Indian IT Is A Boys Club Like Silicon Valley–But There Is More Hope
This is a piece I wrote at for Times of India which compares and contrasts Indian IT to Silicon Valley. Sadly, Indian IT is as sexist as the Valley is. But the tide is rising in India. When I moved to Silicon Valley from…
Here’s what it actually takes to make it as an entrepreneur
A young male who was born to be an entrepreneur drops out from a computer-science program at a prestigious university. He meets a powerful venture capitalist who is so enamored with his idea that he gives him millions of dollars to build his technology….
Life and Success Require Constant Reinvention
I still remember the first time I heard about computers. They were straight out of science fiction. I began to dream about working with them. Then I got my big chance. I enrolled in one of the first courses in computer technology at what…
Economic Times and LinkedIn: The Next Microsoft CEO And Lessons From Indians in Silicon Valley
When Vijay Vashee joined Microsoft in 1982 he was just one of two Indians at the 160-person company. It added several more recruits from India, mostly IITans, over the years. They held low-level technical positions. Vashee became the first Indian to break through Microsoft’s glass ceiling…
Entrepreneurship is a Roller Coaster, Not a Cruise
Listen to the tales of successful company founders and you will get the impression that they sailed smoothly to success. They’ll lead you to believe that they did everything right and made it big because of their smarts and perhaps a little luck. Don’t…
Why I Have Become Pessimistic About Indian I.T.
When Wall Street Journal and Forbes published articles, a few years ago, predicting the demise of Indian IT, I responded in BusinessWeek that they were dead wrong. I said that the outsourcing market had a long way to go before it peaked; rising salaries and attrition rates were not a cause…
LinkedIn: Chinese Can Innovate–But China Can’t
The Economist asked me to comment on a debate about whether China can innovate. Here is my response. Feel free to weigh in below and vote on Economist’s website. China produces more than a million engineering graduates a year—which is seven times as many as America. It…
LinkedIn Influencers: Calling All Engineers: Please Tell Us Your Gender Numbers
One of the technology industry’s most serious shortcomings is that it leaves out women and some minorities. I have written a lot about the dearth of women and why this is animportant issue. I am also crowdcreating a book, Innovating Women, on how to fix this imbalance. In a nutshell, we…
Why Facebook is Doomed
I expect that, within a few years, my Tesla electric car will drive by itself, using Google software. Yes, I am talking about the self-driving, autonomous vehicles that we have seen in science-fiction movies: Google is making these a reality. Its autonomous cars have…
LinkedIn: Nokia Can’t Save Microsoft — Only its Geniuses Can!
Microsoft’s announcement that it is buying Nokia’s Devices and Services unit shows it thinks that by acquiring the right technology, it can regain its lost momentum. Sadly, the company is mistaken. Microsoft’s problem isn’t that it has too little technology; it has too much. And…
LinkedIn: Is the GMAT the Root of Evil in the Business World?
Yes, I know that that’s a very provocative title. But after analyzing data that B-school professor Raj Aggarwal sent me, this is what I now believe about the Graduate Management Admission Test. A high GMAT score is necessary to gain admission to top business…
LinkedIn: Why Zuckerberg And Jobs Are Taking A Stand On Immigration
I’ve been one of the staunchest advocates of skilled immigration and have long argued that this should be a top legislative priority for Congress. As I explained in my book, Immigrant Exodus, skilled immigration is an economic issue that is directly tied to the health…
LinkedIn: Entrepreneurship: Worthless, Impossible and Stupid?
One of the best and most fun books I’ve read on entrepreneurship is by my friend Daniel Isenberg, titled Worthless, Impossible and Stupid: How Contrarian Entrepreneurs Create and Capture Extraordinary Value. Isenberg, who is a professor at Babson, challenges conventional wisdoms, presents great examples, and…
Liberal Arts and Humanities Education: Who Is Right—Bill Gates, or the Late Steve Jobs?
When students asked me what subjects they should major in to become a tech entrepreneur, I would say engineering, mathematics, and science. I used to believe that education in these fields was a prerequisite for innovation, and that engineers made the best entrepreneurs. That…
How To Go From Being a Disaster—To a Great Speaker
When I saw my son Tarun forget his lines and freeze up on the big stage at the 2011 Economist Ideas Economy: Information Summit, my heart sank. I wanted to rush up and give him a big hug and say “it’s okay son, it wasn’t…
LinkedIn: How To Be Happy At Work–Despite That Jerk Boss
Companies often hire management consultants to find ways to improve productivity. They focus on process and procedure. But there is actually an even more potent ingredient for boosting productivity: happiness. According to author and business coach Alexander Kjerulf, the Danes have a word for happiness at…
Innovating Women Leaning In to Tell Their Own Stories
The technology industry has a gender problem. The vast majority of its Venture Capitalists are male as are the founders of its startups and its technology heads. Even the boards of its public companies are dominated by males. It isn’t that women are not…