A Blog by Mohit Kant

Icebergs U.S. Banks fail to see

2015-05-11T19:50:00.000+05:30

Consumer banking in the US is undergoing a transformation. On one hand, there is an evolving regulatory environment that is forcing cost of compliance to soar, on other hand there is rapid shift in consumer behavior. Brick and Mortar retail branches are becoming less relevant, digital usage is rapidly increasing and consumers are becoming more accepting of digital services such as Betterment, Mint & Simple. While Banks are sprinting to catch up, they fail to consider the broader structural changes in the business. The bigger threat is not whether banks are too big to fail; rather if Banks will continue to remain relevant in the future.

Traditionally, the value proposition offered by Banks to their customers included storage and management (investment) of financial assets ($), safety (insurance) and availability of credit, with transaction infrastructure enabling banks to serve these key customer needs.

One of the threats posed by cryptocurrencies like BitCoin is replacement of traditional paper currencies. While cryptocurrencies are still in nascent stage, the variability in enabling technology infrastructure across the various countries is a major hindrance to global acceptance. Most experts agree that threat of cryptocurrencies replacing traditional currencies is relatively low in medium term. However, investment and payments parts of the equation are where the industry is seeing major disruption. Let me articulate some of the emerging threats that banks face today:

Core systems overhaul and organizational problems

Most of the big banks have core systems that were designed in 1960s since then the paper dominated banking environment has been disrupted by the rise of Internet, then mobile and now disruption by wearable technologies on the horizon.

As the Internet became the new normal, banks hired coders to adapt the old systems to work in the Internet era, as mobile banking era took off, banks hired more coders to tweak existing systems further to work with emerging technologies. This is evident in rising technology cost & technology employees in banks over the years. As we leap into the wearable technology era, many banks continue to take the tweaking approach rather than a complete overhaul approach, leaving opportunities for industry incumbents & technology firms to make a move after the regulatory storm settles.

The core system tweaking approach has increased complexity in accessing and processing data, locking key customer data in various silos. Therefore, most banks cannot fully comprehend their customers’ need, which not only translates to loss of potential revenue but also opportunities for competitors to move in and better serve those needs. In an era where a Product Manager at Amazon can change pricing multiple times a day, a fee change in banks takes months to implement.

To put things in perspective, Spanish banks which are better positioned from a systems standpoint spend on average about 40 cents of every dollar in revenue on operating expenses; in the U.S., that average is 60 cents for every dollar of revenue. In 2013, BBVA compass became the first major bank in the US to replace its core system in over 15 years with Accenture Alnova platform. As noted in various media reports, earlier the bank had 26 customer information systems. Now each customer has one file covering all the accounts.

Core system upgrades are multi-year projects that run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Most big banks are still hesitant or slow about taking such a risk. A competent bank de-risks the risk of change by testing extensively and therein lays the organizational risk. There is a big disconnect between the technology and business. Many efforts to ramp up or replace systems are marred with implementation problems arising from miscommunication between business and technology teams. Banks need to simplify their organizational structures to allow for better flow of information between technology & business employees.

To stay relevant in the new world, banks need to either strategically start replacing their core systems and gradually transition to an era of more agile banking systems or start from scratch to design a truly digital bank without any migration of existing customers and then gradually migrate customers to the new bank after tweaking and testing new strategies and systems. A detailed strategic analysis is warranted before deciding on either of the two approaches. However the current tweaking approach is likely to spell doomsday for many banks

Investment Management under Threat

There are two key trends on the investments side-

1. A surge in online/mobile platforms that challenge usefulness of financial advisers by providing computer driven and flexible investment solutions to customers

2. Transparency & simplicity - there is a trend towards simplification of investment products. Companies such as Lending Club, Robinhood & Acorns (a company that automatically invests customer’s spare change) are providing simple solutions that are easier for most consumers to swallow.

Companies that have managed to offer simple to understand solutions that offer better returns (despite lack of FDIC insurance) than traditional banking products such as CDs & MMAs are seeing exponential growth in their customer base.

