How to Evaluate a Job Offer?

When you decide to look for a job change it clearly means you don't like something at your current place of work!

(Image courtesy: http://cliparts.co/clipart/96793)

You should carefully analyze and note down the factors that drove you to to look for a change in the first place. These factors are very useful for evaluating a job offer.

After applying to hundreds of organizations and after interviewing with a few that decide to call you and consider you beyond the resume screening stage and if all goes well till the very end, you end up with that fantastic e-mail in your inbox.

"Congratulations! we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected; please find attached the salary details. Please note that this offer will be deemed cancelled within 1 day if you do not accept the offer in writing/email."

Suppose you are currently in a company C and you get an offer from another company O.

What do you do next? How do you evaluate the job offer?

The best way to evaluate whether to bite the bullet and go ahead with the change is to do a "Stay versus Quit" analysis for C and "Accept versus Reject" analysis for O.

Company C - Reasons to Stay

Even though you want to leave, every company has something good about it!

Examples include:

• Tax-friendly salary structure
• Get to stay with family
• Work pressure is manageable
• Company is stable
• Office is close to home and driving time/distance is bearable

Company C - Reasons to Quit

These are the reasons that got you started on this journey to move out!

Examples include:

• Decent hike over your current salary - consider both In-Hand Salary and Net Cash-flow (never go by the CTC Salary!)
• Sick reporting structure
• Problem people with big egos
• Issues related to disparities in experience versus role versus grade versus responsibilities
• Forced to report into someone who is highly toxic and totally incompetent
• Lack of motivation to do work  beyond the bare minimum due to above
• Coterie culture formed by the top man
• Group of stooges around the top man
• Glass ceiling created by the coterie and stooges
• Top man and senior folks don't inspire confidence in company's future

Company O - Reasons to Accept

You went through the hiring process and invested your energy because you would have certainly liked several aspects of the prospective organization!

Examples include:

• Better designation and job title
• Escape sick reporting structure
• Escape all reasons mentioned above in Company C - Reasons to Quit
• Get to work in an interesting area
• Chance to get into a different though related line of work

Company O - Reasons to Reject

As you went through the hiring process you may have made certain observations and in addition got to know several aspects from your sources that appear concerning!

Examples include:

• Excessive work pressure
• Office politics and cultural issues
• Work nature may be very different from what has been promised
• HR policies not in line with accepted norms in the industry (too less leaves, no work from home)
• Reporting structure different from the impression that is created around it
• Net salary not significantly higher though increase in CTC shown in the offer may appear that way
• People in top management do not seem too professional
• No laptop even at senior levels
• May need moving away from family
• Exit option not clearly visible

The last point is worth highlighting.

You should always be completely aware of "What Most Companies End Up Lying About When Hiring Someone?".

Even before you join a company you should have a clear thought out exit plan firmly in place!

The reason is when you join Company O it immediately becomes Company C and even though you decided to join, just like every company has something good about it, every company also has something bad about it!

As the curtains come apart, the play starts and the various scenes unfold in the new organization, you may soon realize that you need to look for an offer from another company O!

What Most Companies End Up Lying About When Hiring Someone?

Most companies choose to tell (or not tell) their prospective hires certain facts and figures during the interview process which cannot be labelled as truth exactly.

These facts and figures may, in fact, border on falsehood and are mostly what can perhaps be termed as smart lies.

These may be in terms of the following aspects:

• Reporting structure for the position for which the candidate is being hired - smart lies are very common on this aspect especially related to solid versus dotted reporting and role versus designation inequality
• The real place and the associated power of the position in the overall organizational hierarchy - this is what finally leads to organizational politics
• The policies in respect of employee benefits - HR folks are adept at smart lies in respect of selling of benefits such as insurance, leaves, promotions, rewards and recognition, etc.
• The informal power structures - analyzing who goes with whom for lunch is generally a precise way to understand the "actual on ground" political and power environment in an organization
• The presence of dead-wood in the company - this relates to certain roles being created for keeping some individuals due to loyalty factor who are actually no longer needed
• The working hours - the official and the real working hours may be so apart in some cases such that it makes a complete mockery of work-life balance
• The thing called culture - every company and especially its top man would claim that her company is the best and has an open, progressive culture and that simply can't be true
• Stooges of the top man - this is something no company will ever accept but presence and promotion of stooges is a sad reality
• Long time loyalists - the long time loyalists are the stooges as well in most cases and roam around breeding mess, interference, politics, incompetence, exceptions to policies, etc.
• Budget with the position - again another aspect where one should expect to get a lot of surprise and is driven by the overall level of professionalism and maturity in the organization

It is commonly accepted that it is a good idea to assess the effectiveness of HR not just in terms of how many they are able to hire but also for how long someone who is hired stays along.

And for improving the above parameter it is important for an organization to study the above aspects closely and carefully and then initiate actions for their remedy.

Otherwise, attrition rate will be higher than that what one would want it to be. Way too higher!

Quitting Your Job to Become a Full-time Investor and Then a Successful Investor

Quitting your job to become a full-time investor may look like a great and romantically appealing idea to many people.

The key assumption that is generally made is that once you become a full-time investor you would then eventually and surely become a successful investor.

This is a dangerous assumption.

Quitting your job under the above assumption is a risky proposition, to say the least.

It seems Warren Buffet's success as an investor has a lot to do with investing being viewed as a surefire way of becoming not only rich but super rich.

