Seth Godin comes up with brilliant marketing concepts.

But at times, I find myself on the opposite side of the fence with his opinions.

This is one such instance – primarily because of the choice of his examples. In his recent post, “Why you might choose to be in favor of transparency“, Seth refers to:

1. Why doctors should encourage transparency in their results.

2. An Indian bureaucrat’s argument in favor of legalizing bribery in some instances.

The variable being ignored or brushed aside, in this over-simplification of what is in reality a rather intricate and involved interaction of ‘action’ and ‘reaction’, is the dynamic impact transparency (or the risk thereof) can have upon the action being performed itself.

A surgeon whose operation is transmitted live to a patient’s family sitting outside the O.R. (something that’s technically possible) is bound to be nervous and jittery, even to a point where he may make more mistakes or errors of judgment.

‘Anonymous’ transparency, as when an institution reveals aggregate data of medical performance statistics, is free of this effect.

As is internally audited information that is initially perused only by competent and qualified experts who know how to interpret the technical data.

Most hospital departments have weekly or monthly audits to monitor performance, even sub-stratified by specialty or individual practitioner. But this is NOT made public – for good reason!

When patients post reviews, they are conditioned and influenced (not unreasonably) by emotion, personal feelings and incomplete technical knowledge. Having that in the public domain, where it may adversely impact the general perception of a highly skilled and qualified technical specialist, isn’t quite good practice.

How many of us are competent to judge intricate economic decision-making, or the rightness of protocols to shut down nuclear plants in a melt-down situation, or merits and drawbacks of a cutting-edge technological innovation like stem-cell therapy, or cloning, or nano-tech?

Not many. In fact, precious few. Yet transparency in these processes is being called “desirable”.

Exactly why?

‘Empowerment’ is not making data available willy-nilly – but more of allowing access to it by qualified experts who are able to make sense of it.

The paper by the Indian bureaucrat is intriguing… though also whimsical.

In this instance, it is presumed that the bribe-taker has ethical standards, and will cringe or worry about being outed in his bribe-taking. Reality, though, is different. Everybody concerned KNOWS already that these folks are taking bribes. It isn’t as if making this information public will change much, if anything at all.

And the bribe-taker knows it’s possible to bribe one’s way out of being prosecuted – unless you’re small fry! See this interesting cartoon from a recent issue of ‘The Hindu’.

The risk, then, of being too transparent, is that you become invisible!

Image source Flickr.com

Living in a nation of over 1 billion people gives me rare exposure to extremes.

I see people who are fabulously wealthy, and others who are desperately poor. I know many ambitious, hard-working people, as well as lazy and listless others. I am aware of folks who are brilliant, talented and skilled, but also of those who are not.

And seeing these diverse outliers leads me to better appreciate, empathize with, and feel deep gratitude for “being in the middle”.

Like a pendulum that swings to either limit of its arc, only to return to the mid-point – until its sweep slows down and comes to rest at that neutral space in between – I have begun to realize the importance philosophers place on that state of being that craves inner silence and quiet peace.

The restless hustle to hurry towards extremes is gradually giving way to a calmer acceptance of the placid intermediate zone.

No longer are fanciful dreams of being ridiculously rich or paranoid panic about becoming pathetically poor as shattering or thrilling as they once were.

They are being replaced by a moral sense (that’s growing ever stronger) of ‘working towards the mean’. Of using wealth to reach out to help the poor. Of using strength to advocate for the weak. Of using talent to support the under-privileged.

And as I do, I’m meeting hundreds of others who are also moved by the same universal urge to feel a certain way.

That we matter.

That we are cared for.

That we are loved.

(Recommended reading: “The Arc of the Universe Bends Toward Justice” by Chris Guillebeau

No one.

Everyone.

This morning, I was reading a news story about Apple Inc’s succession plans. Co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs was credited with turning around the company from near bankruptcy in 1997 to one with the “highest valuation of any technology company” in just 15 years.

It got me wondering. Jobs has so much media coverage today. But will anyone care (or even remember) 100 years from now?

