career or arrear_vj

Career or Arrear

S . V i j a y K u m a r

About me

0 1 M E 5 7

http://www.about.me/v.j/

Foreword

9th July 2007

Dear Students,

Mr.S.Vijay Kumar is known to me as a student initially and a friend, subsequently for a total of sixyears. Rearing to go during formative years of his study, he approached me for additionalresponsibilities in Placement and Training Cell. He was desirous of gaining first hand experience andsucceed in his career. In the transitional period, many get disillusioned as there exists a vastdifference between one’s capabilities and ambitions; more so with adolescence. Planning is animportant phase in one’s life and has to be done with meticulous care. More often than not, theyounger generation tend to learn after a debacle. Since prevention is better than cure, a traditionhas to be set and periodically the experiences of the senior batch have to be transferred, faithfully,to the subsequent batch. For the first time, author has tried, sincerely, to bridge the gap.

The author has lucidly brought out various facets in one’s student life and practical solutions tosome of the tethering problems faced by youngsters. He has also summarized the experience of highachievers and our country’s contribution to the world condensed into a simpler form.

I am sure that this thought-provoking book will go a long way in helping one to understand theenvironment better and succeed in one’s chosen career.

Dr. Muralikrishna

Placement Officer and Head of the Department,Department of Mechanical Engineering,Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College

Preface

Hi SRECians,

This is Vijay from the 2001-05 batch of Mechanical Engineering. During my college days, I was not agreat guy neither did I accomplish something great. I finally got a job and I am kind of settled fornow but today, the lack of awareness of certain things in the past (Those which I cannot changetoday) due to my negligence/carelessness/lack of guidance are making my path to my dream careera bit rough (to a certain extent).

Likewise if you do not know the requirements for (say, a dream course you want to pursue), it willaffect your dream career or at least the path will become difficult. Pure technical/academic strengthwill not be enough to face the obstacles you are bound to face today. I came to know a lot of thingsonly after I got a job.

I don’t mean to say that everybody will be like me (needing a guide) but there will be some of youwho; if guided, would perform well/better than how you would now and take control of your career.Hence I decided to start a group (linkedin and facebook) that will help students to interact withalumni, teachers and present students. Please join and start conversing using the following links

linkd.in/sreccareersupportonln & on.fb.me/sreccareersupportonfb

The above initiative inspired me to write a book with some information to better oneself and totackle some day to day problems and also make that person be of use to the society where s/helives. The end result was this book.

About the book

I have shared a few things which I felt important in this book. To make these things enter your innermind, I have used information from other sources also. There are few places where I have donesome “Copy” and “Paste” work with some editing. I am saying this because I don’t want to take thecredit for a work which is not purely mine but I assure you, I have put in information only after a lotof study with respect to your present position. This is a product from my 12 years of school life, 4years of college life, 2 years of working, few books that I have read, information from the net andlastly the knowledge, motivation and chastening received from a few people over the years. Thisbook will give you some information to plan yourself in advance. So just reading this book will notgive you every thing you can dream of or help you in achieving your dreams. You have to do yourhome work for sure...

When I started writing this book, I was more interested in the content and did not give muchimportance to the standard of the content. I apologise for this, if you are a student who has difficultyin English as you may not know the meaning of a few words. I thought of replacing all the probableuncommon words with simple words but then it occurred that if you refer to a dictionary tounderstand these words, it would improve your vocabulary. So, I have left it as it is. That’s not to saythat this book is of the level of BBC’s newscast. It’s a simple book written by a simple person whoapologizes for any errors. If you have any opinions/suggestion, feel free to contact me [email protected]. Happy Reading…

S. Vijay Kumar

mailto:[email protected]





Acknowledgements

I would like to thank a few people apart from my parents for being an indirect catalyst to this book.If not for these people, some incidents and attitude changes would not have happened in my life. Iwould like to thank…

Principal Dr.K.Muhammad Zakariah

(For the impact of the talks I had with him-and for giving me the opportunity to see his managerial skills first-hand during placement work)

Most admired teacher Mrs.Shanthi, Lecturer, Dept of Mathematics

(For…so many words to pen. she spoke and taught with true sincerity. She was a real teacher. It isnot easy for a lady to control a class full of boys-especially, branch of mechanical engineering. Shedid!)

HOD Dr.Muralikrishna, Prof & Head,Dept of Mechanical Engg

(For providing me the opportunity to manage activities of the placement cell

Other Teachers

(For letting me see and absorb some good qualities)

Personal Guide Mr.Srikanth, Director, GRD Academy of Management

(For helping me take decisions when I am not able to and for motivating me)

Professional Guide Mr.Babu, C.E.O., Sricom

(For advising me on career choices)

Friends/Ex-Friends/Colleagues & Classmates

(Friends; for putting up with my negatives and being there for me, so long,Ex-Friends; for letting me see myself in a way I never did and for teaching me unforgettable lessonsandColleagues & Classmates; for the experiences gained from)

Index

1 Using college life effectively 1

2 How to become what you want to be 8

3 Coping with teachers and parents 10

4 The unspoken message of the cover 14

5 A few vitamins 16

6 Work Place-Do's and Don'ts 22

7 Run for Tiranga 38

8 Final Message 44

9 Bibliography 47

Pg 1 of 47

CollegeCollege Life

I didn’t follow everything that I have written here, when I was in college but if I had…“If” is one of the most painful words in the English language.

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No one can make you change. No one can stop you from changing.

No one really knows how you must change. Not even you. Not until you start.

ButOnce you do-Your Life Changes

LIFE is full of choices. You are responsible for your actions as well as, inactions. For every action ofyours, you had a choice previously-Whether to do it or not and of course every choice have theirown results. Eg: Reading this book is your choice. If you read it-you may think of changing yourself,at least by 10%. If you don’t read it, you may think you are not losing anything but according to meyou are losing an opportunity to change. If you have decided to read, read it when your mind is freeand relaxed and not in haste.

More importantly, I hope that you derive the maximum from what you read from this book andapply the learning to your college and professional life.

College

Talking of college, you should first understand the purpose of entering a college-CAREER. Everybodyhas different dreams with regard to their career but very few know the path. Be well informed of allthe things you will need to have/do before entering your next phase of life. For some it will beplacements, for some it will be doing a post graduation, for some it will be starting up of a newbusiness or taking over your family business. Whatever it is, please take the following into yoursubconscious mind…

1. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do

I don’t mean to say that something should be accepted as impossible and ignored. What I mean bythe words “…what you cannot do?” are

-the things you cannot change-the one thing you dream of doing but based on your present potential, you areincapable

-the things you cannot changeEg: You may have wanted to do a B.E. in Information Technology but did not get a seat and youended up in say Mechanical Engineering. You may have also not had the influence/money to get aB.E. in Information Technology in some other college. During such instances, don’t waste timebrooding over. You can do something that will make you enter a software company at the end. Youcan specialise in ERP where in you will be requiring the skills of a mechanical engineer as well as thatof a software engineer

(ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning-Browse on this topic and find out more about it if youwant) or you can specialise in design by learning various mechanical softwares and enter into firmslike Tata Consultancy etc. Many companies recruit Non-IT people today. There are lot of optionstoday to switch streams. So search for alternate paths for the same dream destination.

Pg 2 of 47Return to Index

-the one thing you dream of doing but based on your present potential, you are incapableEg: Let’s say you did your schooling from a remote part of the country where there were no goodschools and the medium of teaching was not English because of which you find it difficult tounderstand the level of English in college. If a person of your category wanted to become ajournalist/news reader for the BBC, it is possible, provided you sacrifice a great deal of the nicestthings that life may offer you. Think whether that one thing will really make your life happy after youachieve that position. If the answer is yes, proceed… but I would suggest you find out what you aregood at or what you can become good at in a short period of time and make your life a success.Don’t try to do something because the world is crazy about that one thing. Research on why youreally want to do that one thing-You Will Get Your Answer. For example, you may dream tobecome the president of India but the core reason behind that may be that you want to be known tothe world as a leader. Why not become someone like Mother Teresa-You will be known longer thaneven the president!

2. Everybody is good at something. Even a clock that has stopped ticking is right twice a day

Don’t compare yourself with somebody else and feel inferior or make fun of somebody becausehe/she is unable to do the tasks you are able to do easily. Einstein was not able to remember theroute to his house but what he has given to this world is something very few people can give.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask dumb questions in class

In general, as students we feel hesitant to ask questions in class to avoid embarrassment butremember, they are easier to handle than dumb answers.

4. Be bold and courageous within

When you look back at life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the one's you did. Becourageous but don’t fight at every situation or be aggressive to prove your point. Even if youmaintain poise and be calm-you can still prove your point. Raise your hand only to block not to instilpain. Be bold within. It will emerge out.

5. No one makes it alone

Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you. Don’t use somebody’sefforts and come up even if it is tempting. There will always be somebody better than you. If youcombine and perform, the result will definitely be more than what you all can do individually(Synergy). Even though, you won’t get all the appreciation and be called a hero you will learn morewhen you work together as there will be a lot of idea generation and knowledge sharing.

6. Don’t justify Non-Performance

Explanation can never make up for the shortfall. Excellence is self explanatory. Where there isexcellence, explanations are not required. Where explanations are required, rarely do you findexcellence. Definitely it is soothing to justify non-performance-It acts as a psychological pain balmand it relieves you from the burden of hurt. However, self consolation for lack of excellence will hurtyou very badly in life and you will start accepting compromises.

Wake up…6:01 is not 6:00. Don’t explain (unless it is a do or die situation) even if it is not your fault.


7. Don’t Grumble

If the reason for wanting to grumble is to get alternative solutions, do explain yourproblems/weaknesses once or twice (not more than that) but preferably to a person who is elder orexperienced than you or who is not with you all the time (people like relatives, old friends, teachersetc-especially those with whom you don’t get to meet often). If you keep discussing your negativeswith people who are on par with your level or with people with whom you interact often, two thingshappen for sure

-First, you will develop a low self esteem (over time) when you work with those people in a teambecause you are aware that they know your negatives/weaknesses. Also, you cannot lead that teamby any chance. Your inner conscience will say that you are inferior to them and they are a success(the very reason why you went to them for advice).

-Second (most important), Though people with whom you interact often may be more sympatheticto you/your situation (in comparison with the rest of the people); EVENTUALLY THESE PEOPLE WILLLOSE INTEREST IN HEARING YOUR CONTINUOUS GRUMBLING AND WILL THINK OF YOU AS ANEGATIVE GUY. Nothing changes for good by grumbling. They will stop liking your company and willignore you- unless, may be, you are spending a lot on them .Don’t mistake thesepeople- Do you like the company of a successful person from whom you can absorb or a failure whospeaks of himself and his problems? Your answer is theirs too!

8. Break off; the habit of listening to the majority-your time is limited

Sometimes, it isn’t necessarily about earning a good name for yourself but about earning a goodname for your parents or for being accepted as a normal person in the society that makes you tobecome puppets in the hands of the public. Remember, it is better to earn a bad name and lead agood life, than to earn a good name and live a bad life. Turn off the social checklist. Rise above theconfines of social definition. Stand above the crowd. Live above the average man. Inspire futuregenerations to live a life like you did. Better to be a loner than to be in the company of people whocreate a new caste. Avoid the company of wrong people even if they are a majority.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yetdeath is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be,because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out theold to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, youwill gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - whichis living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown outyour own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.They somehow already know what you truly want to do. Everything else is secondary.