However, looking at the aggregated data conceals some critical trends. For one, older consumers with bigger wallets still find financial advisers relevant. One explanation for this is that older consumers tend to be risk averse and studies have shown that financial advisers are better at minimizing risk than they are at maximizing investment returns. Banks understand that they cannot match the lower cost and speed of innovation of online platforms. Further, acquiring customers with smaller wallets spreads financial advisors over a larger population. Thus, most banks are trying to acquire customers with bigger wallets while keeping those with lower wallets away by raising balance requirements for monthly fee waivers and benefits

With bigger banks focusing on older, wealthy and ultra-wealthy segments, the much larger younger emerging affluent and mass market segments are more accessible to online platforms. This strategy adopted by many banks may control the bleeding in the short run, but will younger users who adopt online platforms seek financial advice when they graduate to wealthy and ultra-wealthy segment in the long run is something that doesn't have a clear answer.

Another idea for banks to consider is gamification of financial advice. Leveraging the HR Block type model, wherein banks provide training & online infrastructure for a monthly fee to independent advisors to lend investment advice to bank’s customers. These advisors could be rated with their average portfolio returns available publically. This essentially twists the segmentation approach to a self-selection approach wherein customers with bigger wallets can self-select advisors with better track records. This approach can also partially counter the assault by online investment firms such as Robinhood and Betterment

New Revenue Streams and Product Simplification

The only thing that is constant is change. When I look at current product offerings across Banks, I see resistance to evolve product offerings. For example for Checking Accounts there are usually 3 offerings catering to Mass, Emerging and Affluent segments with pre-defined monthly service fee structure. The fee for other services such as Non-Bank ATM use or Wire Transfers is consistent across Products. This approach has essentially converted most banking products into commodities wherein most customers base their decision on either convenience or lower price.

Banks should learn from Telecom companies that offer customizable plans to customers to differentiate themselves. Banks should offer a base product and allow customers to add or remove specific features such wire transfers or foreign transaction fee. This will allow for leaner infrastructure and thus, lower costs while providing a more engaging, tailored experience to customers.

Banks have also missed diversification opportunities, especially in the authentication and security space. For customers, protection of their financial assets is a top-most priority. The authentication space is seeing some really promising innovation for example, a company called Nymi, authenticates users by their heartbeat via an electrocardiogram (ECG) through a wrist band. This authentication system is being considered by a British bank for customer authentication.

If banks had taken a lead in development of such a wearable device and a supporting ecosystem that not only served the purpose for authentication but also that of a health & fitness tracker, they could have seen their fraud losses go down, while seeing their customer engagement go up.

Such a device, coupled with a supporting ecosystem could have helped banks generate other revenue streams. For example, banks could have partnered with insurance companies to share health & fitness data for their customers to provide lower rates or benefits (with customer’s consent of-course). Banks could also have partnered with retailers to integrate loyalty programs and speed up payment processing through such a wearable device. This wearable device could essentially replace store cards that banks offer to customers, while providing much richer customer data to banks

Threat to Payment Ecosystem

Many banks rushed to support Apple Pay as it launched in the US. Similar payment systems have failed to gain traction in the past because of point of sale execution failures. However, Apple with its loyal brand following is a credible player in the market. Most banks saw supporting Apple Pay as a defensive strategy. However, they fail to see the threat of large volumes of transactions flowing out of the traditional banking system.

Let me try and elaborate this by painting a picture. Consider the following scenario. Assume that over the next 2 years, we see a major surge in adoption of Apple Pay at both customer & merchant level. Next, Apple launches a currency which is pegged to dollar called “Apple Bucks”. i.e. 1 Apple Buck = 1 Dollar. Customers can purchase Apple Bucks which will get loaded on their mobile devices. Next Apple announces a deal with Starbucks wherein all Starbucks stores accept Apple Bucks. Starbucks in return gains data that is free of noise and gain more relevant insights on its users that allow it to better segment & target the coffee drinking population.

Right now, Starbucks loyalty program is a one size fits all approach. In the Apple bucks world, Starbucks can offer different deals to frequent & not-so-frequent Starbucks customers. Essentially, this drives a major chunk of transactions to flow out of the traditional banking systems. Starbucks can then choose to cash Apple Bucks back into dollars and can hand pick the bank that can process transactions at lowest possible rate. The altered customer & seller power paradigm is in contrast to the individual transaction based traditional interchange fee model.

Now imagine Apple making deals with multiple big retailers across the globe or what if Starbucks vendors started accepting payments in Apple bucks. The scenario I described does not consider Apple launching its own Bitcoin like cryptocurrency. The impact on bank revenues in all these scenarios will be huge. Whether Apple, Google or Facebook will decide to make such a move in the near future is something that’ll be interesting to track.