Now, that’s speculation. But easier to validate by looking backwards. To one hundred years ago.

Who was the tech CEO darling of 1911, do you know?

Or which business barons have lasted long enough in the public memory to be iconic after so long?

I Googled 1911, and found this on Wikipedia.

On April 8, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered “Superconductivity”, the concept that powered development of MRI scanners and mass spectrometers and particle accelerators.

On December 29, Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionaries overthrew the Qing dynasty to become the first President of the Republic of China (and he became the ‘Father of modern China’).

New Zealand-born British physicist Ernest Rutherford deduced the existence of a compact atomic nucleus from scattering experiments that year.

But even mighty Google has precious little about business leaders and entrepreneurs – though there were no doubt dozens who hogged the media limelight and were ‘today’s heroes’ even in those early years!

And that got me thinking –

Who matters… 100 years later?

Obviously not the media superstars. That flash vanishes fast. So who does?

Look at yourself in the mirror.

Go on. Do it now.

Smile.

What do you see grinning back at you?

That’s the composite (and evolved) result of real people who lived one hundred years before.

Your grand-parents.

And their parents.

Your ancestors.

Their genes live on in YOU. You probably remember them as people. If not, you’ve heard things about them from your own parents or relatives.

They matter – because they live on in you.

In your memories.

In your genes.

Just as you will… in future generations to come.

So… EVERYONE matters – 100 years from now.

Yes, even you.

And me

They are the most enjoyable moments of my crowded day.

The pleasant, cool evening breeze caressing our faces, we stroll through the streets and bylanes of our neighborhood hand in hand – my daughter and I.

We share desultory gossip interspersed with profound wisdom. I’m amazed at how much I learn from her. I wish we’d recorded all of these discussions.

Today we explored an interesting theme.

Of life – as a song.

We all go through certain things in common.

Childhood. School. Puppy love. College. Romance. Marriage. Career. Kids. Aging and ailments. And, in the end, death.

The timing and sequence of these events varies, but most of us will experience all of them.

Together, they constitute the background music of our lives.

For some, the music becomes, in itself, the entirety of life. For others, there is the song.

Wealth, success and self-determinism (or the quest for them) set us on the path to doing unique, different or remarkable things. They become our voice, used to sing the lyrics of a melody that’s our life.

Sometimes, our words match the music. At other times, they drown it out, or are in discordant variance to it. And there are periods when they fade out, to let the background sounds dominate.

And for some of us, the song of our life is a nice, pleasant solo performance.

For others, it is a beautiful concert – full-blown, exciting, widely applauded and celebrated.

We get to decide to sing… and pick the song we want our lives to be.

Start singing!

No predictions this year. I’ll share what changes I’m making, though.

I’m Giving Up On Email Marketing

For two full years, I’ve been complaining about how email marketing wasn’t working for me. Stupidly, instead of listening to my gut, I chose to hear what other ‘gurus’ were saying about it. Result: In 2010, my email response rates plummeted to the lowest they’ve been since 1996 when I started!

Oh, I tried many tricks. My bag is deep, and holds a lot of them. None were very effective. From a collective 200+ email broadcasts sent to 27 sub-lists I manage, one message was crystal clear. Email marketing doesn’t work. At least for me. So I’m giving up relying much on it (Though I’ll still have my lists, the approach towards email marketing will change – see here)

I’m Going Social

That’s what works today, in 2010… and I’m sure will beyond. I’ve picked the networks to focus on. They are Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn and Tobri. The rest are either too niche’d, too tiny, or too fragmented to deliver value for the time I’ll invest on them.

And on social media, I am going to do what I regularly do… engage and interact, make friends and develop relationships, and hopefully get more people involved in my non-profit work to help under-privileged children with congenital heart defects.

