Murphy's Laws

Being a firm believer in almighty Murphy, I think its appropriate for me to offer tribute to the universally applicable laws. These are not addendum or interpretations of Murphy's laws. Infact these are a few laws about applicability of Murphy's laws in general.

• For every action there is a reaction (Murphy's laws) which is opposite in direction and far greater in magnitude.

• When you really want something, the whole world conspires to help you achieve that thing and Murphy conspires to insure that you don't get it. Often, Murphy wins.

• Every task in a state of completion tends to remain in that state of completion unless Murphy force is applied to it.

• The force applied by Murphy is directly proportional to the intensity with which you want to achieve that thing.

• The force applied by Murphy is inversely proportional to the time remaining in achieving that thing.

• Murphy's laws once created can not be destroyed.

Any comments / additions are most welcome. Join me in worshiping the universal god. In Murphy we trust, all others can go to hell.

Lakshya

After almost half a year and many unkept promises of blogging regularly, its time to get back to work. Its time for blogging.

But this was not the only promise that I made to myself. There were plenty and obviously none of them has been kept. Yesterday was my birthday and I was forced to do some self-introspection. I wondered why I could not fulfill these promises and resolutions. Actually we always tend to set a target for ourselves. From finishing a job in say 30 minutes to scoring 90% marks in exams (or 35% marks depending upon how much crap can you tolerate). But I had no target for these resolutions. Then I decided to set targets and timelines for myself. Hopefilly writing down these resolutions and making it public will do the needful. So here we go. By my next birthday I shall -

1. Watch atleast 85 of top 100 movies;
2. See atleast 10 new places;
3. Read 5 novels;
4. Do / Learn 5 new things;
5. Get six pack abs; and
6. Write blog atleast once every month.

There will be monthly reviews and quartrely results and Annual Report will be published ;-))

Billionaire bonanza

So finally India leads world's most coveted list. 4 out of top 10 (or top 8, if you want to make it look more attractive) in Forbes World's Richest Men list are Indians. So what does this list mean for Indians and the world.

The biggest news comes from the giants - Indians and Chinese.

Though India has contributed 19 new members to this elite group, China topped with 28 new members. However, more than these numbers, it is the change in the mentality of a "Communist" country that is remarkable. If this list is any indication, Money is no more a bad word in China (Left parties...please listen).

For India, this list has plenty of lessons. All the 3.5 Indian super richies - Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, K P Singh and L N Mittal (no points for guessing who the 0.5 Indian is) started their business less than 50 years ago (Its Dhirubhai for Anil and Mukesh). Among traditional business families, only Kumar Mangalam Birla is in top 10 Indians. Our remianing century old traditional rich guys - Godrej, Singhania, Bajaj, Wadia are way too behind. It's not fair to include Tatas in this race as fortunately for India, their priorities are different. Legacy is a double edged sword. While it gives you the initial momentum, it may make you turn a blind eye to the changes around you.

Most of the traditional business families prospered in the License Raj, not because of government support but because of the initial start which their competion could not match. However, these families lived in the illusion of License Raj a bit too much. They missed the "services" bonanza, not by choice but by simply ignoring it....To Be Continued

I Inc.

What if I were a company? What would I focus on? What would be my positioning?

I got this crazy idea while writing SOP of that dreadful TAS application form. Though I did not write it then, I think thats quite interesting idea.

Aim of a company is to satisfy its stakeholders - employees, customers, shareholders.There are some companies known for taking care of their employees but not necesserily no. 1 in their field. There are others who make excellent products for the customers but rank fairly low in employee satisfaction.And then there are others...who do neither of it but somehow are shareholders' darling. Each one is right in its own respect. Its just that they are focussing on different aspects.

Similarly, aim of a person is to satisfy stakeholders - friends, relatives, his work organization.But there is a difference. Company on its own is a non-entity but a person is probabely the biggest stakeholder in his own life.

Hence it always boils down to prioritising the stakeholders in our life.Depending on our priority we can choose to focus more on friendship, relations, professional life or self fulfilment.It obviously includes the balancing act that most of us try to achieve.

Though temporarily a particular stakeholder may get attention more or less than what it deserves, in the long run prioritising the stakeholders will always guide to a decent and satisfying life.

There are some other thoughts drifting in my mind on this topic..but will pen it later

zuerst

One month in the job and I feel like a non-entity lost in the corporate jungle. And I am not cribbing about my job. I guess most of PGP21s would feel the same after 1 month of job.Every thing is relative and this too is in comparison to life 3 months back at L.

No insti parties, no DC++, no night mess, no tennis at 1 a.m., no birthday bumps, no H9-H10 clashes, no IKMK and no Sameer Bhatt. Life now is more 'professional', more silent and instead more boring. Sometimes in the deafening silence of office I want to shout aloud...No this is not me. Probabely 1 month is not sufficient time to transform Fauji into Mr. Anshul. But I fear I will change. I will become one of them.The rat race will take toll on me. The child inside me will die. The PJs would vanish.

If it sounds too pessimistic let me change the tone. The crusade against 'maturity' has just begun. I cant escape it but I can surely delay it. So many of my dear friends will have to bear PJs for some more time.

Lets fight against maturity. Lets remain juvenile.