"We need to work smart, not hard." I'm sure you've heard that expression or a variation of it, and perhaps you use it yourself.
It's one of those expressions that's rooted in truth, and it can come in handy. But be careful how you use it.
Obviously, working smart makes good sense. Our efforts should go toward high-priority tasks, the tasks that contribute to important goals. Successful people have learned how to manage their efforts. They work hard to complete the important tasks and they ignore the petty stuff that clamors for attention but leads nowhere.
Figuring out how to work smart is one of life's most worthwhile achievements. If you feel that you're spinning your wheels, as though you have to run a marathon to get from first to second base, there might be a smarter way. Take a step back and think about changing your approach. Use your head, analyze and get creative with your solutions. Incidentally, it's a lifelong process, there's no "one size fits all" solution to working smart.
The problem with the expression "work smart, not hard" is that people who use it seem to be implying that there is a back door to success. Once the secret key to the door leading to the hidden stairway is found, it will no longer be necessary to work hard. Just open the door, climb the stairway, and - voila - no more hard work.
That simply is not true. The hidden stairway leads nowhere.
Working smart is required. Trying to "work smart, not hard" is extremely dangerous. Change the "not" to "and," and you have a priceless gem of truth. Work smart AND hard. Now that's powerful. That will take you as far as you want to go. "Smart and hard" is the key to building businesses, industries, empires and your successful career.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Career Goals
Plan and Execute Your Career in a Proactive Manner
It is not enough to work, or to decide that you want a career. Set your career goals and determine the steps you should take to realize your goals. Don’t approach your career in an unplanned manner, by simply hoping for the best. Ask yourself these questions:
Where are you?
What are your goals?
How are you progressing?
and how do you want to progress?
Take an honest look at your situation and take control. Review trends in the industry and your needs. The plan should be based on information gathered from credible sources. Be realistic by setting attainable (reasonable) goals. And make sure you execute the plan.
If you follow these basic steps with full dedication,nothing in the world can stop you from attaining your goals.
It is not enough to work, or to decide that you want a career. Set your career goals and determine the steps you should take to realize your goals. Don’t approach your career in an unplanned manner, by simply hoping for the best. Ask yourself these questions:
Where are you?
What are your goals?
How are you progressing?
and how do you want to progress?
Take an honest look at your situation and take control. Review trends in the industry and your needs. The plan should be based on information gathered from credible sources. Be realistic by setting attainable (reasonable) goals. And make sure you execute the plan.
If you follow these basic steps with full dedication,nothing in the world can stop you from attaining your goals.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
TCS+ONGC
TCS : Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is an Indian software services and consulting company. It is one of the world's largest providers of information technology and business process outsourcing services. As of 2008, it is Asia's largest information technology firm and has the largest number of employees among Indian IT companies.
ONGC: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited . It is a Fortune Global 500 company ranked 335th, and contributes 77% of India's crude oil production and 81% of India's natural gas production. It is the highest profit making corporation in India.
Do not be mistaken by the title of the post. There is no collaboration going on between these two giants , they still work independently but there is definitely something that has brought these two to share a common platform . It is a project of ONGC being handled by none other than TCS itself.(I ll get into the details later.)
I feel extremely proud of the fact that I got an opportunity to showcase my talent and inherent capabilities while working through my summer internship with TCS and ONGC. Since the very beginning of this year,life has been really rocking and quite fruitful for me. This very year has been impossibly brilliant till now(touch wood..!!!).
After I got into TCS,I decided to do my summer internship with the same and luckily got myself approved by the TCS to carry out my training.
The very first day I was asked to report at TCS office in CP,Delhi. Afterwards, I was asked to report at ONGC office,Scope Minar in Laxmi Nagar. I could not believe my luck when I came to know that I have been given a lifetime opportunity to work on a live project of ONGC viz Corporate Intranet being handled by TCS. I was to work as an employee of TCS for ONGC.
Honestly speaking these two months have been the best learning experience so far in my life. My words can not contain the essence of my feelings for the experience that I ve had during my summer internship. Though I have had my own ups and downs (My Attitude was again my worst enemy there but I seriously learnt from the mistakes that I made.) but overall this whole jaunt turned out be quite fruitful for me.
The training proided me to have an insight into the corporate world, the way they work,the infrastructure they follow,the rules and regulations one goes through,the overall management and workflow process,the professionalism being followed yet enjoying every moment of work. The training enhanced my technical skills ,provided me a clear and deep understanding of complex situation in technical fields and taught me various technological and non-technological stuffs as well.
But this could have not been possible,had it not been the people who helped me through my internship.
I,sincerely,express my thanks to member of TCS as follows:
Mrs. Harpreet Kaur Sawhney : My Project Leader: A thorough Professional yet Funloving.
Mr. Sachin Bhatia : TCS Employee: A man of inordinate Technical skills
Mr. Mallikaarjuna : TCS Emplyoee: A man with the kindest of heart of all of them,a great help and always there when needed.
Though My Attitude kinda turned out to be a tad annoying to first two but I got along well with the third one( Both of us were from NOIDA itself).
