US Government Announces Simplified Benefits for iPhone 5S users

In another obvious demonstration of the well known fact that the iPhone has been revolutionizing the world that we live in, the United States government has announced a slew of measures that are bound to astronomically increase the demand for the yet to be released iPhone 5S. 

Barely 24 hours after Apple's announcement of the iPhone 5S with the magical fingerprint reader, the government moved with extreme agility and announced that iPhone 5S users will not be required to submit photographs or Social Security numbers in government forms. "We will magically be able to just rely on mobile phone numbers of the applicants to very identity and improve accuracy of the government programs" announced Secretary of Straight Johnny Ferry. In-addition, visa applicants from other countries who have iPhone 5S will also be exempt from personal appearance at US Consulates for fingerprinting. Ferry was addressing an excited crowd of Apple consumers, who were also heard chanting "Death to Samsung".

A government source who declined to be publicly identified confirmed to Royters that this benefit will only be made available to iPhone 5S users, as none of the other devices had the magical capability to support the New Service Automation (NSA) initiative announced by Ferry.

Sequoia Capital on startups and the economic downturn

Good perspective on what the VCs are thinking and what does it mean for VC funded companies. Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Sequoia Capital on startups and the economic downturn

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: depression recession)

Mockery of a Central Bank

Why does a Central Bank even exist?

Look at the figures below – on the official website:

And according to the Economic Times, being in Zimbabwe might be the easiest way to become a Trillionaire – just carry $33 (USD) into the country when you land there. Can the economics of a country become more bleak than this?

Being the Best – A Surgeon’s Perspective

I want to share in interesting perspective that I came across a surgeon's blog here.

The lines that struck a chord are:

"i try to refer away whatever i feel is not in my scope but once the knife goes through the skin you become suddenly very alone. it is too late to think there is someone else who can do the job better than you. you must be the best for that patient at that moment. this becomes more acutely true when something goes wrong and you have to dig yourself out of a difficult situation. the thing about difficult situations in my line of work is if you handle them not too well someone may just end up dead. somehow to believe you are the best does seem to give just that little more of an edge."

Leaders are like surgeons – they have areas of strengths and then there are peripheral areas that are just outside their comfort zones. They can try to surround themselves with team members with complementary strengths to cover as much ground as possible. But in most situations it is not practical to have everything covered. They will most certainly face situations, where despite their personal discomfort or lack of complete mastery over the context, they will need to take charge of the situation, be responsible for actions and decisions that will make or break their organizations. In doing this, they need to have the conviction in themselves - that they are the best given the situation and they will be able to navigate through the complexities and achieve success at the end.

We all face such leadership moments and situations in our lives. The lesson here is that we need to take charge and drive through them with a surgeon's conviction – of being the best in the situation, and that anything less than the best can have disastrous consequences.

 

 

In Search of Excellence – An Individual’s Version

I received this story in an e-mail group that I am subscribed to, and the entire credit for it goes to original author, whoever he/ she may be. But I do think that this is an excellent read for all of us, and a good reminder of why some people are driven to be the best by doing their best.

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A man once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor
making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby.

Surprised, he asked the sculptor "Do you need two statues of the same idol?"

"No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage."

The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage.

"Where is the damage?" he asked.

"There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work.

"Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high.

"If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said,"I will know!"

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else
appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside.

Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and excellence.

 

Comparison Shopping Healthcare Services

These days we hear about consumer education, availability of options, quality of care data etc. that if made available to the consumers, would lead to better choices and lower costs, because the consumers would theoretically be able to shop around for the right medical care according to their needs and their means. While conceptually, the idea is appealing and almost irrefutable, there is a fundamental reason why this has not happened.

 

I have come across people comparing shopping for a TV to shopping for Medical Care. Conceptually it is a simplistic comparison and should apply equally to Healthcare. But there is a fundamental difference that is overlooked in the comparison – when we buy a TV, we are buying a bundle of size, features, style, brand, quality and reputation and we pay one price for the entire bundle. When we buy medical care, we buy a bundle of outcome, quality of care, peace of mind and wellness, but we pay not for the bundle, but for individual services that go in creating the bundle. Now imagine having to pay for all the components that go in making the TV and all the activities that anyone performed in making the TV. Imagine wading through this detailed component level cost data and process cost and comparing one TV model vs another and trying to come to a conclusion on which TV to buy.

 

I am sure, not matter how much component level cost information is made available to the buyers of the TV, comparison shopping at that level does not make sense. So is the case with healthcare. Procedure level pricing and costing is not going to simplify the comparison and buying process. Treatment bundles need to be created, costed and priced for consumers to really make a meaningful choice. This is different from an Outcome based pricing, and in many ways is the middle ground between Procedure based pricing and Outcome based pricing that might just be workable.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe..

I stumbled upon the official website of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and was amazed at what I saw. I am not sure how Zimbabweans are getting by with such absurd basic economic figures. And mind-you, this is the official version, so the reality is likely to be even starker.