The Olympic Spirit
The Olympic mood has really caught on. My wife and I were at a petrol station recently and we were having difficulty attracting the attention of the attendants to respond to us. They were standing at the corner talking to each other. When we finally got them to fill the petrol and check the engine oil, we discovered that the wall against which the attendants were leaning carried an advertisement.
'A' is an evolved and good man
Let us examine person A who lives in a green home designed and built on eco-friendly principles, does meditation everyday and is very compassionate with the people he meets and transacts with. However, when we move our frame to accommodate a larger systemic view, his huge estate is protected by an almost impassable barrier and policed by an army of people equipped with the most up-to-date technology. Move the frame even larger and we seek that the surrounding areas are slums run by slum lords.
Foreman Stories
Story 1
I must share a few stories about how I was taught “management by foreman Durai Achary. Durai was a short lean gentleman with a long grey and white beard. He was very proud of the fact that he came from a goldsmith family. I had just joined the camp as works manager, fresh from IIT, Madras. Durai was very respectful but skeptical of me.
Whose mike is is anyway?
A leading hotel chain had invited all its staff for a ‘face to face’ with its CEO. We had worked on very successful kaizen projects for a year and the CEO had come down to celebrate the success and announce a company wide commitment to management excellence.
Valuing the Customer
In these days when so much is being said about the customer being king, it is surprising to come across a service organisation that acts completely contrary to this.