A leader should know how to manage failure

(Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam at Wharton India Economic forum , Philadelphia , March 22,2008 )

Question: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India 's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India 's 'Rohini' satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal . It was a big failure.

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish D hawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am , and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India ]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed.. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, 'You conduct the press conference today.'

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience

long time eh?

The very few people(if any...I like to tell myself that somebody out there reads my blog ) who read my blog must have noticed that i have not put up anything from a long time.Well its been a hectic summer with many unforeseen changes coming along. But its been nice, I am enjoying myself now.Any way I still dont have time to think of too much to write here but I will start putting up some stuff I felt good after reading.I hope people enjoy it.

The Quarter-Life Crisis

I just got an email today .Yeah one of those forwards that most of us just put in the trash or "mark as read"...I Actually READ those...I also read the stuff I get from various mailing lists...Yes I know I have a sad life.Well basically this email too is about my /our sad life/lives.Its being called "quarter life crisis".I just Googled to find out how much more is out there about the "Quarter life crisis" and you will be amazed by the number of pages that exist.Read up if you are going through the same phase .I bet 9 out of 10 of us know we are going through it.The rest just don't know it yet :)

The Quarter-Life Crisis

by unknown

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn't know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared. You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren't so great after all. You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not.

You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward. You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person.

One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. You want to settle down for good because now all of a sudden that becomes top priority. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You begin to think a companion for life is better than a hundred in the shack and for once you would not mind standing tall for that special someone which otherwise you had never thought of until now. . You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.

You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while wining the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender! What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

Well if you are 20 something( or think you are ) and feel the same way pass this on to others in the 20s to let them know they are not alone

Top ten party schools in the USA

U have rankings for the best schools in USA right??? Which school is better for research vs studies?? Biology vs Electronics?? etc.

Well heres a ranking by Playboy as to the best party schools.
The adult magazine, which has only occasionally published the party college list in the past but will now turn it into an annual feature, ranked the schools on campus life, sports, sex and academics, or "brains," as Playboy put it.
As a last criterion, Playboy included "bikini," which combined weather, guy-to-girl ratio and cheerleaders

The top 10 party schools are below in order of rank:

1) University of Miami

2) University of Texas (Austin)

3) San Diego State University

4) University of Florida

5) University of Arizona

6) University of Wisconsin (Madison)

7) University of Georgia

8) Louisiana State University

9) University of Iowa

10) West Virginia University

So if you want to enjoy yourself ,yeah maybe you should too,you might consider one of the above ;)

Never judge a book by its cover

Wont write anything about this clip .You just have to watch it.


Thumbs up to Susan Boyle!!

SAME DIFFERENCE

This is am email that was forwarded to me ..and I think a thousand other people.It reminded me that we all need someone to look out for us and someone who we want to look after.If these guys who are so different from each other can form a bond why do we "humans" differentiate on the basis of ...you know the borders that we create ..geography, physical appearance , place of birth etc

THERE IS SO MUCH WE CAN LEARN FROM NATURE

'Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed' - Rachel Naomi Remen, MD

NAIROBI ( AFP ) - A baby hippopotamus that survived the

tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong

bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal

facility in the port city of Mombassa , officials said

The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about

300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki

River into the Indian Ocean , then forced back to shore

when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on

December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

'It is incredible. A -less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a

male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to

be very happy with being a 'mother'', ecologist Paula Kahumbu,

who is in charge of Lafarge Park , told AFP

'After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized.

It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother

Fortunately , it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond.

They swim, eat and sleep together,' the ecologist added.

'The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed its mother

If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive,

as if protecting its biological mother,' Kahumbu added.

'The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and

by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their

mothers for four years,' he explained.

'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,

but by the moments that take our breath away.'

This is a real story that shows that our differences don't matter

much when we need the comfort of another.

We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures of God,

'Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together.'

'Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from them selves.

search for serial/movies

Google custom search to look for videos of serials/ movies . Got about 20 sites on there but if you have some good ones I should include let me know .I have not included youtube as it gives a lot of extra stuff.
And i dont know if this is neccessary but "None of the content is hosted on this blog and I am not responsible for any of the videos" Just trying to get the google custom search to work :)

APRIL 12:Got 44 sites being searched.got labels now for better searching between hindi/english serials/english movies.Also link to youtube now but most labels(other than "hindi?" and " english movie" dont link to youtube.

Also going against popular opinion i would like to state that

I DO HAVE WORK TO DO :)

Inspired movies

Whether or not the inspiration is accepted by bollywood the following movies bear a striking resemblance to hollywood counterparts(I have seen most of the movies myself to vouch for the resemblance but articles also exist on Wikipedia and imdb)

Dushman starring kajol sanjay dutt and ashutosh rana == an eye for an eye(1996)

Fanaa Kajol,AAmir khan == eye of the needle(1981)

Dewangee(1992)(first half ditto copy) ajay devgan,urmila,akshay khanna == Primal Fear(1996) 

Zeher (emraan,udita)==Out of Time(danzel washington)

The killer(Emraan,Irfan Khan)== Collateral

Yaraana (1995 , Daraar (1996), Agni Sakshi (1996), and Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe (2002).== Sleeping with the enemy(Julia Roberts)

Pehla Nasha (1993) == Body double

Will updat ethis post as I keep remebering more

songs from the top of my head 2

Okay I am back....I have been getting a lot of flak from my friends for the number of songs that I have put up on the blog so I am actually just linking these songs to youtube and you can go and listen at there...(Fine with u guys...eh?? :D).Actually I guess you guys were hoping I would write some more stuff about myself or things arround me but I stay in my house most of the time and I dont think you want to read about the movement of the clouds as seen from my balcony in the last 15 days..by the way I have a beautiful view from my 19th floor balcony ;)

Okay so now I am going to let you in on some lesser known melodies that I really love

A beautiful song from Dahek...sawan barse

Really romantic melody and beautiful video featuring the beautiful Sonali Bendre[ Akshay khanna is also there btw..guys I am sure you will manage to look past him :)  ]

Ae chand teri ki kasam from Tera Jaadu chal gaya..Another romantic gem( most of them have a reference to chand/chandni).. this features abhishek bachchan still looking to cement his place in bollywood and he looks totally misplaced here ...doing some really funny things(can they be called .."dance steps"????)

Jogger's Park (remember the movie with victor Banerji and Perizad?) had some great songs...Watch a hot looking perizad in Habba Habba and listen to a soulful Jagjit Singh in Badi Nazuk Hai Yeh Manjil

Anyone seen Tumsa Nahin Dekha??? Well it has a great song Dhuan Dhuan sa rehne do.The voice doesnt suit Emraan but the song is pretty nice and best of all it has diya Mirza.

The next song is really beautiful..I think it is not so "lesser known" but I am sure most of you guys must not have heard it ...[The choice of music you people have :( ]. It is Awaz Do Humko from Dushmann.The Movie was I blatant ripoff of a english movie..I cant remember the name of the movie though...Watch and enjoy( if you are a kajol fan..there is a double treat for you)

And before I sign off for today heres one more song for the road..Priti zinta looking pretty as usual and Mr Aman Varma singing a song for her while she dreams about akshay..dont you guys hate it when the girl u love thinks of someone else while you are ...uhh..Singing ;)

Heres mujhe raat din from sangharsh.Actually after posting this video i saw another song which may be called the original version by some for this song...its Mujhe Dekh Kar Aapka Muskurana from ek musafir ek hasina

