Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Aparna Khanolkar Sheth Y es, if you are in business – whatever kind it may be – you need to respect money; you need to discuss money matters with your customers and suppliers both, with your lenders and borrowers both. And, above all, you need to be fair in your dealings... Else, you have no business to be in business... Well, the point taken, sir, with all humility. But, the best of the best paperwork, the warranties and guarantees, penalty clauses and promise can not do for you what genuine trust and a sincere word-of-mouth can... There are good bosses and there are bad bosses, just as there are good employees and there are bad employees... Similarly, there are good customers, suppliers, borrowers and lenders.... and there are bad ones, too... When the business is small, and the relationship is direct, it is possible to depend largely on trust, manage without paperwork and clauses... But, when the business grows big, and the relationship b...

Even the mightiest of the Super Powers of the world does not want to get into a war. War is no solution to the conflicts in hand - be it between nations or be it between groups of people or just individuals. War is a sad chapter… Sensible ones try their level-best to avoid it, avert it. Our idea of a war is, generally, confined to wars between the nations. But, any conflict between two groups or two individuals has the same potential of causing destruction and ruining peace. Abraham Lincoln had said in his famous Second Inaugural speech: “Both parties deprecated war; but, one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish… and, the war came.” Abraham Lincoln accepted the war forced upon the Union. His goal was simple: to end slavery and save the Union from breaking. So, with his clear conscience, he accepted the challenge of Civil Wa...

My friend Giri conducted a Workshop for our young students this morning. He had called it ‘Success Mantras – 2’. Two weeks ago, he had held his first Workshop and called it: ‘Success Mantras -1’. Giri conveys his message through simple games, which the young participants thoroughly enjoy. A very complex principle can be conveyed through a very simple game, and Giri is a genius in it. Two weeks ago, during his first Workshop, he gave the kids a simple activity of raising a tower with blocks. How simple! But, when the kids actually began to do it, they realized how hard it was. Most of them could not even go beyond five blocks! In the end, Giri revealed his first Success Mantra: Start on a sound foundation. “To achieve success, you need to first focus on the basic principles – the foundation,” he declared, “Else, my little friends, your tower would soon lean, collapse.” In today’s Workshop, he dealt with another four Success Mantras. The last of the four hit them hard. It was a game ...

This world is not flat, it is round. It has people of all types... not just one type, flat. One of these types is known as 'Dog-in-the-manger types'. They will neither do any good work, nor will allow anyone else to do it. Aesop, in one of his fables, made these fellows very popular, very familiar. This was that fable: Long time ago, in one of the villages, there lived a farmer. He had a couple of cows and a dog. One day, the cows had been out and, back home, the dog was hungry. He went around everywhere looking for food but in vain. Finally, he landed up at the stable and, found there some fresh hay in the manger. He tried to eat it, but he couldn't. "How unfair can be our Master," he cribbed,” So much for the cows, and nothing for me." Then, he slept in the manger, right over the hay, and declared, "I will not allow those cows to eat it, either." In the evening, the cows returned to the stable, hungry. But, when they went near the manger, th...