career – Page 7

Making good habits stick

Posted on September 3, 2019September 3, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Most of us desire to build good habits and stick with them. However, it’s so much easier said than done. From the research done on habits and my own experience, I can attest that there are very simple ways to make good habits stick.

First and foremost, start ridiculously small. It is extremely easy and rewarding to do the smallest thing possible to get started on the new project, new diet, new workout, a new blog or a new podcast. Then once you do that smallest part, you feel you can do more and it keeps you motivated. This is one of my favorite tools to make good habits stick: start small. As Lao Tzu said A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Other ways to make good habits stick are to celebrate small victories, design your environment according to the habits you want to enforce/act upon, surround yourself with supporters. Read more at How to Make Good Habits Stick: 7 Secrets From Research

Life skills: From school to the workplace and beyond

Posted on August 31, 2019August 31, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Besides science, math, business, philosophy, arts and others, we need to teach valuable life skills to our students. Students will need more than domain knowledge to survive and thrive in today’s world. Some of the life skills to teach in schools are:

Personal financial management – Students and young professionals need to be aware and smart on managing money. What better place to teach them about money than school? A solid personal financial management course will prepare students for the long term.

Cooking – Students and young professionals can be more healthy and live independently if they know how to cook. There can be a lot of eatery options if you live in a city area than being in a rural area. However, knowing how to cook a few dishes can mean a more healthy lifestyle, more savings, and more personal satisfaction.

Travel – Students and young professionals can learn so much from travelling. Besides visiting a new place and learning about its history/geography, travelling allows us to realize a bigger world, know more about ourselves, and appreciate others’ culture.

Learning Day

Posted on August 30, 2019August 30, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Recently, I came across Learning Day on the OpenAI website. It said:

At OpenAI, each Thursday is Learning Day: a day where employees have the option to self-study technical skills that will make them better at their job but which aren’t being learned from daily work.

Creating an environment of learning and making it part of their DNA is a powerful initiative by any company. College degrees can help you get a foot in the door but it won’t help you thrive once you’re inside the door. As continuous learning becomes ever more crucial, the employees and companies that will stay ahead of the game are the ones that take learning seriously, really seriously. Companies that take their employees’ learning and growth seriously spend more on training, calculate its ROI, push each other to become better, and make it a part of their work schedule like OpenAI.

Some stats:

Average training expenditures for large companies increased from $17 million in 2017 to $19.7 million in 2018. The number for midsize companies rose $600,000 to $2.1 million in 2018. But small companies decreased from $1 million to $355,731 (back to slightly below the 2016 level). Source: 2018 TRAINING INDUSTRY REPORT

Staying ahead

Posted on August 19, 2019August 19, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

If you want to stay ahead, you have to constantly challenge yourself. Taking on challenges keeps you hungry, humble, and in a learner state of mind. The hardest part is not just getting to the mountain top but staying there as long as possible.

Do your goals scare you? If they don’t, then it’s time to change your perspective and your goals.

Why go to college?

Posted on August 17, 2019August 17, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

At a time when technology has enabled most of us in the world to take online courses and workshops from anywhere plus colleges are an expensive investment, we need to reevaluate the importance of physical academic institutions.

For colleges, the questions to answer:

What is the value proposition of a college in a world where online courses and workshops have taken off and students have abundant resources (YouTube, learning platforms etc) to enhance their learning or increase their knowledge/skills?

How does a college justify that huge cost (or investment) for students to attend? What is the return for the students after 4 years of classes, late nights, weekend projects etc?

How can a college coexist with the growth of new and abundant online learning platforms?

For the US colleges that attract a lot of international students, how will they navigate the new landscape where domestic colleges start to offer quality, less expensive, and more industry driven education to its students?

As technology continues to make certain current courses outdated, how frequently will colleges update their course curriculum, keep teachers trained, and stay competitive with other colleges?

For prospective students, the questions to answer:

Why is attending college important?

What value will the college degree have once I graduate or if I want to start a business?

Will I get the expected return on my 4 year investment in a college degree?

If the job that I’m planning to get does not require a degree, how important will that college education will be?

If I am already very self motivated and have big dreams, will college actually be a hindrance to starting my freelancing business or entrepreneurial journey?

Lots of questions and they are more relevant than ever.

