Things to do in and around Mumbai

Tons of them in fact, have started compiling a list of “low cost – great fun” activities you can enjoy…Readers can share their list to be added as comments.

• Star ,  Artificial Satellites, Solar-System Planets Gazing: -

Sky gazing is my favourite, since i discovered that it is so easy, and requires almost Zero Investment. Couple of my favourite sightings are.

1. You can actually spot Our neighbouring planets as Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury easily with naked eyes.  Just download a free and reliable software from http://www.stellarium.org/, specify your location as mumbai/(or your City) in Settings.
2. Also most of the star signs (Virgo, Scorpio, Leo are what i have manged to spot so far). ( Stellarium will help you with the same for all Zodiacs). You can try your luck to spot Polaris from a hill top.
3. The Icing is the spotting of ISS . . Just register your location http://www.heavens-above.com/. ISS is the International Space Station. The Largest and possibly the best Space station made by Mankind till date. What is ISS
4. With little efforts you can spot Iridium Flares. Check the same in http://www.heavens-above.com/. These are a group of Artificial Satellites, which produce a sparkle in the sky. A Timetable is available which shows when you can see bright flashes in the Sky. What is Iridium.
5. Wanna Spot Meteor-Showers and other exotic events in Sky. Join for a Trek with an experienced group of Astronomers. Low cost, Great frills. http://www.khagolmandal.com/. Typical Treks are organized during Clear Sky days from Dec to May.

• Kanheri Caves near Borivili. Great Place to See Budhist Caves, Trek, Swim in River. I spotted deers crossing the main road near the final steep climb to caves once. Go ahead try your luck.
  
• Tungareshwar – Near Vasai. Lowest cost Treks during Monsoon.
• Visit to Salt Pan – Bhyender East and other stations after Mira Road.
• Haji Ali. Watch the spectacle of High-Tide and Low-Tide. Every 6 Hours, the Sea will cover the Bridge, and then open up after 6 hours. The Bridge opens twice in a day.
• Warli Village – The 10th Century Art and Tribal Culture. Must see near Dhanu/Palghar. For group bookings. Check http://Grassroutes.co.in
• Million Fireflies in June. You actually can see the complete Mountain range covered with millions of Fireflies. This wonder happens only in June. We call them Taare Zameen Par. Check out http://grassroutes.co.in
• Nehru Science Centre & Planetarium : Must see for Kids over 10 years.

Readers can kindly leave comments with their favourite activities and places.

From Technology to Tourism

The Story so far….Transition from Technology to Tourism….

All the limits are of the Mind…There are infact no limits……Author Unknown…

One year, has passed since the move from Technology to Social Sector. Currently am working with an organization called Grassroutes. These good people (Inir, John and Darren) are experimenting to improve the Tribal Livelihoods through Rural Tourism. One good aspect in this organization is that we consciously avoid using the terms as “Reducing/Eliminating Poverty”. The key mindset is to enable the trials to improve their livelihoods by their own efforts. We do not believe in Donating money to any one. The poor want enabling environment, and then they blossom of their own efforts.

This blog is for my friends who want to know how different it is changing the field from IT to Social sector.
For me personally, there has not been much of a change in the kind of work i have been doing..This seems bit contradictory…let me explain.

1. I am still involved with Technology. We still use Excel for Business Plans, What If Scenarios. PPT’s for Village Communities, Investors. Internet for Marketing (Facebook and Google Ads).
2. We still have processes. Checklists, Review meetings, Post project analysis.
3. We have pilots. We experiment with new tools/techniques and then evaluate the projects.
4. We have Goals. We carry “Sales Targets”.
5. I still have to use Laptop and Reply to Emails….
6. The concept of Customer and Sales remain same. “Our Organization has to create value for Guests”. Now “This” is one of the “most critical thing” i have learn’t here. No Matter what business you are in IT or Tourism or any other thing. If you don’t add significant Value for the Customer, you have no right to stay in the business.
7. Here too we have Stakeholders (Investors, Media, Village Committees and Guests). Need to constantly have review and feedback discussions, keep all stakeholders updated.
8. We have time bound projects. Each theme is a project by itself, and undergoes conception, brain storming, planning, checklists, execution and evaluation phase. Wow.. Even the words we use are same as we use in IT.
So to summarize, from the outside it seems that i have changed my field, but at the core, i am still continuing the same stuff i was doing in Wipro.

