Mario Puzo - Godfather - Tactics and Strategy

Most of us at some or other point in our lives, either while reading or while at work would have heard about the two terms 'Tactics' and 'Strategy'. I had come across these terms during my management studies. And I came across the terms again when I was reading 'Godfather' by Mario Puzo. In the post below, I am sharing excerpts from the novel that show the difference between "tactics" and "strategy".

In the scene below, Sonny the elder son of Don massacres all the other Don "families" in a retaliation fight.
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Perhaps it was the stalemate that made Sonny Corleone embark on the bloody course of attrition that ended in his own death. Perhaps it was his dark violent nature given full rein. In any case, that spring and summer he mounted senseless raids on enemy auxiliaries. Tattaglia Family pimps were shot to death in Harlem, dock goons were massacred. This slaughter was senseless because it could not affect the outcome of the war. Sonny was a brilliant tactician and won his brilliant victories. But what was needed was the strategical genius of Don Corleone. The whole thing degenerated into such a deadly guerrilla war that both sides found themselves losing a great deal of revenue and lives to no purpose. The Corleone Family was finally forced to close down some of its most profitable bookmaking stations.

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The war that Sonny wages was triggered out of pure rage. He did not think about the long term implication of what he is doing - his thoughts and actions were short termed and his victories were short termed too. The result of this was that in the end he himself got killed and nothing good was gained out of this war. Sonny was good at executing "tactics" but he lost out on the long term focus.

Don on the other hand, was a strategical genius. He would have a long term plan or a strategy in mind, and use all his contacts, resources to realize the long term vision. This strategy would be executed as one or more "short term plans" (  tactics ) to achieve specific goals.

The paragraph below talks about Don's "strategical" genius. Don, who had been badly hurt, rises from his hospital bed and proposes peace with the five families that were at war as shown in the paragraph above.

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"Thank God my health has been restored and maybe I can help set this affair aright. Perhaps my son was too rash, too headstrong, I don't say no to that. .....I'm willing to make the peace," he said. "Tattaglia has lost a son, I have lost a son. We are quits. What would the world come to if people kept carrying grudges against all reason? That has been the cross of Sicily, where men are so busy with vendettas they have no time to earn bread for their families. It's foolishness. So I say now, let things be as they were before. I have not taken any steps to learn who betrayed and killed my son. Given peace, I will not do so. I have a son who cannot come home and I must receive assurances that when I arrange matters so that he can return safely that there will be no interference, no danger from the authorities. Once that's settled maybe we can talk about other matters that interest us and do ourselves, all of us, a profitable service today." Corleone gestured expressively, submissively, with his hands. "That is all I want."
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This move from the Don, was part of his long term plan to ensure his younger son's, Michael( who is on the run for killing a goon who attempted the Don's murder ) return. Once Michael does return, he takes control over the family business and brings back the Don's family in power.

As shown above, the Don did not mind a short term failure( as shown here by his submission to the other Don families ) in return for a longer term success. That showed Don's "strategical genius".

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Nelson Mandela - Long Walk To Freedom - Working at the sea

In his autobiography, A long walk to freedom, Nelson Mandela talks about his political struggle and anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. In 1962, a white led government in South Africa convicted him of sabotage and he was sentenced to a life imprisonment, most of which he served in a prison in Robben Island. His tasks in Robben Island involved hard labor at the quarry. So, one day, in 1972, when the prisoners were taken to the sea instead of the quarry, it had been a welcome change. In this excerpt from his autobiography, Nelson Mandela talks about his experience of working next to the sea. Other than the beautiful descriptions that we get to read in this excerpt, we also get a glance of Nelson Mandela's characteristic humour.

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One morning, instead of walking to the quarry, we were ordered into the back of a truck. It rumbled off in a new direction, and fifteen minutes later we were ordered to jump out. There in front of us, glinting in the morning light, we saw the ocean, the rocky shore, and in the distance, winking in the sunshine, the glass towers of Cape Town. Although it was surely an illusion, the city, with Table Mountain looming behind it, looked agonizingly close, as though one could almost reach out and grasp it.

The senior officer explained that we had been brought to the shore to collect seaweed. We were instructed to pick up the large pieces that had washed up on the beach, and wade out to collect weed attached to rocks or coral. The seaweed itself was long and slimy and brownish-green in colour. Sometimes the pieces were six to eight feet in length and thirty pounds in weight. After fishing out the seaweed from the shallows, we lined it up in rows on the beach. When it was dry, we loaded it into the back of the truck. We were told it was then shipped to Japan, where it was used as a fertilizer.

The work did not seem too taxing to us that day, but in the coming weeks and months we found it could be quite strenuous. But that hardly mattered because we had the pleasures and distraction of such a panoramic tableau: we watched ships trawling, stately oil tankers moving slowly across the horizon; we saw gulls spearing fish from the sea and seals cavorting on the waves; we laughed at the colony of penguins, which resembled a brigade of clumsy flat-footed soldiers; and we marvelled at the daily drama of the weather over Table Mountain, with its shifting canopy of clouds and sun.

In the summer the water felt wonderful, but in the winter the icy Benguela Current made wading out into the waves a torture. The rocks on and around the shore were jagged and we often cut and scraped out legs as we worked. But we preferred the sea to the quarry, although we never spent more than a few days there at a time.

The ocean proved to be a treasure chest. I found beautiful pieces of coral and elaborate shells, which I sometimes brought back to my cell. Once someone discovered a bottle of wine stuck in sand that was still corked. I am told it tasted like vinegar.

