Behavioral changes! V 1.0

I was recently very surprised to read a newspaper article on Uber (in Bangalore) providing customers a rating. What !! Aren't customers supposed to provide ratings for the services received. Defied logic. 

(The original article on Uber in “The Hindu” http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/have-you-been-fretting-about-what-your-uber-driver-thinks-of-you-youre-not-alone/article8422948.ece )

I had seen a big change in how customer friendly Ola drivers had become (in Chennai) after ratings were introduced. Not only customer friendly, but also better drivers -- no rash driving, lesser honking, no foul mouthing other drivers on the road and no expectation on extra tips...hmm!! 

Never mind the Ola boats which came during the December rains, but we started having a preference for Ola cabs - especially after our car was flooded and we were dependent on other modes of transport!

When I casually enquired with the drivers, soon realized that their incentives / customers assigned are linked to the ratings received. 

Is amazing to see how introduction of these ratings And linking it to their incentives could bring in such a positive behavioral change.

Coming back to Uber, as I started to read the article in detail, was intrigued to see the parameters that the drivers had for rating - timeliness, conversing, clarity on route/route guidance, etc. -- clearly, well thought out parameters to bring about customers behavior changes.

  

Being in the service industry, despite being a captive organization, many times having to put up with "customers" requests, one sided expectations....I started think of “Hey, maybe this could be the way to change behaviors”

After some soaking of "customers ALSO being rated" I can relate very well to what Uber is doing. If implemented in the right way and used judiciously, it would lead to better behaviors on both sides.

It would be interesting to see the customers reactions when this introduced in more places / services - for sure, I would need some getting used to...

This blog has a 1.0, so you can definitely expect Kanchana-II, Aranmanai-II's :)

Cheers

In God's own Country!

It has been a while since I wrote a blog – but I did not want to miss writing about a great trip that I had been to this summer.

Getting straight on to the trip to “Alappuzha” in God’s own Country – after some hiccups on the train ticket confirmation, we (Neela/ Divya and Yours faithfully myself)reached Alappuzha on a Cloud cast Friday – seething from the close to 40 degrees “Kathiri Veyil” in Chennai, this was a welcome change.

As we stepped out of the small and serene station, we faced our First surprise – government regulated pre-paid autos – people standing in queues and (think) it was a common ticketing station for bus/ autos. After collecting a nominal service charge of Re.1 (You read it right – it is Rupee ONE), we moved on to our Auto - the fares were very reasonable relatively.

As we were going in the Auto, my mind was drooling in the wonderful – rain carpeted roads making it dust free, water bodies, colorful flowers blanketing canvas green trees, unhurried lifestyle, fewer cars, traffic free roads.. Hmm… maybe in the future, we can think of settling down here and enjoy this life more regularly!

The auto driver while giving the change spoke in Perfect English (with a wee bit of accent) and wanted to check our travel plans and whether he could be of help. Getting down and thanking him for the offer and politely declining (as we had made our arrangements), we reached “Ashtamudi Homestay”. Neela was mentioning that Kerala was 100% literate and we had our first taste of it.

It was our first experiment with “Homestays” and we were not sure what to expect. We were greeted by a very pleasant couple to a nice compact furnished home. As we were waiting for our room to get ready, seeing Divya playing with a smartphone, the owner reminded us that “Sir, Wi-Fi is free” – Wow! Was now Divya’s turn - to call out one of her favorite dialogues “Technology has improved very much”.

After refreshing ourselves, we enquired with the Homestay owner on places to see around – the options were plenty -- sea shore, boat ferry, temples, shopping, Light house, temples, City center, restaurants, etc.

Feeling hungry, we ventured into “Hot Kitchen” (best “Vegetarian hotel” ~ house owner) in the city center which was about a Km away. After a heavy “full” meals, we were loathing around lazily in the city-center window shopping on the roadside and decided to take a break on the steps of a corner shop – to relish the scenery and observe the lifestyle of the people.

We realized there was a water-body close by and walked up to see a plant/shrubs grown ‘no water’ stream, with a lovely park with nice seating places. Chilling out for some more time there, Neela suggested why not we see any of the special places in/ around Alappuzha.

Having Googled the previous day, did know that there was a Palace/ museum nearby – but the auto driver could not recognize this place – he caught on to the word “museum” and informed us that there was a museum some 2-3 kms. away – so we decided to venture and see this museum, not knowing what to expect.

As we were going in the Auto, expecting to see a combination of – kings armor, swords, dinosaur bones (?), etc. we were in for next surprise – we reached a private museum called “Revi Karuna Karan Memorial museum” built by his wife, in honor of Revi, a third generation Coir exporter who had made it big.

Entry fee was Rs. 100/person and nothing until that moment seemed expensive – we went to see the museum and were in for our next surprise. One of the staffs took us around the museum explaining about the family and then the collections – “Largest private collection of Ivory crafted items”(Sir, Ivory is banned now, but our Sir collected this earlier with proper licence), ‘one of the largest private collections’ of “Swarovski crystals”, hand-made expertly crafted shells, Jade Buddha’s, 200 St Ft. murals of the world painted with traditional vegetable dyes, and much more – well maintained and worth every Rupee!! (Of course, we were politely told “No Photos please!”)

See more in http://www.rkkmuseum.com/ or better still, visit the museum to relish the beauty of the collection.

Neela’ s remark as we were walking out, “thought we are getting to become upper middle class, but now I realize that we have some way to go!” (Such was the richness of the collection – Value & rarity)

On to the beach – usual stuff -- waves, Sweet cup corn, popcorn, ice creams…and then the next surprise – Camel ride. Neela is very keen to go –– three of us on a camel, was indeed a sight to see! That was our surprise…to Alappuzha! 

Tired, after a long day and getting a great sleep, we wake up next day to the claps of thunder – it is raining Cats and dogs for over an hour and we are worried about our office colleagues who would be arriving. Luckily the train reaches safely albeit 15 minutes late.

Part II of the Great trip starts… we get on to the houseboat – our group of 17 is broken into three – “heavy rains expected, so smaller houseboats Sir”…ok! Fine and then the Joy ride starts – being the first stay in a houseboat, I am coming to grasps with the comforts of the houseboat generator operated Fridge, AC, power backup, running water, furnished kitchen….Cool!

The Boat keeper announces that Lunch is ready – a quick shower and change of clothes and we are all set – great Lunch – Welcome drink, Rice, Sambar, Poriyal, Pappads, Fresh curd, pickle, dessert – Pineapple! (there is some debate whether it is Sambar or Rasam with others as the menu is the same in the other boats – finally we reach a compromise and find out the reason – Kalaki uthana Sambar, mela-la appadiya rasam…(on the lighter side!)

We are still awed by the scenery and then it starts – rains like as if it had reserved the shower for us to start the trip – in the safety of the boat, the sceneries look even more beautiful. The five of us in our boat just keep chatting and relish clicking away and then the boat keeper announces it is time for Chai...options are available – Coffee / tea and Divya prefers fresh Lime juice…all made available in a jiffy along with tasty Hot Nethram pazham bajjis – in that weather sipping the tea and eating the hot Bajjis…Wow, life could not be better!!!

