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Senthil's Notes Posts

Culture as a Fundamental in Business

When I heard the story of Tony Hsieh’s tragic passing, the meaninglessness of the tragedy struck me deep. The death not only cut short his young life but also culled the dynamism of his ideas and a promise of a better future. I did not know Mr. Hsieh, but many whom I respect knew him and held him in high regard.  Om Malik wrote a beautiful, heartfelt essay on what Tony Hsieh meant to people pursuing their ideas. I will write about the brilliance of Zappos, which was perhaps the biggest e-commerce acquisition of Amazon (1.2 billion USD in 2009), the first of their billion-dollar acquisitions. Zappos was not a run of the mill internet retailer. It was a strikingly…

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The English and Their History: Review

Since Brexit, I had always wanted to read about the peculiarity of Euroscepticism in England, and the reasons England voted in stark difference from Scotland on the Remain/Leave referendum.  I started with the single-volume history of England — The English and Their History by the historian Robert Tombs. As an engineering grad, I did not take a formal course in history. Reading this book would be an enjoyable learning experience and rectify that mistake. The Brexit referendum would impose that the whole of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) exits Europe.  The term Brexit, of course, refers to the exit of Great Britain. In truth, it was a slim majority of older, working-class England that was itching…

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Wins and Losses

Even in the remotest parts of the globe, it seemed unlikely that one could avoid news about the elections in the United States. The drama and uncertainty are still ongoing, even as the voting process has been completed. Like we do often do after every large operation, we should take stock of wins and losses in the process.

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