your best to become the best you are capable of becoming?
Friday, April 17, 2009
What would happen if you customized your standard product or service.
Among others customizing the standard products or services could:
1. Lead to entry into adjacent markets ala Moore bowling alley analogy.
2. Discover inefficiencies in processes ala TPS which will help improve the production of the standard version
3. Increase customer retention - if I can have it my way why would I go elsewhere - in turn increase customer LTV.
4. Make the organization more agile to change
5. Reduce inventory
6. Indirect market research through involving customers in the product design process - are some other gains of profitably delivering mass customization
5. A superlative customer experience ala Pine Gilmore Experience Economy
1. Lead to entry into adjacent markets ala Moore bowling alley analogy.
2. Discover inefficiencies in processes ala TPS which will help improve the production of the standard version
3. Increase customer retention - if I can have it my way why would I go elsewhere - in turn increase customer LTV.
4. Make the organization more agile to change
5. Reduce inventory
6. Indirect market research through involving customers in the product design process - are some other gains of profitably delivering mass customization
5. A superlative customer experience ala Pine Gilmore Experience Economy
Monday, February 23, 2009
Muni Driver defining customer service
The 8:37 am Muni N train driver delays his departure by 2-4 minutes everyday to accommodate two groups of customers as they cross the street from the SF Caltrain station. Rather than have them wait on the station on cold wet morning this thoughtfulness really strikes a chord. In the past several drivers have driven off complaining of late arrival of Caltrain and that they are running 5 minutes late eating into their 10 minutes of break time. He also pre-warns riders to hold on when starting up after a stop.
In this fast paced world where many organizations pay lip service to customer service this attention to detail is exemplary. This driver clearly understands the customer service mission - deliver a pleasant end to end experience to as many customers as possible at the cost of personal loss and delays. He also displays a rare trait of taking initiative and independent decision making to deliver this superior customer experience.
This Muni driver could be a fine addition to any customer service team!!!
In this fast paced world where many organizations pay lip service to customer service this attention to detail is exemplary. This driver clearly understands the customer service mission - deliver a pleasant end to end experience to as many customers as possible at the cost of personal loss and delays. He also displays a rare trait of taking initiative and independent decision making to deliver this superior customer experience.
This Muni driver could be a fine addition to any customer service team!!!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Neuroplasticity and need for cognitive exercises
How do you get out of the daily routine and rekindle the creativity that many of us left behind in childhood.
Preserve the childlike mind, which continually learns and grows through play and discovery.
Orchestrate lives to provide regular mental pursuits capable of combating the decline as we age.
The common wisdom is that after childhood we have a fixed number of neurons, which gradually die off during our lives, and that these neurons are organized in a fixed architecture. Not true: New neurons are born throughout life, and synaptic connections are being formed and erased all the time in a phenomenon called neuroplasticity. Cognitive exercise – or the lack of it – can (de)accelerate the process.
Learn to seek out unaccustomed inputs. Keep challenging the mind by mastering new skills.
Engage in some pursuit – story writing, lego modeling, sketching, surfing– that challenges the brain. Cognitive exercise will keep you agile, adaptive and fit for life.
Preserve the childlike mind, which continually learns and grows through play and discovery.
Orchestrate lives to provide regular mental pursuits capable of combating the decline as we age.
The common wisdom is that after childhood we have a fixed number of neurons, which gradually die off during our lives, and that these neurons are organized in a fixed architecture. Not true: New neurons are born throughout life, and synaptic connections are being formed and erased all the time in a phenomenon called neuroplasticity. Cognitive exercise – or the lack of it – can (de)accelerate the process.
Learn to seek out unaccustomed inputs. Keep challenging the mind by mastering new skills.
Engage in some pursuit – story writing, lego modeling, sketching, surfing– that challenges the brain. Cognitive exercise will keep you agile, adaptive and fit for life.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Solutions to Increase Agricultural Productivity
Following prioritized list of recommendations will improve agricultural productivity:
1. Make catastrophe insurance including drought insurance available to all farmers thereby setting a floor in case of disasters.
2. Make price hedging mechanism available to all farmers to prevent losses due to volatile commodity markets
3. Improve price realization to the farmer by eliminating the 10 fold profit availed by the middle men. Reliance Retail and Bharti Walmart have established direct linkages with farmers.
4. Shift focus to high yield ‘cash’ crops where the soil and weather will support such higher profit products.
5. Improve logistics and build out cold storages to prevent spoilage. Container Corporation has established a cold storage subsidiary to further capitalize on its’ extensive container rail network. Blue Star is the leader in cold storage solutions.
6. Improve seed quality including introducing genetically modified seeds if necessary on a case by case basis. Monsanto, Syngenta and Advanta are major listed companies.
7. Increase adoption of micro-irrigation. Jain Irrigation is the leader in micro-irrigation technology.
8. Increase adoption of modern farming implements like tractors etc. Mahindra and Mahindra is the leader in tractors having purchased Punjab Tractors.
