Which benchmark?
I do not write much about the topic i am writing about. This may not make a 'Wren and Martin' grammatical sense. But it is as 'present' as the moment between exhale and subsequent inhale of breath. Who are you. The quality of your life is your conversation with yourself (or may be with a mirror). If it is sounding direct and giving direction to what is outlined here, you can be beware of what may be incidental. The writer does not have to be a philosopher to write something sober or arrogant. He writes in one blank state of mind on a blank slate.The primary motive is selfish for sure. But to what end. It is the purpose which defines us and paints two selfish men in different colors. If collection has to be done, thoughts must be collected. For they alone, are worth collecting.
I must be very careful not to miss chances life offers. I must pick all the pollens while sitting on the string, pulsating in harmony with the rhythm of life. I see the photographs of the two hundred years old Scottish distilleries and inculcate their distillation finesse. Others may tell me that I miss a lot. But like them, i have my own limitations. In my case, i am sitting on the string and like to pulsate, drift for a while. But i try not to miss pollens. I throw the lumber like some Jerome K. Jerome. I sing like the solitary reaper, i open the door of every new day like the boy of 'Someone'. I also know of a coal miner who sometimes digs deep.There is no hurry. The coal miner returns unbothered by the coal. He relishes the food at the end of his day. Where are you sitting. What are you collecting. There are lot of ways to make honey.
I must be very careful not to miss chances life offers. I must pick all the pollens while sitting on the string, pulsating in harmony with the rhythm of life. I see the photographs of the two hundred years old Scottish distilleries and inculcate their distillation finesse. Others may tell me that I miss a lot. But like them, i have my own limitations. In my case, i am sitting on the string and like to pulsate, drift for a while. But i try not to miss pollens. I throw the lumber like some Jerome K. Jerome. I sing like the solitary reaper, i open the door of every new day like the boy of 'Someone'. I also know of a coal miner who sometimes digs deep.There is no hurry. The coal miner returns unbothered by the coal. He relishes the food at the end of his day. Where are you sitting. What are you collecting. There are lot of ways to make honey.
one for the blog..
Old article by Vir Sanghvi,
Most modern Indian cities strive to rise above
ethnicity.Tell anybody who lives in Bombay that he lives in a Maharashtrian
city and (unless of course, you are speaking to Bal Thackeray) he
will take immediate offence.We are cosmopolitan, he will say indigenously. Tell
a Delhiwalla that his is a Punjabi city (which, in many ways, it
is) and he will respond with much self-righteous nonsense about being the
nation's capital, about the international composition of the city's
elite etc. And tell a Bangalorean that he lives in a Kannadiga city
and you'll get lots of techno-gaff about the internet revolution
and about how Bangalore is even more cosmopolitan than Bombay.But, the only way
to understand what Calcutta is about is recognize that the city is
essentially Bengali. What's more, no Bengali minds you saying that.
Rather, he is proud of the fact. Calcutta's strengths and
weaknesses mirror those of the Bengali character. It has the
drawbacks: the sudden passions, the cheerful chaos, the utter
contempt for mere commerce, the fiery response to the smallest
provocation.And it has the strengths (actually, I think of the
drawbacks as strengths in their own way). Calcutta embodies the
Bengali love of culture; the triumph of intellectualism over greed;
the complete transparency of all emotions,the disdain with which hypocrisy and
insincerity are treated;the warmth of genuine humanity; and the supremacy of
emotion over all other aspects of human existence.That's why
Calcutta is not for everyone. You want your cities clean and green; stick to
BANGLORE. You want your cities, rich and impersonal; go to Bombay. You want
them high-tech ;hydrabad is your place. But if you want a city with a soul:come
to Calcutta.When I look back on the years I've spent in Calcutta.I don't
remember the things that people remember about cities. When I think
of London, I think of the vast open spaces of Hyde Park. When I
think of New York, I think of the frenzy of Times Square. When I
think of Tokyo, I think of the bright lights of Shinjiku. And when
I think of Paris, I think of the Champs Elysee. But when
I think of Calcutta, I never think of any one place. I
don't focus on the greenery of the maidan, the beauty of the
Victoria Memorial, the bustle of Burra Bazar or the splendour of the new Howrah
'Bridge'. I think of people.Because, finally, a city is more than bricks and
mortars, street lights and tarred roads. A city is the sum of
its people. And who can ever forget - or replicate - the people of
Calcutta?I was told that the city would grow on me. What nobody
told me was that the city would change my life. It was in Calcutta
that I learnt about true warmth; about simple human decency; about
love and friendship; about emotions and caring; about truth and honesty.
I learnt other things too. it was a revelation to live in a city where
people judged each other on the things that really
mattered;where they recognized that being rich did not make you a
better person - in fact, it might have the opposite effect.I learnt
also that if life is about more than just money, it
is about the things that other cities ignore; about culture,
about ideas, about art, and about passion. In Bombay, a man with a
relatively low income will salt some of it away for the day when he
gets a stock market tip. In Calcutta, a man with exactly the same
income will not know the difference between a debenture and a
dividend. But he will spend his money on the things that matter.
Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop
sharply etched views on the state of the world.Each evening, there will be
fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His
children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family
will appreciate the power of poetry. And for him, religion and
culture will be in inextricably bound together.Ah religion! Tell
outsiders about the importance of Puja in Calcutta and they'll
scoff. Don't be silly, they'll say.Puja is a religious festival. And Bengal has
voted for the CPM since 1977. How can godless Bengal be so hung up
on a religions festival? I never know how to explain them
that to a Bengali, religion consists of much more than
shouting Jai Shri Ram or pulling down somebody's mosque. It has
little to do with meaningless ritual or sinister political activity.The essence
of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal converge: emotion, culture, the love
of life, the warmth of being together, the joy of celebration, the
pride in artistic ex-pression and yes, the cult of the goddess.It may be about
religion. But is about much more than just worship. In which other
part of India would small, not particularly well-off localities, vie with
each other to produce the best pandals? Where else could
puja pandals go beyond religion to draw inspiration from everything
else? In the years I lived in Calcutta, the pandals featured Amitabh Bachchan,
Princes Diana and even Saddam Hussain! Where else would children
cry with the sheer emotional power of Dashimi, upset that the
Goddess had left their homes? Where else would the whole city
gooseflesh when the dhakis first begin to beat their drums? Which
other Indian festival - in any part of the country - is so
much about food, about going from one roadside stall to
another, following your nose as it trails the smells of
cooking?Certainly, you can't do it till you come and live here,
till you let Calcutta suffuse your being, invade your
bloodstream and steal your soul. But once you have, you'll love
Calcutta forever. Wherever you go, a bit of Calcutta will go with
you. I know, because it's happened to me.And every Puja, I am overcome by
the magic of Bengal. It's a feeling that'll never go away.
idle thought on valuation
When in my usual numb and dumb state, i think about valuation ( so i think in my numb state, hypocratic statement), first lines that come to mind are:
i. nothing less than Mergers & Acquisitions
ii Buyer synergies
iii One can debate endlessly ( with other person of course) about the difference between Fair Value and Fair Market Value
iv. Even Trading and Hedging do not escape valuation.
v. To quote from Adkins , Matchett and Toy, " valuation is fundamental to nearly every aspect of finance"
Valuations are needed for stand alone firms or for combined entities for
mergers
acquisitions
company sales
start-ups
joint ventures
share-option programs
IPOs
re-capitalization
etc
Basically, wherever and whenever there is a transaction, we might need a valuation.
When two boys do a transaction in a playground ( purchase of a cricket ball in return for a promise of a homework or for some money), they are evaluating.
Since, in large organizations, lot of people are involved, transactions such as these have given opportunities to some other firms and persons to claim some consultation fee.
There are mainly two things to care about in any situation:
i Your own basics on how the company works, what different financial terms and numbers mean
ii what is the proposed transaction
Sometimes, a third point you need to care about is the legal/ regulatory aspect.
People who are experienced enough can think of transactions that comply with laws as well as provide maximum possible benefit to their clients.
Most of our intelligence is required only to know our basics and to fully understand the transaction. We all succeed with varying degrees on these two accounts. There is very little 'creative' about finance. It is in general more about retaining your fragile understanding. And definitely, there is nothing that is out of our intuitive reach.
i. nothing less than Mergers & Acquisitions
ii Buyer synergies
iii One can debate endlessly ( with other person of course) about the difference between Fair Value and Fair Market Value
iv. Even Trading and Hedging do not escape valuation.
v. To quote from Adkins , Matchett and Toy, " valuation is fundamental to nearly every aspect of finance"
Valuations are needed for stand alone firms or for combined entities for
mergers
acquisitions
company sales
start-ups
joint ventures
share-option programs
IPOs
re-capitalization
etc
Basically, wherever and whenever there is a transaction, we might need a valuation.
When two boys do a transaction in a playground ( purchase of a cricket ball in return for a promise of a homework or for some money), they are evaluating.
Since, in large organizations, lot of people are involved, transactions such as these have given opportunities to some other firms and persons to claim some consultation fee.
There are mainly two things to care about in any situation:
i Your own basics on how the company works, what different financial terms and numbers mean
ii what is the proposed transaction
Sometimes, a third point you need to care about is the legal/ regulatory aspect.
People who are experienced enough can think of transactions that comply with laws as well as provide maximum possible benefit to their clients.
Most of our intelligence is required only to know our basics and to fully understand the transaction. We all succeed with varying degrees on these two accounts. There is very little 'creative' about finance. It is in general more about retaining your fragile understanding. And definitely, there is nothing that is out of our intuitive reach.
