Three Monks !!!!!

Background:

Three Monks  is a Chinese animated feature film produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio in 1976, It is also referred to as The Three Buddhist Priests.
The film is based on the ancient Chinese proverb "One monk will shoulder two buckets of water, two monks will share the load, but add a third and no one will want to fetch water.

 

Plot:

There was a monk who lived in a temple built on the top of a hill everyday he used to get two buckets full of water from down the hill and carry them back to temple using a shoulder pole. The water he got was more than enough for one person.

One day a monk visited the temple and started living there. Next day when they got up, first monk thought of giving the responsibility to bring water to the new monk.

But the new monk refused to do it alone. Therefore they decided to share the responsibility but the shoulder pole was small and could accommodate only one bucket then.

The water they got was still enough for both of them.

Later a third monk came to stay with them. On the next day morning when all the monks got up, nobody took the responsibility to fill the buckets as the shoulder pole could accommodate only two persons and they could not decide who should stay back. On that day, they began to suffer from thirst since water had finished. That night temple caught fire.

Finally all the three monks got together to fight the fire and started working together to get the water every morning and no one suffered from thirst thereafter.

Video link as below :

Learnings

1. As the saying goes: “Unity is strength" we should co-operate with each other and work  together in a harmonious manner.
2. Team work is the fuel that allows common to attain uncommon results.
3. Process improvement can reduce effort to a great extent.
4. Work distribution , work segregation and proper utilization of resources leads to increase in   productivity.

Real Life example :

In first year of graduation, I and some friends thought of participating in a dramatics events. When we teamed up for the very first time, we were bunch of enthusiastic people who lacked professionalism. Each of us had one’s own idea with a feeling about that idea as the best one. No one was ready to give much thought to the ideas of others.

We kept moving without reaching any consensus and got too late in finalizing the script and scene. Though we had worked hard but we ourselves felt that the finalized play was not up to the mark. Our play got rejected.

The failure turned out to be a big learning for us. As all of us were friends, we sat together and introspected about the reason. We realized that we worked as a group and not as a team.We were more focused on our idea getting accepted. Had we been open to accept each other’s ideas we could have qualified for the final round.

The incident taught me the importance of team work and leaving behind one’s ego for the common goal. I also learnt that failures are biggest learning in life and team work is the fuel that allows common to attain uncommon results.

Goals ..... Smart Goals !!!

The third lecture on Principles of Management came with yet another interesting concept. We keep reading and listening that setting goals is important in life.

But successful managers not only focus on setting goals , they focus on setting SMART Goals.
By definition , SMART stands for : specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound .








But again teaching in his own style Prof. Mandi asked us to open our minds and come with our own definition of SMART.

There was an open discussion and some interesting definitions came for each letter of word smart and thus helping in learning more aspects of setting a goal. 

Some of them were Sustainable , Structured , Sensible , Miraculous , Majestic , Ambitious , Rational , Realistic , Tangible ....... and so on ..







Dr. Mandi further explained us the importance of expectations and motivation to make people achieve higher targets and goals .The concept is known as Pygmalion effect which states that greater the expectation placed upon people, the better they perform. The simplest example of this effect is the expectation of teachers in our schools which lead us to perform better.

Smart Goals makes smart people , thus leading to smart societies and smart organisations.

As stated by Robert Brault :

"The shortest distance between two points assumes you know where you're going.”

Set SMART Goals .......


And Smart Learning Continues..............

Art of Modern Management !!!

I have always believed that teamwork is something which can make common people do uncommon things . Its one of those energies which if correctly channelized can do wonders. This belief has developed through various experiences.

 But still when Prof. Mandi gave an option whether a blind person with the help of instructions of a normal person can build a taller building   than another open eyed person , a doubt came in my mind. I was not sure about the capability of the blind person. But in the end I was proven wrong but most importantly I could learn the art of modern management in a way I couldn't have ever understood through textbooks or anything

.

Backlash ::

Unlike the first lecture when Prof. Mandi had to ask us to sit on ground with him , most of us leave our seats and sit on the ground all excited for the second lecture. He takes out some small blocks from his bag and throws them towards us . Then the game begins ......

 The challenge is to build a single cube tower with blocks provided. The first person will do it blindfolded whereas in second case there would be one blindfolded person and two other people guiding him. First person with open eyes built a tower with 22 blocks . In the second case , three people were divided as CEO , Manager and worker. The blindfolded worker had to build the tower  with the guidance of manager.

To the surprise of all of us , the second team surpassed 22 blocks. And this is how modern management works.With the correct guidance of a manager who is knowledgeable and can motivate well , any person can do the assigned task.This is because the decision making part has been transferred to the manager and worker can focus on his work. Whereas CEO can just observe the progress of the work.Unfortunately , there is no skill development of that person but still the productivity is higher than the first one. 


Though there lies a challenge of job satisfaction because there is no intellectual effort needed by worker. But then Dr. Mandi ended the session saying that how much we control human mind , it will find a way to get out of it .I was amazed to learn concept in such a simple way.


                                                         

Its learning by doing !!!! 

              And the learning continues...!!

Learn and Earn, Earn and Learn !!!!

                                               
Life@NITIE started more than a week back. First week was special. A week full of new experiences and learnings. With a batch of people from different regions, different cultures and with different experiences provided the right platform to gear up for management education. But the real trigger to this journey came in the form of class on Principles on Operations and Management by Dr. Prasad or as he is famously known “Dr. Mandi”.

With Prof. Mandi walking in, sitting on the floor and asking us to join him for a class in ancient Indian style , we all sat on the floors and what followed was one of the most interactive sessions one could have. I had never imagined attending a class in this manner in a B-school. 

But not only was it extremely comfortable but at the same time it made me feel proud of our “Desipan”. This was the first lesson of being always attached to your culture. This not only makes you feel good but also helps you understand and interact with people better. An important lesson for any manager.

After that Prof. Prasad described us how the annual event ”Mandi”  which was initiated by Dr. Prasad .The concept of Mandi is :  

" Socho Becho !!  Becho..Seekho ! !   Seekho  Socho ! !". 

The event helps the students learn ground level realities of business and enhance their skills in true practical way. 

He demonstrated us various toys , first among them being Newton Craddle with which most of us were unaware.

Through Newton Craddle he explained that whatever goes around comes around, a concept that is applicable in every sphere of life and similarly in case of business. Whatever value we give to customer, the same is replicated by the customer’s trust and future purchase by customer. A great second lesson for the day.

After that Prof. Mandi displayed another innovative educational toy, a sponge ball with a  design of globe. 

We were made to guess market cost of these products . He made us realize that we are stuck with a beggar mentality and we have to get rid of that. He focused on earning something out of everything we learn. 

Learn and Earn , Earn and Learn “Aaj Ki Roti , Aaj Hi Kamenge” .

A perfect start for learning “Dhanda” at NITIE.