Discerning Perception

Especially with the advancements in ICT, the way of doing business is rapidly taking a different shape. The flyer below is frequently shared on Social Media, emphasizing the contrasting nature of modern global giants when compared with traditional businesses. Image Courtesy: Iulia Tudor As seen from the flyer, having inventory or the ‘strength’ in terms of ‘own’ resources is no more capable of giving you the competitive advantage to become a market leader. Even though the large amount of inventory and the sophisticated inventory management system continue to be core strengths of Walmart and many other businesses, E-Commerce is also gaining pace. Generally overshadowed by factors such as convenience and low cost, ‘Creating and Matching Needs’ is also playing a pivotal role in popularizing E-Commerce, along with ‘Crowdsourcing’. E-Commerce has made it unbelievably easy to purchase almost anything, while presenting consumers with items they have not even thought of. This doesn’

' Connecting Dots ' is arguably one of the modern day classics among motivational and inspirational stories. For those who still don't know about it and for those who have not clicked on the above link already, let me introduce it as 'Stanford Commencement Address by college dropout Steve Jobs'. As understood,  Steve Jobs  was once invited to deliver the prestigious Commencement Address of the  Stanford University , where he shared three of his own life experience, aligning them with the 'theory' of 'Connecting Dots'. He talked about how messy his life had been from the very beginning, till the moment his higher educational dreams were also shattered. Then he talked about how one of his finest recruits managed to threw him out of his own company and finally, about the challenge that came as a pancreatic cancer. You may have heard this story and watched that video over and over again  but  have you ever thought about the criticality of each of th

You might have read a story about a toothpaste factory that spent a large sum of money to come up with a sophisticated system to identify empty boxes before they reach the end of the production line.  For those who haven't read the story, reliabilityweb.com  has a nice write up by Cliff Williams, further explaining the story, digging deep into some unseen facts. Before reading that, let's focus on the other side of it. To sum it up, a toothpaste factory spent millions for a six months long project by a consultancy firm, which provided the factory with a solution. Whenever an empty box is detected,  the line stopped and a bell rang, so that someone had to remove the empty box in order to get the line running again. Soon after the modifications, the management could observe a huge improvement, where the empty box count hit zero in few weeks. Surprised by the level of value addition, they went on an inspection tour, only to find out a cheap desk fan placed before the system ch

As a guidance to life, nothing beats "The Truth Is Out There" for me. The quote, from the first day I saw that appearing before "The X Files" starts have been an 'eye-opener'. It simply taught me and reminds me all the time that there are lot of possibilities and one should be open minded if he or she seeks the real happiness and success in life. You have to make yourself strong enough to 'believe the unbelievable' at times. Well, if that 'particular thing' might be 'unbelievable' in your point of view but if it is proven to be correct, then you have to accept it,  regardless f your opinion. That is where the role of a 'Discerning Perception' lies. Think of alternates, think of other possibilities, think of everything as much as possible but with consciousness and in a practical way. It is not about fantasies but about giving a meaning to those possible scenarios and deciding on them being practical.  Simply, a coin