Life wouldn't be life if not shared with U..My Love

Update

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:50:00 +0000

Hi All,

It's been while since I updated this blog :, blame on my busy work schedules, my new blog on Social Media Marketing in India, Twitter & tiny blogs like Tumblr :).

You can follow my updates on Twitter.

Subscribe to my smm-strategist.com blog.

Follow my tiny blog at amnigos.tumblr.com.

Thanks
Vijay Rayapati

Brands are built by Entrepreneurs NOT by Marketing agencies

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:54:00 +0000

I love Subrato message “Brands are NOT what agencies build but what Entrepreneurs build” but many realize this by spending lot of money on agencies to change their logo or create a so called unique message instead of improving their product/service[anybody from PEPSI listening:)].

Branding is important to create a consistent perception about your "company product/service/what it stands for" but to build that you need to create a remarkable experience/service/feeling into product for people to perceive the value of your product/service as a brand to spread it viral- Changing your logo or tagline doesn’t make any difference to your business bottomline unless product is damn good.

As Seth Godin often repeats - We need build something remarkable (cool,useful) for people to remark(spread viral,talk about it)- instead running a cushy AD/SEM campaign doesn't help your business.

Marketing agencies will help you to push the message but the pull factor will be driven the value of your product/service NOT by how hot or spicy your ad campaign was because product value persists but not your ad campaigns.

Image Credit's :Original Creators and Google for helping me out:).

How do I design a good home page?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:30:00 +0000

This was one of the questions that take lot of time for businesses to decide and come up with a something really cool home page.

I came across one article title Design To Sell

What does it take to build a 'WOW' homepage?

When I grow up I want to be ...

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:01:00 +0000

Awesome video - worth watching :)

Touch Book

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:48:00 +0000

A startup called AlwaysInnovating has just launched a TouchBook - kinda notebook for $399.

what do u think - will it fly??

Lets catch up @ Barcamp Bangalore

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:13:00 +0000

The much awaited tech event - Barcamp Bangalore 8 - is scheduled for March 7 -8 at Yahoo! , Bangalore. For more details please refer to bcb8 site.

If you are going to be around , then lets catch up!! - say hello @ 9008869869 , would love to meet you.

What is next big thing - may be Siftables?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:13:00 +0000

I heard it many times while people saying that nobody has a f***in* clue about what is the next big thing? , yeah true , but while checking out the recent TED talks , I came across this amazing stuff called Siftables [It aims to enable people to interact with information and media in physical, natural ways that approach interactions with physical objects in our everyday lives] , which could become next big thing :) and I feel it is really awesome to have such hands-on learning technology in education.

Check out the Siftables talk video by David Merril below , I am sure you will like it and you can find more details about this project here

What do you think?.

What does Valentine's Day means to my city?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:06:00 +0000

Thanks to SreeRama Sena for making people in Bangalore to think about creative
ways of celebrating Valentine's day on Feb 14th ,2009.

The interesting part of it is while few guys (sena) want to block/break the
celebrations [these guys attached Women in Mangalore Pub) there is another
organization (Kannada Rakshana Vedike & Vatal Nagaraj Group) that want to
protect couples/lovers celebrating the event by patrolling in Love Vehicles ,
awesome if not Police somebody else are ready to protect people from few
insanes, What about Mr.Acharya (Our dear Home Minister of Karnatak State)
Team?, Hey don't blame us we are busy planning strict action against insane's.

While Mr.Mutalik (head of sena) want to forcibly marry off people
(lovers) celebrating Valentine ,others are planning to send few gays
to Mr.Mutalik house so he can marry them off:) and the PinkChaddi
campaign which aims to send some Chaddis (Knickers ) to Sena people.

I heard few people have already sent "I Love You" greeting cards to
Mr.Mutalik,others are planning to send him lot of roses on Feb 14th ,
As usual few politicians have said "What bachelor (Mr.Mutalik) knew
about Valentines " :) , others started "Pub Bharo Andolan" to counter
moral policing just like Jail Bharo andolan during India's Freedom
Struggle against British , Ahh it is interesting to note that our politicians
still remember about freedom struggle movement.

