Whats in the name ?

Whats in the name you ask? Name is not everything after all. We all have names we dont like. We get along just fine.

Well, you see - unlike your own name which may not be your fault entirely, a firms name is a reflection of your own self, a product of your own creation and your suo-moto calling card. If you want to be scientific about creating a successfully venture, the name is where you need to start.

Great brand names have high economic value. Especially in consumer products business. A short, snappy and easy to recall name will stick longer leading to higher brand valuation.

The question is how do you create that perfect name. Given the rate at which new domain names are being registered you are unlikely to stumble on a simple catchy (existing) word with great recall which is not already registered.

You can employ an expensive naming firms which can create the name and whole branding and logo for you. If you don't haven to have a spare $100k it will be a problem.

Needless to say, I have been grappling with the issue for some time and the need for action is leading to a state of desperation. I do have some ideas, but as it seems none of them are original. It seems some pot luck is essential !

Jump-Start

Call it a reboot, but this blog needs a serious jump start.

Why ? Its because a blog is more than just a platform to rant-ify your views or gaining unwarranted attention. Its about sharing and bringing to life experiences which would go unnoticed if not given a medium to be expressed.

What I did realise in Paris exactly a decade ago is that writing down your experiences and sharing transforms these experiences into a living form of their own. Its like, you can see them, touch them, zoom-in, zoom-out, and get a perspective.

And today, I find myself in a similar position where I would want to get a perspective on the next big project I'm about to embark upon. A risky one at that which would need careful planning, discussions and above all flawless execution. No, its not con act, although there is a fear it may come to that. Its an entrepreneurial project which I shall disclose in due course, .i.e. if you keep reading between the lines.

So here is to a re-boot of Capitalist Musings. May it go forth and fructify !

What it is

It is madness, says reason
It is what it is.. says love

It is unhappiness, says judgement
It is nothing but pain, says fear
It is hopeless, says insight

It is what it is.. says love

It is ridiculous, says pride
It is frivolous, says prudence
It is foolish, says caution
It is impossible, says experience

It is what it is.. says love.

(So says Erich Fried)

This argument between heart and mind reminds me of the "man of science" vs "man of faith" impasse in "Lost". These are the two polar faculities which form the foundation of any living soul. Like two pillars which help wither any storm and keep the castle afloat. A strong faith (without even being overtly religious) gives you a strong backfoot and a backbone. A sharp analytical bend gives you cutting edge to rise above the clatter which is our day-to-day life and grow as human being.

In developing these faculities over time we have to define how we are going to balance these. Overtly faithless or overtly hopeful. What amazes me still is that love is the only thing which fails both.

I guess, it is what it is...

To Die or Not to Sell

People who choose to join military services do so to uphold the honor of their country. They do so with a determination that they will endure the toughest hardships.. and even death.. before they fall in enemy hands. They are trained to face the worst interrogations and ordeals... so that they never compromise their team, country, respect or pride. And those who succeed are paraded in front of appreciating citizenry, honored by their people and prided on. Needless to say, every military personnel is well aware of what he has signed up for. They know the history of their soldiers who have gone down fighting... and there are many who will die fighting - with a smile on their lips… not complaining… not crying.

What royal marines did after being captured in the Iranian waters can only be termed as a royal betrayal by the 15 marines who put themselves above their country and their army. The ease with which they succumbed ─ their (debatable) confessions like a guilty child, enjoying (so called) enemy hospitality as if they were long time allies or family friends, and then crying like pre-teen kids in front of the country's media ─ has deeply hurt many proud Britishers. UK's cash-happy, spice-addicted media tabloids haven’t helped much. They really have made a mockery of what is supposed to be a soldiers' sacrifice - trivializing it as an unwanted professional trauma. It doesn’t stop here …. they are now set to capitalize on this mockery in the name of freedom of information.

I can't really be bothered... but those who have lost their limbs and lives fighting for their country,without blinking their eyes, will feel hurt, betrayed and undistinguished. These marines have set an example... for UK's military will find it hard to list men and women who will be willing to fill in the ranks to sacrifice their lives for country's honor ─ not without compromise, capital or media galore.

God Save the queen!!

PS. Minutes after publishing this post... UK's MoD has announced a ban on military personnel selling their stories to the media. Now thats what I call - the power of blogging !!

'Gandhigiri'

As we continue to battle poverty, illiteracy, corruption, and general absence of planning faculty - we do stop and pay our homage to our erstwhile leaders. Every second day of October, we celebrate a dry-day, dress our kids in Khadi, sing ‘Raghupati’ songs, put garland on bespectacled statues, and debate on their relevance in the current age.

Was Gandhi - A political hero - or a real hero - or just a HR guru ?

Before you take a leap of faith to fight current problems with the new found reverence for ‘Gandhigiri’ - check your vital stats. If the 'Gandhigiri' has to last beyond the current movie fad we will have to go beyond the popular political rhetoric and try to understand Gandhi in his true essence. If you were born in the late seventies or early eighties as I was, you will realize how little was said about how Gandhi felt about the Indian independence struggle, the satyagrah, the britishers, secularism, economy and the congress. All we were made to believe is that Gandhi is our father of the nation, who got independence through nonviolence and civil-disobedience (and it took him 30 long years !!). The questions which nobody wants to answer, which if asked at all can shake the foundation of your beliefs about Gandhi –

1. Did Gandhi get us our independence – or the English just got bored of this irritating country after sucking the life out of it?
2. Was Gandhi really popular amongst the Indians in the late thirties and early forties – when a certain S C Bose won the congress election over a candidate Gandhi had so vociferously advocated, but still decided to leave Congress due to internal politics?
3. How many Gandhi-wadis were there in India on August 15 1947 – How many of them were ministers in the first Indian government?
4. Was Gandhi really secular – if yes, why would he disown a son because he converted to Islam?
5. If Gandhi is renowned world over for peace and nonviolence, why was he not given a Noble Peace prize - after having led a country of 600 million to independence through peaceful civil-disobedience - despite being nominated thrice? (OK... this is just a rhetoric argument, it dosen’t make him any lesser a mortal, but it is a fact, and it points to certain other questions !!)