Why Millennium Development Goals….

In September 2000, world leaders at UN Headquarters adopted the UN Millennium Declaration to reduce extreme poverty. The time bound targets – with a deadline of 2015 – have become known as the Millennium Development Goals.

(Ref : http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)
Why are these Goals so important.
Economics

• What goes around – Comes around. The more the low income people earn, the more will be their spending power, the more will the richer people earn eventually.

Political

• If People continue to remain selfish, and be self centered, the time is not far when the 4 Billion “Have-Not’s” declare an uprising, and ‘Take away’ from the “Have’s”. You cannot expect 60% of World Population to keep watching the TV’s, Malls, Media about the lifestyles of ‘Rich and Famous’ and not get frustrated at their inability to live a ‘Humane lifestyle’.

Universal Brotherhood.

• All Religions ask us to do Charity. And wants people to promote peace and harmony.
• All Spiritual books tell us to take care of other humans.
• The underlying essence of religion is to make mankind love and care for each other

Science.

• Yes. The latest Scientific discoveries are going to “Open the Eyes” of every one. It will happen sooner than later.
• People who are tracking the CERN / LHC experiments / String Theory will understand better the meaning of ‘Universal Consciousness’ and ‘Universal Brotherhood’. (For beginners, this is one of the largest Experiments mankind has ever undertaken as a joint initiative. The scientists are trying to find the ‘God Particle’. All major countries are contributing towards this. So far the World has spent 15 Bn $ on the experiment (INR 75,000 Crores !!!)
• Some Interesting Experiments in Particle Physics / Quantum gravity
  • Electron Colliding with itself : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment
  • Twin Brothers Photons : http://www.cebaf.gov/news/internet/1997/spooky.html
  • Observer Effect on an Experiment. Electron Changes it behaviour if observed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_%28physics%29

Not yet convinced (Some friendly suggestions),

• Watch the movie Matrix
• Read ‘The Secret’ and try it for some time.
• Read the book ‘Lost Symbol’.
• Attend Vipassana Course
• Read ‘Tao of Physics’
• Read something on ‘String Theory’
• My friends from Management can read “The Fifth Discipline”
• Read Scriptures as ‘Dhamapada’, ‘Upanishads – Isavasya’, Bible, Samkhya & Yogasutras (I am not trying to promote any single religion here, so please don’t get me wrong or misquote me.)
• Those not yet still convinced. ……God Still loves you…..

The Point i am trying to make is that soon Science will proclaim what the Scriptures have been telling us since ages, That the whole of universe is connected via a Supreme Consciousness (or you may call it the Super-String.)

Like a human body, each organ needs to perform and contribute to the welness of complete Being. All individuals are connected to each other and are part of common God.

So it makes sense that we help all the fellow beings, so that we ultimately help ‘Ourselves’.

Working with Grassroutes Journeys

It has been a great journey so far.
Left the corporate job in April 2010, with lots of enthusiasm. Basic premise was to be able to design scalable solutions to improve rural livelihoods.
Spent one year roaming across different parts of India (From Madurai to Wardha to Rishikesh).
Met individuals and organizations working towards similar goals (From Gandhigram, Dhan to NGO’s to Religious organizations)
Upgraded myself on Theory of Social Development work through Trainings, Courses and lots of relevant books (Enrolled for courses as Micro ventures of Tata Dhan, MA in Rural Development – CSW, Social Entrepreneurship thru EDI).
Now i seem to understand the issues with better perspective.
Currently working with Grassroutes, and feel that we can implement corporate practices in Social Organizations as well. There seems to be a good scope to experiment and tune lots of concepts (From operations management, Cash Flow, Sales, Social Media marketing to project management) for this sector.
Feel lucky to have found this organization and connect with the wonderful team here.
The existing team

1. Inir my Boss, is a great guy to work with, gives lots of responsibilities and is focused to improve livelihoods of Rural communities through Rural Tourism. Has got lots of awards for his work in the social field.
2. John. Our Operations and Sales champ. Is Happy-go-Lucky person. Who incidentally is also “Ex-Wipro”. Has worked for 5 years with Wipro before deciding to jump into social field. (Seems to be some coincidence in Wipro’ites joining Grassroutes) .Very disciplined and hard working.
3. Darren. The youngest in the team. Full of Energy (Is a National level Hockey player), discipline and self control.