The atmosphere at the shore was more relaxed than at the quarry. We also relished the seaside because we ate extremely well there. Each morning when we went to the shore, we would take a large drum of fresh water. Later we would bring along a second drum, which we would use to make a kind of Robben Island seafood stew. For our stew we would pick up clams and mussels. We also caught crayfish, whcih hid in the crevices of rocks. Capturing a crayfish was tricky; one had to grab it firmly between its head and tail or it would wriggle free.

We would take our catch and pile it into the second drum. Wilton Mkwayi, the chef among us, would concoct the stew. When it was ready, the warders would join us and we would all sit down on the beach and have a kind of picnic lunch. In 1973, in a smuggled newspaper, we read about the wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips, and the story detailed in the bridal luncheon of rare and delicate dishes. The menu included mussels, crayfish and abalone, which made us laugh; we were dining on such delicacies every day.

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Gods must be crazy - Civilization

I am sharing with you all a video I had shared long back in 2009. This is a clip from the movie 'Gods must be crazy'.

For those of you, who have already seen the video on my blog, do watch it again and enjoy the narration. Along with the video, is a transcript of the narration in the video.

Since the video is 15 minutes long, in case you don't find the time to watch it, you could read the transcript below.

§ It looks like a paradise, but it is the most treacherous desert in the world, the Kalahari. After the short rainy season there are many water holes, and even rivers. But after a few weeks, the water sinks away into the deep Kalahari sand. The water holes dry, and the rivers stop flowing. The grass fades to a beautiful blond colour that offers excellent grazing. But for the next nine months, there will be no water to drink. So most of the animals move away, leaving the blond grass uneaten.

§ Humans avoid the Kalahari like the plague because man must have water. So the beautiful landscapes are devoid of people. Except for the little people of the Kalahari. Pretty, dainty, small and graceful, the Bushmen. Where any other person would die of thirst in a few days they live quite contentedly in this desert. They know where to dig for roots and bugs and tubers and which berries and pods are good to eat. Of course they know what to do about water. In the early morning,you can collect dewdrops from leaves that were carefully laid out the previous evening. Or a plume of grass can be a reservoir. If you have the know-how, a clump of twigs can tell you where to dig and you come to light with an enormous tuber. You scrape shavings off it with a stick that is split for a sharp edge. You take a handful of the shavings, point your thumb at your mouth and squeeze. They must be the most contented people in the world. They have no crime, no punishment, no violence, no laws no police, judges, rulers or bosses. They believe that the gods put only good and useful things on the earth for them.

§ In this world of theirs, nothing is bad or evil. Even a poisonous snake is not bad. You just have to keep away from the sharp end. Actually, a snake is very good. In fact, it's delicious. And the skin makes a fine pouch.

§ They live in the vastness of the Kalahari in small family groups. One family of Bushmen might meet up with another once in a few years. But for the most part, they live in complete isolation unaware there are other people in the world. In the deep Kalahari, there are Bushmen who have not heard of civilized man.

§ Sometimes they hear a thundering sound when there are no clouds. They assume the gods have eaten too much and their tummies are rumbling. Sometimes they can even see the evidence of the gods' flatulence.

§ Their language has an idiosyncrasy of its own. It seems to consist mainly of clicking sounds.

§ They're very gentle people. They'll never punish a child or even speak harshly to it. So the kids are extremely well-behaved. Their games are cute and inventive.

§ When the family needs meat the hunter dips his arrow in a brew that acts as a tranquilliser. When he shoots a buck, it feels a sting and the arrow drops out. The buck runs away, but soon it gets drowsy and it stops running. After a while, it goes to sleep. The hunter apologizes. He explains that his family needs the meat.

§ The characteristic which really makes them different from all other races is that they have no sense of ownership at all. Where they live, there's nothing you can own. Only trees and grass and animals.

§ These Bushmen have never seen a stone or a rock in their lives. The hardest things they know are wood and bone. They live in a gentle world, where nothing is as hard as rock, steel or concrete.

§ Only 600 miles to the south, there's a vast city.And here you find civilized man. Civilized man refused to adapt himself to his environment. Instead he adapted his environment to suit him. So he built cities, roads, vehicles, machinery. And he put up power lines to run his labour-saving devices. But he didn't know when to stop. The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier the more complicated he made it. Now his children are sentenced to 10 to 15 years of school, to learn how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat. And civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt every hour of the day to his self-created environment. For instance, if it's Monday and 7:30 comes up, you have to disadapt from your domestic surroundings and re-adapt yourself to an entirely different environment. 8:00 means everybody has to look busy. 10:30 means you can stop looking busy for 15 minutes. And then, you have to look busy again. Your day is chopped into pieces. In each segment of time you adapt to new circumstances.

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I have always found the narration in God must be Crazy very thought provoking. This particular video, makes you wonder about whom would you call civilized - the gentle bushmen who knew how to adapt to their environment, who would never harm a soul, and who knew how to live in contentment with the rythm of nature. Or the so-called civilized men who fool around with the rythm of nature and try to control their surroundings.

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Writings that catch your attention

I read a lot. ( I am sure most of us read a lot :) ) As I read the various magazines and newspapers, I come across some beautiful thoughts or writings that catch my attention – either for the topic or for the way it has been written. Sometimes I cant help but treasure those writings. In this post I am sharing with you a few of such writings. Also along with the excerpts of the articles that I am sharing with you, is also a link to the complete article. Please click on the article name ( for eg: " Barefoot: Children beyond divides " etc. ) to go to the actual article.

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A young boy of 10, Anil, peeps into the hostel room of Harsh Gupta, delivering his laundered clothes one evening, and asks him tentatively, “Do you know how electricity is produced?” Harsh, a student at IIM Ahmedabad replies: “Yes! You want to know about it?” Anil nods eagerly. Harsh tells him electricity comes from water. When huge amounts of water fall from a height, electricity is produced. But Anil is unconvinced. “In my village whenever there are rains, we don't have electricity for days and weeks.”

