Friday, January 29, 2010
My Baby Prathmaditya at 1.5 years!!
This one is the cutest pic that I've seen in ages........
Pankaj Bhardwaj
Pankaj Bhardwaj
A Dose of Laughter
Good Morning everyone,
I'm sure we all need a good dose of laughter - so here it goes!!
Anjali Madan
I'm sure we all need a good dose of laughter - so here it goes!!
Anjali Madan
Monday, January 18, 2010
Haiti Disaster
Good morning everyone,
Haiti is a perfect example of how global warming is leading us towards mass destruction. Very unfortunate-what has happened! My heart goes out to people who have lost their near and dear ones.
Informa has urged us to make donations towards the cause and I think as TandF community, we should rise to the ocassion and in whatever little way we can, associate ourselves with the cause; perhaps by offering a day's salary or making individual contributions towards the same.
If you would like to make a donation, please email csr@informa.com directly. If you would want to contribute a day's salary to go through TandF office, please let your intention known to HR.
Let us remind ourselves that we, as a community, still have the conscience to stand up for a worthwhile cause.
Shammi
Haiti is a perfect example of how global warming is leading us towards mass destruction. Very unfortunate-what has happened! My heart goes out to people who have lost their near and dear ones.
Informa has urged us to make donations towards the cause and I think as TandF community, we should rise to the ocassion and in whatever little way we can, associate ourselves with the cause; perhaps by offering a day's salary or making individual contributions towards the same.
If you would like to make a donation, please email csr@informa.com directly. If you would want to contribute a day's salary to go through TandF office, please let your intention known to HR.
Let us remind ourselves that we, as a community, still have the conscience to stand up for a worthwhile cause.
Shammi
Friday, January 15, 2010
Smiling at various aspects of life
Today’s life revolves around perfection at work and home and everyone is struggling for it. In the bargain we forget to address the true essence of life: smiling and laughing at the comic aspect of one’s life.
I usually travel by metro train. And, one can see that discipline prevails at the metro station. Everyone forms neat queues to enter the train. But the moment the train arrives, the queue transforms into a crowd of people all struggling to be the first one in, and the crowd pulls in even those who plan to avoid the mob and travel by the next train, thus forcing them to travel involuntarily with them. One need not wait and step into their train but stand where there is a gathering and one will find himself/herself enter and exit automatically. And that is the beauty of it all. Despite the Delhi Govt. trying its best to bring order at the metro lines, things eventually happen in the good old Indian way---by becoming a part of the crowd.
Michelle Stark
I usually travel by metro train. And, one can see that discipline prevails at the metro station. Everyone forms neat queues to enter the train. But the moment the train arrives, the queue transforms into a crowd of people all struggling to be the first one in, and the crowd pulls in even those who plan to avoid the mob and travel by the next train, thus forcing them to travel involuntarily with them. One need not wait and step into their train but stand where there is a gathering and one will find himself/herself enter and exit automatically. And that is the beauty of it all. Despite the Delhi Govt. trying its best to bring order at the metro lines, things eventually happen in the good old Indian way---by becoming a part of the crowd.
Michelle Stark
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Working in a Team or a Workgroup?
People in every workplace talk about building the team, working as a team, and my team, but few understand how to create the experience of team work or how to develop an effective team. Any group of people working together does not form a team. Thus, committees, councils and taskforces are not always teams. There is a clear difference between teams and workgroups. So let’s first find out what does the word “Team” exactly mean? A Team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, a set of performance goals and an approach for which they can hold themselves mutually accountable. A team based approach improves efficiency and productivity levels in an organization.
Generally the number of people in a team ranges from 2 to 25. A team of 50 or more members is theoretically possible, but such team will invariably break off into sub teams and will rarely function as a single and cohesive unit. Thus, a team with around 10 members can be far more effective than a team that has more than 50 people.
But what does it take to make a team successful? Dr. Warren Bennis, a pioneer of the contemporary field of leadership studies, conducted a study to identify the principles that made great teams successful. He studied a number of teams including some worth mentioning like:
The Manhattan Project - Team behind the Atom Bomb
Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) – Team behind Computer Technologies like GUI and Ethernet
Apple Computers – Macintosh, iPod and more recently, Invention of the Year 2007: iPhone
Walt Disney Studios – Team behind those wonderful Animated features we all adore
Although all of the teams were extraordinary in their own ways, there were some principles which were common across all of them:
A Shared Dream - All the great teams shared the dream of making the world a better place to live in. They sincerely believed they would change the world for the better. These teams were obsessed with what they were doing and did not treat their work simply as a job, but a fervent quest.
Mission is bigger than Ego -During the Manhattan Project, two members were at loggerheads and one of them decided to leave. But the Project Leader reminded him that the mission was more important than individual egos and this made the team member rethink his decision and ultimately stay back.
Protection from Leaders - All the great teams had leaders who protected them from the corporate headquarters. These leaders managed to keep the headquarters satisfied and told their team members to remain focused on their work.
Fostering Enmity - A team with even the noblest of missions benefited when it had real or invented enemies. For example, in the heydays of Apple computers, its mission was to bury IBM and their cunning advertisements almost always reflected this enmity in one way or the other. An implicit mission such as destroying the enemy is more motivating than an explicit mission.