Stories glorifying investment successes of Warren Buffet and others of his ilk have been portrayed by the media in quite an adoring and compelling manner.

However, these stories are under the effect of survivor bias and hence leave out the scary side of full-time investing.

An important realization is that the journey from having a job to quitting it to become a full-time investor is indeed a tough one but the journey from being a full-time investor to a successful investor is much tougher.

It is a commonly accepted fact that it is hard to distinguish between the role of luck versus skill as far as investing goes.

In addition, even the high and mighty go through peaks and troughs which necessitates equanimity as a key trait of a successful investor.

And lastly, it is useful to always remember the importance of making mistakes and learning from them.

This is explained so beautifully well in the Letter to Shareholders by William A. Ackman (Bill Ackman) in the 2015 Annual Report of Pershing Square Holding:

"I have always believed that experience is best defined as making mistakes and learning from them. 

I have made many investment mistakes over the last nearly 25 years managing investments, but the overall result has been quite satisfactory.

I believe that this is principally because we have used errors of judgment, execution, or analysis as important opportunities for study, learning, and introspection.

We intend to do so here.

Now that we have begun to stabilize our investment in Valeant, we will begin to consider the significant lessons that we can learn from this experience.

One important lesson from the past is that while we normally use our active investment approach to create value in a new situation, it can also serve in a defensive role, when a business we own encounters severe challenges."

Are You in Your Job Well Past Its Date of Expiry?

Every job comes with a date of expiry.

This is true, for sure, in case of professionally managed companies.

And if you are in a company where you don't need to worry about the date of expiry it is obvious what kind of company you are in!

Date of expiry means one of the following two things:

• You outgrow the organization in the sense that you reach a point of saturation from work perspective or hit the glass ceiling from organizational structure perspective
• The organization outgrows you in the sense that your skills become irrelevant to the business of the company.

It is important to know the date of expiry of your current job. But if you do not know it then you are  waiting for career disaster to strike you very unexpectedly.

And if you know the date of expiry you can work from a position of advantage.

In case you are in your job well past its date of expiry, do expect funny things to happen. Here are some of such things that would typically happen:

• Others who are in a similar position will start playing dirty politics. Especially the club of long timers will strike back with vengeance to secure their positions
• Corporate chameleons will start showing their true color beneath the fake facade of professional maturity
• Incompetent people will start getting anxious and start raising trivial issues (you did not take cake in my last birthday) and start writing childish emails (this is approved but with riders)
• The coterie will not only start cementing their position but also start spreading rumors to hurt the outsiders
• The stooges of the top man will start cutting down others to grow taller and taller

Staying in a coterie-managed, unprofessional and immature company past the expiry date is a very risky situation to be in.

This would increase the stress level, create negative vibes, bring the corporate devils out in open and lead the organization towards disaster unless corrected.

Why Some People Are Not Cut Out For Corporate Life?

This is a fact. Some people are simply not cut out for corporate life. And that could as well be you. The important point, however, is that there's really nothing wrong with that.

Corporate life is like the game of football.

You need to be able to consistently keep the ball on the opponent's side (meet expectations) and occasionally put the ball into the goalpost (exceed expectations and at times be rated outstanding).

In addition, you also need to be able to defend your goalpost (watch out for your back from envious peers and vindictive seniors).

And finally, you also need to know when and how to tackle a co-worker (read play dirty office politics) and most importantly how to avoid getting a red card (read get fired or laid off).

Just like not everyone can play football well, not everyone can play the game of corporate life well.

Corporate life is full of blatant manipulation, back stabbing, dirty politics, blame game, finger pointing, ownership shifting, credit stealing, immaturity and incompetence, flaming emails, etc.

Above toxic behaviors are prevalent in the corporate world since everyone wants to stay longer on the football field and also wants to become the best player. Winning becomes the sole purpose of everyone playing the corporate game.

Some people are not cut out for corporate life because they do not have the above traits. They dislike manipulation in the name of motivation, they are good at their work but are not too much concerned with image building and perception management and they dislike and are not adept at office politics.

Such people should find some way to quit the corporate life.

However, there are many people who can thrive in the corporate world just like a cockroach can survive in almost any adverse environment.

Such people can continue to work in the corporate life. After all a pig is happiest when it rolls in mud.

Such people are good at following:

• Lick the shoes of the person they are reporting into
• Believe in loyalty over competence
• Manage good perception around them
• Create bad perception around their office enemies
• Play dirty politics
• Withhold crucial information
• Write silly and flaming emails
• Manipulate events to stay in good books of the top dog
• Form and be a part of the coterie around the top dog
• Add no value in general but create an impression of value-addition
• Spread negativity on the sly

So if you like doing the above or would be willing to learn the above, you are a perfect fit for an eventful life in the corporate world.

In case it is otherwise then you should realize that you are not cut out for corporate life. The important point, however, is that there's really nothing wrong with that.

Why Minimalism is Important in Today's World?

We are constantly bombarded with stuff and more stuff from all directions. Whether it be a mall, a retail store or a grocery website, everyone is busy trying to sell something to us.

Deep discounts, upto 80% off sale, discount coupons, gift vouchers, e-coupons, promo codes, loyalty bonus, BOGO (buy one get one) offer, BTGF (buy two get five) offer, exchange old for new, zero processing fee, EMIs at zero interest rate - this is the language of the world we live in these days.

The mantra that is being told to us repeatedly from all quarters is very simply that the purpose of life is to consume and consume.

