Part -II

Preparations & Preparedness

Beijing's Olympics were by far the most expensive Olympics ever, but the bill of about $40 billion, as a news report puts it, was akin to mere pocket change for the roaring Chinese economy. Unlike previous hosts that dug themselves deep holes of debt, from Montreal in 1976 to Athens in 2004, China's capital could afford new stadiums, subways and roads. Even before the China’s bid for the 2008 Olympic Games won, a massive investment of more than US$20 billion in its infrastructure project had already begun. It was one of the largest construction projects ever in China since the construction of the Great Wall, which dated back some 2000 years ago.

As planned Beijing tripled the length of its expressway networks, expanded and upgraded its public transport system and built dozens of competition and training venues. Twenty two new stadiums, fifteen renovated facilities, two new Ring Roads, one hundred forty-two miles of new infrastructure, eight new subway lines, two hundred fifty two new star-rated hotels, forty km of cleaned rivers, one million new trees and eighty three km of planted greenbelt were put in place. Even an artificial mountain and lake, at the scale of the projects of the Qing Dynasty Emperors, were built in the Olympic Park. The Olympic Park itself was three times the size of New York’s Central Park, and the North-South Central Axis linking the Olympic Park with Tiananmen Square was conceived by no less than Albert Speer Jr. Entire new Central Business Districts had sprung up in the vertical image of HongKong and Shanghai. These vast additions to Beijing had come at the expense of older hutong streets and housing fabric being forcibly demolished, or socialist-era factories relocated, releasing huge tracts of land—all land is state-owned—for urban renewal. The organizers recruited more than 400,000 volunteers. About forty million pots of flowers were brightening up the city's streets. More than a million cars had been taken off the roads and two hundred factories closed to ease air pollution. A 100,000-strong security force of armed police, commandos and other troops were stationed around the city. The authorities had installed 300,000 surveillance cameras and sited anti-aircraft missiles next to the Bird's Nest. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympic Games, in sync with the Government was giving out a clear signal to the world, that not a single stone will be left unturned to make the Beijing Olympics an iconic event.

On the other hand, the initial total budget estimated by Indian Olympic Association in 2003 for hosting the Commonwealth Games was US$358 million, but official total budget estimation in 2010 became US$2.5 billion, which excludes non-sports-related infrastructure development in the city such as airports, city beautification and roads. Originally the plan was to build a completely new athletics stadium, one that would outrival Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. However lack of funds and available land pulled curtains on it. Instead a new aquatics centre in the Delhi University with five swimming pools, a new Table-Tennis hall in the Yamuna Sports Complex and new stadiums for Badminton and Squash in the Siri Fort Sports Complex have been built. However, with less than two months to go to the opening ceremony, much of the Indian capital still resembled a building site. To worsen it, heavy rains exposed multiple chins in the armor of commonwealth game preparations. The construction of thestadia was not over, long after it was declared by the authorities to be over. The shooting range got damaged by heavy rains while monsoon downpours cause water to seep through the roof and walls of the newly built swimming pool complex. If it was not enough, a loose grill tripped and injured an Indian swimmer at a test event.

However, Delhi with much flexible deadlines, has finally put in place a four-lane, 2.2 km underground stretch linking the Games Village to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium; construction of road under-bridges and over-bridges along railway lines; expanding road infrastructure by constructing flyovers, cloverleaf flyovers, and bridges that had been planned to improve links for the Games and city in general. The Delhi Metro got be expanded to accommodate more people and boost the use of public transport during the 2010 games – ironically at 420 km long, it is now one of the world's longest networks extending to Gurgaon and the Noida. Indira Gandhi International Airport also got modernized, expanded, and upgraded costing nearly US$ 1.94 billion. It improved airport passenger capacity to more than 37 million passengers a year by 2010. A new runway also got constructed, allowing for over 75 flights an hour and – at over 4400 meters long – it is one of Asia's longest. The airport got connected to the city via a six-lane expressway and the $580 million Delhi Airport Metro Express. Having said that, some serious doubts about the credibility of the infrastructure were raised, when a pedestrian over-bridge collapsed outside Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, injuring 23 people.

