How to Make Wealth - very interesting article

Kintan Brambhatt (http://www.kintya.com/) brought this well-written Paul Graham article to my attention. It talks about how start-ups are most apt to create "wealth". A brief summary:

• Wealth is what people want - car, a peaceful countryside vacation, house, anything. Money is just what they use as a medium of exchange to move wealth around. There is a relatively fixed amount of Money in the world, but limitless wealth to be created. Hence money is not wealth.
  
• To get rich (wealth-wise), you need to be in a situation with two things: measurement (your performance should be measurable) and leverage (your abilities and actions have a big impact). Any job where you feel safe probably is missing one or the other (or both).
• A small company enables Measurability, and cutting-edge technology enables Leverage. Hence start-ups self-select motivated top performers who want to work hard, as their efforts have distinctly visible impact.
  

A couple comments on the article:

• Wealth vs Money: I'm not completely on board with the statement that wealth is on average created, because there is no way to clearly measure it. For example, how do you measure the increase in wealth due to cell phones versus the decrease in wealth due to increasing cases of life-threatening deceases like cancer (which may be attributable to wireless communication)? How about industrialization and its environmental repercussions? Paul addresses it, but not to my satisfaction - immeasurability is not the same as 'different kind of wealth'. I agree though that Money is just one way to measure Wealth. In fact, Money is the measure of the perception of wealth, and it should be respected in just that capacity. So, if something is worth less money, there's a good chance that its implied wealth creation capability is less - but it is by no means the only factor to consider, as several people could have that 'wealth', which reduces its premium but not necessarily its value. A particular cell phone is just as useful regardless of whether it costs $400 or $100, and regardless of whether there are only 100 such models or 10 million. "Premium", IMHO, is not Wealth but simply a manufactured concept to increase the perception of Wealth. As such, its 'value' is fickle and non-dependable unless delicately managed - which makes this 'value' depend on the individuals managing it rather than on the product itself. Case in point: the iPod?
  
• Measurement and leverage: This is very key: "If you're in a job that feels safe, you are not going to get rich, because if there is no danger there is almost certainly no leverage"
• Uninterruptability: The best technical brains *hate* being interrupted, because they are creating 500hp value that interruptions tend to put a handbrake on. This is easy to forget in management, where you are the one interrupting these folks for reports and metrics. You need to keep in mind that when you do that, "inside their heads a giant house of cards is tottering."
  

We are what we are exposed to

Heads-up: This promises to be a confusing post :)

We are what we read, hear and experience - basically what we are exposed to. We (can) fundamentally change over the course of these experiences. I'm not breaking any new ground by stating this here.

What I wonder is whether we have control over the change that these 'mental impingements' bring in us. We may know what our reaction would be to a news story about children dying of hunger in a small country, but do we know how it will change our way of life? We may have an opinion about the role of individuality in life, but do we know what a particular 3-hour conversation with someone will do to that opinion?

The simple answer: No. The more interesting answer: Mayyyyybe.

What if we had control over this change? What factors influence this process?

Factors in our personal space:

1. Mood - happy, melancholic, ?
   
2. State of mind - peaceful, stressed, ?
3. State of life - stable, in transition, ? (maybe this rolls up into #2)

There's no "right" value to these factors btw. The effect would be different when you are happy vs. brooding and melancholic, but it would still be an effect.

Factors not in our direct control:

1. Style of impingement - book, discussion, experience, ?
   
2. Quality of impingement - Well-written and emotionally rich poetry? Passionate discussion partner? Well-written and connected book? Intense and pure (or uniquely mixed) emotion?

However, is there something in our indirect control, which I for one have not realized yet (similar to the Zeroth law of robotics in a sense)?

Can we control what type of literature we read, people we speak to and experiences we have with the conscious intent of gaining a specific insight into ourselves? I'm not talking about engaging a specific person for a specific reason, or reading a particular book. I'm also not talking about the serendipitous discovery of blogs or chance discourses on topics, that happen seemingly at random. I'm talking about "can I control what I imbibe (not just read) or what I listen to (not just who I talk to), based on what I want to gain from the experience?" Perhaps this is a cyclical dependency: if I could do this, I would already know where I want to go, which is the whole point of the experience.

