Napoleon Hill's 10 Principles of Personal Achievement ..

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve

Lesson 1: Definiteness of Purpose - Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. Without a purpose and a plan, people drift aimlessly through life.

Lesson 2: Mastermind Alliance - Success does not come without the cooperation of others.

Lesson 3: Going the Extra Mile - It's never crowded along the extra mile. Do more than is required. If you want to succeed at any job, make yourself invaluable. Go the extra mile; make them never be able to imagine what life without you there would be like.

Lesson 4: Personal Initiative - Personal initiative is the power that inspires the completion of that which one begins.

Lesson 5: Positive Mental Attitude - Success attracts more success while failure attracts more failure.

Lesson 6: Enthusiasm - Enthusiasm is faith in action. It is the intense emotion known as burning desire. It comes from within, although it radiates outwardly in the expression of one’s voice and countenance.

Lesson 7: Self-Discipline - If you do not control your thoughts, you cannot control your needs.

Lesson 8: Accurate Thinking - The power of thought is the most dangerous or the most beneficial power available to man, depending on how it is used.

Lesson 9: Teamwork - Unity is strength when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.

Lesson 10: Creative Vision - Vision is developed by the free and fearless use of one’s imagination. It is not a miraculous quality with which one is gifted or is not gifted at birth. Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. 

ref: http://www.success.com/article/napoleon-hills-17-principles-of-personal-achievement

Best Grad Schools in USA ..

Best Engineering Schools in USA - http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
2. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
3. University of California - ​Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
4. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
5. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Best MBA Schools in USA - http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings

1. Harvard University, Boston, MA
2. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
3. University of Chicago (Booth), Chicago, IL
4. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), Philadelphia, PA
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan), Cambridge, MA

Best Psychology Schools in USA - http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/psychology-rankings

1. Stanford University, Stanford, CA
2. University of California - ​Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
3. University of California - ​Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
4. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
5. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI

'Basic Financial Advice' from P V Subramanyam

ref: http://www.subramoney.com/2016/09/basic-financial-advice/

Basic Financial Advice:

1.    Saving is a good habit but investing is a learnt habit which will put you on the path to financial freedom.

2.    Save between 20-30% of your take home salary.

3.    Work your ass off. Doing 12 hour days and 80 hour weeks are not easy but nothing that is easy takes you anywhere in life.

4.    Work hard, work smart but do get a hobby that creates nice big social groups like swimming, cycling, running, cricket … work hard, play harder!

5.    Learn Money Management and learn the advantages of simplicity, equity investing and compounding.

6.    Never ever stop learning.  Education (no not the degree) is the gateway to differentiating yourself from the crowd and constantly improving yourself so you can adapt and evolve with the ever changing world. Make a start today. Empower thyself.

7.    Do something which others will love to pay you for. Create health, or wealth for people. Take away their worries. Keep them happy. Yes, you have to make a living, but put clients interest first. Always, A happy client comes back.

8.    Stop spending money on useless “stuff”!! Don’t spend to impress your friends and your neighbors. You’re not winning any brownie points or gold stars for owning things you can’t afford.

9.    Get sensible amounts of medical and pure term life insurance. Understand first then buy.

10.  Be as debt light as possible. If you must borrow, let it be only for a house. That too about 50% of the cost of the house, not 110% as the BFSI wants you borrow !!

Software Interview Tips ..

Software Interview is a process of mapping job requirements to candidate's skills. Success in Interview does not depend on just Technical Skills. It's the complete DNA assessment of the person at that particular point of time.

An Interviewer looks at the following qualities in a Interviewee - 

    1. Willingness to learn(passion, excitement about work)

    2. Ability to perform(problem solving skills, quick grasp(moving forward with given clues ..))

    3. Clarity of thought(clarity of expression, communication skills)

Failure in an interview does not mean candidate is bad, it just means candidature did not suit the job requirements at that point of time. It's simple. Go ahead with another interview which fits you better ..

To be an Entrepreneur ..

To be an Entrepreneur(excerpts from experts) - 

You'll need intense passion and real need to succeed to get started, but also enough to get through the intense 12-hour days when the chips are down and everything and everyone seems against you. But, if you're competitive and pigheaded enough to get over the failures without wasting time feeling sorry for yourself, and if you can inspire enough good people to join you.

