Gayathri Mantra and Science

In a bit of a spiritual mood today. Kindly bear with me

Gayathri is the Supreme Japa Mantra among all Vedic Scripts.

The following article on "Gayatri" was sent to me by a good friend through E-mail. No one can deny the values of this Great asset of Indian Vedic scripts among which

The Gayatri Mantra tops and is most important one for Daily recital as Japam. Now let us see the real values :

Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma. This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Veda-Mata, the mother of the Vedas. The literal meaning of the mantra is:

God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty. You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss.You are Destroyer of fear; You are Creator of this Universe,You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon your light.You guide our intellect in the right direction.

The mantra, however, has a great scientific import too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition.

The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars. Each star is like our sun having its own planet system. We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun.

Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic center in 22.5 crore years.

All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 miles per second. And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step-by-step:

(A) Om bhur bhuvah swah:

Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second.

This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it too their colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever-revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, "Omiti ekaksharam Brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om, which contains only one syllable (8/12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-Brahma a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven. They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy= 1/2MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or storehouse of energy (prana).

(B) Tat savitur varenyam:

Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us, we may locate the specific person. Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars).

A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the riverbank just by drawing a triangle.

So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under: -

(C) Bhargo devasya dheemahi:

Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The Rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do Japam of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realize it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled.

Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under:

(D) Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat:

Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah (we all), prachodayat (guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra:

The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies (swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om, (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing / respect (varenyam). We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our (nah) intellect dhiyo

So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:-

1) The total kinetic energy generated by the movement galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1/2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x velocity)

2) Realizing the great importance of the syllable OM, the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., amen and Ameen.

3) The God could be realized through the saguna (gross), upasana (method), i.e.,
(a) by chanting the name of the supreme as OM and(b) by meditating upon the light emitted by stars (suns) .

Managers in the greatest epic

We can see different types of managers in Mahabharata.

Bhishma, Dharmaputra (Yudhisthira), Karna, Abhimanyu, Draupadi and the inimitable Lord Krishna himself are quite a few that come to mind.

Bhishma is the perfect example of an upright manager caught in irreconciliable conflicts who was forced to take wrong decisions by forces beyond his control. With Bhisma, his vow of celibacy (personal ethics) takes precedence over everything else, including the public will. He is not bothered about the chaos that will occur in Hastinapur with no one to inherit the throne. His major concern is that his vow must remain intact. Ethics above everything else. Even prior to the Kurukshetra was, he sided with Kauravas, telling his duty is towards the King and the establishment, even if they are in the wrong. Debatable but appreciable.

Yudhisthira is a shining example of managerial wisdom, though he also was compelled to deviate from his principled stand on practical considerations, faced with a ruthless enemy.

Krishna is the perfect leader-manager who kept his eye on the ball till the desired outcome was achieved. He is highly goal oriented and believer of 'end justifies the means' school of thought.

Draupadi is the classical model of a woman powerhouse who kept others motivated till the goal is achieved. Power of Draupadi and her bloody mindedness is well chronicled.

Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, is the dare-devil leader without a business-plan of exit. He fought his way into the chakravyuha, but failed to come out and was brutally cornered and killed by Drona and others.

Karna is a tragic example of a manager who fought his way up the ladder but could not keep up with the pressure and tensions and met a tragic end. But he is the perfect number two. His loyalty to Duryodhana is unmatched. He refused the crown offered by Kunthi Devi prior to the war, chosing the loyalty for his friend over power. Karna is a complex combination of Satvik, Rajassik and Tamassik characters manifest in all of us. His satvik quality is visible in his ability to give 'danam' or alms. He never refuses anyone whatever they ask, even at the risk of losing his life. His Rajassik quality is in his ability to fight. The greatest Archer of his time, even better than Arjuna. But he allowed his Tamassik qualities to rule him. Blind loyalty, inability to accept slight and criticism plus a lack of bigger vision for himself. That was the tragedy of Karna.

Epics teach us many things. It is said what is not in management is not in Mahabharatha and vice versa. One only has to look carefully.

Brain or Brawn?

There is an episode in Mahabharatha where Arjunan and Duryodhanan goes to seek the help of Krishna prior to the Kurukshetra war. Seeing both of them together, Krishan gives them an offer. Either take me, but I will not use the weapon but shall be giving advice alone or alternatively take my 10,000 strong army of Yadava warriors who are reknowned for their valour.

Arjunan being the younger of the two was given the first choice. Without hesitating he chose Krishna. Duryodhanan was only too happy to get 10,000 warriors.

From a conventional management angle, it would look, as it did to Duryodhanan, that he got the better deal, for resources are what wins the war in the end.

But one should never underestimate the power of knowledge management and knowledge capital. Krishna epitomises all the knowledge of this world. Also one has to remember that Krishna is a top strategist. He is also a superb crisis manager and a skilled at diplomacy. . A man of his stature is an asset beyond comparison.

Duryodhana was wrong to gloat. He thought that physical might is anyday better than brainpower. He was happy with brawn over brain. Posterity will tell you that Arjuna's decision of choosing Krishna was correct. It was Krishna who through Gita showed the right way to Arjuna prior to the war. It was Krishna who told Yudhishtira to tell a half lie that led to the great man Dronacharya, who was playing havoc with pandava army, keeping down his weapon enabling Drishtadhyumna to kill him. It was he who spotted the flaw in Bhishma and asked Arjunan to have Shikhandi with him in the chariot, knowing that Bhishma wont fight with a eunuch. It was again Krishna who covered the sun with his chakra, creating an illusion of nighfall, when Arjunan was desperate to find and kill Jayadradhan before sunset to keep his vow. Krishna also sent Ghatothkachan to fight Karnan which forced Karnan to use his special spear on him that can be used only once and which he had reserved for Arjunan. This saved Arjunans life. Finally, it was Krishna, who by patting on his thigh indicated to Bhiman to target Duryodhanans thigh in their final duel.

Great leaders are those who make the right decisions. Arjunan made the right choice.

Never underestimate the power of intelligence, knowledge and human capital.

I have always held Krishna as the first Strategic Management Consultant ever. Would you not agree with me?

