The Kulcha & Cricket!

A few years ago I saw a small portion of a test match between the West Indies & England, played at the Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica. England opened with its obdurate Geoff Boycott and the West Indies had Colin Croft bowling. Croft was fearsome, in size and demeanour.He snarled at batsmen from 6ft 4in and was mean, as far as batsmen were concerned.

Every ball had Boycott fending off his throat or head and at the sixth ball, he got a nick to the wicket keeper, and Boycott walked even before the bowler appealed. He later said that he was never more afraid for his life than that particular over.The fear of a cricket ball hurtling at you at speeds of 14-150 km/hr can be daunting.

Fast forward to the Feroz Shah Kotla, where a couple of days ago last SL/India one dayer was called off after the two captains deemed the pitch to be 'unsafe' for batting where the ball behaved erratically after bouncing on an ill prepared Kotla pitch. A pitch on which crores have been spent over the last few years!

While the entire sordid episode is a cricketing disaster, it is more of a national shame, that a cricketing powerhouse like India, can only manage a sub standard pitch in the nation's capital.

When the dust has settled & finger pointing ended, we will have to see who will be held accountable for the negligence.Delhi has also jeopardized its chances of holding a World Cup fixture in the following year.

A couple of days ago I read a rather interesting article as to how Mr.Arun Jaitley, former Union Minister, introduced the 'kulcha' to uninitiated Delhites and so vastly improved their sense of gourmet. Mr.Jaitly appears to be very well informed of the Punjabi cuisine and takes immense pride in talking about it. I wish he was as erudite in cricketing matters as head of the DDCA and not let the just discussed debacle occur.

Can we expect a modicum of accountability from Jaitley and will he take the cake or in this case the kulcha?

Pup & The Pauper!

Two events over the last month or so have prompted this piece...............

Event # 1:

Yesterday over dinner, a friend of mine ( He holds a senior position at an IT American MNC ) was describing how people are fired in his establishment. Apparently the sacked employee receives an e mail from the HR that he need not turn up for work the following day & would he be so kind as to deposit his id card, lap top & associated paraphernalia at the front desk.He/She is told that they would receive their dues by post in the near future. Excellent I said, very simple and uncomplicated.

Event # 2:

On my morning walks ( my wife says it's more of a stroll ), I bump into a vegetable seller, with his cart. The guy is there, come sun, rain or cold. No casual leave, earned leaves & so on for the bloke. On occasion when time permits & vegetables are required at short notice I stop over & a desultory conversation ensues.About a month ago the grocer looked disturbed and unhappy. With some prodding he told me that he had lost a close family member and missed the person.He continued to be morose as the days passed.

Yesterday morning he hailed me from across the road. He looked pleased as a punch and very happy. Why? He gestured to three pups that were nipping at his ankles and were full of fun. He offered me one of them, for free, as the mother had taken off & he had become the surrogate mom, a responsibility that he wanted to lighten.It was obvious that he loved the pup's and felt responsible for them. The guy looked positively radiant.He empathized. While politely declining his offer ( how could I look after this mongrel pup, who has the time, I'm moving home shortly ) I went on my way............

The point I'm trying to make ( in a rather ham handed way ) is why do we lose our ability to empathize, with education and progress? I think, one reason being that culturally we are very individualistic. Indian's are quite individualistic but with exposure to western culture ( read American ) we have become even more so. Individualism has its own set of advantages, primary one being, the ability to generate rapid material progress.You do not get held back by stragglers!Why waste time in surrogating roadside pups? Also, once in the rat race insecurities grow and it is extremely difficult to pull oneself back.

One city, similar people but different cultures & behavior. The vegetable vendor does not talk about bottom lines ( as in a P & L account ) and share holder value but for me made a point.

A fundemental trait for the HR is empathy & if the HR professional cannot empathize with people around them and feel their pain then it would be prudent to park themselves elsewhere..................................

Today morning I found one pup missing. 'Where's the pup I queried?' He tersely told me that it was run over by a speeding vehicle. While turning away, I suspect, he hid a look of disgust.

Are you a Protean!

If you ever thought that management was a project,then I'm afraid you are mistaken. Management is one long road with little or no time to stop and rest on your oars. A good story to substantiate this is Homer's Odyssey.I'm amazed as to why history is not taught as a course in management, because we can laern a good deal from folk who preceeded us.But then that's not what holds my attention right now.

