•Honesty & Integrity – Hallmark for Success

“Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist.” --Mary Kay Ash

Generation after generation, all civilizations have passed on virtually the same set of values: honesty, integrity, dedication, respect for others, etc. But when persons operate in groups or as employees in organizations, there is a large gap between the set of values people think they hold and practise and what others see them as practising. There is also a big gap between the values wanted and the values upheld by groups.

Many a times, people are heard debating whether values come in the way of success. There is no merit in that debate. Values not only help in achieving success but also make success more enduring and lasting. Values can help establish business or career purpose. Values combined with a powerful vision can turbo-charge us to scale new heights and make us succeed beyond our wildest expectations.


•Six basic values enunciated by Wipro Chief – Shri Azim Premji

First is the value of honesty. You have to be completely honest not only with other people but also with yourself. Honesty in many ways is synonymous with integrity. It builds transparency. Once people know you are honest, they start respecting you for what you are. In the long run this makes for a stronger relationship.

Second is the value of hard work. We need to become a nation of hard workers. It was not resources but hard work that transformed other nations such as Japan, after being completely devastated after World War II. Steady work builds up both wealth and power and keeps one's conscience in rectitude. We need to work hard and work smart. We have to change from our image of India from being a nation of holidays to a nation of people who enjoy hard work.

Third is the value of self-confidence. Centuries of subjugation have made us embrace a fatalistic approach to life. But that is all in the past. The millennium of the mind has altered the entire landscape of competitive advantage. India has one of the largest pools of disciplined, technical talent. They have won enormous respect from nations all over the world, whether it is in information technology, scientific research or in academia.

Self-confidence has to be an intrinsic part of our approach in demanding what is due for our merit and ability and not undersell ourselves to the outside world, no matter what our internal competitive compulsions may be. The truth is that nobody can make us feel inferior without our consent.

The fourth value is humility. Humility is not opposed to self-confidence. In fact, though it might seem like a paradox, people with the highest self-confidence have the highest humility, because they have nothing to prove to themselves. Humility is a pre-requisite for continuous learning from the environment. No matter how good you are, someone out there knows how to do things a little better.

Technology keeps changing and standards of excellence keep getting upgraded. If we have humility, we can have an open mind to absorb the changes. Remember, the mind is like a parachute; it functions only when it is open.

The fifth value is persistence. There are enough stories of people who gave up their search for gold and stopped digging just a few feet way from the gold ore deposit. Nothing is ever achieved in one go. One has to keep at it irrespective of the initial setbacks and frustration. You owe it to yourself to make that one more try that could make all the difference.

The last value is passion in whatever you do. Passion is giving your 100 per cent to whatever you take up. Passion requires that you own up whatever you take up, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant.

Ultimately, leadership based on values has long-term benefits. Cutting corners can at best provide immediate benefits, with hidden consequences that could prove disastrous later. You may call it by any name, but there is a powerful law in nature that returns you manifold integrity in your relationship with society.


•A TOOL TO COMBAT STRESS!

“Life is too important to be taken seriously." ~Oscar Wilde Big smiles to all NHRD readers…. Something reminds me out from biblical times, Proverbs (17:22) tells us “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” And we have all heard the saying “Laughter is the best medicine”. A good laugh relaxes tense muscles, sends more oxygen into your system, quicker and lowers your blood pressure. Through this article I would like everyone to know about this medicine that has been predominantly practiced in the corporate arena nowadays. The smiling and laughing cause physiological changes in our body, There is a reduction in cortisol, a chemical that indicates stress in the body, and an increase in mood elevating endorphins. Laughter is also thought to improve circulation, stimulate the nervous system, heighten the immune system, and make the heart stronger. Laugh your stress away! This is powerful evidence that laughter stimulates the immune system and this off-sets the immunosuppressive effects of stress. Laughter is powerful medicine! Humor is a terrific stress-reducer and antidote to all manner of upsets. It has been clinically proven to be effective in combating the worst of stress. Stress at Work People come across stress often at their work place. Inappropriate anger in the workplace, a symptom of stress and frustration, is a leading cause of firings – cited ahead of job incompetence. Workplace stress affects the performance of the brain, including functions of work performance; memory, concentration, and learning. Employers should provide a stress-free work environment, recognize where stress is becoming a problem for staff, and take action to reduce stress. Stress in the workplace reduces productivity, increases management pressures, and makes people ill in many ways, evidence of which is still increasing. Introduce more laughter practices in your organization and set the smiles and laugh in the day to day activity and you will notice the difference in your state of well being in form of better health and joy. I would like to suggest few tips that can get you started: • Practice laughing 5 minutes every day. Fake it till you make it. • Laugh with other people when they laugh. • Wear a smile. It puts you closer to laughing. • Seek out entertainment that makes you laugh. • Wave to yourself in the mirror. Every time you pass a mirror, give yourself a little wave and a smile. • Do at least one silly, non-conforming thing a day, which cracks laughter out of you. Make laughter a meal and you will start experiencing the joy and ecstasy in your life. Written By: Mili Sehgal Sr. Manager- Human Resource New Era India Consultancy Pvt.Ltd. Email: milis@neweraindia.com