Keep Your Dreams

KEEP YOUR DREAMS

Thanks to my friend Ram who yet again shared one more wonderful article.

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Isidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.’

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’

“The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ “Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.

He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.”

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.”

Moral: Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what. No Dream is too big or too small when one works hard to live it. One should always try making dreams come true no matter what.

Its simply magic

Its simple magic

My friend Madhu Madhan and I keep exchanging thoughts now n then that provides some interesting insights to life. Here is one very powerful but yet simple reasoning Madhu has provided a while ago. It happened when Madhu and family were at a Magic show during a weekend.

As narrated by Madhu…

We were at the PC Sorcar Master magic show this weekend. The kids in the group were sitting at the edge of the seat mouths wide open their eyes rarely blinking. My 3 year old started crying thinking they really pushed a sword through a screaming man. On the drive back the grown-ups were exhausted answering questions about 'how was it done' and 'was it real'. I slowly nudged my 7 year old into taking the perspective of magic into the real world and fired back observations at him such as 'Aren't trees growing out of the ground magic?', 'see how magically the flowers bloom and then die', 'imagine how children are born', 'there is so much magic happening around you'. All that got a muted response, but I knew the seed has been sown. I'm a firm believer that familiarity and knowledge rids us of the awe with which we look at the world around us as though it's magic. If we can shed that ego of knowledge or the burden of knowing we can simply enjoy the greatest magic of all that we all live amidst in this world. Let's make a cautious choice to observe atleast one spontaneous magic around us everyday/every week. Then life can be beautiful and enchanting just the way it should be.

Super powerful thought it is...

Inspiring Discovery

As read in one of Harvey’s article

The African impala can jump to a height of over 10 feet and cover a distance of greater than 30 feet. It's a remarkable feat to observe -- so effortless and graceful, a real defense mechanism necessary on the predator-filled savannas. But put these magnificent creatures in an enclosure in a zoo surrounded by just a three-foot wall, and the animals will not jump if they cannot see where their feet will land. They will be killed rather than risk the unknown.

Many humans share these characteristics. They thrive in familiar territory, doing what they know is safe and comfortable, but they won't take any risks for fear of failure. They would rather watch opportunities pass them by than jump over the wall.

And then there is the barnacle which makes one single and lasting decision about where it's going to live. After it decides, the homely little creature spends the rest of its life with its forehead cemented to a rock or attached to a ship. It survives by capturing food with its feathery legs and fending off predators. Not a glamorous existence, to be sure.

Again, parallels can be drawn to human behavior. Some people will attach themselves to a job or company with no intention of doing much other than eating or being eaten.

Have you ever wondered how a little stake in the ground attached to a chain can restrain a four-ton elephant? These powerful creatures must be trained to stay with their keepers. For the first few days they are in captivity, the elephants are tied to bamboo trees with heavy rope. After trying unsuccessfully to free themselves, the animals give up, and can be restrained thereafter by a rope anchored to a small stake.

Certainly the stake is no match for the elephant's power, but these largest of land mammals have learned to be helpless. Chances are you've worked with a few elephants, who won't leave their comfort zone even though they have plenty of strengths to protect them. Their spirits are broken and they step back at the least resistance.

Of course, we can also learn plenty of positive lessons from animal behavior.

In the 1930s, a leading zoologist concluded it should be impossible for a bumblebee to fly. That is because its size, weight and the shape of its body are all wrong in relation to its total wingspread. Fortunately, no bumblebees have ever studied aerodynamics so they just naively keep on doing what they should logically be incapable of doing.

We work with people like that too. They buzz around, doing the seemingly impossible without giving it a second thought. No explanation for what they are able to accomplish: they just do what needs to be done, and along the way, they pollinate ideas and make them grow.

Watch a duck navigate across a lake. It looks so smooth and steady, floating along, like a postcard from the north woods. Look under the surface, and observe how hard the webbed feet are working. Then look at the wake the duck leaves behind. A ten-pound duck, less than a foot wide, opens up an angle of at least 40 degrees, with ripples extending more than 50 feet. The duck has left its mark--more than 600 times its size!

We have that extra sixth sense and its really upto us to make use of it for a great living!

Telling-Lies-No-Papa

Telling lies no papa…

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story as an example of "non-violence in parenting":

"I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa , in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies. One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father ask me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced.

