These words are very nice to hear.
Only thro Innovation has the world changed.
Innovation has come about by creativity amongst the people inhabiting the world.
Take the stone age where man did not have any modern gadgets but still he lived happy.
He created fire, made a home where he could save himself from rain and sun.
Lets take examples of certain innovations which influenced our lives.
Electricity was invented which led to innovations in lighting, transmission systems like Trains, without which we could not have traveled long distances in our lives.
Automobiles were invented which has made our lives better as we can now travel anywhere with a bus, car.
Aeroplanes have brought continents closer as in a matter of few hours we can go to USA crossing the seas.
All these were possible because of creativity of few individuals who did not accept life as it is but felt the urge to do something different.
In the olden days we used to write ,we had pen friends and the communication was thro letters sent from one country to another which used to take days to reach the recipient.
Now it is a new era where we need to pick up a telephone and call up a friend in another country or send a e mail to him/her which is received instantly.
Communication has revolutionized the way we live.
Distances are no more a problem.
I happened to read a nice article in Outlook Business published in India where they have given a few innovations which mattered to us.
10 BORN OUT OF IDEAS ACCIDENTS
Many a product has come into being because of an accidental
bump or a piece of carelessness. Here’s a look at 10 of them
MICROWAVE OVEN
One day, Percy Spencer, an American scientist,was studying a magnetron—a vacuum tube that produces microwave radiation. Suddenly he felt the candy bar in his pocket melt.Spencer was intrigued.He placed some unpopped corn kernels near the vaccum tube.To his surprise, the kernels started sputtering popcorn all over.
Next, he placed an egg near the tube and it spewed out the yolk. The microwaves had broken the egg. Spencer realised he had stumbled upon a new way of cooking.
VELCRO
After a stroll through the mountains,Swiss engineer George de Mestral found
thistle on his trousers. He tried removing it, but it tenaciously clung to his pants.
Mestral put the thistle under a microscope and saw that it had thousands of
strong but tiny hooks. Out of this grew the idea for the fastening mechanism,
Velcro, which hit the market in 1959.Velcro has since become an eff ective
material used in clothing, shoes, sports equipment, luggage and wallets.
PACEMAKERS
In the 1950s, Wilson Greatbatch,an engineering professor, was hard at work trying to come up with a device to measure heart sounds.Instead of reaching out for a 10,000-ohm resistor, a cylinder to control electric current, Greatbatch grabbed a stronger resistor and plugged it into the circuit. It pulsed for 1.8 milliseconds and repeated itself again.Of course, it didn’t succeed in doing what it had set out to do. But it beat like a heart. Voila, one of the most signifi cant medical devices of all time was born: the pacemaker.
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
In 1879, Constantine Fahlberg, a chemist, was engrossed in his lab experiment. He forgot to wash his hands and went to dine at a friend’s place. As he ate, he felt his sweet tooth being tickled. After tasting various residues on his hands and clothes and the chemicals in his workplace,he finally traced the cloying sweetness back to a particular compound he was handling in his lab. Later, Fahlberg oxidized a sample of the compound, orthotoluene sulfamide, that had rubbed off on to his hands, and came up with orthobenzoyl sulfi mide. The world now knows it as saccharin.By 1907, saccharin was used as a replacement for sugar in foods for diabetics.
THE SLINKY
The slinky as we know it today was originally just a spring with its secrets yet
to be unlocked. Sometime in 1940, Richard James, a marine engineer, rolled
it along the fl oor. The spring uncoiled itself elegantly and tumbled across the
fl oor before it came to rest. Slinky—a name that refl ects the sound it made—
was introduced in toy stores in 1948, and became one of the most popular
and iconic toys of all time.
ICE CREAM CONES
When ice cream vendors ran out of dishes to serve their wares at the World’s
Fair, St Louis, Missouri, in 1904, a substitute had to be found quickly.It was a
sweltering day and ice cream was melting before you could say ‘eat’.One of the
stall owners, who was selling Zalabia, a water thin waffl e from Persia,came up
with a brilliant idea.He rolled the wafers into cone-shaped receptacles and
popped ice cream on top.
