Having laptop issues... Suffering Internet withdrawal symptoms

making wonderful butternut squash soup

is wondering if anyone has recommendations for a good tax accountant in Chicago

Anwar is wondering if anyone has recommendations for a good tax accountant in Chicago

?

Anwar has joined a gym but not losing weight.... maybe I should go there and work out as well? hmm...

Indian companies on an acquisition rampage - luxury brands up for grabs

I thought I'd post a follow up to a recent email I sent out to a few friends a couple of weeks ago (some of you may find this familiar):

Interesting turn of events as Indian companies are on a acquisition rampage around the world. Some of you may have heard of the Hinduja Group's (Gulf Oil) acquisition of Saudi Arabia's commercial lubricant maker, Petromin (formerly owned by Saudi Aramco and Exxon). In late November WSJ mentions that Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are the leading candidates in line to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover (in case Ford decides to divest its interest in them).

A quote from the article: "...representatives concluded after the meetings that Tata is "the only company" among the final bidders "with enough money, clout and experience in our industry" to successfully manage the brands, according to a labor official who attended the meetings."

Interestingly, the US Jaguar dealers seem to be against the deal, citing:

"I don't believe the U.S. public is ready for ownership out of India" of a luxury-car brand such as Jaguar, Mr. Gorin said in an interview. "I believe it would severely throw a tremendous cast of doubt over the viability of the brand."
...
"Mr. Gorin said he wasn't judging the management capabilities of Tata or Mahindra. "My concern is perception [in the marketplace], and perception is reality," he said. "It's about saying there are unique image issues with two of the bidders that the other one doesn't have.""

The perception issue is whether US consumers are ready to associate Indian brands with luxury products. I wonder if the same concerns were raised when Japanese manufacturers entered the luxury auto-segment with the Lexus and Acura? I also wonder what visitors to the Taj Boston feel when they stay at the ultra luxurious Boston land mark hotel? The former Ritz Carlton hotel was acquired by the Taj group [part of the same Tata group] for a staggering $170 million in 2006. I wonder if the visitors who pay $500 on an average per night have the same issues of perception that Mr. Gorin speaks of.

Perception may be reality, but is perception something that can be changed over time? In a flat world, the only true constant is change, the survivors will be those who can embrace this change.

Environmentally conscious consumers - a Euro-centric phenomenon?

Some friends and I were discussing the surge in popularity of environmental consciousness in consumers. European customers, my seasoned supply chain management consultant friend mentioned, are far more conscious of the carbon footprint of products they purchase. Volvo for one, has a carbon neutral, Co2-free truck manufacturing factory in Belgium. Why doesn't Volvo market that to sell more cars in the US? Do US consumers not care? As a 'Sushi-eating, Latte-drinking, Volvo-driving' 'liberal' - a tag a good friend of mine branded me with, I would be encouraged to repurchase a Volvo knowing that they are a more environmentally conscious company.

On the topic of environmentally conscious US companies, my wife recently bought two pairs of shoes from Timberland. On the box, I noticed a 'Green Report Card', that identifies the carbon footprint for the product. They include the energy spent to produce their product as well as produce a score card that displays the 'Green Index' of the product. Here is a press release on the topic:

http://www.timberland.com/corp/index.jsp?eid=8500007242&page=pressrelease

Incidentally one of her shoes had a Green Index score of 3 and another pair had a score of 6.5 - the factors feeding into the score being:

1. Climate Impact
2. Chemicals Used
3. Resource Consumption

One of the shoes took 3.1 kWh of energy to produce. I am not sure if they include the carbon footprint of their supply chain - post production - factory to customer, though. Way to go Timberland!

Education key to maintaining the position of the United States in a flat world

Its been a long while since I blogged here, but this article resonated with me, especially after attending a panel discussion on Knowledge Process Outsourcing today morning (organized by the Midwest chapter of the Pan-IIT Alumni organization)

This quote from DuPont's CEO, Chad Holliday's keynote at University of Delaware sponsored report on 'Creating Knowledge based Partnerships' exemplifies the importance of investment in technical education in the United States.

"... [Chad] told the audience he was jogging in South Korea at around 6 a.m. one day and noticed a large group of young people massed around a building. Holliday assumed that tickets to a rock concert were about to go on sale and the young people were lining up to get good seats. When he returned to his hotel he asked what was going on. The hotel staff told him the building was the public library and young people gather there every morning so they can get a good seat to study all day. “That’s the kind of [attitude] being developed in South Korea, which is one of our competitors.”"

According to the report, "Declining scientific research and development expertise threatens to undermine the competitiveness of U.S. corporations and erode the nation’s standard of living, according to the chief executive of DuPont Co."

IT outsourcing is only the tip of the iceberg. With the growing outsourcing of other 'Knowledge' functions, the United States needs to encourage technical education and invest more money into research. Encouraging the assimilation of the best and brightest minds from around the world is key to the future of the US. Opening up of immigration opportunities for these minds is a step forward in this direction.

