Can you donate this 1 Rupee?

This message was forwarded to me by a friend. An excellent response by a true Sardar:

"Hello friends!! Well, jayant , my friend, told me the following incident which I wish to share with you. It has had a deep impact on my thinking.

In the diwali vacation, Jayant and his couple of friends had gone to Delhi.
They rented a taxi for local sight-seeing. The driver was an old Sardar, and boys being boys, Jayant and his pals began cracking Sardarji jokes, just to insinuate the old man.
But to their surprise, the fellow remained unperturbed.

At the end of the sight-seeing, they paid up the hire-charges. The Sardar returned the change. Moreover, he gave each one of them one rupee extra and said, (in Hindi, of course),

"Son, since morning you have been telling Sardarji jokes. I listened to them all and let me tell you, some of them were in a very bad taste. Still, I don't mind coz I know that you are young blood and are yet to see the world. But I have just one request. Here I am giving you one rupee each. Give it to the first Sardar beggar that you come across in this city."

Jayant continued," That one rupee coin is still with me. I couldn't find a single Sardar begging on the streets of Delhi."

Friends, we all love sardar jokes. But the fact of matter is that Sikhs are one of the most prosperous and diversified communities in the world. The secret behind their universal success, according to me, is their willingness to do any job with utmost dedication. A Sardar will drive a truck or set up a roadside garage or a dhaba, but he will never beg on the streets.

Finally Monsoon reached Mumbai :-)

From last couple of months Mumbaikars are fighting with the heat with a hope of Monsoon reaching in time. But more worrying is the fact that like previous year, the construction works on road are still underway and looks far from completing.

Every year, Mumbaikar satisfy himself saying that next year it will be better. And just before the monsoon, a fine morning he finds people digging the road. There are people who have learnt to live with that but there are still true Mumbaikars who really worry for the city and want to make it Clean and Green Amchi Mumbai.

One question, every Mumbaikar wants to ask is why BMC or other authorities start reparing the roads just before the start of monsoon?

God was so kind in giving us a warning a week before the monsoon, but instead of completing the work, it is getting delayed.

God bless Mumbai and let's hope and pray that this time we don't face water logging problem.

Team India Does Not Need A Coach, Says New Manager Chandu Borde

India’s new cricket manager and former captain Chandu Borde feels the present team does not need a coach.

The 72-year-old Borde believes that India already has a bowling coach in Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach in Robin Singh and that players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and also Mahendra Singh Dhoni don't require any coaching as such.

“We can have dialogue with them and discuss the strategy and that will help Indian cricket. I am quite confident that these youngsters and the experienced one will combine very well and my job will be to combine and motivate them," Borde was quoted as saying to Cricketnext.com.

Experts feels that BCCI has played the right stroke by appointing Borde, the former selection committee chairman, as the best stop-gap arrangement after Graham Ford refused to take up the Indian job.

Good Idea Sir, coaching is not going to help the players in anyways so why waste so much of money, by paying to coach and in the coach selection meetings.

And the money can be distributed between the players and the BCCI members.

If Manager thinks like this then God bless Indian Cricket

South African Graham Ford Wants To Reconsider Coaching India If The BCCI Invites Him Again

The Graham Ford tale has once again taken another U-turn. In a new twist, South African Ford on Wednesday disclosed that he might reconsider taking up the India coaching job if the BCCI decides to invite him again.

Reports indicated on Wednesday that Ford had not completely ruled out coaching India but did not want to take a decision in haste. So, then what he wants... making fun of BCCI who is already under fire because of his refusal to take up the job.

He said that the BCCI did not give him enough time to decide on the matter, and he had to take all aspects into consideration before taking on the job, zeecric.com reported. So, how much time he wants, hopefully not after the next world cup ;-)

Graham Ford was quick to point out that with two tough tours of India – Ireland and England coming up, he did not want to mar his reputation by just getting 15 preparatory days before the team’s departure. He can take 15 years, still you will not find any improvement if the BCCI continue working in same way.

