Friday, November 4, 2016

Few lessons we have to learn from the eagle's rebirth

While many birds hide themselves at the time of a rainfall, eagle flies on top of the clouds. The majestic flying bird gives us an important management lesson to learn and implement. Eagle has a life span of 70 years but its talons, beak and feather can only support till its 40 years. It has to make a hard decision for its survival of another 30 years. Its beak bends and lose the sharpness, its talons fail to grab the prey, its feathers don't co-operate to fly high. Either it has to pass through a painful process to get a rebirth or die in 40 years by starving for the food. Eagle chooses to stay away for 5 months from its usual activities (career break) and fly to the top of the mountain. 

It plucks its old feather and wait for the new one to grow, it plucks its own talons to find a new one grow and at last, it breaks its sharp less beak to get a new beak that hunts its prey. Now, it has to wait for 5 months to heal the wound and find the new one growing. In this span of 5 crucial months, it eats minimal and what is available on top of the mountain. After the rebirth, eagle starts its beautiful flight to find its prey and live for another 30 years without any problem.


Few lessons we have to learn from the eagle's rebirth:-


Why is a change needed? 

If a professional joins in a domain / industry at the young age, should he / she work in the same till the retirement?

Would our present skills help us till retirement or survival? 

When there are more professionals, experts coming into our industry, we will face threat. How would we handle it?

What should we do in our career break? Should we predict the career break like the eagle did?

How do we burn our resources in our career break to survive?

How important for us to invest on the new skills? Don't wait for the employer to invest on your skill enrichment. If so, the employer would expect something more from you. Are you ready for it?

When the birds fly below the clouds, how did eagle fly on a higher altitude to escape from the disaster?

GST: When people are made to pay for making it easy for Big Businesses

Just imagine: my neighbour has been renovating his house for the past few months. He has broken down the edifice, perhaps he thinks it is outdated now, and is using modern architecture incorporating landscape designing. I am sure the renovated house will surely look ultra modern, with strong geometric shapes and swanky looking interiors, and would certainly be far more functional.

But what if my neighbour were to later send me a fat bill to share his construction costs? This is not done, anyone will say. After all, why should I be made to pay for the renovation work my neighbour decides to undertake.

This is exactly what we are being made to overlook in the entire discussions happening around the ‘path-breaking’, ‘historical’ and ‘game changer’ Goods and Services Tax (GST). I have heard the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley say time and again how GST will be game changer for India Inc. The GST, which certainly is a tax reform, will replace all the existing indirect taxes like central excise duty, sales tax, value added tax, luxury tax, service tax, octroi and so on. It is expected that GST will greatly reduce the cascading effect, as a result of which growth is likely to increase by 0.9 to 1.7 per cent of GDP.

I had always failed to understand why a cumbersome tax regime was in operation all these decades. Not only would a plethora of taxes, or as some say tax over tax, add not only to the cost of a product but the system merrily allowed rampant corruption at every stage of tax collection. Whatever be the reasons, the reality is that consumers paid the final retail price even if it was on the higher side. The producer had to live with the hassles of a laborious multi-tax regime whereas the end cost – in the form of a higher price -- was always borne by the consumer.

The GST will now provide a hassle-free tax regime for the goods producer. Instead of multiple taxes on goods and services, and at multiple entry points, there will only be a single tax to be now paid. Whether it finally increase the growth rate is beside the point, but what is more important is that it will create an environment conducive to making it easy for business.

While it makes it easy for business I fail to understand why the consumer is being made to bear the ultimate cost. Like I shared the story of my neighbour’s house under renovation, the GST is also essentially a renovation of the prevailing multi-layered tax regime. I am sure you will agree that the cost of renovation should be paid by those who are undertaking the tax reform. If India Inc is the real beneficiary, as we all know, they should be asked to pay for it. Instead, the cost is being very conveniently passed on to gullible consumers.

