For the Winning Edge…


Employee "A" in a company walked up to his manager and asked what my job is for the day? The manager took "A" to the bank of a river and asked him to cross the river and reach the other side of the bank."A" completed this task successfully and reported back to the manager about the completion of the task assigned. The manager smiled and said "GOOD JOB"

"Next day Employee "B" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task as above to this person also. The Employee "B', before starting the task saw Employee "C" struggling in the river to reach the other side of the bank. He realized "C" has the same task. Now "B" not only crossed the river but also helped "C" to cross the river. "B" reported back to the manager and the manager smiled and said "VERY GOOD JOB"

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

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

What is the difference between A, B, Q & O????????

Many a times in life we get tasks to be done at home, at office, at play….,

Most of us end up doing what is expected out of us. Do we feel happy? Most probably yes. We would be often disappointed when the recognition is not meeting our expectation.

Let us compare ourselves with "B". Helping some one else the problem often improves our own skills. There is an old proverb "learn to teach and teach to learn". From a company point of view "B" has demonstrated much better skills than "A" since one more task for the company is completed.

"Q" created knowledge base for the team. More often than not, we do the task assigned to us without checking history. Learning from other's mistake is the best way to improve efficiency. This knowledge creation for the team is of immense help. Re-usability reduces cost there by increases productivity of the team. "Q" demonstrated good "team-player" skills

"Now to the outstanding person, "O" made the task irrelevant; he created a Permanent Asset to the team.

If you notice B, Q and O all have demonstrated "team performance" over an above individual performance; also they have demonstrated a very invaluable characteristic known as

"INITIATIVE"

Initiative pays of every where whether at work or at personal life. If you put initiative you will succeed. Initiative is a continual process and it never ends. This is because this year's achievement is next year's task. You cannot use the same success story every year.

When you judge your performance, analyze have you acted as A, B, Q or O?

Source: Vikas Seth

The EYES of a Leader...

The EYES of a Leader...

The Mahabharata tells the story of a kingdom where the royal couple has no EYES. The king, Dhritarashtra, was blind and his queen, Gandhari, blindfolded herself. The result: children who were unobserved. The father cannot SEE; the mother chooses not to SEE. The children grow up with a warped value system. Since no one is seeing them, they feel they can get away with anything. As a result the law of the jungle reigns supreme in the kingdom of Dhritarashtra. A woman is publicly disrobed and lands are grabbed by force.


Leaders must have the EYES to SEE his people. He must recognize them for who they are, rather than what he wants them to be. More often than not, leaders don't have EYES – or rather they SEE only themselves. Their EYES are only for their vision of the world. They do not realize there are others around them with other visions of life. This lack of EYES strips them of all empathy. Everything is measured and valued against their narrow vision. Those who support, praise and align with their vision are good; while those fail to do so or provide constructive criticisms are bad. Intellectual leaders with an intellectual outlook of things therefore look down upon people who are not intellectual. Emotional leaders keep advising non-emotional team members to transform for their betterment. Task oriented leaders do not value people oriented team members and vice versa. In other words, they SEE nothing but themselves and constantly seek themselves in others. They notice no one else. They SEE others as they SEE themselves.


The ability to recognize and nurture talent is often missing in people who are assumed to be leaders by their respective organizations. Some leaders recognize talent but do not know what do with it. Others, envious of talent, reject or ignore them deliberately. Some leaders recognize talent but do not know what do with it. Others, envious of talent, reject or ignore them deliberately. The character Karna in the Mahabharata is a case in point. Karna was always seen as a charioteer's son and never as a great archer by the Pandavas. It was Duryodhana who saw Karna's talent but used him unfortunately for his villainous goals. This is what happens to talented people who are rejected in organizations or in countries – they end up with competitors. These talents are like stallions, they know their value and can move anywhere with tremendous speed. The leaders must have the EYES to spot and develop talents within their organizations.


In the Upanishads, it is said that it is an observer who creates an observation. It is our attention that creates the world around us. Likewise, it is the EYES of the leader that creates an organization around him. In Mahabharata Dhritarashtra's lack of sight and his wife's refusal to SEE created the Kauravas. It is not so much about sight as it is about attention – how much attention do we put in people around us.


As leaders, do we SEE people around us and pay attention to them? Do we SEE what they SEE? Do we try and align our vision to theirs or do we simply impose our vision onto them? It is time for leaders to open their EYES to these questions, otherwise they should not be in leadership positions.

Source: Dr Devdutt Pattanaik

The BUS DRIVER

The BUS DRIVER

CEOs Must Know How to Drive the BUS…

If an organization is a bus, then the CEO must know how to drive the bus. The CEO must be able to get the right people onto the bus, get the wrong people off the bus and set the direction for the passengers.


