Who's Calling YOU

Wow! What a stimulating blog by Dan T Cathy. What I have understood is- To create trust, start with small actions.

By Dan T Cathy

We all feel stranded sometimes, stuck if you will by the circumstances of the day. We have to make a difficult decision or step out and do something risky, and we feel a bit lost at sea in those moments. But what if that wasn’t just a feeling? What if one afternoon, you found yourself afloat in an ocean without end and a boat without rescue? What then?

That’s what one group of people found one afternoon in Europe. They were off course. They had floated further and faster than they had anticipated. They were lost, stranded in an endless sea with land and hope long forgotten. So they did what everyone would have done, they contacted the Coast Guard.

As fate would have it, they couldn’t get through. The call wasn’t answered, the line never connected and the waves kept coming. What now? What would you have done in that moment? Who would you have called?

It’s an interesting exercise, but one group of people, it was more than an exercise, it was a life or death situation. So who did they call? Their travel agent.
Go ahead and read that last sentence again, because it’s unbelievable. Trapped on a boat, lost without imminent rescue, they called their travel agent. Why? Because they didn’t have an ordinary travel agent, they had a Travel Counsellor. Renowned the world, and ocean, over for their service, the Travel Counsellor sprung into action. They alerted the authorities and helped rescues the stranded boat. Crisis averted.

If you’re a leader, you can’t hear that story without thinking, “Would they have called me? In that situation, would the boat have trusted me or my company to help? What does it take to have a relationship like that?”

Those are great questions to wrestle with, and as we discuss them this year, I want to remind you of one thing – start small. In our quest to be greater leaders or raise stronger families or lead better companies, we sometimes get lost thinking about the rescue phone calls. Instead, I think we need to focus on the day to day, seemingly small decisions.

Was I kind today to people who were not kind to me? Did I operate from my strengths? Did I make it easy for a customer to tell me they were unhappy with something? Did I go the second mile when the first mile was all that was expected?

These are always the kind of questions we need to ask and answer long before we’ll get a call from the middle of the ocean. And as we do, each day, we’ll get better at both the little things and the big rescues we’ll all face as leaders.

I Believe!

I believe, though shadows may fall,
I believe the sun comes out, after all
I believe there's something to look forward to…
I believe there's someone beside me
I believe there's someone to guide me
I believe I'm not alone, on my own…

I believe I've got the music in my soul,
I believe my life's in my control
I believe I have the strength to carry on
towards my goal…
I believe that I've got it in me
To do my best, the very best that's within me
I believe I have a long, long way to go…
Yes, I believe, I believe in me.

In A Different Way

Live each single moment,
As if it were you last.
Look forward to the future,
Forget about the past.

Take in time to value,
Exactly what you've got.
Appreciate the now,
Use what you've been taught.

To further your enjoyment,
Of each new passing day.
Try learn something new,
In a different way.

Expand your horizons,
By trying something new.
Makes life seem much larger,
You'll know just what to do.

When you have a problem,
You can not seem to mend.
Somehow try it different,
Mind and thoughts must bend.

Learning to live life better,
In a different way.
Be open to ideas,
Every single day.

Sucess Shuns You Once... Twice.. Thrice

I have noticed brilliant ideas biting the dust around me on many occasions. Many among us conceive terrific ideas, some of us even muster courage to give a shape to them, a few of us go even further and try to make it a reality. Sad! Hardly a few of them make up to success stories.

I had read many books and articles advocating persistence. You should not give up, keep trying until success embraces you. Nice! Mostly before success embraces us, we run out of patience. No one tells us what should be the limit of patience. When we reflect, what our mind concludes is: If I keep trying a thousand times, still I don’t succeed, where will I reach? No wonder this thought scares us. And we give up.

A very close friend of mine, Prashant, a man of average caliber got enrolled for Chartered Accountancy. His first challenge was adapting to the language, as he belonged to a remote village in India and he started English only from class six. Secondly, he was throughout an Art student and had seen credit and debit only on bank statement. But, his determination was worth a gold medal. He failed once.. twice and upon being asked, what he planned next, he always said, “Come what may! I will pass the next one.” And he did.

