Cauldron of Time: Value Others Time as much you Value yours

Yesterday, during a random dinner table conversation, the question that was put to me was what do you think your purpose in life is? Ah, the fundamental question we all grapple and often ignore. Without getting too meta-physical about it, I think there is a very simple practical answer to the question. And it is simply – doing what one does to the best of one’s abilities.

I see so many people go through the best years of their lives simply watching the clock. They go to office in the morning, put in the requisite 8 hours and come back in the evening. Same routine repeats day in and day out. But what each one of us needs to realize is that we’ve only got a limited amount of time. When you’re 25, you think the entire world is ahead of you and life is limitless. But as Yudhishthira says in the Mahabharata, “the cauldron of time cooks everyone”. And THAT is a universal truth.

So given that you’ve got only a limited amount of time, let’s take that argument further. Let’s say you’ve only got a year to go, before your time is up. Would you now bring the same attitude to work and life that you have right now? Or would you change it drastically? If the answer is that you would change it drastically, then my friend the answer to life’s fundamental question is right in front of your eyes and you’re choosing to ignore it.

When we work for organizations who we think pay us less, or a boss who doesn’t understand us, or an environment which is suffocating, we all have a few choices. And the choice is to simply leave that situation and choose another one. Or to try and change the situation. But, there is a third choice: while we’re in that specific situation, life demands from us that we give it our very best. And that is what life is really all about. If you don’t like your job, change it – but while you’re working, give it everything you’ve got. Or else you’re shortchanging the most important person in the world - you! If you think your company is short-changing you – think again. Or rather trust greater thinkers to guide you. As Krishna says to Arjuna in the Gita – "do your duty because that is what you’ve come on Earth for. Do not think of the fruits of your actions." To give it a more practical twist – I say, "do not work simply for the fruits of your labor. Do it for your love of the work itself – do it because it is your bounden duty to do so. Or else, you’re actually waking up every day and cheating yourself."

Every hour and every minute of work that you’re whiling away your time, taking long breaks, chatting, social networking, or not giving your profession your best effort and dedicated focus is a minute that is completely lost, and the biggest loser in this case is you – not your organization, not your team – but you! Because the company will keep going on or shut down – but the best years of your life won’t come back ever. So go change your job if you’re not happy. But stop cribbing and complaining and cheating yourself out of the only life you’ll ever have.!!!!!!

Value Others Time as much you Value yours

post your thoughts/articles to cafebulletin.paulscafe@blogger.com

The finger bowl

A wonderful story comes from 19th century England. According to the account, Queen Victoria was once at a diplomatic reception in London.

The guest of honor was an African chieftain. All went well during the meal until, at the end, finger bowl were served. The guest of honor had never seen a British finger bowl, and no one had thought to brief him beforehand about its purpose. So he took the bowl in his two hands, lifted it to his mouth, and drank its contents down!

For an instant there was breathless silence among the British privilege guests, and then they began to whisper to one another. All that stopped; however, when Queen Victoria silently took her finger bowl in her two hands, lifted it, and drank its contents! A moment later, 500 surprised British ladies and gentlemen simultaneously drank the contents of their own finger bowls.

It was the queen’s uncommon courtesy that guarded her guest from certain embarrassment.

This is a very rare but very effective human trait …

while the most common human trait is to look for chances to humiliate/insult someone else or be neutral when someone makes mistake & let him/her go through the embarrassment … but it takes presence of mind, uncommon courtesy to follow someone else’s mistake in order to guard them from embarrassment!!

-cnt
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Nabarun Paul - Blog on BrightFuse - A Talent Community

Nabarun Paul - Blog on BrightFuse - A Talent Community

BLINK! THINK! DECIDE!

The Art of Appraisal (Humour)

BLINK! THINK! DECIDE!

Big Boss: This year your performance was good, excellent and outstanding.
So, your rating is "average".

Kumar: What? How come 'average'?

Big Boss: Because...err...uhh...you lack domain knowledge.

Kumar: But last year you said I am a domain expert and you put me in this
project as a domain consultant.

