"Pancham Se Gara" by Pt. Ravi Shankar & Alla Rakha - An Experience

Around a month back one of my friends recommended us a show based on Indian Classical Music - Bandish Bandits. We came back & binge-watched it & loved it! 

Since then the craving to listen to more Indian classical music took birth in me. I am an extreme when it comes to music choices for personal consumption, on one hand, I love Ghazals & Sufi ( Jagjit Singh & Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) and on the other extreme end, I also like EDM ( AVB & Hardwell). Somehow while I had exposure to Indian Classical music, I was never hooked on to it. But all this was changing over the last one month, I kept listening to Garaj Garaj Juganbandi & Lab Par Aaye from Bandish Bandits, and the craving to listen more surged.

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

And as they say, when you want something badly, the world will in its own mysterious ways offer you the same. Yesterday morning when I opened my Instagram app and refreshed the feed, I saw this repost by Dayanita Singh of one the tracks by Pt. Ravi Shankar Ji along with Alla Rakha Ji -" Pancham Se Gara ". 

The one minute that I could hear on Instagram was so intense that I searched for the track on YouTube for the full version. And this is where I discovered the pure joy of 18 mins in this documentary film of the Monterey Pop Music Festival, where the maestros had performed this track to the visible amazement of the crowd. I have heard this now multiple times since yesterday and each and every time I get goosebumps.. trust me it's just epic. The high notes, the musical jugalbandi, the amazing coordination of the two maestros, two artists brimming with enthusiasm and finally acknowledging the love they received at the end of the performance, it's a musical & visual treat. I am leaving the link below for you to experience this magic. More than anything else, personally it had a very calming impact on me.

DA Pennebaker's documentary approach to this 1967 Production is another thing that struck me. I mean you didn't have jaw-dropping crazy megapixel cameras that we have these days, but the way this has been shot is sheer genius. Take, for instance, the way he has shown the jugalbandi around the 14th minute onwards or 16:26 -16:29, where he has shown the frame of a girl unable to believe what she is listening to..that was my state too, and could relate to that feeling. That's the beauty of capturing a moment in time, be it Photos or Videos...I mean today in 2020, almost after 50+ years I still get to live that experience, that the audience at Monterey Pop Festival experienced. Thank You.

Lastly, I owe a Thank You to Dayanita Singh for introducing me to this gem of a track. If you wouldn't have shared it yesterday, I would have been deprived of this beautiful experience.  As a photographer, your work has always been an inspiration. Heartfelt gratitude. 

Stay Inspired!

#MusicIsLife #Gratitude

Business Networking & Beyond : BNI.

 I am a First-generation Entrepreneur and taking a leap of faith to leave that cushy Corporate job of 10+ yrs &  jumping into the world of sharks, read business was definitely not an easy decision. 

In the first year of our business, however, I joined BNI( Business Network International) and I will not be exaggerating if I say that BNI is indeed our extended Sales & Marketing team of Monks In Happiness LLP. But there is something more to BNI, beyond just getting Referrals or Getting Business. And as I take over as the Mentor Coordinator for my chapter from today, I am taking a walk down the memory lane to understand what are the softer aspects that BNI has given us ( Monks In Happiness LLP) over the last 4 years...

It's a Melting Pot of IDEAS :

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” -- Henry Thomas Buckle

BNI JOSH ( part of BNI Pune East region), the chapter that I belong to presently has around 35+ Members. The strength of this diverse entrepreneurial team is way bigger than just one's individual capability or knowledge. Often I have received some of the best suggestions & feedbacks from other fellow business owners in the chapter, who are NOT from our field. As they look at each situation or business problem from a third person's perspective. During Lockdown we kept doing 1-2-1 's ( the term used in BNI parlance for a business generating focussed meeting ) digitally and generated a plethora of ideas that I wouldn't have imagined doing without picking the brains of these diverse group of Entrepreneurs/ Business Owners. I remember during one of our digital chapter meetings, we spoke in-depth about how CHINA dominates some of the Industries and most importantly the reasons behind it, and what can INDIA do to lead the next wave of post Pandemic globalization.

