Monday 26 November 2018

Women of Intel

Since Intel is celebrating 50th anniversary in November, I thought that I would dedicate the next few 50 over 50 columns to Intel for this month.   This column is not about just one person but The Women of Intel who I learnt from (and yes! All of them over 50 and still going at full swing J) and who gave me great company.  

When I joined Intel, the person I was in awe of was Carlene Ellis.  In a male dominated industry, she was one of the first women Vice Presidents in a Fortune 500 tech company.  I heard her at an Intel gathering and what she said stuck to me for the rest of my life.  She said that “career, marriage and Children” – you can get only two of the three right, at best.  She suggested to all the women not kill themselves to be perfect in all three.  At the beginning of my career, that was a great message. It is so true that women want to do it all and end up taking on too much even before someone asks them.  

For most of my career at Intel, I was in meetings and gatherings where I would be the only woman and I never felt odd about it.  I always spoke my mind because that’s what I saw all the women do.  There were some amazingly smart women at Intel. I developed a great bond with a few women at Intel that lasted long after my departure from Intel.

My “sole sisters” at Intel Oregon with whom I ran the Hood to Coast race covering the distance in a relay race over the two days was possible only because Cindy Martinez was a task master and had a schedule that we had to follow to train.  Once I moved to California, I met Kathy Wood who gave me the only acting role I ever had on camera for the Intel orientation film (thanks to her, I had the opportunity to go on a hot air balloon as part of the shoot).  Then, there was Karen Alter, who came to Intel with zero technology background and became an asset to Intel and was among the few Women VPs at Intel, Ellen Konar who set up brand research at Intel and went on to become the first woman Intel Fellow, Deborah Conrad who came to Intel right after college and became the chief of marketing, Renee James, my girl friend from Portland who became the President of Intel, Alison Richards who sure was an Indian in her previous birth, Anne Lewnes, who was the cool one to all us nerdy types, who played a huge role in building brand Intel in the ad world, Annie Lung the queen of tech demos, who never lost her nerve even under the glare of high profile presentations, Jackie Young who beat everyone into shape to pull off a perfect tradeshow booth,  Marta Hasler who was a perfect combination of beauty, brains and efficiency and then our external partners Gail Rice, Jane Dauber, Paula who worked on countless events with me – all these women were my sanity, my pals. 

I realized the importance of having a group of girl friends who would just know what you are going through without even talking about it, who would be silly with you or serious based on the situation.  We were young in our careers, literally growing up together.  I went to the bat mitzvah of both of Ellen’s daughters and now Ellen is a doting grand mother; I was there when Karen got pregnant with Sophie and decided to take time off to raise her.  Karen was my inspiration to have a child as late as I did. After being at Intel for 12 years, when I decided to leave, it was Sandra Duncan who made a fuss about it saying that Intel can not afford to lose someone like me.

Every month, a subset of us went out, discussing our jobs, our fears, our relationships (or lack there of J) and we helped each other just by being there.
Thirty years ago, we were each a minority in our lines of work.  We found the sisterhood that let us laugh off the obstacles and move on. When one slipped, the other pulled her up and we all took turns being vulnerable, lost and yet strong. I remember Ellen telling us the story of what made her leave her previous employer. At that company, when she was 9 months pregnant, she had a very important client meeting. At the end of the meeting, her woman boss called her aside to reprimand her for wearing the wrong shoes that did not go with the dress. Ellen said that she muttered to herself that at that point she could not even see her feet let alone pay attention to the color of the matching shoes. However infuriating situation that situation was, we laughed uncontrollably and agreed that it was a good thing to have happened, which led Ellen to leave that job and join us at Intel. When Andy passed away, a few of us got together reminiscing, trading stories about Andy.  Even now, we all visit one another or keep in touch by mail or on social media.  One can take themselves out of Intel but one can never take Intel out of them. So, here is a salute to my sisterhood at Intel.














50 Over 50: The Women of Intel

Since Intel is celebrating 50th anniversary in November, I thought that I would dedicate the next few 50 over 50 columns to Intel for this month.   This column is not about just one person but The Women of Intel who I learnt from (and yes! All of them over 50 and still going at full swing J) and who gave me great company.  