You’ve got to be good at something and not only be good at it, but you’ve got to love it, and then you’re willing to work and do whatever it takes. Then, if you’re fortunate, that turns into something that creates wealth for you.

Find something you love to do, that you are passionate about and also good at. Have the goal to be successful and plan to give it all you've got. Critically important, make sure you are hands-on and the one driving things because no one will care about your business like you do. Be involved in all details and be aggressive at attaining your goals, and know how to pivot when necessary.

You’ve got to go back to the basics. Find a need, solve a problem and, most importantly, make sure you have a customer. If those things are in place, and you have the ability to scale, now we’re talking. It’s going to be incredibly hard work. Harder than you’ve ever imagined, but it’s the best time to be an Entrepreneur. The time is now!

Don’t think about the money. Go out there and do something that you really, really love, even if it’s not something you went to school for. Find out what your passion is. Do something that you absolutely love and you’re going to look back over the years and say that you enjoyed life.

Life Quotes ..

The only thing that matters in life is your own opinion about yourself;  Nobody can destroy your dignity because it is not dependent on anybody’s opinion. Respect your uniqueness and drop comparison; Relax into your being.

Discover yourself otherwise you have to depend on other people’s opinions who don’t know themselves.

Don´t be unnecessarily burdened by the past. Go on closing the chapters that you have read as there is no need to go back again and again.

Don’t be angry at life. It is not life that is frustrating you, it is you who are not listening to life.

Accept yourself as you are and that is the most difficult thing in the world because it goes against your training, education, your culture.

It’s not a question of learning much. On the contrary, it’s a question of unlearning much.

Life is a mirror, it reflects your face. Be friendly, and all of life will reflect friendliness. If you love yourself, you love others. If you hate yourself, you hate others. In relationship with others, it is only you mirrored.

This world is imperfect and that’s why it is growing; if it was perfect it would have been dead. Growth is possible only if there is imperfection.

Don’t be bothered by perfection. Replace the word ‘Perfection’ by ‘Totality. Totality will give you a different dimension.

Take life easily, lovingly, playfully, non-seriously. Seriousness is a disease, the greatest disease of the soul and playfulness the greatest health.

A comfortable and convenient life is not a real life; the more comfortable, the less alive. The most comfortable life is in the grave.

The word devil is very beautiful, if you read it backwards it becomes lived. That which is lived becomes divine and that which is not lived becomes the devil.

When you really laugh for those few moments you are in a deep meditative state, Thinking stops. It is impossible to laugh and think together.

If you love yourself, you will be surprised; others will love you. Nobody loves a person who does not love himself.

NOW is the only reality. All else is either memory or imagination.

Die each moment so that you are renewed each moment.

Life begins where fear ends; Don’t analyze, celebrate it ..

Warren Buffett Laws ..

1. Buy the company where the management knows what they are doing and damn good at it.

2. Buy a company with a moat(competitive edge) & durability(long time in the market)

3. Invest in companies that have long term prospects(10-20 years)

Employee Value Addition ..

"Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without integrity, you really want them to be dumb and lazy"
- Warren Buffett

A Value Proposition is a promise of value to be delivered and acknowledged. It is also a belief from the customer how value (benefit) will be delivered and experienced. “A business is a value delivery system”, that defines value proposition as “a clear, simple statement of the benefits, both tangible and intangible, that the company will provide, along with the approximate price it will charge each customer segment for those benefits”.

The value proposition is to differentiate the brand from competitors. It convinces a potential consumer that one particular product or service will add more value or better solve a problem than other similar offerings. Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the balance of the rewards and benefits that are received by employees in return for their performance at the workplace.

Every employee should add value to the team/organization that they are serving. Value addition is all about filling the gaps that team/organization has at that point of time. Value addition is 100% context based. Your value is always assessed based on your contribution to the team. Your past value addition is no guarantee for your future value addition. It's always based on current context(eco system).


