Learning from E Sreedharan career

ET on Sunday, 18th  December 2011, takes a close look at the career of the near-legendary and soon-to-retire Delhi Metro chief, E Sreedharan, and breaks down that fascinating story into learnings for everyone, whether you are a CEO, a manager or a policymaker

:: Malini Goyal 

    It took them 190 km and 14 years to muster the courage to let him go. And yet, two weeks before E Sreedharan quits as managing director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), their trepidation is palpable. The question is not whether Phase III of the Delhi Metro will be completed by its deadline — 2016. The question is whether it will be done the Sreedharan way. Will his legacy continue after he is no longer at the steering wheel?
The man himself is unruffled. Sreedharan has full faith in his team to carry forward Delhi Metro’s sterling tradition. After all, the credit for the project’s success must go to the 7,000 employees who work hard everyday, he says. 
    This is Sreedharan the leader, who has evolved a system that he believes, can do without him. This is Sreedharan the man, who is self-effacing in his humility and can’t be bothered with glory.
    Yet, in the past decade fame chased him. As the Delhi Metro rolled out track after track with speed, precision and transparency, the ‘Metroman’ became the icon for many Indians. 
    Along the way, there were several attempts to deconstruct his success. Every little idiosyncrasy was analysed, each quote repeated several times over. Fans tried to build his work philosophy with scraps of information about how he ran the Delhi Metro. But very few succeeded in inculcating a bit of the Sreedharan style in their lives. So as Sreedharan prepares for his time off, ET on Sundaydecided to revisit the decade and a half that made him an icon. Only this time, we have culled the learnings and formatted them to fit into your role in life. This is the list of lessons with tips from the legend, customised for YOU.
IF YOU ARE A POLICY MAKER Redefine the Context Benchmark yourself against the prevalent system and you’ll land with moderate success. It will not measure up to the grandeur of a Delhi Metro. Such things demand a vision not limited by convention or expectations. People would have been happy if the first phase of the metro was completed by the deadline — 2005. But Sreedharan raised the bar. He told his team, Delhites couldn’t wait for 10 years for a Metro. The deadline was shortened by three years and met. Focus on Goals Not Politics Shore up your perseverance and prepare for maximum resistance, especially by political expediencies. “I don’t know why some bureaucrats are not able to function. They should have the courage to stand up to their convictions and take decisions and not leave everything to the politicians,” says Sreedharan. He followed this principle throughout his career.
    One such occasion was as the head of the Konkan Railway project in the 1990s. They were years of flux as Goa saw chief ministers change four times between 1993 and 1994. Every change brought a fresh group of lobbyists into the spotlight. “Sreedharan was a rock who was determined to get the project completed,” recalls PV Jayakrishnan who at the time worked as the chief secretary, Goa.
    Sreedharan shares another anecdote. In the early years of his DMRC stint, he was to appoint international consultant for the project. His team chose the Japanese on the basis of their bids. But the then railway minister insisted on the Germans as they had lobbied hard for the position.
    “I refused to give in. And refused to even give him any explanation,” says the Metroman. He was confident he had chosen the best and followed all the required procedures. Finally, Sreedharan’s choice was accepted. “That one incident [withstanding political pressures] increased the confidence of my team enormously,” he explains.
IF YOU RUN
A COMPANY Pick a Few Good Men This one is a lesson by Sreedharan and about him. Despite being older than the 
rulebook allowed for (he was 65 years old), the government handpicked him for the job of heading the Delhi Metro project. The then Delhi chief minister, Sahib Singh Verma, the then Delhi lieutenant governor, Tejendra Khanna, the then Delhi chief secretary, Jayakrishnan, pushed for his candidature around 1996. “We were convinced Sreedharan was the one who could make it possible,” recalls Jayakrishnan, who is now the chairman of the central empowered committee on environment. So the then prime minister HD Deve Gowda granted special permission to let Sreedharan take charge as the DMRC head. The choice of the correct leader laid the foundation of DMRC’s dream run.
    Sreedharan also relied on a good team to translate his vision into reality: “I asked the government for two things — the independence to operate with no interference from politicians and bureaucrats. And the freedom to pick my own team.”
Practice What You Preach As the top boss, religiously follow the rules critical to establishing the company’s values. Punctuality is
DMRC’s hallmark — trains roll 
into stations precisely by the minute, meetings start on schedule and employees must walk into the office before 9 am. “Our business is about being punctual. We cannot compromise on it,” says Anuj Dayal, chief public relations officer, Delhi Metro. This is why, if an employee is five minutes late to work, it is clocked in as a half-day. The philosophy is: if you are late for office, you could be late for the project. Says Dayal: “Our trains are 99% punctual.”
    Sreedharan leads by example: he is never late for any commitment, at the work sites or at meetings. Speed is the buzzword. Decisions at DMRC are quick, with tenders as big as 2,000 crore are cleared in 15-20 days without missing out on any government procedure or audit guidelines.
Seek Different Narratives You can never pre-empt the company’s problems by staying closeted in the corner office. Sreedharan ensures he is always in the loop of the goings on of the company. Every Monday, at 9.30 am, he holds weekly meetings attended by the four directors and 40-odd department heads. This is a freewheeling chat and the minutes of the meeting are not recorded. Sreedharan takes stock of the previous week’s performance and sorts out glitches for the future. “We discuss everything here. That is one place I send my message to my people,” he says. For ready reference, he always carries a small diary to take notes.
    On the first Monday of every month, Sreedharan also holds a meeting with midlevel managers to get a broader sense of the issues and his employees. He is approachable for all and does not limit his interactions by hierarchy. 
Challenge Yourself and the Team Stagnation sets in after efficiency so pull up goal posts and demand higher quality standards to force constant improvements. DMRC executives say every time their goal seems achievable and easy, Sreedharan throws up a surprise by setting a tighter deadline. He then works with his team to make it possible.
    Sreedharan is humble, thrives on challenges and faces them head on. Recalls Rakesh Mehta, ex-chief secretary, Delhi government: “There was a Calcutta Bridge near ring road in Delhi that we wanted to widen. The project was awarded to a contractor. After spending 10 crore over four years, he gave up in 2004 claiming it was logistically impossible. There was a drain pipe under the bridge and the contractor claimed the road couldn’t be broadened without damaging the pipe.”
    Desperate, Mehta called Sreedharan for help. Within 24 hours, he visited the site
    with his engineers, redesigned the
    process, suggested minor modifications and the bridge was later completed within a year.
Keep the System
Squeaky Clean The message must go out loud and clear: integrity is priority and non-negotiable for the company. DMRC is perhaps the only mega infrastructure project of the country considered free from corruption taints. To achieve this, Sreedharan puts ethics high up on his goals list. He personally handpicked his team members in the initial years after lot of due diligence. Once on board, strong structures and procedures are in place for every activity — from tendering of contracts to recruitments — to keep employees on the ethical path.
    To foster values, a copy of Makaranda Bhagwadgita is given to all employees when they join. “I do not consider it a religious text. It is an administrative gospel that teaches you how to face challenges and overcome them,” says Sreedharan. All new DMRC staff also take an oath of integrity when they come on board.
IF YOU HEAD
A PROJECT Keep the To-do List Small When the time period is short, prioritise to keep confusion out of execution. And don’t pile your plate too high. In 1989, Sreedharan was appointed member, engineering, Railway Board for only 11 months. His ex-colleague, CBK Rao, now a senior adviser, ITNL Enso Rail Systems which is developing rapid metro rail in Gurgaon, recalls how Sreedharan picked only three goals for the stint: to reduce track fracture, improve quality of rails and their welding. As a result of his focus, in 11 months, there was spectacular progress on all three fronts, Rao recalls.
Think Bigger Than the Brief... A bridge is just a bridge till you envision it as a state-of-the-art engineering wonder. Sreedharan always dreams big. “I have always aspired to get the best technology available in the world,” he says as an example. This has translated into many technological firsts for Delhi Metro. For instance, it was the first in the world to use contactless smart card technology — where the machine could deduct fares from the smart card from a short distance.
    To sustain this edge, employees at DMRC are encouraged to go abroad and understand new technologies. These tours are no holidays, says an official with the company. The trips are packed with meetings and appointments. As a result Delhi Metro keeps up with the latest trends in engineering.
    “I can say we have got some of the best experts of the world in each category — from signalling to engineering — in my office today,” says Sreedharan.
...And Beyond It Be proactive and don’t shy away from unconventional solutions as long as the problem is resolved. The focus must be getting past an obstacle. Here’s how Sreedharan does it. In 2009, DMRC was building the Delhi-Gurgaon line which was to pass through some Chhatarpur farm houses. The owners took the matter to court and work was stopped. Realising that the legal wrangle will delay the project, Sreedharan got his engineers to build an entire station of pre-fabricated steel. Six months before the metro line was to be commissioned, DMRC won the case. Then the employees simply moved the steel box and erected the station — and met the deadline.

