Archive for August, 2009
CAN WE SAY MISSION ACCOMPLISHMENT?
Daxedevi Thaker died on 11th June, 1993. She was not a celebrity or a world famous personality, nor had she invented any technology or psychology or any business organisation. And yet, she lived with magnificent mission. The mission was so important was lived by those more famous- raising healthy or wealthy. Her mission was “HAPPY AND LOVING FAMILY.”
As a wife she was a great wife of Kanaiyalal Thaker. As a mother she was a great mother to all of her five children. As a daughter she had taken care of her mother for fifty years. As a sister, she had taken enough pain for her three sisters (she had no brother and she had lost her father at the age of 12 years). As a teacher, she had helped small children in growing and learning primary knowledge of life. She also offered private tuitions to poor children. She was a great light to the family.
Yet, Daxedevi was not limited to her children as she had adapted grand children’s and other relatives who she encountered. She constantly radiated love feelings. Her feelings and care taking attitude attracted people towards her like a magnet. She also went regularly for morning walk of 4 -5 kilometres. She had never step backwards to do meditation and prayers to God. Her sons and daughter describe her as a mentor and a great source of inspiration.
She hardly uttered a word of what she is doing. ‘Actions without words’ were her leadership.
I would like to write here the poem written by Jim Conlow “THE MAKER”. A section of it describes her this way:
“A Maker is the greatest of Sorcerers or Saints
Life of love magic and connection
Making baked bread and gardens
Making children and children’s children
Weaving the tapestry of compassion”
Early in her life she followed all the steps of the mission-discovery process. She knew her primary passions-connecting emotionally with people. She discovered her deep values-love and compassion. She merged these passions and values in grand children directing them to live life to serve others. And, she picked rich details, specific direction and cause for her life. She had aligned herself with mission. She had sacrificed all her monetary happiness and demonstrated commitment to the family members without a single expectation.
As a small operation ended her life at the age of 58 years, up to that she had showered love and feelings on all those who all have graced her presence in the life. She had died totally unexpected in the hospital, but she had completed everything of her roles and goals. To be very frank to it, people around her were proved too small to understand her sacrifice and missionary work. I think she had done her things and she was more loyal to the God. She had completed the promises which she had made to the God. Till today, all children and Grand children loves her and says promptly, “Whatever we are today is because of her.”
People around us always know whether we are living with mission.
How do we all are going to be remembered by our people that we are living with?
GO OUT OF WAY TO HELP SOMEONE
One bad storm turned Herb Hilgenberg into a one-man international forecasting service and a guardian angel for sailors.
Down inside a yacht anchored off an island in the Caribbean, skipper Jason White shows off a state-of-the-art computerized control center. He points out a marine single sideband (SSB) radio, somewhat of a sailing-instrument anachronism amid modern technology like satellite phones and weather faxes.
And then he tells me about Herb. Somewhere out there, on the frequency 12359 kilo hertz, is a man named Herb who will give any boat a personalized weather forecast upon request. He’s more accurate than any other weather service, say the mariners who rely upon his expertise. But, very few sailors even know he exists.
“He only says it once, and he talks so fast, you have to record it and listen to it later,” says White, holding up a small digital recorder. “I use him all the time. But, if you bug him too much, he’ll just ignore you.”
In November 1999, Hurricane Lenny developed on the south of Cuba and then moved west to east, the first Caribbean tropical storm in recorded history to do so. It would eventually smash through several islands, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Herb was in contact with a number of boats in the danger zone and immediately directed them around the Category 4 storm. Except one.
“There was one guy just sitting north of Puerto Rico,” Herb Hilgenberg recalls. “A Swiss couple and their dog. I talked to him and said, “You’re gonna have a hurricane in front of you, and it’s gonna approach you in the next six hours.”
The sailor radioed back, saying, “I need to get off the boat; I can’t make it. My engine’s not working.” In six hours, he, his wife, and their dog were going to get ravaged by a hurricane with wind speeds of 150 miles per hour and be pounded to pieces. And they couldn’t move.
Herb called the U.S. Coast Guard based in Puerto Rico, but they had already lashed down all their helicopters for the storm. They managed to establish contact with a nearby commercial vessel, and it was able to approach the boat and rescue the couple and their dog.
