Category: Life System

A business idea I very much like is Jim Collins’ Hedgehog Concept. In the context of a business, it is about answering three questions:

• What are you deeply passionate about?
• What can you be best in the world at?
• What drives your economic engine?

Here is what Jim Collins writes: “Are you a hedgehog or a fox? In his famous essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin divided the world into hedgehogs and foxes, based upon an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.”…A Hedgehog Concept is not a goal to be the best, a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the best, a plan to be the best. It is an understanding of what you can be the best at. The distinction is absolutely crucial. Every company would like to be the best at something, but few actually understand—with piercing insight and egoless clarity—what they actually have the potential to be the best at and, just as important, what they cannot be the best at. And it is this distinction that stands as one of the primary contrasts between the good-to-great companies and the comparison companies.”

The same Hedgehog Concept can be applied to us as individuals. It can help us identify our passions, strengths, and potential for success. By answering these three questions, we can work towards finding our “personal hedgehog” and ultimately build a fulfilling, successful, and meaningful life.

Here are three questions that can help us discover our own “hedgehog”:

1. What activities or pursuits genuinely ignite your passion and make you feel fulfilled? Reflect on the things that truly excite you, bring joy, and make you feel engaged in life. These passions can help you find a personal sense of purpose.
2. What are your unique talents, skills, or abilities that set me apart from others? Assess your strengths and areas where you excel or have the potential to excel. Consider not only your natural talents but also the skills you’ve developed through hard work, education, or experience.
3. How can you combine my passion and strengths to create value or generate income? Think about ways to leverage your passions and skills in a manner that provides value to others and can potentially lead to financial rewards or a sustainable livelihood.

I asked myself these questions to discover my “personal Hedgehog.” For me, it has been about generating new ideas and converting them into startups – the 0 to 1 phase. Not all have ended up being successful, but the two big hits (IndiaWorld and Netcore) have delivered very good outcomes. Of late, there is a mini-Hedgehog that I have been building on – writing. The blog has become a great ideas generator. As Kevin Kelly wrote in his advice book, “I write in order to think; that’s how I think. I think by writing. I don’t have the ideas and then sit down and try to write them. I use writing to get the ideas.” I could not agree more.

The concept of a personal hedgehog is a powerful tool for self-discovery and personal growth. It is an exercise we must all do. We should repeat it every few years or so because we change with time. By regularly evaluating our passions, strengths, and opportunities for value creation, we can adapt to life’s changes and remain aligned with our true selves. Embracing the personal hedgehog concept is not only an investment in ourselves but also a journey towards reaching our full potential.

We will never go through life getting everything we want. Rejection is a part and parcel of our journey. Whether it is the competitive race to get into a good school or college, or then in the search for a job, or as an entrepreneur seeking to raise capital – rejection is part of the terrain. And with rejection also comes disappointment. “How could they reject me? They rejected ME? What do I do now?” And so on.

In this essay, I want to discuss the 50+ rejections I have faced as an entrepreneur raising capital over 30+ years. I have not succeeded at all. (Which has perhaps been a good thing across IndiaWorld and Netcore – lack of external capital forced us down the path of profitability and our proficorn journey.) But there is always a hurt to hear a “No” – almost making me feel that something was lacking in me, especially when every competitor gets capital coming their way.

I was recently meeting a potential investor and decided to take a different approach. I started by saying that I have failed 50 times in my life to raise capital and I don’t expect this to end differently. I said that I will first explain why I will get rejected so as to make their thinking job easier! I will then explain why they should look at investing in Netcore. And after that, I will also mention the valuation at which a deal could be possible. After having gone through plenty of such meetings, I know the drill and thus wanted to make sure none of us wasted time in the early decision process.

The investor smiled and asked me to go ahead. He probably had not seen such candour in all his previous meetings! When I was done, he asked me, “Why do you think you have got rejected 50 times?” My reply, “I do not compromise on my valuation expectation. I did not do that when I was a very small company during my IndiaWorld days, and I will not do it now when we are much larger. I am profitable so there is no desperation for capital. I know what we are worth, I think it is a fair ask, and I know we can create value greater than your IRR expectations.”

