THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Career

“To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work.”
- Sister Mary Lauretta

TOPIC OF THE DAY

When Your Good Mentor Goes Bad

According to a study at Sun Microsystems, mentees were promoted five times more often than those without a mentor. Eighty-eight percent of respondents to a Center for Creative Leadership survey believe that having a mentor is useful for career development. We've all heard the stats. It never hurts to have a few good mentors behind you. But what happens when a good mentor goes bad?

Enter, stage right, Alan — our star protégé. Alan, whom we've coached, is a vice-president at a private equity firm and on track to become a managing director. Unfortunately,...

Today's topic was adapted from When Your Good Mentor Goes Bad BY Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkins

LATEST ARRIVALS

House of Cards By William D. Cohan

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Judgment

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” - Carl Gustav Jung

TOPIC OF THE DAY

The Big Idea: The Judgment Deficit by Amar Bhidé

The modern economy creates and spreads unprecedented prosperity by drawing on the resourcefulness and enterprise of the many, not by blindly following the dictates of a few. Individuals today make and act on their own judgments to a degree that would have been unimaginable to our forebears. Indeed, many of us value this humanization of our work as highly as we do the material comforts that the work secures.

Today's topic was adapted from "The Big Idea: The Judgment Deficit
by Amar Bhidé"

LATEST ARRIVALS

Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It by Marshall Goldsmith

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Work

"Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits."

- Thomas A. Edison

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009), known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful entertainers of all time. His unique contributions to music and dance, along with a highly publicized personal life, made him a prominent figure in popular culture for four decades.

Read on...

Latest Arrivals

Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy by Raghuram G. Rajan

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Significance

“The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance” - Aristotle

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Social Media's Critical Path: Relevance to Resonance to Significance

If social media warranted a mantra, it would sound something like this, "Always pay it forward and never forget to pay it back...it's how you got here and it defines where you're going."

This intentional form of alternative giving is referred to as "generalized reciprocity" or "generalized exchange." The capital of this social economy is measured in these productive relationships and those relationships are earned through the acts of reciprocity, recognition, respect and benevolence.

Today's topic was adapted from "Social Media's Critical Path: Relevance to Resonance to Significance"

LATEST ARRIVALS

Fault Lines: how hidden fractures still threaten the world economy by Raghuram Rajan

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Thinking

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

TOPIC OF THE DAY

The Four Phases of Design Thinking

What can people in business learn from studying the ways successful designers solve problems and innovate? On the most basic level, they can learn to question, care, connect, and commit — four of the most important things successful designers do to achieve significant breakthroughs.

Having studied more than a hundred top designers in various fields over the past couple of years (while doing research for a book), I found that there were a few shared behaviors that seemed to be almost second nature to many designers. And these ingrained habits were intrinsically linked to the designer's ability to bring original ideas into the world as successful innovations. All of which suggests that they merit a closer look.

Today's topic was adapted from "The Four Phases of Design Thinking "

LATEST ARRIVALS

Economic Environment Of Business by VEENA KESHAV PAILWAR

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Employee

“We want passion for our business.. workers who can interpret and execute our mission, who want to build a career, not just take a temporary job." - Howard Schultz

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Empowering Your Employees to Empower Themselves

As a manager or leader, do you let your people assume more responsibility when they are able? Do you know when that is, or do you keep telling yourself that they aren't ready yet?

In my travels from organization to organization, I talk with thousands of people every year who want to be treated as "partners" rather than as employees. They want information to flow up as well as down. But, oftentimes, leaders do not want to give up control.

Today's topic was adapted from "Empowering Your Employees to Empower Themselves"

LATEST ARRIVALS

Global strategic management / Mike W. Peng

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

People

“Many people are lonely because they build walls and not bridges." - Anonymous

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Managing Yourself: Bringing Out the Best in Your People

Some leaders drain all the intelligence and capability out of their teams. Because they need to be the smartest, most capable person in the room, these managers often shut down the smarts of others, ultimately stifling the flow of ideas. You know these people, because you’ve worked for and with them.

