1 minute Manager

A manager is a person who manages every aspect of a business and its stakeholders. Such a person cannot be a task oriented only since it will create a hostile environment within his people. At the same time, a people person may not extract the work out from his team in the most effective manner. What is a perfect manager like then? Well, this is the dilemma of the author of the One minute manager. In search of a manager who is loved by the sub ordinates for good management style as well as by the supervisors for obtaining results, the author wanders through many corporations and cities and his search ends in a person who is described as follows:

He is a person who does not likes to tell people what they need to think, he tells people what needs to be done, and leaves on them to work out the plan. Of course, he closely monitors the execution in the initial phase so as to get confidence in the plan.
He does not believe in micro management, but he likes to still keep himself aware of the happenings around him on personal as well as professional front.
He likes to set 1 minute goals, the goals which can be listed on paper in a very little time and which enlists the major work areas to focus on. Once a week, he likes to check the progress of his subordinates by having a meeting with them, one on one.
He likes to do 1 minute praising of his people when they do something right and more when it comes at an early stage of the project. This sets his people align towards his common goal and then he does not have to worry much on their progress since they will b self motivated.
He also likes to do 1 minute scoldings when he finds people not working as expected out of them. he also makes a point that it comes at an early stage and gives the right message as in he scolds the work and not the person. Also, he helps the person find the right way and motivates him to do right.
He also likes touch therapy which helps him to give an extra edge in understanding people and vice-versa. By giving 1 minute touch, People get a sense of his being with them at any time.
He believes in doing 1 minute appraisal thereby giving clear idea to his team to focus on the final goal.

In short, he is a person who puts faith in his team and closely monitors them without going into the specifics of micro management, and also giving enough doses of appreciation and scoldings wherever and whenever necessary, thereby motivating his people working for him and working for the common goal.

Saving, Spending and Conserving - An Indian Perspective

To be an Indian and that too from the Marwadi Jain family who has settled in the state of Gujarat is a lethal combination as far as economics go. A person of such an origin can so easily understand and manipulate the financial complexities of any system.

I don't claim that a Ramnik bhai from Gujarat with baniya blood running in his veins will be like a financial superhero or will never be saddened by the economic slowdown, but I do say that the probability of him falling in the clutches of this epidemic will be lesser than any average man. He understands the micro rules of this game with so ease that he does not have to many a times think about what he is playing.
To cite a few examples ( will try to use financial jargons as much as possible), consider these:
-> A stock market does not work only on the chain or ripple effect, technicals and fundamentals of any scrip plays a very important role in it , but he who studies the trend at a microscopic level, gains in short term, despite the fact that a long term investment always pays at the cost of losing liquidity.

-> Ramnik bhai understands that a portion of money needs to be invested in high P/E stocks but a share of money needs to be dynamic, it needs to circulate to earn confidence, happiness and keep going.

-> He understands that times change and that inflation always play a major role in any economy and hence a investment done in present may not sound equally attractive down the line and hence should take a call accordingly.

-> He always believes that the expenditures needs to follow a priority table ascendingly and the ones which are less important need not be made in order to save the money for future.

-> He also understands that a spending economy, till the time it runs glitters but may come to a halt. On the other hand a saving economy does not reap fruit for the generation that sow it, but for the forthcoming ones, Hence he makes a judicious share in both the diverse forms to enjoy as well as to secure himself. I will say he conserves his material gains in a very similar manner as one does with non renewable energy forms.

-> Life isn't about only saving money , one needs to spend it in order to earn it. Its like the universal law of energy. Money is never created nor destroyed, it only transfers from one person to another. It always flows to make a complete circle and the one who is at right place at right time gains from this form of kinetic money.

-> He feels restless when he owes and feels relaxed when he lends.

I would hence say that he very much knows what he has got, always checks his ground and is very much a social person who believes that to stay in the game and that too nicely, he needs to be aware , diligent and insomniac.

