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Bits and Pieces
Compiled by Azaad Iqbal
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 If
you really want to succeed, form the habit of doing things that people
who are failures don’t like to do.
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There was a
very cautious man
Who never laughed or played
He never risked, he never tried
He never sang or prayed
And when he one day passed away
His insurance was denied
For since he never really lived
They claimed he never died.
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Don’t be a
workaholic, seek a balanced life, advises James A. Autry, president of
the magazine group of the Meredith Corporation, in his book Love &
Profit.
“I know
managers,” says Autry, “who cannot stay away from the office. It is as
if they become insecure if they are not working. I’m not talking about
those times we all have when things pile up and we have to take a Sunday
and wade through the stack. I know people who come to the office when
there are only the most routine things to deal with. I also know
managers who come in, read The Wall Street Journal and The
New York Times, make some phone calls, dictate a few letters, have
lunch with a friend, spend another couple of hours at the desk, leave in
time for the 5:11 train, and think they’ve done a full day’s work.
“Neither work style says anything about commitment; the workaholic is no
more committed than the lazy worker. Commitment has more to do with the
quality of effort than with
 the
number of hours in the office. The balanced life lies somewhere in the
middle, as it always does, and the middle changes from time to time,
depending on the workload or the newness of the job. Finding the middle
is the tough part, but you have to keep at it. Otherwise you’ll find
yourself one day without resources.
“Even workaholics retire. Sooner or later they will lose the job that so
preoccupies them. Then what? At the other end of the spectrum are those
who may lose the job because they are so preoccupied with everything but
the job. Then what? My advice for finding the middle is very simple.
Consider everything of equal importance: job, family, friends, clubs,
volunteer work, exercise, sports, hobbies and killing time. Walk the
balance board and make time for it all,” says Autry. “Otherwise you’ll
face the inevitable moment of truth when you’ll wonder where all the
time went.”
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It is not so
much what we know as how well we use what we know.
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One thing you
can learn by watching the clock is that it passes the time by keeping
its hands busy.
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Donald M.
Kendall, retired chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo Inc.,
had this to say when asked what it takes to get to the top of the
corporate ladder: “There’s no place where success comes before work,
except in the dictionary. You can’t get to the top of any profession
without a lot of hard work, and I don’t care whether you’re in art, in
music, in business, or in the academic world. It also requires
enthusiasm and excitement about what you’re doing. If you’re not happy
every morning when you get up, leave for work, or start to work at home
- if you’re not enthusiastic about doing that, you’re not going to be
successful.
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Nothing
increases the size of a fish like fishing all by yourself.
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Some people
leave without saying good-bye. Some, especially women, say good-bye and
take forever to leave.
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The late
Commodore John W. Caunce, master of the original Queen Elizabeth, the
majestic ocean liner of the Cunard Fleet, kept a framed copy of an old
prayer on a wall in his quarters. He often showed it to passengers who
visited him. Many people know the prayer, but its origin is obscure:
Lord, thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and
will some day be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must
say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from
craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but
not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems
a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few
friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to
get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are
increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years
go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’
pains, but help me to endure them with patience. I dare not ask for
improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the
glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint - some of them are
so hard to live with - but a sour old person is one of the crowning
works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected
places and talents in unexpected people. And give me, Lord, the grace to
tell them so. Amen.
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Someone once
asked the conductor of a great symphony orchestra which instrument he
considered the most difficult to play. “Second fiddle,” said the
conductor. “I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who
can play second fiddle with enthusiasm - that’s a problem. And if we
have no second fiddle, we have no harmony!”
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It had been a
long, tedious meeting - so long that the chairman had to apologise to
the guest speaker and inform him that he could only speak for five
minutes. The room had to be vacated so that the hotel employees could
set up for another affair. The speaker responded to the five-minute
ultimatum with this story:
A little girl went into a store with a single nickel and asked for a
candy bar. She was informed that the candy bar cost 65 cents. Then she
tried to buy a soda; that even cost more. Ice cream on a stick was even
more expensive. The child left the nickel on the counter and walked
sadly away. When the clerk called out to her that she had left her
nickel behind, the little girl turned around and said: “Oh, that’s all
right. I can’t do anything with it.”
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When something
goes wrong in an organisation, the first thing many bosses want to know
is: “Who did it?” “Who’s to blame?” That’s not a good approach.
Typically, it leads to a witch-hunt with everyone denying
responsibility. When a mistake occurs, the important thing is for
everyone involved to understand how it happened and how it can be
prevented from happening again. Shaming people because of an error is
not constructive. It invariably leads to resentment - sometimes open,
sometimes hidden. Don’t harp on what has happened. Just be sure everyone
knows how it happened and is concentrating on keeping it from
happening again.
A good way to get others to recognise and accept their share of the
responsibility for something that has gone wrong is for the boss to step
forward and take as much of the blame as possible himself. If you pick
up part of the burden, it makes it a lot easier for the people who work
for you to do likewise.
 Even
if you weren’t to blame at all, try some way to share it. Why? Because
it’s the best way - to get others to recognise their responsibility and
admit it freely. Think it over. Might you have made your instructions a
little clearer? Was the person adequately trained? Should you have
checked up on the operation more frequently? Did you overestimate the
employee’s ability and experience? Should you have anticipated this kind
of error and warned about it in advance?
If you can find a way to take even a part of the blame, it will make it
a lot easier for your subordinates to step up and take their share as
well. If they don’t, then it’s time to ask a few questions. Perhaps they
didn’t understand their responsibility in the situation. In that case,
it’s time you explained it more carefully. Don’t worry about taking too
much blame yourself. It’s the constructive, courageous approach of a
genuine leader. The blame you wilfully put on yourself isn’t going to
hurt you one bit. On the other hand, even a small amount of undeserved
blame you place on someone else may be deeply resented. And no matter
who is to blame, don’t rub it in - not if you want good relations in the
future.
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More people
would probably be successful if they carried to their jobs the same
enthusiasm for getting ahead that they displayed in traffic.
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Why is firmness
such an admirable quality in us and stubbornness so objectionable in
others?
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