One day I hopped into a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly.
So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call "The Law of the Garbage Truck."
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the street.
Moral : Successful people don't let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so… Love the people who treat you right. Forgive the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
One Minute Manager !!!
The One Minute Manager, by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, is a remarkable book about management. It is about a young man who is in search of an effective manager and is willing to work for one.
In his search, he meets some ‘autocratic’ managers who are only concerned about the results. Their organizations gained while their people lost. He also meets ‘democratic’ managers who are concerned only about the people. Their people gained while their organizations lost. He was looking for an effective manager who was interested in the people as well as the results so that both the people and the organization gained in his management.
Then the young man comes across a manager who calls himself “the one minute manager” as it took very little time for him to get big results from people.
The one minute manager shares the secrets of his success with the young man, which are as follows:
FIRST SECRET: One Minute Goals
One minute goal setting is about being aware of what is expected from the beginning. When deciding upon the desired goal and the performance standards, it is recorded on a single sheet of paper. One minute goal setting is so called because it should take only one minute to be able to read it.
Why One Minute Goals work
One minute goal setting is an important tool for management because it provides immediate feedback to the worker; this feedback turns into motivation. If you are playing football and you are not aware of how many points you scored, you would lose interest in the game after a certain point. On the other hand, if you know you need 5 points to win and you have scored 3 points, you will try your best to get the other 2 points.Unless you are sure of what is it that you need to do, you keep beating around the bush without producing the accurate results. Say, for example, if I ask you to clean the room, you would not know whether to sweep the room, place everything in order, arrange the books in the shelf or do all the three. On the other hand, if I ask you to sweep the room and arrange the books, you know exactly what you need to do. As a result, both you and me are satisfied with the job.One minute goals work in a similar manner, where both the employee as well as the employer knows what is expected from the beginning of a task. Writing is important so that you can periodically view your performance against your target and check your progress. Thus, one minute goals help you to perform better and produce efficient results.
SECOND SECRET: One Minute Praisings
After the one minute goal setting, the second step in one minute management is to catch people doing something right. This is when the one minute praisings are given. One minute praisings are so called because it hardly takes a minute for you to tell someone that he or she did a good job. There is no need to elaborate when you can simply say that he or she he did something good and you noticed it. One minute praisings include praising the people immediately, telling them what they did right, how you feel about it and encourage them to do more of the same.
Why One Minute Praisings work
Let's consider a very simple example. A child does not learn to walk straight away. When you teach a child to walk, you don’t expect him to start walking as soon as he stands up. He first toddles, and then he tries to stand up and falls in the first few attempts. Then he wobbles a few steps and you cuddle him and hug him, making him feel that he has done something worth praising. He then tries to do more of the same and finally learns to walk. In the same way, one minute praisings is a way of encouraging your staff.One minute praisings show that you are genuinely interested in your people and care for them and their success. One minute praisings aim at catching people ‘doing something right’ rather than catching them ‘doing something wrong’ like most other organizations. Although the two might seem to be the same thing, there is a lot of difference. If you emphasize on catching people doing something wrong, their main aim is simply to do no wrong, not necessarily go above and beyond and produce great results. This produces mediocrity because everyone will tend to walk the middle line. For exceptional results you need your people to put in their best.
THIRD SECRET: One Minute Reprimands
One minute reprimands are given as soon as an employee does something wrong. One minute reprimand has two parts. The first half includes telling the people that what they did wrong, how you feel about it and then let it sink in with a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. Then in the second half you tell the people how much you think they are capable of and how much you value them. One important aspect of one minute reprimands is that it criticizes the work not the doer. The employee is not blamed as a person, only his work is accused of not being up to the desired level. And once it's over, it's over.
Why One Minute Reprimands work
One minute reprimands are highly effective because the feedback is immediate, unlike the annual reviews where you are charged for things committed several weeks or months ago. If you were being scolded for a mistake you made 7-8 months back, it would hardly make any impact on you, whereas if you are being scolded for a mistake you made yesterday, it will surely affect you. If a mistake is pointed out as soon as it is made it can easily be corrected. Since one mistake is pointed at one time, the people hear it seriously and your message is easily conveyed to them.
