<p class="bodytext">At a conclave of middle-rung officials of a leading public sector bank, an official high up in the hierarchy addressed the congregation to dispense management wisdom. He was wearing an elegant suit, looking dapper and well-groomed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After a perfunctory preface, the official veered to the point he wanted to make. Taking his audience by surprise, he asked, “How old do you think this suit that I am wearing is?” There were murmurs as the audience hazarded a guess.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After waiting a while for the response, the speaker himself revealed the answer rather dramatically. Not only did he say the suit was more than a decade old but also added that it was not expensive. There was an expression of disbelief on the faces of the audience because the suit appeared both new and expensive.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After watching and savouring the amazed expressions for a while, the executive shared the secret and the main theme of his talk: maintenance. He attributed the good condition of his suit, and his physique as well, to maintenance. Striking a chord with the audience, he said that despite belonging to a middle-class background, he always received compliments for being well-dressed. His message to the staff was to maintain the premises and the assets of the organisation in the same fashion. If not properly maintained, even the expensive interiors start looking shabby. By drawing a parallel with his suit, the speaker drove home the significance of ‘maintenance’.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The word ‘maintenance’ happened to resonate once again when I visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently. I had long heard paeans in praise of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two of the seven Emirates of the UAE. Taking advantage of the US visa on my passport, I made an impromptu visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I was awestruck by the urban utopia that Dubai is. It is a man-made marvel and a modern-day monument. All the buildings, roads, vehicles on the road – everything that your eyes behold – looks brand new.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Riding in a taxi, I could not help exclaiming to the driver that the entire city appeared to be freshly minted. Ascribing the appearance to ‘maintenance’, the taxi driver echoed the word I had once heard from the mouth of a top executive.</p>
<p class="bodytext">At a conclave of middle-rung officials of a leading public sector bank, an official high up in the hierarchy addressed the congregation to dispense management wisdom. He was wearing an elegant suit, looking dapper and well-groomed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After a perfunctory preface, the official veered to the point he wanted to make. Taking his audience by surprise, he asked, “How old do you think this suit that I am wearing is?” There were murmurs as the audience hazarded a guess.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After waiting a while for the response, the speaker himself revealed the answer rather dramatically. Not only did he say the suit was more than a decade old but also added that it was not expensive. There was an expression of disbelief on the faces of the audience because the suit appeared both new and expensive.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After watching and savouring the amazed expressions for a while, the executive shared the secret and the main theme of his talk: maintenance. He attributed the good condition of his suit, and his physique as well, to maintenance. Striking a chord with the audience, he said that despite belonging to a middle-class background, he always received compliments for being well-dressed. His message to the staff was to maintain the premises and the assets of the organisation in the same fashion. If not properly maintained, even the expensive interiors start looking shabby. By drawing a parallel with his suit, the speaker drove home the significance of ‘maintenance’.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The word ‘maintenance’ happened to resonate once again when I visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently. I had long heard paeans in praise of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two of the seven Emirates of the UAE. Taking advantage of the US visa on my passport, I made an impromptu visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I was awestruck by the urban utopia that Dubai is. It is a man-made marvel and a modern-day monument. All the buildings, roads, vehicles on the road – everything that your eyes behold – looks brand new.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Riding in a taxi, I could not help exclaiming to the driver that the entire city appeared to be freshly minted. Ascribing the appearance to ‘maintenance’, the taxi driver echoed the word I had once heard from the mouth of a top executive.</p>