9. The art of effective communication, irrespective of the form is to be mastered

No matter how skilled one happens to be, mere techniques without effective communication willproduce only a superficial and short lived piece of work. A communication gap is actually a gapbetween the preparedness of the communicator and the unpreparedness of the mind of thereceiver. More than “What you say” and “How you say”, “When you say” (Timing) is the mostimportant aspect of effective communication. Communicate only to a prepared mind.


Remember the responsibility of preparing the other mind is yours and yours alone.An earthquake isn’t a good time to plough the soil. So wait for moments when thereis a reasonable amount of calmness and composure in you as well as the listener.First, communicate to prepare the other mind and only then speak your idea out. Theart of communication, irrespective of the form is to be mastered and used as aninstrument to reach out to people.

10. Do not accept things that money can buy, free of cost, especially from people with whom youdo business

Don’t try to get everything free. You will be labelled cheap in a short time. Though you will be happy,initially, after receiving something valuable from somebody free of cost, ultimately you will bepushed to a situation where you will have to repay with multiple returns in terms of service oractions which you generally won’t do for somebody else. If you treat yourself with gifts etc, youremotions are controlled or succumb to the giver of the gifts and sometimes, you may even have tobreak your principles-So beware. In general, other than family members, TRUE friends/lovers andpeople who renounce life (Saints etc), nobody gives you anything for free. If somebody gives youmoney for a good action of yours (Incentive), then you may accept it as you are not bound to payback emotionally. Understand the difference between “Incentive” and “Dole”.

College Life

Seniors/Alumni/Teachers

Now, talking of college life, the first thing I can remember about college is the impact of seniors.They are the first people who give you their opinions about the college, teachers etc. Definitely, thisdoes not happen as soon as you join-only after your unofficial ragging and provided you get alongwith your seniors. Slowly, these opinions about teachers become facts. For example, if a senior saysthat a particular teacher is good, most students (at least guys) start liking that teacher from day oneand take his/her advices, positively. Even the vice versa is true. This acts negatively for many people.

Also, while most of you would be silent in front of teachers who are strict, few would retaliate,which is not wise and that could also end up with negative outcomes. So, learn to get alongsmoothly with everybody. Develop a good understanding/friendship with your seniors and teachers.This relationship will be very useful in planning your career, switching jobs, getting ideas to grow inthe company you would work for in future, promoting your own company (if you have one) etc.

Your immediate seniors will be working when you are in your final year and they would have faced alot of problems in their company. What you learn from their experience, will help you to avoid thesame mistakes at work. Get in touch with a few of your seniors forever. They will be in touch withtheir group of friends and so on. This group will keep broadening beyond count. Most companieswill ask for recommendations-Your seniors may be of help in this aspect (I didn’t do this because Iwas angry with my seniors after the ragging and felt I don’t need them but today I feel I wouldhave achieved a lot more if I knew some of my seniors really well. Hope you people at least benefitfrom my advice).

Most of the top institutions are developing very rapidly because of the strength of their alumni. Getthe details of your seniors from the placement cell and with support from management, invite a fewof your seniors for a group interaction to college and discuss your various problems. If you are not


able to do that (sometimes dealing with the management is a complex issue)-somebody take theresponsibility-join hands-collect some money (for your senior’s travel and stay expenditure)-getappointment from your alumni-arrange for a meeting in a private place-DISCUSS. Experience willteach a lot more than what college books teach you (If you are a teacher reading this- I know youwill be against me-I am sorry for that).

Friends

Friends are something I am sure everybody cannot live without. They are the people who influenceyou into something more than your parents or teachers. They can make or break your future; that isthey can motivate you to do something or make fun of you and put your ideas to dust. Beware.

Learn to differentiate friends from acquaintances and companions. Learn to accept difference ofattitudes/opinions among your friends-Don’t fight for silly matters. Later on, you may have toforcefully accept the same type of attitudes/opinions in people who are not your friends (while youwork etc). Better accept them as they are than regret/feel later.

Culture

In school, the majority of students are from the same town/village and hence share similar culturesand the minority (students from other places) are forced to merge with the majority. Hence, cultureclashes are scarce. But in colleges especially in hostels, it is the other way round-many cultures mixand it is difficult for a teacher to look into the negative effects of this mix.

The following is an incident which happened when I was a hosteller-One of the hostellers (who hadcome from a family where he was taught to have good table manners) did not like sharing his platein the mess while eating as he found it disgusting but other students who had come from village sidedid not mind sharing their plate and they looked at this classmate of mine as abnormal and hencenobody sat with him in mess. Things like this will prevent a student from being treated as equal.Things like this are not simple issues as they affect the student mentally.

There were so many things like these which were happening when I was in Hostel and nobody wasthere for students who suffered situations like these. I really felt alot for these students because the society can’t expect everybody to be a team player or a leader-Ireally don’t know whether it is the job of teachers/wardens to look into problems like these but ifsomething could be done to solve problems like these with the present set-up-it lies within you.

The culture you have come from and the culture you see in the college/hostel may be very differentfor most of you. Don’t be shocked-You will fit in somehow. Try to be smooth with everybody forsometime by being flexible till you get to understand your environment. Every new environment isdifferent and has its pros and cons. The difficulty you face may be something that does not affectanybody else.

Identify where you look different from your environment-Find the solution. For example if you are astudent from vocational stream or from a Tamil medium background-see if there is at least onestudent who speaks English and is also friendly. Make friends with that person and try to listen tothe way he/she speaks. If you can’t find out somebody like that-join for self-improvement classes.Don’t do this in the final year when you will understand the importance of having goodcommunication skills-It would be too late. If you don’t have the money for going to classes-join withlike minded people and talk to your English professor and bring a solution to it.


Communication with the opposite gender

If you are a student of mechanical engineering, occasionally you have girls in your class (MechiansProblem) and some of your classmates may start flirting (kadalai) with girls of other departmentsbut a large part of the class will not approach girls because

-they don’t like them for personal reasons, or because-they don’t want to lose their dignity etc

If you belong to any of the above categories, it is fine but if you belong to the category of boys whoare scared of talking to the opposite gender-Please remember-This could affect your growthgreatly. This applies to girls, also.

An example to make you understand: I was a member of the college’s music club and one of myclassmates (not a member of music club) was very good at drums-He avoided becoming a memberof the music club because of the presence of girls in music club. Once, I took him to the music clubpractice hall during lunch when nobody was there and gave him the sticks and told him to drum-Hewas drumming really well and then…a girl entered-The minute he saw her, he stopped drumming,put the sticks down and said to me, “I can’t drum” and left the hall. Except for a few hostellers, noone heard this drummer. Do you want to be in such a situation? Do you want to be this nobody?

It is quite natural for people who have not studied in co-educational schools and for those whocome from a conservative family to develop these kinds of inhibitions/feelings. It is a pity that somestudents who have studied in co-education, make fun of other students who are nervous to speak toa person of the opposite gender. If you feel you are one person who makes fun during situations likethis, please step into the other person’s shoes. It isn’t funny.

In life you will have to deal with people of the opposite gender. In college, during placements whenyou work out all those puzzles and prepare yourself for interviews, there come group discussionswhere you have to speak to a group (mix of gender). I have seen students who could not speak ingroup discussions because of the fear to communicate with the opposite gender. Their dream careershattered due to this. I don’t want anybody reading this to be one of them. So, please try to comeout of the fear in college itself. Test the waters, fall in and swim out before college life ends. Yourcollege life is a very short span in the years between birth and death. So don’t worry about failures,especially with or due to people of the opposite gender during college because in college it may endup with embarrassing moments only but in life, it may lead to even loss of career or lack ofconfidence in the long run. You need to get to speak to them. See others and learn this art. Sorry-There isn’t anyone taking classes for this in India.

My Advice:

To boys: As I belong to the male community, I tell this from my experience, “What most girls tell andwhat they do are miles apart. Don’t listen to their words but watch their actions. The truth is outthere”.


Pg 8 of 47

Linkedinlinkd.in/sreccareersupportonln

Facebookon.fb.me/sreccareersupportonfb

The reason which inspired me to write this book-To bridge the present students andteachers with the alumni for a life long fruitful relationship. Every successful school,college and university around the world boasts of alumni strength. For this purpose,we have created the above mentioned groups. Through these groups we want ourcollege to create a bond which will help in the growth of the college’s reputation andyour career so that when you have the power to recruit employees for project oremployment, you will remember this college.

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Everyone with even little enthusiasm in life wants to be somebody in future but how do you becomethat somebody? You may just know the final dream destination but the steps in between thepresent position and your final dream destination are the deciding factors. You must know where toput your leg into.

For example…If you tell many people that your final dream destination is to become an industrialistand seek their advice for becoming one, some may suggest that you start your company right awayand then develop your skills, some may suggest that you work for a few years, equip yourself withan MBA degree and then start your business, others may give you many other choices. Each personwill give opinions based on his/her mindset/experience but if you are going to listen to everybody’schoices/thought processes and alter your career, it will affect you adversely. The final decision mustbe yours but decide considering the perspectives of experienced peoples’ suggestions. Decidingbetween the choices as in the above case will take you to different paths but to a commondestination. While one path may keep you motivated, the other path may discourage you. Once youget the opinions of experienced people (who are in your dream career), analyse which path will suityour character, attitude and strengths better and go with that. Don’t seek further advice. If you keepon getting advices, you will be wasting time creating strategies and plans on reaching your dreamcareer but will never advance a step forward.

Tip: You can meet people who are right now in your final dream destinations and get their advice. Itwon’t be that easy and also this method won’t work for all dream destinations. For example if youwant to become the President of India you cannot meet him/her to seek advice. In such cases, youcan browse the net and find out-There is really a lot of information on the net. To continue with theabove example, you can download the government criteria to become the president but of courseyou can’t download the required political experience.

But for the general information like- Strategies for ME/MS/MBA- Strategies for placement

the advice will vary depending on your profile and interests. So I do not want to give you all ageneralised preparation plan. So you may contact your alumni using the following links

Linkedinlinkd.in/sreccareersupportonln

Facebookon.fb.me/sreccareersupportonfb

The more the number of members, the more support we can offer teach other. If you have anyqueries, you can contact me at [email protected].

Please type “SREC” in the subject column before mailing.


Pg 10 of 47

Labelling through comparisonAcademics and the other requisites for placementTeacher-Student RelationshipMy message

While writing something for the benefit of my juniors, I felt I should add somethingabout teachers and parents because the relationships with them play a major role in astudent’s career.

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Labelling through comparison (One of the commonest errors seen to happen in academic institutions as well as in families)

Teachers and parents are like sculptors. From a shapeless stone, the sculptor creates a marvellousimage that appears as good as real. Similarly, parents and teachers must bring out somethingwonderful from their children or students, respectively. Just as a sculptor saw a magnificent figureconcealed in that block of lifeless stone, if a teacher could see a magnificent human being in theperson they feel fed up with, they will be better humans (more than students) and will also learn tosee the good in others. But often the vice versa happens and some of you may be labelled as dumb,unfit etc. Though, you may keep quiet in front of teachers or parents who label you, eventually theselabels become a part of your psyche and you will really end up becoming that label and sometimesthe way in which you react to situations in future also gets affected.

