Explaining ‘what Business Model is’ to upcoming businessmen

In simple words, ‘a Business Model’ refers to the pictorial representation of how the entire business of the firm works via diagrams and flow charts. The business model itself is not exactly the business of the firm but rather it provides the crucial ‘bigger picture’ on how the business of the firm should function at every instant in every employee’s mind. In short, it provides clarity on the vision/strategy, the operations, financial flow, value chain flow, etc of the organisation in the market in a simplified way.

How critical is to understand the ‘Business Model’ of your firm?

If an organisation is unable to draw and explain its business model, something is not right with that firm. The firm may be profitable today but it will run into serious trouble in times such as the current global financial crisis or any unexpected external market turbulence. Uneven market dynamics and changes in the ways of doing business is a never ending phenomenon in the business world. Not only the management of the firm but also every employee of the firm needs to realize what the company does, how the company makes money, which direction the company is going forward, and so on; yet all such info in a crisp and simplified block diagram presentation. Making frequent changes to the already tested business model which has been found working well till date is not a logical approach for any firm for future growth. Yet, the company management has to be ready when and how to make the adaptation to the business model if the company has to perform better in the coming decade amidst the competitive market scenario.

What to consider while making ‘Business Model Generation’?

To create neither an over-simplified nor a complex business model is the suggested norm. Yet, the business model should depict most critical aspects of the business operations in the firm, such as finance, manpower, resources, route to the market, etc. One of the suggested ideas (and book) on ‘Business Model Generation’ worth reading is ‘Business Model Generation – By Alexander Osterwalder’ which is recently being launched into the European market around October 2009. Further links about the book/ideas can be availed from

http://www.businessmodelalchemist.com/ & http://bmdesigner.com/.

The 9 Building Blocks of a Business Model (from the book)

An example of how this reference model has been used is provided via the link http://www.slideshare.net/shanjoym/hospital-rtls-emergency-alertpersonnel-locater

Which next step to be considered after designing the ‘Business Model’ of your firm?

Once the business model has been created, the next step is to transform the model into a business plan having detail info about how the business is going to be operated. The business plan will enable the management to focus every aspect of business operations with clarity and purpose.

Market Sensing – Growth Possibilities for Products/Services in Elderly People Care

Census of Population in most countries across the globe estimates the higher percentage of older people (60-65yrs+) compared to young people. This trend is likely to progress further in years ahead, which may have been due to modern healthcare and technological advances we have today. In healthcare industry, this trend is likely to create huge impact in the current business models and business segments due to the change in consumer profile and needs of healthcare purposes. More focus on products and services targeted to elderly people will see high growth potentials in the coming decade. Some of the following links may provide some statistical info about ageing population in UK and world:

Office of National Statistics, UK – “Population Estimates of UK”:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?ID=6

AGE Concern’s report – “Older People in the United Kingdom: Key Facts and Statistics 2008”:

http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/Documents/Keyfacts2008.pdf

United Nations report – “World Population Ageing: 1950-2050”:

http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/

Not-for-profit organisations and local community groups are growing up in numbers to provide care and support services to elderly people worldwide. The Governments have started realizing the impending need to invest for elderly people care too such as hi-tech support products, community support financial aids, etc. Illness like Dementia, Alzheimer, etc and need for home monitoring of elderly people, tracking and reporting of vital signs, etc have created possible business growth potential for medical devices companies and other healthcare companies. Even the big non-health related firms like Microsoft, Google, etc have initiated programs to venture into this elderly people care segment. Tracking and monitoring of elderly people (such as emergency alert pendant, home monitoring system for elderly people, tracking system of elderly people on tour, Real Time Location system (RTLS), etc) is also an area wherein most hi-tech companies (such as mobile operators, security product companies, etc) have shown keen interest. Some prominent companies in this sector worth analysing are Sonitor, Radianse, Ekahau, etc and journals such as IDTechEx, RFID Journal, etc are also useful in the research activities.

Thus, business growth potentials are there for social organisations as well as private medical devices/healthcare firms in developing products and services for elderly people care. Such new innovations will also fuel competitions among the companies in future; and only those companies which can create a blended business model that combines social responsibility service (of voluntary social organisations) and healthcare technology product (of healthcare companies) will be the market leaders in this segment.

Product Comparison Analysis – A MUST critical step during any NPD project

Innovation and creative thinking of few technology specialists lead to the development of new products. Every product oriented companies has developed their own standard process and control frameworks for any new product development (NPD) with the experience of various products introduction into the market. Most inventors are found to be more focused on the technical aspects of the product and advancement of that technology. This attitude often compels the Product Development Team (PDT) to miss most of the crucial consumer behaviours and actual market requirements into the product features and specifications. This issue of less market oriented focus in product development is more visible in SMEs than big companies because of the absence of dedicated business analysts and resources to undertake thorough and continuous market analysis and sensing. The key wisdom worth reminding here is “Customers look for solutions to their problems not products”.

The baseline for deciding what to include in the product features and specifications depends on the understanding of customer needs and market sales feasibility. “New technology defines the demand of customer needs, or, Customer needs define the demand of new technology”. Arguments can be created on either side of the hypothesis. Yet, earlier the adoption of product comparison analysis in the phases of NPD cycle, better the success rate of product introduction into the market.

Product comparison analysis can refer not just only about the features comparison of the products in the market (such as specifications, price, qualities, looks, usage guidelines, etc) but also the entire 4Ps (i.e. Price, Product, Promotion, and Place). There can be two levels of war among the companies for similar product introduction into the market viz., product level, and business level. Successful product introduction demands the need for successful strategies at both the levels that can outbid the planning of competitors.

