SAMURAI BLOG

The Road Ahead

2009-09-11T03:43:35Z

I find myself returning again & again to the question of What Next? Where do I take the company & the team. It is as if it has become a guidepost for my career. It is not a question that we ask ourselves enough. We as humans and professionals normally dodge this question in order to avoid the uneasy burden of additional responsibilities and the risks associated with any vision.

In a company as diverse as Geomanage there is always a passionate liking for the activities performed by each of the team members. This is ofcourse necessary and it is one of the foundation base of our company. Yet with so much of diverse activities and so much of diverse cultures how is it that we take a company forward viz. How do we define goals which benefit all of us in the long term. I think the fundamentals lie in acceptance and respect. It is like; if only a scholar acknowledges that the sportsman feels the same way about his shoes as he feels about his books.

With the starting of our offices in India the team has extended beyond Geographical and cultural borders. The work also has become cross border and time barriers are being broken down. It has become a 24x7 job which is being done in a hurry and sometimes I feel that I am riding down an expressway. Inspite of all this speed and busy days I have always addressed the question What Next? Which I thought would be a good idea to put it down so that after sometime I can go back and judge myself as to what has been achieved.

To begin with; The vision of Geomanage is to become a truly global company with offices spanning countries and continents so that the customers intending to go global have a one stop solution for their global aspirations. At first I would like to make use of all the Project management skills available within the company be it in diverse industry segments such as Infrastructure, Oil&Gas, Finance or IT.

We would like to integrate these skill sets and try to develop a commercially viable business model which will be financially profitable to all the stake holders. With this in mind we intend to get involved in a small infrastructure project in India. This will encompass all the activities of project right from Concept to Commission including Finance Management. This I feel will give us a good experience in cross country Project Management aspects.

The second vision would be to make use of the teams strengths in sales, IT and the web. We would like to help good Small & Medium Industries in various countries with good products to go global. Our main business would be to act as Business Facilitators in respective countries and also to make use of Technology for the PR aspects of our customers. I would like to see Geomanage have 2 more offices in different locations by next November. Hope this is not too ambitious???

Posted by Atul 11-Sep-09

One Year of GeoManage

2009-09-04T03:32:38Z

It is exactly a year that Geomanage was formed. It is also one year since I started heading this organization. So naturally it is a time to reflect on the year gone by.

Surprise - The big surprise for me is to compare from where I started to where I am. I never imagined that I could be so patient in crisis after crisis which was hitting the new formed company right from the time of Lehman collapse. Yet we sailed through the troubled times & the team remained in place to support me throughout the stormy days.

Admiration - I have started admiring the Geomanage team for all the efforts put in by them during the year & the new ideas that have been brought on the table by them. It is an admirable team effort which not only boosts confidence but also gives great pleasure when working.

Humility - I am humbled by the fact that by being the captain of the team, I have to listen to all the team members, rather than just pushing my thoughts. As is often said, Business strategies and visions are like large Ocean tankers & not speedboats. The direction of a company can be changed by a few degrees in different direction. The result of this change can be seen only after a year or years not after days or weeks.

Achievements - To talk about our achievements, well of course we have sailed through the crisis together. But the most important achievement is the formation of our subsidiary in India viz. Geomanage Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd.

Future - Looking ahead we would like to serve our customers in Japan & India to the best of our abilities. With this in mind we would also like to increase our services in India too.

Road Ahead - We would like to make Geomanage a truly global company for which we are also scouting other frontiers where we can have our presence. Hope to have presence in more country before September - 2010

Posted By Atul 04-Sep-2009

Find What You Love !!

2009-07-30T02:03:55Z

I really feel honored & thank my family, friends, well wishers & God to be able to still pen down my thoughts & feelings.

I still watch Steve Jobs` Stanford speech video over & over at regular intervals. It has become one of my favorites on Youtube. I do not know, whether it is possible but I would definitely like to meet the man & convey my admiration to him directly. What little, I have read or heard of him is that Steve consistently pushes things farther and is a stickler to quality. He demands perfection from his employees and can be very rude at times.

What is interesting at Geomanage is how we as a startup with only a few of us can hold ourselves to the same bars of quality. It is one thing to have more than thousands of employees, employ the best brains in the industry pay them High-salaries - but it is a different story to have a tiny group, pay light salaries & accomplish / deliver beautiful products & services.

