Winning without Fighting !!!

One thing that all of us have in common is that there are times in our lives when we will find ourselves in tough situations. How we manage these situations can mean the difference between success and failure, and depending on the nature of the situation, may even mean the difference between life and death.

However, the very first step in handling a tough situation is not to panic. If we talk to most survivor instructors, which teach survival tactics in dangerous situations which range from natural disasters to civil unrest, one of the first thing they will tell we is that panic leads to death.

If we fall into a pool of deep water, and we do not know how to swim, our natural reaction is to panic and thrash around in an attempt to get out of the water. However, it is this exact reaction which will lead to death. Instead, by remaining calm, and relaxing our muscles, we can actually float, and we can gradually bring we our head above water.

The same basic principle is true in handling any situation which is tough. To do so, we must remain calm. We must think things through, instead of becoming afraid. Once we overcome panic, and start thinking, we are much more likely to resolve the situation in a positive manner.

Adversity is something that everyone will face in their life. It does not matter whether we are rich or poor, old or we young, or Black or White. Sooner or later, something will happen in our life that puts us under a great deal of adversity. It could be the death of a family member, the failure to achieve a specific goal, or the appearance of a disease.

However, one thing that we must keep in mind is that there are few things in life that we cannot control. When we encounter these things, we will have no choice but to accept them. While this may sound quite simple, it is not. There are many people who have a hard time accepting the adversity that life sometimes brings them. It can be likened to doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

By accepting adversity, the things that we have no control over, we will have the energy to concentrate on the things that we can control. By doing this, we will be able to maintain our happiness, and perhaps even our sanity.

No matter what goal we want to achieve in life, if it is worthwhile, then we are bound to encounter resistance. This if true for anything, whether it is business, the military, or science. The reason for this is because we will have to struggle for anything that is worthwhile in life.

In reality, hours, days, and most often years must be dedicated to achieving a goal that is worthwhile. However, only a handful of people in this world are truly successful when it comes to reaching their goals. Why is this? The answer is because most people give in to resistance. They set a goal, start to work on it, and at the first sign of resistance, they simply give up.

Therefore, the first step of overcoming resistance is to never give up. Now, if we are like many people, we probably rolled our eyes when we read the last sentence. We are probably thinking that "I've heard that before so many times that it has become annoying to hear, since everybody knows that."

However, the truth of the matter is that not everybody knows this, and even if they did, it would not explain why so many of them fail. It is simply easier to give up than it is to keep trying. For most people, it does not make sense to continue trying when they have failed, but to people who are success oriented, it makes perfect sense.

“Alter Your Strategy”. This is perhaps one of the most important factors in overcoming resistance, and could be considered the primary theme of this article. While most of us have heard that we "should never give up," this quote should be taken with a grain of salt. While we should never give up in going for what we want, it may sometimes be necessary to modify our strategy. One of the classic definitions of insanity is "trying to do the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results."

Therefore, trying to pull open a door that is obviously locked, one that we cannot pull open with we our bare hands, is considered to be insanity when we continue to try to open the door using the same method, even though it is obvious that doing the same thing will not bring different results.

A much better way of opening the door is either to find a lock for it, pick the lock, or knock it down. As we can see, our goal has not really changed by doing these things.Our goal is still to open the door. We have just changed the way that we are trying to open it. This analogy can be applied to virtually any area of our life.

If we are trying to accomplish a goal in one way, but we meet resistance and fail, we should never give up, but it may not be wise to continue trying to achieve the goal in the exact same manner. A success oriented person would simply choose to find another way of reaching the goal they want.

Many of us have heard the expression "light always takes the path of least resistance." This is very true in the world of physics, and it can be equally true when it comes to getting what we want out of life. While we will meet resistance when it comes to reaching any goal that is worthwhile, it does not make sense to "take the path of most resistance." This will simply drain us of our energy, and increase our chance of failure.

The best way to face resistance is by reducing the amount that we encounter. How do we do this? We do it by simply finding ways around the barriers to our goal which act as forms of resistance. This is also connected to the philosophy of the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, which involves "winning without fighting" Instead of trying to use brute force to overcome a barrier, figure out a way to reduce or eliminate the barrier without using brute force. It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

Is Our Friend..Ship Sinking ?