Daring To Be Different - Great teams generally consist of people who consider themselves as mavericks and are generally at the periphery of their disciplines. They like to operate on the fringes and according to Bennis, it is this sense of operating on the fringes that feeds their appetite to succeed.
Pain and Suffering - A place in great teams is rarely assured without personal sacrifice. The nature of work could demand intense pain and suffering from its team members, but it’s only the teams which actually hold on to their commitment and survive.
Strong Leaders - Though great teams are non hierarchical, egalitarian and open, yet they have strong leaders. Bennis observed that the leaders are not always the most intelligent or capable in the team but neither are they passive players. They are like curators who appreciate and preserve talent in the team. Great teams make great leaders.
Meticulous Recruiting - Great teams are a result of understanding what talent is needed in the team and spotting where it is available. The leader of the team and the other members consider recruiting a serious exercise. This ensures that the right people are in the right place.
Young and Energetic - All great teams had people who were quite young. Young people have the physical stamina necessary to withstand the arduous tasks involved. Great teams are also young in spirit, ethos and culture.
Great Teams Deliver - Great teams always believe in tangible outcomes. Almost all leaders reminded their team that their work was not good enough unless it resulted in a great product at the end.
Thus, belonging to a team, in the broadest sense, is a result of feeling part of something larger than you. It has a lot to do with your understanding of the mission or objectives of your organization. In a team oriented environment, you contribute to the overall success of the organization. You work with fellow members of the organization to produce these results. Even though you have a specific department, you are unified with other organization members to accomplish the overall objectives. The bigger picture drives your actions and your function exists to serve the bigger picture.
Marketing - What exactly is it?
Some interesting old memories come gushing to my mind when I read the word MARKETING. It rattles the minds of many as to what exactly marketing is. Is it just the way to inform the customers about a certain product? When I was a kid, there was an ad of Complan which had a punch line “I’m a Complan Boy.” The ad stated that if you drink Complan you grow faster and have an edge over others. I was fascinated by the idea it presented and drank lots of it and used to measure my height with my friends daily at school but to my dismay I was still on the shorter side. Now when I think of it I realize that it was a very effective marketing policy that the company had formulated and was successful in selling its product. This proves the power of marketing and how it plays an important role in any form of business. I remember someone saying that “A product without proper marketing is like winking at a girl in the dark without anyone knowing but yet you are doing it.”
Marketing is an art of presenting any product as the best, like for example a scooter ad shown below:
The Cheapest and the Most Fuel Efficient Scooter of the World
Available in following options:
a) Kick Start
b) Electric Start
1. 150 CC Speed + we can increase speed by pedaling
2. Air Conditioner System
3. Leg break System as like Disc break in Pulsar
4. Without doubt it's going to win "Best Bike Of the Year 2010"
The reality may be different but you have to present the product for the customers as if it is meant for the chosen few. Thus, the art of marketing is really tough and to master this art is no piece of cake.
Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.
Another art of marketing is presenting the product in a unique manner to make it appear special and selling it to people even if they don’t need it. As we all know life is a rollercoaster ride with many ups and downs, ads today make this ride a little smoother with its own creativity and fun, bringing a smile to our faces.
I know our marketing team is very efficient and provides our customers with the best of services and will continue to do so.
Wishing all our colleagues all the best in the years to come and hoping that each department gives in their best for the success of Taylor & Francis.
Regards,
Nigel
Marketing is an art of presenting any product as the best, like for example a scooter ad shown below:
The Cheapest and the Most Fuel Efficient Scooter of the World
Available in following options:
a) Kick Start
b) Electric Start
1. 150 CC Speed + we can increase speed by pedaling
2. Air Conditioner System
3. Leg break System as like Disc break in Pulsar
4. Without doubt it's going to win "Best Bike Of the Year 2010"
Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.
Another art of marketing is presenting the product in a unique manner to make it appear special and selling it to people even if they don’t need it. As we all know life is a rollercoaster ride with many ups and downs, ads today make this ride a little smoother with its own creativity and fun, bringing a smile to our faces.
I know our marketing team is very efficient and provides our customers with the best of services and will continue to do so.
Wishing all our colleagues all the best in the years to come and hoping that each department gives in their best for the success of Taylor & Francis.
Regards,
Nigel
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Einstein - Me!!
Disha’s blogpost has inspired to pen down an incident that earned me the nickname “Einstein” for the wrong reason.
I was perusing my MBA when I joined the Delhi branch of an ad agency named iB&W (In Black and White, for those wondering what iB&W stood for) for a 6-week internship. Being a person who always topped my advertising management and related subject classes, I was confident that I understood my new role as the copywriter at the agency. But 4 weeks into my internship, my ego had all but disappeared. All my ‘great’ and ‘brilliant’ ideas had been torn to shreds by the scrutinizing eyes of the Creative Director, Avijit Dutt. Now instead of looking forward to meeting and discussing ideas with him, I looked for ways to melt into the wallpaper and stacks of advertising magazines every time he walked into the basement office where I worked. Most days I was successful in hiding from sight and some days, like the day I earned my name, I was not so successful.
That day, as I was doing some research, he sat at the computer next to mine altering some of the ideas that had been prepared by others. An electrician stood behind me trying to repair a plug point when I heard Avijit say, “Aey, Einstein, pencil de.”
