K S School of Business Management

2012-05-11T19:39:00.000+05:30

River of thoughts....

2012-04-29T17:17:00.001+05:30

A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game.

The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes.

Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates,

So the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates.

So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes. The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for 1 week.

Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended....

The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?". The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime???"

Five ways to work out a new set of KRAs.

2012-04-21T15:08:00.001+05:30

Just when many have let out a collective sigh of relief at appraisals being over, a new set of key result areas (KRAs) needs to be cleared.

Firms have made their variable component higher and the criteria more rigorous, so nothing short of achieving them completely would ensure a good take home at the end of the stipulated period.

However, there are ways to make the goals look simpler and attainable for a smoother year ahead.

Do a fish bone analysis:

Once targets have been given, an executive should develop the flowchart of programmers to develop, training to receive or give, and parameters that will help him or her reach the desired goal.

Called the fish bone analysis, the employee will then have to talk to different departments which will support him. "Business metrics have to be defined and converted into quantifiable metrics and linked to the final goal.

It should be in cause-and-effect terms," says Rajesh AR, head of employment services division of Manipal Education.

Draw up an action plan:

The boss should be consulted on stages that need to be reached to achieve the KRAs. "Chalk out a detailed performance action sheet," says SM Gupta, HR head of Bangalore-based ITeS firm Aegis.

With each KRA there should be a 'smart principle' where goals are broken down. The manager must ensure the status is checked regularly, while the executive has to list daily, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly tasks.

Prioritize targets:

A list will help the executive chart out areas that require immediate attention, training, or assistance from other teams. There will also be the long-stretched goals, which the employee should deal with separately.

Start with clear goals:

To make goals more achievable, the supervisor has to give a set of tangible goals.

So if he wants sales to increase, then he has to hire employees, add distribution centres etc, and not follow a feel-good syndrome during performance review, says K A Sudarshan, co-founder of EMA Partners in India.

Bring HR to the table:

KRAs can be made more tangible if there is a discussion between the HR and business heads on the goals of the financial year and how they are important in improving organizational performance, says Srinivas Nanduri, partner board & leadership hiring, Maxima Global Executive Search.

Once these goals are clear, the individual can make KRAs fit into the overall milestones.

Article Courtesy - Economic Times

7 Ways to Make Yourself Irreplaceable in the Office

2012-03-31T15:41:00.001+05:30

In order to protect yourself from the next round of layoffs, you need to convince your employers that you're valuable and that your existence alone benefits the company.

"Today's business environment doesn't allow for satisfaction with the status quo. It requires constant growth and change," writes Mark Samuel in his book Making Yourself Indispensable: The Power of Personal Accountability.

"Being indispensable means that you are adaptable, learning and growing with your organization as it changes and evolves...at the end of the day, you are either working to make yourself indispensable or working to make yourself obsolete."

Here are the seven tips to help you become the most valuable person to your employers:

1. Never take the shortcut. Have you known many highly-successful people to be lazy? In order to be truly irreplaceable, you have to work hard. You can't take shortcuts and still expect tremendous respect.

2. Be adaptable, not rigid. It’s been said that being rigid is the fastest way to losing your job. In an age where technology, workplace environment and strategy techniques are constantly changing, the most pernicious thing you can do for your career is to cling on to something from the past and refuse to change.

"The good news about rigidity is that it gives you a sense of control — it is predictable. You understand it, know it, can explain it, and can even teach it to others," he says. "The bad news is that the sense of control is often a false one or temporary at best."

"You can always tell when someone isn't adaptable to change. They demonstrate their paralysis through resistance, advocating for the old way, talking about the "good old days," or undermining current change efforts through their lack of cooperation and cynicism."

3. Being a perfectionist will be your downfall. Most people think that being a perfectionist is what they need for success, but, in actuality, it prevents it.

"Perfectionism fosters inaction — waiting until we can guarantee success before we take action. And this negates accountability and prevents success. We wait for the perfect plan, the perfect decision, and the perfect action that won't fail."

4. Be of service to others without expecting anything in return. Most of us only do things for other people if we get something in return, but a truly irreplaceable employee is someone who makes decisions and solves problems for the good of their team and other departments in the organization.

The more you become "we-centered" rather than "me-centered" the more indispensable you become.

"Trust grows when our motives are straightforward and based on mutual benefits — in other words, when we genuinely care not only for ourselves, but also for the people we interact with, lead, or serve."

5. Be purpose-driven, not goal-driven. At work, you will have goals to achieve, but these goals are often "established without a clear sense of purpose." And since most people are often too busy to go above and beyond their daily tasks, they're not making an effort to produce actual changes.

"Substantial evidence demonstrates that in addition to motivating constructive effort, goal setting can induce some unethical behavior."

So don’t stresses out about finishing every single step you've written down on your checklist or it'll become a never-ending cycle.

6. Be assertive. Life is a game, so play big or go home. Take charge, stand apart and don't be afraid to speak up during meetings for fear of sounding unintelligent or being wrong.

7. Forgive others quickly. "The measure of accountability is based more on how you handle mistakes, mishaps, and breakdowns than on getting everything right all the time," Samuel says. "It's about how fast you can pick yourself up when you fall; how quickly you correct a mistake that you made; that little or no harm comes to your customer, family member, or friend."

Seven Reasons Why Recruiters Instantly Reject Resumes!!!

2012-03-28T14:34:00.001+05:30

Forget "What color is your Parachute?" Here are seven reasons why resumes always get rejected according to the report conducted by tech recruiters at Kovasys IT Recruitment.

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 19, 2012

A new report from Kovasys IT Recruitment answers a question that many IT candidates are asking: "Why are the technology recruitersignoring my resume?" We have sat down with Alex Kovalenko, a technical recruiting manager at Kovasys Inc. with operations in Toronto, Montreal, New York and San Francisco, to discuss. "If a tech recruiter can not tell within ten seconds that you are worth a call then your resume will go straight into a recycle bin. Keep in mind that at our firm recruiters can review up to 50 resumes every day and can not spend hours reviewing resumes," said Alex Kovalenko with Kovasys Inc.

Mr. Kovalenko says that there are seven reasons why IT recruiters could potentially reject yourresume and are as follows:

1. Firstly, when a recruiter looks over a resume – he or she wants to find experience in the field. If acandidate is a PHP Developer with no object oriented development experience and the job is for anobject oriented Java Developer - the recruiter is not going to call. Companies are paying recruiters to find an apple to fill an apple job. Companies are not paying recruiters to help candidates transfer their skills from one field to another. If a company is going to pay a recruiter a significant retainer fee, they expect a perfect match.

2. What is candidate's level or title? If the recruiter is searching for a team lead developer and a candidate's title is a senior developer, that candidate should not expect an interview with the recruiter. Again, the recruiter is hired to find a team lead developer, not to squeeze a senior developer into a team lead position. On the other hand, if the client wants a senior developer and a candidate is a team lead - that candidate is over-qualified and even if he or she thinks they can do a senior developer’s job the client will not. The first team lead job that comes along might interest that candidate more, causing the recruiter and the company to suspect that you are going to pursue the better opportunity; neither party is willing to risk that.

3. The next area the recruiter is going to look at is the most recent experience. If the client wants aLinux Systems Administrator for a hosting company and a candidate has the experience, but it was over five years ago, recruiter will reject the resume. Any good recruiter can find a candidate with that current familiarity. If candidate was a good Linux Administrator five years ago and have not worked in that area since, their skills might be nowhere near contemporary due to new technologies like virtualization, vmware, etc.

4. Location, location, location. If a client is in New York and a candidate is in Miami - that candidate will most likely not get an interview. Relocating candidates is just too problematic if there is a viable candidate in the client’s location. In addition, most companies are not interested in paying for relocation in a bad economy. Moreover, there is usually the additional challenge of a spouse who must also relocate and find a job.

5. The next aspect the recruiter will look at is whether the industry experience matches the client’s. Again this is not an economy that allows for deciding whether skills will transfer from one industry to another. If candidate is in medical software development and the job is in financial development - the recruiter will not be calling. Skills might transfer and candidate might become a financial software developer, but it is not up to the recruiter to do that.

6. Education is the next big thing to consider and this one can be an automatic killer. Most recruiters are looking for a Masters in Computer Science or Engineering because they are hired to find the best candidates. No company will be paying a recruiter for a non-degreed or Bachelor of Arts candidate.

7. If candidate does not hold any position for an extensive period of time, job seeker should not expect an interview with a recruiter. a If candidate had six jobs in the last four years there better be a very good reason for it.

And last but not least says Alex Kovalenko: "List your accomplishments and what technologies you have worked with the two - three companies you have worked for. Make sure your resume is two pages long (even if you have worked for over 10 years) and is in traditional and chronological format."

