If you haven't heard about "selective listening", sorry for having a miserable life to-date. This is one of the best skills to have to be able to live a life which you choose to live. You are not driven by others, rather you decide, how you want to define "your" life.
Selective listening is basically the ability to decide what you want to listen to. You may "hear" a lot but what you choose to "listen" to is totally in your control. Yes there is a difference between hearing & listening. Sometimes, I just put on my headphones or earphones to indicate, I am not in the listening mode. I may or may not be listening to something. Its just to indicate to people around me that I am not in the listening mode right now. It works like a charm and I think its only polite to indicate your wall & space, instead of somebody just assuming that you are going to listen to them just because they start speaking.
I extend this concept to "selective reading" also. There is enough material out there to read however what you should be able to choose what you want to read. Your interests, your influences, should be driven by what you choose to read rather than what comes in front of your eyes to read. To be able to decide what to read and what not to read, that's "selective reading".
Extending that to "selective watching" is what we should do with television & streaming websites like YouTube. All this intake of information in this age can pretty much mess up your mind if you try to just take what comes to you, in your face. Instead, use this knowledge about selective listening, reading & watching to decide what you want to watch which leads to controlling how you want to live your life.
The various power sources of the world, political, religious, corporate, know how easily our minds tune into information. Hence, they are using these tools, social media, television, radio, etc to be able to control & condition how we think. Influence it in a way that we end up believing them, buying their product, following them or something of the sort.
Its about time, we took back what was ours in the first place, our mind. Think about it, how many times your action was influenced just by reading, watching or listening to somebody. Why should anybody have control of my mind other than myself?
Showing posts with label Professor UTP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Professor UTP. Show all posts
Apology - The Easy Way to Do It
Humans have been made with humongous egos. We have a lot of pride in our achievements, high or low. Our identity, whether we like it or not. Apologizing is one of the most unnatural things that we have to force ourselves to do to continue to survive in this society.
Personally speaking, I have still not quite got my act right on how to apologize but I do know what is the easiest way to do it, read this somewhere. The first thing is to set your ego aside, that is the hardest part of the whole exercise. Rest is downhill, piece of cake and gets easier with every next time.
Here are the most precise and concise words to use. You can translate as per your language of speech.
Yes that is right. Simple, straight to the point. A usual follow-up would start a conversation which will lead to eventual acceptance of the apology either said literally or known through how the conversation ended.
Learning to apologize is a very important skill as it helps build tolerance in society and make you realize that you are not the only one in this world. Improves your emotional intelligence and helps you grow and improve as a human being.
Personally speaking, I have still not quite got my act right on how to apologize but I do know what is the easiest way to do it, read this somewhere. The first thing is to set your ego aside, that is the hardest part of the whole exercise. Rest is downhill, piece of cake and gets easier with every next time.
Here are the most precise and concise words to use. You can translate as per your language of speech.
I am sorry. It was my fault. How can I make it right?
Yes that is right. Simple, straight to the point. A usual follow-up would start a conversation which will lead to eventual acceptance of the apology either said literally or known through how the conversation ended.
Learning to apologize is a very important skill as it helps build tolerance in society and make you realize that you are not the only one in this world. Improves your emotional intelligence and helps you grow and improve as a human being.
Working hard or Hardly Working
Disclaimer - This post is not meant to make fun of English. If you are an English lover, read further at your own risk, you were forewarned. Do not take home anything other than a bit of fun from this and possibly a hidden message for the day. There is pun intended, wherever you notice it.
I was wondering this morning if there is an element of hard work involved in something, can it automatically be assumed that a hard working person would be able to do it? What if he ends up hardly working on it as it is not in his area of expertise which is where he worked so hard and got tagged as hard working? It can't surely be assumed that a hard-working person can work hard in any hard job.
Take for example, a hard working skilled labourer working hard in UK, can't end up leading a whole organization or for that matter even a specific department for an organization say for instance in UAE just on the basis of working hard as a labourer? Right? Or maybe he knows the English language in an appropriate accent and has the right colour of skin that is part of the job requirements. That could be a good enough reason to land up in that job. Maybe yes, maybe no.
What about a worker who hardly works in some job? Maybe that person isn't meant for it and hence can do a different and hard job better. Maybe he is in the wrong job currently.
What if the above 2 persons are competing for the same role? What should be the basis of selection? Past record would say, one is hard working but not suitable from the relevant experience basis. The other is a poor performer, hardly works, but is a perfect fit for this job from experience and knowledge basis. Who would you select?
The point is that there is no point. Okay there is a point, I could make one up on the go that a hard working person is hard working because he finds it worth his time and effort. There is sufficient motivation and incentive for him. A hardly working person can't be categorized as that as everybody can work hard as long as he can find the necessary motivation and the required incentive is established. So maybe, the reason this person is not a hard worker is that nobody tried to put that person in a place where he can work hard. He didn't find the right job. Maybe the hard-working person wouldnt be the same in a different job. It is important to have the right people in the right job if you want to see your organization or department do well. On a personal level, one should find the right job for oneself to be able to do well.
Are you in the right job? Do you find your current work, hard? Do you find hard work, hard? If your answer is yes, trust me it will not get better. It will become harder and harder until you reach a point when you are hardly working on it, spoiling your reputation and being tagged as hardly working. Switch before you reach that point. The world is always open for good people. Its more important to enjoy your work, that is the only way you will do well at it regardless of how hard it is.
I was wondering this morning if there is an element of hard work involved in something, can it automatically be assumed that a hard working person would be able to do it? What if he ends up hardly working on it as it is not in his area of expertise which is where he worked so hard and got tagged as hard working? It can't surely be assumed that a hard-working person can work hard in any hard job.
Take for example, a hard working skilled labourer working hard in UK, can't end up leading a whole organization or for that matter even a specific department for an organization say for instance in UAE just on the basis of working hard as a labourer? Right? Or maybe he knows the English language in an appropriate accent and has the right colour of skin that is part of the job requirements. That could be a good enough reason to land up in that job. Maybe yes, maybe no.
What about a worker who hardly works in some job? Maybe that person isn't meant for it and hence can do a different and hard job better. Maybe he is in the wrong job currently.
What if the above 2 persons are competing for the same role? What should be the basis of selection? Past record would say, one is hard working but not suitable from the relevant experience basis. The other is a poor performer, hardly works, but is a perfect fit for this job from experience and knowledge basis. Who would you select?
The point is that there is no point. Okay there is a point, I could make one up on the go that a hard working person is hard working because he finds it worth his time and effort. There is sufficient motivation and incentive for him. A hardly working person can't be categorized as that as everybody can work hard as long as he can find the necessary motivation and the required incentive is established. So maybe, the reason this person is not a hard worker is that nobody tried to put that person in a place where he can work hard. He didn't find the right job. Maybe the hard-working person wouldnt be the same in a different job. It is important to have the right people in the right job if you want to see your organization or department do well. On a personal level, one should find the right job for oneself to be able to do well.
Are you in the right job? Do you find your current work, hard? Do you find hard work, hard? If your answer is yes, trust me it will not get better. It will become harder and harder until you reach a point when you are hardly working on it, spoiling your reputation and being tagged as hardly working. Switch before you reach that point. The world is always open for good people. Its more important to enjoy your work, that is the only way you will do well at it regardless of how hard it is.
Why can't I watch Justin Bieber?
As your children grow up, you can be asked some questions for which it is better to have prepared answers. Being prepared involves a lot of pre-thinking, scenario-building, imagining and problem-solving proactively. Its great if you have a partner-wife to help think through it.
One of the difficult questions was asked yesterday by my 6-year old, "Baba, why can't I watch Justin Bieber?"
So obviously, the question itself indicates that there had been a pre-episode to this where she wanted to watch Justin Bieber and was told that she can't. My wife and I had had that discussion so I knew I had to be prepared for an answer, was just waiting for the right time to communicate and hit the nail.
Principally, both me and my wife are not OK with youngsters following teen idols or for that matter any type of idols. We want to promote the thought of individuality and utilizing time for something more important and worthwhile. So if you are ok with your child not doing that, you can stop reading the post here.
So the first thing to do was let the younger daughter out of the room to clearly indicate that this was something very important that the elder sister (the 6-year old) is going to be part of. This set the stage for Baba to clearly set the situation that this is to be worth listening and applying. Small things, big psychological impact.
Believe it or not, your child is dying for advice. They really want to listen to you. So I knew I had her attention now. I started explaining the value of time. 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and time doesn't stop. She had this smart Alec response of if I take the cell out of the clock, that could stop time? Smart but disregarded very quickly. Sun goes up, goes down, moon cycle, nobody controls it. I am lucky I have a smart kid so its easy to have a logical answer to real stuff.
As we moved further and established the importance of time, we then spoke about how much time she has in the day to learn. She sleeps, eats, goes to school, prays and loves reading but doesn't have the time sometimes. She has to sleep on time. All the hard work of the mother of having a routine clearly indicated that there is not enough time and there is so much to learn. Wasting a single minute on something that doesnt add value or makes her learn something is such a stupid choice. This point settled.
Only thing in my plan was now to establish that Justin Bieber is a waste of time as it doesn't teach anything which wasnt too difficult. Set up some comparisons. Didnt take long.
