For new ideas from books

Get great summaries of new & not so new ideas from books.

http://www.thebusinesssource.com/

Some questions to be asked in COP 15 Copenhagen

1. How is poverty going to be reduced globally in a green way?
2. Will there be access to (nonpolluting and/or least polluting) energy & water at affordable costs?
3. When will really stinking rich people really help reduce pollution globally?
4. How will crimes (against humanity) and wars get solved?
5. Will tech transfer really happen at affordable costs to lesser developed countries?
6. How will food,energy & water waste be minimized?
7. When will stinking rich banks,taxhaven countries & international governments act against black money stashed in their banks?

All these questions will always remain & unfortunately we will all be motivated by our own selfish interests-the concept of inclusive growth is fine-blogs,ideas,examples of what can be done by people,governments,nonprofits exist-is it enough.? The answer is a "BIG fat NO"

Let us all do more what ever we can,from where ever we are-let us all hope,pray & act in everybody's interest while promoting inclusivity globally - in green,clean & sustainable way.

Links for today:

1. http://www.carbontwin.com
2. http://www.ecoforge.in

My update

It takes about 1000+ good quality tweets to get about 300+ good quality people who will follow you and perhaps do the needful to make the world a better place.I know people will say it takes just one concerned person to make a difference - agreed - the fact is that a lot more gets done when a larger number of people believe and it makes all the difference.

People believed and were able to make a difference.They did get a great leader and democracy triumphed - it happened only due to sustained effort and clear goals.

Today there are examples of people being led and goals being met amicably-Singapore is a great example,China and India too are great examples of a lot being done with very little resources.

If one wants to really a lot more inspirational stories-see http://www.alltop.com and also in case you want to read about what is going on with me in twitter see http://twitter.com/parvez1

Doing business in India and the world

Doing Business in India: A new report finds it is now easier to start and operate a business in India compared to 3 (three) years ago.

Doing Business in India 2009 shows how government regulations and practices enhance or restrain business activity in 17 cities including some of India’s largest. The report records significant reforms at the national, state and municipal levels of government.

Read more in the URL http://www.doingbusiness.org

All of us (interested) in business will benefit from reading these general guidelines.

Want to help the poor - share opportunities

I have always wanted to really improve the lot of the really poor.These websites will really help make a real difference.

http://bopnetwork.ning.com
http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/sge

Measure results and also follow up - I have written about the importance of follow up earlier.

Follow up,get more business and people interested in you

1. Put the name and e-mail address of a new contact in a place where you can retrieve the info fast and follow up to see how one is able to create and service a need if any.
   
2. Remember— this is critical— the follow up shouldn’t remind a colleague of what they can do for you. It’s about what you might be able to do for them. It’s about giving them a reason to want to follow up.
3. Always express your gratitude.It must be genuine.
   
4. Be sure to include an item of interest from your meeting or conversation—a joke or a shared moment of humor.
5. Reaffirm whatever commitments both/all live up to the commitments!.
   
6. Be brief and to the point.
7. Always address a thank you the person/organization by name.
8. Use e-mail,forums,social software,twitter,blogs,creativity and snail mail. The combination is deadly-it shows you keep yourself upto date and really know social media.
   
9. Timeliness is key. Send them as soon as possible after the meeting or interview.
10. Many people wait until the holidays to say thank you or reach out. Why wait? Your follow-ups will be timelier, more appropriate, and certainly better remembered.
11. Don’t forget to follow up with those who have acted as the go between for you and someone else. Let the original referrer know how the conversation went, and express your appreciation for their help.
12. Use templates - they save time and effort.
13. Online classified ads help-http://bangalore.craigslist.org works for me.
14. Give people time to get back to you - being patient pays.
    
15. Read trade magazines and browse the web for the latest information - these can be specific to your trade or could be of a general nature.My favorites mags are Business Week,Plastics Engineering,a few general IT magazines and many tech,business,sales and management websites.
16. You can even read magazines and surf on your mobile (a higher end one) , kindle readers,palm PRE,Blackberry etc. and respond in real time.
    

Remember it is all about getting and sharing new opportunities and spreading the benefits of being inclusive in growth-even the poor when included provide valuable insights.The objectives are to save time, money and resources and increase (and/or get new) sales. It also helps to cut down wasteful expenditure.Today in most case competition is global - the good thing is one can draw from global resources.

