culture – Page 6

More of us represented

Posted on September 12, 2019September 12, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

There’s a growing feeling and need to see more of us to make it, to be represented, and to be empowered. This feeling is echoed from Kathmandu Valley to Silicon Valley.

In Kathmandu, I’ve attended many business conferences and events. Far too many events lack diversity. There’s a lack of diversity on the panels and speakers at the events. As an audience member, I would love to see more women, more new faces, more people from various backgrounds to be represented on stage. By having more diversity on the conferences and events, it would attract more people to attend these events and/or make them feel proud that “someone” like them is represented on the stage. It’s also the right thing to do. More to come…

Does the brand make you or you make the brand?

Posted on September 8, 2019September 8, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

A question that is up for debate.

A established company has been in the market for a long time. It has a name. It has a proven business model. It has been around.

A startup has been in the market for a short time. It is building its name. It’s business model is not proven yet. It is emerging.

When the company is a startup (new), the founder(s)/CEO is the face of the company. They represent the brand, make it what it is and what it will become. In essence, the founder(s)/CEO make the brand when the company is emerging and not established in the market. On the other hand, when the company is established and already has a recognized name in the market, the brand makes the person. The machine is already built and the person gets their recognition and reputation being associated with it.

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

Leading with vision

Posted on August 7, 2019August 7, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 seven days hauling surgical equipment to reach patients who live in Nepal’s most remote villages. Why does Dr. Ruit do this? He lost family to treatable diseases and knows what it’s like not to have access to healthcare.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVCfYGJV_2s

Podcasting is the new blogging

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

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.

Not as a way to make big dollars (blogging didn’t do that either). But as a way to share your ideas, to lead your community, to earn trust.

Podcasting is a proven technology that is still in its infancy. It’s an open mic, a chance for people with something to say to find a few people (or perhaps more than a few people) who’d like to hear them say it.

And podcasting is the generous act of showing up, earning trust and authority because you care enough to raise your hand and speak up.

I took The Podcast Fellowship last fall and loved it. I recommend you look into it if you are interested. Visit Podcasting is the new blogging

How do you teach culture?

Posted on August 1, 2019August 1, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 we want for our people? What should we strongly encourage and strongly discourage? Who can be our “culture ambassadors” within the company?

Building the Nepali startup ecosystem

Posted on July 29, 2019July 29, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 our Nepali startup ecosystem, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. A good write up by Dipta Shah of 54i Ventures on How to address the funding gap and enable Nepali startups published on The Kathmandu Post.

Once upon a time…

Posted on July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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 feel more emotionally connected when we hear a good story, when we could relate our own experience(s) with the person sharing his or her story and when we experience a certain feeling (happy, angry, sad etc). Stories are amazing.

Good read on The Irresistible Power of Storytelling as a Strategic Business Tool

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?

You’re a founder

Posted on July 14, 2019July 14, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

A founder of ideas. A founder of a company. A founder of a movement.

What will you create today?

the culture setters

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

There is always a culture-company culture. It’s there from day 1. As entrepreneurs build their businesses, their personalities shape the culture of the company. Founder(s) are the initial catalysts of the company. As the company becomes bigger, the culture is carried on by the employees who joined the company in its early stages and the new ones follow suit.

Who are the culture setters in your company? Are they promoting the right culture within the company? What values do your employees embrace?

What’s in your forest?

Posted on July 8, 2019July 10, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

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?

Asking questions

Posted on June 26, 2019June 26, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Asking questions is an important skill that we all need. It takes confidence, preparation, and a curious mind to ask questions.

Reflecting on the college and work environments in Kathmandu that I have been part of, most individuals do not ask questions. It could be the same scenario for most of Nepal. I pondered what could be the reasons for this. Some reasons could be:

-An educational system that does not facilitate or encourage asking questions

-Workplaces that does not facilitate or encourage asking questions

-Nepalese culture of respect and obedience to teachers/elders/seniors

-Not enough time given or information provided beforehand to students/professionals to prepare questions

-Sometimes a “negative” perception of those who do ask a lot of questions

There could be other reasons as well. I would love to hear your thoughts on why students and professionals in Nepal do not ask a lot of questions. Do share.

Giving feedback

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

In our Nepali culture, we give utmost priority to relationships and always want to be in “good terms” with our colleagues, elders, relatives etc. In the professional setting, we often lean on the positive side when we provide feedback so we do not offend others, play it safe to avoid a possible confrontation, maintain the current relationship we have, among others.

But with this approach of providing only or mostly positive feedback, are we really helping the person, the team or the company? We have to sincerely believe in providing and asking for honest feedback and value the long term benefits of this approach. Giving only positive feedback will not help the individual, team or anyone for that matter to improve. It also means that you are not doing proper justice to that relationship.

What’s in your draft?

Posted on April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

A lot of times we don’t get to see the best stuff from people. Most of us are working behind the scenes. We are working on our draft for that book, for that podcast, for that website or for that special thing to come out to the world. The world is eagerly waiting for you to put your work out there. It might not be your best work but it needs to be seen.

No work is perfect right off the gate. I have seldom seen it happen. The best projects get out in the world and improve incrementally. There are so many benefits of putting your work out there (first mover advantage, critical feedback, real time analysis, more confidence, more accountability etc). Don’t just keep it in your draft, unleash it to the world.

I & We

Posted on April 21, 2019April 21, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

“You want to hear “I” when things don’t go well. You want to hear “We” when things do go well.” Golden State Warriors General Manager Bob Myers stated as he discussed the conversations he had with Warriors players after their Game 7 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals.

When things go well, that’s the easy part. Everyone’s happy. They’re celebrating. Congratulating each other. When things do not go well, the real test comes in. Who steps up to take the responsibility? Are the team members pointing fingers to others or are they owning up to their actions? You’ll probably learn a lot more from losing than winning.

My next read: Shoe Dog

Posted on April 18, 2019January 23, 2022 by Nirmal Thapa

The crazy ones

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

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 do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

Himalayan City Hunt 2019

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Nirmal Thapa

Excited to be part of Nepal’s first Himalayan City Hunt 2019. We participated as a team from Fusemachines Nepal. There were four teams. Results coming soon.

Category: culture