I thought I was done and she was also. She just had one doubt. "Baba, but Miss XYZ, makes us watch Justin Bieber in class...". In my head, I go ..."What??". I mean, here we teach our child, you trust your parents and then you trust your teacher. These 3 roles will help you learn to make the good choices in life and then she brings this up. I was taken back but had to think on my feet.
After trying to force the issue around don't watch it or ignore it, I knew I had to come up with something more convincing. Something spoke to me inside and I spoke it outside. "Beta, do you know you have a special gift?". Seeing the sparkle in my daughter's eyes, it was like she was being let into a secret from a trusted resource, the dad.
I said, you can look at something but think of something else. As I had her attention, I asked her to look at Mama but think of Baba. As I saw her expression change when she saw Mama but thought of Baba, you have no idea what a great feeling it was. The nail in the coffin. She was so amazed by the power of the mind, she tried it again on something else and then it was done. She could think of so many other things while she "has" to watch Justin Bieber in School. We will obviously speak to the teacher but she should know how to manage even if the things are not so much in her hands.
Then we summarized what we had talked about. There was a lot to take, so summarizing helps, re-inforce the learning. We also established there is so much to learn and what is next.
Thought of sharing this. It helped me, it helped my child. Maybe it helps you.
One of the difficult questions was asked yesterday by my 6-year old, "Baba, why can't I watch Justin Bieber?"
So obviously, the question itself indicates that there had been a pre-episode to this where she wanted to watch Justin Bieber and was told that she can't. My wife and I had had that discussion so I knew I had to be prepared for an answer, was just waiting for the right time to communicate and hit the nail.
Principally, both me and my wife are not OK with youngsters following teen idols or for that matter any type of idols. We want to promote the thought of individuality and utilizing time for something more important and worthwhile. So if you are ok with your child not doing that, you can stop reading the post here.
So the first thing to do was let the younger daughter out of the room to clearly indicate that this was something very important that the elder sister (the 6-year old) is going to be part of. This set the stage for Baba to clearly set the situation that this is to be worth listening and applying. Small things, big psychological impact.
Believe it or not, your child is dying for advice. They really want to listen to you. So I knew I had her attention now. I started explaining the value of time. 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and time doesn't stop. She had this smart Alec response of if I take the cell out of the clock, that could stop time? Smart but disregarded very quickly. Sun goes up, goes down, moon cycle, nobody controls it. I am lucky I have a smart kid so its easy to have a logical answer to real stuff.
As we moved further and established the importance of time, we then spoke about how much time she has in the day to learn. She sleeps, eats, goes to school, prays and loves reading but doesn't have the time sometimes. She has to sleep on time. All the hard work of the mother of having a routine clearly indicated that there is not enough time and there is so much to learn. Wasting a single minute on something that doesnt add value or makes her learn something is such a stupid choice. This point settled.
Only thing in my plan was now to establish that Justin Bieber is a waste of time as it doesn't teach anything which wasnt too difficult. Set up some comparisons. Didnt take long.
I thought I was done and she was also. She just had one doubt. "Baba, but Miss XYZ, makes us watch Justin Bieber in class...". In my head, I go ..."What??". I mean, here we teach our child, you trust your parents and then you trust your teacher. These 3 roles will help you learn to make the good choices in life and then she brings this up. I was taken back but had to think on my feet.
After trying to force the issue around don't watch it or ignore it, I knew I had to come up with something more convincing. Something spoke to me inside and I spoke it outside. "Beta, do you know you have a special gift?". Seeing the sparkle in my daughter's eyes, it was like she was being let into a secret from a trusted resource, the dad.
I said, you can look at something but think of something else. As I had her attention, I asked her to look at Mama but think of Baba. As I saw her expression change when she saw Mama but thought of Baba, you have no idea what a great feeling it was. The nail in the coffin. She was so amazed by the power of the mind, she tried it again on something else and then it was done. She could think of so many other things while she "has" to watch Justin Bieber in School. We will obviously speak to the teacher but she should know how to manage even if the things are not so much in her hands.
Then we summarized what we had talked about. There was a lot to take, so summarizing helps, re-inforce the learning. We also established there is so much to learn and what is next.
Thought of sharing this. It helped me, it helped my child. Maybe it helps you.
Mind Conditioning & Control
I saw this image in a recent article I read on WIRED. The article itself is worth reading but this picture is in itself replacing the thousand words that I wanted to write on this topic of mind conditioning and control.
Its more than recent that I was inclined to look beyond the obvious and realize how easy it is to control minds and condition them to think in a particular way. How we all have been victim to a very huge conspiracy of making us think the way we do today. For the not so cynical, even if there is no conspiracy, how unintentionally with the things we watch and read, we have now trained our mind to react in a particular way to events.
We also know that the brain has the virtually existent "mind" which better explained is a hardware-software kind of relationship. Brain is the hardware and mind is the software. The interesting part is that it is an intelligent software which learns and applies and then learns a bit more from the application. Repeat cycles of cause and effect since the time we are little, develop what is later better known as "instinct".
Lets take a little step backward and observe as I take you through a life-cycle. When you are born, your mind has only vague ideas of sounds as the human baby is able to learn on the sounds listened to after 6 months of conception. With eyes wide open, after being born, the child starts linking voices to images. The mother, the father, the music, and relies on soothing stuff. Anything abrupt is taken as a learning element of the mind, something not immediately liked.
As we grow older, we learn the basic rules of cause and effect, how good things done are treated with a golden star or a pat on the back and how bad things lead into punishment or standing in the corner type punishments. As we grow further, we get into school and yes TV, the avoidable-if-possible-but-impossible threat becomes more accessible to us as we grow up. If this is not closely monitored, the mind can easily develop in the not so ideal way as we would like to have it developed.
Depending on the environment, the culture, the country you are in, the mind gets trained under those circumstances. Hence a child growing up in a poor family gets to experience a different set of things compared to a child growing up in a rich family. A child growing up in the west will have a different type of experience than a child growing up in the east. Same thing would apply for a child growing in a developed country compared to a 3rd-world developing country. We are talking about the same brain and mind but the factors under which it learns is what defines how it will apply logic to various situations upcoming in life.
In fact people talk about character traits. I think these are linked to the mind as well and will depend on how the mind was trained. Talk about the people in the army, they get trained in situations repeatedly so that they could "instinctively" react. Talk about air force pilots, talk about doctors. You keep practicing, you keep experiencing life and your mind improves and conditions itself from all of what goes on around it or what it was put through, continuously learning and absorbing whether good or bad.
So the main thought is, what if somebody could control how a mind is conditioned. What if somebody could govern what kids read and learn in school? The educational curriculum. What if somebody could control what you see on TV, what you read in the news? What if somebody could control both, the "causes" and the "effects" and not either as we are led to believe? What if somebody could control what leads you to believe what is right or wrong? What if somebody could control what is right or wrong? What if wrong was supposed to be right and right was supposed to be wrong and we have been taught the basics incorrectly?
Think about it. Think about how many times your opinion was driven by something you saw or read and not by the pure creative thought of your mind. In fact, what is "pure" anyway? The "pure" that we think may have already been infiltrated with the "muddy", based on all the things we have been through.
This post was inspired by some self-realization on the above. The first thing is to accept the above does happen, it is not avoidable. Once you have crossed that then you would not let your first reaction to something, also called "instinct", drive your decision making. Always give it another thought, read another opinion, start neutral and build on to something. This will lead you to be more successful and more independent and do justification to your "individuality" in this world.
Not everybody is made to be a leader but everybody doesn't need to be a "blind" follower either. Have a pure self-created opinion and make your contribution to this world. If you lead, you need to have this. If you follow, make a self-aware and researched decision before going with somebody's opinion.
There are and will always be tough times ahead, that is the nature of this world. Be prepared for it.
The Required "Constant" of Life's Equation
If you speak to a mathematician or a physicist he would tell you that all research starts with a theory and they start building equations around it. The equation starts with a whole lot of variables for which they start putting in hypothetical approximate values to get results. They would keep doing these experiments with different values in those variables with each next result leading them closer to the desired result.
Of course it could also just fall over if they run out of patience or a series of results starts indicating they are on the wrong path and have to correct themselves. A breakthrough or Eureka as some people know it occurs when they are able to find a "Constant" in that equation. Take a complex equation with a lot of variables and after experiments and hit-and-trial if they find that one of the variables can be made into a constant, that's a major breakthrough.
Why you ask? Well the discovery of a constant means there is one less variable in that equation. That could exponentially reduce the number of times they would have to go further before they would eventually find the "answer". The "constant" reduces one level of complexity in the research, which gives a way for hope, a light at end of the tunnel. A reason to believe that there is an answer and all this effort is not in vain. It exists. It is just a matter of reaching there.
The constant gives a variable equation it's element of stability, the touch base with reality, the foot on the ground, the reason to go further, the element of belief. Hope.
Life is also full of variables. It is a series of linked events. Multiple crossroads of intertwined paths of fate. Every cause has an effect and every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Fate is nothing but a whole set of complex equations with lots of variables in it. Everybody in this world has multiple equations defining their fate. As the variables get filled in that equation based on their choices and actions, the effects or results lead into more equations, fill up the variables and life goes forward.
While the equations might have a lot of variables for which we have control on and it's we who define their final value, there are a lot of variables not in our control. Considering it is a cobweb of equations, some variables in your fate's equation will be finalized by someone else's choice or action in this world. Yet another set of variables is defined by The Unknown.