About the Organization
We are Motivated by the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Primarily we endeavour to reduce poverty through Rural Tourism. http://www.unwto.org/step/mechanisms/en/ms.php
The way the organization operates is

1. Take Loan/Grants from Other organizations.
2. Tie up with NGO. Identify Villages with low income levels.
3. Explain the Village community benefits of rural tourism. Take their concurrence.
4. Train the Villagers as Guides, cooks, Service providers, etc. Training on communication skills, operations, Checklists, Quality processes etc.
5. Sales and Marketing for the village trips.
6. Distribute the Revenue amongst the stakeholders
   1. 40% – Villagers and Community
   2. 30% – Debt repayments
   3. 30% – Towards Marketing, Salaries and Administration overheads of Grassroutes.

So far Grassroutes has setup two villages, and plan to reach 200 over next 10 years.
We endeavour towards Connecting Urban World to Rural Communities and ‘Unveiling Hidden India’.
Each trip enables people to explore their roots while indulging from over 101+ Activities

• Agriculture: Ploughing, Harvesting, Sowing, Chaffing…….
• Authentic Village Experience: Local Cuisine, Sleep in Village Homes, Village Festivals…….
• Live the Rural Life: Draw water from well, Milk the Goat, Chop Wood……..
• Rural Games: Sling shots, Swings, Tyre Race……..
• Learn: Warli Art, Paper Mask Making, Optimal use of Natural Resources, Simplicity, Local Customs…….
• Village Sports: Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Wrestling……..
• Explore Nature: Trek in Mountains, Swim in River……..
• Relax: Bird Watching, Watch Sunrise, Meditate in Hills, Laze in Shade on the Hills…….

And by the virtue of your holiday experience, enable the Village community to

• Improve Livelihoods and Reduce Migration
• Improve self confidence and preserve Local Culture
• Maintain Bio-Diversity

http://grassroutes.co.in/

My Favourite Poems

Some of my Favourite Poems
—————————————————————
Little Deeds of Kindness, Little Deeds of Love, Makes the earth a paradise, Like the Heaven above.
—-Julia A. Fletcher Carney
—————————————————
लहरों से डर कर नौका पार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

नन्हीं चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,
चढ़ती दीवारों पर, सौ बार फिसलती है।
मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,
चढ़कर गिरना, गिरकर चढ़ना न अखरता है।
आख़िर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

डुबकियां सिंधु में गोताखोर लगाता है,
जा जा कर खाली हाथ लौटकर आता है।
मिलते नहीं सहज ही मोती गहरे पानी में,
बढ़ता दुगना उत्साह इसी हैरानी में।
मुट्ठी उसकी खाली हर बार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

असफलता एक चुनौती है, इसे स्वीकार करो,
क्या कमी रह गई, देखो और सुधार करो।
जब तक न सफल हो, नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,
संघर्ष का मैदान छोड़ कर मत भागो तुम।

कुछ किये बिना ही जय जय कार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।
——–हरिवंशराय बच्चन (Harivansh Rai Bachchan) (few people claim that it is from सूर्यकांत त्रिपाठी “निराला”) . Never mind, so long as it Inspires us…..

One more perspective

Of late have been traveling a lot and meeting new people. Want to share some new perspectives gathered from some good people i met recently. And i feel there is a good amount of truth in it.

1. Humans are basically good, and want to be helpful. The systems around us make us feel incomplete, and induce a sense of competition & "Race to own the Limited Resources Mind set". This leads all of us to try to prove our worth, compete for limited resources. The fact is there is enough in the universe for each of us.

