Enigma Solution

A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man's brow. ~ Ovid . My amiable brother Parvinder and I managed all the technical matters of our large and successful manufacturing business. We were hardworking, innovative and are still pretty good engineers. My aggressive and cocky nature made me believe I was the smartest guy around. This is what success does, it fooled me into believing my own perceived greatness. Like a small child that unashamedly makes it clear that does not want to share his or her toys, I refused to listen to my other brothers and my father on technical matters.  They too were owners and part of the management team and and extremely smart and sharp individuals. They had a right to express views and ideas and rightly felt disturbed by my arrogance and rebuked me often. Eventually things came to a head and we almost broke up as a family.  ...

Failing to plan, is planning to fail. This article is a sequel to an earlier article  Sir, we might have a problem As owner and head of my own manufacturing organisation, initially I had to face numerous embarrassments because of failed commitments to customers. Commitments made by me or members of my team. We all face this problem. Colleagues, subordinates or even we ourselves fail to deliver on commitments. Monday comes and goes and then another Monday passes by as we fail to deliver. We land up with muck on our face and our reputations. We lose both our money and our sanity along with our reputation. Failure often occurs due to bad or no planning. Here is an approach that I adopted and it worked very well. It seems that one of the most difficult thing for most people is to sit down, think, focus and plan out things in detail. Thinking, analysing, planning are the bane of most humans because, it is intellectually demanding and can be exhausting. Rarel...

T here is much discussion and some implementation in augmentation of India's security by acquiring 148 fighter aircraft for her needs. Every aircraft manufacture in the world wants as big a slice of this great business opportunity this  order represents.    The American Company (Lockheed Martin), has offered to jointly produce its famous F-16 fighter plane locally in India. The offer is being examined by experts and bureaucrats.  What caught my interest was, the history behind,  how this aircraft was developed? Why it was the most advanced and yet competitive aircraft of its time? Why was it a winner? What are the lessons that can be learnt, by leaders, managers etc.? _______ The history of the development of the F-16 program is a fascinating one, full of intrigue for   the program was destined to be killed. The story begins with the father of the F15 and F-16 fighter aircraft program, Air Force Col. John Boyd, who had served with distincti...

Uncertainty is a Reality. . Refusal to accept uncertainty,  leads to fear. Acceptance of uncertainty,  leads to adventure. Man is the only creature with an imagination. So he tries to peer into the future, plan outcomes in the hope of removing uncertainty. We are so intelligent that we usually fool even ourselves. Astrologers, Political Pandits, Stock Market Analysts, Economists, etc. all make a living by crystal ball gazing and make pronouncements to placate our fears of uncertain outcomes.  The number of variables are so many that their guess is as good as anyone else. In any event whatever outcomes they project, naturally there is a 50% probability of it actually occurring, so the forecasters become believable. A slick and confident forecast which results in favourable  outcomes can often fetch handsome rewards, including fame and wealth.   Usually we can afford to be adventurous but not always. Generally speaking there is great uncertaint...