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You can overcome failures April 30, 2011

Posted by aglakadam in aglakadam, EQ, Inspirational Story, Management, Motivation.
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F-A-I-L-U-R-E should be taken as a good omen, its when you fail you know the improvement areas for success. Failure is in-fact a ladder to SUCCESS. Failure breeds success more than anything else in the universe. The only and mandatory requirement to be successful in life is to bear an indomitable spirit and an unshakable will to win. If you possess these, you are bound to be successful.

…………………..  Complete write-up in my forthcoming book…. for announcement on the book title and launch, pl keep visiting www.aglakadam.com  ……………………………………… 

 

Ajit Varwandkar
Email : info@fsindia.in

What are you selling today? October 5, 2010

Posted by aglakadam in aglakadam, EQ, Fun Reading, Inspirational Story, Management.
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One evening I was returning home after a hectic day schedule when my car wizzed past a fruit vendor. I suddenly remembered my daughter had demanded fruits early morning. I stopped, wriggled back in the traffic and straight way went to the apple basket. After sorting a few apples I asked the fruit vendor to pack & parcel 2 kg apple for me. While in the process of weighing the apples, the fruit vendor asked me to take out two apples which I had selected and suggested to be replaced by two new apples from the basket. I asked him the reason for this change. He said “Sahab isme andar se keeda hai” ( these two apples are rotten inside). Probably with his experience as a fruit vendor he knew to judge the apple content from the outward skin colour & appearance of the fruit.

By all means this was a great gesture by the fruit vendor Sunil. What if the apple perished from inside had been given to my daughter n school tiffin! Even if she discovered the perish while eating and decided not to eat it further, she would be left without adequate tiffin for the day in her school. In any case the fruit vendor will actually incur loss by not being able to sell perished apples at the end of the day! He could have very well managed to let go off the two rotten apples and reduce his sales damage! Neither I was a regular customer at that fruit vendor stall that he should have bothered to care about me! I was totally zapped at the honesty of the fruit vendor & I could not resist asking him the reason why he did so? The answer which he gave me was quite revealing and enlightening.

He said : We are in the business of selling edible fruits ( not just fruits). At home when the fruit purchased by the customer is not found suitable to be eaten the complete family will curse me. Not only this much they will never ever purchase any fruit from my shop. They may also brand me a cheap retailer. Even if it is a natures process to rot the fruit plum after some time, the customer will not blame God, they will charge me! I know this. Hence I always try to ensure that my customers get the right fruit. It’s the same for my regular customers as well as one time customer. I do not differentiate from customer to customer in quality. Yes for regular buyers I offer a price discount, that’s for sure.
 

I was pretty satisfied with the reply & I had all adorations for the fruit vendor. No wonder the fruit seller had grown from our wheel trolley based fruit seller to decent fruit shop owner in a few months. There was still one part of the query unanswered – what does he do with the semi perished / rotten fruits!

This was his reply : We as well purchase the fruits from some one else sir! See there is a supply chain in this business. I segregate the unsalable goods, quantify it and have worked out a discount formulae against this demurrage from the supplier. In my next purchase I get this price discount adjusted by the whole seller. The bunch of unusable fruits is then segregated into partially usable, so –so and absolute dirt. The absolute dirt is chucked into the municipality waste bin, the so so ones are offered to the wandering birds & animals & the partially eatable’s are chopped off the rot & distributed free of cost to the poor and the beggars.
What a policy, what an amazing vision! Never knew so much of a thought process goes behind the working of a fruit vendor! I learned that business is done from the heart not just by the head. One has to involve in the complete process of the business only then will he/she be successful. I have since then been a regular customer for that fruit vendor and also have recommended many to only stop at that particular vendors shop! A dedicated & loyal customer now!

