Bad storytellers

Have you ever experience the following?

We come across bad storytellers. Bad storytellers can be of many kinds. One example is people who take twice the number of words to explain the same content. They make an interesting story seem lame and staid. They spoil the punchline of the joke. They are in general not so good as entertainers or showman. And when you come across one such person, especially in a small group, you and the group  go out of your way to avoid giving them opportunities to come to the centrestage and be the narrator or the MC for that instant. The effort of avoiding them may be more than the time spent in listening to their bad story - but we do not mind. The negative value of a bad story seems big enough to put such an effort. 

Acute Attention Disorder

Have you ever blanked out in the middle of writing a sentence? Or worse, have you ever blanked out in the middle of a thought? If yes, then welcome aboard - You are part of the group of folks who suffer from this amazing disease called "Acute attention span disorder".

The patient's mind will be tired at the end of the day, but if he looks back, then the achievements don't substantiate the level of fatigue. This affects morale and adds pressure to the apparent lack of performance. This is how this disease affects our health. It lowers self esteem (basis poor ROI for mental fatigue), increases blood pressure (Lost time with no work) and reduces ability to do long concentrated stretches of work.

I am a patient. I want to get treated. Any suggestions?

Why the world needs to recalibrate

Increasingly the world that we live in seem to be a world full of big numbers.

Population is billion, Financial profits and losses are in trillions and billions, 2G scam loss is in Crores, Median b-school and IT/ITES salaries are in lakhs, real estate are under construction is in Million sqft, Land being acquired for infrastructure is hundreds of acres, Political yatras are for thousands of kms, Petrol lost through the new oil spill is Millions of gallons, Number of people on social media is in millions, number of tweets per day is in billions. 

Man! Where are the 1s,2s and the fractions? 

Are we capable of understanding what does a million, billion or even a thousand stand for? Do we have the capability to understand big numbers?

Intuitively, I believe that we understand the number 1 very well. And Fractions and percentages being firmly anchored in 1 as a baseline and the fact that the meaning of fraction is very well fenced by the outer boundary of “1” helps us understand the same better. But as 1 multiplies and becomes a big number the ability to grasp and understand the impact and the relative import of such large numbers is lost.

The world does not seem to care because not many of what we read on a daily basis is meant for communicating the real understanding - most articles are aimed to create an impression which is a derivative of the real thing and the big numbers help create that illusion. But on the contrary, the big numbers are also slowly, but surely, creating a numbness in the human mind which is blocking out all the communication. I no longer care if you increase the estimated loss/damage from millions to billions - Both are equally distant for me!

I believe the world needs to recalibrate and keep things simple - make it more relevant but keeping the numbers closer to 1 - as much as possible - atleast in fields where it is possible.

Archiving Music

I have been an avid Indian film music follower for the last decade or so. Ever since I got into the hostel at IIT and had unmitigated freedom on my entertainment sources, tamil, telugu and hindi film music has kept me constant company. Recently my good kannada friends have got me some exposure to sonu nigam's recent exploits in that part of our country.

Now the problem with following Indian film music is that by default the songs are archived by movie name. And movie names do not guarantee any pattern of genre in music. For instance, mainstream masala movies will have a melody romance number, an upbeat underdog turning it around song, an item masala song, a remix version of the same and a morose theme song. With so much variety packed into one average album, its almost like a default random list mix incorporated in the playlist.

The problem is that our listening needs are not necessarily a mixed bag all the time. For instance, when i run, i typically would want some peppy melodies to acoompany the regular running steps - usually avoid silent instrumentals or ultra slow theme songs. But there are times during solo travel when you would want to listen to precisely those kind of songs.

I do have some playlists categorising songs into these specific needs / genres. But the problem gap is that these lists are static and it takes quite an effort to update these lists basis the new material which comes in - almost everyday.

