The Apple

Apple is a great fruit. I personally feel excited when I see an apple. It evokes richness and healthy feeling all at the same time.

There are so many sayings made around apple. "An Apple a day, keeps the doctor away" (My friend joked, "if the doctor is beautiful, keep the apple away!"). You take care of children like the "apple of your eye".

In the real world, we know how neat and exotic products from the company called Apple are!

I came across this wonderful article on Apple and could not stop from sharing it with my blog readers.

Apple

The warm scent and flavor of baking apples is a sure sign that fall is just around the corner. In the Northern Hemisphere apples are in season from late summer to early winter. However, many varieties are available year round because they have been either kept in cold storage or imported from the Southern Hemisphere.

Apples are crisp, white-fleshed fruits with red, yellow or green skin. They range in taste from moderately sweet and refreshing to pleasantly tart depending on the variety. The apple is a member of the rose family, with a compartmentalized core which classifies it as a pome fruit or apple in Latin.

• Health Benefits
• Description
• History
• How to Select and Store
• How to Enjoy
• Safety
• Nutritional Profile
• References

Health Benefits

According to the latest research, the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," is fact, not just folklore. The nutritional stars in apples—fiber, flavonoids, and fructose—translate into apples' ability to keep us healthy.

Fiber: Apples contain both insoluble and soluble fiber. One medium (5 ounces) unpeeled apple provides over 3 grams of fiber, more than 10% of the daily fiber intake recommended by experts. Even without its peel, a medium apple provides 2.7 grams of fiber.

Apple's two types of fiber pack a double punch that can knock down cholesterol levels, reducing your risk of hardening of the arteries, heart attack, and stroke. Apple's insoluble fiber works like bran, latching on to LDL cholesterol in the digestive tract and removing it from the body, while apple's soluble fiber pectin reduces the amount of LDL cholesterol produced in the liver. Adding just one large apple (about 2/3 of a pound) to the daily diet has been shown to decrease serum cholesterol 8-11%. Eating 2 large apples a day has lowered cholesterol levels by up to 16%!

A study published in the September 8, 2003 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms that eating high fiber foods, such as apples, helps prevent heart disease. Almost 10,000 American adults participated in this study and were followed for 19 years, during which time 1,843 cases of coronary heart disease (CHD) and 3,762 cases of cardiovascular disease (CVD) were diagnosed. People eating the most fiber, 21 grams per day, had 12% less CHD and 11% less CVD compared to those eating the least, 5 grams daily. Those eating the most water-soluble dietary fiber fared even better with a 15% reduction in risk of CHD and a 10% risk reduction in CVD.(December 3, 2003)

LDL cholesterol isn't the only harmful compound on apple's removal list. Pectin grabs toxins like the heavy metals lead and mercury, and ushers them out of the body. Both the soluble and insoluble fibers in apples have cancer-protective activity since they relieve constipation and send potentially toxic substances out with the stools.

When it comes to bowel regularity, apple's two types of fiber tackle the job—no matter what it is. Both the insoluble fiber in apples and their soluble fiber pectin help relieve constipation (thus helping to prevent diverticulosis and colon cancer). The insoluble fiber works like roughage, while the pectin, which is found primarily in the skin, acts as a stool softener by drawing water into the stool and increasing stool bulk. On the other hand, because pectin firms up an excessively loose stool, it's also used to treat diarrhea. One well-known over-the-counter diarrhea remedy, Kaopectate ™, actually contains an oxidized form of pectin.

Flavonoids : A type of pigment in apples that helps provide their color, flavonoids have been extensively researched and found to help prevent heart disease. Researchers in Finland followed over 5,000 Finish men and women for over 20 years. Those who ate the most apples and other flavonoid rich foods (such as onions and tea), were found to have a 20% lower risk of heart disease than those who ate the least of these foods.

Apples have been singled out as one of the small number of fruits and vegetables that contributed to the significant reduction in heart disease risk seen in a recent meta-analysis of seven prospective studies. Of the more than 100,000 individuals who participated in these studies, those who diets most frequently included apples, tea, onions, and broccoli—the richest sources of flavonoids—gained a 20% reduction in their risk of heart disease. (October 24, 2003)

Apple skin and onions are the two major food sources of a potent flavonoid called quercitin. If, in addition to eating an apple a day, you add 2 tablespoons of onion and 4 cups of green tea (also rich in flavonoids) to your menu, you, like the men who consumed these foods in another study, may have a 32% lower risk of heart attack than people who consume less of these foods.

Quercitin's benefits derive from its antioxidant activity, especially when it teams up with another antioxidant, vitamin C, also found in apples, to bolster the body's immune defenses. This dynamic antioxidant duo provides another way (in addition to fiber) through which apples protect against cancer and also helps prevent the free radical damage to LDL cholesterol that promotes heart disease.

Fructose: Apples derive almost all of their natural sweetness from fructose, a simple sugar, but one which is broken down slowly, especially when combined with apples' hefty dose of fiber, thus helping to keep blood sugar levels stable.

Prevent Kidney Stones

Want to reduce your risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones? Drink apple juice. A study published in the August 2003 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition found that when women drank � to 1 litre of apple, grapefruit or orange juice daily, their urinary pH value and citric acid excretion increased, significantly dropping their risk of forming calcium oxalate stones. (October 4, 2003)

Protection against Breast and Colon Cancer

Whole apple extracts—in amounts comparable to human consumption of one, three or six apples a day—were shown to prevent breast cancer in test animals in a study published in the March 2005 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

And apples worked in a dose-dependent manner; the more apples eaten, the more protection.

In a second study, published in the March 2005 issue of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research , a polyphenol-rich extract of an apple juice blend powerfully inhibited the growth of human colon cancer cells in the laboratory.

However, when researchers put together a mixture containing only the bioactive compounds identified in apple juice so far (which included its proanthocyanidins and quercetin), the mixture was ineffective in inhibiting the growth of colon cancer cells.

