A Rare Opportunity to meet & greet Political and Business Leaders

 

Great Leaders or Great Missions — Which Comes First?

Dear Friends,

In 2009, I had a great fortune meeting Steve Ballmer and had an opportunity to ask a question which was recorded on YouTube as well. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUoGKtZwxsI) He was the CEO of Microsoft (2000 to 2014). As of May 2025, his estimated personal wealth is around $151 billion, making him the eighth-richest person in the world.

Ballmer joined Microsoft in 1980 and became Microsoft's 30th employee and the first business manager hired by Gates. Ballmer joined Microsoft with a salary of $50,000 plus 10% of the profit he generated and no equity. However, Ballmer's profit share started to balloon out of control as Microsoft grew. When Dave Marquardt (investor in Microsoft) suggested that Microsoft reorganize as a corporation instead of a private partnership, he proposed that Ballmer own 8% of the company in exchange for cancelling the profit-sharing model. Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft along with Bill Gates) initially disagreed, but Gates and Allen reached an agreement to give an 8% stake to Ballmer (Wikipedia).

This is called Intrapreneurship (you are an employee but you work like an entrepreneur). Sometimes, you do not need to be an entrepreneur to experience entrepreneurship. Being an intrapreneur, you can still achieve entrepreneurial goals. Another interesting insight was that although as a child he was very shy, as an adult, he became known for his excited stage appearances at Microsoft events. They were widely circulated on the Internet as viral videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WW2JWIv6G8). Now tell me, how many employees can get this recognition and become the 8th richest person on the earth as an intrapreneur?

Similarly, I see another intrapreneur in Chandrasekaran of Tata. He studied in Tamil medium, completed his B.Sc. and Master of Computer Applications (MCA) (no MBA from IIMs or engineering from IITs). He joined TCS in 1987 as a trainee and became CEO by 2009. He is now the first non-Parsi and professional executive to head the Tata Group as Chairman.

Of course, there is no free lunch in this world. You need to relentlessly work smart and hard and also be in the right position at the right time. Not everyone gets that position. A thousand divine actions should support you in the background. Whether you call it good karma, luck, or nature, it has a significant role in creating a career in one’s life.

Having said that, sometimes a bad decision, misguided action, or complacency can cause catastrophic damage to a career. If you see a few leaders like Kay Whitmore (Kodak) – Complacent Vision – caused Kodak to collapse; he ignored the digital camera.Warren Anderson (Union Carbide) – Negligent Oversight of process – killed thousands in the Bhopal  disaster.John Sculley (Apple) – Ego Clash with Steve Jobs (ousted him) – led Apple into decline; fired after a decade.Ken Lay (Enron) – Ethical Collapse – accounting fraud; Enron lost 99.7% value; died before a 30-year sentence.Gerald Ratner (Ratners Group) – Public Disrespect – called his own products “crap”; customers fled; lost business and job.Chen Jiulin (China Aviation Oil) – Speculative Gamble – hid $550M losses; jailed 4 years; destroyed firm credibility.

Why am I writing this story?

In fact, if you watch my conversation with Steve Ballmer, I asked one simple question –
“Do organizations with successful missions build great leaders, or do great leaders build successful missions?”

What is your viewpoint? I request you to watch the above video for Steve Ballmer’s interesting response!

Ravi Saripalle

The Thin Line Between Efficiency and Emotion or Between Speed and Soul!

Dear Parents,

During my talks at various events, I quote a few inspiring stories. One of them is Usain Bolt. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medallist and the world record holder in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4 × 100 meters relay. He won three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012, and 2016).

If we look at his personal background, we will feel inspired. His parents ran a local grocery store in a rural area. He suffered from scoliosis, a curvature of the spine that made his right leg 1⁄2 inch (13 mm) shorter than his left. This condition causes an uneven stride, with his left leg remaining on the ground longer than his right and hitting the ground with less force. Having said that, biomechanics researchers have studied, with no firm conclusions, whether this asymmetry has helped or hurt Bolt in his sprinting career.