Part - III

Outcomes

The Beijing Olympics were deemed as a great success by most: there were no terror attacks, no pro-Tibet protests at the podium, and even the much dreaded air-quality was much under control, thanks to the prompt planning and action on part of the organizing team. These games provided world class infrastructure, world class facilities, a wonderful display of sporting action, and as an icing on the cake - in the medal tally, China topped with its athletes winning more gold than any other country. This also established China as a sports superpower.

Moreover, the development from 2002 had been one of the best periods since Beijing’s reform and opening-up. The annual urban economic growth rate increased by 12.1% from 2003 to 2008, 1.3% more than that between 1997 and 2001. In 2006, the city’s production value amounted to 772 billion Yuan, ranked the 10th in China, 2.1 times that of 2001. The per capita GDP calculated according to permanent residents reached USD 6,210, 1.9 times that of 2001. Thus, the goal of reaching USD6,000 for the per capita GDP by 2008 had been realized. While economic aggregate was increased and development was enhanced, the mode of economic growth had witnessed important changes on the track of scientific development. The technology development had accelerated, making greater contribution to economic growth. In 2006, Beijing invested 85 billion Yuan in science and technology development of which R&D spending was 45 billion Yuan, 5.8% of GDP, 1.2% more than that of 2001. Beijing approved 11,238 patents, 80% more than those in 2001. Among them, there were 3,864 invention patents, 3.1% more than that of 2001. A large number of innovative results have been created and many original enterprises have emerged, the innovation system of the capital has been fostered and the creative ability has been enhanced.

On the other hand, the Commonwealth Games 2010 were marred from the beginning. The way its state of affairs was being handled, it had brought disgrace to India and raised questions over the capability of the Indian nation to host an event of such magnitude. Couple of months before the extravaganza was due; three senior organizing committee officials were suspended over financial irregularities during the Queen's Baton Relay launch in London in 2009. The government's anti-corruption watchdog identified sixteen projects where financial irregularities are suspected. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ordered an investigation into the corruption charges. Corruption was suspected in award of contracts and in hiring or purchase of equipment such as air conditioners and treadmills and even toilet paper. Each toilet paper roll did cost Indian taxpayer Rs. 200. Sometime later local media alleged stagnant pools at construction sites that had become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, thus expose the participants to dengue in the Games Village. Media also published pictures of dogs sleeping on athlete’s beds and filth all around the Games Village. The response of organizing General Secretary to the appalling conditions of the Games Village was a shame – he said hygiene standards of westerners are different than Indians. It almost became a joke then, and aChannel Seven crew tried to pull out a ting operation saying that they could carry to the Games venue - a large trolley suitcase having explosives capable of triggering up to two hundred explosions if fitted with a detonator. Although it was later claimed to be fake expose in a counter story by another Australian channel –ABC.

Howsoever, the public outlook towards the game was still getting worse every passing day. While a lot of foreign athletes were pulling out and some countries were also threatening to pull out of the event, India’s very own badminton star Saina Nehwal said “"Looking at the stadiums and looking at the progress, I don't really think we are capable of holding such big tournaments.” She however, retracted her statement back later; but it resonated with what many others were thinking, within and outside India. The Commonwealth Games 2010 were fast becoming the butt of jokes on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper denied put all the blame for problems in the lead-up to the Delhi Games with India and denied any responsibility. This resulted in a bitter war of words between him and, Suresh Kalmadi Chairman Organizing Committee Commonwealth Games. However, a little comfort came to the much agitated minds of Indian people when Union Sports Minister M S Gill visited the Commonwealth Games Village and said - "Each group is enjoying food and the spread of facilities. I am personally satisfied to see all facilities provided at the Village".

Finally the Commonwealth Games have been declared open today, October 3, 2010 amidst a hollow boycott threat from Scotland, the Isle of Man and Canada. To the delight and shock of many, the opening ceremony was quite a show. As a Reuter’s report put it “Indians emerge out of gloom with colorful Games opening”. A large crowd turned up for the opening ceremony, and it was not disappointed. The opening ceremony was a grandiose affair, and let us hopes that the great Indian resilience takes over to ensure that rest of the event stays grandiose. If rest of the Games continues in similar fashion, the damage which has already happened to the Incredible India image could be lessened. This or not, the Commonwealth Games 2010 should be seen as a rude learning for India as a nation and Indians as people. A good display of games should not just wash off the irregularities, inefficiency and corruption on part of the people in charge of organizing the games.