At the product level, PDT should research the market not only for any similar products already available to the consumers, but also any likely product introduction info from competitors in the near future. A comparison chart should be prepared that depicts the plus and minus of technical properties/features among the various products. This comparison chart should also include the value provided by each of the features to the customers, i.e. orienting to customer behaviours and market needs. This simple approach yet tedious analysis will provide enough clues to make proper decision what and how should be the new product.

At the business level, PDT should conduct detailed analysis of how competitors intend to introduce the product into the market, i.e. the understanding of business models and strategies used by the competitors are also crucial to successful product introduction into the market. One of the suggested approaches herein is “Blue Ocean Strategy”, so that the business approach of the company makes the competition with the other companies irrelevant. Customization of products (in terms of feature contents and applications, etc) can be done based on the business requirements and spontaneous market needs. Business level competition may involve scenarios such as fast supply chain management approach, low cost production approach, premiere customer experience approach, etc. PDT should have market sensing info about the product it is developing so as to provide timely feedbacks into the process for necessary actions.

Any NPD does involve high risk of financial investment and huge commitment of the PDT throughout the product life cycle. The war to successful product introduction into the market does not end right after the first product launch, but the company still has to come up with continuous improvement strategies to sustain competitive advantages over the likely new product introduction by the competitors in few months afterwards soon. Herein, the criticality of product comparison analysis remains strong throughout the product’s life cycle.

Why govt projects often get failed or stuck incomplete in Manipur?

Planning on various govt projects in Manipur state are conducted by dignified (IAS & MCS) officials on consultation with external professionals. Then, the curiosity arises ‘why govt projects often get failed or stuck incomplete in Manipur?’ A first glance on this issue leads to the key probable answers – ‘Poor Project Management’ and ‘Unskilled Operational Structure’. Some of the areas within project management worth giving more focus by planning officials are as follows:

Project Management (PM) Skills: PM skills are achieved after extensive hands-on work experience via continuous improvement and knowledge sharing with other experts in the similar fields of work. Planning officials need to update their PM skills for better project planning and execution with global outlook. Govt should consider providing training courses for few officials in top management institutes within the country and aboard. In addition, officials should have access to reputed online research databases (such as Harvard Business Review, Business Source Premier, EBSCO Electronic journals, etc) for better planning. New online/offline forums should be created for interaction with public/professionals on various govt projects to provide suggestions/inputs. E.g. students of MU (such as MBA graduates) can be employed to conduct analysis and consultancy services of govt projects at low cost via customize internship projects.

Project Management Team: The chain of commands/management from planning till implementation seems unclear and unspecific to everyone involved. The flow of concept and responsibilities are not imparted properly in the entire govt administration, thereby most officials do not know their crucial roles toward the bigger picture. The very critical aspect herein to be remembered by the entire team is ‘Believe self first to succeed before asking others to believe on the brilliant idea’. Wonderful business presentations mostly do not lead to successful end results due to practicality of implementation and execution issues. There needs to be something similar to a corporate strategy group in the administration which evaluates the entire picture and guides the various divisions toward the goal. Such step will help in eradicating the prevailing concept of “Never ending govt project’, and overcoming likely implementation issues.

Stakeholder Analysis & Project Scoping: These two key areas seem missing often in most govt project plans. These documents do show the general contents of a business plan such as the planning team, resources required, execution plans, industry/sector research report, budgeting, timeline, etc. Yet, stakeholder analysis is the most critical activity of any project and it needs to be conducted periodically (not just only at the start of the project initiation phase, since stakeholders may keep changing their views on the project thereby impacting the project completion). Project scoping also helps in defining the focus areas for the project team to achieve the goals and it closely relates to stakeholder analysis. E.g. Stakeholders can be local people, central govt funding authorities, nature/season, private contractors, etc. Yet, one of the key stakeholders in most projects found often missing in the analysis is the underground militant organisations and how to deal with this key stake holder. The project team can’t satisfy all the key stakeholders throughout, but it should still move towards the completion of the project goals in a balancing mode to the stakeholders.

Risks & Uncertainty Management: Officials are often found wanting in most govt projects on how to deal with possible risks already recognized and any uncertain situation in the future. Moreover, there seems to be no special focus area in the planning documents for risks and uncertainty management. The officials should also be trained more on conflict management/negotiation skills (to manage the govt ministers, local people, non-state agents, etc). E.g. What is the value of building a hydro electric power plant on that river this year if the river is going to dry up soon in 6-7yrs in future?, why do thermal power plant need to be build in that year if continuous fuel supply can’t be sustained in future and also if the per unit power cost produced can’t be achieved lesser than the likely market sales energy unit price?, etc.

Opportunity Costs: Various project plans are created by officials under the influence of some great minds or learning from the visits to developed cities, etc. But, officials are again found wanting to provide business justification – why they choose to take up those projects?, Have they really considered ‘the Opportunity Costs’?, Which project would have been the best suitable or best value for money invested?. There should be a discussion room before initiating on any development project by inviting several drafts of possible solutions. The govt should choose one among all the project draft solutions which justifies with higher value to the people and state. E.g. Wasn’t there any other alternatives than building a fly-over in the middle of small Imphal city (with the huge money already invested) to ease the traffic issues?, etc.

Project Closure/Exit Strategy: Officials seem more concerned to complete the plan created by higher authorities without providing valuable feedbacks and timely inputs to the planning team so that the projects can deliver more value even after the project completion or expiry. The timeline of the project has to be clearly defined and monitored. There must be an option or strategy to exit at certain points of the project phase if the planning team feels the project is not worth investing. E.g. What is the business justification of building an entire game village homes with crores of rupees if those homes can be used only for one time during the sports competition?, etc.

(Detailed analysis on Manipur Government’s planning activities can be done by accessing the link: http://www.planningmanipur.gov.in/.)

