WHAT MAKES IT SO GREAT?

Ok , You might say Google is exceptional and it’s stock at $500 is one of the reasons to make it No. 1 but what about others?

Surprisingly , if you look at the Top 10 “ Great Places to work for in 2007-Fortune ) , most of them care for their employees in their own ways and high salaries is not the only reason to keep them on TOP .

So what makes it so great :

Paid sabbaticals
Friendly timings
Upper Cap in salary ( CEO’s would hate this )
Benefits for families
Discouraging long working hours
Promoting diversity
Preference to existing employees for promotions
Investing in training & development
Offices with amenities & luxuries
Freedom of communication ( Blog/ Q&A forums)
Unusual Perks like valet parking , free grocery delivery
All employees to be stock owners

TOP 10

2. Genentech
Biotech leader has uncommonly loyal staffers. "Wild horses could not drag me away," says one employee. Last year 537 employees took a six-week paid sabbatical, which is available for every six years of service.

Headquarters: South San Francisco
Top 3 (of 9) U.S. locations: South San Francisco, Vacaville , Oceanside
Industry:
2005 revenue ($ millions): 6,633
Website: www.gene.com


3. Wegmans Food Markets
Private grocery chain gets thousands of letters every year from shoppers coveting a Wegmans in their neighborhood. The chain, founded in 1916, now operates in 71 stores in five states.
Headquarters: Rochester, N.Y.
Top 3 (of 93) U.S. locations: Rochester, Buffalo Grove , Syracuse
Industry:
2005 revenue ($ millions): 3,820
Website: www.wegmans.com


4. Container Store
Storage retailer pays sales employees 50% to 100% above industry average. Nearly one-tenth of all employees take advantage of "family friendly" shift, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., allowing for school dropoffs and pickups.
Headquarters: Coppell, Texas
Top 3 (of 38) U.S. locations: Coppell, New York , Houston

5. Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods has long had a salary cap limiting pay of top execs, currently at 19 times average full-time pay. But founder and CEO John Mackey went further, reducing his salary to $1 and forgoing all future stock options.
Headquarters: Austin
Top 3 (of 223) U.S. locations: New York, Austin , Washington
Industry:
2005 revenue ($ millions): 5,607
Website: www.wholefoods.com

6. Network Appliance
Data-storage company climbed 21 spots as employees cheered enhanced benefits for parents of special-needs children, widespread use of flexible schedules (95% of employees), and a soaring stock (up 50% in 2006).
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif.
Top 3 (of 50) U.S. locations: Sunnyvale, Research Triangle Park , Mclean

7. S.C. Johnson & Son
This household-products company subsidizes hotel stays for employees who live 25 miles or more from work and offers discounts at its newly expanded child-care center for families making under $60,000 a year.
Headquarters: Racine, Wis.
Top 3 (of 15) U.S. locations: Racine, Bay City , Fresno
Industry:
2005 revenue ($ millions): 7,000
Website: www.scjohnson.com

8. Boston Consulting Grp.
Employees working more than 60 hours a week at this management consultant are placed in a "red zone" and advised by a career mentor. A push to hire more women resulted in a 25% rise in female consultants from 2004.
Headquarters: Boston
Top 3 (of 14) U.S. locations: Boston, Chicago , New York
Industry:
2005 revenue ($ millions): 1,505
Website: www.bcg.com

9. Methodist Hospital Sys.
As gas prices soared last year, Methodist sent employees (everyone except top execs) a $250 gift card for use at Chevron stations, prompting more than 500 staffers to e-mail thank-yous to CEO Ron Girotto.
Headquarters: Houston
Top 3 (of 9) U.S. locations: Houston, N.A., N.A.
Industry:
2005 revenue ($ millions): 1,413
Website: www.methodisthealth.com

10. W.L. Gore & Associates
Great ideas (Gore-Tex, Glide dental floss) come from all corners at this nonhierarchical Delaware company, which prefers to promote from within. (CEO Terri L. Kelly joined Gore as a process engineer in 1983.)
Headquarters: Newark, Del.
Top 3 (of 28) U.S. locations: Elkton, Flagstaff , Newark
Industry:
2005 revenue ($ millions): 1,984
Website: www.gore.com

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GOOGLE - BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR IN 2007

Fortune declares Google - Best company to work for in 2007 .

Why ?

Is it free gourmet cafeteria , 20% own time , laundry , stock options , perks for being environment friendly , $2000 for employee referral , subsidy for exercise classes

Want to join Google , you are in queue as Google recieves 1300 job applications a day .

Google is considering starting a sabbatical program and thinking of new career opportunities within the company for the restless.

Want to know more , Must click on the links:

Life Inside Google

Perks of being Googler

See the complete list of 100 companies : Fortune's List of 100 best employers-2007Tweet

THERE ARE TWO INDIAS IN THIS COUNTRY

Well you must have seen the "India Poised" campaign by Times of India .. If not click

http://www.indiapoised.com/

"one India gives me a chance and I'll prove myself.The other India says , prove yourself first and maybe then you'll have a chance"

Do read the complete anthem ..You'll feel good
........................................................................................
"There are two Indias in this country.