Adsense

Google AdSense is a popular monetization tool for many online publishers. And for good reason: it's quick and easy to set up. If you have a website, AdSense gives you the opportunity to start earning money almost immediately.

See http://adsense.blogspot.com for the latest on Adsense

See how relevant your local ads are and explore what you can do to promote the sales of a product or a service in the place you are - traction always is helpful and who knows people may actually benefit too - that satisfaction is reward in itself.

I have about 180+ followers on my twitter page now and the URL is http://twitter.com/parvez1

SwineFlu general info and Swineflu in India

http://bit.ly/106sRy some general info on SwineFlu and for updates in India see http://www.swinefluindia.in

Check for twitter spam

Visit http://www.twitblock.org/ and clean up your twitter account.

Green teens USA

Learn more about teenagers going green and having a global impact at http://www.greenteensusa.org

OK the global bit is exaggerating how ever I do see the organization going global at some point of time.

Also read about a neat little gadget saving water in the link below

http://www.envirogadget.com/water-saving/h2orb-gadget-for-detecting-toilet-leaks/

Save water and energy for a cleaner and greener world - when will such gadgets become available in India and other developing countries where there is a real need - do developed countries not really think about practically helping out solve problems.Certainly some of the discussions that take place in UN and other forums are truly meaningless as there is no weight behind execution of the idea or topic discussed - only noise and hot air.

Brazen Careerist

I have joined http://www.brazencareerist.com

Tips on getting a job in these tough times

Okay, you’re an experienced professional and you’re looking for a job (or a better job than the one you have). One method from below is going to help you land the job

1. Flood the job boards.
2. Work with a placement service firm or headhunter.
3. Pick up the telephone and use your personal network.
4. Demonstrate the knowledge and use of tech at the lowest cost and
   
5. Demonstrate results with real numbers,time saved,customers added and markets entered
   

Scour the web for interesting ideas-follow key companies you are interested in and contact them if you have a good idea in mind-most of the time this works-the key is to show added value to the recruitment manager.Do more with less and reach out to the local chambers of commerce, business networks,social networks in your city,search classifieds ads,find startup firms,set your http://www.Google.com/alerts search words and follow up.

Lastly even explore the option of starting your own firm where ever you are - it always helps and it is well known that nonprofits,business networks,startups and established firms together can help a nation get out of recession.

Know what you are really good at and share the knowledge-the sharing helps you to connect with more people and some of these people actually help out.Read the best blogs in your industry segment,company reports especially the management discussions,formulate ideas on how to become more green and increase profits!.

Start a blog and/or a personal website and put your best foot forward-linkedIn and Doostang are always there so are http://www.indeed.com and http://www.simplyhired.com - venture to a different country itself if the opportunity is exciting-who knows it might help to see from a different lens.Read business magazines,tech magazines and books too - it helps to be informed about the sector in which one is searching for a job and knowing the overall picture.Use humor too at the right time to cut the ice.Even be open to part time jobs,contract jobs and internships.

These are a few ways I am able to think of-lots more are there I am sure do share the same with me - yes see the "developer" websites of the top firms or join innovation and external networks that connect you to what firms and key people are doing.

I hope these thoughts help and enable more jobs to be created and the cycle continues.For some international jobs look at http://www.jobs-at.com/

Final tip is follow the money - who is investing in what and why and where!

Greening your small business in USA

This guide is for US small biz-make this globally relevant and include best practices from companies from all over the world.Green business centers world over wake up and do more for reducing waste,hunger and poverty


http://www.greenbiz.com/resources/resource/greening-your-business-a-primer-smaller-companies

Tesla becomes profitable

The Tesla car has become profitable - that is a step forward for all car enthusiasts.Interestingly twitter has become slow and is not being able to take updates that fast in my opinion.Waiting for it to become better so that I share my latest entries,URLs and thoughts.