When I joined Intel, the person I was in awe of was Carlene Ellis.  In a male dominated industry, she was one of the first women Vice Presidents in a Fortune 500 tech company.  I heard her at an Intel gathering and what she said stuck to me for the rest of my life.  She said that “career, marriage and Children” – you can get only two of the three right, at best.  She suggested to all the women not kill themselves to be perfect in all three.  At the beginning of my career, that was a great message. It is so true that women want to do it all and end up taking on too much even before someone asks them.  

For most of my career at Intel, I was in meetings and gatherings where I would be the only woman and I never felt odd about it.  I always spoke my mind because that’s what I saw all the women do.  There were some amazingly smart women at Intel. I developed a great bond with a few women at Intel that lasted long after my departure from Intel.

My “sole sisters” at Intel Oregon with whom I ran the Hood to Coast race covering the distance in a relay race over the two days was possible only because Cindy Martinez was a task master and had a schedule that we had to follow to train and Roberta Weinstein, who was my gal pal.  Once I moved to California, I met Kathy Wood who gave me the only acting role I ever had on camera for the Intel orientation film (thanks to her, I had the opportunity to go on a hot air balloon as part of the shoot).  Then, there was Karen Alter, who came to Intel with zero technology background and became an asset to Intel and was among the few Women VPs at Intel, Ellen Konar who set up brand research at Intel and went on to become the first woman Intel Fellow, Deborah Conrad who came to Intel right after college and became the chief of marketing, Renee James, my girl friend from Portland who became the President of Intel, Alison Richards who sure was an Indian in her previous birth, Anne Lewnes, who was the cool one to all us nerdy types, who played a huge role in building brand Intel in the ad world, Annie Lung the queen of tech demos, who never lost her nerve even under the glare of high profile presentations, Jackie Young who beat everyone into shape to pull off a perfect trade show booth,  Marta Hasler who was a perfect combination of beauty, brains and efficiency and then our external partners Gail Rice, Jane Dauber, Paula who worked on countless events with me – all these women were my sanity, my pals. 

I realised the importance of having a group of girl friends who would just know what you are going through without even talking about it, who would be silly with you or serious based on the situation.  We were young in our careers, literally growing up together.  I went to bath mitzvah of both of Ellen’s daughters and now Ellen is a doting grand mother; I was there when Karen got pregnant with Sophie and decided to take time off to raise her.  Karen was my inspiration to have a child as late as I did. After being at Intel for 12 years, when I decided to leave, it was Sandra Duncan who made a fuss about it saying that Intel can not afford to lose someone like me.

Every month, a subset of us went out, discussing our jobs, our fears, our relationships (or lack there of J) and we helped each other just by being there.
Thirty years ago, we were each a minority in our lines of work.  We found the sisterhood that let us laugh off the obstacles and move on.  When one slipped, the other pulled her up and we all took turns being vulnerable, lost and yet strong.   I remember Ellen telling us the story of what made her leave her previous employer.  At that company, when she was 9 months pregnant, she had a very important client meeting.  At the end of the meeting, her woman boss called her aside to reprimand her for wearing the wrong shoes that did not go with the dress.  Ellen said that she muttered to herself that at that point she could not even see her feet let alone pay attention to the colour of the matching shoes. However infuriating situation that situation was, we laughed uncontrollably and agreed that it was a good thing to have happened, which led Ellen to leave that job and join us at Intel. 

When Andy passed away, a few of us got together reminiscing, trading stories about Andy.  Even now, we all visit one another or keep in touch by mail or on social media.  One can take themselves out of Intel but one can never take Intel out of them. So, here is a salute to my sisterhood at Intel.

Monday 19 November 2018

Good old storytelling, courtesy INKTalks

As INKTalks Conference comes to Hyderabad for the first time, founder Lakshmi Pratury says the evolution of good ‘ideators’ come from classic storytelling



Think of Lakshmi Pratury and the powerhouse is pretty much synonymous with the famous annual INKTalks Conference which brings together notable people in different fields in the name of productive storytelling.