In our corporate world as well we have seen many such similar parlances. Few months back Nokia had called back a particular batch of mobile batteries. As per one recent news, South Korian major Hyundai Motor has called back almost 140000 Sonata Sedans (of 2011 model) from the US markets for the reasons of steering fitment issues. As per the news, Hyundai in an email statement said that it was acting voluntarily to ensure customer safety. It said that it knew of a fewer than 10 vehicles with improper steering fitment and that no accident had yet occurred due to this.

Business strategist’s predict that the damage caused to the company’s reputation for the incorrect product in the market will be grossly covered up by the companies’ intentions to ensure customer safety. After all they are not just in the business of selling cars, they are actually selling safety on roads!

Business is business, be it a local fruit vendor or an international car major. The marketers and the business persons have to realize what product or service they are actually selling in the market? A tooth paste company can claim it is selling a tooth paste branded into various colors & forms! No they are actually selling a belief that by using their product the customer will be sure of healthy tooth! A soap company is not just selling soap, it is selling a hygiene, a watch company may not just be selling a time piece, it may be selling time discipline to some one, a medicine shop is not selling medicines, it is selling health, an apparel company may not be selling shirts or trousers only, its selling comfort and confidence, so on and so forth for any product or service that is made available in the business place!

If you are an employee of a company you are selling proper reporting, proper systems, correct documentation, right information, proper processes to your management! If you are a decision maker, your may be selling justice and need fulfillment to the deserving. Each one of is selling something some thing, some where today; it may be in cash or in kind! Its important to actually understand what business we are into and this realization will decide our success or failure. So what are you selling today?

Ajit Varwandkar
Managing Director
http://www.aglakadam.com
Can be contacted on : info@fsindia.in

Shabash INDIA – WELLDONE Media October 3, 2010

Posted by aglakadam in EQ, International Issues, Life and all, My Letters, National Issues, Social Casue.
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Finally the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court did pronounce the judgement in the Ayodhya title suit and more than 24 hours over without even a single incident of violence recorded anywhere in the country. This unprecedented situation of peace, unity & harmony in
the country has been a big relaxation to the common man, the society, the business & also the international community. Surely a big part of this success can be attributed to the Indian media because toiday we all rely on media for getting the information from every corner of the world.

The government had taken proactive measures to ensure communal harmony irrespective of the court verdict. Many a advisories had been issued to the various sections of media to restrain caution while interacting with the public through press or electronic methods. News channels were asked to exercise restraint in coverage of the ruling. The high court had even officially asked media not to speculate about the verdict till it has the copy of the operational part of the order in hand. Bulk sms was banned and it was a smart government initiative.

Historically, the most common form of the spread of information has been word of mouth, “Did you know…” sentences keep moving around from mouth to mouth to a never ending destination. The use of technology has accelerated the pace of movement of news. No doubt the media today plays a highly significant role in this and its all around us – it may be newspaper, radio, tv, sms, internet. Infact the flow of information triggers or arrests the growth of our society. Without the support of media, its very difficult to disseminate information across the wide geography!

I am sure when we come to think of 26/11 we all can easily recollect the fires & flames seen and read widely in the contemporary print & electronic media. It was not long back that Indian media was accused of having exceeds its limits in reporting the issue. Reading reports about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai sends shivers down my spine even today. Rather than playing the role of a responsible medium & presenting a balanced and responsible coverage; what happened had stunned the impressions and conclusions of the world around.
Similar was the case of Gujarat riots when the psyche of the nation was fractured in number of ways. Hate waves ruled the nation and thousands lives were lost. Surely media today has demonstrated that it is a powerful medium for instigating change in the society.
My personal understanding is that the bulk of Muslim & Hindu masses in India are absolute peace loving. Though the Ayodhya verdict by its nature of ruling itself did not instigate large scale controversy, still it was sufficient enough to disrupt the nations working for at least a few days or months. Media could have played a very important role in manipulating the situation.