Ten Things Only Bad Managers Say

Ten Things Only Bad Managers Say

Economic Times,                     29^th September 2011

Reality Check: How many of these not-so-nice some things do you hear in office?

By Liz Ryan

We know the kinds of things good managers say: They say “Attaboy” or “Attagirl,” “Let me know if you run into any roadblocks, and I’ll try to get rid of them for you,” and “You’ve been killing yourself—why don’t you take off at noon on Friday?” Bad managers don’t say these things. Helpful, encouraging, and trust-based words and phrases don’t occur to them. Crappy bosses say completely different things. For your enjoyment, we’ve gathered together 10 of the most heinous, bad-manager warhorse sayings. Do any of them sound like something a manager in your company might say (or might have said this week)?

1 If you don’t want this job, I’ll find someone who does
Great leaders understand that the transaction defining the employeremployee relationship—the fact that an employer pays you in cash while you cough up your value in sweat and brainwork—is the least important part of your professional relationship. Good managers realize that to get and keep great people, they have to move past the dollars-and-cents transaction and let people own their jobs. Good leaders give people latitude and let them know that their contributions have value. Lousy managers, on the other hand, love to remind employees that it’s all about the transaction: “You work for me.” They never fail to remind team members that someone else would take the job if you ever got sick of it or let the lousy manager down in some way.

2 I don’t pay you to think

This is what a bad manager says when an employee offers an idea he doesn’t like. Maybe the idea threatens the inept manager’s power. Maybe it would require the lousy manager to expend
a few brain cells or some political capital within the organization. Either way, “I don’t pay you to think” is the mantra of people who have no business managing teams. It screams, “Do what I tell you to do, and nothing else.” Life is way too short to spend another minute working for someone who could speak these words.

