Hello Friends, it is with Great Pleasure that the Golden Jubilee edition of Good to Great is being published - I thank each of you for readings the edition, giving your feedback, persistent encouragement and also for constantly supplying useful common articles.
Interesting thoughts!!!
With this edition, the Blog Hit reached "3000" - though the weekly reports which I receive (in my view) are very subjective, because it does not count hits from the same "location" (like for e.g. multiple users from my office maybe counted as "1") - Conservatively 3000 is an excellent number...My sincere thanks to each of you for this.
As always, please share your feedback, articles, jokes,etc., to balajineela@gmail.com
1. Its all about YOU – The Seed B/f Mohit
A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.
He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.
"The young executives were Shocked, but the boss continued."I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED.
I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
1. Its all about YOU – The Seed B/f Mohit
A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.
He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.
"The young executives were Shocked, but the boss continued."I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED.
I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however... He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.
He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful --in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.
Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot.. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified.
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.
Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot.. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified.
He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!" When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed -Jim told him the story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. "How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. "How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.
Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.
But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.
But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.
All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!"
* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success
* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
* If you plant faith in God , you will reap a harvest
* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success
* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
* If you plant faith in God , you will reap a harvest
So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later..
"Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back"
2. Thought for this week
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.
"Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back"
2. Thought for this week
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.
The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
-- Henry Ford
-- Henry Ford
"Kindness is a language we all understand.Even the blind can see it and
the deaf can hear it."
-- Mother Teresa
3. Health...Life Expectancy Survey – B/f Srikanth
Cool article – liked this more because, each time you answer a question on your habit or lifestyle – you can really see how it impacts your Life expectancy….really creates an impact
An interesting exercise. Try it for fun! This'll either scare you or elate you.
If you answer truthfully it is another tool in an attempt to answer our never ending question of mortality. You may be younger, or much older, than you think!
http://www.sonnyradio.com/realage3.swf
4. Management quick tips.. Tips to get smarter, better at work..B/f Murthy
* Keep your promises. If you say you will do something, do it. People need to depend upon you and the deadlines to which you commit.
* Resolve any conflicts or disputes at your earliest opportunity. Unresolved conflict festers just under the surface in organizations.
* Be an ally. Support your colleague’s ability to accomplish his or her mission, too. Give credit for ideas and solutions.
* Effective managers delegate and don’t micromanage. Prioritize your tasks to focus on the important ones.
* Your workspace should keep you motivated, not provide hot spots for daydreaming. Dress up your desk with items that keep you focused.
5. Jokes corner.. Elephant
There was this guy who bought an elderly circus elephant; alas, he couldn't afford to feed it. He'd never seen an elephant jump with all 4 feet off the ground. So he started a contest: entry was $10, and the first person to get the elephant to jump with all 4 feet off the ground would get $50,000.
Cool article – liked this more because, each time you answer a question on your habit or lifestyle – you can really see how it impacts your Life expectancy….really creates an impact
An interesting exercise. Try it for fun! This'll either scare you or elate you.
If you answer truthfully it is another tool in an attempt to answer our never ending question of mortality. You may be younger, or much older, than you think!
http://www.sonnyradio.com/realage3.swf
4. Management quick tips.. Tips to get smarter, better at work..B/f Murthy
* Keep your promises. If you say you will do something, do it. People need to depend upon you and the deadlines to which you commit.
* Resolve any conflicts or disputes at your earliest opportunity. Unresolved conflict festers just under the surface in organizations.
* Be an ally. Support your colleague’s ability to accomplish his or her mission, too. Give credit for ideas and solutions.
* Effective managers delegate and don’t micromanage. Prioritize your tasks to focus on the important ones.
* Your workspace should keep you motivated, not provide hot spots for daydreaming. Dress up your desk with items that keep you focused.
5. Jokes corner.. Elephant
There was this guy who bought an elderly circus elephant; alas, he couldn't afford to feed it. He'd never seen an elephant jump with all 4 feet off the ground. So he started a contest: entry was $10, and the first person to get the elephant to jump with all 4 feet off the ground would get $50,000.
All sorts of people tried, but nobody could get the elephant to jump.Finally, this little guy arrives in a limousine. He's carrying a baseball bat. He walks up to the elephant, swings the bat, and hurts the elephant pretty badly. Needless to say, the elephant jumps, and the owner pays out the $50,000.
Unfortunately, the owner had barely collected enough to cover the prize, so he ran another contest. He'd never seen an elephant swing its head back and forth as if to say, "no"Same deal as before: $10 per entry, $50,000 prize. Lots of people try and fail.
