Which is the best show piece?

One of the best show pieces here has taken a piece of my heart and if you are not sure which then take a second look for that piece can take away one of your heart beats too :-)
My darling cat achomi and you can locate it doing the right thing at the right side lol
Don’t know if it has got inspired by me or I have got inspired by it, we both are sure to outwit kumbhakarna’s and pose a threat to the other kumbhakarni’s if any lol.

Whenever mom or dad got things for home, we all encircled him like bees and probably over the days this has got achomi deprived of the attention that it had been enjoying and hence one day achomi explored areas in and around our colony and found that it can also bring in a new thing to home (guess achomi thought getting new things was the cause of attention and it turned true too!). It has caught a rat alive and came running into the home, it seemed as if a child had won the first prize and flaunting it to dad. As it expected we were all shouting ‘achomi’ and guess it got happy as it got the privilege it demanded lol. We had a tough time with the tom and jerry!

Time for an AD-ed change!

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent that survives.
It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”- Charles Darwin

Whenever I see an ad on television I wonder why people are constantly marketing the same product with different commercials. I had a notion that if the product is good then people would automatically purchase and use it and for this a couple of ads should suffice. Still why are they spending so much focusing in the marketing section? This question made me perplexed until recently.

Every product has its own life cycle and it generally consists of creation stage, growth stage, maturity stage and decline stage. The graph goes like a normal bell shaped curve.
Thus every product has to face all the four phases. All the companies obviously want their products to be in growth stage forever. How is it possible to keep a product in its growth stage eternally or rather how to prevent the product not entering into the decline stage?

The graph here (will be updated soon) explains that a product can avert stepping into its decline stage by providing it with a new life! And that’s why you see that there are so many modifications done with the same product (Be it in its packaging, flavors, quantity, free gifts and the like)

For instance, lays chips has come out in multiple flavors to relentlessly have its space in the market, chocolates which has come in all possible sizes to fit the purse and similar is the case with shampoo industry which is packed in different volume to cater to the space need of the people.

In the service sector, let’s consider Airtel and Vodafone, each come out with different offers and packages to attract customers and to gain a competitive advantage of the other. Ultimately customer is the king and every product has to be deigned according to his needs! As the adage goes, change is the only thing constant!

EARTH HOUR

Do contribute by switching off power supply for an hour on Saturday 28 March 2009, 8:30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. SAVE EARTH because it’s the only home we have!!! Hope this one hour of darkness will bring in more awareness!
For more details visit and vote.

Rendezvous with RTI

We had a very vibrant session with Dr.Nityanand Jayaram who is a journalist by profession and social activist by passion. Ignited the session by asking what is democracy? And he questions the relevance of Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy in today’s India. There was a silence and Mr.Nityanand vividly pointed out that this silence is one of the key signals that we are NOT living in a democracy! “We live in a democratic country but people don’t really know what democracy is! It sounds strange but it is the truth”, he adds.

According to Mr.Nithyanand, democracy is the rule of people! Every individual has a responsibility to change the country for the better and for this, one needs information. Information is a very important ingredient in a democracy. If you don’t have sufficient information then the law permits you to acquire information!

There are many of us who have applied for ration cards/passports/license/voter id and are just clueless about why we haven’t got it even months after the elapse of prescribed time! All Mr.Nityanand says is be informed and seek your right for the information.
Right to information act, 2005 is an act which can turn tables if one uses it wisely!

RTI is an act that you, as a citizen, can use. When you ask for information the authorities can either provide or deny you the same by stating reasons within 30 days. If you know you are right and want to fight and win, the most important thing is to keep fighting. Remember a fight can be won as long as the fight is on! The fight for justice for the victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy is a classic example!

This link will provide you with more information. Be informed and be aware!

HR is an asset! Go ahead with your vision!

