Archive for December, 2005
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 30 Dec 2005, 3:25 PM - Leave Comment
I am reading a fascinating book called “The Dream Society
” by Rolf Jensen. Jensen argues that the new society will be increasingly influenced by stories. In fact he says that we will move from an information society to a dream society.
When I met with my friend Patrick Mahaffey (from Logistech Global Solutions) this morning, we discussed this concept a bit. Patrick agreed with the author’s assessment and also offered to support it with a recent story going around. The story is about a particular type of coffee called “Weasel Poop Coffee”
Yes, you read it right, it is called “Weasel Poop Coffee.”
The origins of Weasel Poop Coffee is supposed to be from Sumatra, Indonesia. I believe there is a Weasel kind of animal there who is an expert on finding the best of coffee beans. The weasel eats these coffee beans, digests just the outer shell and poops the remaining in the form of threads. The farmers there pick it up (and clean it, of course) and ground it into coffee powder. That’s “Weasel Poop Coffee” for you.
This was sold for $40 per pound a few months ago and once the story hit the media, the price of this coffee started going up. Patrick says that the last he heard was that there was a store in Redwood City (in California) where this coffee was being sold for $695 per pound.
Go figure!
Just proves the point that Jensen makes in the book.
Posted under Business Models, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 30 Dec 2005, 6:00 AM - Leave Comment
Payback horizon is the amount of time that has to elapse before you see a return on your investment.
When you open a CD (Certificate of Deposit) in a bank, they make two things very clear
* what is the return
* when will you get that return
So this is one of the few cases where the payback horizon is very clear. No ambiguities there. Unfortunately, there are so many areas in life where it is not possible to peg payback horizons for your investments. Here is a thought:
Imagine a scenario where your current investments of time and money will yield some significant results every month for the next 12 months. That is spreading the payback horizons over the next twelve months.
Now, how about extending that thought for the next five years. What are the nature and amount of investments you need to make to spread your payback horizons for the next five years?
How about extending this to the next few decades?
Smart people unconsciously design their lives to spread payback horizons. Doing this consciously will increase the effectiveness by leaps and bounds.
All the best!
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 29 Dec 2005, 2:37 PM - 1 Comment
Being indifferent is not the answer, you MUST act!
“Society does not go down because of the activities of criminals, but because of the inactivities of the good people.”
- Swami Vivekananda
Posted under Great Quotes, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Thu 29 Dec 2005, 6:00 AM - Leave Comment
Earlier, I talked about the need for you to gather the right puzzle pieces. I am building on the same concept but looking at it from another angle.
Take three people that are important in your life. Imagine each one of them trying to solve a jig-saw puzzle. Let’s say one of them is creating Eiffel Tower, the other one Niagara Falls and the other one Taj Mahal. Each one is a 1000 piece puzzle and it is taking a while for them to complete it. Also, to add to the problem, interestingly each one of them discover that they are missing some puzzle pieces from the pack. You want to help, of course.
You look at your collection and you find some old puzzle pieces from “The Last Supper” The puzzle pieces are still in great shape. You take the whole collection and go to the first friend who is creating the Eiffel Tower and offer him some of your puzzle pieces. Of course, that won’t help him. You try to convince him to try anyways and the effort fails. You feel sad and you repeat the exercise with your other two friends. As expected, all your efforts fail and you feel frustrated. You want to help and you took the time to help but somehow things went wrong.
I know, you are smiling – thinking that this is all common sense. Apply this to your own lives and see if you are taking the right puzzle pieces into the lives of people that matter to you most. The way you are wanting to help them may not be the way that want to be helped. The resources you have in plenty to share may not be the ones that are needed by them.
Just taking the time to think about what puzzle they are solving and what pieces are missing can make a huge difference in the way you will approach offering help to them.
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 28 Dec 2005, 9:36 PM - Leave Comment
Kevin Salwen over at Worthwhile blog talks about how people can get carried away by technology. In this instance, there is a person talking on his cell phone in the restroom and simultaneously brushing his teeth. It’s hilarious and definitely worth a read.
Here is the link:
Multitasking moment of the week
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 28 Dec 2005, 2:58 PM - 1 Comment
Praise for my book “Beyond Code”
“Setty has cracked the code for personal success. “Beyond Code” is the perfect primer for those in the onset of their career, regardless of profession, and serves as an excellent calibrator for those in mid-career. One of the best business books of 2005.”
-
John Fayad, CEO & Publisher,
Business Book Review
Thanks John for your kind words.
Posted under Endorsements, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Wed 28 Dec 2005, 2:54 PM - Leave Comment
Today I was at the airport to see my friend Naveen Lakkur head back to India. While waiting in line to check in, he was sharing some of his “always interesting” stories. This particular one was not a story but an experience that caught my attention.
It was during a Satsang (for simplicity, consider Satsang as a meeting place to have an intellectual discussion) in India where Naveen was in a group discussing an interesting topic – DEATH. After a couple of people shared their viewpoints about this topic, a middle-aged woman stood up and shocked everyone by saying that she wanted her husband to die before she died. Now, realize that in India or elsewhere, it’s uncommon to wish for a family member to die before they do.
When asked for an explanation, she calmly explained that her husband loves her a lot and she is almost like a part of him. She wouldn’t want her husband to live and suffer the loss if she dies before him. She was willing to suffer and survive the loss of her husband just to save her husband any suffering.
That, I thought was caring at a whole new level.
Thanks Naveen for sharing this.
