"WHERE KNOWLEDGE IS WEALTH"

Monday, June 20, 2011

“Do You Believe in Luck?” - Professor M.S.Rao

"The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward through the night" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


When I was doing work out at gymnasium, an young man approached and asked me a question, “Dear Professor! People often say ‘do your duty but don’t look for rewards’. Don’t you think it is a contradictory statement as we work only for results? Could you explain?” I smiled and said as follows:

I complimented for asking a good question and probably many youth may have this query in their minds. Lord Krishna said, “Action is the duty reward is not thy concern.” That means man has to put in his efforts consistently without focusing too much on results as focusing too much on results diverts his mind from putting in efforts. Man gets discouraged when encountered with failures as he is more concerned about results than efforts. Besides, for some people success comes early while for some people success comes late. Hence, our duty as human beings is to put in efforts regularly without getting unduly worried about success. When I explained in this way the young man smiled and said, “Thank you Professor for clearing my long overdue query.”

People often talk about ‘luck’ when someone achieves something. They ignore the hard work put in by the successful individual. The truth is that there are two forces that govern any individual. First is internal force and second is external force. Man has to put in his best efforts to achieve the desired goals and objectives. However, the external forces often hinder in achieving success. When external forces favor, man can reach his tipping point. That external force is nothing but ‘luck’. However, if you don’t work hard and achieve success due to the favorable so-called external forces such as ‘luck’ your success will not last long enough. Hence, keep doing your best without looking for results and returns, and, over a period of time success will touch your toes. Here is a caution! The higher you achieve higher the humility you must possess otherwise the success doesn’t have any meaning.

Good luck and keep putting in your efforts!


Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.



© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.
This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

“Are You Regretting At Your Deathbed?” - Professor M.S.Rao

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain


Imagine you were 80 years at your death bed and if you regretted that you did not endeavor and achieve anything in your life it would be more painful than encountering failures during your lifetime. In fact, man’s biggest mistake lies in not attempting anything during his lifetime and regretting during old age. Most of the people have regrets at the end of their careers or lives for not having done certain things in the past. Probably they failed to do things due to their negligence or external constraints.

No one loves to go old, but we cannot avoid as life is a cycle of birth, growth and death. According to Hindu philosophy there are three people who sustain human life that is Lord Brahma - the creator, Lord Vishnu – the generator and Lord Shiva – the destroyer.

To avoid regrets in your later part of life, plan now itself, execute effectively and accomplish whatever is possible. You must develop the habit of doing things regularly without postponing things. In fact, procrastination is the thief of time. People are expected to do certain things at certain stages of life. Failure to do so leads them to regrets at deathbed. Besides, people must not do certain things that trouble them during their old age. They must be careful in what they do. They must do with a right attitude to grow and help others grow during their prime age.

It is rightly said, “Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be. Because you only have one life and one chance to do it all.”
Life is very short. Make it sweet. Do what best you can. Leave no room for regrets later on. Manage your time properly and deliver the goods consistently. Do things regularly without postponing. Remember one thing in your life, if you waste one second you waste one second of your precious life. Therefore, make your life meaningful by balancing your personal, professional and social life.

It is a fact that young man looks at the future, middle aged man looks at the present and the old man looks at the past. Hence, give a direction to your life and a meaning to your life. If you want to leave this world peacefully do your best, give your best and make a difference in the lives of others as we are not sure of another life. Albert Pike rightly noted, “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”




Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.


© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.

This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Monday, June 13, 2011

“Dear Teachers! Are You Learning from Your Students?” - Professor M.S.Rao

“I am here to teach you whatever I know and learn whatever you know.” – Professor M.S.Rao, Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India


Good teachers are great learners. They learn from all sources so as to teach effectively for their students. Ego doesn’t prevent them learning from their students as well. These days students are much smarter than teachers as they think unconventionally and handling such students has become a major challenge for teachers. Because of the exposure to technology and the availability of information at the click of mouse students have accessibility to more information. As a result, their expectations have gone up. And they want more from their teachers. The conventional teachers read the books, prepare for classes and teach students. Students don’t appreciate such teachers currently as they expect more from teachers and that too beyond books. As a result, teachers have to do lot of research and produce the material that is unknown to students so that they can stand firmly on their feet and command respect from students.

