Business to the Buddha

Tag: Prof Mankad

  • What would you do in long term?






    In the long run we all are dead – John Maynard Keynes

    I was talking to my boss. He throws interesting questions – what do you think of next disruption? Ok do not talk about bitcoins, healthcare and analytics has already plateaued! Hum! That is a challenge. Wish I knew what is next disruptive business, technology or industry.

    I asked myself, is there lack of cloths that people die of severe cold in winter in India? Is there lack of food on earth that people die of hunger in world? If there is lack of cloths or food, why are our retail stores full with cloths, and food wastage is ~33% or so (National Geographic).

    My mind goes in a very long term when such questions come to mind. I believe in next hundred or hundred and fifty years or may be sooner, we would not need money (currency) or any such thing. This is very surprising for the financial system, businesses or capitalistic mind to believe. Let me elaborate. Have you seen Uber? Has Uber made ownership of car redundant for many people?

    What if our all basic requirements are fulfilled in the same manner – for example, I have some cloths in my wardrobe, I do not wear them all in a day. I wear only one at a time. Why should I have so many cloths? What if we can just select what to wear, wear it and return at some location when we are done! You may ask a question – then how would people earn money or offer services? Uber ride requires cash, card or wallet payment. Let us think of a future – car is driven by machine, cars are run by electricity, electricity is produced automatically by nuclear power and cars are manufactured by machines. No need of a human being for anything. Remember Keynes idea of working 4 days a week or lesser. Actually our capitalistic mind does not approve of this. People must work to earn their living. The best thing is – only capitalistic approach of running for better, more, improved can help us reach the state of future which is imagined here.

    When everything happens automatically, so what would humans do to earn, or say passing time? Can you relate the first part of previous sentence with the nature? Everything happens automatically for animals and they just pass time, they do not need to earn their living. Just think the phrase “Earning your living”! Does not it sound surprising thing, you just live, is not it? You do not need to earn it. I know you might have felt offended when you read automatically and comparing humans with animals. There will be a difference – our evolved sense of self and ability to think. This ability will force us to think about our existence. Our most of the time will be involved in thinking about our existence. This may take some time, when people will get fad-up with their pleasures – perhaps the way Gautam the Buddha got disenchanted. In that world we would not need money, we would not have a lot of possession, yet we will have everything on our finger tips.

    Just look at housing in Tier-1 cities in India. There are many unused inventory kept, most is out of budget for many people to afford. I see a future where whole world will be a rambling place and a type of hotel, where you can stay when you end your day. These houses will be built by machine and thus we would not need to buy or rent them either. Money as a concept will vanish. When you would have whole world at your feet, you would not steal, you would not look for possession. You would be lighter as Mirdad said in ‘The book of Mirdad’ “Less possessing – less possessed”.

    Here in above paragraphs we spoke about basic needs – cloths, food and shelter. I am sure humans will evolve to self-actualization phase – of Maslow’s need hierarchy – if the above happens (Ok give and take few carnal desires). In the short term, I would want to make that type of world envisioned above. In the longer term, I would want to be self-actualized or say enlightened in this life itself.

    What would you do in long term? was the topic for the week for LBC (Loose Bloggers Consortium). I had suggested this to the group where – Maria, Rummuser and Shackman also write. You can read other LBC authors opinions on their respective links.

  • Conditioned mind







    In our last meeting Professor Mankad suggested to try some Chinese, we went to a Chinese restaurant at Dadar bang opposite Shiv Sena Bhavan. I agreed, as for me this restaurant was new, earlier when I lived in Dadar the restaurant was named Chandragupt, not specialty Chinese restaurant. A very good service and good food as well. During the lunch we spoke on different topics and my earlier posts have some as the blogs on the same discussions.

    While discussing and before leaving the restaurant, Prof Mankad did a simple experiment on me. He took a piece of paper and wrote “All in the the family”. He asked me just read it. I read it “All in the family”, he asked me read it again. I read it again and again for good about 5-6 times for next 30 seconds – “All in the family”. All the time when I read that I was asking if the words I am reading are right, in terms of legibility! Reference check image

    ReadingIn the image if you notice the first THE is not clear. So, I had various reasons to ask questions about words and spellings. So, I was digging the hole at the wrong place. Prof Mankad was enjoying it. So after a while I said there are two THE in this sentence, one on line 2 and other on line 3, “I noticed it but thought it was by mistake”. He smiled little more. I also made little more observations. This all went on interestingly, the waiter kept on watching us.

    So, Prof Mankad concluded, Pravin, you saw what you wanted to see, not what exactly is there. This is the problem with many of us, we are conditioned according to our choices and opinions. We need to be open to possibilities. Last week when I wrote on served by biases the idea was same, to highlight this problem of conditionality. Just to conclude with example (reference Times Now debate – that I overheard) – yesterday night heard Indian Rail fares will be increased. Until last year when UPA Govt raised fare 1st time in 10 years, BJP questioned and called names to UPA. Now, when BJP is increasing fare, BJP was supporting it with various reasons & even Twiple (on twitter they are called Bhakts by some people) supporting BJP started supporting the act! Isn’t it surprising! I know there would be instances when people will say – ok! this Govt is not as corrupt as the UPA was, we can live with it! The only reason for that will be – because it is the Party which I support, has done the scams. This is the way we think and act based on conditioned mind.

    The same happens with innovation efforts in the company, people are so biased and conditioned that they ignore simple things (as repeated THE). For such cases organizations need external consultants for advisory.

  • Keynes







    I enjoyed learning economics in my MBA, thanks to Prof Mankad for teaching Macroeconomics as a well narrated story of History of the world. He taught it so brilliantly that we all used to sit, go through the roller coasters up and down the history lane by-lanes and learn the development in economics and policy making.

    Being an average engineer, I too was unaware (still am) about economics before taking the course with Prof Mankad. This was the class where I came to know about John Manyard Keynes and keynesianism. I buy into his theory of Govt intervention (which wont go down well with many capitalists); however the way I have seen recent past is – challenges and largely corruption in implementation. In India, Govt has launched Food Security, Employment schemes – seems good as Keynes suggested, but the money is not reaching the right place.

    Well, I thought to write on Keynes because something moved me deeply in Prof Mankad’s class. That statement itched profoundly, whenever I thought about future that sentence resounded. Prof Mankad talked about Great Depression in his lectures. He introduced us to the Keynes and his idea, opposition to his idea and so on. In the lecture Prof Mankad said – what Keynes was – “in the long run we are all dead”.

    This statement is right however we can think on this two ways –

    1. (bad one) Anyway I will die one day – why worry, indulge and enjoy. [may be Tarun Tejpal (recent Tehelka sexual harassment case) and many others think this way]

    2. (Good intentions) Yes, if I am going to die, everyone dies, so what is the purpose of my being here? Am I like any other animal or plant, or I have some brain, who gave it to me? And so on…

    So, if …in the long run we are all dead… why all this drama (delusion)? in Hindi – यह प्रपंच क्यों?