At a recent award ceremony, one of the pioneers of taking wireless technology to rural parts of Nepal, Mahabir Pun was honored with the Pioneer ICT Award. On stage, he gave a short speech where he made a humble request to the media and people present in the audience to not nominate him for any…
Author: Nirmal Thapa
How do you teach culture?
Can you actually teach culture at your company? How about putting the company’s core values in places where everyone can see? And what exactly is culture? These questions are not that easy to answer. But starting out with the right set of questions can help build a strong foundation for company culture: What culture do…
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 5 Rules for Success
Continuing education
The graduate is an obsolete word now. As technology changes industries, people and work, a degree will not be enough for you to sustain or stay competitive. With AI set to create jobs as well as replace mundane jobs, we need to stay on top of our game. This means colleges and universities cannot promise…
What’s in your forest?
Recently, I attended a startup summit where a panelist stated that the word “ecosystem” is overhyped. Instead he suggested we should start using the word forest rather than ecosystem. Each forest is different-the soil, the territory, the trees etc. What does Nepal’s startup forest look like at current? What are your 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…
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 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…
Podcasting stats & facts
Pay to Quit
The policy goes like this. A new employee joins Zappos and then he or she is provided a four week training. Zappos then offers the new employee money for the hours worked plus some bonus to quit. Yes, I typed it right. “To Quit” The reasoning behind this offer is that Zappos wants to attract…
Move the needle
Every day is an opportunity to move the needle. To make an impact. To make your work slightly better than yesterday. A lot of times we leave the important stuff to someone else; to someone who has the authority to make decisions. Those people are usually busy with other stuff. We need people like you-people…
The crazy ones
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t…
Iteration is perfection!
The best advice she ever received. That’s what Miki Agrawal said.
Some points from Sapiens
Sapiens, the book by Yuval Noah Harari is an insightful and interesting read. As I come close to finish reading it, I have gained some new perspective on major developments in history. I recommend reading the book to gain the whole context and understanding. A few thought provoking points from the book: Ignoramus: Modern science…
Suggest alternatives
Identifying problems is easy. For the most part. If you’re honest and open minded about the situation/circumstance/result, you can find room for improvement in almost about anything. You can’t take an international standard and apply it strictly around the world the same way. The challenge lies when a framework designed by the “international experts” does…
Beauty of not yet
Professor Carol Dweck, Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford talks about her groundbreaking work on developing mindsets. She emphasizes the power of “yet” in helping students succeed in and out of the classroom. What a beautiful concept!
Go for it
Chances are that you are contemplating whether to take the plunge or stay where you are. Chances are that you are deciding whether it’s worth the risk or not. Chances are that the voice inside is telling you to give it a try and live with the results. We have dreams. We have goals. We…
Growth feedback
Positive feedback makes us feel good. We feel like we’re walking on air when we hear good things about ourselves. Yet positive feedback does not help us get better or grow professionally. We need constructive feedback. Here’s a good article How To Take Constructive Feedback Like A Boss
The Professor Speaks
I use to watch And1 basketball show on TV and then on YouTube. Grayson Boucher or more commonly known as “The Professor” was a regular in those And1 clips. Glad to hear his story on Tedx Talks. I like the last part of his presentation where he shares three learnings from his life experiences: proving…
Listening
How are your listening skills? Are you listening more than you are talking? Are you attentively listening to your team? Richard Branson talks about how important listening skills are in our daily lives. Kobe Bryant says on leadership that “to be an effective leader, you have to be a really good listener and focus not…