cErEBr@TiOn 08'

cErEBr@TiOn 08' - Is where a B-School aspirant, B School Grad, Entrepreneur, Corporate giants should be to get an idea of how the Consultant go about seducing the Multinationals/Local companies with their Business Plans to increase their profit from minimal to sky is the limit !! The judges and the Case Sponsors who all are Entrepreneur from this island were very happy with the presentation but except for the projection of their B-Plans to be profitable or expanison of the organisation in just 3-5 years when Entrepreneur were able to achieve that in a decades time. Nevertheless it was a good show from all the Finalist, except for one B-School which showed complete professionalism in their attire, presentation, logic, plan, and on stage charisma - HEC Montreal, Undisputed and eventual champions for this years event, followed by Islanders and host - NUS B School - "NUStalwarts". It was a resounding success for the NUS B School hosting an event of this magnitude but one blip in this event is organizing on a Friday afternoon where not many B- Plan enthusiasts/B School aspirants can participate. Please change the timings is the only request from my side and I wish - Hip Hip Hurrah to HEC Montreal for being there in the finals and to collect the 10k Sing Dollar Cheque !!

sUcCeSsFuL cOmP@NiEs

Fourth Week of March is uber cool, few learnings, couple of new initiatives and a seminar from IMD professor - Winter Nie about - "Service Excellence" @ Conrad Centennial, Singapore. Good session and came to know about the Key Attributes that sets a Company or a Person in the "Elite Panel" from the rest. Keep it in mind for we need to be in Elite,

1) Strong belief in your IDEA & Instill the same VISION in your Employees.
2) Leader should WALK THE TALK
3) Company should have a Good Product
4) Best Possible SERVICE not for company but for the Customers !!
5) Continuous improvements in the same/new field & Feedback implementation.
6) Look @ Problem as Opportunity and FINDING the ROOT CAUSE to give the SOLUTION.
7) Consistency - With out this it will not help us/organization.
8) Recovery Plan/ Process should be in place.
9) You should know the "Target Customer" whom you are addressing.
10) Connect with Customers through EMOTIONAL attachment - Empathy from Heart will WIN contracts.
11) Customize to the needs of the Customer.
12) End Product is what the Customer see - Keep it attractive, Cheap, Usable, Portable, Compatible to old systems.

PS : See the photo only one building stands out, cos the VISIONARY behind it wanted it to STAND OUT, so as long as the visionaries are right any person, any company, any country can PROSPER like Singapore/US of A are right now.

If you have any other points in mind do comment in.

Few Company I remember with all the above attribute as per Winter Nie are

Star Bucks
Pike Fish

gReAt W@LL oF cHiN@

When the world says,

"Give up,"Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

A sports person I can closely relate to the above quote is our own "Mr.Wall". I started admiring this person for his simple charismatic resolute nature with a will power made of Iron !! Everyone said he was a splendid "Test Batsmen" but not a good one day batsmen and it was reflected in the selection comittee's decision - "Dropped" in his early stint in oneday squad. Not many gave a thought that he would come back to change the average of his oneday career from a paltry one to a notable figures -Its cos he "Tried" consistently to - outdo himself !! He did achieve that and more beyond to get a name he alone in INDIAN team can hold among his mates. I rate him higher than the World's Best's cos he delivered when INDIA needed the most and in dire situations. Singapore has given me to touch the F1 Car some time back and now it has given me the opportunity to meet my idol in cricket - Yes I happened to meet the one and only Mr.Dravid with his wife and Jr !! What a moment it was for me to speak to him and get his auotgraph on the bill !! Wow I still relive the moment and it will linger now and then for years to come.

b!nT@N - !NdOnEsI@

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
~St. Augustine

We are flipping the pages in book called "World Map" and we got to read the chapter called "b!nT@N - !NdOnEsI@". We ( L- R Muthu Sir, Ashok, Me, Anand, Farooq, Mahantesh)packed our bags and headed to Tana Merah Ferry Terminal to board the ferry to Bintan Agro resort. What a Pleasant surprises - the ferry team were calling out our names and we rushed to get in to Ferry after the immigration check. We went to the top of the ferry to get a "Titanic" feel and it was a smooth sailing till we reached Bintan. Our guide "Chitra" - We were surprised to hear an Indian name, took us to the Sea side beach resort. Room was good with a scenic view of the beach from the balcony and when you step out of your room you can see sky blue swimming pool easily inducing us to dive in.

We started off with our lunch in a wrecked boat gave the feel of the beach. Then we kicked of our campaign to win the Beach Football - hands down I would say that was my/our best ever football match in may be everyone's lifetime. Farroq's relived the moment of Beckam - with a replica of "Bend It Like Beckam" kick !! We fought hard but for Farooq and Anand's heroics snatched them a good WIN but we LOST in a energy sapping two rounds of game albeit the best efforts of our team !! Few hours of break then for the first time in my life whole team went for Kayaking - It was an awesome and tiresome experience!! Awesome - cos it is the first time in my life I'm went for a kayak and to add excitement to that I did it alone, it was tiresome cos even after kayaking for close to 30 min we couldn't reach the "White Sand Island" which was visibly close to our naked eyes !! Then we realised - How tough the life for Fisherman's are !!


From water and sailing now again to beach for playing beach Volley, now its not alone our group, but it was an International encounter. A clash of INDIA Vs UKRAINE !! What a game it was we were losing in the initial set and when Anand came in we started to reverse the scenario to beat the Ukranians in 3-0 of the best of 5 encounter. Next pit stop is in swimming pool and then the day winded peacefully in the supper table with bill touching One Lakh Rupiya* for just two guys (*Indonesian currency) !!

Next day after a very good breakfast we decided to go for "Snorkelling. We choose an island "Wapura" which was far off and little wavery. Mahantesh and Farroq the Ian Thorpe's of our crew can swim only in pool , but we convinced them to come with us - as we 4 members knew swimming quite well. Now with fears in their mind but smile in their face Farooq and Mahntesh boarded the speed boat to take the plunge of their life with life jacket to protect them. Once we started in the speed boat, everyone had a share of luck to keep a hand on the driving wheel. Once the wheel was in the hands of captain he showed his skills with boat going at full speed and most of the time the boat was in "AIR" and equally fierce waves made the boat to plunge in to ocean quite often. For every jump our breakfast was ready to see the world.The captain showed no signs of fear but everyone started to feel the heat more specifically the sea sickness feeling so we need to turn back after covering almost the distance in 30 min. So when we reached the shores again we asked Mahnthesh - who was sitting in the front row with hands tightly holding the steel bar - " How Did you felt Mahntesh ?" - he told all his life he has never experienced this kind of threat, but to tell you he never showed that in his face, till he reached the shores -Bravo Mahntesh, Bravo !!

After returning to resort, 4 of us decided to go for snorkelling again but in the near by "White Sand Island" which we thought of Kayaking the day before. For the first time in my life I did snorkelling to find the Corals, Star Fish, A big Shell, Nemo Fish and quite a few fish species. Then we swam to reach the white sand island to find a fisherman's hut. Hut is max of 10 x 10 area made of palm leaves with gaps to get sun light and ventilation but no current, and they don't have the best of the equipments to support their day today life, but they got a scenic beauty of the never ending blue horizon of sea and cloud with peace and tranquillity filling the place is still vivid in my memory. This trip is one of the best trips for us, as the whole team had a fun and Only FUN !! We are trying to read all the pages - Next page is around the corner - Lets read it later !!

Photographs By - Yours Truly !!