Posted under Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sat 24 Dec 2005, 2:48 PM - Leave Comment
Well respected Business Book Review has published a review and excerpt of my book “Beyond Code”
Here is the link:
BBR Review: Beyond Code: Learn to distinguish yourself in 9 simple steps!
Thanks
Posted under Endorsements, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Sat 24 Dec 2005, 9:13 AM - 3 Comments
You only get to be a “first time entrepreneur” once. First time entrepreneurs are always special. An old friend used to say:
First time entrepreneurs have a major advantage – they don’t question everything before they leap into the business
First time entrepreneurs have a major disadvantage – they don’t question everything before they leap into the business 
If you are a “first time entrepreneur” cooking up your new business, try (honestly) answering these questions.
Disclaimer: The list of questions is more applicable to those that are planning to bootstrap their business. The list of questions, of course, is not complete. It’s meant to be a starter list.
1. What exactly is your idea?
Can you clearly articulate your idea? How compelling is your idea? Is it an idea whose time has come? Are you early into the game or are your late into the game?
2. Who will pay?
Chances are that your idea will be to create a new product or a service. Who exactly will pay for this product or service? Why? How much will they pay? Why do you think they will pay that price?
3. Why should someone care?
Yes, I am sure you have already identified a market segment. Whoever is your target, the key question is “Why should they care?”
The other way to look at this is to imagine that once you explain your complete idea, someone says “So What?”
What would be your response for the “So What?” question.
4. Why do you think you are the RIGHT person to execute on this idea?
While the idea may be brilliant and flawless, most often, the idea is only a tip of the iceberg. The bulk happens in the execution. What makes you think that you have everything it takes to execute brilliantly on this idea?
5. What are the roles of your team members once the business gets off the ground?
If you think of a startup group as crewmembers in a movie production unit, sometimes they tend to be stuck by a “Everybody is a Director” syndrome. Are the future roles for your team members identified? Are your team members comfortable with these roles? Are your team members willing to change (or step aside) when the time is right?
6. How are you going to split the equity?
One issue you have to deal with is the roles and responsibilities and the other one is how to split the pie amongst yourselves. Who is getting how much? What is the rationale behind this decision? Why do you think this is fair distribution? Do all of your team members think it’s fair?
This is an important question. I have seen instances where people work for more than a year without discussing this and at the end of the year, everyone wants to own more than 60% of the company.
7. How much money are you investing in the business?
Sometimes there is also a fantasy that just by working nights and weekends the business can be born. It may be possible but it is definitely not something that you can bank on. So, the question is “How much money are you and your team members investing in this new business?”
I have told this before but it is worth repeating – typically people are willing to squander their time but not their money (although time=money) So if you are just willing to put in your time and not a single penny of your own money – think again about your seriousness about this project.
8. Is anybody else doing it now?
If not, why not? Is there a reason why someone MIGHT have passed on this idea?
If someone is already working on a similar idea, how different will your company be as compared to the incumbents?
9. When are you planning to get into the business full time?
Yes, you have worked hard during nights and weekends to get the business off the ground? When will you leave your present job and join the business full time? What is the criteria used to determine this transition?
10. Do you have a mentor?
It all seems easy at the planning stage and if everything works according to the plan on the paper, then you don’t need to have anyone or worry. Unfortunately, the paper plan and real life are different and any new venture will be filled with surprises – good and bad. You need a mentor, a sounding board to work with. The questions you are reading are a small sample of questions a good mentor will ask and hold you accountable. It is worth your investment.
11. Why do you want to do this?
Each entrepreneur has a different reason to be an entrepreneur. What is yours? Once you answer this think whether becoming an entrepreneur is the only way to get what you want or become what you want to become.
12. How much does it cost?
It is our tendency to think only about the hard costs that are associated with the project. “Time away from family” is sometimes not counted as cost but IT IS A COST. Have you thought of all the costs (or “investments” for those with positive mental attitude) associated with this adventure? Is it all worth it?
13. What is success for you?
How do you know when you are successful? As you grow in this business several things happen – your dreams will grow, your opportunities will expand, problems will change and your needs will change. The key question therefore is “What should happen that will make you feel that you succeeded in this venture?”
Please answer this question with hard numbers rather than “something big” or “something remarkable” kind of answsers.
Posted under Business Models, Main Page.
By Rajesh Setty on Fri 23 Dec 2005, 7:22 AM - Leave Comment
Payback cycle in simple terms is the duration over which a particular project continues to yield results. The question for you is:
What is the payback cycle on your projects today – personal and business?
The work pressures of today won’t let you think about stretching the payback cycles. Everyone wants the fastest payback and they want it NOW! This will force us to look for payback in the immediate future. In fact, if you are not in a leadership role, people don’t even expect you to think about stretching payback cycles – which is one of the reasons you should start thinking about this topic.
To get you to start thinking, let’s do some retrospection. What projects were you involved in the last ten years or so that are continuing to yield results even today? If you have a lot of them, congratulations! you just have to continue what you are doing. If you can’t recollect many projects that fit this category, think about what could you do differently on your current projects so that years from now, some of the projects are still continuing to yield results.
When I do this exercise in groups, there are people who feel sad that they can’t think of any projects in the past that has had a long payback cycle. However, when I ask them if there are things from their past (projects, accomplishments, relationships etc.) that they could leverage today to get some results (and in turn stretch payback cycles) suddenly there is a sign of hope.
I am of the firm belief that there are things in our closets of the past that are not fully leveraged thus shortening payback cycles for many of our investments. Once we become conscious of this, things change dramatically.
Posted under Distinguish yourself, Main Page.
Recent Comments