How to be Successful like Westerners are?

By covering oneself with the skin of a Tiger, one can't be a Tiger...!

Nor one can be capable by wearing what capable ones wear!



Yesterday, I met Vedprakash (Yes, the one from the blog, How to be a "Successful" Software Programmer?).

After reading my blog, My India's "Great"!!!, he was too inspired by how successful the westerners are and wanted to be one like them...!

Following is my discussion with him...!



"Manoj, I really loved your blog, My India's "Great"!!!, and have decided to be as successful and great, as the westerners are...!", Vedprakash shared, excitedly!

"How?", I inquired.

"I do have a plan...! Don't forget, I'm a Project-Manager, by profession...!

"Let me tell you, all the aspects of the plan, one by one. Please feel free to ask queries, if you have any!"

"Sure!"

"First of all, I am going to start wearing Suits (With Jacket and all...!)...!"

"But, isn't India too hot to wear Suits?"

"Yes, it is..., but then, I'll ensure I'll visit only those places which are Air-Conditioned, so that I don't get baked in my Suit!

"Anyways, I do have an AC Car and an AC office, to start with...!"

"But why NOT use what suits us more?"

"You are forgetting that I'm trying to be as great as Westerners are...!"

"Hmmm...., sorry!"

"I'm going to use English as the only language of communication...!

"I'm also going to put my kids in English School of a kind, where they would be fined to speak any other language, especially the mother-tongue!"

"But why English, why not Hindi, or I'd say, your mother-tongue?

"It has been proven multiple times that education in mother-tongue is most effective for the lifetime! 

"I, myself, have got educated in my mother-tongue! 

"I don't think Dhirubhai Ambani could speak good English...! I strongly doubt, Dr. Abdul Kalam, our one of the greatest scientists and former president of India might have got educated in English! (Education until Class-10)

"I guess, very few, the first-generation successful people in India were educated in English or non-mother-tongue! And of course, in Indian Culture, the second and next generations, don't need to be educated at all..., anyways, they are going to inherit the reigns of their father's company, so getting educated is more a fad if not the formality, to keep high-profile employees under tab!"

"Are you forgetting that I'm trying to be as great as Westerners are?", he was clearly annoyed!

"But they too don't use English as their preferred language of communication or education...!"

"Are you crazy?", he lost his patience, "If not English, then which language do they use? Hebrew?"

"Hey, Vedprakash, calm down!", I tried to calm him down!

"Don't get so excited...! They do NOT use English as their preferred language of communication &/or education because, it's 'English'!

"They use their 'Mother-Tongue' to communicate and educate, and NOT merely, 'English', because, it's 'English'!

"And for that matter, only English-Speaking nations like US and England don't constitute the complete, 'West', you are trying to imitate..., there are so many communities/nations, which constitutes the 'West'...!

"And I guess, rather than West, you are more concerned about 'Developed' countries..., which are NOT limited only to the West, anyways...! Let me give you a few examples of most advanced and developed countries, which use their mother-tongue as the preferred language of communication &/or education...,

"Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, China, Russia..., are just a few examples...!

"For that matter, a considerable community in US too speaks Spanish and Canada too has two primary languages of communication, French and English!"

"May be, but because of English only we are doing all the business in IT, aren't we...?", he stated with the winning attitude!

"Yes, very much!...

"But, then, if you depend so much on others for your economy, then you have no choice...; dependants never have a choice...!"

"Anyways, I'm going to ask my wife and daughter too to wear the western outfits, flaunting their bodies and curves as much as, legally, they can...!", he changed the topic!

("Trying to dare men to rape, or at least molest?" was my natural response..., but then I knew, the women-organizations all over the world will kill me, if I say so, so with God's grace, I could change my response to a more moderate one...)

"But, it's not our culture, Vedprakash, is it?", I tried to push!

He chose to put me down just by the gesture, to the effect of, "Where have you come from...? (ये येड़ा कहाँ से आया रे?)

"You can't show that you earn more unless your wife wears less!"

I was simply amused by this newly faced philosophy!



"So, you'll be visiting the malls in the Suit?", now it was my turn to change the topic!

"No!"

"Oh, then shirt and trousers, or may be Jeans and a T-shirt?"

