New Ways for Corporate Women

Woman managers need to appreciate that it takes heroic energy to rock the cradle and rock the corporate world. First pin a badge for bravery on yourself for attempting it. Then, promise you will not even begin to tread the path that leads to the joyless land of being a super-woman or super-mom. Enlist your men and families as willing accomplices in the challenging task of reconstructing a corporate.

Workplace that lovingly accommodates the needs of humans, for families, for music, poetry and time for just standing and watching the world go by! Be kind to yourself. Love yourself. Conquer fear and overcome the need for instructions. Pursue the ability to adapt and be a leader of proactive change. The New World is not for those who are what Nehru called unwilling victims, dragged to be sacrificed on the altar of change. Be leaders to be accepted as such. Banish forever your fear of being centre stage, your reluctance to accept that you are where the buck stops.

Relearn and re-install the software of the human heart that your mothers embodied. The New Woman of the past decade must not forsaken her heritage of loving and caring for the tough hard-bitten so-called ‘male boss model.’ Both men and women managers need to put the human being at the centre of all business processes.

Save the Oceans

That Mount Kailash the home of the Gods and even Everest, is littered with plastic garbage, is common knowledge. But unseen, in the depths of the beautiful blue ocean, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic is dumped, every year.

This is fuelled by our ‘disposable’ life style. Everything including throw away wedding gowns have ensured that most plastic items are thrown away after just one use. It is estimated that more than 1 million plastic bags are used every minute, many of them ending up in the ocean. ‘No water, no life. No blue, no green’, writes Dr. Sylvia Earle. A plastic bags average ‘work life’ is just 15 minutes.

Plastics are not bio-degradable. In the ocean, plastic doe not dissolve or disintegrate. They remain to affect human health. The movement of waves tears them into tiny pieces which are eaten by fish and sea mammals who slowly choke and die a lingering painful death. They are then eaten by birds and human. The chemicals are also released into air and water.

Plastics contain lead, cadmium, mercury and carcinogens like DEHP and BPA. An average person produces half a pound of plastic waste every day. How can we be more responsible about cleaning up after ourselves?

Huge plastic islands have been created because of ocean flows. The great Pacific Garbage Patch is larger than the State of Texas. Five such patches have been discovered.

What can we do to protect the oceans?

·         Buy a cloth or  paper bag

·         Choose products packaged in bio-degradable materials.

·         A predominantly fish diet is a hazard

·         Be responsible for disposal of your garbage

·         Recycle plastic

God gave us the infinite oceans. Let us save them before it is too late!

Tips to Work-life Balance

1. Take short relaxation breaks, at least thrice a day.

2. Eat fresh, energy-giving foods.

3. Take a walk outdoors during lunch break.

4. Stay away from politics and back-biting.

5. Involve your spouse and children in your work. Bring them to the office during lunch break or on a Saturday.

6. Spend time reading and improving your mind.

7. Get involved in activities that will benefit others.

8. Develop an absorbing hobby or skill—driving, dancing, gardening, carpentry, painting, amateur radio, etc.

9. Keep in touch with your close friends and extended family, use the power of the internet.

10. Plan to cut off from work on weekends.

11. Meditate. Take care of yourself.

12. Look at your life-goals and evaluate your job to see if it will help you achieve them.

13. Learn to say ‘No’.

14. Remember that people are more important than getting ahead.

15. If you have a toxic workplace, look for another job.

16. Know that you are more important than the car you drive, house you inhabit, your bank balance or the promise of a foreign holiday.

creating a positive interpersonal field

Develop the capacity to pick up subtle verbal, tonal and non-verbal signals from others.

Learn also the ability to send out soothing, nurturing signals to others, thus creating a positive interpersonal field. In order to develop this skill, practice working with people and listening to them with the same attitude as you would a beloved child, or respected parent. Your word, tone, glance should be completely focused on the person. Don’t dilute the interaction by playing with your Blackberry, talking on your cell phone or fiddling with your laptop. When you are with someone, pay complete attention. Anything less will only elicit a lukewarm response. Those who can create positive fields around themselves attract and build lifetime relationships. 

YOGIC HARMONY

Workplace Wellness Assessment

Here are some few questions to assess your workplace wellness:

1. Would it be personally profitable for me to spend more time reading?

2. Do I effectively balance time between family, social, academic and recreational activities?

3. Do I concentrate too hard on just getting the job done rather than on my whole career?

4. Do I see about my bosses as role models?

5. Do I hope that by improving my knowledge I will have a job and a good life?

6. Are there some active steps I might take today to ensure a successful future?

7. Would talking to professionals in various fields help improve my job awareness?

8. Would this be a frightening thing to do?

9. Are there some channels, people or sources that could make this a pleasant experience?

10. Have I honestly assessed my potential for growth and participation in future jobs?

11. Do I travel more than a week every month?

12. Do I rest when I am tired?

13. Have I learnt to say ‘No’ politely?

Score

a. Good: More than 9 Yeses

b. Adequate: 5 or more Nos

c. Poor: Less than 5 Nos

Hold back desertification

It is said that early civilizations around the Nile, Tigris, Europhrates, Indus and the Yellow river were all destroyed due to soil degradation and soil erosion, leading to food scarcity and starvation. In the first Sahara African drought, 2,00,000 people and millions of their animals died.

China grew a Great Green Wall with 66,000,000,000 trees to prevent the desert from advancing. American farmers did the same in the 1930s to stop the advance of the Mid West Dust Bowl. Jojoba plantations, have played a role in combating the effects of desertification in the Thar Desert, India.  Green belts are the best way to protect fertile land and prevent desertification

My city Chennai should be called the ‘Blue City’ because it is on the sea coast and blessed with 134 lakes and three rivers. Unfortunately, all these water bodies are polluted or drying up. On June 17^th the world celebrates World Day to Combat Desertification and drought. It is no surprise that this year, all 32 districts of my state, Tamil Nadu have been declared drought striken.

In our case, this problem has arisen because of human activities. Desertification as a process has become a global ecological problem. Deserts appear as a result of natural processes. But many times desertification is man made. This leads to the loss of water bodies denuding of vegetation and the death of wildlife. It happens as a result of greed and misuse of natural resources...

So plant at least 12 trees a year. Get involved in the protection and cleaning of a water body. Refuse to consider living in building being built on a reclaimed lake. Promote sustainable agricultural practices. Buy food from those who promote such practices. Invest in helping people continue to live in villages, instead of triggering large scale migration to cities, due to poverty.

The success of Rajinder Singh India’s water man, also called ‘Water Gandhi’ in the deserts of Rajastan prove that these processes are reversible through proper practices of water management. Much of this happens due to human induced land degradation.

He leads villagers in the footsteps of their ancestors to bring dormant rivers back to life. The key is participatory community action, empowerment of women and linking indigenous knowhow with scientific technologies.