The "Unknown" is what some people call God, others who call it Nature. Some call it Karma. There could be heaps of names for it but to keep it simple it is The Unknown. The X-Factor. The variable that no one has control on. The variable that actually controls the whole set of these complex equations. This X-Factor is so powerful that it can override all variables that were actioned by you or someone else and amend the result to what it was supposed to be. It's like the result was set and the X-Factor will adjust itself after the equation has been fixed by the variables set by the choices made by you or others. The X-Factor is going to ensure that the result comes out what it's supposed to be regardless of the choices you or the dependent people make to set the equation variables.
If you are a believer in Fate then you would understand that the right side of the equation is pretty much decided. Your actions will be balanced by the X-Factor to obtain the set result as it's required. If you are not a believer in fate, and rather, you make your own luck, then know this that it is not all gloomy and you are not a puppet.
It may seem all gloomy at the moment but let me share with you a secret to controlling this X-Factor. Yes, there is a way. The X-Factor can be controlled or rather tilted in your favor to get the results that you desire. This means there is a force that you could influence so that the X-Factor starts working in your favor. It would balance itself with your variables so that the results are always favorable for you. Either they would be favorable immediately or they would indicate their favorableness to you in a later set of complex equations as the result might be making another variable in the future as a positive constant in another equation. This could lead to future equations tilting in your favor and all the way till the end of your life.
I hope you have realized the power of controlling or influencing this X-Factor. It's the solution for all your problems. So, how?
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. The answer is in the sun and stars that work with such precision like clockwork. The answer is in the human body which works like a machine. the answer is in Your Faith. You can link it to your religion or not but it is in your Faith. What you believe in. If you can find one thing in your life that you have Blind Faith on. If you can find something that need not be explained or proven but you believe it is true with no questions asked, that is your answer.
Strengthen your Faith and you control your X-Factor. Strengthen your Faith and you have the key constant of your life's equation.
Of course it could also just fall over if they run out of patience or a series of results starts indicating they are on the wrong path and have to correct themselves. A breakthrough or Eureka as some people know it occurs when they are able to find a "Constant" in that equation. Take a complex equation with a lot of variables and after experiments and hit-and-trial if they find that one of the variables can be made into a constant, that's a major breakthrough.
Why you ask? Well the discovery of a constant means there is one less variable in that equation. That could exponentially reduce the number of times they would have to go further before they would eventually find the "answer". The "constant" reduces one level of complexity in the research, which gives a way for hope, a light at end of the tunnel. A reason to believe that there is an answer and all this effort is not in vain. It exists. It is just a matter of reaching there.
The constant gives a variable equation it's element of stability, the touch base with reality, the foot on the ground, the reason to go further, the element of belief. Hope.
Life is also full of variables. It is a series of linked events. Multiple crossroads of intertwined paths of fate. Every cause has an effect and every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Fate is nothing but a whole set of complex equations with lots of variables in it. Everybody in this world has multiple equations defining their fate. As the variables get filled in that equation based on their choices and actions, the effects or results lead into more equations, fill up the variables and life goes forward.
While the equations might have a lot of variables for which we have control on and it's we who define their final value, there are a lot of variables not in our control. Considering it is a cobweb of equations, some variables in your fate's equation will be finalized by someone else's choice or action in this world. Yet another set of variables is defined by The Unknown.
The "Unknown" is what some people call God, others who call it Nature. Some call it Karma. There could be heaps of names for it but to keep it simple it is The Unknown. The X-Factor. The variable that no one has control on. The variable that actually controls the whole set of these complex equations. This X-Factor is so powerful that it can override all variables that were actioned by you or someone else and amend the result to what it was supposed to be. It's like the result was set and the X-Factor will adjust itself after the equation has been fixed by the variables set by the choices made by you or others. The X-Factor is going to ensure that the result comes out what it's supposed to be regardless of the choices you or the dependent people make to set the equation variables.
If you are a believer in Fate then you would understand that the right side of the equation is pretty much decided. Your actions will be balanced by the X-Factor to obtain the set result as it's required. If you are not a believer in fate, and rather, you make your own luck, then know this that it is not all gloomy and you are not a puppet.
It may seem all gloomy at the moment but let me share with you a secret to controlling this X-Factor. Yes, there is a way. The X-Factor can be controlled or rather tilted in your favor to get the results that you desire. This means there is a force that you could influence so that the X-Factor starts working in your favor. It would balance itself with your variables so that the results are always favorable for you. Either they would be favorable immediately or they would indicate their favorableness to you in a later set of complex equations as the result might be making another variable in the future as a positive constant in another equation. This could lead to future equations tilting in your favor and all the way till the end of your life.
I hope you have realized the power of controlling or influencing this X-Factor. It's the solution for all your problems. So, how?
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. The answer is in the sun and stars that work with such precision like clockwork. The answer is in the human body which works like a machine. the answer is in Your Faith. You can link it to your religion or not but it is in your Faith. What you believe in. If you can find one thing in your life that you have Blind Faith on. If you can find something that need not be explained or proven but you believe it is true with no questions asked, that is your answer.
Strengthen your Faith and you control your X-Factor. Strengthen your Faith and you have the key constant of your life's equation.
The Boiling Frog
Consider the story of the boiling frog. It may or may not be true, but the point it makes certainly is. Toss a frog into a pot of boiling water and it instinctively jumps out, self-protectively. Next, place the frog into a pot of cool water. Not surprisingly, it swims around, happily. Now heat the water up very gradually and what does the frog do? It acclimates to untenable circumstances — and slowly cooks. The frog doesn't notice what's happening to him, until it's too late.
I read the above from here and loved the metaphor.
The article was an eye-opener on how we make our lives stressful gradually without realizing what we are doing to ourselves. Without taking any of the credits away from the article, take control of the stove and decide on how much you want the water to boil and keep it cool. If you don't like the pot, jump into another pot but live life at the temperature that you want to live. Otherwise, you will end up being cooked before you die and in that process you would have not completed the task or fulfilled the reason that you were sent in this world for.
The stove knob should be in your hands and not in someone else's. This is your life after all. Take control.
I read the above from here and loved the metaphor.
The article was an eye-opener on how we make our lives stressful gradually without realizing what we are doing to ourselves. Without taking any of the credits away from the article, take control of the stove and decide on how much you want the water to boil and keep it cool. If you don't like the pot, jump into another pot but live life at the temperature that you want to live. Otherwise, you will end up being cooked before you die and in that process you would have not completed the task or fulfilled the reason that you were sent in this world for.
The stove knob should be in your hands and not in someone else's. This is your life after all. Take control.
Build vs Buy
In the world of real estate investments there is a decision making point that many investors go through. Should I build or should I buy. There is that other topic also of leasing vs buying but I will be focusing on the former one in this write-up.
So what is the thought process behind this. Building would require finding some land, which has potential value. 3 points... Location, Location, Location. The eye for seeing the future. In this piece of land, that I would buy, what would be around it. Infrastructure development. Tourism. Amenities availability. How far away or how much in the city? You find the spot and then you build on it. Put the values in the equation, re-value your money invested today and the cost of money going into the future when the "build" would complete. Keep this number with you.
Now move to the buy option. This is where you have a pre-built thing which you choose. How is it priced? Is it worth what they are asking for? How much renovation or modification would I need to do? Are there are any loans on it? Is the building used as leverage for some loan? Try to value all of that and match this number with the earlier "build" number.
Decision time. Now choose.
While it may be seem quick straight-forward, I can assure you its not. This particular equation is what many people today make their big buck or simply earn their livelihood around.
But my debate today is what if the values are exactly the same. Build vs buy is equal. What to do now?
This is where I present to you my quote of the day.
Example - Relationships.
After boring you with the theory above, I would like to apply the concept to life or to be more precise, relationships. No matter how much you spend on a relationship, you can't make it work. You can't buy love, you can't buy sincerity, dependence, care. Somethings just can't be bought.
One important element that I didn't mention in the theory above was how building is so much more fulfilling than buying. You go through the process of putting the pieces together. Brick by Brick, see a plan come together. You learn about people. You learn about yourself. You cherish the whole experience much much more. Its definitely more fulfilling to build something than just going and picking it off the shelf.
So building a relationship is something like that as well. Take a husband-wife relationship as a really good example. Two individuals relatively unknown to each other come together to form a team. Learn about each other's strengths. Learn about each other's weaknesses. Where would they contribute to make each other stronger. It's this bond that keeps building as they keep supporting each other and building this bridge between 2 families. Then come the kids. Test of patience. Test of sharing the love. That's when they realize, the more they share, the more it multiplies.
The bond keeps going stronger. They live their lives together for each other and then become inseparable. Nothing can change this until death do them apart. How is that possible? How can a bond be so strong that only when they can't breathe do they become separate from each other? These things can only be built.
Try that by buying a relationship. You know what I mean. Marrying for money over love. Doesn't last long, at least there wouldn't be any happily ever after phrases in that relationship. Its fun for a while, but then its either no relationship or just a compromise.
No matter what the build vs buy equation tilts towards, some things are better built than being bought. Make a note. Apply. Prosper.
