Hypocritical Indian News Media - A Menace

Today's Times of India (TOI) newspaper's Chennai edition's Page-3 comes across as one of the highly disturbing printed news pages to read anytime. What you see on the right is the page-3 of TOI paper on 16-April 2011. Before you continue to read any further, please take a few seconds to give yourself time for some inferences.

A big bold article title on this page reads "Woman posts porn profile of sis on net". Right below this, in a contoured box titled "Bay Watch", there is a picture of a non-Indian girl (perhaps a tourist?) in a bikini having fun in the Marina beach with her two friends. The picture also shows a man (appears to be a local Chennai-ite) wearing a lungi (a local dress worn in India) lying down and relaxing, appearing to be watching this girl and her friends. Any idea what the caption to this picture reads? Here is what it reads as -

SUMMER DELIGHT: The Marina beach got some added colour on Friday afternoon when a group of young foreigners couldnt resist the temptation of the sun,sand and surf. Little did they know that swimming here is a dangerous pastime, but then there were many on the shore who kept an eye as they took a splash

The Common Sense Approach To Process Improvement

This is an outcome of a discussion I was in yesterday; a discussion that I would classify as one of the most interesting discussions in my recent past. It all started with just one statement one of the people made in the room –

I’ve been wanting to do a certification in LEAN and Six Sigma as I feel that will help me bring about a lot of improvements in the way my team and my organization works.

Soon enough the room witnessed some decent knowledge sharing; LEAN, Kaizen, Six Sigma and someone also brought in Agile. Quiet keen on listening to what each one had to say, I kept my views for the end. Then came my chance, when one of them asked if I had used any of these at work or elsewhere. I thought for a moment and said –

Inception Architecture

I recently bumped into this very well executed picture by Rick Slusher (@theslush). I personally believe in this concept (of Inception) and found this picture really interesting as it got me thinking. So here it is, to get you thinking on the lines of Inception.

Keep Thinking! Keep Discovering!

5 Things You Will Like To Try

Finally, I have decided to re-start my blogging! Like I did mention in my New Year Resolutions post in December 2009, this has been one thing I’ve wanted to get going regularly, but has always been limping. To begin with, I thought of telling you what I’ve been up to these days. Hmm…no..I’m not going to tell you about a magic potion concoction I’ve been working on….but on some things that I’ve discovered, seen, done and enjoyed. Here are five of them -

1. Flipkart.com – I’ve enjoyed this website the most. Bought more than about 5 books so far, and I’ve enjoyed the experience of buying a book the most with Flipkart. Here is what I’ve observed about their service – Neat packing, Prompt delivery, Zero Disappointments (they have almost every title!) and of course Nice Discounts! Kudos to the folks behind Flipkart – Keep up the good work!

Sketching for Relaxation

Here is something I spent time on after a tiring day at a customer place. While I've done plenty of hand sketching and paintings, this is my first attempt to do the same using the computer (with just the mouse). And, I think I'm liking it.

I used a simple, yet powerful, tool called Paint.NET. This is an unfinished painting, as there is still a lot of work that needs to go in. Nevertheless I thought of sharing this as it's still OK to be viewed just on a computer :)

Would you like to take a shot at trying to guess what this sketch tries to convey?

Birth & Growth of Innovation in India

Innovation does not happen at an instance in time, it's an ongoing activity. Like how an egg is carefully incubated under the warmth extended by the hen's body, innovation needs that initial hand holding. This essentially comes from the innovators themselves. And like how the chicken sees the daylight outside of the egg shell, innovative ideas also see the daylight. Like how the chicken is carefully nurtured by the hen, the idea needs to be nurtured by the innovator.

End of the day, it's all the same - Innovation is not an elusive something. It is something that is bound to happen. It's the law of nature. The chicken or mankind all are good examples of innovation - we are unique with a set of different and unique qualities. Try to look at innovation this way, and you will get rid of that fear inducing question - "Can I innovate? Can I also be an entrepreneur?" clouding your thoughts.

That said, here is the next big mythical question "Is India only an Outsourcing hub? Why aren't there many Indian companies with great products?" I've read many such articles in the internet, especially in the last one year, where authors have expressed this feeling. Lately I also read Sramana Mitra's (@sramana) article on Forbes and her blog post sometime back.

Firstly I'd like to point out that innovation is not necessarily related to creating great products. India has had a high innovation quotient all along - even creating great service outsourcing companies need innovation. I'd rather prefer to call the bunch of body-shopping IT companies as the ones who've given a bad name to outsourcing in India. Unfortunately, these companies do continue to survive even in these testing times!