Ayodhya verdict has been a critical milestone for the nation globally as well. The international community was looking at India with a critical eye. Common wealth games ahead and also a heap of investments were at stake for an economy which is just on its way out of the recession.
Unlike past this time, image of the nation did not take a beating in the international community. The most vital reason for the nation’s image management has been the balanced media coverage. Since the international community’s medium of getting Indian information is English, they read only what the English media writes; which this time reflected angle of Indian secular
tradition.
Looks like our media friends, have been into the introspection mode and have delivered a face of responsibility to the nation. Not even a single channel nor a single newspaper spoke of anything about any event in past related to the Hindu Muslim disharmony. On the contrary
complete media was rife with stories of communal peace. I saw some channel telecast where a Muslim was shown serving the needs of a Temple & the Goddess statues in the temple! Stories in print were read about how Hindu’s have been respecting their Muslim friends religious beliefs and celebrating Eid with them.

This was very sensitive & appreciative on the part of the media that they behaved very responsibly. Every statement printed every coverage telecast was well balanced to my understanding & knowledge. In fact some units went ahead to sponsor advertisements
requesting people of the country to adhere to peace and also suggesting why peace is must for the nation.

It is the responsible & matured behavior of media that the prime concern of National unity and integrity seems to have strengthened post Ayodhya verdict. Nothing wase not blown out of proportion and only positive vibes went into the public. Media infact played a constructive role in promoting mutual understanding among the general public, nothing was found reported out of
vengeance.

In such a sensitive subject concerning the harmony and peace of the nation, media overall took a very transparent and vigilant stance. Ethical and Sensible journalism, Isn’t it? Shabash Media, once again congratulations. Keep it up….

Ajit Varwandkar
Managing Director
http://www.aglakadam.com
Email : info@fsindia.in

PS : Any Media is free to reproduce the contents in this post in part or full without disturbing the intended message in the post.

Eureka of Emotional Relativity August 17, 2010

Posted by aglakadam in aglakadam, EQ, Fun Reading, Inspirational Story, Management, Motivation, Social Casue.
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Every morning I take my German Shephard for a stroll and that’s one source how I get a lot of food for thought & air ( oxygen) for survival! One interesting incident I share with you which I experienced one morning. I saw a milk vendor halting by the side of a thick stem tree & took an hide on the back of it. We were very near still the milkman’s activity was not in vision for us. Me and my dog, both had an anxiety to sniff around & explore. I smelled an adulteration (and in most probably my dog sniffed a milk treat!).
I was correct & found that the milk man had two pouch of drinking water with him, which he added to the can of milk. May be he would sell half a liter milk more than what the cow owner intended to sell and make some additional money out of it. I admonished the milk man which he refuted with arrogance. I wanted to setoff my dog on to him but I restrained. By the way my dog was also more interested in the spill off milk & not at all in the theft which I had discovered.

I kept feeling bad about this milk man. I pitied & felt worst for the receivers of the adultered milk for a long & was exploring how a lactometer could reach every household. My emotions took a paradigm shift when one day when I saw a road side pani puri wala resorting to the rain dripping water as a source of pani (water) for the pani puri dish! This water was one of the worst impurity I ever saw, the four wheel trolley on which the vendor sold pani puri had a rusted tin sheet where the rain water got stored. Drop by drop the water fell down into the strategically placed pani puri vessel. Poor pani puri lovers, most of them might not even know that contaminated water is being pumped into their stomach along with their most cherished pani puri!
This second event actually enlightened me & I experienced the Eureka of Relativity. Suddenly the milk vendor became a very respected gentleman for me. Till yesterday whenever I saw that milk vendor stop by that ‘adulteration tree’, I used to get an urge to stop him & cure him of his manipulation disease. But today I wanted to garland him & praise him .. you know why? Because I was so happy this milk vendor was so much sensitive & health conscious! He was actually purchasing a one rupee pure water pouch to be sued as an additive in the milk. I thought at least he is not resorting to the rain water for this! How noble this milk man was! What if he had used the rain water? Or worst the road side gutter water? By now I had so much of respect for that noble milk wala that I could have offered him a noble prize for his hygienic intentions!