It is soon evening and the boat is docked and we take a small trek out on the land path in between water bodies. Kids seem to love the location even better. Time for photo shoots – all of us turn models and everyone is busy clicking away. With all 17 of us on the same boat now for the evening, it is time now for some great games organized by Archana and Lakshmi --- fun evening passes fast and the boat keepers announce it is time for Dinner…kids relish on the tasty chappathis and we attack the other items (hungry from the trek and games and more importantly posing for the photos!  )

Time to hit the deck and retire to our respective boats / rooms...we start to snore away – the boat is still docked and so not much of a rocking motion. In the middle of the night I wake up to see a small flashlight at a distance – still half asleep, I try to see from where the light is coming only to realize that the skies have cleared and the moon is shining away gloriously for us.

Great tea/ coffee and the boat keepers ask us to hurry up as the breakfast would be ready and we would be dropped back sharp at 9 AM. We continue to click the sun rise (West coast – Sun rise?) – Yep the sun rose over the lake bodies, only thing it was already up by the time we got up! After a Salt water shower bath, we get to eat another great breakfast - finishing off with a fruit dessert and tea/ coffee.

We dock and then the third part of the journey begins – it is a package tour and we are off to Cochin/ Ernakulum. We go to the sea shore and do loads of sea side beach shopping - bags, rings, mementos, picturesque fridge magnets, etc., and eat away on the side shops – tender coconut, masala chai, ice creams…the food fun continues, as well.

Later in the afternoon, we go for a Sea cruise…a one hour chartered boat ride into the sea – great view and next set of great photo shoots – the sea, the cochin dockyard, eagles flying low to catch fishes, the fishing nets, the export containers, the Port trust offices, Indian Naval academy offices..

Other interesting things about Alappuzha!

     * Cell phones – hardly used; everyone had it, but on the whole of the first day, we probably saw only ONE person talking on the cellphone while walking on the road.

     * Local specials – Kerala is famous for so many things, but we wanted to try the local food – Puttu/ avial, etc., and we got Dirty stares when we ordered these items – most of the hotels did not serve these, we continue to search and finally find a road side eatery which serves Puttu avial – Wow! Wasn’t that different and yummy!

     * Small restaurants were serving herbal hot water in attractive colors (Pink, green, etc.)– in that weather, it seemed not only healthy, but also so tasty!

    * Coming from a water starved place and not seeing much of water saving (e.g. Rain water harvesting) made me wonder how all states can work for equitable distribution of ALL resources! (Electricity, water, etc.)

    * Lottery – TN has banned lottery ages ago but it was interesting to see Lottery tickets being sold at various places; was very tempted to buy, but wiser sense prevailed!

Time to go back home…the first batch leaves; we are booked for a later train and so there is time to go around Ernakulum – some more shopping and then we take the train – a great trip with Cool friends / Family and baggage’s of memories to carry!

The trip was wonderful -- only because of the organizers Kannan, Sangitha and the friends/families that made it – Ramya, Bala, Bavanthi, Vidhya,P rem, Sahana, Prajin, Archana, Lakshmi, Sasi, Janani, Ranjith.

See some of the cool trip snaps in:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbsmzlszcN2zjA

http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=3a696c4dde32c4030031ecd658bfd733

https://plus.google.com/photos/116895324871472058451/albums/5882655184483894065?authkey=CL331djH6L7xdw

https://plus.google.com/photos/115081439666059971748/albums/5885180057459299345?authkey=CKrDjryOkcPBUQ&cfem=1#photos/115081439666059971748/albums/5885180057459299345?authkey=CKrDjryOkcPBUQ

HI Friends, there is a new program on Vijay TV called Kitchen Superstar..reality cooking show! (No no – I am not promoting this program)

Each week there are different set of 5-6 television personalities and Actor(yesteryear actor) Suresh hosts it – 3 minutes into the show and my daughter Divya says, Dad, this resembles “Masterchef – Australia”..she was absolutely right – the settings, theme – hmm!!
Its ok – If there is good program, good movie, etc., we need to bring it to the local audiences also – right or else they would not get to see the wonderful entertainment showcased in other countries!! ;)

The chef (Chef Venkatesh) who judged the show was particularly strict / tough…giving pretty straight feedback and putting the amateur chef’s to complete unease all through the program.

But finally when he summarized at the end, it was well packaged and amazing and wonderful piece of advice that he gave!! One particular theme/ concept that he mentioned was “Clean as you go” which made me to wonder what this is all about!

Was casually using this phrase all through the week (at home) - so much that I could after a while, see some different reactions from my wife and daughter!!

So researched on the web and what this is all about – surprise surprise!! It is concept like 5S (for those who are aware of this) or like six sigma and some Companies even have it as a policy.

"Clean as you go" is a piece of cooking advice -
Post-cleaning makes the process seem sooo much longer and arduous to have all that work left to do after the payoff of eating. Not to mention, items that aren't cleaned right away tend to be more difficult to clean because the food gets gunked onto the dishes.

Cleaning as you Go (cook) so that we avoid separate cleaning later (aka mountain of dishes to clean or waking up to a messy kitchen). It would feel better organized and more focused when your workspace is tidy. The ingredients would stand right in front of you - fewer mistakes & Cooking would be more fun. Imagine working in a clean, uncluttered environment.

In an office, imagine working in a clean desk as against a messy work place, jumbled desk.

In a factory environment, it's identified as best practice from a Health & Safety view apart from hygiene point of view (prevention of slips / trips and falls). It's used as part of lean methodologies.

It's important if you establish this kind of regime to remind staff that hand hygiene is important after any cleaning activity as "clean as you go" can make people think they pick up some rubbish and then go straight back to handling food.

Some corporates have it as a Company policy (especially in manufacturing) – the perceived benefits include productivity and having a safer work place – be it the kitchen or your work place. Imagine working in a neat beautiful well arranged place vs. a messy dirty workplace – what would you prefer?

To me, it is lot about attitude and how each of us can do work in a much smarter way!!

How about you? Do you clean as you go while cooking/ working?

People and Cultures - China

In the training program in Shanghai, there was a session where we were discussing people and cultures.

Each of us were sharing something unique about their country or something which they are proud of, about their country.

As each of us were sharing our proud (Aaha!!) moments, a participant from China said “We are proud that people from China do not take tips (in hotels, taxis, etc.). That was shocking to me…we “hear” so much about corruption in many countries including China. How is this possible?

Back in the hotel room, I started to reflect back on my few days in Shanghai and…!

Not once had the Bell boys asked or had a “Given me a tip, PLEASE” look on their face. Similarly the taxis gave exact change back, no cribbing if we asked them to take some place – always the meter!

Another time, I had a problem with the toilet flush – somebody attends to it and then he is almost running away once the job is done. I ask him to wait to be sure it is properly fixed. Once I confirm, he is literally out of the door. I thought it was the language the reason (most people don’t speak English Yet).

But after hearing the “Tips” story, I was able to understand why the toilet mechanic left the room so fast.