To prepare the consumers to absorb the high GST rate, Arun Jaitley had raised the service tax in Budget 2015 from 12.36 to 14 per cent. We will get to know only at the time of the next Budget in 2016 as to how much money has been extracted from common man’s pocket in 2015-16. Just to give you an idea, service tax alone had yielded an additional Rs 50,000-crore in the previous fiscal. If I go by the progressive increase in service tax collections, and knowing that service tax will merge with single rate GST which is expected to have a standard rate of 18 per cent, the additional annual fiscal burden on the ignorant masses will be somewhere around Rs 2.5 lakh crores.

In other words, the entire cost of undertaking GST reforms is to be borne by the consumers. The sole beneficiary – India Inc – gets away without paying anything. World over, Big Business has managed to pass on the entire cost of tax reform onto the gullible public. Not even one government had the courage to question this. That shows how well-trenched the economic thought (or ideology) is in the minds of economists as well as the policy makers. This is certainly the outcome of deft programming through the Econ 201 or Econ 301 academic curriculum.     

Since the GST is a single rate, service tax has to be merged with it. This makes economic sense. But this is perhaps also essential to ensure that the existing revenue collections – measured in the form of Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) – do not fall. The drop in revenue from the existing multi-layered taxation system is therefore certain. To make up for the shortfall, the best way is to further tax the common man. A careful perusal of the Report on the Revenue Neutral Rate and Structure of Rate for Goods and Services Tax (GST) submitted by a team headed by the Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramaniam clearly brings out the deliberate effort to keep a higher rate of collection. It suggests a RNR of 15-15.5 per cent with a dual rate of taxation at 12 per cent for some goods and the remaining at a standard rate of 17-18 per cent. The committee itself admits that the RNR is at best a guess estimate.

It mentions that among the 160 countries that have introduced VAT – and GST is a form of VAT – there are problems. Whether in the countries adopting single rate GST or double rate GST like proposed for India, there are challenges. Even among the large economies with federal structure, like European Union, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Indonesia, there are huge problems with implementation. I am not getting into implementation problems that are likely to appear but simply look at the additional burden that the common man will come under.

The report states that in a number of economies like Australia, Canada and New Zealand, GST implementation resulted in a steep inflation. To say that the rate of increase in prices will later come down, as has been seen in those countries, is nothing but economic jugglery. Take the case of prices of pulses. In Between June-October the price of common man’s dalzoomed from an average of Rs 70/Kg to Rs 170-200/Kg. If at present the prices have come down to Rs 120/kg, the rate of inflation is certainly lower considering the base level. But effectively, the prices have gone up from Rs 70 and have now stabilized at Rs 120/kg. Any further increase in dal prices next year will be measured from the base of Rs 120/kg.

In addition, a higher service tax creates a domino effect. Raising the service tax alone is a good enough reason for the price rise that is expected. The report has listed 24 services, including travelling, hospitality, entertainment, insurance, freight, repairs of building and machinery, royalty, professional/consultancy fees, telephone and gifts. This additional tax burden notwithstanding, the resulting rise in inflation in addition becomes an indirect tax. Therefore practically you get taxed twice.

Petroleum (only in initial years), electricity, real estate, alcohol are outside the ambit of GST. The report estimates that petroleum and alcohol are biggest revenue sources for the States fetching 29 per cent of overall indirect tax revenue and 41.8 per cent of total revenues of States to be subsumed under GST. Since GST will have a two tier structure – taxes levied by Centre (CGST) and others by States (SGST) – the duplicity alone will take away much of the advantage that is being cited. For instance, Finance Minister said in Parliament the other day that the day he lowered excise duty on fuel, he found many States raised VAT simultaneously.

So far we are only being made to believe that a maximum of 18 per cent will be the standard tax slab. But the fact that the Finance Minister is not willing to make it a Constitutional limit indicates that the upper limit is still open. Many experts believe that once the GST rate is fully harmonised the two rates to be followed would be a low of 12 per cent and a high standard rate of 22 per cent. There can be no denying that the probability for the service tax to be eventually raised to 22 per cent exists. This is the reason why the Government is not willing to cap the upper limit.

