Mindset

Courtesy : My Classmate Sanjay Mahajan from the IIMB 1985-87 Batch

An example of the Mindset/ Perception which requires to be changed :

As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped,
confused by the fact that these huge creatures were
being held by only a small rope tied to their front
leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the
elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes
they were tied to but for some reason, they did not.

I saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful,
magnificent animals just stood there and made no
attempt to get away.

“Well,” he said, “when they are very young and much
smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at
that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up,
they are conditioned to believe they cannot break
away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so
they never try to break free.”

I was amazed. These animals could at any time break
free from their bonds but because they believed they
couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

It’s Called Mindset

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life
hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something,
simply because we failed at it once before?

IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE IF THE MINDSET AND PERCEPTION GET CHANGED WITH
PROPER MOTIVATION

Courtesy : My Classmate Sanjay Mahajan from the IIMB 1985-87 Batch

Have a Wonderful Week Ahead,

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
30 September 2007
Mumbai

Few Definitions

Courtesy : Sanjay Mahajan, my classmate from the IIMB 1985 - 87 Batch

School: A place where Papa pays and Son plays.

Life Insurance: A contract that keeps you poor all your life so that you can die Rich.

Nurse: A person who wakes u up to give you sleeping pills.

Marriage: It’s an agreement in which a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her masters.

Divorce: Future tense of Marriage.

Tears: The hydraulic force by which masculine willpower is defeated By feminine waterpower.

Lecture: An art of transferring information from the notes of the Lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through “the minds of either”

Conference: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.

Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.

Dictionary : A place where success comes before work.

Conference Room : A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on.

Father: A banker provided by nature.

Criminal: A guy no different from the rest….except that he got caught.

Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.

Politician : One who shakes your hand before elections and your Confidence after.

Doctor : A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you by bills.

Classic: Books, which people praise, but do not read.

Smile: A curve that can set a lot of things straight.

Office: A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.

Yawn: The only time some married men ever get to open their mouth.

Etc.: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.

Committee : Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.

Experience: The name men give to their mistakes.

Atom Bomb: An invention to end all inventions.

Philosopher: A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead

Courtesy : Sanjay Mahajan, my classmate from the IIMB 1985 - 87 Batch

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
13 May 2007
Mumbai

Self-Appraisal

Courtesy : Shyam Maller, my classmate from IIM-B 1985 - 87 Batch

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits. The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation:

The boy asked, “Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?

The woman replied, “I already have someone to cut my lawn.”

“Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now.” replied the boy.

The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn. The little boy found more perseverance and offered, “Lady, I’ll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach, Florida.”

Again the woman answered in the negative. With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.

The store-owner, who was listening to all, walked over to the boy and said, “Son… I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job.”

The little boy replied, “No thanks, I was just checking my performance with the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to ………… ……… ……… ….”.

Courtesy : Shyam Maller, my classmate from IIM-B 1985 - 87 Batch

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
9th March 2007
Mumbai

The Big Rocks of Life

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, ‘Okay, time for a quiz’, and he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him.

He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, ‘Is this jar full ?’

Everyone in the class yelled, ‘Yes.’

The time management expert replied, ‘Really.’

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.

He then asked the group once more, ‘Is the jar full ?’

By this time the class was on to him. ‘Probably not’, one of them answered.

‘Good !’ he replied.

He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.

Once more he asked the question, ‘Is this jar full ?’

‘No!’ the class shouted.

Once again he said, ‘Good’.

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim.

He looked at the class and asked, ‘What is the point of this illustration ?’

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, ‘The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it !’

‘No’, the speaker replied, ‘that’s not the point. The truth is, this illustration teaches us that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.’

‘What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life - time with your loved ones, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others. Remember to put these ‘big rocks’ in first or you’ll never get them in at all. So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question “What are the ‘big rocks’ in my life ?” Then, put those in your jar first.’

For attractive lips,
speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes,
seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure,
share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair,
let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
For poise,
walk with the knowledge you never walk alone.
“Beauty Secrets,” by Sam Levenson

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
18 Feb 2007
Mumbai

Almost 20 Years

I felt great when I received a call from a Chicago-based classmate of mine who had arrived at Mumbai for attending a program. A few of the Mumbai-based classmates decided to meet Saturday evening for catching up with this foreign friend of ours - it has been a very long while since we all met anyway. We all met at JW Marriott at Juhu, wherein the friend was staying, which also happens to be my favourite hotel.