The Visakhapatnam-born entrepreneur is a natural orator, her tone friendly and self-assured while remaining relaxed and conversational in her demeanour. This is no surprise as she speaks with me over the phone ahead of INKTalks’ first official Hyderabad conference titled ‘Billionaires of Moments’ which takes place from November 30 till December 2.

In 2017, at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, the organisation held some talks here, but as an entity, this is their first crack at Hyderabad. Frankly speaking, the term ‘conference’ is far too formal and stiff a word to describe the dynamism of INKTalks. Lakshmi is excited to share the experience with a city blooming with new ideas on the daily.

When it came to curating speakers for 2018’s conference, Lakshmi says what one looks for in people never changes, explaining, “The number one thing we look for is their authenticity,” but this may not simply refer to factual bases but also the speaker’s disposition as a human being. “It doesn’t matter to me what scale of work they’re doing; it’s about how they’re working towards something real. Secondly, it’s also how different their work is; I mean, there may be 500 people talking about alternative pencils but one person seeing how they’re doing something very out-of-the-box. The final thing is also how far off from being supported they may be; we really like people who have great and far-out ideas and are working on it right away. INKTalks is a showcase of these ideas for them, too.”

On storytelling
From the very beginning, Lakshmi has understood the value of storytelling, despite it being an age where microblogging of Twitter and Instagram is all the rage. The self-proclaimed ‘people collector’ is proud of the number of storytelling bodies sprouting all over the country and the world.

“Looking back upon everything I’ve done in my life — from working in venture capital, technology and so on — what I’ve enjoyed the most is storytelling,” affirms Lakshmi, “Not me telling stories, but getting people to tell their stories. Secondly, especially in India, there are so many stories waiting to be told. I like to apply what I’ve learned to different things and to storytelling. I’ve told stories of unusual technologies in the 90s, which we now talk about wireless and so on. We’ve also covered the intricacies of Indian philosophy. So we’ve seen the effect of great storytelling and of inviting people to tell great stories. So why not use the same principles of storytelling but widen the scope and bring international storytellers to India to inspire young people to do more and do differently?” Lakshmi owes the power and success of good old organic storytelling to the means of communication.

INKTalks 2018 speakers
Speakers who fall into INKTalks’ valuable criteria include:
Ankit Agarwal of Helpusgreen, which converts the waste from places of worship into patented lifestyle products to save the river Ganges
Priya Kuber, the first Indian woman working to build a decentralised internet free of net neutrality, censorship and fake news
Sneha Khanwalker, the music director who has composed for films like ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ and ‘Manto’ among others.
Aparajita Jain the co-founder of Delhi’s most avant garde art space, Nature Morte, showcasing names like Subodh Gupta, Jitish Kallat and Anita Dube.
Jonathon Reiber, head of Cybersecurity Strategy at Illumio, who previously advised the Pentagon leadership and led initiatives across the cyber-policy portfolio, to include strategic planning, key inter-agency and industry partnerships, and strategic communications.
Leanna Chukoskie, director of the Power of NeuroGaming (PoNG) Center at the Qualcomm Institute, working to understand the human brain through gaming, to aid children with developmental and learning disorders.

(Originally poster by The Hindu on November 19th, 2018) 

Friday 16 November 2018

50 over 50 - Gordon Moore: The Gentle Giant

Left to right: Andy Grove, Robert Noyce and 
Gordon Moore; 1978. Moore and Noyce were 
co-founders of Intel Corporation in July 1968; 
Grove was a driving force in the company’s 
success. Credit: Intel Corporation
Intel recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and I was there for Intel’s 25th and 30th.  Considering Intel was my second home, I wanted to feature the Founder of Intel, Gordon Moore in this edition of 50 Over 50. I had the privilege of working with some amazing people at close quarters and learn about what makes them THEM.  I would love to share with all of you about Gordon that shows his sense of honesty.

Moore’s law defined the future of the Semi conductor industry in one simple sentence. The quantity of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit will double approximately every two years.  This establishes the concept of “Exponential growth” that we embrace today.  While I was at Intel, I jumped at the opportunity to travel with Gordon Moore, the legend behind Moore’s Law, to Vienna to help him prepare for a talk at a conference.