Well friends every thing we experience in life teaches us a lesson. This experience in my life taught me the Theory of Emotional Relativity! Emotions out of our exposures are very much relative in life. It is only when we see the longer line that we can make out the shorter line!

I was happy with my small car only till such time that I saw my neighbor’s long car! I was happy with my small house only till such time that I realized my friends had a bigger bungalow! I was happy with 90% marks in the examination till such time that I found my colleague already secured 98%. I was happy with 15% of a salary hike in my office job this year till such time I found that the company had also offered 20% salary hike to some one else!

Reserve your emotions :

The message here is to learn to reserve our emotional reactions! When you are tempted to think that “this is the worst that could happen in this situation” STOP .. this may not be the Worst.. I would at best give you the right to feel bad about your experience.. not worst! Bill Gates once while addressing management graduates said “If you think your college professors are very strict, wait for your first boss!”

One more example to site here.. Post FIFA, the Octopus is a lot in demand; wile the parrot was just on the verge of loosing his job also so was the unaware future teller! Once upon a time in Indian haats & bazaars we could occasionally see many future tellers sitting on the road side with a parrot in the cage. A lot of people would crowd around to know what secrets the future had to unfold for them! The only job of the parrot was to pick a slip of fortune for the visitor! I met one such fortune reader recently… He was really sad, his agony was “ Till now the only complaint was that less people come to me & that the traffic was getting less day by day, but now people are asking me to hire an octopus & give away the parrot!”

There is nothing like Best or Worst in this world. If you think an experience was worst, hold on, it could deteriorate further. Likewise if you think you have done your best, think twice, may be you could still do it better!! Theory of Relative Emotions thus advises us not to respond very strongly to worldly exposures and reserve our reactions for future!

Ajit Varwandkar
The author is Managing Director of http://www.aglakadam.com
He can be contacted on info@fsindia.in

A BIT of HABIT – Taking Notes Improves Performance August 10, 2010

Posted by aglakadam in Career News And updates, EQ, Life and all, Management.
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One of my ex boss liked me as a subordinate only because of my habit of taking notes. More than a decade back while I was working with an organization in Pune my immediate superior used to like me a lot & publicly applaud that he liked my habit of taking notes of all that he spoke in the meeting. I took notes not only of all what he said in the meeting but of all what I said and a brief of most of what was said by the others in the meeting hall. Even in a one to one meeting I used to take notes and this habit continues even today.

In today’s world taking notes is only the prerogative of either the students or the secretary! Apart from these two we can not see anyone else taking notes (of course I exclude the press journalists here!). My recommendation to all young managers & professionals is that one should get into the habit of taking notes. This habit shall come very handy for all of you in your career progress.

When you take notes the first and the most prominent benefit is that important data is not lost. As per one survey an average mind encounters more than 100000 thought stimulus every day. In such a cluttered mind space it will be expecting too much from our mind to store, remember & recall elementary data! Also this tends to reduce the efficiency of brain a la the cookies in the computer system!

When we take notes we ensure that the date and timing of the event is recorded. In the event one has to recall dates referring to any important event of the past the notes diary can come handy. Refer to this diary and you instantly recall the events not only in brief but also in elaborate context. The catch here is to use a date diary and not just a note pad!

The habit of taking notes also helps us to act. What has been written down in our diary gets reminded repeatedly and the chances are that we do not skip on action. Overall performance on an individual increases when notes are recorded. Check with a few of the successful professionals in your social sphere, be it a principle or businessman if they take notes. I am sure majority would respond in affirmative.

However when I suggest to take notes I do not mean to take down the complete lecture of the speech given by your boss.. Nope. Taking important notes is also an art one should learn. In school we were taught to create brief synopsis of a lengthy lesson. Short notes has been taught to us right at the stage of primary schooling. Taking notes in the business sphere is just an application of this lesson.