3 I won’t have you on eBay/ ESPN/Facebook/etc. while you’re on the clock
Decent managers have figured out that there is no clock, not for whitecollar knowledge workers, anyway. Knowledge workers live, sleep, and eat their jobs. Their e-mail inboxes fill up just as fast after 5:00 p.m. as they do before. Their work is never done, and it’s never going to be done. That’s O.K. Employees get together in the office during the daytime hours to do a lot of the work together, and then they go home and try to live their lives in the small spaces of time remaining. If they need a mental break during the day, they can go on PeopleofWalmart.com or Failblog.org without fear of managerial reprisal. We are not robots. We need to stop and shake off the corporate cobwebs every now and then. If a person is sitting in the corner staring up at the ceiling, you could be watching him daydream—or watching him come up with your next million-dollar product idea. (Or doing both things at once.)

4 I’ll take it under advisement
There are certain words that we never use in real life—only in business and only in ways that let us know that the speaker is shining us on, bigtime. “I’ll take it under advisement” means “Go away and die, and don’t speak to me again unless I ask you to.” It means “I am not going to do whatever you just suggested that I do, and I want you to know that I value your opinions less than I can tell you.”

5 Who gave you permission to do that?
My brother worked at a huge tech company, and one day he and his team of Software Quality Assurance folks were meeting at the office before heading to the airport. They gathered at 6 a.m. in a conference room to talk about their plan once they hit the ground in the destination city. The door opened and a manager walked into the conference room. “Who called this meeting?” he asked. “Only a grade level E5 can call a meeting.” My brother left that job a few months later. People who obsess about hierarchy and permission and grade levels and the like are people you’d be better off avoiding, especially in relationships that give them power over your life and career.

6 Drop everything and DO THIS NOW!
Any manager can have a last-minute emergency that pushes everything else out of the way. Good managers pull this move sparingly and only in real crises. Poor managers do it every day, and they never remember the dozen equally critical (at one point in time) priorities they’ve already told you to drop everything else for. A good comeback if your manager has this habit is to answer, “Yes, of course. That’ll push [yesterday’s drop-everything project] to next Thursday—is that fine?”

7 Don’t bring me problems. Bring me solutions
This chestnut showed up during the era when people were beginning to think about business process and realizing that employees could often solve their day-to-day problems in the moment and on the ground, rather than having to go upstairs to get help. That’s O.K., but too many managers have reinterpreted “Bring me solutions, not problems” as “Don’t complain—shut up and deal with it.” The fact is, business processes and organizations are complicated today, and often the employee who spots a problem doesn’t have the information she or he needs to solve it. That’s where a manager can help, if he or she is oriented that way. Managers who say, “Bring me solutions” are often really saying, “Stop telling me what I don’t want to hear.” Working for a person like that will shorten your lifespan.

8 Sounds like a personal problem to me

One of the worst situations I ever encountered as a corporate HR leader involved an employee who went off the rails on a business trip for a Las Vegas customer event. I heard through the grapevine that two employees assigned to share a hotel room had exchanged heated words. On investigating, I learned that the hot mess of an employee had gotten drunk in Las Vegas and showed up (still drunk) in her hotel room with her (also drunk) cabdriver/instant boyfriend in tow. I was horrified on a million levels and virtually ran to her manager’s office to talk once the trip was concluded. “How are we going to deal with this?” I asked him. “Oh, it’s O.K.,” he said, “I told the two young ladies to sort it out between then.” “But—but,” I sputtered, “our employee got drunk and disorderly, was nearly arrested in the hotel, brought a drunk stranger into her shared hotel room, and wouldn’t leave when her co-worker protested. The poor marketing gal had to call another co-worker and switch rooms at four in the morning!” “I know,” said her manager, “and I think there’s a lesson there in how to work harmoniously on a team. I’ve asked the two women to have lunch and talk about it.” That didn’t happen, because we fired Ms. Unruly the same day. If your manager can’t see misbehavior and snuff it out, you have a problem.

9 I have some feedback for you … and everyone here feels the same way
Good managers give their employees feedback when it’s warranted, and they try to emphasize and reinforce the good things. Bad managers don’t give praise, but they ladle on the criticism, and the really bad ones add an extra twist of meanness: They say, “Everyone here feels the same way.” Pretty soon, you start to feel that you can’t trust anyone in your shop and that everyone hates you—until a coworker mentions that your lousy manager said the same thing to her. Poor managers need to throw in a few dozen extra “votes” with their barbs, just to keep employees off guard. A true leader would talk about conflict or performance issues regularly in staff meetings, resolving whatever is at issue without passing along anonymous jabs.

10 In these times, you’re lucky to have a job at all
The funniest thing about a manager who would open his mouth and say, “You’re lucky to have a job at all” is that these managers never seem to think they’re lucky to be working—just everyone else. “You’re lucky to have a job at all” in an era of more than 9 percent unemployment is the same as saying, “I can’t believe you manage to stay in that 90 percent of the population that is working.” It’s a huge insult, but worse, a statement of personal failure on the manager’s part. People who live in fear don’t tend to see the potential in themselves, or in others. If your manager’s native mode is critical, and if she tosses around compliments like manhole covers, know that there are plenty of other employers who’d be happy to have someone like you in the mix.
(Liz Ryan is an expert on the new millennium workplace and a former Fortune 500 HR executive.) Reprinted by permission from Business Week International, (23/09/11), a McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. publication

Top 10 Financial Planning Rules of Thumb

Top 11 Financial Planning Rules of Thumb

http://www.tflguide.com/2011/09/top-10-financial-planning-rules-of-thumb.html

September 6, 2011

In life people want shortcuts – I think that’s the reason rules of thumb find some place in once life. These financial planning rules of thumb are very basic & not at all full-proof as requirement of 2 different people can never be same. They can just give you some idea but important financial decisions should not be taken on basis of these. Editor of The Journal of Financial Planning (US), once noted that “Rules of thumb are for people who want to decide things without thinking about them.” But still it will be unfair to suggest ignoring all of them.

