Open Letter to Indian Cricket Team

To : Indian Cricket Team
From : Ram (ram.retirich@gmail.com)
Subject : Indian Cricket Team’s Performance in Australia

Well done India for your great performance in the last year’s ODI World Cup and bringing us the cup after a long 28 years. You are real Tigers on home soil. I cannot continue the praising further after looking at your recent performances on the foriegn grounds especially in non sub-continents.

A White wash on England’s soil was somewhat releaved by a revenge White wash on home soil. Do we need to wait for such a white wash on home soil to Australia? Yes, looking at your performance in the first 2 test matches against Australia in the current series it surely won’t be a surprise for us to see a white wash soon. We ‘hope’ you won’t do that and bounce back like the way we call you – Tigers.

Gambhir’s come back innings of 83 in the second test’s second innings is a bit of relief after 3 consecutive duds. We expect Sehwag to stand for atleast 30 overs in the crease and turn the good starts to 3 digit figures. Not sure why he is shy of the crease and leaving to dressing room soon.

Dravid’s legendary innings is yet to come in this series and can become the difference between loosing and winning. Sachin’s 100th 100 became one of the most talked topic from an year only next to the ‘Kolaveri De’.

Lakshman and Kohli became the target of critics this time. The Very Very Special (VVS) Lakshman who used to treat the Australia and their soil as his birthday cake is struggling this time. His slow movement in the crease made him get out by catches behind the wickets (keeper and slip catches). It is time for you to wash your face before taking the guard. Kohli, one of the most consistent players from the past 2 years for Indian cricket team failed miserably in this series. ‘We are not machines. Don’t expect to perform all the times’, was your tweet reply for the critics. What else can I talk about you then?

M S Dhoni, the captain with golden hand is the first target for his captaincy in the series. Your bowling changes were very average. Bringing Sehwag for bowling at a stage when the pressure was required and fielding positions became the hot points.

Enough preaching for the day. We don’t expect you to win every time. All that we need is a better battle from you. It will be a cracking game against Australia this weekend. Pull up the socks. Keep the energy tight. Go and Play to your Best.

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According to Manpower, Indian employers have reported the most optimistic hiring intentions among the 41 countries and territories where its survey is conducted.

In stark contrast to the fears of economic slowdown hurting the country’s labour market, two separate job market surveys on Tuesday suggested an improving employment scenario and predicted robust hiring activities for the new year, which could be the best in the world.

Painting an optimistic picture, global HR firm Manpower said in its quarterly job market report that Indian employers are the most bullish globally when it comes to hiring, with robust recruitment plans for the next three months, the first quarter of the new year 2012.

In a separate monthly report, job portal Naukri.com said that hiring activities surged in November across all sectors.

Against the backdrop of contraction in industrial output and gloomy economic growth prospects, concerns are rising that such situation could seriously hurt employment in the country.

According to Manpower, Indian employers have reported the most optimistic hiring intentions among the 41 countries and territories where its survey is conducted.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey revealed the outlook has improved in six out of seven industry sectors for the March 2012 quarter, compared to previous three months.

As per the report, the services sector (+49 per cent) and mining and construction sector (+47 per cent) present the brightest hiring opportunities for job seekers in the next three months.

Meanwhile, the monthly Naukri Job Speak index,an indicator of online job demand, showed that hiring activities moved up across all sectors last month from the levels seen in October, signalling a “seasonal spike”.

Expressing concerns over declining industrial output, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) yesterday said that any further contraction “would have serious consequences on employment and livelihoods.”

Industrial output contracted 5.1 per cent in October, the highest decline in more than two years, mainly due to steep decline in production in manufacturing, mining and capital goods sectors.

The government also recently lowered its GDP growth forecast for the current year to 7-7.5 per cent, from 9 per cent previously, fuelling concerns about a slowdown in economic expansion and the subsequent impact on job market. (PTI)

Want to shed the flab? Go to work on an egg – It’s the best way to start the day, a new study has claimed.

