I am back!!!!

It has been long that I haven't blogged. I wanted to blog after the 26/11 attacks, but didnt. Wanted to blog after the Satyam fiasco, but didnt. You can attribute this to the fact that I am lazy. But, the mail I received 10 days back on a job group. The subject of the job offering is "Senior Manager-Mergers and Acquisitions - Only Female Candidates" !!!!!

One gentleman rightly responded by saying,

"What makes only a FEMALE Candidate qualify for this, and not a MALE candidate.

I personally find this sex-biased job requirements pretty unethical.

I am wonder how you can mail such job requirements to this large group.

I believe it is a OK in do this kind things India.

Such an email in US would easily attract Lawsuit." (I am using it here without his permission. I hope he doesnt mind)

You cannot post a job requirement only for Female Candidates and still not sound unethical. I am not blaming the consultant who posted this job requirement, but the onus of cross checking the job posting is on the company. As usual, the name of the company is not given in the posting. Companies should ensure that the communication is right at every touch point. Thanks for reading and leave your comments.

Nano Ganesh and Nano Ganesh Hanuman

Yeah... You read it right... These are the names of a new device and its accessories. The device will help the farmer switch on a water pumpset by making a call from a landline, mobile or any PCO in the world.

I really dont know how useful this is going to be for a farmer and the names are amazing. Will the next device is going to be named Toyota Ram and Toyota Ram Lakshman. I think, even the Gods dont know.

Thanks for reading...

A lesson or two from Rajasthan Royals

A very interesting article.

By Sudheesh Venkatesh (The author is Head - Human Resources, Tesco)
Apr 10, 2008, Jaipur:
Neeraj Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Salunkhe, Mahesh Rawat, Siddharth Trivedi and a few others come for practice & trial matches for the Rajasthan Royals.
Shane Warne gets to lead a rag-tag team of cricketers labeled no-hopers and more disparagingly as the "mosquito squadron". Their skill is unknown, but the will seems to be there.
Apr 11-17, 2008, Jaipur:
Darren Berry, Jeremy Snape & Shane Warne, the think tank of Rajasthan Royals pick the team with clear roles for everyone. Darren tells the team
"Don't get away from your role. If you perform your role & I perform mine, we win".

Did I hear someone talk of the benefits of "keeping it simple"?
Warne does not know the opposition players, particularly the new Indian faces. Zubin Barucha is tasked to draw up an analysis of the strengths & weaknesses of each player of the rival teams.
He refreshes this before every match.

Did someone say "if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail"?
Warne meets every member of the team on a 1:1. He does a profiling of each one (almost like an MBTI or a 16PF!) and gets a firsthand assessment of their strengths & motivations.
He reportedly tells each one "We have nothing to lose. This is our moment under the sun. Let us go out there, play good cricket & enjoy."

In a Human Resources MBA course 101, do we read about the importance of "painting the vision & communication" ?
Manoj Badale the owner of Rajasthan Royals tells Warne "You sort out the cricket. I will sort out the business. Our lines will not cross".

Can there be a better demonstration of "role clarity - between ownership & management"?
Apr 19, Feroze Shah Kotla, Delhi:
The first match. The Royals lose to Delhi Daredevils. Warne keeps the faith that his side can bounce back.
While every team is doing elaborate video and computer analysis of the matches, Shane Warne plays inspirational videos for the team. He is understood to have told them "Do not worry about lengthy competition
analysis. In the end, you are only competing with yourself. Matches are won on the ground.

Use common sense. You play the ball, not the bowler".
Apr 21, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur:
The underdogs, Rajasthan Royals beat Kings XI Punjab. Shane Watson, the senior Australian cricketer scores 76 but praises the young Ravindra Jadeja for his 36.

Did someone say "share the credit?"
Apr 24, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad:
Warne and Graeme Smith, sworn rivals from earlier are now on the same side. The think tank, like with most teams, has differences of opinion on match strategy & team composition. They reportedly agree to a simple principle "We will honestly debate every issue. Our differences will remain within the four walls. When we meet the team we speak in one voice".

United we stand, divided we fall, don't we?
14 required of 4 deliveries. Andrew Symonds the bowler. Warne, the batsman. Warne smashes 4, 6, and 6 and sets up an unbelievable victory for the Royals.

Can there be a better demonstration of "leading by example". Warne practiced what he preached - he played the ball, not the bowler.
May 7, Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium, Mumbai:
Away game against Mumbai. The Royals lose by 7 wickets, a big defeat.
Warne calls the team for a serious post-match chat. He is understood to have said "You slogged across the line. Was that part of the role we agreed? Sorry. If you breach the script, no place here". He makes it
amply clear that it is not reputation that matters - performance and performance alone matters.
May 9, Sawai Mansigh Stadium, Jaipur:
Warne plays Yusuf Pathan, a strong middle-order batsman, as an opener. Deccan Chargers, the rival team, is flummoxed. Pathan smashes 68 off 37 and wins the match off his bat.

Did someone say "true leaders, surprise the opposition, they are flexible and play horses for courses".
Mid May, mini- break, Goa:
The foreign players take a break from the busy IPL schedule and are off to Goa. Swapnil Asnodkar, the young promising lad from Goa invites Graeme Smith, Shane Warne & others home for dinner.
Warne and the foreign players jump into a car and head to the Asnodkar home. Grand-dad Asnodkar walks up to Warne with tears in his eyes and says in Hindi "I can die a happy man.
Shane Warne sitting in my lounge room...."