On the products side, in my opinion, below are some of the critical factors that have affected the birth of product innovation.

Factors affecting the birth of product innovation -

1. The Indian education system - At large, these continue to teach courses that nourish bookish thinking rather than out-of-the-box thinking
2. Indian colleges & universities - These continue to advertise as "100% placement"
3. The Indian upbringing - We still continue to coax our kids to take the safer route. The risk-taking attitude is seldom seen here. I also agree with Sramana Mitra's thoughts on the effects of "colonization" in India - it's very true.
4. Lack of quality talent - I've faced this - haven't been able to find high quality talent who would work for a early stage startup. They eventually run away when they get an offer from Cognizants and the TCSes of the world
5. Intellectual Property (IP) rights - Inability to truly protect IP has been a big challenge for those daring entrepreneurs to hire talent. The young and talented ones sign any non-disclosure agreements without consciously abiding by them
6. Lack of early stage seed fund - Because of the above challenges, early stage entrepreneurs will have to compete with the Cognizants and the TCSes to pay competitive salaries, which warrant sizable capital. Unfortunately, seed fund is still tough in this part of the world

These are larger level issues that we'll need to collectively answer. First realize that you need to start by cleaning the ship deck before becoming the captain of the ship. Stop drooling over fat salaries and start taking risks right from the beginning. Take a baby step, crawl and then start to walk. You will fall, but don't give up. Remember this is the start of your marathon dream!

On Short & Long term Success

Have you ever seen someone who has forever not been successful? I have not! From the most ill-luck-struck and paupers of the world to the top in class businessmen and women, I've seen success in every one of them. The difference is "How long did the success last?"

I was ruminating over something I saw last evening when driving past a well known street-side food vendor (a hangout for people of all ages, creed and social statuses). After a presumably long wait a mendicant got some sizeable moolah from someone who drove down in his Mercedez Benz. I saw both of them get food from the same hangout (can I say they dined together?!?).

The mendicant went back to his business soon after - to seek alms from the passers by, and Mr.Benz whizzed off in his car. This very sight got me thinking - "How are these two different? How are they doing what they are doing? And, why is one seeking alms while the other riding the fast track?"

Success is a subjective term when used independently. When we start associating this term to appropriate people and activities, we realize that success is more objective.

The mendicant who was spending his life seeking alms indeed saw success when he got moolah to satisfy his hunger. To him that was success all about and he wasn't worried about how he would manage his breakfast next morning. This is the short-term success. We all see short-term successes - almost every other day.

However, Mr.Benz saw success from a different pair of glasses - to him, success was somewhere in the horizon and he was (probably) still searching for it. Or just to put it simple, Mr.Benz's glasses weren't myopic.

And, here comes my point - It's not about long-term or short-term success. It's about how much of control you have over your success. If you do not have control over the success factor, you will end up catching the tiger by it's tail. It's not just about gaining success, it's about how well you sustain success in a way that it doesn't trip you. I'll not want to tie this back to the Benz-mendicant story above as I believe open-ended stories can get us thinking!

Keep a check on your success, long or short term, and make success a journey - not a destination. It's all about Kaizen. Keep an eye on the changing factors around you and believe that it can change the success factor.

Stay on the leading edge, and not the bleeding edge! Keep innovating!

[Image Source: Internet]

Let's Start LIVING, Start THINKING

We are born in this earth not to exist, but to live. That said, many of us just continue to exist. We have been taught to eat, taught to walk, taught to ride a bike, taught to read, taught to write...the list can go on endless. But, one question can make a difference - Have we every questioned these teachings? If so, how many times have we done this? Read on to know more...

How many times in our life do we really question ourselves "Why should/did I do this?". We continue to sit in a room with the lights on, even when the sun is up and shining to illuminate our reading desk. We continue to switch on the television as we read the newspaper because we are used to hearing the news in the mornings. We continue to keep the water tap open while brushing the teeth. We continue to drive down the same route to office (when there may be many shorter/better routes) because we are used to it. Each one of us would have some mundane ways of doing many things. We continue to do what we do because we are used to doing it that way.

Have you observed top sports stars? Have you seen a top runner's training programme? All top runners spend a considerable amount of time observing themselves when they run. Have you ever wondered why gyms have a lot of mirrors? Have you seen body-builders train with mirrors around? These mirrors are not (only) to see how good they look, but to help them observe their training! Observation is the core of all these sports and fitness activities. This is what helps sportsmen and women understand their pitfalls and identify points of improvement. A training programme without observing can prove useless!