Now, not only he is a full-fledged Chartered Accountant, he speaks fine English good enough to give a complex to a DPS pass out and currently holds CFO position in a leading domestic company.

When I last met him in New Delhi after nearly a decade, I could still see the same determination in his eyes and couldn’t hold myself saying, “Come what may! I will pass the next one.”

What I learned was every time he failed, he did brutally unbiased reflection and worked on his flaws. Over and above his persistence, he didn’t forget to avoid his past mistakes.

Do try again, but if it’s not working, change your approach, finetune your resources, check the timing and context, seek others feedback with open mind and do everything possible. I know you have already worked hard, but still it’s not the time to give up!

Success may shun you once..twice..or may be thrice. But finally, it doesn’t have a choice, it will be compelled to knock your door.

Life is More Fun when You Have a Company

Few days back I went to watch Up In the Air-the latest movie starring George Clooney. His spellbinding performance did invoke many rounds of clap and laughter. But, the dialogue which I can’t still forget is-Life is more fun when you have a company.

I don’t want to elaborate the context, but very few among us would have thought about these splendid words.

Without any doubt, it is our life and we are sole owner to make a decision about it. But imagine yourself on an island where you have everything in abundance but any other person. Imagine! your Birthday and you have no one around to clap while you cut the cake. Imagine! you become the wealthiest man in the world, and no one to savor the beautiful luxuries with you. Imagine! you are in deep pain, and no one around to ask how you feel. Imagine! you bought a Ferrari and no one’s along to go for a long drive. Just the thought of it puts us off, doesn’t it?

It’s true that you have come in this world alone and will go back alone. But, as long as you live, make it a celebration. And celebration is never alone.

Justify Your Existence

I’m back from vacation. Trust me! No place like home.

We started with Dubai then went to different parts of north India and where we got severely tortured by chilled weather. Flight cancellations and train rescheduling pushed my change management skills to a new level. Hope you are aware- Delhi is known for extreme weather.

Now I’m proud to have first-hand experience at Burj-al-Arab (the only 7 star hotel in the world) and Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world) and Palm Jumeira. Of course got a few photos clicked to brag about.

The most commendable thing about Dubai is- it’s built out of nothing but just a VISION. Few know that Dubai doesn’t have oil.

The place which once was a dusty Arab town is now a glitzy megapolis known of the best of luxuries in the world. I suspect if the concept like Desert Safari ever existed before Dubai marketed it. They must have got inspiration from Jungle Safari. Whatever be the case it deserves a must visit, where you explore sand dunes with twists and turns in a Toyota Landcruiser sometimes as steep as almost 90 degrees.

I forgot to mention legendary Palm Jumeira. We went there by road and had a coffee at newly opened the Atlantis. Hats off to the man who thought of creating artificial island like this. It’s truly magnificent. But missed the aerial view, which left the experience incomplete.

Places like these do inspire us to justify our existence by creating things which never existed.

King Maktoum, May God help you recover from the recent setbacks so that you keep adding new icons on earth.

Your Smile is Priceless

The New Year has just begun. So with it a set of hope, aspirations and resolutions. Wish you all a wonderful 2010. Hope we have more peace and prosperity all around this year.

Yesterday we went out to watch Avatar and it’s breathtaking visuals are still vivid in my mind. First time in life we were out for over nine hours with only purpose in mind-FUN! And without any doubt, it was incredible!

After the show, my wife wanted to buy a pair of Puma shoes and she finally got one of her choice. It was black leather sports shoes with yellow Ferrari logo which looked superbly appealing. The dilemma on her face was starkly visible for quite a while, she scrutinized them from every angle, tried them out and finally whispered, “It’s expensive!” I could comprehend her expression, smiled at her and said, “Your smile is priceless!”

Although it was expensive, yet I felt investment paid off when I saw the big smile on her face. Nothing makes us feel happier than giving joy to others.

Date with Destiny

Life keeps showering surprises every now and then. There are times when I worked very hard, but things didn’t work. I can also vividly remember instances when I didn’t take things seriously, but got groundbreaking results.

