Friday Reflections

To live in the hearts one leaves behind is not to die. (The King)

“In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.” - Michael Jackson


Story Line:

It was August 16th, 1977. Jerry, the production supervisor in the company I was employed by, seemed sad. I asked him if everything was ok. Jerry, tears in his eyes, told me, “The King has died.” 

I asked Jerry, “Pardon my ignorance, but the king of which country? I did not realize you had a King in America?”

I still remember the scene: Jerry dragged me onto the production floor and proclaimed to everyone that I did not know who "The King of Rock" was.

With apologies to Elvis fans, that was then.  Now, I know a lot about Elvis, and admire the man. I made a pledge never to be that ignorant about local culture again, and learned to appreciate many things beyond science and work.

Some time later, my friend invited me to watch a concert by five brothers, the Jackson 5. That was my first encounter with Michael Jackson. I loved Michael's unique singing style and started following his music, not anticipating that he would become the next King - the King of Pop - in the years ahead. His music and performances inspired millions, and he was a household name around the world.

Reflection:

No amount of words will suffice for tribute to one of the most "out of the box" (OBT) performers of our lifetime. But I will still take liberty to share something our 8th grade teacher told us in his farewell message on the last day of school. The words from that Hindi Poem are so appropriate for Michael Jackson’s life:

“When you came to this world, the world (people around you) was smiling and you were the one crying. Live such a life that when you leave, the world is crying and you are the one smiling.”  He is gone but his music will live on forever.

Success is going from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm

Reflection: Success is going from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm

You can muck around with different guitars for certain bits, but you have to have your own sound. That's your benchmark....

Benchmarking and competitive intelligence are double edged swords. If used in the right context, they can produce huge benefits. Used without proper context, they can lead countries/companies/individuals on the wrong path or even to disastrous results.

Story Line:

There was a Mogul Emperor in India, Akbar the Great (1542-1605).  One day, while on a hunting expedition in the forest, the Emperor's entourage camped in a small town. While there, the Emperor noticed that women did multiple chores in a day and wore simple clothes, and children seemed to have only one pair of clothes and no shoes. Despite all this, life seemed to go on, and they looked happy.

The Emperor sent his "benchmarking team" to study them and submit a report. This report concluded that the people in this small town were very poor, and managed their day with almost no resources.

The Emperor was very angry. Compared to this, there were a lot of excesses in his own palace. He issued an edict. From the next day, the Empress had to do all the palace chores, many servants were to be removed, and the princes' support structure was to be eliminated.

One of several learned people in the Emperor's court was a man called Birbal, who was valued for his advice, sense of humor and ability to explain different issues in a simple way. Birbal, realizing that the Emperor had acted upon benchmarking information without understanding the total picture of his own situation, decided to help the Emperor realize his imprudence.

A few weeks after his edict, the Emperor noticed that his gardens, the pride of his palace, were in terrible disarray.  The grass had started turning yellow, the flowers had shriveled up, the paths were overgrown. Very embarrassed and upset, he summoned his court, and found out that it was Birbal who had ordered the prized gardeners to leave. Fuming, he asked Birbal to explain his unwise act or face punishment.

Birbal told the Emperor that he had done benchmarking with the forest and realized that there were no gardeners there, but that trees and plants grew naturally. So he ordered the same practices to be implemented in the palace gardens.

Emperor Akbar got the message.

Reflection:

Improvement, continuous or quantum leap, is a noble goal. Learning from benchmarking and identifying "best practices" is also good strategy. But know thy Kingdom first.  What you are about? What business are you in? What does your customer expect from you? Only in that context are "best practices" really best practices. Not everything that is good for one business works well for the other.

"You can muck around with different guitars for certain bits, but you have to have your own sound.That's your benchmark...." - Dan Hawkins

In business, as in life, sometimes it's important to look at the big picture

In business, as in life, sometimes it is important to look at the big picture.

Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance

Happy Father's Day wishes to all friends around the world.

Quotable Quotes:

"My dad was my best friend and greatest role model. He was the person I looked up to more than anyone" - Tiger Woods.

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” - Jim Valvano.

Story Line:

"Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance" - Ruth E. Renkel.

And that richest inheritance is in the stories, the lessons and mentoring that he provides to his children. The third Sunday of June is celebrated as Father's day in America. It may be good time to reflect by driving down the memory lane. Many people have the fondest memories of spending time with their fathers. For me, here are the lessons for a lifetime taught by one great person: my father.

1. The most important relations are personal ones. Use the power of your finger to keep in touch on a daily basis. It is people who make things happen, not the machines.
2. In the future, women will be very dominant in all segments of world affairs. They are learning all the hard skills that men have, and they have the soft skills that will be crucial for success in the new world.
3. People with hands-on skills will never go hungry.
4. In sales, the important thing is not what you want to sell but it is what the other person wants to buy.
5. No one gets poor by cashing in their profits. “Bulls will win, bears will win, but it is hoggers who will get slaughtered.” Never buy on margin. Never play naked calls. 
6. Never get in the middle of elephants’ (people with power) fights, because there is an old African saying, “When the elephants fight, it is the grass (a small guy) that gets crushed.”
7. Anyone who comes to your door should not leave empty handed. Treat them with respect, serve them a cup of tea; and when they depart, let them carry a lifetime of good will.
8. The world is too big. There are an abundance of opportunities. If you believe in yourself, there is always a room at the top for your talents somewhere in this world.
9. Relationships of the mind are temporary but the relationships of heart will stay forever.
10. Ask one more question. Try one more time.

Two of his favorite quotes:
"A son is a son until he finds himself a wife. A daughter is a daughter all your life."
“An old soldier never dies. He only fades away.”