Google Glass - A game changer?

2013-05-15T02:06:00.003+05:30

Google Glass, which will most likely be the first product to hit the wearable-computer market has created quite-a-buzz, not all of which is positive. Tech analysts are divided over how successful Google Glass would actually be.

This big-hype isn't surprising and the timing can't be more perfect. The Smart Phone era seems to be nearing its end as new phones offer marginal improvements over existing technology and consumers are demanding new innovations. These hypotheses are strengthened by the latest the global mobile sales data for first quarter for 2013, which reported marginal sales growth (0.7%) with Asian markets - where a significant untapped market still exists - accounting for nearly 50% of the sales.

Let's start with the product manufacturing - Google recently announced that Google Glass will be manufactured by FoxConn in U.S. and not China. This move has sent mixed signals about where the pricing is likely to be. This is not the first time that Google has decided to move manufacturing to the US. Not too long ago, Google had decided to manufacture Nexus Q home entertainment device in US. The argument at the time was that speed was more important than cost, and since Nexus Q was not expected to sell in high numbers, the move made sense. So if the same logic holds and given significantly higher cost of manufacturing in the US, Google might not be expecting to sell Google Glass in high numbers, which indicates that the Google might be targeting a smaller market and the pricing might hover around the $1500 mark as some analyst have predicted.

On the other hand, If Google were to go for the mass market, Google Glass has to be priced around $500. In such a scenario, production in China may make more sense as far as costs are concerned, however, safeguarding intellectual property by manufacturing in the U.S. and quickly responding to match consumer needs - i.e. speed - may also be a key considerations. FoxConn, which is a trusted partner for many technology companies has significant experience in mass manufacturing, which signals that Google Glass may be marketed as a mass-market product. It is possible that initially Google might opt to ration Google Glass by making it available in small batches to retailers and gradually moving production to China as bugs in Google Glass are fully ironed out.

On the software side, ecosystem that Google builds around Glass will be critical to its success. Similar to the razor blade model that was pioneered by Apple for its IPhone, Google is likely to get users to pay for premium applications, while certain basic applications may be available for free. Long term success of glass will be highly dependent on type of applications available to Glass owners.

A research firm estimated adoption of Google Glass at around 10 million between 2012 and 2016 in an optimistic scenario and at around 1 million in a more pessimistic scenario. I am not surprised by the huge variability in the estimates, especially because of lack of clarity on pricing and likely adoption rate

The lack of clarity on adoption rate is because of two reasons - 1st - the privacy concerns that the Google

Glass is likey to raise. A mass-adoption or negative incidents may lead to regulatory changes, which may deter further adoption and thus, adoption estimates. 2nd - competitive response - first the competitors aren't limited to technology firms such as Sony, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung that are likely to introduce wearable computer-watches but also companies that provide other alternatives such as wearable cameras - GoPro Hero or Recon MOD. Market for wearable cameras was estimated at $200MM in 2012. How will these competitors innovate to match Glass is yet to be seen.

Personally, I am very bullish on Google Glass. It's an exciting product. It's not perfect yet, but it has great potential and to make my case for a high-adoption rate, I offer the following 2 pictures taken at St. Peter's Square in 2005 and 2013

Anti Big-Data Strategy: Opportunity or Survival tactics?

2013-05-14T23:40:00.001+05:30

In case you haven’t caught on to the new buzz word in the business world, let me break it to you – it’s “Big Data”. Consider the following fact – 90% of the data in the world today has been created in the last two years alone. This data may include search queries on Google, clicks on Facebook (Brands and organizations on Facebook receive 34,722 “Likes” every minute of the day) , tweets on twitter (Twitter processes 7 terabytes of data every day), purchase transaction records (Wal-Mart handles more than one million customer transactions every hour)… the list is endless.

Analysis of this “Big data” has helped generate big profits for companies. Consider Google’s search business for example, where speed is a key success metric. Google’s search system can predict a query before it is fully typed based on aggregating the billions of searches it gets each day. Wal-Mart is another “Big-Data” pioneer. Wal-Mart uses predictive analytics to better identify customer preferences on a regional basis and stock their branch locations accordingly. This analysis helped Wal-Mart outdo their competitors, much to its shareholder’s delight.

