Thursday, June 22, 2006

Tomato - Too red to handle !!!

Bittan Market, Bhopal. Thursday vegetable haat (market)- As usual it was a busy day, though numbers were less as compared to the weekned market. Still one could smell people sweating it out to buy the cheapest one.

Tomatao as usual were too red to handle !, twenty four rupees a kilogram !. Understand it was 36 per kilogram in Delhi. So we were cheaper than Delhi, may be we can have few more than Delhities. Well one thing to cheer Onions this time have given a run to tomato - just three rupees a kilogram. Well tomato was also four rupees a kilogram few months back !

Moral of story – store vegetables when they are cheap but for now enjoy onions, (but do brush your teeth after eating them), forget tomato for few days and wait for the prices to fall. Our FM says it will !. Or if you still wish to have them – don’t go out this weekend (save money !!)

- anil

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Tuvalu, small and remote island nation in Pacific Ocean

Have you heard of the word Tuvalu ?

It means ‘group of eight’ and interestingly is name of one of the remotest and world’ fourth smallest nation. It is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, just south of the equator between Fiji and the Gilbert Islands (Kiribati). Its name (Tuvalu meaning group of eight) refers to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands but in actual it has nine islands, the last one got inhabited in 1949. Tuvalu was first sighted by Europe in 1568. Tuvalu got independence on October 1, 1978 from British regime. It has population of approximately 11,000 people which also has got doubled after 1980’s.

Tuvalu is low lying country and is inhabited by Tuvaluans. Tuvaluans are basically Polynesian. Culturally Tuvalu has traditional community system wherein each family has its own task, or salanga, to perform for the community, such as fishing, house building or defence. The same skills of a family are passed on from father to son. The tuvaluan language is a major language which is spoken there. Though English is also an official language, but is not spoken in daily use. Climatically Tuvalu is tropical but the lands there have poor soil which does not support much agriculture. It almost has no potable water. The country has no known mineral resources. Subsistence farming and fishing (including exports) are the primary economic activities. It also depends on foreign aid. About a thousand tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Like .com, .in it too has an internet domain name ‘.tv’. Their official currency is Tuvaluan dollar which is coupled with Australian dollar.

As Tuvalu is low lying and is particularly vulnerable to any rise in the sea level from future climate change. In mid-February 2004, unusually high tides caused seepage that transformed much of the interior into a salty lake, harming root crops. This is a major issue, which threaten the country's underground water table and its existence. Increase in population, global green house gas emissions etc. are impacting the environment and their worry too as it impacts their existence.

I had read about 'Tuvalau' and compiled this piece on this interesting nation, thought share with you all on this vibrant blog - anil gulati

Sunday, June 11, 2006

My Photo is missing !

Mr. Gupta is a Managing Director of a corporate house. The business is doing well and it could be categorized as middle Level Corporation. As business is expanding in order to give boost to their image they have recently set up a public relation department which is headed by a well versed and professional public relation professional Mr. Kapur. Mr. Kapur had recently retired from public relations department of a big enterprise. But he is man with contacts. He is hard working, respected in media and has had a successful career as public relation professionals before he retired. He in his new reincarnation has had a problem at hand. Mr. Gupta, the MD of the company does not understand the very role of public relations department, for him it is his own photograph in the newspaper or electronic media. Rather than communicating positive image of his organisation and the work they do he wishes to see his own photograph.

If a report appears in the print media highlighting their organisation, their good work, it is okay with him inspite of the fact good amount of hard work had gone behind the same and it had helped to generate good will in public for the organisation. But the mere fact that his photo was missing, he was not delighted!

Probably more than his organisation he wanted to see his own photograph makes the difference. This is one area where majority of public relation professionals have challenge in their hand when one works for an organisation which does not understand the role of the PR.

Rather than creating positive image for the organisation and showcasing the real work many a times, many PR professionals like Mr. Kapur may have to do ! land up to doing image make over for the owners, trouble shooting in media.

yours truly - Anil Gulati
PS- A always these are personal; opinion of the contributor !!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

The 8th habit - a reflection

Learn to do what you love and love what you do

Recently Stephen Covey a renowned writer and speaker on leadership was in Delhi and I was lucky one to attend to his one day seminar on his new book The Eight Habit. I was bit unsure before going but nevertheless it was an opportunity I did not wanted to miss, hence was on trip to Delhi. I must confess I was moved, probably that is the reason I am writing this feature for the blog and would like to acknowledge his book in this feature as text here is from his book, probably sharing what he wants to say to readers of this blog.

