LOVE THE LOVED ONES, BE POLITE !!!

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,


"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.





He said, "Please excuse me too;


I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.


We went on our way saying good-bye.





But at home a difference is told,


how we treat our loved ones, young and old.





Later that day, cooking the evening meal,


My son stood beside me very still.





As I turned, I nearly knocked him down.


"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.





He walked away, his little heart broken.


I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.





While I lay awake in bed,


God's still small voice came to me and said,





"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,


But the children you love, you seem to abuse.





Go and look on the kitchen floor,


You'll find some flowers there by the door.





Those are the flowers he brought for you.


He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.





He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,


and you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."





By this time, I felt very small,


and now my tears began to fall.





I quietly went and knelt by his bed;


"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said. "





Are these the flowers you picked for me?"


He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.





I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.


I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."





I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;


I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."





He said, "Oh, Dad, that's okay.


I love you anyway."





I said, "Son, I love you too,


and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

MY CREATION FOR MY SWEETHEART.... SOUNDS CHILDISH, IS'NT IT !!!

HELLO MERE BABLU MERE SHONA





TUM MERE SIRF MERE HONA





I DONT WANNA YOU KHONA





WARNA PADEGA HUME BAHOT RONA





DO NA AB TO APNA DIL MERA DIL LO NA

CHALO CHALEIN IS DUNIYA SE FAR AWAY IN SOME KONA





DUNGA TUMHE APNA PYAR APNI ZINDGI KA HAR PAL





MERE BABLU MERE SHONA





TUM MERE SIRF MERE HONA !!!

The last element of 360 degree feedback:- Self Appraisal !!!

A little boy went into a store, reached for a soda carton and pulled itover to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he couldreach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits. Thestore owner observed and listened to the conversation.

The boy asked, "Maam, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?"The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn."

"I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts yourlawn now." replied the boy. The woman responded that she was verysatisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.

The little boy was even more perseverant and said, "I'll even sweepyour curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawnin all of Palm beach , Florida ." Again the woman answered in the negative.

With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.

The store owner, who was listening to this conversation, walked over tothe boy and said, "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positivespirit and would like to offer you a job.

"The little boy replied, "No thanks, I was just checking my performanceon the job I already have. I am the one who is working for the lady Iwas talking to!"

My Experience in Adherence to the Human Values !!!

“Love is the only thing that can be divided without being diminished”, “Harsh words break no bones, but they do break hearts”, etc. etc.

We have heard a lot of phrases like the above two and we liked them too. But still these quotes remained in our memory only. We have never given a thought to apply them to our practical lives when the time was critical. There is one saying by Mr. Abraham Lincoln:

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's values, give him power”.

So true, isn’t it? We all have always been the good old chaps of our respective families and neighborhood but we were always short on knowing what the human values are and how did they originated. Moreover, there is so much fuzz about this word and why one should practice them. According to Sathya Sai Baba in a lecture delivered on 26th September 2000,

“Human Values - Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-Violence - are hidden in every human being. One cannot acquire them from the outside; they have to be elicited from within. These five values are the fundamental powers of human life.”

We will now discuss about all of them in brief as to what they all mean to human being at large:

Ø Truth – honesty, intuition, discrimination, integrity, knowledge, objectivity, and more…
Ø Righteousness– conscience, morality, discipline, healthy living, responsibility, trust, and more…
Ø Peace – faith, contentment, patience, inner-silence, concentration, self-confidence, and more…
Ø Love – friendship, compassion, empathy, devotion, kindness, forgiveness, and more…
Ø Non-violence – ethics, harmony, tolerance, broad-mindedness, courage, fairness, and more…

These are the examples of the values to make them understand in the easiest way one can understand. Now some examples of each from our day to day lives:

Ø Truth – A professional would be honest about errors or delays even if it meant a reprimand.
Ø Righteousness – An office worker would do his or her best work, even if no one was watching.
Ø Peace – A supervisor would make difficult decisions with a peaceful mind.
Ø Love – A professional going for a deal would actively seek a win-win solution to a parental complaint.
Ø Non-violence – An executive would strive to reduce pollution levels, even if it was not required by law.

Thus, now we know of five human values that one must practice. However, the irony is that the meaning of these values changes from person to person. In a recent event, one of the applicants has been asked to pay Rs. 2000 for the job he was qualified and most deserving. Here anyone can point out that the HR professional was of cheap values. Just remember that there are no cheap or rich values. It’s the circumstances that makes or breaks a person’s values and beliefs. Who knew that the above given HR professional had an ailing mother at home and despite being continuously asking of help from the company, he hasn’t got any. And still he is not cheating his profession because who knew that he asked of the money only from the most deserving candidate. According to Shakespeare,

“There is nothing either good or bad but the thinking makes it so.”

Now this arouses some thoughts in our minds that values are individual based or community based. We know from the above example that circumstances mould values for a human being. So why we say that we have Indian values or American values? The answer lies within. Our society plays an immensely large role in shaping us. Most of us have seen the jungle book where “mowgli” brought up in the jungle from his birth with some jackals. He knew each and everything about the law of jungle but when encountered with human beings, he faced a lot of difficulties in adapting their values. Thus we can say that the values are both individual as well as community based. Even, cross-cultural expressions of the human values are found across all cultures and societies, though we may have variations and different emphases depending on the society we were born in and the experiences we’ve had in life.