Post the pillage of Troy the victorious Greeks, would have probably heaved a sigh of relief, and look forward to returning home. Not the case for Hercules. The heroes of the 'Iliad'- rebellious Achilles, brave Hector and the bossy Menelaus are all gone and the Odyssey is the story of Hercules and his labors.

This short blog is not a piece on Greek history but on one of the characters of the Odyssey- Proteus. Proteus, supposedly son of Poseidon was a sea god. He was special because he could tell the future but avoided doing so by changing shape and form. He was versatile and quick. He bought time, in decision making and eventually made a commitment only when captured.

Plato, Euthyphro 15d (trans. Fowler) (Greek philosopher C4Th B.C.) :
"[Plato uses Proteus as a metaphor for the reluctant speaker :]

Like Proteus, you must be held until you speak."

Plato, Ion 541e (trans. Lamb) :
"[Plato uses Proteus as a metaphor for the twisting arguments of a debate :]

You are a perfect Proteus in the way you take on every kind of shape, twisting about this way and that, until at last you elude my grasp."



While I do not subscribe to the evasive tactics of Proteus, I do like his ability to change shape and appearance at will. Drawing a parallel with our world today, I think managers should draw a leaf from his book and develop the ability to adapt to and change depending upon the situation.

One area where managers falter regularly is in their Cultural Intelligence. Like other forms of intelligence, CI is fundamental to success in a globalized world. Stories of deals that have failed due to a lack of cultural sensitivity abound but we still refuse to learn that culture and cultural practices are various and different across the world.

In my last organization, we had a gent from a pacific Island. The guy was very polite, but behaved strangely- avoided eye contact, sat before he was offered a seat & generally did not shake hands. He was summarily labelled as uncouth.

Was this the truth................. no!

In his part of the world, you avoided eye contact with a person you respected and did not appear bigger than a superior so he sat uninvited.

Culture can be complicated and you need a high Culture Quotient, to avoid pitfalls in a world that is increasingly turning flat.More importantly a high CQ would preclude us from being judgemental.

Proteus, or as Homer called him, 'The Old Man of the Sea' would be a great example in cultural adaptability!

The hypocrisy of it all!

The other day while reading the Sunday news paper, I suddenly stopped chuckling to myself, as I caught my wife's enquiring look.She was a little alarmed when I told her that I was reading an article on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, an event that left many thousands maimed or dead, twenty five years ago to this day.

Why laugh at at the horrible tragedy was her logical question? I had to hastily explain that I wasn't laughing at the tragedy per se, but at a bit of history.............

While at school, we would be hauled off to an industry every month, for an 'Industry Visit'. For thirteen year old's, it was a novelty and fun, except that, we would have to write a report post the event.

One such visit took us to Union Carbide. The American subsidiary, exported shrimps & prawns and after looking at various very very dead prawns of different shapes and sizes, a chappie drifted along and directed us to a room, where he said we would be served refreshments.

About forty of us ( boys & girls ) got to this room in pretty good time, when all hell broke loose . A table loaded with 'cookies' and coke was attacked & there was a general free for all ( Coke was not as freely available as it is today & we had not heard of cookies). The girls had no chance. I in my defense can say, that I was a fraction late off the blocks, as there was a twinge on conscience, but then who can resist freebies?

When the melee ended, the sight was a sorry one and we were admonished first by the manager & then by the girls who were the only ones to have retained a modicum of dignity. The scene haunted me for many years, particularly the UC Manager ticking us off on our lack of manners.The eventual fall out was that our trips were cancelled after we were chastised by our Principal in front of the school.

What's the connection you might well ask?

Well, the irony is that we as thirteen year old's were ticked off for being unruly in a firm which indulged in mass murder at Bhopal a few years hence and where their head honcho, scooted from this country and refused to stand trial, while many of those who suffered continue to cry out to a nation that has forgotten.

Maybe I should have wept.....................at the hypocrisy!

How anxious are you?

A week ago the following story appeared in the press, which made interesting reading:

The United States Coast Guard has located a cruise ship crew member who reportedly jumped overboard near Miami.

A Thirty-one-year-old crew member was found treading water off Cutler Bay about two hours after the the Captain of the cruise shipissued a distress call, citing imminent danger to the sailor.