When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, ' I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together. ' After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered.

By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00. He anxiously asked me, ' Why were you late? ' I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, ' The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait, not realizing that he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie, he said: ' There' s something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn' t give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it.

So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again. I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday.

“That is the power of non-violence."

[Thanks to Rohit for sharing this article]

All About Excellence

Sculptor and Excellence

A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?" The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it." The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency.

Sand To Pearl

First of all its great to read a poem after a long-time [not that i never came across one for long time]

This poem is as found in of one of Harvey's article

"Plain Old Oyster" attributed to David Cohen

There once was an oyster, whose story I'll tell
Who found that some sand, had gotten into his shell
It was only a grain, but gave him great pain
For oysters have feelings, although they are plain.

Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate
That had brought him to such a deplorable state?
"No," he said to himself, "Since I cannot remove it,"
I'll lie in my shell, and think how to improve it."

The years rolled around, as the years always do,
And he came to his ultimate destiny ... stew.
Now the small grain of sand that had bothered him so,
Was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.

This tale has a morale, for isn't it grand,
What an oyster can do with a morsel of sand?
Think ... what could we do, if we'd only begin,
With some of the things that get under our skin.

This is what a determined spirit can achieve...

This is also Integrity

[Thanks to Nandini for sharing this wonderful article of Mr. Bagchi]

While discussing instances of professional conduct while researching for the book, here is a great lesson from the life of Amit Varma, a man I deeply admire. Amit got his MBA from Kellogg School of Management and has been with MindTree ever since we started. Today, he heads MindTree’s worldwide consulting practice in IT strategy out of California, USA. Here is a story about integrity and values from his school days that has shaped Amit’s business outlook and I am sure will touch you deeply:

“This is an incidence that goes some time back when I was 14 yrs old and was representing my state (West Bengal) in cricket. We were playing the final game of the qualifiers and the semi finalists would have been decided based on the outcome of this game. We were playing Karnataka and both of us needed to win to qualify - we still had an outside chance of qualifying based on the outcome of another game but Karnataka had to beat us to qualify. It so happened that the weather intervened after the first half of the game and per the rules the points were to get split between the teams. This would have given us the advantage and would have helped us qualify based on the total points and would have knocked the Karnataka team out. We were all rejoicing in our dressing and the high fives had started when our coach walked in and said that he had agreed to play the game again the following day. Needless to say, there was shock, dismay and disbelief on our face when we heard this - why would someone want to do this especially when this outcome had helped us qualify?

Our coach told us that if we really wanted to win the championship, we should do it by winning and not by relying on statistical methods - in his words “you win by playing; if you had to sit and do statistics, you are all better off sitting in school and attending the right classes”.

We lost the game the next day and didn’t make the semi finals! None of us could ever believe that our coach had done this to us.

It so happened that Karnataka went on to win the championship and when the team went to collect their awards, their coach called our entire team on the podium and ensured that we all received the awards with his team. He specifically called out our coach and said that if he had not been professional and agreed to play again, some other team would have been receiving this award and he actually went on to dedicate the award to our coach and us.

We felt extremely humbled - the seeds of professionalism were probably sowed in most of us right then and there but the true understanding of what happened sunk in much later in life. Even today I ask myself - would I have done the same had I been in our coach’s shoes especially with the benefit of knowing that we actually lost the replayed game? As much as I’d like to think I’d have done that, I’m really not sure.”

How often we get to hold our integrity wherein breaking it is fine too just as in above example? Those are the times that are true tests to our integrity.

Pair Of Old Shoes

A young man, a student in one of the universities, was on a walk with his professor one day , a man whom the students considered a friend for his kindness to those who waited on his instructions. As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which were belonged to a poor man who was working in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work.

The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play a trick on the man. We will hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them ..." .My young friend," answered the professor, "We should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of this poor man.

Put a coin in each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how this affects him.." The student did so and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes.

While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were to be seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it around and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin.

His feelings overcame him . . . He fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanks in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom this timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing .The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears."Now," said the professor, are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?"The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. .. I feel now the truth of these words, which I never understood before- "It's more blessed to give than to receive."

If you want happiness for a lifetime - Help someone

[Thanks to Ram for sharing this nice article]

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.