I was able to work with him for two weeks on his speech, as it was a complicated one with multiple demontrations. After receiving a standing ovation, he came over to thank me I was over the moon. Then, we walked into the press conference. Let me stop here to give you a background of what was happening at Intel at that point of time: 

One of the biggest battles in the history of Silicon valley was fought between Intel and AMD.  Intel used to number their processors, 286, 386, 486 etc., When AMD started calling their processors with the same name, Intel fought against it saying that Intel had a trademark on the numbers. To protect their products, Intel decided to switch from calling their processors with numbers to names. Moving from 486 to Pentium processor was one of the major shifts in the marketing of the semi-conductor industry. A few critics said that Pentium processor was not a big deal, that it was the same chip under a new name. Intel bet billions of dollars on this chip, and one of the strategies we adopted was making the applications run faster on this chip so the end user could see a marked difference in performance. There was a small group of us who worked closely with the software developers to make sure that the applications ran faster on a Pentium processor than on a 486. We called it the “work, learn, play” strategy, and worked with applications in each category to optimize the new processor. And the computer games caught on. From the first SimCity game to Tomb Raider, to all the sports related games from Electronic Arts - they all rocked on the new system. Those who wanted to criticize Intel would say that the new machines were only good for games and who would want to play games anyway. To combat this, we were coming up with many demos that showed that the system was good for other applications that would help productivity, learning for children, as well as playing games. For example, we worked with Intuit so that they could introduce tax clarifications and help through videos and worked with many children’s learning companies so that they could create interactive software that would allow kids to learn better. So, this was the scenario in our headquarters when we made this trip to Vienna.   

With that background, let us return to the current scenario of Gordon Moore at a press conference in Vienna. We just concluded a long talk where Gordon connected to the process technology fad back home, showed the latest processes (Remember! There was no internet, skype at that time. So, it was a big deal to show something from across the globe in real time). We had so many complicated demos that we were all celebrating at the successful conclusion of the talk.

Following the talk, we had a brief press meeting. We had our press briefing along with a possible Q&A, and I went through all the salient points with Gordon before the conference. Since this was a scientific conference, and our focus was on process technology, we did not bother to include the end user related questions in this briefing. After a few process technology related questions, came a completely unexpected question from a reporter- “Dr. Moore! What chip is inside the computer you have at home?” and Gordon said “486” and the journalist asked, “How come you do not have a Pentium Processor based machine at home?” and his answer made the headlines in every newspaper the next day. He said, “Because I do not play games”, and I could hear my knees shake so violently that I had to slump in a chair at the back of the room. I could just see the headlines the next day throwing a damper on the millions of dollars that we were spending on fighting this very notion. And when we did the post-mortem of the event that evening, I had to ask him why he said 486, knowing that we were all pushing the Pentium processor, and his short answer was “I did not want to lie about which computer I had at home”. I called my PR team in US and warned them about the headlines that might be breaking the next day. By the time we got back to the US, Intel sent a tech support person to Gordon Moore’s home to replace his old computer with a Pentium Processor based computer, and we gave him a demo to show that many applications, not just than games, were also running faster on the new machine. We did this because we all knew that if he was not convinced, he was not going to lie for the company. It is this simplicity and honesty that was in the DNA of Intel and made him one of the most adored and respected men in Silicon Valley.

What I learnt from this is that even the greatest of men make mistakes and the best way to get over the mistakes is to rectify them immediately and also be able to laugh about them. When we got back to US, Gordon got the most teasing in the executive staff and was awarded the trophy for committing a PR blunder.  
 Gordon (PhD ’54) and Betty Moore  
 Courtesy of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Gordon Moore gave billions of dollars of his wealth for environment, conservation. He will be 90 next January and I will be celebrating from across the oceans the life of a man who quietly shaped all that we innovate today with a simple statement. 


(Read about Intel's 50 here.)  

