SAMURAI BLOG

This is My Commitment!! Can I Reach??

2010-03-12T08:39:24Z

If we could live in the present & enjoy the present, Living every moment to the full, without any special expectations. it would clear off the self created problems.

Accepted! that this is easier said than done, yet as they say ---

"You cannot cross the chasm unless you put your foot on the rope"

So you have to try.

In having the courage to accept the present & being truthful to the moment I feel we can move towards being more content.

I as a person am a long way from the above; Yet I think I have made a begining & I am on my way.

This is My Commitment!! Can I Reach??

Posted By Atul 12-mar-2009

The Year Gone By

2010-03-03T07:19:10Z

I write this in March to bring home the fact that the Year gone by is actually the financial year which everybody would like to see it end asap.

I, like you & everybody have a lot of experience. This experience has made us what we are.. Good, Bad, Evil, Generous so on & so forth.

Some small & trivial experiences seem very small at that moment, but acquire a significance & a larger meaning when seen later.

Looking back at the experiences that I had over the last couple of years; I find that the journey of forming a business & running the same is at times challenging, Stressful, Consuming ..... I doubt if I could be able to express the emotions I had over the last couple of years. Yet I would safely say that the time spent was definitly enjoying & satisfying. Apart from all that I learnt about Business, I also learnt the Politics of Marketing, I learnt human psyche & above all, I came to know myself better. At times, I found myself experiencing a Spiritual satisfaction whereas at times there was a constant struggle between deep attachments & detachments from the results of the work well done. Sometimes I found myself weak in the knees but at times I found myself surprisingly stronger than I had ever been.

Though business has been & will be stressful, the experience it has given me, has definitely changed / matured me enough to meet & deal with a range of people & situations; some good - some bad. I do feel that at the end of my career, if ever I write a book, it would read something like "A Book on Impossibilities".

The challenges faced have been so big & huge that now a days before commencing on a new project or an idea, I tend to procrastinate. The new project of starting something in India is one of this.

But this time around I have decided that I will not repeat the mistakes that I did in the past. Maybe, I will do some new ones. Even in mistakes you have to be creative. I will do this new journey into India more enjoyable & less stressful.

As I write this, memories of the past flood me once again & frighten me to avoid the step about to be taken. Yet the good ones are reason enough to go on.

I feel it is important to have more experiences so that I can have some more stories to tell.

Yet all said & done, In life there is a time for everything.. Call it Luck, Destiny, Karma.... And I feel that the time for our company Geomanage to go Global has come!

Yes we will be in India in the next financial year.

Posted by Atul 03-Mar-2010

India Breakthrough

2010-02-26T01:26:55Z

In the last year I visited India a couple of times with an intention to do business in my own country. A country where most of the companies from most of the nations intend to enter. I could also see for myself an India which is fast disappearing or say changing. Changing from the point when I left India some years back.

With this background, I also dreamt of having some business in line with our business in Japan. It is one thing to dream & talk and quite another to do. I am really delighted to tell you that Geomanage as a team has succeeded in getting its first breakthrough. A small contract for construction of an Electrical Transformer Manufacturing company in the state of Maharashtra.

The work will involve a lot of financial and resources planning which we as team are definitely capable. However, in the hindsight I would not like to be content with the financial success of the business & the accompanying P&L statements , Progress Reports etc. which will be generated during the course of this & future projects in India.

This is not Blowing of Trumpets but I strongly believe in the message of hope & goodness. Being in the core sector means that Geomanage will have the opportunity to interact with labor and the people at the bottom of the Indian Society apex. I would really be satisfied if Geomanage as a company would be able to deliver some sort of a better life to this section of the society.

I would personally try to build Geomanaage India's business on the strength of core convictions which will have to bear the local cultural upheavals time & again.

Let us hope that in time to come Geomanage can look back and say that we are climbing all the blue mountains with vigour & passion.

Posted by Atul 26-Feb-2009

Dare To Win

2010-02-19T03:15:07Z

Writing after a long time. The economy had it's toll everywhere including my writing abilities.

Well now with a little improvement & things looking upbeat I got in the mood to write a few thoughts -

First of all in the new financial year ie. April 2010, we will in all probability breaking into the Indian market. How far we succeed is anybody's guess. Yet we will go ahead for sitting back & dreaming does not get you ahead. As they always say that those dreams which you see in sleep never turn true. It is only the dreams which do not allow you to sleep turn into reality.