PS : This is anice article from http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/12/3-key-lessons-we-can-learn-from-one.html
In his search, he meets some ‘autocratic’ managers who are only concerned about the results. Their organizations gained while their people lost. He also meets ‘democratic’ managers who are concerned only about the people. Their people gained while their organizations lost. He was looking for an effective manager who was interested in the people as well as the results so that both the people and the organization gained in his management.
Then the young man comes across a manager who calls himself “the one minute manager” as it took very little time for him to get big results from people.
The one minute manager shares the secrets of his success with the young man, which are as follows:
FIRST SECRET: One Minute Goals
One minute goal setting is about being aware of what is expected from the beginning. When deciding upon the desired goal and the performance standards, it is recorded on a single sheet of paper. One minute goal setting is so called because it should take only one minute to be able to read it.
Why One Minute Goals work
One minute goal setting is an important tool for management because it provides immediate feedback to the worker; this feedback turns into motivation. If you are playing football and you are not aware of how many points you scored, you would lose interest in the game after a certain point. On the other hand, if you know you need 5 points to win and you have scored 3 points, you will try your best to get the other 2 points.Unless you are sure of what is it that you need to do, you keep beating around the bush without producing the accurate results. Say, for example, if I ask you to clean the room, you would not know whether to sweep the room, place everything in order, arrange the books in the shelf or do all the three. On the other hand, if I ask you to sweep the room and arrange the books, you know exactly what you need to do. As a result, both you and me are satisfied with the job.One minute goals work in a similar manner, where both the employee as well as the employer knows what is expected from the beginning of a task. Writing is important so that you can periodically view your performance against your target and check your progress. Thus, one minute goals help you to perform better and produce efficient results.
SECOND SECRET: One Minute Praisings
After the one minute goal setting, the second step in one minute management is to catch people doing something right. This is when the one minute praisings are given. One minute praisings are so called because it hardly takes a minute for you to tell someone that he or she did a good job. There is no need to elaborate when you can simply say that he or she he did something good and you noticed it. One minute praisings include praising the people immediately, telling them what they did right, how you feel about it and encourage them to do more of the same.
Why One Minute Praisings work
Let's consider a very simple example. A child does not learn to walk straight away. When you teach a child to walk, you don’t expect him to start walking as soon as he stands up. He first toddles, and then he tries to stand up and falls in the first few attempts. Then he wobbles a few steps and you cuddle him and hug him, making him feel that he has done something worth praising. He then tries to do more of the same and finally learns to walk. In the same way, one minute praisings is a way of encouraging your staff.One minute praisings show that you are genuinely interested in your people and care for them and their success. One minute praisings aim at catching people ‘doing something right’ rather than catching them ‘doing something wrong’ like most other organizations. Although the two might seem to be the same thing, there is a lot of difference. If you emphasize on catching people doing something wrong, their main aim is simply to do no wrong, not necessarily go above and beyond and produce great results. This produces mediocrity because everyone will tend to walk the middle line. For exceptional results you need your people to put in their best.
THIRD SECRET: One Minute Reprimands
One minute reprimands are given as soon as an employee does something wrong. One minute reprimand has two parts. The first half includes telling the people that what they did wrong, how you feel about it and then let it sink in with a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. Then in the second half you tell the people how much you think they are capable of and how much you value them. One important aspect of one minute reprimands is that it criticizes the work not the doer. The employee is not blamed as a person, only his work is accused of not being up to the desired level. And once it's over, it's over.
Why One Minute Reprimands work
One minute reprimands are highly effective because the feedback is immediate, unlike the annual reviews where you are charged for things committed several weeks or months ago. If you were being scolded for a mistake you made 7-8 months back, it would hardly make any impact on you, whereas if you are being scolded for a mistake you made yesterday, it will surely affect you. If a mistake is pointed out as soon as it is made it can easily be corrected. Since one mistake is pointed at one time, the people hear it seriously and your message is easily conveyed to them.