I’m Leaving The ‘Make Money’ Scene

For the first time since 1999, my online business made a smaller profit than the previous year. And so there’s no way I can, with a clear conscience, teach other people how to ‘make money online’ – when I seem to have lost the knack for it! (No, I’m not saying what I teach won’t work… it’s just that it needs some tweaks to be more effective, and takes a bit longer to fructify than before)

A part of the reason was my reluctance to abandon what wasn’t working (like email marketing!). The other was a lack of focus on my market and audience, where I stopped observing carefully what they wanted. Plus, I found something more exciting to get involved in… and that’s what is coming next.

I’m Moving Into Niches

By the time I noticed the trend my earnings from the ‘make money’ niche were following, I was less concerned – because I was deep into something else. Niche marketing. I’ve loved and enjoyed niche marketing since 2004, and the style I’m adopting now is different, and better suited for 2011. (Yes, it includes information marketing… that still works very well, thank you!)

In the last 2 months, I’ve created and taken many niche websites to the front page (often top) of Google, Bing and Yahoo. They’re getting steady Web traffic for free, and are already profitable! Imagine scaling this over the year ahead. It’s fun and exciting.

I’m Getting More Serious About Blogging

The one thing I’ve done in 2010 which will be continued into the coming year is blogging. I enjoy it, it works for the purpose I’m using it, and indulges my craving for some creative writing.

But even here, I’ll be experimenting with something new – an idea that’s been nagging away at me for a few months, and now has taken clearer form. You’ll see what it is when you follow my blog at Money.Power.Wisdom

I’m Writing My Second Novel

Yes. The first one sold all of three copies. My wife bought one of them. She hasn’t yet read it!

So why am I writing another one? Good question. Two people already asked me that – the young ladies in my life! The answer is simple. Because I want to. And because I can. Isn’t that good enough?!

The story outline is (sort of) done. I’ve drafted two sections (one is a steamy torrid romance!), and the novel itself will be a fast paced action thriller. Yes, I have a title. No, I won’t reveal it now!

So those are my plans for the year to come.

How about YOU?

What are you doing in 2011 – or planning to?

I shared a message with my email subscribers. It was about my “Magic Number“.

My friend Shel Horowitz tweeted me some feedback about it. One point he made was the possible lack of confidence inspired by my mentioning (to a primarily U.S. audience) that we’d only raised around $135,000 since starting this effort.

Curious, I Googled the topic – and found this recent article in TIME.

“With 3.3 million registered NGOs, India’s nonprofit sector raises between $8 billion and $16 billion in funding every year.”

Hmm… that was interesting data. And then, I came to this startling statement.

“…of $2.15 billion in foreign aid recieved, around $680 million was used for organizational expenses.”

That’s almost 31% of the funds raised being spent on administrivia. (For comparison, my Foundation averages THREE percent!)

And that led me to think about constraints and hurdles I’ve faced in fund raising adventures over 7 years, which might make for an interesting blog post. Here it comes.

There have been many limitations in my efforts to raise money for helping children from under-privileged families receive expensive treatment for congenital heart defects.

The biggest among these were:

Credibility – Ten years ago, with no track record to point at, I had to rely on the trust of people (who had never even met me!) to support my fledgling efforts. Fortunately, enough of them cared to help make it happen… and bring us to this point where I can point at many smiling faces for proof.

Time – Until recently when I chose to make this project a full-time activity, I was juggling duties as Assistant Professor at a busy University hospital with managing a thriving online information business, leaving me severely hard-pressed for time to handle everything that needed attention.

Laws – Constantly changing and getting ever more restrictive (for legitimate reasons, to prevent money-laundering and terror funding), these made it increasingly harder to raise and transfer foreign funds into India.

Patient factors – Having a waiting list without adequate funding was impractical. So whenever funds became available, we went through a sequence of activities to find and bring in kids to undergo surgery. The lack of a structured process made this time-consuming and uncertain.

Transparency – Without popular 3rd party validation agencies with sufficient clout to have impact, getting ‘certified’ as a valid NGO in India was impossible. The few smaller ones had exceedingly complex application steps which would require a full-time staff member to deal with requirements. (One had an 86-page form just to apply for registration!)