There was no hue and cry when the service tax was raised from 12.36 to 14 per cent this year. This was further raised by 0.5 per cent calling it a cess for Swatch Bharat. In such a gradual and phased manner service tax will be raised periodically so as to enable the consumer to absorb the additional tax burden. Jor ka jhatka dhire see, (buffer the blow) as they say.

What is therefore important is to ensure that the burden of a GST tax reform is not passed on to consumers. This must be explicitly stated in Parliament as well as in the GST Model Law that is being prepared. The only way this can be done is to put a cap on the upper limit of service tax. Since India is planning to adopt a dual rate policy – my suggestion is to club service tax along with the lowest rate of 12 per cent. The standard rate, which is likely to be 18 per cent, should be a flexible rate but the lowest slab should never be allowed to be raised beyond 12 per cent. Expanding the tax base and doing away with the numerous tax exemptions to Corporate, which is around 2.7 per cent of GDP, is a sure way to add onto tax revenues.

Logistics – A Key Lever in E-Com Marketplace

ECom Supply Chain Logistics Solution

Before we discuss about the Logistics in E-Commerce market place, let’s see a basic supply chain and the scope of logistics within the supply chain and then move onto the main subject. 


“All the movement of product in raw material, semi finished and finished goods form from point A to point B is the scope of logistics.”


E-Com is a part of the overall supply chain and it’s just another distribution model to receive orders and distribute the products to the customers. All that is between the order from the customer and the order completion is the ‘Logistics’ That explains the criticality of logistics and certainly logistics is the key lever with the overall E-Com model.


 

E-Commerce Transaction Types:


Electronic Commerce (E-Com) is a platform in which buying and selling of goods is done and for this internet is needed. Based on the Buyer and Seller, there are 3 types of E-Com:


C2C (Consumer to Consumer)

C2C transactions happen between customers. The E-Com players provide the platform and the processes, through which the transaction takes place. A commission on the transaction value will be the gain for the E-Commerce player. Example of C2C businesses are – Online auction (E-Bay), Online Classifieds, Online Real estate esp. Rent (Commonfloor.com, Magicbricks.com, and 99acres.com)


B2B (Business to Business)

B2B are the transactions between businesses. Examples of this model are – Indiamart.com, TradeIndia.com, truckkers.com and Sulekha.com. 


B2C (Business to Consumer)

B2C is the most common form of E-Commerce in which a variety of goods are available. Few categories to name are Electronics, Apparels, White goods, Footwear, Stationery, and services like Online Travel Booking and Online Matrimonial websites. Few key players at different categories of B2C are Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Cleartrip, Expedia, Ibibo, IRCTC, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Jabong, Myntra, Yepme, Zovi, FabFurnish, PepperFry, UrbanLadder, Zansaar, BigBasket, EkStop, LocalBanya, truckkers.com and ZopNow.


 

Main Flows in E-Commerce:


There are 4 key flows in E-Commerce and they are (1) Product Flow, (2) Cash Flow, (3) Information Flow, and (4) Reverse Product Flow.


Product Flow: This is the movement of the goods from the suppliers till the customers. Logistics players play a key role in moving products through this chain.


Cash Flow: Cash flow is from the customers back to Suppliers through the multiple stake-holders in the E-Commerce model i.e. from Customer to E-Com players and Supplier through intermediaries.


Information Flow: This information flow happens in both the directions and a key flow which is vital for the proper functioning of the end to end activities in the E-Com model.


Reverse Product Flow: This specifically means the product returns and damages which has to be picked from the customer and returned to the supplier through the E-Com player.


 

E-Com Operating Models


Depending on the mode of operations, there are two types of E-Com models. They are (1) Inventory Model (Buy and Sell Model) & (2) Marketplace model. In the former E-Com model, products are procured, stored and delivered after the order is received and in the latter, products are displayed in the portal and once the order is received the products are picked and delivered to the customer. Both the models are shown in the below schematic diagrams.