I wondered how the electrician ended with a name like Einstein. And then again Avijit requested, “Oye, Einstein, pencil de na.”
“That’s weird,” I thought to myself, “why doesn’t this Einstein guy just give him a pencil?”
Then Avijit tapped me on the shoulder, “Arre! Einstein, give me your pencil yaar!”
Dammit! I’m Einstein? I gave the pencil and never asked him why he had bestowed me with such a heavy name.
A few days later, while working on a Bhagidari ad for the new recyclable and bio-degradable dustbins (the blue and green dustbins) that we see around Delhi now, I gave up. My brain stopped cold and I had no more ideas but since I had to come up with something to show for my input for that project, I came up with a very lame idea. I was almost ashamed to even read it myself let alone share it with Avijit who would, I believed, kick me all the way home for wasting his time. I showed the idea to my immediate senior who said that it was quite interesting and who shared it with Avijit who proceeded to scream, “Excellent! This is the kind of idea I was asking for.” Really? And yet he called me Einstein till the day I completed my internship.
On my last day and iB&W, Avijit called me to his office. “Do you know why I call you Einstein?” he asked. I shook my head. “Like most newbies, you put into work all that you learnt from the books. If I wanted that I would have kept a few good books and asked anybody here to pull out ideas. And I also know that when you stopped thinking too hard, you came up with one of the best ad concepts I have seen recently. Lesson to be learnt, keep in mind what you have learnt but don’t forget to use your mind. Most people make that mistake.”
I never forgot that.
Sangeeta Menon
I was perusing my MBA when I joined the Delhi branch of an ad agency named iB&W (In Black and White, for those wondering what iB&W stood for) for a 6-week internship. Being a person who always topped my advertising management and related subject classes, I was confident that I understood my new role as the copywriter at the agency. But 4 weeks into my internship, my ego had all but disappeared. All my ‘great’ and ‘brilliant’ ideas had been torn to shreds by the scrutinizing eyes of the Creative Director, Avijit Dutt. Now instead of looking forward to meeting and discussing ideas with him, I looked for ways to melt into the wallpaper and stacks of advertising magazines every time he walked into the basement office where I worked. Most days I was successful in hiding from sight and some days, like the day I earned my name, I was not so successful.
That day, as I was doing some research, he sat at the computer next to mine altering some of the ideas that had been prepared by others. An electrician stood behind me trying to repair a plug point when I heard Avijit say, “Aey, Einstein, pencil de.”
I wondered how the electrician ended with a name like Einstein. And then again Avijit requested, “Oye, Einstein, pencil de na.”
“That’s weird,” I thought to myself, “why doesn’t this Einstein guy just give him a pencil?”
Then Avijit tapped me on the shoulder, “Arre! Einstein, give me your pencil yaar!”
Dammit! I’m Einstein? I gave the pencil and never asked him why he had bestowed me with such a heavy name.
A few days later, while working on a Bhagidari ad for the new recyclable and bio-degradable dustbins (the blue and green dustbins) that we see around Delhi now, I gave up. My brain stopped cold and I had no more ideas but since I had to come up with something to show for my input for that project, I came up with a very lame idea. I was almost ashamed to even read it myself let alone share it with Avijit who would, I believed, kick me all the way home for wasting his time. I showed the idea to my immediate senior who said that it was quite interesting and who shared it with Avijit who proceeded to scream, “Excellent! This is the kind of idea I was asking for.” Really? And yet he called me Einstein till the day I completed my internship.
On my last day and iB&W, Avijit called me to his office. “Do you know why I call you Einstein?” he asked. I shook my head. “Like most newbies, you put into work all that you learnt from the books. If I wanted that I would have kept a few good books and asked anybody here to pull out ideas. And I also know that when you stopped thinking too hard, you came up with one of the best ad concepts I have seen recently. Lesson to be learnt, keep in mind what you have learnt but don’t forget to use your mind. Most people make that mistake.”
I never forgot that.
Sangeeta Menon
First Job Experiences!!
Like many in this office, this is my first job and one thing that most first-timers like me would have realized is that no matter how good a student you were, working life throws boomerangs that no textbook really warns you about.
I caught one such boomerang just a few days ago. This incident shook my feeling of security that all marketing events involve more or less the same elements. And, as it is for most of us, all I wanted to do that day was to finish the work assigned to me for the day and leave. If life was that simple, I would not have written this (besides I was also threatened into submitting an entry for our beloved blog).
As the launch of our book “Foreign Aid for Indian NGO’s” is coming up and we learnt from our Top secret Marketing News Source that a conference on child labor was being held at IIC and a lot of NGOs were attending it. Shafina and I, like typical marketing hounds, sniffed an opportunity to invite those NGOs too. This being a simple and straight forward task, I landed at IIC with a few invitations. Boomerang thrown.