Now we know as what these values mean, now we will focus on from where they come from. In the earliest days of Homo sapiens a centrifugal force caused humans to spread, slowly, over the earth. They developed highly resourceful ways of coping with the extreme variations. Later, as the groups increased in size and individuals started to specialize, factors of integration and interdependence became paramount. Individuals had to learn to accept more fully the idea that responsibility to the group must sometimes override their personal self-interest. This is a value which, to a material extent, seems to be in jeopardy today. For many millennia the values suitable for the family unit and the tribe were all that mattered. Then (it seems somewhere around 10,000 years ago) came the earliest civilizations of which we have any real evidence. This led to the recording in the written form of knowledge involving more complex and sophisticated set of values, thus encouraging and facilitating more complex interactions and enabling the group, and the culture to be maintained against the challenges, both human and natural, they faced. It is worth recording that the earliest statement I have so far found comes from about 2000 BC. The deterministic and in deterministic principles that scientists have discovered that govern the natural world are impersonal. The purely natural evolution process is ultimately a result of impersonal random processes as explained by the leading evolutionist Richard Dawkins (7). "All appearances to the contrary, the only watchmaker in nature are the blind forces of physics, albeit deployed in a very special way. ... Natural selection, the blind, unconscious, automatic process which Darwin discovered, and which we now know is the explanation for the existence and apparently purposeful form of all life has no purpose in mind. It has no mind and no mind's eye. It does not plan for the future. It has no vision, no foresight, no sight at all. It can be said to play the role of the blind watch maker." According to the theory of evolution, if some impersonal molecule did not randomly interfere with the DNA replication of some past creature's (i.e. single cell bacteria or ancient ape) DNA, then humans most likely would have never come into existence which shows that pure naturalism is completely impersonal. I do think that evolution has occurred (4); however, I do think there is evidence that the supernatural was involved (5). Since natural principles do not consider anything more important then another, human values cannot rationally be derived from just an understanding of the natural world. Thus, it is no wonder why the leading evolutionist Stephen Gould said,

"(Natural) Science as an enterprise is a discipline that deals with the factual state of the (natural) world, and you don't derive ethical beliefs from factual statements (of the natural world). The most (natural) science can do is to supply information that may be relevant to ethical decisions, but it is never going to tell you what proper behavior is. It just can't."

Since values are so fundamental, determining values depends upon basic presuppositions. The presumption that humans are important is a required fundamental concept for human values and could be used as a fundamental basis for determining human values. Based on this presumption that humans are valuable, one could assert more general values such as human survival, human satisfaction, human happiness and a healthy human condition. Aside from basic survival, humans put most of their effort into relationships with other humans. Good relationships are important for human satisfaction, human happiness and healthy human condition. If God played a crucial role in the creation of humans, then everything humans have or are capable of doing is provided to them by God; thus, God would deserve respect from humans. If a good relationship is truly a purpose for which God created humans, then it would be appropriate to value a good relationship with God as well as humans.

If a person is thinking through their decisions about how to behave, then each decision at least involves some consideration of their values. This involves thinking through the things involved and prioritizing them to determine how they should or should not behave. Thus one more point to remember which I learned while adhering to the human values is that these are the things that are considered and given priority to.

None can say that I cannot give priority to a human value. We might not be known to our inner self and may say this in sub consciousness but we all follow some or the other values. It’s not about what the human values are but what are the values a person values. During my journey, I have seen many a people following certain values that may not be a part of the values I listed above but they found there place somewhere or the other. I have a friend who says that he doesn’t follow ant of the above given values and he values only money. Does that mean that he is not a human being? It’s just about the research that we make and then how our mind bends. Unconsciously he forgets the second value- righteousness. He is right to himself and doesn’t bother whether someone is watching him or praising him or not. He works due diligently, cheats people due diligently and then counts his money at the end of the day. So the main values for him are cheating and righteousness.

The only point that I want to make is that it is not necessary that you will face good consequences by following the human values. We all have values that we adhere to but we all must remember the 80:20 rule in following our human values in the case of adverse circumstances:
ü 80% of the punctures happen in the last 20% of the tyre life.
ü 80% of the financial worries are due to 20% of over spending.
ü 80% of your friends will hurt you & only 20% will support you.
ü 80% of the work can be done by your subordinate, only 20% need you.
ü 80% of your work is routine, only 20% need in depth analysis.
ü 80% of the people around you are reasonable, only 20% need tactful handling.
ü 80% of the tension is due to 20% of carelessness.
ü 80% of your good impression can be spoiled by 20% of your mistakes.

Thus we must remember to set our priorities while deciding upon our values and making a choice. It’s our choice to ruin our 80% of life just by selecting 20% of the values that are not meant for us. If we will live by chance, and not choice, we will get everything by chance only but if we will choose to live on our own terms and values, we will get whatever we want. If a person is thinking through their decisions about how to behave, then each decision at least involves some consideration of their values. The better a person considers their values in their decisions the more their decisions are value based. When a person makes a decision they typically have many different choices they could make. Some of the choices would not support their values at all while other choices support their values to different extents. There are different levels at which people can consider their values. A minimal level is where a person just requires that there is something of value in what they are doing. For example, a person could spend a 100,000 dollars on a car and considered it consistent with their values because the car provides the means for them to work so that they can support their family. The next level up is called the prioritized approach which is where a person considers if the way they invest their resources is prioritized in a way that is consistent with their values. Under this approach the person considers more than just whether or not there is something of value, but of the available choices which one is prioritized in a way that is most consistent with their values. The highest level up is called the optimized approach which is where a person considers if the way they invest their resources is the most efficient way to promote their values. For example, if the person does not value the car's appearance, then they will just pay what is needed to provide the function of safe, comfortable and efficient travel and not pay extra for the other things they do not value. The higher the level of value based thinking the more effort one does in evaluating the choices and opportunities. This will make the person aware of more different choices and it will also make them realize more that certain choices promote their values better than others. This should result in improving their ability to better promote their values through their decisions.

