Chander's - WebLog

Weekend Reading & Something to Ponder upon

2010-08-13T00:50:00.000-04:00

Hi there - I know it has been while since I been jotting my rendezvous.
I don't want to promise that I will be regular from now on, as i don't want to make any promises that I won't be able to keep.

Just thought of sharing one interesting & a thoughtful email which I thought you will like. Consider it as your weekend reading....Do read them, and if you don't know these stories you will surely say "Wow"...

Two Stories BOTH TRUE - And Worth Reading!!!!

STORY NUMBER ONE

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago . Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done.

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street . But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."

STORY NUMBER TWO

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare.

He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank.

He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship.

His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.

Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft. This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son!!!

(Pretty cool, Ain't!)

Cheers
Chander

Insight into Decision Making

2010-03-10T22:31:00.000-05:00

Hello All -
Indeed has been while since I last posted.

Found an interesting email chain going around - an insightful one. May be you have read it, but reading it again indeed is thought provoking.

Take a deep breath..Relax .. and think over: Decision Making & Truth of Life

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........ .........

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Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens.. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

'Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right.'

Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils.

Cheers
Chander

Time to Welcome 2010

2010-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

As we Welcome 2010 - the last year of the first decade of century, it strongly advocates some time to reflect upon the year that has just gone by.
Year 2009 will pass some of its highs & lows to the New Year for it work on it, to refine and to call it the first decade of this century on December 31 2010.

The second hand of the clock hanging just across the wall passed the number 12…phew time has moved, year incremented; toast raised and I should say Welcome 2010, bow in a respect to Welcome it and take a moment to pray & wish for Peace, Happiness for all.

Year 2009 was quite an eventful year strongly enveloped in the clouds of economic recession and recovery. Words like, bailout, global terrorism, climate challenges, non-white President, death of a pop-star, H1N1 – Swine Flu virus, North Korea, Health care reforms, Iran election, nuclear tests, LTTE, early Asian economy recovery and etc. breezing and hovering around it. One of the biggest cloud of the year 2009 was the global recession, and knowingly or unknowingly we all were gearing ourselves to handle it, and at the same time wishing & praying for its speedy economic recovery.
The good part is some light across the tunnel is getting visible with the signs of recovery & stability. Year 2009 also witnessed some advancement in the Science with one being quick turn around vaccine response for the deadly H1N1 virus. Although we had seen some tough challenges in the year 2009, but at the same time we did experience technological advancement which has promoted overall human well being - one key concern to tackle environmental challenges and ways-&-means to address it was indeed a great step for overall stability of our beautiful planet.

The first decade of this century inherited multiple issues and opportunities from its predecessor, and it surely will be one of the memorable decades in the history. The birth of this decade was celebrated under the shadows of dot-com burst with concerns of Y2K snag looming around it with multiple opportunities for the greater good of humankind as well. As the decade was just about 18 months old one the super-powers on the planet was challenged by the handful of extremists who unfortunately are still hiding or pretend to be hiding which in turn shook the whole world with Global Terrorism was taking a prominent position in all political & social debates. The decade was further complemented by liberating a nation from dictator with an ongoing war on the global terrorism - both of which already have gulped tens of thousands of innocent lives. The decade saw one of the worst ever natural disasters of Indian Ocean Tsunami which claimed about 300,000 lives.

On the business & economy side, the decade also paves the way for Asian economy at large & the center stages in the global economy and not just restricted to Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Overall, the global boundaries witnessed shrinking with trade, commerce, and business flourishing across borders which help to flourish global trade and spread of wealth in the emerging markets.

For 2010, there will be some Challenges coupled with some Opportunities, like any other year. However, being the last year of the decade, it will have more responsibilities as it has to conclude the first decade and every event, news, story will be closely monitored. For some business houses, this is a transitional year as many plans, & goals were setup for the end of Year 2010. There is already some discussions going on how to pronounce Year 2010 will it be 20-10 or 2-o-1-o, whatever it may be I Wish you a very Happy, Peaceful, Prosperous and Joyous New Year.

Let us do everything possible to make our Planet a happy place to live upon.

