leadership

” Three Things I Have Learned From Warren Buffett “…. Bill Gates

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I’m looking forward to sharing posts from time to time about things I’ve learned in my career atMicrosoft and the Gates Foundation. (I also post frequently on my blog.)

Last month, I went to Omaha for the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. It’s always a lot of fun, and not just because of the ping-pong matches and the newspaper-throwing contest I have with Warren Buffett. It’s also fun because I get to learn from Warren and gain insight into how he thinks.

Here are three things I’ve learned from Warren over the years:

1. It’s not just about investing.

The first thing people learn from Warren, of course, is how to think about investing. That’s natural, given his amazing track record. Unfortunately, that’s where a lot of people stop, and they miss out on the fact that he has a whole framework for business thinking that is very powerful. For example, he talks about looking for a company’s moat—its competitive advantage—and whether the moat is shrinking or growing. He says a shareholder has to act as if he owns the entire business, looking at the future profit stream and deciding what it’s worth. And you have to be willing to ignore the market rather than follow it, because you want to take advantage of the market’s mistakes—the companies that have been underpriced.

I have to admit, when I first met Warren, the fact that he had this framework was a real surprise to me. I met him at a dinner my mother had put together. On my way there, I thought, “Why would I want to meet this guy who picks stocks?” I thought he just used various market-related things—like volume, or how the price had changed over time—to make his decisions. But when we started talking that day, he didn’t ask me about any of those things. Instead he started asking big questions about the fundamentals of our business. “Why can’t IBM do what Microsoft does? Why has Microsoft been so profitable?” That’s when I realized he thought about business in a much more profound way than I’d given him credit for.

2. Use your platform.

A lot of business leaders write letters to their shareholders, but Warren is justly famous for his. Partly that’s because his natural good humor shines through. Partly it’s because people think it will help them invest better (and they’re right). But it’s also because he’s been willing to speak frankly and criticize things like stock options and financial derivatives. He’s not afraid to take positions, like his stand on raising taxes on the rich, that run counter to his self-interest. Warren inspired me to start writing my own annual letter about the foundation’s work. I still have a ways to go before mine is as good as Warren’s, but it’s been helpful to sit down once a year and explain the results we’re seeing, both good and bad.

3. Know how valuable your time is.

No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy more time. There are only 24 hours in everyone’s day. Warren has a keen sense of this. He doesn’t let his calendar get filled up with useless meetings. On the other hand, he’s very generous with his time for the people he trusts. He gives his close advisers at Berkshire his phone number, and they can just call him up and he’ll answer the phone.

Although Warren makes a point of meeting with dozens of university classes every year, not many people get to ask him for advice on a regular basis. I feel very lucky in that regard: The dialogue has been invaluable to me, and not only at Microsoft. When Melinda and I started our foundation, I turned to him for advice. We talked a lot about the idea that philanthropy could be just as impactful in its own way as software had been. It turns out that Warren’s brilliant way of looking at the world is just as useful in attacking poverty and disease as it is in building a business. He’s one of a kind.

SOURCE:::: Bill Gates in http://www.linkedin.com

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Message For the Day…” One Must Pay Due Care to Understand the Teachings of Great Avatars…”

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There may be a few statements in Bhagavad Gita or other scriptures that might appear to contradict each other. For instance, in the Gita at one place, Lord Krishna stresses the need for action, at another the adherence to Dharma, and in another place commends renunciation of all Dharma and urges complete surrender to the Lord. These apparent contradictions are not contradictions. The teaching varies according to the state of spiritual development of the person concerned and the situation in which one is placed. The lesson here is one must pay due care and attention to understanding completely the inner significance of the great teachings of the Avatars and sages before any criticism is attempted.

Sathya Sai Baba

 

 

” This Teenager From West Bengal is the True Hero …” Malala Yousafzai

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As the world celebrates Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala herself is celebrating the courage of a little known young girl from West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali area who has been quietly working against the trafficking of young girls from the region.

Anoyara Khatun, 18, from North 24 Parganas, has, with the support of other children and non-governmental organisations, built a strong network to resist trafficking of young girls and prevent child marriages in the region.