The Giver should be thankful

I have always held the belief that one should not have any expectations while helping. In fact one should be thankful that he got an opportunity to do good. This philosophy is beautifully brought out in this Zen Story

While Seietsu was the master of Engaku in Kamakura he required larger quarters, since those in which he was teaching were overcrowded. Umeza Seibei a merchant of Edo, decided to donate five hundred pieces of gold called ryo toward the construction of a more commodious school. This money he brought to the teacher.

Seisetsu said: "All right. I will take it."

Umezu gave Seisetsu the sack of gold, but he was dissatisfied with the attitude of the teacher. One might live a whole year on three ryo, and the merchant had not even been thanked for five hundred.

"In that sack are five hundred ryo," hinted Umeza.

"You told me that before," replied Seisetsu.

"Even if I am a wealthy merchant, five hundred ryo is a lot of money," said Umezu.

"Do you want me to thank you for it?" asked Seisetsi.

"You ought to," replied Umeza.

"Why should I?" inquired Seisetsu. "The giver should be thankful."

Is being a passionate teacher worth it?

There are times when one wonders if it is worth being a teacher with a passion.

Three separate incidents, unrelated, made me lose my faith in teaching yesterday.

First - I woke up to see a synopsis from a student for a project which clearly showed a lack of effort expected of a final year MBA student. Since the student was close to a deadline and has twice before not changed his approach despite considerable inputs, I thought it fit to be firm with the student and read him the riot act. Instead of taking it up as a challenge and rising to the occassion, the student chickened out and opted to do the project with another faculty, who in his opinion will be more amenable to the low standards set by him. And I thought studying was about raising ones level all the time. What really hurt was the discourtesy shown by the student in not meeting me personally or to call me over telephone to give a personal explanation. I got my notice of being 'Sacked' as a Project Guide through an E-Mail. So much for respect for a teacher.

Second was a minor one. One of the students called me up to find out (hold on) the 'Publisher''of a particular book. This, when all he had to do was to type the name of the book and author in Google search bar. He was sitting in front of his computer when he called me. In an era where information is available at ones fingertips, it is ridiculous that one wont put in even that tiny little effort. A few strong words from my side resulted in the student visibly sulking when he came to the class in the evening.

If these two were not enough, there was this incident in the class. As part of Strategic Management lecture, I had taken considerable pains to make available to the students top quality case studies photocopied with supporting documents superbly describing how to analyze a Case. This was a virtual gold mine of information. One of the student is being transfered to Dubai and was attending her last session in Kuwait. Remember that she is planning to continue the program in Dubai and hence would have been greatly benefitted by the material. I gave her one set of the documents, but she firmly kept her arms folded and refused to accept it saying she was leaving for Dubai and hence dont feel the need for this. To say I was shocked is an understatment. I could never imagine that any student will refuse a material that may help them in their studies. Silently, I retracted my hand with the paper and with a grim face carried on with my class.

Despite 7 years of teaching MBA students in Kuwait, they continue to throw surprises like the above which saddens me a lot.

Why can't I be like some other teachers who don not give a damn what the student does? Or is it that I am out of touch with reality? Is there any meaning to being a good teacher? Is it worth it?

I can only wonder....................................

Power of Practice

For a change here is a zen story on practice,

A dramatic ballad singer studied under a strict teacher who insisted that he rehearse day after day, month after month the same passage from the same song, without being permitted to go any further.

Finally, overwhelmed by frustration and despair, the young man ran off to find another profession. One night, stopping at an inn, he stumbled upon a recitation contest. Having nothing to lose, he entered the competition and, of course, sang the one passage that he knew so well. When he had finished, the sponsor of the contest highly praised his performance. Despite the student's embarrassed objections, the sponsor refused to believe that he had just heard a beginner perform.

"Tell me," the sponsor said, "who is your instructor? He must be a great master."

The student later became known as the great performer Koshiji.

Are there any democratic institutions out there?

So the Government has won the Trust Vote. I have to admit that I had wished it would lose. Not because it would have stopped the N-Deal (My objection to the N-Deal is in its current version that discriminates India and almost makes us a NPT country through the back door allowing us not to do future tests) but I sincerely believe that this UPA Government has not done much for the country, has been highly indisciplined on the economy front and in short its rule has been a disaster.

One of the hallmarks of the Congress rule is that it systemmatically destroys all Institutions. The communists are accused of not respecting democratic institutions. But in reality it is the Congress that has scant respect for any Institution.

Indira Gandhi has the dubious record of suspending democracy and declaring emergency doing irreparable damage in the process. She brought in the concept of 'Committed Judiciary', whereby Supreme court judges were appointed only based on their ability to give favourable judgement to the Congress party.

Rajiv Gandhi was a honest trier. But the offshoot of his regime was Corruption in high places becoming a norm than an exception. The Bofors scandal compromised the military and people ceased to be shy about accepting bribes. The degradation in moral values post during and post his tenure has been alarming.

Successive Congress Goverment has installed puppets in the Rashtrapathi Bhavan and various Raj Bhavans. Governors were posted based on their ability to subvert democratically elected opposition governments and were invariably trouble making congressmen. Less said about the Presidents, the better. V V Giri, who was annointed by Indira Gandhi was a disaster and he set the trend. Zail Singh, openly said that he will wipe Indira's shoes if required and the culmination was the election of the current President, Pratibha Patil, who is a non entity and who with her spouse are known financial frauds, cheats and swindlers apart from her husband being involved in a murder case.

CBI has been damaged beyond repair. It has been used to settle scores with political opponents and today it has become a laughing stock. The premier investigating agency is in shambles.

T N Seshan did his best to make the election commission independant and give it some teeth. But the situation is dangerous now. With Navin Chawla becoming the Chief Election Commissioner, the Commission has also been compromised. Chawla has a history of being a chamcha of the Gandhi family and has been involved in a major scam in 1970's.

