Month: May 2019
A purposeful company
Companies exist to make money. They also should be responsible contributors to the community. Besides creating jobs and contributing to the economy, companies should have a social component to their existence. Some ways for companies to start contributing to the local community/city are to ask themselves a few questions first: What local problems can the…
Some valuable wisdom…
I love this paragraph from Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog. It’s about the time when he wrote about the long-term prospects of Blue Ribbon and how he saw the future. “This last line was wholly truthful. It was worth shooting for. If Blue Ribbon went bust, I’d have no money, and I’d be crushed. But I’d…
Industry ready college graduates
There is a lot of talk at colleges, meetups, conferences, and other venues that college graduates in Nepal are not job ready. Although there seems to be an effort to bridge the gap between academia and industry, a lot of work still needs to be done. In the meantime, I want to share my thoughts…
on the calendar
If you really want to make things happen, start by putting them down on the calendar. Once the task or activity or plan is in the calendar, you will most likely address it. If you don’t put it down on the calendar, you will be busy doing things that you did not even plan for…
Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Challenges in Nepal
The upcoming Venture Talk will feature Saurabh Jyoti, Director of Jyoti Group and the Chairman of Syakar Trading Company and Syakar Investment Pvt. Ltd. He will talk on the topic of “Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Challenges in Nepal.”
Awareness
The dictionary definition of awareness is the quality or state of being aware: knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists. As I got older (I’m not that old!), I’ve come to realize that awareness is the starting point to becoming better. If we are not aware of where we need to improve, how will be…
Care
If you care enough, you will make a difference in the culture. I absolutely believe so. If you find something that needs to be done and disregard it because it’s not part of your job description or someone else will handle it, then you don’t care enough. Want to make a difference in your home,…
All talk, no action
Once upon a time, I used to follow rap and hiphop music almost religiously. I grew up in New York City and was influenced by the rap and hiphop culture. It didn’t take me long to let things get to my head and think that I knew everything about the culture. Then one day as…
Training at your convenience
Training at your convenience is a luxury. The market does not reward luxury; it rewards proactive and hungry go-getters. Training will prepare you for the future. It takes awareness, realization, and execution to get better. Waiting for the perfect time, scenario, environment and everything else to take training means your convenience is more important to…
Beyond startup leadership
The entrepreneur starts out with an idea. He/she takes that idea, executes it, and makes things happen. There’s so much action in an startup environment. As the startup begins to grow, new challenges arise. Some of the early growth challenges include finding other “startup type” people to join the company, retaining these people, and also…
3 success stories from Nepal’s IT industry
The IT industry is one of Nepal’s fast growing industry and carries a huge potential in terms of job opportunities, contribution to the nation’s economy, and possibility of putting the country on the global technology map. There are hundreds of tech companies building products/services for the domestic and international markets. Here are 3 tech entrepreneurs…
Story of the Buddha
Relationship economy
Some markets are very small and having good relationships with the key players means access and success. It’s best to know the right people who move the needle. You could be very talented yet if you do not build good relationship with the movers, you wouldn’t get too far. Your goodwill and reputation pays dividends…
The story I waited 14 years for
After finishing college, I wanted to work for one company: Nike. Nike always fascinated me. It was a company that was innovative, cool, and easily recognizable. Back then, I frequently checked Nike’s careers page to see if I qualified for any of the jobs out there. I had done research and found that Nike’s European…
Opportunity is knocking
There are opportunities almost everywhere. I’m an optimist and see opportunities all around me. It’s upon us to decide which opportunity to move forward with and which one to let it pass. We have to keep working hard, keep moving, and the opportunity will seem like it’s right there.
The reflection
Even the best preparation can sometimes not be enough to achieve the results you wanted. There are things that are out of your control. Other times, you know you could have done better in certain areas. Reflection is a key part of moving forward. The honest self reflection is what’s important. We could flatter ourselves…
Mentorship
I strongly believe in mentorship. Mentors are people who can help you grow personally or professionally. I have been extremely lucky to have some amazing mentors. Mentorship is even more important in Nepal. A lot of young people join colleges or universities hoping to land jobs when they graduate or start their own enterprise. Many…
Travel education
Travelling is an education in itself. We learn so much by visiting a place that we could have never understood, seen, or felt until actually being there. Although technology has brought us closer than ever before and taken us to places that we never knew existed, the experience of travelling to a place can never…
Constructive feedback
Constructive feedback is focused on pointing out things that the person does well and areas where he or she can improve. This is an essential part of a healthy personal or professional relationship. Giving constructive feedback is as much an art as it is science. As Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly…