Tationem: A New Beginning

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. 

- Henry Ford

Last month, my friends and I launched our very own company, Tationem. This post is not just to promote our business but to write about those points which often go untouched in business meetings. So, I breakdown this post into three parts, a) Coming together and starting b) Keeping it together and running c) Working together and the road ahead.

Coming together and starting:

It is very critical for anyone planning to start a business to work with like-minded people. I have been best friends with my partners for over a decade now and trust them more than myself on occasions. I did contact more such people, but it worked out well, only among us three. The first rule that we established for ourselves was, not to doubt each other’s decision making. We may goof up sometimes, but we will back each other all the time. And once the basis was established, we needed to name our baby. This is a bigger challenge than you may perceive it to be. You come out with the most creative name and that URL would already have been taken. We decided to do this in a very different way and left for Bangalore International Airport, at midnight, with a self made promise, not to return till we find a mutually agreeable name, with corresponding URL available. After having spent over four hours and emptied more than six coffee cups, we all agreed on the name “Tationem” which is a Latin word, meaning “New Direction”.

Keeping it together and running:

The beginning was challenging, but not as much as running this newly formed entity, which started to grow at a pace, which beat our anticipation. As per our original decision, we have been discussing the best strategy for the times that we encounter and our needs, we have been forming ad hoc policies. Over a period of six months we will be studying which policies yielded the best results and formulate more concrete policies. Though each one of us has some experience to brag about, this has been new to us and every day has been a learning experience. We have now hired quite a few technical and management interns, along with some full time employees. Trust me, even hiring and retaining people is much harder than you think it is.

Working together and the road ahead:

Working together with best friends has been a pleasurable experience for me and I would claim that my partners too opine the same. As we have invested our time, money and emotions into this venture, the message should be clear, ‘we are here to stay’. We clearly see us growing into a bigger entity, owning to our expertise and effective policies that we have been adopting. The only downside has been that each one of us has already started to suffer from the “no-time-syndrome”. Perhaps several years from now, one day when all of us would be sitting together, at some exotic beach resort, sipping tropical drinks, we would say, “Looking back, it was all worth it”.

Think before your save

The miser acquires, yet fears to use his gains

- Horace

Some days ago, I was talking to a friend on the topics of savings. The most important question here was, ‘how much is right amount to save?’ My honest opinion is an amount, after saving which you don’t need to make big compromises. However the general consensus on this topic was, it is essential to make sacrifices to boost the savings. I begged to differ and my reason is illustrated by the below story.

In a small Indian village, the months of April, May and June were big boon to the mango traders. All the mangoes that they procured had good demand and they made good money in this trade. However, it was July when the demand was high and supply was low, fetched maximum profit. Owing to climate and lack of cold storage facilities, selling mangoes in July was more a matter of luck than anything else. However one trader decided he will let go all the sales of earlier three months and make a merry by saving this huge pile of stock in July itself. So, he came up with the idea of burying all the plucked mangos in huge pit and covering it with grass. When his peers were making the market price and enquiring about his complete lack of business, he dodged the issue, thinking about how his present sacrifice will help him make big bucks in future. The mango season was almost over when he geared up to sell his stock. The day he uncovered the grass, he realized that all the mangoes were rotten and he could not sell any. His mindless saving had proved to be a terrible idea. In the hope of making more, he lost all his investment.

This is what few people do to themselves. They save, make sacrifices, and give up on the present, with a dream of seeing themselves comfortable in the future. This approach may not be the smartest one. If you want to win a race, you should be well aware as to where the finish line. A blindfolded run has helped no one win races. Give up on something, only if you have to. If you make sacrifices with a hope that it will one day pay rich dividends, you may be headed for bitter disappointments. Happiness is not a big chunk of cakes which one saves and eats a later point. Even if it is one, keeping it for a long time might make it stale.

Seven Blind Men and the Elephant, and the USA

"The traveler sees what he sees.  The tourist sees what he has come to see." 

 - G.K. Chesterton

Last month, I returned from the US, after having lived there for few years. Naturally, many people are tempted to inquire me about difference between the two countries. Though not always keen to talk on this subject, I have been honest about what differences I have been able to observe and experience. A couple of days ago, sitting at a café, I mulled over the conversations about the US, post my return. I was familiar with the pattern, but was not able express my experience. Suddenly, I remembered this ancient story, which I had read as a kid and I was able to exactly relate to the ideas and opinions which I had encountered. The story of seven blind men and the elephant. In case if you are not familiar, read the below rewritten version of the same. 