Some One
Some One
Some one came knocking
At my wee, small door;
Someone came knocking;
I'm sure-sure-sure;
I listened, I opened,
I looked to left and right,
But nought there was a stirring
In the still dark night;
Only the busy beetle
Tap-tapping in the wall,
Only from the forest
The screech-owl's call,
Only the cricket whistling
While the dewdrops fall,
So I know not who came knocking,
At all, at all, at all.
At my wee, small door;
Someone came knocking;
I'm sure-sure-sure;
I listened, I opened,
I looked to left and right,
But nought there was a stirring
In the still dark night;
Only the busy beetle
Tap-tapping in the wall,
Only from the forest
The screech-owl's call,
Only the cricket whistling
While the dewdrops fall,
So I know not who came knocking,
At all, at all, at all.
Walter de la Mare
Of leaders and leadership
Level 7 leadership
With more and more people realizing the importance of everyday leadership, theories continue to evolve around the inherent traits and qualities displayed by the leaders. One of the well known matrix, the 9x9 managerial grid, by Blake and Mouton,
has been in use for sometime now to categorize the managers according to the extent of their orientation towards people and productivity. Another piece of work done by Harvard Working Knowledge categorizes six levels of leadership- sociopath, opportunist, chameleon, achiever, builder and the transcendent. These classifications are differentiated by their long term goals they seek to achieve and somewhat, also by the measures these leaders take to attain these goals. The sixth level of leadership encompasses a large group comprising departments, divisions, companies and perhaps societies. To what end does this kind of leader works is not very well established but transcendent leaders affect the thought process and functioning of a large and a diverse group. A demagogue like Adolf Hitler and a spiritual leader like Dalai Lama may be placed in this category.
If we think of the traits that successful leaders, and not necessarily very popular leaders, have, we may come across many attributes with varying shades. Attributes like technical skills, planning,good communication skills, result-orientation, team-building, conscientiousness, extroversion, empathy, risk taking ability etc. Whether all or some of these are present in the leaders depends on the purpose they are serving. They have a goal in front of themselves and they imbibe one or more of these attributes to be successful. All of this is well known. There may a case for a leadership at highest level, where a leader may never exhibit these common traits. For example, he may possess technical skills, communication skills etc but still self-train himself to keep all of such qualities in some corner of his mind from where these would not appear to guide his central thought process. It is like a person acting as if he is devoid of any thoughts and skills. Such a person can be generally ineffective if he actually knows nothing. But if the person knowingly keeps all his qualities at bay, then he may be doing the best thing for he will not be hindered by any biases. His qualities will come to fore once his central idea becomes clear to him. Execution of his idea will definitely need all other qualities like communication, monitoring mechanisms, technical know-how etc.The best attribute such a leader would possess will be that he has none! One example that come to the mind is that of Mughal invader and Emperor Babur. Babur knew that he was outnumbered by the Rajputs led by Maharana Sangram Singh. He also knew that Rajputs were very good warriors. He could have approached his men and tried to inspire them all days and nights; he could have told them that they had been successful against the Lodhis of Delhi, that they had cannons which the Rajputs didn't possess. He gave a totally different angle to his speech that proved to be so effective that it eventually established Mughal rule in India.
With more and more people realizing the importance of everyday leadership, theories continue to evolve around the inherent traits and qualities displayed by the leaders. One of the well known matrix, the 9x9 managerial grid, by Blake and Mouton,
If we think of the traits that successful leaders, and not necessarily very popular leaders, have, we may come across many attributes with varying shades. Attributes like technical skills, planning,good communication skills, result-orientation, team-building, conscientiousness, extroversion, empathy, risk taking ability etc. Whether all or some of these are present in the leaders depends on the purpose they are serving. They have a goal in front of themselves and they imbibe one or more of these attributes to be successful. All of this is well known. There may a case for a leadership at highest level, where a leader may never exhibit these common traits. For example, he may possess technical skills, communication skills etc but still self-train himself to keep all of such qualities in some corner of his mind from where these would not appear to guide his central thought process. It is like a person acting as if he is devoid of any thoughts and skills. Such a person can be generally ineffective if he actually knows nothing. But if the person knowingly keeps all his qualities at bay, then he may be doing the best thing for he will not be hindered by any biases. His qualities will come to fore once his central idea becomes clear to him. Execution of his idea will definitely need all other qualities like communication, monitoring mechanisms, technical know-how etc.The best attribute such a leader would possess will be that he has none! One example that come to the mind is that of Mughal invader and Emperor Babur. Babur knew that he was outnumbered by the Rajputs led by Maharana Sangram Singh. He also knew that Rajputs were very good warriors. He could have approached his men and tried to inspire them all days and nights; he could have told them that they had been successful against the Lodhis of Delhi, that they had cannons which the Rajputs didn't possess. He gave a totally different angle to his speech that proved to be so effective that it eventually established Mughal rule in India.
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