Another side of the Chinese culture that i was not aware and felt great to hear n Share.
Ok, back to corruption - there is a bigger story about this in China; maybe will share it in some other blog, some other day!

More stories!!!

One story from India (not shared in that forum) was on the Sardarji’ s in India. There are other jokes as well – Mallu jokes, Lalu jokes, etc. – but the most popular ones are the Sardarji jokes :)

Khushwant Singh the noted literary giant shared on why the Sardars are so very popular - they are able to joke about themselves and take it in the right spirit when others joke about them.
here it goes - you might have heard this story before

"During his last vacation, his few friends came to Delhi. They rented a taxi for local sight-seeing. The driver was an old Sardar and boys being boys, these pals began cracking Sardarji jokes, just to tease the old man. But to their surprise, the fellow remained unperturbed.

At the end of the sight-seeing, they paid the cab hire-charges. The Sardar returned the change, but he gave each one of them one rupee extra and said,

''Son, since morning you have been telling Sardarji jokes. I listened to them all and let me tell you, some of them were in bad taste. Still, I don't mind coz I know that you are young blood and are yet to see the world. But I have one request. I am giving you one rupee each. Give it to the first Sardar beggar that you come across in this or any other city.''

My friend continued, "That one rupee coin is still with me. I couldn't find a single Sardar begging anywhere."

Sikhs are one of the hardest working, prosperous and diversified communities in the world.
Something we as Indians can definitely feel proud off!!

Moving on.. (Just for laughs!!)

I heard of how hard negotiators some people are! Japanese, Germans…..on a relative scale, Chinese people / Indians would be far below.

There is one interesting place however in Shanghai – Called AP plaza or more popularly the “Fake market”.
You need to bargain - You Really NEED TO BARGAIN!!

For e.g. I bought Rolex watches here for "**"- guess what !!

The price started off around 500 Yuan and then - bulk purchase (9 watches), hard bargaining, we successfully bargained it for 110 Yuan (about Rs.900)

Rolex watches for Rs 900;hmm!
I used to wear this and proudly announce as “Original fake Rolex watches” – You can never find it out that it is not original, unless someone told you!

In this shopping plaza, you get so many things – clothes, bags, watches, iPhones, latest DVD’s, DS games!!! But you NEED to bargain.

The storekeepers know that you will bargain, so they quote a higher price. The potential buyers know that these are to be bargained, so they bargain.. So it is a vicious circle…

Some tricks to bargain included, walking away from the shop as if you are not interested (after bargaining for 5 minutes), going to buy at 7.45 pm  (closing time), recalling that you bought from him earlier (genuinely or just like that!!)

Listen to this experience from Russell Peters - on why Chinese and Indians can’t do business together
I have watched this video so many times and each time I have fallen down laughing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2W8aGgmn1A&feature=fvwrel  –Cool, longer version!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsd0ZJOrIZQ  – Shorter version – Good!

Cheers and have a great day ahead :)

Hi Friends, this week i am sharing a great poem by Khalil ~ read slowly and again; you would really get a very different feeling and also feel the power of the words. This was shared by my good friend and colleague Ramesh

The Prophet ~ Children --- written by Khalil Gibran

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children." And he said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

See also a related YouTube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoyjKygp7qU

This is from my China training- building on a concept learnt there with inputs from the internet

                                              “Shadow of the Leader”

When you think of the title, it could bring up different thoughts in your mind. In an office it could be something like “ The train is as fast as the engine”; “A fish rots from the head first”; “A chip off the old block”. On a more personal family front, it could be “You’re just like your father”; ..

Hmm…this blog is about OUR conscious and sub-conscious behaviors / habits that others watch and pick up; Could be in office or at home ; could be your peer or your team member or your own child.

Let me start with a couple of real stories –
On a smaller e.g., looks like the New Vice President - Finance of a company had a habit of tapping his pen on to his other hand while sitting in presentations. Guess what – in a couple of weeks, the habit had caught on with many other Management staff and they were also sub-consciously tapping a pen, while in meetings – no harm, except that it could be very distracting indeed!!

On the web, I noticed a very good e.g.
                                          “One of my favorite personal examples of this is being on time to meetings. I’m known for always running late between meetings. In my earlier days, my managers would often sit me down and calmly tell me that they didn’t appreciate my tardiness and I needed to shape up. I tried and it would get a little better, but I would slowly fall back to my natural tendencies. Once I became the “Manager” I was so relieved because there were less people giving me a hard time about being late.

                                            My direct reports didn’t complain, they understood and assumed I was busy with very important matters and that’s just how things work. What I didn’t realize, though, was that my “shadow” told them it was OK for them to be late to meetings too. On one rare occasion, I arrived to my staff meeting a couple minutes early and it wasn’t until about 10 minutes after the start time that everyone else showed up. My initial reaction was to make a comment about being on time for our meetings – fortunately, before I said anything out loud I started laughing to (or rather “at”) myself. My pattern of being late told them that it was OK and that our staff meetings always started ten minutes late.”

What a colonial waste of time – especially for people who have arrived on time. Also looks so unprofessional!!

On meetings, I was told that a person named Alan Mulally (some of you might have heard of him) actually comes for meetings one minute before the start time and similarly prompts his team periodically to ensure timely completion of meetings. If the item needs a longer discussion, it is subject of a separate meeting or discussion. Wow – Now that sound very professional.

Notes: Alan Mulally is President and CEO of Ford Motor Company who turned the company back to Profits; seems to have also won some awards along the way – “CEO of the year-2011”; “Person of the year -2011” etc.

Going into a much broader definition:
                                  "Shadow of the leader" is a phrase used to describe a common phenomenon in business organizations where those in positions of leadership and power, through their behavior and actions, tend to influence the behavior and actions of those below them, thus “casting a shadow” across the organization. “Shadow of the leader” refers to Leaders, through their likes, dislikes, treatment of subordinates, language and idioms, personal preferences, beliefs and values tends to shape the characteristics, culture and ways of doing business in the organization.

                                     The Shadow a leader casts with his/her team can drive the success or failure of the team. Think about it. As a leader, every move you make is being watched by the people who work for you. They take their cues on what is important by the things you pay attention to. They will reference a comment I made or email I sent about a particular topic and apply more meaning to it then what was intended.

                                     It is not so much that leaders force their style and values on others, but that employees tend to look upwards for clues as to what is important, how to get ahead in the organization, and how to fit in. It is a natural tendency for people with limited power within organizations to have an “affiliation need” and want to fit in. Those that don't match the culture or don’t get along with the boss's standards and expectations tend to get rejected or leave the firm, often saying; “I just didn’t fit in with their way of doing business!”

Another true story from the web to emphasize the Leadership Shadow impact:
                  At a busy / crowded store/ workplace -- The place was jammed with customers, and everyone was hoppin’. That included the store manager, who was a complete stress case. He was tight-faced, tight-lipped, and curt with customers and his team. He wasn’t rude . . . he was just going through the motions.
                And, as I noticed, so was everyone on his team. No one smiled. No one said “please” or “thank-you.” Everyone was just moving people through the line with as little personality as possible. You’ve heard it before: “I can help the next person.” Sub-text: “I can help the next person, but I don’t really want to.”