Awareness of what's the PULSE :

“Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going because a straight line even in an ECG means we are not alive.” -- Ratan Tata

Probably this is the biggest benefit that I have experienced after joining BNI. Presently we are a diverse group of 35+ Business Owners in BNI JOSH,  all from varied backgrounds & areas of specialization, and that's the strength that we get when we get an understanding of the "World view" from each and every member's perspective. Each member has their unique understanding of where the world is moving and what exactly is the New Normal. Take, for example, we have a Government Contractor in our chapter, who keeps sharing how & what kind of project the Government is focusing on. Trust me, no amount of watching the news on TV Channels gives me a better understanding of what the economy is doing than understanding from Mohit Babar, who shares what's the ground reality.

We have another stalwart in the chapter who is a Mutual Funds distributor, I remember when Hemant Rana spoke about Compounding for the first time to me, I was just amazed & couldn't believe the math! In fact, we requested him to take a session for all the employees of Monks In Happiness during the lockdown period. The seeds of "Savings for the future" had been planted in that session, I must admit. Chinmay Chandgude our erstwhile President of the chapter is helping many Entrepreneurs enter & experience the world of Software & what it can do for their business. As he always famously quotes Naval Ravikant - "Your company may not be in the software business, but eventually, a software company will be in your business". True that brother. Lastly, how can I not talk about the experience of Kirit Shah, who runs probably the best catering services company in Pune for the last few decades. Sometime last week when he shared his understanding of how we need to ADAPT given the present condition, we took note of his advice &  that has given a wealth of perspective to us at Monks In Happiness.

I can go on with some of the other stellar members that I have in my chapter, but I am sure if you are an entrepreneur reading this, you will love to come & experience it first hand by attending a digital meeting.

Butterfly Effect : 

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa

There is a concept in Mathematics, its called the "Chaos Theory". In summary, sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. They say the flapping of the butterfly wings in a tropical area leads to the change in weather change in another area. Wow, can you imagine how a small thing leads to a wider impact?

Dr.Ivan Misner, the father of Modern Networking & also the Founder of BNI runs this amazing Podcast for BNI Members, called 'The Official BNI Podcast'. And it's in Episode 654 I was introduced to the concept of " The Butterfly Effect ". How small things lead to a windfall of opportunities. He talks about how he landed up in Neckar Island ( owned by Richard Branson) with the who's who of the world. And when he backtracked what led to him being there on that island,  he was just amazed as one chance meeting with a BNI Member was the start of the chain. 

 

I have personally experienced this a lot, where just knowing one BNI Member / being connected to one client through a BNI Member has led to the Monks getting connected to multiple opportunities from that source.

Learning never stops :

"Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death." -- Albert Einstein

In the Corporate world, in all my past 3 organizations, I had this minimum mandatory goal of spending at least 30-40 hrs/ year on Trainings & enhancing my knowledge & skill. So when Entrepreneurship happened, with NO Mandatory training needs, I could have easily lost my way of thinking - 'I know it All'. But glad BNI was there, and that led to me getting exposure to world-class training - both Digital & Physical. During the lockdown period especially, I spent a considerable amount of time at the virtual BNI University, where I got introduced to some of the best brains  in the world - Jack Canfield, Steve Farber, Verne Harnish & John Maxwell to name a few. In fact, I was so impressed with a talk series between Dr.Ivan Misner & John Maxwell, I ended up reading some of John Maxwell's all-time best-selling books, what a revelation it was indeed.

You are NOT Alone :

“I'm convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. -- Steve Jobs

They say the journey of an entrepreneur is a lonely journey & given 99% of the businesses fail, it's indeed a steep journey to success, which only a few experience. I am glad I have an amazing business partner in Kartikaya Nagar to share my joy, achievements, or even setbacks that our company faces but not everyone is lucky. Research from Salesforce says that more than 90% of businesses globally are small businesses & most importantly the majority of them have solo Entrepreneurs. So imagine a scenario where you have no one to talk to. And this is where BNI enables you to get that fellow entrepreneur friend from your chapter who understands you & knows that sometimes cash flows for businesses are stretched but things do bounce back. It's just that assurance that you need from another  Entrepreneur, that helps you to continue your entrepreneurial journey undeterred.

Finally, all I will say is I am just discovering the gems that one gets with BNI and there is more to learn in the coming days. 

“If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat! Just get on.” -- Sheryl Sandberg

P.S: If you are an entrepreneur or you know any entrepreneur, and you think they can benefit by joining BNI, feel free to connect them to me. Will be more than happy to help. Please note chapter meetings are happening digitally across the globe & as a visitor for the first time, there are NO charges. All we need is a focussed 90mins of the visitor's time.

