Micropayments – Saviors or Enablers?
In a recent essay in the TIME magazine, Walter Isaacson (former managing editor of TIME and currently president and CEO of the Aspen Institute) has lamented about the crisis in…
Changing Face of DIY Markets
A year ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could 'outsource' ironing of my clothes in London. A few years ago, it was un-imaginable to find someone to provide…
How Can Indian Organized Retail Win Round 2?
Recent news reports have declared that organized retail in India has lost the first round to kirana stores (which are the Indian version of mom-and-pop stores). Reasons for this include…
Balancing Speed-to-Market With Robustness Considerations
For many years now, I’m a highly satisfied user of LIC’s website for making online premium payments for my insurance policies. For those of you who don’t know, LIC or Life Insurance Corporation…
Season’s Greetings!
Talk of Many Things wishes its readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. At the start of this year, I'd promised to make it easy for readers to…
Seller-Side Auctions for eBay-Weary Buyers
Like me, if you're one of those who has bid on eBay (or other online auction websites) and gotten frustrated with one of those "You're outbid" emails five minutes later, then seller-side…
Jet Lag Pills for Business Class
Writing about The True Worth of Business Class Travel about a year ago, I'd sort of concluded that extra convenience was the only tangible differentiator that airlines could be using to justify business class fares that are typically…
The Secret to Running Great Meetings
A recent issue of the FORTUNE magazine carried a "Three Minute Manager" interview with three executives on the secrets of conducting great meetings. For executives running global corporations, I was…
Putting the Cart Before the Horse Does Work!
During my vacation a couple of weeks ago, I was taken on a visit by an enthusiastic representative of an NGO called CTRD Trust to a tribal village rehabilitated by…
Is Catch-22 Coming True?
Like most Catch-22 readers, I found its characters hilarious and their ploys convincing but never imagined that I'd come across their likeness in real-life. Well, I'm now not so sure.…