This time I go back to early childhood. I am walking down the Mall Road in a hill station. It weaves around like a snake coiled on the incline 
of a steep hill. I am small and I walk on the edge side. I at times even climb the small dividing culverts that are placed at regular frequency. I a not afraid I have my hero my father with me.
Like every other hill station here too there are shops on one side and on the other side there are hilly people selling the warmer cloth, corn, peanuts, ice cream and Balloons. Balloons interest me. I am pulled towards it, my father smiles. I love that smile, it means I will soon be the proud owner of a balloon that may escape but for me possessive grip on the thread that pulls it down.
The same cannot be said for the other kid of my age who is with his mother. As I turned to leave, my shoulder brushes against him and silly of him, he leaves the thread that holds his red balloon down. He starts weeping. I have taken a few steps away from the situation. Aunty is looking at me. My mother is looking at my father and me.
He looks at me and then says ‘Go and Slap that kid’
Mother turns back and is looking very alarmed
My father repeats the statement ‘Go and hit that kid’
I move and under complete patronage of my father, I slap the kid.
Aunty is furious and we have a scene at the mall road. There are arguments and counter arguments that makes no sense to me. I have already started eyeing the ice-cream stall at the turn. At the end- nothing much happens and we all go our way.
When we reach the hotel, my mother does not wait and she comes straight to the point. She questions stupidity of my father’s advice and my action. Why are you asking him to slap the kid?
I am too young to understand the subject and it only came in later to understand a part of it. His argument or you may say the logic was plain simple and it was more to do with life than management but you could read in between.
Well, the moment that kid let go of his balloon when our son shoulder hit him, it was definite that a fiery argument was on its way. So why fight for something small. Hitting that kid gave me reason to say sorry. Anyway I would have had to do that, since our kid was involved. More so, by being slapped hopefully the kid will remember that he has to take better care of his assets. Weeping gets you now where, though it is easy to put the blame on someone there is always a price of doing so.
And what were you teaching our son. Mother is not finished with her argument.
Oh that is quite simple. Never fight for small things.
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LIFE LESSONS IN MANAGEMENT
Do you have a Yellow Umbrella?
Riding IPZEH
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I strongly believe that all Marketing and Management can be learnt through observation in life. And there are instances when people have given you lessons in the same without referring to any specific branded theory or model. After sharing some 75 episodes in advertising and marketing, here I will be sharing few of Advertising, Marketing and Management lessons delivered in real life. No, I am not finished with the episodes series. As and when I get new one and when people share with me, they will feature here.……………………………………………
