Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Dealing With A Downturn: Selling More Services
If you’re involved in the operation/management of a startup, you’ve already heard a bunch of advice over the past couple of months. Much of this advice can be summed into about two words: Reduce Expenses.
I did a bit of paraphrasing (there are lots of variations and extensions to this, but it’s close enough). The advice is intended to accomplish one thing: give you more “runway” so that you can survive the down-turn. Overall, I think this idea of increasing the time that you can continue to operate your startup is a pretty good thing to solve for. The more time you have before you run out of cash, the higher your chances that you’ll actually succeed. I’ve said this about long-term startup strategy before:
“Part of your long-term strategy should be to survive the short-term.”
If you don’t live long enough to see the long-term, all that strategic planning and world-changing vision is not going to amount to a hill of beans (I have a running assumption that the value of a hill of beans is negligible, though it does seem odd to me that we’d use this as a benchmark — but I digress).
So, back to the advice: You need to survive, and so you should reduce expenses and thereby increase the time you have to figure things out. That’s great, but it’s only one part of the equation. In reality, the length of time you will survive is a function of how much cash you’re burning. Your expenses contribute to this cash-burn, but there is this other variable in the equation that people don’t seem to talk about a whole lot. Revenue. It’s almost like we’d forgotten about that.
When software companies are born, there’s this vision of building a great products company. Software startups tend to make a conscious effort not to emphasize services. The reason is simple: The margins in selling a product are usually much better. Further, it’s hard to get venture-funding if selling services is a big part of your strategy — for the right reason. So, many startup people (including me), shy away from selling services. We accept that it’ll likely become necessary over time, but we hold-off on it as long as we can. Now, I’d argue that in today’s climate, things are a wee bit different. If faced with the decision of having to scale back expenses (which is usually means letting go of people), generating some service revenue might not be such a bad thing. Sure, as a software company, selling services may not have been part of the original plan, but neither was this massive economic downturn.
So, here are a few thoughts on selling services for revenue. Note: These points primarily apply to B2B companies. I’m also drawing these points mostly from experiences at my prior company (not my current one).
Thoughts On Product Companies Selling Services
1. Selling services (related to your offering) is almost always easier than selling product. If you don’t think you can sell services to your target market, I’d be concerned about whether you can sell your product.
2. Offering services to your existing client-base often works well. There are two benefits: You get some revenue and you help your customers get more value out of your product.
3. You should be careful that the services you sell don’t center around customer-specific modifications to your product. That’s a high price to pay for revenue. On the other hand, if a customer is willing to pay for enhancements that you think would be valuable to a meaningful percentage of your target market, it might be OK.
4. You might find that offering a bundle of services along with your product increases your probability of a sale. Some customers might be more wiling to buy if they knew they could get your help. This could include training, data conversion, implementation, and customization.
5. Though services margins are definitely lower than that of product, one of the nice things about selling services is that it’s easier to manage head-count. For example if you’re trying to figure out whether to hire/keep someone, trying to figure out whether they’d be accretive is simpler to figure out in the services business. Not easy (particularly in this economy), but easier.
6. I’ve found that the people delivering services on behalf of your products company are often great at uncovering sales opportunities. For example, you might have a consultant that is helping a customer complete an implementation. During this process, she could identify how your product could be used in a different division of the company, leading to an upgrade.
7. Services are often a very effective way to guard against attrition in some of your recurring revenue stream. If you’re delivering services to a customer on an ongoing basis, and they’re thinking about cancelling (in which case you’d lose maintenance/subscription revenue), you’ll likely hear about it sooner and have a chance to do something about it.
In closing, one important point. I’m not suggesting that you use the service revenue excuse to refrain from cutting expenses that you should be cutting. If you need to let people go, you need to let people go. Also, keep in mind that expense cuts are immediate and generating revenue (even service revenue) takes time.
Summary: You likely had lots of good reasons to not sell services when the company started. But, times have changed, and you might want to revisit some of those decisions and arguments. Selling services may be the lesser of two evils.
I did a bit of paraphrasing (there are lots of variations and extensions to this, but it’s close enough). The advice is intended to accomplish one thing: give you more “runway” so that you can survive the down-turn. Overall, I think this idea of increasing the time that you can continue to operate your startup is a pretty good thing to solve for. The more time you have before you run out of cash, the higher your chances that you’ll actually succeed. I’ve said this about long-term startup strategy before:
“Part of your long-term strategy should be to survive the short-term.”
If you don’t live long enough to see the long-term, all that strategic planning and world-changing vision is not going to amount to a hill of beans (I have a running assumption that the value of a hill of beans is negligible, though it does seem odd to me that we’d use this as a benchmark — but I digress).
