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text:
The Omega Point
Moderator actions: Unpublish
murfeel
27312Views4.4Rating
A mesmerizing tale of magic, and the risks one takes to master it....
A mesmerizing tale of magic, and the risks one takes to master it.... In another time, in another world, there once lived a magician known far and wide as Heironymus the Black. In those days magic was a fairly common trade, that just about any novice could dabble in with enough simoleons--but Heironymous the Black was not your run of the mill sidestreet charlatan, or snooty court alchemist--far from it.
In fact, Heironymous had never even been to court (though kings and queens consulted him regularly), or charged a single simoleon for his services (though those he helped often paid him well), and many had never even seen him in person. But he would come to people in dreams, and could see visions, and whenever one of his dragon familiars was spotted with a missive bearing his seal everyone shuddered as if a cold shadow had descended, for Heironymous always spoke truth, and often saw things that could not--or should not--be seen. Oh, Heironymous was wise in the ways of Les Mysteres, no doubt, for he often travelled great distances to learn all that he could about the secret powers of the universe. An adept at the Hermetic Mysteries and a veritable wizard when it came to illusory spells, hypnosis and phantasms, Heironymous' benign tricks and staggering miracles boggled the mind and awed the spectators.
And yet Heironymous was always on the move; never satisfied; always reaching for that invisible unattainable boundary beyond his limits, beyond his awareness--that infinitesimal space so overlooked by other magicians due to its fragility and complex nature. The Omega Point, where true power dwelled, that surpassed any sleight of hand or invocation of the elements.
The spell to end all spells.
One day, Heironymous found it--it matters not where or when. What matters is what happened to Heironymous as a result.... Heironymous put the finishing touches to his spell, making certain that every ingredient and every arcane accoutrement was in place. His dragon familiars watched from a safe distance, advising him on the best temperature to boil the mandrake roots, and the proper enunciation of complicated Words of Power. When all was in perfect readiness Heironymous nodded his head.
"Master," spoke Morning Glory, his gentle Purple dragon, "are you certain you want to go through with this?"
"I have waited one hundred years and a day for this moment. I have everything. I know everything. I am Heironymos the Black, and I will not wait another moment. You know this, and you know the suffering I have borne, to reach this apex, this pinnacle. You know I cannot--I WILL NOT--stop now. Now stop worrying, Sir, or you'll hurt the spell. I shall have no negative energies inhibiting the flow of the aethers."
Morning Glory bowed his crested head, shamed by this reprimand. "Of course, Master."
"Bella Donna," Heironymous called to his Black dragon, who had observed his preparations in relative silence, compared to her more outspoken companion familar. "Dim the lights, and bolt the doors."
"Yes, Master." With a fluttering of her sable wings it was done, and Heironymous' lair was all soon all shadow and quiet as he gathered his energies.
When he was ready he began to speak, the words of his Magnum Opus triggering a ripple effect throughout the aethers as they unlocked the liminal portals to great magic, which Heironymous sought desperately to reach, and pass through. In his mind's eye he could see the pathways opening, unfolding like petals in a great flower that bloomed and gave forth a spray of divine light, hot and cold, bright and shadowed, expansive yet contained. The flow of space time was sucking him in, carrying him on a current into nothing and everything, and Heironymous was never more terrified in his life. He could see himself, moving closer and farther away every second, and he knew in his heart that he was dying--being killed; torn apart by the magic that was too big for him--but oh! the Omega Point was THERE, and it was so beautiful. He had thought it was a single flower opening, when really it was but one blossom on a great tree, in a veritable garden, and in that garden there was singing; Heironymous heard voices like unto a symphony, beautiful and dreadful, all telling him to GO BACK.
"No. NO!" And finally he was there again, in his lair, his dragons squawking and crying out in alarm.
Heironymous had very little time to come to his senses, as he became terribly aware that all of the gates to the magic that he had stepped through were still open--and that something was definitely coming out.
Heironymous scrambled, trying to break the circles, cut the links, and douse the candles, but it was too late--IT was too insistent, too strong, and IT was coming through rapidly, bending the magic to ITS will so that the way was open and IT could emerge, whole. "Ahhh.... My thanks to you, Master Heironymous." IT stood in silence before him, having come from nothing, as if birthed from the womb of darkness or issued forth from the crack of doom.
"W-who...WHAT are you?"
IT spoke with a voice that came from everywhere at once, bombarding Heironymous' ears with its force, thoug it was soft-spoken, his loud whispers making the chandeliers chime and the floor rumble.
"I am you, Master Heironymous. I am your will; all that you ever desired. What do you will of me?"
"S-s-stay back!! Come no farther!"
"Is that what you truly want, Master?" Heironymous' mind was in shambles; even as he hurriedly armed himself and beckoned his shrieking familiars to his side he could not for the life of him recall the Words to one single spell, or think of one item or ingredient or reagent at his disposal that could help him.
"There is no need to fear me. Do you fear yourself? I am you. I am here to help you."
"Help me? How could a demon possibly help me, for a demon is what you are! I do not dabble in black magics, sir!"
"Perhaps what you say is true. Then again...people lie to themselves all the time--"
"Stop that!"
"Master," IT laughed, almost incredulous. "What would you have of me? You called, and I have answered. Your wish is my command. Is that not why you said my name and awoke me from my slumber?" Heironymos bristled. "I have NEVER called on demons to help me with my magic. You took advantage of the rip in space-time and stole your way into the world. You are a liar, and you want only to confound me, so that you can steal my soul as you no doubt have countless others! I'll ask nothing of you. I ORDER you to go back to the abyss from whence you came! I'll make no deals with devils!"
"Oh, but you have. I was there--with you in the Shang Simlan Temple when you decieved those monks and made off with Pangu's Axe--a fiercely powerful tool is it not--the most powerful athame in existence, which helped you cut through matter AND space in order to unlock the portals to reach ME, no?"
The magician was aghast. "How DARE you besmirch my good name! The axe was PAYMENT!"
"Payment indeed! And what of the Philosoper's Stone you possess? Is there not a certain wizarding school near Dragon Valley that is missing your goodly 'reward for services rendered'?"
"THEY asked ME to be their top professor! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity--!"
"And what an opportunistic thief you are, Master. Your lair is a pirate's cache of magic. Not even your precious familiars can come to your defense on that." The room shook as IT chuckled, vastly amused by the look on Heironymous' face. "Your heart is as black as your name. I told you--I. Am. You. You wanted me. Here I am--bone of your bone and flesh of your flesh. You said my name and woke me from my slumber. What would have of me, Master? I live only to serve you." This had gone on long enough. Heironymous refused to be belittled by some sinister demon who had snuck its way into the world from some other dimension. "I don't know what you are or why you've come here, but your minutes are up."
"Time has no meaning for me, wizard. Was that supposed to be a threat?"
IT stepped closer, and Heironymous was quick to call on the aid of his familiars, who came swooping down to defend their Master, only to be rendered unconcious by IT with a mere wave of the hand. Each fell to the floor in a cold stupor, It stepping carelessly over their forms and sighing, quite bored with the theatrics.
"Feeble. Truly feeble."
"Devil. MONSTER! Ah, now you show your true colors!"
"I can show you much more than that. Their abilities were limited, thus they were bested easily. Master, I shall be the greatest familiar you have ever possessed. I am raw power incarnate. In all your time you have ony tasted but a sample of what an alliance with ME would offer."
"Stay BACK!"
"Come master. You have only to say my name again, and we shall never be separated. POWER. Yours...forever!"
"IF you are so powerful, then why do you need ME? Your limits are clear enough--you are but a parasitic night-mare who can only survive when leeching off of the essense of another!"
"I told you from the beginning...I am you. I cannot be without you. I am your innermost potential. It is time that you made use of what I have to offer. You said my name and woke me from my slumber. We shall be one. You are ready."
"READY? Ah yes--quite ready...to send you back to the abyss!" Heironymous found strength and resolve through his quickly rising anger and ever-present fear. The devil was insistent, but Heironymous had never been one to cave to the whims of another, especially when their wills ran opposite so. Something about this demon was terribly wrong, and IT's quiet earnestness and absurd declarations had the magician completely on his guard.
Heironymous threw up his hands, preparing his strongest Banishing spell to exile the demon to oblivion.
"What are you doing, Master?" IT laughed.
Heironymous began speaking the intricate weave of incantations, begging the gods to snatch up the fiend and bind him fast to the nether regions of the world where It could do no harm.
IT only sighed, "Do you still not understand that you and I are as one? MASTER..." IT reached out, trying to touch the magician. "NEVER! We are not the same! We are nothing alike! Get away from me--go back to where you came from!"
"You WANTED the Omega Point, Master! You ASKED for it--BEGGED, and the gods have given you your wish!!! TAKE MY HAND! You are my Alpha, and I am your Omega!! There can be no End without a Beginning--and ever Beginning begets its own End--to hurt me is only to deny yourself!"