By rationally thinking through one's values one is in a better position to live out their values. The sooner this process gets started and maintained the more likely the person will be maturing themselves emotionally and intellectually and developing friends and communities that they can share in promoting these values. I think this gives one the best opportunity for living out a satisfying, fulfilling and happy life.
I have the area for improvement in the values I follow, what about you? At last no one is going to ask you anything but it’s you who will answer to yourself. The choice is yours. Be true to yourself or keep craving for a valuable life.

ATTRITION: A SUGAR-COATED POISON OR A BLESSING IN DISGUISE?

Job loss is one of the most difficult work related situations that a company and an individual may encounter in the present scenario. Yet, sometimes job loss may also turn into a blessing in disguise. Combining the career literature with the literature on unemployment, the current paper addresses potential positive outcomes of job loss by focusing on specific career adaptability activities that individuals can undertake to obtain these outcomes.

Live case:

Infosys is planning to hire 25,000 people this year. That is almost 500 a week or 100 a day for each working day of the week or about 12 every working hour of the day or about 1 every 5 minutes!

This rampant hiring raises several issues. By announcing that Infosys will hire 25000 engineers this year, they might have satisfied their shareholders. But what message they are sending across to existing and prospective employees? That Infosys is no longer an exclusive club? Can their big bosses anymore claim with any credibility that they hire only the best? However big the candidate pool may be, you cannot find 25000 “best” engineers in a year. The reason why big companies can get away with not so top notch talent is because their processes are so well defined that software development almost mirrors an assembly line. The creativity of the individual hardly seems to come into play.

Last year, attrition rate in Patni Computers was 26%, more than double the industry average of 11% and management is not recruiting any Tom, Dick and Harry. Non performers were asked to leave, and management has decided to revise upwards (in some cases up to 50%) the salaries of their best brains. Profit guidance for the year 07 has been brought down, which is not good news for investors. The reason given is higher salaries. Now this system is in contrast to Infosys and Wipro.

Is it a Blessing in Disguise?

People say attrition is the big bane of the industry. I think it is a blessing in disguise. Following are the main reasons to support my statement:
Ø It helps transfer "people capital" from inefficient companies to the better ones helping the Darwinian cause of weeding out the weak.
Ø The day is not far when Bangalore will get "Vietnamed" just like New York got "Bangalored". Indian companies would need to learn to let go of people. High attrition lets you learn to handle the people risk better.
Ø Forces companies to focus on processes to derisk the people issues better. In a commoditizing business, good processes become a basic necessity not a differentiator.

Good or bad, the fact remains that attrition is a reality and there are companies that manage it well and there are those that do not.

What the companies can do?

An optimum mix of freshers is critical to maintain margins. Typically at least 30-40% of a project needs to comprise freshers (<1>

What the HR can do?

The key measure for a HR professional attached to a business unit knows who would be 'potential attrition' cases and why. The only way a HR person can know this if they interact and hang out with the employees a lot. Knowing the dissatisfied employees and the reasons of their dissatisfaction can result in preventive actions being taken to retain them.Of course, the real driver for this becomes a business leader or manager's desire to decrease attrition. That only happens if attrition becomes one of the measures for how a leader or manager is doing. Many a times when this idea gets mooted by someone from HR, business managers immediately throw up their hands.

"It's the generation they come from". "They only leave for higher salary". "The issue is common to the whole industry". These become the excuses for not linking attrition to a manager's performance. However, if these generalizations are indeed true then it becomes all the more reasonable to make that linkage, to assess who can retain high performing employees better amongst them. And yes, that’s the key! Not merely retaining all employees but managing to retain and develop only the high performing employees.
The vacuum created by the exit of a few senior project managers or a delivery head are routinely being filled by eager second-line managers. More than a conscious risk mitigation strategy, the existence of a ‘pyramid structure’, coupled with aggressive hiring during the past few years has ensured an abundant supply of talent in many of the large organizations. So we are not bound to say that attrition leads to employee loss and in turn the loss of business. However if one is not performing, he/she is bound to go. With a large talent pool, companies are replacing the old generation with the new one which is infact good because it helps in continuous flow of fresh ideas in this knowledge based economy.
And to conclude, I would like to say some golden words:
“If the Indian industry continues to grow, a few large players—especially those that are merely banking on past performances and goodwill—are bound to falter. What would it take to trip the 800 pound gorillas that are merely moving because of sheer inertia?”

LEADERSHIP: THE NEW BUZZ WORD IN THE BUSINESS WORLD, SO WHAT ABOUT MANAGEMENT???

“A manager always needs to be a good leader but the vice versa is not a pre requisite for a leader though”. Throughout our life times we have read & listened to this phrase a thousand times and we agreed to it. B-schools across the globe were into producing good, infact, great managers. It was always believed that a manager always possesses the leadership qualities because initial part of his job is always to get the work done through others. Also, there was a myth prevalent that leaders are born, but the question is that ‘is it true?’ Many debates have been held and we have a lot of reviews but no results. Irony, isn’t it?

Well, leaving the past reviews and not indulging in one more debate, I would like to draw your attention to this new buzz word- LEADERSHIP. A leader is always believed to be an influencer; the person who is like the sandpiper whose flute has the magic to lead all the mice. He is the one who has the capability to be the role model. As a manager has functions like planning, organizing, directing, controlling & coordinating to perform, a leader has just one function, i.e., to influence. Now, who can be a leader?