Barefoot: Children beyond divides – Harsh Mander in The Hindu

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Ashish Jha, a student of IIM Ahmedabad, meets 12-year-old Mujahid in Juhapara, a Muslim ghetto in Old Ahmedabad that swelled with victims of the 2002 carnage who were unable to return to their villages, in another after-school centre supported by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Among the children there, he found Mujahid the brightest and most confident.

Ashish describes the communal divide, which has grown between children after 2002. The children were sharing jokes, and “there was a particular pattern that I found amusing. There were these jokes on a Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian trapped on the 20th storey of a building on fire. They all jumped one after another and due to some funny reason the Hindu kept dying every time. I recalled listening to similar jokes in my childhood; only that the Muslim kept dying in them." Ashish adds: “I asked if any of them has Hindu friends. All went silent. Only Mujahid quietly said, ‘Not any more'.”

Barefoot: Children beyond divides – Harsh Mander in The Hindu

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A red brick wall encloses the sprawling, shaded campus of India's finest business school, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. On the pavement just on the other side of this wall live a large cluster of homeless families — rag pickers, construction workers and beggars. One of my students, Manish Verma, remarks on the irony that ‘a mere 100 metres separate the lives of those who wage a battle with hunger each day, and those who wage a battle for securing a high-paying job out of the best business school in India'. The chasm that separates life on the two sides of this brick wall seems the distance between two planets, separated by light years.

Barefoot: Worlds Apart – Harsh Mander in The Hindu

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It was a cold December evening in the north. I had just bought myself a pair of leather stiletto shoes that I had been lusting after. Returning home late from work, I walked up the quiet street. Most homes had their doors and windows tightly shut against the cold and there were very few people outside. In the hutments a little away, I could see people huddled around the open fires over which their meagre meals were being cooked.

The sassy clickety click of my shoes on the road was an immensely pleasing sound and I walked happy. Suddenly, from nowhere appeared a street urchin, a little boy of four or five. Driving an imaginary scooter, he buzzed past me in a thin shirt and leggings, his bare feet thumping loud and clear on the cold asphalt. The shame at my own vanity and the embarrassment at not being able to silence the harsh sound of my heels that night has stayed with me to remind that true happiness does not lie in stuff, it lives inside of the heart like it did in that little boy’s.

Hail Happiness - Shefali Tripathi Mehta in Sunday Herald

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Nelson Mandela - Long Walk To Freedom - The Tribal Model of Democracy

I am reading "The Long Walk to Freedom", an autobiography by Nelson Mandela. The book talks about his childhood and the circumstances that turned him to a Freedom Fighter. It talks about the African Freedom Struggle and important events that took place in the last 100 years in African politics.

There are a lot of things to devour in his book, but the writings that really catch your attention are Nelson Mandela's eloquent speeches. In his address to the white court in the Old Synagogue ( converted into a court room ) in Pretoria from October 22 to November 7 1962, Nelson Mandela made this speech invoking the inspiring and historical heritage of his own Black people. In the speech Nelson Mandela described the initial formation of his political ideas:

"Many years ago, when I was a boy brought up in my village in the Transkei, I listened to the elders of the tribe telling stories about the good old days, before the arrival of the White man. Then our people lived peacefully under the democratic rule of their kings and their 'amapakati', and moved freely and confidently up and down the country without let or hindrance. Then the country was ours, in our own name and right. We occupied the land, the forests, the rivers; we extracted the mineral wealth beneath the soil and all the riches of this beautiful country. We set up and operated our own government, we controlled our own armies and we organized our own trade and commerce. The elders would tell tales of the wars fought by our ancestors in defence of the fatherland, as well as the acts of valour performed by generals and soldiers during those epic days.

The names of Dingane and Bambata, among the Zulus, of Hintsa, Makana and Ndlambe of the Amaxhosa, of Sekhukhuni and others in the north, were mentioned as the pride and glory of the entire African nation... The land, then the main means of production, belonged to the whole tribe, and there was no individual ownership whatsoever. There were no classes, no rich or poor, and no exploitation of man by man. All men were free and equal and this was the foundation of government. Recognition of this general principle found expression in the constitution of the Council, variously called Imbizo, or Pitso, or Kgotla, which governs the affairs of the tribe. The council was so completely democratic that all members of the tribe could participate in its deliberations. Chief and subject, warrior and medicine man, all took part and endeavoured to influence its decisions. It was so weighty and influential a body that no step of any importance could ever be taken by the tribe without reference to it...

In such a society are contained the seeds of revolutionary democracy in which none will be held in slavery or servitude, and in which poverty, want and insecurity shall be no more. This is the inspiration which, even today, inspires me and my colleagues in our political struggle."

A little bit about Nelson Mandela -
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948.

On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990.

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Acknowledge

This post was written as a year end post in the last week of 2010 by my husband. I have always liked it and have been wanting to share this with all of you for quite some time. And since it is the beginning of a new year, what better time to do it than now.
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acknowledge ac·knowl·edge means ... 1: to recognize the rights, authority, or status of 2: to disclose knowledge of or agreement with 3 a: to express gratitude or obligation for b: to take notice of c: to make known the receipt of
4: to recognize as genuine or valid

Inflected Form(s): ac·knowl·edged; ac·knowl·edg·ing Etymology: ac- (as in accord) + knowledge Date: 15th century

Source : http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/acknowledge

This post is not about English !, but more about the act of acknowledgement. Look at the third meaning "to take notice of "

This is the last week of the year and good time to reflect on the year passed by. As Socrates said “The unexamined life is really not worth living”. I have been sharing my thoughts on leadership for quite some time and one of the most important traits of leaders is that they always acknowledge. They acknowledge their successes, failures, fears, victories, limitations, ideas, contributions and teams.