Today's topic was adapted from "Managing Yourself: Bringing Out the Best in Your People"

LATEST ARRIVALS

More Salt Than Pepper By Karan Thapar

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Mistakes

“Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience." - Denis Waitley

TOPIC OF THE DAY

You've Made A Mistake. Now What?

Anyone who has worked in an office for more than a day has made a mistake. While most people accept that slip-ups are unavoidable, no one likes to be responsible for them. The good news is that mistakes, even big ones, don't have to leave a permanent mark on your career. In fact, most contribute to organizational and personal learning; they are an essential part of experimentation and a prerequisite for innovation. So don't worry: if you've made a mistake at work, — and, again, who hasn't? — you can recover gracefully and use the experience to learn and grow.

Today's topic was adapted from "You've Made A Mistake. Now What?"

LATEST ARRIVALS

Made by hand : my year of finding meaning in a throwaway world / Mark Frauenfelder

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Mind

“To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. " - Buddha

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Business Ethics

The credibility of the term ‘Business Ethics’ has come into question, in recent times as ‘business ethics’ is increasingly being considered an oxymoron. It is generally believed that business and ethics cannot coexist and organizations are said to thrive on unethical practices. Business ethics, as far from being a contradiction in terms, has become one of the most important areas of managerial competence and responsibility.


Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Changing minds: the art and science of changing our own and other people's minds By Howard Gardner

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Negotiation

“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." - John F. Kennedy

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Attractive Physical Appearance vs. Good Academic Characteristics: Which Generates More Earnings?

Regardless of how diverse the various definitions of beauty are across cultures and over time, most people feel a sense of joy when they see or are around someone considered a beauty. It is merely a psychological response. While studies have shown that beauty and stature do impact a person’s earnings, many questions remain unanswered. Does this impact start from the very beginning of a college graduate’s career?Are beauty and stature more important factors than academic characteristics when it comes to determining the initial wage?


Today's topic was adapted from "Attractive Physical Appearance vs. Good Academic Characteristics: Which Generates More Earnings? by Hung-Lin Tao

LATEST ARRIVALS

The Negotiator by Frederick Forsyth

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Multitasking

“The layers of multitasking can run very deeply in our daily lives." - Mitch Thrower

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Know When Multitasking Works

Numerous studies show that multitasking doesn't help you get more done. In fact, it impedes productivity. But in today's fast-paced world, it may seem impossible to only focus on one thing at a time. Here are two times when multitasking might be more effective:

1. When information needs to flow fast. If others are waiting on you before they respond to a customer or move a critical project forward, it can be frustrating if you're not available. Picking up the phone or responding to email — even while you're working on something else — can be important, especially if you have information others don't.

2. When you're stuck. Sometimes it can be useful to focus on a difficult task. But when you reach a roadblock, it can be equally valuable to walk away and do something else while your mind ponders the issue. When you return to the task with fresh focus, you're more likely to be able to push through.

Today's topic was adapted from "In Defense of Multitasking" by David Silverman

LATEST ARRIVALS

The myth of multitasking : how "doing it all" gets nothing done / Dave Crenshaw.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Nature

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."

- Lao Tzu

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Home and Workplace

The Health and Safety in Employment Act aims to promote the health and safety of everyone at work and of other people in or around places of work. To achieve this, it requires people who are responsible for work and those who do the work to take steps to ensure their own health and safety and that of others.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Transformation

"Transformation literally means going beyond your form."

- Wayne Dyer

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Indian Railways

Indian Railways abbreviated as IR , is the state-owned railway company of India, which owns and operates most of the country's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India.

