Friends & Colors!!

I remember seeing a myriad colors in my dreams,

each with a very different and unique themes.

As if they represent the several people we meet,

some are friends and some others we just greet.

Some friends are like the vast ocean that is blue,

they accommodate everyone and remain true.
Some friends are like shades of black and gray,

not sure what turn they take ‘n we can only pray.

I have even met brighter shades of red and green,

and are the ones who add a lot of fun to the scene.

Some are like the white paper and remain quiet,

but give us the space and even allow us to write.

If you wish to paint a rainbow and add color to your day,

make sure you have people of all shades and would stay.

It is color that brings life to the many things that we see,

without friends our life is like a treasure without a key.

Savitha Reddy

Service Leadership!

When I first read about Ron Kaufman’s workshop a few days ago, the words “Service Vision and how to articulate this vision...” caught my attention, and I immediately decided to attend the workshop without any second thoughts, as I was thinking of something very similar for my business at that moment. I felt this could be a perfect opportunity to learn more on servicing our many internal and external customers at inlingua. After attending the workshop on Friday, I felt it was worth the investment in time and effort. Meeting Ron for the first time, I saw what an amazing speaker he was, with tons of energy and passion. A man on a mission to uplift the quality of service standards worldwide. What I also liked was the way Ron made it highly interactive and at every opportunity helped us review the culture building activities at our organizations and inspired us to embrace a new and uplifting service culture. Even though it is difficult to capture in a few words, the numerous examples and case studies that he shared, just a few basic points shared here to serve as a future reference to myself and my service partners.

Service is when someone takes action to create something of value to someone else.

Service Excellence is taking the next step UP to create more value for someone else.

Service Excellence Culture exists when everyone in the organization puts this to work every day.

Six  Levels of Customer Service

§     Criminal service is really bad. It’s service that violates even minimum expectations, customers are angry enough to call you and complain about.

§     Basic service is disappointing. It’s the bare minimum that could be provided and once the service is rendered the customer may not be disappointed enough to complain; However, he will remember not to call you for that kind of service again.

§     Expected service is nothing special. It’s the average, the usual, the norm. The customer might come back to you, but only if no better options exist.

§     Desired service is what your customers hope for and prefer. They’ll do business with your organization again because you do things for them just the way they like it.

§     Surprising service is something special, like an unexpected gift. It gives your customers more than they expected. This makes you an organization that customers enjoy and will come back to again and again.

§     Unbelievable service is astonishingly fantastic. This is the level of service your customers can’t forget, the legendary treatment they will tell all their friends about.

We first need to identify our current level of customer service and continuously look for ways to step UP the stairs. The stairs here is like a down escalator. If we do not try and step UP two steps at a time, we would go down the stairs, especially, since the competition is also looking for ways to raise their own standards. So look for ways to surprise your customers at some point of the service by offering them something that they value. For e.g., in a restaurant the food, ambience, service etc., could all be expected, however, if the music is really special then customers would come back.

How do we UP our service and build an uplifting service culture?

By involving Service Leadership at the top, integrating Service Culture throughout the organization and engaging in continuous Service Education as a fundamental necessity.

1.      Service Leadership -

• Choose and declare service as top priority
• Be a great role model - walk the talk
• Build a service language - talk the talk
• Measure what really matters
• Enable and empower your team
• Remove the roadblocks to service
• Sustain focus and enthusiasm

2.     Service Culture – The 12 building blocks of service culture are: Common service language, Engaging service vision, Service staff recruitment, New staff orientation, Service communications, Service recognition and rewards, Voice of the customer, Service measures and metrics, Service improvement process, Service recovery and guarantees, Service bench marking, Service role modeling. The entire organization needs to be aligned with a common service culture and the same needs to be implemented and integrated within the process by continuous education. More tips on –

http://oldwebsite.ronkaufman.com/articles/article.culture.html

3.     Service Education –

·     Be Flexible – Educating the entire staff to be sensitive and flexible to customers’ needs helps, instead of just training the front line staff to follow the process. Service excellence sometimes calls for doing things a little differently than normal. Bending rules occasionally to deliver can leave a very positive impression. Look for rules that can be changed or adapted when required. Of course some rules like safety, security, integrity, legal compliance, health should never be bent. But when you can be flexible, perhaps you should. For e.g., when a guest has to leave the hotel very early, serving them breakfast even before the restaurant opening time, could leave a very positive impression.