As is always the case, with one man in the arena there are a hundred critics pointing out as to where he went wrong & how he could have done it better. Yet the final credit belongs to the man who dared to enter the arena with hardwork & sleepless nights behind him. There is no effort without shortcomings.

There is no endeavour without compromises. All these have been anticipated by the man in the arena.

The man in the arena enters the arena with enthusiasm & looking forward to enjoy "The Joy of Achievement". The man in the arena if at all he fails will fail doing bigger & greater things. Even if he fails he would have proven to the world that he is a person who dared to win & not a cold & timid soul who tasted neither victory or defeat.

Dare to Win!!

Posted by Atul .... 19-Feb-2010

The Road Ahead

2009-09-11T03:43:35Z

I find myself returning again & again to the question of What Next? Where do I take the company & the team. It is as if it has become a guidepost for my career. It is not a question that we ask ourselves enough. We as humans and professionals normally dodge this question in order to avoid the uneasy burden of additional responsibilities and the risks associated with any vision.

]]> In a company as diverse as Geomanage there is always a passionate liking for the activities performed by each of the team members. This is ofcourse necessary and it is one of the foundation base of our company. Yet with so much of diverse activities and so much of diverse cultures how is it that we take a company forward viz. How do we define goals which benefit all of us in the long term. I think the fundamentals lie in acceptance and respect. It is like; if only a scholar acknowledges that the sportsman feels the same way about his shoes as he feels about his books.

With the starting of our offices in India the team has extended beyond Geographical and cultural borders. The work also has become cross border and time barriers are being broken down. It has become a 24x7 job which is being done in a hurry and sometimes I feel that I am riding down an expressway. Inspite of all this speed and busy days I have always addressed the question What Next? Which I thought would be a good idea to put it down so that after sometime I can go back and judge myself as to what has been achieved.

To begin with; The vision of Geomanage is to become a truly global company with offices spanning countries and continents so that the customers intending to go global have a one stop solution for their global aspirations. At first I would like to make use of all the Project management skills available within the company be it in diverse industry segments such as Infrastructure, Oil&Gas, Finance or IT.

We would like to integrate these skill sets and try to develop a commercially viable business model which will be financially profitable to all the stake holders. With this in mind we intend to get involved in a small infrastructure project in India. This will encompass all the activities of project right from Concept to Commission including Finance Management. This I feel will give us a good experience in cross country Project Management aspects.

The second vision would be to make use of the teams strengths in sales, IT and the web. We would like to help good Small & Medium Industries in various countries with good products to go global. Our main business would be to act as Business Facilitators in respective countries and also to make use of Technology for the PR aspects of our customers. I would like to see Geomanage have 2 more offices in different locations by next November. Hope this is not too ambitious???

Posted by Atul 11-Sep-09

One Year of GeoManage

2009-09-04T03:32:38Z

It is exactly a year that Geomanage was formed. It is also one year since I started heading this organization. So naturally it is a time to reflect on the year gone by.

]]> Surprise - The big surprise for me is to compare from where I started to where I am. I never imagined that I could be so patient in crisis after crisis which was hitting the new formed company right from the time of Lehman collapse. Yet we sailed through the troubled times & the team remained in place to support me throughout the stormy days.

Admiration - I have started admiring the Geomanage team for all the efforts put in by them during the year & the new ideas that have been brought on the table by them. It is an admirable team effort which not only boosts confidence but also gives great pleasure when working.

Humility - I am humbled by the fact that by being the captain of the team, I have to listen to all the team members, rather than just pushing my thoughts. As is often said, Business strategies and visions are like large Ocean tankers & not speedboats. The direction of a company can be changed by a few degrees in different direction. The result of this change can be seen only after a year or years not after days or weeks.

Achievements - To talk about our achievements, well of course we have sailed through the crisis together. But the most important achievement is the formation of our subsidiary in India viz. Geomanage Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd.

Future - Looking ahead we would like to serve our customers in Japan & India to the best of our abilities. With this in mind we would also like to increase our services in India too.

Road Ahead - We would like to make Geomanage a truly global company for which we are also scouting other frontiers where we can have our presence. Hope to have presence in more country before September - 2010

Posted By Atul 04-Sep-2009

Find What You Love !!

2009-07-30T02:03:55Z

I really feel honored & thank my family, friends, well wishers & God to be able to still pen down my thoughts & feelings.

I still watch Steve Jobs` Stanford speech video over & over at regular intervals. It has become one of my favorites on Youtube. I do not know, whether it is possible but I would definitely like to meet the man & convey my admiration to him directly. What little, I have read or heard of him is that Steve consistently pushes things farther and is a stickler to quality. He demands perfection from his employees and can be very rude at times.

