A Beginner's Mind

Objective: To reduce organizing time and focus on action oriented thinking & getting things done rather than procrastinating . As Elvis so succinctly described A little less conversation, a little more action   Software/Apps Evernote : note taking, creating surfers journal, task management, writing- mostly on tab Dropbox : file sharing Soluto : system maintenance (hassle free good looking minimalist)   Gadgets   (in order of importance): Phone: calling, texting, task reminders; I prefer qwerty Tablet: reading, writing, surfing & most importantly taking notes Notebook: work, serves as a base camp for everything iPod: music, voice notes, fitness, pod-casts, audio books, iTunes university   Platform I prefer android because: I don't have to pay for basic apps  I get the power of Google's cloud ecosystem Search is everywhere   Takeaway: IF you are not an avid writer or writing is not your thinking bridge, tab won't be much useful to

Source : Google's quest to build a better boss. Even though I have been very lucky to always have exceptionally good managers and great colleagues; I thought it'll be great to write my views ( in italics ) on the article, as part of "a new dimension ". People leave companies for the following three reasons or a combination of them: They don't feel a connection to the mission of the company or sense that their work matters. They don't really like or respect co-workers. They have a terrible boss. As per the article this is the biggest factor. There are cases with personalities where they are not necessarily realizing they need a course correction. So it's just about being clear & saying, "OK, I understand what you are doing here, but let's talk about the results & this is the goal." The point of collating data is not to develop an algorithm for successful management. The point is to make people aware of it, so that manag

Source: Meet Google's human search engine for innovation and www.demo.com There are several levels when we see companies: As partners – can they build applications on our platform & make the platform more valuable. Business development or licensing type of deal Acquisition Ventures – Find companies to invest in The sweet spot is mobile, location based services, social & e-commerce. " IBM, Digital, Sun, Apollo and Microsoft had their time. Now cloud based systems like Google, Facebook & others will have their time. It's a natural progression of business. Microsoft had a hell of run for 30 years. They're still a very powerful company. Very profitable, growing very well. So I wouldn't say they're going to go down; I would say the market has moved. " I think Kinect is a game changer and probably the most important hardware innovation of the decade. " Tablets are for consumption not for creation . " Agree but not entirely tr

After watching 2 episodes of Agatha Christie's Poirot I've come to realize that her's is a far more superior body of work than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. I think so because the emphasis on Christie's stories is on the plot rather than the protagonist. As far as the protagonist's impact is concerned Poirot is more cultured, mannered & in some cases even timid. The correct word will be meterosexual . Sherlock Holmes however is the Jim Morrison of detectives- his range is dependent on your knowledge of the Genre. When I shared my discovery with a close friend I was told (as always) that I get influenced very easily. What do I know about writers like James Hadley chase who have (supposedly) written masterpieces? Well, that's true. My only exposure to detective stories has been Sherlock Holmes, but the advantage of internet is its power of instant knowledge. Agatha Christie's wiki page says: According to the  Guinness Book of World Rec

Brilliant article in New York times today: From 'End of History' Author, a Look at the Beginning and Middle Key points I found interesting : Institutions are the rules that coordinate social behavior. Without taking human behavior in account you misunderstand the nature of political institutions. Such behavior especially the faculty for creating rules are the basis for social institutions, even though the content of institutions is supplied by culture.   My take: This at a wider level relates to the three most important institutions in the 21 st   century; Religion, Financial system & Democracy. Same principle can be applied to the evolution of language.     Societies are not trapped by their past nor are they free in any given generation to remake themselves. Building institutions is as difficult as changing them. Poor countries remain poor because of the absence of a strong law.   My take: Even though we continue to criticize our system, what we must underst

The habit of reading is one of the greatest resources of mankind; and we enjoy reading books that belong to us much more than if they are borrowed. A borrowed book is like a guest in the house; it must be treated with punctiliousness, with a certain considerate formality. You must see that it sustains no damage; it must not suffer while under your roof. You cannot leave it carelessly, you cannot mark it, you cannot turn down the pages, you cannot use it familiarly. And then, some day, although this is seldom done, you really ought to return it. But your own books belong to you; you treat them with that affectionate intimacy that annihilates formality. Books are for use, not for show; you should own no book that you are afraid to mark up, or afraid to place on the table, wide open and face down. A good reason for marking favorite passages in books is that this practice enables you to remember more easily the significant sayings, to refer to them quickly, and then in later years, it i