Englishman in Whitefield

This happened nearly 17 years ago. Whitefield wasnt, what it is today, then. Our family had to attend the house warming ceremony of family friend. The journey took us 2-3 hrs as there were very few buses in those days to Whitefield.

The Friend used to work in a bank at whitefield and hence the invitees included a few of the customers of the bank. There were a few Englishmen, who had stayed behind after the British left India, and were customers of the bank. But the centre of attraction was a kannada speaking englishman. On a wheelchair, this sprightly 70 year old was a bundle of energy. Curious as I am always, went to him chatted with him until lunch was served.

He told us tales from his younger days. There is one I remember very well.He was a sailor and his ship was somewhere on the high seas during WW2. The Jap fighters attacked the ship and sunk the ship. They came back to pump bullets into the survivors. He recieved a couple in his back and his legs. His legs were paralysed forever. Confined to wheelchair, he settled down in Bangalore.

As he narrated this story, looks like he was transported back in time. He then showed us old fotographs from his pocket, saying those fotos give him memories of his country, his city etc. I was too young to understand the importance of memories. There was a foto of him on the bow of his ship,a couple with his girlfriend and a few after his legs were paralysed.

He then showed us his biceps. That will be the strongest pair of biceps I had seen until then. We finished lunch, said our byes and off we came back to Bangalore. Soon our family friend got transferred to another city and there was no way I could get news about the Englishman. I still dont have a clue. I would love to meet him again, if he is alive, for old memories sake.

If anyone has any clue about this man, do inform me.

This Englishman's First name I forget, his last name was Steelarm and yes, his arms were of steel:).

Entrepruener-what does it take to make one ?

Can we ever define what Entrepruenership really is ? What is that, that makes a sane person chuck everything to start afresh, make a new beginning, with the only purpose of making his/her vision a reality. Is it the lucre of money or is it the challenge of creating something from scratch or is it just sheer dutch courage.

Am an entrepruener myself and here are some of the"things" that will make one. I havent reached great hieghts yet, but I will be there soon.
1. Freedom, the freedom to do my own thing. What mattered most to me was the freedom to work on my own terms without having to report to stupid bosses and their chamcha's. It was freedom to take the course of action which I think was right. Some of my bosses were downright stupid not to know which course to take and worse they had just the wisdom to take counsel from only their cotories. If u want freedom, then go for it.
2. Ability to read the market very early: I have had the ability to read the market very early. Sometimes they were/are so different from the prevalent views that I have been called dumb and . This happened time and again. The stories shall come at a later date.
3. Courage: Do you have it in you ? Courageous enough to ignore your reputation ? Then go for it. It all comes to down to be able to stick to what you want to do, irrespective of what people think of your actions. If u think something is right, do it , never hesitate as to what happens to your reputation. If you become successful, your reputation will take care of itself.
4. Hunches and Instincts: I rely on my hunches and instincts for a great number of decisions I make. They provide insight, that is much more valuable than a mountain of data.
5. Thinking Longterm: Can you think what might happen 1-2 yrs down the line in your area of business ? If u can think longterm, well go for it.

Here is some real practical dole if u plan to be on your own
1. Put in yr own money: My venture is entirely self funded. That makes me much more responsible and curbs a lot of wasteful expenditure. Dont try for all the VC funding unless you are a big shot already. If u did manage to get VC funding, you lose control to beancounters who would be more interested in the money they make, than implementing your vision for the company. Essentially, you hold minority stakes in your own company.
2. Start Small: My company is a very small company now and will be small atleast for the next couple of years. Starting small helps you make mistakes and learn them at a very low expense. I have made numerous mistakes that cost me a few pie, but the amounts were small enough for me to recover fast.
3. Learn about Finances: I handle all the company financial transactions and processes myself, so much so at any given point of time, I know the real status. As we grow big, it also helps in identifying as to where the processes might have gone wrong.
4. Dont worry about having a great place as an office. Some of the most successful companies were started in rooms, homes and garages.

More Later

The Print Media- Out of Reckoning ?

The Print Media has long been our source of information in the form of books, newspapers, magazines etc... Offlate that seems to be changing. I can clearly point out the emergence of 2 technologies which has and which will affect the Print Media very badly. The first one will be the Mobile Technology and the second will be the Internet. Together they can wipe the print industry out of reckoning in a few years.

How will that happen ?
1. Advances in technology will ensure that the Mobile evolves into a multifunctional device capable of performing a variety of tasks including that of a full fledged PC.
2. The Internet with its store house of information can deliver the entire content to this mobile phones.

In combination, the mobile and the Internet can impact the Print Industry as well as other industries. Some of the industries that might be affected in the next few years will belong to the following categories
1. The PC Industry.
2. Cable Manufacturers.
3. Basic Telephone operators.
4. Local Broadband Operators

These industries might boom
1. Content Providers.
2. Hybrid Device Makers.
3. Wireless Equipment Manufacturers
4. Mobile Services Operators

The convergence that everyone predicted during the dot com days will happen soon, maybe in another 5-6 years. As I said im my earlier post, everything takes time to mature and nothing happens in an Instant. The convergence is a reality staring right into our face.

The Instant Generation

I was conversing with a Yuppy(young upwardly-mobile proud punjabi youth), an MBA from a B-School sometime back. Nearly 6 yrs my junior, I was surprised by the ambition, the plans, the drive. I was impressed with his approach to life. Time will make a mature leader and adult. But like all youngsters of his generation , he had the impatience, the impatience of youth. Everything has to happen now, at this instant.

The word "instant" seems to be the mantra of this generation. Everything has to happen at the instant. In thier hurry to get they want, they seem to be missing the real picture. The Faster they go, more the mistakes they make, less they learn from their mistakes and gain even less experience/wisdom out of their mistakes. And worse very few people are willing to undergo the grind.

Experience and the grind(not MTV Grind) can make a huge difference. An example would be the Australian Cricket Team. Most of the team members make their debut after a very long stint in the Local Leagues. In effect they have very short International Careers, but they make the most of it. They do it so because of their experience, the mental makeup, the ability to withstand pressure. What am talking of is plain old basics.

On the other hand in the Indian Team, almost all are blooded early. If they fail to perform, they are out of the team, resulting in low-self confidence. Add to this the inability to handle the pressure of the publicity, money etc... Very few people who were blooded early have truly succeeded, with the exception of a few. Even they crumble under pressure and the will to fight is in abject poverty.

Our younger generation needs to realise that experience comes with time and time alone can provide the wisdom , experience and the mental makeup. They need to remember that even a larve can become a beautiful butterfly, but only with time. It is struggle, the experience that makes a man. Nothing happens in an instant, even the instant that we are in, had to wait :).

A break from Routine

The other day I attended a play called "Madness" at Rangashankara. Adapted from "Veronica decides to die", this play was performed extremely well by the troupe. Directed, produced by a young lady called Thara. She also played the lead role, Meera. What impressed me was the adaptation and the presentation to the present context.

The insight was "The routine can make you mad". It just struck me how caught up are in our routines. Wake-up, Clean-up, Scamper to work, come back home, dinner and sleep. A break from routine is always a welcome sign. But unfortunately, the present times allow for little break from routines. So its rather imperative that we find ourselves time to do what we really want to do.

So here I am, writing a blog, on a Monday morning. Well isnt that a break from routine.

The Buck Stops Here

The Buck Stops here and goes no further :). Watch out for the postings

Merlin