All the Best 2010, we look upon you…

Chander Wanchoo

Quantity v/s Quality

2009-11-01T21:09:00.000-05:00

What do you think is important Quality or Quantity - Both Correct…?
I concur but in order of what Quality first or Quantity first.

Repeatedly I have been a strong advocate of quality and effectiveness of work at a work place - for that matter both in personal and professional life.

Yes with quantity, one can make a short-term impact, gain attention; but without quality, it will be just short-term only and may never be recognized with adjectives like long term, trust-worthy, quality product & service, reliable and allied.
And if one has to fix the quality when the quantity is achieved then in that case it has spend more or same amount of time to fix it up and bring it to the acceptable level. Otherwise your customer (Customer not purely in the business sense – your customer can be your parents, spouse, relations, friend, your boss, co-worker, team-member).
Then why not to focus on Quality in the first place.

In addition, if you have already released something that you know lacks quality then God only helps you as customers these days are brutal and if you are a start-up or in the initial stages then I would surely pray for you.

Here is an example from one of the leading newspapers in India. In one of their news item, two paragraphs have repeated (refer to the image), and I am sure their customers will forgive them, as
a) Indian team is on a winning spree and public will forget it.
b) They have a reputable brand and can admit the mistake as anyway it is not a big deal.

However, imagine
i) if they repeatedly commit the same mistake, surely customers (readers) will lose the trust.
ii) if this would have been an entry level news paper - irrespective of delivery - your mind would have already categorized them as "unreliable" media.

Dear Sports Editor of Times of India, I am not picking on you, just trying to make a point with an example of your recent double-typo in the following piece - India eye hat-trick to stretch lead against Aussies

Thanks for your understanding.

Have a good one.

Chander Wanchoo

Diwali Wishes

2009-10-17T18:42:00.003-04:00

Hello All:

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali and Seasons Greetings... I am sure your email boxes would have been flooded with the wishes from your friends, families and all who care for you, but not sure if you have received the greetings from President Obama.

My Best Regards,
Chander Wanchoo

Do you have faith in GOD

2009-09-14T20:14:00.001-04:00

Hello:
I just found an email chain floating around and found it interesting and a stromg argument in favor of faitn. I am not sure, if the student was really was the eleventh President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, but whosoever the student was has a point...

Don't miss even a single word...Every second is worth reading this ....

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new students to stand and......

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?

Student:Sure.

Prof:Is God all-powerful?

Student: Yes.

Prof:My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?

(Student is silent.)

Prof:You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?

Student:Yes..

Prof:Is Satan good?

Student: No.

Prof:Where does Satan come from?

Student:From...God... .

Prof:That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student:Yes.

Prof:Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student:Yes.

Prof:So who created evil? (Student does not answer.)

Prof:Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student:Yes, sir.

Prof:So, who created them? (Student has no answer.)

Prof:Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.

Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student:No, sir.

Prof:Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student:No, sir.

Prof:Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student:No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof:Yet you still believe in Him?

Student:Yes.

Prof:According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student:Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof:Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student:Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof:Yes.

Student:And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof:Yes.

Student:No sir. There isn't. (The lecture theater becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat.

But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.

There is no such thing as cold . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of

heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy ... Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it . (There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student:What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof:Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student :You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light.....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof:So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student:Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed..

Prof:Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student:Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.

Now tell me, Professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof:If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student:Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student:Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)

Student:Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student:: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so... So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir.

With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. )

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir...

The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive. I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. ..and if so...you'll probably want your friends/colleagues to enjoy the same...won't you?....

this is a true story, and the student was none other than........
APJ Abdul Kalam - the former president of India

Chander Wanchoo

Save yourself from getting Sacked by sending emails

2009-09-02T20:33:00.003-04:00

Wondering about the title of this my latest blog is....

Nothing new as such, time and again emails have created a little or I guess more than a little havoc both in short or long term.

Recently one accountant was fired because of sending confrontational emails "using block capitals, bold typeface and red text. Upper case letters in emails are considered to indicate shouting, and may be seen as rude by some."