If an employee is not adding value to the team then it's a clear indication that - 

    1. Figure out the value to be unlocked in the same team and excel in it.

    2. Employee has to look out for a job in another team in the current company where his value can be appreciated.

    3. Shift to another company where you can add value.
    
    4. Believe in yourself and start own company.

How to add value to your employer -

    1. Create BRAND for yourself - Accept the most difficult task in your team, Excel in it. You got to be the Go-To person in your team during critical times.
    
    2. Invest in yourself - Upgrade yourself to the latest trends and figure out how those skills can be used best in your current job. The Go-Getter of the team.
    
    3. Talk less and do more - Do not waste time in justifying what you think is RIGHT. Just do it and show the results as results speak out louder than words.
    
    4. Be proactive - Do not ever miss a chance to express your opinions. Do not be a doormat in the team. Always remember the big picture and align yourself to what is CRITICAL to your team.

    5. Respect team - Everyone wants to be appreciated. It's the basic need for human beings to be appreciated. It feels good and makes us wanted. Never disrespect your team members. Everyone has a place to add value to the team.

    6. Make yourself predictable - Predictable delivery of work increases management's confidence in you. Drive and execute to get work done before deadline dates. Deliver than expected. Managing the expectations is the KEY.

    7. Be a Mentor - Share your experiences with other team members. Learn from other's success/failure. Increase your circle of influence by mentoring people in your team/organization.

ref:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_proposition

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employee_value_proposition

    http://www.fastcompany.com/3027382/work-smart/5-ways-to-be-a-team-player-without-turning-into-a-doormat

Top leaders’ advice to graduates ..

ref: Adapted from articles taken from Forbes.com

When a great dream shows up, follow it - 
    “I dreamed of doing it and finally I achieved it and that is when I came to realize that fantasizing, projecting yourself into a successful situation is the most powerful means there is of achieving personal goals.” - Leonard Lauder, Connecticut College 1989

    “Overall, I know it seems like the world is crumbling out there, but it is actually a great time in your life to get a little crazy, follow your curiosity, and be ambitious about it. Don’t give up on your dreams. The world needs you all!” - Larry Page, University of Michigan 2009

Life is short; Try the Unexpected - 
    “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005

    “Open to the unexpected, about making room for the improbable and unlikely.” “People will tell you to plan things out as best you can. They will tell you to focus. They will tell you to follow your dreams. They will all be right. But they will also be a little bit wrong. Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to consider the unexpected. Never be so faithful to your plan that you are unwilling to entertain the improbable opportunity that comes looking for you. And never be so faithful to your plan that when you hit a bump in the road – or when the bumps hit you – you don’t have the fortitude, grace, and resiliency to rethink and regroup.” - Elizabeth Warren

Be bold and take risks; You’ll Never Again Be so Unburdened - 
    “The best advice I could give any graduate is to spend your time working on whatever you are passionate about in life,”. If your degree is focused upon one particular area, you shouldn’t let that stop you from moving in another direction; and if college hasn’t worked out for you, don’t let that put you off.  “You may decide to take a break and consider your options. I would urge you to travel, take on new experiences and draw upon those when it comes to making the decisions that will shape your future. The amount of business ideas that people pick up from traveling the world is enormous.” - Richard Bronson

    “I will hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story.” – Jeff Bezos, Princeton University 2010

The Power of the Pause -
    “Before you go out and press that fast forward button, you’ll have the courage to first press the pause button.” “Pausing allows you to take a breath in your life. As everybody else is rushing around like a lunatic out there, you to do the opposite.” “Be committed to communicating the truth. Don’t get so caught up along the way in what you’re doing and where you’re going that you lose sight of your core values: who you are and what’s important in your life. And finally, remember this: Whenever you’re in doubt: PAUSE - take a moment. Look at your options - check your intentions - and then? Take the high road.” -  Maria Shriver

Embrace failure and learn from it -
    “It doesn’t matter how far you might rise. If you’re constantly pushing yourself higher, higher the law of averages not to mention the Myth of Icarus predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do I want you to know this, remember this: there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.” - Oprah Winfrey, Harvard University 2013

    “I have always believed and I have taught my children and grandchildren that great success is not built on success. It is built on failure, frustration and sometimes even calamity.” - Sumner Redstone, Northwestern University 2002

Be of service: make the world better - 
    “In the course of your lives, without any plan on your part, you’ll come to see suffering that will break your heart. When it happens, and it will, don’t turn away from it; turn toward it. That is the moment when change is born.” - Melinda Gates, Stanford 2014

Use your imagination - 
    “Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” - J.K. Rowling, Harvard University 2008

Be flexible - 
    “You don’t need a grand plan. Whatever plan you do have is probably going to change 100 times before you’re 30. And you don’t need to be an expert in something to try it.” – Michael Bloomberg, University of North Carolina 2012
Work hard and be irrepressible.