"No, in Bermuda and a sleeveless T-Shirt!" (I knew, it was without even shaving armpits..., I had to bear that look many times with many people who forced themselves like this!)

"But they do have AC, I don't think, you'll need to remove your trousers to visit a mall...!", I couldn't resist pinching him!

He looked at me upside down and with apparent struggle to keep the calm, he said, "When you wear wrong dress-code at wrong places, they know that you must be somebody Great!"

Again, it was a new philosophy, for me!



He continued, "I'm also going to have a night-life like they have!"

"How does it relate to becoming 'Great' or 'Successful'?", I asked genuinely!

"You know, they work hard and party hard...! So, I'm going to start with Partying hard...!"

"Hmmm...", I murmured, with no other response coming handy!

"We are also going to have two dogs as pets...!"

"Why?"

"Because, they have!"

"But they have pets, because, they don't get to talk to humans, much, for multiple reasons, apart from sparse population!

"Here we don't have this problem...! For that matter, avoiding crowd is more a problem for us!

"And also, we don't have enough food even for humans to start feeding the pets!"

"Yes, but that's the idea! This is how and why people know that you are rich, because, they know that you spend more on your dogs than your servants!"



I was starting to get irritated by this time!

"How about the commitment and dedication they have towards work? 

"How about Innovation? 

"Processes and strict adherence to it? 

"How about they achieving much more in 8 hours than our daily 12-hours needed to impress the stupid boss, who can count only your hours and not the productivity?

"How about doing social-work? Making it legally mandatory for many purposes to have volunteered at least a few hours, as mandated?

"How about the respect for the fellow human being, just because they are human, without considering their profession, designation or the income?

"How about being law and process abiding citizens?

"How about long-term strategic plans, solutions and their enforcement?

"How about being upfront and straight-forward, rather than resorting to dirty politics?

"..."

He stopped me suddenly, saying, "Sorry, Manoj, I'd need to leave, today's my first date with a new girlfriend...!"

This married man in his forties with teenage kids, had found "This" way of becoming Great and Successful...!

I kept looking at him leaving, first and then the direction of his leaving..., don't know for how long...!

My India's "Great"!!!

I always had been thinking that India's great! But, my son opened my eyes wide...!

How? Please read on...!


Rajiv Gandhi, the late prime minister of India had first introduced this thought, "मेरा भारत महान" (My India's Great), to make citizens of India start feeling proud about India and being Indian!

On recent independence day, 15th of Aug, last month, I also was feeling inspired to pass this thought on to my kids...!

So following is the conversation with my son, on 15th Aug, 2014!

"Son, our India's really very great!", I started the conversation with my son!

"How, Dad?", he asked, innocently!

Oops, I had never expected this...! I was caught by surprise! I had thought, I'll say and he'll agree...! 

But, I had forgotten that he's my son, very much like me...; he won't agree to anything just because somebody in authority or whom he respects, says it...! He won't accept anything without any reasoning or the rationale behind it!

"Because, we have been and are one of the most powerful nations!", I fumbled, trying to make up with the situation!


"Then, Papa, why everybody ruled us?

Everybody in the world, including but not limited to the barbarian gangs, had ruled us...!

As such, bluntly stated, everybody, who bothered to rule India, could...!"


"Hmmm..., but look, we've got a great religion, in the world!"


"Which religion?

"The one, which divides the people in Castes?

"The one, which dictates that some group of people are superior to others, just because they've born in different caste?

"Which compels some group of people to do all the dirty work for others, just because they've born in different caste?"


"But look at our culture!"


"Which Culture, are you talking about..., Dad?

"We say, "अतिथि देवो भव" (Guests are like Gods), but we cheat, we rob, we rape our guests, who visit India, listening to the false stories of our so-called culture...!

"Are we talking about our culture of our women (apart from men) going in open space, instead of non-existing toilets?

"Are we talking about Spitting in public with no regrets?

"Are we talking about aggressive and senseless driving from wrong side without feeling ashamed?

"Are we talking about killing female-fetus, or are we talking about 4-brothers marrying to the same woman, who had been bought from some different state; as in their state they had killed maximum female-fetuses...?

"Are we talking about Corruption being the way of our life?"


"Son, actually, the corruption is the recent happening, we haven't been corrupt, all the times...!"