With a cry Heironymous threw the entire force of his spell at the demon, his arms outstretched and his fingers splayed, his entire body shaking as the energy shot out of his core and slammed into IT.
The demon's body swelled, and at first Heironymous thought it might explode, but IT only seemed to be inhaling, as if taking a deep draught of the spell and absorbing it into ITs own black core, before letting out a contented sigh, the spell fizzling and sputtering out around IT.
And at the same moment, Heironymous was consumed with a terrible feeling, very real pain clenching his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.
"What is happening? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?" And that was the day Heironymous the Black was no more, for he had at last truly found *IT*...The Omega Point....
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Beb413Sep 30, 2013
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well done
MarijaJSep 15, 2013
This was great. I hope we'll see more Rated 5/5.
NisukiSep 15, 2013
Wow, that was awesome! noo! the dragons D: ! Hope to see more
kazukazu28Sep 14, 2013
Amazing story!
I hope you could make this into long story.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
How Leaders Create and Use Networks
Successful leaders have a nose for opportunity and a knack for knowing whom to tap to get things done. These qualities depend on a set of strategic networking skills that nonleaders rarely possess.
Mark Lee Hunter
From the Magazine (January 2007)
Reprint: R0701C
Most people acknowledge that networking—creating a fabric of personal contacts to provide support, feedback, insight, and resources—is an essential activity for an ambitious manager. Indeed, it's a requirement even for those focused simply on doing their current jobs well. For some, this is a distasteful reality. Working through networks, they believe, means relying on "who you know" rather than "what you know"—a hypocritical, possibly unethical, way to get things done. But even people who understand that networking is a legitimate and necessary part of their jobs can be discouraged by the payoff—because they are doing it in too limited a fashion.
On the basis of a close study of 30 emerging leaders, the authors outline three distinct forms of networking. Operational networking is geared toward doing one's assigned tasks more effectively. It involves cultivating stronger relationships with colleagues whose membership in the network is clear; their roles define them as stakeholders. Personal networking engages kindred spirits from outside an organization in an individual's efforts to learn and find opportunities for personal advancement. Strategic networking puts the tools of networking in the service of business goals. At this level, a manager creates the kind of network that will help uncover and capitalize on new opportunities for the company. The ability to move to this level of networking turns out to be a key test of leadership.
Companies often recognize that networks are valuable, and they create explicit programs to support them. But typically these programs facilitate only operational networking. Likewise, industry associations provide formal contexts for personal networking. The unfortunate effect is to give managers the impression that they know how to network and are doing so sufficiently. A sidebar notes the implication for companies' leadership development initiatives: that teaching strategic networking skills will serve their aspiring leaders and their business goals well.
The Idea in Brief
What separates successful leaders from the rest of the pack? Networking: creating a tissue of personal contacts to provide the support, feedback, and resources needed to get things done.
Yet many leaders avoid networking. Some think they don't have time for it. Others disdain it as manipulative.
To succeed as a leader, Ibarra and Hunter recommend building three types of networks:
Operational—people you need to accomplish your assigned, routine tasks.
Personal—kindred spirits outside your organization who can help you with personal advancement.
Strategic—people outside your control who will enable you to reach key organizational objectives.
You need all three types of networks. But to really succeed, you must master strategic networking—by interacting regularly with people who can open your eyes to new business opportunities and help you capitalize on them. Build your strategic network, and burnish your own—and your company's—performance.
The Idea in Practice
The most effective leaders understand the differences among the three types of networks and how to build them.
Operational network#Personal network#Strategic networkNetwork's purpose#Getting work done efficiently #Develop professional skills through coaching and mentoring; exchange important referrals and needed outside information.#Figure out future priorities and challenges; get stakeholder support for them.How to find network members#Identify individuals who can block or support a project.#Participate in professional associations, alumni groups, clubs, and personal-interest communities.#Identify lateral and vertical relationships with other functional and business-unit managers—people outside your immediate control—who can help you determine how your role and contribution fit into the overall picture.
Leveraging Your Networks
Networking takes work. To lessen the pain and increase the gain:
Mind your mind-set.
Accept that networking is one of the most important requirements of a leadership role. To overcome any qualms about it, identify a person you respect who networks effectively and ethically. Observe how he or she uses networks to accomplish goals.
Reallocate your time.
Master the art of delegation, to liberate time you can then spend on cultivating networks.
Establish connections.
Create reasons for interacting with people outside your function or organization; for instance, by taking advantage of social interests to set the stage for addressing strategic concerns.
An investment banker invited key clients to the theatre (a passion of hers) several times a year. Through these events, she developed her own business and learned things about her clients' companies that generated business and ideas for other divisions in her firm.
Give and take continually.
Don't wait until you really need something badly to ask for a favor from a network member. Instead, take every opportunity to give to—and receive from—people in your networks, whether you need help or not.
When Henrik Balmer became the production manager and a board member of a newly bought-out cosmetics firm, improving his network was the last thing on his mind. The main problem he faced was time: Where would he find the hours to guide his team through a major upgrade of the production process and then think about strategic issues like expanding the business? The only way he could carve out time and still get home to his family at a decent hour was to lock himself—literally—in his office. Meanwhile, there were day-to-day issues to resolve, like a recurring conflict with his sales director over custom orders that compromised production efficiency. Networking, which Henrik defined as the unpleasant task of trading favors with strangers, was a luxury he could not afford. But when a new acquisition was presented at a board meeting without his input, he abruptly realized he was out of the loop—not just inside the company, but outside, too—at a moment when his future in the company was at stake.
Henrik's case is not unusual. Over the past two years, we have been following a cohort of 30 managers making their way through what we call the leadership transition, an inflection point in their careers that challenges them to rethink both themselves and their roles. In the process, we've found that networking—creating a fabric of personal contacts who will provide support, feedback, insight, resources, and information—is simultaneously one of the most self-evident and one of the most dreaded developmental challenges that aspiring leaders must address.
Their discomfort is understandable. Typically, managers rise through the ranks by dint of a strong command of the technical elements of their jobs and a nose-to-the-grindstone focus on accomplishing their teams' objectives. When challenged to move beyond their functional specialties and address strategic issues facing the overall business, many managers do not immediately grasp that this will involve relational—not analytical—tasks. Nor do they easily understand that exchanges and interactions with a diverse array of current and potential stakeholders are not distractions from their "real work" but are actually at the heart of their new leadership roles.
Like Henrik (whose identity we've disguised, along with all the other managers we describe here), a majority of the managers we work with say that they find networking insincere or manipulative—at best, an elegant way of using people. Not surprisingly, for every manager who instinctively constructs and maintains a useful network, we see several who struggle to overcome this innate resistance. Yet the alternative to networking is to fail—either in reaching for a leadership position or in succeeding at it.
Watching our emerging leaders approach this daunting task, we discovered that three distinct but interdependent forms of networking—operational, personal, and strategic—played a vital role in their transitions. The first helped them manage current internal responsibilities, the second boosted their personal development, and the third opened their eyes to new business directions and the stakeholders they would need to enlist. While our managers differed in how well they pursued operational and personal networking, we discovered that almost all of them underutilized strategic networking. In this article, we describe key features of each networking form (summarized in the exhibit "The Three Forms of Networking") and, using our managers' experiences, explain how a three-pronged networking strategy can become part and parcel of a new leader's development plan.
The Three Forms of Networking Managers who think they are adept at networking are often operating only at an operational or personal level. Effective leaders learn to employ networks for strategic purposes.
Operational Networking
All managers need to build good working relationships with the people who can help them do their jobs. The number and breadth of people involved can be impressive—such operational networks include not only direct reports and superiors but also peers within an operational unit, other internal players with the power to block or support a project, and key outsiders such as suppliers, distributors, and customers. The purpose of this type of networking is to ensure coordination and cooperation among people who have to know and trust one another in order to accomplish their immediate tasks. That isn't always easy, but it is relatively straightforward, because the task provides focus and a clear criterion for membership in the network: Either you're necessary to the job and helping to get it done, or you're not.
Although operational networking was the form that came most naturally to the managers we studied, nearly every one had important blind spots regarding people and groups they depended on to make things happen. In one case, Alistair, an accounting manager who worked in an entrepreneurial firm with several hundred employees, was suddenly promoted by the company's founder to financial director and given a seat on the board. He was both the youngest and the least-experienced board member, and his instinctive response to these new responsibilities was to reestablish his functional credentials. Acting on a hint from the founder that the company might go public, Alistair undertook a reorganization of the accounting department that would enable the books to withstand close scrutiny. Alistair succeeded brilliantly in upgrading his team's capabilities, but he missed the fact that only a minority of the seven-person board shared the founder's ambition. A year into Alistair's tenure, discussion about whether to take the company public polarized the board, and he discovered that all that time cleaning up the books might have been better spent sounding out his codirectors.