·      Fix your Perception Points – Customers form their opinions through a series of “perception points;” every moment as they see, hear, touch, feel, smell or taste your products, people, packaging, places, promotions, policies and procedures. Your entire business is vulnerable at the lowest point in that chain. Find them to improve customer service quality. For e.g., the chef may be world-class, waiters polite and the restrooms sparkling clean, but if you are served by someone with strong body odour, the chances that the customers come back would be low. More on –

http://www.upyourservice.com/learning-library/customer-service-perception-points

Words you chose to use - Every word and phrase you choose conveys mood, tone and meaning. Remember, customers and colleagues come in every possible stage of enthusiasm, anxiety, understanding and confusion. From the customers’ point of view, which words and phrases sound positive and helpful, appreciative and respectful, inviting and secure? Which words sound cold and confusing, overly technical or even condescending? Make a list to improve customer experience.

Appreciate Customer Complaints - Each person who brings a complaint is representing numerous other people who had a similar issue but didn’t bother to tell you. From that perspective, complaining is an act of customer loyalty. Somebody who is disloyal would simply go to the competition or hurt you. More on Customer complaints- http://www.travelmarketreport.com/business?articleID=7308&LP=1

·     Step UP at every point – It isn’t just great products that guarantee business success. Apart from an excellent product, a company must have a good and rapid delivery system to ensure faster reach, have an uplifting customer service mindset, and should build stronger partnerships with their most valuable clients, suppliers and employees. More - http://oldwebsite.ronkaufman.com/articles/article.partnership.html

·     Styles of Service – Constantly look for creative ways forward and become “Service Champions” and motivate and inspire the customers instead of just directing or educating them. The 5 styles of service are:

1. Direction: Explaining in clear and real terms. For instance an IT specialist might just give what commands needs to be typed to fix a glitch.

2. Production: Resolving an issue quickly and efficiently, and not just directing the customer to fix it themselves.

3. Education: Being patient educators and teaching/tutoring the customers while helping them resolve something.

4. Motivation: Provide verbal responses that make customers feel right by saying “that is a good choice” etc.

5. Inspiration: Create a real person-to-person connection with your clients by caring about their well-being. This starts with a sincere, “How are you today?” and ends with, “Thank for you this opportunity to serve you.”

One of Ron’s favorite example is of Singapore Airlines. He often cites examples of how they consistently deliver exceedingly good customer service and how the staff take pride in being part of this airlines even though the pay isn’t all that great. Their commitment to customer service, training and support to the staff, consistent internal and external communications, rewards and recognition programs make them the best and allows them to win frequent awards for the best service, besides being profitable since the very beginning.  More on their success story could be found on  http://oldwebsite.ronkaufman.com/articles/article.sia.html

Coming back home after the workshop, I tried to gather more on the customer service principles and found some very good information on the web. Apart from the links shared above, Ron’s website http://www.upyourservice.com is also very informative. He is certainly a man on a mission and loves to entertain his audience while at the same time educating them. Loved his animated presentation style. His unbelievable energy and passion towards service commitment also sets him apart. May he succeed in his mission in uplifting the service culture worldwide. After all, like he says, service is the currency that keeps the economy moving!

-         Savitha Reddy

 

Secret to achieving goals!

