Traditions, Superstitions, and Business Practices

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it.

Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result: all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now forget the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one.

The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, and then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked.

Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water.

Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.

And that, my friends, is how traditions & superstitions begin. Business practices start this way too...especially the stupid ones.

Courtesy: The Net

Agile Programming

For those who are not yet aware of what Agile Programming is. Here are two simple explanations that will enlighten your minds! Truthfully, the first one is a killer :) Courtesy: Scott Adams.. Dilbert.com :)

Fun Organization

The title says it all and the following dilbert strip… even more!!!

Reports

This is one of my all-time favourite comic strips

 

Source: dlibert.com                     

Especially, the "Eighty-Seven" comes without missing a beat. Scott Adams is a genius and I am great fan of him. Sounds more like corporate satire, but the truth behind it is absolutely hitting the nail right on its head. 

So long, until the next post...

The Stork and Butter

The million dollar question – How to catch a stork? The million dollar answer – Use butter. Well, there is a famous phrase in Tamil

“கொக்கு தலையில் வெண்ணை வெச்சு புடிக்கிறது ”

meaning, Catch a stork by placing butter in its head.

Well, here goes the logic, be patient until you finish it

Step 1. Find a stork in the fields or in the market

Step 2. Have butter read in your hand

Step 3. Go secretly near the stork, without the stork noticing you

Step 4. Furtively, place the butter on the stork’s head

Step 5. Wait patiently until the butter melts

Step 6. When the butter melts, it will cover the stork’s eyes making it blind temporarily

Step 7. When the stork is not able to see, it will not move or fly

Step 8. Catch the stork -  do whatever you want to do with it, by making it a prisoner

See, easy isn’t it! This is what happens in the IT industry, people prepare PPT slide similar to the steps above and present it to the client. Do Step 5 above and there you go, you’ve got your stork…

So long, until the next post…

Thamilan da Thamilan

Bill Gates organized an enormous session to recruit a new Chairman for Microsoft Europe.

5000 candidates assembled in a large room. One candidate is our Ramasamy.

Bill Gates: "Thank you for coming. Those who do not know JAVA may leave."

2000 people leave the room.

Ramasamy says to himself, 'I do not know who JAVA is, but I have nothing to lose if I stay. I'll give it a try !'

Bill Gates: "Candidates who never had experience of managing more than 100 people may leave."

2000 more leave the room.

Ramasamy says to himself 'I never managed anybody by myself, but I have nothing to lose if I stay. Risk edukkaruthu Rusk sapidaramathiri !'. So, he stays!

Bill Gates: "Candidates who do not have management diplomas may leave."

500 people leave the room.

Ramasamy says to himself, 'I left school at 15, but what have I got to lose ? Evvalavo pannitom Etha pannna mattoma?'. So, he stays in the room.

Lastly, Bill Gates asked the candidates who do not speak Serbo-Croat to leave. 498 people leave the room.

Ramasamy says to himself, 'I do not speak one word of Serbo-Croat but what do I have to lose ?' So he stays and finds himself with one other candidate.

Everyone else has gone. Bill Gates joined them and said "Apparently you are the only two candidates who speak Serbo-Croat, so I'd now like to hear you have a conversation together in that language."

Calmly, Ramasamy turns to the other candidate and says 'Endha Ooru?'.

The other candidate answers in a meek tone… 'Madurai'...

So long, until the next post...

The Red Indians

It was autumn, and the Red Indians asked their New Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Red Indian chief in a modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his Tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared.

But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed,' the weather man responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more  wood. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Is it going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'It's definitely going to be a very cold winter.'

The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find.

Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again.

'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' The man replied. 'It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever.'

'How can you be so sure?' the Chief asked.

The weatherman replied, 'The Red Indians are collecting wood like crazy.'

This is how software companies use technology. The company's top level management says "Use Java, HTML5" because client says that we should use it. The client says "Use Java, HTML5" because he hears from other software companies hitting him for a deal. Now you decide on who the Red Indians are!!!

So long, until the next post...