"Really, Dad? Are you sure?

"Have you forgotten the history that since the time we know, we had to pay the bribe to the Doorkeepers of the Kings, in money or kind, to get entry to the King's office? Nobody, including kings had ever bothered this...!"


"But son, look at the inventions we've made!"


"Which inventions, Dad?

"Everything that I see around had been invented in the West...! Leave alone inventing, we, even can't use that well, what already had been invented...!

"Did we invent Aeroplane? A Computer? Ok, Phone? A car? Ship? Gun? Train?

"Dad, we haven't even invented the Pen!"


"But look at the business, we do!"


"Which business? The one that's based completely on unethical ways, since beginning, and still?

"The one of mixing stones in the wheat?

"The one of finding smaller suppliers and NOT paying them outstanding unless they supply next batch? This is how using suppliers money? Forfeiting their money, if they don't supply, any further?

"The one of burning your own factories with dummy goods and claiming the insurance?

"The one of taking loans from smaller banks and recommending to shut those banks?

"The one of robbing your customers, vendors, Government and everybody else?"


"But we are One-India among all the diversities!", I tried to play my last card!


"Are we?

"We are either Hindu (Anyways, I still need to see any Hindu, because who I see are either Brahmans, Kshatriya or so on..., I haven't seen a Hindu for long..., but let it be a separate topic. And still, I'm not considering Sikh, Jain and so on...!), Muslim or Christian...

"We are either Punjabi, Gujarati, Marwadi or Tamili...

"We are either Rich or Poor or the 'Middle-Class'!

"Lokmanya Tilak had started Ganesha-Festival to unite all Hindu-Indians against British-rule, but we are using it to divide people into multiple groups, by celebrating 3 different Ganesh-Festivals on the same street or the same society...!

"Leave it alone, Dad, let's not talk about it...! If people on one street or one society can't come together..., Dad, just keep dreaming of One-India!"


He concluded..., "Dad, India's NOT great, it never had been...! But Acceptance is the First step towards improvement...! 

"If we keep saying, blindly, that 'My India's Great', we never are going to be great...!

"Let's accept, we are NOT..., but we will be, one day..., by our efforts and hard-work!"

I was completely stunned by this eye-opener by my own Son...!

Why Intellectuals Fail?

Do brilliant people achieve at par with their potential?
Does their intellectual and analytic power help them move forward or holds them back?


Long Back, I had heard of a study...

There was a study to see how an academic performance and the career are inter-related. The results were like following for the group of students, in a Class-12:

1. Distinction:
1. Students who passed with Distinction were, of course, brilliant ones! They had become Engineers.
2. First Class:
1. Students who had passed with First class couldn't get admissions to Engineering so they did graduation and MBA after graduation.
2. They were working as the bosses of the Engineers.
3. Second Class:
1. These people weren't as brilliant, so they settled for mid-level profiles, after graduation.

What happened with those, who had failed?

Hmmm..., what do you think, who's companies, all these Distinction, First-Class and Second-Class people were working...?

(For those, who need explicit mention..., yes, the ones who had failed in 12th were owning the companies, others were working for!)

Can this really happen? How can Brilliant Intellectuals end up working for not so brilliant, non-educated people?

Let's go through the following story to understand!

There were two classmates, Popatlal and Vijay.

Popatlal failed in 12th. He had no hopes for passing it, by re-attempting, so he left the school. 

He started working as a supervisor on a construction site, to supervise laborers.

Vijay passed with Distinction in 12th. He could get admission to Engineering College. He passed Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering and then, Masters of Engineering in Structural Engineering.

After 12th, Vijay spent 6 years to become ME and then worked in a job to get some experience for 4 years.

After failing in 12th, Popatlal worked in construction for 10 years, by now.

Vijay decided to start his business, having got enough experience..., so did Popatlal.

Both of them got a first assignment, which they finished over a period of a year.

Both of them had invested ₹600,000/- (INR Six Lac or Six Hundred Thousand) and had earned a total profit of ₹300,000/- (INR Three Hundred Thousand).

Popatlal was dumb (not brilliant), so he thought, good, he has made ₹300,000/- in a year, by being in his own business, while he could have made just ₹180,000/- in a year, in a job of ₹15,000/- per month!