Amid all this, I gamely battled on. Patched together a system that worked, even if not very efficiently, to raise funds and carry out 70 heart operations.

But suddenly, policy changes at our primary payment processor jerked the rug out from under us in July. Suddenly, the fragile edifice cracked and looked ready to collapse. It took a determined and focused phase of activity to cobble it back together – and a more permanent solution is being worked on as we speak.

From one perspective, seven years of action without leading to a rock-solid system to overcome all these hurdles seems to indicate a slacking off and waste of time, or misguided effort and lack of direction. And regardless of how harsh you or anyone else may judge me on this, I suspect it won’t be 10% as hard as I’ve been on myself.

But compared against the average Indian NGO which is often better staffed, organized and managed than my smaller Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation, our performance (even if not shining or stellar) is fair. As this “Civil Society” article says,

“Very few of India’s NGOs are very big: there are perhaps just 200 with more than Rs 25 crores (US$5 million) each to spend in a year. Around 70 per cent are the very small organizations, some with as little as Rs 4 or 5 lakhs (US$10,000) in a year. It is these small outfits which reach out to communities, work at the grassroots and represent the true spirit of an active and vibrant voluntary effort.”

Are there problems? Of course. There is corruption and mishandling of funds. Some Indian charities are structured so that they are merely tax saving entities rather than delivering value to their beneficiaries. And overheads can be steep, as the 31% average figure indicates.

But that’s the tiny minority of “rotten apples” you’ll find in just about any barrel you choose to poke around in. As “Civil Society” comments,

“These are valid concerns, but not as widespread as it has become fashionable to imagine. Essentially people who take up causes really care and they are as honest as the system allows them to be.”

And so the battle continues. Evolving and adapting to the uniqueness of India’s non-profit environment is an interesting, sometimes frustrating, and never uneventful experience, one where creativity and innovation are often better and more rewarding weapons against uncertainty than credentialing and striving to comply with norms.

That’s why I try different and unconventional approaches. Like running this special “Business Booster Sale” which promises to give business owners incredible value for making a contribution to charity.

Far better than just going to them, hat in hand, with an appeal seeking a donation, don’t you think? Take a look at this offer (you’ll be blown away by how much value you’ll get) and tell your friends about it too. But hurry – because it ends on December 31st, 2010.

And you can also be in my “Magic Forty” – get more details here

Contrasting when I was in my thirties against being 40+ years old now, there’s a significant shift in my attitude, perspective and thinking.

Maybe it is similar for many others, too. (Including you?)

Typically, the first 3 decades of our life is spent growing up, and acquiring skills or knowledge. By the time we’re 30, it’s time to put it all into action.

If one word could describe how I felt around that age, it would be “hungry”.

Hungry for fame. Hungry for success. Hungry for wealth.

And for achievement, making dreams come true, and reaching for the stars.

Like a heavyweight boxer who knows every punch he lands in the ring carries the terrible impact of hundreds of hours of training, I knew that my actions will also pack a powerful punch. Behind that lies the force of all the learning and practice that went earlier.

And I was eager to get in as many as I could on target.

Turning forty added one significant shift. Knowing the power that’s available on tap, the question arose of whether or not to use it, and when.

The word that now took precedence over “hungry” was – “reflective“.

No, the ambitions didn’t weaken. The dream didn’t fade. The vision wasn’t growing dim.

But alongside it, another presence grew stronger – and it kept asking “Why?”

There was a time when I wouldn’t think twice about staying up all night working on something important, just to get it done. Today I wonder if that’s really necessary.

There were occasions where I would happily plot the downfall of someone – a competitior, a rival, a critic – who got in the way of my eager enthusiasm to work towards a challenging goal. These days, I don’t think it matters so much as getting things done in another way, bypassing him (or her).

There used to be circumstances when I’d place my fiery desire for a worthy result ahead of everything else in my life. Now, the passion still burns strong – but isn’t a constant, roaring, all-consuming flame.

I have grown reflective.

