Hello Friends, So here comes Edition 10 of Good to Great. Thanks all for your continued support. This week's special thanks and Credits are to Murali, Chandra, Jayashree, Malathy,Mohit, Srini, Srinath, Priya. Fresh topics for this week: Puzzles, funny SMS, and more lateral thinking.

Please read in Leisure and skip over to topics that are more relevant to you. Click on the pictures to see an enlarged image.

As always, to share interesting articles, puzzles, thoughts, views, and feedback...jus mail them to balajineela@gmail.com (Or leave feedback in the Blog itself)

Contents:

1. It's all about YOU….IF YOU can..Mohit
2. Health….Healthy Heart…b/f Murthy
3. Jokes Corner….B/f Srini
4. Thought for the Week….B/f Angelenaa
5. Lateral Thinking...
6. Management Thirukkurals..Quality..B/f Priya, Angelelnaa
7. Puzzles…Maths, Maths..B/f Murali
8. Mind your Language..The right way…b/f Jasmine
9. Management Fundas…. Stress Management..B/f Sumathi
10. Tip for this week….
11. Cartoon…. …b/f Angelenaa
12. Parenting….Relationships..B/f Murthy
13. Safety.....Telephone safety...B/f Murthy
14. Thought provoking Advts
15. Funny SMS…
16. Closing thoughts

1. It's all about YOU….IF,
(Good One, from Rudyard Kipling)
If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them:

"Hold on!" If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

2. Health….Healthy Heart

3. Jokes Corner….

A little girl asked her father, 'How did the human race appear?'

The father answered, 'God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so was all mankind made.'

Two days later the girl asked her mother the same question. The mother answered, 'Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.'

The confused girl returned to her father and said, 'Dad how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Mom said they developed from monkeys?'

The father answered, 'Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your mother told you about hers.

4. Thought for the Week

"If you take your eyes off your goals, all you see is obstacles."

5. Lateral Thinking Sheikh's Heritage

An Arab sheikh tells his two sons to race their camels to a distant city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose camel is slower will win. The brothers, after wandering aimlessly for days, ask a wise man for advise. After hearing the advice they jump on the camels and race as fast as they can to the city. What does the wise man say?

Personally, MY favourite. The answer when identified is so simple. Think a little more and answers as always somewhere in this blog after Parenting.

6. Management Thirukkurals

A gentleman was once visiting a temple under construction. In the temple premises, he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he saw, just a few meters away, another identical idol was lying. Surprised he asked the sculptor, do you need two statutes of the same idol.

No said the sculptor. We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.

The gentleman examined the statue. No apparent damage was visible. Where is the damage? asked the gentleman. There is a scratch on the nose of the idol. Where are you going to keep the idol?

The sculptor replied that it will be installed on a pillar 20 feet high.
When the idol will be 20 feet away from the eyes of the beholder, who is going to know that there is scratch on the nose? The gentleman asked.
The sculptor looked at the gentleman, smiled and said, ' God knows it and I know it '.
The desire to excel should be exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciates it or not.

Quality is a drive from Inside not Outside!

7. Puzzles

Very simple math puzzles for everyone, you can put any signs of math between these digits and get the result... for example:

2 2 2 = 6 answer, 2 + 2 + 2 = 6, easy isn't it?

now try ur intelligence to solve these ----

1 1 1 = 6
2 2 2 = 6
3 3 3 = 6
4 4 4 = 6
5 5 5 = 6
6 6 6 = 6
7 7 7 = 6
8 8 8 = 6
9 9 9 = 6

Put any signs and give me the result,

please do not use not equal to =/= sign, as answers are correct,
Answers are simple, for most of them….keep trying…

check out right answers somewhere after Parenting

8. Mind your Language..The Right way

Here are some basic tips to further improve our English
Wrong &............................the right Way.

One and a half month……… One and a half months
UK, US…………The UK, The US
Good night, bath room…. Goodnight, bathroom
Updation……Update or updates

More language tips next week.

9. Management Fundas…. Stress Management

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"
The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm. “It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it.”

If I hold it for a minute, it is OK
If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance

It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier."
What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again."
We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down.

Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.

Pick it up again later when you have rested...
Rest and relax. …..Life is Short, enjoy it!!!

10. Tip for this week….eMail Etiquettes

* All sent messages must be clear, easy to understand and quick to interpret.

* Write a subject line that provides insight into core of the message.
* Keep e-mails short.
* Stick to one topic per mail. Better with two different shorter mails about a single subject each, than a long

mail covering both.
* Clearly indicate whether the message is for information or for action. Without exceptions, start all subject

lines with "(FYI)" For Your Information
or "(FYA)" (i.e. , For Your Action)
* It is considered common courtesy that you send a reply to an action mail.
* Do not send a courtesy reply to an FYI mail
* Do not include attachments over 1 Mb. For file sharing of larger files, use a document storage solution.
* Never request a read receipt. They are experienced as stressing for a receiver. As a receiver, you may refuse all requested read receipts

11 Cartoon…. …

I'm Still waiting.... I did what you told me ....