So, back to the advice: You need to survive, and so you should reduce expenses and thereby increase the time you have to figure things out. That’s great, but it’s only one part of the equation. In reality, the length of time you will survive is a function of how much cash you’re burning. Your expenses contribute to this cash-burn, but there is this other variable in the equation that people don’t seem to talk about a whole lot. Revenue. It’s almost like we’d forgotten about that.
When software companies are born, there’s this vision of building a great products company. Software startups tend to make a conscious effort not to emphasize services. The reason is simple: The margins in selling a product are usually much better. Further, it’s hard to get venture-funding if selling services is a big part of your strategy — for the right reason. So, many startup people (including me), shy away from selling services. We accept that it’ll likely become necessary over time, but we hold-off on it as long as we can. Now, I’d argue that in today’s climate, things are a wee bit different. If faced with the decision of having to scale back expenses (which is usually means letting go of people), generating some service revenue might not be such a bad thing. Sure, as a software company, selling services may not have been part of the original plan, but neither was this massive economic downturn.
So, here are a few thoughts on selling services for revenue. Note: These points primarily apply to B2B companies. I’m also drawing these points mostly from experiences at my prior company (not my current one).
Thoughts On Product Companies Selling Services
1. Selling services (related to your offering) is almost always easier than selling product. If you don’t think you can sell services to your target market, I’d be concerned about whether you can sell your product.
2. Offering services to your existing client-base often works well. There are two benefits: You get some revenue and you help your customers get more value out of your product.
3. You should be careful that the services you sell don’t center around customer-specific modifications to your product. That’s a high price to pay for revenue. On the other hand, if a customer is willing to pay for enhancements that you think would be valuable to a meaningful percentage of your target market, it might be OK.
4. You might find that offering a bundle of services along with your product increases your probability of a sale. Some customers might be more wiling to buy if they knew they could get your help. This could include training, data conversion, implementation, and customization.
5. Though services margins are definitely lower than that of product, one of the nice things about selling services is that it’s easier to manage head-count. For example if you’re trying to figure out whether to hire/keep someone, trying to figure out whether they’d be accretive is simpler to figure out in the services business. Not easy (particularly in this economy), but easier.
6. I’ve found that the people delivering services on behalf of your products company are often great at uncovering sales opportunities. For example, you might have a consultant that is helping a customer complete an implementation. During this process, she could identify how your product could be used in a different division of the company, leading to an upgrade.
7. Services are often a very effective way to guard against attrition in some of your recurring revenue stream. If you’re delivering services to a customer on an ongoing basis, and they’re thinking about cancelling (in which case you’d lose maintenance/subscription revenue), you’ll likely hear about it sooner and have a chance to do something about it.
In closing, one important point. I’m not suggesting that you use the service revenue excuse to refrain from cutting expenses that you should be cutting. If you need to let people go, you need to let people go. Also, keep in mind that expense cuts are immediate and generating revenue (even service revenue) takes time.
Summary: You likely had lots of good reasons to not sell services when the company started. But, times have changed, and you might want to revisit some of those decisions and arguments. Selling services may be the lesser of two evils.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sad and shocked; My prayers are with families of those that lost their lives in Mumbai today
The terrorist attacks in Bombay have left me sad and shocked. 11 places attacked almost simultaneously, over 100 people killed and over 1000 people injured.
It is sad that some people think “killing innocent people” will solve their problems or make a statement of some sort.
The world is facing unprecedented problems today - This is a time that all of us have to come together to face the collective threats (Poverty, Global Warming, Healthcare, Economy etc.) in front of us.
How will have the capacity to fight the bigger threats if we are busy fighting amongst ourselves?
My prayers are with families of more than hundred people who lost their lives for no fault of theirs.
God Bless!
It is sad that some people think “killing innocent people” will solve their problems or make a statement of some sort.
The world is facing unprecedented problems today - This is a time that all of us have to come together to face the collective threats (Poverty, Global Warming, Healthcare, Economy etc.) in front of us.
How will have the capacity to fight the bigger threats if we are busy fighting amongst ourselves?
My prayers are with families of more than hundred people who lost their lives for no fault of theirs.
God Bless!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
THE SONG OF THE SENSIBLE
What way the winds blow, I can understand
Why we show our backs to it, I can understand
I understand the meaning of blood
The value of money I understand
What is for and what is against, I can understand
I even understand this
We are scared to be able to understand, and remain silent.