POST-IT NOTES
In 1970, Spencer Silver, who was working for 3M, developed an adhesive but wasn’t successful in marketing it to his own company.The adhesive was weak and the glue came unstuck easily. Four years later, Arthur Fry, a fellow colleague and a member of his church choir, found to his annoyance that the slips of paper he placed in his hymnal to mark pages fell off . Fry applied Silver’s adhesive to his bookmarks and they worked wonderfully. Fry sold the modifi ed idea to 3M.And thus was born the Post-It note.
PENICILLIN
Alexander Fleming was researching a strain of bacteria in 1928.
Subsequently,he went on a holiday,forgetting his research. His failure to clean up his workspace resulted in one of the greatest medical discoveries of all time.When he came back, he found the glass culture dishes he had left out overrun with fungi. Fleming discovered that the bacteria were unable to grow in the area surrounding the fungal mould. He had discovered penicillin,which would go on to revolutionise the way doctors treated bacterial infections.
SARAN WRAP
In 1933, Ralph Wiley, a college student,was cleaning some glassware
when he came across a vial he couldn’t clean Soon after, Dow Chemical, the company where Wiley worked,developed it into a green film and called it ‘Saran’. The new material would later give rise to a transparent and odorless film marketed as food wrap.Today, no food packaging industry can aff ord to do without Saran Wrap.
SAFETY GLASS
In 1903, Edouard Benedictus, a French scientist, was climbing a ladder in his lab, looking to fetch a chemical substance. As he was climbing up, Benedictus knocked a glass fl ask down.He heard the glass shatter,but when he looked down, he was surprised to find that the shards had stayed together, intact otherwise. In fact, the flask was coated with cellulose nitrate,a liquid plastic. Thus was born the idea for safety glass.
Let us keep our eyes and ears open for you never know what would be the next innovations that would be born out of your curiosity.
We ought to give back something to our world and make it a better place to live for our future generations.
So keep thinking and be creative.
Cheers.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Change is the key for betterment of life
Just imagine what would have happened to this world had there been no change in our lives.
The world would have remained in the past; there would have been no development or progress.
Then:
I remember those days when we used to go to school.
There was no means of communication if anything happens in the Maximum City of Mumbai. If there was heavy rains or if there was a problem with the Trains, the housewife was kept guessing about the whereabouts of their husbands or children.
There was no means to communicate; as one did not have a telephone at home, as having a telephone at home was a luxury in those days.
Getting a telephone connection was to wait for 7 long years and only then we could get the line connected after we cajole the linesman once we get the work order from Bombay Telephones.
People did survive those days. Anxiety was a part of our lives as one could do nothing but pray that the near and dear ones do reach home safe.
Now:
Everybody has a mobile telephone, getting a landline is so easy that by the time you blink your eye the service provider would have arrived at your doorstep to provide you the connection.
Connectivity has become so easy that you can call up your home, friends and keep them posted about the happenings and the reason for the delay in reaching home or for an appointment.
What happens now is there are frequent calls made to near and dear ones about your well being that not getting a call has become a problem.
Then:
Take the case of Banks, they used to function in selected times and on Saturday & Sundays there was no means of getting cash for emergency needs.
We had to borrow money from neighbours to cater to emergencies and no doubt the help was given but there was always a sour taste to it.
Now:
Today is the age of ATM, no need to go to a bank; in fact banks do not even know their customers as they seldom visit banks. With Internet facility and ATM’s cash withdrawal has become so easy and convenient, that you need not worry about cash anymore.
The ATM’s are conveniently located so that one need not travel far.
RBI has come out with a new plan whereby Grocery shops would now give money against a credit card with a small charge attached to it, you do not need to buy anything.
Now losing your ATM card is a big problem, as somebody else would take your money.
Then:
Booking of Railway tickets were a nightmare, one had to go and wait in the Queue the previous night and hope that we get our rail tickets.
Now:
The Railways have introduced internet facility to book tickets and one can sit at home and buy tickets on the net and get the tickets delivered at home for a small fee or buy e ticket.
Isn’t life changed a lot?
It is only change, which brings benefits to us. Thanks to innovations brought about by Great engineers, scientists who have devised new methods and the community have accepted.