Big Boss: Oh is it? Well, in that case, I think your domain knowledge has
eroded this year.

Kumar: What???

Big Boss: Yes, I didn't see you sharing knowledge on Purchasing domain.

Kumar: Why would I? Because I am not in Purchasing, I am in Manufacturing.

Big Boss: This is what I don't like about you. You give excuse for
everything.

Kumar: Huh? *Confused*

Big Boss: Next, you need to improve your communication skills.

Kumar: Like what? I am the one who trained the team on "Business
Communication", you sat in the audience and took notes, you remember?

Big Boss: Oh is it? Errr...well..I mean, you need to improve your Social
Pragmatic Affirmative Communication.

Kumar: Huh? What the hell is that? *Confused*

Big Boss: See! That's why you need to learn about it.

Kumar: *head spinning*

Big Boss: Next, you need to sharpen your recruiting skills. All the guys you recruited left within 2 months.

Kumar: Well, not my mistake. You told them you will sit beside them and review their code, and most resigned the next day itself. Couple of them
even attempted suicide.

Big Boss:*stunned* (recovers from shock) Err...anyway, I tried to give you a better rating, but our Normalization process gave you only 'average'.

Kumar: Last year that process gave me 'excellent'. This year just
'average'? Why is this process pushing me up and down every year?

Big Boss: That's a complicated process. You don't want to hear.

Kumar: I'll try to understand. Go ahead.

Big Boss: Well, we gather in a large room, write down the names of
sub-ordinates in bits of paper, and throw them up in the air. Whichever
lands on the floor gets 'average', whichever lands on table gets 'good',
whichever we manage to catch gets 'excellent' and whichever gets stuck to
ceiling gets 'outstanding'.

Kumar: (eyes popping out) What? Ridiculous! So who gets 'poor' rating?

Big Boss: Those are the ones we forget to write down.

Kumar: What the hell! And how can paper bits stick to ceiling for
'outstanding'?

Big Boss: Oh no, now you have started questioning our 20 year old
organizational process!

Kumar: *FAINTS*

Post your thoughts directly:cafebulletin.paulscafe@blogger.com

Business Realities

Businesses want to reduce cost and risk while increasing revenue. To succeed as a software developer, don't try to sell working software for less money than others; instead, reduce cost, reduce risk or increase revenue for those companies. I will discuss a few ways to do these things, and do them well.

1) Provide Guarantees.
So the other person provides a lower hourly cost. So what? Does that mean that the total cost is going to be less? Most people that deal with software contractors know that an estimate is rarely worth the paper it's printed on. That's why fixed-price and fixed-date contracts are so appealing to customers: It moves the risk from the shoulders of the customer to the selling organization. As long as the buying organization is certain to make money, hourly rates won't matter. (How do you compare $6/hour and "We think it'll take about six months" to "$10,000 and it will be done in three months." How about to "I'll take 30% of gross revenues. If you don't make a dime, I don't make a dime...and this will encourage me to make it good enough to re-sell")

2) Analyze the business and provide a better solution
Joel Spolsky once wrote that

"Customers Don't Know What They Want. Stop Expecting Customers to Know What They Want."

In other words, the attitude of "Just give me the requirements" fails because it has the customer solving the problem; the software developer becomes just a glorified technical writer that knows how to write in the language of a machine.

3) Dramatically decrease the defect rate
Are people willing to pay for quality in software? Sadly, generally, the answer is no. Quality in software is hard to measure; unlike automobiles, there is usually no crash or endurance tests to compare against, especially for custom software. Yet we all know that plumbers, electricians, and roofers with a reputation for quality have more work orders than they know what to do with. Producing software with less defects, that is usable, that does what the customer expects will net a major competitive advantage for years to come.

4) Create well-documented, maintainable code
Despite all the jokes about job security, companies want well-documented, easy-to-understand and easy-to-change systems. This allows them to reduce risk, and, as we've previously discussed, reducing risk has tangible, measurable value to a company. The great thing about increasing the value of what you sell is that you can now charge more for it.

