Kahin

Kahin zindagi udaas hai, to kahin jeene ki aas hai,
kahin hai dhoop to kahin kali ghani raat hai!

Kahin phoolo ke rang hain, to kahin patjhad ki shaakh hai
Kahin hai raat kahin savera, kahin dhaam to kahin basera!

Kahin pyar ka paigaam hai, to kahin dushmani ki dhaal hai,
Kahin daftar ki bhaag hai, to kahin shaam ki intezaar hai!

Kahin rango ka tyohaar hai, to kahin matam ki si baat hai,
Kahin bhagam bhaag hai, to kahin ahista si ek chaal hai.

to be continued....

CWG A systematic Failure

I don't want to belabor on the point that the officials working towards making the games a success have failed miserably. A lot of obituary writers have done it already I need not waste my words and your time in saying it over again.

Personally, I do not know what went wrong and like all of you I would like an answer. But-not-now. Now is the time to stand behind those who are still trying to save some grace.

If we learn from history do we remember how many times we were embarrassed 'coz we were not united? No? Im sure you don't need a history lesson from me to remind you that we need to be united.

So I urge you all for a few days to do whatever you can to make these games a success. And you would say what can I possibly do? Well, I don't know, maybe if you are in Delhi, you can contribute by following traffic rules so that the visitors can move around comfortably(something you otherwise never think of doing!). You can try to keep the city clean(if you are so worried about our image to the outside world). I don't know, just do whatever you can which you think will make the games a success. And for God's sake stop criticizing the organizers.

I know its kind of hard to ask you for these big sacrifices, but it surely is easy to send the curator to the gallows but harder to follow some basic steps yourself.

And then a wise man once said, "tough times don't build a character, they reveal it!"

So guys relax, and trust me when I say, "All is well!"

Extinction of Dinosaurs. A Strategic Perspective!

For years, Dinosaurs were our muse, we used them for recreational purposes. (Seen Avatar?)The industry had grown very big over time, (Seen Jurassic Park?) So why did we let them go? Here are some reasons why?

A quick Porter Analysis of the industry reveals staggering facts.

Threats of Entry: The entertainment industry was getting more and more open for other rivals, and barriers were really low, as sense of humor was by and large declining amongst the humans. Even monkeys and dogs were able to compete in the industry, giving no competitive advantage to dinosaurs, who with their wide jawline and long tail amused mankind all through the pre-pre-historic ages.

Industry Outlook: The industry had matured! Had low growth opportunities, like some of the big firms( they had turned into cash cows. Raw material had become costly, for reasons we will touch upon later. In all, the situation looked grim.

Substitutes: For the consumer there were many substitutes available in the market for adventure activities, like anaconda and Godzilla(seen these?). So the Dinosaur were losing popularity, and of course we humans(read shareholders) don’t like to cling on to assets that we no longer use. So pre historic(I have always wondered what that era refers to) man decided to short sell them.

Supply Conflict: In the earlier days, Dinosaur were the sole vendor for suppliers(smaller animals they fed on). But then man thought apple was not his cup of tea, he decided to eat smaller animals, and thus appeared the conflict of interests between Man and Dinosaur. Then man thought, if this big giant can’t make me laugh, I’ll eat him, and thus began the tale of slow extinction.

Buyer Power: Dinosaurs could not sell their services to anyone else. As no other animal relied on others for their humor, so humans had great buying power. Eventually it got to the level, where a guy asked a dinosaurs to swing from one tree to another(Seen Tarzan?) and spit fire, and when it declined, to avoid further global warming, that guy asked for a 100% refund. The dinosaurs got fed up and ate him.

This lead to a war and change in strategies and positioning of the dinosaurs. Let’s see how that took place.

So clearly we see that there is a misalignment of strategy and capabilities. Where the market Segment of low fun low animosity was still open , and was being occupied by the lesser known species, (like the Koalas and Hippos), yet the management decided to take the harder step.

And what happens when someone starts attacking the Humans. Well, the dinosaurs had no learning curve to evaluate, but now we can look back and say that the strategy was totally wrong. See how the Koalas, dogs and cockroaches have still maintained the competitive advantage.

G28 at Melbourne

The momentous day began with chins ever so high, lips curled into smiles, attire prim and walk surefooted, slowly they gathered, (some very experienced and the others slightly more), and made their way towards the theater. Responding amicably on being accosted by another unfamiliar face and almost forgetting the name of the first guy they met, still struggling to pronounce the names of atleast half of them, correctly, in one go.

This group could easily pass for a G28 delegation, discussing economic turbulence in the Sea of Tranquility. But that's not what they are doing, at least not right away. They are trying to get familiar to one another, so that the next year and a half becomes a pleasant bare footed walk on hot sand, ironic, isn't it? :) Well that's what they aim for.

Unfamiliarity of faces(& personalities) will tend to create uneasiness, but the camaraderie of syndicates, might bridge those distances. Or atleast that's what we "Hope" ;) It Won't be wrong to say that the fear of unknown, apprehensions of unseen, and anticipation of both brings the class closer.

In all an excellent mix and a great learning opportunity. Like, Toby they may or may not be good managers on graduating, they will certainly be better individuals, or won't they? Well, that's the "Concern".

A quick calculation in the class showed us that after spending time studying, sleeping, traveling, preparing etc, we will still be left with 6 hours every week. That's close to less than an hour each day. Not too sure how I will spend this daily quota of one hour, still baffled to know I no more have control over the remaining 23 hours.

So far so good, the course picks up in full swing from Monday. Syndicates have been allotted, some have been lucky, other not quite so ;) and as they say

"Chance favours the prepared mind"

Are we prepared? We better be!