Book: Five Point Someone

Book Name: Five Point Someone

Author: Chetan Bhagat

Another interesting story from Chetan Bhagat. Actually this is his first book. But I read One Night @ Call Center first. Since I liked his story telling, I wanted to read this book. Fortunately, I found a copy of this book in NCL library and brought it home to read.

Another dark and witty story. Story is full of humour and the fun and serious moments are described very nicely. A good book to read, especially for college going students, as what NOT to do in college years.

Link on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Point_Someone_-_What_not_to_do_at_IIT

A movie called 'Three Idiots' is being made, based on this book. It stars Aamir Khan (one of my favourite actors). Hope this movie becomes successful.

Free ebooks sites

The following link of Project Gutenberg offers free ebooks.

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Book: One Night @ Call Center

Book name: One Night @ Call Center

Author: Chetan Bhagat

Usually, the backside of book describes, what the book is about. And this is what it is - The book is about six people working in a call center, set in one night. And then they get a phone call. That phone call was from God.

This was enough for me to start reading the book. It is a dark and witty novel. Well, the term dark is in itself dark - meaning language is very informal and some instances actually shocked me.

The novel is full of humour. For some of them, I actually burst out laughing. 

The narration of the story is just fantastic and captivating. The fun and serious moments are described beautifully. There are some instances to which I could actually relate to - such as the use of management jargon (This is like comparing apples to oranges. I am sure every newcomer to industry gets puzzled by this phrase), or the description of network printer. Overall a great book to read.

Details of book on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Night_@_the_Call_Center

A hindi movie 'Hello' was made on this book. I heard it did not do well at box office. I have not seen it, but the book is great!

Author's webpage: http://www.chetanbhagat.com/

Quotable Quotes

Interesting Quotes I found in a dairy - 

The optimist sees oppurtunity in every danger, the pessimist sees danger in every oppurtunity

However great a man is, he has to bow before God and his barber.

If you do anything just for money you don't succeed.

A liar needs a good memory

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars

Observation, not old age, brings wisdom

A bad servant can never be a good master

The Power on Generosity

Excerpt from an excellent article from www.mindtools.com

Here are some practical tips to enhance our generosity of spirit:

1. Give people a sense of importance: In Adele Lynn's book, In Search of Honor: Lessons from Workers in How to Build Trust, we learn that 55% of workers value "giving people a sense of importance" as the number one item for building trust in the workplace. Consider what small actions you could take intentionally today to make people feel that the work they do is important, and that they themselves, as people, are important to your team.
2. Give feedback, not criticism: If giving frequent criticism is your style of management, consider some of these questions: Is your motivation genuine, or is it to gain points? Are you picking the right moment? Are you stopping to reflect how you might deliver the feedback while still honoring the other person?
3. Give people visibility: Giving people visibility in your organization is a special gift we bestow to help others shine and grow. I encourage you to think how you might give people more access to senior executives, and more access to your boss. Consider as well that people like to know that their boss's boss knows the great contributions they made to a project, or about their significant effort in writing a report that does not bear their name. Knowing that our leader is representing us well to upper management is a high-octane motivator, and engenders fierce loyalty.
4. Give anonymously: Real generosity of spirit is doing something for someone without their knowledge. Think of one or two deserving people in your organization that you can help by planting a career-enhancing seed on their behalf - perhaps saying something positive about their work to someone in authority?
5. Know when to forgive: Martin Luther King said that "The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind." Consider how harboring vindictive thoughts, even though so compelling at times, is nothing but violence to oneself. A characteristic of a generous person is a total lack of resentment – it's in effect being too noble, too big for that. Who do you need to forgive? What do you need to let go?
6. Give encouragement: Look around you and pick someone who needs encouragement, and resolve to give them that. Consider that some people have never received encouragement in their life – not from teachers, not from bosses, not even from parents.
7. Give opportunity: One of the most valuable gifts we can give someone is giving them a chance. Is there someone right now to whom you could give a second chance to prove themselves? If so, what active steps can you take to create the right circumstances for them to succeed? What doors can you open for someone who is well deserving, but not well positioned to be noticed?
8. Share your knowledge and experience: Resolve to become a philanthropist of know-how. What knowledge, expertise, or best practices can you share with others as a way to enrich them? For inspiration, read about other leaders who practice teaching in their organization for everyone's benefit – for example, Jack Welch, whose calendar was filled with hundreds of hours spent teaching thousands of GE managers and executives at the company's training center at Croton-on-Hudson; or the ex-CEO of Intel, Andy Grove, who devoted considerable amounts of time to teaching newly hired and senior managers his philosophy on how to lead in an industry where innovation goes stale very quickly.
9. Give moral support: Public speaking is known to be among the greatest fears experienced by millions of people. The next time you attend a presentation given by an apprehensive team member, practice giving them moral support. The simplest of generous acts are abstaining from checking your Blackberry, giving the odd nod in agreement, and practicing looking with kind eyes. Finally, take some inspiration from Walt Whitman's beautiful words: "The habit of giving enhances the desire to give." Giving is like building a muscle. It requires practice and persistence – once it becomes habitual, you will emerge as a stronger leader

Software technical online tutorials

http://www.technicalcontents.com/

This site has lot of articles.

Info about Pune

Another link which has info about Pune. This is government wiki site with discussion boards.
http://government.wikia.com/wiki/Pune