Vijay was brilliant! He immediately assessed the situation and understood that he used to make ₹480,000/- in the job, at ₹40,000/- per month, and now he ended up making 62.5% less than the Salary!

Incidentally, Vijay's wife too was an educated and brilliant woman! She rightly pointed out that still they were not considering the Interest on the Investment of ₹600,000/-! Which would add further to the losses!

So they declared this endeavor as a loss-making and decided to go back to the job!

Popatlal was happy for his profit-making endeavor and decided to continue in the business!

I couldn't get in touch with them for next 5-odd years...! One day suddenly, I met Vijay! While talking, I understood their current statuses...

Popatlal had continued in business and had become one of the top builders in the town, earning around ₹200,000,000/- (INR Two Hundred Million) per month, while Vijay was working in Popatlal's company at ₹200,000/- (INR Two Hundred Thousand) per month!

Papa, what do I become? An Army General or a Shopkeeper?

"Papa, what do I become, an Army chief or a Shopkeeper?", my son was asking me! I kept wondering, how do they compare??? Of course, an Army Chief! 

Really???


There was an Army General, General Virendra. Let's call him just "Virendra" for simplicity, with all due respect to him.

There was a shopkeeper across the corner, Popatlal!

Both were of the same age.

Now below is their story, quite interesting...!

General Virendra:

Virendra was a very disciplined and courageous general. The neighborhood countries and their military used to get frightened by his Courage, Strategy and the Decision Making ability!

He was earning a salary of ₹100,000/- (INR One Hundred Thousand). After Tax, he used to get around ₹75,000/- in hands.

He had one daughter and had the education in humble institutions, in India, as he could not afford high-fees of top institutions, leave alone thinking of sending her abroad for the education.

Popatlal:

He was a very shrewd, typical Indian businessman! He was earning ₹75,000/- per month. Of course, he wasn't paying any taxes, except the minimal ones, where utmost necessary!

He had two sons. People say, he had aborted 3 girl-fetuses, I'm not sure, though! Both the sons were studying in the top institutions, as he managed to get some scholarships from Government Schemes, as on-paper his income was quite low.

He also had some fees-discounts, as the colleges were from his own community, for the community-children!

Afterwards, he had sent his sons abroad for management education. Of course, they did not get admission by merit, so Popatlal had to sponsor their education and it got through!

The Story:

Once, there was a war! Of course, the normal life was quite disturbed for everybody! It was the period of chaos for more than a month!

Virendra was busy strategizing and fighting the war.

Popatlal stocked all the food and related utmost-necessary goods, at the beginning of the probability of the war itself!

In that one month period, he sold all those goods at exorbitant prices, becoming a super-rich, in a month's time!

Then, he started factories and invested in many other companies! Soon, in next 5 years, he became one of the richest person in the town!

With all the black-money in the hand, he built his influence soon in the area! Then got in touch with politicians too! Then he started Real-Estate business with the Politicians, further fast-multiplying money by all legal and illegal acquisitions of others' lands and all!

So, how come Virendra and Popatlal got into a single story?

Virendra's daughter, after doing Engineering and MBA, was looking out for a job. She happened to know about this big, "Group of Companies", owned by Popatlal's sons!

Then she got a humble job of a Junior Manager in the company of Popatlal's one son, at ₹25,000/- per month. While the Popatlal's son was the owner of that company earning ₹250,000,000/- (INR 25 Crores or Two Hundred Fifty Million) per month!

After retirement, Virendra was struggling to get a flat in a better locality, as his current locality had become more like a slum, but he couldn't afford it!

Popatlal had his own Bungalow in one of the richest areas in Mumbai, with his own Swimming pool, Driveway and all!

Enemy-Military was getting scared by Virendra, while he was a General, but now Virendra is getting scared of the local goons, being sent by Popatlal to evacuate his flat! Popatlal wants to build a mall there!


Suddenly my son had shaken me and said, "Papa, I'm asking you, now, 10th time..., so what do I become, when I grow up...? An Army General or a Shopkeeper...?"

I am not sure what should I tell him! If anybody of you knows the answer, pl. help me to answer my son! Eagerly waiting for your replies!