9. Foster farm cooperatives as an alternative to contract farming to capitalize on economics of scale
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
10 Biggest Challenges for India
From Goldman Sachs Economics paper: http://www.prathamusa.org/dnn/Portals/0/dnndocuments/Goldman%20Sachs_10%20challenges%20for%20India.pdf
Future blogs will analyze and present solutions to these challenges.
1. Improve governance. Without better governance, delivery systems andeffective implementation, India will find it difficult to educate its citizens, build its infrastructure, increase agricultural productivity and ensure that the fruits of economic growth are well established.
2. Raise educational achievement. Among more micro factors, raisingIndia’s educational achievement is a major requirement to help achieve the nation’s potential. According to our basic indicators, a vast number ofIndia’s young people receive no (or only the most basic) education. A majoreffort to boost basic education is needed. A number of initiatives, such as a continued expansion of Pratham and the introduction of Teach First, for example, should be pursued.
3. Increase quality and quantity of universities. At the other end of the spectrum, India should also have a more defined plan to raise the numberand the quality of top universities.
4. Control inflation. Although India has not suffered particularly fromdramatic inflation, it is currently experiencing a rise in inflation similar tothat seen in a number of emerging economies. We think a formal adoptionof Inflation Targeting would be a very sensible move to help India persuadeits huge population of the (permanent) benefits of price stability.
5. Introduce a credible fiscal policy. We also believe that India shouldintroduce a more credible medium-term plan for fiscal policy. Targeting low and stable inflation is not easy if fiscal policy is poorly maintained. Wethink it would be helpful to develop some ‘rules’ for spending over cycles.
6. Liberalise financial markets. To improve further the macro variableswithin the GES framework, we believe further liberalisation of Indianfinancial markets is necessary.
7. Increase trade with neighbours. In terms of international trade, India continues to be much less ‘open’ than many of its other large emergingnation colleagues, especially China. Given the significant number of nationswith large populations on its borders, we would recommend that India targeta major increase in trade with China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
8. Increase agricultural productivity. Agriculture, especially in these timesof rising prices, should be a great opportunity for India. Better specific anddefined plans for increasing productivity in agriculture are essential, and could allow India to benefit from the BRIC-related global thirst for better-quality food.
9. Improve infrastructure. Focus on infrastructure in India is legendary, andtales of woe abound. Improvements are taking place, as any foreignbusiness visitor will be aware, but the need for more is paramount. Without such improvement, development will be limited.
10.Improve Environmental Quality. The final area where greater reforms areneeded is the environment. Achieving greater energy efficiencies and boosting the cleanliness of energy and water usage would increase the likelihood of a sustainable stronger growth path for India.
Future blogs will analyze and present solutions to these challenges.
1. Improve governance. Without better governance, delivery systems andeffective implementation, India will find it difficult to educate its citizens, build its infrastructure, increase agricultural productivity and ensure that the fruits of economic growth are well established.
2. Raise educational achievement. Among more micro factors, raisingIndia’s educational achievement is a major requirement to help achieve the nation’s potential. According to our basic indicators, a vast number ofIndia’s young people receive no (or only the most basic) education. A majoreffort to boost basic education is needed. A number of initiatives, such as a continued expansion of Pratham and the introduction of Teach First, for example, should be pursued.
3. Increase quality and quantity of universities. At the other end of the spectrum, India should also have a more defined plan to raise the numberand the quality of top universities.
4. Control inflation. Although India has not suffered particularly fromdramatic inflation, it is currently experiencing a rise in inflation similar tothat seen in a number of emerging economies. We think a formal adoptionof Inflation Targeting would be a very sensible move to help India persuadeits huge population of the (permanent) benefits of price stability.
5. Introduce a credible fiscal policy. We also believe that India shouldintroduce a more credible medium-term plan for fiscal policy. Targeting low and stable inflation is not easy if fiscal policy is poorly maintained. Wethink it would be helpful to develop some ‘rules’ for spending over cycles.
6. Liberalise financial markets. To improve further the macro variableswithin the GES framework, we believe further liberalisation of Indianfinancial markets is necessary.
7. Increase trade with neighbours. In terms of international trade, India continues to be much less ‘open’ than many of its other large emergingnation colleagues, especially China. Given the significant number of nationswith large populations on its borders, we would recommend that India targeta major increase in trade with China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
8. Increase agricultural productivity. Agriculture, especially in these timesof rising prices, should be a great opportunity for India. Better specific anddefined plans for increasing productivity in agriculture are essential, and could allow India to benefit from the BRIC-related global thirst for better-quality food.
9. Improve infrastructure. Focus on infrastructure in India is legendary, andtales of woe abound. Improvements are taking place, as any foreignbusiness visitor will be aware, but the need for more is paramount. Without such improvement, development will be limited.
10.Improve Environmental Quality. The final area where greater reforms areneeded is the environment. Achieving greater energy efficiencies and boosting the cleanliness of energy and water usage would increase the likelihood of a sustainable stronger growth path for India.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
48 laws of Power from book by Robert Greene
The 48 Laws of Power
by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers
Law 1
Never Outshine the Master
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.