]]>

What is interesting at Geomanage is how we as a startup with only a few of us can hold ourselves to the same bars of quality. It is one thing to have more than thousands of employees, employ the best brains in the industry pay them High-salaries - but it is a different story to have a tiny group, pay light salaries & accomplish / deliver beautiful products & services.

People may well ask - How do you do it?? Well it all boils down to doing what we love and doing it passionately. But many would like to do it but really how many can. I am lucky - I not only found what I loved but I was graced by God to be blessed with an excellent companion & a loving family surrounded by friends & well wishers who encouraged & helped me to do what I loved. But, to be very frank, when I started on the journey I never thought that I could be where I am now. But you can only look back & connect; you cannot look forward and decide what is right and wrong. Whatever, the problems, difficulties of the past I think were nothing but a prelude to what it is now.

So to all those who want to start I would say that you should first love yourself, then have trust in some things like trust yourself, trust your intution, destiny, life, karma etc This methodology worked for me & made a difference. And above all as Steve says -

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Posted By Atul 30-Jul-09

The Business Model

2009-07-24T01:31:36Z

The Steam Engine followed by the Internal Combustion Engine commenced the Industrial revolution which led to the demand of Coal & Petroleum. As the demand for these products grew so did the economies of the supplying countries (Oil producing countries of the Middle East) grew. This pattern seems to be unfolding again. However, the fuel now is the Knowledge Workers & Skilled Professionals. Education, Knowledge, Skill have become the raw materials for success in the present scenario.

]]> Considering the above, growth for India is imperative. With due respect to the past Indian generation which sowed the seeds for the value of education, & Family bonding; India is at a threshold when it can be counted as a major economic powerhouse. Of course there are problems such as poverty which stands at a staggering 25% living below the poverty line. A large unemployed population which includes educated youth. Yet compared to the problems which I saw & experienced during my childhood / growing up years, India has survived and succeeded. This success does not necessarily mean material achievements but achievements in terms of social development. Even today, Indians in general have maintained a very balanced family life. Respect, Love & Bonding within the family which is not often seen in other countries.

If this continues & I have no doubt that it will continue, I think India should be one of the finest destinations for business growth. With this in mind, Geomanage wishes to engage the Indian companies by giving them an exposure to new markets addressing their problems and giving them a place on the global platform by providing proximity to their clients. It is infact an effort to bridge the cultural gap between the cultures.

Posted By Atul 24-Jul-09

India Dreams

2009-07-16T03:35:52Z

Hello Everybody, the Great Indian election has taken place and the results are out. The secular Congress Party has won. If there is anyone who still doubts that India has arrived well then this is the moment when India has answered.

It is not the India represented by me or rather us (which includes you the readers). The above has been answered by the common man the people who have no access or rather do not know the term Internet. Yes the man in the remote villages, the man making out a living in the slums of Mumbai who believed that this time must be different. They have risen above caste, creed, religion.. their voices are different.

]]> It is the voices of the young and old, voices of Maharashtrians & Biharis & Tamils so on and so forth. All have sent a message to the international forces (good & evil); that India is just not a collection of states speaking different languages and following various religions. It is and always will be united. It is and will always have a common purpose and a common vision. A vision of progress coupled with peace, compassion and acceptance.

The common man has spoken and taught a lesson to all the learned and wealthy Indians living in India & abroad that we rise and fall as one nation, as one people. Let us all come together and resist the temptations of Caste, Regional and Religious politics. Let us again be on the world center stage and tell the world which is presently in turmoil that it is not Religion or Wealth which should be the basis of a civilized society. The basis should be peace, compassion, acceptance and religious respect to each other.

The ZERO has been a great contribution from India to the world. Our new nation coming of age can be perfected. The youth of India in the recent past have given us hope for what we can do. Let us now plan for what we can achieve tomorrow.

Finally to all the well wishers of Geomanage we will soon be making our presence felt in India with opening of our office in Mumbai by end August - 2009.

Obama & Leadership

2009-07-09T03:10:03Z

As a new political era dawns, people in all walks of life have not only started talking about change but also aspire to create sustainable change in their worlds and their environments. All this has been inspired by the triumph against odds of one man viz. Barack Obama.

]]> So much has been said and written about him that there is nothing left for me to write. Yet one thing that I find outstanding about this man is his authenticity. This is the quality which I feel we should imbibe so that we can produce better results for ourselves and for those around us.

