I had written an earlier blog on this topic two years ago, Global Indian Citizen and most of the issues captured here are key for NRIs to participate in India’s growth from all aspects, be it economic, social or public service. We live in a far more integrated world today and the global experience of NRIs are a huge asset which must be leveraged for the benefit of the country. Around the world, people of Indian origin run some of the largest global corporations, have been ace entrepreneurs, have started many successful companies, are part of some of the world’s best universities, research and medical institutions, work as policy makers, and are govt. officials across many governments. They are certainly keen to contribute towards India’s development holistically. For decades, NRIs and Global Indians have been a part of the country’s economic and social aspects, and the new rule now also makes them a part of the electoral process and, hopefully soon, the public service as well. It would then be a truly inclusive involvement in harnessing the growth potential for the country.

(Views expressed in this and earlier blogs are the author’s personal views only.)

People are no longer satisfied with moderate changes around their ecosystem, be it political, social or economic. The deep angst and frustration of people have forced wide-ranging change that no one can ignore. Who would have thought that what started as demonstrations and protests in Tunisia on 18th Dec. 2010 would spread rapidly across the Arab world and bring revolutions to many other countries? It would become the starting point for the Arab Spring. The 30-year regime of Hosni Mubarak was toppled within 18 days of revolution by the Egyptian people. People want big change and are prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve the results. Arab Spring has impacted many countries such as Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Algeria, and continue to impact several other countries as well.

Anna Hazare’s movement on introducing the “Jan Lokpal Bill” in India is another great illustration of how people from all walks of life come together to fight for a cause that is dragging India behind. The menace of corruption from India is so deeply rooted in the system that only a movement, such as the one driven by Anna, can cause a meaningful impact. The Bill is hugely transformational and, if made into law, will create an independent body (Lokpal) that, without government approval, can register and investigate complaints on corruption against public officers including politicians and bureaucrats. The entire country is supporting Anna on this cause. People have felt pain from corruption, they connect with the issues, and there is massive ground level support for the movement, which is forcing the government to act seriously upon this and bring the Bill to Parliament for discussion and implementation…

With so much economic uncertainty, the Occupy Wall Street Movement in the US is another key indicator of the deep divide within society. People have joined the “we are the 99%” movement, not only in New York City, but also in many other US cities and around the world, to express their deep anguish and frustration with economic inequality in society. Wall Street is the symbol of the faulty lending practices for mortgage-backed securities which started the 2008 financial crisis and needed public funds to bail out top financial institutions. The scar of the 2008 recession is still fresh in people’s minds and this movement has provided a significant boost and platform for the voice of People Power…

Youngsters are among the biggest change agents in the world today. They are neither afraid of change nor scared of failures. With 43% of the total world population (over 3 billion people) younger than 25-year-olds, they are certainly creating huge waves of change and are fighting to make a better tomorrow. Around the world, in each country and region, and for each cause (be it political, social or economic), youths have taken a significant position and role in being change leaders. They are the future of the world and are leading the change…

Social networking provides the platform and enables People Power. It plays a huge role in providing significant boosts to the cause. People want to communicate, share, learn and know. Facebook now has 800+ million active users and as per them, the average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events. Social reach has amplified tremendously and at the rate of its current growth, very soon, Facebook will be the largest country in the world. Tweets written in 140 characters also have more power to connect people and drive real time information-sharing than traditional media. Time magazine reported a 2,000% increase in tweets written in Arabic over the past 12 months, making it the fastest growing language on Twitter. Imagine the power of these platforms to magnify grassroots level involvement and change…

2011 can also be viewed as the year of protest by people. However, I think of it as a form of expression which challenges the current form of thinking. It forces everyone to think and think big about making a significant difference in whatever we do. No longer should anything look impossible to achieve. Causes could be many, reasons could be diverse, but the key is that more people around the world have found their inner voices and gained significant strength in the past 12 months than in several preceding decades. Like many other changes which we have seen, this is also an irreversible change, and times ahead will see even more active participation from the change agents. 2011 clearly belongs to People Power…

