Happy Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2013 at 6:42 pm · Filed under Personal

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All men fear death. It’s a natural fear that consumes us all. We fear death because we feel that we haven’t loved well enough or loved at all, which ultimately are one and the same. However, when you make love with a truly great woman, one that deserves the utmost respect in this world and one that makes you feel truly powerful, that fear of death completely disappears. Because when you are sharing your body and heart with a great woman the world fades away. You two are the only ones in the entire universe. You conquer what most lesser men have never conquered before, you have conquered a great woman’s heart, the most vulnerable thing she can offer to another. Death no longer lingers in the mind. Fear no longer clouds your heart. Only passion for living, and for loving, become your sole reality. This is no easy task for it takes insurmountable courage. But remember this, for that moment when you are making love with a woman of true greatness you will feel immortal.

– Hemingway

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Happy New Year

January 1, 2013 at 2:16 am · Filed under Personal

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Wishing all my readers a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Cheers!

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Apple and Power of collaboration.

December 8, 2012 at 5:18 pm · Filed under Quote ·Tagged , ,

You look at what we are great at. There are many things. But the one thing we do, which I think no one else does, is integrate hardware, software, and services in such a way that most consumers begin to not differentiate anymore. So how do we keep doing that and keep taking it to an even higher level? You have to be an A-plus at collaboration.

Source: Tim Cook’s Freshman Year

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Air wars Vs Ground wars

December 2, 2012 at 3:17 pm · Filed under Business, Entrepreneurship ·Tagged ,

The second company is harder. Most people fail at their second companies because they believe they have the magic formula. They think ‘I will only fix the problems of the first company and the second company will run like it’s on autopilot.’ But the problem is that the environment is always different.

One of the takeaways from my second company is that there’s a clear distinction between what I would call air wars and ground wars. The air wars are talking to analysts going on speaking trips and so on. The ground wars are selling stuff to your customers and solving a real problem. Every company has to do both. The air wars help to build the brand. The ground wars help you win customers. Most failed startups mix those two up.They are selling air wars to their customers, they are selling big hype and big promises and customers are not interested. From a customer’s perspective, you always look at what’s the value? What do I get today and how does it help me run my business?

We have to be strong in the air wars, we have to do PR, we have to have to seek coverage, but at the end of the day it’s a good product, it’s good salespeople, it’s the features and so on that actually win.

Source: Why Most People Fail At Launching Their Second Companies

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User vs Customer

October 27, 2012 at 9:04 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

The entire technology industry uses the word “user” to describe its customers. While it might be convenient, “users” is a rather passive and abstract word. No one wants to be thought of as a “user” (or “consumer” for that matter). I certainly don’t. And I wouldn’t consider my mom a “user” either, she’s my mom. The word “user” abstracts the actual individual. This may seem like a small and insignificant detail that doesn’t matter, but the vernacular and words we use here at Square set a very strong and subtle tone for everything we do. So let’s now part ways with our industry and rethink this.

The word “customer” is a much more active and bolder word. It’s honest and direct. It immediately suggests a relationship we must deliver on. And our customers think of their customers in the same way.

–Jack Dorsey

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Digital wars: Apple vs Google Vs Microsoft

September 24, 2012 at 6:09 am · Filed under Worth reading ·Tagged , , ,


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Lastly, what were the biggest surprises for you as you researched and wrote this?

I knew a lot of the Apple stuff because I’d followed it closely, and ditto with Google. Really what did surprise me was the number of times that Microsoft had winning solutions but through a combination of inertia and internal fighting managed to dissipate its chances. Things like owning a company which could do essentially what Google’s AdWords did; turning down the Overture purchase; trying to mimic the iPod with the Zune; and a lot of the mess around Windows Mobile, which in effect had to be taken out the back and shot, because it had become so unwieldy. In retrospect, the other surprising thing is how quickly a lead can vanish — look at RIM, which used to dominate smartphones (in the US) and is now on a dangerous slide. Technology moves fast; if you’re not thinking a couple of years ahead, you’re already behind.