Big Data is now finding applications in other fields as well, such as FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) Monitoring and flu spread prediction. It’s no wonder then that investors put a high value on big data (Facebook’s $67 billion market capitalization is a testament to that fact). So, if you’re a start-up aiming to compete against industry giants with “Big data”, does that put the start-up at a significant comparative disadvantage? The answer is more complicated that a simple Yes and No.

Let’s analyze the stakeholders involved in the process – There are individuals like you and me, who are constantly feeding companies with data, then there are companies who own the data and hire data scientists who analyze the data and provide insights, which companies use to drive more revenues. The entire process is dependent on individuals willingly providing and allowing analysis of data.

By analyzing your personal data companies can easily infer facts such as such as an individual showing early signs of Parkinson’s disease, or that an individual is unconsciously drawn toward products of a particular color. As an individual shopper, would you be comfortable with companies utilizing such information to drive their profits?

Privacy concerns relating to use of “Big Data” are already being voiced. Ovum, a research and consulting firm, in a recent survey of about 11,000 people across 11 countries, found that 68 percent said they would use a do-not-track feature if it was easily available on a search engine. The survey tells me two things – first, people place a high value on their privacy and second, there is an opportunity to serve segment of customers that value how companies use their personal data (any start-ups listening?)

The “Big Data” era will be turbulent and exciting as legal departments and business managers walk a thin line to balance privacy concerns with big data insights, while investors realize true returns on their bets on big data. As an article in Standford Law correctly states – The tasks of ensuring data security and protecting privacy become harder as information is multiplied and shared ever more widely around the world. Information regarding individuals’ health, location, electricity use, and online activity is exposed to scrutiny, raising concerns about profiling, discrimination, exclusion, and loss of control - Despite the risks and concerns, I don’t expect big companies to implement stringent data-use policy anytime soon

Fall-A at Michigan Ross: What did I learn and unlearn?

2012-10-27T01:13:00.004+05:30

Exhilarating! I guess that word sums up my Fall A experience at Ross. To evaulate how I did during a particular period, I like to do what I term as the "Wise test" - I ask myself a simple question - Am i wiser now than i was at the start of the period? The answer for me is a resounding YES!. At end of Fall A, I am amazed how much I've learned in matter of a few months.

Biggest surprise for me? - It was how much i enjoyed Accounting. Majority of my work before Ross did not involve high-level accounting and I always figured Accounting and Finance are probably not the subjects I'd enjoy or excel at. Surprise! Surprise! - I not only enjoyed Accounting but I was also good at it. Majority of the credit goes to Professor Greg Miller, who i think is an artist. He forced us to think beyond the numbers and formulas and question the underlying assumptions.

My fondest academic memory during Fall A was from Prof. Miller's class. In one of our cases, I found myself against the popular opinion. When we started, some classmates sided with me, but soon. I was the only anomaly who disagreed with the entire class. I believed that I had a sound argument to support my beliefs, but Prof. Miller kept encouraging my peers to take a dig at my assumptions. At the end - My assumptions were right and Prof. Miller had just orchestrated the collaborative attack to showcase how executives budge under pressure and make wrong decisions.

Other classes I really enjoyed were Strategy, Economics and Statistics. Wait a minute? Did I just list all the classes I took in Fall A? Hmm.. I guess I did enjoy this amazing learning experience at Ross. Professor Clyde, Ethiraj and Ahn were simply amazing at their subjects.

The other side of the experience is of-course recruiting. Yes - MBA1s have to hit the ground running early. I utilized Fall A to learn about firms, polishing my resume, ironing my story and attending networking events. This part of my experience is actually counter-intuitive. In India, recruitment always happens at the end of the course wherein the firms come and pick candidates and networking is minimal (if any at all). Thankfully, there is amazing help available at Ross to unlearn whatever we know of networking and learn the American-way to build and sustain long-lasting, rewarding relationships. I've got tremendous support from Indian MBA2s who have gone through similar experiences. It's amazing how supportive and collaborative Indian community is at Ross.

Did I tell you I was the Associate Director for India Business Conference at Ross? - We hosted many amazing guests such as Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh; Toos N. Daruvala, Senior Partner at Mckinsey and Mr. Manoj Bhargav, the founder of 5-hour energy.

As far as social aspect is concerned. I have met some really smart, down-to-earth people at Ross. There are multiple-friends I can count on - but you already knew that about Ross isn't it?