GOOGLE & The Toothbrush Effect

Have you heard about the world's largest AAA battery? If not, its AMAZON - APPLE - ALPHABET. And in this blog, I am focusing on the giant in the search engine space - ALPHABET ( the parent company of GOOGLE). The market cap of Google stands at a staggering 950+ BN Dollars! , that's almost equivalent to the GDP of 40+ African countries. Pre COVID era, GOOGLE did join the big boys' group of 1Trillion $ Market cap on JAN 17th 2020, becoming the 4th company ever after APPLE, MICROSOFT & AMAZON.  But do you know one of the major reasons for this success has been the way Google continues to evolve itself every year. If you looked at what Google was a decade ago it was a very different company to what it is as of 2020. 

At the heart of this transformation is the pace at it which it acquires companies. They say every 7 years, we become a new person as every cell in our body is replaced by a new one, well we will not debate about the authenticity of that in this blog, but all I can say GOOGLE seems to be replacing their own cell by acquiring all the companies that the world has to offer! A quick check on Wikipedia throws a number of 233 companies that it has acquired over the last 2 decades.

Larry Page the CEO of ALPHABET has this crazy concept when he plans to acquire any company, its called "The Toothbrush Effect". It basically means does the company produces “something you will use once or twice a day.” A careful look at some of the past acquisitions of Google does show that the ubiquitous toothbrush is actually at work! 

Let's go back to 2006 when Google acquired Youtube for a whopping 1.65 BN, the tech world ruled it as a big gamble, saying that Google paid a bomb, fast-forward to 2020, YouTube's revenue is 10% of Google's 160BN annual revenue so that's a neat $15 BN just in 2020 itself. The analysts who raised eyebrows in 2006  are nowhere to be seen. Today the platform attracts 2 Billion active monthly users on Youtube. World population now stands at around  7.8 billion, so on an average 1 out of 4 people existing in this world visits Youtube once in a month, do you now hear why they say it is the best platform to advertise anything globally?

Another major acquisition was in 2005 when it acquired ANDROID for just $50 Million from Andy Rubin. Since then, Google has successfully developed Android to become the leading OS in the smartphone world with a global market share of more than 86% as on date. Thank God APPLE exists, otherwise, it would have been 100% :) By the way,  I am a Pixel Phone owner and I do love my phone, and yes I switched from APPLE iPhone to Google Pixel.

Larry Page also believes that if you can't build it, just buy it! Let's look at some of the recent acquisitions of Google. Towards the end of 2019, Google acquired FITBIT the wearable fitness technology company, valuing it at a whopping $2.1 BN, well this time around not many analysts are saying that Google paid a bomb. Only time will tell how successful this deal was, for now, I am waiting for a cheaper but better edition of FitBit. Presently it has around 26 mn. users, I won't be surprised if it scales up to 2 bn. users in the next decade. Presently Chinese companies Xiaomi and Huawei were No. 1 and No. 3, Apple was No. 2, let's see how Google changes the world order.

Another acquisition that the Photographer in me loved was NIK Software, the parent company of the now-famous SNAPSEED Photo editing app. I can vouch for this that almost every photographer has this APP on their phones. It's undoubtedly the best photo editing APP. If you haven't tried it, do give it a shot. Facebook claims that 350 million photos & Instagram claim 95 million Photos & Videos get uploaded on their platforms every day, but where do most of them go in case they wish to edit, its SNAPSEED. Well played Google.

However, all of their acquisitions haven't been successful. Look at the deal of MOTOROLA, they paid $ 12.9 BN( Its highest ever for any acquisition) in 2012, only to sell it to LENOVO in 2014 for just $ 2.91 BN, how many companies on earth can afford to take a $ 10 BN hit? It also did fail in acquiring some companies. In 2018, Google tried to buy major companies in the open-source world. It tried its best to acquire  GitHub and then RedHat, which would have opened up many additional opportunities in the Cloud but Microsoft & IBM had better Offers, OK GOOGLE, better luck next time.

Coming back to the Toothbrush Effect, I am hoping to see some more acquisitions post COVID era as valuations have taken a hit for many companies, and with the rich cash coffers of Google, they will be ready to lap into the next best company that the world has to offer.

