And I realized that WK website is like a huge 3D Mindmap. Done very well. Time for inspiration!
Mindmaps and Website layouts
While working with Mindmaps it dawned upon me that why can't I do my website design like a huge inflatable mindmap? It would be easier for the visitor to find his way around on my website. It would be easier for me to create it. A quick and dirty website layout that I designed with MindMeister (one of those few free online mind mapping software).
And I realized that WK website is like a huge 3D Mindmap. Done very well. Time for inspiration!
And I realized that WK website is like a huge 3D Mindmap. Done very well. Time for inspiration!
Man About Town
Last night when I was wondering what to do, while channel surfing, I chanced upon Man About Town at Sony Pix. Although I dont watch a lot of English movies, something about this one appealed and I saw it.
Here's a tailor ...
I realized that Jack's life is very similar to mine (mine being lot less successful), he has the same insecurities that I have (although I dont have a wife to worry about), he is skeptic of same things I am of (apart from the fact that he is rich) and he is as confused as I am.
And its a wonderful movie. It enters my list of favorite movies. And I dint know that "Man About Town" meant these.
Here's a tailor ...
I realized that Jack's life is very similar to mine (mine being lot less successful), he has the same insecurities that I have (although I dont have a wife to worry about), he is skeptic of same things I am of (apart from the fact that he is rich) and he is as confused as I am.
And its a wonderful movie. It enters my list of favorite movies. And I dint know that "Man About Town" meant these.
A, B and C
One of the latest pieces of work that has really caught the fancy of the world has been Anurag Kashyap and Abhay Deol's Dev D. It is a story of this young lad, Dev, a rich dad's poor little boy, an obsessive lover, an escapist, disillusioned by the world and in search for something that he calls love.
So much for Dev and his psychedelic life. Let me talk about me and a couple of my friends. Let me call these three people A, B and C. All three have a fairly enviable education background. All are beyond their prime now (28 types).
A works for India's most visionary entrepreneur's prodigal elder son's one of million companies. This company is one of few organized players in India's burgeoning retail market. A is one of the most extraordinary people that I have ever met. Although he doesnt put a lot of time and effort in coming up with insights and ideas but whenever he does so, he comes up with gem. His words are worth their weight in gold and diamonds and platinum. His thoughts are very clear and he knows what exactly he wants out of life and work. He is also one of the laziest people you would ever meet.
B works for a "conglomerate" with businesses ranging from chemicals to locks to rocket engines to foods to retail to real estate to medicine and to what not. If we legalized gambling and prostitution, they would have launched that too. Of course they would have put myriads of hierarchy and long designations for doing seemingly innocuous work. Anyways, B is an engineer by education, manager by designation and Shikari Shambhu by character. His sole aim in life is to make more money than anyone he knows, own the biggest house amongst his reference group and retire with enough in the pension fund. Nothing wrong about it. Just that its a different story that he is not doing anything about it.
C thinks that he hard to understand for most of the people that he knows. Including C himself. Actually that's what C thinks. He is often branded random, frivolous and fickle minded. He is trying to ride some 19 boats at the same time and needless to say, failing at staying on course. He work a 8:30 to 5:30 job and leaves his office strictly at 5:30, goes to his place and stares at the wall and TV for about 5 hours before he sleeps.
So, three of us, our life stream can put any number of Devs' to shame. A typical day for each of us is VERY predictable. We probably are the cheapest targets for detective agencies. Sitting here, in my office, I can tell, with 100% certainty what the other two are upto. For example B is trying to scroll through his gtalk chat list thinking who he can chat up with. A would be out of his office smoking umpteenth cigarette of the day. I can also say for sure if you asked the other two about all three, everyone but A would know what others are upto. A's secretary might have some answers.
Not that we dont try to break out of this monotony, its just that we are constrained by things that seem out of control and we dont even try to move out of the rat race. For A, its lethargy, for B, its security and for C, its, well he doesnt know.
Dev was better. He at least had an outlet in blur of alcohol. We dont.
P.S.: Title changed from "Putting Dev D to shame" to "A, B and C"
A works for India's most visionary entrepreneur's prodigal elder son's one of million companies. This company is one of few organized players in India's burgeoning retail market. A is one of the most extraordinary people that I have ever met. Although he doesnt put a lot of time and effort in coming up with insights and ideas but whenever he does so, he comes up with gem. His words are worth their weight in gold and diamonds and platinum. His thoughts are very clear and he knows what exactly he wants out of life and work. He is also one of the laziest people you would ever meet.
B works for a "conglomerate" with businesses ranging from chemicals to locks to rocket engines to foods to retail to real estate to medicine and to what not. If we legalized gambling and prostitution, they would have launched that too. Of course they would have put myriads of hierarchy and long designations for doing seemingly innocuous work. Anyways, B is an engineer by education, manager by designation and Shikari Shambhu by character. His sole aim in life is to make more money than anyone he knows, own the biggest house amongst his reference group and retire with enough in the pension fund. Nothing wrong about it. Just that its a different story that he is not doing anything about it.
C thinks that he hard to understand for most of the people that he knows. Including C himself. Actually that's what C thinks. He is often branded random, frivolous and fickle minded. He is trying to ride some 19 boats at the same time and needless to say, failing at staying on course. He work a 8:30 to 5:30 job and leaves his office strictly at 5:30, goes to his place and stares at the wall and TV for about 5 hours before he sleeps.
So, three of us, our life stream can put any number of Devs' to shame. A typical day for each of us is VERY predictable. We probably are the cheapest targets for detective agencies. Sitting here, in my office, I can tell, with 100% certainty what the other two are upto. For example B is trying to scroll through his gtalk chat list thinking who he can chat up with. A would be out of his office smoking umpteenth cigarette of the day. I can also say for sure if you asked the other two about all three, everyone but A would know what others are upto. A's secretary might have some answers.