Bolt fell victim to a fraud scheme, resulting in the disappearance of more than $12 million from his retirement savings account. The account showed a balance of only $12,000, down from its previous $12.8 million. Now 39, Bolt no longer runs due to a ruptured Achilles near his foot. The eight-time Olympic champion admits retirement has made him feel “human” again — even climbing a flight of stairs now leaves him out of breath.

Life is like this. Most of us go through this normal curve, a bell-shaped curve — a humble beginning, arriving here single, reaching a peak in our career or health or assets or family relationships or name or fame, and losing one after another, and leaving the ground again single. Everybody knows this truth, but while acting, we get covered. Anyway, this is philosophy.

Anyway, why did I bring this topic today?

Alphin Masilamany Santha posted a note on his LinkedIn. Beijing recently hosted the first-ever World Humanoid Robot Games. Over 500 humanoid robots from 16 countries competed in events ranging from sprinting and soccer to boxing and medicine sorting. Unitree H1 dominated the track, winning the 1500m in ~6:29. Robots stumbled, sprinted, and even lost limbs mid-race — a true testbed for real-world AI. Boxing matches were played with real seriousness. The interesting part is, the crowd cheered like it was the real Olympics.

While there is technological development, are we also transferring our emotions? Are we transferring our physical energies to machines? This is the moot question.

In our childhood, every Shivaratri, we used to play dramas throughout the night. The preparations for skits, dresses, podiums, team selection, and many more used to start a month before. We used to prepare the skits as if they were an exam. In one play, as drama, and immediately in the next play, as an old grandmother. The whole street used to witness our dramas. Can a video game replace this emotion?

During our childhood, we used to play street cricket. Though I am not a player, teams used to send me as the first opening batsman. I used to be out in the first over itself. However, when I was walking to the ground, the cheer team used to raise slogans as “Boon.” I used to be a little chubby, like David Boon, an Australian cricketer. We were enjoying the experience, but not the real sports analytics.

Maybe we should be able to draw a thin line between productivity and performance, a thin wall between efficiency and emotion. If we aren’t able to draw this line, the young generation becomes a victim of the virtual world. I teach “AI for Business” to my MBA students, but it should be limited to business. It should not encroach on entertainment.

The 0 to 8 age group is the most vulnerable group to this change. We, as parents and teachers, should save them like how the Olive Ridley Sea Turtles are saved across the coastlines.

Ravi Saripalle

Dibba Rotti, Determination, and the DNA of Innovation

Dear Friends,

Have you ever tasted pure coconut chutney ground by Rubbu Rolu, also known as Sil Batta, Ammi Kallu, or stone mortar? Maybe you’ve compared this to a modern grinder at home—you’ll see the difference! Whenever we used to visit our village during childhood, my grandmother would make Dibba Rotti with this coconut chutney. Dibba Rotti or Minapa Rotti is a classic Andhra dish prepared with urad dal and rice ravva batter. The soaked urad dal is ground into a batter and, after some other process (which I don’t fully recall), it is poured into a hot, heavy-bottomed kadai and made into a pancake.

I still remember, she used to prepare this on Sundays. The process started at 9 AM. By afternoon, around 1 PM, she would grind using a stone-made Rubbu Rolu fitted and levelled to the ground. Today, the machine takes just 45 minutes to grind. Back then, it was double the time. You had to sit or squat and move the hand-stone in small circles or back-and-forth ovals over the base stone, continuously feeding the paste back to the center with the other hand. This was equivalent to burning 100–250 kcal—comparable to a moderate-intensity upper-body endurance workout. On a lighter note, what my grandmother did for dosa batter, modern fitness enthusiasts now pay for at a CrossFit class!

Why am I talking about this traditional tool that was once a minimum household crockery?
In 1955, Coimbatore resident P. Sabapathy invented the wet grinder as a wedding gift for his wife, Indrani. Today, the Coimbatore Wet Grinder holds a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for wet grinders manufactured in Coimbatore and Erode districts. Having a GI means no one else in the world can patent the grinder—the Grinder Belongs to Coimbatore.