And by the way if you are wondering where I heard all these songs..mostly on the radio and especially when you make halts on the highway in india for have chai from the "chaiwala"...just kidding..these are really nice songs people ..enjoy them

chow

to all my friends

Yeh pal hume yaad aayenge
Woh kal yaad aayenge
humne kiya yaha jo bhi kiyaa
roke kabhi haske jiyaa
khusiya kabhi gam bhi liyaa
roke kabhi haske jiyaaa
Yeh pal hume yaad aayenge
Woh kal yaad aayenge 

yeh pal hume yaad aayenge
woh kal yaad aayenge
sukriya yaara sukriya pyaar jo itna diya
sukriya yaara sukriya pyaar jo itna diya
aawo milke jhume gaaye chhede sargamko
Nagme barsaaye,chhede sargam ko
yeh pal hume yaad aayenge
woh kal hume yaade aayenge

yeh pal hume yaad aayenge
woh kal yaad aayenge
Barson jo khwab bune
sach woh aaj huye
Milhi gaya manjil ka nishaa
apne sapno ka jahaa
chhute na yeh karvaan
apne sapno ka jahha
yeh pal hume yaad aayenge
woh kal yaad aayenge

As most of you might have guessed from my previous blogs( you poor unfortunate creatures .. I am really sorry for what I put you through) I am not good enough to write the lyrics..its a song featuring qazi and ruprekha....Wonder where they are !

Songs from the top of my head

Was getting bored and thought i would play some songs on youtube.Its amazing how I always come up with the same songs in the same order...Man I miss the radio in Mumbai..Some of the radio jockeys were just too good and their song selection took the pain out of the process of " WHAT do I want to hear ??hmmm lets see"
Well here are some of my fave songs, I am sure I have forgotten some really superb one s..but hey im not your RJ
First the Romantic ones....yeah i am a mushy sort of guy..okay im in the mood to make a storyline out of this..so lets see here

Boy sees girl


boy falls in love with girl


boy sings song for girl...why is the boy doing all the work???!!! I have no idea, well maybe I do ;)


Boy almost doesnt ask her out...hey I guess he was too scared..havent figured that out yet..maybe he forgot




and as expected the guy screws it up



Okay time for apologies



and a happy ending ...they live happily ever after ..how sweet



Okay I threw that in only for rimi ..but you have got to admit being with her would be a happy ending :D

Okay so more songs???I guess I stressed myself out here..I have a tiny little brain which has been squeezed for all its got..will try and put some other songs later..till then chow

web browsers

It seems that Firefox is the default choice for most people when it comes to web browsers and Chrome is really catching up.But you may just want something different for yourself (yes you could be just as queer as I am) so here is a list of web browsers which you could try out if you haven't already

Opera
Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by the Opera Software company. Opera handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, IRC online chatting, downloading files via BitTorrent, and reading web feeds.
Features of Opera include tabbed browsing, page zooming, mouse gestures, and an integrated download manager. Its security features include built-in phishing and malware protection, strong encryption when browsing secure web sites, and the ability to easily delete private data such as cookies and browsing history by simply clicking a button.

SlimBrowser:
SlimBrowser is a tabbed multiple-site browser. It incorporates a large collection of powerful features like built-in popup killer, skinned window frame, form filler, site group, quick-search, auto login, hidden sites, built-in commands and scripting, online translation, script error suppression, blacklist / whitelist filtering, URL Alias. It brings you convenient and comfortable browsing. It’s compatible with all Windows editions.
Best for: Users seeking for a feature packed browser

Flock:
It is built on Mozilla’s Firefox codebase, the web browser Flock is as extensible and speedy as its open source cousin. It specializes in providing social networking and other Web 2.0 features built into its interface. It also integrates with popular sites such as YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, LiveJournal, etc to give you access to all their features without having to visit them directly.
Best for: People who are involved in many social networking sites

Safari:
Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. It has most of the necessary features like tabbed browsing and RSS handling. It’s standards compliant too, and the lightweight build makes it one of the fastest browsers.
Best for: PC guys who wish they had bought a MAC

K-Meleon:
K-Meleon is an extremely fast, customizable, lightweight web browser based on the Gecko layout engine developed by Mozilla which is also used by Firefox. K-Meleon is free, open source software released under the GNU General Public License and is designed specifically for Microsoft Windows (Win32) operating systems.
Best for: People seeking a fast and light windows browser

Maxthon:
Maxthon Browser is a powerful tabbed browser built for all users. Besides basic browsing functionality, Maxthon Browser provides a rich set of features to improve your surfing experience.

