I love strategy of BCCL where they pick less than 5% stake in various companies in lieu of ad space.
agencyfaqs.com has an interesting article.
Where to divert the energy?
It’s been more than 25 years now that I have been living. I have nothing to show for my achievements. It’s not because I aint got no brains that I have not achieved anything so far. It’s the pursuit of greatness in every small thing that has prevented me from that very greatness.
I want to be good at too many things at the same time and I end up as average in all of them.
Probably a way forward could be division of time in the ratio 80: 20. I shall spend 80% of my time on one thing and the other 20% on things that are not important.
I have to decide what this chunk would be. Currently I want to do programming, design, entrepreneurship, stocks, photography, web, travel, writing, communications projects, advertisements, the list is endless.
I have been telling people that I want to meet other great people. Spend time with them and learn from them. I can relate to what Newton said about giants and their shoulders. I want to learn from other people who actually think and get into the habit of thinking on things. Right now we don’t think. We think that we think but in reality we don’t really think. We are reacting to things around us.
I want to be good at too many things at the same time and I end up as average in all of them.
Probably a way forward could be division of time in the ratio 80: 20. I shall spend 80% of my time on one thing and the other 20% on things that are not important.
I have to decide what this chunk would be. Currently I want to do programming, design, entrepreneurship, stocks, photography, web, travel, writing, communications projects, advertisements, the list is endless.
I have been telling people that I want to meet other great people. Spend time with them and learn from them. I can relate to what Newton said about giants and their shoulders. I want to learn from other people who actually think and get into the habit of thinking on things. Right now we don’t think. We think that we think but in reality we don’t really think. We are reacting to things around us.
The politics of Bharat Ratna
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award conferred by the Republic of India.
One fine day Mr. LK Advani thought he needs to do something for former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. In his opinion best thing to was recommend Mr. Vajpayee’s name for Bharat Ratna. He wrote a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh making his opinion known.
Taking a cue from Mr. Advani, we have had names of Infosys founder Mr. Narayanamurthy, Tata Group chairman Mr. Ratan Tata, Ex BSP supremo Late Mr. Kanshiram, Mr Jyoti Basu being publicised in Media for the award.
Congress leaders came out in public and ridiculed all other political parties of making Bharat Ratna an agenda. For a change I agree with a political party. Bharat Ratna is chosen by Prime Minister of our country and no one else should tamper with a thing like that. Our media should grow up and move beyond pink journalism.
It’s really sad to be part of a democracy where awards are chased by a pack of mad dogs (read politicians). They should rather be talking about development and important issues that plague the country.
The lists of recipients include CV Raman, Pt. Nehru, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, JRD Tata, and Lata Mangeshkar amongst others.
Links: Complete list of awardees
One fine day Mr. LK Advani thought he needs to do something for former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. In his opinion best thing to was recommend Mr. Vajpayee’s name for Bharat Ratna. He wrote a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh making his opinion known.
Taking a cue from Mr. Advani, we have had names of Infosys founder Mr. Narayanamurthy, Tata Group chairman Mr. Ratan Tata, Ex BSP supremo Late Mr. Kanshiram, Mr Jyoti Basu being publicised in Media for the award.
Congress leaders came out in public and ridiculed all other political parties of making Bharat Ratna an agenda. For a change I agree with a political party. Bharat Ratna is chosen by Prime Minister of our country and no one else should tamper with a thing like that. Our media should grow up and move beyond pink journalism.
It’s really sad to be part of a democracy where awards are chased by a pack of mad dogs (read politicians). They should rather be talking about development and important issues that plague the country.
The lists of recipients include CV Raman, Pt. Nehru, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, JRD Tata, and Lata Mangeshkar amongst others.
Links: Complete list of awardees
Thanks God Its Friday
Its a friday night. Most people with friends are partying. Most people with families are having their dinner. Most people who are retired are tucked away in their beds. Everyone seems to be moving towards some greater purpose in life. Everyone seems to be achieving something in life.
Except me.