So what is the thought process behind this. Building would require finding some land, which has potential value. 3 points... Location, Location, Location. The eye for seeing the future. In this piece of land, that I would buy, what would be around it. Infrastructure development. Tourism. Amenities availability. How far away or how much in the city? You find the spot and then you build on it. Put the values in the equation, re-value your money invested today and the cost of money going into the future when the "build" would complete. Keep this number with you.
Now move to the buy option. This is where you have a pre-built thing which you choose. How is it priced? Is it worth what they are asking for? How much renovation or modification would I need to do? Are there are any loans on it? Is the building used as leverage for some loan? Try to value all of that and match this number with the earlier "build" number.
Decision time. Now choose.
While it may be seem quick straight-forward, I can assure you its not. This particular equation is what many people today make their big buck or simply earn their livelihood around.
But my debate today is what if the values are exactly the same. Build vs buy is equal. What to do now?
This is where I present to you my quote of the day.
"Some things are better built than bought"
Example - Relationships.
After boring you with the theory above, I would like to apply the concept to life or to be more precise, relationships. No matter how much you spend on a relationship, you can't make it work. You can't buy love, you can't buy sincerity, dependence, care. Somethings just can't be bought.
One important element that I didn't mention in the theory above was how building is so much more fulfilling than buying. You go through the process of putting the pieces together. Brick by Brick, see a plan come together. You learn about people. You learn about yourself. You cherish the whole experience much much more. Its definitely more fulfilling to build something than just going and picking it off the shelf.
So building a relationship is something like that as well. Take a husband-wife relationship as a really good example. Two individuals relatively unknown to each other come together to form a team. Learn about each other's strengths. Learn about each other's weaknesses. Where would they contribute to make each other stronger. It's this bond that keeps building as they keep supporting each other and building this bridge between 2 families. Then come the kids. Test of patience. Test of sharing the love. That's when they realize, the more they share, the more it multiplies.
The bond keeps going stronger. They live their lives together for each other and then become inseparable. Nothing can change this until death do them apart. How is that possible? How can a bond be so strong that only when they can't breathe do they become separate from each other? These things can only be built.
Try that by buying a relationship. You know what I mean. Marrying for money over love. Doesn't last long, at least there wouldn't be any happily ever after phrases in that relationship. Its fun for a while, but then its either no relationship or just a compromise.
No matter what the build vs buy equation tilts towards, some things are better built than being bought. Make a note. Apply. Prosper.
Capitalism vs Volume Selling
OK the topic seems like an unrelated match-up. I somehow feel there is a link. Let's see if I can put my thoughts together. A few random thoughts have converged to how Volume Selling beat the concept of Capitalism through the recession.
First lets put both these in perspective. This is how I define and understand both.
Capitalism is the concept of a capital driven economy. People borrow money to spend on things they can't afford but they live a quality life and spend their whole life paying off their debt. The people who loan out this money and drive this concept are rich ones who earn from the debt and the interest. Governments can print money so people can take loans more easily bringing down interest rates but increasing inflation. The people who keep the cash make money from it by loaning it out more. All their electronic money converts to paper money and then goes back to being electronic money to loan out further.
Volume Selling is a business model where people earn money by having lower profit margins but selling a lot of it. For example, I have a product for which cost of making was $10 and I sell it for $40. So I make $30 for every sale I make. Somebody else sells the same product for $20. So he will have to sell 3 items for every 1 item I sell to match my profit. If this ratio remains, we are earning the same. The concept that he applied was, he needs to sell more to make more. That's Volume Selling, kind of. He would have a different marketing & sales strategy as compared to what I would have.
Now if he is somehow able to bring his cost of making down and come down to the same ratio. He could make the product for $5 and still sell for $20 and he reduces the ratio. Now he only needs to sell 2 items for every 1 item I sell.
That's the simple explanation of the two concepts. At least my simple explanation. They still look very irrelevant but let me try to put this in perspective now.
The recent recession has been the output of this crazy model of capitalism. People keep taking loans and loans from loans and leveraging further on intangible stuff. Everything in the air. Everything a big bubble. It had to burst. It did. Everybody heard it, everybody took the impact. But let's look further. Who came out the better on the other side?
Just observe the economies that have come out pretty strong from this recession. Let's take just the major 2 for an example. India & China. I wouldn't call them capitalist driven economies even though India might show a glimpse of that. Both countries are densely populated and they have put their workforce to action. At least the ones they could.
India relies on its booming IT industry initially driven by BPOs and Call Centres and now moving towards some entrepreneurial stuff as well. The business biggies are now tycoons heading into the world taking over companies with the cash they have at hand. Their agricultural products remain strong and they got a good cash base to look into the future. They got a lot of population working abroad in many different countries of the world actually running economies in some and a lot of that money now heading back to India in terms of investment, new ventures etc. So lets look at the irony here. Other countries are printing money which gets invested back home when people send money back and invest.
How are they so successful abroad? The answer is simple. Skilled talent for much less the cost as compared to the local labour. You can get 3 Indians on the same salary of 1 person if picked from the local market. I am talking western markets here.
So basically, I categorize this as Volume Selling as well. The Indian sells for much cheaper than a European for example. Companies are willing to get 3 Indians instead of 1 European and they end up paying the same. Compare that with the example above and it fits perfectly into the Volume Selling model.
China is the world famous place for cheap labour. They did the same as well. Now the world's goods are being made in China for much less the cost. Big companies realized that while they are trying to sell more then can still improve profits by reducing the cost of the making. Move the making to China. Take any line of business. Ideas may be generated in the developed markets but mass production comes down to China.
The advantage is that after years of just making something, some creativity comes in as well. Soon we'll see creativity and research oriented development generating from these economies. They are on the right track.
So while Capitalism promised the "good life" it all seems much short-term based right now with all that has happened. The countries who came out well drove their economies by selling more for less. People living in the capitalist model didn't care whether a car was worth $100,000 or $120,000 its all going on a loan anyway so my monthly payment doesn't get effected that much. On the other hand, the volume selling market was careful on each penny saved being a penny earned.
It seems like 2 random concepts but I think they are somehow linked. The link factor is how the booming economies came through the recession pretty good. There is much more to it I am sure. But this has some sort of link as well. Sometimes I wish, I had studied economics. I could understand and express much better on such topics. Anyway the thought has initiated, it will develop into something solid. It will make a lot more sense.
First lets put both these in perspective. This is how I define and understand both.
Capitalism is the concept of a capital driven economy. People borrow money to spend on things they can't afford but they live a quality life and spend their whole life paying off their debt. The people who loan out this money and drive this concept are rich ones who earn from the debt and the interest. Governments can print money so people can take loans more easily bringing down interest rates but increasing inflation. The people who keep the cash make money from it by loaning it out more. All their electronic money converts to paper money and then goes back to being electronic money to loan out further.
Volume Selling is a business model where people earn money by having lower profit margins but selling a lot of it. For example, I have a product for which cost of making was $10 and I sell it for $40. So I make $30 for every sale I make. Somebody else sells the same product for $20. So he will have to sell 3 items for every 1 item I sell to match my profit. If this ratio remains, we are earning the same. The concept that he applied was, he needs to sell more to make more. That's Volume Selling, kind of. He would have a different marketing & sales strategy as compared to what I would have.
Now if he is somehow able to bring his cost of making down and come down to the same ratio. He could make the product for $5 and still sell for $20 and he reduces the ratio. Now he only needs to sell 2 items for every 1 item I sell.
That's the simple explanation of the two concepts. At least my simple explanation. They still look very irrelevant but let me try to put this in perspective now.
The recent recession has been the output of this crazy model of capitalism. People keep taking loans and loans from loans and leveraging further on intangible stuff. Everything in the air. Everything a big bubble. It had to burst. It did. Everybody heard it, everybody took the impact. But let's look further. Who came out the better on the other side?
Just observe the economies that have come out pretty strong from this recession. Let's take just the major 2 for an example. India & China. I wouldn't call them capitalist driven economies even though India might show a glimpse of that. Both countries are densely populated and they have put their workforce to action. At least the ones they could.
India relies on its booming IT industry initially driven by BPOs and Call Centres and now moving towards some entrepreneurial stuff as well. The business biggies are now tycoons heading into the world taking over companies with the cash they have at hand. Their agricultural products remain strong and they got a good cash base to look into the future. They got a lot of population working abroad in many different countries of the world actually running economies in some and a lot of that money now heading back to India in terms of investment, new ventures etc. So lets look at the irony here. Other countries are printing money which gets invested back home when people send money back and invest.
How are they so successful abroad? The answer is simple. Skilled talent for much less the cost as compared to the local labour. You can get 3 Indians on the same salary of 1 person if picked from the local market. I am talking western markets here.
So basically, I categorize this as Volume Selling as well. The Indian sells for much cheaper than a European for example. Companies are willing to get 3 Indians instead of 1 European and they end up paying the same. Compare that with the example above and it fits perfectly into the Volume Selling model.
China is the world famous place for cheap labour. They did the same as well. Now the world's goods are being made in China for much less the cost. Big companies realized that while they are trying to sell more then can still improve profits by reducing the cost of the making. Move the making to China. Take any line of business. Ideas may be generated in the developed markets but mass production comes down to China.
The advantage is that after years of just making something, some creativity comes in as well. Soon we'll see creativity and research oriented development generating from these economies. They are on the right track.