One of the problems with an exclusive reliance on operational networks is that they are usually geared toward meeting objectives as assigned, not toward asking the strategic question, "What should we be doing?" By the same token, managers do not exercise as much personal choice in assembling operational relationships as they do in weaving personal and strategic networks, because to a large extent the right relationships are prescribed by the job and organizational structure. Thus, most operational networking occurs within an organization, and ties are determined in large part by routine, short-term demands. Relationships formed with outsiders, such as board members, customers, and regulators, are directly task-related and tend to be bounded and constrained by demands determined at a higher level. Of course, an individual manager can choose to deepen and develop the ties to different extents, and all managers exercise discretion over who gets priority attention. It's the quality of relationships—the rapport and mutual trust—that gives an operational network its power. Nonetheless, the substantial constraints on network membership mean these connections are unlikely to deliver value to managers beyond assistance with the task at hand.
As a manager moves into a leadership role, his or her network must reorient itself externally and toward the future.
The typical manager in our group was more concerned with sustaining cooperation within the existing network than with building relationships to face nonroutine or unforeseen challenges. But as a manager moves into a leadership role, his or her network must reorient itself externally and toward the future.
Personal Networking
We observed that once aspiring leaders like Alistair awaken to the dangers of an excessively internal focus, they begin to seek kindred spirits outside their organizations. Simultaneously, they become aware of the limitations of their social skills, such as a lack of knowledge about professional domains beyond their own, which makes it difficult for them to find common ground with people outside their usual circles. Through professional associations, alumni groups, clubs, and personal interest communities, managers gain new perspectives that allow them to advance in their careers. This is what we mean by personal networking.
Many of the managers we study question why they should spend precious time on an activity so indirectly related to the work at hand. Why widen one's circle of casual acquaintances when there isn't time even for urgent tasks? The answer is that these contacts provide important referrals, information, and, often, developmental support such as coaching and mentoring. A newly appointed factory director, for example, faced with a turnaround-or-close-down situation that was paralyzing his staff, joined a business organization—and through it met a lawyer who became his counsel in the turnaround. Buoyed by his success, he networked within his company's headquarters in search of someone who had dealt with a similar crisis. Eventually, he found two mentors.
A personal network can also be a safe space for personal development and as such can provide a foundation for strategic networking. The experience of Timothy, a principal in a midsize software company, is a good example. Like his father, Timothy stuttered. When he had the opportunity to prepare for meetings, his stutter was not an issue, but spontaneous encounters inside and outside the company were dreadfully painful. To solve this problem, he began accepting at least two invitations per week to the social gatherings he had assiduously ignored before. Before each event, he asked who else had been invited and did background research on the other guests so that he could initiate conversations. The hardest part, he said, was "getting through the door." Once inside, his interest in the conversations helped him forget himself and master his stutter. As his stutter diminished, he also applied himself to networking across his company, whereas previously he had taken refuge in his technical expertise. Like Timothy, several of our emerging leaders successfully used personal networking as a relatively safe way to expose problems and seek insight into solutions—safe, that is, compared with strategic networking, in which the stakes are far higher.
Personal networks are largely external, made up of discretionary links to people with whom we have something in common. As a result, what makes a personal network powerful is its referral potential. According to the famous six degrees of separation principle, our personal contacts are valuable to the extent that they help us reach, in as few connections as possible, the far-off person who has the information we need.
In watching managers struggle to widen their professional relationships in ways that feel both natural and legitimate to them, we repeatedly saw them shift their time and energy from operational to personal networking. For people who have rarely looked outside their organizations, this is an important first step, one that fosters a deeper understanding of themselves and the environments in which they move. Ultimately, however, personal networking alone won't propel managers through the leadership transition. Aspiring leaders may find people who awaken new interests but fail to become comfortable with the power players at the level above them. Or they may achieve new influence within a professional community but fail to harness those ties in the service of organizational goals. That's why managers who know they need to develop their networking skills, and make a real effort to do so, nonetheless may end up feeling like they have wasted their time and energy. As we'll see, personal networking will not help a manager through the leadership transition unless he or she learns how to bring those connections to bear on organizational strategy.
Strategic Networking
When managers begin the delicate transition from functional manager to business leader, they must start to concern themselves with broad strategic issues. Lateral and vertical relationships with other functional and business unit managers—all people outside their immediate control—become a lifeline for figuring out how their own contributions fit into the big picture. Thus strategic networking plugs the aspiring leader into a set of relationships and information sources that collectively embody the power to achieve personal and organizational goals.
From Functional Manager to Business Leader: How Companies Can Help
Executives who oversee management development know how to spot critical inflection points: the moments when highly successful people must change their perspective on what is important and, accordingly, how they spend their time. Many organizations still promote people on the basis of their performance in roles whose requirements differ dramatically from those of leadership roles. And many new leaders feel that they are going it alone, without coaching or guidance. By being sensitive to the fact that most strong technical or functional managers lack the capabilities required to build strategic networks that advance their personal and professional goals, human resources and learning professionals can take steps to help in this important area.
For example, Genesis Park, an innovative in-house leadership development program at PricewaterhouseCoopers, focuses explicitly on building networks. The five-month program, during which participants are released from their client responsibilities, includes business case development, strategic projects, team building, change management projects, and in-depth discussions with business leaders from inside and outside the company. The young leaders who participate end up with a strong internal-external nexus of ties to support them as their careers evolve.
Companies that recognize the importance of leadership networking can also do a lot to help people overcome their innate discomfort by creating natural ways for them to extend their networks. When Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn sought to break down crippling internal barriers at the company, he created cross-functional teams of middle managers from diverse units and charged them with proposing solutions to problems ranging from supply costs to product design. Nissan subsequently institutionalized the teams, not just as a way to solve problems but also to encourage lateral networks. Rather than avoid the extra work, aspiring leaders ask for these assignments.
Most professional development is based on the notion that successful people acquire new role-appropriate skills as they move up the hierarchy. But making the transition from manager to leader requires subtraction as well as addition: To make room for new competencies, managers must rely less on their older, well-honed skills. To do so, they must change their perspective on how to add value and what to contribute. Eventually, they must also transform how they think and who they are. Companies that help their top talent reinvent themselves will better prepare them for a successful leadership transition.
Operating beside players with diverse affiliations, backgrounds, objectives, and incentives requires a manager to formulate business rather than functional objectives, and to work through the coalitions and networks needed to sell ideas and compete for resources. Consider Sophie, a manager who, after rising steadily through the ranks in logistics and distribution, was stupefied to learn that the CEO was considering a radical reorganization of her function that would strip her of some responsibilities. Rewarded to date for incremental annual improvements, she had failed to notice shifting priorities in the wider market and the resulting internal shuffle for resources and power at the higher levels of her company. Although she had built a loyal, high-performing team, she had few relationships outside her group to help her anticipate the new imperatives, let alone give her ideas about how to respond. After she argued that distribution issues were her purview, and failed to be persuasive, she hired consultants to help her prepare a counterproposal. But Sophie's boss simply concluded that she lacked a broad, longer-term business perspective. Frustrated, Sophie contemplated leaving the company. Only after some patient coaching from a senior manager did she understand that she had to get out of her unit and start talking to opinion leaders inside and outside the company to form a sellable plan for the future.
What differentiates a leader from a manager, research tells us, is the ability to figure out where to go and to enlist the people and groups necessary to get there. Recruiting stakeholders, lining up allies and sympathizers, diagnosing the political landscape, and brokering conversations among unconnected parties are all part of a leader's job. As they step up to the leadership transition, some managers accept their growing dependence on others and seek to transform it into mutual influence. Others dismiss such work as "political" and, as a result, undermine their ability to advance their goals.
Several of the participants in our sample chose the latter approach, justifying their choice as a matter of personal values and integrity. In one case, Jody, who managed a department in a large company under what she described as "dysfunctional" leadership, refused even to try to activate her extensive network within the firm when internal adversaries took over key functions of her unit. When we asked her why she didn't seek help from anyone in the organization to stop this coup, she replied that she refused to play "stupid political games….You can only do what you think is the ethical and right thing from your perspective." Stupid or not, those games cost her the respect and support of her direct reports and coworkers, who hesitated to follow someone they perceived as unwilling to defend herself. Eventually she had no choice but to leave.
The key to a good strategic network is leverage: the ability to marshal information, support, and resources from one sector of a network to achieve results in another. Strategic networkers use indirect influence, convincing one person in the network to get someone else, who is not in the network, to take a needed action. Moreover, strategic networkers don't just influence their relational environment; they shape it in their own image by moving and hiring subordinates, changing suppliers and sources of financing, lobbying to place allies in peer positions, and even restructuring their boards to create networks favorable to their business goals. Jody abjured such tactics, but her adversaries did not.
Strategic networking can be difficult for emerging leaders because it absorbs a significant amount of the time and energy that managers usually devote to meeting their many operational demands. This is one reason why many managers drop their strategic networking precisely when they need it most: when their units are in trouble and only outside support can rescue them. The trick is not to hide in the operational network but to develop it into a more strategic one.