HCL’s Vice Chairman and CEO, Vineet Nayar, opened the Meet with his welcome address on the changing world and the emergence of a perfect storm with 4 key attributes as Gen Y moves into the workforce: Changing global economy and the new normal, Emergence of the emerging economies, Changing Consumers and their buying patterns, and Changing Employees. His powerful and thought-provoking speech started the 2-day meet with a phenomenal articulation on innovation and employee centricity as the central theme of any sustainable solution to address these challenges and convert them into opportunities for all business leaders.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his keynote speech, spoke about how outsiders take more risk in driving change and bringing innovation, including taking huge social risks. They have high motivation and also the sheer desperation to succeed. To be at the edge and an outsider, even when successful or an insider, is to take bold chances and drive innovation. He centered his speech around Dr. Emil Freireich, who played a vital role in the advancement for cancer therapy, particularly related to child leukemia; and how his bold experiment of creating the drug cocktail more than 50 years ago, while working at the National Cancer Institute, was central to the therapy. Gladwell also articulated with very relevant examples how the more successful we become, the narrower we start to think. A refreshing session that provided many self-analysis tips for all…

President Clinton started his speech with a reinforcement of the fascinating times in which we live, with new findings and discoveries. e.g. Neutrinos traveling faster than the speed of light and its implications; newly discovered planet Gliese 581g with its earth-like properties which may indicate interesting possibilities for mankind; decoding the Neanderthal genome sequence and its implication for humanity; and more. He shifted the focus to key US and global issues, offering ideas on how to work towards finding solutions. His view that the country’s borders today are more like nets than walls is exemplified by the actions and policies of one country impacting many other countries in this global economy. He detailed examples of challenges and opportunities for every BRIC country, which must continue to grow economically while, at the same time, having the responsibility to fix social, environmental and political issues. He spoke about being more optimistic than many others in the future of the US. His message that a balanced budget along with driving growth to expand the job creation hit home with the audience. He enthralled the audience, not only with his elegance and charm, but also with his phenomenal knowledge and command over wide-ranging issues, and ability to connect them all into a seamless message. Truly inspiring…

Shiv Nadar, Founder & Chairman, HCL Enterprise and Shiv Nadar Foundation, in his keynote speech, spoke about social uplift and his efforts in giving back to the community. He spoke of the Foundation’s intense focus in creating concentric circles of aspirations among the most needy in the society, to allow them to become leaders and role models in their community, inspiring others to follow, and thereby, impacting society at large. Raising aspirations from the grass roots through primary school systems in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India (where HCL was born in 1976) has been a fascinating journey for the Foundation; a journey which has already changed the lives of thousands and nurturing the potential of tomorrow’s leaders. His thoughts on helping and enabling people we don’t know are extremely powerful and life changing. A very touching and inspirational speech which touched the hearts and minds of all…

The Meet had over 80 global industry leaders and experts share their ideas across multiple tracks on business, technology and humanity; and expand our way of thinking of how to solve key issues in our businesses and lives. The sessions on technology included focus on: Mobility and Multi-Device Experience; Cloud Computing – The Next Frontier; and Beyond Products: Building Ecosystem. The business track had discussions related to: Business Gets Social; Innovative Responses to Regulations; The New Agile Enterprise; and Business Model Reinvention. The humanity track covered topics such as: Lessons in 21st Century Leadership; Taking a World View; and Topics of our Times. The collaboration, sharing, learning and listening to new ideas, re-connecting with old friends and forging new relationships are the cornerstone of HCL Global Meet. The fun and entertainment element is also an integral part of the overall experience – Bollywood Night always add to the charm: work hard and play + enjoy harder…

As the Meet drew to a close on Nov. 15th afternoon, a customer summed it up nicely, “I look forward to coming to HCL Meet, as it’s the only industry meet in IT and Tech. where I learn and enjoy without inhibition, where the content helps me broaden my thinking. It’s not only about technology, it’s also about the passionate culture of HCL that has made be a big fan for last 6 years and I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” Till next time…

Rarely in recent times has one person reached the iconic level of touching billions of lives so intensely. Steve Jobs’ bold innovation across so many product categories, which were earlier filled with routine devices, caught the fancy of global audiences. What was originally a cult during the early Apple days, has since created new definition of global mainstream dominance through amazingly beautiful products. iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes and MacBooks have become lifelines for many of us many times over in the last couple of years.