I am eating my umpteenth biscuit after unmpteenth cup of tea and umpteen glassfuls of water. And I am still trying to figure out what to do right now, tomorrow and eventually.
There are few options. I would list them in order of perference
1. Leave everything behind and leave on a cross India journey.
2. Stop thinking about the India journey (sounds romantic but it sucks to not have anyone waiting for you - such are humans).
And no points for guessing which one I chose. This blog hence becomes my story.
Except me.
I am eating my umpteenth biscuit after unmpteenth cup of tea and umpteen glassfuls of water. And I am still trying to figure out what to do right now, tomorrow and eventually.
There are few options. I would list them in order of perference
1. Leave everything behind and leave on a cross India journey.
2. Stop thinking about the India journey (sounds romantic but it sucks to not have anyone waiting for you - such are humans).
And no points for guessing which one I chose. This blog hence becomes my story.
Tata People's Car - Tata Nano
Tatapeoplescar.com
Tata launched their 1 lakh car yesterday. Called People’s car, its 623 cc, can seat 4 people, has more interior space than a Maruti 800 cc, meets emission norms, has been through the safety tests and above all is affordable to a common man.
Personally I think it’s a wow concept, car looks good, promised mileage is far better than any other car in any segment and cost of ownership is low and would go far in fulfilling dreams of millions of Indians.
The car would be available for purchase near Diwali (which traditionally is a period when people buy new houses, cars, electronics and jewelery in India). Tata's hope to sell around 500,000 of these during the first year. The dealer price is 100,000 and a customer would have to shell out about 1,24,000 including taxes and delivery costs.
Thinking again about Nano, there are quite a few positives and some negatives too.
Talking about negatives first, people say that it’s very cramped and it is like traveling in an auto-rickshaw with one more tyre and one more seat. My answer to these people is that the car has more inside space than Maruti 800. On comparison to auto-rickshaw, people hire the auto-rickshaw and people would own the car. They are ignoring the pride attached to owning a car.
Then there are people who say what if India added 500,000 cars on roads every year? What would happen to already bad traffic situation? I agree I don’t really have a convincing argument against it. In my opinions bulk of orders would come from small towns like Raipur, Patiala etc rather than Delhi and Mumbai. And these towns don’t really have road crunch. And then there is another argument that people would not buy Santros and Altos of the world and would buy Nano instead.
More negatives are attached with Singur and farmers that have been displaced. I don’t really have an opinion on the same. Can someone add perspectives?
Coming to positives, the very obvious is family transport solution for a common man. He says
Next there are more people who would take example from Mr. Tata and set about doing a task and achieving it.
Obviously there are talks about employment it generates, companies that are built around it, earning foreign exchange from exports, technological advancements (they have filed 34 patents) and many more.
Advertising is being handled by Rediffusion DY&R and agencyFAQs reports that Tatas plan to spend close to 30 crores in advertising the car when it is finally launched.
What remains to be seen is if the project is actually financially viable and if Tata can break even with the project.
Obviously Tatas has created an entire new market. Bajaj and Mahindra have already made public their plans of getting into the small car business. Things would only get interesting as we near the actual launch of the car.
Read more here, here and here. Please be advised that this is personal opinion and would be in probability coloured.
Tata launched their 1 lakh car yesterday. Called People’s car, its 623 cc, can seat 4 people, has more interior space than a Maruti 800 cc, meets emission norms, has been through the safety tests and above all is affordable to a common man.
Personally I think it’s a wow concept, car looks good, promised mileage is far better than any other car in any segment and cost of ownership is low and would go far in fulfilling dreams of millions of Indians.
The car would be available for purchase near Diwali (which traditionally is a period when people buy new houses, cars, electronics and jewelery in India). Tata's hope to sell around 500,000 of these during the first year. The dealer price is 100,000 and a customer would have to shell out about 1,24,000 including taxes and delivery costs.
Thinking again about Nano, there are quite a few positives and some negatives too.