So while Capitalism promised the "good life" it all seems much short-term based right now with all that has happened. The countries who came out well drove their economies by selling more for less. People living in the capitalist model didn't care whether a car was worth $100,000 or $120,000 its all going on a loan anyway so my monthly payment doesn't get effected that much. On the other hand, the volume selling market was careful on each penny saved being a penny earned.
It seems like 2 random concepts but I think they are somehow linked. The link factor is how the booming economies came through the recession pretty good. There is much more to it I am sure. But this has some sort of link as well. Sometimes I wish, I had studied economics. I could understand and express much better on such topics. Anyway the thought has initiated, it will develop into something solid. It will make a lot more sense.
Attention Wanting
Why does it feel when I am in the process of writing a blog or tweet or update my status on the gazillion social networking sites that I have accounts... that i want attention. I guess that's exactly why... I do want attention...
But I am not the only one right? That applies for all humans regardless of whether they are as addicted to the Internet like me or not. We all have this natural in-born craving to get noticed. We like to stand out in a crowd. Not all the time but once in a while we do.
It doesn't matter who you are or what you do. Its not about how much money you make. Its not about on what level of the food-chain you are. The high ups get noticed anyway. But even the ones at the bottom of the pile get noticed for being at the bottom of the pile.
Whether it is at a professional level at work. One wants to do well. Speak up in a meeting. Get a job well done just to get noticed. On the other side, it could be a casual get-together with friends or family. It could be a simple walk in the park but you could get the craving to wear something that would make you stand out or do something different.
This is all regardless of how good or worthless one feels at any particular moment in time. This is really bothering me by the way.
The strange part is that you could be at either extreme to get noticed. Extreme behavior is easily noticed. Best or worst, you are breaking news.
I think its only moderation where one can get away without getting noticed...or wait... on second thought, even those people would get noticed. This time people would say, this person is a good moderate guy. He doesn't do anything extreme. You can have the craving to be moderate as well to get noticed.
If you are at the top, you get noticed. If you are the bottom, you get noticed. If you are somewhere in the middle, you'll get noticed.
Should I be feeling insecure? Regardless of what we do or don't do, we'll get noticed? If we don't get noticed, we'll follow our natural instinct to do something to get noticed. We are made strange beings, that's for sure.
But I am not the only one right? That applies for all humans regardless of whether they are as addicted to the Internet like me or not. We all have this natural in-born craving to get noticed. We like to stand out in a crowd. Not all the time but once in a while we do.
It doesn't matter who you are or what you do. Its not about how much money you make. Its not about on what level of the food-chain you are. The high ups get noticed anyway. But even the ones at the bottom of the pile get noticed for being at the bottom of the pile.
Whether it is at a professional level at work. One wants to do well. Speak up in a meeting. Get a job well done just to get noticed. On the other side, it could be a casual get-together with friends or family. It could be a simple walk in the park but you could get the craving to wear something that would make you stand out or do something different.
This is all regardless of how good or worthless one feels at any particular moment in time. This is really bothering me by the way.
The strange part is that you could be at either extreme to get noticed. Extreme behavior is easily noticed. Best or worst, you are breaking news.
I think its only moderation where one can get away without getting noticed...or wait... on second thought, even those people would get noticed. This time people would say, this person is a good moderate guy. He doesn't do anything extreme. You can have the craving to be moderate as well to get noticed.
If you are at the top, you get noticed. If you are the bottom, you get noticed. If you are somewhere in the middle, you'll get noticed.
Should I be feeling insecure? Regardless of what we do or don't do, we'll get noticed? If we don't get noticed, we'll follow our natural instinct to do something to get noticed. We are made strange beings, that's for sure.
Financial Crisis - Concentrating on The Positives
Motivational Mondays Time...
I know others have written on the topic as well and I think that is the best way to pass away the current doom & gloom surrounding us. Write about the positives, talk about the positives, share links, make it funny. Its quite stressful anyway.
I know its difficult to read a post about the positives of the financial crisis if you have been a victim of it. But the good part is, you are part of the majority. The best thing that I can say to people who have lost their jobs, are in financial stress etc is that "This too shall pass."
Trust me its even more difficult to write. Anyway, here are some positives that need to be mentioned.
As per a recent post by a fellow blogger, customer service has really improved. Banks are now ensuring they retain customers through excellent customer service. That is coming from the strategy most companies have employed.
Quality. Ensure that the quality of the product is maintained. If one looks beyond the recession, those who survive now will have a big market to just come and take over. Whoever ensures that the quality of their product or the experience that the customer enjoys remains intact and to the topmost level, will make up for all the tough times now.
I know this has been repeated again and again but I cant help just saying it once more.
Heheh...I am sorry, just had to put it in the post.
Anyway, do you know that if you are in an investment mode, this is the best time to put it in the right company. All you need to be good at is to find that company that is going to be around and buy that share. Its probable that you will get a huge bargain. Talk about tripling you money. That's a huge positive for people who got cash on them.
For most companies, its about consolidation. Filtering the dirt. Cleaning up the little messes which they couldn't find time to clean in the busy competition around. Now is the time, you find companies optimizing processes, reducing people to an optimum level. This does mean that many people do end up jobless, but what it also means is that if you are good, you can get a job in a place where you will make that difference. That is always good, trust me.
Oh, very important to mention is how companies have started going green. Yes, eco-friendly is the word people. See, green has always made financial sense as it does save cost. The only reason why many companies didn't go for it is that it is beneficial in the long run. With the tight funding and competition not many companies wanted to invest big. They want immediate returns. After finding time to review the benefits in the long run, now seems a good time for that.
Innovation is what will separate the wheat from the chaff, the great companies from the ordinary lot. That is what will be the difference on the other side of the recession. Its not only about survival but "Survival in Style" what counts today.
People have now seen what can happen when the bubble bursts. We had only heard that the bubble will burst some day. Well here it . How much can we borrow? How much? Speculative trading. Man. People now realize that the value of money is much more than the value of credit. The market has undergone the much needed correction.
The question still remains on whether the bottom has been hit, whether we have seen the worst yet. Its very important to stay positive. Its very important to hold on and live through it.
I know others have written on the topic as well and I think that is the best way to pass away the current doom & gloom surrounding us. Write about the positives, talk about the positives, share links, make it funny. Its quite stressful anyway.
I know its difficult to read a post about the positives of the financial crisis if you have been a victim of it. But the good part is, you are part of the majority. The best thing that I can say to people who have lost their jobs, are in financial stress etc is that "This too shall pass."
Trust me its even more difficult to write. Anyway, here are some positives that need to be mentioned.
As per a recent post by a fellow blogger, customer service has really improved. Banks are now ensuring they retain customers through excellent customer service. That is coming from the strategy most companies have employed.
Quality. Ensure that the quality of the product is maintained. If one looks beyond the recession, those who survive now will have a big market to just come and take over. Whoever ensures that the quality of their product or the experience that the customer enjoys remains intact and to the topmost level, will make up for all the tough times now.
I know this has been repeated again and again but I cant help just saying it once more.
"Isn't it amazing that women have not actually started marrying for love?"
Heheh...I am sorry, just had to put it in the post.
Anyway, do you know that if you are in an investment mode, this is the best time to put it in the right company. All you need to be good at is to find that company that is going to be around and buy that share. Its probable that you will get a huge bargain. Talk about tripling you money. That's a huge positive for people who got cash on them.
For most companies, its about consolidation. Filtering the dirt. Cleaning up the little messes which they couldn't find time to clean in the busy competition around. Now is the time, you find companies optimizing processes, reducing people to an optimum level. This does mean that many people do end up jobless, but what it also means is that if you are good, you can get a job in a place where you will make that difference. That is always good, trust me.
Oh, very important to mention is how companies have started going green. Yes, eco-friendly is the word people. See, green has always made financial sense as it does save cost. The only reason why many companies didn't go for it is that it is beneficial in the long run. With the tight funding and competition not many companies wanted to invest big. They want immediate returns. After finding time to review the benefits in the long run, now seems a good time for that.
Innovation is what will separate the wheat from the chaff, the great companies from the ordinary lot. That is what will be the difference on the other side of the recession. Its not only about survival but "Survival in Style" what counts today.
People have now seen what can happen when the bubble bursts. We had only heard that the bubble will burst some day. Well here it . How much can we borrow? How much? Speculative trading. Man. People now realize that the value of money is much more than the value of credit. The market has undergone the much needed correction.
The question still remains on whether the bottom has been hit, whether we have seen the worst yet. Its very important to stay positive. Its very important to hold on and live through it.
"The sun shines on the other side of each night."
This aint over people. I am standing. You are standing. Look around you, there are many people trying to stand up, give them your hand and together we will see this through. Hand in Hand.
Do you know that Google & Microsoft started during a recessionary period? Look where they are now. Fortune magazine was also a revolution, yet again started during a recession. Think about it. If you wake up in the morning, thinking you should own a company, this is the time to get something started. There couldn't be a better time. This is one way of looking at it. The positive way.
Of course you can also stick your head under the ground or go into hibernation. You make the choice. In the words of Captain Planet :P
The POWER is YOURS!!!
Thinking You Can or Can't
I came across a nice little quote that really made me think.
I mean that's all there is to it, isn't it? If you think you can do it, you can. If you think you can't, you won't. The most amazing thing about these great quotes and the people who said them is that they say so much with just a few words. I guess that's the difference between me and them. I will make a blog-post out of it trying to get the essence out of it heheh...
