One under-reported item that slid by everyone. It’s a piece of news that all of us have been waiting for on the economic front for the last few months. As per the latest numbers released by FBS, Pakistani exports were stable on a month to month basis (November and October) as well as stable on…
Little wonders…
For the team I work with every day at Alchemy… Let it go,Let it roll right off your shoulderDon’t you knowThe hardest part is overLet it in,Let your clarity define youIn the endWe will only just remember how it feels Our lives are madeIn these small hoursThese little wonders,These twists & turns of fateTime falls…
Things to do in a down market when you are not dead…
We were lucky that the downturn hit us early. In July 2008 we lost two of our largest clients; within a week of each other and on a week’s notice… It made for interesting internal conversations and a scramble to conserve cash. We were luckier still that between attrition (top heavy), expense management (read: extended…
Red light zones in Dubai…
Red lights at two am, late night, on Thursay (weekend night), in front of the convention center. Red lights at eight am in the morning on Friday, on way to the airport on Shaikh Zayed road. Things I have to do to get traffic on this page.
Dreams…
“Let’s just say I dare to dream bigger dreams”, said a spunky student when the rest of the class was done with introducing themselves. Quite a few sunsets and students later, the dreamer called again. This time he wanted to be a sponge and observe in first person the special sauce that made a technology…
Outliers…
Malcolm Gladwell is better known as the author of Tipping point. Outliers promises to be the book that would out shadow the success of his first best seller. Here is a quote from the last page “It is impossible… for any other outlier for that matter, to look down from their lofty perch and say…
Morning walks…
Adding 50 pounds to your bulk and spraining your knee leaves you with one choice. You stop running and start walking. Since my first sprained knee, 7 years ago, I have learnt to love my early morning walks. Add December and single digit tempratures and the walk becomes even more lovable. Here is the one…
The road not taken
Beware of the Ides of December. 10 years ago, this month, packed up and got ready to move to New York. 9 years ago, the same month, received my first six figure offer and said no. The next time the month came along, I found myself in Tokyo, pitching to the third largest bank on…
Stepping out of your comfort zone…
2003 was a good year in many ways. On 1st of January we came back home after 4 moves in 4 years, one addition to our family and pitstops in London, New York, Southern California, Tokyo and Northern Virginia. 2003. 10 months later we were a team of 4 people, significantly cash flow positive, still…
The joys of working for yourself
In 1993 and 1996, I was too young to care or know the difference between a booming economy and a recession. In late 2000, I was too close. Come 2008, this is my third down cycle. Things are hard. At one level they are much harder than what was eight years ago – the outlook…