Generally, most teachers and parents judge their students or children by their academicperformance only. Because of this, even if you are good at something else, it may become lessnoticed and you end up being not able to satisfy the expectations of your teachers and parents. Thisends up with you being compared with somebody who is better than you and you are labelled asdull, misfit etc.

Labels; good or bad, need the right kind of environment to survive, grow and become strong.Anybody thrown into a dull environment will become dull eventually. He/she will never changeunless the environment changes and one has little chances in a hostile environment. Theenvironment where growth can happen has to be created.

From a historical perspective, you will notice that spiritual environments produced spiritual giants.Great` warriors and generals flourished in countries where conquest was the ruler’s mainoccupation. Today, it is the age about great businessmen. We also keep reading about 5 year oldcomputer prodigies. In a favourable environment, even a fool can achieve great things but how dowe manage in adverse situations?

The first step would be to put off the label that your environment has already stuck on you withoutyour permission.The second step would be to understand yourself better and accept your present strengths andweaknesses. Improve your strengths and more importantly overcome your weakness by seeking theadvice of the very teacher or parent who stuck that label on you. Don’t take these labels tooseriously as your character/attitude is only temporary and not an unalterable, permanent god givenfixture.

The third step would be to have a good peer group who are constructive in their criticism. As saidearlier, your friends can make or break your future-choose your friends wisely.

During my college days, one of my classmates was always humiliated by his parents in front of hishouse servants, friends, neighbours, relatives, teachers etc. His parents thought that this wouldchange his attitude and habits (which they didn’t like) but it didn’t do any good. Actually, he lost hisconfidence over a period of time and regarded himself as misfit and unworthy (till his third year ofcollege). He used to always grumble about his parents in class and his friends used to consider himas boring-Finally, during final year somebody motivated him and he also attended some personalitydevelopment classes-It made him take the labels, positively. He struggled a lot to come out of hisold mindset. Nowadays, when we meet at get-togethers, he says that his parents understand himbetter than before and that there are no mental pressures. I was very happy to see that he has got a


stronger self image and he has been able to give the criticisms (labels), the place it deserves.

A very close friend of mine gave in to depression and mood swings because he was subjected tolabelling by his parents and teachers for accumulating arrears. He was forcefully admitted into anengineering college while he wanted to pursue a career in animation. His next target was to do hisMBA abroad and he thought that if he gets a good GMAT score he would be able to get into any ofthe top business schools and hence he wasn’t bothered about his history of arrears. Later on, heread a book on planning to get into the top business schools and learnt that the requisites for doingan MBA was not just a good GMAT score but among others undergraduate academics was also animportant one. After reading the book, he felt like dropping the idea of doing an MBA itself.

Apart from the above, the reasons were that…-he had made his decision that if he does his MBA, it would be in a reputed university only-the profiles of students in those reputed schools where he wanted to join were miles apart whencompared with his profile. Eg: One of the applicants to his dream school was a design engineer atBoeing who had done his engineering at IIT. My friend couldn’t compare himself with candidates ofthis sort.-When he spoke to his friends (including me), we advised him to take his GMAT and join any schoolthat would take him in. One of my friends’ said this,

“If you and I were skilled enough to study an MBA at Harvard, Stanford, IIM, ISB or any otherreputed B-School, we would not have studied at SREC, we would have studied at colleges like IIT,BITS,Anna University etc.”

But the core reason was this: The negative labels awarded to him when combined with the abovemade him think that he is trying to be something he is not. It took him so many sleepless nights tocome out of this feeling and start preparing for his GMAT. He is yet to take the test but the reasonfor getting de-motivated was not because he can’t get a good GMAT score or that he can’t face hisMBA interview but because whenever he is down, these labels try to assure him that he is weak. Inspite of all this, he keeps assuring himself that he will get into one of his dream schools (If not thisyear, may be next year). He is fighting against his own self for mistakes he didn’t do. Hope youunderstand how labels can affect you adversely. In situations like this, motivate yourself as muchpossible and try at least a few times before changing your career plan as my friend is determined todo so. Though chances may be lower from your perspective, it may be the other way round from theadmission committee’s point of view (since academics though important is not the only criteria forentering a good b-school).

Academics and the other requisites for placement

The present education system (Tamil Nadu) is not really standardized enough from my perspective. Ifeel that the way most students learn and do many things are out of forced necessity than interest.The content of information we learn is far outdated. For example-A young Indian has proved thatEinstein’s theory of relativity is wrong as he has proved the presence of a particle which travels witha speed faster than that of light. But for this information to come into the 10th standard text books,it will take a long time, till next revision (since the syllabus was revised very recently only). I don’tmean to say that, you as a student must fight to make changes in the education system but as a partof class you could get yourself more involved into activities which will really help you in your career.

During my college days, a lot of assignments were given as a part of Anna University curriculum.Honestly speaking only 2 to 3 boys wrote the assignments by referring the books from the library


while the rest of us would come to college a bit early and copy-paste the same with slight changes.None of us got benefited. But if instead various topics which echoed the present day’s technology orcurrent scenario where this subject had its influence were given to group of students and if we wereto present it as a seminar, we would have learnt many things like…

-overcoming stage-fear-working in teams to gather information-delivering a content within time-knowledge (we will have to study a lot of information before we can present, even if itis for 15 min)

Assignment is just one example. There are so many ways in which things can be improved and as astudent you may think this is the responsibility of teachers (even I did when I was a student) but ifyou see it from our education system’s point of view-it isn’t their job. Don’t blame your teachers andparents. Till our education system changes-learn to adapt and succeed with the available resources.

Form groups with other classmates who have similar dreams Eg: all those who want to pursue anM.S. degree can combine and prepare for GRE. Today, computers are ruling us-It has become anecessity in most streams-So if you are not computer savvy-spend time learning things like sendingmails, browsing, creating Spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations using MS Office etc. This is arequisite even if it is not pronounced loudly from the placement point of view. And, lastly, when youare given a chance (to take a seminar, run a symposium etc)-PARTICIPATE.

My Message

We cannot change the system but we can change ourselves. So even if parents and teachers mayseem unhelpful or hindering at times, it is no use blaming them and allowing it to affect us. Asstated earlier-Adapt and succeed with the available resources. Be like the weed which can grow inany environment.

The teacher is not there to create a walking encyclopaedia out of you but a powerful being who canput that knowledge to the best possible use. The greatest gift one human being can give another isan environment where the other person can develop and flourish. If you come across teachers likethat-seek their advice.

I am really not satisfied with the content regarding this section. One of my dreams is to build schoolsand colleges and run it in ways I dream it has to be. I have so many ideas to put forward but I reallydon’t know whether as a part of the management, teachers would accept my opinions and ideassince though today management style has replaced the old style of keeping the Top management inthe top, at least most people still follow the old style. It is in the blood, the ego to say, “I am theboss. You don’t tell me what to do etc”. Hence I have shared some things (very few) which I feltimportant.


Pg 14 of 47

Counter Choices GreatnessStay in the gameLogic and creativity

The front cover shows what you can be in life in comparison with the game of chess-King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook or at least a winning pawn. How you can relate thegame of chess to today’s world, is what you are about to read.

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Counter Choices

Life is like a game of chess. You play this with a partner called god (existence). One way of looking atthe game is that after every move of yours, god makes a counter move.

God’s move: Milton became blind; but Milton’s counter move was to write the greatestcompositions on nature-Paradise Lost.

God’s move: Beethoven became deaf; but Beethoven’s counter move was to create the world’sgreatest symphonies.

Legends like Helen Keller and Albert Einstein are living testimonies to counter moves. God doesn’tgive you ends, but only bends. For every choice, there is a consequence. True! But also remember-for every consequence, there is a counter choice. Be a choice maker and move ahead in life.

Greatness

Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. Thequeen, the rook, the bishop and the knight are born great, while the King has greatness thrust uponhim. The pawns are few squares away from achieving greatness. For the pawns, there will bechallenges as well as support; it’s certainly going to be hard work to move from one square toanother. You can endure anything in life to become what you can become. Most of us are like thepawns. We have to achieve greatness. Begin with the end in mind. What’s important is not whereyou are, but the direction in which you are progressing in life.

Stay in the game

Have you made some blunders? Have there been a few oversights? Is your position actually weak?Hold on. Demonstrate the will to stay in power. Your opponent can be as vulnerable to mistakes andoversights as you are. Just one opening and the game can again be played on even grounds. Don’tresign. Don’t quit. Play the game. Play the game a little longer. Anything can happen. Things can turnaround. During tough times, staying in the game can be your greatest virtue. Wait and await forpossibilities and the dice will roll the way you want it to. Till then…stay in the game.

Logic and creativity

Think about it-Chess is one of the most logical games, as the possibilities are so well defined. Yet thescope for creativity, imagination and intelligence is the highest in

this very game. Without logic, there will be chaos; and without creativity, you cannotoutsmart the competitors. So it is with life. Perfect your grammar, but play with the language. Letthere be poetry even in prose. Stick to your lane, but run the fastest lap. Hold on to ethics, yetoutsmart the competitor with your strategies. Hear the spoken. Infer the unspoken.

“Even a simple phenomenon, when viewed with heightened awareness, can unfold new avenues oflearning. Every moment, every encounter, every activity and experience has within it an unspokenmessage. There is something even in nothing, and there is everything in something. Live consciously,moment after moment. Hear the unheard, see the unseen, feel the unfelt…unravel the unspoken.Remember, you are an evolving consciousness”-Voice of Love


Pg 16 of 47

Knowledge is powerCreativity is advancementChange is lifeSelf-Esteem is your “Boost” Conquer Fears Finally write your futureUnleash the potential within

Some Vitamins to start taking during your college life…

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Knowledge is power

Knowledge gained through education teaches us limitations which are to be broken. For instance, bynature-a bumble bee’s body is not aerodynamic. Its body is too heavy to be lifted by the short wingsit possesses. Now as per Physics the bumble bee must not fly but it flies as it does not know Physics(Ref: You can win-Shiv Khera).

Similarly we put limitations to your knowledge because of the way of thinking education gives us.When you are explained a fact-ANALYSE and INVESTIGATE (A.I.). Be a student (follow the fact) in theexam hall else you lose marks and be a critic (Question the fact) to your knowledge outside and getyour solutions. Who knows-YOU MAY BE CORRECT!

Let’s see if you can solve this…(Hint: Break mental barriers)

Creativity is advancement

Abdul Kalam was made fun of by everyone when he planned to make a hovercraft as a project incollege. But later he designed it. He was different-That’s why he stands out. (Ref: Wings of Fire). Tobe creative-break assumptions-imagine the unimagined. It might be the future.

To Girls: the new cooking recipes and the designer jewellery are due to creative cooks and jeweldesigners, respectively

To Boys: The girl next door suddenly looks beautiful because of her new creative attire

Pg 17 of 47

Without lifting your pen / pencil up, join the 9 dots

using a maximum of 4 straight lines only.