Talking about negatives first, people say that it’s very cramped and it is like traveling in an auto-rickshaw with one more tyre and one more seat. My answer to these people is that the car has more inside space than Maruti 800. On comparison to auto-rickshaw, people hire the auto-rickshaw and people would own the car. They are ignoring the pride attached to owning a car.
Then there are people who say what if India added 500,000 cars on roads every year? What would happen to already bad traffic situation? I agree I don’t really have a convincing argument against it. In my opinions bulk of orders would come from small towns like Raipur, Patiala etc rather than Delhi and Mumbai. And these towns don’t really have road crunch. And then there is another argument that people would not buy Santros and Altos of the world and would buy Nano instead.
More negatives are attached with Singur and farmers that have been displaced. I don’t really have an opinion on the same. Can someone add perspectives?
Coming to positives, the very obvious is family transport solution for a common man. He says
[QUOTE] ... as urbanisation gathers pace, personal transport has become a big issue, especially since mass transport is often not available or is of poor quality. Two-wheelers - with the father driving, the elder child standing in front and the wife behind holding a baby - is very much the norm in this country. In that form two-wheelers are a relatively unsafe mode of transporting a family. The two-wheeler image is what got me thinking that we needed to create a safer form of transport. My first doodle was to rebuild cars around the scooter, so that those using them could be safer if it fell. Could there be a four-wheel vehicle made of scooter parts? ... [UNQUOTE]
Next there are more people who would take example from Mr. Tata and set about doing a task and achieving it.
Obviously there are talks about employment it generates, companies that are built around it, earning foreign exchange from exports, technological advancements (they have filed 34 patents) and many more.
Advertising is being handled by Rediffusion DY&R and agencyFAQs reports that Tatas plan to spend close to 30 crores in advertising the car when it is finally launched.
What remains to be seen is if the project is actually financially viable and if Tata can break even with the project.
Obviously Tatas has created an entire new market. Bajaj and Mahindra have already made public their plans of getting into the small car business. Things would only get interesting as we near the actual launch of the car.
Read more here, here and here. Please be advised that this is personal opinion and would be in probability coloured.
Sir Edmund Hillary Dead :(
Sir Edmund Hillary - The first person to conquer Mt. Everest (along with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay) died last night.
It is not only about climbing the world's highest peak but its also about having enough courage to have thought about a mammoth task and set upon doing it.
I wish I could become even 1% of him some day.
It is not only about climbing the world's highest peak but its also about having enough courage to have thought about a mammoth task and set upon doing it.
I wish I could become even 1% of him some day.
Another blog spammer
Another spammer !
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Goals for 2008
Let me put these things in writing. Goals for 2008.
1. Stay fit (I am unhealthy, need to control it)
2. Acquire/create/partner a business
3. Write a book - fiction/non-fiction will do
4. Create an online presence (rather than an online identity). This would involve re-restructuring of blogs, conscious effort to post better quality content, creating the website, participating on social and professional networking websites and finally meeting/creating/talking with other people online/offline.
Anyone who wants to collaborate with either 2 or 3, can leave an email at septemberthe22nd.blogspot.com - .blogspot.com + @gmail.com .
1. Stay fit (I am unhealthy, need to control it)
2. Acquire/create/partner a business
3. Write a book - fiction/non-fiction will do
4. Create an online presence (rather than an online identity). This would involve re-restructuring of blogs, conscious effort to post better quality content, creating the website, participating on social and professional networking websites and finally meeting/creating/talking with other people online/offline.
Anyone who wants to collaborate with either 2 or 3, can leave an email at septemberthe22nd.blogspot.com - .blogspot.com + @gmail.com .
Disappointing Umpiring
The recent cricket test match between Australia and India would be in limelight for quite a few reasons.
Andrew Symonds has alleged that Harbhajan Singh abused him – racially. Then there were numerous places where umpiring went wrong. Very wrong. And for some strange reason India was at the receiving end in all these decisions. Field umpires can make mistakes, they are under stress from players and appeals and crowds but what about television umpire? Any mistakes that they make are unacceptable. In this particular test match, there have been at least 7 decisions that went against India.