I can understand the meaning of remaining quiet
When we speak we speak with thinking and understanding
The freedom to speak
Its meaning, I can understand
For a pathetic and measly employment
To sell our freedom, the meaning of that I can understand
But what can we do
When unemployment
Rises faster than the injustice
The dangers of freedom and unemployment, I understand
We narrowly escape the dangers of terror
I can understand
Why we escape and get saved, this too I can understand.
We remain disappointed and are pained by the Almighty if he does not just remain an imagination
We remain disappointed and are pained by the Government why it does not understand
We remain disappointed and pained by the common man because it succumbs to a herd mentality.
We remain pained by the pain of the entire world
I can understand
But how much we remain pained by this pain this too
I can understand
That opposition is the desired step to take
I can understand
At every step we make compromising understandings
I can understand
We make deep commitments for this understanding
Every deep commitment we present in ambiguous language
I can understand
The reason for this ambiguous language also
I understand.
Incidently, we do not consider ourselves
Less than anyone, I can understand
Every black to white
And white to black we are capable of converting
We are capable of creating a storm in a tea cup
If we want we can start a revolution also
If the Government is weak and the common man understanding
But I can understand
That there is nothing that we can do
Why there is nothing that we can do
This too I can understand.
The above a poem by poet Gorakh Pandey and my very inept translation. It was given to me by a journalist of a Hindi Daily, when he came to interview me on the occasion of my Father’s Birthday. My Father’s Birthday is today, November 27th. He would have been 101 years old.
The poet was a troubled human. Intelligent and anguished by the state of the nation. He had wanted to inspire with his writing and the strength of his thinking. When he failed he committed suicide. He was a brilliant student from the Benares Hindu University and later was with JNU - Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
The entire day has been spent in front of the TV and watching in anguish and in anger the proceedings on the streets of Mumbai. I have been riveted to Times Now and to the incredible anchoring of Arnab. He has been at it non stop for almost 24 hrs; reporting, discussing, interviewing, taking opinion, tirelessly.
My pain has been the sight and plight of my innocent and vulnerable and completely insecure countrymen, facing the wrath of this terror attack. And my anger has been at the ineptitude of the authorities that have been ordained to look after us. I have simply loved and endorsed the sentiments expressed by one of those that came on for comments on the Arnab reportage, Suhel Seth. They were strong, precise and most apt. And of course I have had the greatest pride in those from the forces that have and continue to fight for our freedom. Brilliant officers and police personnel have laid down their lives for us. I can only but salute them and respect their sincerity in the call of duty.
I have been at the receiving end of a million calls and an equal number of sms’s the whole day to come live on TV or on the print media to express my views on the current situation and am being lured by words such as ’we need you to speak to express solidarity and for the people to maintain their calm’.
This is disgusting !! I will NOT do that. TELL ME AND ORDER ME INSTEAD THAT WE REQUIRE FOR EVERY INDIAN TO GET UP AND WALK INTO THE FACILITIES WHERE THE ACTION IS ON AND I WILL BE THE FIRST TO WALK. But, please do not ask me to come and make sloppy statements that will do nothing more than create viewer interest in said particular channel ! I respect what the media is doing in serving the nation with its continuous information bulletins and I admire the brave and diligent manner in which they have devoted themselves to the cause. But what they expect me do I find against my ethics and want to be excused from it.
And for God’s sake, let us stop reiterating that cliched ”Sprit of Mumbai” retort. Yes Mumbai is strong and resilient and shall not be cowed down by any such occurrence. But let us not conveniently use it as our cover sheet, pull it over our heads and go off to sleep. Because that is what has been happening every time. Incidents of grave disaster have continued to be camouflaged with ‘oh, this is Mumbai, we have a great spirit, we will spring back’. Fine, we will, of course. But who is assuring us that the disaster will not !!
As an Indian, I need to live in my own land, on my own soil with dignity and without fear. And I need an assurance on that.
I am ashamed to say this and not afraid to share this now with the rest of the cyber world, that last night, as the events of the terror attack unfolded in front of me I did something for the first time and one that I had hoped never ever to be in a situation to do.
Before retiring for the night, I pulled out my licensed .32 revolver, loaded it and put it under my pillow. For a very disturbed sleep.
Why we show our backs to it, I can understand
I understand the meaning of blood
The value of money I understand
What is for and what is against, I can understand
I even understand this
We are scared to be able to understand, and remain silent.
I can understand the meaning of remaining quiet
When we speak we speak with thinking and understanding
The freedom to speak
Its meaning, I can understand
For a pathetic and measly employment
To sell our freedom, the meaning of that I can understand
But what can we do
When unemployment
Rises faster than the injustice
The dangers of freedom and unemployment, I understand
We narrowly escape the dangers of terror
I can understand
Why we escape and get saved, this too I can understand.