Part - IV

Putting the Comparison in Larger Perspective

The stark contrast that we see in the organizing and the being of these two events also contributes to a larger debate of China v/s India. While comparing the two economies, the Chinese economy is much superior to India's in just about every measure. In 2008 China’s GDP was US$4.327 Trillion, almost three times of India’s US$ 1.159 Trillion; and still was growing at 9% as compared to India’s 6.1%. These figures even though, draw attention to China’s superior economy explicitly, but implicitly they also lead us to the reason behind it. These are the same reasons which make Beijing Olympics-2008 better organized than Delhi Commonwealth Games-2010.

China's fast-acting government implements new policies with blinding speed, making India's fractured political system appear sluggish and chaotic. It was evident in the efficient and organized way Beijing was prepared, and the lackluster way Delhi was going about it. Moreover, infrastructure and infrastructure development remains a big issue with India. Compared to India, China has a much well developed infrastructure. Some of the important factors that have created a stark difference between the economies of the two countries are manpower and labor development, water management, health care facilities and services, communication, civic amenities and so on. All these aspects are well developed in China which has put a positive impact in its economy to make it one of the best in the world. Although India has become much developed than before, it is still plagued by problems such as poverty, unemployment, lack of civic amenities and so on. In fact unlike India, China is still investing in huge amounts towards manpower development and strengthening of infrastructure.

Most importantly beyond the physical aspects of this contrast, somewhere deep down, in the mindset of Chinese and Indian people, lately has developed a contrast: which reflects in the balance of power shifting towards the Chinese side. Originally, China and India have been culturally not very different and have had a great influence on each other’s way of life. They both have been agrarian cultures with fatalistic and collectivistic outlook towards the life. Though with the world moving from agrarianism to industrialism, which later translated into capitalism, both the countries have moved from their fatalistic and collectivistic self to more ambitious and individualistic way of living. However, when compared to an all western culture like United States or the countries from the European Union, we can still see aplenty cobwebs of fatalistic attitudes and collectivistic values being prevalent in India and China. However the different being and reality of both the sports events, exhibit the paradigm shift the Chinese nation is going through, while India still struggle with the said cobwebs. The association and disassociation of the people of these two nations respectively, with the Games highlight it. Not taking away the efforts of many, like the school children in Delhi who came out to clean the construction debris from the road, it is going to take many more such efforts, much often and in situations related to day today affairs of even lesser significance, for India to take on the Chinese Dragon.

Part - V

Lessons for Indians - as People

The following figure of cultural polarity shows the Chinese caterpillar is moving closer to the American caterpillar, and away from its cultural counterpart – India.

India has got a lot of introspection to do, as a nation, and as a civilization. The fact that none of the deadlines were met during the preparation phase of Commonwealth Games 2010 in a way shows that Indians sub-conscious does not resonate with the concept of Linear Time yet, and has been ever so comfortable in its innate concept of Time being Circular – cycles of creation and destruction and recreation with a different Prajapati, Manu and Ved Vyasa each time. For a country with oral traditions has to be difficult to see value in written agreements. The way estimated budget for the games shot up while organizing committee members and the government were promising great games amidst all the chaos, substantiates that assumption. Knowing that taking accountability is a function of others seeking accountability, but the collectivistic out look of the society makes it sound a very alien and uncomfortable a concept. Fixing individual accountability in a society built up of people with collective identities – is virtually impossible, because the the concept of accountability has its roots in the concept of individualism. While individual self is not different from others, how to differentiate the individual output and thus accountability? Moreover, the indifference of the common man towards the inefficient preparations of the games, even after all the hullabaloo media had created, exemplifies the philosophy of defeat – staying content with the existing state of affairs – withdrawal in the garb of the concept of Karma. Thus, valuing ascription over result and not getting bothered about fixing the uncertainties. Just do your part and do not bother about result, because it is Karma – if something bad happens - it must happen. It happens because of bad Karma from the past, even past lives which must be satiated. If you do not have past bad Karmas and still bad things are happening, well don't you worry, everything will all be evened out: if not now, surely in the next life. Concept of cyclic time re-emphasized.

