soulquest

Subtle and extreme

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Fri, 23 May 2014 09:18:00 +0000

The human body is a curious thing . On one hand it can withstand fairly extreme conditions . Yet small changes or deprivations seem to imbalance it.

...Organizations also seem to have this characteristic.

DIY - Cause or Effect ?

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:44:00 +0000

In a recent visit to Landmark store in Mumbai I as pleasantly surprised to see a stand dedicated to DIY sewing kits - ranging from threads , fabric glue , pocket patches and whole range of sets to cater to a novice.

Quite fascinating , to see expensive retail space in a time strapped city being dedicated to an activity that essentially requires time and patience.

Wondering if this is cause or effect ? Are people seeking to create things themselves or is this company passionately trying to get people to experience the joy of creation ?

Either way it's a welcome development !

The Magic of a Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:20:00 +0000

THE PREGNANT DEER SCENARIO...

In a forest, a pregnant deer is about to give birth to a baby. It finds a remote grass field nearby a river and slowly goes there thinking it would be safe. As she moves slowly, she gets labour pain. At the same moment, dark clouds gather around that area and lightning starts a forest fire. Turning left, she sees a hunter who is aiming an arrow from a distance. As she tries to move towards right, she spots a hungry lion approaching towards her.

STOCHASTIC PROBABILITY THEORY

What can the pregnant deer do, as she is already under labour pain..?
What do you think will happen..?
Will the deer survive..?
Will it give birth to a fawn..?
Will the fawn survive...?

Will everything be burnt by the forest fire...?
Can the deer go left..? No, the hunter's arrow is pointing at her.
Can she go right...? No, the hungry male lion is approaching her.
Can she move up..? No, there the forest is on fire.
Can she move down..? No, that is where the fierce river is.

Answer: She does nothing. She just focuses on giving birth to a new LIFE..

The sequence of events that happens at that fraction of a second (moment)
are as follows:

In a spur of MOMENT, a lightning strikes, and blinds the eyes of the hunter...!
At that MOMENT, he releases the arrow missing and zipping past the deer...!
At that MOMENT, the arrow hits and injures the lion badly...!
At that MOMENT, it starts to rain heavily and puts out the forest fire...!
At that next MOMENT, the deer gives birth to a healthy fawn...!

In our life too, there are MOMENTS of CHOICE when we all have to deal with negative thoughts from all sides. Some thoughts are so powerful they overcome us, and make us clueless.

Anything can happen in a MOMENT in this life. If you are religious, superstitious, atheist, agnostic or whatever, you can attribute this MOMENT to divine intervention, faith, sudden luck, serendipity, coincidence, karma, or a simple 'I just don't know'...!

The priority of the deer, in that given moment, was simply giving birth to a baby, because LIFE IS PRECIOUS...!

In future, may you always be inspired to have a focused positive insight, oblivious of all imaginary, negative probabilities.

"LIFE is Flowing Like a River
With Unexpected TURNS,
May be GOOD,
May be BAD...
Learn to enjoy Each Turn

p.s - got this gift via a phone message today

The True Weight of Things

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 17:20:00 +0000

< Omokaruishi >
This means heavy light rocks. If you felt this rock is light you will get your wish.

Insightful post by Jack Cheng...and an more insightful follow up post .

May you be able to lift the rocks of your life with appropriate force .

We are not our past..

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:41:00 +0000

“We are not our past. Our past reflects varied experiences good and bad that give us wisdom, abilities and feelings. While those experiences shaped our journey and some could be hurtful, they do not define who we are, what we can be or limit where we can go in the future. When we release the hold of the past over us, we free ourselves to embrace the wonder of all we can be and do.”

Don Shapiro, author Life Is A Fork In The Road

The War of Art

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:09:00 +0000

Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance..

Give yourself a gift . Read this book .

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 13:20:00 +0000

Spread love , joy and peace this Christmas

The Trust Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 09:20:00 +0000

Witnessed an amazing interaction at a phone store next to a doctor's dispensary . A lady who works as a domestic help came to the store with her relative who had recently moved to Mumbai. She told the store owner that the doctor takes guarantee for this man (i.e his credit worthiness ). Pl allow him to buy a phone with the option of paying Rs 1000 per month. The store owner thought about it for 30 seconds and nodded his assent to the sales person to show phone options. She disappeared next door and came back to ask if the store owner would like to speak with the doctor. He said it was not necessary. Elated with the solution the lady and her relative went about the task of selecting the phone.

This was obviously not a transaction between unrelated individuals . The store owner knows the doctor. Both have been neighbors for years. The store owner seemed to have a fleeting acquaintance with the lady.