We remain disappointed and are pained by the Almighty if he does not just remain an imagination
We remain disappointed and are pained by the Government why it does not understand
We remain disappointed and pained by the common man because it succumbs to a herd mentality.
We remain pained by the pain of the entire world
I can understand
But how much we remain pained by this pain this too
I can understand
That opposition is the desired step to take
I can understand
At every step we make compromising understandings
I can understand
We make deep commitments for this understanding
Every deep commitment we present in ambiguous language
I can understand
The reason for this ambiguous language also
I understand.
Incidently, we do not consider ourselves
Less than anyone, I can understand
Every black to white
And white to black we are capable of converting
We are capable of creating a storm in a tea cup
If we want we can start a revolution also
If the Government is weak and the common man understanding
But I can understand
That there is nothing that we can do
Why there is nothing that we can do
This too I can understand.
The above a poem by poet Gorakh Pandey and my very inept translation. It was given to me by a journalist of a Hindi Daily, when he came to interview me on the occasion of my Father’s Birthday. My Father’s Birthday is today, November 27th. He would have been 101 years old.
The poet was a troubled human. Intelligent and anguished by the state of the nation. He had wanted to inspire with his writing and the strength of his thinking. When he failed he committed suicide. He was a brilliant student from the Benares Hindu University and later was with JNU - Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
The entire day has been spent in front of the TV and watching in anguish and in anger the proceedings on the streets of Mumbai. I have been riveted to Times Now and to the incredible anchoring of Arnab. He has been at it non stop for almost 24 hrs; reporting, discussing, interviewing, taking opinion, tirelessly.
My pain has been the sight and plight of my innocent and vulnerable and completely insecure countrymen, facing the wrath of this terror attack. And my anger has been at the ineptitude of the authorities that have been ordained to look after us. I have simply loved and endorsed the sentiments expressed by one of those that came on for comments on the Arnab reportage, Suhel Seth. They were strong, precise and most apt. And of course I have had the greatest pride in those from the forces that have and continue to fight for our freedom. Brilliant officers and police personnel have laid down their lives for us. I can only but salute them and respect their sincerity in the call of duty.
I have been at the receiving end of a million calls and an equal number of sms’s the whole day to come live on TV or on the print media to express my views on the current situation and am being lured by words such as ’we need you to speak to express solidarity and for the people to maintain their calm’.
This is disgusting !! I will NOT do that. TELL ME AND ORDER ME INSTEAD THAT WE REQUIRE FOR EVERY INDIAN TO GET UP AND WALK INTO THE FACILITIES WHERE THE ACTION IS ON AND I WILL BE THE FIRST TO WALK. But, please do not ask me to come and make sloppy statements that will do nothing more than create viewer interest in said particular channel ! I respect what the media is doing in serving the nation with its continuous information bulletins and I admire the brave and diligent manner in which they have devoted themselves to the cause. But what they expect me do I find against my ethics and want to be excused from it.
And for God’s sake, let us stop reiterating that cliched ”Sprit of Mumbai” retort. Yes Mumbai is strong and resilient and shall not be cowed down by any such occurrence. But let us not conveniently use it as our cover sheet, pull it over our heads and go off to sleep. Because that is what has been happening every time. Incidents of grave disaster have continued to be camouflaged with ‘oh, this is Mumbai, we have a great spirit, we will spring back’. Fine, we will, of course. But who is assuring us that the disaster will not !!
As an Indian, I need to live in my own land, on my own soil with dignity and without fear. And I need an assurance on that.
I am ashamed to say this and not afraid to share this now with the rest of the cyber world, that last night, as the events of the terror attack unfolded in front of me I did something for the first time and one that I had hoped never ever to be in a situation to do.
Before retiring for the night, I pulled out my licensed .32 revolver, loaded it and put it under my pillow. For a very disturbed sleep.
The lure of the other woman
The ‘other woman’ constantly haunts the male psyche. This has been so from time immemorial and has become an obsessive passion in the modern world of constant titillation. Traditional perceptions of marital loyalty and fidelity are crumbling. It was once believed that you fell in love only once and that a marriage was forever. But many couples don’t believe it anymore.
The fact is that you can be attracted to another person anytime and it can happen at any point in your life, even when you are comfortably ensconced in a marriage which is as warm as an old fuzzy blanket. It keeps away the cold, but not the yearning. The potent charm of the other woman is simply that she is unattainable and this can act like an aphrodisiac. “The other woman’s attractions are varied,” says Dr Varkha Chulani, renowned psychologist and sex therapist. “She need not be the most intelligent or the most charming woman; the attraction lies in the eyes of the beholder.”
