India's 1983 Cricket World Cup Win and Leadership Lessons

Last updated on: January 7, 2007 at 1:40 pm By Desh Kapoor

There have been many unlikely successes in the world of sports but for India the 1983 Cricket World Cup triumph will count as the best ever. First, India was NOWHERE near any ranking of a One-Day team. If we could win even a single game - even against Sri Lanka, we could rejoice. West Indies, on the other hand, had a side that was simply invincible in one-day games. No one could even think of beating them - least of all India!! But as the championship unfolded India beat West Indies not once but twice in that championship - second time in the finals!! Many games were memorable.. but the Zimbabwe game and the Finals were the most remembered! Read more

Mapping the Internet Players

Last updated on: January 7, 2007 at 9:06 am By Desh Kapoor

Here is an interesting map from the Information Architects site of the bigger players of the online market and how they relate to each other. Not that this is scientific or formal mapping technique but it is just cool looking fun: Read more

Why IM is a necessary tool for Corporate Efficiency..

Last updated on: January 7, 2007 at 8:31 am By Desh Kapoor

IM is getting a lot of traction in the corporate settings. I have used a top of the line IM tool (Lotus Notes IM) when I was at IBM and I thought it was one of the best tool ever I worked with! We could instantly talk to anyone instead of emailing and also save the conversation for record. The results and sharing was instant and there was no delay in making some important decisions. I also got a chance to work on a project where one part of the team (where I was) in Venezuela and one in the US. The speed at which we accomplished our work was amazing. I would highly recommend this tool as a corporate efficiency increasing program. Read more

Indian companies Acquiring US Firms

Last updated on: January 7, 2007 at 4:22 am By Desh Kapoor

This is a very topical article. Indian companies are indeed lining up to buy the US firms. Granted, the acquisitions are not as high profile as the acquisitions by the Chinese, but then the Chinese companies are not based entirely on private initiative - they are in fact representative of the Government mandate! That is why the Chinese go for the bigger things - while the Indian firms are buying only those assets that make sense business-wise and not trying to make a big splash unless the dominance of the entire Global sector is at stake - like stake. That is what Tata did by bidding for Corus - the second biggest Steel company.in Europe. But despite the fact that a company like Infosys has a higher market capitalization than Accenture, BearingPoint and other consulting companies - still it has stayed away from acquiring any. Read more

Shariat Courts are Protected under Muslim Personal Law: Indian Central Government

Last updated on: January 7, 2007 at 2:45 am By Desh Kapoor

After the such a great motivation of Dr. Singh to "reverse" the inequities of the Muslim Society, here is another disastrous news article. Now, the Central Govt. reply makes it clear that under the Muslim Personal Law, Shariat Courts are protected for Muslims! If the idea is to help the Muslims, then what the Government is doing in the name of "freedom of religion" is to (1) destroy the future of the Muslim youth and (2) increase the differences within the society between different communities! I doubt we have learnt from history. And just because someone is so intelligent, doesn't mean he also has a vision that is stabilizing for the world!! Dr. Singh is no exception. Read more

Is Google copying Yahoo?

Last updated on: January 7, 2007 at 2:23 am By Desh Kapoor

Is Google copying Yahoo? This is a page that announces the splash page for IE7. Google page is EXACTLY the same! The copy is done so well. Is creativity gone out of Google now or what? Back when IE7 launched, Yahoo! created a customized version and began to market it to our existing IE users. The "splash page" looked like this: Today it seems that Google has similar intentions. So similar, that they decided to basically copy our page and slightly Googlify it. If you look, the design, layout, and most of the text are the same! Read more

Thought for the Day: Rest in Self

Last updated on: January 6, 2007 at 7:03 pm By Desh Kapoor

Wherever the mind wanders, restless and diffuse in its search for satisfaction without, lead it within; train it to rest in the Self. -Bhagavad Gita 6:26 Read more

Cheers for the New Year

Last updated on: January 6, 2007 at 6:05 pm By Desh Kapoor

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Thanks for the dreams, originally uploaded by [Keith]. Apt picture for the start of the new year!! Read more

20% of Cisco's Top Executives to Move to India!!

Last updated on: January 5, 2007 at 9:30 pm By Desh Kapoor

If you still needed any confirmation of the strength of Indian telecom market - here it is. Over the next 3-5 years, Cisco will move 20% - ONE-FIFTH - of its top brass to India!! Now, that is a MAJOR shift in any company. A lot of companies make the shift but this seems unprecedented! And what prompts this shift? - Great Market for Mobiles and a growing Internet usage - Cheap talent that can help Cisco compete with Juniper and Huawei technologies. - Good technical talent - not just cheap! Wim Elfrink, Cisco's (CSCO) chief globalization officer, is at the vanguard of a new initiative. This January, Elfrink will relocate from his San Jose (Calif.) headquarters to Bangalore, India. In a major display of commitment to the Indian market, Cisco plans to have at least 20% of its top executives working in India in the next three to five years, according to Elfrink. Read more

The Fisherman Legend and the Telecom Potential of India!

Last updated on: January 5, 2007 at 9:09 pm By Desh Kapoor

The telecom market in India is exploding! The analytic criteria that are used for analysis in the developed economies do not mean a thing in the emerging markets. Here is the "Fisherman Legend" that illustrates the irrelevance of the analytical techniques for developed economies in a place like India A Mumbai fisherman used to sell his catch by going from house to house, visiting a circle of regular customers. Now, as he's approaching shore, the fisherman calls his customers from his cell phone to see if they would like seafood for dinner. The cost of a cell phone amounts to a huge proportion of the fisherman's income, analogous to what an American might spend on a car. But it's worth it, because it boosts his income by letting him spend more time fishing and less time touring the neighborhood. Read more

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