Maybe it will sound weird to us, but we all are these people underneath - subconsciously. We need to address these issues, stuck in our subconscious, as individuals, and as a society to achieve the success which in today’s world have been defined in terms of western ethos of individualism and ambition. It is not easy and will take conscious efforts on our part to do so. However, we have to do it: sooner or later; because we have already started that transition long back; and now it is just the matter of letting go off the past, and its cobwebs.

Leadership Myths

Leadership has been one of the most researched and opinioned aspects of human behavior and it still remains a mystery to the majority. The answer to the question “Who is a leader?” is often answered by “The one who leads!” by common folks on the street. Following which if the question “Who leads?” is put up, more often than not the answer happens to be dominated by the words like politicians, army generals, royalty, corporate heads, sports stars, movie-glitterati et cetera. Interestingly all these terms represent a section of society which holds a significant status. They represent larger than life personalities, personalities people want to be. In these answer we can clearly see the conventional outlook of leadership.

Social hierarchies and taboos along with a tinge of culture-specific influences have given rise to the conventional skewed approach and outlook of leadership. It in turn has conditioned an average human-mind in a way that it sees leadership as a distant concept. Although modern educational institutions and organizations worldwide have strived hard bringing this “distant concept” much closer to people, a lot of myths still remain associated with it. Most common of such myths are:

1. Leadership is a rare ability only given to a few:

“Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”

-Vince Lombardi, Legendary American football coach

A lot of people still think that leaders are born not made. It sure defies any logic and is in fact a self-defeating belief. Leadership is like swimming, everyone can learn it, but it takes time, trial & error and the more you practice the better you get. We can see leadership being exhibited in the most insignificant of the acts all around us: a traffic-constable regulating the traffic, a cricket coach giving batting tips, a student helping is friends with a math problem, a good Samaritan stopping getting the people around to carry the accident-victim to a hospital and many more. If you look back in your life, you’ll find yourself donning the leadership hat in different situations and can reflect and learn the ways to improve upon what you did.

2. People with good position / title are good leaders:

"Leadership is action, not position."

- Donald H. McGannon, Revolutionary Broadcasting Executive

True spirit of leadership is not dependent on position or rank; it is driven by action, performance, ability, and effectiveness. People suddenly do not transform into a good leader by getting a position or title, but it actually happens the other way round. Had the position or title been the absolute indicator of a good leader, we would not have seen so many cases of leadership derailment.

3. All the leaders are charismatic:

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”

- Lao Tzu, Chinese Taoist philosopher

Many leaders are charismatic, but closer scrutiny shows that most leaders are not. Some of the world's most famous leaders were a far cry from being charismatic. Genghis Khan, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Bill Gates would not have fitted the stereotype of a charismatic leader, but nonetheless have been exceptional leaders. A leader’s cause, his purpose and his mission in life adds to his charisma, not the other way around.

4. Effective leadership is based on control:

“You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership.”

- Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34^th president of United States

Leadership is not about command and control — it is about "getting people excited about a common goal and enabling them to achieve it." Good leaders gain followers out of respect and their ability to cause people to work toward a particular goal or achieve a destination. Being an excessive control-freak of a leader can risk you to be put in the league of Hitlers and Saddams of the world.

5. Leaders are perfect:

"There is no such thing as a perfect leader either in the past or present, in China or elsewhere. If there is one, he is only pretending, like a pig inserting scallions into its nose in an effort to look like an elephant."

- Liu Shaoqi, Revolutionary Chinese leader

Leaders are people too without super-human capabilities and that is why can make mistakes and should not be expected to be perfect. It is but natural that good leaders will take risks and in course of time will make mistakes. Had Christopher Columbus not committed a mistake, the complete world order would have been entirely different. On course to great success leaders will make mistakes but it is also very important for them to “own it up” and learn from their mistakes.

To make a better world for the children of tomorrow, we are going to need better leaders. Getting rid of these myths can be a start for creating a fertile ground for the leaders of tomorrow to sprout and blossom.

