Register

Category: experience

Perhaps, sir, you will someday come back with books…

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

That’s what the headmaster of a local school told John Wood, a Microsoft executive in 1998 after he had just completed the eighteen day, two-hundred mile trek of Nepal’s Annapurna mountain range. John did return to Nepal with books and started Room to Read. Today over 20,000 communities in 15 countries have Room to Read libraries.

In the book, Purpose, Incorporated: Turning Cause Into Your Competitive Advantage, John and Amalia McGibbon delve into the origins of Room to Read, lessons from running the non profit as a business and the many conversations they had with business leaders trying to infuse purpose into their companies. John states in the book that “these business leaders saw purpose not as a nice thing to do but as a must-do-a key competitive advantage that could enhance enterprise value.” 

Purpose is becoming more and more an integral part of a company’s strategic focus. Once an afterthought at most companies, now purpose is an important discussion taking place in the halls and boardrooms of startups to multinationals. According to THE 2015 MILLENNIAL IMPACT REPORT, 44% of millennial employees said they were more likely to volunteer if their supervisor participated and 65% were more likely to volunteer if their coworkers participated. We expect companies to do more good in the communities they operate in. We as employees want our companies to contribute more to the society. With great power does come greater responsibility.

How to get started with purposeful initiatives at your company?

  1. Learn what your employees are most passionate about. Listen to their conversations, interests and things they do on weekends. Some love helping out in schools, others are excited about going to orphanages and elderly homes. You can start from there.
  2. Research on things that will make the most impact at any given time and take up that cause. If there has been a recent flood or landslides, you can mobilize your coworkers to collect basic necessities and arrange to transport them to those in need.
  3. Track your company’s social impact and share the results with the team. When you track the initiatives and the impact made, team members will become more motivated, inspired and excited to contribute to a bigger mission.

 

 

E-commerce in Nepal heats up

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Sasto Deal. Daraz Nepal. UG Bazaar. Muncha. Now eSewaPasal. There’s more ecommerce companies in Nepal and I’ve only mentioned the ones that I regularly hear of.

It’s exciting to witness the growth of ecommerce in Nepal in the last 5-7 years. Alibaba Group acquired the entire share capital of Daraz, the Pakistan-based e-commerce company that has been running online marketplace services in a number of South Asian countries including Nepal (May 2018). Dolma Impact Fund, the first international private equity fund dedicated to Nepal made investment in SastoDeal (June 2018). Dolma was impressed with SastoDeal’s 233% growth just in the last quarter.

Although ecommerce is probably not the first option for many consumers in Nepal, it is certainly becoming much popular and a very good alternative shopping option. Why is ecommerce heating up in Nepal or specifically Kathmandu, the capital? Here’s a few reasons I can surmise:

  1. Many Internet Service Providers are offering higher bandwidth at cheaper prices.
  2. Internet penetration and mobile penetration is increasing.
  3. Cash on delivery is still the most used mode of payment so it’s easier for consumers to try the service.
  4. A growing number of consumers are preferring the convenience and choices available in ecommerce sites.
  5. A young and tech savvy population is growing up shopping online.

What’s next for ecommerce in Nepal? What would happen in the next 3-5 years in Nepal’s ecommerce scene?

My assumptions:

  1. Ecommerce will continue to see rapid growth fueled by increased consumer connectivity, easier/better online payment gateways and overall competition.
  2. Retailers will have to offer much better customer service/experience, prices and faster delivery turnaround to match or beat increased online competition.
  3. A replication of Amazon Prime membership model can come into play and the first ecommerce company to leverage this opportunity will win consumers, higher margins and platform loyalty.
  4. More investment will come in domestically/internationally to take the ecommerce platforms outside of Kathmandu and build a nation wide network. Acquisitions are likely as competition increases.
  5. Government will take more interest in ecommerce due to the growing ecommerce market, inflow of investment and as more transactions happen over the web/internet.

What do you think? Looking forward to hearing from you whether you are an online shopper, retailer or someone working at an ecommerce company. Please comment below.