                    The idea is that leaders shape their cultures through a powerful combination of message aligned with action. Through actions, attitudes and messages, they cast a shadow that influences everyone around them. The shadow a leader casts may be strong and inspiring, or it may be weak and dispiriting, but it always exists. It is a reflection of everything a leader says and does.
                             
                    So, as I watched the team, I noticed they were following their leader, doing as he did, matching his actions and attitude. Without knowing it, he was setting a powerful example and casting a dispiriting shadow. It’s that easy to do! Leaders lead without knowing it. All they have to do is be themselves, and walk their own talk. That’s the beauty of leadership, and it’s the burden of leadership. Your actions speak loudly, and someone is always watching.

Here is a positive impact true story from the web
                      A new VP of Sales held a regional sales review meeting where each manager was expected to present their sales forecast, where they stood against plan, and the supporting rationale. After hearing one presentation and the beginning of a second where the managers complained about their products and lamented their lack of technology and the robust product capabilities of their competitors, he stopped the meeting. He got up and moved deliberately to the front of the room in what seemed like a scene from the movie Patton.

                         He then said, "I didn't come here to listen to excuses about why you can't sell because you believe the competition has better products, technology or whatever. What I do expect to hear is how your commitment and strategy to sell our company's products is producing results. After that, I'm open to discussing what we can all do to improve. For those of you who may not have heard or understood what I just said, let me reiterate. We all get paid to sell the products and services of this company and it requires everyone's commitment to be successful. You have a choice to make, which I expect to see at the reschedule date of this meeting."
                          That situation helped change the dynamic of the sales team and it became part of the folklore that helped shape the future culture of that company.

Managing your shadow as a leader is a simple matter of awareness and intent. Here’s a three-step process for better understanding your shadow:

1. Identify your shadow. How do your actions, attitudes and messages influence the culture?

2. Develop a shadow improvement plan. Once you’ve identified your current shadow, focus on your strengths and figure out how you can use them to improve your shadow.

3. Share your shadow. Talk about this concept with your team, and ask them to help keep you on track and casting the shadow that positively influences the work culture.

A critical element of the leadership shadow is the "Say-Do" factor. It has to do with having the courage of your convictions. Essentially, if you say you are going to do something but act differently when it's not politically correct or represents a risk to you or your position, you put your credibility at risk as a leader and create doubts about what the company stands for.

A regular question to ask ourselves: "What kind of shadow am I casting as a leader?"

In closing, as Warren Bennis said, “A leader doesn’t just get the message across, a leader is the message.”

                                                          Cheers and Happy Shadowing!! :)

Why men are from Earth and Women are also from Earth! -- The unspoken words!!

Years back, I remember reading an interesting incident in the “ Humour in uniform section” – yes, you have guessed it right!  This is in Readers Digest!

Here is my narrative on this..(means, am not able to trace the original article :)  )

Apparently during the world war, the Nazis and Allies were locked in a fierce battle near a hillock and it was reaching a stalemate situation.  Each side could not progress an inch as both the armies were well entrenched and probably equally matched.

In war these situations could be common, but on the ground level a small problem was being faced. Soldiers of both sides were fatigued by the continuous battle and had not had a break or a bath for days…yes days. The solution was apparently simple – right in between the two warring factions ran a small stream. The victor could go and have a bath, but the situation was a stalemate!

Finally one smart soldier realizing that both sides have these issue, did something different.He dropped his gun and his dress, ran (almost) nude to the stream with his hands up and took a quick bath and ran back.

Seeing this, soldiers from both the sides started to do this one by one…and the problem was solved!! Did anybody shoot – no way – even though it was the enemy soldier who was bathing, they realized the situation and there was an unspoken agreement.

In real life, people know that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus; quite poles apart.

But there are situations where sometimes sometimes both of us pretend that the situation does not exist & carry on with things. In a way people might think this is conflict avoidance, but there are situations where I think this is alright – my view is – this is a way of giving space to each other.

Let me give an e.g. to make my point
 * One of my friends smokes – used to do it before marriage and post marriage, was wondering what would happen.  Well…the girl does not like him smoking (like all girls do! ;) –  The unwritten, sorry unspoken agreement here is: the boy has reduced smoking and does not smoke in front of her or in the house. So the boy get his space (literally, to smoke) and the girl acknowledges the fact that he has reduced smoking.
Truly Win-Win!!!
Just imagine the other way around…Girl insists that the boy should not smoke..it is good for both their health!!  But if the boy does not accept this - could lead to conflicts or the boy might still continue the habit secretly - not acceptable!
* Other e.g. of the unspoken agreements:
                 *  People of different religious beliefs getting married ; each of them could still follow their beliefs without converting to the other religion – each not enforcing their religion or beliefs on other!

                 * What about eating habits --- one person eats non-veg and other does not!! Should the spouse convert to being a Vegan or the other way round…Not essential if you are both agree to disagree on this.

Realize the power of the unspoken words with your spouse and try and give each other space.

Truly life is much more Happier if each of us realize our space / the unspoken words and know that all of us are from the same good ol Mother earth!Sometimes there could be “views” or Opinions or judgment – on a particular situation; Not necessary that there is only one “Final” view between the couple or that the spouse should accept the others view & change their viewpoint.

The Crisis that blew over

Let us start with a very good old joke..

When the Lord made Man, all the different parts of the body got into a discussion as to who is the Chief. The brain said it should be the Chief because it did all the thinking and guided the body.The eyes said it should be the Chief because it did all the seeing and helped to go to the right places.The ears said it should be the Chief because it did all the hearing.

The mouth said it should be the Chief because it allowed the body to eat and helped it to gain the energy to do other things. The Stomach countered with the explanation that since he digested all the food, he should be the Chief.The Legs argued that since they took the Man herever he wanted to go, he should be the Chief.


The debate went on without any consensus until the a**ehole butted in (pun intended) and argued that it should be the Chief.

There was a moment of total silence before all the parts of the body rolled on the ground laughing uncontrollably. “You can’t be the Chief,” they replied. “You are just an a**ehole.”

This made the a**ehole very angry and it clammed up and refused to open. Nothing could enter the body through the a**ehole, not even a plastic device. More importantly, nothing could leave the body and after a few days the brain became mushy and could no longer think. The eyes became watery and could no longer see. The ears became zingy and could no longer hear. The mouth, tongue, hands, feet, fingers, toes and whatnot all became weak and could no longer function properly.

By the fourth day the body was at the point of death and all the parts of the body relented and agreed that the a**ehole should be the Chief. The a**ehole had clearly proven that it was the most superior part of the body. From that day on the a**ehole became the Chief and ruled over the entire body.

What!!! Can you believe this (true!!) story..


So this takes us to the current crisis of the last week…Petrol and Diesel shortages in Tamil Nadu as well as India; In Tamil Nadu not only do vehicles run on Petrol/ Diesel, but due to the power crises / shortage, so many offices (Esp. IT/ ITES) use Diesel extensively!!