Have met so many people who are working selflessly for the development of Mankind, I can safely bet that there is more good happening than bad. Look around and you will see.
In fact i will run into couple of hundred pages, if i type the good stuff i have seen in past 7 months alone, and plan to setup a separate blog site for highlighting the same.


I am convinced that the Popular Media should highlight the good work happening in the world, instead of only highlighting Scams and Corruption.

2. Maybe what we are learning in Schools is not a Right/Complete perspective.
The Bees do not "give" us honey, the Cows do not "give" us Leather.

We Humans "Steal" & "Kill" to get these things. (and I know i am equally guilty to have generated a demand and market for these things).

Now these examples are only to get a point across, i m not saying we should ban these things. But moderation in consumption is a possible solution.

But look around, and see the exploitation happening of all Natural resources, Massive Mining, Tigers being killed, and you see the extreme

Basically, we should learn to respect Nature, and live in harmony.

When i used to work very late non stop for days, My Boss and Mentor (Mr. Sanjay Shah-Wipro), used to ask me sometimes, "Kahe ki Jaldi hai, Kahan Jana Hai ?". Means, why the hurry, where do you have to go ?

I couldn't get the meaning then, but i feel we need to slow down, appreciate the Journey, do a quality work than only accelerating towards some Goals.

Do not 'Donate' money to the poor.

After researching on the effectiveness of 'Donations'& 'Subsidies', I have come to a conclusion: Giving away money to poor is less effective than 'making them self sufficient'.

Basically it is same as what we already know. 'Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime'.

Subsidies/Donations reduce the 'receivers' self esteem and make them feel forever dependent.

Nobel peace prize winner Yunus's concept of 'Microfinance' is one good way to reduce poverty and bring about stability in the world.

A leveraged concept to MF is 'micro-lending', wherein people like us can 'guarantee' loans to people who do not have co-laterals. Surprisingly; all statistics prove that 'The poor almost always pay-back'. The money you provide is used to guarantee loans to poor, who then setup a business and repay the loan back. After the repayment period you can choose to get your money back or loan to someone else.

So it is like 'Re-using' the same Rupee over and over again to help multiple people come out of poverty.

My personal favourite organizations are http://www.unitedprosperity.org/ and http://rangde.org/ .

Do spend some time to guarantee a loan to help someone break the poverty cycle and become self sufficient. And you would be surprised most people need very little amounts to start a small business.

Becoming a CTO.

Chief Technology Officer. That's what i had wanted to become for a long time.
Finally, have decided to pursue Technology in a form which will be of direct help to the Country.

Our objective is to adopt Clusters of Villages across the country, possibly BPL families in places without electricity and water, And research on existing models available across the world to bring about improvements in

1. Agriculture yields
2. Microfinance
3. Setting up small scale industry hubs
4. Education
5. Health

This is actually so simple. There are tonnes of literature on good work being done by Grameen like companies, and with detailed instructions as how they do it.

Having being in IT for 12 years, have seen closely how productivity and yields improve when people adapt best practices of ITIL/PMP/ISO etc.

Same way we can help these people to improve the farm yields and efficiency of small businesses.

Currently am undergoing a formal training from EDI-DSE (http://www.ediindia.org/doc/DSE.pdf), and will spend a year working on the theory part of various models. Then we will start experimenting and tuning the framework. This will be a long road with lots of experiments and learning's. But we are confident we will succeed as we have done in all the previous projects & Endeavours.

Enjoy Life...

Run Man Run....

I am a typical IT Person, who has like many others spent countless Night-Outs for System Administration / Implementation projects.

This definitely had taken a toll on the health. April 08 was the Inflection Point..
My Back said That's it.. I am not with u, do what u want...
Having a Back-Pain just like any other ailments is depressing.

Action Plan. Get Healthy before it is too late.. Took a leave of 2 months. Did intensive personal training in a Gym. Having recovered, decided lets test the levels of recovery..