One manager we studied, for example, used lateral and functional contacts throughout his firm to resolve tensions with his boss that resulted from substantial differences in style and strategic approaches between the two. Tied down in operational chores at a distant location, the manager had lost contact with headquarters. He resolved the situation by simultaneously obliging his direct reports to take on more of the local management effort and sending messages through his network that would help bring him back into the loop with the boss.
Operational, personal, and strategic networks are not mutually exclusive. One manager we studied used his personal passion, hunting, to meet people from professions as diverse as stonemasonry and household moving. Almost none of these hunting friends had anything to do with his work in the consumer electronics industry, yet they all had to deal with one of his own daily concerns: customer relations. Hearing about their problems and techniques allowed him to view his own from a different perspective and helped him define principles that he could test in his work. Ultimately, what began as a personal network of hunting partners became operationally and strategically valuable to this manager. The key was his ability to build inside-outside links for maximum leverage. But we've seen others who avoided networking, or failed at it, because they let interpersonal chemistry, not strategic needs, determine which relationships they cultivated.
The word "work" is part of networking, and it is not easy work, because it involves reaching outside the borders of a manager's comfort zone. How, then, can managers lessen the pain and increase the gain? The trick is to leverage the elements from each domain of networking into the others—to seek out personal contacts who can be objective, strategic counselors, for example, or to transform colleagues in adjacent functions into a constituency. Above all, many managers will need to change their attitudes about the legitimacy and necessity of networking.
In our ongoing discussions with managers learning to improve their networking skills, we often hear, "That's all well and good, but I already have a day job." Others, like Jody, consider working through networks a way to rely on "whom you know" rather than "what you know"—a hypocritical, even unethical way to get things done. Whatever the reason, when aspiring leaders do not believe that networking is one of the most important requirements of their new jobs, they will not allocate enough time and effort to see it pay off.
The best solution we've seen to this trap is a good role model. Many times, what appears to be unpalatable or unproductive behavior takes on a new light when a person you respect does it well and ethically. For example, Gabriel Chenard, general manager for Europe of a group of consumer product brands, learned from the previous general manager how to take advantage of branch visits to solidify his relationships with employees and customers. Every flight and car trip became a venue for catching up and building relationships with the people who were accompanying him. Watching how much his boss got done on what would otherwise be downtime, Gabriel adopted the practice as a crucial part of his own management style. Networking effectively and ethically, like any other tacit skill, is a matter of judgment and intuition. We learn by observing and getting feedback from those for whom it's second nature.
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Work from the outside in.
One of the most daunting aspects of strategic networking is that there often seems to be no natural "excuse" for making contact with a more senior person outside one's function or business unit. It's difficult to build a relationship with anyone, let alone a senior executive, without a reason for interacting, like a common task or a shared purpose.
Some successful managers find common ground from the outside in—by, for instance, transposing a personal interest into the strategic domain. Linda Henderson is a good example. An investment banker responsible for a group of media industry clients, she always wondered how to connect to some of her senior colleagues who served other industries. She resolved to make time for an extracurricular passion—the theater—in a way that would enhance her business development activities. Four times a year, her secretary booked a buffet dinner at a downtown hotel and reserved a block of theater tickets. Key clients were invited. Through these events, Linda not only developed her own business but also learned about her clients' companies in a way that generated ideas for other parts of her firm, thus enabling her to engage with colleagues.
Other managers build outside-inside connections by using their functional interests or expertise. For example, communities of practice exist (or can easily be created on the Internet) in almost every area of business from brand management to Six Sigma to global strategy. Savvy managers reach out to kindred spirits outside their organizations to contribute and multiply their knowledge; the information they glean, in more cases than not, becomes the "hook" for making internal connections.
Savvy managers reach out to kindred spirits outside their organizations to contribute and multiply their knowledge; the information they glean, in more cases than not, becomes the "hook" for making internal connections.
Re-allocate your time.
If an aspiring leader has not yet mastered the art of delegation, he or she will find many reasons not to spend time networking. Participating in formal and informal meetings with people in other units takes time away from functional responsibilities and internal team affairs. Between the obvious payoff of a task accomplished and the ambiguous, often delayed rewards of networking, naive managers repeatedly choose the former. The less they practice networking, the less efficient at it they become, and the vicious cycle continues.
Henrik, the production manager and board member we described earlier, for example, did what he needed to do in order to prepare for board meetings but did not associate with fellow board members outside those formal events. As a result, he was frequently surprised when other board members raised issues at the heart of his role. In contrast, effective business leaders spend a lot of time every day gathering the information they need to meet their goals, relying on informal discussions with a lot of people who are not necessarily in charge of an issue or task. They network in order to obtain information continually, not just at formal meetings.
Ask and you shall receive.
Many managers equate having a good network with having a large database of contacts, or attending high-profile professional conferences and events. In fact, we've seen people kick off a networking initiative by improving their record keeping or adopting a network management tool. But they falter at the next step—picking up the phone. Instead, they wait until they need something badly. The best networkers do exactly the opposite: They take every opportunity to give to, and receive from, the network, whether they need help or not.
A network lives and thrives only when it is used. A good way to begin is to make a simple request or take the initiative to connect two people who would benefit from meeting each other. Doing something—anything—gets the ball rolling and builds confidence that one does, in fact, have something to contribute.
Stick to it.
It takes a while to reap the benefits of networking. We have seen many managers resolve to put networking at the top of their agendas, only to be derailed by the first crisis that comes along. One example is Harris Roberts, a regulatory affairs expert who realized he needed a broader network to achieve his goal of becoming a business unit manager. To force himself into what felt like an "unnatural act," Harris volunteered to be the liaison for his business school cohort's alumni network. But six months later, when a major new-drug approval process overwhelmed his calendar, Harris dropped all outside activities. Two years later, he found himself out of touch and still a functional manager. He failed to recognize that by not taking the time to attend industry conferences or compare notes with his peers, he was missing out on the strategic perspective and information that would make him a more attractive candidate for promotion.
Building a leadership network is less a matter of skill than of will. When first efforts do not bring quick rewards, some may simply conclude that networking isn't among their talents. But networking is not a talent; nor does it require a gregarious, extroverted personality. It is a skill, one that takes practice. We have seen over and over again that people who work at networking can learn not only how to do it well but also how to enjoy it. And they tend to be more successful in their careers than those who fail to leverage external ties or insist on defining their jobs narrowly.
Making a successful leadership transition requires a shift from the confines of a clearly defined operational network. Aspiring leaders must learn to build and use strategic networks that cross organizational and functional boundaries, and then link them up in novel and innovative ways. It is a challenge to make the leap from a lifetime of functional contributions and hands-on control to the ambiguous process of building and working through networks. Leaders must find new ways of defining themselves and develop new relationships to anchor and feed their emerging personas. They must also accept that networking is one of the most important requirements of their new leadership roles and continue to allocate enough time and effort to see it pay off.
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Herminia Ibarra is the Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School. Prior to joining LBS, she served on the INSEAD and Harvard Business School faculties. She is the author of Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader (Harvard Business Review Press, 2015) and Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career (Harvard Business Review Press, 2003). Follow her on Twitter @HerminiaIbarra and visit her website.
Mark Lee Hunter is an adjunct professor at INSEAD and a co-founder of the Stakeholder Media Project at the INSEAD Social Innovation Center.
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LODZ, Poland—International Boxing Federation cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek has made a bold move up to heavyweight to face the best Polish heavyweight ever, Andrew Golota, on Saturday, Oct. 24 in the new Lodz Arena in Lodz, Poland.
Golota and Adamek appeared at a media-packed press conference on Tuesday at the Warsaw Marriott to announce what the Polish media have dubbed as, "The Polish Fight of the Century." Interest for this fight is so great in Poland that three national television outlets carried the press conference live.
Interestingly, Adamek (38-1, 26 KOs), from Gilowice, is the one who asked for the match.
Adamek did not appreciate the Warsaw-born Golota (41-7-1, 33 KOs) poking fun at him, and both fighters appeared to have a genuine dislike for one another.
"Just happens this way that I will fight two 40-year-olds, first Golota and then, hopefully, Bernard Hopkins on January 30 in Newark. I will finish both of their careers.
Peter Garczarczyk, a Chicago-based sportswriter born in Poland that now writes for several Polish-based publications, is a longtime confidant to both Golota and Adamek. He also attended the press conference in Warsaw.
"Boxing fans in America may not know how big this fight is in Poland and how much these two fighters genuinely don't like one another," Garczarczyk said. "Golota thinks Adamek's victories and world championships don't measure up to the quality of opposition he has faced in his heavyweight career, and Adamek detests the fact that so many Polish people still revere Golota.
Don King promotes Golota and formerly promoted Adamek, having given the young Pole his first opportunity to fight for a world championship.
"Golota and Adamek are fighting for something bigger than a world championship or money; they're fighting for country," King said. "In Poland, this fight will compare to our Super Bowl or the World Cup in terms of demand and attention.