By acknowledging we accept things the way they are and get an access to create something new.

Also look at the meaning “.. to express gratitude”.

Year end is also time to acknowledge all the contributions (however small or big ) by people in your life !
Acknowledge your
- Parents
- Children
- Boss
- Spouse
- Friend
- Neighbor
- Classmates
- Room mates
- News Paper Guy
- Milk man
- House maid
- Driver
- Car wash person
- Security Guard
- Traffic Police
- Shop keeper
- Mechanic
- Doctor
- Bank Manager
- School friends
- College friends
- Community
- Association
- .. ….

So on and so forth….

And last but not the least, dont forget to acknowledge yourself for the contribution you make to the world, society and life itself.

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Lunch with God

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root Beer and he started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an elderly man. The man was sitting in the park just feeding some pigeons.

The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.

The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.

Again, the man smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the man, and gave him a hug. The man gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?

"He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? God's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the elderly man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked," Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added," You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!

~author unknown~

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This week's post is an article posted by Braj in 'The Speaking Tree'( http://www.speakingtree.in). Due credit goes to the author.

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Helen Keller - The Story Of My Life - On Examinations

I read the 'The Story of my life' an autobiography written by Helen Keller* a few days ago.

As I read this book I was amazed not only to see how a blind and deaf person went beyond her disabilities and became one of the most respected and noted thinkers of her times, but also to see how Anne Sullivan, her teacher, taught and channelized her young boundless energy to bring out the beauty in her.

Helen Keller's writings are a pleasure to read, and give us a glimpse of the world that she lives in and experiences. Where at one hand one cant help rejoice in the small victories she experiences in her process of learning, on the other, one can’t fail to notice and enjoy her sense of humour.

The text below is a funny excerpt from her book mentioned above, in which she talks in exasperation about examinations and what she goes through every time she has to give an exam.

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But the examinations are the chief bugbears of my college life. Although I have faced them many times and cast them down and made them bite the dust, yet they rise again and menace me with pale looks, until like Bob Acres I feel my courage oozing out at my finger ends. The days before these ordeals take place are spent in cramming your mind with mystic formulae and indigestible dates--unpalatable diets, until you wish that books and science and you were buried in the depths of the sea.

At last the dreaded hour arrives, and you are a favoured being indeed if you feel prepared, and are able at the right time to call to your standard thoughts that will aid you in that supreme effort. It happens too often that your trumpet call is unheeded. It is most perplexing and exasperating that just at the moment when you need your memory and a nice sense of discrimination, these faculties take to themselves wings and fly away. The facts you have garnered with such infinite trouble invariably fail you at a pinch.

"Give a brief account of Huss and his work." Huss? Who was he and what did he do? The name looks strangely familiar. You ransack your budget of historic facts much as you would hunt for a bit of silk in a rag-bag. You are sure it is somewhere in your mind near the top--you saw it there the other day when you were looking up the beginnings of the Reformation. But where is it now? You fish out all manner of odds and ends of knowledge--revolutions, schisms, massacres, systems of government; but Huss--where is he? You are amazed at all the things you know which are not on the examination paper. In desperation you seize the budget and dump everything out, and there in a corner is your man, serenely brooding on his own private thought, unconscious of the catastrophe which he has brought upon you.

Just then the proctor informs you that the time is up. With a feeling of intense disgust you kick the mass of rubbish into a corner and go home, your head full of revolutionary schemes to abolish the divine right of professors to ask questions without the consent of the questioned.

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*Helen Keller was born in 1880 and at nineteen months lost her sight and hearing owing to an illness. Thereafter she was tutored, guided and taught by a wonderful teacher named Anne Sullivan to read, write and communicate. Helen went on to complete graduation and become an activist and one of the most prominent personalities of the 19th century. She had met all the US presidents of her age, and knew famous personalities like Alexander Graham Bell personally.

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Helen Keller - The story of my life - What is Love ?

These days I am reading 'The Story of my life' by Helen Keller. Helen Keller was born in 1880 and at ninteen months lost her sight and hearing owing to an illness. Thereafter she was tutored, guided and taught by a wonderful teacher named Anne Sullivan to read, write and communicate. Helen went on to complete graduation and become an activist and one of the most prominent personalities of the 19th century. She had met all the US presidents of her age, and knew famous personalities like Alexander Graham Bell personally.

This excerpt gives a glimpse of how she learnt from her teacher an abstract concept like love..
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I remember the morning that I first asked about the meaning of the word, 'love'. This was before I knew many words. I had found a few early violets in the garden and brought them to my teacher. She tried to kiss me; but at that time I did not like to have anyone kiss me except my mother. Miss Sullivan put her arm gently around me and spelled in my hand, 'I love Helen.'

"What is love?" I asked.

She drew me closer to her and said, "It is here," pointing to my heart. Her words puzzled me very much because I did not then understand anything unless I touched it.

I smelled the violets in her hand and asked, half in word, half in signs, a question which meant, "Is love the sweetness of flowers?" "No," said my teacher.

Again, I thought. The warm sun was shining on us. "Is this not love?" I asked, pointing in the direction from which the heat came.

A day or two afterwards, the sun had been under a cloud all day, and there had been brief showers, but suddenly the sun broke forth in all its souther splendor. Again I asked my teacher, "Is this not love?"