What an impact Steve Jobs has created over the last decade: it’s like living through a century of transformation nicely packed in less than ten years. We all wait discernibly for the next release of Apple product launches with childlike curiosity, and love waiting in line outside Apple stores to be among the first to get the next iPhone or iPad; much like waiting in line for the new Harry Porter movies. The charisma of Steve Jobs through his stylish products, which are so simple and intuitive to use, has re-defined the computing and consumer industries. No one else made you fall in love with a consumer and technology product like the way Steve Jobs did.

Billions of people globally felt emotionally connected to Steve Jobs through his passion for changing the world with his ideas and products. It was his unique vision and gut wrenching strength which always challenged the conventional thinking in whatever he touched.

To remember Steve Jobs is to be inspired by his fearless and innovative thinking that always had the best and most heartfelt likeable combination of technology, art and people. To remember Steve Jobs is to keep changing the world one step at a time by being different and by taking chances… Even though Steve Jobs is gone, his ideas, innovation and ability to think differently will continue to inspire the world for many, many years to come…

The recent 2011 SAT scores, that captures the progress of college readiness for high school students, again captures the declining results ( http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/education/15sat.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper ). The scores show that on average, US high school students have performed the worst since 1995. In fact, for the last few years, the scores have consistently dropped all across: Average Critical Reading score in 2011 at 497 is the lowest ever recorded score, Average Math score at 514 is lowest in the last 5 years (it had peaked at 520 in the year 2005), and Writing score at 489 is also the lowest in the last 5 years. What is amazing is the reason given by The College Board on the low score: “increased diversity among students”. There is no reason whatsoever to justify low scores and, more importantly, the declining scores trend. Students of today must compete in the global economy more than ever and hence, there is even more reason for them to be better prepared to learn, to be able to deal with new challenges and take on the opportunities.

A completely reverse trend is observed among the Asian and European students – they are racing, or should we say reached, ahead in this race. In 2009 PISA ( Program for International Student Assessment ), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development revealed the relative country scores for 65 countries in a standardized test taken by 15 years old in each country (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/education/07education.html?pagewanted=all ). Whereas the Shanghai region in China consistently ranked at the top of the chart across Science, Reading and Math, the US didn’t even feature in the top 15 in any of those subjects. In fact, in Math it ranked 32, which was worse than countries such as Estonia, Slovenia and Czech Republic. The US is clearly being out-educated and the results of international comparison simply highlight what the SAT scores have been showing for more than a decade now.

International students have been coming to complete their higher education in US Colleges and Universities for a long time now. Even though they constituted only 3.6% of the total enrollment (approx. 691 K international students) in 2009-10, the change in the last 20 years has been significant. While the total college enrollment in US has increased 38.5% from 13.8 million students in 1991 to 19.1 million in 2009-10, the increase in international students has been 70% in the same period from 407 K to 691 K (http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/International-Students/Enrollment-Trends/1948-2010 ). The world in the last 20 year has also changed with emerging and developing economies growing much faster and more robust than the US, and thereby, providing key opportunities locally to their young, talented, educated and entrepreneurial workforce. Combined with tougher and complex US immigration and visa situations, international college students have a potentially better environment to return to their home countries to harness and apply the learning and knowledge for higher impact and effective results, rather than staying in the US which was the case earlier.

With 49 million students in K-12 schools and at $600 billion, the US spends more on school education, both in absolute terms and at per student levels, than any other country in the world. Surely the results need to be substantially better and more accountable. How do you fix this systematic issue at scale? One school at a time? May be even one student at a time? It’s about the future of the country and there must be a huge sense of urgency for result-aligned oriented investments, defined actions and timelines… When the growth and global competitiveness of the country is at stake, nothing else is more important than to be a part of fixing this problem, at each and every level…

The attached video provides some excellent and very insightful analysis and ideation on K-12 educations discussed by Tom Brokaw in an interview with Warren Buffett, Susie Buffett, and Melinda Gates at the Education Nation Summit.
http://www.educationnation.com/index.cfm?objectid=95A2012E-E868-11E0-B00E000C296BA163

The first time I heard about the Twin Tower attack by two hijacked planes was when a friend called me a little after 6 am Pacific Time on 9/11/2001 to switch on the TV. As soon as I switched it on, I saw the second hijacked plane hitting the South Tower of the World Trade Center… I can never forget that intense image and the huge blast of flame that erupted from the impact… Such a horrific moment; wish it had never been. What happened that day changed the US and world forever.

