Apr 6
Mar 17
Sindhuja - young example of Indian genius
Here is a girl who isn't following the herd. She is 14 and is already capably handling a CEO role. We hope many students will be inspired by girls like her and also consider becoming employers instead of just aiming to become good employees. Read more about Sindhuja, the 14-year old CEO here: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-03-10/news/28675551_1_animation-film-nasscom-chennai-based-animation
May 22
Don't follow the herd
Two articles, one discussing education and the other sports, caught our attention. Both sum up to the same - don't follow the herd. Many experienced leaders in the corporate world agree with us that too many youngsters are unthinkingly following in the footsteps of their peers and seniors.
In the first article (full news article here): "Students would do well to avoid the ‘herd mentality' and, instead, take up courses they are more suited to," Information Technology Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna said .“Move away from the herd mentality, don't do something just because many others are doing so,' Dr. Poongothai told students." In the second article (Mentoring is the need of the hour) Peter Roebuck writes this about Charles Silue, a 15 year old boy from the Ivory Coast: “Many young African players think about money,” he observed, “But here we're taught to think differently, to be respectful and concentrate on our objective. Football is my passion. The money will follow.” Substitute 'young African players' with 'students' and 'Football' with the passion of our life and we will see words of wisdom applicable to our situation. The idea in both articles is simple. Don't take up a career just because someone told you that you can make a lot of money in it. Do something that you really enjoy doing and you will be happy. After all, aren't you trying to make a lot of money because you want to be happy?
May 22
How to be a better CEO
An interesting and useful open letter on re-thinking about growth and innovation - How to be a better CEO
May 3
Are HR folks universally hated?
We are especially fond of Keith Hammonds' article - "Why We Hate HR" published on 1 August 2005 by Fast Company. He does not mince words when talking about people practicing HR. The contents of the article serve as a very good wake-up call to our HR industry.
Little has changed from 2005 in many places and other people seem to concur.For example, a good article on what ails the HR profession was recently published in The New Manager section of The Hindu Business Line. Titled after Andy Grove's book "Only the paranoid survive", the author, C. Mahalingam, outlines why "A measure of uncertainty can keep the HR professional on his toes." He refers to Hammonds' article and suggests some ways forward, such as 'consider yourself illiterate', 'consider yourself myopic' and 'consider yourself invisible'. The idea is that we need to learn a lot almost as if we know nothing; we should contribute through strategic HRM instead of only technical HRM; and we should network effectively, giving more than taking from the network.Mr. Mahalingam goes on to give more suggestions on how to improve HR performance in his follow-up article - Re-laying the foundation.
May 3
Hard work, not shortcuts
When a great person like Thomas Alva Edison says "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" he knows what he is talking about. We should learn from such people.When you are tired or in an emergency, it might make sense to use shortcuts. However, under normal circumstances, which is usually 99% of the time, do NOT take shortcuts. Companies are not looking for lazy and unorganized people. They want employees who will work hard and are well prepared. If you can complete your work ahead of deadlines, you are well on your way to becoming a valuable resource to any organization or team.
May 3
Great help for students and some of us who procrastinate
Cal Newport, an MIT postdoc, maintains an excellent blog on demystifying sustainable success, called Study Hacks. Whether it is time management or getting great grades in college, his blog has many practical tips to help. He should know; he is a postdoc at MIT who published 2 books while doing his Ph.d. and is completing a third book. These tips are useful outside of college life also. We learn from him and believe you will also find it quite useful.