 As an entrepreneur, I continue to draw inspiration from the 2  Stanford graduates, who created this tech giant - Larry Page & Sergey Brin. Here is some trivia, did you know both Larry & Sergey had offered to sell out Google for just $1 Million to Yahoo way back in 1998 as they wanted to focus on further studies and David Filo, CoFounder of YAHOO declined it then, probably this was the best deal offered ever in the history of Silicon Valley. Today YAHOO is history. In fact, it was Filo who had introduced Larry & Sergey to one of Google's earliest investors - Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital. 

I remember chatting up a couple of years ago with one of my ex-bosses then, who had the pleasure of working in Google. He mentioned to me about Moon Shots and it was precisely at that point I fell i love with this company. X Development LLC. is a semi-secret research and development facility and organization founded by Google in January 2010. A quick check about Google X reveals the grandeur of a plan Google has for the mankind, in their own words "X is a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs who build and launch technologies that aim to improve the lives of millions, even billions, of people". Internet Balloons(Loons), Drones delivering products, Kites used to generate electricity, the list is crazy enough! Google you do continue to inspire humanity across the world!

 Signing off for now ..until next time. Goodbye.

KERALA REIMAGINES WORK - WELCOME TO HOUSEBOATS COWORKING

I read yesterday that KERALA Government is planning to use Houseboats as Coworking spaces during these troubled & unprecedented times. I think its a brilliant idea. Just imagine the benefits of working from a House Boat:

1.Scenic Views:

If the employee feels stressed after a marathon conference call, all he needs to do is just head to the top of the houseboat and take a good break by enjoying the view that nature has to offer. India recently seems hooked about the topic of "Mental Wellbeing" and nothing comes close to nature helping us stay calm & composed. The HR's might in fact sell this as one of the USP of their company when it comes to bringing a star talent from the market!

2.Vibe & Safety: 

The vibe is relaxed in a houseboat, maybe you will just have a fraction of your team working together with you as compared to your normal office, but there will be a sense of satisfaction & most importantly you are safe as fewer people definitely means the scope of the virus is also less.

3. WNH: At the heart of this initiative is the concept of  - WORK NEAR HOME. Imagine so much time & money is saved as employees need not travel to distant locations to reach their office. Less time on office commute also means more quality time at home, not discussing work. Which was impossible in the WFH concept, where work and home merged and most people confessed that they were actually working an extra number of hours when working from home.

4.Gourmet Food: I remember enjoying some lip-smacking food on a houseboat during my childhood summer trip to Kerala, you just cannot miss that! Fresh food served on Houseboats are a major attraction for Tourists, imagine now employees getting that while working. One thing is for sure, good food leads to higher productivity, there are tons of research proving that.

5. Vocal for Local: When Modi gave the clarion call for Vocal for Local, he asked this Billion+ nation to buy goods from Indian companies, but with houseboats converting to co-working spaces, the Kerala Govt. is showing the entire world how we can help Indian companies & Global companies by being creative when it comes to Vocal for Local. Will it e trend that the world will follow? That time only will tell.

Above all, imagine the happiness of the House Boat Owner, who was looking at a very bleak future as tourism has been next to NIL for the last few months, now he is assured that not only he can feed his family but also contribute to the growth of this giant nation.

#Kerala #Houseboats #CoWorking #Lockdown2020

When the customers cant reach you, then you reach out to your customers:

These are difficult times and its in these difficult times that the true leader emerges and shows his mettle. It inspires others in their category. While the entire world is grappling with the deadly Corona Virus, we can say that India has somehow managed the pandemic better, if you go just by the numbers. At 25 cases /1 million, India. is way better than some of the developed countries like the US, where its 3300+/million  or SPAIN, where it's 5000+/million.

But let this not fool you on the damage that the Indian economy is facing presently because of the lockdown. The repercussions will be felt at least for a year or two, if not decades. However, there are some champion companies that are braving these tough times and taking some bold steps to ensure that the billions of Indians who are locked up literally in their homes are not deprived of basic services. Wondering how? Read On.

Its been around 40 days since the lockdown has been enforced in India. My doorbell just rings once in 24hrs, sharp at 09:30 AM, that is for the Garbage collection. So you must be inquisitive which are these champion companies that still manage to reach out? Presenting to you the TWO Champion companies: HDFC Bank & DMart.