Then the little guy shows up in his limousine again, pulls out his bat, and walks up to the elephant. He says, "Remember me?" The elephant nods yes.
The man says holds up his bat and says, "Want me to use this again?"The elephant nods his head rather emphatically no.
The man says holds up his bat and says, "Want me to use this again?"The elephant nods his head rather emphatically no.
6. Management thoughts….Parable of the Turtle Picnic
A turtle family went on a picnic.. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outings. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found it. For about six months they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements.
Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home.
Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.
Three years passed-- and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years.. Then in the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and began to unwrap a sandwich.
At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, "SEE I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt."
The Moral Is...
Some of us waste our lives waiting for people to live up to our expectations of them. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves.
7. Parenting..What Kids want their Parents to Know – B/f Sundararajan
Excellent one…worth reading by parent's everyday again and again
* Encourage me when I do a good job
* Let me teach you some things. Don't always be the teacher
* Try not to miss my games, school plays or the other activities that are special to me
* Say "YES" more often than "NO"
* Give me reasons for your demands. Take time to explain things to me.
* Family activities really make me feel close to everyone.
* Ask for forgiveness of me sometimes.
* Stop comparing me to my brothers or sisters or to my classmates. We are all different and want to be treated as individuals.
* Set high moral standards for me.
7. Managemen(t)oons..
Three years passed-- and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years.. Then in the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and began to unwrap a sandwich.
At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, "SEE I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt."
The Moral Is...
Some of us waste our lives waiting for people to live up to our expectations of them. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves.
7. Parenting..What Kids want their Parents to Know – B/f Sundararajan
Excellent one…worth reading by parent's everyday again and again
* Encourage me when I do a good job
* Let me teach you some things. Don't always be the teacher
* Try not to miss my games, school plays or the other activities that are special to me
* Say "YES" more often than "NO"
* Give me reasons for your demands. Take time to explain things to me.
* Family activities really make me feel close to everyone.
* Ask for forgiveness of me sometimes.
* Stop comparing me to my brothers or sisters or to my classmates. We are all different and want to be treated as individuals.
* Set high moral standards for me.
7. Managemen(t)oons..
Such a simple activity, but really was difficult to resolve the conflict in the mind...so did your mind give you the right instructions?
Click on the picture to see an enlarged version
You could end up like this if you do not have any proper anti virus software installed...
Click on the picture to see an enlarged version
8. Inspirations B/f Bharathi
Jessica Cox, now 25, is a girl born without arms.
Jessica Cox, now 25, is a girl born without arms. 
Doctors never learned why she was born without arms, but she figured out early on that she didn't want to use prosthetic devices.
The girl from Tucson, Arizona realized very early in life not to use the word “CANNOT” !
Her latest flight into the seemingly impossible is getting the coveted Sport Pilot Certificate
becoming the first pilot licensed to fly using only her feet.
“She's’ a great pilot. She's’ rock solid !” said Parrish Traweek, the flying instructor at San 
Manuel’s Ray Blair Airport
When she came up here “driving a car” Traweek recalled , “I knew she’d have no problem flying a plane”
With one foot manning the controls and the other delicately guiding the steering column, her certificate qualifies her to fly a light – sport aircraft to altitudes of 10000 feet
Oxford and Cambridge have now decided to remove the words CANNOT and IMPOSSIBLE from their dictionary !
Manuel’s Ray Blair AirportWhen she came up here “driving a car” Traweek recalled , “I knew she’d have no problem flying a plane”
With one foot manning the controls and the other delicately guiding the steering column, her certificate qualifies her to fly a light – sport aircraft to altitudes of 10000 feet
Oxford and Cambridge have now decided to remove the words CANNOT and IMPOSSIBLE from their dictionary !
9. Go Green..Green works
2 truly inspiring articles…
2 truly inspiring articles…
(a) Green Works…B/f Sunantha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5RlwMzQiQg
Amazing how each of us can contribute in our small (BIG) way towards Go Green initiatives
See this video – enjoy it – practice it!!!
(b) RESERVE CONSUMPTION
- Recycling – B/f Anand, Karthik, Thanuja, Manikya, Ranjani, Sridhar
Buddha, one day, was in deep thought about the worldly activities and the ways of instilling goodness in human beings. One of his disciples approached him and said humbly "Oh my teacher! While you are so much concerned about the world and others, why don't you look in to the welfare and needs of your own disciples also?"
