Wow! You are the Avatar...

I have been playing computer games since the time of “Sinclair Spectrum” and then on the IBM PC Dig Dug and then the unforgettable Prince of Persia.

Then in 2000s, I was a big fan of PC Games, owned the first version of Xbox, then Xbox 360 and now a Wii Console.

My kids love the concept of avatars and my Wii console is full of different avatars created my kids with each name of their classmates.

But nothing beat this new possibility of Kinect what has been showcased in today’s CES 2011. No wonder this device has sold 8 million units in such a short time.

See the video to realize why I am so excited today…

5 Eyes of Innovation

Go look at the agenda of every CEO out there. One thing that underlines their agenda is “Innovation”. I will not be surprised if every fortune 1000 organization has a set of dedicated people focusing on Innovation.

Here are five simple ways to remember stages of innovation.

Imagination: Imagination is core to innovation. Without imagination, there is no creativity and without creativity, there is no mixing up of things leading to new things.

Insight: Insights are the founding pieces of innovation. I personally think one cannot just get up and run around shouting “Eureka!!!” without insights. That’s exactly founders of Apple, Google, facebook, Twitter and Microsoft have in common. They all had worked on the early bits of these phenomena which gave them insights.

Ideas: Any thought can be an idea. When you apply insights and imagination, creative thoughts emerge. These are ideas.

Implementation: I call every idea as a “Day Dream”. Without an idea being implemented it is simply a vaporware. The famous saying of Thomas Edison “Genius is 1 % inspiration and 99 %perspiration” underscores this.

Impact: Without any doubt, every implemented idea is an innovation. However, the impact determines whether yours will be called as innovation or something else. Like: Improvement, enhancement, new feature, trend setting, breakthrough etc.

Whenever you have to think, talk and do innovation, think of these 5 Eye’s (I’s) of Innovation…

Happy Innovating...

The Power of Giving…

Recently one of my colleagues Revathi gave me a RED book and recommended that I read it!!!.

I was travelling to US that week and took it with a hope to find some time to read it. That trip was such a busy one, I hardly had any time to read it. It was during the flight back from US, got some time to read it.

It was such a powerful story that I read the whole book in a go!!!

The Go-Giver: It is a book written by Bob Burg and John D. Mann in 2008.

The authors narrate the story of a man who is a consistent achiever and go-getter. One day, in a desperate attempt meet his targets in a bad fiscal quarter, he reaches out to a legendary mentor known as the Chairman hopping to get some connections that would yield business.

This mentor introduces this mentee to a series of successful “go-givers”: a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real estate broker and “The Connector,” who brought them all together. These people share Five Laws of Success and encourage him to open himself up to the power of giving.

Thanks to Marshal Goldsmith’s interview, I just picked up the FIVE LAWs as told by Bob…

The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. The key is realizing that price and value are two different things. Price is a dollar amount; value is desirability to the end user. Always strive to provide more in "use value" to your customer than what you charge them—while still making a healthy profit.

The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. While No. 1 discusses the value you provide, No. 2 shows you how to get well compensated for the value you provide. You do so by touching the lives of a lot of people.

The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other peoples' interests first. This might sound a little Pollyanna, but it's actually extremely practical. The golden rule of business is that all things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like, and trust. There's no quicker, more powerful, or more effective method of eliciting those feelings in others than by focusing on putting their interests first.

The Law of Authenticity: The greatest gift you have to offer is yourself. The most significant way you have of adding value to others' lives is by honoring your own nature—by being genuine and not trying to be someone you're not. Consciously or not, people can tell when you're not being authentic, and it interferes with your interaction just as surely as if you broke off an electrical current. You cannot truly give to another person unless you're being authentic.

The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. This is what really brings it home. It says that receiving is good—it's great—because it is a natural result of giving.

In simple, it’s about changing our focus from getting to giving and putting others’ interests above our own.

Great Investment Tips for FY11…

Here are 3 Great Investment Tips if you are still working on your new year resolutions...

Investment Tip 1: Health
Who doesn’t want to be selfish? Who doesn’t say WIFM? If you are wondering what is WIFM?, it is What Is in it For Me.

This investment is all about YOU. It’s about one’s own health. It can me physical health, mental health or perhaps emotional health.

Go figure… What are you doing about this investment? Health is all about investing in yourself…

Investment Tip 2: Wealth
Ok, if you were really looking for real investment tip to make money, then this is it. This tip is about wealth.

What is the most concrete way to making Wealth? If you look deep into the core of any business or anything for that matter, is about serving something to someone and earning from that…

What are your plans to serve your customers with your best intentions, best efforts, best products, best services and finally with your best people?

In their book “The Go-Giver”, Bob Burg and John David Mann bring this point very nicely “Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them”

Now, go figure your strategies for serving your customers. Wealth is all about Investing in your customers…

Investment Tip 3: Happiness
Well… I am healthy and wealthy, but not happy… sounds familiar? How can I be happy?

That’s the next tip. Happiness is a relative term and your happiness quotient is amplified by people around you. These people could be your immediate family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, community or the society or perhaps the entire environment around you.

Go, figure what have you done to people around you? Happiness is all about Investing in your environment…