Pas de deux

Neither thou become worthy,
Nor great by a mere act-
Of sacrifice & love for those
For whom anyways would have
Thou be such though,
Suffering the turmoil and angst
Kind of known to the soldiers and knights
Thou farther away from oneself

Having met many people who have inspired me, I learned some basic tenets of life. Some of them were conflicting each other, but eventually led me to be a person, I am now. I am aware of the fact that I have just started on this long journey and that there will be many more occasions to write/ edit this post again but today I am again at that point of my life where I do feel blessed and find myself capable of understanding others and more importantly myself.
I know that life is a pas-de-deux but I also understand, that one not be near always to enjoy this. Life can be a blend of separation and rejoice, and one need to enjoy every aspect of both. I know that one cannot wait and watch for things to take shape but at the same time one need to be assured that it would not be a bumpy ride always. It has to be a combination of both, and if it is not, then you not living life to fullest. To enjoy this dance of life, one needs to be aggressive in choosing the option and keep marching ahead without much pondering the past and fearing from future.
For one to gain mastery over the senses, virtues of self restraint, self confidence and foresight is enough and to achieve this, one has to make bold moves and stick to it. Rome was not built in a day, Similarly you would also not gain everything in a blink of an eye.. but Rome did by continuous endeavor, and so would you ..Just be on the right track, may be you see it only after going through couple of wrong ones..but be virtuous enough to chose it when you get one.

Book Review: The Broker

Book Review -> The Broker by John Grisham.

