It Is Never Late to Learn

The Taj hotel group had invited Mr. Masai Imai from Japan to hold a workshop for its staff.

The staff were very skeptical - the hotel is doing excellent business, this person from Japan has no exposure to hotel industry - what exactly is he going to teach?

But everybody gathered as planned for the workshop in the conference hall sharp at 9 am.

Mr. Masai was introduced to them - a not so impressive personality, nor the English all that good; spoke as if he was first formulating each sentence in Japanese and then translating it into rather clumsy English.

"Good morning! 

Let's start work. 

I am told this is a workshop; but I see neither work nor shop. 

So let's proceed where work is happening. 

Let's start with the first room on the first floor."

Mr. Masai, followed by the senior management, the participants, the video camera crew trouped out of the conference room and proceeded to the destination.

That happened to be the laundry room of the hotel.

Mr. Masai entered the room and stood at the window, "beautiful view!" he said.

The staff knew it; they need not invite a Japanese consultant to tell them this! 

"A room with such a beautiful view is being wasted as a laundry room. 

Shift the laundry to the basement and convert this into a guest room."

Aa Haa! 

Now nobody had ever thought about that!

The manager said, "Yes, it can be done."

"Then let's do it," Mr. Masai said.

"Yes sir, I will make a note of this and we will include it in the report on the workshop that will be prepared." Manager

"Excuse me, but there is nothing to note down in this. 

Let's just do it, just now." Mr. Masai.

"Just now?" Manager

"Yes, decide on a room on the ground floor/basement and shift the stuff out of this room right away. 

It should take a couple of hours, right?" asked Mr. Masai.

"Yes." Manager.

"Let's come back here just before lunch. 

By then all this stuff will have got shifted out and the room must be ready with the carpets, furniture etc. and from today you can start earning the few thousand that you charge your customers for a night."

"Ok, Sir." The manager had no option.

The next destination was the pantry. 

The group entered. 

At the entrance were two huge sinks full of plates to be washed.

Mr. Masai removed his jacket and started washing the plates.

"Sir, Please, what are you doing?" the manager didn't know what to say and what to do.

"Why, I am washing the plates", Mr. Masai.

"But sir, there is staff here to do that." Manager Mr. Masai continued washing, "I think sink is for washing plates, there are stands here to keep the plates and the plates should go into the stands."

All the officials wondered - did they require a consultant to tell them this?

After finishing the job, Mr. Masai asked, "How many plates do you have?'

"Plenty, so that there should never be any shortage." answered the Manager.

Mr. Masai said, "We have a word in Japanese -'Muda'. 

Muda means delay, Muda means unnecessary spending. 

One lesson to be learned in this workshop is to avoid both. 

If you have plenty of plates, there will be delay in cleaning them up. 

The first step to correct this situation is to remove all the excess plates."

"Yes, we will say this in the report." Manager.

"No, wasting our time in writing the report is again an instance of 'Muda'. 

We must pack the extra plates in a box right away and send these to whichever other section of Taj requires these. 

Throughout the workshop now we will find out where all we find this 'Muda' hidden."

And then at every spot and session, the staff eagerly awaited to find out Muda and learn how to avoid it.

On the last day, Mr. Masai told a story.

"A Japanese and an American, both fond of hunting, met in a jungle. 

They entered deep jungle and suddenly realized that they had run out of bullets. 

Just then they heard a lion roaring. 

Both started running. 

But the Japanese took a short break to put on his sports shoes. 

The American said, "What are you doing? 

We must first get to the car."

The Japanese responded, "No. I only have to ensure that I remain ahead of you."

All the participants engrossed in listening to the story, realized suddenly that the lion would stop after getting his victim!

"The lesson is: 

competition in today's world is so fierce, that it is important to stay ahead of other, even by just a couple of steps. 

And you have such a huge and naturally well endowed country. 

If you remember to curtail your production expenditure and give the best quality always, you will be miles ahead as compared to so many other countries in the world.", concluded Mr. Masai.

It is never late to learn.....

Lost and Found

On my way I found a piece of paper tied to an electric pole, with a small note on it.
 
I was curious to know what was written, hence went closer and read it. "I lost Rs. 50 somewhere on the road. If any of you find it, please give it to me at this address. My vision isn't great so please help."

