25 HOURS AND THREE BALLS ppt

25 HOURS AND THREE BALLS
by
Rajesh Soundararajan
SMASHWORDS EDITION
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PUBLISHED BY
Rajesh Soundararajan on Smashwords
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25 HOURS AND THREE BALLS
Copyright © 2011 by Rajesh Soundararajan
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SMASHWORDS EDITION LICENSE NOTES
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DEDICATED TO
Lavanya, Vimala and TG Soundararajan
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FOREWORD
It has been my long time wish to help people be more
successful. I have seen through career that people have the
skills, competencies and experiences and yet they
underestimate their own potential. Often times, they are
looking for simple new tricks to make them successful.
I maintain a blog aspire2be that urges you to ‘dare to dream’.

For dreams define your aspirations and aspirations sculpt your
character. Character determines the person you are and the
person you will be.
Happy reading!
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CONTENTS
Part 1 – Getting To The Top 8
Start Your Own Firm
Get Your Dream Job, Not Any Job
Always Take The Job That Offers The Most Money
Be A Profit Centre, Avoid Staff Jobs.
Get Closer To Your Customer. Be A Salesman.
Do Not Be A Paper Pusher, Push Ideas.
Give Zest To Your Hello
One Nasty Email Can Seal Your Career.
Learn Email Basics First: Pass The Test
Wave Your Company’s Flag; Be Its Spokesperson
Make Your Boss Shine Like A Star
Part 2 – Accelerate Progress
Treat All People As Special.
Temper Your Temper
Overpay Your People
Don’t Build Empires And Fiefdoms.
Follow The Footsteps Of Your Boss!
Avoid Office Politics
Avoid Travelling With Your Bosses!
Add Fuel To The Fire!
Don’t Hide The Elephant.
Learn Differentiated Decision Making.
Manage By Moving Away

Part 3 – Staying There
For Your Life’s Sake, Have A Goal
Learn To Juggle The Three Balls.
Only Bet On Yourself!
Be An Active Listener
Have Fun@Work
Be An Icon!
What Do I Want To Be?
Practice Multitasking
Manufacture The 25th Hour Each Day
Keep Physically Fit.
Always Take Vacations.
Do Something Hard And Lonely
Master The Rules Of Time
Realize Your Dream – In Three Steps
Make Your Life A Masterpiece
PART 1 – GETTING TO THE TOP
START YOUR OWN FIRM
To many this thought might unsettle a bit. Others may ponder
a bit and give it a thought. And for those who wish to continue
working the rest of the articles will continue to help.
A formal employment gives, or at least is supposed to give
three things:
• Job security
• Identity with a name card with title and a company
name
• Monthly cash flow to sustain living expenses and/ or to
create assets.
Job security: The very fact of closure of Lehman and lay-offs
by GM, Microsoft and IBM in 2008 only questions the very

hypothesis of job security as it exists in salaried jobs today.
Identity: a business card and title does give one a sense of
social status. Why would you not achieve the same if you start
your own company and become the CEO or consultant? You
have just given yourself a title and a job scope, which you
have always wanted.
The other aspect of identity is a "company brand" or
"revenues" of the company. Think about it – these top Wall
Street banks just crumbled. General Motors and Chryslers
reported pathetic performance, they just could not get a single
act right. You sure are better than those CEOs. At least you
did not depreciate public money. In your personal evaluation,
your worth needs to be better than what you think by being an
appendage to someone else's.
Monthly cash flow is clearly the most rational reasoning and
has a practical impact. One needs money, to run their homes,
to eat, to pay mortgage and pay for children's education. If one
were to calculate these with a level of practicality – just go
back and check your current bank reserves and re-prioritize.
Most people in middle and senior management should be well
off. In most cases, I have seen we can live well, without a job
for 5-10 years, with fairly good quality of life style. Does that
give you some confidence? You are richer than you think and
you are far more capable than you think.
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GET YOUR DREAM JOB, NOT ANY JOB
A CV with a ‘for everyone’ cover letter = junk mail; A CV
without a cover letter = waste paper.
Imagine the fate of hundreds of direct mailers that you pick
from the mailbox. Do they ever get into your door? They hit the

