Posts in Category: Personal Interests
[VIDEO] Interview with SmartCEO On Culture, Business Advice and Failures
Here’s a video where I, along with other leaders of fast growing companies in NJ, share thoughts on establishing a company culture that has an entrepreneurial mindset, how to handle failure, and the best piece of advice I have received about running a fast-growing company.
The Light Within: A Poem – Published on LinkedIn
Musings on the impact of inner light on our professional life.
It is the light within.
Hides deep beneath our skin,
Holds our destiny, shapes our lives,
Strikes more often than we realize,
Brings us to extremes more often than we like,
Makes us low and high, losers and winners,
It is the light within.
It takes us far and beyond, below and under,
Turns impossible into possible, possible into impossible,
Drives us to excellence, leaves us doomed,
It is the light within.
Propels us to achieve the unachievable, drowns us in mere existence,
Transports us to heights of happiness, and wells of sorrow,
Infuses completeness, and shoves us to hollowness,
It is the light within.
It is the light within that has many shades, so we must decide!
To become an optimist, or wind the pessimist fire;
To push the boundaries, or be contained;
To explore the unexplored, or be lost in self doubt;
To let in the breeze of change, or breathe stale air.
Shine bright or become a shadow,
Pick a shade of the light within.
Why not take the path where the light itself wants to travel?
Don’t! listen to the world; It only wants us to quit.
Pick the road that is rough and tiring;
Let’s work on a niche that makes us an authority;
Polish qualities others cannot replicate;
Associate with people who value what we cultivate.
Sparkle in brilliance of the light within.
Brilliance that glows without light.
Find no other use;
For it is the light within that makes us win!
Work Life Balance: A Poem – Published on LinkedIn
You seek stability, Work/Life balance, you explain.
I fail to understand your quest; what sort of balance, I ask?
Not everyone has a dream job, I understand;
Many struggle to make ends meet.
Some are tired of the physical labor;
Others, victim of mental stress.
‘Bored to death’, you exclaim!
Perhaps, there are higher priority things to do;
‘Quality time’, you imply.
A Senior yearning to take care of sick wife.
A Mom longing to meet kids after work.
A Girl planning to watch a show with fiancé.
A Millennial hosting a party tonight, every night.
I admit, corporate walls can turn you insane;
Productivity demands time-off.
Some, also have genuine reasons to escape work.
But, for most, Work/Life balance is just an excuse!
If work feels like work, the quest needs to change.
Don’t seek balance! Seek new work.
Explore stuff that you enjoy; at least, change the status quo.
Maybe a new function, a new employer,
Better colleagues, a caring boss.
Whatever it takes, find work that brings joy, not eternal exhaustion.
Work that becomes part of life.
Because, when it does, you stop seeking balance,
You start seeking excellence.
And, along comes quality of life!
How to get better ROI out of your social media sharing? – Published on LinkedIn
We all share content on one or more social networks. In fact, social sharing has become one of the most common activities on the web. There are some who get a kick out of sharing everything in their life (“I just took a shower with chilling cold water!”); some feel connected when they share; some want to stay relevant within their circles; some want to build their credibility; and there are others who do it for various vague and valid reasons. But, very few understand how effective their sharing is, and how can they improve.
sharing comes with an expectation – that your connections and followers will react. If there are no reactions, incentives of sharing are diminished, which leads to decreased sharing.
No matter what you do for living, I can bet you have limited time. When you are active on social networks, it can take away good chunk of your time depending on how addicted (or dedicated) you are to building your presence. But, it is not hard to see that everyone’s social content does not get equal engagement. And, that is fine for most people. If all you want is to share your personal pictures with friends and family, you don’t really need to count likes and comments. But, even then, sharing comes with an expectation – that your connections and followers will react. If there are no reactions, incentives of sharing are diminished, which leads to decreased sharing.
via How to get better ROI out of your social media sharing? | Jasmeet Sawhney | LinkedIn.
Santa & America’s Schizophrenia – Published on SikhChic
On my way back home, as I pondered over our interaction, I thought of another recent incident. But, before I get into that (and, you must be wondering, why Santa?), here is what I look like [Top photo on the right].
The only difference: I was wearing a red turban and shirt on that day. As you can see, I still have a black beard. So, I don’t think I really look like Santa! But, at least, the kid thought so.
Going back to the other incident. Here is what recently happened with a fellow Sikh-American. Cartoonist Vishavjit Singh was featured in a Facebook Tips video that showed up randomly in people’s feeds. It immediately attracted a barrage of ignorant comments from bigots and racists who didn’t care about the content of the video or what Vishavjit was saying. These trolls instead chose to attack him based on what he looked like!
That is, because of his turban and beard.