    “Irrepressible is kind of tenacious, but with optimism. You just have it in you. You keep going and going. You could say, isn’t that the same as passion. It’s not. Passion is the ability to get excited about something. Irrepressibility and tenacity is about the ability to stay with it.” – Steve Ballmer, University of Southern California 2011

Don’t let money drive you -
    “The truth is, I’ve never cared for money. I realize that sounds strange coming from a billionaire, and I recognize that many people do work for money, but I would wager that those who become extremely successful are more strongly motivated by the desire to achieve, by a commitment to excellence and by an obsessive drive to win.” – Sumner Redstone, Northwestern University 2002

Conflict Resolution ..

"Conflict is an unavoidable component of human activity" - Brahnam et al., (2005:p204)

Conflict arises from differences. It occurs whenever people disagree over their values, motivations, perceptions, ideas, or desires. Sometimes these differences look trivial, but when a conflict triggers strong feelings, a deep personal need is at the core of the problem - a need to feel safe and secure, a need to feel respected and valued, or a need for greater closeness and intimacy. Conflict Resolution otherwise known as reconciliation, is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. 

Tips for managing and resolving conflict:

Managing and resolving conflict requires emotional maturity, self-­control, and empathy. It can be tricky, frustrating, and even frightening. You can ensure that the process is as positive as possible by sticking to the following conflict resolution guidelines:

    1. Make the relationship your priority - Maintaining and strengthening the relationship,rather than “winning” the argument, should always be your first priority. 

    2. Be respectful of the other person and his or her viewpoint.

    3. Pick your battles - Conflicts can be draining, so it’s important to consider whether the issue is really worthy of your time and energy. Maybe you don't want to surrender a parking space  if you’ve been circling for 15 minutes. But if there are dozens of spots, arguing over a single space isn’t worth it.

    4. Focus on the present - If you’re holding on to old hurts and resentments, your ability to see the reality of the current situation will be impaired. Rather than looking to the past and assigning blame, focus on what you can do in the here ­and ­now to solve the problem.

    5. Be willing to forgive - Resolving conflict is impossible if you’re unwilling or unable to forgive. Resolution lies in releasing the urge to punish, which can never compensate for our losses and only adds to our injury by further depleting and draining our lives.

    6. Know when to let something go - If you can’t come to an agreement, agree to disagree. It takes two people to keep an argument going. If a conflict is going nowhere, you can choose to disengage and move on.

5 Strategies for Dealing with Conflict:

    1. Compete or Fight - This is the classic win/lose situation, where the strength and power of one person wins the conflict. It has its place, but anyone using it needs to be aware that it will create a loser and if that loser has no outlet for expressing their concerns, then it will lead to severe hurt.

    2. Collaboration - This is the ideal outcome. a win/win situation. However, it requires input of time from those involved to work through the difficulties, find a way to solve the problem that is agreeable to all and may take a long time but will produce great results in end.

    3. Compromise or Negotiation - This is likely to result in a better result than win/lose, but it’s not quite win/win. Both parties give up something, in favor of an agreed mid-point solution. It takes less time than collaboration, but is likely to result in less commitment to the outcome.

    4. Denial or Avoidance - This is where everyone pretends that there is no problem. It will create a lose/lose situation, since there will still be bad feeling, but no clearing the air through discussion, and results.In short - ‘I’m not OK, you’re not OK’.

