Category: story

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Shark in the Tank

There are many management theories which we use in our day to day life. Some knowingly and some unknowingly.

 

I was lucky to have number of command appointments in my service career.

 

I always shared my experiences with the young budding commanders.

 

One of the advice used to be – “As a commander you have to put the shark in the tank at the right time”.

 

The Story

 

The Japanese love eating fresh fish. But the fish got depleted, in the waters close to sea shore, due to over fishing. So the Japanese fishing boats got bigger and went farther from the shores.  The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish would lose their freshness.

 

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the frozen fish did not taste the same as fresh fish and the frozen fish brought a lower price.

 

So fishing companies installed fish tanks. This solved the problem to a certain extent. However, to make adequate profit, the fish tanks started getting overstuffed, with little room for the fish to thrash around. The fish stopped moving and started losing their freshness once again.

 

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they added a small shark to each tank. The shark would eat a few fish, but most of the remaining fish would remain active and fresh.

 

Lesson & Recommendation

 

“Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment.”

– L. Ron Hubbard

 

So in the unit, establishment or group an optimum level of activity and excitement has to be maintained to keep the group and the people productive, active, healthy and happy.

 

Too much of work for too long would burn them off with fatigue and too little work would cause reduction in output due to boredom and inactivity.

 

As a commander and leader one has to maintain that optimum level of activity and know when to put the shark in the tank and for how long.

 

Addendum

Some times as a commander one needs to become the shark himself.

 

Coming up

Tyre pressure theory

 

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INTERESTING BYTES: Short Stories

 

Ten short stories with deep meanings.

 

1) She was very excited today, as the school was re-opening after a long summer break. Now, once     again, she could start selling stationery at the traffic signal to feed her family.

 

2) She, a renowned artist and a strict mother, often scolded her 6-year-old son for he could never draw a line straight. As he breathed slowly into the ventilator, she begged him to make one more crooked line on the ECG.

 

3) “Everyone goes with the flow… but the one who goes against it becomes someone remarkable.” Before I could explain this to the traffic police, the man issued me a fine.

 

4) Their love was different. She was happy every time he kicked her in the stomach. Every time he kicked she loved him more. She waited for the time she would hold her baby for the first time.

 

5) All my toys are yours..!  Read her brother’s death note.

 

6) They took his father, and only returned a flag.

 

7) At 25, I became a mother of one; at 27 I became a mother of two; and today, at 55, I have become a mother of three!  My son got married today, and brought home his wife!

 

8) “Born to rich parents, this boy is so lucky,” exclaimed the neighbours! Somewhere in heaven, three unborn sisters cried.

 

9) “You ruined my career, I was supposed to be an Executive Director,” she thought to herself.  The little angel held her finger tightly and she forgot everything; a mother was born.

 

10) Once a 5-year-old boy was standing barefoot in the shallow water of the ocean. He was repeating the same sentence to the waves – “Even if you touch my feet a thousand times, I won’t forgive you for taking my parents away.

 

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My Tryst with HT-2 Aircraft: The Day God Flew With Me

 My previous story titled “The day I flew my dad’s Car” started with the sentence “It was the year of the lord……..” Well this one is also form the same year of the lord. It seems that 1979 was a very eventful year. It was eventful indeed, as this was the year when I started flying (or rather started learning how to fly), this was the year I earned my Wings and also got commissioned in the Indian Air Force. These events changed my life, making the next forty years most enjoyable ones.

 

 

This story is about my tryst with the HT-2 aircraft (I always lovingly called it Dalda Tin aircraft). Well that was the first impression one got on seeing it. But looks can be deceptive and in this case it was true. HT – 2 (Hindustan Trainer – 2) was one lean mean flying machine. This machine had deflated the ego of many an ace pilots by rubbing their nose into the dirt or by giving them a swinging  time (literally). HT-2 was a very simple machine with mechanical controls but a complex one to control. The machine seemed to have a mind of its own and reminded one of bronc riding rodeo. It is said that if one can drive on Indian roads, he or she can drive anywhere in the world. Similar thing can be said about HT-2, if you can fly the HT-2, you can fly any aircraft in the world.

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