"Yes, We Can!!" is something that was exploited in a humorous way in the movie "The Nutty Professor". No not the Jerry Lewis one, I am talking about the Eddie Murphy-in-all-roles one. "Yes, We Can!!" was used as a catch phrase in losing weight where the trainer shouted "Ladies, tell me you can. We can lose weight. Yes, we can." You know all that drama, getting-to-you, Oprah BS.
Its all in the head. Our brains have so much capacity that even we cant imagine. We have been stretching the limit since life came into existence. Look at where we started out and where we are today as humans. In every day and age there have been people, who believe, who think they can and those are the people who make the difference and move us one step ahead. I mean, just think what addition you as a person have made to this world. If you have been just getting up every morning, going to the routine life of work, school, college and coming back watching TV etc then basically you are no different than most people in this world. Imagine, if everybody was like that, we wouldn't have moved ahead and I would certainly not be writing a blog-post on a "computer" while being connected to the "Internet" (just to name a few inventions.)
So if you get the slightest of feeling to do something, change that something, make that difference, just believe in it and DO IT. You are still better off than us couch potatoes or wannabe philosophers and thinkers.
I would have loved being so famous that NIKE would have sponsored this post but unfortunately I got a long way to go. Anyway I will steal their famous punch line to end this post,
"Whether you think u can or you think u can't, you are right - Henry Ford"
I mean that's all there is to it, isn't it? If you think you can do it, you can. If you think you can't, you won't. The most amazing thing about these great quotes and the people who said them is that they say so much with just a few words. I guess that's the difference between me and them. I will make a blog-post out of it trying to get the essence out of it heheh...
"Yes, We Can!!" is something that was exploited in a humorous way in the movie "The Nutty Professor". No not the Jerry Lewis one, I am talking about the Eddie Murphy-in-all-roles one. "Yes, We Can!!" was used as a catch phrase in losing weight where the trainer shouted "Ladies, tell me you can. We can lose weight. Yes, we can." You know all that drama, getting-to-you, Oprah BS.
Its all in the head. Our brains have so much capacity that even we cant imagine. We have been stretching the limit since life came into existence. Look at where we started out and where we are today as humans. In every day and age there have been people, who believe, who think they can and those are the people who make the difference and move us one step ahead. I mean, just think what addition you as a person have made to this world. If you have been just getting up every morning, going to the routine life of work, school, college and coming back watching TV etc then basically you are no different than most people in this world. Imagine, if everybody was like that, we wouldn't have moved ahead and I would certainly not be writing a blog-post on a "computer" while being connected to the "Internet" (just to name a few inventions.)
So if you get the slightest of feeling to do something, change that something, make that difference, just believe in it and DO IT. You are still better off than us couch potatoes or wannabe philosophers and thinkers.
I would have loved being so famous that NIKE would have sponsored this post but unfortunately I got a long way to go. Anyway I will steal their famous punch line to end this post,
JUST DO IT !!!
How to "Ensure" that the Boss Is Always Right
This is not a 10-ways-to-ensure-that-your-boss-is-always-right post. I have not reached that enviable level of blogging as yet. There are actually bloggers around who constantly produce top-5-ways, best-7-methods, etc etc.
My post has just a 1-point agenda which will always work to ensure that your boss is always right.
OK before going into it, why should you be interested? I ll give you a simple answer. Because...the Boss "IS" always right. The only thing that you need to do is to get in line and make him know that you are absolutely behind him and whatever he needs will get done.
So when I use the word "ensure", it doesn't mean that you played any role in making the Boss right. Please don't think you had anything to do with that. He has been and will always be right. "Ensure" is more about how you can let him know that you did as required and the objective was achieved. This may or may not be the project's or the task's objective but it certainly was the required objective as far as the boss is concerned. Isn't that what really matters in the end?
So now that we have realized the importance of ensuring that your Boss "IS" always right and also learnt indirectly how to climb the corporate ladder, lets get down to the lesson.
I ll explain this with some illustrations. For any project you can really have just two methodologies. Yes this is a post on the theme of 1) What not to do... and then a drum-roll...and voila...2) The RIGHT way to do it. NO gimmickry...
Ok here is the first illustration...
As you can see, this the traditional way of doing things, not always successful. In fact mostly unsuccessful. In this approach, you would set up your project plan, time-lines, get approvals at different milestones, keep working hard which is synonymous to painting the target. Your boss will shoot the arrow at project closure which may or may not hit the bull's eye. It mostly doesn't. If it gets within the 20% range of the bull's eye, it would be a successful project cos there is no such thing as a perfect project.
There is a variant of the above strategy where you would be holding the board and trying to catch that arrow after the boss has already thrown it . Agility plays a big role here. You have to follow the arrow and try to catch it at the center. Tough job.
If your project has multiple drivers or bosses, I wish you luck. You will need all of it. Such projects if applied with the above strategy could easily end up as the following....
So is there any better way? Something that is applicable to all projects? My friends, I am happy to tell you that there is and it might as well be the best management lesson you may ever learn. Thanks to a senior colleague of mine, I have a great solution. This will work perfectly in the worst of situations and will yield a 100% result. Yes 100% !!! I am not holding anything back. Do you want to know? Here it is....
Yes people. This is a proven and tested method. Build your project around what your Boss wants. Leave everything on one side. Your project management skills, plans etc. These are all irrelevant to the eventual goal. Follow the standard practices and show your sweat but ensure that you are drawing the bull's eye around the arrow rather than hoping that your boss's arrow hits the created and placed target board.
There you go. One of the best management lessons you could learn. You want to thank me? I am sure you know by now how you can do that? What are all self-employed part-time bloggers really looking for? I hope you get the message ;) I can't give any more hints or I wont get paid.
Thanks MAYG for the wonderful work with the illustrations and of course many thanks to one of my senior colleagues for yet another brilliant management lesson.
See you all at the top of the corporate ladder soon...I ll be waiting... :)
My post has just a 1-point agenda which will always work to ensure that your boss is always right.
OK before going into it, why should you be interested? I ll give you a simple answer. Because...the Boss "IS" always right. The only thing that you need to do is to get in line and make him know that you are absolutely behind him and whatever he needs will get done.
So when I use the word "ensure", it doesn't mean that you played any role in making the Boss right. Please don't think you had anything to do with that. He has been and will always be right. "Ensure" is more about how you can let him know that you did as required and the objective was achieved. This may or may not be the project's or the task's objective but it certainly was the required objective as far as the boss is concerned. Isn't that what really matters in the end?
So now that we have realized the importance of ensuring that your Boss "IS" always right and also learnt indirectly how to climb the corporate ladder, lets get down to the lesson.
I ll explain this with some illustrations. For any project you can really have just two methodologies. Yes this is a post on the theme of 1) What not to do... and then a drum-roll...and voila...2) The RIGHT way to do it. NO gimmickry...
Ok here is the first illustration...
As you can see, this the traditional way of doing things, not always successful. In fact mostly unsuccessful. In this approach, you would set up your project plan, time-lines, get approvals at different milestones, keep working hard which is synonymous to painting the target. Your boss will shoot the arrow at project closure which may or may not hit the bull's eye. It mostly doesn't. If it gets within the 20% range of the bull's eye, it would be a successful project cos there is no such thing as a perfect project.
There is a variant of the above strategy where you would be holding the board and trying to catch that arrow after the boss has already thrown it . Agility plays a big role here. You have to follow the arrow and try to catch it at the center. Tough job.
If your project has multiple drivers or bosses, I wish you luck. You will need all of it. Such projects if applied with the above strategy could easily end up as the following....
So is there any better way? Something that is applicable to all projects? My friends, I am happy to tell you that there is and it might as well be the best management lesson you may ever learn. Thanks to a senior colleague of mine, I have a great solution. This will work perfectly in the worst of situations and will yield a 100% result. Yes 100% !!! I am not holding anything back. Do you want to know? Here it is....
Yes people. This is a proven and tested method. Build your project around what your Boss wants. Leave everything on one side. Your project management skills, plans etc. These are all irrelevant to the eventual goal. Follow the standard practices and show your sweat but ensure that you are drawing the bull's eye around the arrow rather than hoping that your boss's arrow hits the created and placed target board.
There you go. One of the best management lessons you could learn. You want to thank me? I am sure you know by now how you can do that? What are all self-employed part-time bloggers really looking for? I hope you get the message ;) I can't give any more hints or I wont get paid.
Thanks MAYG for the wonderful work with the illustrations and of course many thanks to one of my senior colleagues for yet another brilliant management lesson.
See you all at the top of the corporate ladder soon...I ll be waiting... :)
The Fly "IN" the car
Ok I might be a computer scientist, if that is what you call a MS in Computer Science, and I may have studied the higher level of mathematics and physics and what not but one thing baffles me even today? Okay let me lay it out in my language (layman's :P get it...lay? )...
Why doesnt a fly stuck inside a car going at 120km/h not get splashed on the windscreen? or back screen depending no whether the car is going forward or in reverse :P?
Can somebody tell me? The fly is definitely not flying at 120 km/h. Neither is it staying still in the air at while flying at 120km/h...
It baffles me. What phenomenon of physics is this? Is this inertia? Wasn't inertia about the front push we feel when standing in a bus and it comes to a halt?
Too many questions...no answers.
Dear readers, can any of you solve this mystery for me? Really appreciate it. Professor UTP is confused...