To err is human and umpires are humans after all. There can’t really be a foolproof way to umpire cricket matches. On this Sunday morning, how about discussing how to improve the standards of umpiring?
Take a cue form Tennis. Players can contest one or two (don’t know the exact number) umpires’ decision (could be line calls, could be service calls etc) with the referee. Referee looks at the replay and has the power to overrule the umpire’s call. In cricket, allow captains to contest a fixed number of umpire decisions with the match referee. Match referee would have the power to over rule this decision.
Implications
Match referee would become a sort of match godfather. For all practical purposes, he still is the godfather. This is yet another power being vested with him.
The game would be interrupted for few minutes when the match referee looks at the replays and decides on the decision. The delays are norm with the television replay decisions anyways. Waiting for a few minutes to improve the standard of the game is worth the wait.
Umpires might argue that their authorities would be diminished. They might get offended if a decision is overruled. ICC needs to decide which is larger and more important – umpires and their egos or the game.
Captains and players should be happy and can use this contesting power judicially. For example if Australian team doubts that Rahul Dravid has indeed nicked a ball to the wicketkeeper and umpire has ignored their appeal, and they think Rahul Dravid is a key player, they can contest.
Any more solutions?
Andrew Symonds has alleged that Harbhajan Singh abused him – racially. Then there were numerous places where umpiring went wrong. Very wrong. And for some strange reason India was at the receiving end in all these decisions. Field umpires can make mistakes, they are under stress from players and appeals and crowds but what about television umpire? Any mistakes that they make are unacceptable. In this particular test match, there have been at least 7 decisions that went against India.
To err is human and umpires are humans after all. There can’t really be a foolproof way to umpire cricket matches. On this Sunday morning, how about discussing how to improve the standards of umpiring?
Take a cue form Tennis. Players can contest one or two (don’t know the exact number) umpires’ decision (could be line calls, could be service calls etc) with the referee. Referee looks at the replay and has the power to overrule the umpire’s call. In cricket, allow captains to contest a fixed number of umpire decisions with the match referee. Match referee would have the power to over rule this decision.
Implications
Match referee would become a sort of match godfather. For all practical purposes, he still is the godfather. This is yet another power being vested with him.
The game would be interrupted for few minutes when the match referee looks at the replays and decides on the decision. The delays are norm with the television replay decisions anyways. Waiting for a few minutes to improve the standard of the game is worth the wait.
Umpires might argue that their authorities would be diminished. They might get offended if a decision is overruled. ICC needs to decide which is larger and more important – umpires and their egos or the game.
Captains and players should be happy and can use this contesting power judicially. For example if Australian team doubts that Rahul Dravid has indeed nicked a ball to the wicketkeeper and umpire has ignored their appeal, and they think Rahul Dravid is a key player, they can contest.
Any more solutions?
Reliance Power IPO - Power On. India On.
Reliance Power is coming up with an IPO. To promote the initial public offer, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has come up with a TVC.
Power On. India On.
It is not uncommon to see companies releasing advertisements just before their IPOs are to hit the capital markets. Notable ones are Future Group, Surya Agro (Priya Gold) etc. Although most IPO advertisements are more of product promotions rather than corporate profile, off late, things have been changing.
Coming back to Reliance Power, the ad has an awesome jingle. The ad has been shot really really well. There are quite a few shots that capture the true spirit of Indian-ness. Every Indian can connect to most of the visuals. The shot of two kids standing on a dark window and their reaction when the power comes on is simply amazing. Then there is a shot of car going under the lights. The visual shows awesome chemistry between lighting and motion.
Needless to say, every advert tries to achieve something specific. This advertisement aims at enticing retail investors to put their money into the issue. The Reliance Power IPO would surely be oversubscribed many times and this advertisement certainly would have a part to play.
Rating: 4 on 5
Tags: IPOs, Financial Products, Corporate Campaigns
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