I strongly believe that there’s something which control our lives beyond our efforts. There’s someone who fixes our date with destiny or disasters. Don’t know how it works, but it does work.

I can’t visualize anyone who’s failed more than me. I was doing Company Secretaryship along with graduation, I failed there. Doubly motivated by my failure, I tried Network Marketing, it was again not my cup of tea. Started preparing for Armed Forces, passed the written exams, but couldn’t crack the interview. I can still recollect disappointment in my Mom’s eyes after she heard the result. Started preparing for other government jobs, nothing worked. Then, my fascination towards Call Centers started. Went for the first interview, got stuck in final stage. Tried at EXL, GE, Daksh, American Express, Convergys,Vertex, Global Vantedge and uncountable other companies which were hiring for Call Centers. None of them selected me. It went to the extent that GE would reject me right over the phone, whenever I called them again. Probably my voice skills were not up to the mark. I didn’t give up. Tried again, and again and again. Finally, I got a call from Daksh for non-voice process. I can’t forget how happy I was when I got the offer letter. It was the happiest moment of my life.

I know that was not a perfect interview, probably someone had fixed my date with the destiny.

Does it mean should we leave everything up to destiny? Not at all! Had I stopped trying, I would have never got that job. More important than luck was Persistence. Never Stop! Keep trying and wait for the lady luck to smile at you.

Don't be Serious, Be Sincere

Yesterday I received this speech through email from one of my colleagues. Chetan Bhagat delivered this speech at Symbiosys, India to the BBA students. It makes a lot of sense and hope will bring some spark in your life too. I'm a big fan of Bhagat, who's not just read all his book, but is also waiting for the next one. Just like his books, this piece is interesting and I'm sure will stay in your mind for long.

Love!
Vivek

Dont just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup.
There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts.
Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

"Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same is with life where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. Life is not meant to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? .

It's ok! Bunk a few classes, score low in couple of papers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love, have little fights with your spouse. We are people, not programmed devices..... ...." :)

"Don't be serious, be sincere."!!

What Means SUCCESS to YOU?

I recently posted this discussion: What means SUCCESS to you?.. on LinkedIn and am overwhelmed with the responses. My wholehearted thanks to everyone who contributed precious time to comment. Most of the people felt that you should follow your calling to be successful. They also agreed that the meaning of success changes from time to time. To my surprise, many also felt that just one thing cannot be packaged as success, it’s a combination of many factors.

Here are some of the most stimulating comments:
“I look to my expectations of myself and goals I set. I don't compare myself to others as the "yard stick" for measuring is different for each person. I try to look at myself in a 360 view, as a well balanced person (I think) needs to "be successful" in all parts of their life, not just a couple. You can't have a great career and completely blow your personal relationships, that sort of thing. I agree with you Vivek, we continually change.”

Dorothy Tannahill Moran
Life Coach

“I think the steady realization of a dream and an ideal that is driven by the heart and Passion that cannot, and will never be denied, is Success from my point of view.”

Kalpana Panwar
Management Student

“For me Success is to balance my professional as well as personal life.”
Ankita Verma
University Student

“Success to me is achieving my goals and sharing it with my world.”
Jaya Lachhwani
Healthcare Professional

“Getting what you like is Success and Liking what you get is Happiness. Success is in Big things of life and Happiness is in Little things of Life. Success is more a relative term. It depends on with whom we compare our success. I compare my present success with my past success. I'm my own Benchmark…We should try to be Successfully Happy and Happily Successful!”
Arun Davay
Corporate Trainer and Management Professor

“Success to me means Happiness, apart from the acknowledgement by family, friends, colleagues and society in general, that I have made a difference to their lives.”
Balasubramaniam M.
HR Professional

“Success to me is my inner satisfaction with the things that I do..also positive feedback that I receive for my work.”
Pankaj Choudhary
HR Professional

“Success to me is a relative term and it keeps evolving. To me success is enjoying all that i do professionally and personally. I feel and sense success when I sense the gratitude in the responses from the people whose lives I have touched…”
Neerja Singh
HR Professional

Let’s take this opportunity to share your idea of success. Waiting for your insightful comments..

Love!
Vivek