Management Lesson

Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam : 'A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure'

India Knowledge@Wharton:

Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was a big failure. 

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct the press conference today."

I learned a very important lesson that day.When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

Help Your Employees Do More in Less Time

Because of thunder storms in Atlanta, the flight from Dallas to Atlanta had been delayed twice. On the third attempt, we were boarding and I felt hopeful of actually getting off the ground. My hopes faded fast when the tired-looking flight attendant came down the aisle quietly announcing that if we were not permitted to take off in the next 15 minutes, the crew would have exceeded their 16-hour work day and we would have to taxi back to the terminal and await another flight.

We were not given permission to take off, the crew's time expired and as we taxied back to the terminal I felt mixed emotions. I kept thinking, "But we were right there ready to take off. How could 1-1/2 more hours matter?"

Just as airlines are concerned about overworked pilots and flight attendants, employers should be concerned about overworked employees. Why? Errors, accidents, and low productivity for a start.

My mixed emotions as we taxied back to the terminal are similar to the signals our culture sends today about long work hours. In one breath we agree with employees having a pity party about how hard they work and with the other breath, we award employees a "red badge of courage" for having the guts to go the extra mile.

A study by the Families and Work Institute concludes that overworked employees should be taken seriously. Employees who are overworked are more 

likely to exhibit anxiety, make mistakes at work, harbor angry feelings about their employer for expecting them to be on the job for long hours and resent coworkers who don't pull their share of the load. The study documents that nearly half of employees who feel overworked report that their health is poor and 8 percent of employees who are not overworked experience symptoms of clinical depression compared with 21 percent of those who are highly overworked.

Helping Employees Feel Less Overwhelmed:

What can the organization do to help employees feel less overworked while still finishing their tasks in a given day? Using time efficiently at work is an individual and an organizational issue. On the organizational side, managers can help employees reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed by:

·  Training employees in time management principles

·  Discouraging the practice of eating at the desk and working through lunch

·  Insisting employees taking vacation time

·  Permitting flexible work hours when appropriate

·  Encouraging non-interrupt zones in the day when workers can focus on their tasks

·  Assigning tasks well in advance of the drop dead date

·   Helping Employees Be More Effective 

A tried and true principle states that to be efficient, you must first be effective. For instance, the maker of buggy whips might be highly efficient in manufacturing techniques, but if no one buys the buggy whips, the process is not effective.

To encourage efficiency and effectiveness, managers can:

·  Have clearly stated goals with built in deadlines

·  Insist employees make a daily "to do" list

·  Make certain equipment works properly

·  Supply the necessary materials for job completion

·  Train employees on software packages that enable more efficient work

Ensuring the above items are taken care of is essential to help employees leverage their time while in the office and be more productive. 

Realizing a Productivity Culture Change:

Managers should make a concerted effort to grease the wheels of productivity, and not be the stick that gets caught in the tire spokes, catapulting the rider from the trail. By attending to these issues, managers can help workers feel less overwhelmed and enable them do more in less time. You'll like the results. 

- By Karla Brandau

Develop A Clear Vision

The one quality that all leaders have in common is that they have a clear and exciting vision for the future. This is something that only the leader can do. Only the leader can think about the future and plan for the future each day.

Take the Time to Think :

Excellent leaders take the time to think through and develop a clear picture of where they want the organization to be in one, three and five years. Leaders have the ability to communicate this vision in such a way that others "buy in" and eventually see the vision as belonging to them.

Motivate People to Give of Their Best :

It is the vision of the future possibilities, of what can be, that arouses emotion and motivates people to give of their best. The most powerful vision is always qualitative, aimed at and described in terms of values and mission rather than quantitative, which is described in terms of money and numbers.

Money is Important :

Of course, money is important, but the decision and commitment to "be the best in the business" is far more exciting.

Keep Your Cool :

Another key to leadership success is for you to "keep your cool." A study at Stanford Business School examined the qualities that companies look for in promoting young managers toward senior executive positions, especially the position of Chief Executive Officer. The study concluded that the two most important qualities required for great success were, first, the ability to put together and function as part of a team. Since all work is ultimately done by teams, and the managers' output is the output of the team, the ability to select team members, set objectives, delegate responsibility and finally, get the job done, was central to success in management.