For decades, it was feared eggs caused high blood pressure and raised cholesterol. Now, researchers at Surrey University have found that eating eggs for breakfast can help slash the calories eaten at lunch and dinner.

Eggs keep one fuller for longer compared with other common breakfast foods, and are also better for people who want to resist afternoon snacks on biscuits, cake or chocolate, according to the researchers.

Prof Bruce Griffin, who led the study, said: “This study provides yet more evidence that eating eggs at breakfast can help keep us feeling fuller for longer and may help people to eat less at subsequent meals, thus helping with weight loss.”

The study tested three typical breakfasts with the same level of calories, eggs on toast, cornflakes with milk and toast, or a croissant and orange juice. Adding to the growing body of evidence to support eggs as a key ingredient of weight-loss diets, the researchers found volunteers felt fuller for longer and had a lower desire to eat after the egg breakfast compared with the other ones.

The egg breakfast also led to a significantly lower intake of energy at lunch and evening meals compared with the other common breakfasts, the Daily Express reported.

Previous US research found that when women were given either an egg or bagel-based breakfast of equal calories, the egg-eating volunteers felt fuller and had less desire to eat other foods for the next 24 hours.

Another study published last year compared a three-egg breakfast and a low-fat bagel one in a group of men. It found their response to ghrelin, the only hormone known to stimulate hunger, was suppressed. (PTI)

Motivational Tips:

1. Consequences – Never use threats. They’ll turn people against you. But making people aware of the negative consequences of not getting results (for everyone involved) can have a big impact. This one is also big for self motivation. If you don’t get your act together, will you ever get what you want?

2. Pleasure – This is the old carrot on a stick technique. Providing pleasurable rewards creates eager and productive people.

3. Performance incentives – Appeal to people’s selfish nature. Give them the opportunity to earn more for themselves by earning more for you.

4. Detailed instructions – If you want a specific result, give specific instructions. People work better when they know exactly what’s expected.

5. Short and long term goals – Use both short and long term goals to guide the action process and create an overall philosophy.

6. Kindness – Get people on your side and they’ll want to help you. Piss them off and they’ll do everything they can to screw you over.

7. Deadlines – Many people are most productive right before a big deadline. They also have a hard time focusing until that deadline is looming overhead. Use this to your advantage by setting up a series of mini-deadlines building up to an end result.

8. Team Spirit – Create an environment of camaraderie. People work more effectively when they feel like part of team — they don’t want to let others down.

10. Recognize achievement – Make a point to recognize achievements one-on-one and also in group settings. People like to see that their work isn’t being ignored.

11. Personal stake – Think about the personal stake of others. What do they need? By understanding this you’ll be able to keep people happy and productive.

12. Concentrate on outcomes – No one likes to work with someone standing over their shoulder. Focus on outcomes — make it clear what you want and cut people loose to get it done on their own.

13. Trust and Respect – Give people the trust and respect they deserve and they’ll respond to requests much more favorably.

14. Create challenges – People are happy when they’re progressing towards a goal. Give them the opportunity to face new and difficult problems and they’ll be more enthusiastic.

15. Let people be creative – Don’t expect everyone to do things your way. Allowing people to be creative creates a more optimistic environment and can lead to awesome new ideas.

16. Constructive criticism – Often people don’t realize what they’re doing wrong. Let them know. Most people want to improve and will make an effort once they know how to do it.

17. Demand improvement – Don’t let people stagnate. Each time someone advances raise the bar a little higher (especially for yourself).

18. Make it fun – Work is most enjoyable when it doesn’t feel like work at all. Let people have fun and the positive environment will lead to better results.

19. Create opportunities – Give people the opportunity to advance. Let them know that hard work will pay off.

20. Communication – Keep the communication channels open. By being aware of potential problems you can fix them before a serious dispute arises.

21. Make it stimulating – Mix it up. Don’t ask people to do the same boring tasks all the time. A stimulating environment creates enthusiasm and the opportunity for “big picture” thinking.

Master these key points and you’ll increase motivation with a bit of hard work.