Sreeram Srinivasan

Negotiation is the least spoken about but arguably the most critical part of lives - be it work, personal or daily life. We negotiate all the time in our lives - with our parents, spouses, children, friends, business associates, bosses, and even total strangers. And without even knowing that its negotiation. We would have done it even as babies. Think about that! Why does a baby yell and scream when it wants something. Its negotiating..... tough and hard!! Ever get into a discussion as a kid with your dad or mom about running an errand and you asked (negotiated) for a reward.... maybe a few bucks to go out to the movies with friends or buy yourself a candy bar!! What about spouses? Ever had to talk her out of her "headache" and to get interested in... well.... er... you know what :-) !!! We do this by instinct without quite giving it a name. And when we have to do this at work with our teams or with a customer, we suddenly give it a name and start to worry. We end up going ...

Negotiation is the least spoken about but arguably the most critical part of life - be it work, personal or daily life. We negotiate all the time in our lives - with our parents, spouses, children, friends, business associates, bosses, and even total strangers. And without even knowing that its negotiation. We would have done it even as babies. Think about that! Why does a baby yell and scream when it wants something. Its negotiating..... tough and hard!! Ever get into a discussion as a kid with your dad or mom about running an errand and you asked (negotiated) for a reward.... maybe a few bucks to go out to the movies with friends or buy yourself a candy bar!! What about spouses? Ever had to talk her out of her "headache" and to get interested in... well.... er... you know what :-) !!! We do this by instinct without quite giving it a name. And when we have to do this at work with our teams or with a customer, we suddenly give it a name and start to worry. We end up going to...

IPL or Indian Premier League for 20-over cricket is a timely innovation for the cricket crazies of the sub-continent. Yours truly had a revulsion towards it in the first year as I felt it was too much of a hype or "tamaasha". Eventually, the public and the media have moved on from their obsession with the celebrity owners, skimpily-clad cheerleaders, the who's who of spectators, and the charismatic Lalit "limelight" Modi and started to focus somewhat seriously on the game. This has made it a little more fun to watch as we can see from the tough fight put up for the top 2 (and 4) spots this year. May be the huge controversies that erupted last year over the expansion and eventual exit of Lalit Modi has quietened down the non-cricket extra-curriculars and made everyone keep a low profile and focus on the game. This is great news but with millions of dollars invested and massive viewership and advertising revenues at stake, IPL is in crying need for yet another rei...

Operation Geronimo or the now famous "kill Osama" initiative of the US in the early hours of 2nd May 2011 is in all aspects a mind-blowing and unique operation. Shall not bore you on the details as it has already been reported ad nauseum in terms of its planning, execution and the aftermath. What concerns me is the sudden cry from several quarters in India to do something similar to bring to "vigilante” justice the perpetrators of Mumbai blasts of '93 (12/3) or of the 26/11 attacks. Some Defence Department types also exhibited the usual mindless bravado that Indian forces, if allowed, can certainly do as good a job as the Americans. “All we need is political will and the go ahead from our political bosses”, thundered these armchair Generals and Colonels. Some even added that our political leadership is not assertive or strong-willed enough to bring forth such a brave and patriotic decision! And there is Pakistan immediately reacting to all this saying such mispl...

On March 17th, India abstained from the UN Security Council resolution imposing a "no-fly" zone and all measures to protect civilians against attack by forces of Col. Muammar Al-Qadafi. It was an opportunity lost for India to stand up and be seen as a strong decisive World power. Even a vote against would have been good because India would have taken a stand on an issue that troubles the World. Abstention was a weak-kneed response for a nation aspiring be recognised among the World's top powers. India's problem has always been that we go all soft far away from home and then try and be a bully or at least seen as one in our own neighborhood. What we have in India's favour is all ingredients for exerting its power and influence on the World stage - soft or if it so wishes, hard. But... we haven't yet found a Druid who could use all of these and make a potent enough potion that we could then imbibe, feel our power and then exert it. In such a scenario, I woul...