The company which owns the liner says that four witnesses reported watching the sailor jump overboard. Officials said he was recovering and in good condition.

Undoubtedly a full scale enquiry would be put in place at the very earliest and both the sailor and the company will have much to answer for.

Interestingly, the cruise ship would have offered great living conditions in terms of food & entertainment as well as working environment. So why did the member of the crew take the extreme step in jumping overboard, as reported, putting not only himself, but his ship in danger?

The only conclusion, that I can draw, from the episode is that the member of the crew in question was neurotic, which is a personality trait, that manifests itself fairly regularly these days.

Who is a neurotic?

Neurotics feel anxiety, and worry often.Anxiety can make them emotionally unstable, and they are more likely to struggle with depression and sadness. This Big Five Personality Trait can lead to physical ill health and extreme mood swings. Neurotic people behave irrationally on the job and can be a source of distraction to their team in the least. In extreme cases they are dangerous.More often than not neurotic workers need sympathy and counselling and its the manager's job to identify a problem and suggest corrective action.

Neurotics are the last people you want on ships, where sound physical & mental health is a priority ( not that it is not elsewhere).While this is an extreme case, having emotionally stable people at the workplace is a requirement that recruiters would have to keep uppermost in their minds while selecting a person.The tragedy is that, a persons mental state can take a beating while working in high risk/high stress areas such as ships that constant monitoring would be a called for.Many employees and organizations are guilty of not taking care and pay a heavy price in time.

A few organisations are incorporating personality testing in their selection processes and those who do not test are doing so at their own peril!

There are high rises on land........................!

Morale!

I've said it earlier & will say it again. Losing a job is akin to death in India & must be dealt with sensitively by HR. Layoffs are the order of the day & a fact of corporate life. No organization worth its salt is going to tolerate poor competence & sloth and will get rid of employees who do not contribute, particularly in recessionary times. However, the process requires a great deal of empathy and tact.

More than anything it requires the 'Human Touch'.

Here are afew tips:

1. Be transparent. The first thing you need to do is to be more open with your employees. Start by exposing your employees to all of your major business and financial metrics, because laying everything out on the table builds employee trust. Not only will exposing employees to this information give them some warning about downturns, but it might also spur them to come up with some approaches to solve your business problems.

2. Over-communicate. Not knowing what’s happening always breeds fear.The best approach to minimize fear and speculation is to over-communicate—saturating people with information. Keep rumour mongers at bay. They can destroy morale.

3. Focus your retention efforts. Generally, rather than low morale, the biggest negative business impact comes from increased turnover. The best retention approach begins by identifying and prioritizing the most critical segments of your employee population that are at risk of leaving (i.e., top performers and individuals in revenue-producing and mission-critical positions).

4. Educate them about the consequences. Educate your current employees so that they realize that losing a job isn’t the end of the world. Start by letting all employees know what help they will receive from the firm if they are laid off. In addition, if a significant percentage of your previously laid-off employees have successfully found jobs, make your employees aware of it.

5. When I've laid off people, I take the responsibility of informing the concerned person that it was a decision that was made by me & why it was made. I also offer to help the person find another job if he/she allows me to.I also insist that the persons department head and HR are around. The occasion is a serious one and is not to be dealt with flippantly.


It’s important to realize that having no layoffs can actually backfire, because it can cause employees to develop the expectation of permanent job security getting them to rest their oars and drift. This isn’t a good result, because a reasonable fear of business downturns actually tends to keep your employees from becoming complacent.

Interviews & Romance!

Yesterday amidst my HR class, a lively discussion on interviews ensued. I was stressing on the importance of impressing the interviewer on one hand and the ills of impression management on the other.

One can impress an interviewer in many ways, paramount amongst them being ability to cozy up to the interviewer, for the duration of the interview. In this age of hyperbole, people who do not play the game, will lose out and while you do not have to overdo the act of being agreeable during an interview you may be always be pleasant.

I liken an interview to a romance before marriage. Prior to marriage most couples are at their very best, in terms of behavior, dress and are generally exceedingly accommodating. It is post marriage that you get to see the warts and all, but then it is a little late in the day to repent. Job interviews are similar. The candidate is all sugar & honey and very agreeable at the interview. An interviewer who is ill prepared, generally misses vital clues to a potential candidate’s personality or attitude and could rue the selection later. It is quite easy to teach a person a new skill, but to alter his/ her attitude can be a herculean task.