"I'll be ringside in Poland for this one. Polish fans are what we call in the ghetto SKD, meaning they are something kind-of different. They are real fanatics, and this fight cuts right down cultural, spiritual and visceral lines that run right through the country. There's never been anything quite like this in Poland.
The fight will be staged in the 14,000-seat Lodz Arena, which opened in May, in the large city of Lodz located 85 miles from the nation's capital of Warsaw. Ticket prices, on-sale date and purchase locations are planned to be announced next week.
Golota and Adamek co-promoter Ziggy Rozalski has completed a deal with Polish national television broadcaster Polsat to televise the fight live in Poland. The fight is being promoted by Ziggy Promotions, Don King Productions and Polsat.


Xiaomi Ready To Invest Rs 7000 Cr In 100 Indian Startups In Next 5 Years!
The Chinese company which came to India as a smartphone brand in 2014, now is working on its product line to offer a number of consumer goods.
India's biggest smartphone brand, Xiaomi, is planning to invest around $1 Billion in Indian startups. It has already started work on the first draft of the investment module. The company will invest around Rs 6000 to 7000 crores in around 100 startups in the country in the next five years.
The investment is aimed at strengthening of its hardware and software ecosystem in the country.
The Chinese smartphone major has invested around Rs 3000 crores in India until now and plans to expand in the offline market by positioning its brand in the smartphone market. The new investment will be focused more on building an eco-system for Xiaomi in India to help their smartphones and other products grow in the country.
The Chinese company which primarily came to India as a smartphone brand in 2014, now is working on its product line to offer a number of consumer goods. Recently the company launched its first set of Smart LED TVs in India.
The company also launched its first flagship store in Chennai which will offer exclusive products like an electric bicycle, smart shoes, smart cooker, laptop, water purifier and more.
Xiaomi will also work to customise these products to suit Indian conditions and requirements before launching them in India.
India is the first market outside of China, where Xiaomi has introduced its televisions. It presently sells smartphones, air purifiers and smartphone accessories. India is the biggest market for Xiaomi outside China and the company has gained immense popularity within a very short period of time. Xiaomi has also achieved a significant share in the Indian smartphone market.
Xiaomi has a whopping 27 percent market share in India in the combined online and offline market. The company now has over 2,500 Mi preferred stores in 25 cities across the country.
Xiaomi is also planning to start more local manufacturing by putting up more factories. The company has around 750-odd service centres across India. As the next step, the company is also planning to manufacture everything in the country, even the parts which are currently being imported from China. Until now Xiaomi has expanded to three manufacturing units in the country with 5 big and 26 small warehouses.
Chandigarh has been a key market for Xiaomi in north India with a 40.3 percent market share in the offline smartphone market in January 2018.
With an investment of Rs 6000 to 7000 crores in the country in the next five years, the company is looking to build a robust hardware and software ecosystem for Xiaomi in India. With more plans to expand offline, the company will launch a number of non-smartphone products in the next couple of years.
Xiaomi has started with three televisions this year so far, and now it plans to bring in a number of products like laptops and water purifiers from China.
The Chinese company is planning a perfect roadmap for their growth in the country. By introducing more products and investment, Xiaomi will have an excellent scope to grow as a company in India.
"Xiaomi Ready To Invest Rs 7000 Cr In 100 Indian Startups In Next 5 Years!", 3 out of 5 based on 4 ratings.
Salaries Of Indian CEOs Increasing At Alarming Pace; Performance Being Ignored!


Archangel Michael – Hilandar Monastery (14th c., Mount Athos, Greece) – Hand-painted (written) icon by Plamen Kazakov. A unique icon available exclusively at BlessedMart!
Archangel Michael – Hilandar Monastery (14th c., Mount Athos, Greece) – Hand-painted (written) icon by Plamen Kazakov.


Barong is a character in the mythology of Bali. He is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and enemy of Rangda in the mythological traditions of Bali.
Ubud is the center of art in Bali. Here you can find various of handicraft such as: silver, wooden statue, painting, sculpture, stone relief and others. You also can visit Ubud palace where the king of Ubud and royal families live.
Batuan Temple is a Hindu temple located in Batuan Village, Gianyar Regency as an altar for worship to the god and appointed as tourist destination in Bali.
Coffee plantation or Bali Agrotourism,place to see various Tropical plantations andsee how to make Balinese coffee in very traditional ways,see the Luwak the expensive coffee maker,its produce "Coffee Luwak" and taste some of the Balinese coffee and Tea.
Ubud Palace or Puri Saren is a kingdom palace of Ubud Empire and now to be a tourist destination in Bali which needs to visit on your vacation.
Ubud Art Market is a traditional market offering beautiful and attractive souvenirs made by local Balinese people. It is not far different with other markets available in the tourism area where most of souvenirs are sold in the individual shops based on show owner design.


The next work that appeared was Notes on Labor, Kumartuli Printer Part 2. Soi developed a series of prints and graphic compositions that he developed over the course of his long-term engagement with the printer. For the prints they used images from the printer's collection of blocks and cheap, coloured sheets of paper used to print receipts. These compositions test the limits of the technical possibilities available within this spartan workshop and explore the parameters of visual language both in terms of medium specificity, as well as in the broader context of culture.
The liberalized economic policies of the 1990's had ushered in an era of globalization and upon completing his Bachelor's and Masters degrees, Soi worked as a visualiser within the advertising industry in New Delhi. In 1999 he left for California where he attended the University of California at San Diego on a scholarship and received his second master's degree in the visual arts. In 2001 he was selected to the summer residency at Skowhegan, Maine.
Soi moved to the Netherlands in 2002 to attend the Rijksakademie van beeldende Kunsten, a two-year international residency program for artists and since then, he has divided his time between Amsterdam and Kolkata. This oscillatory movement impacts his practice. Soi identifies over time, patterns that emerge from an investigation of his extended social and economic landscape. In California it was the miniaturizing nature of the vast, undulating, suburban vista that caught his eye.
Moving to Amsterdam, media reportage of unrest in the Middle-East, Pakistan and Afghanistan in the events following September 11th led to a series of miniature paintings on terrorism and expanding from there, paintings of the human body. Site-specific wall paintings also emerge from these sources who's further investigation led Soi to create an archive that traces his relationship with the media.
Since 2008 in Kumartuli, North Kolkata, Soi's documentation of small-scale factories and one-room workshops has been an ongoing activity. Kumartuli is historically home to a clan of potters that have worked with religious iconography and sculpture-making and has over time given way to micro-workshops and warehouses. Through the inherent politics of labor and economic transition that manifests itself in a series of works titled "Notes on Labor", Soi delves into a pluralistic representation of this complex, historic and yet relevant site, through a series of slide-shows, miniature paintings and video.
Soi first visited the city of Srinagar in Kashmir in 2010. He documented extensively the historic Sufi shrines in the city (Dastagir Pir has since burnt down and is currently being rebuilt) and met with local craftsmen. He returned to Srinagar in the spring of 2014 and embedded himself within an artisan's studio, working with traditional patterns and motifs in the making of experimental compositions. Insurgency-scarred and a politically sensitive issue for the rival nations of India and Pakistan and its own ethnically divided population for over 5 decades, Kashmir has faced the brunt of cultural and social deprivation that comes from being one of the most militarised regions in the world.
Soi used the time spent in Kashmir to explore the disappearing traces of Sufi culture and the related migration, over the course of history, of ancient patterns and forms from Iran into the sub-continent. The migratory nature of the works emerging from Kashmir could perhaps be linked to his family's exile from what became Pakistan when the country was partitioned in 1947. His grandfather moved to Delhi before finally settling in Kolkata in 1950.
Interactive processes are important to Soi. He designed drawing-machines that would allow him to share his work process with an audience. The Astatic Machines", inspired by Paul Klee´s Pedagogical Sketchbook for students at the Bauhaus, emphasize the importance of drawing in Soi's practice. The artist, in partnership with the Mondrian Foundation, has recently set up in Kolkata a pilot residency for artists and practitioners. A studio program that privileges a material approach to making art while using the city as a filter for experience.
In 2014 Soi is situated at Stiftung Laurenz Haus in Basel. He has recently been granted a research fellowship at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. In 2015 the Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai will be holding a solo exhibition of the artist's works.
Soi´s works reside in important collections in Europe and India. These include the collection of Inge and Cees de Bruin-Heijn and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. In 2014 Soi was commissioned to create a permanent work for the HCL headquarters in Chennai. In 2011 he was one of 4 artists representing India at the Indian Pavilion in Venice where he created a site-specific drawing installation.


text:
E.S.P.Rajaram & Ors Vs. Union of India & Ors [2001] Insc 15 (10 January 2001)
D.P.Mphapatro, Doraswamy Raju, S.V.Patil D.P. Mohapatra, J.