Let us move for a minute to a different scene; I am sure many of us would remember the famous James Bond dialogue “The world is not enough”…in the movie with the same title.

James Bond, the world's greatest secret agent, is sent once more into the breach in the name of Queen, Country, and a dry martini. 007 must resolve a potentially deadly power struggle between two unstable nations, with control of the world's oil supply as the ultimate prize. Bond is assigned as bodyguard to Elektra King, the daughter of a petroleum magnate who was brutally murdered, and is trying to foil the fiendish plot of Renard.

During his assignment, Bond unravels a scheme to increase petroleum prices by triggering a nuclear meltdown in the waters of Istanbul. Finally Bond in true Vijayakanth style oops Bond style unravels the puzzles and saves the world. And in the climax, it turns out that Elektra is the villain who had been brain washed while in captivity in order take control the world Oil reserves and ultimately rule the world.

Bond is about to arrest her and she (still deeply in love with Bond) offers him the World (All of the World’s oil reserves) and then comes the famous Bond dialogue “ The World is not enough”..and the rest as they say is history!!!

Now coming back to crisis of the last week, still the reasons for this sudden crisis and 4-5 days dry-out still remains a mystery and the sudden way it was resolved remains a bigger mystery.

Indeed, The crisis has blown over and we have moved on!

Going back to joke with which we started --
Think for a minute and you might wonder who are next chief is…fuel Or power or Water or ? you might never know which a**ehole could jack us up and hold everyone to ransom! ;)

Finishing off with the theme song of the “the world is not enough” – The world is just not enough!


"The World is not Enough"

I know how to hurt
I know how to heal
I know what to show
And what to conceal
I know when to talk
And I know when to touch
No one ever died from wanting too much

The world is not enough
But it is such a perfect place to start, my love
And if you're strong enough
Together we can take the world apart, my love

People like us
Know how to survive
There's no point in living
If you can't feel the life
We know when to kiss
And we know when to kill
If we can't have it all
Then nobody will


The world is not enough
But it is such a perfect place to start, my love
And if you're strong enough
Together we can take the world apart, my love
I feel safe
I feel scared
I feel ready
And yet unprepared
The world is not enough
But it is such a perfect place to start, my love
And if you're strong enough
Together we can take the world apart, my love


The world is not enough
The world is not enough
No Nowhere near enough,
The world is not enoughThe debate continued with the hands, feet, fingers, toes, neck and all the other parts of the body arguing their case as to why they should be the Chief.

I am your constant companion.



I am your greatest asset or heaviest burden.


I will push you up to success or down to disappointment.


I am at your command.


Half the things you do might just as well be turned over to me.


For I can do them quickly, correctly, and profitably.


I am easily managed; just be firm with me.


Those who are great, I have made great.


Those who are failures, I have made failures.


I am not a machine, though I work with the precision of a


machine and the intelligence of a person.


You can run me for profit, or you can run me for ruin.


Show me how you want it done. Educate me. Train me.


Lead me. Reward me.


And I will then...do it automatically.


I am your servant.


Who am I?


I am a habit.



From Habits Die Hard - by Mac Anderson & John J. Murphy

Taking Decisions in tough times...

Well…We (My wife and me) were in a big dilemma on a Major life decision that we had to take.

In reality, it is a very a simple situation complicated by too many variables.

We had agreed on a particular path and we had sat and discussed on the wonderful benefits which all of us would have.We were excited to take this path and glad that it was finally coming to light.

All this suddenly changed on one fine day/ a small event and also because of changed decisions of people close to us, which had a Big impact on us. Now, we were in a real quandary on whether to go on that particular path. Newer challenges seemed to crop out of nowhere and our mind seemed totally cluttered with all the challenges that we would have to face, if we go down our chosen path.

Hmm…a week of sleepless nights, a little tension on the future – Hmmm..too many things and too many variables and Too much tension!!

We closed the chosen idea and started to work on alternatives!!

Interesting ideas and even more good options now became available.Some options had more advantages than the chosen path..hmm!!

So here we are now ready for a change – acceptance, and we start to do the ground work on planning to execute the new alternative…but something something inside was still all not Ok!!

Hmm…time to take a final decision and go to Execute the alternative chosen!!

I get a call from my school friend living abroad asking if we could meet – he says it would be a short meeting only, since he has to leave the same night. Momentarily I forget about the BIG decision/ challenges and with loads of fond childhood recollections & memories, I go to meet my friend.

We casually chat and catch up on our lives within those 50 minutes and end up discussing a number of things – family, friends, School, etc..(No bitching though!! ;-() ) During the course of the conversation, something which he speaks strikes a chord in me…

It is now time to go and we profoundly say those last few words which good friends tell if they are going to see each other only after a long while.

But I also tell him “thanks” for giving me clarity on the path that I want to choose!! We had discussed in between on this topic, but when he connected with his example…things started to look so different, and the variables and challenges that came up no longer looked big!! There are work-arounds, there will be challenges, but time to rethink!!!

I go home and announce to my wife that “Hey – let us go down the original path and Let us make it happen!!!”

A sound of joy erupts – turning around, I see my daughter jump with joy at this decision – Seeing this,Joy erupts all around the house - we realized THEN that this is what the heart has been saying always!!

Yes, there will be challenges, but we agreed to work with them and make this a Great decision!!!And So, the decision was made!!! :-)

A chance meeting and a Happy decision at the end!!

What a shock!!!

I finally managed to visit the place that I had been long planning to…well, this place is jus about 3 kms from my house and it takes about 3-5 minutes to drive down here. I had been planning and planning for a long while, but somehow never managed to reach here.

There are controversies surrounding this place recently and we were not sure whether this place is going to stay. Not that we expected anything big inside, but after the controversy, just like numerous other Chennaites, I was even more curious to see what the hell was in there. My daughter was also keen to go and has been trying to motivate me to take her there.

Finally, on a lazy afternoon a lil bored, both of us managed to go there yesterday (my wife has school..so). And we were in for a rude shock. The place though in the heart of the city that is cramped for space, was very spacious with loads of open spaces and sufficient car and two wheeler parking, a welcome miniature pond and fountain...we are really starting to like this giant structure already and we have not even entered it!!

On passing the now familiar city security procedures for tall buildings, we enter a state of the art building – almost looks like a super shopping mall – the crowds are missing though.

We see through the building index (of which floor contains what) and head out to the first floor – B section. There are a few people waiting for the lift, so reluctantly take the stairs; Can’t help commenting on the wide and well-built staircase leading up…as I reach the top, notice that there is an escalator..oops that would have been easier.

Once inside the section that my daughter n me have come for, we are just shell shocked…this place is jus cool and wonderful ;and the collection breath-taking. There are more people here – finally some people, at least here!! There are nice well laid out tables and chairs, where you can loathe around. There is even a nice big artificial tree with a nice carpet around it. Tiny-tots are sitting here with their parents gazing through.

We had planned to be here for 30 mins and then move on to the British council library where we had to go originally (this was a detour). I realized that the time has really flown and it now about 45 minutes, since we entered the place. Time check…Divya and me agree that we will leave at the end of 1 hour.