1. Market Place Model


In Marketplace model, products from multiple vendors are displayed in the online platform (Website) and the products could be from Brand, Shops or even Individual person. The marketplace provider takes care of the marketing and attracting customers, ensuring track of transactions and the user interface, whereas the vendor who is displaying his product will take care of availability of product and shipping. Marketplace provider takes a percentage of the sale as his revenue from the vendor. Marketplace doesn’t hold any physical inventory and thereby avoiding holding costs. Hence, Marketplace can offer a wide variety of products but the major concern for this model is the real time data and information flow between vendor and market place systems and product quality.


2. Inventory Model (Buy & Sell)


In Buy and Sell model, the products are purchased by the E-Com organization and stocked at their warehouses. Those procured products are displayed on the website and once the customer purchases the product, the product is delivered to the customer at his/her doorstep. In this model, huge inventory holding cost is a major setback but the benefit is the product can be delivered quickly to the customer and also highest level of customer experience can be provided since the E-Commerce provider manages and accountable for the delivery and quality of the product.


 

E-Com Logistics (Last Mile)


There are a lot of ways the Last Mile delivery is planned and few time slot based deliveries are explained below:


Scheduled delivery

In scheduled delivery, Customers can select any specific date for delivery within a specified time period after placing an order. For example, Flipkart offers a window of 7 days within which customer can select a delivery date.


Same-day / Next-day delivery

If customers do not prefer a scheduled delivery, they can opt for SDD (Same Day Delivery) or NDD (Next Day Delivery). E-Commerce players offer this option for most tier 1 and tier 2 cities. Though it is the most preferred option of the customer and they need the ordered products immediately, this needs a well-coordinated logistics planning and execution. To achieve optimum logistics cost in this model, substantial volumes are needed every day on all the lanes where this SDD/NDD options are offered.


Slotted Delivery

Customer can pick a preferred delivery slot and the slot timing can vary from 2-4 hours. BigBasket.com offers 2 hours slot and offers around 4 slots in a day. After the order is placed by the customer, they display the available slots for the same day and the next day for the customer to choose from.


Open Box Delivery

One of the major challenges faced by the E-Commerce players is ‘Product Returns’. These returns could not be questioned or argued with customer since the product is not seen during delivery and it can badly impact the customer experience and may end up in losing market share. Around 30-40% of the return reasons are product damages and the solution to this is ‘Open Delivery’. In this model, the product is unpacked and displayed to the customer. Also the customer signatory would be received in an online form using a tab or a hard copy of a form. This can be a valid proof and means to solve most of the post-sale issues coming out of product damages.


Though ‘Open Box Delivery’ is not going to solve all the issues, it will certainly solve most of them. For example, a customer who signed off on a form after receiving his brand new laptop as open delivery can’t come back and complain that the laptop screen is fully broken. Another great advantage of this model is – Any genuine intact shortages or damages found out during Open Box Delivery, can be taken back in the same delivery vehicle avoiding extra reverse logistics cost and we can avoid customer waiting time significantly since the replacement product can be initiated immediately. Open Box Delivery will increase your delivery time a bit and may negatively impact the number of deliveries per vehicle/trip. Currently, this model is not used by any E-Commerce players but definitely this is in pipeline.


Plug and Play

The final model is the ‘Plug and Play’. As the name implies, the product is plugged and played during the forward flow itself. This would not only sort out the product damage claim during post sales but also ensures that the product is in working condition during the time of delivery. Though it sounds great, effective implementation of this is a big challenge. The reason is – this model expects the field executives (FE) to actually set up a product and shows it working condition which demands high quality people and training for the FE(s). Hence, Plug and Play has to be evaluated sector-wise and can be switched-on on segments where it will be effective. Even this model is not in practice but we can experience them soon.


 

Snapshot of Logistics Industry in India


Logistics in India is highly un-organized and the unorganized pie is close to 80% of the 150+ Billion $ logistics industry. There are close to 35,000+ pincodes in India and even the big names of Indian logistics industry have access only upto 14,000+ pincodes. But, even within that smoother operations happen only at around 6,000+ pincodes. That tells the story of the long way ahead of the logistics industry. Logistics Infra, Indirect Taxation and the documentation protocols are the three main bottlenecks on this Industry.