The definition of success in the civilization we as human beings have ended up creating means the following - earn more money, buy more stuff, purchase a bigger house, buy a bigger car, eat regularly outside in expensive restaurants,  carry a fat wallet stuffed with several credit cards and swipe a card to get that latest gadget.

All the stuff we have individually procured and accumulated is leading to cluttered houses and cluttered minds. We have lost enjoying the small things in life in the pointless pursuit of more and more stuff.

The other dimension of all this is the massive destruction of earth's natural resources.

This is where minimalism comes into the picture.



Minimalism with its focus on "when less is actually more" offers a way to mankind that makes such a practical sense.

A simple yet profound question to ask is "does the Earth have enough material to produce one car for every person who will be born on this planet in the next 10000 years?". The answer is seemingly a no and a very scary one. And thus the need for minimalism.

Minimalism is not depriving oneself. Rather it is focusing on what is important and removing the rest. For every person minimalism will take a different form as what is important for one person will be so very unique to that person.

Minimalism can put brakes to the current culture of reckless consumption. Minimalism can help us determine what adds value to our life and what does not.

With the current consumption orientation that is so prevalent Earth's future is at stake. With minimalism Earth will perhaps have a much better chance to survive for the future generation of human beings.

Unmistakable Signs You are Working in a Company of Toxic Clowns

Working in a company full of toxic clowns is quite an amusing experience.

A clown is "a person whose words or actions provoke or are intended to provoke amusement or laughter".

A toxic clown does amuse but spreads lot of negativity and instills a political culture in the organization.

The toxic clowns are utterly unprofessional, carry big egos and generally roam around in the company in a distinctive style.

Here are some unmistakable signs that you are working in a company of toxic clowns:

• The clowns at senior and other positions have been there since the very beginning. They are unfit to find a job elsewhere and are stuck (doing what they have been doing all the while).
• The clowns form a close-knit coterie and go for lunch together discussing silly things in a silly manner.
• The senior clowns are epitome of foolishness and narrow-mindedness. Their lack of exposure to varied organizational cultures is evident and obvious to any outsider but to them.
• The senior clowns make unfair and non-transparent decisions. Their behavior and actions are shrouded in secrecy and ulterior motives.
• The head clown sees it all, but is master of hands-off management or no management style and chooses to keep quiet.
• The senior clowns protect each others' backs unlike a professional company where senior executives protect the organization's back.
• Some of the senior clowns are totally disconnected from the ground realities and are adept at saying "yes sir" to the other senior clowns.
• Some of the senior clowns push their responsibilities to the others in the company. They play behind-the-door politics to show the lesser mortals in bad light.
• Some of the senior clowns carry a holier-than-thou attitude. They think of the lesser mortals as lowly pests and show off their arrogance in every possible manner.
• Some of the senior clowns act like behind-the-back cry babies and brain-wash other senior clowns as well as the head clown against some the folks they have personal grudges against.
• Some of the clowns assume that the company is there because of them and, more dangerously, for them.
• The senior clowns carry out unnecessary surveys in the name of initiatives and are always desperate to create ways and means to take the credit for any initiative in the company.
• Some of the clowns use expletives and unprofessional language. That is supposed to be a cool thing to do and shows the rotten culture of the company.
• Some of the clowns give silly feedback such as "you don't take the cake" which shows the utter lack of professionalism and childishness of the clowns in such a company.

Jaipur, Ajmer and Pushkar - Some Photographs

Here are some photographs from a recent family trip to Jaipur, Ajmer and Pushkar.

These capture some of the historical monuments, tourist spots and landscape that is so very unique to this part of India.

Your Life is Lucky If You are Getting to Live It as You Would Want to Live It

The title of this post "Your Life is Lucky If You are Getting to Live It as You Would Want to Live It" looks to be too simple. It, however, carries a subtle yet very profound meaning.

Lot of people who are born, live their lives in "some manner" and finally die and depart.

At the point in life when a person is staring into the eyes of death and can sense the impending end of his life, imagine the person thinks of his whole life as a flashback scene at the end of a movie. If the flashback makes the person regret that he would have wanted to live his life in a manner other than the "some manner" he lived it, then it is clear that his life was not lucky.

A lucky life is one which embraces death happily and has no regrets at the point of death.

It is important, therefore, for you to find your true calling in life and work towards living it the way you would want to live it.

Unfortunately, you have to grapple with the harshest financial reality of life - you got to pay your bills. So if you can't find your true calling in life at this moment because of financial reasons, you should first work towards becoming financially free and then work towards finding your true calling in life and get to live it the way you would want to live it.

In case you haven't still figured out how you would want to live your life, don't fret. Carry on with whatever you may be doing right now. Use your current job to collect the seed capital to get financially free while you continue to search for your true calling in life. And the moment you find it, quit your current job and get going with the way you would really want to live it.

Remember though, your time in this universe is finite and would come to end some day, not too far distant in the future. Also try to visualize how you would feel if you were to die today and play the flashback of you life at the point you would be dead.

The above will help you to stay positive and look at whatever maybe happening in your life right now with a broader perspective with the end-game - your death - constantly staring at you. You entirely owe it to yourself to have a lucky life where you get to live it as you would want to live it.

Any perceived loss or embarrassment in your life in pursuing to live it the way you would want to live it is, in the real or any other sense, totally irrelevant at the end.

So just go for it. There is nothing more true than this that "Your Life is Lucky If You are Getting to Live It as You Would Want to Live It".