Because my philosophy has changed.

With wider experience, more reading, intimate interaction with more people, and a deeper empathy with cross-sections of humanity I’ve never known (or cared much for) earlier, there are many more and variegated threads in the rich tapestry of my life.

As I ponder these changes at the end of the first decade of a new century, I can’t help but wonder how much more will evolve at each succeeding landmark – fifty, sixty, seventy, and beyond.

I can’t wait to see!

(If you’re older – or even younger – and would care to give it a thought, tell me what YOUR word is for the decade that’s gone, and the one that is. Tweet me @drmani on Twitter!)

As I walked back home after dropping my daughter off at school – an enjoyable thing I’ve done off and on for 9 years – I had an interesting internal mini-conversation.

“I’m forty-three. I’m healthy. Have a wonderful family. No financial worries. A decent career. A passion to pursue.”

I glanced up.

Leafy green boughs of twenty-year old trees arched gracefully across the now quiet avenue. A blue sky with white fluffy clouds peeped through the branches, bright and clear in the soft morning sunlight.

I felt a small thrill of excitement run through me, as the next words formed inside my mind:

“I am happy!”

It felt more intense at that moment.

Nothing had changed in my outside world.

I had just become more aware of it!

I first heard of the “Toys For Tots” Internet toy drive way back in 1998 – through my friend, Rick Beneteau. I’ve tried my best to support this annual event ever since, by spreading word around and contributing a little bit to make life brighter for a child during the holidays.

Thousands of needy children who would otherwise NOT get a single gift at Christmas this year, will hopefully now get several!

Introducing The 10th Annual Internet Toy Drive, in affiliation with the official U.S. Marine Corps “TOYS FOR TOTS” Program:

http://www.internettoydrive.org

We *know* that with Your Help we can go a LONG way into making sure Santa visits EVERY needy child this year!

* ALL donations will be placed on special order forms (credit cards and online checks) on the Toys for Tots secure server. Donors will receive an automated email/tax deductible receipt when their donation/order is confirmed. Mail-in payments are also accepted.

* Donations will be dispersed to the nearest U.S. Marine Corps Base to the donor for the purchase of needed gifts.

Listen to the theme-song for this project! Turn up your speakers and click here

This year’s goal is to raise $100,000 for Toys for Tots from now until December 24th. That can ONLY happen if all of us put our hearts and mouses on the line to put the word out.

Here are 4 simple steps you can take right now that will HELP more than you might imagine:

1. Visit The Internet Toy Drive Website and give whatever you can right now. Even if it’s $5.00, it WILL HELP!

2. Help Spread the Word by telling everyone you know about The Internet Toy Drive. Please send them a link to this blog, or share this letter with them – and invite them to pass it along if they have an opt-in list.

3. If you have an ezine/newsletter, PLEASE feature this message in the weeks ahead.

4. If you have a website, PLEASE grab one of these banners and link to The Internet Toy Drive.

Personally, I’ve always believed that giving is the greatest way to receive. YOU can do a whole lot of good by taking these simplest of actions. But PLEASE do it now – this is just a one month drive!

Let’s Help Kids this Christmas!

In your world, do people walk on the roof? Or do trees hang out of the sky?

Of course, not.

Yet, if you study the way that images of various objects in your Universe are projected onto your eye, you’ll realize that’s exactly how they should appear.

Your brain does some nimble jujitsu – and flips the inverted image around… so that everything “makes sense”.

Now think of a kaleidoscope. Isn’t it amazing how just 3 carefully oriented mirrors can turn the same few grains of colored glass or sand into such a wide array of fascinating, unique patterns?

These are just a very tiny example of our brain’s enormous potential for “manipulating” data and arriving at conclusions. We may each process the same (or similar) inputs, but nurture widely divergent impressions that are derived from them.

Those perceptions are what, collectively, make up our ‘world view’ or belief systems.

The good (bad?) news is that YOU have the power to flip them around – just like you do with the image that falls upon your retina – to “make sense”.

Interesting, huh?