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Entrepreneurial Dilemmas and their answers
Spirit ‘In every one of us there are two ruling and directing principles, whose guidance we follow, wherever they may lead; the one being an innate desire of pleasure; the other, an acquired judgment which aspires after excellence.’ ~ Socrates, in Plato’s Phaedrus First question of course is to ask if I am qualified to…
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Appreciation of return is directly proportional to investment
In my life every developmental activity that I invested in was done at a personal cost. In one case, I sold my car and borrowed money (which I repaid over three years) to pay the fee to go to the IIMA for my MBA. In another case I spent every cent of my holiday allowance…
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The One who controls the language controls the debate
May Allahﷻ help this Ummah but we are living in very difficult times. The biggest challenge seems to be to maintain emotional and psychological equilibrium in the midst of the battering as if in a storm. While we are battered by storms, some of our own making, we still have to keep walking on the…
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How to Win
How to Win – Enjoyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_HtSvcc2pk
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When the journey is the destination
When social change is protracted and long it produces a situation that has no closure. There is apparently no end to it. No classic ‘arrived state’. No final shining land of perpetual sunshine, timely rain, green fields or whatever our imagination tells us is waiting for us. In such a situation, the journey itself acquires…
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Freedom of Expression or Freedom to Blaspheme?
Freedom of expression must not be confused with freedom from the consequences of expression. Exercising freedom and abusing it are not the same. The latter forfeits the former. Just because we are free to express ourselves, it doesn’t free us from the responsibility for what we express. We are responsible for what we say and…
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Tyranny of the Few
Headlines scream out at you: ’80 killed in terrorist attack on two Pakistani mosques.’ ‘Lal Masjid threatens to give the call for jihad.’ ‘Clash with security forces leaves 16 students dead.’ And all this accompanied by pictures of women in burqas wielding lathis longer than themselves. Talk of women power!! Another one: ‘Flaming jeep drives…
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Independence must be earned
Happy Independence Day to you. Independence doesn’t just happen. It must be earned. Let us reflect that real bondage is of the mind and spirit. Nelson Mandela for 27 years in the South African apartheid prison was actually free. But today in India we have accepted the slavery of discrimination against each other, of corruption…
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Exit: Terminating Family Members
This is a big one. Some people are of the opinion that family members can’t be terminated under any but the most extreme circumstances like theft or doing something detrimental to the family. My view is that like performance bonuses, termination must also be linked to productivity. To allow the business to suffer losses because…
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Career progress for family members
What must they do to progress in their careers? Is anything in this different from what professional managers must do? Short answer: Yes. It must be more difficult, the standards higher, the challenges more exacting because your child is an owner and so must be an example-setter. Also that is how he will gain respect…