I had visited the Twin Towers in Feb.2000 and very fondly remember taking my family to the top floor viewing deck from where one could see the beautiful NYC with its full glory, charm and elegance. It was not just an iconic New York City skyline symbol, the WTC represented US pride and demonstrated to the world what freedom and willingness to succeed in a civil society can bring…

The severe pain of losing a family member, friend, colleague, neighbor or a fellow citizen brought US together in the ensuing hours of sincere and emotional need. It also unified the civilized world to be one in the fight against unscrupulous terrorists, as the attacks in the last decade showed it was NYC in 2001, Bali in 2002, Madrid in 2004, London in 2005, Mumbai in 2008…… Whether its NYC or any other cities in the world our hearts beat for all humanity and all innocent lives that are lost in these dreadful attacks. A huge global problem like this can only be addressed by a unified world with a common goal to eliminate this menace.

When the news, that Osama bin Laden had been killed by Navy SEAL Team 6, was announced by President Obama in May this year, America again came together with deep emotions which were visibly demonstrated across the nation… Much as it had been waiting for this news for a decade…

America had to prove to the world, its global power and leadership by entering a long-drawn war which has already cost more than $2 trillion over the last decade. Although Osama bin Laden, the perpetrator-in-chief, was captured and killed in May 2011, US involvement in the war it started still continues and will probably consume another half a trillion dollars… 6000 American soldiers have lost their lives in the wars and several thousand more are wounded…

Given the state of the US economy today, this colossal sum of war chest could have been used in beefing up the economic momentum by creating new jobs, fixing health care, social security, debt reduction plan, etc.

America symbolizes not only freedom but hope for millions: if you can dream it, you can achieve it here in a civilized society. The new 104 stories One World Trade Center will be completed by 2013 in the same vicinity where the original Twin Towers once defined the majestic NYC skylines; to solidify and demonstrate to the world that freedom can never be taken away and willingness to succeed can never be questioned…

A day remembered and dedicated to the memories of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and the ensuing wars; a day with an increased resolve that there is always better tomorrow…

No wonder, Steve Jobs leaving the CEO position at Apple made big news yesterday and the headlines today around the world across all forms of media. News media has extensively captured his three plus decades of magic, and some misses as well. I have been a big fan of his for a long time, and more so when I moved to US over thirteen years ago and lived very close to the Apple HQ in Cupertino, California. While living within half a mile of 1 Infinite Loop may have been a sheer coincidence, my admiration for Steve and his Apple products is unquestionably strong. Having bought several of Apple products over the decade, my delight and expectations both have constantly increased with each new launch.

Among several of his iconic leadership characteristics, his uncanny ability to take risk in creating a new market at global scale and define a new world standard for everyone else to chase is simply unparalleled. His unique sense of combining the arts and science of buyer behavior, constantly delivering “and one more thing” has kept the Apple engine growing ever since. The iPods, iPhones, iPads and iTunes magic have gripped the world for many years now and have demonstrated what and how should classy products and their ecosystem be made and nurtured year after year. His eye for details is legendary, whether it’s on material, color, fonts, buttons, screws, the core OS or the full system itself. The Apple stores are another of Steve Job’s signature design. How very beautiful, much like the products themselves! Some of them have become part of the art landscape in cities like New York, Paris and more. His presentations and speeches… There is so much of learning and marketing flair. It’s simply amazing to watch his powerful speeches and key notes again and again. There is just so much to learn each time one sees them.