Other highlights of Fall A for me? - Getting elected as International/Cultural Diversity Chair for my section. I believe that international students bring amazing experiences and It is important to provide a supporting environment, where internationals feel comfortable to share and ask questions (which is often counter-intuitive for many internationals). So what did I do? - I collaborated with my good friend Onrej (Co- International Diversity Chair) - to launch a unique "Buddy program" to pair Internationals with Locals. It'll be interesting to see how it all pans out in the next 2-3 months. I'll post updates on the blog.

Best advise? - One of the advice I got from a MBA2 in Fall A that really resonated with me was - Take your experiences and own them! - The fact that you're at Ross means that you have something great to offer. By end of Fall A, I've realized that I am my own biggest supporter. I am glad to have amazing MBA2s to help me excel. Some of the MBA2s actually go out of their way to help you. That's what Ross spirit is all about - when you can't pay it back, you pay it forward.

The next few months are going to be crucial for me as I try to balance studies and case competitions with recruitment. Am I excited? - ABSOLUTELY! .

Consulting Network gets Gold Certified!

2012-10-26T06:19:00.001+05:30

Consulting Network was recently Gold Certified by http://nerdydata.com; This means that Consulting Network gets more traffic than 99% of other websites they index. The users are diversified across the globe - See map below.

I hope we can keep the momentum going!

The fag end of fall..

2012-10-25T06:07:00.001+05:30

Hurry, or you'll miss out" we're told, as if our all-fired hurry in life was not the principal reason we missed out ~ Via #twitter

At Ross, you can be extraordinary...

2012-09-24T01:40:00.003+05:30

A lovely video depicting all the great things you can accomplish at Ross and change the world..

A2 Magic

2012-09-24T01:27:00.000+05:30

Captured this one on my way back from School...

Sunshine! - Captured this one on my way back from FedEx center

First Football game at the Big House

2012-09-24T01:23:00.002+05:30

What an experience!

Ann Arbor & More...

2012-08-19T10:39:00.004+05:30

I found this interesting on quote on one of the ceilings at many picturesque spots in Ann Arbor

More magic, please.

2012-08-01T01:28:00.000+05:30

The Lions We Fail To See

2012-07-23T15:01:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I was reading an insightful article by John Mauldin, a renowned economist and whose views I religiously follow. John, in his article, introduced an interesting concept - The Lion in the Grass. Let me quote an excerpt from an essay by Frédéric Bastiat that John quoted in his article

"In the economic sphere an act, a habit, an institution, a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it appears simultaneously with its cause; it is seen. The other effects emerge only subsequently; they are not seen; we are fortunate if we foresee them"

In a recent speech that John gave in Singapore, he explored this concept in detail. His speech was based on a simple premise is that it is not the lions we can see that are the problem; but rather, in trying to avoid them, it is often the lions hidden in the grass that we stumble upon that become the unwelcome surprise. John explored this concept from an economic standpoint, wherein he analyzed the state of the world as it is today and introduced where he felt the global economy was heading

As a forensic consultant who has worked with a series of high profile investment banks & Private Equity funds, I find the concept rather intriguing. When an investor sizes up an investment, a number of consultants are deployed; These may include legal, financial, human resource, commercial due diligence, taxation and forensic experts.

In my experience, the first few consultants - legal, financial, human resource, commercial and taxation consultants - usually deal with "Lions" they can see. They rely heavily on data obtained from the following sources while consulting their clients:

Interviews with the top management
Provided by Investee company
Public Domain & Subscribed databases

Not too long ago, most deal breakers not only relied heavily on such consultants for screening an investment but also believed that these consultants were sufficient as part of the deal screening process. The problem with this approach was that usually the data collated from above sources was accepted at face value and it only took a wave of corporate frauds and unethical business conduct by top management to change this perception.

Now, a forensic consultant is always thrown in the mix. Forensic consultants, like experienced hunters, often look for those Lions in the grass. I remember working on an investment wherein our client, a top PE firm, was exploring an investment in an emerging technology firm. The company claimed to have established a reasonable client base, the management team too was experienced, the employees were happy and there were no major pending litigation to speak of. Apparently, there were no Lions in the grass.

As we proceeded with our investigation, we realized that the one of the relatives of the promoter ran a similar business in the same building where the investee company's office was located. As we dug deeper, we realized that this other business was originally founded by the promoter and his immediate family and he had resigned from the post of the Director a few years ago only to be replaced by his relatives.