The Long Game Part 2: the missing chapter

Posted on August 15, 2019August 15, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

A must watch!

The Long Game Part 2: the missing chapter from Adam Westbrook on Vimeo.

the valuable intangibles

Posted on August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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

The success curtain

Posted on August 11, 2019August 11, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 easy to fall in love with the success story and hope that we all have our own version of one hit wonders. But that’s rarely the case. Actually I’ve rarely seen an entrepreneur whose idea just took off in the market. It’s always important to understand the backstage preparation and work that took place before the curtain opened.

AI Expo Nepal 2019

Posted on August 10, 2019August 10, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 globally. From movies, books, magazines, to conferences, workshops and talks, we hear of AI being talked about in all these places. Now for the first time ever, we’ll see what is possible in Nepal through AI prototypes that will be on display at the expo.

AI Expo Nepal 2019 will feature keynote speeches, panel discussions, display of AI prototypes, networking to name a few. If you are interested in the field of AI, want to see the possible AI implementations in Nepal or want to network with like minded individuals, hope to see you on August 24th at Soaltee Crowne Plaza.

Action is your competitive advantage

Posted on August 6, 2019August 6, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 with a billion dollar idea but if the motivation and action is not there, nothing happens. On the other hand you could be living in Hattisar, Kathmandu, Nepal and if you are extremely hungry to make a global impact, things happen. Yes, certain types of financial and networking access comes with being at the right place at the right time. However, the competitive advantage now is in the action.

Actions speak louder than locations.

Fundamentals of success

Posted on August 4, 2019August 5, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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

Posted on August 3, 2019August 3, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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]

Rising above the machines

Posted on July 28, 2019July 28, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 affect us will be the first step. Once we know the facts over the noise, it’s important to see the benefits of AI and automation in our work/company/industry. Getting educated about AI through courses like AI for Everyone will help us understand the basics of what AI can do and cannot do among other things. We also have to understand our human strengths and where machines won’t add value (at least in the near future) and leverage on them. Creativity, empathy, critical thinking, ethics, feelings (emotion) are areas where humans are far better at than machines. Let’s embrace the potential of this new technology, understand where it fits in our business or community or personal lives, and be prepared to stay ahead of the machines.

The omnipresent school

Posted on July 25, 2019July 27, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 acquire new knowledge and skills.

Are you in class now? What are you learning? What’s next?

apples to oranges to mangoes

Posted on July 23, 2019July 23, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 apples to oranges and mangoes. They’re going to be different. Don’t compare your journey to someone else’s.

Disconnect in weekends

Posted on July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Talent retention

Posted on July 18, 2019July 18, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Retaining the best talent in your company takes work-a lot of work. A competitive salary is just one part of the compensation package to keep the best talent within the company. Having a great company culture, a clear company mission and vision, challenging projects, mentorship culture, learning culture, making a social impact are some of the things that not only attract talent to the company but also keep the current employees engaged within.

What’s your talent retention strategy?

Entrepreneurial

Posted on July 16, 2019July 16, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

The entrepreneurial journey is not everyone’s cup of tea. A few individuals love the adventure, risk and everything else that comes with entrepreneurship yet most love what they do and live happily also. Each is a life choice we make.

Yet entrepreneurial skills are something we can all strive to have. I believe you don’t have to be an entrepreneur only to develop entrepreneurial skills. Entrepreneurial skills include: a getting shit done attitude, being resourceful, leveraging your network, delivering on your responsibilities, being ethical, making an impact among many others. We can choose to be entrepreneurial everyday.

Continuing education

Posted on July 15, 2019July 15, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 you anything once you leave campus. Many promises were made before but few degrees delivered. Now the work is in your hands. You have the tools to build the work you love doing everyday. Continuing education will keep you young, hungry, and mostly ahead.

The freshman is the present word now.

Mentors in our lives

Posted on July 9, 2019July 10, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

I strongly believe in mentorship. Mentors can play a crucial role in our personal and professional lives. No matter what stage we are in our lives, a mentor can have a tremendous impact.

Just read a nice article on ideas.ted.com The 5 types of mentors you need in your life.

–Mentor #1: The master of craft

–Mentor #2: The champion of your cause

–Mentor #3: The copilot

–Mentor #4: The anchor

–Mentor #5: The reverse mentor

Category: career