The latest and most frequently used word in the world is “Recession”. Anyone and everyone is talking about recession.

Almost all the companies have cut down on onsite travels, administrative cost and other perks. There are no more free lunches literally. Companies are introducing Performance Improvement Plans and giving zero hikes or bonuses. Everything has only one reason. RECESSION.

From a middle class citizen’s point of view, Restaurants have become expensive, shopping malls are empty, and food prices have gone up too. The fuel prices have gone down by almost Rs10 and still the auto guys crib for more money as it is recession time. Even the local vegetable vendor blames recession for increase in the prices. (I wonder why it is only the recession that is affecting the prices and why isn’t the falling inflation causing any price falls.) Everything is going up except my income and I too blame it on recession.

Is India really going through a recession or is it just the cold we have caught because USA sneezed? Are we just projecting a slowdown as a recession? Of course it has affected India because of the outsourcing and we too had job losses. But can we call it a recession still?

There is a difference between recession and slow down. The dictionary meaning of recession is two continuous quarters of negative growth where as during slowdown there is growth but it is slow. And who says India has negative growth? The RBI is still predicting a GDP growth of about 7%.

Our banking sector is still very strong and the interest rates are still high compared to other countries. We can still pass through this recession in US without getting into it.

Of course the government is trying to make things better by reducing the interest rates, announcing stimulus packages and various other measures to pump money into the market. We can be hopeful that the various stimulus packages being announced by the Indian as well as global governments will give a boost to sectors like infrastructure, automobile, cement and metals. This will increase the business and also the ‘recession free’ politics ‘industry’ is ready to infuse money in the name of general election and that should be a boost to the economy as well.

Apart from all this we also have some responsibilities t improve the situation. We need to use our resources effectively and at the same time focus on innovation.

Recession forces people to spend less and save more for adverse situations but we Indians are not new to the idea of savings. We just need to chuck the extra credit card spending, check our expenses, promote the right things and viola we’ll be on our way out of this crazy situation. Being thrifty will surely help us get out of this slowdown earlier than others.

This is the time to capitalize on things which we are good at. Tourism is going to be hit because of global recession (obviously there will be less number of people visiting the Taj Mahal this year) but we can promote health tourism which is still a cheaper option in India with best of services available at cheaper prices compared to USA or Europe.

Agriculture is still the backbone of our economy. Let us make that stronger. We need to get the farmers back to the fields and the higher dollar value can get us more money for our agriculture exports.

Instead of worrying about losing outsourcing jobs we can start innovating our products. IT industry which has been worst hit due to dependency on US can start focusing more on product innovation and less on services. Once the situation improves we’ll be less dependent on US plus we can be a major player too rather than just being the back office of the world.

Remember how India tackled the bans that were imposed by the world especially US after the nuclear tests. We became almost self sufficient in the things that were banned by other countries.

When the next boom comes, we can reap the benefits of effective resource utilization and innovation and be ahead of other economies. We surely have the talent and means to get out this slowdown without slipping into recession.

I strongly feel this economic condition is just a wake up call for us to be more responsible and more cautious and to realize our abilities to drive away the recession blues. Jaago Re!

Popularity: 38%

On Sunday the Government released a statement saying, Public sector banks will shortly announce a package for borrowers for home loans in two categories — for loans of up to Rs 5 lakhs and Rs 5-20 lakhs  The housing sector has been in trouble in the last 6 months with very few takers for houses.

With this bailout package, the government is going to subsidize the banks providing housing finance.  I believe, instead of doing this, it should try to control the price set by the builders. 

Tell me in which Indian city will you get a flat for 5 to 10 lakhs?  It is not possible in Tier I and Tier II cities.  Or only those who have 15 to 20 lakhs cash in hand will benefit from this package.  If you take a look at the top cities in India, the real estate prices are ridiculous. In cities like Hyderabad, it is almost impossible to find a flat which is less than 30 lakhs.  If you want a flat in the city or near the city it will not cost you less than 50 lakhs.

