min-myinnersoul

Immortal words from an immortal movie. If you don't know where this quotation is from, click here (excusable because this was before you were born) I am however writing about more prosaic things. Like the American nomination of Jim Yong Kim for the Presidency of the World Bank. Readers of this blog may recall that I had railed about the practice of nominating an American for the head of the World Bank and an European for the Head of the IMF here . The IMF vacancy came rather suddenly after the antics of Dominique Strauss Kahn. After some pious sermonising about how it wasn't an European stitch up, the post went to Christine Lagarde, another French person ! Now there is a vacancy coming at the top of the World Bank as Robert Zoellick is completing his term. The Americans are now wanting to stitch this up. But its the American they have nominated which is raising eyebrows. Kim who ?? Jim Yong Kim is an eminent American, no doubt. But he is an anthropologist and physician by prof...

Ramamritham must be sacked - plain and simple. He is usually just a nuisance and a pain in the posterior, but otherwise a good man. But recently he has crossed the barrier and is now a genuine danger. He must be read the riot act and told to go. I am referring to his contortions and nonsensical behaviour in the Vodafone case. For those not familiar with this saga - here's a short summary. Some years ago Vodafone bought a 67% stake in Hutchison Essar. Vodafone's Dutch company bought the shares from Hutchison Telecom which is a Hong Kong company. Neither the buyer, nor the seller was an  Indian company although the shares they bought were of a company whose operations are in India. Under ordinary tax laws in most countries in the world, including India, the place where the selling company is and the buying company is dictates where tax would be paid on the gains from the sale of shares (in this case neither was in India). This should have been a straightforward matter. But Ramamr...

Hello there! Been a while, hasn't it? Things have been busy around here, so that's the reason for my absence. No time for talk. I thought I would share what we have been up to with just pictures. Before.... After... We are having a great Spring Break! See you all here next week! Lots to share with you:o)

Every organisation worth its salt has a vision and mission statement. Often crafted by expensive consultants. Those that can't differentiate between the two, have a single statement that's both a vision and a mission. Those who profess to know the difference, have two statements. They are often held in reverential awe. I suggest they must be binned as unadulterated claptrap. Firstly these motherhood statements have virtually no meaning. Take these examples "To experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public" - Sony " To help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential"- Microsoft "Ford Motor Company is focused on creating a strong business that builds great products that contribute to a better world "- Ford Can anybody decipher what they mean other than Mom and Apple Pie ? Some are laughable . Take these for example "To be the company that best understands and satisfies the prod...

Public fancy has generally degraded into thoughtless inanity , right ? The silly antics of some starlet, whose only discernible feature is the shape of her nose, is what whole nations are riveted with. I mean, if some hundreds of millions can listen to a character called Justin Bieber, you can pretty much conclude that dumbing down of a whole species has occurred. In such a world, what chance do you think a heavy, macabre, 30 minute video has ? Set in a bleak part of Africa. With a grim, sad, awful story. Not much you would gather. I would have gambled everything that  a grand total of 28 people would watch this video. Well, I would have been dead wrong and would have lost miserably. Kony 2012 is the name of this video. It was uploaded onto You Tube on 5 March. A small matter of 80 million people have seen it in 2 weeks. Its about child soldiers in Uganda. Its about a monster called Joseph Kony and a horrible organisation called Lords Resistance Army in Uganda. It specialises in...

Yesterday I was "blog-cruisin'" and I came across a headband tutorial that I thought was super cute and easy...and best of all I had all the materials on hand:o) Meaningful Mama  was the blog. She has some really cute ideas. I thought the headband was perfect since St. Patrick's Day is coming up Saturday. Since the kids won't be in school on the actual day, I let them wear their green today. S.R. insisted on wearing her headband:o)  Instead of rhinestones, I added some daisy buttons, and a few leaves.  E gives it a "two thumbs up":o)  I hope you all have a fantastic St. Patrick's Day. I have a fun-filled day planned for the family:o)

It is a common mistake to equate marketing with advertising. Marketing is not just advertising, although that's one important component. Decades ago, a marketing guru defined the 4Ps of marketing - Product, price, place and promotion. In countries like India, its often distribution (place) that is the key to a business success. Getting your product to every one of the 5 million or so outlets is a monumental task, but is often the key to success. Nobody does this better than Coca Cola. I am hardly the first person to marvel at Coke's distribution capability all around the world. Melinda Gates, for example, did it in one of the TED talks - What non profits can learn from Coca Cola . It was a brave talk - the not for profit sector often derides and holds in contempt the corporate sector. But you can't run away from the lessons that Melinda Gates draws from Coke. Consider this The place is Dhanushkodi, almost the very tip of India - well past Rameshwaram. Its virtually an aband...