Sachin-Job-Love

Like Sachin, love the job

G S Vasu is the resident editor of ‘The New Indian Express’, Hyderabad
source : express 19nov2009

At one of the meetings I had with a group of associates, I asked if they loved watching a movie in a theatre. The response was a ‘yes’. Turning to the smokers, I asked if they loved every puff they took. ‘Yes’, they replied. The same was the response from those who loved every sip of whisky or beer.

On all these, they spend money — for cinema tickets, cigarettes, liquor and a cup of coffee or a favourite dish for the girlfriend. Then, I asked why they don’t love the work they do, though they get paid for it. The small gathering just remained silent.

Many greats paid glowing tributes to Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar on his completing 20 years of international cricket, but the one fundamental reason that has kept him going for two decades is the simple fact that he loves doing what he does, an aspect the legend himself has emphasised more than once. Being just one among his millions of fans, I am not qualified to write about his exploits on the field, but I began wondering how a case-study of his success, rather his traits, applied to almost every organisation or company — those that do exceedingly well and emerge leaders, those that keep trying to do better but never manage to reach the goal and those that just fall apart.

How many of us actually love what we do at the work place? Many don’t, whether they admit it or not. It could be true of a carpenter, a journalist, a manager or a marketing person. But the fact is most of us spend 70 per cent of our active life at work and if we don’t enjoy that time, life itself becomes meaningless. Making employees love what they are supposed to do is the key to the success of any organisation. Otherwise, it is like a husband and wife living together (for a variety of reasons) but not exactly loving each other. Just as my boss makes it a point to emphasise that in respect of journalists, there is no alternative to good writing. But it is possible only when one does it with passion.

‘You’re only as good as you are today’. It is true of everyone, Tendulkar included. How many times have we heard or read people saying it was time he quit, until the maestro kept proving himself again and again, just as he did in Hyderabad recently when he played one of the finest one-day innings the game has seen? Sachin is under scrutiny all the time but lesser mortals like us can often get away with non-performance. I had a colleague who always told me how he had exposed some scandal two decades ago. But, in the last decade of his service, I never saw him write and he could get away with it. Even today, the one remark that I keep hearing from employees in various organisations is: “We have worked very hard in the initial years of our service. But, we are no longer interested.”

The reasons could vary: one hasn’t got a promotion for years, another hasn’t received a decent increment and yet another has no faith in the future of the organisation he works for. Creating effective mechanisms — money and recognition — is the key to motivating people, the two factors that had a role to play even in Tendulkar’s success, just as they had a negative impact in the case of other equally talented sportspersons who did not have the same kind of money or recognition in a cricket-crazy nation.

One manager was confronted with a similar situation in a department — a bunch of disheartened staffers, more than required, and all of them doing things in the most routine fashion. Some of them were capable, a few others incorrigible or ‘resisters to change’ as I would like to put it. The latter group was slowly weeded out and a part of the money saved used to reward those who remained. They are much better off today than a few months ago; five of them doing what eight did earlier. After all, as Jack Welch said in his Winning, plaques and public fanfare have their place. But without money rewards lose a lot of their sheen. Equally important is a non-bureaucratic and meaningful evaluation system so that the right people are rewarded. I am reminded of the CEO of a company who spent all his time in the office in engaging low-level employees to spy on the seniors. Over the years, it wrecked the careers of many and in the process the organisation itself. Just as Indian selectors often kill promising sportspersons because the consideration is not based on talent but something else.

For one last time, I shall return to Sachin and this time it is about the lack of ego despite all the success he has achieved, and his commitment and integrity. Good and great people never think they have reached the top of their game and they never allow their integrity to be questioned. Today, he is praised as much for his commitment and integrity as for his batting. But, how many companies have heads with a similar attitude? On the contrary, many of them are saddled with leaders, smart and capable, but who believe they are so indispensable that they should not be bound by anything, including the company’s values, which are written in boldface and kept on the table to draw everyone’s attention except their own.

They can never be in a team, just as a friend narrated the episode in a company where one head kept fingering another till the latter left, totally frustrated and dejected. There is this story of another senior manager who used all his creativity to violate a rule and claim refund of a certain expenditure that is not allowed. The accountant knew passing the bill was a mistake and yet could not muster the guts to say ‘no’ because the claim was made by the boss. More often not, ethics apply more to the heads than those under them because it is the former who has to set an example and also has a greater opportunity to steal, lie or cheat.

Sachin might have walked on to the cricket field hundreds of times so far and yet each time all of us cheer every minute that he spends at the crease and feel terrible when he walks back. The reverse is perhaps true of most heads — employees hate the moment the boss enters office and feel relieved when he/she leaves. That’s why I would say the life of Sachin Tendulkar can be a good lesson for any corporation that is required to manage a large workforce as it would be, in any case, to every aspiring cricketer.

10,000 hours to mastery !!!

Harvey Mackay - Dec. 7, 2008 12:00 AM

For years, I have preached the importance of hard work, determination, persistence and practice - make that perfect practice - as key ingredients of success. A nifty new book seems to support my theory.

Malcolm Gladwell has written a fascinating study, "Outliers: The Story of Success" which should make a lot of people feel much better about not achieving instant success. In fact, he says it takes about 10 years, or 10,000 hours, of practice to attain true expertise.

"The people at the very top don't just work harder or even much harder than everyone else," Gladwell writes. "They work much, much harder." Achievement, he says, is talent plus preparation. Preparation seems to play a bigger role.