Is there any software/music player which does a auto archiving of new songs into standard category of playlists. Its almost like a labeling requirement. Juztaposing a label structure over the existing file structure based on movie names. Even better would be an intelligent player which can keep track of the group of songs which i typically listen together and suggest possible play lists. Does any such thing already exist? Can anyone help direct?

In the long haul, can some product manager figure out some time to help address this need. This is a real one :)

Insight : Investor/Performer

Personal finance is a tricky thing.

Step 1 : You need to decide how much you want to invest. Balance short-term needs with long-term goals.

Step 2 : Find the right opportunities to invest.

Step 3 : Once the investment is made - Wait till the schedule time to redeem the investment.

Like any other process, you can mess up in any of the steps.

According to me, step 1 is the easiest… To know one’s needs and aspirations is the most controllable step in these series of process steps. Whether you want to lead a luxurious life now with 3 parties every week or save up a little more for the future so that you can retire that bit earlier or risk that startup which you always wanted to do. The best part about this step is that there is no right or wrong. The only messing up that people can do, is, decide about one set of requirements today and change their wish list in some time. The changing, wavering nature of our mind leads to disappointment and messed up portfolios.

Next comes, step 2 - Equities, bonds, real estate, margin trading, futures, options, gold, commodities, art, currency, interest rates… The list of what you can invest in keeps increasing and changing. Things which were goods till yesterday are suddenly packaged as assets and sold for appreciation. Who would have though that mustard is the next big opportunity for holding your money. But most people, i have seen, dont make any major mistake here. People usually tend to invest only in places which they appear to have understood to a decent extent. Most people still invest in fixed deposits and post office instruments - why - because they understand that banks and governments promise return. Some people invest in mutual funds and not equities, because they understand that equities provide good returns, but they do not know how to selectively invest and hence choose the funds. Etc etc. With increasing discourses on risk and return of every asset class, the expected holding period and written advice of so many sources, this is also becoming easier by the day.

The third thing, according to me is the most difficult. Its difficult because, most people do not even reach this stage. Most of us, are always perennially in the “investing” zone. We never accept that we are invested and we are just waiting for the dividends to mature. Most of us, are not investors, in the true sense. We are entertainment seekers, and investment is one of those avenues providing excitement. We constantly want to seek to seen as “Investing”. Because this is that golden stage when you have money, are generating insights, people are watching you, looking up to you for some smart moves, you can spread gyaan you have self generated or acquired, and can acquire more gyaan in return. This is the zone of the “performer”. We never want this performance to be over. We never want our investment to ever become the hero. Its always about the investor. We dont want to talk about the old investment. We always want to make that better opportunity come alive. We always want to better the past - even if its always not the case. We dont believe in time giving us results - we dont want results - the journey of investing is our result.

And our weakness at step 3, my dear friends, is the biggest need that wealth management companies play on. Its a deep insight about the “investor” and not “investment” which makes all this money go around in wealth management. Private bankers, boutique investment firms, elite service, red carpet advisory etc etc are all services provided for the “investor performer” need alive in all of us.

Long live the insight generator!

Obama O mama!