Now, compare the above treatment with my being called a ‘Santa’ – a legendary, saintly and fatherly figure that represents Christmas in many ways and forms!
Isn’t that good? Hell, yeah!
via sikhchic.com | The Art and Culture of the Diaspora | Santa & America’s Schizophrenia.
SANTA FOR A DAY – ISIS FOR THE REST?
Photo credit – littlesikhs.com
Christmas! What a wonderful time – isn’t it? Holidays, Family, Food, Gifts – enough reasons to love it! Even though I don’t celebrate Christmas, or get gifts, who doesn’t like festivities?
Yesterday, I went to my daughter’s school and a cute little kid told me – “You look like Santa!” “Is that good or bad?” I asked. “I don’t know”, he said in all his innocence. On my way back home, I pondered about our interaction and a recent incident came to light. But, before I get into that (and, you must be wondering why Santa?), here is what I look like.
The only difference, I was wearing a Red turban and shirt today. As you can see, I still have black beard. So, I don’t think I really look like Santa! But, at least, the kid thought so.
Going back to the incident. Here is what recently happened with a fellow Sikh who was featured in a Facebook Ad. Vishvajit Singh was featured in a Facebook Tips video that showed up randomly in people’s feeds. You can watch the video at the end of this article. Below is a sample of comments he got from bigots who didn’t care about content of the video or what he was saying. These trolls rather chose to attack him based on what he looks like!
Now, compare the above treatment with being called a ‘Santa’ – a legendary, saintly and fatherly figure that represents Christmas in many ways and forms! Isn’t that good? Hell, yeah!
What happened to Vishvajit Singh is nothing new. Sikhs have been targets of hatred and bigotry not just in US but also in their home country (India). This has happened not only once or recently, but throughout our 500+ years of history. But, the point I want to make is not about unwarranted hatred against Sikhs and other communities. We have all read and listened to it many times and it will sound like another rhetoric.
Rather, I simply want to put forward something that I believe is quite strange. Come Christmas time, every parent is ready to hand over their kids to a stranger dressed up as Santa – overly sized costume complete with long beard, moustache and headgear. Well, often, these costumes are smelly, hands are dirty, and conditions are not really the most hygienic. Add to it the fact that some of these Santas don’t even go through background checks!
Now, how many other occasions can you recall where parents would willfully hand over their kids to a stranger, or to emphasize, a ‘person’ with above description sans Santa costume? Yes, that stranger could be me, who this cute little kid called Santa! And, like me, many others who don’t look like so called “Typical American”, the way bigots and hate mongers describe it – White, European, and so on… And, us Santas, exist all year around. We don’t do it for money, though. It is part of our daily life – it is our faith!
Now, bear in mind, I do not intend to spoil the holiday mood or mean to say that anyone should stop posing with Santa! I take my kids to mall to pose with Santa. They actually took pictures yesterday with local Santa on the fire truck. I also do not intend to discount one of the biggest virtues of America – acceptance of all faiths, cultures and races, which most Americans embrace.
I just want to point out double standards of bigots (like the ones who posted comments on Vishvajit’s Ad), who in no way represent the spirit of America! Most racists and bigots don’t have the courage to say such things face-to-face, so they use the Internet. Nevertheless, they feel the same way and would never allow “Year-Around Santas” to even come close to their kids. The funny thing, though, they are out there today clicking pictures of their kids with someone, whom on another day, they might call ISIS or Taliban!
Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!
Here’s Vishvajit Singh’s Facebook Tips Video
Also, published on Medium – https://medium.com/@jasmeetio/santa-for-a-day-isis-for-the-rest-c7e9a4f501ab
12 Hiring Tips For Your Early Stage Startup
Startups live or die based on their ability to attract talent. All other factors that can affect startup success are secondary. This is even more pronounced when you are an early stage startup (read ‘resource constrained to the extreme’) as you have little or no room for bad hiring decisions. Having said that, everyone makes hiring mistakes and it is a process that you hope to get better at with experience. If you are like me and most other entrepreneurs, you would dump conventional wisdom and techniques, and build your own set of hiring rules that are driven by your unique style and situation. Over the years, I have been involved in several startups and here are some of the things I have learned in hiring during early days of the startup (i.e., first 2-5 employees).
Sikh Tech Startup Founders – On Satjot’s Blog
It is sometimes very lonely to work on a technology startup. The ups and downs are unimaginable. The culmination of all the hard work is generally binary: (0) huge success, (1) failure. And it’s an emotional roller coaster that only other founders can relate to.
So, I’ve always wanted to learn about fellow sikhs who are running technology startups. I’ll try to kick off the list of founders here and hopefully you can add to it in the comments.