Special Leave Petition (crl.) 5373 of 1997
L.J
The appellants who were appointed as Traffic Apprentices in Southern Railway prior to May 15, 1987, have filed this appeal challenging the judgment of the Madras Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (for short the CAT) dated October 4, 1996 in OA No. 1096 of 1996 dismissing the case with the observation that it would be appropriate for the applicants to approach the Supreme Court for any clarification/review of the judgment in the case titled Union of India and others vs. M. Bhaskar and others 1996 (4) SCC 416. The controversy which arose in that case was regarding the claim of Traffic Apprentices appointed prior to 15-5-1987 that they should be given the scale of pay of Rs.1600-2660, benefit of which was available to Traffic Apprentices recruited after 15-5-1987. Similar claims were raised before different benches of the CAT.
There had been divergence of opinion between the different benches, some accepting the claim of pre 1987 Traffic Apprentices for the higher scale of pay, some other benches taking a contrary view. The Ernakulam bench of CAT had quashed the memorandum dated 15-5-1987 issued by the Railway Board in which it was provided that the higher scale of pay would be admissible only to the Traffic Apprentices recruited after the date of the memorandum. These conflicting views taken by different benches of the CAT came up for consideration by this Court in the case of Union of India and others vs. M. Bhaskar and others (supra), in which a Bench of three learned Judges held inter alia (i) that Rule I-A of the Indian Railway Establishment Code which had come to be made pursuant to the power conferred by the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution permitted the Railway Board to issue necessary instructions regarding recruitment in the lowest grade and the memorandum dated 15-5-1987 having been issued in exercise of that power, the Board had valid authority to issue the memorandum; ii) that since the recruitment of apprentices under the impugned memorandum was to man the posts, not of Assistant Station Masters, Assistant Yard Masters etc. as before, but of Station Masters and Yard Masters and the standard of examination for the apprentices to be recruited after 15-5-1987 was required to be higher than that which was prevailing, giving them higher pay scales or reducing the period of their training, could not be said to be d iscriminatory, arbitrary or unreasonable. iii) That the cut off date 15-5-1987 is not arbitrary since the court felt satisfied that the date is of relevance and the memorandum as given came to be issued in the circumstances noticed in the judgment. This Court upheld the validity of the memorandum. The conclusions arrived at by this Court were summed up in paragraph 17 of the judgment which reads as follows:
"17.All the appeals, therefore, stand disposed of by setting aside the judgments of those tribunals which have held that the pre-1987 Traffic/Commercial Apprentices had become entitled to the higher pay scale of Rs.1600-2660 by the force of memorandum of 15-5-1987. Contrary view taken is affirmed. We also set aside the judgment of the Ernakulam Bench which declared the memorandum as invalid;
so too of the Patna Bench in appeal @ SLP (C) No. 15438 of 1994 qua Respondent 1. We also state that cases of Respondents 2 to 4 in appeals @ SLPs (C) Nos. 2533-35 of 1994 do not stand on different footing." In paragraph 18 of the judgment this Court considering the hardship which may be caused to the appellants concerned directed Union of India and its officers not to recover the amount already paid. The said paragraph is quoted herein below: 18. Despite the aforesaid conclusion of ours, we are of the view that the recovery of the amount already paid because of the aforesaid judgments of the Tribunals would cause hardship to the respondents/appellants concerned and, therefore, direct the Union of India and its officers not to recover the amount already paid. This part of our order shall apply (1) to the respondent/appellants who are before this Court; and (2) to the pre-1987 apprentice in whose favour judgment had been delivered by any CAT and which had become final either because no appeal was carried to this Court or, if carried, the same was dismissed. This benefit would be available to no other." In pursuance of the directions issued by this Court in the judgment, the departmental authorities gave appropriate placement in the scale of pay to the appellants who were recruited as Traffic Apprentices prior to 15-5-1987. They were given the pay of scale of Rs. 455-700 which stood revised as Rs.1400-2300 on the recommendation of the 4th Pay Commission and not the scale of Rs.550-750 which was revised to Rs.1600-2660. Feeling aggrieved by the said order the appellants filed OA No.1096/96 which was disposed of by the judgment dated 4th of October, 1996 of the Madras Bench of the CAT in the manner noted earlier. Thereafter the appellants filed SLP No. 5373 of 1997 giving rise to this appeal. In the said SLP a bench of three learned Judges of this Court by the Order passed on 6-11-1997 directed that the matter be placed before a constitution bench, since the judgment in M. Bhaskar's case (supra) was delivered by co-equal bench. The referral order is quoted hereunder;
"In this special leave petition the grievance of the petitioners is against the Direction No.2 contained in Para 18 of the judgment of this court in Union of India & Ors.
Bench of Three learned Judges whereby it has been directed that the order contained in para 18 would apply to pre-1987 apprentices (Traffic) in whose favour judgment has been delivered by any CAT and which had become final either because no appeal was carried to this Court or, if carried, the same was dismissed. The learned counsel for the petitioners has challenged the correctness of these directions on the ground that finality of the orders passed in the case of the petitioners as a result of the special leave petition filed against the order of the CAT having been dismissed by this Court, could not be reopened as a result of the said directions. Since the judgment in M Bhaskar's case (supra) was delivered by a Bench of three learned judges of this Court, we consider it appropriate that the matter be placed before the Constitution Bench. It is directed that the matter may be placed before the Hon'ble Chief Justice for directions in this regard.
In the meanwhile, it is directed that the Status quo with regard to reversion in rank and reduction in pay scales shall be maintained, as it exists today." The main thrust of the arguments of learned counsel appearing for the appellants was that the observations and directions given by this Court in M. Bhaskar's case (supra) particularly in paragraph 18 thereof are unsustainable since it was passed without giving any notice to the appellants and/or other similarly placed employees who were seriously prejudiced by such directions. Elucidating the contentions, the learned counsel submitted that the appellants who had been given fitment in the higher scale of pay, Rs.1600-2660 and on that basis some of them had got further promotions should not have been subjected to the directions in the judgment of this Court particularly when the special leave petition filed by the Union of India and the Railways against the judgment of CAT (Madras Bench) dated 4th of December, 1989 in OA No. 322 of 1988 and 488 of 1987 (the appellants were applicants in OA 322 of 1988) accepting their claim for the higher scale of pay had been dismissed in limine by this Court. In any view of the case, submitted the learned counsel, the principle of natural justice required that the appellants should have been given notice and afforded an opportunity of hearing before the order prejudicially effecting their interest was passed. The learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the respondents on the other hand contended that in the context of the facts and circumstances of the case and the nature of the controversy raised, this Court rightly passed the order, issuing the directions in paragraph 18 of M. Bhakar's case (supra) for the purpose of bringing about uniformity amongst all the employees similarly placed, that is, those who were recruited as Traffic Apprentices prior to 15-5-1987. The further submission of the learned Addl. Solicitor General was that this Court taking note of the hardship which may be caused to the appellants and other similarly placed employees issued the further direction that no recovery shall be made of the amount which they might have received in the higher scale of pay. In the submission of the learned Addl. Solicitor General, the directions in paragraph 18 of the judgment were issued with a view to do complete justice between all pre-1987 Traffic Apprentices and therefore calls for no interference.
Since, the thrust of the arguments of the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners and the intending interveners was that the observations in paragraphs 17 & 18 of the judgment in M.Bhaskar's case (supra) by which they have been seriously prejudiced were not made without giving notice to them, we specifically asked the learned counsel to place their arguments on the merits of the directions contained in the said paragraphs for the purpose of satisfying ourselves if a re-look at the said decision is necessary. The learned counsel could not raise any contention of substance questioning the correctness of the decision in the aforementioned case except stating that many of the persons who were parties in the cases decided by the Tribunal taking the contra- view and some others had been given benefit on the basis of the decision of the Tribunal and some of them have even got further promotions which have become vulnerable in view of the decision of this Court in M. Bhaskar case (supra). It was their contention that this Court should have made it clear that the decision in M. Bhaskar case (supra) will not affect the parties in whose favour judgments have been delivered by any bench of CAT and which had become final either because no appeal was carried to this Court or if carried the same was dismissed and further the benefit should have been extended to others who though not parties in any proceeding before any bench of CAT had been given service benefit on the basis of the judgment delivered by a bench of the CAT taking the view which was rejected by this Court in M. Bhaskar case (supra). We have carefully perused the judgment in M. Bhaskar's case (supra). The decision in that case has been taken on a detailed analysis of the relevant provisions of the Indian Railway Establishment Code and the Indian Railway Establishment Manual (1968 Edn.), and in the light of certain general principles of law relating to recruitment cogent reasons have been given in support of the findings and conclusions arrived at in the judgment. As noted earlier no contention was advanced before us pointing out any serious error in the decision therein. We are satisfied that in the facts and circumstances of the case placed before their Lordships the decision is correct and warrants no interference.