Another interesting event is planned by BangaloreBloggers group to
organize a"Free Hug Campaign" on Feb 14th against moral policing
in the name of so called Indian Culture protecting saints.

Thanks to SocialMedia for encouraging people to share their ideas of
protest with others and plan these events.If you are in Bangalore, what are you game for?.

[Image Credit's: Thanks to respective creators/owners.]

Always let your boss have the first say

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:47:00 +0000

Disclaimer: This is story is from a forward email received some time back from a colleague.

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to
lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.'

'Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the
Bahamas , driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.'

Puff! He's gone.

'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii ,
relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of
Pina Coladas and the love of my life.'

Puff! He's gone.

'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager.
The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'

Moral of the story:

Always let your boss have the first say.

My Proto.in Experience

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:27:00 +0000

I had an amazing time at Proto.in for 2 days ,some interesting talks & gyaan
sessions,few silly discussions and networking with many guys.

The overall experience was better than what I had expected before attending
Proto:) as it connected me with some old friends , ex-colleagues and few very
rare breed crazy guys.I also made it to Startup Disco and had a rocking time
with Geeks on dance floor,thanks to Ashish for organizing such a wonderful event.

But best time spent was with Tincup team , discussing some stupid and yet
useful gyaan, debating on silly stuff and finally had an awesome night out at
mayflower after a delicious dinner at Barbequeue with a bunch of crazy guys.

Actually I am not expressing [I mean writing] any opinion about the Proto talks
here because there is a good summary of it at Pluggd.in.

"I Have a Dream" speech by MLK

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:54:00 +0000

Below post is a transcript of the I Have a Dream Speech given by Martin Luther King.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. *We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: "For Whites Only."* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! - Dr.Martin Luther King

What an amazing speech?,finally his dream of a Negro becoming the President of U.S came true.

What is the remedy for lack of confidence?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:44:00 +0000

There were times in each one of our lives , when we self-doubt our capabilities and have a state of mind with lack of confidence about overcoming difficult things.

Below is the beautiful video which is amazing and can be inspiration for all of us to GET BACK UP to face any challenges.

Isn't it beautiful? as he [Nick Vujicic] said "It doesn't matter whether
you fall down or fail but what matters is How you are going to finish it?",
stop doubting your capabilities and unleash the power of confidence to be
an inspiration for others.

Proto.In - Have you registered yet?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:58:00 +0000

Proto.in - The startup event will be happening in Bangalore on 23-24 , Jan-09.A must attend if you are an entrepreneur or would like to taste the juice in future , you can register for the event here.

You can read Proto Blog here and follow live tweets here ,if you are going to be around do say hello @ 9008869869 ,see you there.

Presidential Inauguration Live

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:22:00 +0000

If you want to catch the glimpses of glory moment in the history of U.S and for rest of the World , do watch the President-elect Mr.Barack Obama Inauguration right here:

I gotta finish my office stuff early today:)

The spirit of an entrepreneur

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:37:00 +0000

I'm short of words may be because it was already 3.30 A.M and being sleepy or
feeling the pain of failure - having tasted a pinch in my first startup it's absolutely
fine for a kid like me but when I read about how Morten Lund , one of the guys
behind Skype and the Guy who have had experience in working with 88 startups
went bankrupt!!! I am literally short of words as it pains more than my own experience.

Fuck the failure- I don't give a shit to it and I know a true entrepreneur
never counts on money but Morten's new blog post just made me believe
in it stronger than before I was , you can read his post at The End or
The Beginning (Start) - a must read for all entrepreneurs or if you are
somebody who would like to taste the juice in future.

Below you can find his latest video talk given at LeWeb startup conference , Paris
and feel the spirit of a true Entrepreneur as he quotes "I trust in myself
(thanx Mum)-I fucked up - but I will solve it - It is part of life so it's okay".

What an amazing spirit and never die attitude this guy has? - lets pray god to
help him come out of the current mess stronger than before to unleash many
more startups and build an entrepreneurship cast across world who would
believe in "Screw it and Lets do it" attitude [borrowed from Richard Branson].

