Loud Thinking

Archive for April, 2014

Purpose is the reason for which something exists.

“It’s not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted.”

Mary Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964);
Writer

“Failure means you’ve stopped. So don’t stop. Keep at it. The more you move in the right direction towards success, the better you’ll feel. Every day work on making new positive habits second nature — make them automatic.”

— Dr. Richard Bandler

If someone were to ask me to pick one word to best describe any success I’ve had in my life…I wouldn’t hesitate; the word would be perseverance.

There have been a lot of potholes, detours and roadblocks along the way. I can only wish that I had BJ Gallagher’s book to provide inspiration as I fought through my times of adversity. It is terrific!

The table of contents will give you a little “snapshot” of what it’s all about:

Introduction

• Persist no matter what.
• Endure discomfort.
• Request help.
• Steadfastly hold on to your beliefs and values.
• Envision triumph.
• Very consistently keep at it.
• Embrace adversity as your teacher.
• Refuse to give up.
• Enjoy and celebrate every tiny bit of progress!

The Power of Perseverance
by BJ Gallagher

Ask the Right Questions to Advance Your Career

People who want to advance their careers need feedback. And many companies comply with things like annual performance reviews and 360-degree feedback. But these are only marginally helpful for managers seeking promotion, because the frame of reference revolves around the current job. If you want to progress into the next phase of your career, you need answers to three questions that focus on upward mobility.
What factors govern who does – and who doesn’t – advance to senior positions?
How am I viewed in terms of those promotional criteria?
What skills do I still need to demonstrate to move ahead?
These are tough questions to ask and not everyone will be responsive, so schedule career discussions with mentors and others who know your work. Be sure to convey a sincere desire to learn and avoid any hint of defensiveness that may shut down a leader’s honest feedback.

Adapted by HBR from “ Three Questions to Advance Your Career” by John Beeson.

Such is life…..

Please read, might change your outlook towards life.

70% syndrome

When we are in heaven our money is still in the bank.
When we are alive we don’t have enough money to spend.
When we are gone there is still a lot of money not spent.

One tycoon in China passed away, His widow, left with $1.9 billion in the bank, remarried his chauffeur.
His chauffeur said, “All the while I thought I was working for my boss. Now only I realise that my boss was all the time working for me !!! ”

The cruel reality is:

It is more important to live longer than to have more wealth.
So we must strive to have a strong and healthy body, it doesn’t matter who is working for who.
A high end hand phone, 70% of the functions are useless.
An expensive car, 70% of the speed is not needed.
A luxurious villa, 70% of the space is not occupied.
A whole wardrobe of clothes, 70% of it is not worn.
A whole life of earning, 70% is for other people to use.
So we must protect and make full use of our 30%.

Go for medical exam even if not sick.
Drink more water even if not thirsty.
Must let go even if faced with grave problems.
Must give in even if you are in the right.

Compiled by my dear friend Mr. Rafi Ahmad Sheikh – Karachi.

The people of Pakistan need to know from the concerned in the GOP, the answers to the following questions:

1. Why there was no bidder for the expired license of Instaphone? Who is responsible for this grave failure?
Here it must be remembered that despite the false myth, of the stiff competition, the Pakistani telecom market is working like dollar manufacturing machine, for the telecom companies, which are regularly earning and remitting billions of USD, back to their parent overseas companies. However, these companies do not want to invest a single penny in Pakistan from their overseas wealth, that too earned from Pakistan.

2. Why the procedure of auction was designed in a manner which facilitated the alleged pooling? Has any action been taken against the consultants, who were hired for very hefty amounts?

3. What reciprocal benefits were BARGAINED with the telecom companies, in accepting their HUGE DEMAND, for allowing the payments in Pak Rupee (after it was decided and notified in the Information Memorandum (IM) that the entire auction payments will be required in the USD) which effectively confirmed that no foreign investment will be coming to Pakistan, in this auction?
In fact this acceptance of demand changed the whole scenario of the auction.

4. Why no serious efforts were made to invite new foreign telecom companies? Does it mean that the few telecom operators in Pakistan, would not allow any new entrant in their field to guard their monopoly?

5. Why no new foreign telecom company came to Pakistan, when major current telecom companies in Pakistan are doing such a ROARING business (against the wrong myth of stiff competition) that they are REGULARLY sending around $2 billion per annum profit out of Pakistan, which is more than the combined yearly profits of the two world leading US soft drinks companies in Pakistan?