Let me start with his introduction, though many of us may know him, just to reiterate he is a world famous author of several acclaimed books, and has received numerous honors and awards, including being named one of Time magazine's twenty-five most influential Americans. One of his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was a real popular one and had crossed a figure of over fifteen million copies in its sales. I would like to share this opportunity to share few words on his new book, the eighth habit and the seminar.

He is his book takes us through the changes that has affected us in today’s new world. It says that this new world has turned from information and knowledge to wisdom. It is a vastly changed place. The challenges and complexity all of us face in our relationships, families, professional lives, and communities are of an entirely new order of magnitude.

Being effective as individuals and organizations is no longer merely an option -- survival in today's new world requires it. Stephan Covey adds that in this new Knowledge Worker Age, in order to thrive, innovate, excel, and lead we must build on and move beyond effectiveness. The call of this new era in human history is for greatness; it's for fulfillment, passionate execution, and significant contribution.

Accessing the higher levels of human genius and motivation in today's new reality requires a sea change in thinking: a new mind-set, a new skill-set, a new tool-set -- in short, a whole new habit. The crucial challenge of our world today is this: to find our voice and inspire others to find theirs. It is what Covey calls the 8th Habit.

The Eight Habit is not about ‘being effective’, but about fully expressing one’s own potential. It is in the real on being, not doing. The opposite of being fulfilled and fully expressing ourselves, is a feeling of psychological emptiness, the knowingness that ‘something’ is missing. We often try to fill that emptiness with things like being very busy, watching television, etc. The Eight Habit implies a fully conscious choice to live from our unknown potential rather than from our known past. It is also about, as a leader, a parent, a teacher, helping others to reach their full potential. In organizational life, it comes down to finding the entrepreneurial spirit in our associates, the same passion and urge to create, that is found in those who start companies and organisations.

He in his seminar of the books says that Information Age is going over into the Creation Age, the Consciousness Age. This change implies that we need to get access to something deeper and greater than just information i.e. our deeper being. Only there will we find wisdom.

We could call wisdom the child of integrity built on principles. Integrity implies being humble, humble enough to realise that we are part of something greater than our limited selves. Humility is the mother of wisdom and courage the father. To live a life of principles takes courage. It is not very common…

Accessing the higher levels of human genius and motivation in today's new reality requires a sea change in thinking: a new mind-set, a new skill-set, a new tool-set -- in short, a whole new habit. The crucial challenge of our world today is this: to find our voice and inspire others to find theirs. It is what Covey calls the 8th Habit. So many people feel frustrated, discouraged, unappreciated, and undervalued -- with little or no sense of voice or unique contribution.

The 8th Habit is the answer to the soul's yearning for greatness, the organization's imperative for significance and superior results, and humanity's search for its "voice." Profound, compelling, and stunningly timely, this groundbreaking new book of next-level thinking gives a clear way to finally tap the limitless value-creation promise of the Knowledge Worker Age. The 8th Habit book how to solve such common dilemmas as:

- People want peace of mind and good relationships, but also want to keep their lifestyle and habits.
- Relationships are built on trust, but most people think more in terms of "me" -- my wants, my needs, my rights.
- Management wants more for less; employees want more of "what's in it for me" for less time and effort.
- Businesses are run by the economic rules of the marketplace; organizations are run by the cultural rules of the workplace.
- Society operates by its dominant social values, but must live with the consequences of the inviolable operation of natural laws and principles.

Covey's new book is a real great effort on this direction and may help you to transform the ways we think about ourselves and our purpose in life, about our organizations, and about humankind. The seminar was basic introduction to that process.


- Anil Gulati

Monday, June 05, 2006

Salman Khan on a wall clock !!

Recently I happen to be at a village namely Dharda Ganesh in Shivpuri district. I had an opportunity to meet Kirori Mal. Kirori Mal runs a barber shop. His shop is outside of the Gram Sabha hall at the entrance of the village. He seems to be a huge fan of bollywood actress and had photographs of almost all the actresses on the walls of his make shift kind of the shop. It was an added attraction to his shop for the clients to come to get either haircut or shaving done. He was self confessed fan of Salman Khan. But I bit puzzled as I could not see Salman Khan on the walls so was bit inquisitive. I dare ask him where is Salman Khan. He pointed towards his wall clock, on the side wall of shop. There was his Khan!! Moving in his wall clock! He had made a cut out of the Salman Khan and had replaced second’s needle on the wall clock. Quite an interesting way to use photograph of his idol - Salman Khan on the move that too every second!! So it was not only bollywood actress but even Salman Khan on the move which was attraction for his clients especially the young ones of the village which used to visit Kirori mal’s shop every now and then off course to get either hair cut or for a nice clean shave...

- personal views of anil gulati