The simple answer: Yes. I choose to read a particular type of literature and interact with a particular type of people.

The more interesting answer: Sometimes, you may need to not read, not meet, not experience something. Is it important to choose what you do not want to have impinge upon you, as it may change you in ways you don't want? Some criteria for this 'impingement exclusion':

1. You need a deep insight into who you are and what you want to do or be going forward
2. You are relatively easily swayed by others' opinions and thoughts, and have admitted this to yourself.
   
3. You need to be looking for contentment and a path to stable state.
4. "there is something called too much information", where "too much" is highly subjective, based on insights developed in #1.

If these conditions hold, then you are in a position to be swayed from your path to contentment by the passions and dreams of other - your parents, friend, peers, etc. In which case, is it better to consciously follow the "ignorance is bliss" maxim? Is it even possible if you know yourself well?

Btw, this is not an autobiographical analysis ;). I was reading an article on melancholy, and got to thinking about which sort of people would be comfortable with having fits of melancholy if they engender fits of innovation. We've all seen people struggle for peace of mind while continue to do things that put more pressure on them to perform, leading to a vicious cycle. I wonder if ignorance is indeed bliss in the long term for these folks, or whether everyone should strive for melancholy (as defined in that article). I guess I'm wondering if there's an invisible and indiscernible "meritocracy of the melancholy". I don't want to believe there is, and it is perhaps impractical to even discover it (never say never though ;)) - but I wonder.

I said it would be confusing.

Actions, and only actions, determine who you are

I read something once that was at once meaningful to me: “Actions, and only actions, determine who you are”. It’s true: There’s no such thing as faith in potential; potential is revealed only by some action at some point, and the magnitude of the action at that time or number of times the action was observed determines potential. However, it’s not possible to invest in just potential. You must ACT every day, because you are only as good as your last day. Past glories are easily forgotten, and past mistakes easily remembered.

This is especially meaningful to people who believe they have potential, but don’t utilize it. This means that they don’t have actions to back up their claims, which in turn means that they don’t have any way of proving (to themselves first, then to others) that they can do what they BELIEVE they can. So if you think you KNOW you can do something, but you don’t, it means that you don’t really know for SURE if you can or not. Not to say that you CANNOT do it, just that you can't say that you CAN. with full certainty. It's the difference between designing a program and actually implementing it -- the devil is in the detail, and you have to face that devil.

I apologize for the abundant cliché usage, but they all seem to apply appropriately :)

Google Apps: Where is it going?

I recently read this article about why it made sense for Microsoft to give up on Yahoo and pursue other options, and something in the article piqued my interest

Google may be lapping Microsoft in search share and online ad dollars, but the real threat is Google Apps—its free Web-based desktop applications

I was discussing this a few days ago with someone: What is Google's game with Google Apps?

There are several possibilities, but two stand out:

1. A new venue for targeted, personalized and relevant content (ads, news articles, advice, etc), in line with their core business model. This puts google-vended content in front of the corporate users at the one place where they spend most of their working-time: in their workspace, laboring away at word processors, spreadsheets, presentations, meetings and, of course, emails. These users are key commerce generators: they have needs, are aware of them, and have the means to satisfy them, if the right opportunity comes along - say in the form of a well-timed well-placed ad or link to an article subtly endorsing a product or product category. All perfectly legitimate, and very reasonable.
   
2. An Office-killer for small-to-mid businesses, in line with widening the scope of Google as a company. This will help businesses cut costs (from $500/yr/user to $50), and provide all the advantages - and disadvantages - of a fully online application. Few other pros: online collaboration (in various forms), Google's reputation for innovation, light-weight (no legacy-support requirements). This expands Google's market to the very lucrative office productivity apps space, and it will be easy for them to get a foothold at the lower end of the scale.