 

Comedy Circle’s Samay

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa
The lights are on. Cameras are pointed to the stage. The audience is eagerly waiting to hear the jokes. At the end of this Thursday night at Samay Restaurant and Bar, the audience would have laughed hysterically to the 10+ stand up comedians that take the stage. I can say that this is Comedy Circle’s time to shine.
Few months back, I had watched a few of Comedy Circle’s YouTube videos of young and dynamic stand up comedians and was hoping to watch it live someday. I was very glad that I decided to see it live on Thursday, August 9th. Kudos to the team behind this fresh and delightful platform and wishing Comedy Circle for more success in the coming days.
If you’re looking for something refreshing and cheerful on a Thursday night in Kathmandu, check out Comedy Circle.

Internal leadership

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Each company has a culture. Some cultures are lead by senior management, others lead by the employees and some lead equally by the management and employees. In any company, I believe there are a few people who aspire to lead, want to do new things and make a bigger impact in the company/society. Some company cultures give those people the platform to lead while in other companies the ideas stay with the employees and never sees the light of day.

If you want to lead an initiative within your company, you have to start with a simple mindset. Telling yourself “you are the right person to lead this initiative.” When you have the confidence and feel the responsibility to lead, then things fall in place. Picking the right time to launch the idea is equally important. The name of the initiative has to be catchy so everyone can easily understand what the group or initiative is all about. Catchy names are usually between 1 to 3 words.

In the beginning days of launching the initiative, you have to proactively engage with the audience. Overtime, it should be your audience putting up content, leading the initiative and engaging other members. That’s when you know it has become a success-when the group members lead and take it to newer heights. The initiative/platform needs to be constantly monitored so that non relevant content or activities that go against the group’s values/ethics is not shared or encouraged.

The gift of words

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Words are powerful.

When used at the right moment with the right person, the right words can move mountains. Words come so easy to us that perhaps we use it so casually that sometimes we don’t realize its full impact on the person we’re speaking to. As machines become better than us in doing most of the “regular/boring/sophisticated” work, we will cherish the human moments more than ever in our workplaces and homes. Words with emotion will become our biggest gift to share with others. When you say, I love you or I’m proud of you or I’m right behind you, you can literally change someone’s life.

Words are our biggest asset. Let’s use them to inspire, motivate and engage with others.

 

Soft skills matter

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Soft skills matter more than ever. In this age of automation, machines are becoming more efficient doing the mundane tasks. We are then left to handle the ever more important human part. In the 2018 Workplace Learning Report published by LinkedIn, it mentioned that the #1 priority for talent development in 2018 is training for soft skills. Individuals with excellent soft skills and sound technical skills will be hard to replace in this new economy. Hone your soft skills and you’ll be highly sought after. There’s no replacing empathy, compassion, love, care, humor, being present, listening, interacting (at least for now).

 

Boosting the striatum

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

“It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.”

What a beautiful quote. Being nice is the gift we all can give to someone. It’s not expensive to be nice to people; in fact it takes more work to be an asshole. We all have enough to give, no one has more or less of “niceness.” We have the same amount and can choose to use it properly, not properly or not use it at all.

In fact, deciding to be generous or cooperating with others activates an area of the brain called the striatum.The feel-good emotion from helping has been termed “warm glow” and the activity we see in the striatum is the likely biological basis of that feeling (The Conversation). Be nice to others and you are on your way to living a healthier and meaningful life. A wonderful read on kindness: Five reasons why being kind makes you feel good – according to science. Another Cosmopolitan article cited that being a nice person boosts your physical and mental health.

 

Lifelong student

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Things change. Technology is speeding up the change. We are all students in one form or another.

Graduating from college or a university is not enough. The goal now more than ever is to be a lifelong student. The drive to be better than yesterday has to be there every single day. The competition is not out there but inside you. You are competing with yourself to become relevant, updated and ready to put your best foot forward. A college or university cannot promise you anything after graduation. You have to make it happen and there is plenty more certificates and accolades to get along the way.

Attending a college or a university should only propel you to stay hungry, driven and optimistic about the future.

What’s next?

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

What’s your next goal?

What are you most excited about in your next adventure?

What’s your next challenge?

What’s the next thing that’s keeping you going everyday?

Have you found your next thrill?

MakerBot in Ocean’s 8

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

It was summer 2010. I was in Brooklyn. That summer I spent time writing blogs and participating in exhibitions to get our company, MakerBot’s flagship product, 3D printer into the hands of consumers. That was one of my most exciting summers as I saw a worldwide movement take place. The desktop 3D printing revolution was starting from Brooklyn and the world was getting more aware and excited about it. 3D printers were becoming more accessible during that period.