Saving & Investing rules of thumb

1. What should be my asset allocation or how much equity should I have?

This is the most common rule of thumb which is used in investment world. Rule says Equity percentage in your portfolio should be equal to 100 minus your age or in other words debt should be equal to your age. For eg if you are 30 you should have 30% of your investments in debt & 70% (100 – your age) in equity. This doesn’t take care of risk appetite, risk tolerance or how far your goals are.

2. How much emergency fund I should have?

Emergency Fund helps people in case of sudden loss of income, medical emergency etc. Thumb rule says one should have emergency fund equal to 3 to 6 months of monthly expenses. You can keep it at 3 month if you are a government servant but in case of private job or profession you should keep it on the higher side of the range. Make sure you don’t use this amount for day to day needs/wants. For retired person emergency fund should be equal to 1 year of expense.

Retirement rules of thumb

3. How much money will I need in retirement or how much corpus I should build?

You should have 20 times your income saved for retirement and plan to replace 80 percent of pre-retirement income. But here retirement means a retirement at age of 60 ; life expectancy of 80 – and a conservative lifestyle. But now things have changed; you would have dream/planned lot of things for retirement.

Another method is to have liquid assets with cash equivalent of at least 100 months of last income for simple normal living and medicare of spouse and self. It is better if the multiple is 120.  These liquid assets should be interest or dividend yielding.

Another simple method:
No. of retirement years....till death of individual and spouse...whichever is longer/ later multiplied by money required for first year of retirement.....for this

• Money here is simple cash assets or equivalent ...
• no land/ sites...considered
• if a building, rental value is considered....
• self occupied house is not considered..

4. How much I need to invest every month to achieve retirement goal?

“Indians are great savers” sorry “Indians were great savers”. New generation is in some different mood they would like to enjoy the present & have no idea about future. If you have just started to work & would like to have a very simple lifestyle & retirement at age of 60 you can do it with saving (read investing) 10% of your income. If you are planning for an early retirement start with 20% savings. Other rule says if you are in early 30s Save 10% for basics, 15% for comfort, 20% to escape. If you are late by decade add 5% more in each category.

Insurance rules of thumb

5. How much insurance should I have?

Here insurance means insurance. Rule says one should have sum assured of 8-10 times of his yearly income. I think this rule is far from perfect but still can be used as starting point. This does not take care of any of your goals, liabilities & even complete expenses. Some modified version of this rule says that if you are in early 30s insurance should be 12-15 times of your annual income; if you are in 50s take 6-8 times.

Loan/liability/home rules of thumb

6. How big should be my House?

The value of house should be equal to 2-3 times of your family annual income. So if you & your spouse are earning total Rs 20 lakh – you should buy a house in Range of Rs 40-60 Lakh. But never exceed 60 month salary.

7. Maximum EMI that I can have?

Ideally 0 will be the best answer but few of the big assets like home require some loan to buy them. Experts agree that your EMIs should not be more than 36% of Gross Monthly Income at any point of time. It should be even lesser when you are close to your retirement. If you want to talk about home loan EMI, it should not be greater than 28% of your gross income. Now TENURE of loan is missing here – for tenure read No. 6 & 8 rules of thumb.

8. Rules of thumb for buying a car

This is one of the biggest purchases after your home. And this is depreciating asset – today morning you purchase a car for Rs 10 lakh & by the evening it will be worth Rs 8-9 Lakh. After 5 years it will not be even of half value but still you keep buying cars regularly – buy at 10, sell at 4 & loose 6. (repeat the cycle) There are few rules that you can follow:

• Value of car should not be more than 50% of the Net annual income of the owner.
• Purchase a used car or buy a new & use it for 10 years.
• While buying car with loan stick to 20/4/10 – Minimum 20% down payment, loan tenure not more than 4 years & EMI should not be higher than 10% of your income.

Rate of return Rules of Thumb

9. In how many years my amount will double?

It’s a very simple & most common rule – if you divide 72 by rate of return you will get the number of years in which your money will double. For Eg. If you expect a rate of return of 12% you money will double in 6 years (72/12=6) & what about if rate of return is 8% – 72/8=9 years. This can also be used in reverse order at what rate your money will double in 5 years – 72/5=14.4%

Rules similar to rule of 72:

Rule of 114 & 144

These can help you in how many years your money will be triple (114) or quadruple (144) at some rate of returns.

Rule of 70

You know it or not but inflation is your biggest enemy – rule of 70 will tell you in how many years value of money will be half. You just need to divide 70 with rate of inflation so if rate of inflation is 7% – 70/7=10 years. So in 10 years your Rs 100 note will be worth Rs 50.

10. Rule 10/5/3

This is a US rule of thumb which says in long term you can get 10% return from equity, 5% return from bonds (let’s say FDs) & 3% from the t-bills (liquid funds – these returns are more or less close to the range of inflation). Indian economy is growing at some different pace & even inflation numbers are different. Can we safely say if inflation is 6% (t-bill rates) we can get 8% from the fixed deposits & 12% from the equity or in other words – in long term equities will deliver twice the return of inflation. Try combining Rule of 72 with this rule – you will get some amazing numbers.