Readers, please pay attention before you hit that little button or label called "Send", do ensure you proof-read your message so it conveys your idea succinctly and more importantly do a spell check as you know "there is not same as their", like wise "week is not a weak", "weather is for surely not whether" and many more.....!

I do not want to write whole lot on English literature or email etiquettes, as there is enough material freely available – just a Google away..

Irrespective of anything being polite, compassionate, and respectful are definitely indicators of people with great demeanor

All the best for your next “Send”

Chander Wanchoo

Click here to read the story of the accountant who was fired.

What to Do When You're Out of Control

2009-08-31T22:40:00.002-04:00

Hello Friends

Just read a very good blog/ article at Harvard Business - An Inspiring, Simple and a Practical approach to help one to calm down when one is out of control.

Here you go and I am sure you will like it....

"Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking. We have a situation." And with those words, the saga of my aborted flight from New York to Dallas began.

The captain told us we had an "equipment problem" that required we make an emergency landing at Washington Dulles, the nearest airport. But, he continued, the plane was too heavy to land safely; we had to shed fuel. So we would fly around in a circle for 45 minutes and land as soon as we were light enough.

I was sitting at the front of the plane and made eye contact with the flight attendant.

"What's the problem?" I mouthed.

"I don't know," she responded with the hint of a shrug, "they won't tell us." Click Here to continue reading.....

Happy Independence Day

2009-08-15T00:43:00.006-04:00

As India is celebrating its 62nd independence anniversary; Just thought of sharing just few quotes what some of the renowned & well learned people have talked about my Country.

"We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made!" -- Albert Einstein

"If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India !" -- French scholar Romaine Rolland
"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most attractive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!" -- Mark Twain
"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked!" -- Mark Twain
"She ( India ) has left indelible imprints on one fourth of the human race in the course of a long succession of centuries. She has the right to reclaim ... her place amongst the great nations summarizing and symbolizing the spirit of humanity. From Persia to the Chinese sea, from the icy regions of Siberia to Islands of Java and Borneo , India has propagated her beliefs, her tales, and her civilization! " -- Sylvia Levi
"India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border!" -- Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA
"If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India!" -- Max Mueller, German scholar
"India - The land of Vedas , the remarkable works contain not only religious ideas for a perfect life, but also facts which science has proved true. Electricity, radium, electronics, airship, all were known to the seers who founded the Vedas!" -- Wheeler Wilcox, American poet
"India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe 's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all!" -- Will Durant, American historian

Jai Hind..

- Chander Wanchoo

THIRST

2009-06-06T01:19:00.002-04:00

Master the Fundamentals

2009-05-29T02:59:00.002-04:00

Master, Fundamentals, First, The - Just four words...nothing great.... Correct.....!

I was putting together an execution plan for a business challenge; and to wrap it up, (before i push for its execution), i thought of Googling to check for any published trends or information etc. And as a next step i was running some searches, and from one of the searches up-pops this phrase ("First Master the Fundamentals") and it kind of pushed me back and made me think – a real hard one.

The phrase or a quote, whatever you would like to call it; way it has been weaved is so amazing and thought provoking.

Do me a favor take a break at this point and rethink about these four words... but in the order of "First Master the Fundamentals"?
I believe these four words are one of powerful phrases and deserve a deep and sincere thought.

Try putting it in a perspective of a

Business Situation - For sure one need to have mastery over the fundamentals otherwise sooner or later it will throw you apart or just pull it together up-to a certain level. And if you have mastery over the business fundamentals sky is the limit, no ever stopping for you. Think about Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Dhirubhai Ambani, and likes of these folks; and the common thread is a clear cut mastery over the fundamentals –so in this case they mastered the business fundamentals

Education in any shape or form you see it (right from womb till any advanced research, across any field of study) - C'mon we know it very well no education can or will ever pass a point if the fundamentals are not mastered. Do you think any advance scientific invention or discovery would have ever completed. I guess not.

What else may be a Relationship - yeah you are so correct, one need to have a mastery over the relationship fundamentals otherwise it is not going to be long lasting - though we all know we don't live in a perfect world or relationships where there is no or limited mastery over the fundamentals of relationships. And i think absence or no mastery over the relationship fundamentals is one of the key causes of the disagreements and which in some cases is a catalyst or a trigger for the national conflicts.