On our insistence, the client directed his financial due diligence team to check whether this other business had any dealings with the investee company. To his surprise, this other business was one of the largest vendors of the investee comapany. We proceeded and conducted some discreet interviews with some carefully selected stakeholders. Soon, it was clear that this other business was being used by the promoter to systematically siphon out investor's money. The lions in the grass were now visible and the client walked away from the deal.

I've realized that in today's fast-paced world, it is difficult to challenge the status-quo. There are deals to be made and bonuses need be cashed in. A thorough, detailed diligence usually requires a lot more effort, money and time. Moreover, there is the usual challenge of getting all teams - Forensic, Legal, HR and others to work together as one cohesive group. Sadly, it usually takes a few roaring lions in the grass for people to become more diligent and skeptical. Ethics, I believe, cannot always be taught. Sometimes, bad ethical environment is inherent part of certain organizations and cannot be fixed. However, we do have the option to choose the right partners and if we are diligent enough, we make the right choices.

The Big4 Life (4 years on)

2012-07-17T08:41:00.000+05:30

Back in 2009, I wrote an article on Consulting Network, detailing what a life in a Big4 is like (Link here). Interestingly, the article generated a lot of interest and is one of the most read articles on Consulting Network. I was fortunate enough to spend 4+ years Ernst & Young and I felt it’s time to share some additional insights and learning from my time at EY. So here we go:

1. Swim or drown
When a new joiner enters the Big 4 environment and after the initial honeymoon period wears off, he or she can find the place intimidating. Most new joiners expect to be taught the way they are taught in undergraduate schools. They expect that they will have a teacher/mentor who would patiently guide them through each aspect of the job in detail and then provide enough space to learn in their own time. Most Big4 firms have mentor programs in place to deal with such situations. However, consultants are always on a tight leash. There are always deadlines to meet, data to analyze and presentations to make. Most new joiners soon find themselves swamped with tasks that they have to complete without proper guidance, mentor or training.

During my stint with EY, I often came across such clueless new recruits. I’ve realized that such situations served as an arena for testing new recruits. The recruits that cleared this test refrained from complaining about lack of training, structure etc. and instead focused on completing the task at hand. Such recruits often followed a similar pattern – They broke down complex tasks in into smaller tasks, sought guidance from both team members & non team members and got the job done.A good consultant has to often navigate to right answers through a pool of ambiguity.

My advise to any new recruit at Big4 is short and simple – Don’t Panic! – Relax, think through the problem, search for solutions. Do your best and in most cases, your best will be sufficient. If not, you’d be appreciated for your effort and be provided with an opportunity to improve in not-so distant future.

2. Work Pressure & Health Concerns
Work pressure – Now that’s a buzz word i hear a lot at Big 4 firms. Big4s thrive on getting quality work done quickly and efficiently. This culture depends on people constantly running to complete the task. Friday evenings are often reserved for client updates and weekends for preparation of Monday’s deliverables
This Get-it-done-now culture can sometimes drive managers to put unwarranted pressure on the execution team. Unfair as it may seem, as a Consultant, you have two choices – crib about it (which often leads to deterioration of work quality and motivation) or accept it as a byproduct of an exciting job and focus on the task. Successful consultants who outshine others often follow the second route.

Then there is actual work pressure – There are presentations to be made, clients need to be updated and all needs to be done in record time - I dislike terming such situations as work pressure, I like to call it a challenge. Such situations often filter good consultants from average consultants. The successful consultants can deliver quality work, while keeping the work environment jovial (and ensuring that team members don’t kill each other or the manager)

Health is often the last consideration for many consultants. However, if you stay in the system long enough, you’d realize that health is real wealth. It’s easy to be so driven by work that we let stress and work pressure drive us and we forget to eat right, exercise and laugh. Here are few tips to keep you on track – Take the stairs often, avoid ordering junk food at work, go for a short walk post lunch, schedule 5-10 minutes in the morning for coffee with friends and most importantly – Be of good cheer.

3. Focus on learning and not the money
One thing that really baffles me sometimes is the sole focus of fresh graduates on making money. Big4 salaries are good, but they are not great. Often, I have had conversations with people, wherein they are try to decide whether the amount of work-pressure and stress that they take on is worth the amount of money they are getting paid for it.