People at Yahoo don't eat Peanut Butter

Well, if they listen to Brad Garlinghouse (SVP at Yahoo), they won't. Brad is a person after my own heart - he says it as it is - not mincing his words - Yahoo is in a mess today. Brad blasts Yahoo for the state they are in today and provides recommendations in his 'Peanut Butter Manifesto'

The company has so much potential and enjoys an enviable position with its depth and breadth of content and functionality and yet cannot stand on its own against Google.

And why is this the case? ... "a lack of focus with unclear ownership" to quote Brad. A quick look at their acquisition strategy gives us an idea of the lack of coordination and mad rush to be 'out there' with features - a clear indication of lack of focus. Compare their competing feature set, that confuses the heck out of me:

• YME vs. Musicmatch

• Flickr vs. Photos

• YMG video vs. Search video

• Deli.cio.us vs. myweb

• Messenger and plug-ins vs. Sidebar and widgets

• Social media vs. 360 and Groups

• Front page vs. YMG

• Global strategy from BU'vs. Global strategy from Int'l

Why so many competing products? Why hasn't there been a process of natural selection where the leaders promoted and laggards sunsetted? One may argue that Google has its own set of competing offerings - take Google Video and YouTube for example - but I am sure they will do a good job of integrating the offerings soon. To conclude, this is the three stepped proposal Brad concludes with:

1. Focus the vision
2. Restore accountability and clarity of ownership
3. Execute a radical reorganization

With today's announcement regarding changes at Yahoo's senior management, clearing the path for Susan Decker (former CFO) to succeed Chief Executive Terry Semel, it might be signs of change.

[Humor] iiiiiiii.com

Now why in the world would someone spend money to buy a domain called iiiiiiii.com? Maybe its so that they can make it so extremely hilarious, you've got to share it with your friends. Check out www.iiiiiiii.com and make sure you have your speakers turned on.

Plane arrests in Amsterdam

Its sad that people get paranoid for the wrong reasons. Over the years, its sad how often I have been profiled for the color of my skin.... I sympathise with these people - strangely for both parties. In today's world it does not help not being cautious.

Read more at news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sou...

Also, Schneier's blog has an interesting set of chronology of related events and overreaction. KDS has a funny set of air travel instructions for travellers (such as myself)

Ya Who? Finally Yahoo invests in cutting edge research

Today's Wall Street Journal says that Yahoo is out on the prowl for academics to boost their research efforts. One word - Finally ! Its sad to see a company like Yahoo languish - inspite of their amazing suite of offerings. Its high time Yahoo started taking research seriously and start improving their offerings. The once poster child of search, Yahoo has almost gone into oblivion. Its nice to see this renewed focus on technology and not just another slew of poorly marketed products.

My recent forray into newer and cool offering from Yahoo like Yahoo Tech and Yahoo Video and event tools from Yahoo Labs like Mindset and MyWeb make me believe that Yahoo is still out there - but somehow they don't seem to get the media visibility they are due. Everything is about Google these days - but one may argue to the efficacy of some of the non-search products from Google - whatever happened to Google Finance and Orkut? (Its ironic that I am using Google's Blogger to make this point).

Now, I'll certainly be happy to see more work coming out of Yahoo Research organization. I look forward to more results coming out of their new recruits in the coming months...

Of all things one could do with a cell phone.... (True/Humor)

Of all things one could do with a cell phone, this one really takes the cake (pun intended):

A woman's row with her boyfriend about a mobile phone suddenly went quiet - when she swallowed the handset whole.

Police in Blue Springs, in the US state of Missouri, said they were called out by a man who said his girlfriend was having trouble breathing.

When they arrived at the house, they found a phone lodged in her throat.

"He wanted the phone and she wouldn't give it to him, so she attempted to swallow it," an officer said. The woman was expected to make a full recovery.

The 24-year-old woman was taken to hospital in Blue Springs, Det Sgt Steve Decker told local media.

"She just put the entire phone in her mouth so he couldn't get it," he said.

"This is the first I've heard of this happening," he added.

Now what would Motorola or Nokia's marketing teams come out with next - Chocolate flavoured cell phones? At least they can claim the market seems to crave for it.... ;-)

Retailers - dropping those discounts? going upscale? What does all this mean to us? - New trends in retail

Now that the post-Thanksgiving sales are on, the reports from the markets come in.... the US consumers don't seem to pay much heed to rising fuel prices or increasing interest rates. People are rushing into buy from retailers in droves - and according to the WSJ, some are even entering into brawls to buy items on sale (as is the case in a WalMart in North Dallas where the police had to be brought in to control a crowd of aggresive laptop shoppers).