Ford on his present stance, said that he was watching and waiting. He could also take a U-turn on the issue. He can also go to Ireland and England to watch Indian cricket live (did I say only as spectator)... ;-)

A tight slap to BCCI by Graham Ford

Former India cricketer Kirti Azad has termed the recent snubbing of India coaching job by South African Graham Ford as a slap on the Board of Control for Cricket India.

"The way the wiseacres went about the coach’s selection was bizarre to say the least. The Board did not do its homework on Ford. The working committee should have asked him to talk to his present employer (Kent) prior to making the announcement. The entire turn of events smacks of the BCCI’s incompetence," Azad was quoted as saying to cricketnext.com.

Azad said BCCI has always been a laughing stock in world cricket.

Meanwhile, former India coach Madan Lal said that BCCI erred in not nominating more candidates for the position.

“Dav Whatmore could have been called for a presentation along with five other candidates. We would have had more options," Lal added.

Although Ford's separation from his employers Kent was thought to be a mere formality by the BCCI it found out that it wasn’t to be after board’s secretary Niranjan Shah said: "It has been cleared. Ford wants to speak to Kent and he will inform us in the next 24 hours."

Ex-opener Chetan Chauhan said the BCCI had "made a mistake" as they should have confirmed Ford's availability before inviting him for the interview.

Former India captain and coach Ajit Wadekar blamed the Board for the embarrassing situation.
"I think we have made ourselves a laughing stock. Without getting to know his availability, what he has in mind, or whether he wanted to accept it or not. We should have checked all that," said Wadekar.

"We should have checked it up before we took the decision. We should have given him time before announcing his appointment immediately. We should have given him a couple of days to think it over. I think that's how generally we do it," he said.

And if BCCI knew that after Ford’s selection, he needs to speak with Kent and has given 24 hours time then why the announcement has been done in such a hurry.

World’s richest Cricket Body is working in a very unprofessional way.

Working committee to meet on Tuesday
With Kent-based South African Graham Ford declining to take up India coaching job, the BCCI has found itself in a big dilemma.

Stunned by Ford’s disclosure on turning down the offer to coach India on Kent’s website on Monday, the BCCI's Working Committee now meets in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the Ford fiasco.

It now seems that BCCI will have to start the process of selecting a new coach all over again.
At a press conference, the BCCI treasurer, Mr Srinivasan while reacting to Ford’s refusal, said: "Mr Ford had informed the BCCI's Working Committee that it was only a matter of informing us as to when he would be able to join. Therefore the Board announced that they had selected him."

Graham Ford refused to take up the challenge of coaching Team India

Earlier, the Indian cricket board on Monday received a major set back after South African Graham Ford declined to coach the Indian team just two days after he was appointed to take up the job.
Although Ford had gone back to Kent to seek permission from the county where he is the director of cricketer, his last minute stance to decline the offer has certainly taken the BCCI by a big surprise.

Ford's current employers Kent County Cricket Cricket Club wrote on their official website that their Director of Cricket had rejected the offer to take up the toughest job in world cricket.
"I am very grateful to the Club for allowing me to go to India to find out more about the job of coaching the Indian Team. I have had a chance to reflect on the offer made by the BCCI and their urgency to fill the vacant position," Ford stated in a letter to Kent.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to continue my work here at Kent. This has been a really difficult decision. I am honoured that India have shown such interest in my capabilities, but feel that this is the right decision for me and my family," Ford added, wishing to continue working with the English county side.

Graham Johnson, Kent’s Chairman of Cricket was happy to have retained Ford's services.
"This is really great news for Kent cricket. We are delighted Graham has decided to stay with us. I would like to say how much we appreciate the way Graham has handled the last few days," Johnson said.

When the BCCI decided to name a new coach there were just two candidates for the post with South Africa Ford and former England off-spinner John Emburey being the incumbents.