A few thoughts on education and OLPC

‘One laptop per child’ gaining ground in India. It is for those with little or no access to education

India has ‘just begun’ taking an interest in the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) global initiative that aims at providing poor children with laptops to open up a world of education to them.

http://www.laptop.org

OLPC is one of the best examples of inclusive growth-the question I have is why are so few schools taking the OLPC in India and how can the reach of this device be expanded to include most children-in my opinion every school in India should join together and create a demand for more education in India-just 3 shifts of 8 hours each in which to teach and break will automatically increase demand for education in general and provide more employment opportunities for qualified and capable teachers.The advantages of 3 shifts of 8 hours each in schools will be:-

1. the number of children being educated will triple in one shot.
   
2. more employment to capable potential teachers.
3. faster learning using technology and the OLPC at the primary levels.

This will need a change in mindset and a must do attitude should evolve-the state and central governments can think of incentives for such schools-most importantly such thinking must not be forced upon managements and must be presented as an option.

Twitter and StumbleUpon

I have more than 80 twitter followers and have made more than 20,000 discoveries on StumbleUpon for more please visit:

1. http://twitter.com/parvez1
   
2. http://parvez.stumbleupon.com
   

Dream big - with a laser like focus!

This entry has been reproduced with permission.

Here are the common sense reasons why a laser focus is more likely to lead to startup business success:

• Time to market is critical. It takes too much time to build processes and products to capitalize on a broad strategy. Meantime, small competitors will appear and seize your business opportunities and steal your targeted customers.
  


• Keep infrastructure costs low. Every business needs some basic equipment and infrastructure, and ongoing development costs. Attempting to roll out the big dream internationally all at once costs lots of money. Getting more money is hard, but not as hard as building the big infrastructure and getting it right the first time.
  


• Need to be nimble. Every successful startup I know has had to “dodge and weave” quickly as they learn what their customers really want, and what really works in product design and marketing. Bloated products and the grand unifying “theory of everything” won’t allow you to adapt quickly to market changes and mistakes made.
  


• Proving market leadership. Success requires market leadership in your product area, and it’s easy to see that pushing more products and services dilutes your focus and attention. Market leadership isn’t a one-time thing, it means continuous innovation, or you will be left behind.
  


• Maintaining quality is key. The more you try to do in parallel, the harder it is to maintain quality. Remember the old maxim that “you only get one chance to make a great first impression.” Customers are fickle, and good quality and goo customer service is hard, even with a focused product.
  


• Personal bandwidth is limited. When things become too messy and complex, and even you are not sure of priorities, people get disillusioned, tired, lose motivation, and tend to give up easily. A laser focus is easier to communicate, easier to manage, and more likely to get done quickly and well.

Be inclusive in bringing about growth - be clean and green - get the local people and government to be on your side.Save resources and spend wisely on essentials till the venture starts to become profitable-find ways to complete the needs of people and customers-many times barter does work-a fair bargain is what must be offered to people with whom one interacts-it works for even the local community.
I have added my thoughts to the article here - it is brilliant and to the point - very relevant today to read the full article please visit
http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/

Thanks Marty.

Banning of plastic bags-I oppose this stupidity

Why is banning plastic bags good-they really save energy and are very convenient - incineration or depolymerization of plastic bags for energy or fuel is an answer- think about which other packing material keeps your food safe, your purchased items waterproof,gives many poor people a means of livelihood,a road that is reinforced by plastic, lightweight,can be recycled multiple number of times-today plastic bags are even biodegradable are you aware of any other material available at low costs for developing countries-how will you provide solutions for more than 10 million poor people,100 million,500 Million,1000 million and more etc without use of plastic, water, food,fuel, oils,chemicals,blood,etc all must have plastics - think before supporting meaningless bans on plastic-one has absolutely no idea of even enforcing such a ban at low costs.Besides plastic bags save trees by reducing paper bags.You want the oxygen to live.
Neither governments nor rich people are willing to give real world solutions and most if not all use plastics-extend this argument to even ewaste,medical waste,Municipal solid waste,etc and you cannot even imagine the cost of not using plastics.

Twittering around and Justmeans

I am on twitter and justmeans - see http://twitter.com/parvez1 and http://www.justmeans.com

Alltop and sterilization

The top news happening in most tops is found on http://www.alltop.com - it is a wonderful source that anybody surfing the net can lookup and get their daily dose of info.I use the Green News section a lot.

Another really good news is the sterilization of stray dogs in India - a great effort to eliminate rabies - how ever this will happen over a period of 10 years.