Fuel price rise is becoming a global crisis. We can no longer piggy back on Left Ideology and play Ostrich with the impending economic disaster. Everybody has tomake some sacrifice to tide over the crisis.

The Government on its part could drastically reduce duties on petrol and diesel.Government every year has its target for collection of duties from each economic activity and let’s say for this year from the sale of petroleum products it is targeted at Rs.1000 crores. The rate at
which oil prices are increasing globally,this target will be met easily and possibly surpassed. The Government could do a bit of sacrifice (if they are serious about controlling price) and reduce the duties on petroleum products. Further, the Government should be bold enough and adopt differential pricing for domestic gas cylinders. It is ridiculous to note that a family living in a premium apartment (costing Rs.1 Crore) pays the same price for a domestic gas cylinder as a family which stays in a slum. It is very easy to implement this because every subscribers address is known. A similar method could be adopted for supply of diesel and petrol also. Differential rates should be adopted for public utility vehicles and private vehicles. Similar differentiation could be done in case of two wheelers and four wheelers. If the oil companies want to suffer losses by supplying at the same rate for all types of vehicles, so be it. That is part of their benevolence and nobody can help it. It is time that the Government made some serious investments for research in the field of Solar Cooking. In a country like India, even if 30-40% of the families switch to this method and use it for 7-9 months a year (given the
weather conditions), the differences that it could make to our fuel bill will be enormous.

The Opposition on their part especially the confused Left should understand that global prices of fuel are increasing and we have no means but to comply. Why don’t these people understand that just because we don’t charge market rates, OPEC Countries don’t supply fuel to us at subsidized rates?At the end of the day, we have to pay market rates and this money comes from nowhere but from within our Budget. Does the Left support a situation wherein a capitalist is getting subsidized fuel from the money which is meant to prevent a poor farmer from committing suicide?

We on our part could reduce the use of personal transport as much as possible but then for today’s urban middle class it is shame to land up at a friends place and say I have come by public transport. For our own economic good and to prevent global warming let us walk for distances less than 2 kilometers and also teach our children to do so. As far as possible
let us use public transport to commute, these days they are quite good and frequent also.

The situation is very grim. We have to change our old habits of using fuel or else face the fate of inhabitants of Jurassic Park. Politicians on their part should stop worrying about their votes. Those in the ruling party have to take strong calls and those in the opposition have to adopt
a policy of “Bolthi Bandh” and not call for bandhs over every fuel price rise. If we don’t learn to make little sacrifices as a country, we better get ready to kiss goodbye to the growth we have achieved in the past 5 to 6 years.This situation is going to hurt all of us but then we have no option but take the bull head on. If we bury our heads in the sand just like an ostrich does, sooner later, economic disaster will hunt us down.

Remember 1990, we had to pledge our Gold.

Balu AM

If your mentor gives applause for all the good things you did; great. If your mentor is satisfied with what you have done and never induces you to push your limits; beware! Great leaders are great followers too. Leaders ideally will have mentor(s) who shows them the way to greatness.

A little experience with LeadCap has provided with the following understanding about the roles of a mentor when developing a potential leader into a great leader and also the role of the person mentored in the process.

Roles of the mentor:

1. Keep the vision alive with actions and words
2. Assurance that s/he will become a leader
3. Push her/his limits to greater heights
4. Freedom to fail

Roles of potential leader:

1. Decision to lead
2. Very positive ‘I can’ attitude
3. Challenge the self every minute of every day
4. Raise the bars
5. Work really hard

In a movement where we are building a nation of leaders each and every person must raise their bars and aim greater heights. Meeting with the defining moment and decision to lead is just a beginning. When the worldly comforts and sloth slows you down, remember that in the leadership journey you have to push your limits and keep the leadership quotient high with string of decisions. “Never give up” should be the mantra.

Mohammad Nibras P.K.
LeadCap

Ever since liberalization, India has made huge strides economically.Movement of people from one part of the country to another for job hasbecome a norm of the day. To an extent this has bridged the gap between people. Sadly regionalism has resurfaced across the country. Peoplecoming from other states are being ridiculed, abused and attacked.

