Building Business − A Regular Anthology of Professional and Business Development Articles

A collection of article summaries from various sources (with links to actual articles) focused on Professional and Business Development.  We’ve collected them in one spot, so you can easily scan, review and apply to your career and business.

Buying a Company for Its People (From Dealbook) − Sometimes you buy a company for its product, and sometimes for its people. Tech companies in Silicon Valley are snapping up start-ups to get their founders and engineers, then jettisoning what they actually make, The New York Times reports.

How to find spare minutes in your busy schedule (From SmartBrief) – Do you go to the bank during lunch breaks? Schedule meetings without a definite end time? Power through busy days without breaks? Changing just a few habits can add precious minutes to your day, Dawn Foster writes.

Why good leaders use guidelines, not rule books (From SmartBrief) - West Point’s disciplinary code listed hundreds of infractions until officials realized it was more effective to outline broad criteria for distinguishing “minor” and “major” offenses, and let leaders use common sense in implementing the guidelines. Most organizations could benefit from a similar willingness to issue flexible guidelines rather than hard-and-fast rules, writes Mike Figliuolo. “You hire people because they’re smart. Try giving them a little latitude to demonstrate their smarts and judgment.”

The reason you shouldn’t turn down a committee assignment (From SmartBrief) – Participating in a professional organization is important to developing valuable relationships that can help your career, Lyan Fernandez writes. Being on a committee “puts your appetite for involvement, initiative and leadership in the spotlight among potential prospects and employers,” Fernandez writes.

Richik Sarkar is a partner at Ulmer & Berne LLP, a Cleveland based law firm with a national practice.  In addition to practicing law, Richik is trying to reactivate the Cleveland Chapter of Net-IP.  For more information about Richik, visit his LinkedIn Profile.

Best PD Event & Best CA Event 2010

Best Professional Development Event & Best Cultural Awareness Event

Things we are looking for, in this category:

• Uniqueness of Event
• Quality of Event
• Impact made in the community
• Effective event marketing strategies
• Membership and financial impact from the event

And the Winners are…

• Best Professional Development Event – NetIP Dallas for “Job Search 101”
• Best Cultural Awareness Event – NetIP St. Louis for “Philosophy Club”

“Our goal of showcasing NetIP Dallas as a Professional organization and providing a service to the community has been successfully achieved.  Our 2010 Professional development series is founded on the belief that today’s NetIP Dallas members are tomorrow’s leaders. This event was broadcasted on our local radio station and we had an increase in membership after this event. We have been asked by members about a Part 2 event that includes recruiters.”

-Riya Bhattacharya, President, NetIP Dallas

“The philosophy discussion group has added a new demographic to NetIP. Several people previously uninterested in NetIP discovered a niche in which they could feel comfortable. Furthermore, through their friendships, these people have found a route into active NetIP membership. The group has consequently benefited in activity and diversity from new members. In the more general community, our image has shifted- now people realize that there is a philosophical element to NetIP, increasing the respect we garner. This perception mirrors a reality, as the philosophical discussions carry over into our daily lives and into other NetIP events.”

NetIP invades TiECon 2010!

“All people are entrepreneurs…” -Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank, Nobel Peace Prize Winner

L-R: Sonal Mukhi (Outdoors Club Chair, NetIP Miami),
Anit Agarwal (NetIP Bay Area),
Praveen Yalamanchi (President, NetIP Miami),
Jasmin Rohman (VP of Events, NetIP Dallas)

NetIP has had a long standing history with our Alliance Partner organization The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). TiE is a global, not-for-profit, dedicated to fostering entrepreneurs across its international network. Since its founding in 1992, TiE has grown to become the world’s largest organization for entrepreneurs and professionals, with membership spread across 54 chapters in 13 countries.

This year many NetIP members from across the country came to be inspired at TiECon, TiE’s annual National Conference which boasts to be the world’s largest conference for Entrepreneurs. The conference offered attendees the chance to connect and engage with entrepreneurs, VCs, industry executives and thought leaders over two full days of insights, sharing of business ideas, and power networking.

On Thursday May 13th the 17th annual TiECon, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the heart of Silicon Valley, started with a VIP Reception with Chief Technology Officer of the United States and former NetSAP Boston President, Aneesh Chopra.

This was followed by the actual kickoff Friday morning. This year the theme was “It’s In Your DNA” which goes to the point that we all have it within us to become an entrepreneur and harness our great ideas and put them in action. The conference offers the perfect ecosystem for building and launching a great company. With over 3000 attendees, 50 sessions featuring 150+ speakers, industry leaders and experts across entrepreneurial and business topics, and five focus segments (Internet, Software, Wireless, Clean Tech and Bio Sciences), this was a great event to garner the skills, resources, and contacts entrepreneurs need to succeed!

