Soft Power - India's Perspective

Friends,
A wonderful presentation by Shashi Tharoor - A perspective on India being a softpower, as opposed to economic or business power - insights about India which in my opinion puts India in a much higher plank compared to the global power race.

For those of you who know India will surely feel good when you watch this and for those of you who want to know more about India this short clipping will surely run you through.




Enjoy it...
Chander

The thrilling potential of 'SixthSense' technology

You surely Should not miss this...





Cheers
Chander

Quantity v/s Quality

What do you think is important Quality or Quantity - Both Correct…?
I concur but in order of what Quality first or Quantity first.

Repeatedly I have been a strong advocate of quality and effectiveness of work at a work place - for that matter both in personal and professional life.

Yes with quantity, one can make a short-term impact, gain attention; but without quality, it will be just short-term only and may never be recognized with adjectives like long term, trust-worthy, quality product & service, reliable and allied.
And if one has to fix the quality when the quantity is achieved then in that case it has spend more or same amount of time to fix it up and bring it to the acceptable level. Otherwise your customer (Customer not purely in the business sense – your customer can be your parents, spouse, relations, friend, your boss, co-worker, team-member).
Then why not to focus on Quality in the first place.

In addition, if you have already released something that you know lacks quality then God only helps you as customers these days are brutal and if you are a start-up or in the initial stages then I would surely pray for you.

Here is an example from one of the leading newspapers in India. In one of their news item, two paragraphs have repeated (refer to the image), and I am sure their customers will forgive them, as
a) Indian team is on a winning spree and public will forget it.
b) They have a reputable brand and can admit the mistake as anyway it is not a big deal.

However, imagine
i) if they repeatedly commit the same mistake, surely customers (readers) will lose the trust.
ii) if this would have been an entry level news paper - irrespective of delivery - your mind would have already categorized them as "unreliable" media.

Dear Sports Editor of Times of India, I am not picking on you, just trying to make a point with an example of your recent double-typo in the following piece - India eye hat-trick to stretch lead against Aussies

Thanks for your understanding.

Have a good one.

Chander Wanchoo

Diwali Wishes

Hello All:

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali and Seasons Greetings... I am sure your email boxes would have been flooded with the wishes from your friends, families and all who care for you, but not sure if you have received the greetings from President Obama. 


My Best Regards,
Chander Wanchoo

Do you have faith in GOD

Hello:
I just found an email chain floating around and found it interesting and a stromg argument in favor of faitn. I am not sure, if the student was really was the eleventh President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, but whosoever the student was has a point...

Don't miss even a single word...Every second is worth reading this ....  

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new students to stand and......

Prof: So you believe in God?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?

Student:Sure.

Prof:Is God all-powerful?

Student: Yes.

Prof:My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?

(Student is silent.)

Prof:You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?

Student:Yes..

Prof:Is Satan good?

Student: No.

Prof:Where does Satan come from?

Student:From...God... .

Prof:That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student:Yes.

Prof:Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?

Student:Yes.

Prof:So who created evil? (Student does not answer.)

Prof:Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student:Yes, sir.

Prof:So, who created them? (Student has no answer.)

Prof:Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.

Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?

Student:No, sir.

Prof:Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student:No, sir.

Prof:Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?

Student:No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof:Yet you still believe in Him?

Student:Yes.

Prof:According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student:Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof:Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student:Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof:Yes.

Student:And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof:Yes.

Student:No sir. There isn't. (The lecture theater becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat.

But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.

There is no such thing as cold . Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of

heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy ... Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it . (There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student:What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof:Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student :You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light.....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof:So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student:Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed..

Prof:Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student:Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.

Now tell me, Professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof:If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student:Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student:Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)

Student:Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student:: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so... So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir.

With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. )

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... 

The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive. I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. ..and if so...you'll probably want your friends/colleagues to enjoy the same...won't you?....

this is a true story, and the student was none other than........ 
APJ Abdul Kalam - the former president of India

Chander Wanchoo

Save yourself from getting Sacked by sending emails

Wondering about the title of this my latest blog is....

Nothing new as such, time and again emails have created a little or I guess more than a little havoc both in short or long term.

Recently one accountant was fired because of sending confrontational emails "using block capitals, bold typeface and red text. Upper case letters in emails are considered to indicate shouting, and may be seen as rude by some."

Readers, please pay attention before you hit that little button or label called "Send", do ensure you proof-read your message so it conveys your idea succinctly and more importantly do a spell check as you know "there is not same as their", like wise "week is not a weak", "weather is for surely not whether" and many more.....!

I do not want to write whole lot on English literature or email etiquettes, as there is enough material freely available – just a Google away..

Irrespective of anything being polite, compassionate, and respectful are definitely indicators of people with great demeanor

All the best for your next “Send”

Chander Wanchoo

Click here to read the story of the accountant who was fired.

                

What to Do When You're Out of Control

Hello Friends

Just read a very good blog/ article at Harvard Business - An Inspiring, Simple and a Practical approach to help one to calm down when one is out of control.

Here you go and I am sure you will like it....

"Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking. We have a situation." And with those words, the saga of my aborted flight from New York to Dallas began.

The captain told us we had an "equipment problem" that required we make an emergency landing at Washington Dulles, the nearest airport. But, he continued, the plane was too heavy to land safely; we had to shed fuel. So we would fly around in a circle for 45 minutes and land as soon as we were light enough.

I was sitting at the front of the plane and made eye contact with the flight attendant.

"What's the problem?" I mouthed.

"I don't know," she responded with the hint of a shrug, "they won't tell us." Click Here to continue reading.....