The latest Manipur State Development Draft Report can be accessed via the link: http://www.planningmanipur.gov.in/Draft_MSDR.htm

Offering MBA internship projects

Dear All,

I am offering consulting projects to MBA students for the period ‘2010-2011′ focusing majorly in Moirang (Manipur, India) and Manipur/North-East India with global outlook.

Interested students can contact me to take the discussion further. Having an academic supervisor from the respective institute is mandatory. Financial assistance for undertaking the project is available. Minimum project period is 3-months (subject to norms of respective institutions). Some projects may involve surveys and visits to Moirang. Currently, the projects are being advertised to the MBA students of Manipur University. Contact me if anyone else is interested ASAP. Few competent students are likely to be recruited at the end of the internship projects.

Project Areas:

(I) Industry

- Energy (Renewable Power, Home Consumer Products)

- Tourism (Brand Promotion, Merchandising)

- Retail (Fish Products, Artifacts/Paintings, Comics/Short Stories)

- Education (Career Services, Knowledge Management)

(II) Scope

- Market/Industry Research (size, share, barriers, customer, 4Ps, Porter’s 5 Forces, SWOT, Value Chain, etc)

- Business Model Generation & Business Plan Implementation

- Funding & Financial Projections

- Interaction with Govt & non-govt organisations (including PESTLE analysis)

(III) MBA Domains

- Marketing

- Finance

- Operations

- Human Resource

- IT

Download the list of projects from the link below

Projects_offered_media

Few projects will be given to a number of students with different final deliverables.

E-mail to following details to my ID: shan_mairembam (at) yahoo(dot)co(dot)in
Selection Criteria:
(1) CV (1-page/2-pages explaining education, skills acquired, work/non-work experience)
(2) Cover Letter (How does the project profile match the candidate’s skills and interest?)
(3) Proposal Letter (A draft recommendations on how to achieve the project objectives)]

———————–

Regards,
Shanjoy Mairembam

Musu Musu – Wipro CDF Music Show 2004

My song during “WISCO” – the 5yr partnership celebration of Wipro & Cisco @ Wipro CDF [Koramangala - K2, Bangalore (INDIA)] in 2004

Target MBA after Class 12

The two years of 11th and 12th standard classes are critical for every student who wishes to create a successful career ahead in the life ahead. The students should focus not only to understand the complete syllabus of 11th & 12th standards thoroughly to get good score in 12th standard examination, but also the tips and techniques of preparing various entrance examinations in the post-12th standard.

The reasons for a decent score in the 12th exam are –
1) As huge numbers of students compete to get into various companies in the post professional/academic degrees, companies use the cut-off marks of 10th & 12th standard to shortlist candidates for preliminary rounds of elimination.
2) Better understanding of chapters in the 11th & 12th standard holds the key to further degree courses for making a career ahead [it may be even in the entrepreneurial domain].

Study of Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) & Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (M.B.B.S.) are the most sought career of students in the post-12th standard in Manipur (as well as in most parts of India). The students have to compete among the best to get through various state level & national entrance tests to secure admission to reputed colleges.

Preparation for such professional entrance tests not only requires sufficient study notes [including text books & mock question banks], but also examination techniques and preparation tips. Students from cities who come of well-to-do families and students of private English school are trained in a better position for such tests. But, most of the students who can’t provide the necessary study notes or guides fail to clear such tests. In addition, the financial constraints compel most students from rural/less privileged areas to forgo the dreams of being an Engineer or Doctor in lifetime.

Question – Is there any other suggested course in the post 12th standard which will enable a student to be able to earn hefty as well as decent job designations in future, similar to that of B.E. & MBBS degrees?

There do exist a number of academic courses in the post 12th standard which will enable students a bright future. But, one of the most attractive & rewarding course among them is Master of Business Administration (MBA).

Actually MBA is to be studied after 10+2+3 standard, i.e. after college degrees. In European countries & America, students have the advantage of starting well-paid careers in reputed companies under various business domains after undergoing under-graduate management courses [i.e. some bachelor courses in management stream] due to the presence of strong entrepreneurial form of economy and huge number of business companies.

In the recent years, India is also witnessing a boom in some of the industrial sectors like IT, Biotech, etc. Various universities have thus started introducing various management courses in under-graduate courses and post-graduate level to supply the shortage of human resources for the growing economy. In spite of the presence of various management courses, the brand MBA still holds the due respect & trust by companies worldwide. So, students should give preference to the branded degree “MBA”. The course structure of MBA has also been modeled just for corporate jobs while those of other management courses are modeled more of academic values.

Bachelor degrees of management are not considered as a real degree by corporate world and hence, students should complete MBA again further. The exception to the branded MBA degree is the post-graduate programs in management awarded by Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) & few top business schools in India. Students who have not been able to study B.E or MBBS should never waste precious years trying again & again for the entrance tests in the following years, instead they should proceed ahead with a bachelor degree for 3-years. The choice of bachelor degree can be either one which the student feels comfortable with.

It’s still suggested to study courses having – Mathematics, Economics, Commerce, Accounting, etc, but not mandatory, because, students should just only concentrate on clearing the 3yr degree courses with good scores. In those 3yrs time frame, the student should prepare self to be future MBA aspirant of high demand & value.

The activities the student should also be concentrating during the 3yr bachelor degree are –
1) Participation and conduction of various co-curricular & extra-curriculum activities like – Music competition, dance competition, quiz competition, Inter-college competitions, adventure tour, college festivals, etc
2) Improving basic computer skills by joining some courses or by self learning – Microsoft Word / PowerPoint / Excel, use of Internet surfing & habit of reading newspapers/e-books online, typing comfortably on keyboards, etc.
3) Improving English Speaking & Behavioral ethics of corporate world via interaction with various groups of people – working professionals, college staffs, friends, etc.
4) Making self aware of what is all about MBA, the various entrance tests, various colleges, careers in the post-MBA, exam preparation notes, etc.