It is 30 minutes past 1 hour since we came and still no signs of us wanting to leave. British council program cancelled…hmm..Divya has exams, so we finally managed to drag ourselves out of the place (only 2 hours passed by)

We go down the escalator and there is “French Loaf” restaurant…some snacks and it is time to leave..back home, we cant help brag to my wife and parents about the wonderful place that we had been to..!!

Any guesses?

You would have guessed it right – it is the new Anna centenary Library in Kotturpuram…if you have been there already, you would have also experienced the wonders of it.

If not, please take time to go there. The collection of books is amazing – better than so many libraries that I have been to – and it jus right for Indian / NRI kids as well – the spread of authors, publications is outstanding. Be it Amar Chitra kathas or Tinkles or Geography books or great inventors to great discoverers..….you name it and it was there.

Ok, this was jus the kiddos section..there is more for grown ups as well…after all it house 7 floors of books..

Well – if you have tiny-tots in your house, this is a great place to take them to show them real tall/ touch & feel books.
If you have kids in age 5-12 years, great place to spend a lazy Saturday/ Sunday afternoon with the family (place is open till 8 pm on all days)
If your kids > 12 years and you want them to stop watching TV for sometime…a good distraction to have.

The entrance fee is free!!

Take time to go there…it is definitely worth it!! you can have some good family time..with parents and grand parents -- Only thing you might get sucked into some good reading habits apart from spending quality time with THE family..

My cellphone goes for a …!!!

My cellphone goes for a …!!!

After a long day out with my family on a Saturday, I just tiredly put my clothes for washing. The clothes got washed the next day morning in the washing machine (note "washing machine", not by ME! :-) ) this is an automatic machine – includes a good soak (of 45 minutes) and finishing off with a tumble dry spin for about 9 minutes – the clothes are almost dry by the time they come out.

My father usually takes the washed clothes for drying in the sun to the Mottai madi.
Hmm…nothing unusual so far…it is a lazy Sunday afternoon – sipping a nice masala tea which I made, I decide to call one of my friends to discuss something unimportant..that is when I notice that my phone is missing. Not in the hall, or the rooms – my wife tries to make a call and phone is switched off!!

Oh Oh..fearing the worst, we try to trace back – is it still in the car or did I leave it in my cousins place the previous day – they would have called to tell my phone is still there! After searching for a while, still no luck – we decide to take a break in the search.

At about 4 PM, my father as usual brings the dried clothes from Mottai madi and is starting to sort out the clothes..lazily watching TV, I see that my father is folding my trousers which I was wearing the previous day…oh oh…could the phone still be in my pant?

Not wanting to send any panic signals, I casually walk across to see if the trousers have fully dried up in the wet weather..and my worst fears come true..the phone is still safely in the pocket!! Hmm…

I take it out sneakily – open the battery and take the SIM out and allow it to try – have ready far too many articles to “know” that a cell phone is not to be switched on, if it has fallen into the water!! I allow it to dry overnight…

Next day – it is a bright beautiful Monday – with lot of hope, I connect the phone battery, SIM, memory card…time to switch on.. Miraculously the phone gets switched on and it is working!!!

After the celebrations for sometime – the phone conks off – hmmm :-(

Having restrictions on cell phones in my office – no image capturing devices, no this, no that…so have to find a model that can be used for communication – start to discuss with a few colleagues and get some nice tips – nokia C-01, X-02…too much work at office for the next couple of days, and by now about to finalise on the model. With a half heart, not wanting to part from my red-cherry, try to give one final try to switch the phone on..before that I charge the phone for 3-4 hours!!

The D-day / D-time has come to switch on the phone…the phone is still too attached to me and so does not want to leave me and gets switched on!! Encouraged, I charge the phone overnight - It is now working perfectly fine as good as it was previously…

So that was the story of "My Cellphone which went for a great swim" and had still managed to stay afloat!! :-) (in case you are curious, it is MicroMax Q1 model)

I have a Dream…

These are famous lines of…
@ Martin Luther King’s speech in 1963
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream

@ ABBA song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSWR4os7I7E (to hear the song / lyrics)

@ Les Miserables song – I dreamed a dream by Elaine Page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jo4FvpN3_g

@ Susan Boyle in "Britain's got talent" show for the same song & made her a hero at Age 47
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk&feature=related
(Can you believe 70,000,000 hits on YouTube)

One similarity between these Dreamz -- All of these were great dreams and became a reality

"Dreams are the touchstones of our characters." - Henry David Thoreau

All of us have dreams…if you are not dreaming in the night, it could mean only one thing very clearly – you are having a sound sleep, -- so good for you!! ;-)

Well having become the Emperor of the World (It is my dream!! - you can become the king in your own dreams ), started out with the New World Order (NWO)

- Food for all,
- More and better hospitals and facilities
- Great schools with laptops and NO books
- Good shelter for all
- Better communication
- Better Technology and availability
- Safety and security
- Better roads…Superways!
- So much better infrastructure
- Fuel prices slashed into half
- Inflation curbed to decimals!!

Wow, prosperity all around!! With prosperity comes development and we might not even have “Terrorists” anywhere in the world

Bottom line – more happiness for everyone in this world!!! The world would be such a better place to live.:-)) No crime, happiness, prosperity, knowledge and much more!!!

How did I achieve this – A three pronged approach!

(1) Special empowered courts set up and Cases speeded up – from all the scams and the black money. Some significant recoveries include..
# 2G scam Rs. 1,760,000,000,000 ( $ 39,000,000,000)
# Swiss Bank Accounts Rs.71,000,000,000,000
# Tax defaults Rs. 500,000,000,000
# Other scams…see pic













(2) Endowments / trusts formed by each of the religious institutions to fund development activities. Some trusts included
- Padmanabhasamy temple treasures – Rs.1,000,000,000,000 ($ 22,000,000,000) & counting fund would be enhanced once the “Antique value” of the treasures are assessed
- Gold, Silver articles, money found in Puttaparthi -
- Tirumala…. (estimated) Rs. 550,000,000,000 ($ 12,000,000,000)
- Roman catholic church ($ 262,000,000,000)

(3) “Gifts” from the Billionaires / Top corporates
$ The 2011 Forbes list indicates that there are 1214 billionaires in the world with combined wealth of $ 4.5 trillion (higher than Germany’s GDP!)
http://www.walletpop.com/2011/03/09/forbes-the-richest-people-in-the-world-2011/


Most of these billionaires came forward voluntarily(some them after a visit to the “OFFICE” room – remember Sivaji, the Boss!!) to support the noble cause and donated significant sums for the development of the world.


$ Similarly the top 25 companies in the world (based on sales, profits, market value, etc.,) also gave substantial sums. See here for some of the companies http://www.forbes.com/2011/04/20/biggest-sales-global-2000-11-top-25_slide_3.html

Oops wake up time…have to drop my daughter for Dance class…

If there was a magic wand and all this money is made available for EVERYONE in the world – imagine the good that we can do..


Hmm…I have a dream…!!


Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world - Harriet Tubman


Hopefully, one day, this will be a reality!!

WE can make this happen, in our own little way!!!!