I can go on-and-on, Sports, Politics and what not, but i am sure you may want to add few of your lines as well..
Go ahead Please...! Your posts and comments are always welcome.

Cheers,
Chander
http://chanderwanchoo.blogspot.com

eXtra Mile - An initative

2009-04-16T02:59:00.013-04:00

Hello All,

Late last year in one of team meeting, we coined a word with my teams called as "eXtra Mile". Intention was very straight forward to capture what each teams did beyond their assigned or routine work as part of weekly reports. As i firmly believe that it is just that one extra Step, Action, Initiative, Thought etc that sets the differentiation among all of us; sets the ranking within the teams, people and for that matter everything around us.

And i am so glad, that we as a team embraced this with a positive spirit and most of us have this in mind, We do practice it in whatever work, activity, task we are assigned with.

{I wish, if I was aware about this video back then... -:), as my selling to the team would have been much easier}

Objective of this log is not to highlight what we have achieved and what we are doing. I request you to watch this video, as it reinforces the concept of that one eXtra Mile....

I am confident that you will like it....

Cheers,
Chander

Do post your comments and feedback...!

Top 10 outcome of 2009 G20 Summit

2009-04-16T00:52:00.003-04:00

Hello All,

Here is the list of top 10 outcome of the 2009 G20 summit. I was wondering, if there is a way to monitor the progress of these resolutions / outcomes. If, yes please share / comment on the same.

And I feel point no.10 is a good one; as there is some commitment to re-meet later this year - I guess for monitoring the progress of point 1 thru 9.

The top ten outcomes from the G20 London Summit - a Global Plan for Recovery and Reform

I. A global plan: an agreed global plan for recovery endorsed by countries representing 85 percent of the world’s GDP.

II. Restoring growth and jobs: deliver a $5 trillion fiscal expansion, to raise output by 4 percent by the end of next year, commit to take whatever action is necessary to secure a faster return to trend growth. International Monetary Fund (IMF) to assess regularly the actions taken and actions required.

III. Additional resources: $1 trillion through the IMF, other international financial institutions (IFIs) and in trade finance to help kickstart the global economy, meet balance of payment needs and provide social support for countries in crisis.

IV. Help for the poorest: agreements worth $50 billion in support for the poorest countries including through Special Drawing Rights, IMF gold sales and trade finance. A firm recommitment to achieve our aid promises and support for a World Bank vulnerability fund.

V. Stopping the next crisis: created a new financial stability board to spot risks, agreed regulation of credit agencies and hedge funds, new commitments on capital and new rules on pay and bonuses.

VI. Crackdown on tax havens: agree to take action against tax havens including tough sanctions to use in future against those that don’t come into line. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will publish list.

VII. Governance: agreement to reform mandates and governance of IFIs to make them more accountable, more representative and more effective including heads of IFIs appointed on merit.

VIII. Kick start trade: no new trade barriers before end of 2010 and rectify any measures taken with public WTO monitoring. Additional 250 billion dollars to support trade finance and close the global trade finance gap, including 50 billion through new World Bank programme. Renewed focus to WTO deal and use g8 to drive progress.

IX. Greening the future: commitment to use fiscal stimulus for low carbon investment, to identify and work together on policies for green growth and to reach a new climate change agreement at Copenhagen.

X. Commitment to more: G20 commit to meet again later this year with strict monitoring by IMF, WTO and FSB of the commitments we have made.

Source: The official site of the Prime Minister’s Office

Cheers

Chander

Positive thinking help us to march ahead with full speed....

2009-04-01T20:30:00.006-04:00

Hello,

Do you know, at times if you act, pretend and be deaf (though not in all situations) you can really march ahead... if you doubt, please go ahead and read this story that just passed through my eyes, it is very interesting about tiny frogs; though old, imaginative and mostly shared, but a very important and motivational one. If respected it really will pave way for the greater goods and help one to be focused .................

The story about the tiny frogs…. ......
Life’s lesson No. 1

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs... who arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants...

