2012
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December,2012
At times, the words “If” and “But” carry a negative connotation indicating doubt, skepticism, lack of confidence, finding an excuse etc. like in “if only I had this”, “if I could say it’; “but for this”, “I can take it up, but………”. Therefore we are advised to banish them from our mind’s dictionary if we have to reach our goal, achieve something and be successful. But here is “IF”, a positive and insightful poem by Rudyard Kipling that makes us sit back, think and of course propels us into action into the New Year 2013 !!
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
‘ Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!Wishing you all a very cheerful, peaceful, healthy and prosperous New Year 2013 !! Let’s get it right together !!
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November, 2012
Have you seen a flock of geese flying ? They never fly alone. You will never see one trailing the other, trying to fly past the other like our own drivers racing past another vehicle. They always fly in groups and in a V shape. Research shows that they increase their flight efficiency by 71% if they fly as a flock rather than alone. If a goose leaves the flock because of the air resistance he finds it difficult to fly. Sooner or later he comes back to join the flock again. He realizes the power of staying together and collaborating to reach the destination. If a goose gets injured or falls sick, the rest of them just don’t keep flying, anxious about reaching. Some of them drop out of the formation, help the sick or injured goose to recoup and either join with the original team or form another one to reach the destination. They are birds but they know the power of cooperation, collaboration and coexistence that I salute !
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October, 2012
India is a land of several ‘Cs’ – contradictions, complexities, comparisons, creativity, chaos, corruption – the last of which is being talked about far too much than the others of late. This fortnight, we enjoyed ‘Dussehra’, the 10 day long festival being celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervor across the country even as we know millions of Bond fans are eagerly waiting for ‘Sky Fall’ to release. While both ensure excellent entertainment in their own way – the message is loud and clear – victory of good over evil. For a change, let us move away from the topic of corruption and governance and focus on creativity.
This being the golden jubilee year of the Bond films, one of our professional associates, a die-hard Bond fan has beautifully chronicled the Bond Legend in the form of an interesting article.BOND AND BUSINESS : Entrepreneur’s World – 20
Below is a partial list of the Bond legend. Should you require more such interesting insights, feel free to contact jay[email protected]. K. Jayachandran Company Secretary in Practice
This year is the Golden Jubilee Year of Bond Movies, since the First Bond Movie Dr. No was released in 1962. Since then there has been no looking back. The 23rd edition of the Bond Movie SKY FALL which was featured in London recently, is voted as one the best bond movies till date. More than a third and quarter of the world’s population has seen a bond movie at some point or the other. The Box Office Collections over the span of 50 years is a staggering USD 5 Billion – much more than what many successful businesses can aim at ! The suave British Secret Service Agent mesmerized the world with his charming looks and had the bond girls succumb to his wily charms. To top it, he had a terrific sense of humor. He was smart in dealing with his opponents with élan and his mission was always accomplished, of course with a LICENCE TO KILL. HERE IS HOW WE CAN MAKE A KILLING WHILE DOING OUR BUSINESS: Go Ahead, Enjoy And Do “Business The Bond Way” !!
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
– 1967 STARRING SEAN CONNERY Dear people from the business fraternity, all of us live twice, one for our dreams and one for our life. Let us leave it to God to take care of our lives, because he decides how long we are going to live. As for chasing dreams, it is within our realm and let us prove it by realizing ourselves to be the best in the business of whatever business we do.
LIVE AND LET DIE
– 1973 STARRING ROGER MOORE Let us not live for ourselves and let others to fend for themselves (i.e. to DIE). But let us learn to Live and Let Live. As professionals and entrepreneurs, we should encourage upcoming, fledgling employees in the organization by taking them into confidence as if they are part of the business. Let us bring out the best in them by imparting proper training which in turn will enable them to cater to the needs of the organization with self-confidence.
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
– 1983 STARRING SEAN CONNERY Never say no to taking up challenges, because challenges and opportunities never come quite often. As and when they come, entrepreneurs should gear up to meet the challenges and turn them into opportunities for success. Never Say Never Again to challenges. The more the merrier for an entrepreneur.
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
– 1987 STARRING TIMOTHY DALTON Top Executives of an Organization should not adopt a carrot and stick policy when dealing with their subordinates, which in turn will scare the living daylights out of their minds. It is likely to affect their morale and the cascading effect on the hierarchy will not augur well for the growth of the organization. The top executives should inculcate a sense of self confidence in the subordinates. This can be done by constantly encouraging them to do better, and if they go wrong, tell them politely, that the particular work could have been done better.
GOLDEN EYE
– 1995 STARRING PIERCE BROSNAN Let the Corporate honchos keep a watch on the business ethics and Corporate Compliances with a Golden Eye. A Golden Eye is required to scan through the maze of various legislations and ensure timely compliances which in turn will create sustainable business.
TOMORROW NEVER DIES
– 1997 STARRING PIERCE BROSNAN Corporate Executives and Businessmen should never fear about tomorrow about their business prospects or in achieving their goals, because tomorrow never dies. By setting target to achieve their business goals ahead of tomorrow, i.e. today, they can overcome the fear of tomorrow.