Of course, I tallied up one more reject. I wear these rejections now as a badge of honour. And yet, I will never decline a meeting with a potential investor. I have thus changed my attitude towards getting rejected. Instead of self-blame and depression, I use the meetings to learn from some of the smartest people in the world of investing – the questions they ask, the flaws they point, the things they like, the words they use – all help me in making my next pitch better.

My advice: flip the attitude towards being rejected, and never stop trying. Think of it as going for a meeting with the objective of getting at least one new idea, and you will never be disappointed. As Alexander Graham Bell said, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” This applies to meetings with prospective employers, potential investors, or even future customers. Not every answer will be a Yes, and not every No is an indictment. In my life, it is rejections which have pushed me onward to become better.

After my speech-cum-presentation at Netcore’s India conference, a younger colleague walked up to me and asked, “How can I learn to speak like you?” In reply, I summarised what I had written previously. I said, “Prepare. Practice. Post-mortem” and gave her an idea to get started on her journey to become a better public speaker.

Preparation is about planning the speech. It took me a week. I wanted the speech to motivate and inspire, and also provide enough talking points to the customer-facing teams about Netcore’s strengths in a competitive marketplace. I then set about making the deck – pulling in some images as needed which could help amplify the points I needed to hit home.

Practice is about running through the talk a few times in private (or to a smaller audience). It helps one work through the transitions in the slides without breaking the flow and the story. Even on the day of the talk I made a few edits to incorporate a few ideas other speakers before me had made.

Then comes the actual “show” because it is exactly that. For the time I was on stage, I was a performer. I had to engage with the audience, add in that humour and topicality, connect with their thoughts, and make them forget about their mobiles! I had to surprise them – so they never took their eyes off me. I promised to send the deck to all of them so they didn’t have to worry about making detailed notes and could focus on the experience of listening. I too was in a “flow” as I spoke – the audience interaction propelling me forward. I had a powerful ending and that got me a standing ovation.

And then I did the post-mortem. There were a few places I had missed a few points. I realised I should have either added a word or two on the slide as a prompt or kept a sheet in front of me to make sure I covered those. (The laptop was not in front of me so I did not have access to the slide notes.) In a couple places, the jokes fell flat – a lesson to do better next time. A few times, I was repetitive – in my eagerness to emphasise a point, I went a bit overboard. So, some useful learnings for my next big talk.

In this case, I had the benefit of a friendly audience and unlimited time. In the talk that I had done at SaaS Open in March in New York, I was speaking to SaaS founders and had a 20-minute hard stop. Despite my preparation and planning, I overdid a couple stories which led to me being crunched for time towards the end, leading to a weaker closing than I would have liked. The lesson for me: stick to the script.

I then gave my colleague a suggestion: create a small group at work where she and 4-5 others can meet once every week to speak on a topic for 8-10 minutes. It is how I had learnt at the Indo-American Society course I had done in 1981. Half the battle is won when one can stand up and speak confidently in front of others.

Public speaking is not something we are taught in school or college, and yet it is an important skill to have. To be able to stand up and speak in front of others, persuade them, change their minds, and win their hearts – that is a key step in one’s own leadership journey.

At times, when alone, my pendulum swings from thinking forward to pondering regret. It is usually a response to a trigger – an email, a conversation, or something I saw. A memory from the past swings by and if I am not careful, I can end up opening door after door from a past long gone by. There is nothing I can do to change what’s happened and yet this game of alternate universes begins. What if I had accepted the offer an investor made? What if I had not refused the price point the customer wanted? What if I had said Yes instead of No? What if I had followed my doctor’s advice? What if I had been more careful walking (and therefore not tripped and fallen)? Some are trivial regrets, while others are more profound. Some don’t leave a mark, while others cause deep hurt.