11. Wealthy:

consider yourself wealthy? A rule-of-thumb formula used by Thomas J Stanley & William D Danko in The Millionaire Next Door, a book that studies selfmade American millionaires, can help determine if you are.

(Age *Pre-tax income)/10 == Net worth

The logic behind the formula is that the older you are and the more money you make, the more net worth you should have. Dividing by 10 is a rule-of-thumb that fits current culture. So if you are a 35-yearold living with an annual income of Rs. 6,00,000 a year, your net worth should be Rs. 2.1 million [(35 X 6,00,000)/10 = 21,00,000] for you to be considered wealthy. If you are 20 years old and you make Rs. 3,00,000 lakh a year, you would be wealthy if your net worth was greater than Rs. 6,00,000.

Some time Rules of thumb will give you false sense of security or wrong guidance – so take them with pinch of salt.

Nurture Innovative thinking

Analysis of the world's most innovative companies suggests a few common things:

• Keep Company populated with people — including senior managers — who excel at the five skills of disruptive innovators:
• questioning,
• observing,
• networking,
• experimenting, and
• associational thinking
• Keep processes that encourage employees to question the status quo, to engage in observations in all types of environments, to network far and wide for ideas, and to experiment on a regular basis.
• Keep encouraging everyone to "think different" and reward those who do.

Michhami Dukkadam

Michhami Dukkadam

Michhami Dukkadam meaning ‘My bad deeds be fruitless’. Jains at the end of festival of Paryushana, ask for forgiveness for anything wrong that I have done or caused any harm to anyone.

This is not to just follow the tradition, but I really mean it and ask for forgiveness if I have hurt someone.

mann vachan kaya se jaante hue ya ajante hue dil dukhaya ho to aapse Michhami Dukkadam

Translation: If I have caused you offence in any way, knowingly or unknowingly, in thought word or deed, then I seek your forgiveness

How Will You Measure Your Life?

Ralph Waldo Emerson defined success with these words:

• To laugh often and much;
• to win the respect of intelligent people and
• the affection of children;
• to earn the appreciation of honest critics and
• endure the betrayal of false friends;
• to appreciate beauty,
• to find the best in others;
• to leave the world a bit better - whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
• to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.

This is to have succeeded."     

Nine Do's and Don'ts for Dealing with the Disgruntled - Rosabeth Moss Kanter

http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/2011/08/nine-dos-and-donts-for-dealing.html?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-daily_alert-_-alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_date

When faced with cranky, grumpy, or disgruntled people, these Do's and Don'ts can be helpful.

1. Don't give them power. Don't let their claims occupy disproportionate time and management attention. Have one person manage so that everyone else can continue the real work.
2. Do keep telling your positive story about the organization's purpose, mission, goals, and accomplishments. Remind everyone about the big picture.
3. Don't adopt an angry tone. Stay calm and professional. Don't stoop to their level by telling juicy stories. Recent studies show that badmouthing makes the tale-teller look bad, in a boomerang effect.
4. Don't tell their story for them. Don't start meetings or conversations by rehashing the situation. Stick to a simple statement or two that acknowledges your sorrow that there are complaints. Don't sound defensive. Don't lend credibility by providing your answers to things that audiences might not know or care about.
5. Don't assume that being right is enough. Having the facts on your side might be enough in a court of law, but it is not necessarily enough in the court of public opinion. Other people are convinced by your actions. They need to see that you operate by principles. They will judge your authenticity and consistency.
6. Do make a small gesture, even if you don't have to. Anyway, maybe you're not 100% right. A slight concession can make you look gracious and understanding. The disgruntled person can claim to have won something, which makes it easier to get him or her to go away. Make your limits clear.
7. Do respond to rumors immediately. Don't let slurs stand without a response that is accurate, persuasive, and catchy. And put out the counter-story without repeating the insult.
8. Do inform your allies early and often. Arm them with facts and details. Seek their support.
9. Do keep moving ahead. Don't stop the action. Develop and announce exciting plans. Help everyone envision the future.

Above all, do what's right for the mission and stakeholders. Even in a volatile world that requires tough decisions, the best way to counter crankiness is through an inspiring, energizing purpose.

Steve's Seven Insights for 21st Century Capitalists

http://blogs.hbr.org/haque/2011/08/steves_seven_insights_for_21st.html?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-daily_alert-_-alert_date&utm_source=newsletter_daily_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=alert_date

Herewith, without further ado, a minor eulogy for Steve Jobs the CEO. When you look at the global economy today, here's what might strike you: Apple is an organization almost singularly unlike the massed hordes and would-be contenders to the throne that surround it. It is the one company seemingly tuned to hit the revolutionary apex, not race past the lowest common denominator. So how did Steve — after a legendary decade in the wilderness, exiled from the island of his own creation, watching it turn grey, dull, bland, and colonized, perhaps even lobotomized — rebuild it that way?

I looked through this excellent compendium of Jobs quotes and found seven lessons for people and companies looking to succeed as 21st century capitalists.

Matter. "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water — or do you want to change the world?" That's what Steve famously asked John Sculley. Translation: do you really want to spend your days slaving over work that fails to inspire, on stuff that fail to count, for reasons that fail to touch the soul of anyone?