People may well ask - How do you do it?? Well it all boils down to doing what we love and doing it passionately. But many would like to do it but really how many can. I am lucky - I not only found what I loved but I was graced by God to be blessed with an excellent companion & a loving family surrounded by friends & well wishers who encouraged & helped me to do what I loved. But, to be very frank, when I started on the journey I never thought that I could be where I am now. But you can only look back & connect; you cannot look forward and decide what is right and wrong. Whatever, the problems, difficulties of the past I think were nothing but a prelude to what it is now.

So to all those who want to start I would say that you should first love yourself, then have trust in some things like trust yourself, trust your intution, destiny, life, karma etc This methodology worked for me & made a difference. And above all as Steve says -

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Posted By Atul 30-Jul-09

The Business Model

2009-07-24T01:31:36Z

The Steam Engine followed by the Internal Combustion Engine commenced the Industrial revolution which led to the demand of Coal & Petroleum. As the demand for these products grew so did the economies of the supplying countries (Oil producing countries of the Middle East) grew. This pattern seems to be unfolding again. However, the fuel now is the Knowledge Workers & Skilled Professionals. Education, Knowledge, Skill have become the raw materials for success in the present scenario.

Considering the above, growth for India is imperative. With due respect to the past Indian generation which sowed the seeds for the value of education, & Family bonding; India is at a threshold when it can be counted as a major economic powerhouse. Of course there are problems such as poverty which stands at a staggering 25% living below the poverty line. A large unemployed population which includes educated youth. Yet compared to the problems which I saw & experienced during my childhood / growing up years, India has survived and succeeded. This success does not necessarily mean material achievements but achievements in terms of social development. Even today, Indians in general have maintained a very balanced family life. Respect, Love & Bonding within the family which is not often seen in other countries.

If this continues & I have no doubt that it will continue, I think India should be one of the finest destinations for business growth. With this in mind, Geomanage wishes to engage the Indian companies by giving them an exposure to new markets addressing their problems and giving them a place on the global platform by providing proximity to their clients. It is infact an effort to bridge the cultural gap between the cultures.

Posted By Atul 24-Jul-09

India Dreams

2009-07-16T03:35:52Z

Hello Everybody, the Great Indian election has taken place and the results are out. The secular Congress Party has won. If there is anyone who still doubts that India has arrived well then this is the moment when India has answered.

It is not the India represented by me or rather us (which includes you the readers). The above has been answered by the common man the people who have no access or rather do not know the term Internet. Yes the man in the remote villages, the man making out a living in the slums of Mumbai who believed that this time must be different. They have risen above caste, creed, religion.. their voices are different.

It is the voices of the young and old, voices of Maharashtrians & Biharis & Tamils so on and so forth. All have sent a message to the international forces (good & evil); that India is just not a collection of states speaking different languages and following various religions. It is and always will be united. It is and will always have a common purpose and a common vision. A vision of progress coupled with peace, compassion and acceptance.

The common man has spoken and taught a lesson to all the learned and wealthy Indians living in India & abroad that we rise and fall as one nation, as one people. Let us all come together and resist the temptations of Caste, Regional and Religious politics. Let us again be on the world center stage and tell the world which is presently in turmoil that it is not Religion or Wealth which should be the basis of a civilized society. The basis should be peace, compassion, acceptance and religious respect to each other.

The ZERO has been a great contribution from India to the world. Our new nation coming of age can be perfected. The youth of India in the recent past have given us hope for what we can do. Let us now plan for what we can achieve tomorrow.

Finally to all the well wishers of Geomanage we will soon be making our presence felt in India with opening of our office in Mumbai by end August - 2009.

Obama & Leadership

2009-07-09T03:10:03Z

As a new political era dawns, people in all walks of life have not only started talking about change but also aspire to create sustainable change in their worlds and their environments. All this has been inspired by the triumph against odds of one man viz. Barack Obama.

So much has been said and written about him that there is nothing left for me to write. Yet one thing that I find outstanding about this man is his authenticity. This is the quality which I feel we should imbibe so that we can produce better results for ourselves and for those around us.

Coming down to the topic of leadership, the frequently asked questions are

What is Leadership

Well the leadership as I understand is a matter of values. A person without values cannot be a leader. Values Good or Bad but values are values & values make leaders.

Who is a good Leader?

Effective Leaders visualize the future based on the actual stories of their pasts

Obama`s personal history of his multi-racial, multi-national origins blended well with the collective moment of USA. His leadership genius, articulated a personal and collective vision which was firmly rooted in his past and always looked forward positively with hope for a better tomorrow.