Galileo had to try hard to convince the world that Earth is rotating around the sun for which he was penalized by the church.
Change is possible only if the community accepts and is ready to adopt such change in their lives.
But why would not the community accept anything, which helps them, as anything, which is helpful to them, would only make their lives easy and good.
Change is a continuous process, what is good now may not be good in future.
New things would come in our lives by change and would obliterate old things, which are not efficient or convenient to us.
The world would have remained in the past; there would have been no development or progress.
Then:
I remember those days when we used to go to school.
There was no means of communication if anything happens in the Maximum City of Mumbai. If there was heavy rains or if there was a problem with the Trains, the housewife was kept guessing about the whereabouts of their husbands or children.
There was no means to communicate; as one did not have a telephone at home, as having a telephone at home was a luxury in those days.
Getting a telephone connection was to wait for 7 long years and only then we could get the line connected after we cajole the linesman once we get the work order from Bombay Telephones.
People did survive those days. Anxiety was a part of our lives as one could do nothing but pray that the near and dear ones do reach home safe.
Now:
Everybody has a mobile telephone, getting a landline is so easy that by the time you blink your eye the service provider would have arrived at your doorstep to provide you the connection.
Connectivity has become so easy that you can call up your home, friends and keep them posted about the happenings and the reason for the delay in reaching home or for an appointment.
What happens now is there are frequent calls made to near and dear ones about your well being that not getting a call has become a problem.
Then:
Take the case of Banks, they used to function in selected times and on Saturday & Sundays there was no means of getting cash for emergency needs.
We had to borrow money from neighbours to cater to emergencies and no doubt the help was given but there was always a sour taste to it.
Now:
Today is the age of ATM, no need to go to a bank; in fact banks do not even know their customers as they seldom visit banks. With Internet facility and ATM’s cash withdrawal has become so easy and convenient, that you need not worry about cash anymore.
The ATM’s are conveniently located so that one need not travel far.
RBI has come out with a new plan whereby Grocery shops would now give money against a credit card with a small charge attached to it, you do not need to buy anything.
Now losing your ATM card is a big problem, as somebody else would take your money.
Then:
Booking of Railway tickets were a nightmare, one had to go and wait in the Queue the previous night and hope that we get our rail tickets.
Now:
The Railways have introduced internet facility to book tickets and one can sit at home and buy tickets on the net and get the tickets delivered at home for a small fee or buy e ticket.
Isn’t life changed a lot?
It is only change, which brings benefits to us. Thanks to innovations brought about by Great engineers, scientists who have devised new methods and the community have accepted.
Galileo had to try hard to convince the world that Earth is rotating around the sun for which he was penalized by the church.
Change is possible only if the community accepts and is ready to adopt such change in their lives.
But why would not the community accept anything, which helps them, as anything, which is helpful to them, would only make their lives easy and good.
Change is a continuous process, what is good now may not be good in future.
New things would come in our lives by change and would obliterate old things, which are not efficient or convenient to us.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Infrastructure and Quality
Infrastructure and Quality.
All of us in our lives use Cars, TV’s, Two Wheelers, and Bykes etc for our Daily use,
We often evaluate the worthiness, performance, and its present utility and take bold decisions in replacing these regularly.
There are items like mobiles, TV’s, Computers, which get phased out by its technological obsolescence.
If you do not own a latest gadget then you are not moving with times.
No doubt these are low cost items and we take decisions in replacing these items when they are either old, outdated, or fail too often.
Take Cars, they are expensive, so one exercises caution, but even that needs replacement after a span of time.
The Cars are getting updated for its emission norms, performance, comfort level, safety features etc, so not replacing them in time would only make you lose out on trendy and useful things in life.
Let us now see what happens in industry.
The captains of industry lay down good rules about replacement of cars for Officers as this is a perquisite and needs to be done to retain good officers in an organization.
But when it comes to Machines alas the same captains either overlook or don’t understand the urgent need to upgrade the infrastructure.
I fail to understand why the managers coming out of Good management schools do not realize the importance of a Good Infrastructure.
It is only Finance, and Sales & Marketing departments, which matter to the captains as the business runs on money.