Always listen carefully to the candidate. You can often pick up a word or a phrase in an answer which you can play back to the interviewee. This is one of the ways by which you can get something much more interesting or honest than expected. Interviews are not scripted questions and answers, they are serious professional conversations and hence you need to concentrate.

Getting rid of an unwanted employee can be a traumatic experience to all concerned so it is a good idea to get the right people on board in the first place and retain them. It is always judicious to prepare and research in advance. Whatever questions you wish to ask the respective candidate you must have substantial knowledge on that subject. You don’t need to prepare a list of questions but you must be sure of all that you want to cover in the interview session.

It is also good to remember that smart folk take charge of an interview and have you as an interviewer eating out of their hand. Be polite & firm, regarding the direction that you want an interview to take and do not waffle.

Divorces at home or at work are messy and needless. Much of the misery can be avoided if you interview well and get yourself up to speed in judging people.

A Tiger in the Circus!

Zeta Interactive, a New York company that monitors message boards, blogs and social media posts, said the buzz around Tiger Woods as measured by its technology became overwhelmingly negative in the past two weeks. His positive rating, once higher than Oprah Winfrey’s, has plummeted. The company’s chief executive, Al DiGuido, said the turnabout was “the quickest fall from positive to negative we’ve ever seen” in the approximately five years his company has measured what computer users are saying. As the Tiger watches his ratings plummet & sponsors, taking him off their boards, he would rue his escapades or should we say sexcapades. From being a role model for kids around the world Tiger Woods, is now associated with sleaze and poor character. The last few months has been a tragicomic series of events for the Tiger as skeletons or should we say damsels of all hues & color tumble out of the proverbial closet.Thus far, amidst the mayhem his wife has held her counsel and maintained a dignified calm. Fortunately for Wood's he has taken good advise & has broken from golf, on what he calls as a sabbatical. Time to put balm on bruised relationships. On this entire circus, I have a few points to make: 1. The arrogance of the man, in thinking that he could get away with the kind of reckless behavior that he was indulging in or was it a severe lack of emotional stability. 2.His idea of impression management which turns out to be abysmal.Maybe fame lowers the levels of inhibition? 3.His sponsors who seem to want to cut him adrift cast him away in a hurry and seem to have little idea, as to how to manage him as a brand, which has gone sour. Amidst all the brouhaha, the only person, who in my opinion, stands out for some kind of integrity is Wood's wife, whose stated concern seems to be her children. Generally, with kind of golfing skills that Tiger Woods has, you would credit him with some intelligence, but I would not bet my last rupee on the contents of his occiput or are our primordial urges so strong that we are ready to throw caution to the winds! During his sabbatical Wood's would be well advised to do some serious introspection on his life and maybe would be better advised to take a few tips from the old charmer Bill Clinton.Bill should know, he got out of the wood's, despite Monica Lewinsky. Watch a cute Tiger ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wHkA_983_s )

Challenge & bliss!

There is a frenetic routine to our lives everyday.

A rush to the office & back home in the evening, and I was surprised to hear my wife say that it's been a year since we have been watching 'Jyoti' on the tube. The serial, in Hindi, is about a lower middle class families, struggle to keep its nose just above water, lead of course by - Jyoti the heroine, as they stagger from one crisis to another.

Jyoti just about governs our evening schedule & I can say that we have been snared by the petite girl (Jyoti), hook, line and sinker.

Not disregarding the fact that the main protagonist is very pretty, should an inane soap, have taken charge of our evenings? It is a just cause for reflection and since taking to academics and supposedly turning cerebral, I do reflect. My now burgeoning knowledge of Organization Behavior also helps, in these reflections.

I have deduced that we watch the inane serial for the very reason- its innaneness! There is great deal of comfort in the the common, the ordinary and the routine. We cherish the comfort zone that commonality creates and its inability to challenge us.

It is said that in Confucian China, you could consider yourself rather unlucky if an elder blessed you with ' May you live in changing times'. Changing times was anathema to the Chinese who as a culture have deep roots in being oriented for the long term.