One more masterpiece by the thriller and mystery king Grisham. The broker is the story about an astonishingly successful attorney Joel Backman in Washington DC. The broker as the people in the business circle calls him, used to charge 5K per minute with a new client, before he himself pleaded guilty and sent behind the bars for 14 years. As media said, he was afraid that he will also be killed as his fellow partner Hubbard, an ex Illinois senator and a person with great influence at White house. What was that secret which already took many lives and that forced the broker to go behind the bars for 14 long years.
Well, Grisham is anything but not a science freak at least but here he brings fictitious spy satellites and the hacking software JAM to his resort.Developed by three Pakistanis, the software hacked a spy satellite unknown to many and hence could have reaped fortunes to them if sold to the one who can bid the most. And here comes our broker in picture who known for his contacts in White house, becomes the middle man to sell the software. The negotiations happened with Chinese,Israelis,Arabs along with Americans. The process in turn creates a lot of enemies all of whom wanted to get the same at any cost. The deal went good with Arabs but since others were also chasing it, Hubbard, Joel's partner gets killed in the process and this pushes Joel to go behind the bars for the charges of compromising the US security. Although, he reveals nothing and hence till the time he lives, the secret will also. As anticipated, CIA wants to bail him out and kill him, of course not on his own soil.
The pen picture of old man in his late seventies and about to retire but with ever lasting glory and guts on his side were neatly depicted to describe Teddy Maynard, the CIA director, who convinces the leaving President Morgan to pardon Joel at the 24th hour. This spreads the resting story of the broker after 6 years and Dan Sandberg, a Washington Post veteran with great contacts at every US agency publishes it as a scandal wherein the broker has paid a hefty amount to the president for his pardon.
However, things were completely different for Joel who was shifted to Italy in a town called Travisia with a fake name of Marco Lazzeri.He was then shifted to a slightly bigger University town of Bologna. He was made to learn Italian, which he hated continuously more for his depressive student tutor Ermanno. The perfection with which Grisham draw the pen picture of his characters and the daily routines of their lives and the surroundings is something to be appreciated. Italy will not be more beautiful than what Grisham has depicted through his words. The broker's attempt to learn Italian also leaves Grisham's readers to learn few of it. The concept behind Cappuccino aids in creating a picture of stranger in the foreign country forcing himself to learn it to live or to die. His numerous lunches and dinners at local cafe's and restaurants with Luigi, his CIA sent advisor cum spy also compels one to visit a foreign country and to stay there enough to learn and appreciate its culture and heritage through language and food habits and city guides.
The broker however continues to be a puppet at the hands of CIA till the time he learns the reason behind his pardon and his hiding from everyone including himself. He practically has no family now, his three wives had been nothing lesser than bitches, the only contact he has now is with his ailing mother in CA, and the son Neal Backman, who now is an ordinary lawyer in a small town of Culpeper, VA with no traces of Joel Backman on his career. Gradually, Joel learns that if he continues to live as Marco, he will be dead quite soon. But since he is also aware that he has been watched almost every moment, he cannot act openly. The broker than uses his tricks and techniques that he was quite flamboyant at when in full bloom at work. He makes a University professor, Rudolph his friend and in a uniquely plotted way reaches his son Neal for help. To do so he secretly travels to Milan int'nl Airport and hands a letter to a lady to mail it to Neal's address making her believe that its a greeting card meant for his mother and wants it to reach her before his birthday the next week as he is unable to travel after his passport has been stolen. As the letter deemed, the help comes from Neal, who somewhat perplexed, somewhat anticipated that his old father will contact him sends him a latest web enabled Motorola phone and some 2000 $ cash. Joel, who is not an internet- savvy person soon finds himself learning the new gadget and hiding it at the same time. With an encrypted e-mail account, Joel was able to talk to Neal and eventually plots his escape route. The climax however waits for the new Italian teacher Signorra Ferro who being a serious figure at one hand, is an attractive Italian woman. With the warmth of the company of a woman after 6 years. Joel keeps coming closer enough to Signorra to make her his partner in crime or escape.
Teddy Maynard, with the growing fear of the secret of the JAM software lying beneath the professional brains of the broker from the new president and with the increasing media pressure decides to leak the co ordinates of the broker to those interested before his forced retirement. CIA also tried enough to frighten Joel to get the secret, but he did not break and decided to move on. However, with the Israeli kudon(gang) in Bologna and Arabs, Chinese and Russian also suppossedly arriving soon, the broker is getting more and more worrisome and one evening after the lesson with Signorra, the feeling within is growing more and more panicking. Although, Joel already got admission to Signorra's residence after the nice feat. of rescuing her when met with accident atop the mountain ,since he learnt about her dying husband and her old mother taking care of him, he did not want to put Signorra in trouble by asking for a help. He also had to leak his originals if he wish to ask her any help , which he did not want to at the first instant. However, with his confidence with women, he decided to take this least preferred but only option and told everything about himself. He told her that he is not a Canadian and also that he is innocent enough to be trusted. Signorra already quite captivated by his chasm immediately rose to help him and offered her husband's passport and a leather suitcase and clothes to get dressed to disguise his onlookers. He was pleased to get her help and bid farewell and upon getting asked about his return to the streets of Bologna ever again, he simply told he owe one. Started for Milan, he wanted to reach Zurich, where he would meet his banker. Although the train would have taken him directly to Milan and then any rail/ road/ air connection would have taken him to his destination quickly, he decided not to leave his trail. Started in a bus, hiring a cab halfway, reaching Milan, dressing oddly again to get a 2nd disguised look, taking a train to some small town in Switzerland, getting midway at a small village, spending a short night in a deserted looking hotel, taking a cab to Zurich from there followed as a chain of incidences on his journey to the secret.
Adapted to his profession, he has always liked the quite busy attitude of the city of Zurich. He entered his vault at the bank and took out some cash, the set of CDs containing the software, wired 100K to a new account in DC and got the courtesy help with getting tickets to DC from Munich as asked to his banker. Finally he reached the most awaited moment of his second life and was at Marriott watching White House at a distance. Called his son, Neal and his partner at firm, Prats and an old friend, ex senator and ex head of Intelligence from South Carolina he went on with the entire sequence of events with him since the JAM curse was bestowed and discussed his next move wherein they agreed not to involve CIA but the Intelligence. The senator arranged for the meeting and eventually Joel got rid of the curse of JAM and was a free men now. Enjoyed his dinner with his grand daughter and daughter in law, he lived a moment he longed for when in prison. He got two passports one each for Canada and Australia from Intelligence in return but he never wanted to use them not for his own safety but he had a promise to keep, before he sleep.