Hint : Break Mental barriersSolution : See end of this section

Solve aptitude based problems (Books: R.S.Aggarwal,Puzzles by Shakuntala Devi etc), Crossword Puzzles in Newspapers and Net. This will improve your Analytical and Lateralthinking Skills. Perform some simple addition andsubtraction while driving etc where you get to see lot ofnumbers on number plates. Hope I am not being verystrict…You may look at the guys and gals on the roadstoo…

Normal human’s idol Creative human’s idolDoing things the usual way Doing the usual differentlyThinking the usual way Thinking differentlyExpecting the usual result Expecting a different result

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Change is life

Changes that last for a life time begin in a moment. With persistence, only time stands between youand your goals. See changes in your life as normal and positive events rather than as a threat tobeing in comfort zone. Accept changes that you are destined to face as you cannot do anythinggrumbling about it. Also, learn to change before the necessity arises so that you don’t regret later. Ofcourse it is difficult to change even when you know that it would solve your problems or make youbetter, because even CHANGE IS STRESSFUL.

To over come this - WRITE down, what you get if you change (atleast 5 benefits). Similarly what youget if you don’t change (atleast 5 disadvantages). Now it would be easy to find out whether thatchange is worthy or not. Be ready to face new unexpected changes by learning new skills now itself.

You may have been born with a silver spoon yesterday and may be still using it even today-Tomorrow you might not even have a morsel of food to feed yourself. Change before changechanges you. Don’t be a drop out in this rapidly changing world-Be a person of substance. The moreyou avoid change, the more you hinder the process of growth in your life.

Self-Esteem is your “Boost” (Secret of your energy)

“Why is it that other people manage to achieve what they want? But whenever I try, it neverseems to work out right?”

You may not be as good as somebody else in something. This doesn’t mean you can’t do anythingright. Just because somebody criticizes you or because you keep failing at something, don’t getdepressed or feel rejected. For everybody something is easy and something is difficult. It’s justmatter of time, effort and a bit of luck. Till then don’t lose hope. Always feel good about yourselfand your achievements however small it is. Have a good opinion about yourself-If you can’t learn tolike yourself, who else would you like.

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Attending classes in “the arts” (playing musical instruments,singing, drawing, painting, photography etc) will make youvery creative. You can even do the things you do normally ina different way. Eg: Brushing your teeth, combing your hair,attending the phone, opening the door etc with the lefthand if you are a right hander, else vice versa. Things likethis will trigger your brain cells and keep you active.

“Who moved my cheese” by Spencer Johnson is a very simple yet good book which will help you to realize the need to be ready for change. Please read it if you can. You can complete the book in an hour (even if you are a

slow reader).

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Conquer Fears

“I can do better than him/her but I just can’t get on the stage…”

Everybody fears something in their life-The more you expose yourself to fear, the more it decreases.If you are afraid of 10 things - Face the most fearful one first and repeat this for some time. You willsee that all the fears would have vanished. Get the shock of your life and not even current can shockyou. If this method is too scary-go one by one.

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Produce confidence The first time you ride a bicycle you fall, but withpractise you can become a good cyclist as anyone.

Act the part Try to bring solutions to your problems.

Learn from your mistakes You can make new mistakes to learn somethingNEW but never commit the same mistake again.

Mix with people who make you feel good.

Be the best you can be on the inside and your beauty and confidencewill be reflected on the outside.

Be the burning candle from which others can light themselves.

You don’t have to be the wax burning yourself for others.

Write down your fears What are you afraid of?

Understand your fears Where did it come from?

Learn some relaxationand distraction techniquesto slow your breathing

Go for yoga or meditation classes or do some exercise daily. It will bring down nervousness. Coffee aggravates nervousness but you don’t have to avoid it entirely-you can avoid it on the day when you have to go on stage if you have stage fear etc.

Face the Fear With time it will decrease

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Finally write your future

On the long road…

You may know what you want to be and might have even planned your future (If not, do it NOW).But still, if you put your goals in WRITING (with specific dates), it has more power.

Be patient - YOUR time is coming. With time everything passes from old hands to new. Write downthe possible obstacles and changes that you expect and find suitable solutions for them now itself.Give some extra time for every goal you have written down as unexpected barriers will surface.

Unleash the potential within

You may know this and that of engineering. Try to know something more outside engineering;and also inside engineering which is out of your syllabus books. Use the net to know theadvancements in, say the department you belong to or the field you want to specialize in.

YOU weren’t born tired. Nature created the human body to withstand great stress. Godendowed all of us with generous plan. We have such an amazing abundance of tissue in our bodies.

-2/3rd of both kidneys may be removed without serious detriment-normal breathing can be carried out even if a great part of our lungs were destroyed-removal of one ovary or testicle doesn’t interfere in the slightest degree with their functions-thyroid glands possess 4 or 5 times the amount of tissue necessary for the complete maintenanceof a healthy life-we possess 10 times as much of vital substance (produced by adrenal glands) as is necessary-we usually have twice as much blood sugar as we normally need for energy purposes(Ref: The wisdom of the body)

Other medical authorities point out that nature has supplied us with special organs withpotential energy far beyond normal needs. Use the potential to break the barriers of engineering. Ifeveryone read about what has been created already-Nothing would have changed. Since someone ischanging his mind set, the world too changes simultaneously without notice. Don’t think that, thatsomeone is one in a million. Why don’t you be that “one” person who changes the world. Don’t

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Attend self-development classes if you have stage fear.Go for English Classes if you are from a Tamil-medium

background.

Experience beats InexperienceSmart beats UninformedEffort beats LazinessPolite beats Rude

Generous beats SelfishFit beats Fat

Interested beats Bored

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think you can’t. If you think you can-You can! Don’t accept things as they are.

Your professor - from his college days might have said, be saying and continue saying the samething regarding a problem in engineering till he dies without thinking whether a simpler solution ispossible for it. When you say 2*3=6 from standard one, it is difficult to say 2*3=3! (Factorial) but youare new to engineering. You have many sources for increasing your knowledge and questioning thefacts. Use them effectively.

And finally don’t forget

“NO MATTER HOW RIGHT YOU ARE”, I SAY TODAY AND FOR EVER,“YOU ARE WRONG, IF YOU ARE NOT SURE YOU ARE RIGHT”

You have to be sure to persuade someone else to back you.

Solution to puzzle on Pg 17


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Dealing with workplace failuresIntangible qualities for successBlowing the whistleManaging your managersTake a new job or stick on?Negative workplace perceptionsBeating the Peter PrincipleBenefits of teamworkMake your move to move upStreet lessons

This is a section which will be of use to you greatly when you start working as aprofessional. Please read this section once before taking up work as a professional andonce after you have a year of experience as it will be very effective by then. As of now,if you can relate the lessons that you learn here with your work in college where teamwork skills are required (club activities, placement preparation, projects etc), it will beof some help to you.

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Dealing with workplace failures

Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, said, “If you want to increase your success rate, double yourfailure rate.” As you try to leave an impressive mark at work, failing at any given task can bringunexpected twists and turns. How you deal with failure, is what will ultimately help you succeed?The question is: Are you smart enough to learn from your mistakes? Workplace failures are part ofthe job, but if dealt properly, they can lead to greater success in the long run. Here are somestrategies to fix common workplace failures.

Missing a deadline

A lot of work that you will do will have a deadline. You are bound to feel frustrated and upset whenyou miss an important deadline, but don't grumble about this and make everybody know about it. Ifyou are repeatedly not able to finish tasks on time, you can improve yourself by considering a coursein time management. Then you will know whether you have taken on too much work and set anunrealistic deadline? Tip: Trust your instincts. When you feel overburdened, speak up. It may takesome guts initially, but it will help you save yourself later on. If you didn't say something when youwere initially assigned the work, request a private meeting with the person who has given you thework and explain your position about having to meet such a tight deadline.

Starting a conflict

In this age of teamwork; conflicts and petty fights with co-workers are definitely labelled as failures.Tip: Find common ground and avoid taking sides in the case of a conflict. If you must involve yoursupervisor, tell him how the problems within the team affect your productivity and morale. Thatway, you will not sound like a complainer. Remember that criticism of your work does not meanyour colleagues or customers are targeting you as an individual. If you goofed up during animportant presentation, it doesn't make you a bad employee nor does it negate your prioraccomplishments. Don't get upset if you are criticized; take it like a man.

Let’s say you had a great idea and it failed miserably? Here's how to deal...

Failing on a commitment

Your customer's product is not ready on time or has not been delivered. It's a massive service failureand you have no idea on how to salvage the relationship. Tip: Be honest with your customers andtell them you will do whatever it takes to fix the problem. Never hide behind policies or procedures.Your clients are human and most of them will appreciate your honest effort but in the rare case thatyour customer does not behave like a human, apologise to the level you feel you should but notbeyond a limit. If it goes beyond control, say sorry and seek the support of your supervisor. The nexttime they give you business; surprise them with super-fast delivery to gain back your credibility.

Evading a responsibility

If you make constant excuses, you could be labelled as undependable and untrustworthy, andconsidered overly defensive and resistant. You may be strong otherwise, but if you're alwayscovering up your shortcomings with excuses, your negative reputation will make you succumb tofailure. Tip: Face the facts and stop procrastinating. Ask for other people's help to get things done. Ifyou still fail, apologize and fix the issue without hiding behind fictitious explanations. Ask people youcan rely on for feedback on your ideas. In an already competitive world, you should welcome any


help you can get. A sincere feedback will help prevent you from having bad experiences in thefuture. Many people like being independent as they think it is great. Don't try to be independent.You can achieve a lot more as a team or independently with advice from co-workers or supervisorsas they will give you better ideas from their experience. Actually, they will be happy to help you. Ifyou don’t believe this, imagine someone seeking you for advice on something you know well. Won’tyou feel happy that this person seeks your help for something? Won’t you feel that this person isseeking advice from you because he/she feels that you are good at that something which he/she isnot?

Executing a bad idea

Let’s say you convinced your supervisors on a project/product and spent the company's money for itand finally it fails. While you were expecting laurels for your creativity, your boss asked you for areport to justify the investment. Tip: So what if your idea failed? You should use this to youradvantage in preparation for your next big project. Analyze what went wrong or what could havebeen altered. Maybe you could have done more research or tested your idea before you went publicor perhaps you could have taken the advice of senior members of the team. Taking ownership ofyour mistake is the first and most important step in dealing with a failed project. Blaming othersrather than yourself will create tension at the office and spoil your working relationship with others.

And remember: Risk-taking is a skill that is required for you to succeed. Whether you failed becauseof your own sloppy work or because you made some hasty decisions and misunderstood your job'sprofile, failure is one of the best teaching tools life can offer you. Even if you fall flat on your face,you can always use the valuable lesson you learnt on your way to the top.

Intangible qualities for success

Whether you are starting out in a new job or trying to get your career on track, the fundamentals ofsuccess are always the same. Time and time again, certain traits will help you get to the next leveland the next after that. But what are these traits that separate you from another person of equalskill? Brains account for a lot, but they are not everything. If you have reached a certain level of yourintelligence or if you are trying to rise above others of greater skill, you need to take into accountthe intangibles of success.

Broad perspective

My colleague once discussed a software development issue with a programmer: While theprogrammer was concerned about the efficiency of the code, which would not have become anissue for months, my colleague was concerned about getting it to work as soon as possible becauseit was a show stopper for the rest of the business and also because he expected bigger problems assoon as the software was put to use. So the programmer would have more pressure to handle then.What do you see when you look at a problem, specifically a problem that seems to have no obvioussolution? Do you feel a rush of anxiety or do you try to look at it in the context of everything elseand determine how important it really is? If you want to be successful you have to learn todifferentiate between matters of great importance and matters of least importance. Making a bigdeal out of everything will only serve to work you up and leave you racing to catch up on the issuesthat truly matter. Successful people learn to get the work done on time and iron out the flaws(minor) later.