With work culture changing, male and female colleagues nowadays spend lot of time together. Many men are more intimate with their colleagues than with their wives. “This creates a special bond, making them emotionally dependent on each other,” adds Dr Chulani. Psychologists term this emotional infidelity and this can easily end in a full-blown affair. When sexual attraction and emotional attachment combine, there are chances of a man walking away from his family. “The truth is that wives cannot give their husbands the ‘high’ that the other woman can,” says television personality Mandira Bedi. “Romance, lust, passion... belong to the realm of the other woman. In contrast, the wife is on a losing wicket, with harried looks, wailing children, demanding jobs, dependent relatives and endless chores.”
So, why do men stray when they themselves have chosen to marry into domesticity? Theatre personality Alyque Padamsee compares it to going to a restaurant and ordering what you want to eat and being happy with it till you suddenly see the mouth-watering dish in the next table. In their bid to do many things, women sometimes stop communicating with their husbands. The man sees his wife tied up in circles and feels bad that he is no longer the centre of her universe. “The other woman is an ego booster,” says writer Anil Dharkar. “Also, perhaps the wife does not share the husband’s wavelength and he needs to find someone to feed his interest and his sexual appetite.” It is not just marriages that are old and staid which are prone to such threats. “All marriages have divorce potential, however old, solid and well entrenched they are,” says Dr Chulani.
Sudekshina and Anil were married for 12 years. When she found out that Anil was having an affair, she went into depression. She blamed herself for not keeping her husband satisfied. She started binge eating and in two years, she became very fat and gained 20 pounds. It was an old school friend who finally saved her from the self-destructive trip. Sudekshina now works for a publication and has left her husband. “I blamed myself and what I did not realise was it was a deep spiritual hurt,” she says. “It had corroded away my confidence and my self-esteem and through it all, I blamed myself.”
It is a dangerous myth that only weak marriages are vulnerable. Sometimes ideal couples bite the dust.Male promiscuity is socially accepted while female straying is termed adultery. “Male promiscuity is considered a measure of manhood,” says Mr Padamsee. “Males desire variety while women often desire stability. As a result women have more to fear from their own sex than from the opposite sex.” The dilemma is as old as time itself; whether you should leave a woman who trusts you and go after an alluring mirage. As the poet Shelley said, “We look before and after and pine for what is not.”
The fact is that you can be attracted to another person anytime and it can happen at any point in your life, even when you are comfortably ensconced in a marriage which is as warm as an old fuzzy blanket. It keeps away the cold, but not the yearning. The potent charm of the other woman is simply that she is unattainable and this can act like an aphrodisiac. “The other woman’s attractions are varied,” says Dr Varkha Chulani, renowned psychologist and sex therapist. “She need not be the most intelligent or the most charming woman; the attraction lies in the eyes of the beholder.”
With work culture changing, male and female colleagues nowadays spend lot of time together. Many men are more intimate with their colleagues than with their wives. “This creates a special bond, making them emotionally dependent on each other,” adds Dr Chulani. Psychologists term this emotional infidelity and this can easily end in a full-blown affair. When sexual attraction and emotional attachment combine, there are chances of a man walking away from his family. “The truth is that wives cannot give their husbands the ‘high’ that the other woman can,” says television personality Mandira Bedi. “Romance, lust, passion... belong to the realm of the other woman. In contrast, the wife is on a losing wicket, with harried looks, wailing children, demanding jobs, dependent relatives and endless chores.”
So, why do men stray when they themselves have chosen to marry into domesticity? Theatre personality Alyque Padamsee compares it to going to a restaurant and ordering what you want to eat and being happy with it till you suddenly see the mouth-watering dish in the next table. In their bid to do many things, women sometimes stop communicating with their husbands. The man sees his wife tied up in circles and feels bad that he is no longer the centre of her universe. “The other woman is an ego booster,” says writer Anil Dharkar. “Also, perhaps the wife does not share the husband’s wavelength and he needs to find someone to feed his interest and his sexual appetite.” It is not just marriages that are old and staid which are prone to such threats. “All marriages have divorce potential, however old, solid and well entrenched they are,” says Dr Chulani.