“Malala and the Malala Fund celebrate Anoyara’s exemplary courage and leadership. She has helped reunite more than 180 trafficked children with their families, prevented 35 child marriages, rescued 85 children from the clutches of child labour and registered 200 out-of-schools (drop-outs) into schools,” says a Facebook post by the Malalafund, an initiative by Malala.

The post made on October 13, International Day of the Girl, only a few days after Ms. Malala was awarded the Nobel Prize, has described Anoyara as “a true girl hero.”

When The Hindu met Anoyara at Sandeshkhali on Wednesday, she was aware of the Facebook post and could not stop talking about Malala. The first year student of a local college has also collected a number of vernacular newspapers that published news of Ms. Malala’s award and shared it with her friends.

“Though I have not met Malala, I did meet her father Ziauddin Yousafzai at Brussels in June 2012,” she said. She made the trip to Belgium when she was nominated for The International Children’s Peace Prize.

“Trafficking of young girls and child marriages were rampant in the villages here. Poverty and lack of awareness and education provided the ideal conditions for traffickers to operate here,” Ms. Anoyara said.

In 2008, Save the Children, an international non-governmental organisation working for child rights, helped establish a number of multi activity centres in the Sandeshkhali area. These centres help create awareness among the children of the region about the dangers of trafficking and similar crimes. Anoyara recalls stories of how she and others chased away traffickers who came offering jobs and marriage to young girls in the region.

Jatin Mondar, the State Programme Manager of Save the Children, West Bengal said that through these centres, the organisation had managed to put in place a “committee-based child protection model” in Sandeshkhali since 2004.

“Now, if someone approaches the villagers with the proposal to take a girl to Delhi or anywhere else for work, that person is sure to be handed over to the police by us,” Anoyara said.

Keywords: Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize, Anoyara Khatun, Malala mentor

SOURCE:::: The Hindu.com

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Meet Mr. Arvind Subramanian … Chief Economic Adviser to Govt. Of India…

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After his candidacy first emerged in August, US based economist Arvind Subramanian has finally been selected as chief economic adviser by the Indian government.

 

This announcement came at a newsconference in New Delhi where Subramanian was present. He is a development economist who worked closely with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan when both were at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to analysts, one of the prime factors that tipped scales in favour of Arvind Subramanian was his proximity to RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. Narendra Modi personally handpicked Arvind to be his chief economic adviser.

Confirming his appointment in an impromptu news conference outside the Finance Ministry, Mr Subramanian said: “It is a great honour… to serve in a government that has a mandate for reform and change.” He said macro-economic stability and creating favourable conditions for investment will be priorities.

Traditionally, the chief economic adviser is responsible for producing the annual Economic Survey – a document on the state of economy that underpins the drafting of the Budget – and a mid-year economic update that is presented to Parliament.

Recently, Mr Subramanian criticised the Indian government’s decision to derail a WTO deal struck last year to streamline trade procedures by tying it to a separate controversy over food subsidies.

He also criticised Mr Jaitley’s maiden budget in July for being too optimistic in its revenue forecasts.

Mr Subramanian was educated in India and Britain and went on to serve at the IMF and at the forerunner to the World Trade Organization, before taking senior academic posts at Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities in the United States.

In 2011, Foreign Policy magazine has named him as one of the world’s top 100 global thinkers. He obtained his undergraduate degree from St. Stephens College, Delhi; his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad, India; and his M.Phil and D.Phil from the University of Oxford, UK.

Below is a small bio of Arvind Subramanian (Courtesy- Peterson Institute of International economics) 

Arvind Subramanian is the Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. His book Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China’s Economic Dominance was published in September 2011, and he is coauthor of Who Needs to Open the Capital Account? (2012). Foreign Policy magazine has named him as one of the world’s top 100 global thinkers in 2011.

He was assistant director in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund. He served at the GATT (1988–92) during the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations and taught at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (1999–2000) and at Johns Hopkins’ School for Advanced International Studies (2008–10).

He has written on growth, trade, development, institutions, aid, oil, India, Africa, and the World Trade Organization. He has published widely in academic and other journals, including the American Economic Review (Papers and Proceedings), Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of Development Economics, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, International Monetary Fund Staff Papers, Foreign Affairs, World Economy, and Economic and Political Weekly.