Mr.Ganesh Chella, the founder of Totus Consultancy (A HR solutions provider). Mr.Ganesh also writes in the Business Line every fortnight on key HR issues. Having read a few of his articles I somehow wanted to meet him and guess I was blessed! I was one of those who were fortunate enough to have an interactive session with him. Mr.Ganesh started the session very poised and continued in an assertive style. His highly encouraging and pragmatic approach made us glued to the session.

He started by giving the statistics of ILO report which reports that as a worst case the world will lose 51 million jobs by end of 2009 and as the best case it will lose 18 million jobs! He makes us vicariously analyze the situation and zeroed in on the key point that our focus should be on knowledge and NOT on job market!

Secondly, Mr.Ganesh provoked us to write on what kind of professionals we wanted to become by 2030. It made many of us streamline our goals and yes we did think of why we were to think that far (2030?, we have miles to go before that!) A few of us had an opportunity to voice their goals and then he explains-why 2030?

He tells us about Victor Franklin’s book “Man in search of meaning” where the author writes about people who could withstand the brutalities of Hitler’s concentration camp (Auschwitz). Mr.Ganesh asked us about a similarity that these people shared. He said that all of them had something significant to do in their lives! Mr.Ganesh strongly believed that if one has an incomplete yet significant duty to perform then that fire in him if self will make him move towards the goal!

In fact he gave us a simple thumb rule to be an expert in any field of your desire! A thumb rule which Beatles followed before their first grand performance, a thumb rule by which Bill gates worked and a thumb rule which made A.R.Rehman get his Oscars! Wondering what it is? Well, all one has to do is to put in 10,000 hours of unperturbed dedication and the 10,000 plus 1 th second one will gain a mastery over it!

Once one is clear with what he wants to be by 2030, he will work towards it. Are you willing to make great sacrifices to achieve your goals? Then every day ask yourself “what am I going to do today to get there” and break the dawn with this thought lingering in your mind. It’s your turn to pen your 2030 goal if you haven’t but do remember to START with the END in mind!

SSN EDC- Interactive session with two successful entrepreneurs!

Mr.Kannan of Perfint Technology and Mr.Sunil Cherian from Burger Man enlightened and shared with us their experiences and challenges that they faced.

Mr.Kannan spoke about his team wherein each of them sacrificed a high paying job to start their entrepreneurship endeavor. Their initial step was supported by an Angel Investor.

He added that their organization is built on strong values of Performance, Integrity, Innovation, Customer focus and the time. Mr.Kannan also shared about his project experience and wanted everyone to take up their project seriously for it can make good careers! Further he said that there is an emerging market for health care and wanted to tap it.

Next Mr.Sunil started his speech with a video 'The Secret 'and added that it highly motivated him. According to Mr.Sunil, 'When you work for something, from nowhere the ideas will come and all you need to do is to grab it!'. He asks us to take every spark seriously for who knows it might be a million dollar idea!

"A small concept of 5 feet by 5 feet is the area of my business. It is 25 sq feet because I started thinking of the feasibility first. I wanted to be visible and dint mind starting small as far as I was making it big. I can sell anything! And even if you give me a dead body I will sell it", he asserts!
He shared that a lot of money was initially lost in the business, added that he learnt from every mistake and the more the number of mistakes, the more he know his business.

When asked about the reason behind the name of 'Burgerman' he said, "A milk man brings us milk; a post man brings us post and likewise is the burger man! It's a kiosk and will remain the same. It’s affordable but not cheap. We don't say we make the best burgers, all we say is that we serve good burgers”.

During his short speech Mr.Sunil revealed why he chose entrepreneurship rather than carry on his family business. By the way, his family owns the Kerela Fashion Jewellery. He felt that he shouldnt be one among the many who got trapped into the world of family business and that he should make a mark for himself.

Both the entrepreneurs spoke with a lot of ardor and zeal. Though they are from different fields altogether their speech reflected their common passion for entrepreneurship and the vision to transform lives!

