Archives for July 2006

Inspirational Quotations #127

July 30, 2006 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Be nice and smile to everyone you meet. You don’t know what they are going through, and they may need that smile, and treasure it.
—Unknown

An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (Indian Hindu Political leader)

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
—Chinese Proverb

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life; that word is love.
—Sophocles (Ancient Greek Dramatist)

Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within.
—Helen Keller (American Author)

Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
—Unknown

A ship is safest at the harbor, but that is not where it is supposed to be.
—N. R. Narayana Murthy (Indian Businessperson)

When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader)

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.
—Naguib Mahfouz (Egyptian Novelist)

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
—Ambrose Hollingworth Redmoon (James Neil Hollingworth)

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
—John Augustus Shedd

Wednesday Afternoon Time-off: Recharge Mid-week

July 25, 2006 By Nagesh Belludi 5 Comments

Most of us feel our weekends are insufficient to accomplish everything that we want to; we tend to over-plan and underachieve. On Sunday evening, we wish we had relaxed more, completed more errands and spent more time with family and friends. If a weekend involves long-distance travel, we tend to leave from work on Friday afternoon and return home exhausted on Sunday evening.

When we return to work on Monday, we are hung-over from the out-of-work rhythm of the weekend and gain momentum during the day. We are at peak energy levels during Tuesday and Wednesday. Once we pass ‘hump day’, we long for a break. By Thursday afternoon, we feel drained and begin to look forward to the weekend. Our energy levels and thus our productivities tend to be lower on Friday as we wrap up our workweek. Wednesday Afternoon Time-off: Recharge Mid-week

Every week, we crave a mid-week break—an opportunity to reenergize during the middle of the week. In response, I present the concept of Wednesday Afternoon Time-off. In essence, this concept involves leaving work early, say at around 3:00pm, and taking a break from routine life.

We can use this time-off from the routine to catch-up with errands, devote time for family and friends, eat out, read a book, visit the beach, relax or to just to arrive at home early. This brief time-off will render us energized and recharged for higher productivity during the last two days of the workweek. Additionally, this break gives us something to look forward to at the middle of the week.

I have practiced this idea of mid-week time-offs during the past few weeks and find the experience amazing. My workplace appreciates the higher energy levels on Thursday and Friday. The two hours of work I miss on Wednesdays are easily compensated for by the extra time I devote to work on other weekdays.

I encourage you to try this practice by blocking off time on your calendar, planning work around leaving work early on Wednesday afternoon and getting a break. I would love to hear about your experience.

Inspirational Quotations #126

July 23, 2006 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.
—Hebrew Proverb

I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer not neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
—Unknown

Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
—Malcolm Forbes (American Publisher)

In its knowledges light, we must think and act not only for the moment but for our time. I am reminded of the great French Marshal Lyautey, who once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for a hundred years. The Marshal replied, In that case, there is no time to lose, plant it this afternoon.
—John F. Kennedy (American Head of State)

I have never yet met a healthy person who worried very much about his health, or a really good person who worried much about his own soul.
—J. B. S. Haldane (British Biologist)

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (Indian Hindu Political leader)

Take a second look … it costs you nothing.
—Chinese Proverb

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
—Buddhist Teaching

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.
—Malcolm Forbes (American Publisher)

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
—Thomas Edison (American Inventor)

Airbus A350 XWB: A Move in the Right Direction

July 18, 2006 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

As anticipated, Airbus announced a new A350 XWB (Xtra Wide Body) family of aircrafts at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday. The family includes the A350-800 (270 seats in 3-class configuration), A350-900 (314 seats), ultra-long range A350-900 (314 seats), A350-900 freighter and A350-1000 (350 seats). The new aircrafts will feature a new fuselage that can accommodate nine-abreast seating and promise better operating economies than the Boeing B787 and B777 families. Illustrations released by Airbus indicate that the A350 may resemble the B787!

Interestingly, Airbus announced no aircraft for the 200 to 230 seat market. Airbus will discontinue the A310 from mid-2007 and its smallest wide-body is the popular A330-200, which can set 250 seats in 3-class configuration. So does not offer a competition for the B787-800, which has captured 281 of the 404 orders for the B787 thus far. If Airbus expects few other airlines to order aircrafts of this size in the next few years, it can shrink the A350-800 at a later date to cater to this market whenever demand arises.

Clearly, the new fuselage and cockpit sections are a break from the Airbus tradition of sub-system commonality. Towards 2010 or so, I expect Airbus to announce discontinuation of its A330 and A340 families in favor of the A350 family that will directly compete against Boeing’s B787 and B777 families. The A350 is an enhanced replacement for the twin-engine A330 and the four-engine twin-aisle market seems to have dried-up as poor sales of the A340 in the last two years have indicated.

Inspirational Quotations #125

July 16, 2006 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
—Mark Twain (American Humorist)

We turn, not older with years, but newer every day.
—Emily Dickinson (American Poet)

I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
—George S. Patton (American Military Leader)

The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.
—Laozi (Chinese Philosopher)

Make yourself a blessing to someone. Your kind smile or pat on the back just might pull someone back from the edge.
—Carmelia Elliott

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.
—Vince Lombardi, Jr.

Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
—George Washington Carver (American Scientist)

The Skills-Attitudes Competence Model

July 8, 2006 By Nagesh Belludi Leave a Comment

While poking around the internet, I recently bumped into a few articles that refer to a study by either Harvard or Stanford or both that concluded that 85% of one’s success at work is due to his/her attitudes and just 15% is due to technical skills [1, 2]. While most of us agree with this statement in principle, we could question how a survey could quantify attitudes and technical skills and the contributions of these traits to professional success.

The simple skills-attitudes competence model shown below will help quantify one’s talents and understand the relative contributions of skills and attitudes to professional success. This model is a graphical indication of one’s positioning with respect to technical skills (x-axis) and attitudes and behaviors (y-axis). Every job carries a certain level of expectation for both of these disciplines. A threshold line divides this landscape into the proficient and vulnerable zones. The position of the threshold line vis-à-vis the lines of expectation signifies a lower tolerance for poor attitudes in comparison to insufficient technical skills.

Consider six people, A to F, in the landscape. ‘A’ possesses lower than expected skills, but possesses the right attitudes to learn, grow and get things done. ‘B’ and ‘C’ possess the same level of skills as ‘A’, but possess worse attitudes and risk being labeled incompetent. ‘B’ could move into the secure zone by developing skills (transitioning along the x-axis) or by developing positive attitudes (transitioning along the y-axis) or by developing on both (transitioning along an inclined line). ‘D’ and ‘E’ may be extremely skilled; their skills may be critical to the success of the organization. However, if ‘D’ fails to fails to conform to the core values of the company or exhibits behavior that is difficult to tolerate, the organization may eliminate him from his position. ‘F’ possesses the best attitudes and skills and thrives in the organization. The farther away ‘F’ is from the threshold line, the more secure he or she is.

Use this skills-attitudes competence model to define tangible attributes of skills and attitudes expected of you in the context of your current position or your desired future position. Identify your position on this chart. Under the guidance of your supervisor and mentors, identify what skills and/or attitudes you can develop towards a successful and satisfying career.

Archives for July 2006

Wondering what to read next?

Wondering what to read next?