Loud Thinking

Archive for 2013

Figures collected by NADRA last year show

. . . . . . . . . .

Ø There are 1.611 million people who frequently embark on international tours but do not pay a single penny as income tax.
Ø About 584,730 Pakistanis have multiple accounts in domestic and multinational banks, but do not possess NTNs.
Ø Over 56,000 people live in posh areas and more than 20,000 people own luxury cars, still pay no income tax.
Ø There are 66,736 individual consumers who pay large utility bills, but no income tax.
Ø More than 13,000 people have licenses of both prohibited and non-prohibited weapons, but they do not possess an NTN.
Ø There are 25,130 people who are engaged in lucrative professions like medicine, engineering, law and chartered accountancy, but they do not pay a single penny as income tax.
Ø Nearly three million people possess a National Tax Number (NTN), but only 1.4 million of them filed income tax returns last year.
Ø Punjab has the lowest tax to GDP ratio in the country.

Compiled by Mr. Rafiuddin Sheikh (Karachi).

Courage is doing the right thing in the face of opposition.

“Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Go where there are no guarantees. Get out of your comfort zone even if it means being uncomfortable. The road less traveled is sometimes fraught with barricades bumps and uncharted terrain. But it is on that road where your character is truly tested. And have the courage to accept that you’re not perfect nothing is and no one is — and that’s OK.”

Katie Couric (born 1957);
American journalist

No Country After Death..!

After sixty six years, Pakistan is a more fragmented society than our forefathers could have ever imagined. The schism is so intense that if immediate corrective steps are not taken, God forbid, this country may see even more turbulent times.

Writing on the wall is clear for all to read. The decadence of Pakistani society, in every sphere of life, be it political, economical, educational, industrial, agricultural, religious, law and order or any other segment worth naming, is abysmal, to say the least. Hardly, any day passes without reports of suicides committed by the poor due to the economic hardships. Children are dying in scores due to the Measles out break and strangely enough, no soul has moved and not even a single person has been held accountable.

May be, we have one last chance to stem the rot, to unite the people and to give them a prescription, to rise again and build the nation from the ashes, because for the overwhelming majority, a time is coming that they will be forced to think “no life no nation”.

All stakeholders must wake up, as the nation is moving towards destruction; our survival is directly linked with the existence of our nationhood. Nationhood means “The state or quality of having a status as separate and independent nation”.

Hence, for all the Pakistanis, failure is NOT an option. But success is also not automatically guaranteed, as well.

In this regard, I would like to suggest that, let us formulate a new social contract (specially designed for the 95 percent have-nots; specially, NOT like the budget planned for 2013-14 which failed to tax the super rich on one pretext or the other) for the common people of Pakistan, who always pay 100 percent bills and taxes and never default on their bank loans. Let us make a new Pakistan, which is redesigned to practically cater to the needs of the exploited masses.

Changes must be made in the constitution to block corrupt land owners and power hungry charlatans from contesting the elections. The election system should also be changed, so that the whole country directly votes for a President or a PM. However, before the voting, the candidates of all the political parties for this post, must notify a list of their MPA’s, MNA’s and Senators, who will be automatically considered elected, according to the percentage of votes cast, in favour of the main candidate, for the top post of the country.

The decision for Pakistan’s charter of development for building dams and mega projects for the next fifty years, should also be finalised, on which later on, no politics should be allowed. In other words, the entire representatives of the nation should decide NOW, where they would like to see Pakistan, in each and every field of life, after 5×10 = 50 years. The development goals must be clearly defined for 10 five year plans.

In order to decentralise and empower maximum number of people, to enjoy the fruits of self rule, we should convert every division of Pakistan into a province. This will also work as a panacea for the eradication of linguistic and any other type of frictions; and doubts about hegemony of people, of certain big areas, over the people of other smaller areas. In fact, it will work wonders, in the speedy development and unity of Pakistan and kill instantly, any secessionist or separatist activities currently prevailing in some parts of the country.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Lahore – Pakistan

Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE

Lessen the Damage from the Inevitable Cultural Faux Pas

When working in a foreign setting with different norms and rules, you’re likely to make cultural mistakes. But you can lessen their impact by engendering people’s trust in the first place.

Make sure your foreign counterparts believe you care enough to try to learn about their culture, even if you haven’t fully mastered the rules.

Work hard to show genuine interest, curiosity, and respect. But, you also need to be authentic.

Don’t fake an interest in Indian food, for example, if you could care less about culinary arts.

Find a pursuit that genuinely appeals to you and explore that. Otherwise, it will be clear to your colleagues that you’re trying to ingratiate yourself, not learn about the ins and outs of their culture.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “Preparing for Inevitable Cultural Faux Pas” by Andy Molinsky.

“Living each day as it if were our last, rather than
converting us into hedonists, will make us appreciate how
wonderful it is that we are alive and have the opportunity to
fill this day with activity. This in turn will make us less
likely to squander our days. As we think about and plan for
tomorrow, remember to appreciate today.”

— William B. Irvine

Well played India.
India has won the ICC Cricket Champions Trophy semi final by defeating Sri Lanka in style. It was a truly professional and surgical performance. Perhaps, we are watching best ever Indian cricket team in history. Best of luck for the finals to be played on Sunday 2.30PM PST.

Mentoring is to support and encourage others to become better.

“Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.”

Donald Miller (born 1971);
Author

Write a Better Business Memo

It may feel like all work is done via quick email these days but there is still a need for longer memos and reports to get people up to speed on an issue, to induce action, or both.

With longer writing it’s critical to be well organized and structured, and to respect your reader’s time.

This means making it immediately clear what you want readers to learn about or do.

Start by choosing a concise title or subject line that tells them the topic and why they should care.

Begin your document by summarizing your main points and outlining the issue, your solution, and the reasoning behind it.

Refer to this summary when drafting the body of the message.

When you’re done, check the summary one more time to make sure it reflects how the rest of the memo has evolved.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from the HBR Guide to Better Business Writing.