Simply wonderful that all of these individuals chose to reach out and connect - resulting in solutions. For the person who had moved to Mumbai - this would have eased his relocation (the phone would be easily a month's salary or more for him ).

Seemingly small actions that make a world of difference - fostering faith in community , bringing tangible benefits to all involved - the person was able to make the purchase , the store got a sale that would have otherwise been impossible , the person gets to stay connected with his family. Not counting the joy of the duo who made the purchase.

Choose to create and participate in the trust economy !:)

Now

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Thomas Dreier: “If we are ever to enjoy life, now is the time, not tomorrow or next year ...Today should always be our most wonderful day.”

The new illiterate..

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Wed, 30 May 2012 03:14:00 +0000

KYC

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:04:00 +0000

The world's local bank has sent an urgent mailer citing RBI regulations of KYC (Know your customer) asking to submit proof of ID and residence. I have more than one account with this bank ( an anomaly I intend to correct very soon ). Interestingly 1 form has been received which is designed to capture data of 1 account only . Perhaps the bank expects the customer to toss a coin and pick which one to send the docs for .

RBI is indeed wise in asking Hsbc to 'know their customers' knowing well that a self absorbed bank with near zero internal co-ordination like Hsbc must not know it's customers well enough.

None of the other banks send letters like this . Guess they already 'know their customers'.

Relive Joy

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:41:00 +0000

There's an ad for Dish TV which shows a college student glued to his TV in the hostel room . India wins a match . He jumps up in glee and starts celebrating. His sleepy , irritable room mate asks him to shut up. At which point a third guy enters the scene and asks why he is objecting to his friend celebrating India's victory ? To which the sleepy guy replies that the actual match happened weeks ago . This guy keeps watching the recorded version and celebrates noisily each time !:)

Most of us relive some aspects of our past . We have a default internal programming to relive past sorrows.

Let's take a cue from the ad and heartily relive joys . Wise folks across ages counsel us to live in the present. But if we must make a trip into the past - let the destination be the joyous moments.

Drop Litter :)

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:46:00 +0000

We all need bins like this :)

One of the several creative installations at the Kala Bhoda 2012 festival .

Passion..

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:19:00 +0000

Now I know why I persevere !:)

Customer Contact Week

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:24:00 +0000

Oriental Bank of Commerce has advertised 19-24 Dec 2011 as " Customer Contact Week" - feedback/suggestions welcome !:)

This must be the outcome of some profound strategy. Listen to the customer for a week and spend the rest of the year working on the suggestions ?

The scent of an airline..

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:03:00 +0000

British Airways plans to introduce a signature scent in the aircrafts . Interesting initiative by an airline.

Later perhaps..the perfume in an aircraft shaped bottle !:)

Shhhh....

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:39:00 +0000

Festivals in particular and Mumbai in general is a ripe market for ear plugs . Instead of giving pointless gifts like sweets - lets give thoughtful gifts like ear plugs to survive the din.

p.s - when 2 festivals coincide give extra strong ear plugs.

God save the God(s)

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:57:00 +0000

Lord Ganesha definitely represents prosperity when devotees gift kilos of gold each year. What happens to the gold post the festival one wonders ?

What prevents the devotees from using that money to feed / educate children , provide medical aid to the needy or plant trees ?

The poor God(s) must surely despair at being reduced to the status of a hedonistic , greedy mortal of poor taste.

God save the God(s).

End the deficit..

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:13:00 +0000

“I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP all sitting members of congress are ineligible for re-election.”

—Warren Buffett giving us a quick lesson on incentive in an interview on CNBC.

A nearly fool-proof way to get any economy back on track !:)

Happy to sue (customers)

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:25:00 +0000

Vodafone sent a notice to a customer who posted on his Facebook wall about his problems with the service provider. This has to be a new low in customer service. Incredibly foolhardy and arrogant of Vodafone to think that they could get away with this stunt in today's connected world.

The customer alleges that the CMO asked him to change to another service if he was not satisfied. What a role model for the rest of the company ! Instead of addressing the service issues if a senior executive speaks high handedly to a customer it sends strong signals to the rest of the organization that this is an acceptable attitude.Vodafone might as well disband all service training programs (if they do conduct any).

Vodafone's gripe is that Dhaval posted numbers of their executives on his page. This is a huge offense in Corporate Land. Companies devise elaborate procedures to keep customers as far away as possible from their senior management. As a test case the next time you call any company - airline , credit card , retailer , phone company - if your problem is not being resolved by the person handling your call just ask them for the name, telephone number , email id of the service head or CEO . Suddenly they will get very co-operative or they'll develop amnesia or say that they only know their immediate supervisor. Often organizations become a world unto themselves with senior management feeling like monarchs of their fiefdoms. They don't want to be bothered with lowly matters like customers especially when it's a Rs 1000-1500/ month type of revenue (the CMO would have paid way more attention to a B2B client ).

