He writes…

About 6 months back, my domestic water pump stopped working. I called a local plumber to check with the problem and it turned out that it needed a valve replacement. As usual, the plumber replaced it with a new valve and in no time, it was up running perfectly fine. Of-course at a dear cost of Rs 400.

To my disappointment, the problem re-occurred last week. Based on the plumbing expertise I had acquired by them, It seemed obvious that the valve needed a replacement, yet again.

This time, I decided to hire a different plumber who lives two blocks away from my place. It wasn’t a surprise that he identified the problem was with the defective valve. He told me about the choices I had for the replacement valve. He even demonstrated a couple of them to me. There was this rust proof stainless steel valve and a manually operated brass valve. He reasoned this recurring problem to those cheap cast-iron valve that was earlier used. To me, it sounded more pretentious.

I was given a choice to use another cast-iron valve, which would workout cheap or a steel valve which is a little more expensive but had a longer life span. The brass valve wasn’t a choice, it was too expensive, beyond reasons. As he was fixing the steel valve, he mentioned about this new automatic water level controller that was in the market. He elaborated, that one of the reasons for these valves to go wrong was water level going below threshold. And, using this water level controller will further protect from this kind of breakdown. It looked natural for me to put off the conversation. He also mentioned about the worn-out spindle that he noticed while repairing. He was suspicious about a possible pump breakdown in a few more months.

So, that’s about it. He gave me his contact number offering to service if required in future. The pump was again up running fine with another expense of Rs 200 this time.

There were a few things I notice here, worth mentioning. I feel, the key to run a successful next-gen business is the surprise factor. To what extend a business can positively surprise its customers. Now, I am referring to the service that must exceed the customer’s expectation. In this case, all I needed was a valve replacement to get the pump running. But, this plumber took the extra effort to tell me about the choices I had. If I was to spend on any kind of service, I wouldn’t expect anything less.

Another thing to notice here is the business diversification. He might have lost some business by installing a stainless steel valve, but definitely increased the chances of selling an automatic water level controller. He was diversifying his business by offering me to buy this equipment. And, who wouldn’t let go some pea-nut earnings for a bigger piece.

And, all this at a 50% price cut. Pricing plays a crucial role in business sustainability. Neither underpricing nor overpricing will get the business going. The secret is to strike the balance.

The fact that he told about this worn-out spindle is again a service experience that exceeds expectation. This again might get him more business in future. More reasons for me to keep his contact number though.

At the end of it all, its clear that customers these days are ready to experiment in unconventional ways, not much like there predecessors. They are willing to walk that extra mile, if its worth it. Gone are the days when service had to be worth every penny. Now, it must be worth more than it. And all it takes for the businesses is to tender it in an effective way. This, is what I call Business 2.0, more for less. I wont promise to use the same plumber again. But, his number has definitely made a place in my contact book.

I have a three year old nephew. He is one of the most notorious kids, I have seen around. He meddles with everything thats in his reach. One way or the other, he manages to get his hands on the forbidden things (Scissors, Blade etc). Now, you should see him when his mom takes them back from him. He stiffens his lips, tightens his fist and brings his eyebrows together. One lion roar, and his mom is forced to compensate with a pack of chocolates.

Its amazing what anger can do to you. At the lowest level, the source of anger is helplessness. Does this mean angry people are week..? I dont believe so. Anger in itself is a strength, as patience is.

Well, then I though about my nephew again. Less than a year back, he wouldnt counter on resisting his mischiefs at all. It looked as if he silently accepted what was told. So, I was wondering if anger comes to you at a later point in time. Is it not hardwired into us..? is it induced externally..? I looked out for answers. And to my surprise, I found that anger, like happiness or sadness is a primary emotion that comes by birth. Sacrificing one’s own pleasure is also a way of showing passive anger.

As we all know, anger is an important defense mechanism in animals. Humans, sometimes use it as a manipulative strategy. As with any emotion, displaying anger can be exaggerated. Generally, a person who displays anger is regarded as more powerful than their counterparts who are more soft and submissive. To me, it seems anger is not as bad as it sounds. When used at right time in right places, it can be a lot more productive. Now you know, why your boss behaved so arrogantly in that meeting, before he walked up to you smiling in the cafeteria.

Anger also has dangerous effects. If not controlled, it can drive people crazy. A majority of crimes that we read day-to-day, happens in anger. Interestingly, displaying anger by yelling at or by verbally abusing is considered far better than piling up the emotion secretively and bursting out at once causing physical harm to others. Suppressing anger can be harmful for oneself. Like all other emotions, anger has to be displayed when felt.