Courtesy by: Alex Kovalenko

Five ways to crack the whip when it is needed...

2012-03-15T17:09:00.001+05:30

The new-age boss is expected to be the benevolent guide who will always back his team, hand-hold each member and push them to succeed by carefully eroding their faults. But there are times when he has to crack the whip.

It may result in wrath and the boss's popularity may dip for a while, but to hold the team in steadfast discipline is a propelling factor. There are ways a boss can rein in errant team members without causing unnecessary damage, says ET.

Be the change
Many managers call their team for a meeting and turn up late, washing away the relevance of the issue that was to be discussed, says R Elango, HR head of MphasiS. The team tends to mimic the ways of the manager, and this shows in their attitude in meetings and the work coming out of it.

Leave out ambiguity
"When setting targets and key result areas, the boss will have to be very clear on what he expects from each one of them so there is no place for ambiguity, which results in indiscipline," says Ronesh Puri, managing director of Delhi-based executive search firm, Executive Access.

Reward and Punish
A team head should know follow the reward and punish principle, says Elango. So if employees exceed the performance criteria but are indisciplined in their approach towards work and others during team tasks, then they should not be rewarded. Similarly, to ensure a balanced approach, an employee who may be disciplined but is not a performer should not be rewarded.

Say it Loud and Clear

An employee may not know he or she is not following the rules, and will continue if not checked. The first step, says Puri, is to talk to them and explain clearly that such behavior will not be tolerated.

The manager should find a reason behind such behavior and if it continues, send a warning letter stating the consequences could impact their appraisal. If the employee still takes it lightly, the boss should go ahead with giving him or her poor rating during review and mention why.

Set the Team Tasks
The manager should get employees to work in as many team tasks as possible. This brings in a sense of responsibility, and they will know their performance will impact others' grading as well.

An indisciplined employee may not follow instructions to the team initially but will realize how his or her waywardness is leading to low scores, for which colleagues will hold them accountable. This often is a factor that pushes people to change their ways and work better.

Article courtesy of Economic Times

6 Reasons Why You Didn't Get The Job

2012-03-13T11:19:00.001+05:30

If only bosses could talk!

We’d be able to find out why it was that we didn’t get the call back, didn’t get the interview, didn’t get that sweet job we thought we were just perfect for. There must be a reason, right?

One of the biggest frustrations of the modern job hunt is “the black hole” — that super-gravitational mass that sucks in resumes and applications and emits no feedback, no light, no rhyme or reason.

So this week and next week, I’m going to let the boss “talk.” I’ll be doing an interview with a hypothetical hiring manager, and sharing with you all the “reasons why” the boss didn’t hire you. And then two weeks from now, I’ll follow up with practical advice as to what you can do about it.

This week we’ll focus our “interview” on those things you can control: your resume, your interview, and your application. And then next week, we’ll look at those things that are out of your control, and what that means for you …

So taking those things you can control as to why that boss didn’t hire you, let’s get started with our interview with a hypothetical hiring manager — we’ll call her Betty Boss …

Me: Betty, thanks for taking the time to talk with us.

Betty Boss: You’re quite welcome.

Me: OK, Betty, you say you didn’t hire this candidate “for a reason.” If that candidate was sitting here today, what would you tell him or her that reason was?

Betty: Well, the most important thing is, I never saw your resume.

If your resume never made it past the HR admin that screens resumes, or never gets selected by the computer technology to be shown to me, I obviously can’t hire you.

What candidates in 2012 have to realize is that they need to write their resume for four audiences: the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that most corporations, including ours, use to manage their recruiting process, the HR admin that sorts through the piles of resumes and selects a couple dozen, the recruiter or HR person that reviews and presents the resumes to me, and, then, of course, me.

Writing one resume that meets these four needs is a challenge, but it can be learned, or you can hire a professional to do it for you.

But if for any reason at any point in that four-stage process, your resume is not selected or reviewed, I obviously will not be hiring you.

Me: Thanks Betty, what’s another reason you might not have hired a candidate?

Betty: I think this should also be obvious to people, but it’s not: I didn’t understand why you were applying for my job.

It’s rather easy in the internet era to hit “apply” and submit your credentials, but far too often, I have no idea why you think you’d be a good fit. If the job lists “CPA a must” and you don’t have a CPA, or the job description makes it clear that it’s a sales manager role, and you’ve only been an individual contributor, why are you wasting my time and yours?

Those are the obvious ones, but let’s take it a bit further, shall we? The past few years of turbulence have caused great people to come onto the market. It’s also caused them to think about “expanding their horizons” and switching to a different field or industry.

If it is not crystal clear to me as to why you want to fill the role for which I’m hiring, I’m not going to select your resume; I’ll select one of the outstanding people currently available who fit the bill exactly.

I’d be open to hiring someone who doesn’t have the exact experience or background I’d envisioned for the role, but I need to see some evidence that they’ve thought through the transition and have already taken steps to become the person who deserves the job — they’ve taken classes, attended conferences, added additional responsibilities in their present position, etc.

If you’re asking me to take a flyer on you, I’ll do that sometimes, but you have to earn that right and show that you’re worthy of it.

Me: Thanks, Betty, I don’t think a lot of people think of it that way. What’s another reason?

Betty: Your resume didn’t grab me.

Most of my jobs these days get dozens, or even hundreds, of applications. One of the reasons I post my jobs on TheLadders is that I don’t see a lot of the nonsense applicants that I’d get if I posted it elsewhere. On average, a job posted with TheLadders gets 14 applications.

That’s still over a dozen candidates, and I’m only hiring one person for the job.

The typical hiring manager wants to interview six candidates to make a hire, and I’m no different. So your resume needs to stand out to grab my attention.

Resumes shouldn’t state things in a wishy-washy manner such as “Hired to be Vice President, Western Region” or “Responsible for a $17 mm budget.” Of course, you were hired for the job, and of course you managed a budget! That’s what a job is, by definition.

I don’t want to know that you have a pulse and you collected a paycheck for a pretty title. What I want to know is this: what did you do in that role and what did you accomplish? And how did you manage that budget more wisely, more cleverly, or more thriftily than anybody else I am considering for my job?

So if your resume doesn’t tell me those things and grab my attention, I’m not going to be able to guess and frankly, I’m just not going to be that interested.

Me: But Betty, not too many people are accomplished writers, and it sounds like you’re judging them based on the packaging rather than what’s inside.

Betty: Business isn’t about being fair. It’s about getting the best results possible given the time and resource constraints that we all face. And it’s no surprise that in a modern economy, how you package, present, and sell any product — whether it’s ice cream, enterprise software, or yourself — makes a big difference in how well that product is received by its target audience, whether that’s the consumer, a corporate purchaser, or a hiring manager like me.

Now my time is running out here and I’ve got a meeting in five minutes with the CEO, so can we please move things along?

Me: You’re a tough cookie, Betty, but sure, sure. Can you tell me why you didn’t hire this other candidate because of their interview?

Betty: Well, I do have to admit it was an agreeable interview, the candidate was rather pleasant and professional, and we had a nice chat. But that’s the problem: the interview was a nice chat.

We covered the fact that we both moved here from someplace else, the candidates’ interest in camping and hiking, we discussed the amazing phenomenon that is Jeremy Lin, and we talked about the challenges we both face in raising teenagers. So we had a really enjoyable time together.

But the candidate never got around to making the case as to why I should hire them to fill this position.

You know, I’m obviously busy, and I obviously have a need for somebody to do this work for me, and I obviously have a lot of other candidates with whom I’m speaking. So why didn’t this applicant persuade me in our face-to-face interview as to their ability to make a unique contribution, or produce a more effective end-result, for me and for this business in the role?

It was a wasted opportunity to convince me of his ability to make me look smart for hiring him.

Me: That’s interesting, which …

Betty: Which leads me to my next pet peeve with candidates, if I may be perfectly candid with you. Even if we’ve had a nice interview, you never said you wanted this job.

I understand that you’re at a stage in your career where you’re looking to branch out from the narrow box which you’ve been in before. And you shared with me the wide variety of opportunities you’re reviewing. Some of them involve changing your industry, changing your function, or even moving across country.

I didn’t hire you for my job because I couldn’t tell why you were interviewing for it — was it for fun, out of a curious interest, or because you actually really wanted this job? I’m glad you’re considering starting a consulting practice with some former colleagues, and it is certainly intriguing that you’re considering joining that hot new startup that made the cover of BusinessWeek last week, but it didn’t really convince me that you were interested in, and excited about, this job.