For example, he describes the Beatles: They had been together seven years before their famous arrival in America. They spent a lot of time playing in strip clubs in Hamburg, Germany, sometimes for as long as eight hours a night. Overnight sensation? Not exactly. Estimates are the band performed 1,200 times before their big success in 1964. By comparison, most bands don't perform 1,200 times in their careers.

Neurologist Daniel Levitin has studied the formula for success extensively and shares this finding: "The emerging picture from such studies is that 10,000 hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world-class expert in anything. In study after study of composers, basketball players, fiction writers, ice skaters, concert pianists, chess players, master criminals and what have you, the number comes up again and again. Of course, this doesn't address why some people get more out of their practice sessions than others do. But no one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery."

Two computer giants, Bill Joy, who co-founded Sun Microsystems, and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, also were proof of the 10,000-hour theory.

As Gladwell puts it, "Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good."

Consider these thoughts from successful folks in all walks of life:

• "No one can arrive from being talented alone. God gives talent; work transforms talent into genius." - Anna Pavlova, ballerina.

• "I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen." - Frank Lloyd Wright, architect.

• "The way to learn to do things is to do things. The way to learn a trade is to work at it. Success teaches how to succeed. Begin with the determination to succeed, and the work is half done already." - Mark Twain, writer and humorist.

Do you detect a theme here?

The abilities these people possessed were far-ranging, yet the formula for success was the same: hard work and lots of it. I don't know anyone who has succeeded any other way. Some people just make it look easy. Of course, you probably didn't see the first 9,999 hours of hard work. And you don't just have to work hard; you have to work smart, too.

[Thanks Vivek sharing this wonderful article]

An easy to refer example for us - [in fact most of us would have remembered this name everytime we see numbers in the range of 10,000]. SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR it is.

Sachin attributes the hours he practiced [and still practices] as a huge factor for his consistency. 

With Practice comes Perfection leading to Genius.

Genius is not only about doing things we have mastered. Its also about not doing things we are well versed to do.

Otherwise how else Sachin could have scored that historic, famous, BIG HUNDRED in Australia without scoring a single run on the off-side until he scored most of his 241* runs.

Aspire Vs Inspire

As received by my dear friend Madhu Madhan as part of his The Wisdom Times [TWIST] Series.
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Even when you can't get what you 'want'
You still can cherish that which you 'have'
Continuing to dream and high on 'hope'
Till the day your hope leads to have

TWIST Comment: Inspired by observing little children. The tantrums at new attractions are merely momentary till her mom diverts her attention to the beautiful things she's got in her toy box. Then the child goes on happily playing yet dreaming in secrecy for the things she always wanted. One day she gets what she wanted yet without having missed enjoying what she had in hand till then. Reflecting on troubled news we get to read of the economic turmoil and the distress people are going through losing jobs, homes or merely their luxuries, won't it be wonderful if we can all pause for a while to cherish the things we still have despite the ones we aspire for aren't reachable yet?
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Simple and powerful thought. Thank you Madhu!

Complaining about your job?

Thanks to Rohit for the email-forward

Are we professionals?

Thank you Kaushik, for sharing this wonderful article.
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This is an excerpt from Mr. Bagchi's book 'The Professional'.

I want to introduce the idea of who a professional is through a man whose life is dealing with dead bodies. Unclaimed dead bodies. This is not someone who is conventionally associated with the term ‘professional’. His name is Mahadeva. He came to Bangalore as a child when one day his mother simply walked out on her entire village and her own family in a huff. Mother and son lived on the streets; she worked to support him. Until the day she became very unwell. She brought herself and her son to the government-run Victoria Hospital. There she was admitted in a state of delirium and her little son, Mahadeva, made the streets outside the hospital his home.

He found many playmates among the urchins there and soon that world engulfed him. It was the first time he had had anyone to play with. For little Mahadeva, it was his first experience of kinship and he lost himself completely in this new world. It was pure happenstance that one day someone told him his mother had died. Where had he been when that happened? Died? What was that? The hospital had been unable to wait for him and had disposed of the body. Now Mahadeva had nowhere to go. No family.

A few people in the hospital ward where his mother had been admitted raised some money to help him go back to his village. He refused. Instead, he grew up running errands in the hospital. The hanger-on who had helped with his mother’s admission process and made a living by running errands for patients asked him to move in with him. He was an old man who had no one either.Mahadeva grew up under his tutelage; the hospital became his universe. And then, one day, the cops asked him to bury an unclaimed dead body and paid him Rs 200 for the job. This was when Mahadeva entered his profession and eventually became the go-to guy for burying the city’s unclaimed corpses.

Every time the police picked up a dead body that had no claimants, Mahadeva was summoned. He had to do a turnkey job: Pull the stiff body from the morgue, hire a horse-drawn carriage, put the body in it and take it to a burial ground, dig the ground to bury the dead—all by himself, and for only Rs 200. After doing the job, he would hang INTEGRITY 5 around in the hospital to be summoned to dispose of the next unclaimed body. Mahadeva did his work with such dedication, focus, care and concern that soon he was very much in demand. His work grew and he bought his own horse-drawn carriage, and between his horse and himself he was the undertaker to the abandoned.

One day, the horse died. People who had watched Mahadeva all these years came together and bought him an auto-rickshaw. The white auto-rickshaw, his hearse, carries the picture of the horse in memory of the animal who helped him take thousands of people to be laid to rest. It became the logo of his business and appears on his business card today.

Mahadeva has buried more than 42,000 corpses in his lifetime and his dedication has earned him phenomenal public recognition. Local petrol pumps do not charge him when his hearse is topped up and the chief minister of Karnataka felicitated him for his selfless service to the abandoned citizens of Bangalore. Mahadeva is proud of his work and business, and today his son has joined him. Mahadeva: the high performer, and a true professional.