I was urged to follow that address and found an old hut in shatters with an older woman sitting outside. She was frail and asked who is it, following my footsteps.
 
I said I came by this way, found Rs. 50 on the road so wanted to handover to you.

She began crying on hearing this. She said "my dear I have had atleast 30-40 people come over and give me Rs. 50 saying they found it on the road. I didn't write that note; I cannot even see properly nor do I know to read and write"

I said it's OK mama you keep it. She asked me to tear that note off on my way back.

I walked back with a million thoughts as to who could have written that note? She would have asked everyone to tear that note but none did. I mentally thanked that person and realised that we just have to feel the need to help, there are so many ways to do it. He/she just wanted to help this old woman who lives alone....

Someone stopped me and asked, "Bro, can you help me with this address? I found a 50 rupee note, want to handover

Be Humble, It Costs Nothing.

Amitabh Bacchan says..."At the peak of my career, I was once travelling by plane. The passenger next to me was elderly gentleman dressed in a simple shirt and pants. He appeared to be middle class, and well educated.

Other passengers perhaps recognizing who I was, but this gentleman appeared to be unconcerned of my presence... He was reading his paper, looking out of the window, and when tea was served, he sipped it quietly. Trying to strike a conversation with him I smiled. The man courteously smiled back and said 'Hello'. We got talking and I brought up the subject of cinema and movies and asked, 'Do you watch films?' The man replied, 'Oh, very few. 

I did see one many years ago.' 

I mentioned that I worked in the movie industry.

The man replied.." oh, that's nice. What do you do?'
I replied, 'I am an actor ' 

The man nodded, 'Oh, that's wonderful!' And that was it... 

When we landed, I held out my hand and said, " It was good to travel with you. By the way, my name is Amitabh Bacchan !' 

The man shook my hand and smiled, "Thank you... nice to have met you..I am J. R. D. Tata!"

I learned on that day that no matter how big you think you are, there is always someone “bigger”.
Be humble, it costs nothing.

Letter From an Newly Married Daughter

Dear mom,

Like every normal girl, I was excited about marriage right from my childhood days. 

I never thought beyond the time that I would spend happily with my prince charming.

But today when I am married, I realize that marriage is not all roses. 

It's not just about being with your beloved and having a gala time. There is so much more to it. 

It comes with its own share of responsibilities, duties, sacrifices and compromises.

I can't wake up anytime I want to.

I am expected to be up and ready before everyone else in the family.

I can't laze around in my pyjamas throughout the day.

I am expected to be presentable every time.

I can't just go out anytime I want to.

I am expected to be sensitive to the needs of the family.

I just can't hit the bed anytime I want to.

I am expected to be active and around the family.

I can't expect to be treated like a princess but am supposed to take care of everyone else in the family.

And then I think to myself, why did I get married at all? I was happier with you, mom. 

Sometimes I think of coming back to you and getting pampered again.

I want to come home to my favourite food cooked by you every evening after a nice outing with friends. 

I want to sleep on your laps like I have no worry in this world. But then I suddenly realize, 

had you not got married and made such sacrifices in your life, I wouldn't have had so many wonderful memories to hang on to. 

And suddenly, the purpose of all this becomes clear- to return the same comfort, peace and happiness to my new family that I got from you.

And I am sure that as time would pass, I would start loving this life equally as you do. 

Thank you mom for all the sacrifices and compromises you made. They give me the strength to do the same. 

Love you.

Take the Time to Do What You Need to Do and Do It Now!

In a class I teach for adults, I recently did the "unpardonable." I gave the class homework! The assignment was to "go to someone you love within the next week and tell them you love them. It has to be someone you have never said those words to before or at least haven't shared those words with for a long time."

Now that doesn't sound like a very tough assignment, until you stop to realized that most of the men in that group were over 35 and were raised in the generation of men that were taught that expressing emotions is not "macho."

Showing feelings or crying (heaven forbid!) was just not done. So this was a very threatening assignment for some.

At the beginning of our next class, I asked if someone wanted to share what happened when they told someone they loved them. I fully expected one of the women to volunteer, as was usually the case, but on this evening one of the men raised his hand. He appeared quite moved and a bit shaken.
 
