We want the mind to rest — I guess that is what is a hobby is for. After 10 hours in the office, where you face various issues, it is important that you get your mind off sometime when you get home so that when you awake the next morning, or when you tackle the issue again, you gain a fresh perspective.

Thus, it is not good to bring your work home. The only way you can always be refreshed ( and I believe the mind never rests) is to force your mind to think of other things. If your mind keeps hitting the same issues you are thinking about, you gain a warped perspective, and this is what is the basis of the Chinese water torture technique ( where focusing on a water drip suddenly becomes unbearable if it is persistent). That is why it is very important to get a hobby — to force your mind Read the rest of this entry »

I read with interest Queen Elizabeth’s 80th birthday. She indeed is an epitome of call and duty, and also of grace. The salient note that I most remember from reading about her on Time Magazine was her exhortation to her staff which I feel is very practical — always try to walk on the side of the palace’s carpets (instead of the center) so that it will not wear out sooner!

According to Fortune, in its special 2006 Fortune 500 edition, 27 Fortune 500 companies are managed by their founders. These 27 companies returned an average of 18.5% annually from 1995 to 2005, which is 7 percentage points better than the Fortune 500 average. Their profit growth also averaged 19.6% from 1995 to 2005, vs. 11.7% for the rest.

Another study by an Ohio State university finance professor of 2,300 largest US companies from 1993 to 2002 also found that 11% of those run by founders outperformed the broader stock market by eight percentage points a year.

Why do founder-CEOs perform better. Some Read the rest of this entry »

We all want to make a difference, and to know that we have ‘mattered’. In fact, that would be one of the most worthy objective in our being here. That is why we are all mesmerized and fascinated with super heroes , because they do things we can’t do in making that difference. When my 12 year old son approached me, and said that the school was asking them to write an essay about an experience in which they have made that difference, he told me that his life, so far, has been ordinary, and he did not have much to write about.

I sat down with him, and discussed with him what areas he has done a great job in his still relatively short life, and the result is this essay he wrote. I am proud of what he had written, and am posting it here. Your comments are welcome!

My brother in law, Gerry, who is a doctor, have lately taken on blogging. His blog, Health is Wealth, dispenses a good number of practical advice that you may sound obvious, but given with a wealth of experience and authority. Here are some of the recent posts that I found particularly helpful:

- Low Fat Does Not Mean Low Calorie!
- Massage…Anyone?
- Are You Under Stress?
- Wellness means Knowing the Numbers
- Heart Healthy Food Tips

Here’s something from former football coach Lou Holtz — its not inspiring, but at least it prevents you from being a bore — Dont’ tell your problems to people: 80% dont’ care and the other 20% are glad you have them.

Here’s another take from Jim Carrey. This is not inspiring either, but then it gives some poignant reflection on where happiness can be had – ” I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

My car has some electronic controls that makes you think that some of the latest advancement of technology. However, I noted that the fuel gauge is not particularly accurate — something I read that is prevalent in a lot of car models. If I fill up the tank near full, I will drive about 180-190 kilometers before it comes to half mark. So I thought pretty much, using common math, that a tankful should enable me to drive about 360 - 380 kilometers easily. No. I would only get to 320 before it becomes empty. That means the gauge is throwing up something inconsistent. Question — is there a psychological reason to do this, or is it just plain that we still haven’t made fuel gauges that are accurate?

For the nth time, I explained patiently to my people — they have to come to me with quantifiable facts in order for me to properly assess the situation and come up with proper action and decision plans. Anything important that they omit to tell me may mean that we may end up coming up with decisions that are not the optimal action plans we hope it would be.

Unlike before when we rely on gut feel and our talent on assessing situations, now we really need to manage based on data. The talent of a manager is actually his ability to read something on the data that others cannot see — but if he does not have the data, he is as blind as any other, and many of the decisions therefore will just be wishful guesses.

Again, you cannot manage what you cannot measure!

A statistic in a magazine caught my attention: in the United States, 50% of first time marriages end up in divorce. Interestingly, it went on to say that 58% of second time marriages end up in divorce. I know I should not be singling this out, but all the while, the literature of entrepreneurs have always said that it is even noteworthy that the entrepreneur has failed once ( and learn), and therefore a businessman who has failed before is more bankable - and smarter, and less likely to fail again. What do you think?

Anybody has stats on business the second time around?

Last night, I went with the kids to watch “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown“. Great movie.

It was quite entertaining, and while the film focused on the impending ice meltdown which is probably the best information drive anybody could do on educating people the issues on global warming, but the characters were really well developed.

Each had his own story line. The mammoth is faced with his responsibility as being the last of his species, and his discovery of his affection for another mammoth who thinks she is an opposum ( which effectively portrayed people who don’t understand themselves). The Sabre tooth tiger faces his fear of water, while the sloth (Sid) explores his own self as a role model, and what is really important to him in life, while the 2 opposums and 1 squirrel ( in search of his fabled acorn) provided comic relief and an interesting sideshow.

My five year old son who normally fidgets and moves around halfway to the movie sat through the whole movie. Five stars out of five!