What Makes Minimalism a Powerful Way to Live Life?

In the last few decades, and especially so in the last few years, many people have experimented with minimalism and shared their wonderful and life-changing experiences.

So what is minimalism?

The meaning of minimalism is given below
(courtesy: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/minimalism).

minimalism

(ˈmɪnɪməˌlɪzəm)

n

1. (Art Movements) another name for minimal art

2. (Music, other) a type of music based on simple elements and avoiding elaboration or embellishment

3. design or style in which the simplest and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect

The above does not directly explain the meaning of minimalism.

However, it does provide a good insight into the underlying essence of minimalism  - "based on simple elements and avoiding elaboration or embellishment".

In the above phrase "simple" should be read as "essential" and "elaboration or embellishment" should be read as "clutter".

So minimalism is a way to live your life  based on essential elements while avoiding clutter.

It is important to note that what is essential and what is clutter needs to be defined by you based on your unique understanding of life and your unique life situation.

And what makes minimalism truly a powerful way to live your life?

The key point in minimalism is to focus on experiences rather than accumulating stuff.

Another idea is to cut down the clutter in your life, adopt a simple life, consume less of stuff all around us, stay out of debt, become financially free and eventually enjoy life in a relaxed way.

The true purpose of life is not to accumulate stuff but to experience the journey of life such that when you reach the point of your death, you carry no regrets and are more than happy to embrace death.

Minimalism makes it possible for you to reach a state of mind where you can depart with a content mind and a free spirit. And this is perhaps the true purpose of your, and everybody's, life.

Book Review - The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

This book is a highly recommended reading in the area of personal finance. It's a great book that goes deeper into the way some very basic and simple principles of personal finance can be used to become financially free.

The book basically dwells upon what it calls as "Seven Cures for a Lean Purse" and then suggest ways to turn a lean purse into a fat purse. Acquiring fat purse in this context means becoming rich.

Here are some excellent paragraphs from the book that also summarize the purpose and some of the key lessons for its readers.



The First Cure - Start thy purse to fattening

For every ten coins thou places within thy purse take out for use but nine. Thy purse will start to fatten at once and its increasing weight will feel good in thy hand and bring satisfaction to thy soul.

This, my students, was the first cure I did discover for my lean purse: For each ten coins I put in, to spend but nine.

The Second Cure - Control thy expenditures

Therefore, engrave upon the clay each thing for which thou desireth to spend. Select those that are necessary and others that are possible through the expenditure of nine-tenths of thy income, Cross out the rest and consider them but a part of that great multitude of desires that must go unsatisfied and regret them not. 

This, then, is the second cure for a lean purse. Budget thy expenses that thou mayest have coins to pay for thy necessities, to pay for the enjoyments and to gratify thy worthwhile desires without spending more than nine-tenths of thy earnings.

The Third Cure - Make thy gold multiply

Gold in the purse is gratifying to own and satisfieth a miserly soul but earns nothing. The gold we may retain from our earnings is but the start. The earnings it will make shall build our fortunes. I tell you, my students, a man's wealth is not in the coins he carries in his purse; it is the income he buildeth, the golden stream that continually floweth into his purse and keepeth it always bulging. That is what every man desireth. That is what thou, each one of thee desireth; an income that continueth to come whether thou work or travel.

This then is the third cure for a lean purse: to put each coin to laboring that it may reproduce its kind even as the flocks of the field and help bring to thee income, a stream of wealth that shall flow constantly into thy purse.

The Fourth Cure - Guard thy treasures from loss

Misfortune loves a shining mark. Gold in a man's purse must be guarded with firmness, else it be lost. Thus it is wise that we must secure a small amount and learn to protect them before the Gods entrust us with larger. 

This, then, is the fourth cure for a lean purse, and of great importance if it prevent thy purse from being emptied once it become well filled. Guard thy treasure from loss by investing only where thy principal is safe, where it may be reclaimed if desirable, and where thou will not fail to collect a fair rental. Consult with the wise men. Secure the advice of those experienced in the profitable holding of gold. Let their wisdom protect thy treasure from unsafe investments.

The Fifth Cure - Make of thy dwelling a profitable investment

Then will thy heart be glad because thou wilt own in thy own right a valuable property and thy only cost will be the king's taxes. Thus come many blessings to the man who owneth his own house. And greatly will it reduce his cost of living, making available more of his earnings for pleasures and the gratification of his desires.

This, then, is the fifth cure of the lean purse: Own thy own home.

The Sixth Cure - Insure a future income

Therefore do I say that it behooves a man to make preparation for a suitable income in the days to come, when he is no longer young, and to make preparations for his family should he be no longer with them to comfort and support them. He should plan certain investments or provision that may endure safety for many years, yet will be available when the time arrives which he so wisely anticipated.

This, then, is the sixth cure for a lean purse. Provide in advance for the needs of thy growing age and the protection of thy family.

The Seventh Cure - Increase thy ability to earn

In learning to secure his one definite small desire, he hath trained himself to secure a larger one. This is the process by which wealth is accumulated: first in small sums, then in larger ones as a man learns and becomes more capable. As a man perfecteth himself in his calling even so doth his ability to earn increase.

Thus the seventh and last remedy for a lean purse is to cultivate thy powers, to study and become wiser, to become more skillful, to so act as to respect thyself. Thereby shalt thou acquire confidence in thy self to achieve thy carefully considered desires.

10 Quick Rules to Become Financially Free Fast

What is financial freedom? How to become financially free?