While being in a comfort zone and being somnolent could prevent hyper tension, it is not what corporates are looking for in an employee and most do check out levels of flexibility and openness to learning either during the interview or as a personality test.

A friend of mine who runs a tiny soft ware firm quizzed me the other day on an issue that he had. He needed an engineer with a good understanding of 'JAVA' and had two potential aspirants, one a steady type with deep understanding of JAVA, while the other having a good understanding, but came across as a flexible guy with wide interests. Whom should he take? I plumbed for the latter. The reason being that when JAVA turns obsolete, and a new language is to be learnt, whom would I fancy ? My friend thought me Quixotic but seems to have gone with my recommendation.

Being ready to take risks and keeping yourself open to learning is a factor that would determine both intrinsic & extrinsic success in a career and is a mark of high achievers.Ability to take up and learn new facets at work is fundamental to progress.The next time you find yourself refusing a challenge, rap yourself on the butt and change course pronto!

If you are a manager then look to create a 'Learning Organization' and challenge old ideas, where enquiry and feedback are inbuilt tenets of work life.If you wondered, why kids learn, at an exponential pace, then you have only to look at their curiosity and ability to challenge themselves at every turn.

As for me......................I'm waiting with bated breath to see how Jyoti puts her mother-in-law in place, come Monday.

# 1

The year 2009 will go down as a high point in India’s cricket history, with the team being ranked at # 1 by the ICC. This, not withstanding the fact that we have not won a series in either Australia or South Africa. It was way back in 1971 that the Indian team got itself the label as the ‘unofficial’ world champs, following some convoluted logic, which went as follows: India defeated the West Indies & England. England had just beaten Australia and Pakistan. South Africa was out of the circuit due to apartheid and New Zealand the other test playing nation were minnows, so India were champs. We held on to the tag for a very short time. This time around, let us see how Dhoni and his boys perform.
While the pleased as a punch Indian team was gathering for their post match photo shoot, after soundly trashing the Sri Lankan’s at Mumbai, I noticed Rahul Dravid, standing beside Sachin Tendulkar, looking as always a little remote. There are certain guys who are just not part of the bonhomie. While Viru (Sehwag) is the hero of the moment, I was a little sad that the contribution of Dravid went unnoticed in the joy of winning.
Hark back to Motera, Ahmadabad, and the first test. India tottering at 32/4 on a seaming track and all that stood between the Sri Lankan pacers and certain defeat for us was the ‘Wall’ who came up with a classy 177. Had India gone down 1-0 in the series, the outcome may have been a little different and we may not have been rejoicing at all leave alone patting ourselves on the back that we are the # 1 Test playing nation.
The reason why Dravid rarely receives the accolades that he deserves is quite obvious. He is not a swashbuckling, gung ho swisher of the willow, a la Sehwag, who is every adolescents dream player ( not to be forgotten that Sehwag can play the way he does because he knows that Dravid & Tendulkar follow). However Dravid is around when the chips are down (poetic), but then who wants to talk about the bad times. Do we even want to talk about the fact that India’s best (Sehwag/Gambhir/Tendulkar/Laxman) were knocked over by a Lankan rookie pacer ?
It is this seeming inability in moments of triumph, to introspect that has been our cause of downfall earlier. Remember 1983, Kapil’s boys winners of the 1983 Prudential World Cup, were thrashed at home (5-0) by a ruthless West Indies. The result might have been a little better for the Indians had they planned better.
As a cricket watcher, to me, there seem to be troubling hollow areas with the Indian team. The fast bowlers are not in place and the spinners are quite ordinary. We continue our search for an all rounder. While I do not enjoy the role of a party pooper I think our stay at the summit is likely to be short lived.
There is also a raging debate as to which of the teams, 1971 or 2009 is better. In my opinion, the 1971 team had better bowlers while the 2009 team have great batters. Both had charismatic captain’s in Ajit Wadekar & Dhoni, so a draw would be in place…………………
Where does my heart lie? With the 1971 team, of course. Who can forget, Bishen Bedi, in his colorful patka and Chandrasekhar making great batsmen look foolish with their spin & guile.The solid defense of Gavaskar and the Vishwanath's grace & style. Those were the days when pajama (one day) cricket had not made an entry and cricket was still cricket ( as I played it ).
And so, thank God for small mercies, we are # 1 where it matters, in the real form of cricket where brain rules brawn and watching cricket requires one to use their mental faculties and the game is not reduced to a cama de una noche.