He has also published or been cited in leading magazines and newspapers, including the Economist, Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and New York Review of Books. He contributes frequently to the Financial Times and is a columnist in India’s leading financial daily, Business Standard.

He advises the Indian government in different capacities, including as a member of the Finance Minister’s Expert Group on the G-20. His book India’s Turn: Understanding the Economic Transformation was published in 2008 by Oxford University Press.

With agency inputs  

Source::::www.dnaindia.com

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” Being Kind is More Important than Being Right …” !!!

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Story: Great Justice!

An Indonesian judge by the name of Marzuki was sitting in judgment of an old lady who pleaded guilty of stealing some tapioca from a plantation.
In her defense, the old lady admitted to the Judge that she was indeed guilty of the crime because she was poor and her son was sick while her grandchild was hungry.

The plantation manager insisted that she be punished as a deterrent to others.

The judge going through the documents then looked up and said to the old lady, “I’m sorry but I cannot make any exception to the Law and you must be punished accordingly”.

The old lady was fined Rp.1 million (USD 100) and if she could not pay the fine then she will be jailed for 2 1/2 years as demanded by the Law.
She wept as she could not pay the fine.

The Judge then took her hat and put in Rp.100,000 into the hat and said, “In the name of justice, I fine all present in the Court @ Rp.50,000 (USD 5.50) each as dwellers of this City for letting a child starve until her grandmother is compelled to steal to feed her grandchild. The Registrar will now collect the fines from all present.”

The Court managed to collect Rp 3.5 million (USD 350) including the fine collected from the plantation manager, whereby the fine was paid off and the rest was given to the old lady!  

SOURCE:::: UNKNOWN…input from a friend of mine

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World”s Most Influential Teens Named By TIME …

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Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, Obama’s daughters and Joshua Wong, the face of the Hong Kong protests against China have been named by Time magazine among its list of the 25 most influential teenagers of 2014.

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, the joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, waves after speaking at Birmingham library in Birmingham, central England. Photographs: Darren Staples/Reuters

“Teens today might have a mixed reputation, but there’s no denying of their influence. They command millions of fans on Twitter and Vine, start companies with funds they raised on Kickstarter, steal scenes on TV’s most popular shows, lead protests with global ramifications, and even win Nobel Peace Prizes,” Time said as it analysed factors like social-media followings, cultural accolades and business acumen to compile the list.

Mid-Atlantic Region pitcher Mo’ne Davis (3) throws a pitch in the first inning against the West Region at Lamade Stadium. Photographs: Reuters

The youngest on the list is 13-year-old Mo’ne Davis of Pennsylvania, a female baseball player who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Obama’s daughters Sasha, 13, and Malia, 16, are also on the list.

“A lot of dads get squeamish about their daughter’s first prom, but only Malia Obama’s date status could be called “classified information”, as the President joked,” on TV earlier this year.

Time said the elder Obama sibling has “emerged as a figure of national interest” and her appearance at Chicago’s Lollapalooza Music Festival caused almost as much of a stir as the musicians themselves.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his daughters, Malia (C) and Sasha (L), depart the White House for the presidential retreat Camp David in Maryland. Photographs: Larry Downing/Reuters

While Malia’s name has “spiked in popularity” after her father’s election, Sasha has become an icon in her own right.

Wong, 18 has become the face of the Hong Kong protests, a civil disobedience movement demanding that China stages unfettered elections for Hong Kong’s top political position.

Joshua Wong, leader of the student movement take a pause after delivering a speech to protesters outside of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying offices in Hong Kong. Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

“To some, he’s a symbol of hope — a youth rallying his peers to fight for a cause they believe in. In mainland China, however, many argue Wong is an extremist and an emblem against China’s storied national order,” Time said.

Jazz Jennings, 14, has been lauded by Time for her support towards transgender rights. Jennings started living as a girl at the age of 5.

Transgender teen Jazz Jennings arrives at the 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, California. Photographs: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

She co-wrote a children’s book, “I Am Jazz”, loosely based on her life that aims to help other kids understand what the term ‘transgender’ means.