trash somewhere between the mailboxes to the door.
99% of CVs go straight from Inbox to Trash. Some companies
auto-generate a nice sounding rejection letter before moving to
trash. Most CVs are ignored.
Imagine this –Would you have ever bought a dime of
insurance from someone who just barged into your office or
home without an appointment? Cold calling has extremely low
success rates.
You are the product and your CV is your brochure. Super
sales people never send a brochure before meeting with a
prospective customer. Super sales people send brochure after
the first meeting or bring it with them on follow-up calls. If the
brochure is not completely customized to the customer’s
needs, the sales person highlights the product benefits that will
have the highest chance of solving the customer’s problems.
Super sales people create interest in their products and use
the brochures to re-affirm and to leave a lasting impression of
the product or the meeting.
Just follow what super sales people do and make your CV
stick. That happens only after customer reads it after talking to
you, hearing about you, or meeting you. This is particularly
true if you have interviewed or spoken to the hiring manager.
Your CV will be able to deliver to the ‘needs’
Turn junk mail into an offer letter. Do not send a CV without
proper preparation. If possible, deliver your CV in person.
Present your CV. Follow-up with your CV that meets the
needs.
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ALWAYS TAKE THE JOB THAT OFFERS THE MOST
MONEY

Yes! You heard it right.
Remember Robert Kiyosaki in Rich - “Money is not the cause
of all evil, lack of it is”. Well if you believe in that, read on.
After you have chosen your profession whether it is banking,
advertising, manufacturing, software, or something else – go
and work for the company that offers you the most money. If
you have not figured it out on what career or industry is for
you, better still, take the job that offers you the most money. If
you are already in the organization, always take the transfer,
or assignment that pays the most money. (How disgusting can
we get, we have used money four times in this paragraph).
There are five key reasons why you must go for the money.
1. All your benefits, bonuses and subsequent raises will be
based on your salary. Companies usually give extra
compensation as percentages. Hence, a 10% rise on a
$120,000 @ $120, better than the same raise on a
$100,000 salary.
2. The higher paid you are, the more visible to top
management you will be. (They will want to keep tabs on
that super-duper guy who is taking away so much of
company money)
3. The more money you are paid, the more contribution will
be expected of you. (Whoever said, there was free lunch).
This means you will be given more responsibility, bigger
tasks and tougher problems to solve. And hence - more
chance to perform which in itself is an invitation to success.
If there are two candidates vying for a promotion to a job
that pays $150,000 and one makes $100,000 while the
other $120,000, the higher paid person gets the job
regardless of talent contribution or anything else.

Corporations take the easy way out and it is easier to
promote the higher paid than the lower paid. (Promoting
the higher paid employee is the path of least resistance in
most situations. Someone else has already approved the
higher paid’s compensation. That means he must be really
good. Others just concurred. In fact the sponsors of the
higher paid are themselves even higher paid. Promoting
the higher paid endorses the wisdom of the upper
management. Whoever said, it was fair!)
4. Finally, in business money is the denominator. The more
you make the better you are doing. Simple.
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BE A PROFIT CENTRE, AVOID STAFF JOBS.
Why do we say that?
Well for starters, let us see the difference between Line jobs
and Staff jobs.
Line jobs make money for your organization. In some places
they are also called profit centres. Line jobs bring in money
and have direct relationship with profit and loss. They impact
the business and bottom line directly. They are the reason for
your organization’s existence.
Staff jobs, also called as cost centres in organizations include
lawyers, planners, data processing people, research and
development, scientists and administrators of all types. Some
justifiable staff jobs indirectly get and keep customers. Jobs
that don’t get and keep customers are redundant.
In today’s organization structures the distinction between line
jobs and staff jobs is sometimes blurred. It is still easy to
identify them - line jobs are where the action is. Period.
Line jobs include sales people, sales managers, product