Imagine the potential - Obama Story

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Just like the millions of others , me too waiting for the President-elect
Mr.Barack Obama swearing in ceremony speech tomorrow with a lot
of curiosity to hear his Messiah message for U.S and rest of the world.

Here is a very short and inspiring video , do watch it now :).

Life is beautiful right ? , every human being has the potential to be the change and
lead the change no matter how they were conceived. I hope Obama story will save
the lives of many unborn children across world and give a purpose to the life they
may achieve.

Why I feel like a King? - Life is beautiful

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:01:00 +0000

At times I feel frustrated with my life but wait a minute most of the times I feel what an amazing times I am living in because

I can know what is happening around me [across world] in seconds from tweets [Twitter].
For any question I have or information I need I could turn to Google/Twitter/Digg/Delicious/Linked in to get answers or atleast a direction.
If I feel bored I could immediately turn to YouTube and watch some amazing videos.
When got struck with any problem on Job I can get a free help from many people on web.
Can connect to great guys like Guy Kawasaki on FB , follow many CEOs on Twitter and poke my friends to virtually pinch them at any time.
I can learn from world best thinkers,technologists ,great writers/motivational people and smart nerds by reading their blogs or following their tweets yet offering my so called expert opinion:) at times to others.
I live in a time where everybody has a feeling that Barack Obama will go down as one of greats:Churchill , Gandhi , JFK , Lincoln , Mother Teresa , Washington ...Maybe, just someday, he'll get his own bill/coin :).
Can learn basics about almost anything (from Technology/Psychology to Politics/Economy to Ancient Arts/Latest Innovations) in 5 minutes from Wikipedia.
Can use the best technology (Twitter,Youtube,Hulu,Feed Readers,Social Media,Google and Blogosphere ...many more) at free of cost to simplify my daily life tasks.
Before even I could visit an expert [doctor,lawyer,designer and any service provider] for opinion or solution I can get my self better informed through web.
I can experience the life in recession ,the pain of terror and killing innocents not just in my country but across Globe through Media.
I have access to better health care facilities and living conditions than my ancestors had , for that matter any Kings ever had few centuries back.
I believe that technology is a Demigod because it is there whenever I need or whatever I do while making my life better Today than it was Yesterday.

Don't you think we have a better access to almost any information/data we need,
Instant connectivity with people across world and using amazing technology to simplify our daily life,which are getting better day by day before anybody could predict? , Awesome ,Our Life is beautiful.

About Me

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:47:00 +0000

Currently ,I am Y.A.S.E..Yet Another Software Engineer in Bangalore , India.
(Studied @ CBIT , Hyderabad --> Started Career @TCS , Kolkata --> Learned
some lessons @ Bootstrapping a startup --> Now working @ Trilogy , Bangalore).

Three passions have governed my life:
The longings for love, the search for knowledge,
And unbearable pity for the suffering of [humankind].

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.
In the union of love I have seen
In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision
Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.
I have wished to understand the hearts of [people].
I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,
But always pity brought me back to earth;
Cries of pain reverberated in my heart
I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,
And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.

Did you know?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:48:00 +0000

Just came across this wonderful ( may be better than that ), Exciting, challenging, kinda predicted future, video in Youtube from a Tweet.

Do watch it right now :)

World (I mean information) is changing faster than any body can ever think of , right?.

The Reality of Indian Media

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:10:00 +0000

I don't think I need to write yet another article to pin point what
media is expected to do , its ideal role but what's really happening
in our country,as enough has been discussed and written by many
thoughtful personalities but I am ashamed to see that there is not
even a damn bit of change in the way,our Media is handling most of
the national crisis situations.The recent
incident of Mumbai,when our brave man are fighting with hard core
terrorists in country's financial capital,our so called great
responsible media was very busy conducting live coverage of the
ground operations , running after people to get their opinions ,
asking Children how do they feel
about their parents who are struck inside terrorist captured
buildings and what kind of strategic positions our
commandos are taking to attack the hostage taken buildings there
by giving proper inputs to inside terrorist to fight longer and
better.