Parliament was the only place not hitherto abused by the Congress party. But Narasimha Rao did his best to destroy that also by bribing JMM to get a majority in 1990s. The wheel has come a full circle. With MPs showing up the Congress and its alliance partners in a Camera for paying bribe to the tune of Rs 1 crore and displaying the notes in the well of the house, we have reached the pits. Add to it, the reluctance of the Congress party to execute Afzal Guru, who was the chief conspirator in engineering the attack on the Parliament in 2003 and you know how much Congress cares for the highest democratic institution.

Carrying baggage

In working through repetitive conflicts, we begin to see our shadows and old baggage more clearly. There's an old Zen story that makes this point very well:

"It concerns an interesting "couple," two monks who were walking in silence by a river at sunrise, early in the spring. Swollen with the melting snows, the river had overflowed its banks and swamped the small footbridge that was the only point of crossing for many miles.

A young woman, in much distress, stood forlornly by the swiftly running river, pleading with her eyes for the monks' help. Sweeping her into his arms, the older monk bore her aloft through the swirling current and put her down safely on the other side. The two monks walked in silence until sunset, when the vows of their order allowed them to talk.

The younger monk then turned on his brother with unbridled fury. "How could you have picked that woman up!" he accused. His face grew red as he shook his fists at the older monk. "You, of all people, know the vows of our Order. It is forbidden even to think of a woman, let alone to touch one! You have defiled yourself. Indeed, you have shamed the entire Order!"

The elder monk turned to him complacently. "My brother," he said. His eyes were soft with the wisdom of forgiveness. "I put that woman down on the other side of the river this morning. It is you who have been carrying her around all day." - courtesy www

We all carry baggages. They are our pre dispositions, prejudices and experiences from the past. We tend to view the present through jaundiced eyes of the past. This is a big danger, hampers clear thinking and open minded decision making.

How often have we heard the dreaded words 'In my good old day....'. To tell you the truth, out old days were not all that good. As years go by, the myths and legends of the childhood grow to such an extend that the line between reality and imagination gets blurred. Today is definitely much better than what it was couple of decades ago. Our children are much much more intelligent and smarter than we ever were at their age. Their knowledge levels, ambition, clarity in thinking are at a different higher plane from us.

Same is true of the young lot of employees whom I see joining the companies now. They are much more confident, productive and professional than we were when we started our career.

We need to shed the baggages, embrace the change that is happening around us and move on. I am not saying I do not have baggages from the past. I do, like everyone else. But I try to shed them whenever I feel the burden. Also, I welcome change. Not when it is change for the worse, but definitely when I detect that the change is for better.

Let us not judge the present through the prism of the past. Let us put the present in its right context and evaluate.

Shed those baggages as early as you can.

When fools begin to talk....................

The post is left intentionally blank to protest against the wheelings and dealings going on in Delhi in the run up to the Confidence Vote. We, as a democracy, have reached the pits. When Fools (Politicians) begins to talk (Act), it is time for Wise Men to keep quiet

Is inflation due to global pressures alone?

Yesterday, one of my students wanted to know why I am blaming the Government for inflation when it is considered to be a global phenomenon.

Here is my answer,

Inflation is a global phenomenon alright, but the quantum of inflation is not. Wrong government policies over the past decade has led to the current high 11.91% of inflation.

We need to make a honest appraisal of the reform process. On the one hand, the country has benefitted by integration with global markets, but there is a worrying aspect to this. People have started wondering whether this has been at a high cost. The benefits of the refoms have not percolated down the rural sector, that constitute 60% of the population and there is another 20% urban poor who are also suffering. Any development that does not embrace 80% of the population cannot be construed to be development. We have also allowed indiscriminate inflow of FDI, increasing the money in circulation, which obviously has led to inflation. With developed countries following a low interest regime, money obviously finds the level by flowing to high interest regimes like India. Interest rate hike has been a pure government decision.

Secondly, it is a known fact that the parallel economy comprising of black money, counterfeit notes, hawala transactions constitute 26% of the economy. Successive governments have not done anything to arrest this anti national inflationary activities.

Goverment has followed a principle of interest rate management/credit squeeze route for managing inflation. This has not worked and is not likely to work. Maybe in the short run, we may see inflation coming down, but the price the economy has to pay for this financial adventurism is huge. The growth is stagnating and in some sectors have started reversing. The economy is sluggish and is in recessionary mode. Government has never bothered to explain why it has not adopted the foreign exchange management route to tackle the inflation. Everyone and his aunt knows that the Rupee is not allowed to float against the dollar and kept at a low exchange rate. This only helps two people- Amercians and the Exporters. The exporter lobby is so powerful and cry hoarse every time rupee starts appreciating. Government obliges them by stepping in and buying dollars from the market. This is ridiculous. It is time export lobby shipped up or shaped out. You can't have it both ways. You cant get both reforms and protectionism. Either the export lobby becomes efficient or they take a hit like everyone else. If Rupee had been allowed to float against dollar, it would mean that imports become cheaper and dollar based purchases like petroleum products very attractive. Will it not bring the inflation down?

How many of you know that last year was one of the best as far as food production is concerned? And still the food prices hit the roof? It is not as if the demand has gone up substantially overnight. Nearly 33% of the grains produced in India goes to waste through pilferage, theft, rains, and eaten by rats and rodents. The storage facilities are a relic from another era. Nothing has been done on the procurement, storage and distribution front for nearly 3 decades. One of the reason why the prices of essential commodities were low was due to the success of the Pubilc Distribution System (Ration shops). Admitted the quality was bad, but people still had access to it and prices were low. This government has systemmatically destroyed the PDS through wilful neglect. Result? Common man is at the mercy of the open market and has to pay more.

I have written about it in previous posts. The impact of energy crisis could have been avoided if the government has speeded up the Highways program started by the Vajpayee government. There is more that 30% of fuel savings if we can do away with traffic jams, bumper to bumper traffic, unwanted checkposts (well! all check posts are unwanted) and free flow of traffic. It is a national crime not to invest in infrastructure.

Same is the case with electricity sector. The transmission loss is a whopping 40%. Add to this free power to farmers. Tell me which country can afford this. And absolutely no initiative has been made in this critical area. It is possible to bring down the transmission loss to <>

Finally, the inflation is a direct result of the huge subsidies the government is paying to various sections of the people. The intended beneficieries get only 15% of the money meant for them. The balance is leakage, which turns up as black money and again harming the prices.