It's a man world!

A few years ago, while making port at Mumbai, I had a very nervous harbor pilot board my craft. He was jumpy and restless and the last straw was when one of my officers on the navigation bridge, fished a mobile phone from his pocket and was checking if there was a signal.

The pilot told me quite curtly that he found mobile phones distracting while he was navigating, in the dense traffic of Mumbai harbor & would I be kind enough to get the officer to put the instrument back into his pocket. I found the request logical and sound so the offending phone disappeared.

A few days prior to my arrival at Mumbai, I'd read about a collision between, a submarine and a ship.The whole case was rather intriguing as most ships are very careful in navigating within the limits of a port as accidents can be catastrophic.

How did the accident occur?

Apparently, the naval submarine was outbound on an exercise at sunset and the ship was making harbor. As soon as the ship closed in and was within cell phone coverage, the officers on the bridge, got their mobiles out to make calls to their wives/girl friends & so on. What followed was the bizarre accident. Human error & sheer negligence.

What would have followed the accident, would have been torture for captains of both ships and huge repair costs.

Having now moved to Bangalore, I see the malice of the cell phone on a daily basis. From vehicle drivers to pedestrians, no body cares & in fidgeting with their phones, if they cause an accident, then so be it.Accidents have been caused by careless drivers conversing on their mobile phones.

After moving to Bangalore, I too was sucked into the habit on occasion and had a couple of close misses. The latest was when I nearly hit a startled cow, on a busy road causing it to run into a two wheeler, who was also on a mobile phone.

Several surveys have actually concluded that using a phone behind the wheel is more dangerous than drink-driving and more likely to cause a car accident. It can be seen, therefore, that the seemingly harmless act of talking on a phone really can put lives at risk.

There is no doubt that having a mobile with you in the car can provide security and help in the case of a breakdown or an emergency but the temptation to answer it if it rings or to reply when a text message arrives should be avoided at all costs.

Hands-free devices and dashboard cradles are better than actually holding the phone but their use can still cause a lapse in concentration and so increase the risk of a vehicle accident. Driving a car requires your full attention at all times and, although it might seem like something that comes as second nature, even a couple of seconds of not watching the road or thinking about something else is enough to cause death or serious personal injury.

Rules are never meant for us, so why bother is the credo that most adopt.Though the police do act, in the event that they catch a person breaking the 'mobile rule', the fine of Rs 100 is so minuscule that most are not concerned if they are caught.

I found the following case quite interesting...

Going Back for a Mobile Phone.

Apparently this problem of going back to get a mobile phone and then ending up in a car accident is neither rare nor new. Back in 2003, there was a man in Austria who managed to get run over by his own car as a result of needing to go get his mobile phone. He had left the phone inside the house so he exited his car, went in and got it. When he came back, he saw his car rolling down the driveway where he’d left it running. His solution was to throw himself at the car and the result was a series of broken limbs. But at least he had his cell phone to call for help.

As for me, I find rules on land can be broken with far greater impunity than at sea and shudder to think of the effects of a growing urban population.Being smart I have found the perfect solution:

Get my wife to drive! It allows me talk on my mobile phone while sitting in the car.

Its a mans world you see..........

Has Atlas Shrugged?

Dubai Poised for Massive Financial Crash, is the talk of the town. The proverbial 'Atlas' has shrugged bringing down much of Dubai's over priced real estate.The price for unbridled capitalism, as taught by Ayn Rand and practised by her chela Alan Greenspan.

Asset prices in Dubai are forecast to plummet up to 70 percent from to last year's high within the next six months. Moody's estimates that Dubai's debt totals around US$100 billion, with around $25 billion insolvent. State-owned investment firm Dubai World has said it will not sell off its assets at rock-bottom prices simply to repay its debts, but if the financial situation worsens, it may have no other choice. Bloomberg on Monday forecast that Dubai will have to abandon its dream of becoming the financial hub of the Middle East if neighbor Abu Dhabi ends up saving the cash-strapped sheikdom. Not only has Dubai suffered tremendous damage to its financial credibility, but Abu Dhabi will seek to have a significant say in financial matters as a precondition to aid. The Times of London reports that Abu Dhabi already demanded a stake in Emirates Airlines, Dubai's state-owned carrier, in return for financial support years ago. Ian Hay Davison, former chief of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, said, "Dubai will keep its role as a regional center of services in the Middle East, but has come very far from its goal of becoming a financial center like New York."