While money is an important factor, what I’ve realized is that it is more important to focus on learning. One of the Partners in our firm pointed out that knowledge is power. When is he is sitting with a client, trying to sell his firm’s solution to the client over those of the competitor, the only thing keeping him afloat is knowledge. If he can sell to the client that he knows more about his domain than his competitors, then he has already won the battle.
My advise: Don’t focus on the money. Focus on the learning. If you do so, in a few years, you’d outshine your peers, outdo all benchmarks that others have set for you and money will be a lovely by-product.

4. Be humble, be jovial and most of all be a good team player
Good work is often rewarded with bigger bonuses, accelerated promotions are more. Such achievement can cloud our ability to remain humble and work well with others. I often see high performers getting agitated because other team members cannot perform at their level. As one moves up the ladder, the question is whether one moves up alone or takes others with us. People who I’ve admired in the firm and who’ve reached great heights have always been the one who have been great team players & superb managers.

Such individuals don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and working with the team, the team too, often reciprocates by truly respecting such individuals and giving their best effort. It’s in the ability to switch effectively between a successful manager and a cheerful team player that makes one special.

5. Have an end game in mind
Big4 culture can be quite overwhelming. One day you join the firm and before you know it, it’s been 4-5 or 6 years. Entry is difficult, planning the correct exit is even more daunting. In the day-to-day working, we often lose track of where our careers are heading and whether it’s is taking us to a life that we envisaged. Idea is to plan ahead. Think what skill set you’d like to have 5-7 years from now and whether the current track will help you get those skill set. If not, think of a shift within the team/firm accordingly.

I’d share more insights in the coming weeks and as to what my plans are, well, after spending 4+ years with EY’s forensic practice, I am now headed to Stephen M. Ross School of Business to get my MBA. Do leave your comments and suggestions in the comment box below.

Things that keep us moving...

2012-07-10T12:38:00.004+05:30

New Delhi Metro & Meru Cabs: Two things that keep people moving forward despite the rains, thunder and everything else.

PS: Notice the hotel Relax-Inn at the back. Subtle message delivered through the picture :)

The God Particle

2012-07-05T10:46:00.004+05:30

Confirmation of the Higgs boson or something very much like it would constitute a rendezvous with destiny for a generation of physicists who have believed in the boson for half a century without ever seeing it. The finding affirms a grand view of a universe described by simple and elegant and symmetrical laws - but one in which everything interesting, like ourselves, results from flaws or breaks in that symmetry.

The discovery of the Higgs boson or the God Particle as it's popularly known, when confirmed, will be a major leap in science. I really liked the quote above in one of the news articles and the idea it conveys - Perfection results from flaws.

We can expect to get answers to many questions in the coming years, such as: What is the dark matter that provides the gravitational scaffolding of galaxies? or Why is the universe made of matter instead of antimatter? The answers will lead to more questions, which will lead to more answers and so on.. I guess that's what progress is all about.

The Bright Yellow Tree

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

It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour

One is happy once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness: simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience.”
― George Sand

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib - The story

2012-02-26T21:51:00.000+05:30

Because sometimes, watching the sun go down is proof enough.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is the most prominent Sikh gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship, in Delhi, known for its association with the eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan Ji. Gurdwara Bangla Sahib was originally a bungalow belonging to Raja Jai Singh, an Indian ruler in the seventeenth century, and was known as Jaisinghpura Palace. The eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan resided here during his stay in Delhi in 1664.

During that time, there was a smallpox and cholera epidemic, and Guru Har Krishan helped the suffering by giving aid and fresh water from the well at this house. Soon he too contracted the illness and eventually died on March 30, 1664.

Guru Har Krishan Ji was only five years old when he succeeded his father - Guru Har Rai Ji - as Guru. When Guru Har Rai Ji was asked who among his two sons Ram Rai and Har Krishan would be the next guru. Guru Ji asked the person to go with a needle and insert the needle in the leg of the bed where these two sat and recited baani.

The sevadaar did the same and he was surprised to see that the needle went inside the bed when Guru Har Krishan Ji was doing paath but not when Baba Raam Rai was doing it. The sevadaar obviously perplexed went to Guru Har Rai Ji to ask the meaning. Guru Ji explained that although both of them were reciting the same baani, needle going inside the bed was symbolic of softness in the heart of Har Krishan Ji. Since the child guru was to take up so many diseases on his own self, softness was of prime importance. Thus next Guru came to be Guru Har Krishan Ji at the age of 5 years. Its the first time in the history when the light of the Guru had entered a small child.