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
– 1999 STARRING PIERCE BROSNAN The general saying is Sky is the Limit, but, with globalization of the economy, all boundaries have been broken, be it for the market, be it for talent, be it for standards, be it for funding, be it for sourcing or any other aspect of business. Indeed the The World is not Enough and businessmen need to think and act beyond self-imposed boundaries. ® #20 4
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
– 2008 STARRING DANIEL CRAIG Managing Directors and CEOs should provide the required Quantum of Solace to the Board of Directors, by having a code of conduct for the entire organization and adopting good governance norms. This would provide the much needed comfort net and solace to the Board including the non-executive directors, that the Organization is in safe hands of the people at the helm.
So passionate is he about the Bond movies that he has dedicated the piece ‘Bond and Business’ to the charms of Mr. Bond and allowed his imagination to run far and wide. Who says Company Secretaries are not a creative lot ? The power of imagination and creativity has no boundaries, unless we deliberately shackle them.
Bond is empowered with his ubiquitous 007 and you with the power of information, with the power of knowledge that never dies !
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July, 2012
“Citius, Altius, Fortius” is latin for “Faster, Higher, Stronger”, which is the Olympic motto coined by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of Modern Olympics way back in 1896. The Olympic creed reads ‘The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.’ This resonates with what the celebrated athlete Jesse Owens once said “If you don’t try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody’s back yard.” Notice the words ‘try to win’. This try requires unparalleled drive, determination, dedication, perseverance and lots of ‘umph’ to TRIUMPH !
Be it sports, be it education, be it industry, be it profession, be it entertainment or be it even something gratis …… If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all ?
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June, 2012
The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain !!
This must be the policy of the Indian Government – allow the coalition partners to rein in blows, allow the economy to slip, allow inflation to zoom, allow markets to dampen, allow everyone but the leader to speak, follow the 3 monkeys-principle – NO SEE, NO HEAR, NO SPEAK !!! In short do everything to let the opportunities ebb away…………
Unfortunately our own State Govt. (Karnataka) has fared no better. Tall claims were made at the recently concluded GIM (Global Investors Meet) but as professionals, we know the real truth – getting simple business registrations is more time consuming and frustrating than doing cross-border deals !!
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June, 2012
“Integrity is doing the right thing even if nobody is watching”. Whether the world is watching, regulators are watching, shareholders are watching, customers are watching, employees are watching, competitors are watching, media is watching or not – it is not about who is watching. The moot question is ARE YOU WATCHING YOURSELF ? IS YOUR CONSCIENCE WATCHING YOU ??
With increasing scams and frauds due to lack of probity and integrity in almost everything around us it is difficult not to sound cynical but yes, there is a huge deficit – not revenue deficit, budget deficit, monsoon deficit or sales deficit but INTEGRITY DEFICIT. With intense pressure on targets, deadlines, topline, bottom-line, cash flows, compliances etc. and the urge to beat expectations from investors, parent companies, markets etc. it is tempting to take the shortest path available but just step back for a moment and change roles – BECOME A SELF WATCHDOG. Let your conscience do the talking before your words become deeds.
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March, 2012
Last week saw the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8th. Role of women today than ever before is being celebrated and encouraged all the more across society, across geographies, across economies. The world is perceiving the benefits in gender diversity and rightly so.
As Diane Mariechild said “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform” and she does it all the time. What better example than our ‘Mother Earth’ !
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March, 2012
YES, Mother Earth is a common wealth all of us enjoy. It is our prime duty to protect and conserve her and not ravage her – for “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”. Mind you, borrowings beyond acceptable limits shall sound the death knell for mankind ! It may be fashionable to observe Earth Hour or Earth Day but what is required is ‘sustainable living’ – a way of life and not an ‘hour’ or ‘day’ !
As Michel de Montaigne said “Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do.” ………….and we do our best !
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February, 2012
“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned”. Just imagine what this would translate to if we set aside the entire day of 29th Feb (leap year day) for planning and organizing – 1440 hours extra. This would undoubtedly help us in ‘doing things right’ and avoid ‘doing it over’. Instead of cribbing and cringing that ‘we are busy’, ‘we do not have time’, ‘don’t know how time flies’ or ‘if only we had more hours in a day’, isn’t it worthwhile to make the best of what we have by staying better informed, better organized and better planned ?
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January, 2012
From managing the 5 juggling balls of work, family, health, friends and spirit we now turn to kites for a new learning this fortnight.
Winston Churchill said “Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it”. Opposition and stiff conditions bring the best out of us. So very true, despite the daunting economic conditions and confusing market signals from different quarters, it is heartening to see people not giving up, not succumbing to the doomsday predictions. Hope is the quintessential fuel for life’s engine.
As William Arthur Ward said, “The optimist pleasantly ponders how high his kite will fly; the pessimist woefully wonders how soon his kite will fall.”
Wishing you all a festive season – of Sankranti, Pongal, rangoli designs and kite flying – a bountiful of harvest in all that you do !