What a waste of Productive time!!

On a long journey back, my friend exclaimed “What a waste of so many people’s Productive time!!“
He was right – the journey distance was short, but the journey time was Long!
You are right – We were in a traffic jam!! It added no value, we could not control it nor (at that point) could do anything about it!

And this is not the only time, when I reflected on this comment…
On a visit to a Leading Doctor…
This Dr. comes in at particular time and does consultation for a fixed hours. It is on a first come first see basis with fixed no. of patients /day (irrespective of the No. of patients – he too has a family, right!!)
This Dr. had a reputation of cure, so obviously lots of people came to see him…
Only thing, since there were no (prior) appointments & it is on a first come, first see basis, people came in about 3-4 hours before the Dr. comes and wait for him – they had to get cured and he always cures!!!
On one occasion, the Dr. did not come – people waited patiently..and then left murmuring…
what a waste of peoples productive time!!
On another occasion, he came in late…you could see the people’s relief / exultation after seeing the Dr. come in!! it was as though...a miracle had happened!
Dr. are God in so many ways…they bring people to the world, help them get cured, pro-long their life in the world….but with due respects to this great profession, they can definitely be a little more professional in dealing with people…!!
This Dr. is an extreme exception and I know most Dr. are much better off on appointments

Another occasion…is on travel
You can’t go to the Railway station or to an airport a few minutes before the train starts/take off..there are procedures, security stuff (in our best interests). Neither can you say, that the train was delayed the previous 2 times, so why did it start on time, this time..
The waiting time is almost mandatory and you can just take an attitude of…..
What a waste of people's Productive time!!

Well..I am sure you would have your own many stuff of waiting time…ration shops, railway ticketing stations, etc., but can we do anything at all about this!!
Hmm…let us see..
 Some things can be planned for – e.g. you need to be at the airport 2~3 hours early, or know that the Dr. has a long queue to wait normally,
you can
o Take that book that you had long wanted to read
o Catch up with friends – phone calls, mails, etc.
o Personal time with your spouse!
o Finish the brain teaser or a Sudoku(not again) …! :-)
o Do some peaceful planning – finance, house, office
o if you are alone, it is your Personal time!
o Go to the spa…and relax
o Do meditation, Breathing, walking around…cost less exercise!
o Window Shopping - No cost, good exercise!
o Buy/ Read magazines…gain knowledge, etc.

 For our traffic jams/ long road time cases,
We can do deep breathing exercises, catch up with friends/ family (without getting distracted off the road!), but obviously you can’t do most of the other stuff…can we do anything!

Hmmm…we can still travel at non-traffic times if we can plan or if it is flexible!!
I still remember an incident in my early days at office…(no offence to anyone). one employee kept coming late to office regularly…the manager asked him, why he was late often!!..
the answer was, I am getting struck in the railway gate (good ol days of not so many flyovers in Singara Chennai).…the simple solution to this was the employee was asked to start earlier or later, so that he need not get struck at the gate…!!

Sounds simple now….but many times, if we sit back and reflect on where exactly we are spending (/ wasting) our productive time, could get us some handsome savings!!

Also, Whilst we are busy in the important day-to-day things of life, reflect to see if people are waiting for us to give them decisions to move forward. While it might be a small matter for us, You could be the Doctor who gives them the decisions/direction on time and ensure that they do a quality job on time. (Or vice versa, making your team sit late because they were waiting & waiting and then once they got the direction they have to stretch and complete it, because you had other priorities!!!)

Just as I was finalizing this blog, read a related article of Bill Ford’s vision on Cars / environment – amazing how it connects into the future – frightening reality!!
http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_ford_a_future_beyond_traffic_gridlock.html

New skills..

Well…at this young age, (emphasis again on the “Young age”), I acquired a new skill….learning to drive on the Indian roads!!Wow!! It quite amazed a number of people and I could often hear the gasps!! (sometimes so big, that….even Jim Carrey (Mask) would not have been able to match those expressions…!!) So far the past 6 months, Chennai roads & NH 45 has had a new risk to handle - me on the roads!! Touch wood…it has been going smooth, but for some very minor (if I may use the word) thrills!!Some good guidance from good friends / relative as well as extended research on tips from the net..made this possible. some milestones on this that made me personally happy...one shareable one is - 16.5 kms/ L in the city; 22 Kms/L on the highways. Hmmm…not bad, right

Over the past few years, I had been trying to add new skills / hobbies to keep my mind sharper.One such good hobby was to solve Sudoku’s – it just started as a time pass, then a hobby and then finally an obsession!! Anywhere I found a Sudoku, I would try to solve it – even if it was my neighbors newspaper or a friends/ relatives house that we were visiting. Finally it came to a point where the Better Half had to step in and say “STOP, no more Sudoku’s”. But being in the
stage of obsession, obviously I could not leave it the next day (yeah…you can ask any smoker on how easy it is to quit that habit - No offence to anyone)…so what did I do…would try solving Sudoku’s at any “secret”/ available opportunity…home toilet seats for example. Luckily gave this habit and made it a passion now..that was fun!!!

An interesting hobby that I got into was learning “Card tricks” – some basic tricks from the net, that I like to do in front of my daughter / her cousins. Always fun to do and often coming up with variations of tricks has been fascinating..hmm…maybe one day, surely there will be a Public performance for a small audience (of kids of course)!!

How sharp is your knife..
Let us start with the Woodcutter story (before you let your imagination go wild…NO, not the Simran one!!) – but the other one. Well here is a crisp version. 2 woodcutters (One old and one young) had a competition on who would cut the maximum no. of trees in a forest in 3 days time. The young one was well built and he had at the end of Day-1, cut 1.5 times the number of trees than the older man. Often he would pride himself that he could go non-stop the whole day!! Then by end of Day-2, the old man had almost caught up; End of Day-3, the old man had comfortably overtaken the younger stronger man…Logic says not possible…the younger person is stronger and can go on continuously!!! So what happened!!! Well the older man took periodic rest, recharged himself and also more importantly ensured that he sharpened his Axe, so that the edge is not blunt, but sharp and he is able to cut smoothly..
Message : We are often content with the skills we have and think that we can continue to be successful with this!! Hmm…maybe or maybe not or up to a particular level yes, after that ? so continue to horne your existing skills, learn new tricks / hobbies / traits…and I am sure in the Long run this would really help Professionally and personally!!