Today I was reading ,The Economic Times and came across an article
titled "Raju does a better job than
Lashkar-e-Toiba",basically projecting that Mr.Ramalinga
Raju has done more damage to our country than any Pakistani based
terrorist's could do [done] & what kind of near-shore options US
based business clients have etc,WTF?,everybody will concur that
whatever Mr.Raju has done was a great disgrace to our great Country
image but this is a one off incident and we should come up with a
better regulations to avoid these kind of future incidents & teach
a lesson or two to all people who indulge in these kind of activities.

In one essence our media thinks,may
be better If I say , it believes and projecting things in such a way
that due to SATYAM incident our Indian IT industry will go bankrupt
because U.S clients will not do business with our companies,Indian
companies doesn't have good corporate governance,India-Inc lost it's
credibility in world markets,why World Bank is banning one after other
Indian companies & finally creating regular TV show discussions (in
every national & regional channels) on how knowledge industry workers
will starve forever because of this incident which creates horror among
uneducated parents whose children are currently pursuing jobs in
Knowledge Sector etc , what a shame guys? ,how many of these kind of
incidents have/had happened in U.S,Europe and across globe,didn't U.S
companies do business after late Enron or recent Maddoff scams?
and is Satyam/Wipro are the first companies in world to provide
benefits to their client personnel to win over projects?,what
about Siemens which apparently run a more than $200 USD million
fund to bribe officials across world to win projects/contracts.

My humble request to so called our social responsible journalists/media personalities is to please focus on creating awareness among
people about crisis situations which could help them to get
educated on those issues than writing some crap to fill in your
paper columns and TV shows , don't judge entire nation or industry
based on one incident , if you have time and want to contribute
to creating a better society then please do proper research and
come up with a plan or actions items that government/companies
should pursue to avoid these kind of problems.

Even if you cannot do or don't do it ,we(people) are fine with
that but please don't invite Bollywood/Page3
junta on TV shows to get their expert opinion on how India-Inc
corporate governance should be structured and how much damage
Satyam incident could do to India ,how economic slowdown has
affected pubs/discs business for New Year bash etc.

Understanding children - why preschool is important?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:52:00 +0000

Since those grim years, reform after educational reform has
been launched,but always the emphasis has been on technical
(subjective) measurable achievement within our schools,but
I am sure,now things are changing as people are talking about
the overall grooming (IQ+EQ+SQ) of Children/Students instead
focusing just on Child IQ because High IQ doesn't guarantee
you any success in life & low IQ doesn't mean you can't do
anything in life, What I mean is focus should be on "Personality
Development",this exactly where a good preschool for a child
can make a difference.

I always enjoyed reading random books but when you read any
book related to Child Psychology,it completely changes our
perspective of Understanding Children , which everybody
thinks they already knew but to truly understand a child,we
need to consider the whole person and not just a limited part
of the personality. The word ‘personality’ in its fullest sense
refers to this whole person,to the integration of all aspects-
intellectual, physical, emotional and social-which contribute
to the human make-up".

The biggest myth about child abilities is that every day one
come across many parents saying, my kid is average or dumb just
because he/she can't score well in school which is in fact
totally untrue and to say of a your child ‘he has a no brain
or a great metal ability‘ and to dismiss him from any further
consideration is both foolish and inhuman.I know a guy who
couldn't make it in our college placements but now in IIM-A
and also a guy who failed in Engineering while representing
India in M.S Technical Challenge Cup.

Mental Ability(IQ) refers to one rather narrow aspect of the
child,his ability to do an intelligence test and other work
which requires similar ability. It does not give an indication
of his character, his skill as a worker in other fields than
those requiring mental reasoning, his ability at getting on
with other people or his physical strength.

All children have two wonderful resources for learning based
on imagination and curiosity. As a parent, you must awaken
your children to the joy of learning by encouraging them ,
Parent is a child first & lifelong teacher so you need to distinguish between learning which is
purely verbal; the ability to say the words, and learning which
involves understanding.