In fact, Panasonic filed another Japanese patent (JP2014169818A) in 2014. The world is not stopping. Even if ideas are traditional, they are getting protected through innovation and IP.
In 2010, we ourselves invented a top-attached toothbrush—its bristles could be removed like a blade in a razor to save plastic. The bottom stand was fixed, made from bamboo, and the bristles were crafted from neem and banyan fibers. Unfortunately, we never filed a utility patent. You know what happened? Quip NYC Inc filed a similar patent in 2013 and now sells it on Amazon! The cost of not filing a patent was huge. Of course, my son later obtained a design patent with more sophistication and multi-functionality, but we had already lost the big opportunity.

What triggered this topic today? Amit Singh posted an interesting article on LinkedIn. Last week, the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, through orders dated 30.07.2025 and 11.09.2025, decreed suits in favor of Carl Freudenberg KG (the patentee). A public notice was issued by the patentee of the “GALA No Dust Broom” (Patent No. 541962), warning against market players infringing on their patented technology (Hindustan Times, 05 Oct 2025).

Historically, brooms were crafted from twigs. Today, the Indian broom market is estimated at a whopping ₹1,500 crore. Freudenberg Gala Household Products owns this patent. Let’s appreciate their foresight and the act of filing patents for such innovations.

Having said that, we in India aspire to be an innovative nation—let us protect every idea, every thought, and every application. Otherwise, our next generation will end up paying royalties for “pin to peace”! We will continue writing grandma stories… “We used to do things like this…”

– Ravi Saripalle

The Butterfly Struggle: Why Students Must Think Before They Ask AI

Dear Friends,

My father bought a second-hand kid’s cycle during my 6th standard after a lot of persuasion. This cycle was almost in a non-operational condition. We had to repair it and make it run. However, the joy of riding it was uncountable. When I was in 8th standard, again after a lot of negotiation, I inherited my father’s Atlas cycle (1964 model), which I used till my post-graduation. After working for two years, I bought my first second-hand two-wheeler, which I used for another two years before it was abandoned. The initial struggle to get that second-hand bicycle left a deep impression on my mind — so much so that I abandoned my first Maruti 800 (non-AC and non-metallic version) only after 15 years, when it couldn’t move an inch.

What’s the point I’m trying to make? There’s a new issue cropping up in education — called “Metacognitive Laziness.”

An experimental study found that learners using ChatGPT performed better in essay score improvement but did not significantly improve in knowledge gain, transfer, or application. Another experiment showed that when a student struggles through Google searches to find results, their application knowledge tends to be higher compared to when they use ChatGPT and get quick answers.

Recently, I came across a story that perfectly connects to this idea of Metacognitive Laziness.

A student once asked his teacher, “I have read so many books but remember very little. What is the use of reading then?”The teacher didn’t answer. A few days later, he gave the student an old, dirty strainer and said, “Bring me some water from the river.” A strainer is a wire-mesh kitchen filter used to separate liquids from fine solids.

The student tried many times, but the water kept slipping through the holes. Tired and upset, he said, “It’s useless. I couldn’t bring any water.”

The teacher smiled and said, “Look at the strainer.” It was now clean and shining.

“That’s what reading does,” said the teacher. “Even if you don’t remember everything, it still cleans your mind and fills it with new thoughts.”

The point I’m trying to make is that while using GenAI is important for productivity in the working world, we shouldn’t outsource our brain work—especially for students below 20 years of age—to AI. Metacognitive laziness kills our natural application knowledge and makes us handicapped in thinking.

Recently, I experimented with this in one of my classes. When I asked students to do an assignment and allowed GPT usage, many completed it with ease, but the responses were not unique — they were uniform and perfect. Assignments, especially case analyses, should involve creativity and originality.

However, after a few days, I conducted another in-class test with the same set of students using a similar case, but this time in a closed environment without GPT access. I asked them to make their own assumptions and apply their natural understanding of the problem, life experiences, and logic to respond. They had full freedom in defining assumptions and justifying their responses.

Interestingly, in this social experiment, we found that over 35% gave unusual and intuitive responses, and 10% outperformed with their natural analytical flow. About 50% struggled to respond perfectly, but they experienced the struggle of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

If we repeat this model with those 50% a few more times, I’m confident their responses will align with the original goal of case analysis.

Future education is all about StoEduTain — (Storytelling + Education + Entertainment). If that purpose is missed, the educational train is derailed. https://www.linkedin.com/company/stodutain/about/

– Ravi Saripalle