Nash Notes

The fourth place. Gold Silver Bronze. Every Gold medal winner is happy. But do you know, the Silver medalist’s are less happy than bronze medalist’s. They are unhappy about missing gold while the bronze medallist is happy to be on the podium. Have we ever wondered what happens to the fourth place athlete in olympics? The world is sometimes cruel. We live in a society where winner takes it all. But let's spare a thought for people who are really good, but sometimes can't make the final step. There are countless world champion gymnasts swimmers track and field athletes who are not fortunate to win even a bronze medal. Roger Bannister the first man to run a mile under 4 mins and a legend finished 4th place in 1952 olympics. Milka Singh and PT Usha fastest Asian male and female sprinters respectively got 4th place in Olympics. Soccer legend, Pele, voted the athlete of last century never won an Olympic medal. Latest example. Novak Djokovic won 24 grand slams. Participated in 5 olymp

Dream teams In business or in sports have you been part of Dream teams? Dream teams dominate thier domain in results. have great camaraderie. and are remembered a long time, even after many decades for thier legacy. Did you know, for 28 years, 7 consecutive olympics from 1928 India won the field hockey gold. In 1935, cricket legend Don Bradman met hockey legend Dhyan Chand for the first time and watched him play for the Indian side that beat South Australia 10-1. "You score goals like runs in cricket," Bradman said to Chand after the match. Chand, who was born on August 29, 1905, won three Olympic gold medals with India. His team of 1928 to 1936 was the original Dream Team. In 1936, India beat Germany, 8-1 in olympics before Adolf Hitler in the stands at Berlin and showed how Brown men from India proved Hitlers White Aryan Supremacy theory wrong. Later in the same Olympic games Legend Jesse Owen's did it again. People of color can be world beaters given the right opportun

Strong and silent leaders  We are used to a world where, many times, showmanship triumphs substance. And People who don't walk the talk. So it's refreshing to see someone like Rahul Dravid who does things so quietly and calmly, it stands out for its principles  A few would recall when a university in Karnataka wanted to award him doctorate degree for his cricket success, he politely refused saying, he would rather study and specialize in some subject before getting it. Recently, Rahul Dravid refused BCCI's extra ₹2.5 crore ($300k) bonus over rest of his support staff for T20 World Cup victory. Keeping up with his principles of taking an equal share of prize bonus as the rest of his support staff, the outgoing head coach refused to take the additional ₹2.5 crore that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was awarding him — at par with members of the playing squad of India’s T20 World Cup winning team. Dravid had made a similar point as head coach of India’s winnin

We can learn a lot of leadership lessons from sport. Cricket is religion in India. it's like soccer in Brazil. You will have CEOs to Street vendors commenting on the game and I'm no different.  Today (Saturday 29th June 2024) is a momentous day for many Indians. Congratulations Team India. On becoming the world T20 Cricket champions 🏆 T20 Cricket world cup final had so many lessons. INDIA was the only undefeated team in the entire tournament. India beat USA, Afghanistan, England, Pakistan, Australia and finally South Africa to win the cup. In the finals, South Africa needed just 30 runs in 30 balls. The trophy was almost theirs. But In 5 overs SA got choked (again) and could score just 23 runs and lost many wickets. India kept thier nerves, won the game by 7 runs.  There was an all round display of brilliant batting bowling and fielding by India. Bumrahs brilliance in changing the course of the game by taking crucial wickets when momentum was in SAs favor, Surya presence of mi

Amazing Japan. Was fortunate to see the Sakura - Cherry blossom tree bloom with flowers this month in Japan. It symbolizes beauty and hope of spring after a harsh winter.  My first visit to Tokyo Japan was in 2003, almost 21 years back. Must have been to Japan, half a dozen times in my APJ roles. Japan the country, and Japanese people, never cease to amaze me.  My first impression of Japan as a foreigner in 2003, still remains fresh in my memory. The electric trains, the busy and energetic crowd, the clean surroundings, a sense of calm amidst chaos, the deep culture behind modern city, somehow reminded me of my hometown Madras (now Chennai). I felt instantly at home, even though I could not understand the language. The energy of the city was different from more laid back cities of Bangalore, Muscat and Singapore where I lived. Tokyo with over 25 million population is perhaps the biggest urban cluster in the world. In Tokyo I had seen many nice places. The Imperial palace, Tokyo tower,