What are the two qualities that Mahadeva has which differentiate a professional from someone who is simply professionally qualified? One is the ability to work unsupervised and, two, the ability to certify the completion of one’s work. Whenever Mahadeva got a call to reach the morgue, day or night, hail or high water, he arrived. Most of the time, it was a gruesome experience dealing with a dead body; there was no telling what had been the cause of death or state of decomposition.

In his business, Mahadeva does not choose his clients. He accepts them in whatever size, shape or state they come. He treats them with respect and care, with due dignity, covering them with a white sheet and placing a garland around their necks before burying them. The day he buried the man who had taken him home after his mother died, he had cried. He was special and Mahadeva had bought a garland as a mark of his respect. That day, it occurred to him that he should be garlanding all the bodies he buried, not just his benefactor’s. Everyone deserves respect and no one should feel ‘unwanted’ in death, even if life had treated them that way.The cops do not supervise Mahadeva. He is not an employee of the hospital; he is the outsourcing agency the hospital has engaged for the disposal of all unwanted cadavers. He does not have a boss who writes his appraisal, giving him constructive feedback for continuous improvement. In most work environments, people who produce anything of economic value usually need supervision. A person who needs supervision is no professional. He is an amateur, maybe even an apprentice. Whenever Mahadeva picks up a corpse, it goes straight to the burial ground—no place else. He completes the task with the immediacy it demands. And he certifies his own completion of the task: between the dead and the living, there is no one to question him.

Are we professionals? Answer is for us than for others.

Peace of Thoughts

[Thanks to Vivek Iyer for sharing this wonderful piece about peace]

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.” The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!” So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha. Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be….. and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water.

Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, “It is effortless.” Having ‘Peace of Mind’ is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process! Also remember that you could be in very peaceful surroundings, where everything is wonderfully beautiful, but if you’re inside is disturbed, then that beauty is of no use to you. It does not mean anything to you. For you to be peaceful, peace has to be generated from deep within you - from your being to the mind, and from the mind to the environment.

When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. It spreads around you and in the environment, such that people around start feeling that peace and grace ....!

Those Untold Thanks

Everyone would be thankful to everyone by a very simple change in attitude.

Here is an interesting incident to highlight this. I was travelling on a train from Hyderabad to Bangalore. I had a lower berth seat reserved for me. As it happened in all earlier occasions when i had a lower berth seat, this time too i need to exchange that with one of the co-passengers. A young guy had come with his old-age dad and he requested if i could swap my seat for his dad which i obliged.

After a while three ladies boarded the train two of them having young children [around a year old] and one elder lady. One of their seats was in a different coupe [section of 8 seats in a compartment coach] but in the same coach. Later one mid-aged man came in looking for his seat in our coupe. One of the ladies requested if he could take up the seat reserved for them which is few coupes away. He obliged and moved on. As the train started moving he came and informed this lady that the seat he moved to, happened to be a ladies quota coupe and all 8 seats are supposed to be for ladies. He neither demanded his original seat back but waited for an option. Ticket examiner came and he understood the situation and he said he can't violate the rule by making this man sit in a ladies quota coupe. TTE even offered to move this man to a different coach if he is willing for which he said YES. As this was happening another lady in the adjacent coupe stood up and said to TTE that she can go to ladies quota seat and swap her seat with this man. TTE appreciated both of them and moved on. As this guy moved to the adjacent coupe he realized its a side-lower seat and he was definitely over 6ft tall. It will be difficult to sleep in that seat for taller guys. He did not complain though and sat there. As he was sitting another mid-aged man offered his upper berth seat stating that he has no problem in travelling in side berth as he is not that tall. This help too came out voluntarily.

There was a big smile in everyone's face as this sequence of events unfolded. Imagine how chaotic it could have been even if one of these people had been not that flexible. The best part is everyone deserved a basket of thanks and felt thankful to someone at the sametime. Another interesting part is none of them know each other's names but still offered to help to the extent they could and made other person's journey more comfortable.
That is the power of flexible life. Imagine how this world, our life would be if this is adapted by everyone in all walks of life.

Its a wonderful world to be in!

Its an empty vessel

For a change a nice lil story. Came across this from a book i am all into now. You will get the worth of your few minutes as you complete reading this.

There was a young farmer who was covered with sweat as he paddled his boat up the river. He was going upstream to deliver his produce to the village and he was in a hurry. It was a hot day and he wanted to make his delivery and get home before dark. As he looked ahead, he spotted another vessel, heading rapidly downstream toward his boat. It is coming at a good pace too. This farmer rowed furiously to get out of the way, but it did not seem to help.

He yelled at the other vessel, “Change direction, you idiot! You are going to hit me. The river is wide. Change your course". His screaming was of no use. The other vessel hit his boat with a big loud thud. He was enraged as he stood up and cried out to the other vessel. “You stupid! How could you manage to hit my boat in the middle of this wide river? What is wrong with you? "

And as he looked at the other vessel he realized that there was no one in the other boat. He was screaming at an empty vessel that had broken free of its moorings and was going downstream with the current.

The lesson is very simple.

There is never anyone in the other boat.
When we are angry we are screaming at an empty vessel.

All of us have people who drive us crazy, whom we hate to the core with passion. We may have spent countless hours reliving the moments when this person was unfair, unappreciative or inconsiderate to us. Even remembering this person bumps up our blood pressure.