A Powerful Vision which focuses on what matters most

Obama increased his credibility on the world stage by using his real past in a transparent way. As all think, Obama is not faking; He is the real man, It is his story; They are his Hopes; It is his Achievement. It is Obama who inspires. It is his vision of a better tomorrow which we all follow.

No wonder that he is the man who has called his last book The Audacity Of Hope.

Posted by Atul 09-Jul-09

Economy & The Blog

2009-07-03T05:54:16Z

Sorry for being away for so long. No reason for not writing. It was just that I did not write.

I write this blog today for 2 reasons -

1) Somedays back my friends said that I started blogging and the Economy went from good to bad. I stopped blogging & the economy went from Bad to Worst. So I have started blogging so that economy goes back to bad from worst.

2) Second reason : It was decided that if I do not blog once a week then I will be fined 10,000Yens Big amount in these times??

Look forward to my blogs

The Year Ahead

2009-01-07T05:55:57Z

Very Warm and Happy New Year to all of you.
Looking back the only good thing about 2008 is that it is over.　A lot has been written and a lot more will be written on the year gone by. Being a firm believer in the Power of Positive Thinking, I always try to forget the bad events of the past and always look forward to the future which is always supposed to be good.

To be absolutely honest 2009 has put me in a oscillatory mode. One moment I feel very positive and the next I am depressed. On the positive side I am happy to note that in spite of the economic downturn etc. Geomanage is still getting enquiries and in fact we also have signed and commenced work on some of the new projects. Yet in spite of this, the environment outside depresses me especially when at times I hear some of the known persons being laid off or at times I hear that some known business houses are being closed due to the depression.

There have been so many moments good and bad embedded in my mind that it becomes necessary to forget the bad moments so that you do not waste energy on them. Also by forgetting the bad moments the good moments become more clear and can be recalled whenever I am having a bad day.

For that matter I feel 2009 is going to be unpredictably funny, not in the humorous way but in a "you never know what is going to happen" way. The over confident or the egoists may argue by saying that well of course you are never going to know anyway. Yet whenever I have bad times I think "How did I not see it coming?" When major events happen, we think about our next plan. As much as we can think and plan, life takes over and says `stop`. No one in this world can escape this. Even wealth and fame do not guarantee protection. Yet what separates those who live their lives and those who merely exist is the search for the future. When you get to a point when you cannot see your future then be rest assured that you do not have a future.

However, to ease the sense of frustration and the loss of direction, I still believe that deep down inside there is my will which says all will be well next year. Even in my recent past when I was having some of my darkest years, I believed in myself and I believed in my destiny. I just hope that I remember this when life decides to have some fun with me.
Thank you all for your support this year. I wish you all the love and happiness in 2009.

Globalization

2008-12-22T01:33:34Z

lobalization is a process of transformation of local society into a global one. Globalization can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. This process is a combination of economic, technological, socio-cultural and political forces. However, presently Globalization is often referred as economic globalization.

Globalization is not new, though. For thousands of years, people--and, later, corporations--have been buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road. Likewise, for centuries, people and corporations have invested in enterprises in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current wave of globalization are similar to those prevailing before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Modern Globalization began after the end of World War II. This was largely the result of planning by economists and business houses, who recognized the disadvantages associated with protectionism. This led to the Bretton Woods conference and founding of several international institutions such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Globalization is based on the following principles -
Promotion of free trade:
Reduction or elimination of tariffs; creation of free trade zones with small or no tariffs
Reduced transportation costs, especially resulting from development of containerization for ocean shipping.
Reduction or elimination of capital controls
Reduction, elimination, or harmonization of subsidies for local businesses

Restriction of free trade:
Harmonization of intellectual property laws across the majority of states, with more restrictions.
Recognition of intellectual property restrictions (e.g. patents granted by China would be recognized in the United States)

While it is easy to look at the positive aspects of Globalization and the great benefits it has had on Industrial and Financial sectors, Globalization is deeply controversial. Proponents of globalization argue that it allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living, while opponents of globalization say that the creation of an international free market has benefited multinational corporations in the Western world at the expense of local enterprises, local cultures, and common people. Resistance to globalization has therefore taken shape as people and governments try to manage the flow of capital, labor, goods, and ideas that constitute modern globalization.
To find the right balance between benefits and costs associated with globalization, citizens of all nations should understand how globalization works and the policy choices facing them and their societies.

As a matter of fact we all should try to be global citizens and help each other to become global by use of technology to increase cross-border trade, investment and migration.