Marshall Goldsmith writes in his book, “The Earned Life”: “Regret, in the words of Kathryn Schulz in her wonderful 2011 TED talk on the subject, is “the emotion we experience when we think that our present situation could be better or happier if we had done something different in the past.” Regret is a devilish cocktail of agency (our regrets are ours to create, they’re not foisted upon us by others) and imagination (we have to visualize making a different choice in our past that delivers a more appealing outcome now). Regret is totally within our control, at least in terms of how often we invite it into our lives and how long we let it stick around. Do we choose to be tortured or bewildered by it forever (as in the case of my friend Richard), or can we move on, knowing that regret is not finished with us, that we will surely live to regret again someday…Regret is the depressing counterweight to finding fulfillment in a complex world. Our primary theme is achieving a life of fulfillment—what I call an earned life.”

An important point made by Goldsmith is that “our lives reside on a continuum that roams between Regret and Fulfillment.” He adds: “Something truly earned makes three simple requirements of us: We make our best choice supported by the facts and the clarity of our goals. In other words, we know what we want and how far we need to go. We accept the risk involved. We put out maximum effort.”

Control over one’s mind is key to dealing with regret. We must appreciate the good that has happened in the life we have lived and look forward with excitement to the life that is to come. We have control over many decisions. What we need to do is to make sure we choose the best possible option we have – based on the information available at that point. My approach is to always think that there is some good in all that happens, and at times that good may take time to manifest itself. Close the door on regret and open the door to fulfilment.

**

While I had not intended it that way, the three themes of “Closing and Opening Doors”, “The Second Side” [Parts 82-85] and “Regret” form a triad of sorts . The common theme is to let the past go and look forward to a future we can craft by considering options which at times may not be obvious.

A few good quotes to think over:

• “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.” – Steve Jobs
• “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’ ― John Greenleaf Whittier
• “Very few regrets in life are about what you did. Almost all are about what you didn’t do.” – Kevin Kelly

So ask yourself: Which doors do you need to close? In which current situations do you need to see the “second side?” How can you limit regrets and think about your “earned life”?

As we grow older, we tend to look back at some of the choices we have made and paths we have taken. The tendency is to focus more on the decisions which went wrong. This is where there is a danger that we can journey down a river of regrets rather than focus on the things that went right. A “What-if” analysis of the past is good up to a point to help us analyse what went wrong with a decision and what are the learnings that we can take forward. But there is also the danger of this spiralling down an “if only” track which can cause sadness and frustration.

There are times when something triggers memories of decisions which have led to unsuccessful ventures. I have failed many times in my life. Every failure is an outcome of decisions I made. When I think about them, there is an element of regret – time and money wasted, and in some cases relationships soured. The past can be a dangerous room to enter because it has many doors which can take one deeper into a mental morass. And it is therefore important to stop the “regret pathway” quickly – before it takes over the mind. It is important to keep in mind the present and focus on the future – think about what one can do next, rather than ponder on the failures and mistakes of the past.

Regret, although a natural human emotion, can become detrimental to one’s well-being when it dominates our thoughts and prevents us from moving forward. It is essential to recognise that we all make mistakes and experience failures. These are opportunities to learn from and grow, rather than chains that hold us back.

Jelena Kecmanovic writes: “A typical feature of regret is self-blame over making the ‘wrong’ choice, whether it was doing something that you now believe you shouldn’t have done, or not doing something that you now think you should have. Some regrets are mild and fleeting and, as such, do not cause much heartache. But it’s possible to be haunted by regret – consumed by self-reproach, sadness, and a sense of loss over what you could have had.”

Shannon Thomas adds: “Regret stems from a deep, soul-level disappointment that things haven’t worked out because of something you said or did…Learning how to deal with regret is about having to step back and realize that you did what you did with the information you had at that time.”

To avoid being consumed by regret, we must adopt a proactive mindset, focusing on actions we can take to improve our current situation, and future prospects. Surrounding ourselves with positive influences and engaging in activities that promote growth and development can also help counter the negative effects of regret. It is also helpful to practice gratitude for the experiences we have had, both positive and negative. Acknowledging and appreciating the lessons learned from these situations can help shift our perspective from one of regret to one of appreciation. By doing so, we can gradually transform regret into wisdom and resilience, empowering us to face new challenges with confidence.