Vodafone's facebook page is filled with complaints from customers across the country. Some of it in language that would be deemed profane. Maybe Vodafone should clarify that what they're trying to say is it's ok for people to vent their fury on Vodafone's page rather than their own ?

This episode opens up opportunities for ad agencies of the phone companies . Vodafone's agency can figure a new tag line since "happy to help" is not valid. Other phone companies can add "we don't send notices to our customers" in their list of virtues.

Who is the leader ?

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:17:00 +0000

Baba Ramdev has promised to go on a fast from June 4. A news channel put together a panel for the 9.00 pm news which had Justice Santosh Hegde and a representative from the Congress

(Manish Tiwari possibly undergoing therapy to recoup or coaching on how to defend the Congress in the latest scam ) and few other folks. Part of the discussion initiated by the anchor was about the "Anna" camp , "Baba Ramdev" camp etc . He kept asking "Who is the leader of this movement ? Anna or Baba ? ". Justice Hedge's reply that both are leaders whose views he respects was not sufficiently newsworthy enough for the anchor who kept repeating the question.

"Who is the leader?" (in the context of this situation) comes from a paradigm that there can be only one leader. A pyramid structure which can hold only one person at the top. This type of questioning is also symptomatic of the times where depth , introspection , analysis are compromised for quick conclusions and buzz. This Maggi noodles approach to complex issues serves nobody's interest.

Maybe Nestle can launch a campaign saying our noodles have spawned a whole new approach to analysis and discussion of issues (which are way more convoluted than the noodles ). With Maggi at least one can get an enjoyable snack at the end of the few minutes. When a news channel (or any organization) uses that approach to a complex issue all one gets is wasted time.

Monday mornings

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:52:00 +0000

Monday morning 10.30 am meeting in progress- the phone rang persistently. Answered the phone to find the call from Matrix Cellular to ask if I would be travelling overseas and if yes they would like to offer their services . I've used their services several times. Their calls every fortnight to remind are a waste of their money and my time. ( I'm glad the co that issues the forex has not decided to call every fortnight..I would probably plan a trip overseas to escape such calls )

Monday mornings are not the best time to market services like these. The start of the week tends to be an important time for most folks - planning , review etc . To call customers then is an unappreciated interruption that could actually work negatively . In fact , even emails should be prudently sent especially in a b2b context. Send the marketing/ biz proporal mail later in the day (I.e on a Monday) * or week.
* exceptions being time bound proposals/ tenders or if already pre agreed to send in the communication asap.

The lady from Matrix who called was visibly disappointed . I felt sorry for her. In this case the call was unnecessary and the timing couldn't have been worse. Planning sales calls better would help the morale of the sales person too thereby opening up the possibility for better results ( there are cos that need to introspect and analyse whether they should be calling the customer at all or at the frequency they currently are e.g would an email do the job just as well or better)

Realigning sales calls to an appropriate time will make for a better week and better results for all involved.

KYC - Know Your Customer

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Wed, 04 May 2011 16:12:00 +0000

My mobile service provider of 12 years kept sending text messages "Your invitation to join Loop M-Channel - a service for best offers and promotions expires in 10 days. To join reply to this SMS with yes". Out of curiosity I texted 'Yes'. After which followed the most bizarre question a company could ask a customer after 12 years - "are you 1. Male or 2. Female ? " . This was then followed by a question about age group and interests.

The fact that the questions are easy to answer via sms and that the replies are free - possibly gives the company the feeling that they can ask pretty much anything.

Maybe they should use the facility to ask more pertinent questions " Do you intend to remain our customer ? Text 1 for Yes , 2 for No "

Divine deals

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:05:00 +0000

India won the World Cup. The euphoria still in the air.

Am discovering interesting information about individual deals struck with various Gods..and who are now making good on their end of the deal. An aunt who has promised 108 coconuts , my cook gave Rs 101 this morning. Across the country there would be millions of folks who struck some deal with their God(s) for India to win this cup.

It would make for a more equitable country if the giving was channelized towards helping the needy.The victory would extend beyond the sport.

Land of the Brave

noreply@blogger.com (Savitha Rao) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Japan is a country close to our heart . We have several Japanese clients, business associates and friends. It’s amazing and inspiring to see how stoic and brave they are. Across companies we see the same message ‘We must now work to build the future of our country’. We see this in individuals of different age groups . Truly remarkable and admirable.

We wish the citizens of Japan strength , courage , peace and joy to overcome and triumph the many challenges they are faced with.