THE SEED--DONT MISS

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of  his directors or his children, he decided to do something different.

He called all the young executives in his company together. 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO,' he said. 'I have decided to choose one of you.'

The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a seed today - a very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'

One man, named Henry, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Henry kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Henry didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Henry's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Henry didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow..

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Henry told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened˜

Henry felt sick at his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.

He took his empty pot to the board room. When Henry arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Henry put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed. A few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Henry just tried to hide in the back.

'My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO.

'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!'

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Henry at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front.

Henry was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!'

When Henry got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed.

Henry told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Henry. He looked at Henry, and then announced to the young executives, 'Here is your next Chief Executive! His name is Henry !!!!!

Henry couldn't believe it. Henry couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said?

Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed.

I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Henry, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.

'When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Henry was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!'

Moral:

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.

If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.

If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.

If you plant hard work, you will reap success.

If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Please read further part of the  earlier story

Donkey started looking for job rotation. With a certificate of star performer and list of job responsibilities that he had handled, the new employer was thoroughly impressed; he decided to hire the donkey at double the salary of what he was getting earlier. Now the donkey was very happy as he got a good reward for his hard work.

Moral of the story: Work like a donkey (do all the work and take more responsibilities), if your boss won’t reward it, somebody else will.

Disclaimer:
All characters in the story are not at all imaginary. Any resemblance to person living or dying of work is purely intentional

Have you heard the story of "The Washer man and the Foolish Donkey"?    

To refresh your memory, and for the benefit of those who have not grown up listening to this moral story, it goes like this…

There was once a washer man who had a donkey and a dog. One night when the whole world was sleeping, a thief broke into the house, the washer man was fast asleep but the donkey and the dog were awake. The dog decided not to bark since the master did not take good care of him and wanted to teach him a lesson. The donkey got worried and said to the dog that if he doesn't bark, the donkey will have to do something himself. The dog did not change his mind and the donkey started braying loudly. Hearing the donkey bray, the thief ran away, the ma ster woke up and started beating the donkey for braying in the middle of the night for no reason.

Moral of the story "One must not engage in duties other than his own"

Now take a new look at the same story…

The washer man ( J ) was a well educated man from a premier management institute. He had the fundas of looking at the bigger picture and thinking out of the box. He was convinced that there must be some reason for the donkey to bray in the night. He walked outside a little and did some fact finding, applied a bottom up approach, figured out from the ground realities that there was a thief who broke in and the donkey only wanted to alert him about it. Looking at the donkey's extra initiative and going beyond the call of the duty, he rewarded him with lot of hay and other perks and be came his favorite pet. The dog's life didn't change much, except that now the donkey was more motivated in doing the dogs duties as well. In the annual appraisal the dog managed a "meets requirement". Soon the dog realized that the donkey is taking care of his duties and he can enjoy his life sleeping and lazing around. The donkey was rated as "star performer". The donkey had to live up to his already high performance standards. Soon he was over burdened with work and always under pressure and now is looking for a job rotation…

Disclaimer:
All characters in the story are not at all imaginary. Any resemblance to person living or dying of work is purely intentional 
 

Mail sent by Narayan Murthy to all Infosys staff:

It's half past 8 in the office but the lights are still on...
PCs still running, coffee machines still buzzing...
And who's at work? Most of them ??? Take a closer look...

All or most specimens are ??
Something male species of the human race...

Look closer... again all or most of them are bachelors...

And why are they sitting late? Working hard? No way!!!
Any guesses???
Let's ask one of them...
Here's what he says..... "What's there 2 do after going home...Here we get to surf, AC, phone, food, coffee that is why I am working late...Importantly no bossssssss!! !!!!!!!!! "

This is the scene in most research centers and software companies and other off-shore offices.

Bachelors "Time-passing" during late hours in the office just bcoz they say they've nothing else to do...
Now what r the consequences. ..

"Working" (for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the institute or company culture.

With bosses more than eager to provide support to those "working" late in the form of taxi vouchers, food vouchers and of course good feedback, (oh, he's a hard worker... goes home only to change..!!).
They aren't helping things too...

To hell with bosses who don't understand the difference between "sitting" late and "working" late!!!

Very soon, the boss start expecting all employees to put in extra working hours.

So, My dear Bachelors let me tell you, life changes when u get married and start having a family... office is no longer a priority, family is... and
That's when the problem starts... b'coz u start having commitments at home too.

For your boss, the earlier "hardworking" guy suddenly seems to become a "early leaver" even if u leave an hour after regular time... after doing the same amount of work.

People leaving on time after doing their tasks for the day are labelled as work-shirkers. ..

Girls who thankfully always (its changing nowadays... though) leave on time are labelled as "not up to it". All the while, the bachelors pat their own backs and carry on "working" not realizing that they r spoiling the work culture at their own place and never realize that they would have to regret at one point of time..

So what's the moral of the story??  
* Very clear, LEAVE ON TIME!!!
* Never put in extra time " unless really needed "
* Don't stay back unnecessarily and spoil your company work culture which will in turn cause inconvenience to you and your colleagues.

There are hundred other things to do in the evening..

Learn music...

Learn a foreign language...

Try a sport... TT, cricket..... ....

Importantly, get a girl friend or boy friend, take him/her around town...

* And for heaven's sake, net cafe rates have dropped to an all-time low (plus, no fire-walls) and try cooking for a change.

Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad: *"Life's calling, where are you??"*

Please pass on this message to all those colleagues and please do it before leaving time, don't stay back till midnight to forward this!!!

IT'S A TYPICAL INDIAN MENTALITY THAT WORKING FOR LONG HOURS MEANS VERY HARD WORKING & 100% COMMITMENT ETC.