"Love is something like the clouds that were the sky before the sun came out," she replied. Then in simpler words than these, which at that time I could not have understood, she explained: "You cannot touch the clouds, you know; but you feel the rain and know how glad the flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. You cannot touch love either; buy you feel the sweetness that pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to play."

The beautiful truth burst upon my mind -- I felt that these were invisible lines stretched between my spirit and the spirit of others.

--Helen Keller, "The Story of My Life"
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An introduction to Ego States - Born to Win

I generally don't read books on psychology. So this time when I picked up "Born to Win" I wasn't hoping to read beyond a few pages. But the concepts in this book were so simple, and was so simply written that I wasn't able to put the book down. Here is an excerpt for the book -
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Structural Analysis offers one way of answering the questions: Who am I? Why do I act the way I do? How did I get this way? It is a method of Analyzing a person's thoughts, and behavior, based on the phenomena of ego states.

Imagine a mother loudly scolding her noisy, quarrelsome children . Her voice is shrill. Her arm is tense and held high in the air . Suddenly, the phone rings and she hears a friend's voice. The mother's posture, tone, and expression begin to change. Her voice becomes well modulated. Her once tense arm lies quietly in her lap.

Imagine two factory workers angrily arguing with each other about a work problem. Their argument is animated and fierce. They look like two children fighting over a piece of candy. Suddenly they here a crash of steel followed by an agonized scream. Their entire demeanor changes. Their arguments are dropped. Their angry expression give way to concern. One hurries to see what's wrong; the other calls an ambulance.

According to the theory of structural analysis, the workers, as well as the mother, changed ego states. Berne defines an ego state as "A consistent pattern of feeling and experience directly related to a corresponding consistent pattern of behavior".

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Each person has three ego states which are separate and distinct sources of behavior: the Parent ego state, the Adult ego state, and the Child ego state. These are not abstract concepts but realities. "Parent, Adult, and Child represent real people who now exist or who once existed, who have legal name and civic identities " . Ego states are colloquially termed Parent, Adult, Child . Ego capitalized in this book they refer to ego states, not to actual parent, adult, or children .

The three ego states are defined as follows:

The Parent ego state contains the attitudes and behavior incorporated from external sources, primarily parents. Outwardly, it often is expressed towards others in prejudicial, critical, and nurturing behavior. Inwardly, it is experienced as old Parental messages which continue to influence the inner Child.

The Adult ego state is not related to a person's age. It is oriented to current reality and the objective gathering of on information. It is organized, adaptable, intelligent, and functions by testing reality, estimating probabilities and computing dispassionately.

The Child ego state contains all the impulses that come naturally to an infant. It also contains the recordings of the child's experiences, responses, and "positions" taken about self and others. It is expressed as "old" (archaic) behavior from childhood.

When you are acting, thinking, feeling as you observed your Parent to be doing, you are in your parents ego state. When you are dealing with current reality, gathering facts, and computing objectively, you are in your Adult ego state. When you are feeling and acting as you did when you were a child, you are in your Child ego state.

Case Illustration

A client was advised to investigate a private school for his son. When he reported his findings about the school where the teaching was informal and creativity encouraged, three distinct reactions was easily observable. First, he scowled and said, "I can't see how anyone could learn anything at that school. There's dirt on the floor!" Leaning back in his chair, his forehead smoothed out as he reflected, "before I decide, I think I should check on the school's scholastic rating and talk to some of the parents." The next minute, a broad grin crossed his face, and he said, " Gee, I 'd love to have gone to a school like that !"

When queried about his responses, the client readily analyzed that his first was the way his father would have responded. His second was his Adult looking for more data. His third was his Child recalling his own unhappy school experience and imagining the fun he might have had at a school such as the one he visited.

Before making a final decision he pursued his Adult questions. Subsequently, his son attended this school, is currently having a good time there and achieving well beyond his former level.

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I was amazed when I read this coz I could clearly see that I was either being a child, a parent or an adult with different people I encountered or under different circumstances. Some of them were appropriate. But there were instances, where I was facing conflicts in my life and I could look working on those instances by altering my ego state . For eg : With a childhood friend, I could be a child , but with professional relationships I could be an adult, and with a youngster or with someone who needed emotional support I could be a parent.

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Bharatanatyam

Last year some time in may my husband and I visited chennai with the whole purpose of visiting and studying Kalakshetra - a dance and music school set up by Rukmini Devi Arundale -who was a pioneer in reviving bharatnatyam in the 20th century. My experience at Kalakshetra was very spiritual and beyond words ! - but I will save the post on my travel to Kalakshetra for some other day and time. This post is about the dance itself - its origin and popularization in the twentieth century.
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Bharata Natyam is perhaps the oldest among the contemporary classical dance forms that are practiced in India and elsewhere in the world. This dance, like any other dance, is intended to provide spiritual satisfaction to the performer and aesthetic experience to the spectators. It can be called an exact art (or even scientific art) since it is set to an excruciatingly detailed grammar. Every part of the body is involved in this dance form and most of the expressions emanate from the eyes. It can be choreographed and performed to the lyrics in any Indian language.

The origin (and antiquity) of Bharatha Natyam has an interesting story behind it. The celestials, it seems, were concerned about the decadence of humanity and tried to rectify the situation. They approached Brahma and requested him to simplify the Vedas so that the humankind can follow the code of conduct prescribed for them. Brahma then distilled the essence of the four Vedas, taking some aspect of each one and created a fifth Veda. He wanted this Veda to be spread among humanity not through text but through a performing art. He entrusted that task to a sage called Bharata Muni, who wrote up the rules for the dance in his text known as Natyasastra and taught them to heavenly damsels and a hundred of his disciples. The performing art incorporated the elements of drama and dance and was called Bharata Natyam.

