On Corruption
I have some comments on the recent furore over Mr. Hazare’s campaign to bring in the Jan lokpal bill. There are three levels of corruption depending on the amount of money and the number of persons involved: At the top level (this is opportunistic and gradually becoming systemic), At the department level (this is systemic […]
Mind maps revisited
Some time ago, I had written an article about mind maps. J Murali’s article on mind maps today shows a mind map of how to organise a topic for ready reference. Think of its use just before exams or interviews.
How to Make Profits AND Contribute to Society
Social Entrepreneurship. This word has been bandied around a lot, and many companies, colleges and people pay lip service to it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_entrepreneurship How do we create a sustainable enterprise that makes profits and fulfills social obligations? Can we help uplift the stature of the small town that we came from, where we were nurtured, before […]
As you start an MBA program
When you join an MBA course, you consider yourself a student. You behave like a student, learning from classes and books. When you leave the MBA course, after completing it, you are no longer a student. You are a corporate citizen and are being paid to behave like one. In these two years, what have […]
Dante’s Divine Comedy
Dante Alighieri wrote this allegorical epic poem in the 1300s. This is his examination of the afterlife. One travels through the Inferno (Hell), the Purgatorio (Purgatory), and the Paradiso (Heaven). Through me you pass into the city of woe: Through me you pass into eternal pain: Through me among the people lost for aye. Before […]
Values and personality formation – some theory
This comes from writings by Tad James who is paraphrasing the sociologist Morris Massey. Some parts have been removed for succinctness. There are three major periods that a person will go through in values and personality formation. the Imprint Period, which occurs from birth until age 7 the Modeling Period, which is from 8 to […]
Concentration
What is concentration? Is it focus? What does focus mean? Is it an action, where the retinal image is sharp? When you are listening to music – ‘concentrating’ on it – your eyes are defocused and closed. Are your ears sharpened? So is it using your senses more acutely? What does concentration during a lecture […]
Sales is about managing the numbers
The process of sales is to start with the universe of ‘suspects’ who could possibly buy my product (here I can very creative in creating this universe, thinking laterally helps), then based on some criteria narrow it down to ‘prospects’ – these are persons with whom I will have to seek appointments (called approach), then […]
Of carpentry and MBA
To learn to make a chair, there are three approaches. I can teach you how to make a chair in theory and tell you a lot more about wood, types of chairs, design etc. This allows me to teach you a lot of things, and you gain knowledge about chairs, its history and how to […]
There is no such thing as a quick pill
We have a headache, we take aspirin or paracetamol or consult a so-called expert, take their recommendation and get back to doing what we were doing. Since the problem goes away, we do not bother. Each time the headache returns, we take a larger dose or try a different medicine. Sometimes it works, sometimes it […]