Loosing 1 or more years preparing for entrance tests in the following years just for the sake of the ambition to study B.E. or MBBS in future is nothing but a sign of stupidity.
The reasoning –
Let’s consider the average age of the student after 10+2 standard = 17yrs

1) Career path of a student undergoing B.E:
Course length of B.E is 4 yrs and hence, age after B.E. course completion = 21yrs [i.e. 17+4]
Chance of getting the first decent job in life after completion of B.E = YES
[It depends on the placement facilities of the particular Engineering College or the off-campus job search by the students]
Average Range of starting monthly salary by 22yrs = INR 15,000 – INR 25,000
[The exact salary depends on the particular company, though some may give even INR 50,000 on the higher end]
Further increment in salaries = 10-30% on the earlier gross salary every following year
Likely age of an engineering student to have Financial stability in life and permissible level of career achievement = 25-27 yrs

In short, the career of an Engineer is for those who are fascinated by technology & reasonable return of money.

2) Career path of a student undergoing MBBS:
Course length of MBBS is 5 & ½ yrs and hence, age after course completion = 22½yrs [i.e. 17+ 51/2]
Chance of getting the first decent job in life after completion of MBBS = NEGLIGIBLE
Required number of years for further studies to be able to get a first decent job in life = 29 yrs
[i.e. study of M.D/M.S. etc will take another 3-5 yrs depending on further specialization taken by student]
Average Range of starting salary by 28yrs = Not comparable to the salaries of Engineers
[The exact salary depends on the skill set acquired by the student as well as the chance to study in one of the reputed Post-graduate colleges in India or aboard. Moreover, the competition for getting the limited seats of postgraduate studies in the post-MBBS is extremely tough.]
Further increment in salaries = !!! [Poor growth pattern in career]
Likely age of a doctor student having Financial stability in life and permissible level of career achievement = 33-36 yrs

In short, the career of Doctor is for those who are just passionate to be a “Doctor”, it’s not a career for earning money.

3) Career path of a student undergoing MBA: Course length of a Bachelor degree after 12th standard which is required before undergoing MBA = 3yrs
Course length of a MBA = 12 months to 24 months [depending on the institute; some institutes provide 1yr MBA, some institutes provide 16 or 18 months MBA i.e. 1½yr MBA, some institutes provide 2 yr MBA]
Age after the completion of MBA = 22 yrs [i.e. 17 + 3+2]
Chance of getting the first decent job in life after completion of MBA = YES
[It depends on the placement facilities of the particular MBA College or the off-campus job search by the students]
Average Range of starting monthly salary by 23yrs = INR 25,000 – INR 45,000
[The exact salary depends on the particular company, though some may even offer INR 70,000]
Further increment in salaries = 10-30% on the earlier gross salary per the following year
Likely age of a MBA student having Financial stability in life and permissible level of career achievement = 24-26 yrs

In short, the career of a MBA student is for those who wish to earn, and become a business leader or an entrepreneur in future.

In addition, various banks provides educational loans for studying MBAs if the student is able to get into some of reputed MBA colleges; because, the banks are sure that the student is 99% likely to get a high paid job afterwards and hence he/she will be able to repay the loan with interests.

Again, life is not just about career, but it’s also about PERSONAL LIFE / FAMILY LIFE. So, earlier the stability in career & financial status in life, better is the security of life and early retirement too. Moreover, the beauty of youth is in the age range of 18-30 and one has to ask self – Is it worth to spend all these beautiful years in just studies and no fun at all?

Thus, we can realize now that the career prospect of a MBA student can be exciting & challenging. It also suggests that there are still various lucrative careers other than B.E. or MBBS degree. Students should surf internet and also interact with elders to get such information. So, CREATE your own FUTURE.

4 C’s to achieve your vision – Curiosity, Creativity, Cooperation, and Courage

Human intelligence comes out of the urge to learn new things as we come across from birth till being an adult. The complete life-span of an individual is indeed a journey to explore, to understand, to recreate new ideas for the well-being of self and the environment around. Time is valuable more than anything and it’s the basic wisdom that says ‘Life is a struggle which requires passion, faith and contentment for what an individual does during the life-span’.

Today’s generation needs to understand the basic 4 C’s to help self in defining the purpose of one’s life – namely Curiosity, Creativity, Cooperation, and Courage. This 4 C’s applies to everyone irrespective of age. None is 100% sure of exactly what life is all about, but scientific reasoning explains that its better to have some purpose and try working on that during the life-time.

The first C – Curiosity means ‘a state in which you want to learn more about something’, i.e. the urge to explore the unknown aspects of something that excite your attention.

For example – If a student wishes to get good score in the examination or a contest, he/she needs to have the curiosity to explore what has to be done to be among the winners; or, if a person wishes to realise an idea into action, he/she needs to understand how the same idea can be brought to reality before hand; and so on.

For something to realise, for something to start understanding, for something to create newly, a person definitely has to a ‘Child’ in the first place i.e. the urge to know, the passion to learn, the purity in concept, the dream to adventure have to be there on the person, just like a child carves for knowing things around due to curiosity.

The second C – Creativity means ‘the ability to create’, i.e. the passion to realise something new to the current environment out of internal instinct.

For example – If a student prepares for the examination or a contest using own tips of expertise quite different from others, then he/she has the creativity to think and realise extra-ordinarily; or if a person comes up with a new idea to realise the old concept in a better and efficient way, then he/she has the creativity to invent or discover the ways that others dare to go about; and so on.

Having decided what to learn and what to achieve is indeed a great step toward achieving the vision, but creativity is the aspect of life that will distinguish among the experts/competitors.

Great leaders or great scientists or any extra-ordinary individual are those who dare to be different in approach for realising the same objective with a creative mind. Creativity has to be associated with optimistic attitude and the individual should question self whether the creative mind is on the right track or its leading towards complexity unnecessarily.