Brainstorming Process

Brainstorming with a group of people is a powerful technique. Brainstorming creates new ideas, solves problems, motivates and develops teams. Brainstorming motivates because it involves members of a team in bigger management issues, and it gets a team working together. However, brainstorming is not simply a random activity. Brainstorming needs to be structured and it follows brainstorming rules. The brainstorming process is described below, for which you will need a flip-chart or alternative. This is crucial as Brainstorming needs to involve the team, which means that everyone must be able to see what's happening. Brainstorming places a significant burden on the facilitator to manage the process, people's involvement and sensitivities, and then to manage the follow up actions. Use Brainstorming well and you will see excellent results in improving the organization, performance, and developing the team.


Note: Advanced 'Kaleidoscope Brainstorming' technique is discussed in the later part of this document.


Brainstorming Process

Following are the conventional brainstorming process principles:

* Define and agree the objective.
* Brainstorm ideas and suggestions having agreed a time limit.
* Categorise/condense/combine/refine.
* Assess/analyse effects or results.
* Prioritise options/rank list as appropriate.
* Agree action and timescale.
* Control and monitor follow-up.


Following will explain the above processes in detail:


Plan and agree the brainstorming aim

Ensure everyone participating in the brainstorm session understands and agrees the aim of the session (eg, to formulate a new job description for a customer services clerk; to formulate a series of new promotional activities for the next trading year; to suggest ways of improving cooperation between the sales and service departments; to identify costs saving opportunities that will not reduce performance or morale, etc). Keep the brainstorming objective simple. Allocate a time limit. This will enable you to keep the random brainstorming activity under control and on track.

Manage the actual brainstorming activity

Brainstorming enables people to suggest ideas at random. Job of facilitator is to encourage everyone to participate, to dismiss nothing, and to prevent others from pouring scorn on the wilder suggestions (some of the best ideas are initially the daftest ones - added to which people won't participate if their suggestions are criticised). During the random collection of ideas the facilitator must record every suggestion on the flip-chart. Sticky tape can be used to hang the sheets around the walls. At the end of the time limit or when ideas have been exhausted, use different coloured pens to categorise, group, connect and link the random ideas.

Condense and refine the ideas by making new headings or lists. Facilitator can diplomatically combine or include the weaker ideas within other themes to avoid dismissing or rejecting contributions (remember brainstorming is about team building and motivation too - you don't want it to have the reverse effect on some people). With the group, assess, evaluate and analyse the effects and validity of the ideas or the list. Develop and prioritise the ideas into a more finished list or set of actions or options.


Implement the actions agreed from the brainstorming

Agree what the next actions will be. Agree a timescale, who's responsible. After the session circulate notes, monitor and give feedback. It's crucial to develop a clear and positive outcome, so that people feel their effort and contribution was worthwhile. When people see that their efforts have resulted in action and change, they will be motivated and keen to help again.

Below are various tools and models which can be used within the brainstorming process, to build and create a context for brainstorming, and a framework for brainstorming actions. When using any of these tools or models within the brainstorming process, select models appropriate to the group, and the desired development and outcomes for the brainstorming session:

SWOT analysis - for assessing the strength of a company, department, proposition or idea.

PEST analysis - for measuring the attractiveness and potential of a market.

The McKinsey Seven-S's - criteria for a successful company.

Adizes corporate life-cycle model - phases of company development

Delegation model - successful task delegation and staff development through delegation

Tuckman's group development model - forming, storming, norming, performing

Kolb's learning styles - for training the trainers, coaching the coaches, and management development

Leadership attributes - for developing leadership among managers

Negotiation process - for sales and commercial staff and optimising on profitable outcomes and customer relationships

Cherie Carter-Scott's rules of life - behaviour and attitude development and soft skills development

The Four Agreements - behaviour and attitude development and soft skills development


Kaleidoscope Brainstorming Process

Kaleidoscope brainstorming process is advance brainstorming technique for problem-solving, team-building and creative process is also called 'Silent Brainstorming' - developed by Dr KRS Murthy of Nisvara Inc, and the contribution of this model is gratefully acknowledged. Dr Murthy also refers to the brainstorming technique as 'Multiple Mind Conferencing'. Kaleidoscope Brainstorming, Dr Murthy suggests, not only produces vastly more ideas than conventional brainstorming, but also acts at a deep level to build teams and harmonious work groups.