It took an hour on Saturday evening to cover what was all of 12 Kms from my home to the hotel, with a fair amount of deft manoeuvering by my driver who is always under strict instruction not to speed or overtake on Mumbai roads. He is also a guy who would stop promptly at red traffic signals, unlike all his compatriots who ignore traffic signals and then get all jumbled up in the intersections. I have been in this jumble as well, since my driver makes the turn when the signal turns green but the rest of the traffic thinks that signals do not matter. I am still not able to fathom the minds of the Suburbian Mumbaikars who seem to pay scant attention to their own safety. Cars come at great speeds towards the intersections where the red signal does not seem to deter the idiot drivers, they continue driving, while the few drivers who follow the rules get stuck not able to proceed for fear of getting hit. Unbelievable - but this is absolutely the fact on the roads in Mumbai Western Suburbs. Not so bad when you go to South Mumbai wherein people seem to have some respect for policemen and traffic signals.

JW Marriott was looking gorgeous on a Saturday evening. Lots of people and parties……

We all met in the lounge and talked about the past 20 years……with some good red wine. Everyone’s preconceived notion of what the other guy was like 20 years ago, proved to be right that evening ! My Chicago friend mentioned to me that I spoke exactly the same way I did when we were all at IIM-B — difficult to believe, but might be true after all.

All guys had receding hairlines and bald spots, but looked trim due to the educated manner in which they had taken care of their fitness ! Couple of guys declined alcoholic drinks which surprised me !! One of the classmates is deep into philanthropy, taking care of more than 500 destitute families ! I felt I should be doing more in that direction - the bit I am doing appeared grossly inadequate. The group felt that it is true that well-heeled folks in the booming Indian economy do not bother about the people being left behind due to the skewed nature of the growth in knowledge-based and manufacturing industries as compared to agriculture. We discussed about families and kids, corporate life and its pressures, education, etc.,

We all decided to meet somewhere equidistant, meaning Europe, for the 20-year reunion ! Let us see !!

It was an unforgettable evening, hope we can do such evenings atleast once in a quarter……

Have a Great Week Ahead…..

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
18 Feb 2007
Mumbai

Sand and Stone

Courtesy - My IIM-B PGP 1985-87 Classmate Chaitanya Koranne

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING
THROUGH THE DESERT.
DURING SOME POINT OF THE
JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN
ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND
SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE
IN THE FACE.
THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED
WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT
SAYING ANYTHING,
WROTE IN THE SAND:

“TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.”

THEY KEPT ON WALKING,
UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,
WHERE THEY DECIDED
TO TAKE A BATH .

THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN
SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE
MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING,
BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.

AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM
THE NEAR DROWNING,
HE WROTE ON A STONE:

“TODAY MY BEST FRIEND
SAVED MY LIFE.”

THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED
AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND
ASKED HIM, “AFTER I HURT YOU,
YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,
YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?”

THE OTHER FRIEND REPLIED
“WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US
WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN
IN SAND WHERE WINDS OF
FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.
BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES
SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,
WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE
WHERE NO WIND
CAN EVER ERASE IT.”

LEARN TO WRITE
YOUR HURTS IN
THE SAND AND TO
CARVE YOUR
BENEFITS IN STONE.

THEY SAY IT TAKES A
MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL
PERSON, AN HOUR TO
APPRECIATE THEM, A DAY
TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN
AN ENTIRE LIFE
TO FORGET THEM.

SEND THIS PHRASE TO
THE PEOPLE YOU’LL NEVER
FORGET.

IF YOU DON’T
SEND IT TO ANYONE,
IT MEANS YOU’RE IN A
HURRY AND THAT YOU’VE
FORGOTTEN YOUR FRIENDS.
TAKE THE TIME TO LIVE!

DO NOT VALUE THE THINGS
YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE, BUT VALUE
WHO YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE

Courtesy - My IIM-B PGP 1985-87 Classmate Chaitanya Koranne

Kozhikode a la Calicut

I had some official engagement at Indian Institute of Management - Kozhikode (Calicut), and so had to visit Calicut. It was a pretty long flight from Mumbai - it took around 1 hour and 40 minutes or so. The Jet Airways flight was not full, and had mostly Keralites on board, some of them returning from the Gulf apparently.

I had taken a family vacation in Kerala in December 2005, and really believe what the Government of Kerala claims - it is “God’s Own Country”. There are similarities with New Zealand in certain parts of Kerala in terms of the natural beauty, scenery encompassing hill range, forests and beaches, etc., Ofcourse, the weather is something else - it is always hot in Kerala, it was hot even in December. However, now it is end of January, so I thought it would be getting hotter than the winter time. Thankfully, Calicut was not that hot, though quite sunny. In my quick drive through the city, I noticed the following - it is a fairly small town type of city, has clean and well-laid out roads, and quite sleepy - I did not see much activity. That is good in a way - too much commercialisation spoils the environment any way, and the people seemed to be happier without it !

I stayed at the local Taj hotel which also looked pretty sleepy with everything in slow motion. Compared to Mumbai, it was backwaters all through. However, the food was great, and I recommend the “Meen Curry” - local fish in rich coconut curry sauce, and vegetable stew with appam. Better eat like Keralites when you are in Kerala !

