Success Story - Soichiro Honda

Soichiro Honda was a mechanic at a garage. His job was to tune cars to prepare them for races. Honda founded Tōkai Seiki, a piston rings manufacturing company in 1937.

This company won a contract to supply piston rings to an established automobile company – Toyota. But soon after, he lost the contract due to the poor quality of the products.

He took time out to better understand Toyota's quality control processes, and by 1941, Honda was able to mass produce piston rings acceptable to Toyota.

Toyota took a 40% stake in his company, but Honda was demoted from president to senior managing director. Tōkai Seiki's manufacturing plants were destroyed in US bomb attacks in 1944. Honda sold the salvageable remains of the company to Toyota and used the proceeds to found the Honda Technical Research Institute in October 1946.

He worked with a staff of 12 men in a 172-square-foot shack.

They built and sold improvised motorized bicycles by building their own copy of Tohatsu engines, and supplying these to customers to attach to their bicycles.

Honda Motor Company grew in a short time to become the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964.


Honda thereafter entered into mini pick-up trucks & finally into the car segment and today is a serious competitor to Toyota.

It's easy to look at these companies and think, "I could never do something like this." Of course, all of these companies took decades to get where they are today.

But they had an idea and they believed in it and most importantly, they started.

Charity Wrapped in Dignity

She asked him, "How much are you selling the eggs for?"

 
The old seller replied to her, "Rs.5/- for one egg, Madam."

She said to him, "I will take 6 eggs for Rs.25/- or I will leave."


The old seller replied, "Come take them at the price you want. May God  bless us, and maybe this is a good beginning because I have not yet sold to anyone."

She took it and walked away feeling she has won. She got into her fancy car and went to pick her friend, and invited her to a restaurant. 

She and her friend sat down and ordered what they like. They ate a little and left a lot of what they ordered.

Then she went to pay the bill. The bill was Rs.1,200/-. She gave him Rs. 1,300/- and said to the owner of the restaurant: "Keep the change."

This story may seem normal to the owner of the restaurant. But it is very painful for the eggs' seller.

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 Flash

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 Why do we always show that we have the power when we buy from the needy and the poor? And we are generous with those who do not need our generosity ?

Every time a poor child comes to me to sell something simple, I remember a tweet from the son of a rich man who said, "After every prayer my father used to buy simple goods for very expensive prices, even though he did not need them. Sometimes he used to pay more for them. I used to get concerned by this act and I told him about it. Then my father told me: 'It is a charity wrapped with dignity, my son.'"

Compare these two stories of social hypocrisy.

The first one is disappointing and the second one is inspiring.

May God enlighten us

The Miracle of Creation.

One Sunday morning a wealthy man sat in his balcony enjoying sunshine and his coffee when a little ant caught his eye which was  going from one side to the other side of the balcony carrying a big leaf several times more than its size. The man watched it for more than an hour.
 

He saw that the ant faced many impediments during its journey,  took a diversion and then continued towards destination.

At one point the tiny creature came across a crack in the floor. 

 

It paused for a little while, analyzed and then laid the huge leaf over the crack, walked over the leaf, picked the leaf on the other side then continued its journey.

The man was captivated by the cleverness of the ant, one of God's tiniest creatures. 

 

The incident left the man in awe and forced him to contemplate over  the miracle of Creation.

 

It showed the greatness of the Creator. In front of his eyes there was this tiny creature of God, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to analyze, contemplate, reason, explore, discover and  overcome. Along with all these capabilities, the man also noticed that this tiny creature shared some human shortcomings.

 

The man saw about an hour later the creature had reached its destination – a tiny hole in the floor which was an entrance to its underground dwelling. 

 

And it was at this point that the ant's shortcoming that it shared with the man was revealed. How could the ant carry into the tiny hole the large leaf that it had managed to carefully bring to the destination?
It simply couldn't!

 

So the tiny creature, after all the painstaking and hard work and exercising great skills,overcoming all the difficulties along the way, just left behind the
large leaf and went home empty-handed.

 

The ant had not thought about the end before it began its challenging journey and in the end the large leaf was nothing more than a burden to it. The creature had no option, but to leave it behind to reach its destination.
 

The man learned a great lesson that day.

Isn't that the truth about our lives?
 

We worry about our family, we worry about our job, we worry about how to earn more money, we worry about where we should live –  5 bedroom or 6 bedroom house, what kind of vehicle to buy – a Mercedes or BMW or a Porsche, what kind of dresses to wear,  all sorts of things, only to abandon all these things when we reach our destination –  The Grave.

 

We don't realize in our life's journey that these are just burdens that we are carrying with utmost care and fear of losing them, only to find that at the end they are useless and we can't take them with us.

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.