Posted by Kirti Lokurkar

Terrorism

2008-12-16T02:13:10Z

error comes from the Latin word meaning "to frighten".

Terrorism is not new, and even though it has been used since ancient times it is hard to define. Terrorism has often been an effective tactic for the weaker side in a conflict.

Terrorism in India has grown to a great extent in the last two decades. It is a bit unfortunate that we as a country are facing terrorism from our neighboring countries since independence.　Pakistan since it's creation has always harbored　terrorist elements / groups against India with an intention to destabilize our country. China supports Pakistan in this endeavor to divide India. In recent years we are seeing Bangladesh as the new breeding ground for terrorists. SriLanka is also in the same category.

Though foreign governments and bases do breed terrorism, these terrorist groups take advantage especially of the unemployed youth who fall easy prey to their indoctrination and create local groups with help of unscrupulous politicians. They are also helped by the corrupt officials who help in their entry and exit from India.

So terrorism is not about religion or any ideologies. The terrorists that we encounter today are not men who commit evil acts out of revenge. For these men, brainwashed by outfits like LET, Al-Qaeda...; Terrorism is a full fledged profession. The cold blooded killers of Mumbai recently went about their task with clinical precision. They did it because it was a job they wanted to do.

Democracy, political freedom, civil liberties and religious tolerance must be protected by all means. The corruption in the bureaucracy should be minimized. Criminalization of politics must end. At present we have number of parliamentarians with pending criminal cases. Some jailed parliamentarians cast votes on important national issues which is alarming!! Terrorism prospers and thrives in such conditions. Poverty is an incubator of terrorism and corruption is the catalyst.

We as all responsible Indians have a big part to play in days ahead. At first we all should come out and start voting. We should also help the government in implementing reforms to maintain rapid economic growth and uplift the status of downtrodden people.
All in all let us as true citizens be honest to ourselves. The rest will follow.

Posted By Kirti Lokurkar

We Can And We Will

2008-12-09T01:23:18Z

ecember has begun signaling that the year is about to end. A period when it is time for us to reflect on the year gone by. We at Geomanage have had a lot of fun over the last year but it`s also been a lot of hard work. We have as usual had our moments of up`s and down`s over the last year but all in all it has been a successful year. We have continued with our original activities and added some new activities to our lists. Our B2B portal viz. http://www.fitz-global.com has been patronized by over 3,500 worldwide customers. We have done some good net trading in the field of Construction Equipments and have also commenced our Project Finance Consulting division helping Japanese companies to set up operations out of Japan.

As we were sailing along smoothly the Global Financial Meltdown came along and did put a brake on our progress. However, we as a team remained undaunted and with a slight shift in direction we took the meltdown in our stride and continued to work with the same zeal. The Meltdown certainly felt like the doomsday was around the corner and the entire tsunami was to hit us headlong. We really had to summon up our reserve energies to stay calm in the coming crisis and go on with our work completing our tasks.

In the last year we also met a lot of people big and small businessmen. Each one of them brought something or the other to the table. One thing that hit me was that all of them were passionate with their jobs and their companies. This is something to learn. I also learnt from their abilities, their successes and their challenges. After all it does not come down to their job, it also comes down to them being people and their attitudes which helped them to be where they are.

I also came across some for whom money is no object, it is a means to power. However, for me money is an object. This gives me the ability to see through the glitter and the false façade. It also gives me to understand the efforts and the ability of the majority of the people with and eye on the pocketbooks.

All in all I feel it has turned out to be a good year with lot of aspirations and dreams to carry on to the next year.

With the political and the economic environments expected to change drastically in the next year we like most of you are looking for answers whether we can meet the challenges.

As for Geomanage the answer is "Yes We Can and We Will"

American Surprise

2008-11-17T05:56:07Z

et me be frank. I admit that I never thought that Obama would win. Not that I understand politics or the Democratic and Replubican manifestos but yet I thought that America would not elect a

Election - 2008 turned out to be an historic election for US politics. Even my African American friends were surprised. They just could not believe the news of Obama victory. Wherever I went before the elections, people used to ask "Was America ready to elect its first black president? " In the end America surprised itself about how far it had come. Those who said that race wouldn`t matter in this election really meant it. The polls were accurate there was no Bradley effect. Some say that race did matter but economy trumped and the people in all fairness blamed the Republicans for this along with lying them (remember weapons of mass destruction) into the unnecessary war in Iraq.

