Sharu Rangnekar-A Tribute

 One of India's early management conultants, Sharu passed away recently (late 2020/Jan. 2021). I first saw him and heard him in 1982 when he came down for a session during orientation for us doing MBA, at IIM Bangalore. Many years later, we invited him to speak at IMT Nagpur where I was Director at the time.

He was older, but had not lost his sense of humour and emphasis on the essentials. What he reiterated, and has said in his books (In the Wonderland of Indian Managers and others), is two things-

In teaching/learning, video or visuals work better than text or PPTs. Second, humour always works. He was the epitome of both. His lectures included screening some excerpts from his videos, which he had made many moons ago (ahead of his time there), and his humour was classy.

He also came to Pune in 2012, to release my autobiography at Crossword, courtesy Smita Dabholkar Singh, my colleague who organised the event. He was his usual self, and did not pull any punches. The event was a success, mainly due to him.

One of a kind! 

Book Review- Wise Guy

Guy Kawasaki has a new book mainly about his own life and career. He is the son of Japanese immigrants to the U.S. and grew up in a modest Hawaii neighbourhood. His life changed when a school teacher spotted his potential and talked his dad into sending him to a better school.

It was not all smooth, there were a few wrong steps along the way, but then he took the chances life offered him, and went on to become an Apple employee (he had two innings there), an evangelist for their products, and then a consultant, author and so on.

I already use his other book (co-authored), The Art of Social Media, and consider him one of the original thinkers (Thought leader?) of today. Immensely talented and articulate, he shows you, among other things, why the U.S. has evolved to be the Mecca for talent from anywhere in the world. More than Europe in recent times.

He also has a chapter or two on his family and raising kids (he has adopted two), and why it is the most important thing in life. Worth a read! There are boxed "wisdom" items (life lessons) in each chapter too, if you like that kind of thing.

Quarterly Returns

If you decide to analyse life in four quarters, 25 years each, and apply investment consultants' criteria to doing it, you may end up with something like this (to be patented, then you can't read it for free)-

Quarter 1: Negative income, (living on credit- mom and dad's money), Return on (their) Investment  uncertain, (Physical) Assets showing healthy growth.

Quarter 2: Income growth healthy, Assets are stable and productive, Return on (your) Investment on a slow but upward trajectory.

Quarter 3: Income at all-time high but matched by expenditure high, NAV just the same. Productivity on the decline, fixed assets changing to realty and shiny metal set to disappear into bank vaults (not in foreign shores), Bonds (with people)  losing value with time.

Quarter 4: All assets (physical and fixed) turning into NPAs, Declining ROI, Net worth close to zero, Bond rating by agencies (those around you)- approaching junk status.