Master. "Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it's really how it works." Whatever your domain, you have to appreciate Apple's impact on the field of design. Apple built a mastery of design so deep, it reshaped the entire field. Would you say the Gap's reshaped textiles? Would you say McDonald's has reshaped nutrition? Nope and nope.

Do the insanely great. "When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it." We're awash in a sea of the tedious, the humdrum, the predictable. If your goal is rising head and shoulders above this twisting mass of mediocrity, then it's not enough, anymore, to tack on another 99 features every month and call it "innovation." Just do great work.

Have taste. "The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste." Great work doesn't just require legions of beancounters, or armies of willing muscle — it requires the capacity to make cultural judgments: in a word, taste. I don't mean to be rude (though I do mean to be impertinent) but if the opposite of taste is tackiness, then I'd say: we might just be approaching the tackiest point in history known to man. In a world where customer service can barely pronounce your name (and you theirs), a world where big-box stores barely even bother to tidy up the over-crammed shelves, a world where things get cheaper and cheaper — but look and feel like they were dreamt up by the dream team of Frankenstein, Simon Cowell, and the Wolfpack — a tiny morsel of taste is probably a competitive superweapon.

Build a temple. "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do." If you have the audacity to do great work, then it probably deserves a home worthy of its title — not a doghouse. Putting great work in a big box store is a bit like the legendary Ferran Adria, arguably the world's most creative chef, deciding to serve his groundbreaking tour de forces of molecular gastronomy at KFC: it might get the job done, but people are going to gulp it and chomp it, rather than savor it, revel in it — and value it. The nuances, complexities, attention to detail, inspiration, and artistry inherent in great work need temples: places and spaces where they can be explored, investigated, discovered — where people can be delighted, surprised, and amazed. Think of it as a tale of economic complementarities, that works both ways: if you want to know why the Sony Style store doesn't work, the reason's simple: the work isn't great; it's an empty temple. The Apple Store's one of the most successful retail spaces in the modern economy — a testament to the power not merely of great work, or cutting edge design, but giving people beautiful spaces in which to want to actually spend time enjoying all the above. Imagine that.

Don't build a casino. "The cure for Apple is not cost-cutting. The cure for Apple is to innovate its way out of its current predicament." This one's easy in principle — but difficult in practice. To illustrate: guess how much debt Apple has? Zero. Not as in "a few million," but as in: "not a single penny." In an era where it's harder and harder to resist the voluptuous temptations of glittering casino capitalism, Apple did in practice what most companies struggle and strain to — it built an enterprise so solidly managed financially it might as well have been a fortress. Steve wasn't in it to win the alarms-blaring jackpot — his goal was to create stuff that endured.

Don't pander — better. "We didn't build the Mac for anybody else. We built it for ourselves." It's the received wisdom that Steve never listened to his customers — and he'd often make a point of saying so. But how many other CEOs do you know that were listening so intently that they responded to the average fanboy's (or troll's) emails? Steve's goal in paying obsessive attention to all things Apple wasn't merely to "listen" but to discern people's wildest expectations, and then firmly take a quantum leap past them, instead of merely discovering the lowest-common-denominator of what people wanted most today, and then pandering to it. Leapfrogging your customers means creating new markets, not just new products. And Apple's created (or rejuvenated) market after market by applying the logic above.

Those aren't the only lessons, nor probably the best lessons. Just a quick reflection on my own. You might arguably conclude: Steve took on the challenge of proving that the art of enterprise didn't have to culminate in a stagnant pond of unenlightenment — and won. In doing so, he might just have built something approximating the modern world's most dangerously enlightened company. Can you?