A sage while passing through a village, asks the bystanders, seven blind men, to go to the elephant and explain how they thought the elephant looked like. The first blind man goes, touches the tusks and reports, “this creature is like a plowshare.” The next one goes, touches the ear, and upon returning says, “this creature is like a winnowing basket.” Then the third one goes, touches the body and exclaims, “this creature is like a granary.” The fourth one touches the foot and says, “this creature is like a pillar.” The next one goes, touches the back and says, “this creature is like a mortar.” The sixth man goes, touches the tail and says, “this creature is like a pestle.” Then the last man goes, touches the trunk and says, “this creature is like a plow.” 

In reality, they were all correct, but they were all wrong too. For each of them touched only one part of the animal. Similarly, the US, like the elephant, is enormous, with unparalleled diversity. So, it is very likely that all the descriptions of the US, both geographically and in terms of culture, you have heard so far is through men, who didn't realize they were blind in reality. Relying on others’ version of the US would make you draw misleading conclusions. My recommendation is, go there and experience it personally. 

So, what is the US like, in reality? Like many claim, “is it a desert”, “is it a mountain”, “is it corn-field”, “is it surrounded by ocean”, “is it very cold”, “is it very hot” etc. Each description is only partially true. To get the correct picture, one has to travel a lot in the US. And what are the people of the US like? Having lived there, I was lucky enough to build relations with some of them, just like a family. My honest answer is there is not much of difference between aspirations of people, be it America or India or any other part of the world. In my experience, Americans are among the warmest of people you can meet in life. However if you expect an American to interact with you in the same manner, as someone from your own country would do, there cannot be a bigger wrong expectation. So, how Americans are, would essentially depend on who you are, how you interact with them and above all what you expect out of them? This probably works, not just in case of the Americans, but for anyone in general.

Two Assassinations

"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country"

- John F. Kennedy

I was recently on a road trip in which among several popular locations, I covered two assassination locations which perhaps, not only changed the face of US, but also the entire world. Though I had read a lot of material regarding both, Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) and John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) assassinations, visit to the locations did highlight an extra point or two which I previously missed out.

While visiting Dealey Plaza, in Dallas, Texas, I decided to let go all the conspiracy theories (read this article for conspiracy theories on JFK assassination) and focused on the official version. On the fatal day of November 22^nd, 1963, JFK was shot dead by Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone. The official version suggests that this act was done to express displeasure over JFK’s favoring the civil rights movement. Soon after his death, rioting began in most parts of the country. At this time, MLK was instrumental in bringing calm by asking people to focus on, “what killed the president?” rather than “who killed the president?” This approach not only restored peace, but also gave a clear vision in the days to come, as to what the civil rights movement really meant.

Just as the nation had coped up with JFK’s assassination, barely within 5 years, on April 4^th, 1968, MLK was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel, in Memphis, TN. And here too I focused only on the official version of the turnout of the event. It was concluded that James Earl Ray, a white-supremacist, killed MLK with intent to put an end to the civil rights movement. Now, more than 40 years into this event, we all know how people with ideas of James Earl Ray are perceived in the society.

History has taught us and provided clear evidence that no one has ever been successful or championed a cause, just by killing a person with right intentions. However people of conviction and good intentions have changed the history of mankind, forever. It is said that MLK once quoted, “Christ gave me the message and Gandhi gave me the method.” Going by the current outpour of reactions, I seriously doubt whether people still fervently believe in the path, shown by Christ and Gandhi or not? Though I hope people will remain committed to both, the message and the method. 

A Tale of Two Farmers

Long years ago, there lived two farmers. The almost owned identical sizes of land, before the first one, Dave, managed to use some muscle power to acquire some extra land. The other farmer, Deepak, was contented with what he had. Dave, the sharper among the two, always worked on ways to increase the productivity of his land and multiply his belongings. Deepak cared least to increase productivity of his farm, but instead emphasized on the fact that he was being more ethical than Dave. 

As they grew older, Dave started hiring laborers from same village to work on his farm. But Deepak opted to have many kids of his own, to work on farm, as he felt making others work on his farm might impact the sanctity of his farm. Some even say, he had sixteen children, while Dave had just two. Life went on these lines and it was the time for next generation to take over.

Dave’s next generation had it easy. Following their father’s footsteps, the two divided the original piece as well the added land in equal proportion, and continued their trade of farming. The situation was slightly different in Deepak’s case. Dividing the land in sixteen parts was not a wise option, so some of the smarter children took up managing others, while the less privileged ones had no choice but to sweat it out.

