"A ship is safe in the harbour, but that is not ships are built for"

This is a thought that I first read in 2000….simple yet powerful thought on going out of your comfort zone and exploring new areas of your mind, your work, your interests….YOU would be amazed by the results that you achieve…

So Friends, Here comes a Special Edition 28 of Good to Great… Read in Leisure and please continue to share your articles, jokes, puzzles, feedback to balajineela@gmail.com

Contents

1. Its all about YOU.. B/f Murthy
2. Thought for this week…B/f Bala
3. Puzzles..Test Your IQ..B/f Juliette
4. Health..Heart…B/f Vijay
5. Management quick tips...Taking risks...B/f Ram
6. Jokes corner....B/f Angelenaa
7. Management thoughts…Think out of the Box…B/f Yogeetha, Assif, Srivats
8. Cartoonz..
9. Tip for this week....Internet ticket booking..B/f Arvind
10. Closing thoughts

1. Its all about YOU Be Positive Always

It is very important to remain positive always……here is a small inspiration!!

If you thought our transport system was BAD….how about these people

Stay positive always and solutions would seem to appear out of now where!!!

2. Thought for this week

The error of youth is to believe expertise is a substitute for experience.
The error of age is to believe experience is a substitute for expertise"

3. Puzzles..Smart or Stoopid

Are you Smarter or Stoopider than the average Person…take this iQ test and find out how you compare

Amazing test….
http://www.flashbynight.com/test/

Answers to last weeks intriguing Puzzle
Fernando sendt the messages in code to a school master in Holland(refer the story).The school master was a British spy. During World War people do not belive anyone inlcuding thier close friends.

4. Health ..Your Heart…

A chat with Dr.Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya (Heart Specialist) – Excepts Part 1

Q: What are the thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart?

Ans:
1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil
2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime
3. Quit smoking
4. Control weight
5. Control blood pressure and sugar

Q: Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart?
Ans: No

Q: It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective?
Ans: This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups.

Q: Are heart diseases hereditary?
Ans: Yes

Q: What are the ways in which the heart is stressed? What practices do you suggest to de-stress?
Ans: Change your attitude towards life. Do not look for perfection in everything in life.

Qn: Is walking better than jogging or is more intensive exercise required to keep a healthy heart?
Ans: Walking is better than jogging since jogging leads to early fatigue and injury to joints

5. Management quick tips..

Success involves taking risks. Risk taking doesn’t mean gambling foolishly and behaving irresponsibly. A person who never does anything never makes mistakes. However, he doesn’t realize that doing nothing is his biggest mistake. Risk-takes go with their eyes open. Gamblers shoot in the dark. Take risk but don’t gamble.

Once a farmer was asked ‘did you plant wheat for this season?”
The farmer replied ‘No, I was afraid that it wouldn’t rain.’

The man asked ‘then did you plant corn for this season?”
The farmer replied ‘No, I was afraid of insects eating the corn.’

The man asked ‘Then what did you plant?’
The farmer replied ‘I played it safe.’ – Shiva Khera

6. Jokes corner.."Mr. Moony"

Ok….Here are a New class of jokes that I am initiating….Now that our Satellite has reached the moon - we would have a Jokes on the Imaginary Man from the Moon - Called "Moony" (or should we re-title this as "Sardar Sparred")

Jokes from Angelenaa…
A teacher told all students in a class to write an essay on a cricket match. All were busy writing except Our Moony. He wrote 'DUE TO RAIN, NO MATCH!'

Postman: - I Have To Come 5 Miles to Deliver U This Packet Moony: - why did U come so far. Instead U could Have posted it....

7. Management thoughts …Think out of the Box…

Employee "A" in a company walked up to his manager and asked what my job is for the day?
The manager took "A" to the bank of a river and asked him to cross the river and reach the other side of the bank.
"A" completed this task successfully and reported back to the manager about the completion of the task assigned. The manager smiled and said "GOOD JOB"
Next day Employee "B" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task as above to this person also.
· The Employee "B' before starting the task saw Employee "C" struggling in the river to reach the other side of the bank. He realized "C" has the same task.
· Now "B" not only crossed the river but also helped "C" to cross the river.
· "B" reported back to the manager and the manager smiled and said "VERY GOOD JOB"

The following day Employee "Q" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again. Employee "Q" before starting the work did some home work and realized "A", "B" & "C" all has done this task before. He met them and understood how they performed. He realized that there is a need for a guide and training for doing this task.
He sat first and wrote down the procedure for crossing the river, he documented the common mistakes people made, and tricks to do the task efficiently and effortlessly.
Using the methodology he had written down he crossed the river and reported back to the manager along with documented procedure and training material.
The manger said "Q" you have done an "EXCELLENT JOB".