The best way for dealing with people like this is to not let them make us angry. Getting angry doesn’t help in improving the situation and life is too short to waste on feeling bad or staying with grudges.

Next time when there is a surge of anger just remember this.
There is never anyone in the other boat. It’s an empty vessel always.

Dhoni Mantra

So much has been written about emerging TEAM INDIA and the man behind the laurels - MS Dhoni. Many more would come mostly on the positive side. Here is a nice little perspective on team-work and team management which we can take back with us.

Clarity of thought is the Dhoni mantra. It reflected in the use of slow bowlers during the middle overs between the Powerplays. "If you can rotate your arm, you should be ready to bowl," Dhoni said. He has options everywhere - nine men can bowl in this team and its a no joke.

The same thought percolates in the batting as well. Dhoni promoted himself to No. 3 in the fourth game and pushed Raina at that spot in the last match. "If a person is batting at the No. 3 all the time, he doesn't know what a No. 5 to 7 player goes through," said Dhoni. "He has to know how tough it is come in and immediately start scoring. When he bats at that position himself, he will know how vital it is to carry on batting and finish the game once you are set." And vice versa. In a team, awareness of what the other individual goes through increases your own responsibility.

How well said that one is. A team will be stronger and stronger and even more stronger when everyone rally around each other; play their roles to their potential; Understand others capabilities and help to improve on it by the execution of individual's duties.

As interesting perspective as a move Dhoni would make on the field!

Take a Bow NRN Sir

How many business man would turn down opportunities of crushing his competitors and more importantly increase the market share by a significant % and take back more $s to his shareholders?
NRN Sir can do it.

Read this below interview by one of the most respected and professional Market Analyst, Udayan Mukerjhee . It has stunning revelations on Infosys is built on.
Value. Genuine Value.

Don't miss out to re-read those in green color.

Q: The first question which a lot of people ask after the episode is can we get Mr Murthy involved in some capacity to solve the mess. Newspaper articles were written about it. Did you consider, at any point, involving yourself since you are no longer involved in an executive capacity with Infosys?

A: I did tell the Prime Minister that I am a conflicted body even though I am the Non-Executive Chairman, I am in charge of making sure that the governance mechanism at Infosys is alright, making sure that its strategy is well in making sure that things are alright. We are the largest shareholders of Infosys so we are already conflicted. So I said I would not be the right person.

Q: But you did get a request to involve yourself in some way or the other?

A: There were lot of discussion and that’s what I told both the Prime Minister and Mr. PC Gupta.

Q: Seven days have passed now and you spoke on day one, what is your assessment on day seven, day eight of this situation and what kind of collateral damage, if any, it can have on the sector or the impression of Indian IT because now you would have got direct feedback from some of your large clients as well?

A: I don’t deal with our clients directly but Gopal Krishnan deals with them and I have had discussions with him. The feeling that we get is that the clients understand that these things have happened in the US, in Europe, they have happened now in India so they just want to get on with life, they just want to make sure they are de-risked. They just want to make sure that things are alright with them.

So, in some cases they will sit down with Satyam and make sure that there is higher level of governance mechanism, higher level of customer focus. In some cases, they may want to go to an alternate vendor, it all depends on individuals. However, I do think there is no panic; there is no feeling that the entire Indian industry is bad; there is no such thing.

Q: You said you would not involve yourself directly in the matters of Satyam now because the board is there in place but do you think you could do something to address the concerns which global clients or outsourcers have on the IT sector if any because on day one or day two you did a conference call with a large number of investors which was hosted by CLSA. Do you think you could do similar things with NASSCOM and you fronting it so that the image of Indian IT or vendors do not get dented even to the slightest extent?

A: Certainly whatever little value I can add to ensure that the Indian software industry continues its march towards higher and higher revenues, towards greater and greater glory – absolutely.

Q: It is a difficult environment right now as Kris was just detailing today. Do you think this puts more pressure on Indian outsourcing or do you think it will work the other way and some of the other clients might actually benefit because of Satyam’s failure?


A: We have all sat down and discussed and we said, we should nothing that will damage Satyam. After all there are 53,000 innocent employees. They are smart. They are competent. They have satisfied clients, so other companies should not take a vulture like attitude. So we said we will not proactively go to any client. However if a client decides to do that then we will go through our due diligence and we will ensure that we will do whatever is required by the client in the most ethical manner. But we will not approach any client proactively – that is for certain.

Q: It is competitive industry and if you don’t do it then the other top two vendors might actually solicit business and wean it away at a difficult time. Would that weigh on your mind?

A: No. Value system is all about you’re ability to pay a certain price. Pay a certain cost for your beliefs and convictions. If I see a Rs 500 note on the road and I pick it and put it in my pocket – on the other hand if you see a Rs 500 note and you go and give it to the policeman – you’re value system is better in my book. So I think there is inherently a cost you have to pay for your value system and we at Infosys will pay – definitely.


Q: Having watched this industry for so many years, I know you don’t talk to clients directly anymore, but you did for several years and decades before that – what do you think would be their reaction? Would their first impulse be let me run to the Infosys and TCS of the world because I know them from longer and I think their clean companies therefore my business is better served by them? Would that be the natural reaction of a CTO today whether you solicit that business or not?

A: Let us remember one thing that nobody expected in their wildest dreams that what has happened would happen. So in that sense they must all be very confused. The need of the day is to ensure that their comfort level is enhanced, to ensure that their projects have continuity, to ensure that the business continuity of Satyam is strong and to ensure that the Indian software industry does not suffer. All of us certainly will make an effort – certainly within Infosys, Nandan, Gopalakrishnan, Shibulal, me, Mohan etc – we will all take up this effort. We will make sure that the Indian software story remains intact and at the same time obviously we will enhance their comfort level with Infosys. We will provide them with whatever extra data they want – all of that we will do.