Yousafzai, 17,  became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize two years after Taliban gunmen shot her in the head while she was riding to school.

“The accolade caps an impressive — albeit early — career for Yousafzai, who has used her organisation, the Malala Fund, as a platform to promote girls’ education, help Syrian refugee children and demand the return of the Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, among other things,” Time said.

In April, she received an honorary doctorate in civil law from the University of King’s College in Canada.

“Malala is a testament that women everywhere will not be intimidated into silence,” former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who also survived a shooting incident, wrote of Yousafzai in this year’s Time 100.

“We will speak, no matter how hard it is to do so.”

The list also includes 15-year-old Flynn McGarry, who has emerged as a chef in the culinary industry and 15-year-old Erik Finman, founder of a website that offers tutoring over video chat for teens.

The other names in the list include actor Will Smith’s 16-year-old-son Jaden Smith, 17-year-old Lydia Ko, who ranks third among women golfers in the world and 17-year-old Salma Kakar, the lead rider on the co-ed Afghan National Cycling Team.

Actor Jaden Smith attends a hand and footprint ceremony for actor Jackie Chan at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. Photographs: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

Kakar’s dream is to “wave the flag of Afghanistan at the Olympics one day, and to show the world how far Afghan women have come.”

Ciara Judge, 16, Emer Hickey, 17, and Sophie Healy-Thow, 17, from Ireland also made it to the list because they took home the grand prize at the Google Science Fair after wowing the judges with their discovery ‘Diazotroph’, a bacteria that sucks nitrogen from the atmosphere into soil, speeding up the germination of cereal crops and increasing their yield.

SOURCE::::Rediff.com

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Message For the Day…” What is Non-Violence …” ?

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The observance of non-violence has been described as the highest form ofDharma. All the violence in the world today is due to the fact that people do not lead righteous lives. It has been said that the body has been given essentially to pursue Dharma. Among the teachings of the Buddha, the foremost was Ahimsa (not causing harm to anyone). Non-violence is not merely refraining from inflicting injuries on others with one’s limbs or weapons. Non-violence has to be practised with Thrikarana Shuddhi (purity of thought, word and deed). There should be no ill-feelings, which is itself a form of violence. To cause harm to others through one’s body is himsa(violence). No one should be harmed even by speech; our words should be sweet, pleasing and wholesome. All actions should be helpful to others

Sathya Sai Baba

Happy Birthday ‘ People’s President ‘… DR. Abdul Kalam Turns 83 Today !!!

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APJ Abdul Kalam turns 82 today

Indians, let’s wish ‘happy birthday’ to one of the most popular Rashtrapati the country every had – Dr APJ Abdul Kalam ! Kalam, also known as ‘missile man of India’, is celebrating his 83rd birthday today. He assumed the office as India’s 11th president in 2002. During his tenure, he made the highest office in India accessible to the common man in the country and was affectionately called ‘people’s president’. Kalam was a gentle, amiable, approachable president, known for his simplicity. Before his term as the country’s Rashtapati, Kalam worked as an aerospace engineer with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Kalam was born into a family of Tamil Muslims in Rameswaram, a small temple town located in the southern most edge of India in 1931. A brilliant student, Kalam graduated from Madras Institute of Technology and joined DRDO and later, ISRO. “After observing my teacher teaching me how birds fly…I aimed something to fly…Then I pursued my studies in Physics and aerospace,” he said recently at an event attended by students. There are many missions to the credit of this ‘missile man’. Kalam is well-known for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology and he played a pivotal role in India’s Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974. Kalam was the project director of India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully deployed the Rohini satellite in earth’s orbit in July 1980. In a poll conducted by news channel CNN-IBN, he was selected as India’s Best President. The country has conferred on him the prestigious Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan. During his term as Rashtrapati, Kalam visited universities and schools across the country, interacted with children. No wonder, his 79th birthday was recognised as World Student’s Day by United Nations. Kalam has also received honorary doctoral degrees from 36 unversities and institutions worldwide. Kalam has penned a number of books including ‘The Wings of Fire’, his autobiography, which has been translated and published in 13 languages so far. His books are largely popular among the student community in the country. “For the last one decade when I became President and after it, I had one dream and that was when can I in my lifetime see smile on a billion faces,” he recently told a boy who asked him what kept him motivated all the time. More power to this great visionary !