The question still is: What is Google's plan? It could well be both, but what is the primary thrust? A few days ago, I would have said (1), but I'm going to wait a bit more before putting my money where my mouth is.

Exploring the differences between East and West - Marketing

A brief take on what the Eastern Just-In-Time methodology and the Western Mass-Production methodology have to do with the fundamental pillars of marketing in these regions:

The Japanese use something called the Just-In-Time (JIT) methodology, where an item is created at the time the order is placed. This keeps inventory overheads low and each item is the product of the latest production technique available for that item.

In the US, the Mass-Production (MP) methodology is in vogue, where a large quantity of items are created in a batch, and inventory movement is paramount to keep costs low.

The MP process requires a strong marketing and sales force that can market and sell these pre-produced large inventories. A significant portion of capital is pumped into getting the product out to as many people as possible, instead of just improving the product’s value. The marketing and sales strategies are geared towards creating the perception of exclusivity and desire-to-own. Case in point: GM and its line of large gas-guzzling defect-ridden cars.

The JIT process requires extremely high per-product production efficiency. Capital is poured into creating a high-quality product rather that a high-quantity one, and on reducing inefficiencies at a fine-grained level. Due to the tight integration between perceived demand and production, inventory levels are kept low. Since capital is more focused on product quality rather than sales, the sales arm is under pressure to sell the product to potential lifelong customers who will consistently satisfy their needs from the same brand, rather than to an fickle population pushed here and there based on what they perceive their wants to be. Marketing strategies are geared towards creating the perception of value, consistent with the production ethics and the consumer mind-frame. Case in point: Toyota and its line of compact high-efficiency high-quality cars.

Looking further into implications - stay tuned ;)

The concept of Utility of money

Came across an interesting concept called utility. Simply put, if you have $20000, and you have the chance of earning a further $800 if you keep the $20000 in a bank (or in any way other than spending it), is the utility of the $800 enough to warrant the loss of spending power incurred?

Lakshya - a goal

-- an old post from my old blog --
What do you want to do when you wake up every morning? Is there an overriding aim in your life that you strive towards every day .. one that governs your priorities and your actions? Or are you just going through life based on short-term choices, peer pressure and base desires?

You want your life to mean something. Like any journey, life has a final destination. It is NOT just something you have to get through. If you think that, you might as well kill yourself right now. Don't live for others, because chances are they living for you, and there's not much going on there.

CHOOSE to set aside time to decide where you want to be. Be the pilot driver owner of your life .. there's no other way to live through it meaningfully. Let your aim decide your choices your associations your relationships your MORALS. To quote from Serenity, "I don't care what you believe, just believe"

The joys of disagreements

-- an old post from my old blog --
Whoever said a perfect relationship is one with no fights must have been living in utopia. Good for him, but for us ordinary people, 'major disageements' are a part of the deal. It's at that point in the relationship where you leave your mask of agreeability and take a stand on something as if it truly mattered to you that the other person see your point of view.

It's not how major the disagreement is, or how vehemently you argue about it, but how you achieve closure on the issue that determines the strength of the relationship and its potential to last. Open issues mean open doors to the same conflict cropping up again, and if there's no understood way of dealing with it, you are back to either fighting about it, or masking your point of view for the sake of peace. The former is actually better, because you are at least open enough, but closing the issues when they come up .. that's the way to go.

Here's to more fights and better understanding between you and those you love.

I tear my heart open ... just to feel

-- An old post on my old blog site --
At the funeral service of one of my colleagues, and later at the cemetery while the casket was lowered, I saw the look of grief on the faces of his widow and parents. The widow was standing to one side of the casket, holding a photo of him. I looked at them, and at the people around me, and suddenly I felt my eyes fill up. I didn't want to hold it back either, and here's the kicker... I liked it! It may seem a terrible thing to say, but its not. I genuinely felt sorrow for their loss, and sad because of the loss of a good coworker and a good friend, but at the same time felt good to feel .. something! People *live to feel*. I'd rather feel sorrow, pain, anger, grief than to not feel anything at all. The emptiness of our lives are filled up by emotions - they are the points we remember looking back. At that moment, standing at the cemetery remembering my departed friend, I felt good to feel, to hurt, to grieve. It's been said that it is not our thinking power or our opposable thumbs that make us human, it is our ability to feel and express complex emotions. I now see why.