Q: Let me ask you about the Infosys board engagement with its independent directors, because the role of independent directors generally has come under scrutiny after this episode. What is your level of engagement? Do they really concern themselves very closely, ask tough questions of you or is it more of a social gathering at the board meeting?

A: We have been very lucky that we have an extraordinary set of people. People who are extremely tough, people for whom there are no heroes, people who are courteous but firm, people who will not mind asking any unpleasant questions.

Q: But are you saying that if you or Nandan or Kris put out a set of data, your independent directors – credible that they are – would they ever question it saying, show me the money or I don’t think what you are doing is right. Will they take it to that extent?

A: Of course. Forget about independent directors, my youngsters in Infosys will question me. When we sit down and finalise the next quarter guidance, when we sit down and look at the past quarter’s data, there are about 20 fellows in that meeting. It is completely transparent. Of course all of these people will have signed the non-disclosure stuff that they are debarred from trading in shares, all of that. So, these people are very tough.

In fact the beauty of Infosys is, in every project they know the net income margin. That is the beauty. I am a great believer in democracy. Infosys is an enlightened democracy. As Amartya Sen once pointed out, any democracy will not have any disaster, no famine. You know why? There is always an opposition, there is always discussion, debates, there is pluralism with the result that you a disaster.

So the lesson that we can all learn is create an informed and enlightened democracy in your company, make sure that there are discussions and debates, make sure that there is transparency on a need to know basis obviously, make sure that all of them have signed the required documentation in terms of not trading in shares, in terms of not disclosing, all of that. And once you create such an environment, I can assure you that you will be safe because somebody will stand up and say, where did this million dollar revenue come from, who is that customer?

Q: Do you think more disclosures are required to investors in the light of what happened last week in terms of what companies own in terms of cash, where they own it so that everybody knows. Nobody knew what bank Satyam was keeping its money in. Do you disclose such things that our accounts are now with X, Y, Z banks and you are free to go and check it out?

A: Yes, in fact in all our statements it is there, what balances we have in what banks. But that is at the end of the quarter. Then what happens is you produce the quarterly statements, probably it takes about seven-eight days. So, subject to that caveat of course it is there, absolutely.

Q: What is the biggest takeaway from this episode for you? If you were to list two things which companies may not be doing correctly today which they can do after this episode – what would those two things be?

A: First is very clearly a belief that honestly is the best policy and following the adage – when in doubt, disclose. Second I would say is that create an environment of openness, pluralism, discussion and debate. Involve as many youngsters as possible. Involve as many intelligent people as possible and then you’re safe, the company is safe and in the long run, you will be a winner. In the long run you will accumulate lot more wealth than any shortcut.

Q: There has been some talk though that the Sebi as a regulator might want to wet the audited books of the top companies in India. Do you think it is practical and do you support such a move?

A: I support any move that enhances the confidence of investors in these companies. After all what Sebi is saying is that whether it’s the Sensex or the Nifty 50, these are important companies. These contribute to the index. So the trust of investors in these companies is extremely important for the country. So I support that – definitely.

Q: You would not have any apprehensions in opening up all your books and sensitive information to a third party regulator?

A: No questions absolutely. After all why are they doing it? They are doing it because they want to make sure that the investor community in India is more comfortable and let’s remember we are a listed company. We have 300,000 plus investors. Our responsibility is to this community of investors. If they are not happy then there is no point in running this company.

Q: Would you describe the current environment that you are seeing today as your famous fog on the windscreen statement or not such a lot of fog from what you hear from Kris and the executive board members?


A: No, I would say there is a lot more fog today than what I saw in 2001.

Q: Even frost on the screen?

A: I think so. You are right. You put it even better, absolutely.

Q: What is different between then and now?

A: At that time it affected only the tech industry. It was really the tech bubble bursting. Today that has spread to mainstream, all sectors of the economy, spread to most countries in the world. So, this is a much bigger problem than what we saw in 2001-2002. So, this is really frost on the windscreen.

Q: How long could it take to mend in your eyes from the feedback that you get? Do you think it is a long-term problem from what you understand?

A: Given that we are going to have a new President in the US, given that he is committed to making sure that the economy improves, given that President Bush has also said that in whatever remaining number of days that he will fully cooperate with the incoming President, I do think that we will see some solution to this in the next probably eight to nine months.

Q: Do you think Indian IT will survive this rough phase globally?

A: It will definitely survive. There is no doubt at all. I do think that it will flourish and prosper.

courtesy: CNBC-TV18/moneycontrol.com

The Art of Winning

Congratulations to Australian Cricket team for winning their fourth consecutive CWC. There are many records that tumbled as Aussies marched their way to lift the cup.But one record can never ever be taken away from them.This record can never be broken.
That record is - winning two consecutive WC in record time of less than 30 mins, thanks to ICC.This will go down as one of the mega events that can be staged with as much holes/pitfalls as possible from day one of banning musical instruments in Carribean (yes you read that right) to getting the event to continue after losing one of the best coach the game had in the middle of tournament and mega-finally goofing up on the very basic guideline of how to handle a match if it gets truncated.

