Worth Reading... Worth Sharing

In this electronic age, I receive a large number of forwarded mails every day, which is quite usual. Most of them are worth deleting (with or without reading!)  However, some of them are not only worth preserving; but much more than that, worth sharing. Here is one of such pieces, which I received just yesterday from my friend MS Krishnan:

A Recollection by Dr. Arun Gandhi

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the MK Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, has shared the following story as an example of non-violence parenting.

‘I was 16-years-old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.

One day my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father asked me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. 

When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, “I will meet you here at 5.00pm and we will go home together”. After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5.30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6.00pm.

He anxiously asked me, “Why were you late?” I was so ashamed to tell him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, “The car wasn’t ready, so I had to wait,” not realizing he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie he said, “There’s something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn’t give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I’m going to walk home 18 miles and think about it.”

So dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn’t leave him, so for five and a half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. 

I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again. 

I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don’t think so. 

I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single nonviolent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence. 

:)

Back to the Memory Lane...

More than 43 years after graduating from TIET (Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala - now Thapar University),  I have enough fresh memories to write volumes together.  Serious classroom studies would have been very dull if the frontbenchers like me did not occasionally choose to occupy the last rows – to slip out from the class through backdoor to have a quick game of TT and sneak back quietly! Tea used to be our favorite drink right from the beautiful Cafeteria opposite the main college building to Vinod's Engineering Students Canteen opposite our hostels. Yes, if we were studying overtime (as members of the Owl Club), walking to PRTC workshop in Model Town to have a late night / early morning cup of tea was a routine adventure.  It is just not possible to forget the taste of nectar-like water of the hand pump just outside the main gate of the college campus, spending some gossiping time at the Lily Pool or having a stroll from the college to hostel through the Gulmohar Avenue with Bhoot Bungalow on the way.  They used to call it Hostel E (Bachelor professors’ abode). 

Occasional film shows organized by the Audio Visual Society had Asha Parekh as the permanent heroine, as she was the favorite of the society President, who was also the warden of Hostel B.  And we also had our learned professor of Industrial Engineering, who did never face any questions in the class.  The secret I would share with you.  If you have any query and dare to raise it, fifty percent of the times, you would face the counter question, “Where were you last time when I explained it in the class?”  And if you are lucky enough not to receive this ball, here is the bouncer reserved for the other fifty percent, “Why are you trying to fly that fast.  I will cover all that when I come to that stage.” 

Sorry folks, though I have not grown old enough to forget all those names, may be some other time.

Still, there is so much to share.....

Do you find this story familiar?

The hurriedly called meeting was almost over. The Chairman concluded, “This is a serious issue. Mr. Lee, let’s work out an action plan in next 4-5 days to produce 200 assemblies per day. And I don’t want any failure this time.”

Mr. Lee was wondering whether in the current setup it was at all possible to produce 200 assemblies per day. Not being sure whether he could answer the Chairman in 5 days, little did the poor chap know that he would be called by the boss on the third day itself. When he tried to convey that he was still on the job and it was to be completed in 4-5 days, the reaction was not unexpected, “My dear, our mindset is precisely the reason why our company is sinking. There is no sense of urgency. Don’t you understand how serious the matter is? You should have worked day and night and got back to me before I asked.”

Lee had no option but to listen to his boss’s admonishing. However, he was a very positive minded person and would not give up easily. He was already on the job; he got back to brass-tacks and, within the next 24 hours, came out with a detailed plan to achieve 150 assemblies per day to start with going up to 176 per day in next three months. Anything beyond that, he knew, was not possible. The Chairman was not in a mood to listen and said anything less than 200 was not acceptable, and he wanted a plan to achieve this number within the next two hours. Being under tremendous pressure, Lee went back to his drawing board and returned with a document which had no logical basis, no roadmap, no timeline, but did show the figure of 200 as desired by the boss. The Chairman was happy and remarked that he was a brilliant fellow and that he had very high expectations from him.

The next month, Lee put in his papers; the company which was producing 120-125 assemblies per day was down to producing a dismal 100-105.
Can you spot what went wrong and where?

This is just one of the many stories we do not want to talk about. Most of our action plans fail at the planning stage itself, because we ignore or misjudge the fundamentals.

Whenever you are making any improvement plan, whether it is a business plan, professional plan or personal plan, there are six steps involving some fundamental principles that ensure success or otherwise of your efforts.

You are invited to join a six-part mini course absolutely free once you subscribe to REDEFINING HORIZONS. Nothing to pay, nothing to lose. Gain gain all the way…

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Yes, it has been a long hibernation... and I feel I need to show up here apart from writing articles and publishing two eZines - "Redefining Horizons" and "Redefining HR"

Just received an e-mail story from MS Krishnan. I don't who the author is; but the piece is worth sharing:

"Mistakes are always painful when they happen
but years later a collection of mistakes is
called Experience which leads you to success"

 One of the Best Eye Opener Message - Must Read

It was their anniversary, and Aisha was waiting for her husband Rajiv to show up.
Things had changed since their marriage, the once cute couple

“Couldn’t-live-without-each-other” had turned bitter.

Fighting over every little thing, both didn't like the way things had changed.
Aisha was waiting to see if Rajiv remembered it was their anniversary!
Just as the doorbell rang she ran to find her husband wet and smiling with a bunch of flowers in his hand.

The two started re-living the old days.

Making up for fights, then was dinner plan for champagne, light music

And it was raining outside! Just perfect to be home.

But the moment paused when the phone in the bedroom rang.
Aisha went to pick it up and it was a man.

"Hello ma'am I'm calling from the police station. Is this Mr. Rajiv Mehra's number?"
"Yes it is!"
"I'm sorry ma'am; but there was an accident and a man died. We got this number from his wallet; we need you to come and identify his body."

Aisha's heart sank! She was shocked! “But my husband is here with me?"

"Sorry ma'am, but the incident took place at 2 pm, when he was boarding the train."

Aisha was about to lose her conscience.

How could this happen? She had heard about the soul of the person coming to meet a loved one before it leaves!

She ran into the other room. He was not there. It was true! He had left her for good!!

Oh God she would have died for another chance to mend every little fight!

She rolled on the floor in pain. She lost her chance! Forever!

Suddenly there was a noise from the bathroom, the door opened and Rajiv came out and said, "Darling, I forgot to tell you, my wallet got stolen today".
 

-------------------------

LIFE MIGHT NOT GIVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE.

SO NEVER WASTE A MOMENT WHEN YOU CAN STILL MAKE UP FOR YOUR WRONGS!!!

There is always an opportunity, let's start making amends.
To parents
To siblings
To friends
And many more.
No one is promised tomorrow.

Have a wonderful Life with no regrets!
This is probably one of the most meaningful messages!!