Where does the money come from, they do only by producing good quality products.
But how are we to produce good quality goods by using poor machines.
The factory and infrastructure are cost centers and therefore often neglected and managements often do not want to incur huge expenses in upgrading/replacing the machines.
Good Quality can be produced by Good and latest equipments.
If Product Quality is so vital in Keeping the Sales of the products flying high, then why managements shy away from investments.
It is sad that Organizations lose customers because of Poor quality resulting out of Poor or old machines.
As the infrastructure gets old, the repairs and maintenance costs zoom skywards, and result in poor productivity, which only adds to the cost of the product manufactured.
Also when competitors invest and buy new machines, the customers tend to leave us for other vendors, as the perception of the customer is Latest Machines would give better Quality.
Having lost our customers to our competitors, then we suddenly think of upgrading the infrastructure, which is generally too late and it is difficult to bring back lost customers.
The customers would come back only if the Rates are less than the present rates given to them by our competitors.
The result would be that we tend to earn lesser than before with increasing cost of production because of heavy investments.
Isn’t it a dilemma that we lose customers because we did not upgrade our infrastructure?
And having lost business and taking a hit on our profitability, we are now forced to invest to stay in business which only adds to our woes of under utilization of our infrastructure because of poor demand.
Lesson of the story is If we could exercise our option and mind to replace our cars, telephones and other personal possessions time to time why are we not looking at infrastructure which is the mainstay in business to assure and ensure Quality and thereby the profitability of our products.
All of us in our lives use Cars, TV’s, Two Wheelers, and Bykes etc for our Daily use,
We often evaluate the worthiness, performance, and its present utility and take bold decisions in replacing these regularly.
There are items like mobiles, TV’s, Computers, which get phased out by its technological obsolescence.
If you do not own a latest gadget then you are not moving with times.
No doubt these are low cost items and we take decisions in replacing these items when they are either old, outdated, or fail too often.
Take Cars, they are expensive, so one exercises caution, but even that needs replacement after a span of time.
The Cars are getting updated for its emission norms, performance, comfort level, safety features etc, so not replacing them in time would only make you lose out on trendy and useful things in life.
Let us now see what happens in industry.
The captains of industry lay down good rules about replacement of cars for Officers as this is a perquisite and needs to be done to retain good officers in an organization.
But when it comes to Machines alas the same captains either overlook or don’t understand the urgent need to upgrade the infrastructure.
I fail to understand why the managers coming out of Good management schools do not realize the importance of a Good Infrastructure.
It is only Finance, and Sales & Marketing departments, which matter to the captains as the business runs on money.
Where does the money come from, they do only by producing good quality products.
But how are we to produce good quality goods by using poor machines.
The factory and infrastructure are cost centers and therefore often neglected and managements often do not want to incur huge expenses in upgrading/replacing the machines.
Good Quality can be produced by Good and latest equipments.
If Product Quality is so vital in Keeping the Sales of the products flying high, then why managements shy away from investments.
It is sad that Organizations lose customers because of Poor quality resulting out of Poor or old machines.
As the infrastructure gets old, the repairs and maintenance costs zoom skywards, and result in poor productivity, which only adds to the cost of the product manufactured.
Also when competitors invest and buy new machines, the customers tend to leave us for other vendors, as the perception of the customer is Latest Machines would give better Quality.
Having lost our customers to our competitors, then we suddenly think of upgrading the infrastructure, which is generally too late and it is difficult to bring back lost customers.
The customers would come back only if the Rates are less than the present rates given to them by our competitors.
The result would be that we tend to earn lesser than before with increasing cost of production because of heavy investments.
Isn’t it a dilemma that we lose customers because we did not upgrade our infrastructure?
And having lost business and taking a hit on our profitability, we are now forced to invest to stay in business which only adds to our woes of under utilization of our infrastructure because of poor demand.
Lesson of the story is If we could exercise our option and mind to replace our cars, telephones and other personal possessions time to time why are we not looking at infrastructure which is the mainstay in business to assure and ensure Quality and thereby the profitability of our products.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Quality
Quality and Profitability.
Quality is never an Accident.