In their report on trends in retail, WSJ brings out some interesting points, some of which I've noticed as an enterpreneur focused on solutions for retail. The trends they highlight are:

1. Focus on Image: Retailers seem to move away from marketing their stores as sources of discounted items and more as 'lifestyle's. I can understand when Federated Department Stores (holders of Macy's and now Marshall Feilds) does this, but when Wal-Mart (traditionally focused on selling products at the lowest prices) puts in their efforts to siphon away customers from Target (stores focusing on 'Cheap Chic'), I am a little surprised. Does this mean less discounts? and more focus on better looking stores? I shop at both WalMart and Target - based on what I am out to buy. I love being at Target, but I go to WalMart when I need some branded commodity that won't have any difference in quality regardless of where I buy it from. Would I want a Target-like experience at WalMart? - NOT, if they are going to raise prices. I am not sure if WalMart can really give me the 'image' Target gives me. Maybe I'll be proved wrong - after all, I'm not the one with a $210 Billion market cap.
2. Consolidation: Lots of M&A activity going on. Federated's purchase of May Department Stores has combined the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Marshall Field's, Lord & Taylor and Filene's department-store chains. Private-equity firms took private Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and Toys "R" Us Inc. in separate deals. Upscale retailer Saks Inc. has sold parts of its empire. And grocer Albertsons Inc., battered by Wal-Mart's storming of the industry, has fielded a bid from Kroger Co.
3. New building styles: Builders have realized that consumers are tired of those million square feet malls and focusing on building lifestyle-centers, or retail districts, which combine office space, retail, residential and open spaces. I like the way these look - sort of like the University Village project at Chicago's UIC college area. But somehow I feel that these might be more popular in areas where the weather is a little bit warmer. Woodfield mall in Chciagoland is certainly a nicer place to shop this time of the year - one huge warm mall with all the stores you would need for the holiday season.
4. Value added services: Its true, retailers like Best Buys are kicking butt with their value added services - product insurance, extended warranties, Geek Squad and other installation services. For a technologist, I am surprised by the amount of money people are willing to pay for Geek Squad - computers seem so easy to me. But on the other hand, when I think of the amount of money I put into getting mechanics to service my car or chang the oil, I can understand why someone would be willing to pay a premium for something they don't understand all that well. Feeding on fear of the unknown is what these value added services are - but I suppose thats what the whole idea of value added pricing is all about.
5. Something for Everyone: Retailers are focusing on stores dedicated to various genres of customers - categorized based on economics, age, etc. Gap Inc., a pioneer in the trend of multiple store concepts with its Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy chains, this year unveiled Forth & Towne, an apparel store aimed at women over 35. The Abercrombie & Fitch brand for its core teen shoppers, Hollister for high-school shoppers, Ruehl for college and postcollege shoppers and Little A for kids. I can relate to this. I love shopping for deals at The Gap.
6. Going Private: Some retails seem to want to go private, for pricing reasons. Private-equity firms took private Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and Toys "R" Us Inc. in separate deals. Is the increasing overhead of government checks such as Sarbanes-Oxley a reason for this?
7. Retail-tainment: Making shopping fun? Retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods have features such as climbing walls, Niketown stores have professional atheletes come for autographing sessions, and even Wal-Mart (with the recent promotion of John Menzer, former CEO of Wal-Mart's international division, to vice chairman of its U.S. stores) may try to replicate their success with retailtainment in other countries in the US. Wal-Mart in China has fashion shows, computer contests and even shrimp catching contests.
8. Moves into media: Some retails have started publishing their own magazines or sponsoring related TV-shows. Home Depot sponsored TLC's 'Trading Spaces' is a classic example.
9. Going Solo: Retailers are moving out of traditional malls and into strip centers and lifestyle centers. Why? - becausing of decreasing mall traffic and ease of resuplying (because they have a dock at the back). I like this trend because this increases the number of stores accessible to a neighborhood and we don't have to drive miles to reach the closes mega-mall. Now that I have a strip mall with a Target, Marshalls, Pier One Imports, Payless Shoestore, Panera Bread, Chilies in my neighborhood, I don't feel like I am living in suburbia, where I need to drive for 20 minutes to reach the closest store.
10. Focus on customer information: Maybe CRM vendors would party at this. But, retailers are increasingly using the information they gather about customer purchasing behaviour to provide better promotions and focus their sales pitches to customers. Retailers like Kroger respond to Wal-Mart's grip as the largest US grocer, by improving discounts for repeat customers.

It's Fall again !

Originally uploaded by anwarhaneef.

Fall is one of my favourite seasons - besides Spring and Summer, of course. With my recent visit to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle and photo-spree in my backyard (tis picture is from the tree in my backyard), I've realized that maybe New England isn't the only part of the country where one can enjoy the beauty of fall colors.