Charles Arthur, Author of Digital Wars: Apple, Google, Microsoft and Battle for the Internet

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Decision fatigue and why Obama always wear dark suits.

September 20, 2012 at 6:28 am · Filed under idea, Leadership, Managment ·Tagged ,

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“Making decisions uses the very same willpower that you use to say no to doughnuts, drugs or illicit sex,” Baumeister says. “It’s the same willpower that you use to be polite or to wait your turn or to drag yourself out of bed or to hold off going to the bathroom. Your ability to make the right investment or hiring decision may be reduced simply because you expended some of your willpower earlier when you held your tongue in response to someone’s offensive remark or when you exerted yourself to get to the meeting on time.”

–Jone Tierney  

“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” he said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” He mentioned research that shows the simple act of making decisions degrades one’s ability to make further decisions. It’s why shopping is so exhausting. “You need to focus your decision-making energy. You need to routinize yourself. You can’t be going through the day distracted by trivia.”

– Obama’s Way

Image courtesy:  Athena Currier

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Chaha ke ye…

August 31, 2012 at 4:12 pm · Filed under Poetry & shayari ·Tagged , , , ,

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 Chaha ke ye Aasmaan humara hota,
khwaisho ka koi kinara hota,
ye soch kar na roka us musafir ko humne,
dur jata hi kyu agar wo hamara hota.

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Chup Karke Kareen Guzaare Nu

August 23, 2012 at 6:03 pm · Filed under Poetry & shayari ·Tagged , ,

Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu.
Sach sunke log na sehnde ni,
sach aakhiye te gal pained ni.
Phir sache paas na behnde ni,
sach mitha aashiq pyaare nu.
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu.

Stay silent to survive
People cannot stand to hear the truth.
They are at your throat if you speak it.
They keep away from those who speak it.
But truth is sweet to its lovers!

Sach shara kare barbaadi eh,
sach aashiq de ghar shaadi eh.
Sach karda naveen abaadi eh,
jiha shara tareekat hare nu.
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu.

Truth destroys shara.
Brings rapture to its lovers,
And unexpected riches,
Which shara obscures.
Stay silent to survive.

Chup aashiq to na hundi eh,
jis aayi sach sugandhi eh.
Jis maahl suhaag di gundi eh,
chadd duniya kood pasaare nu.
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu.

Those lovers cannot remain silent
Who have inhaled the fragrance of truth.
Those who have plaited love into their lives,
Leave this world of falsehood.
Stay silent to survive.

Bulla Shah sach hun bole hai,
sach shara tareekat phole eh.
Gal chauthe pad di khole eh,
jiha shara tareeke haare nu.
Chup kareke kareen guzaare nu.

Bulla Shah speaks the truth.
He uncovers the truth of shara.
He opens the path to the fourth level,
Which shara obscures.
Stay silent to survive.

–Bulleh Shah

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Programming for people.

May 25, 2012 at 3:01 pm · Filed under programming ·Tagged , , , , ,

“The nature of programming has changed. For many years we were puzzle-solvers, focused on turning algorithms into sets of instructions to be followed by a computer. We enjoyed solving these puzzles, and we often viewed both the complexity of the puzzle and the obscurity of the solution as evidence of our skill. As applications have become more ambitious and programs have grown even larger, programming has become more of a cooperative effort. We form close-knit teams of programmers. We have code walkthroughs and inspections. We test and maintain other people’s programs. Aware of our human limitations, we have come to view complexity and obscurity as faults, not challenges. Now we write programs to be read by people, not computers.

There is a pleasure in creating well-written, understandable programs. There is a satisfaction in finding a program structure that tames the complexity of an application. We enjoy seeing our algorithms expressed clearly and persuasively. We also profit from our clearly written programs, for they are much more likely to be correct and maintainable than obscure ones.”

Samuel Harbison is the author of Modula-3 and co-author of C: A Reference Manual.

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