Tag: opportunity

How COVID-19 crisis is helping you sharpen your saw?

Hi All,

Here’s your weekly dose of “5-Bullet Tuesday”, list of things I’m enjoying or pondering.

Story I loved–

One thing that I try not to miss these days is tell children a bed time story. This one in particular is the one that I loved the most. It is an extension of the old rabbit and the tortoise story that you all would have read. It’s really interesting how the rabbit deals with losing to a tortoise and what happens after that.

It’s particularly relevant in today’s quarantined world where instead of competing with each other, we must learn to complete each-other instead. Give it a watch here.

Quote I’m pondering —

Mother Teresa once said this. I wonder if there would be a better time to implement it.

Song I loved –

I’m pretty sure by now you have heard this, but if not, you must do so now. First time I saw it, it brought tears of joy to my eyes, extremely emotional and one that connects us all as a country.

Yes, my friends, Muskurayega India. Watch it here.

Poem I loved –

Ayushman Khurana’s poem on Corona warriors is extremely poignant. Hear it from the horse’s mouth here.

What I’ve learnt —

One of the concepts that is taught to MBA students in Strategy class is that of Stretch and Fit. Stretch is how organizations smartly utlilize their meagre resources to meet their aspirations. Fit on the other hand is how organizations match its rsources and capabilities with the opportunities in the external environment.

This little learning is extremely applicable in today’s context of a locked down world due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only organizations but even individuals are learning to stretch –extended family meetings online, neighborhood balcony tambolas and Antaksharis on a chain-phone call with school time friends.

And we’re learnin to fit as well, learning to eat without non-veg, sleep without AC and drink…, well, what’s that?

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[5-Bullet Tuesday] Ask So You’ll Know

Hi All,

Here’s your weekly dose of “5-Bullet Tuesday”, list of things I’m enjoying or pondering.

Quote I’m pondering —

Behind every problem, there’s a person you need to connect with.

Behind every possible solution, there is a person you need to connect with.

Behind every business, there is a group of people you need to connect with. 

― unknown

Acronym I loved—

You won’t ever find a solution until you get out and meet the people. But aren’t we all just too shy to ask sometimes? When you’re shy next time, that’s when this acronym would come in handy. I bet you didn’t know ASK was an acronym, did you? It says: Ask So you’ll Know. When you’re afraid, shy or unsure, think of that feeling as a nudge to ASK… Ask So you’ll Know! 

App I’m loving — 

This is that dream app I’ve always wanted. If you’re preparing for an exam or teaching your children, this is the app you need. It’s called Study Blue. We’ve all used and know the power of flash cards in learning something new, right? This app lets you do just that, and more. It lets you create your own set of online flash cards to memorise any topic or term. You can even add pictures and then test your memory and focus only on areas you’re weak at, by using the list as a quiz too. 

Not only that, it also lets you use the lists that others have created (crowd-sourcing at its best). You can even gamify learning by sharing your flash cards among friends and trying to beat one another’s scores.

Here are the AppStore and Android links.

What I’m reading – 

I’m reading The Self-Aware Parent by Cathy Adams. Cathy is the lady who runs the Zen Parenting podcast along with her husband. My wife and I’m hooked to this show, the tagline of which says, the best predictor of a child’s well-being is a parent’s self understanding. It’s a thin book with 19 lessons for growing with your children. 

I have just read one chapter so far, which was about helping your children deal with grief. It’s titled ‘A letter about grief: taking children to a wake or funeral’. And I’m glad I did. Death is always a hard topic to discuss. I’ve grown up where talking about death (just like sex) was a taboo topic and therefore I ended up forming my own notions. I followed the advise in the book recently when my wife’s grandmother passed away this week. It helped us and our children process their emotions better. We now know that it’s okay to cry and that we have the tools to take care of ourselves. Here is an extract from the book:

Unfortunately, all families have to deal with a loss at some point. If it is a death, a diagnosis, or a job loss, parents are often unsure how to talk to their children about grief and emotions. Honour this challenging time by feeling it and processing it so you can truly move towards clarity. ASK for help when you need it – people around you will search for ways to show you how much they care. 

Movie I loved watching — 

It may have been the most predictable story line and some slapstick comedy, but this was one movie that gave me the opportunity to tell my 6 year old daughter and 11 year old son about ‘how a baby is made’, what a test tube baby is and basically all the good stuff. The stuff I’ve been wanting to tell them but couldn’t find good enough reason or even words to share. Not until we sat in the car to head to the theatre. I elucidated what I thought they needed to know based on their curiosity and ages.

Some people are not letting their children watch Good Newwz, they’re even calling it an adults only movie. In my view, this is a movie you should rather watch with your kids. Take the responsibility. If you won’t tell them, who do you think will?                               

If you like this post, then show the love by sharing it with friends and family. The best part of writing a blog is the discussion that follows, so do register your thoughts and views below.