Once a poor kid was given an assignment by a teacher on what he wanted to be when he grew up. The kid did not hesitate for a minute and wrote a seven-page paper about his aim to be the owner of a horse ranch. He covered many details, including an exhaustive plan of the house and the stables. The teacher returned his paper with a big “F”, and then(..)
A rich, old man with no offspring decides to hold a competition to determine who should get his inheritance. He summons all the poor people in the locality, and gives each one a seed. “Plant this seed and nurture it. In one year, bring back the flower that grows from it. Whoever brings me the most beautiful flower is capable of nurturing my wealth, and(..)
Once, a wise man goes to a Zen master – “I want to master the art of living; please teach me.” The master asks the man to join him for a cup of tea first. His disciple brings a tray of empty cups with a tea kettle. Most of the cups are a random mix of ordinary cups, however, a few look exquisite. The man picks one of the exquisite ones.(..)
About one week back, as I was busy assembling milestone information to be included in Cybage quarterly performance report – a telephone ring interrupted me. HR was on the other side. We had lost one more in the family – young Tarkeshwar Gupta had fallen to the road fury earlier that morning. My immediate thought was no thought – just numbness.(..)
Once there was an illiterate man who was good at only one thing—that is, he enthusiastically made the best hot dogs in town and sold lots of them. His sales went up so he ordered more meat, got a bigger stove and put up an advertising hoarding. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from college, joined his father. Then something(..)
A young boy was learning to fly a kite. A parrot got entangled in the unsteady string of the kite and fell to the ground. The boy watched in distress as the injured bird lay an egg before taking her last breath. Heartbroken, he made a little nest on the branch of a tree and nurtured the egg. The egg hatched and out emerged the most beautiful bird he had(..)
A little boy goes to a pet shop to buy a puppy and discovers that(..)
A teenage girl walked up to her mother demanding money to buy a fancy watch. Puzzled, her mother asked, “Why do you want a fancy watch?” The girl replied, “Because it will help me fit in the social circle.” Without a pause, the mother took out a crease-free INR 2000 note and questioned her daughter if it would be enough to buy the watch.(..)
Once there lived a great king in a big palace. One morning as he was standing in his palatial balcony admiring the morning rays falling on his beautifully landscaped gardens, his vision was marred by the sighting of an ugly dwelling protruding behind the walls of his eastern boundary walls. Immediately, he dispatched his minister with the instructions(..)
A group of children is playing near two railway tracks, one still in use, while the other disused. Only one intelligent child is playing on the dysfunctional track, the irresponsible rest on the operational track. A train approaches, and you happen to be in charge of the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track to(..)
A large farm in Goa was famous for its watermelons. Every year, the(..)
Once a young man meets a well-traveled man. The traveler tells him great tales of his explorations and talks about a country that had no onions. “No onions!” exclaims the man, “How can anyone enjoy the true pleasure of food without onions?” Without further thought, he buys onions, fills his cart, and sets his journey towards this whimsical(..)
Once, a very rich man goes to a wise sage with his problem, “I keep acquiring everything I please, yet each time my happiness is short-lived.” The sage tells him to come back the next day. The man arrives the next morning and discovers the sage is searching for something in the thick bushes outside his hut. “What are you looking for?” the man(..)
Boxing an Inspiration… Generally speaking, the popular management anecdotes revolve around entrepreneurial ‘“wonder years”—the years an entrepreneur learns to ‘walk’. There are not too many case studies that delve on “shaping years”—the years when a successful founder learns to ‘run’ as a CEO. What is the difference, you may ask.(..)
Horror gripped the heart of a World War-I soldier as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle on the enemy’s side of the bridge. The soldier asked his Lieutenant whether he could go out to bring his fallen comrade back. “You can go,” said the Lieutenant, “but I don’t think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your(..)