The third C – Cooperation means ‘joint operation or action’, i.e. the need for working together as a team to achieve the objectives being set.

For example – if a student is able to win in a contest or examination, then it is in fact the team effort of the family being reward individually on the student since the people & the environment around him/her are the key criteria of his/her success; or if an individual wishes to get success in life or career, then, cooperation with the surrounding (which may be his/her family, or colleagues, or friends, and so on) is critical since the thinking, the motivation, the physical health, etc will depend on the people & environment around him/her.

It is therefore very essential for every individual to create the right environment around him/her so as to succeed in life/career (which includes the company of friends & colleagues, the books one read, the films/songs/audio-visuals one listens/sees, the food one eats, the habits one follows, and so on).

The fourth C – Courage means ‘a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear’, i.e. the positive attitude to deal with the subject in front with a purpose irrespective of any fallback on the expectations.

For example – If an average student dares to compete with the top ranking brilliant students in a contest or examination using her/his own tips to be among the winners, then, he/she has definitely the courage and has understood the meaning of self-dignity; or if a person focus majority of effort & time on the strengths that he/she has, and the remaining capacity on minimising or controlling the weakness, then the person has indeed the courage to deal with the situation in front.

Courage does not refer to being always bold, but being giving one’s full effort intelligently with respect to situation.

Thus, anyone can follow the 4 C’s for his/her vision to realise – since there is a need to dream (curiosity), a need to visualise (creativity), a need to stimulate the right resources (cooperation) and a need to believe (Courage).

Human intelligence comes out of the urge to learn new things as we come across from birth till being an adult. The complete life-span of an individual is indeed a journey to explore, to understand, to recreate new ideas for the well-being of self and the environment around.

Time is valuable more than anything and it’s the basic wisdom that says ‘Life is a struggle which requires passion, faith and contentment for what an individual does during the life-span’.

Today’s generation needs to understand the basic 4 C’s to help self in defining the purpose of one’s life – namely Curiosity, Creativity, Cooperation, and Courage. This 4 C’s applies to everyone irrespective of age. None is 100% sure of exactly what life is all about, but scientific reasoning explains that its better to have some purpose and try working on that during the life-time.

The first C – Curiosity means ‘a state in which you want to learn more about something’, i.e. the urge to explore the unknown aspects of something that excite your attention.

For example – If a student wishes to get good score in the examination or a contest, he/she needs to have the curiosity to explore what has to be done to be among the winners; or, if a person wishes to realise an idea into action, he/she needs to understand how the same idea can be brought to reality before hand; and so on.

For something to realise, for something to start understanding, for something to create newly, a person definitely has to a ‘Child’ in the first place i.e. the urge to know, the passion to learn, the purity in concept, the dream to adventure have to be there on the person, just like a child carves for knowing things around due to curiosity.

The second C – Creativity means ‘the ability to create’, i.e. the passion to realise something new to the current environment out of internal instinct.

For example – If a student prepares for the examination or a contest using own tips of expertise quite different from others, then he/she has the creativity to think and realise extra-ordinarily; or if a person comes up with a new idea to realise the old concept in a better and efficient way, then he/she has the creativity to invent or discover the ways that others dare to go about; and so on.

Having decided what to learn and what to achieve is indeed a great step toward achieving the vision, but creativity is the aspect of life that will distinguish among the experts/competitors.

Great leaders or great scientists or any extra-ordinary individual are those who dare to be different in approach for realising the same objective with a creative mind. Creativity has to be associated with optimistic attitude and the individual should question self whether the creative mind is on the right track or its leading towards complexity unnecessarily.

The third C – Cooperation means ‘joint operation or action’, i.e. the need for working together as a team to achieve the objectives being set.

For example – if a student is able to win in a contest or examination, then it is in fact the team effort of the family being reward individually on the student since the people & the environment around him/her are the key criteria of his/her success; or if an individual wishes to get success in life or career, then, cooperation with the surrounding (which may be his/her family, or colleagues, or friends, and so on) is critical since the thinking, the motivation, the physical health, etc will depend on the people & environment around him/her.

It is therefore very essential for every individual to create the right environment around him/her so as to succeed in life/career (which includes the company of friends & colleagues, the books one read, the films/songs/audio-visuals one listens/sees, the food one eats, the habits one follows, and so on).

The fourth C – Courage means ‘a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear’, i.e. the positive attitude to deal with the subject in front with a purpose irrespective of any fallback on the expectations.

For example – If an average student dares to compete with the top ranking brilliant students in a contest or examination using her/his own tips to be among the winners, then, he/she has definitely the courage and has understood the meaning of self-dignity; or if a person focus majority of effort & time on the strengths that he/she has, and the remaining capacity on minimising or controlling the weakness, then the person has indeed the courage to deal with the situation in front.

Courage does not refer to being always bold, but being giving one’s full effort intelligently with respect to situation.

Thus, anyone can to follow the 4 C’s for his/her vision to realise – since there is a need to dream (curiosity), a need to visualise (creativity), a need to stimulate the right resources (cooperation) and a need to believe (Courage).

Got Software Engineer Job after BE – What Next

On personal views, I am sharing how Engineering graduates can look forward once they start working as software engineers in various Software Companies after college. The idea can be applicable to other graduates working in various fields of profession after college or Universities as well. Due to our current Academic Education Systems, we are urged to view studying academic degrees & career as the ultimate thing in our lives that everyone has to do compulsorily with tremendous self-pressure. Most of the students in colleges & schools are urged to be among rank-holders. They are being asked to get job and then, even after that our struggle for better career do not stop. Thus, there may be a lot of self-questioning doubts – what exactly we are doing and what we are supposed to do once we get job after our College Educations.