“Designed by Apple in California, Assembled in China” printed on all of Apple’s product demonstrates not only the innovational pride of Apple but all of US as well. In a world where price competitiveness is key for all product categories and where the center of innovation is moving east, Apple has clearly led the Innovation engine in US and provided ample growth opportunities to the ecosystem partners globally – thanks to the magic of Steve Jobs.

The tsunami caused by delay, avoidance or ignorance of innovation is so powerful that it does not care whether companies are big or small – it engulfs them all. The ability to foresee emerging trends is key and, in many cases, becomes the survival issue for companies. Blockbuster was a very successful video / DVD rental company that had earlier prevailed against its competitors such as Hollywood Video.  It neither anticipated the impact of internet on the movie rental business, nor built a viable and strong online channel to ride the wave. Blockbuster’s failure to fundamentally innovate and change its business in time was also evident with its catch up endeavors which failed to deliver new, unique benefits or better experience. Despite a huge customer base and once valued at $8.4 billion in 1994, Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 and was sold in April 2011, ultimately succumbing to Netflix.

Netflix, on the other hand, created a business model thru DVD rental by mail – a  clever innovation compared to the then walk-in and pick-up store. Later in 2007, they implemented new emerging technology to deliver streaming online video with a clear intent to eventually completely stop their mail-in DVD business. Practicing as is famously said, “Eat your own lunch before someone else does,” Netflix has demonstrated leadership in two successive innovation trends: in business model or technology adoption, and by creating new paradigms. Started in 1999, Netflix celebrated its billionth DVD delivery in Feb. 2007, its second billionth DVD delivery in Apr. 2009 and surpassed 25 million online subscribers in 2011, with more and more customers moving from mailed DVDs to online streaming.  No wonder its market cap has increased 6-fold in the last 24 months and its Founder CEO, Reed Hastings was the Fortune 2010 Businessperson of the Year.

Borders, once a prominent book store,  similarly faced this challenge and has now finally succumbed to the onslaught of e-book readers.  Like Blockbuster, Borders also missed the pervasive trend of digital content and continued to invest in the traditional business model of physical stores: the borders.com workforce was made redundant as it partnered with Amazon.com in 2001 to manage its online business.  At its peak in 2003, Border had over 1200 stores across US but is finally closing its remaining 399 stores as of July 2011. It had made losses in each of the last 5 years.

Amazon started its business at the onset of the internet by creating an online book store, and in 2007 launched its own e-book reader, the Kindle – taking advantage of both technology and business model. Last quarter (AMJ-11), Amazon sold more e-books online thru’ Kindle than it shipped physical books. Enabled by technology, e-book reading is reaching new heights: 17.5 million Kindle and 310 million e-books are expected to be sold during 2011. Amazon’s early realization of customers looking for digital options led to the strategy of creating Kindle apps for other (and many a times, competing) platforms, and is starting to pay off as well.

In spite of colossal failures, i.e. Blockbuster and Borders among others, on account of missing the innovation wave and being beached,  it’s amazing how many companies even today still live in the hope that their business and technology models will survive longer or forever without change.  The rate of change in new and emerging technologies is so high and intense, that if ignored, won’t provide enough time to even the largest of companies.

Mega-trends such as Cloud, Mobility, Social, Convergence, etc.  have created huge opportunities for disruptive innovation to drive mega-impacts for traditional as well as new businesses.

Smart, fast-moving and fast-thinking companies – both new and old – take advantage of the technology disruption and create new markets (e.g. Salesforce.com,  LinkedIn, Twitter, Zynga, Groupon, Airbnb, Square, etc.) or significantly impact an existing market with highly innovative products and services (e.g. Apple, Facebook, Google, etc.)  It’s not that these companies have not had their shares of learning and failures, but it’s their ability to quickly learn, adapt and move with new innovation that differentiates them.  The key is to continuously innovate and be persistently paranoid. 

Miss innovation at your own risk or peril…

What is driving this huge transformation of the industry, that was only making incremental improvements earlier? Three factors, according to a Forrester report: Mobile, Cloud and Smart Computing. The arrival of all these 3 through the effective backbones of smaller form factors, faster speed of broadband connectivity and the advent of platforms have brought convergence to the center of our lives.