I have a student, Ashwin who attends my management sessions. He is working at middle level management and joined management course to hone his skills and abilities. He has lot of ideas and shares with me. I encouraged him to share such valuable information in the classroom in the presence of other students so that they are benefited out of it. Since Ashwin hails from a prestigious company with good amount of experience he has his own anecdotes to share. He was excited with my encouragement and started sharing his experiences. The students began enjoying his experiences and anecdotes and I also encouraged other students to share their corporate experiences.

Currently my students began enjoying my teaching sessions as it has become interactive with experiences of other experienced students. Hence, teachers must encourage students to come forward and share their ideas and insights as it builds leadership qualities among students and generates more knowledge. Above all, teachers must have open mind to listen and learn from their students without false-ego for the overall benefit of students.


Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.


© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.

This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Monday, June 6, 2011

“Do You Sharpen Your Saw Regularly?” - Professor M.S.Rao

"As long as you love and learn, you are young. The day you stop loving and learning you become old." – Professor M.S.Rao, Founder, MSR Leadership Consultants, India


Students often think that they can say “good bye” to education once they switch from academic life to corporate life. But the fact is that the real learning starts from corporate world. Whatever students have learnt academically puts them on the corporate ladder. However, in order to survive in the corporate world they must work smart to acquire and hone new skills and abilities. Besides, they must also sharpen their skills continuously to race ahead of others.

Marshall Goldsmith in his book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There How Successful People Become Even More Successful” emphasizes on sharpening skills. People often get complacent with success and don’t improve within the organizations. It proves costly in their later part of life as their peers and subordinates would outsmart them professionally. What worked to reach the present position might not work to reach the future position. Hence, there is constant need to improve and grow in this world. In addition, Stephen R Covey emphasizes sharpening saw in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The successful people have the habit of sharpening their saws constantly. They learn and grow continuously.


Tips to Sharpen Your Saw

Improvement is important and is an essential ingredient for all individuals. They must improvise, innovate and invigorate constantly to sharpen their saws. Here are the tips to sharpen your skills:

• Have an appetite for learning. Learn from everyone without any false-ego.
• Invest a part of your earnings for learning and development.
• Daily invest your time for reading. As you take food for your survival you need to read daily to update and sharpen your skills.
• Learn from mistakes. We all make mistakes. But recognizing and realizing mistakes help us prevent mistakes in future thus enhancing our success rate.
• Strive for excellence, not perfection as perfection is mere impossible. Striving to be at your best gives you great satisfaction and motivates you to move forward.
• Above all, share your knowledge as knowledge grows when shared. The more you share the more pleasure you derive out of it. You will be happy to see people growing in front of you with your knowledge.


Conclusion

“The illiterates of the 21st century are the people who cannot unlearn, relearn and learn.” - Alvin Toffler

The rapid growth in technology has compelled people to perform. Failing to do so lead them to getting oblivion. There is no meaning to life if there is no continuous value addition. Hence, learn from everybody and from all sources to sharpen your skills not only to stay healthy but also to stay ahead of others.



Professor M.S.Rao
Founder and Chief Consultant,
MSR Leadership Consultants, India
Blog: http://profmsr.blogspot.com
Where Knowledge is Wealth
Email: profmsr7@gmail.com



Dear readers,

I would appreciate your comments about this article.


© 2011 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved.

This is an educational blog for free sharing of knowledge, not for commercial use. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://profmsr.blogspot.com This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Endorsement by Dave Ulrich, Co-Founder, The RBL Group for Professor M.S.Rao's book, "Soft Leadership - Make Others Feel More Important

Dear bloggers,

Dave Ulrich is kind enough to write foreword for my upcoming leadership book, "Soft Leadership - Make Others Feel More Important". Here is the endorsement given by him for this book.

“Professor M.S.Rao is a devoted and caring teacher. In the most noble sense of teaching, he invests in his students intellectual and emotional well being. His personal commitment to being a soft leader allows him to be an example that others can draw on to recognize, learn, and master leadership with a caring heart. He has written the book titled, ‘Soft Leadership – Make Others Feel More Important’ from the heart of a soft leader to the hearts of those aspiring to lead the new world in a new way. His work helps show how to make abundance happen through Soft Leadership.” – Dave Ulrich, Co-Founder The RBL Group