    5. Smoothing Over the Problem - On the surface, harmony is maintained, but underneath, there is still conflict. It’s similar to the situation above, except that one person is probably OK with this smoothing, while the other remains in conflict, creating a win/lose situation again. It can work where preserving a relationship is more important than dealing with the conflict right now, but is not useful if others feel the need to deal with the situation.

ref:

Conflict Resolution Skills - http://www.edcc.edu/counseling/documents/Conflict.pdf

How to manage conflict - https://hbr.org/2007/11/how-to-manage-conflict/

Solutions Thinking ..

Solution Thinking involves evaluating a current problem or situation and determining a reasonable, practical plan to attack that problem or situation. The mindset is:

1.     There is a solution to this problem or situation
2.     I possess the skills, talents, and resources to discover the solution
3.     I will devise a workable plan and make it work.

There are three key principles to working in a solutions focused way:

1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
2. Once you know what works, do more of it.
3. If it's not working, do something different.

Tools/Frameworks that help in Solutions Thinking journey:

• Cynefin Framework
• Three-Circle Model
• Kano Model
• Google HEART model

Cynefin Framework explores the relationship among "man, experience, and context" and proposes new approaches to communication, decision-making, policy-making, and knowledge management in complex social environments.It has five domains -

1. Obvious - Relationship between cause and effect is obvious to all, the approach is to Sense - Categorize - Respond and we can apply best practice.
2. Complicated - Relationship between cause and effect requires analysis or some other form of investigation and/or the application of expert knowledge, the approach is to Sense - Analyze - Respond and we can apply good practice.
3. Complex - Relationship between cause and effect can only be perceived in retrospect, but not in advance, the approach is to Probe - Sense - Respond and we can sense emergent practice.
4. Chaotic - Relationship between cause and effect at systems level, the approach is to Act - Sense - Respond and we can discover novel practice.
5. Disorder - State of not knowing what type of causality exists, in which state people will revert to their own comfort zone in making a decision.

The Kano Model of Customer satisfaction divides product attributes into three categories. A competitive product meets basic attributes, maximizes performances attributes, and includes as many delight attributes as possible at a cost the market can bear.

1. Basic
2. Performance
3. Delight

Google HEART framework User Experience metrics fall into five specific categories -

1. Happiness: Measures of user attitudes, often collected via survey.
2. Engagement: Level of user involvement, typically measured via behavioral proxies such as frequency, intensity, or depth of interaction over some time period. 
3. Adoption: New users of a product or feature. 
4. Retention: The rate at which existing users are returning. 
5. Task Success: Traditional behavioral metrics of user experience, such as efficiency (e.g. time to complete a task), effectiveness (e.g. percent of tasks completed), and error rate. This category is most applicable to areas of your product that are very task-focused, such as search or an upload flow.

ref:

A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making(Cynefin Framework) - https://hbr.org/2007/11/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making

The new dynamics of strategy: Sense-making in a complex and complicated world - http://xenia.media.mit.edu/~brooks/storybiz/kurtz.pdf

Strategic Insight in Three Circles - https://hbr.org/2007/11/strategic-insight-in-three-circles

Start with Why: Creating a value proposition with the Golden Circle model - http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/online-value-proposition/start-with-why-creating-a-value-proposition-with-the-golden-circle-model/

Complete Guide to Kano Model - http://foldingburritos.com/kano-model/

Understanding Kano Model - https://articles.uie.com/kano_model/

Measuring the User Experience on a Large Scale: User-Centered Metrics for Web Applications(Google HEART metrics) - http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/research.google.com/en//pubs/archive/36299.pdf

Diffusion of Innovations Book by Everett M. Rogers - http://www.amazon.com/Diffusion-Innovations-5th-Everett-Rogers/dp/0743222091

Books for Students ..

Books for Students:

    1. How to Win Friends & Influence People(Dale Carnegie)

    2. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People(Stephen R. Covey)

    3. The Power of Positive Thinking(Norman Vincent Peale)

    4. The Magic of Thinking Big(David Schwartz)

    5. Developing the Leader Within You(John C. Maxwell)

    6. The Greatest Salesman in the World(Og Mandino)

    7. Think and Grow Rich(Napoleon Hill)

    8. Who Moved My Cheese(Spencer Johnson)

    9. Built to Last(Jim Collins)

    10. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference(Malcolm Gladwell)