The cockroach theory for self development

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on

a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken

face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands

desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.



Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got

panicky.



The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it landed

on another lady in the group.



Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the

drama.



The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.

In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.



The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of

the cockroach on his shirt.

When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and

threw it out of the restaurant.



Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind

picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach

responsible for their histrionic behavior?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?

He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.



It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle

the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.



I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or

my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the

disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.



It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my

inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that

disturbs me.



More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that creates

chaos in my life.



Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, I should not react in life.

I should always respond.

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.



Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well

thought of, just and right to save a situation from going out of

hands, to avoid cracks in relationship, to avoid taking decisions in

anger, anxiety, stress or hurry. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Initiative .. Managment lesson

Employee "A" in a company walked up to his manager and asked what my job is for the day? The manager took "A" to the bank of a river and asked him to cross the river and reach the other side of the bank. "A" completed this task successfully and reported back to the manager about the completion of the task assigned. The manager smiled and said "GOOD JOB"





Next day Employee "B" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task as above to this person also. The Employee "B' before starting the task saw Employee "C" struggling in the river to reach the other side of the bank. He realized "C" has the same task. Now "B" not only crossed the river but also helped "C" to cross the river. "B" reported back to the manager and the manager smiled and said "VERY GOOD JOB"





The following day Employee "Q" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again. Employee "Q" before starting the work did some home work and realized "A", "B" & "C" all has done this task before. He met them and understood how they performed. He realized that there is a need for a guide and training for doing this task. He sat first and wrote down the procedure for crossing the river, he documented the common mistakes people made, and tricks to do the task efficiently and effortlessly. Using the methodology he had written down he crossed the river and reported back to the manager along with documented procedure and training material. The manger said "Q" you have done an "EXCELLENT JOB".





The following day Employee "O' reported to the manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again. "O" studied the procedure written down by "Q" and sat and thought about the whole task. He realized company is spending lot of money in getting this task completed. He decided not to cross the river, but sat and designed and implemented a bridge across the river and went back to his manager and said, "You no longer need to assign this task to any one". The manager smiled and said "Outstanding job 'O'. I am very proud of you."





What is the difference between A, B, Q & O? Many a times in life we get tasks to be done at home, at office, at play.,

Most of us end up doing what is expected out of us. Do we feel happy? Most probably yes. We would be often disappointed when the recognition is not meeting our expectation. Let us compare ourselves with "B". Helping someone else the problem often improves our own skills. There is an old proverb (I do not know the author) "learn to teach and teach to learn". From a company point of view "B" has demonstrated much better skills than "A" since one more task for the company is completed.





"Q" created knowledge base for the team. More often than not, we do the task assigned to us without checking history. Learning from other's mistake is the best way to improve efficiency. This knowledge creation for the team is of immense help. Re-usability reduces cost there by increases productivity of the team. "Q" demonstrated good "team-player" skills,





Now to the outstanding person, "O" made the task irrelevant; he created a Permanent Asset to the team.

If you notice B, Q and O all have demonstrated "team performance" over and above individual performance; they have also demonstrated a very invaluable characteristic known as "INITIATIVE".





Initiative pays of everywhere whether at work or at personal life. If you have initiative you will succeed. Initiative is a continual process and it never ends. This is because this year's achievement is next year's task. You cannot use the same success story every year. The story provides an instance of performance, where as measurement needs to be spread across at least 6-12 months. Consequently performance should be consistent and evenly spread. Out-of-Box thinkers are always premium and that is what everyone constantly looks out for. Initiative, Out-of-Box thinking and commitment are the stepping stone to success.





Initiative should be lifelong. Think of out of the box…..Happy Working



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Presentation makes the difference

2 Women chatting in office..




Woman 1:" I had a fine evening, how was

yours.. ??

.

Woman 2:" It was a disaster.. My husband came

home, ate his dinner in 3 minutes and fell a sleep..

How was yours.. ?? .



Woman 1:" Oh it was amazing! My husband came

home and took me out for a romantic dinner.. After

dinner we walked for an hour.. When we came

home he lit the candles around the house..It was

like a fairy tale! .



At the same time, their husbands are talking at

work..



Husband 1:" How was your evening.. ??

.

Husband 2:" Great.. I came home, dinner was on

the table, I ate and fell asleep.

What about you ??

.

Husband 1:" It was horrible. I came home, there's

no dinner, they cut the electricity because I forgot

topay the bill; so I took her outfor dinner which

was so expensive that i didn't had money left for a

cab.

We walked home which took an hour and when

we got home i remembered there was no

electricity so I had to light candles all over the

house!!