However when I went there and spoke to the organizer, Ms. Mala, I realized that the event was much bigger that we had anticipated. And there was media coverage as well. Ok, so not a big problem yet. How was I to know that the boomerang was already on its way back? Ms. Mala, who was very pleased to see me, casually said that the next segment of the conference was on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and it would be nice if I could represent my company and print media in general and give away a big MNC’s, like T&F’s, perspective on the issue and in the end put in a little something about the book launch as well. Bummer! After that there was no turning back because right that moment a rush of people came out for the tea break and even before I could gently pull myself out of the sticky situation, she introduced me to a couple of people saying “This is ‘Divya’ and she will be representing her company in the next section.” Now I had reasons to be really upset. First she put me on the spotlight when I least expected and then she did not even get my name right! All I had was 15 mins to recall, gather, and stretch all that I had learnt in a teeny tiny chapter on CSR in my Human Resource paper during my MBA. I took my time to put together a few sentences that would do justice to my representation of our company and tried not to remember that camera was recording everything I said.
And so I found myself sitting on the dais with my jeans and hoodie, which by the way made me feel completely out of place since everybody else was dressed formal. There I was; the youngest person in the room, inappropriately dressed, and the least prepared. It all trickled down to the moment where I stood up and spoke quite passionately about CSR that thankfully had been tucked safely in some corner of my mind. Boomerang caught in the nick of time.
Something tells me that many more boomerangs will come my way and no matter how many years I would have put into my career, they will always catch me by surprise and the only thing to do would be to dodge a few and catch the rest. Have you ever found yourself in a tight spot in a new job? Then share your experience(s)!
Disha Lakhanpal
I caught one such boomerang just a few days ago. This incident shook my feeling of security that all marketing events involve more or less the same elements. And, as it is for most of us, all I wanted to do that day was to finish the work assigned to me for the day and leave. If life was that simple, I would not have written this (besides I was also threatened into submitting an entry for our beloved blog).
As the launch of our book “Foreign Aid for Indian NGO’s” is coming up and we learnt from our Top secret Marketing News Source that a conference on child labor was being held at IIC and a lot of NGOs were attending it. Shafina and I, like typical marketing hounds, sniffed an opportunity to invite those NGOs too. This being a simple and straight forward task, I landed at IIC with a few invitations. Boomerang thrown.
However when I went there and spoke to the organizer, Ms. Mala, I realized that the event was much bigger that we had anticipated. And there was media coverage as well. Ok, so not a big problem yet. How was I to know that the boomerang was already on its way back? Ms. Mala, who was very pleased to see me, casually said that the next segment of the conference was on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and it would be nice if I could represent my company and print media in general and give away a big MNC’s, like T&F’s, perspective on the issue and in the end put in a little something about the book launch as well. Bummer! After that there was no turning back because right that moment a rush of people came out for the tea break and even before I could gently pull myself out of the sticky situation, she introduced me to a couple of people saying “This is ‘Divya’ and she will be representing her company in the next section.” Now I had reasons to be really upset. First she put me on the spotlight when I least expected and then she did not even get my name right! All I had was 15 mins to recall, gather, and stretch all that I had learnt in a teeny tiny chapter on CSR in my Human Resource paper during my MBA. I took my time to put together a few sentences that would do justice to my representation of our company and tried not to remember that camera was recording everything I said.
And so I found myself sitting on the dais with my jeans and hoodie, which by the way made me feel completely out of place since everybody else was dressed formal. There I was; the youngest person in the room, inappropriately dressed, and the least prepared. It all trickled down to the moment where I stood up and spoke quite passionately about CSR that thankfully had been tucked safely in some corner of my mind. Boomerang caught in the nick of time.
Something tells me that many more boomerangs will come my way and no matter how many years I would have put into my career, they will always catch me by surprise and the only thing to do would be to dodge a few and catch the rest. Have you ever found yourself in a tight spot in a new job? Then share your experience(s)!
Disha Lakhanpal
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Ways of the World!
Could life be better than this? The question crossed my mind while I was sipping cappuccino at a famous coffee shop's open-air section. I had recently got the job I always wanted. Life seemed so favorable in all aspects. I sat their relaxed when I noticed a girl asking for alms at the other table. She was shabbily dressed with untidy hair. The lady shooed her away screaming “bola na bhaag yahan se, bulaoon police ko” I wondered! What use is this job of mine if I cannot help fight these issues. I imagined how perfect the world would be if people helped each other. She came upto me. I gave her the new Rs. 10 coin. She was fascinated to see the coin like I was, when I held it for the first time but the intensity of my fascination was far less than hers as I could read that it was just a Rs. 10 coin but she couldn’t. She ran with joy. I paid Rs. 70 for the coffee and gave Rs. 30 to the waiter to stay in tune with social norms. I walked towards my car and saw that girl showing the coin to bunch of kids. On seeing me they all ran upto me and asked for more. The thought of working towards this issue vanished much before the smile on their faces vanished after I shooed them away saying “bhaago yahan se, bulaoon police ko”.
Sabiya Ashraf
Europa World of Learning
New Year Resolution - Deepak Chopra Says....
Dear Shafina
Thank you for a thought provoking entry.
In this connection I would like to highlight a few lines from Deepak Chopra “The Seven Spiritual laws of success”
Wherever I go, and whoever I encounter, I will bring them a gift. The gift may be a compliment, a flower or a prayer. Today, I will give something to everyone I come into contact with, and so I will begin the process of circulating joy, wealth and affluence in my life and in the lives of others.
This might be a little difficult to adopt as a new year resolution initially, but little practice will make it possible.
Best Wishes
S.Sivasankaran
Chennai
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes other will himself be refreshed - King Solomon
Thank you for a thought provoking entry.