My recent visit to a preschool ,TheLittleCrest , also helped
me to understand what kind of environment(infrastructure) and
practices one need to put in place to compliment the personality
development of a Child , I enjoyed meeting many wonderful people
there who want to make a difference.

Satyam - What went wrong?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:49:00 +0000

Below is the letter sent by Ramalinga Raju , Chairman , Satyam Computers to Bombay Stock Exchange and Satyam Board [Also @ the end you will find the message sent by Satyam , Interim CEO to all employees]:

To the Board of Directors
Satyam Computer Services Ltd.

From B. Ramalinga Raju
Chairman, Satyam Computer Services Ltd. January 7, 2009
Dear Board Members,

It is with deep regret, and tremendous burden that I am carrying on my conscience, that I would like to bring the following facts to your notice:

1. The Balance Sheet carries as of September 30, 2008

a. Inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances of 50.40 billion rupees ($1.04 billion) (as against 53.61 billion reflected in the books).

b. An accrued interest of 3.76 billion rupees which is non-existent.

c. An understated liability of 12.30 billion rupees on account of funds arranged by
me.

d. An overstated debtors position of 4.90 billion rupees (as against 26.51 billion reflected in the books)

2. For the September quarter (Q2) we reported a revenue of 27.00 billion rupees and an operating margin of 6.49 billion rupees (24 pct of revenues) as against the actual revenues of 21.12 billion rupees and an actual operating margin of 610 million rupees (3 percent of revenues). This has resulted in artificial cash and bank balances going up by 5.88 billion rupees in Q2 alone.

The gap in the Balance Sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits over a period of last several years (limited only to Satyam standalone, books of subsidiaries reflecting true performance).

What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profit and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years. It has attained unmanageable proportions as the size of company operations grew significantly (annualized revenue run rate of 112.76 billion rupees in the September quarter, 2008, and official reserves of 83.92 billion rupees). The differential in the real profits and the one reflected in the books was further accentuated by the fact that the company had to carry additional resources and assets to justify higher level of operations -- thereby significantly increasing the costs.

Every attempt made to eliminate the gap failed. As the promoters held a small percentage of equity, the concern was that poor performance would result in a take-over, thereby exposing the gap. It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.

The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones. Maytas' investors were convinced that this is a good divestment opportunity and a strategic fit. Once Satyam's problem was solved, it was hoped that Maytas' payments can be delayed. But that was not to be. What followed in the last several days is common knowledge.

I would like the Board to know:

1. That neither myself, nor the Managing Director (including our spouses) sold any shares in the last eight years -- excepting for a small proportion declared and sold for philanthropic purposes.

2. That in the last two years a net amount of 12.30 billion rupees was arranged to Satyam (not reflected in the books of Satyam) to keep the operations going by resorting to pledging all the promoter shares and raising funds from known sources by giving all kinds of assurances (Statement enclosed, only to the members of the board). Significant dividend payments, acquisitions, capital expenditure to provide for growth did not help matters. Every attempt was made to keep the wheel moving and to ensure prompt payment of salaries to the associates. The last straw was the selling of most of the pledged share by the lenders on account of margin triggers.

3. That neither me, nor the Managing Director took even one rupee/dollar from the company and have not benefitted in financial terms on account of the inflated results.

4. None of the board members, past or present, had any knowledge of the situation in which the company is placed. Even business leaders and senior executives in the company, such as, Ram Mynampati, Subu D, T.R. Anand, Keshab Panda, Virender Agarwal, A.S. Murthy, Hari T, S.V. Krishnan, Vijay Prasad, Manish Mehta, Murali V, Sriram Papani, Kiran Kavale, Joe Lagiola, Ravindra Penumetsa; Jayaraman and Prabhakar Gupta are unaware of the real situation as against the books of accounts. None of my or Managing Director's immediate or extended family members has any idea about these issues.

Having put these facts before you, I leave it to the wisdom of the board to take the matters forward. However, I am also taking the liberty to recommend the following steps:

1. A Task Force has been formed in the last few days to address the situation arising out of the failed Maytas acquisition attempt. This consists of some of the most accomplished leaders of Satyam:, Subu D, T.R. Anand, Keshab Panda and Virender Agarwal, representing business functions, and A.S. Murthy, Hari T and Murali V representing support functions. I suggest that Ram Mynampati be made the Chairman of this Task Force to immediately address some of the operational matters on hand. Ram can also act as an interim CEO reporting to the board.