Moral:" Presentation does matter.. No matter what

the reality is..
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Lessons from a corn farmer

There was a prosperous farmer in the US who was very famous for bagging the "Best Corn Grower" award every year. A journalist approached him and asked him the secret of his success. The farmer replied he joyfully shared the secret of growing the best corn with all his neighbouring farmers. He even gave them the best quality seed and taught them the techniques to grow the best corn.


The journalist got confused and asked "If you share the secret of your success with all your neighbours, are you not inviting competition?"

The farmer replied: "If I want to have the best quality corn, I must have some good quality corn growing in the neighbouring areas because the wind will carry the pollen that will cross pollinate with the corn buds in my farm and help me produce the best corn. If my neighbours corn is of inferior quality, then my corn cannot be of the best quality inspite of all my efforts"

The journalist said: "That makes a lot of sense; but are you not inviting competition?"

The farmer replied: "There is no question of competition because I know that most people are selfish and will not share the secret of their success with their neighbours. So my neighbours neighbour may not grow the good quality corn and hence my neighbour's corn cannot be superior to mine !!!"

Therefore, success cannot happen in isolation. If you want to succeed, you must help your neighbours, friends and relatives to succeed.
 
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Ratan Tata .. leadership example

One of Mr. Ratan N Tata's (RNT) first assignments was the stewardship of the ailing electronics company in the Tata portfolio - Nelco.




Story goes that a team of senior managers from Nelco was driving to Nasik along with RNT. Halfway into the journey, the car had a flat tyre, and as the driver pulled up, the occupants - including Mr. Tata - got off for a comfort break, leaving the driver to replace the tyre.



Some of the managers welcomed the forced break, as it allowed them a much-needed chance to light up a cigarette. Some used the opportunity to stretch, and smile, and share a joke. And then, one of them suddenly noticed that Mr. Tata was not to be seen, and wondered aloud where Ratan Tata might have vanished!



Was he behind some bush?



Had he wandered off inside the roadside dhaba for a quick cup of tea?



Or was he mingling with some passer-bys, listening to their stories?



None of these, in fact, while his colleagues were taking a break, Ratan Tata was busy helping the driver change tyres. Sleeves rolled up, tie swatted away over the shoulder, the hands expertly working the jack and the spanner, bouncing the spare tyre to check if the tyre pressure was ok. Droplets of sweat on the brow, and a smile on the face.



At that moment, the managers accompanying Ratan Tata got a master class in Leadership they haven't forgotten.



And that's a moment that the driver of that car probably hasn't forgotten either!



Questions to ask:



· When was the last time I rolled up my sleeves to do a task much below my hierarchy?



· Do I wait for the big opportunity to showcase my leadership?



· Is that big opportunity ever going to come?



· Am I trying to manage upwards so much that I've lost the feel of the field?



Ideas for action:



· Humility is the essence of success. Be humble and even teach your children to be so.



· To reach the top and remain there, always start from the bottom, else your days at the top will not last long.



· Practice leadership in small things instead of waiting for the big crisis or a major product launch.



· Seek to find opportunities to lead in everyday moments.



· Build your leadership skills one baby step at a time.



· When one’s hands get dirty - The mind remains clean!!

Management Review

THE SAGA OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW OF WRITING STYLE







Question: How many feet do mice have?






Original reply: Mice have four feet.


Mgmt. Comment: Elaborate!






Revision 1: Mice have five appendages, and four of them are feet.


Mgmt. Comment: No discussion of fifth appendage!






Revision 2: Mice have five appendages; four of them are feet and one is a tail.


Mgmt. Comment: What? Feet with no legs?






Revision 3: Mice have four legs, four feet and one tail per unit-mouse.


Mgmt. Comment: Confusing -- is that a total of 9 appendages?






Revision 4: Mice have four leg-foot assemblies and one tail assembly per body.


Mgmt. Comment: Does not fully discuss the issue!






Revision 5: Each mouse comes equipped with four legs and a tail. Each leg is equipped with a foot at the end opposite the body; the tail is not equipped with a foot.


Mgmt. Comment: Descriptive? Yes. Forceful? NO!






Revision 6: Allotment appendages for mice will be: Four leg-foot assemblies, one tail. Deviation from this policy is not permitted as it would constitute misapportionment of scarce appendage assets.


Mgmt. Comment: Too authoritative; stifles creativity!






Revision 7: Mice have four feet; each foot is attached to a small leg joined integrally with the overall mouse structural sub-system. Also attached to the mouse sub-system is a thin tail, non-functional and ornamental in nature.


Mgmt. Comment: Too verbose/scientific. Answer the question!






FINAL REVISION APPROVED BY MANAGEMENT: Mice have four feet.