Best for: Users who want a Firefox like IE


If you want to have some fun you can try
SpaceTime
Browse3D
uBrowser

There are many many more out there..I clearly remember something called Green Browser ..and I have left out a lot of the browsers for Mac and Linux distributions..maybe I will get to them sometime soon.Let see..Till then try out some of the above.

Missing college days

I came across this song on youtube,Really touched a chord..its a video about missing college days ..have a listen :D



Then there is the old popular one which i guess most of you have heard



Heres a song ..i dont really dig the music..could have been different..but the words really fit engineering college days



I dont think the blog would be complete without the next one


I really thought about DCH but decided against putting it here.
Let me know if you have any other good songs that I have missed

India calling cards,cell phone providers in usa/atlanta

There are a variety of calling cards available to call india from the US,it is getting cheaper by the day.Here are some of the options you can try
Stanacard
Reliance
Airtel
dialsimple
bharatmata
rebtel
There are many others.Always join when there is a scheme.Usually airtel and rebtel have scheme during major Indian festivals which you can take advantage of.There are many vousher codes on the internet for rebtel which give you 60 min free calling.Be careful not to waste these.
Please read ALL terms and conditions before taking even free offers.dialsimple provides 25 min free sometimes.
Stanacard usually has offers when u buy in bulk and is by far the cheapest when you consider the good quality.Airtel and reliance are slightly more expensive.Rebtel too is expensive compared to stana but has a 6 second pulse after the first minute and hence you may actually make up the difference if you make short calls which end after say 90 seconds.
Another option is calling from skype but it will cost you more,but you can do that if you dont have a cell phone or your minutes are used up.

If you can send MAGICJACK or vonage to India it would be really cheap for them to call you(all you need is a broadband connnection)
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cell phones options when you come to usa.
most companies bind you in a contract for a cell-connection.The cell phone itself usually comes free or at a nominal cost, but if you want to upgrade you need to make a contract all over again.Students usually go for the family plan options available.try to get a connection which all your friends have as calling within the cell phone provider is free(usually).Nights and weekends are free to any USA number for most providers.
YOUR MINUTES ARE DEDUCTED FOR INCOMING CALL TOO.
at&t seems to be very popular among students in atlanta.The problem is you require a social security number.nights are from 9 pm to 6 am.a family plan of 4 with 1400 minutes currently costs you 130 ie almost $33 each
t mobile is an option where you do not need ssn
verizon has its presence in many places and so does sprint(i think that sprint has 7pm to 7 am as nights,not sure though)
A good option for people who speak a lot to people in India would be MetroPCS as it has unlimited calling +incoming for flat monthly rates.You uaually have to pay around 50 a month depending on your plan.It is a CDMA operator and you need to buy their phone which will cost you around 50-150$.

WHERE TO LIVE IN ATLANTA NEAR GEORGIA TECH --FOR STUDENTS

Atlanta is a big place and has a pretty good transport system but in case you don't want to travel(I strongly recommend you don't) there are a variety of places you could stay for students going to tech.Most of the stuff is either my opinion or the opinion of my friends.note that this is not my order of recommendation,I am just giving you some of the options available.It is always best to check the place out before renting it.

Also you can check out the police website or community websites (i am sure there is one for midtown called midtown blue) .check out http://www.police.gatech.edu/crimealerts.htm for areas in/near gatech especially homepark.

1.Homepark

This is the most popular place for Indians coming to atlanta.But beware that home park is a large area.Also the places are individually made and hence none are alike.I recommend places on 10th street in line with GLC and close to some of the georgia tech establishment.This is because there is a stinger service(green route which runs till late in the evening ,with a drop at GLC(georgia tech living center ..or something like that) and the STINGERETTE service runs till early morning dropping you from any point in college(including the housings) to gatech establishments like broadband research lab etc.There is 1033 tumlin which is the hub of indians(majorly maharashtrians).It is like a complex where about 6 people share a 3 bedroom place.It turns out pretty cheap from what I hear.But you wont get a whole place to yourself as only slots vacated by seniors are available.So u will have to share with 3-4 seniors.Another area to consider is state street.It is a broad street,pretty well lit at night.But here too stay close to 10th street.Basically Home park is rectangular in shape from 10th street in the south to 14th st in the North and north side dr nw in the west and atlantic drive in the east.My advice is stay south and east.I will explain more later in disadvantage.

