The Hindu Business Line : The most secure capital

Silence is better than hasty speech. During negotiations, look at things from the other person's point of view; that way, the chances of success are far greater. Try not to lose patience, because whoever loses it ends up as the loser. Love is more than mere sentiment; it consists of caring, and caring involves responsibility. Don't get flustered when criticised; for, just as coal and water can be changed into electricity, just as sand can be changed into silicon chips, criticism can be changed into something positive. Reliability of performance is the most secure capital. And, while taking decisions, try to keep a long-term view; goals, whether in business or in human relations, take time to mature.

These are some of the essential lessons that Jit Paul lists in The Business of Life (www.oxfordbookstore.com). A success story.

Mail spill

With a mail dated January 3, 2000 begins Matt Beaumont's e, a book, ``consisting entirely of emails''. David Crutton is frantically trying to get the Coke account for his ad agency. He wants to send `an all-staff email' but every time he clicks `ok', a copy goes to Helsinki. A response does come in from the accidental mail spill-off: "Is there any help we can give you with the Coca-Cola pitch?" asks Pertti, as a fellow CEO... Entertaining.

Pitch pace

Not everybody understands cricket. Why is the game so slow, why isn't anything happening, some may wonder? "The game of cricket lends itself to a protracted drawing out, a suspension of the spectator across a high-voltage wire of tension and anticipation," writes Soumya Bhattacharya in You Must Like Cricket? "Long periods when ostensibly nothing happens (a new-ball spell, say, when the bowler beats the outside edge four times in a row and still does not manage to get a nick — when, for the uninitiated, the game does not seem to be moving forward) can mean plenty is happening." Memoirs of an Indian cricket fan you may like to soak yourself in.

Tailpiece

"You have the latest mobile with GPS, and yet you keep going round!"

"That's when I try to decide where to go!"

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D. Murali