In this connection I would like to highlight a few lines from Deepak Chopra “The Seven Spiritual laws of success”
Wherever I go, and whoever I encounter, I will bring them a gift. The gift may be a compliment, a flower or a prayer. Today, I will give something to everyone I come into contact with, and so I will begin the process of circulating joy, wealth and affluence in my life and in the lives of others.
This might be a little difficult to adopt as a new year resolution initially, but little practice will make it possible.
Best Wishes
S.Sivasankaran
Chennai
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes other will himself be refreshed - King Solomon
Some food for thought
Hi everyone,
Now that we all are determined to make a change, however small it may be, in someone’s life by associating ourselves with people and organizations which think of others, I am enclosing just a few pictures to show how and why it is high time we did something to spread awareness all around.
As they say, ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’, please find some UNICEF award winning advertisements.
Best wishes,
Anjali
Monday, January 11, 2010
New Year Resolution - T & F India
It’s great to see all of you bonding over the blog so well. Reading about the New Year Resolution in the previous blog, I thought about our New Year resolution for T & F India - In the coming months, we are trying to manage a few small steps to contribute kindness to the society we live in!!
First, we are trying to tap a worthwhile organization, which is committed to either destitute children, old people, infants or children with special needs in order to associate with them and contribute a few hours from our life to make them smile. I welcome suggestions from colleagues about any NGOs they know or have been associated with. Once a year, we’d like to visit them and spend a day from our time to help them besides monetary assistance.
Second, we agreed that we should keep a suggestion box at the reception for people to put in their views with or without being named. This might just help us initiate constructive changes in the organization.
By the way, I find the lemon tea from the coffee machines rather refreshing!! Any takes on that??
Do keep writing and connecting!!
Shammi
Nice Thought!
Hi Shafina,
Read all the blogs and yours too. It’s a nice thought of helping others in need but the first and foremost resolution should be “Not to break the new year resolution.”
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.
Hoping to see many more interesting blogs.
Best wishes,
Nigel
Read all the blogs and yours too. It’s a nice thought of helping others in need but the first and foremost resolution should be “Not to break the new year resolution.”
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.
Hoping to see many more interesting blogs.
Best wishes,
Nigel
Response to New Year Resolution Blog Entry
Good Morning Shafina,
Your resolution reminded me one of the same kind of acts that I don’t remember when was left behind. So I am really thankful to you.
May your resolution successfully continues till the year end, and may I remember that for all of my future life. Thanks again.
Thanks & Regards
Geeta Raheja
Your resolution reminded me one of the same kind of acts that I don’t remember when was left behind. So I am really thankful to you.
May your resolution successfully continues till the year end, and may I remember that for all of my future life. Thanks again.
Thanks & Regards
Geeta Raheja
New Year Resolution
"
New Year Resolutions are meant to be broken"goes a famous saying....Having believed that - maybe because it is easy, and comfortably breaking most of my resolutions all these years, I decided to act on the call of my conscious and make a resolution, which I thought would make me happy. So here it goes:
"This year, I am going to try and get more kindness back into my routine. It is so easy to put off or decide things that one has always wanted to do. Before you know it, far more time has elapsed than you ever expected. As a child, I always believed in consciously practicing kindness - random acts of kindness - and as I grew, I got so busy with my life that kindness as an everyday routine, took a backseat.
I now miss it being a major part of my life so I am going to SCHEDULE kindness! And this NEW YEAR, I am committing myself to performing at least one kind act for someone I do not know each week. That gives me at least 52 opportunities to touch someone else's life with kindness. If I know what I will do great but if I do not I will at least pick the day ahead of time so it gets scheduled into my week. So far we are only 11 days into this year and I am happy to say I am off to a good start!"
So, what's your new year resolution??
Shafina
Friday, January 8, 2010
Book Launch - Armed Conflict in South Asia 2009 - 7th January 2010
The annual, Armed Conflict in South Asia 2009, edited by D Suba Chandran and P R Chari was launched on 7th January 2009, at India International Centre, Annexe with much fanfare.
Despite the fog, the launch saw an attendence of over 45 people. The launch was presided over by a very eminent and respected panel of academicians. The book discussion was chaired by Mr Dhirendra Singh, Former Home Secretary and Present President, IPCS Executive Committee. The panelists were Prof Ashwini Ray, Retired Professor, International Relations and Comparative Politics, Maj Gen Ashok Mehta, Independent Security Analyst and Lt Gen Patankar, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation.
Armed Conflicts in South Asia 2009 is an annual series that provides a sketch of and updates on emergence of armed conflict, factors sustaining violence, conflict management processes, and future directions. In an era of continuing violence in South Asia, this is a timely and important book.
Reason, Season and Lifetime
I just wanted to share this classic poem with all of you
Smiles and happiness,
Sangeeta
Reason, Season and Lifetime
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need
you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
to provide you with guidance and support,
to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part
or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something
to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met,
our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered
and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON,
it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.
They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
those things you must build upon
in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson,
love the person/people (anyway);
and put what you have learned to use in all
other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
~Author Unknown
Smiles and happiness,
Sangeeta
Reason, Season and Lifetime
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need
you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty,
to provide you with guidance and support,
to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part
or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something
to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met,
our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered
and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON,
it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.
