organizations: What, how and why?

kids development in India.

2006-12-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

hi there,

I have started a new blog on the role of preschools and play schools on a child's development. This is a part of the initiative that I have started.

Thanks,
Tarun

PS - You can check out the details at http://kidsdevelopment.blogspot.com

Starting a company -- my framework

2005-11-19T23:42:00.000-08:00

Finally nailed on the framework for deciding on the area that the KGI would work in. The framework is as:

Financial:
1. Not very capital intensive <>
2. Positive Cash Flows in six months
3. Breakeven in 18 months
4. Lower accounts Receivable
5. Ideally minimal or negative working capital
6. Efficient maintenance of accounts payable

Marketing:
1. Addressing a genuine 'need' in the market
2. In sync with changing fundamentals of Indian Economy
3. Value Adders (not creators)
4. No dealing in obsolete products

Personal:
1. Minimal Govt. and no unethical dealing
2. Can be operated with base in Delhi
3. Some contacts in the industry

These are by no means the final list of the framework -- will be visiting these frameworks time and again.

~tArUn

2005-11-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

Namaste,

So another day of blogging after a long time. Have been kept relatively busy with marathon effort -- it's been all fun though. Running a marathon is like life: it has all the experiences of life -- joy, happiness, sorrow, heart breaks, humility and what not. Anyways, like any other experience in life this has been another incredible one.

Alright coming back to the ideas: So, Yogita and I spent a good chunk of time on weekend discussing about the possible business plans.. and we have now finally decided on four different industries.

Even before that we tried to brainstorm what are the founding philosophies of the organization that we are planning to work on. We laid down the ideas in the following format:

1). Satisfaction of creating something, which is built to last.
2). Profitable (can sustain and scale itself).
3). Creating value in the society
-- Providing employment
-- Nurturing Entrepreneurs (or broadly developing Human Resources)
-- Socially Responsible Organization

These ideas are extremely important when we are in the phase of organic growth. These founding philosophies would enable us to decide upon the core values of our organization.

Unfortunately, for the sake of first movers advantage, I would hardly be talking about the exact ideas/industres/strategies/tactics that we are planning to work upon. However, for my own reference, I would time and again visit this blog to journalize the management learnings that I am learning over a period of time.

Thanks!
-tArUn

After a long time!

2005-08-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

Namaste,

I got chance to get active on this blog again after a long time. After long time, I have this chance to think about the business plan and other random business related ideas. So, would start writing about them soon.

Good thing! started the framework document! would be writing soon about the business Ideas here too.

thanks!
~tArUn

Long time & no see..

2005-06-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

yeah that has been the story mostly.. however, it seems that will be the story for sometime to come.. with parents coming in town and prep for marathon begining.. i am pressed for time.. however the cool thing is that I am planning to start a new blog for the marathon training and organization.. hopefully that shall also up the recruitment effort.

In btw, I need to complete seeing many things today like:
- Museum of Flight
- Pacific Science Center
- Looking out for Y's apartment.

Read a great article on how to do business in emerging markets from HBR (may be posting a link to that article). However, its under HBR's spotlight, seemed really interesting.

Anyways.. gotta go!

cheers
~tArUn

Humanity & busy day!

2005-05-20T01:18:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

Today was an extremely busy day after such a long time. I was able to cover so many things, it was just amazing. I am just amazed how efficient I become at times and other times I totally slack off (remember first quarter at school).

Anyhow, my performance reminds on the Indian cricket team so many times. They would do all the initial hardwork and then suddenly slack off or become complacent in the end, resulting in substandard performances. I guess it takes me some time to settle in a rhythm and once that happens I get better at things.

Anyways, today i was able to complete so many things like making sure the financials of the Developing New Business Model are completed, Entrepreneurial Finance homework is also done in addition to cracking the code on the database problem.

Fortunately, I was able to ensure that everything is covered. Though, need to work on the MSN expedia powerpoint tomorrow for sure. Expedia has great set of people, especially my meeting with Ted Wham. He is a very inspiring fellow and the way that he taught me to be an evangelist of one's vision has been amazing. I think his way of working as a silent hero and most importantly making sure that everything is completed is amazing. All the folks that i really respect and have enjoyed working with have exhibited this quality in some form or the other (Brian Carver, Ted Wham, Gavin Shearer) have this uncanny habbit of getting things done right and then not making any noises about it. Since, this is by no chance any coincident, I know there is so much to learn from these folks.

Further, I was so tired today, so went out with Mr. Carver to see a movie. And, God he asked to get Hotel Rwanda, the movie talks about this ordinary man in Rwanda and the extraordinary things that he did. This further strengthens my belief that i have an obligation to become aware first, then spread awareness and finally to always work towards constructive change.