It is always the result of
High Intention, Sincere Effort, Intelligent Direction,&Skilful Execution.
Very often organisations overlook this aspect and get into cost control initiatives in raw materials used and end up making a product which suffers badly in the market because of inferior quality.
There is always scope for Value engineering and cost control efforts in reducing costs of a product.
The cost control exercise should be done with great caution as the Raw materials used in making a product would definitely impact the quality of the finished product.
There are several instances where the vendors ask for higher price for their products and organisations do not yield to such demands from vendors.This results in cost saving initiatives on the part of the vendors for their products manufactured by them to sustain their business, this in turn affects the Product quality of the Finished product of the organisations buying such raw material.
Finding alternative vendors is another way of cost reduction.
Vendor Developement is a very difficult and tough job.
One cant just introduce the product of a new vendor with minimum trials as the item purchased from such cheap vendors would cause havoc in Quality, the item purchased would not be adding even 10 percent to the value of the product but the damage done would be so severe that the Finished Product would lose not only the loyal customers, but the 90% of value added would go waste.
Hence it is always a dilema what is to be done to sustain profitability?
Waste reduction could be an easier option rather than cost cutting on Raw materials used in a Finished product.
Quality is never an Accident.
It is always the result of
High Intention, Sincere Effort, Intelligent Direction,&Skilful Execution.
Very often organisations overlook this aspect and get into cost control initiatives in raw materials used and end up making a product which suffers badly in the market because of inferior quality.
There is always scope for Value engineering and cost control efforts in reducing costs of a product.
The cost control exercise should be done with great caution as the Raw materials used in making a product would definitely impact the quality of the finished product.
There are several instances where the vendors ask for higher price for their products and organisations do not yield to such demands from vendors.This results in cost saving initiatives on the part of the vendors for their products manufactured by them to sustain their business, this in turn affects the Product quality of the Finished product of the organisations buying such raw material.
Finding alternative vendors is another way of cost reduction.
Vendor Developement is a very difficult and tough job.
One cant just introduce the product of a new vendor with minimum trials as the item purchased from such cheap vendors would cause havoc in Quality, the item purchased would not be adding even 10 percent to the value of the product but the damage done would be so severe that the Finished Product would lose not only the loyal customers, but the 90% of value added would go waste.
Hence it is always a dilema what is to be done to sustain profitability?
Waste reduction could be an easier option rather than cost cutting on Raw materials used in a Finished product.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Marketing and its myth.
Marketing is all about making things sell.
The marketing professionals take pride in increasing the sales of a company.
Often when the economy is down, these same professionals cannot perform and blame it on the markets.
If markets are going to influence the sales of a company then what exactly the marketing professionals do?
Where is the creativity and the skill of marketing professionals in recessionary situation?
We have many examples where innovation has influenced marketing.
The Sony Walkman is an example where the market was not present, and the Walkman provided a new market.
Mobile Phone is another such product.
In these cases innovation rather than marketing created the market.
Well one can argue that such need was predicted or forecast by assessing the market needs by these marketing professionals.
I don’t think so, as in case of Mobile & Walkman it was the innovation and the utility of these equipments that markets were created.
I always wonder then what is the role of marketing.
If everything goes well in a company then the Sales and marketing professionals are regarded as the people who drive a company forward but in recession the company does not do well, then the same marketing professionals get away saying that market conditions are bad.
The Product quality and its role in customer satisfaction is an accepted fact. Only if the quality is good can the product sustain in market.
If that is so, then why need marketing?
Let the product speak for itself.
Lux soap, Dalda, Pepsi , Coca Cola, Macdonald Burgers are household names and they need no marketing, they sell because consumers like them.
The marketing professional only facilitate the product reaching the customer’s mind but the sustainability is not because of them.
If that is so why then manufacturing professionals are not in par with the marketing guys?
Can we then conclude that Manufacturing is the mainstay in business rather than marketing?
The marketing professionals take pride in increasing the sales of a company.
Often when the economy is down, these same professionals cannot perform and blame it on the markets.
If markets are going to influence the sales of a company then what exactly the marketing professionals do?
Where is the creativity and the skill of marketing professionals in recessionary situation?