2. Merrill Lynch can be entrusted with the task of quickly exploring some Merger opportunities.

3. You may have a restatement of accounts' prepared by the auditors in light of the facts that I have placed before you.

I have promoted and have been associated with Satyam for well over twenty years now. I have seen it grow from few people to 53,000 people, with 185 Fortune 500 companies as customers and operations in 66 countries. Satyam has established an excellent leadership and competency base at all levels. I sincerely apologize to all Satyamites and stakeholders, who have made Satyam a special organization, for the current situation. I am confident they will stand by the company in this hour of crisis.

In light of the above, I fervently appeal to the board to hold together to take some important steps. Mr. T.R. Prasad is well placed to mobilize support from the government at this crucial time. With the hope that members of the Task Force and the financial advisor, Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America) will stand by the company at this crucial hour, I am marking copies of this statement to them as well.
Under the circumstances, I am tendering my resignation as the chairman of Satyam and shall continue in this position only till such time the current board is expanded. My continuance is just to ensure enhancement of the board over the next several days or as early as possible.

I am now prepared to subject myself to the laws of the land and face consequences thereof.

(B. Ramalinga Raju)

It's very sad to see these things being happened/happening in corporate India , how come a great leader like Raju can forget , "Truth is Eternal" and we cannot run away from it.

Update: Satyam interim CEO email to all employees:

Dear colleagues

I write this mail to update you on some critical Board and Leadership
level changes in our company, effective immediately. A series of extremely unfortunate events led to this, which I am sure you have seen covered in the media over the past few hours.

A SWAT team consisting of senior leaders has been formed. Many of them are Satyam veterans with a minimum of ten years experience in our company and more than twenty years in the industry. I have been requested to play the role of an Interim CEO and this team will support me, as we steer Satyam through this challenging phase. These are the leaders on the ground and have always had the final call on most customer and associate related matters in the company, so far.

This team has committed to work together, to make it happen. The SWAT team represents all Customer Facing units, key Horizontal Competency Units and critical Support Units.Over the past twenty one years, with your passion and commitment we have built significant customer assets, formidable service offerings, excellent delivery processes and scalable support systems. Satyam has been consistently acknowledged for our leadership bandwidth and has a demonstrated reputation for collaborative functioning. Our renowned Full Life Cycle (FLC)model encouraged ‘Distributed and Empowered’ leadership and prepared us for all situations.
This is the time when we have to apply it in real life. What we have been trained for, we will now put to work. Let us continue to handle our respective areas with total autonomy, freedom and control. This is as good a time, as any, to remind ourselves that we have been acknowledged as being amongst the top three Best Employers in India by Hewitt and Mercer in independent surveys in 2007 and American Society of Training & Development (ASTD) named us as the best globally, for our Learning practices – the first company outside USA to be ever awarded this
honor.

Satyam continues to have everything that is fundamentally required for its success – a strong customer base and a committed universe of approx 53,000 associates.What we are confronted with is the challenge of continuing our business operations, seamlessly.We will need your involvement and ideas to make it happen. This might involve even more effort at every level, in the near term. This is the time to prove to the world that we are united and will succeed in overcoming the challenges.

This quarter will be tumultuous for us. Rumors will abound and it would be fair to assume that competition will try and leverage it to their advantage. As a proactive measure, we have formed fully empowered Cross Functional Teams, headed by seasoned leaders in the respective areas, to address pan-organizational issues like Delivery Excellence, Customer , Associate Retention,Pipeline Management, Cost Controls, Collections etc. You have helped to build Satyam to be what it is today - and we believe that this cannot be allowed to fail, at any cost. I am confident
that I can count on your continued support as I commit to our customers that we will ensure deliverables and commitments are serviced.

