Crisis - some thoughts that may be of use

Having faced umpteen crisis over the years, have developed some thoughts that seem to be consistent to every CRISIS and have helped me overcome most of them

1) Always assume that the problem is worse than it appears.

2) Always assume there are no secrets in the world & that everyone will eventually find out everything. This is particularly true in the corporate world.

3) Assume & accept that you and your organization's handling of the crisis will always be portrayed in the worst possible light.

4) Assume & accept that there will be changes in people & processes. Also no crisis ever ends without blood on the floor. At times it is bound to be yours

5) Accept that you & your organization will survive, ultimately stronger for what happened, maybe separately!

Anaggh

SMS, Thoughts...........September 2007 (2)

10/9 Conscience won't prevent sin, it only prevents us frm enjoying it.

11/9 Half of the 100 largest economies of the world are countries. The other half are companies.

12/9 A face can speak thousand emotions but it can easily mask what d heart truly feels..Dont b fooled by d happiest face. It may b masking the most hurt heart..!!

13/9 The Worst Thng in Life is "ATTACHMENT"
It Hurts wen U Lose it
The Best Thng in Life is "LONELINESS"
Bcz it Teaches U Evrythng & wen U Lose it,U Get Evrytng.

14/9 We have to learn to be our best friends, for we fall too easily into the trap of being our worst enemies

15/9
SUTRA: The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success.

17/9 Ugela suraj kadik athmi jay che, jindagi na tofano pan kyarek shami jay che, pan DIL Nu dard kone kahiye ke, BHULATA nathi kyarey je ek var GAMI jay che.

20/9 Do not count what you have lost. Just see what u have now,because past never comes back but sometimes the future can give us back our lost things!!

SMS, Thoughts......... September 2007(1)

Koi Na Mila Aisa Jispe
Duniya Luta Dete,
Sab Ne Dhoka Diya
Kis-Kis Ko Bhula Dete,
Dil Ka Dard Dil Mein
Daba Rakha Hai,
Bayan Kiya Hota To Mehfil Ko Rula Dete!!
Have a great sunday!

The worst regret we can have in life is not for the WRONG THINGS we did..
But for the RIGHT THINGS we could have done but never did..
Think deep act now..Mornin..

Common lines after people get drunk-
1.tu mera bhai hai
2.gadi mai chalaunga
3.tu bura mat maanna bhai
4.mai teri dil sey izzat karta hoon
5.aaj chad nahi rahi hai
6.yeh mat samajh ki pee key bol raha hoon
7.yaar kam to nahi padegi
8.ek chota sa aur ho jaye
9.after 6thpeg-apney baap ko mat sikha
10.after last peg-tu bol bhai kya chahiye.,tere liye jaan hazir hai...

Every morning in africa, a gazelle wakes up. it knows it must run faster than fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. it dose not matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle... when sun comes up, you would better be running.

"Give thousand chances to your enemy to become your friend..
BUT Give no chance to your friend to become your enemy."

People spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting to perfect, run with what you've got, and fix it as you go & have a great week.

Living in the Favorable & Non-Favourable situation is "PART OF LIVING" But Smiling in all Situations is called "ART OF LIVING".

Regards,

Anaggh

Online Travel in India – Myth or Reality?

Reading about web 2.0 and how it has pushed online travel with funding available so on & forth, it makes one start wondering on some points such as:

There is a phenomenal growth potential & people have embraced online bookings that have grown by more than 100% etc.
• Yes this is true but what were the bookings earlier & what has the 100% growth been.
• When numbers are bandied about, the top line airline & hotel rates look great but what is the bottom line?

Thousands of airline tickets are being sold every day claim all online sites.
• Back of the envelope calculation show that the number of flights (domestic & international) with their carrying capacity spread over 6 months & all the online players as well as offline travel agents would not aggregate to the Thousands.

Hotel Rooms are being booked online like never before.
• Great and this would be happening with those online who have pre booked or off season…. But surprisingly the hotel industry cries itself hoarse with not enough rooms…..Corporate Houses scream at the Pricing…..Wonder why all 3 cannot work together & make money! Seems to be something wrong somewhere.

Discounts, Cash back make it better?
• Not necessarily, though beneficial & economical Yes.

However the most critical element of distribution & access remains unrecognized or avoided by everyone in the industry. All figures/statistics would lead to the TOP 12 – 18 cities. Whilst the pareto principle may apply, & the marketing buck for reach also needs to be considered, the fact that there are more than 65+ cities towns where online travel is still a distant dream, whilst the Brands are still represented by the so called unbranded companies in ways they deem best.

And the Cream is in the B & C towns!

Anaggh

SMS, Thoughts......... June; July; August 2007

Some more people joining in the Hub & Spoke - Gina; Mukesh......Keep them coming guys!


"Best saying for a rainy lazy Sunday: Progress isnt made by early risers or hard workers, but by LAZY people, trying to find easier ways to do the same."

"Chela swas sudi manvi aash rakhe che,dawama ane duwama vishws rakhe che,ughadi ankho na sambandh che mitro, ahiya kaun jarurat thi wadhare lash pan rakhe che.."