We have many examples where innovation has influenced marketing.
The Sony Walkman is an example where the market was not present, and the Walkman provided a new market.
Mobile Phone is another such product.
In these cases innovation rather than marketing created the market.
Well one can argue that such need was predicted or forecast by assessing the market needs by these marketing professionals.
I don’t think so, as in case of Mobile & Walkman it was the innovation and the utility of these equipments that markets were created.
I always wonder then what is the role of marketing.
If everything goes well in a company then the Sales and marketing professionals are regarded as the people who drive a company forward but in recession the company does not do well, then the same marketing professionals get away saying that market conditions are bad.
The Product quality and its role in customer satisfaction is an accepted fact. Only if the quality is good can the product sustain in market.
If that is so, then why need marketing?
Let the product speak for itself.
Lux soap, Dalda, Pepsi , Coca Cola, Macdonald Burgers are household names and they need no marketing, they sell because consumers like them.
The marketing professional only facilitate the product reaching the customer’s mind but the sustainability is not because of them.
If that is so why then manufacturing professionals are not in par with the marketing guys?
Can we then conclude that Manufacturing is the mainstay in business rather than marketing?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Interesting Quotes
Management & Leadership.
Management is doing things right.
Leadership is doing Right Things.
Quality:
Quality is never an Accident.
It is always the result of
High Intention, Sincere Effort, Intelligent Direction,&
Skilful Execution.
Vision & Action.
Vision Without Action is a Dream.
Action without Vision is Just Passing Time.
But Vision with Action can change the world.
Imagination:
Whatever you Vividly Imagine, Ardently Desire,
Sincerely Believe, & Enthusiastically Act upon would inevitably Happen.
Experience:
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply.
Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment.
Decision Making:
Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results.
Technology:
It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lightened the day's toil of any human being.
Opportunities:
Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them.
Hard Work:
Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.
Education:
Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.
Humour:
Humor is the instinct for taking pain playfully.
Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.
Humor is something that thrives between man's aspirations and his limitations. There is more logic in humor than in anything else. Because, you see, humor is truth.
Change:
Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.
Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.
The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.
We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing.
If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.
Common Sense, Wisdom.
Common sense is not so common.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself.
Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.
Anything that is wasted effort represents wasted time. The best management of our time thus becomes linked inseparably with the best utilization of our efforts.
He who promises more than he is able to perform, is false to himself; and he who does not perform what he has promised, is a traitor to his friend.
We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse.
Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.
Good plans shape good decisions. That's why good planning helps to make elusive dreams come true.
A little tact and wise management may often evade resistance, and carry a point, where direct force might be in vain.
We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it.
Courage is saying, "Maybe what I'm doing isn't working; maybe I should try something else."
A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.
Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”
Management is doing things right.
Leadership is doing Right Things.
Quality:
Quality is never an Accident.
It is always the result of
High Intention, Sincere Effort, Intelligent Direction,&
Skilful Execution.
Vision & Action.
Vision Without Action is a Dream.
Action without Vision is Just Passing Time.
But Vision with Action can change the world.
Imagination:
Whatever you Vividly Imagine, Ardently Desire,
Sincerely Believe, & Enthusiastically Act upon would inevitably Happen.
Experience:
Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
There is nothing so easy to learn as experience and nothing so hard to apply.
Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment.
Decision Making:
Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results.
Technology:
It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lightened the day's toil of any human being.
Opportunities:
Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them.
Hard Work:
Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.
Education:
Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.
Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.
Humour:
Humor is the instinct for taking pain playfully.
Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.
Humor is something that thrives between man's aspirations and his limitations. There is more logic in humor than in anything else. Because, you see, humor is truth.
Change:
Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.
Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.
Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.
The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.
We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing.
If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.
Common Sense, Wisdom.
Common sense is not so common.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself.
Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.
Anything that is wasted effort represents wasted time. The best management of our time thus becomes linked inseparably with the best utilization of our efforts.
He who promises more than he is able to perform, is false to himself; and he who does not perform what he has promised, is a traitor to his friend.
We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse.
Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.
Good plans shape good decisions. That's why good planning helps to make elusive dreams come true.
A little tact and wise management may often evade resistance, and carry a point, where direct force might be in vain.
