You can take the hotelier out of the hotel, but I don’t think you can take the hotel out of the hotelier. And so it is with me. My favourite TV shows are therefore all the Master Chefs and the MKRs and even America’s worst cooks! I can watch them endlessly, much to the disgust of my family, they insisted on having multiple TVs in the house so they don’t…
management
Do as I do, or do as I say? Role-modelling and organizational culture
My little niece Prakriti and I share a special bond. I am her ‘other mom’ and she is my ‘baby’. Adulation and special bond mean she is my faithful shadow, and my little lamb whenever I am in Chennai. She follows me around, observing everything I say and do, keenly examining, and making mental notes on my clothes, jewellery, and, er……….. my footwear. It took me a while, and a…
Pigs or chicken? Building commitment, not just interest, in the frontline
This story caught my attention long back, as the simplest illustration of ‘interested’ vs ‘committed’. A Pig and a Chicken are walking down the road. The Chicken says: “Hey Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!” Pig replies: “Hm, maybe, what would we call it?” The Chicken responds: “How about ‘ham-n-eggs’?” The Pig thinks for a moment and says: “No thanks. I’d be committed, but you’d only be…
Knicker Bocker Glory, and lessons in motivation and management.
My friends Jo, Sadhana and I used to be regulars at the Taj Coromandel Coffee Shop and mithai shop – not to dine there, but to work. We used to be paid a princely sum of Rs 100/= for day long assignments. As students at the Hotel Management School, this was a great opportunity to work while you study, and experience the industry first hand, and of course, to earn…
Voice of the customer, looking green, or feeling green?
‘Are you trying to fool the customer?’ ‘You have rated yourself a five, and now you are trying to get me to put the pin so it gets submitted’ ‘No maam, that is how it is designed, the default is five, check when the next delivery comes’ pleaded the delivery man. Not one to be convinced, I selected a one star, put in my pin and submitted the rating. My…
Be a Man, Man!(woman)
We were at a friend’s wedding yesterday. A grand show, love in the air, good wishes from family and friends, great food (of course!). We had planned to drive back to Bangalore the same day, so tried to make an early exit. But when we reached the car park of the wedding hall, we found one cute little car, with a large ‘L’ board, parked so precisely that it blocked…
I do because I want to…………………..
I am not a blogger, I have tweeted once in my life, and I have only authored work related documents. No sir, my writing days ended with my school, where I probably left the world of ‘what if’ and beautiful day dreams behind. However, as I move into a different stage in my career, the single piece of advice to me has been to start writing. At the least ‘tweet’,…
The lost child
Friday evening, sitting at the Bombay Airport, waiting to get back, after another week away from home. Multiple thoughts racing in my head, from the two meetings I missed, to the unfinished tasks of the week, to the fact that my maid is still missing, my dad’s toothache………. As I look abstractedly around me, I see nothing different – men and women, young, middle aged, old, all lost in their…