Leader vs Manager

I often think what make some managers so great and memorable  while others are usually lost in the pages of history. Is it striking personality of one; perhaps the way they express themselves or their soft spoken skills. But usually these features fade out with aging. The managers who would make a deep mark in your memory are usually the ones who would go a step extra to ensure your professional and personal goals are met. They would take pains to keep you motivated in professional space, they would make you believe in your capabilities. And if one doesn't have the required skills, they would ensure you learn the art to benefit the business in long run. This is what separates a Leader from a manager.

Leaders are those who'll support you to fulfill your personal dreams, and making sure the business enriches from your new-found inspiration. Many papers and journals are published to showcase the importance of a healthy and learning work space to successfully run a business. Business can never expand in a culture where employees are not groomed to fulfill their aspirations. This major shift in work cultures in big organizations is what sets them apart from other businesses.

Ride part-II

The ride discussed is part 1 is all about the painstaking mornings when i need to wake up early to reach office in time. Morning traffic is another battle which is fought week after week to avoid the delay. Contrary to above struggles, the ride back home is always pleasant. The most important reason for these pleasant rides is my wife who would call me every half an hour after 3pm to convince me to leave office early. I try to leave as early as possible, but then doing it so often won't justify the reason for which i come to office.

I usually leave office around 4:30 pm (assuming my attempt to reach office before 8:00 am is successful). Once i reach outskirts of city, i would call my wife to tell her that i've left from office. Next one hour drive is more or less same all the time. There's no traffic on the highway, so i can drive looking around the beautiful sights of settling sun and green fields. There is another city which lies midway from my office on the way to home. By the time i that city, it would get dark already. Once i safely get out of this city, the task already seems finished. The last one hour is always spent thinking about dinner. Like everyone, i too want to reach home as early as possible. I've to keep telling myself not to over-speed during this last one hour.

By the time i reach home, it's already very dark. Despite spending last ten hours in office, the drive back home is always smooth and joyful. I never get tired driving back home. Although it's only wednesday, it would feel like the weekend is here already. This tale of riding to office and coming back home repeats itself every week, and hopefully will continue for some more time as well.

Thanksgiving weekend

Finally the weekend has reached its dying final stage. Usual Sunday gloomy evenings which are spent staring at computer for hours; with a mind already lost in the worries of coming week. I (and my wife) had planned and waited for this weekend for so long. Thursday and Friday were off due to thanksgiving break.

We left from our home early Thursday morning so that we could reach Fort Lauderdale for lunch which is a suburb of Miami city. In US, the bigger cities are divided into smaller suburbs. This city, Ft Lauderdale, is famous for its beach houses and many lavish restaurants. Since it was the thanksgiving day, the restaurants were not packed with people as many of them prefer to cook food at home on Thanksgiving day.  We had our lunch at one of those stylish European-built restaurants and we left for Miami South Beach. This beach is considered to be among the best beaches to travel in US, if not the entire world. The luke warm water is pearl-green in color served over white glittering sand. I wish i had words to describe the beauty of this beach which can only be justified with the view of it. We spent roughly two hours on beach. The best part of it was soaking your body on the white warm sand under the bright sun. There are very fewer natural gifts left on this Earth which we, human beings, still admire.

The street surrounding this beach has an ambiance which one can't find at any other place. We had our dinner at a beach side place on Ocean drive and soon left for our hotel in Miami downtown. Downtown is another word which is used very commonly to denote to the main market area of town where most of the dining places and malls are located. I won't say much and would let the below picture say about the view from our hotel room.

When we checked into the hotel, i didn't know which room would be allotted. It was a sheer coincidence that this room was available and we were in the hotel at right time. Next morning we left the hotel and Miami for our next destination, Key west. Miami is the southernmost city of US on the east coast, and Key west is the southernmost key which is now a part of United States.

Contrary to Miami, all the shops and eating joints in Key west are so unique and full of art work. It has an authentic artistic ambiance which is very rarely found in a country predominantly populated with chain restaurants and fast food joints. We had our dinner at one such food joint and spent rest of the day exploring the city market. Basically the entire market resides on one street, which is also known as Duvaal street. Personally, i would have preferred spending the entire day in heated swimming pool at our hotel. That time spent in pool was perhaps the most memorable for me. Next morning we left out early for para-sailing as per our scheduled plan. I had never done para-sailing before; hence it was even more special for me. One doesn't get a lot of chances in life to experience a moment when you're flying above your fellow birds in an abundant sky beneath a vast pearl green ocean.

We took some photographs for rest of the noon at the beach and left for our home. I'm not sure of the importance of writing down such minute details of my trip; but hopefully it might become a reason of smile when i would read it some years later.