Our Iceberg Is Melting!!!

Hi Guys :-)

"Our Iceberg Is Melting" is one of the most user-friendly change-management book ever and I highly recommend its reading for all those interested in the concept of Change Management. Following is a humble attempt at summarizing it -

Foreword by Spenser Johnson: One the surface, the story of this book appears to be a fable that is relatively easy to grasp, but it does subtly impart an invaluable lesson on change. The book covers John Kotter’s Eight Steps to bring about successful organizational change and can be equally useful for a high-school student as it is for a CEO of a multi-national organization.

Welcome Note by John Kotter: People do not often understand the need for change. Businesses, school systems and even nations do not know understand what to do, how to make it happen and how to make it stick. This book shows the traps in which people often fall while facing the challenge of change - using a fable. A fable is used in here because fables are so powerful tool of learning because they can turn a serious and threatening subject into something fun and easy to decipher and remember.

Summary

Once upon a time a colony of Emperor Penguins used to reside in the frozen Antarctic in on an iceberg near what we know today as Cape Washington. The penguins have always lived there and but of-course loved their home very much were assured of its being their home forever. Since they lived in a harsh cold environment they needed each other to huddle together and fight of the cold. Probably this need made them a big happy family. In this big happy family there were two hundred sixty-eight penguins and out of them all, was one Fred. Fred was a curious and observant penguin who spent more time observing sea and the iceberg than fishing like others. Though he was a social bird with a wife and a son, but unlike others he spent more time by himself. He used to take notes of his observations and had a briefcase stuffed full of observations, ideas and conclusions. All the stuff from his briefcase gave him disturbing information – The iceberg is melting and might break apart soon!!

Melting and breaking apart of the iceberg would spell death of his fellow penguins as the colony was not prepared to counter this eminent danger. Fred knew he should do something very quickly, but he could not dictate terms for what others should do. He was not an important penguin and had seen what happened of Harold when he tried to warn other penguins about the danger. His warnings were ignored and he was almost ostracized. With all this going in his mind, Fred started feeling lonely.

The colony was governed by a Leadership Council which had ten members led by a Head Penguin. Out of the ten members was Alice, who was a tough, go-getter but approachable to other penguins. Fred went to Alice and told her about the melting iceberg. On the first thought Alice thought he is having some personal problem with his wife or has eaten some mercury infected squid. Still partly because of curiosity and partly because of her open mind, Alice agreed to swims below the iceberg with Fred. Once under the water they saw fissures and a canal on the side wall of the iceberg which led to a cave filled with water. As the temperature falls, this water would freeze and thus dramatically increase in volume breaking the iceberg into pieces. Alice was shocked and told Fred that she’ll talk to fellow leaders and will find a way. She also warned Fred that some of the birds would not want to see any problem and will resent him. Fred was left with a mixed feeling of relief and sadness and the awful Antarctic winter was just two months away.

After realizing the danger, Alice somehow got a nod from Louis, the head Penguin, for having Fred present his finding to the leadership counsel. Fred chose a noble approach of explaining the issue with a real model of iceberg instead of presenting the stats and concluded that the iceberg is melting. As he presented his observations an old penguin from the leadership council called NoNo who was responsible for weather forecasting, interrupted and said “It is just a mere speculation. It may happen or it may not. Can you guarantee it to be 100% accurate Fred”. Fred was an unknown penguin and NoNo was a veteran, so some birds nodded in agreement. At this point Alice came in and asked the council “It might not be 100% accurate but God forbid if something bad happens and penguins die, what will we answer the orphaned kids? Will we answer that we knew and did not act?” She continued “We should let everyone know about it and arrive at a solution which everyone will agree with.” On this again a section of council led by NoNo said that it would create “unnecessary” panic and we should stick to creating a committee like we do in normal problems. Hearing this Fred came up with an idea and said while showing a glass bottle “This looks like ice, but is not ice. It does not melt and my father had found it near the shore. What we can do is to fill it with water and seal it with a fish bone. If on freezing during the night it explodes, we call an assembly or we go with business as usual.” Everyone agreed and the bottle was kept under supervision of a penguin called Buddy. Next morning the bottle was found broken and Louis ordered to call an assembly without letting the birds know why it is being called. The meeting began and Alice told abut her swim to the cave, Fred about his observation and Buddy about the bottle to all the penguins. Louis concluded by saying that they will find a way out of it – together. Penguins were shocked but aware and were all thinking. As leaders Alice and Louis had taken the first right step by “reducing complacency and increasing urgency”.