PEOPLE WHO REGULARLY SIT LATE IN THE OFFICE DON'T KNOW TO MANAGE THEIR TIME. SIMPLE !

Regards,
NARAYAN MURTHY.  

zindagii zindaadilii kaa naam hai
murdaa dil kyaa Khaak jiyaa karate hai.n
 

                       -------- Nasikh                

zindagii jiine ko dii, jii   mai.n ne
qismat me.n likhaa thaa pii to pii mai.n ne
mai.n na piitaa to teraa likhaa Galat ho jaataa
tere likhe ko nibhaayaa kyaa Khataa kii mai.n ne
                               -------------Saeed Rahi]

I have read thousands of shers in my life but I have yet to read a better shers than this.Long time back,I read in a magazine :----

Kuchh  aur  tarasho  apne   kad  ko   tum ;

Bahut neechi     yahan   oonchaiyaan    Hain.

meri khamoshiyon mein bhi fasana dhoondh leti hai
badi shatir hai ye duniya bahana dhoondh leti hai

hakeekat zid kiye baithi hai chaknachur karne ko
magar har aankh phir sapna suhana dhoondh leti hai

uthaati hai jo khatara har kadam par doob jaane ka
wahi koshish samundar mein khajana dhoondh leti hai

na chidiya ki kamai hai na karobar hai koi
wo keval haunsle se aabodana dhoondh leti hai

junoon manjil ka rahon mein bachata hai bhatakne se
meri deewangi apna thikana dhoondh leti hai

                          -----------Rajendra  Tiwari

 Worth Reading-Thought-provoking article
 by a Pakistani writer

Capital suggestion
 By Dr Farrukh Saleem
 12/9/2007
 Twenty-five thousand years ago, haplogroup R2 characterized by genetic
marker M124 arose in southern Central Asia. Then began a major wave of
human migration whereby members migrated southward to present-day India
 and Pakistan (Genographic Project by the National Geographic Society;
http://www.nationalgeographiccom/). Indians and Pakistanis have the same
 ancestry and share the same DNA sequence.
 Here's what is happening in India:

The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on
 the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30 billion
 to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services 
produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with $60 
billion to spare. The four richest Indians are now richer than the forty 
richest Chinese.

 In November, Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex flirted with 
20,000 points. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries 
became a $100 billion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65 
billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance.

 In November, comes Neeta's birthday. Neeta turned forty-four three
 weeks ago. Look what she got from her husband as her birthday present: A
 sixty-million dollar jet with a custom fitted master bedroom, bathroom
 with mood lighting, a sky bar, entertainment cabins, satellite 
television, wireless communication and a separate cabin with game 
consoles. Neeta is Mukesh Ambani's wife, and Mukesh is not India's 
richest but the second richest.

 Mukesh is now building his new home, Residence Antillia (after a 
mythical, phantom island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean). At a cost of 
$1 billion this would be the most expensive home on the face of the 
planet. At 173 meters tall Mukesh's new family residence, for a family of
six, will be the equivalent of a 60-storeyed building. The first six 
floors are reserved for parking. The seventh floor is for car servicing 
and maintenance. The eighth floor houses a mini-theatre. Then there's a 
health club, a gym and a swimming pool. Two floors are reserved for
Ambani family's guests. Four floors above the guest floors are family 
floors all with a superb view of the Arabian Sea. On top of everything 
are three helipads. A staff of 600 is expected to care for the family and 
their family home.

 In 2004, India became the 3rd most attractive foreign direct 
investment destination. Pakistan wasn't even in the top 25 countries. In 
2004, the United Nations, the representative body of 192 sovereign member
states, had requested the Election Commission of India to assist the UN 
in the holding elections in Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah and Dowlat-e 
Eslami-ye Afghanestan. Why the Election Commission of India and not the 
Election Commission of Pakistan? After all, Islamabad is closer to Kabul 
than is Delhi.

 Imagine, 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin; 
38 percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA 
scientists are Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians; 
and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians.

 For the record: Sabeer Bhatia created and founded Hotmail. Sun 
Microsystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The Intel Pentium processor, 
that runs 90 percent of all computers, was fathered by Vinod Dham. Rajiv 
Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard's E-speak project. Four out of ten 
Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bollywood produces 800 
movies per year and six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World 
titles over the past 10 years.

 For the record: Azim Premji, the richest Muslim entrepreneur on the 
face of the planet, was born in Bombay and now lives in Bangalore.India 
now has more than three dozen billionaires; Pakistan has none (not a 
single dollar billionaire).

 The other amazing aspect is the rapid pace at which India is creating
wealth. In 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh and Anil Ambani's father, left 
his two sons a fortune worth $2.8 billion. In 2007, their combined wealth 
stood at $94 billion. On 29 October 2007, as a result of the stock market 
rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh became the richest 
person in the world, with net worth climbing to US$63.2 billion (Bill 
Gates, the richest American, stands at around $56 billion).
 Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have the 
same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124). We have 
the same DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions 
and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies and sing the 
same songs. What is it that Indians have and we don't?

 Indians elect their leaders.
 =========

 ....The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance columnist. Email: 
farrukh15@hotmail.com

 'A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure'
Former President of India Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam :

Question to Mr. Kalam:

Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Mr. Kalam:

Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India 's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India 's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to
manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal .
It was a big failure.

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were
present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India ]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media
that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite – and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct
the press conference today."

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to
me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

In Physics,there is a topic by the name of "Photometry" (under the subject Light).In this topic the Illuminating Powers of two Illuminating Sources are compared.

One intersting point. Do not you find that the following Sher of "Daag"deals  with Photometry?

 Rukhe Roshan ke Aage Shamaa Rakh Kar Yeh Kahate Hain.  

 Udhar Jata  Hai Dekhen , ya Idhar Parwana Aata Hai.