One of My friend told me today: “The Life is too Busy these days, its Office, Study, Home, Travel Only. I Don't get time to meet my friends", Another friend told me: "How good it would have been if we could rewind the time, I miss that time". Another told me "Buddy, Why not we have Our Re-Union Every month, when we like being together"

Many of my friends grew our careers together in same company and there was not so much of competetion as what we see today, Today each one of them is in a MNC but competing companies & these quotes came from a very polite, humble , respected and My dear friend & colleagues (Mohit Arora) , he said this to everybody in a reunion "Guys Just Think, today we all are working with Large Organizations & Competing Companies. Competing with each other every day in some way or other for helping our companies grow their businesses, Just think, if we start our own company, what strength that organization would bring on the table ? We all are best in what we do! and each one of us compliments the other, why cant we be together and build the Best Company in the world rather than competing ?"

It is definately a hard hitting fact that all of us face in life , since the feelings expressed by each of of my friends is not new. Each of these words that came straight from the heart, Each one of us were feeling the pinch of time we were dedicating to our friendship in the Rat race that we live today.....We want to be together but are were we doing our bit to be there is the question ?

Though I am not trying to justify the little time that we are spending for our friends but the the reality is that the "World of Friendship" too has changed its paradigm with changing time.

Ask this question to those who are above 50 plus years of age. They can easily explain to you the importance of friendship. For them, making friends is a simple, quick process. According to them, Friendship doesn’t come with a manual; they don’t need to be taught how to make friends. If you enjoy each other’s company, then it is done; they are friends for the rest of their lives. Theirs would be a fast, thick and long lasting relationship. They greet each other on seeing; enjoy their evening walks together; perhaps once in a while have a lunch or dinner together and ask each other’s family matters. They don’t see it a ‘taboo’ to poke their nose into each other’s personal matters, to discuss their family problems and share their joys too! For them, Friends are the ones to lift you up when you are down. They, thus value Friendship more than their families...

However the concept of friendship is changing fast with time. In this decade of millennium, that is passing by , when people hardly have time to breathe, have sparse time for themselves and their families, is the ‘ship’ called ‘Friendship’ sinking? Many would agree to the above question, yet some would say ‘NO’.

In these modern times of technology, we are still remaining in contact with our friends who are miles away in far off lands. With MSN, Yahoo, Google and their online chats and social networks like Facebook and Orkut etc, with the click of a button we can see and communicate with them, argues many. For the youths of today, laptops, desktops and internet connections are indispensable part of their lives to retain their friendship. Thus, for them, only the definition of friendship has changed.

Now ask them about the modern day’s Friendship; they would say that its meaning has changed now. Friendship has now become rather complicated and formal. It is difficult to make fast friends because one has to be careful in choosing one’s friends. Most of the kids now must be taught how to make good friends. (We are teaching our kids whom to make friends with & whom not to). See, we need a manual these days! Moreover, it does not last for a life time. Friendship just dissolves in the complexities of modern lives. All are busy; there is hardly any time or space for others but themselves alone. And it may also hurt some of us, if we see our friends don’t understand that that time or space is being shared by depriving someone else.
We might have plenty of colleagues in our office but not all are their friends. We cannot share our joys, personal problems and family matters with them. Their bonding is hardly Friendship but rather more ‘colleagueship’. You cannot lean on their shoulders at the time of hardships. Some of them cannot be even trusted; some might turn out to be your traitors at your work place, hindering your promotion. Thus most youngsters today would prefer their family first than friends.

You get a mixed opinion about Friendship if you ask today’s youngsters. For some, they are integral part of their lives, more important than their marriage; for some it is a necessity; for some it is an obligation; yet for others, the most exciting feature of friendship is that they can drop their old friends and easily find new ones, as they cannot choose their family. For a majority of them, friendship is the same as buying a house; you buy a house which you can only afford and the one which is for sale; and so is friendship – you can choose your friends only from the people you have met!

Ponder over it and help build the old days that we all miss , like the old songs quality of Music we miss...

Get inner peace….

