A Horoscope Pisces Me Off

There are days when you are the pigeon and there are days when you are the statue. The trick lies in getting an early warning especially on the “statue days”, so that you can take in a deep breath and last out when your head is being held underwater. In my case the pigeon days are few and far between. It happens ever so suddenly and if I do not immediately take advantage of that tiny sliver of an opportunity I have only myself to blame. Horoscopes are helpful to take a sneak peek into the future. I read them regularly. My newspaper carries two of them (written by two different blokes) on Sunday. If you miss one of them while being stunned by their editorial, you can always read the other one without having to flip back on the pages. Tip for you: If you do not like the prediction for your own zodiac, try reading the one which says what you are looking for. If being a Scorpio does not bring me money this week, I am OK taking the prediction for Pisces if they are the ones with cash in the wallet.
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Meet Cartoonist Ajit Ninan

The morning newspaper and a cuppa chai is a ritual that is common to a large part of the human race. But people read it in their own manner. Some glance at the headlines and head straight for the sports page. So open the editorial page and shake their head disapprovingly at the affairs of the world. I head for the cartoons. I grab the newspaper and head straight for Ajit Ninan’s cartoon. I look for two elements of wit in a cartoon – the visual and verbal. Ninan excels in both. With most cartoonists one lands up choosing between the two. Ajit started his career with FD Stewarts – an ad agency in Chennai before they transferred him to Delhi. While in Delhi Ajit started contributing cartoons to  Target – a magazine for children run by the India Today group. That led to an offer to join the media group as cartoonist and illustrator. Ajit’s cartoons in India Today, Business Today and Target got him noticed. He joined Indian Express newspaper in 1992 before drawing for the news magazine Outlook. He is now with The Times of India as their Chief Graphics Consultant. Ajit used to run a cartoon strip called Detective Moochhwala (and his tail-less dog called Poochh, which means tail in Hindi) for Target. That comic strip had cult status amongst readers and it was amazing to see Ajit pack in a tight storyline and brilliant graphics in about 35-40 frames.

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What A Collection

Collective nouns are a fascinating quirk in the English language. As the Rinkworks site would put it in their fabulous collection of collective nouns, “One of the craziest oddities of the English language is that there are so many different collective nouns that all mean “group” but which are specific to what particular thing there is a group of: a herd of elephants, a crowd of people, a box of crayons, a pad of paper, etc. There is great diversity of collective nouns associated with animals, from a sleuth of bears to a murder of crows.” There are interesting collective nouns for various professions – a sneer of butlers or a converting of preachers, a blackening of shoemakers and an obeisance of servants. A jail would have a pity of prisoners and maybe even a talent of gamblers.
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The Three Email Challenge

The experience of growing up online will profoundly shape the workplace expectations of “Generation F” – the Facebook Generation says Gary Hamel - the management guru. Very clearly if you are one of those who believes that you are now with it because you now know how to use email, you do not belong to the Facebook Generation. Dear Gary, you will be happy to know that I am no stranger to Facebook. As someone recently mentioned that you have to be on Facebook (which I am even if it is really tough) to be considered cool. Read more

HR Made Easy: How To Do Training Needs Analysis

This has been a tough year. The targets were set a mile high and you have had to growl incessantly at your team. Morale is low. How do you keep them motivated? You walk to the window and sigh in disgust. It is tough being the big cheese. Headquarters will not let you splurge on anything. Those guys in the Finance department are straining at the leash to snap at your ankles if you make one false move. It is a moment of epiphany. You have something to throw to the boys in the trenches – yes, you can send them for training. Nothing like training to motivate the troops. It is a win win. In fact it is a win-win-win. Human Resources will love you for your dedication towards building a talent pipeline, Finance will not grudge you the investment and the team will salivate at the thought.

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