Historically the origin of Bharata Natyam has been placed in the period between 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD based on sculptural evidence. The development of this dance form through the next seven centuries has been studied from monuments of ancient dynasties, and temples in various parts of India. After the 10th century, Bharata Natyam seems to have developed mainly in southern India and gradually got restricted to a region known as Tamil Nadu. Around the 14th century technical illustrations of dance movements were incorporated as part of the architecture of the temple towers and pillars. The temples in the cities, Kumbakonam, Madurai, and Chidambaram were the major centers of such sculptural capture of the dance form.

In its present form, Bharata Natyam developed from an earlier version called sadir (also known as daasiaattam) which probably evolved between the 17th and 19th centuries. This dance, sadir, was performed by young unmarried women who dedicated themselves to God and performed dances during ceremonial activities in the temples. They were called devadasis (servants of God). In addition, there was a much more pristine dance form in ancient Tamil Nadu called koothu, which is also a forerunner to the modern Bharata Natyam. Various saint-poets and musicians infused Bhakthi through the lyrics which have a rich literary content. The musical compositions formed the core repertoire of Bharata Natyam. In the early 19th century the Thanjavur Quartet (disciples of Muthuswami Dikshitar) consisting of Ponnaiyya, Chinnaiyya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu refined the sadir version and gave it the present form and name which was further popularized in the 20th century among the public by E. Krishna Iyer (an eminent artiste) thereby removing the stigma attached to it. The musical compositions for dance by the Thanjavur Quartet form the bulk of the Bharata Natyam repertoire even today. Mylapore Gowri Amma and Rukmini Devi Arundale were some of the doyennes who helped develop the art further. The latter established Kalakshetra (in Chennai, India), primarily as a music and dance school to promote this art. High standards have been set and achieved through systematic and intense training of students. Introduction of several designs of artistic costumes added more luster. Through the work of several dedicated artistes, Bharata Natyam has metamorphosed from a concealed art within the temple walls to a glamorous one much to the admiration of connoisseurs.
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This post is a excerpt this article - http://www.maheethadance.envy.nu/bharathanatyam.html - due credit goes to them.
The pictures on this post are of Rukmini Devi Arundale and have been taken from various sites.

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The Making of a Cricketer - Ajit Tendulkar

Its the World Cup Season and what better time to dedicate a post to the God of Cricket - Sachin. Recently I read a book called 'The Making of a Cricketer' by Ajit Tendulkar which talks about the formative years of Sachin Tendulkar in Cricket i.e. it talks about the years of all the school and club cricket played by Sachin and the journey he took till First Class International Cricket.

The book also shows the maturity and growth of a 12 year old boy to a 16 year old adult and the peace and calmness with which Sachin handles the various responsibilities that he undertakes. Since the book has been written by his brother himself - it also shows the involvement, and encouragement of his family in his growth.

Below are few excerpts from the book -

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This is when Sachin must have been 7-8 years old -

This was when I noticed something unusual about my little brother. Though Sachin used to imitate his heroes in other sports ( like JOhn McEnroe), he was never seen copying his cricketing idols. Whether batting or bowling, his style was his own. He never hesitated to play strokes. While batting, his arms always swung freely. I thought, he had a great feel for the game and excellent judgement in reading the length of the ball. For those who saw him play, his body movements were enough to provide evidence of the natural sportsman in him.

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This talks about his initial days of training with Achrekar Sir who was primarily responsible for grooming him -

Sachin had changed since his first net practice when he preferred to stand by himself. Now he mixed easily with his team mates. Achrekar Sir told him he would be batting at number four in the inter school tournaments. This was excellent motivation for him. Now he stopped finding excuses to skip net practice. In fact once the school nets began, he'd finish with his batting turn and before removing his pads, he'd ask someone to bowl to him so that he could correct his faults.

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This talks about the initial days of Sachin playing for some prominent clubs in Mumbai -

Sachin played the next match and batted at two wickets down. The situation was such that he had to go for runs immediately and also match his senior partners by scoring quickly and running fast between the wickets. He justified his inclusion by scoring a quickfire 30 runs. Though the team was chasing a big target, Sachin did not resort to any sort of slogging. He played calmly, getting his runs mainly with perfectly executed cover drives and square cuts. This innings was an indication of his growing maturity since he was playing under the pressure of proving himself and justifying Achrekar Sir's stand of insisting on his inclusion and sending him at number four.

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This is a conversation that takes place between Sachin and his brother Ajit in the forth year of competitive school cricket that Sachin is involved in.

"What will happen if I do extremely well in the under 15 tournament?," Sachin asked me. I was helping him to pack his bag for the tournament in Ahmedabad. He had done well in the under 15 group the previous year and attended the All India camp.

"The selectors may consider you for the Bombay under 17 team, then the west zone team for the zonal matches and finally, if you perform well for the All India under 17 camp", I replied.

That wasnt enough for Sachin. And I if I Play well at all levels in the under 17 category?," he went on.

"Then they'll pick you for all levels in the under 19 category", I answered. "maybe even for the under 19 test team."

Sachin was fascinated by the fact that an outstanding performance might lead to his selection even in the higher levels for older boys. Our conversation did not stop there.

"If I do well...", he began again, and anticipating his question, I told him, "If the selectors feel you are that good, they may actually give you a place in the Bombay Ranji Trophy team."

The reader might find this conversation a trifle dramatic in the light of Sachin's remarkable success that season, but it actually did take place.

I recalled this casual conversation again and again that year when Sachin played in every junior category and at the age of 14, became the youngest player ever to be selected for Bombay for the west zone Ranji league matches.

