Happy Improvement story of Taj

The Taj hotel group had invited Mr. Masai Imai from Japan to hold a workshop for its staff. The staff were very skeptical- the hotel is doing excellent business, this person from Japan has no exposure to hotel industry- what exactly is he going to teach?
But everybody as planned gathered for the workshop in the conference hall sharp at 9 am. Masai san was introduced to them- a not so impressive personality, nor the English all that good; spoke as if he was first formulating each sentence in Japanese and then translating it into rather clumsy English.
"Good morning! Let's start work. I am told this is a workshop; but I see neither work nor shop. So let's proceed where work is happening.
Let's start with the first room on the first floor." Masai san, followed by the senior management, the participants, the video camera crew trouped out of the conference room and proceeded to the destination. That happened to be the laundry room of the hotel. Mr. Masai entered the room and stood at the window, "beautiful view!" he said. The staff knew it; they need not invite a Japanese consultant to tell them this!
"A room with such a beautiful view is being wasted as a laundry room.
Shift the laundry to the basement and convert this into a guest room."
Aa Haa! now nobody had ever thought about that! The manager said, "Yes, it can be done."
"Then let's do it.", Masai san said.
"Yes sir, I will make a note of this and we will include it in the report on the workshop that will be prepared." Manager
"Excuse me, but there is nothing to note down in this. Let's just do it, just now." Mr. Masai.
"Just now?" Manager
"Yes, decide on a room on the ground floor/basement and shift the stuff out of this room right away. It should take a couple of hours, right?" Mr. Masai.
"Yes." Manager.
"Let's come back here just before lunch. By then all this stuff will have got shifted out and the room must be ready with the carpets, furniture etc and from today you can start earning the few thousand that you charge your customers for a room night."
"Ok, Sir." The manager had no option.
The next destination was the pantry. The group entered. At the entrance were two huge sinks full of plates to be washed. Mr. Masai removed his jacket and started washing the plates.
"Sir, Please, what are you doing?" the manager didn't know what to say and what to do.
"Why, I am washing the plates", Masai san.
"But sir, there is staff here to do that." Manager Mr. Masai continued washing, "I think sink is for washing plates, there are stands here to keep the plates and the plates should go into the stands."
All the officials wondered - did they require a consultant to tell them this?
After finishing the job, Mr. Masai asked, "how many plates do you have?'
"Plenty, so that there should never be any shortage." Manager.
Masai san said, "We have a word in Japanese-'Muda'. Muda means delay, muda means unnecessary spending. One lesson to be learned in this workshop is to avoid both. If you have plenty of plates, there will be delay in cleaning them up. The first step to correct this situation is to remove all the excess plates."
"Yes, we will say this in the report." Manager.
"No, wasting our time in writing the report is again an instance of 'muda'. We must pack the extra plates in a box right away and send these to whichever other section of Taj require these. Throughout the workshop now we will find out where all we find this 'muda' hidden."
And then at every spot and session, the staff eagerly awaited to find out muda and learn how to avoid it.
On the last day, Masai san told a story.
"A Japanese and an American, both fond of hunting, entered a jungle with guns. In the pursuit of game they entered deep jungle and suddenly realized that they had run out of bullets. Just then they heard a lion roaring. Both started running. But the Japanese took a short break to put on his sports shoes. The American said, "What are you doing? We must first get to the car."
The Japanese said, "No. I only have to ensure that I remain ahead of you." All the participants engrossed in listening to the story, realized suddenly that the lion would stop after getting his victim!
"The lesson is competition in today's world is so fierce, that it is important to stay ahead of other even by just a couple of steps. And you have such a huge and naturally well endowed country. If you remember to curtail your production expenditure and give the best quality always, you will be miles ahead as compared to so many other countries in the world.", Masai san.
HAPPY IMPROVEMENT

The story of watermelons by Manohar Parrikar

"I am from the village of Parra in Goa, hence we are called Parrikars. My village is famous for its watermelons. When I was a child, the farmers would organise a watermelon-eating contest at the end of the harvest season in May. All the kids would be invited to eat as many watermelons as they wanted. Years later, I went to IIT Mumbai to study engineering. I went back to my village after 6.5 years. I went to the market looking for watermelons. They were all gone. The ones that were there were so small. I went to see the farmer who hosted the watermelon-eating contest. His son had taken over. He would host the contest but there was a difference. When the older farmer gave us watermelons to eat he would ask us to spit out the seeds into a bowl. We were told not to bite into the seeds. He was collecting the seeds for his next crop. We were unpaid child labourers, actually. He kept his best watermelons for the contest and he got the best seeds which would yield even bigger watermelons the next year. His son, when he took over, realised that the larger watermelons would fetch more money in the market so he sold the larger ones and kept the smaller ones for the contest. The next year, the watermelons were smaller, the year later even small. In watermelons the generation is one year. In seven years, Parra's best watermelons were finished. In humans, generations change after 25 years. It will take us 200 years to figure what we were doing wrong while educating our children."