Struggles in Academic days in colleges or Universities are far less compared to the struggles in corporate world. There comprise things like neither friendship nor any kind of emotional sharing of thoughts among people; but just that people are colleagues or partners to complete the job assigned. The real struggle of living & understanding the world will start once a student is into work-environment. A lot of changes will be on the way of entry into corporate world -

1) Work Ethics – Ethical understanding of what to do & how to do in Work-environment
2) Personality Adjustment – Conflict of personal behaviors & work-environment
3) Company Culture – Multi-cultural understanding among the employees across the global locations
4) Balancing of Personal life & Job-requirements – Family commitment versus Project Datelines
5) Urge for growth in career – Comparison of things attached to self with peers & other people
6) Many more….Serious topics to think about… because. It’s about the real life and not like those days of college or schools where mistakes or faults can be considered to be forgiven once or twice.

If we closely look into the nature of skills to be possessed by every working person in any kind of job; we will be able to find three main areas whose degrees of involvement are varied according to the job responsibilities & nature of job. They are -

1) Technical Role
2) Human Role
3) Business Role

So, every person under any designations will have the above three roles with varying percentage of capacity. But, we have to realize that as our career grows; the percentage of involvement increased towards the lower side (i.e. Technical side to Business side). Life in any career can be considered as if a kind of Business. People having sound knowledge of Business role will survive fluctuations in life rather than those with higher skills of Technical role. All the three skills are indeed required and all of them are a MUST for any level of work-positions in any Organization.

Here, the word “CHOICE” matters the most – because, every individual has to decide on how far one wishes to go ahead in career. But, one has to understand and think carefully that personal lives other than career are also to be looked into more in-detailed; since unless there is a balance & clarity on the complete picture of what the individual is supposed to do in life, there can be big issues in life. We have to remember that – Rewards & Medals in career is not the only thing which says a person is a good human being; since Career is just the means of living and our life as such is the main road which we have to think carefully.

Engineering Graduates will be surely happy that they have started working in big branded companies & they have started earning good salaries every month. They will be sometimes motivated to learn anything and at times, they will be also curious to know what exactly is going on corporate world. Everything in offices will be seemed as just about works and nothing more than that. Everyone in the office will come to office to work and go back home once their daily works are completed. At times, these newly graduated Engineers will start feeling that things are repeating again & again. They will start asking what is going on – is this life or is this way to live on till the last day, or many more…

Let me share my view directly so as to understand practically for things related to job & future planning for career in industries to some extent.

1) Learn the technical works & domain knowledge of what a person is exactly doing in a project at the starting of one’s career. Have the technical ability to explain the project to any person from any technical domain other than the own project members). Reason self technically with queries and try to answer them.
-> This will help the individual to understand the probable questions which other companies may ask when he/she goes for interviews & also it will enhance the skills & mindset of technical works in the current project.

2) 2 years of working in the same project or in the same company is a bit long journey nowadays. If a person keeps on working in the same project for 10 years still more, he/she may indeed learn more about the product and yes, he/she may be promoted to project leader or project manager in future. It’s really good that each individual will grow up technically on what they do and indeed, they will get satisfaction for what they have worked. May be their Bosses will also say “Well Done, Good Work“… But, each one will not be sure whether their success is on the right ladder or wrong ladder. At the same time, the individual has to create enthusiasms to learn & know as much as they could during the 2yr time frame. Because, the years of experience has to match according to the knowledge & skills one has to acquire.

-> Let me explain via drawing a diagram to understand the reality.

Try drawing many straight lines from the centre of meeting point of X-Axis & Y-Axis. These lines will be representing the learning & work-experience in years an individual has spent. An individual may know many skills on various technical areas, or may have personal learning on many fields or may even is excellent on some of the skills other than the current job or work.

BUT, one should keep a check on market value i.e. what one knows and what one works, so as to have a value in terms of which customer/manager who is accepting the ideas or product will rate a weightage or the value of the individual’s work. Knowing too much on something which has less value that the individual can sell makes less sense, because, he/she will be not recognized to the extent he/she should be.

So the Market value will not only refer to monetary terms but also a sense of satisfaction on self & also from Customers or peers. Example:- In the resume of Campus placement, students may mention that they know C, C++, JAVA, ORACLE,, etc. but, in future course of career, no company will recognize these knowledge unless the person has worked on a company project in his/her overall experience; and even if the person have worked on company projects, the future companies will look to the latest experience only; because, companies want only the best people for the particular task they are in need. So, one has to be specialist on some which has high returns – Remember… Most will find this term many a times – ROI [Return on Investment].

3) Either one has to be technically very strong n go on the way to create new ideas to make new product so as to sustain own company in the future; or, one can the technical skills and move on finding other similar careers to excel and show own strengths. Engineers are in-fact just workers and they are the work-force of a company.

And, what we need to realize is that – when the Company management or share-holders say that – they are closing the company or they are changing their business from Java-Oriented company to C++ oriented company or from one technical field to another, or may be even dumping the full business domain & move to others; then, the engineers will loose jobs.

In fact, the knowledge/skills learnt by the engineers will find difficulties to showcase themselves on other domains of new jobs. Moreover, to become Technical Architects or Topmost Experts on any technical domain, an engineer not only requires 15-20 years of experience on the product/job, but also, the engineers should have been provided the chance to grow with positions n responsibilities by the employing company. But, Remember, The Employer/Company may have already changed the business by then, or may be the technology is no more valid. So, the risk factor & luck factor matters a lot in pure technical domain career.

-> So, the best way of gaining technical knowledge n utilizing the success of the knowledge is – learn the process & business models too along with having couple of years of experience on technical domain and utilize the ideas on other Business Domains. Again, how many years one has to spend on technical terms is not what is to be really considered as experience, if someone is indeed going ahead with new business ideas.

