A Conversation To Remember

Late December, I had a very interesting conversation with Steve.

Steve and I had been trying to meet up for months. Unfortunately, we couldn't. After months of email exchange, I was finally able to put a face behind his name. Steve, is a remarkably interesting person. We chatted for 1.5 hours on varied topics - India, China, Venture Capitalism, Design, MBA, Tea...and many more things.

Apparently, Steve went to India on an exchange program about 25 years back and can still speak some Marathi and understand Hindi. Wow! He had very interesting stories to share. It is refreshing to hear someone else's point of view on India; country where I spent 21 years of my life. Of all the informational meetings, I have conducted, this particular one is quite memorable.

His most important piece of advice for my me was," Shalu, people in Northern California do not go anywhere...it is about the journey", which in my head translated to: The job search is not about a race to bagging the best job! It is about making an impact. The advice is such a contrast from my MBA life, which was about race to literally everything!

Thanks for sharing your perspective, Steve.

New Year, New Decade, New Aspirations

I do not like the word - resolution. I would like to give it a positive tone and call it - aspiration.

The word, aspiration does not sound like work in my head. Plus, it is positive enough to motivate me to follow through my aspirations :p

My 7 aspirations (in no particular order) for 2010 are:

1. Talk Slow: I think I talk really fast and sometimes loud (on the phone, when the person on the other end is also loud!).In my last two social gatherings with new people (on two different occasions), I discovered two people, who talked extremely loud, so much so that I got a headache after being in the room with them for 5 minutes. The problem is that most people think that being loud will get their point across. I had to sit far away from these two people, which is not good, because a) I did not interact with them; b) I was annoyed all the time; and c) Loudness is all I remember about them. The experience got me thinking that it must be quite annoying for others as well when I talk fast AND loud!
   
2. Learn to Surf: Hitesh and I love water sports. We took surfing lessons in Maui in December. Gosh! I have been missing all surfing fun all this time. Both of us loved it. We intend to be able to surf in Santa Cruz over Summer this year.
   
3. Learn to Swim: I know! I know...swimming, should technically, be a precursor to surfing. However, not being able to swim does not stop me from being in the water. I have taken swimming lessons thrice in my life. Something is wrong with my legs. Oh wait! I am making excuses - I, obviously, did not practice enough to be able to swim properly. Well, it changes this year and starting, January!
   
4. Start My Own Something: I have many-many interests and passions, which have not helped me focus my 100% attention on any particular interest. Starting this year, I am going to "start my own something". My biggest strength (that I can leverage easily) is that I am hyper-observant, and excellent at talking to people and building relationships. I have to focus my energy in meaningful interests and get on with it this year. I have gradually come to realize that owning your own something (that you are passionate about and good at), is the way to succeed.
   
5. Become More Involved Within Non-Profit: I am a huge fan of people, who focus their attention within non-profit sector. One such non-profit, started by a friend, and based in India, is "chotti si asha", which means 'a ray of hope' in English. I blogged about Liza's efforts in 2008. I hope to be able to help Liza more with her initiative, make it sustainable, and make "chotti si asha" profitable (Yes! MBAs do think about profits)
6. Exercise Regularly: I do exercise 3 days a week. It would be amazing to step it up to a 5-day regime. Most importantly, it will help me stay healthy and stress free.
7. Travel More: I have a confession - prior to traveling to Mexico, I used to think that Mexico is a dangerous place to visit. I am ashamed of my perception. I am quite open minded and do not usually have preconceived notions about anyone, or anything. I am not certain how I developed this idiotic misconception. In December 2008, Hitesh and I visited Mexico and boy! I was surprised. Mexicans are extremely friendly people. I had a fantastic time on that trip. The trip changed my point of view about Mexico. Travel, does open your mind. It makes you comfortable with the unfamiliar places and situations. Although, I already love to travel a lot, I hope to do more of it this year.

Oh, and most importantly: invest in relationships, reconnect with friends, and speak with friends & family more often this year.

I read somewhere that people, who write down their aspirations tend to achieve them than people who do not.

I plan to revisit this post at the end of 2010 and see where I am at.

Innovation at the Most Unexpected Place

A lot has happened since my last post, but somehow I never got around to blogging the events.

Some of the memorable events were:

• Getting interviewed by an innovation consulting company - I paid $60 cab ride to get to the interview, because the CalTrain changed their schedule online, but my iPhone App was not updated. Hence, I missed the train. I must have looked really frazzled, because the cab driver charged me $60, instead of $80 and asked me to calm down. God bless him!
  
• I made it to round 2, but did not get an offer. I felt that during the interview, there was a LOT of communication gap, which has taught me to add "By blah, I mean blah" after every sentence :) Regardless, it was a great opportunity to chat with some fantastic people.
• I got a good offer for a contract position from a design consulting studio and I worked with them for a little less than 3 months. My contract got up, last Friday and am back to networking.
• I joined Twitter and have been overwhelmed with media over dosage. This is probably the main reason as to why I haven't got around to blogging.
  

One particular incident was very interesting. I had to get my TN-VISA stamped at the border, in order to start working in October. I flew to Seattle and took the Greyhound to the Seattle-Vancouver border.