And then, how is ‘Gandhigiri’ applicable today. Can we embrace –

1. Non-Cooperation: Against a corrupt administration that refuses to recognize its own responsibilities
2. Civil disobedience: Against politicians who have the guts to stand up in elections every five years even if they realize they have done nothing to move the country forward.
3. Self discipline: In our own self to place our country/society first and self/personal-gain later, to respect country’s law, to respect fellow citizens, to try not to break traffic rules, to keep our cities clean – to help create a new India which can be respected by the rest of the world.

Gandhi was a great man, a great guru, and a great leader. He may have been used by certain politicians for there own benefits. But saying that – we need to separate what politicians tell us about Gandhi from the facts and try to embrace what Gandhi would really want us to embrace.

Creative Minds

The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature
born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him... a touch is a blow, a sound
is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a
lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate
organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create -- so that
without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something
of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour
out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really
alive unless he is creating.

-Pearl S. Buck, novelist, Nobel laureate (1892-1973)

Myth 4: Equal opportunity is enough to ensure racial equality

Following the previous post on affirmative actions, an anonymous friend of mine expanded on the Myth 4 to highlight two prominent issues - Equal opportunity and Racial Equality.

He says,

"Quota/reservation introduction is only a political move. As such anything that any political party does is political as it is aimed at winning votes/seats. Few political initiatives are stark, whilst others are not.

As such I would like to ponder on Myth 4: Equal opportunity is enough to ensure racial equality.
In this I think there are two myths.
Myth 4.1: Equal opportunity can be achieved
Myth 4.2: Through equal opportunity racial equality can be achieved.

Mankind has not yet won the battle to disprove myth 4.1 (to achieve equal opportunity). If this battle gets won, can we then win battle to achieve racial equality (4.2) is still conjectural.

I very firmly believe that we can never overcome 4.1. Then the question arises is that to win over 4.2, is 4.1 the best possible way?

I feel that to achieve racial equality, the racial demarcation lines need to be erased. This may even require doing away with the basic tenets of equality for some time. Affirmative action is one such example"

Personally speaking, I see 4.1 as a prerequisite to dispel Myth 4, where Myth 4 in itself is questionable. If the true goal for humanity is to provide “equal opportunity” for all to pursue a life any person wants. Due to historical considerations, this can only be achieved if we achieve racial equality.

To achieve equality and to provide equal opportunity to people from different castes/races, we first need to remove the current deficit/offset that exists between different castes/races. Only then equal opportunity will lead to any form of equality. This “error correction” if possible, will try to undo years of accumulated discrimination, targeting long-term (unknown quantity) benefit of providing a platform for equal opportunity.

Pro-reservation people are supporting heavy reservation for the neglected classes as this error correction in the society. However, there are a few immediate problems with such measures:

1. We need to keep in mind that such a huge adjustment on the division of available resources can lead to substantial fall in quality/quantity of gross domestic productions.
2. We plan to reduce the racial offset by giving more opportunities to those set back in time and reducing opportunities for others
3. While we are correcting our previous errors, our society may just be set back by the time we take to adjust the racial offset. In saying this, I do not mean to undermine talented individuals in the OBC category. However, to be fair, I believe that those who are busy adjusting their offset, will not be able to contribute much to future development.
4. We do not have any planning framework that defines “error correction” as a long-term goal. There is no timeline to mark out a planned/multi-echelon reduction in the racial equality offset.
5. Reservations on their own will not prepare us for the second phase, which is equal opportunity to equal people. We are trying to adjust the racial offset by giving privilege to those affected in the past. However, we are set to further affect an equal number of people. If we do not broaden our primary education base and do not improve its quality, we will never achieve equal opportunity for all.
6. We have not planned to get all sections of the society on board. This only means that in trying to bridge the gap between different sects, we are compromising on the foundation of the same bridge

This brings me back to my initial question.. has the government thought it through.

Affirmative actions

In considering the latest of the series of (political) affirmative actions by the HRD ministry, one has to wonder where is all this leading us. I must say that the depth of the issue baffles me less than the indifference with which the whole issue has been treated by the honorable ministers. Of course, we need to ensure equal opportunity and equality for all in our society. But at the same time, we also need to make sure that the nation’s progress in not affected. I found this very interesting article on affirmative actions, which highlights 7 popular myths about such policy measures:

Myth 1: Affirmative action can involve goals and timetables while avoiding quotas.

Myth 2: Colour-blind policies offer an efficient substitute for colour-sighted affirmative action.

Myth 3: Affirmative action undercuts investment incentives.

Myth 4: Equal opportunity is enough to ensure racial equality.

Myth 5: The earlier in education or career development affirmative action is implemented, the better.

Myth 6: Many non-minority citizens are directly affected by affirmative action.

Myth 7: Affirmative action always helps its beneficiaries.

The crux of the issue perhaps lies in myths 4, 5 and 7.

What does equal opportunity mean... how can we ensure that we provide equal opportunity to all... and then, will it actually lead to equality for all castes and tribes. And above all, what is equality .. is it possible to bind all humans in an agreement proclaiming all fellow humans are equal.

How are we going to ensure that the society is actually making some progress due to these affirmative actions.

Before we embark upon the debate, here and here are two very insightful pro-reservation articles.

Your views invited on the above.