The country was divided on regional basis for administrative reasons andnot meant to create separate entities. It is time that the Government/Election Commission get tough with such regional parties/leaders and ban them for life from contesting in the elections and speaking in the public.

People coming from other states should learn to respect the sentiments of the state in which they are living in. They should make all earnestefforts to learn the local language, culture, appreciate its food, etc andget assimilated with the local population. Otherwise they can find jobs in their own states

One of the Fundamental Rights provided bythe Constitution is that “An individual can go to any part of the countryand earn his living”. That is why we don’t require Visas to travel from one state to another. So when a software engineer from up North comes and takes up a job down South, he is exercising his Constitution Right and ifyou want to question his right, better give up living in this country. It is not possible to give a software engineer’s job to a SSLC drop-out or ill-qualified person, just because he is a local.

Nobody has given their lands to the IT Parks/ Airports for charity. Such acquisitions are made at market rates. If anybody feels aggrieved , they can approach the courts and not come to the streets and disrupt development. However, it is ridiculous for a land owner to feel cheated because his one acre of land which was paid a market value of Rs.1 lakh in 1995 is now worth Rs. 2 crores. IT companies/Airports are professionally run companies and not charity institutions to give one job per family from whom the land was acquired.

Everybody cannot be and need not be a software engineer. Money flow is created in the economy when there are high paying jobs. It is upto you howto take advantage of that money flow. Were there so many taxis, PG accommodations and shopping malls in our cities a decade back? Have these people who are providing the services not benefited from the increased money flow in the economy? If the locals have not been smart enough to exploit this opportunity, it is their folly not that of a person from another state who has encashed the opportunity.Certain occupations are best left to the law of “survival of the fittest”.Nobody gets into a taxi/auto because the driver belongs to such and such aregion. There is no law prohibiting a local from driving a taxi. If you are diligent and hardworking, you will survive in the market or else youwill suffer. Similar is the case with a grocer, maid servant, etc.

When I take up a job in any State, I do pay all the taxes imposed by thatState on my income and expenditure. Further, I do create money flow inthat state whenever I spend. The concerned State Government does get amajor share of the income tax, I pay to the Central Government. Thus thestatement that “outsiders” fleece the state of its resources and do notcontribute anything to its development is an inflated bag of lies andmeant to divide incite people for political/financial gains.

No state has come up on its own or without contributions by people from other states. Let us understand that some states are less blessed than others either through nature or by man made factors. That does not mean they dont have a right to better their living. Such denials on regional basis would only create a wedge in the society which may have unimaginable woes for us in the future. Let the greed for power not turn India into a battlefield.

Balu AM

As per the official statistics of the Election Commission, 56% of the registered voters in Bangalore did not cast their vote during the Elections held on 10/05/08. These 56% had better work at home than to decide what will be the shape of their future Government. Some of this 56% would have found going to a resort, family picnic or a movie as being more important than casting their vote. Most of these 56% will continue to point their fingers as to what is wrong with the Country but don’t want to stain their fingers with the election dye on 10/05/08. These are the people who crib about corruption but on 10/05/08 left their votes for possible manipulation.

There were many people who turned up to vote but did not find their names on the list. This 56% had their names on the list but did not believe in the power of democracy and a vote. This 56% will continue to complain about poor infrastructure, corruption and every conceivable problem under the sun but could not walk a few 100 meters on 10/05 to cast their vote.

Ask them they will say, what guarantee is there that the person whom we vote for does win and more importantly deliver on his promises. Excuse me, don’t we lock houses our even though we know that burglars still can break in. Do we middle class stop investing in the share market just because we lost money on one particular share? Why do we plan vacations during holidays given for voting? Would we plan for vacations during our children exams? Elections are the examination for the country. We fail to vote we have to suffer for five long years.

Name not present in the voter list is the excuse which does not hold water in today’s internet world. Voters Lists are frequently displayed on the web by the Election Commission. If we care for our vote, we will definitely ensure that our name is in the final list.