Improvement comes when we start observing whats existing today. Observing is the fundamental need for innovation and continuous improvement. For instance, the way governments, industries, transportation systems and others have been operating is precisely the same. They continue to exist.

For a country to grow, the government should stop existing and start working. For the economy to grow, companies should stop existing and start working. For a greener world, industries and the energy sector units should stop existing and start working. Observing today's approaches, processes, systems and analyzing the pitfalls is the key to innovation.

Here is what I would suggest, to infuse innovation in your personal life and professional lives. Spend atleast 10 minutes a day for yourself. Think about how you spent the day, and how you did the things you did. Think of ways that could have made things better. Think of things you could have avoided doing. Think about what you saw on your walk down your company's aisles or your factory's floors. Ask yourself one question - "Why did I do it?" or "Why is this done that way?". Keep answering your question until you get a satisfactory answer. Finally, you have lived your day!

Here is nice video that you might enjoy. Keep Thinking! Stay Creative! Stay Inspired!

IBM.COM / THINK - A Smarter Planet

IBM has unveiled a whole new initiative this year to create a Smarter Planet. Here is the Tale of a Smarter Planet that would set you thinking, and possibly innovating. Together, let's build a Smarter Planet!

Hope this short video has set your thoughts reeling. I look forward to fueling your thoughts and innovation more in the days and weeks to come! Stay Mused! Stay Inspired!

Why do I Run?

Every passionate long distance runner on earth would, some(many)time in his/her life, be asked this question-

Why do you have to run such long distances? What is in it for you?

I've been a victim of this kind of a question many a time till date. The most interesting came after my Singapore marathon...and it was-

Why did you have to go all the way to Singapore spending thousands of rupees to just run 42 and odd kilometers? You could have done it in the very place you reside, right?

I could not resist a chuckle when people asked this question. Nevertheless, this question has always managed to set my thoughts reeling. Hence I thought of putting these recurring thoughts in black and white.
In today's fast moving world, one hardly gets time to think about day to day routines. More than often, we end up doing something because we are used to doing it that way. The reason for us doing this is predominantly the fact that the conscious mind concentrates on the main task while giving the subconscious mind the responsibility of doing these mundane tasks.
And because of various reasons, the conscious mind gets loaded with a whole slew of new tasks, that the older tasks get moved into the subconscious mind. This cycle of the mind's working has taken off the comfortable cushion space to think differently and be innovative.
This is the reason the mind starts to get dull and loses the enthusiasm to do anything. I had experienced such a state many a time in the past (before I took up running). That's when I was thinking and realized that -

We work so hard for name, fame and money to eventually be happy. But over a period in time we realize that we've done everything but being happy

Why does this happen? It's simply because the mind has become duller and has lost that glow. A mind that has continuously engaged itself in chasing goals, tends to miss out recognizing achievements. This tendency results in the lack of happiness (as, you always keep feeling "I've not accomplished anything").
Running is something that came by just in time for me. Though it sounds like just a physical activity, Running is a gift in different ways. Running is one single activity, doing which can give you the following benefits - all in one shot! -

• An excellent physical exercise - Shorter your Waistline, Longer your Lifeline!
• Rejuvenates the mind - More oxygen to the brain, more active it gets!
• Cleaner and Fresher skin - Sweat gets the darn dirt out of the skin pores! An increase in metabolism will result in fresh skin faster!
• Stronger legs and back - This greatly helps us stay fit (if your work is in front on a computer, you would appreciate the value of a strong back!)
• Staying closer to nature - What can be better than an early morning run? Hearing the birds chirp and smelling the fresh air...it's Bliss!
• Run your errands - I sometimes shop during my run...Yes! I'm not joking! Ain't it a healthy way to shop?
• Travel and see places - What better excuse can one get to travel to different places to run half or full marathons? It's fun!
  
• Meet people and network - Running on the roads around your place, you are sure to bump into many of your neighbors and exchange a casual HI! Joining running clubs can give you the best experience of networking!
• A feeling of achievement - Running past people with large waistlines, seeing your waistline reduce after some consistent running, finishing longer distances and marathons, etc can give you a sense of accomplishment. Doing two kilometers more or doing a distance faster than before, can fill you with great pride! You don't have to wait for a job promotion or a salary hike!
• Tunes the mind to fight longer battles - Running long distances can impact the mind to persevere and fight the long drawn battles at work and personal life. It fills you with grit and determination!