PS : This is anice article from http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/12/3-key-lessons-we-can-learn-from-one.html
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Software engineer and his wife :-)
Husband - hey dear, I am logged in.
Wife - would you like to have some snacks?
Husband - hard disk full.
Wife - have you brought the saree.
Husband - Bad command or file name.
Wife - but I told you about it in morning
Husband - erroneous syntax, abort, retry, cancel.
Wife - hae bhagwan !forget it where's your salary.
Husband - file in use, read only, try after some time.
Wife - at least give me your credit card, I can do some shopping.
Husband - sharing violation, access denied.
Wife - I made a mistake in marrying you.
Husband - data type mismatch.
Wife - you are useless.
Husband - by default.
Wife - who was there with you in the car this morning?
Husband - system unstable press ctrl, alt, del to Reboot.
Wife - what is the relation between you & your Receptionist?
Husband - the only user with write permission.
Wife - what is my value in your life?
Husband - unknown virus detected.
Wife - do you love me or your computer?
Husband - Too many parameters.
Wife - I will go to my dad's house.
Husband - program performed illegal operation, it will Close.
Wife - I will leave you forever.
Husband - close all programs and log out for another User.
Wife - it is worthless talking to you.
Husband - shut down the computer.
Wife - I am going
Husband - Its now safe to turn off your computer
Wife - would you like to have some snacks?
Husband - hard disk full.
Wife - have you brought the saree.
Husband - Bad command or file name.
Wife - but I told you about it in morning
Husband - erroneous syntax, abort, retry, cancel.
Wife - hae bhagwan !forget it where's your salary.
Husband - file in use, read only, try after some time.
Wife - at least give me your credit card, I can do some shopping.
Husband - sharing violation, access denied.
Wife - I made a mistake in marrying you.
Husband - data type mismatch.
Wife - you are useless.
Husband - by default.
Wife - who was there with you in the car this morning?
Husband - system unstable press ctrl, alt, del to Reboot.
Wife - what is the relation between you & your Receptionist?
Husband - the only user with write permission.
Wife - what is my value in your life?
Husband - unknown virus detected.
Wife - do you love me or your computer?
Husband - Too many parameters.
Wife - I will go to my dad's house.
Husband - program performed illegal operation, it will Close.
Wife - I will leave you forever.
Husband - close all programs and log out for another User.
Wife - it is worthless talking to you.
Husband - shut down the computer.
Wife - I am going
Husband - Its now safe to turn off your computer
Work Telephones !!!
The phone bill was exceptionally high and the man of the house called a family meeting... on a Saturday morning... after breakfast...
Dad: People this is unacceptable. You have to limit the use of the phone. I do not use this phone, I use the one at the office.
Mum: Same here, I hardly use this home telephone as I use my work telephone.
Son: Me too, I never use the home phone. I always use my company mobile.
Maid: So - what is the problem? We all use our work telephones !!!!!
Dad: People this is unacceptable. You have to limit the use of the phone. I do not use this phone, I use the one at the office.
Mum: Same here, I hardly use this home telephone as I use my work telephone.
Son: Me too, I never use the home phone. I always use my company mobile.
Maid: So - what is the problem? We all use our work telephones !!!!!
Men are Priceless !!!
While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant, and resumed their trip.
When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table, and she didn't miss them until they had been driving about forty minutes. By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around, in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses.
All the way back, the elderly husband became the classic grouchy old man. He fussed and complained, and scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up one minute.
To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant. As the woman got out of the car, and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her, 'While you're in there, you might as well get my hat and the credit card.'
When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the table, and she didn't miss them until they had been driving about forty minutes. By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance before they could find a place to turn around, in order to return to the restaurant to retrieve her glasses.
All the way back, the elderly husband became the classic grouchy old man. He fussed and complained, and scolded his wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her, the more agitated he became. He just wouldn't let up one minute.
