Vivek’s Review: The Habit of Winning

I have recently purchased the book "The Habit of Winning" written by Mr Prakash Iyer, the book was a real eye opener for me, the book introduces us to many people who fought their way in life evethough all the odds were stacked against them – stories of determination to make it big in life come what may. I knew this author by reading many of his motivational articles in magazines like Careers 360.

In the book I was most captivated by the story about india's miracle batsman Sachin Tendulkar who was badly injured during match against Pakistan in Sialkot in December 1989 and was bleeding profusely when the cricket ball thrown by Waqar Younis hit  his nose, eventhough everyone was expecting him to retire he said 'Main Khelega" meaning I will continue to play and went on to make 57 runs, he was just 16 years old at that time. The author wanted to explain through all this that it is attitude and determination to reach one's goals in life that makes the difference between winners and also rans in the long run.

Also there is the story of the 2 frogs that fell in a pot of milk and the one which escaped churned the milk continuosly with it's legs that made butter from the milk and was eventually able to escape by jumping off from the top of butter and to freedom whereas the other frog that perished and drowned after it lost hope and stopped churning the milk soon before the butter surfaced. It is a reminder to us all that in life it is not the able bodied that wins life's races, but the man who thinks he can and strives with appropriate means to reach his goals whether spiritual or material.

What impressed me most about this book was the way in which the articles were categorized under various pillars that make up for success like Vision and goals, Self Belief, Perseverance etc..

What is more unique about this book that I have observed unlike other motivational literatures which I have read so far is the absence of any cooked up methods that assure success, this is a very practical book which will definitely make you think on your feet by way of examples and cogent presentation of ideas and view the stories and apply them in relation with one's own life situations. I feel this book is one of the most genuine and interesting piece of motivational literature that I have read till now in my life, all the very best to the author.

Business Process Modelling

I was fortunate enough to have been chosen by our top management to attend the training programme conducted by our italian colleagues from group head quarters for business process mapping using a specialized high end software application called MEGA. This tool enabled us to map the Maintenance process in our indian subsidiary. Our team went on to develop the context diagram and all descriptive word documents for explaining the work flow of the indian maintenance process and all the subprocesses that are involved in it, we have identified the following subprocesses under the maintenance activity:

1. Maintenance Planning
2. Maintenance Scheduling
3. Maintenance Execution
4. Subcontractor Management
5. Performance evaluation

These subprocesses hold good for maintenance activities done in all our indian subsidiary's cement plants as well as grinding units. The ultimate aim of making this work is to let our top management compare and do the GAP analysis between the various subsidiaries maintenance processes and subprocesses, if during the GAP analysis the company's subsidiary in one country is found to follow a better, effiecient and cost effective strategy, then we can propose to subsidiaries in other countries to follow the same.

Business process modelling is a niche field and comes under the broader spectrum of corporate governance. It helps companies to build a corpus of knowledge of their existing business processes(Production, Maintenance, Sales, Procurement, HR etc..) and helps to optimize the way in which the whole company itself is operated, From the context diagram we can identify clearly the interaction between different elements that make up the business process. More than just documentation work it helps companies to stream line their operations in a much better way and to have an upper hand over their competitors. This is strictly an intellectual property belonging to the company alone and is issued only after endorsement by top management.

Gaura Purnima ISKCON Bergamo 2010

Gaura Purnima is the appearance day of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the secret avatar of Lord Sri Krishna in Kaliyuga to spread the holynames of Krishna and Rama in an age noted for its degradation, unrest, hipocrisy, deceit etc.... To save the conditioned souls of Kaliyuga Lord has descended on the earth some 500 years back in the holy land of Bharath Varsha to preach the congregational chanting of the holy Harekrishna mahamantra.
Chaitanya mahaprabhu is merciful on all living entities and he taught that the loving devotional service to god only can save the soul or jivas from the ocean of material existence in which the 4 fold miseries birth, death, disease and old age are repeating all over the material world.
Gaurapurnima was celebrated with pomp and joy by devotees in the ISKCON Centre in Chignolo di isola on 28/2/2010. There were Bhagavad gita class, ecstatic kirtan and prasada for everyone who attended the programme. May the blessing of lord sri chaitanya the master of the universe be upon all the suffering living entites of this world!

Keep It Strategic, Simon

It’s all about Momentum. Methodically, one step after another, gradually build Momentum.

Work with what you have, invest it intelligently to get more. Then reinvest.