Vested interest in the company

In the company I worked, I saw a lot of people doing their work just for the sake of the salary. Theydidn’t have the passion to work and they had to be supervised all the time. I don’t blame thesepeople alone for the lack of passion-It is connected with the way the management functions alsobut still IF they had worked with passion, the result would have been unimaginably good. In thesame way analyse (when you start working) whether the company you work for really matters toyou? I’m talking about

-the devotion that you will/will not have when you talk about your work with friends and family-the devotion that you feel when you are deciding if putting in those extra hours will make adifference to the company.

A manager, knowing that the members of his/her team have an interest in the well-being of thecompany will give greater autonomy to his/her team members during work since even withouthis/her constant supervision, they will work for the good of the company. Employees with a vestedinterest are seen by their superiors as people with a passion for what they do; this attitude tends togarner fruitful rewards. If you want to guarantee your success, increase your threshold of pain andwork with passion else seek another job that you feel passionate about. Don’t work withoutpassion.

High tolerance for punishment

If you are given more work than others, you shouldn’t feel wronged because of it. It may take awhile to understand this concept, but the idea is that taking on more work gives you moreresponsibility. Your reaction to the additional responsibilities is part of what determines yoursuccess. Though you may feel that you are not fit for the task, you never know unless you try. Eg: Iwas once told by my CEO to devise a method to calculate the cost of production of various productsas the method which was in use was not very accurate. If I had to work on the costing part which Iwas not aware of till then, I had to get in touch with the person who was responsible for the costingmethod that was prevailing then and that was my PM, (Production Manager not Project Manager)but he was not very supportive. So, I told my mom to send me the book I studied in College-Processplanning and cost estimation-I studied once again or rather only now with renewed interest-Apartfrom this I browsed the net, contacted a few of my fiends in other companies, spoke with a lot ofshop floor personnel to get some extra information so that I can standardize various processes inproduction. They gave me lot of information which I didn’t know before. After all this I spent a weekdeciding the method on how I should proceed-kept simulating things in my mind and finally after amonth, I did it (after a lot of failures). I really didn’t think I would do it. I learnt; perseverance yieldsrewards.

Ownership and accountability

What does an assignment mean to you? Do you just go through the motions or do you seek to fulfilla role? The truth is that each job you do is more than a set of tasks. If you can see it as such andcomplete all the auxiliary functions related to it, you might find yourself enjoying newfoundauthority. The idea of ownership is to perform a certain function within the company so well that itbecomes your domain of expertise. When you slip up, you must take responsibility for your mistakesand rectify them so that they are not repeated. Follow through on all your commitments, no matterhow small they may be. Small acts such as this will make a difference when it comes to promotion-the impression that you are on top of things.


Confidence

You can't be a leader if you are afraid. Being a confident leader is more than simply knowing whenyou should speak up; it also involves backing up your position with credible and concrete sources.You do not want to become a weak leader who argues for the sake of argument. Many times, I hadencouraged a few receptive employees/colleagues to voice their concerns or to take the lead in adiscussion when I saw that they were itching to say something. I respected their thoughts and ideasa lot-They gave me more knowledge on tackling some problems but I felt if they were able tovalidate themselves, they could rise up the career ladder fast.

Opposition

Whether your boss agrees with you or not, speaking out when things are contrary to your views canearn you the respect of your superiors and peers. They will rest more peacefully knowing that theycan count on you to speak up when things aren't being done the right way. But, remember not to dothis too aggressively. Know how to present negatives. You can use the famous sandwich method-Put forth one “negative statement or suggestion” between two “positive or appreciation”statements.

Opportunism

Many of my colleagues who were capable of doing great work kept waiting for somebody to givethem or handover responsibility. Do not sit back and expect things to be handed over to you. Youcould end up waiting a long time. Seize opportunities as they are near to you. Don’t wait for apromotion; instead, work towards it and make sure that your boss is aware that you are hungry.However do not act rashly, boldly or with arrogance. Declare your ambitions through your actionsand with the quality of your work and your extra effort. Don’t just ask for it - Earn It. Make thingseasier for your boss by winning the right to take on those additional responsibilities that are up forgrabs. Keep in mind that your boss’ or supervisor’s job is to look after the business and that yourhappiness is a secondary issue unless it affects the business. Make yourself an important person tothe company and lay claim to the opportunity of your dreams. You can’t do this as a fresher unlessyou are a go-lucky kind of person but over a time you will have the possibilities. Practice the basics.Succeeding takes time and effort; it comes more easily to some people than to others. It is theintangibles that set them apart. These fundamental philosophies or principles, when put intopractice, could be the difference between a career of mediocrity and one bursting withaccomplishment.

Blowing the whistle

There may come a time in your professional life when you are faced with the moral dilemma ofwhether or not to report an act of treachery or deceit in the workplace. Often you may come acrossexamples of people who misrepresent the numbers, adjust figures or, quite simply, lie. Though thesetypes of cases may be much less scandalous than the headline cases in the news, such as those youwould read in the subject “Professional Ethics” (Final Year Subject), they may still cause considerabledamage to the company you work for and its reputation. Professional Ethics is a subject inengineering which deals with case studies about acts of whistle blowing but the safe method toblow the whistle and the impact on the personal life of a person who blows the whistle is neverexplained in our undergraduate text books.

In life, most people won’t look at whether you are ethical or not. They will just see whether you are


successful or unsuccessful. You may blow the whistle and call yourself ethical but ultimately if youlose your job because of it-all those dependent on you will suffer but in some cases it is better toblow the whistle than keep quiet and become part of the act. It is obviously a very difficult andconscience-wearing task to rat out a colleague. This article is about helping you judge when to blowthe whistle and how to do it properly when the time comes. When is it best to speak out? When is itbest to stay silent? Below are some hard-and-fast rules for when you should stand up and when youshould not. Experience will teach you to add up some more points here. Anyway, these are fornow…

When not to speak out:-When you are substantially removed from the incident, such that it is none of yourbusiness,

-When the violation is of minor consequence and will quickly blow over and-When the act of dishonesty is likely to result in a greater good rather than harm.

When to speak out:-When there will be serious ramifications for you if it is discovered that you wereaware of the deceit and did not report it,

-When the act will have repercussions on the reputation of the firm if it wererevealed,

-When the act of deceit significantly and negatively impacts your work and-When the act is illegal,-When the act affects the firm in the long run.

Pros and cons of whistle blowing:

1- There are implications of trust. In the workplace there is usually an attitude of “us” vs. “them.”When you speak out, whether you are justified in doing so or not, you cannot avoid shattering a bitof that camaraderie. Your peers will wonder whether you can be trusted and whether you will passthe office gossip back up to their bosses.

2- You will make an enemy if your role in implicating the wrongdoer were to be revealed; therefore,make sure the crime is worth punishing and worth the trouble it will put you through, especially ifthe guilty party is more senior than you.

On the bright side, speaking out may win you the trust and favour of your boss. But don’t do itsolely for this reason - it isn’t worth it. The boss is not the power holder in most companies.Remember…In the corporate world (as in chess), except the pawn and King everybody else havemore access than and they will know how to tackle odd situations than you (if you are just a pawn).

How to talk

If you have decided to blow the whistle there are a few important things to consider:

1- Gather evidence firstWithout evidence, it is your word against theirs. If the culprit is a person who has been in thecompany for years, the trustworthiness he/she would have developed over the years will be verystrong and difficult to be shattered. Make sure you can back up your accusations or you could findyourself on the defensive.


2- Keep things discreetSome whistle blowers are not smart enough to keep their mouths shut about their part in revealingan infraction. The possible result is that the working relationship between said whistle blowers andtheir peers is significantly impaired to the point that the team might be disbanded. If you are goingto rat out your colleague, do it in private and with a promise that your role will not be revealed.

3- Do not wait to talkIf you linger, there will be questions of why you did not bring things up sooner. Wait for the rightsituation (for example, not in front of everyone) to bring things up to your boss, but do it as soon aspossible.

4- Back off once you have had your sayDo not stick around for the kill; say what you know and stay out of things. Let others deal with theconsequences and the sentencing. Your job is over. You aren’t acting in amovie to see it finish-Time to exit. If you try to pronounce judgement it will raise suspicions aboutyour intent as to whether you are using this as an opportunity to further your position? Neither yourboss nor your colleagues will respect you for that.

Making the right move

Blowing the whistle is often a test of one’s morals and values. Nobody likes doing it, but sometimesyou are put in a situation where you have no choice but to choose the righteous path. Use your bestjudgement to make the decision that is right for you. Don’t discuss with colleagues and decide. Thenyou blow your cover and lose the trust of everybody. Nobody said life was easy, and this definitely isnot one of the more pleasant parts.

Managing your managers

Imagine a situation in which you are cornered by the requests of several people. Sometimes youmay have to report to more than a single manager or be as a mediator to your immediate managerand a manager of a different concern so as to complete a project. During such instances conflictingdemands from every side will make you question yourself regularly as you may not know which wayto turn - whether to respond to a call for help or another. You may doubt whether it is wrong tosupport one manager and oppose the other because the first manager says something whichopposes the methods of the second. How do you cope with all the work? How do you decide thestance you should take? Work situations such as these are real and they happen to people whoreport to multiple managers. Without proper coordination, these parties can make unrealisticdemands on your time and place you in situations that have conflicting instructions. I have struggledunder the burdens of differing opinions and instructions, but I have prevailed and learned (fromothers with time) how to prevent these situations from getting out of hand. Here are some methodsto deal with multiple managers when you are in a similar situation

Who has ultimate authority over you?

Once, a colleague of mine was in a situation in which he was reporting to the Vice president of thecompany - I believed so. For six months the Vice President was the sole person tasking my colleagueand he conducted the performance reviews; I assumed he was my colleague’s boss. It turned out hewas not his boss. Moreover, when his/our real boss found out, he was questioned for takingassignments from someone else even though he was the Vice president of the firm. At this point, Ilearnt that position and seniority do not necessarily determine who has authority over you. Many


times the authority is decided by whichever manager stands firm in his resolve to take responsibilityfor the work that you do. If you are unsure who you ultimately report to, ask your boss/es. Have itresolved between them so that you do not make the mistake of following the wrong drum beat.

When you receive conflicting instructions

No matter who you ultimately report to, you will always feel uncomfortable when you are givenconflicting instructions on a matter. In the company I worked, there were two product divisions,namely connector and antenna. When I first started my career as an engineer, I was put in theconnector division. I also started involving myself in the work that went on in the antenna division.Eventually, I was told by my supervisor not to involve in work that went on in antenna division andthat I concentrate myself more in the connector division so that I don’t get out of focus. Later, aftersome months, I was told by my CEO to assist the Vice President in his work. This is where theproblem started. I was given works which related to antenna department only and guess what Idid…Let me keep it suspense because I didn’t do the right thing. I later realised what I should havedone. The best thing to do when you are faced with conflicting instructions is to let all the involvedparties know that there is a contentious situation.