One fine day, one of my friend called me, I found her that she was very restless as she wanted to purchase something and could not leave office in time. I told her to calm down but frankly I could not budge her out of the mood. This is when I realized that an external force cannot help you more; it has to be an inner conscious that has to help you heal the wound.Though all written is not what I try to follow , but when in stress , I do take a look at many aspects of the other side of the life I live.

So where do we really need to get inner peace….

When things go wrong, it is hard to find inner peace. There are many questions you have to ask yourself for the reasons you do not have peace. You have to examine yourself and see if you are doing something wrong that make you feel out of sorts, or if there is an external force around you that is contributing to your restlessness. Then you have to decide what are your options. For every option, you have to look at your heart, and find out which one gives you more peace. For example, you plan to go to the store on Saturday, and the rain came down. Do you still want to go, and have to fetch handbags in the rain. Or is your conscience telling you to wait. Another day might be better.

Once you find out the reasons, you can take steps to improve your situation. Some of the basic things that can make us fell out of sorts are debts guilt, job, health, relationships or money. By examining these issues, you can gradually find peace for what was going wrong in your life.
If you are in debt, you have to analyze your situation. If you are spending more than you earn, you can lose your peace. You will need to reduce your spending, so you can pay off debts, and save some money to feel more peaceful. If stress is in your life, you will have to decide where it is coming from and make adjustments to your life, to feel more relax. Sometimes we have to use a philosophical method to deal with problems. And to know whatever is making you feel bad is only temporary. It will pass and you will regain your peace. We have to believe in hope for a better tomorrow.

We can have peace by living a purposeful life. When we are active, we feel more healthy. You cannot have inner peace if you are unhappy. Do not allow people who have unreasonable expectations about you to disturb your inner peace. Our own thoughts can make us feel happy or sad. We should learn to control our thoughts by reading books on sacred scriptures or listening to your favorite music. When we cultivate good uplifting thoughts, then we can avoid feeling disturbed which is harmful to peace of mind.
In order to have peace of mind, we have to cultivate healthy eating habits. Nutrition is essential to peace of mind. If we become sick, we will worry and suffer anxiety. Everyday we need different types of food to keep us healthy. Not having enough sleep can also affect us. If we do not have enough sleep, we will not able to think properly. Well this is a dream which I wait for every week J

If weight is your problem. Then try to find out about different eating patterns, and ways to lose some weight. Exercise could be also very important to help us maintain inner peace. By controlling our thoughts and exercise, we can keep our minds free from worry and have inner peace, even though it might look like things are not improving. Even I am trying to work on this J

Too much travelling is not good. There is stress involved in travelling. Expenses, packing, moving from here to there can interfere with your peace of mind. Try to regulate your travels. Meditation really helps to calm your mind and also if possible yoga exercises. I do try to meditate every night before I sleep, this helps me have a very calm & peaceful sleep.

I believe a lot of people have this experience at some time or the other. I certainly have had this experience. I wanted to find inner peace in my life when nothing seems to be right. I did not know how. I was using common sense to reason within myself that this could be the answer and that could be the answer. But I have learnt differently. What we feel inside is not what is going on with our lives in the invisible realms.

“How religion can help you”. When we experience some sort of dissatisfaction on life, we have to look in our minds to find out why we feel like that. Obviously, some sort of frustration, that you do not know the answer. In this truly digital world , I do try to listen to bhakti sangeet, Geeta Gyan, Manache shloka, the rhythm of such music itself helps you heal a lot.
The bottom line is, we should always have an open mind in this world we live in, and to embrace the happiness that could be ours. Once you find out your problem, it is possible you you will able to find peace when things were going wrong. You will find the right way, what to believe and what you must do.

Can Money Buy you Happiness ?

Can money buy you happiness? Yes—so long as you spend the money on someone else. This thought cropped when one of my friend told me that she loves to do something for others as she finds happiness in doing. Guess what ? She is best at it.

Giving other people even as little as $5 can lead to increased well-being for the giver. One of the most puzzling paradoxes in social world is that though people spend so much of their time trying to make more money, having more money doesn't seem to make them that much happier either.