The path to Green Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is easy to conceptualize but hard to explain. I would describe entrepreneurship as the process of incubating ideas, championing their cause, assemble resources to bring the idea to commercial reality and finally to launch it and see it grow. The word “entrepreneur” originates from a thirteenth-century French verb, entreprendre, meaning “to do something” or “to undertake.” An apt etymology!!

To me, entrepreneurship strikes as a ‘creative destruction’ of old ways of doing things and transforming the whole process of running a business. Increasingly this art of entrepreneurship is acquiring a green shade. But this comes as no surprise, as entrepreneurs who often play an important role as engines of change in market based economy are turning ‘green’ just like engines of automobiles which are trying to attain an image of being ‘environment friendly’.

Entrepreneurs play a critical role in eventual adaptation of green business practices by wider business community. The new age entrepreneurs innovate, design and launch new products and services which are eco friendly and also try to address the problems of global warming. This new breed of entrepreneurs also inspires, and in most cases, forces existing firms to improve their efficiency. They follow new methods of marketing and help reconfigure existing business models.
This is an exciting area to be involved in. At its best, entrepreneurship is about harnessing the enthusiasm, initiative and creative energy of individuals. When this dynamism is applied to developing business solutions that help move enterprise along more sustainable ways, then the results will have the potential to be truly fascinating—and rewarding.

India’s has the world’s largest population of youngsters i.e. below the age of 35 estimated at about 500m+. Just imagine the benefits our country stands to gain even if a small percentage of youngsters decide to take the plunge and become ‘green’ entrepreneurs. Hope the dream becomes a reality.

Role of NEN in promoting Entrepreneurship

Do you dream of leaving your thankless job, increasing your financial security, and your freedom? Do you wonder what the future will bring if you stay in the rut you are in now? Are you looking for more independence and a chance to own your own business? Want to improve your standard of living?

Then you are the perfect candidate to taste the spirit of entrepreneurship and most probably it is the way ahead for you.

There are many Indians who are ready to sacrifice anything for their passion! A passion to make a difference! NEN helps all the mushrooming novices to sprout. NEN was started by alumni of pioneer institutions in 2002 to help struggling entrepreneurs get a hold in their markets. NEN, since its inception has been a pillar of strength and providing support to all budding entrepreneurs.

Do you have an innovative idea? But are you worried about the funding of your venture? Well if you have a novel idea and a passion to work for it then NEN is the right place! They have a close network of Venture capitalists and angel investors to whom can put forth your ideas and if you are able to convince them with your ideas they will fund your venture!
For more details visit NEN

Green ideas for a clean SSN campus!

This post of mine is going to be on How to create a Greener SSN. No doubt ours is one of the most beautiful college campuses in terms of scenic beauty and greenery. But there is always room for improvement. If each individual does a little, we will have a huge impact on our stewardship of our college and thus of our earth. Here is a list of things of what students can do. For it is the individual drops that make an ocean!

Keep campus clean! One can find lots of wastes and rejects near the stores and in the grounds. College grounds crew spends a few hours a day picking up litter on campus that not only makes campus unattractive, but could otherwise harm soil quality or the "critters" that share our property! Make sure you use the “USE ME” and not litter our beautiful campus.

Be involved in "green" events on campus such as E-Week, Earth Day etc.
Start an Ecological Club.

Recycle tires, batteries, fluorescent lamps and ballasts, computers, scrap metal, concrete.
The equipment in science departments often uses the most power. Further, these equipments are often not turned off with regularity, and therefore waste a lot of energy.

Using natural light is also very simple. Instead of turning on the light, open the blinds. When arranging class rooms or hostel room, place desks and reading chairs near windows so natural light can be used as much as possible.

Ask yourself "Do I NEED it?" (i.e. the lights on, surplus office supplies, stationary)
Sometimes dried plants and shrubs are burnt in our campus. We could probably come out with a better way to get rid of them.