Indian Railways has the largest rail network in Asia and the world's second largest under one management, transporting 20 million passengers and more than 2 million tonnes of freight daily. It is one of the world's largest commercial or utility employers, with more than 1.6 million employees. The railways traverse the length and breadth of the country, covering 6,909 stations over a total route length of more than 63,327 kilometres (39,350 mi). As to rolling stock, IR owns over 200,000 (freight) wagons, 50,000 coaches and 8,000 locomotives.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Bankruptcy to Billions:
how the Indian Railways transformed by Sudhir Kumar, Shagun Mehrotra

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

God

“If there were no God, it would have been necessary to invent him."

- Voltaire

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Hedge Fund

A hedge fund is a fund that can take both long and short positions, use arbitrage, buy and sell undervalued securities, trade options or bonds, and invest in almost any opportunity in any market where it foresees impressive gains at reduced risk. Hedge fund strategies vary enormously -- many hedge against downturns in the markets -- especially important today with volatility and anticipation of corrections in overheated stock markets. The primary aim of most hedge funds is to reduce volatility and risk while attempting to preserve capital and deliver positive returns under all market conditions.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

More money than God : hedge funds and the making of a new elite by Sebastian Mallaby

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Art

“We live in a fractured world. I've always seen it as my role as an artist to attempt to make wholeness." - Anish Kapoor, Sculptor

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Indian Art Market

The Indian art market has witnessed a period of consolidation in 2010 and the coming months will see further strengthening, predicts Neville Tuli, founder-chairman of OSIAN’s Connoisseurs of Art that has just published a detailed report on the subject.

“In the coming months, buyers will witness a....

Read on...

Modern Indian Art: the birth of a marketQ&A with Mukti Khaire by HRS

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Project

“Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand. "

- Chinese Proverb

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Project Management

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time objective, for example, construct a building or implement a major new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining and confirming the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and how goals will be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and timelines for completion.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Project management : financial evaluation with strategic planning, networking and control by Bhavesh M. Patel

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Growth

“Growth begins when we begin to accept our own weakness "

- Jean Vanier

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Innovations for growth

Identifying and leveraging innovations in your business can provide benefits to any type of business. Here are my seven favorite innovation-related benefits to help you expand your business.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Financing the future: market-based innovations for growth by Franklin Allen and Glenn Yago

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Business

"Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion."

- Jack Welch

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Business Valuation

In the wake of economic liberalization, companies are relying more on the capital
market, acquisitions and restructuring are becoming commonplace, strategic
alliances are gaining popularity, employee stock plans are proliferating, and
regulatory bodies are struggling with tariff determination. In these exercises a
crucial issue is: How should the value of a company or a division thereof be
appraised?

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Quantitative Business Valuation: A Mathematical Approach for Today's Professionals by Jay B. Abrams

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Governance

“Democracy, good governance and modernity cannot be imported or imposed from outside a country. "

- Emile Lahud

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Governance, poverty and India

This paper summarises current thinking on the theoretical and empirical relationships between gender inequality and poverty, including reflection on how these relationships have been articulated in development policy discourse. It goes on to examine the potential for governance structures and processes, as currently defined, to promote poverty reduction in a way which recognises and responds to women’s gendered experience of poverty. In doing so, the paper reviews interpretations of ‘governance’ and explores feminist and other critiques of conventional approaches to governance. It asks whether and how the governance agenda needs to be reconstituted if it is to succeed in addressing women’s gender specific needs and interests. Finally, the paper highlights some strategic entry points in the governance agenda which provide opportunities for promoting poor women’s gender interests.


Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Governance And Poverty Reduction : Beyond The Cage Of Best Practices by Amita Singh

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Finance

“I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expense, and my expense is equal to my wishes. ”

- Edward Gibbon

TOPIC OF THE DAY

World Economic Crisis

The political coup that suddenly erupted in Canberra on June 24 constitutes a striking demonstration, against the oft-repeated mantra of “Australian exceptionalism”, that the country is being swept into the global turmoil produced by the most serious crisis of world capitalism since the 1930s. Orchestrated by a small group of Labor Party factional bosses the coup against Prime Minister Rudd stands as a stark warning to the working class. Without any discussion in the Labor caucus, let alone the party’s membership, and behind the backs of the population, an elected prime minister was deposed within the space of 24 hours. Not a single Labor politician, including Rudd himself, has registered a word of protest.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Lords Of Finance by
Liaquat Ahamed

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Writing

“The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.”