Exercising your freedoms, silence is a success secret to learn

Avoid taking sides that would challenge the authority of your direct supervisor. There are timeswhen you may feel that you are doing well, but your actions could be seen as disrespectful towardyour boss. Sometimes during such unfortunate situations, it is better-To accept your success as a failure and-To say you don’t know, even when you know

When you have conflicting amounts of freedom

Sometimes one supervisor will give you more freedom to do something, but another gives you less?Do you exercise that freedom? The key thing here is to know your boundaries and to know yoursupervisors. In general, the safest thing to do is to exercise as much freedom as your strictestsupervisor would afford you - keep in mind that this is probably not the most efficient way toperform your job. If there is absolute need to exercise a particular freedom to complete yourresponsibilities, seek written permission from the supervisor who tasked you. Explain the conflictand let your supervisor decide what to do about it. If the decision is to proceed with the set offreedoms, make sure you have written documentation in case anyone challenges your authority.Even mails are a form of documentation. This will be very effective when you communicate withpeople of authority or those in senior positions. Written communication is very powerful. Theminute they reply, you got it covered. They cannot deny later. Of course, some will not reply. Thenuse your tongue and take apaper and pen with the same filled up. If they say yes-ask them to sign in the paper-There is nothingwrong in this though it may sound and look odd, compared to the after effects (if you get unlucky).Prevention is better than cure (Age old recipe).

Managing excessive demands

Create a physical list of all your upcoming tasks. Ask your supervisors to indicate, in order ofimportance, which tasks they feel are the most important. Ensure that they know that noteverything can be marked as a top priority; ask them to assign a unique number to each task,thereby creating a discrete, sequential order. Now combine all your priority lists into one master list


and prioritize your duties according to this list. In my experience, it is most effective to review yourpriority lists with your supervisors periodically. New issues will give rise to new priorities.

Keeping your secrets

When working for multiple managers, you will occasionally come across things that they wouldprefer the other manager of yours should not know. Often, there is a fine line between what shouldbe said and what should not -- it takes a fair bit of judgment to navigate this situation withdiplomacy. For instance, I was once asked to withhold certain information from my direct supervisorabout how badly a project was going to be delayed. Unfortunately, I also knew that this informationwould have a dramatic impact on my supervisor’s work. So I struck a bargain; I allowed him a graceperiod, but explained to him that I had to eventually inform my supervisor. No one likes a tattle-taleso try to avoid being one. Exercise diplomacy and avoid taking sides if possible. Picking sides canlead to a loss of favour from one of your supervisor/boss/manager (whatever you call them),whereas keeping a consistent policy of silence among bosses keeps you from blame and earnsrespect. If you are forced to take sides, let it be known where your loyalties are so they do not putyou in an awkward situation of mistaken identity. Make the most of the situation. When you areworking for multiple managers, it takes preparation and diplomacy to keep everyone happy. Beconsistent in your actions and keep an open dialogue with each boss. Keep them abreast of thesituations you face and do not be afraid to ask them for advice.

Take a new job or stick on?

Over a point of time you will be in a state of perplexity or uncertainty, esp. with regard toprogression in your career-To continue in the current job or move to a different company,-To be in service or start your own business,-To keep working or take a break for a higher education–these questions haunt every person in thecorporate world today,

“In case of two alternate routes, he should march in a region suitable to himself” (10.2.10)-From the book “Arthashastra” written by Chanakya (Indian), the world’s first management guru

The above advice is self explanatory. But the choice taken subsequently could either make or breakyou. And not just for choosing jobs-Such a “conflict management situation” can arise for anyoneduring every aspect of life. At such times, you have to think through your head and feel through yourheart. Keep a check of your strength and weaknesses. How does one do this? Well, here are sometips for you to follow when facing that tough decision:

1. Ask Yourself

The first person you have to consider is yourself. Ask yourself if you are doing the right thing. If youfeel that - in the current company and industry - your growth has stopped, then, prepare yourself fora change. It would actually be great to have an open discussion with your boss or seniors to get adirection (just incase they had planned to give you new responsibilities). If you still feel the solutionis not forthcoming, then seek external help.


2. Speak To Others

You can consult the experts of your field and check if you are capable of doing something better. Ifthis is too difficult, look at the websites that can guide you in this matter. Join an online group oflike-minded people and seek guidance and tips for better understanding of your situation.

3. Follow that ‘gut-feel’ (My favorite)

Finally, after all this analyses, the important part is to take a step in the direction where you want tobe in the future. If you continue doing what you are doing, you will continue getting what you aregetting. So if you want to be different from what you currently are, do something different. Onceyou take this first step, half the battle is won – provided you want to fight for something better!Look, there are plenty of opportunities today. But few take risks. Only, those who take calculatedrisks with measurable steps can succeed in achieving their long-term goals. And please never regreta decision, even if it is a wrong move. Keep going along the chosen path. No looking back.

Negative workplace perceptions

At times, you may be surprised by your employer's reaction to certain actions you have taken inthe workplace? In situations like these, this is what could have happened-the very actions youthought were the most positive were the ones that most irritated your employer! I have run into fewinstances where my own desires to do something has been perceived in a negative light by others.For example, I once tried to help another colleague quickly “automate” a manual process of his, onlyto later on hear comments from people of other department. They told me to concentrate on myown duties. Differences in perspectives and priorities can lead to contrasting views on thecontributions you make at work. There are no hard rules to avoid these disparities since they are theresult of a specific blend of personalities and cultures. However, there are some misunderstandingsthat occur more than others. To help minimize the chances of upsetting your employer, try toaddress the following common behaviors that you see as positive, but that your employer sees astroublesome.

Embarking on projects by yourselfHow you may perceive it: You have independence and initiative.How your employer may perceive it: You are difficult to control.

You may think that you are doing the company a favor by going the extra mile and pursuinginitiatives as worthwhile, but your employer may see you as a handful that forces him to put in extraeffort to keep things under control. Keep in mind that, while what you are doing may be useful tothe company, your boss may have other priorities in mind. Before you spend too much time on aproject of your own, make sure your boss agrees with what you're doing.

Engaging in long debates over minor differencesHow you may perceive it: You are displaying an attention to detail or meticulousness.How your employer may perceive it: You are unaccommodating and losing sight of the big picture.

Sometimes ego and conceit take over in the workplace, and you find yourself needing to argue toprove your point -- even if it is a minor one -- because you believe you are right. But while you aretaking this opportunity to reinforce your self-worth, you might be passing the wrong message toyour boss. In fact, you might be telling your employer that you are a bit too opinionated to have areasonable and productive discussion. Trivial points should not dominate the meeting when there


are more important issues on hand. Early on in my career, I constantly argued with a co-worker overhow to do things. Neither of us ever wanted to concede a point -- even if it was inconsequential inthe grand scheme of things. From then on, we were placed in different roles so that we would neverclash again. State your point, but be ready to be accommodating for the sake of productivity.

Keeping to yourself during your free timeHow you may perceive it: You are separating your personal life from your professional life.How your employer may perceive it: You may not be the best team player.

I know a lot of people who like to stick to themselves during any break in the action, whetherit is at lunch or at a company gathering – I was one too! While you may think that what you dosocially shouldn't be the company’s concern, your employer might not view it the same way. Thiscould really swing both ways. In some cases, your boss may attribute your solitude to your inabilityto build relationships with others. In other cases, your employer might feel that you aredemonstrating your independence. Just remember not to stick to extremes - find a balance betweenbeing sociable and being a loner.

Being a perfectionistHow you may perceive it: You always want to do the best job.How your employer may perceive it: You are wasting time on minor details.

There is such thing as “good enough”. While some jobs may be ideally suited for a perfectionist,most of the time, your employer/supervisor will want you to move on when the task is sufficientlycompleted. Don’t waste your time. The last minor details usually take the most time, so learn to letgo and take on more pressing projects. If you have the time, being a perfectionist isn’t that bad.

Beating the Peter Principle

Are you sure you’re ready for the next step? Are you really ready to climb that extra rung in theladder? Almost everyone believes they are ready for a promotion, but a theory by educatorLaurence J. Peter provides an interesting perspective on the idea.

The Peter Principle states: “In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level ofincompetence.” Put another way, the theory explains why people are often promoted until theyreach a position that requires skills they do not possess -- in which case, someone else is promotedinstead. To avoid falling victim to the Peter Principle, try employing the following three strategies tokeep you ready for that next step. (Prepare to meet your goals, Plan to fill in the gaps and Keepthings flexible)

1-Prepare to meet your goals

Many of us are too lazy to plan what we are going to do during the weekend, let alone the next fewyears, but regardless of the tedious nature of this exercise, planning is a necessary factor in beatingthe Peter Principle. Preparing a good plan encompasses four key steps:

Decide what your short- to medium-term goals are: It is hard to work toward a goal without a clearperspective of what you want. If you do not have a short- to medium-term goal, try deciding on arealistic situation that you would not mind finding yourself in, and use it to decide what you want tobe doing in the future.


Write a job description for the role: Know and understand what your dream job would entail. Whatskills and abilities would someone successful in your dream position need to possess? If you areunsure, try and look up a job posting for a similar position at another firm. Use this posting as yourguideline for finding what would be expected of you at the next level.

Question yourself: Ask yourself, “As a job applicant, what skills would I be missing?” Take a carefullook at yourself and make an outline of the skills you lack. Then decide whether you have proof ofthe skills you do have. Make a list of your work abilities and make another list of skills you feel youshould acquire to take yourself to that next level. Your next step will be to find ways to improve yoursufficiency for the promotion by adding new skills to your work experience, which brings us to thenext point. Learn how to get the skills you need to get the promotion you want

2- Plan to fill in the gaps

There are numerous ways to build experience and build up your skill set on your resume before youfind yourself losing the position that relies on those skills.

Volunteer: One way to build experience is to undertake some volunteer opportunities at a localcharity. People are often happy to let you take on more senior roles of planning, organization andmanagement as long as you show a certain level of aptitude. Take your role seriously and try tomake a measurable difference with what you do. That way, you can quote the “demonstrabledifference” you made with your volunteer work on any future job applications or performancereviews.

Take a class: Continuing education or short-term workshops are also great ways to fill in gaps in yourtool set and to make new connections. Try looking at your local university or college to see whatmight be available.

3- Keep things flexible

To keep yourself on the right track, think about all the things you can do that would broaden yourmarketable skills. Choose the ones that will give you the widest range of experiences and that willallow you to develop abilities that are not currently in your arsenal.

Keep your possibilities open: In a game of chess, a useful tactic is to increase the number of optionsor spaces that you can move your pieces onto and minimize the number of spaces that youropponent can move to. If you think of a career from the same perspective, you can easilydifferentiate between opportunities that will further yourself and opportunities that will limit yourfuture.

Be ready for the unknown: The concept here is to help you prepare for the unknown. Your life andyour career rarely go as planned, so it is imperative that you remain open-minded, flexible andequipped to face new challenges and roles. Planning for future success involves preparing for thepre-conceived through the matching of goals and skill sets, as well as planning for the things thatcannot be foreseen. Keep your mind calm and be ready to meet any new trial. Challenge yourself bybuilding new talents and proficiencies.

Only you can make it happen: Only you can take yourself to that next level. If you take the time tomarket your skills and work on acquiring new ones, no other person than you will be suited for thatpromotion. Decide what your goals are, assess what you need to do in order to reach your goals


then take the necessary steps to get those skills and make your dreams a reality.