Don’t ask what difference will one vote make? The power of one is infinite. Have we forgotten Buddha, Mahatma Gandhiji, Dr. B R Ambedkar or for that matter sport icons like PT Usha and Kapil Dev? One person can make a lot of difference to the society. Only if each one of us rises to the demands of the society, will a change come about? Thank God the generation that fought for our freedom from imperial rule did not have a pessimistic mind set like ours.

Balu A.M.- LeadCapper

The square watermelon was “invented” in Japan in 2001. The following article briefly explains its origin, then offers some lessons that we’ve talked about before. Many of you will remember the “sacred cow” project we had a number of years ago…getting rid of those old processes that were ineffective, yet still done because “that’s the way we’ve always
done it.”

I think you’ll enjoy the story and find the lessons worth thinking about. Then consider how you can put the lessons to work and make your own ‘square watermelons’ - at work and at home.

Lessons of the Square Watermelon
Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their US counterparts and therefore don’t have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. That is how I would assume the vast majority of people would respond. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. If the supermarkets wanted a square watermelon, they asked themselves, “How can we provide one?” It wasn’t long before they invented the square watermelon.

The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn’t nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn’t assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are
growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.

This made the grocery stores happy and had the added benefit that it was much easier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved them because they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller than those in the US meaning that the growers could charge a premium price for them.

What does this have to do with anything besides square watermelons? There are a few lessons that can you can take away from this story that can help you in all parts of your life. Here are a few of them:

Don’t Assume: The major problem was that most people had always seen round watermelons so they automatically assumed that square watermelons were impossible before even thinking about the question. Things that you have been doing a certain way your entire life have taken on the aura of the round watermelon and you likely don’t even take the time to consider if there is another way to do it. Breaking yourself from assuming this way
can greatly improve your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better ways to do things. This was one of the most difficult things for me to do because most of the assumptions I make, I don’t even realize that I’m making them. They seem perfectly logical on the surface, so I have to constantly make an effort to question them.

Question habits: The best way to tackle these assumptions is to question
your habits. If you can make an effort to question the way you do things on a consistent basis, you will find that you can continually improve the way that you live your life. Forming habits when they have been well thought out is usually a positive thing, but most of us have adopted our habits from various people and places without even thinking about them. I have changed a large number of habits that I have had after taking the time to question them and continue to do so. Some of them I have no idea where they came from while others I can trace to certain people or instances in my life. It’s a never ending process, but by doing this,
you can consistently strive toward making all aspects of your life more enjoyable instead of defaulting to what you have now.
Be creative: When faced with a problem, be creative in looking for a solution. This often requires thinking outside the box. Most people who viewed this question likely thought they were being asked how they could genetically alter watermelons to grow square, which would be a much more difficult process to accomplish. By looking at the question from an alternative perspective, however, the solution was quite simple. Being
creative and looking at things in different ways in all portions of your live will help you find solutions to many problems where others can’t see them. I am not a creative person, but I’ve found that the more that you look at things from different perspectives, the more creative I have become. It’s a learned art and builds upon itself.

Look for a better way: The square watermelon question was simply seeking a better and more convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a
problem they were having and asked if a solution was possible. It’s impossible to find a better way if you are never asking the question in the first place. I try to ask if there is a better way of doing the things that I do and I constantly write down the things I wish I could do (but
currently can’t) since these are usually hints about steps I need to change. Get into the habit of asking yourself, “Is there a better way I could be doing this?” and you will find there often is.

Impossibilities often aren’t: If you begin with the notion that
something is impossible, then it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you decide to see if something is possible or not, you will find out through trial and error. Many of the lessons above are what I used to create my online income. As I’ve said many times, it’s not easy, but it’s certainly not impossible. Even for those of us that are not A-List Bloggers, creating a full time, online income is quite possible, as I have shown.

Take away the lessons from the square watermelons and apply them to all areas in your life (work, finances, relationships, etc) and you will find that by consistently applying them, you will constantly be improving all aspects of your life.