For strategic power.

Joint ventures or JVs are oft heard about. JVs are a popular idea, but many JVs have broken down within a few years of their formation, note Sugata Marjit and Prabal Roy Chowdhury in one of the essays included in ‘Globalisation in China, India and Russia’ edited by Jean-François Huchet et al ( www.academicfoundation.com ). It seems studies have found the average life span of a JV firm to be 3.5 years. “During the mid-1990s many of the Indian JVs had serious problems… A major area of dispute appears to be that of capacity expansion.” While the MNC (multinational corporation) partner was keen on capacity expansion, the domestic partners were constrained for funds. “As a result, the MNC partners insisted on either partial or complete buyouts as a precondition for capacity expansion. Often, the threat of opening a fully owned subsidiary was also used.”

A narrative of how national groups emerged.

It may help to know FEAR as an acronym: False Events Appearing Real. Fear is a belief, an extreme case of limiting belief, say Bart Sayle and Surinder Kumar in ‘Riding the Blue Train’ ( www.penguinbooksindia.com ). “Limiting beliefs put people out of touch with the vast resources that exist within themselves. This happens because fears puts up a barrier to those resources.” Watch out: limiting beliefs can be ‘far more debilitating than the consequences one feared in the first place’. Instead, unleash your ‘personal power’, defined as ‘the ability to turn insight, inspiration, and intention into reality without controlling, manipulating, or dominating others.’ Use ‘intentional language’, urge the authors. For example, say, ‘We will deliver on our financial commitments,’ rather than mutter, ‘If the market doesn’t deteriorate, we’ll be able to deliver…’