They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
those things you must build upon
in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson,
love the person/people (anyway);
and put what you have learned to use in all
other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
~Author Unknown
Many Many Congratulations !
Many many congratulations to marketing team on completion of one year. A department with lot of creativity, innovative ideas and enthusiasm, I mean to say they have everything that a marketing department should have!!So here are two lines for them with a beautiful picture”
“Small Enough to Listen, big enough to serve”
Best wishes for future !
Regards,
Production
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Some problems don't have solutions.....
There are times when one is confused, not because he doesn’t know what the problem is, but because, he feels that he has no solution to it. Problems are funny characters, almost like living beings, almost as if they know when to irritate you, when to infuriate you and when to exasperate you. Problems and inconveniences have a distinct difference; problems are what others create for you and inconveniences are what you create for yourself.
Like, getting a leave from work to go on a date is clearly an inconvenience; however, falling in love is, undoubtedly, a problem. While, enjoying the few better years of your life wondering if you will ever be able to stay with the beautiful woman, you are dating and how life will be when the phone rings and you answer, Mr and Mrs so and so; or when you will be rushing her to the maternity ward in anticipating of fathering an astronaut and all that kind of nonsense; you are hardly anticipating what is in store for you when all this really happens.
When they say, Love flies out of the window, I say, I beg to differ, it actually opens the goddamn door and walks straight out, no obligations , no salutations, no good byes, just straight out. Bye Bye, so longs and all other niceties are left behind and there you can see it bouncing off into oblivion. And surprisingly love, doesn’t just decide to go out one fine day, after the morning cuppa’ tea or the “sunny-side up” eggs-on-toast, it has been sending signals for a while.
It starts to squirm when first you tell your wife she ain’t looking good in that shirt and she smirks back at you and says “ I know what I am doing” or “ I never asked for an opinion” or the classic one “really, well, yet I will wear it, because I like it” and you stand there stupefied asking your love, why did I bother with giving my opinion, and love in return stands there equally stupefied and says “ because you love her!”
It goes out to get fresh air, when after a long haul of verbal bashing, you and your partner don’t know why it started in the first place, or cannot identify, who hurt whom first and who retaliated, and “I” becomes more important than “you” . It goes out for a drive, when on a Sunday morning, you are not in the mood, when all you want to do is look into the paper and hope against hope that she will not come and ask you to go grocery shopping, or you await by the phone waiting for a friend to call you for a morning meeting of the association of fatheads!
And over such trifling events, Love is quietly packing its bags and folding his sheets, while you figure out “whose fault is it, anyway!”
On the day, it decides to leave, you just let it, you don’t run after it, you don’t try to stop it, you find reasons to want to. Once it is gone, you miss it terribly, and then you give reasons to yourself asking what good was it anyway…emotionally yes, financially no, binding yes, freedom no, etc., etc…
But love just doesn’t leave; it actually sublets my mind space to a problem. Problems, as I said, in the beginning, are not like inconveniences. Inconveniences, are like guests, they come in, get their boarding and lodging for a short stay and are quick to leave; Problems, however, have immigrant visas, they intend to stay longer. And when they arrive, soon after love has vacated, they find a comfortable stay and become you and your wife’s best buddies.
Then, anything you say, your wife has a problem; anything she says, you have a problem; anything you do , she has a problem, anything she plans, you have problem…in fact, on close observation, just about anything that happens between you two has a problem.
Lost train of thought...will continue later.
Neeti
Like, getting a leave from work to go on a date is clearly an inconvenience; however, falling in love is, undoubtedly, a problem. While, enjoying the few better years of your life wondering if you will ever be able to stay with the beautiful woman, you are dating and how life will be when the phone rings and you answer, Mr and Mrs so and so; or when you will be rushing her to the maternity ward in anticipating of fathering an astronaut and all that kind of nonsense; you are hardly anticipating what is in store for you when all this really happens.
When they say, Love flies out of the window, I say, I beg to differ, it actually opens the goddamn door and walks straight out, no obligations , no salutations, no good byes, just straight out. Bye Bye, so longs and all other niceties are left behind and there you can see it bouncing off into oblivion. And surprisingly love, doesn’t just decide to go out one fine day, after the morning cuppa’ tea or the “sunny-side up” eggs-on-toast, it has been sending signals for a while.
It starts to squirm when first you tell your wife she ain’t looking good in that shirt and she smirks back at you and says “ I know what I am doing” or “ I never asked for an opinion” or the classic one “really, well, yet I will wear it, because I like it” and you stand there stupefied asking your love, why did I bother with giving my opinion, and love in return stands there equally stupefied and says “ because you love her!”
It goes out to get fresh air, when after a long haul of verbal bashing, you and your partner don’t know why it started in the first place, or cannot identify, who hurt whom first and who retaliated, and “I” becomes more important than “you” . It goes out for a drive, when on a Sunday morning, you are not in the mood, when all you want to do is look into the paper and hope against hope that she will not come and ask you to go grocery shopping, or you await by the phone waiting for a friend to call you for a morning meeting of the association of fatheads!
And over such trifling events, Love is quietly packing its bags and folding his sheets, while you figure out “whose fault is it, anyway!”