Even though the above point the Republican mistakes, it must be agreed that Obama had a far superior campaign organization which raised unprecedented money and used the same properly for his advantage.

Whatever, it is no one can dispute that America broke the highest racial barrier on Nov4 and showcased to the world as to why it is the most powerful nation in the world.

Now it is up to Obama to live up to the expectations of not only the American citizens but the world population at large.

The US Elections

2008-11-04T07:04:38Z

s I write this blog, the world`s most powerful nation is electing it`s leader. The people in the US must`ve lined up polling stations waiting to cast their votes. In all probability every American wants his vote to count what with two wars and an economic mess threatening loss of jobs, homes....

Americans have still not forgotten the upset election of 2000 when Democrat Al Gore lost to Bush with a thin margin of 537 votes. The recent polls show Obama to win by a bigger margin yet the lead in the polls could be wrong. It has happened before in many elections in many countries. In US they call it the Bradley effect named after LA mayor Tom Bradley who lost the election inspite of the early polls predicting his win. Some election experts say that this is because many of the voters do not tell the truth.

Anyway whoever wins will have to awake on Wednesday morning to the stark reality of 2 wars and an economic mess. The person elected definitely will have no time to party the personal success achieved.
So folks let us wait for 24hours and see who leads US and cast`s his shadow over the rest of the world.

The Show Must Go On

2008-10-27T01:51:30Z

o be honest with all of you, I love media. But in the recent weeks whether you turn on the television or read the headlines, the viewing and reading has been grim and depressing. All forms of media are screaming the doom of the economy. Though the main culprits as I along with most of the world firmly believe are the reckless bankers, there are some who say that media has made the situation worse.

I do not think that media has played into this grim situation. I feel that media has only reported the reality. Media definitely has a responsibility of projecting and reporting the correct facts. Now the situation in the home market was so bad that the media had to inform the common man of the turns that the economy was taking. Some say that media should have warned the common man before things went wrong. But I feel that even if the warnings had been frequent and at an early stage, there are doubts whether people would have believed or heeded the advice. Few heed to advice when the going is good even if it is on the wrong path.

Even the recent headline that "OPEC cuts production but Oil prices still dips" reflects the current economic scenario aptly.

Recently Japan has had headlines about SONY corporation too which also reflect the current crisis not only for Japan but for the entire world. I do not think media had anything to do with the slowing of sales of SONY or for that matter the rate of Yen to US$ becoming 94.

Though I am not a financial analyst and would not like to depress anybody, I feel that a massive damage has been done to the global economic system and will take a long time to repair the same. With one bad news following another every week, it appears that the global recession is accelerating rather than ebbing.

This brings us to think the following -
・Is media reporting too negative regarding the financial crisis?
・Is media accelerating the global recession?
・Had the media taken the advisor`s role initially would it have made a difference vis-à-vis would the investors or the common man listened to the media then?
　
In the final analysis all we can do while reading and viewing the disaster is to continue with our work ....... as the media saying goes ........."The Show Must Go On" .

Jazz and Geomanage

2008-10-21T06:29:14Z

ast Saturday I spent a lazy afternoon in a Jazz bar sipping Gin Tonic and listening to Jazz music of which I understand nothing. But as they say "What Color is to beauty; Music is to mood". Just listening to the lively music brought me in the right mood to enjoy the evening in at a Japanese Izakaya.

Well to clear your doubts as to why I attend or attended last Saturday Jazz Live is that Geomanage consists of 2 important members (Matsuoka and Imamura teffy) who are into Jazz in a big way. Infact both of them work hard during the week so that they can play some Jazz on week ends. To make matters short they also have their own band known as "3 mm".

After attending a few Jazz Lives I also tried to know what Jazz is. In going through the material available on Jazz, I found that Geomanage and Jazz have some aspects in common such as -

・In Jazz, a skilled performer interprets a tune in his own way and never does he play the same composition in the same manner twice.
Well in case of Geomanage the team members approach a business opportunity in their own ways. The members are given absolute freedom to succeed or fail. If the opportunity succeeds then we all party. If a member fails then the entire team supports him. But never do we fail twice.

・In Jazz the performer`s inner voice tells him as to how he should interact with his fellow musicians or the audience. There are no written rules.
Well in case of Geomanage too the members go about their work and interaction with the customers in their own way or according to their aptitudes. There are no written manuals on Sales or Marketing or Customer Care. Everything is taken care naturally.

What do you think? Is it not a good way to do business?