The DriveCD (c) (tm)

Am in the process of compiling the 'ideal' music CD to use while driving and need your help.

The idea is to collect about 60 Hindi/ IndiPop songs (MP3 on a single CD) where each song will
- Keep you calm in heavy crawling city traffic so that you don't gnash your teeth and swear at other drivers/ pedestrians
- Keep you awake and pepped up while driving when very tired so that you don't drift off the road
- Keep you level headed when you are driving on an open highway with little traffic so that you don't start speeding

Keep in mind that each song needs to satisfy ALL the above conditions (besides, of course, being a 'good' song). I'll list a few potentials to clarify
- 'Yu Hin Chala Chal Rahi' from Swades
- 'In Dino Dil Mera Mujhse Hai Keh Raha' from Life in a Metro
- 'Bhul Jaa' by Shaan
- 'Dard-E-Dil Dard-E-Jigar' from Karz (old one!)
- 'Sara Zamana, Hasinon ka Deewana' from Yaarana (old one)

From the examples above I hope it is clear that the search is not restricted to specific lyrics, new/ old songs or chart toppers alone. Equally there may be some wonderful songs that may not make the cut given the criteria above.

The main benefit I can see from this is that you will
- Be in a better frame of mind for driving
- Stop constantly switching radio channels/ songs on the CD , keeping your attention on the road

So if you think up any songs that fit this bill send them over by email or post them in the comments. If you know anyone who will be able to contribute/ be interested in the final list please forward this to them!

'Frugal' Engineering

According to Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault, one of the most important benefits of the JV formed recently with Mahindra was learning how to do 'frugal' engineering. (Financial Express)

And note that he's not talking just about cheap labour, but the Indian mindset to plan, design and manufacture products with a keen cost-efficiency focus. This manifests itself in various ways

• Reducing the number of frills in the design, say not providing a defogger in the base model, while keeping what is percieved by the local market to be essentials
• Using different materials, say lower quality plastic
• Efficient manufacturing techniques
• But still ensuring that customers perceive value in and are satisfied with what they buy
  

While the immediate driver is to launch a low cost (approx USD 5,000) Logan model in India, I believe Renault is trying to induce a mindset change in their own operations by learning what Mahindra does.

This is something that I believe is ingrained in the Indian mindset, something generated by several years of an economy with limited supply due to quotas, high inflation and restricted availability of credit.

When we look at the Indian IT sector, on the other hand, I believe that the same is not true, based on the following observations

• Growth in revenues and profits (approx 30% pa) is more a function of adding more people rather than significant improvements in per employee revenue and profitability
• Attrition is high at approx 10-15%, while utilisations are at around 80%
• Sharing resources between units within a company is as painful (if not more painful) as quitting and joining a new company
  

Net-net I feel that Indian IT companies are not using their Human Capital optimally.

One of the reasons for this, I believe, is that very few Indian IT companies serve the local Indian market, where, as car makers are discovering, frugal engineering is the basic requirement. For STP/ SEZ tax exemptions and profitability reasons, very few IT companies are willing to take up Indian IT projects. The primary rationale behind outsourcing IT to India remains low labour cost and some productivity gains (which are quite simply achieved just by people working longer hours).

However, I believe that all this is set to change and Indian IT companies could do well to learn 'frugal' engineering from their own backyard. There are a few drivers for this

• The supply for qualified engineers is below the demand causing greater recruitment of less qualified people and therefore raising the supply side costs, either through higher salaries for more qualified people or 6 month training programs for less qualified folks
• The 'musical chairs' of constantly shifting work to countries with lower labour costs has started, with several IT companies planning to grow their international hiring faster than local hiring

So what are the options? There is no easy way out and some of the following may sound like old wine, but I believe it is critical to do this

• Enhance the skills of your employees and use them for providing higher value-added services. This will, I believe, improve both per employee profitability and job satisfaction, resulting in reduced attrition
• Build solutions that can be re-used so that revenue growth is not tied to increased hiring
• Build consumer IT products, that may be very difficult to get right, but once achieved can be a steady stream of profitable revenue

Pirated DVDs

An enormous supply of pirated DVDs is available locally. These cost as little as Rs 60 per DVD and the quality (specially for slightly older movies) is outstanding. Both Hollywood and Bollywood movies are available, a little after the mainline release.

Always wondered how this was possible, until

• During a trip abroad saw a multiplex which screened movies from DVDs
• Saw a message while watching stating that the given DVD was for review and not for public circulation

So the original DVD/ the stamp for the same is available even before the mainline release, just a question of whether pirates can get their hands on it.

And before we conclude this is a problem restricted to Asia, East Europe, three observations

• During a trip to the Americas saw pirated Bollywood DVDs for recent releases being sold for approx USD 10
• The Indian industries minister complained to the US counterpart re the flourishing business in pirated Bollywood DVDs in the US
• Personally seen that some of the biggest buyers of pirated DVDs in bazaars in Asia are Americans and Europeans
  

Never mind any number of ad campaigns, people do not equate buying pirated DVDs and CDs with stealing. A strong penal framework may work. E.g. third person acquiantance who's based in country in Asia with very strong IPR laws, came back from a foreign trip with several pirated DVDs. Was caught with them at customs and was fined approx USD 50 per DVD. When he got home from the airport the cops were waiting for him. The searched his house and he was once again fined approx USD 50 per pirated DVD he had at home. Now most of his friends stick to renting DVDs from libraries.

But this is the execption rather than the rule. Most other countries have bigger problems on their hands, lax IPR laws or poor enforcement/ corruption. Given the extensive profit margins for the producer and savings for the buyer, there is enough motivation for everyone concerned.

Security measures to prevent piracy all fail at one point, where the signal is emitted from the player over composite video or component video. A recorder at the end of that cable and a DVD burner will ensure that as long as people have players that can play DVD+RW/ -RW discs, no security measure will help. And no one needs product activation or security updates for their DVD players.

So what is the way out? Maybe what Moser Baer is doing, selling original CDs and DVDs for less than Rs 50 (Indiatimes)

'Flat World' Personal Success Factors

First some axioms

• If your job can be automated or done by someone else at a lower cost, sooner or later, it will be.
• If you are not adding value in your current position, expect that someone else who is/ can, will do so in your place
• There is someone, somewhere looking at doing one the above, right now

So what does one need to succeed in the 'flat world'.

• Core competence: Should be something hard to digitize or in limited supply. Maybe you are one of the few people who know how to write algorithms for automated trading
• Renewal: Constantly evaluate whether your core competence is being duplicated by many. If so, time to move on and do something else
• Networking: Your personal network must span customers, colleagues, competitors and suppliers
• Physical assets: If you are 'flattened' you need to own physical assets (a home, cash in the bank) that will help you with renewal
  

'Flat World' Books

Four different books, all linked in some way or other to the 'flat world', go figure:

• (Of Course) The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman
• The World is Flat? - Ronald Aronica and Mtetwa Ramdoo
• The Dispossessed - Ursula Le Guin
• Maverick! - Ricardo Semler