SOURCE::::news.oneindia.in

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Read more at: http://news.oneindia.in/india/happy-birthday-people-s-president-apj-abdul-kalam-tur-1540924.html

” A Peacekeeper in Afghanistan who Made India Proud …”

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An Indian police inspector has been named recipient of a prestigious international female peacekeeper award by the United Nation’s police division for her “exceptional achievements” in her duty with the UN mission in Afghanistan, including her efforts towards helping victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

Inspector Shakti Devi of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, currently deployed in the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, has been awarded the International Female Police Peacekeeper Award 2014.

Devi has been honoured for her “exceptional achievements” in leading the establishment of Women Police Councils in several parts of Afghanistan, the UN Police division said in a communication to the Indian mission.

It said Devi has contributed to the improvement of the status of female police and has effectively helped the police of Afghanistan move towards achieving their goals of fully adopting democratic principles of policing.

“In addition, her consistent engagement in improving the service for victims of sexual and gender-based violence has led to successful investigation and prosecution,” the UN agency said.

The award was delivered during the International Association of Women Police conference held earlier this month in Winnipeg, Canada.

The honour is a competitive award given to an outstanding female police peacekeeper serving in a UN peace operation.

The objectives of the award are to promote an understanding of police in peace operations throughout the world, highlight the efforts of female police in global peace operations, increase understanding of the roles of women officers in various countries and encourage participation in UN peace operations by all countries of the world.

It is also aimed at promoting membership in the UN International Female Police Peacekeepers Network and increasing international understanding and awareness of women in international police peacekeeping and in the network.

India is the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, having contributed more than 170,000 troops in 43 out of 69 peacekeeping missions mandated by the United Nations Security Council so far.

Image: Inspector Shakti Devi of the Jammu Kashmir police receiving the award.  

 

SOURCE:::: Rediff.com

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” Suggest a Suitable Name to Space Robot and Win a Prize from NASA …” !!!

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Name a Flying Space Robot, and Win a Prize From NASA

NASA needs your help to name a new space robot, and you could win some cash doing it.

NASA officials are asking space fans around the world to help name, and design a mission patch for, a new free-flying robot expected to launch to theInternational Space Station in 2017. The first-place winner of the challenge will receive $1,000. Officials with the space agency put out the call to any interested space fans at New York Comic Con on Saturday.

“We have this new free-flying robot that we’re building,” Jason Crusan, director of NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems division, told a full house at Comic Con. “We don’t know what to call it. ‘Free-flying robot’ sounds kind of boring and not all that exciting, so we’re asking you to actually name the robot for us.”

Image: Free-flying robotNASA / TOPCODER
A sketch shows how a free-flying robot on the International Space Station could be moved by remote control to get a better video angle.

Second, third and fourth place also come with cash prizes. Second place will win $500, with third and fourth prize taking home $250 each. NASA has teamed up with Topcoder to organize the contest.

If an artist’s depiction of the new space automaton is any indication, the new robot may look like something out of “Star Wars.” In the artist’s concept, the robot could appear as a small, ball-shaped droid that will use fans to move itself around the interior of the International Space Station. It is expected to be able to fly itself, or be operated by remote control.

The new free-flying bot would join a group of other free-fliers already on the station. NASA’s SPHERES robots (the name is short for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) are already used on the orbiting outpost.

To participate in the NASA challenge to name the new robot, space fans need to register with Topcoder. Participants will reach a checkpoint where they will receive feedback on their initial designs on Oct. 22, and the challenge ends on Oct. 27. Officials will announce the winners of the competition on Nov. 2.

To participate in the challenge and learn more about it, go tohttp://www.topcoder.com/challenge-details/30046039/?type=design&noncache=true.

— Miriam Kramer, Space.com

This is a condensed version of a report from Space.com. Read the full report.Follow Miriam Kramer on Twitter and Google+. Follow Space.com on Twitter,Facebook and Google+.

First published October 15th 2014, 5:55 am  in http://www.nbcnews.com

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