5) Provide better feedback
If you prioritize every feature, you can work on the most important features first. A series of small releases gives the customer the most important features first and the opportunity to provide feedback. This is not a new idea; it is one of the core ideals of the Extreme Programming model, and it's an excellent way to give the customer more while costing you less. (Think about this: Most large projects run late and over budget. Many small projects do not. Instead of "biting off more than we can chew" next time, why not refuse to run a large project and instead run a series of small projects?)

6) Show the customer how you will make them money or allow them to cut costs.
This one is a no-brainer. It's easy to charge more for your services and still win the bid if you are selling something fundamentally different: This is why McDonald's franchises sell for more than Jerry's Pizza Shack franchises. Imagine the two sales pitches:

Jerry's: "Hey, for $10,000 and 3% of your sales revenue, I'll let you use my name, my sign, my recipes, my suppliers for food, cups, plates - the works!"

McDonald's: "For $1,000,000 and 8% of your sales revenue, we'll give you everything Jerry does - plus throw in a lease on a furnished building in residential area X. We'll promise no McDonald's competition (except the ones you own) in a 50-mile radius of your store. We'll provide management training for your people. In fact, here's a breakdown of our 200 stores in areas with a similar population to X, and their sales compared to expenses for the first five years of business. As you can see, since 1995, only 10 of those stores failed to be profitable within three years, and they were all profitable within five years."

Conclusions
From the last example, you can see that McDonald's and Jerry's are selling two fundamentally different things. They both seem to "solve" the same problem: "I want to own a fast-food business." McDonald's chooses not to compete on price; instead, they compete on delivered results.

Most banks compete on delivered results for investment. While they may occasionally advertise that they have low or no minimum balance, it is far more common to hear about a low rate for a loan or a high rate for an investment. If we are to survive the coming bust, we must Promise and Deliver Results. These results must substantially differentiate us from other, cheaper competition.

If you try to build a house and base every decision on cost, you will probably get what you deserve. Most people know this, and factor other things into the decision. As the software industry matures, we must learn to provide and market those "other things." In order to survive, we must stop being glorified technical writers and become businessmen...and the need for good businessmen is not decreasing, but instead it is constantly increasing.

A Planned Coincidence

BLINK! THINK! DECIDE!


All that is accepted is not the reality but a forced truth, a planned coincidence.
By being true to our own self we accept God whose ways are different. Can we face God by not being true to own self?

May be we all prefer to keep eyes closed, always, thinking that God too cannot see!

Being true to the self is not betraying the self.
Thus when I speak about being true to yourself I say don’t betray yourself. If you are not true to yourself then you are betraying not only yourself but everybody around you.
Have you ever stood in front of the mirror first thing in the morning even before attending the daily chores and looked in the eye and asked DO I DESERVE IT? AM i WORTH IT?

Have you allowed yourself some time for a reality check, for some introspection? If yes then why are you in the mess still? And why do you need to have a reality check done? - The answer lies with you.

I speak about my experiences. I too made the mistake and couldn’t identify the messages then. Hence i say certain things in life have to be done immediately not later or tomorrow. It might just ruin everything not allowing a second opportunity. It might be too late. If you think you can, chances are you will but if you think you can’t chances are you may never. Don’t just give up instead give up giving in.

Do you over stuff your plate with food and then waste it? If no, then why can’t you speak up when needed rather burst and erupt like a volcano that which burns all and destroys everything in its way? Why do you always end up cleaning others muck? What is the obligation? – The answer again lies with you.

Silence is serene but remaining silent is torture to the self. Be silent inside-out not outside-in or else you will always be taken for granted as you are now. It does no good!!!

Story Of an HR Manager

BLINK! THINK! DECIDE!