I sent the email to 10 people like you said .. I'm still waiting for that miracle to happen .

To all my friends who in the past sent me best 'wishes', chain letters, 'angel' letters or other promises of good luck if I forwarded something, NONE OF THAT SH*T WORKED!

For the rest of 2008, could you please just send money, Vodka, chocolate, movie tickets, gas cylinders or petrol vouchers instead!

12. Parenting….Relationships and Trust

Little girl and her father were crossing a bridge.

The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, "Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall into the river."

The little girl said, "No, Dad. You hold my hand."What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father.

"There's a big difference," replied the little girl. "If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand 1 But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go."
In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond. So hold the hand of the person whom you love rather than expecting them to hold Urs...

Answers to Lateral Thinking mystery – The wise man asks the two sons to exchange their camels. Now they would try and make the camel they are riding to come first so that the other camel (which is their own) would come second and so they would inherit the wealth. Simple isn't.

13. Safety.....Telephone Safety Tips

* Don't give any personal information out if called about surveys, contests, subscription drives, purchases or deliveries until the source of the call has been verified. Ask for a number they can be called back at and confirm with what is listed in telephone book.

* Never give your name, address, or phone number to someone you don’t know.

* Never give any information to “wrong number” callers, ask for the number they are trying to dial.

* Always give the impression you are not alone.

* If they ask for someone who is not there, say they can’t come to the phone and ask for a name and number.

* When you first realize the caller is obscene or harassing, hang up immediately. Do not listen to them or show any type of emotional response. Report continuing incidents to the telephone company and police.

* If all else fails, change your phone number and have it unlisted.
* In cases of emergency, know what number to dial (911) and what to say when calling.

Answers to the Maths Puzzle (Section 6)

(1 + 1 + 1)! = 6
2 + 2 + 2 = 6
3 * 3 - 3 = 6
sqrt(4) + sqrt(4)+ sqrt(4)= 6
5 / 5 + 5 = 6
6 + 6 - 6 = 6
-7 / 7 + 7 = 6
qbrt(8)* qbrt(8)*qbrt(8)* = 6
sqrt(9) * sqrt(9)- sqrt(9)= 6

14. Cool Advts


15. Funny SMS

Q: What did the gangster's son tell his dad when he failed his examination?

A: Dad they questioned me for 3 hours but I never told them anything."

16. Closing thoughts

Know Your GPM. In engineering, gpm is gallons per minute, a design criterion. In Management GPM is an acronym for Goals, Plans, and Metrics.

To achieve your goals, you must first determine what your Goals are.

Then you have to develop a Plan that gets you to your goal.

Finally you need Metrics (measurements) to know if you are moving toward your goal according to your plan.

Setting goals that are unrealistic sets you up for failure. While it's good to set high goals for yourself, be sure not to overdo it. Set goals that are difficult yet reachable.

Good to Great..Edition 9

Hello Friends, Here is a cool photo to start the Edition 9 jus to add some spice. Recognize who this, well – she was in the news recently. To Know who this is, read thru – more details somewhere in this edition.
Thanks all for your continued support. This week's special thanks and Credits are to BC, Ramalingam, Abi, Thanuja, Ram, Radha.

Please read in Leisure and skip over to topics that are more relevant to you. New topics added for this week: "Lateral Thinking" Hope this tickles your grey cells & "Picture of this Week". I am sure you will like this picture…

As always, to share interesting articles, puzzles, thoughts, views, and feedback...jus mail them to balajineela@gmail.com (Or leave feedback in the Blog itself)

Contents:

1. It's all about YOU….Happiness..B/f Angelenaa
2. Health….b/f Thanuja, Angelenaa
3. Jokes Corner….A Cup of Tea..B/f Murthy
4. Thought for the Week….B/f Ram
5. Lateral Thinking
6. Management Thirukkurals..3 Words..B/f Murthy
7. Interesting Web
8. Mind your Language..b/f Sai
9. Management Fundas…. Potatoes..b/f Murthy
10. Tip for this week….Strengthen your typing..B/f Appan
11. Parenting….B/f Angelenaa
12. Safety.....DD...B/f Thanuja/ Balaji
13. Cost Savers...Useful tip..B/f Srikanth
14. Photo of the week...B/f Murthy
15. Closing thoughts

1. It's all about YOU….Happiness

No one is born happy...

But all of us are born with the ability to create happiness...

So today & Everyday,

Make others happy...

& Flash your sweetest smile...

2. Health and Safety…. Tips

Accupuncture...for those who have faith, here are some massage tips.

3. Jokes...........Cup of tea

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2 1/2 years old and had just recovered from an accident.

Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of "tea", which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.

My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was "just the cutest thing!" My Mom waited, and sure enough, I walked down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watched him drink it up.

Then she says, (as only a mother would know... :) "Did it ever occur to you that the only place that your daughter can reach to get water is the toilet?"

4. Thought for the Week

One day a clock started to meditate about its future. By calculating at the rate of two ticks per second, poor clock realized that it would tick 172,800 times in a day and further, staggering figure of 63,0720,000 ticks in ten years.
At this thought the clock collapsed from nervous exhaustion. The grandfather clock on the opposite side whispered ‘don’t be a fool; all you have to do is to tick only one tick at a time. At once the clock revived itself and lived for hundred years.

