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Success

Leadership: Roll Up Your Sleeves

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1219392226973_ratan tata_t

One of Mr. Ratan N Tata’s first assignments was the stewardship of the ailing electronics company in the Tata portfolio – Nelco.

Story goes that a team of senior managers from Nelco was driving to Nasik along with RNT. Halfway into the journey, the car had a flat tyre,  and as the driver pulled up, the occupants – including Mr. Tata – got off for a comfort break, leaving the driver to replace the tyre.

Some of the managers welcomed the forced break, as it allowed them a  much-needed chance to light up a cigarette. Some used the opportunity to stretch, and smile, and share a joke. And then, one of them suddenly noticed that Mr. Tata was not to be seen, and wondered aloud where Ratan Tata might have vanished. Was he behind some bush? Had he wandered off inside the roadside dhaba for a quick cup of tea?Or was he mingling with some passer-bys, listening to their stories?

None of these, in fact while his colleagues were taking a break, Ratan Tata was busy helping the driver change tyres. Sleeves rolled up, tie swatted away over the shoulder, the hands expertly working the jack and the spanner, bouncing the spare tyre to check if the tyre pressure was ok. Droplets of sweat on the brow, and a smile on the face.

In that moment, the managers accompanying Ratan Tata got a master class in leadership they haven’t forgotten. And that’s a moment that the driver of that car probably hasn’t forgotten either.

Questions to ask:

  1. When was the last time I rolled up my sleeves to do a task much below my hierarchy?·
  2. Do I wait for the big opportunity to showcase my leadership?
  3. Is that big opportunity ever going to come?
  4. Am I trying to manage upwards so much that I’ve lost the feel of the field?
  5. Ideas for action:
  6. Humility is the essence of success.  Be humble and even teach your children to be so.
  7. To reach the top and remain there, always start from the bottom, else your days at the top will  not last long..
  8. Practice leadership in small things instead of waiting for the big crisis or a major product launch.
  9. Seek to find opportunities to lead in everyday moments.
  10. Build your leadership skills one baby step at a time.
  11. When ones hands get dirty – The mind remains clean !!!
Intellect, Pain, Success

Heart of Gratitude

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A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”
I wrote: “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?
Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.Keep the faith and drop the fear.
The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling…
And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!
Enjoy your day with a heart of gratitude.
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii51/faithlor/gratitude.jpg

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”
I wrote: “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?
Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.Keep the faith and drop the fear.
The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling…
And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!
Enjoy your day with a heart of gratitude.
Intellect

THE MAYONNAISE JAR AND 2 CUPS OF COFFEE

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MayonnaiseJar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee…

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar
lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things — your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions — things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.” The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that
really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Intellect

How to win!

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FR1012_Frog_eyeglass_minder

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began….Honestly, no one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as: “oh, WAY too difficult! They will never make it to the top.” Or: “Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!”. The tiny frogs began collapsing one by one, except for those who in a fresh tempo were climbing higher and higher. The crowed continued to yell, “It is too difficult! No one will make it!” More tiny frogs got tired and gave up. But ONE continued higher and higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up! At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog that after a big effort was the only one who reached the top! THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it? A contestant asked the tiny frog how the one who succeeded had found the strength to reach the goal?

 

It turned out that the winner was DEAF!

 

The wisdom of the story:

Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic, because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you. The ones you have in your heart! Always think of the power.

Intellect

Lesson from life

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grandparents 
 A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law and four year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon on to the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

 

The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about grandfather,” said the son. “I have had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor”. So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. Their grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still the only word the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with the wood scraps on the floor.

He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” Just as sweetly the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the reminder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or a tablecloth soiled.

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Intellect

Hammer and the nail

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nail_in_the_fence

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail to the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all.

 

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.

 

When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out, it wont matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as physical one.

 

 

Intellect

Box full of kisses

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The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”

 

The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty. He yelled at her, stating, “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside? The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.”