They concluded that as yet unknown constituents contribute to apples' potent protective qualities. The conclusion we draw at the World's Healthiest Foods is that it is not single nutrients, but their synergy in whole, natural foods that is the source of their effectiveness in promoting health. We definitely agree with the researchers in the first (breast cancer) study, who suggest that because apples are so richly endowed with phytonutrients capable of strong antioxidant and anticancer activities and are so universally enjoyed, eating an apple (or two) a day may be effective (and we'd add easy and inexpensive) way to lessen the incidence of breast (and colon) cancer.

Natural Sun Protection

It's long been known that apple peel contains high concentrations of special antioxidant compounds called phenols that may assist in the prevention of a number of chronic diseases. Now it appears that the phenols in the skin of certain cultivars of apples may provide a hefty dose of UV-B protection, according to a study published in the August 2003 issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany. Researchers evaluated both Granny Smith and Braeburn apples, with Braeburns being the clear winner in terms of their ability to accumulate UV-B protective quercitin glycosides in their sun-exposed skin. Sun-kissed Braeburns were resistant to high doses of UV-B radiation (up to 97kJ m-2). Next time you plan to spend time in the sun yourself, start your day with a Braeburn apple or bring one or two along for lunch and snacks.(October 4, 2003)

New Review Study Provides Even More Reasons to Enjoy Apples

A major review study published in the May 2004 issue of the Nutrition Journal provides dozens of reasons to enjoy an apple every day.

A review study is one that looks at the results of many other studies. This one included an analysis of 85 studies. Apples were found to be most consistently associated with a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, asthma, and type 2 diabetes when compared to other fruits and vegetables. In addition, eating apples was also associated with increased lung function and increased weight loss.

Here are some of the reasons why:

Apples are a rich and very important source of phytochemicals, including flavonoids and phenols, in the American diet and in Europe. In the United States, 22% of the phenolic compounds consumed from fruits come from apples, making them the largest source of phenols in the American diet.

When compared to other fruits, apples ranked second in total concentration of phenolic compounds, and perhaps more importantly, had the highest portion of free phenols. Since free phenols are not bound to other compounds in the fruit, they may be more available for absorption into the bloodstream.

Apples are also an excellent source of antioxidants, and when compared to many other commonly consumed fruits in the United States, were found to have the second highest level of antioxidant activity. Many of the phytochemicals found in apples, including quercetin, catechin, phloridzin and chlorogenic acid, are strong antioxidants. .

The total antioxidant activity of 100 grams of whole apple (with the peel) was found to be equivalent to the antioxidant effect of about 1500 mg of vitamin C. (However, the amount of vitamin C in 100 g of apples is only about 5.7 mg. Nearly all of the antioxidant activity from apples comes from a variety of other compounds.)

Whole apples, especially their peels, have been found to have a number of powerful antioxidant effects, one of which is to protect VLDL and LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidation. Yet when quercitin, one of the most important antioxidant flavonoids in apples, was tested by itself in rats, it had no protective effect. And when apple flesh and apple juice were tested, they provided less than a tenth the benefit of whole apple.

Apples' protective effects against free radical damage to cholesterol reach their peak at three hours following apple consumption and drop off after 24 hours, providing yet another good reason to eat a whole fresh apple a day.

In animal studies, apples have also been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol while raising beneficial HDL cholesterol. Not only did the rats in these studies produce less cholesterol, but they also excreted more in their feces when fed apples, pears and peaches—but apples had the greatest cholesterol-lowering effect.

In the most recent studies, investigators found that the combination of apple pectin and apple phenols lowered cholesterol and triglycerides to a much greater extent than either apple pectin or phenols alone. This again suggests a beneficial synergy between the many healthful compounds found in apples and supports eating the whole fruit instead of simply drinking apple juice, eating peel-free applesauce or taking fiber supplements. Apples have also been shown to greatly inhibit the growth of liver and colon cancer cells in several studies. In one study, at a dose of 50 mg/mL, liver cancer cell proliferation was inhibited by 39% by extracts of whole Fuji apple and 57% by whole Red Delicious extracts. In another study in which colon cancer cells were treated with apple extracts, cell proliferation was inhibited 43% at a dose of 50 mg/mL.

Eating an apple a day may also offer significant protection against breast cancer, suggests an animal study published in the March 2005 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry . When mice with breast cancer were fed the human equivalent of 1, 3 or 6 apples a day for 6 months, their tumors shrank by 25%, 25%, and 61%, respectively. Researchers credit apples' strong protective action to the synergistic interactions among the wide variety of potent antioxidant and antiproliferative pytochemicals, including phenolics and flavonoids, they contain.

In several large epidemiological (population) studies conducted in the United Kingdom, Finland and the Netherlands, apple consumption (a minimum of 2 apples per week) was found to be inversely linked with asthma and type 2 diabetes, and positively associated with general lung health. Researchers attribute apples' protective effects in these conditions to apples' high concentration of anti-inflammatory flavonoids, such as quercitin and catechin.

In addition to their beneficial effects against chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma and diabetes, apples may also help combat cholera. Recently, crude extracts from immature apples were found to inhibit cholera toxin in a dose dependent manner by up to 98%.

Researchers have found distinct differences in total phenolic and flavonoid content among different apple varieties:

Of the four common varieties used for applesauce (Rome Beauty, Idared, Cortland, and Golden Delicious), Rome Beauty had the highest phenolic content.

Out of 10 varieties commonly consumed in the U.S., Fuji apples had the highest total phenolic and total flavonoid compounds, but Red Delicious apples were also quite high. These apple varieties also tended to have higher antioxidant activity.

Apple phytochemical content is not greatly affected by storage. After 100 days, the amount of phenolic compounds in the skin begins to decrease slightly, but even after 200 hundred days in cold storage, the total amount of these compounds remains close to the level at the time of harvest.

