Google + Startup Guide

Google+ start up guide

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Faith….

I wonder what Faith is…..Or is Faith just wondering or searching for something that could lit up the darkest of caves or hour….Is Faith something that can change your fate??? Or is it something that provides the warmth of a mothers’ hug in a cold night…..Or the security of the love one when you see them…..Or the entire world in those twinkling eyes….

“Generally Faith is defined as a confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, concept or thing”. But we all know it is much more complex, and yet more simple at the same time than that definition. So…..basically its complex, as it’s more based on ability than a proof. 

I define Faith….as being carried by a tow truck with a possible hope of an expected result. Let me take some examples to explain that. When we take an auto rickshaw…. we have faith that this will take us to our destination; When we work, we have faith that this will enable us to earn food and shelter for our family; When we exercise we have faith that this will enable a much healthier lifestyle.; A child has faith in his mother to provide security and care; and above all…. we all in this room….. Have Faith in the teaching of god… for it to guide us to true and complete happiness.

But then what is the teaching of God??? I guess something that comes from Heart…that possibly full conviction and free from forms of anger….As there is a old saying in my part of the world “Your Heart is on the left…..but is Always Right”…

To a certain extent, its forces me to think that even in the absence of any visibility of the end result or goal…..its faith that acts as a laltain to guide the way in the darkest hour. So its Faith that acts as a laltain or light to guide us in the darkest hour of our daily lives…….. or that stick that helps all us ….aged or tired men to walk.

But mind it; Faith in its self is like having a boat in a dessert. To embark the journey of life we need elements of practice, perseverance, effort, and much more. But yes we can comfortably opine that if life is like a road and we as a car then Faith is the spark plug. A very small yet a fundamental part of an individual’s that helps him/her to embark the journey that we call as Life.

Have a “Faithful” Week!!!

Connecting Through Emotions.

There are few unfortunate people who suffer from Alexithymia is a psychological disorder in which people cannot identify or describe emotions. But then, there are few who are much more unfortunate who tend to act Alexithymia. We humans are a build-up of Emotions. Some of them being good, while few negative.

Emotions can be used to to motivate people. Connect good emotions with what you want them to do, and bad emotions with what is not wanted. We generally wear our hearts on our sleeves as our inner emotions are displayed on our outer bodies. Our faces, in particular, have around 90 muscles, 30 of which have the sole purpose of signaling emotion to other people.

From a marketing prospective -  An affective strategy usually seeks to reach audiences on an emotional level. The goal is to touch the viewer through emotions and feelings. A resonance approach seeks to connect with people's experiences. Either method will make use of emotional appeals. These ads are considered "soft sells" because they are indirect and instead attempt to make a connection with the heart.

The attractiveness of the advertisements correlates with specific changes in brain activity in various brain regions including the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate, nucleus accumbens and higher-order visual cortices. This may represent an interaction between the perceived attractiveness of the ad by the consumer and the emotions expressed by the people pictured in the advertisement.

To make the above little simple, I am sharing the below a Indian advertisement that I saw after a long time that had ability to connect well with people’s emotion. or at least had the ability to connect with me.

Kudos to the team that worked on this.

Be A Hero!!!!

Have a Happy Week!!!!

Adding the TER in Independence…

On the day of independence sitting over a plateau looking back at the vast city in front of me and wondering.....well wondering about the meaning of independence and how that implies to our daily life's. It though sometimes forced to wonder that we have modified the meaning of independence for our own convenience.

So what is independence.....we'll Wikipedia explains Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory.....I am sure that it means much more than those words who fought for independence.

The Independence Day of India is celebrated on the fifteenth of August to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation in 1947. All over the country, flag-hoisting ceremonies are conducted by the local administration in attendance. The main event takes place in Delhi, the capital city of India, where the Prime Minister hoists the national flag at the Red Fort and delivers a nationally televised speech from its ramparts.

But does the word "Independence" only meant importance for generation that fought for it or does it holds same value of the generations that enjoys it?

When I talk to people, for them independence or convenience independence is no restriction, no rules, no answers or no questions. But mind it, its has a flip side too - A true sense of individual independence is an island with all the facility but staying alone.....and I am sure most of us doesn’t need “that” kind of independence.

