Thursday, September 11, 2014

The river



Was listening to Payal sing this wonderful song from the 1968 movie Anokhi Raat

ओहरे ताल मिले नदी के जल में, नदी मिले सागर में
सागर मिले कौन से जल में, कोई जाने ना

सूरज को धरती तरसे, धरती को चंद्रमा
पानी में सीप जैसे प्यासी हर आत्मा
बूँद छूपी किस बादल में कोई जाने ना

अनजाने होठों पर क्यों पहचाने गीत है
कल तक जो बेगाने थे, जन्मों के मीत है
क्या होगा कौन से पल में कोई जाने ना

This took me to the poem by Cole Swenses.
It is a rare night
down along the river,
a sheet of glass repeating
“I am water.”
The lights upon it
do not dance, but strike
and go down forever.
This river has forgotten
the way to the sea,
it will wander the earth
like a liquid sleepwalker
stopping people on the street
and asking, “have I arrived?”

Is there any relation between the two? Guess no- But how the mind is a wandering lust...

The Three Qualities of People I Most Enjoy Working With & 10 Qualities of a good boss


Interesting to read this article by Jeff Weiner - Influencer- CEO at LinkedIn who had also this diagram which say most of it.



Also Bernard Marr - Influencer -Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Consultant in Strategy, Performance Management, Analytics, KPIs and Big Data says:

Effective bosses and managers tend to have the the below 10 signs:

1.Provide strong leadership and a clear vision
The captain must steer the ship. If leadership doesn’t know where a project or company is headed, how can the company know? This isn’t just about steps or deliverables, either, but a clear vision of the department or company’s future that he or she can communicate to the employees.


2.Hold themselves and others accountable
Many bosses hold their staff accountable, but the best show that they hold themselves accountable as well. This means adhering to the same guidelines they set for their employees and taking responsibility for both team successes and failures.


3.Good problem solver
One key thing the best bosses seem to have in common is that they are all consummate problem solvers. They can not only spot them, but brainstorm successful and innovative ways to fix them.


4.Avoid micromanaging
The best bosses understand the art of delegation. My commenter said something along the lines of, “They’ve fired themselves from their previous job,” meaning that they don’t interfere in the day-to-day and minute-to-minute workflow or processes. In essence, learning to delegate instead of micromanage is about trust.


5.Effective decision makers
Effective bosses must be effective decision makers. He or she cannot vacillate over every tiny decision. Being able to make decisions quickly and decisively — and then take responsibility for the outcome (see number 2) — is an important business skill, especially when managing others.


6.Put people first
The best bosses understand that there must be a balance between the company or client’s needs and the needs of his or her employees. The best bosses are willing to listen and talk about any issues an employee may be having because they understand that a happy employee is a more productive employee.


7.Manage up, down, and sideways
Managers are expected to manage the people below them on the corporate hierarchy, but the best managers also have ways of managing their superiors and coworkers on behalf of their team. Many times this means effective communication, managing expectations, and requesting help in a timely manner.


8.Show Appreciation
Every employee wants a pat on the back once in a while, and the best bosses understand the importance of recognizing and appreciating employee contributions. This doesn’t have to mean bonuses or fancy corporate awards, but regular and meaningful expressions of appreciation.


9.Be Honest
There’s nothing worse than a boss who says one thing and does another, and nothing better than one who keeps his word. Just as managers must trust their team, employees must trust their boss to have their best interests at heart.


10.Be Dedicated and balanced
The very best bosses I’ve seen are passionate about their work; they live and breathe their jobs and strive to do the best work possible. Yet at the same time, they have lives outside of work. They understand the need to balance family and work or play and work. And they set a good example of how to do that for their employees.

Adultery - Paulo Coelho


Yet another new novel from the international bestselling author whose words change lives. Though the novel is not as interesting - in fact I did not like it at all, there were some thought-provoking words -

You don't choose your life, it chooses you. There's no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them and carry on. We can't choose our lives, but we can decide what to do with the joys or griefs we're given. Sometimes you have to lose yourself to discover who you are.


Linda knows she's lucky - has everything - money, lovely kids, bit dull but understanding and loving husband, respectable job. But she is not happy... Kinda depressed, or maybe not really, she is not sure herself...And what she does is not what I would have loved reading....

Thanks to Reshma for sharing this book with me; lucky I didnot spend my money on it. Not sure what's going wrong with this man - with every passing year, the quality of his books are comming down, is it time to stop reading him so that I would not loose my interest in The Alchemist?

Keep Smiling



People change so that you can learn to let go,
Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they are right,
You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself,
& Sometimes good things fall apart.....to make you realise how good it was for you, and you appreciate it even more.

People console you saying it is so that better things can fall together.
But something’s, some people and time are irreplaceable,
Bygones are bygones. Cry. Forgive, Learn, Move on.
Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness – But you keep smiling!
Still ponder do everything happen for a reason?