Coming down to the topic of leadership, the frequently asked questions are

What is Leadership

Well the leadership as I understand is a matter of values. A person without values cannot be a leader. Values Good or Bad but values are values & values make leaders.

Who is a good Leader?

Effective Leaders visualize the future based on the actual stories of their pasts

Obama`s personal history of his multi-racial, multi-national origins blended well with the collective moment of USA. His leadership genius, articulated a personal and collective vision which was firmly rooted in his past and always looked forward positively with hope for a better tomorrow.

A Powerful Vision which focuses on what matters most

Obama increased his credibility on the world stage by using his real past in a transparent way. As all think, Obama is not faking; He is the real man, It is his story; They are his Hopes; It is his Achievement. It is Obama who inspires. It is his vision of a better tomorrow which we all follow.

No wonder that he is the man who has called his last book The Audacity Of Hope.

Posted by Atul 09-Jul-09

Economy & The Blog

2009-07-03T05:54:16Z

Sorry for being away for so long. No reason for not writing. It was just that I did not write.

]]> I write this blog today for 2 reasons -

1) Somedays back my friends said that I started blogging and the Economy went from good to bad. I stopped blogging & the economy went from Bad to Worst. So I have started blogging so that economy goes back to bad from worst.

2) Second reason : It was decided that if I do not blog once a week then I will be fined 10,000Yens Big amount in these times??

Look forward to my blogs

The Year Ahead

2009-01-07T05:55:57Z

Very Warm and Happy New Year to all of you.
Looking back the only good thing about 2008 is that it is over.　A lot has been written and a lot more will be written on the year gone by. Being a firm believer in the Power of Positive Thinking, I always try to forget the bad events of the past and always look forward to the future which is always supposed to be good.

]]> To be absolutely honest 2009 has put me in a oscillatory mode. One moment I feel very positive and the next I am depressed. On the positive side I am happy to note that in spite of the economic downturn etc. Geomanage is still getting enquiries and in fact we also have signed and commenced work on some of the new projects. Yet in spite of this, the environment outside depresses me especially when at times I hear some of the known persons being laid off or at times I hear that some known business houses are being closed due to the depression.

There have been so many moments good and bad embedded in my mind that it becomes necessary to forget the bad moments so that you do not waste energy on them. Also by forgetting the bad moments the good moments become more clear and can be recalled whenever I am having a bad day.

For that matter I feel 2009 is going to be unpredictably funny, not in the humorous way but in a "you never know what is going to happen" way. The over confident or the egoists may argue by saying that well of course you are never going to know anyway. Yet whenever I have bad times I think "How did I not see it coming?" When major events happen, we think about our next plan. As much as we can think and plan, life takes over and says `stop`. No one in this world can escape this. Even wealth and fame do not guarantee protection. Yet what separates those who live their lives and those who merely exist is the search for the future. When you get to a point when you cannot see your future then be rest assured that you do not have a future.

However, to ease the sense of frustration and the loss of direction, I still believe that deep down inside there is my will which says all will be well next year. Even in my recent past when I was having some of my darkest years, I believed in myself and I believed in my destiny. I just hope that I remember this when life decides to have some fun with me.
Thank you all for your support this year. I wish you all the love and happiness in 2009.

Globalization

2008-12-22T01:33:34Z

lobalization is a process of transformation of local society into a global one. Globalization can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. This process is a combination of economic, technological, socio-cultural and political forces. However, presently Globalization is often referred as economic globalization.

]]> Globalization is not new, though. For thousands of years, people--and, later, corporations--have been buying from and selling to each other in lands at great distances, such as through the famed Silk Road. Likewise, for centuries, people and corporations have invested in enterprises in other countries. In fact, many of the features of the current wave of globalization are similar to those prevailing before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Modern Globalization began after the end of World War II. This was largely the result of planning by economists and business houses, who recognized the disadvantages associated with protectionism. This led to the Bretton Woods conference and founding of several international institutions such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Globalization is based on the following principles -
Promotion of free trade:
Reduction or elimination of tariffs; creation of free trade zones with small or no tariffs
Reduced transportation costs, especially resulting from development of containerization for ocean shipping.
Reduction or elimination of capital controls
Reduction, elimination, or harmonization of subsidies for local businesses

Restriction of free trade:
Harmonization of intellectual property laws across the majority of states, with more restrictions.
Recognition of intellectual property restrictions (e.g. patents granted by China would be recognized in the United States)

While it is easy to look at the positive aspects of Globalization and the great benefits it has had on Industrial and Financial sectors, Globalization is deeply controversial. Proponents of globalization argue that it allows poor countries and their citizens to develop economically and raise their standards of living, while opponents of globalization say that the creation of an international free market has benefited multinational corporations in the Western world at the expense of local enterprises, local cultures, and common people. Resistance to globalization has therefore taken shape as people and governments try to manage the flow of capital, labor, goods, and ideas that constitute modern globalization.
To find the right balance between benefits and costs associated with globalization, citizens of all nations should understand how globalization works and the policy choices facing them and their societies.