Then can it be from independence to a state of interdependence where we are mutually dependent or responsible to people, loved one, government, civic society, etc. India, with 31 states, 1618 languages, 650 castes, 6 major religions, 6 major ethnic groups, 29, major festivals but dependent on ONE country.

So with so many diversity and possible combinations of people, its imperative for people to be Interdependence on each other for love, religion, education, prosperity, states, etc with an Independent Country known as India.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE or INTERDEPENDENCE DAY

Delicate, Demanding, Yet Delightful – The Art of Delegation

Delegation is the essence of leadership. It is the soul of management and the empowerment of the organization.

An article by Mr. Thomas Nies explains on how those who will not delegate cannot lead, cannot manage and cannot help grow an organization through the empowerment of its most important resources and assets.

All leaders and organizations achieve their goals and their visions through their people. The strength of an organization comes from the diversity, not the conformity, of its skills and capabilities. An organization is a team of individuals with unique gifts, backgrounds, personalities and strengths. The key is to realize that all of these individuals, with all of their unique strengths, are using their energy working towards the same goal of completing a project, improving the bottom line or growing the organization.

WHO TO CHOOSE?

The first key to delegating is choosing the right people to whom any authority or responsibilities will be delegated. There  is such a wide spectrum of people ranging from the outspoken to the reserved, from extroverts to introverts, from technicians and administrators to marketing and sales to management, from experienced to relatively newer staff that no cookie-cutter approach could ever be effective or successful.  But certain character traits surface in successful examples of delegated authority.

RIGHT ATTITUDE

The right attitude is one of the most important aspects to be considered. To determine ones attitude, their beliefs must be determined. Beliefs govern behaviors and behaviors determine what one becomes – attitudes are begotten from beliefs.

DELICATE

Attitude is also a function of character, personality and core values. One can’t readily or easily guide a rude, dishonest, abrasive, amoral, insensitive, bigoted, lazy or narcissistic person to be polite, virtuous, genial, principled, thoughtful, tolerant, energetic or selfless.  This is an assessment that has to be personal and delicate. One who falls short today might learn, grow and become the superstar of tomorrow.

For some people, good character and simple human decency are not in their current nature and may never be.  But many people are self-starters and self-motivated, flexible and adaptable, they do take responsibility and admit mistakes, are energetic and resourceful, are goal oriented and achievement driven.

It’s this kind of person to whom we must ultimately delegate authority. So, the people one recruits and selects today will largely determine the culture of an organization, the service an organization renders to the public, and the reputation and success the organization will enjoy (or endure) in the future.

DEMANDING

Once you’ve identified the correct person to delegate responsibilities and authority to, you can’t just throw tasks at them. You must use one-on-one mentoring, group learning, team dynamics and on-the-job experience to guide and shape the capabilities of the person to make sure the task will be successfully completed. The proper budget, technologies and facilitating and enabling support must also be provided.

Effective communication is imperative in a delegation situation. The delegator should not dictate the communication, Rather, the delegator should inquire, question, guide and support the chosen person to clarify and enhance mutual understandings, agreements and accomplishments.

Just as the delegator should not dictate communication with those to whom they delegate tasks, they should also not lapse in communication. Delegation is not an abdication. The person to whom something is delegated takes on some of the responsibility and accountability of the task, but the delegator must take responsibility for making the decision – be it good or bad – of whom to transfer power to.

DELIGHTFUL

Always remember: everyone who has responsibility is always responsible to someone else. And, you are all working together to empower your organization or realize a goal. And there is no greater joy than seeing your company soar on the wings of people you have empowered by trusting and delegating responsibilities and authority to.

We end as we begin. Delegation is the essence of leadership. It is the soul of management and the empowerment of the organization

DELEGATION - a delicate, demanding, yet delightful art of business.

Know the “UN” Words to Lead and Succeed

A great articulation by one of my mentors - Thomas M. Nies, the founder and CEO of Cincom Systems, Inc. The longest actively serving CEO in the computer industry, that thought to share with all.

Successful entrepreneurial leaders create a compelling vision of where organizations should head. They continuously communicate how to proceed, and energetically guide and encourage the development of the organization’s capabilities to advance that vision in a relentless pursuit of success.

THE UN WORDS

Unshakeable will, undaunted determination and a relentless pursuit of desires and goals are key hallmarks of these endeavors.

