In my opening contact with all you friends, I want to keep my views simple, straight and direct. And this is about changing the rules of  engagement. Some of the friends in CIO fraternity have known The CTO Forum for over a decade. A lot others got on to this notable journey at various stages of its lifecycle, and the family continues to grow even today. But somewhere in this geniality, the continuity of  engagement and efficiency of communication has taken a back seat. Although we have many direct channels to connect,  the bonding seems to be far from existent. It concerns me. But at the same time,
it doesn’t dissuade me from pledging a fresh attempt to create this connect.

Strongly hit by the economic slowdown, some of  our core competitors have decided to drop the frequency at which they reached you in the past. Many of  them have become marginal players, and may soon go out of  your radar. We not only continue to reach you at the same frequency, fortnight after fortnight, but also will resurrect in a new avatar shortly.

I would like to create a two-way street on which we meet, talk, discuss, and brainstorm often. These dialogues should result into practical knowledge, which should help the peers in the industry. If many of us can do it on social networking sites like Twitter, Changing the Rules of Engagement LinkedIn, and Face Book, why can’t we do it here! Like Benjamin Franklin once said: “People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them.” This age is of sharing ideas and learning from others who share it. Keeping them close to you might endanger the idea itself.

In my quest to redefine these rules of engagement, I have no inhibition in asking for your unequivocal support. It will just make things work better.