And I know how much hard work is ahead in this role. It’s going to be a real grind for the next couple years, and I need somebody who is going to be enthralled with, appreciate, and make a big success out of this role. So compared to other applicants for whom this is a perfect job, your motivation and your ambition didn’t set you apart.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll need to be going off to my meeting, so …

Me: Aww, Betty, how about just one more?

Betty: No, really, I’m afraid …

Me: Betty, c’mon, these are the top professionals in the United States you’re speaking with, how about just one more?

Betty: Well … [scowling] … OK, just one more.

I didn’t hire you because I heard back from somebody else first.

Your audience should know that getting headcount approved these past few years has been a nightmare. And because budgets have been squeezed all through the recession, fighting for a particular role to be opened is a real battle, and by the time you win, it’s already two months past what you had in the budget. So once I get a job open, I need people fast. So your resume and application were fine, and the interview went quite well, actually, and I was interested in proceeding.

But then we got to the part where we were interested in discussing an offer and you slowed to a snail’s pace in your responsiveness, while another candidate didn’t.

He networked his way in, had two of my colleagues call me, and followed up with a gracious, but deadly effective, thank-you note. He also returned my HR person’s calls the same day so we were able to move much more quickly with him.

I heard from you that you had a couple other interesting opportunities that you were certain were going to come through, and that’s why you slowed things down here. It’s entirely understandable.

But you have to understand that I have a business to run, and the gentleman who seemed more enthusiastic and did more legwork while you were hoping to land your dream job is the gentleman who is now employed here.

So while I know it’s disappointing for you that this opportunity has passed you by, and now you’re calling hoping to get momentum going again, I’m afraid it’s too late for you for this job.

And speaking of too late, I find myself in similar circumstances. I’ll really need to get going, so thank you very much.

Me: Well, thank you very much, Betty, for sharing your insights.

Well, folks, that’s a composite look at why hiring managers “didn’t hire you for a reason.” Next week, we’ll look at the things that are out of your control, and then two weeks from now, I’ll tell you what to do about it! Until then..

Courtesy: http://www.businessinsider.com/i-didnt-hire-you-for-a-reason-2012-3

MBAs Should Take Competency Tests

2012-03-13T11:15:00.001+05:30

MBA education is changing. As a result, it's fair to ask what, exactly, students now are learning.

For one thing, there are far more institutions in the game. Nearly 500 accredited business schools in the U.S. now grant MBA degrees, a huge expansion of an industry that began a century ago at Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School. There's no mystery why. Business schools give students access not only to learning but also to social networks, job recruiters, and considerably higher pay than they'd get without the degree.

For another, curriculums are evolving. Many new programs are a third shorter than the traditional two-year norm. Even at top-tier schools, first-year students spend fewer hours in class than in the past, as field trips, student consulting projects, international excursions, CEO visits, club events, and more crowd the calendar. It's great to see students get their shoes dusty with real-world forays, but I fear they are losing the ability to read a balance sheet or parse the kind of complex data they'd get in case-study coursework.

And teaching methods have changed. More and more MBA instruction is now done by young PhDs with little or no business experience, whose career tracks are driven by publishing narrowly focused articles in academic journals. Accreditation of business faculty is based on advanced degrees, research publications, and understanding the theory of learning. What doesn't seem to count is experience in studying or, better yet, managing organizations in complex situations.

The MBA degree has slipped in quality. Many professors point out they cannot give the same exams they did 20 years ago because the students could not pass them. Adding to the problem is the perverse, mutually reinforcing dynamic of students seeking high grades and professors wanting better teaching evaluations. Too many students are distracted and disengaged. The situation is somewhat like the one American industrial companies faced in the 1970s and '80s when product quality slipped but was covered up by marketing and moving up-market.

So here's a proposal to make sure MBAs are actually learning the skills they need: competency tests, administered to all graduates.

Other fields do this. Graduating law students have to pass bar examinations in order to practice law. Chartered financial analysts have to get by tough CFA exams. Such tests are designed to protect students as well as employers and clients. They ensure that the school delivered on its mission to educate, and that the student is in fact what he represents himself to be.

Why shouldn't business schools and MBAs face the same discipline? A competency test for MBA grads could cover basic concepts and applications in accounting, finance, operations and technology, statistics and data analysis, organizational behavior, marketing, strategy, and entrepreneurship. Accreditation bodies should simply require this.

And while we're at it, why not require teachers to pass an experience test? Freshly minted PhDs are paid well to teach because their students get paid well for the MBA, not because these young instructors are necessarily qualified to teach management. The most effective teachers I've encountered have been those who have worked in business, government, or non-profits--any place where managers face a messy, fast-moving world. Accreditation bodies should set standards for teachers' prior work experience.

MBA programs should push for competency tests and faculty experience requirements. Everyone — students, faculty, and employers — would benefit.

Advent-2012

2012-03-12T12:06:00.001+05:30

Happy Holi...

2012-03-07T12:46:00.001+05:30

Ticket to ride on India's buses

2012-02-16T12:14:00.001+05:30

The redBus website started with three co-founders and grew into a team of 50 within 9 months. It currently employs more than 4000 people all over India.

What makes an entrepreneur? The BBC's Parul Agrawal and Tom Santorelli spoke to Charan Padmaraju about how he and his friends set up India's first organised bus ticket booking service after one of them struggled to secure a ticket home for the festival of Diwali.

In 2005 Phanindra Sama was frantically running around Bangalore hunting for a last-minute bus ticket to take him back home for the festival of Diwali.

Despite calling travel agents and weaving through the city's notorious traffic, he failed to secure a ride and, admitting defeat, sloped back to his flat.

He wondered why there was no centralised booking system for bus tickets in India when plane and train bookings were so well catered for.

The redBus website covers over 4500 routes across India

It sounded obvious to him.

He talked to his friends from the BITS Pilani engineering college, Sudhakar Pasupunuri and Charan Padamraju, and they brainstormed an idea.

Their website, redBus.in, would be a way of providing consumers the convenience of booking a bus ticket over the internet without having to leave the confines of their own homes.

The team of three all resigned from their well-paid and secure jobs and by August 2006 the website was up and running.

Two of the site's co-founders, Charan Padmaraju and Phanindra Sama

Internet penetration was spreading in urban areas and inroads were being made in rural India too. Charan knew this would be vital tool for them but he had to get the bus companies on board as online facilities were still considered to be unreliable and cumbersome: "The internet was new and especially for many of the bus operators they never felt could actually work, there would be a lot of loop-holes in it and they didn't really want to try it."

With hundreds of bus operators of various degrees of computerisation and automation, the challenge was to integrate their schedules into one centralised system. Charan started writing the code: "We created software for the bus drivers so they can log in and create their schedules and make it available for distribution", he says.

Next the co-founders had to change the mindset of a public used to traditional bricks and mortars travel agents. They distributed pamphlets for redBus at busy traffic intersections and bus stations. Slowly but surely word of mouth grew and traffic to the site started to increase.

Customers can chose from a range of travel options, even down to where they want to sit

What started as a team of three grew into a team of 50 within 9 months and currently they have more than 4000 employees all over India, dealing with 10,000 bus schedules a day.

Customers can chose from an option of over 4500 routes across India, picking their tickets up from thousands of outlets across the land or having them delivered to their home. "For a passenger that wants to travel from A to B, he can choose the right bus, the right time, right pick-up point and then make his choice even to the extent of picking his seat. He can do all this through his mobile, through his computer, he needn't go out into the market searching for a travel agent."

Even though the co-founders are keen to adopt the latest technological developments such as cloud -computing, they understand that not everyone in India has access to the internet - and some people feel uncomfortable making financial transactions online: "We have other sales channels, one is cash on delivery, where any customer can call a given number and we book a ticket and deliver it to his home and collect cash on delivery."

Co-founder Phanindra Sama thinks India is the ideal place for entrepreneurs right now: "I was recently touring some of the South-Asian countries and I see a big, big difference between the start-ups there and the start-ups here…the start-up founders are made heroes here, which actually exhilarates more and more people to get into entrepreneurship".

Other online bus ticketing sites have sprung up in redBus's wake, like Ticketvala and Travel Yaari, but Charan is proud that his company was the first to come up with the idea five years ago: "Five years is a long time. We never know where we'll be in the next five years. But we would definitely want to take our services deeper into the country, cover the complete geography - and also look at similar markets internationally where we can add value and create new markets."

Source of Inspiration...