 

E-Com Logistics Unit Performance Data


E-Com players use either home grown logistics operations else rely on 3PL or a mix of both. Delivery lead time varies from same day delivery to a max of 5-7 days. Higher lead times are typically for north east distribution and for ODA (Outside Delivery Areas) locations.


Delivery cost per parcel considering most of them are within 1-1.5 kgs, costs between INR 40 to INR 175. Also COD (Cash On Delivery) adds additional INR 40 to INR 100. This is the base logistics cost and there are many variations like voluminous products, express vs non express, special packaging etc.


In general, E-Com players operate at a total logistics cost (TLC) of around 10-15% of sale which is so high compared to the traditional retail logistics costs of 2-5% of sale value. The major reasons are air shipments, higher customer returns and also higher importance to service levels which hits you at the load optimization and thereby on the cost.


 

Market Place Logistics


Market Place Logistics have two parts to it – First Mile Logistics (Consolidation | Pick Up) and Last Mile Logistics (De-Consolidation | Delivery).


We have two options to handle the market place logistics – (1) Direct delivery by Seller and (2) Delivery by E-Com player. There are a lot of pros and cons. Though by the outlook it seems that direct delivery is preferred option, I stand the other way since the ecommerce players totally exposes the most crucial customer experience and loses control over it. This will actually open up a lot of other logistics issues and will hit our bottom-line. Hence the suggested option is for the E-Commerce players to manage the logistics with a mix of in-house and outsourced 3PL.


“In Nutshell, there are a lot of logistics start-ups budding up keeping the focus on E-Commerce organizations and all of them are doing pretty well. But from the E-Commerce organization standpoint, Market place logistics impacts all the key value propositions – Right Product, On Time delivery and Customer Experience and more importantly have a lion’ share on the bottom-line.”


 Hence, logistics is one function which has to be in cent percent control for the organization to spear-head and also break even in the long run!!!

What’s Ur managerial style? Lord Krishna or Lord Ram?

In Hindu mythology there are two great epics.


One is called Ramayan & other is called Mahabharata. The centre story of both these books is around victory of good on evil.


In one story Lord Ram leads his army to defeat Ravana in his land,


While in the second Lord Krishna oversees Pandavas defeat Kauravas in the battle at Kurushektra.


In Ramayan, Lord Ram is the best yodhaa of his side.


He leads his army fm the front. Strategizes & directs different people to do things which will meet the objectives. His people are happy to follow orders & want to get all the appreciation for being the best executors. Lord Ram set direction & also tells people what to do during difficult times.


Ultimately they won the war & the final outcome was achieved.


On the other hand Lord Krishna told Arjuna, I won’t fight the battle. I won’t pick up any weapon; I would only be there on ur chariot as a charioteer & he did what he said. He never picked up the weapon & he never fought.


Still, Pandavas won the war & final outcome was achieved.


So, what was different? It was their managerial style & it was also the type of people who were being lead.


Lord Ram was leading an army of ‘MONKEYS’ who were not skilled fighters & they were looking for direction. While on other hand,


Lord Krishna was leading Arjuna who was one of the best archer of his time. While Lord Ram’s role was to show it & lead fm the front,


Krishna played the role of a coach whose job was to remove cobwebs from his protégée’s mind. Krishna couldn't teach Arjuna archery but he could definitely help him see things fm a very different perspective.


Here are some of the basic differences in two styles:


Lord Ram- A skilled warrior, lead monkeys, was emotional, gave precise roles & instructions, motivated the army to fight for his cause


Lord Krishna: works with best the professionals, provides strategic clarity, allows team members to take lead, fights for the cause of the team, did not depict his true emotions


Look at ur team/family & reflect what type of leader/parent u are, One who keeps answering/solving problems for people/kids Or Who asks relevant questions fm their people/kids so that they can find their own solution.


Are U someone who tells/directs all the time 

Or

Someone who clarifies doubts & allows their people/kids to find their own ways.


Are U someone who has monkeys in the team & the way U deal with it Or U have the brightest experts in their area getting stuck with issues? 