One day while walking down the street a highly successful Human Resources Manager was tragically hit by a bus and she died.
Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself.
"Welcome to Heaven," said St. Peter. "Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had a Human Resources Manager make it this far and we're not really sure what to do with you."
"No problem, just let me in," said the woman.
"Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose whichever one you want to spend an eternity in."
"Actually, I think I've made up my mind, I prefer to stay in Heaven", said the woman
"Sorry, we have rules..."
And with that St. Peter put the executive in an elevator and it went down-down-down to hell.
The doors opened and she found herself stepping out onto the putting green of a beautiful golf course. In the distance was a country club and standing in front of her were all her friends - fellow executives that she had worked with and they were well dressed in evening gowns and cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times.
They played an excellent round of golf and at night went to the country club where she enjoyed an excellent steak and lobster dinner.
She met the Devil who was actually a really nice guy (kind of cute) and she had a great time telling jokes and dancing. She was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook her hand and waved goodbye as she got on the elevator.
The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates and found St. Peter waiting for her.
"Now it's time to spend a day in heaven," he said. So she spent the next 24hours lounging around on clouds and playing the harp and singing.
She had great time and before she knew it her 24 hours were up and St. Peter came and got her.
"So, you've spent a day in hell and you've spent a day in heaven. Now you must choose your eternity,"
The woman paused for a second and then replied, "Well, I never thought I'd say this, I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell."
So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again she went down down down back to Hell.
When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw her friends were dressed in rags and were picking up the garbage and putting it in sacks.
The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her.
"I don't understand," stammered the woman, "yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a country club and we ate lobster and we danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my friends look miserable."
The Devil looked at her smiled and told...
"Yesterday We Were Recruiting You, Today You’re An Employee..."

BE YOUR OWN BOSS

BLINK! THINK! DECIDE!


Starting something on one’s own is a dream for many but only a few attempt to turn it into a reality.

An Enquiry Into What It Takes To Become An Entrepreneur...
1. Entrepreneurship needs self discipline, courage and emotional intelligence, etc.
2. Entrepreneurship seems to be the flavor of season as many people are making the downturn an opportunity to start their own ventures.
3. A downturn is a positive time to become an entrepreneur due to several factors.
4. Starting a firm during an economic crisis makes the entrepreneur seriously evaluate his/ her ideas, to be cautious about expenditures, and to have a close watch on the cash flow budgets and balance sheets.
5. Also resources and funding for start ups are easily available and there are many non-profit organizations and business incubators for promoting entrepreneurship.

What Makes A Person Think About Starting A Firm Of His Own?
1. The need for self improvement and learning
2. Ambition to build a product company and also the
3. Longing to contribute something to the society.

Do You Have It In You?
A great idea, strong passion towards building up a businesses and adequate financial support are the driving factors behind any entrepreneurial venture. But besides that there are several other things that an entrepreneur must concentrate on.

Also entrepreneurship needs lot of self-discipline, courage, emotional intelligence, vision, hard work, modesty to learn from others and relentless passion which are deceivingly easy to say but extremely difficult to practice.

For an entrepreneur being successful is also directly related to how fast he can adopt to and bring about change. An entrepreneur is faced with new business models, revenue models, and changes in market dynamics, price constructs and other dynamic changes every day.

Passion
Must have the strong zeal to make his idea a reality and must be able to overcome all the challenges.

Self Motivation
Must have personal determination and drive to seek all means to make their ideas a reality. Also must be ready to face failures and learn from mistakes.

Ability To Take Risks
Must be ready to face any uncertainty in business and must be ready to take the responsibility.


All the best till Aall izz well

Are You Planning to francise?

BLINK! THINK! DECIDE!

WHY FRANCHISE?
Are you certain that yours is the next Ray Kroc story, if only you could get the capital?
Are you tired of reading about companies and thinking, "I have a better franchise concept than that company"?

Maybe you, too, should consider franchising.

In general, companies decide to begin franchising for one of three reasons:
• Lack of money,
• People or
• Time.

For companies with too little time (or too little staff), franchising is often the fastest way to grow. That's because it's the franchisee who performs most of these growth tasks.

The franchisor provides the guidance, of course, but the franchisee does the legwork. Thus franchising not only allows the franchisor financial leverage, but it allows him to leverage his resources as well.

But still all is not well in franchising. There are barriers involved and once you overcome the barriers yours might be the next McDonalds!

BARRIERS
The primary barrier to expansion that today's entrepreneur faces is lack of capital. And franchising allows companies to expand without the risk of debt or the cost of equity. Since franchisees provide the investment at the unit level, franchising allows for expansion with minimal capital investment on the part of the franchisor.