If there is going to be a book on the topic-"The Art of Winning", a study of Australian Cricket team for the past decade will be worth the time.
Winning is sedative. It keeps us yearn for more and more.
Winning so consistently like this team is so astonishing that at times we get bored too to keep seeing the same winner. :)

As a cricket fan, the next thing i would love to see is this Australian team being tested, over-powered and dethroned from #1 spot for a while.
This will be good for cricket too :)

Nothing to be taken away from Australia. The way they beat their last three opponents were literally stunning. When the stakes are high, this is the team to bet on.

But to make this game more interesting and less one-sided the other teams need to keep winning Aussies session after session, over after over. Lets see if that happens and which team does that more consistently.

My picks from this event:

Best Player: Ricky Punter Ponting.

Best Captain: Stephen Cool Fleming.

Best Bowler: Glenn Pigeon McGrath

Best Batsman: Michael Pup Clarke/Mahela Jayawardena

Best Fielder: Jayawardena/Collingwood (see their catches and reaction time they had)

Best Team: Ireland

i did not touch on the opposite part as the list will be bigger.

As the curtains are being drawn on this CWC, lets salute two big legends the game has produced. Brian 'Prince' Lara and Glenn 'Pigeon' McGrath. You made the passion for this game to grow more.There were other retirements, resignations,step-downs and push outs as an eventuality of this event.But these two deserves a bigger round of applause and salute than rest.

Something strange for you to know (courtesy ET): none of the Australian cricketers are brand ambassadors or endorsers. They are in fact not cared for too much with respect to endorsements in their own country. Its other sport personalities like Ian Thorpe and Scud Philliphosis who appears in commercials.
I know this would trigger some interesting questions/debates as I sign off on this topic.

Oooopppsss... i am sorry. This article is not complete without the below picture.
Nothing much for me to say as most of us saw this 'man for the occassion' to stand and deliver,demolish and demoralize the opponent within an hour of the game getting started. (pics courtesy: cricinfo)

Time for New Look???

First a big round of applause for the Bengal Tigers for beating yet another #1 ranked team.SA will be wondering what went wrong. But Bashar used his available resources extremely well.Its know fact that except Gibbs most of the proteas are very vulnerable to slow/spin bowling.If they dont have great start by attacking pacers, they are in trouble, and thats what happened on Saturday.

Next time, if a team aspires to be #1 and if they have Bangladesh tour, let them be prepared for it :).Excellent attitude from each of the 11 players of Bangladesh team. That won their game.Special mention and accolades for Ashraful. He is the man for occasion. Aussies still remember him.So are going to be proteas.
Let others stop calling them minnows anymore. Atleast for Bangladesh sake, i dont want Dav Whatmore to be the coach for our team. :)

A big sigh of relief as BCCI ensured the best-coach in the cricket-world now, does not part once for all.He has been given the role he will enjoy most. Coaching the future talents of our team at NCA.Good job there by BCCI.

Greg <-> Shastri, Robin, Venkatesh Prasad ?
Not exactly. But collectively their areas can be more focussed and it will be only augmenting our team's growth further. Lets wait for the board to come out with its long-term plans post Bangla tour next month.

Another excellent move is retaining Dravid as captain and that too announcing right upfront.He is one of the three consistent player and captain for the past 18 months in cricket world.Indications are pointing to INDIA boarding plane to Dhakka with a young team under Rahul's captaincy.All eyes now on Apr 11th 2007.

Hey man, look at this figures. Dhoni-13, Sachin-12, Dravid-11, Yuvraj-8, Sourav-8.No, its not their average scores in WC.Its their no. of  commercial commitments. I am sure i am not accurate here with the numbers as this could only be the minimum no.s.Thanks for the policy on endorsements too. Though the players have their own right to earn professionally, it irritates fans like me when we see commercials featuring them after recent performance in WC. I am sure Rahul and Ravi can maturedly work this out with the board with neccessary changes. But let the focus be on moving the team forward.

And finally with 35000+ runs between three of our batsmen and 5 of them having a strike rate of 85+ if you are still puzzled what could have possible gone wrong for our dismal performance in our one-week party at Carribean, read this article. (Thanks to Jay). It pulls out some interesting, very stunning stats and evidence about our key players' form. Enjoy the reading. You will for sure be surprised.

With Bangladesh winning against SA, its opened up chances for England / WI to make it to top 4 more brighter. Lets see if they make use of it. There is one team which is watching all these equations and number games with a big smile as they have nothing to worry. They are not much bothered even about Aussies. In fact its Aussies who are surely worried about this team. I am sure you would have guessed that team by now which could make it for the title clash with Aussies in which case i will be ruthlessly and selfishly supporting THIS TEAM. Lets see what next two weeks has in store in this unpredictable game.

As blank as it could be

My thoughts are as blank as above. What else to say with hopes of billions having sunk in deep doldrums. Of course, this is what happens when we play for 'not to lose' than 'for win'.
Players themselves will feel bad for whatever happened.

Its really comical now to look back at TV Shows who were analyzing Ind Vs Pak match in this WC. Thats cricket ! Its pulsating, amazing, pressurizing and more importantly unpredictable.

Ok my picks for final four - Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, WestIndies / Sri Lanka.
Lot depends on how SA handles spinners and i am sure their opponents will exploit on this weakness. But for the likes of Collingwood and KP England will be brushed away by these sides comfortably.

Again it could be funny to realize half of my Semi-Finalists picks gets knocked out by 'Surprise' elements.

Though my heart says its going to be first-ever hat-trick of WC titles for THAT side in the game's history, i want to be proved wrong. Let me enjoy this next phase of WC.