In generations to come, the problems got more and more complicated in Deepak’s lineage. More people were competing for decreasing amount of resources. There was chaos, and unfairness in abundance. While for Dave’s lineage, resources were in plenty and the people entitled to that were very few. Naturally each one had easy access to resources.

This is exactly what separates a developed country and a developing country. Less people competing for more resources in one, while ironically, more people competing for less resources. Addressing the problem of population explosion, along with modern approach to the society, would add certainty for better life. Did you too draw the same conclusion?

Importance of Religion and other effects

“The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world.”

- Anonymous

I begen to write this article with an assumption that religion is still an overwhelmingly accepted practice across the world. So, I decided to analyze some of the indirect effects religion has had on some countries.

Below is the list of countries twenty countries, sorted in increasing order of importance of religion. I created this list by using the entire list from here. I selected the top 10 and bottom 10 which from this list. Then, I added other parameters such as ‘per capita income’, and ‘literacy rate’ of these corresponding countries.

Country	% Population Religion NOT important	Literacy rate	Per Capita income (USD)
Estonia	78%	99.8%	$21,942
Sweden	83%	99.5%	$41,300
Denmark	80.5%	99.5%	$40,990
Czech Republic	74.5%	99%	$ 26,046
Norway	78%	100%	$61,882
Hong Kong	75.5%	93.5%	$49,990
Japan	75%	99%	$34,295
United Kingdom	73%	99%	$34,495
Finland	70%	100%	$38,094
France	69.5%	99%	$34,933
Tanzania	3.5%	69.4%	$1521
UAE	8.5%	77.9%	$48,222
Qatar	4.5%	96.3%	$88,919
Bahrain	3.5%	94.6%	$23,691
Bangladesh	0%	56.8%	$1788
Indonesia	0%	90.3%	$4668
Sri Lanka	1%	61.1%	$5620
Egypt	2%	72%	$6324
Congo	5.5%	66.8%	$375
Somalia	1.5%	37.8%	$547

There are several conclusions one can draw based on the above data. However, to avoid inviting arguments or clarifications, I will withhold my conclusions. So, I will leave it to the reader’s wisdom to draw the suitable conclusion.

Exaggerated Numbers

"Exaggeration is truth that has lost its temper"

 - Khalil Gibran

The first part of this article is mostly based on a TED talk (this) and second part is based on application of the concept this talk introduces (Yeah, I do some homework before writing).

Most people tend to perceive that the current world is truly global and boundaries are fast shrinking. Well, let’s try our belief with some statistics. And here are some of the numbers based on the following components that would normally represent a global world. a) Phone Calls b) Immigrants c) Export GDP

Take a guess at the percentage of all call-minutes made in the world, of which would be international calls. Like you, most people guessed it as: 28%. And now take a guess at the percentage of first generation immigrants to the US. A guess, which sounds reasonable, is 8%. And now, finally take a guess at the percentage of Export GDP of all countries put together, for last year. Most people guessed it as: 30%. Now let’s do some fact checking. The total percentage of voice call-minutes made last year, summing up all the international call minutes is: 2% (YES). The total percentage of first generation immigrants to the US is about: 0.33% (Oh, YES). Finally, the global export GDP of the world last year was at 19% (somewhat near to the guessed number).

I further applied this fact checking method on two scenarios, which people have confidently spoken about with me. Let me rephrase the below two sentences in a generic way. The first one, “Of the total number of doctors in the US, doctors of Indian origin must easily be about 40%”. My light reading of an article about American doctors and percentage of people by ethnic groups revealed that this number is about 5%. Of course this is an over-representation, considering the fact that people of Indian origin amount to only 1% the US population. The second one, “In India almost everyone speaks English. At least 50% of Indians speak English”. It is an outrageous statement and only if you are one of those elitists, you would make such a wild guess. The reality, just about 12% Indians speak English. More than 99.99% of this 12% speak it as a second language, not first.

It is fairly clear to me that we all tend to conclude the situation, based only on our surroundings and less by taking into account the facts. And this exaggeration of numbers is not just restricted to people from one country, but for each part of the globe.

PS: I didn’t make up these numbers. I spent nearly three hours reading from official sources. You can either trust these numbers or do your own research J

Justice, Equality, and Fairness

"In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?" - Saint Augustine 

A few days ago, while I was travelling by local transport, I met a felon. I mean, this is perhaps the reason why the ‘well-to-do’ and the ‘educated’ classes seldom take the mass transit. Anyway, we picked up a conversation that not only kept me off from falling asleep, but also made me rethink about justice system of our society.

