Yesterday I was at Srinivasa Institute of Engineering and Tech, Chennai for the inaugural of their Innovation Cell. In my keynote, I told them a few stories they can relate to, stories of other student innovators from innovation cells I was involved in. After the ceremony, we (about four of us who spoke) got a… [Read more…]
March 5, 2012
In the past two days, I came across two stories. They are stories of innovation but they also point to a common pattern. I find this encouraging. Is this a trend? We don’t know yet. Tide Pods are palm-size, liquid detergent-filled tablets that are designed to be tossed in the washer to take the measuring… [Read more…]
October 22, 2011
If you bump into an important problem, would you recognize it? Or will you say “Pardon me” and just move on? I am afraid that I might have been doing the latter. This old essay is a fascinating read. It is from a Scientist, but I doubt that it applies to Science alone. Here are… [Read more…]
October 21, 2011
Quotes from Steve Jobs: You need a very product-oriented culture, even in a technology company. Lots of companies have tons of great engineers and smart people. But ultimately, there needs to be some gravitational force that pulls it all together. Otherwise, you can get great pieces of technology all floating around the universe. But it… [Read more…]
October 6, 2011
I came across 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done a couple of days ago. I don’t know about you, but I do have problems of focus, getting things done, and distraction (loads of distraction). So I decided to give it a try (after all 18 minutes a day… [Read more…]
August 28, 2011
One of the best chapters I have read in Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson, is “Serendipity”. Here are a few snippets: The English language is blessed with a wonderful word that captures the power of accidental connection: “serendipity” Serendipitous discoveries often involve exchanges across traditional disciplines. The history of innovation is replete… [Read more…]
March 28, 2011
The weekend marathon event In50hrs is behind us now. But the ripples continue. A few blog posts, tweets and retweets, facebook pictures and comments are still trickling in. Here is what I really like about the event. I liked the name and the tag line – ”Can you take an idea and give it life… [Read more…]
January 9, 2011
Even when your own needs have been met you can work for the betterment of others has helped me to understand that being a successful businessman can be a powerful way to contribute to society. In building a business, it’s important to remember that you aren’t just acquiring wealth for yourself, but creating value for… [Read more…]
December 21, 2010
Mastering a complex discipline such as programming requires a great amount of learning over the course of several years, perhaps even decades. Maximizing one’s ability to learn is therefore an early investment that can quickly repay itself. The biggest impact on my ability to learn was caused by a shift in the way I considered… [Read more…]
November 20, 2010
I stumbled upon this amazing link from the past. Can you guess, how old it is and where it came from? I am going to withhold that for a while (just to increase the suspense). But here is the snippet. Kind of timeless, IMO. The first duty of the cartoon is not to picture or… [Read more…]
March 19, 2012
1