Libya- is it time for private initiative to help Build,Operate,Transfer (BOT) democracy ?

One was aghast at seeing Libyan diplomats defect the Gaddafi Government. Diplomats are usually  very circumspect folks and this brings up the idea of private initiatives to Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) democracies in entire parts of he world. Seems like an unusual business idea but by the time official folks in the UN andContinue reading “Libya- is it time for private initiative to help Build,Operate,Transfer (BOT) democracy ?”

Innovation and Change: NYSE merger with German Deutsche Boerse

var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-857684-6’]); _gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true; ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); NYSE might be renamed as the German Deutshe Boerse shareholders control 60% of the combined entity.While Continue reading “Innovation and Change: NYSE merger with German Deutsche Boerse”

Facebook not a waste of time- prove Egyptians

Betty White on Saturday Night Live made the famous comment that Facebook sounded like a "huge waste of time". Well,the Egyptians proved today that it is not!  President Mubarak stepped down after a non-violent street protest unprecedented in recent memory. By all accounts Facebook (and Twitter) made the Egyptian revolution possible. Online communication helped rallyContinue reading “Facebook not a waste of time- prove Egyptians”

Innovation today is about making and selling world-wide- but look at the market first

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Jobs report: need to look at “Two-speed” economy of chicken tikka vs. chicken wings

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India: A Raja is arrested in 2G telecom scam: learning to deal with the messiness of democracy

With all the excitement in Egypt even the BBC  covered the arrest of A. Raja only briefly. A. Raja is the former Indian telecom minister who is alleged to have sold the very lucrative 2G wireless phone licenses in 2008 at 2001 rates to private companies costing the Indian government billions of dollars in lostContinue reading “India: A Raja is arrested in 2G telecom scam: learning to deal with the messiness of democracy”

Egypt Crisis : Oil is above $100 and yet the DOW is above 12,000

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How does innovation create jobs? – The Music Industry example

But there comes a point when unless you change the technology platform you can only do so much. My favorite example is the vinyl records->music cassette -> disc-> MP3 music platforms. Just the number of songs you could fit in into a device has jumped exponentially, industries like cassette tape makers are extinct but their place is taken by an entire cell phone industry that offers MP3 music- famously led by the iPod and iPhone.

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market is different in India- no one does DIY!

When a market like India booms in everything from automobiles, roads , buildings including homes and offices and their cleaning and maintenance -it’s interesting to observe that practically no one does any DIY with the stuff they own. There is a cleaning person for the car and home, the former is frequently the driver. AnyContinue reading “The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market is different in India- no one does DIY!”

Why do you cover glass buildings with fishing net – in India? -To balance democracy with business-

By the time (this post from January 2011) I figured this one out,  our favorite taxi-cab company  cab had reached the Hyderabad,India airport  and I missed taking a picture.  This was one image that should have appeared in this “New Year” post. Anyway let me explain why 20-50 floor glass buildings  were covered with aContinue reading “Why do you cover glass buildings with fishing net – in India? -To balance democracy with business-“