Can there be anything more inspirational for a modest young cricketer than to have the world's greatest bowler come home? Warne had gone beyond the cricket field & made his players, foreign & Indian alike, feel they were one big family. He had won Asnodkar's heart. After this, would Asnodkar do anything but the best, for his Captain?
Zahir, the bag man, lost his mother during the tournament, but stayed on. Why?
May 26, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur:
Needing 15 runs of the last over, Ravindra Jadeja & Neeraj Patel are at the crease; young rookies, with little big-match experience. They are facing Dilhara Fernando the Sri Lankan seamer, before a sellout crowd and a TV audience running into many millions. Jadeja & Patel script an incredible victory, leaving the rival captain Sachin Tendulkar speechless.

The young guns snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Did a wise man once say "A diamond is only a piece of charcoal that was lucky to be under pressure"?
June 1, Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium, Mumbai : :
In a cliff-hanger, the "Mosquito squadron “wins the IPL. Warne holds aloft the trophy and tells Dinesh Salunkhe, Mahesh Rawat, Siddharth Trivedi and the others
"It was great to be in the same team. Boys, we don't know if this entire group will be together again. Let us make sure tonight is one of the best nights of our life".

Did I study somewhere that great leaders celebrate success with their teams?
While the more fancied teams (e.g., Mumbai Indians, Bangalore Royal Challengers) and their cricketers went for astronomical bids, Warne and his team got the lowest bid.
In fact Warne did not go for a dollar more than his Reserve price of $450,000.

The Rajasthan Royals proved that great teams just do things "Better, Simpler & Cheaper"
At Tesco, the world's third largest retailer and a very successful business it is often said "A leader is one who can take you to a place, much further than what you imagined".

Shane Warne did exactly that for Rajasthan Royals. He got ordinary cricketers to do extra-ordinary things. He reminded the world that to win, what we need is performance, not icons!

Thanks for reading. Do post your comments.

Why Golf is a great game!!

I have always claimed that Golf is a great game and Ramu, my friend, never agrees. Read the following quotations from an article in TOI on 3rd Sept.

a) "I feel incredible. " Singh said. " I drove the ball beautifully all day and kept the ball in play, never got into much trouble. "
b) Singh again said" Its good to see my ball going in for a change"
c) He said" I have been watching every body else's go in. Its actually nice to stand over and make it like that. Its a great feeling. Ther's nothing better"
d) Weir said" there was more length in all of Singh's on Monday than there has been ever. "

:D Ofcourse, I omitted a few words here and there to make it funny for you guys.
Thanks for reading and happy festivities.
Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

Interesting captions

I was going through the property classifieds in Times property section. The following are few captions
a) Make life worth living...... (So this house is the key to salvation to mankind. I am sure even Gautham Buddha never said something like this)
b) The place you will be proud to call yours......
c) Make a life special investing..... (What on earth does this mean)

Thanks for reading.
Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel

It happens in Hyderabad...

Yesterday a friend of mine and me were going for a cuppa at 11 pm in the night. I was driving the bike and my friend was on the pillion. He was enjoying the drive and was also smoking. At a cross, a cop, to be precise a constable, stopped us and said that smoking in public place attracts hefty fine. :)

We tried reasoning by saying that the law is not implemented as keenly as the OBC recommendations in institutes of higher education were implemented. But, the cop said that we can escape by giving him 200 bucks.

Thats when I played the trick that did him in. I told him that we wont pay any money now, but will come to the court of law, knowing fully well that a lone constable at 11 pm in the night has no authority or feasibility to file a case in the court of law.

The constable relented and atlast settled for 20 bucks. We gave him 10 bucks and a ciggy.

Probably we did break the law, but we felt smart at the end of the whole episode.

Thanks for reading.

How do chicken lay eggs...

Believe it or not, the egg laying process for a chicken begins in its eye. Chickens lay eggs only after receiving a light cue, either from natural sunlight entering a coop or artificial light illuminating a commercial egg hatchery. The light stimulates a photo-receptive gland near the chicken's eye, which in turn triggers the release of an egg cell from the chicken's ovary.

Most chickens lay eggs on an almost daily basis, unlike other mammals only release an egg every thirty days or so. The chicken also releases a small disk of material which surrounds the egg cell and provides nutrition. The chicken's uterus also fills up with albumen , the viscous substance we know better as egg white.

Meanwhile, a membrane forms around the inside uterine wall, which seals in the egg cell, yolk and albumen. Eventually a mixture of water, salt and calcium this membrane and form a thin but structurally sturdy outer shell. This shell is molded in the shape of the uterine wall, thus giving a chicken's egg its distinctive shape. While in the uterus, the egg's narrower end points downward, but it will later turn and be ejected wider end first.

Once the egg has fully formed, the chicken's uterus begins to contract in an effort to expel it. The egg moves down a vaginal canal towards an external opening known as a vent. The vent is a common opening for both egg laying and waste elimination, but a chicken cannot perform both functions at the same time. An internal flap known as a cloaca keeps the vaginal canal and the intestinal track separate until either an egg or excrement reach the vent. When a chicken is laying an egg, the cloaca descends and blocks the intestinal track.

Once the egg passes the cloaca, it is carefully expelled through a series of muscular contractions which essentially turn the vaginal canal and cloaca inside out at one point. Eventually the egg is pushed out through the vent and ideally lands intact on the ground. Many chickens let out an audible cluck at this point, but designated egg layers rarely display any other maternal concern. These chickens lay eggs every 24 to 36 hours at the height of their productive years, so individual eggs rarely attract their attention.

Once a chicken lays a certain number of eggs, it may stop producing more eggs and go into a "brooding" stage, a maternal stage in which the mother will sit on her eggs until they hatch. In order to prevent egg layers from brooding, freshly laid eggs must be removed on a daily basis. Chickens lay eggs as long as they believe they need more to form a proper brood. The egg laying process continues whether or not a rooster provides enough sperm for fertilization. A chicken cannot tell if an individual egg has been successfully fertilized or not