We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it.
Courage is saying, "Maybe what I'm doing isn't working; maybe I should try something else."
A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.
Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.
The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity.
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Role of Auditors
It is statutory for companies to get their accounts verified and checked by external auditors.
These Auditors are paid heavily to safeguard the interests of the stakeholders of a company.
How come these auditors do not do their work efficiently and detect wrongdoings on the part of promoters,managers in a company.
Classic examples are Enron and now Satyam.
To say that they followed standard auditing practices and are not liable for any mishaps in a company is preposterous.
The role of auditors is to unravel any misreporting and or mismanagement on the part of promoters.
It is ironical that the auditors do their jobs so bad that promoters get away with murder.
It is no way better than our police system in India where the investigations are carried out in a callous manner and the culprits get away scot free in courts due to lack of evidence.
Could we tolerate such behaviour on the part of auditors?
Price Waterhouse has now suspended the officials in the Satyam scam.
Is that sufficient?
The auditors involved in the Satyam scam are equally responsible and involved in the scam as much as the promoters.
Only strict punishment for auditors would bring in better sincerity and discipline amongst the auditor community.
These Auditors are paid heavily to safeguard the interests of the stakeholders of a company.
How come these auditors do not do their work efficiently and detect wrongdoings on the part of promoters,managers in a company.
Classic examples are Enron and now Satyam.
To say that they followed standard auditing practices and are not liable for any mishaps in a company is preposterous.
The role of auditors is to unravel any misreporting and or mismanagement on the part of promoters.
It is ironical that the auditors do their jobs so bad that promoters get away with murder.
It is no way better than our police system in India where the investigations are carried out in a callous manner and the culprits get away scot free in courts due to lack of evidence.
Could we tolerate such behaviour on the part of auditors?
Price Waterhouse has now suspended the officials in the Satyam scam.
Is that sufficient?
The auditors involved in the Satyam scam are equally responsible and involved in the scam as much as the promoters.
Only strict punishment for auditors would bring in better sincerity and discipline amongst the auditor community.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Corporate Governance
Time and again we have had problems in various companies. After every disaster in a company new rules are framed and the company law board expects that in future all companies should comply with the new set of rules. This goes on until somebody finds another loophole.
Isn't it strange that public limited companies which have board of directors some of whom are independent, manage to overlook the wrongdoings in a company and then try to escape being held guilty.
In the first place as Directors they are supposed to manage, direct the company in a right & proper way, then if the company fails to do so ,why are these same directors not held guilty. In many big companies they have a system of signing the code of conduct wherein it clearly mentions that the employee has to keep in mind the well being of the company and should not in any way do things which would harm the interests of the company. Why then are we reading about these mishaps in corporate world very often. Isn't it time to hold these Directors personally responsible for the wrong doings in a company where they are paid and are duty bound to serve the company and protect the interests of the stakeholders. One would be surprised to note that in a Housing Cooperative Society the Committee members are held responsible for any wrong doing even though the posts are honorary. Why then the Directors of Corporate world are spared from such accountability. Isnt it time for the Government, Company Law Board to make rules more stringent and make the Directors personally liable for any damages so that Corporate Governance is implemented strictly.
Isn't it strange that public limited companies which have board of directors some of whom are independent, manage to overlook the wrongdoings in a company and then try to escape being held guilty.
In the first place as Directors they are supposed to manage, direct the company in a right & proper way, then if the company fails to do so ,why are these same directors not held guilty. In many big companies they have a system of signing the code of conduct wherein it clearly mentions that the employee has to keep in mind the well being of the company and should not in any way do things which would harm the interests of the company. Why then are we reading about these mishaps in corporate world very often. Isn't it time to hold these Directors personally responsible for the wrong doings in a company where they are paid and are duty bound to serve the company and protect the interests of the stakeholders. One would be surprised to note that in a Housing Cooperative Society the Committee members are held responsible for any wrong doing even though the posts are honorary. Why then the Directors of Corporate world are spared from such accountability. Isnt it time for the Government, Company Law Board to make rules more stringent and make the Directors personally liable for any damages so that Corporate Governance is implemented strictly.
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