Get the right people onto the bus. I think this is a key concept that most organizations do not do well at all. How can you achieve success if you have the 'wrong' team? One of the mistakes most organizations make when they recruit is to select people based solely on their technical qualifications and skills. This is important, but I would suggest a better option would be to select based more on behavioral rather than technical skills. I would rather employ a manager with satisfactory technical skills but with an excellent attitude rather than the most technically qualified manager, but with a terrible attitude. Working in organizations is not only doing your work well but importantly, interacting and assisting other people in doing their work well too. In a nutshell, the right people would be people with the right skills/competencies, attitude, team players and critically, those who can take your organization to the next level. In the process make sure that the right people in your organization are also sitting in the 'right' seats in the bus! And finally, make sure you are the right driver; otherwise, the right people may get off the bus prematurely at the next stop!!


Get the wrong people off the bus. How do you get rid of your employees who are constantly underperforming or are the deadwood in the organization? I would suggest that you can do this by borrowing an idea from Jack Welch when he was the CEO of GE. He ranked all his employees into three categories, category A were the high performers, category B were those who had the potential but lacked certain skills and experience, and lastly category C were those who were underperforming. Every year, managers had to brief their superior about actions they had taken in relation to people in category C. Termination was always an option that was considered because one bad apple can make a whole team under-perform, which is usually disastrous. Marcus Buckingham in his book, "First break all the rules", says that most CEOs spend a lot of time on underperformers when if they spend the same time on high performers, the returns would be so much greater. Although it is difficult to terminate people, however not terminating them would be more disastrous option for your organization. Please also remember that even if you have excellent goals and strategies, but with the wrong people on the bus, you will continue to achieve mediocre results.


Set the Direction. When you board the bus, you always want to know where the bus is going. If you are not aware, then it is most certain that you will feel uncomfortable. Bus drivers must therefore always keep their passengers informed. It is okay to change direction every once in a while, because passengers understand the volatile state of the business environment and the need to change course. They however would like to always be kept informed of the 'new direction', so that they can work towards assisting the driver to reach the new 'destination'. When you are kept in the 'dark' there is nothing much you can do to assist the driver. Vision/mission statements and organizational strategies must therefore be made known to everyone in the bus inclusive the ones at the lower levels!! I have many times in the course of my work, seen vision/mission statements that were there to be used more as marketing tools and also because 'everyone is doing it', rather than as a tool to drive the organization. Ask your management team today about what your organization's vision/mission statement is and I am most certain 90% will not know!! Think about it! If you do not know where you are going, how can you get there!!


Source: Jim Collins

The Peter Principle

The Peter Principle

The Peter Principle concept was introduced by Dr. Laurence Johnston Peter in his book of the same title. The concept of this principle is that in organizations, new employees typically start in the lower ranks, but when they prove to be competent in their job, they get promoted to a higher rank and to a new job. This process goes on indefinitely, until the employee reaches a job where he or she is no longer competent! Although incompetent, they are kept in the job as it is very difficult to 'demote' someone. The net result is that most of the management levels of a bureaucracy can be filled by incompetent people, who got there because they were quite good at doing different work than the work they are currently expected to perform.

As an example, it is usual for organizations to promote their best sales person to a management position. The nature of the new job however is totally different i.e. managing a sales force. The sales person may be very good at doing sales but falls short when it comes to managing people. Hence he has been promoted to a job that he is incompetent in, triggering the concept of the Peter Principle.

How many times have we seen this principle being demonstrated in organizations? How many times have we all some times wondered about how certain people got promoted to their present positions? Ironically they are there not because they are good at their present job, but because they were good at their past jobs. And the trouble with people like these is that they then carry on doing the tasks involved in 'their past jobs' because they cannot do their present ones well. How many times have we seen managers go on and on about the font and format of a report rather than the substance of it; How many times have we seen a sales manager trying to teach a sales person how to sell when his priority should be drawing up sales strategies for his sales force: How many times have we seen CEO's getting involved in the administration of the annual dinner when the mission statements and strategies for the organization have yet to be drawn up. The list is endless. There is no escaping this concept in organizations.

However a good way to overcome this would be to ensure that whenever a person is promoted, it is ability in the future job that will play a critical role in the promotion process, and not ability in his present job. I must admit that this is easier said than done!

Related article:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/manager/2006/12/11/stories/2006121101301000.htm

Measure your True Efforts…

Measure your True Efforts…

Shivangi was a God loving young girl. Unlike most of her peers she would spend a lot of time in prayer and devotional singing. Her parents married her to a boy from a very good family. Much to her dismay, Shivangi learned soon after her wedding that her husband Abhay was a compulsive alcoholic and had no interest in anything Godly.

Every evening when Shivangi would sit down to offer prayers to the Lord, Abhay would abuse her and show his annoyance. He would ask her to sit with him and give him company because he loved her so much. Shivangi had to give up her evening prayer routine to please her newly wed husband.