This is how a TN-VISA works - You have to fall under a certain category. Unfortunately, I fall under a very highly scrutinized category, called the Management Consultant category. I have heard some horrible stories about it. Therefore, an offer does not mean anything until you get the visa.

So, I show up at the border. I remember being very nervous. I go up to the counter and say,"Hi, I need to apply for a TN-VISA". The customs officer's eye brows arched up. He says,"Now, do you?". I am thinking in my head-> Good God, please let this go smooth. He looks at all my documents, asks several questions, and asks me to fill out what my roles and responsibilities would be, as a Management Consultant. Keep in mind that there is a letter from the HR that states the responsibilities exactly and explicitly, but oh no, the officer wanted me to write them down. Without any argument, I did.

He asked me who the client was, which in this case was Nokia.
For the next half an hour, he called me back and forth and asked a zillion questions such as :Why you? Experience? Background etc? Most interesting question was, "Would you present the recommendations to the client, or someone else from the company?"

Although, this particular question seems simple, in reality it is quite tricky. Had I said, the company would, he would have rejected my Visa.
I found it pretty innovative and thought in my head, "Wow! this guy is smart".

Finally, he calls me over and says something such as,"So, what would you do if Nokia were to hire you as a Consultant to change their processes?"
Here is how my thought process went: OMG, is this what I think, it is?
Is this a Case Interview?
I think it is!
What?!? They have started taking Case Interviews at the border?
I thought Case Interviews were meant only for B-schools...

And, boy! I started explaining how I would approach the problem. I started doing a competitor's analysis, company analysis, and applied many more frameworks. All this time, the officer was having a conversation with me. For example; he was asking questions such as, "What about a cost-benefit analysis", "How would you cut costs", "How do you envision their competitors (let's say Motorola) might react?"

I took 20 minutes to solve the case.

The key point (and passage to stamping of the visa) was the fact that I would only provide high-level expertise to Nokia's employees, and never try to take up their jobs!
The moment I said that, the officer gave me a big smile, stamped my visa, and was extremely friendly.

The experience was very interesting; interesting to the point where it got me thinking that innovative procedures have traveled even to the border. Gone are the days, when the border protection would simply run a check on you. They want to make sure that you ARE who you SAY YOU ARE.

Fascinating..ain't it?

I believe the border protection officer was possibly an aspiring MBA contender and was practicing his Case Interview skills with me :)

Crater Lake, Oregon

Interesting Conversation With Interesting People

My friend Claire and her daughter, Jenny visited us in San Francisco recently.

Claire is Chinese and came to live in Toronto when she started at Rotman in 2007. During my interaction with Claire, I have found her to be extremely open-minded and curious. She is also eager to learn about different cultures like myself. Jenny is an equally curious and a friendly child. Over the last 2 years, Claire and I have enjoyed mock interview preparation, Wii sessions, Sushi eating and discussions about future.

Other than the fun things we did together in San Francisco, two conversations stuck in my mind:

• Claire and I were discussing the similarities in Chinese and Indian culture. Many things are similar and I couldn't help wonder how China has been able to contain their population over the years. I asked her to explain the strategy to me. Apparently, the Chinese government taxes people equivalent to about $2000 or $20,000 if they want to have a second child. Since not many people can afford high taxes, the problem has been addressed. This is a great strategy. However, it has a loop hole as well. Let's assume if a Chinese resident wanted to have a second child, they could live in Canada or United States and have the child there. They would be able to bring the kid back to China since that child is technically a non-Chinese resident. I think Claire mentioned that residents may still have to pay taxes. She also mentioned that there are clinics somewhere in the US, (she did not know where though) which Chinese residents have access to in order to have their delivery done at the clinic! The clinics probably cost an arm and a leg, so I am guessing they are only for an elite few.

I was very surprised by this revelation. But, there is a lesson here: The government was able to contain the population by enforcing strict laws. It must have been a hard transition, but it worked. I think Indian government should get inspiration from China.

• Claire and I had this conversation about how her decision to stay back in Canada for another year is good for Jenny. She is learning a new language, getting exposed to all sorts of cultures, and good at several things (such as swimming, reading, piano, sports etc). Claire mentioned that hypothetically, when she and her husband die, Jenny will have no one to call 'family'. I agree, because siblings are your best links to your past and family. I cannot imagine having no one to share your memories with long after your parents are gone.
  

For most of my life, I have thought that one child in one household is enough. Perhaps, Claire is right - we do need a link to our past and parents.

I know that had the population not shot up in China, the government would not have enforced such strict rules. Wouldn't it be neat when the population goes back to normal in China, the government allows its residents to have another child?

I would love to get an older Chinese person's opinion on things when they were children. I am quite fascinated by Chinese culture. I hope I get an opportunity to visit my friend, Claire in China at some point.

Thanks Claire for sharing your thoughts with me and changing my point of view on children.

Oh, and the fabulous part of Claire and Jenny's visit - Claire taught me how to make Sushi! I can proudly call myself a 'Su Chef' now :)

Postcards From California; a Few Favorites

A Visual Way to Understand the US Health Care System

Dan Roam, author of 'The Back of the Napkin' is explaining the US health care in the recent posts on his blog.

Check it out:

http://digitalroam.typepad.com/digital_roam/2009/08/fixing-health-care-on-the-back-of-a-napkin-4-napkins-actually.html