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Hope you enjoyed the excerpts as much as I enjoyed reading the book . And for now - All the best India for the finals tomorrow !!

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Appreciation

This post is a mail that I got that I thought I should share with you all -
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One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview; the director did the last interview.
The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"
The youth answered "none".

The director asked, "Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"
The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, "Where did your mother work?"
The youth answered, "My mother worked as laundry woman.
The director requested the youth to show his hands.
The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"
The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. “When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.”

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands.
His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the young man.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother’s hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, "Please tell me your feelings."

The youth said:
1. I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, there would not have been the successful me today.
2. By working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.
3. I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationships.

The director said, "This is what I am looking for to be my manager.
I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put him self first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of a person, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the children instead?*

You can let your children live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, you want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your children learn how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learn how to work with others to get things done.

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To kill a mocking bird - Atticus says !

I have had one post on "To Kill A Mockingbird" earlier too.

Among the various things that catch your interest in this novel, one thing that you cannot help but notice is the depth of character of Atticus, a middle aged Lawyer and father of the two children( 6 year old Scout and 10 year old Jem ) , who are the main protagonist in this novel. His understanding of life, the way he connects to his children and the values with which he brings them up really make you notice him.

The plot in the novel takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus in this novel defends a black man much against the ways of the society in America in those days ( The novel is set in the 1930s ). He knows that he is not going to win this case, but he follows his conscience.

"To Kill A Mockingbird" is also been made into a movie with numerous awards to its credit. The character of Atticus has been played by Gregory Peck and must say - he has done full justice to the character.

Check out the few dailogues Atticus speaks out in this novel. Much of the dailogues listed below are about what Atticus believes in , while he is defending the black man or about how he wants to bring up his children as strong, responsible, mature human beings.

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I heard from a few people that the people and the relations mentioned in the dailogues below are getting confusing . So here is a summary -

Atticus - main character
Scout - 6 year old daughter of Atticus
Jem - 10 year old son of Atticus
Jack - Brother of Atticus
Bob Ewell - The white man whom Atticus proves guilty


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Scout : "If you shouldn't be defendin' him, then why are you ... doin' it?"



"For a number of reasons," said Atticus. "The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again." […]



Scout : "Atticus, are we going to win it?"



"No, honey."


Scout : "Then why-"


"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," Atticus said.


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Jack ( Atticus's brother ) is having this conversation with Atticus - while Scout is listening on behind the door. Atticus is aware of this - and wants Scout to listen to every word he says.

Jack : But she doesn't know the meaning of half she says- she asked me what a whore-lady was..."

Atticus : "Did you tell her?"

Jack : "No, I told her about Lord Melbourne."

Atticus : "Jack! When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness'
sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but
they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply
muddles 'em. No, you had the right answer this
afternoon, but the wrong reasons. Bad language is a stage all children
go through, and it dies with time when they learn they're not
attracting attention with it.

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Atticus to his son Jem - "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. "

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Atticus to his six year old daughter Scout explaining why he needs to defend the black man - “Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

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Atticus to Scout , advising her , not to get reactivated when people make fun of her or her father about defending the black man - “You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anyone says to you, don’t let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change…it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning.”

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Atticus to Scout “It’s not okay to hate anybody."

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Atticus to Jem"As you grow older you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it— whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, of how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”
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"Best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open."

Atticus will not try to spare his own family from the consequences of their actions. When he thinks (wrongly) that Jem has killed Bob Ewell( white man who Atticus proves guilty ), he insists that the “best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open”.
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Atticus to Jem “Jem see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that household full of children out there.”

Bob Ewell is a white man , who Atticus proves guilty in the court of law. In a fit of anger, this man spits on Atticus's face and Atticus does not react to it. He later explains to his son Jem, about why he let Bob spit on his face.
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Fountainhead - honesty

Found this conversation in Fountainhead on honesty -
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"The worst thing about dishonest people is what they think of as honesty," he said. "I know a woman who's never held to one conviction for three days running, but when I told her she had no integrity, she got very tight-lipped and said her idea of integrity wasn't mine; it seems she'd never stolen any money." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I found this conversation quite interesting. Long back when I had just started my career , there was a couple in my team who were much older to me( maybe early thirties ). The husband was a senior lead and the wife was a team member under him. The husband was a bit of a arrogant idiot I would say ( forgive my use of words ). He had the habit of teasing everyone around him for no reason and little too sarcastically. His choices of words were very demeaning and insensitive. And unfortunately for his wife, he would tease his wife too in the same breadth. I mean, I failed to understand how can you insult your wife in front of dozens of complete strangers. And what is it that made his wife live with him after all those insults? And how about the people listening to his stupid jokes - were they not party to this insult ?

I would find this practice very disturbing - and I once shared the same with one of my colleagues . And his answer made me think. He said - No , No ! Dont get involved in their relationship. Its an equation they share - so dont bother. This guy otherwise is a very nice human being . He donates a lot to orphanages and old age homes.

For a minute I was stupefied. What really defines "being nice", "being true" or "being honest". Are you being true if you are being rude and insulting to your wife and go about donating alms to beggars. Are you being honest if you are not true to your inner self but have never ever stolen any money. In fact are you dishonest if you have stolen money for helping someone in need ? Or have you been untruthful, if you lie to protect an innocent?