Benefits of teamwork

Many people think that their professional success is solely dependent upon how well theypersonally perform. This notion of a self-created destiny has led to a work environment wherehoarding information, refusing help and stepping on colleagues to get to the top run rampant. Butthat is not the right way. In fact, the higher you rise on the corporate ladder, the more you realizethat how well you do your job is in fact linked to how much you can get out of others and how wellyou can work with them toward a common goal. You cannot do everything by yourself. Acceptinghelp or delegating responsibility is not a sign of weakness, but a growing process that helps youprogress as an employee. Don’t try to be independent, especially as a fresher (This is when you haveto learn a lot as everything will be new).

The benefits

1-Working faster : It doesn't matter how smart or capable you are; if you work with others, you willfind that the overall results come much faster. Initially, it may take more time to ensure that thingsare done properly. But if you work with the same team for some time, you will find that theperformance gains start to kick in quickly. To get the best efforts and commitment out of your teammembers, try to align their goals with yours. Make it so that when you benefit, they do as well.

2-Obtaining a promotion : Managers and high-level executives oversee the work of others. If yourboss were to become involved in the day-to-day process of completing your work, he wouldn’t havethe time to oversee his own responsibilities. The CEO, who was once a petrol bunk staff, did not getto the top by holding on to his old responsibilities of filling gas. Likewise, you cannot get to the nextlevel without relinquishing some of your duties to others. Prioritize and decide which matters aretoo serious to delegate, but let some of the work go to others. Teamwork can build trust, reducestress and more…

3-Maximizing your employees’ performance : What are your core competencies? While you maybe a highly skilled individual, other people might be able to complete certain tasks more efficientlythan you can. Let the frontline workers -- who know their part of the business -- decide how to dotheir jobs. This will generally create more buy-in, higher employee motivation and betterperformance. Set guidelines for what you want to see and the level of responsibility being granted,but try not to inhibit the creativity of others. Remember that it is usually the outcome, and not theprocess of getting there, that is the most important.

4-Getting to know what is going on outside your circle : If you trust them, they will trust you(eventually, if not initially). That is a golden rule of workplace relationships. Show your co-workers orstaff that you believe in them and in the quality of their work. Trust is the first step in fosteringbetter communication, and it allows you to maintain a greater awareness of what is going on.

5-Learning opportunity : When you are a young professional, there is always someone who is olderand more experienced than you are. Just as you needed someone to teach you the ABCs as a child,there will be times in your career when you can benefit from the experience and teachings ofothers. Life is a learning process, and building new skills can open new opportunities for you.


Make your move to move up

People’s approach on getting promoted can be categorized into three types:

First of all, there are people who don't want any new responsibility than earning just enough forfamily or food or entertainment based on their position and age. They stagnate in the samepositions and like to sit in the same chair.

Second, there are the idealists who think their work will speak for itself and that they will move upwhen the time is right, when they have paid their dues.

Third are the cut-throat climbers who can't stop until they’re at the top most position. These peoplewould do anything to rise up and they have their twists on a trajectory that even NASA can't match.

As for the better way to move up, take an approach that lies somewhere between the idealist andthe cut-throat. Consider some ways to "inspire" your supervisor.

The simple route

1-Highlight your accomplishments: A supervisor remembers jobs performed, especially if he'sregularly "reminded" of the success of a project. If it was your idea to skim profits from the project,then mention how much additional profit you've hauled in. Always be involved in several activeprojects. Most bosses don't think, "What have you done for me?" They wonder, "What have youdone for me lately?”. Put in extra hours and don’t try to become a leader or head of a department intwo days

2-Put in the hours: The most obvious way to inspire your supervisor to promote you is to work hard.Get to work early and leave late; it helps if the supervisor knows you are putting in the extra hours.On the other hand, some people waste time around and aren't efficient. Be competent and don'tlose your soul by overworking. When a project requires extra time, be willing to do it. Sometimes, acrisis comes up and you can't work the usual eight hours and go home. That's when you load up oncaffeine. Some go for a smoke (I prefer coffee).

3-Create opportunities for others: Get your ideas in shape by thinking -- not about the weekend,but about ways in which you can save your time and money, and reduce unnecessary work. Onceyou become an idea producer, you can start employing the “others” around you, and theiraccomplishments will reflect back on you. A word to the wise: Being strictly a thinker and not a manof action will not help you. Success is 1% idea, 99% implementation. The idea is like an unplantedseed. Workers are the ones who do the work, and turn the idea (if yours) into somethinguseful. Move them.

4-Don't skip ranks: Usually an employee who is the pet to his/her supervisor or a relative of thesupervisor gets to skip ranks. You, however, do not -- but then again, it is better for you. Sure, itmakes you jealous to see a young nobody become somebody, but ask yourself this: Does anyonerespect that person? Do you? No. He/she got something for nothing. The same thing happens evenin the military, when guys go from civilian to Major. To their faces, they get a five-finger salute;behind their backs, they get only one. If you who punch your success at every stop along your careerpath, you will have more self-respect, more experience and more admiration from your peers. Onceyou go up the ladder, everybody will try to bring you back to your old place. How you get there canhelp you stay there.


5-Make contacts: The most fundamental way to get promoted is through contacts. A friend of mineonce introduced me to a guy, and that's how things started to happen for me. When you and yourfriends help each other out, you grow together. Celebrate his/her achievements too, especially ifyou are a friend in need.

The aggressive route

1-Pick the right timing: The simplest way to approach the boss is to confront him boldly and requesta promotion, and not like little Oliver Twist asking for more porridge -- do it with confidence.Gauging the right time to do so is very difficult. First of all, there is the actual hour: When is yourboss usually in the best mood? What is going on that day? Second, you need to have your worksquared away, or that's what will be on his mind. A good time to ask for promotion is shortly afteryou've had a success. Third, think about what's going on outside of the organization. You know, inthat other place called the world. If the organization is in a meltdown, you might want to wait for abetter season. Don’t burn your bridges.

2-Take politics into consideration: Is it your turn? Do you deserve to move up, and if you do, are youprepared to say why? On the spot, you will need to be able to articulate why you're the best for aposition. Moving up is a political act and undercutting a guy who deserves it could really hurt you inthe long run. To play a political game, you need to be able to talk -- and by talk, I mean lie. Thesmartest, most deserving person rarely gets to the top . It's usually the loudest, most decisiveperson, even if he is as dumb as a box. Make some noise.

3-Don’t be too aggressive: Violence begets violence. In some cases, silence is a virtue. Swallowingyour pride can be divine, if taken with salt. When you lose your cool with a boss, you can never undothat moment. Everyone will remember it. Unless you are a major figure don't give impromptuspeeches at the top of your lungs.

4-Start your own family: Can't take it anymore? Sometimes a terrible boss can drive you to mutiny.That's how competition begins, and it's the American way. Some people can give orders but can'ttake them. If you start a new family, once you are in charge, try to remember the tyrant who droveyou out, and don't make the same mistakes. Every situation is different, but stick to the rules, workhard and be tough when you need to be. Getting passed over for a promotion is degrading andleaves a heck of a sting. That sting can devastate you or it can motivate you. Sure it hurts. Eg:Stanford University was started when Harvard University insulted one of its alumni’s parents whenthey said they wanted to offer a building to Harvard in memory of their dead son.

Street lessons (Sometimes being a politician is a necessity)

Politics is a part of most organizations. So long what you have read will help you to solve mostproblems like a professional. Sometimes these professional methods won’t work. You may feel thatthe world isn’t fair, nobody cares if you get hurt or if your feelings get bruised etc. Everybody's tryingto get a piece of the action, trying to survive.

You can learn a lot from books, but it's not always enough. I have read a lot of books, but nothinghas educated me greatly than losses due to politics at many stages of my life. All these losses weredue to the weaknesses I had and also because my weaknesses were the strengths of the politicians(or so called smart people) who came into my life. They helped me see my weaknesses and helpedme be shrewd and not to lose in the same way again in my life.


I don’t approve of you practicing, what the so called smart people do but be ready to play the role ofa politician if situation demands, because if you don’t know how to handle those smart people, youwill get treated as if you came from the dust bin-a useless. Life is like the street.

I would like to write many things here but I prefer not to, because I feel many people will object thecontent. So I suggest a book which you may read and follow (only to defend yourself) against smartpeople. Don’t use it against normal and innocent people. That’s my request. This is the book

“Power” by Robert Greene (Viva Books Publications).

I have my own comments about this book but I prefer not to publicise and change your way ofseeing things.


Pg 38 of 47

Quotes about India Facts about India Facts about Indians My message

As an Indian (more than a SRECian/Mechian), I am naturally proud of the many factswhich are presented in the next few pages. However the reason for this section is notto promote jingoism but so that you as an Indian

-feel proud of yourself when introducing yourself as an Indian, in India and alsooutside, and-treat every other Indian whom you meet with the respect they deserve.

Please don’t consider this section as a history class

Return to Index

Quotes about India (by foreigners)

"We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientificdiscovery could have been made."-Albert Einstein

"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, thegrandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition."-Mark Twain

"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to makeIndia the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to havebeen forgotten, nothing overlooked.“-Mark Twain

"Bear in mind that the commerce of India is the commerce of the world and ... he who canexclusively command it is the dictator of Europe.“-Peter the Great of Russia

"Many of the advances in the sciences that we consider today to have been made in Europe werein fact made in India centuries ago."-Grant Duff, British Historian

"India was the motherland of our race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages. India wasthe mother of our philosophy, of much of our mathematics, of the ideals embodied inChristianity... of self-government and democracy. In many ways, Mother India is the mother of usall"- Will Durant, American Historian

"Indians have in general superior endowments in reading, writing and arithmetic than thecommon people of any nation in Europe."-Warren Hastings

"If there is one place on the face of earth where all dreams of living men have found a home fromthe very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India ."-Romain Rolland (French scholar)

"India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send asingle soldier across her border."-Hu Shih (former Chinese ambassador to USA, referring to the entry of Buddhism into China.Buddhism was born in ancient India )

"In India I found a race of mortals living upon the Earth but not adhering to it. Inhabiting cities,but not being fixed to them, possessing everything but possessed by nothing.“-Apollonius Tyanaeus, Greek Thinker and Traveller 1st Century AD


Facts about India (for those who don’t know)...What India has and what India is

India is the world’s largest democracy that ranks 7th largest in the world, with an area of about 3.2million sq.miles. It ranks 2nd in population accounting for 16% of world’s population. It has a largereservoir of skilled manpower. Out of its 1.4 Billion (1400 Million) population-402.51 million peoplework and 700 million of people belong to the “less than 35 yrs old” category. This is where the corestrength of this nation lies.

This country occupies the top place in terms of global reserves,

-1st largest producer of raw jute and jute goods production-1st largest exporter of jute goods-1st largest producer of Mica (60% of World’s production)-1st largest possessor of livestock population (57% in buffalo population and 15% in Cattle-1st largest producer of Tea-1st largest producer of milk-75.5 million tonnes (1998-99)-1st largest producer of steel-2nd largest producer of sponge iron-2nd largest producer of raw silk (20% of World’s production)-2nd largest producer of wheat, paddy and rice-2nd largest producer of fruits and vegetables-2nd largest producer of fish (next to China)-3rd largest producer of Rubber-3rd largest producer of Coal-5th largest producer of Bauxite-5th largest producer of wind power (after Germany, USA, Spain and Denmark)-9th largest exporter of dyes and dye stuffs-12th largest producer in the production of the chemicals-6th place in the world in terms of satellite launches-Possesses 37% of the world’s Titanium Illuminate ores-Textile export is the largest net foreign exchange earner and accounts (27% of total export)

P.S: The above data does not pertain to the year 2007 but the various highest positions achievedover the past decade.