Monday 12 November 2018

First INK Talks in Hyderabad from Nov 30

Hyderabad: After eight successful years of organising conference, INK Talks is all set to host its first grand conference in Hyderabad from November 30 to December 2. With the theme Billionaires of Moments, the multi-disciplinary conference will be held for the first time in Hyderabad and will have 500 plus people from different genres to accelerate innovation and create impact.
Along with the talk, the conference will also have workshops, performances, culinary experience and wellbeing lounge.
“This is the first time in the last eight years, that we have added two new experiences for our attendees. Other than talks from thought leaders, the conference will have workshops and interactive sessions along with traditional performances from local artists. We are going to have 12-13 workshops on difference themes ranging from social to technological. We are also inviting 20 young INK fellows to the conference and we will have speakers not only from India but outside India as well,” Lakshmi Pratury, CEO, INK Talks told Telangana Today.
In addition, the conference will also have talks in regional languages ranging from Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and Hindi. And this year, according to Pratury, is a pivotal year for INK Talks as it will start a year-long engagement on emerging topics and they would like to also engage with the changemakers so as to make an impact in the society.
On the theme of the conference, Pratury said, “While on the one hand India is giving birth to more and more rich people year-on-year, there are also wide gap between the rich and poor. So, we thought that rather defining success in terms of money why cannot we measure it in terms of impact created. And that is how we have curated the speakers who are successful but not only financially but are also making great impact on the society through their success. We have got a lot of support from the Telangana government and that is how we decided to host our conference here in Hyderabad this year.”
(Originally an interview with Telangana Today posted on 1st November 2018) 
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Sunday 11 November 2018

Personal Branding and successful strategies for brand building

There are three versions of you: what you are, what you think you are and what you want others to think you are.

The personal branding of the yesteryears revolved around creating a public image that was in line with your professional purpose.  As professionals, we were told that we were what we wore, what vehicle we drove and where we lived. Inspired by this, I wanted to project the image of a no-nonsense business executive.  I loved seeing my image in print. Those press clippings would be fondly treasured in my file and forever forgotten by all once they read them.  My father would paste them all in an album display them to all the guests who visited us at home, far from the eyes of my intended reader.

A few years down the line, I stopped caring about what others thought of me.  My brand was forged by association to a larger company and a larger purpose.   Even a multi-billion dollar company like Intel could not be spared the wrath of the public when it did not act on time for solving the Pentium processor floating point problem.  Initially, Intel reacted logically by reasoning that the floating point error was so rare that it would not be a matter of concern to majority of the users.  Major customers withdrew, stocks started spiraling downwards and the consumers who bought ‘Intel Inside’ because they regarded it their most prized possession, felt let down.  Intel apologized and guaranteed that they would take back any computer, no questions asked, and replace or reimburse.  The number of computers returned were a mere fraction of those that were purchased.  In this scenario, customers just wanted an assurance that the brand they trusted was going to act responsibly in the face of a challenge.  I was proud of how we rose to the occasion in times of duress.  My brand value in the world was measured by the fact that I was a respected member of an admirable company.  We were happy to have people like Andy Grove and Gordon Moore for our brands and we revered our association with them.  In this phase, I was happy to be what I thought of myself: a member of the Intel tribe.

When I started INK, my thinking was influenced by the Intel way of thinking. I was happy to talk about INK but not too comfortable talking about my personal life or views.  I took pride in the fact that I was not much on social media.  As I spent more time with our team at INK and the INK Fellows who often are half my age, I began to understand a lot about what they were seeking.  They were tired of the rhetoric, false promises, and of being handed over a world that was polluted in every possible way.  They craved and demanded authentic voices.

I realized that social media is the perfect way to delve deep into who I REALLY am and to explore my purpose. In some ways, it is the democratization of an individual.  I have a choice about what I want to write, how I want to write and who I want to target with my writing.  For the first time, personal branding is all about authenticity.  Your mistakes live forever in the digital world and so do your strong thoughts.  Today, I own my relationship with my tribe and have to be truthful in all that I say.  The tools are available to us today to communicate directly with the world in a voice that is solely ours.

My three strategies for successful brand building are as follows:

(i)  Be authentic: One should be able to write both personal as well as professional experience in one’s own voice even while adopting different tonalities.

(ii)  Learn from others: Follow other interesting voices. It can come as a surprise that successful branding is not merely about the number of followers one has but also the number of people one chooses to follow.

