Terror Spa- a Novel by A.J. Job Xavier

Neelu grew up as a tomboy and her fearlessness helped her get into the Indian Intelligence Bureau where she excels as a professional. Nishit is her counterpart in the Agency and together they have won the trust of Commander Johri the Chief and Valmiki and Head of Operations. Many successful operations behind them, they are now pitted against a gang that seems to cause havoc with no one able to trace the mystery behind the death and destruction caused by them.

Raghu is the face of the young, bright scientist in Bangalore where he leads the double life of an inventor of death inducing drugs while at the same time, a lecherous lover who leads his daily pick of lovers to unimaginable ecstasy and death. His experiments are supported by an international gang flush with funds and connections across the globe with plans to terrorise the world and control the world’s wealth.

Neelu, in a moment of weakness, following a setback in her long term relationship with Aswin, her childhood friend, turns to Sameer a married man and their torrent affair leads her to a point of no return as Sameer is being trained for nefarious activities by his mentors.

The Intelligence world is baffled by a series of blasts involving sweets and biscuits and by sheer chance manages to get some leads that take Nishit and a friendly Police officer from South Sudan, to a chase all across Africa. The controlling group from Europe tries their level best but Nishit and Pablo are able to get hold of material that the best forensic experts from the world over are eager to analyse.

Kathy a German girl, on a visit to Bangalore, gets into a deep relationship with Raghu who keeps her in a continuous state of excitement with his magic drugs and sex and when she leaves, develops a never felt longing for her. Kathy however has inhaled dangerous quantities of the magic drug powder developed by Raghu and takes seriously ill on her return to Germany, a fact her friend and IB operator Beena exploits and over the course of weeks, manages to get the authentic sample of the drugs used in the chocolate bombs.

Meanwhile Donald, an American, has been experimenting with a school in Delhi which trains  the future workforce for the world, those who work at night, by getting a number of children to sleep during the day and work at night. Though a laudable experiment, all is not well with the experiment as there are more sinister secrets in the goings on at the school, where Bhaskar, a mercenary from Pune supplies material meant for the heinous experiments being conducted by Raghu and his gang.

A number of parallel developments and plans made in different parts of the world combine to unite at Varanasi where the European Mafia has plans for major destruction but the IB gang, now better informed and prepared, outsmarts, at the cost of losing some of their most efficient operators.

In the end, with the seniors having retired, it is left for Nishit and Beena, to continue saving the world.

Job Xavier

98923 29188

jobxavier@hotmail.com

p.S. The book is available in print with the author.

Image Management- the New HR Challenge

Along with the need for enhancing the image of organisations felt for long, comes the need to build the Employee image. In short, along with Employer Branding, a major function of HR, comes now the need for an Employee Branding. 

Everyone remembers that very important day in their lives, be it the Campus selection interview, wedding, first overseas meeting or any other major event when we had to make an impression either personally or professionally. A recent article in the papers mentioned the huge amounts men spent on personal grooming, to look and feel well. Women have been traditional spenders on this count. Wannabe brides and grooms prepare for months in advance to look their best for the most eventful occasion of their lives.

Corporates have always felt the need for presenting themselves better at every forum. And over the years, the need for improving their corporate image especially through its people has gained considerable attention as an essential prop when doing business internationally.

The ABCs of Image( Appearance, Behaviour, Communication), help make those willing to undergo a transformation, more poised, polished and confident with one’s own authentic style. One may be tall, short, obese or even the most self conscious; these programs have helped transform persons in a manner that  help most revel in their own potential, leading on to tremendous success in the way they conduct themselves.

A person’s appearance directly affects his credibility, capabilities, body language and others’ perception about him. While for individuals, the impact would be restricted to a few close associates, for corporates, it could make or mar their business, especially where the global standards are concerned. One’s image speaks volumes even before the handshake or introductory remarks.

The Power of the Glance- the 3 second window one gets before actual exchange of words, is critical given the tremendous demand on one’s time and the quicker one is able to sum up a person, the faster  the chance of closing a deal. In a competitive market one needs more than just a smile and a firm handshake to move things. Image experts now work on a person from head to toe, not just the physical aspects, but also the inner self and feelings; all to build the personal brand. Experts teach individuals how to take control of their image, to project an image that helps others regard you more favourably. By combining personal and professional aspects of one’s life, Image consultants help create a powerful presence that enables one to:

1.       Have the right clothes selection for different occasions

2.       Dress attractively befitting one’s physical body shape

3.       Choose the right words to present a case,

4.       Leave a lasting impression on the audience.

Image Consulting is a young concept and has some leading practitioners such as Judith Rasband, Ferial Youakim and other well established institutions around the world, offering an array of programs to both budding consultants as well as corporates. In India, Image consulting is more recent but fast growing to be a major player with a large number of corporates and individuals getting more conscious of the need to project themselves more professionally both for their personal as well as professional circles. Increasing globalisation is exposing corporates to the international arena where business demands are more stringent and cultural strains different, with different dress codes, etiquette, body language and communication rules. India’s acknowledged technical talent and business accumen find major hurdles in projecting the right image, often leaving them behind others from emerging countries.