Red Hot Chili Peppers @ Seattle, Sat 8/12/2006

I went into the RHCP concert with one thought prominent in my mind: "These guys will have to put up an awe-friggin-some show to top IO (Indian Ocean) for me". And this is what happened ...

We reached the venue - white river amphitheater - at 3:30pm to take in some of the other music playing as part of EndFest 15. Modest mouse and snow patrol cancelled, the latter on the last day due to a terrorist threat - they're irish. The main stage wasn't due to start belting out music till 5, so we hung around the second stage and caught some of the subways and eagles of death metal - the eagles were good, the subways were subpar. wolfmother started playing on the main stage before we got to our seats, and we caught their last song. i'm just sorry we missed the rest of their act - they were good.

here's the fun part - the mars volta came in belting out some weird number. then, when they be done with words, they start jamming - but not the good sort of jam, the repeat-the-same-notes-till-we-cant-bear-it sort. after a minute of that sh*t, we walked off to get some food in. turns out we missed out on the good part of their act ..

while we were eating in the food area, some idiot threw a bottle filled with warm urine on one of the band members, understandably pissing the band off. the cops took him roughly off the moshpit, cuffs and hair pulled back and everything, but the damage was done - the band completed their song and shut off, so we had a nice 45-minute break to wait for the peppers to show up. and that's when things got really interesting ..

It was an amazing set, with more than a few beautiful jams between Flea & Frusciante. Throughout the set, I was high like I was on coke or something, jumping around and headbanging. I thought the songs from their new album were slower and poppier than I expected, and I wish they had more funk in 'em - with more flea and with stronger basslines - but i can't complain about the quality of the music, which was fantastic. The encore shoutout had us screaming and banging seats for like 5 minutes - awesome cardio/aerobic workout ;). It was that good.

Here, in brief, were the highlights:
- the concert started with 'cant stop', and i went nuclear (again, thank you 40hz)
- not more than 15 seconds of pause between songs during the entire set, if even that
- a lot of new material from their new Stadium Arcadium album (5 songs)
- 3-4 jams, the last one going on for close to 10 minutes and including the drummer (chad) for the first 5
- frusciante doing beautiful lead improvs on all songs
- 'throw away your television'
- frusciante soloing on "how deep is your love" by the bee gees .. nothing but vocals and lead guitar
- the noise level for the encore call by the audience was deafening .. and we contributed
- chad drum solo in encore -- supi you would have gone crazy!
- 'give it away' in encore, with the final jam
- the group behind us telling me 'your rock, dude', presumably because of my enthusiasm ;)

A couple of fest regulars told me the main act generally performs for an hour, but I got the feeling that they would carry on for at least 1.5 hrs, if not 2. i was not disappointed ==> 9:15 to 10:50, with the only real pause being the 5-minute screaming and seat-thumping before the encore.

The verdict: For the sheer concert experience, this was better than IO. Of course this excludes the IO night-jam part of things :)

Sleeptime. gnite all.

~setlist~
intro jam
can't stop
dani california
scar tissue
charlie
otherside
warlocks
flea guitar solo, into
throw away your television (with long jam ending)
snow (hey oh)
me & my friends
stadium arcadium
right on time
flea guitar solo, into
don't forget me
how deep is your love (john vocal solo)
tell me baby
californication (with long flea & john intro)
by the way

~encore~
chad drum solo
98 oldsmobile intro, into
give it away
long jam (awesome!)