However, processing apples into juice greatly lowers their phytochemical content. Apple juice obtained from Jonagold apples by pulping and straight pressing had only 10% of the antioxidant activity of fresh apples, while juice obtained after pulp enzyming had only 3% of fresh apples' antioxidant activity. The take home message: store apples in the refrigerator and enjoy a sweet, crunchy, whole apple at least 2-3 times each week. (June 30, 2004)

Lower Your Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Your mother may have told you carrots would keep your eyes bright as a child, but as an adult, it looks like fruit is even more important for keeping your sight. Data reported in a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Archives of Opthamology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

In this study, which involved 77,562 women and 40,866 men, researchers evaluated the effect of study participants' consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early ARMD or neovascular ARM, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss. Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men.

While, surprisingly, intakes of vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids were not strongly related to incidence of either form of ARM, fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease. Three servings of fruit may sound like a lot to eat each day, but apples make it easy to increase your fruit intake. Add diced apple to your morning cereal, or top off a cup of yogurt or green salad with apple slices. Nothing's quicker or easier for an afternoon snack than a cold crisp apple. Paired with some flavorful cheese, apple slices make a great dessert or late night snack.(July 10, 2004)

Description

Apples are a crisp, white-fleshed fruit with a red, yellow or green skin. The apple is actually a member of the rose family, which may seem strange until we remember that roses make rose hips, which are fruits similar to the apple.

Apples have a moderately sweet, refreshing flavor and a tartness that is present to greater or lesser degree depending on the variety. For example, Golden and Red Delicious apples are mild and sweet, while Pippins and Granny Smith apples are notably brisk and tart. Tart apples, which best retain their texture during cooking, are often preferred for cooked desserts like apple pie, while Delicious apples and other sweeter varieties like Braeburn and Fuji apples are usually eaten raw.

History

The apple tree, which originally came from Eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, has spread to most temperate regions of the world. Over the centuries, many hybrids and cultivars have been developed, giving us the 7,000 varieties in the market today.

Apples have long been famous—or infamous, given the pivotal role played by an apple in the biblical story of Adam and Eve. In Norse mythology, apples were given a more positive persona: a magic apple was said to keep people young forever. Apples' most recent appearance in history occurred in the 1800s in the U.S., when Johnny Appleseed—a real person named John Chapman, despite the mythological quality of his tale—walked barefoot across an area of 100,000 square miles, planting apple trees that provided food and a livelihood for generations of settlers.

How to Select and Store

Look for firm fruits with rich coloring. Yellow and green apples with a slight blush are best. Your preference for a sweeter or more tart fruit and whether you plan to enjoy your apples raw or cooked will guide your choice of variety. Just remember that Red and Golden Delicious are among the sweetest apples. Braeburn and Fuji apples are slightly tart, and Gravenstein, Pippin and Granny Smith apples are the most tart, but retain their texture best during cooking.

In the northern hemisphere, apple season begins at the end of summer and lasts until early winter. Apples available at other times have been in cold storage or are imported from the southern hemisphere.

Whole apples are a much better nutritional choice than apple juice. Not only are whole apples richer in dietary fiber, but the current processes of juicing seem to drastically reduce the polyphenolic phytonutrient concentrations originally found in the whole fruit.

How to Enjoy

In addition to being eaten raw, apples are a wonderful addition to a variety of recipes from salads to baked goods. For some of our favorite recipes, click Recipes.

Tips for preparing apples:

Rinse apples under clear running water like you would any fruit. If organic, don't peel unless the recipe you have chosen requires peeled apples.

To prevent browning when slicing apples for a recipe, simply put the slices in a bowl of cold water to which a spoonful of lemon juice has been added.

For use in future recipes, sliced apples freeze well in plastic bags or containers.

A few quick serving ideas:

Add diced apples to fruit or green salads.

Braise a chopped apple with red cabbage.

Looking for an alternative to sweet desserts? Sliced apples (either alone or with other fruits) and cheese are a European favorite.

Try our wonderful Apple Tart in the recipe file.

Safety

Apples and Pesticide Residues

Virtually all municipal drinking water in the United States contains pesticide residues, and with the exception of organic foods, so do the majority of foods in the U.S. food supply. Even though pesticides are present in food at very small trace levels, their negative impact on health is well documented. The liver's ability to process other toxins, the cells' ability to produce energy, and the nerves' ability to send messages can all be compromised by pesticide exposure. According to the Envirionmental Working Group's 2003 report "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce", apples are among the 12 foods on which pesticide residues have been most frequently found. Therefore, individuals wanting to avoid pesticide-associated health risks may want to avoid consumption of apples unless they are grown organically.

If you do purchase non-organic apples, you may want to ask your grocer about the kind of wax used to protect the apple's surface during storage or shipping. Carnauba wax (from the carnauba palm tree), beeswax, and shellac (from the lac beetle) are preferable to petroleum-based waxes, which contain solvent residues or wood resins.

Nutritional Profile

Introduction to Food Rating System Chart

The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good or good source. Next to the nutrient name you will find the following information: the amount of the nutrient that is included in the noted serving of this food; the %Daily Value (DV) that that amount represents (similar to other information presented in the website, this DV is calculated for 25-50 year old healthy woman); the nutrient density rating; and, the food's World's Healthiest Foods Rating. Underneath the chart is a table that summarizes how the ratings were devised. Read detailed information on our Food and Recipe Rating System.