TiECon 2010 Highlights:

TiE50 – The 50 most enterprising startups in the fields of –Software, Wireless, Internet, CleanTech, and Biosciences

Power Connect – Power Networking with a Segment Focus

Business Bootcamp – Starting a Company. Running a Company. Taking it to the Next Level.

The Outer Realm – Cutting-edge research that will shatter your perceptions of technological and business boundaries

Key Note Speakers Included:

G. Steven Burrill (the BioSciences Pioneer, CEO of Burrill &Co.), Aneesh Chopra (first Federal CTO of the USA), Hakan Eriksson (SVP, CTO, Head of Group Function Technology and Portfolio Management, Head of Ericsson, Silicon Valley), Jeff Hayzlett (CMO of Kodak), Reid Hoffman (Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedIn), Deep Nishar (Vice President, Products, LinkedIn), Dr. K. Anji Reddy (Chairman of Dr. Reddy’s Labs, leading Indian Pharma Firm), Sir Martin Sorrell (Head of 250+ companies at WPP, the world’s largest advertising firm), Bill Sheedy (President, Visa Inc.)

Dr. Reddy of  Dr. Reddy’s Labs, shared how his simple vision of giving the people of India affordable medicine led him to grow his company to become the largest Pharmaceutical company in India. He also gave two key takeaways on his success for aspiring entrepreneurs: That we have the advantage to make quick decisions and that we always need to stay flexible.

Jasmin Rohman, NetIP Dallas VP of Events, attended one session on “Where are our Women Entrepreneurs and CXO’s?” which gave insight on how women can increase their presence in the entrepreneurial playing field and reach those top CXO positions.  Some keys to decreasing the gender gap were to encourage daughters from an early age that they are capable of anything they dream of and also to just encourage each other with support and mentoring to get a typically “risk-adverse” gender past the tipping point and ready to take the entrepreneurial plunge.

Since the best networking occurs in a social setting, TiECon concluded with a “Rhythm and Passion” themed banquet featuring musical performances from RDB, (Rhythm Dhol Bass) and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Stars.

NetIP Miami President, Praveen Yalamanchi tweeted throughout the conference and you can find his key takeaways from the various speakers at twitter.com/pravvy

“TiECon 2010 was the first TiE conference I attended.  I was overwhelmed by the sheer passion, energy and optimism at the conference.  The speakers were the best in the industry.  Innovation was the key driver of all entrepreneurs. I am at the brink of launching my company, LinkedNets, a platform that connects organizations and groups with each other with fine grained privacy controls.  The purpose of my attending TiECon was to understand and experience in person what was happening in Silicon Valley in relation to the launch of LinkedNets.   TiECon far exceeded my expectations.  I returned making invaluable contacts and re energized.  It was worth every penny and every second spent in attending the conference. I urge every entrepreneur to attend this one conference every year.”
-Pratima Rao, CEO, LinkedNets, TWINE Chair, Dallas, TX

Chapter Spotlight: NetIP Dallas Dinner Circle

by Palvi Waghela, Cultural Awareness Pillar Chair, Network of Indian Professionals Dallas

What could be better then trying out a new restaurant while catching up with friends and making some new ones before the night is through?  A recent NetIP Dallas dinner circle event provided all of the above and then some!  This month NetIP Dallas decided to explore the exotic tastes of East Africa by sampling delicious Ethiopian cuisine at the Queen of Sheeba restaurant in Addison, Texas on February 23, 2010.   The event had a capacity turnout of NetIP members as well as non-members (many attending a NetIP event for the first time).

The evening began with a networking segment giving everyone a chance to meet and get to know each other before they took their places at the table.  About half an hour into the evening dinner was served and consisted of a range of items that reflected the heart of Ethopian cuisine.

One on the appetizers named  ”Sambusas” were basically samosas, and consisted of spiced lentils in a crispy pastry wrapper.  This was served with Sheba’s Salad made with tomato, onion, and jalapeno lightly spiced and dressed.  Next came a spicy crepe like bread called Injera.  For all you spicy food lovers this was a great pick! Our vegetarian members raved about these two starters.

During the course of appetizers and dinner, an icebreaker game was played as well.  The icebreaker consisted of telling two truths about yourself and one lie, the group then made their guesses as to which fact was the lie.   This was a fun way to get to know interesting facts about each attendee, for instance dinner guests learned who was a triplet and which guy cuts his own hair.  It was a great way for people to make connections and learn the most random things from the attendees unique backgrounds.

The arrival of dinner brought with it an aroma of spices that made your mouth water.  For the vegetarians there were a couple of dishes: Lentils, Cabbage, and Chickpeas gravy, which was served with their delicious bread Injera.  For our meat lovers there were two wonderful dishes: Spicy Beef and Shredded Chicken, which were also served with Injera. A surprise for most members in attendance was that food was eaten by hand using the Injera in a way similar to naan.