On the day, it decides to leave, you just let it, you don’t run after it, you don’t try to stop it, you find reasons to want to. Once it is gone, you miss it terribly, and then you give reasons to yourself asking what good was it anyway…emotionally yes, financially no, binding yes, freedom no, etc., etc…
But love just doesn’t leave; it actually sublets my mind space to a problem. Problems, as I said, in the beginning, are not like inconveniences. Inconveniences, are like guests, they come in, get their boarding and lodging for a short stay and are quick to leave; Problems, however, have immigrant visas, they intend to stay longer. And when they arrive, soon after love has vacated, they find a comfortable stay and become you and your wife’s best buddies.
Then, anything you say, your wife has a problem; anything she says, you have a problem; anything you do , she has a problem, anything she plans, you have problem…in fact, on close observation, just about anything that happens between you two has a problem.
Lost train of thought...will continue later.
Neeti
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
My Journey with T & F
First of all let me have this opportunity to wish Shafina and her entire Marketing team for completing one glorious year in T&F.
I have always believed that relationship between marketing and sales is that of a mind is to a body, they are distinguishable, but inseparable. Both needs to work together in tandem and cannot co-exist without each other.
The entire marketing department for the last one year has been an essential tool for me as well as all of us in the sales team. From providing us with innovative ideas to equipping us with their timely product information’s, flooding us with catalogues, to even preparing invitation letters for my book displays and exhibitions. We have asked and they delivered. That’s the kind of faith and the confidence they gained over the time though sometimes Shafina obliged with a tougher smile keeping on mind her budget constraints.
My journey in T&F has indeed been a worthwhile experience, with such a lovely and cordial working atmosphere, where knowledge is an essence and success is the tradition, where selling T&F books is a pride, and I work for two of the best bosses in the world.
Working away from Delhi office, truly I miss a lot of things, personal interaction with colleagues, working cubicles, piping hot coffees, unplanned get-togethers, surprise birthday cakes, corporate events and of course lots of books around but still that is where the challenge lies for me where each morning self motivation counts. This feels great because we as T&F team have built and achieved this today.
Once again congratulating the entire marketing team for what they have achieved so far and for creating a wonderful platform called the T&F blog.
I wish you all the best for this year as well as the years to come.
Kind Regards,
Sanjay.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The biggest factor is the way the sales and marketing teams work together
When the Sales and Marketing team work together, a lot can get done, which can work in harmony with the company.
The selling function is an important element of the overall marketing process. Many organizations establish a separate sales function, apart from other elements of the marketing process. This is often a sound business strategy but can lead to a chasm between Sales and the other marketing elements. Even when both are contained within a unified Marketing Department, separate sales and marketing groups often create the situation where they have competing views of the marketplace, competing objectives and competing priorities (e.g., budget, prestige).
One area that often creates the opportunity for jurisdictional disputes and other serious problems is lead generation. In many instances, some component of the Marketing Department is responsible for developing leads and then turns them over to the Sales Department. "Discussions" over the timing and quality of leads are a top topic at almost all Sales-Marketing joint meetings.
Make sure that planning and executions of plans are always coordinated, and that all programs are integrated across both marketing and sales efforts
A good team of professionals focused on proactively doing actions and investing resources that concerns the customers (keeping in mind these factors):
1. No Customers = No Business
2. Every Customer has UNMET needs.
3. The Customer Base must be dynamic and plans must exist to successfully:
ACQUIRE NEW CUSTOMERS
RETAIN PRESENT CUSTOMERS
REGAIN FORMER CUSTOMERS
And most importantly, the term CUSTOMER SATISFACTION must be defined from the customer's perspective. Analogy: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.......therefore CUSTOMER SATISFACTION is in the eye of the CUSTOMER. (Too often many companies define customer satisfaction in their own terms and expect it to apply to ALL the customers)
Priya Mishra
Best wishes to the organization
My heartiest congratulations to the marketing team for their growth in the last year. We found it very inspirational as we as an IT department are new in The Taylor and Francis, office and we are in development mode as the marketing team was, a year back. So we will try to perform in the same manner and give our best for the growth of the organization.
Thanks And Regards
Ashish Purwar | Senior .Net Developer
The New Blog!!
Being a Capricornian, the T&F blog is surely going to be one ambitious and resourceful platform for all of us. Many congratulations on your birthday our dear “chatterbox”. May you be full of ideas and anecdotes.
Wishing you a long life,
Anjali
It is the weak who are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.
Congratulations on Turning One
Going by the Indian shop talk, "jo dikhta hai, woh bikta hai," I am glad, just as rest of T&F is, that the India marketing team doing a great job of increasing our visibility on the Indian soil and beyond.
Sangeeta Menon
Asst. Editor
Sangeeta Menon
Asst. Editor
Heartiest congratulations to the marketing team!!!
I just about surfaced from the trade and industry scene of Bolivia to see your mail. Honestly, the line which says, ‘sweets coming your way’ kind of tingled me up. Also, made me think super fast forward to whatever we’re going to do on our team birthday. Sigh! Long way to go considering we’ll be completing our two months on 9th of Jan. However, being farsighted helps, so apart from the gas, electricity and water directorates of Bolivia and other countries coming along, I’ll throw in some good measure of thinking towards that idea.