As with the basic brainstorming process the facilitator has a big responsibility to manage the activity, people's involvement and sensitivities, and then to manage the follow up actions. Use Brainstorming well and you will see excellent results in improving the organization, performance, and developing the team. It is useful to review the Johari Window concept and Johari model diagram while studying the Kaleidoscope Brainstorming technique, and when using the process. This is because much of the value of this concept lies in developing awareness of self, others, and what others think of themselves.


Kaleidoscope brainstorming technique

Have you attended any brain storming sessions in your life? The sessions are normally run by a facilitator, who introduces the purpose of the session to the participants, explains the ground rules and coordinates the process. A note taker or scribe may be used to document all the ideas generated in the session. Generally, the session is open to any ideas. Important guideline is that no idea is too simple, stupid or wild.

Kaleidoscope advance brainstorming techniques are applicable to any subject or situation, and any type of forum where people can work as a group, including internet-based conferencing and communications. This is a new approach to the brainstorming process, including different variations as to its use.
Dr Murthy regards 'Kaleidoscope Brainstorming' (KBS) or Multiple Mind Conferencing (MMC) as a "...Romantic interplay between silence and interaction.... a heavenly marriage of thesis and antithesis…"

The process makes efficient use of silence and communication, which are interleaved in the brainstorming session. The various degrees and modes of silence and communication effectively use as 'tools' in the Kaleidoscope brainstorming approach. Notably the power of silence is used to supplement the communications-oriented parts of the session.

The technique may seem 'anti-thematic' at the first glance. However, the intention is to make the brainstorming process more 'holistic', by exploiting the different modes and degrees of silence, absence of communication and a variety of communication and interaction.


1. Initial ideas generation brainstorming session

The session should start with a facilitator detailing the process steps used for the particular session. The session is conducted in a normal fashion with the participants speaking out their ideas in a round robin or random fashion for an agreed period. The facilitator can use any normal brainstorming format for this session. It is a good idea to use a format that is comfortable for the facilitator and the participants.


2. Silent brainstorming session

The silent brainstorming session stage requires all team members or participants to stop talking, and to think of ideas, but not speak out. The facilitator can ring a bell or use another method to indicate the start and end of this part of the exercise. Ideas are to written down by each brainstorming participant. In addition, the participants must guess the ideas that others may be thinking and writing down. Ideally participants should guess the ideas of the other participants for each person, one after the other. For example, if the participants are A, B, C, D, E, F and G, then A would not only write his or her ideas, but also afterwards guess what B, C, D, E, F, and G may have as their ideas. Participants should do this using deep thinking, and base their guesses on the manner that other participants answered during the first speaking part of the session. Participants should be encouraged to think how each of the other participants' minds are working - to empathise, to 'put themselves in the other person's shoes' - as a method of guessing as intuitively and accurately as possible. 'Think how the other person will be thinking' is the sort of guidance that the facilitator can give.

At this stage what's happening is that each participant is coming up with ideas from their own perspective of how each of the other participants is thinking. All participants work on this stage of the session at the same time. You can imagine the multiplicity of ideas and perspectives that this stage produces.

Each participant should logically end up with a list of ideas alongside, or below, the names of each participant, including themselves. After a reasonable period, when it is clear that participants have completed their lists, the facilitator can ring the bell again, indicating the end of the silent brainstorming stage.