Advantage;

1.Hub of indians

2.Cheap.Really monthly costs as low as 300 including utilities

3. close to tech.(the south part of homepark atleast is close)

4.transport is easy to college.

5.Good food options witrh papa johns and tech plaza(new indian place there..dont know how it is)

Disadvantages

1.other than tumlin state street 10 street and a few more areas I think it can get creepy at night.

Please dont go to the NW side as it is known for muggings at gun point.14TH st is quite far sowalking might tire you.Breakins have happened in tumlin too so nothing is absolutely safe.

2.Places are small so sharing a room might be cheap but may feel crowded.

3.utilities are variable and may increase dramatically in winter cos the heating systems may be gas whose prices keep fluctuating.

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2.Atlantic station area

Huge area.Places to stay Metro,the flats(individual rooms with utilities included..common kitchen..just like on campus ..costs around 750),park district and icon etc.Metro is the closest to college and there is a short cut to go from 14th street to metro.There is ikea right opposite metro where u can get furnishing and pizza.The other places move further away from tech i think(closer to the main atlantic station shopping and dining area.There is target which is a place to buy almost everything(like walmart) and the publix grocery mart is also there)There is a bus service run by atlantic station which is free and connects different places and also goes to arts center marta station from where you can take the train.check out their website for more details.

ADVANTAGES.

1.decent places.Heard they are big never seen them myself.

2.You will get whatever you need in atlantic itself.

DISADVANTAGES.

1.Pretty far from college if you want to walk.

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3.Savannah

It is a apartment complex on north avenue.

ADVANTAGES

1.Pretty cheap

2.Neighbor of publix

3.has tennis court.

4.swimming pool(very small though)

DISADVANTAGES.

1.Further from tech.have to climb a hill like slope to get to college.

2.Heard about breakins.

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4.ALEXANDER ON PONCE.

heard it is a nice place.slightly away from tech.Not much info.

5.POST BILTMORE

expensive.Close to tech,Bang opposite the management building.No info.

6.710 ---now called SOLACE ON PEACHTREE.

Close to Tech.I dont know how it is now but heard that the place(710 as known earlier) was quite roach infested.Not many indians.

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7.WINDSOR OVER PEACHTREE.

opposite bank of america building.Not an apartment complex.Individual owners rent out places.Pretty good but maintainance depends on owners and previous residents.prices are 1600-1650 for 2 br /4 ppl. and 1000 for 1 br /2 people inclusive of utilities.Right outside the north avanue marta station.20 min walk to most parts of college 5 min to management buliding. 6-8 minute walk to tech square from where u can take the tech trolley.Many food options around at 5 min walk.

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8.Centenial .

Have heard the houses are great but not too secure. Pretty good apartments that cost around 300 per head shared room. (600 for single)Utilities come to around 40-60 bucks per head. Its 5 walk minutes away from Tech. Parts of it which are close to college are pretty safe, the more you move away from college the less safe it becomes. A lot of GT students live around here but less Indians. There is a shuttle that stops at North Avenue Apartments which is like 2-3 minutes
walking distance.

other places you could check out are

9.camden midtown(not too safe i think)

10.metropointe lofts..no idea.sorry

some places under the gables banner etc.

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There are a lot of options to stay close to gatech.Just make sure you see the place properly before you rent.

Most important things are

utilities-whether to be paid by u?

do you have a washer dryer in the apartment or complex?

dishwashers are not that important according to me

is the place centrally airconditioned and heated or locally.Be careful if it is centrally controlled by the landlord.

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maybe I will add some more stuff if i get info and anyone readin this is welcome to give more info to help others looking to come to atlanta

take care