People at Work & Play

Saale Nao Mubbarak
Gelukkige Nuwe Jaar
Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Snorhavor Nor Tari
Antum Salimoun
Sheta Brikhta
Yeni Iliniz Mubarek
Shuvo Nabo Barsho
×Åñòèòà Íîâà Ãîäèíà (pronounced
“Chestita Nova Godina”)
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Kiortame pivdluaritlo
Head uut aastat
Melkam Addis Amet Yihuneliwo
Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
Bonne Annee
Bo Nadal e Feliz Aninovo
Prosit Neujahr

All of the above, as you would have guessed by now, mean the same thing. HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Here’s a site which helps you wish your friends in different parts of the world a HAPPY NEW YEAR in their language.

From me and my family to you and yours: Best wishes for a Bright & Prosperous New Year. May 2007 bring you the best of health, prosperity and every happiness.

I observe that money is relative. In a recent visit to The British Library, a young man who came with his wife and small child did not hesitate to pay a fine of over Rs .750. We are now in December and he had not returned his books since June! When asked about the delay, all he could manage was a sheepish smirk to say that he was away. The nonchalance with which he turfed out the amount was indicative that for him the amount meant nothing.

On the other hand, an elderly gentlman(should we call him that?) in our apartment complex thinks nothing of setting out each morning to forage flowers from the common garden. He forgets these are not meant exclusively for him. Can he afford to buy flowers like the rest of us do? I would think so. His son is a senior executive in a leading IT company. The family has more than one large apartment in Bangalore. Why then this odd behaviour?

What drives a behaviour depends on how one values money and perhaps how much they have. I guess both the cases mentioned represent extreme points of view. The answer lies somewhere in between - in being balanced. One need not be either a spendthrift or a miser!

A handy definition of work/life balance comes from “Workforce Management”: Striking a balance between professional responsibilities and personal obligations.

It is reported that although 90 percent of employees surveyed say achieving work/life balance is a high priority, only 15 percent claim to be anywhere close to attaining it. Achieving work/life balance, it appears, continues to be an elusive goal for most. This finding is from a recent study by Opinion Research Corp. and Work+Life Inc. of Madison, New Jersey.

What comes in the way of achieving work/life balance? Main factors were :

• Fears that they would make less money,
• Be viewed as less hardworking by their bosses
• Lose their jobs.

Been away for a while. About 15 days in reality but seems like a lifetime. My daughter got married on Dec 13. A memorable day for all of us. We have got a new member of our family in the form of a son-in-law. As they say, you don’t lose a daughter but gain a son.

Very hectic moments, some times filled with tension, the keenest desire being that everything should go of well. Every one without exception seemed to have liked the arrangements made for the wedding in the morning and the reception that evening. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet old friends and many relatives.

The couple left for their honeymoon to Kerala. We decided that we needed a break too. We left for Goa on Dec 15 and went on to Shirdi on Dec 20, returning to Bangalore on Dec 24. The holiday was well-deserved, even if I say so myself, and it leaves us energised as we resume our earlier routine which we have almost forgotten!!

EHere’s an effective method to combat stress from Mind Tools.

Imagery is a potent method of stress reduction, especially when combined with physical relaxation methods such as deep breathing. For all of us particular environments can be very relaxing, while others can be intensely stressful. Imagery in stress reduction involves the use of your imagination to recreate and enjoy a situation that is very relaxing. The more intensely you imagine the situation, the more relaxing the experience will be.

The impact of this technique can actually be experienced. By imagining a pleasant scene (which reduces stress) you can actually see or hear the stress in your body reduce. By imagining an unpleasant and stressful situation, you can see the stress in your body increase. This very real effect can be quite alarming when you see it happen the first time!

This technique doesn’t take much time, is easy to use and can be used almost everywhere and at any time.

Can nations be happy? Yes, according to studies conducted by many including Adrian White at the University of Leicester. He used the responses of 80,000 people worldwide to map out the happiest countries in the world. In his list, Denmark came out No. 1 with India at No. 125.

The study considers wealth, health, education, sense of identity and the aesthetic quality of the landscape to measure happiness. Not surprisingly, the strongest co-relation with happiness turns out to be health. Prosperity and education were the next stongest determinants of happiness.

I am not sure whether in his research Prof . White took into account the prescriptions spread by Munnabhai in India! These may have a positive affect on our scores!!

My favourite author is P.G.Wodehouse. I find his books, many of which I have read and re-read over the years, extremely relaxing.

I am convinced that no one else has written so well as he has in the English language - particularly in his use of humour.

A few quotations from his works:-

• She looked as if she had been poured into her clothes and had forgotten to say “when.”
• The Duke of Dunstable had one-way pockets. He would walk ten miles in the snow to chisel an orphan out of tuppence.
• The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun
• It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.

I have been reading Wodehouse for more than 40 years. Even now, his books give me as much pleasure as when I first read them.

The Indian cricket team has come in for a lot of criticism due to their performance in the One Dayers in South Africa. Whenever performance slumps, jokes flow. There were a million jokes on Ganguly when he was out of the Indian team.

In the same vein, I came across an interesting collection of “Email ids” of Indian cricketers. May be you can add to this list or improve upon it!!

Recently, November 2006, “Business Today” announced the results of their popular survey: “The Best Companies To Work For In India”. The survey was conducted with Mercer and TNS.

The survey ranks:

1. Infosys
2. MindTree
3. Satyam
4. Dr Reddy’s Labs
5. Sapient
6. Agilent Tech
7. Johnson & Johnson
8. Covansys
9. HCL Comnet
10. HSBC

Company rankings were arrived at based on 4 quadrants:

• HR Metrics- Weightage 15 %
• HR Processes & Policies- Weightage 30 %
• Employee Perception- Weightage 35 %
• Stakeholder Perception-Weightage 20 %

In comparison to the 2005 rankings, Infosys continued to be No.1 while MindTree climbed from 10 to 2. Infosys is the only company to have featured among the Top 10 in 5 out of the 6 years of the Survey starting from 2001.

“Smart Leadership-Insights for CEOs” is a volume edited by Gita Piramal and Jennifer Netarwala.It has articles from some of India’s leading thought leaders and business tycoons on different facets of leadership.

The contributors are: Kumar Mangalam Birla of the Aditya Birla Group, Ashwin Dani of Asian Paints,Deepak Parekh of HDFC,Dr. R.A. Mashelkar of CSIR,K.V.Kamath of ICICI Bank,Rahul Bajaj of Bajaj Auto,Shikha Sharma of ICICI Prudential,Subhash Chandra of Zee Telefilms,S.Ramadorai of TCS,N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys, Ajay Piramal of Nicholas Piramal and Jyoti Naik of Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad.

This slim volume makes for interesting reading and gives insights into the minds of some of India’s finest business leaders.