As months and years passed, Shivangi slowly persuaded her husband to let her sit for her evening bhajan for an hour everyday. He had grown more considerate because of the love and affection she showered on him. He was also drinking lesser because she impressed upon him time and again about the evils of alcohol.

Every evening Abhay would sit down to have his drink, but he would miss his wife's company. He kept thinking of her. He kept visualizing her in the prayer room, singing bhajans. Time and again he would wait for the hour to be over, so that she would come and join him.

In the prayer room, Shivangi would play the Harmonium and sing for the Lord. But, her thoughts would drift towards her husband. In her minds eye, she would picture Abhay, taking one drink after the other. She prayed to the Lord, to change her husband's habits. Months passed like this.

One night, Shivangi had a dream: Abhay and Shivangi were kneeling before the Lord.

God said: Shivangi, Abhay is more devoted to me than you. Shivangi: Lord! How is that possible? I sing your glory, but he drinks all evening.

God: When you are physically in the prayer room, you are mentally drinking. You think only of Abhay. "The drink is in you and you are in the drink."

But, when Abhay is drinking, he constantly thinks about prayer and bhajan. He even mentally sings the songs he imagines you to be singing. "The prayer is in him and he is in prayer."

Shivangi: But Lord...!

God: No my child! It is only when you remember me from the core of your heart that you can feel that "I am in you and you are in me." Prayer is talking to God. The time you spend in 'prayer' is of no significance unless you are able to establish the connection that makes you feel that, "God is in you, with you and around you!"

"What counts is not the number of hours you put in, but how much you put in the hours."


Contributed By Rakesh Bisht


yoginAm api sarvesAm mad-gatenantar-AtmanA
sraddhAvAn bhajate yo mAm sa me yuktatamo mataH (Gita, 6.47)

Man-manA bhava mad bhakto mad yAjimAm namaskuru,
mAm evaiyasi satyam te pratijAne priyo 'si me (Gita, 18.65)

The Elephant and the Fly

The Elephant and the Fly


A disciple and his teacher were walking through the forest. The disciple was disturbed by the fact that his mind was in constant unrest.

He asked his teacher: "Why most people's minds are restless, and only a few possess a calm mind? What can one do to still the mind?"

The teacher looked at the disciple, smiled and said: "I will tell you a story. An elephant was standing and picking leaves from a tree. A small fly came, flying and buzzing near his ear. The elephant waved it away with his long ears. Then the fly came again, and the elephant waved it away once more".

This was repeated several times. Then the elephant asked the fly: "Why are you so restless and noisy? Why can't you stay for a while in one place?"

The fly answered: "I am attracted to whatever I see, hear or smell. My five senses pull me constantly in all directions and I cannot resist them. What is your secret? How can you stay so calm and still?"

The elephant stopped eating and said: "My five senses do not rule my attention. Whatever I do, I get immersed in it. Now that I am eating, I am completely immersed in eating. In this way I can enjoy my food and chew it better. I rule and control my attention, and not the other way around."

Upon hearing these words, the disciple's eyes opened wide and a smile appeared on his face. He looked at his teacher and said: "I understand! If my five senses are in control of my mind and attention, then my mind is in constant unrest. If I am in charge of my five senses and attention, then my mind becomes calm".

"Yes, that's right", answered the teacher, "The mind is restless and goes wherever the attention is. Control your attention, and you control your mind".


Remez Sasson


AtmAnam rathinam viddhi, sariram ratham eva ca; buddhim tu sArathim viddhi, manah pragraham eva ca. indriyAni hayan Ahur, visayAms tesu gocarAn; atmendriya-mano-yuktam, bhoktety Ahur manisinah - Katha Upanisad 1.3.3-4

An Old Story with New Learning

Do you recognize a DIAMOND when you see one?

An Old Story with New Learning


There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he was content. He was content because he was happy.

One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The wise man said, "If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country." And then he went away.

That night the farmer couldn't sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. He was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent because he was unhappy.

The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and went in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn't find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn't find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed suicide.

Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow.

He thought it would look good on the mantle piece. He picked up the stone and put it in the living room.

That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, "Is Hafiz back?"

The new owner said, "No, why do you ask?"

The wise man said, "Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one."

The man said, no, that's just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I'll show you.

There are many more." They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.

Learnings

When our attitude is right, we realize that we are a walking on acres and acres of diamonds. Opportunity is always under our feet. We don't have to go anywhere. All we need to do is recognize it. Attitude determines the altitude.

The grass always appears greener on the other side (ikkarai ke akkarai pachai)। While we are dyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are dyeing the grass on our side.

When people don't know how to recognize opportunity, they complain of noise when it knocks. The same opportunity never knocks twice. The next one may be better or worse, but it is never the same one.

Contributed by Sharad Singh