We must try to remember this lesson when we begin to lose courage by seeing immense of task ahead of us. All our jobs are like the job of the clocks. A lot of ticks but only one at a time.

5. Lateral Thinking

An American nightclub called 'The Coconut Grove' had a terrible fire in which over 400 people died. A simple design flaw in the building led to the death toll being so high. Subsequently, regulations were changed to ensure that all public buildings throughout the country eliminated this one detail which proved so deadly.
What was it?

Try to think logically..i am sure you would get it…If you have not found it, the answer can be found after topic 14 (somewhere)

6. Management Thirukkurals…The Biggest Little words

There are many things that we can do to perk up and strengthen our interpersonal relationships.
Yet the most effective involves the saying of just three words.

"I Thank YOU"!

Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don't take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness.
On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

7. Inspiring web…Smoking!!!

Useful link for people who smoke

http://www.electroniccigarette.in/

8. Mind your Language..Part 2

Dealing with any customer, suppliers in services is an art. It is useful to know how English language works with them.

Tip 3: Indian Context
The term "regard" is not used much in American English.

The Right Way:
They usually do not say "regarding this issue" or "with regard to this". Simply use, "about this issue".

Tip 4: Indian Context
Do not say "Pardon" when you want someone to repeat what they said.

The Right Way:
The word "Pardon" is unusual for them and is somewhat formal. Therefore you can use “kindly repeat”

9. Management Fundas….A Potatoes Story

A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game.

The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates.

So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes.

The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for 1 week.

Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes.

Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.

The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?"

The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart.

The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime?"
**********
Moral of the Hatred (Human Vices) story:

Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a lifetime.

Forgiving others is the best attitude to take.

"Learn to Forgive and Forget."

10. Tip for this week…Strengthen your typing

Expert in typing skills - Ignore

Just thought of sharing with you a very good website which helps in learning typewriting skills.

http://www.typing-lessons.org/lesson_1.html

Once you complete lesson 10, you will become fast and good in typewriting.

After you complete lesson 18 you’re the master.

11. Parenting

An elderly man in Mumbai calls his son in New York and says,'I hate to ruin your day son, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are getting a divorce; 35 years of marriage... and that much misery is enough!

''Dad, what are you talking about?' the son screams.

'We can't stand the sight of each other any longer,' the old man says.'We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Hong Kong and tell her!

'Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone.'Like heck they're getting divorced,' she shouts, 'I'll take care of this.

'She calls Mumbai immediately, and screams at the old man, 'You are not getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR??' and she hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. 'Okay', he says, 'It's all set. They're both coming for Diwali and paying their own airfare!!'MORAL:No man / woman is busy in this world all 365 days.

MONEY MAKING IS NOT EVERYTHING IN LIFE.

Find time for people who care for YOU!!!

12. Safety Awareness…..Drink and Drive

(Very touching Story, Please read thru till the end)

I was walking around in a Local Store doing shopping, when I saw a Cashier talking to a boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll. Then the little boy turned to me and asked: ''aunty, are you sure I don't have enough money?''
I counted his cash and replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy the doll, my dear.'' The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. 'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much.

I wanted to Gift her for her BIRTHDAY. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.' His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''
My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet.. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.' Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing.

He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so my sister won't forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy.. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''
'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money. The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'

Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!'' 'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much.

He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses.' I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever.

The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.
Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE.
The value of a man or woman resides in what he or she gives,

not in what they are capable of receiving.

13. Cost Savers...Call Autos...(see the name of the Co.Gates India - Inspiring/ Sri)

A Call Autos Services has been started in Chennai for past three months .The salient features are
* No bargaining, No haggling. * Fare is lesser than regular auto. * Auto at the door step. * Meter starts from customer place only. A new scheme called AUTO SHARING
* Auto charges will be Rs 6/- only per KM and no additional charges
* A customer will be sharing the auto with 1 or 2 people

* The benefit of this scheme will be the customer need not pay the Call Centre Charge.
* Very useful for office goers.

Customer's feedback says they feel secure traveling in call auto as the auto driver's work under the banner of Gates India. Customers have also given their comment stating the behavior of auto drivers is very decent

Deepa Pauline. R Centre Manager

Gates India 4344 4344

14. Photo of the week

Well, the Lady in the Picture is Miss Universe 2008 (Miss Venezuela)

15. Closing thoughts

"Talking behind someones back"

Nothing more un-productive or energy wasting as this habit of talking behind someones elses back about the person - could be peers, boss, own employees, relatives...Break this Habit!!! - as it not only drains the positive energy out of you (& leaves you tired , frustrated) but think about the time lost in doing something really productive or meaningful....

Answer to the Lateral Thinking question :

The doors at 'The Coconut Grove' opened inward. In the mad panic to escape the fire, people were crushed against the doors and could not pull them open. After 'The Coconut Grove' disaster in 1942, all public buildings had to have doors which opened outward