Month: September 2025

Settling Differences, 27 09 2025 Conflicts are a pivotal movement for they offer both a challenge and an opportunity. It can rewrite an individual’s life narrative or define a turning point in the history of an institution. The ideal way is to seize the opportunity and resolve it, be it the US tariff challenge or a person laid off. Despite its importance, conflict resolution is not adequately discussed or taught despite history providing a lot of lessons.     Nelson Mandela and …

The Secret Sauce of Success Motivation is a common ingredient to success in all human endeavour, be it sports, arts, education or business. A motivated individual or team succeeds despite their adverse starting odds or the stiff challenges they face enroute.  In fact, motivation often overpowers natural talent or the head start that life provides a privileged few as it powers them to the victory.  Motivation stands firm on a stable tripod, its three legs: money, purpose, and autonomy. Remove …

Unique Selling Proposition 25 09 2025 Until a couple of centuries ago, entrepreneurs had a relatively easy time in estimating market demand. Human needs were basic, consisting mainly of goods required for survival. Shortages were the norm. Only a handful, the royalty and the rich aristocrats needed luxury goods that was handcrafted. The advent of industrial revolution with its mass production changed the equation once and for all. With buying power now in the hands of a significant portion of …

Thoughts I Admire The most obvious truth I see is that all human efforts are for attaining sustained happiness. While this pursuit has taken multiple forms, one of the earliest conscious attempts by our ancestors for achieving enduring happiness is in religious ideas. Each of the major religion has given us valuable ideas in this pursuit. I believe my lack of comprehensive knowledge of religions should not be an excuse for me to not express what I like in each …

The 3 Hs-Head, Heart & Hands, 23 09 2025 Watching TV news or reading the newspaper is my most distressing personal experience. The flood of hatred, cruelty, and violence flows unabated. Voice of sanity is loudly silent. I see many Dr. Jekylls turn into a Hyde at the very mention of religion, or the name of certain political leaders. This occurrence is not limited to India. In fact, it is a global phenomenon with the US leading the way. What …

AI, our Friend, Philosopher & Guide? 22 09 2025 I think the phrase friend, philosopher and guide, is used very liberally without much thought. I for one can only count a handful as such. Hence before I use it, I want to be doubly careful and ensure that it passes certain filters before applying it to my current obsession AI. Can AI be our friend, philosopher and guide? To answer, I take a two-step approach of first defining them and …

Battle of Bulges 21 09 2025 Looks like the struggle to control waistline is not a unique challenge anymore. Along with wealth, waistlines too are growing, and inequality of wealth is literally visible in its twin counterpart, the rapidly growing obesity challenge. In the last decade, global population of obese individuals outstripped the mal-nutritioned, raising serious questions about human sensitivities and sensibilities where one section is challenged to limit their food intake, even as the other section struggles to find …

Pancha Rina 20 09 2025 Maybe because I am an accountant by training that I appreciate the concept of rina, the Sanskrit word for debt or obligation.  No asset can be created without liability, as even the capital contributed by the owners is a residual debt.  In contrast to lenders who have a fixed claim for their loans and interest, owners get the residue. If successful, they get higher than their contribution, and lesser or even lose everything if otherwise. …

Degrees of Poverty As a socialist at heart, the issue of poverty often engages me for I believe our birth is a lottery and in a different world our positions could be reversed. The plight of helpless, deprived poor children is most often the trigger, but etched in my memory is also a phrase from my readings decades ago, ‘pursuit of poverty’ where monks voluntary give-up comforts to live on the bare essentials. Desiring to live in a more equal …

Solving Limited Means, Unlimited Wants Challenge Who is unaware of Bangalore traffic-jams and its growing challenges? I can relate to it with my personal experience of the heavy traffic of needs, wants and desires flooding the narrow roads of my economic means. If Bangalore’s serene weather is to be blamed for the huge population influx, I can blame technology for inciting my innocent mind with raging desires.  Can the different types of properties available to satisfy my personal need provide …

Morality-An Eastern View 17 09 2025 Going though literature on Indian philosophy I came across an interesting concept that has struck to my mind where morality is viewed through the lens of hunger. Hunger is bisected into its two ingredients of being an individual’s need, and requiring immediate satisfaction. These two elements give rise to a potential abuse where hunger is fed ignoring the ecosystem, and the individual’s future needs. This abuse of acting on selfish desire is seen as …

Confronting My PEAKs 16 09 2025 As an average individual, I have sought to infuse excitement in my life by travelling new terrains. In my career spanning four decades, I have ventured out into the corporate, academic, and social sectors, in addition to trying my hand at writing, academics and entrepreneurship. Like a novice mountaineer, I had to evaluate my readiness to conquer each new peak. PEAK the acronym standing for Past performance, Experience for the task on hand, Ability …