Story of a Man

A man who has gone out of his town comes back and finds that his house is on fire.

It was one of the most beautiful houses in the town, and the man loved the house the most! Many were ready to give double price for the house, but he had never agreed for any price and now it is just burning before his eyes.

And thousands of people have gathered, but nothing can be done, the fire has spread so far that even if you try to put it out, nothing will be saved. So he becomes very sad.

His son comes running and whispers something in his ear:

"Don't be worried. I sold it yesterday and at a very good price ― three times.

The offer was so good I could not wait for you. Forgive me."

Father said, "thank God, it's not ours now!" Then the father is relaxed and became a silent watcher, just like 1000s of other watchers.

Please think about it! 

Just a moment before he was not a watcher, he was attached.

It is the same house....the same fire.... everything is the same...but now he is not concerned. 
In fact started enjoying it just as everybody else in the crowd.

Then the second son comes running, and he says to the father, "What are you doing? You are smiling ― and the house is on fire?" The father said, "Don't you know, your brother has sold it."

He said, "We have taken only advance amount, not settled fully. I doubt now that the man is going to purchase it now."

Again, everything changes!!

Tears which had disappeared, have come back to the father's eyes, his smile is no more there, his heart is beating fast. The 'watcher' is gone. He is again attached.

And then the third son comes, and he says, "That man is a man of his word. I have just come from him. He said, 'It doesn't matter whether the house is burnt or not, it is mine. And I am going to pay the price that I have settled for. Neither you knew, nor I knew that the house would catch on fire.'"

Again the joy is back and family became 'watchers'! The attachment is no more there.

Actually nothing is changing!

Just the feeling that "I am the owner! I am not the owner of the house!" makes the whole difference.

       _*The Moral :*_

         This simple    
      *Methodology*
of watching the mind, That you have nothing to do with it. 

*Everything starts with a Thought!*

*Most of the thoughts are not yours but from your parents, your teachers, your friends, the books, the movies, the television, the newspapers.*

*Just count how many thoughts are your own, and you will be surprised that not a single thought is your own. All are from other sources, all are borrowed ― either dumped by others on you, or foolishly dumped by yourself upon yourself, but nothing is yours.*

           ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*_Sow a thought, you reap an action._*

*_Sow an act, you reap a habit._*

_*Sow a habit, you reap a character.*_

*_Sow a character, you reap a destiny..!_*

Amitabh Bachchan writes a heartfelt letter to granddaughters – Navya and Aaradhya

My very dearest Navya & Aaradhya

 

You both carry a very valuable legacy on your tender shoulders – Aaradhya, the legacy of your Par Dadaji, Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan…and Navya, the legacy of your Par Dada , Shri H P Nanda….

 

Both your Par Dadajis’ gave your present surnames celebrated fame, dignity and recognition!

 

Both of you maybe a Nanda or a Bachchan, but you are also girls…women!

 

And because you are women people will force their thinking, their boundaries on you.

 

They will tell you how to dress, how to behave, who you can meet and where you can go.

 

Don’t live in the shadows of people’s judgement. Make your own choices in the light of your own wisdom.

 

Don’t let anyone make you believe that the length of your skirt is a measure of your character.

 

Don’t let anyone’s opinion of who you should be friends with, dictate who you will be friends with.

 

Don’t get married for any other reason other than you want to get married.

 

People will talk. They shall say some terrible things. But that doesn’t mean you have to listen to everyone. Never ever worry about – Log Kya Kahenge !

 

At the end of the day, you are the only one who will face the consequences of your actions, so don’t let other people make your decisions for you.

 

Navya – the privilege your name, your surname offers you, will not protect you from the difficulties you will face because you’re a woman.

 

Aaradhya – by the time you see and understand this, I may well not be around. But I think what I am saying today shall still be relevant.

 

This may be a difficult, difficult world to be a woman. But I believe that it is women like you that will change that.

 

It may not be easy, setting your own boundaries, making your own choices, rising above people’s judgement. But YOU !…you can set an example for women everywhere.

 

Do this and you would have done more than I have ever done, and it will be my honor to be known not as Amitabh Bachchan, but as your grandfather !!

 

With all my love

 

Your ….Dadaji ….your Nana