How to attain financial freedom?

How to break free from financial worries?

What are the ways to achieve financial freedom?

What are the steps to reach financial freedom?

These are some of the questions that often get asked by someone who is looking to quit the rat race.

Being in a position to be able to quit the rat race without impacting the standard of living you are used to is a strong reason why you (and in fact most people) would want to become financially free.

Financial freedom, in addition, is also thought to lead the way to a better quality of life, more time at your disposal, ability to choose whether or not to work and a full stop to living in the constant fear of loosing your monthly paycheck.

About paycheck Nassim Nicholas Taleb so rightly said, “The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.”

While it is certainly important to become financially free, it is, however, many times more important to become financially free fast.

What's the point in becoming financially free when you become 80 or 90 years old.

Ideally, the goal should be reach financial freedom by the age of 40 to 45.

Here are 10 quick rules not just to become financially free but also to become financially free fast.

Rule 10. Adopt minimalism and cut down needs

From this very moment onward in your life, stop buying anything.

And anything means anything.

If you only want it, you can actually live without it and hence do not need to buy it.

You should actually need it before you buy it.

So buy something only if you really need it.

Also see if you can cut down your needs too.

The lesser needs you have the better placed you are to become financially free fast.

Rule 9. Cut expenses on needs to bare minimum

This is slightly different from the above as it refers to buying what you need but at the lowest cost you are able to get it.

However ensure whatever you buy is usable.

Throwing away something that is not of good enough quality would eventually lead to loosing money.

Rule 8. Protect the accumulated capital

Guard your capital from losses and erosion.

Making less profit is always better than loosing capital in the quest for higher returns.

Diversification can help in this matter greatly.

It is useful to remember that a bird in the hand is worth more than two birds in the bush.

Slow and steady wins the race is as true today as it ever was.

Rule 7. Remain physically and mentally fit

Physical and mental health would allow you to not only cut down unnecessary expenses on doctors and medicines but also the time saved can be used to increase your earnings.

The opportunity cost of physical and mental health can make a huge difference to your net worth over several years time-frame.

In addition, it is always better to enjoy the wealth you accumulate for as long as you can and good health will allow you to do that.

Rule 6. Spend only the returns from your investment

Never spend the money you earned first time.

Invest it to earn some returns and spend only the returns.

For example, if you buy a stock and get some dividend, spend only the dividend and not the invested capital.

You should let the capital grow gradually to give increasingly higher returns.

However, do keep in mind Rule 8 always.

Rule 5. Save part of the returns from your investment

While Rule 6 says spend only the returns, Rule 5 says don't spend all the return, save some.

The retained earnings should be invested to augment the invested capital.

This also ensures the gap between what you earn and what you spend keeps on widening over time.

And hence in case of a situation where your earning from some sources stops, you would continue to be financially free and would never be forced to return to rejoin the rat race.

Rule 4. Become philosophical about money

You should reduce your craving for more and more money and adopt a philosophical outlook about money.

It is true that "the more money you have the less it seems" which means there is no end to how rich any person can become.

The purpose of money is to make sure you can spend it on things you need to.

Money by itself cannot be consumed directly.

Rule 3. Stop comparing with others

Focus only on your needs and never get swayed by how much money others have and what their needs are.

What is a need and want for one person may be different from what is a need and want for another person.

So stop comparing and focus on what your needs are and how much money you need to fulfill those needs.

Rule 2. Live as simple a life as possible

If you live a simple life you would anyway need less money.

No expensive holidays, no costly hotels, no fancy dresses, no swanky cars is just a beginning of how you can start living a simple life.

Remember, however, if you want to splurge and spoil yourself at times (though not too frequently) the money has to come from what you get from Rule 6.

Rule 1. Track where your money comes from and goes out

Maintain detailed records of where money comes from and goes out.

You should know how much money would come to you every month minus your job earnings.

Your monthly expenses, accumulated capital, remaining life (in number of months) and likely interest rate can be easily used to derive whether you are financially free or not.

You should track this number very closely to calculate how many more months you need to suffer before you can quit the rat race, hopefully forever.

Rule 0. Build the seed capital fast and start early

And, last but not the least, there is this hidden rule, Rule 0, that should never be forgotten.

Money begets money so you should focus on building the seed capital first.

You aim would be to build a big corpus gradually and eventually but the starting point is the seed capital.

In addition, time and interest rates are the two biggest friends of any investor as both drive the compounding effect.

Interest rates are driven by market but you can choose to drive the time factor by starting early the game of investing.

That will allow you to play the investing game over a really long-term which will certainly provide you an edge and undoubtedly work to your advantage in the end.

And as you do this never forget Rule 8!

Why It's Dangerous To Work For An Organization Led By A Pack Of Jokers?

Many organizations are unfortunately led by a pack of jokers.

The pack of jokers is worryingly called management but lacks the required vision, growth strategy, progressive mindset, crucial leadership skills and needed competencies.