3. Presentation of brainstorming ideas session

In this session, each of the delegates reads out or shows their own ideas and also their best guesses of the ideas for others. The presentation made by A would look like the following:

Ideas generated by A
Guess of ideas of B
Guess of ideas of C
Guess of ideas of D
Guess of ideas of E
Guess of ideas of F
Guess of ideas of G

During A's presentation, others simply listen. In turn each delegate gives a similar presentation. It is best if there is no discussion during the presentations. The facilitator should encourage delegates to make notes which people can raise later.


4. Discussion of brainstorming ideas session

The presentations are followed by a detailed discussion session. In this session, the participants may discuss why and how they guessed about others. Each participant can also comment on the guesses of the other participants, and validate or clarify. The highlights and conclusions resulting from discussion should be noted by the facilitator or an appointed 'scribe'. The individual participants can be encouraged also make their own notes, which might for example contain their mental models and appropriate revisions of the creative thinking process of others. In this sense the activity helps open hidden areas of awareness (self and others), which in turn promotes better understanding, relationships, communications, team-building and co-operation.


5. Further silent and speaking sessions - the kaleidoscope effect

Further sessions can repeat and extend the silent session so that participants increase the depth and complexity of their thinking still more. Specifically participants should now think about and guess how other delegates are thinking about the ideas of others. This again is done silently, together. Each delegate will be thinking in deeper levels about each of the other participant's thinking. These complexities of thinking result, for example:

A is thinking and noting down of any of his/her own new ideas
A is also (as in stage 4) thinking afresh about and noting down any thoughts as to what B, C, D, E, F and G are thinking.

And, A is now additionally thinking of what B is thinking of A, C, D, E, F and G, plus what C is thinking of A, B, D, E, F and G, and so on.

Obviously the exercise at this stage has expanded massively. From a simple individual brainstorming activity involving say seven people and seven sets of personal ideas (seven perspectives), the session has expanded to entail seven people each considering six other people's thoughts about the ideas of six other people's ideas (that's 242 perspectives!).

Clearly it is not reasonable to expect delegates to formulate 242 lists, so it is useful to place certain limits on people's activities, which can include for example:

* Allowing delegates to leave blanks against certain delegates names.
* Limiting the number of ideas required to be guessed for each delegate
* Stating a maximum number of perspectives
* Allocating responsibility to each delegate to think about certain named delegates
* And in any event giving a time limit for each stage of the activity

As with any team building or team working activity, the facilitator needs to be able to assess progress and to adapt, adjust and give clarifying or steadying guidelines during the activity to maintain the group's focus and effectiveness.

At the fifth stage, all participants will in their own way be thinking in a highly complex fashion. The participants mind are acting as mirrors creating multiple reflections of each other, rather like the few small objects inside a kaleidoscope creating wonderful arrays and patterns.

It is easy to imagine how using this process the number of ideas generated are many times more than when using normal brainstorming techniques.

Dr Murthy reports that typically after a number of Kaleidoscope Brainstorming sessions a group experience an 'asymptotic approximation of their thinking process'. (Asymptotic refers to the 'asymptotic' effect whereby two or more things increasingly converge as if to become joined and together, but never actually join or become one). He says this is enabled by successive convergence and cross-fertilization among a group or team of each members thinking process, thoughts and ideas. He adds interestingly that groups ultimately do not need to be talking to each other for their minds to be conferencing with each other. In fact, they can be as far geographically apart as they need to be for their routine life, but still efficiently conferencing and in tune with each other.

Dr Murthy adds: "The most important aspect is the discipline developed by the silent brainstorming paradigm. Regular teams or 'virtual' teams can be brought together to practice this technique. It is a good idea for the team members to branch out and form new groups with new members to extend the practice. It is also a good idea to have new members or visitors to the Kaleidoscope Brainstorming team inducted routinely. Diversity of backgrounds is the key to freshness of ideas. True diversity in gender, age, ethnic background, educational levels, race, and personality types will ensure Brainstorming teams and activities are kept as fertile as possible. It is like any ecological system. Stability of a Kaleidoscope Brainstorming team ecology is good, but as well, aberrations and perturbations can guarantee long-term growth."