The race began...

Honestly:
No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:
"Oh, WAY too difficult!!
They will NEVER make it to the top."
or:
"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...... Except for those who in a fresh tempo were climbing higher and higher...

The crowd continued to yell
"It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up...
...But ONE continued higher and higher and higher...
This one wouldn’t give up!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who after a big effort was the only one who reached the top!
THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

An onlooker asked how the one who succeeded had found the strength to reach the goal.

It turned out...
That the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is:
Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic...…'coz they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you. The ones you have in your heart!

Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!

Therefore:

ALWAYS be… POSITIVE!

And above all:

Be DEAF when people tell YOU that YOU cannot fulfil YOUR dreams!

Always think: I can do this!

- Chander Wanchoo

Good Powerpoint Design really Matters

2009-03-01T23:45:00.001-05:00

Good PowerPoint Design - for business presenters

View more presentations from Alexander Osterwalder. (tags: rules" "design)

Banned Bush Interview in US Media

2009-02-22T21:52:00.000-05:00

Found an interesting interview or should i say a thoughtful video of President Bush on You tube. Apparently i came to know that this interview never reached to US media....

Enjoy it and I feel it reinforces the concept that a Leader needs to be responsible to make a History... Seems Mr. Bush was not cognizant of this fact...

Chander

Make Web 2.0 work

2009-02-19T18:51:00.004-05:00

Hello,
Here is one inside to enhance your Web 2.0 investement.
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Six_ways_to_make_Web_20_work_2294

Hope you find it useful.

Cheers
Chander

Greed .. Greed... & Greed - Satyam Fiasco

2009-01-07T22:44:00.007-05:00

I am very much disappointed with the chain of events that happened with Satyam. Though I know my disappointments hardly matters as most of the India Inc. are very much annoyed and frustrated with the way Satyam chief’s led the organization to this disaster. Having said that there is an opportunity for few of the contenders to ante on the stake or may be take the controlling ownership of the organization as a whole. Let us see how it unfolds.
Here is the copy of the letter (FAX) that Mr. CEO/Chairman sends it to the board and to SEBI.

It just keep me amused, when I think about the case (or point) that the leader (CEO) of Satyam is (was) building for the justification in buying stake in his owned infrastructure company ; i.e. I knew we have inflated the numbers (God knows since when), now we will buy something without making payment (at least for some time) and balance our actual accounts.

I find it hard to digest, to me it doesn’t make any sense, buy something now and don’t make the payment and then when I make money I will pay you later…. How will the seller fell in this case... OK buyer & sellers are the same… Wasn’t it simple then to find a way to put in money in the same organization rather than taking this route ….
Who signed on these reports & quarterly performance reports
What were the auditors doing or thinking? I feel auditors have totally forgotten the Enron like scandals and this is the repetition of the same…

I wish, if the team Satyam could have taken a more sensible route rather than this path to chaos. Think about the executives, and employees who were not part of this conspiracy but have to face the brunt of this event..

Greed… Greed and Greed…..
Show me the End... otherwise
Nature will make me End

Rhymes well...

Recession

2009-01-07T04:31:00.003-05:00

Hey, Just found one interesting read, wanted to share with all.. Here it goes...

The Story is about a man who once upon a time was selling hotdogs by the roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never watched television. But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hotdogs. He was smart enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales. His sales and profit went up. He ordered more and more raw material and buns and use to sell more. He recruited few more supporting staff to serve more customers. He started offering home deliveries. Eventually he got himself a bigger and better stove. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from College, joined his father. Then something strange happened. The son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?"
The father replied, "No, but tell me about it."
The son said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad times" The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, listened to the radio and watching TV, he ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly. So the next day onwards, the father cut down the his raw material order and buns, took down the colorful signboard, removed all the special schemes he was offering to the customers and was no longer as enthusiastic. He reduced his staff strength by giving layoffs. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his hotdog stand. And his sales started coming down rapidly, same is the profit.
The father said to his son, "Son, you were right. We are in the middle of a recession and crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of time."