It’s hard to foster the entrepreneurial spirit over time, many are born with the desire to create, to innovate, to differentiate and to lead.

But what does it take to be the entrepreneurial leader of tomorrow today?

Self-Confidence, Not Arrogance

I think that all truly great leaders are marked not only with an exceptional sense of self-confidence, which encourages and stimulates others, but also with a sense that penetrates deep into the subconscious of a leader and permeates all that a person is or does. I do not think it is possibly to overstate the power of such a type of conscious and subconscious self-confidence.

The entrepreneur’s self-confidence cannot be merely bravado or arrogance, but must be infectious and inspiring to their followers. This self-confidence makes it easier and more natural to bear the responsibilities of leadership and to make the tough decisions essential to leadership.

Focus on Differentiation

Being self-confident is only one piece of the puzzle – an entrepreneur’s idea or product must be viable as well. They can’t rely solely on innovation either, as differentiation is just as important.

Innovation focuses upon the provider’s offerings. Differentiation, on the other hand, focuses upon the value, satisfaction, utility or delight that the innovation uniquely provides to the customer. Innovation without the differentiation that entrepreneurial energy generates, seldom produces optimal appeal and value to customers, nor does it create the optimal advantage and preference for the seller necessary for success.

When these differentiations are significant, whole new categories of business opportunities can be, and are, created. It only takes one person to begin a category before it can boom as new opportunities are provided to others to improve and expand the possibilities spawned by the original entrepreneurial leadership.

Play Nice with Others

Burning bridges isn’t recommended in any business setting regardless of job title, but it is especially important for entrepreneurs to not do so. All entrepreneurial activity involves a number of human beings.

Engagement is crucial as like-minded individuals can help troubleshoot challenges and difficulties and stimulate positive constructive responses to help leaders expand themselves, their business and their ideas.

It is also important to understand that each person has strengths and weaknesses. Each person is as good as the best that they have done and bad as the worst. A successful entrepreneur will recognize that people are a mixture of an almost endless variety of contradictions. The best will develop a realistic view of humans and learn to take a person as they are rather than as they may wish or imagine them to be.

Follow Your Rules

While everyone would love the liberty and freedom to pursue our own heart’s delight, there must be public laws, rules and codes of conduct that restrain and regulate us lest we damage the freedoms and liberties of others. However, there are also personal regulations.

Honor. Integrity. Conscience. Ethics. Values. Morals.

Successful entrepreneurs understand that these personal regulations and codes of conduct are at the same time both regulators and energizers. Acting contrary to your personal beliefs will only cause delay as doubt or guilt sets in.

With these few thoughts, I’ve only tried to offer some ideas, which may help in your various leadership and entrepreneurial endeavors.

I hope these ideas will help, even if only in some small ways, to aid all of us to change our world for the better.

Decoding the + in Google

Google recently launched its new Facebook thing: Google Plus. And it's invite-only. Google Launches Google+ To Battle Facebook.

Plus One will initially only be accessible to 2% of Google's English-language users in the US, but it will be seen as a rival to Facebook's increasingly ubiquitous 'Like' tool which appears on hundreds of thousands of third-party sites. Even D-List Celebrities Are Too Good for Google Plus.

The search giant’s new social project will be omnipresent on its products, thanks to a complete redesign of the navigation bar. Google is also planning to extend the service to news publishers so that they can integrate Plus One on story pages. Google plus takes a different approach towards social sharing and this guy has better privacy control on the features provided.

Even the First Night With Google Plus: This is Very Cool. Though, While tech pundits are widely praising Google’s new Plus product, Nick O'Neill found the one feature that could take away from Facebook where it’s most dominant: Time on the site and this is something that The One Google Plus Feature Facebook Should Fear.

It was good to know that Google Plus has an Indian face behind it. Google realizes that it needs to use social, location and other signals to enhance its core search platform is welcome. “Google needs to understand these relationships and basically use those to make search better,” said Vic Gundotra, Google’s senior vice president for Social. Though Om Malik believes that Google+ won’t hurt Facebook, but Skype will hate it.

You can Check out 9 things you need to know about Google+ here then take a visual tour of the new social network here. You can even make an attempt to register though the LINK, but mind it that it users reached its limited within the first 48 hours or launch.

But then they say….its worth try…Register for it by clicking the LINK.