HDFC Bank: Last week, from the balcony of my 9th floor, I saw a queue at a distance, I assumed it must be the local Vegetable vendor who comes once in a week. Upon reaching the exact location, I realize it's not what it seemed from my balcony. It was an HDFC Bank Mobile ATM! Cash strapped residents from my society lapped onto this opportunity. HDFC Bank employees were present there in the vicinity, they ensured social distancing norms were followed, security professionals were also present and after each usage of the ATM machine, the keypads were sanitized by the HDFC housekeeping professional. Everything looked like a  symphony, and after staying 2 hrs in our society, it definitely left with many happy faces and people thanking HDFC Bank from the bottom of their hearts. Welcome HDFC Bank, which is one of the biggest banks of India and presently has a 6% Market Share of this Billion plus nation. No wonder the People's Bank of China see the value this giant holds and has acquired a 1% stake in this jewel of India, during the recent stock market bloodbath.

DMart: Essentials probably is the buzz word in every home, news channels & government agencies. While many FMCG companies pivoted their B-Models upside down, no one did it as good as what D-Mart did. Last week I get this message on my Whatsapp society group that DMart is coming to our society! It was indeed a message that most of us in the society was happy to read. Come the day and I walk into my parking lot to discover what this great company has managed to create. To start with, they had ensured social distancing norms were followed, they were checking body temperature and allowing the residents inside.  When it came to the essentials, they ensured that large quantity packs were available, be it 10 KG Ashirvad Aaata packets or pre-packed 5 KG Daal packets. What did I buy the most? Well, you guessed it right - MAGGI Jumbo packets:) Here's the best part, I saved almost 15% on the MRP of the entire bill, I couldn't be happier. They were supposed to be in our society for 4 hrs, but I guess they extended seeing the demand. Welcome AVENUE Supermarts, the holding company of D-Mart, founded by one of the smartest yet humble Radhakishan Damani. As on date, India's Traditional Retail ( Brick & Mortar shops) still stands at a staggering 80+%, with organized retail & e-Commerce nibbling the remainder. Well, post-COVID 19, if there is one company that will take a giant leap in the organized retail sector, its D Mart indeed!

What these two companies have done is not with the purpose of Marketing, but merely to Serve the billion Indians in their homes. But in their endeavor to serve the nation,  they have done something unimaginable: They say Marketing has 3 main purposes: Identity, Satisfy & Retain Customers, all the three ticks checked! They say you remember the people who help during your worst time, I guess that applies to companies also. At least both of these giant companies have found a customer for life in me and yes, I am buying their stocks :)

RESCUE the Entrepreneur, take COVID 19 head on .

With Lockdown extending till May 3rd in India, that's another 18 days, what's your plan to effectively utilize this time? It's time to "RESCUE" the entrepreneur! 

"Reflect" Reimagine your business model, if it needs to be. While everyone ran towards growth in the past, these are times when growth takes a backseat for strategic alliances/ partnerships to explore some new uncharted waters. 

"Enrich" Read that book you always wanted to but didn't get time. Revisit your favorite movies, that always motivate you. Listen to some of the greatest speeches, staying positive in these tough times is so very important to ride through this storm. Remember nothing is permanent, " this too shall pass..' 

"Support" Some entrepreneurs might just need that push to make them continue believing in their dreams, reach out to them and do reenergize them. In addition to this, another important aspect is talking to your employees frequently, supporting them in these times will go a long way. Once the market opens up, they are your warriors!

 "Connect" Reach out to those dream personalities/ leaders that you always wanted to connect, trust me your strike rate will be way higher these days. Secondly, Networking via webinar platforms is something once cannot miss, Zoom is indeed the new household name these days, never before has India consumed so much through Webinars. 

"Upskill" Aren't these the perfect time to upskill yourself by learning new skills/ technologies? Never has the Education Tech space drawn this much attention in the recent history, and as entrepreneurs, it's imperative that we continue our learning cycle to predict what will be the new normal, remember you have to serve the market that would post COVID 19, NOT the market that was. 

"Excellence" Lastly remember,  One Corona Virus cannot deter your pursuit towards excellence..it's in these dire scenarios that the new leaders will emerge, who face this situation with grit & grace. Lastly, they say it takes 21 days to form a habit, we are getting almost double of that,  let excellence be the habit that you form out of the COVID lockdown.

RESCUE the entrepreneur within & See you stronger next time!