This man, seated besides me, was put in prison for two years, after he was convicted for a crime related to drugs. Well, you may now wonder, what is wrong with a system in which, a guilty is brought to books. So, here is the flip side. He was raised in crime prone, poor neighborhood. Secondly, his trial was fast and having no money, he could not hire a good lawyer, who would have helped him get a reduced sentence. And what has this period of serving the sentence done to him now? For beginners, he is not even interviewed, let alone hired, by most employers. He manages to survive by doing odd jobs, and feels that he isn’t given a fair chance to reform and rejoin the society.

Pondering through this conversation, few questions struck me. The first one, what if he could afford fees to hire a good lawyer? Does the justice system favor the wealthy? And if this is a reflection is justice system of a country like the US, which claims to stand for justice, is justice really fair? Finally, if this is not fair, how would a perfectly just society look like?

As I’m not trained in political science or moral philosophy, I did some research and most of my points are based on the works of two of the greatest minds of our times, in these fields, John Rawls and Amartya Sen.

Rawls in his book, A Theory of Justice, introduces a concept called ‘Justice as Fairness’. Claiming, justice-as-fairness to be political, and not metaphysical, he explains the two fundamentals it comprises of, a) Liberty and b) Equality. Liberty is fully understood, only if the  circumstances bring in the right awareness. And equality is hurt by several factors beyond ones control. Say, whom you are born to, or how much you could afford to pay, are unacceptable forms of inequality. These factors indirectly give a license to the high and mighty, to treat justice as a system, skewed in their favor.

Amartya Sen’s book, The Idea of Justice, helps in understanding how a perfectly just society would look like. In one sentence, it would be a society in which almost everything would be worked by a reasoned social agreement, to mutual content. And as human nature is flawed, a pragmatic goal should be, enhancement of justice and reduction of injustice, from this world.

‘How could this become a reality?’, is a million dollar question. I don’t know the answer for this question, but would not hesitate to guess that giving up on the sense of entitlement, emphasizing on moral education and ethics, rather than social status, could certainly help. Another open question I would like to leave you with is that ‘is this trend of people trying to accumulate wealth, making the system of justice, slightly unfair?’

Tolerance

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – M. K. Gandhi

If there is one disturbing trend that has become increasingly prevalent in our society currently, it has to be intolerance. We see people responding in a violent manner to criticism or comments, which may or may not be true. Either a criticism is right, in which case the concerned people should do their level best to address it, or it is wrong, in which case the concerned people should choose to ignore it. Mainly the criticism or comment, directed against people in power or people who have a religious following, invites such response. How to handle such a situation is probably best illustrated by a story about Buddha, which I read recently. Here’s how it goes:

Once, Buddha was in town to spread his message of peace and non-violence. There were several who did not approve of this. One such person, who disagreed with Buddha’s view on patience and tolerance, decided to teach him a lesson. It is said that Buddha would start his day by taking a dip in the pond at the dawn, to signify physical purity. While he was walking out of the pond, the cynic who was determined to teach Buddha a lesson, spat on him. Buddha smiled and went right back into the pond and took another dip. Again while he was going back, this misanthropist spat on Buddha, with an expectation to start a verbal tussle. Buddha again smiled and went right back to the pond and took a dip once more. This happened more than fifty times, before one of his disciples; saw this disturbing occurrence again and again. He came to Buddha’s defense, by trying to fight the cynic. Buddha said to his disciple that “It is his determination to make me physically impure and it is my determination to keep myself physically pure. My aim will not be achieved by fighting him, but by being determined to what I am doing. Allow him to do what he is doing and allow me to do what I am doing. Let sanity prevail.” Realizing that Buddha would not fight back, the cynic continued spitting on Buddha, until finally Buddha had taken his ritually established dip, for the 108^th time. That is when he asked Buddha, “How come you don’t want to stop me? Why don’t you react? I am feeling frustrated about your inaction, and have no further desire to spoil your ritual.” Buddha said to him, “You answered your own questions. By not reacting, I killed your desire to disturb my ritual. By fighting, I would have merely stopped you from disturbing my ritual. So, I have accomplished a greater task by my approach of tolerance.” It is said that the same man became one of Buddha’s foremost disciples, and continued living the rest of his life, practicing and preaching non-violence and tolerance.

I think the world would have been a better place to live in, had most people focused on transforming or reforming a person than merely trying to curtail a person from doing wrongs, using brute force. When I started writing this article, I thought this story was apt for the current times. However by the end, I realized that there is a timeless lesson elaborated in it.