If it is necessary to trace the source of power of this Court to issue the directions and pass the order as in paragraph 18 of M Bhaskar's case (supra) one can straightaway look to Article 142 of the Constitution. The said provision vests power in the Supreme Court to pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any case or mater pending before it. The provision contains no limitation regarding the causes or the circumstances in which the power can be exercised nor does it lays down any condition to be satisfied before such power is exercised. The exercise of the power is left completely to the descretion of the highest court of the country and its order or decree is made binding on all the Courts or Tribunals throughout the territory of India. However, this power is not to be exercised to override any express provision. It is not to be exercised in a case where there is no basis in law which can form an edifice for building up a super structure. This Court has not hesitated to exercise the power under Article 142 of the Constitution whenever it was felt necessary in the interest of justice. In the case of M S Ahlawat vs. State of Haryana and another (2000) 1 SCC 278) a bench of three learned Judges of this Court considering the power of the Court to recall its own order in a criminal case referred to the relevant observations in Supreme Court Bar Association v. Union of India (1998) 4 SCC 409) and held that under Article 142 of the Constitution the Supreme Court cannot altogether ignore the substantive provisions of a statute and pass orders concerning an issue which can be settled only through a mechanism prescribed in another statute. The following passage from the headnote of the case of Supreme Court Bar Association v. Union of India (supra) was quoted with approval : "However, the powers conferred on the Court by Article 142 being curative in nature cannot be construed as powers which authorise the Court to ignore the substantive rights of a litigant while dealing with a cause pending before it. This power cannot be used to 'supplant' substantive law applicable to the case or cause under consideration of the Court. Article 142, even with the width of its amplitude, cannot be used to build a new edifice where none existed earlier, by ignoring express statutory provisions dealing with a subject and thereby to achieve something indirectly which cannot be achieved directly. The very nature of the power must lead the Court to set limits for itself within which to exercise those powers and ordinarily it cannot disregard a statutory provision governing a subject, except perhaps to balance the equities between the conflicting claims of the litigating parties by 'ironing out the creases' in a cause or matter before it. Indeed the Supreme Court is not a court of restricted jurisdiction of only dispute-settling. The Supreme Court has always been a law-maker and its role travels beyond merely dispute settling. It is a 'problem-solver in the nebulous areas' but the substantive statutory provisions dealing with the subject-matter of a given case cannot be altogether ignored by the Supreme Court, while making an order under Article 142. Indeed, these constitutional powers cannot, in any way, be controlled by any statutory provisions but at the same time these powers are not meant to be exercised when their exercise may come directly in conflict with what has been expressly provided for in a statute dealing expressly with the subject." In the case of R.C.Sahi and others vs. Union of India and others (1999) 1 SCC 482 concerning applicability of certain service rules to officers of the CRPF this Court relying on the power vested in Article 142 "for doing complete justice in any cause or matter" issued the following directions: "There are two petitioners in WP(C) No.211 of 1997. Out of these two, it is stated that one has already retired from the service. In the light of the interim orders dated 19.1.1998 and 27.1.1998, the first petitioner (C.M Bahuguna) is still in service in the promoted post. In the circumstances, we are of the view that notwithstanding the dismissal of the writ petition, the petitioner, viz. C.M Bahuguna who is still in service in the promoted post, should be allowed to continue in the said promoted post, if necessary, by creating a supernumerary post.
However, we make it clear that all further promotions shall be made in the light of this order." In the case of Gaurav Jain vs. Union of India and others (1998) 4 SCC 270) considering the petition for review, a Bench of three learned Judges of this Court interpreting Article 142(1) held that the provision does not and cannot override Article 145(5) and observed that the decrees or orders issued under Article 142 must be issued with concurrence of the majority of the Judges hearing the matter. This Court referred to the following observations made by the Court in Prem Chand Garg vs. Excise Commissioner U.P.1963 Supp.(1) SCR 885 : "It does not and cannot override Article 145(5). The decrees or orders issued under Article 142 must be issued with the concurrence of the majority of Judges hearing the matter. In the case of Prem Chand Garg v. Excise Commnr. U.P. a Bench of five Judges of this Court considered a Rule made by this Court providing for imposition of terms as to costs and as to giving of security in a petition under Article 142 were very wide and could not be controlled by Article 32. Negativing this contention, this Court said :
"The powers of this Court are no doubt very wide and they are intended to be and will always be exercised in the interest of justice. But that is not to say that an order can be made by this Court which is inconsistent with the fundamental rights guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution. An order which this Court can make in order to do complete justice between the parties, must not only be consistent with the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, but it cannot even be inconsistent with the substantive provisions of the relevant statutory laws.
Therefore, we do not think it would be possible to hold that Article 142(1) confers upon this Court powers which can contravene the provisions of Article 32." Similarly, powers conferred by Article 142(1) also cannot contravene the provisions of Article 145(5). Article 142 would not entitle a Judge sitting on a Bench of two Judges, who differs from his colleague to issue directions for the enforcement of his order although it may not be the agreed order of the Bench of two Judges. If this were to be permitted, it would lead to conflicting directions being issued by each Judge under Article 142, directions which may quite possibly nullify the directions given by another Judge on the same Bench. This would put the Court in an untenable position. Because if in a Bench of two Judges, one Judge can resort to Article 142 for enforcement of his directions, the second Judge can do likewise for the enforcement of his directions. And even in a larger Bench, a Judge holding a minority view can issue his order under Article 142 although it may conflict with the order issued by the majority. This would put this Court in an indefensible situation and lead to total confusion. Article 142 is not meant for such a purpose and cannot be resorted to in this fashion." In the case of State of Punjab and others vs. Bakshish Singh (1998) 8 SCC 222) concerning a departmental proceeding against a police constable this Court rejecting the contention raised by the appellant that the Supreme Court could not cure inconsistency because the respondent had not filed any cross appeal, this Court removed the inconsistency by invoking Article 142 of the Constitution and by referring to Order 41, Rule 33 and Section 107(1)(a) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This Court referring to the decision of the Constitution Bench in Supreme Court Bar Association case (supra) reiterated the position that while exercising power under Article 142 of the Constitution the Court cannot ignore the substantive right of a litigant while dealing with a cause pending before it and can invoke its power under Article 142. The power cannot however be used to supplant substantive law applicable to a case. This Court further observed that Article 142 even with the width of its amplitude, cannot be used to build a new edifice where none existed earlier, by ignoring express statutory provisions dealing with a subject and thereby achieve something indirectly which cannot be achieved directly.
In the case of Spencer & Company Ltd. and another vs. Vishwadarshan Distributors Pvt. Ltd. and others (1995)1 SCC 259 this Court dealing with the binding nature of the orders issued by the Supreme Court to the High Court referring to the provisions of the Articles 141, 142 and 144 of the Constitution made the significant observations: "The afore-narrated words, we think, presently, are enough to assert the singular constitutional role of this Court, and correspondingly of the assisting role of all authorities, civil or judicial, in the territory of India, towards it, who are mandated by the Constitution to act in aid of this Court. That the High Court is one such judicial authority covered under Article 144 of the Constitution is beyond question. The order dated 14.1.1994 of this Court was indeed a judicial order and otherwise enforceable throughout the territory of India under Article 142 of the Constitution. The High Court was bound to come in aid of this Court when it required the High Court to have its order worked out. The language of request oftenly employed by this Court in such situations is to be read by the High Court as an obligation, in carrying out the constitutional mandate, maintaining the writ of this Court running large throughout the country." In the case of Ram Krishna Verma and others vs. State of U.P. and others (1992) 2 SCC 620 a case relating to grant of permit to private operators on nationalised routes, this Court referring to Articles 136, 142 and 226 of the Constitution held that the Court should endeavour to neutralise any undeserved and unfair advantage gained by a party invoking its jurisdiction. Therein it was observed by this Court (at p.630):
"This Court in Grindlays Bank Ltd. v. ITO held that the High Court while exercising its power under Article 226 the interest of justice requires that any undeserved or unfair advantage gained by a party invoking the jurisdiction of the court must be neutralised. It was further held that the institution of the litigation by it should not be permitted to confer an unfair advantage on the party responsible for it. In the light of that law and in view of the power under Article 142(1) of the Constitution this Court, while exercising its jurisdiction would do complete justice and neutralise the unfair advantage gained by the 50 operators including the appellants in dragging the litigation to run the stage carriages on the approved route or area or portion thereof and forfeited their right to hearing of the objections filed by them to the draft scheme dated February 26, 1959." In the case of Re: Vinay Chandra Mishra (1995)2 SCC 584) relating to a proceeding for criminal contempt a Bench of three learned Judges of this Court dealing with the priliminary objection raised on behalf of the contemner and the State Bar Council held that this Court is not only the highest court of record, but under various provisions of the Constitution, is also charged with the duties and responsibilities of correcting the lower courts and tribunals and or protecting them from those whose misconduct tends to prevent the due performance of their duties.