managers, plant managers, marketing directors, foremen and
general managers – generally revenue generating functions.
In many companies, majority of the people are either doing
administration or field sales. Administrative people are not bad
or untalented. But the organizations do not usually view them
as cutting edge. The company does not depend on them. They
are increasingly being replaced by automated computer
systems and application software that can manage the routine.
In other cases, these people are replaceable by people from
other industries with minimal training and tolerable impact to
business.
Take a staff job only if it is purely temporary, a stepping stone
and if it pays more money.
Be sure what the line and staff jobs in your company are. Be
sure to get the right one. You do not want to be a cost centre.
Do you?
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GET CLOSER TO YOUR CUSTOMER. BE A SALESMAN.
Is it a coincidence that majority of corporate Presidents started
as a salesman or were sales people at some point in their
career?
Selling is a super critical function. Selling possibly is the only
function that gets up close and personal to your customer. A
sales person starts to understanding customer’s likes, dislikes
and idiosyncrasies. They get to know the precise reason why a
product or company clicks or why it ticks.
And as the salesperson grows in the organization to increased
responsibilities, they start shaping products, teams and
organization structures to address their customer’s need. They
have first-hand experience and the conviction required to fix

things that generates revenue for the company. Over time and
not surprisingly, the successful salesman becomes a star
within the company. He is well recognized, for the sales man
knows their customers the best.
When management wants to hire for a position on the
management team, whom do you think would be on their A-list
– A star salesman?
Secondly, since organizations exist because of their
customers, management would prefer someone who has been
with the customers for senior positions.
Thirdly, in all probability the current CEO and the executive
team were salespersons themselves in the career. It is only
natural for biases towards star salespersons.
Whatever is the case if you are a salesman you are in good
hands? You have the inherent advantage to get to the top. If
not, get a role in sales to fill up that gaping hole in your
otherwise impeccable record.
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DO NOT BE A PAPER PUSHER, PUSH IDEAS.
As modern corporations grow to become global businesses,
there is an increasing need for ‘replicable models’ and
‘standardized processes’.
While, practically every organization and every job description
demands the need for qualities like entrepreneurship,
innovative and risk taking – that precise quality that is being
killed every day in most organizations. Pangs of growth, they
would say!
Corporations are afraid of internal entrepreneurs. They cannot
handle personalities that build businesses. Most managers
cannot deal with informal, anti-policy, anti-procedure style,

idea people and business builders. They want monthly reports,
detailed expense accounts, and personal reviews on paper,
quarterly reports, year-end reports, stock reports, one hundred
page business plans and many more. Do not get paper-
strapped. Papers are means to an end.
Do not get paper trapped. Do not accept those handcuffs. The
zillion reports, if they do not help in decision making – do not
prepare them. If some report has to be done and you know no
one looks at it, avoid it at all costs. If it is unavoidable,
delegate it to the junior-most level staff. Just do not do
anything that does not improve your company’s performance.
PS: At the same time please do document the statutory things
that are important for your company existence.
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GIVE ZEST TO YOUR HELLO
Always answer the phone with enthusiasm in your voice and
show your appreciation for the caller. In today’s times where
telephonic conversation is over mobile phones and VOIPs are
a norm, this aspect has become even more crucial in creating
the first impression.
We all are very perceptive when the person at the other end is
just not listening to us in the conference call or he is just
bored.
How many times have you got disappointed with the apathetic
approach with a call centre? How would you react when you
call 900 and the person at the other end answers with lethargy
and disinterest?
Yes, these are extreme examples. Good phone manners are
essential.
To convey authority on the line, stand up. This will instil further

confidence in your voice.
To convey empathy, get closer to the phone – switch off the
speaker phone - and pick up the receiver.
To convey friendliness, smile. The other party can sure hear
your smile.
Practice this for a week and you will see the difference in the
way people react to you.
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ONE NASTY EMAIL CAN SEAL YOUR CAREER.
Well, wise men said it in the past and it is true even today –
“before you utter something, count to 10, take a deep breath
and then speak”. “What you have not said, you can always say
later. What you have said, you can never take it back”
• Never write a note that criticises, hurts or belittles or
humiliates a colleague.
• Do not write a condescending note or a note that is
unkind, sexist or does not respect the individual.
• Never send out an email that is written in anger or
frustration.
• We live in a small world. People get promoted, change
companies, jobs, roles.
• They have influential friends. Companies merge,
acquired or get acquired.
• Your self-made enemy may show up anywhere. Never
give a company rival a smoking gun.
• Spend your energy in positive things.
Makes sense? Common sense?
Suggesting Reading: Try “Manipulative Memos” by Arthur D.
Rosenberg
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