"Ideas are funny little things,
They won’t work unless you do"

"Whenever you win, win as if its your habit & whenever you loose, loose as if you have enjoyed it just for a change, That’s attitude"

"Solitude is an obstinate foe. The more you become friends with it, the more the enmity."

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – Chardonnay in one hand – choclate in the other – body thouroughouly used us, totally worn out and screaming…..Woo What a ride!!!"

"It takes two things to be a consultant – grey hair and hemorrhoids. The grey hair makes you look experienced and the hemorrhoids give you a concerned look."

"We don’t see things as they are.
We see things as we are."

"Many things can be preserved in alcohol. Dignity is not one of them."

"Many people have a good aim in life, but for some reason they never pull the trigger".

"How odd is the logic of mind?
It seeks compromise when we are wrong and it seeks justice when others are wrong!"

"The hard reality of life is that – When you need advice, everyone is ready to help you, But when you need help, everyone is ready to advise you."

"A soothing fact – “We always feel bad, that good things happen only to ‘others’ But we always forget that we are ‘others’ for someone else too!!"

"Never walk away from a true friend When you see some faults, be patient and realize that nobody is perfect, its affection that matters; not perfection"

"Fate is like getting raped
If you can’t fight, learn to enjoy it

Work is like group sex
10 people are behind your ass to take your place

Education is like hiring a prostitute
It needs both money & hard work

Success is like masturbation
Only your hand can let you achieve it".

"Those who know what is enough are wealthy, those who persevere have direction, thouse who maintain their position endure and those who die and yet do not perish, live on"

"Those who know others are intelligent, those who know themselves have insight, those who master others have forces, those who master themselves have strength."

"Scotch is a wonderful drink. If you have a DOUBLE, it makes you feel SINGLE once again…!"

"No sound in this world can be louder than Silence. If a friend can't understand your Silence, he/she can never understand your Words either!"

"The secret to success is to start from scratch and keep on scratching."

"Sometimes in life it is better to keep one's eyes wide open; other times only half open, and still others shut tight.
The question is knowing which each time...."

"We learn lessons by being beaten. It's not just about ability, its about applying pressure all the time...only then we will win."

"jindgi ane maut no jo farak na rakho tme, jena hath khali chhe ae sikender lagshe tamne"

SMS, Thoughts......... The Beginning

This post goes specially to my friends:

Tehmasp Printer; Hemant Shah; Wajid Ansari; Vishal Bhatia; Bela Gupta; Aparna Gupta who have been regular in sharing their wishes & thoughts during the past so many months.

Others not so regular Hemant Gajjer; Kaushal Gajjer; Mihir Shah (All From Ahmedabad); Dilip Hemnani; Vijay Chandodikar; Ranajit Tendolkar; Shamik Vora; Bharatt Desai; Pravin Agarwal; Sampath Iyengar so on & forth who did the same, on a irregular basis.

Madhurie; Keshav; Mehul; Amal; Nirav; Bhavin; Faridi; Matthew;Soeb; Sundar & others who kept egging me on to circulate these gems & at times change & coin to suit the occasion.

Finally Snehal Kulshreshtha - for being the one to actually force me to write "Boss if all these are original - You need to write a Book - forget working for someone" (20/Aug/07)

Guys - Do not know 100% original or not; maybe book or not; But intend to start collating them. Who knows may be able to publish them! But Promise to use the Income generated to push for girl child!!

The ones in Bold are personal favorites. So keep them coming.......

May 2007

"Relationship is like a book.It takes few seconds to burn.But it takes years to write.So write it carefully and never let it burn".

"Great People Like Us Work On The Principal Of Rockets, Not That We Aim For The Skies, But We Dont Start Performing Unless Our Ass Is On Fire." (Truly Apt)

"For every 80 people who say 'it's the 80/20 rule', there are 80 nodding and saying 'yeah, yeah, I know'"

"Creativity is allowing urself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep"

"Perfecting an art for profit is the science of management"

"Success seems to be connected to action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit".

"Focus on the bottleneck. Expand, find alternates, bypass or exploit".

"CRITICISM - If it is Untrue DISREGARD it, If it is Unfair STAY CALM, If it is Ignorant SMILE, If it is Justified LEARN From it.."

"The ultimate measure of a human is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

A Speech by Bill Gates – Some thoughts added!

Received this as a forward today along with the Warren Buffet rules that seem to be doing the rounds these days:

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it! (Most important lesson that can be given to our kids)

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. (Sure, but the teenagers of today expect this & are more focused)

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. (Very True, but in the competitive world, you will not become one unless you have studied much more than high school)

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.(Maybe sometimes)

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity. (Completely untrue to India; the number of youngsters embracing Retail with open arms, needs to be seen to be believed)

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Rule 6 – 11 may or may not apply to India. But Rule Nos 12 is applicable across the board, countries, continents, generation.

RULE 12 – Always make enough money before you spout such rules, to be taken seriously.