This January, when everyone was putting up their list of goals and resolutions for the year, even I took it up as a game and just for fun, scribbled a few goals on one of the FB groups I was part of. Later I completely forgot about it, until a couple of weeks ago when I started collating my writings on to a blog. Suddenly, I realized writing a blog was one of the goals I had set out along with a few other goals. The other one was to double the turnover of the business and I’d done it. If not hundred percent, at least somewhere close. My other two goals(mostly wishes rather than goals) were also fulfilled. I was pleasantly surprised and started to analyze what had helped in achieving them. I also noticed that even earlier, whenever I was able to clearly define my goals, I’d always achieved them. When I started to think, I realized the following 3 points play a very important role in achieving anything. They are:

1.      Clarity – We always get what we want. The problem is, most of the time we do not know what we want. I always wanted to grow and expand my business; however, I did not know how and kept trying and nothing happened. But the day I decided I’d open a new center and it would be located in Kalyan Nagar and it has to be ready by April 2011, it all happened just like magic and the center was in place by April. Clarity brings us closer to our dreams. Being specific helps. Quantifying our goals and putting deadlines gives us a clear picture of where we are heading to, and helps us to stay focused and direct all our energy to that single unified goal in contrast to going round and round, and not knowing our destination.

2.     Faith – Absolute faith, trust and belief is required to achieve anything. Even if you have a small amount of doubt/worry, you would actually be driving away the results from reaching you(like attracts like). You need to be absolutely sure of what you are doing, believe in it and have complete faith that it would happen. When I decided to start inlingua 7 years ago, even though I didn’t have the required experience nor the resources to do so, I was absolutely certain that I’d be able to do it. In those few months that I worked on the project, not even for a moment did I ever have any doubts or fears nor worries about anything and it really helped.

3.       Detachment – Once you define your goals and take action, you need to get completely detached from the results. If you are attached, you are somewhere still concerned, worried and this concern/worry itself would drive away things from happening. Even a little bit of it would also delay the results. The first few years in business, I was very attached to it. It was like my baby and I wanted to make sure, I give my best and somehow make it happen. I was also scared of failure. Then one fine day, I realized this doesn’t work anymore. I needed to let go. I convinced myself that if not this business, I’ll start another one or I’d take up a job or get into something that I love doing, like writing or painting. Just this thought and the new things that I’d planned for myself was so exciting that I completely let go of my attachment to the business and that’s when things started happening. I took more risks, experimented and made a lot of changes(that I was earlier scared of) and lo and behold, magic unfolded.

It’s the same process as when you are planting a mango seed. You are very clear that you need a mango tree and not a apple tree, then you take the seed and plant it knowing absolutely sure that it would grow and give you fruits. Once you plant and water the seed, you get detached from it. You do not go about digging it out every now and then to check if it is growing or not. You are CLEAR what you want, you have absolute FAITH that the seed gives you the fruit and you get DETACHED  from the seed and allow it to grow into a tree. Then one fine summer day you get to enjoy the rich harvest from that single seed! 

- Savitha Reddy

Collection of short Poems!

All my dreams r coming true,
how it is… I have no clue.
Now all that I need to do,
is do more of what I do!!

The more I do,
the more I grew.
So I took the cue,
And off I flew!!

As I flew,
I saw a different hue.
It was blue and I knew,
In my heart I was always true!

Be what you are,
n do what you do.
You’ll soon be a star,
and know it is true!!

If you try something with all your heart,

you can’t help but always be smart.
Do what you do and give your best,
That’s the secret n you’ll always be blessed!

Too much of anything, they say is not good,not sure why, this I have never understood.
If you really enjoy something that you would,
Isn't it fun to do it as much as we could..?

They say, take the less trodden path and leave a trail,
When you do something different, not sure why they wail.
Is it because, they are always afraid we might fail..?
but without failing even once, is it possible to set a sail?

It is very difficult to say a good bye,
to something that gives you a high.
May be this is the reason why,
we need to be careful when we fly!!