Why doesnt a fly stuck inside a car going at 120km/h not get splashed on the windscreen? or back screen depending no whether the car is going forward or in reverse :P?
Can somebody tell me? The fly is definitely not flying at 120 km/h. Neither is it staying still in the air at while flying at 120km/h...
It baffles me. What phenomenon of physics is this? Is this inertia? Wasn't inertia about the front push we feel when standing in a bus and it comes to a halt?
Too many questions...no answers.
Dear readers, can any of you solve this mystery for me? Really appreciate it. Professor UTP is confused...
The most important thing in life
Take it your profession, your studies, anything whatsoever that makes you do something. Something that is close to you, something that you wish to achieve. The most important thing in life is ..."Showing Up..."
Sounds simple but it is the one thing that can be the difference in landing that dream job or cleaning the streets the next day. I mean who says opportunity knocks again? No one. Opportunity never knocks twice...I mean the great quoter didn't say thrice or phrice [utp word invented] just twice. So opportunity only comes once and you have to be smart enough to avail it at the time or regret forever.
For example, its not only about literally being present for the dream job interview call, its more about being physically and mentally present there. Lots of times, since interviews and recruitments are a whole day affair, at least we tell our current bosses that, the late night preparations and the sleepless night and the early morning wake-up leads to the mental and social self-presence still in bed while the freshly groomed person is sitting the waiting room for the interview. That is what I am talking about. One has to SHOW UP in the full costume to have the best chance.
So I have decided to show up more often here. With a blog post here and there.
Sounds simple but it is the one thing that can be the difference in landing that dream job or cleaning the streets the next day. I mean who says opportunity knocks again? No one. Opportunity never knocks twice...I mean the great quoter didn't say thrice or phrice [utp word invented] just twice. So opportunity only comes once and you have to be smart enough to avail it at the time or regret forever.
For example, its not only about literally being present for the dream job interview call, its more about being physically and mentally present there. Lots of times, since interviews and recruitments are a whole day affair, at least we tell our current bosses that, the late night preparations and the sleepless night and the early morning wake-up leads to the mental and social self-presence still in bed while the freshly groomed person is sitting the waiting room for the interview. That is what I am talking about. One has to SHOW UP in the full costume to have the best chance.
So I have decided to show up more often here. With a blog post here and there.
Pulling my hair...
I have noticed that my last few blogs reflect a bit of a different mood. I was thinking about writing something in a changed mood, something more lighter. The thing is that when you feel in a certain way then that's how you would tend to write as well. Anyway, I realized that if you really want change your mood, something will happen and will help you do that. For me all it takes is a 10 minute chat session.
So I was talking to Social Geek and the guy said that he has been "Pulling his Hair" due to more and more work. I will not be posting the whole chat conversation but just those 3 words led me to thinking that's how most men lose their hair. That phrase was invented because that's what work would have done and then you start pulling hair.
So hair-fall is not the right term, hair-pull is more like it.
So then us men think about opening our own companies. Once we are tired of pulling our own hair, we decide to run the show and make other workers pull their hair and the chain continues. If the new firm is a joint collaboration and partners then none of the owners pull their hair. Also if the company pays well and the work is good, the workers don't pull their hair anymore. The hair pulling in those cases moves to the client.
I mean the "Pulling my hair" term is too good to be left out of the business process. Take any business process, process cycle, SDLC... Take any industry and whatever process is involved. At least one user/party/entity pulls their hair. Its just amazing that after so many years we have not been able to take these 3 words out of our industries. In fact, I think we should now be documenting it in our Standard Operating Procedures.
Since the clients don't want to pull their hair, they pass it on to their customers. Its a whole chain anyway. So who is at the end of it? The common man of course. All bad things end up happening to the common man. Now if that common man is a person who owns a company or is a worker which he most probably is, the chain just starts again. So it is basically a never-ending chain which leads to pretty much most people start getting bald at a very early age.
Why do you think women are in the fray as well with problems of hair-fall [hair-pull]? They have just entered the work field, the market. Standing toe-to-toe with us men. Welcome to the party girls. But nobody told them that what is a given. "Pulling your hair" is inevitable.
Then come the shampoo companies coming and telling everybody how the weather, hard water and using soap on the hair etc is the root cause of falling hair. What if I tell you there is no such thing as hair-fall? Its all pulling my hair stuff people. In fact that shampoo product idea is also by somebody who wanted to stop pulling his hair for a while and pass it on.
This post has gone in enough circles to end it right now. As abruptly as possible with no summarized....formal end. So there you go...
So I was talking to Social Geek and the guy said that he has been "Pulling his Hair" due to more and more work. I will not be posting the whole chat conversation but just those 3 words led me to thinking that's how most men lose their hair. That phrase was invented because that's what work would have done and then you start pulling hair.
So hair-fall is not the right term, hair-pull is more like it.
So then us men think about opening our own companies. Once we are tired of pulling our own hair, we decide to run the show and make other workers pull their hair and the chain continues. If the new firm is a joint collaboration and partners then none of the owners pull their hair. Also if the company pays well and the work is good, the workers don't pull their hair anymore. The hair pulling in those cases moves to the client.
I mean the "Pulling my hair" term is too good to be left out of the business process. Take any business process, process cycle, SDLC... Take any industry and whatever process is involved. At least one user/party/entity pulls their hair. Its just amazing that after so many years we have not been able to take these 3 words out of our industries. In fact, I think we should now be documenting it in our Standard Operating Procedures.
Since the clients don't want to pull their hair, they pass it on to their customers. Its a whole chain anyway. So who is at the end of it? The common man of course. All bad things end up happening to the common man. Now if that common man is a person who owns a company or is a worker which he most probably is, the chain just starts again. So it is basically a never-ending chain which leads to pretty much most people start getting bald at a very early age.
Why do you think women are in the fray as well with problems of hair-fall [hair-pull]? They have just entered the work field, the market. Standing toe-to-toe with us men. Welcome to the party girls. But nobody told them that what is a given. "Pulling your hair" is inevitable.
Then come the shampoo companies coming and telling everybody how the weather, hard water and using soap on the hair etc is the root cause of falling hair. What if I tell you there is no such thing as hair-fall? Its all pulling my hair stuff people. In fact that shampoo product idea is also by somebody who wanted to stop pulling his hair for a while and pass it on.
This post has gone in enough circles to end it right now. As abruptly as possible with no summarized....formal end. So there you go...
How do I change my opinion about someone?
We as humans complain so much about the unfairness of life and the way things are. Have we ever realized its only because being unfair is one of the easiest thing for us to do?
I think the biggest drawback of having the ability to have an opinion for us is that we can be judgmental in the most negative ways possible. The famous line of "First Impression is the last impression..." wouldn't have existed if we didn't have this ability of holding or voicing our opinion.
There are very essential good points of being able to change the world for good and making your thoughts count. If we didn't have the chance or ability to voice our opinion then the world could never improve. Our natural tendencies of evil would lead this world to become hell in no time. Its only that there are so many opinions that people question and raise their voice on things. The "questioning" aspect of life is what makes the other humans think and leads to discussions and dialogue and the best possible solution comes out as accepted by the majority.
Just imagine if that weren't there. We know ourselves very well. It would have been disastrous.
We can easily be really rude and biased when it comes to creating opinions about people. The few bad instances especially the early ones in an interaction with somebody are good enough for us to start judging people. Is that fair? I personally think, everyone deserves multiple chances. Who are we to judge people and "not forgive" when the Almighty gives us as many chances to correct our image as we want?
We are very quick to create our opinion about somebody and start judging them for the rest of our and their lives. That is the biggest negative of having opinions in the first place. No matter how forgiving you are and no matter how much you want to refresh the button and re-create the image, its just not possible for us. Its just not natural for us to remove something from our memory.
We don't have a delete button in our memory. We only have auto-archive option but no delete. This is a bigger-than-any mailbox than was ever created. Where do you think Google got the Gmail idea of unlimited mailbox storage? heheh...
Anyway, so what can we do. I want to start liking somebody and want to forget the bad image I have about that particular person. How do I rewind and let him restart? We do want to do that many times in our lives. Here is something that I tried and well I think it is possible.
Find 3 things good about him/her and dwell on it for a while. Live it, while initially deciding that I will create a good opinion about that person. Set your mind to ignore every bad thought that comes and create a good image. Its something like the"not guilty unless proven" theory. Let him/her try to be a good person for the new image.
That should initiate the process of the change of opinion. I use the word "initiate" as I know its much easier said than done. It is going to take some time and a lot of flawless good stuff for a while to change an opinion. We can be stubborn with our mindsets. But if one is successful in the approach it can be the easiest way to like everybody, a big asset of an ability. There has to be something like-able about anybody. If your answer becomes "NO" for that and you can't find anything like-able in the process, then trust me you are not trying hard enough. A big change of attitude is required.
See even though I believe memories can't be erased but I believe that if you have enough good things about an event or a person in your head as compared to the bad things, they can be over-written or at least the feel of things can be changed from bad to good.
I am sure everyone who has done a bit of self-evaluation as a human being, which by the way is an essential part of being successful in life, would know how bad we can be. The potential of reaching the highest level of ruthlessness is an in-born quality of us humans. We can be really unfair when we want to be.
If we are aware, we can do something to counter it.
