Cycle

Every parents wants their child to grow big fast. First thing they would do for this is get a cycle for him/her. Yesterday my dad, mom, my wife and Khush went to buy a cycle for Khush. Unfortunately I could be part of them during the purchase because of work load. I managed to reach there just in time while the mechanic was tightening the nuts of the cycle. Khush was all excited to see his new cycle and seeing me their he jumped with joy.

 

In auto we took it home. It was time for Khush to drive his new cycle at home. He does not like to sit on top of it and cycle it rather he is interested in dragging it around. Much excited kid, I told him post dinner we will do down and dad will help him learn. We went down and I helped him cycle for more than 30 min. At that point of time it reminded me how my dad helped him learn a new cycle we bought when I was a kid. I love you dad for everything. And I want to thank god for giving me a lovely kid Khush. I am blessed with a lovely family.

 

End of the day before going to sleep he parked the cycle in the hall and went to sleep with me. First thing in the morning @ 0700hrs (his usual wake up time is 0930hrs) today he went to his cycle looked at it and went to sleep again.

Macro-Managing: Frame the Problem, Then Delegate

Behance recently spoke with the Creative Director of a leading agency, who sees his leadership role as that of the problem framer. When a new project kicks off, his goal is to articulate the thrust of the problem to his team, to inspire them about possible solutions, and then to delegate the true work of uncovering the final answer to the appropriate team members.

As he puts it, “I try to frame what the problem is. I try to frame what the territories are. What we should be looking for.” Once the problem is framed, he says, “Other members of my team will help craft it… and build it.”

We often think of leaders as visionary problem solvers, yet to be a successful manager the ability to be a visionary problem framer is extremely important. The reason is scalability. If the leader is solving the problems, only so many problems can get solved. Yet, if he/she has the ability to articulate the problem to team members – thus putting the problem solving power in their hands – scalability expands exponentially.

Along similar lines, Paul Budnitz, founder of uber-hip retail chain Kid Robot, counsels the effectiveness of aggressive delegation. Budnitz explains, “Personally, I do everything I can to give away as much work as I can to someone else. If I don't have anything to do, and everything seems to get done anyway, then I know I'm being effective… I see my role as guiding collaboration. It's up to me to know what's good, what isn't, and who to ask to work on what.”

The side benefit of this type of macro-management – as opposed to niggling micro-management – is that your team will feel more ownership and engagement with the project than if they were just executing your already-fully-laid-out vision step by step.

Mind your cell phone etiquette

Your obsession with your cell phone could lead to cell phone rage.

Visualise these conversations:

Businessman: "Man, the traffic at this junction is really bad. I wish I had stayed home. The indicator says I will be here for 113 more seconds."

Young woman to friend: "Right now, I am walking into the post office".

IT professional: "I have reached the pub and I am now parking… done… Now I will be going in for some beer."

If these are the kind of conversations you have on your cell phone, you might be joining the ranks of the cell phone dependent. The cell phone demands and you comply. Bad enough.

But it is when you demand and the cell phone refuses to comply that you could fly into cell phone rage. The rage could also overcome you when you want some peace and a young woman using the cell phone at your local café refuses to comply because she is emphatically discussing the pros and cons of legalising abortion in the United States, and at the top of her voice.

There are a few things you need to remember if you are trying to avoid cell phone rage or want to shake off your cell phone addiction.

~ Think of your cell phone as a tool for emergencies ("Honey, the house is on fire!") and not something that can allow you to spend every minute of your leisure time talking to someone or the other. Remember that to grow as a person, you need some time to yourself too.

~ Stop having unnecessary conversations on your cell phone to pass time.
("Hi. Anything new happening in the last hour?"). There are better ways of doing that, like reading a book for instance.

~ You do not have to take EVERY call. You have a caller ID facility and a voice mail facility. Use them. Let the person calling leave a message on your answering machine and if the message is important, call back.

~ Request people to SMS you instead of calling if they want to convey short important (or non-critical) messages. ("Hey. Akki is back from school")

~ Put your cell phone on vibrating mode to avoid disturbing others around you when it rings.

~ It's likely that the more available you make yourself, the more you will be expected to be available. So if a friend does not find you, because you could not answer his call, he is going to be bugged. Instead you should make it clear that you are not available 24/7. The best attitude: If a call is important, the caller will try again later.

~ Cell phones are not infallible, neither are cell phone service providers.
If you accept this fact, you will experience less frustration when things go wrong (as they often do).

~ Keep all your cell phone bills for your record. They are very useful when you are making your case against a huge bill.

Cell phone etiquette

Knowing and following a certain cell phone etiquette will ensure that you are not labeled offensive or become responsible for generating cell phone
rage:

i. At restaurants:

Yes, it is a casual atmosphere but be sensitive to the feelings of those around you who might be trying to enjoy a peaceful evening.

~ Ask if there are any restrictions on cell phone use.

~ Put your phone on vibrate mode and answer only important calls and keep all calls brief.

~ Keep your conversation tone low to avoid disturbing others around you.

ii. At movie theaters, shows, meetings etc:

Can anything be more irritating than to have a cell phone ring while you are speaking in a meeting? Well, it could be worse. The call could be answered.

~ Make sure you turn off your phone before you enter.

~ If you are expecting an all-important call, put your phone on vibrate mode or periodically check for voice mail.

~ No matter what happens, DO NOT answer any call inside the venue.

iii. At museums and places of worship:

Why visit a museum or a temple if the atmosphere around is worse than home.
You might as well stay back and endure your wife nagging and the kids fighting and complaining.

~ Leave the potentially offensive item in the car. If someone needs to reach you, let him/her find a less intrusive way.

iv. In airplanes:

~ Switch off your cell phone as soon as you enter the aircraft.

~ If someone seated near you is busy talking on his/her cell phone, request him/her that they need to switch it off. If all you get in return is an imperceptible nod while the person continues to talk, bring this matter to the attention of the flight attendant.

v. While someone is trying to tell you something:

Do not communicate with a person who is in front of you with nods, shakes and furious gestures, even if it is a waiter trying to get your order. Put the person you are on the phone with on hold while you talk to a person whom you are meeting face-to-face.

vi. While driving:

Do not use the cell phone while driving. Period.

Ask yourself this significant question: Do I want to be available to everyone all the time? Unless you are the emergency department of a hospital, you would not want to do that. The next time your cell phone rings, check if it is convenient for you to take the call at that particular moment. If you feel forced to respond, pick it up and say, "Hi. How are you?
Can I call you back later?" Disconnect, sit back and relax.

Even better, turn your cell phone off and check for SMS messages at regular intervals. (Not every five minutes though).
And this could even mean you won't have to answer calls from your credit card company either.