But the person who I end up idolising the most was the Head of Corporate Communication of ONGC : Mr. M.S.Tonk : A man of intelligence,power and had the aura of that of an undisputed HEAD of a group of persons.
I succeeded in giving one good impression of me or of my eccentricities to him and I believe that this is goiing to be indelibly stamped onto his memory as well.
Last but not the least, I thank my friends who were also a trainee like me and they were the ones who put up with me the most , tolerated my incessant thoughts and nonsense,were always a great help and fun to be with.
1. Garima Tewani (never wore a sherwani): The most serious,industrious and dedicated one...a diligent student and a staunch friend.
2. Bhoomika Prabhakar(nowhere related to Manoj Prabhakar): The most frivolous next to me but being a girl was a tad more sincere than me.
3. Hardika Bhasin(never committed a sin): A teacher and a friend to me. Hardworking,sincere and always bustling with energy.
4. Vidhi Vig (never wore a wig): Next Harpreet Sawhney in the making but with a change that She was good to me.
Thank you all for always there for me. It was indeed the best days spent with you all. I am gonna cherish every bit of moment spent with you all for the rest of my life.
Kisi intelligent bande ne kaha : Life is indeed colorful, has various shapes,sizes and colors to it.
I guess I m the one.
:)
ONGC: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited . It is a Fortune Global 500 company ranked 335th, and contributes 77% of India's crude oil production and 81% of India's natural gas production. It is the highest profit making corporation in India.
Do not be mistaken by the title of the post. There is no collaboration going on between these two giants , they still work independently but there is definitely something that has brought these two to share a common platform . It is a project of ONGC being handled by none other than TCS itself.(I ll get into the details later.)
I feel extremely proud of the fact that I got an opportunity to showcase my talent and inherent capabilities while working through my summer internship with TCS and ONGC. Since the very beginning of this year,life has been really rocking and quite fruitful for me. This very year has been impossibly brilliant till now(touch wood..!!!).
After I got into TCS,I decided to do my summer internship with the same and luckily got myself approved by the TCS to carry out my training.
The very first day I was asked to report at TCS office in CP,Delhi. Afterwards, I was asked to report at ONGC office,Scope Minar in Laxmi Nagar. I could not believe my luck when I came to know that I have been given a lifetime opportunity to work on a live project of ONGC viz Corporate Intranet being handled by TCS. I was to work as an employee of TCS for ONGC.
Honestly speaking these two months have been the best learning experience so far in my life. My words can not contain the essence of my feelings for the experience that I ve had during my summer internship. Though I have had my own ups and downs (My Attitude was again my worst enemy there but I seriously learnt from the mistakes that I made.) but overall this whole jaunt turned out be quite fruitful for me.
The training proided me to have an insight into the corporate world, the way they work,the infrastructure they follow,the rules and regulations one goes through,the overall management and workflow process,the professionalism being followed yet enjoying every moment of work. The training enhanced my technical skills ,provided me a clear and deep understanding of complex situation in technical fields and taught me various technological and non-technological stuffs as well.
But this could have not been possible,had it not been the people who helped me through my internship.
I,sincerely,express my thanks to member of TCS as follows:
Mrs. Harpreet Kaur Sawhney : My Project Leader: A thorough Professional yet Funloving.
Mr. Sachin Bhatia : TCS Employee: A man of inordinate Technical skills
Mr. Mallikaarjuna : TCS Emplyoee: A man with the kindest of heart of all of them,a great help and always there when needed.
Though My Attitude kinda turned out to be a tad annoying to first two but I got along well with the third one( Both of us were from NOIDA itself).
But the person who I end up idolising the most was the Head of Corporate Communication of ONGC : Mr. M.S.Tonk : A man of intelligence,power and had the aura of that of an undisputed HEAD of a group of persons.
I succeeded in giving one good impression of me or of my eccentricities to him and I believe that this is goiing to be indelibly stamped onto his memory as well.
Last but not the least, I thank my friends who were also a trainee like me and they were the ones who put up with me the most , tolerated my incessant thoughts and nonsense,were always a great help and fun to be with.
1. Garima Tewani (never wore a sherwani): The most serious,industrious and dedicated one...a diligent student and a staunch friend.
2. Bhoomika Prabhakar(nowhere related to Manoj Prabhakar): The most frivolous next to me but being a girl was a tad more sincere than me.
3. Hardika Bhasin(never committed a sin): A teacher and a friend to me. Hardworking,sincere and always bustling with energy.
4. Vidhi Vig (never wore a wig): Next Harpreet Sawhney in the making but with a change that She was good to me.
Thank you all for always there for me. It was indeed the best days spent with you all. I am gonna cherish every bit of moment spent with you all for the rest of my life.
Kisi intelligent bande ne kaha : Life is indeed colorful, has various shapes,sizes and colors to it.
I guess I m the one.
:)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Attitude..!!
Attitude !...Attitude !...Attitude...!
