Sabbe Sattha Bhavanthu Sukhi Tatta - May all beings be happy

I was heading home after an early morning friendly water polo match today. My wife wanted me to pick up 2 'Maalu Paans' (triangular buns with a fish-based stuffing) for the daily help who would be coming to help clean house. As it was on the way and, I thought, an opportunity to feed someone without perpetuating the cycle of killing some poor animal to replace the flesh I might otherwise have to buy, I stopped at the hole knocked into the wall of the All-Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) on (of course) Baddhaloka Mawatha ("Buddha's Light" avenue).

Diya Rakusa: You have veggie stuff, right?
Salesperson: No, everything's non-veg except for the seeni sambal buns.
Diya Rakusa (after taking a step back to check the shop sign): This is the Buddhist Congress, right?
Salesperson: Yes, but evryone asks for fish...

Of course if that shop is supposed to make any money for the ACBC they must respond to the market. Right? But what about the basic principles of non-violence or the First Precept of not taking life? I don't consider myself any great Buddhist - I'm still working on the basic first five precepts - but shouldn't the patrons of that ACBC shop think twice before going there looking to lock not only themselves but the salespeople, bakers and fishermen into the same karmic cycle that they then spend a good amount of time and money trying to pray their way out of?

Don't even get me started on the buses proclaiming "mey Bauddha deshayai", the clerics who don't seem to preseve the first five precepts let alone their stricter super-set... Wake up and smell the holy abattoirs

Start somewhere!

Been too long avoiding blogging etc - felt it a distraction from what I should be doing but something happened that I thought deserved a little rant.

As an update, back in Sri Lanka for ~2 months now, working on a Social Innovation Fellowship from Stanford's Center for Social Innovation. More on that later - when we're out of stealth mode.

The Thinking Man’s Rapper

Spring Quarter of my second year, and Stanford GSB outdoes itself again. M.C. Hammer guest-lecturing in the Building Innovative Brands class – how do you outdo that?

Hammer was extremely approachable and gracious, taking photographs with everyone and joking around as the earlier class trickled out v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, until Prof. Aaker had to call a group photo and get us in our seats (That's me behind Hammer's right shoulder :-)

Hammer just impressed me so much with how on top of things he is, and how strategically and thoughtfully he approached every aspect of marketing – starting with his early days launching his first album in 1987, selling records out of his trunk. I was eight years old at the time (!) Hammer may well have come through GSB Executive Education, he seemed to hit on every major point Prof. Aaker has been taking us through all quarter – this guy is just a natural Social Media marketing machine. 2 Legit 2 Quit.

Takeaways and priceless quotes:
Every thing you do can be used to craft your brand, to “create and control…perception.” E.g. his first song, “Let’s Get it Started,” answered in the first verse who he was and why he was there – “put on the Hammer” and he would help you p-a-r-t-y. His first video was as much a “commercial” for the Hammer brand as anything else. He looked outside the industry to find a hot new director who would understand Hammer’s desire to capture the energy of his moves.

Get ahead of the curve. Hammer got curious about the Internet early (’94-’95) and went looking for whoever would help him realize the vision he saw for it. Silicon Graphics, Apple, YouTube (when it was two computers above a pizza place), what have you.

Web 2.0 gives you an important tool - the ability to humanize yourself, reach your audience without intervening layers, and immediately and directly counter less direct forms of negative media.

The way to push your brand is to put it in the hands of very creative people. Create a groundswell, word of mouth.

“Every superhero must have one” – Hammer on Will.I.Am’s song for President Obama

“I have 20/20 vision – I didn’t need glasses – I wore them for you to see me better” - Hammer on why he wore glasses when performing

“Never apologize for your success. Just tell the other guy he’s gotta work harder”

Google Street View: Isn't this guy jaywalking?

I remember an article about police using Google Maps to arrest someone in the UK. I was trying to see what the Embarcardero MUNI station looks like in real life (backstory - bought cheap tickets through the GSB Athletics Club for the SF Giants-NY Mets game, taking wife and parents right after wife's graduation ceremony) and I see this guy immortalized on Google Street View - at least until the next refresh...


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Farmers First Foundation

Had an interesting chat with Amandeep Gill, a founder of the Farmers First Foundation, Indian Foreign Service (been in Sri Lanka for a while) and a fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford. Check them out.


View my page on Farmers First Foundation

Lahore violence against Sri Lankan cricketers

What a cruel blow to Pakistan and cricket fans everywhere. Just a couple of hours ago I left a speaker event on Pakistan with optimism for its future. My Pakistani classmate Osman Khan emailed me, the first I knew of it, saying "I am sorry about what happened in Lahore today. It is sad that my country has come to a point when friends of Pakistan are being attacked. When no one was ready to tour the country, the Sri Lankans came-and this is what happened."

A dark day for all concerned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7920272.stm

The Grandmaster hits the Blogosphere

Andy Chan, the Grandmaster of Career Advice and Wizard of the Career and Life Vision seminar, has hit the Blogosphere. Oh, and he's also the GSB's original Ricecake :-)