Writing one poem a day,

makes it 30 poems in May.
If in a year, we have 366 days,
why does a circle, have only 360 rays?
Did maths, really fail to hit that extra six,
and put our dear earth, in a major fix?
Until someone helps maths to score,
I’ve decided, not to write any more!!   

       
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

To each and every one of you.
Without you all providing me the venue,
I wouldn’t have been able to renew,
my interests and passions, anew!!

There is more to Life than...?

There is more to life than watching cricket. It is playing cricket! – Savitha Reddy 2April 2011(During the world cup final days..)

Sports is human life in microcosm, says Howard Cosell and Cricket is definitely the world in one cup. If cricket is religion, Sachin is god, and when we are playing an important game, the entire nation comes to a standstill. My question is, is there more to life than just watching cricket? If yes, what is it? Is it playing Cricket? YES!! In life more than watching, it is the playing that matters. Like Mark Twain says “Actions speak louder than words”. Instead of sitting in the stands and watching and cheering, we need to get into the field and start playing the game. Life is a game and some call it the spiritual game. Like in any other sport, even in life there are certain rules, if followed, helps us score any number of runs and win the world cup easily. Three simple, basic rules to score one hundred centuries are –

Rule 1: Law of Karma- What you sow is what you reap. If we want happiness in our lives, then sow the seeds of happiness. Life is like a mirror and it reflects whatever we give out. We need to always sow positive thoughts, words and actions, no matter what. At any point in time, we have access to infinity of choices or thoughts and what choice we make, makes all the difference. Just like, one dropped catch can sometimes turn the match.

Rule 2: Law of Gestation – After we sow a seed, we need to give some time for it to grow and start giving fruits. Before it could even sprout, if we keep digging to check, then it may never grow, forget about giving fruits. We need to have complete faith, trust and belief in the process and give time for our actions to produce results. Sometimes, the results could be immediate or it could take years or at times the results could even show up in the next life, depending on what seeds we have planted.  The fact is, you always get what you sow. Patience and perseverance is the key. Sachin at last was part of the world cup winning team, even if it took him 22 years.

Rule 3: Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life: Deepak Chopra calls it the goal of all goals. Most of us, even today are not sure of our goal in life. Is it making money, wealth, status etc or what is it that gives us the ultimate happiness, joy and freedom? The key is to know our purpose and according to Deepak Chopra, it is-

First – To know that we are here on this planet to discover our true self, to find out that we are spiritual beings or divinity in disguise. We are extensions of that super power and our purpose is to realize that the power lies within us and not outside.

Second - Each of us has unique talent/talents and we are here on this planet to express it. Our talent is so unique that no other individual has the same talent or that expression of that talent. We are the happiest when we are expressing it and we even lose track of time. For Sachin, the joy comes from playing cricket.

Third – We are here to serve our fellow human beings with our talent. By asking the question - How can I help all those with whom I come into contact, using our talent? We combine the expression of our talent with service to humanity. This gives us access to unlimited abundance. Our goal should be of giving and not receiving. Like our Men in blue, entertain the entire nation by expressing their cricketing talent.

By following these 3 simple spiritual rules, we all can play this game of life really well and score any number of runs and centuries, and not just limit it to 18,000 runs or one hundred centuries. We can script our lives, break our own records and win the World cup too!! 


- Savitha Reddy

More Poems!

I write for fun - 23 June 2012


I write for fun,

if you can’t see the pun,
Please take ur shoes n run.

If you still wanna a hold a gun,
make sure something you’ve spun,
before you decide, you have won.

Or let’s sit down under the sun,
and decide that we are all one,
and together everyone we’ll stun!

My Dream 20 MAY 2011

I have a dream, and I often dream, of my dream,
lying wide awake, in my eyes there’d be a gleam.
In that gleam, I would see a forest and a stream,
next to the stream, there would be a tiny beam.
Using that beam, I dream, of a lovely scheme,
to build a nice cottage, as per my special theme.
In that cozy cottage, I see my very own team,
my family and my li’l kids, all ready to scream.
As they scream, I’d give them some more cream,
and some colors and paints too, as it may seem.
The pictures they paint may look very extreme,
but for me they are the best and most supreme!

