Dear Friends,
Greetings!
It gives me tremendous pleasure to write to you and share the happenings around with all of you with our 6th Edition of The Redwood Edge Newsletter.
At times I wonder, “What does it take to shake off pessimism and embrace optimism?” What makes people work harder and “Reach Higher”? It’s not just a simple switch of personality but a sustained concerted approach that facilitates the transformation… slowly but surely we start witnessing a change…a change so profound that it leads us to the next level…..we start believing in ourselves and the environment..we move away from being just Dreaming to Executing … We embark on a new journey to Reach Higher..
This article is a tribute to each one of us who has in some form or the other fought, endured and finally conquered to REACH HIGHER.
As Mark Twain had said… For every Failure there are thousand excuses, but never a good Reason!
When it comes to leading everyday lives, we often try to keep pace with changing times by doing something different .We try and surpass our abilities to reach the best. We look at scaling new heights and “Reaching Higher”. It’s our conscience that brings about this realization. When we are inspired that’s when we dream big and when we dream big that’s when victory carves its way.
“Success happens when Preparation meets Opportunity”
And what would be the prime example other than M.S. Dhoni’s winning six and India creating history after 28 years. Sachin Tendulkar was carried like a triumphant king as India’s World Cup winners dedicated victory to their country’s cricketing icon. Team-mate Virat Kohli admitted: “Sachin has carried the burden of a nation for 21 years, so it was time for us to carry him.” An emotional Tendulkar finally earned the trophy and said: “I couldn’t have asked for anything better than this. I was not able to control my tears, but they were happy tears so I don’t mind crying. To be a part of this team is a great honour.” “Expect victory and you make victory”. His 21-year long career can be readily referred to for excellence in Leadership and Self –Management.
Today, the world cup stands as a tribute to all of us for Reaching Higher. The magic that Dhoni’s winning six created will remain one of the most cherished moments for all of us.
The 23-foot tsunami and a 9.0 Richter scale magnitude earthquake that hit Japan, its shockwaves still linger in the minds of people. With shores washed away, thousands of lives lost, and billions of dollars destruction, the Japanese and the economy are being tested.
Five critical words define Japan. CALMNESS, DIGNITY, ABILITY, SACRIFICE and DISCIPLINE.
The Calmness that not a single visual of wild grief is seen, seems like sorrow itself has been elevated to a different level. The Dignity that there were queues for essentials and no rough words or crude gestures. The Ability that Japanese infrastructure remained intact by and large with the engineering expertise and world class technology. The Sacrifice that workers stayed at the nuclear reactors for pumping sea water without thinking about personal safety and the Discipline that from a child to an adult everyone was well aware of their duties and expectations. Citizens make a country and I am sure as our fellow world citizens our hearts go out to them and we believe that Japanese will fight the odds and “Reach Higher”.
Anna Hazare, a social reformer has just won a major victory for the citizens of India, reeling under season upon season of scams of all shades and hues. Coming on the back of the cricket World Cup victory, suddenly April 2011 looked like a month of great hope. Millions cheered MS Dhoni’s winning Shot and millions cheered Anna’s crusade against corruption. Whether it becomes a movement and whether the Lokpal Bill takes shape has to been, like Neil Armstrong had said while landing on the moon – “ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, BUT A GIANT
Times have completely changed. In my belief, when you look for growth, you require simplicity, you require speed and for that we need to make sure that we have a structure that’s simple to understand.
Companies are witnessing total re-shuffling of top management… Primary examples being Wipro and Infosys….. with “an outsider” Mr. KV Kamath as Chairman and Mr. Shibulal as the next CEO….. while at TATAs the succession search is on. Transparency and Market Empowerment are the two primary challenges for Leadership. The economic environment is changing and that is really at the heart of this change. No structure on top is permanent and it has to change and adapt to changing business context. Leadership is the crux of any organization or business and it provides business continuity.
Toyota, plagued by Japan Crisis and cars being recalled, may have to give up its top position to GM and Volkswagen … such is the dynamism of the market. To think Toyota became number one only a couple of years back…..
India – A VIP Destination: India now features on VIP destination list. Warren Buffett quoted during his visit to India that “India offers all kinds of opportunities and that India has not only been working hard but also smart”. India is on a dream run and one of favoured places by VIP’s.
India influential in Time 100: Five Indians figure in the top 100 influential people in the world. M.S. Dhoni secures top notch above Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji, V.S. Ramchandran and Aruna Roy.
Ground Reality: Economic Survey 2011 reveals India has showed robust growth and steady fiscal consolidation. It is a hallmark of Indian economy due to impressive economic growth in the farm sector. Country’s GDP has been worked out at 8.6 per cent in 2010-11.
Some of the highlights of the reports were as follows:
Agriculture growth in 2010-11 has been estimated at 5.4 per cent.
Food grain production for the current year is 232.07 million tonnes. Dedicated Freight Corridor: The Rs 77,000 crore Dedicated Freight Corridor project, scheduled to be built by 2016/17, is expected to ease infrastructure bottlenecks and boost industrial development and international trade as existing railway lines in these regions are running up to 50% more than the designed capacity.
Sports brands and Social Media: It is an era of “Social Media Optimization”. India’s most prominent brands have jumped on the social media bandwagon more aggressively. 2011 Cricket World Cup was called as the first ever “Social World Cup”. Nike India’s “Bleed Blue” campaign saw over 10 million `handprints’, with over 1 million coming from Facebook. The excitement of Social Media continues with DLF IPL 2011.
Challenges ahead for Training Corporate India 2011
I guess the focus would be on creating new benchmarks in terms of both delivery and more critically in Post Training Implementation. Innovation and Creativity, Market and Business Alignment, Value Creation and Training Leadership would be the key focus areas going forward and something that will never go out of vogue is to be able to create Universal Connectivity with the audience at both the Heart and the Mind level. More and more organizations and participants would seek specific inputs and feedback on the individuals in the training room… what would exactly work for each employee. And I firmly believe that the Trainer’s Fraternity would have to be ready with solutions.
Year 2010 was indeed a very eventful one at The Redwood Edge. We have had some wonderful experiences of training across India and outside in Singapore, Dubai, Bahrain, London, Istanbul, Vietnam, etc at various levels. The main focus of the organizations was in conducting Leadership and Motivational Workshops for senior team members. We have enriched our client base with new Clients tie-ups namely , YES Bank , Karur Vysya Bank, GE Energy , VE Commercial Vehicles, India Medtronic, MTS, CAMS, Mahindra 2 – Wheelers, Finolex Cables, Anandabazar Patrika, Intelenet Global Services etc.
I had the privilege of being awarded the “International Achiever’s Award” for Excellence in Education by the Indian Achiever’s Forum, 2010.
My team and I would like to thank each one of you for your contribution in making it possible.
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative. In response to requests from young executives, we are introducing an open workshop titled “Success Here I Come”. The workshop is meant for aspiring youngsters as well as new entrants into the corporate life and aims at developing their personality to face the challenges of the competitive world.
We look forward to your support for this initiative and our continued relationship.
I hope you enjoyed reading the 6th News letter edition and we look forward to receiving your comments at: prakash@redwoodedge.com.
Keep up the good spirits …. Until we meet again with our Next Edition.
Cheers,
Prakash Rohera
Director
The Redwood Edge
308 – 309, Metro House 7/B,
Mangaldas Road, Opp. TMTC.
Pune – 411 001.
Tel no: +91 98200 44215 / 020-66011120 / 81 / 82.
E-mail: training@redwoodedge.com
Newsletter – 13th Edition