Not that we dont try to break out of this monotony, its just that we are constrained by things that seem out of control and we dont even try to move out of the rat race. For A, its lethargy, for B, its security and for C, its, well he doesnt know.
Dev was better. He at least had an outlet in blur of alcohol. We dont.
P.S.: Title changed from "Putting Dev D to shame" to "A, B and C"
April 2009: Goals!
When April 2009 would end, I would have
- bought the bike.
- learnt how to juggle 4 balls.
- finished (or given up) on the twitter clone. This would mean I would know the basics of CSS. PHP and MySQL.
- restarted blogging on saurabhgarg.com.
Twitter Clone in a Month
Me and Kunal have gone back to our BIT days. We just bet with each other that both of us will come up with a Twitter clone in a month. So, by 25th April we would have two home grown twitter clones*.
Goodluck and Godspeed Kunal. And just in case, I am @Saurabh at twitter.
I plan to use this thread to put updates on my clone. I will call it #Twitter22. I know, not very creative, but still. And I have created a blog for the same twitter22.wordpress.com. Will update it with progress and lessons.
* Hopefully.
Goodluck and Godspeed Kunal. And just in case, I am @Saurabh at twitter.
I plan to use this thread to put updates on my clone. I will call it #Twitter22. I know, not very creative, but still. And I have created a blog for the same twitter22.wordpress.com. Will update it with progress and lessons.
* Hopefully.
Work Better
I have realized that I work better when ...
What helps you work better? Any more tips?
- I am facing a wall. I this helps me keep distractions to the minimum.
- Listening to music I like. This helps in concentrating.
- The background noise is at bare minimum. For obvious reasons.
- There's a glassful of water next to me. And a loo within 10 seconds walking distance.
- My feet are free. Or read as, when I am not wearing any shoes. May be my brain is in my toes?
- I have a notepad and few pencils to scribble things on. I like taking notes!
- Lights are dimmed. Not too much of a brightness fan. Blame it on q3?
What helps you work better? Any more tips?
Shaheed Bhagat Singh - 23rd Mar 1931
I have seen this video at least 100 times in last few days. What started as a joke with a colleague has turned into an obsession. Safaroshi ki tammana ab humare dil main hai, dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-quatil main hai. This poem, by Ram Prasad 'Bismil', became a clarion call during the Indian independence movement. So much so that it is still used at any anti-establishment or even anti-anti-establishment "agitation".
Anyways, coming back to what I started ranting on, 23rd March (in 1931) is when Bhagat Singh was hanged to death (along with Sukhdev and Rajguru for murder of one J.P. Saunders*). And I, Saurabh Garg, dint even know this till I saw an update from a friend on FB. So much for my patriotism and Bhagat Singh fandom.
Bhagat Singh died at the young age of 24. If he would have lived on, he would have change the course of history. His ideas, radical they may sound, were far ahead of his times and I completely subscribe to the same. He was a very well read man even at that young age. From russian revolutionaries to poets to world leaders, he had read them all. His sense of logic was impeccable. Some of the thing he said (wrote) are just brilliant. Few got very famous (like Why I Am An Atheist and his views on marriage) but most were ignored. Both by common man and celebrated historians alike. I am in process of reading more about him and his ideas. Its a slow and a painful process.
When I was 24, I was using MBA as an excuse to waste my time and my parents hard earned money. And there was this guy who was 24 and he could think like that and he died for his country. What purpose does my life solve? Why am I even alive?
Links
- Shahidbhagatsingh.org
- Bhagatsinghstudy is a good resource in case someone is interested in reading more about Bhagat Singh.
- My Bhagat Singh bookamarks on delicious
*Pity that I had to look up on wikipedia to know why Bhagat Singh was hanged to death. Sucks again !
Value Add - Price Premium
While creating a philosophy for Cyntax, I have been thinking what kind of businesses can command a price premium. I think the businesses in the value chain that add "unique" value to the end product are the ones where you can ask for money. This is probably as old and as commonsensical as Michael Porter's work on value chains, but realizing it myself, was an achievement.
Let me take an example. The tee shirts business. Three most important components are the supplier, the designer and the retailer. The supplier can not ask for a premium. Simply because he is manufacturing a commodity. There are bound to be many suppliers with similar or near similar offerings and only thing that all suppliers can compete on is the price. A retailer, might command premium if he is a large player and has a ready set of customers. Someone like, say Big Bazaar. But over a period of time, with Internet eliminating all kinds of middle men, a marketer would no longer need a retailer to sell his products. Cases in point being zappos (ok, zappos is a retailer), threadless and cafepress.On the other hand, if you are someone like Tantra or People Tree or Play Clan, you add value to a basic white tee shirt. You add a unique design and print that design. You dont sell just a tee shirt. You sell this design that no one else can do. And you thus ask for a premium. To compete with a Tantra, I wont need the supplier, I wont need the retailer but I would need a designer. Obviously I am assuming that I would be able to squeeze the suppliers and command terms to the retailers and create a fantastic online community (and a shop).
Tee shirt business is ok. What about travel business? Who will command a premium?
Travel chain has two components - service providers (airlines, railways) and agents (Traditional, OTA). Off the two, agents can only sell the inventory that service providers make available. And its a simple business where you add zilch value (online agents add value in the sense that they make available the inventory real time) and hence they cant command a premium. Moment an agent asks for a premium, the user would move on to the next agent. You compete on mindshare and again, cost!
What about HR consultancies? Petrol pumps? FMCG companies? Who do you think commands a premium? What to you guys think?
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