April Fool – 1 April 2011

Here, I am gonna share a rule,
so this year you can have a special Yule.
Do please try to run this spool,
on all your friends n tell them it’s cool.
Tell your friend to mount a stool,
and tell him he looks good riding a mule.
Call up your neighbor and ask for a tool,
tell them you really need to fix the pool.
Tell your kids to call their school,
and tell their teacher, it's April Fool!

Our world needs more of…?  - March 2011

Our world needs people, who appreciate all that we have,
instead of looking and complaining at what we don’t have.
As we live in an abundant universe, we need men with vision,
and who can also help others, notice their own precision.

We need people, who could look at only the opportunity,

In all that they come across, and in all their adversity.
We need men, who can see a little bit of themselves,
in each and every person, they come across, as their own self.

Our world needs men, who believe, words are only the leaves,
and it is the action, they take, that bears the fruit, he receives.
We need people, who are always cheerful, in all that they do,
and spread that cheer ‘n bring a smile in everything they do!!

The call of the great Indian Bustard (A kind of bird which lives on dry grass lands and is critically endangered and almost extinct now) - Written in School - 1992

Once upon a time, it was a time.
When I was found on all the steppes,
on all the grass lands and on the grass;
I used to live day after day,
with a joy in my heart, that could
fear nothing on the earth.

Day after day the greediness of the greedy,
grew like a tree mountain tall;
There came the hunters group, as large as the sea.
With their rifles and there sticks,
Shot us dead one by one, till all were dead.

And a group of us escaped and migrated,
to a land where grass grew as tall as a Bustard.
There we lived happily but not so long.
A day came where no grass to find.

Now the call of the Bustard rose to the sky.
Save me, save me, we cried.
To save our kind you must save the grass,
and keep out the hunters or we would be lost.

Beautiful li’l Butterfly named PRIYA SIVDAS(Written for a friend on a FB group)  - 27 July 2011

There is this beautiful li’l butterfly,
and she makes rainbows in the sky.
Every morning she paints the group,
'n makes sure, everyone is in the loop.

She brings in a dash of hope,
to everything within her scope.
In her own way, adds some charm,
in her smiles, that are always warm.

She lives life as per her own terms,
and sings n dances when it is her turn.
This beautiful li’l butterfly has a name.
and PRIYA, is a master of her own game.

Little Brown Seeds(written for a friend on FB group) – March 2011

Little brown seeds, Ian selflessly sows,
in all his true deeds n wherever he goes.
He patiently sprinkles all his interest too,
to make sure, the seeds get their due.
With all this care, the seeds get to blossom,
to give out to the world, their fruit awesome.
The same fruit, flies out to spread the word,
and create a orchard throughout the world.
As it spreads, it gives shade n protection,
to everyone under its care and connection.
As the entire world rocks, out comes the sun,
and we all know, its Ian, who conceived all this FUN!!

Practice makes a man Perfect!

Today in my tennis class, I got bored of practicing the same stroke again and again that I started asking my coach when could I move on to the next level. He told me that I needed to practice it for at least a couple of months before I could move on and it might even take a couple of years to start playing the game. For a few moments, I felt it was too long a time and if I would be able to sustain my interest in the game for so long. As I was brooding over, suddenly I realized the importance of practice.  

In a language class at inlingua, there is so much practice that happens, that by the end of the class the learners would have mastered the structure so well that as soon as they step out of the class, without their conscious knowledge, they start using the language items they have newly learnt. In the class, the presentation stage lasts only for a few minutes and the rest of the time is spent in controlled practice and free practice. There are times when the learners keep practicing a single structure for the entire duration of the class without ever getting bored and use the same structure to produce infinite number of sentences. The same structures are also used in a fair number of situations while conversing. This method of learning languages is time tested and proven successful all over the world. I’ve personally seen how beautifully this method works and how it transforms people in just 48 hours. Suddenly, the importance of PRACTICE dawned on me and it struck me like lightning!