2012-02-03T13:08:00.001+05:30

John T. Chambers

CEO (since 1995) Chairman (since 2006),

Cisco Systems

"I learned an awful lot about what not to do. You could see management getting further and further from the customer, telling the customer that they knew what he needed better than the customer did"

John Chambers is an influential leader of the past one and half decade, a great strategist and visionary who took up reins as Senior Vice President of global operations of Cisco Systems in 1990 and later raised through ranks as CEO in 1995 till now and Chairman of Board since 2006. The company was operating with $70mn when Chambers started in 1990 and in 1995 when Chambers took helm as CEO, the company grew to $1bn and the growth continued persistently under the great leadership of Chambers to the rate of nearly $40bn. Today the company is the world leader in networking systems.

The company, which was a routers company, expanded itself into packets, switches, ATM's, Internets, and Intranets tapping new technologies and markets with quick moves of acquisitions and porting the new technologies to synchronize into Cisco's infrastructure.

The key strategies that were fundamental in success of Cisco Systems was its simple to use technology, the top priority given to the customers' preferences and needs, delivering more value to the customers as compared to its competitors.

In the previous past, Cisco Systems delivered a value of 26 cents per dollar. This was all made possible by the great and pioneering knowledge of Chambers about the growing markets and his unwaivered focus on the future growth of Cisco and his customer centric approach. He worked on his laurels relentlessly, raised the company through the odds, and made it to the top far beyond the expectations of his contemporaries and analysts. Thus, Chambers succeeded in building an innovative next generation company and stood a role model for the upcoming CEOs.

The Essence of Real Leadership

As all of us know that the times of turbulence are real measure of leader's success. As Cisco reported a marginal loss in the recent past, the CEO holds himself responsible for the weak performance of the company and addresses the customers and employees saying that he is confident that "Cisco's vision and fundamental strategy is right". He would act on what is to be fixed in the Cisco's portfolio and the fundamental changes are ahead.

The success of Cisco was mostly dependent on its acquisitions (as many as ten acquisitions in the first ten years of his tenure), where as the world has shifted to consumer dominant products. He says that he plans to boost Cisco's focus and discipline.

Chambers added, "We have disappointed our investors and we have confused our employees. Bottom line, we have lost some of the credibility that is foundational to Cisco's success – and we must earn it back." A Cisco's spokes person revealed "At Cisco we've been driving a value-based channel strategy since 2001 and are committed to earning our partners' loyalty each and every day. While many of our competitors' partner strategies remain unclear, Cisco is doubling down on the channel by investing $75 million in our new partner-led sales model."

Chambers named several of Cisco's strengths, including its ability to anticipate and take advantage of changes in the marketplace, its continued growth in the data center, its focus on collaboration, and its big leap into the world of technology. "We have been slow to make decisions, we have had surprises where we should not, and we have lost the accountability that has been a hallmark of our ability to execute consistently for our customers and our shareholders".

The way he was connected to the customers, shareholders, employees and partners shows his empathy and emotional intelligence, the real qualities of a leader. This bonds the Cisco's customers for lifetime, with encapsulating trust at the time of turbulence. Hats off for the great leadership of Chambers.

Educational and Career Outlook

John Chambers with his winning attitude has overcome his problem of Dyslexia, and got himself well educated as any other leader did. He finished his high school at Charleston High School, Charleston, West Virginia, in the year 1967. In the year 1967-1968, he enrolled himself in engineering in Duke's University, but failed to continue. Later he did his Bachelors in Economics/Science in the year 1971 from West Virginia University. In the year 1974, Chambers finished his JD in the law college, West Virginia University. He did his masters in business administration from Indiana University, Bloomington in the year 1975.

After finishing his Masters and deciding his future would be in business, Chambers accepted a job offer from IBM in 1976 as a salesperson, with least desire to be in sales. At the time when Chambers joined in IBM, the company was a giant in the computer industry, the most massive and powerful company known as "The Big Blue". Soon after he kick started his career as a salesperson, he found himself good at the task with determination and touch of southern gentility he could gain a positive response from the customers. John soon realized the shortcomings of IBM that it was working on business computers and typewriters, where as adventurous startups of that era worked on personal computers. As John was lacking an engineering and research background, he doubted his stepping up the corporate ladder in IBM, though he excelled in sales. Therefore, after a six-year long tenure of sales experience in IBM, he managed to convince Wang, Chinese American founder of Wang Laboratories in the year 1982, that he was the right person to head the Asian sales team of Wang Labs and walked the path of his ambitions with pride. Asian customers liked the easygoing Southern manners of Chambers as compared to loud and hard-driving American salesmen.

Chambers had utmost respect for his boss Wang and he stated that Wang was the most impressive person of his life after his father, who had belief and trust in him. Later things drastically changed and Wang passed away with cancer in 1990's and Wang's son Fred took up Wang's Laboratories as successor to Mr. Wang and the company's prospects turned worse and the stock fell steeply as the investors quit. Chambers happened to resign from Wang labs and looked for a new job.

John Chambers was seriously looking out for executive positions and Cisco was the only company that responded to Chambers letters sent out for job search. In fall of 1990, Morgridge, the energetic, veteran of both Honeywell and Stratus, appointed John Chambers as Senior Vice President of Cisco for Worldwide sales and operations. This was the beginning of the Cisco's way by John Chambers striving through the volatility of the technologies and marketplaces.

Cisco was found in 1983 by a married couple of Stanford, Len Bosack, head of computer-science department and Sandy learner, an MBA. The company was pivoted on device called router, built around a microcomputer, which helped interdepartmental communication through Internet Protocol. Moreover, by the year 1986 Cisco had revenues of $10mn approximately. A venture capitalist Don Valentine was given one-third of the company, for his $2.5mn investment. Len Bosack, Sandy Learner and Don Valentine took the company public on February 16, 1990.

Later the founders were out of the company selling their stakes at $170mn. In 1990's being selected by Morgridge, traditional John Chambers was not an easy fit for the fastest trends of Silicon Valley, which were out of control. At the time when Morgridge and Chambers worked together with "technological agnosticism" the major Cisco's policy, the company has a roaring business in routers. Both of them thought that routers were not the only game of the company. Therefore, they wisely took a decision, keeping in view the company's future generally and technologically to acquire Cresendo Communications, a switching company for $95mn. This was the first acquisition made by Cisco in 1993. These switches gave power users and devices easy and better accessibility to the servers making networking child's play. This acquisition proved to be a great success though the revenues of Cresendo Communications were as low as $10mn, because the giant companies like Ford and Boeing were interested in switching products. The saga of acquisitions continued (2001) and Cisco went ahead to acquire other small switching companies such as Kalpana, Lightstream, and Grand Junction, negating the switching competition gradually.

In January 1995, Morgridge left the company, with John Chambers as successor CEO. Under the leadership of Morgridge Cisco not only went public but also had tremendous growth with takeovers and was at $1bn. The company which has a meager workforce of 34 employees rose to 2,260 by 1995. Chambers was strongly determined to take the company way too high beyond the expectations of industrial analysts and leave his mark in the corporate history.

The most valuable learning that Chambers got from IBM was that, customers liked simple one-step concept of technology rather than trying numerous components rigorously. Therefore, he implemented this learning in Cisco and made it a point to provide Cisco's customers with a full array of data solutions in order to stop them from reaching out competitors. Chambers wanted consistent and continuous growth of Cisco and navigated through routers, packets, switches and with explosion of telecom market; Chambers found that ATM is the key for Cisco's growth because of which he acquired StrataCom in 2001 for $4.5 billion far more than the company's market value. This pushed Cisco to the first place as vendor in 2002, to provide advanced network infrastructure for the intranet and Internet environments and the only vendor to offer end-to-end connectivity across public, private or hybrid networks.

Under the strong leadership of Chambers, Cisco started hiring best talent in technology and business as a part of its aggressive recruitment program. Chambers strongly believed that to stay on the top in the marketplace is to listen to the customers carefully and take into consideration their preferences for now and for five to ten years ahead of time and respond to the customers needs accordingly. Chambers always nurtured R&D and told them to integrate the technology of the acquired companies, making it compatible with Cisco's existing infrastructure. Chambers strengthened the position of Cisco forever by acquiring Linskys for $500mn in 2003 and Latitude Communications, a company specialized in conferencing for $80mn cash in 2004. In 2006, John Chambers took up as Chairman of Board in addition to the responsibility as CEO.

In his journey in Cisco from 1990 until date, Chambers experienced numerous peaks and falls, but steered the company towards excellence with his quick response to the ever-changing market strategies. One such instance; in early 2000 the network and telecom companies have been overvalued and in early 2001 Cisco experienced a fallout hit after 14 consecutive strong quarters till August 2000. As a response to this fall out hit, the company fired 15% of its workforce and the company's CEO received a salary of $1 per annum. He became the inevitable part of Cisco and stood exemplary to the future entrepreneurs.