Finally, called up mom & dad to ask if they got VISA and the greatest news is that they did :). I am so happy. And, as usual the mother of all entrepreneurs my MoM did the unthinkable knight the clance. She went ahead and spoke in english with the Visa councellor when my dad kind of got nervous. Man you have to salute to my mom she is just awesome, and so you thought leaders are not born :).

I guess i am too tired, so i need to go back to sleep.

cheers
~tArUn

Inspiration & financials

2005-05-19T03:56:00.000-07:00

namaste!

today as expected turned out to be a very busy day.. with three big roadblocks in front of me:
1). eviews software practice
2). Entre finance case to be done
3). dev business models financials to be taken care of..

i tried my hands at all the things.. am covered some good chunk of grnd in every case.. infact most in the financials aspect.. however, unfortunately could'nt close account at anyone of these.. which is sort of the weakness of all the indians.. however, i have some time with me tomorrow.. and with a good dosage of caffeine and some internal motivation.. i am hoping everything shall fall in place..

had a great discussion with kim and doug abt eviews, with a show-off session of wht i did in terms of excel programming.. they were impressed.. and i was too with their impressive understanding of the forecasting class.. i don't know but i just don't get it.. i m trying. So, they were both my inspirations for today.. in terms of how much ahead of the game they always are.. in fact that's one thing common with all the americans of my class. they are always ahead of the game.. and probably one damn reason that they are in the forefront of world domination.. i have tried to inculcate that quality in me.. we will see if the classical conditioning done to an indian can be changed or not.. However, i guess my mom (an entrepreneur at heart was always like that) . And, may be i got few qualities from her.

in btw, gavin is another great inspiration to me.. this guy is a dynamite.. he was talking abt stuff like marketing when he was 5 years old.. and wht i did at that time.. was my ride my bike in the rented house.. and making sure that others do not tease.. but then as a consolation (i hv to give to myself all the time) i was determined at whatever i did.. but all in all he is a great inspiration.. i guess reading his blog is always inspirational and i m always awestruck.. www.gavinshearer.com is his site i shud check it everyday..

finally, i am following my promise so far.. will be done with one class next week and other classes would follow i guess..

finally, time to sleep has come.. did talk with parents.. am keeping my fingers crossed.. my entrepreneurial is all too excited now.

cheers
~tArUn

runners & busy life..

2005-05-18T16:16:00.000-07:00

namaste!

yet another busy day in my life.. when i had so much to do.. so much little time to get things done.. however my efficiency has definitely gone up.. and the awareness about oneself has definitely helped. Stuff like what i want to do and why i want to do.. gives u tremendous energy to go out and make things happen.. u are more efficient and effective in whatever u do.

Further, I think this concept has a lot of applicability in organizations too. For instance, if the organization knows where it wants to go, how it wants to go (in other terms if an organization is cognizant of its strategy) then it becomes easier and swiftier for the organization to move forward. The key is to communicate and enforce this within the organization.

I had a chat with mumm/papa today, they are also excited to come to States. So, am I.. i really want to bring a lot of happiness to them.. i have said this before, however, would repeat.. my parents have worked so hard for my education.. they have ensured that i get all the facilities in life. I am and would always remain indebted to them.

This brings to an interesting topic of discussion, I always used to think of couple of love/affinities in my life. My parents, my love (yeshu), my very close friends (manu etc). However, after coming to states.. i have been realized of another affinity that is strongest of all.. ur identity of ur nationality. I do not know if that is good or bad, but of all things i am most reminded of my nationality as an Indian.

Further, had a great kick start meeting for the marathon organization. A sort of project plan is ready; discussion group created: ashaSeattleRunners05@yahoogroups.com. The other organizer Ashita seems to be a very seasoned manager, i am confident we will have a good event on hand.

Further, yeshu may be upset with me because of the funny jokes that i had for her today.

In between, time to sleep.. the first class in the morning is the torcherous forecasting session.. am in 2 minds to attend or not to attend.

We will see what i will decide..

cheers
~tArUn

one Idea & a promise

2005-05-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

namaste!

Today was a decent day in terms of finishing off the stuff that need to be taken care of. However, these days i am suffering from a problem of complacency. I think that has been my problem in the past too leading me to suffer a lot.

I think this has been a fundamental problems with so many Indian corporates, our DNA has been sort of conditioned to give up in the last mile. Some of the folks that i respect do not suffer from this weakness.

I have made this mistake for a good part of my life, but no more. Our most deserved place in the history of world dominance has been taken. And a big chunk of that reason has been because of our inefficacy to run the last mile.

Furthermore, this may be a very external reason for me to get motivated. However, when i look at folks that i really respect or i have high regards for.. all of them exhibit similar qualities of running the last mile.

So, essentially i have a great challenge in front of me to essentially verify if i can deliver or not. The action plan for me will be to ensure that i have a highly controlled plan. Essentially, if i look closely i need to work for 3 weeks only.