While regret is a natural response to past mistakes and failures, it is crucial not to let it overwhelm our thoughts and dictate our lives. At no stage must we let the “regret pathway” take over. A more positive and resilient mindset is what we need. Embracing this attitude allows us to move beyond our past and embrace the potential that lies ahead.

Henry Hazlitt’s broken window fallacy story is a classic economic parable illustrating the concept of opportunity cost and the fallacy of ignoring unseen consequences. The story revolves around a young boy who accidentally breaks a shopkeeper’s window, leading to various reactions from bystanders. Some observers argue that the broken window is a blessing in disguise, as it creates work for the glazier and stimulates the local economy. They believe that the money spent on repairing the window circulates and generates income for others, promoting economic growth.

Hazlitt points out the fallacy in this line of thinking, emphasising that the money spent on fixing the window could have been used elsewhere for more productive purposes. By repairing the window, the shopkeeper loses the opportunity to invest in other goods or services, such as expanding the business or purchasing new equipment. This is the concept of opportunity cost: the value of the next best alternative forgone when acting.

The broken window fallacy illustrates that focusing solely on the visible, immediate effects of an action can lead to wrong conclusions. It reminds us to consider the unseen, long-term consequences and opportunity costs when evaluating the true impact of an event or policy on the economy.

As demonstrated by the aforementioned experience, recognising and understanding the other side of a situation is crucial to making well-informed decisions and overcoming obstacles. This broader perspective can lead to discovering hidden opportunities and mitigating risks. By considering multiple viewpoints, individuals and organisations can better anticipate and address potential challenges. This holistic approach can enable more strategic decision-making and help avoid falling into the trap of the “broken window fallacy,” as explained by Hazlitt.

So, the next time you are faced with a consequential and irreversible decision, ask yourself if you have thought about the “second side”. Speak to people who may have perspectives different from your own. Listing out the pros and cons or doing a SWOT analysis can also help uncover aspects which you may have not thought about. The “second side” thinking can also help close doors and help you open new ones.

A colleague came up to me and said that she was having a tough time closing an order in a large B2C company. While the marketing team was convinced about our solution, the CFO had put a hold on the project as part of various cost-cutting measures, and the CMO had been unable to persuade the CFO on signing off on the purchase order. How could she break this stalemate? I suggested that she meet the CFO and speak something along the following lines: “You are only seeing the cost side of the equation and not seeing the potential benefits. The product should not be viewed simply as a solution for retention or engagement – it was a solution for boosting revenues and profits. In fact, I am so confident of the outcome that you can pay us after a year – from the upside that our product will generate for you.” I also suggested showing the CFO what our product could do; after all, every person is also a consumer and knows the friction in shopping and dealing with D2C brands. This worked, and we closed the deal.

Many a time, we see only one side of the situation. The second side is missed out. At times, this other side may not even be obvious. The CFO saw only the immediate costs but not the long-term benefits and upside from implementing our martech solution.

During the years that I was doing Nayi Disha, I was less focused on Netcore. My goal was to transform India, and I thought I could change people’s minds and their votes by persuading them about the need for freedom in India. During 2015-18, I came up with many initiatives: the need for a new Indian Constitution to replace the current one which borrowed heavily from the 1935 Government of India Act which made the people of Indian subservient to the rulers, the need for freeing city governments from the state government to drive urbanisation and prosperity, the idea of “Dhan Vapasi” to unlock resources and wealth idled and wasted by the government, and a “United Voters of India” movement to unseat the existing politicians and have a Lok Sabha of Independents to put India on a new track. (Many of these ideas are chronicled here.)

What I failed to see was the other side – the cost of me spending time on the political side and its impact on Netcore. Perhaps, I could have helped fast-track Netcore’s expansion to the US much earlier than we did. Perhaps, I could have led Netcore shift to SaaS for its sales and marketing approach faster. All of these could have accelerated Netcore’s growth. As I look back, while I was learning about India and its possible paths to prosperity, this came at a cost I did not then foresee because I had not considered the “second side” in my decisions on what was the best use of my time and in which field I could have had greater impact.

