Management by Crisis / Accident -The Italian Fire Department

One dark night in a small town of Roselle Park, New Jersey a fire started inside the local sausage factory. In a blink the building was engulfed in flames. The alarm went out to all the fire departments for miles around.

When the first fire fighters appeared on the scene, the sausage company president rushed to the fire chief and said, 'All of our secret sausage recipes are in the vault in the center of the plant. They have to be saved,so I will donate $50,000 to the fire company that brings them out and delivers them to me.

But the roaring flames held the firefighters off. Soon more fire departments had to be called in because the situation became desperate. As the firemen arrived, the president announced that the offer to extricate the secret recipes was now $100,000!

Suddenly from up the road, a lone siren was heard as another fire truck came into sight. It was the fire engine of the nearby Peterstown section of Eizabeth, NJ. This fire department was composed mainly of Italian firefighters over the age of 65.

To everyone's amazement, the little run-down fire engine, operated by these Italian firefighters, passed fire engines parked outside the plant, and drove straight into the middle of the inferno! Outside, the other firemen watched in amazement as the Italian old timers jumped off and began to fight the fire as if they were fighting to save their own lives. Within a short time, the old timers had extinguished the fire and saved the secret recipes.

The grateful sausage company president joyfully announced that for such a superhuman accomplishment he was raising the reward to $200,000, and walked over to personally thank each of the brave elderly Italian
firefighters.

A TV news crew rushed in after capturing the eventon film. The 'on camera' reporter asked the Italian fire chief, 'What are you going to do with all that money?'

'Wella, ' said Chief Pasquale De Luccinelli, the 70-year-old fire chief, 'de fursta tinga we gonna do isza fixa de brakes on dat fockinna truck!!'

The Tunnel

By Author Unknown

Zenkai, the son of a samurai, journeyed to Edo and there became the retainer of a high official. He fell in love with the official's wife and was discovered. In self-defense, he slew the official. Then he ran away with the wife.*

*Both of them later became thieves. But the woman was so greedy that Zenkai grew disgusted. Finally, leaving her, he journeyed far away to the province of Buzen, where he became a wandering mendicant.*

*To atone for his past, Zenkai resolved to accomplish some good deed in his lifetime. Knowing of a dangerous road over a cliff that had caused the death and injury of many persons, he resolved to cut a tunnel through the
mountain there.*

*Begging food in the daytime, Zenkai worked at night digging his tunnel. When thirty years had gone by, the tunnel was 2,280 feet long, 20 feet high, and 30 feet wide.*

*Two years before the work was completed, the son of the official he had slain, who was a skillful swordsman, found Zenkai out and came to kill him in revenge.*

*"I will give you my life willingly," said Zenkai. "Only let me finish this work. On the day it is completed, then you may kill me."*

*So the son awaited the day. Several months passed and Zendai kept on  digging. The son grew tired of doing nothing and began to help with the digging. After he had helped for more than a year, he came to admire
Zenkai's strong will and character.*

*At last the tunnel was completed and the people could use it and travel in safety.*

*"Now cut off my head," said Zenkai. "My work is done."*

*"How can I cut off my own teacher's head?" asked the younger man with tears in his eyes.*

Bury The Worry

By CA Hemant C. Lodha

Worry is like building a high tower consisting of blocks of negative emotions. Holding negative thoughts in mind makes people depressed. In reality, it's an imaginary fear and the prevailing situation might be totally opposite or better than thought. 

Anxiety is not bad to certain extent. In fact, it’s a good tool to check over confidence or over-enthusiasm. But, as soon as it crosses line of control, it starts causing stress and eventually leads to bad health. 

One can face worry due to ‘n’ number of reasons such as failure in exam, ill health, breakup in relationship, lack of timely completion of work, boss's anger etc. There is a saying that “If a problem can be solved then there is no need to worry however, if it cannot be solved, then what’s the use of worrying”. There is a great difference between worry and concern. To illustrate, worried person sees a problem, while concerned person solves the problem. Worry is an interest paid on trouble before its maturity. 

 Tips to Bury the Worry

1. Do not assume. Check the facts. 

2. Try to think of innovative solution of a problem. 

3. Take help of experts. 

4. Think positive. 

5. Make plan ‘B’. 

ABG Avoid Blame Game

By CA Hemant C. Lodha

The moment we fail, either in exam, in job, in venture, in relationship or any aspect of life, we start looking for a person or circumstances to which we can blame for our failure. 

Blaming others is neither going to convert failure into success nor its going to teach lesson for the future. It’s quite possible that others might have contributed to the failure however, if we deeply analyze it, we will find that we ourselves is the major cause of failure. 

The need is to develop a habit of finding fault in self instead of others. Stephen Covey in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has described first habit as “Be Proactive”. Focus on circle of influence. We our self is the first person in our circle of influence. 

5 Tips to avoid Blame Game

1. Analyze the reasons of failure.

2. What you could have done to avoid failure?

3. Focus on reasons of the failure rather than person behind it. 

4. Document the lesson learned for future use. 

5. Even if the person is reason of failure, avoid blaming.