Indian Ocean @ Seattle, Friday 8/11/2006

We reached the indian ocean concert venue - a club by the name of Neumos - at 7 sharp. Of course, things were running on IST, which meant things started happening around 7:45. Brief intro by CRY spokesperson, and things were rolling!
The setlist included the favorites - Jhini, bol wievel, maa reva, hille re, leaving home, kandisa - and some not-so-well-known - bhor, kaun, bandheh. The concert finished off with Kandisa and - on encore - Kaun. Extremely high-energy, with each song taking more than double the time, with improvs and tukbandis. Amazingly wild .. and I was with a group of people right at the moshpit.

Funny thing .. a couple came up into the small space between me and another group in front of us in between songs. I told them straight-up - "i must warn you guys, this is a high-energy area, with lots of flailing arms and legs". They thought I was giving them attitude (i was not), and the girl went "oh, i'm scared. don't i look scared?". Well, they were out of there in a rush before the first song reached its improv section. dumbasses.

The music stopped at 11:30, and we were drained babay! I thought that was the end of that, but ....

After the concert, I mill around and get my photo taken with the band and all the CRY volunteers - by virtue of my roomie being one, nothing more :). I thought THAT was the end of that, but ....

So I head out with friends for a late - 1am - dinner at Denny's, and get home by 1:30, all set to sleep in preparation for the next day's RHCP thing. As luck would have it, I was listening to some dream theater, and decided to let the album finish in the car before getting out and heading into the house. At about 2 I step out to see a cavalcade of cars entering my aptment complex, one of them playing an Indian ocean song. Now I knew these guys were staying at a CRY volunteer's place in my complex, but to meet them as i'm about to get OUT of the streets ... pure luck! And I thought that REALLY was the end of that, but ....

My roomie was there along with 10-15 other CRYers, and i tagged along with him to help these guys unload their stuff and take it up to the aptment. So we're hanging out discussing first music, then global politics, then indian politics and the reservation/caste system - and all the while Rahul, Susmit, Amit and Asheem are downing rum like coke and keeping a straight face about it.

Rahul (bass, vocals) in particular is incredibly animated and vocal about his views, with very intelligent observations. His energy is absolutely infectious, and seems almost limitless. Amit (percussion, other instruments) is very laid-back and gives a fresh-out-of-college impression of himself. I didn't interact a lot with Susmit (lead guitar) 'cause he had a lunch appointment today and had to sleep early (early??), but we talked about how the best virtuosos in guitar don't jump around the stage, but stand in place and concentrate on the layerings. So friggin true - even kirk hammet who runs around when burning the guitar stands still when playing compositions. I felt stupid not realizing this earlier. Asheem is quieter than the rest, but has a great style of speaking.

This went on for an hour or so, and that I thought was the end of that, BUT ....

Out comes Elvis with his guitar. Heh, that's the name of one of the CRYer with whom these guys were staying (the other - Venkat, who graciously photographed some of the goings-on). He's a musician in his own right, with a sound recording system and mixer ensemble hooked up in his room. He takes out his acoustic, and starts off with December right? And I jump in (thank you 40Hz) and take the song to the finishing line. All this time we have these IO dudes watching us. We go into Black by PJ, and a couple other songs like Smells like teen spirit and Hotel C. We start on Wonderwall and Amit jumps in singin with us all, and when Knockin' on heaven's door comes on, Rahul jumps in towards the end. Now Rahul, Elvis and Amit are in tukbandi mode - Rahul heavily adapting the chorus first in a Jamaican accent, then a southie and then a bengali accent, with Amit playing on the tabletop and then on Elvis's guitar body, and Elvis just trying to keep up with the improvs and the varying pace and doing a great job of it. Then we do a completely weird song made on the spot by Rahul with us giving supporting vocals whereever we can figure out what's the current theme - and Elvis is still going at it! We break off around 6am, and I thought that was the end of that, BUT BUT BUT ...

Amit and Asheem tell me after this is all over that I'm a good singer, and that I have a very nice voice - Asheem asks me if i've had professional training! I'm flooooooooorrred! Where are these guys getting this from?? Asheem telling me I sing well is like .. u know what im saying supi :).

And THAT was really the end of that, so is THIS this end of this.

Sleeptime - RHCP await.