Sudekshina and Anil were married for 12 years. When she found out that Anil was having an affair, she went into depression. She blamed herself for not keeping her husband satisfied. She started binge eating and in two years, she became very fat and gained 20 pounds. It was an old school friend who finally saved her from the self-destructive trip. Sudekshina now works for a publication and has left her husband. “I blamed myself and what I did not realise was it was a deep spiritual hurt,” she says. “It had corroded away my confidence and my self-esteem and through it all, I blamed myself.”
It is a dangerous myth that only weak marriages are vulnerable. Sometimes ideal couples bite the dust.Male promiscuity is socially accepted while female straying is termed adultery. “Male promiscuity is considered a measure of manhood,” says Mr Padamsee. “Males desire variety while women often desire stability. As a result women have more to fear from their own sex than from the opposite sex.” The dilemma is as old as time itself; whether you should leave a woman who trusts you and go after an alluring mirage. As the poet Shelley said, “We look before and after and pine for what is not.”
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
10 Things That Make Men Happy
1. Love
Although there are different things that make us happy ‑- some of them may not have been on the list but should have been, while others are but should not have been ‑- when all is said and done and the ink has dried up, the first dates turn into the honeymoon stage, and the relationship develops, all men really want is love.
2. Heart of gold
Most women are selfish on good days and plain malicious on bad ones, so why any man would let himself get tempted (well, we know why) by someone who has bad intentions beats me. So many men e-mail us, telling us how badly they are being treated, yet they are helpless in doing something about it, and worse, they keep going back... why guys, why?
3. Ambition & drive
If a partner is what you seek, then you will have to find a woman who will challenge your thoughts, stir up your emotions positively and give you a run for your money. Challenges start at home and end on fields, boardrooms and life, so make sure that you meet your match, because practice does make you perfect.
A woman that is too strong-willed will also be too stubborn, and this is just plain frustrating, but one that chooses her battles diplomatically will prove to come out a winner in the game of life. Would you not want her on your team?
4. Intelligence & confidence
Previous generations probably preferred a smart woman ‑- not just book smart, but also street smart. But truth be told ‑- and this will not please feminists (but then again, who cares?) ‑- many men did not want an overly smart woman, after all, it would be too hard to tame and control her. After all, men feared that women could become unstable and make demands (oh no...)
5. Sense of humor
This will forever remain a priority for any man. We work hard, we put up with a lot, and we need a woman who will put a smile on our faces when things are gloomy, and make us laugh when things are down. Now guys, I have been curious as to whether we like it when women make us laugh or when we make them laugh. Being able to make them laugh is good for our egos, but getting a smile on our faces is the best tonic possible.
Women always rank a sense of humor as the trait they like most in us. A woman who finds it challenging to smile and be pleasant will be a thorn in your side until the day you die, and trust me, your judgment day will come before hers.
6. R-E-S-P-E-C-T
The last thing we want is a woman who lets us down, embarrasses us and makes us out to be fools, especially in public. Gentlemen, there is nothing wrong with admitting that we are excessively proud and sensitive to criticism, but if done right, constructive criticism from the one person who knows us best can only make us better men, fathers, lovers, brothers and human beings.
Why do I say this? Next time your woman tells you something, do not cut her off and put her in her place; listen, pay attention and remember: actions, not words, are what matter. True, we may not have Tammy Wynette standing by us in a state of oblivion, but respect in a partnership is about praise as well criticism, not shutting up and telling it like it is. It helps when it is done with humor (well, not at our expense).
7. Honesty & trust
When the games are played, final rounds called and booty calls over, we want someone we can confide in. The most successful relationships are built upon trust, candor and honesty; anything else is equivalent to building a house on quicksand. Sadly, you only know who is swimming naked when the tide goes down, so be honest with your woman (but do not tell her anything she neither needs or cares to know) if you want her to be honest with you. Receiving a pat on the back when we do things right is nice, but it's even nicer to be told when we're wrong, provided of course that we are not made to feel like crap, which takes us to the next point...
8. A beautiful face
This one will stand the test of time. A pretty face can get away with murder. While this should not be the top characteristic, it is helpful to admit that you must find a woman who will please your eyes and excite your everything else.
Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, unless of course you are a magician named David. So do not choose someone based on what your friends say, go with whom you want to wake up with. We like beautiful things and we shall make no apologies for this.
9. A statuesque body
We may not admit this to them, but when we're walking down the street with our women, we want to show them off. Show off what? Their crazy curves and full figure.
As Doc Love puts it: you need to pass a physical to be the best you can be (i.e. join the army), and Lord knows that women make us pass their own physical exams, so why should we be any different or make any excuse about it?
10. Charm
Remember that Seinfeld episode when Jerry went out with that stunning blonde babe who got him out of every bad situation (speeding ticket, etc.)? Well, maybe this occurred because she was a babe, but I think she had such power because she was charming. If a woman can make you smile, then she has the charm to get out of any situation and will prove to become quite an ally.