More about John Chambers

Born	John Chambers August 23, 1949(age 62) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Country of Citizenship	United States
Residence	Los Altos Hills, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Bachelors in Arts/ Science; in business, West Virginia University Juris Doctor from West Virginia University of Law Masters in Business Administration, Indiana University
Occupation	CEO and Chairman of Board, Cisco Systems
Marital Status	Married
Children	A daughter and a son

The born leader John Chambers took birth in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A on August 23, 1949. Chambers spent most of his childhood in Charleston, West Virginia, with his sisters Cindy and Patty. Chambers was from a well to do family. His father, Jack Chambers, was a famous obstetrician and gynecologist who delivered all of the children of big wigs like, the Governor Jay Rockefeller. His mother June Chambers was a Psychologist.

Young John at the age of nine had a problem of Dyslexia, a learning disorder, which often made his education and study more torturous. Nevertheless, John's parents were confident about John and arranged him a reading specialist, Lorene Anderson-Walters, to cope up with his problem. John was highly optimistic and had a competitive attitude and enterprising type of personality, by which he achieved his education and stood an exemplary leader for past two decades.

John's favorite game was basketball, which he enjoyed playing in teams and he always played tennis doubles. Later he married, Elaine, his high-school sweetheart and frequent doubles partner. With Elaine, he had two children a girl Lindsay and a boy John.

Awards and Honors
John T. Chambers had received numerous honors and awards from the past one and half decades of his stance at Cisco, as an outstanding leader. Here are a few mentioned below:
	Chambers received "CEO Diversity Leadership Award" for his Diversity Best Practices in 2009
	Chambers was named "The World's Most Respected CEO" by Barron in 2009 and "The World's best CEO" in the same list in 2008
	Time Magazine in 2008 named Mr. Chambers one of the "World's 100 Most Influential People"
	John Chambers stood as "Best CEOs, Telecommunications, Data Networking," six-times by Institutional Investor Magazine from 2003-2008
	John Chambers was one among the "25 Most Powerful People in Business" by Fortune in 2008
	In 2008 InternetNews.com honored John Chambers with "Top 10 CEO Vision Award"
	John Chambers received "Business Leadership Award" by NASSCOM India in 2007-2008
	The Business Council in 2004 honored John Chambers with Presidential Award: "Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership"

Social Responsibility and Philanthropy depicted by John Chambers

Added to his entrepreneurship are his social responsibility and his philanthropy. Chambers played an active role in forming public-private partnerships to reorganize healthcare and education in 2008, for earthquake effected areas of China. Chambers also co-sponsored Jordan Education Initiative and the World Economic Forum. Chambers has also held several other education initiatives, including the 21st Century Schools initiative, to improve education and opportunity for children in the Gulf Coast Region affected by Hurricane.

He not only donated $180,000 for the Republican Party (Mr. McCain) and $100,000 to the Democrats Party (Mr. Bush) for the Presidential elections; but also served two American presidents; most recently as Vice Chairman of the President George W. Bush National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), where he provided industry experience and leadership to help protect the United States' critical infrastructure. He also served on President George W. Bush's Transition Team and Education Committee and on President Bill Clinton's Trade Policy Committee.

Leadership Lessons from Cisco's CEO
	There's almost nothing a leader cannot accomplish, if he does not care who gets credit
	Leadership is about getting tough issues, on not only the table, but also driving to resolution without it ever becoming personal
	Leaders have the courage to try new things and if it works, build a strategy around it and then integrate it into our technology and business architectures
	Leaders support other leaders especially during tough situations. If they disagree with other leaders' decisions, and only if it is important enough to continue the disagreement, do it peer-to-peer
	Leadership is about the ability to communicate the V / S / E objectives of a focus area, while still being realistic with ourselves and our group about the challenges that the V / S / E must overcome
	Leadership is about driving the culture and really walking the talk, including transparency about mistakes and what we need to do better
	Leadership is out Cisco Family

Lessons of Collaboration from John Chambers
As John Chambers is a strong believer of collaboration, he takes a chance to say that there's no miracle and that what the article says is only common sense. Anyway, it helps to identify the main lines of any successful change project:
	Start with the "human matter": A leadership change is not something one can improvise. It needs explanations, people need to be reassured and to be able to imagine themselves in the future situation, to make the change theirs.
	Align systems and remuneration: I often say "tell me how you're evaluated and I'll be able to tell you how you work". Trying to make people collaborate while they're given bonuses to ignore or even fight against each other is useless. In other words, in many cases it will be hard to avoid thinking about evaluation models.
	Think about "articulation": Chambers talks about structure change, but what I can see beyond that is the necessity not to eliminate the hierarchical structure but implement systems that will help hierarchy to articulate with more horizontal and adhoc work models.
	Frame and explain: Explain the future and make it clear. Autonomy and flexibility don't mean absence of rules. On the contrary, employees who are often mistrustful by nature (and sometimes for good reasons…) set. That's what will make them focus on their rethought work instead of continuously wondering about "how to work" and "how to implement change".
	Use social media: I don't know if it's done in purpose but even if it's an essential part of the approach, it comes in last position in the list. Maybe because it's of no use if nothing is done about the above-mentioned points.

Few Inspiring Quotes by John Chambers
	"When in doubt about our goals, we would encourage you to take the conservative view".
	"Education and the Internet must go hand in hand ... It will serve as one of the great equalizers".
	"It's not about size; it's about your ability to make a difference. At that small size, collaboration is all the more important".
	"The Internet economy continues to create unprecedented growth opportunities for people, companies and countries on a global basis".
	"Assume employees are going across a lot of networks. So you have to build in security from the home to any number of networks".
	"Globally, business and government leaders are beginning to dramatically transform their traditional business models into Internet economy business models ... Customers are increasingly seeking Cisco's expertise to help them through this transformation".
	"We see no major changes in that model for the next several years ... In fact, we are more optimistic about Cisco's position and opportunities in both the enterprise and service provider markets than at any point in the last several years".
	"While we remain cautious about the implications of a brief pause in the current 10-year expansion of the U.S. economy, we believe that Cisco has never been better positioned to help our customers solve their two most important business issues: Increasing productivity and creating new sources of revenue".
	"We always try to look three to five years out in the decisions we make and there's no question that the Cisco brand, our opportunity in the commercial market and the evolution of our leaders are going to take us to the next level".
	"Through the wisdom of its government leaders and the entrepreneurship of its private sector, India has rapidly risen to become a major force in the global economy. Cisco believes that the Internet and related technologies will be a key enabler for India to achieve its goal of becoming a developed nation".

Create a Meaningful Life Through Meaningful Work...

2012-01-31T12:01:00.001+05:30

UMAIR HAQUE

Umair Haque is Director of Havas Media Labs and author of Betterness: Economics for Humans and The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business. He is ranked one of the world's most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50. Follow him on twitter @umairh.

In case you haven't been following my tell-all confessional — I mean Twitter feed — lately, I've been in Manhattan for the last few weeks. Hanging out in all the wrong places (read: painfully hip power hotels), I've had the questionable privilege of overhearing more than my fair share of Very Serious Conversations from the movers and shakers of the world.

And boy, have they been tedious: mostly, about eking out slightly sharper terms for deals for more yawn-inducing stuff (whether flicks, financial instruments, or kicks) that's destined not to matter. So here's a tiny hypothesis: maybe the real depression we've got to contend with isn't merely one of how much economic output we're generating — but what we're putting out there, and why. Call it a depression of human potential, a tale of human significance being willfully squandered (on, for example, stuff like this).

If that's the best we can do, no wonder our economy is falling short of its potential — and no wonder our lives occasionally feel empty, even meaningless. (Even star quarterbacks married to Brazilian supermodels occasionally say to themselves, there's got to be more than this.) Hence, If we want to do better, I suggest it's time to get lethally serious about doing stuff that actually matters. So here are three questions to ask about yourself about what you're spending your life doing:

Does it stand the test of time? Ponder this for a moment: the vast majority spend the vast majority of our lives sweating, suffering, and slogging mightily over stuff that's forgotten by next quarter, let alone next year or next century. Call me crazy, but I'd suggest: mattering means building stuff that's awesome enough to last. Maybe not forever, like Giza's Pyramids — but surely more than a couple of months, before it's absent-mindedly tossed into the dustbin of history along with the rest of the flotsam and jetsam of the age of disposable plastic junk. I'd give you a handful of recent real-world examples, but beyond the labors of love a new generation of artisans are working on, whether microbrews, novels, or games, here's the hard truth: when it comes to the stuff our largest institutions are invested in, I can't think of any, so poor is our cultural performance at standing the test of time. (Just ask yourself: is anybody really going to be watching Mission Impossible 4 a century from now, except a handful of irony-soaked action-movie-worshipping 22nd century hipsters?). Of course, all that really means is that since nearly everyone seems to suck at standing the test of time, you've got a tremendous opportunity not to.