Apples 1.00 each 81.42 calories Nutrient Amount DV (%) Nutrient Density World's Healthiest Foods Rating dietary fiber 3.73 g 14.9 3.3 good vitamin C 7.87 mg 13.1 2.9 good vitamin K 6.90 mcg 8.6 1.9 good World's Healthiest Foods Rating Rule excellent DV>=75% OR Density>=7.6 AND DV>=10% very good DV>=50% OR Density>=3.4 AND DV>=5% good DV>=25% OR Density>=1.5 AND DV>=2.5%

In Depth Nutritional Profile for Apple

References

• Bazzano LA, He J, Ogden LG, Loria CM, Whelton PK. Dietary fiber intake and reduced risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Arch Intern Med. 2003 Sep 8;163(16):1897-904.
• Boyer J, Liu RH. Apple phytochemicals and their health benefits. Nutr J. 2004 May 12;3(1):5.
• Cho E, Seddon JM, Rosner B, Willett WC, Hankinson SE. Prospective study of intake of fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and carotenoids and risk of age-related maculopathy. Arch Ophthalmol. 2004 Jun;122(6):883-92.
• Consumers Union of United States, Inc. Do you know what you're eating? An analysis of US government data on pesticide residues in foods. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. Edward Groth III, PhD, Project Director, Charles M. Benbrook, PhD, Consultant, Public Service Projects Department, Technical Division. Feb 1999.
• Ensminger AH, Esminger M. K. J. e. al. Food for Health: A Nutrition Encyclopedia. Clovis, California: Pegus Press; 1986.
• Fernandez ML. Soluble fiber and nondigestible carbohydrate effects on plasma lipids and cardiovascular risk. Curr Opin Lipidol 2001 Feb;12(1):35-40.
• Heinerman J. Heinerman's New encyclopedia of Fruits and Vegetables. Prentice Hall 1995.
• Honow R, Laube N, Schneider A, Kessler T, Hesse. Influence of grapefruit-, orange- and apple-juice consumption on urinary variables and risk of crystallization. Br J Nutr. Aug;90(2):295-300.
• Huxley RR, Neil HAW. The relation between dietary flavonol intake and coronary heart disease mortality: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies,. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2003) 57, 904-908.
• Kern M, Tjaden Z, Ngiewih Y, Puppel N, Will F, Dietrich H, Pahlke G, Marko D. Inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor in apple juice extract. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2005 Mar 9;49(4):317-328 [Epub ahead of print].
• Knekt P, Jarvinen R, Reunanen A, Maatela J. Flavonoid intake and coronary mortality in Finland: a cohort study. BMJ 1996 Feb 24;312 (7029): 478-81.
• Liu RH, Liu J, Chen B. Apples prevent mammary tumors in rats. J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Mar 23;53(6):2341-3.
• Mahan K, Escott-Stump S. Krause's Food, Nutrition, and Diet Therapy. WB Saunders Company; Philadelphia, 1996.
• Pearson DA, Tan CH, German JB, et al. Apple juice inhibits low density lipoprotein oxidation. Life Sci 1999;64(21):1913-20.
• Sable-Amplis R, Sicart R, Agid R. Further studies on the cholesterol-lowering effect of apple in humans. Biochemical mechanisms involved. Nutr Res 1983;3:325-8.
• Solovchenko A, Schmitz-Eiberger M. Significance of skin flavonoids for UV-B-protection in apple fruits. J Exp Bot. Aug;54(389):1977-84. Epub 2003 Jun 18.
• Van Der Sluis AA, Dekker M, Skrede G. Activity and concentration of polyphenolic antioxidants in apple juice. 1. Effect of existing production methods. J Agric Food Chem 2002 Dec 4;50(25):7211-9.
• Wood, Rebecca. The Whole Foods Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall Press; 1988.

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Cost of a lie

There was an exhibition in a town.

The entry ticket prices were fixed as Rs.10 for adults, Rs.5 for children above 10 years and Rs.3 for smaller children.

A man went to the exhibition with his young looking son. The son was 11 years old but looked much younger than that age.

He asked for an adult ticket and a ticket for a 11 year old child.

The counter clerk asked the man if his child was 11 years old as he looked younger. He even suggested to that man that he could have easily got away by declaring the age of the son less than 11 and thereby saved Rs.2.

The man replied. "Yes, I would have saved Rs.2 today, but my son would have easily known that I told a lie for a gain of Rs.2. And what do you think he will do if he grows up?"

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Random Thought:

What is the cost of inefficiency?

Efficient man's time.

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Befitting Body Language

"He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of every pore."

Sigmund Freud

BODY language is a largely unconscious, yet a revealing aspect of our true selves. It's not what we say but how we say something is important. Many a time we speak volumes without even uttering a word. Communication is a package deal of verbal, non-verbal and vocal cues. Through extensive communication research, it has been discovered that words account for a tiny seven percent of a message's impact. The rest comes from non-verbal cues, such as voice tone and facial expression. It's only when we interpret all the cues, that we get the whole message - or what you end up with is a partial communication.

Remember how we've been taught not to believe everything we hear? Only believe what you sense and see, such as body language and its associated meaning. If someone compliments you with a smirk on his face, are you going to feel flattered?

Body Language is also the most powerful method of validating your words. Even if you say the most meaningful sentence with a deadpan expression, nobody will believe you. Your expressions, body, gestures and vocal pitch must match your words. Body language is what gives meaning to words; it causes the message to reach the heart and brain.

There are instances when words fail us in our efforts to convey a message. Often, we don't reveal how we feel about people or what we actually mean when we say something. Sometimes a `no' means a `yes' or a `maybe' implies `no'. So, to make the meaning of our words clear, we use body language. We use body language all the time.

Since humans are social creatures, when two people come into contact, they begin exchanging non-verbal communication signals. Just the very presence of another person marks the beginning of communication. It's not possible to be not communicating when amongst people.

Also related to non-verbal communication is self-presentation - appearance. Would you dress up in your best to go to the local grocery for milk? On occasions like interviews, public performances and formal events, one may choose to manipulate impressions in order to impress upon others about one's desirable qualities in an effort to strengthen self-image.

Culture is a strong determinant of body language - of how we use and interpret it. It is wise to remember that meaning of certain gestures varies from culture to culture. Workplace culture has its own set of rules and interpretations. Out here you really need to be more specific and meaningful, so your gestures should match your words.

Nobody has the time or patience to find out what you really mean, why you are behaving in a certain way, or what your underlying issues may be. There's a lot to be said about people at the workplace from the way they sit or stand, shake hands, look and speak, move and use their body. You can read people by observing their facial expressions, vocal qualities, hand gestures, body movements, posture, etc.

