There is a widespread belief that once we know what we love doing, everything will fall in place for us. I believe it is worthwhile to know who we are first. Rather than figuring out what we love to do. In figuring out what we love,we tie ourselves in knots.We look for a pedestal.We stand our ground to know what we are. That does not mean it is easy. I have taken a long time to know who I am. And my answer takes on subtle shades of meaning when I continue asking. The answer can change, but that is fine. As long as what I do is an outcome of who I really am at one specific point in time, I believe I can cherish the work as a form of self-expression, as a means of contribution. Even if I change later on. I accept everything, including my responsibility for the actions, and their consequences. Of course, what we love matters & matters a lot. And if we truly love something, it is an expression of what we are.…
Innovation & Philosophy – Closer than we think
Want a breakthrough as an innovator? Ask a philosopher! I am forever delighted in knowing how wisdom cuts across boundaries. It is wisdom that spurs real breakthroughs. Consider this: We are more ready to try the untried when what we do is inconsequential. Hence the fact that many inventions had their birth as toys. – Eric Hoffer Eric Hoffer is a philosopher. By all means, people will seek inspiration from the legend of Steve Jobs. And that is good. What about the inner ideals of Steve Jobs; the intangible, unconscious forces within that made him who he became? How can we open ourselves up to experience the same forces? By being open to philosophy. Philosophy explores meaning. Hoffer contributes wisdom ; the meaning that is timeless & universal. Rather than the specific how-to’s of innovation & creativity, it is the uncertain path of philosophy that offers the mysterious something, that can change everything. Hoffer might not have invented anything material, but he contributes something far more powerful: the philosophy that is the creative womb of infinite innovative embryos. What is…
A Drucker quote & the fun a Devil’s advocate has with it!
Only three things happen naturally in organizations: friction, confusion, and under-performance. Everything else requires leadership – Peter Drucker. Here is what the Devil will say! Employee engagement is the oil for easing the friction without removing the cause. Organizational charts are the boxes where confusion is stuffed in. Business analysis is the drainage system for under-performance. Leadership is the art of juggling boxes with oily hands & draining away the tell-tale signs!
If its so bad,why not make it good? A case for learning.
Have you heard this said about a movie,”It was so bad that it was really good!” Many people actually celebrate this ‘so bad,its good’ movies & even make money by spoofing or reviewing it.That is value-creation! People scrounge for value once they accept going in for the experience.As audience in a speech or trainees in a learning event, we can do the same.Why not? What else is there.Can you raise the bar for yourself as a learner.The measure of doing so would be to transcend & go past the ability of the content,process or the trainer.And to create meaning & value by identifying substance!
Individual Brilliance – Sign of something else?
US goalkeeper,Tim Howard made record saves in a WC football match that his team lost.We can see all the action in one frame.We can see the rest of the team didn’t do as well defending & so the last line of defense had to turn in an exceptional performance.In corporate life,outstanding individual performance could be masking collective failure,not so apparent because all the action does not take place in one frame.An outstanding individual performance that saves the day is a sign of systemic concern.
Putting a Price Tag & Losing out on Intrinsic Value – in Life & at Work.
A social experiment in Israel is a good reason to explore the after-effects of putting a price-tag on desired behaviour. Our performance assessment & reward structures are built around paying good money for a job done – on specification. And a penalty or lack of increment for sub-par performance. The system works. Or does it? Here’s what happened. Parents in day-care centres in Israel used to keep anxious kids & a tired teacher waiting well past the pick-up time of 4 pm. They were habitually late. Economists monitored ten such centres for four weeks. On an average, there were eight late pick-ups per week per day care centre. The parents hurried onto the scene half guilty, half worried. Fifth week onwards, they imposed a penalty of 3$ for a more than ten minute delay. The parents were paying $380 per month. By the twentieth week, the average pick-ups per week per day care centre had shot up-to twenty, more than double the original average! Daniel Cohen, French economist puts it well, “There are things we do because we cherish them.…
Peter Drucker on Knowledge Work & The Role of Managers
Peter Drucker is brilliant. In today’s knowledge-based society, most of us use our heads in order to earn a living. Unlike farmers and factory workers who used physical labour. We apply our specialized knowledge to work – whether it is the accountant, the software designer, the trainer, the engineer, the architect. All are knowledge workers. The challenge within organizations is how to make their individual work-output gel together into a product or a service. What is the essence of a manager’s challenge in an organization? All executive leaders, any first-rate professional intent on achieving supreme clarity on the subject ought to read and internalize Drucker’s words which I reproduce. The subject in question is – What is the essence of manager’s challenge in an organization, especially when it comes to knowledge-specialists? Drucker refers to these specialists as career professionals. Here is Peter Drucker at his incisive best. “Career professionals – and particularly the specialists-need a manager. Their major problem is the relation of their area of knowledge and expertise to the performance and results of the entire organization. Career professionals…
When warring sides played football on the battle field: The remarkable Christmas truce of World War I
In the days leading up to Christmas in 1914, soldiers from all sides began to realize that the war was going to drag on. It was not going to be all quiet on the western front for some time to come. Soldiers had dug into trenches, six to eight feet deep; and fired when the enemy sought to move forward from their own trenches. This trench-warfare of World-War I created a situation of perpetual physical proximity for enemy combatants. The Christmas season triggered off unusual acts of reaching out to the enemy. Soldiers started shouting out tentative intents of venturing out of the trenches. The first ones to believe and keep the faith survived and soon got talking with each other. The initial confidence-building hurdle out of the way, there were spontaneous outbreaks of unofficial ceasefire all along the trenches! The Germans & the British started exchanging Christmas gifts & souvenirs. They recovered & buried dead comrades, lit candles, decorated their trenches, sang carols, and started chatting & bantering. They showed each other photos of dear ones, offered cigarettes, food,…
Three Work-Realities Impacting Your Career That You Need To Prepare For
Ask any corporate professional if the world of work is changing, and the answer is a resounding yes! Ask how they are responding & the answers are general. Never take your job for granted. Always be learning. Network for career growth. These generalities are useful only if you persevere to understand what in the world of work is changing, how organizations are adapting to such changes. When you relate these changes to your specific circumstances, you will know what to do. Here are the three work-realities to connect your specific circumstances to. 1) Organizations are proactive in changing before they are forced to In the recent past, organizations reacted to growth demand by swelling its ranks. The recession made them shrink. In absorbing this painful body-blow, thinking organizations are determined to do it differently next time. They are not mindlessly expanding at the first signs of revived demand. By taking recourse to outsourcing & technology, they are catering to new business without bloating in size. They are open to internal restructuring as a proactive business strategy. Inspite of the absence…
When a Man Becomes a Woman: A journey into personal change
He was in the ladies compartment of a Mumbai suburban train. Neither an alarm nor an eyebrow was raised by the women around him. For all the ladies out there, with one notable exception, he was a lady. They barely noticed. He was not looking at anyone either. His heart was dying out on him. What am I doing out here?! My friend had joined a professional development course. As course-work, each participant had to commit to one action, just one deed of change. This action should be do-able. And the only barrier should be their own self-perception; what they think they can or cannot do. My friend had picked up this one: Pick up filthy garbage in front of his office with his own hands & deposit it into a garbage dump in full view of others. The course does telephone follow-up of course-work status before every meeting. When my friend was called, he had not done it. The course was giving him a lot to think over and do. Somehow, he couldn’t get himself to do. Up until…