No government employee will ever earn more than 50,000 rupees a month and 90 % of private sector employees earn less than 25,000 rupees a month.  These people would never be able to buy their dream houses if flats are available only at such astronomical prices.

Have you ever tried to calculate the cost of construction?  I know a couple of builders and I got these figures from them.  For a super deluxe flat, for a square foot, cost of construction (including the land price) will be between Rs 800 to Rs 1400.  This might vary a bit depending on the land cost.  So if an sft is costing Rs 1400, have you ever seen builders selling it for 1600 or 1800?  They will never sell it below Rs 2500. They almost make 100 % profit.

Also remember that the prices of steel and cement have come down but flat prices wouldn’t come down in the last 6 months.

If government really cares for middle class people, they should set a cap on the profits made by realtors.  Like cement and sugar, regulate the prices of houses.  Ask the builder to provide the cost of construction and allow him to make a maximum of 30% on construction cost.

Providing cheap loans to people for buying houses is a failed American policy. 

The government is encouraging realtors to keep their high margins and using the tax money to subsidize loans.  I urge the Government to increase the affordability of houses.  In all the metros there should be at least 30 to 40 % reduction in the prices of houses and apartments.

Right now the sentiment is low and reality sector is under correction.  Please allow the correction so that it can regain its health. A correction in these overhyped cities will eventually bring down the prices.  Don’t coerce it to gain artificial health by spending tons of people’s money.  If people don’t buy flats for another 6 months, and we can see the prices drop by 30 to 40%.

In the last few years, people panicked and purchased houses, as they thought the property prices might further increase.  But what people forgot or didn’t notice is that in any economy nothing can keep increasing for ever.  It took a big crisis (subprime) in a big economy (America) to prove it.  Not just the people but even banks missed this simple truth and got into trouble.

We the people of India should understand how the economy works and make wise decisions while a buying house. 

So whom is this policy going to benefit?  Definitely not the people in Metros and Tier I cities. It will benefit Tier II and Tier III cities.  Our infrastructure is not able to handle the current growth. Cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad have become costly. This will force builders, IT, manufacturing, and other investors to invest in tier II & III cities.  People in these cities will start investing in Houses. 

This is the only solution to offer a competitive price to the world for our product and services.

I hope one day we will have a world class infrastructure like US or Europe.

Image Credit: Kevindooley

Popularity: 23%

In today’s hyper-competitive workplace, being intelligent and/or working hard alone cannot guarantee career success.  A lot depends on how one conducts himself/herself in the office, how well the person is able to get along with teammates, how effectively he/she can get things done and also the leadership traits displayed.  This is particularly true for managerial roles.

One important factor among these is the personality of a person – extroverted or introverted. Normally, extroverted employees get higher visibility and seem to be more successful than their introverted peers.

Introverts are usually very successful in functional jobs that involve analysis whereas extroverts are good at team based functions. In my previous article about leadership, I had discussed about Jim Collin’s  thoughts about successful leadership styles.

His conclusion was that many of the leaders who achieved sustainable success were introverted. The question is, can introverted professionals become successful leaders?  This is a question the people who consider themselves introverts are concerned about.

According to some studies, about half of the world population is introvert. This number varies from culture to culture. It is considered that people in Western countries (US, Europe) are more extroverted whereas Eastern culture (Japan, China) have people who are more oriented towards introversion. Indians fall somewhere in between.  So, a lot of people in the world are unsure about what to do about their introversion.

Jack Welch, the legendary ex-CEO of GE, was asked the following question.

“My boss recently told me that I am very competent and have a clear vision for my team, but in order to get promoted, I need to show a stronger personality. As a naturally introverted person, what should I do?”

Jack answers that “Big companies are constantly looking for people to move across divisions or around the world, and extroverts, by rights or not, appear more prepared for such opportunities.”

He adds “Indeed, big companies are so tilted towards extroverts that introverts within them often experience a dynamic not unlike the one faced by many women and minorities. They have to constantly overdeliver just to stay even”.