Other than these

It offers different types of cultures, climatic conditions and many other attractions like snow cladpeaks of Himalayas, wild life and bird sanctuaries with extraordinary range of wildlife, architecturallyand artistically perfect temples and holy places, extravagant and exquisite monuments, commandingand impressive forts and gateways, enticing foods, dishes and enjoyable cuisine, colourful andvibrant festivals, beautiful beaches, peaceful lagoons and sleepy country side lakes etc. Itincorporates an exceptional range of bio-diversity and is identified among 12 as biological mega-centre. It is rich in medicinal plants, which are available all across the subcontinent. It is one of thefew countries where nearly 50% of the geographical area is arable (farmable). It is surrounded on 3sides by a coastline of about 5600 Kms and a set of islands. It has 12 major ports and 181 operableminor ports that provide excellent infrastructure for tourism, trade and untapped under waterresources. It has 563.01 million literate persons in the country (2001). It has 688000 primaryschools, 110000 secondary schools, 10555 colleges and 221 universities.


India has so much to see. It could take many a life time to experience India.

Facts about Indians (for those who don’t know)...What Indians have given to this world

Martial Arts : Kalarippayat is the exclusive martial arts legacy of Kerala, which is said to be taken toChina by the Buddhist monk Bodhi Dharma which became the base for the modern martial arts likeKung-Fu, Taekwando and Karate

Medicine (Ayurveda and Surgery) : Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Itis a complex system of healing that originated in India thousands of years ago. We can find historicalevidence of Ayurveda in the four ancient books of wisdom known as the Vedas. Though the Vedaswere written over 6,000 years ago, Ayurveda has been around even longer than that. Sushruta is thefather of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries likecesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancientIndia .

Dams : The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.

Civilization : When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 yearsago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindh Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).

Games : Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India. Polo originated in Manipur.

Music : Carnatic music had its origin which can be traced back to 5th century A.D. It is more complexthan the western music.

Dance : Bharatnatyam had it’s origin in Tamil Nadu. It is the embodiment of music in its visual form.Apart from this there are many other dance forms pertaining to different cultures.

Language : According to the Forbes magazine (July 1987 issue), Sanskrit is the most suitablelanguage for computer software.

Wireless Communication : USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicionamongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose andnot Marconi.

Computer : The Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the today's computers run on it) wasinvented by Vinod Dahm (Indian).

Mathematics : Ramanujan’s works on mathematics is known all around the world. He left a legacyof 4000 formulae-all theorems of incredible power. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science byresearch (equivalent to today’s PhD) by Cambridge University. He was elected as the fellow of theRoyal Society of London in 1918, his name was proposed by 13 eminent mathematicians-the firstIndian to be given that name. India invented the Number system. Zero was invented byAryabhatta. The value of “pi” was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept ofwhat is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have officially published (1999)that Budhayan's works dates to the 6th Century which is long before the Europeanmathematicians. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India . Quadratic equations were bySridharacharya in the 11th Century; the largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106


whereas Indians used numbers as big as 1053. The place value system, the decimal system wasdeveloped in India in 100 BC. The solar year was calculated as 365.25875684 days byBhaskaracharya in the 5th century, hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart.

University : The world's first University was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built inthe 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

Space Science : India is among the few countries in the world to have its own space program andsatellites. In the history of the Indian space program, 70s were the era of Experimentation duringwhich experimental satellite programs were conducted. The success of those programs led to era ofoperationalization in 80s during which operational satellite programs like Indian National Satellite(INSAT) and Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) came into being. Today, INSAT and IRS are themajor programs of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). INSAT system is one of the largestdomestic communication satellite systems in the Asia-Pacific region. Also India has the largestconstellation of Remote Sensing Satellites, which are providing services both at the national andglobal levels.

Nuclear Science (Atomic Energy) : India is today recognized as one of the countries most advancedin nuclear technology including production of source materials. The country is self-reliant and hasmastered the expertise covering the complete nuclear cycle - from exploration and mining to powergeneration and waste management.

Defence Technology : In the field of missile launch technology, India is among the top five nations ofthe world.

Navigation : The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word"Navigation" is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH

Railways : Indian Railways is the largest railway network in the world under single management andis also the largest employer in the world, with a staff of 1.6 million people.

Miss World/ Miss Universe : Six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over thepast 10 years. No other country has won more than twice.

Movies : With 800 movies per year, India's film industry overshadows Hollywood.

Management : Chanakya, a military strategist (also called as Kautalya and Vishnugupta) is called theworld's first management guru. He was the prime minister in the court of India's first emperorChandragupta Maurya (4th Century B.C.). He wrote a book called “Arthashastra” which consists of15 books which even include effective stealth warfare.(Source: BBC; http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1986000/1986595.stm).

The management principles written in the book (more than 2500 years ago) has been found to beeffective in today’s world and is used by European politicians and economists (Even now).

Monuments : Works such as Taj Mahal, paintings at Ajanta and Ellora caves (which does not fade),Qutab Minar (Which does not wear out or get rusted with weather) etc are creations which nobodyhas duplicated.


Precious Stones : According to the Gemmological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was theonly source of diamonds in the world.

The above list is endless as you would be expecting. What do you think after reading the above? Iam sure you were happy reading the above. Not only the above is true, we have also made our markin developed countries like the U.S.A. and U.K.

All the above is a showcase (the list could be endless) of India’s strengths, that shows we haveeverything that is required. Then what is holding India/present Indians back? Not resources, notenterprise.-The real problem is that far too many people have no idea of what they can do becausethey do not know that the whole world of riches as natural resources and potential is available forthem waiting to be put to use.

So let us be awake to see our own strengths. India is fortunate to be blessed with many resources ofbio-diversity, material resources and above all Human resources and a billion people are ourresource, a powerful resource that is mightier than any resource, on the earth, in the sky or underthe sea. In a way God has provide us with excellent installed capacity. But at the end of the day,what matters is not the potential but the performance; the management and efficient use ofresources. We have to build upon these strengths. We cannot allow things to slip. In an environmentthat presents so many opportunities we should not afford to miss anymore. India’s core strengthsand competencies assure that India can excel and usher in a new era and emerge as a global power.

My message

Please don’t think you can’t do anything for the nation. If one man (Father of our nation) can changethe nation with his views , you all can together achieve a lot (Synergetic combination is verypowerful). You don’t need to advance at a stretch and change entirely-Progress gradually, momentby moment, page by page, frame by frame. You can play a small part in the history of modern India.

Please help Abdul Khalam to achieve his dream 2020. Don’t expect him to come asking you for helpwith a walking stick. Here are a few websites which show what a small group of Indians can do

www. dreamindia2020.orgThis is an initiative by a group of people, working across India, sharing a common dream-A dream ofa developed India

www.siruthuli.com'Siruthuli' is an initiative started by Coimbatoreans for Coimbatoreans. This ecological project aimsto bring back the glory of Coimbatore and its rich heritage. ...

Even this list is endless. Even if you can’t create a group like this, at least be a part of something likethe above. It will also be of benefit for you (To develop leadership and team building skills).

If India leads and wins-You win ultimately. Do something for your country if possible.

Don’t disgrace your country. Be proud of it.


Pg 44 of 47

Make your choicesSome meaningful quotes My favourite poem on some ways to liveAdieu and Bon Voyage

Signing off…

Return to Index

Make your choices

Life is just a resource, a wonderful resource. What we do with it is up to us. Birth was not ourchoice, neither will be death (for most of us). We do not choose our parents , historical epoch,country of birth etc but what we do with the life in between these two terminals is absolutely ourchoice. We choose the way we live.

Many of us have been programmed to believe that we do not have the power to choose what wewant in our lives. We do. Some of us think we cannot move beyond certain limits due to therestrictions placed upon us by others. We can. It is often difficult to see the bright side of a difficultsituation. It is difficult but possible. We are powerful enough to move beyond limits in order to dothe impossible, when we choose to. But we have to make the choice. The law of cause and effect isa fact of life, which turns our choices into a reality. Every thought we have leads to a choice. Everyword we speak supports our choices we make. Every action we take is a choice today, which hasimplications on our tomorrow, next week, and next yea. Nothing is impossible tomorrow when wetake the time to choose, today. Choices cause a mighty vibration which in effect brings back to usmore of what we give out. Make your choices wisely.

Putting days into life is ageing. Putting life into days is living. The tragedy of life is not the ultimatedeath, but the resources that die within you while you are still alive which starts the imaginarycountdown. You are not a useless person, but a person used less. Use yourself enough and be usefulto the world. You may be skilled enough to cheat the world, but all that will matter at the end of theday is the knowledge that you were true to yourself. You can live forever in history but the way youare remembered is more important. If you feel nothing works in your favour, try Honesty-It works(slowly). The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything but they just make themost of everything that comes along their way. Dream what you want to dream, go where you wantto go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the thingsyou want to do.

Some meaningful quotes

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.Live your life so that when you die, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Life is like a taxi-The meter keeps ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still

Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever (Gandhi)

Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not tocharge because you are a vegetarian

If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything

Failure is not when a girl leaves you, it's only when you don't try her Sister (Swami Premanand)

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you reallyare while your reputation is merely what others think you are. (John Wooden)

Society does not go down because of the activities of criminals" But because of the inactivity of thegood people


My favourite poem on some ways to live

I do not choose to be a commoner.It is my right to be uncommon.

I seek opportunity to develop whatever talents I have-“Not Security”.I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by the state looking after me.

I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build; to fail and to succeed.I refuse to barter incentive for a dole.

I prefer the challenges to life to the guaranteed existence;The thrill of fulfilment to the state of calm Utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence or my dignity for a handout.I will never cower before any earthy master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid;To think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creation and say,

“This, I have done”.

Adieu and Bon Voyage

Friends,It has been very easy to read this book. But from now on, the difficult part starts. It’s

how you apply what you have learnt, to your college life that matters. I cannot emphasize too much,the importance of these four years. I hate figures but I think one would be of help here. See thefigure at the bottom. Imagine yourself at the centre (Your present position). If you plan your fouryears firmly well-your time period to reach your dream destination (Successful Career) will be shortbut if you let the four years to lead you into any direction by the drift of college life-You will end upat a wrong place and later on, the corrective course will be tough and de-motivating.

To relish and remember my advice or to feel it as an endless sermon (which we always ignore andforget) is your choice now. Experience could have made this book better. Thanks for reading.

Wishing you all to live life like an exclamation rather than an explanation.

Vj


Bibliography

Books• You Can Win• Wings of fire• Stop Worrying and Start Living• Excerpts from the translated version of Arthashastra• The Portable 7 Habits

Speech• Mr.Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple at Stanford University

Publication• Harvard Business Review• Frozen Thoughts

Website• www.bbc.co.uk• www.timesofindia.com and other government websites• www.askmen.com


career or arrear_vj

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