- Edwin Schlossberg

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Creative Writing

Creative writing is anything where the purpose is to express thoughts, feelings and emotions rather than to simply convey information.

Creative writing is writing that expresses the writer’s thoughts and feelings in an imaginative, often unique, and poetic way.

Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

How to write by Philip Oltermann

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Human Resource Management

“Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end”

- Immanuel Kant

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Human Resources Information Systems

Human Resources Management (HRM) is the attraction, selection, retention, development, and utilization of labor resource in order to achieve both individual and organizational objectives. Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) is an integration of HRM and Information Systems (IS). HRIS or Human resource Information system helps HR managers perform HR functions in a more effective and systematic way using technology. It is the system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute pertinent information regarding an organization's human resources. A human resource information system (HRIS) is a system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze, retrieve, and distribute pertinent information about an organization's human resources (Tannenbaum, 1990). The HRIS system is usually a part of the organization's larger management information system (MIS) which would include accounting, production, and marketing functions, to name just a few.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Human Resource Information Systems : Basics, Applications, And Future Directions by Michael J. Kavanagh

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Selling

“There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.”

- Indira Gandhi

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Selling

Ahh, the holidays. A time for festivities. A time for vacation. A time for family. A time to relax, enjoy and reflect upon the year and your accomplishments. It is also a time when many businesses prepare for slow sales and a fall in performance and production.

This is the time of the year when sales and appointments slow down and more work must be done to generate the next sale. After all, your customers are more focused on preparing for the holidays, right? Sales quotas are compromised and expectations of strong sales are lowered.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

You Can Sell by Shiv Khera

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Biography

“I can find my biography in every fable that I read.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Paul Dirac

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, OM, FRS (pronounced /dɪˈræk/ di-RAK; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was a British theoretical physicist. Dirac made fundamental contributions to the early development of both quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. He held the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and spent the last fourteen years of his life at Florida State University.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Quantum Genius by Graham Farmelo

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Success

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. "

- Albert Einstein

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Power of Successful Negotiation

A corporate focus on negotiations can help organizations reap substantial benefits, writes Alison Morris.

At a recent conference, a senior executive at a Global 500 company was overheard to say: "If only we could pick up all the money we are spilling in negotiation. It's a huge number, definitely in the tens of millions."
He went on to describe how his company was in the early stages of negotiation development and still lacked a consistent approach. He could not disguise his real concern: "Our failure to develop the skill of our negotiators across the company will not be evident until it is too late."


Other businesses too have recognized the importance of negotiation in improving bottom line profitability and as a result have put together large-scale training programmes. However, too many still lack a clearly-defined strategy in driving such initiatives.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Career

"I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it."

- Lou Holtz

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Career planning

Career planning is a lifelong process, which includes choosing an occupation, getting a job, growing in our job, possibly changing careers, and eventually retiring. The Career Planning Site offers coverage of all these areas. This article will focus on career choice and the process one goes through in selecting an occupation. This may happen once in our lifetimes, but it is more likely to happen several times as we first define and then redefine ourselves and our goals.

Source

LATEST ARRIVALS

Getting Unstuck: A Guide to Discovering Your Next Career Path by Timothy Butler

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Friendship

""Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you." - Elbert Hubard

TOPIC OF THE DAY

Friendship Day History:

There is not much literature on Friendship Day history as we celebrate today. However, there are numerous folktales and several instance in mythological legends that shows that friends and friendship have been valued since the beginning of civilized world. As an intrinsically social creature, men love to make friends to further this process of socialization.

History of Friendship Day in US:

Considering the valuable role friends play in our life it was deemed to fit to have a day dedicated to friends and friendship. The United States Congress, in...

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