About Boss

My golden rule is: be friendly but never be friend with your boss. Thinking like a friend obscures your judgment and sends all the wrong signals.

A classic example is, facing criticism, instead of thinking constructively, you would react, "I thought we are friends. I worked so hard for you. How could you ...".

You got it all wrong, my friends.

If you don't want to learn it the hard way, trust me on this one. Let the work take care of the friendship part, which will come in the after life, I mean when you both move on. You may one day get a call, "what are you busy these days. I think I have a perfect job for you."

The beauty is: it's up to you to decide whether you want to take him / her up on the offer.

My bosses*, you aren't reading this, ARE you?

*My wife and kids, the only people I absolutely have to answer to.

Note: Originally posted to Facebook on Aug 16, 2012, prompted by a WSJ article, "When the Boss is a Screamer" from the previous day.

As a teaser, here is "Shut up, listen and learn", when the boss is ready for a "heart to heart". Btw, I love Kevin Spacey.

"Traders Guns & Money", Satyajit Das

- Knowns and Unknowns in the Dazzling World of Derivatives

Picked up the book while on call in London a few years ago. Read the book half-way through as an in-flight gap filler. Plain speaking, nothing earth shattering but well written. Always wanted to finish it and now maybe is the time.

Here is a quote. I don't think it's original but so long as it is in one place, I am happy. About trades have one-sided share of the profit and loss, i.e. tail I win and face I walk:"...It is the ultimate in capitalism - the privatization of gains, the socialization of losses."

The following offers you a taste or flavor of the book. About the similarities between Manchester United and Cazenove (an English private I-Bank), both in play for a buy-out:

"1. In both cases, the employees creamed off the lion's share of earnings. Players v. Bankers.

2. Both groups of employees argued vociferously about their value to the firm, their short careers and, the risk of injury.

3. They were always threatening to join a competitor and had first call over profits. Shareholders were there to underwrite the losses.

Conclusion: Manchester United would be the better choice. As an owner you would at least get to see the football games. In neither case would you ever see the money." Haha, that's awesome!

The following reminded me why I liked the book a lot, making a dry subject fun to read.

Regarding a risk management conference called, "Risk Management: The New Paradigm": "as a general rule, it is unwise to read or attend anything with the word 'paradigm' in its title."

With reference to U.S. military's DEFCON 1-5 alerts and applying bank risk management:

DEFCON 5: Go to lunch. The noon bells have tolled 'All is well'.

DEFCON 4: Business as usual. Normal indolence and lack of care continues.

DEFCON 3: The smell test tells you that there is a problem. You ask a few questions, being careful not to be told anything that you may regret in hindsight when seeking to avoid culpability.

DEFCON 2: You leann that your traders have lost an unspecified amount of money from the various journalists who ring you for comment. You thank them for letting you know what is really going on.

DEFCON 1: The bank is bankrupt. You're fired. You join the speaker circuit, sharing your experiences with other risk luminaries such as Nick Leeson."

Note: originally posted to Facebook on Sep 3, 2012.

"Three Idiots"

I don't recall who recommended the movie to me, but I do remember vividly when I watched the movie - last Christmas to New Year week, vacationing with the family in Disney World. Being a morning person, I enjoyed my quiet hours in the am. I finished the whole feature movie in one go. What a gem!

Am I digressing again?

Well, it's about college life in the Indian Institutes of Technology. East meets West. A jest against the academic programs of Indian and China alike - a life I can relate back in the old days - of course not as dramatic.

It doesn't hurt that the movie is just hilarious. For the sake of a good laugh, give it a shot.

Though the moral of the story (movie) is that there is more to college life than GPAs (something I am sure you echo), it does suggest the kind of competition our next generations here (meaning you and beyond) are facing.

As you may have or are yet to experience, the Indian colleagues I have been working with, especially folks based in Asia (India, Singapore, etc.), are all first-class, not just in terms of competency, but manner, professionalism and a sense of humor. Cheers, mates!

Full Feature

Theme Song - Gangnam Style

About Politics

Allow me to digress a bit. Politics, unless you choose being a public servant as a career, may not seem directly relevant to this project or forum. However, I'd like to share a few thoughts on the subject since I think it's very much part of the social frabric of our society and could, in one way or other, define who you are or make you a more matured citizen.

The following is what I posted on Facebook just now, morning after the election.

"As a matter of principle, I don't comment on politics on FB for the following reasons:

1. It's the single most divisive fault line of this great nation. Red v. Blue, You v. Me. The election heatmap indeed shows the divided states of America.

2. From my observations, people get very emotional when they talk about politics. This is great because people care. However, on the flip side, taken to the exteme, with emotions not checked, such discussions quickly become very personal, judgmental and irrational.

3. As average citizens, we are more than entitled to our own study and analysis of the challenging issues facing the country and voice our positions through our rights and action to vote. However, when our "public" discourses, on a forum like this, are reduced to sound bytes, sliced facts, rhetorical rants and worse yet, disrespectful personal attacks, I decided that I refuse to participate.

Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that I am cynical and doubtful of our political process. I firmly believe that individually we may make a decision incorrectly and even collectively we could make the wrong calls from time to time, however, in the long run, together, we will steer the course of this nation to a bright future... if we stay united.

And hence what I like about the message of President Obama's 2012 victory speech with the following excerpts:

"I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America."

March on...."


Here is Transcript, video of President Barack Obama's 2012 election night victory speech in Chicago (Click Me)