While reading HBR, I came across a rather interesting article on How to compete in capital intensive industries.  Interestingly enough contrary to the the common wisdom, this article actually  suggests that it is not always a good idea to use game theory (something which B-Schools heavily emphasize on) just because you are threatened by your competitor .   

I came across a good discussion about making innovation decisions at HBSP.  The article is called How Can $220,000 Trump $200 Million? It discusses how an innovation such as google search can be worth a lot more money in the long term than something like vanilla coke which was shut down after 3 years.

This afternoon while I was having coffee with some of my peers an interesting discusison popped up regarding the current financial crisis.  While most of my peers were blaming the government, I was arguing like a typical immigrant that the problem may be with the government but it has more to do with the entitlement attitude we all have in this country.  Almost everyone who lives in American feels entitled to a house, a nice car and a great salary.  It stems from the American pride which Americans gained after the second world war.  But that gives dishonest and greedy executives an opportunity to add fuel to fire by offering them subprime loans.  I remember the days when if you wanted to get a car or a house you needed to put down 20% down and you must have held your job for 2 years.  That changed rapidly in 2000 and after when mortgages were being handed out without much due-diligence which has led to the current financial crisis.  Now not only those who felt that they were entiteld are suffering but also tax payers like myself who went by the book and paid 20% down for their homes.  But then all the sudden one of the guys said, wait who is really dishonest here?  Is it the government? Is it the dishonest or greedy executives?  Is it the mortgage brokers?  Or is it possible that an average citizen has become dishonest not only to the society but also to themselves and their families?  While they may feel that they are honestly willing to pay their mortgage as long as they have a job but aren't they being dishonest because they don't qualify to own a house to begin with? Sure both Obama and McCain are busy blaming each other's parties for it.  But really whose fault is it?   

Poor and incompetent leadership amazes me and it proves over and over that it has no limits.  One such example has been recently demonstrated by Grapevine High School District, its administrator, Grapevine High School Principal and others.  So here is the deal -  Grapevine High School senior Anjali Datta holds the highest GPA among 471 students.  As a matter of fact, her GPA 5.898 is distance ahead of the next student at 5.64 and she finished her school in 3 years.   But she won't be the valedictorian.  Her fault?   She finished her high school in 3 years where as the school district policy states  "The valedictorian shall be the eligible student with the highest weighted grade-point average for four years of high school".   And since she wont' be a valedictorian, she wont' be getting the state scholarship to go to college.
So let me understand this - she finished her 4 year of high school in 3 years and now she is being punished for that?  One the one hand we encourage kids to study hard, take advance course and excel in their studies.  On the other hand we have school administrators from districts such as Grapevine High School?  Just to set the recored straight - "Anjali Datta did finsh Four Years of High School". 
If you are interested in learning who the incompetent leaders at Grapevine School Distict Are ?  Here is the link to their website.
How to Fix This?

I think that Barack Obama should be the next President of United States.  No, I am not saying this because I am a Democrat.  No, I am not saying this because I am a minority.  No, I am not saying this because I am an immigrant and just like Obama I have roots in a foreign country.  This is why I am saying:
I think that Barack Obama has the leadership qualities which not only Americans can benefit from but also the whole world.  I think that Obama has the leadership qualities which can bring together not only Americans but also the leaders and citizens of other nations.  His leadership capabilities can help this entire world deal with global issues such as terrorism, disease, poverty, food shortage and energy crisis.  Now how is it possible that one man's becoming president can address so many issues around the world? 
The answer lies in how he has raised his campaign funds.  According to OpenSecrets.org, Barack Obama has so far raised $264,493,051 (yes, $264 million) by receiving small donations in the amounts of less than $25 through his website.  These contributions were made by average Americans like you and me.    If you go to his site the first time, you will see a donation form before anything else.  Now how does his being able to raise campaign funds relates to adressing all of the above mentioned issues? 
Lets take the current energy crisis as an example.  We all are facing shortage of oil which is impacting everything else: