NO. 15 EXPERIENCE
While working with any organization we should maintain its confidentiality and not share its important information with any person. If your modus operandi draws criticism then rather than avoiding it, think and contemplate about the correctness of the decision taken by you. If your conscience says that you were right then do not pay heed to such criticism and keep working towards your goal without any fear. There is an adage saying that mistakes are made by only those who work. The way you work should outshine others and that is when your colleagues and co-workers will start respecting you. Always try to upgrade your modus operandi so that your superiors get impressed by your hardwork, diligence and work ethics and place you in the category of excellence. We should be mindful about the company we keep, about the people with whom we sit and talk every day. We should try to spend time with positive minded and intelligent people so that we learn from them. Remember that spending time with pessimist people kills the optimism in us thereby affecting our work efficiency and future prospects. Experience and knowledge are the pillars of growth in our life. Ill fortune always surrounds ill-fated people so we must maintain relations with fortunate, happy and satisfied people. Do not forget that fate is never bad. Our poor judgment stops us from dealing with the changing circumstances and we throw the blame on others. You have limited time and you have to decide about how and where to put it to good use. So always think positively. Do not enter into useless arguments about things that you do not concern you. Knowledge and experience complement each other and their perfect balance brings success. Regarding this I will give you an example which is inspirational. Owing to some personal reasons the Managing Director of a large business left the job. The management decided to experiment with a new idea of managing the business and from the top officers of each department they selected 5 and made a Committee for day to day running. The Committee understood its responsibilities and started working hard and in a collaborative manner to carry out the tasks assigned. This increased the profits of the business. If ever we face a difficulty in life and we have no idea how to handle it, we should not lose our nerve. We should try to understand the challenge and employ all our internal faculties to overcome it. Do not debate about something you know nothing about. Regarding this, read the following example. A few years back, the headquarters of a company were getting constructed under the supervision of a famous architect and engineer, Surendra Shrivastava. One day the Managing Director and General Manager of the company reached the site to inspect the construction going on. They appreciated the efforts and gave the suggestion that building should be given enough fortitude and made more resilient keeping the threats of earthquakes in mind so that there is no issue of any kind in future regarding the safety of the building. Agreeing to this the architect gave the required instructions and satisfied the members of the inspecting team. But as soon as those people left, the architect withdrew his instructions and the work continued as per the previous plan. The architect believed that earthquakes cannot harm the building at all and when the people asked him that why had he not told the inspecting team this, he politely said that many-a-times, just in order to prove to others that they know more, people express their opinions and views even when uncalled for. He said that he believed that entering into a debate with someone who has no knowledge about the subject is a waste of time. There was no architect among the inspectors and it would have been useless explaining things to them. Had he listened to them the cost would have increased by lakhs and that is why he simply agreed to their suggestion and let it go. One day, after the completion of the building, an earthquake shook the area. The members of the inspection team, who had visited the site and given suggestions to the architect felt smug about their fore-sightedness that their timely suggestion about making the building stronger had saved it from harm. The architect too rushed to the site and his confidence grew when he saw that the earthquake could do no harm to the building designed by him. When the members of the inspection team realized that the architect had ignored their suggestions and continued the work on the building as per his original plan they felt very embarrassed and quietly left the place appreciating the design and experience of the architect. A job or service is a multi-dimensional phenomenon. Any person who graduates does not want to work as a peon or a clerk. He expects at least an officer’s post. Let us discuss about this. Now-a-days people have started believing that they need the recommendation of an influential person to secure a job. This weakens your personality, lowers your confidence and may often cause more harm than good. In order to get a job in a reputable organization, we should be articulate. In present times, a simpleton will keep knocking doors looking for a job and lose his confidence bit by bit. In my friend’s factory, the son of a Personal Secretary, based on his knowledge and experience, had applied for a high post. The Personal Secretary did not mention anything about his son to his master. The son, because of his qualifications and skill, got the post. After his appointment, when the owner asked the Personal Secretary as to why he had not said anything about his son, he said that he wanted his son to fight his own battles and succeed based on his knowledge and confidence. Had the Secretary recommended his son’s name then may be the son would have still got the job but he would have lost on the learning that the struggle gave him.
NO. 16 NATION FIRST
We should not be unknowledgeable, but we should be very careful about when, where and in what circumstances we display our knowledge and expertise. Often in life, in order to sustain our identity, we have to make several compromises. This should not make us feel bad about ourselves. There may be many obstacles in our path but if we are determined then we will conquer all and succeed. We should choose our mission wisely and then remain focused till we complete it. If you are not assured of succeeding then you should not take up the task. Luck always favours the bold and persistent people. Rather than getting caught in the useless struggles of life we brought upon ourselves because of our indecisiveness, it is much better that we conserve our energies for other tasks. Never feel proud of your achievements in life. People will automatically notice your ability, persistence and commitment towards your work and soon they will feel confident that you will be able to handle bigger responsibilities. We should never hustle to finish a job rather we should wait for the correct time and circumstances and then, taking calculated decisions, complete it. If we miss such opportunities, life will become a sorrowful journey. We must remain committed to working upon our mistakes but at times luck does not favour us and all our efforts go in vain. In such circumstances, let those shortcomings lie in wait for some time and work when the right moment comes. Do not keep thinking about such problems otherwise you will suffer unnecessary tension and anxiety. A resourceful person should never act miserly. This harms his prestige. If you are a child of an accomplished and famous parent, then you have to work double hard for your achievements in order to stand beside them. Follow the example of any great person only till you have started walking in the right direction towards success. Even after we have succeeded and are satisfied we should remain polite, morally correct and virtuous. Man’s needs are unending and after achieving one thing, he moves on to achieving another. While working with complete honesty we have to be careful that the company does not suffer any damage because of any bad decision taken by us. Here we are sharing an experience which inspires patriotism and our duty towards our country. Engineer D.C.Jain is a well known name. Presently, he is the founder manager of an engineering college. Having completed his degree in Mechanical Engineering, he entered the M.P. state services in 1957. In 1994 he was placed as an Executive Engineer in the Kharkharaa Project. In order to double the production of the Bhilai Steel Plant in Durg, extra supply of water was required. For this the task of Kharkharaa Reservoir had to be completed in 2 years. The Bhilai steel plant had been set up by the Russian government in India. For this they had put the condition that the dam be made with the help of machines imported from their country and even in future, heavy earth moving machines should be purchased from Russia. The tender of the machines required for the Kharkharaa Reservoir was given to Russia and a stricture was put in it that the machines will be tested and only after getting a positive report will the machines for other projects be purchased. The machines for Kharkharaa project were sent to the reservoir via the Vishakhapattnam port. The responsibility of getting the task done was handed over to Mr. Jain. Machines were used in digging the earth out and depositing the soil on the top of the dam. The iron used to make the machines was of inferior quality. After a few months, one after another the machines started giving trouble. Mr. Jain and his team would religiously repair the machines and try to get them to work but the manufacturing defects in machines were too many in number that after some time everybody grew tired of repairing them. While all this was going on, a letter from the Central Power Commission, Delhi enquiring about the quality of the machines reached them. Mr. Jain sent a very detailed report to the Central Power Commission, New Delhi. In the report it was mentioned that the machines were faulty and their work was unsatisfactory. This report raised a storm in Delhi. India was paying in dollars for the machines. Mr. Jain was summoned to New Delhi to talk to the Russian agency. During the discussion, Mr. Jain told them that the machines were of inferior quality and their performance was very poor. Of all the machines given to them, only 30% were in operation at any given time while the rest were standing for repair. The foreman and the agent of the Indian agent were always at the Project site carrying out repairs. Mr. Jain was under a lot of pressure to give in writing that the Russian machines deployed in the Kharkharaa Reservoir were working fine. Not only, was he being unduly pressurized but was being offered bribes also but Mr. Jain refused to give in and denied giving a false certificate to the effect. He knew that if he succumbed, useless machines worth crores would get dumped in India. He had also gotten the information that similar machines for some other project were standing, waiting to be dispatched at the Black Sea port. But according to the terms of the Tender, the dispatch order of those machines could not be signed till a favourable report was filed in by the Kharkharaa reservoir engineer. Mr. Jain placed his country above everything else. His country’s development stood first and so he refused to bow down and stood by his submission. He did not give a false certificate and eventually no more machines were purchased from Russia. At the completion of the Kharkharaa project, Mr. Jain was transferred. Wherever those Russian machines were deployed, they turned out to be equally useless. No engineer could get any work done out of them. In the end the machines were sold as scraps to the scrap factories of Raipur and Durg. Till date Mr. Jain is very happy that he saved crores of the nation’s wealth from getting wasted. He did not get tempted. He still says that – Country first: country’s development first.
NO. 17 REPUTATION: A COVETED ACCOMPLISHMENT
Reputation is the most important accomplishment of life. It is a tree which takes a long time to bear fruits and if we let nothing harm it then it becomes an invaluable heritage for generations to follow. To earn respect and prestige we have to work hard throughout our life and imbibe our culture, tradition and values in our life. If anyone criticizes you, even then you have to remain polite towards him and act graciously. One should donate generously towards any social upliftment or welfare cause. Now –a-days it is necessary for an industrialist or businessman to have inroads into politics also. This will save his industry or business from a lot of unwanted hitches. To earn a reputation in industry, business or service, we should let go of our ego and inculcate the qualities of love and forgiveness in our nature. We should think, not about what the society gives us, but about what we can give to the society. A hard-working, laborious and enterprising person remains affectionate towards all and moves ahead towards creativity and productivity. He shares his gains with all and remaining happy and contented at heart, tries to help as many as he can. Such a person becomes prestigious in the society. At times unprecedented and unthought-of things happen in your life. One of my friends had a very good job in a foreign country and no one could have thought that he would return to India but circumstances forced him to. Here he started his business in petrol pumps which grew by leaps and bounds. I want to share an inspiring story about him. Shri Akhilesh Kumar Shukla is an engineer. His grandfather, Pandit Ravishankar Shukla was the Chief Minister of Central Province, which was at that time called C.P. & Barar. His father, Shri Ishwaricharan Shukla was a famous ENT surgeon. After getting his degree in Engineering in 1970, Shri Akhilesh Shukla started working in BHEL, Bhopal. In 1976, Shri Shukla joined a famous international firm in Quwait. He soon settled well in his job there. His family too joined him there. At the time development rate in India was at its rock bottom. His wife and children had adapted well to the conditions in Quwait which was one of the richest countries of the world and all sorts of material comforts were available to them. He was earning well and he and his family wanted to spend a few more years in Quwait. Shri Shukla had already seen 40 springs of his life. Suddenly in 1988, he found himself standing at a cross-road of life. His father was not keeping well and he needed his sons to take care of him. Shri Shukla’s uncles advised him to return to his country where he can take care of his father and start working here. This was like an acid test for him. On one hand was his family, which was used to all possible material comforts of life and on the other was his family in India which lived a highly moralistic yet simple life. The question was whether they would be able to adapt to this altered life-style. Another question was whether he would be able to succeed and do well in the new job that he takes up in India because he had worked very hard over the years in Quwait and earned a good name. Also, can he ignore the fact that his father needed him? In the end the family values won and Shri Shukla decided to return to India and become his father’s strength. He came back to India. The happiness that his father felt upon his return can only be felt by him although he cannot find the words to express the same. In India Shri Shukla started from ground zero and worked very hard for his success. With God’s grace and blessings from the elders he did very well here too. His career graph kept rising up and he earned respect and prestige in the society. According to him, if decisions are morally correct then success and happiness can be definitely achieved, be it in business, industry or service. In our life, we should keep striving for confidence and respect. One of my friends lost his job, but kept working very hard in the small business that he set up. Presently his business has grown far and wide and has become a source of inspiration to many. Ramesh, after completing his MBA was working as a salesperson in a company. He belonged to a middle class family and his family depended on his earnings. With his hard work, sincerity and commitment Ramesh brought up the sales of his company significantly in just one year. This gave him the confidence that his company will soon give him a promotion. One day the General Manager of the company called him to his office and praised him for his work and for the way the sales of the