Food for thought...: September 2009

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

September 2009 appointments

September 2009
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1 - *Nikhil Indrasenan - 12.30 pm
2 -
3 - *L. R. Natarajan - 10 am
4 -
5 - *PS Praveen - 7.30 am; *Jessie Paul - 11.30 am; *Uttam Prakash Agarwal -
Sun 6 -
7 - *P.G. Subramaniam - 4 pm
8 - *Suresh Sambandam - 4 pm
9 -
10 -
11 - Pratyankara Swamigal - 7.30 am (?); Karan Khemka - 4 pm (?)
12 - Rajamanohar - 7.30 am (?)
Sun 13 -
14 - *Ramesh Ramachandran - 11 am; *Thomas Stanley - 2.30 pm
15 - *HP Labs visit
16 -
17 -
18 - KS Anantharaman $$; *C. K. Kumaravel - 4 pm
19 -
Sun 20 -
21 -
22 - *Naresh Gulati - 1 pm; *G. Ravi - 4 pm
23 - *S. Giridharan - 9.15 am
24 -
25 - *B. Madhavan - 3.30 pm
26 -
Sun 27 -
28 -
29 - *Nissan - 7.30 am
30 - *Subramonian Shankar - 7.30 am; *S. Kannan - 1 pm; *Nandan Nilekani - 3 pm
(* means 'met/spoke'; $$ Awaiting confirmation; ? Didn't happen)

Nandan Nilekani

Presentation by Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India
September 30, 2009, 3 pm (The Hindu, Chennai)

S. Kannan

Dr S. Kannan, Author, 'Company Law Procedure' and 'Vedic Management', Chennai
January 8, 2009, 1 pm
September 30, 2009, 1 pm

Subramonian Shankar

Subramonian Shankar, President, American Megatrends Inc
September 30, 2009, 7.30 am (Nag)

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Nissan

Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. Plant visit
September 29, 2009, 7.30 am
Nissan Plant visit

Monday, September 28, 2009

Sunday, September 27, 2009

National Museum of Natural History - YouTube links

Elephant in the middle of the room

You need the ocean to live

Soils from different American states

T. T. Srinivasaraghavan - YouTube links

Excerpts from the Sunday Kutcheri in the Park-1

Excerpts from the Sunday Kutcheri in the Park-2

On the recent publication, the FIDC Handbook on Repossession

Anomaly in the Direct Tax Code proposal that impacts NBFCs

Potential of NBFCs in achieving financial inclusion

Why over hype the role of microfinance institutions

Most NBFCs are distributors of financial services such as insurance

Are there studies that compare the cost of finance delivery of NBFCs and MFIs

Ramesh Ramachandran - YouTube links

Growth of Dow in India

What was the impact of global economic crisis on the company

Why doesn't Dow reach out to the customer directly

Prospects for scientific growth in India

Work for academia

Importance of chemistry education

Science vs Pseudo-science

Can scientists speak in a language that common people understand

Applications of chemistry to waste management

Biggest challenge will be water

Difference that chemistry brings to transportation

On chemicals in food

Analysis of food and interpretations of the findings

Is research in chemistry expensive

Remembering my teacher -- Mrs YGP

Positive energy is now a precious commodity

Secrets of Dow's success

A suggestion for entrepreneurial development in campuses

My forthcoming presentation in Amrita, Coimbatore

TM Krishna, my music favourite

W. Thomas Stanley, Arati Bam - YouTube links

Customer needs for storage of information assets continues to grow

Software difference that NetApp offers

Data on tap -- the comfort offered to CIOs

Sectors where storage requirements are growing faster

File size growing with increasing consumer demand

Areas of research in storage technology

Reaching consumers through partners

Hosted solutions -- Example of book buying

Development centre in Bangalore (Arati)

