The new titans

The new titans | Economist.com

There is also more than one definition of emerging countries, depending on who does the defining (see article). Perhaps some of these countries should be called re-emerging economies, because they are regaining their former eminence. Until the late 19th century, China and India were the world's two biggest economies. Before the steam engine and the power loom gave Britain its industrial lead, today's emerging economies dominated world output. Estimates by Angus Maddison, an economic historian, suggest that in the 18 centuries up to 1820 these economies produced, on average, 80% of world GDP (see chart 2). But they were left behind by Europe's technological revolution and the first wave of globalisation. By 1950 their share had fallen to 40%.

India 2.0 Aims to Sustain Its Global IT Influence

India 2.0 Aims to Sustain Its Global IT Influence

And cultural differences aren't going away any time soon, either. "Indians have a difficult time saying no or that you're doing it the wrong way," said Gopalakrishnan.

"Indians are more hierarchical and might not say anything unless asked. Infosys teaches culture lessons in its training program for new hires, which lasts three and a half months and includes 10 days on communication skills alone."

Are Indians the Model Immigrants?

Are Indians the Model Immigrants?

According to the 2000 Census, the median household income of Indians was $70,708—far above the national median of $50,046. An Asian-American hospitality industry advocacy group says that Indians own 50% of all economy lodging and 37% of all hotels in the U.S. AnnaLee Saxenian, a dean and professor at University of California, Berkeley, estimates that in the late 1990s, close to 10% of technology startups in Silicon Valley were headed by Indians.

1. Education. The Census Bureau says that 63.9% of Indians over 25 hold at least a bachelor's degree, compared with the national average of 24.4%. Media reports routinely profile graduates from one Indian college—the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). This is a great school, but most successful Indians I know aren't IIT graduates. Neither are the doctors, journalists, motel owners, or the majority of technology executives. Their education comes from a broad range of colleges in India and the U.S. They believe that education is the best way to rise above poverty and hardship.

2. Upbringing. For my generation, what was most socially acceptable was to become a doctor, engineer, or businessperson. Therefore, the emphasis was on either learning science or math or becoming an entrepreneur.

3. Hard work. With India's competitive and rote-based education system, children are forced to spend the majority of their time on their schooling. For better or for worse, it's work, work, and more work for anyone with access to education.

4. Determination to overcome obstacles. In a land of over a billion people with a corrupt government, weak infrastructure, and limited opportunities, it takes a lot to simply survive, let alone get ahead. Indians learn to be resilient, battle endless obstacles, and make the most of what they have. In India, you're on your own and learn to work around the problems that the state and society create for you.

5. Entrepreneurial spirit. As corporate strategist C.K. Prahalad notes in his interview with BusinessWeek's Pete Engardio (see BusinessWeek.com, 1/23/06, "Business Prophet"), amidst the poverty, hustle, and bustle of overcrowded India is a "beehive of entrepreneurialism and creativity." After observing street markets, Prahalad says that "every individual is engaged in a business of some kind—whether it is selling single cloves of garlic, squeezing sugar cane juice for pennies a glass, or hauling TVs." This entrepreneurial sprit is something that most Indians grow up with.

6. Recognizing diversity. Indians hold many ethnic, racial, gender, and caste biases. But to succeed, they learn to overlook or adapt these biases when necessary. There are six major religions in India, and the Indian constitution recognizes 22 regional languages. Every region in the country has its own customs and character.

7. Humility. Talk to almost any immigrant, regardless of origin, and he will share stories about leaving social status behind in his home country and working his way up from the bottom of the ladder in his adopted land. It's a humbling process, but humility is an asset in entrepreneurship. You learn many valuable lessons when you start from scratch and work your way to success.

8. Family support/values. In the absence of a social safety net, the family takes on a very important role in Indian culture. Family members provide all kinds of support and guidance to those in need.

9. Financial management. Indians generally pride themselves on being fiscally conservative. Their businesses usually watch every penny and spend within their means.

10. Forming and leveraging networks. Indians immigrants found that one of the secrets to success was to learn from those who had paved the trails (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/6/05, "Ask for Help and Offer It").

Some examples: Successful Indian technologists in Silicon Valley formed an organization called The Indus Entrepreneurs to mentor other entrepreneurs and provide a forum for networking. TiE is reputed to have helped launch hundreds of startups, some of which achieved billions in market capitalization. This was a group I turned to when I needed help.

Top Indian journalists and academics created the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) to provide networking and assistance to newcomers. SAJA runs journalism conferences and workshops, and provides scholarships to aspiring South-Asian student journalists.

In the entertainment industry, fledgling filmmakers formed the South Asian American Films and Arts Association (SAAFA). Their mission is the promotion of South Asian cinematic and artistic endeavors, and mentoring newcomers.

11. Giving back. The most successful entrepreneurs I know believe in giving back to the community and society that has given them so much opportunity. TiE founders invested great effort to ensure that their organization was open, inclusive, and integrated with mainstream American society. Their No. 1 rule was that their charter members would give without taking. SAJA officers work for top publications and universities, yet they volunteer their evenings and weekends to run an organization to assist newcomers.