With a new euphoria I now started playing. I practiced and practiced and loved the way that the ball could be placed at different spots with every strike, just like the way infinite number of sentences could be weaved with the help of finite number of structures in any language. I could see the change in myself and the way I was playing changed and of course, it did not go unnoticed by the coaches, who by now were ready to give me more tips to move on. Practice indeed makes a man perfect!!

- Savitha Reddy

Be what you are - Poem

Be what you are and do what you do,
in life all you need is to be true,
to your heart and to your crew,
this is the cue for the magic to brew!


- Savitha Reddy

My Poems!

Life in a Nutshell

Little do we realize that we are all prisoners in a cell,
waiting for the sound of the prison’s bell.

Hoping that one day, we would be set free,

into the world outside with a beautiful key.

If only we made an attempt to look at ourselves,

we would for sure, realize that the key is our own self.

It only takes a little extra push and a nudge,

to break open the walls of the prison’s edge.

Only those who make an effort do get to see the beauty,

and others would forever remain NUTS in their own SHELL!!

Don't paint the real YOU

Our canvas is so full of colors,
with layers and layers of feathers.
Night and day we keep painting,
tons of pictures we keep adding.
To make our canvas look beautiful,
to the world outside we look dutiful.
The real picture is somewhere lost,
in the process our true self is frost.
Do we really need to carry a brush?
And paint ourselves, even if we crush.
A picture says a thousand words,
so let’s not spoil our own worlds.
Let the real picture shine through,
and the reader see his own view.
In the innocent colors of red n blue,
please, do not paint the real YOU!!

Happiness is Free

Happiness is free,
and so are we.
This, do we see?
Or do we just flee!

Life is full of glee,
for you and me,
even for the tree,
and for a tiny bee!

This, if you agree,
you have the key.
And without any fee,
U r on a happiness spree!!

Exploring New Horizons!

We have all heard of the Hare and the Tortoise story and we also know what happened next. When they decided to run the race the second time, the hare won very comfortably. The third time, the tortoise did not want to give up. So they decided to run and this time they had to cross the river to reach the finish line. The tortoise could swim so it won again. By then they had become friends and so next time they decided to collaborate with each other, where the hare carried the tortoise till the river and then the tortoise carried the hare on its back and swam. However, this is a old story.

In the new year when everyone was making their resolutions and were trying to figure out on how to reach their goals, the hare also decided that it cannot lose to tortoise more than once and somehow wanted to win. He thought he was smart and had learnt his lessons, so challenged the tortoise to run a race again. The tortoise had also grown smarter and this time they decided to run down from the top of a hill. The hare as usual started running fast and by the time he reached down there were bruises and cuts on his body from running down on all the thorns and stones. The tortoise just withdrew its arms and head into the shell and started rolling down and was the first one to reach the finish line.

The hare did not want to give up again and this time it challenged the tortoise to run a race on a flat land. The tortoise agreed and they decided to run on the river bank. The hare as usual started running fast and this time our friend tortoise came up with another trick. It jumped into the fast flowing river and started floating on its back and won the race again.

So this way, the tortoise won not once or twice, it won four times. He did not win because he was slow and steady, he kept winning because he kept on exploring new horizons, new ways of winning the race. The world is also full of examples of great achievers and successful people and one thing common in all of them is, they are all  visionaries. Be it Henry ford, Edison, Abraham Lincoln or Steve Jobs. They kept experimenting, exploring new ways of doing things and kept expanding their horizons. So, the only way to win the race in today's world is to keep on exploring new horizons.

The moral of the story is, It’s not the slow n steady that will win nor the fast and furious, the future belongs to those who keep on exploring new horizons!!