What responsibilities one has done, what role one has played, how far one has co-coordinated with team-members & clients, many more are required. But, as the competition among peers is also there… one may not get the chance just like that, and he/she may not even be given the chance.. So, a lot of thinking & planning has to be done both technically & behaviorally in advance for career growth & peace of mind.

4) Instead of working as employees under the banner of some company, it’s better to have own business & run as employers. It will not only enable to face the challenges of work, but also the efforts will be recognized by everyone. Here, the word is about entrepreneurships in the domain we are good; or even if our knowledge is not that sufficient for that kind of big ambitions, we can at least be top Bosses on some big companies.

-> To become project leader, then project manager, then Technical manager, then higher up positions are all not just about time-bound or experience bound concepts. There also involves a lot of politics & inter-personal relations, because everyone will like to be BOSS. With the passage of years while working, everyone will slowly realize all; but, why not learn today, so that one can use the knowledge for the better of tomorrow. Thinking Hi-Fi is good, but realizing by simulations at present is better option. First of all, one’s behavior & attitude have to be molded w.r.t. the practical personal inter-relations, i.e. what is there in book & what is there in mind are not applicable directly in reality, because this is not an IDEAL WORLD.

5) Anyone can work anywhere for any customers or organizations and live comfortably as every other does. But, Question self – why not try to create own opportunities via which one can work similarly in Manipur or for Manipur or something related or near to our family in Manipur or at least a sense of Manipuriness. One can earn & learn technically more n more. But, just with an engineer’s earning alone can’t help one’s own family or many families of our relatives in Manipur.

It’s not about finding what problem Manipur or people or our relatives have; but, it’s about how to solve issues using our ideas & our skills. The main concept is – Share the smile & learning with fellow friends & relatives in Manipur; because, there is no limit to career growth & none can take anything when the last day comes in our lives. One may have tried building a big empire of own, but once he/she is out of picture, it may not take even a year to vanish the whole empire into history.

-> One should try to use one’s strength to the full extent. So, preparation & planning has to be done from Day-1 of professional career. I am not saying that we should jump directly into Manipur and start working immediately. One has to use the intellectual & scientific reasoning to find the answer to issues and give solutions. If one wishes to do something big, one needs knowledge & Money. Well, remember the saying – CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND… It’s worthless to run after chances, but, it’s reasonable to get prepared and, if chance comes, we strike it and win it. Being a Manipuri, I feel that we ought to do give back something we can. Creating Ideas & working jobs for people in other countries or states or firms are more or less same as if working for people in Manipur; but, its just a choice one has to make. Because, unless we try to do something for ourselves, none will come forward with personal interest.

6) During the early phase of professional career, it’s good to come out of India and work abroad so that one could not only save huge money, but also realize the life-style & thinking people have there. With traveling & getting in-touch with various people, one will get the chance to realize the technical dreams & also big ambitions (if by chance). One will learn to make friendship with big buddies too (if by chance). Working aboard for 1 year is indeed similar to working in India for 3 years in terms of Salary & money that one can save due to variation in currency values. Secondly, Companies will respect & reward for the international experiences, when he/she comes back to India & try to become Team-Leads technically. Thirdly, one will have better idea how to interact with clients in future via teleconferences & mails, etc.

So, 2 yrs in India and then 3 yrs outside India; and then, Planning for higher studies in a good Business School, or even continuing on technical fields is the better option in software profession.. But, we ought to keep the trust that we will surely think about ideas to make new changes in Manipur, both technologically & socially. Because, that is what I expect as return from others for sharing my ideas (it’s not a must, but it’s understood internally by default).

Its is the right time to look beyond what one can see as software engineer, because, by 2010-1015; economic Boom in India, China & South-East Asia is for sure under the current Trent.. and at that time, why we should work as mere engineer or technical manager… why not we choose to work as General Manager of a huge software firm or CEO of our own firm. FIRST BELIEF SELF THAT WE CAN DO IT… BIG DREAMS… yes… So…INDEED BIG INVESTMENT & PLANNING REQUIRED… But we also need to have SOME SECURITIES.. FOR SELF TO FALL BACK if our plans don’t work out…We do need motivation & care at every step.

Engineering or Medical or General Studies Course after 12th Standard

Most Students who recently passed 12th Standard will be interested to know what to do if unable to go for Engineering or Medical course as their future course of study. They would also wish to get an effective & detail career plan from someone, like the help that is given by astrologers for one’s life. Let’s try to be more practical and enthusiastic in approaching this concern. This article will not be giving in-detail explanations about a particular career stream after 12th Standard, but some idea to decide further studies.

We study 10th standard, then, 12th standard, then, in college, and then in university in certain fields of academic education. At last, we started feeling why do one needs to study all such courses and prepare for exams every time with much pressures. And after all such hardships, one just becomes a white elephant at the end of our academic education. If money is what we all need for living, then, we should have quit long back while undergoing education in schools or colleges and should have started a business right away. To be frank, what is required out of education, is to infuse this real fact that one should create an idea to find/create a job that will feed one’s livelihood in the long run.

When the stomach is not complaining about hungry; or when there is money enough to take care of health-care, home, or, basic needs of living; an individual starts thinking about other creative ideas or concerns. We can still say that we study Physics to know how does gravitational force of Earth is keeping all the living beings to feel as if we are on a flat surface, or we study chemistry to know what chemicals & elements exactly are comprised of in the things around us, or we study biology to know how the various internal organs of an organism function, or we study history to know how does the current human civilization has come about, and so on.

Thus, though we can justify why we study certain courses, the reality is that we just need a job at last, to help us to compete in the struggle of survival in the society. So, let’s not study some subjects or some courses just like that though they are indeed interesting or wonderful. Let’s understand from the very early stage that what we learn today should be what is going to create job for us to survive in future, or satisfaction for choosing that particular career in one’s lifetime.