Just to make a distinction, I would like to give an example. You are in your campus/office and suddenly you get to know that in the next building of yours, two eminent people are coming in different auditoriums- Mr. Asaram ji Bapu & Mr. Xyz, COO of ABC CO. You have an option to go for one, who you think you will go for? You, and infact, 99% people of your age might go to attend the session of Mr. Xyz as you think you will gain some knowledge from him. But the irony is that if you compare the fan following of both, you will notice that Mr. Asaram ji Bapu has much larger, may be more than 10 times, fan following than Mr. Xyz.
Confused???
This was the same point I wanted to draw your attention towards. Mr. Xyz is a manager; however, Mr. Asaram ji Bapu is a leader infact. He has the capability to draw a larger audience than Mr. Xyz. Now, we can mention as many leaders from different walks of life as you want, e.g., Amitabh Bachchan, Rajni Kant, Ratan Tata, Dhirubhai Ambani, George Bush, Osama Bin Laden, etc. We know that all these people have such a charisma that whatever they say, whatever they do, people follow. Now are there any pre requisites to be a leader?

The answer is both yes & no. Yes if you take a macro view of whatever I am going to mention below now and No if you take it specifically. So here are certain musts to be a great leader:
People Skills: No followers, no leader. Develop a liking for you in the hearts of the “junta”. No matter, be a heart-throb.
Voice: The best example is Amitabh Bachchan or for that matter, any of the movie star. Whatever they say becomes a dialog. Have a good tone.
Communication: Whether you have a great voice or not, if you are unable to send your message across, you can’t be a good leader. Learn to imbibe all the principles of communication.
Memory: Sharpen your memory. You must remember your followers to make your impact not just a one time exercise but continuously. It’s a process, remember it. Start remembering the faces, names, telephone numbers, and their last comments.
Appearance: It is not necessary that you must be tall like Amitabh Bachchan or powerful like Muhammad Ali to be a leader. But appearance means that you must display an image with which you want to get recognized. It includes your inner charisma too. Also, remember that you must be conscious about your cleanliness and hygiene.
Aggressiveness: “slow & steady wins the race”, “speed thrills, but kills” and similar phrases I would associate with losers. The person, who is not aggressive in his approach and is not fast, can’t be a good leader. By aggressiveness and speed, I do not mean that you should work in haste but do not waste time. Kill the snake as soon as you see its tail; don’t wait to see his head or you will be killed.

The list is not exhaustive. One can go on and on but these are the qualities one must have or develop to be a great leader. So now the question comes, if there is so much buzz about leadership, what about management? Is it a waste material to study? Are managers somewhat below the leaders?

Well, I have started writing with the answer only. Look at the first line of the article. And that is the answer. It’s not about who is above or who is below, it all about who can do what. I would say that it’s easy to be a leader than a manager as leadership is an integral part of management. As of today we have a dearth of leaders in India but might be with some insight we can produce great leaders within home.

So what are you waiting for guys, get up, the world is yours,

“Let’s make a dent in the universe.”

A NICE LOVE STORY..!!!

He met her on a party.

She was so outstanding, many guys chasing after her, while he so normal, nobody paid attention to him.

At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him, she was surprised, but due to being polite, she promised.

They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, she thought, please, let me go home.... suddenly,

he asked the waiter. "would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned red, but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.

She asked him curiously; why you have this hobby?

He replied: "when I was a little boy, I was living near the sea, I like playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my hometown, I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are still living there". While saying that tears filled his eyes.

She was deeply touched. That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility of home.

Then she also started to speak, spoke about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.

They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm, careful.

He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thanks to his salty coffee!

Then the story was just like every beautiful love story , the princess married to the prince, then they were living the happy life...

And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee e, as she knew that's the way he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said: "My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life lie. This was the only lie I said to you---the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.I never thought that could be the start of our communication!
I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything..
Now I'm dying, I afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste..
But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. "
Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life.
If I can live for the second time, still want to know you and have you for my whole life,even though I have to drink the salty coffee again".

Her tears made the letter totally wet.


Someday, someone asked her: what's the taste of salty coffee?

It's sweet. She replied.

* Love is not 2 forget but 2 forgive, not 2 c but 2 understand, not 2 hear but 2 listen, not 2 let go but 2 HOLD ON !!!! *

MY CONVERSATION WITH GOD...

God : Hello. Did you call me?
Me: Called you? No.. who is this?
God : This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.
Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something.
God : What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.
Me: Don't know. But I cant find free time. Life has become hectic. It's rush hour all the time.
God : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.
Me: I understand. But I still can't figure out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.
God : Well I wanted to resolve your! fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.
Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?
God : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.
Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?
God : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday.You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That's why you are not happy.
Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?
God : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.
Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty. .
God : Pain is inevitable able, but suffering is optional.
Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?
God : Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don't suffer. With that experience their life become better not bitter.
Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?
God : Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.
Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why cant we be free from problems?
God : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you! are free from problems.
Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we are heading..
God : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading.Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.
Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?
God : Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.
Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
God : Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.
Me: What surprises you about people?
God : when they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they never ask "Why me" Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth.
Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I cant get the answer.
God : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.
Me: How can I get the best out of life?
God : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.
Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.
God : There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.
Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat.
God : Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don't believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away!

Success Redefined - Individual, Team or Organization: The Rule of 21

hi guyz.. one more article from my side which you can read from the link given below.. just click on that and let me know how is it.. previously i wrote on success and this one is on success redefined..
kaash hume bhi chhu jaye ye success ka keeda..

http://www.coolavenues.com/cafe/articles/gaurav-success-1.php

truly admirable... what do you say?????

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING
THROUGH THE DESERT.
DURING SOME POINT
OF THE JOURNEY,
THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT;
AND ONE FRIEND SLAPPED
THE OTHER ONE IN THE FACE.
THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED
WAS HURT,
BUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING,
WROTE IN THE SAND:
TODAY
MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME
IN THE FACE.
THEY KEPT ON WALKING,
UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,
WHERE THEY DECIDED
TO TAKE A BATH.
THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN SLAPPED
GOT STUCK IN THE MIRE
AND STARTED DROWNING,
BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.
AFTER HE RECOVERED
FROM THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE:
"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE".
THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED AND
SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND
ASKED HIM,
"AFTER I HURT YOU, YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW, YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?"
THE FRIEND REPLIED
"WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN IN SAND,
WHERE WINDS OF FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.
BUT,
WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE WHERE NO WIND CAN EVER ERASE IT."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND
TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

THEY SAY
IT TAKES A MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL PERSON,
AN HOUR TO APPRECIATE THEM,
A DAY TO LOVE THEM,
BUT THEN AN ENTIRE LIFE TO FORGET THEM.