Its interesting to read the multiple observations on the significance and implications of the impending visit of Barack Obama to India.
Sceptics say
1. While many in India believe that the last couple of years of Obama’s presidency have been more Pakistan-dependent or Pakistan-centric. His policy mindshare for India is very low politically and strategically in foreign affairs
2. The contextual compulsions in the US to be seen as acting against firms which outsource jobs is making him appear “Anti-India” since “Bangalore” occupies a lot of the outsourcing psyche of the world.
3. The just concluded US-pak strategic dialogue where billions of dollars have been promised for Pakistan’s continued military role in the Af-pak border is seeding doubts in whats the more serious dialogue
4. Timing of the visit with a popular Indian festival making the visit seem more symbolic in a frothy manner than making it strategically, diplomatically, economically and militarily significant
5. Lack of any big ticket policy items which are needed to create the buzz around any such visit
Optimists say
1. Association of positive words in the Indo-US relationship like democracy, business and trade, people to people contacts etc makes the relationship fundamentally more strong. Both parties don’t seem to be blackmailed or cornered to talk to each other. Instead they appear to be converging together automatically
2. Inspite of a non-enthusiastic regime in the US, the relationship doesn’t seem to be going too adrift. Any change in US foreign policy to a more favourable disposition can grow the current state of affairs more rapidly
2a. Despite all the flak MMS faces in India in terms of popular leadership qualities and ability to communicate, he seems to have built a professorial diplomat sort-of image, which the world politicians appreciate in public. This may play in India’s favour.
3. “Afghanistan-Pakistan” and “India-China”. The hyphonisation of countries clearly indicate the perspective with which the relationship must be viewed. India should stop seeing Pakistan as competition. Instead it should talk about how to enable Pak to overcome its insecurities, possibly nefarious ambitions and play a constructive role – without compromising on its security and interests.
What I would find it interesting in this trip – is which of these views linger as the predominant feeling after the visit gets over.
On the personal front, to think that the Bombay roads would be closed on a weekend due to the president’s visit is a nuisance i could have lived without. Cant they travel on weekdays?! Weekends are the only solace for the salaried pawns like me!

Insight : Investor Performer

Personal finance is a tricky thing.

Step 1 : You need to decide how much you want to invest. Balance short-term needs with long-term goals.

Step 2 : Find the right opportunities to invest.

Step 3 : Once the investment is made - Wait till the schedule time to redeem the investment.

Like any other process, you can mess up in any of the steps.

According to me, step 1 is the easiest... To know one's needs and aspirations is the most controllable step in these series of process steps. Whether you want to lead a luxurious life now with 3 parties every week or save up a little more for the future so that you can retire that bit earlier or risk that startup which you always wanted to do. The best part about this step is that there is no right or wrong. The only messing up that people can do, is, decide about one set of requirements today and change their wish list in some time. The changing, wavering nature of our mind leads to disappointment and messed up portfolios.

Next comes, step 2 - Equities, bonds, real estate, margin trading, futures, options, gold, commodities, art, currency, interest rates... The list of what you can invest in keeps increasing and changing. Things which were goods till yesterday are suddenly packaged as assets and sold for appreciation. Who would have though that mustard is the next big opportunity for holding your money. But most people, i have seen, dont make any major mistake here. People usually tend to invest only in places which they appear to have understood to a decent extent. Most people still invest in fixed deposits and post office instruments - why - because they understand that banks and governments promise return. Some people invest in mutual funds and not equities, because they understand that equities provide good returns, but they do not know how to selectively invest and hence choose the funds. Etc etc. With increasing discourses on risk and return of every asset class, the expected holding period and written advice of so many sources, this is also becoming easier by the day.

The third thing, according to me is the most difficult. Its difficult because, most people do not even reach this stage. Most of us, are always perennially in the "investing" zone. We never accept that we are invested and we are just waiting for the dividends to mature. Most of us, are not investors, in the true sense. We are entertainment seekers, and investment is one of those avenues providing excitement. We constantly want to seek to seen as "Investing". Because this is that golden stage when you have money, are generating insights, people are watching you, looking up to you for some smart moves, you can spread gyaan you have self generated or acquired, and can acquire more gyaan in return. This is the zone of the "performer". We never want this performance to be over. We never want our investment to ever become the hero. Its always about the investor. We dont want to talk about the old investment. We always want to make that better opportunity come alive. We always want to better the past - even if its always not the case. We dont believe in time giving us results - we dont want results - the journey of investing is our result.

And our weakness at step 3, my dear friends, is the biggest need that wealth management companies play on. Its a deep insight about the "investor" and not "investment" which makes all this money go around in wealth management. Private bankers, boutique investment firms, elite service, red carpet advisory etc etc are all services provided for the "investor performer" need alive in all of us.

Long live the insight generator!