My colleagues Nishit & Sarvana both are working with a Top Multinational Companies in India—and I wondered if the issue was not that money couldn't buy happiness but that people simply weren't spending it in the right way to make themselves happier. Or even with more money they were still in search of happiness. Their life was always full of challenges.

Think of someone who makes $100,000 one year and $110,000 the next—do we really expect this additional income to suddenly make this person fulfilled, without a care in the world? (You can also think about whether such changes in your own income really make you happier with your life on a day-to-day basis: Being informed about a raise certainly makes us happy, but the $10,000 doesn't make our siblings or in-laws any less difficult to deal with over the course of the following year. …) Although people believe that having money leads to happiness, I think that this is only the case if at least some of that money is given to others.

Economically the cost of living every year increases by 5% & Value of rupee declines 2 percent, so basically there is no great change in your standard of living that you can get with $10000 increase.

I read this story somewhere….
This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty; it had no meaning.
So the counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors, and then said to the rich lady, "I'm going to ask Kalpana here to tell you how she found happiness. All I want you to do is listen."

So the old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story: "Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I had nobody... I had nothing left. I could'nt sleep; I couldn't eat; I never smiled at anyone, I even thought of taking my own life. Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in. I got it some milk, and it licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg, and for the first time in months, I smiled. Then I stopped to think; if helping a little kitten could make me smile, maybe doing something for people could make me happy. So the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed.
Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy. Today, I don't know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do. I've found happiness, by giving it to others."

When she heard that, the rich lady cried. She had everything that money could buy, but she had lost the things which money cannot buy.

So if you are rich or poor, money can help you buy happiness . Its a feeling & not a gesture.

Managing wolves inside us

Many of us have read this story that old Cherokee told his grandson.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside of people. He said; "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is evil, it is anger, envy, jealously, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other one is good; it is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." The grandson thought for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which one wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

When you feed your higher self you shine with love and your power grows and keeps you in peace. Feeding the lower self can only cause disease that wears on you in every moment causing you to be sick and age faster. Do away with disease by intending to carry love in every moment. Let love be your weapon to prevent your lower self from having any control cause when you give power to your lower self theres no true control, you're out of control.

Our lives seem to be full of duality. It seems someone or something is always doing something that causes us to react to them in one way or another. It could be someone who cuts us off while expressing ourselves or maybe someone getting promotions, getting better salary, growth etc and you find the person boasting on his achievements all over the place.

Is this duality? Is duality the battle of balancing the encounters of every day life and maintaining a certain stance throughout this course? Yes, there're some connections to the outside experiences which tie in to the whole duality process. It is duality because any time you give energy to an encounter with some situation in your experience, you're feeding the duality drive. Duality is the two sides of yourself battling for position and the one that shines it's light the brightest wins in the encounter. This battle goes on inside the self and is won from within.

Feeding the good wolf makes life much easier and more peaceful. Knowing what duality is and how to maintain a balance that favors our higher intention is key to over-coming the pit falls of the dual. That Boaster in your office can no longer bother you when you live above that. There is a peaceful solution to every situation that creates an issue to resolve. True living is one where your purpose is to share your love and let it guide you through your life. In doing this, the good wolf in you gains the sustenance it needs to shine.

You know who your ruler is when you have a situation to handle. If you react with anger, the lesser side of you is at the helm. If you bring peace and love to the encounter, your better side is in control. You may sway one way in some situations while in others, you do the opposite. One thing about the two sides is they both love to be fed. When you give your energy to negativity, you feed the lower self. When you allow peace and love to be expressed, you feed your higher self. Feeding your higher self is the key to winning the battle.

We live, for better or worse

One moment, life is all joy and bliss, and the next, adversity and fear. The pleasure, the contentment, the solace. All reduced to dust.

We await and dread our future equally. Perhaps it’s only the next day, the next week. month or year that really frightens us, fills us with a nameless trepidation, because ten years on, twenty years on, it all seems so distant.

Always living in apprehension, living in worries, living in lies, is living while killing yourself inside. And yet, you have to do it. Everyone would like a life free of all care, and yet, the world doesn’t let you have it.

