Ramadan Slowdown

Well...sigh! Yet another Ramadan season is upon us and what was already slow has now trickled down to a snails pace!

Well, I am trying to get away from this place...Me going back to India for a reasonably long break and I am really looking forward to it now. This will be my break after practically one whole year......

On the work front, i have now been promoted as a senior manager, with PnL responsibility for a significant market close by. well, it certainly is going to mean a heck of lot more travel and hopefully a lot more excitement in the coming days!

Next month we have also managed to organize a mini break to Kodaikanal...hopefully it will do my attitude and energy levels a world of good!

Another big reason for this trip is basically for a complete physical overhaul. Over the past year, I have truly suffered with Backaches ( which has later been diagnosed as a Disc prolapse), persistent Allergic cough and also one of blood tests suggests that I might be Anaemic!

Well...i hope to come back refreshed, renewed and with greater levels of vigor and excitement into my new role here.

Well that that's the update from me....More soon I hope.

cheers!

My trips to the Maghreb! Tres Bien!!

Well, I am finally back after a loong time. I just haven't been motivated enough to write anything on this blog till now.

Over the past couple of months, Life experiences have certainly been interesting and times of change. Finally, my family in Dubai is complete with the arrival of my wife for good. We moved into a new house, which has a full fledged club house with an awesome pool, steam n sauna...the works....

Now finally I feel a little settled in this country. Apart form this, work has been interesting to say the least. I have been travelling to Algeria ( not Nigeria !!) quite often recently, helping a client with their market entry strategy. It has most certainly been an eye opening experience. This whole region is Franco-Arabic and the language barrier is immense. Very few people speak English and I absolutely don't understand French or Arabic. Well I did overcome this handicap with the use of a a lot of sign language and contextual understanding. I think learning deal in such difficult environments enhances your ability in understanding situations, and also does help in removing the fear of the unknown!

From a marketing perspective, We Indians don't fully realize the potential Brand India has across the world. I was literally a superstar, just for being an Indian in Algeria!! Indian products and services are in great demand thee and we command huge respect form the locals...they seem consider us very smart, cultural etc.l and look up to India for some strange reason.

Anyways, I have one last trip left to the Maghreb and the Mediterranean beaches and then a trip is pending back to Spain for the final presentation.

Net-net, things are OK now, hope I can keep up the momentum.

ta ta till I visit the next exotic location :-)

A Wii bit of magic

Finally, something truly fresh and interesting to write about....with my own twist on a business concept I have been mulling over for a while now......

 I recently got my a Wii gaming console with a whole bunch of exciting games.....Now I have tried the PS2, PS3, PSP....the works...but nothing comes close to the interactive element this brings to the table. A brilliant idea which the converts the sedentary gamer into an energetic one....The concept being simple: What do people really want in this day of closed doors and self sufficiency? To be able to bring home everything they needed to leave home for.....Home Theatre systems are good examples of the same and so are treadmills at home.

Now, when you play a game of tennis or boxing in Wii, you can actually interact with another entity, either the machine or a competitor....

 Swing your arms, learn the visuo-spatial tricks and truly experience the outdoors...but indoors!

 My question from a marketing standpoint though…..is this the future of things to come? Will computers in the future be made like this? Will this be the equivalent of touch screens in mobile phones?

 Wait n watch I guess….One thing it has succeeded in is….bringing non-gamers into gaming….. and made it into a pastime…rather than a niche hobby for youngsters!

 I believe, gaming parlors based on the Wii have already opened up in different places…..just imagine the possibilities!! This will make the next wave in general entertainment, not just the movie theater or the amusement park. It’s the new virtual reality entertainment business coming your way very soon. Keep an eye out for it.

 I can’t wait for it to unfold.

 Ciao

The Year that was....2008!

Well it has been more than a year now in Dubai, and it has been a mixed bag.

2008 started with me coming out of a period of extreme activity, into a period of dullness.

By April, I was all set to be married, but I probably had the most distracted and busy weeks of my life just days before the D-Day! 

The highlight of the year! - I got married and spent the most wonderful time in India, and then it was time to move back to the grind in dubai.

Then, I got into a series of business development activities and the moved into a project in Egypt.....

And then started another remarkable set of experiences..working mostly out of Cairo....and ended the assignment with a fabulous trip to Europe (Spain, Germany and France!)