The following day Employee "O' reported to the manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again."O" studied the procedure written down by "Q" and sat and thought about the whole task.He realized company is spending lot of money in getting this task completed. He decided not to cross the river, but sat and designed and implemented a bridge across the river and went back to his manager and said, "You no longer need to assign this task to any one".The manager smiled and said "Outstanding job 'O'. I am very proud of you."

What is the difference between A, B, Q & O????????Many a times in life we get tasks to be done at home, at office, at play….,Most of us end up doing what is expected out of us. Do we feel happy? Most probably yes. We would be often disappointed when the recognition is not meeting our expectation..Let us compare ourselves with "B".

Helping some one else the problem often improves our own skills. There is an old proverb (I do not know the author) "learn to teach and teach to learn". From a company point of view "B" has demonstrated much better skills than "A" since one more task for the company is completed."Q" created knowledge base for the team. More often than not, we do the task assigned to us without checking history. Learning from other's mistake is the best way to improve efficiency. This knowledge creation for the team is of immense help. Re-usability reduces cost there by increases productivity of the team. "Q" demonstrated good "team-player" skills,Now to the outstanding person, "O" made the task irrelevant; he created a Permanent Asset to the team.
If you notice B, Q and O all have demonstrated "team performance" over an above individual performance; also they have demonstrated a very invaluable characteristic known as "INITIATIVE".Initiative pays of every where whether at work or at personal life. If you put initiative you will succeed. Initiative is a continual process and it never ends. This is because this year's achievement is next year's task. You cannot use the same success story every year.

The story provides an instance of performance, where as measurement needs to be spread across at least 6-12 months. Consequently performance should be consistent and evenly spread.
Out-of-Box thinkers are always premium and that is what every one constantly looks out for. Initiative, Out-of-Box thinking and commitment are the stepping stone to success.Initiative should be life long. Think of out of the box !!!

8. Cartoons.. Don't be too romantic

Don't be too romantic

else it might end, like this only :)

9. Tip for this week…. Train tickets

Here is a small, but very useful tip while booking train tickets through internet

See the pattern …Enjoy the simple maths behind it
LB, MB, UB – Just add 3, then 5 and repeat….
SL, SU….Just keep adding 8….

LB – Lower Berth ; Seat Nos – 1, 4, 9, 12, 17, 20, 25, 28, 33, 36,41,44, 49,52,57, 60, 65, 68

MB – Middle berth ; Seat Nos – 2, 5, 10,13, 18,21,26, 29,34,37,42, 45,50,53,58,61,66,69

UB – Upper Berth ; Seat Nos – 3,6,11,14,19,22,27,30,35, 38,43, 46, 51,54,59,62,67,70

SL – Side Lower ; Seat Nos – 7,15,23,31,39,47,55,63,71

SU – Side upper ; Seat Nos – 8,16,24,32,40, 48, 56, 64,72

10. Closing thoughts…

Financial Scenario – A financial analyst attached to a leading American news channel, reported that on an average the depression lasts for about 16 months – based on the 2 previous depressions which hit us (post the Great depression of the 1930's)

Given that Obama is developing plans to generate approx 2.5 million jobs in the USA, let us hope that the economy steadies faster and with the help of other actions by various governments, we can hope that the recession might not hit us for that long…

At this time, the magic words in every Corporate is "CASH" – Save your cash, scrutinize all expenditures, no more commitments, etc.,

So how different are we ? not too far off – so Each of us need to Focus on our Savings, Our Cash and ensure that we are adequately liquid….no NEW Investments in Land, real estate or major projects, business, house articles
(like expensive TV's, etc.,)

Even if you are not majorly impacted (NOW), by doing these small measures, you would be in a stronger position to face the world once the Depression recedes and the Boom starts…right!!!