Truth is, what your intellect says, is true and honest for a particular situation or circumstance. Ever been in a situation where you very strongly believed in a particular school of thought and your near and dear ones in another. What is "true” or “honest” in such a situation? "Being true", or "being honest" can be very subjective. It can vary from a person to person and for the same person it can vary from situation to situation. Which is why, a terrorist or a prostitute may see nothing wrong in what they are doing since they feel they are being true to their ideologies – and they are right in thinking so! And in the incident above, this sarcastic colleague of mine, for the limited perspective he had, obviously thought that he was doing nothing wrong.

Once you realize the narrowness of your truth, your intellect gives you a new platform to stand, new horizons to broaden your views on and consequently new levels of honesty to achieve. No Truth is permanent. Being honest, is therefore, a state in which we be true to the beliefs and thoughts that expresses our intellect and our inner self, rather than indulge in outward appearances of "not lying" or "not cheating", “supporting the poor” or “supporting the needy”, or "pleasing the society or the world".

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J K Rowling - Fringe Benefits of Failure

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Well, most of the times, we have a very weak relationship with failure. For most of us, we want to do things right - so that we win and succeed. But then what fun is that ? Where is the opportunity for growth when you do what you already know and succeed at that ? What we dont realise is that with each failure you have, you have a huge opportunity for growth and learning. Each failure, enables us to take new steps, new decisions and takes your life in a completely new direction.

Here's hoping that you enjoyed the speech.

Well, I was left speechless with this ! :)

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Ignited minds - Getting the forces together

Here is an excerpt from Ignited Minds which talks about the various projects (involving integration of various fields) that Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam undertook while his tenure as a chairman of the TIFAC team.
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I held the position of Chairman of the Technology Information Forcasting and Assessment Council ( TIFAC ) under the Department of Science and Technology, for nearly two tenures ( about eight years ). This period saw the creation of Technology Vision 2020 based on the work of task teams consisting of 500 experts in all who had available to them inputs from 5000 scientists and technologists from different fields. Later, the Technology Vision document and the national security aspects got integrated and the India Millennium Missions ( IMM 2020 ) emerged. When I took over as Principal Scientific Advisor to the Govt. of India, in Nov 1999 , the task was to do detailing and evolve a aworking plan for IMM 2020. It is indeed a roadmap for transforming India into a developed country - the Second Vision of the Nation. Certain experimental work on education , agriculture and also development of a a number of villages in an integrated way is currently progressing.

I worked with the TIFAC teams in three areas - agriculture, advanced education and rural connectivity.

With Prof. S.K.Sinha , a renowned agricultural scientist , TIFAC took up a project to enhance agricultural productivity in central Bihar and eastern India. Six villages in one and nine in another were selected during the kharif season of 1998. The system approach consisted of soil analysis , seed choice, cultivation season, fertilizer selection and training to the farmers. This intensive collaboration of scientists and farmers resulted in substantial increase in wheat yields, which rose from 2.5 tonnes per hectare to nearly 5 tonnes per hectare. When I and Y.S. Rajan visited a few villages where this system approach is used, we found the farmers showing an interest in new issues like equipment for faster harvesting, storage facilities and marketing and banking systems. It was clear that a small team, cutting across various departments could work wonders even in a difficult region , achieving results in a cost and time effective way.

Another experiment under way is REACH ( Relevance and Excellence ain ACHieving new heights in education institutions ). The purpose of this mission is to establish 80 to 100 centers that follow common academic programmes and share the commitment to achieve excellence. In this endeavour, they work together by interchange of faculty and joint research as need be. As part of this, Centers of Relevance and Excellence ( CORE) have been established in Patiala, Dibrugarh, Mumbai, Thanjavur and Surat in the area of agro and industrial biotechnology , advanced computing and information processing, petroleum reservoir engineering, industrial safety, environmental engineering and herbal drugs. Our experience in the REACH programme is that industries are willing to participate in the specialized areas of their interest and they are also willing to invest about 40 per cent of the total expenditure in establishing CORE. In return, they will benefit in terms of skilled manpower and access to the results of research. The willingness of industry to be partners in technology development and education has helped our confidence a great deal. It was also satisfying to see Dr M.S.Vijayaraghavan, Adviser in the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, blossom into a leader in the integrated learning system. His innovation was to bring commitment of industry to the learning programme.

Another example relates to the programme for rural connectivity evolved under the leadership of Prof. P.V.Indiresan, who was formerly Director of IIT Madras. As mentioned earlier, the fact that there is net migration from villages to cities indicates that they offer more opportunities and the only way to equalize the flow is to develop the rural areas and bring life there on par with that in the cities. Once employment opportunities increase there, as do the amenities available, as per the model created by Prof. Indiresan, rural development may be expected to prevent, if not actually reverse the rural - urban migration. Presently, several technologies exist to make this possible, provided we use the connectivity approach in various areas.

For the rural development programme called PURA, we have introduced the concept of dynamic connectivity of four types called PEEK: Physics, Electronics, Economics and Knowledge connectivities.
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Nice projects na ! Will put up another post someday on the current state of these projects. This book was written in the 2002- 2003 period.

Meanwhile, I hope all the projects have achieved great success in the fields they embarked on.

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Leadership

Ordinary people don't spend much time on the extra mile. But who ever said you were ordinary
Leadership is shown when a salesperson makes extra calls at the end of an exhausting day not because it's the easy thing to do but because it's the right thing to do.

Leadership is shown by the manager who finishes a report that has taken the very best from him, then goes back to it a little later to polish and improve it even more.

Leadership is shown by a team that delivers on their value promise to a customer and then digs even deeper to wow them.

Please think about this idea. I think it's a deeply important one. Those among us who craft extraordinary careers and spectacular lives are those who spend most of their time giving their best out on the extra mile. Yes, ordinary people don't spend much time on the extra mile. But who ever said you were ordinary

from .. The Greatness guide - Robin Sharma

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