Puzzle - Guess The Word

A friend of mine sent me this puzzle.

1. It is a 9 letter word: 123456789
2. If you have 234 then can 1234
3. 56 is one type of disease
4. 89 indicates exact location and time
5. 2 and 7 are same letter
6. 3 and 8 are same letter
7. 5 and 9 are same letter

Guest the word.

Maturity 101

A friend asked me what exactly the term maturity meant.

Here is my definition:

Maturity is about knowing what to say and what not to say based on what the situation demands.

It usually would involve avoiding truth and would involve better survival.

It has nothing to do with intelligence. It correlates more with EQ and with IPR (Interpersonal relationship)

Women are much more mature than men.

It may not have much to do with being responsible. A mature person may or may not be responsible. Same way, an intelligent person may or may not be mature.

Maturity correlates (negatively) with Innocence.

Financial Investment - 101 - TEQPS, ROE Etc

While trying to understand some fundamentals concepts such as TEQPS (Total Equity Per Share), Book Value (BV) I got to read the following articles. I still don't understand why TEQPS and BV, which are supposedly the same, have different values for companies. Anyway...

TEQPS 

https://bizfluent.com/how-7532440-calculate-pershare-equity-value.html

"When there are no preferred shares, the equity per share is simply the shareholders’ equity divided by the number of common shares issued and outstanding."

What is shareholders equity?

"Shareholders equity is the difference between total assets and total liabilities. It is also the Share capital retained in the company in addition to the retained earnings minus the treasury shares. ... Shareholders equity is also called Share Capital, Stockholder's Equity or Net worth."

Difference between net income and cash flow
https://i.investopedia.com/inv/articles/site/fcf.gif (from https://www.investopedia.com/university/fundamentalanalysis/fundanalysis8.asp)

From Investopedia:
Cash conversion cycle (CCC)
Calculated in days, the CCC reflects the time required to collect on sales and the time it takes to turn over inventory. The shorter this cycle is, the better. Cash is king, and smart managers know that fast-moving working capital is more profitable than tying up unproductive working capital in assets.

CCC = DIO + DSO – DPO
DIO - Days Inventory Outstanding
DSO - Days Sales Outstanding
DPO - Days Payable Outstanding
And
The fixed asset turnover ratio is calculated as:
Average fixed assets can be calculated by dividing the year-end PP&E of two fiscal periods (ex. 2004 and 2005 PP&E divided by two).
And
ROA (Return of Assets) = (Net Income)/ (Average Assets)

Where Average total assets can be calculated by dividing the year-end total assets of two fiscal periods (ex 2004 and 2005 PP&E divided by 2).

1. http://awgmain.morningstar.com/webhelp/glossary_definitions/stocks/Total_Equity_Quarter_1.html
2. https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/042015/why-would-company-buyback-its-own-shares.asp
3. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/02/041702.asp
4. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/10/share-buybacks.asp
5. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental-analysis/08/buybacks-vs-book-value.asp
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_repurchase
7. https://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2018/11/19/the-deeper-lesson-from-berkshire-hathaways-share-buyback/
8. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental/03/100103.asphttps://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/031004.asp
9. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/022504.asp
10. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/05/062405.asp (fraudulent practices in CF accounting)
11. https://www.investopedia.com/university/financialstatements/financialstatements2.asp
12. https://www.investopedia.com/university/financialstatements/financialstatements5.asp: (Revenue Recognition Issues: Very nice). (1) Net sales (2) Plus the decrease in accounts receivable (or minus the increase) (3) Plus the increase in cash advances from customers (or minus the decrease) = Cash received from customers
13. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-value-of-share-buybacks
15. https://zerodha.com/varsity/chapter/five-corporate-actions-and-its-impact-on-stock-prices/
16. http://theconversation.com/explainer-are-share-buybacks-good-for-investors-19686
17. https://dollarsandsense.sg/share-buybacks-what-it-means-and-how-it-impacts-investors/
18. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/why-firms-opt-to-buy-back-shares-than-pay-dividend/article25691611.ece/amp/

Recruitment Lesson 101

My first attempt at fiction:

Imagine you are 27 years old. And your fiance ditched you. You are distraught. You don't have much of an academic background. You don't know what to do professionally. Nor do you want to get married again. 

A kind gentleman in his 50s approaches you and explains that you currently have nothing to look forward to. He gives you a proposal. How about joining in his mission to create the best educational institution. You don't have anything else on your plate. What the man said was enthralling. What choices did you have anyway? So you hooked up with him and started a school. 

Years have passed.

You now have a purpose in life and you feel fulfilled.

What did the man get from you? An energetic, passionate dog, loyal for life. You would think nothing of perjuring for his sake. (How the cartoon would love such recruits!! Instead he has Rod Rosenstein, Michael Cohen.)

Win win for both, no?

Like a friend used to tell me, you should recruit for attitude, train for skills. Occasionally the lack of deep talent would result in gaffs. But attitude trumps talent. 

Corollary:
If you are a passionate and loyal person, identify an Enneagram 8 to hitch your wagon to, even if you are kinda short on the talent department.

Additional reading

1. https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2018/11/when-perjury-is-essential-facts-of-life.html
2. Help! My Boss Is El Chapo: Help! My Boss Is El Chapo https://www.wsj.com/articles/help-my-boss-is-el-chapo-11547269215

When Perjury Is Essential - Facts Of Life

A friend of mine X told me that another friend Y committed perjury in front of a bunch of people. The perjury related to X's character. An elderly gentleman Z insinuated that my friend X had done something borderline unethical. Y, who is very close to Z and who knew exactly what X did, chose to keep quiet in the group meeting and let the insinuation hang. Y committed perjury by omission. Matter of fact whatever X did was on the specific request of Y.

Y and Z are the senior members of the group to whom everyone else reports in.

My friend X was aghast. She spoke with Y. Then X recounted her conversation with Y.

I [X] asked her whether it waa wrong to be honest or sincere. She [Y] laughed at me and said, "this is why I like you. It's not. But at times you should know when to lie also" (Y  thus acknowledged the perjury indirectly).

Y went on to tell X lovingly that X didn't understand her, Y, at all. 

Very touching. In the whole business, X's reputation has been tarnished. But then it was done in the larger interest. Whose interest? 

X didn't understand that her reputation had to be tarnished for the greater good of the institution and didn't willingly accept to be sacrificed. So naive of X. Sure X didn't understand Y at all.

Yatha Raja, Thatha Praja - As the king (Z) is, so are his subjects (Y).

It's interesting to note that Y and Z are in the business of imparting integrity and ethics among other things to hundreds of souls.

It's a good thing X, my friend, is female and Z is male. Had the genders been the other way around, Z could have accused X of molesting. Of course, for the greater good only. 

The end justifies the means, no?

Additional reading:

1. https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2018/03/different-points-of-view.html
2. https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2018/10/worst-botchup-ever.html

Maths And Puzzles: What Is She?

I was talking to a friend of mine who is a  doctor. She is in love with a married man who is 10 years older and staying in a town 2000km away. He is married with a kid. (She is single.)

And the man had asked her to move to his town.

She was confused, whether she could move, whether her relationship was strong enough etc.

I asked her whether the man planned to divorce his wife. She said he wouldn't because of the kid. I asked her to look at the bottomline. She replied she didn't know what the bottomline was.

I asked her whether things would be fine if he moved to where she was. She said things would probably not be fine. And anyway his family wouldn't want to move and he has a stable job.

I wished her all the best.

The puzzle question is: What (kind of person) is she?