A CASE STUDY ON WIPRO.... ESPECIALLY FOR ANURAG N KAUSHAL....

The case let examines the HR measures taken by software major Wipro to get itself assessed on the PCMM standards.

Issues:
» Importance of quality standards such as PCMM for a leading software player in a global market.
» Various steps and methods involved in the implementation of the program and its implications.

Introduction:
Wipro decided to get People Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) certification after an internal HR meeting in 1996, where company officials discussed the possibility of becoming a ‘HR No 1’ company.
In December 1996, Corporate, Executive VP, Human Resources, Dilip Ranjekar (Dilip), and Ranjan Acharya (Ranjan) VP – Corporate, Human Resources Development, went to the US to conduct an in-depth analysis on the best global HR practices. During the next three years, Wipro officials spent a substantial amount of time and resources to understand the practices followed by global companies. They studied HR policies of various companies such as AT&T, GE, Tandem and British Telecom for the purpose.
By 1999, Wipro developed a ‘competency dictionary,’ wherein it identified 24 competency areas spread across the five levels of PCMM. The behavioral issues for each level were identified and the procedures to address them were also clearly defined.....
Questions for Discussion:
1. What is the nature of potential contribution that PCMM could make to companies like Wipro who are competing globally and dependent critically on export business?
2. Explain the methodology employed by Wipro in implementing the PCMM model and integrating it with its operations. How far do you think the existing infrastructure facilitated speedy and successful introduction?

leave your answers guyz...

the hottest............google..!!!!!!!

The key findings of The Universum IDEAL(TM) Employer Survey- MBA Edition 2007 conducted by Universum, global employer branding leader helping companies - through research and consulting - understand and develop their Employer Brand Image and Employer Value Proposition.

After jumping from 129th in 2005 to 2nd in 2006 and to numero uno this year, Google, the most popular search engine is now the most popular place to work for MBA students, thus ending McKinsey & Company's 12-year reign. Google also appears in the top ten in all industry rankings (from investment banking to healthcare).

Despite Google's new strength as the overall IDEAL(TM) employer, McKinsey is still the number 1 employer among men MBAs. Goldman Sachs (3) maintained its position in the top 10. Bain & Co (4), BCG (5), Apple (6), Microsoft (7), GE (8), Nike (9) and Bank of America (10) round out the list. McKinsey maintains its 1st position as the top employer in management consulting. Google jumped to the fourth position, preceded by BCG (number 2) and Bain & Company (number 3). Goldman Sachs still number 1 among students choosing a career in investment banking followed by Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, JPMorgan IB and Merrill Lynch. Bank of America replaced Citigroup as the number 1 IDEAL employer among MBA students interested in commercial banking. IT companies went up overall. Google maintained its number 1 position. Apple (6) moved up from seventh position in 2006, while Microsoft (7) jumped from the 16th position. Procter & Gamble, Google, PepsiCo, Nike and BCG make the top 5 for students interested in consumer goods. Starbucks pushed 8 positions from 15th to 7th. GE is still the number 1 among students who selected engineering/manufacturing followed by Toyota, Apple, J&J and BCG. Intel, number 2 in 2006, fell 15 positions while companies like Honeywell and Boeing pushed up in the top 10.

"DEAL WITH STRESS: THE POWER OF 9"

EVERY ONE OF YOU IS DEALING WITH THIS. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT IT’S BAD FOR THE HEALTH AND EVERYBODY KNOWS HOW TO COPE UP WITH IT. BUT DO WE REALLY MAKE THE SINCERE EFFORTS TO DEAL WITH STRESS.

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO A SMALL STORY WHICH YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD SOMETIME. A CLASS TEACHER ONCE DREW THE ATTENTION OF HIS SCIENCE CLASS TOWARDS A GLASS FULL OF WATER. HE ASKED THE CLASS TO GUESS THE WEIGHT OF THE GLASS. SOME ONE SAID 200ml AND SOME ONE SAID 500ml AND SO ON. THE TEACHER NOW LIFTED THE GLASS HIGH IN AIR AT AN ANGLE OF 180DEGREES AND ASKED THE CLASS AS IF HE CAN HOLD THE GLASS FOR HOW LONG. AGAIN THE SURMISES BEGIN RANGING FROM 2MINS TO 2HRS DEPENDING ON THE STRENGTH OF THE TEACHER. AND THE NEXT QUESTION WAS, “WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER 15MINS?” ONE STUDENT SAID THAT THE HAND WILL START PAINING MILDLY. “AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER 1HR?” THE TEACHER ASKED. THE CLASS REPLIED THAT THE HAND WILL STRAIN AND CAN LEAD TO LEAUKEMIA TOO. BUT RIGHT THEN THE TEACHER PUT DOWN THEW GLASS AND ASKED THE RESULT. “YOUR HAND WILL COME TO NORMAL POSITION AFTER FEW SECONDS” THE CLASS SAID IN UNANIMITY. NOW TEACHER EXPLAINED THAT THE GLASS IS NOTHING BUT OUR MIND AND WATER IS LIKE WORRIES. WE KEEP CARRYING THEM TILL THE TIME THEY LEAD US TO DISASTER. AND ONCE WE PUT THEM DOWN, WE ARE BACK IN HEALTH. SO WHY CARRY THE BURDEN OF YOUR WORRIES FROM HERE TO THERE.