In addition, since it's the franchisee, and not the franchisor, who signs the lease and commits to various service contracts, franchising allows for expansion with virtually no contingent liability, thus greatly reducing a franchisor's risk.
The second barrier to expansion is finding and retaining good unit managers. All too often, a business owner spends months looking for and training a new manager only to see that manager leave—or worse yet, get hired away by a competitor.

Franchising allows entrepreneurs to overcome many of these problems by substituting a motivated franchisee for a unit manager. Interestingly enough, since the franchisee has both an investment in the unit and a stake in the profits, unit performance will often improve. And since a franchisor's income is based on the franchisee's gross sales—and not profitability—monitoring unit-level expenses becomes significantly less cumbersome.

Finally, opening another location takes time. Hunt for sites. Negotiate leases. Arrange for design and build-out. Secure financing. Hire and train staff. Purchase equipment and inventory. The end result is that the number of units you can open in any given period of time is limited by the amount of time it takes to do it properly.


Ask yourself-IS YOUR BUSINESS "FRANCHISABLE"?
Franchising is a relatively flexible format, and just about any type of business can be franchised, provided it meets some basic characteristics:
It needs to be credible.
• Does your company have experienced management? A track-record over time? Is the concept proven? Have you achieved good local press or public acclaim?
It needs to be unique.
• Is your business adequately differentiated from its competitors? Is it marketable as a business opportunity? Does it have a sustainable competitive advantage?
It needs to be teachable.
• Are the systems in place? Are operating procedures documented? Could someone learn to operate your business in three months or less?
It needs to provide an adequate return.
• It doesn’t mean just profitability. If a business can't generate a 15 to 20 percent return on investment after deducting a royalty (typically between 4 and 8 percent), it's going to have difficulty keeping franchisees happy.

If your business meets these criteria, then it may be a good candidate for franchising.

PREREQUISITES
When a company makes a decision to franchise, it must first develop a sound plan for expansion. This plan must take into consideration the numerous issues confronting a new franchisor: speed of growth, territorial development, support services, staffing and fee structure, to name just a few of the most important issues.

Larger companies need to address more complex issues such as channel conflict, anti-trust issues, and resource allocation. And obviously, your entire plan needs to be subjected to rigorous financial analysis and scrutiny to fine-tune your strategy for growth.

Once your plan is in place, you'll need the proper legal documentation. At a minimum, you'll need a franchise contract, an offering circular (as required under FTC Rule 436), and, depending on where franchises are being sold, state registrations. There are literally hundreds of different business issues that must be addressed in a good franchise agreement, and the decisions made regarding these issues will ultimately dictate your success as a franchisee.

Quality control for a new franchisor involves the development of highly developed systems. Generally, this translates into the development of an operations manual that must contain not only the systems used by the business, but also the checklists, policies, procedures and tactics that will allow these systems to be uniformly enforced.

Operations manuals must be careful to avoid the creation of an agency and must also address issues that could create claims of negligence if you're to maintain an effective shield against consumer liability.

Finally, as a new franchisor, you must develop the ability to market and sell franchises. That requires knowledge of how to attract prospective buyers and the necessary materials (brochures, mini-brochures, videotapes, DVDs, and so on) that will help make the sale. Moreover, since the franchise sales process is highly regulated, you'll need to be educated in proper sales, disclosure and compliance techniques.

Every new franchisor quickly learns that when they turn to franchising, they've entered a completely different business. Regardless of how you make money as a franchisor, you'll have two roles: selling franchises and servicing franchisees. And of the two, ensuring the success of your franchisees is the most important.

Properly structured, franchising can allow small companies to more effectively compete with much larger competitors. It can also allow larger companies to gain the advantages of highly motivated unit management while reducing overhead. As such, franchising is an option that more and more companies should explore.

The key to success in franchising is successful franchisees. Without successful franchisees, no franchise system will last. But if you can put the interests of your franchisee first, those same franchisees might help you become the next McDonald's!!!