I saw MakerBot Replicator Z18 debut in the Ocean’s 8 movie and was thrilled to see it as a central part of the plot. Having been part of MakerBot in its earliest days, I couldn’t have been more proud to see how far it had come through.

Talking about MakerBot’s placement in movies, Josh Snider, a Public Relations Manager at MakerBot told Sarah Anderson Goehrke in an article that “MakerBot gets approached by TV and movie studios all the time looking to add an element of futurism to their set or looking to characterize the story’s tech-guru or hacker. In most cases, the printer just glows quietly in the background, adding little more than its space-age LED hue.” Josh added that “The most exciting opportunities are when a production team actually wants to portray the printer in action or as a central plot point.” It’s a lifetime opportunity to work in a company such as MakerBot and be proud to see its success grow and have a profound impact in the world.

Image source: 3Dprint.com

 

Make an impact

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Your next role should be chosen based on how much impact you will make. You must. We need more people aspiring to do the work where they can make the most impact. That’s the right thing to do. Being in a role where you are not making a difference or contributing to something bigger can make you miserable eventually. You’ll be more motivated and energized daily when you feel that you are making an impact. Chasing an intangible goal that you are extremely committed to will give your life a purpose and meaning. If your work is not making an impact from your current role, the motivation and energy will dry out and you’ll be looking for something else to do soon.

Questions to ask yourself from time to time on whether you are making an impact: Are you happy doing the work you are currently doing? Is the work you’re contributing leading to more than just profit? Is it creating more jobs, connecting more people or building better communities? How would you like to be remembered if you were to leave your job today? What would your legacy be? What are you doing to make this world a better place?

 

Ahead of the kiosks

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

McDonald’s is planning to add self-order kiosks to 1,000 stores each quarter.That means you”ll be most likely ordering your next happy meal from kiosks rather than placing the order with a McDonald’s employee. The benefits of self-order kiosks for customers are touted as faster service, more choices, more efficient and so forth. The unspoken truth behind this is that McDonald’s will need less employees now that the self-order kiosks have arrived.

McDonald’s CEO: Offering customers new ordering options from CNBC.

There will be fewer employees needed in each McDonald’s as the company plans to upgrade 1,000 stores with this technology every quarter for the next eight to nine quarters. That’s almost 10 or 11 stores a day. As the kiosks make things so much easier for consumers, what value can a McDonald’s employee (or any retail employee) add to the customer service experience? Not all is lost to the kiosks though. Employees can offer the best of what we humans do. Consider these scenarios: smiling with enthusiasm when a customer chooses to order the “traditional way”, showing more care to customers around the store, welcoming customers enthusiastically to the store, making customers feel wanted and catered to around the store, apologizing for any mistake(s) made in the customer service experience to name a few. Kiosks cannot do (as of now) what we humans do naturally-smile, care, respect, praise, love, apologize, connect, feel, share stories etc.

As we head towards the future we’ll have to give customers a way better reason to order from a human than a machine. If we can’t, then we’ll start to see a lot of McDonald’s around the country and globally with a location, several kiosks, robots making burger/fries and that will be your customer experience at McDonald’s.

 

 

 

Skills blog series: Language skills

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Welcome to the Skills blog series-

Language skills

The most widely spoken languages in the world are Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi and Arabic respectively. If you are a native speaker in any of the languages above, that is great. If not, then knowing one or two of them would be the way to go. Being from Nepal, most of us are familiar with Hindi and English to a certain degree (basic to advanced), thus knowing basic to moderate Chinese or Spanish is beneficial for us. Being proficient in Chinese can create a lot of job opportunities for those in the travel & hospitality industry. My one year of Spanish classes in high school has proved very helpful in my travels around Europe and US.

Knowing another language especially Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi or Arabic could be very useful in your personal or professional life. A plethora of websites and apps are now available to get you started in learning a new language. Even having some basic foreign language skills will help you when visiting another country or interacting with someone whose native language is different than yours. In the global marketplace, bilingual speakers get more job opportunities and can build rapport easily with people from different countries.

In the write up “The Value of Spanish in the Workplace”, it mentions that bilingual executives are most frequently needed in marketing, sales and general management and to serve as president or CEO. “If you see yourself doing work internationally or going into banking or trade or any other business where you’ll travel, you’ll take Spanish more seriously,” said Tom Birmingham, Korn/Ferry’s managing director of global accounts. Plenty of reasons available for you to start or hone your language skills now.