IT IS, PRACTICALLY, IMPOSSIBLE TO AVOID STRESS IN TODAY’S FAST CHANGING WORLD AND THE REASONS COULD BE DIFFERENT. ONE MIGHT HAVE GOT A SCOLDING FROM THE BOSS OR THE TEACHER, OR ONE MIGHT HAD A FIGHT WITH A FRIEND OR A LOVED ONE. ONE MIGHT BE UNABLE TO COMPLETE A TASK OR MIGHT BE SEARCHING FOR A TASK TO COMPLETE (UNEMPLOYED)… THE REASONS COULD BE DIFFERENT BUT ONE THING IS SURE THAT EVERYONE IS STRESSED IRRESPECTIVE OF HIS/HER BIOLIGICAL STATE.

HOWEVER ALL STRESS IS NOT BAD SO NO NEED TO AVOID IT EITHER. THERE IS GOOD STRESS ALSO KNOWN AS “EUSTRESS” WHICH HELPS INDIRECTLY. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT ONE PERFORMS BEST UNDER STRESS. THE PRESSURE TO REACH THE DEADLINES MAKE PEOPLE PERFORM. BUT IT IS HELPFUL ONLY IN SHORT TERM. THUS ONE MUST ALWAYS TRY TO AVOID STRESS AND IF NOT POSSIBLE, DIRECT IT TO POSITIVE SIDE…

SO HERE ARE SOME OF THE TIPS WHICH ARE PRACTICAL, DOES NOT CONSUME MUCH OF YOUR TIME AND MAY HELP YOU NOT ONLY OVERCOME STRESS BUT ALSO AVOID IT IN FUTURE.TRY THEM…
1. TALK: WHENEVER STRESSED, TALK TO SOME ONE WHO CAN LISTEN TO YOU, MAY BE YOUR BEST FRIEND, YOUR MOM, ETC.
2. TAKE DEEP BREATHS: SOUNDS CLIQUE BUT IT WORKS.. TRY IT WHENEVER YOU ARE IN STRESS.
3. EAT, SLEEP, EXERCISE: IT’S THE GURU MANTRA, THE PANACEA.. ALL THREE IN BALANCE AND STRESS CANNOT EVEN TOUCH YOU..
4. SMILE: IT COVERS A MILE.
5. RECOGNIZE YOUR POTENTIAL: LEARN TO LOVE YOURSELF; AFTER ALL YOU ARE THE BEST.
6. PURSUE YOUR HOBBY: DON’T BE AFRAID TO PURSUE YOUR HOBBIES AT ANY AGE, AFTER ALL WHO CARES.
7. MAINTAIN A DIARY: WHEN NOONE IS THERE TO LISTEN, POUR OUT YOURSELF ON A PIECE OF PAPER. YOU WILL FEEL LIGHTER.
8. TAKE BREAKS: IT MISGUIDES THE STRESS. IT COMES IN INSTALLMENTS AND YOU CAN DEAL WITH IT.
9. LISTEN: VERY HARD TO PRACTICE BUT HELP YOU IN LONG RUN.

WELL, THESE ARE SOME OF THE GOLDEN RULES TO DEAL WITH STRESS, CALL THEM “THE POWER OF 9”.

AND YES, START WORKING NOW BECAUSE,

"Even if you're on the right track you'll get run over if you just sit there."

learn to love...

hi ppl,
its a very interesting short muvi which tells you that you can do whatever you want juz with the right attitude and zeal in your heart... watch out..especially for my service industry frenz.. its really inspirational..juz click on the link below
http://www.stservicemovie.com/
dnt forget to leave your valuable comments..

a small case study for u ppl.. leave ur comments

Mr. Toppo had just graduated from Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, and joined his family's small business, which employs 25 semi-skilled workers. After observing Toppo during the first week on the job his father called him in and said, "Toppo, I have had a chance to observe your working with the men and women for the past two days and although I hate to say something but I must. You are just too nice to people. I know they taught you human relations stuff at the IIM but it just does not work here. I remember when the Hawthorne Studies were first reported and everybody in the academic field got all excited about them, but believe me, there is more to managing people than just being nice to them".

Questions

1; Do you think Toppo's father understood and interpreted theHawthorne Studies correctly?
2; How would you react to your father's comments if you were Toppo?

success means...

"Success comes to the person who does today what you were thinking about doing tomorrow."

THIS IS A QUOTE WHICH DESCRIBES WHAT I MEANT BY SUCCESS. IT’S NOT ABOUT WINNING ALWAYS BUT TO STAND UP FOR YOUR CONVICTIONS. THE PERSON IN AN AIRCONDITIONED OFFICE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DEFINE THE MEANING OF THIRST. GO OUT AND ASK THE PERSON WHO BORE THE KILLING SUNRAYS OF A DESSERT. IF ONE WANTS TO TASTE SUCCESS, HE NEEDS TO WORK HARD & HARD & HARD, AS SAID BY SHAH RUKH KHAN, SO THAT HE/SHE CAN THINK AHEAD OF THE RACE. THERE IS A FAMOUS DIALOG “ JAHAN DUNIYA SOCHNA BAND KARTI HAI, VAHAN SE MAIN SOCHNA CHALU KARTA HUN.” ONE NEED TO FIRST THINK WHAT HIS COMPETITORS THINK AND THEN PLAN AHEAD AND EXECUTE AT THE RIGHT TIME. TIME IS ALSO IMPORTANT HERE. WHEN REPORTERS ASKED MOHAMMAD ALI, THE FAMOUS LEGEND OF BOXING, THAT WHAT IS THE REASON OF YOUR SUCCESS, HE REPLIED, “ DAILY, I PRACTICE FOR TWO HOURS. THEM I AM TIRED. I THINK OF MY COMPETITOR THAT WHAT HE WOULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW. HE MUST BE PRACTISING. THIS GIVES ME WILL POWER AND I PRACTISE AGAIN FOR TWO HOURS.” EVEN IF HE DOESNOT WIN SOME MATHES, HE LEAVE A MARK IN THE HAERT OF HIS CONTENDER. AND THAT IS WHERE LIES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNING AND SUCCESS. IN THE END, I JUST WANT TO REPEAT THE WORDS OF STEVE JOBS,

"Let's make a dent in the universe."

mere sapno ki rani, tu kahan hai??????

