Heart of Gratitude!!!

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."
I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Telephone Etiquette

Below are some normal telephone etiquette which we should follow. I don't know you all follow these all or not. But I always fail to follow most of these. Thats why I wrote this post at least to remind some of them.

Placing a Call
* Keep the frequently called numbers handy
* Double check the name of the person you want to call
* Do you know how to pronounce his name?
* Is the phone number correct?
* Is it an appropriate time to call?
* Ask caller if it is OK or convenient to speak?
* If the line has disturbance, tell the caller that you will call back

Some Basic Guidelines
* Identify yourself when making a call
* Address the caller by his name in a courteous manner
* Keep conversation brief
* Never be curt
* Never be impatient
* Listen carefully
* Do not interrupt
* Do not eat or chew something while speaking on phone
* If you wish to put the caller on hold, request his permission to do so
* Close your conversation with an appropriate salutation
* Let the caller hang up first
* When you receive a call, pick up the phone within three rings
* Answer the call
* In case of missed calls, return the call within a reasonable period of time

While Speaking
* Prepare and plan the contents and sequence of your communication/conversation
* Speak slowly
* Pronounce words correctly
* Don't mumble, speak clearly
* Use good mannerly language
* Don't be crude in your expressions
* Use appropriate salutations at appropriate times during the conversation
* Use phrases/words like: I appreciate your assistance, Thank you, May I request you, etc

Placing Call on Hold
* Request caller if you can keep on hold
* Show courtesy in your communication
* In case it is taking long time, keep coming back to caller and tell reasons of the delay
* Tell the duration of wait time or delay and ask caller if he will like to be put on hold for that much duration
* Offer to call back if the delay is more and caller does not want to be put on hold for that long

Wrong Numbers
* If you reach a wrong number and you are told that it was a wrong number, express regret
* If some one calls you by mistake, inform the caller politely that he reached a wrong number
* In case the caller has reached you while trying to reach another person in your organization, help him out by giving the correct phone number if you can find out or transfer the call to the right person

Managing Angry Callers
* Listen his problem or complaint carefully
* Do not interrupt him, let him finish the whole thing first
* Do not show off or act smart
* Do not say, "you are wrong"
* Empathize with him
* After he has finished, if appropriate, you may use the expressions like: I am sorry for the inconvenience or I appreciate what you are saying and in your place I would have been upset too
* You should be good in your area of work and investigate about his complaint or problem and solve it
* If you can not solve immediately, tell him the process of solving the problem and how much time it would take to solve
* Do not mislead him
* Call him back when you have the solution/information and give him that communication at the earliest possible; this feedback is important

Cell Phone Etiquette
* Do not try to impress the people around by flaunting your latest gizmo
* Do not use annoying, disturbing, jarring, funny ring tones
* Respond within three rings
* Don't shout over phone.
* Your volume level of speech should be such that it does not disturb the public
* Do not wear the ear piece when not using your cell phone
* Switch off cell phone or keep it at vibrate or silent mode at public places like school/college class room, hospital, theater, cinema hall/multiplex etc
* Switch off completely while traveling on an airplane
* Do not use cell phone while driving
* Do not ring people at in-appropriate timings, places or situations
* Do use cell phones in any emergency- that is the real use of cell phone

Sharpen Your AXE

A young person who graduated yesterday and stops learning today will become uneducated tomorrow.

Radhika, a woodcutter, worked for a Company for five years but never got a raise. The Company hired Amy and within a year she got a promotion. This caused resentment in Radhika and she went to her Boss to talk about it. The Boss said, "You are still cutting the same number of trees you were cutting five years ago. We are a result-oriented company and would be happy to give you a raise if your productivity goes up."

Radhika went back started hitting harder and putting in longer hours but she still wasn't able to cut more trees. She went back to her Boss and told him his dilemma. The Boss asked Radhika to go and talk to Amy. "Maybe there is something Amy knows that you and I don't."

Radhika asked Amy how she managed to cut more trees. Amy answered, "After every tree I cut, I take a break for two minutes and 'sharpen my axe'. When was the last time you sharpened your axe?"

This question hit like a bullet and Radhika got his answer.

"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" If you want to progress in life, you cannot rest on your past laurels. You must continuously sharpen your axe of knowledge, skill and expertise, in whatever field of activity you may be!

By sharpening your axe appropriately, I wish you to attain your goals.