Then came the gloom in the form of this global crisis we all face.....inerrupted by some brief yet fun personal moments.

As I end this year, I have moved into a new house, but all the while Iam now thinking of one thing....What next, Stay or Move, India or Dubai, enjoy the present or work harder for the future.

As this year winds down, Iam just hoping for the new year to present opportunities which will keep me excited and stimulated.

I just want to be keen on Work and Life! 

Hoping for a fabulous 2009...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Later

Back on the banks of the Nile

Well....Blogging again after a very loong time.

Well thats coz I got married in May and man,......now I understand why married people are just so busy all the time!

There seems to be so many more interesting things to do :-)

Anyways, now Iam back to being a bachelor again now! I recently cracked this deal with a spanish client looking to enter egypt. Iam currently working out of cairo doing a market assesment and entry strategy for this client.

For starters, Working in cairo has definitely not been the most professional experience! Language is a barrier, Too much politics even to get a simple interview going and very opaque when it comes to releasing information.

But, of course the plusses are, the hours are not half as bad here compared to dubai....very chilled out people here. Further, we are located on the nile....a simple breathtaking view everytime we look out the window.

Next weekend we are off to alexandria and the following weekend to luxor and aswan! Looking forward to these and of course my trip back to india the following weekend to see the missus.....it feels stragely odd to say that, ill settle into it soon enoug i guess.

Well Ill leave you with an interesting fact about egypt: The men to women ratio here is about 1:4, but its not easy to get married here because the prerequisite here to get married is a car and an own house.....I mean lotsa choices for dating (slightly difficult in conserrvative circles), but Cant gett married easy :-).......You cant have your cake and eat it too :-)

Neways....more soon.

In a Holding Pattern

First things first.....ISB has been ranked as the 20th Best B-school in the world by FT. Well timed before placement season i should say.......its going to be a mad rush on campus this this year....hats off to the ISB management team.....Somebody please write a Case study about ISB will ya?

On to more mundane updates, The past few weeks can be best described as me being in a "Holding Pattern". Let me explain.....Work has been hectic with meetings everyday and deadlines every other day! But somehow, I seem to be holding and waiting for something around the corner....its a wierd feeling, that something significant is just around the corner....

On other things, since my last post, I did a quick trip to india.....as always it was a great trip! After that I had been to muscat for a day trip.....This period at work has been my attempt at serious Business develpment work. Iam just realizing that BD can be fascinating and frustrating at the same time, especially in the consulting / knowledge based businesses. Its really not about selling a product or service, but its about scoping the need or even sometimes creating the need.

Now, I know that sounds fancy, but its much tougher than that because one has to keep thinking and adapting at all points......Well, fancy this: I have gone from Mechanical engineer to Research associate and then Product development engineer; onwards to Business strategy and marketing then flipped over to Management consulting and now slipped nicely into Business development.....Whew!

I really need to figure out what exactly i like out of all this soon, frankly I like it all in bits and can be good at most of it!

Well lets see whats next around the corner for me......Hopefully a really strong career and some realy good money :-)

On other things, last week my mother had visited and we had a blast...or at least she did. All I did was run around behind her and provide as much cash as I could :-). Sign of things to come??? Hmm....

Well next trip to india in early march and hopefully my holding pattern will break then.

Thought for the day: Lets get going already!!

Giza Gazing!

Another interesting day started off with a visit to the famous pyramids at Giza.

Of course they were magnificent, but i seemed to be rushing through the sights of this great monument. Such brilliance, yet come to think of it, this entire area was secluded as a cemetery in the ancient times! They seemed to be obsessed with the thought of life after death...these Pharoahs!

As it ought to be, i got hassled by salesmen on the site, and was made to buy some worthless trash at some exorbidant rates, but i have to agree that egyptian sales men have mastered the art of push selling!

Also I visted the burial chambers inside one of the large pyramids, but the route to get there was this 3ft X 3ft tunnel, which got me very claustrophobic! Post this, I saw the Sphinx which was a huge disapointment.....it was like small broken down monument, not really worth all the hype.

The highlight of the day however was my visit to the perfume factory, where i was treated to a wide array of concentrated perfumes...quite exotic i should say!

Later on I also visited a Papyrus shop, where i got my self a couple of neat soveniers for family back home.

After all this, I had a very insightful meeting with the minstry which rounded off a very egyptian day for me at Cairo!

Thought for the day: 1 Wonder down...6 to go!