One India is straining at the leash, eager to spring forth and live up to all the adjectives that the world has been showering recently upon us.

The other India is the leash.

One India says give me a chance and I'll prove myself. The other India says prove yourself first and maybe then you'll have a chance.
One India lives in the optimism of our hearts. The other India lurks in the skepticism of our minds.
One India wants. The other India hopes.
One India leads. The other India follows.

But conversions are on the rise. With each passing day more and more people from the other India have been coming over to this side. And quietly, while the world is not looking, a pulsating, dynamic new India is emerging.

An India whose faith in success is far greater than its fear of failure. An India that no longer boycotts foreign-made goods but buys out the companies that make them instead.

History, they say, is a bad motorist. It rarely ever signals its intentions when it's taking a turn.

This is that rarely-ever moment. History is turning a page.

For over half a century, our nation has sprung, stumbled, run, fallen, rolled over, got up and dusted herself and cantered, sometimes lurched on. But today, as we begin our 60th year as a free nation, the ride has brought us to the edge of time's great precipice.

And one India - a tiny little voice at the back of the head - is looking down at the bottom of the ravine and hesitating.

The other India is looking up at the sky and saying it's time to fly.

INDIA POISED

Our time is now"Tweet

HE LEFT A SUCCESSFUL CAREER....

It takes gut to follow your heart , people do it . They say it's easier said than done to leave your job and follow your heart .. hear from the person who did it.

Source : Times of India

..............................................................

RAMESH RAMANATHAN
No desh like swadesh

Bangalorean Ramesh Ramanathan followed his heart from NY to Bangalore. He left a successful career heading a $100 million business at Citibank in New York and later in London as Managing Director and European Head of Corporate Derivatives, returned to his hometown and started an NGO, Janaagraha

Never give up on hard work. I live by the adage ‘I am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the luckier I get.’ When I was working in the corporate sector, I missed my target at times, but never gave up on hard work. This saying always lifted my spirits and made me try harder to meet the next target.

Stand by your beliefs. In an hour of crisis, I always ask myself – does my stand reflect my beliefs? My belief in learning grew when, four years ago, we started a water supply project with no idea of what to do. We made mistakes and faced criticisms, but stood by our beliefs. We heeded suggestions, corrected our flaws and saw the project through. But never, ever did we doubt our beliefs.

Keep going. One of our board members always says, ‘God give me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, the courage to change things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.’ When we came back to our hometown and started Janaagraha, convincing people was a challenge. At that time, I kept this saying to myself and kept going.

There is no end to personal growth. To grow and evolve as a person, you need to live on the edge of your comfort zone and be on the lookout for new frontiers. This realisation came when I left my job and returned to Bangalore. We weren’t sure of what lay ahead, but today when I look back, I am a far more balanced person.

Take your job, not yourself seriously. Once, a friend of mine gave me a piece of advice, ‘Always take your job seriously, but never yourself.’ Those who work in public life sometimes get carried away by their passion to do something new. I am no exception, but at such times, I remind myself of what my friend told me and it helps add humour to the situation and put things in perspective.

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I ALWAYS LIKE WHAT I DO ...SRK

Shahrukh Khan( SRK), This guy always leaves an impression when he talks , but what's he doing on blog about " great place to work" or "My Job sucks" ? . I heard him speaking " I always like what i do"

SRK on "loving my job"
"My responsibility is to entertain the audience. I take my job very seriously. But I don't take myself too seriously. I've never considered people's expectations to be a responsibility. I enjoy every film I do, and given the parameters we work in, I try to make each film as different as possible. I normally leave behind a film and start looking at the next one as soon as my shooting is over.
I've seen enough of what I thought were wonderful films falling. I may fall again. And again there will be talk about how I'm slipping"

SRK on Failure , "You haven't failed in three years!
"Well...there're people who'd say I'm just lucky. "Duplicate" didn't work. But I still love that film. I'm sure I got that right too. Sometimes my best isn't good enough. I know I am the best. But I don't say it any more. Because it was misinterpreted. I get up every morning and say it to myself, so I enjoy what I do. For the audience to believe in me, I've to believe in myself. People who have no knowledge of films are sitting in judgement over our cinema. It's okay. They're doing what they are because they don't know any better. They're doing their job. I'm doing mine. So far I've enjoyed it. And as long as I continue to enjoy it I'm sure my audience will enjoy watching me"

SRK on "Work life balance" , " What Next , SRK?
"But I think I should take a holiday to be with the kids every two-three months whenever the children have holidays. I'll also finish my book. It will be called "20 Years Of A Decade".

Do you like what you've written?
"I always like what I do".Tweet