Anaggh Desai

Think Like a CEO

(This was sent to me by someone a couple of years ago. Find it pretty relevant; more so in today's scenario)

For those of you on the road to success, the term CEO is one that you will hear over and over again in the course of your career. The CEO of a company is the "Chief Executive Officer" and his job is to manage the executives at the company. The CEO is the big cheese; the buck stops with him.

CEOs are a very particular bunch. To become CEO means you have reached the top of the company, and your decisions -- even small ones -- will materially affect the company. CEOs usually have their act together more than the average guy (much more), and if you want to succeed in life, you should start thinking like the CEO way before you become one.

Plan for the future

In order to become a champion, you have to think like one. When Muhammed Ali beat George Foreman in their classic fight, "The Rumble in the Jungle", everyone thought that Ali would get murdered by Foreman. But Ali saw things differently; he thought like a champion, talked like a champion and was the true champion. He won by knockout in the 8th round in one of the greatest fights of all time.

The point is that you need to have the right attitude and frame of mind if you want to achieve CEO-like success. Basically, you need to think like a CEO from day one. Once you learn a job, it becomes fairly simple. Thus if you learn the job you aspire to, it will be much easier to get because it will have become more simple in your mind (and in practice).

CEO of your success

Most people will not become CEOs until much later in their careers, if at all. Furthermore, you don't need to become the CEO in order to be successful. However, you do need to think like a CEO in order to become someone powerful in this world.

At this point, you should be wondering: "How can I think and act like a CEO?" Keep reading and I'll tell you exactly which 10 crucial qualities you need in order to make it to the top and be the CEO of your own success.

ABC's of a good CEO

If you aspire to achieve success in your career, and then check out many of the qualities you will need to acquire in order to make it to the top.

10. Confidence
you have to be secure in your abilities and confident that you can carry out the task. Never let anyone make you feel inferior; they can only do so if you give them "permission" to.

9. Persistence
As former US President Calvin Coolidge once said: "Nothing can take the place of persistence." Not talent, not genius and not education. "Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." So don't quit easily.

8. Think (Bigger)
The higher you move up the ladder, the more complex the decisions. Thus, it only follows that you will have to think things through much more carefully and thoroughly, as each decision can potentially affect the whole organization in drastic ways.

7. Continuous Improvement
always strive to be better than you are today. Don't be afraid to take risks and make mistakes. Remember, failure is only a temporary setback on the road to success.

6. Details, Details & More Details
ultimately, every business comes down to details. If your strategy is solid but you botch the execution of the details of the plan, you'll end up in the doghouse. Pay attention to the details; small mistakes add up quickly.

5. Don't Be Afraid To Lead
Successful people are often leaders. Perhaps you're not the top guy (main leader) according to your job title, but if you're a leader in your field then you still have what it takes to become successful. You can be a great salesperson, so long as you excel at your job and take initiative. So pick up the torch when you see fit and make things happen.

4. Be Competitive
one of the basic tenets of capitalism is the competition that exists in a free market. You will either be the hunter or the prey. If you are not competitive, then you'll end up getting eaten for lunch. It's true and don't ever forget that this is the law of business.

3. Honesty Is the Best Policy
if you wanted to become a crook, you would've joined the mob. If you are in business, your reputation counts for a lot so be sure to be ethical in your dealings with your co-workers and clients. You have to set the example or you'll risk being the head henchman in a den of thieves.

2. Work With People
A big part of your success will consist of learning how to interact with others and how to manage human capital in order to make the most of the organization's resources. Make it a point to work on your people skills as much as possible because at the top, almost all your time will be spent dealing with people.

1. Be Positive
Be positive, infuse your personality and work with positive energy. This is catchy and will set the tone for your team. You'll get more done with a positive outlook rather than a negative one.

Now that you know what you need to make it to the top, stop procrastinating, get out there and make it happen!

Regards,

Anaggh

Execution - The bane of Business Heads

What is the biggest problem that faces a manager/business head/coo/ceo - EXECUTION - everyone loves dreaming, conceptualizing, but get some one to implement/execute - there come multiples of troubles - Over the years, reading, applying different methods, means, I have come to some points that remain constant.

• Understand your business
• Know the people
• Insist on being pragmatic/realistic
• Set priorities that are clear & easy to communicate.
• Follow thru
• Reward the doers; shake up the others.
• Push to expand your own & people's capabilities.

Anaggh

What they don't teach at B school?

Lesson 1 : Learning to work with a team

(1 therefore is: Being team driven is critical to success in professional life)

Lesson 2 : Learning to take care of the Details

(2 : Remember ........God is in the details & the more recent, Retail is Detail)

Lesson 3 : Learning to work across cultures

(3 : Respect different cultures, learn from them more so if you want to work in India.)

Lesson 4: Learning to make use of the gift of judgement and intuition

(4 : Listen to your sixth sense. Understand & respect the touch & feel factor of the experienced)

Lesson 5 : Using failure as a stepping stone to success

(5 : There's no success without failure)

Lesson 6: Learning a New, more holistic definition of success

(6: Let's define success more holistically)

The above points have been debated & written about by many people & hence carry a lot of similarities. I do not claim to be the original author of all of them. But have found them relevant most of the time.

Anaggh