Does it stand the test of excellence? In most boardrooms, the first and last question asked is: will "the markets," financial and "consumer," like your latest shiny trinket slightly better than the next guy's? Of course, that's a perfect recipe for mediocrity: to have barely satisfied weary, oppressed, jaded "consumers" already trained to demand the bare McMinimum is to have furiously smashed the glass ceiling of the lowest common mass-market denominator — and little more. Here are some higher bars: do critics, scholars, aficionados, and diehard enemies pan it, or love it? Mattering means recognizing that everyone's opinion is not created equal — some count more than others, for the simple reason that some opinions are more nuanced, educated, sophisticated, historically grounded, and self-aware than others.

Does it stand the test of you? Sure, I can understand why the dudes and gals I've been overhearing in my little Manhattan adventure are so energized by the stuff they're "working" on — it feels exciting to be part of a buzzing milieu's in-crowd. But let's face it: on our deathbeds, the accomplishments that matter most to most of us probably won't be recounted thus: "In 2012, I sold another thousand copies of someone else's middle-of-the-road blockbuster to an overweening VP with really bad hair and worse manners at a giant monopolistic corporation that was destroying my grandkids' futures. Man, I lived." So while I too sometimes feel enchanted by the seductive power of glittering fantastic excess that seems to have mesmerized my little informal sample of Manhattanites, I'd also like to challenge them — and you — to consider the questions of mattering in a slightly more sophisticated, humane, considered way. It's one thing to work on stuff that seems sexy because it's socially cool and financially rewarding. But fulfillment doesn't come much from money or cool-power — all the money in the world can't buy you a searing sense of accomplishment.

Being human is never easy. But that's the point. Perhaps as an unintended consequence of our relentless quest for more, bigger, faster, cheaper, now, we've comfortably acceded to something akin to a minor-league contempt for the richness and grandeur of life unquenchably meaningfully well lived. Hence, call this post my tiny statement of rebellion. Hex me with all the bland management jargon in the world, zap me with all the perfect theories and models you like, but I'll never, ever accept the idea that triviality, mediocrity, and futility are appropriate goals for any human being, much less our grand, splintering systems of human organization.

We're all built differently — but none of us is here to not make a difference. So what are your three questions for getting lethally serious about doing stuff that matters?

HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY...

2012-01-24T20:56:00.001+05:30

Wish You All A Happy Makar Sankranti-Pongal..!!!

2012-01-13T19:28:00.001+05:30

7 Things Your Employees Will Never Tell You.

2012-01-07T20:12:00.001+05:30

What your employees won't say could be what you most need to hear.

Your employees have a lot of thoughts. Most of those thoughts they don’t share-- especially with you.

At times their silence is a good thing, especially where your ego or their employment status might be concerned, but their silence also may keep you from understanding what your employers really think and what they really need from you.

Consider whether your employees might be thinking one or more of the following:

1. “Please don’t talk to me about your personal life.” Talking about subjects that aren’t work related helps build a personal relationship, but many people fall back on talking about themselves when they don’t know the other person well. Employees, especially new employees, have no interest in hearing about your go-to topics like your last vacation or your antique collection or your beach house.

New employees want to feel like they belong, but more importantly they want to know how they’re doing. Long-term employees want to know you care about them; talking about yourself only shows you care about yourself.

2. “Can’t you see I’m really busy?” Here’s what happens. You stop by to talk, the employee stops what they’re doing to chat with you… and when you walk away they’re behind and have to catch up. Employees want to talk to you, but they have work to do, too. Sometimes there’s an easy answer, especially if the employee’s job involves physical tasks: Help out while you talk. Not only will your employee appreciate a little help, your conversation will be less forced. In other settings, pick your spots carefully.

Never interrupt an employee who is busy simply because today you’ve decided to “check in with the troops.”

3. “I can tell you really don’t care about my personal life.” Walking up and asking an employee a generic question like, “Hey, how are your, um, kids?” or, “Are you doing anything fun after work?” or, “Hey, who do you think will win the Cricket Worldcup this year?” comes across as forced and insincere, at least to your employees. Either take the time to get to know your employees well enough so you can have a decent conversation or just stick to work-related subjects. (Employees definitely prefer “all business” to “pseudo-personal.”)

One way to show employees you care about them as people is to follow the 20% rule: When you’re talking to employees, never talk more than 20% of the time. The single best way to show you care is to listen.

4. “You claim you respect me… so give me something important to do.” Assigning an employee a critical task is a definite sign of respect. Do it as often as you can.

5. “You claim you trust me… so give me something important to do and let me decide how to do it.” It’s only natural to tell your employees how to do their jobs; after all, it’s your business. Still, when you assign a project without providing a lot of direction your employees instantly know you respect their abilities and trust their judgment.

Employees appreciate respect; they love trust.

6. “Actually, I would like to work here a long time.” The average person switches jobs a number of times before they’re 30-years-old. Some leave for money, but many leave because they can’t stand their boss. No matter what your industry, high employee turnover doesn’t have to be a fact of employment life. Find out why employees leave and address the causes. It’s stressful to change jobs, so most employees won’t start job searching until you give them a reason to.

Watch, listen, take smart actions… do your job right and most of your employees will stay.

7. “That gift card is nice, but a simple ‘thanks’ is really all I need.” Sure, every time you hand out paychecks you’re implicitly saying thanks, but not really. Find reasons to thank your employees as often as you can. Look for an accomplishment, however small or fleeting, and express your appreciation. “Thanks for taking care of that difficult customer.” “Thanks for jumping in and helping Ms. Sweta.” “Thanks for letting me know we have a problem in the warehouse; I hadn’t realized orders were consistently shipping late.”

Say thanks benefits both of you: The employee feels appreciated, and you get a great way to start a meaningful conversation.

Top 10 Innovative Companies of 2011

2012-01-04T20:08:00.000+05:30

Ranked 1: Apple

Apple Inc. formerly Apple Computer, Inc., an American multinational corporation, that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers was established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California.

On January 6, 2011, the company opened their Mac App Store, a digital software distribution platform, similar to the existing iOS App Store.

As of September 24, 2011, the company had 357 retail stores, including 245 stores in the United States and 112 stores internationally. Apple has recently been the largest publicly traded company in the world by market capitalization, and the largest technology company in the world by revenue and profit.

On October 4, 2011, Apple announced the iPhone 4S, which includes an improved camera with 1080p video recording, a dual core A5 chip capable of 7 times faster graphics than the A4, an "intelligent software assistant" named Siri, and cloud-sourced data with iCloud.

On October 29, 2011, Apple purchased C3 Technologies, a mapping company, for $240 million.

Ranked 2: Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and micro blogging service that has redefined communication with a user retention rate of forty percent. It was created in July 2006 by Jack Dorsey and it has over 300 million users as of 2011, generating over 300 million tweets and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day.

On April 5, 2011, Twitter tested a new homepage, as well as phased out the "Old Twitter." Twitter acquired application developer Atebits on April 11, 2010.

On December 8, 2011, Twitter overhauled its website once more to feature the "Fly" design, which the service says is easier for new users to follow and promotes advertising. In addition to the Home button, the Connect and Discover buttons were introduced along with a redesigned profile and timeline of Tweets. The site’s layout has been compared to that of Facebook.

Ranked 3: Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. As of July 2011, Facebook has more than 800 million active users.

In February 2011, Facebook began to use the hCalendar microformat to mark up events, and the hCard microformat for the events’ venues, enabling the extraction of details to users own calendar or mapping applications.

Since April 2011 Facebook users have had the ability to make live voice calls via Facebook Chat, allowing users to chat with others from all over the world.

On July 6, 2011, Facebook launched its video calling services using Skype as its technology partner. It allows one to one calling using a Skype Rest API.

On September 14, 2011, Facebook launched a Subscribe button. The feature allows users to follow public updates, and these are the people most often broadcasting their ideas. The site released major modification on September 22, 2011.

Ranked 4: Nissan

Nissan Motor Company Ltd. (usually shortened to Nissan), a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan, was founded on December 26, 1933 by Masujiro Hashimoto, Kenjiro Den, Rokuro Aoyama, Meitaro Takeuchi and Yoshisuke Aikawa. Along with its normal range of models, Nissan also produces a range of luxury models branded as Infiniti.

In its home market, Nissan became the second largest car manufacturer in 2011, surpassing Honda with Toyota still very much the dominant first.