After the meeting, a lot of people gave all kinds of advice to Louis on who should be assigned to solve the problem. Louis however kept his head and called Alice, Fred, Buddy and Jordan aka Professor to form the core team for finding the solution to the problem. Louis had experience and commanded respect of others, Alice was aggressive and treated everybody as equal, Buddy was well-trusted and liked, Fred was curious and creative and Professor was well-read and fascinated by challenging questions. The team looked perfect but had their initial struggle because they were trying to contribute as individuals. At this time Louis took them out for a team building activity in form of hunting for squids. Louis had been successful in taking the second step of “pulling together a team to guide the needed change.”

Later in day Alice suggested that the core team should take suggestions from the rest of the population and the team agreed after a brief discussion. After a few well, weird suggestions from some birds one old penguin suggested that they should now try something new. Professor nodded and took the team westwards. Just then Fred spotted a seagull flying in the sky. Everyone was surprised because seagulls are not normally found in Antarctica. Fred said that seagulls do not have fixed houses and so can we and doubled the shock of the group. Regaining her composure Alice said “I guess we should find out some information about it first.” When they finally found the seagull again, Buddy approached him in a gentle manner and asked about him. Seagull now comfortable with their presence told “I am a scout and I go ahead of my group to find out where we go next. We are traveling nomads, you see.” Hearing this, everyone got thinking and could see it as a way of life for themselves. Of course, with some modifications. Even though Professor had a lot of questions in mind, he slept well that night. He knew that they have succeeded in creating a vision.

Next morning Louis called for an assembly of the entire colony again. He wanted to talk about what the core team saw yesterday and wanted to keep it simple for there were a lot of slower birds in the colony. He was very charismatic in his approach and asked the colony “Do we respect each other? Are e disciplined? Do we have a strong sense of responsibility? Do we all stand for brotherhood and love for our young?” Each question followed with an enthusiastic “Yes” from the audience. He then to make a point asked “Is this because of an iceberg? Are we an iceberg?” Many got his point and some were confused and after a lull, a big “No” came up. Louis then called Buddy to talk of the seagull story and penguins were mesmerized with his wonderful story-telling. After the assembly was over, Alice suggested that ice-posters should be placed all over the colony and even under the sea, to remind the birds of the vision which was communicated in the meeting.

A small group of thirty to forty birds started working on selection of scouts, mapping the trips and logistics of moving the colony. Louis was happy but then he received mixed set of news from various quarters of the colony. The enthusiasm in the birds was increasing and a lot of teenagers wanted to be scouts, less for the vision and more for the excitement. NoNo and his friends were trying to brain-wash the colony, and a few were listening. Young kids were getting nightmares because of the stories kindergarten teacher was telling, nobody knew why she was doing it. Some members of the Leadership Council wanted a committee to select scouts and were infighting for its chairmanship. Penguins needed to eat a lot of fish to build up the fat for fighting the winter and the scouts would not get enough time to fish. Moreover it was not a tradition in the colony that adults fish for other adults. All these factors led a lot of birds to give up the work they were doing to realize the vision. Concerned by all these events the core team met and got their heads together to fix the problems. To start with Louis got Professor to go wherever NoNo went and prevent birds from being brainwashed with his immaculate logic. He then addressed the infighting of the members of the leadership council with a firm “Enough”. Meanwhile Buddy met the teacher of kindergarten and removed her fear by telling her that she will still be needed to teach even more in a changing world. Inspired by this the teacher told encouraging stories to the children and inspired them to be a hero. Alice inspired a young chick called Sally Ann and with the help of the teacher she got the students to celebrate a “Tribute to Our Heroes Day” wherein the parents of the chicks would catch fish for the scouts. It was a new thing; everyone was feeling empowered, even the small children.