August 08. Registered for Mumbai Marathon 21 KM (The Distance from Andheri to Churchgate One Way) .

As usual many people laughed, some smirked...That's when most of us get the kick in proving people wrong..

That's when I read "The Secret". Wanted to try something really new in my life.
Decided i will not practice Physically for a single Day...! ! ! ! !

Every Day I practiced in My Mind...Run Man Run...

Visualised myself Finish the Marathon along with the Average Runners.
On the Day of Marathon, told myself, that's it..This will be one of the Toughest Experiments i would have ever done..Lets do it.....Just do it...

Race starts at 6.45...Gate opens..i run for 250 meters...That's it...got tired...slowed down...After all what do u expect if u do not practice for a marathon.

No issues...Plan-B..follow the fastest Walker.....Keep reminding self...Have to do it...Keep listening to music...don't think....Simple...

About 6 Km...Joints start burning...That's when i see Some Old Person with a Label "Dr Roy. Born 1932". Mind begins to start calculating his Age...it took almost 10 minutes to calculate ......

Wanted to rest...Mind in 2 modes...Rest....What the hell Man..U are even worse off than this Old Gentleman....Ridiculous.

Decide ..have to walk at least as fast this Gentleman....

Nevertheless he is faster....

Then decide to walk at same speed of a nearby old Lady , even she is faster........

Decide not to compare with any one else...I am Me...That's it...Just keep listening to the ipod..and keep walking at the fastest speed.. Reached 12 km...

that's it.No more thoughts..just keep walking...keep smiling....
Completed the Marathon Finally.....

Don't ask what happened after Marathon....

It was only on Monday that Ajoy Called and said he saw me near the Churchgate station and i was walking at the speed of 0.001 Km / Day...

All the Joints suddenly contracted post the marathon..I did finish it in 3.45 hrs..but almost in an instant the body reacted.. and all limbs became jammed..u really cannot move the feet ahead...the pain is unbearable....

Nevertheless. i did got what i had wanted and Literally Dreamt of...

Moral of the Story...
1. Any one can achieve what ever he can visualize in Mind.
2. Do enough Practice and Homework before starting a task..Else there might be a price to Pay.



Parallely my Wife completed the marathon in 3.30 hrs.
she definitely is an inspiration..a perfect Manager..Disciplined and punctual.
Practices At the Gym daily...

I am now more sure than ever that i will finish 21 Km in 3 Hrs ..( that's the distance of Andheri to Churchgate - One Way..)..This time i will practice in Gym for 3 months...

Wish me luck for Jan 2010.

This is our Hall of Fame. My Son Aman, with his First "First Rank" Chess Trophy. My Wife Punam.
And Me.. 21 Kms in 3 Hours, 45 Minutes.




---
Update. Jan 2010. SCMM
Results. 21 KM in 3 Hours & 15 Minutes.


--

---Target for SCMM 2011. 2 Hours, 30 Minutes.

Certifications..

Certifications :- My Views ..

Only the Paranoid Survive. is a Book by Andrew Grove - CEO - Intel.

Though i have not read the Book, the title by Itself has been a Highly Motivating force for my drive.

Constant upgradation is the Key to remain Fit in today's times.
I believe in constant Upgradation of
1. Self - Mind & Spirit
2. Professional Skills
3. People-Relations
4. Health


On Professional Skills, below are the Key Certifications achieved.