We should not blame the world and others for not going to the root of the problems and tackling them. It is quite within our abilities. But for that the rulers should love the nation, care for the people, show leadership qualities, have a vision and the strength of mind to carry out long term plans. In the current political scenario, it is unlikely. It also has to do with the apathy shown by you and me. Why blame the goverment? We get the government we deserve.

Inglish.................

The fundamental difference between a native English speaker and an Indian speaking English lies in the native English speaker thinking and speaking in English, while the Indian thinks in his mother tongue, translates in his mind and then speaks in English.

This often leads to hilarious situations as then the language ceases to be English and takes the avatar of Ineglish (Indian English). There are versions of Inglish like Manglish, Tanglish, Hinglish, Ginglish. Read on and figure it out if you can.

Principal to student - "I saw u yesterday rotating near girls hostel pulling cigarette...? "

Class teacher- "Pick up the paper and fall in the dustbin"

Hindi teacher -I'm going out of the world to America"

A few Teacher gems-
"Don't try to talk in front of my back
"Dont...Laugh at the back benches...otherwise teeth and all will be fallen down"
"Both of you three get out"
"Sunil, call that Misunderstanding" (the request was to call the girl student who was standing in the ground floor while the teacher was in the first floor)

It was very hot in the afternoon when the teacher entered.She tried to switch the fan on, but couldn't. and then this comment - "Why is fan not oning" (ing form of on)

Teacher in a furious mood- "Write down ur name and father of ur name"

Mother to son -"Will u hang that calender or else i'll HANG MYSELF"

Librarian in an school scolded - "If you will talk again, I will kneel down outside.

Chemistry Head of the Department -"My aim is to study my son and marry my daughter"

Headmaster to an errant student - "Tomorrow call ur parents, especially mother and father"

Teacher -"Why are you looking at the monkeys outside when i am in the class?"

Computer teacher in the lab to a student whose coding was incorrect - "I understand. You understand. Computers how understand?"

Seing the principal passing by, the teacher told the noisy class - "Keep quiet, the principal has just passed away"

A parking lot attendant to a car owner - "Sir, your previous tyre is flat"

- courtesy my good friend Sanjay in Delhi

Guruve Namaha

"Guru Brahma
Guru Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheswarah
Gurusakshat Parambrahma
Tasmai shree Guruve namah"

On Guru Pournima, let me take a moment to bow to all my Gurus, irrespective of whether they were my formal teachers or not. Learning has been a continuous process and there are hundreds from whom I have learned, things big and small, important and inconsequential, good and bad. I consider all of them who gave me knowledge as my Guru.

The greatest 'punyam' I have got in this life is to become a Guru. I cherish every moment of it and consider it a god given gift. In my own small way I have tried to be a good guru to many. If I have made a small contribution to someone's life, I am happy.

It was on a Guru Pournima day four years ago that I lost the guru, who had a profound influence on my life - My father. The loss has been irreparable.

Let me on this day renew my oath to spread more knowledge and give whatever I have to the succeeding generations.

I have not forgotten my 'Dream Project' on bringing Gurus and people together. I have just recently taken the first step towards making it a reality. There is a long way to go yet.

The journey in quest of knowledge and spreading knowledge never ends.

'Kondu pokilla choranmar
Kodukkum thorum eridum
Menma thanne nasichalum
Vidya thanne maha dhanam"

Guruve Namaha!

Remember your worth

A speaker was addressing a room of hundred people and asked, holding aloft a Rs 1000 note,

"Who would like this Rs 1000 note?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this Rs 1000 to one of you but first, let me do this"

He proceeded to crumple up the Rs 1000 note.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well", he replied, "What if I do this?"

And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.

"Now, who still wants it?"

Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth Rs 1000. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who DO LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special - "Don't EVER forget it."
-adapted from www

We are not poor

I have always taken exception when foreigners hold the perception that India is a poor country.

How can a Country that was home to one of the three oldest civilization in the World be poor?

India was always in the forefront of philosophical thoughts, mathematics and science. It gave the world the concept of zero, the upanishads, chanakya soothra, and bhagavat gita. Poor? Definitely not.

Intellectually and morally we were far superior than other races. We practiced secularism and religious tolerence centuries before others even thought about it.

We gave the world the wonderful concept of 'Adhithi Devo Bhava' and embraced whoever landed in our soil with love and affection. Despite being stabbed in the back, we still held fast to our value system. Can anyone then call us poor?

India always was culturally vibrant. We had our own diverse music and dance forms ranging from Hindustani to Carnatic to Ghazals to Thumris and Kathakali to Kathak to Bharathanatyam to Odissi to Fold dances. This was the country that gave to the world the great sculptures seen in Ellora or the paintings in Ajantha. The world was stunned at the originality of Thanjavur paintings, the uniqueness of Aranmula Kannadi, the finely woven silk from Benares and the riot of colours. And we poor? What a ridiculous idea!!

We gave to the world the concept of 'Ahimsa' when the whole world was in the grip of 'Himsa'. We dared to think different. Our thoughts were pristine and noble. We boast of the largest democracy in the world and we have never attacked another country in our history. No sirs! We are not poor.

Poverty should not be measured in Per Capita Income but rather in Per Thought Income. And development should not be measured in Gross Domestic Product, but in Gross Domestic Intellectual Product.

Then we are richer than the richest nation in this Planet.

Never be apologetic and defensive when talking about your country. Garv se kaho, 'Mera Bharath Mahan'

Those fine presentations and speeches

Here are some presentation/public speaking tips to make you really effective

Write down the main points
Write down the main points of your speech, but try not to read from it. If you have written it down - if you dry up, you will beable to pick it back up again

Passion is the key
When you speak -try to speak with passion and enthusiasm. If you speak passionately it will make up for many other shortcomings. Your enthusiasm should be contagious.

Use pauses
Pause - the power of pausing in a presentation can be very profound. It will also give you a chance to catch your breath. Audience will eagerly wait for your next point. Their anticipation can be leveraged for maximum impact.