We are safe today. We are happy. We know it. But that happiness is marred by the knowledge of what we have in store for us. Our present is forever stained by our past, and eternally haunted by our future. We are caught, always weaving back and forth, sometimes resorting to tears, sometimes trying to laugh it off, and always carrying that sense of burden with us, within us.

If our world collapses around us tomorrow, and we lose everything…what would we be left with? If we should lose our possessions, our comfort, our freedom, what would we have? Would we have a future at all?

But would it be fair for us to say that we have nothing, no future? We are only dreading it too much, because we are scared of abandoning the refuge of present? The thing that we dread most will surely come, but it will also come to pass. That’s easy for us to say that at this moment, to resort to the only possible defence we have – hope. But what about when it finally arrives? What would we be like at that time?

We are thoroughly confused. We hate it, we dread it with all our being and yet a part of us wants to see it come and go. Why do we feel that? We think it’s vertigo, probably. We are not sure what we want, except that we cannot take any more worry and apprehension. If a thing makes us happy today, but would cause us pain tomorrow, let us have it. If we have to pay with tears for a laugh for today, let us have it.

Sometimes we have the strange feeling that we would like the earth to open up and swallow us whole, and no more be. That we would like to abandon everything, every dream, every joy, every pleasure – and the funny thing is, it’s not suicidal. It’s happy, almost. It’s strange. It’s an urge of relinquishing everything, whether good or bad.

It would be easy for us to continue to hope, continue to delude ourselves, into a sense of security. It would be equally easy for us to despair. Whatever way we choose, it’s going to happen. Whatever happens, tomorrow will come. We live, for better or worse.

Change of Guards....Leaders Building Leaders

It was like any other working day for me, till something had hit me to pen down these thoughts, As I was travelling back from a customer meeting, I noticed a small but very significant change ,A name of a well renowned Bank had changed, all ATMs suddently across the city had new name.A thought just passed by ....In this trend of Mergers and Aquisitions, what happend to the the people who spent years building, sustaining & growing with the old name or as we call the 'brand'.
In the world of Mergers & Aquisitions, this definately must be a strategic need of one and/or a financial need of the other but now what would happen to same strategic assets (called people) of this bank ?
Just like any other person this thought just passed by..and frankly just like any other person I forgot about it untill I was scanning my phone book for a contact of someone with whom I had not spoken for days .In my phone book there was this name called "SBB". The Man from whom I learn a Lot (even today)..My Guru .. My friend, My Senior .. I can go on to give him the adjectives and definately the dictionary would have some less words to define him completely.

He had once told me a story of "Change of Guards" while we were on our way back from some tough negotiations and crucial meeting (I can say...he is the best man I have seen till date for such jobs). The story is close to my heart cause I too have been part of an organisation and seen the people side of it. that was another strategic acquisition where our company had been acquired by worlds most trusted & renowned brand.

The story is defiantly fictitious not about M&A but about the Change of Guard right at the top of the ladder in the Corporate world.

Please Note :The names , places or any other information used is ony to make the story interesting and has no resemblance to any person , organisation or any entity on earth

This is how the Story begins......
In an Organisation called "LimitedCompany.Com" Joins a new CEO called Ram.The Board is happy that they have finally managed to get a new Boss on board at least before the last day of the departing CEO (Bhushan).So Late Evening they call for the party where they also invite Ram to be a part of the departing celebration and wish Bhushan a very good luck for his retired life.
So when Ram and Bhushan meet during the dinner, Ram shows his anxiety excitement, enthusiasm, eagerness to learn, eager to take over this Giant company. He Asks Bhushan " Bhushan tell me you have been managing this Giant organisation for last three years, can you please tell me some tips on how to manage this vast talent , wide customer base & big sales targets , reach to every individual customer ?" Bhushan just Smiles. Bhushan asks Ram "Ram , you have been an outsider what do you think that we were not doing right, what do you think are the lacunas in this organisation , where do you see the gaps that need to be filled ?" This was asked and Ram shoots all the lacunas from Sales strategies, to sales delivery , to management, to approval , to Go to Market and starts shooting down everything and it continues for a long time on various things that are not going the right way. Bhushan was clever enough to understand this and like any smart guy did not want to advise Ram as he was more of a "transmission" than a "listener" unless the rubber meets the road. So while Bhushan was Finally departing , he called Ram and said "As my advise to you, I am sharing these 3 Envelopes all labled with a Sequence numbers 1,2, 3 , when you think you need my advice please open one envelope at a time, read it , implement it. You would be able to run this company the way I did. Saying this Bhushan Drives off to spend his next few years into his happy retired life...