What more could I ask for? Would you say NO to a cartload of gifts packed in one neat package? Ain't this a good reason to run? So, to you, here is my advise - Step out and start running! Fuel your creativity and innovation....and you are sure to be a winner for life!

Happy Running! Stay Inspired!

My 2008 Book Collection - Did I read them all?

As many would say, time and experience teaches a lot of lessons. The year 2008 has been the 'teacher' year to me. It taught me a lot through real life experiences and it also made me buy a lot of books!

I was just looking around my bookshelf (Uh! My books are pretty much scattered everywhere!) and realized that I ended up buy quiet a bit of them in the past year (14 of them!). But then came this question "Karthik....did you read them all? Don't say a 'yes'!" Huh! yes, I've gotto admit...I did not read them all 'fully'. While I did manage to finish most of them, the rest of them are still with those bookmarks. Nevertheless, I enjoy building my own library (...and compete with my dad! He has got about 300 novels so far!)

Here are some of the books I bought (click on them to get more details about the book) -





For those of you who has not read any of the above books, here goes my recommendations.
Who Moved My Cheese? is a very good book, which is now available in an abridged version (which is better) too. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to live (not survive!) in this world and make the fullest use of every opportunity in every front.

It's Not About the Bike. My Journey Back to Life falls next in the order of reading order priority. Lance Armstrong has very beautifully written this book, in which he talks about how he fought with the world's most deadliest of diseases, cancer, and got back to do what he loved to do.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari is the next best thing to spend some useful time with. The author of this book, Robin Sharma, needs no much introduction to many of us. While many motivational speakers tend to use disconnected examples to explain (and elaborate) different areas of life and work, Robin has adopted a different approach. Robin uses the character of a monk to connect with his readers. A true masterpiece and a must read!

The Power of Impossible Thinking was another good book I bumped into accidentally when I was browsing in the bookstore. I found this book really thought provoking. In a way, it has helped me a lot to change the way I approached many things in life. I would recommend this book for a good read while traveling.

The Einstein Factor - Ah! Win Wenger has done an astounding job out of this book. The reason I'm writing about this book after having written about four other books is because this one falls under a different category. This books demands time. This book combines practical exercises to boost your thinking power. I would highly recommend this book for weekend and holiday reads. If possible, do get your hands on its audiobook version.

The Toyota Way is more to do with the way we do things ('manufacturing' is the context used in this book) and how we can do it better. This is about how Toyota revolutionized the world of automotive manufacturing by incorporating some of its home grown approaches. This is today widely accepted my many companies.
Freakonomics - This is a book I'm still half way through. It's been a good read so far. I would reserve my recommendations till I complete my reading.

As far as the rest of the books go, I haven't read them (except The Greatness Guide...which is OK. Robin set too high an expectation with his first book!) yet. I might set my hands on one of these when I get time (unless I spot a really good book in one of my future bookstore jaunts!)

Have you read a good book? Would you mind suggesting me one? I would love to read them too! And if you are one of those who has not cultivated the habit of reading books, do try it out....it'll become an addiction!
Till my next article....adios and have a splendid weekend!

Somethings Right and Somethings Not Right

With less than 10 days to go before we conclude the year 2008 and settle our accounts with the merchant called Time, it makes all the more sense to spend some time to take a retrospective view this year.

I'm sure its been an eventful year for most of us. The year 2008 has shown the glimmer side of the world to us in many ways and very tactfully hidden the positive side of things. From an economy perspective, the year woke up to the Startup Boom and slowly this got well consumed by the overpowering economic downturn in the Americas and the the rest of the world (ROW) countries.

While the hard work done in the last year paid off for some, some of us were subjected to a trough which has nevertheless made one wiser than ever before. From personal experience and from peoples' shared experience, we should bear in mind that Failures are the Stepping Stones to Success. In my mind, this is a cyclic thing - Without Success, one would not know what is Failure and without Failure, one would not know what the taste of Success really is!

Successes and Failures are two sides of a sinusoidal waveform that generates the energy to power the engine called Life. What really matters is how adaptive and resilient we are to this thing called Change. The quicker we react to Change, the faster we move!

Remember one thing - Life is a marathon...just run it! There are times when we slow down and there are times when we sprint. Slowing down does not mean that you will lose the race (unlike a short distance run).

The slower periods in life are like pit stops in the F1 circuit - As long as you use them wisely (to refuel), you are assured of a strong finish!