The room’s pitch went from loud and boisterous to complete silence.  This only meant one thing, the food was DELICIOUS and everyone was too busy stuffing his or her mouths to talk.  After eating this wonderful meal no one had room for dessert!  The night came to an end after two hours of networking, eating, laughing and just having a wonderful time with old friends and new.

This was a great value to members since they were able to sample the best and most interesting food Ethiopia has to offer for the mere price of $20 which included tax, tip and a non-alcoholic beverage!  Dinner Circle at Queen of Sheeba was a huge success according to our members and non-members.  Queen of Sheeba is strongly recommended if you have not been yet.  Happy Eating!

To attend the next NetIP Dallas dinner circle or for more information about upcoming events please visit www.NetIP-Dallas.org or www.Facebook.com/NetIPDallas.

www.NetIP.org

Edited by Latha Nehru, VP of External Affairs, NetIP NA

NetIP Dallas World Record Breaking Community Service Event

by Vishal Bagchi, Community Service Pillar Chair, Network of Indian Professionals Dallas

Who knew that by throwing a pie (or three) at others could help The Dallas Animal Advocates (DAA) raise money and break a World Record?!?   Well the NetIP Dallas Community Service Pillar and their members helped make this possible on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at their first community service event of the decade.  This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that had been offered to DAA to assist them in raising much needed funds to support their primary programs (fences for tethered dogs in the City of Dallas and heartworm funds for HW+ dogs at Dallas Animal Services).   A minimum of 300 volunteers were needed to handle the actual pie throwing for a Dalton-based Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacture. For each 100 volunteers, Dallas Animal Advocates earned $2,500.

For more information about this GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Largest Pie Fight achievement or to view pie fight video, visit www.shawfloors.com/anso/piefight.

NetIP Dallas has another record setting Saturday of Service planned for April where they will participate in multiple community service events in one day.  For more information please visit www.NetIP-Dallas.org or www.Facebook.com/NetIPDallas.

Edited by Latha Nehru, VP of External Affairs, NetIP NA, www.NetIP.org

Celebrate Holi with the NetIP Family and Support an Important Cause

On behalf of NetIP’s North America Board and Chapter Officers, here’s wishing our readers and the NetIP Community a happy and colorful Holi. Cultural Awareness, along with Professional Development, Community Service and Political Awareness, is a core pillar of the Organization and our chapters are committed to providing a unique platform to promote South Asian Culture across US and Canada. It is in this spirit that many of our chapters are hosting fun and unique Holi events in the coming weeks that also have a strong community support undertone (many of the events are to support Grameen Foundation’s effort in Haiti) If, like me, you spent the day inside an office wishing that you part of the festivities, you’ll love what’s on offer. Check out just some of the exciting activities planned in various cities -

“HOLI COW” by NetIP LA-OC — A Beach Party Organized for the Haiti Relief Efforts

A fun Holi event to benefit Haiti

A spectacular afternoon at the Will Rogers State Beach, under the warm March sun, as NetIP LA-OC & AIF celebrate the “Ultimate Holi Beach Party of the Year” to benefit the AIF Haiti Relief Fund. You’ve all been wanting to help out with the Haiti relief efforts and this is your chance to do so in style and with tons of fun. Come as we celebrate our culture and heritage through vibrant colors, water, sand and games. Bring your family and friends to this joyous occasion and experience our hospitality through these festivities!!

Click here for NetIP LA-OC’s Holi Facebook event

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“HOLI HUNGAMA” by NetIP New York — An Evening of Fun, Fashion & Flair

Holi Hungama - An evening of fun, fashion and flair

A fashion show courtesy of BIBI Magazine, music by DJ Sammy J, performances by NYC Bhangra a lot more! Don’t miss this exciting evening by NetIP NY!

A percentage of the proceeds will go to support the Grameen Foundation.

Click here for NetIP NY’s Holi Facebook event

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The Sixth Annual Holi Hungama by NetSAP DC

NetSAP DC's Holi Hungama

Join NetSAP DC to celebrate Holi in the Park! Everyone is welcome to attend and this event is free to members and non-members.  Bring your own gulal (holi color) and picnic baskets and play holi with some new NetSAP DC friends! Gulal can be purchased at most South Asian stores in the metro area.

Given the recent devastation in Haiti, NetSAP DC will be collecting monetary donations for the Grameen Foundation’s Haiti Fund.  We will also be collecting nonperishables and toiletries for the Arlington Food Bank.

Click here for NetSAP DC’s Holi Facebook event

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“Holi Hai” by NetIP Dallas — Bid Goodbye to Winter and Embrace the Spring with Holi Festivities

Come join NetIP Dallas as we wave goodbye to WINTER and embrace the SPRING!! There’s no better way to kickoff this spring season with friends and family than smothering them with gulal (holi color). Just think of how much fun a snowball fight is.. and now imagine doing the same thing with colored powder! A limited amount of colors will be provided by NetIP Dallas, but it is recommended that you purchase your own at a local South Asian store (darker colors are more fun) =)