There is therefore a crying need for the Indian corporates to transform themselves to be more presentable before the world. Our individually brilliant professionals need to repackage themselves in an image easily understood by the rest of the world. The HR and Training community must become more aware of the areas where such Image management is needed, not just for the overseas market but also to overhaul the current levels of image maintenance. Hence management schools, professional institutes, political academies as well as anyone who needs to be in the public eye, is getting more conscious of the image factor in their lives.

Having been introduced to Image Consulting by a few friends who have transformed themselves after undergoing these programs, I thought it fit to bring to the notice of my fellow HR professionals and all senior functionaries, the need to have a serious look at how we can make considerable improvements in the way we run and manage our image. As we have all been advised from our young days; first impressions create a lasting impact. And in these hectic days, the time available to make that first impression is extremely limited, as short as 3 seconds. So let us spend some time planning for those 3 seconds.

Your comments on the need to get involved in the Image Management process are most welcome.

Job Xavier

98923 29188

jobxavier@hotmail.com

HR and Doomsday

Overheard my teenage son last year talking to his friend’ just 17 years and we have to die next year on 21^st December” and they discussed various possibilities including asking their respective dads to allow them to go on a world cruise where they could try their luck with the Chinese Ark (all  points of discussion,  based on  the movie 2012)

While most of us have dismissed these prophesies the very same way we dismiss ‘this week’s luck’ in the Sunday papers, I was little surprised when a neighbour who is an HR Manager came rushing home, asking me for advice (free of course) on how to tackle a possible employee disturbance on that day both in their factory as well as the head office in Mumbai.

“I am not the only one” he added while we were travelling to town a few days later.” It seems the CEOs of a number of establishments especially in Nariman Point, with offices near the sea are genuinely worried about a possible panic situation and failing to find any viable solution from their most strategic teams have now approached the HR Managers to find an answer. I have come across at least 7 such hapless Managers” he completed as if in one breath.

“What they are looking for from us” he added, “is complete crowd management and least hysterical outbursts so that work goes on smoothly”

“If they are so confident that work must go on, there is no issue as they themselves do not fear a catastrophe or end of the world” I retorted.

“None of them are coming to office that day, as they all have planned for some meeting or other- in fact everyone knows they will be staying at home with their family”.

“Which means,” I said, “they want you to be the one to manage any problems in the company while they are safe indoors”

“We are lost sir” he entreated as he normally does when anything a little complicated is presented to him.” We need some advice from you, more experienced ones sir”

“As I recall, I have not had any such end of the world experience. The closest I came to was watching TV when the Tsunami hit coastal India in 2005” I added, hoping he would take the hint.

As he and later on a few more others like him made a fervent plea that I should help, I have the following proposal for all our HR colleagues who may face a similar dilemma:

1.Qucikly design a Standard Operating Procedure ( SOP) that will be approved by the Board and communicated to all as acceptable mode of behaviour for the day.( Not your problem if the Board or the CEO does not approve the proposal. You did your duty.)

2.  Delegate tasks to all in the HR team, asking each one of your team to be available at strategic positions within the company premises, ready to help the human capital that will be lost for directions during the day.

3. Advise all HoDs in the company asking them to attend a drill one day prior to the event. Those who cannot make it the day before should necessarily be present from 7 a.m. on the day to mentor and guide staff as per the approved SOPs.

3. The Maintenance team must keep all equipments including common vehicles in complete readiness, to ride across fast sinking roads. Plants must run at full mast as a recent study has indicated that the forward motion of the motors will act as a deterrent to heavily approaching flood waters.

4. All pets and animals including those at home must be fully secured not to repeat incidents similar to those that happened in the Life of Pi.

5. The HR Managers may have to withstand heavy family pressures if they need to spend the night at the factory premises, checking on all safety precautions.

6. The HR team must check on the utilization of Medical budget to see how much saving the department will make in case there are no survivors and hence no further need for medical aid. Similar calculations may be made on the salary, training as well as welfare budgets to show how much saving  is possible by the HR department, always considered as a cost centre.

7. When all arrangements are made and  rest of team assigned specific tasks, tell your Boss that you will be at the highest possible point in the city to watch out for disturbing signals so that you can warn everyone well in advance.

8. Once he agrees to your suggestion, go home, have a great dinner, share some stories with the kids and sleep late, ready to face everyone in the office on days that follow and take life as it comes.

All the best.

Job Xavier- Mumbai

98923 29188

P.S. just in case the event actually occurs, it has really been a pleasure knowing you.