All I wanted to do in this post was just to tell my readers - You Are A Winner! Never Give Up! No matter what happened in 2008, you have become a wiser person! Use the lessons learnt to strategically plan your next move!

Wish you a Merry Xmas and a Very Happy and Fruitful New Year! As always, Stay Inspired!

Are you learning to drive a car?

After watching the Singapore F1 (which was quiet different/funny/disappointing in different ways), my cousin sent me this interesting video link, which I think you will enjoy too.

If you are one of those who is learning to drive a car or having a tough time wading your way through crowded streets of India (or any other parts of the world), this video might give you some ideas (refreshing ones!)



Good luck with your personal stunts!

Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if you try any of this with your (or your friend's) car ;-)

Winners of Slideshare Presentation Contest

Here are the top three winners of Slideshare's World's Best Presentation Contest. I'm simply amazed by the way each of the presenters have taken time and effort to create each of those beautiful pictures. As we see, the key of a good presentation is to hit the right-brain and trigger thoughts from color and creativity.

First Prize:

THIRST

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: design crisis)

Second Prize:

Foot Notes

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: design inspirational)

Third Prize:

Zimbabwe in Crisis

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: refugee hyperinflation)

For the rest of the winners go here.

Affirmations - Works Wonders!

Do you want to wake up every morning with a certainty of a bright and colorful day? Wrap yourself with the positive vibes of nature. Affirmations are the key to achieving this. Here is how you do it -

Sit in one corner of room (preferably a silent place). Close your eyes and breath heavily 5 times. Continue normal breathing and try to concentrate. Visualize a peaceful and serene lake and the sun rising on the horizon. Many thoughts will come and go. Don't resist them. After a few minutes, you will experience the perfect silence.

Breath consciously and relax. Imagine a golden white ball of light entering your body from above your head, and visualize this passing through your throat, chest, hands, stomach and through your legs. With each breath, try to push this ball of light from top to bottom.

Now, once you are done, utter the following affirmations in your thoughts. Utter these affirmations in your thoughts each time you inhale. Here they go -

• "Just for today I will live in an attitude of gratitude."
• "Just for today I will not worry."
• "Just for today I will not anger."
• "Just for today I shall do my work honestly."
• "Just for today I will show love and respect to all living beings."

You can do this every morning. I picked these affirmations from Reiki. Apart from these affirmations, you can use other specific affirmations to do something specific. Here is an example for those of you who've been trying to stop taking beer - "Just for today, I will not drink beer!"

Remember - "You Are What You Think". Thinking makes a man; so be careful about what you think!

Key to Success - Give Unconditionally

We all want to be happy and see success in things we do. Is there one thing that will guarantee success and happiness? Yes, there is! The keys to the doors of Happiness and Success is The Ability to Give Unconditionally. In personal life or in business, its the ability to give, that makes people replicate success and experience eternal happiness. Here are 5 things you must try everyday -

1. Wish a friend on his/her birthday (or) give them a surprise vist/party
2. Thank people when they help you
3. Never expect something from others when you help them
4. Feed a stray dog (or) adopt it
5. When you want to enter a new market in business, give your service/product for NO COST. Your product (and your goodwill) will do the rest of the talking
6. SMILE at others, don't be sombre (even when the going gets tough)
7. Help your wife/mother with the domestic chores at times
8. What you've learnt is meant for others too. Pass it on!
   
9. Trust yourself and People you work with
   
10. Speak the truth....always. This can give you the most of happiness and success!

Do you remember the story of the Wise Crow and the Pot of water? Our friend Mr.Crow was thirsty, and he found this tall pot filled with little water. He could not reach it, but he was patient and wise! He decided to drop stones into the pot and drink the water when it increased to a level he could reach. As he put stones into the pot, the water level increased. Eventually the water did come to the surface he was able to taste the elixir of life!

Happiness and Success is like the water in this pot, the ability to give is similar to the stones and the pot is comparable to our lives. The more (stones) you put into the pot, the more closer Happiness and Success (water) gets to you!

Newton had scientifically put this phenomenon in his Third Law of Motion as "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction"

Remember - What goes up, has to come down! Keep Giving!

PS: Ravi - Thanks for pointing the striking typo!

Disruptive Innovation

Well, Disruptive Innovation as a term is not pretty new to the world. Dr. Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, coined this term in his famous bestseller The Innovator's Dilemma.