DISCLAIMER:

This is a completely FICTITIOUS and IMAGINARY story, created by me with NO RELATION TO ANYBODY LIVING OR DEAD.
This story has NOTHING TO DO with Respected Indian Army, his highness Current and Retired Generals or whoever from the most respected organization.
This is a creation of imagination and artistic presentation of the story. This is a FICTION.
Any correlation found is a mere coincidence. 

Popatlal also does NOT represent any SPECIFIC COMMUNITY or ETHNIC GROUP. It's a mere representation of a selfish businessman, for whom money is more important than the nation, humanity or the ethics.

Who am I? God or Satan???

Is God really a God or is it a Satan, who took control of the humans through its agents? 

Giving extra-ordinary power to its agents too and making humans their slaves, systematically!


Let me give you a riddle to solve!!!

Following is the description about me..., and you need to find out from that description, who am I?

Ok, let's start...

I created human beings and laid down following rules for them:

1. They should pray and respect me, 3 times a day, or 2 times a week or at least once a month..., otherwise, I will punish them like they can never imagine...!
1. Their work and other priorities don't matter to me, at all!
2. I have created the humans with the sole purpose of getting respected every now and then, as per the strict rules laid down by me.
2. Whoever doesn't respect me, need to be killed by my followers.
3. Their sole reason of existence is to keep respecting me and eradicating whoever doesn't!
4. I ensure that the most people in the world are killed by my name, by my followers.
5. I have ensured that different communities of people see me differently, perceive me differently and keep fighting for those differences among themselves!
6. I have laid down different rules for different communities so that they should keep hating each other for all those differences!
1. I made these differences Extreme, at times, between certain communities!

I created all the animals and set following rules for them:

1. They need to eat each other for survival.
2. The hunting for eating and the process of eating should be as horrible and traumatic, as is possible.
1. Most of the times the animals are being eaten, while they are still alive!
3. They can't control or halt their reproduction to avoid this traumatic end for their children!
1. They need to keep giving birth to their kids so that they can be eaten by others!
2. Actually, I've hard-wired it in such a manner that they'll do anything to try to give birth to their children!
4. I ensured that just the survival is the whole & sole reason of their life and existence, with no control over living, dying or reproduction!
1. I'm trying to make such rules for Humans too, so that they too shouldn't be able to escape all this horror of life, by putting down some rules.

What I could do, but chose NOT to do:

1. There's One & only One perception about me, so that at least regarding me, there are no differences, hence no killings among humans!
2. There's only one set of rules for all the humans.
3. There are no racial differences between different communities in their look and feel, so that they can physically perceive all of them to be same and one!
4. All of them speak only one language, to remove that difference too!
5. Animals don't need to eat other animals to survive...!
   
   But rather the algorithm of their reproduction is such that without eating each other, the natural balance is maintained at all the times!

But then, I chose NOT to do it! It would have taken away all the excitement of the life with no horror and no trauma!!!

So, who am I?

Devil??? NO!!! I'm GOD, the Almighty God!!!

Recently I had a following discussion with one of my most (extreme?) religious collegue...!

I asked, "Why don't you listen to your father?"

"Generation Gap!!! He's born at least 20 years ago..., so the things of his time, no more make any sense, now!!!", he replied!

"Then what about Grandfather....?"

"Oh, he's a cave-man, comparatively..., knowing the fast pace of life, having born 40 or more years earlier!"

"Ok, so you'll listen to the ones who are born thousands of years ago?"

"You mean the primitive humans? 

"You are not talking about monkeys, are you?"

"No, I'm talking about the agents of God, who has set all these rules and differences for the God!!!"

Why eBooks are Better?

Having been using physical, paper-books for many years, since childhood, eBook is definitely NOT a default choice for many!

Does it need to be changed? Why?


Why eBooks are better than a physical, paper book?