Follow the same principles: Contact, Cultivate, Commit, Coordinate. Everything that you build using the resources that you collect along the way has to stay within this formula. Don’t get deviated at any point to doing things that do not contribute to this strategic focus or you will lose momentum.

Don’t do anything “for the sake of doing it”, because “it’s a good idea”, because “it will please the devotees”, or in other words without a clear and rigorous understanding of how it fits in to this strategy. Each step has to have the following characteristics:

1. Strategic - this means that it contributes to the pipeline by either creating the next step in the pipeline or enhancing an existing one.
2. Sustainable - this means that you can sustain it without destroying your existing team or overly depleting your resources.
3. Synchronous - it’s all about timing. When you push a swing, if you push at the right time, it will go higher. Push at the wrong time, and you’ll stop it dead. Do the right thing at the right time to increase momentum. Do even a “right thing” (sustainable and strategic) at the wrong time and watch everything stop dead in its tracks. See this article of mine for a description of the symptoms of asynchronous ailments.

It’s all about creating, sustaining, and increasing momentum.

It’s kind of like playing Katamari Damacy. Not that I’ve ever played it, or even seen it, but I’ve heard enough about it to know what it is.

You have to have people with strategic leadership aptitude who can analyze each step to make sure that it will contribute to momentum, and isn’t simply a misstep. You have to measure things carefully and step back if you do take a misstep, and quickly, or you can get bogged down.

 

Lord Ganesha

Five lessons from Ganesh

Of all the multitudes of deities and gods that constitute the Hindu religion, Lord Ganesha is probably one of the most loved and revered of all, regardless of individual beliefs and customs. Considered the god of good beginnings and wisdom, it is in his name that new ventures are undertaken and important life decisions made.

While there are many spiritual lessons to be learned from the stories of Lord Ganesha, there are some lessons that find a place in our every-day professional and personal lives as well. We take a look at some of them:

Act in good faith

Whatever Lord Ganesha undertook, he undertook with conviction and self-belief. It was the belief that his actions were in his and his mother Parvati's best interests is what governed his thoughts and translated into challenging acts, feats that improved his abilities and honed his skills.

It is this that we need to inculcate in ourselves, in the way we work. Any job, if it is worth doing, is worth doing well. Whatever the task you are faced with, face it with courage and conviction and do it to the best of your ability. At the end of the day, even if your effort goes unrecognised, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you gave it your best shot

Depend on yourself

One of the other names Ganesha is known as is Vinayak, meaning master of oneself. This signifies independence in thought and action. Whether in one's professional or personal life, one must act on one's beliefs after due consideration of relevant factors. Take ownership and responsibility for your actions and their outcome. Just knowing that you alone are responsible will make you take the decision that much more seriously.

 

Every obstacle can be overcome

Lord Ganesha is also known as Vigneshwara, one who removes obstacles. It is for this reason that he is invoked in times of crisis by believers and also why business ventures are started with a puja (prayer ceremony) in his name. Removing obstacles is his religion.

To take this a step further, one must believe that every obstacle can be overcome. One must also make removing obstacles a dharma in one's own life. Whether in your professional or personal life, with the right attitude -- a never-say-die attitude -- even what seems like the most insurmountable difficulty can be handled without your world falling to pieces. All you need is faith in yourself.

Modesty

Lord Ganesha is considered one of the most powerful gods in Hinduism, unlike the other gods who choose bejeweled chariots, his vehicle is the modest mouse. The mouse is seen to signify darkness and, as the Lord's vehicle, is believed to signify the journey from darkness (or ignorance) to light or enlightenment.

Another interpretation is that Ganesha wins hearts through simple methods, and this too holds a lesson. A shiny car or extravagant lifestyle might impress, but to win hearts, the simplest way is through one's actions -- through simple gestures of affection and respect.

Seek knowledge

While Lord Ganesha has been attributed with many of the qualities proverbially credited to elephants, the most well-known are the ears and trunk -- which suggest curiosity, the quest for wisdom and knowledge. His large head and ears are said to indicate an open-minded attitude that helps him accrue wisdom.

These are qualities that we could do well to adopt to improve and grow as a person. Read, explore, listen and learn -- nothing is irrelevant and nothing insignificant. Only when one educates oneself and listens to all sides of an argument can one judge what one truly believes in, what one wants and how it can be achieved. that every obstacle can be overcome. One must also make removing obstacles a dharma in one's own life. Whether in your professional or personal life, with the right attitude -- a never-say-die attitude -- even what seems like the most insurmountable difficulty can be handled without your world falling to pieces. All you need is faith in yourself.