Law 2
Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies
Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.
Law 3
Conceal your Intentions
Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.
Law 4
Always Say Less than Necessary
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
Law 5
So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once you slip, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.
Law 6
Court Attention at all Cost
Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses.
Law 7
Get others to do the Work for you, but Always Take the Credit
Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.
Law 8
Make other People come to you – use Bait if Necessary
When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains – then attack. You hold the cards.
Law 9
Win through your Actions, Never through Argument
Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.
Law 10
Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky
You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious as disease. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.
Law 11
Learn to Keep People Dependent on You
To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.
Law 12
Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm your Victim
One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.
Law 13
When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest,
Never to their Mercy or Gratitude
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.
Law 14
Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy
Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.
Law 15
Crush your Enemy Totally
All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.
Law 16
Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor
Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.
Law 17
Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability
Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.
Law 18
Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is Dangerous
The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere – everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from – it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.
Law 19
Know Who You’re Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person
There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then – never offend or deceive the wrong person.
Law 20
Do Not Commit to Anyone
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you.
Law 21
Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark
No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons. The trick, is to make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.
Law 22
Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power
When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you – surrender first. By turning the other check you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.
Law 23
Concentrate Your Forces
Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another – intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.
Law 24
Play the Perfect Courtier
The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the mot oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.
Law 25
Re-Create Yourself
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
Law 26
Keep Your Hands Clean
You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.
Law 27
Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following
People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.
Law 28
Enter Action with Boldness
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.
Law 29
Plan All the Way to the End
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.
Law 30
Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.
Law 31
Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal
The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.
Law 32
Play to People’s Fantasies
The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.
Law 33
Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usual y an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.
Law 34
Be Royal in your Own Fashion: Act like a King to be treated like one
The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated; In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.
Law 35
Master the Art of Timing
Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.
Law 36
Disdain Things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best Revenge
By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.
Law 37
Create Compelling Spectacles
Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.
Law 38
Think as you like but Behave like others
If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.
Law 39
Stir up Waters to Catch Fish
Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.
Law 40
Despise the Free Lunch
What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price – there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.
Law 41
Avoid Stepping into a Great Man’s Shoes
What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.
Law 42
Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter
Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual – the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoned of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them – they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.
Law 43
Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others
Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.
Law 44
Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect
The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of Mirror Effect.
Law 45
Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform too much at Once
Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.
Law 46
Never appear too Perfect
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.
Law 47
Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop
The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.
Law 48
Assume Formlessness
By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.
by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers
Law 1
Never Outshine the Master
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.
Law 2
Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies
Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.
Law 3
Conceal your Intentions
Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.
Law 4
Always Say Less than Necessary
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
Law 5
So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once you slip, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.
Law 6
Court Attention at all Cost
Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses.
Law 7
Get others to do the Work for you, but Always Take the Credit
Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.
Law 8
Make other People come to you – use Bait if Necessary
When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains – then attack. You hold the cards.
Law 9
Win through your Actions, Never through Argument
Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.
Law 10
Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky
You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious as disease. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.
Law 11
Learn to Keep People Dependent on You
To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.
Law 12
Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm your Victim
One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.
Law 13
When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest,
Never to their Mercy or Gratitude
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.
Law 14
Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy
Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.
Law 15
Crush your Enemy Totally
All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.
Law 16
Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor
Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.
Law 17
Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability
Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.
Law 18
Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is Dangerous
The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere – everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from – it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.
Law 19
Know Who You’re Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person
There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then – never offend or deceive the wrong person.
Law 20
Do Not Commit to Anyone
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you.
Law 21
Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark
No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons. The trick, is to make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.
Law 22
Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power
When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you – surrender first. By turning the other check you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.
Law 23
Concentrate Your Forces
Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another – intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.
Law 24
Play the Perfect Courtier
The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the mot oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.
Law 25
Re-Create Yourself
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.
Law 26
Keep Your Hands Clean
You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.
Law 27
Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following
People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.
Law 28
Enter Action with Boldness
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.
Law 29
Plan All the Way to the End
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.
Law 30
Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.
Law 31
Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal
The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.
Law 32
Play to People’s Fantasies
The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.
Law 33
Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usual y an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.
Law 34
Be Royal in your Own Fashion: Act like a King to be treated like one
The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated; In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.
Law 35
Master the Art of Timing
Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.
Law 36
Disdain Things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best Revenge
By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.
Law 37
Create Compelling Spectacles
Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.
Law 38
Think as you like but Behave like others
If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.
Law 39
Stir up Waters to Catch Fish
Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.
Law 40
Despise the Free Lunch
What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price – there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.
Law 41
Avoid Stepping into a Great Man’s Shoes
What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.
Law 42
Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter
Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual – the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoned of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them – they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.
Law 43
Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others
Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.
Law 44
Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect
The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of Mirror Effect.
Law 45
Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform too much at Once
Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.
Law 46
Never appear too Perfect
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.
Law 47
Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop
The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.
Law 48
Assume Formlessness
By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.
Monday, January 19, 2009
If - inspirational poem by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run --
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run --
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!
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