6. And despite such a huge earnings of the telecom companies in Pakistan, why the FBR is not pressing, for its many years old claim of more than PKR 50 billion, usurped by these companies, on account of payables to the government, collected from the public, on GOP’s behalf?
This amount must be recovered now with the accrued interests, for which if required, the matter may be got decided from the courts; and till such time the decision is pending from the courts, this amount should be taken from the telecom companies and kept with the courts.

7. When the whole world is crying foul in the 3G/4G bids submitted by the four Telecom companies, why the government gave statements that the auction will fetch a satisfactory amount of $1.3 billion, when even these payments will be received in the Pak Rupee? Here, why the public is not being told the fact that even this amount will not be received in full, but only PKR 65 billion will be received as lump sum; and the remaining 50% amount will be received in easy instalments, spread over 5 years?
This virtually means that GOP has given a major concession of “pay as you earn” to the telecom companies, which again proves that there will be no inflow of foreign investments, in this auction.

8. If earlier the GOP accepted the demands of the telecom companies, to withdraw from the notified IM the payment condition in USD to PKR, why no bargaining was made to get the entire auction amount in the first instance without any instalments; and why the telecom companies were not forced in the same bargaining of depositing their outstanding amount of PKR 50 billion, which actually don’t belong to these companies, as it was the amount of taxes collected from the public on the government’s behalf?

9. Why the government relaxed the rules to allow the participation in the telecom spectrum auction, of a defaulting telecom company?

10. Why the $800 million due from a defaulting telecom company since 2006 is not being forcefully recovered for the equal of the more than 95-97% properties, already transferred in that defaulting telecom company’s name.

11. Why the defaulting telecom company is holding $800 million of the GOP, just for the non transfer of less than 3-5% properties? Why the government has allowed it self to be black mailed in this case, when on an another account a Turkish power company’s ship was seized by the GOP for its default? Why UAE’s telecom company is being given a preferential treatment, over the Turkish power company?

12. Why the government has not decided to cancel the privatisation of the PTCL to Etisalat Telecom on its about a decade of default of $800 million, which in real terms now means almost equal to near about $5 billion?

13. When specially 3G spectrum is a life and death matter for the telecom companies in Pakistan, why Warid Telecom has decided to stay away from the bidding?
This question has many aspects and need deep investigations to find the true answers.

14. Why not immediately scrap the 3G, 4G telecom spectrum auction till some more companies also join the telecom business in Pakistan?

15. GOP announced in very categorical terms that 3G Telecom Spectrums will be auctioned to the 3 Telecom Companies out of the 4 bidders. Why then in the end this farce of auction was turned into an virtual allotment; and instead of giving licences for 3G/4G Spectrum to the first 3 highest bidders it was virtually ALLOTED to all  the 4 bidders that too practically at base price?

16. This also means GOP allowed pooling of the bidders as no bid was effectively, substantially and reasonably above the base or reserve price.

17. If in the end instead of auction, the licenses were to be ALLOTED or just upgraded, then why GOP spent millions of Rupees/Dollars to hire the services of the consultant.

18. The two telecom companies namely Mobillink and Telenor are owned by VIMPLECOM. Now these companies are blocking one license for a new company/foreign investment. Why this aspect of monopoly has been ignored by the GOP.

19. If Mian Mansha can be called by the NAB on MCB’s  privatisation irregularities why can’t the responsible GOP persons of the GOP be called by the NAB on converting an auction into an allotment/up-gradation?

 

 

Laughter is an expression or appearance of happiness or amusement.

“If you’re going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.”

Marie Osmond (born 1959);
Singer

Identify a Project’s Stakeholders at the Start

When you’re managing a project, it’s crucial to first identify your stakeholders. They may include your boss, customers, colleagues, the finance department — the team that will ultimately judge the project’s success or failure. Stakeholders’ interests will vary, as will their definitions of success, so you need to understand who they are in order to meld their expectations into a coherent, manageable set of goals. Ask yourself: Who will be affected by the project’s activities or outcomes? Who will contribute resources — people, space, time, tools, and money — to the project? Who will use and benefit from the project’s output? Once you’ve established your stakeholders, have them sign off on what they expect from the project and what resources they’ll provide.

Adapted by HBR from Managing Projects (20-Minute Manager Series).