Salami: The Accelerating Cultural Divergence

It is becoming apparent that the cultural divergence is widening and that we are more American and Western than we were 20 years ago. Let's consider my brother-in-law's recent engagement where he insisted on returning to Karachi, Pakistan for a traditional ceremony. He was briefed by his buddies in Karachi that he would be getting "Salami." He was amused that such processed meats are a part of traditional Pakistani events. Salami is money that Pakistani elders give their kids on weddings/engagements :-)

Last Moments of 2006

With just 5 minutes left in 2006, it is fun trying to keep Mikaeel up for the countdown. 2006 has been a great year professionally and personally. My biggest achievement for 2006 has been teaching my son the pleasures of basic algebra, geometry and trigonometry. It is tough explaining sine and cosines to an 8-year old, but its amazing how receptive kids are to new concepts.

Every year I think that I cant possibly work any harder, but it seems there are few limits to human perseverance & hard work. I guess I will find out in 2007 whether there are limits. The countdown has begun, I have 731 left ... it's everything I have teed up for.

In the last few moments of 2006, Riz wonders what Lauren is up to.

The winter has been kind so far - no snow on the ground and the forecast of temperatures in the 40s all next week.

Best Wishes to all my friends and family for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2007.

The last days of 2006

I have had a good time entertaining guests the last couple of weeks. It was especially entertaining to see Mikaeel interacting with 5 year old Shyaan and 7.5 year old Jadeer. The half is important when you're younger - as you get older you tend to round down. The boys go after their dad, Joudat, my high school buddy, now some hot shot Government official. So needless to say that like Joudat, they are anything but boring. Mikaeel got his fill of conflict resolution and in now ready for his cousin 6-year old Shamrez to arrive. I think it will be a gentle transition.

Teaching Kids conflict resolution and negotiating skills is tough, especially when you try to push for polite, non-physical, gentle and positive behavior. The goal is to make kids assertive yet polite, tough yet gentle, social yet disciplined and critical yet obedient.

Blood Diamonds

Two weeks in a row. After watching Apocalypto, I didn't think I would be that impressed with Blood Diamonds, but it turns out that it is an exceptional movie. Not that I was much for diamonds and other ornaments, jewels, expensive watches, etc. to begin with, however, this movie really drove home the fact that anyone who cares to compensate for their shortcomings by wearing jewelry, should at least be cognizant of where that jewelry comes from. Even now 15% of the world diamonds are conflict diamonds.

That reminds me of one of my mentors, Mony, who wisely said that anyone who accessorizes excessively is admitting that they have a vacuum that they are attempting to fill with ornaments. Over the years, I have thought of her statement almost before every meeting. I tend to dress up when I am least prepared for a meeting. If I wear a tie to a meeting, I have essentially cut-off circulation to my brain and am just there to look good and nod my head.

Apocalypto

What a great, disturbing and thought provoking movie. All I could think about during the movie was how nothing has changed between the brutality of the Mayan culture then and our "modern civilization" now. Yes the movie is ultra-violent, but so is what really happens in battles, imprisonment, and imperialzation. I did wonder whether a movie about the misery of our soldiers in Iraq and the people of Iraq would be any less violent and gruesome.

For all those that call it ultra-violent, I would agree, but it is not fictional, unlike the violence shown in games like Grand Theft Auto or silly horror movies whose names I don't care to remember. Movies like Apocalypto, Gladiator, Brave Heart, Alexander, Kingdom of Heaven are all movies that are fully justified to carry violence to portray reality of those eras.

This movie will touch a nerve with fathers and their instincts to protect and provide for their families. The only difference is that instead of waking up every morning and lining up for a hunt in a jungle, we now wake up an line up for intellectual battles.

This movie will definitely make it into my collection of Epics.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

Products have become too complex. Even after a couple of graduate degrees from MIT, I find it hard to navigate software products, gadgets, websites, search engines. Perhaps it is an early on set of senile dementia, so I was pleased to see a couple of articles and events that point to the return to simplicity:

1. Sergey Brin, Co-founder of Google recently wrote about focusing on simplicity. See: http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/biz2/howtosucceed/index.html

2. Business Week published and article on simple products for puzzled seniors only. The article talks about simple cell phones with no email and other frills, printers that periodically dial out to your email address and print your emails. Although the article is for Seniors Only, I would generalize it to a large community of folks that would like to see simpler things. See:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2006/tc20061129_628050.htm?sub=techmaven

Call me a hypocrite as I dream of simplicity while I type my blog on a chilly Sunday evening in Boston. Shouldn't I be simplifying my life and reading a book instead of staring at a screen and typing a blog for strangers.

What it takes to be Great

Fortune Magazine published an inspiring article on how painful and demanding hard work in the key to greatness, not innate wiring at birth and that targeted natural gifts do not exist. One is not born a great CEO, chess player, golfer, or scientist. Greatness is really achieved through tremendous hard work over many years. Learning is subjected to the law of diminishing returns where one accelerates in learning the fundamentals quickly then start to slow down in developing specialized knowledge, and finally stops, except for the few that persist over the years and crossover into excellence. Deliberate practise with continual critique of ones performance is the key to success. Elite performers practise their crafts incessantly.

My take: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a fundamental trait of elite performers. Nothing in nature comes for free.

http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/great_1.html

Assault and Battery

Battery Ventures had a fun event today where they got a bunch of entrepreneurs together for an afternoon of outdoor paintball action. This was my first outdoor paintball experience and I must say it was far less stressful than indoor paintball that warted me beyond recognition (OK I exaggerate a little) back in the late 90's at an Informix staff meeting in Las Vegas.

The event was quite a contrast to the typical high-society and sometime pretentious hors d'oeuvre and drinks type meetings at say the Four Seasons that most VC or private equity groups arrange to socialize with their ecosystem. This atypical Paintball event reflects either a down and dirty approach that Battery may have with their investments or perhaps a subliminal message to their current and future portfolio company execs: better deliver a good return or we will take you out literally and figuratively.

Brandies University - New Product Development

Yesterday, I was invited as a guest speaker at Brandies University. They offer an interesting course to budding entreprenuers, innovators, and non-linear folks who are itching to create new products either within their existing companies, or build start-ups around their ideas. My recommendation to them was -- Don't do it! Its painful, intense and years go by with your entire existence dedicated to your idea or your product. But if your idea still keeps you up at night and you really think that its worth the pain, then you may be onto something. But always weigh it against all the negatives associated with bringing a product to market: hyper competition, equity value dilution, marketing pressures, raising capital, worrying about missing pay cycles, and then chasing the elusive closure either through an acquisition or IPO.

The class asked really good questions and I hope I was able to impart some information to them. I did tell them not to buy a big house and to always have plenty of cash reserves. The more financially sound one gets, the more risk they can take. However, the risk should always be calibrated to your current financial base.

But once you go down this path, holding a normal 9-5 job is akin to retirement.

Tennis

Played Tennis last weekend and had a great time. Abbas is getting better but he would do a lot better it he ate fewer chapli-kebabs before the game. For the kebab connoisseurs, chapli kebabs are from Northern Pakistan and are shaped like a chapli, which is Urdu for slipper.

It must be the kebabs that have turned him into using asthma inhalers as recreational drugs after a hard day of tennis or soccer.

My top spin is getting better. Now only if I could control it :-)