Ram too was a little disappointed as he realized that all the talk was done by him and he could not learn any tricks of the trade to manage this Giant Sales Company. He looked at the three envelops and without even a second thought slips them into his bag and drives off to his home, waiting for the sun to shine the next morning and he ready to take charge as a CEO of this giant Sales Company.

Days pass by, he gets busy understanding the organisation, every time he gets into crisis , he realizes the words he had blabbered that night to Bhushan (remember ? his thought on what in the org was not going right ?).In his frustration to get the organisation back on track he starts dictating, shouting, bulldozing everyone… From a CEO now he had by now turned himself into insane Shepherd. Definitely this hits on his performance and the performance of his fellowmen, colleagues and of course the chain below him. In the hurry just to praise the new CEO, the people in his organization started focusing outside in rather than inside out. They started loosing focus on the customers, stakeholders, partners and this also impacted on the brand and the market share of this organisation. The Competition was well aware by now and had started eating the market share…A Year passes by and the sales Results of the organisation are down. The Management Board calls for an urgent meeting to understand what is happening on the ground.

Ram is now summoned to Delhi (Head Office) to explain the situation. Ram is terribly disturbed does not know how to face the board, does not have the answers for his company’s bad performance and at the same time wants to save his position. Ram frantically starts calling every person (his so called friends) on his phonebook to help him to give some good justification to the Board Members. Every Person that Ram calls Says just One thing “Hey Ram, You are the best man chosen , you know your organisation better, what can we advise you”. Ram is disappointed with the same reply, packs his bags on his way to Delhi to give some justification which he himself was not convinced.
Ram Boards the flight and settles himself in a Business Class , little anxious, little disturbed, little confused , he digs his hand into his pocket , pulls his phone out and starts scrolling his blackberry phone book to see if someone could help him even in this last minute. He comes across the number of Bhushan, he looks at the watch , its 7:00 AM in the morning, he dials Bhushan’s number. Bhushan in his sleep picks up , they both greet each other and then ram comes up with his point. Ram says ‘Hey Bhushan I need your advise” just when Bhushan was really in a advising mode , the Airhostess interrupts requesting Ram to Switch off his phone. On over hearing this conversation between the air hostess and Ram , Bhushan reminds Ram of the 3 Envelops that he had shared with ram and hangs the phone down. Ram starts digging his Bag in search of the valuable advise which he thought at that time as a mere routine , he digs n digs his bag until he gets hold of “3 Envelops”. Ram See that as the sign of relief, thinking and thanking god for giving him one more opportunity and person who could advise him.
As a gentleman’s promise Ram opens the First Envelop sequenced as 1. The envelops read something like this
“Hi Ram,
I Know you are in dire need of advise as your organisation is going through a big turmoil, your sales figures are down, market position is going down , people in your company really don’t know what they are doing & all of a sudden you are feeling like you are in a “complete mess” and since you are heading now for review with management that is when you are seeking advice from everyone to help you answer your management where you need my advice.”

These words hit ram like a bullet in the arm and he started reading the letter further…..
“Ram as you are heading for a review , I know you are tensed , but what I would advise you is this” Tell the Management that you are New in the organisation and talking time to understand the Big Giant like SalesCompany.com. In this last one year you have analyzed the organisation well and you need a “change” which is as below
1. The People are old in the organisation and are very reluctant to changes to the conditions that the market demands, the thought process of the existing people are still primitive and are not ready to take bold decisions the way you want. You need fresh blood which would help you drive the agenda an the Bold Goals that the Management and You as a CEO have set for the organisation.
These words gave Ram the confidence and also was saving his position as the CEO and was also justifying the poor performance of the company

During his review with the management, he gave this Justification and was well accepted, everybody in the board meeting applause this new breed of thinking of the new CEO and allowed him to take the decisions.