What is required is to identify the keywords in every sentence. This keyword should be enough for one to recall the complete sentence. When your boss or the client speaks in front of you, you should be in a position to smartly scribble the keywords of the communication without loosing the eye contact. If you loose the eye contact you will loose the other persons interest and attraction. The notes has to be neat & concise. After the discussion is over immediately refer to the notes taken and in case any word has been sketched illegible – set it right then and there itself, lest you tend to forget or misinterpret in future.

I have observed one more benefit of taking notes, when you take notes you make the person on the other side feel important. Moreover he knows he needs to talk absolutely sense not just beat about the bush! All this ensures quality & content in the communication. You finish up the key issues fast and wastage of time is also avoided.
Overall it is indeed a good habit for all of us to take notes. Try it once and see the impact, I am sure you will get into this fruitful habit. Remember HABIT once formed is difficult to loose… you give away H, A BIT remains, you loose A, BIT of it remains, let go off the B .. “IT” still remains!

Ajit Varwandkar
http://www.aglakadam.com

when life is tough, be OBSERVAT:-) March 16, 2010

Posted by aglakadam in EQ, Inspirational Story, Management, Motivation.
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First year students of MBBS were attending their first Anatomy class. They all gathered around the surgery table with a real dead dog.

The Professor started class by telling two important qualities as a Doctor.

The first is that NEVER BE DISGUSTED FOR ANYTHING ABOUT BODY,
e.g. he inserted his finger in dog’s mouth & on drawing back tasted it in his own mouth.

Then he said them to do the same.

The students hesitated for several minutes but eventually everyone inserted their fingers
in dog’s mouth & then tasted it.

When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and said:

The most important 2nd quality is OBSERVATION,

I inserted my Middle finger but tasted the Index finger. Now learn to pay attention.

Moral: Life is tough but it’s a lot tougher when you are not paying attention

Mouse beats Cat .. Students Suffer November 30, 2009

Posted by aglakadam in career guidance and counselling, Career News And updates, CAT, EQ.
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Last two days I have been observing the happenings in the world of education and careers. Thousands and lacks of career aspirants putting ahead their next step ( aglakadam ) into the CAT trap.. just to find that, for a change, this ime the Mouse has trapped the Cat …

Well this now looks a as an issue more serious than just a technical bug.. an examination f the international stature being conducted across the globe for admissions to an institute which is identified to churn out the Best of the best human resource to the industry.. could not even manage an entrance test… Is Technology so unmanageable in today’s world of hi tech revolution?

Or is this the out sourcing which is the culprit! but then an institute of the stature of IIM is only expected to outsource such critical function into a highly reputed and well trained & safe hands .. well Prometrics is a name of repute.. but is it that they were over confidant and did underestimate the technical challenges in the process..

Whatever may be the issue, this flaw of CAT examination mismanagement has highlighted a few thoughts :

1. Utter failure of a MANAGEMENT institute of world repute to MANAGE entrance examination! जिसकी एंट्रंस ऐसी हो, आगे क्या होगा (Jiski Entrance aisi ho, age kya hoga)?

2. Total lack of planning, no rehearsal before actual execution!

3. Failure of Outsourcing model in conducting online examinations!

4. Failure of antivirus protection systems, how safe are our websites?

Whatever may the reasons, the losers are the serious students who intended to appear for the CAT examination.. as is well known that this test is not just the test of your IQ & subject knowledge it as well tests you EQ… one needs to be well prepared, more than well studied to take on the tests.. I have seen students into the process of mental make over just before CAT examination dates .. they all will have to redo their efforts .. A few such students have their academic calendar’s ahead and some had even booked travel reservations for successive dates .. those from small cities and towns…

Is the IIM listening to the problems faced by such students?

Ajit Varwandkar / http://www.aglakadam.com // 30.11.2009