Going that Extra Mile

Please Look! I am waiting!!

The other day I was stranded at an office. I had gone there as a trainer, but was not given the name of the right person and the contact number to meet there.  The security would not let me enter the premise for want of that vital information. The receptionist at the desk saw my dilemma, could have sorted the issue in a matter of minutes. BUT she was new to the job, just joined that day and scarcely knew the right people to contact. Accepted. The security could have helped but did not feel it necessary to do so. They were doing their duty. Accepted.

Two stressful hours and several phone calls , later, I contacted the right person and gained legitimate entry and went to the training room. But lo and behold, the participants who had waited in vain for 2 hours for the trainer to arrive then assumed that the training had been called off, went away and had to be called back. Of course the story does have a happy ending - I did conduct the training to everyone's satisfaction.

What struck me in this whole episode was "Why do we not go that extra mile to help out, to untangle issues at work place easily? " All the people who saw my discomfort at waiting , making so many calls and wasting productive hours could have spared a few minutes and sorted things out asap. But NO !! Everyone was doing their duty!!  That is going about their work.

This is not the first of its kind of experience. This is my wishful thinking that in all our ( read my countrymen) professional dealings we need to go that extra mile to solve PEOPLE's problems. Ultimately we all live for each other - we need to be there for each other, to make life more comfortable and less stressful for others. We should do if we can.

It is a miserable experience to go to some govt. offices and get some document out which is actually yours by right. It often turns out to be hours and hours of wait, repeated visits and ultimately paying someone  to get that piece of paper that you so desperately needed. If only the person at work goes that extra mile. Life would be so easy.

I want my country to value the time and energy of each and every Indian. I want all of us to help out each other in times of need I want that Indian culture - Going that extra mile.

Going that extra mile means not just doing your duty at work - If you see a problem that you might be able to resolve and make another human being more comfortable, it is a chance one must not miss to help out. That is called "Customer care, Salesmanship" or whatever. You project your business in a positive angle. Doing it all the time to your countrymen and fellow human being - that is really going that extra mile. One does come across that kind of attitude and then one feels immesnsly proud of being an Indian. It is that winning attitude - Going that extra mile for someone else.

Please look if someone is waiting and you are in a position to help!

EXCELLENCE

Why do we have so much of dust on our roads? How did some nations do away with dust on the roads in most of their roads? I was walking on the road and was trying to analyse the cause. Our roads have pavements but most of it is broken, some tiles displaced exposing the soil below. Being a tropical country this soil is dry and dusty and this gets blown about with wind and passing vehicles.

The garden I go for walks could do with some trimming and cleaning up. There are govt. appointed gardeners for these gardens.

Why do our children need to go to tuition when they attend a regular school and spend the best part of the day there?

One day I traveled by a bus in Chennai at peak office going hour in the morning. The bus was so packed that I could not move a cm.At every stop, more and more people were boarding. It was so dangerous that I had to get down at the nearest stop, hop into a rickshaw. The women who go to work everyday travel in such tough conditions  

Any govt. office I go for any job, it just does not get done with one visit.

At such times, I think "What is the cause of all these ? What is the solution? "

Only one word comes to my mind - "Excellence" I wish we as a nation imbibe that quality - whatever we do, we have to deliver utmost excellence  that we are capable of.

Like

• Our roads could be laid excellently. The pavements could be laid excellently, that they last many years.
• The teachers could teach excellently that children do not need to spend more money and time in tuitions 
• The gardeners paid to do their job could take pride in maintaining a top class garden. 
• The transport authorities have an excellent plan for the public, make travel to work comfortable. More buses for certain routes and certain timings can bring more satisfaction, more revenue. 
• We Indians can take excellent care of cleanliness of our surroundings so that we do not spit, throw garbage etc.. 

If EXCELLENCE becomes our core habit, we can be stress-free in so many ways in our day-to-day life. We can trust others to give their best to us and we in turn do the same to them.  

"Another word for an Indian in any field, any walk of life - EXCELLENCE"