My player picks who could make the difference:
Pollock, Gibbs, Smith, Kemp - SA
Silva, S'kara, J'suriya, M'tharan - SL
Ponting, Clarke, Tait, Symonds - Aus
McMillan, McCullum, Vincent, Fleming - NZ
KP, Collingwood, Flintoff, Monty - Eng
Bravo, Smith, Samuels, Lara - WI

May the best and worthy team WIN it.

Our Women who made us all PROUD

Women's Day is not a day to recognize Women around us.
Yes. Its not the only day.
In fact its a day to remind ourselves that we need to respect, celebrate and recognize womanhood all the time.

Hillary Clinton launched recently her campaign to be the first Women President of US.
Indira Nooyi, is going to be the first Chairwoman of PEPSICO in another few weeks.
Here is an interesting compilation of FIRSTs by Women in INDIA.

List of pioneers among Indian women in various fields: (courtesy TOI today)
GRADUATES: Kadambini Ganguly, Chandramukhi Basu (1883)
LAWYER: Cornelia Sorabjee (1924)
PHYSICIAN: Kadambini Ganguly (1886)
OSCAR WINNER: Bhanu Athaiya (1982)
TO SWIM ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL: Miss Arati Saha (1959)
PRESIDENT OF INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: Annie Besant (1917)
UNION CABINET MINISTER: Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (1947)
CHIEF MINISTER: Sucheta Kripalani (1963)
GOVERNOR: Sarojini Naidu (1947)
SPEAKER OF STATE ASSEMBLY: Shanno Devi (1966)
ASIAD GOLD MEDALIST: Kamaljit Sandhu (1970)
OLYMPIC MEDALIST: Karnam Malleswari (2000)
IPS OFFICER: Kiran Bedi (Haryana) (1972)
WOMEN'S COLLEGE: Bethune College, Kolkata (1879)
TO CLIMB MT. EVEREST: Bachendri Pal (1984)
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: Punita Arora (2004)
AIR MARSHAL: Padmavathy Bandopadhyay (2004)
ARMY MEDAL WINNER: Bimla Devi (1990)
COMMERCIAL PILOT: Prem Mathur (1951)
AIRLINE PILOT: Durga Banerjee (1966)
JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT: M Fatima Beevi (1989)
CIVIL PILOT: Beant Kaur
PRESIDENT OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Vijayalakshmi Pandit (1953)
CHIEF JUSTICE OF A HIGH COURT: Leila Seth (1991)

Actually the list goes ON... There are many more who are not recognized/noticed yet.
Lets take a moment to applaude them and many more who will be joining this list soon.

Those Little Moments in Life

A forward email i received, which is worth your reading time.

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Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. It was a cowboy's life, a life for someone who wanted no boss. What I didn't realize was that it was also a ministry.

Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and weep.

But none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night.

I was responding to a call from a small brick fourplex in a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an early shift at some factory for the industrial part of town.

When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.

"Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said.

I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

"It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice."

I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.
"Nothing," I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered.
"There are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient at the end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware--beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, ...
but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Carribean Fever ... Starts Now !

Time is a great leveller. Need evidence?
Look at Aussies now and how they were just few weeks back.
Matter of few weeks, Australian side considered to be #1 (even now i feel it is so) by leaps and bounds. They were leading the ICC rankings by a huge margin. After their recent maulings by England and NZ, they have been pushed to #2 with SA taking honors by 3 points.
(More details here)

End of the day these could be mere numbers.
But that does not hide the fact that how well the stage has been set for WC 2007 to kick off. Aussies were considered to be unbeatable as they kept bagging series wins and trophy wins again and again. In fact they demoralized England throughout their tour down under both on and off the field. Strangely its this England team that triggered off the most interesting story of Cricket world in recent times to unfold. They had beaten Aussies thrice in a row, in their home turf and bagged the Tri-Series trophy. NZ almost did what Aussies did to England in Australia from Nov-06 to Jan-07. NZ gave away 13 wickets in 3 matches and did a first-time white-wash of Aussies in a bilateral series invovling NZ. What more. They now have the second best (successful) chase in ODI history.

The stage is well set for an ideal Cricket extravaganza because
>> Australia has been wounded deeply & licking their wounds with a vengence now.
>> They have something to prove to this world beyond their consistent master class.
>> They are in the same group as SA which took(kicked) them to #2 for the first time.
>> Australia has now conceded top four successful run chases in ODI history.
>> Four teams have been beaten Australia convincingly in the recent past. (NZ,SA,Eng and WI).
>> 12 points separates teams between #3 to #8 now.

Its not other teams Vs Aussies. Its not at all.
Cricket followers will be a fool to write them off as yet.
But still with the recent happenings there is a new excitement that has been built-up.
It can only get better from here.

Its a World Cup and its anybody's Cup.
Cricket lovers could not have asked anything more than this before the start of this mega event.
More to come in this space ...as we inch closer to Carribean Curtain Raiser.

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth Gets It !

Dec 18th 2006. Its truly a historic day for INDIAN cricket.
Sreesanth had been in limelight for his dance on the field, for his spell of 8/99, the aggression etc.
Chappell,Dravid,Smith,Sourav,Gavaskar,Shastri,Harsha Bhogle and Donald all admitted he is a livewire in the field. Emails had been floating around with clipings showing his dance after he hit Andre Nel for a six.
These are all the known facts in the last few days.
But something went unnoticed in the thick of actions.