They can be judged at the intuitive level by observing all of these movements. Body language is especially important in the corporate world as it can be used to influence decisions and turn the tide in your favour.

In order to send the right messages at work, be conscious of how you use your body:

Don't be stiff: Use the body - it ought to move. It speaks when words fail you. One who says the right words but doesn't use his body to send compatible signals comes across as insincere, impersonal and ineffective person.

Don't gesticulate too much: Be aware of how much you are using your body. Too much gesturing can be annoying, distracting and makes you appear hyperactive. Remember to use your body to score a point, not lose one.

Don't just tell, show: When you're making a presentation, attending an interview or holding a meeting, show them how good you are. Use gestures, expressions and, in fact, perform to hold your audience's attention.

Imbibe mannerisms: Imagine which mannerisms you like and adopt those that best suit you and your purpose. If you like a certain way, work on it. Don't adopt mannerisms that are incongruent and awkward with what you are as a person. Gestures are meant to be natural, not artificial. Or the whole purpose of using gestures gets lost as they are supposed to substantiate and give credibility to your words.

Dress appropriately: Our outer garb is also a reflection of how we want to appear and what statement we are trying to make. Clothes should enhance your purpose, not distract it. These are conscious forms of body language wherein we try to make an impact on a select audience.

It is fascinating to understand body language and use it to our advantage. Apart from making communication more effective and interesting, an understanding of body language will go a long way towards improving our ability to make out when a person is lying and sense where one's opponent's interests lay.

By SALMA ALIAKBAR

Source: http://www.hindu.com (India's national newspaper)

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How to set goals to succeed?

How to set goals to succeed

IN ANY game we play, how do we know we have won? In cricket, we know we have won when we score a number of runs within the stipulated overs without losing wickets. Similarly in life and in the workplace, we know we have won or are doing well when we have kept the `score' or set goals and targets. Without goals, we are just meandering and drifting, getting a false sense of playing without growing or accomplishing anything solid and tangible. A goal gives us a sense of purpose, direction and is a constant reminder of the focus we need, should we temporarily deviate.

Goals are beneficial in the workplace because they keep us focussed on what we want to achieve. They are, in essence, a measure of our progress. After you determine what it is that you would like to achieve, it is important that you state your goal in a way that is realistic to your situation. Use the following guidelines when setting your goals.

1. Write them down: When dealing with your goals it is beneficial to write them down so you have a visual representation of what you wish to accomplish. That way you can look at it every day and be reminded of them.

2. Make goals clear: It is important that your goals are clear and concise and state exactly what you wish to achieve. Be as specific as possible when creating your goals. For instance, state the date by which you want to accomplish your goal as well as the methods you are going to use to reach it. If your goal is too vague there is more of a chance that you might not be driven to accomplish it.

3. Make goals reasonable and measurable: Remember that your mission is to actually accomplish your goal! Therefore, be realistic with what you wish to achieve. However, this is not saying that you should forget about long-term goals. In dealing with larger aspirations, it may be more advantageous to break goals into smaller 'sub-goals' that are easier to tackle. And don't forget to make them measurable so that you can measure whether they have been achieved and to what degree.

4. Be flexible: Often we may not be able to accomplish our goals on the first try. Don't let that frustrate you! Sometimes goals need to be evaluated and altered. We cannot account for certain roadblocks, so feel free to alter your goals when it is necessary.

Setting goals will assist you in your own development. You will achieve a sense of pride when you look back on the goals that you have accomplished and will be even more determined to set higher goals for yourself in the future.

PALLAVI JHA

Managing Director
Dale Carnegie Training India
Thanks to THE HINDU

M.S. Dhoni - The upcoming unconventional king of cricket
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The Fountain Head - That opened my mind

It was late 1991 when I read this book The Fountain Head by Ayn Rand.

I never realised the impact that book was going to make in my life and ability to think at that time. My entire outlook to the world and people changed to a great extent after I completed reading that book.

Since then, I have shared this fact with many of my friends. And to some of them I have read out this part of the book appearing in its final chapter where the hero, Howard Roark defends himself before a Jury to plead that he was "not guilty" (note that I am not using "plead his innocence").

I also wanted to digitise the pleading of Howard Roark in some manner so that I can share with people by just pointing to a URL on the web or take a print out when necessary.

Here it is.

I do hope that reading this will make some difference to your life. Its a long one, so do read it with focus and may be by taking a print out.

Do write to me your feedback to my id samutils at gmail dot com

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"Thousands of years ago, the first man discovered how to make fire. He was probably burned at the stake he had taught his brothers to light. He was considered an evildoer who had dealt with a demon mankind dreaded. But thereafter men had fire to keep them warm, to cook their food, to light their caves. He had left them a gift they had not conceived and he had lifted darkness off the earth. Centuries later, the first man invented the wheel. He was probably torn on the rack he had taught his brothers to build. He was considered a transgressor who ventured into forbidden territory. But thereafter, men could travel past any horizon. He had left them a gift they had not conceived and he had opened the roads of the world.

"That man, the unsubmissive and first, stands in the opening chapter of every legend mankind has recorded about its beginning. Prometheus was chained to a rock and torn by vultures--because he had stolen the fire of the gods. Adam was condemned to suffer--because he had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Whatever the legend, somewhere in the shadows of its memory mankind knew that its glory began with one and that that one paid for his courage.

"Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received--hatred. The great creators--the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors--stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The first airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.

"No creator was prompted by a desire to serve his brothers, for his brothers rejected the gift he offered and that gift destroyed the slothful routine of their lives. His truth was his only motive. His own truth, and his own work to achieve it in his own motive. His own truth, and his own work to achieve it in his own way. A symphony, a book, an engine, a philosophy, an airplane, or a building--that was his goal and his life. Not those who heard, read, operated, believed, flew or inhabited the thing he had created. The creation, not its users. The creation, not the benefits others derived from it. The creation which gave form to his truth. He held his truth above all things and against all men.

"His vision, his strength, his courage cam from his own spirit. A man's spirit, however, is his self. That entity which is his consciousness. To think, to feel, to judge, to act are functions of the ego.