As a matter of fact we all should try to be global citizens and help each other to become global by use of technology to increase cross-border trade, investment and migration.

Posted by Kirti Lokurkar

Terrorism

2008-12-16T02:13:10Z

error comes from the Latin word meaning "to frighten".

Terrorism is not new, and even though it has been used since ancient times it is hard to define. Terrorism has often been an effective tactic for the weaker side in a conflict.

]]> Terrorism in India has grown to a great extent in the last two decades. It is a bit unfortunate that we as a country are facing terrorism from our neighboring countries since independence.　Pakistan since it's creation has always harbored　terrorist elements / groups against India with an intention to destabilize our country. China supports Pakistan in this endeavor to divide India. In recent years we are seeing Bangladesh as the new breeding ground for terrorists. SriLanka is also in the same category.

Though foreign governments and bases do breed terrorism, these terrorist groups take advantage especially of the unemployed youth who fall easy prey to their indoctrination and create local groups with help of unscrupulous politicians. They are also helped by the corrupt officials who help in their entry and exit from India.

So terrorism is not about religion or any ideologies. The terrorists that we encounter today are not men who commit evil acts out of revenge. For these men, brainwashed by outfits like LET, Al-Qaeda...; Terrorism is a full fledged profession. The cold blooded killers of Mumbai recently went about their task with clinical precision. They did it because it was a job they wanted to do.

Democracy, political freedom, civil liberties and religious tolerance must be protected by all means. The corruption in the bureaucracy should be minimized. Criminalization of politics must end. At present we have number of parliamentarians with pending criminal cases. Some jailed parliamentarians cast votes on important national issues which is alarming!! Terrorism prospers and thrives in such conditions. Poverty is an incubator of terrorism and corruption is the catalyst.

We as all responsible Indians have a big part to play in days ahead. At first we all should come out and start voting. We should also help the government in implementing reforms to maintain rapid economic growth and uplift the status of downtrodden people.
All in all let us as true citizens be honest to ourselves. The rest will follow.

Posted By Kirti Lokurkar

We Can And We Will

2008-12-09T01:23:18Z

ecember has begun signaling that the year is about to end. A period when it is time for us to reflect on the year gone by. We at Geomanage have had a lot of fun over the last year but it`s also been a lot of hard work. We have as usual had our moments of up`s and down`s over the last year but all in all it has been a successful year. We have continued with our original activities and added some new activities to our lists. Our B2B portal viz. http://www.fitz-global.com has been patronized by over 3,500 worldwide customers. We have done some good net trading in the field of Construction Equipments and have also commenced our Project Finance Consulting division helping Japanese companies to set up operations out of Japan.

]]> As we were sailing along smoothly the Global Financial Meltdown came along and did put a brake on our progress. However, we as a team remained undaunted and with a slight shift in direction we took the meltdown in our stride and continued to work with the same zeal. The Meltdown certainly felt like the doomsday was around the corner and the entire tsunami was to hit us headlong. We really had to summon up our reserve energies to stay calm in the coming crisis and go on with our work completing our tasks.

In the last year we also met a lot of people big and small businessmen. Each one of them brought something or the other to the table. One thing that hit me was that all of them were passionate with their jobs and their companies. This is something to learn. I also learnt from their abilities, their successes and their challenges. After all it does not come down to their job, it also comes down to them being people and their attitudes which helped them to be where they are.

I also came across some for whom money is no object, it is a means to power. However, for me money is an object. This gives me the ability to see through the glitter and the false façade. It also gives me to understand the efforts and the ability of the majority of the people with and eye on the pocketbooks.

All in all I feel it has turned out to be a good year with lot of aspirations and dreams to carry on to the next year.

With the political and the economic environments expected to change drastically in the next year we like most of you are looking for answers whether we can meet the challenges.

As for Geomanage the answer is "Yes We Can and We Will"