The Nissan VQ engines, of V6 configuration, have been featured among Ward’s 10 Best Engines for 14 consecutive years.

Nissan is expected to use renewable energy to charge the Nissan Leafs that will be produced there in 2012.

Ranked 5: Groupon

Groupon (a portmanteau derived from "group coupon") is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. The idea for Groupon was created by now-CEO Andrew Mason and the company was launched in November 2008. On February 19, 2011 The Wall Street Journal reported that Groupon was preparing to launch in China.

Groupon also expanded into the MENA region with its launch of Groupon UAE on June 16, 2011.

Groupon New Zealand launched on 10 May 2011.

From January 2010 through January 2011, Groupon’s U.S. monthly revenues grew from $11 million to $89 million.

Groupon’s 2011 estimated revenues are in the $3 billion to $4 billion range. Groupon’s gross billings in October 2011 increased 1.5% to $147 million from $144 million in September 2011, according to independent data provider Yipit.

Ranked 6: Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation invested in internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. It was founded by Menlo Park, California, U.S on September 4, 1998. The company’s mission statement from the outset was "to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful."

Google’s algorithm was changed in March 2011, giving more weight to high-quality content possibly by the use of n-grams to remove spun content.

In May 2011, unique visitors of Google surpassed 1 billion mark for the first time, an 8.4 percent increase from a year ago with 931 million unique visitors.

On September 28, 2011 the company has announced to build 3 data centers worth more than $200 million in Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and the land has been owned by Google Inc. It will be operated between one to two years ahead.

In late June 2011, Google soft launched a social networking service called Google+ that had reached 10 million users just two weeks after it was launched in the "limited" trial phase and 25 million users after four weeks in operation.

Ranked 7: Dawning information industry

Dawning Information Industry (Shenzhen) Limited manufactures and sells high-tech computers and servers that owns more than 30 percent of the country’s high-performance computing (HPC) market. Dawning has manufactured some of the fastest supercomputers in the world including Nebulae, the second fastest computer in the June 2010 TOP500 list. The high-performance Dawning 6000, which has a projected speed of over one quadrillion operations per second, will incorporate the Loongson processor as its core. Li Guojie, chairman of Dawning Information Industry Company and director and academician of the Institute of Computing Technology, said research and development of the Dawning 6000 is expected to be completed in two years.

Ranked 8: Netflix

Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and started its subscription-based digital distribution service in 1999 and by 2009 it was offering a collection of 100,000 titles on DVD and had surpassed 10 million subscribers.

In April 2011, Netflix announced 23.6 million subscribers.

In summer 2011, Netflix announced they will expand into the European market, starting in Spain by 2012.

In September 2011, Netflix completed the launch of streaming-content services in Latin America by launching in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America.

In October 2011, it was announced that Netflix would be launching in the UK and Ireland in early 2012.

Ranked 9: Zynga

Zynga, headquartered in San Francisco, is a social network game developer that develops browser-based games that work both stand-alone and as application widgets on social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace.

As of November 2011, Zynga’s games on Facebook have over 200 million monthly active users. Four of Zynga’s games, CityVille, Texas HoldEm Poker, FarmVille, and Empires & Allies, are among the top five most widely used game applications on Facebook, with CityVille having over 54 million monthly active users.

In May of 2011, the company launched its most complicated game to date—Empires and Allies.

Ranked 10: Epocrates

Epocrates, Inc., founded in 1998, is an American company based in San Mateo, California that makes various mobile health software applications under the "Epocrates" name, mostly for health care providers. Two Stanford students have founded it as a means to ease doctors’ burden of carrying around books to look up drug information, drug interactions, and dosing information. Since then, the company has transformed itself into a leading provider of clinical information and solutions to healthcare providers. By 2010 the company said it had 1 million users worldwide, including 40% of the physicians in the United States, and that it employed more than 250 people. For the current year, Epocrates projects revenues of $122 million–$125 million with EPS of $0.12–$0.15.

Green Thought....

2012-01-03T16:13:00.001+05:30

In one day a human being breathes oxygen equivalent to three cylinders. Each oxygen cylinder on an average costs Rs 700, so in a day one uses Oxygen worth Rs 2100 and for a full year it is Rs 7,66,500. If we consider an average life span of 65 years; the costs of oxygen we use become a staggering sum of Rs 500,00,000. All this oxygen is derived free of cost from the surrounding trees. Very few people look at trees as a resource and there is rampart tree cutting going on everywhere which should stop.

Think about it and save Trees…

Wish you Happy New Year...

2011-12-31T17:55:00.001+05:30

Merry Christmas...

2011-12-23T19:29:00.001+05:30

Go Green Intiative...

2011-11-07T16:15:00.001+05:30

Save Wood and Paper

Return unwanted mail and ask for your name to be removed from the mailing list.
Always use both sides of a sheet of paper.
Use e-mail to stay in touch, including cards, rather than faxing or writing.
Re-use envelopes.
Always recycle paper after use.
Share magazines with friends and pass them on to the doctor, dentist or local hospital for their waiting rooms.
Use recyclable paper to make invitation cards, envelops, letter pads etc.

At your workplace

Use printers that can print on both sides of the paper ; try to look into this option when replacing old printers.
Use the back of a draft or unwanted printout instead of notebooks. Even with a double-sided printer there is likely to be plenty of spare paper to use!
Always buy recycled paper - for your business stationery and to use in your printers.
Switch off computer monitors, printers and other equipment at the end of each day. Though in standby mode they're still using power - and that adds to global warming.
Always turn off your office light and computer monitor when you go out for lunch or to a meeting.

In your Home

Turn off equipment like televisions and stereos when you're not using them.
Choose energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.
Save water: some simple steps can go a long way in saving water like for e.g: you should always turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth. And try to collect the water used to wash vegetables and salad to water your houseplants.
Let clothes dry naturally.
Keep lids on pans when cooking to prevent your cooker having to work extra hard. Prefer to use gas ovens, Geysers etc in place of the electric ones.
Recycle your paper, glass, plastics and other waste.
Use rechargeable batteries.
Send e-greetings instead of paper cards.

In your Garden

Water the garden early in the morning or late in the evening. This reduces water loss due to evaporation. Don’t overwater the garden. Water only till the soil becomes moist, not soggy.
Explore water efficient irrigation systems. Sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation can be adapted to garden situations .
Make your garden lively - plant trees and shrubs which will attract birds. You can also put p nest boxes and put food.
Try growing sturdy grass in bare patches of land , and convince people in your neighbourhood to do so too.
Put waste to work in your garden- sweep the fallen leaves and flowers into flower beds or under shrubs . This will increase soil fertility and also reduce the need for frequent watering.
If you have little space in your garden , you could make a compost pit to turn organic waste from the kitchen and garden to soil enriching manure .
Don't use chemicals in the garden - as they will eventually end up in the sea and can upset the delicate balance of lifecycles.
Organic and environmentally friendly fertilisers and pesticides are available - organic gardening reduces pollution and is better for wildlife.

Reuse and Recycle

Use washable nappies instead of disposables if you can.
Recycle as much as you can.
Give unwanted clothes, toys and books to charity shops or jumble sales.
Use mains electricity rather than batteries if possible. If not, use rechargeable batteries.
Use a solar-powered calculator instead of one with a battery.
Instead of a plastic ballpoint, use a fountain pen with bottled ink, not plastic cartridges.
Store food and other products in ceramic containers rather than foil and plastic wrap

While Shopping

Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season to help reduce enormous transport costs resulting from importing produce and, where possible, choose locally produced food.
When buying fish look out for a variety of non-endangered species and buy local fish if possible.
Prefer vegetarian options for your meals.
On-line Shopping Purchase solar powered products.
Send e-cards, if you can, rather than buy paper cards.
Shop online, not only will this reduce fuel consumption and emissions by not driving to the shops, but each time you buy something on-line WWF receive a donation. You may even buy products from the nature shop.

Quotes from Warren Buffet

2011-11-03T10:31:00.001+05:30

Amazing Quotes from Warren Buffet

On Earnings:             Never depend on a single income. Make investment to create a second source.

On Spending:            If you buy things you don't need, soon you'll have to sell things you need.

On Savings:               Don't save what is left after spending but spend what is left after saving.

On Taking Risk:        Never test the depth of river with both feet.

On Investment:         Don't put all your eggs in a single basket.

On Expectations:      Honesty is a very expensive gift, don't expect it from cheap people.

Happy Diwali and prosperous New year !

2011-10-22T16:27:00.001+05:30

10 Secrets of Successful Leaders

2011-10-18T11:37:00.001+05:30

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader, a great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.” But, becoming a great leader isn’t easy. Successfully maneuvering a team through the ups and downs of starting a new business can be one of the greatest challenges a small-business owner faces.