Practice is Everything :

The second quality required for rapid promotion was found to be the ability to function well under pressure, and especially in a crisis. Keeping your cool in a crisis means to practice patience and self-control under difficult or disappointing circumstances.

People Are Watching :

The character and quality of a leader is often demonstrated in these critical moments under fire, when everyone is watching, observing and privately taking notes. As Rudyard Kipling once said, "If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, then the world is yours and all that's in it".

Your job as a leader is to have a clear vision of where you want to go and then to keep your cool when things go wrong, as they surely will.

- By Brian Tracy

True Peace

True peace can be experienced only when we stop giving and taking sorrow. In order not to give sorrow we need a clear heart that has no ill feelings and for not taking sorrow we need a big heart that can tolerate and help other souls to get over their weaknesses.

- Unknown

The mistake many make in meditation is one of subtle pride (ego). It's as if we say, "Look at me, I've got the best seat on the train. Look at me I made it to my peace. Didn't I do well?" This of course is one of those old-fashioned self-centred thoughts. As soon as you create it you go against the very essence (nature) of your true self, your peace. To go with the essence (nature) of truth about peace is to realise your peace is not just for you, it is for the world. It is for giving, for radiating, for transmitting, for sharing.

It is a subtle recognition that your peace can only be sustained (nourished) and increased when you give it to those who are peaceless around you. When you realise this, you will also recognise how the vibration of your peacefulness radiates outwards. When you consciously release your peace to others and to the world, that's when you will feel its power.

- Brahma Kumaris, Mt. Abu

Journey Of Life

Life is a Journey and we travel for a destination,

We aspire to reach It but it’s only a fascination.

Our journey begins since the time we are born

Until we breathe our last the journey continues to go on.

Journey sees drizzles, on the way, off and of finds heavy showers.

But the sun too accompanies the journey and so does a host of flowers.

Journey comes across many things, many phases of life it passes through,

New experiences it gathers and discovers the earlier was not true.

Life has no respiration if no journey in it,

The moment journey stops, the end of life you shall meet.

It’s continuation, a long walk along the roads of life.

Let it not stop or no point in being just alive.

- Author Unknown

Ramadhan - Lessons From The Son...

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people can be.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Oh Yeah" said the son.

"So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them. "

With this the boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks dad for showing me how ungrateful we truly are"

You can't buy any of these things. You can have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have.

- Author Unknown

In A Different Way

In A Different Way
Live each single moment,
As if it were your last.
Look forward to the future,
Forget about the past.

Taking time to value,
Exactly what you’ve got.
Appreciate the now,
Use what you’ve been taught.

To further your enjoyment,
Of each new passing day.
Try learning something new,
In a different way.

Expanding your horizons,
By trying something new.
Makes life seem much larger,
You’ll know just what to do.

When you have a problem,
You can not seem to mend,
Somehow try it different,
Mind and thoughts must bend.

To learn to live life better,
In a different way.
Be open to suggestions,
Every single day.

- Author Unknown

If At First You Don’t Succeed.

Failure doesn’t mean - “You are a failure,”

It means - You have not succeeded.

Failure doesn’t mean - “You accomplished nothing,”

It means - You have learned something.

Failure doesn’t mean - “You have been a fool,”

It means - You had a lot of faith.

Failure doesn’t mean - “You don’t have it,”

It means - You were willing to try.

Failure doesn’t mean - “You are inferior,”

It means - You are not perfect.

Failure doesn’t mean - “You’ve wasted your life,”

It means - You have a reason to start afresh.

Failure doesn’t mean - “You should give up,”

It means - “You must try harder.

Failure doesn’t mean - “You’ll never make it,”

It means - It will take a little longer.

Failure doesn’t mean - “God has abandoned you,”

It means - God has a better way for you.

What Is Life?

Life is a challenge, Meet it
Life is a gift, Accept it
Life is an adventure, Dare it
Life is a sorrow, Face it
Life is a duty, Perform it
Life is a mystery, Unfold it
Life is a game, Play it
Life is a song, Sing it
Life is an opportunity, Take it
Life is a journey, Complete it
Life is a promise, Fulfill it
Life is a love, Love it
Life is a beauty, Praise it
Life is a spirit, Realize it
Life is a struggle, Fight it
Life is a puzzle, Solve it
Life is a goal, Achieve it

- Unknown

Top 10 Tips for Managing Down

Management looks really easy, doesn't it? You're awarded a title, and, if you are lucky, an office, and away you go. You bark some orders here and there and then you sit back until it's time to give another directive. Of course, everyone does exactly what you ask of them, because you are the person in charge. If this were really the case, everyone would want to be a manager!