Not to get disheartened though, there is always a birthday or celebration and that’s what I like about ‘my’ office. We’re an organization of achievers, so we’ve some or the other celebration of achievement to look forward to. All in all, it’s worth getting up in these chilly mornings and coming to office; throw in some awesome welcome lunches, impromptu birthday planning, rubbing shoulders with some great people in conferences, screaming yet lovely coffee machine, cozy working cubicles (at least mine is, and decorated too…), cool bosses and yes, a glass of champagne here and there and you’ve got yourself a heady combination.
You can’t help but love this office and it all comes down to loving the awesome people that make it so. Thanks and congratulations again!
Regards,
Rima & The Europa World Directory Team
Not to get disheartened though, there is always a birthday or celebration and that’s what I like about ‘my’ office. We’re an organization of achievers, so we’ve some or the other celebration of achievement to look forward to. All in all, it’s worth getting up in these chilly mornings and coming to office; throw in some awesome welcome lunches, impromptu birthday planning, rubbing shoulders with some great people in conferences, screaming yet lovely coffee machine, cozy working cubicles (at least mine is, and decorated too…), cool bosses and yes, a glass of champagne here and there and you’ve got yourself a heady combination.
You can’t help but love this office and it all comes down to loving the awesome people that make it so. Thanks and congratulations again!
Regards,
Rima & The Europa World Directory Team
Forward from 2010
Good Morning everyone and a very Happy New Year
Another year - new innings, so much to look forward to.....I welcome all of you back after the holidays. I'm sure we're all refreshed to take on new challenges and make Taylor & Francis India an even better place to work in.
We thought of setting up this blog site because the company has grown from strength to strength, and it seemed like a good idea to have an interactive forum to chat. It also occurred to me that since I can't chat with you one to one most of the times, perhaps this would be a good forum to share random musings of my experiences and thoughts about working at Taylor & Francis India. Through this blog, I would also like to encourage everyone to submit their feedbacks about constructive changes that can be initiated in the organization.
If you have anything that you want to say about work and life at Taylor & Francis India, send them to marketing@tandfindia.com and they'll post it for you.
2009 has been eventful in more ways than one. We’ve been able to initiate some very constructive changes in the organization. For one, we’ve grown in size and stature. Starting at 31 employees, Taylor & Francis India today stands at 75 people, different in many respects yet, joined together by the work culture and larger objectives of the organization. With the HR policies in place, we are all set to formalize the appraisal process this year, hopefully, making it more objective and fair.
We're thinking of initiating an open house to share ideas and will send an announcement to that effect soon. For all the new employees, please feel welcomed into the organization and feel free to make suggestions.
I hear that the fresh coffee aroma is keeping everyone in high spirits. This month, we are set to launch three new RIO titles; Foreign Aid for Indian NGOs, Witnessing Partition and Armed Conflicts in South Asia 2009.We are also gearing up for the World Book Fair 2010 from 30th January to 7th February at Pragati Maidan. Any suggestions on the World Book Fair are most welcome. International Conference on Digital Libraries with TERI, follows in February.
I'll see you all again in the 8th floor bay when we bid farewell to Mr Bhambal on the 15th of January. Be there!!
The focus of every managing director is to take the company forward - to make it a force to reckon with - which is something I'd like to do in the coming years and together, I know, we can make a huge difference.
So start penning down your thoughts and let's stay connected.
Shammi Manik
Another year - new innings, so much to look forward to.....I welcome all of you back after the holidays. I'm sure we're all refreshed to take on new challenges and make Taylor & Francis India an even better place to work in.
We thought of setting up this blog site because the company has grown from strength to strength, and it seemed like a good idea to have an interactive forum to chat. It also occurred to me that since I can't chat with you one to one most of the times, perhaps this would be a good forum to share random musings of my experiences and thoughts about working at Taylor & Francis India. Through this blog, I would also like to encourage everyone to submit their feedbacks about constructive changes that can be initiated in the organization.
If you have anything that you want to say about work and life at Taylor & Francis India, send them to marketing@tandfindia.com and they'll post it for you.
2009 has been eventful in more ways than one. We’ve been able to initiate some very constructive changes in the organization. For one, we’ve grown in size and stature. Starting at 31 employees, Taylor & Francis India today stands at 75 people, different in many respects yet, joined together by the work culture and larger objectives of the organization. With the HR policies in place, we are all set to formalize the appraisal process this year, hopefully, making it more objective and fair.
We're thinking of initiating an open house to share ideas and will send an announcement to that effect soon. For all the new employees, please feel welcomed into the organization and feel free to make suggestions.
I hear that the fresh coffee aroma is keeping everyone in high spirits. This month, we are set to launch three new RIO titles; Foreign Aid for Indian NGOs, Witnessing Partition and Armed Conflicts in South Asia 2009.We are also gearing up for the World Book Fair 2010 from 30th January to 7th February at Pragati Maidan. Any suggestions on the World Book Fair are most welcome. International Conference on Digital Libraries with TERI, follows in February.
I'll see you all again in the 8th floor bay when we bid farewell to Mr Bhambal on the 15th of January. Be there!!
The focus of every managing director is to take the company forward - to make it a force to reckon with - which is something I'd like to do in the coming years and together, I know, we can make a huge difference.
So start penning down your thoughts and let's stay connected.
Shammi Manik
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