Don't leave it to the last minute
Don't leave it to the very last minute to work on your presentation. When you know you have to give a presentation - make sure that you leave yourself real time to present - and this is more than half a day the night before. You will be standing up in front of a lot of people - you want to to go well. Plan at least 8 hours over the week before.

Prepare the room in advance
Make sure that you have spent time in the presentation room before your presentation. get to know the room and run through your slides beforehand to ensure that everything is working smoothly. Always doubte check and triple check the equipments like computer, projector, audio system etc. It is wise to remember the Murphy's law "If anything can go wrong, it will". I have personal experience of this. I never leave anything to chance.

Always leave handouts.
You have gone to a lot of effort to produce your presentation. Leaving handouts will reinforce your messages, and will help them to remember your presentation when they look at them again. Always include your contact details so that the audience can contact you. It will also ensure that the audience has something tangible with them which is very important as the presentation is essentially intangible in nature.

Be natural
Be natural. Do not try to be what you are not. If humour doesnt come to you naturally, do not even try. Let your personality come out during the speech. You will be more comfortable.

If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.
This is one of the biggest mistakes I see. People think that they can just walk in and start speaking. But in reality those who appear to be speaking extempore are often very well prepared.

It takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.
Off the cuff should mean well planned. Professional speakers plan meticulously. So should you.

Grab any opportunity that you get to make a presentation or speech
Giving a presentation or making a speech requires special skills. These skills have to be developed like any other soft skills. The best way to do is to make as many presentations and speeches as possible. Skills have to be honed to perfection. Remember! It takes hard work over a period of 3-4 years to become a good speaker.

- Adapted from web

Where to invest now?

Have not commented on the state of the country for a while. Mainly because I am plain disgusted with what is happening. No one cares for the common man. In the hurry to jockey for political positions, the politicians have forgotten about factors that affect the nation - inflation.

Inflation has touched 11.89% and even the master spinners in the Financial ministry has conceded that it is likely to break the 12% mark and might even touch 13%. We have been given assurances that inflation is likely to come down by mid september.

Not many people know that this mid-september magic is keeping in mind a bountiful monsoon. Here lies the catch. The monsoon has failed miserably. Country is in serious trouble with agriculture production and energy production seriously affected. History has shown that whenever monsoon has failed, GDP growth has been affected and inflation has gone up. This year the scenario is grim in view of the global food and energy crisis. We are in for a rough ride.

So with inflation hitting the roof, where should you invest.

Stock market is down to 13000. This is likely to touch 12000 but in one year expected to maintain the 18000 range. This is a nice time to buy shares as most of the blue chips are underpriced. Recommendation is to buy shares of companies who have excellent management.

Gold - Never underestimate Gold. It has outperformed other investments in recent times. Invest in gold but as usual the caveat - don't go in for ornament gold. Investment should be in gold bonds, futures or solid 24 carat gold bars or biscuits.

I won't recommend Bank Fixed Deposits, Mutual Funds or even Real Estate at this stage.

Have a diverse portfolio with 50% in equity shares, 40% in gold and 10% in cash or liquid investments.

Words and Thoughts

The period was early 1980's. One of my brother's close friend was in search of a bride. As is the custom in Kerala, the family identified a suitable girl and he went to see her. After the initial introductions were over, others withdrew to allow the boy and the girl to talk to each other for a few minutes.

Incidently, they got married and the girl became very close to our family. She had a fine sense of humour and much later she used to narrate the experience in a witty manner. The dialogue as it happened is reproduced, with what her actual thoughts/or what she actually wanted to say in italics and in brackets.

Boy: So.................... your name is xxxx
Girl (coyly): ummmmm (Asshole, you don't even know my name, and you want to marry me?)
Boy: I see that you have passed B Sc
Girl: Yes (At least you know that. So you are not as dumb as you look)
Boy: Then why didn't you join for M Sc
Girl: Um.. ah.....no special reason. Just like that (Fathead. Any idiot knows if I have the marks I would have joined M Sc. I didn't because I was not good in studies. Also my parents thought it fit for me not to study further as they want to marry me off to a slob like you)
Boy: What are your hobbies?
Girl: Reading, listening to music......... (Well really dressing up and parading in front of prospective boys like you and answering stupid questions like these)
Boy: Can you cook north indian and south indian (dishes)?
Girl: Of course ( He he. I can definitely cook a north indian and a south indian if they will only allow me)
Boy: So do you like me. Will you marry me?
Girl: Ummm ( Stupid. I am the last of 7 children, 4 girls and 3 boys. Do I have a choice?. Of course I have to marry you and God help me!)

What man, you know

English is a funny language.

The antonym of 'Sufficient' is 'Insufficient'

So by the same logic 'Inflammable' should mean 'not flammable'!!! But.............

An English man got into a taxi cab in Mumbai. The driver reached a T-end in the road where he has to either take left or right. He asked the passenger,

"I presume I should be taking left"

"Right" said the passenger.

Now, what did he mean by that? Is it that the cab driver should turn right or whether what the driver said regarding taking left was right (correct).

Bernard Shaw, once asked to spell FISH, spelt it as 'GHOTI'

Queried he asked the questioner to pronounce the 'GH' in TOUGH, 'O' in WOMEN, and 'TI' in TUITION.

And then there are the Indian Convent educated girls, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, who use the words 'what man' and 'you know' dozen times in every sentence to convey a range of meanings. It has always been a source of amazement to me.

This is a quick post. Shall catch up with you all later

Cloning through over coaching

I have been watching Wimbledon for the last quarter of a century. I have watched players switch over from Wooden racquets to steel to carbon graphite to composite racquets. Players have become bigger and fitter. The hitting harder and longer.

It suddenly dawned on me this Wimbledon, when during a break for rain, there was an aerial shot of the venue and on all the Courts the wear and tear was only in the baseline and never within the service box. This indicated clearly that hardly any serve and volleying is happening.