Younger generation doesn't want U to tell or show how things are done, they want to know the meaning of their task & how it makes a difference in this world.


They are Arjuna’s who don’t necessarily seek more skill/knowledge but they need someone to clarify the cobwebs in their mind, if U still apply Lord Ram’s style on them, U are bound to fail as a manager.


On the other hand if there are people who aren't skilled enough but rely on Ur expertise to sail U through Lord Ram’s style is appropriate.


Isn't it good for us to reflect & think what managerial style will bring the best result for U & Ur team/family ?


Is it Lord Ram or Lord Krishna?


The Managing Leader V/s the Coaching Leader!!!

Data disruption in Transportation!!!


Global trucking revenue pool is close to $ 2 trillion dollars which is about 20X the cab market revenue pool. Even in the developed market such as US, it is a highly fragmented & antiquated business which lacks use of technology and data.


If U are an aspiring leader in technology & data, this is the place to be for the next 5-10 years for the following 3 reasons


·     It is a large & highest growth market to create impact, second only to goods commerce. More the internet commerce happens, higher the need of logistics & trucking to move goods


The next Amazon & Alibaba will come fm Supply Chain technology & data disruption.


·     The technology & data play is only starting to begin. Data availability is exponentially increasing through GPS, smartphones & IOT sensors


·     The problems are far more challenging & futuristic. It requires interplay of automation using IOT/driver assist systems, advanced mathematics/algorithms & high quality UI/UX to exponentially increase adoption. Many other sectors don’t offer such a wide range & depth of problems


Truckkers.com is leading the wave of disruption in trucking through a combination of the following factors


·     Unique operational ideas based on driver & network relay. First globally.


·     An outstanding Mgmt team across business, operations & technology


·     A strong & unflinching belief in the power of data


Truckkers.com has already attained a high quality business scale in India & aspires to build solutions which are applicable globally. In the truest sense, it has the potential to do what Amazon & Alibaba have done to ecommerce, Uber has done to cabs & several other disruptors have done to large global markets. The next 5-10 years is going to be exciting & enriching – some of the sample problems Truckkers.com teams work on:


Network relay model

The driver relay model needs sophisticated technology to ensure that millions of trucks can run smoothly every month with several millions pilot changeovers. The underpinning of this technology is a network model that can predict estimated time of arrival, simulation models to predict vehicle arrivals, wait time optimization & driver performance & behavior. This model brings everything together fm the network & creates a coherent stream of output to make the pit stop changeover process seamless & scalable


Fuel analytics and optimization

Fuel is one of the biggest operating cost in logistics & fuel pilferage is a rampant problem for any trucking company having fleet of vehicles. However, reliable technology solutions are not available at present to prevent pilferages as the values fluctuate & the data has to be processed real time for even small reduction in fuel value. A fuel graph is a volatile time series graph, very similar to some of financial time series models & requires both predictive & heuristic problem solving approach. 


Resource allocation and optimization

In trucking any idle capacity – truck or the driver is a fungible capacity. U cannot keep less or more of capacity at any point in the network. This is a massive problem & requires queuing theory, linear programming & advanced mathematical modeling to ensure the system is optimized & balanced


Human behavior analysis

Good driving is at the core of making logistics successful. This means that every minute of driving across the network has to be monitored & analysed. The big data fm past & current has to be constantly evaluated to determine & predict the driver's behaviour. This needs to be done in real time to know how a driver is driving to make immediate corrective actions. Is the driver in control of the vehicle? Is the driver driving carefully? Is the driver driving cautiously? These are just some of questions that needs to answered to convert a qualitative system via quantitative model.


Geo analytics

All the vehicles at Truckkers.com are fitted with several different sensors & IoTs. These IoTs generate massive amount of data that needs to be processed, consumed & analysed. The analysis & data science on this data turns Truckkers.com vehicles into smart vehicles. The smart vehicles run on a geo-grid & we are building very advanced location analytics engine for constant monitoring & simulating intelligent events. We are building an artificial intelligence layer based on machine learning & deep learning approach for simulation such as demand-supply matching, traffic maps (imagine Google Maps for logistics), hotspot & density analysis.