In the mid-1990s, I was trying to sell Image WorkBench, an image processing software, to Indian R&D institutions and hospitals. I had been at it for more than a year and had only gotten two confirmed orders. The selling cycles were long because most buyers were government organisations and needed to go through a tender process. I had a sense that we were failing but refused to accept that my awe-inspiring creation (“look, we can count objects in that image”) did not have a profitable future. Days turned to weeks and then months as I hoped for that one big order which would turn around our fortunes. It never happened. At the same time, the Internet had started to happen. A new entrepreneurial venture in the form of IndiaWorld beckoned. I had to make a choice. I had to let go of my past (the imaging project) to build a new future (India-centric portals). It was only when I closed the first door that the second opened.

This process has two elements that we need to mentally prepare ourselves for:

• Recognising the need for change: Understanding when it’s time to close a door is crucial. Assess your current situation and ask yourself if it aligns with your goals and values. Are you feeling stagnant or unhappy? If so, it might be time to let go and seek new opportunities. Remember, change can be a positive force in your life, leading to personal growth and greater fulfilment. This is not always easy because of the sense of failure that can envelop us. What we need to understand is that the problem is the relationship or business venture, and not us as individuals.
• Willingness to embracing the unknown: Closing doors can be scary, as it often means stepping into the unknown. However, it’s important to remember that uncertainty can lead to exciting new possibilities. Embrace the ambiguity and trust that the future holds something better for you. Be open to new experiences and allow yourself to be vulnerable, as this is where growth truly occurs. When I switched from imaging to the Internet, I did not know what would happen; what I felt was the excitement of entering a new world with immense possibilities.

Here are some practical tips for closing doors:

• Reflect on your current situation and identify areas where change is necessary. (Writing it out helps with the thinking process.)
• Make a list of the things you need to let go of and why.
• Establish clear boundaries with people or situations that no longer serve you.
• Take action to close the doors, whether it’s ending a relationship, quitting a job, or moving away from a negative environment.
• Seek support from friends, family, professionals, or mentors to help you through the process.

Once you’ve closed the doors to your past, you’ll find that new doors will begin to open. Embrace these new opportunities with enthusiasm and curiosity. Stay true to your values and goals, and trust that these new experiences will lead to personal growth and happiness.

Closing doors is an essential part of personal, professional, and business growth, as it allows us to let go of our past and embrace new opportunities. It can be challenging, but it’s a necessary step in pursuing a better future. By recognising the need for change, embracing the unknown, and taking practical steps to close doors, we can open ourselves up to a world of new possibilities and experiences. Remember, sometimes the only way to move forward is by leaving something behind.

There are many occasions when we find ourselves in a bad place. We want to get out of such situations but are not always sure. The past keeps tugging while the future seems distant and unknown. I have been through this many times. My learning: we need to close doors before we can open new ones. This concept is crucial in personal growth and self-discovery, as it encourages us to let go of our failed past (and in some cases a stagnant present) and embrace new future opportunities.

I started thinking about this when I was in a meeting some time ago to discuss how best to monetise AMP in email. We had been trying to charge businesses a premium over ordinary emails. It was proving hard to persuade brands to pay extra and was also slowing down our goal of ensuring widespread AMP adoption. It was then that I asked myself a question: what if we did not charge extra for AMP emails? What if we closed that door? What new ones could I open? It was only then that I started thinking about “productised AMP.” We could monetise products around AMP rather than AMP itself. I needed to discard one option to open the possibility of alternatives.

Holding onto past experiences, relationships, and circumstances can be detrimental to our well-being. It prevents us from moving forward and achieving our full potential. By closing doors, we allow ourselves the freedom to grow and explore new paths in life. Letting go of what no longer serves us is a sign of strength and maturity, not weakness.

A year or so ago, I met with a friend, who found new doors opening after closing an old one. He had had a long career in a corporate role for several years, but deep down, he felt unfulfilled and stagnant in his career. He knew that something needed to change, but the fear of the unknown held him back. After confirming that he was financially well-off and thus could take some risks, I suggested that he quit his current job (the equivalent of closing the door). I then recommended going out and meeting people to consider new options. “Attend conferences, start writing, talk to anyone you know who is willing to give you 30-60 minutes of time.” My friend took the leap, resigned from his position, and began searching for new opportunities.