Over the years, the Wimbledon courts have become slower and the balls harder. This has killed the serve and volleyer. And when I look around, there are hardly any serve and volleyers in the game today. Roger Federer does have a fine volley, but his basic inclination is still to stay back and use his powerful ground strokes. Where have the McEnroes, Roscoe Tanners, Boris Beckers, Stefan Edbergs, Goran Ivanisevics gone? You can't see a single serve and volleyer in the top 50 of the game in the true sense of the game.

It also has something to do with over coaching at the junior level. Todays top players are products of Tennis Academies that are run on hard courts and follow a specific pattern of training. The wards are asked to belt the hell out of the tennis balls from the baseline irrespective of his/her natural talent and inclination. Result is mass production of similar tennis players. The pioneer in this was Nick Bollitteri.

Same is true of Cricket. You will notice that almost all the modern players play the same type of game. Whether batting or bowling.Batsmen are virtual clones of one another. Look at Australian team. Is there any difference between Matt Hayden, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke or Simon Katich? Of the English team. Barring Peterson, every one else is identical. Even India. When did we last see a natural talent bloom in India after Sachin? Maybe Sehwag. In bowling? Is there not a sameness to all our pace bowlers? This again has to do with all the coaching academies children attend at a young age. It is also why it is such a pleasure when someone like Ajantha Mendis slips through the system and makes it big. What a delight to watch him bamboozle the batsmen!

Management also faces the same problem due to the sameness in the syllabus taught in the Business Schools. They dont teach you enterpreneurship at the Business School nor do they encourage it. So much the pity. But we shall discuss that topic through this blog another day.

How to choose a thesis topic

Read this on the web.....................for a change you people read something light

It's a fine sunny day in the forest and a rabbit is sitting outside his burrow, tippy-tapping on his typewriter. Along comes a fox, out for a walk.

Fox: "What are you working on?"

Rabbit: "My thesis."

Fox: "Hmm... What is it about?"

Rabbit: "Oh, I'm writing about how rabbits eat foxes."

Fox: "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that rabbits don't eat foxes!”

Rabbit: "Come with me and I'll show you!"

They both disappear into the rabbit's burrow. After few minutes, gnawing on a fox bone, the rabbit returns to his typewriter and resumes typing.

Soon a wolf comes along and stops to watch the hardworking rabbit.

Wolf: "What's that you are writing?"

Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves."

Wolf: "you don't expect to get such rubbish published, do you?"

Rabbit: "No problem. Do you want to see why?"

The rabbit and the wolf go into the burrow and again the rabbit returns by himself, after a few minutes, and goes back to typing.

Finally a bear comes along and asks, "What are you doing?

Rabbit: "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat bears."

Bear: "Well that's absurd!"

Rabbit: "Come into my home and I'll show you."

Scene:
As they enter the burrow, the rabbit introduces the bear to the lion.

Moral:
It doesn’t matter how silly your thesis topic is, what matters is whom you have as a Thesis Guide.

Management Lesson in the context of the working world:
It doesn’t matter how bad your performance is, what matters is whether your boss likes you or not.

Don't take this literally. I don't recommend this nor follow this. This was just for fun

Interpreting systems and procedures

The year was 1983-84. I was in my final year of B Sc (Physics). We had lab sessions twice a week. Since most of the equipments in the lab were quite old, it was impossible to get the readings that confirms to the experiment, especially in the Thermodynamic lab that has heat based practicals.

We had a very senior Professor in charge of our batch, Prof.Ramakrishnan Nair. A man with a heart of gold but a very hard exterior. He signs our Record book but rarely comes to the lab as the lab duty is assigned to a young junior lecturer, Devaraj.

Devraj was an unfriendly character and viewed all students as his enemies. The sentiment was reciprocated by us and locked horns with him regularly.

Since the heat experiments never used to give the proper answers and since Devaraj wont sign the observation book unless the values are within the range, we used to take the expedient way of cooking up the figures so that we finish the experiments.

One day we were hauled up by Devaraj for this and gave us the marching orders to Prof.Ramakrishnan Nair. Devaraj raved and ranted about what we did. We were reaaly embarassed as we held Prof.Ramakrishnan Nair in high esteem and any censure by him would have made us really sad.

But we were astounded by his response. He looked the young lecturer on his eye and said, "Devaraj, the whole purpose of students doing practicals is to reinforce the theory they have studied in the classroom. One can't cook up the figures accurately unless one knows the theory inside out. If they have done it, it means that they understand the theory very well. Then the whole purpose of doing the practicals is achieved. You need to look at the bigger picture. Look at the achievement of objectives and not at the process. Use your commonsense".

Words of Wisdom that I have never forgotten. Systems, procedures and processes are tools to achieve an objective. They should not be an end by themselves.

Absurd situation

Imagine a situation where there are 30 students in a class, a mix of good, average and poor students, who gets marks ranging from 98 to 28. How would the students and the parents react if the School takes a decision to total all the marks of the students and distribute it amongst the students equally or in another scenario where more marks are given to weaker students with a purpose to 'encourage' and 'uplift' them!

Or let us think of another scenario where you are working in an office. You work hard and are the most productive employee. But at the end of the year the Management decides to treat the department as a whole and gives bonus equally to all or opts to give more bonus to the non performing employee at your expense in order to give him an incentive to perform better!

Absurd isn't it?

That is precisely happening in Plan allocation in India. There are states which are prosperous and this prosperity is converted to revenue by way of higher Tax collections, most of which are Central Tax and goes to the Central Government. Some of the good states are Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab. And then there are some rogue States who has year after year showed absolute lack of development, prosperity and growth. Erstwhile they were called the BIMARU States - Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Add to them the new States like Chattisgarh, Jharkand, Orissa, Kashmir. The contribution of these States to the Central Exchequer is considerably less considering their potential.

And what does the Central Government through Planning Commission do? Instead of giving more Central Plan allocation to the high performing states (remember they are the bigger contributors to the Central Kitty and Planning Fund allocation is a redistribution of the tax collected from States), these States are given proportionately less allocation and worse, the offender States are given more allocation. Is there any justification for it?