Observations about the younger generation

Mentoring of young men and women

Can one person make a difference

What I communicate to my team

Pervasive need for leadership and mentoring

A key tip for fitness

Three pillars that NetApp believes in

The offer of 50 per cent guarantee

Government projects with a global approach

Cloud computing is more than hype, it is real

Economics of SaaS

Green dimensions of storage

Implementation of Green in Bangalore

Potential for growth through system integrator community

Innovation comes both from startups and bigger corporations

Employees, the third pillar of the company

Difference that people make, whatever may be the level of technology

Disaster recovery considerations

Continuity of operations vs Disaster recovery

Reducing infrastructure's footprint while increasing the capacity

Global business of NetApp

HP Labs visit - other - YouTube links

Cricketers heading to Mumbai

Bright morning in Bangalore

Arriving at HP Labs premises

Friday, September 25, 2009

B. Madhavan

B. Madhavan, Director, ITM Business School, Chennai (http://www.itm.edu/)
September 25, 2009, 3.30 pm (Nag)
B. Madhavan
B. Madhavan - YouTube links

B. Madhavan - YouTube links

Major concerns of B-school

On the new education policies and their impact on higher education

We aim at students with CAT score more than 60

Quality of B-school, a key factor

Due diligence that students must do before choosing a B-school

Effectiveness of peer group depends on quality of students

Ambition levels vs Employer loyalty

Views on the new generation of students

Is there panic among students about the economic situation

Sectors that are absorbing B-school output

Remembering my teacher

Reward good work without fail

Common ills in management

Management of public sector vs private sector

Need to review curriculum regularly

Courses tailor-made for corporates

Entrepreneurial initiative in the campus

Case studies written in ITM

No advantage in an overseas MBA

Behind every management success or failure there is HR issue

It is possible to be small and self-sustaining in India

Success stories in management don't get chronicled

Satisfaction of an MBA in a small vs big enterprise

Managerial skills in political leaders

Succession planning in enterprises

Coverage of business developments by the financial media

Indian enterprises missing out on diversity

Diversity within the campus

Executive development programmes

Importance of holistic development of intellectual, emotional and ethical dimensions

Insights on management from Indian philosophy

Chronicling is not alien to our tradition

How to judge success

Anil Bhandari

Anil Bhandari, Member, Coffee Board of India, Convenor & Coordinator, India International Coffee Festival 2009, Bangalore
September 25, 2009, 10.30 am
Anil Bhandari - YouTube links

Anil Bhandari - YouTube links

Expansion of coffee consumption in the country, the top priority

Coffee market in India

Coffee House system, the story

State agricultural taxes are heavy

Problems in setting up coffee shops

Promoting entrepreneurship through training

Coffee Board logo as a mark of excellence

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

S. Giridharan - YouTube links

Private sector has a major role to play in the education sector

Our business model integrates education and career

Learning management system, with Open Source technology

Franchisee network works with campuses

Fourth generation of education system

Education issues that need to be highlighted

CBSE could be one single Board for schools

Indian education is carving out its own style

What prevents the realisation of throughput post education

Women in education and job market

Does manufacturing sector take women workers

Automated assessments

Faster learning curve achieved through assessments

One-time vs Continuous assessment

Investment in the education industry

Using entertainment devices and gaming for education

Social networking in education

Visibility among SMBs

Scope for interns to benefit from a stint in SMBs

Restoring pride in teaching

Capturing of knowledge from experience

Benefits of face-to-face interaction

Preferences of students

Expectations of campuses

Local and non-local jobs

Need to constantly innovate in education

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

G. Ravi

G. Ravi, Vice President (Operations), Hiranandani Upscale Group, Chennai
September 22, 2009, 4 pm (Nag)
G. Ravi
Ravi G - YouTube links
Srinivasan R - YouTube links