Not for Ravi Shastri though. He watched Sreesanth a day before the match started and in the morning of the match day in elevator... both the occasions Sreesanth was holding the cricket ball in his hand tightly. Later he revealed that it was Greg Chappell who had asked him to get used to this kind of cricket balls - 'kookaburra'.
This guy went one step further started holding it all the time he is awake.
He told ESPNStar later that he wanted to get used to the feel and grip of the ball and so he did like that and carried the cricket ball all the time.
Rest is all history now. It had done wonders.

Whats in it for us? Simple.
It shows how we need to cling on to our dreams. Its not just having dreams alone that is enough. We need to keep thinking about it all the time, all the place.
The more closer we have it to our hearts, the more closer we get to reach success.
The more tightly and strongly we stand by it, the more easily we come out as winner.
Lets keep dreaming and hold on to it till we make it come true.
Come what may !

BIG CONGRATS TO TEAM INDIA ON THIS STUPENDOUS FEAT !!!

More details here.
Some more details here - courtesy cricinfo.

Indian Cricket Team ... Road Ahead

Yet another 'Team Selection' and few more surprises.
Atleast this time thanks to media we know whats going to be final list of cricketers for SA Test Series.

More details here.

Finally we have realized that its only with a good mix of experience and youth we can be winning consistently. (Australia has been doing this for last 2-3 decades)
Without Ganguly the middle order lacked the much needed experience and was more tentative for crumbling time and again.
Simple reason. When Ganguly was around The Wall - Dravid was batting in the middle order most of the time or atleast comes one down and hangs around till the end.
We did win matches without Dada. but most of them in sub-continent.
WI Series should have been ours as many tend to forget the closeness of 4/5 matches we played there.
In the absence of Dada, Yuvraj was taking up the responsibility and he was in ominous form during those stretchful victories of our team.

Having said all this, its good to see finally the Selectors 'realized' the need for experience and reverted back to Ganguly and Laxman.

Is it too late for his recall?
May be, considering we have only two series before the World Cup.
But Dada is known for bouncing back and i wish like his every other fans, he grabs this opportunity.
Its a known fact that Greg and Ganguly not in good terms.
But exclusion of someone from the team should not be done at the cost team's progress.

The yard stick used for Ganguly actually applies to many including Sachin.
But only Ganguly felt the heat and got the axe. Of course there are reasons behind that act which in long-term perspective was looking good. But it was too much of experimentation we were doing.

Not many realize that out of the nearly 10000 ODI runs Dada scored 4-5 of these thousands had been scored at a quicker pace than Sachin.

Without diverting the topic from being Dada Vs Sachin or Dada Vs Greg lets welcome this move of inducting both VVS and Ganguly into the team.

The best move is announcing VVS as deputy to Rahul.
Oh Boy ! he deserves this recognition long time back. So does Kumble.
I simply wonder where does Laxman gets his motivation for making those big hundreds after being ill-treated time and again and dropped on some non-sense facts.
Its very clear message to Sehwag not to take things for granted.
So it is for Dhoni with Dinesh Kaarthick around.

Very good moves and like millions of fans in this country i hope the fortune starts tilting towards us.

Final points on few need-of-the-hour issues.
- improving the pitches we play our domestic cricket. Let it be bouncy, turning, with green grass etc.
- making cricketers' pay to be linked to their performance. (Increase their current pay if they perform well).
- Making Selectors as paid ones and make them also accountable for team's success.
- Please please please let the media allow coach and captain to do what they intend to do. Dont keep poking on wherever they go or whatever they do. They know what to do. Thats why they are there.
- And support from all of us to the team when they are actually going thru bad phase like this.

Saluting a Legend !

Not many would have watched world’s one of the greatest sportsman was bidding adieu to his favourite sporting spot.
Not many would have even been aware of that such a thing had happened.
Not many would have had time to appreciate what he had done to the sport he admiringly took up as a little kid.

Many were so much mesmerized with the biggest sporting extravaganza of the plannet – Foot ball WorldCup 2006.

I am referring to Andre Agassi bidding farewell to Wimbledon last week end.
Indeed it was an emotional moment for him for the love and admiration he always had for this tournament year after year.

He still has one more Grand Slam to ‘have-a-go’ before he actually bows from Tennis.
US Open 2006 will be his last major tournament after which Agassi retires.

So what has he done to Tennis ?


He had entertained the crowd GrandSlam after GrandSlam year after year.
He thoroughly had his stamp written on kinds of courts.

Yester year Champion Sampras found tough to handle Red Court (French Open) tennis
And even the current Champion Federer finding an answer for it.
But Agassi just had a smooth ride there too.

How can people forget the 5-set finals of Agassi with Sampras at Wimbledon?
I still remember. It was late evening of UK and well past 7.30 when even the SUN GOD waited for this epic battle to end.
More than who won it, people remember it for the intensity it was fought with.
It still remains the best match of this modern era in any court of Tennis.

He is one of those players who time and again loses first two sets and pulls next three sets to win the match.
And it does not stop here. He next game will be a big SEMI or FINAL itself and it will be a 5-setter too cooly dealt by Agassi.

But for his fitness he would have added more Grand Slams to his name.

It was only fitting finale at Wimbledon that he ended his relationship with Grass Court with another upcoming sensation Nadal.
Strangely when Agassi starting making rounds in the headlines Nadal was as old as three years.

That’s the sporting world for us ! When one champion bows out another one emerges !
But is Nadal a great champion than Federer is a debatable question as majority would prefer to vote for Federer !

Agassi has 60+ titles in singles to his name. This includes seven Grand Slams.
That speaks volumes of his abilities.He is also one of the modern era player to have won all the four Grand Slams.

Surely he leaves a spot for someone to take forward in the world of tennis.
Hope someone grabs it soon.