The word echoes in my mind for more than hundred times in a day. This particular auditory effect is either produced by me or by those who happen to cross paths with me. I have been confronting the word since the days when I was just a mere kid in my school. It seems as if I lost something called "Attitude" and rest of the world has taken it as their sole responsibility to remind me of it. But what baffles me is the way the word is said over million times.
There are people who throw the word over me with an inch of smile on their face or there are those who ,I guess,donot find a better way to abuse me than just say the word.
Now the time has come when I need to sit down and figure out what does the word actually mean from their point of view and from my point of view as well.
If I get into the literal meaning as laid down in Oxford Dictionary
" Attitude" means "a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways".
But how does one decide whether your Attitude is your best friend or your worst enemy.
Attitude is the one factor that is universally acknowledged to be capable of overcoming every possible disadvantage.
Attitude is also the one factor the can destroy the benefits of every possible advantage.
But, why is that?
What I found is that there are two kinds of people..one who survive tragedies and serious accidents of all kinds and there are those who do not. But where do I fit??
What I found is that regardless of schooling, net worth, role in society, or any other demographic feature, those who survive have access to particular states of mind even under the most trying of circumstances.
It is their approach to the world or their way of thinking about the world or the ways that they manage their thoughts and feelings when the world presents them with unexpected situations, that distinguished survivors from those who died under similar circumstances. No one can ever take away from anyone else the ability to choose their state of mind in the face of any circumstance that befalls them.
In other words, no one can take away your ability to choose your attitude.
Of course, there are a variety of dispositional factors (genetic and otherwise) that influence your ability to control your attitude and there are also a variety of social factors that influence the opportunities to develop the skills for conscious control of your own attitude, but there is nothing in either the realms within you or the realms outside of you that can ever make your choice of attitude totally predictable.
In short, what distinguishes those who handle crisis well is what we call, in common everyday parlance, their attitude.
As far as my case is concerned I believe that like everyone I have my own approach to the world or my way of thinking about the world or the ways that I manage my thoughts and feelings when the world presents me with unexpected situations.In short No one can ever take away from me the ability to choose my state of mind in the face of any circumstance that befalls me.
In other words, no one can take away my ability to choose my attitude. Now that in itself is an "Attitude".
But the most important aspect of the overall thing is that one should always be careful enough to carry out one's own behaviour or attitude esp in corporate world as that determines your career and level to which you can survive. The best way is to make yourself acclimatize to the situation and finally emerge out as winner.
A congenial disposition results in one congenial atmosphere and that marks the beginning of right Attitude to make further changes as per your requirement.
Now that too in itself is an attitude..!!
The word echoes in my mind for more than hundred times in a day. This particular auditory effect is either produced by me or by those who happen to cross paths with me. I have been confronting the word since the days when I was just a mere kid in my school. It seems as if I lost something called "Attitude" and rest of the world has taken it as their sole responsibility to remind me of it. But what baffles me is the way the word is said over million times.
There are people who throw the word over me with an inch of smile on their face or there are those who ,I guess,donot find a better way to abuse me than just say the word.
Now the time has come when I need to sit down and figure out what does the word actually mean from their point of view and from my point of view as well.
If I get into the literal meaning as laid down in Oxford Dictionary
" Attitude" means "a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways".
But how does one decide whether your Attitude is your best friend or your worst enemy.
Attitude is the one factor that is universally acknowledged to be capable of overcoming every possible disadvantage.
Attitude is also the one factor the can destroy the benefits of every possible advantage.
But, why is that?
What I found is that there are two kinds of people..one who survive tragedies and serious accidents of all kinds and there are those who do not. But where do I fit??
What I found is that regardless of schooling, net worth, role in society, or any other demographic feature, those who survive have access to particular states of mind even under the most trying of circumstances.
It is their approach to the world or their way of thinking about the world or the ways that they manage their thoughts and feelings when the world presents them with unexpected situations, that distinguished survivors from those who died under similar circumstances. No one can ever take away from anyone else the ability to choose their state of mind in the face of any circumstance that befalls them.
In other words, no one can take away your ability to choose your attitude.
Of course, there are a variety of dispositional factors (genetic and otherwise) that influence your ability to control your attitude and there are also a variety of social factors that influence the opportunities to develop the skills for conscious control of your own attitude, but there is nothing in either the realms within you or the realms outside of you that can ever make your choice of attitude totally predictable.
In short, what distinguishes those who handle crisis well is what we call, in common everyday parlance, their attitude.
As far as my case is concerned I believe that like everyone I have my own approach to the world or my way of thinking about the world or the ways that I manage my thoughts and feelings when the world presents me with unexpected situations.In short No one can ever take away from me the ability to choose my state of mind in the face of any circumstance that befalls me.
In other words, no one can take away my ability to choose my attitude. Now that in itself is an "Attitude".
But the most important aspect of the overall thing is that one should always be careful enough to carry out one's own behaviour or attitude esp in corporate world as that determines your career and level to which you can survive. The best way is to make yourself acclimatize to the situation and finally emerge out as winner.
A congenial disposition results in one congenial atmosphere and that marks the beginning of right Attitude to make further changes as per your requirement.
Now that too in itself is an attitude..!!
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