"The creators were not selfless. It is the whole secret of their power-- that it was self-sufficient, self-motivated, self-generated. A first cause, a fount of energy, a life force, a Prime Mover. The creator served nothing and no one. He had lived for himself.

"And only by living for himself was he able to achieve the things which are the glory of mankind. Such is the nature of achievement.

"Man cannot survive except through his mind. He comes on earth unarmed. His brain is his only weapon. Animals obtain food by force. Man has no claws, no fangs, no horns, no great strength of muscle. He must plant his food or hunt it. To plant, he needs a process of thought. To hunt, he needs weapons, and to make weapons--a process of thought. From this simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from a single attribute of man--the function of his reasoning mind.

"But the mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain. There is no such thing as a collective thought. An agreement reached by a group of men is only a compromise or an average drawn upon many individual thoughts. it is a secondary consequence. The primary act--the process of reason--must be performed by each man alone. We can divide a meal among many men. We cannot digest it in a collective stomach. No man con use his brain to think for another. All the functions of body and spirit are private. They cannot be shared or transferred.

"We inherit the products of the thought of other men. We inherit the wheel. We make a cart. The cart becomes an automobile. The automobile becomes an airplane. But all through the process what we receive from others is only the end product of their thinking. The moving force is the creative faculty which takes this product as material, uses it and originates the nest step. This creative faculty cannot be given or received, shared or borrowed. It belongs to single individual men. That which it creates is the property of the creator. Men learn from one another. But all learning is only the exchange of material. No man can give another the capacity to think. Yet that capacity is our only means of survival.

"Nothing is given to man on earth . Everything he needs has to be produced. And here man faces his basic alternative: he can survive in only one of two ways-- by the independent work of his own mind or as a parasite fed by minds of others. The creator originates. The parasite borrows. The creator faces nature alone. The parasite faces nature through an intermediary.

"The creator's concern is the conquest of nature. The parasite's concern is the conquest of men.

"The creator lives for his work. He needs no other men. His primary goal is within himself. The parasite lives second-hand. He needs others. Others become his prime motive.

"The basic need of the creator is independence. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be curbed, sacrificed or subordinated to any consideration whatsoever. It demands total independence in function and in motive. To a creator, all relations with men are secondary.

"The basic need of the second-hander is to secure his ties with men in order to be fed. He places relations first. He declares that man exists in order to serve others. He preaches altruism.

"Altruism is the doctrine which demands that man live for others and place others above self.

"No man can live for another. He cannot share his spirit just as he cannot share his body. But the second-hander has used altruism as a weapon of exploitation and reversed the base of mankind's moral principles. Men have been taught every precept that destroys the creator. Men have been taught dependence as a virtue.

"The man who attempts to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption. It is impossible in concept. The nearest approach to it in reality--the man who lives to serve others--is the slave. If physical slavery is repulsive, how much more repulsive is the concept of servility of the spirit? The conquered slave has a vestige of honor. He has the merit of having resisted and of considering his condition evil. But the man who enslaves himself voluntarily in the name of love is the basest of creatures. He degrades the dignity of man and he degrades the conception of love. But this is the essence of altruism.

"Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution--or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement.

"Men have been taught that their first concern is to relieve the suffering of others. But suffering is a disease. Should one come upon it, one tries to give relief and assistance. To make that the highest test of virtue is to make suffering the most important part of life. Then man must wish to see others suffer--in order that he may be virtuous. Such is the nature of altruism. The creator is not concerned with disease, but with life. Yet the work of the creators has eliminated one form of disease after another, in man's body and spirit, and brought more relief from suffering than any altruist could ever conceive.

"Men have been taught that it is a virtue to agree with others. But the creator is the man who disagrees. Men have been taught that it is a virtue to swim with the current. But the creator is the man who goes against the current. Men have been taught that it is a virtue to stand together. But the creator is the man who stands alone.

"Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egotist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge, or act. These are functions of the self.

"Here the basic reversal is most deadly. The issue has been perverted and man has been left no alternative-and no freedom. As poles of good and evil, he was offered two conceptions: egotism and altruism. Egotism was held to mean the sacrifice of others to self. Altruism--the sacrifice of self to others. This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain borne for the sake of others or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self. When it was added that man must find joy in self-immolation, the trap was closed. Man was forced to accept masochism as his ideal--under the threat that sadism was his only alternative. This was the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind.

"This was the device by which dependence and suffering were perpetuated as fundamentals of life.

"The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination. The choice is independence or dependence. The code of the creator or the code of the second-hander. This is the basic issue. It rest upon the alternative of life or death. The code of the creator is built on the needs of the reasoning mind which allows man to survive. The code of the second-hander is built on the needs of a mind incapable of survival. All that which proceeds from man's dependence upon men is evil.

"The egoist in the absolute sense is not the man who sacrifices others. He is the man who stands above the need of using others in any manner. He does not function through them. He is not concerned with them in any primary matter. Not in his aim, not in his motive, not in his thinking, not in his desires, not in the source of his energy. He does not exist for any other man--and he asks no man to exist for him. This is the only form of brotherhood and mutual respect possible between men.

"Degrees of ability vary, but the basic principle remains the same: the degree of a man's independence, initiative and personal love for his work determines his talent as a worker and his worth as a man. Independence is the only gauge of human virtue and value. What a man is and makes of himself; not what he has or hasn't done for others. There is no substitute for personal dignity. There is no standard of personal dignity except independence.

"In all proper relationships there is no sacrifice of anyone to anyone. An architect needs clients, but he does not subordinate his work to their wishes. They need him, but they do not order a house just to give him a commission. Men exchange their work by free, mutual consent to mutual advantage when their personal interests agree and they both desire the exchange. If they do not desire it, they are not forced to deal with each other. They seek further. Anything else is a relation of slave to master, or victim to executioner.