On his return back in his office , Ram created the new Mantra called “CHANGE”, he brought in new heads of department, strategist, Marketing Guys from the industry to work and overhaul his organisation.

This new breed of managers & leaders took over with blessings of the CEO & assumed this organisation as their private property. They started dictating terms of business & bull dozing majority of decisions (without even thinking if they were right or wrong). The old timers in the organisation were divided over such a dictatorship rule, some adopted it , some revolted, those who revolted were sidelined. Those who adopted were doing it under pressure to retain their jobs and please the new breed of managers & leaders.. In this whole process the passion, love and trust in the capability of the Organisation was getting diminished day by day but no one cared as everyone was focussed in saving their jobs and positions alone. But as the corporate world measures the results in Sales turnovers, and that was devastating for the next year too. The results were inevitable, Worst sales performance, Employee morale all time low, total dissatisfaction amongst customers, partners, distributors employees etc.
The Company Management was again worried by this poor performance. They had lost faith & trust in the CEO but since it was their decision get Ram Onboard, they called him again for a review and know the facts on the ground.

This time ram did not have to fetch friends again to take advise, so he reaches his bag to get the envelope No 2 out. The letter in the Envelop reads something like this:

“Ram I know I have saved you last time and you are looking for help again to bail you out of the mess that you have created, this time tell the Management that you have the right people in place but the processes in the organisation suck, you need to enable your people will right processes and right tools to fight the current scenario in the market. The current processes running in the organisation are too old and the new tools, processes for sales approval, budgets, employee self services need to be improved. New tools & processes would be able to make the organisation more agile and productive which in turn will give the sale teams and delivery team more time with customers, partners and distributors. This will also help employees have a good work life balance which is the main reason for the low employee morale.”

Ram was convinced again and gave this story to the management, as expected the management realized this could be the bottleneck for the CEO to implement and decided to give him another chance.

In the next few weeks Ram started changing processes. With the help of technology ram made some easier processes more cumbersome for its employees, Instead of a shorter processes previously now the process required a few weeks prior approval , he declared that the organisation should maintain at least 40 percent of Profits in scenarios even when the competition was ready to pick the deals with 20 percent profit margins. Employees local and remote now had only a specific date to get the reimbursements of the claims. The Sales Deals had to have the approval of the CFO at least 7 days in advance, employees were asked to cut cost on travel for a single meeting (even though it was important),they had to take approvals from CFO for expense above 300 Rupees.

This resulted in devastating effects , the sales guys never go the best prices for the Bids well in advance, Employees avoided meeting customer with a fear to get every time approval from the CFO. Competition by now had captured the Sales Company’s was eating up the market, processes made the life of employees more cumbersome , No access to Intranet , Internal application created problems as all remote employees had to reach the office to access internal applications…

Year 3, Sales Down , Employees Satisfaction Dipped further, customers lost to competition , employees were fleeing the organisation , all signs leading that the nose of the organisation had dipped and was now in a stage of crash landing. Now the management had to take a serious look to the way the organisation was been managed and execution was handled so they called for an Urgent review, and update on the business

But Our CEO Ram thought that “All is Well”, he thought that he already had the silver bullet to get out of the clutches of the management as he definitely had the Envelope. So Just before the Meeting with the Management he reaches out to the third envelope and it read like this

Hi Ram,
You have already done your duty and have tried your best to “Change the people & Processes & the culture of any organisation , Now its time for you to change yourself , So kindly get your resignation ready as you are left with no more options. Kindly prepare these three envelopes for your successor & have a great life ahead
Thank you
Bhushan

With this short story SBB also advised me “Sanjeev, this is how some leaders, managers and Executives run the businesses around the world. Please don’t follow such thoughts as you too are going to be a manager, leader,CEO someday.Put yourself in the shoes of your employees, colleagues, and partners. Be Genuine in their concerns and try Build a stronger foundation, Its always like 'Building a Human Pyramid', you need to trust the people below you and they have to have full trust & confidence on the guys below them , But never forget about the 'actual feet on the Ground' cause they are the main pillars who support the foundation of the pyramid".

With this came our destination and SBB moved focus towards his next task to be performed, I remained pondering over this story without realizing that this story would be so important in my career.