On behalf of our new leadership team, I apologize to you for the uncertainty and inconvenience that this incident has caused to you and your families. I assure you that we will emerge stronger,because of this. Increased focus on transparency at all levels, integrity and ethical functioning will be ensured. I want you to stand confidently in front of your families and friends and say that we will now be a better company and that we shall soon be a successful case study of how organizations have turned over a new leaf.

We will be conducting “U Speak” (our Meet-the-Leadership sessions) in each city in India starting next week and will have numerous Webinars to address associates in various countries.We will be meeting many of our customers in person over the next two weeks and will meet those of you onsite, at that time. In these sessions, we will explain to you what happened and articulate the actions that are being taken to retain your confidence in our company.

Let us fight this battle together. I am confident that we will emerge stronger, TOGETHER.

Ram Mynampati

A few tips on , how to manage your Customer Experience?

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:17:00 +0000

Here are , few tips to create a rich customer experience & build long lasting relationship.

What it takes to win Customer Confidence?

Don't promise to Customer unless you can deliver it , be very sure.

Set right expectations on product support , I mean it , repeat it , be
stupid now then being an asshole later.

Even if customer is silent , don't be mum , explain them why you
have failed to deliver and promise a better service next time & do it.

Know when to involve & what to delegate to team else you are the
culprit for skipping your sleep.

You can't be everything @ all the time in your team, so be about it.

Once customer confidence is lost ,business is gone , you will become
the looser in front of management team , so stay customer focused.

Raise the alarm to management team when you detect even a small
smoke in Customer confidence instead of waiting for fire.

Always focus on your customer first , don't skip dinner for it :) but
keep it in mind , I mean make your Customer happy before helping
other guys Customers.

Never trust anyone words , have everything agreed upon on paper
(atleast in email ) else you will be the ultimate scape goat.

Have fun and create a successful customer relationships in new year.

Looking Forward - 2009 !

amnigos@gmail.com (Vijay Rayapati (vj@amnigos.com)) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 05:20:00 +0000

2005,2006, 2007 and 2008 was .........

when we got our first job... or moved to a dream job......
when we passed out of college....or company freshers training program...
when we made new amazing friends.... or lost in touch with few of them...
when some of us moved to a new city... or badly wanted to move back to home town :)..

When some of us celebrated our 21st - 25th birthdays...still lying I am just 21 :)
When we waved good bye to our buddies leaving to the states for higher studies...
when some of us fell in love........
when some of us fell out of love
when some of us got hurt
when some of your 'friends' screwed up your love life...
when some 'one' you liked, did not like 'you'...

when we would have made mistakes
when we made life decisions.......
when these decisions turned out to be a tragedy
when some of us felt lonely ....
when some of us made an amazing friends in a new city
when some of us would have learnt to be stronger.....much stronger than even before..

when some of us would have realized that everything happens for a reason.....
when some of us let out our anger.....
when some of us never opened up to our friends about how we felt....
when some of us felt so glad and happy to be the way they are.....
when we go out everyday and meet up with our friends...
when we had serious talks with our dad about our future.....

when we missed each other when we were at hometown………..
when we missed our mom here …..
when we cried for each other …….
When we celebrated our first Christmas with our friends ….
When we were jobless all the time in office ……..
When we walked around the streets late in the night ……

When we put budget for the next month (but strictly not following it)
Last year has taken us through all our ups and downs we faced in our life...
2009.......one more year.....A year to look forward....

To find our life partner (might be )
to forget old crushes (Which I can never)…
to smile........
to let people know how much u care...
to learn from our mistakes.......
to cry when we are feeling down.....
to follow our dreams.......

to fight against everything for our dreams to come true.....
to be more confident.........
to be more strong at heart and mind.....
to enrich our knowledge.........
to make others happy....

Lets take each day as it comes........
Forget about the downs we came across in the past year........
And remember every lesson we learnt through them........
Let's Enjoy Life to the Fullest............

LET'S WAIT FOR THE WONDERFUL YEAR AHEAD - 2009 !!

Happy New Year !!!!!

Keep Smiling

Vijay Rayapati

[ Credits: Thanks to Ananth Nag for this email forward & Image credits to original designers, I have done some major content updates :)]