Here are ten tips to help you become the type of manager that everyone wants to work with.

1. Be Credible

It is difficult, if not impossible to get others to follow you if you aren't perceived as being credible. Credibility is not something you earn overnight, although it is certainly something you can destroy in one day. Be mindful of how your words and actions have a direct impact on how others perceive you on a daily basis.

2. Lead by Example 

Behave, as you would want your employees to behave, but also understand that your role is different from that of your employees.

3. Surround Yourself With The Right People

Hire for fit, train for skill and if the opportunity presents itself, hire people who are better than you. Prepare for the arrival of new hires so they immediately feel connected to the organization.

4. Build On Strengths

Weaknesses may be more visible, but strengths are where you will receive a greater return. Find one or two strengths in each of your people and help them become the type of employees you know they can be.

5. Cut Your Losses Early

Mismatches happen, no matter how good you are at interviewing. Take action quickly to avoid having the rest of the team distracted by a poor hire.

6. Cultivate The Success Of Others

To succeed as a manager, you will need to shift your focus from "me" to "we." Going forward, your success will no longer be measured by your individual contribution. Instead, you will be evaluated on your ability to create and maintain a highly engaged team that is willing to give it their all.

7. Manage Performance

People want and need feedback in order to improve their performance. Don't be the manager everyone complains about. Give your people continuous feedback and provide them with timely performance reviews.

8. Be Respectful

One of the quickest ways to lose credibility and trust is by being disrespectful. Regardless of the situation at hand, treat your people the way you would like to be treated.

9. Master The Art of Influencing

As the boss, many times you will be asking people to do things on your behalf. Be specific in your request and let them know why it's in their best interest to comply, and you will be well on your way to getting what you need.

10. Get Respect

As human beings, we have a natural tendency to want to be loved. But what happens when your desire to be loved interferes with your ability to lead? Effective leaders recognize it is more important to be respected by their people than adored. They make the tough decisions that are needed to secure the future of those around them, including their direct reports.

- By Roberta Matuson

Success lies in Aspiration

The Path of Most Persistence

There will always be those who will tell you it can't be done, but throughout history, progress has always come from those who said it could be done.

The people who accomplish the most do so not because they never run into problems, but because they believe there is a solution for every one.

The great men and women of history are remembered not because they never failed, but because they didn't let their failures stop them. They kept on until they succeeded.

When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he tried over 2,000 experiments before he got it to work. A young reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times. He said, 

“I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000-step process.”

Often GENIUS is just another way of spelling perseverance. 

- Author Unknown

Seven Keys to High-Energy Living

Energy is a key luck factor. For you to be at the top of your form, to be action oriented, fast moving, and extremely productive, you have to have  high levels of physical and mental energy. 

For you to be able to take advantage of all the possibilities around you, and to have the continuous enthusiasm that keeps you and others motivated and moving ahead, you have to organize your life so that you feel terrific about yourself most of the time.

1. Eat the Right Foods :

The first key to high energy is a proper diet. To perform at your best, you must eat the right foods, in the right balance, and in the right combination. Your diet has an inordinate impact on the amount of energy you have, how well you sleep, your levels of health and fitness, and your performance throughout the day and into the evening.

2. Watch your Weight :

The second key to high energy is proper weight. Proper weight is essential for health, happiness, and long life. Being slightly under your ideal weight is best. As they say, you can never be too rich or too thin. If you are not happy with your current level of physical health, you need to set specific goals for yourself for the weeks and months ahead.

3. Exercise is Essential :

The third key to high energy is proper exercise. The best activity for high energy and physical fitness is aerobic exercise. This type of exercise requires that you get your heart rate up into what is called the training zone three times per week. This training zone is about 120 to 160 beats per minute, depending on your age. You then keep it there for at least 20 minutes or more each session.