(Image courtesy: http://cliparts.co/clipart/1338773)

Such organizations exhibit several of the following characteristics:

• The pack of jokers is a close-knit coterie of loyalists whose decisions are shrouded in secrecy, based on ulterior motives and meant to solidify the coterie's hold and further their interests. For example, such companies have policies where based on longevity and age certain additional benefits are provided to its employees but these are actually intended to benefit the coterie.
• The pack of jokers operates like a tribal clan both literally and figuratively. They carry old-world and regressive notions about employee engagement. The tribesmen responsible for employee well-being in such organizations are both bossy and manipulative. Their focus and intent is to promote compliance rather than commitment.
• The pack of jokers includes certain jokers who are silent schemers. These are the people who are fond of sending funny emails. spreading negativity and fabricating rumors. Such people are utterly incompetent and manage to survive since they are adoringly propped up by the head of the jokers. 
• The pack of jokers also has some jokers who think too highly of themselves. Such jokers walk with a distinct gait and a funny angle to their bad head. Their sole purpose is to demean and destroy other lesser folks in the organization.
• The pack of jokers operates like an exclusive inner club of the head of the jokers. The jokers are well-entrenched in their positions and due to their loyalty are assured of life-time employment. For the jokers the organization becomes like a retirement home as they know well that they are unfit to work anywhere else.

So what should anyone do in such a situation?

First an foremost, one should never join such an organization.

And in case one has already committed such a grave mistake, one should move out quickly - lock, stock and barrel.

Remember, the jokers are essentially devils underneath and can cause severe and debilitating harm.

How Does A Small Company Grow Into A Big One?

Every company starts small. Think of Microsoft, or think of Google or think of any other big company of today.

It's interesting to note that any small company would have and should have only one primary goal in the long-term - to grow into a big one!

Of course, in the short-term the primary goal would be to survive and not die, and in the medium-term the primary goal would be to sustain its survival and to stay alive.

How does a small company grow into a big one?

Here's a quick list of some points that would be important if a small company wants to grow into a big one, eventually:

• Its product and service offerings should be in a market segment where demand is huge or has the potential to scale up to a huge number. It is important the revenue growth is high enough to feed into the growth cycle.
• Its leadership team should be not only competent and motivated but also highly professional and ethical. It is important the founders do not run the company using a close-knit coterie, a closed-mind and a tight-fist.
• Its systems and processes should get established fast and keep on evolving in line with the growth objectives and actual growth. It is important the best practices from similar businesses are adopted and ingrained into the way the organization functions.
• Its people practices should allow a fair, open and transparent culture to get established. It is important that club of loyalists, coterie and cronies are not allowed to develop and grow in the organization.

For a small company to grow into a big one, the time factor is also important. In case the company remains small for a long time (a few years to a decade or so), there is a high chance of the company dying and going out of business.

So really speaking the future path of any small company is quite clearly laid out - grow  into a big one or go out of business as a small company itself.

The points above remain applicable even if a small company becomes a big one. Even big companies can go out of business if they forget the basic principles.

What Should Parents Be Telling Their Kids?

Parents are always concerned about the future of their kids. And they would generally make all possible efforts to see them grow into adults who can live independently, comfortably and safely.

What should parents be telling their kids? Whatever the parents tell should provide the kids a practical framework to conduct their life affairs, especially when they grow up and after the parents are dead and gone.

Bill Graham so rightly said the following:

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; 
when health is lost, something is lost; 
when character is lost, all is lost.

The above statements look so simple but are so profound and so very powerful that they provide a practical framework to conduct life affairs.

Character means being, first and foremost, a good person. A good person would have good manners and would be fair in dealing with others.

Health means possessing both physical and mental well-being. Being healthy would allow a person to live a long and fulfilling life.

Wealth means being able to earn and accumulate enough money. Being wealthy would allow a person to be in a position to pay for living expenses as one passes through various stages of life.

So what should parents be telling their kids? Here are some points that if told (and more importantly if followed by kids) would certainly help:

• Be a good person, first and foremost
• Take care of health, both physical and mental
• Study hard, learn as much as possible
• Earn money, as much as possible
• Learn household chores like cleaning, washing, cooking
• Learn driving and swimming

The above list provides some important practical points that help in living a good life. They focus on the very basics of life that help kids grow into adults who can live independently, comfortably and safely!

A Bull Dog And Its Cronies

Many organizations are unfair, unprofessional and unethical in the way they conduct business. These are organizations that are so since they are typically run by a bull dog and its cronies. The "bull dog" is actually more of a bully and not just a dog. And the cronies follow suit.

The "bull dog" is used to having his way as the cronies will say "yes sir" every time it barks. The bull dog and the close-knit group of cronies move together when hunting for lunch (both in a literal and figurative sense). They also go walking together.



(Image courtesy: http://www.clipartbest.com/clipart-9cRgxnnri)

This close-knit group is formed on the basis of loyalty to the "bull dog". Anyone challenging the bull dog intellectually is seen as an outsider and is promptly shown her place in the scheme of things (which is created by the bull dog and its cronies) by one of the crony appointed to act as the henchman and carry the task.

The henchman is either a cunning man with a Cheshire cat smile (http://random-reflections-thoughts-blog.blogspot.in/2015/12/one-cunning-man-with-cheshire-cat-smile.html) or a corporate ass  (http://random-reflections-thoughts-blog.blogspot.in/2016/01/why-you-cant-handle-corporate-ass.html).

Those who are working in such organizations will always feel awkward and an outsider. The only way to join the close-knit group is to become a crony of the "bull dog". Unfortunately, such a crony is also a dog, at the end of the day.

The "bull dog"and its cronies create an organization structure with an unprofessional reporting structure. The sole purpose of such an unprofessional arrangement is perpetuate the superiority of the "bull dog" and its cronies over others.

Those who get trapped in such an organization must find a way to move out at the earliest, without loosing even a minute. Staying put in such an unprofessional organization is truly a very risky proposition, to say the least.