Similar is the strange case of Kerala and now Tamil Nadu. These two States have done extremely well on the population front. The population growth rate is almost equal to Zero and is expected to go below the replacement rage. This has been achieved through higher education levels and sustained effort by the Government and the social workers over a few decades. Against this, the above said BIMARU states have shown scant attention to this critical issue and the population there has been growing at a mind boggling rate. What would you do if you were in the Central Government? You would pat Kerala and TN on the back and see that their interests are protected, won't you? But no. That is not how we Indians work. We give more and more money for the rogue States to spend to 'curb' population which they have not done for ages and have no intention of doing for ages. Also, the talk of the town is that following the delimitation of the Constituencies which is underway now, the next step is to redraw the Parliament Constituencies to give 'Proportionate' representation to people based on the current population levels. This means Kerala will lose some of its 20 MP seats and in fact will have less representation in the Parliament but the BIMARU states will have more seats as the population there is higher. This means Kerala and TN are being punished for curtailing population growth while the undeveloped States are being given a pat in the back.

It is time we started a discussion on the Centre-State relationship in India. The current model of a powerful Centre is a legacy of the British. The argument that Centre is ensuring equitable development of the Country doesn't wash anymore. Centre cannot rob Paul and give it to Peter anymore. What we need is a much stronger States with Centres role limited to National Security, External Affairs, Military and Monetary Policies. This is the way forward to overall growth of the Country

Brand Building

There is considerable advantage in Brand Building. In fact I have emphasised that Brand Building and developing an appropriate Organization Culture as the two Critical Success Factors for any organization, and more so for a start up company.

Contrary to popular belief, Brands are not developed through advertising, but through brand experience. Everytime a customer comes in contact with a brand, there is a learning for him. It moulds his attitude towards the brand.

An leading organization in Kuwait changed the corporate colours to Red a few years back and claimed that it denotes all customers getting red carpet welcome. But the experience is different. Every single time a customer walks into their offices or calls them up for some service, the experience is so painful that the customer has to be thick skinned to ever use the brand again. Instead of the red carpet welcome the colour was supposed to denote, the customer now associates the colour with a danger signal warning him not to go anywhere near the brand.

Brand building is a conscious effort. Apart from consistency in product/service offerings, one should also carefully plan to improve the positive disposition of the target market towards the brand.

A decade ago, when I was an entrepreneur running a NIIT education centre in Thanjavur, we used to spend money on developing and augmenting the brand image. Our target market was essentially students (and their parents) who has completed 12th standard and missed out on an Engineering/Medical Seat. Every year, Engineering exams were held in 3 colleges which are situated in the outskirts of the town and in the month of May/June, when the temparatures are in the high 40's. Exams are held in two sessions for 2 days, morning and afternoon with a 2 hour gap n between. Parents drop their children in the morning, wait under trees so that they can give food in the afternoon and then pick the kids up in the evening.

We set up a temporary stall in front of these colleges and distributed cool Water packets (250 ml in Polyethelene pouches) free of cost. Trust me, if we had charged a 100% premium, we would have still sold off everything in no time and still got the goodwill and a tidy profit. But we gave it away free of cost. The whole excercise cost us nearly Rs 10,000 and the logistics involved in getting the water packets to the stalls were phenomenal. But the goodwill we got was unbeleivable. We came across as good people, not money minded but genuinely understanding and caring for the students. The parents were extremely grateful to us for arranging water free of cost, that too mineral water in sealed packets that posed no health hazards to their children.

Something to remember by.......................................

Where does one hide a leaf?

So faint was that frigid starlight that nothing could have been traced about them except that while they both wore black, one man was enormously big, and the other (perhaps by contrast) almost startlingly small. They went up to the great graven tomb of the historic warrior, and stood for a few minutes staring at it. There was no human, perhaps no living, thing for a wide circle; and a morbid fancy might well have wondered if they were human themselves. In any case, the beginning of their conversation might have seemed strange. After the first silence the small man said to the other:

"Where does a wise man hide a pebble?"

And the tall man answered in a low voice: "On the beach."

The small man nodded, and after a short silence said: "Where does a wise man hide a leaf?"

And the other answered: "In the forest."

There was another stillness, and then the tall man resumed: "Do you mean that when a wise man has to hide a real diamond he has been known to hide it among sham ones?"

"No, no," said the little man with a laugh, "we will let bygones be bygones."

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

They were soon in the most secret entrails of the wood, and felt close about them foliage that they could not see, when the priest said again:

"Where does a wise man hide a leaf? In the forest. But what does he do if there is no forest?"

"Well, well," cried Flambeau irritably, "what does he do?"

"He grows a forest to hide it in," said the priest in an obscure voice. "A fearful sin."

.......................................................................................................................................

There was still no reply, and the priest added still more mildly and quietly:

"And if a man had to hide a dead body, he would make a field of dead bodies to hide it in." (Excerpts from the 'Sign of the Broken Sword' in the book 'The Innocence of Father Brown' by G K Chesterton (Father Brown stories are arguably the finest detective stories ever written. I place Father Brown in a higher pedestial than even Sherlock Holmes))

It looks like our politicians are great favourites of Father Brown Stories. I can almost hear them asking their Flambeaus,

"Where does a crooked politician hide an embarassing problem?"

"He creates a myriad of numerous other problems to hide it in"

The most critical problem facing the country today is the 11% plus inflation which has adversely affected all the people barring none in the country. Instead of talking about it and finding solutions about it, what does the PM and the Congress party do?.

They hid this problem in a host of other problems like the Indo-US nuclear deal (which frankly is of interest to no one other than the silly and stubborn Manmohan Singh and the obstinate Prakash Karat as the deal, if implemented, is not going to make any dent in either the energy security or the life of the common man), transfer of forest land to the Amarnath Shrine by a Governor who is a Congress stooge (the Governor had already been replaced when he executed an order which none of the Hindus ever asked and which even a child knows will create communal discord considering that it is an election year in Kashmir. That the issue exposed once again the ugly side of Islamic non tolerance of other religions is another matter), Prime Minister threatening not to attend the G-8 summit if deal is not operationalised (as if it matters a great deal to us if he chose not to go) and so on.