4. Get Lots of Rest and Recreation :

The fourth key to high energy is proper rest. You need an average of seven to eight hours of sleep each night to be fully rested. You need to take off at least one full day each week during which you don't work at all. You should take regular mini-holidays of two or three days each, every couple of months. You should take one and two week vacations each year when you relax completely and get your mind totally off your work.

5. Develop a Positive Mental Attitude :

The sixth key to high energy is the elimination of negative emotions. This can be the most important thing you do to assure a long and happy life. Your ability to keep your mind on what you want and off of what you don't want will determine your levels of health and happiness more than any other decision you make.

6. Start a Personal Mental Fitness Program :

The seventh key to high energy is for you to go on a 21-daypositive mental attitude diet, one day at a time. Resolve that, for the next 21 day, you are going to keep your mind on what you want and keep it off the things you don't want. You are going to think and talk positively and optimistically about your goals, other people, and everything that is going on in your life.

7. Become a Personal Powerhouse :

The more you practice the health habits we have talked about, the more energy and vitality you will have. The more you keep your conversation focused on your goals and on the things you want, the greater the amount of strength and power you will feel. You will be more alert and aware. You will feel more positive and action oriented in every situation.

- By Brian Tracy

Friends Forever & Always

Friendship is a feeling
That never will grow old
Warm and loving it will stay
When other things grow cold.

It's a special kind of love
That cannot be denied
Because I know for sure my friend
You're always by my side.

Friends come and friends go
In this game that we play
A true friend no matter what
In my heart will always stay.

So glad I found you in my life
A bond we weave together
Our friendship will keep growing
And stay with us forever.

- Ginny Bryant

Inspiring Quotes

Be Simple.

To get your ideas across
use small words,
big ideas,
and short sentences

The Definition of Courage.

Courage is not defined by those
who fought and did not fall,
but by those who fought,
fell and rose again.

Change

If you don't like something,
change it, if you can't change it,
change the way you think about it.

- Unknown

Your Intentions Prompt You into Action

The Law of Attraction works primarily through our needs and the things we want. This mystical law brings into our lives our heart’s desire, which is what we experience when we align our needs and wants. Without the alignment, what we don’t want or what we dislike heads in our direction.

It is our intention that motivates, and we must exact our preferences if we hope to prosper employing this law. It is our mind working with our body and that produces results. Our mind alone cannot establish outcomes, but merely guide us to take action. For instance, we can notice the need to do something, like fill a bowl of water for our pet.

Unless we intend to do this, by actually thinking or saying that, we will do it our body remains inactive. Unless we tell ourselves what we intend to accomplish, and this directs our body to do so. Simply thinking that the dog needs water will not get the job done. We must want to fill the bowl and this is when the need matches, what you want, causing a heart’s desire.

The aforementioned example is a simple one that shows how the intellect and body work together. We repeatedly notice things that need doing or think we should do something. The trouble is that we think about doing and lack the motivation. Thinking about what we want, is merely a part of the process. We must then be open to what needs doing and take action. This is the reason that goal setting is effective!

Our subconscious mind works in such a way that just saying we want something, sets the goal. We must then be open to opportunities to fulfill our goal; we must match our needs and wants. Our body is co-dependent on our mind. Likewise, our mind is co-dependent with our bodies.

They work together to reach our heart’s desire! Think about what you want, and then consider your needs, developing an intention that will motivate you to take action. Your five senses (body) bring what needs doing to your attention. Your mind must then acknowledge that you want to do it before your body will follow through with the task.

We cannot hope to use the Law of Attraction to our advantage, unless we fully understand ourselves. Things happen by accident each day, or so we imagine, but do they? Have you ever heard yourself think that you want a new car and then thought you should test-drive one? Just wanting a new vehicle does not deliver it. You must have the intention to receive one, and chances are you will have to purchase it yourself.

Your body will work at extra jobs or hours for the money if you intend to buy the car. The Law of Attraction will provide you the opportunity. You must be willing to do take action, because the magical law functions in mysterious ways! One rule of thumb is – “opportunities are disguised as work ninety percent of the time.” How many times have you thought that you should have or could have done something and recognized a missed opportunity?

This was the Law of Attraction at work in your life; a chance to get what you wanted by providing you with what you need! Match what you want with what you need and your heart’s desire will form your intention to achieve your goals. Align your body and mind and your life will fulfill itself, creating the joy of living, as you create positive momentum!