Srinivasan R - YouTube links

Commercial considerations of home-buyer

Self-management of the community

Greater acceptability of high-rise apartments

Accessibility to medical facilities

Security at different levels

Local vs Imported materials in construction

Marketing a home

What can make home-buying a prolonged process

Do people consider resale value when buying a flat

Priorities of the younger home-buyers

Regulation of second sale in gated community

Pricing of apartments

Upscale as a brand

Ravi G - YouTube links

The OMR advantage

Potential of Chennai

Challenges faced as a developer

Incentives for home-buying

Top considerations in the choice of home location

Employers pay attention to availability of housing for employees

Profile of buyers of property in gated community

Things that bring the community together

Advantages of multistoreyed apartment

Safety measures in the high-rise building

Optic fibre network within the township

Enquiries from corporates

Cost of input materials

Manpower situation in construction industry

Standards in construction

Optimising land utilisation through high-rise construction

Measures to ensure that the township's character remains in tact

Project management in India

Dearth of employable engineers

Best practices adopted in construction

Affordable housing vs cheap housing

Naresh Gulati

Naresh Gulati, CEO and Founder, OCA Group Pty Ltd, Australia
September 22, 2009, 1 pm
Naresh Gulati
Naresh Gulati - YouTube links

Naresh Gulati - YouTube links

Study streams that are popular among students going to Australia

Returning to India vs Staying back in Australia

Upgrading skills, the best investment during recession

Impact of the racial controversy on student movement to Australia

Working in night jobs carries with it certain risks

India has not projected itself as an international education destination

Culture shock that students face when they land in Australia

Orientation programmes in educational institutions

Network expansion in India, to create a national brand

Homework that students should do before deciding on overseas education

Views about the young generation

Essential quality of entrepreneurs

Story of how I started the outsourcing business

Students should do a project plan of their investment in education

Chartered accountants and other professionals going to Australia

Role that many Indians play in Australian communities

Scope for Indian businesses in Australia

Understanding Australian education system

Recognition of Australian degree in India

Graduate outcome is carefully monitored in Australian universities

Aspects about Australia that need to be highlighted

Overseas education is about an experience, not just a degree

A simple message to the youth -- Don't listen to people

A book that I am currently writing

Friday, September 18, 2009

C. K. Kumaravel

C. K. Kumaravel, Director, Naturals Beauty Salon India Pvt Ltd, Chennai
September 18, 2009, 4 pm (Nag)
C. K. Kumaravel - YouTube links

C. K. Kumaravel - YouTube links

Target to open the 100th salon by March

Origin and growth of Naturals

Is 'unisex' an accepted format

Family members choose their own timing

On funding of the enterprise

Exploring private equity investment

Positioning of Naturals as a mass premium offering

Unlearning of FMCG lessons

Efficacy of natural products

Working women have changed this market

Hair colouring and straightening are common now

Preferences of men and women

Herbal vs Chemical products

Where should the salon be located

Has real-estate correction made it easier to expand operations

Regional politics that come in the way of business

North-Eastern India, a source for good human resource

Training programme for recruits

Employees participate in competitions

Remembering my teacher for his autograph

A thought from a book about the Japanese way of thinking

Asset vs Liability

Observations about the younger generation

Do sports personalities and movie stars influence style

Scope for innovation that stylists explore

Technology adds some fun value

Experience of 'Beauty on Wheels'

Salon in corporate campuses

Tips for looking good

Grooming as a cultural characteristic

Complexity of India makes it difficult to understand the market

Price when the service becomes a lifestyle accessory

Relevance of looking and feeling good to progress in life

Challenge to a chain salon is to provide uniform service

Three checks to ensure uniformity of service

Entrepreneur identifies the opportunity

There should be support when entrepreneurs fail

Why not a grooming service for senior citizens

Examples of entrepreneurs from the ranks of employees

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

HP Labs

HP Labs, Bangalore
September 15, 2009
Subhodeep Bhattacharya, Country Manager-India & South Asia, HP ProCurve Networking, Hewlett-Packard India Sales Pvt Ltd, Bangalore (www.hp.com/in)
Subhodeep Bhattacharya - YouTube links