Friday Reflections

How You Treat the Waiter

POINT TO PONDER

A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person. 

                                            - William Swanson

 

STORY LINE (A wonderful article by USA Today regarding "The Waiter Rule") 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2006-04-14-ceos-waiter-rule_x.htm

 

REFLECTION

If you're a CEO (or a higher level position), how do you treat the waiter or others around you? If you're the waiter, how do you deal with good or bad treatment? 

    Thurgood Marshall said this in a speech which is applicable to this week's topic:

Certain people have a way of saying things that shake us at the core. Even when the words do not seem harsh or offensive, the impact is shattering. What we could be experiencing is the intent behind the words. When we intend to do good, we do. When we intend to do harm, it happens. What each of us must come to realize is that our intent always comes through. We cannot sugarcoat the feelings in our heart of hearts. The emotion is the energy that motivates. We cannot ignore what we really want to create. We should be honest and do it the way we feel it. What we owe to ourselves and everyone around is to examine the reasons of our true intent.

 

 

 

The Not So End of the World

POINT TO PONDER

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.

                                        - Richard Bach

 

REFLECTION

It seems the New Year came early. There was so much hoopla surrounding the end of the world - prophecies, predicitions, and marketing - that it is almost anti-climactic that December 21st is upon us and there seems to be no end looming. 

Perhaps this is a good time to just be grateful for what we do have, the loved ones around us, and the times that are ahead.

We at Friday Reflections are thankful we get to communicate with all of you on a weekly basis and hope you all have a wonderful holidays. So instead of the end, let's see the coming year as a new beginning, and try to imagine the wonderful events ahead. What are you looking forward to?

The Perfect Punch

POINT TO PONDER

There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.

 

STORY LINE by Rajiv Shah

With one second to go in the round, the proclaimed "champion of the decade" crumpled to the canvas in front of a stunned stadium of 16,000 plus at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Manny Pacquaio, the revered and favored ten time world champion in eight different weight classes, lay motionless on the canvas after a vicious shot from his arch rival, Juan Manuel Marquez. There was no doubt, the fight was over and Manny's loss signaled what might be the fading of a brilliant career. 

    A hero had fallen and one who seemed nearly invincible, a champion that hadn't been knocked out since 1999. But as I watched (for what seemed like an eternity) as they tried to revive Manny, I realized something about boxing and life - we always get knocked out at some point. We get rolled in the dirt, passed up by someone else, and sometimes like Manny, we don't even see it coming. 

    In the aftermath it seems there are many opinions. People (some in Pacqauio's own family) are calling for Manny's retirement. Some are even making a big joke out of the whole thing and ridiculing him. Others are trying to reason that his loss was due to his involvement in politics and his new religious beliefs which they feel distracted him from his focus, boxing. So what does Manny or any one of us that experiences setbacks or defeat do after a tough loss? 

    After the fight Manny Pacquaio went over to Juan Manuel Marquez and in a quiet moment congratulated him for his victory. When Manny was interviewed he said, "I want to congratulate Juan Manuel. I have no excuses. It was a good fight and he deserved the victory." No excuses. No blame. It said a lot about Manny Pacquaio's character. He went on, "I am looking forward to a nice rest and then I will be back to fight." 

 

REFLECTION

So what's the takeaway from all of this? Well, maybe it's not about taking the hits or getting knocked down. That happens, but unfortunately, that often becomes the focus. Perhaps, it's about how you can take the hits, own up to them, and how you can get back up. If you decide to get back up...

In the words of Rocky Balboa:

 The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are - it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is going to hit as hard as life... but it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done.

 

 

All Glory is Fleeting

POINT TO PONDER

"ALL GLORY IS FLEETING"

          - Quote from the closing scene of movie Patton, after General Patton is relieved of command of the third army in Germany. Thanks to Dipu Bose for the Quote.

 

STORY LINE  (reposted from Friday Reflections 10/2008)

For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from war enjoyed the honor of triumph with tumultuous parades.

In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments.

Conquerors rode in triumphal chariots as dazed prisoners walked in chains before them. Sometimes children robed in white stood with the victors in the chariot or rode the trace horses.

One slave stood behind a conqueror, holding a golden crown, and whispered a warning in his ear, "all glory is fleeting."

REFLECTION by Anand Shah

Former Secretary of State James Baker once said, "someone asked me what was the most important thing I had learned since being in Washington. I replied that it was the fact that temporal power is fleeting."

Baker went on to observe that once driving through the White House gates he saw a man walking alone on Pennsylvania Avenue and recognized him as having been the Secretary of State in a previous administration. "There he was alone - no reporters, no security, no adoring public, no trappings of power. Just one solitary man alone with his thoughts. And that mental picture continually serves to remind me of the impermanence of power and the impermanence of place."