Looking ahead Louis told Fred that now they need to get some evidence that they are moving forward in the right direction. He asked him to dispatch a chosen group of scouts while ensuring they all return safely. While NoNo was spreading more and more fear, Sally Ann’s idea of “Tribute to Our Heroes Day” worked wonders to gather the fish for the scouts. This day was to include a raffle, performances, a band and a flea market and entry fee was two fishes per adult. Children ensured that both their parents attended it: awkwardness on the parents died a slow death. Eventually the scouts returned with a lot of information and some injuries. A quick response team set up by Alice tended to their injuries, but the scouts were beaming with joy of accomplishment. They feasted on the fishes from “Tribute to Our Heroes Day” and were given an ice-medal with hero written on it from the children. Sally Ann too received one of those. Colony had tasted what an MBA looking penguin called “short term win”.

Inspired by the work of the first wave of scouts a lot more birds volunteered for the next wave. Louis knew that it will be more crucial than the last wave, selected scouts for this trip himself. The scouts from this wave again returned with safety and were engaged in discussion by the Professor to filter the opinions from the facts. With what he gathered they had found a new iceberg which looked suitable. Under the able leadership of Louis the migration began. Problems arose but were addressed successfully by collective efforts of the core team. NoNo was still predicting doom. However the new home had lesser problems than some skeptic birds had anticipated. Next season the scouts found yet another iceberg which looked better – bigger and with better fishing grounds. The colony moved and the migration this season was easier. It was a critical step: not being complacent and “not letting up”.

The colony was happy and its then Alice convinced Louis that he should shake up the leadership council and let go of the stuck-up members. A tough selection process was put in place for scout selection and the scouts were fed extra fish with their status going up in the society. In the school “Scouting” was added as a required curriculum. Fred was made head of scouts, Professor was made the chief weather forecaster and Alice subsequently took over as the Head penguin from Louis. All this to ensure that the hard brought changes would not be overcome by “stubborn, hard-to-die traditions”.

Changing and Succeeding: Read and Reflect, this two point approach will do wonders.

The Eight Step Process to Successful Change:

• Set the Stage

1. Create a Sense of Urgency

2. Pull Together the Guiding Team

• Decide What to Do

3. Develop the Change Vision and Strategy

• Make it Happen

4. Communicate for Understanding and Buy In

5. Empower Others to Act

6. Produce Short-Term Wins

7. Don’t Let Up

• Make it Stick

8. Create a New Culture

The chicken crossed the road because -

He smokes two joints in the morning and smokes two joints at night, he smokes two joints in the afternoon and crosses the road alright.
- Bob Marley

Daylight coma and it wanna go home
-Harry Belafonte

He had a home, the love of a hen, but chicken get lost sometimes, as years unfurl, one day he crossed some road, and he was too much in this world, but I guess it doesnt matter anymore.
- Don Henley (Eagles)

He never cared for what they say, never cared for games they play, never cared for what they do, never cared for what they know, and I know.
-James Hetfield (Metallica)

She's packin' up her stuff and talkin' like it's tough and tryin' to tell me that it's time to go, but I know this chick ain't wearin' nothin' underneath that overcoat.....I go crazy, crazy, baby, I go crazy.
-Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)

He was told "come as you are, as you were, as the hen wants you to be, as a friend, as a friend, as a known memory, take your time, hurry up, the choice is your, don't be late, take a rest, as a friend, as a known memory"
- Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)

It's a chicken who walks alone, and when he's walking a dark road, at night or strolling through the park, when the light begins to change, he sometimes feel a little strange, he's a little anxious when its dark, fear of the dark, fear of the dark, he has a constant fear that someones always near, fear of the dark, fear of the dark, he has a phobia that someones allways there
- Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden)

She's a chicken who's sure all that glitters is gold, and she's crossing the road to heaven, when she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed, with a word she can get what she came for... Oohooh ...and she's crossing the road to heaven.
- Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)

The reason is you.
- Douglas Rob (Hoobastank)

He dreams of Californication.
- Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

He crossed a lonely road on the boulevard of broken dreams, where the city sleeps
and he's the only one and he walks alone.
- Billy Joe Armstrong (Green Day)