Buddha: "OK.. Tell me how I can help you"
Disciple: "Master! My attire is worn out and is beyond the decency to wear the same.. Can I get a new one, please?"
Buddha found the robe indeed was in a bad condition and needed replacement. He asked the store keeper to give the disciple a new robe to wear on. The disciple thanked Buddha and retired to his room. A while later; he went to his disciple's place and asked him "Is your new attire comfortable? Do you need anything more?”
Disciple : "Thank you my Master. The attire is indeed very comfortable. I need nothing more"
Buddha: "Having got the new one, what did you do with your old attire?"
Disciple: "I am using it as my bed spread"
Buddha: "Then.. hope you have disposed off your old bed spread"
Disciple: " No.. no.. master. I am using my old bedspread as my window curtain"
Buddha: " What about you're old Curtain?"
Disciple: "Being used to handle hot utensils in the kitchen"
Buddha: "Oh.. I see.. Can you tell me what they did with the old cloth they used in Kitchen"
Disciple: "They are being used to wash the floor."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5RlwMzQiQg
Amazing how each of us can contribute in our small (BIG) way towards Go Green initiatives
See this video – enjoy it – practice it!!!
(b) RESERVE CONSUMPTION
- Recycling – B/f Anand, Karthik, Thanuja, Manikya, Ranjani, Sridhar
Buddha, one day, was in deep thought about the worldly activities and the ways of instilling goodness in human beings. One of his disciples approached him and said humbly "Oh my teacher! While you are so much concerned about the world and others, why don't you look in to the welfare and needs of your own disciples also?"
Buddha: "OK.. Tell me how I can help you"
Disciple: "Master! My attire is worn out and is beyond the decency to wear the same.. Can I get a new one, please?"
Buddha found the robe indeed was in a bad condition and needed replacement. He asked the store keeper to give the disciple a new robe to wear on. The disciple thanked Buddha and retired to his room. A while later; he went to his disciple's place and asked him "Is your new attire comfortable? Do you need anything more?”
Disciple : "Thank you my Master. The attire is indeed very comfortable. I need nothing more"
Buddha: "Having got the new one, what did you do with your old attire?"
Disciple: "I am using it as my bed spread"
Buddha: "Then.. hope you have disposed off your old bed spread"
Disciple: " No.. no.. master. I am using my old bedspread as my window curtain"
Buddha: " What about you're old Curtain?"
Disciple: "Being used to handle hot utensils in the kitchen"
Buddha: "Oh.. I see.. Can you tell me what they did with the old cloth they used in Kitchen"
Disciple: "They are being used to wash the floor."
Buddha: " Then, the old rug is being used to wash the floor...?"
Disciple: "Master, since they were torn off so much, we could not find any better use, but to use as a twig in the oil lamp, which is right now lit in your study room."
Buddha smiled in contentment and left for his room.
If not to this degree of utilization, can we at least attempt to find the best use of all our resources at home and in office? We need to handle wisely, all the resources earth has bestowed us with ….both natural and material so that they can be saved for the generations to come.
***********Reserve Consumption!!! ***********
Disclaimer: The publisher believes that the contents of this blog do not violate any existing copyright / intellectual property of others in any manner whatsoever. However, in the event the author has been unable to track any source and if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed, please notify the publisher in writing for corrective action.
You MAY share or publish any of the articles on the web or in print without written permission of the publisher.
I practice zero tolerance - I take extreme care to avoid publishing any material that may offend any religion, caste, sex, etc., however if you notice anything that might offend anyone or group of people, please do let me know, and I will remove that material after review.
Disciple: "Master, since they were torn off so much, we could not find any better use, but to use as a twig in the oil lamp, which is right now lit in your study room."
Buddha smiled in contentment and left for his room.
If not to this degree of utilization, can we at least attempt to find the best use of all our resources at home and in office? We need to handle wisely, all the resources earth has bestowed us with ….both natural and material so that they can be saved for the generations to come.
***********Reserve Consumption!!! ***********
Disclaimer: The publisher believes that the contents of this blog do not violate any existing copyright / intellectual property of others in any manner whatsoever. However, in the event the author has been unable to track any source and if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed, please notify the publisher in writing for corrective action.
You MAY share or publish any of the articles on the web or in print without written permission of the publisher.
I practice zero tolerance - I take extreme care to avoid publishing any material that may offend any religion, caste, sex, etc., however if you notice anything that might offend anyone or group of people, please do let me know, and I will remove that material after review.