So, have some good processes in place and see if I could achieve it. I think getting the day to day plans would be important.

Further, everyday coming up with an idea is another thing that i may want to think abt.

However, till than just go ahead and work hard in a controlled enviornment. It's all about discipline now.

cheers
~tArUn

PS. Today's idea was to come up with a performance scorecard for all the folks who are running for elections for different constituencies in India. This may have several possible business models associated. However, i would not do that today, but i think i am going to work on this definitely in the future.

2005-05-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

This is sort of a problem with me, i can never keep up with the journal writing, I don't know it seems that i do not have the ability. I get busy at times, and then i break so many rules that i have made up for myself. For instance, taking a mandatory off is the thing to do for ever and for sure. From now on, may what come one day off every week is imperative. Otherwise, my productivity/focus/control everything goes down the drain.

In between, I had an interesting class of Competing in Global Economies yesterday. We had a simulation, in which we had to testify in front of House of Congress. It was a really interesting time. I messed up with my technology solutions as usual. A LESSON FOR ME: make sure that you plan your technical presentations very timely.

anyways, a good lesson learnt from yesterday's class was to find out where in the VALUE CHAIN of any industry are you present. You need to make sure that you are at the most value adding branch. This would then help you to drive the whole industry.

Further, had a good discussion with skandy on Education sector in India. Josh also talked about me feeling very touchy on nation related issues. Am i really touchy, or am I insecure. I don't know may be a good thing to figure out.

till than have fun..

~tArUn

Business models & pseudo intellectuals!

2005-05-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

it's been sometime that i added something to my journal, a combination of lethargy, hiking, forecasting kept me away from doing that.

Anyways, not wasting any more time and getting to today's journal.

I was thinking about the business model for my business and wanted to add more information on my business:

First of all need to understand, what is the value proposition of my business? Following that we need to create the following things:

1. STRATEGY
2. ORGANISATION
3. OPERATIONS

The important thing is to have consistencies in all these three areas. For instance, think about the Walmart case their strategy, organization and operations were all in congruence pointing towards a 'High Volume Low Cost' model. So, essentially, first figure out the value proposition, than create congruent strategy, organization and operations to work towards the business model. Atleast, any business that you are thinking to get in, make sure you undertake this exercise some time ahead.

Another thing that Professor Dewenter taught me today was:
In order to compete in the global economy, we have to realize the following things:
1. Each country has specific strengths.
2. Each industry has specific strengths in the value chain
3. Each company has specific strengths or performances.

So, a combination of this should also be taken into account.

Further, the second topic: about the pseudo intellectuals; I am really not fond of them, many times they would come up with some highly creative intellectual ideas and not do anything with them. However, these guys would be good walls to bounce off my ideas or to use their intellectual capital for greater cause.

I also need to complete the Independent research study case tonite.

see you soon!
-tArUn

Another day in my life

2005-04-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

It was a decent day, with some a lot of work in the Entre Finance class. I did nail the case and it's amazing how i have started feeling about the financial calculations. I think i have really taken up this challenge head-on for the effort i have put in so many finance classes now.

The good thing is that the proof is in the pudding. I participate in the class and i have a point and I understand the vocabulary. Above all, i am totally confident that i would be able to use this knowledge for future purposes when i start my company.

Apart from this finance class, i saw this interesting website from google.com callled answers.google.com. Interesting stuff, i am amazed by how people devise business models to make money. Despite, the fact that i love my country so much, you have to give it to States. These guys have mastered almost all aspects of human life (socio-economic-political).

I also sent email to Indra Sharma (it's only after looking at his blog www.drishtikona.com that i got inspiration to write mine). I guess it's time to sleep. But, it was a very long day (filled up with Finance stuff).

take care
-tArUn

Our Company philosophy

2005-04-26T23:45:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

Writing this blog is almost writing a mail to my mom and dad everyday. I do not know but that thing is something that I have consistently done over the last 2 years (may what come), a mail from me to my folks and their reply to me has been a CONSTANT in my life for last two years.

Their email has always brought a smile on my face and has been almost like a GOOD MORNING to me. Anyways, I was writing a mail to my mom and talking to her how we would retain the name of our company (BEE KAY) and eliminate (AGENCIES) in order to ensure a broader perspective to our company.

Few helicopter views that I would remain for the company are:
1). To make a profit
2). To become a sustainable unit (over 100 years company).
3). To ensure that it creates opportunities for others (in/around) the company.
4). To assume the role of a model socially responsible firm.

Hopefully, the best wishes of my family, friends and relatives would work and I would become lucky. In between, i am currently reading this amazing blog www.drishtikona.com from Mr. Indra. He is an amazing dreamer just like me, i guess. Seeing that he has succeeded, i see hope for myself.