LETTER OF THE EDITOR OF "THE TIMES OF INDIA" TO THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA

http://www.jaagore.com/article/letter-editor-times-india-prime-minister-india

Dear Mr. Prime minister,

I am a typical mouse from Mumbai. In the local train compartment which has capacity of 100 persons, I travel with 500 more mice. Mouse at least squeaks, but we don't even do that.
Today I heard your speech, in which you said, 'NO BODY WOULD BE SPARED'. I would like to remind you that fourteen years have passed since serial bomb blasts in Mumbai took place. Dawood was the main conspirator. Till today he is not caught. All our Bollywood actors, our builders, our Gutka king keep meeting him, but your Government can not catch him. Reason is simple; all your ministers are hand in glove with him. If any attempt is made to catch him, everybody will be exposed. Your statement 'NOBODY WOULD BE SPARED' is nothing but a cruel joke on these unfortunate people of India.
Enough is enough. As such, after seeing terrorist attack carried out by about a dozen young boys, I realize that if same thing continues, days are not far away when terrorists will attack by air, destroy our nuclear reactors and there will be one more Hiroshima.
We the people are left with only one mantra. Womb to Bomb to Tomb. You promised Mumbaikar Shanghai; what you have given us is Jalianwala Baug.
Today only your home minister resigned. What took you so long to kick out this joker? Only reason was that he was loyal to Gandhi family. Loyalty to Gandhi family is more important than blood of innocent people, isn't it?
I am born and brought up in Mumbai for last fifty eight years. Believe me, corruption in Maharashtra is worse than that in Bihar.Look at all the politicians, Sharad Pawar, Chagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Bal Thackray , Gopinath Munde, Raj Thackray, Vilasrao Deshmukh all are rolling in money. Vilasrao Deshmukh is one of the worst Chief ministers I have seen.His only business is to increase the FSI every other day, make money and send it to Delhi, so Congress can fight next election.Now the clown has found new way and will increase FSI for fishermen, so they can build concrete houses right on sea shore. Next time terrorists can comfortably live in those houses, enjoy the beauty of the sea and then attack our Mumbai at their will.
Recently, I had to purchase a house in Mumbai. I met about two dozen builders. Everybody wanted about 30% in black. A common person like me knows this and with all your intelligent agency & CBI, you and your finance ministers are not aware of it. Where all the black money goes? To the underworld isn't it?Our politicians take help of these goondas to vacate people by force. I myself was victim of it. If you have time please come to me, I will tell you everything.
If this has been a land of fools, idiots, then I would not have ever cared to write to you this letter. Just see the tragedy. On one side we are reaching moon, people are so intelligent; and on the other side, you politicians have converted nectar into deadly poison. I am everything Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Schedule caste, OBC, Muslim OBC, Christian Schedule caste, and Creamy Schedule caste; only what I am not is INDIAN.You politicians have raped every part of Mother India by your policy of divide and rule.
Take example of our Former President Abdul Kalam. Such an intelligent person; such a fine human being. But you politician didn't even spare him and instead choose a worthless lady who had corruption charges and insignificant local polititian of Jalgaon WHO'S NAME ENTIRE COUNTRY HAD NOT HEARD BEFORE. Its simple logic your party just wanted a rubber stamp in the name of president. Imagine SHE IS SUPREME COMMANDAR OF INDIA'S THREE DEFENCE FORCES. what moral you will expect from our defence forces ? Your party along with opposition joined hands, because politicians feel they are supreme and there is no place for good person.
Dear Mr Prime minister, you are one of the most intelligent persons, a most learned person. Just wake up, be a real SARDAR. First and foremost, expose all selfish politicians. Ask Swiss banks to give names of all Indian account holders.Give reins of CBI to independent agency. Let them find wolves among us. There will be political upheaval, but that will be better than dance of death which we are witnessing every day. Just give us ambience where we can work honestly and without fear. Let there be rule of law. Everything else will be taken care of.
Choice is yours Mr. Prime Minister. Do you want to be lead by one person, or you want to lead the nation of 100 Crore people?
Prakash B. Bajaj
Editor Mumbai-Times of India

You've got to find what you love: Steve Jobs

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

This is a prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.

18 Tips to Ace Your Job Interview

http://go4interview.blogspot.com/2011/08/18-tips-to-ace-your-job-interview.html

18 Tips to Ace Your Job Interview

Finding a job in today’s economy is difficult. Simply searching for a job opportunity is tough enough. Throw in the dreaded job interview and difficult becomes downright stressful. However, it is possible to alleviate some of the stress. Here are 18 tips to help you ace your job interview.

Know Where You Are Going

A few days before your interview, make sure to get directions to your interview location online. If the directions are confusing or you aren’t familiar with the location, take time to do a drive by so that on the day of your interview you don’t get lost.

Call to Confirm

The day before your interview, call whoever scheduled your interview to confirm the day and time. By making a quick “I just wanted to confirm our 12pm interview time tomorrow” call, you will show that you are organized and respect the interviewer’s time.

Hygiene

Before your interview, make sure your hygiene is up to par. For men, this means making sure your hair is in control and that you are clean-shaven. For women, this means making sure to put on a little bit of makeup and doing your hair.

Review Your Resume

The night before your interview, go back over your resume to make sure you have everything on it that best highlights your skills and accomplishments as they relate to the position you are applying for. Make sure you know your major talking points for the interview so that you are adequately prepared.

Research the Company

Take the time to research the company you are interviewing with. Know what they do, their mission statement, any major events in the company’s history, and any other relevant information. By showing that you know about the company, you will convey an interest that the interviewer will appreciate.

Research Your Interviewers

When researching the company, also be sure to do a little research on anyone who will be interviewing you. By knowing their role in the company and any major professional accomplishments they have, you will demonstrate that you care not just about the company but about the employees and that you will be a great coworker.

Dress the Part

If you want the part, you have to look the part. Figure out the kind of culture the company has, then dress a level up. By doing this, you will demonstrate a level of professionalism that will be looked upon favorably.

Drive Safely

Your interview starts as soon as you enter the parking lot and doesn’t end until you leave the parking lot. Be sure to be a good driver when driving. Reckless driving will label you as an irresponsible liability the company doesn’t need.

Be Early

Whatever you do, do not be late. Show up early to demonstrate that you are responsible and appreciative of the interviewer’s time. Even showing up on time doesn’t cut it as that will simply show you will do the bare minimum to get by. Employers want employees who will go above and beyond.

Turn Your Cell Phone Off

One major interview faux pas is to have your phone ring during an interview. Make sure your cell phone is off or on silent during an interview. Or better yet, just leave it in the car.

Bring Multiple Copies of Your Resume
If you were giving a presentation during a company meeting that required a handout you would make sure you had made enough copies for everyone in the meeting, right? Well, chances are you will have multiple people interviewing you, so be prepared and respectful of each interviewer by bringing a copy of your resume for each of them.

Watch Your Nonverbals
Be sure to make good eye contact, give each interview a solid handshake, and not fiddle with a pen. Your nonverbal cues are very important in an interview, so do your best to not just talk confidently, but act confident too.