englishnews@chosun.com / Dec. 01, 2009 13:12 KST

I follow the fortunes of Dubai rather closely because I helped build, the Palm Islands & The World off Dubai.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lXclgws7n8) The tragedy is that these amazing feats of marine engineering now flounder as the real estate bubble has burst in Dubai. To me the case of Dubai,is the classic case of hype & hoopla over substance. We see it time and again but never seem to learn. Dubai, not many years ago was a camel herders den, with little or no resources to boast about. As the oil economy boomed it became the play ground for the rich Arab from oil rich countries.Then came the real estate boom, which had no foundation. During my stay at Dubai, I rarely saw an Arab work, except in the immigration, custom's and police. The real work came from expats from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and UK.Much of the time expats, particularly from South Asian countries were treated very poorly.Arabs would venture out in their swanky cars, post sunset & head straight for the air conditioned shopping malls. Economies are not built by other people's sweat. They are built by in house skill and hard work, consistently over years. Sustainability comes from solid foundations and careful planning. I think this applies to both the material as well as the living world and is not a flash in the pan.This would be the case with careers too. Career building is an art and not something that happens overnight.If you are looking for a great future it is imperative that your hands get grubby today. No short cuts my friends. So when the going gets tough, hang in there and ride the wave. That is what is character. What about the Arab's? Like a friend of mine said, they can always sell 'Camel burgers'............... As for Ayn Rand and her Atlas Shrugged, trash them.( Watch the video http://themessthatgreenspanmade.blogspot.com/2009/02/dubai-real-estate-crash.html )

Breasting the tape.....

Placement season is around the corner & with news trickling in that corporates may be looking to hire again, the interview is back in business.It is the culmination of their studies for many and in my view the part where a person breasts the tape at the close of a race. You want to do this part very well.

In an imperfect world the interview seems to be the best bet for a person to land a job, so it makes sense to give it your best shot.

The following may be some pointers......

1. Dress appropriately.A business suit is appropriate. If you're a man, wear a tie.For women it is not fashion day, unless of course you are looking for a job in the fashion industry.( being shabby is not being cool and most interviewers would show you the door for being poorly dressed)

2. Shut up. Did I tell you about the time someone came and told me his life story for 45 minutes and then allowed me 10 minutes to explain the job? I think you know how that story ends.

3. Listen. The most useful skill in sales is listening — and in an interview, you're selling yourself. If you say, "I think the best computers in the world are PCs and people who use Macs have more style than substance" after the interviewer mentions his iPhone, you could be left with your opinion and no paycheck.

4. Ask questions. You can avoid the problem above by responding to the question, "Do you think we should scrap all the PCs here and buy Macs?" by saying, "That depends on lots of factors. What would your requirements be?"

5. Show interest. This could also be called "sucking up." When an interviewee doesn't ask me anything about myself, she's not just saying "I've got pride in my accomplishments and don't need to pander to you." She's also showing me that she isn't good at showing interest in other people. Which means she's going to have a hard time politically in the company. And since that's going to reflect badly on me...no job for her.

6. Do your research about the company and the people who are going to interview you.

7. Answer the question you wish they'd asked.
How many times have you left an interview thinking, "I never got a chance to tell them about my achievements.So tell them............( however if your interviewer suffers from low confidence- God help you )

8. Be clear about what the interviewer want's. Do not assume anything.


One way of acing an interview is by correctly answering a very risky question that many interviewers ask and interviewees dance around: “If we hired you, what would you do to help us do ‘X”’. X can be anything from creating a new production process to slicing customer support time in half. This is your chance to show your experience, knowledge of the company, and its competitive challenges.

Most interviewers are not looking for a specific or right answer. They are looking to see how you would approach and solve the problem or the logical procedure you would adopt in getting there or there abouts.

Doesn't it make sense? As a manager you would spend the better part of the day problem solving rather than handing out SODEXHO booklets, unless that us what you are being hired to do.

What if I asked you, how many trees would there be in Bangalore's Lal Bagh ( a huge 600 acre park )?

Take a shot..............and tell me.