I think the biggest drawback of having the ability to have an opinion for us is that we can be judgmental in the most negative ways possible. The famous line of "First Impression is the last impression..." wouldn't have existed if we didn't have this ability of holding or voicing our opinion.
There are very essential good points of being able to change the world for good and making your thoughts count. If we didn't have the chance or ability to voice our opinion then the world could never improve. Our natural tendencies of evil would lead this world to become hell in no time. Its only that there are so many opinions that people question and raise their voice on things. The "questioning" aspect of life is what makes the other humans think and leads to discussions and dialogue and the best possible solution comes out as accepted by the majority.
Just imagine if that weren't there. We know ourselves very well. It would have been disastrous.
We can easily be really rude and biased when it comes to creating opinions about people. The few bad instances especially the early ones in an interaction with somebody are good enough for us to start judging people. Is that fair? I personally think, everyone deserves multiple chances. Who are we to judge people and "not forgive" when the Almighty gives us as many chances to correct our image as we want?
We are very quick to create our opinion about somebody and start judging them for the rest of our and their lives. That is the biggest negative of having opinions in the first place. No matter how forgiving you are and no matter how much you want to refresh the button and re-create the image, its just not possible for us. Its just not natural for us to remove something from our memory.
We don't have a delete button in our memory. We only have auto-archive option but no delete. This is a bigger-than-any mailbox than was ever created. Where do you think Google got the Gmail idea of unlimited mailbox storage? heheh...
Anyway, so what can we do. I want to start liking somebody and want to forget the bad image I have about that particular person. How do I rewind and let him restart? We do want to do that many times in our lives. Here is something that I tried and well I think it is possible.
Find 3 things good about him/her and dwell on it for a while. Live it, while initially deciding that I will create a good opinion about that person. Set your mind to ignore every bad thought that comes and create a good image. Its something like the"not guilty unless proven" theory. Let him/her try to be a good person for the new image.
That should initiate the process of the change of opinion. I use the word "initiate" as I know its much easier said than done. It is going to take some time and a lot of flawless good stuff for a while to change an opinion. We can be stubborn with our mindsets. But if one is successful in the approach it can be the easiest way to like everybody, a big asset of an ability. There has to be something like-able about anybody. If your answer becomes "NO" for that and you can't find anything like-able in the process, then trust me you are not trying hard enough. A big change of attitude is required.
See even though I believe memories can't be erased but I believe that if you have enough good things about an event or a person in your head as compared to the bad things, they can be over-written or at least the feel of things can be changed from bad to good.
I am sure everyone who has done a bit of self-evaluation as a human being, which by the way is an essential part of being successful in life, would know how bad we can be. The potential of reaching the highest level of ruthlessness is an in-born quality of us humans. We can be really unfair when we want to be.
If we are aware, we can do something to counter it.
Reach for the SKY but...
We have all heard this one many times before also.
Reach for the skies. Its a metaphor for trying your best, to aim for high targets and then working towards them. Aim for the sky. Fly high.
When a bird's egg hatches and the baby chick comes out, it is already looking up. It may be because it is hungry and is going to get some worms from mama or he may already be aiming for the sky. I like the latter definition better.
Since a bird is supposed to fly, it already starts looking up from the day its born. Once you start looking towards your goal you start thinking about it. Trying to make it your target to focus upon. To set all things in such a way that your road of life heads towards that.
I believe in aiming high. High targets stretch you further than you would have otherwise gone if you had kept your targets easily attainable. They say that one should keep their targets and goals as stretching. They should not be too high that you could never make it. They should be achievable yet stretching. That is one of the job functions a manager has for his people too. Setting such kind of goals so that the people under him constantly strive to improve.
Anyway, reaching for the skies is a good thing but...yes it has a "but" and its a huge "BUT"...
It is very essential that and I quote, "You keep your feet on the ground".
You can only reach for the goals set if you succeed in keeping your feet on the ground as well which means considering reality. Keeping the practicality in perspective as well. One who strikes the balance succeeds.
I mean whats the use of reaching your goals if you can reach there but cant stay there cos there is no solid base. You can fly and reach the stars but it would be more useful if one keeps his bond with the basics. When one has a solid foundation it is very probably that all achievements will be everlasting.
So that one can build from his achievements to achieve even more. Set new goals. Set new limits. So there it is friends, another lesson from life.
"Reach for the skies, but keep your feet on the ground..."
Reach for the skies. Its a metaphor for trying your best, to aim for high targets and then working towards them. Aim for the sky. Fly high.
When a bird's egg hatches and the baby chick comes out, it is already looking up. It may be because it is hungry and is going to get some worms from mama or he may already be aiming for the sky. I like the latter definition better.
Since a bird is supposed to fly, it already starts looking up from the day its born. Once you start looking towards your goal you start thinking about it. Trying to make it your target to focus upon. To set all things in such a way that your road of life heads towards that.
I believe in aiming high. High targets stretch you further than you would have otherwise gone if you had kept your targets easily attainable. They say that one should keep their targets and goals as stretching. They should not be too high that you could never make it. They should be achievable yet stretching. That is one of the job functions a manager has for his people too. Setting such kind of goals so that the people under him constantly strive to improve.
Anyway, reaching for the skies is a good thing but...yes it has a "but" and its a huge "BUT"...
It is very essential that and I quote, "You keep your feet on the ground".
You can only reach for the goals set if you succeed in keeping your feet on the ground as well which means considering reality. Keeping the practicality in perspective as well. One who strikes the balance succeeds.
I mean whats the use of reaching your goals if you can reach there but cant stay there cos there is no solid base. You can fly and reach the stars but it would be more useful if one keeps his bond with the basics. When one has a solid foundation it is very probably that all achievements will be everlasting.
So that one can build from his achievements to achieve even more. Set new goals. Set new limits. So there it is friends, another lesson from life.
"Reach for the skies, but keep your feet on the ground..."
Make your Boss look good
OK people, its a good time to share the secret to success in a good professional career. I was amongst some good senior colleagues at work this last week and one of them was in a good mood to share some lessons from his professional life. That's where he said, "Son, I've learnt from experience...whatever you do...make your boss look good...".
Of course there are stereotype words like be honest, be a team player, dedicated and keep learning new things...keep improving etc but the bottom line is that you have to make your Boss look good...
It is important to understand that its not only you who wanted to join that particular job and do well, it is also your boss who wants you to do well so that he could do well. If you slow down, that slows him down as well. That's what the team is all about. If you do something that has been assigned to you which may usually be a small thing in the whole department's objectives, your boss will be able to take it up and say my dept produced this much under me. Its a good thing for everybody including you and your boss.
If somebody is honest, committed and all the other good adjectives you get to hear when you prepare for an interview, he would get the opportunity to work on a million things. There is so much in this world to do and learn and get better but since we are only human and there is only "One Instance" of us in this world, we can only do so much.
Hence, we usually prioritize and concentrate on the task at hand and even if we venture into something new, there is an element of thinking that it should help my current and future job. In all cases, whatever good you do, you cant go ahead without your boss's recommendation. Its the reality of life that he is there to guide you, nurture you and give you support and in return you have to
Of course there are stereotype words like be honest, be a team player, dedicated and keep learning new things...keep improving etc but the bottom line is that you have to make your Boss look good...
It is important to understand that its not only you who wanted to join that particular job and do well, it is also your boss who wants you to do well so that he could do well. If you slow down, that slows him down as well. That's what the team is all about. If you do something that has been assigned to you which may usually be a small thing in the whole department's objectives, your boss will be able to take it up and say my dept produced this much under me. Its a good thing for everybody including you and your boss.
If somebody is honest, committed and all the other good adjectives you get to hear when you prepare for an interview, he would get the opportunity to work on a million things. There is so much in this world to do and learn and get better but since we are only human and there is only "One Instance" of us in this world, we can only do so much.
Hence, we usually prioritize and concentrate on the task at hand and even if we venture into something new, there is an element of thinking that it should help my current and future job. In all cases, whatever good you do, you cant go ahead without your boss's recommendation. Its the reality of life that he is there to guide you, nurture you and give you support and in return you have to
Public Toilet Probability Analysis :P
When I enter into a public toilet where there are multiple toilets, the first thought that runs through my mind is to somehow decide which one would be the least used & hence cleanest. Somehow, I feel really good when I have put my brain into some work and convinced myself that the one I used today or at the time was the least used one then.
I get this thought only when I have a choice meaning there are at least 2 available for me to choose and go in. There is no point thinking probabilities when all are filled or only one is available, right? You need to have an option to think probabilities.
So this is very much applicable to my office toilet which usually has many options no matter what time of the day you go and your mind is anyway very active. It is not as simple as going in and stepping in to the first one your mind thinks...off...that is mindless...
OK so here is how it goes...don't ever go into the first accessible one...as that is pretty much the most that has been used because most people go into mindless toileting...and the probability of
I get this thought only when I have a choice meaning there are at least 2 available for me to choose and go in. There is no point thinking probabilities when all are filled or only one is available, right? You need to have an option to think probabilities.
So this is very much applicable to my office toilet which usually has many options no matter what time of the day you go and your mind is anyway very active. It is not as simple as going in and stepping in to the first one your mind thinks...off...that is mindless...
OK so here is how it goes...don't ever go into the first accessible one...as that is pretty much the most that has been used because most people go into mindless toileting...and the probability of
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