Why You Can't Handle A Corporate Ass?

The object of interest in this blog post is the ass found in the corporate jungle.

How does the dictionary explain an ass? Here's how it does it:

ass ¹

 (ăs)

n. pl. ass·es (ăs′ĭz)

1. Any of several hoofed mammals of the genus Equus, resembling and closely related to the horses but having a smaller build and longer ears, and including the domesticated donkey.

2. A foolish or stupid person.

(courtesy: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ass)

An ass in the context of this blog post refers to "2. A foolish or stupid person.". 

And many a times such people through their actions and behaviors resemble the other ass "1. Any of several hoofed mammals of the genus Equus, resembling and closely related to the horses but having a smaller build and longer ears, and including the domesticated donkey."

A corporate ass is an ass but is different from a normal ass in the following ways:

• Exemplifies toxicity
• Lacks fairness and transparency
• Is good friend of "One Cunning Man with a Cheshire Cat Smile" - http://random-reflections-thoughts-blog.blogspot.in/2015/12/one-cunning-man-with-cheshire-cat-smile.html
• Writes silly, immature and childish emails
• Is super-defensive about its turf
• Is a stooge of the top man and a loyal member of the "yes sir" club
• Lacks professionalism
• Is good friends with and has a soft corner for other asses
• Is clueless and incompetent and to hide that indulges in dirty manipulations and politics
• Works on the sly and behind the back to harm others
• Is insecure and tries to get things done through coercion
• Forces others to toe its line
• Spreads rumors, lies and falsehood

So why you can't handle a corporate ass?

The reasons listed above make it so.

Someone who has the above characteristics cannot be handled for sure.

(Image courtesy: http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/royalty-free-clip-art-vector-11962250)

In summary, a corporate ass is not only an ass, it is an ass with a hole also at the end of it. 

And there is no way you can handle such an ass!

Toxic People at Top Lead to a Toxic Workplace

The reason for a workplace to be toxic can be linked to the presence of toxic people at the top.

Toxic people are toxic for reasons that have to do with their lack of competence, discomfort outside a "yes sir" culture, lack of fairness, utter disregard to professionalism and use of manipulative tactics.

Such workplaces exhibit one or more of the following characteristics:

• They are run (yes, run and not managed) by a coterie club of "yes sir" stooges. The stooges are a part of the club only due to their loyalty and handle areas in which they have zero competence.
• They have people who would not copy some critical stakeholders on all relevant communication with an ulterior motive and also to clearly show who the loyalists are.
• They are infested with another layer of toxic people who are loyalists of the stooges of the top man. Such people though at senior positions are totally unprofessional and highly manipulative. 
• They have many more loyalists whose main motive is to justify their existence. These loyalists are those who may be someone with 22 years of experience performing the role that can easily be performed by someone with 12 years experience.
• They have some people who have elephant-sized egos and carry a big attitude. Such people will not respond to emails, will always mark the top man or her stooges in their emails and act and behave as if others don't matter.
• They have people who write silly, immature and childish emails. The top man and his coterie club is especially fond of writing silly, immature and childish emails more than others. The close loyalists of the stooges also are not far behind in such toxic acts.

Smaller organizations are perfect breeding ground for toxic workplaces to develop and grow. The toxicity in such organizations can be traced to the people at the top - the top person herself and her coterie club of "yer sir" stooges.

This group of people are typically the founding members and act like shopkeepers rather than professionals. And of course, they have poor listening skills since they think that what they know is all there is need to know.

Unfortunately, because of their lack of professionalism and their strange but expected comfort with their frog-in-the-well situation (even without realizing so), the toxic club at the top will slowly lead the organization to stalled growth and its eventual shutdown.

When growth in such organizations stalls or falls down, the toxic club will be clueless about how to handle that due to their lack of competence. In such situation, the number of silly, immature and childish emails will tend to increase in the name of strategy and action planning.

In addition, the coterie club of "yes sir" stooges will fear about getting exposed. And hence to hide their lack of competence would start setting unrealistic and unfair expectations from those outside the coterie club - the outsiders.

All outsiders in such organizations should expect to frequently come across unfair, non-transparent, manipulative and non-professional actions and behaviors from those in the toxic club.

And what should the outsiders do? There is really just one option - they must move on. Staying in a toxic workplace has severe adverse impact on physical and mental health and well-being.

Are you an outsider? If yes, then remember you deserve a better workplace to spend your professional energy. And if you are still contemplating what to do, move on quickly before its too late! Better late than  never.

Life Is A Series Of Botheration and Writing Them Down Helps

Life can be seen as a journey from one botheration to another. When you are a student, examinations may look like a botheration, when you are in college getting a job may look like a botheration. And so on and so forth.

At any stage in your life, you will be accosted with several botheration. In some sense, they keep life exciting and tomorrow worth looking forward to. The human mind should be driven by the thought that tomorrow will be brighter and then should strive to make it so.

It is helpful to pen down your botheration at different points in your life. This naming of the animal makes sure you know exactly what you are dealing with. It is important to note that the list of botheration will change throughout various stages of life so you must keep amending your list a well.

The list can be a very simple with the botheration written as line items. You should use the exact feeling that comes to your mind when thinking of a botheration. It is also important to capture the botheration along with why it is so. One example of such a list is given below for ready reference.