1. Stanford Advanced Project Management ( 3 Exams of 6. Target completion by 2009) (3) (This is was completely Inspired by My Life Long Mentor Sanjay Shah. Though i do not listen to his advice at times, but he has been definitely a key Role Model for my success)
2. TOGAF (1) (Thanks to My Mentor Saji for inducing me to this field)
3. PMP (1) (Credit for Motivation goes to Vivek Mehta, who was the first in SI West to attempt it, and our Friendly Race, for which i had to do it.)
4. PRINCE2–Practitioner (2)
5. CISA (1) ( Tons of thanks to Mitesh Sanghai, who is also one of my Inspirations. Who being from Sales attempted the Exam.)
6. Sun SCFE (5) (This was THE Tipping Point in my Career. Having become "The Expert" in Domino, i actually started to think like a "Frog-in-the-Well", and never looked beyond Lotus Domino. Sanjay Shah actually made me Stop Doing any more projects on Domino (Which i resisted with all my might at that time, but thankfully i lost). Then he gave the toughest Task of Making me learn Solaris to Anshuman Rai, Santosh Shukla and Nassar R. Thanks to these good peoples Patience, i finally managed to learn some decent bit of Sun-Solaris OS.
7. Hitachi Modular Storage (1)
8. Brocade BCFP -2g, BCFP-4g, BCSD-4g (3) (Remember the Men in Black-III, Our key SI Consultants slogged it on Saturdays, to Prepare each other for the BCSD 4g Exam. Ali, Ashish, Kiran, Prasant and Me)
9. ITIL–Foundation (1) (This one was literally forced upon me, because my Boss did not wanted to attend the training ;-)
10. Veritas Foundation Suite (1) (At this point i wanted to Give up any more Certifications. But my Friend Henry Solomon, who was a Program Manager, decided to take up a full fledged IT course at Karrox. He started to study Cisco, Sun, Microsoft - All by His own Funds. That was the Deciding point, i thought this Man must have great Guts, spending his own Time and money on Things he may never use Directly in his Life. That's when i decided no matter what, i will constantly keep upgrading myself by own atleast. Thanks Henry..)
11. IBM – AIX – System Admin-V5 (1)
12. IBM – AS/400 – System Operator (1) ( Operator !!! . My then boss Anshuman Rai did not like the Title of the exam, and made good fun of me..)
13. Lotus Domino (Was in the Worlds top 52 People at that time to have a Dual PCLP-R5 Title. (R5-PCLP-SA, R5-PCLP-AD, R6-PCLP-SA, R6-PCLP-AD (11). I was really on top of the World after the exams, and literally Mass-Mailed Tons of People to Proclaim the Achievement. Hope they forgive me for the Spams...(Ajit Sankaran, was the key motivator, who never had a doubt that i will clear the first 4 exams. He never thought that it is a difficult feat to achieve, which made me feel if he thinks i can do it, then i should be able to)
14. MCSE (Windows NT – 6 Exams. Many Thanks to My Mentor & Friend Ashok Pandey for being an inspiration) (6)
15. CBCP & BCM – Business Continuity (2)
16. ISO 9001-2000 Internal Auditor (1)
17. Brain Bench (2 Exams–Domino SA) (2) ( I remember one of the Exam i completed at Night on Internet at Exactly 0100 hrs, on 1st Jan, 2001. Yes it was waiting for One of the Night Out Activity on Domino which was to happen at 0300 hrs - HBL)

In all the Number of Exams given to achieve the above Professional titles is 43 Exams. Target number of Professional Exams till 2012 is 56 (56 because Sachin Sawant feels i can do it.).

Miscellaneous

1. Toyota Lean. TPS.
2. IIM Ahmedabad. Strategic Outsourcing.
3. Key Workshops(Training & Certificates) – (Dale Carnegie – Human Interaction, Presentation Skills, Sales Advantage. Covey 7 Habits.)
4. EMBA from SPJain
5. GMAT – 690 (In fact my Wife Punam will not let me sit in peace till i get atleast 740). I would strongly suggest every one to attempt GMAT Once in Life. Not for the MBA Entrance, but to polish the skills for Reading & Analysing Long RFP's, CR: Critical Reasoning & QT : Sharpening of Mind to solve life Problems via alternate efficient means.
6. IELTS 7.5/9 (Oye Ajit....Beat you by 0.5) . This Exam was done on the Same Day i had to leave for UK Thames Water Project. The Objective was to ensure that i am able to communicate well with the British Team.

On the Health part, i have been highly Inspired by my Wife, who Exercises Daily, and takes Part in Stanchart Mumbai Marathon.

We both Completed the 21 KM in Jan 09. (i did it in 3Hr 45 Min, She clocked 3.30 Hrs. My Target next year is for 3 Hrs.)

---Updated April 2010..