Actually there are many reasons why eBooks are better than a physical, paper book, but let me enlist a few:

eBooks have following advantages:

1. Searchable text.
1. Book-Index, most of the times, is not at all any closer to this text/phrase search in efficiency and effectiveness.
2. Can highlight text, without making the book dirty, or unreadable for others (or oneself, most of the times!).
1. You can hide/delete highlights, on demand.
3. Can add comments and Annotations, without again making the book dirty or unreadable.
4. Can browse through only annotations, if needed.
5. Bookmarking is easy, with multiple bookmarks!
6. Embedded Dictionary helps you get the meaning of unknown word, instantly, with no efforts!
1. Definitely this increases the Word-Power, as typically, we are reluctant to find a meaning of a word, from a physical book, in a dictionary.
2. On eBooks, you just select the word and it will tell you the meaning!
7. For most of the eBooks-Readers, you can ask the eBook-Reader to read the book for you, while you are relaxing, exercising or driving!
8. Font-Size (and the Fonts themselves, at times!) can be changed to suit you the best.
9. Back-light can be controlled to suit you the best.
10. Background and foreground colors too can be set to suit you the best.
11. eBook-Readers come in different dimensions and weights. You can choose what suits you best.
1. You can't select the dimensions or the weight of the physical books.
12. More often than not eBook-Readers (including phones as eBook-Readers) are much lighter and easier to hold for a long time, than the physical books.
13. With back-lit readers (like phones), you can sit/sleep in any angle/posture and read, while for physical books you need to adjust according to the ambient light-source. 
14. Can be delivered instantly, over the globe with no wait or lead-time like in the delivery of a physical book.
1. This wait is substantial, in case of ordering physical books from abroad.
15. Most of the times, eBooks are far more cheaper compared to their physical counterparts.
1. Obvious reason being, reproduction cost for eBook is far less than the physical book.
16. The whole library can be carried everywhere on your electronic eBook Reader, without any hassles!
17. Can be read on multiple devices, including but not limited to:
1. Desktop Computer
2. Laptop
3. Tablet
4. Phone
5. Dedicated eBook Reader like Amazon's Kindle.
18. Amazon's WhisperSync or DropBox like cloud-disk-sync services can keep your books in sync, all the time, along with the current reading-location, annotations and all, in sync.
19. Reading on the phone is the most suitable means, as,
1. Anyways, you carry phone everywhere, so automatically carry your books along!
2. Whenever there's some wait-time, you can take your phone out and start reading where you had left out on your laptop (or any other medium)!
3. I have read many books like these, in such non-productive time-valleys!
20. eBooks don't turn yellow, by aging, after a few years!
21. Mites and Bugs don't like the taste of your eBooks, so they don't touch your eBooks!
22. Handling the book doesn't wear or tear it out!
23. No stacking/storage space needed!
1. No Bookracks, Bookcases, heavy cabinets..., just nothing!
24. Easy preservation with multiple backups.
25. For the ones who prefer book-like experience, with no back-light and all, Amazon Kindle like dedicated eBook-Readers come to the rescue! It's without any back-light, with e-Ink Technology, which makes you feel like you are holding a physical book!

Additional Advantages:

1. Saves Paper, hence the trees! Greener planet!
2. Reduces reproduction costs, hence more profits for the Authors, promoting them to write further more, better stuff!

Why one should purchase from Malls?

Why should one purchase from Mall?

"How does it matter?", you might ask...! Read on..., to know!


One might feel, "We already know! What else you might talk about?"

Then, there's a definite surprise for you! You might not have thought of all these points, before!

There are following reasons, why one should purchase from Malls, rather than the individually owned-shops!

Obvious Reasons:

1. Parking Space
2. Air-Conditioned space
3. Still, discounts, on the top of it!

Other Reasons:

1. You can pay by Card with no additional transaction fees.
1. You can use your Credit-Cards wisely to enjoy fullest credit-period!
2. As an additional benefit, you or the cashier don't need to struggle for the change!
3. So, you don't need to pay, even a Paisa more! If it's 31 Paisa, you pay 31 Paisa, and not even 32 Paisa!
   