Key takeaways:

-Learn any of these languages: Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi or Arabic

-Start learning a language today

Previous Skills blog series:

–Being financially savvy

Image source: Think New Asia

Starting a movement

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Starting a movement means being the shirtless guy dancing all by himself when most of the crowd is sitting down. Well not just him but his first follower is equally or even more important. Derek Sivers in his Ted Talk says that the leader needs to have the guts to stand out and be ridiculed. Additionally, Derek shares that the first follower is an underestimated form of leadership in itself and that “the first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.” Well said and beautifully shown in 3 minutes below.

Investment in Nepal’s tech scene

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

It was 2012. I was feeling that something was brewing in Kathmandu, Nepal. There was a new wave of enthusiasm, drive and hunger to start something-among the youth. Events were happening almost every weekend. There was Startup Weekend Kathmandu, PIVOT Nepal, hackathons to name a few.

The journey from 2012 to now has been long and many tech startups are able to get first mover’s advantage in the domestic market or selling their product/service abroad. Nepalese consumers are becoming more digitally savvy, mobile/internet penetration is growing and we’re noticing a rising ecommerce scene. Founded in 2011, SastoDeal recently got investment from Dolma Dolma’s website states Dolma Advisors Pvt. Ltd. is a consulting firm providing investment advice to international investors including Dolma Impact Fund – the first international private equity fund for Nepal, investing in various sectors and making sustainable and positive social and environmental impact. Stories like SastoDeal is good for the local startup ecosystem. It tells the aspiring and current tech company founders that if you need to take your growing company to another level, there are companies out there to assist you. But first you have to come up with an idea, execute it and show growth. SastoDeal took a risk and bet that ecommerce was going to become popular and culturally accepted over time throughout Nepal. Now most young consumers are shopping online from portals like SastoDeal, Daraz Nepal and Urban Girl etc. Also payment gateways are aplenty and ISP’s are providing better bandwidth at lower prices all helping boost Nepal’s digital economy.

In a lot of the startup/entrepreneurship related events that I had attended in Kathmandu in recent years, I felt that there was not many technology domain investors and funding opportunities available for tech startups. Now we might be seeing a few startups getting some investment to grow their business. If your online/mobile business is growing, the investors will find you. You have to build your business first. If you’re waiting for investors to come knocking so you can start your venture then you will be waiting forever. Start now.

Well-being teams, social media & us

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Within Instagram, there is a “well-being team” that’s just focused on fighting harassment and bullying as stated by co-founder and CTO of Instagram, Mike Krieger in The Players’ Tribune interview with Harrison Barnes.

According to Statista, in 2017, 81 percent of the population in the United States had a social networking profile, representing a three percent growth compared to the previous year. According to estimates, the number of worldwide social media users reached 2.34 billion and is expected to grow to some 2.95 billion by 2020. With this rapid growth of social media,  spending hours in social networking sites has become an integral part of our daily lives.

Having a “well-being team” focused on fighting harassment and bullying is laudable but companies have to do a lot more. A new, nationally representative Pew Research Center survey of 4,248 U.S. adults finds that 41% of Americans have been personally subjected to harassing behavior online, and an even larger share (66%) has witnessed these behaviors directed at others. With so much of our lives spent in social media sites of one form or another, companies have to proactively monitor, assess and take swift actions to minimize harassment and bullying.

Is machine learning enough to counter harassment and bullying over social media? Mike Krieger of Instagram stated in the interview that “they have been doing things like training our machine learning algorithm to try to detect bullying and harassment in comments and then make those comments go away.” Responsibility of “adapting” to social media falls on all of us-parents, teachers, friends, family members, policy makers-anyone who is directly or indirectly affected by social media. In my opinion, the bigger responsibility falls on shoulders of social media giants mainly Facebook who created a product that brings billions together daily. Social media companies should also publish reports and data on how they are countering harassment and bullying over their respective platforms. Parents will increasingly need to be digitally aware and teachers to be vigilant more than ever of their students’ behavior in and out of the classroom. StopBullying.gov is a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is a great resource to learn from and share with others regarding the matter.

With so much user generated content, is machine learning the only answer we have to counter online harassment? Can we leave this ever important challenge to a handful of companies alone who might have a “well-being team” to save us? Or should we first go back to the fundamentals where we treated each other with respect and love whatever our differences (color, height, weight, sex etc) and then enter into the social media world? The need to frequently discuss the benefits of social media and its challenges is greatly upon us.