 As he unfolded out of his chair (all 6'2" of him), he began by saying, "Dennis, I was quite angry with you last week when you gave us this assignment. I didn't feel that I had anyone to say those words to, and besides, who were you to tell me to do something that personal? But as I began driving home my conscience started talking to me. It was telling me that I knew exactly who I needed to say 'I love you' to. You see, five years ago, my father and I had a vicious disagreement and really never resolved it since that time. We avoided seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at family gatherings. But even then, we hardly spoke to each other. So, last Tuesday by the time I got home I had convinced myself I was going to tell my father I loved him.

"It's weird, but just making that decision seemed to lift a heavy load off my chest.

"When I got home, I rushed into the house to tell my wife what I was going to do. She was already in bed, but I woke her up anyway. When I told her, she didn't just get out of bed, she catapulted out and hugged me, and for the first time in our married life she saw me cry. We stayed up half the night drinking coffee and talking. It was great!

"The next morning I was up bright and early. I was so excited I could hardly sleep. I got to the office early and accomplished more in two hours than I had the whole day before.

“At 9:00 I called my dad to see if I could come over after work. When he answered the phone, I just said, ‘Dad, can I come over after work tonight? I have something to tell you.’ My dad responded with a grumpy, ‘Now what?’ I assured him it wouldn’t take long, so he finally agreed.

“At 5:30, I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell, praying that Dad would answer the door. I was afraid if Mom answered that I would chicken out and tell her instead. But as luck would have it, Dad did answer the door.

“I didn’t waste any time—I took one step in the door and said, ‘Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you.’

“It was as if a transformation came over my dad. Before my eyes his face softened, the wrinkles seemed to disappear and he began to cry. He reached out and hugged me and said, ‘I love you too, son, but I’ve never been able to say it.’

“It was such a precious moment I didn’t want to move. Mom walked by with tears in her eyes. I just waved and blew her a kiss. Dad and I hugged for a moment longer and then I left. I hadn’t felt that great in a long time.

“But that’s not even my point. Two days after that visit, my dad, who had heart problems but didn’t tell me, had an attack and ended up in the hospital, unconscious. I don’t know if he’ll make it.

“So my message to all of you in this class is this: Don’t wait to do the things you know need to be done. What if I had waited to tell my dad—maybe I will never get the chance again! Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now!”
Dennis E. Mannering

The Spirit of Love

A man married a beautiful girl. He loved her very much.

One day she developed a skin disease. Slowly she started to lose her beauty. It so happened that one day her husband left for a tour. While returning he met with an accident and lost his eyesight. However, their married life continued as usual.


But as days passed she lost her beauty gradually. Blind husband did not know this and there was not any difference in their married life.
He continued to love her and she also loved him very much.
One day she died. Her death brought him great sorrow. He finished all her last rites and wanted to leave that town.
A man from behind called and said, now how will you be able to walk all alone? All these days your wife used to help you.
He replied I am not blind. I was acting because if she knew l could see her ugliness it would have pained her more than her disease.


So I pretended to be blind. She was a very good wife. I only wanted to keep her happy.


Moral- Sometimes it is good for us to act blind and ignore one anther's shortcomings, in order to be happy.



That's the spirit of LOVE

The Power of 20

Lt. Col. Frank Dailey unexpectedly found himself on the receiving end of an act of kindness from an 8- year-old boy named Myles Eckert after leaving a Cracker Barrel one afternoon.

Little Myles spotted a 20-dollar bill on the ground and decided to pay it forward to the soldier. Attached was the following note:

"Dear Soldier — my dad was a soldier. He's in heaven now. I found 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It's your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid."

Myles’ father, Army Sgt. Andy Eckert, was killed in Iraq just weeks after Myles was born.

Lt. Col. Dailey was so inspired by Myles’ kind act, he shared the story via email which in turn was shared more than half a million times on social media.

This momentum led Myles to found The Power of 20, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping other charities and families facing obstacles, nationwide. Most recently The Power of 20 spearheaded an effort to provide a dying soldier his final wish of attending a Green Bay Packer playoff game.

Do you feel inspired by this story to pay it forward?  Share some of your money with the less privileged.