Establish a policy of shutting off I have myself witnessed many times the hostel TV being switched on for no reason. We should switch TV and radios when not in use. Using a screen-saver is not the same thing as a sleep mode; screen-savers do not reduce the energy use of an appliance.

Some measure can be taken to conserve water within the campus and inside the hostel like, by not allowing water to run continuously when washing dishes, brushing your teeth, washing your hands, or shaving. Take shorter showers. Showers use between 20 and 40 litres of water every minute.

I encourage all SSNites reading my blog to come out with more ‘Green Ideas’ and help create an ideal, clean and picturesque SSN college campus.

Inauguration of E-Week SSN EDC 2009

The Annual E Week Celebrations of Entrepreneurship Development Cell of SSN kick started with the speech of successful entrepreneurs like Mr.Sarath Babu-the Food King of India (Alumini of IIMA), Mr.Sunil Vishnu-cofounder of the Evam Enterprises theatre group (Alumini of MICA) and Ms.Vishnu Priya-coordinator from NEN.

Many of us say “If only, I had a few more bucks I would have become a.…”
But, Mr.Sarath says “Good that I didn’t have enough money because that made me work harder and strive longer to turn my dreams into a reality” There were thousands of hurdles in his life and those obstacles were perceived as steps of opportunities by him! This is just a tip of an iceberg.This small boy from Madipakkam in Chennai has made it big with his chain of food outlets and restaurants.

Many of us complain of power cuts and here is a man who has topped his studies amidst that. Mr.Sarath says, “For those who had electricity, they had a lot of distractions like watching television, listening to songs, or getting carried away by surroundings. I can see only my book from the light of the kerosene lamp but my friends have other things to see and that is the competitive advantage I enjoyed” he explains and chuckles. That’s the kind of positive attitude that we need to absorb from him!

In fact Mr.Sarath adopted an interesting strategy to save his energy. He reduced his communication to 10words/day which in turn increased his concentration manifold!
Mr.Sarath has conquered many hardships and it was his passion that made it all possible. When Mr.Sarath fell ill with viral fever, just one week before belling the CAT entrances, he didn’t give up and rather was working harder. ‘I have come this far not to quit’, he said to himself. That’s the kind of dedication one needs to have to succeed!

The world hardly remembers about 10 lakh personalities who walked this earth and Mr.Sarath is all set to enter that hall of fame! He dreams of a hunger free nation and soon we are going to witness his dream turn into a reality! Our best wishes for that too!

And next in the list came the enthusiast from the field of drama, full of life and energy! “Everyone here is born and studies in a good English medium school, gets into one of the top colleges, then a well paying job in a top company, later gets married and then his son or daughter carries forward the vicious cycle. So how are you going to be unique” questions Mr.Sunil who captivated his audience with his “fatafat” talks, entertained folks with his humor and exalting abundance energy levels!

Many of us have enjoyed fling kite when we were young and felt on the top of the world when we did that. What happened to us now? Where has our kite gone and why aren’t we flying it anymore? Where did the flame of doing something from the heart vanish, he expressed anguish! Feel passionate about the things you love doing and do that every time you feel doing it. This formed the base of his speech.

He also rightly pointed the flaw in our education system especially the flaw in the counseling system wherein a 12th standard student has to merely utter the name of the department he wishes to join and about which he has no clue at all. Don’t say I am being bounded by the system, change the rules, break the system, he advocates!

Mr.Sunil briefed us about the importance of grabbing opportunities and taking calculated risks with the following example. If you were on a top of a steep valley filled full of fierce sharks and you see a small wooden plank floating in it, what would you do? Who knows what will happen when you jump and hence the most important thing was to jump! Jump! And who knows you may unleash that you know to fly!!!

It was interesting to note that both the entrepreneurs pointed out that their "mothers" were a major source of inspiration in making them tread the path of entrepreneurship!
Kudos to Mr.Sarath and Mr.Sunil!