PS: this blog is slightly different…I have tried to write it in a logical way…the logic should also work if you start reading from the bottom para and go upwards!!
;-)

Balaji's musings - Customer service

Hi Friends, Hope all of you have been having a fabulous 2011, so far; thanks to the numerous friends who kept nudging me to start writing again (for various reasons)

Customer Service

Often, we as consumers come across different types of customer service…here are 2 very diverse situations that I encountered

(1) World of Titan……
Before I go into my actual experience at the World of Titan, I was reminded of a good joke. Here it goes

A keen Indian lad applied for a salesman's job at a city department store. The store was the biggest in the world and sold everything under the sun. "Have you ever been a salesman before?" the boss asked during his interview.
"Yes, I was a salesman in T'nagar," the lad answered.
The boss took an immediate liking to him and told him he could start the next day. "I'll come and see how you made out after we close up," the boss said.
The day was long and hard for the young man, but finally it was 5 o'clock. The boss closed up the store and found the lad sitting, slumped and exhausted, in a chair.
"How many sales did you make today?" the boss asked.
"One," said the lad. "One?" said the boss, obviously displeased. "Most of the sales people on my staff make 20 or 30 sales a day. How much was the sale worth?"
"Exactly Rs.401,334.50," said the young man.
"How did you manage that?" asked the boss, flabbergasted.
"Well," said the lad, "this man came in and I sold him a small fish hook, then a medium fish hook, and finally a really large hook. Then I sold him a small fishing line, a medium one, and huge one. I asked him where he was going fishing, and he said he was going down the coast. I said he'd probably need a boat, so I took him down to the boat department and sold him that fancy 22-foot fishing boat with twin engines. Then he said his Car probably wouldn't be able to handle the load, so I took him to the vehicle department and sold him a new Ford 1-ton pickup truck."
"You sold all that to guy who came in for a fish hook?" the boss asked in astonishment……

The story goes on….but I will stop here, considering the decent audience –
(Ok OK, the story is modified and the Ford piece was my addition!!)

Now coming back to my experience – My wife had gone to service her Titan watch in the Titan Showroom (as the salesperson proudly said “ this is a Tata's OWN showroom”);
the watch got serviced and was ready for delivery, so my wife / daughter went to collect it.
As they were waiting for the watch to come, my daughter liked a new watch which was on display. So the mother & the Daughter made a deal and then the Father, who was still parking the car in T. Nagar finally came by.
So after more reviews of other watches on display, one watch was selected – while waiting to pay, the innovative salesperson was giving some free offers!!!
- First, a small water bottle, nothing costly, but in the hot scorching sat afternoon sun, it was like “Sweet nectar” – not enough, he still offered more water bottles!! Real Cool!
- Then some free gifts for the watch purchase – A trendy bag with a small snacks box inside -- that’s nice!!
- More!! A small coloring book with a few color pencils !! Super!!
- Not finished though – he gave a Titan card – which would enable me to accumulate points as I purchase each time and I can offset against future purchases.
- More!!! A Free sapling -- This is environment week – wow!! Slightly dazed by now!!

A bright idea sparks for my wife….our next purchase was for a function the next day – some silver articles! (Silver prices seem to increase faster than gold these days)
She says, why Silver, why not a watch for the Angel we are going to see the next day…that’s a bright idea and so…

We go back bought another watch for this angel also!! Result – one more teak sapling (neatly packaged in a Titan paper bag), one more set of coloring book / pencils, bag and snacks bag, etc… At the end, we came out as a very Satisfied and happy customers!

To crown it all, when we presented the watch in the function the next day, we also gave the sapling…lot of appreciative comments from the audience and the parents of the Lil girl (for the saplings)!! Hmm, that made us Happier!!

Hey, Wait a minute – my wife had just gone to service her watch!!! (hmm...now you can connect to the joke)

Scenario 2:
We went to shop for a Kitchen item in another shop in T.Nagar…famous showroom, centrally located, best prices (Advt said so!!), multiple brands, etc…well the Service, if anything to find a decent word - "Pathetic” – yes, we finally still bought the item, because we needed it “Urgently”, but whether we will go there again – I doubt it!!
Not that the freebies mattered, but the salespeople were not willing to explain the product features or the finer details of the product or details about the different brands available. Not that the shop was over crowded, but sheer callous attitude to customers!!!

A simple lesson: Many of us are in the Service industry(Directly or indirectly), so just like how we would enjoy being in the first scenario, look at how we can give our Customers a feeling of “Yes, You mean a Lot to me!!” and I am sure they will keep coming back to you!!!
It is win-win guys!

I was very impressed by the phase இதுவும் கடக்கும் (Even, this will Pass!!!) – May not be the same literary translation in English, but some what close.
This was actor Sivakumar's famous dialogue in a TV soap opera - the first time I heard about it and made me Ponder a Lot!!

Ok, what is so big about this statement?
It highlights to us a very basic fact of life - & that is – Nothing is Permanent – especially when we face failures, stay up and Stay Motivated – because this will ALSO pass – Nothing is permanent and any situation is only temporary, unless we are lost in it and do want to see beyond.

This small yet powerful phrase is something we need to ALWAYS keep in mind – then in Life, we can pass through any challenges that we are asked to face or comes our way !!!

Does this notion apply only to challenges that we face?

No!! It is very much applicable for situations where we have triumphed – again, we should not go overboard celebrating victories – Enjoy your success, but be ready to go to the next phase or situation and continue to succeed.

If we can master this (and this is in our Own Mind), We get a Good balance and will be ready to face any situation in a very Professional way!!

Hmm….this is something that I always believe in…and try to practice!!

Inspirational Video

In the own words of Mac Anderson (Simple truths)

For all of us there are turning points in our lives. One of mine was the first time I heard The Strangest Secret in 1964. It was then, and still is, the most powerful and thought provoking message I've ever heard. In many ways it changed my life.

Earl Nightingale's radio recording that he called The Strangest Secret electrified his listeners all over the country. The stations that carried his syndicated show were deluged with requests for copies of it.

As a result, the audio version of Nightingale's message was recorded, and sold over 1 million copies. In fact, Earl Nightingale's recording of The Strangest Secret was the first non-music record to exceed the one million mark!

Just take 3 minutes to watch The Strangest Secret movie. If you truly understand the concept,
it can change your life forever.
http://www.thestrangestsecretmovie.com/

3 Stages of Life – B/f Bharathi / Dev

Thought provoking – You might want to re-adjust if you realise your current reality

We have 3 stages in our life………..

Teen age:

Have Time + Energy …but No Money










Working Age:


Have Money + Energy …but No Time






Old age:

Have Time + Money …but no Energy











Jokes corner B/f Manish

Man: What is the name of your car?
Lady: I forgot the name, but is starts with 'T'.
Man: Oh, what a strange car, starts with Tea. All cars that I know start with petrol.

Save EARTH – ECO-FACTs – Part 1, B/f Mithra, Tapan

SIMPLE STEPS TOWARDS GO GREEN SAVE EARTH...

1. There is a cute small round press button at the bottom right corner of almost all monitors: Please make use of this,

2. Stop printing out Harry Porter, Jeffrey Archer and other e-books. This is a classic example of paper wastage.



3.If you have forgotten to give double-side prints, make sure you make use of the empty sides as scribbling pads or for your kids' imposition

4.Take two minutes from your busy schedule before hurrying back home to shut down the computer.

5.Plastic bags these days indeed come in bright and flamboyant colours and tempt us to take them home with us. But the saying, "Appearances are deceptive" holds true for these plastic things too. Next time, hold back or go prepared to counter temptation with a cloth bag.

6.Roses, Jasmine, Hibiscus and Peas; All these saplings cost hardly between Rs 10 - 20 each. Can't we afford to plant these in and around our houses? Also, more importantly, caring and maintain them as they grow?