 

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

 

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child. It is also told that her father kept that gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

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In a very real sense, each one of us, as humans beings, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses…from our children, family members, friends, and God. There is simply no other possession, anyone could hold, more precious than this.

Intellect

Importance of Focus in life

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One young boy aged 20 once met a very rich man. He was impressed with him and realized that he shall also earn money, like him. He started working and earning. While he was doing this, he met an intellectual man. He got impressed with him and left his work and started studying. He studied little and then again met a classical singer. He got impressed with his singing and left studying and started to learn Music.

Life moved on and the young boy turned into a man but neither he had money, nor he had intellect nor music.  One day he told his problems to a Spiritual Guru. The Guru after hearing his agony said, “ The whole world is full of lot of attractions. Make up your mind and go forward to achieve that without doubting your selection. You will surely become successful. If you keep on digging at lot of places then neither will you be able to search water nor you will be able to digg a well.”

The man, understood the indication and moved further in his life with one mind and achieve success.

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An old man used to earn his living in the village by teaching kids to climb trees . One day a young boy came to his classes to learn this art.

The old man said to the boy , “ Child, you need to be cautious when you climb the tree”.  The boy remarked, “ Don’t worry this is simple, everyone can do this”. He said this and started to climb the tree. The old man looked with his tranquil eyes. The boy reached the top of the tree and then stared to come down.

When the boy was one third distance away from the ground, the old man shouted , “ Just be careful son, don’t be in a hurry”. The boy jumped to the floor and came to the old man and said , “ you never said a word when I was climbing up but you were telling me to be cautious , why so?”.  

The old man said, “You started climbing with excitement, so you would be very cautious at that time yourself. But when people are more nearer to there destination, that is when you starting to come down, they start thinking that the destination is near and simple and lose focus, that is why I reminded you”.

Intellect

When the Mahatma Cried

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mahatma

Once when Mahatma Gandhi Aka Bapu was 8 years old, he reached late to his school. It was rainy season and the dark clouds covered the whole sky. Gandhiji reached late and his teacher asked, “Why are you late?”.  Gandhij innocently said, “ Due to the dim light of the sky, I was not able to judge the time, therefore got late”. The teacher said, “  I dont think this is a valid reason, please give 1 Ana (money used earlier in INDIA) for coming late.

Gandhaji started to cry. His friends asked him why is he crying, as his father is rich and can give that punishment amount. Gandhiji said, “ I am not crying because of the money to be paid, I am crying because the teacher thought I told him a lie”.

Intellect

Priorities in life…

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 Lets imagine this little incidence. A 8 year old going out with his dad for an evening walk. Suddenly the kid gets a glimpse of a blue color car , he asked his dad,” I want to purchase this car”. Dad said , “ No, you already have so many cars, I wont buy you another”. Kid tried to force again , but nothing happened. But the father did not agree. They moved ahead. As they moved further the father saw a CD stall and moved towards it. Purchased 2 audio cd’s and moved on.

Now lets give a little thought on this Impulsive purchase/want. The kid cant say his dad that dad u also have soo many cd’s why do you wanna purchase more.. but indeed he cant say the same. Every age has it’s priorities , with each passing phase , these priority changes … and the past priority minimizes or one can say loses its charm.

For eg. If one wants to take a Cycle in class 6th cant can’t purchase it, be it for any reason, then the need for the want diminishes. Here the Economics Diminishing marginal Utility does not fall in place… Human behavior in too intricate to be understood that easily as the variety of emotions it shows are plethora…

At times you want something , maybe a small desire that is very high in that particular moment, or for a particular time period.. In the above incidence , for the kid the priority became the car , for the father the priority became the CD…

Both ages different and with different priority .. for each of us the priority has the same level of willingness to be fulfilled. Be it for a kid or it for the father.. Want backed with desire and ability to fulfill … Each priority changes as life moves on ..