What can we take away from this story??
1. How many times we confuse intelligence with good judgment?
2. Choose your advisers carefully but use your own judgment
3. A person or an organization will survive forever, if they have the 5 Cs

Character
Commitment
Conviction
Courtesy
Courage

The tragedy today is that there are many walking encyclopedias that are living failures.
The more practical and appropriate views on this economic recession is: "This is the time to reunite together for any small or a big organization, this is the time to motivate and retain people which are the biggest asset, this is the time to show more commitments to the customers, this is the time show values of our company to the world, and this is the time to stand by our Nation".
Now Decide What To-DO and What Not

Best Regards,
Chander

Ghajini – as I watched it

2009-01-04T02:49:00.003-05:00

Just finished watching Ghajini and wanted to share my observations with you all…
At the outset, I would like to share that I don’t read movie reviews, comments or stories before watching them, as I think that then you watch movie with a pre-conceived notion and mindset. And the same hold true for this movie too, while I was in India, media was all over this movie so does these produces and I too watched some interviews of the Aamir Khan where he was explaining his new hair style.
So, first all of the movie name – I always thought it may be the name of the heroine or some female name with whom the actor (Aamir) has some relationships or the plot will have some female flavor….but aaha… it turns out to be something else (don’t want to reveal it for those who haven’t watched it).
In its true spirit the movie has all the necessary ingredients of a typical Bollywood movie -a love story, revenge, happy ending, few good numbers – I liked one song and rests to me are time fillers…

To cut it short, without going it on scene to scene comments I would say it is a typical Hindi movie but narrated in an Innovative way and that will hold the viewer till the end – a typical of Aamir movies. I am not sure how many movies are named “Titled” the way it has been – so if there are none, then yes it is one the bold moves and may be the first offs….

Again, Aamir is terrific in this and my few takeaways:

a very good Sunday afternoon and yes I made my lunch myself, enjoyed it too instead of going out that I usually do
do what you believe in – Aamir has proved it once again
business is all about the innovation
last but not the least one dialog – “If you think you can do it that is Self Confidence and if you think that it is Only me who can do that is Arrogance.”

Good job team Ghajini, and Aamir I will again catch up with you again later in 2009, unless you change your mind of multiple innovations in a year... -:)
I wish, if could have watched Ghajinin in a theatre as you know when you are out of country one has to relay on the DVDs or online…Folks back home… go ahead give yourself a break and watch this movie ….

As the Year Went by ..

2008-12-31T19:48:00.003-05:00

As the day passes by and we move towards the mid night hours today we will change the way we refer to yesterday as “Yesterday” will be no longer a “Yesterday” it will be Last Year. Isn’t it…

Wishing you a very Happy and a Prosperous New Year 2009

While we move towards the New Year and set some resolution, though with a short life span for most of us, it is equally important to reflect upon the year that is just about to become a History and of course “Last Year” …
Overall I would say year 2008 was an eventful year - like any other year - mix of achievements & failures, Challenges & Opportunities. And we all know media houses, historians, marketing wizards and likes of those will make the past year glorified & eventful to trigger a sense of achievement and drive everyone for a New Year bash, gifts, and parties to have a reason for the celebrations.
Having said that, I feel year 2008 has some of its “One-Offs”, unique attributes associated with it and for sure will add to the history pages. To me and to most of us I would say it was Global Business meltdown which took numerous jobs, cost & wage cuttings almost across the globe. While this is true that it caused a global havoc, wiped out billions of dollars of worth (notional and in actual) and is being classified a bigger than the recession of 1927 (of USA) but then at the same time there is a lesson there – a very basic one - "Excess of everything is Bad". Let us look at this for a lesson and learning’s from it rather than winning and crying.
As I am writing this note, I am visualizing tens of thousands of pages added to the history in the areas of Sports (Olympics), US president election, Terrorism attacks, bailouts, Politics and the list will go endless. Refer to Wikipedia for an complete coverage of 2008 events http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008

Personally I had an overall good year 2008 with some accomplishments, some challenges, and achievements. And all that reinforces the concept of continuous self-introspection and a message like “You do what you want to do Awhen you Do it do it completely with all your passion, otherwise don’t do it.”