   Though, some Mall-Chains round it off to next 50 Paisa or Rupee! Needless to say, they have come from this Shop-Keeping background and haven't grown up to the corporate culture still! The way of doing business, for them, is stealing money from the customer by multiple ways, this being just one of them!
4. Typically, shop-keepers either don't accept cards, or charge you transaction-fees.
2. All transactions are in white, so all Tax does get paid to the Government, which in turn is beneficial to you only, rather than it becoming a Black-Money sitting at the shop-owners house, being used for all wrong purposes!
3. All staff is professionally-recruited staff, so is quite courteous and helpful, while in shops the sales-people are more often relatives of the shop-owner, having all the arrogance of the shop-owner.
4. Staff has all minimum privileges, facilities and wages, mandated by the laws, including working-hours; while at shops, more often the staff is like a bonded-labor, working at minimal wages (far below minimum-wages mandated by law) for extended hours, without any holidays! This is nothing else than the exploitation of poor and needy. (When America tries to mandate against this exploitation and unfair trade-practices, we feel it's too unreasonable...!!! Anyways, that'd be a part of some another blog, some other time!)
5. Prices are transparent and labeled on the goods, while in shops the prices are decided at the mercy of the shop-keeper, depending upon the customer!
1. So, more often than not, one ends up paying more than the market price.
6. You can check and compare 100 items, and may walk out without buying even a single item, and nobody will ask you anything!
   
   While in the shops, you don't have liberty to check multiple items and compare their prices! If you check two items, before you can ask for third one to compare &/or check the rude shop-keeper will say, "Tell me beforehand what you want, don't ask me to take out multiple items from the shelf!"
1. Salespeople in the shops are also very pushy and arrogant and try to manipulate your purchase decision.
2. So, more often than not one feels being robbed, after having purchased from the shops, as many purchase decisions were hastened and manipulated by the salespersons.
7. Transparent and Customer-Friendly "Goods Exchange &/or Return Policy", while for the shops, it all depends upon the mood of the shop-owner at that point of time!
8. Malls are fully equipped with provisions to prevent &/or handle fire and such other calamities, while the shops' don't have any such provision!

Last but not the least, more often than not, you won't get to see the arrogant face of the Shop-Owner!!!

How to be a "Successful" Software Programmer?

Why Corporate-Growth is NOT directly related to the skills one have? Then what does it depend upon? How? 

Is everybody losing, in this game, including the people and the corporations?


Yesterday, I met one Vedprakash, Software Delivery Manager, in one reputed IT MNC.

I still remember our talk some 8-odd years before...

Flashback...>>>

One Vedprakash wanted to make a career in IT, so he inquired me how to make a career in IT?

I was happy knowing that he wants to make a career in my field! I asked him, "Are you a computer engineer?"

"No, I'm a Commerce graduate", he said.

"So, why are you interested in making a career in IT?", I inquired.

"I heard they earn a lot in IT because of $ and ₹ difference and also one gets to go to America, in IT!", he said.

I was shocked to hear this! Nonetheless his commerce background started showing itself with this $/₹ mention.

I guessed, knowing his commerce background, "So are you willing to make a career in accounting, in IT?"

"No!!! Programming!", he said.

"Do you know programming?"

"Is programming needed to be a programmer? Don't they teach you how to program, after you join?"

I was about to fall, barely saved myself from falling. Just not to end the discussion abruptly, I inquired, "So are you interested in programming the applications?"

"No, I don't know programming and don't have any specific interest in it either, but seeing the opportunities in it, want to make a career in it", he said.

"Oh!" was the only thing I could say!

<<<...Flashback

Coming out of the flashback..., I asked him, "So, how did you make a career in IT and grew so fast, like this?"

What he said, really amazed me! Following is the summary of what he had said. 

"I arranged some education certificates and experience certificates and got a starting job in a company! ("Jugaad" is the specific, Indian word for such "Arrangements")."

"That's fine, but what about programming? How did you manage it?"

"Google and the colleagues helped me with initial days of programming. A sweet tongue can make people do anything for you!"

"But then how did you grow?"

"One simple principle! Never say, "No", "Can't" or such things to your boss! However unreasonable and unfeasible the expectations might be, just keep saying, "Yes Sir/Madam", "I'll do it!" and so on! You saying yes, all the time, while other stupid guys worrying the outcome and trying to be realistic and so on, makes you stand out and make you boss' favorite!

"At the end it's boss, who helps you grow!"

"But what, when you can't deliver? Because, saying Yes is easy, but delivering it is difficult if not impossible, in situations!"

"You can always come up with the reasoning and the excuses at that time about why you couldn't do it, in spite of your best efforts!"

"But isn't it unprofessional to come up with the risks and the problems, if not excuses, at the time of delivery, rather the deliverable itself? Isn't it what is expected of a professional or an Engineer, to predict the problems and risks beforehand, before you even start the project/task? Doesn't your manager realize this?"