Have an Elevator Speech Prepared

Most of the time, the first question you will be asked is, “tell me about yourself.” Make sure you are ready for this question by having a brief, 30-second elevator speech ready to go that highlights your job history and accomplishments as well as what you are looking for in your career. Memorize the speech by heart and learn how to deliver your pitch with charm and confidence.

Be Prepared for Certain Questions

Inevitably you will be asked questions along the lines of “what is your greatest weakness,” “why do you want to work here,” and “how does your current skill set fit with this position.” Be sure you know how to answer these questions and any other relevant questions before your interview so you don’t get caught off guard.

Stay Positive

We have all had jobs we hated, worked on projects that were difficult, and had bosses we butted heads with. You will probably be asked about difficult situations in previous positions, so be sure to stay positive about those situations by highlighting your success in that situation as well as anything beneficial you learned from it.

Have Questions

At the end of your interview, you will be asked if you have any questions for the interviewer. Have questions prepared to ask each interviewer. For example, you could ask, “What is your favorite part of your job?” By coming prepared with questions for your interviewers, it shows that you are prepared and have interest in the company.

Take Notes

During your interview, be sure you have a notepad with you so you can take notes when the interviewers answer your questions or give you more information about the job and company. Just make sure you continue to make eye contact with the interviewer and not simply writing frantically on your notepad.

Follow Up

At the end of the interview, get business cards from everyone who interviewed you and send them a thank you note or email within 24 hours. Doing this demonstrates that you are appreciative of their time.

Will God save me, if I do pujas ?!

http://www.speakingtree.in/ttrangarajan/blog/Will-God-save-me-if-I-do-pujas-answer-by-TTRangarajan

TT Rangarajan - Living Guru

Question : Are there divine preferences, divine injustices and divine irregularities?

T.T. Rangarajan (Voice of Love): It may appear so, but Existential Order is always zero defect. Everything is as it should be. There are no irregularities in Existence. If I may use a metaphor, it doesn’t matter how noble hearted one is, but if he doesn’t know how to drive and yet attempts to drive a vehicle, he is sure to meet with an accident. The suffering of most people is that though they may be good, though they may believe in god, they have failed to develop the competence to live life.

We just believe that worshiping god or the messengers of god or the incarnations of god is sufficient to earn His blessing. We are lost in the ignorance that god will come and save us just as an answer to all our pujas, rituals and offerings. We choose to make various kinds of offerings as kickbacks to please the Lord and expedite matters for us, tilt opportunities in our favour, prolong the life of our loved ones, etc… but we have conveniently chosen to ignore principles like Honesty, Integrity, Karma and so many other virtues, which find common mention across all scriptures.

Think about it. If worshipping the Lord is sufficient, then why the Bible? Why the Koran? Why the Bhagawad Gita? Why any scripture for that matter? In fact, the very basis of every scripture is to teach you and me the components of Existential Order, so that you and I can live our lives in alignment with the Existential Order. Even if you are a maths teacher’s son, if two plus two is written as three, you are wrong. Even if you know nothing about the examiner, if two plus two is written as four, you are right.

Even those who do not know ‘Who is god?’, even those who do not believe in the existence of god, as long as they live in alignment to the Existential Order, which is what every scripture is all about, they will always be blessed by His grace. The more you are aligned to the Existential Order, the more you’ll experience His Grace. Grace is the spiritual reward for aligning yourself to the Existential Order.

Suffering is a spiritual feedback that somewhere you have lost your alignment to the Existential Order. God is not a matter of belief, but a matter of alignment.Why did the incarnate Krishna waste his time preaching eighteen chapters, answering and clarifying every question of Arjuna? Krishna could have simply told Arjuna - go around me thrice, pour some milk and ghee over me, smear sandalwood paste all over your body, fall at my feet four times and just shoot your arrows. Then, why at all the Bhagawad Gita?

If going to church on Sunday mornings and faith in Christ are enough, then why did Christ waste three years of his life sermonising ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ which became the Bible? If doing Namaz five times a day is enough, then why all those ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ in the Koran?

The Mahabharata shows that Duryodana took all the resources of Krishna, and that was not enough. Arjuna had Krishna himself, and that too was not enough. Only when Arjuna understood the Dharma (Existential Order) and acted in alignment with it was he able to emerge victorious. The message is clear and simple - god does not work for you; He works with you. His design is such that the only way He can work with you is when you live in alignment with the Existential Order.

If god is the Messenger, the scriptures are his Message. The only way to have the grace of the Messenger is to live by the Message. It is just not enough to value the Master… you must Master the values. Be devoted to the Messenger, but be disciplined by the Message.

:A portion from “Clarity is Power” by T.T Rangarajan, ALMA MATER, FROZEN THOUGHTS

Factors to be considered while changing a Job

www.12manage.com/

Six drivers of the Corporate Reputation Quotient Check and compare on these parameters, when you change a Job.
This business reputation model has the following 6 drivers of
Corporate Reputation Quotient and 20 Attributes.
Emotional appeal
Good feeling about the  company
Admire and respect the company
Employees and public Trust the  company
Products and services
Company believes in its products and services
Company offers high quality products and services
Develops innovative products and services
Offers products and services that are good value
Vision and leadership
Has excellent leadership
Has a clear vision for the future
Recognizes and lakes advantage of market opportunities
Workplace environment
Is well managed
Appears to be a good company to work for
Appears to have good employees
Financial performance
History of profitability
Appears a low risk investment
Strong prospects for future growth
Tends to outperform its competitors