Resources:

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/instagram-mike-krieger-harrison-barnes
https://www.statista.com/statistics/273476/percentage-of-us-population-with-a-social-network-profile/
http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/07/11/online-harassment-2017/

Be a humble narcissistic leader

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

In a research of American and Chinese companies, it was shown that humble leaders are significantly more effective than narcissistic leaders with their employees more productive and more innovative. Leaders need to have the confidence to drive their team forward and also be grounded to the reality of things.

Adam Grant points out that it was not only by bringing Chris Bosh from Toronto Raptors and LeBron James from Cleveland Cavaliers to Miami Heat that helped them win back to back NBA finals (2012-2013), Shane Battier also played a key role. Although Shane had his limitations, he studied the stats of other NBA players and understood where they struggled on the floor. Every now and then he offered LeBron tips on opposing players and was able to help him become better. Role players like Shane provide a huge boost to any sports team because they are not as much under scrutiny as the superstars and have specific roles and assignments.

As a leader, you need to have the confidence and humility to lead. You can show both of these traits without looking overconfident or feeble. How? By asking questions, getting input from others with experience and knowledge of the subject at hand and not getting caught up in your own biases and assumptions. Easier said than done but its worth it.

Skills blog series

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

What has helped me tremendously in my personal and professional life is developing and having the right skills to adapt to different environments. I was born in Kathmandu (Nepal) and have lived in Cairo (Egypt), New York City (US) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands). What has worked for me is having skills that are transferable, adaptive and suited to best leverage the opportunities available in each of the above cities. Over the course of the next few weeks, I will talk about the different skill sets that are very valuable to have based on my experiences so far. These skills can also help you profoundly no matter where you are currently or headed to in the near future.

Welcome to the Skills blog series-

Being financially savvy

One of the first jobs I had as a teenager was working at a magazine store. I was a cashier and worked every Saturday for most of my weekends. Having some pocket change allowed me to go to the movies, buy a few things and hang out with my friends. I learned the real value of money and had earned it from standing 6 to 8 hours to ring customers at the counter. My lunch options were McDonald’s, Subway or takeout Chinese food-things you could get for less than $5. I valued each dollar I earned and the work boosted my self esteem and confidence. For the most part of my high school, college and a short period after college, I held jobs in retail customer service and was standing 7 to 8 hours for them. Now I work on a laptop and spent most of my working hours sitting down. It’s nothing compared to the long hours spent standing, greeting and servicing customers.

Having a job even if its part-time teaches you a lot about money. You start to value it more when you have earned it and won’t spend it carelessly. It’s important to understand the value of money at an early age and I’m glad that I had part-time jobs when I was in high school. Those earlier work experiences were instrumental in helping me understand the value of hard work, money and made me financially savvy.

Key takeaways:

-Work somewhere (full time, part time, internship, volunteer doesn’t matter, just start)

-Savor the earning (feel the hard work and sweat that you put into making that first earning)

Image source: Think New Asia

Seven Bucks

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

He had seven bucks in his pocket when he was cut from Calgary Stampeders, Canadian Football League. Thus, Dwayne Johnson “The Rock” named his production company, his advertising agency among others: 7 bucks. He keeps the hard times in front of his mind which helps him to go into these big moments with a different perspective. Additionally what has worked for him is that he keeps his back against the wall and knows that the only way to go then is forward.

With the Los Angeles Lakers, “The Rock” also shared two secrets to his success-things that have worked for him. He said you got to be the hardest workers in the room and can’t mess the opportunity up. Words of wisdom from one of the most successful actors and producers of our generation.

On Twitter, The Rock shared “Thank you owner & for having me speak to the team. I don’t have all the answers for success, but I can always share what it takes to get there. “

Will you take 10 minutes to change your life?

Posted on by Nirmal Thapa

Will Smith did. He took 10 mins and did an impromptu audition at Quincy Jones’s party for the guests. Will could have waited a week or maybe even 3 weeks to prepare. However, Quincy was adamant that Will audition at the moment and not wait any longer. Well he didn’t and after that audition, Will Smith was on his way to become The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Moral of Will’s story is ALWAYS SAY YES.

Subscribe

Subscribe to receive our blogs, information on upcoming workshops and exclusive content.

Nirmal Thapa

Linkedin
Register