Leadership is one of the areas that many entrepreneurs tend to overlook, according leadership coach John C. Maxwell, whose books include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (Thomas Nelson, 1998) and Developing the Leader Within You (Thomas Nelson, 1993). “You work hard to develop your product or service. You fight to solve your financial issues. You go out and promote your business and sell your product. But you don't think enough about leading your own people and finding the best staff,” Maxwell says. It turns out, the skills and talents necessary to guide your team in the right direction can be simple, and anyone with the determination can develop them. Here’s a list of 10 tips drawn from the secrets of successful leaders.

1. Assemble a dedicated team.
Your team needs to be committed to you and the business. Successful entrepreneurs have not only social and selling smarts, but also the know-how to hire effectively, says leadership trainer Harvey Mackay, who wrote Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive (Ivy Books, 1995). “A colossal business idea simply isn't enough. You have to be able to identify, attract and retain talent who can turn your concept into a register-ringing success,” he says.

When putting your team together, look for people whose values are aligned with the purpose and mission of your company. Suzanne Bates, a Wellesley, Mass.-based leadership consultant and author of Speak Like a CEO (McGraw Hill, 2005), says her team members rallied around each other during the worst part of the recession because they all believed in what they were doing. “Having people on your team who have tenacity and a candid spirit is really important," she says.

2. Overcommunicate.
This one’s a biggie. Even with a staff of only five or 10, it can be tough to know what’s going on with everyone. In an effort to overcommunicate, Bates compiles a weekly news update she calls a Friday Forecast, and emails it to her staff. “My team is always surprised at all the good news I send out each week,” Bates says. “It makes everyone feel like you really have a lot of momentum, even in difficult times.”

3. Don’t assume.
When you run a small business, you might assume your team understands your goals and mission -- and they may. But, everybody needs to be reminded of where the company’s going and what things will look like when you get there. Your employees may ask, “What’s in it for me?” It’s important to paint that picture for your team. Take the time to really understand the people who are helping you build your business.

“Entrepreneurs have the vision, the energy, and they’re out there trying to make it happen. But, so often with their staff, they are assuming too much,” says Beverly Flaxington, founder of The Collaborative, a business-advising company in Medfield, Mass. “It’s almost like they think their enthusiasm by extension will be infectious -- but it’s not. You have to bring people into your world and communicate really proactively.”

4. Be authentic.
Good leaders instill their personality and beliefs into the fabric of their organization, Flaxington says. If you be yourself, and not try to act like someone else, and surround yourself with people who are aligned with your values, your business is more likely to succeed, she says.

“Every business is different and every entrepreneur has her own personality,” Flaxington says. “If you’re authentic, you attract the right people to your organization -- employees and customers.”

5. Know your obstacles.
Most entrepreneurs are optimistic and certain that they’re driving toward their goals. But, Flaxington says, it’s a short-sighted leader who doesn’t take the time to understand his obstacles.

“You need to know what you’re up against and be able to plan around those things,” she says. “It’s folly to think that just because you’ve got this energy and enthusiasm that you’re going to be able to conquer all. It’s much smarter to take a step back and figure out what your obstacles are, so the plan that you’re putting into place takes that into account.”

6. Create a 'team charter.'
Too many new teams race down the road before they even figure out who they are, where they’re going, and what will guide their journey, says Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager (William Morrow & Co., 1982) and founder of The Ken Blanchard Cos., a workplace- and leadership-training firm. Just calling together a team and giving them a clear charge does not mean the team will succeed.

“It’s important to create a set of agreements that clearly states what the team is to accomplish, why it is important and how the team will work together to achieve the desired results,” says Blanchard, who is based in Escondido, Calif. “The charter provides a record of common agreements and can be modified as the business grows and the team’s needs change.”

7. Believe in your people.
Entrepreneurial leaders must help their people develop confidence, especially during tough times. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, "Leaders are dealers in hope." That confidence comes in part from believing in your team, says Maxwell, who is based in West Palm Beach, Fla. “I think of my people as 10s, I treat them like 10s, and as a result, they try to perform like 10s,” he says. “But believing in people alone isn't enough. You have to help them win.”

8. Dole out credit.
Mackay says a good salesperson knows what the sweetest sound in the world is: The sound of their name on someone else's lips. But too many entrepreneurs think it's either the crinkle of freshly minted currency, or the dull thud of a competitor's body hitting the pavement.

“Many entrepreneurs are too in love with their own ideas and don't know how to distribute credit,” Mackay says. “A good quarterback always gives props to his offensive line.”

9. Keep your team engaged.
Great leaders give their teams challenges and get them excited about them, says leadership expert Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Free Press, 1989). He pointed to the example of a small pizza shop in a moderate-sized town that was killing a big fast-food chain in sales. The big difference between the chain and the small pizza joint was the leader, he says.

Every week he gathered his teenage employees in a huddle and excitedly asked them: “What can we do this week that we’ve never done before?” The kids loved the challenge. They started texting all their friends whenever a pizza special was on. They took the credit-card machine to the curb so passing motorists could buy pizza right off the street. They loaded up a truck with hot pizzas and sold them at high-school games. The money poured in and the store owner never had problems with employee turnover, says Covey, who is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

10. Stay calm.
An entrepreneur has to backstop the team from overreacting to short-term situations, says Mackay, who is based in Minneapolis. This is particularly important now, when news of the sour economic environment is everywhere.

“The media has been hanging black crepe paper since 2008,” he says. “But look at all the phenomenal companies and brands that were born in downturns, names like iPod, GE and Federal Express.”

The Must-Have Leadership Skill

2011-10-15T16:17:00.001+05:30

"We hired a new CEO, but had to let him go after just seven months," the chairman of an East Coast think tank complained to me recently. "His resume looked spectacular, he did splendidly in all the interviews. But within a week or two we were hearing pushback from the staff. They were telling us, 'You hired a first-rate economist with zero social intelligence.' He was pure command and control."

The think tank's work centers on interlocking networks of relationships with the board, staff, donors, and a wide variety of academics and policy experts. The CEO urgently needed to manage those relationships, but lacked the interpersonal skills that organizations increasingly need in their leaders. A CEO who fails to navigate those relationships artfully, the think tank's board saw, could torpedo the organization.

Why does social intelligence emerge as the make-or-break leadership skill set? For one, leadership is the art of accomplishing goals through other people.

As I've written with my colleague Richard Boyatzis, technical skills and self-mastery alone allow you to be an outstanding individual contributor. But to lead, you need an additional interpersonal skill set: you've got to listen, communicate, persuade, collaborate.

That was brought home to me yet again reading "Making Yourself Indispensable," by John H. Zenger, Joseph R. Folkman, and Scott E. Edinger, which makes the strong point that a leader's competencies are synergistic. The more different competencies a leader displays at strength, the greater her business results.

But there's another critically important rule-of-thumb: some competencies matter more than others, particularly at the higher levels of leadership. For C-level executives, for example, technical expertise matters far less than the art of influence: you can hire people with great technical skills, but then you've got to motivate, guide and inspire them.

While Zenger, Folkman, and Edinger make a strong empirical case that competencies matter, it overlooks a crucial point: some competencies matter more than others. Specifically, there are threshold competencies, the abilities every leader needs to some degree, and then there are distinguishing competencies, the abilities you find only in the stars.

You can be the most brilliant innovator, problem-solver or strategic thinker, but if you can't inspire and motivate, build relationships or communicate powerfully, those talents will get you nowhere. What Zenger and colleagues call the "interpersonal skills" — and what I call social intelligence — are the secret sauce in top-performing leadership.

Lacking social intelligence, no other combination of competences is likely to get much traction. Along with whatever other strengths they may have, the must-have is social intelligence.

So how do you spot this skill set? An executive with a long track record of satisfactory hires told me how his organization assessed social intelligence in a prospect during the round of interviews, group sessions, meals, and parties that candidates there routinely went through.

"We'd watch carefully to see if she talks to everyone at the party or a dinner, not just the people who might be helpful to her," he said. One of the social intelligence indicators: during a getting-to-know you conversation, does the candidate ask about the other person or engage in a self-centered monologue? At the same time, does she talk about herself in a natural way? At the end of the conversation, you should feel you know the person, not just the social self she tries to project.

I wouldn't use such subjective measures alone — you're better off to combine them with best practices on hiring without firing. But don't ignore your gut.

Courtesy by:

DANIEL GOLEMAN

Daniel Goleman is Co-Director of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations at Rutgers University, co-author of Primal Leadership: Leading with Emotional Intelligence, and author of The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: New Insightsand Leadership: Selected Writings.