• Hate the person you are forced to report into at work because the person is toxic, incompetent, political, unfair and non-transparent
• Dislike specific persons at work because they are long-timers and loyalists who carry a condescending attitude, think too highly of themselves, and are full of conceit
• Dislike a person who reports into you because she is toxic, plays double game and would tell you something and tell others something else.
• Disrespect the leaders in the current organization because they are uninspiring, lack ethics, ignore the toxic long-timers and loyalists
• Stuck in a toxic and bad job and not being able to move out because of not being able to find an opportunity
• Worry about financial freedom because of not being able to earn enough to create wealth that would lead to becoming financially free
• Worry about loosing your job because of economic recession and bad management in the current organization
• Stuck in a career rut because of realizing that your career has reached a dead-end in some sense and you need to change its direction
• Worry about your health because of realizing that you may not have been very careful about it in the past and you need to pay good attention to it now
• Worry that you will never become rich and powerful because of realizing that you are stuck in a certain career choice and with a certain circle of people in your network.

The list can be as simple as above and can include short-term and long-term botheration. In addition, you can also add another column for what action is planned or being taken  by you to address that botheration. That would help immensely.

Book Review - Cash Flow Quadrant : Guide to Financial Freedom By Robert Kiyosaki

This book is a highly recommended reading in the area of personal finance. It's a great book that goes deeper into the way the world economy operates and how people can be classified in the 4 quadrants - E, S, B and I.

The four quadrants are based on how the cash flows through them and have been labelled as E, S, B and I where,
E  = employee
S  = small business or self-employed
B  = big business
I  = investor

Unfortunately and sadly, many people don't even realize this during their entire life. This book attempts to teach the wonderful concept of ESBI. A good understanding of this concept can surely lead the way to financial freedom.

Here are some excellent paragraphs from the book that also summarize the purpose and some of the key lessons for its readers.

"This CASHFLOW Quadrant book is important because it is about finding your path in life. As you know, most people are programmed early in life to “Go to school and get a job.” School is about finding a job in the E or S quadrant. It is not about finding your life’s path."

"Are you financially free? If your life has come to a financial fork in  the road, Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant was written for you. If you want to take control of what you do today in order to change your financial destiny, this book will help you chart your course."

"This book is written for people who are ready to change quadrants, especially for individuals who are currently in the E and S categories and are contemplating moving to the B or I category. This book is for people who are ready to move beyond job security and begin to achieve financial security. It’s not an easy life path, but the prize at the end of the road, financial freedom, is worth the journey."

"The driving force, however, that wouldn’t allow me to stay on the left side of the Quadrant was what happened to my highly educated but poor dad at the peak of his career." 

"To be successful, you need to learn to overcome your fear of  being rejected and to stop worrying about what other people say and think about you. So many times I’ve met people who hold themselves back simply because of what their friends might  say if they did something different."

"One of the things I told myself over and over was, What you think of me is none of my business. What is most important is what I think about myself."

Why Steve Jobs Should Be Remembered As A Great Philosopher Rather Than Just A Great Innovator?

Steve Jobs is regarded as one of the great innovators of all times, and rightly so.

He has given many wonderful and game-changing gadgets to the world.

One can instantly think of names such as iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad and many more to justify him being called a great innovator.

 

It is useful to think of his contributions in the right perspective.

What Steve Jobs did in technological arena is surely important.

However, many things he said and epitomized when it comes to living life are much more important.

It's hard to imagine what kind of gadgets will be there in the world 100 years from now.

For all you know, the iPhones and iPads  a century later may be unlike the iPhones and iPads of today.

And they may be created not by Apple but by companies which are yet to get incorporated.

However, the way Steve Jobs conducted his life and the thoughts he shared on various occasions in respect of life as well as death have strong philosophical underpinnings.

One good example is his commencement address at Stanford in 2005 (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html). 

These thoughts were as relevant 10 years back as they will be 100 years later and in fact beyond that and forever.

The following paragraph from that speech so beautifully captures why trust on yourself and on destiny is so much needed and so important.

It clearly highlights  that you cannot plan the course of your life very precisely.

The idea is to do your best and to God leave the rest.

"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

Another paragraph as quoted below is about finding your true calling in life.

If you do what you would anyway love to, then you would be happy whether you are professionally successful or not.

It follows from the above paragraph also that success depends on you and several factors many of which you have no or minimal control upon.

So you should focus on finding work you would enjoy till you die and do it with passion and perseverance.

And if you turn out to be successful that's like the icing on the cake.

In this context one example you can think of is of Guy Spier who found that value investing like Warren Buffet is his calling in life and got into that.

He may never become Warren Buffet but he will perhaps be always happy about what he does for living since he got into doing what he would have wanted to.

"You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

Another paragraph given below is so profoundly true.

It is crystal clear in terms of the meaning of life and death.

It is always important to think about 100 years later (when you would, in fact, be dead) to put things in their right perspective as captured in http://random-reflections-thoughts-blog.blogspot.in/2010/12/feeling-down-think-100-years-later.html.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

The following paragraph talks about the ephemeral nature of our existence.

This is a philosophical master-piece.

It shows the circle of life, and its ultimate culmination in death.

"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true."

And finally, here's the paragraph that shows the way to live your life.

You should choose how to live it based on what you love to do, what you want to be and what you think is right.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

The above are but a few philosophical nuggets from Steve Jobs that are so apt, so profound and so very useful for anyone who wants to live their life on their very own terms.

One thing they indicate towards though is quite clear - Steve Jobs should be remembered as a great philosopher rather than just a great innovator.