Charm is what draws men to those women who are not as good-looking as the others in our black book. Charm is what pulls us back to women even after they burn us. Charm is the one thing that lets women get away with murder ‑- okay, charm and the next thing on the list.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
కవి సామ్రాట్ విశ్వనాధ భావుకత 7
కవి సామ్రాట్ విశ్వనాధ భావుకత ను శ్రీ బులుసు వెంకటేశ్వర్లు గారు వివరించిన మరొక పద్యాన్ని మీ ముందుంచుతున్నాను.
రామాయణ కల్ప వృక్షంలోని కిష్కింధా కాండలో 1 -లో 7 వ పద్యం
ఆటవెలది::-
రేగి ముదురు వెలగ క్రింద ముగ్గిన పండ్లు
రాలి కమ్మ తావి గాలి సాగ
మూగికొనిన తేటి మొత్తమ్మునకు స్పృహా
స్పృహల నడుమ తత్తరింపులయ్యె.
శ్రీరాముడు సీతాన్వేషణ చేయుచూ, పంపా నదీ తీరమున ఉండగా అక్కడి ప్రకృతిని వర్ణించుతూ విశ్వనాధ వారు చెప్పిన పద్యం.
శ్రీరాముని మనసు విషాద మగ్నమయి ఉంది. అక్కడి ప్రకృతి సౌందర్యమునందు అనుభవము - నిరనుభవము అయిన ద్వంద్వ స్థితులను పొందుతున్నది. సీతా విషయికమైన స్నేహ నిరీహల యందు రామ హృదయం తల్లడిల్లుతున్నది.
పెద్ద పెద్ద వెలగ చెట్ల క్రింద ముగ్గిన వెలగపండ్లు రాలిపోయి యున్నవి. ఆ పండ్ల పరిమళం గాలిలో కమ్మగా తేలిపోతోంది. ఇక తుమ్మెదలు గుంపులు గుంపులుగా ఆ పండ్లపై వ్రాలి మళ్ళీ గాలిలోకి లేచిపోతున్నాయి. మరల ఆ సుమధుర పరిమళాన్ని వదల లేక స్పృహా స్పృహల మధ్య తత్తర పడుతూ అక్కడే తిరుగుతున్నాయి. ఇదీ పద్యం లోని భావము.
తుమ్మెదల గుంపు వెలగ గుజ్జు రసాన్ని ఆస్వాదించ లేదు. పూల మకరందమే వాటికాహారం. ఐతే ఇక్కడ మిగల మ్రుగ్గిన వెలగ పండ్ల పరిమళం తుమ్మెదల్ని మోసం చేస్తున్నది. పూల వాసనతో కూడిన మకరందం అని ఆ తుమ్మెదలు భ్రమిస్తున్నాయి.
ఆస్వాదనీయంగా కనిపించే ఫల రసం ఆస్వాదనీయం కాకపోయినా మత్తెక్కించే ఆ పరిమళ తరంగాల యందు లీనమౌతున్న తుమ్మెదలు ... శ్రీరాముని స్పృహా స్పృహల నడుమ నలుగుతున్న ఆలోచనలే కదా!
సీతావిషయకముగా ఆశ అంతలోనే నిరాశ ...... ఆశ నిరాశల మధ్య తత్తరపడుతున్న శ్రీరామ హృదయానికి ఈ పద్యం దర్పణం పడుతోంది. ఎంతటి భవుకత!
చూచారుకదా కవి వతంసుని ప్రసంగంలో వెలుగు చూచిన వీశ్వనాధుని భావుకత. మళ్ళీ కలుసుకొన్నప్పుడు మరొక పద్యంలోని భావుకతను మీముందుంచే ప్రయత్నం చేస్తాను. జైహింద్.
వీరిచే పోస్ట్ చెయ్యబడింది చింతా.రామకృష్ణారావు
కవి సామ్రాట్ విశ్వనాధ భావుకత ను శ్రీ బులుసు వెంకటేశ్వర్లు గారు వివరించిన మరొక పద్యాన్ని మీ ముందుంచుతున్నాను.
రామాయణ కల్ప వృక్షంలోని కిష్కింధా కాండలో 1 -లో 7 వ పద్యం
ఆటవెలది::-
రేగి ముదురు వెలగ క్రింద ముగ్గిన పండ్లు
రాలి కమ్మ తావి గాలి సాగ
మూగికొనిన తేటి మొత్తమ్మునకు స్పృహా
స్పృహల నడుమ తత్తరింపులయ్యె.