Time continuum and visualization

Truckkers.com is building a time continuum of its key resources that will allow to predict & create performant & efficient logistic system. A time continuum is analysis & visualization of all that is happening during the lifecycle of the resource & is a solution that gets built after applying algorithms, intelligence & predictive behaviour on a time-series on huge quantities of data. This needs scalable real time & batch processing over big data.


Line haul planning

Line haul planning optimizes the plan based on historical demand, volumes & service time commitments. The planning model determines the number of vehicles required on each route & network in an optimized way such that the shipments can be routes in the most efficient way. This planning can also be used for processing center capacity planning & building sales strategy to optimize the entire network. This problem is inherently an LP problem with multiple optimization & requires very sophisticated approximation & heuristics to solve it.


Tech platform

One of our over-arching goals is bring trailers/ trucks in India online in the next 1 - 2 years. We are building a high quality tech & data platform to bring the entire trucking commerce (fuel, service, brokerage, resale,) online to ensure higher efficiencies, lower costs & data led optimization for individual trailer / truck owners.This is an immensely exciting project being led by world class engineers.


The future will be better if we waste less & use less & less resources for more & more output. Truckkers.com core operating philosophy is based on this approach – through use of data we want to further gain the marginal efficiencies to make the world of logistics as automated, efficient & safer as possibl

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

My New Year FY16 Resolutions – Zubin Poonawalla


1) Will try and follow Delhi's odd-even policy during my forthcoming visit in the 1st week Jan. Even if it means I don't get to work, but that's ok - it'll only help reduce pollution. Back home, will only buy petrol cars. Will not attempt jugaad & buy fake number plates, stickers & will definitely not try & get away with my odd car even on days that there is an emergency ( Oh, the temptation ! For the Righteous, have you been to Sadar Bazaaar?)
 
2) Speaking of jugaad, that word has got to go. Will not attempt to sweet talk or look for "approach" to get work done, & thanks to AAP & hamare CM saheb will be ready to whip out camera phone & take secret videos of anyone attempting it. Beware, Dilli-walas.  
 
3) Will breathe more... arre bhai, not the Delhi air, but spirituality - you see so much intolerance. In FY16, I will be very tolerant though I expect to be challenged by those men who are peeing on roads, or those who are throwing dirt on the roads.  I will have to think about that. Maybe I can walk up to all of them & speak to them about what they are doing & show them the light? Something to think about.
 
4) Will try & be more fit & eat better, though with every new study, I am more confused. Some packaged food can give you more cancer & pesticides used to grow fresh food can also give you cancer. Organic or at least what claims to be organic is just too expensive. Maybe just eating less is a better idea, though with the way prices are going, that could happen automatically
 
5) Exercise more, have the chance also ( refer to point one on odd-even policy ) but with India'a Millenium City ( Gurgaon ) becoming more like India's crime city , running or cycling means I could well exercise into another dimension. Maybe Khattar sahib, if done protecting cows, can help us mortals.
 
6) Will try & do more for charity  -  so many purposes this year  - like feeding the online trolls so they can hand out more anger & abuse. Will try to help by suggesting dark rooms where angry people can hunt on their computer screens for anyone who has an opinion different from what they believe.
 
7) Will try & stay away from social media. My life called the other day & said "Missing you, let's meet". It will be difficult fighting the addiction to comment on to every inane post, to reply to mails just to show I exist, but will give it a shot.   
 
8) Will try & speak in full sentences using full words, will attempt to write them too. Right cannot be IKR & OK is just not K in FY16.
 
9) Will stress less about the children. In any case, there is no way they will suddenly become super humans & get over 95% & get into a Delhi college. I hear start-ups are doing really well & many Indians are college dropouts or in some cases never finished high school -so perhaps my kids stand a chance at a bright future after all.   
 
10) Will try & stop thinking, writing & acting like a listicle.  Let me look up 10 ways to change bad habits.