Book Review : The Deception Point

Book Review : Deception Point by Dan Brown.

Huhh...8 hours of non stop reading to finish the story from 150th page to 569th..What made me do so...of course I was in clutches of the thrill produced by Brown in this fiction of his. Deception point is an epitome of Politics, Science and drama. Such a nice plot with equally well crafted execution makes it the master piece by the genius.
The story begins with the senator Sedgewick Sexton who is contesting for the presidential race and is giving tough time to the existing idealistic president Zachary Herney on the issue of overspending by NASA. Sexton's daughter Rachel is an Intelligence Analyst at NRO. One morning after returning from a forced visit to her dad, whom she has started disliking more and more owing to his carelessness, selfishness and cheating on her deceased mother, she gets a urgent page to meet William Pickering, the NRO Director. Upon arrival, she learns that the president wants to meet her immediately and has sent him his private jet for transport, Pickering warns her of her political misuse against her father and she too is reluctant. The description of AirForce one, the official Boeing of the PResident of USA is wonderful. Rachel feels awkward at first to meet the president inside his private Boeing, but as she learns that she has to be sent on a special mission, the specifics of which will be revealed only when she arrives, converts her awkwardness into amusement and curiosity. She is transported to the North Pole on a glacier called Milne Ice Shelf. In contrast to her anticipation, she finds the place surrounded by some NASA scientists. The Director of NASA, Lawrence Ekstrom directs her to a group of scientist who will further explain her, her role in a trail.
Michael Tolland, an oceanographer and a well known TV celebrity, thanks to his series- Amazing Seas, greets her and take her inside something made like an observatory where Corky Marlinson, an astrophysicist explains her that NASA has achieved a major breakthrough in the human history by finding a meteorite with fossils of life, hidden inside the Milne Ice Shelf. It was revealed by PODS, a satellite constantly monitoring the globe for signs of large-scale change and the one which was quite in controversy for its mal functioning software and over budgeted expenditures. If proved true, this discovery will bring an end to all doubts on NASA and also the presidential campaign of Senator Sexton. The civilian scientist were appointed by President to confirm the claim made by NASA before she goes into public with the discovery. Norah Magnor, a glaciologist is the only lady scientist of the group of four, the last one being Dr Wailee Ming. Norah crafts the process to extract the rock from the depths of ice and she astoundingly believes that the discovery is truly a breakthrough. However, Rachel is still not clear of her role in this entire picture and suspects that the president might use her in public against her dad.
Dan Brown has so nicely crafted the entire science around this discovery that any layman can understand the physics of meteorite and truly believe to be standing near the meteorite, feeling the traces of life in it. All the scientist are convinced that the rock is authentic and there is no doubt over the NASA claims. President is however cautious with his public appearance and wants someone to convince his staff at White House, the smallest Presidential office of the world, and who better to fit in that role than Rachel Sexton, the Intelligence analyst who has so many times previously edited the information for President. She was convinced that it will be an In house address where she will address his staff about the discovery and she does her job with perfection. At 8 PM the president decided to go air on all channels with the discovery. Tolland has made a documentary to touch base of every aspect of the discovery directly from the center. The Milne Ice shelf is now turned into a studio with media lights all over.
The same noon, in a CNN debate between Senator Sexton and Marjorie Tench, the President's chief adviser, Senator Sexton was trapped to announce in public his complete anti support to NASA and to privatize the same to save dollars for other better purposes like education etc. Gabrielle Ash, the senator's advisor cum secretory who, although guilty on her being in bed with the senator once, is a young black lady with ideals and principles who has joined Sexton as she respected her ideologies. She used to feed Sexton with all the facts about NASA spendings, her source being some stranger whom she never knew before that day when she gets an e-mail to meet her outside the White House.
