Caring for the people as well as the project Showing up and being present Giving respect to others’ ideas and thoughts Learning attitude Working to make the world a better place
Author: Nirmal Thapa
Are you ready?
Well…one is never “completely” ready. Launching a new project, starting a business, or something major in our personal or professional lives, an individual is never completely ready. We can prepare ourselves to be ready as much as possible. From the outside, the new project or the new venture or the new change in personal or…
The success curtain
Biswas Dhakal, founder of F1Soft and eSewa said in a recent The Kathmandu Post interview that “everyone sees our success, but they don’t know our failures.” Behind every success story, there are plenty of stories of “brilliant ideas” that never saw the day of light because of timing, execution, lack of funding, among others. It’s…
AI Expo Nepal 2019
I’m thrilled to be a part of the organizing team for the upcoming AI Expo Nepal 2019 happening on Saturday, August 24 at Soaltee Crowne Plaza. The AI Expo Nepal 2019 is organized by Fusemachines and Artificial Intelligence for Development (AID). The topic of AI has garnered a lot of interest from academia and industry…
AI Superpowers China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order
A couple of my friends are currently reading AI Superpowers China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order. By hearing them talk about the book made me want to read it as well. I’m really looking forward to reading this book. If you have read this book already or are currently reading it, do share…
Eisenhower matrix
I found it very useful to put all the activities that needs to be done on a project or a day on the Eisenhower matrix. By having everything up there on the matrix, we’re able to prioritize and work on them efficiently and effectively. There’s a web app of the Eisenhower matrix that I have…
Leading with vision
Dr. Sanduk Ruit is an ophthalmologist on a mission to restore sight to Nepal’s blind. He is the executive director of the nonprofit Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Kathmandu, Nepal, and has operated on more than 130,000 patients. He has adopted innovative surgical techniques for cataracts and often travels to perform operations, walking up to…
Action is your competitive advantage
The internet has created an almost level playing field for individuals, companies, and countries. We can access information, get insights and find just about anything we are looking for with internet access. The competitive advantage now is not just information but taking action on that information. You could be living in Silicon Valley, California, US…
Podcasting is the new blogging
I love Seth Godin’s thoughts on podcasting so I’m sharing it right here. A podcast helps us think hard about what’s next, about how we describe what’s now, about what’s worth sharing. A podcast is a great chance to find your voice, and a marvelous excuse to reach out to people and have important conversations….
Fundamentals of success
Success is followed by the application of key fundamentals. For me, the fundamentals are hard work, vision, execution, focus, humility, commitment, team work, fun, and some luck. Hard working people get lucky. Success can mean different things to different people. However, the fundamentals of becoming successful are mostly the same.
Asking good questions
Asking good questions is both an art and a science. Found a good resource on Wabisabi learning on THE 5 KEY STEPS FOR HELPING YOU ASK GOOD QUESTIONS [INFOGRAPHIC]
Why startups succeed?
Startups succeed for a variety of reasons. It could be the idea itself, the team, or the business model. Bill Gross of Idealab shared The single biggest reason why start-ups succeed in a Ted talk. Besides the idea, team, business model or funding, there was an even more revealing reason why some startups take off…
It’s the people
Once upon a time, I read somewhere “Most tourists come to Nepal for the first time to see the mountains, they return for the people.” People are what makes Nepal a country that tourists want to come back (again and again). If you talk to tourists who have traveled to Nepal, most of them talk…
Building the Nepali startup ecosystem
Since 2011, we have seen a lot of interest in young entrepreneurs to execute their idea and build their startup in Nepal. Now we are slowly seeing a few startups (Fusemachines, Grepsr, SastoDeal) that have scaled in that time period. There are obviously others who may be doing equally good or even better. To build…
Rising above the machines
There’s a lot of hype about AI and automation these days. The hype is real. It is reshaping companies, industries, communities, and even countries. Yes, countries as well. An opinion article on the Financial Times talks about China battles the US in the artificial intelligence arms race Understanding what AI is and how automation will…
The coach
All managers should, in part, be coaches. This is from the Picking up the Bill article on The Economist (May 25th 2019). Gallup, a polling organization cites research showing that when managers involved employees in setting their own work goals, the latter are four times more likely to report feeling engaged. Managers are responsible for…
The omnipresent school
The class is in session. We’ve gone from cave settings to our current access from anywhere online class settings. Schools, colleges and universities meant physical structures with classrooms, playing areas, and facilities designed to engage the students. Now the places to get education are omnipresent. The web has literally transformed how we gain, use, and…
Once upon a time…
Stories are powerful. Evolution has wired our brains for storytelling. We all love a great story. For over 27,000 years, since the first cave paintings were discovered, telling stories has been one of our most fundamental communication methods (Source). Stories help us connect with each other and are an important part of our existence. We…
apples to oranges to mangoes
The road to success is different for each individual. No one success story follows the same track. The fundamentals of becoming successful can be more similar. Hard work, focus, dedication, creativity, sacrifice, team work, vision and so many other components can be the ingredients of success. Comparing one individual’s success to another is like comparing…
First mover disadvantage
We’ve heard of first mover advantage where the first company to venture into the market benefits from an early entry, building a brand, creating customer loyalty and so forth. Is there also a first mover disadvantage? I believe so. Some markets are as adaptive as other markets and the factors could be culture, consumer lifestyle,…