(iii)  Harness the power of social media. Pick one social media channel and post your thoughts and insights frequently. It is easier to maintain quality this way.

There was a time when I would advise youngsters to refrain from posting their candid photos online as it could put their possibilities of employment at stake.  Today, I realize how a strong social media presence is crucial to personal branding. It allows me to move the needle on issues I care about apart from allowing me the opportunity to exhibit my strengths and weaknesses in public view.  There is no need to be perfect, just the need to be me.

(Originally posted by Everything Experimental on November 11th, 2018) 

Friday 9 November 2018

50 Over 50 - Prakash Amte

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Prakash Amte: Generations of generosity

When I was a kid, my grand mother would tell me mythological stories where there would be gifted teachers in Gurukuls who taught their students how to shoot, swim, solve societal problems, dance, sing, fight and figure out their respective strengths.  These were places of thatched hut roof huts among thick forests thriving with animals of all kinds coexisted with the humans. Even the most ghastly beasts succumbed to the learned sages.  Being raised in a city where I am even afraid of a stray dog, the thought of wild animals living with humans seems like a magical kingdom only for the stories.

When I first heard of Prakash Amte and about his friendship with leopards and lions and his young grandsons’  ease of handling everything from rattle snakes to wild beasts,  it almost seemed surreal.  He is part of a multi generational gene pool that has dedicated themselves to the lives of the unforgotten.  His father Baba Amte was a pioneer in giving home to lepers, Prakash Amte in provides healthcare for the of the tribals and his niece Sheetal Amte (who is an INK Fellow) to creating a smart village for the lepers and less privileged. Here are a few things that I really admire about Prakash Amte 

1.     It’s a family calling
To date, three generations of Amtes have committed themselves to live in the most remote parts of India to serve the needs of those who the civil society has chosen to forget.  And none of them have any sense of sacrifice or social work driving them.  It is as natural as breathing.  Each of them enjoys what they do.  When you witness a group of people carrying a man whose head has been half eaten by a tiger on a loosely stitched together stretcher walking for days and you do something that makes the man walk back home, the sense of satisfaction that fills you could not possibly match owning any number of homes or cars.  Prakash Amte has such a strong air of contentment about him that it rubs off on you. 
2.     Sense of humour
He has a wicked sense of humour.  He usually wanders around his home in a pair of shorts and cotton vest.  Many a time an important visitor would go to his home to write or research about him and mistaking him for the household help, ask him to let Dr. Amte know they would like to see him.  He would simply nod, go inside, wear his shirt and come out and shake hands with them.  I can only imagine how embarrassed the guests might be and how the cheeky Prakash Amte would have a chuckle at their expense.
3.     Family time
When I asked Sheetal Amte to tell me a few things about her uncle, she has a lot of things to say and one of them was that he is extremely fond of his grand children and makes sure that he plays a lot with them. He spends a lot of time with his tribal family as well and serves as a judge for any disputes that may arise and his decisions are accepted with a lot of respect.

Now, what do others think of him?  Here is a funny story that was told to me by Kiran Khalap, who was the one who originally introduced me to Prakash Amte. He told me bout an incident that was narrated in Prakash Amte’s Marathi book “Prakashvaataa” “Paths of Light”

Suhasini Mulay (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suhasini_Mulay) was shooting a film in which Negal, Prakash Amte’s friendly leopard was acting.

So he drove Negal to the shoot sight in a Jeep attached with a trolley. As he drove back, news reached him that a difficult delivery of a baby was at hand.  He jumped out and ran into the hospital.  Suhasini Mulay’s driver was dumbstruck and said: “What an amazing driver! He can drive, manages a leopard AND helps with deliveries”.  All because of his simple dress! The driver must have been shocked to see that a driver who looks just like him could do all these things!

Prakash Amte can pass off to be a driver, cook, household help, a silly grand father, a prankster and behind the scenes be a fair judge, a surgeon and a Magsaysay award winner.  Behind the simple look lay a great mind and a generous spirit.  I loved spending time with him and his wife and hope to visit him and his wild friends at his home soon.

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