THE WAY TO GOD PASSES THROUGH THE HEART OF THE PEOPLE NOT THE SKY.
TALNET REWARDING PROGRAMME IS AT BOTTOM LINE
Indians are paid nearly 20 times less than their counterparts in the U.S. and Switzerland. According to ‘Prices and Earnings’ study conducted by Swiss banking major UBS, employees in New Delhi and Mumbai earn an average net salary of $1.6 and $1.2 per hour, respectively.
In contrast, Swiss cities Zurich and Geneva, have topped the charts with the highest average net incomes in the world of as much as $22.60 and $20.40 per hour. “Swiss workers earn the most. Zurich and Geneva top the rankings in our international comparison of wages. By contrast, the average employee in Delhi, Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai earns less than one-fifteenth of that amount,” the report stated. Workers in the U.S. also earn at the higher end of bracket with people in New York earning an average salary of $19 per hour, while those in Los Angeles get $13.90 per hour. Workers in London receive an average net wage of $13.90 per hour, it added.
In terms of the gross hourly wages, workers in Western Europe and North America have the highest gross hourly wages averaging at $20.2 and $21.0 respectively, the survey said. While, in Asia and Eastern Europe, workers receive an average of $5.5 per hour before taxes and social security contributions are deducted from the salary.
UBS’s report ‘Prices and Earnings’ is a global review of the prices of goods and services, wages, payroll taxes, working hours and purchasing power in 73 cities on every continent. The survey also pointed out that earnings do not just differ from country to country but also vary among employers within a single city. However, the earnings gap between public and private-sector jobs is particularly stark in emerging and developing countries, it added.
DISSATISFIED EMPLOYEES
About 50 percent of executives are dissatisfied with their current position in the work place. The research done by Korn/Ferry Institute, a talent management solution provider, reveals that around 47 percent of employed executives are either somewhat or very dissatisfied with their jobs.
The lack of lustre in job market has not only left executives unhappy, but also uncovers a lack of trust for corporate leadership. The survey results suggest that low employee morale among executives may be linked to the lack of trust they feel towards company leaders. A surprising 31 percent of executives have stated that they do not trust their boss.
The survey also states that as many as 36 percent of executives have reported that they do not trust their CEOs. When asked if their current CEO was the best person for the job, only 38 percent respondents said “absolutely,” while 34 percent responded “somewhat” and 28 percent said “not at all.”
Ana Dutra, President and CEO, Korn/Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting said, “The global recession has left fewer employees to do more work, often for less pay. Stress levels are high and some executives are getting burnt out. However, irrespective of the business cyclicality, companies must take proactive steps to keep key employees engaged if they want to retain them for the long term and be seen as an employer of choice.”
The Korn/Ferry International Executive Quiz is based on a global survey of executives registered within the firm’s online Executive Centre. Respondents from 70 countries, representing a wide spectrum of industries and functional areas, participated in the most recent Executive Quiz in May-June 2009.
Satisfaction is the key to excellence. Dissatisfied employees spoil of the resources of the organisation. In my eyes, both are in lose-lose situations.
MAHADEVA DEKA: SHOWCASING PERSONAL COMMITMENT
Mahadev Deka of Assam, India has won Mr. Universe 2009 title in the Bantam weight category at the 2009 Muscle mania Super body world championship held at Florida from June 18-2, 2009.
Mahadev Deka is a heart patient and underwent heart surgery in August 2002. He was found with cancer disease. He was given treatment of chemotherapy and has undergone biopsy. He was strongly advised to take rest and doctor had told him, “This is another life to you. Now you have only few years to live so pass the time very peacefully.”
But, he had made up his mind and joined gymkhana for exercise. He started going gym for exercise, did it for at least 4-5 hours daily. He demonstrated commitment of very high level and found actively involved in this activity.
He participated in the world championship last year 2008, were he ended up as a runner up. This year 2009, he has made up his mind and started practicing at home, while coming back from the last championship. He has participated in the competition of the year 2009. He was never sponsored, and had not availed any benefits from government and other NGO authorities. When he returned to Assam, India after this accomplishment, thousands of people were waiting for his arrival and appreciation.
ONE MAN MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
Deka, an assistant engineer in Public health department of Assam, had won Mr. Assam title for seven years, Mr. North-East four times and Senior Mr. India twice.