His suggestion to overcome this disadvantage is to “get out there, mix, speak more often, and connect with both your team and others, deploying all the energy and personality you can muster”.

The entire question and answer can be found here

So is the scenario very bleak for introverts? That need not be the case. I had the good fortune of hearing about leadership from Rob Eckert, CEO of, Mattel, Inc . Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels are among the product of Mattel Inc. During the course of his speech, Rob recounted his story of how he progressed in his career. He grew up as a mediocre boy and his personality during youth was anything but flamboyant. It would be safe to say that he was an introvert. In one of his interviews to the press, he mentioned that “no one would have predicted that I’d be a CEO someday”.

But he was highly focused and capitalized on every opportunity that came his way. He turned around the toy-maker which was not faring well where more extroverted leaders failed. He also handled the public outrage against Mattel in the wake of the discovery of poisonous chemicals in toys. extraordinarily well.

During my interaction with him, I found him to be very down-to-earth and very modest.  He exuded a positive, can-do spirit and an ability to motivate people in his own unassuming way. His advice was that if one has the courage in one’s convictions and does not compromise on his/her integrity, success can be very well achieved, no matter one’s personality.

You can read more about Rob Eckert  here

So, all the introverts reading this article – you need not worry. Follow Jack Welch’s and Rob Eckert’s advice and you will get the rewards for you hard work.

Good luck!!

Image Credit: Robert T

Popularity: 22%

I often wonder when I read about the bailout packages dished out by Governments all around the world to aid banks and other financial institutions that are on the verge of bankruptcy especially the amount of money spent in bailouts in last couple of months is staggering. I am even surprised that there was not a single protest from anywhere and these financial criminals go unpunished. It is the common man who is going to bear the burden of additional tax and increased debt.

Why should tax payer’s money be used for bailing out greedy banks and corporations that have done business only with profit as motive and no concern for morals or ethics and absolutely no concern for the consequences for their acts. Putting public money in corporate coffers is just not acceptable. Financial crisis that has happened is a man made crisis done through substandard policies, deregulation and greed. I can understand putting in public money for natural disasters like earthquakes or folds. Governments all over the world have spent trillions of dollars on bailouts already

This kind of bailout is ABSURD!

We must collectively protest this .This is real money, my money, your money, our money which is hard earned paid in the form of tax.

Why should banks and financial institutions which never cared about the creditworthiness of people who lined up for loans or the soundness of derivatives business be rewarded. We should not allow government to write checks on tax payers’ account. This measure will increase the budget deficit by a significant amount, with no guarantee of recovering the amount and not holding anyone accountable for the misdeeds they have done.

What is the signal you are sending to the corporate world and investors through these bail outs? Do your businesses as you like and we will reward you for the blind errors you might commit. Is this the right way?

As far as I am concerned, there should be a thorough probe into the events that have led to this disaster and every CEO, Executive or Government who were part of this financial carnage should be jailed, their assets sold and put in a bailout fund.

It is time to wake up and realize that greed is the basis for all the financial disasters and find a way, may be strict disclosure norms, increasing the transparency in strategic decision making, making one responsible for his actions and

Few weeks back Finance Ministers of several Asian, Europe and Americas countries met and decided to act rapidly on the financial crisis

And now stock markets are being artificially manipulated by bailouts by governments.

When corporations see that the demand is coming down , it is natural for the stock to take a beating. But every other day we see CRR, SLR rate cuts which means our money is loaned back to us and the market stages a rally of any significance. FIIs and Badla traders slowly and routinely remove their money from our markets to invest elsewhere leaving the retail investor in a fix.

It is certainly not a good thing for a responsible, saving, taxpaying citizen, with no defaulted loans or credit card debt to compensate for the that Wall Street gamblers will go bust on their stupid and greedy bets, over-leveraged and poorly managed businesses with huge losses.

Let me tell you some interesting fact. Lehman has set aside $2.5 billion as bonus for their employees even as they went bankrupt for the great performance they showed in pushing the bank to bankruptcy.

What do you call this?

Popularity: 33%