Anyways, need to get back to my entrepreneurial finance homework.

thanks!
~tArUn

starting a company - primer

2005-04-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

Monday was as usual busy, though with some of the good classes (Forecasting and Competing in Global Economies). I have really enjoyed the competing in Global economies class. It's really funny at times how we over simplify businesses in our class room, so that we can have some colorful discussions on these issues.

Anyways, i was wondering how the whole MBA program has equipped me with so many tool kits to look at the business. It has essentially provided me with the different lenses of Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Economics etc.

I would rank all the frameworks in the rank of their importance:
Economics - is there a need? Are we scalable?
Strategy - How are we going to win?
Marketing - Exactly figure out the nuts & bolts of the things that we are planning to do.
Finance - Very mechanical, are we financially equipped to do what we are planning to do? What are the levers of our business?

Essentially, the three most important things that I would look in order to make sure when i am planning to commit myself are:
1. Is there a need/pain?
2. The breakeven has to be less than a year, with revenue starting really early.
3. Is this business scalable?
4. Do we have a sustainable advantage over a longer period of time.

Further, these broader anchors would be translated into so many smaller or subset litmus tests:
1. Making sure the growth rate is not bigger thant the sustainable growth rate.
2. Clearly articulate the 5 Cs' and how you make all of them love you.
3. Do good cost budgeting/cash flow analysis.
4. Do a porter's five forces model

I am sure i will have to add many more litmus test to this list and it's gonna continue. However, one thing that i am confident to definitely start pursuing my business really soon in my career.

That's it for today, however, before i leave, i think i got a little bit of idea for my question from yesterday:
What is the importance of your nationality?
One of the terms that I was using was INSECURITY rather it is BELONGINGNESS. I would explain this in more detail soon.

Thanks!
-tArUn

Basics of starting your company

2005-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

Monday was as usual busy, though with some of the good classes (Forecasting and Competing in Global Economies). I have really enjoyed the competing in Global economies class. It's really funny at times how we over simplify businesses in our class room, so that we can have some colorful discussions on these issues.

Anyways, i was wondering how the whole MBA program has equipped me with so many tool kits to look at the business. It has essentially provided me with the different lenses of Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Economics etc.

I would rank all the frameworks in the rank of their importance:
Economics - is there a need? Are we scalable?
Strategy - How are we going to win?
Marketing - Exactly figure out the nuts & bolts of the things that we are planning to do.
Finance - Very mechanical, are we financially equipped to do what we are planning to do? What are the levers of our business?

Essentially, the three most important things that I would look in order to make sure when i am planning to commit myself are:
1. Is there a need/pain?
2. The breakeven has to be less than a year, with revenue starting really early.
3. Is this business scalable?
4. Do we have a sustainable advantage over a longer period of time.

Further, these broader anchors would be translated into so many smaller or subset litmus tests:
1. Making sure the growth rate is not bigger thant the sustainable growth rate.
2. Clearly articulate the 5 Cs' and how you make all of them love you.
3. Do good cost budgeting/cash flow analysis.
4. Do a porter's five forces model

I am sure i will have to add many more litmus test to this list and it's gonna continue. However, one thing that i am confident to definitely start pursuing my business really soon in my career.

That's it for today, however, before i leave, i think i got a little bit of idea for my question from yesterday:
What is the importance of your nationality?
One of the terms that I was using was INSECURITY rather it is BELONGINGNESS. I would explain this in more detail soon.

Thanks!
-tArUn

2005-04-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

Namaste!

I have been pretty consistent with journalizing my thoughts and learnings, however this is the first time that i am sharing with the others on a public forum. Couple of reasons have led me to do that: 1). Have more free time on hand 2). Am seeking external perspectives on my thoughts and opinions. In between, there is value in introducing myself to those who do not know me.

Name: Tarun Bhalla
Age: Soon to be 26
Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Currently 2nd year student @ U-dub, Seattle and soon to be a Marketing Manager at Real Networks.

One of the things that you would notice is the importance given by me to my nationality in the order. I am extremely possessive and proud of that.

Though, this pride and possessive is mostly inexplicable for me. Despite the fact that it seems, this association to being an Indian provides me a sense of security at times, confidence at other times, and motivation most of the times.

These are all fuzzy terms and am still to find out the exact answer for that. I would love to hear other's views on why do people believe in nationality (apart from the economic benefit out of that). The most common term used in the MBA class was VISION. So, in order to do justice to the thousands of dollars that I spent on my education, it is paramount to define my Blog's VISION:

VISION: To enhance my and other reader's learning on various socio-cultural-economic-political-philosophical issues of the past and contemporary times.

So, the first topic i would initiate a possible discussion on would be blende of the above mentioned issues:

What is the importance of NATIONALITY?

bye for now!
-tArUn

Testing 123

2005-04-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

yes this thing works more than one time