"No work is ever done collectively, by a majority decision. Every creative job is achieved under the guidance of a single individual thought. An architect requires a great many men to erect his building. But he does not ask them to vote on his design. They work together by free agreement and each is free in his proper function. An architect uses steel, glass, concrete, produced by others. But the materials remain just so much steel, glass and concrete until he touches them. What he does with them is his individual product and his individual property. This is the only pattern for proper co-operation among men.

"The first right on earth is the right of the ego. Man's first duty is to himself. His moral law is never to place his prime goal within the persons of others. His moral obligation is to do what he wishes, provided his wish does not depend primarily upon other men. This includes the whole sphere of his creative faculty, his thinking, his work. But it does not include the sphere of the gangster, the altruist and the dictator.

"A man thinks and works alone. A man cannot rob, exploit or rule--alone. Robbery, exploitation and ruling presuppose victims. They imply dependence. They are the province of the second-hander.

"Rulers of men are not egoists. They create nothing. The exist entirely through the persons of others. Their goal is in their subjects, in the activity of enslaving. They are as dependent as the beggar, the social worker and the bandit. The form of dependence does not matter.

"But men were taught to regard second-handers--tyrants, emperors, dictators--as exponents of egotism. By this fraud they were made to destroy the ego, themselves and others. The purpose of the fraud was to destroy the creators. Or to harness them. Which is a synonym.

"From the beginning of history, the two antagonists have stood face to face: the creator and the second-hander. When the first creator invented the wheel, the first second-hander responded. He invented altruism.

""The creator--denied, opposed, persecuted, exploited--went on, moved forward and carried all humanity along on his energy. The second-hander contributed nothing to the process except the impediments. The contest has another name: the individual against the collective.

"The 'common good' of a collective--a race, a class, a state-- was the claim and justification of every tyranny ever established over men. Every major horror of history was committed in the name of an altruistic motive. Has any act of selfishness ever equaled the carnage perpetrated by disciples of altruism? Does the fault lie in men's hypocrisy or in the nature of the principle? The most dreadful butchers were the most sincere. They believed in the perfect society reached through the guillotine and the firing squad. Nobody questioned their right to murder since they were murdering for an altruistic purpose. It was accepted that man must be sacrificed for other men. Actors change, but the course of the tragedy remains the same. A humanitarian who starts with declarations of love for mankind and ends with a sea of blood. It goes on and will go on so long as men believe that an action is good if it unselfish. That permits the altruist to act and forces his victims to bear it. The leaders of collectivist movements ask nothing for themselves. But observe the results.

"The only good which men can do to one another and the only statement of their proper relationship is--Hands off!

"Now observe the results of a society built on the principle of individualism. This, our country. The noblest country in the history of men. The country of greatest achievement, greatest prosperity, greatest freedom. This country was not based on selfless service, sacrifice, renunciation or any precept of altruism. It was based on a man's right to the pursuit of happiness. His own happiness. Not anyone else's. A private, personal, selfish motive. Look at the results. Look into your own conscience.

"It is an ancient conflict. Men have come close to the truth, but it was destroyed each time and one civilization fell after another. Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.

"Now, in our age, collectivism, the rule of the second-hander and second-rater, the ancient monster, has broken loose and is running amuck. It has brought men to a level of intellectual indecency never equaled on earth. It has reached a scale of horror without precedent. It has poisoned every mind. It has swallowed most of Europe. It is engulfing our country.

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DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE

Dr. Gopalakrishnan succeeds Mr. Ratan Tata as Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd., the holding company for many of the Tata blue chips like Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Voltas etc.

Possibly he is the first Non - Tata person to head the Tata Empire.

Read this article by Dr. G - it is really interesting.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side!!

Move from one job to another, but only for the right reasons. It's yet another day at office. As I logged on to the marketing and advertising sites for the latest updates, as usual, I found the headlines dominated by 'who's' moving from one company to another after a short stint', and I wondered, why are so many people leaving one job for another? Is it passé now to work with just one company for a sufficiently long period?

Whenever I ask this question to people who leave a company, the answers I get are: "Oh, I am getting a 200% hike in salary" "Well I am jumping three levels in my designation" "Well they are going to send me abroad in six months".

Then, I look around at all the people who are considered successful today and who have reached the top - be it a media agency, an advertising agency or a company. I find that most of these people are the ones who stuck to the company, ground their heels and worked their way to the top. And, as I look around for people who change their jobs constantly, I find they have stagnated at some level, in obscurity.

In this absolute ruthless, dynamic and competitive environment, there are still no - short cuts to success or to making money. The only thing that continues to pay, as earlier is loyalty and hard work. Yes, it pays!

Sometimes, immediately, sometimes after a lot of time. But, it does pay. Does this mean that one should stick to an organization and wait for the golden moment?
Of course not.

After, a long stint, there always comes a time for moving in most organisations, but it is important to move for the right reasons, rather than the superficial ones, like money, designation or oversees trip.

Remember, no company recruits for charity. More often than not, when you are offered an unseemly hike in salary or designation that is disproportionate to what the company offers it current employees, there is always an unseemly bait attached. The result? You will, in the long term have reached the same level or may be lower levels than what you would have in your current company.

A lot of people leave their organisations because they are 'unhappy'. What is this so called unhappiness? I have been working for donkey years and there has never been a day when I am not unhappy about something in my work environment - boss, rude colleagues, fussy clients etc.

Unhappiness in a work place, to a large extent, is transient. If you look hard enough, there is always something to be unhappy about. But, more importantly, do I come to work to be "happy" in the truest sense?

If I think hard, the answer is "No".

Happiness is something you find with family, friends, may be a close circle of colleagues who have become friends. What you come to work for is to earn, build a reputation, satisfy your ambitions, be appreciated for your work ethics, face challenges and get the job done.

So, the next time you are tempered to move on, ask yourself why are you moving and what are you moving into?

Some questions are:

* Am I ready and capable of handling the new responsibility? If yes, what could be the possible reasons my current company has not offered me the same responsibility?

* Who are the people who currently handle this responsibility in the current and new company? Am I good as the best among them?