12. Integration and acceptance. The Pew Global Attitudes Project, which conducts worldwide public opinion surveys, has shown that Indians predominantly hold favorable opinions of the U.S. When Indians immigrate to the U.S, they usually come to share the American dream and work hard to integrate.

This dude's list includes cultural values (family, edcuation etc.) that we've been discussing.

Telegraph | Money | India's Wal-Mart

Telegraph | Money | India's Wal-Mart

Mukesh Ambani, RIL's chairman, plans to open 100m sq ft of retail space in India by 2010. Local press reports talk of between 5,000 and 10,000 stores spread across 1,500 towns and cities. Ambani has described the concept as "a pan-India footprint of multi-format retail outlets".

Reliance will operate hypermarkets, convenience and speciality stores, as well as business-to-business operations, selling food, clothing, electrical goods, consumer durables, luxury goods and financial and travel services. The project will employ 1m people within five years.

In developing the chain, Ambani is doing far more than simply opening a network of shops. He is revolutionising the Indian food chain, setting up a nationwide distribution infrastructure from scratch, and transforming the way that India's 1bn-plus inhabitants consume.

Centuries of tradition and established patterns of living are woven into this process. In essence, Reliance is aiming to turn a fragmented, localised, largely rural economy into an organised, process-driven, modern retail environment.

Team Pic

Shambhala Sun - The Answer to Anger

Shambhala Sun - The Answer to Anger

Patience has a quality of enormous honesty in it, but it also has a quality of not escalating things, allowing a lot of space for the other person to speak, for the other person to express themselves, while you don’t react, even though inside you are reacting. You let the words go and just be there.

This suggests the fearlessness that goes with patience. If you practice the kind of patience that leads to the de-escalation of aggression and the cessation of suffering, you will be cultivating enormous courage. You will really get to know anger and how it breeds violent words and actions. You will see the whole thing without acting it out. When you practice patience, you’re not repressing anger, you’re just sitting there with it—going cold turkey with the aggression. As a result, you really get to know the energy of anger and you also get to know where it leads, even without going there. You’ve expressed your anger so many times, you know where it will lead. The desire to say something mean, to gossip or slander, to complain—to just somehow get rid of that aggression—is like a tidal wave. But you realize that such actions don’t get rid of the aggression; they escalate it. So instead you’re patient, patient with yourself.

Pursue the Infinite

Joy stems from pursuit of the infinite. I've discovered that this means pursuing activities that allow for infinite learning and exploration, where levels of difficulty can keep getting higher according to your personal pace and preferece - e.g. learning a foreign language, playing a musical instrument, writing books/journals/memoirs, deepening a relationship with someone.

Joy definitely does not stem from activities like shopping, watching TV, or waiting in line at the bank or post office. It would be tempting to categorize activities like sex, eating a good meal as joyful. I maintain that they are merely pleasurable - leaving you with only a temporary high that quickly fades.

Pleasure is a short-term feeling, just seconds, minutes or hours. Joy on the other hand is a long-lasting feeling of well-being. It can have you basking in a nice afterglow, for many weeks, months or years.

To see a world in grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
- William Blake

Focussing on what you have, NOT what's missing

One of the ways to get on one of the on-ramps hanging off the misery expressway is to focus on what you lack, what's missing from your life. There is no end to the items on this list. So, you can think that you lack a big enough house, a nice enough car, a less than perfect spouse etc.

We in the West have become masters at this kind of thinking - helped no doubt by all the advertising which tries to tell us that there's something missing from our lives, and by buying we can be happy and whole. Of course, this is delusional.

For this reason, I like to travel overseas every year, especially to developing countries, and remind myself how lucky I am - especially when I see people living under some miserable conditions. I was born in America (will never lack for good food, clothing or shelter), have a nice family, good friends and have an educational background that allows me to do meaningful work on multiple continents. As a result, I feel indescribably fortunate and wealthy each time I return home from these overseas trips or stays, and consequently quite joyful. I am able to be on this "joy high" for quite a long time afterwards.

Try it yourself: If you think your life in America or W. Europe sucks, pack your bags and head to south Asia, Africa or Latin America. Upon your return, you'll be kissing the ground and feeling as if you're Bill Gates.

Breaking free from Sisyphean tasks

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king condemned by the Gods to continually roll a huge rock uphill - before he could reach the top, the rock would slip out of his grasp, roll downhill, and we would have to start all over again.

So, the phrase Sisyphean task refers to pointless or never-ending activities. Why do I bring this up? Returning to America after 18 odd-months overseas, I feel Americans are stuck doing jobs that are great for increasing national GDP but terrible for personal well-being. Production efficiencies have made many people economically redundant - but, people are engaged than ever before - stuck at jobs doing useless, paper-shuffling, meeting-hogging grunt-busy-work.

The challenge is to find work that is life and soul-enhancing after breaking free from this pointless job trap...but first, there's a need to realize that one is walking in the steps of Sisyphus.

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.
-- John Adams