It was a sunny day in August of 1993. I was all worried. How does one greet his new family? Would the Armenian hug and kiss be accepted? Who would be meeting me at the airport? As I walked down from the plane, I saw a group ahead of me with a banner held up high welcoming me. My new family welcomed me with open arms and hugs. It was the absolute best welcome anyone could ever expect. Two of the best people I have ever met were appointed…

The summer of 1993 marked the first time a dream had come true for me. With about $140 in my pocket, I boarded the plane to come to America, young but serious about my goals and my responsibility to help my family. Even if I couldn’t help, at least I did not want to be a burden, another stomach to feed…

Spring in Armenia is beautiful because it brings with it hope and the mild fragrance of the fruit trees in blossom everywhere. The spring of 1993 was more special as it brought a new type of hope. Now that I had made the first step, I had to do everything possible to be accepted into the program. I was given the impossible task of completing the application…

Everything around us affects us. Our experiences, the experiences of others, and everything that is captured by our senses affects us. Let’s call these the external stimuli. Now, let’s say for reasons known or unknown you’re really sad (market crashing is a good enough reason for me). What can you do about it? I have found one solution that seems to work for me. I use the external stimuli to my advantage. Since I know that I’m affected by everything around me, I change something to affect me in a …

For a few weeks, I’ve been struggling with the word “strategy.” I hear this word used, abused, misused and overused. There are all kinds of uses starting from “product strategy” and “strategic advisors” to “strategizing about a topic” and “strategic sourcing.” I certainly cannot put an end to this nonsense and will instead share my thoughts.
Perhaps as humans, we need to feel in control of the future. Maybe we need to feel smart or at least appear smart enough and able to pre-calculate for all kinds of eventualities. In aggregate …