Look at the main opposition party. They care a fig if there is double digit inflation. Instead of calling for a prolonged agitation against the Government on this issue that has the support of all the people, they called for a Bharath Bandh on thursday to protest against the revoking of order of land transfer to Amarnath Yathra, which is a much trivial issue at this stage.

The venerable communists are no better. When Nandigram was burning, they instigated a few fanatic muslims to throw stones at the Bangladeshi Author Taslima Nasree who was then residing in Calcutta, hounded her first out of the State and finally out of the Country. All to divert the attention.

There are classic cases from the past. Indira Gandhi creating a fictional crisis and imposed Emergency to escape from being disqualified after the Allahabad High Court indicted her and her son Rajiv Gandhi sending Indian Troops to Srilanka for a Peace Keeping Mission which no one asked for (the biggest political and military disaster in post independance India that led to spiralling inflation and death of thousands of our young soldiers) to divert attention from the Bofors problem faced by him.

History repeats...........................

'Where does one hide a leaf?' ...............................................................

Interesting Characters I've met 1

A trip down the memory lane. Some interesting character I met in my life,

Vellakovil Veerappan was a HPCL petrol pump owner in Avanashipalayam. He also ran a reasonably big provision shop in Vellakovil. A self made businessman who was very astute, I was shocked the first time he came to my house and I asked him to sign a document, he looked around for a stamp pad, for he couldn't read or write. Before that, he walked into the house on a summer afternoon and asked me whether 'kattadi' was not working in chaste tamil. I didn't understand and blinked. I had never heard anyone say 'kattadi' for a ceiling fan. Next thing he asked was for a glass of water from 'isupetti', meaning icebox or refridgerator. It took me a year or so to get used to his language.

Once I was in Eranakulam and stayed for 3 days. Every day on the footpath below my hotel, I saw a bearded young man selling sandaks while leaning on the railing. He was holding the Hindu paper in his hand with a pen. Curious, I peeked and saw that he was working on Hindu Crosswords. The guy had a ragged look, wearing a lungi and a well worn shirt. I got to talking to him and to my astonishment found that he was a double post graduate having Master's degree in English and History. Since he couldn't find a decent job, he got to selling slippers. In his words, "I make at least Rs 3000 a month, so why not? There is a dignity in even this job'. Felt a lot sad that someone with such a nice attitude and qualification had to be jobless.

Then there was this guy in rural Kerala, where me and my father had gone for electrifying the village (my father was an Executive Engineer in State Electricity Board and I used to accompany him as a kid), who steadfastly refused to allow the stay wire of a post which is used to give a counter support to the electric pole to be fixed within his premises. Someone has scared him by telling him that current passes through the stay wire which will endanger his life if touched. No amount of convincing by all of us and even the village elders budged him. His college educated son was so frustrated with him that we had to restrain him from physically harming his father. A real obstinate character if I have ever met one.............. to be contd

Never use a job offer to gain additional benefits in your company

I have always felt strongly about people using a job offer letter to get additional benefits from their present company. This is a common practice these days and has to be condemned. I was planning a post on this when I read this article by Hal Reiter, a Head Hunter in www.rediff.com today. I thought of reproducing it verbatim as the issue has been handled superbly by Reiter.

A few years ago, I recruited an executive to run a mid-level company. The night before he was supposed to start his new job, the executive called to say he was staying put. The board of directors at his current company--a major multinational retailer--had offered to name him CEO in one year's time.

I was aghast, but my former candidate could hardly envision a better scenario. He had leveraged an offer to run a mid-sized company and used it to land the coveted top spot at a retailing giant. No greater career coup exists, right?

Wrong.

After three tumultuous years as CEO, my former candidate was fired. This executive was not yet ready to run such a large organisation. Had he accepted the job at the smaller company, he could have gained the necessary experience to successfully run a major multinational in due time.

Instead, he lured his company into a bidding war and forced the board to make a rash decision about retention in the name of corporate competition. As a result, his career ultimately suffered a mortal blow, not to mention the damage he caused shareholders, who watched their stock drop as a result of his inexperience.

Unable to land another CEO position, he took an early retirement.

In my 25 years of experience, I have learned that accepting a counter-offer is usually career suicide. Watching your boss scramble to keep you may be a heady experience, but in exchange for that sweet moment, you'll have squandered your honour, a sacrifice that will haunt you for many years. Even more troubling, you may never know exactly when or to what extent your reputation has been sullied.

There's a good chance hiring executives might blacklist you from other employment opportunities. Aside from refusing to ever hire you again, executives have long memories and will bad mouth you any chance they get.

I remember sitting on a plane with a group of retail executives when someone mentioned, by name, a seasoned retailer. The group listened intently as one of the executives launched into an unflattering tale of how the employee had used the executive's perfectly good job offer as a bargaining chip for a fat buyback. By being dishonest with one company, the employee harmed his reputation with all of the executives on that flight.

Whenever I deliver a short list for a top job to one of my clients, I feel obligated to mention which potential candidates have accepted buyback offers in the past. Often my client will choose not to proceed with one of these people. Remember: Recruiters never forget a buyback, and computer files help us immensely.

Bosses don't forget either. Initially, the company that retained you delights in winning you back from the competition. But after perhaps six months, management will begin resenting you for essentially extorting money or power from the firm.

A bitter taste of disloyalty lingers. Now you're tacitly expected to perform like a new hire, proving yourself all over again to justify your new salary or position. You had better be up to the task.

Anytime you use a new job offer as a bargaining chip with your boss, there's always a risk you'll lose the bet. Next thing you know, you're sitting in a strange office, having left a trail of ill will in your wake.

To be fair, counter-offers can provide an opportunity for employees to voice issues or concerns about their jobs. When you are recruited for another job, ask yourself: What are the pros and cons of my current position? If the negatives outweigh the positives, you simply must leave. However, you may decide you genuinely like your position, aside from one or two problems, in which case it's time to have an open, honest conversation with your boss--before you accept the offer.

Down the road, such a conversation will be far more valuable if you choose not to force your boss into a buyback offer. You will retain your reputation for honesty, and, in my experience, this will serves you far better than a single raise or promotion ever could.