* As the new job offer has a different profile, why have I not given the current company the option to offer me this profile?

* Why is the new company offering the new job? Do they want me for my skills, or is that ulterior motive?

An honest answer to these will eventually decide where you go in your career - to the top of the pile in the long term (at the cost of short - term blips) or to become another average employee who gets lost with the time in wilderness?

"DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE" - Dr. Gopalakrishnan, Chairman TATA Sons.

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Love your job, not the Company

Late sitting
Speech by Infosys Chief Mentor Mr. Narayana Murthy

"I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more.

Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary. Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I don't know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace.

Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization. There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit.

Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors. My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. Correcting these mistakes r equires their time as well as the time and energy of others.

I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday. Another problem is that people who are in the office for long hours are not pleasant company. They often complain about other people (who aren't working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behaviour poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another.

As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work with a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday. Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:

1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the comics, watch a funny movie, dig the dirt, play with your Kids etc..
5) Eat well and sleep well.

This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2. Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts. They are hard for some of us because that requires personal change. They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them.

In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my eldest son. When he was a toddler, If people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep no matter how long the visit, and no matter what time of day it was! He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss something. Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out.

Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they don't want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble with this is that events will never stop happening. That is life! Things happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap. Things will happen while you're asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake.

Hence, "LOVE YOUR JOB BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY"

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Employees First

Richard Branson
Founder - Virgin Atlantic Airline that successfully took on British Airways

Ever the radical, Mr. Branson says his only business role model was a person who had failed. Fellow iconoclast and entrepreneur Freddie Laker had attempted to take on British Airways with a low-cost trans-Atlantic airline a few years earlier and had been driven out of business by the competition. Nevertheless, Mr. Branson, sensing a kindred spirit, sought Mr. Laker's counsel in the early 80's. The airline, Mr. Laker advised him, had to concentrate not just on low cost but also on offering quality and value for the money. It had to be innovative and, most of all, fun. The airline's employees, therefore, were the real asset, not the planes.

And it was Mr. Laker who brought out the Barnum in Mr. Branson. "Freddie Laker sat me down and said, 'If you are going to take on Pan Am, T.W.A. and British Airways, you've got to use yourself and get out there and realize that if you dress up in a captain's outfit when you launch the airline, you'll get on the front page. If you turn up in ordinary business clothes, you'll be lucky to get a mention. Remember, the photographers have a job to do; they'll turn up to one of your events and give you one chance. If you don't give them a photograph that will get them on the front page, they won't turn up to your next event.'"

Despite his public persona, Mr. Branson claims to be shy and introverted. He says he had to force himself to make speeches, embrace the photo opportunities and take part in the public relations soirees. But, he tells other chief executives, it can be done. "Before we launched the airline, I was a shy and retiring individual who couldn't make speeches and get out there," he says. "I had to train myself into becoming more of an extrovert."

And the metamorphosis has paid off. His outrageous stunts and accessibility to the media have provided huge competitive advantage in the brand wars. For example, his media stunts in introducing Virgin Atlantic's new "drive-through" airport check-in, and later Virgin Cola, spawned widespread newspaper coverage and led to five-minute segments on NBC's "Today" show and a national audience of millions of Americans -- at no cost to Virgin. He won a highly publicized libel settlement of nearly $1 million from British Airways in the early 1990's and milked the David-slaying-Goliath angle for all it was worth.

Mr. Branson is quite pleased that most business leaders remain below the parapets. "From a competitive point of view, the longer they continue to think that way, the better for us," he states. He relates a conversation with a BBC producer who told him that 99 out of 100 invitations to British chief executives to appear on television are refused. Conversely, Virgin is always available for air time. "With a television spot, you are reaching 10 million people," Mr. Branson says. "It would be bloody stupid to say no."

EMPLOYEES FIRST

A genius for publicity, however, is only one facet of Mr. Branson's business talent. Perhaps more crucial to his success is his order of priorities. While most chief executives focus on creating shareholder value and devote their attention primarily to customers, Mr. Branson believes that the correct pecking order is employees first, customers next and then shareholders. His logic is simple and sound: If your employees are happy, they will do a better job. If they do a better job, the customers will be happy, and thus business will be good and the shareholders will be rewarded.

To this end, Mr. Branson goes to unusual lengths. He regularly takes out entire flight crews for dinner and parties when he arrives on a Virgin Atlantic flight. He even stays at the crew's hotel rather than in expensive digs downtown. He gives every Virgin employee a Virgin card, which provides big discounts on the airline as well as at Virgin Megastores and other Virgin businesses.

Because of Virgin's many disparate businesses, Mr. Branson likens his role to that of a commander of many armies fighting battles around the world. "In a sense, you are ultimately directing the war, and the critical thing is constantly being in touch and motivating your troops and helping people if they've got a problem," he says.

So he is continually on the road, visiting Virgin businesses, talking with employees and customers. Mr. Branson is known for his ever-present notebook and pen, which he pulls out whenever he chats with employees or customers. He insists that this is a crucial element in his role as chairman and that by writing things down, he creates a regular list of items for immediate action. Most chief executives, he notes, will chat with employees in the course of their travels but by the next day will remember little of what they were told.

Mr. Branson reads mail from employees every morning before he does anything else. This habit, which he started in Virgin's early days, changes the company-employee dynamics dramatically. Employees do not hesitate to air their grievances directly to Mr. Branson, and he has proved with his actions that he not only listens but also responds. He says that although Virgin has 20,000 employees around the world today, he gets only 25 to 30 letters each morning. "It's not as many as you think because they know they can do it," he explains.

The letters run the gamut, from small ideas to frustrations with middle management. Mr. Branson addresses every one either by answering personally or by initiating some action. "Instead of needing a union when they have a problem, they come to me," he says. "I will give the employee the benefit of the doubt on most occasions." His loyalty to the rank-and-file employees is returned in kind. Working for Virgin, especially in Britain, is nothing short of a badge of honor.

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