Maktub: It is written

2012-02-12T13:04:00.001+05:30

Maktub:The Arab culture has an ancient belief, or rather, an archaic saying. It simply says "It is written" - It is written. Meaning no matter how horribly things go wrong, or how badly life deviates from the script you had planned, believe that if you want something with all your heart and you believe it is your destiny, then the whole universe conspires in helping you achieve it, because it is written. And if it is written, it happens. Maybe you wouldn't be too sure about it now, but you'll see. Believe in yourself, and no matter how messed up things may seem at that moment, things will fall into place, because you believed in yourself and your destiny. And when the pieces of your life fall into place, you'll find yourself muttering 'Maktub', because you will realize that miracles do happen, but not to those who call themselves 'lucky', but to those who believe in them.

Tell your story

2012-02-11T16:57:00.000+05:30

Tell your story: Yes, tell your story. Show your example. Tell everyone it's possible, and others shall feel the courage, to climb their own mountains

― Paulo Coelho

In 1948, while working for Bell Telephone Laboratories, he published a paper in the Bell System Technical Journal entitled "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" that not only introduced the word bit in print but established a field of study today known as information theory. Information theory is concerned with transmitting digital information in the presence of noise (which usually prevents all the information from getting through) and how to compensate for that. In 1949, he wrote the first article about programming a computer to play chess, and in 1952 he designed a mechanical mouse controlled by relays that could learn its way around a maze. Shannon was also well known at Bell Labs for riding a unicycle and juggling simultaneously.” ―

Charles Petzold, Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence and thus each obstacle is a comrade-in-arms forcing you to become better... or quit. Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them, and you throw away your future.”
― Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman In The World

Life is a play that does not allow testing. So, sing, cry, dance, laugh and live intensely, before the curtain closes and the piece ends with no applause.”
― -Charlie Chaplin.

I've learned...

2012-02-04T23:55:00.001+05:30

I have learned:

Life isn’t always a fairytale, that’s why you should enjoy the moments when it feels like it is.
One important lesson in math that we can all apply in life is always be careful of the signs
That past does not equal the future. Because you failed yesterday, or all day today, or a moment ago. All that matters is: What are you going to do, right now?
You cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
Sometimes you have to forget what’s gone, appreciate what still remains, and look forward to what’s coming next.
Life is too short. Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Laugh when you can, apologize when you should and let go of what you can’t change. Love deeply and forgive quickly. Take chances. Give everything and have no regrets. Life is too short to be unhappy. You have to take the good with the bad. Smile when you’re sad, love what you got, and always remember what you had. Always forgive, but never forget. Learn from your mistakes but never regret. People change, and things go wrong but always remember – life goes on!
You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.

What are we holding onto

2012-02-03T08:39:00.001+05:30

Sam: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in the world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.

Smoke et all..

2012-01-28T16:54:00.002+05:30

Yearning,n. and adj. At the core of this desire is the belief that everything can be perfect

On the highway....

2012-01-24T22:31:00.001+05:30

A star falls from the sky and into your hands. Then it seeps through your veins and swims inside your blood and becomes every part of you. And then you have to put it back into the sky. And it's the most painful thing you'll ever have to do and that you've ever done. But what's yours is yours. Whether it’s up in the sky or here in your hands. And one day, it'll fall from the sky and hit you in the head real hard and that time, you won't have to put it back in the sky again.- C. JoyBell C.

I realise there's something incredibly honest about trees in winter, how they're experts at letting things go”
― Jeffrey McDaniel

Winter Mornings !!

2012-01-21T21:23:00.000+05:30

And as I worked, the strength returned to my arms and shoulders, and the hope to my heart - not the mad hope of wealth and power that had led me astray, but a sweet and steady sense of the worth of what I was doing. ― Jem Poster, Rifling Paradise

Unfortunately, diplomacy was a dance I needed to learn
― Maria V. Snyder, Magic Study

Eat more cake..

2012-01-11T00:23:00.001+05:30

Last week the candle factory burned down. Everyone just stood around and sang, 'Happy Birthday."
— Steven Wright

I guess Birthday's are nature's way of telling you to eat more cake - Jo Brand..