Wife ....Wife.......Wife.........
5' 6" jiski height ho,Jeans jiski tight ho,Chehra jiska bright ho,Umar 22 se 27 ho,Aisi apni Wife ho...........
Sadak per sab kahe kya cute ho,Bhid main sab kahe side ho, side ho,Bambai, Delhi ya Gujarat ki paidaish ho,Sas ki seva jiski khwahish ho, Aisi apni Wife ho................
Padosi jab baat kare to haath me knife ho,Dinner ke time candle light ho, Hum me tum me kabhi na koi fight ho, Milne ke baad dil delight ho, Yeh kavita padne ke baad log kahe "chikne, tum right ho",Aisi apni Wife ho......................
kaash yeh concept .0001 percent bhi right ho agar aisi apni wife ho to kya hasin life ho...................
har kisi ki yahi farmaish ho, kudrat ki bhi aazmaaish ho, khuda ke software mein bhi bug ki gunjaish ho kaash, kahin to ek aisi paidaish ho,
aisi apni wife ho!!!!!!!!!!

an address by subroto bagchi, juz to start with...

(This is the address by Subroto Bagchi, COO, MindTree to the Class of 2006 at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore on "Defining Success". July 2nd 2004.)

I was the last child of a small-time government servant, in a family of five brothers. My earliest memory of my father is as that of a District Employment Officer in Koraput, Orissa. It was and remains as back of beyond as you can imagine. There was no electricity; no primary school near-by and water did not flow out of a tap. As a result, I did not go to school until the age of eight; I was home-schooled. My father used to get transferred every year. The family belongings fit into the back of a jeep - so the family moved from place to place and, without any trouble, my Mother would set up an establishment and get us going. Raised by a widow who had come as a refugee from the then East Bengal, she was a matriculate when she married my Father. My parents set the foundation of my life and the value system which makes me what I am today and largely defines what success means to me today. As District Employment Officer, my father was given a jeep by the government. There was no garage in the Office, so the jeep was parked in our house. My father refused to use it to commute to the office. He told us that the jeep is an expensive resource given by the government - he reiterated to us that it was not 'his jeep' but the government's jeep. Insisting that he would use it only to tour the interiors, he would walk to his office on normal days. He also made sure that we never sat in the government jeep - we could sit in it only when it was stationary. That was our early childhood lesson in governance - a lesson that corporate managers learn the hard way, some never do. The driver of the jeep was treated with respect due to any other member of my father's office. As small children, we were taught not to call him by his name. We had to use the suffix 'dada' whenever we were to refer to him in public or private. When I grew up to own a car and a driver by the name of Raju was appointed - I repeated the lesson to my two small daughters. They have, as a result, grown up to call Raju, 'Raju Uncle' - very different from many of their friends who refer to their family drivers as 'my driver'. When I hear that term from a school- or college-going person, I cringe. To me, the lesson was significant - you treat small people with more respect than how you treat big people. It is more important to respect your subordinates than your superiors. Our day used to start with the family huddling around my Mother's chulha - an earthen fire place she would build at each place of posting where she would cook for the family. There was no gas, nor electrical stoves. The morning routine started with tea. As the brew was served, Father would ask us to read aloud the editorial page of The Statesman's 'muffosil' edition - delivered one day late. We did not understand much of what we were reading. But the ritual was meant for us to know that the world was larger than Koraput district and the English I speak today, despite having studied in an Oriya medium school, has to do with that routine. After reading the newspaper aloud, we were told to fold it neatly. Father taught us a simple lesson. He used to say, "You should leave your newspaper and your toilet, the way you expect to find it". That lesson was about showing consideration to others. Business begins and ends with that simple precept. Being small children, we were always enamored with advertisements in the newspaper for transistor radios - we did not have one. We saw other people having radios in their homes and each time there was an advertisement Of Philips, Murphy or Bush radios, we would ask Father when we could get one. Each time, my father would reply that we did not need one because he already had five radios - alluding to his five sons. We also did not have a house of our own and would occasionally ask father as to when, like others, we would live in our own house. He would give a similar reply, "We do not need a house of our own. I already own five houses". His replies did not gladden our hearts in that instant. Nonetheless, we learnt that it is important not to measure personal success and sense of well being through material possessions. Government houses seldom came with fences. Mother and I collected twigs and built a small fence. After lunch, my Mother would never sleep. She would take her kitchen utensils and with those she and I would dig the rocky, white ant infested surrounding. We planted flowering bushes. The white ants destroyed them. My mother brought ash from her chulha and mixed it in the earth and we planted the seedlings all over again. This time, they bloomed. At that time, my father's transfer order came. A few neighbors told my mother why she was taking so much pain to beautify a government house, why she was planting seeds that would only benefit the next occupant. My mother replied that it did not matter to her that she would not see the flowers in full bloom. She said, "I have to create a bloom in a desert and whenever I am given a new place, I must leave it more beautiful than what I had inherited". That was my first lesson in success. It is not about what you create for yourself, it is what you leave behind that defines success. My mother began developing a cataract in her eyes when I was very small. At that time, the eldest among my brothers got a teaching job at the University in Bhubaneswar and had to prepare for the civil services examination. So, it was decided that my Mother would move to cook for him and, as her appendage, I had to move too. For the first time in my life, I saw electricity in homes and water coming out of a tap. It was around 1965 and the country was going to war with Pakistan. My mother was having problems reading and in any case, being Bengali, she did not know the Oriya script. So, in addition to my daily chores, my job was to read her the local newspaper - end to end. That created in me a sense of connectedness with a larger world. I began taking interest in many different things. While reading out news about the war, I felt that I was fighting the war myself. She and I discussed the daily news and built a bond with the larger universe. In it, we became part of a larger reality. Till date, I measure my success in terms of that sense of larger connectedness. Meanwhile, the war raged and India was fighting on both fronts. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Prime Minster, coined the term "Jai Jawan, Jai Kishan" and galvanized the nation in to patriotic fervor. Other than reading out the newspaper to my mother, I had no clue about how I could be part of the action. So, after reading her the newspaper, every day I would land up near the University's water tank, which served the community. I would spend hours under it, imagining that there could be spies who would come to poison the water and I had to watch for them. I would daydream about catching one and how the next day, I would be featured in the newspaper. Unfortunately for me, the spies at war ignored the sleepy town of Bhubaneswar and I never got a chance to catch one in action. Yet, that act unlocked my imagination. Imagination is everything. If we can imagine a future, we can create it, if we can create that future, others will live in it. That is the essence of success.Over the next few years, my mother's eyesight dimmed but in me she created a larger vision, a vision with which I continue to see the world and, I sense, through my eyes, she was seeing too. As the next few years unfolded, her vision deteriorated and she was operated for cataract. I remember when she returned after her operation and she saw my face clearly for the first time, she was astonished. She said, "Oh my God, I did not know you were so fair". I remain mighty pleased with that adulation even till date. Within weeks of getting her sight back, she developed a corneal ulcer and, overnight, became blind in both eyes. That was 1969. She died in 2002. In all those 32 years of living with blindness, she never complained about her fate even once. Curious to know what she saw with blind eyes, I asked her once if she sees darkness. She replied, "No, I do not see darkness. I only see light even with my eyes closed". Until she was eighty years of age, she did her morning yoga everyday, swept her own room and washed her own clothes. To me, success is about the sense of independence; it is about not seeing the world but seeing the light. Over the many intervening years, I grew up, studied, joined the industry and began to carve my life's own journey. I began my life as a clerk in a government office, went on to become a Management Trainee with the DCM group and eventually found my life's calling with the IT industry when fourth generation computers came to India in 1981. Life took me places - I worked with outstanding people, challenging assignments and traveled all over the world. In 1992, while I was posted in the US, I learnt that my father, living a retired life with my eldest brother, had suffered a third degree burn injury and was admitted in the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. I flew back to attend to him - he remained for a few days in critical stage, bandaged from neck to toe. The Safderjung Hospital is a cockroach infested, dirty, inhuman place. The overworked, under-resourced sisters in the burn ward are both victims and perpetrators of dehumanized life at its worst. One morning, while attending to my father, I realized that the blood bottle was empty and fearing that air would go into his vein, I asked the attending nurse to change it. She bluntly told me to do it myself. In that horrible theater of death, I was in pain and frustration and anger. Finally when she relented and came, my father opened his eyes and murmured to her, "Why have you not gone home yet?" Here was a man on his deathbed but more concerned about the overworked nurse than his own state. I was stunned at his stoic self. There I learnt that there is no limit to how concerned you can be for another human being and what is the limit of inclusion you can create. My father died the next day. He was a man whose success was defined by his principles, his frugality, his universalism and his sense of inclusion. Above all, he taught me that success is your ability to rise above your discomfort, whatever may be your current state. You can, if you want, raise your consciousness above your immediate surroundings. Success is not about building material comforts - the transistor that he never could buy or the house that he never owned. His success was about the legacy he left, the memetic continuity of his ideals that grew beyond the smallness of a ill-paid, unrecognized government servant's world. My father was a fervent believer in the British Raj. He sincerely doubted the capability of the post- independence Indian political parties to govern the country. To him, the lowering of the Union Jack was a sad event. My Mother was the exact opposite. When Subhash Bose quit the Indian National Congress and came to Dacca, my mother, then a schoolgirl, garlanded him. She learnt to spin khadi and joined an underground movement that trained her in using daggers and swords. Consequently, our household saw diversity in the political outlook of the two. On major issues concerning the world, the Old Man and the Old Lady had differing opinions. In them, we learnt the power of disagreements, of dialogue and the essence of living with diversity in thinking. Success is not about the ability to create a definitive dogmatic end state; it is about the unfolding of thought processes, of dialogue and continuum. Two years back, at the age of eighty-two, mother had a paralytic stroke and was lying in a government hospital in Bhubaneswar. I flew down from the US where I was serving my second stint, to see her. I spent two weeks with her in the hospital as she remained in a paralytic state. She was neither getting better nor moving on. Eventually I had to return to work. While leaving her behind, I kissed her face. In that paralytic state and a garbled voice, she said, "Why are you kissing me, go kiss the world." Her river was nearing its journey, at the confluence of life and death, this woman who came to India as a refugee, raised by a widowed mother, no more educated than high school, married to an anonymous government servant whose last salary was Rupees 300, robbed of her eyesight by fate and crowned by adversity - was telling me to go and kiss the world! Success to me is about vision. It is the ability to rise above the immediacy f pain. It is about imagination. It is about sensitivity to small people. It is about building inclusion. It is about connectedness to a larger world existence. It is about personal tenacity. It is about giving back more to life than you take out of it. It is about creating extra-ordinary success with ordinary lives. Thank you very much; I wish you good luck and Godspeed. Go, kiss the world.