When we met again after a few months, my friend had embarked on this new journey, and was filled with excitement. He had started attending networking events, enrolling in online courses, and connecting with people. New doors were beginning to open. Business ideas were forming. He had even come across a person who he thought could be a possible co-founder for a new venture. Cut to the present. My friend is an entrepreneur and just getting his product to market. I have never seen him happier! He knows the odds of success are still low, but the joy of being free and the designer of his destiny is what he loves. And it had all begun with the resignation letter that he had held on to for many months and even perhaps years because the comfort of the known and fear of the unknown prevented him from closing a door and opening a new one. By making the jump, embracing the unknown, and staying true to himself, he was able to find a new path that was more aligned with his dreams and aspirations.

I wrote previously about my liking for thrillers: “A good story transports you to a different world – it is the equivalent of dreaming with eyes open. Some authors that I like include Daniel Silva (Gabriel Allon series), Michael Connelly (Bosch and others), Anthony Horowitz, Scott Turow and John Grisham (legal), David Baldacci, Joel Rosenberg, David Ignatius, Brad Thor, Jeffrey Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme), Ken Follett, and Ruth Ware (Agatha Christie type thrillers).”

While thrillers are a good escape and there is no shortage of titles that come through the year, every so often I read a book which is different and leaves a mark. One of the best books I read was “Klara and the Sun” by Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro. It is a book which must be read slowly because each sentence is so beautifully crafted. The book immerses us in the world as seen through the eyes and ‘mind’ of Klara. It is set in a near-future where Artificial Friends (AFs) are created to alleviate human loneliness. Klara, an extremely observant solar-powered AF, is chosen by a young girl named Josie to be her companion. The story follows Klara’s journey to understand the complexities of human emotions, relationships, and mortality as she tries to save Josie’s life by seeking the mysterious power of the Sun. The book explores themes of love, artificial intelligence, ethics, the essence of consciousness, questioning the nature of life and what makes us human.

While reading the book, I was completely immersed in it. It was a very different experience from reading murder mysteries and thrillers where the race is to the finish line. I did not want the Klara book to end. Even after I had read it, the book stayed with me. It contemplated a future that was not far off, and thanks to the exponential innovation we are now seeing in AI, that future could happen much sooner than we expect. Klara is such an endearing creation and one begins to wonder if machines can have feelings or it is just the algorithms at work, blurring the line between human and machine.

Another book I read recently was “Notes on an Execution” by Danya Kukafka. I came across it after it won the 2023 Edgar Award for Best Novel. It explores the psyche of a serial killer (Ansel Packer, in second person) and the women who shaped him. The book is about the last 12 hours before his scheduled execution. As Jacqueline Bublitz writes: “In a chapter poignantly titled Elsewhere, we get to imagine the lives of the women and girls he murdered, if only they had been left alone. These moments that might have been are both beautiful, and beautifully ordinary. Traveling to other countries. Holding babies. Remembering the eating of an orange in the sun. We see what the man who took their lives could not. That an entire universe was contained within each woman. Life after life to be lived. She was always more than her ending, the worst thing that happened to her. And he will only ever be the worst thing he did.” The book is very well written and brings the tension alive.

A good fiction book is about immersion – travelling through space and time into the characters that the author creates. It weaves together elements of setting, plot, and character development to create a vivid and engaging world that captivates us as readers, inviting us to lose ourselves in the story. For those few hours, the words on the page (or screen) intersect with our thoughts and create a mind meld. Through immersive writing, the author evokes a range of emotions, allowing us to empathise with the characters’ experiences and explore the intricacies of human relationships and life’s complexities. We can envision ourselves in the fictional universe a good author crafts, with detailed descriptions and believable dialogue. This resonance provides an escape from the mundane on a lazy weekend afternoon or a late night after a long workday, offering a portal that connects the author’s writing and our imagination. Immersion in a good fiction book fosters a deeper understanding of the human experience – very different perhaps from our own. The book leaves behind questions, some answers, and many memories that linger long after the final page is turned.