To pass the entrance exams for professional courses like Engineering, Medical or others, are indeed easy though they demand one’s excellence in major subjects of 11th & 12th standard subjects. Students should know that the skills on such subjects are more important & critical to those who are going to study General studies (like B.Sc, B.Com, B.A, etc.).

The reason is – the study will go on broader scope which will in fact lead to understanding of the subject to create new ideas across a vast horizon. For developing such creativity on one’s mind, a student needs more effort & knowledge than those who are going ahead in the professional courses.

After completion of General Studies’ courses, one has to find a job by them alone or create the job by them alone. So, every student who is passing out 12th Standard should not take General Studies (like B.Sc, B.Com, B.A, etc.), as the last option if one can’t get through other professional courses like BE, MBBS, LLB, B.Pharm, etc. We do know that a student who passed out as B.E graduate will earn huge income if he/she starts career in Software industries. We do know that the profession of a Doctor is respectable everywhere, though after passing out MBBS the student has to still undergo a lot of hardship & study again for longer years (10-15 yrs) to develop excellence to treat patients.

Thus, every professional course after 12th Standard has its own course of way with regards to earning capacity, image of the job, work-culture, life-style, satisfaction, etc. Students should be aware of all such concerns attached to the choice of career. After the choice of a particular career, one has to do the job one supposed to do either this way or that way or any other way.

So, there is no point in discussing this profession is good or that profession is good. As par the current familiarity with regards to possible careers in one’s life, 12th passed out students aim in more number for Engineering, Medical, and Arm Forces (NDA) courses, etc. One point worth reminding is that – there are a number of jobs that we don’t really think about while we study 10th or 12th Standard or college classes like -

1) People who are working as clerk in most offices
2) People who are working as Directors in many offices like (post office, tourism dept, military, etc).

So, the idea to convey is that even though we have studied physics or chemistry or zoology or botany or English or physiology or history or geography in colleges or universities; an individual has to work as something else at last when the study in universities or colleges are completed.

The work of a police officer is something different from what one has learnt in schools or college or universities in various subjects. Thus, every student passing out 12th Standard & even rest of the students in various standards in schools or colleges or universities should be aware of the fact that we need to think of the need to develop one’s skill for the requirements of various jobs available along with academic career.

It’s time to stop thinking of the jobs provided by the Govt of India as the only option. There are both plus & minus points to think of private jobs or of govt jobs. Things & Time have changed many concepts. There are many industries & institutions coming up creating various challenging jobs for almost all the courses of academic education.

Today’s private industries do give same privilege like that of govt jobs, like pension, medical benefits, etc. Even all those who study Engineering or Medical or Legal or Architecture, and many others can’t be given job by the government of India. We have courses like M.C.A, B.Sc (Computer), and M.B.A, etc whose professionals have no direct suitable jobs and simply, no place in govt ministries. So, students should not look in the course one is studying from the perspective of government jobs. Lifestyle, self-satisfaction, financial growth, security, and many others are far better in private jobs other than that of government jobs. Government jobs will kill one’s patience and self-dignity, as Govt jobs are full of corruptions & malpractices. Government jobs will lower one’s skills & eagerness to enhance one’s knowledge.

A few of government jobs will be interesting, but the works are not free from interruption from third parties. Instead private jobs or jobs newly created by self will be full of passion and adventurous. In short, most of the academic courses will just not help someone to get a govt job; rather it is better to study courses that will allow us to earn for living.

Well, there is a personal suggestion for those who are unable to clear entrance exams for Engineering or Medical courses (i.e. professional courses which are high in demand after 12th standard). As industries of all spectrums are growing up, there is a huge requirement of managers capable of taking tough decisions that are critical for the successful working of the companies.

So, Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a good option to study, and also to make fast & hefty earning after study. We will discuss much on what and how about MBA in other articles. But, the point to make here is that one should study General Courses like B.Sc or B.A or B.Com with the clear perspective of what one is supposed to do after completion; since such courses find nearly impossible to get a decent job for living.

We have seen Engineers, doctors and even IAS/IPS officers going ahead for MBA after working for a long time or after completion of studies. As the basic criteria for studying MBA is just a graduate, one can still think of completing B.Sc or B.A. or B.Com or any comfortable degree course which will be also helpful in carrying on MBA studies in latter course.

Just spending 3 years for general studies like B.Sc, B.Com, etc and doing MBA is still worth, than doing MBA after Engineering (4 years) or Medical (5 & ½ years), etc. There is always plus & minus for choosing MBA course from various undergraduate courses. And there are also reasons for taking up MBA courses after working for long years in various fields or after studying specific specialised professional courses.

But, the idea wished to be conveyed here is that – there are still many courses far better than just BE or MBBS. So, 12th passed out students needn’t worry if they are not able to go for such professional courses. The ultimate requirement in one’s career is nothing but, ability to earn enough money and status to control the rest. For this simple concept, one needs not to be a doctor or an engineer.

If one has missed the admission to colleges of such professional courses, it is not suggested to waste valuable years just to wait for the next year’s entrance examinations. Instead of bringing goodness to one’s high expectations after trying & trying to clear such professional entrance exams, such behaviour will make an individual to start loosing one’s enthusiasm to carry on living, or to go to college to study.

At last, situations may arise in such a way that one starts to feel sensing inferiority to old fellow classmates, or one starts to indulge in drugs addictions & bad habits, or anything not expected in life.

So, dear students including those who have passed out 12th standard, it is intelligent to think about other career options rather than blaming self or hurting self physically or mentally – just because someone has been unable to clear the entrance exams for Engineering or Medical course.

In fact, if one has to do so, one should have thought from the very first day of 11th standard.

It’s too late to think about Engineering or Medical entrances after clearing 12th exam and it is better to think of other options like MBA, IAS, etc (which is in fact to be done after a graduate course, and hence choose a simple & easy to learn graduate course with the plan of future professional academic study).