- By Sandra Hendricks

A Friend Is Like...

A friend is like a forest,
Or a lovely, calm blue sea,
A refuge from life’s problems,
As only a friend can be.

A friend is like a song,
Soothing to the brain,
Distracting us from trouble,
Neutralizing pain.

A friend is like some ice cream
On a sweltering summer day,
Making life delicious,
In a friend’s own special way.

A friend is like a blanket,
Bringing peace and rest,
A cocoon of warmth and pleasure;
When we are tired or stressed.

A friend is a bit of everything
That makes life good and sweet,
And you, my friend, are all that;
You make my life complete!

- Unknown

Inspiring Message

* In life, there are moments when you miss someone so much that you feel like you could only fulfill your dreams by holding that person tight in your arms.

* When the door of happiness is closed, another opens; but many of us continue only to look at the closed door. 

As a result, we often fail to see the new door with its new opportunities.

* Do not trust appearances; they are often false.

Do not interest yourself only in wealth; it may disappear.

* Seek someone who communicates with you in laughter, for laughter can turn a sad day into a joyful one.

* Dream whatever you desire to dream.

Go wherever you wish.

Seek whatever you desire.

Because life is unique and is dependent on how you shape it.

* The lucky ones do not always have the best.

Often, they seek simply the best of what they see on their journey.

* Your future happiness may well depend on your ability to leave the past behind.

Powerful Inspiring Message

Forget about the Days when you've been Lonely.
But don't forget the Friendly Smiles you've seen.

Forget about the Days when it has been Cloudy.
But don't forget Your Hour in the Sun.

Forget about the Time when you've been Defeated
But don't forget the Victories you've won.

Forget about the Misfortunes which you Encountered.
But don't forget the Times your Luck has turned.

Forget about the Mistakes that you can't Change.
But don't forget the Lesson that you've learnt.

Have a Nice Day !!

- Author Unknown

Life Is A Gift

Life is a gift given by the God to us.
Life is like a diamond which makes us beautiful
and feel how much precious we are.

So fill your life with full of colors.
Don’t waste it or spoil it.
Because God will never give you a second chance.

- Unknown

How to Identify Your Goals

Here are seven goal-setting questions for you to ask and answer over and over again. I suggest that you take a pad of paper and write out your responses. 

Question Number One:

What are your five most important values in life?

This question is intended to help you clarify what is really important to you, and by extension, what is less important, or unimportant. Once you have identified the five most important values in life for you, organize them in order of priority, from number one, the most important, through number five. 

Question Number Two:

What are your three most important goals in life, right now?

This is called the "quick list" method. When you only have thirty seconds to write down your three most important goals, your subconscious mind sorts out your many goals quickly. Your top three will just pop into your conscious mind. With only thirty seconds, you will be as accurate as if you had thirty minutes. 

Question Number Three:

What would you do, how would you spend your time, if you learned today that you only had six months to live? This is another value questions to help you clarify what is really important to you. When your time is limited, even if only in your imagination, you become aware of who and what you really care about. 

Question Number Four:

What would you do if you won a million dollars cash, tax free, in the lottery tomorrow?

How would you change your life? What would you buy? What would you start doing, or stop doing? This is really a question to help you decide what you'd do if you had all the time and money you need, and if you had virtually no fear of failure at all. 

Question Number Five:

What have you always wanted to do, but been afraid to attempt?

This question helps you see more clearly where your fears could be blocking you from doing what you really want to do. 

Question Number Six:

What do you most enjoy doing? What gives you your greatest feeling of self-esteem and personal satisfaction? 

This is another values question that may indicate where you should explore to find your "heart's desire." You will always be most happy doing what you most love to do, and what you most love to do is invariably the activity that makes you feel the most alive and fulfilled. The most successful men and women in America are invariably doing what they really enjoy, most of the time. 

Question Number Seven:

What one great thing would you dare to dream if you knew you would not fail?

Imagine that a genie appears and grants you one wish. The genie guarantees that you will be absolutely, completely successful in any one thing that you attempt to do, big or small, short or long-term. If you were absolutely guaranteed success in any one thing, what one exciting goal would you set for yourself?

- By Brian Tracy