The big surprise was IIM - Kozhikode. It took something like 30 minutes drive from town to reach the hilly environs of IIM. The Campus is perched right on top of a hill, with winding roads taking you up the cool atmosphere. The buildings are nicely laid out, not massive though. The scenic beauty was breathtaking - valley and forest on one side, city view on another side, and sea on yet another angle. Amazing ! I thought it was a romantic setting, and should be resulting in romantic moods and liaisons, but when I expressed it to one of the students, I learnt that there is just no time for such heady thoughts. The Program is taxing and leaves no time at all, there are classes starting at 10 PM even !

You can learn more about Kozhikode City and IIM-K from the following websites - “Kozhikode” and “IIM-K”

Some of the pics I took for your viewing pleasure as below -

DSC00839, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC00840, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC00841, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC00842, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
01 Feb 2007
Mumbai

Classmate at Chembur

This weekend, I decided to finally take the long trip from Malad to Chembur to visit one of my IIM-B classmates who has been living at Chembur for many years. This visit was long awaited, my classmate always telling me that it has been many months since I had moved to Mumbai and we should visit him as early as possible. It was a pretty long ride of 80 minutes or so for a distance of around 20 KMs or so ! But that is Mumbai and its traffic - one has to be mentally resigned to its impact on one’s timeline and schedules. I decided to keep shooting some photos enroute to avoid sleep. Here are some snapshots (dates on the photos is incorrect - I forgot to set the date correctly).

IMGP0073, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

IMGP0072, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

IMGP0070, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

The sign boards are as good as one can see anywhere. But don’t look down on the road ahead below the sign boards if you are not driving ! It is simply too action-packed to the hilt !! One has to close one’s eyes occasionally, or pinch oneself, when the distances between lanes drop down to inches, or better still, centimeters. People walk across wide roads in between vehicles to reach the opposite sides - there is simply no choice when the signal crossings are faraway, and there are absolutely no overhead crossings.

One has to be an amazing driver with fabulous dexterity to manouver through this sea of vehicles of all kinds.

The road gets slightly better as we enter Chembur.

If you are interested to know more about Chembur, please follow these links - “Chembur Portal” and “Chembur in Wikipedia”

Well, after some serious guidance from my classmate friend, we managed to find his house in a quite neighbourhood with hardly any traffic. Mumbai always has some quaint areas like this one - very interesting. Away from the maddening crowd, so to say !

We had a long chat about all the latest happenings in India and elsewhere. Being in the financial services industry, the discussions turned towards the markets. Not surprising. What was indeed surprising was the extensive discussion that followed about the inner peace that my friend has achieved by following Isha Yoga methodology. Please follow these links to understand “Isha Yoga” and the purpose of “Isha Foundation”

It is truly amazing - the challenge is to find the time to commit to this noble activity in life. I am going to try.

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
13 Jan 2007
Mumbai

How To Recruit The Right Person For The Job ?

Courtesy : My IIM-B Classmate RAOMS 1985-87 Batch

Put about 100 bricks in some particular order in a closed room with an open window.

Then send 2 or 3 candidates in the room and close the door.

Leave them alone and come back after 6 hours and then analyze the situation.

If they are counting the bricks, put them in ACCOUNTS.

If they are recounting them, put them in AUDIT.

If they have messed up the whole place with the bricks put them in ENGINEERING.

If they are arranging the bricks in some strange order put them in PLANNING.

If they are throwing the bricks at each other put them in OPERATIONS.

If they are sleeping, put them in SECURITY.

If they have broken the bricks into pieces, put them in INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

If they are sitting idle, put them in HUMAN RESOURCES.

If they say they have tried,different combinations, yet not a brick has been moved, put them in SALES.

If they have already left for the day, put them in MARKETING.

If they are staring out of the window, put them on STRATEGIC PLANNING.

And then last but not least, If they are talking to each other and not a single brick has been moved. Congratulate them and put them in TOP MANAGEMENT.

Courtesy : My IIM-B Classmate RAOMS 1985-87 Batch

The Price of Children

Courtesy : Anu, my Batchmate from IIM-B 1985 - 87 Batch

This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive
for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It’s nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn’t even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn’t so bad if you break it down.
It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month, or
* $171.08 a week.
* That’s a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

What do you get for your $160,140?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to *history* to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first blush,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you’re lucky, a
long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great
grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice,
communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits,

So . . one day they will like you, love without counting the cost.
That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

And, you get to do it all over again with your grandchildren.

If you take care of yourself, you might even get to stick a “great” in there too!

Love and enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!

Courtesy : Anu, my Batchmate from IIM-B 1985 - 87 Batch