Anger can cause disasters as much as it can cause miracles. I dont know whats right or wrong for my nephew. He could grow into an angry boss or a subtly manipulative subordinate. But, one thing is for sure, everyone find there own ways out to lead a happy, or should I say a balanced life.

It could be a media stunt or it could be a genuine concern, but all I can see is a group of people accusing one person for expressing his/her opinion. Be it Taslima Nasreen or Shashi Tharoor, they are in news for one reason or another. But, mostly for the wrong ones.

What good can a free country offer to its citizens, if it doesn’t allow one to exercise a fundamental right, freedom to speech. I was wondering why people blame these guys for nothing more than expression of personal opinions. Are we deprived of this fundamental right..? What good does it make to call oneself a free man, if he isn’t allowed to even speak freely.

As usual, I decided to dig upon this. First thing I realized was not to generalize the idea and to analyze it case on case basis.

I decided to start with facts about Shashi Tharoor and his much discussed tweets. what makes his opinions so much more important than other’s. Yes, of course he is a very important person, the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs. I researched to find if ministers have legal exceptions in the fundamental rights. Well, I guess not. I Looked into the definition of ‘Democracy’, the political framework our country runs on. It clearly says that, in a democratic country, people are represented by one person they have collectively chosen. Which I think, I can safely take as an evidence to say, Shashi Tharoor is a representative of people which in turn implies that his opinions represent people’s opinions. Now, if a minister has to speak an opinion, it definitely has to be in terms with that of the people he represents. Otherwise, you better choose silence.

Yet another case I was interested in was Taslima’s controversial article. she is only a writer and doesn’t represent any group, formally or informally. Then, why should she not speak freely.

I found this,

Article 19 clause 2. (Constitution of India)

” Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence. ”

The word to look for in this Article is ‘public order’.

Which means that anybody can speak anything they want unless what they say leads to a public disturbance. One can be legally deprived of the freedom to speech if his/her speech affects public order. So thats it, Taslima is legally in fault for expressing something that led to public disturbance.

Finally, all I could say is, the rules can be taken for refuge or for an armlock. But, as a responsible citizen, everyone is morally bound to speak about what is socially acceptable (I wont promise you publicity for this though). When someone is addressing a group of people, he/she is directly or indirectly affecting their collective opinions.

So, listen all you big mouths, we are all ears…

Plans are nothing; planning is everything — Dwight D. Eisenhower
Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential — Winston Churchill

I remember my college days when we friends used to plan for every small activity, be it to watch a movie or just to meet up on a snooker game. And, It often ended up with one of them say sadly, “planning never works, macha”. And it mostly turned out to happen so, we seldom followed our plans.

During the last weekend, I visited a cousin of mine. She has been managing projects in quite a few IT companies for more than a decade now. On a casual talk, she asked me about my job, my career and of course, when I planned to en-cash these (the M-word has been following me since quite some time). Like, one of those MBA newbies who is obsessed with big management fundas, I explained her my plans in “detail”. To my surprise, what did I hear from her… “Planning never works”, rest is story. All that came to my mind was that, the phrase hadn’t changed much since my college days.

On the same evening, I was watching Discovery Channel at home and there was this series called Mega Builders being telecast at that time. This made me think… If, planning didn’t work, would it be possible for these bunch of guys to build a luxury hotel in Ice, and all this in a matter of few days. At such tough conditions with varying temperatures, how would it be possible to build this without a plan.

Ok then, if such is the importance of planning, why do I often hear this phrase “Planning never works”. Could this phrase have a subjective meaning..? Could it change with the context..? I dont know… I could be wasting my time…

Like all petty things, this struck to my head for a while. After googling for some time, I think, I have a vague idea of what planning might actually mean. Planning is more process oriented than it is result oriented. It helps simulate the process mentally so that any possible obstacle can be foreseen. It is a demonstration of one’s inclination towards achieving the goal, a desire for results. A good plan on paper will always help, in getting a Bird’s-eye view of the problem which otherwise might be impossible. Well, practicing what is planned is equally important, otherwise all the plans will go to trash. A plan can change over time but the goal doesn’t.

Finally, my cousin convinced me. She said, I could “plan” to use my horoscope now or postpone it for some-more time. But, the goal is to surrender for the good. And, the sooner it is, the better it is… I am still thinking… 😉