"First thing, you are forgetting that I'm not an Engineer...! So, let the Engineers predict the negative outcome &/or the infeasibility and piss off the boss by telling this, where the boss thinks about these Engineers like, 'These Techies with Negative attitude, come up with hundred problems, before they start working on anything! This is why these stupid guys are where they are! See, how, I had grown, much faster than them!'

"While those managers appreciate, Go-Getters like me, who never say "No"!"

"Hmmm, I see...!"

"But isn't it appeasing your boss, at the cost of interests of your Project, your Company and most importantly, your Customer? Isn't it betrayal towards your company and the customer?"

"Yeah, that would be, if they could realize! But who do they take a report about my performance from? From the Project, the Company, the Customer or from my Boss? So, whom should I satisfy?"

"Hmmm...!"

"But what, when the Project can't be delivered like this and it fails, at the end, when the rubber hits the road?"

"Who stays in the same company for that long? As soon as the project finishes major phase of development, and makes its presence on my CV, before the rubber hits the road, I switch the job, with 40% or more raise in the next job, with this additional project on my CV!

"And once you start earning more, every next company that employs you think, you are 'Worth' that extra, and you still keep making extra, with every other company!

"Nobody has the time, skill or the priority to evaluate you individually! They try to base their judgments on the others' judgments! Thus, once you make it into a big company with a big brand, getting other jobs become quite easy for you, as every other interviewer thinks, if s/he had been selected by that big organization, then, s/he must be worth the selection, and so on!

And this way, the interviewer's risk also is reduced, as they can always claim, they had selected the 'Best of the Best' (having worked in a big company), so s/he turning out a wrong selection, doesn't make it the interviewer's fault!

For selecting a person from a small company, this would be the risk for the interviewer, if the selection goes wrong!

So, who would take risk, and why, when the companies don't appreciate such risk-takers and frame them in favoritism or other charges for such bold decisions!"

"Hmmm....! So wise of you!"

"But how long, can one keep switching jobs like this? One day one would need to settle down somewhere, won't they? Some day or the other, one will need to deliver, wont' they?"

"Hmmm, I understand where you are coming from...! I also had a situation like this, when I wanted to stop switching and settle somewhere, for a longer duration...!"

"So, what did you do?"

"Easy..., I became a manager!"

I was completely stunned, and don't really recollect, if we had any discussion after this or what!

(But, I will talk with him about his success in the role of a "Manager" too, and will definitely post that too, here, as a part-II of this blog!)

Sky Technology, made in India!!!

What did I learn from Japanese? How can it help you too?


This is the experience I got with one of my Japanese clients!

He was a Managing Director (MD) of a company, in India. I was working with that company and was fortunate enough to work closely with him. 

Once, we were having a round-table meeting to discuss the manufacturing status and the challenges, thereof...! He was asking for different figures and statuses to the managers of the respective departments and they were sharing the figures...!

Suddenly, the Japanese MD told us..., "You know what, Indians have a technology, Japanese don't have..., and probably won't ever have!"

We were surprised and were more than curious to know what it is!

Somebody excitedly asked, "May we know, what is it?"

He said, "Sky Technology!!!"

"You mean, space-science?", somebody murmured!

"No!", he said, "Sky Technology!!! It's not Space, Satellites or Rocket Technology!"

"Really!?!!??", somebody exclaimed! "What is it?", he inquired further.

"This is the unique skills you people have got, what we don't have!", he said.

"What's that?", somebody couldn't let him finish!

He continued..., "The unique skill to look at the sky and get the figures!

"In Japan, when we ask for some data, our people look into files, papers or the screens and referring those media, tell me the figures.

"But, what I see here is, most of the people look at the sky, typically at one of the top-corners of the room, and tell me the figures!

"I keep wondering, how come you get your data, by looking at the sky, while we need to refer for it!

"This is what I term as a 'Sky Technology', invented by you, made in India!"

It created a pin-drop silence...! Nobody spoke for next couple of minutes...!

Then, he broke the silence, guiding, "Don't Guess what has to be Referred!

"Nobody's asking you to mug up the things...! 

"Citing them accurately is more important, than telling them instantly (at the cost of accuracy)!"

No wonder, our enterprises are more focused on the Quantity, than the Quality; rather at the cost of the quality!