Therein this Court distinguished the decisions in Prem Chand Garg (supra) and relied on the decisions in Delhi Judicial Service Association vs. State of Gujarat (1991)4 SCC 406 and Union Carbide Corporation.etc. vs. Union of India (1991) 4 SCC 584, and this Court made the following relevant observations in connection with the power vested under Article 142 :
"Apart from the fact that these observations are made with reference to the powers of this Court under Article 142 which are in the nature of supplementary powers and not with reference to this Court's power under Article 129, the said observations have been explained by this Court in its later decisions in Delhi Judicial Service Assn. v. State of Gujarat and Union Carbide Corpn. v. Union of India. In para 51 of the former decision, it has been, with respect, rightly pointed out that the said observations were made with regard to the extent of this Court's power under Article 142(1) in the context of fundamental rights. Those observations have no bearing on the present issue. No doubt, it was further observed there that those observations have no bearing on the question in issue in that case as there was no provision in any substantive law restricting this Court's power to quash proceedings pending before subordinate courts. But it was also added there that this Court's power under Article 142(1) to do complete justice was entirely of a different level and of a different quality. Any prohibition or restriction contained in ordinary laws cannot act as a limitation on the constitutional power of this Court. Once this Court is in seisin of a matter before it, it has power to issue any order or direction to do complete justice in the matter. A reference was made in that connection to the concurring opinion of Justice A.N.Sen in Harbans Singh v. State of U.P. where the learned Judge observed as follows: (SCC pp.107-08, para 20):
"Very wide powers have been conferred on this Court for due and proper administration of justice. Apart from the jurisdiction and powers conferred on this Court under Articles 32 and 136 of the Constitution, I am of the opinion that this Court retains and must retain, an inherent power and jurisdiction for dealing with any extraordinary situation in the larger interests of administration of justice and for preventing manifest injustice being done.
This power must necessarily be sparingly used only in exceptional circumstances for furthering the ends of justice." The Court has then gone on to observe there that no enactment made by Central or State legislature can limit or restrict the power of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution, though the Court must take into consideration the statutory provisions regulating the matter in dispute.
What would be the need of complete justice in a cause or matter, would depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case.
In the case of Union Carbide Corporation and others of this Court dealing with the power of the Apex Court to withdraw unto itself cases pending in the district court at Bhopal,considered the scope and ambit of the power vested in the Court under Article 142 of the Constitution. In para 60 of the judgment it was observed :
"Any limited interpretation of the expression "cause or matter" having regard to the wide and sweeping powers under Article 136 which Article 142(1) seeks to effectuate, limiting it only to the short compass of the actual dispute before the Court and not to what might necessarily and reasonably be connected with or related to such matter in such a way that their withdrawal to the apex Court would enable the court to do "complete justice", would stultify the very wide constitutional powers. Take, for instance, a case where an interlocutory order in a matrimonial cause pending in the trial court comes up before the apex Court.
The parties agree to have the main matter itself either decided on the merits or disposed of by a compromise. If the argument is correct this Court would be powerless to withdraw the main matter and dispose it of finally even if it be on consent of both sides. Take also a similar situation where some criminal proceedings are also pending between the litigating spouses. If all disputes are settled, can the court not call up to itself the connected criminal litigation for a final disposal? If matters are disposed of by consent of the parties, can any one of them later turn around and say that the apex Court's order was a nullity as one without jurisdiction and that the consent does not confer jurisdiction? This is not the way in which jurisdiction with such wide constitutional powers is to be construed. While it is neiehter possible nor advisable to enumerate exhaustively the multitudinous ways in which such situations may present themselves before the Court where the Court with the aid of the powers under Article 142(1) could bring about a finality to the matters, it is common experience that day in and day out such matters are taken up and decided in this Court. It is true that mere practice, however long, will not legitimize issues of jurisdiction.
But the argument, pushed to its logical conclusions, would mean that when an interlocutory appeal comes up before this Court by special leave, even with the consent of the parties, the main matter cannot be finally disposed of by this Court as such a step would imply an impermissible transfer of the main matter. Such technicalities do not belong to the content and interpretation of constitutional powers.
In para 83 of the judgment this Court rejected as unsound and erroneous the proposition that a provision in any ordinary law irrespective of the importance of the public policy on which it is founded, operates to limit the powers of the apex Court under Article 142(1).
In paragraph 214 of the judgment summing up the conclusions reached this Court observed :
(i) The contention that the apex Court had no jurisdiction to withdraw to itself the original suits pending in the District Court at Bhopal and dispose of the same in terms of the settlement and the further contention that, similarly, the Court had no jurisdiction to withdraw the criminal proceedings are rejected.
It is held that under Article 142(1) of the Constitution, the Court had necessary jurisdiction and power to do so.
Accordingly, contentions (A) and (B) are held and answered against the petitioners.
In the case of Ved Prakash and others vs. Union of India and others (1994) 1 SCC 45 taking note of the piquant situation caused due to inordinate delay in payment of compensation for the property acquired under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, this Court made the following observation:
"The petitioners because of the delay and inaction on the part of the respondents are in a great predicament. Any amount determined as market value of their lands acquired, with reference to the dates of issuance of notifications under sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Act i.e. at the rate prevalent 15-21 years prior to the dates of the making of the award, cannot be held to be compliance of the mandate regarding payment of market value of the land so acquired under the Constitution and the Act. This Court faced with such a situation, where proceedings have remained pending for years after issuance of declarations under Section 6, in order to protect the petitioners concerned from irreparable injury i.e. getting compensation for their lands acquired with reference to the date of notification under sub-section (1) of Section 4, which may be more than a decade before the date of the making of the award, has advanced the date of notification under sub-section (1) of Section, so that market value of the land so acquired is paid at a just and reasonable rate. Reference in this connection may be made to the cases of Ujjain Vikas Pradhikaran v. Raj Kumar Johri (1992) 1 SCC 328; Akhara Brahm Buta, Amritsar v. State of Punjab, (1992) 4 SCC 243 and Bihar State Housing Board v. Ram Bihari Mahato, AIR 1988 Supreme Court 2134. This Court has advanced the date of notification under sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Act, in the cases referred to above, without assigning any reason, as to how the date fixed by Sections 11 and 23 of the Act, can be altered for ascertainment of the market value of land. The power of this Court under Article 142 is very wide and can be exercised in the ends of justice. The scope of the said Article was recently examined in the case of Union Carbide Corpn. v. Union of India (1991) 4 SCC 584 (Emphasis supplied) In the case of N.A. Mohammed Kasim (Dead) and another vs. Sulochana and others (1995) Supp(3) SCC 128 which arose from a civil suit this Court in the facts and circumstances of the case considered it fit for invoking Court's power under Article 142 for giving equitable relief to the plaintiff-respondents, not on ground on which they claimed relief in the suit but on the ground of promissory estoppel equity and fair play.
From the conspectus of the views expressed in the decided cases noted above it is clear that this Court has invoked the power vested under Section 142 of the Constitution in different types of cases involving different fact situations for doing complete justice between the parties.
In the case on hand the controversy relates to the scale of pay admissible for Traffic Apprentices in the Railways appointed prior to the cut-off date. The controversy in its very nature is one which applies to all such employees of the Railways; it is not a controversy which is confined to some individual employees or a section of the employees. If the judgment of the tribunal which had taken a view contrary to the ratio laid down by judgment of this Court in M. Bhaskar's case (supra) was allowed to stand then the resultant position would have been that some Traffic Apprentices who were parties in those cases would have gained an unfair and undeserved advantage over other employees who are or were holding the same post. Such enviable position would not only have been per se discriminatory but could have resulted in a situation which is undesirable for a cadre of large number of employees in a big establishment like that of the Indian Railways. To avoid such a situation this Court made the observations in paragraph 17 of the judgment. At the cost of repetition we may reiterate that since the main plank of argument of the appellants was that since they were not parties in the case they had no opportunity to place their case before this Court made the observations in paragraph 17 of the judgment as aforementioned we specifically asked learned counsel appearing for the parties to place the argument in support of their challenge to the observations made by this Court on merits. No point of substance assailing the observations on merits could be placed by them. The only contention made in that regard was some of the employees who were given benefit in the judgments of the CAT have got further promotions and they may lose the benefit of such promotion in case the observations made in paragraph 17 of the judgment are allowed to stand as it is. We are not impressed by the contention raised. If some employees were unjustly and improperly granted a higher scale of pay and on that basis were given promotion to a higher post then the basis of such promotion been on a non-existent; the superstructure built on such foundation should not be allowed to stand; This is absolutely necessary for the sake of maintaining equality and fair play with the other similarly placed employees.
However, in our considered view, it will be just and fair to clarify that any amount drawn by such employees either in the basic post (Traffic Apprentice) or in a promotional post will not be required to be refunded by the employee concerned as a consequence of this judgment. This position also follows as a necessary corolary from the observations made by this Court in paragraph 18 of the judgment in M.Bhaskar's case (supra).
On the discussions made and the reasons set forth in the preceeding paragraphs the appeal is dismissed but in the circumstances of the case without any order for costs.


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