శ్రీరాముడు సీతాన్వేషణ చేయుచూ, పంపా నదీ తీరమున ఉండగా అక్కడి ప్రకృతిని వర్ణించుతూ విశ్వనాధ వారు చెప్పిన పద్యం.
శ్రీరాముని మనసు విషాద మగ్నమయి ఉంది. అక్కడి ప్రకృతి సౌందర్యమునందు అనుభవము - నిరనుభవము అయిన ద్వంద్వ స్థితులను పొందుతున్నది. సీతా విషయికమైన స్నేహ నిరీహల యందు రామ హృదయం తల్లడిల్లుతున్నది.
పెద్ద పెద్ద వెలగ చెట్ల క్రింద ముగ్గిన వెలగపండ్లు రాలిపోయి యున్నవి. ఆ పండ్ల పరిమళం గాలిలో కమ్మగా తేలిపోతోంది. ఇక తుమ్మెదలు గుంపులు గుంపులుగా ఆ పండ్లపై వ్రాలి మళ్ళీ గాలిలోకి లేచిపోతున్నాయి. మరల ఆ సుమధుర పరిమళాన్ని వదల లేక స్పృహా స్పృహల మధ్య తత్తర పడుతూ అక్కడే తిరుగుతున్నాయి. ఇదీ పద్యం లోని భావము.
తుమ్మెదల గుంపు వెలగ గుజ్జు రసాన్ని ఆస్వాదించ లేదు. పూల మకరందమే వాటికాహారం. ఐతే ఇక్కడ మిగల మ్రుగ్గిన వెలగ పండ్ల పరిమళం తుమ్మెదల్ని మోసం చేస్తున్నది. పూల వాసనతో కూడిన మకరందం అని ఆ తుమ్మెదలు భ్రమిస్తున్నాయి.
ఆస్వాదనీయంగా కనిపించే ఫల రసం ఆస్వాదనీయం కాకపోయినా మత్తెక్కించే ఆ పరిమళ తరంగాల యందు లీనమౌతున్న తుమ్మెదలు ... శ్రీరాముని స్పృహా స్పృహల నడుమ నలుగుతున్న ఆలోచనలే కదా!
సీతావిషయకముగా ఆశ అంతలోనే నిరాశ ...... ఆశ నిరాశల మధ్య తత్తరపడుతున్న శ్రీరామ హృదయానికి ఈ పద్యం దర్పణం పడుతోంది. ఎంతటి భవుకత!
చూచారుకదా కవి వతంసుని ప్రసంగంలో వెలుగు చూచిన వీశ్వనాధుని భావుకత. మళ్ళీ కలుసుకొన్నప్పుడు మరొక పద్యంలోని భావుకతను మీముందుంచే ప్రయత్నం చేస్తాను. జైహింద్.
వీరిచే పోస్ట్ చెయ్యబడింది చింతా.రామకృష్ణారావు
JNTU 2ND INTERNAL ONLINE BITS FOR ALL BRANCHES
JNTU 2ND INTERNAL ONLINE BITS FOR ALL BRANCHES Read and get good marks All The Best CSE (New DataBase) [wt,aca,cn,dmdw,es,mc,nms,spm Sub Available] http://rapidshare.com/files/156990766/CSE.zip OR http://www.ziddu.com/download/2480635/CSE.zip.html MAD BITS http://rapidshare.com/files/157912225/4-1_MAD.doc OR http://www.ziddu.com/download/2501344/4-1MAD.doc.html ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Bits http://rapidshare.com/files/158613442/artifical_intelligence.zip OR http://www.ziddu.com/download/2517700/artificalintelligence.zip.html ECE (New DataBase) [rs,oc,mca,emi,dip,cn Sub Available] http://rapidshare.com/files/157305104/ECE.zip OR http://www.ziddu.com/download/2489627/ECE.zip.html EEE (New DataBase)[vlsi,psd,pca,nnfl,ncse,eds,acs Sub Available] http://rapidshare.com/files/157305105/EEE.zip OR http://www.ziddu.com/download/2489628/EEE.zip.html IT (New DataBase)[IS, Sub Available] http://rapidshare.com/files/157328454/IS_online_bits_2nd_mid.doc or http://www.ziddu.com/download/2490326/ISonlinebits2ndmid.doc.html EIE[dbms,cn,vlsi,ann Sub Available] http://rapidshare.com/files/156697800/EIE.zip OR http://www.ziddu.com/download/2472519/EIE.zip.html
Saturday, July 26, 2008
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