Sukhjot (Joti) Basi

These days capital preservation is the mantra and bean counters at large and small corporations are in-charge.    But the bean counters who usually make their decisions based on DCF & NPV (two very useful tools) can kill innovation.  A great example is how GM lost all the value it had built by launching a strong brand like Saturn.  This article talks about how they did it.

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?   

Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead the People Who Deliver Technology is a book written by Paul Glen.  This book was given to me by one of my previous employers.  The central idea of the book is that traditional management practices may not be very effective when it comes down to managing technical teams.  I found the book to be very easy to read and I think there are some great tips on how to manage and lead technical teams.  What is rather interesting that even if you are a technical person who is promoted into a management role, you tend to adopt traditional management styles than the ones you would have prefered as a techie yourself.  This book discusses how techies think, what to expect and what not to expect from them.  If you are leading a technical team or you are preparing to become a technology leader then this book is definitely for you.  The books is available online.