To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant. As the woman got out of the car, and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to her, 'While you're in there, you might as well get my hat and the credit card.'
Why Constant Worry is Useless!!!
We live in a culture where everyone seems to worry. Turn on the news – someone got shot, there’s mercury in the fish we eat, the cows have got BSE, a new super-flu is coming, terrorists are regrouping... on and on it goes.
If you take all of this stuff seriously, it’s likely that you’ll never go out, never eat, never travel, or never take any kind of risk at all. But in fact, worry makes no sense at all.
Here are some reasons why worry really is a pointless and damaging activity, though I suspect we all know this deep down.
Things never happen the way you imagine. When you worry, you are predicting the future. You are saying ‘I know that things will turn out badly.’ But this just isn’t the case. You have no idea how the future is going to turn out, except to say that it will not be what you think it will be. So why worry?
Worry means you give away your power.Some people are so entrenched in worry that they cannot see any other way to live. But worry robs you of your power to be proactive. The truth is that you are in control and you can choose how to react to situations, so why choose to give that power away so easily and so unconsciously?
Worrying is completely unproductive.Why waste your energy doing something that gets you nowhere. On a treadmill, at least you get some exercise, but worry is a truly pointless activity. Spend your time and energy on something more useful.
Worry distorts reality.We live in an age where people live longer, have better access to health care, have more opportunity for personal and professional growth, more chance to travel, greater access to information and lifelong education, and many other wonderful things. Yes, there are risks and potential dangers, but worry magnifies these disproportionately and blinds us to the wonders of our age.
Worrying is bad for your health.Worry is not a normal state of mind and it adversely affects your health, even your physical health. When you worry, physical changes are happening in your body which are very damaging. It increases stress which can increase blood pressure, cause higher levels of stomach acid, cause muscle tension and headaches, among many other things.
Worry is not natural.Do little children worry? Do animals worry? Do all adults worry? There is nothing inherent in being human that means you have to worry. Worry is a pathology, a distortion of our natural, healthy state.
Do you know the most frequent instruction given in the Bible? Surprisingly, it is not ‘love one another’ or ‘love God’ or anything like that. It is simple ‘do not be afraid.’ I don’t know how many times it appears, but I’ve seen estimates between 100 and 366 times. You don’t have to be religious to realize that this is good advice.
So how can we break out of this worry habit? Like all habits, it might not be easy to do, but there are some clear, simple and effective steps you can take to eliminate worry from your life.
Realize that you are in control.In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey tells us that the first step to a better life is the realization that we are free to choose how to react to circumstances. Worry is a choice – it’s inside our own head and, as such, it is within the sphere of our own influence.
Recognize that worry is a habit.Like all habits, there is a momentum to worry, and it might not be easy to break away from this, especially if you’ve been a worrier all your life. But it’s possible to change any habit.
Keep things in perspective.E. Joseph Crossman said, ‘If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.’ Are you still worrying about those things? Will all this stuff matter in 100 years from now?
Face your fears.Nelson DeMille said that ‘Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face.’ After you do something that scares you, you’ll probably find it wasn’t as bad as you thought. With time, all your worry will dissipate.
Stop trying to be in control of everything.You cannot control the whole world. Things happen that are truly outside our circle of influence, and so we need to relax and accept that sometimes things just happen as they will. This is part of life, and worry will not change it one little bit.
Stop taking yourself so seriously.If you fail, so what? If you screw up, is it the end of the world? Are you really so important that the world will stop turning if you get things wrong? Life is not that serious.
Worry is a dangerous and poisonous thing. You must not let it eat away at you.Finally, one of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain. ‘I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.’
PS : Nice article from http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/12/why-worry.html
If you take all of this stuff seriously, it’s likely that you’ll never go out, never eat, never travel, or never take any kind of risk at all. But in fact, worry makes no sense at all.
Here are some reasons why worry really is a pointless and damaging activity, though I suspect we all know this deep down.
Things never happen the way you imagine. When you worry, you are predicting the future. You are saying ‘I know that things will turn out badly.’ But this just isn’t the case. You have no idea how the future is going to turn out, except to say that it will not be what you think it will be. So why worry?
Worry means you give away your power.Some people are so entrenched in worry that they cannot see any other way to live. But worry robs you of your power to be proactive. The truth is that you are in control and you can choose how to react to situations, so why choose to give that power away so easily and so unconsciously?
Worrying is completely unproductive.Why waste your energy doing something that gets you nowhere. On a treadmill, at least you get some exercise, but worry is a truly pointless activity. Spend your time and energy on something more useful.
Worry distorts reality.We live in an age where people live longer, have better access to health care, have more opportunity for personal and professional growth, more chance to travel, greater access to information and lifelong education, and many other wonderful things. Yes, there are risks and potential dangers, but worry magnifies these disproportionately and blinds us to the wonders of our age.
Worrying is bad for your health.Worry is not a normal state of mind and it adversely affects your health, even your physical health. When you worry, physical changes are happening in your body which are very damaging. It increases stress which can increase blood pressure, cause higher levels of stomach acid, cause muscle tension and headaches, among many other things.
Worry is not natural.Do little children worry? Do animals worry? Do all adults worry? There is nothing inherent in being human that means you have to worry. Worry is a pathology, a distortion of our natural, healthy state.
Do you know the most frequent instruction given in the Bible? Surprisingly, it is not ‘love one another’ or ‘love God’ or anything like that. It is simple ‘do not be afraid.’ I don’t know how many times it appears, but I’ve seen estimates between 100 and 366 times. You don’t have to be religious to realize that this is good advice.
So how can we break out of this worry habit? Like all habits, it might not be easy to do, but there are some clear, simple and effective steps you can take to eliminate worry from your life.
Realize that you are in control.In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey tells us that the first step to a better life is the realization that we are free to choose how to react to circumstances. Worry is a choice – it’s inside our own head and, as such, it is within the sphere of our own influence.
Recognize that worry is a habit.Like all habits, there is a momentum to worry, and it might not be easy to break away from this, especially if you’ve been a worrier all your life. But it’s possible to change any habit.
Keep things in perspective.E. Joseph Crossman said, ‘If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.’ Are you still worrying about those things? Will all this stuff matter in 100 years from now?
Face your fears.Nelson DeMille said that ‘Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face.’ After you do something that scares you, you’ll probably find it wasn’t as bad as you thought. With time, all your worry will dissipate.
Stop trying to be in control of everything.You cannot control the whole world. Things happen that are truly outside our circle of influence, and so we need to relax and accept that sometimes things just happen as they will. This is part of life, and worry will not change it one little bit.
Stop taking yourself so seriously.If you fail, so what? If you screw up, is it the end of the world? Are you really so important that the world will stop turning if you get things wrong? Life is not that serious.
Worry is a dangerous and poisonous thing. You must not let it eat away at you.Finally, one of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain. ‘I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.’
PS : Nice article from http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/12/why-worry.html
Friday, September 26, 2008
If TITANIC is made in INDIA!!!
There would be 10 times as many people on the ship.
There would be a song with Kate Winslet in a white saree and of course singing in the rain.
The movie would be called "Pyar Kiya To Marna Kya".
Hero and Heroine would float in cold water for days and still survive, but the villian would die on the first dip.
The iceberg would be sent by the heroine's father to teach the hero a lesson.
None of the women would float due to heavy designer sarees.
And last but not least
Half of the rescue boats would be reserved for SC/ST/OBC.
There would be a song with Kate Winslet in a white saree and of course singing in the rain.
The movie would be called "Pyar Kiya To Marna Kya".
Hero and Heroine would float in cold water for days and still survive, but the villian would die on the first dip.
The iceberg would be sent by the heroine's father to teach the hero a lesson.
None of the women would float due to heavy designer sarees.
And last but not least
Half of the rescue boats would be reserved for SC/ST/OBC.
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