Summers over - back to the business of blogging

I knew from the very outset that this year would be very different. With my startup venture and the biggest event of my life so far - my marriage. Its been a little over five months since I've blogged. I hope to make a more conscientious effort to blog my thoughts and readings from now. To summarize whats been happening:

1. Been in Bangalore for a few months leading our India team and gettings things in order. Got the first release of Corona out in the summer.
2. Got Married!
3. Came back to the US and finally had the second release of Corona
4. Finally getting back in to the groove... and blogging...

In Bangalore

"All the business is coming to India, and I don't see why I shouldn't follow the business," says Vicki Chen, a Chinese-American business student from the Claremont Colleges in Tom Friedman's June 8th NY Times editorial. "If this is where the center of gravity is, you should go check it out..."

Being in Bangalore at this exciting time, only now does the impact of all the new developments sink into me. .....

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/opinion/08friedman.html?ex=1119326400&en=8366a18e4c2d7824&ei=5070&emc=eta1

More from the Tie-Midwest Panel Discussion - Lessons For Start-Up Businesses Selling Into Major Corporations

Dave Weinstein, the President of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center was the moderator at the TiE-Midwest panel discussion on sales cycles for startups. I had blogged about it a few weeks ago. This is Dave's summary on the Illinois IT Association website - Lessons For Start-Up Businesses Selling Into Major Corporations.

The bottom line is that companies will employ different tactics at different stages of growth to help close sales with the big guys.

Early on, companies seem to have more success in selling pilots to divisions and departments of major corporations. As businesses prove themselves and secure more client references, they are able to win more enterprise-wide contracts. This sometimes requires the assistance of a channel or strategic partner. Whether you’re a product or service company, the following key insights from the panel are useful to remember while chasing the big deals:

1. Build credibility with your target client by selling a value solution to a current pain point or demand issue.
Don’t try to sell something without doing your homework and understanding the business unit you’re targeting. This is one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when meeting with a corporate buyer.

One of our CIO panelists, who is also a major buyer of technology services, said that his company gets a great deal of pitches from entrepreneurs touting the next “big innovation”. His lesson is that it means absolutely nothing if the product or service doesn’t address a current pain point.

2. Evaluate the risk and benefit from the perspective of the buyer.
A start-up with few clients that has a unique solution for a specific pain point might make the benefit outweigh the risk of purchasing a product or service from a firm that has the potential to go out of business.

3. Demonstrate your viability as a business.
While this is difficult when trying to win your first big client, it can be accomplished through selling a pilot or prototype. Have your venture capitalists, bankers or outside advisors call the prospect to help validate your viability (especially in terms of cash position).

4. Honesty and integrity in the sales process rule the day.
Both CIOs on the panel waxed poetic on the integrity of the sales process and how overselling is a key flaw for anxious entrepreneurs. They also said that entrepreneurs should expect the same integrity from the buyer.

If the buyer tries too hard to price the purchase too low, they aren’t the right people to do business with (even if you could name them a marquee client), the CIO panelists said. Over time, this could cause you to be forced out of business.

Most corporate purchasers understand that they are buying from a small business and they don’t want to put you at an economic disadvantage that would hurt both parties in the future.

5. Never give products or solutions away for free.
Giving away free services doesn’t validate your business and ruins the value proposition you’re offering.

6. Entrepreneurs should not celebrate sales. Instead, celebrate when goods or services are used.
This is a great mantra that sparked an interesting discussion. The panelists discussed software that was sold and never used and how that kills the reputation of an entrepreneur more than not having sales at all.

7. Know when to punt.
Learning when to move on from focusing on a hot prospect seems to be a key for entrepreneurs transitioning from the start-up phase to the next phase of growth. Speaking from experience, this is a huge lesson for entrepreneurs. Knowing that not all clients are good clients and understanding who not to pursue can be just as important as knowing who to target.

Entrepreneurs who learn how to pre-qualify leads with good customer intelligence and can articulate a value proposition to a current pain point are more likely to win the business of major corporations. Selling pilots or prototypes may be the way for start-ups to win their first big accounts.

Whatever type of company you run, approaching sales with integrity and honesty seem to endure the test of time. If you have a product or service of value, someone must pay for it. Having a client for the sake of saying you have a “name-brand client” means little if you’re not compensated or your product is collecting dust in a cabinet.

This is funny - Microsoft Plans Security Service For Computer Users

Funniest news I've heard in days - Microsoft Plans Security Service For Computer Users.

icrosoft intends to charge an annual subscription fee for the service, which is designed to provide home-computer users with an easy way to maintain up-to-date antivirus, antispyware and firewall defenses. The service, Windows OneCare, will automatically perform certain personal-computer maintenance tasks such as backing up and recovering files.

I am not a Microsoft basher, but, my question to you is - What incentive does Microsoft have at all to develop safer operating systems any more. With OneCare, more holes Windows has, more revenues to Microsoft.