25 HOURS AND THREE BALLS by Rajesh Soundararajan SMASHWORDS EDITION * * * * * PUBLISHED BY Rajesh Soundararajan on Smashwords * * * * * 25 HOURS AND THREE BALLS Copyright © 2011 by Rajesh Soundararajan * * * * * SMASHWORDS EDITION LICENSE NOTES This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work. * * * * * DEDICATED TO Lavanya, Vimala and TG Soundararajan * * * * * FOREWORD It has been my long time wish to help people be more successful. I have seen through career that people have the skills, competencies and experiences and yet they underestimate their own potential. Often times, they are looking for simple new tricks to make them successful. I maintain a blog aspire2be that urges you to ‘dare to dream’. For dreams define your aspirations and aspirations sculpt your character. Character determines the person you are and the person you will be. Happy reading! * * * * * CONTENTS Part 1 – Getting To The Top 8 Start Your Own Firm Get Your Dream Job, Not Any Job Always Take The Job That Offers The Most Money Be A Profit Centre, Avoid Staff Jobs. Get Closer To Your Customer. Be A Salesman. Do Not Be A Paper Pusher, Push Ideas. Give Zest To Your Hello One Nasty Email Can Seal Your Career. Learn Email Basics First: Pass The Test Wave Your Company’s Flag; Be Its Spokesperson Make Your Boss Shine Like A Star Part 2 – Accelerate Progress Treat All People As Special. Temper Your Temper Overpay Your People Don’t Build Empires And Fiefdoms. Follow The Footsteps Of Your Boss! Avoid Office Politics Avoid Travelling With Your Bosses! Add Fuel To The Fire! Don’t Hide The Elephant. Learn Differentiated Decision Making. Manage By Moving Away Part 3 – Staying There For Your Life’s Sake, Have A Goal Learn To Juggle The Three Balls. Only Bet On Yourself! Be An Active Listener Have Fun@Work Be An Icon! What Do I Want To Be? Practice Multitasking Manufacture The 25th Hour Each Day Keep Physically Fit. Always Take Vacations. Do Something Hard And Lonely Master The Rules Of Time Realize Your Dream – In Three Steps Make Your Life A Masterpiece PART 1 – GETTING TO THE TOP START YOUR OWN FIRM To many this thought might unsettle a bit. Others may ponder a bit and give it a thought. And for those who wish to continue working the rest of the articles will continue to help. A formal employment gives, or at least is supposed to give three things: • Job security • Identity with a name card with title and a company name • Monthly cash flow to sustain living expenses and/ or to create assets. Job security: The very fact of closure of Lehman and lay-offs by GM, Microsoft and IBM in 2008 only questions the very hypothesis of job security as it exists in salaried jobs today. Identity: a business card and title does give one a sense of social status. Why would you not achieve the same if you start your own company and become the CEO or consultant? You have just given yourself a title and a job scope, which you have always wanted. The other aspect of identity is a "company brand" or "revenues" of the company. Think about it – these top Wall Street banks just crumbled. General Motors and Chryslers reported pathetic performance, they just could not get a single act right. You sure are better than those CEOs. At least you did not depreciate public money. In your personal evaluation, your worth needs to be better than what you think by being an appendage to someone else's. Monthly cash flow is clearly the most rational reasoning and has a practical impact. One needs money, to run their homes, to eat, to pay mortgage and pay for children's education. If one were to calculate these with a level of practicality – just go back and check your current bank reserves and re-prioritize. Most people in middle and senior management should be well off. In most cases, I have seen we can live well, without a job for 5-10 years, with fairly good quality of life style. Does that give you some confidence? You are richer than you think and you are far more capable than you think. * * * * * [...]... close and personal to your customer A sales person starts to understanding customer’s likes, dislikes and idiosyncrasies They get to know the precise reason why a product or company clicks or why it ticks And as the salesperson grows in the organization to increased responsibilities, they start shaping products, teams and organization structures to address their customer’s need They have first-hand experience... need for ‘replicable models’ and ‘standardized processes’ While, practically every organization and every job description demands the need for qualities like entrepreneurship, innovative and risk taking – that precise quality that is being killed every day in most organizations Pangs of growth, they would say! Corporations are afraid of internal entrepreneurs They cannot handle personalities that build... responsibility, bigger tasks and tougher problems to solve And hence - more chance to perform which in itself is an invitation to success If there are two candidates vying for a promotion to a job that pays $150,000 and one makes $100,000 while the other $120,000, the higher paid person gets the job regardless of talent contribution or anything else Corporations take the easy way out and it is easier to promote... centres in organizations include lawyers, planners, data processing people, research and development, scientists and administrators of all types Some justifiable staff jobs indirectly get and keep customers Jobs that don’t get and keep customers are redundant In today’s organization structures the distinction between line jobs and staff jobs is sometimes blurred It is still easy to identify them - line jobs... AVOID STAFF JOBS Why do we say that? Well for starters, let us see the difference between Line jobs and Staff jobs Line jobs make money for your organization In some places they are also called profit centres Line jobs bring in money and have direct relationship with profit and loss They impact the business and bottom line directly They are the reason for your organization’s existence Staff jobs, also... informal, anti-policy, anti-procedure style, idea people and business builders They want monthly reports, detailed expense accounts, and personal reviews on paper, quarterly reports, year-end reports, stock reports, one hundred page business plans and many more Do not get paperstrapped Papers are means to an end Do not get paper trapped Do not accept those handcuffs The zillion reports, if they do not help... with lethargy and disinterest? Yes, these are extreme examples Good phone manners are essential To convey authority on the line, stand up This will instil further confidence in your voice To convey empathy, get closer to the phone – switch off the speaker phone - and pick up the receiver To convey friendliness, smile The other party can sure hear your smile Practice this for a week and you will see... simple and common? Because, the US economy loses over $900 billion annually in lost productivity and up to 28 present of workers' time due to information overload because of email The impact is severe not enough strategic thinking time, lack of work/life balance, and workflow breakdowns The common problems are usually - compulsively checking email, loosely constructing e-mails, holding thousands of... re-examine these approaches, recognize that they may not be working, and replace them with behaviours to manage e-mail more effectively, as individuals first, then as teams and organizations Ask yourself these four questions while composing e-mails that are lengthy and take more than two minutes to write P - What's the Purpose of your communication and does it relate to a Meaningful Objective? (If it doesn't... President of your company is cynical about your organization, its products, its people and its processes? Would you work for that President? If you want to head this company someday, would it not be fair that you commit yourself totally to its people, products and services You must understand the company’s mission and its values You must live the company culture You must do this as your second nature . 25 HOURS AND THREE BALLS by Rajesh Soundararajan SMASHWORDS EDITION * * * * * PUBLISHED BY Rajesh Soundararajan on Smashwords * * * * * 25 HOURS AND THREE. research and development, scientists and administrators of all types. Some justifiable staff jobs indirectly get and keep customers. Jobs that don’t get and