“Trust is like a vase…once it's broken, though you can fix it, the vase will never be same again”.  
The videos were disturbing. It was a series of talking heads – young Americans, all between 20 and 30 years old, offering their opinions about money and banks.  A few recognized that they had to take responsibility for managing their own money. But most seemed financially illiterate. Nearly all of them said they trust their own...Read the full article »

An inspiration called Naseema Didi “The real definition of success is not how much money I made in my life for myself but how many people I could help”-- Naseema Didi
How would you react if one fine day you find the lower half of your body lifeless, without any sensation, and you have no control over it? And that you would remain this way for life, and dependent on others to do even small tasks that most take for granted? I am sure the very thought of such a state would give...Read the full article »

“Our challenge. How do we create organizational coherence...how do we create structures that move with change, that are flexible and adaptive...that enable rather than constrain? How do we resolve the need for personal freedom and autonomy with organizational needs for prediction and control”. Margaret Wheatley  
Nobel Prize winner Oliver Williamson describes two dominant theories of organization for complex systems – hierarchies and markets. These...Read the full article »

    “Don't be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.” Colin Powell.  
The late Dr. Kalbag’s Vigyana  set up an Ashram as an experiment. His goal: teaching school dropouts vocational skills to set up their own businesses. Against all odds, it has been very successful....Read the full article »

“Independence is loyalty to one’s best self and principles, and this is often disloyalty to general idols and fetishes.” Mark Twain  
Based on my studies, my experiences and my own reflections, I see human development as a journey – a steep climb from dependence to independence to interdependence to transcendence.  This lifetime journey begins at birth, when we are dependent on our parents and other loved ones.  
The process...Read the full article »

"One Size Slipper doesn’t fit all".   That was the message in  a recent article by Prof. Jeffrey Hammer from Princeton University. He was writing on a village self-government (Gram Swaraj) scheme funded by the World Bank in Karnataka, India.   According to the article, a village in the Gulbarga district of north Karnataka decided to use discretionary funds from the World Bank to build better toilet facilities. Given the arid conditions,  the only...Read the full article »

"I believe that national sovereignties will shrink in the face of universal interdependence": Explorer, diver and conservationist – Jacques Cousteau.   Imagine a roadway through an ancient village, with houses on either side – a few big houses, owned by the rich, as well as modest middle-class homes.One day, after renovating his house, one of the rich residents throws his old unwanted furniture and out on the side of the road. Poor people take away some of...Read the full article »

“Society cannot progress unless each citizen makes his contribution and performs his duties”. Atharva Veda.   This space has opened the door for discussing the future, and you are contributing to the dialogue with thoughtful and thought-provoking responses. Your engagement is key to the New Constructs; it feels like we have started something together.   Let’s review a few of your comments that struck me. To the question of new measures of...Read the full article »

Stop thinking in terms of limitations and start thinking in terms of possibilities – Terry Josephson.
At school, my friends were reluctant when I suggested we start a hockey team and enter a local league. “We’re not good enough,” they said. “We’ll lose miserably.”    “Who cares?” I said. “We’ll have a team? We’ll play games. We’ll have fun.” I must have been persuasive, because...Read the full article »