According to Dr. Clayton, a disruptive innovation is a technology, process, or business model that brings to a market a much more affordable product or service that is much simpler to use. It enables more consumers in that market to afford and/or have the skill to use the product or service. The change caused by such an innovation is so big that it eventually replaces, or disrupts, the established approach to providing that product or service.

The most common question people ask is "How do I get disruptively innovative?" Though a specific approach is less suggestive at this point, I've got a simpler way to explain this with a very short hypothetical scenario. Here is how it goes...

You are an accomplished world famous architect, and you've been asked to rebuild San Francisco. The level of innovation and uniqueness of the new San Francisco you develop will be different if you were given the freedom to start the project from a clean slate.

Disruption, as in Disruptive Innovation refers to the creation of the clean slate before we ignite our thinking engines. The clearer our slate is, more unique and innovative our sketch gets

You can get innovative in your day-to-day activities too. This can make you more efficient and unique. I'm going to give you a tip to do this -

Ask yourself one question before you do anything "Why am I doing it this way?"

Stay Inspired! Keep Churning!

Difference between Champions and a Good Leaders

Champions know to identify their strengths (and weaknesses) and work towards multiplying their strengths and dividing their weaknesses.

Good Leaders are those who know to identify Champions in a bunch of people!

Remember! Good Leaders are Champions at an individual level, but Champions need not be good Leaders. To be a Champion is more to do with the ablity to manage ourselves. To be a good Leader, is more about the ability to effectively manage others.

But, there are always exceptions! We call them Gurus!

Attempts to Perfection - By the Needle!

This is what I was referring to in the 3rd point (on the secret behind Beijing's success) to in my post titled If Beijing can, New Delhi can (do even better). This is a typical example of how the Chinese army trains.

There is absolutely no chance to err. They've been sheer perfectionists in every single activity execution. Remember the young girl who sang in the opening ceremony? The voice you heard was different from the person we actually saw! You know why? It's because, the actual singer's face was not photogenic!

Below are some photographs of this Chinese army training I am referring to. I read this first in the Wall Street Journal a couple of months ago. Observe the circled areas in the soldier's collar - Can one get any more perfect?

Now, look at the needle penetration!

Can you get a better right angle?

Can we get a better way to check a 'V' alignment? One can take a measuring scale and find out the distances between the parallel lines to arrive at the perfect 'V'.

In another instance, the Chinese army uses a thread during the marching practice, to control the height to which the soldiers' feet rise above the ground!

This is perfection! Stay Inspired!

Pictures Source: Odditycentral.com

If Beijing can, New Delhi can (do even better)

I liked the way Rahul Verghese penned down the article A wake-up call from Beijing on The Hindu newspaper (Thanks, Rahul!). I appreciate his thoughts and thinking. Here, I'd like to express a little bit of my thoughts, which coincidentally is in line with Rahul's...

Firstly, I think that everything starts with "I". If only I could blame and pat myself for every failure and success, I don't get a chance to even point a finger at others. Though "I" might sound egoistic, in this context it's fair enough to blame ourselves for our failures and take pride in the good things we do. In the context of sports, it's about setting up personal goals and challenges, rather than waiting for the government or the corporates to take action.

The second part is - "Stop looking at rules". As some people say, rules are meant to be broken. Unless we try the new approach, we will never get innovative. As applied to the state's selection policies, its about sheer innovation in this space. Take off the big-mouths and politicians from any sports authority roles, bring in the innovative thinkers. We need to take baby steps initially. It's fair enough to fall a couple of times when we learn to walk - Walking is the first step to running and subsequently sprinting!

In the context of the commonwealth games, there are two things our organizers must remember - Wear the thinking hat and get innovative, Learn from the success and failures of the Beijing games. In my view, the secret behind Beijing's success has been 5 key things -

1. Disruptive Innovation (refer to this post for more information)
   
2. The spent years of effort to study the success and failures from the rest of the world (Did you know how much time Beijing Olympic committee spent in building the glass globe? Remember the one that came up in the opening ceremony? Wait for more details in another post of mine)
3. Attempt to perfection (Chinese perfection is simply mind-blowing. Read this article)
   
4. They spoke very less (foccussed energy on one deliverable - Give the Best Experience to the participants, viewers and spectators)
5. The Chinese government did not interfere in How-Tos of the organization - It was the Olympic committee that took charge
   

Our country needs more Doers than Speakers (viz., Politicians). I'm not referring to hypocrisy, but to the ratio of time spent on Talking to Doing.

As IBM puts it, let's "Stop Talking, Start Doing!"