Gabrielle is taken inside the White House where she learns that her messenger is no one but Trench herself who wants her to go in public with her affair with Sexton in lieu of not publicizing the proofs of the Senator's illegal campaign funding from private space agencies and the pictures of their love. She refuses and seeks comfort in her ABC news editor Yola who advises her to keep silence.
Back there onsite, Dr Ming is suspicious about something that he see in the pit dug to extract the rock, but the moment he tries to prove it, he finds himself dead, drowned into the same pit. The US secret service commando team known as Delta has been assigned the task of keeping the secret behind the meteorite intact.
Soon the other 3 civilian scientist also observe the pit but could not still fathom the truth, Norah Magnor takes the step to prove it along with the 2 other civilians in the crew and Rachel. And here starts the expected Dan Brown Trail. Norah is killed by the same commando, and the other 3 fortunately after quite a hussle escapes from their grip and get rescued by a submarine USS Charlotte. Rachel calls up president to inform him the latest happenings before he can go live to the world but is blocked by his adviser Trench who looks hell suspicious behind guarding the secret. In vain, Rachel calls up Pickering who arranges for their transport to DC to take matter into his hand.
What is that secret and who wants to keep it that way and that too with the security service commandos? Well, the first doubt goes to the President, who desperately wants to prove his NASA spending worth. The other guy can be Lawrence Ekstrom, the NASA director who wants to get his last pride. Marjorie Trench also looks suspicious since he calls up Pickering to keep Rachel out of this and wants to meet him.
The President goes public with the NASA discovery and justifies the worth of PODS. Rachel breathes air since it was not a live defamation of herself with Senator. Although set back, Sexton gains strengths from his allies who feels that the discovery has the element of doubt and that NASA's project leader of PODS, Chris Harper was not much comfortable a person to announce. Soon Gabrielle too is on hunt of truth and plays a remarkable role to get truth out of Harper.
On board of the flight to DC, the three hunters plays a riddle to solve the mystery wherein they conclude that there is something they missing to prove hat the meteorite is an imitation and that the whole story is a deception. Tolland, tries to access his ship crew to talk, wherein he learn that Xavia, his on board marine geologist has something that Tolland has missed in his documentary. With Pickering's orders they successfully divert the route to NJ coast and lands on his ship Goya. There they prove that the meteorite can be nothing but a rock formation at the deepest level of the ocean bed, The fossil is suspected to be a kind of ocean lice, something that is yet to be to be taxanomised and would have got trapped into the rock many years ago and is now fossilized.
At DC, Trench gets killed by Delta who explodes her car and are on their way to Goya to kill the rest. After some brutal fight where one delta commando out of 3 gets killed, finally the master mind has to come in picture. Rachel is shocked but confused about the intention. The NRO director then reveals the entire motive. Although academic, the means to achieve has involved many a killings and betrayals. Pickering is also eventually killed in the combat over Goya.
When Sexton learns the fact about the meteorite through a fax from Rachel, he decided to go in public with it in spite of her daughter being in jeopardy.
Despite Gabrielle's denial, he calls for the media and hands over them the envelopes containing the proofs of the deceit. Although being warned by Rachel, the greed could not let Sexton stop from throwing mud over the president and NASA. But her comes Ms Gabrielle who has lost all her faith in Sexton's ideology and smartly turns the envelopes and replace it with the copies of his illegal transactions with private Space companies, while Sexton was in talks with Rachel. The President also modestly announces the entire story to the public and seeks their forgiveness. The story ends on a love note with Rachel and Tolland spending night together in the famous Lincoln bedroom as the guest of White House.