This year we had some mega celebrations at home lots of socializing and get-togethers and I loved them all, every minute of it.
Apart from this, I also took one of the bold steps of my career and moved to an East Asian country for a totally new experience and to take my professional career to the next level of the career path.

Again a very Happy New Year 2009.

Let us do something and everything that will make this world a better place to live. Not but the least let us think how we can restrict the global environmental challenges.
See you in Year 2009!

Communication...

2008-07-07T08:20:00.010-04:00

Our project is in its concluding week and it just happened one of my team members self-planned his last date of working without sharing it within the team.
Look what happened… now..
1. I was caught by surprise, as he never discussed same with me.
2. My boss was also of the same opinion, how come he decided all by himself and I have to spend time in explaining the reasons and then the person in question has to explain his reasons (I would say lame excuses – as he had already planned his trip a week ago)
3. Customer got caught by surprise, and I have to say sorry to customer and spend time in responding to emails followed by phone calls
4. Other team members can’t leave now early, as I don’t want to repeat the same activity and in no mood to tell my customer that some of us will leave early in the day on Friday or a day earlier….
If he would have informed me of his plans; we could have worked it out so that he has a smooth and graceful exit rather than a "Sorry.. I have an issue exit..."
I didn’t mean to use him as a “Ginny Pick”, as I am sure there will be ample example like that, but there is a learning aspect here and an interesting point that emphasizes on communication ….
I strongly believe that it is utmost important for a team (in all directions) to have an open channel of communication. With a member not sharing the information marred the plans of everyone (in team) and we had to take a “soft” favor from the customer which we could have leveraged for something more important.
So the lesson here is, do ensure that you communicate within your team without judging about its importance, criticality or severity, as you may not be aware about the big picture or plans….

Share your comments, if any…..

Funny Stock Market Lexicons

2008-07-02T04:49:00.006-04:00

Just found some interesting Lexicons (on Economic Times), applicable only when Bears are marching. While we watch Bulls coming back in action, may be this will help you to take mind off from the market...Enjoy.....!

PE - Plunge Endless
EBITDA - Exit Before It Tumbles Down Again
QIB - Quixotic Indian Blunder
HNI - Has No Idea
FII - Furious Impoverished Investors
PMS - Premeditated Scam
SIP - Suicide by Investing Patiently Fund Manager - Last year’s ace stock picker now locked up in an asylum.
Investor - Someone who is broke
Broker - Worse off than an investor
Correction - The next day after you bought shares
Momentum buying - The fine art of buying high and selling low
Value buying - The art of buying low and selling even lower

Hope it got a smile on your face....

CRM and Groupware

2008-05-01T02:08:00.002-04:00

The letter “R” in the term Customer Relation Management is all about tracking, maintaining and growing relationships of any business house (for or not for profit), with its Customers, Partners, and Prospects etc.
To achieve this and nurture the relationships it is utmost important to have a collaborative software tool in place that will facilitate an easy , quick, robust and fast communication and on top of that help to track conversation both internally and externally. Primarily because of these business objectives one will find the implementation of tools like Microsoft Exchange / Outlook, Lotus Notes and etc. in most, if not all, of the business organizations.
Any groupware tool’s objective is to facilitate communication for an organization and may not have end-to-end support to the organizations business processes with respect to customer relationship management philosophy and this carves out a clear cut scope for a CRM tool.
Having said that, there is a high possibility that some of the features may co-exist in both of these tools, but that doesn’t translate the replacement of one over other.
For an example both Lotus Notes and Outlook offers the contact management feature but to what level it fits into the organizations requirement for contact management is a debatable topic and for sure varies from an organization to organization.
Now for an organization that has a Groupware and as well as a CRM tool there has to be some amount of information exchange between these two applications so as to avoid duplicate data entry, and enforce a consistent information source across the organization
For all practical purposes organization will have an implementation of Groupware and may or may not have a CRM tool and hence it becomes important for the CRM (tool) manufacturer to provide a mechanism (i.e. adapters) for exchanging information between these two applications.