company had increased because of him. Then he added that he was very sad to inform Ramesh that one of the close relatives of the company’s owner had completed his degree, also in MBA, and had been appointed in Ramesh’s place. Ramesh was given a month’s time to find some other job. This shook the ground below Ramesh’s feet. With a very heavy and disappointed heart, he went home and told everything to his mother and wife. His mother counseled him that life is always full of struggles. We should face it with courage, accept all challenges and work towards finding solutions. His mother’s words gave him courage. He shook his anxiety and tension off and started thinking seriously about solutions and plans for future. A thought struck him that if he could increase the sales of someone else’s company so much, then shouldn’t he try to manufacture a smaller version of the same product and launch it in the market. Ramesh started working on this idea and taking out a loan from the bank, he started manufacturing. He was already an expert in marketing and with the help of his contacts hundred percent of his product started selling in the market. Soon his business grew and assumed large proportions. This success started affecting the company for which Ramesh used to work. As its sales dropped, the company ran into heavy losses and eventually shut down. No business can run by hiring sycophants and inexperienced relatives. One day Ramesh thanked his Almighty that he was asked to quit his job and forced to start his own venture and become self reliant. Had he not been removed from his job, he would have continued serving his whole life and would have never become so successful in life. Whatever happens happens for good. Politeness and good behavior in life are reflections of any person’s character. Why should these be imbibed in our dealings can be seen in an example. A similar incident took place in our factory. A worker fell while working. The authorities called an Ambulance and stood in wait. It so happened that I reached the factory for some work. I assessed the situation, put the worker on the back seat of my car and rushed to the hospital. At the hospital the doctor’s told me that he had suffered a heart attack and any more delay would have cost him his life. I felt very relieved and was mentally at peace that because of my quick decision the worker would live. I went back to the factory and scolded the officers that why had they not taken the worker to the hospital in their car? Where was the need to wait for the ambulance? With this one incident I grew in stature in the eyes of my workers and they began to trust me all the more. In present times, money is important. Without money it is impossible to do well in any sphere of life. In the present society, money is the mantra for success but even today respect and reputation can be gotten by honesty, morality, charity and exemplary behavior and the respect earned through these has a very long life. With reputation your stature in the society grows and people start valuing your words. On your reputation depends the government or nongovernment credit that you get, the raw material that you can avail from the market and the sales of the products you manufacture. Your reputation plays an important role in helping you hold a respectful place in an organization. It takes years to build a good reputation but a small mistake can wipe it all off. That is why it is very necessary that we remain committed to building a good name for ourselves. There are times when people put their name to bad use. We should be cautious of such people. There was a trader in Indore who would invest lakhs of rupees everyday in the share and commodity market. He held such sway in this market and his most insignificant comment about any share would create a ripple among the investors. He was so cunning that at times he would spread rumours while in discussion with people in public places like clubs, restaurants etc. causing the prices of the shares he was interested in buying to drop. The result was his word would reach the players in the share market with lightening speed and the holders of the shares in question would start selling them first thing the next morning in order to save their invested capital. The gentleman would then buy those shares at the end of the day. Because of the respect he held, no one ever suspected any foul play and he would end up earning lakhs everyday. He would laugh at the mentality of the share market investors. In this way we can see that reputation holds a very important place in our life and we should safeguard it at all costs.