The consumer electronics market today, not only includes TV, DVD, music players, mobile devices, telecom, white goods, tablets and computers, but is also expanding its influence into automotive, medical devices and industrial products. While the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) caught global attention for the launch of 50 different tablets, it was also the first time that all major car companies participated at CES with equal gusto. Your car is becoming increasingly electronic as it becomes smarter, safer and nicer. The cars of tomorrow provide platforms for applications to be downloaded to create unique user experiences. Consumers want all of their related applications from smart phones to be seamlessly transferred to their cars as soon as they start the ignition. Ford, for example, is offering ‘MyFord Touch’ technology as standard in a number of their new cars that, as per them, is “a revolutionary in-car technology that lets you be connected to your world”. It allows you to play music from your smart phone without even taking it out of your pocket and allows you to save your favorite picture as wallpaper much as you can do on your iPhone, tablet or laptop. Cars are becoming smarter and gather their own data and tomorrow, they may also be able to recommend which restaurant you want to try next!

Convergence goes beyond products and platforms to create significant user experience in activities that were once considered routine like payments. The next generation consumer will look to enable payment directly from smart phones rather than from credit cards. Reports suggest that only 10% of total monetary transactions are with cash due to the use of credit & debit cards; a similar revolution has the potential to make credit cards obsolete. Google last week announced their mobile payment platform – Google Wallet – based on NFC(Near Field Communication) technologies that allow consumers to tap their NFC capable phones against a reader at participating retail stores in New York City and San Francisco. All of the major telecom companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are working on launching payment solutions within a year. Japan and South Korea have already taken the lead on NFC, having used this for a couple of years now. This technology will bring yet another dimension to the seamless convergence experience.

Convergence is also driving home to be connected with smart devices. This brings all the elements of a smart home onto a converged platform – be it energy consumption thru HVAC control, security systems thru wireless cameras, digital audio, video and picture contents on home network, or the white goods to operate at the most optimum time for the lowest possible cost of electricity. The ability to securely manage and control your home through the smart phone remotely, anywhere in the world, truly brings convergence to life.

Convergence leverages the user experience with a platform to bring technologies together for the benefit of consumers. With the advent of Cloud, many of the services in the future can be leveraged on a need basis for the time duration required. It’s just the beginning of convergence – connectivity, smart phones and applications platforms have provided a new avenue for bringing it together.

I have seen the intense fight with cancer thru a very dear friend of mine, and unfortunately we lost him two years ago… http://tinyurl.com/6hsl8oz

Early detection and proper treatment is the key in cancer prevention. According to a recent report ( http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/2011/survivorshipMMWR2011) released by CDCP (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and NCI, there are estimated 11.7 million cancer survivors in US in 2007, which is 1.9 million more than what it was in 2001. This release also talks about… “increase in number of cancer survivors is due to many factors, including a growing aging population, early detection, improved diagnostic methods, more effective treatment, and improved clinical follow-up after treatment.”

The theme at the Discovery Ball 2011 event was rightly focused on celebrating life and creating more birthdays… built around raising awareness and to fight the cause at every level. It’s important to support and help in any shape or form that we can to be part of the solution in the community. The beautiful evening of 5th Annual Discovery Ball was very nicely organized by the Illinois Chapter of ACS and over one thousand guests, including business, philanthropic leaders and volunteers attended the event. Over the last five years, this event has raised more than $10 million in support of this extraordinary mission. Kudos and our sincere appreciation to the entire team…

It needs a lot of courage, conviction and passion to fight against this dreaded disease. Many bravely shared stories of their crusade against cancer in spite of losing their near and dear ones… going on to demonstrate their extraordinary commitment and deep personal will to support this important cause. Listening to cancer survivors, both on and off stage, was truly inspirational and hugely commendable. The evening was to support and provide hope and encouragement to all who are in midst of fighting this battle. With so much advancement in medical science and technology, I do believe that scientist and doctors will find a total cure for cancer sooner than later…

After all, it’s about celebrating life and creating more birthdays*…

* http://morebirthdays.com ©2011 American Cancer Society, Inc.