Have decided to shift focus from IT to Technology. Will work on Self Certifications in the filed of Human Relations, Microfinance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprises. More on that in upcoming Blogs.

Corporate Life Lessons from Chess

Last year, i got introduced to Chess at my Son's School. The Chess Sir (Mr. Sahu) was explaining the children the basic moves of chess, and my child (aged 5) was able to pick up all the concepts.

I was impressed by the simplicity of chess principles and striking correlation of chess with Corporate Life Principles. Couple of things i have learnt and ingrained from Chess are.

Couple of Chess concepts before we start
1. Material : In chess each Piece has a Notional Value to it. The Sum total of all the Pieces with a Player is called his Material (Or Resources) (Pawn =1, Knight/Bishop = 3, Rook = 5, Queen = 9)
2. Development : You must develop pieces early, Castle Early as a best practice.
3. Structure : The pieces must not block each other. Pieces should support each other. You should not have Bad-Pieces i.e. Immovable Pieces in and after the Middle Game.
-----

Chess Principle : Time, Development & Space are very Important Aspects of a Strong Player.

Corporate Life : You need to focus on all the Aspects of your personality.

-----

Chess Principle : You need to develop your Limited Resources (Material) fast.

Corporate Life : This is a Competitive World, we must move faster than the others to stay ahead.

-----

Chess Principle : Focus on overall structural development, than on Gaining Easy Material.

Corporate Life : This is a mistake which many freshers make. They focus on easy gains and get engaged with High Paying Jobs. The focus should be on developing a Career.

-----

Chess Principle : Don't take Free Pieces without thinking. Opponent might be setting a Trap for you.

Corporate Life : Never underestimate any situation. Don't fall for Free-Lunch. There is no Free Lunch in Real Life, every Free Lunch has Strings and Fine Print Attached.

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Chess Principle : Don't Underestimate the Strengths of Pawns. Any of the Pawn can become Queen. Almost always with a good Strategy, you turn a Pawn to Queen.
Corporate Life: Importance of Mentoring. The Lowest ranked employees can rise to the Topmost positions, we should imbibe a culture of constant Mentoring. Never underestimate the potential of any person, Right grooming will definitely show results.

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Chess Principle : Plan and be mentally ready for Loss of the Queen. You can win the Game even after losing the Queen.
Corporate Life : Always keep planning for attrition in Real Life and Corporate environment. Ensure you have sufficient Structure in place to handle all contingencies of Life. Even if the Top Performing Player in the Team leaves, the others can still complete the Ongoing Assignment.

-----
Chess Principle : Its not the Knowledge of Moves that matters, it is how you use them that matters.
Corporate Life : It is not the Operational and Tactical Expertise we should keep focusing on. Strategy is equally important. In today's world. Every competitor knows what you know in terms of "Operations" and "Tactics". They have similar people who had been to Similar Business and Specialization schools as your employees. Their knowledge about a product is equal to yours. It is the Strategy which will help to win in the Long Run.

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Chess Principle : Every Piece moves differently. Different Pieces provide cover to each other, align to each others line of Attack and Defense to setup an effective overall structure.
Corporate Life : Accept people as they are for their Skills. Understand each persons strengths in a Team, and leverage on each others strength to form a stronger Alliance. A Team leader must understand that all people will not behave in similar fashion for a given situation, also they will have unique strengths. A Successful team leader will be able to place the right people at right place to get the Work done effectively.

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Chess Principle : Good Positions (Skewer, Fork, Pin, Mate) don't happen automatically, you must constantly Plan to achieve a good Positional Advantage.
Corporate Life : Life does not serve you Opportunities on a Plate. You must constantly strive to create a good position for yourself. You have to fight it out.

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Chess Principle : One Queen cannot win the Game. All the pieces must work together to win.
Corporate Life : In today's world more than ever.. It is Collaboration that helps you to succeed. Invest in people skills and help other people succeed along with you.


My Son Aman (Age 6) plays regularly at the District Level Chess Tournaments, and has won many a Prize. He has been teaching me some of the Life principles mentioned above.