KACHARAGADLA

MOHALI: The concluding day of Progressive Punjab Summit-2015 witnessed a session wherein young innovators presented their ideas from home kits for cervical cancer detection to managing the kitchen waste. As many as 17 such innovative ideas incubated during 3-day long startup accelerator held at IT park Chandigarh, said an official release here. Yatin Thakur from Startup Weekend US said that the session Startups today was culmination of the Startup Weekend  programme organised on Oct 23 and Oct 24 startup activities and booster camps that were held across the Punjab in varied universities' campuses held in collaboration with the Startups Accelerator Chamber of Commerce (SACC) The ideas were churned out by the energetic youngsters who showcased their talent, which when implemented has the potential to change the way we think today, it said. The contest was won by Shwetika Kumar, who is trying to create self testing non intrusive cervical testing kits at a cost of USD 5, a

The very last thing you do before bed tends to have a significant impact on your mood and energy level the following day, since it often determines how well and how much you sleep. Successful people understand that their success starts and ends with their own mental and physical health, and that it's almost entirely dependent upon them getting enough sleep. That's why bedtime routines are a key ritual for so many of them - and why the  very  last thing most successful people do before bed is read. 1. They read. Experts   agree that reading is the very last thing most successful people do before going to sleep. Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of " You Can't Be Serious! Putting Humor to Work ," says he knows numerous business leaders who block off time just before bed for reading, going so far as to schedule it as a "non-negotiable item" on their calendar. "This isn't necessarily reserved just for busi

The Apple TV App Store. Initial reviews of the Apple TV started popping up this evening. The new Apple TV is greatly anticipated, as it's been three years since the last update. Apple's added tasty new features like Siri voice searching, an app store like the one on the iPhone, and a touch-based remote control. So, does it live up to all the anticipation? Yes and no. The general vibe is that it's a great improvement over the previous generation, but there's little to make people choose the Apple TV over other streaming devices, or even cable itself. The positives The Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler  is a fan of the remote control and the new way of controlling the Apple TV, " The Apple TV gets the Internet TV remote right by reaching for the same touch-screen feeling that makes the iPhone intuitive to a 2-year-old... Without having to look down, you feel connected to what's happening on the big screen." Indee

Windows TV The World's first TV powered by Windows, is the ultimate device that will help you execute your ideas as soon as inspiration strikes. It's a TV that makes it possible for you to surround yourself with inspiring content running through various TV channels. Whenever you get inspired, turn the TV into a PC equipped with Microsoft Office that enables you to transform your idea into a flawlessly documented story or presentation. Cover the journey from imagination to ambition, now only in a switch   Videocon, in partnership with Microsoft, on Wednesday launched what it is calling the world's first Windows 10-powered LED TV, priced at Rs. 39,990 for the 32-inch panel, and Rs. 52,990 for the 40-inch model. The TV, which can also work as a personal computer, will be available in the market next month. Called 'One Touch PC, One Touch TV', the Windows 10 televisions come equipped with Microsoft Office, the Windows Store, All Cast app. "In these

Leading a company isn’t easy. On the one hand, a leader needs to keep a pulse on the heartbeat of the organization today while, on the other hand, maintaining a vision for tomorrow. Essentially, he or she has to be in two different places mentally. I don’t know about you, but it’s challenging enough for me just to be in one place (that’s a joke). To deliver at the leading edge, you must  think  at the leading edge, and that means thinking outside your comfort zone. Nobody gets any better thinking the same way they always have, and insanity, according to Einstein, is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. As mentioned in a  previous column , bridging the gap from executor to strategist can be a quantum leap (mentally) for some people. Many will fall short -- hitting every branch on the way down. We all know technology-inclined people who were great programmers but, once they were promoted into a more strategic role, relied too much on what earned t

Who doesn't want to be an inspiring leader? Whether you are a businessman/entrepreneur or a business manager, we all 'Aspire to Inspire' when it comes to our people. While most of us aspire to be a progressive/transformational leader, but in reality most of the times, we tend to operate in an authoritarian and paternalistic style. Ever thought why parents are the 'Heroes & Heroines' of their kids? It is because they are able to nurture 'Trust' as a coach/mentor. The essence of effective leadership is 'Trust' by the virtue of ‘Coaching & Mentoring’. Many-a-time in our business, we are so much bothered about the deadlines that we forget the people driving those numbers. After all, what is the use of those triumphs if we don’t have our folks with us to cheer and share the joy. However, it doesn’t mean that one needs to win brownie points from people. It is not about being good compulsively. Excellence is by choice and never by force.

Our brains are hardwired to make much of modern life difficult. This is especially true when it comes to dealing with uncertainty. On the bright side, if you know the right tricks, you can override your brain’s irrational tendencies and handle uncertainty effectively. Our brains give us fits when facing uncertainty because they’re wired to react to it with fear. In a recent study, a Caltech neuroeconomist imaged subjects’ brains as they were forced to make increasingly uncertain bets—the same kind of bets we’re forced to make on a regular basis in business. The less information the subjects had to go on, the more irrational and erratic their decisions became. You might think the opposite would be true—the less information we have, the more careful and rational we are in evaluating the validity of that information. Not so. As the uncertainty of the scenarios increased, the subjects’ brains shifted control over to the limbic system, the place where emotions, such as anxiety and fea

Starting a new business is no small undertaking. There are many factors to be considered, and it is important to do your research and prepare yourself as much as possible, with some 80 percent of new businesses failing within the first couple of years.  Over the past 15 years, I have had the opportunity to be the founder or co-founder of three companies in three different industries. Along this journey, my teams and I have done a lot of things right -- and a lot of things wrong. Building a business is a daunting task -- from originally creating the idea, then planning and validating that idea to fund raising, staffing and achieving profitability. There are many pitfalls in the journey that could easily completely destroy your business.  Luckily, I have always been an avid reader. From my very first read, Og Mandino’s classic,  The Greatest Salesman In the World , I developed a hunger for learning. I satisfied that hunger by devouring over 1,500 books on business, leadership, st